Category: Interviews (Page 11 of 112)

A Short Conversation with BERENICE SCOTT

3 November 2023 /

Berenice Scott is the musician and singer-songwriter who has played live with the likes of HEAVEN 17, BEF, JOHNNY HATES JAZZ, HOLY HOLY, P!NK and SIMPLE MINDS.

In her latest role as keyboardist for SIMPLE MINDS, she was part of the band which performed their classic 1982 album ‘New Gold Dream’ for a new concert recording ‘Live At Paisley Abbey’. In a connection with HEAVEN 17, the original album was produced and engineered by Peter Walsh who also worked on ‘Penthouse & Pavement’.

Together with HEAVEN 17’s Glenn Gregory, Berenice Scott is also an acclaimed composer for TV and film while also fronting their more pop-oriented duo AFTERHERE whose first album ‘Addict’ was released in 2018.

Berenice Scott independently released her debut solo album ‘Ten Takes’ in 2007 and followed it up with the excellent ‘Polarity’ in 2014. Now in ‘A Joni Kind Of Mood’, as the title suggests, her new album features intimate personal arrangements of Joni Mitchell songs plus her own compositions that encapsulate the spirit of the influential Canadian artist. She chatted about this musical journey to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK and much more…

People are likely to be familiar with you playing live with HEAVEN 17 but may not be aware you have been performing with SIMPLE MINDS for the past few years, how has that been?

Yeah, that’s been great, it was a good long process leading up to it, learning all the material and about their back catalogue which was the first thing I did when I got the call to meet Charlie Burchill and Jim Kerr. I put a playlist together of their immense catalogue and went through it like that. It’s been very informative, challenging and rewarding all at the same time.

As you did you HEAVEN 17, you have performed a classic album with SIMPLE MINDS, in this case ‘New Gold Dream’, have you had analysed musically why that record has meant so much to people for so long?

I think that’s a really good question because I definitely saw that correlation between that album in particular and that period of music which HEAVEN 17 were a part of. I heard a lot of stories from Glenn about how they would all bump into each other at The Townhouse, so there was a lot of history there that I wasn’t aware of at all because it was a little bit before my time.

I can hear it in the sounds and the synths… but SIMPLE MINDS moved away from that into more stadium rock. I think it’s all to do with the analogue synths and the way that they approached using them. I know Charlie is a massive fan of synths and does a lot of that himself. And it’s the same with HEAVEN 17, the both of them have that love affair with synths, the organic nature of those early instruments. You couldn’t always recreate those sounds that you discovered, you put it down on tape and then because you couldn’t always programme that into a memory like with the early Moogs, that’s just it there, printed, like a painting…

Did you have any particular tracks from ‘New Gold Dream’ that you particularly enjoyed playing in your keyboardist role?

I love playing them all for different reasons but ‘Hunter & The Hunted’, when I first heard that to learn the solo, I was like “ooooh”! I didn’t know about the history of it at first but then Charlie told me it was Herbie Hancock! Fantastic! It was an interesting solo to learn, I wanted to recreate it as close as possible. Roland helped me recreate the sound for that.

What have been the differences for you between performing with HEAVEN 17 and SIMPLE MINDS?

There’s a different vibe, how they are on stage is very different. It’s not so much that one is serious and one isn’t, but I’ve never really analysed that. But there’s a definite different feel on stage. The SIMPLE MINDS band is quite big and it’s more contained with HEAVEN 17 so the proximity is closer to Martyn and Glenn. It can be quite vast with SIMPLE MINDS with the arena venues and festival shows.

After doing the soundtrack to TV drama ‘Liar’ with Glenn, the commissions have been coming in with ‘Vigil’, ‘Vanity Fair’ and ‘The Suspect’ being recent examples, how have your approaches grown and changed as you’ve progressed?

It changes due to the subject and what the directors and production companies want, so you are accommodating and adapting to that. I wouldn’t say I was necessarily getting better but the workflow can become a bit more streamlined. I think the approach for me has always been the same since the beginning. But you are really just trying to fit the bill, that’s the most important thing and do that as efficiently and as good as possible.

I hadn’t realised you did the music for a 2017 off-Broadway production of ‘A Clockwork Orange’ which is obviously interesting because of the HEAVEN 17 connection?

That was great, obviously that is a favourite film of Glenn and Martyn so that was one side of it. I love Stanley Kubrick so it was strange and wonderful. When we went over for the opening night, it was a real New York affair.

Will there be any more song oriented work with Glenn as AFTERHERE following 2018’s ‘Addict’?

Definitely, it’s just finding the time to do it, obviously the past 4 years, it’s been pretty much impossible with touring and the pandemic. But yes, there will be another AFTERHERE album.

It’s been 9 years since ‘Polarity’, how do you look back on that record?

NO! It’s not been 9 years! It’s a different kind of world now, everything has been altered and is just different, so maybe there’s a feeling of that being longer because it was almost a different epoch! I’m still the same, I still do music for the same reasons but I’ve lived more of course…

I’d argue that you appear more confident now…

Oh really, that’s good, OK! We haven’t seen each other for years? *laughs*

It’s been a while, it was 2018 for the AFTERHERE album launch, the girl then compared with the girl who I met at the HEAVEN 17 aftershow party in 2012 who was actually quite shy… *laughs*

YEAH! I can see that, I definitely think dealing with a lot of work situations and being on the road, it’s not that it hardens you up but you do approach each day as “I’ve got to just get this done”. But at the same time, you’re right, I think it’s important to remember that soft side because you don’t want that hardening up, otherwise I’ll lose connection with creativity, it’s something that has happened to me too. Which is why there’s a neat segue into the ‘A Joni Kind Of Mood’ album, I spent time doing that because I felt I was losing that soft creativity core.

So what got you into ‘A Joni Kind Of Mood’?

