Category: Reviews (Page 136 of 206)

PAGE Det Är Ingen Vacker Värld Men Det Råkar Vara Så Det Ser Ut

1 July 2017 /


Formed in 1980 in Sweden by Eddie Bengtsson and Marina Schiptjenko, PAGE marked the entry point of synthpop into the Nordic country, leading to decades of producing the best pop acts in Europe.

Quickly influencing the masses and creating a cult following, the group released numerous singles before finally the first album in 1991; they have been active on and off since then. Returning with their new album ‘Det Är Ingen Vacker Värld Men Det Råkar Vara Så Det Ser Ut’, which translates as “There’s No Beautiful World But It Happens To Look Like That”, the veteran boy / girl combo ensure that they are still very valid, even 37 years on.

‘Det Är Ingen Vacker Värld Men Det Råkar Vara Så Det Ser Ut’ promises its building blocks are based on a “classic pop concept”, and the opening ‘Krasch’ certainly fits the analogue blueprint of the Swedish essence. ‘Spottar Långt’ carries on the idea of simple, yet wholesome electronic noise, while ‘Lågger Av’ speeds everything up.

‘Sånt Som Inte Går’ introduces the feel of underground synth with an alternative sound, at times reminiscent of the works of Gary Numan. Talking of Numan, his ‘Tracks’, translated into Swedish ‘Spår’, finds its way onto the opus, as well as now soiled glam classic ‘Hello Hello I’m Back Again’ in the form of ‘Så Skönt Att Va Här’.

‘Låt Det Gå’ melodiously invites to the classic disco meets with extravagant synth while ‘För Någon’ rocks grit-tingly onto ‘Tid För En Kyss’, originally released in 2015. ‘Det Var Ingenting’ tells us that “it was nothing” with busy sequences and droning repetitive rhythms. The only track performed in English is ‘I Know You Know’, which closes the outing with the additional dose of ear friendly synthpop and a positive dose of dancebility.

PAGE are back with an album which will take you back to the classic years of synth with a twist. If Swedish is one of the languages you speak, you will understand the reflection on the things going on in today’s world. If not, you will revel in the classic signature sound of PAGE.

Not for everyone, this is a good, alternative take on synthpop, clearly very sought after since 1980.

‘Det Är Ingen Vacker Värld Men Det Råkar Vara Så Det Ser Ut’ is released by Energy Rekords as a CD with bonus tracks and vinyl LP, available from http://hotstuff.se/page/x-7640

PAGE perform at Electronic Summer 2017 in Gothenburg on Saturday 2nd September, details at http://electronicsummer.se/

https://www.facebook.com/PageElektroniskPop

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
1st July 2017

TANGERINE DREAM Particles

28 June 2017 /

‘Particles’ is the latest double album release by TANGERINE DREAM and contains a diverse mixture of new material, reinterpretations of older tracks from their extensive back catalogue and a version of the ‘Stranger Things’ TV theme which fairly recently caught the Zeitgeist for many synth fans.

The album which originally came out at the end of last year has been re-issued by the Invisible Hands label and is available on vinyl, CD and download. A minority of long-term fans questioned the legitimacy of the band continuing after the passing of Edgar Froese in 2015, but it was the original leader’s request that remaining members Thorsten Quaeschning, Ulrich Schnauss and Hoshiko Yamane continue his vision for the group even in his absence. Although only containing seven tracks, the first ‘4.00pm Session’ sees a welcome return of a 30 minute epic improvised piece which in places harks back to the glory days of the classic Froese / Franke / Baumann era.

Interestingly, the band recorded this track in the Dierks-Studios in Pulheim where some 45 years previously they had conceived the album ‘Alpha Centauri’. After a short atmospheric introduction, a hypnotic sequencer part with Memotron flutes enters before the track lifts in dynamic with individual synth parts being filtered and poking through the mix. Around the 12 minute mark the track breaks down with growling Moog bass and Yamane’s haunting violin gliding over the top. The only criticism of ‘4.00pm Session’ is that some of the sequencer parts are a little on the thin side and lack the analogue depth of the ‘classic’ era TD ones; this aside, the track more than makes up for the ill-advised integration of almost muzak-style elements into the band a few years ago.

