Tag: Depeche Mode (Page 13 of 17)

JOHN FRYER Interview

24 February 2015 /

JOHN FRYER is the renowned producer, engineer and musician who was also a member of THIS MORTAL COIL.

He cut his teeth with Daniel Miller and Eric Radcliffe at the legendary Blackwing Studios co-engineering the first recordings of FAD GADGET. Fryer achieved mainstream success when he was asked to co-engineer a fledgling synthesizer band who had just signed to Mute Records. That band was of course DEPECHE MODE and he was involved in their run of Top 40 singles between ‘New Life’ and ‘Leave In Silence’.

Fryer also co-engineered YAZOO’s debut long player ‘Upstairs At Eric’s’. He soon used his engineering experience to become a producer in his own right, working with COCTEAU TWINS, MODERN ENGLISH, SWANS and NINE INCH NAILS.

Simultaneously, he was also the only constant along with 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell in the musical art collective THIS MORTAL COIL who featured Elizabeth Fraser, Lisa Gerrard and Alison Limerick among its highly regarded cast of guest vocalists.

He also recorded with STRIPMALL ARCHITECTURE singer Rebecca Coseboomas as DARKDRIVECLINIC, releasing an album ‘Noise In My Head’ in 2011.

His latest project is SILVER GHOST SHIMMER with vocalist Pinky Turzo, the sound of which is described as “inspired from the vocal groups of the 60s like THE SHANGRI-LAS with a twist of Glamour and Decay to their Sugar Coated Noise Pop Couture”.

Fryer will be making appearance at ‘A Secret Wish’ on SUNDAY 19TH APRIL 2015 in London with a special DJ set that will cover the range of his work for 4AD and Mute.

Hosted by Nordic friendly blog Cold War Night Life, ‘A Secret Wish’ follows on from the success of last March’s ‘An Evening With The Swedish Synth’; the line-up will also feature live sets from SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN and VILE ELECTRODES.

JOHN FRYER kindly chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about his varied career and what he may have in store for his DJ set at ‘A Secret Wish’…

How did you first become acquainted with recording synthesizers?

Well, that’s an easy question, as soon as I walked through door of the studio for my 1st recording sessions, as it was Daniel Miller making a SILICON TEENS song.

You first become known co-engineering FAD GADGET with Eric Radcliffe. What are your memories of being in the studio with Frank Tovey and do you have any particular favourite tracks of his?

It was great working with Fad (Frank) even though he was making electronic music; he had a punk ethos, so anything goes. One of my best memories of Fad was, he was doing a song called ‘The Box’ and he wanted to have a claustrophobic vocal sound, so we recorded him in a box (well, a flight case) to get the boxy close sound.

What did you think when you were first presented with DEPECHE MODE by Daniel Miller?

They were four very shy guys and Daniel thought they were the future of synth pop, and he was right.

The sounds on the ‘Speak & Spell’ album sit neatly within the mix. Did they require much treatment or did you get the opportunity to give feedback and suggestions to Daniel or Vince as they programmed?

‘Speak & Spell’ was made on a 8 track tape machine, so lot of tracks had to be recorded together onto one track, or bounced together once they had been recorded, we didn’t have the luxury of what you had today in the digital world. So a lot of time and careful planning had to go into the recordings.

What was your own preferred or most flexible synthesizer during your time at Blackwing Studios?

That’s a hard question, but one of my favourite things was the sampler when it came out, as it opened up so many new doors of how to record and anything that made a noise became a new instrument.

By ‘A Broken Frame’, the equipment became more sophisticated with things like the PPG Wave 2, Simmons drums and Roland TR808. What were those like to work with?

Technology was moving so fast in the 80s and it was great to be working with Daniel Miller, because as soon as there was a new synth or drum machine out, Daniel would bring it into the studio.

I remember Daniel driving out to Roger Linn’s place to pick up one of the first Linn Drum Machines so we could use it on the album.

You also co-engineered YAZOO’s ‘Upstairs at Eric’s’ at around the same time, how different was this compared to working with DEPECHE MODE? Did you get embroiled in any of the tensions at the time?

It was so different working with Vince and Depeche. Vince wanted to go super pop, he wanted to be the new ABBA and Depeche now with Martin writing wanted to go darker. They both wanted to record at the same time and it was best they were kept apart, so Eric decided to make a new studio in his house for Vince, hence ‘Upstairs at Eric’s’. Why it was called upstairs I don’t know, as the studio was on the ground floor?? I stayed working at Blackwing with the other three.

You went on to produce COCTEAU TWINS, as a well being a member of THIS MORTAL COIL. How were you achieving those ethereal textures that were predominantly sourced from using guitars rather than synths?

By the time 4AD started using the studio on a regular basis, the AMS RMX16 Digital Reverb had been made and it became my trade mark sound on the 4AD records. As for guitar sounds, a lot of the sounds come from Boss Pedals, so everything was saturated with FXs so you couldn’t really hear the source sound and had no idea if it was keyboards or guitar. Still doing the same today…

Did Elizabeth Fraser have any vocal techniques that presented an interesting challenge for you as a producer?

No, Elizabeth is a great singer, no problem with her voice… it’s just that she was so shy, it was painful to see her struggling with her shyness at times, but once she started singing everything was fine.

You co-produced on NINE INCH NAILS’ debut long player ‘Pretty Hate Machine’. What was Trent Reznor like to work with and was that focus and single minded determination that he is known for now, present in him even then?

It was great working with Trent, we had fun pushing the envelope. We tried to make the album as hard as possible at the time of recording.

We were very proud of the sound of the record and couldn’t wait to play it to the head of the label (Steve Gottlieb) when he came by the studio.

After listening to the play back of the album, his face was full of horror and his mouth was wide open and all he could say was, “you have ruined this record” so we were super happy with that… job well done.

Which recordings that you have worked on, are you most proud and why?

Well of course, my album by DARKDRIVECLINIC and my soon-to-be released album by SILVER GHOST SHIMMER, you can check out our new video of ‘Soft Landing’ on Youtube….

What can people expect from your DJ set at ‘A Secret Wish’?

