Category: Interviews (Page 94 of 112)

A Short Conversation with SARAH BLACKWOOD

5 June 2014 /

Sarah Blackwood has been a striking presence on the music scene since 1995 when she first found fame as the lead singer of DUBSTAR.

Together with Steve Hillier and Chris Wilkie, she scored hits with lush kitchen sink dramas such as ‘Not So Manic Now’, ‘Stars’ and ‘No More Talk’. In 2002, Sarah formed female synthpop duo CLIENT with Kate Holmes and signed to Mute Records via Andy Fletcher of DEPECHE MODE’s Toast Hawaii imprint.

After four acclaimed albums, DUBSTAR reformed and played a sell out comeback show at The Lexington in London last year. A new album ‘United States Of Being’ is now being prepared for release.

She warmed up for the imminent recorded return of DUBSTAR with great pair of feisty numbers ‘Justice’ and ‘Beautiful’ for FOTONOVELA’s ‘A Ton Of Love’ collection which also featured MIRRORS, MARSHEAUX, KID MOXIE and SECTION 25’s Bethany Cassidy.

Sarah Blackwood kindly chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about her recent and forthcoming projects.

You’ve had two numbers ‘Justice’ and ‘Beautiful’ on the FOTONOVELA album ‘A Ton Of Love’, what were the recording sessions like?

I had such a wonderful time. George Geranios from FOTONOVELA invited me out to Greece to do it.

I spent the days hanging out in the sunshine with Sophie and Marianthi from MARSHEAUX and the evenings with the boys singing. It was just a fabulous week.

We even managed to take in a couple of gigs, including the PET SHOP BOYS, which was a very special evening. It was lovely being around creatively busy people, seeing the girls set up and how they fit it all into their daily lives…

George really is a force of nature, he never stops having ideas and is very inspiring to be around, just lots of goodwill and the feeling that anything is possible. They were so enthusiastic and encouraging and it was a real privilege to be involved.

The DUBSTAR gig at The Lexington last April was very emotional for you?

It was lovely to be back on stage singing those songs again. Felt like I’d come back home the long way round, which I suppose I did in a way. It was a very special evening. We were just testing the waters to see if it would work again and were pretty overwhelmed and humbled by the positive response of the audience. There were people who had travelled from Europe, never mind the other side of London. Every single person was there to support us and were there specially. I have never done a gig quite like it and it still brings a tear to think of it now.

dubstar-thumbSo how is the new DUBSTAR album coming along?

There’s a question! Musically I’m happy with what’s been done.

We did a new track at The Lexington and also when we appeared at Tynemouth Priory. So hopefully musically the material we have done works well.

Did you ask former producer Stephen Hague for his input?

Yes, I’ve always liked working with Stephen Hague. He’s a good friend as well. He has done some good work for us once again. In a curious twist, we’re neighbours – and as well as producing some of my favourite tracks, he also helped redesign my kitchen last summer, with some suggestions for two well-placed skylights. You don’t get more versatile than that!

CLAUDIA BRÜCKEN covered DUBSTAR’s ‘The Day I See You Again’ on her album ‘The Lost Are Found’ which was produced by Stephen Hague. What did you think of it?

I love Claudia and it was a real honour to have her cover the song. I think she sang it really well and it suited her voice.

How do you plan to release or service music in future? What do you think of the concept of crowd funding?

I personally think it’s a great idea getting the fans involved… to stake an interest in the album and help to pay for it. I think it’s special. It builds a community and a bond that is missing from mainstream music. With downloading and entire back catalogues available at the click of a button from the comfort of the sofa, I think we are all appreciating music less and less and losing respect for the amount of work physically and emotionally it takes to put out an album.

If the fans pay before they buy, it makes business sense for the artist and builds up a sense of anticipation and excitement for the fans which I think is sorely lacking in the industry these days. Having said that, it puts massive pressure on you as an artist if fans have put their faith and hard-earned cash up front for your work! That situation is almost the theme for a song in itself!

In terms of networking, you’re known to be very pro-active as far as communicating with fans is concerned….

I think that was inspired by the THE LIBERTINES’ legacy!! CLIENT tried to be very connected to the fans. In DUBSTAR, we update our Facebook page on a regular basis. There have been a few classics I have to say… Chris has an attic full of stuff and I’m so glad he’s such a hoarder as it has ignited a lot of lovely memories.

I think you have to nurture your fans and let them spread the word. To me friend / peer recommendations face-to-face or via Facebook newsfeed mean a lot more than being force fed the cr*p on the radio and TV talent shows. I’m a complete recluse these days and just enjoy discovering music for myself and appreciating it on my own terms.

Sometimes I realise I’ve accidently tapped into the next big thing, like when I heard ‘Addicted To You’ by AVICII… but my goodness what a cracking vocal! But mostly its word of mouth recommendations or when wandering round Top Shop with Shazam… I do think I need to get on Twitter more these days. Maybe that should have been my New Year’s resolution. Err, for 2013!

You’re DJ-ing again soon between VILE ELECTRODES and SPEAK & SPELL. What can those attending the event expect from your set?

Well… after being inspired by the MARSHEAUX girls, George has been encouraging me to use Ableton live. I think song selection is still really important but to combine that with putting your set together in a different way, something a little more interesting than just merging records into each other just has to be done. That was great when I used to DJ off 7” singles and that was so much fun, just flinging them on and seeing what happened… sometimes when I’d had a few too many wines, I accidentally ended up playing obscure B sides!

