Tag: Tara Busch (Page 3 of 4)

HANNAH PEEL Interview

25 August 2016 /

Hannah Peel first became widely known as the synth playing violinist with John Foxx

Although a musician nurtured within a more traditional background, synthpop was the root of her 2010 debut EP ‘Rebox’ which featured music box covers of classics such as ‘Electricity’, Tainted Love’ and ‘Blue Monday’. Over the last few years, more electronic elements have blended into the work of Hannah Peel. 2014’s ‘Fabricstate’ EP was a marvellous hybrid of the synthetic and the organic while on her 2015 seasonal single ‘Find Peace’, Peel went the full electronic hog with a dreamy cacophony of analogue bleeps and percussive mantras.

While ‘Rebox 2’ in 2015 provided an enticing stopgap, Hannah Peel’s second full length album ‘Awake But Always Dreaming’ is now ready to be unleashed. Produced with long-term collaborator Erland Cooper from THE MAGNETIC NORTH, the record is a concept album of sorts about memory and the tragic effects of dementia, based on events in Peel’s own life.

An impressive body of work that will startle even her new followers who have come on board via her work with JOHN FOXX, ‘Awake But Always Dreaming’ sees Peel at her most experimental yet, especially in the long player’s strident second half. However, the album is launched with the accessible yet poignant pop statement of ‘All That Matters’.

In a busy 2016 which has seen Hannah Peel contribute to recordings by THE MAGNETIC NORTH, BEYOND THE WIZARDS SLEEVE and JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS as well as her own album and an instrumental project under the pseudonym of Mary Casio, she kindly took time out to chat from her retreat in County Donegal.

It’s been a few years since your debut album ‘The Broken Wave’, how do you think you’ve developed as an artist in that time?

I think from the experience firstly of collaborating with John Foxx, then doing THE MAGNETIC NORTH, scoring for MARY CASIO and doing ‘Rebox 2’, I’ve really learnt a lot. I found things I really like and adore in the way I want to make music. In terms of learning from John and Benge about analogue synths, being part of MemeTune studio for the last few years has enabled me to discover who I am. It’s been a very nice process.

You’ve also taken over the studio space where MemeTune used to be based with Erland Cooper. Did Benge leave any synths behind for you?

He left quite a few, it took him weeks to move out… a year later, he’s got his palace in Cornwall sorted and there’s only a Hammond organ left! It’s all sadly gone down there.

You gave your profile an additional boost earlier in the year by working with BEYOND THE WIZARDS SLEEVE?

BEYOND THE WIZARDS SLEEVE was a fantastic thing, they really liked ‘All That Matters’ and Richard Norris ended up doing a remix. So in return, he asked me to come to this big house to record some vocals. I turned up and met his musical partner Erol Alkan; I was instructed to sing one thing and it went on… it was about eight hours later that I actually left! I ended up doing about seven tracks, but it all blurred into one!

Was the deep pitch shifted vocal on ‘Diagram Girl’ done in post-production?

No, it was recorded that way… they wanted me to sound like a man! *laughs*

How did you approach the concept of ‘Awake But Always Dreaming’, what’s its thematic core?

I’ve been writing this album for a very long time since the first one and it’s gone through hundreds of stages, but it never felt quite right. Unfortunately, my granny had dementia and I never quite formalised in my head what it could be, like scientifically where does this disease come from?

I’d read about how people had used music to communicate with those who had lost their memory or had dementia. So one Christmas, I mentioned that to my family and suggested we sing a couple of songs. From not knowing us at all or where she was, she sang every single song and smiled… she even said “Happy Christmas”.

She was very old when she passed away this year, so you can imagine after ten years of having that kind of feeling, all of a sudden being woken up by music… as soon as that happened, I realised that’s what the album was about and what I’ve been writing about these last few years, but I hadn’t really thought about it.

So it took a while to jig it around, the running order is quite specific in terms of how it goes into the rabbit hole of the brain and the darker side. The instrumentals and tracks with no lyrics represent how people lose their speech and hallucinate, so with that second side which is more psychedelic and the repeating of lyrics, I made sure certain elements were brought out when we were mixing it.

But I didn’t want to make a record that was depressing. Obviously it’s a very tragic thing, but also the person is still exactly the same person. A lot of the time, you think you’ve lost them but actually, they’re just in a different world. So that’s why I wanted to approach it as if going into their world and their mind, and through that process, finding solitude and peace myself as well.

Did your interim releases like ‘Fabricstate’, ‘Find Peace’ and ‘Rebox 2’ have any bearing on how you made ‘Awake But Always Dreaming’?

That’s a really good question because they really did, mostly because I was obsessed for a long time with this Italo Calvino book ‘Invisible Cities’; it’s fifty-five short prose poems about these imaginary cities and worlds that all delve into emotion. ‘Fabricstate’ came directly from that book and for a long time, I was like “why am I obsessed with this book?” because I just couldn’t figure it out.

But that specific moment with my granny, I got what I’d been trying to do for the last few years. It was building a city inside your mind or going to another place and understanding it, and that world could be so upside-down as if you live in a net or a valley.

