“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
Moody electronic duo KALEIDA finally release their debut album ‘Tear The Roots’.
Having come to wider attention opening for RÓISÍN MURPHY on her European tour in 2015, vocalist Christina Wood and synthesist Cicely Goulder released two EPs ‘Think’ and ‘Detune’ in 2015 and 2016 respectively. The title song of the former release was included on the soundtrack of the 2014 noir action thriller ‘John Wick’; the thoughtful brooding synthpop of ‘Think’ contrasted the violence it accompanied. And ‘Think’ is the only track from those two EPs to adorn ‘Tear The Roots’.
But it all begins with an intriguing experiment in multi-layered staccato voices and inventive percussive textures entitled ‘Convolution’, which sees the forlorn melancholic voice of Wood take centre stage inside Goulder’s technological playground. The following ‘Echo Saw You’ also utilises an absorbing rhythmic template. Of the ten brand new tracks on the long player, the wonderfully intense minimal house of ‘All The Pretty Pieces’ and its cacophony of CLANNAD styled vocals is one of the most immediate and a highlight of the set.
Meanwhile, the brooding electronic disco lento of ‘Division’ will be appreciated by anyone who loves SIN COS TAN’s ‘Trust’. Cut from a similar cloth, ‘Meter’ keeps the dance template minimal, procuring something that comparatively uptempo without being overbearing, as does ‘Coco’ with its strikingly subtle schaffel.
The album takes things down further with a piano-led ballad in ‘Free’ and no strangers to covers having already recorded ‘A Forest’ and ‘Take Me To The River’, KALEIDA’s sparse rendition of NENA’s ‘99 Luftballons’ will polarise, but it earns kudos for being very different. Included in the recent Cold War spy drama ‘Atomic Blonde’, it fully projects the currently relevant nuclear apocalypse warning that was lost on many back in the day. ‘House Of Pulp’ adds an almost folk tinged dimension to the synthetic lattice while on the emotive closing title song, a beautiful string section makes its presence felt.
With shades of sisters-in-arms like EMIKA and KITE BASE, in ‘Tear The Roots’, KALEIDA have successfully cultivated a curious mystique with their contemplative sound, capturing the existential dilemmas of the human condition and the unsettling nature of the modern world.
Fresh from the artistic and critical high of ‘Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)’, Gary Numan has finally unleashed his twentieth album ‘Savage (Songs From A Broken World)’ following a prolonged Pledge Music campaign.
While its predecessor was a very personal record, ‘Savage’ looks at wider environmental issues. Based on an unpublished novel that the former Gary Webb had been working on, the album was conceived around a post-apocalyptic world reduced to desert as a result of global warming.
Provoked to completion by Donald Trump’s withdrawal of the United States of America from the Paris Climate Accord, Numan said: “The songs are about the things that people do in such a harsh and terrifying environment” because “the world’s leaders had failed to stop the rising temperature of the planet until it became an unstoppable catastrophe”.
The stark opener ‘Ghost Nation’ doesn’t stray too far from the formula of ‘Splinter’, but while the ghostly Middle Eastern flavoured launch single ‘My Name Is Ruin’ (featuring the eerie vocals of his daughter Persia) might be borrowing large chunks of ‘Love Hurt Bleed’ and is as Numan put it himself “more of the same”, several songs on ‘Savage’ highlight a breadth of diversity.
The mighty apocalyptic rock of ‘When The World Comes Apart’ is a revelation, primarily because of its use of synths as the dominant instrument, with guitars less obviously prominent in the mix. Add in the bonus of a richly anthemic chorus, and this is one song that will satisfy Numanoids, old and new.
Then there’s the brooding atmospheres of ‘Bed Of Thorns’ where there is space for traditional melismatic female voice samples alongside screeching vox humana synths and assorted guitar textures. Meanwhile ‘The End of Things’ captivatingly utilises deep choral moods and metallic chimes in between cavernous rhythmic cocoons where Numan despairs that “Everything I fight for leaves a bitter taste”.
But it’s the hauntingly beautiful ballad ‘And It All Began With You’ that stops all in its tracks, with an exposed and soulful vocal. With a slight hint of ‘Wicked Game’ (a favourite song of both Numan and his wife Gemma) in its chorus, it is a song equal to anything he has done in his career. With classic CP30 sounds that go all discordant, combined with subtle orchestrations and a gentle shuffling beat, producer Ade Fenton does a brilliant job bringing out the best in classic Numan while still maintaining forward momentum.
