Category: Interviews (Page 78 of 113)

A Short Conversation with TONY HADLEY

26 November 2016 /

Tony Hadley is best known the lead singer of SPANDAU BALLET.

The Islington quintet were one of the bands to emerge from the vibrant and colourful New Romantic scene at The Blitz Club and went on to great success with albums such as ‘True’ and ‘Parade’. But on their 1981 debut album ‘Journeys To Glory’, they harnessed the pioneering sound of the synthesizer that formed part of the soundtrack at The Blitz Club curated by its resident DJ Rusty Egan.

Hadley has gone full circle and returns to his days at The Blitz Club by contributing vocals to ‘Lonely Highway’, a track on Rusty Egan’s debut solo album ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’. Co-written by Chris Payne who also co-wrote VISAGE’s ‘Fade to Grey’, ‘Lonely Highway’ is possibly Hadley’s most overtly synthpop outing since ‘To Cut A Long Story Short’ back in 1980.

Tony Hadley kindly chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK from Copenhagen about this new collaboration and recalled his days at the Blitz Club.

How did the idea for you to record ‘Lonely Highway’ come about?

Rusty sent me a demo of the song and I just thought it had a really great sound and almost a retro feel to it. We then decided to make some slight changes and felt we needed an outro section/ middle eight.

Were there any particular influences with the way you approached the vocal?

The way to approach every song is to connect with the lyric and give it your own interpretation.

You actually recorded the vocal in the studio with Rusty and his producer Nick Bitzenis as opposed to remotely. Do you think this helped with your performance?

To be honest I like the personal approach and having Nick and Rusty there in the studio was just great. This album is Rusty’s baby and we recorded various takes until we felt the song had the right feeling.

‘Lonely Highway’ is possibly the most synthpop thing you’ve done since the early SPANDAU BALLET days. How did it feel to return to that sound?

I love synthpop and still one of my favourite songs is Spandau Ballet’s first release ‘ To Cut A Long Story Short’. I love the approach to ‘Lonely Highway’ and on my album out next year there are several references to that era.

You’re no stranger to collaborations having done ‘Moment’ with Gary Barlow and ‘Dance With Me’ with TIN TIN OUT? How did these experiences differ?

I love collaborating with other artists and have worked on techno tracks with other artists such as MILK INC, MARC & CLAUDE from Germany and CAPAREZZA from Italy. To be honest the writing and recording process is always really relaxed and creative.

Working with Rusty must have brought back a few memories from those heady days at The Blitz…

I’ve known Rusty since I was about 18 and he’s a great guy and a very genuine man. Rusty was there at the start of the whole Billy’s and Blitz scene and that was, an amazing post punk scene! There are lots of fond memories from those days and Rusty has always been a larger than life character.

SPANDAU BALLET did a ‘Blitz’ section on the last tour, is there any material from that ‘Journeys To Glory’ period that you still have affection for?

Our first album ‘Journeys To Glory’ will always be one of my favourite Spandau albums, we were just young excited lads trying to make our mark on the world. There’s a rawness and energy on that album that is impossible to recreate .

The ‘Journeys To Glory’ sleeve notes credit you with “synthesizer”, can you remember what tracks you played on and what instrument it was?

There was only one track and that was the instrumental ‘Age of Blows’.

The synth was a Yamaha CS10 that we bought on hire purchase as we were all pretty broke.

Have you had a chance to hear any of the other tracks on ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ yet?

I’ve heard a couple of demos and it sounds brilliant, really exciting, so hopefully Rusty will send me an old fashioned CD!

What’s next for you?

I’m on a short European tour, next year will be as busy as ever with UK and overseas touring including the US and South East Asia. I will definitely finish my new orchestral album and that will be released at Christmas 2017.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to Tony Hadley

Special thanks also to Matt Glover at Blue Print Management and Rusty Egan

‘Lonely Highway’ featuring the vocals of Tony Hadley is included on the Rusty Egan album ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ released by Black Mosaic in digital formats on 3rd December 2016

Tony Hadley plays Amsterdam Melkweg Oz (27th November), Cologne Gloria Theater (28th November), Bristol Christmas At The Spiegeltent (21st December)

http://tonyhadley.com/

https://www.facebook.com/officialtonyhadley/

https://twitter.com/TheTonyHadley

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
26th November 2016

A Short Conversation with AUTOMATIC WRITING

17 November 2016 /

automatic-writing-2015

Sibling duo AUTOMATIC WRITING have been steadily building their profile since the release of the brilliant debut 45 ‘Falling’ b/w ‘Continuous’ in late 2012.

