Author: electricityclub (Page 217 of 435)

“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

“Good taste is exclusive”: NICK RHODES

EMIKA Interview

29 October 2018 /


Since she founded her own Emika Records in 2014, EMIKA has been a fine example of a modern independent artist.

With a new album ‘Falling In Love With Sadness’ just released, Berlin-based Anglo-Czech musician and producer Ema Jolly is on an artistic high with what has been her most powerfully cathartic and personal musical statement yet.

Following her well-received crowdfunded 2017 classical symphony ‘Melanfonie’ with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, ‘Falling In Love With Sadness’ is the full-length electronic follow-up to ‘Drei’ from 2015.

‘Close’ acted as an enticing trailer to ‘Falling In Love With Sadness’, laced in chromatic melancholy, while ‘Run’ took the template further with staccato voice manipulations over a deeply European electronic backdrop.

A wonderfully bittersweet Bohemian rhapsody, ‘Falling In Love With Sadness’ is without doubt one of the best electronic pop albums of 2018, as the magnificent ‘Eternity’, the pacey dubby tension of ‘Promises’ and the brilliant avant pop of the title track all attest.

Ema Jolly kindly chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about her creative ethos.

Having been resident in Bristol and Berlin as well as spending time in Prague to record your symphony ‘Melanfonie’ in Prague, how much of an effect would you say location on an artist and their creativity?

For me it’s everything. There is certain places in the world where I can concentrate, have a lot of ideas, feel the right energy needed to make stuff. We are all influenced from our surroundings. If you sit next to a tree, or sit inside a concrete flat, you will see life very differently.

You’ve said that ‘Falling In Love With Sadness’ reconnects to your Czech heritage? Have you felt closer to it in more recent years?

Yes and no. It’s hard to say with a family spread around Europe. Brexit makes me feel like sh*t. I am occupied with England and Europe and the messy divorce which is going to change my life forever.


‘Close’ was a wonderful trailer for the album with an interesting vocal palette, was it personal or observational lyrically?

Mmmm, this one, came from somewhere deep in my soul, I can’t really answer anything specifically about it. I think I made it all with my eyes closed while swaying around dancing.

‘Falling In Love With Sadness’ has been described as featuring “lush synth pop hooks and electro”, what inspired you to head in this direction?

I worked with my best friend producer THE EXALTICS, and he contributed a lot of beats to the record. I was very focused on the synth parts and getting the right feeling through the arrangements and harmony. I wanted to make a record which you could put on in the background to your life and it would gently seep inside and be like… mmmm… so good. It’s not such an easy thing to do, because so many sounds take your attention and are like HELLO! I AM A SYNTH PRESET. And it takes a lot of work to make something which has unique character but doesn’t behave like a big fat sausage in the mix.

Despite the dubstep and techno influences in your music over the years, you’ve generally been song based which sets you apart?

Dubstep and techno, always sound to me like great beats for a proper song. When I’m in the club, I riff for hours in my head with new lyrics. But it never really sounds finished to me. So much empty space and half realised ideas. It just really sounds like a beat which is missing the rest… arrangement… instruments… variations…

Are the ivory and orchestral colours of ‘Klavírní’ and ‘Melanfonie’ out of your system for now?

I’m working on a new piano record and a modern classical album for soprano, piano and special effects. My sound has three parts, electronic, classical and singer songwriter. When I finished ‘Dva’, which had these three styles mixed together on one album, I decided to separate them and refine them. To focus in one direction per album. So that’s where ‘Melanfonie’, ‘Klavirni’, ‘Drei’ all came from. Me wanting to perfect each of my musical zones. And now it is about building on the foundations I have made now that people want to keep listening too.


‘Miracles’ was a key song on your last full electronic long player ‘Drei’, how do you look back on that album now and how you developed as a producer for ‘Falling In Love With Sadness’?

My music is about my life, what I see and feel, which I wish for, what I suffer from. So when I look back or forward on my music, I’m really just reflecting about my life. I think that my experience means I can make clearer decisions, I’m more certain of my processes now, and I definitely think more strategically about the music, genres, what people like, how I’m going to connect.

