“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
Having made an attempt at ‘Making The World Great Again’ on 2021, Norwegian based electronic pop duo PISTON DAMP are back with the follow-up ‘Mastermind Vol 1: No Points For Trying’.
Compromising of Jonas Groth whose past work has been mostly with his older brother Stephan in his band APOPTYGMA BERZERK and the classically trained Truls Sønsterud, the subtitle ‘No Points For Trying’ indicates an air of resignation. What is not often known is Norway actually has a border with Russia so world events will have heightened tension.
Opening song ‘The Netherworld’ is swathed in an epic melancholy with an array classic synth sounds but what is this “hell” that Jonas Groth is referring to? There are many candidates. However the pace changes with the spritely Europop of ‘I’m Losing You (A New Tale)’ while ‘To My Knees’ co-produced by Stephan Groth (who is involved in all the album’s final mixes with the duo and Magne Johansen) utilises infectious sequencer patterns and synthetic swoops to good effect.
The ominous ‘Revolve’ is far moodier with layered vocal harmonies but displaying a kinship to ERASURE’s ‘The Circus’ period, the carousel motifs on ‘Waste’ provide a suitably unsettling ride for full cause and effect as there are “No Points For Trying”.
The speedy cut and trust of ‘Downfall’ ventures into electronic goth pop for its verses although the rousing choruses twist the plot somewhat. ‘Now You Know’ presents some great rewards in its sound design but showing opposing poles, the detuned riffs of ‘So Much To Like (Too Little To Do)’ are infectious.
‘Sacrifice’ with additional vocals from Truls Kristian Nygaard takes on much more sombre tones before the lo-fi vocodered tone poem ‘Down, Pt. 3’ interlude segues into ‘The Day Of Departure’, a marvellously wistful tune with cascading keys and shimmering leadlines to close.
Photo by Trygve Sorli
Despite the less optimistic tone compared to its predecessor, ‘Mastermind Vol 1: No Points For Trying’ is a worthy follow-up to ‘Making The World Great Again’ and a continuing development in the art of classic Nordic melancholy. Yes, this album is set to “depressed mode” and this would explain the absence of upbeat bangers.
But PISTON DAMP were so prolific in this second album phase and recorded enough material in a variety of styles for a double album. Thus “Vol 1” is where all the dark and moody songs have ended up for the onset of winter but “Vol2” promises to be more upbeat and pure synthpop in time for next summer. The story continues…
PISTON DAMP use the following synthesizers: Roland Juno 60, Roland Juno 106, Roland Jupiter 4, Roland System 500, Roland RS-505, Minimoog Voyager, Moog Matriarch, Moog Grandmother, Moogerfoogers, Korg MS20, Elektron Nord Lead 3, Analogue Systems Vostok 2000, ARP Odyssey and tons of Eurorack (mainly for percussion and sequencing)
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK was one of the last media platforms to interview the late German electronic pioneer Klaus Schulze shortly before his passing on 26 April 2022.
Klaus Schulze lived in his own cosmic sequenced world and his albums ‘Timewind’, ‘Moondawn’ and ‘Mirage’ are still held up as fine examples of The Berlin School. Klaus Schulze said to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “Every album I do is my best – everyone has its time and its own history and circumstances, though there are some albums that are more in my mind than others are! Really, when you work on something it is the latest and best you’ve ever done and so it always is my favourite record. It’s as simple as that.”
Wider interest in Klaus Schulze’s music was renewed after he worked with Hans Zimmer on ‘Grains of Sand’ on the ‘Dune’ soundtrack; “The world has finally caught up with a true pioneer” said Zimmer in 2021, “A master, an influence and influencer on countless others, still connecting us all with a deep sense of humanity and mystery”
Literally never one to sit still, Schulze left behind a vast portfolio of work including material that was unreleased for various reasons. Following up his posthumously issued final album ‘Deus Arrakis’, the poignant closing piece of which was ‘Der Hauch des Lebens’ (translated into English as “The Breath of Life”), ‘101, Milky Way’ is a real treasure from Klaus Schulze’s archives.