I was going through periods of feeling pretty lost for various reasons and Joni Mitchell’s music saved me in a way. I found the way life changes on a personal level and also musically… just life, the same reasons that she wrote those songs, for herself.

The beauty of her music is that you relate it to yourself, you’re not necessarily thinking about the artist, you’re thinking about the art which is incredible… I wanted to sing them.

You make a good point about the importance of the art, because I think today with the music industry in this social media world with TikTok and this Instagram reel nonsense, it seems to be now about how much flesh you show or how loud you can shout, have you any thoughts about that?

Hmmm! There’s always been that quick sell nature and there will always be that with humanity, in every industry, there’s a quick sell. I do worry that people are not spending their formative years well, when you should be locking yourself away to get to grips with your art, because it’s not easy to do it, to express yourself. I think a lot of time is spent on the outside with social media… I mean, it’s good to use it to promote yourself but there’s pros and cons; I do think an element of “practice” time is needed, do you know what I mean?

Are all the songs on ‘A Joni Kind Of Mood’ covers?

There’s a couple which are original which weren’t necessarily based on Joni, but fitted the mood of how I feel when I am listening to Joni… I thought why not?

How did you choose the songs because ‘Both Sides Now’ and ‘A Case Of You’ are quite well known ones to take on which is quite brave?

There’s definitely a fear factor but you know what, you only live once don’t you… I think my favourite Joni Mitchell album at the moment (because I’m sure it will change, and it will change) is ‘Hejira’ the album. So I started with a couple of those, I think ‘Little Green’ is such a beautiful sentiment, the more I started listening to the lyrics, the more it resonated so that’s why I chose that one. Then I was thinking more, not necessarily her more mainstream ones, but they are just lovely tunes and I just wanted to try them.

Why did you choose the ‘Hejira’ title song as the first single as it’s not an obvious choice because it’s really long?

Yes, it’s a bit long and impossible to get radio play but that’s fine! *laughs*

This is very much a personal project but there are Joni fans out there and I hope it resonates with them; ‘Hejira’ is just an amazing piece of poetry music and you don’t hear many 9 minutes tracks! But it’s just poetry and poems are long and that’s that.

What about the other songs of your own that fitted in with the vibe of this record rather than say the next AFTERHERE record?

I think as I was working through them, and how that was panning out, I don’t really know, it all just fell into place really.

You’re a Roland Ambassador, is there anything new in tech and gear that has excited you?

I’ve just got my hands recently on the GAIA 2… oh my goodness, it’s absolutely incredible! Normally it takes a while to get to know keyboards but I just plugged and played the other day, I was there for 2 hours with my headphones! Absolutely amazing! From an instant play, it sounds incredible and everything is accessible, it’s got some amazing features on the interface, it’s everything in one. I’m kinda blown away by it at the moment and I can’t wait to have some more time with it. Roland have asked me to do a little video for it so that will be my first port of call. I’m excited about that!

I really enjoy working with them, they’re such a great company and have been so supportive over the years. I can’t really tell you how amazing to work closely with them. It’s been one of my favourite things about my music career so far.

How are you releasing ‘A Joni Kind Of Mood’?

I think potentially there may be some physical but at the moment it’s just digital because obviously that’s easy, it’s across all platforms and so accessible. If there’s a demand for some vinyl, I guess we’ll put that together, we’ll see how it goes really.

What is next for you?

I’ve got a gig on 12 January 2024 at PizzaExpressLive in Holborn, that’s the next big step which I’m really excited about.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Berenice Scott

Additional thanks to Sacha Taylor-Cox at Hush PR

‘A Joni Kind Of Mood’ is available now via the usual online platforms

Berenice Scott performs songs from the album at PizzaExpressLive in Holborn on Friday 12 January 2024, tickets available from https://www.pizzaexpresslive.com/whats-on/berenice-scott

http://www.berenicescott.co.uk/

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https://twitter.com/berenicescott

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https://open.spotify.com/artist/3DbWAPmoi3cZVnTbbHTgi8

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
3 November 2023

SOFTWAVE: An interview about the things we’ve done…

20 October 2023 /

SOFTWAVE, the Danish duo comprising of Catrine Christensen and Jerry Olsen who opened for OMD in 2020 have finally become sophomores.

With the worldwide pandemic along with outsiders keen to have an influence on the duo’s direction triggering something of an existential crisis, SOFTWAVE have come out the other side more determined than ever to determine and secure their own future, for better or for worse.

The end result is ‘things we’ve done’, an honest electronic pop album which while being reflective, is an uplifting and motivational experience much in the vein of their heroes ERASURE. Having remixed Andy Bell’s solo material for the ‘Club Torsten’ collection and more recently, the PET SHOP BOYS produced David Cicero, the pair have been able to analyse the work of the best and learn from them.

Catrine Christensen and Jerry Olsen spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about the things they’ve done for album number two and more…

These are the ‘things we’ve done’, how does it feel to finally get your second album out?

Catrine: Thanks for asking! The first time I finally got time to reflect on that. I’ve never felt more tired. This one was tough. Felt like we were in a second-album-crisis, haha! Maybe because we’ve been told that the second album is the most difficult album to finish. Well, I agree! But hey! “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” 😉

Jerry: It feels like a relief because it was much harder this time around. The composition process was slower and more thorough.

You released 5 songs on the ‘Aspire’ EP in 2022 and these appear in some shape on ‘things we’ve done’, had that always been the intention?

Jerry: No it wasn’t. I have never really wanted it as I’m an old school album-kind-of-guy. It was mainly the idea of our former management to actually divide the whole thing into 3 EPs or waves. The intention was to get more content out in smaller portions so that fans were fed something the whole time instead of just an album and that was it… a bit unwillingly, I agreed to the 2 part split… we will never do this again though. It has been a complicated and cumbersome process merging the different tracks, both production and admin-wise.

