“I don’t like country & western, I don’t like rock music… I don’t like rockabilly! I don’t like much really do I? But what I do like, I love passionately!!”: CHRIS LOWE
Celebrating the 35th anniversary of his debut album ‘Humans Lib’ and with a promise that he will be “bringing a lot of synths”, Howard Jones will be touring UK theatres this May.
The tour will also see the launch of his brand new album ‘Transform’, his first since 2015’s ‘Engage’ multi-media project. A practicing Buddhist for over 20 years, the album’s concept outlines “the idea that if we want to change the world for the benefit of everyone, first we have to start with ourselves.”
From it comes a sparklingly catchy new single ‘Hero In Your Eyes’ which reflects the long player’s distinctly classic feel with sequencers and feel good beats galore.
In some ways, ‘Hero In Your Eyes’ captures a similarly soulful style to the recent SOFT CELL comeback song ‘Northern Lights’. While there are aesthetic references to the past, ‘Tin Man’ is catchy synthpop for the 21st Century.
In the accompanying visual presentation, our hero is seen reminiscing on his career with archive footage projected over him; but the stars of the video undoubtedly are his Moog Prodigy, Roland TR808, Sequential Circuits Pro-One and Roland Jupiter 8, perhaps the four instruments most associated with his imperial years.
In a spirit of collaboration, ‘Transform’ includes three tracks featuring American producer and synth enthusiast BT, best known for his dance hit ‘Flaming June’ with Paul Van Dyk and producing NSYNC’s ‘Pop’. Of course, Howard Jones had his own flirtation with contemporary pop by co-writing and co-producing ‘Blue’ for SUGABABES in 2002.
The album also features the previously released 2016 Schaffel synth stomper ‘Eagle Will Fly Again’ from ‘Fly’, the various artists soundtrack souvenir of the ‘Eddie The Eagle’ biopic and the excellent taster single ‘Beating Mr Neg’, a rallying cry against negativity.
Despite being just a year short of receiving his bus pass, Howard Jones retains his positive zest for life to inspire creativity, something that has ensured him a loyal following for three and a half decades.
With grateful thanks to Asher Alexander at Republic Media
Howard Jones 2019 35th Anniversary ‘Transform’ tour with special guests CHINA CRISIS includes:
Birmingham Symphony Hall (23rd May), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (24th May), London Palladium (25th May), Cardiff St David’s Hall (26th May), Leicester De Montfort Hall (29th May), Manchester Bridgewater Hall (30th May), Edinburgh Queens Hall (31st May), Gateshead Sage (1st June)
Introducing the third part of Torsten’s highs and lows, the celebrated ERASURE frontman tackles the task described previously as the biggest challenge of his career. ‘Torsten In Queereteria’ wraps up the triptych, following ‘Torsten The Bareback Saint’ and ‘Torsten The Beautiful Libertine’, where the story of the age defying polysexual is sung with the angelic Bell’s voice.
Written as a collaboration between Bell, poet / playwright Barney Ashton-Bullock and the musical genius of Christopher Frost, the Torsten productions enjoyed viewings during The Edinburgh Fringe Festival and a four week run at Above The Stag Theatre in London respectively.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK had the pleasure to chat to Andy Bell again to discover what the Torsten plays brought into his artistic life…
The first Torsten shows back in 2014 were presented to very limited audiences, with many not knowing it was ERASURE’S Andy Bell, ‘The Beautiful Libertine’, however, picked up a wider crowd?
I think perhaps the word had started to spread that is was something completely different from what people associated me with, it’s quite hard to break away from the pop mould and takes perseverance but once I’d signed up to the project you must see it through Barney and Chris are very talented and Above the Stag have been very generous with their time!
After the first shows, did you have a feeling you did something very right?
I wouldn’t say whether it was right or wrong but I have faith in the songs and the concept.
And then came the continuations, with the latest being the third in the series… will this be the last part of Torsten’s story?
