Issued in late 2012, ‘Dark Light’ was the eighth studio album by the cult independent combo SECTION 25.
Founded by the Cassidy brothers Larry and Vin, SECTION 25 first came to wider attention with the acclaimed album ‘Always Now’, which was released on Factory Records in 1981 and produced by Martin Hannett.
However, the band became best known for their seminal electro classic ‘Looking From A Hilltop’ in 1984, when Larry Cassidy’s wife Jenny Ross joined the band and featured on lead vocals.
Sadly the husband and wife team passed away in 2010 and 2004 respectively. In a fitting gesture, Vin Cassidy recruited his niece Bethany, daughter of the departed SECTION 25 couple to join the band full-time alongside regular guitarist Steve Stringer and bassist / porgrammer Stuart Hill.
Bethany had already featured on SECTION 25’s 2009 album ‘Nature + Degree’ and possessed a vocal style that was eerily reminiscent of her mother. ‘Retrofit’, a 21st Century reworkings album released after Larry’s passing included a new updated version of ‘Looking From A Hilltop’, produced by Stephen Morris from NEW ORDER.
But the new SECTION 25 era was heralded in 2011 with the release of the ‘Invicta’ EP via Fac51 The Hacienda, an imprint started by estranged NEW ORDER bassist Peter Hook.
It featured ‘Colour Movement Sex & Violence’, a danceable synth led ditty which captured that classic hedonistic Manchester vibe and recalled THE OTHER TWO’s ‘Tasty Fish’. Also featuring on the EP was a slightly more aggressive number entitled ‘Inner Chaos’; both songs were a sign of things to come.
Using a title and photo given to them by Factory graphic designer Peter Saville, the band had always intended to have the word ‘Light’ in the title to reflect the poppy nature of the record. But SECTION 25 had a wider reputation for darker, heavier music, so the title was an indicator of their change in direction. ‘Dark Light’ was also a technical term for the colour seen by the eye in perfect darkness, so it matched Saville’s Polaroid image which was used on the artwork.
Largely co-produced with Alan Gregson and Derek Miller aka OUTERNATIONALE, ‘Dark Light’ was a ten track set that signalled a spiritual return to the technopop flavours and pastoral textures of ‘From The Hip’. With the addition of another Cassidy in Joanna on backing vocals and keyboards, SECTION 25 transformed themselves into something almost as glossy as MARSHEAUX or MARNIE, certainly when compared to the raincoat demeanour of ‘Always Now’ or even the more optimistic Bernard Sumner steered opus ‘From The Hip’ from which ‘Looking from A Hilltop’ spawned.
On the opening song ‘World’s End’, the gentle sequencers and soothing synths recalled the more ambient elements of ‘From The Hip’, and introduced Bethany’s sweet vocals as a more raspy version of Lauren Mayberry from CHVRCHES.
Following the sedate start, a dynamic punch in the face came courtesy of the feisty ‘My Outrage’. Crossing supreme pop with a post-punk sensibility, this was a prime girl power anthem signalling that 35 years after their formation, SECTION 25 now had the potential to appeal to a multi-generational audience.
The excellent ‘Pitch Black Box’ was a cool and bouncy dance track in the vein of NEW ORDER, with sax lines making the overall sound unusual yet familiar. Seductive Blackpool accented spoken vocals provided another enigmatic counterpoint, coming over like how LITTLE BOOTS should have sounded with her more club-focussed direction, post-‘Hands’. The lyrics certainly expressed some flirty assertiveness, with a call to “be abusive, intrusive, corruptive…”
‘Love Cuts’ took a rumbling machine bass and solid beat to provide a stern groove while with a less intense and looser rhythm construction, ‘Colour Movement Sex & Violence’ worked well in its new format, although its appeal was not quite as immediate as the original radio friendly single take. However, the propulsive female/ male vocal duel of ‘Inner Drive’ became more accomplished its dreamier ‘Dark Light’ version and realised its potential.
Like a North-by-North West REPUBLICA, ‘78’ took on a rockier stance coupled with a Eurodance flavour, while held together by a percussive mantra, ‘Letter to America’ was more sinister, with Steven Stringer’s deadpan male voice providing opposition to the more innocent female vocals. Curling with rhythm guitar syncopating over a pulsing electronic backbone, ‘Memento’ kept the album’s consistent club friendly vibe going before the final song ‘Early Exit’.