The album began at the end of 2008 as a soundtrack commission from a German film production company for a documentary about computer hackers. Klaus Schulze being Klaus Schulze ended up creating a complete album. The eventual documentary film ‘Hacker’ directed by Alex Biedermann only ended up using small sections of the music as a soft backdrop.
With the blessing of his estate, ‘101, Milky Way’ is now available for the first time; comprising of three lengthy pieces and two comparatively shorter ones, this previously lost album is a fitting way of maintaining his legacy. Across 15 minutes, ‘Infinity’ offers a grand sweeping ambience with occasional indigenous vocal chant samples and violin that gradually builds and then descends into a bubbly otherness. Only 5 minutes long, ‘Alpha’ recalls Jean-Michel Jarre’s more atmospheric moments.
While sequencer patterns have been notably absent so far, these drift in during the second third of the most classic Schulze of the pieces ‘Multi’; this goes on a hypnotic journey of over half an hour complete with spacey string machines, and then chattering percussive interventions and cosmic pulses for the drive into the home straight. The much shorter ‘Meta’ follows the atmospheric path over gentle rhythmic backbeat before over 18 minutes, ‘Uni’ offers a sedate intro before it bursts into a cacophony of buzzier and more jagged sounds and textures.
Some might not be so keen on the digital elements on ‘101, Milky Way’ when compared to his imperial phase albums but as Schulze said to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “I have spent many years fighting the various technical aspects from so many different machines that I absolutely enjoy turning on everything – and Boom, it’s all there. I certainly would not want to go back to having to tune everything… or patch my way through every single part of an analogue synth”.
A welcome release that captures the essence of 21st Century Klaus Schulze, ‘101, Milky Way’ is like a greeting from wherever he is now in the universe and fittingly continues his vast electronic legacy. No doubt there will be more to come from his unreleased archives and the man himself would approve.
In memory of Klaus Sculze 1947 – 2022
‘101, Milky Way’ is released by SPV as a gatefold double LP Edition, CD and download
Edinburgh-born singer-songwriter Dot Allison first sprang to fame when she appeared on ‘Top Of The Pops’ as a member of ONE DOVE in 1993 singing their No24 hit ‘Breakdown’ live.
ONE DOVE were a moody Glaswegian trio comprised of Dot Allison, Ian Carmichael and Jim McKinven. Their only album ‘Morning Dove White’ took its title from the Native American name of Elvis Presley’s grandmother and was co-produced by the late Andrew Weatherall. The album was unique in the sphere of post-Acid House electronic dance music but despite reaching No30 in the UK album chart, ONE DOVE imploded.
1999 saw the release of her debut solo album ‘Afterglow’ and showcased a broad range of styles with the haunting Weimar chill of ‘In Winter Still’ making a fine closer. It also included a songwriting collaboration with Hal David, best known for his catalogue of tunes written with Burt Bacharach but also the best song from the James Bond franchise ‘We Have All The Time In The World’.
In 2000, Dot Allison’s voice was all over television thanks to DEATH IN VEGAS’ ‘Dirge’ on which she guested being used in Levi’s ‘Twisted’ commercial; it subsequently appeared the soundtrack of a number of Hollywood movies including ‘Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2’ and ‘The Last House on the Left’.
Her second album ‘We Are Science’ in 2002 flirted with electroclash and indie rock but as her website suggests, “She revolts against what she has done before, to evolve and not just occupy the same space”. After several more albums and taking a career break, Dot Allison returned in 2021 to release the nature inspired folk-minded ‘Heart-Shaped Scars’, an antidote to the stress of these turbulent times co-produced with Fiona Cruickshank.
After the haunting beauty of the 2023 follow-up ‘Consciousology’ which included her first electronic based track in while ‘220Hz’, Dot Allison is back on the collaboration trail again having previously worked with the likes of Kevin Shields, Paul Weller, Scott Walker, Darren Emerson and MASSIVE ATTACK.
