Category: Reviews (Page 147 of 206)

BLACK NAIL CABARET Dichromat

23 December 2016 /

With their brooding form of electro, the Hungarian duo BLACK NAIL CABARET impressed the fans of darker synthpopia while previously supporting established acts such as COVENANT, CAMOUFLAGE and DE/VISION.

Straight from the Hungarian capital Budapest, Emese Arvai-Illes on vocals and Sophie Tarr in charge of keyboards, came into existence in 2008 with a surprising darkwave cover of Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’. Their debut album ‘Emerald City’ was aired in 2012, with a twisted gothic trance pop of ‘Hangman’ and the single ‘Veronica’.

The follow-up to the first opus was ‘Harry Me, Marry Me, Bury Me, Bite Me’, showcasing the pair’s sonic leap forward into darkness with a synth noir gem ‘Satisfaction’. And now, just in time for the New Year, comes the third long player, the pigment missing ‘Dichromat’. Tarr departed earlier in 2016 so this could be considered Emese Illes-Arvai’s first solo record, partnered by Krisztian Arvai on keyboards and production.

‘Dichromat’, which is a term transcending a two-dimensional colour defect, describes the band’s intention to avoid colour and view the subject of the songs in a more matter-of-fact manner.

With this in mind, BNC go back to analogue equipment and champion the use of hardware over soft synths, with the opening ‘Sister Sister’ being a true testament to the theory of musical rawness being best depicted, when created on analogue. Continuing with the vintage sounding ‘CO’, it is harsh and very monochromatic, especially when accompanied by the almost vintage voice of Arvai-Illes.

‘Comfort Zone’ is everything but; punctuated with piercing electronica and nearly shouted out lyrics, while ‘Decay Avenue’ screams with the decapitation of human existence. Perhaps ‘Therapy’ is the answer, transcending the aura to a dance induced pluripotent mechanism. ‘Session’ enters with minimal synth fluctuations a la KRAFTWERK, developing into a GAZELLE TWIN-like concoction of sounds; the vocal, periodically laced with the tonality similar to that of FIFI RONG’s during “breathe in, breathe out”, is as marked as ever.

‘Freak Of Fancy’ underlines the black and white feel and ‘Lower The Shutters’ plays within the boundaries of hardware. ‘Orgasm’ is monogamously analogue, à la the latest outing from APOPTYGMA BERZERK, but with words. While everyone experiences ‘Minor Panics’, BLACK NAIL CABARET float above the hard beats with a soft, ballad-like melody, arpeggiated to perfection. ‘We Like To Suffer’ has a notion of masochistic existence in mind, powered by interesting bass and Mode-esque sequences.

Everything needs to end well, except it doesn’t: the closing ‘Soon’ depicts the drama of emotional distress, over haunting cries and the uncertain instability of human survival. Still, deceptively uplifting and loaded with a surprising danceability factor, the tracks on ‘Dichromat’ remain dark and capably soulful.

So “BLACK NAIL CABARET deliver another round of refreshingly contemporary dark pop music, intertwined with a smattering of 80s gothic, and electronic nostalgia” – the avoidance of colour has certainly achieved the desired effect of rawness, yet roundness.

‘Dichromat’ is released by Basic Unit Productions and available as a CD or download from https://basicunitproductions.bandcamp.com/album/dichromat

http://www.blacknailcabaret.com/

https://www.facebook.com/bncband/

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
Photo by Raphael Preston
23rd December 2016

EMBRACE THE CRISIS Black Heart

14 December 2016 /

embrace-the-crisis-black-heart

EMBRACE THE CRISIS are three Philpott brothers, Gerry, Rob and Ray with Mark Plunkett. Originating from Dublin, they describe their style as ambient synthpop.

‘Black Heart’ is their debut outing and the band have showcased their material during various gigs and DEPECHE MODE parties. Indeed, if you fancy listening to something that sounds like a capable continuation of DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Songs Of Faith & Devotion’, the opening track, ‘Fool For You’, which is gritty, sleazy, filthy and wholesome, is bound to hit the spot.