Religion is a recurring Numan theme and it pops up again on ‘Mercy’ and ‘What God Intended’; while both exude the expected percussive midtempo darkness, electronics are the main driving force; indeed it is a pleasant surprise not to be hearing overbearing goth metal guitar continually penetrating into proceedings, as on some of the more recent Numan albums.
The stabbing synthesized spikes of ‘Pray For The Pain You Serve’ lift the energy spectrum with Numan’s cry of “I belong here with the fallen”, before ‘Savage’ closes with the anguished resignation of ‘Broken’. The sombre lengthy instrumental intro, with its thoughtfully crafted widescreen sound design, could easily soundtrack a bleak Hollywood Sci-Fi epic, while ‘At The Heart Of It All’ by NINE INCH NAILS springs to mind when the desolate beats kick in.
Some have referred to DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Spirit’ as dystopian… no, it is ‘Savage’ that paints a scary dystopian future much more vividly. But most importantly, it does so with melody, something that was severely lacking in Gahan, Gore and Fletcher’s lame folly.
Heavy but emotive, aggressive but sensitive, electronic but organic, ‘Savage (Songs From A Broken World)’ is thematically and musically the closest Gary Numan has come to ‘Replicas’. As the powers that be square off along the 38th Parallel hell bent on world destruction, it captures the horrifying spectre of a world with nothing left to live for except survival.
Nearly forty years on from the first TUBEWAY ARMY album, Gary Numan shows he is still capable a springing a surprise, with a significant number of songs from ‘Savage‘ even surpassing the highlights on the creative rebirth that was ‘Splinter’.
Cardiff Tramshed (30th September), Bournemouth O2 Academy (2nd October), Leeds O2 Academy (3rd October), Bristol Colston Hall (5th October), Oxford O2 Academy (6th October), Nottingham Rock City (7th October), Newcastle O2 Academy (9th October), Glasgow O2 ABC (10th October), Birmingham O2 Institute (11th October), Manchester Academy (13th October), Brixton O2 Academy (14th October), Brighton Dome (16th October), Norwich Nick Rayns LCR (17th October), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (18th October), Leuven Het Depot (19th October), Paris Le Trabendo (20th October), Amsterdam Paradiso (21st October), Bratislava Majestic (24th October), Cologne Essigfabrik (25th October), Berlin Columbia Theater (26th October), Lodz Klub Wytwornia (27th October),
Vinyl still holds a special affection with the emotional attachment given to a piece of music captured on bit of plastic almost unparralled.
So here are 30 synth friendly obscure alternatives from the era when vinyl was king, which for whatever reason, have been lost in the mists of time. These are great but obscure singles and album tracks from places as far flung as Australia, Japan and Canada that were overlooked at their time of release in the UK.
The songs which all deserve critical reappraisal are listed by year and then in alphabetical order…
PLASTIC BERTRAND Tout Petit La Planète (1978)
Although best known for his pseudo-punk hit ‘Ça Plane Pour Moi’, the Belgian BILLY IDOL recorded this superb electronic Eurodisco single with vocoders galore that would have done Giorgio Moroder and Cerrone and SPACE proud. ‘Tout Petit La Planète’ featured a template that would be later borrowed by many Italo disco records. Featuring Dan Lacksman of fellow Belgians TELEX on synths, they released their own robotic cover of ‘Ça Plane Pour Moi’ shortly after.
Available on the album ‘Greatest Hits’ via Horvergnugen Records
Pre-OMD, the synth duo on The Wirral was DALEK I LOVE YOU. However, by the time their debut album ‘Compass/Kum’pas’ was released, OMD were already having hits and keyboards man Dave Hughes left to join their live band. Shortening their name, ‘Destiny’ was their most accessible song with a precise KRAFTWERK percussive appeal, while Alan Gill’s vocals were eccentrically nasal. Hughes left OMD to form GODOT with Kevin Hartley who later joined DALEK I LOVE YOU!
The project of German musician Andreas Dorau, ‘Fred Vom Jupiter’ was a quirky curio released as a single in the UK by Mute, created during a project week at the Otto-Hahn-Gesamtschule in Hamburg. The then 16 year old Dorau composed the music while fellow students Natalia Munoz Valderrama, Nicole Kahl and Birgit Mensur provided the lyrics about a “very attractive and also very muscular” Kosmonaut; the vocals came from a quintet of school girls during a far more innocent time.