I don’t imagine this will be the last we’ve heard of Torsten as long as Barney keeps him alive.
A couple of years ago we spoke about the braveness of the content of Torsten’s songs, and the fact some people were quite uncomfortable with the “close to the bone” references. Do you feel the audiences will have come to accept the highs and lows of Torsten’s by his third outing?
I think the state of the world has become a lot open as if with the internet the genie has been let out of the bottle so to speak so people are less afraid to discuss intimate subjects.
Inevitably many see Torsten in you, and maybe that’s what’s making it harder?
Well, I suppose there is some of him in me but I still wouldn’t like to discover the “fountain of youth”!
What did Vince think of the Torsten plays?
I’m not sure if he’s ever seen the stage version but he describes me as fearless… he doesn’t know how much I quake underneath.
And in the meantime, ERASURE rose to greater heights with the superb ‘World Be Gone’… unusually so, you showcased the album in its entirety alongside some of the top hits during your live performances, a very brave move…
I think we never want to be a cliché and try different things you have to take the long route and go against the grain, it’s harder work sometimes but well worth the effort.
Would you say the world has moved on since the first Torsten and his character would be more understood now, in 2019?
Definitely but probably in either direction its more extreme now.
The latest Torsten is divided into four acts, what was the idea behind this particular approach?
That’s just the running order to make the songs more palatable and understood.
All three productions don’t shy from flowery, at times vulgar and obscene language. Torsten’s story is as real as it gets…
I think it’s probably very reminiscent of medieval London.
After the first instalment of Torsten, you felt you wouldn’t be able to get on with someone like him in real life. Having now completed the cycle, would you say you know and understand the character deeper?
I think he’s a lot more knowing and considerate than I gave him credit for you’d say that life’s too short but for him it’s the opposite way round.
The talents of Andy Bell don’t end there, though. What’s next for you?
More writing with Vince and some retro ‘Lets Rock’ solo shows.
As with the previous shows, the soundtrack is being released as an album, will there be a remix version too? As a little birdie tells me you invited Mark and Rob from SHELTER to do a remix of one of the tracks?
I think there will be!
Maybe it’s time for another solo pop project now?
I can’t decide whether to do something more orchestral or Northern Soulish. X
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Andy Bell
Special thanks to Sharon Chevin at The Publicity Connection and Matt Ingham at Cherry Red
Andy Bell stars in “Queereteria TV” at Above The Stag Theatre from 10th April to 28th April 2019, this is a musical comedy set in a post apocalypse Britain where three egotistical misfits attempt to reinstate live TV transmissions from the infamous ‘Queereteria’ cruising club. It also stars Peter Straker alongside the other two members of ‘Andy Bell is Torsten’ collective, Barney Ashton-Bullock and Christopher Frost – tickets available from: http://www.abovethestag.com/vxl/whatson/torsten/
May sees the release of ‘Orchesography’, an album of orchestra-backed re-imaginings of WANG CHUNG’s best known songs.
The album sees core members Jack Hues and Nick Feldman reunited for the first time since 2012’s ‘Tazer Up!’ and features new versions of staples like ‘Dance Hall Days’ and ‘Everybody Have Fun Tonight’ alongside The Walking Dead featured ‘Space Junk’ and other selections.
Jack Hues kindly spoke about the band’s early years, Hollywood soundtrack experiences and of course, their ‘Dance Hall Days’…
It’s a little known fact that HEAVEN 17’s Glenn Gregory used to be in a band with you prior to you guys forming WANG CHUNG, how did the first incarnation of the band get together?
Glenn Gregory was with us in 57 MEN which was in fact the second incarnation of mine and Nick’s projects together. The first was THE INTELLEKTUALS. I can’t remember how we met Glenn. Word of mouth I think. At that time, Nick and I thought of ourselves as writers really, rather than performers, and Glenn was quite glamorous and could sing….
Were you disheartened that your eponymous debut album failed to make much of an impact?
