Category: Reviews (Page 151 of 201)

BILLY CURRIE Doppel

5 June 2016 /

Best known as ULTRAVOX’s classically trained virtuoso instrumentalist, BILLY CURRIE is back with a new solo album ‘Doppel’.

Following the sharp, spikier aesthetics of tracks like ‘Jump Spin’ on ‘Balletic Transcend’ in 2013, ‘Doppel’ is a more pastoral instrumental collection, with Currie’s trademark synths, viola, violin and classical piano all present and correct. Cascading synthetic strings are the metronomic backbone to the sub-seven minute ‘Neoteric Slip’, a lively orchestrated cacophony of sound with a screeching, passionate violin interlude add some tension to proceedings.

A familiar template makes an appearance with swimmy chorused string machine and tinkling ivories alongside prominent synth rock textures and a four-to-the floor rhythm construction for the ULTRAVOX flavoured ‘Tremolo Shudder’.

The beautifully filmic ‘Silver Tongued’ takes a lonely piano and sprinkles its surroundings with the occasional drop of space dust while the progressive ‘Doppel’ title track with its phased percussion and staccato voice samples provides another steadfast canvas for Currie to apply his violin and piano magic.

Taking things down, ‘In Full Cry’ explores other worldly territory not far off the late Japanese trailblazer TOMITA before the optimistically uptempo ‘Gleam’ and the expressive bowed exordiums of ‘Viola Reach’.

The brilliant ‘Glibberig’ enters the colder mechanical territory of former bandmate JOHN FOXX before a sudden increase of tempo two minutes in which allows Currie to ply his distinctive piano.

With ‘Stymie’ providing a suitably stylized close, ‘Doppel’ is an enjoyable body of work that will appeal to those who will appreciate an intriguing electro classical fusion that sets itself apart from synthpop or dance.

‘Doppel’ is available as a download through the usual digital outlets and on CD-R via Amazon On-Demand

http://www.billycurrie.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Billy-Currie/124950034330891

Text by Chi Ming Lai
5th June 2016

KATJA VON KASSEL Lili Marlene

4 June 2016 /

KATJA VON KASSEL Lili Marlene-artworkAlthough the “1930s meets the future” sound of German chanteuse KATJA VON KASSEL was first introduced via ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in 2010, it has only been recently that her music has become available.

She was featured with the song ‘Lies’, a marvellous synth friendly number with a strong traditional European flavour, laced with accordions and set to a tango template in the manner of GRACE JONES’ ‘I’ve Seen That Face Before’. So what happened?

Her Electro Weimar Cabaret began to make waves in the independent music scene and she was invited to support ERASURE on their German dates in 2011. As a result, she was signed by a major label. However, as personnel changed around her, there was confusion within the label as to whether to promote her as an electro or chanson artist… sadly, the all too familiar spectre of record company politics prevented any releases.

Fast forward to 2016, and conventional record labels are no longer the necessity they once were, with platforms such as Spotify and Bandcamp allowing musicians to have more of a say in the artistic presentation of their work.

So the sultry presence of KATJA VON KASSEL is back with a monochromatic video to accompany the formal download release of ‘Lili Marlene’. Singing in both English and German in an alluring Marlene Dietrich tone, the song is a collaboration with Alex Gray, the songwriter / producer who co-wrote ‘My Delirium’ and ‘Dusk ‘Til Dawn’ with LADYHAWKE. It’s a very unique style of electronic pop that possesses a timeless yet technostalgic quality.

KATJA VON KASSEL has been making up for lost time with the purer pulsating electro of ‘In Little Rooms (Show Me Love)’ and the sparse ballad ‘Raindrops’ having both been issued earlier in the year. More songs are set to be unleashed in the next few months, with the cabaret schaffel of ‘Goodbye Was Never Said’ next in line.

KATJA VON KASSEL 2016‘Lili Marlene’ is available as a download single from
https://katjavonkassel.bandcamp.com/track/lili-marlene

http://www.katjavonkassel.com/

https://www.facebook.com/KatjavKassel/

https://twitter.com/katjavonkassel

Text by Chi Ming Lai
4th June 2016, updated 28th June 2016

WRANGLER Sparked Modular Remix Project

1 June 2016 /

WRANGLER SparkedThe mission for this project (should the remixer choose to accept it) was as follows:

“WRANGLER would like to ask you to submit an experimental piece of music for inclusion on an album entitled ‘Modular Remix’. The idea is very simple. We provide some basic stems from a track selected by you from our debut album ‘LA Spark’ and you add whatever sounds you like – the only rule being that you use just one analog modular synthesiser system of your choice. We’ve approached you because we admire your passion and commitment to electronic music, and we hope you will be interested in taking part.”

Naturally, given the specialised nature of the brief, WRANGLER approached electronic artists known for their modular approach to synthesis, hence the presence here of DANIEL MILLER, ALESSANDRO CORTINI (NINE INCH NAILS), SOLVENT and CHRIS CARTER.

In what is arguably the stand-out remix on the album, Mute boss DANIEL MILLER extracts the gliding bassline and a vocal loop from ‘Theme from Wrangler’ and builds a new track around it with a driving 4/4 kick and flanged Solina strings. Ex-THROBBING GRISTLE synthesist CHRIS CARTER takes the dystopian ‘Lava Land’ and completely reconstructs it, turning it into an industrial wasteland soundscape, leaving the main Logan string part as a ghostly skeletal echo in the far off distance.

