Tag: Solar Fake

SOLAR FAKE Another Manic Episode

solar fake_anothermanicepisodeBerlin’s SOLAR FAKE came into existence in 2007, creating an instant stir in the electronica circles, hungry for more anger and industrial laden beats.

Sven Friedrich, best known for his rockier enterprises ZERAPHINE and DREADFUL SHADOWS, joined André Feller and to date have released three albums, ‘Broken Grid’, ‘Frontiers’ and ‘Reasons To Kill’.

The latest ‘Another Manic Episode’ is described by the band themselves, as their best work to date, which immediately invites the challenge to verify the veracity of this claim.

Happily charging €25 a year for their fan club membership, the SOLAR FAKE boys seem awfully confident in their latest product. The deluxe edition harbours nineteen songs, including the ten core tracks, with additional remixes by AESTHETIC PERFECTION and PROJECT PITCHFORK among many, as well as further seven piano versions of selected numbers.

The opening ‘Not What I Wanted’ curiously welcomes into the heavy world of SOLAR FAKE with EBM beats and alluring sequences, in which the band stays true to their roots. Influences of various other German bands are clearly palpable, making the opening track an eclectic mixture of pretty much everything heard before. ‘Fake To Be Alive’ follows with a clear danceability factor interwoven within a melodic, yet heavy sequence of drum and bass, as if borrowed from ‘Automation Baby’ by Bristol’s MESH.

‘All The Things You Say’, also being the first single from the production, changes the mood into more of a gentler, sublime and intelligent synthpopia. Refined vocals, this time lacking the heavy rock base, are fuller and inviting. Very clear influence from their native FROZEN PLASMA, yet original in their own way.

‘Under Control’ as well as ‘Observer’ serve heavy boot stomping to their industrial beats, while ‘Until It’s Over’ returns to the temperate, placid electronica which Friedrich is a master of. ‘The Race Of The Rats’ reprises the theme with a substantial dose of EBM, followed with ‘If I Were You’; it’s a melancholic track, yet well suited to heavy head bob and dance craze of your life.

The slower, more defined ‘I Don’t Want You Here’, is a broken love affair, MINEVE style. A listener-friendly melody with gentle piano elements, this makes the track one of the best on this collection. The closing ‘Stay’ is perhaps the song which ought to mark the style of SOLAR FAKE, as this type of direction is what they do best. Delicate electronica with a refined vocal, it wraps the album skilfully, denoting the fact the band are capable of a decent ballad.

The second CD, apart from the remixes by big names, includes two tracks which are worth a mention. ‘Somebody Told Me’ rings the familiar sounds of THE KILLERS. It has become a kind of a given, that SOLAR FAKE will include a cover on each album. And this one is basically a version of the original, which has been beefed up with synth sounds, leaving it resonating not too dissimilar from the prototype. ‘You Need The Drugs’, another cover, this time of WESTBAM’s big hit, from ‘Götterstrasse’, is more palatable and assembled with apt knowledge of the blueprint.

SOLAR FAKE 2015Like with any SOLAR FAKE release, the feeling persists, that perhaps the band, with their strong performances, are more of a live act and are better appreciated when in front of audiences, having toured Europe extensively before the release of ‘Another Manic Episode’ with great success.

The album, being rather compelling, will probably suit younger, less expectant listener.

For the lovers of COMBICHRIST, this is a perfect alternative; angry, in your face and destructive at times, only seldom punctuated with softer, lighter synth.

Whether the claims that the album is their best work to date, are indeed accurate, is debatable; however, the continuing popularity of the group speaks for itself.


‘Another Manic Episode’ is released by Out Of Line Records

http://www.solarfake.de/en

https://www.facebook.com/SolarFake/


Text by Monika Izabela Goss
3rd November 2015

ELECTRONIC SUMMER 2015 at Gothenburg Brewhouse

Norse Code

ES2015-Marsheaux+TrainToSpainELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has said many times before: “There are electronic music events… and there are electronic music events…”

And the best sort of electronic music events are those curated by electronic music enthusiasts, people who actually enthuse about the genre, recognise its history and expel a passion to see it continue as a defined artform. Two such people are Henrik Wittgren and Sebastian Hess.

Their organisation Depeche Mode Party Gothenburg has been running successful music events in the Swedish city for several years. Electronic Summer started as a DEPECHE MODE fan event in 2012 with none other than Alan Wilder as guest of honour, while the live headliners were MESH and DE/VISION.

