Category: Reviews (Page 130 of 206)

MIKADO Forever

22 September 2017 /


Cult electronic duo MIKADO have a new expanded version of their anthology ‘Forever’ released by Les Disques du Crépuscule, the Belgian label who issued their first single ‘Par Hasard’ in 1982.

Comprising of chanteuse Pascale Borel and instrumentalist Grégori Czerkinsky, the pair joined forces in 1982 to create a bittersweet chi-chi sound.

Czerkinsky used a Wilson Condor T organ with its rhythm box, a Jen Pianotone J-600 and later a Micromoog to complement Borel’s wispy vocal tones.

They exuded a Gallic sophistication which was enhanced by a retro-kitsch visual presentation directed by Pierre et Gilles. Taking their name from the popular Japanese stick game which was also the title given to the Emperor of Japan, MIKADO accquired a local following there after a short Crépuscule package tour of the country in 1984.

One notable fan was Haruomi Hosono of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA who became the executive producer of their self-titled debut album and released it through his Non-Standard label in 1985. Although Borel and Czerkinsky started recording demos in 1988 for a second album, they split up in 1991.

This collection features all of MIKADO’s singles, B-sides, jingles like ‘La Sardine’ and ‘La Tour Eiffel’ plus demos from that unfinished second album.

‘Forever’ begins with ‘Par Hasard’, their wonderful first single and signature tune. Czerkinsky’s pretty keyboards and Borel’s eloquent air reminiscent of Françoise Hardy, France Gall and Brigitte Bardot made this a cult classic; the English version ‘Romance’ is also included as a bonus track and while cute, the tune works far better en Français. ‘Ce Garçon Là’ and ‘Au Jeu du Mikado’, the two B-sides from ‘Par Hasard’ affirmed MIKADO’s musical intentions.

Meanwhile, the breathy ‘Les Enfants du Piree’ is a charming cover of the Greek song ‘The Children of Piraeus’. Written by Manos Hadjidakis, the song won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1960 after being featured in the film ‘Never On Sunday’ and was a No1 hit in France by Dalida, which is likely to be how MIKADO first heard it.

Their 1984 single ‘Un Naufrage en Hiver’ was their first studio liaison with Haruomi Hosono and signalled MIKADO’s move towards a more punchier pop sound while still retaining their inherent elegance. It laid the path for their debut album in 1985.

On self-titled long player, songs like the cover of Serge Gainsbourg’s ‘Attends Ou Vas-t’en’ saw live drums and marimbas join the expanded instrumental palette, while the sophisticated synthpop of ‘Anita’ indicated how MIKADO were maturing.

Indeed, the unearthed cover of the haunting theme to the Robert Mitchum film ‘Night Of The Hunter’ showed MIKADO could do dark and introspective too, coming over like a blueprint of ‘Felt Mountain’ era GOLDFRAPP. Following up the album, the bouncy single ‘Carnaval’ threw in some driving digital claps a la PRINCE and guitar to the synthy mix.

‘La Fille Du Soleil’ released in 1987 by Epic France secured a domestic hit single with an enjoyable boy / girl duet, although the big club friendly production was the antithesis of ‘Par Hasard’

Something had to give and ‘Emma et Vienna’, the B-side of ‘La Fille Du Soleil’, sprung a surprise with a Mediterranean flavoured acoustic six string ballad. And as the pair prepared demos for the second album, songs like ‘L’Arc En Ciel’ and ‘L’Amour Est Un Peu Fragile’ indicated that a more conventional direction was being pursued, with the former exuding some Country & Western influences.

But further MIKADO music was not to be forthcoming. The estranged pair later had successful solo careers and both are still making music; in 2015, Pascale Borel returned with a synthetic pop album entitled ‘Par Ailleurs’ while Grégori Czerkinsky released the more traditionally inclined ‘Confusion!’ in 2016.

While not massive selling, the cocktail electro template of MIKADO no doubt inspired NOUVELLE VAGUE, the French bossa nova combo who found success in 2004 using sweet female vocals to cover classics such as ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ and ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’.

‘Forever’ is an interesting snapshot of French new wave pop and provides MIKADO’s brand of updated Yé-yé some belated but well-deserved recognition.