A melancholic number featuring great live drums from Vin and coloured by a mood of reflection possibly in reference to Bethany’s parents, this was undoubtedly another of the album’s highlights. Full of hope despite the sadness, ‘Early Exit’ was a fitting album closer in the euphoric vein of NEW ORDER’s ‘Dream Attack’ or listening today as a more recent reference, ‘Superheated’!
Utilising live and computerised instrumentation coupled to a vibrant freshness thanks to the new blood, SECTION 25 evolved while literally retaining its core DNA. A fine addition to the Cassidy Family tradition, with its defiant sense of optimism and willingness to move on, ‘Dark Light’ certainly merits investigation by anyone remotely interested in quality synthpop.
Danish producer Anders Trentemøller made a name for himself when he remixed DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Wrong’ in 2009.
He succeeded not only in stamping his own vision with a far superior interpretation that well and truly outstripped the rather ploddy original, but more significantly, his rework highlighted the shortcomings in DEPECHE MODE’s production and arrangement department.
With a support slot for Basildon’s finest at London’s 02 Arena on the ‘Delta Machine’ tour, the scene was set for his own work to be recognised.
While primarily known as a dance producer, his previous two albums ‘The Last Resort’ and ‘Into The Great Wide Yonder’ showed the Dane to be highly capable of mixing organic instrumentation with electronics.
His third studio outing ‘Lost’ in 2013 was a combinational development of its predecessors, but with a greater emphasis on songs. This is particularly evident with his hip support cast of vocalists such as LOW, BLONDE REDHEAD’s Kazu Makino, Jana Hunter of LOWER DENS, THE RAVONETTES, GHOST SOCIETY and THE DRUMS.
Positively nocturnal with smatterings of Lynchian guitar and mechanised beats, ‘Lost’ however began with the meditative slowcore of ‘The Dream’ fronted by LOW. But the album was jolted from this sedate start with the bass grunt and eventual electronic intensity of ‘Gravity’ voiced by Jana Hunter. But bigger beats made their presence felt on ‘Still On Fire’; its trance-like qualities would have been quite similar sounding to Ferry Corsten’s ‘Sublime’ had it not been for the track’s rockier inflections.
There were also the psychedelic overtones dominating ‘Candy Tongue’ and the Turkish flavoured electro spy drama of ‘Constantinople’. Featuring the vocals of Marie Fisker, the former possessed a cerebral demeanour while the latter came complete with an organ solo aping THE DOORS!
Elsewhere on ‘Lost’, while technology blended with guitars, full-on dance friendliness sat very much on the backburner. Instead, aa downtempo haziness was on the agenda with the processed chill of ‘Come Undone’ angelically sung by Kazu Makino and the atonal bells of ‘Morphine’, its mutant jazz concocting a distinct ‘Twins Peaks’ meets Nordic Noir vibe.But the standout tracks on ‘Lost’ were much more rhythm laden.
The muted synth trumpets and spacey swirls of ‘Deceive’ driven by an incessant drum machine came over like DEPECHE MODE meeting DEATH IN VEGAS, while the epic ‘Trails’ with its conventional bass and guitars took a visceral approach that side-chained to a sickly claustrophobic feel before erupting into a more electronic and percussive second half. The album had no shortage of ambition, as proven by the deviant sub-nine minute drone ‘n’ bleep fest of ‘Hazed’ and the hidden unnamed piano piece afterwards.
Adding the indie electronica of ‘Never Stop Running’ and the frantic GHOST SOCIETY assisted ‘River Of Life’ with its aggressive arpeggios and raw feedback, ‘Lost’ was an adventure in sound that rewarded multiple listens, simply because it had the ability to sound different on each play, depending on mood and the time of day. On sonics alone, it had the potential to win plenty of admirers, simply for its rugged production style.
So it begs the question why Anders Trentemøller wasn’t employed by DEPECHE MODE as producer instead of the hapless Ben Hiller? Their perfect producer was sitting under the noses of Messrs Gahan, Gore and Fletcher all that time! TRENTEMØLLER’s multiple texture blend would have worked tremendously… after all, he’d pulled it off already with ‘Wrong! Can you imagine what he could have done with ‘Welcome To My World’?