ES2015-Psyche+JenniferSince then, the event has developed with DAF and APOPTYGMA BERZERK headlining in 2013, while the 2014 event featured COVENANT, ASSEMBLAGE 23 and AESTHETIC PERFECTION.

With VNV NATION, SOLAR FAKE, MARSHEAUX, KARIN PARK and PYSCHE featuring in the Electronic Summer 2015 line-up, a sell-out crowd at the Brewhouse Arena was eagerly anticipating a great weekend of music and culture.

Such was the community spirit of the occasion that musicians from local acts such as TRAIN TO SPAIN were also in attendance. To start proceedings, early arrivals were welcomed to an enjoyable pre-party featuring AVANTGARDE, XHILE, PRESENCE OF MIND and DESTIN FRAGILE. Each act had appeared on the cult Swedish synthpop compilation ‘Circuit One’ and gathered to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

ES2015-PresenceOfMindPRESENCE OF MIND were particularly impressive with their brand of dark, but melodic synthrock. Their debut album ‘Interpersonal’ was only released in 2014, but it is a indicator as to why Swedish acts are generally holding their own against competition from around the world.

Meanwhile, DESTIN FRAGILE showcased songs from their ‘Halfway To Nowhere’ album released this year and some observers have considered it one of the best synth flavoured long players of 2015.

Day 1 began in the late afternoon with Nordic friendly blog Cold War Night Life hosting a DJ set in The Outsider bar area. As music fans prepared themselves for a nine hour night, DJ combo Spacelab aka Alexander Hofman and Johan Billing from S.P.O.C.K. continued the electronic soundtrack.

ES2015-PeterSjoholmThroughout the weekend, there were enjoyable DJ sets based around the themes of Mute, DEPECHE MODE, NITZER EBB and ERASURE but there was also just great electronic pop by artists of all generations ranging from KRAFTWERK, SOFT CELL and NEW ORDER to CLUB8, TRUST and SUSANNE SUNDFØR.

The first live act of the day was the milk loving PETER SJÖHOLM who gave his distinctive quirky take on electronic pop.

But that was followed by the unusual sight of Day 2 headliners VNV NATION taking to the stage at 19:00 hours. Performing what was billed as an alternative set, it contained a collection of their lesser played works from their vast catalogue like ‘Kingdom’ and was a suitable dress rehearsal for their headline slot. Following on, NATTSKIFTET and VIRTUAL VOICES kept the crowds warm in preparation for Canadian darkwave trailblazers PSYCHE.

ES2015-PsycheAccompanied by Stefan Rabura, Darrin Huss led a spirited performance that was fittingly poignant following the recent sad passing of his brother and PSYCHE founder member Stephen.

This was particularly evident on ‘The Brain Collapses’ from ‘Insomnia Theatre’, their debut album together. The magnificent ‘The Saint Became A Lush’ from ‘Unveiling The Secret’ was another pivotal moment while that album’s title track and ‘Uncivilized’ were other treats.

Huss recited his synthpop knowledge too, dropping in snatches of EURYTHMICS’ ‘Sweet Dreams’ and YAZOO’s ‘Bring Your Love Down (Didn’t I)’ during the set.

ES2015-KarinPark02KARIN PARK gave another of her towering performances, the aggressive synth glam of ‘Look What You’ve Done’ fully exploiting the presence of her metalhead drummer brother David and lively new keyboardist Kine Sandbæk Jensen aka PIECES OF JUNO.

Meanwhile ‘Stick To The Lie’ and ‘Ashes’ demonstrated that despite her intense stage demeanour, Miss Park does supreme electronic pop. To climax the set, the charismatic Swede led a three way drum barrage to conclude the mighty ‘Thousand Loaded Guns’.

PROJECT PITCHFORK concluded the evening with a suitably Teutonic fist of aggression; their in-yer-face pounding ensured any remaining energy left in the audience after a long day was put to efficient use. If nothing, it ensured a good night’s sleep in preparation for Electronic Summer 2015’s second instalment.

ES2015-HiltipopDay 2 began with HILTIPOP, the solo project of Magnus Johansson from the YAZOO influenced duo ALISON who released their only album ‘Duality’ in 2010.

His promising FAD GADGET meets KRAFTWERK template was an ideal way to ease everyone back into the synthetic groove and many watching including George Geranios of Undo Records and Darrin Huss were impressed. Following on, STURM CAFÉ gave their own localised take on electronic body music. 

