Author: electricityclub (Page 86 of 420)

“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

Introducing HATTIE COOKE

25 September 2021 /

In these days of 40-something males in midlife crisis mode accumulating modulars and Moog Ones like some kind of penis extension, Hattie Cooke’s attitude is wonderfully fresh and fiercely independent.

Hattie Cooke is proudly working class and the “Brighton Synth Queen” is of the view that electronic music should not be an artform restricted by background. And with that, she writes, records and produces her music at home using just GarageBand.

Hattie Cooke’s eponymous 2016 cassette debut captured a traditional singer-songwriter with a Fender Telecaster who was partial to the occasional bit of synth assistance as on ‘Song 14’ and ‘Shut Your Mouth’. The 2019 instrumental follow-up ‘The Sleepers’ was an imaginary film soundtrack with the dystopian John Carpenter-inspired tension of ‘Evacuation’ being a particular highlight.

With echoes of folkie Laura Marling’s artier electronic duo LUMP with Mike Lindsay, Hattie Cooke’s recently issued third album ‘Bliss Land’ combines the approaches of its two predecessors and is more intentionally pop than she has ever been before.

The nostalgic ‘Youth’ captivates via an introspective but accessible vibe reflecting on the excitement and urgency of those formative years; it’s a remembrance that many may have felt in these pandemic times with their understandable anxiousness about the future.

An intimate gravitas comes with the expanded electronic texturing on ‘Bliss Land’ and this is undoubtedly stamped on its opening pair of songs. The hypnotic ‘I Get By’ is superb with ringing hooks, sweeping soundscapes and airy understated vocals that wouldn’t sound out of place on an Italians Do It Better ‘After Dark’ compilation. Continuing that oblique aural connection, the darker “echo chambers” of ‘Mistaken’ are reminiscent of IDIB family member Tess Roby via her more danceable side project DAWN TO DAWN.

Droning with an impending doom, ‘Invisible Lines’ exposes Hattie Cooke’s forlorn vulnerability while the delightful instrumental ‘Fantasies’ expands on the cinematic moods of ‘The Sleepers’ to reveal the origins of ‘Bliss Land’ as music for a label specialising in film soundtracks. However, guitars have not completely disappeared with ‘Cars’, not a cover of the Gary Numan No1 but Cooke’s own take on indie synth with elements of THE CURE creeping in.

Born out of hushed anticipation and anxiety, ‘Bliss Land’ is a largely beautiful set of personal songs that capture the confined surroundings of its creation with hope and trepidation, embracing the fear embroiled in a now-changed world…

‘Bliss Land’ is released by Castles In Space and available as a CD, red vinyl LP and digital download direct from https://hattiecooke.bandcamp.com/album/bliss-land-2

Hattie Cooke will be opening for Alice Hubble at London Hackney Folklore on Thursday 7th October 2021

Hattie Cooke’s Patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/Hattiecooke

https://www.facebook.com/hattiecookemusic

https://twitter.com/hattiecooke

https://www.instagram.com/hattiecookemusic/

https://hattiecooke.bandcamp.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/70bAR5vP3r1txDXLnNC3ee

Text by Chi Ming Lai with thanks to Adam Cresswell
Photo by Chris Standley
25th September 2021

BUNNY X Young & In Love

24 September 2021 /

Forming in New York, BUNNY X released their first single ‘Berlin, In December’ in Spring 2013.

Since then Abigail Gordon and Mary Hanley have issued a number of danceable pop singles as well as an Italo disco flavoured EP ‘We Demand Fun’ with Fred Ventura. But the pair have yet to realise their vision over a full length long player until now.

Entitled ‘Young & In Love’, it moves away from the Italo blow-out of ‘We Demand Fun’ for a more poptastic journey if no less sun-kissed. Taking inspiration directly from John Hughes films such as ‘The Breakfast Club’, ‘Pretty In Pink’ and ‘Sixteen Candles’, it parties like it’s 1986!

Working on the opening song with Swedish producer Don Dellpiero, ‘Perfect Paradise’ offers the sort of funky optimistic popwave that PRIMO THE ALIEN did in collaboration with BETAMAXX augmented by big electronic drums. LA music producer Kevin Montgomery aka the oddly monikered SELLOREKT/LA DREAMS comes on board for ‘Can’t Wait’ which does the big STARSHIP heart thing to confirm that nothing is gonna stop BUNNY X.

Raising the tempo and sparkle, the ‘Young & In Love’ title song is a rousing slice of synthpop celebrating holiday romances and yes, she will “see you next summer”. Cut from a similar cloth but more sedately, ‘Go Back’ adds a touch of melancholy to proceedings in its emotional reflection with a sax solo to make the point.

