Category: Reviews (Page 151 of 200)

DE/VISION 13

23 May 2016 /

DEVISION-13For PET SHOP BOYS, their thirteenth album was lucky. ‘Super’ was, indeed, super. Now, here comes Berlin based duo DE/VISION, with their own number thirteen, and high hopes that theirs will, too, be a lucky one.

Having been making music since 1988, Thomas Adam and Steffen Keth, have fought DEPECHE MODE comparisons throughout their musical adventure, developing a unique sound and recognisable tonality. Adam describes their auras as homogeneous, at the same time as having the need to “reinvent ourselves every once in a while…”

Writing new material and gigging it extensively as part of their day job routines, the duo also decided to start their own label, Popgefahr Records. The album ‘Popgefahr’ still sits on top of everything the band have achieved so far, but the label doesn’t exclusively release DE/VISION. Artists like GARRETT MILES and BEYOND OBSESSION have benefitted from Popgefahr’s help in their recordings.

The Adam / Keth enterprise has always stayed on the safe side of synthpop, with the exception of ‘Void’ and ‘Two’; both albums having introduced a rockier, symbiotic sound. The melancholy and nostalgia soon made their way back into the output, and that path has been frequented since. With ’13’, DE/VISION have followed the route of Pledge Music, successfully committing their hardcore fans to following the album’s progress and allowing for early downloads.

DEVISION-13-duo-02Kicking off with ‘Who Am I’, with the ominously sounding opening lyric “stuck in constant repetition, I won’t take it any more”, the signal is to expect a sudden drift from the typical D/V sound.

This bouncy, free-floating track with gritty, stained synth sounds, fulfils its role as a worthy intro, leading onto ‘Essence’.

A more familiar rendition, even more so when Keth’s vocals come in, there’s plenty of drum and guitar here, but the core is still indistinguishable from any other DE/VISION recipe, repeating the earlier trodden paths.

‘Starchild’ resembles the beautiful melodies from ‘6 Feet Underground’, while ‘Where’s The Light’ could possibly be the best track on the long player. The hidden ERASURE influences shine through in the mesmerising chorus; the capable melody pairs with poignant lyrics, trying to deduce the meaning of human actions, hoping for a positive change.

‘Synchronise’ marks a rawer, courser sound, hardly processed and untreated, while ‘Prisoner’ and ‘Read Your Mind’ are the slow comas in form of ballads, both lamenting fading relationships. ‘Their World’ brings in a faster tempo, reminiscent of ‘Stargazer’ from ‘Rockets & Swords’.

DEVISION-13-duo-001The minimal synth of ‘Gasoline’ resembles THE NORMAL with its crude originality, before the album is closed with ‘The Firing Line’; a hopeful, delicate electronic melody with scantily layered digital gems, slightly similar to the latest works of TORUL, providing background to Keth’s distinctive voice.

If one expects a total change of sound into the innovative and progressive, then ’13’ isn’t either of those. The production is habitually mature and thought through, with an adequate dose of melancholy and gloom, in keeping with existing DE/VISION releases.

There’s however an urgent roughness and readiness to the sound manipulation, providing freshness and hidden drama, even if only apparent to a weathered fan of the duo. The UK has been historically less than ready to understand and receive DE/VISION and this opus is unlikely to fix that issue, even with more wholesome arrangements and the continuing use of stacked up digital synths.

However, the rest of the world is bound to bow down again to the brilliance of the German wizards, and deservedly so.

’13’ is released on 27th May 2016 by Popgefahr

http://www.devision.de/english/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/DEVISION/24741337633

Text by Monika Izabela Goss
23rd May 2016

PERTURBATOR The Uncanny Valley

13 May 2016 /

PERTURBATOR James Kent - Photo David FittWhether it’s John Foxx’s continuing fascination with Ballardian concepts or THE NORMAL’s early proto-synth track ‘Warm Leatherette’, dystopian themes have always fitted hand in glove with the darker side of electronic music.

The Synthwave genre has its own selective take on this subject matter, although wrapping it up in a more melodic and warmer production style.

