Category: Interviews (Page 21 of 117)

RODNEY CROMWELL vs ROMAN ANGELOS Interview

13 May 2023 /

Following well-received opening slots for BLANCMANGE and A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS in 2022, Rodney Cromwell heads out on the road this June.

The nom de plume of indietronica veteran Adam Cresswell whose previous projects have included SALOON and ARTHUR & MARTHA, his most recent album ‘Memory Box’ provided a hazy soundtrack to a post-truth world with the icy motorik romance of ‘The Winter Palace’ and the NEW ORDER aping ‘Opus 3’ among its highlights.

Support for this first-ever Rodney Cromwell headlining tour comes from Happy Robots label mate Roman Angelos; the sonic nostalgia vehicle of Brooklyn-based producer Rich Bennett, his latest release ‘Supermarkets, Underwater’ collects various ambient remixes of tracks from his long playing muzak and exotica homage ‘Music For Underwater Supermarkets’. Keeping it in the Happy Robots family, German-based combo MOOD TAEG will present a DJ set at the London Servants Jazz Quarters date.

Getting into character in preparation for their upcoming English tour, Rodney Cromwell and Roman Angelos chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about their musical common ground, instrumentation preferences, the perils of social media and much more…

How did you become aware of each other?

Roman: I first became aware of Adam from his work with ARTHUR & MARTHA. I think I came across their profile on MySpace and I really dug what they were doing; I also loved the name of the record ‘Music For Hairproducts’! Honestly, seeing someone name-check an Eno album in a tongue-in-cheek manner inspired me to go forward with naming my record ‘Music For Underwater Supermarkets’.

Adam and I then formally met over email at the end of 2017 through our mutual friend Morgane Lhote of STEREOLAB and HOLOGRAM TEEN when he asked if I would produce his track ‘Comrades’. After that we were off to the races!

Rodney: After Morgane introduced us, I then realised Rich was one of the many former members of the rather wonderful US dreampop band MAHOGANY, so I would have seen his name as one of the crossed-out former members on their Wikipedia or Discogs pages. I think Rich’s first commission for Happy Robots was mixing Alice’s ARTHUR & MARTHA remix for the ‘Adjustments’ album, but I could be wrong, my memory is not great (and I have a song about that too).

Your styles of music are quite different so which artists would you say are your common musical ground, if any?

Roman: On the face of it yes, there is a noticeable difference, but I think there are some very strong things at our cores which unite us. It’s funny, Adam and I were *just* talking about what this common thread is the other day! I think that artists like KRAFTWERK and STEREOLAB come through in both of our work, and there is also the obsession and use of vintage synths. I also share a lot of Adam’s reference points as a listener, but they’re not things I put into the Roman Angelos music.

Rodney: I think a deep appreciation of STEREOLAB and KRAFTWERK absolutely. But the other answer would be THE BEATLES. We talked about THE BEATLES endlessly while we were making ‘Memory Box’. It’s going to be hellish when we are on tour, because our synth player Martin is also a BEATLES bore, so I expect us to be talking about the Fabs all the way up the M1, much to the dismay of Richard our guitar player who prefers WU TANG CLAN!

What are your favourite instruments or devices to use when writing? Have you recommended equipment or software to each other?

Roman: I may have suggested a software synth to Adam at some point and he may have laughed at me – ha! For my writing I have a decent library of sounds and a nice set-up to play all my MIDI parts into a computer. I usually try and get a bunch of ideas and parts out as fast as possible, and then I edit later to get the arrangement together. I also find that whenever I’m embarking on a significantly new project, I need a new instrument, whether it be a new guitar, bass, synth (it doesn’t need to be expensive) just something new to clear my head and allow me to explore.

Rodney: I’m still using just the same five synths that I talked about when I played Vintage Synth Trumps with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in 2016; the Moog Rogue, Moog Opus 3, ARP Quartet, Korg MS-10 and MicroKorg. Software wise, I’m probably not the right person to recommend anything, I have finally upgraded my 2011 version of GarageBand to LogicX. Let’s just say I’m starting a long journey and I’m currently on the arse-end of the learning curve.

Roman remixed ‘Opus III’ but is there any scope for Rodney to return the compliment?

Roman: One million times yes – you just tell me the tune Adam!

Rodney: Errr you’ll have to speak to my people about that. But seriously, until now you’ve never asked and so I’ve never offered. The less remixing I can do the better, I’m not the fastest worker, as I think we’ve established by now.

What are your favourite tracks by the other?

Roman: Well, I did produce a number of the Rodney Cromwell tracks, so in an attempt to take myself out of the equation, I’ll say that I really loved ‘Wristwatch Television’ and ‘Technocrats’ upon first listen, even before they were fully mixed or produced. They were a joy to work on from beginning to end, and they’re really fun tunes. And I think that ‘Opus 3’ is a real banger. It’s super fun and it’s something I put one while I run, so there’s that!

Rodney: I really love the three tracks on the ‘Italian Soda’ 7” single and I’ve listened to them an unhealthy number of times. My kids would definitely say the ‘Spacetronic Lunchbox’ album; they were obsessed with that record, I found about 3 copies of the CD squirreled away under my eldest’s bed.

What can audiences expect from your upcoming sets on this tour?

Roman: My performance will be somewhere between the remixed and original versions of the ‘Underwater Supermarkets’ music – it’s a wholly unique arrangement. I’m performing solo so I had to come up with a lot of creative solutions to bring the energy and vibe to the performance, but I think it’s going to work out really well. PLUS, there will be times when I’m playing guitar and keyboard at the same time with two separate hands SOOOO… who doesn’t love to see some acrobatics?

Rodney: I hope the first reaction will be “Wow, they’ve rehearsed”! We should be a lot tighter than when we returned after the pandemic where our first show was a total mess, it doesn’t take an awful lot to read between the lines of that particular review on ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK! But we’ve done a fair-few gigs since then, and by the time we played the BLANCMANGE shows, we really knew the ‘Memory Box’ material well, so fingers crossed you should get out slickest headline set yet. It’s not too much of a spoiler to say that our set is divided into three sections; dystopian nightmares, rainbow-psychedelia and 1983 disco party.

How are you finding adapting to the ever-changing social media environment? Do you get TikTok? It seems to be just full of women tugging at T-shirts to reveal themselves in bikinis or is that just my feed? Have you been able to use it for promoting your music? 😉

Rodney: I think that’s just you. I don’t do TikTok because from what I’ve seen, it’s just more vacuous nonsense. I’d rather be reading a stuffy Victorian novel than scrolling through that. I also don’t trust the CCP with my data; but in fairness I don’t trust Zuck and Musk either. If it wasn’t for promoting my music, I’d love to be one of those weirdos that don’t have any social media presence.

Roman: I’m not particularly good at keeping up and haven’t been since I first picked up the guitar at age 12. For social media I have always liked Instagram and still do; I find it’s a fun way to promote your music while being a little silly. And it feels like everyone on Instagram is hoping to see something nice and uplifting… unlike Facebook where everything you say gets you shouted at. I’m intrigued by TikTok, but it seems to work better for musicians and artists who do things a little more off the cuff. It took me 2½ months to program the 7 or 8 songs I’ll be performing live so I don’t exactly have enough content to post every day.