With the recent unwelcome rumour that Dave Gahan wants The Drumhead and The Noodler aka Christian Eigner and Peter Gordeno involved in the next DEPECHE MODE album, the production ear and musicality of TRENTEMØLLER is more needed than ever!
‘Lost’ is still available via In My Room in CD, vinyl and download formats
Not to be confused with the Latin rock band discovered by Sergio Mendes, MACONDO were a synthpop duo from Grays in Essex.
Comprising of Wayne Clements and his sidekick Vickie, their only album ‘Up Here For Thinking, Down There for Dancing’ was released in 2003 by Ninthwave Records, an American independent specializing in electronic pop founded in 2001 as part of Lexicon Magazine, originally an ABC fanzine that morphed into a more general platform featuring synthpop and new wave.
Ninthwave Records issued a number of new artist compilations including ‘Electricity’ which featured SUBVERSION, a synthpop act who included THE KILLERS’ Brandon Flowers as one of its members. It also handled the North American release of HEAVEN 17’s 2005 album ‘Before / After’, as well as curating tribute albums to OMD and YAZOO.
Take in the context of the period; the new millennium had begun and with the post-Britpop hangover, there was effectively no electronic music unless it was club focussed. Synthpop acts couldn’t get arrested and although LADYTRON released ‘604’ in 2001, it was done independently via their own Invicta H-Hi imprint. Even after they had achieved some critical success and signed a record deal, their second album ‘Light & Magic’ in 2003 was released in the USA first by Emperor Norton.
Wayne Clements had established his own synth imprint Lucky Pierre which later released a great compilation ‘Robopop Volume 1’ featuring CLIENT, VIC TWENTY, WHITE TOWN, KOMPUTER, EMPIRE STATE HUMAN and BAXENDALE.
But overall, it was a frustrating period for electronic music of a more pop focussed bent. It seemed North America were the saviours of synthpop, so it was no great surprise that MACONDO ended up signing to Ninthwave.
Some of that frustration came across on ‘Up Here For Thinking, Down There For Dancing’, an amusing collection of synthpop that brightened up the synthetic sky with its humour, wit, sadness, and disappointment.
On the opening number ‘Something’s Got to Happen Soon’, NEW ORDER collided with ERASURE via a wonderfully nonchalant vocal and some pretty, sparkling melodies. Lyrics like “I wanted to change my life and I was going to start today but then I got up late, there’s always tomorrow…” captured the essence of the proud pronouncements that people now make online, that ultimately wither away as unrealised ideas through lack of focus or just plain laziness. Undeterred, Wayne then declared ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ but he did.
Following on, the brilliant ‘Saturday Boys’ encompassed that very English attitude to being skint and therefore, uncommitted and unambitious; who doesn’t know someone like that? It’s the ultimate anti-aspiration song about “doing nothing to enhance our reputation…”
With hints of FRAZIER CHORUS, the brilliantly titled honesty of ‘Live Life To The Min’ also accurately captured this state of apathy in a life where “I don’t go out when I can stay in…” – indeed, who really gives a f*** about apathy?
The charming ‘Local Boy’z’ with its deliberately off-key vocals reflected on the small town mentality revolving around the M25 with the conclusion “it never occurred to us that we could leave…” while ‘Club Supper’ brought Vickie into the vocal mix with a break-up duet within a 6/8 Clarke inspired synthfest. Another swung ERASURE-ish number ‘He’s Got A Gun’ poked fun at the wannabe criminal underworld.
Within the shuffling midtempo backbone of ‘Disappointed’ and its Western theme harmonica solo was a great tune, while highlighting that ‘Up Here for Thinking, Down There for Dancing’ wasn’t just built around a single pace, there was the softer, more downbeat narrative of ‘What If He Doesn’t Show?’ and the closing cascading resignation of ‘Game Over’.
‘Up Here For Thinking, Down There For Dancing’ was a promising, quirky debut, and although there was a download remix collection ‘Down There For Dancing’ in 2004, other than an outtake ‘It Couldn’t Be Further From The Truth’ featuring Vickie on lead vocals appearing on the ‘Electricity 2’ sampler, that was it from MACONDO.