They featuring the sombre baritone of Neave Merrick and the synthesized post-punk interventions of brother Jamie.

Artists such as BRIAN ENO, SPARKS, KATE BUSH, NEW ORDER, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, JAPAN, PET SHOP BOYS, THE SMITHS and THE WALKER BROTHERS have shaped of their sound.

While their 2015 EP release ‘New Colours’ may have provoked a mixed response in some quarters, AUTOMATIC WRITING remain determined to pursue their oblique modern art for art’s sake, as indicated by their most mutant recording yet in recent single ‘Blue Unicorns’.  Neave Merrick spoke to about “Warm Jets, Nite Flights and Wuthering Heights”…

Bands featuring male siblings are often known to be quite fractious partnerships. What is the creative dynamic like with your brother in AUTOMATIC WRITING?

Well our roles are quite clearly defined so we don’t really ever tread on each other’s toes. We haven’t had any Gallagher style spats…. yet haha!

So how would you describe the music you make?

Psychedelic synthpop from another galaxy…

AUTOMATIC WRITING appear to draw influences from all sorts of sources?

Over the years we’ve been just as influenced by directors, authors and visual artists as we have been by other musicians. It all goes into the big melting pot.

What were the inspirations behind ‘Continuous’?

Thematically it was inspired by living in London and forcing yourself out of your comfort zone as much as you’d love to stay comfortably inside it sucking on your thumb.

Musically, it was influenced by a guy called RODION G.A. who made all this amazing psychedelic synthpop in Romania in the 70s and 80s and YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA who I’m sure anyone who follows ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK will know a lot about!

‘Continuous’ perhaps has a harder, more pronounced percussive template that some of your other material?

Yeah possibly it does. It really needed hard brutal drums to cut through the mix and drive the song forward. Still really pleased with the snare sound on that track.

The other side of the single ‘Falling’ seemed to be a perfect companion to ‘Continuous’?

They definitely have a thread to them. I was initially going to put ‘Continuous’ out with a B-side but I thought ‘Falling’ really complemented it so we decided to put out a double A side instead. Still really proud of that single.

You sort of went back by issuing an EP ‘Introduction To Floating’ in 2013 which contained earlier material, was there any particular reason for that?

Well after the ‘Continuous/Falling’ single came out our fanbase really expanded and we wanted to introduce to people to our previous work as well. Before releasing ‘Introduction to Floating’, those tracks were spread all over the interweb so we thought it would be nice to compile them altogether in one place. We also felt they worked really well together as an EP too.

What drew you towards covering ROXY MUSIC’s ‘More than This’?

Quite simply, I’ve always loved that song so I thought I’d give it a bash. It was basically recorded within about two hours one evening. Very self-indulgent but we got a good response from it anyhow!

The ‘New Colours’ EP came out in the summer 2015; how did you feel that was received?

Well, it was the first time we’d got some dodgy reviews and it was quite hard to take at the time. When you’ve poured your heart and soul into something and people pan it it’s always hard to take. I’m still really proud of that EP anyway and the title track has become a real fan-favourite.

Is the album format dead? Is the long form EP a more practical showcase in the modern music environment for independent acts?

I think until you’ve built up a big enough following, I really think a single or an EP is the best way to get your music out there. We all know most listeners just select tracks and add them to playlists. I’m part of the old-school who actually love albums, so we’d love to put one out one day when the time’s right

Do you think your most recent single ‘Blue Unicorns’ released earlier this year is representative of where AUTOMATIC WRITING are musically at this time?

Definitely! Our music has a real kaleidoscopic and psychedelic feel to it now. We’re really pushing ourselves to expand our sound and I think ‘Blue Unicorns’ is a great snap-shot of that.

You used an Omnichord for a new track you unveiled called ‘Moon Palace’, what do you find fascinating about that instrument?

Well it has a really naive and beautiful sound to it and it’s a joy to write on, mainly because it’s so primitive. I strongly believe that we’re defined by our limitations so I think it’s good to restrict yourself sometimes, otherwise you can get lost in the endless possibilities of a DAW instead of actually getting stuff done and creating your own sound.

What’s next for AUTOMATIC WRITING?

As well as working on loads of new material, we’re actually looking into doing our own podcast.