Whilst SCANNER reworks the title track from the original album, by jettisoning all the original musical parts and building a hypnotic sequencer driven web around Stephen Mallinder’s ‘LA Spark’ vocal, ALESSANDRO CORTINI strips out all of the vocals and percussion, leaving very little (if any residue) from the original ‘Modern World’. What remains is a throbbing, shifting, filtered piece which slowly rises over four minutes before dropping back down again – reminiscent of his film work with TRENT REZNOR, this ‘Modern World’ could quite easily function in a soundtrack context.

SOLVENT, who are probably best known for soundtracking the acclaimed ‘I Dream of Wires’ modular synthesizer documentary, remix ‘Harder’, adding a skanking electro-dub vibe with spring reverbed snares and tape delayed vocals. Hissing white noise and analogue drum machine beats frame the track as snippets of sound from the original drift in and out. This leaves the final piece on the album, entitled ‘Theme Meme’, where the band remix themselves over an epic 14 minutes.

WRANGLER live-greenWith KRAFTWERK styled electronic textures and retro Roland Compurhythm beats, the remix acts as a soundbed for Stephen Mallinder’s electronically mangled vocals and harsh synthetic sound effects on top. The final four minutes wind down and help bring the track to a half-tempo closedown.

With the emphasis being on the word ‘experimental’ from the original brief, none of these versions (with the exception of DANIEL MILLER’s ‘Theme…’ and DAVID BURRASTON’s ‘Mus IIC’) bear much resemblance to the ‘LA Spark’ originals which is undoubtedly what WRANGLER had in mind when first guesting out the project. As such, the band should be applauded for giving the remixers involved complete artistic freedom here.

But fans of ‘LA Spark’ will probably be more comfortable with the original versions, which despite occupying the darker fringes of synthesized music, still feature enough melodic hooks to act as a gateway for those into more mainstream electronica.

With thanks to Steve Malins at Random Music Management

‘Sparked Modular Remix Project’ is released by Memetune in double vinyl, CD and digital formats on 10th June 2016, available from http://wrangler.tmstor.es/

WRANGLER open for JOHN GRANT on 15th June 2016 at London’s Royal Albert Hall

https://www.facebook.com/mallinderbengewinter/

http://memetune.net

Text by Paul Boddy
1st June 2016

ON DEAD WAVES On Dead Waves

25 May 2016 /

Both Polly Scattergood and James Chapman aka MAPS, have established themselves as two of the brighter stars on the current Mute Records roster.

MAPS’ last album ‘Viscissitude’ was a superb work which presented a far subtler and more atmospheric take on synthpop, showing that a wall of sound approach can function in the context of melodic synthesized music. Meanwhile, Polly Scattergood has released two albums of quirky indie / alt-rock and getting a Vince Clarke remix along the way for her track ‘Other Too Endless’.

Having previously worked together at the Mute Short Circuit Festival, the two have joined musical forces and this has resulted in the eponymous ‘On Dead Waves’ album, a collection of songs which have a far more retro-based aesthetic than their individual works.

Chapman’s guitar work has always been present in MAPS’ music, but normally buried in the background underneath a wall of synths and reverberant electronic drums. But here it takes centre stage in an album that vocally is directly influenced by the songs of Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra. Chapman’s voice throughout is pitched at a low baritone level (usually an octave below Scattergood’s) and provides textural support to her atmospheric musings.

There have already been three singles from ‘On Dead Waves’ and these are undoubtedly the main highlights here – ‘Blue Inside’ is a thing of beauty, full of melancholy and hinging around a chiming guitar / synth figure which lifts the track to another level in its chorus.

The confessional ‘Blackbird’ takes some of MAPS’ Shoegaze elements and combines it with nods to both country and the films of David Lynch. ‘California’ is short and sweet, incorporating a BYRDS-style twelve string electric guitar, and is the most upbeat and bass-driven track here with its percussive handclap / tambourine / shaker combo making the track fly by in an instant.

Also present is a cover of the classic ‘Autumn Leaves’ which has previously been recorded by artists such as BOB DYLAN, ERIC CLAPTON and EDITH PIAF. Here the song is held together by wide cinematic tremolo guitars and subtle underpinning electronics, with both Scattergood’s and Chapman’s vocals harmonising throughout until the songs ambient conclusion.

The closing ‘Winter’s Child’ initially recalls GOLDFRAPP’s ‘Lovely Head’ with its ethereal introduction and features some welcome electronic pad and synth bass textures. The tolling bells in the track and whistling take their cue from the soundtrack work of Ennio Morricone and the concluding hypnotic ‘On Dead Waves’ mantra appears to accompany the end credits to an unseen movie.

The fact that Lana Del Rey has already previously mined this kind of sound does steal a bit thunder from ON DEAD WAVES, but this doesn’t stop it from being judged on its own merits. ‘On Dead Waves’ is the kind of album to zone out to on a Sunday morning and perfect for re-imagining yourself on a desolate and dusty American highway somewhere.

Considering Chapman’s previous back catalogue, there is a noticeable lack of synths here, but in recreating a sound which is more retrograde sounding, the use of organ, guitar and lighter percussion are obviously the correct musical layers to use to evoke this period.

In a world where everything appears to be moving too fast, an album like ‘On Dead Waves’ is most welcome, it makes you pause… take a step back and appreciate that not all music needs to batter you incessantly for attention. Probably the biggest compliment to give this would be that if a third series of the critically acclaimed ‘True Detective’ were to ever hit our screens, the songs here would be an absolute perfect fit to soundtrack it.

‘On Dead Waves’ is released by Mute Artists in CD, vinyl and download formats

https://www.facebook.com/ondeadwaves/

http://www.pollyscattergood.com/

https://thisismaps.com/

http://mute.com/artists/on-dead-waves

Text by Paul Boddy
25th May 2016

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

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