With its metronomic background and gated synths, ‘Who Cares What They Say’ could actually be a trance anthem if it was speeded up to 160 BPM, but it works fine as a melodic midtempo stomp with a spoken word middle eight. A close cousin, ‘Back To You’ is another catchy midtempo synth number and one that could be imagined to be in a John Hughes movie.

Changing the mood slightly for the early evening drive to the next party, ‘Head Rush’ adopts a steadfast gallop that declares a potent emotion of desire while Don Dellpiero returns to helm ‘Lost Without You’ which deviates slightly with more prominent guitar and piano for a distinct AOR presence.

Back to synths, ‘Diamonds’ sings of “an electric shock through my heart” and certainly buzzes in an alluring fashion with gorgeous counter melodies to compliment the main vocal topline before another SELLOREKT/LA DREAMS collaboration ‘Still On My Mind’ closes ‘Young & In Love’ while making use of sax and brassier keyboard approximations alongside some airy staccato voice samples.

Featuring excellent vocals that are never overblown, well-written songs with appealing arrangements that don’t outstay their welcome and clean consistent production, BUNNY X have put together an enjoyable and immediate collection of songs. With its themes of first crushes, teen angst and youthful exuberance, Abigail Gordon and Mary Hanley have certainly achieved their aim of a “high school nostalgia” concept record that many who lived through the first MTV era will savour.

Welcome to Abbi and Mary’s High School Reunion.

‘Young & In Love’ is released by Aztec Records on 5th October 2021, available as a CD, vinyl LP, cassette and download from https://bunnyx.bandcamp.com/album/young-in-love

https://www.facebook.com/BunnyXmusic

https://twitter.com/bunnyxmusic

https://www.instagram.com/bunny_xmusic/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
24th September 2021

SIN COS TAN Drifted EP

21 September 2021 /


SIN COS TAN, the “synthesized duo of great promise, broken dreams, and long nights” return with a new EP after a six year absence.

Entitled ‘Drifted’, the Finnish pairing of Juho Paalosmaa and Jori Hulkkonen were inspired by the experiences of separation and resignation experience by most during 2020. “We had numerous discussions about doing something again with SCT over the years, but they never came to fruition” said Paalosmaa, “I think the whole COVID thing, in all its trouble, gave us the pause we needed in our lives for SIN COS TAN to make sense again”.

But Paalosmaa added ”Finns, as people, are quite well adapted to handle isolation. We’ve been doing that voluntarily for centuries already. Nevertheless, it’s still been a challenge at times.”

With three albums ‘Sin Cos Tan’, ‘Afterlife’ and ‘Blown Away’ already to their name, the last SIN COS TAN release was the dance focussed EP ‘Smile Tomorrow Will Be Worse’ in 2015. At around 7 minutes, ‘Disconnect’ recalls the nocturnal moods of the self-titled debut while strident piano makes a surprise appearance towards its dramatic final third. With a more metallic and danceable pace, ‘If I Was Gone’ is reminiscent of more uptempo SIN COS TAN material such as ‘History’ with crystalline synth tones and magnetic IDM vibes.

‘Unconditional’ exudes a hypnotic atmospheric groove with an emotive vocal delivery from Paalosmaa in a manner that is classic SIN COS TAN. “It’s really about the poison of absoluteness” clarified Hulkkonen, “and how doing things strictly your way can erode a lot of good will around your life”; it is undoubtedly a lesson for all. Almost funereal, ‘True To You’ captures the resignation and isolation where an e-Bowed guitar simulation played on a synth comes as the unexpected dressing to the largely instrumental template and doing as the EP title suggests.

A welcome return that is not short of drama or intensity, ‘Drifted’ sees SIN COS TAN dipping their toes in the water again after their hiatus. Once they fully hit their creative stride again over a long playing format, there is sure to be even more excellence to come in the vein of songs like ‘Trust’ and ‘Moonstruck’.

‘Drifted’ comes out on September 24th 2021 via Solina Records as a limited edition vinyl 12″ and digital release via https://ffm.to/yvzwrdn

http://solinarecords.com/sincostan/

https://www.facebook.com/homeofsincostan

https://open.spotify.com/album/2kOa1ku7UyjuBIkG6A9eHA

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photo by Rainer Geselle
21st September 2021

Lost Albums: AKIKO YANO Ai Ga Nakucha Ne

18 September 2021 /

World music reissue label Wewantsounds release Akiko Yano’s 1982 solo album ‘Ai Ga Nakucha Ne’ outside of Japan for the very first time. Co-produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto, the record was notable for featuring the talents of JAPAN band members Mick Karn, Steve Jansen and David Sylvian.

