Category: Reviews (Page 179 of 206)

BERNHOLZ How Things Are Made

29 September 2014 /

BERNHOLZ How things are made

Anti-Ghost Moon Ray is the Brighton based artist collective and record label that spawned the acclaimed haunting songstress GAZELLE TWIN and which “explores common ground in a strong aesthetic approach towards art, film, music, technology, science, and nature”.

But as with all collectives, there are other, lesser known but no less innovative members. One such is BERNHOLZ aka Jez Bernholz, a musician, sculptor and filmmaker with his own niche in experimental music utilising a Tascam cassette portastudio with Casio synths as well as modern digital equipment. The end result is appropriately titled ‘How Things Are Made’ and collects together some obscure art pop accompanied by bleepy synth and occasional guitar. And this approach is ably showcased on the opening track and his 2012 debut single ‘Austerity Boy’.

Despite some deep foreboding tones accompanied by percussive six string and synthesizer interplay, in an antonymic play on Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’, the famous “living in material world” phrase is pitch shifted into a quirkily ironic refrain over a crescendo of thunderous syncopated drums. It’s sombre but fun!

Continuing this frantic pace, ‘Horses’ fuses Krautrock overtones with an Eno-esque strategy while the comparatively conventional but highly enjoyable ‘My History’ sees BERNHOLZ come over like DALEK I LOVE YOU’s Alan Gill accompanied by sequenced pulses and building layers of assorted instrumentation.

Indeed, there are several quirky sonic parallels with DALEK I LOVE YOU’s 1980 debut LP ‘Compass / Kumpas’ in its unorthodox use of keyboards, bass guitar and voice. The template is repeated on the more steadfast ‘The Modernist’ and the stark LinnDrum driven ‘What You Want To Do’, the repetitive rhythmical mantra of which additionally recalls electro hipster faves FACTORY FLOOR.

Preceding those though is the male voice choir dominated title track which could be a successor to DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Pipeline’ but sans the metal samples. Closing ‘How Things Are Made’, the bare ‘Mesopotamia’ uses a cacophony of BERNHOLZ’s own voice samples as a hypnotic accompaniment before being swamped by synths.

Quoting Gustav Metzger’s Auto-Destructive Art Manifesto, BERNHOLZ says “The amplified sound of the auto-destructive process can be an element of the total conception”. Certainly as an artistic concept, ‘How Things Are Made’ will be an intriguing listen for some, if not necessarily for all.


‘How Things Are Made’ is released in CD and download formats by Anti-Ghost Moon Ray

A limited edition auto-destructive plaster block package is available from http://bernholz.bandcamp.com/

BERNHOLZ plays support to GAZELLE TWIN at London’s Corsica Studios on 1st October 2014

https://www.facebook.com/bernholzmusic

http://bernholz.tumblr.com/

http://www.antighostmoonray.com

Text by Chi Ming Lai
29th September 2014

ERASURE The Violet Flame

22 September 2014 /

And here it is! Another digital marvel from Andy Bell and Vince Clarke, celebrating nearly 30 years of songwriting and having sold 25 million albums, the eagerly awaited 16th studio album, ‘The Violet Flame’.

A rather different approach was adopted for preparing this one, which follows the success of 2013 Christmas album ‘Snow Globe’. The collaborative writing process took place in Miami, with Vince’s pre-recorded dance grooves, which Andy Bell found “very inspiring”.

The album was recorded in London and New York and produced by Richard X. Andy Bell himself admits that ERASURE “definitely found (their) mojo again with this record”. The songs were written on synthesisers, rather than, traditionally on the guitar, which made them more immediate and free flowing. ‘The Violet Flame is a bold celebration of vintage ERASURE-sque sounds, filled with tuneful, orotund songs, made up of robust melodies and empowering lyrics.

Photo by Joe Bilworth

The first single ‘Elevation’, which sees no less then nine versions of the track on the CD single format, is a joyous celebration of life and love that only ERASURE can portray in such a hedonistic manner and with such euphoria. From the start, the track hits the listener with amazing amount of energy. Starting with a vocal intro by Andy, it beautifully transcends into a sheer “elevation” of emotions.

As one would expect from the duo, the song does not disappoint as a cheerful dance track, perfect for letting your hair down and doing the campest of dances to some interesting synth combos.

Musically it is a mixture of mainly modern digital sounds, interspersed with analogue gems. All in all, it is a great, representative choice for a single. The video accompanying it, has neither Andy nor Vince in it, but, instead, a happy bunch of free-spirited young people, perfectly painting the mood of this anthem.