‘Never Look Back’ continues the legacy of the greatest synthpop era with more of a YAZOO feel to it, with excellent vocals at times reminiscing those of Marc Almond. The title track emerges accompanied with sparse beats and adequately placed sounds, showcasing the capable knowhow of the synth meanders, while ‘Bite The Hand That Feeds’ picks up that dirty concept again, with a simple bassline and melodic vocal in that Dave Gahan singing style.

‘Liar’, with its fantastic use of electronica, slows the tempo somewhat with ear pleasing lines and eerie lyrics a la Martin Gore. ‘A New Departure’ showcases that melancholic feel, accented by the opening piano and haunting choir; it’s a mixture of ‘St Jarna’ and ‘Moonlight Sonata’; the additional beefy synth, intertwined with mysterious vocal manipulations procures a semi-instrumental with high capabilities.

‘Looking’ Around’ is an instant departure from the previous sorrowfulness, with ERASURE-esque, almost Euro trance beats and Love Parade elements, all that canvassing that superb vocal. Vince Clarke wouldn’t be ashamed to sign his name under that one!

embrace-the-crisis-dmThe instrumental ‘Driven Away’ momentarily brings the fast tempo to a halt with ‘Fire In My Blood’ returning to the topic in mind, and that is a proficient extravaganza of synth; another dance gem with efficient electronica and haunting vocal. ‘Living In Sin’ sounds like a perfectly camp club outing, with similarities to ERASURE, concocted with a dash of quirkiness and a spoonful of decadence.

The whole package is wrapped up with ‘Intimacy’, which reminisces Depeche’s ‘Shame’ with its idiosyncratic sounds and sparse vocals. Full of melody and drama, however, the track is a rather beautiful ending to this highly capable long player.

While the inevitable comparisons with DEPECHE MODE will be unavoidable with EMBRACE THE CRISIS, it has to be said that their debut album blows out many an established electronic musicians out of the water. The tracks are rounded, well executed and finished off with an apt vocal, which collectively adds up to a great electronic album. Well done Ireland!

‘Black Heart is available as a CD or download from https://embracethecrisis.bandcamp.com/album/black-heart

https://www.facebook.com/EmbraceTheCrisisOfficial/

https://soundcloud.com/embracethecrisis

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
15th December 2016

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Oxygène 3

5 December 2016 /

When ‘Oxygène’ was released on 2nd December 1976, its hearty combination of pop melodies, technological experimentation and classical structures became a landmark in electronic music.

It made Jean-Michel Jarre a household name and 40 years on, the six part synthony still stands up. A second volume was released in 1997 and several parts captured the essence of the original opus, although like many sequels, it was not entirely successful. Releasing his third album in the space of 14 months, ‘Oxygène 3’ is an addition to a tradition that now expands the series into a trilogy. Composed after his two volume ‘Electronica’ project, Jarre’s aim was “keeping the dogma of embarking listeners on a journey from beginning to end with different chapters, all linked to each other”.

While not going as far as using an 8 track tape recorder, he has taken a minimalist approach and restricted each track to 8 instrumental elements. Recreating the restrictions of the era, Jarre challenged himself to record the album over a period of 6 weeks and deliver it by the 40th anniversary of ‘Oxygène’.

Sleeved in Michel Granger’s 3D reimaging of his iconic ecological warning, the continuation of the ‘Oxygène’ journey comprises of two distinct moods, a bright and a dark side as with the original. However, it is not an exclusively analogue work with many softsynths amongst all the vintage hardware.

jean-michel-jarre-oxygene-3-2016

The electric piano laden ‘Oxygène Part 14’ is an AIR-like introduction to the dark side that pulses away inconsequentially with little relation to the parent concept other than being composed and performed by Jarre; it’s a less than auspicious start.

Slightly better though is ‘Oxygène Part 15’ where the familiar tones of an Eminent 310 and Korg Polyphonic Ensemble penetrate through alongside the snakey rhythmic clicks of a Keio Mini Pops.