We’ve been meaning to do this for a while and it’s looking like we’re finally going to get round to it. We also want play some festival dates next year so we’ll see how that goes!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to Neave Merrick

AUTOMATIC WRITING’s releases are available from http://automaticwriting.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/automaticwriting

https://twitter.com/Autowriting101

https://www.youtube.com/user/AutomaticViewing

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
17th November 2016, updated 26th January 2019

COVENANT Interview

10 November 2016 /

“We live in dark, confusing times and COVENANT wrote an album about how that makes us feel. In a world that has stopped making sense, we need to learn how to see in the dark and ‘The Blinding Dark’ is a triumphant embrace of the strengths and resilience of the soul. It’s the dystopian, unforgiving music of the reflective shadows we all carry within us, but often lack the courage to take a good look at. It’s implosive instead of explosive, fuelled by cold fury rather than a roaring fire, as beautiful as a collapsed star” 

The long awaited ninth album from COVENANT is upon us. A superb production, reminiscent of their most celebrated long player ‘Sequencer’ with some exquisite sounds, poignant lyrics and stunning vocals by Eskil Simonsson, the Swedish synth masters are returning with a remarkable development in style, something purposefully planned and executed with clockwork precision.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK spoke to co-founder Joakim Montelius about all things COVENANT.

Album number nine, a long career and dedicated fan base. What’s the secret to COVENANT’s success?

I honestly don’t know. But I think a part of it is that we never stand still. We don’t stick to a formula. We’re always curious to find out what we’ll do next and it seems like a lot of people are curious too. And we try hard to keep our standards high. I guess that helps.

‘The Blinding Dark’ calls for a lesson to see in the dark “in the world that has stopped making sense”. Are we really that doomed?

Doomed is perhaps not the word. It implies that there’s some kind of external force that wants to do us in and I don’t believe in divine intervention of any sort. But yes, I’m honestly pretty worried. The world has always been messed up, so that’s nothing new, but it’s never been so bewilderingly difficult to understand before. And no-one seems overly interested in trying to do much about it.

No-one listens to people who actually know what they’re talking about, people build their understanding of entire continents on stuff they read on Facebook, there’s a lunatic who’s incapable of uttering a coherent sentence that makes sense running for president in the most powerful nation in the history of mankind, the EU can’t even bloody agree on how to co-operate over taking care of the refugees that we’re pledged to help and in the meantime, other lunatics are busy slaughtering their own citizens… And it just goes on and on and on. It’s just like Moby puts it: “these systems are failing”.

Could you elaborate on your statement about the album being implosive rather than explosive?

We’re known for some pretty big anthems and energetic, upbeat club tracks. Even if there has always been another, more quiet and melancholy side to COVENANT, that’s what most people think of our music. On ‘The Blinding Dark’, most of that energy is turned inwards. The big stuff is still there, but it’s only hinted at, like the invisible force of a black hole. It drags you in rather than propel you onwards. It’s suggestive and contemplative, in an effort to slow things down in order to have a proper look and figure stuff out.

‘Sequencer’ remains the long player your fans always refer to the most. ‘The Blinding Dark’ brings back the elements of your legendary opus. Was that a planned move?

Not at all. We didn’t see the similarity until it was already done. ‘The Blinding Dark’ is very different in most musical aspects, but the mood and the attitude is pretty similar. I fondly think of it as “Sequencer as an adult”.

Daniel Myer is back…

Yes! He just couldn’t keep his fingers out of the jar any longer. It feels great, Daniel is always welcome to the jam. And, disregarding every rule of marketing our brand, don’t miss his new LIEBKNECHT stuff. It’s brilliant.

“Disobedience is important”, you say in a promo video for the album. Why should we disobey?

Why should anyone obey anyone who demands to be obeyed?

For a non-religious person, religion has often been a subject matter of COVENANT’s tracks…

I’m fascinated by religion. There is a lot of truth in religious texts that people have spent millennia figuring out. I think we should appreciate that wisdom and respect the enormous intellectual and emotional effort it represents. We have a lot to learn from it, even if we don’t believe in the idea that we’re created by an omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent God. Another interesting aspect of religion is of course how it shapes how people behave and consider to be “right” or “wrong”. But that would take an entire essay to discuss 😉

As a musician you are a “sound mirror”, where do the influences come from the most?

Everything that passes through our heads is potentially music. It can be a small thing, like an overheard conversation on the train or a noise in the street, or something really big and profound like historical events. Anything that triggers the imagination and provokes an emotional response, and once we have an idea that seems strong enough to carry all the way, it’s mostly a matter of hard labour. Sometimes it’s not enough or we don’t find the proper angle, so the idea ends up in the Vault, waiting for better circumstances. And sometimes it just goes from a spark to a finished song in a couple of hours. You never know where the music will take you and that’s why it’s so important to keep those antennas in the air and be ready when it comes.

