Category: Reviews (Page 108 of 206)

ANI GLASS Peirianwaith Perffaith

31 October 2018 /

ANI GLASS is back with a new single ‘Peirianwaith Perffaith’, an enticing trailer for her forthcoming as-yet-untitled debut album.

Translated as ‘Perfect Machinery’, with the vibe of Autumnal discontent, the haunting detuned backdrop is perfect for her socially conscious Welsh expressionism. With a wonderfully swirling leadline and a suitably penetrating bass pulse, the Cardiff-based synth songstress says the song is about how the “search for identity in a moving city and society insists on a sense of stillness often found in the shadows of progress”.

The still image visual accompaniment filmed and directed by Jon Pountney with artistic direction by ANI GLASS begins with stark industrial views before drifting into suburbia and a journey into the countryside in time for twilight.

An experienced hand who has previously worked with Andy McCluskey and the late Martin Rushent, ANI GLASS released her acclaimed first EP ‘Ffrwydrad Tawel’ in Spring 2017. Having recently completed a Masters Degree, the songstress is now fully focussed on finishing her self-produced debut long player.

She said to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in January: “I’m really excited about curating the presentation of this album; conceptually and visually. I have a lot of ideas about how I might involve and engage with people who may not be instinctively interested in Welsh electronic music. It’s quite an exciting time to be making music in Wales – something is afoot; I couldn’t tell you what it is but I think it’s going to be exciting and I really want to be a part of it.”

‘Peirianwaith Perffaith’ is released by Recordiau Neb, available on iTunes and Spotify

ANI GLASS’ previous releases are available direct from https://aniglass.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/aniglasscymru/

https://twitter.com/Ani_Glass

https://www.instagram.com/ani_glass/

https://soundcloud.com/aniglass

Text by Chi Ming Lai
31st October 2018

STEVEN JONES & LOGAN SKY The Electric Eye

30 October 2018 /


The duo of Steven Jones and Logan Sky have been a busy twosome this year.

January saw their unusual offering of ‘Hans Und Lieselotte’ with some peculiar sounding tunes. And now it’s followed this annum by opus number two ‘The Electric Eye’.

Jones met Sky through Steve Strange, both having been associated with the late star. Sky established himself within the electronica circles thanks to his synth skills for VISAGE and working with Nick Rhodes while Jones has been around, sharing his love of yoga and singing.

The pair worked together on various EPs and the long player ‘Corrupt State’, which featured Strange before his untimely passing. While ‘Hans Und Lieselotte’ was filled with more experimental offerings, ‘The Electric Eye’ is deliciously musical and very electronic.

What ‘Violet Alert’ opens with, is exactly what Sky is superb at; the correlation between being a classically trained pianist who turned into a synth wizard, and sees himself as an “inventor”.

PET SHOP BOYS with a twist is what ‘Voltage’ is, a little bit of vintage, tangled, untangled, mixed and remixed: a perfect synth track. The title song could have been VISAGE meets SOFT CELL, oh it’s scrumptious, if simplistically delivered, but who needs unnecessary dilutions?

‘Time Paths’ rejects the norm, vintage style, a notion that prevails into the synthylicious ‘No Way Out’ with a minimalistic approach, where old is mixed with new. It’s almost as if Daniel Miller redid THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Travelogue’.

The ominous ‘Black Clouds’ gather over to witness the super gritty ‘Okan’s Run’, while the dazzling beauty of ‘Solid Crystal Core’ cannot be denied. ‘Carousel’ brings certain demureness into the mix, leading into ‘Christmas In The Machine’.

With just a simple beautiful piano, devoid of pretty much any other instrumentation except for an occasional synth, it’s a classic in itself. The sampled heartbeat could suggest DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Somebody’ connotations, and that’s where the twosome excel.

The best is clearly left for last with the immensely powerful ‘Blood Moon’, with its lush dirty synth and sci-fi plug-ins; a truly vintage piece.

Who’d have thought Steven Jones and Logan Sky would return this quickly and with such a little gem. The love and knowhow of electronica shines through each and single track and the two keep the vintage new and fresh. If you’re looking into a superb way to end this musical year, than look no further.

‘The Electric Eye’ is available as a CD or download direct from https://etrangersmusique.bandcamp.com/album/the-electric-eye

https://www.etrangersmusique.com

https://www.facebook.com/etrangersmusique/

https://twitter.com/etrangers

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
30th October 2018

MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY Infinity Mirror

26 October 2018 /


Now onto album number three and without original musical partner Tomas Greenhalf, Ryan James continues to hone and develop his hybrid mix of luxuriant synthetics and subtle guitar textures as MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY.

Already preceded by three singles ‘Remember the Bad Things’, ‘Lafayette’ and ‘Achilles Heel’, ‘Infinity Mirror’ features another nine tracks and doesn’t deviate too far from the template that James has developed so far on previous longer form releases ‘King Complex’, ‘Foe’ and ‘Maximum Entropy’.

The album feels more electronic and slightly more contemporary because in the main, it lacks the presence of the breakbeat style drums that were a signature feature on earlier material such as ‘Puppets’.

