“Les filles, ces trois filles. Ils avaient l’air si doux, si vulnérable, mais ils avaient acier à l’intérieur entre eux, la dureté de la terre elle-même. C’était comme si elles étaient faites …de diamants.”
From Norwich, it’s the band of the week! …of DIAMONDS are possibly the English countryside’s answer to AU REVOIR SIMONE and compriseof three Norfolk girls Vikki Diamond, Natalie Diamond and Kimberley Diamond.
They differ from the Brooklyn threesome in their use of organic instrumentation alongside the synthesized experiments. Augmented by Boy on Drums, they deliver hybrid electronica with three-part harmonies that can be bittersweet but not without some wry humour and fun. Band interests include tea and cake… so they’re the real life East Anglian version of HO-KAGO TEA TIME!
Working with producers Sankt & Neudorf, the end result sounds like a kooky musical workshop from a Girl Guide camping weekend… there’s tradition but there’s also adventure! With a love of KRAFTWERK and BLONDIE, the varied mix of influences which also include STEREOLAB, SUGARCUBES, THE KNIFE, STRAWBERRY SWITCHBLADE and BANANARAMA make for some intriguing music.
Their debut single ‘…of Diamonds Theme’ was an enjoyably bizarre three movement mash-up of KRAFTWERK, JANE BIRKIN, NINE INCH NAILS and AIR. For that alone, the girls deserve an award or a straitjacket or something! Described in their press release as “rural electronic girl-pop weirdos”, that may be so but as their previous B-side ‘Weirdo’ testifies: “If I am a weirdo, then you are much weirder…”
Their new EP ‘Two Songs About Love’ is their second release and from it, the catchy ‘Friends’ features a promo video of the girls singing in front of some mock Twitter subtext to illustrate the standpoint of virtual relationships. As the girls themselves say: “Breaking up on Twitter is so hard to do…”Also on the EP, ‘Go Far’ is a quirky buzz ‘n’ bleep laden Magical Mystery Tour via THE CURE’s ‘In Between Days’. And in a twist to ‘Are Friends Electric? and its story of failing robot lovers, ‘Buddy’ gives a quaint alternate take on the matter…funnily enough, it sounds like a less gothic ROBOTS IN DISGUISE!
“We formed from carbon atoms that came from stars” say Vikki, Natalie and Kimberley; …of DIAMONDS are distinct from many other acts using synths who might prefer industrialised or minimal strains. Delectably charming to the nth degree, having played a handful of gigs in their hometown, the girls hope to bring their live show to the rest of the UK in the Autumn.
‘Two Songs About Love’ EP is released by Norfolk Mining Company on 20th August 2012. It can be purchased via iTunes and Amazon, other digital retailers are available…
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK came into being on 15th March 2010 following the HEAVEN 17 aftershow party at Sheffield Magna.
The year also saw the release of a new album by OMD in ‘History Of Modern’, their first since 1996 while there was a long awaited single by THE HUMAN LEAGUE. Meanwhile there was the emergence of new acts such as VILLA NAH, MIRRORS, THE SOUND OF ARROWS and HURTS.
At the end of 2009 when LITTLE BOOTS and LA ROUX heralded a renaissance in the sound of the synth, KRAFTWERK’s Ralf Hütter said to Mojo Magazine: “From all our work comes inspiration. We have been very lucky because the music we envisioned, the ideas we had of The Man-Machine and electro music, have become reality and technology has developed in our direction… and electro is everywhere!”
In a tremendous year for all things electro, here are our 30 songs of 2010 in alphabetical order by artist:
CHRISTINA AGUILERA & LADYTRON Birds Of Prey
In 2008, there was much talk of Christina Aguilera going electro and collaborating with LADYTRON. The two finished tracks ‘Birds Of Prey’ and ‘Little Dreamer’ were relegated to bonus track status on her album ‘Bionic’, with the latter only on iTunes. ‘Birds Of Prey’ softens the percussive noise that dominated ‘Velocifero’ with Ms Aguilera showing some great vocal restraint herself, with an almost hypnotic Middle Eastern feel.
Available on the album ‘Bionic (Deluxe Edition)’ via RCA
ARP is New Yorker Alexis Georgopoulos who crafts gorgeous contemporary kosmische musik for the 21st century. ‘The Soft Wave’ was a glorious work and from it, ‘High Life’ was a cute instrumental with beautiful synth strings dominated by the spectre of KRAFTWERK and CLUSTER. Minimal guitar adds texture to the pulsing accompaniment, recalling other German heroes such as Michael Rother and Manuel Göttsching.