But times and airline baggage weight restrictions have moved on and it’s time to do something a little more exciting with the technology available. There… I’ve said it. I have to do it now… no more excuses!!! Now I have to go turn my flat upside down looking for the Ableton package!!!!!

I love VILE ELECTRODES, and I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing them live. I wish I could carry off Anais’ costumes! As a Depeche fan, SPEAK & SPELL do a mightily impressive job. It will be a great night!

What are the mainstays in your DJ set? Are there any songs that have surprisingly gone down really well?

I have fond memories of playing an electro-goth night in Gothenburg. I took the plunge and played the Jacques Lu Cont version of GWEN STEFANI’s ‘What You Waitin For’ and ‘Borderline’ by MADONNA. I thought they would hate it and immediately demand NITZER EBB but the sight of them pogo-ing in unison in their platforms and fluorescent hair flying really enjoying it was an unforgettable sight and made me very happy indeed.

You sang ‘Question Of Time’ in Basildon when you DJ-ed. What made you choose that particular song?

I just love that song. I remember seeing it on ‘Top Of The Pops’ and just fell for the strangely uplifting relentless melancholy. I never dreamed that 15 years later I’d be touring with Depeche. Crazy!

Of course, you supported DEPECHE MODE as part of TECHNIQUE prior to becoming CLIENT and have duetted with Martin Gore on ‘Overdrive’. What have been your favourite memories of DM, both as a fan and personally?

Blimey. Have you got all day??? I just feel extremely lucky to have been in their universe for a while. It was a very special time. It was the early days of CLIENT when Kate and I were just exploring and appreciating each others’ talents and popping out for the weekend to play massive gigs with Depeche which was just so glamorous and beyond amazing. They were so welcoming, took care of us, invited us to travel on the jet with them (!!!) and generally made us feel part of the Depeche family.

I remember one gig it was so cold and Andy’s lovely wife was waiting by the side of stage with coats to wrap us in the minute we had finished playing. It was stuff like that. Me trying out a pre show vocal warm-up and Dave popping his head round the door and saying “Ah there’s the angel”… I was a puddle of goo on the floor…

We supported them in front of 145,000 people in Leipzig, it was one of the first shows with them and I was practically crippled with nerves… and I got out on stage and there was one person at the front with a “Sarah” banner; I was so touched. It’s just moments like that that make being in a band so very special. So thank you…… you were a career highlight!!

Also, the most obvious one was writing Martin a letter asking if he’d like to contribute to ‘Overdrive’.

We didn’t hear anything and assumed he wasn’t interested and were due to mix it when the file came bouncing back across the ether in the nick of time… complete with his vocals! It was apparently one of the first recordings he did by himself in his home studio so a double honour!!

As a fan, my boyfriend had never seen them live so we took the opportunity on this tour… but I insisted we went to Germany as the European shows are just something else. The fan reaction just sends shivers up my spine. We went to Munich and when ‘Behind The Wheel’ came on, the lights just turned into the crowd on the vocal arpeggio bit…you know the bit…and all you could see was a sea of hands. I have never seen him lost for words before. It was a Moment. I wept during ‘Home’ too. Martin’s vocal that night was nothing short of astonishingly beautiful. He held that note it seemed like forever…… frozen in time…… awesome.

What else is on the horizon for you?

I don’t want to rush into anything (yeah, I know…) but I’d be disappointed with myself if I wasn’t doing something live again quite soon. It’s amazing how your voice feels like it changes over time, and I think taking a period of time off from doing loads of regular gigs is a very good creative experience.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Sarah Blackwood

FOTONOVELA ‘A Ton Of Love’ featuring vocals on two tracks by Sarah Blackwood is available via Undo Records

http://www.eblackwood.com/

Text and interview by Chi Ming Lai
3rd June 2014, updated 10th May 2017

GAZELLE TWIN Discusses Unflesh

26 May 2014 /

GAZELLE TWIN premiered her new album ‘Unflesh’ with a special performance at Birthdays in London’s trendy Dalston district.

The live presentation showcased a heavier sound that has distinctly moved away from the cinematic hauntronica of debut album ‘The Entire City’ and interim EP ‘Mammal’.

The moniker of Elizabeth Bernholz, GAZELLE TWIN has acquired an impressive host of admirers and collaborators including John Foxx, Gary Numan and Clint Mansell. ‘Unflesh’ has with artistic violence allowed the Brighton based songstress to exorcise her demons.Indeed, the closing number of the evening is appropriately titled ‘Exorcise’; an impressively aggressive cross between PINK FLOYD’s ‘One The Run’ and KRAFTWERK’s ‘Home Computer’, it is accorded some extra uneasy resonance by Bernholz’s deadpan commentary.

Clothed in a school-blue goodie with a head stocking and brown wig replacing the mysteriously veiled Elephant Woman look of her shows supporting JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS in late 2011, GAZELLE TWIN’s new material has a more threatening intent, focussing on the more industrialised template introduced by ‘Belly Of The Beast’ and new single ‘Anti Body’.

