‘Animal Magnetism’ is a great new album by the mysterious Rio based Irish musician Gary Collins.
The wonderful opening track ‘Heartbreaker’ with its vocodered layers and synthesized goodness captures the vein of ‘Nightcall’ by KAVINSKY from the acclaimed film ‘Drive’… perhaps not by coincidence, Collins has also remixed ‘Nightcall’ as if to confirm the link. From the first listen, aural curiosity gets the better… the remainder of the collection is a superb, primarily instrumental collection with the Moroder-esque disco vibes of ‘If Looks Could Kill’ and the David Lynch reimagined by ‘Black Celebration’ era DM cover of ‘Falling’ being particular highlights.
The synthetic drifts of the brief ‘We Were The Ones’ recall William Orbit’s ‘Strange Cargo’ project while the filmic ambience of ‘Walk With Me’ with its incongruous blues guitar soloing by Johnny Accioly is based around the classic pop tune ‘Stand By Me’ (…the soulful Ben E King hit, NOT the dreary Oasis whine!) and makes a fitting closer. But it’s not all sedate; ‘Coping Mechanism’ for example is positively Italo be thy name!
The pulsating ‘Serenade’ with its more contemporary digital sheen is sweetened by the serene whispers of Ana Gabriela Accioly and holds the listener into a dreamlike state. However, at the opposite end of the spectrum, ‘The Sacred’ is altogether more sinister and unsettling with its demon robot rambling. With influences ranging from DAFT PUNK to THE BEACH BOYS and using a combination of Moog hardware and virtual instruments in Ableton Live, this is perfect evening listening with chilled vibes healthily resident in the mix.
The Collins dictionary definition of Animal Magnetism is “the power to attract others through one’s physical presence”. Collins himself says: “As I sit here now, trying to recall the events from 30 years ago, in that spring of ’83, that led to my journey into the darkness of an unanswered love. A darkness so sweet and captivating, I wished never to return. The memories, though vague at best, are trapped, haunting the deep recesses of my mind. This is what they sound like…”
‘In The Movies’ is a colourful cartoon pop tune from Texan synth duo HYPERBUBBLE and MANDA RIN, one-third of Glaswegian indie popsters BIS.
The song is accompanied by a video directed by Jeff and Jess De Cuir of HYPERBUBBLE; the various cartoons drawn by Jeff himself also pay tribute to a number of classic Hollywood movies. How many can you identify? Warning! This video is classified F-Feline with pervasive sense of humour, synths and scenes depicting criminal activity…
HYPERBUBBLE once said “guitars are retro and sequencers are the key to the future”. Together with MANDA RIN, who sold 100,000 albums in Japan with BIS and composed the theme song to the ‘Powerpuff Girls’ cartoon, their brand new six-track EP about “females, felines and outerspace” even features their cats Akiko, Smokey and Flyboy on the closing track ‘Attack Of The 3-D Space Kittens’. With lashings of vintage reference points, HYPERBUBBLE and MANDA RIN is a quirky collection of synthesised fun.
The HYPERBUBBLE & MANDA RIN CD EP is released by Pure Pop For Now People and available via HYPERBUBBLE’s online store
It is also available worldwide as a download via Amazon.com, CDBaby, iTunes and Napster
In what is looking like a busy 2013 for electronic pop, the year has started off with a pressure cooker bang!
London dance duo MONARCHY’s new single ‘Disintegration’ features sexy burlesque queen Dita Vin Teese on vocals and is vampish disco meets Giorgio Moroder, or if you prefer SCISSOR SISTERS gone right!
The accompanying racy video shot by Roy Raz has turned a few heads and sections of it come over like ‘Mad Men’ rescripted by Studio 54! So a warning; this video may offend some viewers…yes, it is tastefully smutty and the mock ménage à trois will raise a few eyebrows and no doubt encourage repeat viewings!!
Of course, all this would be rather irrelevant if ‘Disintegration’ was not a rather excellent, stomping floor filler of the first degree. It has energy, a hook and cooing feline appeal. If you had not suffered hypertension before, you will now! So would you like fries with your Beta blockers?
MONARCHY’s second album of “glacial pop with a throbbing undercurrent of humanity” is due later this year.