‘Forever’ is released by Les Disques du Crépuscule as a 28 track 2CD set housed in a 6 panel digipack with a 12 page booklet; a 20 track double vinyl edition is also available

https://www.facebook.com/MIKADO-126206410735439/

http://www.lesdisquesducrepuscule.com/mikado.html

https://www.discogs.com/artist/145595-Mikado-2

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Images by Pierre et Gilles
22nd September 2017

BLANCMANGE Unfurnished Rooms

21 September 2017 /

Following the collaborative project with Benge as FADER, this relationship is perpetuated with the John Foxx sideman tackling production duties on the new BLANCMANGE album ‘Unfurnished Rooms’.

The eponymous album opener is an intriguing mixture of guitar textures, interlocking monosynths and Linn Drum programming. Neil Arthur’s vocals convey a real sense of loss and a brilliant chanting “search, search!” helps tie the whole piece together. Always one for incorporating ‘kitchen sink’ drama lyrics into his songs, Arthur’s killer line here is “…no amount of online shopping will cover the loss”.

‘We Are The Chemicals’ is an understated, but ultimately catchy track, with a lyric which sounds part news report and part early HUMAN LEAGUE with a “…chemical spillage on a trading estate in Altrincham” forming the centrepiece for the song. Arthur himself provides guitar on the track and a simplistic square wave synth and early Roland JP-style arpeggiator fills in the mid-range on the piece. The track’s beauty lies in that it doesn’t try too hard and in its concluding 50 seconds hits a wonderful, but still low-key climax with some additional soaring keyboard parts.

‘Share it Out’ starts out like a sped-up long distance cousin of MARTHA & THE MUFFINS New Wave classic ‘Echo Beach’ before Arthur’s flanged psychedelic vocals are joined by an early Roland drum machine combo and heads off in an entirely different direction altogether. Very hypnotic and almost ambient in places, ‘Share It Out’ utilises the kind of Eastern melodic scale that made ‘Living On The Ceiling’ such a successful culture-splicing track.

The downtempo ‘Wiping the Chair’ utilises a combination of NEW ORDER-style guitars and OMD-influenced synth textures and is a highlight here; low-key in its delivery, Arthur delivers an emotional song about reuniting with a long-lost friend asking them to “Come back soon”. ‘Anna Dine’ has a wickedly catchy chord progression and features the kind of interlocking monosynth work that made the early DEPECHE MODE and YAZOO albums sound so effective, it also has another classic brutalist Arthur line in “I’ve taken the earth wires from most of your plugs”. ‘In December’ is another atmospheric slow tempo track and another highlight here; with an ambient soundscape aesthetic which drifts over the listener effortlessly.

With its combo of squealing guitar riff-age and discordant modular electronics ‘Gratitude’ takes its cues from NINE INCH NAILS to the point where one could imagine Trent Reznor taking the lead vocal on this track. An angry-sounding Arthur really lets loose here and it provides a welcome rise in tempo on the album.

The song which is most highly anticipated here is the collaboration with John Grant; the closing 8 minute piece features Grant on backing vocals and piano. ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’ winds the tempo back down again and despite a hooky chorus line, doesn’t quite match some of the earlier highlights on ‘Unfurnished Rooms’.

With the current OMD album setting an extremely high bar for how an electronic record should sound sonically both mix and mastering-wise, the only drawback with ‘Unfurnished Rooms’ is the imagining of how it would sound with a bigger and more expansive production job. Some of the elements of the album feel like they would benefit from more layers (especially Arthur’s vocals) and a finer attention to detail.

For many listeners though, ‘Unfurnished Rooms’ will be fine addition to the BLANCMANGE canon and Arthur’s wonderfully personal songwriting skills show no sign of diminishing anytime soon.

‘Unfurnished Rooms’ is released by Blanc Check on 22nd September 2017 in a CD, vinyl LP and digital, available from http://blancmange.tmstor.es/

BLANCMANGE 2017 live dates include:

Brighton Concorde 2 (5th October), London 229 (6th October), Southend Chinnery’s (19th October), Southampton 1965 (20th October), Darwen Library (25th October), Newcastle Boiler Shop (26th October), Edinburgh La Belle (27th October), Glasgow Audio (28th October), Bristol The Fleece (2nd November), Nottingham Rescue Rooms (4th November)

BLANCMANGE also play ‘The Tour of Synthetic Delights 2’ with HEAVEN 17, dates include:

Sheffield Foundry (10th November), Liverpool Hangar34 (11th November), Hull Welly (17th November), Manchester Academy2 (18th November), Coventry Copper Rooms (24th November), Norwich Waterfront (25th November)

http://www.blancmange.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/BlancmangeMusic

https://twitter.com/_blancmange_

Text by Paul Boddy
21st September 2017

HANNAH PEEL Mary Casio: Journey To Cassiopeia

18 September 2017 /

If Gustav Holst had composed ‘The Planets Op32’ suite today, would he have used synthesizers within his framework?