The track ‘Octavia’ on the album is a direct reference to one of the cities, like ‘Chloe’ from the ‘Fabricstate’ EP. It was like maps and the mind, where everything is connecting neurons and everything, it all folded into one whole body of work. So all the EPs and everything all came from the same place really, it was just how they actually come together on the album.

‘Chloe’ from ‘Fabricstate’ was the theme song to the dark Channel 4 drama ‘Dates’. Out of interest, what did you think of it?

Somebody heard the demo, really liked the lyrics and thought it would work well with the show. At the time, I didn’t have the EP ready so I was like “Why not? That would be nice!”

We had to adjust every single ending of the song for each different episode and it came very naturally. I’m glad that it’s got a purpose. I really liked the show, mainly because it was like watching a theatre show on TV with a couple in one place and that was it. It was a gorgeous concept and it was a shame it didn’t get commissioned any further.

‘All That Matters’ is possibly your most synthpop song yet, how did that develop from writing to recording because it started on piano?

It goes back to basic songwriting, in that if it works with one instrument which is my core solid grounding like a piano, it can work across all different kinds of forms. It worked beautifully on the piano, but I don’t think it gave the album enough hope, fun and youthfulness that it needed to open up a record. It needed that big sense of life affirming power, the arpeggiator synthline and the blend of the organic strings came together quite naturally.

Talking of this more positive tone despite the darkness, there’s songs with melancholic optimism like ‘Hope Lasts’?

It had the same kind of angle in terms of being supported and that no matter how bad things get, you keep a bright eye on things. I think a lot of what I deal with as an artist is self-doubt and self-deprecating myself to the point that I can’t do something *laughs*

What I saw echoed in a lot of other people, especially with something like this where it’s so tragic, is it doesn’t have to be, there is hope there. There are people trying to find a cure, there is support and music can do that. So there had to be this hopeful “I can see you – I can see the future – I can see its going to be ok – don’t worry” aspect, it’s quite simple really. That’s another song that really works on the piano and I’ve been saying to my manager Steve Malins that it would be really lovely to do a version of some of the songs from the record with just piano and strings.

The second half of the album will surprise some because it’s quite experimental. You mentioned ‘Octavia’ earlier but there are also the title track and ‘Foreverest’ which are both quite long…

Those are the tracks that came from writing things like the instrumentals on ‘Rebox 2’ and ideas that came from using the same instruments like the Roland SH101. It felt that to go into that world, you needed to go into a trance state with something that is long and stepping into something else. ‘Foreverest’ was originally two tracks, they fitted so well together so they were joined with a Claptrap *laughs*

‘Foreverest’ was written from an outside perspective of looking at the world and how particularly in life, we race around and we try our best to succeed or get to the top and people are cut-throat. I goes back to ‘All That Matters’ at the end of the day, regardless of anything, is you have someone around you who cares for you and you love. It was a kind of reflection on how people try to get to the top of Mount Everest and die on the way up and don’t get lifted down!

There’s hundreds of people who go up there and die on the mountain and are left there! When I read that in ‘National Geographic’, I thought at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you don’t get to the top of your career or whatever, because you might lose your mind or memory… what does it matter?

You’ve covered ‘Cars In The Garden’ by Paul Buchanan from THE BLUE NILE, what made you choose this song for the album?

I’ve been playing this song live for a while and for me when I heard it, it triggered something that was very emotional. I’m a massive fan of THE BLUE NILE and a lot of the basis of the album’s production comes from ‘A Walk Across The Rooftops’ and ‘Hats’. It’s the blend of analogue synths, beautiful lush strings and Paul Buchanan’s voice in particular which just resonates.

When I was putting the album together, the very end felt like it needed a music box to bring you back to childhood, which is where everybody seems to go. My granny remembered where she was born when she was aged six and that was right up until she died, but she wouldn’t remember anything past that. The music box for me is obviously very innocent, real and fed with paper, and the song itself talks about folding into the landscape and being overcome by nature. So it felt like the perfect ending to round it off to go back to the beginning.

I tried various different duet vocals and we’ve got a really wonderful version with John Foxx, but the one with Hayden Thorpe from WILD BEASTS made it onto to album because his vocal is so subtle and soft, it just needed that other perspective on it.

What would you say are your favourite songs on the new album?

One in particular is ‘Conversations’, I can’t sing it at the moment without crying, recording that was really difficult. I don’t know if I’ll ever do that one live; if I do, it will be when I’ve got used to the album maybe later down the line.

‘Conversations’ reminds me of Kate Bush…

Oh thank you, that’s really nice. I suppose it’s the vocal that goes up really high, speaking and stuff. I do want all the songs there, but there’s a couple that I find very emotionally connecting, ones that really mark where emotions come from. ‘Foreverest’, ‘All That Matters’ and ‘Don’t Take It Out On Me’ are the main ones that grab me and get me going inside, they’re so direct.

Does having other projects such as THE MAGNETIC NORTH and Mary Casio help with focussing your different interests?