Catrine: I agree with Jerry. If we should do this again, a label has to take over. The whole DIY admin and social media part is simply taking too much of my time – way too many people to communicate with. I mean, we only have 24 hours a day, and I need 48 or more sometimes. Haha! It’s not a bad thing, cos I feel like “things” come easier to us, a lot of great and bigger things are happening even before the release. It all feels totally different from previous release strategies we had. But at the same time – that’s what I like about the music industry. It’s constantly dynamic and unpredictable.

From a writing and production point of view, how did ‘things we’ve done’ differ from ‘Game On’?

Jerry: The reason why it was harder this time, is because we have been more quality conscious on this album. We know that the second album is the critical one so we wanted 10 tracks that really lived up to our own expectations. Personally we think we succeeded to bring about an album which is better sounding and a bit more mature than the debut one. And at the same time staying true to our genre, but that must be up to our fans to decide…

Catrine: I would like to add this… when Jerry says “quality”, he’s also talking about the sound layers. We’ve always been struggling not to add too much sounds and vocals into each song. This time we managed to add more space into the songs, so that it doesn’t feels like Jerry and my ideas are constantly competing with each other. I really do hope our listeners can hear how much we’ve done to improve ourselves. Or else we might have call the next album ‘things we’ve done better’… ha ha!

You go quite ABBA-esque’ on ‘Taking Life For Granted’, how did that song come together?

Jerry: I didn’t realise that ha ha! But now you mention it, I guess I can relate to that. Maybe It’s because of the main bass tone is on top of the kick instead of on the offbeat in the choruses, it gives it a different feel. Don’t know why I did that, I just felt it sounded good because it’s the most common thing to lay it on the offbeat.

Catrine: Well, I never thought of that either. But I can tell, from the very first draft of this song’s production we kind of knew, that it would be a strong one. Therefore we waited till the end to finish it. I believe we didn’t work on it for a year or so, simply to avoid messing it up. Ha ha!

‘Supernova’ pays tribute to Andy Bell, what inspired you to write a song about him?

Catrine: When I was about to write ‘Supernova’, we just did the Andy Bell remixes, therefore it came naturally to me, calling this song ‘Supernova’ as I was in the perfect mood of thanking my idol for being so inspiring “since the very beginning”. But to be honest, I don’t really want people to reflect too much on my story. The song seeks to inspire the listeners to look into themselves and think of any person in their lives who in any matter is or have been an idol to them – and THANK THEM while they are still here.

To my ears, ‘The Deepest Love’ reminds me of ERASURE’s ‘I Bet You’re Mad at Me’, was this intentional?

Jerry: Not at all. The thing is that ‘The Deepest Love’ was the last song we finished for the album and as the preceding tracks were more serious and somewhat darker in a pop kind of sense, like ‘Never Gonna Let You Down’ and ‘Through Open Eyes’, I wanted a track that felt synthpop in a more traditional and happier way. But I will say that you are right in the assumption that it’s heavily inspired by ERASURE. I guess I can’t help myself! Ha ha!

How is ‘This World’ for you now?

Jerry: Like a memory of a place we absolutely have no interest in revisiting…

Catrine: All the ‘things we’ve done’ during the years building up SOFTWAVE, our dream, our passion, our purpose, our baby, was suddenly taken away from us. So was hope. Glad we got it back! I’m not sure about ‘This World’ has turned into anything better, but at least I feel better so that I can continue during my thing – spreading positive vibes out to the people. “People – let’s stick together” – in my World, it’s all about love to one another that makes ‘This World’ a better place.

Much of this album was put together during the pandemic and lockdown, now we are out of it, how have things changed for SOFTWAVE in the music business since and has it affected your approach?

Jerry: We felt we were on the brink of success when we toured with OMD and then lockdowns came. The next 2 – 3 years passed and nothing really happened both in the music business and with us producing music. It was so strange, like time stood still. Now we feel the emergence of good energy and the desire to get out and perform again.

Catrine: Well, I’m just happy that I trusted my instincts telling me not to follow the steam. I decided not to focus much on social media and concerts to finish the album with Jerry. And I’m glad we did, cos now the eagerness to perform live has never been bigger. It feels fantastic and people have been so supportive and patience with us ❤️ We have never been stronger!

What are your favourite songs on ‘things we’ve done’?

Jerry: ‘Taking Life For Granted’ because I think it’s the most catchy song, it’s the banger of the album. And then I also very much like ‘Never Gonna Let You Down’ and ‘Through Open Eyes’ because they are more mature and sound a bit different from the typical SOFTWAVE tracks.

Catrine: I agree, but it’s always difficult selecting favourites. Some faves from my end would be ‘Don’t Bully Me Again’ due to the whole story behind it and the strong melodies. ‘This World’ because it’s something completely different, I love testing my darker skills as well and that happened well in this one I think. ‘I’ll Be Your Safe’ has a deeper message and I like to sing it live. ‘Through Open Eyes’ is my absolutely favourite, because it might have the best composition and was very easy to finish. Everything about the song was without struggling. Live-wise I think it will perform extremely well!

What is next for SOFTWAVE?

Catrine: Here’s the list 😉

Our remix of ‘Love is Everywhere’ by David Cicero is now released, but then there is the digital release of the ‘things we’ve done’ album first before the CD a week later. The ‘things we’ve done’ CD release party takes place at Last Orders in Germany, followed by a Halloween Party at Operaen Christiania in Denmark, support comes from OHNOTHING. Then we are playing ElectriXmas 2023 in Sweden before the ‘things we’ve done’ tour continues in 2024 with a vinyl release TBC.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to SOFTWAVE

‘things we’ve done’ is available on digital platforms via https://softwave.lnk.to/softwave

The CD is available https://softwave.bandcamp.com/

SOFTWAVE play the *Depeche Mode & More* Party at the Last Orders Pub in Neubrandenburg, Germany on 21 October 2023

SOFTWAVE also host their own Halloween Party at Operaen Christiania in København, Denmark with special guests OHNOTHING on 28 October 2023 – tickets available from https://billetto.dk/e/softwave-live-pa-christiania-halloween-party-billetter-865714

SOFTWAVE will perform at ElectriXmas 2023 in Malmö at Inkonst, Sweden on 9 December 2023 alongside SIERRA – tickets available from https://electrixmas.org/tickets/

http://www.softwavemusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SoftWaveMusic/

https://twitter.com/SoftWaveMusic

https://www.instagram.com/softwave_music/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Krestine Havemann
20 October 2023

FRAGRANCE. Interview

17 October 2023 /

With his stylish dark and dreamy synthpop as typified by the breakthrough single ‘So Typical’, Matthieu Roche is the enigmatic Parisian behind FRAGRANCE.