Album opener ‘Preface’ features a combo of highly processed glitched vocal effects and the kind of ethereal guitar that THE XX used to do so well. ‘Lion Mind’ combines a shuffling drum loop reminiscent of DUBSTAR’s classic ‘Stars’ and some quirky high pitched synth lines. For those already familiar with MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY lyrics, much of the narrative here comes across as ultra-personal with the main hooks “running from the rest of my life” and “my lion mind has disappeared” displaying an open insecurity.

‘Remember The Bad Things’ has a synth hook in the style of THE BELOVED style (MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY have previously covered ‘Sweet Harmony’) melded to a chord progression inspired by THE CURE. Despite the title, there is something curiously life-affirming about ‘Remember The Bad Things’ and the sampled guitar power-chords drive the song to an epic conclusion.

‘Beta Blocker’ is arguably the biggest deviation in sound on ‘Infinity Mirror’, with a huge ‘Dr. Mabuse’ synth bass sound and ZTT-style production (replete with Fairlight Orchestra samples). Rippling filtered synth arpeggios which echo the omnipresent ‘Stranger Things’ theme bring the song to its conclusion.

‘Lafayette’ remains an utterly gorgeous track, listening to it is akin to relaxing in an electronic bubblebath; 808 percussion and beautifully understated guitar subtly underpin the track which is easily the stand-out on ‘Infinity Mirror’. Titled after the forename of L Ron Hubbard (science fiction / fantasy author and latterly Scientology leader), the lyrics are peppered with subtle references to the cult of Dianetics and ends with the cryptic hook “wrap me up inside your blackout curtain”.

‘Skeletons’ is a waltzing piece, with backwards drum-loops and 8 bit Nintendo synth sound, whilst ‘Achilles’ Heel’ takes the album in a 4/4 direction with a welcome resuscitation of the classic Korg M1 house piano and organ bass sounds. Also worthy of mention is the brilliant vocodered synth vocal solo at the end, probably the best of its kind since the one featured on MYLO’s ‘Drop The Pressure’.

‘Infinity Mirror’ ends with the almost ambient title track; epic sweeping synth pads and echoed vocal textures slow the pulse down and take the listener into a dream-like state before the song builds to a crescendo and quickly descends into a sudden cacophony of noise.

Criticisms? There is but one, the auto-tuned over-processed vocal effects can get a bit wearing as they are present on all of the songs, but they do suit the lush synthetic aesthetic here and the attention to detail with their production is nonetheless technically brilliant.

The fact that ‘Infinity Mirror’ is primarily the work of just one musician is incredible, there is SO much craft and melody on show here you will struggle to hear a better electronic album this year – this is absolutely outstanding.

‘Infinity Mirror’ is released by Killing Moon Records in CD, double clear vinyl LP, USB and digital formats, available direct from https://manwithoutcountry.bandcamp.com/album/infinity-mirror

MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY plays live at The Old Blue Last in London on 26th November 2018 – entry is free but tickets must be obtained from https://dice.fm/event/99l79-man-without-country-26th-nov-the-old-blue-last-london-tickets

https://manwithout.country/

https://www.facebook.com/manwithoutcountry/

https://twitter.com/mwc_music

https://www.instagram.com/mwc_music/

Text by Paul Boddy
26th October 2018

STOLEN Fragment

26 October 2018 /


After a ten year hiatus, the legendary German dance label MFS returns with the release of ‘Fragment’, the long-awaited new album by Chengdu techno-rockers STOLEN.

An acronym for “strange old entertainment”, this album is a seamless hour long trip in more ways than one. Produced in Berlin by Mark Reeder and his musical sidekick Micha Adam, having witnessed their intense live presentation while on a tour of China, Reeder confessed to an excitement he hadn’t experienced since the early days of NEW ORDER.

Reeder said: “Personally, I wanted their album to sound like nothing that had come out of China before, as their music is not stuck in one particular style, but is a nice mixture of darkwave rock, techno and a billion other influences, even krautrock. They are such talented and open-minded musicians that it was very easy to suggest something and try it out, and when it worked, then we would just go with the flow.”

In common with NEW ORDER, STOLEN mix electronics with guitars and technology with live drums. Held together by the growling vocal presence of Liang Yi, ‘Fragment’ is the Sinographic end result of East meeting West, laced with psychedelic overtones and mysterious cinematics. Ecstatic and unlike anything to have ever emerged musically from China, ‘Fragment’ opens its account with ‘Chaos’, a spiky synergy of dance and rock.

‘Neutral Life’ has hints of ‘Oxygene 2’ with a subtle Schaffel pulse and a sinister snakey presence aided by horror film swoops and the cerebral headrush of PINK FLOYD. Bare and whispery, ‘Enter The Gap’ takes things down before the superb rigid pulse of ‘Why We Chose To Die In Berlin’ pays tribute to Germany with a burst of KRAFTWERK circa 1991 at the halfway point before mutating into an exuberant haze of trancey energy.