Probably… but because we hadn’t known “success”, for want of a better word, we didn’t know we didn’t have it… so we just kept going. Also, as an artist, your work is a sort of catalogue of errors so you are not sitting back thinking “this is going to have a big impact”. That first album was such an incredibly steep learning curve, I just wanted to apply the lessons learned to making the next one.
Your breakthrough second album saw you working with Chris Hughes and Ross Cullum who also produced TEARS FOR FEARS’ ‘The Hurting’. ‘Points On A Curve’ was released a few months after that, how did the pair juggle the work on the two projects and what did you learn from working with them?
Chris and Ross had completed their work with TEARS FOR FEARS so we had their full attention. Working with them was a quantum leap for me and gave me an entirely new way of thinking about music and life. I learnt how to watch television and then talk about it, I learnt how to talk to a sommelier, the best Italian restaurants in London, how any food that is shrink wrapped is not worth eating, that making records takes a long time.
The album was recorded at Abbey Road studio, how was this experience?
Growing up listening obsessively to THE BEATLES as I did, it was a dream come true, quite literally. I loved working there and Chris and Ross were fully aware of what we were doing. I recall it as a magical time.
When you wrote ‘Dance Hall Days’, did you have any inkling of what an important track it would be for you?
No, it was just the next song I was writing. But in retrospect I think I was absorbing so many new influences at that time – really hungry for change and to reach the next level – I was creating the music but the music was also creating me. So the experience with creative work is never a straight line of intention to planned outcome but more like a feedback loop.
There were two different promos made for ‘Dance Hall Days’, the first directed by filmmaker Derek Jarman and the second by Daniel Kleinman. What was the reason for this and do you have a favourite out of the two?
We were signed in the US to Geffen Records in Los Angeles – we weren’t signed in the UK – and when the Americans saw Derek’s video they couldn’t deal with it! So we had to make a “proper” rock video. It was a different time! I liked working with Derek. Again he was a fascinating person, talked about art and literature and theatre and movies in a totally new way for me. He was an artist and very inspiring.
What did you think when ‘Dance Hall Days’ appeared as accompanying music for the male stripper scene in the lesser known Tom Hanks film ‘Bachelor Party’?
I thought, that’s a nice synch…
The Godley & Creme directed ‘Everybody Have Fun Tonight’ promo was interesting, innovative and possibly dangerous if you were epileptic! What were your memories of making this?
I remember the video for ‘Fire In The Twilight’ from ‘The Breakfast Club’ entailed me running through West Hollywood all day, so ‘EBHFT’ was a lot easier as I had to sing the song to camera 7 times and move as little as possible. They were interesting guys to work with. They had just made a documentary about the JFK assassination and showed us the trailer which was very powerful. It was a fun video to make and I liked their rigorous way of working.
‘Everybody Have Fun Tonight’ made a big impact in the US and was in the 1997 film ‘Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion’ alongside ‘Dance Hall Days’, did you see this as a sort of artistic vindication after the challenges in the UK?
I never had any sense of needing vindication in the UK or anywhere else. In a way, working in the USA and coming home to my family here and being relatively anonymous was a good scenario. I never felt we were struggling to make it in the UK. It was what it was.
Director William Friedkin was incredibly influential in bringing greater exposure to artists like TANGERINE DREAM and MIKE OLDFIELD by using their music in his films. It must have been an incredible break to get asked to write music for ‘To Live & Die In LA’ in 1985, how did this happen?
It certainly was. Bill phoned us out of the blue at a time when we were struggling with the follow-up to ‘Points On The Curve’. I had an hour long conversation on the phone with him – we were in London and he was in LA. Essentially he was a big fan of ‘Points On The Curve’ and loved the song ‘Wait’. He was using that as a temp track to watch the day’s rushes and he told me he wanted an hour of music like that that he would then edit into the movie.
So Nick and I hired a little studio in London and did all the instrumental tracks – without seeing the movie! When you watch the opening credits the tempo of our music and the speed of the printing press are almost identical. That was a complete coincidence! Just one of those magical projects where everything fell into place. Working with Bill was amazing and he remains a good friend to this day.