Yes, they do. It’s really important that they have a separate voice so there is a different sound. Mary Casio could have been a Hannah Peel album, but it’s so different in terms of there’s no vocals. It’s very much an instrumental journey, so it helped me to compose it under a different name and gave me the confidence to just go for it. They do blend but I think the key is the style and the blend of soundscapes that hopefully makes it different on each one, but also keeps it together.

Some of your earlier fans don’t appear to have enjoyed your new direction. Who do you think your fanbase is these days?

I’ve moved on so much since ‘The Broken Wave’ so I don’t feel that anybody that was on that first album should have been on that journey with me. I do find that my fanbase is very, very varied and comes from all different angles; there’s THE MAGNETIC NORTH and John Foxx obviously in particular.

The first record wasn’t me, I just did it because it was fun and someone said “I’ll produce and put this out for you”, I just said “Yeah, why not!” – most of it was written while I was recording just in the studio, because I’d never really written songs before. It was an interesting thing when it came out. I actually ended up, not resenting the album because it means a lot, but it just didn’t feel like me. I’ve said to Steve Malins several times, “I want it off iTunes! I don’t want it there anymore” because it doesn’t represent who am I now and he just went “You can’t do that! You can’t just wipe it off and start again!” *laughs*

When I go to see family in Donegal and I go down the pub, people down there ask me to play ‘Song For The Sea’ from ‘A Broken Wave’ because it’s still a favourite of people around there because they know me from childhood. So that’s nice, it makes me feel better.

You’re about to embark on the five date ‘Troika’ tour with KITE BASE and I SPEAK MACHINE. What’s happening here?

I like KITE BASE, they supported me in London last year and we knew Tara Busch was coming over to support Gary Numan as I SPEAK MACHINE. We were all free at this time so someone said “Shall we do something?” and we just pencilled it in. We’re all playing solo, we’re not doing anything joint, it’s just a joint billing tour. Every night, the headliner will be different so we’re just making sure everybody comes down for the first act… what that first act is, you won’t know until you get there! *laughs*

We’re all of a similar age and come from the same background, and although the music from each act is different, it does feel similar in a way. Also, it’s nice to have some kind of support because even just for myself to get on a support tour is really difficult if you’re not on a big label. It’s nice that we have this group mentality of “right, we’re going do something and we’re going to do it” and it’s going to be called THIS and the poster is going to have a Soviet style that we all really like!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Hannah Peel

Special thanks also to Josh Cooper at 9PR and Steve Malins at Random Management

‘Awake But Always Dreaming’ is released on 23rd September 2016 by My Own Pleasure on download, vinyl and CD, pre-order at http://hannahpeel.tmstor.es/

troikaHannah Peel joins KITE BASE and I SPEAK MACHINE for the 2016 ‘Troika’ tour which includes:

Cardiff CLWB (7th September), London Shacklewell Arms (9th September), Bristol The Exchange (10th September), Coventry The Tin (13th September), Sheffield Picture House (14th September)

http://www.hannahpeel.com

https://www.facebook.com/HannahPeelMusic

https://twitter.com/hanpeel

https://soundcloud.com/hannahpeel

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
25th August 2016

Rhapsody and Exponentialism… The Art of JOHN FOXX Reinterpreted

14 May 2013 /
Featuring JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS, I SPEAK MACHINE and GAZELLE TWIN

JOHN FOXX has been highly prolific of late and this month sees the release of two tasteful artefacts which has the electronic pioneer revisiting his past while continuing to look forward simultaneously.

Both also showcase the platform he has given in particular to rising female musicians within a synth scene so notoriously noted in the past for its boys with their toys stance. But now, the girls are allowed to play with those toys too!

The first of these is ‘Rhapsody’, 10 tracks recorded live at London’s MemeTune Studios in late 2011 shortly after the JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS ‘Interplay’ tour. This series of shows was noted in particular for the addition of Hannah Peel’s screeching electric violin on material from Foxx’s ‘Metamatic’ and early ULTRAVOX! phases.

Featuring also Serafina Steer on bass and synths plus Foxx’s Mathematical sidekick Benge on electronic percussion and synths, the wide scope of the material is given a thematic core by this highly competent quartet, each bringing in their individual skills for a sum greater than its parts.

Foxx’s collaborations with Louis Gordon may have revitalised his musical aspirations, but what the Benge partnership did was provide a depth of humanity which perhaps had not shown itself in Foxx’s work since his ULTRAVOX! days. The addition of younger players such as Peel and Steer plus vital, energetic new material such as ‘Catwalk’ contributed to what was possibly Foxx’s best ever live show, not a bad achievement considering the former Dennis Leigh is now in his fourth decade in the music industry.

Like Foxx’s recording of ‘The Omnidelic Exotour’ from 1997, ‘Rhapsody’ is a closed set live recording with no audience. The beautiful instrumental take of ‘The Good Shadow’ with its pulsing sequences and eerie violin will have some recalling the intro of GARY NUMAN’s ‘Cry The Clock Said’.

