Anyone who has ever seen Patrik Kittel’s winning ride in the 2011 World Dressage Masters event accompanied by a soundtrack of DEPECHE MODE will know that horses and synthesizers actually can mix.
So presenting some oddball equestrian electronica are leftfield quartet HUGH in the shape of their latest offering ‘I Can’t Figure You Out’.
On first listen, this percolating ditty sounds like another product of Scandinavia and her sisters but in fact, HUGH hail from South London.
The soulful combo combine lush synthesized textures and mechanical beats with looser tinges of R’n’B, chill-out and lounge. The captivating, naive lead vocal from Izzy Brooks states “you know just how I feel” as she makes handle with care pleas like “don’t toy with me” and “careful with my heart” that as intensity builds like a pressure cooker. And this is all before a time signature change and some lingering guitar from Martin Kolarides, over which Brook’s frustrating despair is released with a spirited jazzy refrain of “No, I can’t figure you out!” Now, who hasn’t been here before?
Directed by Eoin Glaister, the video to ‘I Can’t Figure You Out’ sees a courting couple in an equine stand-off that totally embraces the sentiment of the song and captures its sexual tension in a highly surreal, but imaginative way.
‘I Can’t Figure You Out’ is from the 4 track EP of the same name which “documents friendship, loneliness and love in ambient beatscapes and unembellished electronica”. In addition to the title track, it also features the sparse slow mo deep house of ‘Charlie’ and the bloppy ‘Not Fair Too Far’ which features the combo’s male vocalist Joshua Idehen more prominently.
“The main idea behind HUGH and this EP” explained founder member Andy Highmore, “was to combine my love of slightly left field electronic music with my love of great songs and catchy melodies and hooks”.
The ‘I Can’t Figure You Out EP’ is released by Hughlovehugh and available now as a download via the usual digital retailers
It was Autumn 2008 and the mainstream press were getting excited about the new prospects for 2009 who were female, electro and had a name beginning with an ‘L’!
Caroline Sullivan’s article in The Guardian ‘Slaves To Synth’ highlighted female fronted electro friendly acts such as LA ROUX, LITTLE BOOTS and LADYHAWKE. Each achieved varying degrees of popularity with LA ROUX fronted by the “falsetto from the ghetto” Elly Jackson being the most internationally successful of the trio with a Grammy for Best Dance Album among the accolades.
Since then, things have not been so good for The L-Word trio with regards their follow-up albums; LADYHAWKE was first off the block with ‘Anxiety’, a horribly recorded guitar driven opus lacking in tunes. Meanwhile, LITTLE BOOTS parted ways with 679 / Atlantic Records and self-released ‘Nocturnes’, a disappointing collection of club oriented numbers that lacked the synthpop nous of her debut ‘Hands’.
Over at Camp LA ROUX, their sophomore offering was delayed while Jackson’s proclamation that “I don’t want to make synth music for the rest of my f*cking life” signalled all was not well, as pressure built to record the follow-up. So with the album finally complete, is ‘Trouble In Paradise’ going to make it three duffers from The L-Word trio?
The signs have not been good for this appropriately titled follow-up. Four years have passed with rumours of a whole album of work scrapped plus there has been the parting of ways with silent partner Ben Langmaid, a crucial cog in the synthesized authenticity of the ‘La Roux’ debut. Songs such as ‘In For The Kill’, ‘Bulletproof’, ‘Tiger Lily’, ‘As If By Magic’ and ‘Cover My Eyes’ were all superb electronic pop numbers that paid tribute to HEAVEN 17, DEAD OR ALIVE, THE KNIFE, BLANCMANGE and YAZOO respectively.
“Beware of biting the hand that feeds” they always say and certainly, there have been parallels with how DUFFY went about her second long player. Drunk on the success of her debut ‘Rockferry’, the Welsh songstress ditched her manager and the songwriting / production lynchpins that were a key part of its success. DUFFY was then last spotted riding a bike in a Pepsi advert and left with several thousand CDs of ‘Endlessly’ under her bed!
Langmaid does work on six of the tracks so effectively, ‘Trouble In Paradise’ is a goodbye from him and a hello to the solo Elly, aided by new production sideman Ian Sherwin. Despite her proclamations in 2008 by Jackson that “girls look wicked playing synths”, unlike her rival Victoria Hesketh, she has never actually been seen or photographed wielding such as a device, her instrument of choice being guitar.