Is there any new material coming out soon? What are your future plans?

Roman: I’m recording my next record in a few weeks and I’m very excited for it. The amazing Shawn Lee aka YOUNG GUN SILVER FOX will be producing it and I’ve got a bunch of great people playing on it. It’s a similar instrumentation to ‘Underwater Supermarkets’ but with a much darker and minimalist vibe. There’s a pretty heavy Brazilian and polyrhythmic feel, mixed in with some AIR style synth and drum parts. My future plans are to put it out and get myself back to the UK to play some more shows!

Rodney: Various remixes will be dropping over the summer along with my next proper single called ‘Exercise Class’. It’s a light-hearted disco number about a sex pest, so I’m not sure how it will be received. If I don’t get cancelled perhaps, I’ll write another album. If I wasn’t an atheist, it would all be in the lap of the Gods.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Adam Cresswell and Rich Bennett

Rodney Cromwell + Roman Angelos 2023 live dates:

London Servant Jazz Quarters (8th June), Reading Face Bar (9th June), Coventry Just Dropped In (10th June), Todmorden The Golden Lion (11th June) – tickets available in advance direct from https://www.happyrobots.co.uk/tickets

Recorded product is available from the Bot Shop at https://happyrobotsrecords.bandcamp.com/

https://www.happyrobots.co.uk/rodney-cromwell

https://www.facebook.com/rodneycromwellartist/

https://twitter.com/robot_rocker

https://www.instagram.com/robot_rocker/

https://www.happyrobots.co.uk/roman-angelos

https://twitter.com/acmehallrich

https://instagram.com/acmehallrich

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
13th May 2023

A Short Conversation with BUNNY X

6 May 2023 /

New York’s BUNNY X mined high school nostalgia for their debut long player ‘Young & In Love’ released in 2021.

Partying like it was 1986, it was a straightforward pop statement that unashamedly recalled John Hughes movies and MTV. But the duo comprising of Abigail Gordon and Mary Hanley are now sophomores and their thoughts turn to ‘Love Minus 80’.

Joining the Sci-Fi club, they have become more dystopian in their outlook as novels, films, television shows and interstellar romances take over as inspiration. Abigail Gordon chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK on behalf of BUNNY X on what many artists call that difficult second album and how despite the darkness, love is still the key…

What prompted BUNNY X to conceive a Sci-Fi themed album in ‘Love Minus 80’ after the high school nostalgia of ‘Young & In Love’?

At the very early stages of the writing process for this album, we realized that we wanted to do something in stark contrast to ‘Young & In Love’ and all that the record embodied such as themes of high school nostalgia and first crushes.

We knew pretty much at the outset that we wanted our next release to be much darker and more introspective than the debut record, but we honestly didn’t realize until we had a few songs done (or mostly done) that we wanted to take things in a Sci-Fi themed direction. In fact, the first song we wrote for the album was ‘Good Love Gone Bad’ which was inspired by a Don Dellpiero song called ‘Good Deal Gone Bad’. I think I may have actually sent the early demo over to David (Don Dellpiero) but we ended up creating completely new music for it as it ended up taking on a life of its own.

‘Something To Rely On’ was written shortly after that one and it became clear we were absolutely going in a darker direction but it wasn’t until the title track ‘Love Minus 80’ started to come together that we realized this was going to mostly end up being a Sci-Fi / Futuristic themed album.

Had the real life events of the world in the past 18 months had a bearing on your mindset for ‘Love Minus 80’?

Yes and no. In honesty, ‘Young & in Love’ was more inspired by those events and was truly healing to work on during an unbelievably stressful time for all of us. Some of those tracks (like ‘Perfect Paradise’ and ‘Can’t Wait’) were 100% inspired by feelings and emotions that were present during the height of the pandemic.

I had Mary in my mind for example when I wrote the lyrics for ‘Perfect Paradise’ as we weren’t able to spend as much time with each other in those days and it was a good reminder that the simple things in life (like staying up late talking with a dear friend over a glass of wine) are the most important and what bring about true joy and peace – or paradise as it were.

As for ‘Love Minus 80’, life was beginning to fully resume when the album started to take shape and things were becoming more and more hectic after a long period of quietude. I’m sure many of us had a similar experience and went through that feeling of being pulled in a million directions all of a sudden.

I’m not sure if this ended up shaping the overall mood of the record or not, but I was definitely in a stressful place when some of the earlier songs were crafted and it’s quite possible that those emotions creeped their way onto the album.

A case in point in relation to current events could be ‘The Forever War’ and its subject matter tracing a love story between two soldiers attempting to find each other again after being separated in battle?

For better or worse, this seems to be a longstanding and ongoing theme throughout many of our releases.

The searching-for-your-long-lost-loved-one-somewhere-in-deep-space was certainly the plot in ‘Unknown Places’ (2018) and appears again on the album in what is largely a sequel track to ‘Unknown Places’, ‘The Darkest Place’. Apparently we are obsessed with vague and mysterious places haha. But yes, this same theme is ever present in ‘The Forever War’, in ‘Breaking Away (Song for Chevette & Rydell)’ and to a slightly lesser extent in the title track ‘Love Minus 80’ as well. We love ourselves a romance saga set in deep space what can we say? Ha!

While the entire record is pretty personal, ‘The Forever War’ is especially so as my dad lent me the book which ended up inspiring the song in its entirety. It’s a fascinating read by the way, the author is Joe Haldeman and I highly recommend it to anyone that’s into military science fiction as it’s quite thought provoking and is actually an anti-war book according to the author.

In any event, when I told my dad about the song idea, he got pretty excited about it and then proceeded to rewrite the lyrics which is reason #98,674 why I love him and why anyone reading this would too if they met him. He also wrote some of the lyrics on ‘Unknown Places’ so if anyone needs help with song lyrics, particularly if the theme is Sci-Fi, my dad is your guy.

‘The Darkest Place’ could be considered as a metaphor for more personal matters despite the Sci-Fi inspiration?

Absolutely. It’s essentially a song about losing someone and wanting to get them back but also about feelings of regret and even shame for having lost them (or let them go) in the first place. These are widely universal emotions and we’re always trying to tap into that as I think it’s so important to be able to relate to and see yourself in the music you’re listening to. We are all flawed and we all make bad choices sometimes. Sometimes those choices can have a lifelong impact and sometimes we never fully recover and that’s okay. It’s part of life and it’s something we all experience at one time or another.

Having worked with producer GOSTEFFECTS on ‘Young & In Love’, how was the creative dynamic this time round with that experience behind you, as ‘Love Minus 80’ does come across as being more assured?

All I have to say is: I still thank the sun, moon, stars, planets and even the exoplanets that I happened upon GOSTEFFECTS’ profile one day in a random fit of frustration I was having with being unable to get my mixes to the next level. After working with GOSTEFFECTS on the first album, I knew there was no going back and, as you alluded to, this last go round was even easier than the first since he and I have become true collaborators at this point. He’s become a bit of a mind reader in that he usually knows what I’m hoping to accomplish without me having to go into any lengthy description and just kind of understands what the brief is from the jump. I’m eternally grateful to GOSTEFFECTS for helping us bring these projects to life.