With his interest in astrology and thus the future, the answer is probably a “yes”. Just a year after her acclaimed second album ‘Awake But Always Dreaming’, Hannah Peel follows-up with a striking seven movement instrumental opus entitled ‘Mary Casio: Journey To Cassiopeia’, featuring an array of analogue synthesizers and a 29-piece colliery brass band recorded live at the Barnsley Civic Theatre.

It tells the story of Mary Casio, a fictional elderly musical stargazer and her lifelong dream to leave her terraced home in the mining town of Barnsley to journey into space to see Cassiopeia, the constellation in the northern sky named after the vain queen in Greek mythology who boasted about her unrivalled beauty.

Peel played trombone as a youngster and it was during a day off in Yorkshire during her tour with EAST INDIA YOUTH, while watching a parade of marching brass bands that she fell back in love with the sound. It inspired a collaborative template that tied in with her own musical ethos of blending the traditional world with the electronic world.

Using research from conversations with astronomer Marek Kukula and books on theoretical physics, Peel says of her concept: “I wanted these huge slabs of planetary sounds to echo the excitement and wonder of our human need to explore and develop. Outer space is where only a select few can reach; yet it is somewhere we dream of going…”

‘Octavia’ from ‘Awake But Always Dreaming’ already signalled the format’s possibilities with its cascading woodwinds and brass combining with a buzzing barrage of electronics, sounding not unlike Philip Glass reinterpreting something off OMD’s ‘Dazzle Ships’!

Beginning with the lift-off of ‘Goodbye Earth’, electronic arpeggios and traces of synthetic noise build up to a crescendo of brass and timpani. It perhaps the one track where the synths overtly dominate but with the remaining six compositions, the Sci-Fi fantasy tale ‘Mary Casio: Journey To Cassiopeia’ gives equal credence to two quite different musical worlds

The sombre brass interludes of ‘Sunrise Through The Dusty Nebula’ provide a drifting ambience with eerie vocal nuances from Miss Peel herself, but on ‘Deep Space Cluster’, the brass band provide the arpeggios as fuzzy synths and bass drones lock-in for some combined energy transfer.

A cerebral start with distorted voice sources on ‘Andromeda M31’ masks a progressively swirly and percussive piece reminiscent of Brian Eno and Vangelis with their own space related adventures. Meanwhile, the sparse ‘Life Is On The Horizon’ gently rings like a beacon signalling to Planet Earth and enhanced by the soothing harmony of the brass players, like an alternate theme to ‘The Sky At Night’. Rhythmically busy in comparison, ‘Archid Orange Dwarf’ cascades with synths while Peel’s staccato ad-libs and the intensification of the traditional elements shape this inter-planetary soundscape.

The expansive emotionally charged drama of ‘The Planet Of Passed Souls’ closes the journey and following a music box interlude, throws in the symphonic overtones of Antonín Dvořák while also touchingly ending with a scratchy sample from a 1928 recording of Peel’s own choirboy grandfather in Manchester Cathedral.

An enjoyable melancholic exploration in sound, ‘Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia’ is an intriguing listen that experiments with and blends seemingly incongruous timbres.

It also marks Hannah Peel as an artist of many dimensions and with the potential to sustain a musical career in a variety of fields for many years to come.