So how does Elly Jackson get on without Langmaid in the ranks? The first track made public ‘Let Me Down Gently’ could be a sign. Despite the potentially prophetic title, it’s actually not bad and starts a bit like HURTS… a lot more electronic than expected but with more guitar than on the debut, it features a false end and then launches into something more uptempo with ‘Spacer’ / ‘China Girl’ (both Nile Rodgers productions incidentally) rock guitar solos thrown in for good measure. The musical palette is expanded, but something does seem to be missing.
The first single proper ‘Uptight Downtown’ takes an obviously enjoyable CHIC influence and fuses it with a funky dash of TOM TOM CLUB. Despite reservations from some quarters, this is a fine calling card for the album. This stomping direction had actually been showcased a few years ago when Jackson presented her I Don’t Mince My Words mix of female pop duo WAR OF WORDS’ single ‘Battleground’. Interestingly, Langmaid worked separately on a more obviously synthy remix for the track ‘Panic’… so signs of a possible division have been around a while.
The TOM TOM CLUB fun continues with ‘Kiss & Not Tell’ but this time, crossed with AMAZULU while ‘Tropical Chancer’ explores the sunnier climes of the legendary Compass Point Studios via GRACE JONES’ ‘My Jamaican Guy’. Certainly Jackson voice is less shrill on these songs than on the ‘La Roux’ debut, but this simultaneously makes her less distinctive as well. Ditto the fatter production style; the sound on ‘La Roux’ may have been deliberately thin but it stood out. But the result is that Elly Jackson could now be any number of pop stars around at the mo.
‘Cruel Sexuality’ takes on a triplet synth bassline and grainier string machine tones but the moodier demeanour lacks impact. The pace is taken down further for the lush piano assisted ballad ‘Paradise Is You’. But while ‘Sexotheque’ has a quite provocative title, in reality it is a polite disco song that perhaps isn’t quite as strong as ‘Uptight Downtown’ but enjoyable just the same.
The more boisterous seven minute ‘Silent Partner’ (a passing comment on Langmaid perhaps?) features plenty of synths and comes over like a Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer movie montage sequence number that should satisfy those with more nostalgic tendencies. ‘Trouble In Paradise’ ends though with the disappointing ‘The Feeling’ which washes over in a sea of voice samples and frantic offbeat drum programming although stylistically, this one most closely resembles the “falsetto from the ghetto” sound of the first album.
Overall, the nine songs on ‘Trouble In Paradise’ are a more enjoyable listen than either of LITTLE BOOTS and LADYHAWKE’s second offerings. It is telling though however, that the songs which have the strongest musical elements like ‘Uptight Downtown’, ‘Kiss & Not Tell’, ‘Let Me Down Gently’, ‘Sexotheque’ and ‘Tropical Chancer’ are all co-authored by Ben Langmaid.
In an environment where CHVRCHES have stolen the classic synthpop thunder and the more generic pop is laden with EDM clichés, ‘Trouble In Paradise’ sits uneasily where it has no unique personality of its own. Ironically, it sounds more 80s than LA ROUX’s debut ever did!
LA ROUX’s tour of the British Isles includes: Glasgow O2 ABC (5th Nov), Leeds Metropolitan University (7th Nov), Birmingham The Institute (8th Nov), Bristol O2 Academy(10th Nov), Norwich UEA (14th Nov), Oxford O2 Academy (15th Nov), Manchester Ritz (16th Nov), Belfast Limelight (19th Nov), Dublin Academy (20th Nov),
TEARS FOR FEARS’ Roland Orzabal once said that artists should make fewer albums when explaining the 4 year gestation time for ‘The Seeds Of Love’ album.
While that album was perhaps less than satisfactory, he had a point. Within that same period between 1985 to 1989, OMD issued two albums plus a greatest hits and then split up as a result of the burn out. If the best ten songs had been siphoned off ‘Crush’, ‘The Pacific Age’ and their corresponding non-album appendices, there probably would be a smaller but stronger body of work to represent OMD’s Hollywood phase…
Long periods between albums of original material are now common occurrences among veterans of the Synth Britannia era. HEAVEN 17 are currently recording their first album since 2005’s ‘Before After’ while Alison Moyet had a 10+ year gap before her triumphant artistic rebirth with ‘the minutes’ last year.