The ‘Unflesh’ title track and ‘I Feel Blood’ are even barer but no less unsettling while ‘Guts’ follows a similar path but adds an almost PRINCE-like funk groove. Indeed, much of the material on ‘Unflesh’ is strangely danceable…

Elizabeth Bernholz kindly spoke with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK before her ‘Unflesh’ showcase to discuss her latest incarnation of expression.

How would you describe the differences in the way you’ve conceived ‘Unflesh’ compared with ‘The Entire City’ and the ‘Mammal’ EP?

The writing process has simplified. I restricted myself so that I ended up with a more direct and quite a lo-fi sound. There are connections with ‘The Entire City’, the first full length thing I ever wrote and produced, but the relationship with ‘Unflesh’ is minimal. It has been written very much with live performance in mind.

Titles such as ‘Unflesh’, ‘Belly Of The Beast’, ‘Guts’ and ‘Anti Body’ indicate you still have metaphysical concerns?

That’s something I can’t switch off. But I don’t want to. There are rarely moments where I’m not considering the wider meaning of all things, on a day to day basis. I’ll make a sandwich and think of the former life of all the ingredients, all these particles that are being slammed together to ultimately end up as my sh*t…

I like that sort of thought process. I’m hypersensitive to everything around me all the time. This is not always useful. I suffer from anxiety and have numerous phobias that mostly arose from childhood. I have overcome most of them through making music, and this record is very much a continuation of that process.

The ‘Unflesh’ project has been supported by a striking audio / visual component. The faceless girl in the school-blue sportswear… is the character in any way autobiographical?

100%. It’s from a memory of school, 16 years ago. I chose to confront a difficult experience from that time, by re-embodying it. The difference is that this time I’m in control. A pretty simple exercise in self-help when you think about it… people will continue to be baffled and weirded-out by it, but that’s OK. That’s the fun part of it. That makes me want to do it even more.

When we last spoke, you described recording an album as being “a bit like doing a thesis”. Has that still been the case with ‘Unflesh’?

I researched anatomy – more as a hobby than being very academic about it. I’m especially interested in disease and mutations in nature. I have always enjoyed finding rhymes in nature – in structures, behaviours, rhythms etc. I also researched a lot of artists and artworks that deal with similar themes. I find doing this really rewarding and enlightening. There is so much out there to absorb.

Since ‘The Entire City’ was released, THE KNIFE returned with the uncompromising ‘Shaking The Habitual’. What did you think of it and has it has any bearing on your own artistic directions for ‘Unflesh’?

I had pretty much finished writing most of ‘Unflesh’ by the time ‘Shaking The Habitual’ came out, but I love that album of course and proudly align myself with its stance on politics, including the politics of performance art and how gender is dealt with in popular culture. Uncompromising is the key. They are one of the best conceptual performance groups out there right now. I wish there were more.

Claire Boucher aka GRIMES fedback to you about the demo of ‘Anti Body’. I SPEAK MACHINE aka Tara Busch has also reworked ‘Anti Body’. Do you feel an affinity with any of the current crop of female artists in electronic music?

I am asked this a lot… I guess because I am openly challenging the gender issue in performance. In the end, my interest is only in ideas. I might feel a great affinity with a very aggressive, masculine, male performer like Stefan Burnett (DEATH GRIPS) as well as a female artist who is exploring similar territory.

I think it’s important not to make the distinction about gender being the reason behind it. Over emphasis can sometimes push the divide even further. I fully support other artists who are female of course, and I stand firmly behind the feminist and the LGBT debate which is very important to keep in the forefront of the mind.

GAZELLE TWIN, in its very essence, began as statement against a commercially driven world (and music industry), which constantly wants to remind me of my own sex and tell me what I’m supposed to do with it.

Your musical connections with JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS and the MemeTune collective have led to further collaborations with people such as Stephen Mallinder via the WRANGLER project. You’re building up quite an impressive CV of collaborators?

It’s insane… I was thinking about some of the people I’ve encountered or worked with over the last year and I’m incredibly lucky to have had introductions to legendary figures like John and Mal, and also GARY NUMAN. It’s heavily down to my manager Steve Malins who is the chief orchestrator of all these connections and is really talented at connecting people very naturally, from very quite different backgrounds. Robin Rimbaud (aka SCANNER) has also introduced me to some amazing people too, such as WIRE’s Colin Newman and Chris and Cosey of THROBBING GRISTLE. All of this is a privilege and I’m very grateful for that, but long may it continue.

I visited MemeTune a few months back and was strangely drawn to the Polymoog… was there a particular instrument or device that you saw out of the vast collection at MemeTune that particularly fascinated you?

Every time I go there, I notice something new and become lost in the awe of all these incredible instruments surrounding me. Of course I am impressed with the rare synths like the CS80 and the enormous wall of modulars, but the thing that blew me away most of all was actually the simplest… The Plate Reverb – which is just a huge wooden box containing one sheet of metal, an amp and a dampener, with one big metal dial on top to change the tension of the metal. You turn it on from downstairs in the studio and can hear everything going through it upstairs. It’s really, really incredible.

You’re known for experimenting with vocal processing in your music. Have there been any new techniques that you’ve discovered which have shaped this album and perhaps your approach to live work.