With its cocoon of bleeps, it’s easy to hear how Jarre was such a big influence on acts such as THE FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON. It all builds towards the more vibrant soundscapes of ‘Oxygène Part 16’. Here, the 21st Century spirit of ‘Oxygène’ really kicks in with beautiful layers of string synths resonating around a palette of hypnotic drum machine enhanced arpeggios; a relative of ‘Oxygène Part 8’, it is certainly one of the album’s highlights as the doom of ‘Oxygène Part 3’ lingers towards the piece’s conclusion.

The brighter side of volume 3 begins with ‘Oxygène Part 17’ which was premiered on the ‘Electronica’ tour. Like ‘Oxygène Part 4’, it adds more prominent melody within the wavey sweeps and uptempo percussive structure, but with references more akin to the second volume of the ‘Oxygène’ series.

The pretty ambience of ‘Oxygène Part 18’ paints the picture of a beautiful sunrise and sets an optimistic tone for the planet before ‘Oxygène Part 19’. This has a promising start as it aims towards a tuneful but dancefloor friendly trance anthem. Relying purely on bassline programming and gated synths as the basis of its rhythm, this could be Ferry Corsten without the beat. But despite Jarre’s deep responsive synth tones, it doesn’t really take off…

Closing with ‘Oxygène Part 20’, the organ driven intro plays with some stop/start varispeed tuning before a burst of ‘Oxygène Part 6’ interrupts the transmission… sadly it’s a moment which perhaps highlights what is missing from this third volume.

oxygene-trilogy

Arthur C Clarke once remarked to Jarre about how any sequel to ‘Oxygène’ needed a return to earth following the original’s fantasy journey into outer space.

And as the mournful Moby-esquse textures of ‘Oxygène Part 20’ soundtrack the foreboding drama of re-entry that ultimately burns up, the overall feeling of this album is it is slightly underwhelming and even unfinished. Perhaps there was too much expectation, but ‘Oxygène 3’ is a disappointment.

Does this matter? At 68 years of age, Jarre is at the top of his live game with the ‘Electronica’ concert spectacular and his contribution to electronic music is a huge legacy. He has taken a risk which perhaps hasn’t been as artistically successful as he had hoped, but at least he made the move. It’s certainly one more risk than say KRAFTWERK have managed in the last decade.

‘Oxygène 3’ uses the following electronic instruments: Eminent 310, EMS Synthi AKS, EMS VCS3, ARP2600, ARP2500, Electro-Harmonix Small Stone, Electric Mistress, Moog Sub37, Oberheim OB5, Mellotron D4000, Korg Polyphonic Ensemble, Philicorda, Keio Mini Pops, Metasonic S-1000, DigiSequencer, Roland TR8, Teenage Engineering OP1, Teenage Engineering PO12, Teenage Engineering PO24, Suzuki Qchord, Clavia Nord Lead 1, Access Virus, Moog Taurus 1, Animoog, Audiothingies Micromonsta, Synapse Audio Dune, Native Instruments Monark, Hollow Sun Cognosphere, Reveal Sound Spire, Xfer Records Serum

‘Oxygène 3’ is released by Columbia / Sony Music on CD, vinyl and download. An ‘Oxygène Trilogy’ triple pack is also available

http://jeanmicheljarre.com/

https://www.facebook.com/jeanmicheljarre

http://aerojarre.blogspot.co.uk/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
5th December 2016

BATTLE TAPES featuring PARTY NAILS Solid Gold

28 November 2016 /


Los Angeles’ BATTLE TAPES, who last year released their debut album ‘Polygon’, a sleek fusion of electronics and rock have just promo-ed a video for the album track ‘Solid Gold’.

Featuring the vocals of PARTY NAILS’ Elana Belle Carroll, the track itself hinges around a Bowie-esque ‘Fame’-inspired guitar lick with fizzing synths and a blinding middle eight which showcases some quite outstanding songwriting.