This return to a more improvisational and electronic approach was something that Froese wanted with the Quantum Era for the band and it’s clear that things are in safe hands with the current trio of Quaeschning, Schnauss and Yamane.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last couple of years, you would have been well aware of the massive impact of S.U.R.V.I.V.E.’s electronic soundtrack to the Netflix series ‘Stranger Things’. Taking inspiration from the original film soundtracks of pioneers such as JOHN CARPENTER, the huge exposure of the program has done TANGERINE DREAM no harm at all in re-awakening the popularity of analogue-style electronica, and in homage, the band has re-created their own interpretation here. Where it mainly differs to the original is in featuring a much more multi-layered sequencer approach and also a tempo change midway through.

Fans of the Froese / Franke / Schmoelling era of TD will absolutely LOVE this; and by resisting the temptation to go too self-indulgent on the piece, has meant that you will surely want to hit the “repeat” button once you’ve heard the track through for the first time. ‘Rubycon’ will need no introduction to many, the track featured on the 2nd album TANGERINE DREAM released for the Virgin label back in 1975 and along with ‘Phaedra’ and ‘Ricochet’, became a defining moment for instrumental electronic music. The version featured here was recorded in Windeck and has polarised some fans; the original version had a deeply unsettling and otherworldly start to it, whereas here, some of the intro sounds here are less organic and maybe a little too PINK FLOYD-ish, especially the lead brass synth sound.

However, when the sequencer and Memotron lead combo hits at seven minutes the track takes off and does sound absolutely superb; the echoed bass part underpins the piece beautifully and the slightly overdriven electric piano floats over the top with added analogue strings. There are subtle additions to the piece with extra background sequencing, but aside from some misgivings about the intro, overall this is a highlight here.

The second disc (if you have the CD) features live recordings of 4 tracks; ‘Mothers of Rain’ dates back to the Paul Haslinger / Edgar Froese era and ‘Power of the Rainbow Serpent’ is a Quaeschning composition from the album ‘Mala Kunia’. ‘White Eagle’ has always been a TD fan favourite and the version here retains most elements from the original, although the bell-like lead melody has been replaced with a violin one from Yamane that takes a little adjusting to, but does work in the overall context of the track.

‘Dolphin Dance’ from the ‘Underwater Sunlight’ album is the most uptempo and percussive-driven piece here, still retaining its cyclical bass part, it’s a welcome gear shift in energy level. ‘Shadow and Sun’ was composed by Ulrich Schnauss with Froese, and again originally featured on the ‘Maia Kunia’ album. Prompting a few “woops!” and some clapping from the audience, the track returns ‘Particles’ back to a more reflective ending. Halfway through the piece, it goes on an arpeggiator-driven detour with more (slightly out of time) clapping, before an epic pad-heavy climax brings ‘Shadow and Sun’ to its conclusion.

For many TANGERINE DREAM fans, this album will act as a brilliant ‘holding’ piece until their new album ‘Quantum Gate’ is released in September. The updates of older material in ‘Particles’ have in the main been approached respectfully / sensitively and the mix of old and new is surprisingly cohesive.

With respected synthesist Ulrich Schnauss now fully integrated into the band, there is now some genuine excitement at the prospect of more new material from TANGERINE DREAM, and despite misgivings as to how the band would continue without their legendary leader, ‘Particles’ ably demonstrates that this hugely important act shows every sign of continuing to flourish. Highly recommended.

‘Particles’ is released as a double vinyl LP by Invisible Hands Music available from https://shop-invisiblehands.co.uk/collections/tangerine-dream  and still available as a double CD via Eastgate

http://www.tangerinedream.org/

https://www.facebook.com/TANGERINEDREAM.OFFICIAL

http://www.invisiblehands.co.uk/

Text by Paul Boddy
28th June 2017

MARK REEDER Mauerstadt

26 June 2017 /

‘Mauerstadt’ literally translated from German means “wall city” and it’s the title of the new album from renowned Berlin based remixer Mark Reeder.