A very European electronic goth template is applied on the techno-driven ‘Copyshop’, its haunting synth glimmers and raw vocals setting it apart. “I like the idea of mixing of rock with techno…” said Liang Yi, “we are very proud that we don’t sound like any of the other Chinese bands.”


“They sleep in fancy coffins” observes Liang Yi on the mutant piano-driven electro reggae of ‘Vampire Lovers’ as the seductive spy drama cimbalom and chromatic guitar provide a distinctly Eastern European flavour. ‘Frozen Song’ is suitably icy, building to a hypnotic four-to-the-floor backbeat as Banshee-like guitar trembles over bubbling electronic sequences.

The agitated progressive electro romp of ‘Turn Black’ has an arrangement that magnificently develops within a single song before the drifting lilt of ‘From The Future’, a less mechanically driven track with drumming reminiscent of JOY DIVISION. Closing ‘Fragment’ is ‘The Loop Sin’, a classic Reeder production full of heavy propulsive grit and live textural enhancements.

A well-thought out, well-crafted album with plenty of adventure, space and mystery within its multi-genre cocoon, ‘Fragment’ is likely to appeal to fans of electronic pop, techno, prog and alternative rock.


“I think ‘Fragment’ is a very listenable album” said Mark Reeder, “The club tracks work in a club environment, I know that because I have tried them out in my DJ sets, and the quieter tracks are to sit back and relax to.”

Proving musically that the Far East is not just about J-Pop, K-Pop and C-Rap, STOLEN have provided a welcome cultural counter-balance with one of the best albums of 2018.

‘Fragment’ is released by MFS as a vinyl LP and download album, available from https://stolenmusic.bandcamp.com/album/fragment

STOLEN open for NEW ORDER on the following European live dates:

Prague Lucerna Praha (3rd October), Munich Philharmonie Im Gasteig (5th October), Berlin Tempodrom (7th October), Paris Le Grand Rex (11th October), Brussels Forest International (14th October), Amsterdam AFAS Live (17th October)

https://www.facebook.com/STOLENfromChina/

https://www.instagram.com/stolen_official/

https://mfsberlin.com/

https://twitter.com/KAIGUANCULTURE

https://open.spotify.com/album/3PzmbWjYqgiSZFFkZSh85s

Text by Chi Ming Lai
26th October 2018

ROXI DRIVE Strangers Of The Night

22 October 2018 /

When is synthwave not synthwave? When it’s synthpop of course and much of the best synthwave is actually pop.

While a lot of synthwave appears to be just formless meandering instrumentals made by gamer boys with a Lamborghini fixation, the majority of the best exponents have been female and tune-based like NINA, MECHA MAIKO and Dana Jean Phoenix. Looking to join that roll of honour is Roxi Drive, a talented West London born singer / songwriter and actor with a crush on Ryan Gosling who confesses to “Living my Neon dreams one song at a time” and her debut album ‘Strangers Of The Night’ being “A collaboration of pure synth fusion”.

It imagines a world where Madonna Louise Ciccone and Pat Benatar get immersed in the wonders of the synthesizer and doesn’t forget the songs either. Opening number ‘Run All Night (Chase This Dream)’ pulses the night away like a maniac with a neon lit vocal, while the enjoyable ‘Walking Out Of Love’ borrows from the guilty pleasure of classic Italo disco complete with a Moroderesque vo-coda although whether the variable equalisation on the drums is deliberate or not, it makes for a highly frustrating listen. Production quality also blights ‘Call Me Tomorrow?’ which is a delightful ditty that would have sounded even better with a more sympathetic widescreen mix.

The ‘Strangers Of The Night’ titled song verges into AOR like much of the current crop of synthwave and doesn’t work, but much better is the more synthetically charged pop of ‘All Night Long’. The energetic new wave of ‘Synthicide’ sees a pacier electronic take on ‘Words’ by MISSING PERSONS and might have made it into a John Hughes film if it had been released in 1985, but as it’s a Stacey Q cover, maybe that’s why!

Meanwhile ‘See It In Your Eyes’ interludes with a funkier vibe to contrast the album. ‘Behind The Mask’ takes proceedings to a moodier level in a manner not dissimilar to KIRLIAN CAMERA and would go down a treat with the Amphi crowd before ‘Stay With Me’, a marvellous ‘Drive’ influenced ballad with a touch of ELECTRIC YOUTH concludes ‘Strangers Of The Night’.

While a promising and varied record, some of its production is unable to fully exploit the potential of the material, with an inconsistent sound that lacks clarity. Meanwhile, some of the vocal effects are also perhaps too overbearing at times in an attempt to get things heard over the busy backing; seven producers of varying experiences appear to have been credited on the album which could account for this.

While much of this long player could have been more sonically accomplished, what ROXI DRIVE has proved with ‘Strangers Of The Night’ is she can write songs. Coupled with the right studio team, she could be up there in the future with the best of the current crop of independent synth-based artists.

‘Strangers Of The Night’ is available as a download album direct from: https://roxidrive.bandcamp.com/album/strangers-of-the-night

https://www.roxidrivemusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/RoxiDrive/

https://twitter.com/RoxiDrive

https://www.instagram.com/roxidrive/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
22nd October 2018

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