The majority of my new material is about spoken and often whispered lyrics rather than sung. There’s a certain skill to achieving that in a live setting because it requires a different kind of performance. In contrast, I have also included a lot of chest voice passages which feel great to perform. I have tried to emulate techniques from Bulgarian Folk singers for these elements, bending my voice into new shapes. There’s still a fair amount of processing going on in this record, but it’s more upfront than anything I have done before.

You’re playing live to showcase the album. How do you feel about live work? Is it something you want to do, or feel you have to do?

Performing live requires so much effort. Not just working the songs into a live format, then rehearsing over and over and over again (which I really hate), but to then have to get through the nerves, deal with the gamble of the sound being alright after soundcheck (it SO often isn’t), and then to recover quickly after all that stress and do it all over again… It’s a hard job, but I consider it a challenge. I do want to perform more and try to garner more satisfaction from the process.

What are your hopes and fears for the future?

Good Health / Bad Health (respectively)

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Elizabeth Bernholz

Special thanks also to Jeff Schofield at Type PR

‘Anti Body’ is released by Anti-Ghost Moon Ray / Last Gang as a digital download and limited 12″ vinyl. It features the exclusive track ‘Phobia’ plus remixes by WRANGLER and I SPEAK MACHINE

GAZELLE TWIN antibody‘Unflesh’ will be released later in 2014

Forthcoming GAZELLE TWIN 2014 live appearances include: St Gallen Grabenhalle (28 May – with PLANNINGTOROCK and BERNHOLZ), Hamburg Vogel Ball Festival (2nd August) and Glasgow Old Fruitmarket (3rd October – with WRANGLER and SCANNER)

http://www.gazelletwin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/gazelletwin

http://www.antighostmoonray.com

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Esther Springett except live photo by Chi Ming Lai
26th May 2014

A Short Conversation with BRIAN GRIFFIN

7 May 2014 /

Brian Griffin is the renowned photographer whose work captured the inventive spirit of post-punk and Synth Britannia.

His numerous subjects have included DEPECHE MODE, ULTRAVOX, OMD, SPANDAU BALLET, THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS, TALK TALK, ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN and THE TEARDROP EXPLODES as well as Billy Idol, Howard Jones, John Foxx and Bryan Ferry. Although perhaps not as well known as his contemporary Anton Corbijn, Griffin’s work is no less iconic and some would say, more focussed if far out…

The sleeve of ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN’s ‘Heaven Up There’ which featured his photograph of the band on a windswept Porthcawl Beach in South Wales was voted ‘Best Album Cover’ in the 1980 NME Readers’ Poll, while his image for DEPECHE MODE’s ‘A Broken Frame’ adorned the front cover of Life Magazine’s ‘World’s Best Photographs 1980-1990’ supplement.

Reflective of Griffin’s interest in socialist iconography which continued into DEPECHE MODE’s next album ‘Construction Time Again’, it projected the band’s musical interregnum without being too blatant. As Dave Gahan said to Richard Skinner on Radio1 at the time “Y’know, we didn’t want to be obvious and have a frame with a bit missing!”

While most of Griffin’s front cover photographs have become part of folklore among music enthusiasts, one that still provokes polarising debate is the sleeve of DEPECHE MODE’s debut ‘Speak & Spell’. Brian Griffin kindly discussed ‘Speak & Spell’, along with assorted anecdotes about his other work and what he would do on a DEPECHE MODE album cover today…

How did you become involved with Mute Records?

My photographic agent David Burnham held the lease on a shop in Seymour Place. Daniel Miller and Mute Records moved in on the ground floor. David Burnham did what agents do and showed Daniel my portfolio, with the rest being history.

What was the brief when you were asked to do the cover photo for DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Speak & Spell’?

From memory it was totally open. Although with the cover featuring a swan that cannot be the case. I personally would love to know what made me come up with that crazy idea.

What were the other concepts you considered before arriving at the swan in a bag pic?

Not doing the cover, because DEPECHE MODE was hardly my favourite band at the time.

Was using a photo of the band on the front cover of ‘Speak & Spell’ ever an option like had been done with your photo of ULTRAVOX for ‘Vienna’?

Never. A photograph by me was definitely required.

I personally love the ‘Speak & Spell’ sleeve, but it got a mixed reaction including from the band? What do you think of it now?

It’s right out there, but at the time it was regarded as being one of the worst album covers of recent years. I was at the time, certainly in some other space, maybe outer space!!

Did you feel at all aggrieved when the first CD issue of ‘Speak & Spell’ came out with just a small detail of the swan’s head and neck on the artwork?

Designers trying to give original images a modified twist always do my head in. Obviously the designer, whoever he or she is, is a load of crap.

You did all the album cover photos for DEPECHE MODE up to ‘Black Celebration’, which one is your favourite sleeve and why?

The imagery that I produced for both ‘A Broken Frame’ and ‘Construction Time Again’ I’m immensely proud of and to me, they are of equal merit. However the image choice for ‘Construction Time Again’ was poor by the decision makers, there being far better alternative choices.

The iconic photo used on ‘A Broken Frame’ ended up on the cover of Life Magazine’s ‘The World’s Greatest Photographs 1980-1990’ supplement and even on biscuit packaging in Greece. Where did the rumour that the woman in the photo was Daniel Miller in drag come from?

I haven’t heard that one before! It’s certainly not true.

Your worker images for ‘Construction Time Again’ are very interesting. Back in the day, I thought it was studio work superimposed but you and the musclebound model actually went to The Alps!