FOX were Kenny Young and kooky Australian singer Noosha Fox. They had numerous hits like ‘S-S-S-Single Bed’ but disbanded in 1977. The pair reunited for ‘Electro People’, written as the theme music for ‘The Kenny Everett Show’ which came over like a quirky Middle Eastern flavoured synthpop take on ALTERED IMAGES in a tribute to Synth Britannia; altogether now: “Ultra-Human-Depeche Mode-Tubeway-Kraftwerk-Soft-Manoeuvres-Gary-Orchestal-Army-Duran-League”!
The success of the band JAPAN gave a number of opportunities for Japanese musicians to show off their talents. One was Masami Tsuchiya of IPPU DO whose eccentric wailing guitar style coupled with German electronic influences caught the attention of David Sylvian who invited him to join JAPAN for their final tour. ‘Time Of The Season’ is a brilliant pentatonic take on the old ZOMBIES hit with mad warbling vocals and frantic percussion to produce a startlingly original cover version.
Comprising of Claude Arto and Edwige Belmore, the pair emerged from the Parisian club scene with their arty nouveau music. On ‘Disco Rough’, pulsing synths and staccato vocals were punctuated by unusual stabs of sax. Their only album ‘Les Visiteurs Du Soir’ fused filmic strings and brass sections with electronic backing and baroque melodies. Sadly both Arto and Belmore have passed away, but have left their mark via Gallic tinged duos STEREO TOTAL.
JAH WOBBLE, JAKI LIEBEZEIT & HOLGER CZUKAY How Much Are They? (1981)
Although dominated by PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED refugee Wobble’s full-on bass, his icy synth flourishes alongside Czukay’s chattering beatbox and Dictaphone were essentials to the wonderful machine dub of ‘How Much Are They?’ while Liebezeit added some abstract avant garde trumpet. Originally featuring on the ‘Trench Warfare’ EP, the music was dedicated to JOY DIVISION’s Ian Curtis and a fitting instrumental celebration of his enigmatic aura.
E.M.A.K. stands for Elektronische Musik Aus Köln and was a technology based sound project by Kurt Mill and Matthias Becker using a similar visual aesthetic to NEU! Using strict motorik rhythm programming and incessant pulsing sequences, ‘Filmmusik’ was a fine example of the instrumental blueprint of Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger synthesized for the new decade. This template was later borrowed by SIMPLE MINDS on ‘Androgyny’ and ORBITAL on ‘Pants’.
A member of the group METRO, Peter Godwin was well placed for success as a regular visitor to The Blitz Club and mate of MIDGE URE who produced his debut solo single ‘Torch Songs For The Heroine’. ‘Images Of Heaven’ was a big potential hit single with chunky synths and dominant Simmons drums from ULTRAVOX’s Warren Cann. Despite not reaching the charts, Godwin had his bank balance enhanced in 1983 when David Bowie covered his song ‘Criminal World’ on the ‘Let’s Dance’ album.
Despite Australian Top 5 success in JIMMY & THE BOYS, Ignatius Jones went solo and released ‘Like A Ghost’. Like Gary Numan lost in the Outback, the song was written by Steve Kilbey of THE CHURCH whose ‘Walking Under The Milky Way’ appeared on the ‘Donnie Darko’ soundtrack. He also recorded a cover of Jules Shear’s ‘Whispering Your Name’ which was a hit for Alison Moyet in 1994. Latterly, Jones directed the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Originally released as a single by WEA Records, currently unavailable
Featuring Ross Middleton and Gary Barnacle with production by Martin Rushent, ‘Love Cascade’ is the missing link between PETE SHELLEY and THE HUMAN LEAGUE. The vocals are virtually unintelligible as the clattering LinnDrum, pulsing synths, squawky guitar and sax merge together for a cool dancefloor friendly tune that’s full of the decadent spirit of the times. LEISURE PROCESS released three more singles on Epic Records before splitting.
12 inch version available on the album ‘Retro: Active Vol 5’ (V/A) via Hi-Bias Records Canada
The project of David Hewson, POEME ELECTRONIQUE was very much a family affair, as it also involved brother Les Hewson plus cousins Julie Ruler and Sharon Abbott. The spacey synthpop coupled to a vocal template crossing Grace Jones and ABBA caught the ear of John Peel. Returning in 2007, the material they recorded back in the day was finally issued, while members of the combo also appeared as part of Anglo-German collective TWINS NATALIA.
