Category: Reviews (Page 131 of 200)

MARNIE Strange Words & Weird Wars

24 May 2017 /


Helen Marnie has established herself as a solo artist with her magnificent first opus ‘Crystal World’, which having been recorded in Iceland, had a feel of cold and serene, yet volatile atmosphere.

Of course, better known as the front face of LADYTRON, Marnie’s own sound will always be compared with that of the band which made her popular, but her musicianship runs deep. Having studied classical piano at the Royal Scottish Academy Of Music & Drama and music at the University Of Liverpool, Marnie is a songwriter and instrumentalist in her own right.

Having been remixed by names like Mark Reeder and Stephen Morris, Marnie quotes KATE BUSH, MARIA CALLAS, CHVRCHES and GRIMES as her favourites. And now her long awaited second album ‘Strange Words & Weird Wars’ announces itself with the first single ‘Alphabet Block’. A burst of pure pop, sounding like a cross between MEL C, KYLIE MINOGUE and GRIMES, the song is deliciously melodic with the addition of that candied voice, all the ready to challenge pop and electronic charts alike.

‘Bloom’ ushers a decent dose of synth in, while continuing to be a hook laden gem… so why haven’t we sent Marnie to do the Eurovision again? Meanwhile ‘G.I.R.L.S’ bears the signs of the synth revival girls LA ROUX and LADYHAWKE.

From girls to boys, ‘Summer Boys’ brings in slower paced commodities of dreamy electronica and classic pop, but where are Don Henley’s ‘Boys Of Summer’? Back onto girls, ‘Invisible Girl’ pays homage to the classic pop of the late 20th Century, combined with something LADY GAGA wouldn’t be ashamed of. Meanwhile, ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night’ brings back the feel of the tracks John Fryer used to produce during the shoegazing era.

‘Electric Youth’ stands out with a perfect pop utilisation à la TIFFANY or even DEBBIE GIBSON. With ‘Little Knives’, Marnie is as close as she can get to GRIMES; it’s a grown up CHVRCHES inspired track, which in places could have been a LADYTRON piece. However, it’s quite clear here that the darker influences of LADYTRON never originated with Marnie.

‘Lost Maps’ is simply stunning; urgent, yet patient, full bodied, yet uncomplicated. It’s an instant hit. The long player is wrapped up with ‘Heartbreak Kid’, which beefs up the synths and extends Marnie’s vocal abilities, genuinely showcasing the lady’s capabilities.

What can Marnie’s solo project be described as? It’s like LADYTRON, minus the darkness or gothica, but with an added genuine love of pop music, often in a Scandinavian style.

However this is not a happy clappy record; under the aura of sweetness, there are real issues, but they’re freshly packaged and positively delivered. This is a worthy body of work from the Scottish songstress.

With thanks to Paul McCallum at A Badge of Friendship

‘Strange Words & Weird Wars’ is released on 2nd June 2017 by Disco Piñata in vinyl LP, digital and limited edition CD-R formats, pre-order from https://helenmarnie.bandcamp.com/

http://www.helenmarnie.com/

https://www.facebook.com/helen.marnie.official/

http://discopinata.com/artist/marnie/

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
24th May 2017

FIFI RONG The Same Road

24 May 2017 /

Beijing-born songstress FIFI RONG pulls off a surprise with her latest single ‘The Same Road’.

More uptempo than she has even been before with a driving nocturnal resonance, ‘The Same Road’ is accessible while still retaining the airy mystery of her previous work. The synthy soundscape is particularly enticing along with Rong’s distinctive vocal interplay, while the rhythmic guitar and reverbed drum sound adds some of the Trans-Atlantic vibe that CHVRCHES successfully adopted on their second album ‘Every Open Eye’.

Mixed by Max Dingel whose credits have included THE KILLERS, WHITE LIES, MUSE and GOLDFRAPP, ‘The Same Road’ is the possibly the most pop that FIFI RONG has ever been with the latter’s ‘Head First’ looming over it.

While the single sees FIFI RONG move away from her more artful downtempo roots, she says “‘The Same Road’ falls into one of my recurring themes of such inherent paradox and emotional cocktail of vulnerability and strengths.”

