Tag: Thomas Dolby (Page 3 of 5)

A Beginner’s Guide To YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA

When YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA formed in 1978, it was intended to be a one-off project for producer / bassist Haruomi Hosono and the two session musicians he had hired: drummer Yukihiro Takahashi and keyboardist Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Prior to the group’s formation, the classically trained Sakamoto had experimented with electronic music at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Hosono had been involved in the recording of several early electronic rock records in Japan. Meanwhile, Takahashi was in THE SADISTIC MIKA BAND, a prog outfit who were signed to PINK FLOYD’s label Harvest and had appeared on ‘Old Grey Whistle Test’.

Hosono began formulating the idea of an instrumental disco band which could have the potential to succeed internationally. The format was formally defined when Sakamoto introduced the music of KRAFTWERK to the other two. KRAFTWERK’s artistic outlook, along with acts such as TANGERINE DREAM, NEU! and LA DÜSSELDORF had helped restore a sense of Germanic identity in reaction to the Americanisation of European post-war culture.

The trio were feeling this was needed in Japan too, so they endeavoured to make something very original using electronics. As Sakamoto remarked, this involved using the “very Japanese” approach of merging many different styles like a Bento box in a reliable, forward thinking fashion.

The technology used on their 1978 debut album included the Moog III-C, Korg PS-3100, Polymoog, ARP Odyssey, Oberheim Eight Voice, Minimoog, Korg VC-10 Vocoder and Roland MC-8 Micro Composer. With the latter programmed by fourth member Hideki Matsutake, the result was a crisp, exotic pop sound that was unusual and ahead of its time, even in the synthesizer heartland of Europe.

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA scored a UK Top 20 hit single in 1980 with ‘Computer Game (Theme From The Invader)’ . Recorded in 1978, the main section of the track was actually ‘Firecracker’, a cover of a 1959 composition by Martin Denny. The single also gained traction in America where the trio made a memorable appearance on the prestigious music show ‘Soul Train’. It subsequently made an impact out on the block as it was later sampled by Hip-Hop godfather Afrika Bambaataa on ‘Death Mix’ and then in 2001, it was used again by Jennifer Lopez on ‘I’m Real’.

The international popularity of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA (or YMO as they came to be known) coincided with the burgeoning synthpop scene in Britain which had embraced the affordable synthesizers from Japanese manufacturers such as Roland, Korg and Yamaha.

VISAGE’s Rusty Egan in his dual role as DJ at the legendary Blitz Club in London had been spinning YMO tunes while acts such as GARY NUMAN, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, ULTRAVOX, OMD, SOFT CELL and DEPECHE MODE started achieving mainstream success.

YMO went on to be the one of the most popular bands in South East Asia, but despite this success, the trio went into hiatus in 1984, with each member continuing their already established parallel solo careers. While the trio said they were “spreading out” rather than splitting, they continued to play on each other’s recordings and made guest appearances at various live shows.

Sakamoto achieved the highest international profile from his ventures into acting and soundtrack work. His Oscar winning success for ‘The Last Emperor’ in 1988 helped expand his soundtrack portfolio to include films such as ‘Black Rain’, ‘The Sheltering Sky’ and ‘Little Buddha’, while he also composed music for events like the Opening Ceremony of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

A short reunion took place in 1993 for the ‘Technodon’ album where the band had to be known as YMO, but there was no further activity until 2007 when Hosono, Sakamoto and Takahashi were reunited for a Kirin Lager advertising campaign, performing one of their most popular numbers ‘Rydeen’.

Hosono and Takahashi had been working together in a project called SKETCH SHOW and on a number of occasions, Sakamoto was invited to join in. As a result, he proposed that the group rename itself HUMAN AUDIO SPONGE (HAS) for whenever he was involved. Inevitably, YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA reformed again when they played the 2007 Kyoto Live Earth event, although for recording purposes they combined names and went out as HASYMO.

In Summer 2008, the trio played the Meltdown Festival curated by MASSIVE ATTACK billed as YMO, although only four YMO songs were played while the rest of the set comprised of SKETCH SHOW, HASYMO and solo material.

However in 2009, the trio performed at the World Happiness festival in Japan and confirmed that YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA was their official name, while there was a further appearance at the 2010 event. Despite the confusion over names, it would appear YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA are still a going concern, although Sakamoto is presently taking an extended break recuperating from illness.

So with their place in electronic music history assured, what twenty tracks would make up an imaginary CD compilation album to act as Beginner’s Guide to the iconic trio? ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK made the following selections for its YMO Bento box…


YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Tong Poo (1978)

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA’s debut self-titled album was noted for its use of the then brand new computerised Roland MC8 Micro-Composer to control the synthesizers. With their use of modern technology, they became standard bearers for what eventually became known in Japan as technopop. Despite its pulsing electronic disco bassline, the Sakamoto penned ‘Tong Poo’ was inspired by Chinese music produced during the China’s Cultural Revolution.

Available on the YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA album ‘Yellow Magic Orchestra’ via Alfa Music

http://www.ymo.org/


YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Behind The Mask (1979)

With ‘Behind The Mask’, YMO’s influence touched rock, pop and soul. Michael Jackson loved the track so much, he penned additional lyrics to it during the ‘Thriller’ sessions. Unable to be released at the time by Jackson himself, he gave the reworked track to his musical director Greg Phillinganes who had a surprise Top 5 hit in the US R’n’B charts in 1985. This proxy collaboration was then later covered by Eric Clapton in 1987. The remixed MJ demo eventually appeared on the posthumous album ‘Michael’.

Available on the YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA album ‘Solid State Survivor’ via Alfa Music

https://www.facebook.com/YMOofficial


RIUICHI SAKAMOTO Riot in Lagos (1980)

Back from when Sakamoto spelt the alphabetical version of his first name as ‘Riuichi’, ‘Riot in Lagos’ off his 1980 ‘B-2 Unit’ album has often been seen as a pivotal track that anticipated the beats and pulses of house music. A frantic but danceable instrumental that conveyed the rhythmic tension and violence of the title, it was a fine example of the visual narrative of Sakamoto’s compositional mind. It was a talent that would serve him well in a burgeoning career that would eventually lead him to the cinema.

Available on the RIUICHI SAKAMOTO album ‘B-2 Unit’ via GT Music Japan

https://www.sitesakamoto.com/


JAPAN Taking Islands In Africa (1980)

Following the success of JAPAN’s third album ‘Quiet Life’, Sakamoto was assigned by a magazine to interview David Sylvian. The meeting led to the beginnings of a long standing friendship and a magnificent collaboration entitled ‘Taking Islands In Africa’ which ended up closing the long player. The music was entirely Sakamoto’s while Sylvian contributed the worldly lyrics. There were to be further collaborations between the pair, the most recent being ‘World Citizen’ in 2004.

Available on the JAPAN album ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’ via Virgin Records

http://www.nightporter.co.uk/


YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Camouflage (1981)

‘BGM’ was the first recording to use the now iconic Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer and a 3M 32-track digital recorder. However, as producer of ‘BGM’, Hosono did not like the latter’s aural sharpness and preferred to record the rhythm sections on analogue tape first before copying them to the 3M machine. This album’s best song ‘Camouflage’ was a curious beat laden blend of Eastern pentatonics and Western metallics… the German synth band CAMOUFLAGE took their name from this very song.