Although there have been two full length albums ‘Now That I’m Real’ in 2019 and ‘Salt Walter’ in 2021, it was 2017 which saw the first FRAGRANCE. release in the ‘Dust & Disorders’ EP. Forward to 2023 and ‘Dust & Disorders’ has been reissued and expanded. Featuring an extra five new tracks, although his past work has been primarily in English, two songs ‘Hanté De Moi’ and ‘Mise En Garde’ see Matthieu Roche singing in his native language for the first time.

Having issued the ‘Salt Water Remixed’ cassette earlier in 2023, the first of the ‘Dust & Disorders (Complete Edition)’ reworks has just emerged in the shape of an excellent ‘Much More Like A Wave’ rework by London-based Italian producer M!R!M

FRAGRANCE. live appearances and interviews are quite rare, but Matthieu Roche happily chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about his creative career to date.

In the wider scheme of electronic pop music, FRAGRANCE. is unusual in that it is dark yet dreamy and occasionally frantic rhythmically yet soft vocally. How did this template emerge?

Hi Chi! I haven’t started this project with a preconceived idea of a style I should work on, I was instinctively headed in that direction. I think it’s simply the result of different layers of inspirations and influences. I always thought that dancing rhythms can emphasise the melancholic vibes, I have the feeling it offers the best frame for my music and what I want to pass through it.

What prompted you to sing in English rather than French?

At the very beginning, singing in English was an easier constraint because it’s not my native language and I felt freer with my choice of words and sentences. But I always loved to incorporate some French here and there and I’m more and more writing in French these days. It took some time but there are two songs entirely in French on my latest record and I’m very proud of them. I hope I’ll be able to write some more!

Do you have a preference in the instruments or software that you use? Do you like hardware synths or does this not matter to you?

On my side, the easier the better, I’m not very patient when I’m composing a song, so I’m using software. But I’m working with S Diamah on the production now (she worked on my latest LP, ‘Salt Water’) and I’m taking benefit of her amazing hardware synths knowledge and curiosity and she embellishes my compositions with them.

On your debut album ‘Now That I’m Real’, as well as your own voice, you had Hélène de Thoury aka HANTE. from MINUIT MACHINE featuring on ‘Hazy Strobes’ and Maya Postepski from AUSTRA, TR/ST and PRINCESS CENTURY on ‘At Last’, how did these collaborations come about?

I love working on “featurings”. Hélène, first of all, I loved her music as HANTE. and I met her when she mastered my previous EP. She was like a mentor to me at that time, so it was quite natural to invite her on my first album. Maya is one of my favorite producer and someone sent her my first EP in 2017 and that’s how we got in touch: that was quite unexpected! We started to work on songs together every time she was passing through Paris. She wasn’t used to singing at that time and she has a lovely accent when she speaks French and I think that’s what drove me to ask her if she’d be interested to sing – in French – on one of my songs.

You later did a brilliant duet with Maya for a PRINCESS CENTURY song called ‘Stupid Things’ from her album ‘Surrender’ which had this underlying sweetness to it, was this a reaction to the intensity of the pandemic lockdown? Do you have any fun memories from the making of it?

I’m glad you mention this album from her, because I absolutely love it. I already known some tracks from it from when she was working on it, and one day, I received an email with the demo of ‘Stupid Things’, asking if I wanna try something on it. This one, we worked on it remotely, but we love to write romantic / melancholic songs together (we have a few of them that never got released) so it was a super easy collaboration. Writing music with Maya is always fun.

You recorded a cover of GALA ‘Freed From Desire’ in 2019, it’s interesting how this song has now become a women’s football album?

Yes, the song has become an anthem for several sports competitions, whether it football or rugby. When I recorded a cover of it, it was just to please the kid in me that grew up with her songs, such as ‘Let A Boy Cry’. Unfortunately, and that’s probably due to the new success of the original song, they are quite tough with the rights of the song and my cover is no longer available on streaming platforms.

Your second album ‘Salt Water’ provided FRAGRANCE. with a wider international breakthrough with a slightly harder but still accessible sound like on ‘Crisis’, how do you look back on the making of that record?

I co-produced this album with Sophia Hamadi, aka S Diamah, as I mentioned earlier. I wrote the whole album around the theme of salt waters: tears, sweat and the sea. That implies a cool range of moods, haha. I don’t really see this record as harder than the previous one, but I think the combination of dreamy / melancholic and dancing / dark moods goes deeper on it!

Starting off ambient before it locks into a disco tempo, ‘The Cure’ has this wonderfully cinematic feel. Does soundtrack work appeal to you and do you have any favourite film composers?

It’s funny you say that, because Lulannie, who sings with me on this song, is a photographer / director. She also directed the music video that we had to shoot remotely, her in New York, me in Paris and in Brittany. Cinema is definitely a source of inspiration for me, even though I don’t listen to a lot of movie soundtracks by itself. More than a source of inspiration, it’s really a source of creativity that encourages me to explore some things with my own medium, with my own vision. This summer, I re-watched the entire ‘Twin Peaks’ series + movies and that reminds me one more time how Angelo Badalamenti is one of the greatest genius of music composing.