Meanwhile the reworking of ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour’ retains the serene quality of the original with elements such as the sax are replaced by synth and Benge compliments percussively with Simmons thuds. The highlights though inevitably are ‘The Shadow Of His Former Self’, ‘Just For A Moment’ and ‘He’s A Liquid’ where the violin of Hannah Peel wails to an enjoyable pitch bent frenzy!

Of course, a lot ‘Metamatic’ era material actually featured bass guitar so Steer’s fluid four string, while not quite putting the funk into proceedings, gives a closer representation of the period’s mechanised groove on songs like ‘Burning Car’. Peel and Steer’s elements combined with Benge’s synthetic drums interestingly beg the thought of how ULTRAVOX might have sounded had Messrs Foxx, Currie, Cross, Cann and Simon stayed together to record ‘Metamatic’? ‘Rhapsody’ is a great souvenir of the ‘Interplay’ tour although it could have done with being slightly longer; ‘Plaza’ and ‘Watching A Bulding On Fire’ would have been worthy inclusions but it’s probably best to have the audience wanting more.

Meanwhile, on the ‘Exponentialism’ EP, two songstresses, who have supported JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS’ live shows and contributed to latest album ‘Evidence’, are given an opportunity to glow in the darkness as I SPEAK MACHINE and GAZELLE TWIN premiere their vivid interpretations of Foxx’s back catalogue. Both hit soprano ranges in their vocal capability and that automatically allows them to put their own stamp on some iconic work. GAZELLE TWIN told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in 2012: “I prefer covering songs written or sung by men. Perhaps because it instantly allows me to create a new perspective on it.”

So with I SPEAK MACHINE, the new electronic vehicle for American musician Tara Busch, she assumes the role of predatory female and her aggressive take on ‘My Sex’ is the complete opposite to Foxx’s original detached tone of resignation. Unsettling and eerie, the new arrangement is tremendous. Meanwhile, ‘I Want To Be Machine’ is virtually rewritten by Busch with the Ballardian lyrics now accompanied by abstract synthetics and robotics that are well away from the early Bowie-esque folkisms of the ‘Ultravox!’ album’s longest track. It’s as if the roles in ‘Demon Seed’ have been reversed!

Hauntingly sedate, GAZELLE TWIN, the alias of Brighton based Elizabeth Walling, gives a stripped down rendition of ‘Never Let Me Go’ with a neo-acappella intro before it oozes into a collage of choral beauty reminiscent of Foxx’ own ‘Cathedral Oceans’ trilogy. Appropriately sounding like she’s drowning, GAZELLE TWIN’s choice of ‘He’s A Liquid’ as her second cover reflects the metaphysical fascinations of her own compositions like ‘I Am Shell I Am Bone’ and ‘I Turn My Arm’. Sung from the female perspective, it highlights an ambiguous sexual angle to one of the highlights from ‘Metamatic’.

There was once an ‘In The City’ fanzine special about the Foxx-led ULTRAVOX! entitled ‘Past, Present and Future’. Both ‘Rhapsody’ and ‘Exponentialism’ show that more than 30 years after that publication, JOHN FOXX still very much represents the past, present and future of independently minded electronic music.

‘Rhapsody’ and ‘Exponentialism’ are released by Metamatic Records and both available as CDs or downloads from http://johnfoxx.tmstor.es/

JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS play a headline show at Brighton’s Concorde 2 on 7th June 2013 with support from VILE ELECTRODES

http://www.johnfoxxandthemaths.com/

http://www.metamatic.com/

http://myblogitsfullofstars.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.hannahpeel.com/

http://www.serafinasteer.com/

http://analogsuicide.com/

http://www.gazelletwin.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
14th May 2013

JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS Evidence

22 November 2012 /

JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS have released their third album in 18 months entitled ‘Evidence’.

The 15 tracks include collaborations with Matthew Dear on a version of ‘Talk’ which previously appeared on ‘The Shape Of Things’, US duo XENO & OAKLANDER on ‘That Sudden Switch’ and TARA BUSCH with her own ‘I Speak Machine’ mix of ‘Talk’.

Dubwisely surreal, the title track’s collaboration with North American post-apocalyptic trio THE SOFT MOON sees many of the starker, dystopian flavours that Foxx is best known for.

Following the enjoyable flirtation with synthpop on JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS’ debut album ‘Interplay’, this is much more post-punk psychedelia like Gary Numan meeting Syd Barrett!

The album sees available for the first time in physical format, Foxx and Benge’s brilliant minimal electro cover of PINK FLOYD’s ‘Have A Cigar’ (where the infamous “which one’s Pink?” line is changed to “which one’s Maths?”) while also included are Brighton songstress GAZELLE TWIN’s chilling remix of ‘A Falling Star’ and JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS’ reworking of her wonderfully emotive but unsettling single ‘Changelings’.

Regular live band member Hannah Peel adds eerie violin to instrumental ‘Neon Vertigo’ and the more angrily percussive ‘My Town’ although overall, the album takes on an atmospheric pace around more downtempo rhythmic constructions smothered in echoes.