Dot Allison’s new musical project is ALL SEEING DOLLS with Anton Newcombe, best known as the leader of the Californian rock band BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE. The creative partnership developed remotely and while the album ’Parallel’ will be out in early 2025, the single ‘That’s Amazing Grace’ is already public.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK had the pleasure of a career spanning chat with Dot Allison about ONE DOVE, her solo work and ALL SEEING DOLLS…
You first became known as a member of ONE DOVE, how do you look back on that period?
With a fondness … I got my hands dirty in the studio learning to program on an LC3 Mac and Cubase … messing about with our desk and we did manual automation at the desk… but we went from quarter inch tape and chinagraph pencils and razors to ADATs… don’t need to do that again!
ONE DOVE’s only album ‘Morning Dove White’ was co-produced by Andrew Weatherall but the radio mixes for the singles ‘White Love’ and ‘Breakdown’ were done by Stephen Hague, I can’t think of two more contrasting personalities to be in a studio with?
Stephen Hague was recommended by the label but we did like that he had worked with NEW ORDER… we all managed to meet in the middle.
ONE DOVE had this esoteric approach but ‘Breakdown’ charted and got you onto ‘Top Of The Pops’, what was that like for you?
Utterly terrifying… it’s only when the cameras are all on you going out to millions of viewers you realise whether you are really cut out of that level of exposure.
‘Why Don’t You Take Me?’ is an underrated gem, can you remember its genesis?
I can… it was improvised in the studio and then our version was sent to Andrew for his interpretative magic.
The B-side of ‘Why Don’t You Take Me?’ was a cover of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’, how did that idea come about?
ONE DOVE were always country music fans… it felt fitting because of that.
How close did the second ONE DOVE album come to completion?
Not that close in reality… just early versions of a few songs knocking about…
Your debut solo album ‘Afterglow’ came out in 1999 and one of the singles ‘Close Your Eyes’ was a co-write with Paul Statham and Pascal Gabriel who later worked with Dido, was that was a musical route that you could have taken?
I had written with them before that later collaboration happened… my publishers hooked us up, probably more because of Pascal’s pioneering work in electronic dance music…
What was it like working with the lyrical legend Hal David on ‘Did I Imagine You?’
It was mind-blowing and a huge humbling honour… he was very interesting and open to ideas… we worked over fax at first! He wrote the chords and the entire melody and he sent words … he said he had gotten stuck on a line or two and asked me to write a dummy lyrical chorus which I did, this then catalysed other ideas from him… he kept a line from my dummy chorus in the song, which was nice
That ‘Afterglow’ period saw you produce some interesting B-sides ‘Melted’ which was like a clubby PORTISHEAD and ‘Mr. Voyeur’ which sampled Gary Numan’s ‘Metal’, was there still a conflict between making “the art” and being accessible?
Oh yes… I never planned to be hugely accessible tbh… hence successfully remaining relatively underground. I guess I just made songs I felt were ‘me’ at the time without modifying them to attempt to make them anything else.
Your second solo album ‘We Are Science’ in 2002 and appeared to be a lot less inhibited?
I think over time you grow into yourself in a way … that was just part of that journey
‘Substance’ was a ‘We Are Science’ highlight and popular in within the short-lived “electroclash” scene that emerged, what inspired it?
It just flowed on the spot when coming up with the ideas… I felt perhaps I am / always was mining for something with feeling, with substance but in that tune retaining a kind of deadpan aspect to it at the same time.
How did ‘Aftersun’ with MASSIVE ATTACK for the film ‘Danny The Dog’ come about and why was it never officially released as such?
It was a song that came out of some sessions we did … I was glad it made it onto that soundtrack and I think it’s on a compilation of theirs too.
‘Pioneers 01’ in 2012 saw you collaborate with a large number of musicians and producers, what are your favourite memories of the recording?