SANDII &THE SUNSETZ Living On The Front Line (1982)
Another Japanese act who got a leg up from David Sylvian was the beautifully voluptuous Sandii O’Neale and her band of men THE SUNSETZ whose first album together ‘Heat Scale’ was produced by Haruomi Hosono of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA. Opening for JAPAN on their final tour in 1982, this dreamily percussive ditty featured Sylvian’s lyrics and vocals; when he harmonised with Sandii’s Kate Bush-like tones, it was the ultimate marriage of West and East, both wonderfully cultured and coutured!
Available on the album ‘Immigrants’ via Alfa Records Japan
Like a cross between their Merseyside neighbours OMD and CHINA CRISIS, BOX OF TOYS were mix of synths and woodwinds with a prominent percussive attack. The majestic vocals have almost an English choir boy quality and dominate the track. A strange romantic warmth comes across with images of meadows, forests and blue skies. Its moody follow up ‘Precious In The Pearl’ almost 34 years on now sounds like the prototype version of MIRRORS!
Originally released as a single by Inevitable Records, currently unavailable
When THE WILD SWANS split, two thirds formed THE LOTUS EATERS while its singer Paul Simpson teamed up with producer Ian Broudie. Combining strummed acoustic guitars with strong synthesizer melodies and melancholic vocals, ‘My Boyish Days’ had a very traditional feel despite the incumbent technology. But the duo split before their debut album was completed. Simpson reformed THE WILD SWANS while Broudie became THE LIGHTNING SEEDS.
The success of ABC and HEAVEN 17 heralded a new age of technologically enhanced blue-eyed soul. One band with aspirations in that field were ENDGAMES. The Glawegian combo had European support slots with Howard Jones and EURYTHMICS. ‘Love Cares’ was like a funky CHINA CRISIS walking into the recording of ‘The Lexicon Of Love’. By coincidence, singer David Rudden had a passing resemblance to CHINA CRISIS’ Gary Daly!
Originally released as a single on Virgin Records, currently unavailable
Fans of DEPECHE MODE’s post Vince Clarke pop period may remember a skinny lad in a pink suit who was their support act through 1983 to 1984. ‘It’s So High’ was a catchy tune 6/8 time featuring a strong synth bassline, big band brass and backing vocals by Eddi Reader. Alas, Fretton was dropped by Chrysalis despite getting a Smash Hits front cover. He became a classical music promoter, but sadly took his own life in 2013 following the tragic passing of his partner Sussie Ahlburg.
Originally released as a single by Chrysalis Records, currently unavailable
Led by the vivacious Adele Nozdar, INDIANS IN MOSCOW were a kind of TRANSVISION VAMP with synths. ‘Miranda’ was a macabre tale about a psychotic girl murdering her criminally minded father. A crisp production came from Nigel Gray who worked with THE POLICE and SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES. An irritating-to-the-point-of-catchy synth portamento combined with Adele’s ghoulish scream provided a unique if polarising take on electronic pop.
THE LOTUS EATERS You Don’t Need Someone New (1983)
‘You Don’t Need Someone New’ was neither a hit nor originally included on THE LOTUS EATERS’ debut album ‘Sense Of Sin’. More synth dominated than ‘The First Picture of You’, it was produced by Alan Tarney who went on to work his magic on A-HA’s ‘Take On Me’ and ‘The Sun Always Shines On TV’. With hints of CHINA CRISIS, this was wonderfully light and even came in a picture disc with a real flower pressed into it! But the band wanted a purer sound and dropped Tarney as producer.
The stunning Martha Ladly was more than just a pretty face; she was a musician, vocalist, artist and designer. Following her stints with MARTHA & THE MUFFINS, ASSOCIATES and doing paintings for Peter Saville’s NEW ORDER sleeve artwork, she teamed up with fellow Canadian Brett Wickens on this charming pop tune that echoed THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Open Your Heart’. Peter Hook provided his distinctive melodic six-string bass and dynamic production came from Steve Nye.
Originally released as a single by Island Records, currently unavailable
The classic RATIONAL YOUTH line-up of Tracy Howe, Bill Vorn and Kevin Komoda gained acclaim for their 1982 debut album ‘Cold War Night Life’, which became one of the biggest-selling Canadian independent albums at the time and secured a deal with Capitol Records. However, Vorn left to continute his university studies, but contributed synth programming to this typically overwrought warning about the dangers of drug running.