Friedkin’s work with soundtrack composers (and actors) was often notoriously unorthodox, how was the working process with him?
He gave us complete freedom to do what we did best. Like all great collaborative artists, he knows how to get what he wants but doesn’t limit you to his will. He gets right out of the way and somehow attracts what he wants – like Miles Davis. As I said, we were not writing music to picture. He actually edited the picture to the music in places – which is the best way to work. Movies that do that have a much better pace than those that have scores that slavishly try to keep up with the action. He was extremely generous to us and encouraging.
How would you compare writing film soundtrack music to the construction of normal album?
To the extent that soundtrack music doesn’t require lyrics it is much more free. It is very different from making a normal album. Much more freedom to experiment – however the discipline of a song based album can induce creative solutions in the studio. I wouldn’t want to be without either. We were definitely thinking of music on a bigger scale with ‘To Live & Die In LA’.
The song ‘Space Junk’ works superbly at the end of the pilot episode of ‘The Walking Dead’ (and also in lead actor Rick’s final episode, bringing things full circle); how did this particular song find its home here?
Again it was unexpected. ‘Space Junk’ was a bonus track we recorded for a Greatest Hits album in 1998. It’s a great song but received no attention at the time. Frank Darabont, the director of ‘The Walking Dead’, apparently loved the song and always imagined it as the music to the final scene of Episode 1. So we were very fortunate to once again have the attention of a great director.
‘Tazer Up’ brought an end to an almost 20 year hiatus, what focused the band to get back in the studio again?
Various business things came up in the mid-noughties. Nick stopped working in A&R and was therefore more available. I had done a couple of jazz records and so was more ready to do WANG CHUNG again. Nick and I remained great friends through the hiatus so it was nice to think about working together again. Plus we had a bunch of good songs lying around so recording them with Adam Wren (with whom we had recorded ‘Space Junk’) was an exciting prospect. And some touring opportunities came up, so fate drew us back on the WANG CHUNG trail.
‘Tazer Up’ has some superb songs on it like ‘Let’s Get Along’ and ‘Rent Free’, has there been a typical songwriting process within the band?
Thank you! There isn’t a typical process. We rarely write together these days but we “get” each other and critique each other, make suggestions.
The ‘Grand Theft Auto’ computer game franchise seems to be the de rigueur way of introducing kids to classic pop music. How did you feel when ‘Dance Hall Days’ was featured on the Flash FM channel in ‘Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’ game and have you seen an impact on your fanbase by having it featured here?
Yes, it brought a whole new generation to our music. It was incredibly important in getting into that new generation’s consciousness and I’m sure is significant in accounting for the continuing popularity of 80’s music in movies and with new bands.
With streaming being the main outlet for public consumption of music these days, WANG CHUNG don’t have much material on platforms such as Spotify, is there a specific reason for this?
Neglect – but we are remedying this. This year will see the re-release of deluxe editions of all our albums from the 80’s including our first album, ‘Huang Chung’ and the noughties’ ‘Tazer Up!’ And of course our new orchestral album.
With A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS and VISAGE all bringing out orchestral albums, was there one particularly that influenced you to bring out your own?
We know Mike Score from A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS and he was enthusiastic about his experience. It just seemed a good thing to do in and of itself.
John Bryan who runs August Day, the label that has done these projects in the past is a good guy and drives us along to get things done. It’s been an enjoyable process and a fabulous opportunity.
What were the challenges of re-recording the songs for the album?
Singing them was a challenge! Nick and I wanted to really make use of the orchestra rather than doing the songs again with a band and having the orchestra in the background sounding like an expensive synthesizer. Some songs need the energy of the rhythm section but where it works we have let the orchestra take centre stage. Getting the arrangements right was a challenge.
WANG CHUNG have always had an electronic technology-based slant to their music, what sort of kit are you using at the moment, and how does it compare to what you were using back in the day?