It also takes influence from a range of classic cyberpunk movies ‘Akira’, ‘The Terminator’ and ‘Blade Runner and the horror genre likes of ‘Hallowe’en’ and ‘Suspiria’. The genre broke the mainstream with the use of music by KAVINSKY and ELECTRIC YOUTH in the ‘Drive’ movie; although musically, many of the artists within it verge on the generic, scratch the surface of the scene and there are some genuinely high quality electronic pieces of work to be uncovered.

PERTURBATOR is a one-man operation, comprising French musician James Kent. Kent was originally a Black Metal guitarist and this connection is maintained by releasing his material on the Blood Music label, which is home to a roster of primarily experimental Metal artists. Although this link may seem nonsensical at first, a few listens to PERTURBATOR’s work reveals elements which although 99% synthetic, have a DNA that seems to have struck a chord with fans of both guitar music and electronica…

‘The Uncanny Valley’ is Kent’s fourth long player and for a relatively underground artist, has clocked up some pretty serious online plays with his previous works. A lot of this can be attributed to having music in the ‘Hotline Miami’ computer games, something which has helped generate a fanbase of gamers as well as Synthheads and Metalheads – that’s a pretty diverse demographic!

PERTURBATOR The Uncanny ValleyThe gloriously lurid (and recently banned on Facebook) album cover by long time graphic artist collaborator Ariel ZB, with its deliberately overexposed colours, perfectly compliments the music inside, evoking the use of old Kodak film stock much beloved by directors such as Dario Argento to give a hyped and over-vivid look to its scenes of Giallo horror. At least half of the album follows the Synthwave formula of 150 BPM+ arpeggiated synths with frantic moving bass and retro drum machine programming with titles such as ‘Death Squad’, ‘Diabolus Ex Machina’ and ‘Assault’ all giving a pretty good idea of what to expect.

Of the faster paced tracks, the ironically titled ‘Disco Inferno’ is one of the highlights here, even featuring some funky wah-wah guitar to just about help justify its title. It effortlessly flits between time signatures and ends with a short synth solo, descending sync bass and digital “doot doot” vocal hits.

There are a few collaborations here and they prove the most musically satisfying, ‘Femme Fatale’ featuring HIGHWAY SUPERSTAR is a ‘Blade Runner’-esque electronic / jazz soundscape with skittering sequencers, a swept resonant synth bass and the kind of sax last heard on TEARS FOR FEARS’ ‘The Working Hour’.

‘Venger’ featuring GRETA LINK skirts more electropop territory, its floating vocals ghosting effortlessly over the track’s pulsing beat. Arpeggiators lift the first chorus in a track that MARSHEAUX could quite happily cover. ‘The Uncanny Valley’ closes proceedings with an epic seven minute electronic journey recalling JARRE’s ‘Rendez-Vous’ album with more ideas crammed into it than some third division UK synth acts manage in their whole albums.

The work’s soundtrack roots become far more apparent when the listener wanders around listening to it on headphones – by being primarily instrumental in nature means that depending upon your location, it can have the rather wonderful effect of placing the listener into their own JOHN CARPENTER movie, although this isn’t quite so effective when walking around rural Ash Vale in Hampshire…

PERTURBATOR James Kent - Photo Johan BarberaAt its best, ‘The Uncanny Valley’ sounds like a hi-octane mid-period JEAN-MICHEL JARRE on steroids and the production values throughout remain impeccably high. The appeal to Metalheads can probably be explained by Kent’s musicianship, there are some pretty high level synth skills on show here and the bombastic nature of some of the tracks have meant that PERTURBATOR have been embraced by a demographic which is normally strictly guitar-oriented.

It could also be argued that electronic music has lost much of its musicality and artists like this are bringing back the notion that it can be cool to be able to actually play a synth again by demonstrating flair and virtuosity in the mould of BILLY CURRIE, VANGELIS, JEAN-MICHEL JARRE and JAN HAMMER – players who didn’t just rely on computer sequencers.