That was less meant to be an official album release and more a sonic experiment to be used as needle drop. I have only done one album like that one, it’s not technically a solo album more a collection of sonic moments…
You’ve also sung on a Scott Walker track ‘Bull’ and before that recorded a cover of ‘Montague Terrace (In Blue)’ for 2009’s ‘Room 7 1⁄2’, that must have been an eye opener?
Scott liked my records and my voice and he asked me to collaborate on a couple of things including his ‘Drifting’ & Tilting’ shows at The Barbican in 2012… he said about my voice “Great Pipes”, I’ll cherish that!
You have described your two most recent solo albums ‘Heart-Shaped Scars’ and ‘Consciousology’ as being companion records, in what way has your creative process altered from ONE DOVE and your early solo recordings to where you are now and what you write about in this more acoustic organic template?
It has changed hugely…. in composing I lose myself either at the piano, the guitar or the ukulele and record hundreds of voice notes as songs take shape. I redraft lyrics repeatedly, whereas I was just scratching the surface in some ways earlier on … although with ‘Fallen’ with ONE DOVE, I wrote the chords and a ton of the topline was improved at the microphone in a kind of trance…
You worked with Paul Weller in 2009 for ‘Love’s Got Me Crazy’? Was it this connection that led to you working with Hannah Peel on the string arrangements for several songs on ‘Heart-Shaped Scars’?
It was … he raved about Hannah Peel and rightly so he recommended I reach out to her, she is AMAZING!
So how did the electronic instrumental ‘220Hz’ get into the basket as it were?
Oh god… well I composed it at 30,000ft in the air on a plane to LA… slightly giddy on low O2 probably… I programmed the whole crazy atonal dissonant rollercoaster in logic on that plane and then I had it trigger my Buchla Easel synth and did a workshop with the LCO after that and then recorded with them at Air Studios for a day … and ‘220hz’ is the result. Before pressing record, Fi Cruickshank pressed the ‘talk back’ button and said to them “Good luck!”; they did amazingly as Talia Morley managed to orchestrate it which was no mean feat as it was pretty untethered to any specific signature / grid of any kind really. I love the LCO’s experimental open mindedness .. thank heavens for them!
Your new musical partnership is with Anton Newcombe of BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE as ALL SEEING DOLLS and an album called ‘Parallel’. What is your combined creative approach?
Anton said to me “My secret plan is to set you free”, it is one of the most beautiful things anyone I have ever worked with has ever said to me… I hope to do that same for him on the other side of that mirror… he is brilliant and we just seemed to align on ideas and inventions.
What do think have you been able to achieve as ALL SEEING DOLLS that you may not have been able to do with your other work?
I guess creativity is a bit like a hall of mirrors … the further you step in, the more ‘rooms’ you see. We are hopefully creating our own slightly psychedelic room, I hope people find it interesting too.
From your vast back catalogue, are there any songs that those who may have liked ONE DOVE but since lost contact, should listen to by way of a catch up?
Thank you for asking – I would suggest ‘Love Died In Our Arms’ – Lee Scratch Perry remix (his final ever mix he did), ‘The Haunted’ – a duet with folk singer Amy Bowman, ‘Double Rainbow’ and ‘Unchanged’.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Dot Allison
Special thanks to Alix Wenmouth at Wasted Youth PR
ALL SEEING DOLLS ’Parallel’ will be released in February 2025 by ‘a’ Records
‘Heart-Shaped Scars’, ‘Consciousology’ and other Dot Allison releases are available digitally via https://dotallison.bandcamp.com/
The recent release of ‘Ninja Legends 1983-1989’ by Cherry Red Records presented a deep dive into the creative legacy of cult Japanese act FRANK CHICKENS.
The comprehensive 4CD boxed set contained their first three albums and a compilation of BBC live sessions recorded for John Peel, Richard Skinner and Janice Long; it acts as a perfect (re)introduction to world of FRANK CHICKENS.