Originally released on the EP ‘Rational Youth’ by Capitol Records, re-recorded version available on the album ‘Heredity’ via Capitol Records
Pre-fame Ricky Gervais with his university pal Bill McRae came up with a pretentious name, donned New Romantic togs and delivered the kind of stereotypical synthpop that was being satirised by ‘Not The Nine O’Clock News’. While it’s not exactly the most original work of the period, it fared well in the tuneage department and became a cult favourite in The Philippines! Comedian Paul Merton later sarcastically remarked to Gervais on ‘Room 101’: “David Bowie’s nicked all your stuff!”
‘Blue Monday’ met EINSTÜRZE NEUBAUTEN in this electronic metal bashing extravaganza featuring vocals by Sinan Leong. Robotic sequencers and found objects were both equally prominent in the mix of ‘Metal Dance’. Much more musical than their German counterparts, this group of Aussies named after the radical Marxist group Sozialistisches Patientenkollektiv provided a danceable interpretation of musique concrete and collapsing new buildings. Stark and scary!
Nuneaton’s artful musical duo of Martyn Bates and Peter Becker described their music as “veering crazily from filmic ambiance to rock and pop, industrial funk to avant-folk styles”. Always more of a cult proposition, ‘Sunbursts In’ was EYELESS IN GAZA’s most commercial offering, sounding like a cross between prime TEARS FOR FEARS and OMD. A synthetic brass riff compliments a strong if nasally vocal, driven by a stuttering drum machine sound.
Leer was a reluctant electro pioneer who first came to prominence in 1978 with ‘Private Plane’. A song called ‘International’ was its B-side but this was a completely different composition altogether. ‘International’ appeared to be a pleasant song about jetsetting, but was actually a social commentary about the trafficking heroin across the continents, telling of “travelling across the world, selling it to boys and girls… a secret compartment holds the Chinese white”.
The former BE BOP DELUXE guitarist took an early interest in synths and drum machines after going solo and while he always had the legacy of David Bowie hanging over him, he was a fine exponent of the E-Bow. This allowed solos to merge in with electronics without standing out in a clichéd rockist manner. ‘Acceleration’ was his energetic flirtation with the dancefloor and benefited from this US remix by John Luongo.
TEARS FOR FEARS and A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS had demonstrated that a rock guitar oriented sound seasoned by modern electronics could do wonders across the Atlantic on MTV. Sheffield’s VITAMIN Z were one of the bands who showed some spark, ‘Circus Ring’ sounding like a cross between TEARS FOR FEARS and ICEHOUSE. A support slot with Midge Ure raised hopes of success but it was not to be. However, vocalist Geoff Barradale now manages ARCTIC MONKEYS!
Hailing from Ontario, darkwavers PSYCHE comprised of brothers Darrin and Stephen Huss who were one of the main trailblazers for independent electronic music in North America. The magnificent sweeping blip drama of ‘The Saint Became A Lush’ was probably the pinnacle of their creative partnership with a suitably detached vocal performance from the older sibling. Stephen sadly passed away in 2015 but Darrin Huss, now based in Germany, continues as PSYCHE with Stefan Rabura.
An earlier single ‘Mouth Of An Angel’ had been produced by Martin Rushent, but TWO PEOPLE’s sound was more typical of a conventional duo dressed with synths like CHINA CRISIS. ‘Heaven’ sounded like THE LOTUS EATERS fused with THE TEARDROP EXPLODES. With punchy brass, aspirational lyrics and modern production by Chris Porter, this was a perfect pop song in anyone’s ears but failed to catch the imagination of the record buying public despite radio airplay.
Originally released as a single by Polydor Records, currently unavailable
WHEN IN ROME were vocalists Clive Farrington and Andrew Mann with keyboardist Michael Floreale. The oddly styled trio’s ‘The Promise’ was a glorious cross between ULTRAVOX and THE WALKER BROTHERS. It failed to gain a UK chart foothold, but was used in the 2004 cult movie ‘Napoleon Dynamite’. However, the renewed interest only heightened tensions between the estranged vocal and instrumental factions, with each laying claim to the name…
Available on the album ‘When In Rome’ via Virgin Records
To say that Neil Arthur is in the most prolific stage of his career would be an understatement.
Since BLANCMANGE returned in 2011 with ‘Blanc Burn’, there have been a further three long players ranging from the dark pop of ‘Semi Detached’ and the beautiful instrumentals of ‘Nil By Mouth’ to the raw minimal experimentation of ‘Commuter 23’. And this is without the recent retrospective box set ‘The Blanc Tapes’ and Arthur’s side projects as FADER with Benge and NEAR FUTURE with Jez Bernholz.