It will be a pimped up set of 4AD and Mute tracks like you’ve never heard them before, and the only way you can hear the tracks like this is when I DJ them.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives it grateful thanks to JOHN FRYER

With additional thanks to Simon Helm at Cold War Night Life

JOHN FRYER will be appearing at ‘A Secret Wish’ hosted by Cold War Night Life on SUNDAY 19TH APRIL 2015 at The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Road, London N1 9JB. Playing live will be SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN and VILE ELECTRODES.

https://www.facebook.com/John.Fryer.Official

http://silverghostshimmer.bandcamp.com/releases

http://www.coldwarnightlife.com/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
24th February 2015

MARSHEAUX A Broken Frame

29 January 2015 /

“We laid the foundations down…”

DEPECHE MODE themselves would rather prefer to forget the existence of ‘A Broken Frame’, the album which was Martin Gore’s first attempt at songwriting on a bigger scale following Vince Clarke’s departure after ‘Speak And Spell’. Aside from the stripped back appearance of ‘Leave In Silence’ during ‘Touring The Angel’ in 2006, none of the songs from this record will ever find themselves performed live by the band again, and this transitional piece certainly is not what they boast about.

To a weathered DM fan, it is unclear why; after all, Martin’s genius starts shining through those early pieces and the mood is set for darker things to come. Ten songs, each of them with a different aura and character to form an album which paved DEPECHE MODE’s way onto bigger and greater things.

To think anyone would want to cover it, in its entirety, could have been a conversation point in itself. But MARSHEAUX have gone and done just that on Undo Records. Many artists have had a good go at trying to cover DEPECHE MODE songs with varying success, some releasing surprisingly poor quality substitutes, mainly due to a lack of understanding what the synth legends were all about. Some would seek to attempt to capitalise on something, which over the years had proven rather iconic. In this instance, it is neither. The record is fresh, filled with unique sounds, sexy voices and re-packaged in a manner to attract a new listener.

MARSHEAUX 2014 by George Katsanakis

The order has been adhered to, and the first song, like on the original, is ‘Leave In Silence’. Beefy synths and luscious vocals hit from the beginning, with many DM elements preserved, yet brought to life by modern digital provisions. Dancier than its older sister, but with the all-important synth solos in place, it is mesmerisingly contemporary and en vogue.

‘My Secret Garden’ comes in with brilliant drum patterns and a fresh approach to those signature Depeche sounds, interspersed with newer, digitally enhanced gems. With the female vocals throughout, the tune changes into a LADYTRON-like extravaganza, filled with sex appeal and sensuality, very unlike the original, which now sounds flat in comparison with this perfect version.

‘Monument’ steps in with fabulously innovative synth beats canvassing delicately mellow voices. It could not be more different from the Basildon boys’ blueprint. The structure of the song has been retained, and certain remix versions of the original can be recognised, yet the modern accents make it uniquely superb.

There is an underlying warmth, transforming the tune into a floating, dream-like tune, richly textured with architectural accents. Also exquisitely sublime is ‘Nothing To Fear’, which has all the elements of its DM precedent; modern digital beats are intertwined with the old wavetable synthesisers like the PPG Wave 2, which Martin Gore bought after the success of ‘Speak And Spell’ and DM would have used at Blackwing Studios on this track (and the rest of the album).

Next it’s the first single from ‘A Broken Frame’, ‘See You’, which Martin Gore wrote whilst still at school, and originally released in January 1982. A poppy and candy-coated version from MARSHEAUX is exactly what the doctor prescribed, lacking, however, the obvious beefy bass line DM provided on this record. Tonally, it sounds more like SHANK & BIGFOOT’s ‘Sweet Like Chocolate’, rather than The Kings of Electronica’s version. This could potentially limit the likability factor for some, but it certainly increases the danceability element over its predecessor.

‘See You’ is excused with the exquisite ‘Satellite’. An atmospheric version of this reggae track, with a progressive sounding electronic theme, is as quirky, as it is un-laboured. The superb strings and ethereal rolling bassline with uncommon elements is astounding. The simplistic approach makes the track appear uncomplicated, yet one of a kind.

The ever so uplifting ‘The Meaning Of Love’ may not be DEPECHE MODE’s best loved tune, yet MARSHEAUX make it theirs by introducing fresh approach with interesting sound combinations and simple vocals, which have been pre-packed with effects equating to a bright pop song. The clean sounds of a rather well-executed ‘A Photograph Of You’ follow, which again, has all the elements of a good synthpop tune that is fuller and even more interesting than the original.

‘Shouldn’t Have Done That’ is probably the best track on the original DM album, a good indication as to what followed for the Basildon lads… and MARSHEAUX do not disappoint either. It’s a great use of familiar sounds with many more new ones added. Remarkable skill has been put into layering the synths and an unexpected ending with the marching sound DEPECHE MODE used substituted with bass beats.

The firm favourite from the album, ‘The Sun & The Rainfall’ closes this listening pleasure with an utterly different approach to the song. With a bassline resembling AND ONE, and vocals vibrating alongside unique synth variations, this differs vastly from the more measured and sombre Dave version. Somehow the soul of this amazing tune drifts away until the very end, with some quite remarkable goodbye notes.

Released in 1982, ‘A Broken Frame’, being the DM transitional record and wholly unloved by DEPECHE MODE band members themselves, certainly deserved a re-evaluation. MARSHEAUX have used unconventional sounds and vocals to make this record their own, and in the sea of poorly executed Depeche covers, they are definitely swimming above most. Expressive, innovative and full of character, they denote exactly what this cover album is.

MARSHEAUX themselves said: “We know that it sounds strange to listen to ‘Leave In Silence’ and ‘My Secret Garden’ with female vocals. Even we feel surprised! But we hope that we give a whole new dimension to it. And we hope that you’ll love it as we did love it during the recording process”.

Many will say it is indeed vastly better than DEPECHE MODE themselves… will you?

MARSHEAUX’s reinterpretation of ‘A Broken Frame’ is available now as a download via the usual online outlets.

A yellow vinyl LP is released on 23rd February 2015 via Undo Records, pre-order at
http://undorecords.bigcartel.com/product/lpun52-marsheaux-a-broken-frame-lp-yellow

A double CD set with B-sides and an extended version is set for release in Spring 2015

https://www.facebook.com/marsheaux

http://marsheaux.wordpress.com/

http://www.undorecords.com

Text by Monika Izabela Goss
29th January 2015

LIKE LUKEWARM WATER… Poor Singles by Great Acts

17 January 2015 /

Artists are not infallible creatures and even on great albums, there’s often a duff song that somehow gets released as a single and becomes a hit. 