And now Midge Ure returns with ‘Fragile’, a solo album of new songs and his first since 2001’s ‘Move Me’ Of course, the diminutive Glaswegian has not been idle having released a collection of covers entitled ’10’ in 2009 and returned to ULTRAVOX with the ‘Brilliant’ album in 2012 being the end result. And all this without even mentioning his endless touring and collaborations with European artists such as SCHILLER, JAM & SPOON and X-PERIENCE.
Indeed, the success of the ULTRAVOX comeback appears to have been a big motivator in Ure getting his creative focus back. It can’t be easy as he has nothing to prove as one of British music’s esteemed elder statesmen. But despite being still highly regarded in Europe, the general public in the UK appear to be apathetic as to what he can still offer. Now, while Ure is highly unlikely to reach the heights of No1 singles like he achieved with ‘If I Was’, or headline Wembley Arena as he did in support of his 1985 debut long player ‘The Gift’, his new meisterwerk is an impressive musical diary of a man pondering and confronting his post-midlife.
Although not featuring on ‘Fragile’, his recent orchestral laden collaboration ‘Taking Back My Time’ with Stephen Emmer probably sums up the album’s manifesto. But the collection begins with another poignant title ‘I Survived’ which sensitively soars and sees Ure comfortable in his own skin, unafraid to question how his life has turned out. “Keep it and hold it while you can” he sings.
The eight songs and two instrumentals that comprise ‘Fragile’ sentimentally recall his work with VISAGE, ULTRAVOX and Mick Karn as well as his earlier solo work. But then, this is a Midge Ure album, and apart from a contribution by Moby and a sampled drum loop, ‘Fragile’ is all his own work. “In a way, it’s a much more grown up record than anything I’ve done before” he told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK
‘Are We Connected?’ could well be a thematic follow-up to ‘Contact’ from ‘Brilliant’, but is much harder rhythmically like DEPECHE MODE’s ‘In Your Room’ from ‘Songs Of Faith & Devotion’. Appropriately enough, there is much intense questioning before Ure then cries “All hail to this new religion, crossed wires in conversation”! The album eases into a more sedate pace on ‘Let It Rise’, a track recorded for SCHILLER’s ‘Atemlos’ album back in 2010.
A much more epic proposition in its original form, Ure goes back to basics for his version 2.0 but retains the track’s electronic eloquence with some shrilling synths and pretty melodic motifs. Now whereas ‘Brilliant’ and ‘Move Me’ both had Ure rocking out on his guitar, other than on ‘Star Crossed’, ‘Fragile’ is much more gentle and textural.
The beautiful progressive ambience of ‘Wire & Wood’ that starts Side 2 is a fine example of Ure’s sound painting. Free from the pressure of writing lyrics, he utilises various spiritual atmospheres including Spanish guitar, oboe samples and washes of synth before a Morricone styled pan pipe and vocal ad-lib combination in the final of the piece’s four movements. With a monochromatic Film Noir instrumental ‘Bridges’ also featuring in the second half, these two selections are a reminder of the wordless wonders that made up a fair chunk of ‘The Gift’.
But it is the songs that most listeners will be interested in and Ure certainly doesn’t disappoint in that department. ‘Become’ is unsurprisingly the album’s lead single and a romantic, less abrasive take on ‘After A Fashion’. With a danceable metronomic beat and all the hallmarks of classic VISAGE, as the album’s most uptempo number, it is inevitably the focal point of ‘Fragile’. But there are other songs that are easily its equal.
The most notable of these is ‘Dark, Dark Night’, a co-write with a certain Richard Melville Hall, otherwise better known as Moby. The song is quite obviously a descendant of ‘Rockets’ from his ‘Destroyed’ opus. Optimising the latter’s rich symphonic string sounds and chilled vibes, ‘Dark, Dark Night’ builds to an amazing climax with melodic screeches and a tremendous guitar solo from Ure.