You have worked with SELLOREKT / LA DREAMS again and adapted two of his previously released instrumentals on ‘Breaking Away (Song for Chevette & Rydell)’ and ‘Chiba City Blues’?

Kevin of SLA Dreams is an absolute diamond of a person and has there ever been a more prolific artist in the synthwave genre? I honestly don’t think so as he churns out the hits like an absolute wizard again and again. It’s been awesome working with Kevin off and on over the past few years and we’re extremely grateful that he keeps having us back and even more so that he trusts us with his incredible compositions and allows us to add onto them. Aside from our collaborations with him, I’m looking forward to hearing what he’s been cooking up with Roxi Drive and Mayah Camara. The boy doesn’t sleep!

‘Something To Rely On’ is the outlier on ‘Love Minus 80’ in that it’s not Sci-Fi related, so how did it creep onto the album?

This was the second track we worked on for the album and was created before we settled on our Sci-Fi theme.

Once the rest of the tracks started to take shape and I realized it didn’t really fit in with the overarching aesthetic, I was concerned that this one wouldn’t work on the record. However, we felt that the moodiness of and driving BPM on the track fits with the overall vibe we were going for and I’m glad we included it. The song has a bit of an end of the world feeling to me, perhaps because the characters in the song have become so toxic and destructive to one another such that there’s nothing much left for them to give. Fun!

The theme of unrequited love is explored again on ‘Daydreaming’ and you used ‘Dancing On My Own’ by Robyn as the rhythmic template?

Yep. We can’t seem to help ourselves when it comes to unrequited love and themes of lost love and longing. I think it’s because it’s just such a universal feeling that we’ve all had and I think even when you’re happy, and in a good partnership, and / or a good place in your life, we can’t help but think about the roads not taken and the paths not explored. I think it’s just part of the human condition to wonder or daydream as it were about other places, lives and people and how you may (or may not) have been happy and fulfilled living those other lives. I think a lot of sci-fi readers are also kind of obsessed with parallel universes and alternate timelines and ‘Daydreaming’ is somewhat inspired by that.

I definitely wanted us to do a more upbeat, danceable track on this album since most of the songs are pretty midtempo and so what better template to use than Robyn’s iconic ‘Dancing on My Own’ and ‘Call Your Girlfriend’ era bops to accomplish that?!

The ‘Love Minus 80’ title song presents a catchy duet with THOUGHT BEINGS and uses more futuristic sounds? 

How gorgeous are Orion’s vocals on this track though? Not gonna lie, when Mary and I first heard the mix he sent, we blushed like some dang schoolgirls! Phew! I had a feeling the duet would lend the song some serious depth and power but I had no idea just how great Mary and Orion’s voices would blend together. I must have first reached out to Orion about the duet idea in mid-2022 kind of around the time we were working on our recent freestyle collabs (ie ‘Cross The Line’ and ‘Promised’) and fortunately for us, he agreed to the project right away. It took me a second to get him the final demo of memory serves and then he sent us his mix not long after that and really breathed some new life into the song.

In terms of the futuristic sounds on the track, I have to give full credit to GOSTEFFECTS for that – that was his pure genius mind at work there. We decided to add in a little sample from my favorite sci-fi movie ‘Logan’s Run’ so there’s also a little Easter egg in there for any fans of the film (I see you Marc!).

‘Good Love Gone Bad’ is perhaps icier than we are used to with regards BUNNY X?

Totally. While ‘Young & in Love’ was earnest and sweet nostalgia, this album – particularly songs like ‘Good Love Gone Bad’ and ‘Something To Rely On’ – is teeming with some much darker and heavier elements like rage and resentment and fear and loneliness. I’m not entirely sure what inspired all this but I guess looking around at the state of things here at home and elsewhere, it’s perhaps not so surprising that some of these songs came out how they did.

‘Good Love Gone Bad’ is also a frustrating Catch 22 in that even when the relationship (or “war” in this case) is over, nothing really changes as so much can remain unresolved long after an ending. It’s possible that I’m completely overanalyzing it all now with the benefit / lens of time, but so much of what we’re seeing on our screens are the same problems over and over again with no real evidence that things will improve anytime soon. I think we experience this hopelessness in our own personal relationships that have failed but we also see it play out in the news every day.

Which songs from the album are your own favourites?

They are all really dear to me and some I’ve spent more time with than others but I personally love them all for different reasons as they bring up a range of emotions.

I find myself listening to ‘Breaking Away’ fairly often because I love the dreamy vibe of it. Similarly, ‘Love Is An Empire’ also has that gauzy, hazy quality that I enjoy so I’ve been listening to that one a bunch as well.

‘Love Is An Empire’ was actually a last minute addition to the record but now that it’s an integral part of it, I can’t imagine the track not being there. It was pure joy to work with Don Dellpiero on that and have him give us his blessing to add onto his work.

What’s next for BUNNY X, there were hints of a return to Italo Disco?

We do have a few more collabs in the works that we started on some time ago so we want to see those through now that this project has wrapped.

I’m also thinking it may be high time we put out a collection of all the Italo songs we’ve released over the years so everything is in one place. I also think it would be great to get some of the older tracks remastered and perhaps include some previously unreleased Italo tracks cuz we sure do have ’em!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to BUNNY X

‘Love Minus 80’ is released by Aztec Records on 26th May 2023, available as a CD, vinyl LP, cassette and download from https://bunnyx.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BunnyXmusic

https://twitter.com/bunnyxmusic

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

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Jm30qu7cd4QfXkJSoYL6y

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
6th May 2023

KNIGHT$ vs SNS SENSATION INTERVIEW

4 May 2023 /

Despite Spring seemingly not arriving in the UK, plans for the Summer and lashings of ice cream are being made by some…

KNIGHT$ returns to London for a special birthday gig after a three show Mexican stand-off opening for Los Angeles darkwave duo DRAB MAJESTY; the glitterball Britalo vehicle of James Knights, his previous support sojourns have included A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS and HEAVEN 17. Featuring ‘What’s Your Poison?’, ‘Alligator’ and ‘Gelato’, his debut full-length album ‘Dollars & Cents’ was one of those fine immediate electronic pop records, ideal for these turbulent and uncertain times.

With a ‘Boom Bang Boom!’, James Knights will be performing songs from his SCARLET SOHO and BOYTRONIC portfolio as well as new KNIGHT$ material.

There will also be a DJ set by Berlin-based Dame Bonnet while opening the evening will be a live set from SNS SENSATION; the solo moniker of Argentine-born Sebastian Muravchik, he is perhaps best known as the charismatic front man of HEARTBREAK who shared stages with THE PRESETS, LA ROUX, LITTLE BOOTS and on their return, ITALOCONNECTION and BLANCMANGE. A support slot with FIAT LUX in 2022 fired up Muravchik to perform live more as SNS SENSATION.