The idea to cover a country number in ‘A Rider On A Wild Horse’ was a bold one. Brilliantly executed track there… and who is the mysterious lady?

Thank you. Yes, it turned out great. It was originally made for Andreas Catjar’s project LOVAC and the “mysterious lady” is Erica Li, also a member of LOVAC. When we heard it, we kidnapped it and made it a bit more electronic. The original version by Lee Hazlewood is brilliant too, of course.

You are superb live. Ritualistic. ‘Ritual Noise’, alongside other marvellous live tracks, take the audience on a spiritual journey. What can we expect of the new record on tour?

That remains to be seen. We’ll probably build the live sets around ‘The Blinding Dark’, but as always it’ll be material from our entire career. We toyed with the idea to perform in complete darkness, but it’s a little too impractical.

Eskil is known by his impeccable dress sense. Can we expect more of the perfect tailoring?

The suits stay on, yes.

Your good mates MESH and APOPTYGMA BERZERK had brilliant albums this year. Competition or comradery?

Comradery, of course. Music is no competition, regardless of what the mainstream entertainment business wants to make us think. It’s quite amazing that people we’ve known and worked with for more than 20 years not only are still around, but that they still manage to surprise and evolve. I absolutely love what APOP did on their new album. That takes some serious guts.

Your personal views on analogue versus digital?

JM: I don’t see the “versus” thing. They are two different technologies that you can use to transmit and receive information. One is technically better, the other feels more natural. We use both with equal enthusiasm.

A new chapter for COVENANT as a quintet…

Yes. The more, the gloomier 🙂

Any personal favourites on the new production?

JM: Yes, every single track. No kidding, I really think it’s a fantastic album. I don’t think I’ve said that about any of the other albums we’ve made, but I’m damned proud of what we have made on ‘The Blinding Dark’. The music, the words and the stunning artwork is all extraordinary. I know that we Swedes are not supposed to boast like that, but I’m not boasting, it’s just the truth.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to Joakim Montelius

With thanks to Ines Weidemann at IAM-International Artist Marketing

‘The Blinding Dark’ is released by Dependent Records

http://www.covenant.se/

https://www.facebook.com/Covenant-OFFICIAL-156626197713557/

Text and Interview by Monika Izabela Trigwell
Photos by Chris Ruiz
10th November 2016

CHRIS PAYNE vs ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in Düsseldorf

25 October 2016 /

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s Chi Ming Lai had the pleasure of interviewing Chris Payne live on stage during the first day of the 2016 ELECTRI_CITY_CONFERENCE in Düsseldorf.

Best known as a member of Gary Numan’s band between 1979-89 and for co-writing VISAGE’s ‘Fade To Grey’, Payne was also DEAD OR ALIVE’s musical director when the band were touring their ‘Youthquake’ album.

More recently he has been working on Rusty Egan’s upcoming debut solo long player ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’, while also composing material for his production company Electronic Music Library and his synthpop project ELECTRONIC CIRCUS.

Now domiciled in Normandy, Chris Payne happily chatted about his period with Gary Numan and the genesis of ‘Fade To Grey’ during soundchecks on ‘The Touring Principle’ in 1979. The Cornishman studied Mediaeval music and even treated the audience to a quick burst of ‘Cars’ on his bass Cornamuse, a double reed instrument from the period.

The discussion formed part of the 2016 ELECTRI_CITY_CONFERENCE’s weekend long programme of talks and live music to celebrate Düsseldorf’s electronic music legacy. Also participating were Daniel Miller, Chris Liebing, John Foxx, Steve D’Agostino, Rusty Egan, Mark Reeder, Eric Random, Jimi Tenor and Jori Hulkkonen.

Conference co-organiser Rudi Esch recently published ‘ELECTRI_CITY – The Düsseldorf School of Electronic Music’, an English language version of his acclaimed book documenting the development of city’s innovative and inspiring music scene.

Chris Payne’s solo album ‘Between Betjeman, Bach & Numan’ is released by Coverdrive Records

‘Roundabout’ by ELECTRONIC CIRCUS is available as a download single

http://www.chrispaynemusic.com/

http://www.electronicmusiclibrary.com/

Text by Monika Izabela Goss
25th October 2016

ULRICH SCHNAUSS Interview

22 October 2016 /

Ulrich Schnauss has over several years gained the utmost respect in the circles of quality electronic music.