‘Evidence’ is released by Metamatic Records

The ‘Analogue Circuit: Live At The Roundhouse’ DVD + CD set recorded at 2010’s Short Circuit Festival is also out now

http://blog.johnfoxxandthemaths.com/

http://www.thesoftmoon.com

Text by Chi Ming Lai
22nd November 2012

TARA BUSCH Rocket Life EP

23 February 2012 /

Those who arrived early for JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS’ shows last year will have noticed the kooky songstress with a laptop, flute and Moog Voyager as the opening act. That lady is TARA BUSCH, American musician, producer and score composer.

JOHN FOXX himself described his first encounter with her thus: “Karen Carpenter appeared, along with Nico and Doris Day. Then Bob Moog wandered in”. Since then TARA BUSCH has collaborated with JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS on the track ‘Where You End & I Begin’ from the new album ‘The Shape Of Things’, but she was already a seasoned hand before that as a member of DYNAMO DRESDEN who released the album Remember in 2004.

Going solo, she issued her debut album ‘Pilfershire Lane’ in 2009 while also undertaking remixes under her Analog Suicide brand for fellow enigmatic females such as ANNIE LENNOX, BAT FOR LASHES, POLLY SCATTERGOOD and the mysterious IAMAMIWHOAMI. She was then chosen by Michelle Moog to perform and participate in a workshop called ‘Modern Day Sound Sculpting’ at MoogFest 2010.

But it was her charity EP released in late summer of 2011 for The Bob Moog Foundation entitled ‘Rocket Wife’ that really put her on the map for synth enthusiasts. Ever wondered what happened to that other worldliness which was present on GOLDFRAPP’s monumental ‘Felt Mountain’ album? Well, it has now landed on Planet Busch.

With a combination of ‘Aqua Marina’ vocals and the Sci-Fi sounds of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s Delia Derbyshire, ‘Rocket Wife’ is simply breathtaking, sounding like Patti Page in outer space.

Meanwhile, additional EP track ‘Calendura’ is a beautiful Alpen waltz with a touch of ‘Oompah Radar’ about it while the very short ‘Motor Crash’ is gorgeously neo-acappella with a smattering of bubbling squelch games.

Busch said of her EP: “This is a homage not only to Bob Moog and his legacy, but to the effect the synthesizer had on my music, creativity, and life. What Bob did, most famously with the Minimoog, was to make the groundbreaking world of synthesis available to everybody, not just for the privileged few.”

TARA BUSCH is also known for her enjoyable off-the-wall interpretations of songs such as MADNESS’ ‘Our House’ and THE CURE’s ‘Let’s Go To Bed’ which appeared on the ‘Perfect As Cats’ tribute album.They’re cover versions Jim, but not as we know it! So Busch’s Five Year Mission? To synthly go where no woman has gone before…

‘The Rocket Wife’ EP is available to download from The Bob Moog Foundation website at http://bobmoogfoundation.bandcamp.com/album/the-rocket-wife-ep-by-tara-busch

http://tarabusch.com/

http://AnalogSuicide.com

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Mike Cooper
23rd February 2012

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 SONGS OF 2011

21 December 2011 /

So what did ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK think was hot back in 2011?

It featured a day in March when THE HUMAN LEAGUE, JOHN FOXX and DURAN DURAN all released new albums, while VILE ELECTRODES launched their debut EP. In a year when the synth pioneers were finally recognised for their valuable contribution to popular culture, here are our 30 favourite songs of 2011 presented in alphabetical order by artist…

AUSTRA Spellwork

AUSTRA deliver a stark, baroque form of electronica fuelled by sexual tension. Like a gothic opera which successfully blends light and darkness with fragility and power, Katie Stelmanis and friends borrow the tones of classic DEPECHE MODE and cross it with THE KNIFE for this, their most accessibly brilliant synthpop offering from their debut album. The B-side ‘Indentity’ is a worthy listen too.

Available on the CD ‘Feel It Break’ via Domino/Paper Bag Records

http://www.austramusic.com

TARA BUSCH Rocket Wife

A charity single for The Bob Moog Foundation, if you’ve ever wanted to hear that bizarre sonic other worldiness of GOLDFRAPP’s first album Felt Mountain again, it’s right here on ‘Rocket Wife’. With hints of the eerie classic Star Trek theme, this is really does sound like THE CARPENTERS in outer space! Calling occupants of interplanetary craft, across the universe indeed!

Available on the download EP ‘Rocket Wife’ via The Bob Moog Foundation

http://tarabusch.com/

CURXES The Constructor

CURXES are Brighton duo Macaulay Hopwood and Roberta Fidora. Describing themselves as “a decorative set of bones, channelling the ghosts of discothèques past”, their haunting neo-gothique flavour is quite unique as far as Eurocentric electronic pop music is concerned. This is a fine example of a synth friendly SIOUXSIE SIOUX going on a mutant staccato journey via La Nouvelle Vague crossed with DEPECHE MODE.