Some of these inferior singles though get found out early on and deservedly fail to capture the public’s imagination. However, sometimes the artists themselves will realise the errors of their ways with these less than satisfactory offerings.

They might quickly drop the track from the live set or rewrite history by excluding the said offending item from greatest hits packages. As a singular follow-up to the ‘We Hope You Enjoy Our New Direction’ albums article, here are twenty singles by your favourite acts who really should have known better.

Arranged in chronological and then alphabetical order with a restriction of one release per artist, these singles are, in the words of SPINAL TAP’s Nigel Tufnel, “like lukewarm water…”  – a Spotify playlist is therefore not required 😉

JAPAN Don’t Rain On My Parade (1978)

Was this really the band who were to record ‘Ghosts’ four years later? You certainly wouldn’t have put your money on JAPAN becoming chart regulars by 1982 based on ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’, a cover of BARBRA STREISAND’s set piece from ‘Funny Girl’ This hilarious two fingers rock thrash, with an unrecognisable David Sylvian snarling away, found an audience in Japan itself, which subsequently allowed them to develop into the artful combo they are better known as.

Available on the album ‘Adolescent Sex’ via Sony BMG Records

http://www.nightporter.co.uk/

TEARS FOR FEARS The Way You Are (1983)

TFF_The_Way_You_AreAfter the success of their debut ‘The Hurting’, TEARS FOR FEARS’ label wanted an interim release. But after several months exploring their artier aspirations, the resultant single was poor. ‘The Way You Are’ was Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal trying to be JAPAN, only they weren’t very good at it! Smith said it was “probably one of the worst recordings I think we’ve done”. The change of direction to produce the rockier, more MTV friendly opus ‘Songs From The Big Chair’ proved to be far more fruitful.

Available on the album ‘Songs From The Big Chair – Deluxe Edition’ via Mercury Records

http://tearsforfears.com/

VISAGE Beat Boy (1984)

VISAGE Beat Boy

The lack of input from departed founder member Midge Ure as producer really exposed itself on VISAGE’s third long player ‘Beat Boy’. Most of the songs went on for far too long while Steve Strange’s flat, tuneless vocals and banal lyrics were allowed to run riot. Running for a painful six minutes on the album, even in edited single form, the title track really needed a ‘Go Faster’ stripe as the attempt to merge rock guitars with Fairlight stabs and industrialised percussion failed miserably.

Album version available on the album ‘Beat Boy’ via Cherry Pop

http://www.visage.cc/

BRONSKI BEAT & MARC ALMOND I Feel Love / Johnny Remember Me (1985)

BRONSKI BEAT & MARC ALMOND‘I Feel Love’ looked like a dream combination for Jimmy Somerville’s swansong with BRONSKI BEAT to be paired with the one-time SOFT CELL front man. With ‘Love To Love You Baby’ and ‘Johnny Remember Me’ segued onto the main act, the well intentioned recording ended up a total cut ‘n’ paste mess with the poor stop / start edit into ‘Johnny Remember Me’ being particularly embarrassing. Meanwhile, the screaming match between Somerville and Almond was painful to the ears.

Available on the album ‘The Singles Collection 1984/1990’ via London Records

http://www.jimmysomerville.co.uk/

http://www.marcalmond.co.uk/

JOHN FOXX Enter The Angel (1985)

JOHN FOXX Enter The AngelAn attempt at crossing ‘Endlessly’ with ‘Like A Miracle’, the lukewarm ‘Enter The Angel’ from the ‘In Mysterious Ways’ album had none of the electro innovation of ‘Metamatic’ or the neu romance of ‘The Garden’. Featuring Eddi Reader from FAIRGROUND ATTRACTION on backing vocals, Foxx had gone all conventional and no longer stood out from the crowd like he once had. And the result was that the quiet man effectively retired from music until his 1997 re-emergence.

Available on the album ‘Modern Art: The Best Of’ via Music Club

http://www.metamatic.com

HOWARD JONES Look Mama (1985)

HOWARD JONES Look MamaHoward Jones did much to further the cause of electronic music with his one-man synth act. But ‘Look Mama’, the second single from his second album ‘Dream Into Action’ was a tedious narrative about an interfering mother that was one of the weakest songs on the collection. Featuring a plethora of state-of-the-art digital sounds, their prominence was quite obviously to cover a weak tune. Amazingly, this one got into the UK Top 10!

Available on the album ‘Best: 1983 – 2017’ via Cherry Red

http://www.howardjones.com

THE HUMAN LEAGUE I Need Your Loving (1986)

HUMAN LEAGUE Need Your Loving

THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s fifth album ‘Crash’ was largely rotten, save ‘Human’ and ‘Love Is All That Matters’, two Jam and Lewis numbers that were totally unrepresentative of Da League’s own sound. ‘I Need Your Loving’ had a crew of six on the writing credits, none of them members of the band! This had to have been a Janet Jackson cast-off from ‘Control’… Phil Oakey has been many things but Alexander O’Neal he certainly wasn’t while Joanne and Susanne could never sound like Cherelle!

Available on the album ‘Crash’ via Virgin Records

http://www.thehumanleague.co.uk

GARY NUMAN I Can’t Stop (1986)

A toss-up between this and ‘This Is Love’, these two singles from the below-par ‘Strange Charm’ both actually got in the UK Top 40… quite shocking when far superior singles from previous album ‘The Fury’ failed to make any chart impact. By 1986, Numan wasn’t sure if he wanted to be THE POWER STATION or Prince so ‘I Can’t Stop’ was frankly, all over the place! Whatever, flying took more of an interest in his life, Gary Numan’s career dip would not be reversed until 1994’s ‘Sacrifice’.

Available on the album ‘Strange Charm’ via Eagle Records

http://www.numan.co.uk

ULTRAVOX Same Old Story (1986)

The signs had not been good when drummer Warren Cann was fired from the band for preferring to use programmed percussion. With the success of his solo career, Midge Ure was dictating a more conventional back-to-basics approach. But while the soulful backing vocalists, live drums and brass section on ‘Same Old Story’ kept ULTRAVOX sounding with the times, the bland played on. The poor title of the parent album ‘U-Vox’ summed it all up… a band with something missing!