Directed by her regular visual collaborator Paris Seawell, the video for ‘The Same Road’ sees Rong in enigmatic dance motion choreographed by Dam Van Huynh, with the hazy effect enhanced by striking UV glow make-up…

Following the success of her previous campaigns, FIFI RONG begins a new Pledge Music project for her next two single releases. One of the options available is the possibility of her recording a cover version of your choice, while also available are the usual opportunities for private gigs, personalised lyric sheets and a signed limited edition compilation vinyl LP of her career to date.

With appearances at SXSW 2017 and The Great Escape, along with her noted collaboration with Swiss electronic pioneers YELLO, FIFI RONG is undoubtedly on an upward trajectory with her brand of world futurism.

‘The Same Road’ is released on 16th June 2017 via AWAL through the usual digital outlets

FIFI RONG launches ‘The Same Road’ with a live show at The Waiting Room in London’s Stoke Newington on 13th June 2017

Information on FIFI RONG’s current Pledge Music campaign can be viewed at: http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/fifirong-2singles

http://www.fifirong.com/

https://www.facebook.com/fifirongmusic/

https://twitter.com/fifirong

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Paris Seawell
24th May 2017

THE RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP Burials In Several Earths

20 May 2017 /

 

THE RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP was the legendary group of musicians / engineers that were set up in a BBC department ‘Room 13’ to provide music and sonic effects for radio and television programmes.

Most famous for Delia Derbyshire’s iconic interpretation of Ron Grainer’s ‘Dr Who Theme’, the collective also scored the music for ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ and ‘The Living Planet’. Due to financial constraints, the Workshop was wound down in 1998, but in 2009 several ex-members including Peter Howell, Roger Limb, Dr Dick Mills and Paddy Kingsland, along with “long-time associate composer” Mark Ayres reunited for some live shows.

‘Burial In Several Earths’ sees the first official studio release since 1985 with the music being inspired by an unfinished poem by Sir Francis Bacon. The spirit of Workshop co-founder Daphne Oram lives on within the album as she once treated a section of the Bacon work as a manifesto for the operation and its commitment to producing innovative electronic avant-garde sound.

The reunited collective’s manifesto for ‘Burials In Several Earths’ was to “…see what happened if we allowed people to react together with their machines in a very unplanned and spontaneous way” with “the computers and sequencers switched off” leading to a “very human interaction between all of us”. The album also features guest appearances from Martyn Ware and Grammy-award winning mixing engineer for THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS, UNKLE, and NEW ORDER, Steve ‘Dub’ Jones.

Ware discussed the making of the album with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK recently and the very improvised nature of most of the compositions featured, saying “No words were spoken as to what we were going to do, it was completely spontaneous. At first, it felt incredibly awkward and childish in a strange sort of way, but as things loosened up a bit and we played off each other in a classic ‘jazz’ style, what emerged was spasmodically transcendental.”

With the opening eponymous track clocking in at close to nineteen minutes and a subsequent pair of twenty plus minute tracks, you know that this album isn’t going to be one that requires a cursory listening. The epic piece seamlessly moves through several sections from peaceful piano through to howling EMS synth freakouts.

Cyclical piano starts ‘Things Buried in Water’ with background siren-like synths, and an echoed guitar texture adding to the atmosphere. At this point, this appears to be the most melodic track so far until a huge blast of white noise materialises at around the four minute mark to disturb the peace. Halfway through, an octave / filtered arpeggiator riff comes in with an ever-increasing tempo, but drops out of the mix pretty much as quickly as it appears.

‘Some Hope of Land’ is another challenging piece, constantly evolving with a mix of John Cage inspired ambience and blippy sequencer parts. The ending of the track is almost an electro-blues section, with the kind of guitar riff that Martin Gore would be more than happy to rock out. In comparison, the short four minute ‘Not Come To Light’ is more concise and is split between full-on analogue distortion, through to a beautifully pristine synthetic aesthetic.