For this reason there is much to enjoy here and although much of the music does wash over you in a soundtrack fashion, this is undoubtedly intentional and doesn’t diminish the appeal of the album one iota.

So even if you’re one of those people that have dismissed Synthwave as a bit of a one trick cyberpony, ‘The Uncanny Valley’ is definitely worth a visit and who knows could even become the soundtrack to your own personal movie…

‘The Uncanny Valley’ is released by Blood Music and available in a variety of physical and digital formats, please visit http://www.blood-music.com/ for more details

http://www.perturbator.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Perturbator/

https://twitter.com/The_Perturbator

Text by Paul Boddy
Photos by David Fitt and Johan Barbera
13th May 2016

I AM SNOW ANGEL Desert EP

12 May 2016 /

The 1980 Winter Olympics took place in beautifully picturesque setting of Lake Placid, a small village amidst Adirondack Mountains in New York State.

It is fitting that an ice maiden Julie Kathryn, who was born and bred in the very place, would call herself I AM SNOW ANGEL and would start experimenting with chilling auras of electronica as her preferred genre of choice. Having relocated to the Big Apple’s Brooklyn, she released her first self-titled EP, which heralded a change of direction for the previously folk interested artist.

The electronica experiment worked to such an extent, that Kathryn became “basically addicted to writing and producing music in this genre”. As the transition was purely organic, with I AM SNOW ANGEL starting to become a self-sufficient artist: writing, producing and engineering her own records, she also embarked on co-founding FEMALE FREQUENCY, a musical collective dedicated to empowering female musicians.

Her first long player ‘Crocodile’ was fantasy inspired, centring around the “predator and prey”, bearing gentle resemblance to Kathryn’s heroes, THE POSTAL SERVICE and paying homage to the classic Americana artist BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN amongst other influences. Sometimes described as appealing to the fans of Enya, Imogen Heap or Kate Bush, I AM SNOW ANGEL has developed her own sound, using her personal electronic template of icy landscapes and cold melancholy.

‘Desert’ is her newest EP, where Kathryn is “continuing to explore the subtle complexities of desire, passion and longing”. The announcement of warmer things to come heralds itself in the title track opening the sequence, an inspired atmospheric rendition with enhanced vocals, which I AM SNOW ANGEL describes as “part of the aesthetic” of synth music.

‘Fever’ certainly isn’t evocative of the snowy mountains of upstate New York, which itself announces a departure from the gloom of the cold and icy in favour of breezy and fresh, as if released from the chains of winter. “Body’s on fire but she shivers with the heat” nods to vintage ERASURE in the slightest of fashions, being über modern and sophisticated.

‘Keep You Out’ opens with a country-esque guitar sequel, giving homage to Kathryn’s roots. A slower paced, eerie number at first, bursts into a club ending, before ‘Dirty Love’; a SOUL II SOUL meets SNEAKER PIMPS style shines through this varied track.

The EP closes with ‘Losing Face’, which is a BJORK sounding story of desire, culminating in sensual sexual encounters, designed to prove “something I can believe in”, and instead leaving one empty and guilty.

The eclectic nature of the music of I AM SNOW ANGEL is staggering. She owns the writing, production and engineering process, much like GRIMES, and is a pioneer when it comes to helping women make their own tunes, whatever genre they may be.

The progression into synthscapes was something that happened naturally and Kathryn’s fans are truly grateful that the experiment wasn’t just a one-off. She was, after all, made to give life to the melancholy of electro. The style of electronica infused with country roots, creates an amalgamation difficult to resist and whether it’s the snowy Adirondack Mountains, or the heat of the “Desert”, I AM SNOW ANGEL shows off her brilliance and delivers.

The ‘Desert’ EP is available as a download from 20th May 2016 via the usual digital outlets

http://iamsnowangel.com/

https://www.facebook.com/iamsnowangel

https://soundcloud.com/iamsnowangel

http://www.femalefrequency.com/

Text by Monika Izabela Goss
Photo by Carl Timpone
12th May 2016

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise

8 May 2016 /

Released last October, ‘Electronica 1: The Time Machine’ was JEAN-MICHEL JARRE’s first album since 2007’s ‘Téo & Téa’.