Available as a download single via iTunes and Amazon

http://www.curxes.com

DAYBEHAVIOR It’s A Game (MARSHEAUX Remix)

With wonderful riffs and an uplifting chorus, this is delicious electronic pop from the cult Swedish trio of Paulinda Crescentini, Tommy Arell and Carl Hammar. Remixed by Athens synth maidens MARSHEAUX, this has the best of both worlds and could easily be mistaken for Sophie and Marianthi. Paulinda’’s Italo Nordic charm gives ‘It’s A Game’ a distinct Mediterranean flavour.

Available on the download EP ‘It’’s A Game’ via Graplur Records

http://www.daybehavior.com

BETH DITTO Do You Need Someone?

BETH DITTO would probably be the Alison Moyet of modern electro if she didn’t prefer the funky punk of her band GOSSIP. ‘Do You Need Someone?’ sees Ms Ditto’s powerful and passionate yearning adding soul to the sparkling electronic dance groove. With production from SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO, KRAFTWERK’s ‘Computer World’ tones towards the song’s coda are a marvellous touch. A future career as an alternative disco diva beckons.

Available on the CD EP ‘Beth Ditto’ via Deconstruction Records/Sony Music

http://www.gossipyouth.com

http://www.simianmobiledisco.co.ukk

THOMAS DOLBY Spice Train

While Dolby’s album return was largely organic with hints of bluegrass and Americana, its token synthpop offering was the wonderful ‘Spice Train’. Over its hypnotic, squelchy sequence and mechanised dance beat, it gets strangely humanised by a Mariachi horn section. With the kitchen sink and a host of exotic influences thrown in via Bollywood and the Middle East, ‘Spice Train’ does exactly what it says on the tin.

Available on the CD ‘A Map Of The Floating City’ via Lost Toy People.

http://www.thomasdolby.com

DURAN DURAN Being Followed

‘All You Need Is Now’ saw DURAN DURAN cyclically return to the funk-led syncopated pop of their first two albums. ‘Being Followed’ is one of its many highlights. A superb sequencer assisted disco number with a tingling metallic edge, touches of THE CURE’s ‘A Forest’ and Nick Rhodes’ vintage string machine capture the tension of post 9/11 paranoia. Simon Le Bon gives it his all and while he is technically one of the most chronic singers of his generation, he is unique AND untouchable… just try doing any DD song at karaoke to find that one out for yourself!!

Available on the CD ‘All You Need Is Now’ via Tape Modern

www.duranduran.com

LANA DEL REY Blue Jeans (NIKONN remix)

NIKONN’s brand new album ‘Instamatic’ is suitably Mediterranean so add that instrumentation to the voice of raspy New Yorker LANA DEL REY and the end result is a glorious sun-kissed dancefloor moment. Somehow, you end up feeling much happier after dancing to, what is essentially in its original form, a quite stark, heartfelt minor key ballad.

Originally issued as a free download but currently unavailable.

http://www.lanadelrey.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/nikonn/7193878082

SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR Synchronised

From her under rated album ‘Make A Scene’ which includes contributions from Richard X and Armand Van Buuren, the appropriately titled Synchronised is a synthpop tune with a distinct YAZOO flavour to it. All highly appropriate as she supported ERASURE during their forests tour this year. This superbly cements her electro kinship which has been apparent since ‘China Heart’ from her ‘Tripping The Light Fantastic’ in 2007 and more recently on ‘Heartbreak Make Me A Dancer’ with FREEMASONS.

Available on the CD ‘Make A Scene’ via Douglas Valentine Limited

www.sophieellisbextor.net

JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS Watching A Building On Fire

The best track on the ‘Interplay’ album is a co-written duet with Mira Aroyo of LADYTRON. ‘Watching A Building On Fire’, with its chattering drum machine and accessible Trans- European melodies, oozes a synthetic smokiness. Aroyo’s counterpoint is almost playfully feline although Foxx’s inherent dystopianism gives it his stamp, making this a second cousin of ‘Burning Car’. The Andy Gray remix is also a worthy acquisition on the second JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS double CD package ‘The Shape of Things’.

Available on the CD ‘Interplay’ via Metamatic Records

http://blog.johnfoxxandthemaths.com/

www.metamatic.com

GAZELLE TWIN The Eternal

JOY DIVISION’s original on ‘Closer’ was one of the most fragile, funereal collages of beauty ever committed to vinyl but Elizabeth Walling has covered this cult classic and made it even more haunting! Replacing the piano motif with eerily chilling synth and holding it together within an echoing sonic cathedral, she pays due respect while adding her own understated operatic stylings. PAUL YOUNG’s interpretation of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ this most certainly ain’t… you should hear her version of ‘Louie Louie’!

Available on the download EP ‘I Am Shell I Am Bone’ via Anti-Ghost Moon Ray Records

www.gazelletwin.com

THE HUMAN LEAGUE Never Let Me Go

Susanne Sulley does her best LITTLE BOOTS impression with this opener to ‘Credo’, the long awaited comeback album from THE HUMAN LEAGUE. Sounding like ‘Crash’ gone right, it is also auto-tuned to the hilt as Da League go all contemporary with this marvellous slice of electronic funk. Let’s hope it’s not another ten years before there’s new material!