‘Disintegration’ is released by Hacan Sound via Amazon and iTunes.
GAZELLE TWIN releases her first new material since her acclaimed album ‘The Entire City’ in the Autumn of 2011.
The moniker of Brighton based songstress Elizabeth Walling, that debut LP and its appendix of remixes have gained her a number of prominent admirers including JOHN FOXX and GARY NUMAN whose respective songs ‘A Falling Star’ and ‘We Are The Lost’ she has since been invited to remix. But her highest profile patron has been top film director Ridley Scott who used her track ‘Bell Tower’ in a promotional film for ‘Prometheus’.
The ‘Mammal’ EP combines three new recordings inspired by Ennio Morricone’s score for the John Carpenter horror flick ‘The Thing’ with a quartet of remixes. Subtle but dark dubstep experiments plus more use of her natural voice as an instrument are the significant aural developments.
Recurring metaphysical concerns are the inspiration behind ‘Mammal’ and lead track ‘I Turn My Arm’ examines the phenomenon of the phantom limb with some heavy bass drama. Its B-side ‘This Is My Hand’ recounts “the fear and awe” Walling felt when it occurred to her that she was “a physical object”. As the lyrics highlight: “blood gushes within it…”. Intensely enigmatic, it makes for an eerie sonic experience. Both are cinematically unsettling but provoke the ears with paranormal drones and mysterious choralistic stylings.
Having previously covered PRINCE and JOY DIVISION and in keeping with the ‘Mammal’ EP’s thematic gist, GAZELLE TWIN applies her hauntronica treatment to ‘Heartbeat’, a track from WIRE’s 1978 album ‘Chairs Missing’.
Elizabeth Walling told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK last September: “I prefer covering songs written or sung by men. Perhaps because it instantly allows me to create a new perspective on it”. Of WIRE she added: “…another legendary band, another iconic male vocalist…Colin Newman. This time I sought the permission and blessing from him directly. That made me feel better about it… he said nice things”. The end result is, despite the darkness, a wonderfully accessible interpretation with echoing widescreen atmospherics.
Remixes are very much part and parcel of GAZELLE TWIN and they provide an eclectic variation of the theme. Renaissance Man provides an industrialised excursion for ‘I Turn My Arm’ that is almost Numan-esque. But the highlight is soundtrack composer Clint Mansell’s take on ‘This Is My Hand’ which manipulates Walling’s vocal to a more melodic hook and adds primitive string machines in a cavernous cacophony of sound with percussive reverb brought to the fore. Kuedo’s remix spirals and layers compared with the original minimal arrangement of ‘I Turn My Arm’ with an almost incongruous brightness. However, the housed up version of ‘I Turn My Arm’ by Alixander III is the least essential on the EP, a diversion from the core values of GAZELLE TWIN.
Art imitating life and vice versa has always played its part providing solace and psychological well-being within social history. With more to look forward to from GAZELLE TWIN, this is just a taster of the future; a future that may be bleak but probably reflects the fears of many in the world right now. Uneasy listening it might be, but potentially rewarding for those prepared to invest their spirit.
GAZELLE TWIN ‘Mammal’ EP is released as a 12″ vinyl and download by Sugarcane Records on 29th January 2013
Her first UK show of 2013 takes place at The Roundhouse Studio Theatre in London on 21st February as part of the Anti-Ghost Moon Ray audio-visual, label showcase.
SIN COS TAN are Jori Hulkkonen and Juho Paalosmaa, two leading exponents of the Finnish electronic music scene.
Jori Hulkkonen is the seasoned production hand who in his various guises has worked with KRAFTWERK, PET SHOP BOYS, JOHN FOXX and TIGA among many. Juho Paalosmaa meanwhile is the vocalist and songwriter from VILLA NAH, the Helsinki duo who released one of the best albums of 2010 in ‘Origin’ and supported OMD on their UK tour that year. Hulkkonen was the co-producer of ‘Origin’ and his endorsement of VILLA NAH no doubt helped give them become a Top10 band in Finland.
Paalosmaa also sang on ‘Re: Last Year’, a track from Hulkkonen’s ‘Man From Earth’ solo record; so a further artistic union was a natural and inevitable progression. As previously showcased on his deep bootleg reworking of ‘Boltimoore’, Hulkkonen’s work has often been haunted by the ghost of Billy Mackenzie.