It was a worldwide collaborative adventure where the French Maestro “had this idea of merging DNA with musicians and artists of different generations, linked, directly or indirectly, to electronic music in a kind of sharing process in a world where we’re more isolated than ever by our smartphones and the Internet”.

During its five year mission, the ‘Electronica’ sessions produced an excess of tracks, thanks to the number of willing contributors who embraced Jarre’s ethic to write in the same room, as opposed to remote working via the web. “Electronic music is all about connections” he said, both practically and figuratively. ‘Electronica 1: The Time Machine’ featured AIR, TANGERINE DREAM, Vince Clarke, John Carpenter and Laurie Anderson; so for those who were unaware of any electronic music before AVICII, it came as something of an education.

The second instalment ‘Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise’ has no less impressive a cast, with PET SHOP BOYS, THE ORB, YELLO, Peaches, Gary Numan, Hans Zimmer and Sebastien Tellier all willing conspirators in one of the ambitious music projects ever undertaken.

‘The Heart of Noise, Pt. 1’ featuring French techno kid Rone begins with an almost Morricone aesthetic, as if the Italian composer had used synths. After a marvellous impressionistic start with an enticing filmic ambience, the more uptempo second part sees Jarre taking classic trance melodies along for the ride, utilising steady beats and percussive mantras without being obtrusive.

‘Brick England’ with PET SHOP BOYS is classic mid-tempo Euro disco, with Tennant and Lowe not breaking ranks with a rockabilly tune or anything. But Jarre’s ribbon controlled lead synth does sound as though it might break into ‘The Final Countdown’! Following on, ‘These Creatures’ with experimental singer / songwriter Julia Holte takes things downtempo with a gentle blippy soundscape. Holter provides some wonderfully angelic vocals and voice samples, as the dreamy build swims along seductively.

PRIMAL SCREAM are a surprise inclusion although their flirtation with harder electronic forms on ‘Autobahn 66’ and their cover of ‘Some Velvet Morning’ justifies their presence. However the basis of ‘As One’ is a speeded up take on ‘Come Together’ from ‘Screamadelica’ and sees pitch shifted voices alongside vocoder processed tones that could easily be mistaken for GRIMES going happy hardcore.

The unlikely friendship between Gary Numan and Jean-Michel Jarre has resulted in ‘Here For You’, possibly the most purely electronic work Numan for many years. Significant in its absence of crunching guitars, Jarre himself amusingly described this stomper as “Oscar Wilde Techno”. Whatever, it is certainly the darkest thing Jarre has ever recorded

‘Electrees’ sees an eagerly awaited collaboration with award winning soundtrack composer Hans Zimmer epic. Jarre’s father Maurice of course won Oscars for his work on ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ‘Dr Zhivago’ and ‘Passage To India’. Zimmer has a varied CV including BUGGLES, HELDEN and even producing a single for THE DAMNED, but first worked on fusing the traditional orchestral arrangements and electronic instruments in 1980 with English composer Stanley Myers who wrote ‘Cavatina’, the theme to ‘The Deer Hunter’.

With a cinematic sheen, ‘Electrees’ harks back to Zimmer’s synth roots with choral samples and synthesized strings, recalling Moby’s ‘God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters’.

A non-musician collaboration comes in the form of ‘Exit with National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden. Frantic and tense with a stop / start structure, it slows for a monologue by Snowden. The track’s political slant is thematically closer to 1988’s ‘Revolutions’ with a chip tune influence that soundtracks a spy chase and “finding a way out”.

On the other side of the coin, the brilliant ‘Gisele’ with Sebastien Tellier is very melodic and unsurprisingly Gallic, the gathering of two French talents sounding not unlike Serge Gainsbourg gone electro. THE ORB’s distinctly spacey textures make their presence felt during ‘Switch On Leon’. They actually first worked with Jarre on a remix of ‘Oxygène 8’ in 1997, but it was said at the time that he was unhappy with the results so the track was subsequently issued as ‘Toxygene’ by THE ORB themselves. Whatever the story, water must have passed under the bridge for the two parties to reunite.