‘Mary Casio: Journey To Cassiopeia’ is released on 22nd September 2017 by My Own Pleasure in vinyl, CD and digital formats, pre-order from https://hannahpeel.tmstor.es/

2017 live shows for ‘Mary Casio: Journey To Cassiopeia’ include:

Liverpool Philharmonic Concert Hall (23rd September), Stockton The Arc (30th September), Barnsley Civic Theatre Tickets (21st October), Basingstoke The Anvil Concert Hall (28th October)

Hannah Peel opens for Alison Moyet on her ‘Other’ UK tour, dates include:

Gateshead Sage (31st October), Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (1st November), Edinburgh Usher Hall (2nd November), Ipswich Regent Theatre (4th November), Reading Hexagon (5th November), Oxford New Theatre (7th November), Birmingham Symphony Hall (9th November), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (11th November), Cambridge Corn Exchange (12th November), London Palladium (14th November), London Palladium (15th November), Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre (16th November), Cardiff St David’s Hall (18th November), York Barbican (19th November), Liverpool Royal Philharmonic Hall (20th November), Manchester Bridgewater Hall (22nd November), Bristol Colston Hall (23rd November), Warwick Arts Centre (24th November), Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (26th November), Aylesbury Waterside Theatre (27th November), Southampton 02 Guildhall (28th November)

http://www.hannahpeel.com

https://www.facebook.com/HannahPeelMusic

https://twitter.com/hanpeel

Text by Chi Ming Lai
18th September 2017

KALEIDA Tear The Roots

16 September 2017 /

Moody electronic duo KALEIDA finally release their debut album ‘Tear The Roots’.

Having come to wider attention opening for RÓISÍN MURPHY on her European tour in 2015, vocalist Christina Wood and synthesist Cicely Goulder released two EPs ‘Think’ and ‘Detune’ in 2015 and 2016 respectively. The title song of the former release was included on the soundtrack of the 2014 noir action thriller ‘John Wick’; the thoughtful brooding synthpop of ‘Think’ contrasted the violence it accompanied. And ‘Think’ is the only track from those two EPs to adorn ‘Tear The Roots’.

But it all begins with an intriguing experiment in multi-layered staccato voices and inventive percussive textures entitled ‘Convolution’, which sees the forlorn melancholic voice of Wood take centre stage inside Goulder’s technological playground. The following ‘Echo Saw You’ also utilises an absorbing rhythmic template. Of the ten brand new tracks on the long player, the wonderfully intense minimal house of ‘All The Pretty Pieces’ and its cacophony of CLANNAD styled vocals is one of the most immediate and a highlight of the set.

Meanwhile, the brooding electronic disco lento of ‘Division’ will be appreciated by anyone who loves SIN COS TAN’s ‘Trust’. Cut from a similar cloth, ‘Meter’ keeps the dance template minimal, procuring something that comparatively uptempo without being overbearing, as does ‘Coco’ with its strikingly subtle schaffel.

The album takes things down further with a piano-led ballad in ‘Free’ and no strangers to covers having already recorded ‘A Forest’ and ‘Take Me To The River’, KALEIDA’s sparse rendition of NENA’s ‘99 Luftballons’ will polarise, but it earns kudos for being very different. Included in the recent Cold War spy drama ‘Atomic Blonde’, it fully projects the currently relevant nuclear apocalypse warning that was lost on many back in the day. ‘House Of Pulp’ adds an almost folk tinged dimension to the synthetic lattice while on the emotive closing title song, a beautiful string section makes its presence felt.

With shades of sisters-in-arms like EMIKA and KITE BASE, in ‘Tear The Roots’, KALEIDA have successfully cultivated a curious mystique with their contemplative sound, capturing the existential dilemmas of the human condition and the unsettling nature of the modern world.

‘Tear The Roots’ is released by Lex Records in CD, vinyl LP and digital formats, available from https://shop.lexrecords.com/products/tear-the-roots

KALEIDA play Birthdays in London’s Dalston district on Wednesday 18th October 2017, tickets available from https://www.songkick.com/concerts/30869089-kaleida-at-birthdays

https://www.kaleidamusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/KALEIDAMUSIC/

https://twitter.com/kaleidamusik

Text by Chi Ming Lai
16th September 2017

GARY NUMAN Savage (Songs From A Broken World)

15 September 2017 /

Fresh from the artistic and critical high of ‘Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)’, Gary Numan has finally unleashed his twentieth album ‘Savage (Songs From A Broken World)’ following a prolonged Pledge Music campaign.

While its predecessor was a very personal record, ‘Savage’ looks at wider environmental issues. Based on an unpublished novel that the former Gary Webb had been working on, the album was conceived around a post-apocalyptic world reduced to desert as a result of global warming.

Provoked to completion by Donald Trump’s withdrawal of the United States of America from the Paris Climate Accord, Numan said: “The songs are about the things that people do in such a harsh and terrifying environment” because “the world’s leaders had failed to stop the rising temperature of the planet until it became an unstoppable catastrophe”.