Having been a sound designer for Native Instruments, you have been at the forefront of modern music technology. Have you any views about the whole “analogue versus digital” debate?

Most gear is so far removed from what we think of as the true analogue set-up, it’s pretty much only used as a fancy selling feature for gear which is not really analogue. We can achieve so much more with digital sound – that’s why the entire music world moved in this direction. If you work with analogue gear for a year or two, you will soon want to change it for something which sounds less dirty and can save presets. It’s not all that great and very expensive too.

What synths were you using on ‘Falling In Love With Sadness’?

Arturia V Collection. So dope. Kawai piano for composing.

You have been known for some unique cover versions, most notably the quite unique asexual take on ‘Let’s Dance’ by David Bowie with whom you share a birthday. How did that come together?

I was working with Hank Shocklee at the time and he encouraged me to try and make another cover (after my Chris Isaak – ‘Wicked Game’ cover I made) and I sent him my finished cover and he sent it back to me pitched down and it all sounded twisted up and strange… and we both loved it that way.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to EMIKA

Special thanks to Lucy Palmer at TRIX PR

‘Falling In Love With Sadness’ is released by Emika Records in CD, vinyl LP and digital formats

http://emikarecords.com/

https://www.facebook.com/emikamusic/

https://twitter.com/emika_records

https://www.instagram.com/emikarecords/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Bet Orten
29th October 2018

MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY Infinity Mirror

26 October 2018 /


Now onto album number three and without original musical partner Tomas Greenhalf, Ryan James continues to hone and develop his hybrid mix of luxuriant synthetics and subtle guitar textures as MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY.

Already preceded by three singles ‘Remember the Bad Things’, ‘Lafayette’ and ‘Achilles Heel’, ‘Infinity Mirror’ features another nine tracks and doesn’t deviate too far from the template that James has developed so far on previous longer form releases ‘King Complex’, ‘Foe’ and ‘Maximum Entropy’.

The album feels more electronic and slightly more contemporary because in the main, it lacks the presence of the breakbeat style drums that were a signature feature on earlier material such as ‘Puppets’.

Album opener ‘Preface’ features a combo of highly processed glitched vocal effects and the kind of ethereal guitar that THE XX used to do so well. ‘Lion Mind’ combines a shuffling drum loop reminiscent of DUBSTAR’s classic ‘Stars’ and some quirky high pitched synth lines. For those already familiar with MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY lyrics, much of the narrative here comes across as ultra-personal with the main hooks “running from the rest of my life” and “my lion mind has disappeared” displaying an open insecurity.

‘Remember The Bad Things’ has a synth hook in the style of THE BELOVED style (MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY have previously covered ‘Sweet Harmony’) melded to a chord progression inspired by THE CURE. Despite the title, there is something curiously life-affirming about ‘Remember The Bad Things’ and the sampled guitar power-chords drive the song to an epic conclusion.

‘Beta Blocker’ is arguably the biggest deviation in sound on ‘Infinity Mirror’, with a huge ‘Dr. Mabuse’ synth bass sound and ZTT-style production (replete with Fairlight Orchestra samples). Rippling filtered synth arpeggios which echo the omnipresent ‘Stranger Things’ theme bring the song to its conclusion.

‘Lafayette’ remains an utterly gorgeous track, listening to it is akin to relaxing in an electronic bubblebath; 808 percussion and beautifully understated guitar subtly underpin the track which is easily the stand-out on ‘Infinity Mirror’. Titled after the forename of L Ron Hubbard (science fiction / fantasy author and latterly Scientology leader), the lyrics are peppered with subtle references to the cult of Dianetics and ends with the cryptic hook “wrap me up inside your blackout curtain”.

‘Skeletons’ is a waltzing piece, with backwards drum-loops and 8 bit Nintendo synth sound, whilst ‘Achilles’ Heel’ takes the album in a 4/4 direction with a welcome resuscitation of the classic Korg M1 house piano and organ bass sounds. Also worthy of mention is the brilliant vocodered synth vocal solo at the end, probably the best of its kind since the one featured on MYLO’s ‘Drop The Pressure’.