Fusing rock, jazz, avant pop and Japanese folk, Akiko Yano was a successful singer/songwriter in her homeland before touring the world as a keyboardist with YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA. Her high pitched vocal style inevitably drew comparisons with Kate Bush but in 1981, her husband’s connections led to a new approach.

With Ryuichi Sakamoto having already collaborated with David Sylvian on ‘Taking Islands In Africa’ from JAPAN’s fourth album ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’, he and Yano travelled to the UK. With a strong Yen, recording facilities in London proved to be cheaper than in Tokyo and so it was at Air Studios that they teamed up with the Lewisham combo and their producer / engineer Steve Nye following the completion of ‘Tin Drum’.

Translated as “there must be love”, ‘Ai Ga Nakucha Ne’ states its case with the bilingual opening title track of the album, giving a platform for the JAPAN rhythm section both instrumentally and vocally, while not deviating from Akiko Yano’s own distinctive style. The glistening textures of Sakamoto emanating from his beloved Prophet 5 also leave no doubt as to who is producing.

Although ‘Kanashikute Yarikirenai’ adopts a West Coast demeanour, particularly when complimented by JAPAN live guitarist David Rhodes’ solo, it is all offset by Sakamoto’s haunting synth tones. Continuing on a similar highway, ‘What’s Got In Your Eyes’ has more that driving Californian feel to it and translates smoothly thanks to English lyrics provided partly by YMO collaborator Peter Barakan.

‘Oishii Seikatsu’ and ‘Michi De Battari’ come as appealing interludes, the former shaped by a marimba figure and the latter with traditionally Japanese textures although all approximated using electronics.

The best track on ‘Ai Ga Nakucha Ne’ is the vibrant and funky ‘Onnatachiyo Otokotachiyo’; it sees Steve Jansen demonstrating why highly regarded session drummers like Gavin Harrison regard him as a key influence in the art of percussive painting without overplaying. Stabs of synthetic brass from Sakamoto, Yano’s own piano work and Mick Karn’s trademark fretless slides combine to make this a superb highlight.

The speedy ‘Aisuru Hito Yo’ is more four-to-the-floor despite the tribal congas from Motoya Hamaguchi, containing the spacey overtures that these days gets referred to as Citypop and laced with the jazzy cosmic surfin’ of early YMO. But this is hardly surprising as the drums are helmed by Yukihiro Takahashi plus there is also much to enjoy with Sakamoto’s technopop work here ranging from blips and rings to pulses and sirens to sweeps and growls.

Written entirely in English by Yano, ‘Sleep On My Baby’ is a slice of quirky fusion pop with the distinctive backing vocals of Mick Karn.

But while Karn was perhaps less fluid trhough much of ‘Ai Ga Nakucha Ne’ than he had been with  his bass work as part of JAPAN on account Sakamoto directing the exact notes that were required, he provides a bit more of his fretless signature sound here if a bit more sedately and less up front.

The guitar driven ‘Another Wedding Song’ is more of a funk soul art piece rather than a conventional song but Haruomi Hosono joins the party on bass guitar with Takahashi for a YMO reunion on the jazzy pop of ‘Donnatokimo Donnatokimo Donnatokimo’ which evokes the magical sunsets of the Ryukyu Islands with its rootsy Japanese variation on steel guitar from Hiroki Komazawa.

The gorgeous piano lullaby ‘Good Night’, written by the unconnected classical musician Yuji Takahashi with words by Yano and Peter Barakan, saw the Japanese songstress duet with David Sylvian and its interplay will delight any fans of the JAPAN frontman or Sakamoto’s film soundtracks. A fittingly perfect if very short closer, it was subsequently used on a domestic Seiko watches TV commercial.

A number of JAPAN and YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA enthusiasts are likely to be hearing ‘Ai Ga Nakucha Ne’ for the first time as this sixth Akiko Yano solo album was only released in Japan and they will undoubtedly enjoy a number of the tracks due to their instrumental and vocal connections. While Akiko Yano’s music didn’t export in large numbers, she gained a cult following in Europe and her music broke down barriers.

Today female Japanese singers are able to perform to packed theatres in London while the synthwave fraternity has adopted within its wider family, the Citypop that was pioneered by YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA when she was part of their live presentation.