Another Lucky Pierre compilation ‘Robopop – The Return’, in association with production duo MANHATTAN CLIQUE and their label Planet Clique, did appear in 2006; on it were GOLDFRAPP, THE KNIFE, TIGA, MATINEE CLUB, ROBOTS IN DISGUISE and LORRAINE. But there was the surprise inclusion of MACONDO with a previously unreleased track called ‘CCTV’, again with Vickie on lead… it raised hopes of another album, but it was not to be.
Like their fellow ironic synthers YOUNGER YOUNGER 28s and BAXENDALE, MACONDO were an amusing aural relief to the landfill indie of the times, although unlikely to have been massively successful even in the current electro friendly climate. But they would have had some friendly faces around in this internet age.
Wherever they are now, whether they are section managers at Asda, designing logos for big corporations or writing comedy scripts for the BBC, Wayne and Vickie’s sub-FRAZIER CHORUS melodic pop and witty social observations are greatly missed.
The greatness started when Vasi Vallis from NAMNAMBULU met DIORAMA’s Felix Marc…
FROZEN PLASMA formed in 2005 and in the November of that year, the first single was released. ‘Hypocrite’ enjoyed a good position on German Alternative Charts and the first album ‘Artificial’ received positive reviews in many electronic publications at the time, praising the natural progression from NAMNAMBULU. Most recently, the duo have enjoyed success with hugely popular ‘Dekadenz’, hailed by chosen German reviewers as the best thing since sliced bread. (Oh… SLICED BREAD, the greatest electronic band of all!)
Joking aside, signed to Infacted Recordings, FROZEN PLASMA continue to make sensational synthpop albums and, consciously or not, have been copied by many new artists from around the globe. The recent productions from Utah based RARE FACTURE, and Swedes DESTIN FRAGILE plus many others all replicate the familiar synthscapes of FROZEN PLASMA in their own recordings.
Back in 2009, the hungry synth lovers eagerly awaited the second album, and in May that year, ‘Monumentum’ was finally revealed to the yearning public. The “momentum” was certainly achieved with that one; an album which still marks those glorious moments for Vallis and Marc.
The ethereal and floaty ‘Open’ kicks the album off with gentle strings, pleasant melody and this uncertain gut feeling one gets upon waiting for something grand and wonderful to come. Cinematic, atmospheric and truly beautiful, the track really does not herald what the production is about to transform into.
And so it comes, unprecedented synth with those magnificent vocals by Marc in ‘The End-Deliverance’. Doom, melancholy and grief, all of which are skilfully wrapped up in an epic dance track.
‘The Speed Of Life’ is quintessential FROZEN PLASMA as we know it nowadays, an urgent lyrical call to stop the rat race, in which many people are enveloped as of late.
It couldn’t be more current, even after six years since the album release: “Let’s cease the day, let’s go astray, there is no reason to be shy”, “running at the speed of life” to escape the ordinary, leave your worries behind and submerge into the simple pleasures of existence.
‘Phoenix’ marks the sound for which the duo have been endlessly praised, and which has been recreated in many recent releases by various artists. It’s a bouncy floor filler, marked with meaningful lyrics and a longing vocal. ‘Natural Born Liars’ bears the characteristics of quintessential FROZEN PLASMA. This semi-industrial instrumental is sci-fi inspired, and quite a lengthy track for a non-worder at 6:42.
The anthemic ‘Tanz Die Revolution’ bursts in next. Having previously been released separately, this epic production expands beyond the imaginable. It really had to be performed in German just to have this extra punch and aggression, which is essential for such a legendary track. A magnificent dance tune; one can just imagine the black adorned crowd stomping on the dance floor; it is impossible to sit through this one!
‘Earthling’ follows, with ringing synth and poignant lyrics “And I realise there is no peace of mind….there is no remedy inside, wipe me from this cruel reality, until my kingdom comes…”; it’s a heavy-hearted and gloomy realisation that nothing matters and we are as good as God’s puppets. ‘Almond Flower’, the longest track on the album at 7:09, bar the extended version of ‘The Speed Of Life’, is a melancholic depiction of a broken love affair, marked by a gentle keyboard pattern and ballad-like quality.