Your debut 2017 EP ‘Dust & Disorders’ has been expanded, but with five new songs to start. Why did you go for this approach rather than release a new standalone EP or even a new album?

When I worked on my first songs, I started with nothing but my computer and, after some friends convinced me to, I released it on Bandcamp. This EP has a special place in my heart, because it gave me the opportunity to introduce my music and to meet new amazing people. I had very few listeners at that time, but I was already dreaming of being able to give it a vinyl release one day. I also really wanted to see the artwork on a real printed object. In the meantime, with my two albums, I also had collected a lot of drafts of unfinished songs. I used them to write those 5 new songs and I think combining the two projects was quite cohesive!

What is the story behind the song ‘Hanté De Moi’ and its video?

My lyrics are always quite blurred and opened for interpretations. If, as a listener, you want to hear a word rather than another so it can resonate with you, I’m totally fine with that. When I asked Jennifer Medina to shoot a music video for it, I only gave her the lyrics, so she could build her own vision of it. I loved the abstract result of this girl watching herself in dreams.

M!R!M has done a remix of ‘Much More Like a Wave’, are you happy with the results? How do you go about choosing remixers for the songs and how involved do you get, are you quite hands off?

I love his take on the song. I always felt that the chorus of this song could work as an anthem and he definitely achieved that with his remix. I only work with artists I love regardless of their music style, so I’m not getting involved at all in their process, unless they ask to, but I don’t know if that ever happened.

You remixed ‘A Tout Jamais’ for Mylène Farmer in 2022, when the ball is on the other foot and you are remixing another artist, what approach to do take?

The main thing I like when I’m remixing a song is to work with vocals that are not mine! It changes the way to work the sounds and I love that. I have to admit that I have a preference for female vocalists, it takes me to somewhere that I’m not used to. Mylène Farmer is the best example for that, she’s one of the (if not the) most iconic French singer, so it was quite challenging but also a huge pride.

Are there any upcoming live shows in the calendar, how do you find the challenges of performing as a solo electronic act, is it something you enjoy?

I don’t play a lot of shows, it asks for quite a lot of involvement and energy, so for the moment, I only accept cool one-shot opportunities. But despite the stress it can cause, it’s always great memories. I had the chance to open for TR/ST, LINEA ASPERA and Molly Nilsson and those memories will be forever dear to my heart. But I will definitely search for more occasions to play in the future, maybe for my next album.

What are your future FRAGRANCE. plans with regards recording and remixing?

My main plan right now is to work on my new album, my third LP. I have a more and more clear vision of what I want to do with it, but I have to get to work now! I’m taking a little break in making remixes so I can focus on the new songs, but I’ve got one unreleased one that will be released at the beginning of 2024 I think!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Matthieu Roche

Special thanks to Marcus Sugars at Sugarcane Recordings

‘Much More Like A Wave’ (M!R!M Remix) is released by Sugarcane Recordings, available via online outlets including https://fragrancemusic.bandcamp.com/track/much-more-like-a-wave-m-r-m-remix

‘Dust & Disorders (Complete Edition)’ is released by Synth Religion, available as a Limited Edition 12″ half transparent / half cream vinyl LP, CD and download from https://fragrancemusic.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thisisfragrance/

https://www.instagram.com/fragrance.music/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4APg0sb0hq18e3wr2pkEsV

https://linktr.ee/fragrancemusic

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Jennifer Medina
17 October 2023

A Short Conversation with OLLIE WRIDE

14 October 2023 /

Having lent his voice to FM-84, TIMECOP1983, FURY WEEKEND and SUNGLASSES KID, Ollie Wride is back to follow-up his 2019 debut album ‘Thanks In Advance’.

Evoking a Trans-Atlantic flavour in his retrowave pop, the music of Ollie Wride is almost tailor-made for the American market. New songs like ‘Juliette’, ‘A Matter Of Time’, ‘Victoria’ and ‘The Way I See It’ maintain the standard showcased on ‘Thanks In Advance’, fusing classic synthesized pop sensibilities with melodic FM rock.

He played his first US show at Troubadour in West Hollywood in the summer and has since supplemented this with a wider stateside Fall tour. But he will return to the UK to play a special show at London’s prestigious Scala with support from PARALLELS. After a long flight from the US, Ollie Wride caught up with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK to talk about aspects of his past, present and future.

It’s been 4 years since ‘Thanks In Advance’, how do you look back on the making and reception for it?

Time certainly flies… but in a lot of ways it feels like a lifetime ago, so much has happened since then, both on the world stage and in my personal life. I feel it still stacks up, I listened through for the first time in a while the other day and it brought a smile. Diving back in, there were a few moments I forgot, I love it when you’re surprised by what your former self was thinking.

In hindsight the record feels like a concoction of my limitations breeding innovation? There’s a lot of hope and unbridled energy bottled there; I definitely had something to prove at the time venturing out alone – but it also doesn’t feel disconnected from FM-84 where people ultimately came to know me from. The reception was overall, overwhelmingly positive, snagging the top spot on the iTunes charts in several countries was a bonus – it’s something I never expected but it’s wonderful when your creative output is embraced.

The FM ATTACK remix of ‘I’m A Believer’ and its video was a nice way to round off the campaign?

The remixes came later than the original record release, the intention was to bridge the gap between the genre and community that gave me a platform and a slightly more electronic direction than the original release. What better way to cement the remix releases than to hand over the reins to my peers and producers who I was a fan of? FM Attack was among the first artists that I delved into when I was introduced to the genre. His approach stayed true to the original sentiment of the song but also took it far enough that it would resonate with perhaps the more avid synth listener. I was already planning the 3rd video in the trilogy and the track seemed to fit the flagship role to round off the campaign and drive the deluxe version of the record.