The classic duo of Kazuko Hohki and Kazumi Taguchi gained a cult following with their unique blend of pop, punk and traditional Japanese music with their humorous quirky songs often challenging racial and gender stereotypes to break down cultural barriers. Their best known songs in the UK are ‘Blue Canary’ and ‘We Are Ninja (Not Geisha)’
FRANK CHICKENS continue to be proudly led by Kazuko Hohki and have evolved into a multi-national ensemble with over 20 members. She kindly chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK and spoke Frankly about getting Chickenized…
Today, South East Asian culture is now everywhere and part of the everyday, be it in cinema, music, gaming, food or fashion. But when FRANK CHICKENS started, Britain was a bit different?
People didn‘t know many Japanese words / things which are now very well known – like sushi, karaoke, matcha, udon, soba, anime, manga and even ninja! We could say anything about Japan and they believed us.
How did you come to the attention on John Peel and become one of his favourite acts?
John Peel must have been familiar with David Toop and Steve Beresford’s music in THE FLYING LIZARDS, THE SLITS. Also his producer, John Walters liked us and he came to see the performance of my other group called JAPANESE AMERICAN TOY THEATRE OF LONDON (JATTOL) which did a pastiche of Hollywood films using wind-up toys. He recommended JATTOL to John Peel for his birthday party’s act. So we went to his house somewhere outside of London and met his family and friends. I don’t remember much but have a very warm feeling about it so must have been a very nice party!
What inspired you do a cover of ‘Blue Canary’?
Sorry, I cannot remember. I have a vague feeling that the karaoke of that song might have been in one of the cassette tapes which I had bought in Thailand while on holiday. We started to use it in our gig and realised it was a very popular song. We were vaguely familiar with the tune as we had that song as a hit, sung by Izumi Yukimura in 50s. The tempo was much slower, though. Recently FRANK CHICKENS were invited to perform at somebody’s retirement party in the village hall in Devon. He is the collector of FRANK CHICKENS music but especially liked that song. We performed there in the same way as we did in 80s (Kazumi and I with toys) and he danced with his wife. Very sweet.
‘We Are Frank Chickens’ was your album title and song but ‘We Are Ninja (Not Geisha)’ became your signature tune and an independent chart hit. You have probably told the story dozens of times but what inspired it and did people get the message?
David Toop was one of the people who introduced hip hop culture in NY to the UK. He was telling us about the street scene in NY where black kids take out their ghetto blasters and rap over the music. It was a process of reclaiming the music and we all thought it was wonderful. David compared that to Japanese Karaoke scene where everybody could start to sing and feel like a pop star, using ready-made music. Steve Beresford and David suggested to us we should make a rap song.
I was reading a popular novel about ninja at that time. As rapping was often about boasting, I thought our rapping could be ninjas boasting their skills. Ninja and Geisha uses the same character (ja-sha) so the concept of “we are Ninja not Geisha” came naturally. We were aware of English expectation on Japanese women (demure, submissive etc) and wanted to comment on it. However it is not a message song, it is primarily for fun and intrigue. Some people get our feminist stance but some people just enjoy it as an interesting creation.
The first two albums ‘We Are Frank Chickens’ and ‘Get Chickenized’ were made in collaboration with David Toop and Steve Beresford, both from THE FLYING LIZARDS, was the creative process with them as fun as it would appear on paper? How do you look back on that classic period of FRANK CHICKENS?
Steve, David and I all belonged to LONDON MUSICIANS COLLECTIVE around that time. LONDON MUSICIANS COLLECTIVE was the first place to visit for me after arriving in England in 1978. It was an amazing place where we paid the membership fee of £7 for a year and could use the vast space – an unused warehouse for the National Rail – for a rehearsal or gig , free of charge. The members were mainly improvising musicians but there were some visual artists, dancers, theatre makers and performance artist. A lot of experimentations and playing – sometimes fooling – around was happening and FRANK CHICKENS came out of that. FRANK CHICKENS had to become less ‘fooling around’ as we were making pop songs but the spirit was always there.
FRANK CHICKENS were involved in supporting The GLC and Red Wedge, was the socio-political climate of the times in the UK become a particular motivator for you creatively? Did you feel like activists as well as artists?