September 2017 sees the arrival of the eighth BLANCMANGE long player ‘Unfurnished Rooms’; co-produced by Benge and featuring contributions from renowned guitarist David Rhodes and the towering figure of John Grant, ‘Unfurnished Rooms’ is loosely based around the theme of feeling of being lost in a dream. As Arthur sings on the title track “no amount of online shopping will cover for the loss”.
Neil Arthur kindly spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about ‘Unfurnished Rooms’, working with John Grant and his thoughts on the new LCD SOUNDSYSTEM album…
The ‘Unfurnished Rooms’ title song is a great opener, is that a metaphor for this world of joyless hedonism that society appears to be living in?
You know what I’m like, I prefer there to be less explanation as to what the lyrics may allude to, so that it leaves ambiguity. It would be like if I was a film maker, before you sat down and watched it, I told you what happened at the end! *laughs*
I like people to make their own minds up and obviously, we are all able to observe what’s happening around us, but some of the stuff that goes on in your head, only you know about and it can take you a long time to fathom that out! So it’s not just a metaphor, the idea of unfurnished rooms can mean unfinished work or a journey as well.
I noticed there are what appear to be Linn LM1 drum sounds on ‘Unfurnished Rooms’, how do you go about constructing a track these days?
This album, I worked on a laptop… I write on guitar or synths and put everything onto either Logic or Ableton, it was sort of half and half. I used a variety of VSTs and a few old synths to make my noises and plus some guitar. I was fortunate enough to work with Benge over the last couple of years including the FADER album and we thought it would be a really good idea for Benge to replace the VST sounds on the drum parts and rhythm sections with the real thing or analogue synth sounds.
Benge has got the real equipment and not only is he a fantastic programmer, engineer and producer, but he’s also a good drummer… he played it all in so there’s a bit of movement there too. But there’s still VSTs on there and my guitar as well as David Rhodes, who’s done much better guitar than I can manage.
So where does FADER end and BLANCMANGE begin, what are the rules of engagement?
They are very different beasts despite both of us being involved. For example, the FADER album ‘First Light’ started with Benge sending me backing tracks and I responded by adding vocals and a few melody lines; after a few exchanges, we then got together in the studio to mix it.
With BLANCMANGE, I write the music and record most of the parts. But in this case, I took the album to Benge and we took it apart to replace the VST rhythms with the real deal and mixed it, so there’s a fundamental difference.
‘Anna Dine’, what a brilliant title, what inspired the wordplay and the song?
I’ve always enjoyed a bit of wordplay. In the first line, I’m finding space in between the normal things to write about *laughs*
Everybody, no matter who they are, those months which take up quite a bit of their time, all those bits joined together for me make a kind of existence. I’m very interested in that mundane aspect of those insubstantial moments, because if there wasn’t a space, there would be nothing to hold us all together.
‘Gratitude’ unleashes some aggression…
I had this groove going that I thought was a bit like ‘Honky Tonk Women! So I was mincing around thinking I was Mick Jagger! *laughs*
I remembered seeing LCD SOUNDSYSTEM on TV and James Murphy was bashing away on this cowbell and it really made me laugh, I thought “there aren’t enough cowbells in songs”; so I had this cowbell thing going! So in all the darkness that can be going on with BLANCMANGE, I was having fun with this music.
This idea of a few simple lines came together about how I was feeling about things and it just came out. If people need a reference, it’s a bit like how I feel when I sing ‘I Can’t Explain’, sometimes it’s good to get it out of your system.
And on the other side of the coin, there’s the sedate Eno-esque ‘In December’…
I don’t sleep well so if I can’t, I get up and do something like write. It was absolutely pouring it down outside although it wasn’t particularly cold, so I opened the doors and recorded the sound of this rain and I just started thinking about the seasons passing.
In terms of it sounding Eno-esque, there’s no intention but thinking about the stuff we did on ‘Irene & Mavis’, you end up trying to fit in somewhere and one of the big influences was ENO & CLUSTER without a doubt, as well as things off ‘Another Green World’ and ‘Evening Star’ with Fripp… when David Rhodes came along to do some guitar, he wanted to try some E-Bow over the top.
It was a feeling I had, lines like “January, don’t p*ss me off, you’re just a June in a mask”, I’m having a bit of fun with the lyrics because the depths of winter can be quite difficult to deal with for some people, I just wanted to write about it.
How did John Grant end up on ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’?
It was through my manager Steve Malins, he manages WRANGLER and they were doing some stuff with John to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Rough Trade at The Barbican. Steve got talking to John who asked who else he looked after and Steve mentioned BLANCMANGE… it turned out John was a big fan and really knew his stuff.