Since then you done one off singles with Michael Oakley, Jess Frye and a number of producers like FURY WEEKEND and SUNGLASSES KID, how have these collaborations helped keep your creative momentum going?

I’m always writing and producing, a lot of folks don’t make the connection but everything you’ve heard me on I’ve either written / produced or co-written and co-produced. Something that I have a huge interest and passion for. Rather than being “just the vocalist”, which always sounds like it’s devaluing the discipline of great vocalists and separately skillsets I’ve worked hard at.

I’m incredibly fortunate to do this as my full time job so creative momentum isn’t usually in short supply at my house. That said, occasionally circumstance affords the opportunity to step outside of my usual wheel house and work with friends and other artists in and outside of the genre. In those instances mentioned, Michael Oakley and I have racked up a lot of miles together now. I collaborated and top lined on his last 2 records and he co-produced and mixed ‘Thanks In Advance’, work aside, he’s a close friend and a joy to be around.

Ed Gamper (SUNGLASSES KID) is another example of a chance connection evolving into a close bond. ‘Stranger Love’ emerged out of the early days of the pandemic coming about very quickly from a spark of inspiration I had following one of his social media clips. The chord progression really resonated with me and so outcome the lyric and melody. It’s a mainstay in my show and a personal favourite from the first album cycle. In any instance, I approach collaboration with an open mind and whatever is best for the song attitude. It’s so easy to get in the way of yourself and overthink these things, so the advantages of collaboration practically speaking serve as a wonderful sounding board. Many hands make for light work, but don’t let too many spoil the broth!

You first became known as the voice of FM-84 and there was a new song with Col Bennett ‘Bend & Break’ which came out in 2019, what was the story behind this?

That’s right, we embarked on a pretty extensive tour of North America including a big date at Brixton Electric in London that was a real pinnacle for us at the time. As I recall Col and I wanted to create something that featured an audience participation chant – something that is always given a great deal of thought during the writing process. Essentially, the song is about the pursuit of your passions at all costs and enduring the hurdles and hardship in order to sustain them. It was the first song we had put out since 2017 so it acted as this proclamation that “Hey, we’re still here everybody!” – encapsulated in the line “No our music it ain’t done, coz I found our revelry… on the highways and in the dancehalls that filled our history” something I’m particularly proud of. Col’s synth work on that record is luscious, definitely a nod to Peter Gabriel which is always a good move in my book.

What did you think of Ed Sheeran’s popwave single ‘Overpass Graffiti’? You know, when I first heard that played on BBC Radio 2, I thought it was you!!

Any association with major artists putting out great music into the world is a wonderful complement in my book. Hopefully, it won’t be too long until it is actually an OW record that you hear!

You’ve signed a deal M3 Recordings, how do you hope this will help you in your wider breakthrough?

Yes, I signed earlier this year having being introduced to the label through my dear friend David Schuler (THE BAD DREAMERS). I was so immersed in the creation of album 2 that as I was approaching its completion playing excerpts to my trusted nearest and dearest – the general consensus was, the record deserved a bigger platform and a wider audience… and in order to do that, you need to find the right team to help elevate the machine. Not an easy task, especially being independent for a few years now.

I think there’s a common misconception that signing to a major totally changes your reality, I guess to some extent it informs it, however the work really begins and there’s a process and a consideration to everything. Ultimately, me as the artist has to lead the charge and have the vision but where the label comes into play is helping facilitate that… so I will only have a clearer picture when the campaign gets started and the new album is released! However, I’m cautiously optimistic that being under the Sony Music umbrella will help turn the dial towards 11!

Is it all ‘A Matter Of Time’?

Depends on your outlook really! I wrote that as a quasi self-help exercise or a mantra to live by. We all experience hardship and adversity, but I am someone who tries to retain vehement belief and positivity. Even if you don’t believe… believe, believe, believe! Through trial and error, I’ve slowly learned to only worry / take action on what’s in my control and not what is out of it.

A single ‘Juliette’ came out in 2020, who is she and is this song a pointer of how the new album will sound? Have you altered your approach much since ‘Thanks In Advance’?

Truth be told, the names I opt for are generally selected due to their syllabic nature. The stories and sentiment behind the songs are genuine however. I actually wrote that with my dear pal Josh Dally, who spawned a lot of the lyric on that one – it was somewhat of a role reversal and I helmed the arrangement and production. We’re 3 years on from that cut… so the new album is definitely a step up and away from the first record and collaborations. I wanted to go bigger and have a body of work that sounded like a heavy hitting body of work. So there’s been a huge amount of time and effort building the sonics, production, the entire album features live instrumentation leading the charge and the synthesizers and sequencers are working in service of the songs. Akin to ‘Tango In The Night’, ‘So’ etc…. That’s the biggest distinction.

There was a single recently entitled ‘Victoria’, are we getting a concept album about all the girls you’ve loved before?

I don’t kiss and tell!

On ‘Cherry Avenue’, you’ve let your inner Michael MacDonald come out?

Nice spot! I’m a huge fan of THE DOOBIE BROTHERS, those sketches you’re referring to that I’ve posted on my Instagram are ideas that I’m trying out away from the next official release. I’ve become a lot less precious about sharing works in progress in recent times, given album 2 is on the cusp of release – these additional concepts give a little insight into my process and experimenting with different palettes and feels. I’m a sucker for Yacht Rock and those timeless melodies of the late 70s early 80s, so here’s me picking up the baton.

‘Landslide’ is not a cover of the Olivia Newton-John song but it does feature a funky synthbass… what tools do you like writing and pre-production?

Everything I write starts at the piano, my beloved CP70, from there I build the rhythm track. I try to capture the nucleus of a song very quickly… and from there work on all the clever bits. I think the worst mistake you can make is to lead with the production before you have the song, for me at least, you’ve got to establish the message first and foremost otherwise it’s like building a castle upon sand. I work in Logic, I’m not a huge gear head but I have a few key toys; Dave Smith OB-6, Yamaha CP70 and I invested in a really great vocal chain – UAD 6176 with the optical compressor coupled with SE Electronics Rupert Neve RNT condenser microphone.