‘Touching Ground’ continues the solemn mood, yet bears the sign of hope (“to discover what is still unknown”, “participate in this sensation… you will be no enemy of mine”), while ‘Murderous Trap’, with its ominous title, returns to the classic FROZEN PLASMA sound. A story of a seductive girl, weaving her sexual trap over an unsuspecting man could be perceived as controversial nowadays… not that it hadn’t been done before (eg DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Little 15’); “she played her game so well”, but “sweet 16 it’s time to let you go”.
The debauchery is broken up by a stunning instrumental ‘Forgotten Earth’; divine, statuesque and sophisticated in its simplicity, an ambient female backing vocal drives the melody through corners of the human mind, leading up to equally elegant ‘Close’ which concludes the making.
After six years, ‘Monumentum’ still has that charm of seductive synth ballads, interspersed with heavy, dance floor-worthy anthems. It clearly rings many bells for numerous artists, who try and recreate the mood, which Vallis and Marc have been spoiling audiences with since 2005.
If you have never come across FROZEN PLASMA yet, this album would be a good place to start. Beware however, you may love it too much…
‘Monumentum’ is still available as a CD or download via Infacted Recordings
‘Blood Spills Not Far From the Wound’ was an album released in 2007 by NECESSARY RESPONSE, a pseudonym adopted by Daniel Graves of AESTHETIC PERFECTION when they were certainly a different sounding beast to the one they are now.
If you have only been exposed to fairly recent songs such as ‘Antibody’ and ‘Big, Bad Wolf’, then tracks such as ‘Fix’, ‘Sacrifice’ and ‘Surface’ from ‘Close to Human’, although featuring some undeniably hooky synth lines, also showcased aggressive, screamed post-hardcore vocals which could certainly prove deal breakers for those into vocally melodic strains of electronic music.
‘Intro’ starts the album, a short piano-based instrumental piece with minimal drums, a sampled breath running throughout and a dark / sinister vocodered voice intoning “Let’s spill some blood….” which introduces the first song on ‘Blood Spills….’
Opening piece ‘Spilling Blood’ is intriguing in that in certain respects it musically templates what was to eventually become the next AESTHETIC PERFECTION album ‘A Violent Emotion’. A far more typical industrial sound, with big distorted 909 kicks, filtered sawtooth synths and a triplet Schaffel feel.
What differentiates it from what was to come AP-wise (and say a typical COMBICHRIST song from the era) is the lead vocal, itself very melodic with a vocoder ghosting underneath it to give it more of an edge. The song starts with a mid-range voice announcing “Every living creature on earth dies alone” with other less discernible snippets of film dialogue following. The song’s chorus is big and anthemic with the “She says she’s never been so alone, don’t you care about me?” lyrical hook providing a real emotional twist to what is a very hard-edged machine-driven track.
‘Forever’ sets the template for much of the album, both musically and vocally. It is a very melodic 4/4 piece with hypnotic synth and haunting choral introduction lines, but with an overlong instrumental bridge and a musically underdeveloped chorus which doesn’t quite do the songwriting justice. ‘Forever’ could be interpreted as being written from the perspective of a touring musician trying to come to terms with commitment and being able to maintain a faithful relationship, with lyrics which talk about spending “our whole life together” but not “knowing how it’s done”.
‘Vapor’ is one of the standout songs on the album. Lyrically it details a fleeting and potentially doomed romantic liaison set against monophonic synth riffs which wouldn’t be out of place on the debut DEPECHE MODE and YAZOO albums.
The main drawback to ‘Vapor’ is its length; a three and a half minute edit would be perfect for a traditional synthpop song of this ilk. But stretching it out to nearly six means that a lot of the track’s emotional impact becomes lost, especially when another repeated chorus appears around about the five minute mark! ‘Dying In The Worst Way’ and ‘This Distance’, the other instrumental on the album, are the darkest tracks on ‘Blood Spills…’
The former recalls NINE INCH NAILS lyrically, whereas the latter comes across as a Dystopian sci-fi theme with filter swept ‘Man Machine’ style bass synths counterpointing the intricate stuttering of the main elements.
After a detached Apple-style robotic voice repeats “this distance is breaking me apart” in the middle eight, a deep Reese / detuned sawtooth bass adds to the overall menace before the lone computerised voice appropriately breaks down at the end.
Both pieces flirt with the Glitch genre and feature cut-up slices, helping to differentiate the songs from just being standard synth-pop compositions.