John’s got such a fantastic voice and great songs so when I heard about this, I thought “I wonder…”, so Steve passed this song ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’ onto him and John said it would be an honour, which was flabbergasting to me! He did this piano part and sang along with the chorus with this beautiful backing, so it was an absolute delight when I got it back.
I love the line in ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’ that goes “you look so well… in your online profile”… what’s your take on using the web now for music promotion, but also how it practically rules people’s lives?
How long can you keep your phone in your pocket for? *laughs*
This might answer your question; we were playing in Leeds with HEAVEN 17 and I came on stage. A lot of people were there which was great, but quite a few were watching us through their screen, these little screens! I just said “Watch us”, not in a conceited way, “Don’t watch that! I mean hold it there but don’t look at it”! I’m not immune cos I fall foul of it as well, the problem is that phones are now capable of so much, I write and record lyrics on it, I use it was a torch… I wish in a way I just had a phone that you could just call or text.
But we’re in this post-modern world and it’s quite interesting how social media works. It’s a fantastic way of communicating with people who are interested in your music or finding out about other types of music. But because everything’s accessible immediately, everybody’s got contact… so for example, if you bought a record in the 1970s-1980s, what would you do if there was something wrong with it?
…I’d take it back to the shop!
Ok, so you’d take it back to the shop… so somebody buys a record now, and I think this is quite funny, I get people contacting me! I think it’s lovely and most people know I enjoy a chat and online, I answer a lot of the stuff.
So you get someone going “I bought this off Amazon and two CDs are damaged”… I mean, I’m sorry that they are, but I thought for a moment, and I’m not saying I’m comparing myself to him… could you imagine in the ‘70s if I’d had bought Brian Eno’s album and I contacted him to say my record’s scratched?? *laughs*
But this is the modern world isn’t it? Everyone is contactable and 99% of it is fantastic, and that comment did tickle me.
BLANCMANGE are out on tour this Autumn. Now you’ve been back a few years, have you a photo-fit of today’s BLANCMANGE fan and have worked out a live set that can keep you and the audience happy?
I could to a certain extent, what I noticed on the last tour particularly was the audience is changing in that there’s a younger element, whereas when we restarted, it was people who had seen us first time round. We’ve still got those people thankfully and there are inquisitive people from a different generation who are interested in electronic music.
As for keeping people happy, I’m obviously going to promote the new album, but I wouldn’t be doing the new album if it wasn’t for the fact that I’d done all that music with Stephen years ago. So of course, I’d be giving them some blasts from the past. The other thing is since 2011, there’s been more material released than there was first time round. We have a very different audience now and we’re not going to get in the charts, it’s a different world.
I’m not trying to play the game, I’m writing songs that I want to write. Stephen and I did that all those years ago, but we were a lot younger and that’s what we wanted to do. Now what I want to do, I’ve opened the dark door and hopefully, there’s some people who’ll get some pleasure from the stuff that’s old and new. I’ve got to be honest to myself and do what I feel, first and foremost; hopefully, people will come along for the ride.
You have BLANCMANGE, NEAR FUTURE and FADER on the go, plus had the box set and deluxe reissues… how do you manage to juggle so many balls?
Well, I’ve got a very good manager and I think I’m driven. I had the opportunity to work with Benge which was fantastic and I’m looking forward to doing more. We had to work out “how do we finish that and get it released?”, make sure the boxed set was running to schedule and leave a space to get ‘Unfurnished Rooms’ out, so that was time management really. I’m happy when I’m busy. So Jez Bernholz and I have been exchanging files to finish off the NEAR FUTURE album which will be due next year. I’m keen to move forward all the time.
What are your thoughts on the new LCD SOUNDSYSTEM album ‘American Dream’?
I’m a big fan, I’d heard a few songs earlier in the year and was wondering how they were going to fit together in an album and when I heard it in its entirety, I really enjoyed it and thought it was bloody great. It will be on again without a doubt. It’s fantastically referential, it references so much. James Murphy is a very clever man, there’s the Eno connection, the Frippertronics side of things, TALKING HEADS is in there, there’s a bit of everything and he even references himself which is quite remarkable *laughs*
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Neil Arthur
Special thanks to Steve Malins at Random Management
‘Hippopotamus’ is the 24th album from SPARKS and their first in 8 years, not including their long player in partnership with FRANZ FERDINAND in 2015.