‘The Stranger’s House’ starts with an echoed Virgin-era TANGERINE DREAM-style sequencer pattern; short fragments of electronic sound punctuate before a deep John Carpenter-esque bass joins the mix. Three minutes in and a thinly EQ’d guitar helps to give the track a Krautrock feel, whilst the bass reveals itself as a sequencer pattern itself when other notes are additionally triggered. The additional of more real piano really evokes the playing of Edgar Froese and the mixture of live instrumentation and synthetics works brilliantly here.

With acts like Tim Gane’s CAVERN OF ANTI-MATTER perpetuating the influence and sound of THE RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP in recent releases, it’s undeniably brilliant to still have several original members creating vibrant and challenging electronic work. In places this is not an easy listen, but with repeated revisits ‘Burials In Several Earths’ is a rewarding album and one can imagine the makers of the album having a huge amount of fun making it.

‘Burials In Several Earths’ is released by Room 13 Records as a 4 x 10” vinyl boxset, double CD and download

THE RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP play live in Surround Sound at the IMAX Theatre in London’s Science Museum on Friday 16th June 2017. The evening will also feature an onstage panel Q&A hosted by Dr Tim Boon – tickets are available from http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/Plan_your_visit/events/exhibition_events/radiophonic-workshop

http://www.theradiophonicworkshop.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/theradiophonicworkshop/

Text by Paul Boddy
20th May 2017

REIN Freedoom EP

19 May 2017 /


Paul Rein is Sweden’s pioneer of Italo disco, no less, and had been quite popular in his country, as well as writing for world renowned artists like Christina Aguilera or Jessica Simpson.

But his daughter Joanna certainly got her musical bug, when the electronica loving dad took her to see KRAFTWERK at the age of thirteen. Joanna Reinikainen never quite fitted into her peer group and discovered that the love of harsher sounds was what she’s all about. NITZER EBB’s stomping EBM beats are what has been inspiring her own direction, however her true start was providing vocals for THE OPERATING TRACKS’ ‘Testify’.

Actively trying not to be classified into a particular genre, Reinikanen released her first ‘Rein’ EP, which hit the Swedish market with a bang and creating quite a stir, thanks to strong melodies and some powerful lyrical content.

And now follows EP number two, entitled ‘Freedoom’. The heralding single ‘C.A.P.I.T.A.L.I.S.M.’ only shares its title with ROTERSAND’s last album, even though the tendencies could be similar. Shouted out and angry, forward and right-in-your-face is what REIN goes for here.

Accompanied by the rather poignant video, showcasing all the wrongs connected with modern law, human rights, poverty, war and above all, how “we are the slaves of money”, it’s all wrapped up around a heavy EBM beat as a manifestation of youthful rebellion. It definitely isn’t an encrypted political statement; REIN goes for the throat.

‘Misfit’ is equally fight inducing, but far more musical while ‘(You Call It) Democracy’ calls for the “change of our system” with deliberate tempo changes, depicting the delusional distribution of wealth in the world. ‘Bruises’ introduces more personal lyrics, starting off fairly lightly, but soon developing into the foot stomping EBM with pronounced bass and not-so-crooning synth.

The closing track, ‘Nasty Woman’, written with Nina Mariah Donovan, is a feminist manifesto against the lack of equality. It’s neither retiring, nor is it subtle. If anyone needed the issues spelt out, it certainly happens here. All interlaced with bass heavy synth providing the canvas for the shouted out words, the very last lyric hits the American president with a proclamation that “our pussies aren’t for grabbing”.

If you like subtle, you’re not going to enjoy REIN; she’s definitely not for the shy, retiring type. Unlike the forefathers of synth, with DEPECHE MODE, ERASURE, OMD and PET SHOP BOYS, all going for a more encrypted political messages, REIN spells it out, not worried of being misunderstood or pillared. It’s a bit of a “if you don’t like it, f**k off” kind of message, all loaded with explosive synth, boots to the floor rhythm.

If you love straightforwardness and heavy EBM, you’re in for a treat.

Paul Rein, your daughter certainly is a rebel!