After starting out within the drum ‘n’ bass genre, his work evolved into that of instrumental electronica, remixing major artists including PET SHOP BOYS and DEPECHE MODE along the way.

The consistent quality of Schnauss’ output culminated in what could be seen as one of THE ultimate accolades in electronica with him being asked to join the legendary TANGERINE DREAM.

Ulrich kindly took time out from his busy schedule to speak openly to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about his musical history, involvement with TANGERINE DREAM and his forthcoming album ‘No Further Ahead Than Today’.

Your Allmusic Biog states that Ulrich Schnauss is, and I quote, a “Slightly mysterious Berlin producer who merges the textural layering of shoegaze with rhythm-savvy UK techno beat mining”, do you feel this is an accurate character summation?

I’m never too keen on associating myself with particular genres – like most musicians I guess! However, undeniably the early 90s Shoegazing sound had a big influence on my music – and the same applies to UK techno and electronica. If someone would ask me, I’d just say that while I’m using electronic instrumentation, I’m trying to make music that tries to avoid fetishizing technology and communicates emotion instead.

You grew up in a small town called Kiel which is on the Baltic Sea, how much of an influence did this have on your music?

I’m sure it had some kind of impact – I remember talking to Andy Sherriff from CHAPTERHOUSE and he said that they tried to create beautiful music as a counterpoint to the ugliness of the place they grew up in (Reading in Berkshire). It’s an approach I can relate to very much. if I’d grown up in a nice environment, I probably would’ve started a death metal band!

What prompted your move away from early dabblings with drum ‘n’ bass and your eventual transition into electronica?

As much as I loved D ‘n’ B throughout the 90s – towards the end of the decade, I had the feeling less and less forms of musical expression were tolerated. It was increasingly just about delivering fodder for the DJs so that they could fill the dancefloor. I’ve got no issues with dance music per se – on the contrary, however as a musician, it’s not particularly fulfilling if you’re being forced to work in a very restrictive framework.

Were you surprised by the amount of attention that your debut album ‘Far Away Trains Passing By’ gained?

Oh, yes – very much so; in fact even today I’m still surprised that many people seem to like my music. Particularly as I perceive it as quite out of sync with any sound that could be considered hip or trendy at the moment – and deliberately so!

What were the factors that made you relocate your studio set-up to London?

I just always wanted to live in one of those cities that give you the feeling of being in a place where the whole world is gathering in one spot – and that is certainly something that applies to London.

Where many producers of instrumental electronic music are happy to go the software route, your studio is jam-packed with a jaw-droppingly enviable collection of analogue synths – does this speed up or slow down the process of writing?

This has changed quite a bit in the last three years actually – for a very long time I insisted on sticking to hardware as I didn’t have the impression that software was able to match the depth and warmth hardware could provide. However, things have changed a lot recently – my new album is almost exclusively done using software which gave me the freedom to take my set up to a friend’s place in the countryside – which is where I recorded most of the album.

THE PRODIGY’s Liam Howlett was once quoted as saying that he became intimidated by having a big studio with tons of gear in it and the associated pressure to write successful songs using it, is that something that you’ve ever experienced?

To a degree – yes. For instance, I had an Oberheim 8 voice system – wonderful instrument, but it was a bit of pain always having to wait until it had warmed up and then tuning all 16 oscillators individually.

However, in those days when software simply didn’t match the sonic quality of hardware, I was always happy to pay that price… quite literally!

Is there a still a synth that is on your wish list that you feel would make your musical life complete?

There are interesting new instruments coming out on a monthly basis these days – I can’t say I’m missing anything particular. It’s actually more about finding the time to investigate the existing possibilities – currently learning to program Tone2’s new Icarus Wavetable synth for instance.

The influence of Shoegaze artists such as MY BLOODY VALENTINE and SLOWDIVE on your music is an interesting one as none of the original bands from this era were especially known for their use of synthesizers, what made you integrate elements of their sound into your work?

I’ve always had a particular interest in music that uses instruments in a way that disguises their heritage. One could say that shoegazing was about making guitars sound like synths – this approach (almost accidentally) created a new sound. It just seemed logical to see what happens if one would apply this the other way round – making synths sound like guitars.

Your solo live set-up seems very minimal in comparison to your mainly analogue studio one, are you reticent to take your synths out on the road?

It just wouldn’t make sense as well – my live sets are about re-arranging and re-mixing existing songs – I wouldn’t gain much from playing one line on a synth but being tied to a fixed structure from a backing track otherwise.