‘Infinity Mirror’ ends with the almost ambient title track; epic sweeping synth pads and echoed vocal textures slow the pulse down and take the listener into a dream-like state before the song builds to a crescendo and quickly descends into a sudden cacophony of noise.

Criticisms? There is but one, the auto-tuned over-processed vocal effects can get a bit wearing as they are present on all of the songs, but they do suit the lush synthetic aesthetic here and the attention to detail with their production is nonetheless technically brilliant.

The fact that ‘Infinity Mirror’ is primarily the work of just one musician is incredible, there is SO much craft and melody on show here you will struggle to hear a better electronic album this year – this is absolutely outstanding.

‘Infinity Mirror’ is released by Killing Moon Records in CD, double clear vinyl LP, USB and digital formats, available direct from https://manwithoutcountry.bandcamp.com/album/infinity-mirror

MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY plays live at The Old Blue Last in London on 26th November 2018 – entry is free but tickets must be obtained from https://dice.fm/event/99l79-man-without-country-26th-nov-the-old-blue-last-london-tickets

https://manwithout.country/

https://www.facebook.com/manwithoutcountry/

https://twitter.com/mwc_music

https://www.instagram.com/mwc_music/

Text by Paul Boddy
26th October 2018

STOLEN Fragment

26 October 2018 /


After a ten year hiatus, the legendary German dance label MFS returns with the release of ‘Fragment’, the long-awaited new album by Chengdu techno-rockers STOLEN.

An acronym for “strange old entertainment”, this album is a seamless hour long trip in more ways than one. Produced in Berlin by Mark Reeder and his musical sidekick Micha Adam, having witnessed their intense live presentation while on a tour of China, Reeder confessed to an excitement he hadn’t experienced since the early days of NEW ORDER.

Reeder said: “Personally, I wanted their album to sound like nothing that had come out of China before, as their music is not stuck in one particular style, but is a nice mixture of darkwave rock, techno and a billion other influences, even krautrock. They are such talented and open-minded musicians that it was very easy to suggest something and try it out, and when it worked, then we would just go with the flow.”

In common with NEW ORDER, STOLEN mix electronics with guitars and technology with live drums. Held together by the growling vocal presence of Liang Yi, ‘Fragment’ is the Sinographic end result of East meeting West, laced with psychedelic overtones and mysterious cinematics. Ecstatic and unlike anything to have ever emerged musically from China, ‘Fragment’ opens its account with ‘Chaos’, a spiky synergy of dance and rock.

‘Neutral Life’ has hints of ‘Oxygene 2’ with a subtle Schaffel pulse and a sinister snakey presence aided by horror film swoops and the cerebral headrush of PINK FLOYD. Bare and whispery, ‘Enter The Gap’ takes things down before the superb rigid pulse of ‘Why We Chose To Die In Berlin’ pays tribute to Germany with a burst of KRAFTWERK circa 1991 at the halfway point before mutating into an exuberant haze of trancey energy.

A very European electronic goth template is applied on the techno-driven ‘Copyshop’, its haunting synth glimmers and raw vocals setting it apart. “I like the idea of mixing of rock with techno…” said Liang Yi, “we are very proud that we don’t sound like any of the other Chinese bands.”


“They sleep in fancy coffins” observes Liang Yi on the mutant piano-driven electro reggae of ‘Vampire Lovers’ as the seductive spy drama cimbalom and chromatic guitar provide a distinctly Eastern European flavour. ‘Frozen Song’ is suitably icy, building to a hypnotic four-to-the-floor backbeat as Banshee-like guitar trembles over bubbling electronic sequences.

The agitated progressive electro romp of ‘Turn Black’ has an arrangement that magnificently develops within a single song before the drifting lilt of ‘From The Future’, a less mechanically driven track with drumming reminiscent of JOY DIVISION. Closing ‘Fragment’ is ‘The Loop Sin’, a classic Reeder production full of heavy propulsive grit and live textural enhancements.

A well-thought out, well-crafted album with plenty of adventure, space and mystery within its multi-genre cocoon, ‘Fragment’ is likely to appeal to fans of electronic pop, techno, prog and alternative rock.