Yes, my assistant and his brother the model flew to Switzerland and we even took the sledgehammer with us from Rotherhithe London.

You also took portrait photos of DEPECHE MODE as well as artists such as ULTRAVOX, OMD and TALK TALK. How do look back on that whole Synth Britannia era?

At the time I was a great Krautrock fan like Daniel Miller and I found all these English bands not that interesting, although great photographic opportunities. Now I realise I was wrong and narrow-minded, for listening to them today they produced some great stuff.

Your portrait photos often featured an interesting use of props ie board games with DEPECHE MODE, a pool table with SPANDAU BALLET, chairs and ropes with OMD?

Back then you had to be so inventive. My studio was full of props from various shoots, with budgets low, we would just create ideas from whatever was at hand.

A number of artists you photographed like DEPECHE MODE, ULTRAVOX and ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN went on to work with Anton Corbijn as well… is that a coincidence?

Not really, for he was always hanging around waiting to pounce. Eventually I lost the bands to him.

You have an online shop that includes prints of your DEPECHE MODE photographs and many others. How did you decide upon which outtakes to put into the public domain and were there any interesting legal processes you had to go through to enable them to be sold?

With regards to the outtakes, they had been buried away 32 to 37 years.

It was now time for the fans to see them. I went through no legal processes, for it is such a positive gesture for everyone involved.

If you were photographing for a DEPECHE MODE album cover today, what sort of imagery would you be looking to use?

I would produce an image that would form a trilogy with ‘A Broken Frame’ and ‘Construction Time Again’.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Brian Griffin

A selection of Brian Griffin’s iconic photographs can be viewed and purchased from his website at http://www.briangriffin.co.uk/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
7th May 2014

CHICANE Interview

3 May 2014 /

Along with WAY OUT WEST, CHICANE aka Nicholas Bracegirdle, originally flew the flag for UK melodic dance / trance / breakbeat.

Born into a scene which also included Brian Transeau, Paul van Dyk and Ferry Corsten, he has maintained an enviable run of club-conquering singles which also crossed over into the mainstream music charts.

These included early tracks ‘Offshore’ and ‘Sunstroke’, both of which were recorded on limited equipment and were soon followed by the Number One UK single ‘Don’t Give Up’ featuring Canadian rocker Bryan Adams and a subsequent Top 10 with ‘Saltwater’, a re-work of the seminal ‘Theme From Harry’s Game’ featuring re-recorded vocals by CLANNAD’s Maire Brennan.

Born in Chalfont St Giles, England, Nick now spends his time between Scotland and the French Alps, where he enjoys a successful DJ career. With the release of CHICANE’s new single ‘No More I Sleep’ this month, Nick Bracegirdle kindly spoke about his formative musical influences and his viewpoint on how electronic dance music scene has evolved and been re-branded as EDM.

I’d like to start by looking at the music that influenced CHICANE, when I first heard ‘Offshore’ there seemed like a strong TANGERINE DREAM influence in there?

Not so much for ‘Offshore’, maybe ‘Sunstroke’; I have a special place in my heart for TANGERINE DREAM’s work on ‘Risky Business’ but ‘Offshore’ was actually more inspired by Don Henley’s ‘Boys of Summer’. I know they don’t sound alike, but in terms of mood and sentiment they are very similar.

 

On the subject of ambient electronica, the ‘Thousand Mile Stare’ album cover is very reminiscent of one of my favourite JEAN MICHEL JARRE albums…

It is indeed and is a homage of sorts; JEAN MICHEL JARRE was the first electronic music I heard and inspired me to become a electronic artist in my own right, so it seemed only right to pay my respects as such.

Do you think artists such as VANGELIS and JEAN MICHEL JARRE get enough recognition and respect when it comes to their influence on electronic dance music?

Umm, I guess so, their star is fading now as time moves on and peeps do forget how influential and groundbreaking they both were. I have to cite them both as pioneers in the field of electronic music and without peers too. Put simply for me they are both gods, not only for what they did in an era where it was technically very difficult, but for also their approach to melody. It’s this that draws in most admirers.

The 2009 single ‘Hiding All The Stars’ featured a re-work of GARY NUMAN’s ‘Cars’, are there any other synthpop pioneers which have influenced your work?

Well, I did also grow up on a diet of SIMPLE MINDS and TEARS FOR FEARS… two fantastic bands who did some epic songs.

Making well-produced electronic music or trance in the late 90s was potentially an expensive business with the hardware that was required back then… a single sound module would have cost the same as that of a current Apple Mac – how has producing changed for you through the years?

Today, simply the studio is a moveable feast, its all done in the box, be it a Mac or PC. Unless you are recording an orchestra, the days of massive mixing desks are gone too. No more outboard effect racks either or a room full of synths that go out of tune. So the approach hasn’t changed much really, it’s just become easier. I used to believe that you had what you wanted, and after all the interfacing with the equipment you got what you got. Nowadays you can pretty much get what you want!!

Is it true you mixed your first single on a really budget Boss mixer?

Yes indeed, a Boss BX16 channel mixer, with just treble and bass eq… amazing what one can do if you put your mind to it!!!

‘Don’t Give Up’ is probably one of your most well-known singles – early on the identity of vocalist on the track (Bryan Adams), was kept secret, what sort of a reaction were you expecting when the cat was let out of the bag (so to speak)?