‘Devotion’, the album closer starts with looped found sounds combined with a low droning bass, ominous piano and strings. The song itself has Depeche DNA at its heart, but again the glitched components of the chorus help set it apart from something that Basildon’s finest would produce. An overlong drum-less middle section hampers the momentum of the track to a degree, but the chorus returns back at the end to lift the piece.
The main selling point for a casual listener to explore ‘Blood Spills….’ is the quality of the songwriting and synth work contained within.
Arguably there are issues with the overlong songs and underdeveloped production in places, but it still has the power and charm to make you want to revisit it regularly.
Daniel Graves kindly spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK to discuss some of the songs on the album, why he deemed it necessary to adopt a different name for the project and also why ‘Blood Spills…’ has received a 2015 ‘re-boot’ with the addition of ‘Never Enough’, a previously unreleased song from that period…
What was the main reason to step away from AESTHETIC PERFECTION to record and release ‘Blood Spills…’?
I was forced to! At the time, the powers that be insisted that AESTHETIC PERFECTION be a strictly aggrotech act. The original cut of ‘Close to Human’ contained ‘Tomorrow’, ‘Forever’ and ‘Elements’, and even though the labels liked those songs, they said I’d have to create a new project if I ever wanted to release them. I was young and eager to make people happy, so I did it. Ever since then, the goal was to slowly lead AESTHETIC PERFECTION towards what it was supposed to be from the beginning: A dynamic expression of all ranges of emotion.
Initially you went to quite a lot of effort to keep the identity and source of the act secret, including the creation of a fake MySpace located in Sweden, why was that?
I wanted the music to speak for itself. I had hoped NECESSARY RESPONSE would garner attention because the songs were good, not because they were made by “the guy from AESTHETIC PERFECTION”. Ironically though, the album was a total flop, so in hindsight I should have exploited everything I had!
As NECESSARY RESPONSE, you toured as support for DE/VISION, how was that experience?
At the time it was the longest tour I had ever done. Don’t forget, this is about a year before ‘A Violent Emotion’ came out, so AESTHETIC PERFECTION hadn’t done any significant amount of touring yet. The response was positive, but it still wasn’t enough to get the project off its feet.
I think this album, more than anything else I’ve done, was the slowest burn. People didn’t take notice of it until after AESTHETIC PERFECTION got more popular.
The phrase ‘Emo-tronica’ came into my head whilst listening to ‘Blood Spills…’
I’ve always been partial to “Emo Body Music”. Not only because it contains the word “emo” which receives an automatic knee-jerk reaction from anyone in the Goth scene, but it pairs it with the oh-so-sacred EBM acronym to really drag the nails across the chalkboard. If you want me to be honest, I’ve always thought of my music as “dark electro”, but that’s way less fun sounding. I’ve always found it funny that people associate ‘Blood Spills Not Far From the Wound’ with being sincere, open and honest and not the other AESTHETIC PERFECTION albums. Lyrically, I don’t see how ‘Sacrifice’ is any different from ‘Dying in the Worst Way’. All of my music is deeply personal. I don’t know how to write lyrics that aren’t.
On many AESTHETIC PERFECTION songs, you often come across as a larger than life persona… NECESSARY RESPONSE feels like it could be the ‘real’ Daniel Graves…..
None of what you see is the “real” me. Although, the “real” me just wants to be “Daniel Graves”. It’s two sides of the same coin. I can promise you that there was just as much performance in the NECESSARY RESPONSE days as there is now.
I wasn’t as good at it then, though. I’ve improved over the last eight years! It’s important for me that the listener interprets the song for themselves. My songs mean to me what they mean to me, and they mean to you what they mean to you.
The opening instrumental ‘Intro’ is reminiscent of a lost ‘Protection’-era MASSIVE ATTACK track, are you fan?
Nope! I absolutely hate MASSIVE ATTACK and trip hop in general!
‘Forever’, along with other tracks on the album, include some cut-up, glitchy elements, was there anybody that particularly inspired you to incorporate these?
I used to be huge into IDM and GRIDLOCK. They inspired the instrumentals on ‘Close to Human’ and ‘Blood Spills Not Far From the Wound’. You’ll notice though, that around 2007 I lost interest in the style and those types of songs stopped appearing on my albums!