“I think ‘Fragment’ is a very listenable album” said Mark Reeder, “The club tracks work in a club environment, I know that because I have tried them out in my DJ sets, and the quieter tracks are to sit back and relax to.”

Proving musically that the Far East is not just about J-Pop, K-Pop and C-Rap, STOLEN have provided a welcome cultural counter-balance with one of the best albums of 2018.

‘Fragment’ is released by MFS as a vinyl LP and download album, available from https://stolenmusic.bandcamp.com/album/fragment

STOLEN open for NEW ORDER on the following European live dates:

Prague Lucerna Praha (3rd October), Munich Philharmonie Im Gasteig (5th October), Berlin Tempodrom (7th October), Paris Le Grand Rex (11th October), Brussels Forest International (14th October), Amsterdam AFAS Live (17th October)

https://www.facebook.com/STOLENfromChina/

https://www.instagram.com/stolen_official/

https://mfsberlin.com/

https://twitter.com/KAIGUANCULTURE

https://open.spotify.com/album/3PzmbWjYqgiSZFFkZSh85s

Text by Chi Ming Lai
26th October 2018

Good Times: The Legacy of YAZOO

25 October 2018 /

This November sees the release of a box set of ‘Upstairs at Eric’s’, ‘You & Me Both’, an 8 song remix set and some previously unreleased John Peel / David Jensen BBC session tracks.

YAZOO were a candle that burned stunningly bright, only creating two albums before Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet split and went their separate ways.

YAZOO’s gestation started whilst Clarke was still in DEPECHE MODE; the debut single ‘Only You’ was written and offered to Andy Fletcher and Martin Gore but they declined it for the band. Clarke first became aware of Moyet after seeing her sing in THE VANDALS, a band featuring his mate Robert Marlow and a connection was made when he was the only person to answer her Melody Maker ad seeking a “rootsy blues band”. A demo of ‘Only You’ was recorded with Moyet and despite initial reservations from Mute Records boss Daniel Miller, the duo were asked to record a new version for potential single release.

Released on 15th March 1982 with the future US club hit ‘Situation’ on the B-side; the track was a slow burner but eventually climbed to No2 in the UK charts, giving Clarke single success that easily eclipsed his former bandmates in DEPECHE MODE. The performance of the single gave Mute the confidence to allow the duo to record a full-length album which resulted in ‘Upstairs at Eric’s’.

‘Upstairs at Eric’s’, named after a place where Blackwing Studio engineer Eric Radcliffe lived and not as is usually thought the space above the studio, was a stellar jump for Clarke following DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Speak & Spell’ album.

Although there were similarities in sound with Daniel Miller’s recognisable ARP2600 drum sounds were still present and correct, gone were the lightweight/throwaway lyrics and in was a mixture of emotionally charged electronic pop like ‘Don’t Go’ and ’Only You’ with leftfield experimentation such as ‘I Before E Except After C’ and ’In Your Room’. Having recorded ‘Speak & Spell’ at Blackwing, it was the logical choice for Clarke to reconvene there for ‘Upstairs At Eric’s’. But there was an initial hitch; fellow Mute artist FAD GADGET was booked into the main room with Miller, meaning that YAZOO had to work unsociable early morning shifts to accommodate labelmate Frank Tovey.

In an interview with The Quietus, Clarke is quoted as saying that neither he or Moyet really knew what they were doing in the studio and that songs were completed quickly without any unnecessary overdubs or re-works. Listening back to the album now, it is still astonishing how sparse and how few musical elements are present on the tracks.

The fact that ‘Upstairs at Eric’s’ just WORKS is down to the combination of beautifully direct songwriting, carefully programmed interlocking monosynth parts (at this point Clarke was still of the opinion that using chords was a “cop out”!) and Moyet’s incredible voice. In a KRAFTWERK aesthetic, there are no superfluous production elements and the tracks are allowed to breathe and give space to Moyet’s still stunning vocals and Clarke’s synthetic mastery.

A lot of credit for this must also be given to Eric Radcliffe; in interviews Clarke praises the producer’s openness with his studio techniques and commented “if I wanted to run a tape loop around the studio I could!”. From the single opener ‘Don’t Go’ through to proto-house track ‘Bring Your Love Down (Didn’t I)’, the album showed that soulful vocals and cold electronics could be fitting bedfellows and still remains the measure against which any vocal / synth album should be judged.