Well we did have the coolest jocks spinning the tune and I was expecting disbelief and annoyance that they had been duped into playing a tune by a supposed uncool dude. As it happened that didn’t really materialise and things went rather well.

By its very nature, the music business is very cyclical and in last couple of years we’ve seen the return of instrumental electronic tracks returning to the charts, how do you view the whole EDM scene, its success in the US and the way it’s been packaged?

What good can I say about this ridiculous rebranding of dance music as ‘EDM’ as opposed to ‘ADM’ acoustic dance music that is? I believe it now refers to a genre of music made by chimpanzees who sadly got access to a studio… some of it is so bad it’s untrue! What has happened is that these chimps have worked out how to make these tracks sound big in terms of dynamics, mad builds etc. What is lacking is any soul or meaningful melody. The other problem is these kids have seen there is huge money to be made in the US with this s*** and are simply cashing in, it’s about money, not music. They copy each other blindly and pretend to be DJs. I think young musicians have seen someone like Martin Garrix have success with a bloody awful couple of tunes and think that that is the way forward… it is not I can tell you that. Ok, rant over now…!!

Has the recent resurgence in interest in melodic electronic dance music re-opened the doors for CHICANE?

I don’t believe the doors every shut did they? Music is circular and comes and goes with the times. I believe a great tune is just that and will always find a way.

During your career you’ve experienced the highs and lows associated with the industry, was the low point when your ‘Easy To Assemble’ album was leaked and subsequently pirated, eventually leading to it not being official released?

Yeah I guess so, there have many highs and lows; dealing with the industry on the whole is enough to give you an ulcer! I think it’s really struggled to keep up with how music is sold now. It’s also sad how the industry, with the help of certain individuals, has de-valued music and given the artist a much harder time.

It’s not generally known, but you’ve written songs for other artists (including Cher and Paul Young), this must be a different process than self-producing your CHICANE tracks?

Not really, I am a songwriter at heart and the process is the same really, it’s about core melody, arrangement and great ideas.

How do you feel that in some quarters CHICANE could be unfairly perceived as a sampling act, seeing as many of your biggest tracks have featured interpolations or replays of other artists’ songs?

I have never knowingly been branded a sampling act? How strange? Some of my big tunes are original works: ‘Offshore’, ‘Don’t Give Up’, ‘No Ordinary Morning’, ‘Stoned In Love’. But I also have a talent for re-interpretation and interpolation, but have always done this in a way that is not blatant or unimaginative. For instance on ‘Saltwater’, Moya Brennan from CLANNAD came and re-sang the core melody of ‘Theme From Harry’s Game’.

But what was important, was we then wrote new melodies on top and gave the piece a whole new identity. I don’t think I have ever been thought of as some cut ‘n’ shunt sample monkey!!!!

Having collaborated with artists such as Tom Jones and Bryan Adams, I’ve always admired that you’ve never appeared to worry too much about being “too cool for school”…

I think you have to be a leader and not worry too much what people think!

CHICANE-nomoreIsleepELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Nick Bracegirdle

Special thanks to Ross Stebbing and Sacha Taylor-Cox at Impressive PR

‘No More I Sleep’ is released by Modena Records on 26th May 2014

http://chicanemusic.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/chicanemusic

http://www.armadamusic.com/label/modena-records/

Text and Interview by Paul Boddy
3rd May 2014

WRANGLER Interview

22 April 2014 /

With aims to harness “lost technology to make new themes for the modern world”, WRANGLER are the electronic trio that many have been waiting for.

With vintage synths and drum machines creating a soundtrack for a dissident future landscape, WRANGLER’s debut album ‘LA Spark’ is one of most anticipated electronic releases of 2014. Certainly the pulsing screech of ‘Lava Land’ signifies this is future music harnessing the uncharted possibilities of the past. In effect, it is akin to visiting the moon again, post-Apollo.

The trio all have noted histories in music. Phil Winter has been recording, playing and DJ-ing for a number of years and is a member of folktronica exponents TUNNG who released their fifth studio album ‘Turbines’ in 2013. Synth collector extraordinaire and producer Benge released the acclaimed aural synth encyclopaedia ‘Twenty Systems’ in 2008 and is best known for his part in the collaborative project JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS. And Stephen Mallinder (or Mal as his friends like to call him) needs no introduction as founder member of post-punk pioneers CABARET VOLTAIRE who recently reissued their ‘Collected Works 1983-85’ on Mute.

Building their profile steadily with a BBC 6 Music live session, a special performance at Proof Positive and discussion panels celebrating the work of the Radiophonic Workshop, WRANGLER kindly spoke about the genesis of ‘LA Spark’…

What drew you towards working with each other?

Mal: Friendship, respect, common interests in music, technology, sounds, processes and how much we agree on crap uninspiring music that generally fills the sky. A band has to have a core belief – a code where everybody instinctively knows how things should be done, what’s right and what’s not in the sound, how it is presented and be able to say if someone played something crap or was wearing inappropriate trousers.

How does it feel for you Mal to become part an existing project as opposed to organically forming a new one?

Mal: I suppose that’s better answered by Phil and Benge, but we have been working together for over three years so all WRANGLER material is with the three of us – I’d hate people to think I just arrived at the end. We have done quite a few remixes for other people which was an important part of Wrangler developing a good working process. Ultimately it’s not when but what – what we all contribute.