Always prolific and often releasing an album per year, as recently as 2018, she worked with American synth duo REED & CAROLINE on ‘When We’re In Space’ for her collaborations collection ‘Let’s Go Together’ while she has released three more long players since. It may have taken nearly 40 years but the vast catalogue of Akiko Yano is now able to be more widely appreciated.

‘Ai Ga Nakucha Ne’ is released by Wewantsounds on 8th October 2021 as a vinyl LP and CD, pre-order from https://wewantsounds.bandcamp.com/merch/akiko-yano-ai-ga-nakucha-ne-deluxe-black-vinyl-edition-with-24p-colour-booklet-and-gatefold-sleeve

https://www.akikoyano.com/

https://www.facebook.com/akikoyano.official/

https://twitter.com/Yano_Akiko

https://www.instagram.com/akikoyano_staff/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Colour photos by Bishin Jumonji, studio photos by Pennie Smith
18th September2021

WAVESHAPER Mainframe

15 September 2021 /

Tom Andersson is the Swedish synthesist and retro gamer known as WAVESHAPER. Introduced by his father to Jean Michel Jarre, unsurprisingly his music has a filmic quality thanks to his own love of Vangelis and John Carpenter.

One of the talking heads in ‘The Rise Of The Synths’ documentary from 2019, within his armoury are a Roland Jupiter 4, Roland Jupiter 6, ARP 2600 and Korg MS20, while the VSTs that he favours include Tal-Uno-X, FM8, Polysix, M1 and Retrologue. His debut album ‘Tracks To The Future’ came out in 2013 while his most recent long playing offering was 2019’s ‘Artifact’.

In between he contributed to soundtracks for the game ‘Furi’ alongside Carpenter Brut and the downbeat thriller ‘Videoman’ with fellow Swedes Robert Parker and Johan Agebjörn. But now comes ‘Mainframe’, his latest muscial visit into yesterday’s tomorrow.

Loaded with a sinister grit but also weird but intriguing melodies, ‘The Phantom Machine’ is a mighty opener, sweeping into a skyward zone, with cutting mechanisation acting as a backbone to a descending chord progression. Driving with hearty rhythms, ‘Friends Again’ also offers edgy arpeggios and power chords without a guitar to facilitate a bouncy groove in the vein of Norwegian neighbour Todd Terje and even a key change.

The pulsating ‘Signals In The Night’ shines for the dancefloor, hypnotic and phat like a more intense take on vintage French disco masters SPACE with a distorted synthetic horn solo to provide extra uplift. Tapping at a more steadfast pace, the percussively prominent ‘Save Room’ takes on a comparatively atmospheric approach like ENIGMA in outer space, but is augmented by a tough percolating bass.

Gorgeously melodic within a claustrophobic drama, ‘Lost In The Cloud’ does as the title suggests like Vangelis meeting Giorgio Moroder at the Necropolis on a dreamy dance trip. It’s a lovely little uplifting synth instrumental although suggesting something darker, Andersson says “Imagine Red Riding Hood trapped in the Digital Cloud, behind the Mainframe. How would she feel? What would she see? There is probably more to fear than a wolf in the forest…”

More archetypically synthwave with deep sombre basslines and blippy arpeggios, the strident overtures of ‘The Hive’ would make a great theme to a futuristic animation series.

Meanwhile making its presence felt, ‘Artificial Promises’ is glorious multi-layered space disco where each part, whether melodic or percussive, has a hook. It’s how good electronic instrumentals always should be and is the antithesis of a lot of vocal-less synthwave which often sounds like someone has forgotten to sing… the short ‘A Sense Of Something’ goes downtempo but its synthetic choirs and detuned applications provide a deep emotive resonance to close.

With a dynamic production, ‘Mainframe’ is a harder edged synthetic voyage that doesn’t head down the rock abyss, so will appeal to those who may have found the more recent adventures of PERTURBATOR veering too much towards goth metal.

Tom Andersson himself has said this is his most interesting work to date and it is certainly among his most focussed. In a year which has seen worthy instrumental releases from the likes of КЛЕТ with ‘Alconaut’ and BETAMAXX with ‘Sarajevo’, ‘Mainframe’ positions WAVESHAPER right next to them.

‘Mainframe’ is released by Waveshaper Music Production on 17th September 2021 as a CD, cassette, MiniDisc and to the usual digital platforms, pre-save via https://fanlink.to/f5Pw

https://www.facebook.com/Waveshaperofficial

https://twitter.com/Waveshaper_SWE

https://www.instagram.com/waveshaperofficial/

https://waveshaper1.bandcamp.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photo by Svetlana Kovalenko
15th September 2021

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