With ‘Tazer Up!’, we consciously thought what makes an 80s record? And it’s basically mixing drum machines, synths and guitars. And these days the synths are there on every computer on the planet. It is actually easier to make an 80s record now than it was back in the day when everything was so expensive and difficult to use.
Out of all of the renditions on ‘Orchesography’, do you have a favourite?
We have done a new version of the original demo of ‘Everybody Have Fun Tonight’. We recorded the original on a little 4-track in Nick’s flat on Finchley Road using very basic sounds to emulate an orchestra. Now we’ve been able to realise that with the real thing and it sounds great.
The music industry has changed out of all recognition over three and a half decades, what are your feelings on where we are now with it?
There are lots of things I feel have been lost – music was the absolute centre of my life – still is, more so than ever – and was so for many people, but now it has been marginalised by, in my opinion, vastly inferior forms of creativity.
I also detest the way music is defined by “genre” these days when genres should be merely at the service of artists who are adventurous enough to want to soar way beyond such limitations.
But there are wonderful things about where we are now – I have released a “jazz” album recently – JACK HUES & THE QUARTET featuring Syd Arthur and a version of BECK’s ‘Nobody’s Fault But My Own’. We pressed up some vinyl, it’s on Spotify, we’re doing some gigs in April – so you can get your music out there, have total autonomy in a way that would be inconceivable back in the 80s. Reaching an audience is the challenge, but then it always was…
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Jack Hues
Special thanks to Lisa Freeman at Quite Great PR
‘Orchesography’ is released by August Day Recordings in a variety of formats on 10th May 2019
American born RIDER describes herself as “alternative pop”, exploring a variety of styles while ensuring larger than life melodies are at the core of her work.
Originally from Pennsylvania, RIDER emigrated to the UK and studied at LIPA, the educational establishment that includes Eddie Lundon of CHINA CRISIS as one of its lecturers.
Looking like Lana Del Rey gone synthwave, the London based singer and multi-instrumentalist’s most recent single ‘Tell Nobody’ is an energetic neon lit stomper that wouldn’t have sounded out of place in a John Hughes teen movie. With her Trans-Atlantic timbre, RIDER’s dulcet tones suit the mood fabulously.
The accompanying sci-fi inspired video directed by Ollie Rillands of Shapeshifter Films features a young gamer girl who dreams of travelling into the future and builds her own time machine; RIDER herself makes a cameo as a shop assistant who sells a PP9 battery to the junior inventor at a hush-hush ‘Tell Nobody’ discount.
With her powerful voice and application of self-produced organic textures alongside the electronic, RIDER embroils an air of optimism within her heartfelt expression, as on ‘Hurts Me Too’, a soulful tune which could be likened to AFTERHERE, the HEAVEN 17 side project fronted by Berenice Scott.
Having recently developed a taste for NINA, FM-84 and THE MIDNIGHT, it will be interesting to see where she heads next.
While songs like ‘You’ recall the West Coast New Wave of THE GO GOS and ‘A Little Light’ takes a more steadfast approach to LORDE’s almost similarly titled ‘Green Light’, RIDER’s eclectic blend of genres highlight her sweet passionate approach to her music.
As RIDER herself puts it: “Life is sweet!”
‘Tell Nobody’ is released by Sapien Records, available on all digital platforms
Mancunian producer Manzur Iqbal is the man behind FUTURECOP!
Since 2006, the project has grown in popularity, having gained audiences across the globe, sitting comfortably in the niche of synthwave and synth revival circles.
Iqbal, despite having had no previous musical experience, started experimenting with sound to bring back the charm of his youth and FUTURECOP! was born. Known for his collaborations, FUTURECOP! is back with his brand new album ‘Voltrana’, where more synthwave household names are present.
From ambient to spiritual, the album is full of surprises, all cinematically realigned to achieve a shiny retro gem which is bound to bring in the long awaited Spring.