Phil: Benge and I had been working on stuff in his studio, and I guess in retrospect we were looking for another element to tie our ideas together. I had been in touch with Mal while he was abroad and always thought he would get what we were doing, so when he returned and had a chance to settle himself, we got him down to the studio, job done .

Benge: And I have always been a fan of CABARET VOLTAIRE’s work – so it was really cool to actually get to work with Mal – I remember the moment Phil said “I know Mal really well – we go back years – shall I give him a call?” and I kind of fell off my chair.

‘Lava Land’ is a key track on the album. What inspired that one?

Mal: The words followed the music, it was a lively track shall we say and the words responded. The sounds confront people’s complacency and I hope the lyrics are similarly words of warning to shake us out of torpor.

Phil: For me it wasn’t just one thing, that’s for sure. I remember it starting as a sort of dark carnival tune, and through jamming it in the studio it just got stranger, Tom Rogerson came in and did some extra synth bits , and we ended up in ‘Lava Land’.

Benge: It’s always exciting when you hear a track suddenly come to life and take on its own character – and this happened on ‘Lava Land’ when Mal started singing through the pitch shifter – it all fell into place really quickly after that.

How have the new developments affected you as a vocalist in the way you might approach a track?

Mal: I think the synergy between voice and music is something that happens, I don’t tend to conceptualise it, music is better being instinctive if it is a collaborative thing. I think I have found a good way of working with the guys and we all work together on the music and how the voice fits, so it evolves rather than me doing vocals on a finished track – it’s a very organic process.

The most abrasive sound on the new album is the vocals, at what point in the writing process did the lyrics integrate with the music?

Mal: This probably follows on from my last answer and it explains how the voice works in WRANGLER – we try to integrate it in the early stages of developing a track. So just as a particular rhythm, bass part, or top line, may shift and change as the track evolves, so the voice shifts and bits get redone as the recording progresses.

Plus a lot of the ideas are worked out in a live situation playing together loud, through the PA, working things out – voice and sounds need to gel.

I don’t know that the voice is the intended to be the most abrasive component but our approach to how a vocal works in a track is intended to push boundaries. The voice is often the least explored dynamic in music, offering a saccharine element to the aggression of a piece. It’s good to occasionally invert that formula.

The screeching, dystopian string machine on ‘Lava Land’ is amazing… what is it and what did you do to it?

Mal: It’s a Roland Angle-Grinder I believe?

Phil: Yep , that’s right , but you’ll have to check with Benge on the specific model number.

Benge: It is a Logan String Melody II, the one used a lot by JOY DIVISION and loads of bands in the mid to late 70s. I bought this one year ago from Sound On Sound magazine classifieds – before eBay existed. Coincidentally I drove all the way to Sheffield to pick it up! The guy selling it said it used to belong to Phil Oakey, but I think he made that up.

What sort of advantages and limitations are there when making an album with primarily modular / analogue synthesizer gear?

Mal: The only thing that limits you really is your imagination. In most creative situations reducing your options is a challenge to optimise what you can, and wish, to do. Freedom from choice is the usually most important part of making something good. If it’s not a struggle to rinse the most out of anything – technology, or yourself, – it’s generally not very good.

Phil: As Mal says the limitations become the advantages, we try not to get too distracted by multiple options and stick to an almost band type set up, four sound sources generally does us.

Benge: When we started me and Phil decided we would only use one synth per track – that’s where the name came from because we would wrangle with each synth until we got a whole track out of it. A lot of those initial experiments ended up on the album, and we’ve got a ton more stuff waiting to be worked on.

With its Aladdin’s Cave of vintage synthesizers, what was the experience like of clocking in to work at the MemeTune studio?

Mal: Well the studio doesn’t have a doorbell and if anyone’s in there and they don’t hear the phone, you can’t get in … so we spend the start of most days down the Hoxton Spark – a café round the corner. Nice tea – they use loose tea not bags and it’s 90p. Once we manage to get in there it’s pure enjoyment, with the occasional dispute when something doesn’t work, which usually turns out to be a dodgy lead.

Phil: It’s f*cking great, once you get in obviously. Sometimes it can be a bit scary after a long session, you get there the next day and realise how much damage you’ve done to the place .

Benge: If you’re stuck outside you could always page me, or maybe send a TELEX!

In contrast to 99% of current electronic music, ‘LA Spark’, despite its dark overtones is a very ‘warm’ sounding album… was that a conscious decision?

Mal: I think all music that stands the test of time has to be complex, drawing on ideas from lots of different areas. Making something that can be both seductive but equally needs a listener to work at it is the goal. Warmth and darkness offer a pleasing tension in music – enticing but rather unsettling, it’s a balance worth aiming for.

Phil: I think we’re a pretty unconscious unit in that regard but saying that, we do have an unspoken regard for what is possible with the people and equipment we have at our disposal .

Benge: That warmth sort of oozes out of some of this equipment – things like the Moog Modular going through a plate reverb and into an old analogue console – that’s always going to sound warm and fuzzy to me, in a really good way.

Many musicians work together via the internet without having to meet up in person – was the music you created with WRANGLER literally three guys sitting in a studio jamming out ideas or did you often collaborate remotely?