That superb FFS album saw the apprentice meeting the sorcerer and proved that collaborations DO work, reinvigorating the creativity and stature of both acts.
And now, Russell and Ron Mael are back waxing lyrical about amphibious mammals, flat pack furniture and presidential widows, assisted by sidemen Dean Menta on guitars and Steven Nistor on drums.
Recorded in Los Angeles, ‘Hippopotamus’ features a whopping 15 tracks ranging from the orchestrated rock eccentricity of ‘What The Hell Is It This Time?’, inspired by what Ron says is “an often uttered phrase when people listen to a new SPARKS song”, to the neo-voice collage of ‘Bummer’. Meanwhile, the album doesn’t disappoint in the song titles department with ‘So Tell Me Mrs. Lincoln Aside From That How Was The Play?’ and ‘Missionary Position’ among the album’s tracklisting.
The staccato madness of the ‘Hippopotamus’ title track where “a hippy is driving” alongside “a woman with an abacus” who “looks Chinese” gives an idea of the quirky eccentricity on the record, while the perky ‘I Wish You Were Fun’ could be yet another tune directed at their long-time Mancunian pal who recently was honoured with a biopic entitled ‘England Is Mine’.
The Mael brothers don’t sit still and certainly make their audience work with the full-on bonkers variant of SPARKS on display during ‘Giddy Giddy’ with mechanised electro beats and stabbing synths providing an album highlight, while ‘Unaware’ sees Russell adopting an unfamiliar cocooned vocal style.
The ELO aping ‘Scandinavian Design’ takes IKEA references and sweetens them with a beautiful piano passage, while ‘Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)’ sees SPARKS ploughing forward with no regrets as others “live fast and die young”. Continuing the Gallic theme, ‘When You’re A French Director’ featuring Leos Carax of ‘Les Amants Du Pont-Neuf’ fame is a wonderful slice of oddball Chanson drama that is a far better realised idea than ‘Tsui Hark’ from ‘Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins’.
But the best is saved until last, with the frantic electronically assisted storm of ‘The Amazing Mr Repeat’ possibly being the best tune on ‘Hippopotamus’ before the cinematic, harpsichord laden closer ‘Life With The Macbeths’.
Wonderfully poperatic, noted soprano Rebecca Sjöwall with her gold vocal ecstacy is a perfect companion to Russell Mael’s falsetto as Shakespeare’s Scottish play is cleverly used as a metaphor for America’s First Family.
Now into the fifth decade of their career and with their sense of humour intact, SPARKS show no signs of waning in their zest for idiosyncratic adventure in a period which has seen some of the bands that they helped inspire literally going backwards 😉
As the ‘Hippopotamus’ title suggests, it is zoo time again for SPARKS.
‘Hippopotamus’ is released by BMG in CD, double vinyl LP and digital formats
SPARKS 2017 live dates include:
Prague Lucerna Music Bar (11th September), Berlin Columbia Theatre (12th September), Den Haag Paard van Troje (14th September), Luxembourg Den Atelier(15th September), Brussels Ancienne Belgique (16th September), Norwich Waterfront (18th September), Newcastle The Boilershop (19th September), Edinburgh Queens Hall (20th September), Manchester O2 Ritz (22nd September), Nottingham Rock City (23rd September), Birmingham O2 Institute 1 (24th September), Bristol 02 Academy (26th September), London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire (27th September – 28th September)
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‘ even surpassing the highlights on the creative rebirth that was ‘Splinter’.
via Horvergnugen Records
via Mercury Records
via Bureau B
via Cherry Red
via Sony Music Japan
via Celluloid Records
(V/A) via UMC
via Soul Jazz Records
via Phoenix Recordings
(V/A) via Hi-Bias Records Canada
via Hwesonics
via Camden/BMG Records
via Planet Of Sound
via Cherry Red Records
via Capitol Records
(V/A) via Strut Records
on Cherry Red Records
via BMG Records
via UMC
via Renaissance Records USA
via Artoffact Records
via Virgin Records
, there have been a further three long players ranging from the dark pop of 
and the beautiful instrumentals of 
to the raw minimal experimentation of 
. And this is without the recent retrospective box set 
and Arthur’s side projects as 
; co-produced by Benge and featuring contributions from renowned guitarist David Rhodes and the towering figure of John Grant, ‘Unfurnished Rooms’ is loosely based around the theme of feeling of being lost in a dream. As Arthur sings on the title track “no amount of online shopping will cover for the loss”.
is released by BMG in CD, double vinyl LP and digital formats
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