Category: Reviews (Page 150 of 206)

HIDDEN PLACE Nero Schwarz

14 October 2016 /

Italian quartet HIDDEN PLACE came into being in 2004 and have since gathered a sizeable audience within the followers of electro wave trends.

Antonio Losenno, Fabio Vitelli and Giampiero Di Barbaro are the three culprits responsible for the music, while the lyrics and vocals fall into the ownership of Sara Lux.

Having released a few albums like the excellent ‘Fantasia Meccanica’ in 2007 and a compilation of their body of work over ten years; this annum sees the release of another long player, ‘Nero Schwarz’.

‘Nero Schwartz’ is a retrospective collection of tunes sounding not too dissimilar from the works of KIRLIAN CAMERA, another Italian band fronted by the songstress Elena Alice Fossi; also known as Spectra Paris, she recently featured on John Fryer’s BLACK NEEDLE NOISE album ‘Before The Tears Came’.

Sara Lux’s vocals are frosty and laced with cold, indifferent exterior, especially when backed with gentle sounding, ethereal guitar on tracks such as ‘Picture Hall’ or ‘Histoire D’Amour’, both reminiscent of the riffs from JOY DIVISION or early DURAN DURAN. ‘Nei Versi Di Prevert’, which had previously been released as a 7″ single, strikes as an enjoyable concoction of LADYTRON and early MARSHEAUX.

‘Without Time’ strikes with cold electronica, while ‘Window Sill’, this time in English, rings unusual connections with Polish new wave band MAANAM.

The darkness continues with ‘Alexander Strasse’; Lux’s vocal clearly leading the mood into the gloomier of directions, while the musical elements of the greatest synthy decade are fully palpable.

‘Nero Schwartz’ equally embraces the good old age of synthesis with avant-garde references. The album is both arty and sophisticated with frosty feel of the icy new wave. As far as Sara Lux’s voice goes, some will find her vocal tedious, others will marvel at its stability and glacial clarity. One thing is certain, however, the Italians aren’t doing too badly at the electronic game.

‘Nero Schwarz’ is available on CD from https://hiddenplace.bandcamp.com/album/nero-schwarz-collezione

https://www.facebook.com/hiddenplaceitalia/

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
Photo by Daniele Onarati
14th October 2016

APOPTYGMA BERZERK Exit Popularity Contest

6 October 2016 /

APOPTYGMA BERZERK have long been hailed as the best EBM act since FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY.

The founding member Stephan Groth has experimented with many a metamorphosis. But it has to be said that the Norwegian wizard is at his best while “emulating the analogue soundscapes of innovators like KRAFTWERK, TANGERINE DREAM, JEAN-MICHEL JARRE, VANGELIS and KLAUS SCHULZE, and the driving motorik Krautrock rhythms of NEU!”.

With his latest opus ‘Exit Popularity Contest’, APOP reinvents its core values, keeping closely with the drive to produce futuristic pop; this is synthwave fed on the essence from the pioneers of electronica, further elevated to the art level of sci-fi soundscapes.

The release is cleverly clad in the backstory of certain TP; an individual under the Reality Displacement Program who has started a new chapter in his life. However, wiping the slate clean from being a successful recording artist to a rural life in a new society to “start over, fit in and become a normal person” is not working out as expected.

The idea of Tabula Rasa has been challenged by the innate inability to be anything else but an artist. The journey has resulted in TP making music from his “deepest wellspring”, challenged by the quest to find “the source”, helped by multiple analogue synthesisers resurrected from the community vault. The outcome becomes known as “conducting voltage to choose sides”, or to the listener, a journey through an unexpected, peculiar and unbelievable mash-up of ideas and sources.

‘For Now We See Through A Glass, Darkly’ could have taken its simplicity from the works of KRAFTWERK, congealed with JEAN-MICHEL JARRE‘s ideas, a concept that whilst the “doors of perception are ajar: would it not be majestic to force them wide open?” On ‘The Genesis 6 Experiment’, “the Old Testament’s Rosetta Stone, unlocks understanding of mythology, legends, ancient history and religious belief” – is the chess match between two players going to finally see its resolution in ‘The Cosmic Chess Match’? Can the “Irresistible Force” be stopped?

The symbiosis of synth gentleness and extraordinarily deep train of thought manifests itself in ‘U.T.E.O.T.W’, while ‘Rhein Klang’ acts as an oscillating source of “electronic lifeblood”, VANGELIS style. The most poignant track on the long player must be the Wilder-esque ‘The Devil Pays With Counterfeit Money’, a political statement urging for standing up to the fraudulent ordinary, for the rejection of common rules and regulations, for the “exit from the popularity contest”. It is vital to degrade the beast we all feed. Wrapped up in KRAFTWERK sounding elements, the piece is wholesome and urgent; a superb synth work.