Canada’s PARALLELS delight the album with Holly Dodson’s charming vocals and this opus welcomes back the synthwave princess copiously, starting with the sweet notions of ‘We Belong’. With a thoroughly modern approach interwoven with retro beats and scrumptious arpeggios, the track is a perfect intro to the colourful world of ‘Voltrana’.
Canada is followed the US with the clever changes of texture on ‘Star’, which welcomes COMPUTER MAGIC. New Yorker Danielle Johnson, the sole brains behind COMPUTER MAGIC has made it “big in Japan” thanks to her ethereal approach to vintage pop, often described as “cosmic”. And here, with FUTURECOP! she enters the realms of the otherworldly once again.
PARALLELS chase back again with the delicious ‘Leslie Cheung’, a tribute to the late much loved Cantopop star and actor. Dodson’s candied vocals bring an aura of childhood reminiscence over sugar coated melodies created as a fine example of modern dance music.
Going East, will Iqbal succeed in ‘Finding Shaolin’? Seemingly so, accompanied by heavier synth arpeggios and Moroder-esque templates, while ‘Breeze (Behind Waterfalls)’ eases the journey with the drum extravaganza leading the way further into the unknown.
PARALLELS return with the previously released single ‘Edge Of The Universe’.
“Inspired by a mix of 80s Japanese pop culture, eighties American Teen movies and Retro Space Adventure Japanese-Western cartoons” as described by Iqbal, the track is yet another easy listening beauty, inspiring peace and hope all the way “at the edge of the universe”.
Going back to the tender years of youth, ‘Forgotten Summer’ brings back the sounds and smells of the pivotal formative era, while Ayumi Sasaki joins FUTURECOP! on ‘Shinjinmei’; ‘信心銘’ is a sweet acoustic flavoured ballad, filled with nostalgic emotion that weaves in and out of J-Pop awareness.
Continuing the nod to eastern cultures ‘Zen 4040’, ‘Whispers of Tao’ and ‘Only From Mud (Can A Flower Bloom)’ enter the higher consciousness of pictorial qualities.
PARALLELS feature one more time on the delightful ‘This Moment Forever’, before the German princess of pop NINA finds herself as one of the family on ‘Fade Away’.
Grandiose arpeggios, “perfectly planned”, canvas the fresh sounding vocals from the alluring London-based songstress.
Comfortably at home alongside PARALLELS with whom she toured the US last year, NINA brings a calmer quality into the mix, not too dissimilar from the “mellow Magic” on Magic Radio.
The final collaboration comes from SIAMESE YOUTH, a synthwave duo from Berlin, also in form of a more demure offering, calming the senses and smoothing the rough with delicate melodies and soothing vocals.
The return of FUTURECOP! is a grand one. Twinning with the cream of synthwave artists from around the globe, this Eastern-inspired proposition helps to bring back the days of youth with charm, poise and melancholy.
Not all happy go lucky, yet uplifting and hopeful, ‘Voltrana’ is the perfect easy listening positive affirmation. Namaste.
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Howard Jones 2019 35th Anniversary ‘Transform’ tour with special guests CHINA CRISIS includes:
wraps up the triptych, following 
entailed me running through West Hollywood all day, so ‘EBHFT’ was a lot easier as I had to sing the song to camera 7 times and move as little as possible. They were interesting guys to work with. They had just made a documentary about the JFK assassination and showed us the trailer which was very powerful. It was a fun video to make and I liked their rigorous way of working.
and loved the song ‘Wait’. He was using that as a temp track to watch the day’s rushes and he told me he wanted an hour of music like that that he would then edit into the movie.
.
, we consciously thought what makes an 80s record? And it’s basically mixing drum machines, synths and guitars. And these days the synths are there on every computer on the planet. It is actually easier to make an 80s record now than it was back in the day when everything was so expensive and difficult to use.
is released by August Day Recordings in a variety of formats on 10th May 2019
is released by Sapien Records, available on all digital platforms
, where more synthwave household names are present.
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