The opening track of the album however is ‘Dead Of Night’, which hits the listener with a heavy synth sound and exquisite vocals from Andy that are more ‘Wonderland’ than ‘Tomorrow’s World’; it’s a very different style to the same titled DEPECHE MODE song from 2001’s ‘Exciter’, mixing both digital and analogue sounds.

‘Elevation’ proudly follows, before the vibrant ‘Reason’ with its piano intro over a complicated synth section and Andy’s vocal, creating an exhilarating, full-bodied dance track. The song offers elements of vintage ERASURE sounds intertwined with newer, digitally enhanced melodies. ‘Promises’ is yet another up tempo, rhythmic, and sonorous gem, filled with layered synth sounds, followed by ‘Be The One’, seemingly a ballad at first, yet evolving into a beautiful tune, reminiscent of the tracks from ‘I Say I Say I Say’.

‘Sacred’ is yet another vintage ERASURE tune, true synthpop at its best and this song, too, shares its title with DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Music For The Masses’ track. The soothing melody of ‘Under The Wave’ makes you imagine an intimate, yet epic ocean journey of life, with skilfully written lyrics embedded in electronic sounds.

‘Smoke and Mirrors’ offers a hypnotising opening, creating an atmosphere of suspense continuing throughout a track which is slower than the other songs on the album. Andy Bell’s beloved Eurotrance sound shines through on ‘Paradise’ which has been compared by Brian Mansfield of USA Today to Giorgio Moroder. The album closes with ‘Stayed A Little Late Tonight’, a classic tune depicting a complicated love story over a synth background and simple piano elements.

In spite of lacking powerful gay anthems like ‘Love To Hate You’, ‘The Violet Flame’ is a solid record, providing pleasure to the ear for synthpop and electronica fanatics, as well as any easy listening or dance music fan. The Violet Flame is a must have for any self-respecting synth pop fan, it truly is amazing!

‘The Violet Flame’ is released by Mute Artists on a variety of formats. Please visit http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/erasure for more information

ERASURE’s 2014 European tour includes:

Belfast Ulster Hall (8 Nov), Dublin Olympia (9 Nov), Dublin Olympia (10 Nov), Reading Hexagon (12 Nov), Southampton Guildhall (13 Nov), Reading Hexagon (14 Nov), Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (15 Nov), Guildford G Live (16 Nov), Bristol Colston Hall (17 Nov), Aberdeen Music Hall (19 Nov), Edinburgh Corn Exchange (20 Nov), Glasgow O2 Academy (21 Nov), Brighton Dome (23 Nov), Cardiff St. David’s Hall (24 Nov), Preston Guildhall (25 Nov), Newcastle O2 Academy (28 Nov), Wolverhampton Civic (29 Nov), Manchester Apollo (30 Nov), Cologne Palladium (4 Dec), Dresden Schlachthof (5 Dec), Hamburg CCH1 (7 Dec), Berlin Columbiahalle (9 Dec); Aarhus Musikhus (10 Dec), Copenhagen TAP (11 Dec), London Forum (14 Dec), London Forum (15 Dec)

http://www.erasureinfo.com/

https://www.facebook.com/erasureinfo

Text by Monika Izabela Goss
22nd September 2014

GAZELLE TWIN Unflesh

19 September 2014 /

GAZELLE TWIN Unflesh art

GAZELLE TWIN’s second album ‘Unflesh’ is a collage of artistic violence that has allowed the Brighton based songstress Elizabeth Bernholz to extract her demons.

A raw, rhythmical attack to the senses with a deliberate lo-fi sound away from the cinematic hauntronica of debut album ‘The Entire City’ and interim EP ‘Mammal’, ‘Unflesh’ takes risks by being even less obviously melodic and throws caution to the wind.

It is bleak and not easy listening. However, while uncompromising, ‘Unflesh’ has more accessible entry points perhaps than THE KNIFE’s ‘Shaking The Habitual’. Partly autobiographical, Bernholz conceived ‘Unflesh’ as a means of acting out vengeance on her antagonists like teenhood, recurring dreams and her own body.

As the album’s song titles alone indicate, her lingering metaphysical concerns continue. Bernholz told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “That’s something I can’t switch off. But I don’t want to. There are rarely moments where I’m not considering the wider meaning of all things, on a day to day basis. I’ll make a sandwich and think of the former life of all the ingredients, all these particles that are being slammed together to ultimately end up as my sh*t… I like that sort of thought process”.