The video features Carroll being kidnapped and bundled into the back of van (which features a handy karaoke set-up) and proceeds to get driven around the streets whilst vocalling her own song. The band themselves have a cameo appearance with clips of them performing projected within the van along with karaoke-style song lyrics.

BATTLE TAPES’ vocalist Josh Boardman kindly told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “Part of the concept for the ‘Solid Gold’ video was a 90s style performance karaoke / music video. One of our favorite things about doing performances for videos is that we get to use the actual gear that we used on the record. If you blink you might miss it (photo from the Raw Hi-8 footage at top), but towards the end of the video you can see Riley (Keyboardist) rockin’ the Juno 60 (with… a JSQ-60 sequencer) and the Korg MS-20 which make up the bulk of the synths on the track. It’s always fun when you can get the older fellas out of the studio and into the spotlight!”

Over the last couple of years, BATTLE TAPES music has been featured in computer games ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ and ‘Need for Speed’ which has resulted in a wider exposure for the band.

‘Solid Gold’ is released as a 7 inch single by Battle Arts or a 4 track digital EP featuring remixes by THE BETA MACHINE and STORY OF THE RUNNING WOLF. The album ‘Polygon’ is still available through the usual online outlets

http://battletapesband.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Battletapes/

https://soundcloud.com/battletapesband/sets/solid-gold-ep

Text by Paul Boddy
28th November 2016

RUSTY EGAN PRESENTS Welcome To The Dancefloor

26 November 2016 /

After many years of trials and tribulations, Rusty Egan finally presents ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’.

It’s a collection of thirteen songs that explore a varied range of topics, from the euphoria of clubland to the celebration of musical heroes to personal bereavement. This could have formed the basis of the fourth VISAGE album had Egan not been constructively ousted by the then-puppet masters of the late Steve Strange during its recording; sensing a quick buck on the back of ULTRAVOX’s ‘Brilliant’ but failing to understand anything about the music that made The Blitz Club collective a much loved act of the Synth Britannia-era, the end result was the very disappointing ‘Hearts & Knives’.

Indeed, several of the songs included on ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ started off as recordings for the rebooted VISAGE. Chris Payne who co-wrote ‘Fade To Grey’ had submitted several compositions, but these great songs remained on the cutting room floor… until now. Also key to this album being fully realised is Nick Bitzenis, best known as NIKONN and one half of FOTONOVELA, the production duo behind MARSHEAUX.

Contributing the album’s opening salvo is Peter Hook with ‘The Otherside’; comparisons with Hooky’s previous band are perhaps inevitable and the song’s melodic basslines again show how much his sound was a vital part of NEW ORDER. Hooky’s vocals are delivered passionately, but exude a vulnerability that will be loved by some and disliked by others.

Another artist firmly associated with his band is Tony Hadley; but the sublime ‘Lonely Highway’ sounds nothing like SPANDAU BALLET. A prime example of classic synthpop, it begs the question as to how the Islington quintet might have developed had they not been soul boys? The first of five Chris Payne co-writes, Tony Hadley’s booming vocals are perfect for this catchy little tune.

The superb ‘Hero’ featuring the voice of Andy Huntley sees Egan exploiting a dancier groove, but is just a great song featuring the sort of memorable melodies and counter-melodies that are absent from much of today’s music.

‘Love Is Coming My Way’ is a superb slice of machine pop while ‘Ballet Dancer’ is a vocodered eulogy to Egan’s late ex-wife, laced with the most beautiful Polymoog Vox Humana synth lines from Chris Payne. The air is taken down further with ‘Be The Man’ featuring the voice of Kira Porter; this serene orchestrated ballad with its spacey synth solo could easily have come from Midge Ure’s most recent long player ‘Fragile’.

The pace ups considerably and heads towards clubland with the ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ title track. Dynamically uplifting, it comes over like Giorgio Moroder meets DAFT PUNK via THE HUMAN LEAGUE with the track’s root being an interpolation of TENEK’s single ‘Blinded By You’ from their 2010 album ‘On The Wire’.