‘What You Want’ has the unmistakeable snarl of Peaches  over an electro hip-hop backbeat. With her characteristic diva humour coupled with some asexual madness, it’s a diversion from Jarre’s usual template that will horrify fans of ‘Oxygene’ with its dubstep and rap elements.

Meanwhile, ‘Circus’ with German producer Siriusmo is very dance pop with DAFT PUNK robot voices in abundance; while good fun, it begs the question as to what a collaboration with Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter would sound like. No questions as to how a YELLO versus Jean-Michel Jarre co-write would turn out like as ‘Why This, Why That and Why’ delivers the expected; Dieter Meier gives his distinct droll while Boris Blank and Jarre provide an airy blend of soothing atmospheric backdrops.

‘The Architect’ with house trailblazer Jeff Mills is hypnotic, orchestrated Detroit techno that provides an accessible entry point to the genre. But more appealing to a handbag filled dancefloor is ‘Swipe To The Right’. Possibly another politically coded piece or the use of Tinder, the brilliant song partners Jarre with Cyndi Lauper. No stranger to electronic forms, particularly with her under rated ‘Bring Ya To The Brink’ album of 2007, there are big bass riffs galore for a great poptastic exploration that is both catchy and danceable. A sample from the Minipops rhythm box that appeared on ‘Oxygene’ even drops in for possibly the standout track on this collection.

To close, the album finishes with two solo compositions ‘Falling Down’ and ‘The Heart of Noise (The Origin)’; the former floats a vocodered vocal over a distinctly harder-edged mechanical pulse, while the latter is a third variation on the title track. It would be fair to say with ‘Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise’, the results cannot help but be mixed.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK was told by Gary Numan that Jean-Michel Jarre “is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my entire life” – so obviously he didn’t want to upset anyone and decided to release everything! However, such is the method of modern music consumption, the listener can be more brutal and from the two volumes, a great 16 track ‘Best Of Electronica’ playlist can easily be constructed. While Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise’ is not as consistent as the first instalment, there is something for anyone remotely interested in electronic music. The choice is yours.

Jean-Michel-Jarre-Electronica-uk-Tour-2016‘Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise’ is released by Columbia / Sony Music

The ‘Electronica’ World Tour runs from July to December 2016, please check Jean-Michel Jarre’s website for more details

http://jeanmicheljarre.com/

https://www.facebook.com/jeanmicheljarre

https://twitter.com/jeanmicheljarre

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

Text by Chi Ming Lai
8th May 2016

JOHN FOXX 21st Century: A Man, A Woman & A City

5 May 2016 /

“I always seem to write about a man, a woman and a city. It’s because I am an urban creature most of the time”: John Foxx

’21st Century: A Man, A Woman And A City’ is a new compilation that gathers John Foxx’s song based work from since the turn of the millennium. After a hiatus between 1986 to 1995, Foxx has since been extremely prolific, dividing his time between a number of pop-oriented, ambient and soundtrack projects. The first section of this collection is laid out chronologically, beginning with Foxx’s material recorded with Louis Gordon, his main collaborator on his comeback.

‘A Funny Thing’ from 2001’s ‘The Pleasures Of Electricity’ sounds particularly interesting in today’s context, with the jazzier, deep house inflections being quite different from how Foxx is now. But songs like 2005’s beautifully treated ‘Never Let Me Go’ confirmed that Foxx still had that inventive spark.

But it was when Foxx teamed up with synth collector extraordinaire Benge to form JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS that he became fully re-engaged in the electronic pop realm which he helped to pioneer. Using an array of vintage synthesizers, the feisty growl of ‘Catwalk’, the serenity of ‘Interplay’ and the electro-folk of ‘Evergreen’ all possessed a mechanised charm while simultaneously providing some vital correlative warmth. The parent album ‘Interplay’ was possibly Foxx’s most complete and accessible body of work since ‘Metamatic’.