Mal: The only things we tend to do remotely are in very early stages of tracks – just rough sketches or embryonic ideas of sounds and rhythms. The most enjoyable part is all of us coming together and figuring out how each track should evolve and when it’s cooked. Part of that process for the album was all of us interacting – we were playing all the tracks live before they were properly recorded.

Phil: I don’t remember much remote action, we might bring basic sketches, vocal ideas or simple beats stuff into the studio from our homes. But the vast majority is created by the three of us working together in the room.

Benge: Yeah, towards the end of the process we set up in the live room and played together a lot (partly because we were rehearsing for a gig if I remember rightly) and this really helped focus some of the tracks. Also when it came to doing the final mixes we all got on the console together and turned each mix into a live performance, playing with faders, EQ settings and FX sends and stuff. You can’t do that via Skype!

Does the cut-up vocal track ‘Music IIC’ refer to the first portable Apple computer or is there too much being read into the title?!

Mal: I’ll leave that for anyone who buys the album to decide for themselves. And for Phil and Benge to explain…

Phil: Benge?

Benge: No, it was more an homage to Jean-Claude Risset and Max Matthews.

How did you pick ‘Crackdown’ to perform live as WRANGLER as opposed any other track in the CABARET VOLTAIRE back catalogue?

Mal: Well for me it seems the most appropriate – a track which sonically seems right for Wrangler and lyrically seems right for the times. ‘The Crackdown’ is a constant global theme.

Phil: It was quite spontaneous, as performing live should be… we had (sort of) worked out a couple of Cabs tunes for live, just in case it felt right and ‘Crackdown’ seems to have fitted in with the other stuff sonically we are playing at the moment live. And as mentioned, it’s still, for me anyway, a very relevant lyric for these times.

Benge: Yes, it seemed to work last time we played it. Plus, we ran out of our own songs at the end there.

Mute’s box set of Cabaret Voltaire material between 1983 to 1985 and joining WRANGLER have given you Mal, the highest profile since those heady days on Some Bizzare / Virgin… how are you handling all the attention?

Mal: Oh I cope 😉

To be honest, the Cabs made a lot of music and over a long period of time, so there always seems to be some period of our work being analysed for is continuing relevance or reissued in some form.

In fact, and for various reasons, I’ve not really had much to do with the reissue. The WRANGLER recordings and gigs have been going on for a few years so it was funny that our album followed on from the box set – I’ve had no control over the timing, it just happened that way. We planned on having WRANGLER out for a while but these things take time.

I’m happy to know the music I’ve been involved in – past and present – has resonance. Understandably I get more excited about the present and working with Phil and Benge is the primary thing. Because I’ve BEEN living overseas, I think people forget that I’ve been doing lots of stuff between CABARET VOLTAIRE and WRANGLER – I had my own label with about thirty releases, did the HEY RUBE album last year and have the KULA album, LOOPED FOR PLEASURE and various collaborations all due for release. Plus lot of other stuff.

It’s been over 20 years since you played live with CABARET VOLTAIRE, how was the experience of the recent Wrangler gig at the Servant Jazz Quarters in London?

Mal: Well I’ve always played live – the KU-LING BROS in Australia were a very live thing – I played with I MONSTER etc and I’ve DJ’ed constantly so it wasn’t too odd – and we’ve done a few WRANGLER gigs so we seem to be on top of it. It’s better when we can use the visuals which we didn’t at Jazz Quarters but we’ve done a couple of shows with Tom Rogerson at Proof Positive and that’s been good. A good night, we enjoyed it – WRANGLER function as a band and we love playing.

Have you watched the new Benge-featuring modular synthesizer documentary ‘I Dream Of Wires’? And if so, what was your opinion of it?

Mal: Well Benge (and a few other people who I know are in it) will shout at me but no, I’ve still not seen it… mea culpa!! I was hoping I could get a copy.

You also work at the University of Brighton, does lecturing the new generation give you hope for the future of music / media production?

Mal: I talk to people all over in lots of places about media, film, music, art, creativity – I think there are some very talented folk coming through. I think the opportunity and mechanisms for creating and sharing are limitless now but this in itself is a challenge. Popular culture has a long history now and any artist has to carry that burden of familiarity. The key is no longer making but remaking – finding new contexts and connections.

The tools of production have been democratised, we all have the opportunity to create but need to decide for ourselves why we wish to do it because in a world of plenty, it is not as easy to monetise creative production and is increasingly competitive. But if something is good, it will shine and be seen or heard.

I would like to see more respect given – we seem to be downplaying and marginalising the arts in education in the push to make everyone happy worker bees. But imagination is what defines us – there is nothing better than experiencing the fulfilment of making and sharing great ideas and creations. That will never change.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives it warmest thanks to WRANGLER

Special thanks also to Steve Malins at Random PR

‘LA Spark’ is released by Memetune in vinyl, CD and digital formats on 5th May 2014. There is a free download of the song ‘Theme From Wrangler’ with pre-orders via Cargo Records at http://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/wrangler-la-spark

https://www.facebook.com/pages/We-Are-Wrangler/1389558817973207

https://twitter.com/wearewrangler

http://memetune.net

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
22nd April 2014

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2017 ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK | Email: theelectricityclub@googlemail.com
Privacy Policy

Up ↑