Album version available on the album ‘U-Vox’ via EMI Music

http://www.ultravox.org.uk

A-HA Touchy! (1988)

A-HA TouchySuch is life, the brilliant predecessor ‘The Blood That Moves The Body’ only reached No28 in the UK singles chart. Instead, the public took its rather ordinary and annoying follow-up ‘Touchy!’ to No11! Devoid of the usual emotive but melodic melancholy that had made songs such as ‘The Sun Always Shines On TV’ and ‘Hunting High & Low’ so dramatically appealing, the lead synth brass line, which ubiquitous for the time, was particularly annoying!

Available on the album ‘Stay On These Roads’ via Warner Music

http://a-ha.com/

HEAVEN 17 The Ballad Of Go Go Brown (1988)

H17 Ballad of GoGoWhen Glenn Gregory appeared on the single sleeve wearing a Stetson, the writing was on the wall. ‘The Ballad Of Go Go Brown’ with its slide guitar and harmonica was the antithesis of the funky modernism that HEAVEN 17 had previously stood for. Martyn Ware’s success as a producer for artists such as TINA TURNER and TERENCE D’ARBY around this time proved he hadn’t lost his creative nous… the once innovative trio had run out of steam.

Available on the album ‘Play To Win: The Best Of’ via Music Club Deluxe

http://www.heaven17.com

NEW ORDER Fine Time (1988)

NEW ORDER were acknowledged as a supreme singles act… until this! ‘Fine Time’ spoilt an otherwise brilliant album in ‘Technique’. A sly send-up of the acid house scene, even Bernard Sumner admitted it was “a novelty record”. A pitch shifted vocal was made to sound like an inebriate jackmaster impersonating Barry White, while the messy backing track was complimented by some bleeting sheep. One thing good about the single edit though is that it’s shorter!

Available on the album ‘Singles’ via Rhino Records

http://www.neworder.com/

EURYTHMICS Revival (1989)

eurythmicsrevival1987’s ‘Savage’ album was a laudable attempt by Annie Lennox and David A Stewart’s to get back to their electronic roots after their overt flirtation with America for their previous two long players ‘Be Yourself Tonight’ and ‘Revenge’. But to launch the 1989 album ‘We Two Are One’, EURYTHMICS got all bland again on ‘Revival’. The squelchy synth bass could not disguise a lifeless tune that ironically, despite its rhythm ‘n’ blues influences, was lacking in soul.

Available on the album ‘We Too Are One’ via RCA / Sony BMG Records

http://eurythmics.com/

DURAN DURAN Violence of Summer (1990)

DURAN DURAN’s cover of ‘White Lines (Don’t Do It)’ is more comical than awful! But ‘Violence Of Summer (Love’s Taking Over)’ was a poor relaunch of their classic five-piece band format with guitarist Warren Cuccurullo and drummer Sterling Campbell joining the fold, following two albums as a trio. What they forgot to add to the line-up though was some tunes… unsurprisingly, ‘The Violence Of Summer’ has never made it onto any DURAN DURAN compilation CDs.

Available on the album ‘Liberty’ via EMI Music

http://www.duranduran.com

SIMPLE MINDS She’s A River (1995)

SIMPLE MINDS She's A River

For SIMPLE MINDS’ worst commitment to the singular format, it was tempting to list ‘Belfast Child’ or their cover of PRINCE’s ‘Sign O’ The Times’, but the ploddy ‘She’s A River’ wins out. With overblown guitar histrionics, big drums and a virtually anonymous verse with no hook. Bizarrely,  pop duo HURTS revived the template of ‘She’s A River’ for the even more appalling ‘Miracle’ in 2013!

Available on the album ‘Good News from the Next World’ via Virgin Records

http://www.simpleminds.com

PET SHOP BOYS New York City Boy (1999)

PET SHOP BOYS are as perfect singles act as you can get, but even they were not flawless. For their worst offering, it was a close race between the inappropriately titled ‘Winner’ and the camp OASIS of ‘I Get Along’. But ‘New York City Boy’ has to be Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe’s least convincing single. While ‘Go West’ took a VILLAGE PEOPLE song and applied an elegiac PET SHOP BOYS template, ‘New York City Boy’ was misguided attempt to try and actually be New York’s favourite disco queens.

Available on the album ‘Nightlife’ via EMI Music

http://www.petshopboys.co.uk

KRAFTWERK Expo 2000 (2000)

KRAFTWERK Expo 2000In a scandal equivalent to the UK’s Millenium Dome project, KRAFTWERK pocketed 400,000 Deutsch Marks for a five syllable processed voice jingle for Expo 2000! At the time, it was their first new composition for 14 years. Lacking the percussive drive previously provided by the now-absent Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flür, ‘Expo 2000’ was a meandering, formless ditty which lacked the klassik melodicism that made KRAFTWERK great.

Available on the single ‘Expo 2000’ via EMI Music

http://www.kraftwerk.com

DEPECHE MODE Peace (2009)

‘Sounds Of The Universe’ is such a dire body of work. So surreally imagine as a diversion from its uninspired electro blues rock, John Lennon trying to write a KRAFTWERK song during THE BEATLES sessions that produced ‘Across The Universe’? Sounds interesting doesn’t it? DEPECHE MODE worked on the concept but came up with the ghastly ‘Peace’. No pleasures remained as the strained and nauseating chorus, attached to a lame verse, was more likely to harm diplomatic relations.

Available on the album ‘Sounds Of The Universe’ via Sony Music

http://www.depechemode.com

OMD If You Want It (2010)

For anyone who had loved OMD’s pioneering early catalogue, ‘If You Want It’ was horrid. An attempt at a soaring OASIS styled anthem, ‘If You Want It’ was not what fans were expecting. With an excruciatingly high key and a joint compositional credit to Tracey Carmen, who had worked with Andy McCluskey’s girl group creation ATOMIC KITTEN, its true origins can only be guessed at. But thankfully, OMD managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with 2013’s ‘English Electric’ opus.

Available on the album ‘History Of Modern’ via Blue Noise

http://www.omd.uk.com

ERASURE When I Start To (2011)

ERASURE When I Start

On paper, things were not promising as the severely over rated FRANKMUZIK was recruited to apply his modern dance production aesthetic to Andy Bell and Vince Clarke’s classic synthpop on the ‘Tomorrow’s World’ album. But its first single ‘When I Start To (Break It All Down)’ sounded like a rather anodyne TAKE THAT ballad and Bell’s voice was strained to an auto tuned flatness, lacking power and soul.