‘Exit Popularity Contest’ is what Martin Gore’s ‘MG’ should have been. APOPTYGMA BERZERK excels in instrumentals, achieving the same aims as JEAN-MICHEL JARRE’s productions. For a chameleon act, the Nordic synth king has created a coagulation between the good old synth era and the future of electronic pop.

If you’re expecting ‘Kathy’s Song’, you’ll be disappointed, but after all “…and man created machine, and machine, machine created music, and machine saw everything it had made and said ‘Behold’.”

Amen.

‘Exit Popularity Contest’ uses the following instruments: ARP Odyssey, Moog Source, Korg MS20, WintherStormer Modular, Kawai 100f, Logan String Melody II,  Roland SH2, Roland SH5, Roland VP330 Vocoder Plus, Roland Juno 60, Roland CR8000 Compurhythm, Siel Opera 6, Simmons Claptrap, Boss DR55 Doctor Rhythm, Sequential Circuits Drumtraks, Elektron Machinedrum, Vermona DRM1 Drum Synthesizer.

With thanks to Per Aksel Lundgreen

‘Exit Popularity Contest’ is released by Hard: Drive in CD, double LP and cassette formats only, available from http://www.stormingthebase.com/apoptygma-berzerk-exit-popularity-contest-cd/

http://www.theapboffice.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ApoptygmaBerzerk/

https://twitter.com/apoplovesyou

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
Photos by Tarjei Krogh
6th October 2016

NIGHT CLUB Requiem For Romance

5 October 2016 /

night-club-requiem-for-romance

‘Requiem For Romance’ is the debut long playing opus by the LA based duo NIGHT CLUB.

Although Emily Kavanaugh and Mark Brooks kicked off NIGHT CLUB in 2011, their music has been extensively used in television offerings, such as ‘Jersey Shore’, ‘XOX Batsey Johnson’, ‘Washington Heights’, ‘Miami Monkey’ and ‘The Mysteries Of Laura’.

The Comedy Central show ‘Moonbeam City’ saw the band’s compositions featuring in all ten episodes of the production, and its soundtrack was released in 2015.

Although 2014 saw their best body of work so far with the ‘Black Leather Heart’ EP, ‘Requiem For Romance’ promises to capture a “more bombastic and aggressive” sound. Indeed, the heralding single ‘Bad Girl’ offers a darker, rockier approach to synthpop, with quirky use of pitch shift on Kavanaugh’s vocals. LADY GAGA wouldn’t be ashamed to put her name to the production, which is fresh and provocatively jagged.

Acting as an intro track, ‘Requiem’ sounds suspiciously similar to DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Shake The Disease’ plus or minus a few notes, with that haunting voice humming the simple melody. ‘Show It 2 Me’ introduces uncomplicated electronica laced with an intoxicating delivery, while ‘Dear Enemy’ truly plays around the synth capacities, interwoven with the candied tones of the euphuistic singer.

‘Psychosuperlover’ offers a wholesome club track, brilliantly executed both vocally and musically, with scantily clad synth, sexy guitar and the perfect bounciness of a marvellous dance tune.

Brooks’ production brilliance shines through on ‘Freak Like Me’. No, it’s not another SUGABABES meets Numan serving; it’s Kavanaugh sounding like a bloke at times!

‘Magnetic’ is indeed magnetic, and ‘Dangerous Heart’ provides another perfect club piece, fabulously executed with vocal samples reminiscent of PET SHOP BOYS’ ‘New York City Boy’.

The sequenced ‘Pray’ with its unsettling dual pitch harmony is an exhibitionist infatuation with anything synthy, whilst ‘Requiem For Romance’ closes with ‘Little Token’; a piano based ballad laced with sparse electronic elements dotted about strategically, wrapping up the opus in the warm embrace of Kavanaugh’s Madonna-esque vocal.

This pleasing album certainly serves the listener with an adequate dose of fantastic synth action provided by Mark Brooks and the larger than life personality of Emily Kavanaugh. Unlaboured rhythms lend themselves beautifully as the canvass to the many voices of this talented rock chick.

Kavanaugh recently lent her vocals to Rusty Egan’s project ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’, on a song called ‘Evermore’ co-written with Chris Payne. On NIGHT CLUB’s latest offering, she certainly showcases the multitude of her oral talents.

‘Requiem For Romance’ is released by Gato Blanco on 7th October 2016 in CD and download formats from http://nightclubband.com/album/requiem-for-romance

http://nightclubband.com/

https://www.facebook.com/nightclubband

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
5th October 2016

PRESENCE OF MIND Pure

30 September 2016 /

presence-of-mind-pure-artworkAlthough PRESENCE OF MIND released recordings as early as 1995, the Swedish trio only released their full length debut album ‘Interpersonal’ in the summer of 2014.

Their first songs borrowed from the Vince Clarke school of synth programming.

But today, as exemplified by the album’s stand-out song ‘Queen Of Redemption’, PRESENCE OF MIND are a much darker proposition with MESH, DE/VISION and DEPECHE MODE being key elements to their industrial pop sound.