Created using relatively minimal equipment like the ARP2600, Sequential Circuits Pro-One, Roland Juno 60, Roland TR808, Roland MC4 / ARP sequencers and a very recognisable Linn LM-1 on ‘Bring Your Love Down’, the album was (at the time) an ambitious piece of work that 36 years later, remains a career peak for both Clarke and Moyet. Tracks such as ‘Midnight’ and ‘Don’t Go ‘ B-side ‘Winter Kills’ still pack a huge emotional punch and the beautifully understated latter would come as a huge shock for those used to the synthetic cheesiness of some of Clarke’s earlier work (see: ‘What’s Your Name?’).

The spoken word-based ‘I Before E Except After C’ was yet another curveball, featuring Eric Radcliffe’s mum and cut-up vocals by both Clarke and Moyet, it still remains a wonderfully eerie and hypnotising track, despite being very much at odds with the other pieces on the album. Tellingly, the track was maybe deemed a bit too experimental by Mute and was dropped for the first CD release of the album in favour of versions of the more commercial ‘The Other Side of Love’ and ‘Situation’. Highpoints of the album include the era-baiting ‘Goodbye 70s’ and mainly instrumental ‘Too Pieces’; only the telephone-themed love song ‘Bad Connection’ comes across as slightly throwaway, but does at least counterpoint some of the darker-themed songs.

Upon release, the album proved itself to be a huge success on both sides of the Atlantic, hitting No2 in the UK and eventually going on to hit platinum status in the USA. Tracks from ‘Upstairs At Eric’s also latterly got syncs in the spy series ‘The Americans’ with both ‘Don’t Go’ and ‘Only You’ being featured in season 3 when Paige Jennings’ dad buys her the album as a far cooler alternative to a DURAN DURAN one.

As a stop-gap, Mute released the lightweight ‘The Other Side of Love’ as a single before the duo reconvened. Retrospectively, Moyet was less than charitable as to why the song wasn’t performed on the ‘Reconnected’ reunion tour: “We left out stuff that translated less well to live work. Personally I always thought ‘The Other Side of Love’ was a bit w*nk! It is my least favourite track. I didn’t like singing it and Vince was not bothered by it, so we left it out!” – it’s excluded from this retrospective as well.

With Clarke only envisaging the act as a one-album project, it took pressure from his publisher to persuade the duo deliver a follow-up which meant that ‘You & Me Both’ became the second and final YAZOO work. In comparison with its predecessor, there were two major differences in the overall concept of ‘You & Me Both’.

Firstly Clarke’s newly purchased Fairlight CMI (one of two bought for their earlier tour) is all over the album, giving a far more organic sound with marimbas, vibes and brass textures often taking precedence over the trademark synthetic ones. Clarke confessed that the Fairlight was his “favourite synth”, primarily because “I don’t have to tune it!”.

Secondly, with a couple of exceptions, most of the lyrical content on ‘You & Me Both’ is an icy cold soundtrack to a break-up; the one and only single ‘Nobody’s Diary’ is a gut-wrenching tale; Moyet’s vocal line “…for the times we’ve had I don’t want to be, a page in your diary babe” could easily be directed at Clarke and his now notorious refusal to stick at his musical projects.

The working pattern on the album was more of a 9 to 5 affair, but involved Clarke creating his musical parts in isolation and then Moyet turning up at Blackwing to lay down her vocals without him around. ‘You & Me Both’ remains the only album to have a song fully vocalled by Clarke in ‘Happy People’ which MOYET refused to sing and also contains an early un-recorded Depeche live track ‘Secrets’ which became ‘Unmarked’.

The band announced their split shortly after the release of ‘Nobody’s Diary’ and this resulted in Clarke refusing to be involved with promotion of the album, leaving Moyet to talk to the press alone.

Although the new long player secured the duo a critically acclaimed and deserved No1 album, the lack of tour and promo meant that sales tailed off; ‘You & Me Both’ sold approximately half the units of ‘Upstairs At Eric’s’.