Available on the YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA album ‘BGM’ via Alfa Music

https://www.facebook.com/YMOofficial/


LOGIC SYSTEM Domino Dance (1981)

The Roland MC-8 Micro-Composer programmed by fourth member Hideki Matsutake was a key part of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA’s early production and live performances. In 1981, Matsutake formed his own project LOGIC SYSTEM. Inspired after hearing a playback of Wendy Carlos’ ‘Switched-On Bach’, he went on to be the technical assistant of TOMITA. ‘Domino Dance’ was the excellent lead single from the acclaimed ‘Logic’ and while less immediate, it was worthy of his better known employers.

Available on the LOGIC SYSTEM album ‘Logic’ via Express Japan / Toshiba EMI

https://www.facebook.com/logicsystem


SANDII & THE SUNSETZ The Great Wall (1981)

After guesting on ‘Absolute Ego Dance’ from ‘Solid State Survivor’, Hawaiian Japanese vocalist Sandy O’Neal began working with Hosono, who was producing a Japanese band called THE SUNSET GANG. Convincing the all-male combo that her Kate Bush influenced vocals would be ideal to front their brand of chunky music, SANDII & THE SUNSETZ were born. The highlight of the 1981 Hosono produced album ‘Heat Scale’ was ‘The Great Wall’, a song influenced by music of the Chinese Cultural revolution.

Available on the SANDII & THE SUNSETZ album ‘Heat Scale’ via Alfa Music

http://sandii.info/


YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI Something In The Air (1981)

Being YMO’s main vocalist did not necessarily mean Takahashi-san was a great singer and indeed, it very much had a Marmite effect. With his solo albums of course, his voice took centre stage. And with his afflicted, semi-croon in the vein of Bryan Ferry, he showed his passionate side on ‘Something In The Air’. Not a cover of the THUNDERCLAP NEWMAN song, it came from ‘Neuromantic’, considered to be one of Takahashi’s finest solo albums; it featured Tony Mansfield, Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay.

Available on the YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI album ‘Neuromantic’ via GT Music Japan

http://intenzio.co.jp/yukihiro/room66plus/


YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Neue Tanz (1981)

YMO’s experimental fourth long player ‘Technodelic’ was notable for its use of an LMD-649, a hand-made sampler developed by Toshiba EMI engineer Kenji Murata. Although ‘Neue Tanz’ was a tribute to KRAFTWERK, Hosono played bass guitar on the track, adding a dark funkiness that once merged with the Indonesian Kecak chanting samples, recalled David Byrne and Brian Eno’s ‘My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts’ album. KRAFTWERK borrowed back the concept in 1986 for ‘Musique Non Stop’.

Available on the YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA album ‘Technodelic’ via Alfa Music

http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/ymo/


SUSAN I Only Come Out at Night (1982)

Franco-Japanese beauty SUSAN was a protégée of Takahashi and ‘I Only Come Out At Night’ was produced and written by him with lyrical assistance from the now-regular YMO collaborator Peter Barakan. Gloriously detuned and pentatonic, this was a fine example of how new technology was allowing the smarter than average drummer to challenge their perceived role in pop. Takahashi certainly provided a heavier, more leftfield sound compared with Hosono’s production work for Idol singers such as Seiko Matsuda.

Available on the SUSAN album ‘Complete’ via Sony Music Japan

http://www.susanweb.jp/


YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Kimi Ni Mune Kyun (1983)

‘Naughty Boys’ was YMO’s most commercial album of their career. This was highlighted by the massively popular and joyous lead single ‘Kimi Ni Mune Kyun’. Takahashi, Hosono and Sakamoto were the oldest J-Pop boy band in town, looking like ARASHI’s great uncles! A YMO vs THE HUMAN LEAGUE EP featuring a remix with new English lyrics and vocals by Phil Oakey was released in 1993. Meanwhile in 2009, the song was the closing theme to the Anime series ‘Maria Holic’, sung by the voice cast.

Available on the YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA album ‘Naughty Boys’ via Alfa Music

http://www.discogs.com/artist/22061-Yellow-Magic-Orchestra


DAVID SYLVIAN & RIUICHI SAKAMOTO Forbidden Colours (1983)

Following a joint single with David Sylvian at the height of JAPAN’s fame entitled ‘Bamboo Music’ in 1982, Sakamoto made his 1983 acting debut alongside David Bowie in ‘Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence’. He also composed the soundtrack with Sylvian providing lead vocals on the single version of the WWII drama’s haunting theme tune. Retitled ‘Forbidden Colours’, the lyrics reflected the taboo love story of the Nagisa Oshima directed film. Since then, the track has been covered in various languages.

Available on the RYUICHI SAKAMOTO album ‘Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence’ via Editions Milan Music / BMG

http://www.davidsylvian.com/


YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA You’ve Got To Help Yourself (1983)

Like the polarising ‘∞Multiplies’ mini-album from 1980, ‘Service’ contained YMO songs alongside various skits, performed by the comedy combo SUPER ECCENTRIC THEATER (SET). Whether the inclusion of the SET material was an ironic act of cultural subversion is a mystery to Western ears, as the sketches were all in Japanese! The best song on ‘Service’ though was the poppy ‘You’ve Got To Help Yourself’ which tellingly had previously featured in instrumental taster form on ‘Naughty Boys’.

Available on the YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA album ‘Service’ via Alfa Music

http://www.factmag.com/2015/01/22/the-essential-yellow-magic-orchestra/


HARUOMI HOSONO Gaplus (1984)

Hosono was one of the first people to acknowledge the appeal of video game sounds and arranged an album containing Namco arcade game music. Simply titled ‘Video Game Music’, it was acknowledged as being the first chiptune record. A subsequent maxi single release ‘Super Xevious’ had Hosono actually composing and performing around original game music by Yuriko Keino and Junko Ozawa. ‘Gaplus’ with its phased gunshots, blips and classical overtones was the undoubted highlight.

Available on the HARUOMI HOSONO EP ‘Super Xevious’ via Scitron Digital Content

http://www.daisyworld.co.jp/


RYUICHI SAKAMOTO featuring THOMAS DOLBY Field Work (1986)

Most of the tracks for what was to become ‘Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia’ were originally recorded in 1984 and as the title suggested, saw Sakamoto exploring a variety of styles and genres including jazz and soca. Initially only released in Japan, the album was altered for the international market with some new tracks. One of these was this great collaboration with Thomas Dolby. Entitled ‘Field Work’, it united both artists’ concerns for the environment.

Available on the RYUICHI SAKAMOTO album ‘Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia’ via 10 / Virgin Records

http://www.thomasdolby.com/


YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI & STEVE JANSEN Stay Close (1986)

Takahashi’s solo albums featured JAPAN’s bassist Mick Karn and drummer Steve Jansen. In 1986, Jansen and Takahashi released a brilliant joint single ‘Stay Close’. Additionally featuring the talents of legendary rhythm guitarist Carlos Alomar, Jansen in particular did a very able impression of his older brother David Sylvian, while Takahashi provided his usual mannered “will he make it – won’t he?” vocals. It remains a true lost classic as possibly the best song that JAPAN and YMO never recorded.