Together, the follically challenged pairing are a partnership made in heaven and it has obviously had a prolonged effect as ‘For All You Know’ is another wonderful example that mirrors that template. Adding simulated fretless bass and symphonic choirs into the equation, although Mr Hall is not involved in this one, ‘For All You Know’ does rather sound like ULTRAVOX’s ‘Change’ slowed down and reimagined by Moby!
In fact, the sad modulated string synth pads reminiscent of OMD are all over ‘Fragile’ but they are certainly more interesting than the thinner Virtual String Machine generated tones that characterised the ‘Brilliant’ album. These sounds give the album a comparatively primitive but emotive feel, familiar in shape but fresh in feel. To close the album, there is the Floydian tones of the ‘Fragile’ title track. This solemn epic is such that it could be considered Ure’s own ‘Comfortably Numb’.
Overall, ‘Fragile’ sees Midge Ure reinvigorated by his musical past and enjoying using electronic sounds again on top of a much more mature outlook while evoking a true honesty in his voice. Clearly, the ULTRAVOX experience has been an important factor in Ure rekindling his muse… quite ironic as Matt Bellamy and Co have turned ULTRAVOX’s sound up to 11 and taken it round the world’s stadiums!
‘Fragile’ is available as a CD, vinyl LP and download via Hypertension Music
Words like violence, break the silence… QUEEN OF HEARTS thinks that the best pop songs should make you dance and shed a tear or two. Pleasures remain… all you ever wanted, all you ever needed is here…
QUEEN OF HEARTS is the talented young singer Elizabeth Morphew and after a long gestation period, her debut album ‘Cocoon’ has finally arrived. Brought up to the sound of the synthesizer and learning to dance to the beat of electronic drums, the young royal grew up on a strict diet of A-HA, DEPECHE MODE, YAZOO and THE HUMAN LEAGUE, thanks to her dear Queen Mother.
She first came to public attention via RED BLOODED WOMEN, a girl group who utilised the template of YAZOO and DEPECHE MODE enough to sound like GIRLS ALOUD produced by Daniel Miller. Following their disbandment in 2010, Morphew became QUEEN OF HEARTS. A debut EP ‘The Arrival’ was subsequently issued in 2011.
She once said “pop is not a dirty word”. And while she could be considered of the pop ilk, ‘Cocoon’ is not some producer puppet album. For a start, Morphew has co-written all the material while the producers have been sympathetic to the cause and not resorted to dumbing down to the Guetta level. Yes, there are danceable, club friendly beats, but these songs are spared the horribly predictable drops of that over rated chancer Harris! ‘Like A Drug’ is a good example of this carefully crafted ethos while ‘It Isn’t Enough’ and the frantic ‘Overcome By The Rhythm’ both extend to being trancey hands-in-the-air moments without the usual bombastic clichés.
But, there are also a variety of other styles thrown into the mix. The rich ballad ‘ColourBlind’ would be Taylor Swift if she did something more synthy; here Morphew’s voice is gorgeous, honey coated splendour. Another slowie comes in the form of ‘Surrender’ produced by BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT while the adventurous ‘Angel’ explores dubstep rock.
GOLDFRAPP and LITTLE BOOTS are the main influences in QUEEN OF HEARTS’ electro wonderland and this is reflected in the album’s six key songs. ‘Freestyle’ takes its leaf from Giorgio Moroder with DREAMTRAK (aka studio boffin Ollie Horton of TRADEMARK who supported THE HUMAN LEAGUE in their time) thrusting the propulsive pulse into a galaxy far, far away; feel The Force as it is strong on this one! Meanwhile, the ethereally tribal ‘Warrior’ from the mine of producer DIAMOND CUT sees QUEEN OF HEARTS enter the ice diva stakes by sounding like Kylie weaned on Claudia Brücken.
The album’s highlight though is undoubtedly the catchy glam stomper ‘Neon’. It magnificently manages to out Goldfrapp GOLDFRAPP with some deliciously wired glitterball sparkle. ‘Neon’ has already achieved a number of synchronisations, most notably on American TV show ‘Do No Harm’ and while this has the obvious hallmarks of Lady Alison’s schaffel laden poise, QUEEN OF HEARTS successfully adds her own cooing allure.