Available on the CD ‘Credo’ via Wall Of Sound

www.thehumanleague.co.uk

IAMAMIWHOAMI Clump

‘Clump’ could be the sound of the drums on OMD’s ‘History Of Modern Part 1’ but it’s actually this kooky little number by IAMAMIWHOAMI aka Jonna Lee. A synthetically charged amalgam with vintage sounds and even a toy piano thrown in, this is a bit brighter than some her contemporaries if still delightfully odd and mysterious. It’s musically more BJORK than FEVER RAY although she does share the same management company with the latter.

Available on the download single ‘Clump’ via iTunes and Amazon

http://www.facebook.com/pages/iamamiwhoami/270417754335

IAMX Ghosts Of Utopia

IAMX have captured an electro Gothic aesthetic that combines the theatrics of Weimar Cabaret with themes of sex, alienation and dependency in the best tradition of DEPECHE MODE and NINE INCH NAILS. Despite the lyrical and aural fervor, Corner’s songs are strongly melodic with an accessible grandeur. The superb lead single ‘Ghosts Of Utopia’ from new album ‘Volatile Times’ has instant appeal with its exhilarating mechanical drive and electrickery. His scream of “this is psychosis” is wholly believable! Dance in the dark!

Available on the CD ‘Volatile Times’ via Republic of Music/BMG

http://iamxmusic.com/

LADYTRON Mirage

Flautist textures dominate the more sedate pace of ‘Mirage’ almost as a reaction to the loudness war of previous album ‘Velocifero’. Helen Marnie’s voice beautifully suits the synthetic atmospherics while the widescreen, spacious mix compliments a catchy tune that has hints of SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES. Although confusing some of their fans, given room to explore, ‘Gravity The Seducer’ is that under rated album which will be hailed as a classic in years to come.

Available on the CD ‘Gravity The Seducer’ via Nettwerk Productions

http://www.ladytron.com

MAISON VAGUE Synthpop’s Alive

Living in a dream since 1983 and as a homage to ‘The Pleasure Principle’, MAISON VAGUE mainman Clark Stiefel responded musically to a YouTube video entitled ‘Synthpop Is Dead’. The opening salvo is brilliant and the lyric of “Everyone’s entitled to opinion, you have yours and well I have mine” hits home. But it’s the retort of “And though it seems that our opinions differ, you’ll agree in time!” that says it all. This could be the sound of PLACEBO gone electro. This post-Synth Britannia battlecry has heart, soul and humour.

Available on the download album ‘Synthpop’s Alive’ via Amazon

http://www.maisonvague.com

MIRRORS Secrets

Closing MIRRORS’ outstanding ‘Lights & Offerings’ long player, ‘Secrets’ shifting phat bass riff across two octaves is pure Kling Klang, driven by an intense percussive march. An epic at over ten minutes in length and split into three movements, the ambient interlude of the second section consists of an aural sculpture that plays with the mind. It then suddenly reprises with a piercing military tattoo for its finale with unsettling voices in your head for some added claustrophobic edge.

Available on the CD ‘Lights & Offerings’ via Skint Entertainment

https://www.facebook.com/theworldofmirrors/

MOBY Be The One

Yes, MOBY has settled into a formula but he does it well. One of the more immediate tracks from the excellent ‘Destroyed’ album, ‘Be The One’ is full of rich layered synth strings with moody chordial sweeps over a motorik beat and textured vocoder. Despite the simplistic robotic couplet “I was the hell that you needed – I was the one when you needed love”, it strangely exudes warmth and emotion.

Available on the CD ‘Destroyed’ via Little Idiot Records

http://www.moby.com

NIGHTLIFE On The Run

From their second EP Radio, Darin Rajabian and Caroline Myrick met at a party in Michigan and soon developed their interest in dreamy danceable synthpop. With Caroline’s soft vocals attached to Darin’s classic electro disco inspired backing, ‘On The Run’ could be described as ELLIE GOULDING gone right and is free of folkisms. Caroline nicely summed up the escapist feel of the song with: “I want back the soft quiet days of ever, when there was lemonade and sand, and rainy screen doors and sad movies; when the minutes were no one else’s but ours”.

Available on the download EP ‘Radio’ via their website

http://nightlifepop.com/

GARY NUMAN The Fall

Anthemic gothic rock is what the former Gary Webb deals in these days but ‘The Fall’ is a lot less heavier and one-dimensional than the offerings on previous album ‘Jagged’. With a fair smattering of synths too, this achieves a much better sonic balance and GARY NUMAN’s most accessible number in years.

Available on the CD ‘Dead Son Rising’ via Mortal Records

www.numan.co.uk

QUEEN OF HEARTS Spanish Sahara

This mysterious young royal with her assorted headgear and couture is modern electropop’s own Queen Amidala. From a galaxy far, far away and light years ahead of the poptastic competition, this moody, pulsing cover of indie rockers THE FOALS is transformed by a hypnotism textured with spacious synths to give our Queenie room for some sexy breathiness.

