Tag: Erasure (Page 5 of 13)

A Short Conversation with SOFTWAVE

17 August 2019 /

It often takes an album for an act to more fully realise their sound.

This has certainly been the case for SOFTWAVE with their debut ‘Game On’. With the influence of big voiced singers such as Celine Dion, Tina Turner, Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne, the Danish couple add a twist to sub-ERASURE flavoured synthpop.

Laced in Nordic melancholy, SOFTWAVE have delivered a fine debut album with off-the-wall narratives contained within a classic melodic framework.

Since their debut EP ‘Together Alone’ in 2016, Danish duo SOFTWAVE have been gaining momentum with well-received live performances and notable endorsements from former members of THE HUMAN LEAGUE Jo Callis and Ian Burden, as well as one-time Numan sideman Chris Payne.

From their studio in Herlev, Catrine Christensen and Jerry Olsen kindly talked about ‘Game On’ and what is turning out to be their busiest year to date…

How has the reception to ‘Game On’ been for you?

Catrine & Jerry:  It was a great success. We sold way more vinyls that we thought we would. We were warned by so many Danes about producing vinyls, but we did it anyway because it was our personal wish to have our debut album on that format. We received good feedback from several reviewers.

Looking back, how was making ‘Game On’ compared with your first EP ‘Together Alone’?

Catrine & Jerry: It was more professional and serious with a strict deadline and a lot of collaborators. We constantly gain experience, so we completed tracks faster and the workflow was much better. When making the EP everything was new to us; the whole music scene, how you interact with people involved, is all something we are more familiar with today.

‘No Need To Hide’ has been cited by a number of people as one of the highlights from the album, what was that inspired by?

Catrine: This was the second song we worked on for the album. Lyrics wise, the song is inspired by my past time with a critically ill dad and how much I experienced from group therapy sessions. For me, it wasn’t a taboo and I wasn’t afraid to expose my feelings with others. Therefore I named the song ‘No Need To Hide’.

Jerry: Music wise, I wasn’t inspired by anything in particular; it was just a creative idea. If I were to name the title, as the shy guy I am, it would have been ‘I Need To Hide’ … *laughs*

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK understands ‘Something Is Missing’ is about your dog Nero?

Catrine: Haha… yes it is. I haven’t said that directly in the lyrics, because it was important for other people without a dog-relationship to relate to it as well. But basically this song is dedicated to everybody who lost something or someone valuable in their lives.

“As a child all my dreams came true” – The life before my dad got ill, I was spoiled. Apart from games, movies and toys, I always wanted a dog so badly, so he gave one to me. After 15 years with a lovely time with my dog Nero, he passed away. Therefore I named the song ‘Something Is Missing’.

Was the dancefloor friendly ‘Human Beings’ an observation of modern society?

Catrine: Yes. In today’s society, my experience is that only a few people have the time to study and analyze important subjects.

Some people only have the time to be superficial and then they forget about each other. That is a sad development when it doesn’t demand much more from you than to give “one smile one hug, empathise and having fun – in giving we receive, we are human beings”.

‘Galaxy Of Stars’ was quite an appropriate song to release in 2019, the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, did you watch any of the many fascinating documentaries about it? Would you like to travel in space?

Catrine: We haven’t seen any recent documentaries about it. In fact we didn’t realise it was the 50th anniversary when we wrote the song, so we can label it as a happy accident.

Jerry: I love science fiction, so travelling in the great unknown would indeed be exiting. I wouldn’t rely on a metal tube with fire in the bottom to travel to other galaxies, but if some friendly ETs came by and offered me a ride in their shiny UFO, I would definitely go for it.

If Celine Dion fronted ERASURE, it would probably sound like SOFTWAVE, please discuss… 😉

Catrine: I would love someone to introduce us like that someday. As the humble person I am, I wouldn’t say that I have a voice like Celine Dion. But Jerry definitely has the talent of a young Vince Clarke 😉

Jerry: An interesting theory. Maybe someone should propose the two of them to collaborate. Then we can discuss if it sounds SOFTWAVE-ish.

Speaking of ERASURE, you covered ‘Siren Song’ live with a choir as part of the promotion for ‘Game On’, how was the experience and why did you choose that song in particular?