In a joint interview James Knights and Sebastian Muravchik chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about their first meeting, Italo Disco, the state of the modern music industry and much more.

The last time the two of you shared a stage together was in different guises in 2018 at The Moth Club for Hypnotic Tango in London when ITALOCONNECTION came over, what are your memories of that event?

James: I bumped into Sebastian at the train station before the soundcheck and we had a really nice chat on the way to the venue. That was the first time we’d met in person! I performed my song ‘Alligator’ with ITALOCONNECTION, then I was able to enjoy the rest of the night as a spectator, it was great.

Sebastian: An unforgettable night, it was fantastic. There was a unique energy in the room – the HEARTBREAK set was as if there had been no break at all! James and I met in person for the first time that day and had really good chats. Everyone was very impressed by James’ surprise performance with Fred and Paolo. I enjoy what James does on stage very much indeed and look forward to seeing a whole set at The Black Heart.

How did you become aware of each other?

James: Sebastian’s previous project HEARTBREAK was inspiring. To see people on stage pushing it to the max and challenging the audience is great. I always had the impression they didn’t give a damn what was in vogue at the time, and they would perform alongside almost any other artist, in any genre. Totally fearless and unapologetic, the way it should be!

Sebastian: It was via messages on social media. I think James was aware of some of the work I had done before I took a break from music, and we got talking. I was impressed with how involved he was with the Italo Disco world and how much influence he had taken from it in his own productions. He’s also a very nice fellow indeed, proof that you can be a great performer with no need for big egos.

So you both share this love of Italo Disco which is often unfairly maligned in the UK. Do you think there has been a renaissance as a result of documentaries like ‘Italo Disco Legacy’, ‘Dons Of Disco’ and ARTE TV’s Italo special?

Sebastian: I think the Italo scene is small but quite established now, certainly a lot more than it was when Ali Renault and I started HEARTBREAK, there was next to nothing in the UK back then. At the same time, some of us were moving in somewhat different directions, like DJ Casionova embracing Kosmische and ambient and other things, Ali’s emphasis on industrial electro, Road to Rimini generally doing less, me looking into somewhat darker territories etc.

Italo changed our lives and will always be loved by us, and still be an influence, but this artistic journey is unpredictable and you gotta go where you gotta go. And at any rate, we’ll always have Flemming Dalum 🙂

Personally, the pandemic had a huge impact on my music, and enhanced the darkness brought by Brexit and the rise of the far right, as well as my own existentialist preoccupation with death and oblivion, and the philosophical concern with living authentically through measures of poetry and abstraction.

James: I think the phenomenon is mostly down to the music itself being so good and a little bit innocent. It seems like it’s being appreciated and shared between people more and more, and for once the algorithm is working well, and serving people more hidden gems they haven’t heard yet.

What Italo Disco tracks (not necessarily your favourites) would you recommend as entry points for those who are interested because they like your music but not wholly familiar with the genre?

James: Den Harrow’s ‘Mad Desire’ in its 1984 12” version with vocals from Silver Pozzoli and not the album version (which was re-recorded by Tim Hooker), ‘Marinero’ by Lucia and also from 1985, ‘Late Night Satellite’ by BOYTRONIC…

Sebastian: Amnésie ‘Turas’, Blackway ‘New Life’, Helen ‘Witch’ and ‘Le Camion’ by DEUX (if I can get away with calling this Italo…)

What are your favourite tracks by the other?

James: I have a soft spot for SNS SENSATION’s ‘Discoboom’ because Sebastian was kind enough to submit the track for our Specchio Uomo ‘Trans-Global Excess’ compilation album. It’s massive and I love how raw it is! Then ‘Robot’s Got the Feeling’ from HEARTBREAK, because it’s amazingly dynamic with these amazing stop start rhythms.

Sebastian: ‘Miami Knights’, I love the bassline and vibe. ‘Alligator’, both the original and ITALOCONNECTION’s remix. There’s cool aggressive undertones to the singing and the energy of the productions. It’s the tune James sang with Fred and Paolo at the Moth Club, so it also left an impression that way.

What can audiences expect from your upcoming sets at The Black Heart?

Sebastian: I think having the talent that is Dame Bonnet DJ-ing on the night is a massive plus; he did a stunning remix of my ‘Your Door’ and James’ ‘Julia’, and his own stuff is excellent – as well as his bass work for CURSES. I look forward to playing some new tunes like ‘Diamond Dream’ and others, and I look forward to seeing James’s set and meeting music lovers in the audience. The fans of these kinds of music tend to be very positive people, so it should be a really fun night.

James: I’m sure there will be something, but not sure what! I was playing around with an Elton John track the other day…

Any new material or album / EP releases on the horizon?

James: Yes! I’m just wrapping up a new EP as we speak. The vinyl should be ready later this year, and I’ll be playing the lead track at the show on June 2nd!

Sebastian: I will continue to release singles for now, but I am beginning to consider an EP soon. A cassette release of some sort is definitely on the horizon.

How are you finding adapting to the ever changing music environment and the emphasis on metrics? What are your upcoming plans?

Sebastian: I love the opportunities that independent DIY artists have to release and promote their work, it’s so exciting! And there’s so much stuff released all the time that it inspires you to produce and release only your very best.

I’ve also found more of a sense of camaraderie and community via social media than ever before. At the same time, there seems to be less attention span for music that transcends or does not fall strictly within genre boundaries. ZANIAS recently tweeted about how she felt this affects her career progression. This playlist culture is discouraging for artists that remain committed to the process with no compromise; I guess the key is to keep doing what you do and not giving too much of a f*ck.

James: I’m always trying to get my head down and write as many songs as I can, whilst playing as many shows as I can. Everything else is noise in the end. I can only measure success on how I’m feeling, so if the writing and performing is going well, I’m happy.

Sebastian: My plan is to continue to release music I can be proud of, and keep developing as an artist – never stop learning and trying new things out.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to James Knights and Sebastian Muravchik

KNIGHT$ + SNS SENSATION with DJ Dame Bonnet play The Black Heart, 2-3 Greenland Place,  London NW1 0AP on Friday 2nd June 2023, nearest underground Camden Town – tickets in advance from https://www.seetickets.com/event/knight-special-guests/the-black-heart/2632539

http://knights101.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Knights101/

https://twitter.com/JPSKNIGHTS

https://www.instagram.com/knights101/

https://knights101.bandcamp.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/07xFYhAkgObJY8VBkIy1O4

https://www.facebook.com/wearesns/

https://twitter.com/sns_wave

https://www.instagram.com/sns_discopop_noir/

https://wearesns.bandcamp.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/77pgZLgAxmVYtNaJm96m7P

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
4th May 2023

CAUSEWAY Interview

29 April 2023 /

Photo by Khoa Nguyen

With the likes of GLÜME, MOTHERMARY, JOON, KID MOXIE & NINA attracting attention for their longer form releases on Italians Do It Better, one act also deserving equal recognition are CAUSEWAY.