Available on the download EP ‘The Arrival’

www.iamqueenofhearts.com

SECTION 25 Colour, Movement, Sex & Violence

Best known for their seminal electro classic ‘Looking From A Hilltop’ in 1984, the song’s husband and wife vocalists Larry Cassidy and Jenny Ross have sadly since passed away. So it was highly appropriate that for SECTION 25’s recorded return, fronting the former punks would be Larry and Jenny’s daughter Bethany. She does a fine job with this danceable synth led ditty which captures that classic hedonistic Manchester vibe that recalls THE OTHER TWO’s ‘Tasty Fish’ while also placing itself in contemporary club culture.

Available on the download EP ‘Invicta’ via Fac 51 The Hacienda

www.section25.com

SOFT METALS Eyes Closed

SOFT METALS are a newish electro duo comprising Patricia Hall and Ian Hicks. Now resident in Los Angeles, they have an accessibly minimal sound with Hall’s pretty vocals being a particular delight and reminiscent of DOT ALLISON’s flirtatious aura. ‘Eyes Closed’ is probably the highlight from their very promising debut album, elements of ORBITAL creeping into the danceable bleep fest.

Available on the CD ‘Soft Metals’ via Captured Tracks

www.facebook.com/softmetals

THE SOUND OF ARROWS Longest Ever Dream

Stefan Storm and Oskar Gullstrand hail from Gavle in Sweden. Both filmic and musical elements are important factors in THE SOUND OF ARROWS. Produced by Richard X and featuring a sweet guest vocal from ACTION BIKER aka Sarah Nyberg Pergament, the choral patches and the symphonic templates are just so reminiscent of OMD. Coupled to some fantastically optimistic ambition, Longest Ever Dream is a panoramic joy!

Available on the CD ‘Voyage’ via Skies Above

www.thesoundofarrows.com

TENEK What Do You Want?

Featuring violin by Chris Payne from The GARY NUMAN Experience, ‘What Do You Want?’ is the first TENEK track that could be described as possessing a degree of beauty. The Brtish duo’s more rousing anthemic style takes a breather here and although this has more in common with their other ballad track ‘The Art Of Evasion’, the subtlety and strings add a new sonic dimension to the developing TENEK sound.

Available on the CD ‘EP2’ via Toffeetones Records

www.tenek.info

TIGER BABY Landscapes

TIGER BABY are a Copehagen trio led by Pernille Pang with Benjamin Teglbjærg and Nikolaj Tarp Gregersen in synthetic support. They released their debut album ‘Noise Around Me’ in 2007. Stylistically, this has all the unmistakeable melodic sensibility that Scandinavian pop acts seem to naturally possess as pretty arpeggios and wispy vocals combine for some dream laden electro.

Available on the CD ‘Open Windows Open Hills’ via Gunhero records

http://www.tigerbaby.dk

VILE ELECTRODES My Sanctuary

VILE ELECTRODES are a colourful beat combo who combine analogue synths with fetish fashion. Their sound could be described as THE SMITHS reincarnated as CLIENT but ‘My Sanctuary’, the closing track on their debut EP is a sweeping moody epic that recalls imperial phase ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK. Anais resigned melancholic vocal gives that ice maiden demeanour over glorious symphonic synth strings and deep sombre tones. It’s magnificence embroiled.

Available on the CD EP ‘Vile Electrodes’

www.facebook/vileelectrodes

WHITE LIES Strangers

They’re the 21st Century equivalent of THE TEARDOP EXPLODES but with no brass. WHITE LIES however are much more bombastic with synths carrying melodies and assorted effects. Driven by a sweeping theme and deep bass thud before leading to a sense of urgency in the verse, a thoroughly anthemic chorus doesn’t appear until halfway to increase tension. This is possibly what TX could have sounded like if Julian Cope hadn’t gone to live under a tortoise shell!

Available on the CD ‘Ritual’ via Fiction/Polydor Records

www.whitelies.com

XENO & OAKLANDER The Staircase

Chugging arpeggios, clattering primitive drum machines and slightly unorthodox vocals, minimal duo XENO & OAKLANDER give a brilliantly vibrant offering of vintage futurism. ‘The Staircase’ is their most immediate offering yet. Based in Brooklyn, part of their authentic Europeanism comes from Liz Wendelbo’s wispy French / Norwegian charm. Writing with partner Sean McBride since 2004, they successfully supported JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS in October where they were warmly received for their stark electronic sound.

Available on the CD ‘Sets & Lights’ via Wierd Records

http://xenoandoaklander.com/

ZEBRA & SNAKE Empty Love Song

Those dark Nordic nights certainly have their effect as this cynical tune from this Finnish duo indicates. Comprising helpfully of two friends Tapio and Matti, ZEBRA & SNAKE fuse vintage electronics with a touch of ambient dexterity as an “artistic form of therapy”. ‘Empty Love Song’ is suitably bittersweet and sounds a bit like MGMT’s ‘Time To Pretend’ after six months in deep freeze! However, despite its lyrical stance, it possesses a grand anthemic quality.

Available as a free download from http://soundcloud.com/freeman-pr/zebra-snake-empty-love-song

www.zebraandsnake.com

Text by Chi Ming Lai
21st December 2011, updated 14th March 2017

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