Available on the album ‘Tomorrow’s World’ via Mute Artists

http://www.erasureinfo.com

Text by Chi Ming Lai
17th January 2015

DEPECHE MODE Live In Berlin DVD

20 November 2014 /


The long awaited DEPECHE MODE ‘Live In Berlin’ DVD has just been released in the UK on Sony Music.

Contained in rather inconspicuous box, resembling more a CD than a DVD, it was very hard to find in UK stores even just a day after release.

This confirms the long proven fact, that, while the rest of Europe is busy holding rather popular DVD release parties, and their media shops are filled with the newest DEPECHE MODE release, the UK music stores struggle to put the DVD on the shelves, having to look for it for 30 minutes in the stock rooms, giving the preference to stuffed characters from ‘Frozen’.

No hope for change here then that the UK music industry cannot recognise its biggest export, a band who sold almost two and a half million tickets on this ‘Delta Machine’ tour.

The package is certified 12, as it promises to “contain moderate sex references”… “Oooohhhhh” say the female DM fans, who cannot wait for Dave Gahan’s booty shake and his half naked, sweaty, gyrating body. There are five discs included in the release, including ‘Live In Berlin’ DVD, ‘Alive In Berlin’ DVD, ‘Live In Berlin’ soundtrack CD 1 and 2 and ‘Delta Machine’ 5.1 Blu-ray Audio disc.

Anton Corbijn who is the man responsible for the film yet again, says in his quote on the back of the package that “‘Alive In Berlin’ is a record of DEPECHE MODE visiting Berlin for two concerts and the impact it has on fans following the band. Berlin is a special place in the hearts of DEPECHE MODE. Likewise, DEPECHE MODE has a strong following in the German capital and the film tries to capture the highlights of these concerts as well as that special connection through interviews with fans and bands alike”.

There is also a 16 page booklet with stage drawings by Anton and photos of the band live. The first DVD is a film of the performances from the O2 World Forum in Berlin on 25th and 27th November 2013 by Anton Corbijn. 21 songs run over 130 minutes of footage and the oh-so familiar DEPECHE MODE butterflies in the stomach cannot be avoided upon seeing the Mute logo at the beginning, only this time it is shown after the Sony banner…

Indeed, with the very first sounds of ‘Welcome To My World’ and seeing the band just about to get on stage, the feeling grows with a promise of something amazing about to happen. The DEPECHE MODE live set up are the iconic trio plus two session musicians, piano and synthesizer player Peter Gordeno and the drummer Christian Eigner. The pair have been with the band for a while now and seem to constitute the staple DM live diet.

The sound is very balanced and visually the film is much easier to watch, then, say the ‘Touring The Angel’ DVD, which frankly, was impossible to follow due to poor editing and peculiar framing.

Even with the first notes of ‘Welcome To My World’, one can hear the clarity of the recording, to the point where sounds are heard that seemed to have skipped the ear during the shows; a promise of a rather exhilarating viewing experience indeed.

Dave Gahan, who himself admits that he takes on a different persona live, floats onto the stage floodlit with red and blue lights, greeted with familiar fan screams to the beefy synth sounds. It’s a beautifully executed first track from ‘Delta Machine’, and (yeah) Dave’s jacket comes off. ‘Angel’ follows, and it is here where one could question its suitability as a live track, especially with slowish ‘Welcome To My World’ preceding. Peter Gordeno stated in ‘Alive In Berlin’, that the gigs start moody and then take nice pace; this is indeed a very slow start with rather good, yet still measured ‘Walking In My Shoes’.

For many, the gig still doesn’t begin properly yet. Pleasant, yet still on the stagnant mode, ‘Precious’ starts with only the dog related projections to get you going (cat lovers yawn with boredom). However, overdrumming by Eigner (does he get paid by each time he hits the over-sized kit?) spoils the song altogether.

“Finally!” you hear the fans scream, upon hearing the first pulses of the iconic ‘Black Celebration’ and watching Dave undo his waistcoat; fantastic lighting and moods lift all around. And then… it NEVER starts! By far the worst live version of this superb song, it is great disappointment and a bit of a shock that such a hit could be turned into a plodder.

Just when you’re about to fall asleep, ‘Should Be Higher’ comes on, which Dave himself describes in the ‘Alive In Berlin’ film as one he loved to perform live, as it became “chunkier” for him than the album version, something he had wanted to achieve during the ‘Delta Machine’ recordings. Fiery projections and exquisite vocals by Gahan lift the mood instantly and make the fans hope that there may be a gig after all. Indeed the audience reacts rather responsively to his interactions.

A few balloons in the air mark the start of ‘Policy Of Truth’ (stop those drum rolls Eigner, this isn’t a rock concert!), a legacy of few last tours and a good laugh for the audience. Everything seems more up tempo and the crowd seem more engaged with this one. The projections remain plain compared with previous DM live tours. Corbijn admitted the set was simple for DM, yet still costly for touring, but DM manager Jonathan Kessler always found the projections an important part of the Mode extravaganza. Yet this time, they’re more subdued.

Dave is off on a break, with Martin coming on for his solo set. ‘Child Inside’ is a beautiful, atmospheric track with decent piano played by Gordeno and those vocals can easily extract tears from female part of the audience, transcending them into a floaty, soft mood, directed by Mr Gore’s amazing voice. ‘But Not Tonight’ is the second “Martin song” and is being warmly greeted by the genius loving crowd. Some take it as an opportunity to get a beer however, to only return for “Dave’s tracks”.

Dave comes back on stage to support his buddy and gets the crowd going again. But the next tune is another lethargic one. This time it’s ‘Heaven’, sluggishly dithering and making one wonder why songs like this are included in the set. Martin mentioned that in rehearsals the band try out what’s good for live performances. Luckily ‘Soothe My Soul’, which comes next, is! The Gahan-Gore connection comes alive during the faster tracks. Dave states that he felt connected with Martin on stage and they worked very well together. The chemistry between the two has always been apparent, but for Gahan, this tour was special. It does show during the faster tracks, although Gahan seems to be loving his Eigner collaboration too, the latter drumming excessively again towards the end of the track.

A rather interesting, fresh version of ‘A Pain That I’m Used To’ follows, with beefy bass guitar played by Gordeno. This track is very representative of what Gahan says in one of the interviews with Corbijn, that the tour had a hvery celebratory feeling, where he had enjoyed the performances more then ever before and where feeling of completing something was apparent.