‘The Way I See It’ is the newest single, how would you describe it?

It’s the second single taken from my upcoming sophomore record, a nu-disco, funk doused, avant-garde production with all the hallmarks and hooks of sophistipop as a joyous musical recourse to the adverse times we have all experienced these past few years.

Essentially, it’s a song about mindset and how we see ourselves faring against adversity in the world. Initially emerging from the early days of the pandemic, with a new found abundance of time on my hands distanced from friends and family, set against the backdrop of a world that appears to be cracking – there was still a lot to be grateful and hope to cling to. I couldn’t help but take stock of where I am in life and why these relationships matter most; it felt only natural to explore a more contemplative lyric in an attempt to articulate how our lives hang in such a delicate balance between having and losing it all; and the challenges of maintaining positivity against the odds – a concept I feel we can all relate to.

You played your first US solo headline show at The Troubadour in Hollywood, how was that for you?

Humbling, exhilarating, awe-inspiring. As a British musician, venturing to America and selling out what is probably the most famous music venue in the world is the stuff of dreams. You enter the history books when you play there. Having sold it out once before with FM-84, stepping out on my own steam was a nerve wracking challenge, there’s a great amount of expectation and pressure to deliver. It also gave me a renewed confidence having been away for so long. It truly meant the world and I’m tremendously thankful to all those who came and supported.

Coming up is a London date at The Scala which was made famous by SPANDAU BALLET in their breakthrough TV appearance back in 1979 and which THE MIDNIGHT also played, what have you got lined-up in terms of format and band personnel?

I’ve been fortunate enough to have played the majority of venues around London in my time. From dive bars to the O2 Arena… the one that always stuck out that I haven’t played is Scala. This will be my biggest solo show to date following Lafayette back in 2021 – so I’m brimming with excitement! The band gets bigger, the production more heavyweight… I always try and better myself from the last show, the last tour. I care immensely about the show and all its facets to give the fans the most entertaining experience I can. Whilst I don’t want to give too much away, you are certainly in for a treat – my shows go hell for leather… “Deaf ‘em, blind ‘em, and leave ‘em wanting more!”

What are you hopes and fears as you approach the sophomore stage of your solo career?

I am a cautious optimist. I’ve been at this a hot minute and learned a lot. Signed, dropped. Majors, indies… having it all and losing it. I won’t pretend that it hasn’t had a bearing, you definitely develop a Teflon skin.. So the older I get, the less I concern myself with the things out of my control, and focus on what is… The world is in a state of immense change, it’s easy to succumb to the endless deluge of information and headlines; it’s all noise and the majority of it is not good for you (in my view) So the challenge is how does one navigate whilst being informed and not get sucked into the vacuum?

This album cycle feels very different, predominantly due to the huge impact the pandemic had on my trajectory and plans in 2019 – I literally had to begin again… but also, I’ve had a great deal of time to create without any external influence or pressure, it’s been on my terms and informed by my experience during that period of adversity, cemented onto record; the sum of which I consider to be my best work yet and the production an entirely different level from anything I’ve been involved with or outputted before. I hope the sophomore stage demonstrates a renewed energy and focus – as well as the continued increase in audience… after all, without them none of this is possible AND for them I am eternally grateful.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Ollie Wride

Special thanks to Stuart McLaren at Outland

‘Juliette’,  ‘A Matter Of Time’, ‘Victoria’ and ‘The Way I See It’ are available via online platforms at https://linktr.ee/olliewride

The album ‘Thanks In Advance’ is still available via New Retro Wave

Ollie Wride plays London Scala with support from PARALLELS on Sunday 22 October 2023, tickets available from https://scala.co.uk/events/ollie-wride/

https://olliewride.com/

https://www.facebook.com/olliewrideofficial/

https://twitter.com/OllieWride

https://www.instagram.com/olliewride/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1anhHn744LbctzF9EHpvea

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
14 October 2023

CZARINA The Outsider

22 September 2023 /

Following the cult acclaim for her second album ‘Arcana’, CZARINA returns with a dark electro take on alternative rock band A PERFECT CIRCLE’s 2004 single ‘The Outsider’.

Pushing the song into a more baroque Gothic direction which manages to caress and ravage vocally, there are hints of DEPECHE MODE and THE CURE in the synthesized filmic arrangement, particularly in the stringy resonances of the latter’s ‘Lullaby’. The track will be part of the ‘Sacred Geometry: A Tribute to A PERFECT CIRCLE’ tribute compilation by Coitus Interruptus Productions who also put together the JAPAN tribute album ‘Still Life In Polaroids’ on which CZARINA featured.

Based in the Spanish region Galicia facing both the Atlantic Ocean and the Cantabrian Sea, New Yorker Vero Faye Kitsuné, who makes her art under the imperial nom de théâtre of CZARINA, takes her more recent mystical inspiration from her relocation, projecting the vast landscape with a cosmic presence in her visual presentations.

CZARINA chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about the making of ‘The Outsider’ and its impressive video which was made with her husband / creative partner DeadlyKawaii under their two-man production umbrella The Kitsunés on a limited budget…

What inspired you darkly synth up A PERFECT CIRCLE’s ‘The Outsider’?

The original track and performance are so iconic of A PERFECT CIRCLE, of Maynard James Keenan and of that particular era in music that it is hallowed ground. (The song and their record, ‘Thirteenth Step’, just turned 20 years old!)

I have to carefully dissect, deconstruct the composition and arrangements, and then drastically rebuild without deviating from the original chord structure and vocal melodies. My goal was to give the song my own perspective, spin and dynamic qualities, without repeating what was already done, and bring it to a very different and unique space through a new set of lens. During production, a lot of my other influences also came to mind in the process. There’s a bit of THE CURE, Siouxsie and Kate Bush vibes in there.