Continuing with the mathematical solution, from the swift follow-up ‘The Shape Of Things’, the fantastically motorik ‘Tides’ came over like an electronic NEU! Meanwhile from the third Maths album ‘Evidence’, the title track in collaboration with THE SOFT MOON was a surreal slice of post-punk psychedelia, like Numan meeting Syd Barrett! But the most complete track Foxx produced in this period turned out to be the grainy, pastoral elegance of ‘Evangeline’ with Finnish producer Jori Hulkkonen.

The main act of ‘21st Century: A Man, A Woman And A City’ concludes with two previously unreleased songs by JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS; both are highly worthy inclusions. ‘A Many Splendoured Thing’ features pristine pulsing sonics with crisp percussive taps a la ‘The Man Machine’; it’s Foxx goes to Kling Klang.

But ‘A Man And A Woman’ throws in a less rigid formula with some loose, hand played electronic percussion and the enchanting voice of Hannah Peel. It’s an interesting departure that even features some subtle acoustic guitar flourishes by Isobel Malins. Continuing on the six string theme, ‘Estrellita’ from the ‘Mirrorball’ album with COCTEAU TWINS’ Robin Guthrie appropriately provides an esoteric musical interlude, before the compilation’s appendix of assorted collaborations and remixes.

Although not a song written by Foxx, his and Benge’s serene reinterpretation of GAZELLE TWIN’s ‘Changelings’ highlighted not only the synthesized magic of the partnership, but also how the influence of Foxx was interwoven seamlessly into the Brighton-based songstress’ art.

Following JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS’ rework of ‘Dresden’, the reciprocal arrangement delivers a previously unreleased OMD remix of ‘The Good Shadow’. Working around its shimmering arpeggio, Paul Humphreys adds more of the beautiful Synth-Werk that made OMD’s last album ‘English Electric’ such a return to form. Meanwhile, the ADULT. Remix of ‘The Shadow Of His Former Self’ naturally takes on a more punky, techno stance.

Originally a solo track from ‘The Shape Of Things’, ‘Talk’ has now become a collaborative platform for Foxx to explore different approaches from a singular idea with other kindred spirits; on ‘21st Century: A Man, A Woman And A City’, two of these are included.

The first is the previously released ‘Talk (Beneath My Dreams)’ version with Matthew Dear; Foxx provides the cascading bass laden intro before Dear adds a steadfast four-to-the floor beat and a deep sinister voiceover, which could be mistaken for a pitch-shifted Foxx.

But the second version is a brand new, long-awaited collaboration with Gary Numan. Numan’s take on the track is meaty. Retitled ‘Talk (Are You Listening To Me?)’, it predictably screams alienation and fully exploits his haunting trademark overtures, courtesy of some blistering Polymoog from Benge.

The end result is like a wonderful audio mutual appreciation society: “John Foxx has been a hero of mine for my entire adult life” said Numan, “It was a real honour to finally have the chance to contribute to one of his tracks… it was every bit as creative, unusual, demanding, and rewarding, as I always expected it to be”.

Foxx is currently in the studio working on new music. Like SPARKS, John Foxx has been so prolific over the years that it can be challenging to keep up with all his releases. But as much as some of his hardcore following have expressed dismay at countless reissues and compilations, Foxx’s work is still under-appreciated, even within the more general circles of electronic pop music.

So for many, ‘21st Century: A Man, A Woman & A City’ will be an opportunity to catch up with the more accessible side of his work from the last 16 years. For those still not entirely convinced of Foxx’s contribution to the synthesized music world, it acts an ideal entry point into some of his best electronically focused work since ‘Metamatic’.

’21st Century: A Man, A Woman & A City’ is released by Metamatic Records as a CD and download on 27th May 2016. A limited deluxe CD+DVD edition is also available and features 11 videos filmed in Tokyo by Macoto Tezka, featuring music by JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS

http://www.metamatic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/johnfoxxmetamatic/

https://twitter.com/foxxmetamedia

Text by Chi Ming Lai
4th May 2016

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2017 ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK | Email: [email protected]
Privacy Policy

Up ↑