The Idaho-based dreamwave duo of Allison Rae and Marshall Watson, CAUSEWAY first appeared on the Italians Do It Better compilation ‘After Dark 3’ in 2020 with the song that would become the title song of their debut album ‘We Were Never Lost’.

With a few more singles and a cover of ‘Crazy For You’ for their label’s Madonna tribute album under their belt, their floaty melodramatic aura revealed itself to be the perfect soundtrack for unrequited and failed romances.

Despite appearing to be enigmatic and veiled in mystery, the duo are actually very friendly and down-to-earth when engaged in conversation about their music. ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK spoke to Allison Rae and Marshall Watson about the making of CAUSEWAY’s first long playing record and much more…

It appeared as though CAUSEWAY came out of nowhere with ‘We Were Never Lost’ featuring on the ‘After Dark 3’ compilation in the Fall of 2020?

Marshall: We kinda did. Allie and I had worked together on a couple of small projects way back in 2012 or so and had lost touch. Fast forward to late 2019 and I was working on an early version of ‘We Were Never Lost’ and Allie messaged me asking what I was up to musically. We started talking about what lyrics might look like and if she had interest etc. It took a few months but we finished ‘We Were Never Lost’ and on a whim I sent it to the Italians Do It Better via Soundcloud.

Megan Louise of IDIB got back to us within the day and said she loved it and would like to put it out on an upcoming compilation. She was a bit cryptic and I didn’t realize she was talking about ‘After Dark 3’. We didn’t know it at the time, but they’d made room for us. Johnny Jewel was nearly finished mixing the whole comp and they were just waiting on finals from a couple other artists. They snuck us in at the end. We didn’t even have a name for the project yet, it all happened so fast. Soon after that, ‘Riverdale’ licensed it for a pivotal shot in one of their episodes and things just kinda took off.

Allison: In 2016 I moved back to Boise. I actually never told him. There was just so much going on, it slipped my mind. So when I reached out to him, it was kinda funny. He told me that he sent a couple emails to my old work email address and didn’t get a reply. When I reached out to him, he told me that he thought that I was ignoring him. Then we got to work!

Photo by Khoa Nguyen

Which artists, films or TV shows influenced the aural aesthetic of CAUSEWAY? Had you always intended to be synth-based?

Marshall: I can definitely hear THE CURE, NEW ORDER and early new wave stylings, but I don’t intentionally set out to do that. I definitely wanted CAUSEWAY to be synth forward and more song structured than my other output. As a solo artist, I make lots of different kinds of music, most of it ambient / downtempo / chill or house / techno and mostly instrumental. For CAUSEWAY, I set out with the intention to create more lyrical tracks and get back into a vibe that I’d been into years ago. As for films, John Hughes movies, Kubrick’s films and lots of Sci-Fi.

How would you describe your creative dynamic in CAUSEWAY, do you sit in a room together or is it more remote by necessity?

Marshall: We started out during the pandemic and worked entirely remotely. In 2021 my wife and I moved up here to Boise and for a brief time Allie and I worked together in a room, but we kinda realized that we both needed space to process and work through stuff, so eventually we went back to working remote when it came to the creation process. That said, we have a pretty strict rehearsal schedule that we adhere to, and twice a week meet up for band practice for the live set. It’s been really neat to go from a learning curve to really enjoying playing together. I still send Allie demo tracks and she will send back lyrical ideas.

Allison: Typically, Marshall will send me a rough instrumental track. I’ll listen and add in lyrics and sing them to a scratch melody line. We use Drive to share our ideas and files. Once I have a rough demo, I send it back to Marshall. Sometimes he’ll make notes to the lyrics and usually change up the melody line. We go back and forth until the idea is finalized. This process works well for us. It’s been a blast working with Marshall.

How did the Italians Do It Better become interested in releasing an album and what did Johnny Jewel bring to the final mix?

Marshall: I guess they just heard something they liked in ‘We Were Never Lost’. As for Johnny Jewel, I love working with him and he cracks me up. He actually made a point to stay hands off on the mixing most of the album. He mixed ‘WWNL’, ‘Hide & Seek’ and ‘Your Silent Face’ as singles, but after that when we were starting to really go deep into the rest of the album, he said that we’d created a really solid sonic palette and he didn’t want to step on that. He does, however, have mix notes on everything, lol. EVERYTHING. Most of that is level, eq and whatnot but occasionally he’ll have an idea we explore that is a little deeper.

For example, during the mix of our latest single ‘Wear The Night Out’, he had this amazing chord progression he heard that didn’t exist, and he played it for me super-fast— I wouldn’t say it ‘changed’ the song, but it definitely gave it something it was missing—and it made it better. So, he’s there, but he’s not always all up in it. Mostly.

Allison: I don’t know what their pull was to us, but they have been amazing to work with and I’m loving every minute of it. They are so supportive and always hook us up with the best feedback and artwork.

‘Let Me Love You’ is an epic start to the ‘We Were Never Lost’ album and makes a statement both lyrically and musically, it reminds me a bit of ‘Oostende’ by KEEP SHELLEY IN ATHENS…

Marshall: That is my ‘Plainsong’ moment I guess. That song went through several face lifts but we’d always kinda thought it would be a good opener. I wanted it to be big, both sonically and emotionally. In fact I’d say we’re going all-in on the emotive thing on most of our tracks. Lotta pain.

Allison: Lyrically ‘Let Me Love You’ comes from so much pain and grief from my last relationship. Wanting things in a relationship to be like they were in the beginning, wanting to pretend everything is fine when it absolutely isn’t. The line “Let me love you like we’re alright” I think says a lot in a sentence. When I write, I try to say more with less. The tail end of our album was written during my separation and divorce, and I think my writing was greatly influenced by that even though it wasn’t intentional. It’s interesting listening back and it’s so obvious. I guess my feelings had to get out somehow.

The first rendition of this song was my absolute favorite. Marshall knows, but he broke my heart when he changed it. The wall of sound he created had so much feeling. If you could put a sound on how you feel right before you cry, that what it sounded like. It was so beautiful. Marshall also has an amazing ability to see a project on a larger scale, and the first rendition didn’t fit with the album. He was able to see that. I didn’t. I eventually came around, and he was right. I am so happy with the result!

I have since added ‘Oostende’ to my playlist. Thank you for the comparison! We are flattered.

Yearning is a recurring theme on and this is quite vivid on ‘Hide & Seek’?

Marshall: Yes. We write a lot about pain and loss.

Allison: Haha, yes we do. I think the yearning in ‘Hide & Seek’ comes from a desire to be wanted. It speaks to every person that feels lonely in a relationship and the wandering eye that comes with it.

‘I’m Falling Apart’ which later appeared on ‘After Dark 4’ has this gorgeous disco lento feel about it, what was its genesis?

Marshall: That was one of the few tracks that I wrote most of the lyrics, and I guess we needed a slow chugger that might work on a dance floor. That was another one that had many faces before the final version. I’m into slow disco.

Allison: This song was almost entirely all Marshall, other than me showing up to sing. Love performing this one live!

You’ve said that ‘Loser’ is about a desire for deviance, are you able to say what your deviance is? 😉

Marshall: Allie wrote the ‘Loser’ lyrics… maybe she can speak to that?