Around that time, people’s interest in society or politics seemed more direct than now. Pop music was more keenly connected to social issues. We were influenced by that and thought it is so good compared to Japanese pop scenes where songs were mainly about lost love. I don’t think we could call us activists but we wanted to contribute something to change the world into a better place somehow.
Kazumi Taguchi took a break from FRANK CHICKENS in 1988 and there was a new singer Atsuko Kamura on the third album ‘Club Monkey’, with this reconfiguration, was this a good reason to make a fresh start with new producers? How did you find adapting to working with new people?
The producers of ‘Club Monkey’ (Grant Showbiz, Justin Adams and Clive Bell) were all old friends with whom we have been working together around that time, especially Grant who has been our sound man since we started. ‘Club Monkey’ was based on our Christmas musical produced by Peter Jenner who was our manager at that time and coming out from “Flying Lecords” (silly joke!) run by him. Peter was a good friend of Grant so it seemed more natural to work with Grant and his team then. I was very excited to work with Atsuko as she is from the legendary first all-female Japanese punk band POLKA DOTS FIRE BRIGADE.
This first phase of FRANK CHICKENS is now documented on this ‘Ninja Legends 1983-1989’ boxed set with Cherry Red, are you happy how it has been packaged and that there is a potential new audience to be found?
I am very happy with the packaging. Martina Elliott at Cherry Red worked very hard enduring many correspondences with me! I hope it reaches new audience especially as we are also digitally releasing all the tracks from the box set and singles of ‘We Are Ninja’ and its remix called ‘Ninja (Betamax Double Vision mix)’ remixed by Betamax, the drummer for THE COMET IS COMING.
Did the ‘Ninja Legends 1983-1989’ boxed set trigger off any nice memories that you had maybe forgotten about?
We had a brilliant designer called David Thomas with whom I used to share the communal housing in Archway. He designed our first two album covers and several single covers. The artworks of the covers of the box and 3 CD cases in this box set use his designs, so the box set has become a portable mini-exhibition of his work (which reminds me of Marcel Duchamp’s ‘Museum In a Box’. I like Duchamp as he is a real Punk!). This box set has made me realise again how good his design was.
You hosted ‘Kazuko’s Karaoke Klub’ for Channel 4 in 1989, it was sort of ahead of its time as because of Karaoke going into pubs and actual dedicated venues later, it led to more people wanting to be popstars and auditioning for those talent shows that were everywhere in the 21st Century?
I like the idea that everybody can fantasise being a pop star as it is a good exercise for our imagination and if Karaoke has helped people do that, that’s not a bad thing, but I hope they realise that the reality (of being a pop star) is quite boring (though I don’t actually know as I’ve never been a real pop star, but I have sniffed a little bit).
Although ‘Kazuko’s Karaoke Klub’ was exposing a Japanese cultural phenomenon to a British audience, the show really suited the eccentric British mindset… the episode with Frank Sidebottom and John Cooper-Clarke was really quite surreal don’t you think?
I love eccentric British mindset. It creates and accommodates the real multiculturalism! There are a lot of them about in my proximity though they are not famous. They help me to keep being creative, I believe.
When Spike Milligan was on ‘Kazuko’s Karaoke Klub’, you were really trying to hold back your laughter as he wasn’t answering questions conventionally and going off script… would you like to have done more shows if only to meet more characters like him or was being on TV regularly not for you?
That sounds fun but as you say, being on TV regularly is not for me. I prefer performing to people rather than a camera as cameras never smile.
FRANK CHICKENS still continue and now has a large rotating membership, how did this idea to reinvent the group come about?
It sort of naturally happened. I think FRANK CHICKENS should be a community where we can share our love of eccentric British mindset. There is a lot of potentiality for having fun, this way.
I saw FRANK CHICKENS perform at Japan Matsuri 2012 in Trafalgar Square, so did performing to such a big mainstream crowd feel like vindication for you or does that sort of thing not matter to you?
Thank you for seeing us!