Available on the album ‘The Soft Wave’ via Smalltown Supersound
AU REVOIR SIMONE Tell Me (Un Autre Monde Remix by MIRRORS)
Although AU REVOIR SIMONE have a wispy girls next door demeanour, this remix by MIRRORS recrafts the originally bare ‘Tell Me’ into a dense apocalyptic ditty which makes Erika Forster, Annie Hart and Heather D’Angelo sound almost suicidal! With its heavy synthetic percussive backbone, this is definitely dance music from another world! Like an alternative gothic disco soundtrack to Sofia Coppola’s ‘The Virgin Suicides’!
Shimmering Emulator type strings, pulsing sequences and a rousing chorus make this a very immediate slice of synthesized pop. BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT mainman Rod Thomas reworks the template of ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ and gives it a bit of a sensitive new man outlook. ‘Love Part II’ is NEW ORDER’s disco music for lager louts taken back to its slightly camper Italo roots. Not one for those who wear football shirts to the pub!
Available on the single ‘Love Part II’ via Popjustice Hi-Fi
Assisted by I MONSTER’s Dean Honer who also co-produced THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Night People’, THE CHANTEUSE & THE CRIPPLED CLAW’s first single ‘Are You One?’ has Candie Payne’s very classic pop presence coupled with Adrian Flanagan’s eccentronic backing. It is a concoction that wonderfully sounds like Sandie Shaw being backed by a BBC Radiophonic Workshop collaboration with Lalo Schifrin!
Available on the single ‘Are You One?’ vai Arms Controller
Usually dealing in a brand of “8-bit Casiotone drone-disco” sounding like YEAH YEAH YEAHS with synths, CHEW LIPS look like OMD being led by Debbie Harry! And they take the OMD thing further here with their best track ‘Rising Tide’, the iTunes bonus song on their debut album ‘Unicorn’. The haunting piano, precise drum machine and bass with sparkling synth-harp runs and a spirited vocal come together nicely to build up to a rousing crescendo.
Available exclusively as a download on the album ‘Unicorn’ from iTunes.
Here are the young men of DELPHIC, continuing the electronic dance / rock fusion pioneered by the legend of Factory Records. The backing is pure NEW ORDER and reinforced by a great klanky guitar solo which would do Bernard Sumner proud. Now, if DELPHIC could just develop things into great pop songs like ‘Halcyon’ rather than some of the prolonged jams and grooves that dominate their debut album ‘Acolyte’.
With their melodic and glacial electronic disco, you’d think they were Scandinavian, but THE GOLDEN FILTER consist of an Aussie in Penelope Trappes and a Yank in Stephen Hindman. Penelope’s vocals have an uplifting quality on the chorus while still retaining a distant chill but the counter melodies compliment the danceable twists. A little I Feel Love creeps in during the chorus to give a wonderful dancefloor adrenalin rush.
Available on the album ‘Voluspa’ via Brille Records
As the title suggests, this is gorgeous and dreamy with a distinct European flavour from the enjoyable GOLDFRAPP album ‘Head First’ which perhaps is more focused on mid-Atlantic AOR. Alison’s voice still resonates as one of the best in the business and back to being accompanied by electronic instrumentation where it belongs. The pulsing sequences and string machine washes of ‘Dreaming’ make this perfect dancefloor material.
Available on the album ‘Head First’ via Mute Records
Mr Ferry has certainly been astute in recognising how much of an influence he’s been on younger musicians and accepting collaborative opportunities with modern dance luminaries such as HELL and GROOVE ARMADA. DJ HELL provides U Can Dance’ with some hard electronic backing, complimenting Ferry’s trademark vocals. Ferry recorded his own Roxy styled version for his solo album ‘Olympia’.
Available on the single ‘U Can Dance’ via International Deejay Gigolo Records
Hypnotic in the spirit of Giorgio Moroder crossed with Arthur Baker and featuring the guest vocals of Jerry Valuri who first collaborated with Jori Hulkkonen on his 2005 album ‘Lo-Fiction’, this dark club track’s spacey rolling sequences make this almost like a dancefloor take on THROBBING GRISTLE’s ‘Hot On The Heels Of Love’ before launching into a bit of New York electro disco in an unexpected middle section!