One of the key tracks is ‘Exorcise’, an impressively aggressive cross between PINK FLOYD’s ‘On The Run’ and KRAFTWERK’s ‘Home Computer’. It is accorded additional resonance by Bernholz’s deadpan as a vicious percussive and synthetic crescendo takes hold. Meanwhile, her trademark metaphysical commentary comes with the industrialised tribal salvo of ‘Belly Of The Beast’ and the rhythmic stutter of ‘Anti Body’. Both are strangely danceable and even deviantly sexy while warped Moog Modular arpeggios kick in on ‘Belly Of The Beast’, courtesy of Chief Mathematician Benge who co-mixes ‘Unflesh’ with Bernholz.

But with a 6/8 pulse and a whisper to a scream, the opening ‘Unflesh’ title track is barer but no less unsettling with banshee wails and soprano cries in abundance while ‘Guts’ adds an almost Prince-like funk groove while fusing the Fourth World overtones of Jon Hassell and a sombre gothic take on THE ART OF NOISE. Throughout the album, Benge throws some extra Formant and CS80 machinery into the process. The end result of this external influence is that Bernholz becomes freer in her expression.

Gazelle Twin press image 13 by Esther Springett

As well as these adrenaline crushes, there are gentler but still dark moments like the eerie neo-acapella of ‘Child’ and the ghostly COCTEAU TWINS lullaby of ‘Premonition’ which like Gary Numan’s ‘A Prayer For The Unborn’, reflects on the trauma of miscarriage. And the theme of mortality is explored further with ‘Good Death’, a stark eulogy on the subject of Euthanasia given extra sonority with Bernholz’s hauntingly slithery pitch manipulations.

And things get even more unsettling. The primitive Linn driven oddness of ‘Human Touch’ looks at the children raised by animals while the history of European colonisation is told on the self-explanatory ‘I Feel Blood’ with an eerie string machine extending further sonic chills to the subject matter. But as the album draws to its conclusion with a drifting drum mantra, things end as they began with Bernholz screaming into submission before a series of distorted snaps on ‘Still Life’.

As something outside of the routine synthpop or generic industrial conveyor, ‘Unflesh’ is a worthy aural journey capturing the mood of an uncertain world. Tortured, cathartic and uncomfortable, ‘Unflesh’ is a considerable artistic achievement for GAZELLE TWIN.

‘Unflesh’ is released by Anti-Ghost Moon Ray / Last Gang on 22nd September 2014, download available from https://gazelletwin.bandcamp.com/album/unflesh

GAZELLE TWIN 2014 live appearances include: Brighton Dome Studio Theatre (26th September), London Corsica Studios (1st October), Glasgow Old Fruitmarket (3rd October – with WRANGLER + SCANNER) and London Red Gallery (18th October – with WRANGLER + MINNY POPS)

http://www.gazelletwin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/gazelletwin

http://www.antighostmoonray.com

Text by Chi Ming Lai
19th September 2014

JOHN FOXX & STEVE D’AGOSTINO Evidence Of Time Travel + B-Movie

14 September 2014 /

Following a break from the music scene (by his recent prolific standards!) during which he has been made an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy at Edge Hill University, John Foxx has released not one but two instrumental albums.

Both releases feature artwork by Jonathan Barnbrook using images created by visual artist Karborn. The first release is ‘Evidence Of Time Travel’, a collaboration with Steve D’Agostino. The music is described as “is a unique investigation of the terrors and pleasures of temporal displacement. A sinister sonic architecture of drum-machine-music and analogue synthesizers”.

Based on the evidence presented so far, the soundtrack of chattering Compurhythm and shrieking string machines on pieces such as the primitive drum ‘n’ bass of ‘Rhapsody In Flames’ and the dystopian sequence rush of ‘The Forbidden Experiment’ will please any long standing enthusiast of John Foxx. There will be a special live event at The British Film Institute in November to coincide with the release.

D’Agostino also appears on the second of these releases ‘B-Movie (BallardianVideo Neuronica)’, collaborating on the track ‘Disaster Series’. And while this album is largely a Foxx solo offering, Chief Mathematician Benge features on ‘Geometry, Collision & Coincidence’.

Ranging from the deviant technopop of ‘Crash Course’ to the sombre ambience of ‘The Other Side’, the music reflects the cut-up / collage nature of the same titled short movie assembled by Foxx and Karborn. Inspired by British writer JG Ballard whose books include ‘Crash’ and ‘Empire Of The Sun’, the work was premiered as part of Brighton’s ‘Cine-City’ festival in late 2012.