Its release date set is on the day that the French Revolutionaries broke down the walls of the Bastille, so Reeder says the album title is significant “because my album’s title / theme is about breaking down the walls in your head and confronting the idea that building a wall to keep your enemies out or your own people in, is starting to become fashionable again and how it really isn’t such a good idea”. Reeder adds “It’s not a concept album though, it’s basically an album full of tragic love songs”, but he readily admits “ok, it’s basically ‘Collaborator’ part 2” 🙂

‘Collaborator’ was Reeder’s previous compendium of remixes and of course, musical collaborations released on Factory Benelux in 2014. Featuring highly on the album with a number of vocals was his long standing friend Bernard Sumner on tracks by BAD LIEUTENANT, WESTBAM and BLANK & JONES.

Despite his association with Factory Records as their German representative in Berlin and NEW ORDER over the years, it was only until recently that Reeder got to work on material from his favourite band when they returned to the fold in 2015 with ‘Music Complete’. Invited to remix three of its tracks, two of them appear on ‘Mauerstadt’ as the centrepieces of the collection.

The ‘Akademix’ version of ‘Academic’ gives the primarily guitar driven anthem a superb sequenced makeover that improves on the original. But with the already quite electronic number ‘The Game’, Reeder takes a different approach on the ‘Spielt Mit Version’ by stripping it down and restructuring it with more orchestrated overtones. Although both previously released on the ‘Remix’ download EP through Mute, these tracks now get a much requested physical release as part of ‘Mauerstadt’.

As well as NEW ORDER, Reeder is also known for his love of female fronted electronic pop with MARSHEAUX, MARNIE and QUEEN OF HEARTS among the notable inclusions on ‘Collaborator’. The latter contributes two songs on ‘Mauerstadt’, the best of which is a mighty extended ‘Bonded by Sadness Mix’ of ‘United’. Effectively the song with a lengthened instrumental end section, after Queenie coos passionately in Bush-like banshee style, Reeder takes to his guitar for a short solo that is part-Sumner and part-Hooky. Meanwhile, the heart wrenching ‘Killer Queen Mix’ of ‘Suicide’ sees more strings added to the QUEEN OF HEARTS fan favourite from her album ‘Cocoon’.

But ‘Mauerstadt’ opens with British duo THE KVB and ‘In Sight’, their brooding collaboration with Reeder. More accessible than FACTORY FLOOR, this is danceable electro with mood and melody. The album is also notable for featuring some of Reeder’s more recent solo work. There’s a tribal filmic quality to ‘Giant Mushrooms’, while his ‘RIAS Mix’ of the title track which was originally part of his ‘B-Movie – Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989’ soundtrack, is a cavernous swirl of hard electronics and big beats.

The frantically paced ‘Like A Sonic Tonic Remix’ of ‘You’re So Good For Me’ for INSPIRAL CARPETS is a fine tribute to their late drummer Craig Gill on one of his last recordings with the band, providing an enticing indie disco hybrid. Continuing the Mancunian theme, ‘Mmm Mmm Ahhh’ from electro wave duo MFU grooves along with some Cold War inspired drama and a gritty bass guitar line on Reeder’s ‘Umm & Arrggh Remix’.

Driven by a mighty Linn handclap and an imperial PET SHOP BOYS styled club vibe, the ‘Power Surge Mix’ of EKKOES’ ‘Electricity’ certainly delivers more bite than their original material on the ‘Elekktricity’ album, although the Italo House feel of ‘Heartbeat’ on Reeder’s ‘Heart Throb Mix’ is perhaps less appealing.

Thrusting with a synthetic bass triplet, ‘Broken Hearts’ is Reeder’s collaboration with Swedish songstress Maja Pierro and with its uplifting HI-NRG feel, blips away for the kind of hypnotic dance number that Our Man In Berlin is known and appreciated for. Perhaps coincidentally, the ‘Will Love You Tomorrow Remix’ of ‘If You Love Me Tonight’, also featuring Pierro, sounds like a female fronted EKKOES or could that be more that the Reeder sound is actually the identifying factor here?

So Mark Reeder does the trick again with ‘Mauerstadt’ and ably uses his punk, pop, disco and trance sensibilities to procure another fine collection of remixes that work at home, on headphones, in the car and on the dancefloor. That is no mean feat; as Reeder’s friend Rusty Egan once commented about the inane material contained within Beatport: “Name that tune, if you can hear one…”

Luckily, ‘Mauerstadt’ has the tunes and the beats.