We have performed on the Other Stage (second biggest stage at Glastonbury Festival) in 80s. It had 20000 people and I still remember the view of the mass audience from the stage, looking like the sea. It was exciting but a bit alienating at the same time. I have performed my solo theatre show to two people at Battersea Arts Centre, who responded so well all the way through. It was equally exciting (but a bit sad, obviously). I don’t know which is better. Each time we do a gig and feel like we are sharing the excitement with the audience, how many they are, that is vindication for what we do, I suppose.
Which would be your 5 favourite FRANK CHICKENS songs?
All good. I cannot choose. It’s like choosing a child from your children. However I must say I always slightly prefer our original songs to cover, because I am big headed. If I could go off from FRANK CHICKENS, I do like the song called ‘Omoi Ame’ which I wrote with Steve for the record called ‘Love In Rainy Days’ from the French NATO label. It was my first attempt to write Enka (Japanese pop ballad) and Steve’s arrangement is fabulous.
What is next for FRANK CHICKENS?
First, we have to survive Christmas!
We have been organising annual one day festival called Ura Matsuri featuring ESEA (East and South East Asia) artists based in UK including FRANK CHICKENS, since 2016. We have just finished our 8th version at Hoxton Hall in October and our next one in 2025 will be in the Southbank Centre in July. We have started working on that (mostly the fund application!) now.
We are going to have the launch event for the online streaming of Ura Matsuri 2024 at Hackney Chinese Community Service in Shoreditch on March 9th.
Before that we will be playing at Posh Club produced by Duckie in Peckham and Stoke Newington in January. They are the daytime swanky clubs for pensioners. Great audience!
Meanwhile I hope to put more songs in Bandcamp so please watch out!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Kazuko Hohki
Special thanks to Matt Ingham at Cherry Red Records
Minimal electronic duo XENO & OAKLANDER are back with their eight album ‘Via Negativa (in the doorway light)’.
Albums over the past 18 years like ‘Vigils’, ‘Sets & Lights’, ‘Par Avion’ and ‘Vi/deo’ have demonstrated and reinforced Liz Wendelbo and Sean McBride’s talents as the Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg of synth. From their Connecticut laboratory bubble, the new album sees a further refinement to their precise yet spirited productions.
With songs starting as embryonic piano sketches before McBride applied his modular and vintage synth knowhow, the opening title song makes a powerful statement in a cacophony of synths and percussion while the call and response duet between Liz Wendelbo and Sean McBride provides the fitting contrast of sweetness and starkness to play with the mindset. Less in your face but no less effective is the moodier ‘Mercury Mind’ with brighter hooks doing battle with far grittier distorted interventions.
Despite a seemingly impenetrable wall of synthetic sound, ‘The Unknown Side’ is gloriously bouncy, with Liz Wendelbo providing her alluring Je n’sais quoi to offset Sean McBride’s flatter snarl. ‘Lost & There’ takes XENO & OAKLANDER unexpectedly into a stuttering backdrop and the end result is something almost psychedelic as Wendelbo and McBride harmonise with their blend creating a Neil Tennant stylisation.
‘Actor’s Foil’ adopts a more rugged industrial synthpop template for some EBM sensibilities while with an immediate rhythmic bounce, ‘Magic of the Manifold’ is classic XENO & OAKLANDER reminiscent of ‘The Staircase’ from 2011’s ‘Sets & Lights’ with its squelchy bassline programming being a prominent feature.
A bilingual ode to bloodstones which are said to clear out negative energy, the speedy ‘O Vermillion’ is more minimal compared with other songs on the album and brings in Cossack chants for that Cold War edge that is suitably fitting with the spy drama end. The album concludes with the steadfast ‘Strange Fellows’ which lowers the tempo and plays around with shoegaze impressionism as Wendelbo and McBride vocally delightful spar.
This is another accessible and enjoyable XENO & OAKLANDER record that utilises technology and poetry with spikiness and sweetness, to present the dystopian and the utopian in a cerebral study of “what not to do, a negative image of a positive, the other side, the other”.
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