Available on the YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI album ‘Once A Fool…’ via Pony Canyon

http://www.stevejansen.com/


SYLVIAN / SAKAMOTO Heartbeat (1992)

The dreamy ‘Heartbeat (Tainai Kaiki II)’ saw David Sylvian return to give a raw passionate vocal performance which was counterpointed by a whispery spoken word passage from Ingrid Chavez. The two emotionally connected in real life and got married after the recording. More organic than previous Sylvian / Sakamoto collaborations, the bed of the song was Sakamoto-san’s eerie piano and ‘Twin Peaks’ strings, while out of nowhere came a rousing solo from noted jazz guitarist Bill Frisell.

Available on the RYUICHI SAKAMOTO album ‘Heartbeat’ via Virgin Records

https://www.facebook.com/ryuichisakamoto


YMO Pocketful Of Rainbows (1993)

For their comeback album ‘Technodon’, the band were forced to release it under the moniker YMO as the name YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA was owned by former record label Alfa Records. Songs like ‘Hi-tech Hippies’ had more straightforward techno arrangements than any of the trio’s more recent solo work. The album was also sample free to save any potential copyright infringements. ‘Pocket Full Of Rainbows’ was a Japanese language cover of the tune made famous by Elvis Presley in ‘GI Blues’.

Available on the YMO album ‘Technodon’ via Toshiba EMI

https://twitter.com/ymo


RYUICHI SAKAMOTO Anger – Rare Force 2 Meg Remix (1998)

Sakamoto’s soundtrack success led him to sign with Sony Classical. His first work for the label ‘Discord’ was a four movement avant-garde composition exploring dissonant musical structures. Two of the tracks ‘Anger’ and ‘Grief’ were given out to remixers, thus cementing the link Sakamoto had with dance culture since ‘Riot In Lagos’. The aggressive, almost industrial ‘Anger’ was given a dark breakbeat treatment by Skint Records signings RARE FORCE which got the adrenaline pumping.

Available on the RYUICHI SAKAMOTO album ‘Moto.tronic’ via Sony Music

https://twitter.com/ryuichisakamoto


HASYMO Rescue (2007)

Producing a single ‘Rescue’ for the Anime film ‘Appleseed Ex Machina’, Hosono, Sakamoto and Takahashi utilised a leftfield jazz techno sound and the pretty female voice of Chiho Shibaoka. The film’s soundtrack featured two further HASYMO tracks ‘Method’ and ‘Weather’ as well as a large number of solo contributions from Hosono. The recorded reunion put YMO back into the public eye and led to invitations for a variety of prestigious events including Meltdown.

Available on the HASYMO single ‘Rescue’ via Commmons ‎/ Avex Trax

https://myspace.com/hasymo


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has compiled a playlist entitled ‘Yellow Magic Axis’ which features the work of Hosono – Sakamoto – Takahashi in their various guises and productions 🎹🥁🎹🇯🇵  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6RketGtiWJruVvzkY4r3az


Text by Chi Ming Lai
4th June 2015, updated 6th April 2023

Lost Albums: IAN ANDERSON Walk Into Light

“In 1981 or 1982, this digital technology was creeping in and it was clear a sea change was occurring. It would roll over everything and everyone, so you had to be part of it or not. I wanted to give it a go, but no-one else in the band did. It was exciting, musically enjoyable and very quick, but it wasn’t what people expected of JETHRO TULL. I was influenced by Thomas Dolby. He fitted the bill perfectly. He had that credibility… That electronic world was very exciting. Howard Jones was good and Gary Numan was amazing. He nailed it… I saw him on ‘Top Of The Pops’ and wanted to hate him, but I realised how important he was. And he was British!” – Ian Anderson, Word Magazine (April 2012)

Right, first things first, in the interest of full disclosure: I am the token ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK rocker. I love metal (it will always be Maiden before Mode for me), grunge, AOR and most of all Progressive styles of the genre. I say this happily; not for me hiding in a darkened room listening to ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ or ‘The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway’, though parties at my house tend not to be as filled with joyous dancing as say those at site founder Chi Ming Lai’s…

People sneer at Prog due to the, I will agree in places, ludicrous song subjects and lengths, the dressing up and noodling of the players. However also note that the punks that kicked against the musical systems of the mid 70s of which Prog was a cornerstone had as many GENESIS albums in their collections as releases from MC5.

But after punk, many of the classic Prog bands had changed significantly from their heydays. ELP had spectacularly imploded (it’s doubtful though if any band could survive the horror of the sleeve of ‘Love Beach’, let alone the contents of said album), GENESIS and Peter Gabriel had parted company in 1975 and were further dividing with the ongoing solo success of Phil Collins. This would lead to all individual GENESIS parts having their most successful period sales wise and with a move towards the ultimately more commercial sound of the monster selling ‘Invisible Touch’.

YES were once again a bit of a rudderless ship that would come roaring back as a straightforward rock outfit with former member, a certain Mr Trevor Horn at the production helm by the middle of the decade and in the interim Jon Anderson would write and record with fellow Prog musician Vangelis, no mean shakes at creating the odd synth tune himself, with a certain amount of success. Another Anderson, JETHRO TULL’s Ian, was looking to move in another direction in the early part of the decade too.

In 1980, Anderson had been persuaded to release his planned solo album ‘A’ as a Tull album.

The album and resulting tour featured Eddie Jobson, who had replaced Eno in ROXY MUSIC, on keys and was an altogether more current sounding offering. The live video ‘Slipstream’ showcased this perfectly not just on ‘A’ material but also classics such as ‘Locomotive Breath’.

The pieces which lead to the album being examined here fell into place when JETHRO TULL recruited Anderson’s fellow Scot Peter John Vitesse for the 1982 album ‘The Broadsword & The Beast’. This was a more conventional album than ‘A’, albeit with a fair amount of synthesizer work across its tracks. Anderson was fascinated by the possibilities offered by the technology PJV had at his fingertips and began work with him on what would eventually become 1983’s ‘Walk Into Light’.

‘Walk Into Light’ is a bit of a weird album, even for one both from the period and also from the bonkers musical mind of Anderson. As an electronic album from 1983, there are the usual tropes in place (the loneliness brought from technology, disaffected youth and the colourless aspects of that Winter Of Discontent era) but also much that fans of Tull would recognise, some weird time signatures, a smattering of guitar and yes flute!

I bought the album on its release back in 1983 on the strength of an interview with PJV in ‘Electronic & Music Maker’ magazine where he discussed using the Rhodes Chroma and Roland MC-202 sequencers extensively. This very much sounded like my sort of thing and was not disappointed. Opener ‘Fly By Night’ kicks on with arpeggios and sequenced strings before settling into a Linn driven groove complimented by trade mark Anderson flute. With dramatic piano chords and insistent strings and sampled vocal loops this is both accessible and edgy.

‘Made In England’ is the proggiest track on the album with time changes and guitars. Again the trademark flute is there and the vocal delivery is the most Anderson too, with multi-tracked parts and almost but not quite harmonies. Anderson himself is on record saying he feels the album was too cold and could have benefited from some live drumming. By and large I disagree, but do think that this could track could have come alive with some real percussion.

Title track ‘Walk Into Light’ is something Robert Palmer could have easily released around the same time, an excellent pop / rock track with some scat singing on it, now that’s something don’t hear that often, a man with a mighty beard getting his free form jazz vocal stylings on.

‘Trains’ and ‘End Game’ are a taste of what the next JETHRO TULL album ‘Under Wraps’, would sound like although lacking the latter’s guitars. Sequencer driven and spikily electronic, the heartfelt lyrics are sung in a style that work surprisingly well with the musical backing.