‘Mauerstadt’ is released in CD and double white vinyl LP formats by Kennen Limited, available from http://www.mauerstadt.com/

https://www.facebook.com/markreedermusic/

https://twitter.com/markreedermfs

http://www.kennen.de/kennen-produkte/produkte-mark-reeder.html

Text by Chi Ming Lai
26th June 2017

BLACK NEEDLE NOISE Lost In Reflections

23 June 2017 /

Last year saw yet another metamorphosis for the legendary John Fryer, this time masquerading as BLACK NEEDLE NOISE.

The first opus under the name, which contemplates the scratching sound of black record, ‘Before The Tears Came’, introduced a plethora of sounds and noises performed by the cream of who is who in the world of vocals. Elena Alice Fossi, Zia, Ledfoot, Andreas Eleveness, Attasalina, Jarboe and Betsy Martin amongst others, all got invited to share the “strange and interesting journey”, which proved to be a rather popular outing.

Of course Fryer isn’t a stranger to exquisite productions. Having been a living and breathing backbone of the famous London Blackwing Studios for nearly a decade, during its most prominent years of synthpop, with the likes of DEPECHE MODE, FAD GADGET, COCTEAU TWINS, DEAD CAN DANCE and many more, Fryer learnt his graft masterfully, also being the responsible adult as far as the production of NINE INCH NAILS’ ‘Pretty Hate Machine’ was concerned.

More recently the man himself lent his skills on the wonderfully ethereal MURICIDAE and fantastically glamorous SILVER GHOST SHIMMER, at the same time being an active producer of other artists.

A year on, and the noise magician is ready to serve his follow-up dish of BLACK NEEDLE NOISE, this time thoughtfully titled ‘Lost In Reflections’. Having recently swapped his home studio in the frosty Oslo onto the warmth of LA, Fryer has been busy with further collaborations.

The opening one being, ‘Treasured Lies’, with the returning appearance of Zia Land. This emphatic track is a gripping catalyst of emotion, laced with ominous musical elements and Fryer’s signature guitar as a closing point.

Kendra Frost of KITE BASE makes her entrance on the newest long player twice, firstly on simplistic ‘Warning Sign’ and secondly on the empirical ‘This Kind Of Road’. The latter is a quintessential Fryer track, reminiscent of his ability to build the whole picture in an atmospheric manner of flowing intricacies, without the danger of overloading or dislocating the musical joints. A harsher reality is introduced on the quirky ‘She Stands On A Storm’, even though the angelic voice of Andrea Kerr is delicately interwoven within the grittier, almost STABBING WESTWARD-like arrangement. The track represents an idea of “killing with delicateness”, and it’s exactly what it does.

The highlight of the long player enters half way through, with the generously exquisite ‘Heaven’ with Jennie Vee, stealing the limelight with her distinctive vocal, crying out the melancholy and dreaminess a la Angelo Badalamenti. Oh please David Lynch, use this for the new ‘Twin Peaks’ series!

OMNIFLUX’s Mahsa Zargaran creates magic with her assimilating vocal extravaganza, utilising a soundscape of its own, canvassing the bass heavy background and a profusion of turbulence.

Clearly impressed with Mimi Page’s guestwork on the latest DELERIUM’s album ‘Mythologie’, Fryer borrows the multitalented singer to perform on magically atmospheric ‘Swimming Through Dreams’. As if taken from the parallel reality; this ghostly, mist engulfed gem features humming sounds, which drift away into another world, until “nothing remains”. Indeed ‘And Nothing Remains’ with DEAD LEAF ECHO’s Ana Breton. Continuing the theme of ethereal, otherworldly and from another reality, Breton’s delicate songsmanship glides over abrasive textures of Fryer’s musical aura.

Where one genius meets another is on ‘A Shiver Of Want’. Probably the biggest collaboration on ‘Lost In Reflections’ is that with the legendary Bill Leeb. Leeb, classed as one of the most influential electronic masters, as showcased on his works with FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY and DELERIUM, lends his grainy vocal over a timeless track, which could have easily been released in another era. The piece drags under, creates an uncertainty and leads into the unknown, but the attraction of being pulled is irresistible.