Allison: I think it would be a deviance to go against the norm. The line “I wanna be your loser, I wanna feel so lonely with you” is the idea that society has rejected you as an outcast, a loser… but you would rather be alone with your person and be their loser than care about the rest of the world. I could explain the literal meaning behind this song, but once the cat’s outta the bag, it ruins the mystery.

‘Running To You’ appropriately has this real drive to it with arpeggios and staccato voice samples?

Marshall: Those choppy vocals bits are taken from Allie’s vocals. It was Johnny’s idea to add them in and I think it helped elevate the track.

Allison: ‘Running To You’ was a song that Marshall and I wrote together in his studio. We prefer to write separately, but this track was fun to write together. It came with challenges. Mostly, not wanting to look or say something stupid. Ha! But I think we are both over that now.

‘Crazy For You’ was originally recorded for the ‘Italians Do It Better’ Madonna tribute album, what led to your choice and how you went about the arrangement?

Marshall: When IDIB asked us about participating, I went through a bunch of Madonna tracks that I liked and would possibly work with a modern arrangement and I kept coming back to ‘Crazy For You’. I worked on the arrangement of that track for months. In my mind I heard a more industrial, almost psychotic version where she was “cray cray” for you, à la stalker, and less about the gentle 8th grade slow dancer. We open our live show with it… there’s something about when Allie sings “Swaying room when the music starts” just before that huge kick comes in. Thus far, people go nuts when that first drop happens.

Allison: Yeah, Marshall kept texting me song titles and I kept replying “no” to everything he sent. Then at the end of the day he texted me “What about ‘Crazy For You’?” and I immediately responded “That’s it!”

CAUSEWAY tackled another cover in ‘Your Silent Face’ which happens to be my favorite NEW ORDER song; it was interesting that on your version, the main symphonic string hook didn’t appear until halfway through?

Marshall: That is one of my fave NEW ORDER songs too. I love the whole ‘Power, Corruption & Lies’ album. I’d been working on a cover of ‘Your Silent Face’ for years before Allie and I tackled it through CAUSEWAY. I held off on the synth line because I wanted to have a little more tension and I also knew that most people might not recognize it until that line came in, so I’m using it as a tension / release thing. Maybe going back to my techno roots a bit with that.

‘Birthday’ closes the album featuring solemn lines such was “How has it been another year?” and “I wish that you were here”, was this an autobiographical narrative?

Marshall: ‘Birthday’ is another one that I wrote most of the words for. I had a dream / nightmare about everyone I loved dying and I was left alone grieving. The line “I brought you flowers for my birthday, how has it been another year” was just going round and round in my head… it woke me up, and I wrote it down. The next day I got up and wrote the rest of the track. I had a demo of that one in about a day, it was one of the few times the writing process went really fast. The track isn’t autobiographical per se, but it is all about grief which is universal. I don’t think any of our songs are autobiographical, but we do try to tap into the story of pain and suffering, love and loss.

Allison: This one is one of my favorites! Marshall nailed this one.

Which are your own favourites on the ‘We Were Never Lost’ album?

Marshall: Hard to say for me. I’ve worked so hard on all of them I’m kinda numb to them at this point. ‘Let Me Love You’, ‘Birthday’ and ‘Crazy For You’ maybe?

Allison: ‘Loser’, ‘Let Me Love You’ and ‘Hide & Seek’, I think I love these tracks the most because the feeling behind them is still raw. Another favorite again is ‘Birthday’, it’s just beautiful.

CAUSEWAY did several live performances recently, how were they for you and did they light the desire to do more? 

Marshall: At first I was completely against playing live. I didn’t think the tracks would translate well in a live setting. With some nudging from Allie, I agreed to do our first show in Oakland, which ended up being riddled with sound issues. It was a shame too because the venue was packed and the crowd was really up for it.

We had trouble with Allie’s mic but we survived. I thought we might be done with live performance but we just finished playing SXSW and Treefort, and that was a blast. For SXSW we had a decent crowd but here in Boise for Treefort, the Neurolux was packed front to back. I was shocked. Treefort was the first time we were playing without the IDIB label machine behind us, which usually has its own power to bring people in. When you are playing on the same bill as ORION, GLÜME, MOTHERMARY and DESIRE… people tend to show up. But here, we were on our own and it turned out amazing.

JOON was also on but much later, and there were punk bands in-between. When the first drop of ‘CFY’ hit, the whole room went off—it was exhilarating. As for the future, we don’t know yet. We’ve discussed adding a few other tracks to the set and maybe playing locally. Flying with a synth and gear is a hassle, but I could see us doing some gigs in PDX or SLC or more in Boise.

Allison: I absolutely love performing live. It’s addictive. Can’t wait for more live shows.

What prompted you to choose to cover ‘Nobody’s Diary’ by YAZOO live?

Allison: This was Marshall’s idea. So I’ll let him speak more about the decision. I absolutely love singing this song live. There is so much drama and mood in the track. You can see us live here if you are interested.

Marshall: ‘Nobody’s Diary’… just like LCD in ‘Losing My Edge’… I wanted to make a YAZ record… kinda. YAZOO was a huge influence for me growing up and ‘Nobody’s Diary’ is one of my favorite tracks. I thought it might be ambitious to tackle that one, and it’s taken quite a while to hone in on the sound for the cover, but ultimately I love how it has turned out. Every single time Allie sings “If I wait for just a second more… “, I kinda lose it inside, and can’t wait to drop it on folks. Right now we have been playing it last in our sets and I LOVE when I can hear people recognize it… I guess it’s some sort of weird validation—I feel like an old raver then… tryna teach the people about something they should know. I just hope we do it justice.

Your new single ‘Wear The Night Out’ is with R. MISSING which is a quite fitting musical union like your label mates KID MOXIE & NINA, is this an indicator of another direction that CAUSEWAY is heading with collaborations?

Marshall: I dunno. I really like R.MISSING and I hit them up on Insta and asked if they’d be into collaborating. I sent Sharon a few demos and she picked one she thought she’d want to work on. It was really seamless and they are amazing artists. She wrote the lyrics and did the heavy lifting on the vocals and I did all the music production and added Allie in, almost as a character for call and response. Blending the two voices was really interesting to me because they are quite different but worked together really well. As for an indicator of future collaborations or direction, I’ve done one other ‘remix’ for an artist that DESIRE was working with but that’s about it. I’m open to collaborations, but it’s all about fit. Most don’t work out so well.

Allison: We had a blast working with Sharon! She killed it. Her instincts were spot on, and Marshall made our voices blend so well together. It was a great fit! We don’t have any collaborations in the pipeline but doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

What is next for CAUSEWAY?