Over the last few years, electronic-based solo artists such as JON HOPKINS and NILS FRAHM have had good success with their music, how do you rate their work?

They are both people who totally deserve the status they’ve achieved and I’m generally very happy that the cultural climate is changing again in a direction that allows electronic music to be perceived in a way that’s exceeding the limitations of ‘DJ culture’.

How important is it for producers of instrumental synthesizer music to get their work marketed / featured in alternative ways eg sync / TV / advertising work?

It’s imperative I’d say. I couldn’t make a living just based on record sales and gigs – without syncs, it’d be over immediately.

You have remixed several high profile artists from COLDPLAY through to PET SHOP BOYS and DEPECHE MODE, do you have a favourite remix and why?

It’s always changing – at the moment I’d say my favourite would be a remix of a traditional Italian song ‘La Pagliarella’. I had nothing to work with besides an acappella – but somehow this provided an inspiration for a piece I’m still very happy with.

The world and its wife is going crazy for the ‘Stranger Things’ Netflix TV series and its soundtrack by S.U.R.V.I.V.E. – why do you think the sound and influence of acts such as TANGERINE DREAM and JOHN CARPENTER in the series has suddenly hit the mainstream public’s interest now?

I think the ‘Stranger Things’ soundtrack was very well done – secondly, it’s always good to see stuff you enjoy personally getting a wider exposure.

You have always cited TANGERINE DREAM as an influence, how did it feel to be asked to join the band in 2014?

Oh, that was probably the happiest moment in my musical life – and a complete surprise. Edgar invited me to Austria – I thought it would just be a friendly visit. But then he asked me to sit down at the piano and improvise – suddenly it dawned on me that this may be a little more serious than I had anticipated! Luckily he liked what I was playing and said “welcome to the club” once I had finished.

With the passing of Edgar Froese, were there any doubts as to whether it was the right thing to do in carrying on the band’s name without him?

Definitely – and from my perspective those doubts still do exist.

However, I believe it’d be a crying shame if the music Edgar, Thorsten and I had started working on for a new album would just disappear – and secondly, Edgar had expressed towards his wife Bianca that he’d appreciate if his vision for the ‘Quantum Years’ would be fulfilled.

How does the band go about choosing which songs to play from TANGERINE DREAM’s back catalogue?

I’d say it primarily requires an emotional connection between a song and the person who’s doing the major work on the respective backing track. To give you an example: I’m not sure if I’d be capable of coming up with a good enough version of ‘Streethawk’, but I recently worked on ‘Dolphin Dance’ and had a most wonderful time doing so.

The ‘Live at the Philharmony Szczecin – Poland 2016’ album has some superb re-interpretations of several TD classics. Between yourself, Thorsten and Hoshiko, how did you go about this process and how did you decided who played what parts?

It’s not that difficult to decide really – Thorsten is the better player so he’ll of course do the solos. I’m much more comfortable with pads and chords. Hoshiko’s contributions again are simply determined by her instrument, it’s range and colour.

How much of the rehearsal / preparation process is done in a room all together?

All of it – we usually meet in Thorsten’s rehearsal space in East Berlin and play there.

Are there plans for many more TANGERINE DREAM live dates?

Yes, quite a few things being worked on at the moment actually, nothing that I can announce at the moment though!

With your current musical workload, what percentage is TD and how much is dedicated to your own solo work?

At the moment it may be something like 55/45 in favour of my solo stuff – that’s a good balance. Who knows – if some TD related projects appear that require enhanced attention (soundtracks etc) I’d obviously adjust accordingly.

With the release of the upcoming album ‘No Further Ahead Than Today’, what can we expect from the album and will there be live dates to support it?

There’s a couple of London shows in November – more being worked on at the moment. As for the album – in part it’s a return to my core sound from about 15 years ago, but with the big difference that I used completely different instruments (‘in the box’ rather than hardware). I hope for the listener the result provides an interesting mixture of new and old – new methods of synthesis and a familiar sense of escapist euphoria!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to Ulrich Schnauss

Special thanks to Sarah Puttock at Waveform Press

‘No Further Ahead Than Today’ will be released on 4th November 2016 through Scripted Realities

ULRICH SCHNAUSS has an in-store performance at London’s Rough Trade East on Tuesday 8th November at 1:00pm, entry is free

http://www.ulrich-schnauss.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ulrichschnauss/

https://soundcloud.com/ulrich-schnauss

Text and Interview by Paul Boddy
22nd October 2016

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