The second half of the album is more knowingly electronic. ‘Black & White Television’ muses on modern living even warning that the Suzuki corner boys in the lyric “will still fade to grey…”

‘Toad In The Hole’ and ‘Looking For Eden’ continue the themes of the challenges of modern life underpinned by cold choral sounds and very European bass synth programming. This accuracy that was brought by the technology at hand was part of the attraction for Anderson, as Vitesse explained in that 1983 interview I found so compelling: “The Roland MC-202 kind of frees my hands and we can have an absolutely accurate backing track done even within a few seconds… The way I do this is by writing the music, discussing the part that I should be playing with Ian then entering the pitch data, gate data and the step data and we’ll have an accurate and groovy bass track in the first take!”

Closing pair ‘User Friendly’ and ‘Different Germany’ hint at how the project could have developed if given another run out…

Ian-Anderson-Walk-Into-Light-216515‘Different Germany’ especially embraces both the electronic and progressive sides of Anderson’s career perfectly with a marvelous middle section featuring a bristling keyboard solo. The end result is not unlike JETHRO TULL fronting ULTRAVOX; of course, the circle was completed when Midge Ure covered Tull’s ‘Living In The Past’ in 1985.

So in the grand scheme of things where does ‘Walk Into Light’ sit? Certainly it’s a release anyone interested in synthesizer music should give a listen to, for the list of equipment featured on the sleeve alone (Rhodes Chroma and Expander, Yamaha CP80, Roland JP8, Roland Promars, MC202, Emulator, Linn Drum Computer) and also as a document of a time where the technology on offer was almost but not quite what it would be a year or so later with the advent of MIDI. This is the sound of a time where analogue and digital synths were crossing over.

I haven’t yet mentioned the obvious contemporary comparison, BUGGLES and their pair of releases from around the same time. They too had Prog credentials as former members of YES and harnessed the technology available to make Prog infused pop, to more commercial success. ‘Walk Into Light’ is similar in approach but sits separately in that it lacks the warmth of ‘The Age Of Plastic’ and ‘Adventures In Modern Recording’ that Anderson bemoaned. This does not do it down, as it is the sound of an artist reinventing and finding himself in a new decade.

Moving forward, the acts mentioned at the top of this piece would use the technology available and move their sound in new and exciting directions (I will argue that Tony Banks of GENESIS is the greatest exponent of the synthesizer the UK has produced and dare you to take me up on that!) that would give us classic releases such as YES’s ‘90120’ and Peter Gabriel’s ‘4’ and ‘So’ Albums.

Anderson would continue with JETHRO TULL to ongoing success and return to his more folk roots as the decade progressed. As I say above, ‘Walk Into Light’ is a great might have been and deserves to be celebrated for what it ultimately is, a cracking album.


‘Walk Into Light’ is available on CD and download via EMI Records

http://jethrotull.com/ian-anderson-bio/

http://www.discogs.com/artist/85485-Ian-Anderson


Text by Ian Ferguson
13th January 2015

25 SYNTH SINGLES THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN HITS

peterson-ItalianGrandPrix_1971The late Ronnie Peterson has been acknowledged as one of the fastest Grand Prix drivers of all time, yet he was never crowned World Champion.

Statistics can often not be a good indicator of quality and so it is that sometimes, a great single never actually attained the sales recognition it deserved. This could have been due to timing, lack of interest from a fickle music buying public or even a saturated market.

While some of these lost singles do get forgotten, many become live standards and firm fan favourites. So here are 25 singles from predominantly established acts, or collectives featuring figures who are now well known in the music scene, that did not reach the UK Top 40 Singles Chart. Due to the sheer numbers of songs that are eligible, a cut-off point has been made for when CD singles started to become the norm around 1990.

After much deliberation, it was decided to leave out the work of ASSOCIATES as a number of their songs that would have been contenders for this list were featured in ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s own Beginner’s Guide To Billy MacKenzie. There are of course, several other notable omissions, but this list could go on forever…

So with a restriction of one single per artist moniker, the list is presented in chronological order by year, and then alphabetically…


THE HUMAN LEAGUE Empire State Human (1979)

the-human-league-empire-state-human-virginIt seems unbelievable now that this extremely catchy single failed to be a big hit in an era when synthesizers were being accepted by the wider record buying public. After all, both SPARKS and TUBEWAY ARMY had entered the Top 20 with their Moog assisted ditties. In hindsight though, Colin Thurston’s production did sound comparatively thin next to ‘The Number One Song in Heaven’ and ‘Are Friends Electric?’. Despite a timely re-release in 1980, ‘Empire State Human’ only reached a high of No62.

Available on THE HUMAN LEAGUE album ‘Reproduction’ via Virgin Records

http://www.thehumanleague.co.uk


LORI & THE CHAMELEONS Touch (1979)

Lori--The-Chameleons-Touch---2nd-issue-448240THE CHAMELEONS (not to be confused with the cult Manchester band) were actually Zoo Records supremos Bill Drummond of THE KLF fame and country house resident Dave Balfe who played keyboards with THE TEARDROP EXPLODES. On the beautifully sequenced ‘Touch’, art school student Lori Lartey innocently told of her holiday romance in Tokyo. It spent one week at No70 when re-issued on Sire Records. There was to be just one more single entitled ‘The Lonely Spy’.

Available on the compilation album ‘North By North West’ (V/A) via Korova Records / Warner Music

http://www.penkilnburn.com/


JAPAN Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980)

JAPAN Gentlemen Take PolaroidsAfter three albums with Ariola Hansa, JAPAN decamped to Virgin Records and reached No60 with ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’, their first single release on the label. This should have been considered a promising success, but much more was expected as the band were already playing huge venues such as The Bukodan in Tokyo. It would not be until Autumn 1981 following a cash-in release of ‘Quiet Life’ by their former label that David Sylvian and Co. were to become regular singles chart fixtures.

Full length version available on the JAPAN album ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’ via Virgin Records

http://www.nightporter.co.uk


ROBERT PALMER Johnny & Mary (1980)

robert-palmer-johnny-and-mary-islandThe suave Mr Palmer took an interest in synths having become a fan of GARY NUMAN and JAPAN. ‘Johnny & Mary’ was a beautifully world weary number that hit a high of No44. Palmer was to later have massive success with a more rock flavoured sound while his bank balance was enhanced when ‘Johnny & Mary’ was covered for the ‘Papa et Nicole’ Renault adverts. Bryan Ferry’s reinterpretation with Todd Terje exposed a twilight years scrutiny on the lyrics which sadly, Palmer himself was never able to do….