‘Freedoom’ is released by Playground Music and available via the usual digital platforms

https://www.facebook.com/reinofficialmusic/

https://www.instagram.com/_reinofficial_/

https://open.spotify.com/album/1ZXCCiBFeKGz0Z3AA2StTB

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
19th May 2017

ERASURE World Be Gone

18 May 2017 /

2014 saw ERASURE celebrate yet another success with ‘The Violet Flame’, where according to Andy Bell, he and Vince Clarke “definitely found (their) mojo again with this record”.

Following their thirtieth anniversary, the synthpop kings now return with the seventeenth studio album entitled ‘World Be Gone’. This time, self-produced by ERASURE and mixed by Matty Green, the long player sees Vince and Andy in a more pensive mood.

Joining their electronic colleagues PET SHOP BOYS and DEPECHE MODE who have both released politically charged opuses, the band reflects on the current political situation. However, ERASURE do it with an expression of faith in the future, as Bell explains: “I think there’s an under swell of opinion, and people are slowly waking up. I’m hoping that people will take the album in a positive way, that they’ll use it as optimistic rabble-rousing music.”

‘Love You To The Sky’ heralds the ten track outing. While it’s a pleasant sounding melody with Andy’s angelic voice and a rather captivating verse, the track struggles to lift to the heights which ERASURE are celebrated for. The beautifulness of the verses disperses with the repetitive chorus, making ‘Elevation’ from ‘The Violet Flame’ the winner in the battle of the first singles hands down. Still, judging by the efforts by their contemporaries, ‘Love You To The Sky’ is a charming and well-written song.

The slower paced ‘Still It’s Not Over’ searches the soul with gentle sounding musicality and simple melody, conveying a hopeful message of the continuation of everyday fights, against all odds, even though we were “left (us) to the sheer attack, and still it’s not over”.

Where the quintessential ERASURE sound comes to play, is on ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’. This excellently led tune sublimely meanders itself around a plethora of Andy Bell’s vocals. The dreamy lyrics are challenging and endearing, and the whole song is just beautifully executed.

Following on, there ushers the album’s title track, which is equally peaceful and gracefully powerful. Reminiscent of the vintage ballads by Clarke, ‘World Be Gone’ ties together with the band’s history in a seamless manner.

‘A Bitter Parting’ tells the story of a failed relationship over African inspired choirs a la ‘The Kodo Song’ by KID KASIO, elegantly penetrated by marvellous synth and added nostalgia in the lyrical content.

‘Take Me Out Of Myself’ is a gentile plea for being treated with deserved consideration, like a demure version of Otis Redding’s ‘Respect’, while ‘Sweet Summer Loving’ introduces a change in tempo with a mid-paced love song.

‘Oh What A World’ superbly escorts a twist in ERASURE’s notion; different sounds, different feels to the vocals and altogether a rather big departure from what we have come to know and love the duo for, but this is where Vince Clarke proves, yet again, that he’s an unparalleled synth magician. It’s possibly the best piece from the Bell / Clarke stable in years.

‘Lousy Sum Of Nothing’ continues the delicate theme, leading to the closing ‘Just A Little Love’. Here is where the lovers of the dancier tracks get their money’s worth. It’s a rather unassuming, yet solid piece to wrap up this wonderfully gracious offering.

As set out, Bell and Clarke bring us more than hope. ‘World Be Gone’ will probably be as commercially successful as its predecessor, and unlikely to follow the fate of the very unloved and misunderstood ‘Tomorrow’s World’.

A few will wonder as to why the production wasn’t delegated out and some will criticise. But every now and then, an easy listening piece is needed to level out the vast material ERASURE have brought us over the years.

Is it their finest? It’s different, more grown-up and maturely executed; still, it will undoubtedly be one of the best things synthpop enthusiasts will hear this year.

‘World Be Gone’ is released by Mute Artists in a variety of formats including CD, vinyl LP, cassette and digital

ERASURE 2017 live dates include Glasgow O2 Academy (27th May), Manchester Albert Hall (28th May), London Roundhouse (29th May)

They also open for ROBBIE WILLIAMS in the UK and Europe throughout July and August, see press for details

http://www.erasureinfo.com/

https://www.facebook.com/erasureinfo

https://twitter.com/erasureinfo

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
18th May 2017

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