Did you use the LiveCut plug-in to help program the glitches?
I’ve never heard of the LiveCut plug-in. I did everything manually!
An AESTHETIC PERFECTION trademark is the use of dialogue samples and snippets, did you add these afterwards or did they start as springboards for song ideas?
Samples almost always come at the end. I think of them as the icing on the cake rather than the batter.
‘Vapor’ sounds like a very personal lyric…
They’re all very personal, but I’d say this one was definitely less vague than the others. I think the narrative is very plainly laid out for the listener. It’s definitely one of my favourite songs, but it didn’t need to be six minutes long!
Some of the other tracks on ‘Blood Spills…’ could have quite comfortably followed a 3-4 minute ‘pop’ format…
I wish they had. I absolutely despise long songs now. Anything over four and a half minutes had better be some ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ rock opera epic-ness.
The album has a very clean and clear vocal production – what is your opinion on Industrial acts that treat their vocals almost as an afterthought to the music?
The human voice is the most unique and expressive instrument we have. No two are alike, why would you want to hide it in effects? Bring it all to the front. Don’t fear criticism. Own your flaws. Do whatever you need to do, but vocals are NOT an afterthought, they are the anchor.
Some of the album cuts ‘Elements’, ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘For All the Lost’ sound like they were done on quite a minimalist set of equipment…
Most of this record is an Access Virus B, a Nord Lead 2 and recorded in Logic with various softsynths. I’ve always tried to keep my set-up as small as possible. I find too much gear gets confusing, and you never truly learn the ins and outs of what you have. These days, the Nord and Virus collect dust as recording actual synths is totally impractical, but I like to bring them out every now and again.
The album ‘Blood Spills…’ has an almost minimal / monophonic KRAFTWERK-style aesthetic to it, are you proud of it in hindsight?
I get the worst idiot shivers when I hear the production on that record. It’s so NOT up to par. Even in 2007, it didn’t sound like a well-produced record. What I’m proud of are the songs, I think people like the record in spite of the production and not because of it. To be fair, though, I’m an artist and I hate almost everything I do. I have no objectivity, I have no perspective. I’m grateful that people like that record.
You sound REALLY unhappy with some of the aspects of the album…
Almost all artists are unhappy with their previous work. That’s the motivation to continue on and make something new, to learn from your mistakes and grow. If you believe you’ve made the perfect album, where else is there to go? I think the original version of that album sounded horrific. Those songs deserved better than that!
Which leads on to the news that you are about to release a new AESTHETIC PERFECTION version of the album…
It’s not an “AESTHETIC PERFECTION” version of the album. This record should have ALWAYS been under the AP moniker. This is me taking my album back and releasing it on my own terms. Sure, I spit-shined the production and redid the vocals, but it’s very much the same. Most of what you’ll hear are from the original recordings. I tried my best to avoid George Lucas-ing the record… believe me, it was hard!
Finally, and according to Wikipedia, “….on September 13, 2012, Daniel Graves posted on the official AESTHETIC PERFECTION Facebook page that “I wish there was a way to telepathically project, to everyone, that NECESSARY RESPONSE is dead, buried, and will not return… ever” – Any comments?
Does Wikipedia say that? I don’t remember if I ever said that, but it sounds like something I’d say! Look, I love the fact that people like that album, I like it too, but there is no need for NECESSARY RESPONSE to exist.
It’s frustrating that no matter how many times I explain that NECESSARY RESPONSE is just a name, and that if I were to ever make another album in that style again, it would be released as AESTHETIC PERFECTION. Funny enough, I approached ‘Til Death’ as if I were writing a follow up to ‘Blood Spills Not Far From the Wound’… I tell people that, and they still don’t get it. Whatever, you can’t please all the people, all the time!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Daniel Graves
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is still available via In My Room in CD, vinyl and download formats
, in association with production duo MANHATTAN CLIQUE and their label Planet Clique, did appear in 2006; on it were GOLDFRAPP, THE KNIFE, TIGA, MATINEE CLUB, ROBOTS IN DISGUISE and LORRAINE. But there was the surprise inclusion of MACONDO with a previously unreleased track called ‘CCTV’, again with Vickie on lead… it raised hopes of another album, but it was not to be.
was released on CD by Ninth Wave Records
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