After Philip Oakey’s collaborations in 2009 with LITTLE BOOTS and PET SHOP BOYS, THE HUMAN LEAGUE returned with the lead track from their forthcoming album ‘Credo’. Punchy with an elastic bassline and chanting chorus, the lyrical couplet “leave your cornflakes in your freezers, leave your chocolates and your cheeses…” shows Mr Oakey hasn’t lost his touch for off-the-wall symbolism. So “Join us now my friends we hail you!”
Available on the single ‘Night People’ via Wall of Sound
HURTS have been certainly accused of style over substance. ‘Wonderful Life’ looked like being a one-off but luckily they have some other magnificent songs to back up their European art house film via the Weimar Republic persona. With ‘Stay’, the heartfelt intensity of the lush arrangement captures the understated but epic sophistication. With the symphonic grandeur of ULTRAVOX fronted by the melodic sensibilities of TAKE THAT, is this a ‘Vienna’ for the early 21st Century?
Available on the album ‘Happiness’ via Major Label
From their third album of the same name, Texan bionic bubblepunk duo HYPPERBUBBLE have an almost cartoon-like take on synthpop in the vein of that great lost combo VIC TWENTY who released only one single on Mute back in 2003. With the decaration that “Good times are taking over!”, ‘Candy Apple Daydreams’ is fun and quirky with Jess DeCuir as the electro Emma Peel and husband Jeff as the obedient robotic version of John Steed.
Available on the album ‘Candy Apple Daydreams’ via Bubblegum Records
Electro Weimar Cabaret is the easiest way to describe the music of Katja von Kassel. Lies’ features strong traditional European influences like French accordions and ‘Vienna’ piano but also has hints of Grace Jones ‘I’ve Seen That Face Before’. Not entirely surprising as both songs are routed in the same dance… the tango. LADYHAWKE collaborator Alex Gray’s intricate production alongside Katja’s magnificently deep vocal presence is like the “1930’s meets the future”.
From what appears to be the only electronic based act that the real music purists positively fawn over, this is a superbly guitar free number that sounds like ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN mashed up with Gary Numan and early DEPECHE MODE. The wonderfully wobbly synths and steady drum machine beat take the lead in the poptastic style of Vince Clarke while James Murphy’s vocal hits a soaring falsetto after initiating a ‘Mac The Mouth’ tribute.
Available on the album ‘This Is Happening’ via DFA
LOLA DUTRONIC are a Canadian duo comprising of the eponymous singer and producer Richard Citroen who adapt classic Anglo-Gallic pop with modern electronic arrangements. ‘Best Years Of Our Lives’ borrows from the more recent past with quite obvious references to OMD, ERASURE and even PULP. It’s cutesy pop, perhaps reminiscent of prime SAINT ETIENNE and Lola’s accent is just alluring!
Using a bit of Fe-Mael intuition, MARINA & THE DIAMONDS aka Marina Diamandis adds eccentricity to some catchy keyboard led pop helmed by the ubiquitous Greg Kurstin. “I have become my own self fulfilled prophecy” she proclaims before she screams up two operatic octaves taking a nod towards classic ‘Kimon My House’ era SPARKS while the coda turns into a Cossack dance! Frankly, this is brilliantly bonkers!
Available on the album ‘The Family Jewels’ via 679 Recordings
Written and produced by Jim Eliot and Mima Stilwell but aided by Stuart Price at the mixing helm, ‘All The Lovers’ was Kylie Minogue’s best single since the KRAFTWERK-tinged ‘Slow’. This is euphoric Euro-disco with some wonderful synthetic tones, especially on the solo. There’s something for everybody here in this fabulous pop song. But what a shame about the disappointing parent ‘Aphrodite’ album though.
MIRRORS hail from Brighton, the UK capital of hedonism but their intense and artful approach to dancing is very different to the ‘hands in the air’ culture of their home base. Synthetic chill and pulsing effects dominate this brilliantly uptempo electro number. Rhythmically this recalls TALKING HEADS ‘Crosseyed & Painless’ while the claustrophobic production is very post-punk, wonderfully dense but melodically dramatic.
Available on the single ‘Ways To An End’ via Skint Entertainment
In the true innovating spirit of their classic era, the sparse percussive framework of ‘New Holy Ground’ is merely the sound of footsteps. This is the nearest they have come to the lost B-side ‘The Avenue’. The wonderful piano line and virtual choirs contribute to the beautiful melancholy that characterised OMD’s best work where Paul Humphreys concentrated on the musical backbone while Andy McCluskey provided the narrative focus.