Even the 23 Envelope-designed album cover of two barely visible dalmatians fighting appeared to be a talisman for the sadly doomed musical relationship. Despite the acrimonious dissolution of YAZOO, the sense of their being unfinished business meant that Clarke and Moyet did reconnect for some live performances in 2008 which gave audiences a chance to experience the ‘You & Me Both’ tracks live for the first time.

Finally, a one-off get together at the Mute Short Circuit Festival in 2011 was the last time the duo would appear on the same stage. When asked as to whether this performance would be the band’s ‘last hurrah’, Moyet told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “Never say never, but I would say I doubt it would happen again.That’s more to do with the fact that Vince was married to DEPECHE MODE, he’s married to ERASURE and I’m like that transitional relationship. So it’s almost like when he comes back to perform with me, it’s almost like when he comes back to perform with me, it’s a bit like kinda having a shag for old times’ sake and that doesn’t really work when you’re married!”

So what of the legacy of YAZOO? A musical partnership which appeared an unholy alliance on paper worked out so well that it indelibly changed the face of modern pop music. Before even discussing credible artists which were influenced by Vince and Alison, ‘Only You’ cemented itself as a huge popular favourite with the acapella cover by THE FLYING PICKETS and a hybrid orchestral version (also featured in this package) was used as the soundtrack for the 2017 Boots Christmas advert. It’s almost impossible to imagine artists such as LA ROUX, LADY GAGA, ROBYN or GOLDFRAPP existing without the template that Clarke and Moyet forged and ‘Four Pieces’ provides a welcome opportunity to reassess their impact.

The BBC sessions will be the reason most will invest in this new collection, the versions of songs recorded for John Peel and David Jensen showcase a rawer sound with many alternative synth and drum sounds. The Peel version of ‘Don’t Go’ showcases a completely different lead sound which is a lot less sawtoothy, whilst ‘Midnight’ features an alternative synth arrangement to the one on ‘Upstairs at Eric’s’. The mix of ‘Bring Your Love Down (Didn’t I)’ recorded for Jenson features a contrasting lead melody synth, while ‘Too Pieces’ brings Clarke’s Fairlight to the fore and arguably ‘In Your Room’ excels over the one featured on the original album. Meanwhile, fans of Moyet’s vocals will also enjoy the subtle phrasing differences to those which appeared on the final mixes of the two albums.

Omissions? YAZOO completists would have appreciated the appearance of the duo’s TV work including ‘Get Set’, ‘The Other Side Of The Tracks’, ‘Trak Trix’ and ‘Data Run’ as well as the debut tour interval instrumental ‘Chinese Detectives’ and ‘Nobody’s Diary’ B-side ‘State Farm’, but this would be a minor quibble.

These are classic albums that will never get old, never really date and if you don’t have them in your collection now you have no excuse not to invest in a copy. Absolutely essential.

‘Four Pieces’ is released as a vinyl boxed set by Mute Records, a CD variant entitled ‘Three Pieces’ is also available from on 2nd November 2018

http://yazooinfo.com/

https://twitter.com/yazooinfo

http://mute.com/artists/yazoo

Text by Paul Boddy
25th October 2018

JOHN CARPENTER Live at Glasgow Barrowlands

23 October 2018 /

John Carpenter’s career as a film maker has run parallel to that as a musician allowing him to have control over not only the visual in his movies but also the audible too.

In fact, a look at his IMDB listing shows his credits under “Soundtrack” are almost double the number of credits for “Director”. But this really shouldn’t come as a big surprise at all. Carpenter’s father Ralph was head of the music department at Western Kentucky University.

John himself studied there before going on to film school in Los Angeles. From the earliest days as a director with the Oscar winning short film ‘The Resurrection of Broncho Billy’, he has provided the musical accompaniment to his films, writing some of the most memorable scores along the way.

In recent years, his influence can be heard across both film and television soundtrack and also in the new influx of bands releasing under the Synthwave genre. This in turn has not only lead to a reappraisal of Carpenter’s musical output but also the surprise release in 2015 of ‘Lost Theme’s, an album of soundtrack styled music produced with his son Cody and godson Daniel Davies, son of THE KINKS’ Dave.