Available on the ROBERT PALMER album ‘Clues’ via Island Records / Universal Music

http://www.robertpalmer.com/


SIMPLE MINDS I Travel (1980)

SIMPLE MINDS I TravelSIMPLE MINDS were signed to Arista Records between 1979-1980 and like JAPAN, they were met with indifference by their label. ‘I Travel’ was their penultimate single at Arista who threw in a free blue flexidisc featuring ‘Kaleidoscope’ and ‘Film Theme Dub’ as a sweetener to early purchasers. But despite airplay from Rusty Egan at The Blitz Club where its futuristic frenzy was highly welcomed, ‘I Travel’ did not make any chart impact. Arista’s 1982 cash-in reissue of ‘I Travel’ disappeared without trace…

Available on the SIMPLE MINDS album ‘Celebrate: The Greatest Hits’ via Virgin Records

http://www.simpleminds.com


ULTRAVOX Passing Strangers (1980)

ultravox-passing-strangers-chrysalisThings were heading in the right direction for the Mk2 line-up of ULTRAVOX following ‘Sleepwalk’ getting to No29 in the UK chart. Built around a more synth rock structure, ‘Passing Strangers’ had the makings of a bigger hit with a great chorus and a sympathetic environment in which THE HUMAN LEAGUE and DEPECHE MODE were also managing to break through. But the single stiffed at No57 and it would take the massive surprise success of ‘Vienna’ in early 1981 to truly establish ULTRAVOX as a chart force.

Available on the ULTRAVOX album ‘The Collection’ via EMI Records

http://www.ultravox.org.uk


OUR DAUGHTER’S WEDDING Lawnchairs (1981)

OUR DAUGHTERS WEDDING LawnchairsNew York trio OUR DAUGHTER’S WEDDING were one of the new synthpop acts to emerge following Synth Britannia from across the Atlantic and their best known song ‘Lawnchairs’ was a frantic mechanised combination of OMD and GARY NUMAN. Despite gaining regular radio play in the UK, its chart summit was No49. The trio later re-recorded ‘Lawnchairs’ with a more conventional live drum sound, but this template totally took the charm out of the song!

Available on the OUR DAUGHTER’S WEDDING album ‘Nightlife – The Collection’ via EP Music

http://www.synthpunk.org/odw/


SOFT CELL Memorabilia (1981)

SOFT CELL MemorabiliaProduced by Daniel Miller, ‘Memorabilia’ borrowed heavily from CERRONE’s ‘Supernature’ and the funky overtures of James Brown. Released as a 12 inch single in March 1981 but relegated to B-side status on the edited 7 inch format where ‘A Man Could Get Lost’ was the A-side, Almond recalled a list of trashy souvenirs over a linear dance track that were also metaphors for stalking. Dark yet danceable, despite not being a hit, ‘Memorabilia’ would later become citied as an influential proto-house classic.

Available on the SOFT CELL album ‘The Very Best Of’ via Phonogram / Universal Music

http://www.marcalmond.co.uk


BLANCMANGE Feel Me (1982)

BLANCMANGE Feel MeIf Ian Curtis had joined TALKING HEADS, then it might have sounded like this. “On reflection, I always thought it was more David Byrne than Ian Curtis but, there was never any intention” recalled Neil Arthur in 2013, “We hired a Roland Jupiter 8, an ARP sequencer and a Korg MS20 plus a Linn LM-1 which Stephen Luscombe and I programmed up” . Reaching No46, ‘Feel Me’ always had untapped hit potential as FAITHLESS’ reworking using Arthur’s vocals proved.

Available on the BLANCMANGE album ‘Happy Families’ via Edsel Records

http://www.blancmange.co.uk


THOMAS DOLBY Europa & The Pirate Twins (1982)

THOMAS DOLBY EuropaWith its thundering Simmons drums and glistening synth riff, ‘Europa & The Pirate Twins’ was based on a real life romance of Dolby’s: “I had a girlfriend and we used to fantasise that after the apocalypse, wherever we were, we would meet up on this beach in East Anglia where I grew up… I always thought she’d end up being this big movie star or something”. Alas the single was not a Top40 hit, but the song entered the wider consciousness when its intro was used as the theme to BBC Radio1 show ‘Saturday Live’.

Available on the THOMAS DOLBY album ‘The Golden Age Of Wireless’ via EMI Records

http://www.thomasdolby.com


HEAVEN 17 Let Me Go (1982)

HEAVEN 17 Let me goGlenn Gregory and Martyn Ware often cite ‘Let Me Go’ as their favourite HEAVEN 17 song. Propelled by a funky Roland TB303 Bassline in the days before it was hijacked by Acid House, ‘Let Me Go’ had hit written all over it, but stalled at No41. But in a competitive Autumn ‘82 for new releases, even songs that were to become international hits like THOMAS DOLBY’s ‘She Blinded Me With Science’ and EURYTHMICS’ ‘Love Is A Stranger’ (on its initial release) were having difficulties getting into the Top40 as well.

Available on the HEAVEN 17 album ‘The Luxury Gap’ via Virgin Records

http://www.heaven17.com


THE TEARDROP EXPLODES Tiny Children (1982)

Teardrop Explodes - Tiny ChildrenTrip-poppers TX may not have been a synthesizer driven group as such, but this marvellously haunting ballad was layered in Prophet5 courtesy of Dave Balfe while Julian Cope sounded like a distressed little boy, lost in his sunshine playroom. Mercury Records probably thought ‘Tiny Children’ would be a hit following the success of JAPAN’s ‘Ghosts’ but released in June 1982, the sonic chill reminiscent of Copey’s hero Scott Walker was not what people were wanted to hear as they prepared for their summer holidays!

Available on THE TEARDROP EXPLODES album ‘The Greatest Hit’ via Mercury / Universal Music

https://www.headheritage.co.uk/


TEARS FOR FEARS Suffer The Children (1982)

TEARS FOR FEARS Suffer The ChildrenIt’s now strange to think that when TEARS FOR FEARS first appeared, they were trying to emulate OMD. ‘Suffer The Children’ took inspiration from Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal de la Quintana’s interest in Primal Scream therapy while musically, it recalled McCluskey and Humphreys’ ‘Pretending To See The Future’ but with more guitar. The child-like refrain by Ozabal’s wife within the bridge and coda would have actually sounded like an OMD hookline had it been played on synth.

Available on the TEARS FOR FEARS deluxe album ‘The Hurting’ via Mercury / Universal Music

http://tearsforfears.com/


VISAGE Pleasure Boys (1982)

VISAGE Pleasure BoysIn Autumn 1982, VISAGE were in a state of limbo following the departure of Midge Ure. But with John Luongo who had remixed ‘Night Train’ on board, the remaining quartet of Steve Strange, Rusty Egan, Billy Currie and Dave Formula plus new bassist Steve Barnacle explored New York electro. ‘Pleasure Boys’ was hard and aggressive with lyrics full of hedonism. But the New Romantic audience had moved on and sales were only enough for it to get to No44.

Full length dance mix version available on the VISAGE album ‘The Face – The Best Of’ via Universal Music

http://www.visage.cc/


DEAD OR ALIVE Misty Circles (1983)

DEAD OR ALIVE Misty CirclesHave courted the major labels for some time, DEAD OR ALIVE finally settled on Epic Records and unleashed this vicious slice of electro gothic disco in ‘Misty Circles’ as their first single release for them. Featuring guitars from a soon to be sacked Wayne Hussey, who went on to join THE SISTERS OF MERCY and then form THE MISSION, ‘Misty Circles’ had a highly unusual sound produced by Zeus B Held that was initially far darker than the romping Hi-NRG that DEAD OR ALIVE were later to have hits with.