Sivert Høyem guests on ‘Breathless Speechless’, which changes the atmosphere, still keeping the slower tempo in place. Dreamy to the point of oblivion, scary, but addictive, dirty but virgin, seductive, yet clean with that guitar again, which leads to the sinisterly terrifying concepts of The Black Lodge. Just waiting for Bob to appear out of nowhere…

The closing ‘Neon Noir’ couldn’t be more different from the rest of the production; faster, more positive, inviting and very synthy, Fryer gathers the posse to follow the “neon shines so bright” and lose themselves in music. Fine by us.

Refined, very arty, evoking different emotions is what BLACK NEEDLE NOISE is about. John Fryer, with a wealth of experience, paints various musical landscapes with a little help of capable vocalists.

More cinematic this time round, the master pushes the boundaries of what’s acceptable and inevitably he wins, again.

‘Before The Tears Came’ is available as a download album from
https://blackneedlenoise.bandcamp.com/album/lost-in-reflections

https://www.facebook.com/BlackNeedleNoise/

https://www.facebook.com/John.Fryer.Official/

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
23rd June 2017

2RAUMWOHNUNG Nacht Und Tag

20 June 2017 /

The German electronic duo 2RAUMWOHNUNG have been active since 2000.

Very well known in their native land, Inga Humpe and Tommi Eckhart started out in the legendary Sternradio club in Berlin’s Alexanderplatz.

Apart from providing backdrops to various TV ads, the pair released a number of highly acknowledged albums and collaborated with a few big names, notably Westbam, Paul van Dyk, Paul Kalkbrenner, Blake Baxter and Oliver Huntemann.

Although their 2007 album ’36 Grad’ still remains the Berliners’ biggest achievement to date, a brand new outing is being tested upon the lovers of the quirky side of synth.

‘Nacht Und Tag’ is indeed a rather eclectic mix of tunes, cunningly performed in a mix of English and German. Bearing the elements of typical Teutonic beats, interspersed with occasional club, trance, some gripping guitar and a great dose of synth op, all wrapped up with a dreamy, candied voice of Humpe, ‘Night and Day’ is a perfect easy listening record, even if one isn’t educated in the nuances of the German language.

Probably the most interesting element of the production is how the songs have been presented as those of night, “nacht”, and their equivalents of day, “tag”.

‘Bonjour Cherie’ grips with the recognisable voice of Dieter Meier of YELLO, twinned with the seductive additions from Humpe. Excellently executed, thanks to the help of guest instruments, such as trumpets, it really is delicious.

The “day” version is equally sensuous, with Meier’s voice doing something Barry White-esque, with added bass. ‘Ich Hör Musik Wenn Ich Dich Seh’ floats graciously with its simple melody and wonderfully smooth vocals, soothing and dreamy in its “nacht” reincarnation and more synthy in the “tag” version.

‘Lucky Lobster’ with Umami sounds very beachy, Hawaiian style in the “day” and more ABBA like at “night”.

The ravishingly dancey ‘Hotel Sunshine’ during the night, becomes more primal during the day, while ‘Somebody Lonely & Me’ hardens up in daylight, to revert to the primal synth YAZOO style at night time. A worthy first single, it’s a true gem on both sides of the mirror.

Both versions of ‘1993’ are similarly captivating, giving out the aura of said year and the 90s in general. The day version is laid back to the point where David Lynch could have easily used it in his newest ‘Twin Peaks’ series during the closing titles.

It’s quite a return for 2RAUMWOHNUNG, with the cleanly executed “nights” and sunny “days” of the 1950s.

The concept of presenting two versions of each tune is endearing and quite clever, showcasing the numbers as totally different entities and visualising the tracks from different perspectives. Far better than listening to five mediocre remixes of equally mediocre songs that some artists like to feed us with.

While a few will say that 2RAUMWOHNUNG were past it a long time ago, it has to be stressed that ‘Nacht Und Tag’ proves to be a worthy alternative proposition for many this summer.

‘Nacht Und Tag’ is released by It Sounds GMBH in 2CD, double vinyl and digital formats

http://www.2raumwohnung.de/

https://www.facebook.com/2raumwohnung/

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
20th June 2017

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