Peculiar on stage Tai Chi from Fletch opens ‘Question Of Time’, which thanks to Eigner sounds rockier than necessary. Eigner himself admits that he doesn’t have a structure of playing and every gig is different. Many DM fans would indeed agree that less is more in this instance and some would love to see the drummer gone altogether. “Never mind”, the fans scream, ‘Enjoy The Silence’ comes on, and being a huge crowd pleaser, this exceptional track is fully enjoyed by the audience and the band themselves.

Marvellous projections of scantily clad ladies being squeezed into the Delta triangles fuel the mood of this significant tune. The break in the song has become somewhat legendary, being different during each tour; this time it’s very guitary and (again, too) drummy. Dave’s vest comes off to Martin’s guitar with more of Eigner banging away.

All recognise ‘Personal Jesus’, but the plodding intro is rather annoying and becomes tedious after a minute or so before exploding into the tune that the fans love. The crowd are fully responsive with arms up in the air at those very crucial moments, watching Gahan bigger then Jesus himself. “Berlin sing!” Dave shouts out and Berlin does sing before Dave says goodnight for the first time.

Everyone knows, however, that the encore is imminent. And what an encore it is; an excellent rendition of ‘Shake The Disease’ sung by the voice man, Mr Gore plus the most sensually satisfying version of GOLDFRAPP’s remix of ‘Halo’, it being no second-rate sister to its original. Gahan has described it as “sparse and vocally challenging”, and he’s clearly up to the challenge with exquisite vocals and Martin finally taking his position behind a keyboard. Projections have been based in Berlin itself, with a BJORK look-a-like model wandering the streets of this amazing city. It’s a very, very effective follow-up to Martin’s song.

The beat is up again instantly with the ever-so-crowd-pleasing ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’, sounding camp and being quintessential early Vince Clarke era Depeche. The audience are loving it, although uncertain about Christian Eigner’s drumhead antics and Andrew Fletcher’s laughable synth solo, which he gets it wrong more than right. And the balance on this DVD has been clearly altered to hear the crowd more over Fletcher’s keyboard ability!

‘I Feel You’ evolves slowly, being another DM live favourite, but what’s this? The projections are clearly done by a rap loving, hip hop fanatic who has never heard of DEPECHE MODE… it all resembles an iPod advert rather than resonating with the song. This totally pulls the audience away from the mood of this tune and makes them want recollect some more suitable visuals accompanying the track during the previous tours, like the one during ‘Touring The Angel’, with a tasteful glimpse of breast!

‘Never Let Me Down Again’ constitutes another live DM staple, by no means insignificant, but sounding rather sluggish at times though. It still gets the crowd going with the, now iconic, hands up in the air cornfield wave, started by Gahan 25 years ago in The Rose Bowl Pasadena during the ‘Concert For The Masses’.

‘Goodbye’ closes the concert, making many fans wonder whether this actually is a “goodbye” from the band. Dave thanks the Berlin audience, appreciating the fact they’ve always been there for them. Even in the Berlin Wall times when no band wanted to cross The Iron Curtain, DEPECHE MODE travelled to Eastern Europe. Fletch muses “we took gambles in our career particularly to go and play Eastern Europe as we knew we had fans there”.

The whole DVD experience is pleasant but it’s a bit slow, as if it’s middle aged music for middle aged people. Fletch seems to think they did not have one bad show on the tour; fans’ opinions tend to differ with TEC’s Chi Ming Lai disliking the Birmingham gig and many people criticising Munich. The question arises – “Do they still have it in them?”. Well, DEPECHE MODE definitely still have it, Dave was on top form and vocally the strongest in years while the shows were generally superbly organised.

However, there’s a distinct feeling of live DM being over-produced, lacking soul and trying their hardest to be the rock band they are not. The fans, who have grown to love the kings of electronica, do not want to listen to Eigner sweating his boxer shorts off as if he’s in SLIPKNOT, or listening to over inflated ego of Peter Gordeno…

No, they come to watch those Basildon lads who made it big, thanks to hard work, correct management and all the other things that used to constitute the good, old DEPECHE MODE. They want to listen to Martin Gore, who is a self confessed addict of everything music and who told his friends to shoot him if he ever started to collect anything music unrelated.

They want to watch the best frontman there is – Dave Gahan, who seems to be getting better and better each tour. They even want to try and understand what Fletch’s position is within the DM machine, apart from occasional kung-fu moves or banana cravings on stage. Will they ever get that again? Who knows? For now, the DVD and many photos and videos is all they have to remember this iconic tour.

There is some uncertainty however, as to why the concert has not been released on Blu-ray? As for ‘Alive In Berlin’, when the short interviews are extracted, you’re left with the gig, which you get anyway on the main DVD, and ‘Delta Machine’ album which everyone has had for over a year. Just like with the ‘Sounds Of The Universe’ Box Set, this comes across as a money grabbing exercise, with Kessler rubbing his hands together again saying “we’re gonna make lots of money, a load of money”!

Still, every self respecting DEPECHE MODE fan will have ‘Live In Berlin’ on their shelf, occasionally watching it and reminiscing about the good times. This writer certainly will.

‘Live In Berlin’ is released as a 5 disc DVD / CD / Blu-ray Audio deluxe boxed set by Sony Music

http://www.depechemode.com

http://www.facebook.com/depechemode

Text by Monika Izabela Goss
Live Photos by Keith Trigwell
20th November 2014

A Beginner’s Guide To BRIAN ENO

24 July 2014 /

The vast career of electronic innovator and ambient godfather Brian Eno has crossed genres, styles and instrumentation.

Ranging from his solo work with his use of simplistic keyboards and snake guitar to major rock productions and motivational techniques such as his famous ‘Oblique Strategies’ cards, Eno’s theories and thought processes have shaped the pop, rock and avant garde worlds.b“Anything that’s strong enough will stand up to any amount of analysis” Eno said profoundly.

While starting out in art rock with ROXY MUSIC as an EMS VCS3 wielding non-musician, a car accident in early 1975 left him temporarily immobile in a hospital bed. Ever the thinker, it allowed him to explore the possibilities of environmental music. Inadvertently, he had discovered the sub-genre of ambient.

One of his best known early compositions of this type was the short instrumental title track of his 1975 opus ‘Another Green World’ which combined voxless and vocalled tracks in equal measures; the track later became the opening title theme to the BBC2 arts programme ‘Arena’. He focussed on this wordless aesthetic, producing acknowledged ambient classics such as ‘Music for Airports’, ‘Thursday Afternoon’ and ‘Neroli’. His recent album ‘Lux’ on Warp Records continued this quality tradition.