Full length version available on the DEAD OR ALIVE album ‘Evolution’ via Epic Records / Sony Music

http://www.deadoralive.net/


JOHN FOXX Endlessly (1983)

JOHN FOXX EndlesslyBy 1983, JOHN FOXX had moved away from pure electronic music and was now listening to both SIMPLE MINDS and U2. His third solo album ‘The Golden Section’ took on a more pop oriented slant under the auspices of producer Zeus B Held ‘Endlessly’ was initially released in 1982 as a moody Linn drum heavy psychedelic romp and failed to chart. But for the new version, thundering sequencers, Simmons drums and a danced up euphoria were added… however, it still failed to be a hit.

Available on the JOHN FOXX album ‘The Golden Section’ via Esdel Records

http://www.metamatic.com


OMD Telegraph (1983)

OMD-Telegraph‘Electricity’ would have been a hit had its sales not been spread over three separate releases with three different recorded versions between 1979-80. ‘Telegraph’ was Andy McCluskey’s angry metaphoric attack on religious fundamentalism in the United States, but considered to be the most commercial track on OMD’s brave but critically panned nautical adventure ‘Dazzle Ships’. With an infectious synth melody, what was there not to like? But OMD’s audience had diminished by this time and it only got to No42.

Available on the OMD album ‘Dazzle Ships’ via Virgin Records

http://www.omd.uk.com


TALK TALK My Foolish Friend (1983)

TALK TALK My Foolish FriendBrilliantly produced by Rhett Davies who was best known for his slick touches on ROXY MUSIC’s ‘Avalon’, ‘My Foolish Friend’ was the last TALK TALK song to feature contributions from their original keyboardist Simon Brenner. Released in the interim between ‘The Party’s Over’ and ‘It’s My Life’ albums as a single, Mark Hollis was in wonderfully miserable mode over a dramatic synthesized backdrop. The single became lost when it only reached No57 and was not included on the ‘It’s My Life’ long player.

Available on the TALK TALK album ‘Asides Besides’ via EMI Music

http://www.spiritoftalktalk.com


THE BLUE NILE Tinseltown In The Rain (1984)

blue_nile-tinseltown_in_the_rain-frontA classic song that sounded like THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS fronting OMD, ‘Tinseltown In The Rain’ is regarded as THE BLUE NILE’s signature tune. From the album ‘A Walk Across The Rooftops’ that was released as part of a deal with hi-fi manufacturer Linn Products to showcase their flagship Sondek LP12 turntable, the gorgeous melancholy of ‘Tinseltown In the Rain’ had an understated quality that ensured the trio’s sporadic releases over the next 20 years were eagerly anticipated by the musical cognoscenti.

Full length version available on THE BLUE NILE album ‘A Walk Across The Rooftops’ via Virgin Records

http://www.thebluenile.net


CHINA CRISIS Arizona Sky (1986)

china-crisis-arizona-sky-virginLiverpudlian combo CHINA CRISIS are probably the most under rated band of their generation. Lyrically inspired by an artificially assisted gondola ride in Venice, ‘Arizona Sky’ was one of their many singles which deserved greater recognition. The nucleus of Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon usually managed at least one hit per album but with the wonderful ‘Arizona Sky’, it was not to be. It settled at No47 despite the song’s brilliant singalong chorus, infectious synthesized textures and catchy “bop-bop-be-doo-dah” refrain.

Full length version available on the CHINA CRISIS album ‘Wishful Thinking: The Very Best Of’ via Universal Music

https://www.facebook.com/pages/China-Crisis/295592467251068


ERASURE Oh L’Amour (1986)

Erasure_-_Oh_L'amour“Why are they doing a DOLLAR song?” someone was overheard at their first visit to an ERASURE concert. And this ultimately sums up why ‘Oh L’Amour’ should have been a massive hit. Its now highly collectable ‘Thomas The Tank Engine’ cover had to be withdrawn due to copyright infringement and wouldn’t have helped availability. However, it should be noted that the original artwork does not actually feature Thomas The Tank Engine, but two incidental characters from the Reverend W Audrey’s famous books!

Available on the ERASURE album ‘Always – The Very Best Of’ via Mute Records

http://www.erasureinfo.com


NEW ORDER Bizarre Love Triangle (1986)

NEW ORDER Bizarre fac163One of NEW ORDER’s best loved tunes, ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ only reached No56 in the UK Chart as a single. However, the version released for 45 RPM consumption was an irritating, dance enhanced remix by Shep Pettibone which took all the subtlety out of the song with its collage of overdriven percussive samples. Far better and much more commercial was an at-the-time unreleased remix by Stephen Hague which later formed the basis of the ’94 version on ‘(the best of)’ compilation.

Available on the NEW ORDER album ‘Singles’ via Rhino Records

http://www.neworder.com


ACT Snobbery & Decay (1987)

act-snobbery-and-decay-ztt-1It was the height of Thatcherism and the Synclavier driven theatrics of ‘Snobbery & Decay’ were a sharp observation by Claudia Brücken and Thomas Leer on the state of the nation. However, the UK were not yet ready for an Anglophile German to tell them about its political decline… “No sadly they didn’t” remembered Claudia Brücken in Summer of 2010, “perhaps it was just not the right moment for this song… Thomas does think that perhaps we were ahead of our time”.

Available on the CLAUDIA BRÜCKEN album ‘ComBined – The Best Of’ via Salvo / Union Square Records

http://www.claudiabrucken.co.uk


KRAFTWERK The Telephone Call (1987)

kraftwerk-the-telephone-call-emiThe last single featuring the classic RFWK line-up, ‘The Telephone Call’ was the most immediate track on the disappointing ‘Electric Cafe’ album. Featuring lead vocals from Karl Bartos, despite the abundance of digital synthesis and sampling, ‘The Telephone Call’ still had all the usual Kling Klang hallmarks such as pretty melodies, syncopated rhythms and slightly off-key singing to make this to ‘Electric Cafe’ what ‘Computer Love’ was to 1981’s ‘Computer World’ opus.

Available on the KRAFTWERK album ‘Techno Pop’ via Mute Records

http://www.kraftwerk.com


CAMOUFLAGE The Great Commandment (1988)

camouflage-the-great-commandment-atlanticIn today’s world, DEPECHE MODE influenced acts are common place but in 1989, this was highly unusual. Taking ‘Some Great Reward’ as their template, CAMOUFLAGE developed on the industrial flavoured synthpop of ‘Master & Servant’ and ‘People Are People’ which the Basildon boys had all but abandoned from ‘Black Celebration’ onwards. ‘The Great Commandment’ was probably the best single DM never recorded but while it was a hit in Europe and the US, it made no impression in Britain.

Available on the CAMOUFLAGE album ‘The Singles’ via Polydor Records / Universal Music

http://www.camouflage-music.com/


Text by Chi Ming Lai
3rd January 2015, updated 15th April 2018

Carry On Synthpop: SYNTHESIZER PATEL

Look Around You’ was a BBC2 comedy series which parodied vintage schools TV programmes like ‘Experiment’ and shows such as ‘Tomorrow’s World’ which showcased new advances in science and technology.

In its heyday, ‘Tomorrow’s World’ featured a number of musical items, famously introducing the Moog Modular in 1969 and KRAFTWERK in 1975. There were later also items on the Fairlight CMI and an in-studio piece with producer Stephen J Lipson demonstrating the Synclavier during an ACT recording session with Claudia Brücken.

‘Look Around You’ and its first series of eight 10-minute shorts was shown in 2002 while a second series of six 30-minute episodes broadcast in 2005. The first programme in Series 2 was entitled ‘Music 2000’ and featured a synth enthusiast named Synthesizer Patel, played by Glaswegian actor Sanjeev Kohli.