With a new topline was co-written by Egan with Gerard O’ Connell, The Blitz Club’s DJ said: “’Dancefloor’ is an example of how I have always worked. TENEK had an amazing bassline with synth stabs that grabbed me, but what I could hear was an electro style uplifting track and I wrote this on the roof of the villa in Ibiza … I just looked and thought ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor of THE WORLD’”

The slightly more rock flavoured ‘Evermore’ featuring NIGHT CLUB’s Emily Kavanaugh is another co-write with Chris Payne and features former ULTRAVOX guitarist Robin Simon. The end result comes over feisty and frisky.

The following ‘Dreamer’ is a track originally written and recorded by Arno Carstens. Appropriated by VISAGE for ‘Hearts & Knives’, the song was initially discovered by Egan while listening Carstens’ set at the Isle Of Wight Festival. But this improved reworking makes a misjudgement in keeping Carstens’ voice; grouchy singer/songwriters do not go well with synthpop! However, a newly composed bridge features Andy Huntley and based on this evidence, he really should have sung the whole song.

Photo by Tapio Normall

Chris Payne reunites with Midge Ure for ‘Glorious’ in a revisiting of the New European ethos that produced ‘Fade To Grey’. Attached to a triplet percussive mantra and Ure’s distinctive fret work, this is a seasoned anthem with gigantic choral pads and an honest vocal from the ULTRAVOX front man. To continue the mood, Anni Hogan contributes ‘Love Can Conquer All’ which includes a marvellously soulful vocal from Nicole Clarke and a cameo from Egan impersonating Dieter Meier from YELLO.

On the squelch fest of ‘Wonderwerke’, Egan reclaims some of his lost history. “I have re-recorded this fantastic electronica I first made in Germany on my trip to Zurich to meet YELLO. In 1982 I first discovered a sampler in the studios of Wonderwerke and away I went.” he said of the track that was appropriated by TIME ZONE as ‘The Wildstyle’, “Now without the samples or the Afrika Bambaataa rap, it’s a fantastic electro beat”. Featuring Egan’s voicing in robotic Deutsch with reprogrammed drums and electronics, the track serves a similar role to ‘Falling Down’ on Jean-Michel Jarre’s ‘Electronica2’.

Photo by Chi Mng Lai

The wonderful closer ‘Thank You’ uses some ‘Endless Endless’ vocodered stylings and does what it says on the tin. Over layers of sweeping ambience à la Moby and a gentle metronomic pulse, it is Egan’s list of musical heroes and associated beneficiaries in no particular order. Egan’s tone poem is a touching acknowledgement of that marvellous electronic music history. A simple yet highly effective idea, the beauty is in its realisation. Appropriately, it ends with a poignant “VISAGE… thank you”.

As Jean-Michel Jarre put it recently “Electronic music has a family, a legacy and a future…” and for anyone to think that new electronic acts pop-up out of nowhere without any link to the past is naïve and ignorant.

There are some outstanding songs on ‘Welcome To The Dance Floor’. But despite the title, this is NOT a dance record. To all intents and purposes, it is a SYNTHPOP album! Unfortunately the general public will not listen to electronic stuff unless it is labelled dance, so Egan probably feels this is the only way to sell his product. This is the situation that the club-focussed mainstream music media has sadly created.

But fans of classic synthpop need not worry. Even the album’s club courting title track has its core root in synthpop, thus proving how much the genre is owed by the sniffy dance obsessed electronic music press…

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

Rusty Egan has successfully united a range of talents to produce a highly enjoyable collection of work, like one of your favourite electronic music compilations, but curated with new(ish) songs. And in the veteran DJ / guest vocalist album stakes, ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ certainly beats GIORGIO MORODER’s 2015 effort ‘Déjà Vu’ hands down.

Yes, despite 38 years since The Blitz Club, synthpop still rules!

‘Welcome To The Dance Floor’ is released by Black Mosaic and available as a download from the usual digital retailers

http://rustyegan.net/

https://www.facebook.com/rusty.egan/

https://soundcloud.com/rusty-egan

Text by Chi Ming Lai
26th November 2016

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