Marshall: Working on new music. IDIB want another album. We’ve got 3 tracks ready (which we’ve been playing in our live set) and a 4th just about ready and several sketches. I’d say sometime this year we’ll have a new one. We’ll see. Our schedules dictate that quite a bit. Maybe more live shows? We’ll see 🙂

Allison: My goals for CAUSEWAY would be more live shows, a killer second album. Mean dirty break up album. Haha! I would love to make another music video. Dream big, right?!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to CAUSEWAY

The new single ‘Wear The Night Out’ with R.MISSING can be heard via https://idib.ffm.to/wearthenight

The album ‘We Were Never Lost’ is released by Italians Do It Better and available on the usual digital platforms including https://wearecauseway.bandcamp.com/

https://italiansdoitbetter.com/causeway/

https://www.facebook.com/wearecauseway

https://twitter.com/WeAre_Causeway

https://www.instagram.com/weare_causeway/

https://www.instagram.com/araehaller/

https://www.instagram.com/marshallwatsonmusicsf/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3V6PIgndeEbvQu6ThnLQ5i

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
29th April 2023

PATRICIA WOLF Interview

20 April 2023 /

Based in Portland Oregon, Patricia Wolf is a musician, sound designer and producer who first came to the attention of electronic music audiences as a member of SOFT METALS.

Since the acclaimed duo disbanded, she has been rediscovering her muse using electronics, voice and field recordings to conjure vivid textures and environmental atmospheres.

Taking her time before releasing her solo compositions to the world, in early 2022, she issued her debut album ‘I’ll Look For You In Others’, a bittersweet ambient work documenting a period of bereavement, heartbreak and disconnect. It was swiftly followed by the brilliant ‘See-Through’, a more hopeful and joyous suite of radiant soundscapes that saw Wolf finding her way to a place of lightness that embraces life and the curiosities that it has to offer.

In a break during preparations for an upcoming North American tour, Patricia Wolf kindly took time out to chat with ELECTRICITITYCLUB.CO.UK about her creative rebirth and love of nature.

Some people who know you from SOFT METALS might be surprised at the ambient and field recordings direction you have taken, how did this come about?

In 2017 I got an invitation from my friend Gina Altamura to create a live reimagined score for a screening of Jean Cocteau’s ‘La Belle et la Bête’ as part of her series ‘Fin De Cinema’ which invites musicians to reinterpret the soundtracks of classic art films. This project inspired me to approach music differently. This is when I first started using field recordings in my work. For example, I used the sounds of a rooster crowing, an arrow being shot, the guttural chanting of a monk, wine being poured into a glass, and other sounds to add interesting audio elements alongside the music. All of the sound from the original film was cut for this performance so I wanted to try to add as much as I could within a live context to make the film more sonically interesting for the audience. I loved working with these sounds – manipulating them, using them to reinforce the drama unfolding on the screen.

While I was composing for the scenes of the film, I noticed that the music I was making was more atmospheric than my previous work, but I was happy with how it was coming out. I thought that writing music in this style would be a brief affair, but it was actually a turning point in my way of expressing myself. I had already been a listener of ambient music, but I had never tried to make music like that before. After that experience I found myself composing more and more music in an ambient/experimental style.

These are not the exact versions of what I performed live, but here are some examples of the songs that I created for the new soundtrack for ‘La Belle et la Bête’ which ended up on ‘Sotto Le Stelle’.

https://patriciawolf.bandcamp.com/track/pas-de-deux

https://patriciawolf.bandcamp.com/track/la-belle-et-la-b-te

Had you considered a song oriented solo career because some would say that you had a strong visual presence with SOFT METALS which might have been suited to the social media environment of today? Or had you already tired of that side of the music business already?

To be honest, I was never comfortable with being in the role of ‘frontperson’, but with synthpop music I think people expect that sort of presentation especially when you are singing. I did have some fun with that persona, but it’s not something that I am interested in doing now.

My desire has always been to let people get lost in the music. I don’t want my image to be the focus. In the work that I do today I like to use nature or nature inspired imagery as much as possible. I want to draw attention to the beauty and complexity of the natural world so that people will feel inspired to appreciate and protect it. Understating my image may help others find a personal connection to the music. I do like seeing images of the artists that I admire so I am going to try to share a little bit of myself from time to time. I like to express ideas that are bigger than myself and then point to that.

How do you look back on SOFT METALS, was it all a valuable learning experience?

SOFT METALS was my first band and I have many fond memories associated with it. I did indeed learn a lot from that experience. We toured throughout North America and Europe and through those travels I learned so much more about the world. I am grateful for that and I’m so happy that I can continue to build upon those experiences with my solo project.

Is there a thread running through your current work from your past because beautiful textures and sound design were very much part of SOFT METALS’ sound.

Like you mentioned, textures and sound design are important elements of my current work. My most recent music as a solo artist better suits introspection where SOFT METALS made music better suited for social situations. You could dance and sing along if you wanted to and it was loud and active enough that people could drink and talk to their friends at a venue or party and it did not ruin the experience at all. My music now needs a much more intentional environment to be understood and appreciated, especially in the live context. It requires you to sit and listen more intentionally. I think that at some point I might make more ‘social’ music again now that the world feels more open and social, but I’ve been slow to get back to that.

There was a period of time between SOFT METALS ending and my albums coming out that I made techno for live performances supporting artists such as SILENT SERVANT and HEADLESS HORSEMAN, but I didn’t release those works. I made a lot of music that I had only performed live before the solo albums came out. I think at that time I was exploring what it meant to work alone. I suddenly had this freedom to do whatever I wanted and I also had to get used to performing alone, which was very scary at first!

One of the concerns that I had at first was that people would not be open to me working in another style of music. I decided to not let that stop me. My favourite musician is the late Ryuichi Sakamoto and one of the many things that I love about him was is open-minded approach to music and sound. He wasn’t afraid to jump from classical to pop, to sound art, to playful silly styles. If he found something interesting and inspiring he pounced on it and made something beautiful, fresh and exciting. I want to have that same freedom.

It was 2020 when you released your first ambient work in the live ‘Sotto Le Stelle’ EP that was originally part of ‘Close Up Non-Stop’ streamed performances at the Ferrara Sotto Le Stelle Festival in Italy. How was it to prepare material and perform in this remote way within the strange world that had emerged from the pandemic?

I was grateful for the opportunity to share my work and to connect with others around the world, especially during that isolating time. Previous to the lockdown I was going out to many shows each week and seeing my friends frequently.

I didn’t want to fall out of touch with people and this gave me a chance to stay connected to the music community that I love. Preparing the music was not a challenge as it was work that I had been performing live before the declaration of the pandemic. The biggest challenge was recording the video of the performance. I have little experience with video production, but I’d love to learn more about it.

Photo by Gina Roberti

You mixed synthesized sounds with field recordings on ‘Sotto Le Stelle’, what has fascinated you about capturing the aural environment?

The experience of hearing an environment with field recording equipment (mic, recorder, headphones) for the first time is unforgettable and exciting. Each subsequent experience contains that same magic. You suddenly have superhuman hearing.

It immediately draws you into the present moment.  Whatever else is going on in your mind fades out and the real-time, present moment floods in and you notice the amazing world around you. What was once mundane is now spectacular! The world becomes hyperreal and it makes you question why you’re not listening to the world around you with so much attention at every conscious moment.