Available on the album ‘History Of Modern’ via Blue Noise
WILLIAM ORBIT featuring SARAH BLACKWOOD White Night
In period which has seen a flurry of solo activity and the reformation of DUBSTAR, the lovely Sarah Blackwood took time out to work with on a track from his album ‘My Oracle Lives Uptown’. Although a version without her ended up on the final tracklisting, her take was offered as a free download in 2010. More accessible than some of CLIENT’s recent offerings but more purely electronic than DUBSTAR, this was a priceless pop gem from our Sarah which lyrically was “full of pain”.
Inspired by her favorite “inherently sad gay disco anthems” with more bittersweet heartbreak from Ms Carlsson, ‘Dancing On My Own’ is driven by wonderful, edgy electronics while the simultaneous dancing and mourning reflects the vulnerability everyone experiences in the loss of love. Solemn synthetic disco at its best from the feisty, independently spirited Swede who is slowly turning into a modern day GINA X PERFORMANCE.
Available on the album ‘Body Talk’ via Konichiwa Records
SHH are Diana Huarte and Daniel Gorostegui from Argentina already with 2 albums to their name. ‘Wonderful Night’ is bouncy danceable electropop that does what it says on the tin. Euphoric sensualism captured in 3 and a half minutes, the chunky pulsing sequences to a solid dance beat and a rousing chorus add a blissful optimism full of Latin spirit. As the duo’s own mission statement announces, it is “Electronic pop, Buenos Aires style!”
Available on the album ‘Gaucho Boy’ via Sin Dormir Records
Described as “the HURTS you can dance to” and “Disney meets Brokeback Mountain”, the opening lines “I’m going to work my way out of this town, I’m going to be someone and know who I am” of ‘Into the Clouds’ are quite a mission statement. THE SOUND OF ARROWS are a duo based in Stockholm presesnting dreamy widescreen synthpop, swathed in beautiful Nordic melancholy. Their musical subtlety is an essential and enlightening listen.
Aavailable on the single ‘Into The Clouds’ via Labrador Records
Following up the previous two SUNDAY GIRL singles ‘Four Floors’ and her cover of ‘Self Control’, ‘Stop Hey!’ saw overdriven drum sounds and a piercing trebly riff dominate this piece of icy Eurocentric electro, sounding not unlike Ellie Goulding with a 20 cigarettes a day habit backed by MIRRORS and MGMT! This was kooky and stylish avant pop that hinted at something much darker going on in Jade Williams’ mind.
Available on the single ‘Stop Hey!’ via Geffen Records
No, this isn’t a misprint! The hidden track on the reunited Manchester boy band’s Stuart Price produced opus ‘Progress’ is an electronic gem. Beginning with soothing vocoder before building to a percussive climax, in a rare lead vocal for Jason Orange, he comes over all apologetic in the manner of Al Stewart over a dreamy backing track that possesses the glacial Scandinavian quality of RÖYKSOPP with a sprinkling of Eno-esque ambience.
“Heartbeat? Get down!”, TENEK have successfully smoothed off some of their more industrial edges to deliver their most immediate and accessible song yet. A rousing chorus and a structure not dissimilar to THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘The Things That Dreams Are Made Of’, there are further synth anthems galore on their album ‘On The Wire’ with nods to the MTV-era of TEARS FOR FEARS and A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS.
Available on the album ‘On The Wire’ via Toffeetones
VILE ELECTRODES are a colourful trio who formed due to an unhealthy obsession with analogue synthesizers and fetish porn. ‘Deep Red’, a title inspired by Dario Argento’s ‘Profondo Rosso’, is a gorgeous 7 and a half minute synth ballad that comes over like CLIENT fronting classic OMD… tremendously dramatic stuff in the vein of ‘Statues’ and ‘Stanlow’!
Have you ever heard Gary Numan almost jaunty? The fantastic ‘Remains Of Love’ is the poppiest thing that the former Gary Webb never recorded. Juho Paalosmaa is next to crying in the wonderful chorus but it almost sounds like Numan on prozac over Tomi Hyyppä’s crystalline melodies. With that all important air synth factor, VILLA NAH took the important elements of classic electronic pop and connected it to sharp dance rhythms.
Brooklyn’s AU REVOIR SIMONE are the type of sweet studious girls who you’d expect to be pouring over their latest thesis in the college library.