Catrine & Jerry: The song wasn’t really chosen by us, but by ELEKTROKOR (Electrochoir). For a long time, we had a request from a huge fan for us to make an ERASURE cover song. After discovering ELEKTROKOR by a coincidence via Facebook, we saw an opportunity to meet our fan’s request.

ELEKTROKOR has a huge talent and passion covering songs by DEPECHE MODE, YAZOO and ERASURE, which was a perfect match. It’s not often you get an opportunity like that in little Denmark. There was no doubt that we should collaborate. The idea was for guest them at their concert in a church. Afterwards we thought it was a perfect fit for them to join our release concert, which was welcomed by most of the audiences and the reviewer Teddy Bjørklund. Next time we do an ERASURE cover, we will choose the song ourselves.

Which tracks have been your own favourites from ‘Game On’ and why?

Jerry: My personal favourites are: ‘Something is Missing’ because I felt it had something to it from the very beginning and it’s quite catchy as well. Also ‘Galaxy of Stars’ because it’s very ERASURE like in its sound and ‘I Need Love’ is upbeat and in my own opinion, I think it has a YAZOO feeling to it.

Catrine: ‘Galaxy of Stars’ was my first challenge singing in a downbeat tempo and maintain the joy in my voice while singing. It was a lovely song to work with. I actually loved everything about it. It was written without struggling at all, the lyrics came easily to me. I really dreamed myself into the ‘Galaxy of Stars’. Even the vocal recordings were lovely. Normally I prefer to sing live, because singing in a box feels unnatural to me. I had the same experience with ‘Guardian Angel’. Music wise and in general, I like how much ‘Human Beings’ and ‘Curiosity’ differ from the other tracks. My favourite live performance track would be ’No Need To Hide’.

Remixes can be a bit hit and miss but Jerry’s Alternate Version of ‘On & On & On’ was an improvement on the original, have you any more planned for release?

Catrine & Jerry: Thank you, we feel so too 🙂

We are planning a new remix release of ‘Game On’ (release date TBA soon). As something new, there has been a surprisingly great interest from talented producers this time. So we don’t feel the need to do a remix by ourselves and besides, we’re busy producing new original SOFTWAVE tracks.

One of the producers we’re very proud to have on the compilation is ex-HUMAN LEAGUE member Ian Burden who we were lucky to meet last year in addition to our tour in London, thanks to a good friend who invited us to Ian’s solo album release in Soho.

An extended version of ‘Something is Missing’ will be released by the well known German label ZYX Music on ‘New Generation 15’ released September 6th and ‘I Need Love’ by Conzoom Records on ‘Electropop.15’ released September 13th.

You are performing at the ‘Pop+Synth Festival’ in Copenhagen in November, along with JOHAN BAECKSTRÖM, TRAIN TO SPAIN and OCTOLAB… this might actually be the first event of its kind in Denmark if ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is not mistaken?

Catrine: Well. In Denmark the synthpop scene isn’t that big, actually non-existent. But in Sweden, the scene is bigger and therefore I decided to increase the attention to the genre by inviting a bunch of Swedish synthpop bands to my debut synth event ‘Pop+ Synth Festival’ along with other international bands.

I have also succeeded with some great collaborations and tickets are already selling fast. Some wrote “This might be the synth-event of the year” and “Great initiative!”. My concept is to support the artists, because as an artist, I know how much work we put into gigs etc. No one deserves to perform for free. And when I experience a lot of Swedish bands (whom I have never heard of) contacting me to get a spot on my line up – it touches me deeply. I feel I’m doing a good thing here. “Something is Missing” in Denmark – and I hope I can make a difference. Even though the scene isn’t big, I know there’s a synthpop and Italo audience out there.

Classical composer Maurice Ravel said: “Whatever sauce you put around the melody is a matter of taste. What is important is the melodic line”, any thoughts?

Jerry: I totally agree. Without it there’s nothing.

Catrine: The melody relates to so many feelings and can be part of a memory from your life. Even though I’m not a producer, I guess it’s easier to produce a great beat than a great melody. Therefore SOFTWAVE tries to combine melodies from both vocals and music.

So how will SOFTWAVE’s synthpop heart will go on?