Thankfully, Christoffer Lundström, Johannes Ambros and Anders Wallroth have taken far less time to produce their follow-up album ‘Pure’ which develops on the dark, but danceable electronic soundtrack of its predecessor.

The band say it is “about how small events in our surroundings affects our emotions and our vision of how life should be, or could be, depending on whether we just thought a little bit longer before making a decision”.

The thrusting electro Schaffel of ‘It’s Too Quiet’ opens the album in a characteristically MESH-like fashion. But the most striking aspect of ‘Pure’ that emerges is its use of dubstep elements on several songs. ‘What’s In It for You?’ is a melodic treat and dressed with wobbling synth motifs, while the vibrant ‘Help Me Help You’ places some wonderfully meaty Doepfer bass noises within a hybrid techno backbone. And on ‘Brittle Bones’, a sparse musical framework is taken into some unusual territory for the industrial pop genre.

Lundström is a charismatic frontman with a great voice and on ‘I Am Demon’, he even comes over like a Futurepop Sinatra. The trio lock together well on with driving electronic numbers like ‘You Behave Sometimes’ and ‘Black Angel’, while the widescreen drama of ‘Chasing Waterfalls’ adds a further dimension. Unfortunately, ‘Welcome Home’ plods, but ‘Interstate’ follows a more classic synthpop vein despite the noisy infiltration of sub-bass.

Two very DEPECHE MODE influenced numbers end ‘Pure’ with ‘Slowly’ certainly exerting more passion than most of what ‘Delta Machine’ managed.

presence-of-mind-16However ‘Show Me’ is less successful and on occasions, sounds slightly strained. But it is still better than much of the opposition operating in the same theatre.

PRESENCE OF MIND have certainly taken a few risks sonically on ‘Pure’ and that is commendable. Add in some quality production from Wallroth and Ambros, ‘Pure’ comes over as a much more accomplished long player than comparable works like SINESTAR’s ‘Evolve’ which came out earlier in the year.

‘Pure’ is released on CD and download by Cramada on 7th October 2016

https://www.facebook.com/PresenceOfMindSwede

https://twitter.com/POMelectro/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
30th September 2016

DAS BLAUE PALAIS Welt Am Draht

28 September 2016 /


DAS BLAUE PALAIS is the project of Düsseldorf based music veteran and Bellerophon Records co-founder Jochen Oberlack.

His aim was “to mash up Elektronische Musik and Krautrock – but straight from the view out of 2015, just to create a hybrid somewhere between HARMONIA, NEU! and LA DÜSSELDORF!”

Competent in guitar and drums, synthesizers, VSTs and antique drum computers were also brought into the mix by Oberlack to help accomplish his dream.

Co-produced by Mathias Black, the right hand man of Karl Bartos for ten years and engineer Rudy Kronenberger, ‘Welt Am Draht’ is an impressive attempt at relighting the past musical spirit of Die Bundesrepublik.

Now finally available in 2016, the album’s intent is signalled with the opening track ‘Oberbilk 80’, an optimistic and musically anthemic slice of space rock with guitars, drums and synths in equal measure. ‘Gegen Licht’ is classic Kosmische Musik in the vein of NEU! guitarist Michael Rother with the minimal six string chimes paying a respectful homage to the former KRAFTWERK member.

But things go off-piste slightly with ‘Himmels Geister’ which surprisingly takes on blues scales and comes across like Chris Rea, especially in Oberlack’s vocal delivery; it could be playfully subtitled “Die Straße zur Hölle”! Regardless though, it’s a likeable guilty pleasure.

Things get back on track with the instrumental ‘Silberwald’ and its echoes of Klaus Dinger’s LA DÜSSELDORF. But it is not, as might be expected, a tribute to ‘Silver Cloud’ but to the eponymous theme song from LA DÜSSELDORF’s debut long player, only with more synths and at a less frantic speed.

The robotised title track returns to the melodic solo excursions of Michael Rother but adds a more energetic pace to the symphonic backing, before the Motorik driven ‘Zeitfeld’. This one recalls the cosmic vibes of ‘Für Immer’ from ‘Neu! 2’ and via its half speed guitar motif, provides the most retrospective moment on the collection. Finishing with the more sedate ‘Blauer Regen’, the tune is less homage and more blau, recalling British acts like OMD and ULTRAVOX whose influences were seeded from neu musik forms,

“It feels like ‘coming back to Düsseldorf’ for me” concludes Oberlack about ‘Welt Am Draht’ and certainly, his sonic adventures provide an entertaining and accessible modern twist to a highly regarded cult music form. It is certainly could be subtitled “Schöne Grüsse aus Düsseldorf”.

‘Welt Am Draht’ is released by Bellerphon Records as a vinyl LP+CD set and download, available from https://bellerophonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/welt-am-draht

http://www.dasblauepalais.de/

https://www.facebook.com/dasblauepalais/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
28th September 2016

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