This overt bookish intelligence only enhances what is already a terrifically understated appeal that comes with their music. They started out when Erika Forster and Annie Hart exchanged stories and ambitions on a train journey home only to discover that they had a common desire to form an all-keyboard band to play synthetic covers of songs they adored from their youth.
One of these was Rod Stewart’s ‘Young Turks’ which they revisited in 2008 and turned into a stonking electronic dance version in collaboration with THE DISCO PUSHER. Heather D’Angelo joined later and they started playing shows in New York and Brooklyn. They made their recorded debut in 2005 with the release of a mini-album ‘Verses of Comfort Assurance & Salvation’. Their subsequent albums ‘The Bird Of Music’ in 2007 and last year’s ‘Still Night, Still Light’ on Moshi Moshi Records have attained critical acclaim and a host of admirers. Their most famous fan is ‘Twin Peaks’ director David Lynch while indie dance band FRIENDLY FIRES asked them to provide lead vocals for the excellent if slightly overlong AEROPLANE Remix of ‘Paris’.
AU REVOIR SIMONE’s instrumentation has manifested their sound. “It seemed like something fun for us to do – to celebrate the keyboard” recalls Erika. Annie said: “Our inspiration comes from the sounds that the keyboards make, that’s what made us start playing them in the first place”. They’ve already stated their main influences as being Casio, Roland, Korg, Alesis, Rhythm Ace, Univox, Yamaha, Nord and Suzuki. Heather added: “We used to get some overly opinionated people say you guys need a drummer but not so much now…”
And tonight, a dedicated sticksman is still thankfully absent as the girls played a rare UK show at London’s Scala. Opening with the beautiful single ‘Another Likely Story’, this is best way to be introduced to their manifesto of making “warm and organic electronic music with forthright female vocalists”.
In keeping with their girl next door aura, the trio are simply charm personified. Annie in particular is very talkative and animated, announcing she is several weeks pregnant. She recalled how only seven people came to their debut London show and that on that occasion, they had not yet mastered using the memory patches on their drum machine. This meant recording rhythms onto an iPod with set gaps pre-arranged between songs that tried the patience of the few people that had come to see them! “Get off” someone apparently shouted! They thought they’d never play London again!
Tonight on their return though, their drum machine is conquered and eloquently controlled with a drumstick by Heather who doesn’t look totally unlike a young Sophie Sarigiannidou from MARSHEAUX. Meanwhile, the newly blonde Erika adds simplistic bass guitar to her instrumentation and joins in the cheerful banter which at times becomes like a keyboard slumber party. AU REVOIR SIMONE’s sense of humour is quite apparent as their amusingly unfortunate acronym is written all over their gear!
‘Sad Song’, the stand out track from ‘The Bird Of Music’ sees Annie leave her Casiotone and Roland Juno 106 to venture stage right to percussively stomp on a flight case before the set focuses almost entirely on ‘Still Night, Still Light’. The gorgeous repeated Farfisa-like riffs, ringing counter melodies and vocal harmonies all melt together in a trancey unison. With the girls all taking turns at lead vocals, various bits of percussion and each other’s synths, they work together well as a cohesive unit. This provides an almost uniquely human and feminine touch when operating all the incumbent machinery, there’s not a laptop in sight.
Tracks played tonight such as ‘Shadows’, ‘Only You Can Make You Happy’ and ‘Trace A Line’ are fairly representative of AU REVOIR SIMONE’s laid back output. While the chilled-out electronic atmospheres they create recall Gallic sonic architects like AIR and STEREOLAB, their songwriting style probably has more in common with the subtle melodies of instrumentally conventional acts such as CAMERA OBSCURA who they have previously supported.
‘The Last One’ is described by Annie as “psychedelic” and the triple keyboard action allows the progressive nature of its hallucinogenic effect to take hold of the audience. The fantastic ‘Knights Of Wands’ and ‘Anywhere You Looked’ see them up speed things up a bit to get some of the biggest cheers of the night. As an encore, AU REVOIR SIMONE return to their roots to deliver a superb cover of DON HENLEY’s ‘The Boys of Summer’. “Sing along if you know it” shouted Erika! “but DON’T SING if you don’t!” retorted Annie!
An enjoyably still night, if a little bit too downtempo at times during a mid-section lull. This dreamy folktronica is electronic pop music, but perhaps not as we know it!
AU REVOIR SIMONE’s new remix album ‘Night Light’ is released by Moshi Moshi Records on 5th July 2010
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