Field recording makes me sensitive to my environment and makes me question every sound around me, especially the anthropogenic ones that dominate the natural world. It makes me more conscious of the words that I speak and the tone and amplitude for each speaking situation. Since starting my practice of field recording I am now fascinated with the local birds. I am learning more about them and am better able to identify them by their songs and calls. It’s inspired me to take more action on environmental causes and to create a more welcoming habitat for them around my home. If I can entice listeners to draw a similar conclusion then I think there is hope that I can help people connect more deeply with the world around them.

Fast forward to 2022 and you released two albums, ‘I’ll Look For You In Others’ and ‘See-Through’ within 4 months of each other, had that been intentional?

Despite the two albums coming out closely together, they were completed about a year apart from one another. Each release was subject to the schedules of the pressing plants and that influenced when the albums were released. I can understand how it might seem that the two were made back to back, but there was about a year between them which explains why the feeling of them is so different. In retrospect I am glad that the two came out closely together because I do think it makes it easier for someone following those works to see the healing process, but at an accelerated rate.

I was in a really rough place emotionally when I wrote the first album. I was feeling lost and in unbearable emotional pain. I was trying so hard to find my way out of it. Fast forward about a year later and I was working on the material that went on to become ‘See-Through’. As you can hear, I did heal. It resulted in an album that’s much lighter and playful. At the time when I was writing ‘I’ll Look For You In Others’, I didn’t know if I’d ever feel that way again.

What did you encounter to inspire ‘Woodland Encounter’?

Nature itself. This song has a very tender feeling of love and awe which is how I feel about the natural world. The music represents the feeling I have when I’m walking in a natural environment and observe wildlife or a beautiful landscape.

Is ‘Springtime In Croatia’ autobiographical or inspired by your imagination?

It’s a bit of both. SOFT METALS played in Zagreb, Croatia in 2014 and we had a very nice experience there. Many people who came to the show met up with us the next day and took us on a tour of their city. They generously taught us about the history of their country. There was so much kindness and enthusiasm in the people that I met there. I was moved by this beautiful experience.

The field recording that is used in the song ‘Springtime In Croatia’ is by a Croatian field recordist named Ivo Vicic who indeed made that recording in the Croatian countryside during springtime. When I heard it I fell in love with the sound of the birds and water and immediately started playing along with it on my Novation Summit. The song has a romantic feeling to it which I associate with the springtime. The music has a feeling of tender love and longing. In one sense it’s representative of how it feels to me to be in love and on the other hand I wanted to say thank you to the people of Croatia for showing me such a nice time in their country by giving that song that title.

Acoustic guitar appears on ‘The Grotto’ while your voice acts as another instrument?

Yes! My brother left an acoustic guitar at my house after a visit and I decided to try to play it. I played a bit of guitar as a teenager so I knew how to tune it and how to play some chords. For years and years I have only worked with synthesizers and drum machines. I found it to be refreshing and inspiring to play so I just started layering these improvised strummings and chords. Processed through a lot of reverb and delay they had such a dreamy and romantic feel and I felt compelled to sing.

Your voice is very prominent on ‘A Conversation With My Innocence’ in an abstract manner, but do you miss singing and lyric writing?

I enjoyed the challenge of writing lyrics for songs, but I also feel like my lyrics often fall short of what I want to express. I like instrumental music for its ability to allow the meaning to be open to interpretation. Adding lyrics can restrict a song’s meaning, but if the lyrics are cleverly poetic and the song is beautifully sung it can be deeply affecting. Sometimes though, you either don’t feel comfortable saying explicitly how you feel or you can’t find the right words so music and abstract vocalisations fit better.

Photo by Max Wolf

‘The Mechanical Age’ has this wonderful sense of space about it, yet it is very melodic?

I’m glad that you like that one. It was inspired by my research into the late 1800s Paris while I was working as a sound designer for a VR game called ‘Walking A Turtle’ by Jeremy Rotsztain. It was the era of Exposition Universelle, the introduction of the phonograph, the telephone, the mechanised world, and industrialization. With my song ‘The Mechanical Age’ I wanted to capture the sense of wonder and curiosity people must have been feeling at that time.

‘Pacific Coast Highway’ is unusual in the context of ‘See-Through’ in that it features electronic beats?

That one is an outlier on the album, isn’t it! I remember at the time I made it I was looking at my Elektron Analog RYTM thinking, “Hey old friend! I haven’t forgotten about you!”. I was thinking back on a track that I had made years before but had never recorded. I wanted to try to recreate it just for fun and ended up making this song. I liked how it turned out and it reminded me of driving on the Pacific Coast Highway.

In terms of tools, what do you prefer to use now in composition and production?

I am very dedicated to my Novation Peak and Summit which I was an official sound designer for. It’s easy for me to express myself through those instruments and I still find so much inspiration with them.

Having worked with analog equipment a lot in the past, how do VSTs work for you?

I find them to be a nice complement to working with hardware/ analog synths. I mostly use VSTs that process sounds for example GRM Tools and Sound Magic Spectral. If you’re interested in sound design I think you should be open to all the available tools. I love working with a mixture of hardware and software. I make the broad strokes with my hardware synths and then refine things further using software.

How do you find the divide between streaming and physical product as an artist today, what are the pros and cons for you? Do you think they are actually different audiences for each?

I like the convenience of being able to stream music, but as someone who wants to have a deeper understanding of the music, get to know the artist and the team that was part of the work coming into being, I prefer physical releases or digital Bandcamp releases because they often come with so much more information. I wonder how many people who listen to music mainly on streaming sites get to know the artists that they are listening to. Do they know the artists’ names, the intent behind the albums, or is it now these days for some people just about finding the right ‘vibe’ to be in the background of their lives?

Bandcamp is the main place where I discover new music and it’s much easier to learn more about an artist and their work there. I love it when you can buy the physical release of an album and there’s so much information to absorb alongside the music.

Photo by Edward Pack Davee

Are there any other artistic directions which you would like to pursue? Does film soundtrack work interest you?

Yes, I would love to work on film soundtracks! I have done sound design work for video games and really enjoyed it. I think that the type of music that I make would work well in films.

What’s next for you?

This May, I will be supporting the great Bonnie Prince Billy on a tour of the Pacific Northwest. I am currently in the process of setting up a different tour in the fall with some European dates. Hopefully I can make it to the UK this time around. I’ve been working on new music and hopefully I will have a new album to share with the world this fall.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Patricia Wolf

The albums ‘I’ll Look For You In Others’ and ‘See-Through’ along with a selection of field recordings are available digitally direct from https://patriciawolf.bandcamp.com/

Patricia Wolf opens for Bonnie Prince Billy on the following 2023 live dates:

Victoria Capital Ballroom (10th May), Vancouver St. James Community Square (11th May), Bellingham Wild Buffalo (12th May), Portland Aladdin Theater (14th May)

https://www.facebook.com/patriciawolfmusic

https://twitter.com/patwolfmusic

https://www.instagram.com/patriciawolf_music/

https://soundcloud.com/patriciawolf_music

https://linktr.ee/patriciawolfmusic

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5U2PKpLxoEwfOnPAwzPt5T

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
20th April 2023

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