The stark opener ‘Ghost Nation’ doesn’t stray too far from the formula of ‘Splinter’, but while the ghostly Middle Eastern flavoured launch single ‘My Name Is Ruin’ (featuring the eerie vocals of his daughter Persia) might be borrowing large chunks of ‘Love Hurt Bleed’ and is as Numan put it himself “more of the same”, several songs on ‘Savage’ highlight a breadth of diversity. 

The mighty apocalyptic rock of ‘When The World Comes Apart’ is a revelation, primarily because of its use of synths as the dominant instrument, with guitars less obviously prominent in the mix. Add in the bonus of a richly anthemic chorus, and this is one song that will satisfy Numanoids, old and new.

Then there’s the brooding atmospheres of ‘Bed Of Thorns’ where there is space for traditional melismatic female voice samples alongside screeching vox humana synths and assorted guitar textures. Meanwhile ‘The End of Things’ captivatingly utilises deep choral moods and metallic chimes in between cavernous rhythmic cocoons where Numan despairs that “Everything I fight for leaves a bitter taste”.

But it’s the hauntingly beautiful ballad ‘And It All Began With You’ that stops all in its tracks, with an exposed and soulful vocal. With a slight hint of ‘Wicked Game’ (a favourite song of both Numan and his wife Gemma) in its chorus, it is a song equal to anything he has done in his career. With classic CP30 sounds that go all discordant, combined with subtle orchestrations and a gentle shuffling beat, producer Ade Fenton does a brilliant job bringing out the best in classic Numan while still maintaining forward momentum.

Religion is a recurring Numan theme and it pops up again on ‘Mercy’ and ‘What God Intended’; while both exude the expected percussive midtempo darkness, electronics are the main driving force; indeed it is a pleasant surprise not to be hearing overbearing goth metal guitar continually penetrating into proceedings, as on some of the more recent Numan albums.

The stabbing synthesized spikes of ‘Pray For The Pain You Serve’ lift the energy spectrum with Numan’s cry of “I belong here with the fallen”, before ‘Savage’ closes with the anguished resignation of ‘Broken’. The sombre lengthy instrumental intro, with its thoughtfully crafted widescreen sound design, could easily soundtrack a bleak Hollywood Sci-Fi epic, while ‘At The Heart Of It All’ by NINE INCH NAILS springs to mind when the desolate beats kick in.

Some have referred to DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Spirit’ as dystopian… no, it is ‘Savage’ that paints a scary dystopian future much more vividly. But most importantly, it does so with melody, something that was severely lacking in Gahan, Gore and Fletcher’s lame folly.

Heavy but emotive, aggressive but sensitive, electronic but organic, ‘Savage (Songs From A Broken World)’ is thematically and musically the closest Gary Numan has come to ‘Replicas’. As the powers that be square off along the 38th Parallel hell bent on world destruction, it captures the horrifying spectre of a world with nothing left to live for except survival.

Nearly forty years on from the first TUBEWAY ARMY album, Gary Numan shows he is still capable a springing a surprise, with a significant number of songs from ‘Savage‘ even surpassing the highlights on the creative rebirth that was ‘Splinter’.

‘Savage (Songs From A Broken World)’ is released in a variety of formats by BMG

Gary Numan 2017 ‘Savage’ tour includes:

Cardiff Tramshed (30th September), Bournemouth O2 Academy (2nd October), Leeds O2 Academy (3rd October), Bristol Colston Hall (5th October), Oxford O2 Academy (6th October), Nottingham Rock City (7th October), Newcastle O2 Academy (9th October), Glasgow O2 ABC (10th October), Birmingham O2 Institute (11th October), Manchester Academy (13th October), Brixton O2 Academy (14th October), Brighton Dome (16th October), Norwich Nick Rayns LCR (17th October), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (18th October), Leuven Het Depot (19th October), Paris Le Trabendo (20th October), Amsterdam Paradiso (21st October), Bratislava Majestic (24th October), Cologne Essigfabrik (25th October), Berlin Columbia Theater (26th October), Lodz Klub Wytwornia (27th October),

http://www.garynuman.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/GaryNumanOfficial/

https://twitter.com/numanofficial

Text by Chi Ming Lai
15th September 2017

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