Following his acclaimed solo album ‘Before & After Science’ in 1977, he largely steered clear of conventional vocal led material until 2005’s excellent ‘Another Day On Earth’. However, he maintained a presence within the pop and rock sphere as a producer with ULTRAVOX! and later acts such as DEVO, TALKING HEADS, U2 and JAMES.

“Being a record producer is the best form of cowardice. Producers often get praised but they have to do a really bad job for anyone to criticise them” he said of his occasionally hands-off approach, “The way I work is to try to find out what isn’t being done that ought to be done. Sometimes that means somebody ought to make the tea. Sometimes it means somebody ought to re-write the whole bloody song”. Such is Eno’s magic, he even managed to steer COLDPLAY into making their most bearable track ‘Viva La Vida’! Eno’s influence in the studio has been significant, even when not actually behind the desk.

While often miscredited as the producer of David Bowie’s Berlin trilogy ‘Low’, ‘Heroes’ and ‘Lodger’, he was paramount in directing Bowie’s train of thought towards a new school of pretension beyond conventional rock ’n’ roll. The result was half instrumental tracks such as ‘Sound & Vision’ and doomy neo-classical electronic pieces such as ‘Sense Of Doubt’, while both the ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes’ albums were conceptualised into vocal and instrumental sides.

Other Eno collaborators have included HARMONIA, LARAAJI, ICEHOUSE and  SUEDE as well as John Cale, Jah Wobble,  Leo Abrahams, Jon Hopkins and Karl Hyde among many. Scouse pranksters HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT even sent up this artistic rite of passage in a song called ‘Eno Collaboration’. Eno’s catalogue is far too extensive to summarise in a short synopsis.

So what material would serve as an introduction to his varied career as a recording artist, producer, remixer and collaborative muse? Here are eighteen affectionately chosen examples. As with all previous Beginner’s Guides by ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, the list is not definitive, presented in chronological order and limited to one track per moniker, project or artist. The intention is to act as an oblique strategy to inspire further investigation…

ROXY MUSIC Ladytron (1972)

‘Ladytron’ was a gloriously arty adventure; the inclusion of otherworldly sonic manipulations on Andy MacKay’s oboe and sax alongside Eno’s striking VCS3 sourced electronics signalled a futuristic vision that was later to reveal itself in the New Romantic scene. But Eno’s tenure in ROXY MUSIC wasn’t to last; tensions had been running high at Roxy gigs. Following Roxy’s second album ‘For Your Pleasure’, Eno was gone!

Available on the ROXY MUSIC album ‘The Early Years’ via Virgin Records

http://www.roxymusic.co.uk

ENO Back In Judy’s Jungle (1974)

Eno’s solo debut ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’ followed a trashy energetic guitar style inspired by THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, but his sophomore offering took in more esoteric approaches and an interest in Chinese Communism. The skippy waltz of ‘Back In Judy’s Jungle’ with percussion by Phil Collins headed towards the 38th Parallel as an infectious guitar melody (borrowed from a Korean folk tune) took hold alongside whistles and electronic effects.

Available on the ENO album ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)’ via Virgin Records

http://eno-web.co.uk/

FRIPP & ENO Evening Star (1975)

Prog rockers KING CRIMSON shared management with Roxy and Eno; their guitarist Robert Fripp made his first collaboration with Eno in 1973 on ‘(No Pussyfooting)’. Comprising of two long spiky improvisations, it used a live tape loop technique christened Frippertronics which allowed Mr Toyah Wilcox to layer guitar sounds. This was put to good use on ‘Evening Star’ which had more melodic components in comparision and gentle harmonics.

Available on the FRIPP & ENO album ‘Evening Star’ via Opal Records

http://www.robertfripp.com

DAVID BOWIE Warszawa (1977)

‘Warszawa’ was named after the Polish capital city but captured the post-war tensions in West Berlin without the need for lyricism. At Hansa Studios where ‘Low’ was being mixed, the soldiers in the East Berlin watch towers could look into the windows of the building! Tony Visconti’s production enhanced the drama between Bowie’s enigmatic wailing over Eno’s Minimoog and Chamberlain keys. This formed part of an all instrumental suite on the album’s second side.

Available on the DAVID BOWIE album ‘Low’ via EMI Records

http://www.davidbowie.com

ULTRAVOX! My Sex (1977)

Using Eno’s Minimoog with a knob marked with a sheep sticker to indicate it made woolly sounds, Billy Currie’s classical sensibilities combined with John Foxx’s detached dissatisfaction on ‘My Sex’. Despite being accorded joint billing with Steve Lillywhite and the band in the ‘Ultravox!’ album’s production credits, drummer Warren Cann later revealed that Eno had only worked on four tracks and was not quite the accomplished studio technician the band hoped he would be!

Available on the ULTRAVOX! album ‘Ultravox!’ via Universal Music

http://www.metamatic.com

http://www.ultravox.org.uk

ENO MOEBIUS ROEDELIUS The Belldog (1978)

While the 1976 sessions with cult German band HARMONIA featuring Michael Rother of NEU! remained unreleased until 1997, collaborations with two of the collective Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius aka CLUSTER proved to be more successful. With a wonderful ambient collection ‘Cluster & Eno’to their name, their second album  ‘After The Heat’added Eno’s contemplative voice to the experimentation, the best of which was the gentle sequencer led beauty of ‘The Belldog’.

Available on the ENO MOEBIUS ROEDELIUS album ‘After The Heat’ via Bureau B

http://www.dietermoebius.de
‎
http://www.roedelius.com

BRIAN ENO 1/1 (1978)

With ‘Music for Airports’, No1 in his Ambient series, the concept had been to create soothing pieces for inducing calm in those who had a fear of flying. Unlike ‘Music For Films’ which consisted of short musical fragments, ‘Music For Airports’ comprised of four extended sketches utilising piano, synths and vocal tape loops. ‘1/1’ was a magnificent 17 minute calling card that was “ignorable as it is interesting”.

Available on the BRIAN ENO album ‘Music for Airports’ via Virgin Records

http://brian-eno.net

JON HASSELL & BRIAN ENO Delta Rain Dream (1979)

Strangely enigmatic, Hassell’s muted avant garde trumpet playing and use of Prophet 5 processing in partnership with Eno on ‘Delta Rain Dream’ from ‘Fourth World Vol 1 Possible Musics’ provided a backdrop for a type of percussive primitive futurism where it was envisaged what indigenous tribes would have done if a solar powered synthesizer had been dropped in at the beginning of time and become their instrument of choice.