But I didn’t set out to do just a darkwave or synth pop version. I wanted to push my production and performance while maintaining the song’s gripping intensity – especially the visceral anger – but also give it an otherworldly, enigmatic atmosphere that feels ancient – almost like “a call from home” or “return to senses” type of thing. It was fun writing and integrating the string section, the choir and a new piano / synths topline melody against the arps and the heavy drums which I kept in that dark alternative / epic rock style of performance along with the vocals.

The original was driven by Billy Howerdel’s guitars so I felt it was only proper to throw in a very brief Phrygian mode guitar performance. The mix of various elements gave the song some new facets and dimension. As there were a lot of layers and parts going on at the same time (typical with most of my production work), my co-producer, mixing and mastering engineer, Von Hertzog (VHxRR, INFORMATION SOCIETY) had to dial in all the moving parts in analog to get that wide full range in dynamics. He gave the mix some massive cojonés. The result felt like a whole different world emerged from the core of the original song itself.

The video is suitably picturesque, mystical and uses drones, how did you come up with the concept?

I wanted to give the song a different meaning as to how it relates in a larger scale. We wanted to paint the visuals with a bit of nostalgic, cosmic fantasy and color – make it fun yet thoughtful. DeadlyKawaii and I created this alien, celestial world using all the surreal, beautiful surroundings available to us here in our home in Costa Da Morte, Galicia and convey the song from the view point of a true, yet curious and playful “Outsider” in the form of a dark astral entity looking in and pondering over humanity (or perhaps, another hopeless race of intelligent yet terribly misguided beings entering final stages of its cosmic cycle and really screwing things up in their home planet.)

We see this Outsider see truth, come to full realization, absorb and charge up some power to initiate the final act of judgement and become the source of destruction – not necessarily out of anger or contempt, but rather out of duty in the cycle of Creation as Karmic messenger and deliverer. We wanted the final performance to carry a tinge of sadness while delivering the final death blow.

When I was writing the treatment, I was focusing on the lyrics “You’re pounding on a fault line” and how it relates to stories of Judgement in esoteric mysticism. Some of these tales are echoed within video games I loved playing during my youth like the ‘Final Fantasy’ series (FF7 is my favorite) where humanity is being challenged to take action to prove their worth and turn things around or face demise in the form of “the terror from the skies” or a great tempest and deluge.

We wanted to exhibit the elements borrowed from this particular mix of ancient and modern sources and share our own thoughts on how society has created and long maintained unsustainable, destructive and hurtful systems in constant pursuit of decadence that would be responsible for fast-tracking humanity’s eventual death along with the planet and all creatures. Hence the question, “What would it take to get thru to you, precious?”. We see ripples of consequences cascading now with all the destruction by various forces of nature happening simultaneously in different parts of the world due to climate change. The video is trying to give that message and reminder a signal boost even though it is probably too late.

You recently did a cover of ‘Halloween’ for the JAPAN tribute album ‘Still Life In Polaroids’, is there a spiritual link with ‘The Outsider’ at all?

Both songs vividly paint and articulate the heightened emotions of emotional and mental crises and distress behind relationship breakdowns. Though JAPAN’s ‘Halloween’ was more painterly, atmospheric and cryptic in its writing, whereas A PERFECT CIRCLE’s ‘The Outsider’ was direct, aggressive and confrontational, I find both songs together emote the movements and reverberations of the painful fight for love, the weight of attachment and the despair that comes with eventual loss in full spectrum- from realization, hurt, anger, trauma to healing, self-reflection, and ultimately, acceptance, resignation and resolve. Both writers seem to urge us to feel the feels, but also look at ourselves deeply in the mirror, purge, release and transmute pain and move forward towards a higher direction. As long as we know how to navigate and move forward, we will always be ok.

Your 2022 album ‘Arcana’ attracted some critical acclaim in the independent online press, how do you look back on the making of it and its reception?

I’m overjoyed and humbled that the record resonated. ‘Arcana’ gave me the affirmation to always follow my gut and stay true and authentic to the vision and what I want to do. Von and I often talk about how the record pushed both of us, and we got somewhere new and vast. My own production is often huge, hairy and monstrous: multi-layered with lots of instruments – synths, orchestral and electronic parts on top of dynamic vocals. That’s just my natural inclination when I write and produce music. And Von is like the mad scientist who figures out how to balance and make the layered harmonics work thru various analogue mixing and mastering techniques to get to that giant, expansive range. I felt like we did something new and rare and I finally got to a sound I can call my own. It’s like opening a new portal and we had to crack several codes to get to it. The process was challenging but incredibly rewarding and exciting in the end. I’m very excited to work on the next one and see how this project evolves further in its own universe.

What’s next for CZARINA, live and recording wise?

I’ll be performing at European Dark Dance Treffen in Mannheim in November, which I’m excited for! My first time to play Germany and a gothic fest. I am closing the Arcana chapter of this project with one final music video dropping mid-December for the track ‘The Fox’s Wedding’. It is immediately followed by a really fun collab with a video game-inspired music video with my DarkTunes label boss, Extize, coming end of December. My third album is also now in the works which I hope to release sometime in 2024, along with more tour and festival dates here in the EU.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to CZARINA

‘The Outsider’ is released by darkTunes Music Group as a digital single on the usual platforms, available from https://czarinaofficial.bandcamp.com/

European Dark Dance Treffen takes place 16 – 19 November 2023, the line-up includes CZARINA, BLUETENGEL, COVENANT, DAS ICH, BOYTRONIC + many more, tickets available from https://helterskelter.ticketshop.live/EDDT-2023/

https://www.czarinaofficial.com/

https://www.facebook.com/czarinanyc

https://twitter.com/CZARINAnyc

https://www.instagram.com/czarinaofficial/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
22 September 2023

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