That release in turn brought Carpenter’s soundtrack work together on ‘Anthology’, and an extensive tour to support. And so to legendary Glasgow Barrowlands and the show under scrutiny here…

It was always going to be a strange offering, given the sort of music being performed and the potential audience this would attract. And looking at the queue outside the famous Glasgow venue, the mix was indeed eclectic to say the least. Film geeks rubbed shoulders with Synthwave guys in trucker caps and rockers.

Inside, the near capacity crowd waited patiently whilst the merch stall did a roaring trade in shirts and tour edition vinyls. The stage was sparse apart from a large screen behind the band which added to the anticipation amongst many of the folk around where we stood.

The man himself wandered cooly onstage about 10 minutes later than scheduled with his younger 5 piece band and with a quick “Good evening Glasg-Gow”, launched into the set. Opening with ‘Escape From New York’, the video screen came to life and we were treated to a greatest hits from the movie. This approach accompanied the film pieces throughout and led to a few strange moments when the crowd cheered what was on screen louder than the music that was playing alongside.

The iconic ‘Assault on Precinct 13’ followed with its relentless synth bass and large string motifs. Probably the most influential of JC’s works, it has been referenced by many electronic and hip-hop acts. There was even a vocal version released in 1975 by Trinidadian singer Jimmy Chambers with lyrics by Kenny Lynch and titled ‘You Can’t Fight It’. It’s now, thankfully, a rarity! For a more listenable take look for ‘Assassin’ by Mark Shreeve which takes the piece and adds to it in a very acceptable way.

“We now visit a place none of you have ever been to…” says Carpenter of ‘The Village of the Dammed’ which led one wag in the crowd to reply “You’ve obviously no’ been to Cumbernauld big man!”

Following this, ‘The Fog’ slowed things down before we had the first of 3 tracks from the aforementioned ‘Lost Themes’. This brought an interesting observation from Glasgow promoter Barry Douglas who was with me at the gig: “All the Synthwave bands are influenced by Carpenter but the ‘Lost Themes’ stuff sounds like any other Synthwave act”; this has some credence but why that should be is harder to fathom. Carpenter himself said the ‘…Themes’ albums were fun as he had no pressure to score over images. Perhaps the combination of working in both media however is what makes Carpenter Carpenter…

Normal service was quickly resumed with the band all donning sunglasses for an excellent ‘They Live’ which had some people bizarrely dancing along. Then came 2 pieces from the soundtracks Carpenter didn’t write. ‘Starman’ was dedicated to the beautiful women of “Glas-Gow” and the Ennio Morricone penned main theme from ‘The Thing’ were followed by ‘Distant Dream’ from ‘Lost Themes’.

From here, it was all Carpenter however. “Have you paid your dues Jack? Yes Sir, the cheques in the mail” heralded ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ and brought the 2nd biggest cheer of the night, before the moment most had been waiting for. The 19th of October saw the release of the latest ‘Halloween’ movie and the theme from this segued effortlessly into the classic piano motif of the 1978 original. From here, the pacing of the show dropped off a little underlining that this wasn’t a rock show despite the venue and the staging.

An encore consisting of some of his later work was rounded off with the message to drive home safe and the theme from the Stephen King adaptation ‘Christine’. Heading out into the developing chill of a Glasgow (Glas-Gow?) October evening, I was left to ponder on what the legacy of John Carpenter will be. As a film maker, the extracts that formed a visual greatest hits to accompany the music certainly left me wanting to revisit some of those films.

As a musician he should be recognised as one that brought the synthesizer into the soundtrack mainstream and in doing so, probably exposed as many people to electronic music for the first time as Jean-Michel Jarre and Vangelis. For that we should be thankful. We may even in the long run be able to forgive him for being one of the fathers of Synthwave.

‘Halloween – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack’ is released by Sacred Bones Records in CD, vinyl LP and digital formats

http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com

https://www.facebook.com/directorjohncarpenter/

https://twitter.com/TheHorrorMaster

https://www.sacredbonesrecords.com/collections/john-carpenter

Text and Photos by Ian Ferguson
23rd October 2018

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