However, the spectre of division floats over ‘Suicide’, a moodily emotive and chilling collaboration with Berlin based producer Mark Reeder. Introduced to The Haus Of Hearts by ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, he curated the magnificently epic Electrically Excited Remix of ‘Neon’ which eventually appeared on his ‘Collaborator’ CD. Now his portfolio includes PET SHOP BOYS, DEPECHE MODE and MARSHEAUX as well as running dance label MFS, so his experience adds even further dimensions to the QUEEN OF HEARTS sound. Mention must be made of his other production from the sessions ‘United’ which is sadly missing from ‘Cocoon’, but is so vibrantly good that it is essential listening if this album appeals.
The sizzling co-write with Stefan Storm of Swedish synthpop duo THE SOUND OF ARROWS entitled ‘Shoot The Bullet’ provides a wonderfully buzzy pop cocktail full of glucose energy but with a touch of melancholy that makes it all the more enticing. And that’s is not the last to be heard from Stefan Storm as ‘Cocoon’ closes with ‘Tears In The Rain’, another gorgeously atmospheric piece which is crisply Nordic and glacially spine tingling.
‘Cocoon’ is an enjoyable pop album with many credible foundations. And unlike QUEEN OF HEARTS’ more higher profile contemporaries such as Katy Perry and Ellie Goulding, there is not an over reliance on autotune, with as natural a vocal sound as possible being sourced from the classically trained singer. ‘Cocoon’ is up there with Rachel Stevens wonderful ‘Come & Get It’ as an inventive but poptastic collection of songs about the important things in life – love, loss, heartbreak, betrayal.
‘Cocoon’ is released as a download album by Night Moves via Amazon, iTunes and other digital retailers
KID KASIO and THE SANFERNANDO SOUND have released the fruits of their recent studio collaboration as a single called ‘Letters Of Love’.
It was launched with a superb ‘Our Price’ pastiche TV advert and the first new material from Da Kid since his debut album ‘Kasiotone’ in 2012. KID KASIO is the brainchild of Nathan Cooper, one-time member of THE MODERN who had a Top 40 hit ‘Jane Falls Down’ in 2005 while THE SANFERNANDO SOUND is the moniker of Jason Persad who first came to wider attention with his remix of ‘Clouds’ for flamboyant duo DIVINE KNIGHTS.
Written via email over a period of a couple of months last year, ‘Letters Of Love’ features a video that looks like a long lost VHS tape of a forgotten artist performing on an old Italian TV show.
“This video was edited by a talented CGI expert called Ed Crofts who came forward when I put out a plea on Facebook for ‘someone who can stitch my head onto someone else’s body’!” said Cooper, “I wanted the video to look like It was I filmed my head in front of a green screen and Ed placed it onto the performer’s body, I think the end result looks pretty otherworldly”.
Indeed, KID KASIO looks like a strange amalgam of Russell and Ron Mael aka SPARKS. But Cooper remained coy as to who the source material was: “I won’t tell you who the torso belongs to in the video, he may not be too pleased that I’ve nicked his body!!!”. With hints of Stock, Aitken & Waterman in the percussive intro and backing, ‘Letters Of Love’ is a natural progression on KID KASIO’s brassy optimistic synthpop.
‘Letters Of Love’ is available now as a download single via Amazon and iTunes
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Anyone who has ever seen Patrik Kittel’s winning ride in the 2011 World Dressage Masters event accompanied by a soundtrack of DEPECHE MODE will know that horses and synthesizers actually can mix.
‘I Can’t Figure You Out’ is from the 4 track EP of the same name which “documents friendship, loneliness and love in ambient beatscapes and unembellished electronica”. In addition to the title track, it also features the sparse slow mo deep house of ‘Charlie’ and the bloppy ‘Not Fair Too Far’ which features the combo’s male vocalist Joshua Idehen more prominently.
debut, but this simultaneously makes her less distinctive as well. Ditto the fatter production style; the sound on ‘La Roux’ may have been deliberately thin but it stood out. But the result is that Elly Jackson could now be any number of pop stars around at the mo.
is released by Polydor / Universal Records
is available as a CD, vinyl LP and download via Hypertension Music
is released as a download album by Night Moves via Amazon, iTunes and other digital retailers
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