The inventor of the Easitone ‘Play-In-A-Day’ 50, Synthesizer Patel discusses the amazing possibilities of the synthesizer but bemoans its inability to recreate the sound of the bassoon; this was to become a running gag throughout the series.

The episode featured a ‘Top of the Pops’ styled introduction, even using Phil Lynott’s 1981 theme tune ‘Yellow Pearl’ for added authenticity to its period set piece. There was also a song contest in the episode where songs for the imagined futureworld such as ‘Machadaynu’, ‘Theoretical Physicist’ and ‘The Rapping Song’ were entered.

Sending up the straight laced but almost patronising nature of programmes of that era, ‘Look Around You’ also featured another musical item on the boîte diabolique which was a box at the top of a piano scale that housed “the 19 forbidden notes”. Although Sanjeev Kohli only appeared briefly as Synthesizer Patel, he became a cult figure within the electronic music community.

An eyewitness reported that when Kohli went to see Thomas Dolby play a gig at the Glasgow Film Theatre and met the synth pioneer afterwards, Dolby was so excited that he asked to have a photo taken with Kohli! Meanwhile, Hannah Peel and Helen Marnie are among his Twitter followers.

So please remember the best piece of advice from Synthesizer Patel… activate the burglar alarms on your synths “because crime’s so bloody bad and these b*stards, they steal your synthesizers!”

Sanjeev Kohli kindly took time out from a busy schedule to answer a few questions about Synthesizer Patel.

How was the character conceived?

You would have to ask the writers / producers / stars Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz.

All I know is that they auditioned quite a few people for it, so I was incredibly chuffed to get the part. ‘Look Around You’ Series 1 was outstanding, beautifully observed and wonderfully absurd – in fact I had bought the DVD about a week before I got the call for the audition. I would have called it fate, but I don’t believe in that sh*t.

Were you a fan of synthesizers before this and what synth bands did you like?

I do play the keyboards a bit. Very badly. Bruno Martelli ruined synths for many of my generation. I got a Yamaha for my 20th birthday which my kids play on now. And yes it has a bossanova function, which is GREAT for dinner parties. My big hero was Jon Lord from DEEP PURPLE – mainly for his Hammond work, but he unveiled a Moog around 1973. In terms of Synth Bands, I would plump for DEPECHE MODE, OMD, KRAFTWERK and Moroder. And, of course, GIRAFFE. Word of advice to OMD; if you want to make an impact on the whatever generation, change your name to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Gark.

What inspired Synthesizer Patel’s obsession with bassoons and alarms?

Again, you’d have to ask Robert and Peter. I think maybe they’d seen an oblique reference to it in a documentary. As in a guy who actually took steps against synth theft. (I may have got this completely wrong. I inadvertently started that whole ‘Bob Holness was Marilyn Manson’ thing, which was actually a misheard conversation)

Do you actually have a favourite synthesizer?

I couldn’t be more of a synth interloper, but I’m going to say the Minimoog. Three oscillators? I think so!

Synthesizer Patel only ever appeared on a few occasions. When did you realise he had become a bit of a cult hero?

When the band WILCO namechecked him in a song ‘You Never Know’ and then asked me to join them on stage in character at the Royal Festival Hall. Doesn’t get any better than that. They even sourced me a keytar, which keyboard player Mikael Jorgensen ‘Tronned up’ with fluorescent tape. I fired imaginary laser beams from the neck of the keytar into the audience… 90% of whom, I explained to the band, probably had no idea who Synthesizer Patel was and thought I was either care in the community or a genuine alien.

What happened when you met Thomas Dolby?

Went to see him performing in Glasgow. Great gig. Bought a CD from him in the foyer. A lovely, friendly fella. Naturally he had no idea who I was.

Do you think the Synthesizer Patel character could have evolved? What do you think he would be doing in 2014?

He would constantly be trying to make futuristic music, but because of the great technological leaps in the last 10 years, he would find this harder and harder. By this point his music would only be futuristic by about a week. He would also still be trying to make gaseous music – an ongoing project – while still gigging in the Bedfordshire area with his band ATTACK SUSTAIN DECAY RELEASE.


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Sanjeev Kohli

Special thanks also to Ian Ferguson

’Look Around You’ Complete BBC Series 1 and Complete BBC Series 2 are available on DVD via 2 Entertain Video

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/lookaroundyou/people/patel.shtml

https://twitter.com/govindajeggy


Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
18th March 2014

THOMAS DOLBY The Invisible Lighthouse

thomas-dolby-virus“Since I was a small child, I have fallen asleep at night to the soothing periodic flash of the light on my bedroom wall”.

Former TED Talk music director and pop music maestro THOMAS DOLBY‘s ‘The Invisible Lighthouse’ tour is beaming its way around the UK, bringing Dolby’s love letter to a condemned lighthouse in Suffolk to a cinema perhaps near you.

It’s not only a filmic experience however – Dolby is providing a live soundtrack, selecting tracks from his back catalogue which harmonise with the theme of the sea and the countryside, pointing out for all but the most fanatical of fans the thematic narrative which exists through all of his work.

Dolby’s recent album ‘A Map Of The Floating City’ showed this strong affinity for the aquatic to be closer than ever to Dolby’s heart. In fact, his studio is now housed in a converted boat off the coast of East Anglia.

This film, a paen to childhood memory, the lighthouse of Orford Ness, and a bittersweet acknowledgement that the coast of his childhood is disappearing, takes the coastal theme and develops it into a visual meditation on time and the sea. ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK spoke with TMDR about the past, technology, and the new golden age of synthesis.

The lighthouse has been used symbolically over many years to represent a dream-like place, the edge of the world. What symbolism does it hold for you as a creative inspiration?

A lighthouse is used by mariners to guide ships to safety, to reassure them by showing where they are on a stormy night. Knowing where you are on land serves a great purpose: there’s something comforting about being on land within the beam of a lighthouse. Also many lighthouses have been there for hundreds of years so there’s a sense of security about that constancy. Also for me the mechanism of the lighthouse is so fascinating. It’s old technology in many ways, but has survived all this time. I think anyone who is into electronic music has a certain reverence for old technology.

Do you find any inspiration in the constant rhythm of a light house? Do you think it might be something you brought with you into adulthood subconsciously?

There is, I think a lot of the sound of industry – mechanical and electrical pulses – in electronic music. THE HUMAN LEAGUE talk about how growing up in Sheffield was an influence, particularly on their early music. There is a definite correlation with rhythmic pulses in mechanics and music. I think anything repetitive in the environment that a mechanical pulse is going to feel like it influences recent generations of electronic music musicians.

invisible lighthouseThe lighthouse keeper lives a remote life away from society – has that notion of the Lighthouse keeping recluse been attractive to you? Do you feel as a musician you might live a similar life?

The image of the lighthouse keeper – you can’t get more hermit-like than the lighthouse keeper.

Ironically, there are almost no lighthouse keepers around the British Isles any more – the lighthouses are now all automated. In a naive sense I hoped that when they turned off the light house on Orford Ness, some old man with a beard would come out and pull a lever and the connection would be closed. No chance! In Trinity House at the General Lighthouse Authority HQ it’s all very high tech: someone taps a few keys on a computer and it’s extinguished forever in something as simple as a few keystrokes. I am pretty introverted, but I think it’s enough that I work in a studio off the coast in a converted ship’s life boat in East Anglia. I don’t think my wife would agree with to living in a lighthouse.