It seems bizarre now that following his below par LP ‘In Mysterious Ways’ in 1986, Foxx effectively retired from the music industry until his 1997 return ‘Shifting City’ with Louis Gordon. Compare that to 2013 which saw John Foxx releases with THE MATHS, JORI HULKKONEN and THE BELBURY CIRCLE plus the curation of the ‘Exponential’ covers EP featuring GAZELLE TWIN and I SPEAK MACHINE.

And all this is without mentioning the remixes for OMD and SIMPLE MINDS or the ‘Metadelic’ and ‘In The Glow’ retrospectives. Another John Foxx release ‘Electricity & Ghosts’ is scheduled for 2015.

‘Evidence Of Time Travel’ and ‘B-Movie (Ballardian Video Neuronica)’ both get a general release on 6th October 2014 via Metamatic Records

‘Evidence Of Time Travel’ will be premiered at a special live performance for The British Film Institute as part of their ‘Sci-Fi: Days Of Fear & Wonder’ season on 21st November 2014; details can be found at: www.bfi.org.uk

http://www.metamatic.com

http://www.altersonicsound.com/stevedagostino

http://www.evidenceoftimetravel.com

http://www.hyperballard.com

http://www.karborn.com

Text by Chi Ming Lai
14th September 2014

NIGHT CLUB Black Leather Heart EP

1 September 2014 /

Dark synthpop duo NIGHTCLUB are back with their third EP ‘Black Leather Heart’ and they are as frisky and sleazy as ever.

Forming in 2011, vocalist Emily Kavanaugh and producer Mark Brooks began writing songs that combined the pure pop of PINK and BRITNEY SPEARS with the heavier spectre of SLAYER, into a danceable, electronic underworld.

Their respective life experiences led their music into this darker territory as Kavanaugh dealt with her father’s untimely death while Brooks faced his own personal demons. Their sexy, minor key framework resulted in the promising EPs ‘Night Club’ and ‘Love Casualty’.

Highlights included ‘Give Yourself Up’ which was THE WHITE STRIPES’ ‘Seven Nation Army’ driven by bass synthesizers while the duo’s calling card ‘Poisonous’ was a marvellous example of what Britney would have sounded like had she dated Andrew Eldritch and walked into EURYTHMICS recording sessions for ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’ while on amphetamines!

Kavanaugh however has been more blunt in describing their musical DNA: “If Depeche Mode f*cked Britney Spears and had a baby who hung out in dark corners of seedy clubs, then that baby would be us”. With so many familiar reference points in NIGHT CLUB’s music, the ‘Black Leather Heart’ EP just cuts to the chase with an enjoyable electronic cover of INXS’ ‘Need You Tonight’.

Here, the familiar guitar riff is amusingly transposed into a series of synth stabs before mutating into a mutant Morse code. Sure, it ain’t rock ‘n’ roll but we like it! Purists will be horrified but the best cover versions always do a spot of genre and instrumentation hopping. Even better though is ‘She Wants to Play With Fire’ which is supreme melodic synthpop with a sinister edge. Following a similar disco tempo to ‘Need You Tonight’, the chorus and middle eight rouse with Kavanaugh’s feline demure toying with a fight against her bitter love rival.

‘Camouflage’ features a fatter Linn styled beat but maintains the synth disco template with an infectious squidgy bass line. ‘Not In Love’ takes the pace down to come over like a YAZOO ballad reimagined for ‘The Breakfast Club’ with Kavanaugh exposing an honest resigned vulnerability to accompany the rich electronic tones.

The concluding funky ‘Cruel Devotion’ grooves but Brooks keeps the melody very European despite the Trans-Atlantic backbone for a wonderful pulsating bop that could easily be of Electroclash vintage. A great vocodered refrain adds to all the futuristic fun.

‘Black Leather Heart’ is without doubt, NIGHT CLUB’s most consistent body of work yet; they have catchy tunes and Emily Kavanaugh’s kitten-like delivery oozes a lusty appeal. Along with fellow Americans ELEVEN: ELEVEN, they are danceable modern synthpop at its best.

The ‘Black Leather Heart’ EP is released by Gato Blanco on 2nd September 2014 and available as a download via Amazon and iTunes

It can also be downloaded direct from http://nightclubband.com/album/black-leather-heart where a limited edition CD is also available

http://nightclubband.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/nightclubband

https://soundcloud.com/nightclubband

Text by Chi Ming Lai
2nd September 2014

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