Available on the JON HASSELL & BRIAN ENO album ‘Fourth World Vol 1 Possible Musics’ via Virgin Records

http://www.jonhassell.com

HAROLD BUDD & BRIAN ENO First Light (1980)

Eno had produced and issued Budd’s ‘Pavilion Of Dreams’ on Obscure, but didn’t directly collaborate on a full album project with the American self-taught pianist until ‘The Plateaux Of Mirror’; ‘First Light’ was typical of an Eno collaboration where the musician of the partnership was allowed to breathe and build tension before Eno’s magical layers of synthesizer appeared in the final quarter. The approach could be compared to Eno choosing a tie for Budd’s shirt and suit…

Available on the HAROLD BUDD & BRIAN ENO album ‘The Plateaux Of Mirror’ via Virgin Records

http://haroldbudd.com

TALKING HEADS Crosseyed & Painless (1980)

‘Once In A Lifetime’ may have been the hit but ‘Crosseyed & Painless’ was the key track from ‘Remain In Light’, TALKING HEADS’ third album with Eno. Incorporating funk rhythms alongside assorted instrumentation modulating around a very basic repetitive chord structure, there was tension within the dance as David Byrne preached like an inebriate evangelist. The credit “All songs written by David Byrne, Brian Eno and Talking Heads” infuriated the other band members.

Available on the TALKING HEADS album ‘Remain In Light’ via WEA Records

http://www.talking-heads.nl/

BRIAN ENO & DAVID BYRNE Regiment (1981)

Recorded during ‘Remain In Light’, ‘My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts’ was the playroom that nearly drove TALKING HEADS apart. This influential album used taped speeches by personalities of assorted faiths effectively as lead vocals. Featuring the found voice of Lebanese mountain singer Dunya Yusin, ‘Regiment’ was mildly funky and its assortment of rhythmical clarity, synthetic atmospheres and sustained guitar textures proved to be a forerunner of JAPAN’s ‘Tin Drum’.

Available on the BRIAN ENO & DAVID BYRNE album ‘My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts’ via Nonesuch Records

http://davidbyrne.com/

BRIAN ENO, DANIEL LANOIS & ROGER ENO Deep Blue Day (1983)

The ‘Apollo’ album was a soundtrack to a documentary film about the mission to the moon. Its intention was to react against the newsy manner of space travel presented by most TV programmes of the day with its fast cuts and speeded up images. Feelings of weightlessness were captured among the collection’s aural clusters and atmospheres. ‘Deep Blue Day’ with its accessible countrified twang from Lanois was used in the infamous ‘toilet’ scene of the film ‘Trainspotting’.

Available on the BRIAN ENO album ‘Apollo’ via Virgin Records

http://daniellanois.com/

U2 The Unforgettable Fire (1984)

It seemed a most ludicrous union at the time… the flag waving over earnest rock group teaming up with the thoughtful, ambient egghead! With Bono and Co doing their best ‘New Gold Dream’ period SIMPLE MINDS impression, ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ captured the harrowing trauma of Hiroshima in layers of Yamaha DX7 and Fairlight as Eno pushed the Irish quartet into a more esoteric mind process to counter their bombastic tendencies.

Available on the U2 album ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ via Island Records

http://www.u2.com

MICHAEL BROOK Hybrid (1985)

Brook was a studio engineer who could see the possibilities of stretching out the timbres and textures of the electric guitar. His experiments led to his development of the Infinite Guitar. Co-produced by Eno, ‘Hybrid’ was the first album to fully exploit this instrument and the title track very much followed the percussive possible musics of Eno’s ‘Fourth World Vol 1 Possible Musics’ collaboration with Jon Hassell. This wasn’t entirely surprising as Brook had played live with the duo in 1981.

Available on the MICHAEL BROOK album ‘Hybrid’ via Virgin Records

http://www.michaelbrookmusic.com

JAMES Sometimes (1993)

After their ‘Seven’ album, JAMES were accused of heading down the U2 route so in a replicant move, Booth and Co secured the services of Eno for ‘Laid’, which was released in Autumn 1993. While driven by frantic acoustic guitar, the lead single ‘Sometimes’ benefitted from Eno’s input by steadily building and adding glistening ambient synths. A most gloriously harmonic vocal section towards the conclusion appeared for yet another lift when it was least expected… pure Eno!

Available on the JAMES album ‘Laid’ via Mercury Records

http://www.wearejames.com

DEPECHE MODE In Your Room – Apex Mix (1994)

Using the percolating bass sequence and chilling stabs from the original album version plus slices of Martin Gore’s backing vocal, Eno’s Apex Mix of ‘In Your Room’ was almost Zen-like in its meditative qualities. Legend has it that while Martin Gore was playing this version in his car, he had to turn it off as it was sending him to sleep! In true Eno style, the backing built slowly and made the most of the song’s inherent tension.

Available on the DEPECHE MODE CD single ‘In Your Room’ via Mute Records

http://www.depechemode.com/

BRYAN FERRY Wildcat Days (1994)

The first co-write between the two former sparring partners with perhaps some nostalgic lyrical reference to the fledgling days of ROXY MUSIC, ‘Wildcat Days’ was the best track from Ferry’s arduous ‘Mamouna’ project, the original sessions of which had started as far back as 1989! Lots of weird noises, detuned swoops and a seasoned supporting cast including Andy MacKay, Chester Kamen and Steve Ferrone combined for this marvellous slice of electronic art funk.

Available on the BRYAN FERRY album ‘Mamouna’ via Virgin Records

http://www.bryanferry.com

BRIAN ENO & J PETER SCHWALM From This Moment (2001)

For his project with German DJ and percussionist Schwalm, Eno took a more rhythmically colourful approach to his ambient philosophies that coincided with the emergence of chill-out rooms within the club scene. Certainly, ‘Drawn From Life’ possessed more accessible entry points for those who maybe found works such as ‘Music For Airports’ too sedate. The album’s opener ‘From This Moment’ was great soundtrack music, bolstered by live percussion and strings.

Available on the BRIAN ENO & J PETER SCHWALM album ‘Drawn from Life’ via Virgin Records

http://jpeterschwalm.webnode.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
24th July 2014

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