Paalosmaa, a singer schooled in the drama of DAVID BOWIE and the emotive melodicism of OMD, almost acts as Mackenzie’s present day spirit. While there are hints of ASSOCIATES in SIN COS TAN, they have their own identity seeded by VILLA NAH and PROCESSORY, Hulkkonen’s project with reclusive singer Jerry Valuri. Anyone who has enjoyed either will love SIN COS TAN.
SIN COS TAN’s manifesto is to be “a synthesized duo of great promise, broken dreams, and long nights”. The album starts with the almost funereal ‘Sooner Than Now’, its arpeggios reminiscent of JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS. The slightly off-key marimba and detuned synths make it an interesting if obscure start before the first SIN COS TAN track that went public, ‘In Binary’. This dark, atmospheric space ballad could have come off PROCESSORY’s ‘Change Is Gradual’ album although ironically, it started off as a solo Paalosmaa composition.
Acting as its next door neighbour, ‘Book Of Love’ shimmers with building bass drama and clicks along at a steady rimshot pace, attached to a light R’n’B shuffle. Much more frantic though is the tremendous ‘History’ which is set to a Klingklang percussive structure. Unrestrained, Paalosmaa makes a last ditched appeal to a departing lover with a cry of “you can be my history”. Its imperial PET SHOP BOYS styled middle eight even comes with the Emulator chipmunk voice sample.
Despite the sombre tones of ROBERT GÖRL’s ‘Mit Dir’ resonating in its intro, ‘Calendar’ is almost Balearic. But true to form with Hulkkonen’s intelligent disco manoeuvres, the beats are complimentary and never overbearing… he understands that feel is more important than power.
Continuing the clubland excursions, ‘Played Out’ goes full-on New York electro with distorted robot voice samples alongside Paalosmaa’s dulcet tones. It’s a bit ‘Paninaro’ in its Bassline programming. Off-kilter rhythms drive ‘All I Ever Dream Of’ where Paalosmaa hits falsetto and heavier overtones within the same song before the track heads for a creepy percussive breakdown.
Another of the album’s highlights is ‘After All’ the dynamic 16 step sequence and syncopated measures are complimented by layering strings and electronic oboe. Both are grainy enough to recall classic NEW ORDER while the song itself lifts into another headspace. Factory’s finest were known for thumping dance tracks and guitar driven numbers so with the latter template in mind, ‘Bittersweet’ is enjoyable indie rock and with a spirited turn of energy. It brightly refines THE SMITHS gone electro template of Hulkkonen’s first collaboration with Jerry Valuri ‘Lo-Fiction’.
The marvellous ‘Not Over’ goes on record as the SIN COS TAN’s first proper co-write. Like a smooth electro take on ‘Flesh & Blood’ era ROXY MUSIC but fronted by Thom Yorke, it even includes a sax solo to complete the circle of cool! As the focal point of the album’s genesis, it was unleashed on a 12 inch white label with ‘Sooner Than Now’.
This great album concludes with the superb ‘Trust’, its sweeping drifts, spy drama shivers and introspective reflections providing the most perfect avant pop. Like DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Enjoy The Silence’, Paalosmaa’s demo version was downtempo but Hulkonnen has pushed it into more rhythmic dance territory. As a result, it has become SIN COS TAN’s calling card and is one of the songs of 2012.
Under the additional subtle influence of MASSIVE ATTACK’s smokey vibes and the trippy dance textures of UNDERWORLD’s ‘Dubnobasswithmyheadman’, SIN COS TAN’s debut album impresses with a rich filmic quality permeating amongst all the synths and drum machines. As a whole, there is enough variation while still maintaining a theme and a sound that is both immediate and thoughtful .
A great collection of songs to bridge the gap before hopefully another VILLA NAH album and whatever hat Jori Hulkkonen decides to wear next, those disappointed with PET SHOP BOYS ‘Elysium’ may find what they desire in these fractured Nordic soundscapes.
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is released by Hacan Sound via Amazon and iTunes.
is released on CD, vinyl and download by Solina Records in Europe and Sugarcane Records for the rest of the world at
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