With enough flashes of DAF to wake anyone who was still sleepy, the Alte Schule sound was not totally unexpected from a band who soundtracked a movie called ‘Die Zombiejäger’. 

ES2015-MeTheTigerMeanwhile, ME THE TIGER were another highly regarded Swedish band on the second day’s very internationally flavoured bill and notably reflected their country’s solidarity values. 

With their synth assisted new wave songs like ‘Ariana’ and ‘Pocket Sized Edition Ending’, the trio showcased their YEAH YEAH YEAHS influenced pop augmented by punky guitars and lively drums. In Gabriella Åström, ME THE TIGER have a feisty front woman.

Full of energy and attitude, this was something that was particularly evident on anthemic numbers like ‘Heartbeats’ and ‘What Promises Are Worth’. Even a broken kick pedal didn’t dampen their enthusiasm and this was promptly repaired without a flutter.

ES2015-Marsheaux02The event maintained its original DEPECHE MODE roots with the presence of Athens based synth maidens MARSHEAUX performing selections from their acclaimed reinterpretation of ‘A Broken Frame’.

The wispy renditions of ‘My Secret Garden’, ‘Monument’ and ‘Leave In Silence’ were particular highlights while there was the surprise inclusion of ‘See You’ B-side ‘Now This Is Fun’. Best of of all though was an angelic rendition of ‘The Sun & The Rainfall’.

But it wasn’t all about Basildon as MARSHEAUX impressed the Devotee dominant crowd with their own cracking tunes like ‘Hanging On’, ‘Dream Of A Disco’, ‘Come On Now’ and ‘Breakthrough’.

ES2015-SolarFakeGerman duo SOLAR FAKE led by Sven Friedrich kept the crowd moving with their Goth infused electro, a tone that was not entirely surprising given Friedrich’s roots in cult alternative band DREADFUL SHADOWS.

‘I Hate You More Than My Life’ was a more than ideal overture while ‘Under Control’ provided a trancey focal point with hints of COVENANT. The remainder of their set was enjoyably accessible dark synthpop that suited the duo’s striking look.

To conclude the weekend, VNV NATION blasted their way through a hits set of their characteristic Futurepop, the duo of Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson certainly providing lashings of “Victory Not Vengeance”.

ES2015-VNV2011’s ‘Space & Time’ and the 1999 vintage of ‘Standing’ were just two of the stomping crowd pleasers while the more epic electro rock inclined ‘Perpetual’ made a fitting set closer.

Throughout the weekend, there was an enormously warm and friendly atmosphere. The event had something for everyone so as different factions of the audience moved between their preferred acts, there was plenty of time for passionate discussion in the various bars.

Despite fierce debate about the merits of synthpop versus industrial, most shared an intense dislike of EDM and agreed that its inane DJ culture was ruining electronic music. However, when there were differences in opinion as the well-known Nordic enjoyment for liquid refreshment kicked in, no-one took it personally. There was plenty of mutual laughter as chat varied from whether ‘MG’ was actually a Eurorack YouTube tutorial put to record, to the use of the word “Marmite” as a descriptive term in music journalism.

ES2015-CWNL+friendsElectronic Summer has developed into a fine annual platform showcasing the best in independent synth driven talent from around the world. The 2015 variant was a truly worldwide event, again proving what can be done when event organisers actually enjoy and understand the music they are dealing in.

It was indeed, a fine benchmark for other event organisers to aspire to.


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Henrik Wittgren and Sebastian Hess at Depeche Mode Party Gothenburg

ES2015-TeamThanks also to Simon Helm at Cold War Night Life

www.electronicsummer.se

www.anachronsounds.de/

www.solarfake.de/en

www.marsheaux.com/

www.methetiger.com/

ES2015-Spacelabwww.facebook.com/sturmcafe

https://soundcloud.com/sem-hilti-johansson

www.project-pitchfork.eu/

www.karinpark.com/

www.psyche-hq.de/

www.facebook.com/nattskiftetmusik

http://members.tripod.com/~virtual_voices/

www.facebook.com/peter5joholm

www.facebook.com/destin.fragile.pop

www.facebook.com/PresenceOfMindSweden

www.discogs.com/artist/129276-Xhile

www.facebook.com/pages/Avantgarde/


Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Chi Ming Lai, Simon Helm, Jennifer Last and Madeleine Berg
5th September 2015