This piece is a tribute to the lighthouse – to your memories of it when you were young. Does your fond association with older technology come out in this piece? Was the technology a consideration in creating the score? Did you tap the mad scientist within?

It’s really a romantic piece not a technical piece. My relationship with technology is really that it’s a means to an end. I’m not a gadget freak who is into technology itself – it’s what it opens up for me artistically. I think when you see the film you see a very personal and individualistic view of the light house and what it means to me and has meant to the neighbourhood I grew up in. I think it is a love letter to Suffolk and the area around Orford Ness with the lighthouse at its centre.

You used a lot of gadgetry to make the film though – allowing you to make the film yourself…

I have no problem balancing the technological aspects of the production – it doesn’t become all about that. Even though in filming I used a kit spy camera, a quadracopter, a go pro and did the digital editing myself on a laptop, it is all just about facilitating the power to tell the story of the lighthouse – it really is more of a lyrical poetic piece.

It sounds like technology is integral to what you do – and certainly at times you have written about older technology in your music. Would it be fair to say that your relationship with technology crosses into the emotional, even the nostalgic, from time to time?

It’s a layer I pass through to get to where I’m going creatively. When new technology comes along I love being one of the first people to dive in there and explore new possibilities. I’m certainly not afraid to make a tit of myself in trying. My father was an Archaeologist and was a specialist in Greek pots. The first times I travelled with him to a dig were in my teens and early 20s. I travelled around the Med with him, and at that point I realised that what really floated his boat was the history, poetry and storytelling behind the pots.

The history of the ancient Greeks was not written down, it was passed along by verbal means and they were deeply religious and superstitious. To get to that knowledge he had to pass through a layer of pots – it wasn’t about the pots themselves. As I came to realise, there are parallels in my writing – I deal with technology and electronics to get to the core of the piece, which is the emotional aspect of the stories I tell.

What are you interested in, in examining what is below the surface and through the creative process?

dolby-coastlineI’m interested in humans and the planet, and in reflecting what I see in the planet. To hold up a mirror to humanity is the main job of an artist.

I could have done it as a novelist or painter or composer: but I do it by working across a range of different media. Often I’ll take on board new media as a new way to hold up that mirror.

For many users of electronic music technology, there’s a love affair with the synthesizer itself, and this has become particularly pronounced in the last few years with the increasing range and reasonable pricing of modular. Have you been caught up in modular fever?

Certainly less than I used to be. I think it’s great that it has become accessible to a wide range of people, and now you don’t have to be a rich rock star or work for the electronic music department of a University to get your hands on it. Now if you want to use a synth you can download an iPhone or Android app to simulate vintage synths for you. You get to do all that exploration without the downside of how heavy and awkward it is, and without the outlay. No more huge boxes to cart in and out of transit vans… so it’s great that it’s opened up to a wider range of people. But do I get the same joy out of it now? No, quite frankly. I’ve been there and done that. I’ll use it as a tool where necessary today but I’m more interested in moving on to the next area of technology.

And what is that for you?

The same thing that happened with sythesizers is now happening with film. Before now, if you wanted to make a film you’d need a crew and lots of expensive gear, but now you can do it all yourself for a few hundred pounds worth of consumer kit. Now that there is this affordable kit stories like my lighthouse story will get told by individuals, by people like myself. These stories never would have gotten told if they had to go through the studio system and tv hierarchy, and there are so many fascinating stories to be told.

Have you been planning another film piece now that ‘The Invisible Lighthouse’ has been made?

I haven’t thought beyond this project so far, but I love the ability to use film as one more tool in my future projects. I see this film, music and tour all as a part of the ‘Floating City’ part of my career.

There’s a whole world that has been created online and through the computer game, and this film sets out the geography of that world and the environment responsible for the music you hear on the album. Finishing this film and tour will complete the ‘Floating City’ cycle and then I can move on.

Aren’t you able to work on anything new until this is finished?

No – I’m a lot more linear in how I work. I tend to have a single focus at any point in time.

You’ve selected a range of songs from the early days of your career to now: how do they fit with the theme of ‘The Invisible Lighthouse’?

There are a couple of really old songs from 1980-ish and several from recent albums – my whole back catalogue contains themes which are a continuum that runs through my songs. I think hardcore fans recognise some of those repeating characters and themes in my music. But it would be fair to say that what all the songs in this film have in common is that they’re all very influenced and touched by the countryside and atmosphere of the coast in Suffolk where I lived.

How do you feel about your early songs? Do you find them more difficult to be enthusiastic about now? Do you ever feel reluctant to play ‘She Blinded Me With Science’ or ‘Hyperactive’ for example?

I’ve always felt very comfortable with songs from my past, and I’m very proud of everything I’ve done. Sure, there are some nights when I choose to play slightly different songs, sometimes less obvious crowd pleasers, songs which weren’t commercial hits. My hardcore fans don’t talk about ‘Hyperactive’, they talk about ‘Airwaves’ or ‘Screen Kiss’ Some audiences clearly want to hear the hits, and I’m not ashamed to play them

Do you feel there’s a strong enough thread running through the music for people who aren’t your fans to pick it up?

The other day I played at The Eden Project and an elderly couple who looked quite out of place were there. It turned out they had read about the show in a Cornish newspaper, so they had come to see me because they also felt a bond with that coast line.

Did they appreciate your music?

When we played ‘Hyperactive’ they got up and left. *laughs*

But, honestly, this project has introduced many new people to my music, and it’s a delight to play to people who have no expectations or knowledge. My hardcore audience tend to be delighted with whatever I choose to play, and that doesn’t feel the same as winning over new fans from scratch.

For the US shows you’ve chosen to work with a visual ‘Foley’ artist Blake Leyh to manipulate your soundtrack with effects. You also worked with him on the London show. What made you decide to bring him into the project?

I’ve known and collaborated with Blake for a number of years. He’s a very celebrated sound designer from New York. We were talking about the show and he said has always liked the idea of doing sound design live like the ‘Foley’ artists of the old days would do in Hollywood movies. He wasn’t able to do the UK tour unfortunately but will do the US tour. It will be interesting to see how he fleshes out my sound. It will be like playing with other musician live.

Do you find collaboration easy or difficult? Are you a control freak about your own music or relaxed in working with other people?

I’m quite controlling in that I’m quite able to arrange all of my sounds myself without outside help, and I have strong opinions about how it should go together. But in working with other musicians that’s pointless and not satisfying for any of us so I have to relinquish control somewhat and let people be themselves – or else why hire them?


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to THOMAS DOLBY

With thanks to Tracy Gosling PR

THOMAS DOLBY’s ‘The Invisible Lighthouse’ Tour featuring a screening with live narration and musical soundtrack linking songs from various stages of his career continues at: Liverpool FACT Cinema (22nd Sept), Cambridge Picturehouse (25th September), Edinburgh Cameo Picturehouse (29th September), Nottingham Broadway Cinema (2nd October), Derby QUAD Cinema (3rd October), Sheffield Showroom Cinema (4th October)

The tour also extends to The United States, please visit www.thomasdolby.com for more details

https://www.facebook.com/officialthomasdolby

https://twitter.com/ThomasDolby


Text and Interview by Nix Lowrey
21st September 2013

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