Catrine: Always by striving for improvement, never to give up and to reach new listeners with our music.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to SOFTWAVE

‘Game On’ is released by Gateway Music in vinyl LP and download formats, available from https://gatewaymusic.dk/kunstner/26025

SOFTWAVE play the ‘Pop+Synth Festival’ at Krudttønden in Copenhagen on Saturday 2nd November 2019, also performing are JOHAN BAECKSTRÖM, TRAIN TO SPAIN + OCTOLAB with more acts to be announced, tickets available from https://billetto.dk/e/pop-synth-festival-billetter-365508

http://www.softwavemusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SoftWaveMusic/

https://twitter.com/SoftWaveMusic

https://www.instagram.com/softwave_music/

https://softwave.bandcamp.com/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
17th August 2019

A Beginner’s Guide To WILLIAM ORBIT

10 April 2019 /

William Mark Wainwright got his affectionate nickname Orbit from his friends who considered him to be something of a “space cadet”.

As William Orbit, the Hackney born musician and composer became one of the most revered producers, winning Grammys, Ivor Novellos and several other music industry awards, with 200 million recordings involving him sold worldwide.

Despite being a competent guitarist, Orbit considered himself unable to play keyboards well and admitted that it was the advent computers in music that allowed him to fully realise his creative potential. His portfolio has ranged from electronic acts like KRAFTWERK, OMD, CAMOUFLAGE, ERASURE, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, NITZER EBB and DEPECHE MODE to rock bands like QUEEN, U2 and BLUR.

However, it was within dance-oriented pop that Orbit made his fortune through productions characterised by his trancey soundscapes, sparing fretwork and understated rhythmic construction. He even had a Top5 hit bearing his own name, albeit with a radically different trance remix by Ferry Corsten of ‘Adagio For Strings’ in 2000.

Brought up in a classical music loving family, Orbit shocked his teacher parents by dropping out of school to pursue his more creative inclinations, having tried a synth for the first time at the age of 16. Things came to came to fruition when a friend wanted to start a recording studio. That venture eventually became Guerilla Studios which has now been based in various locations over the past three and a half decades.

These days, Orbit is a very content man, hosting a classical music show on Scala Radio as well as curating occasional lecture and multimedia art events. Showing little concern for the financial aspects of the music industry, his two most recent albums ‘Orbit Symphonic’ and ‘Strange Cargo 5’ were given away as free downloads on Soundcloud in 2014.

With such a vast and varied career, it would be quite tricky to compile 18 tracks involving Orbit’s magic touch, but ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK will attempt to do that with the restriction of one track per album project. So presented in chronological order, here is a Beginner’s Guide to William Orbit.

TORCH SONG Prepare To Energise (1983)

Comprising Orbit, Laurie Mayer, Grant Gilbert and latterly Rico Conning who subsequently worked with Martin Gore on the ‘Counterfeit’ collection, TORCH SONG were signed by music entrepreneur by Miles Copeland; the advance allowed for Orbit to build up his Guerilla Studios. ‘Prepare To Energise’ is probably their best known tune, a pulsating cosmic club favourite with robotic voices and synthesized textures ahead of its time.

Originally available on the TORCH SONG ‘Wish Thing’ via IRS Records, currently unavailable

https://www.discogs.com/artist/10950-Torch-Song

THE PARTNERSHIP Sampling The Blast Furnace (1984)

THE PARTNERSHIP was an unrealised side project comprising of ex-SPOONS member Brett Wickens with Roger Humphreys who together recorded as CERAMIC HELLO. Produced by Orbit and heavily influenced by KRAFTWERK, the uptempo ‘Sampling The Blast Furnace’ featured lead vocals by Andy McCluskey of OMD alongside vocodered voices and chants by Martha Ladly. The slower McCluskey-less demo was a bonus on the reissue of CERAMIC HELLO’s only album.

Not officially released, alternate demo version available on the CERAMIC HELLO album ‘The Absence Of A Canary V1.1’ via Vinyl On Demand

http://www.omd.uk.com/

ERASURE Supernature – William Orbit mix (1989)

Having artists from Mute Records and their dance subsidiary Rhythm King who included S-EXPRESS being remixed at Guerilla Studios gave Daniel Miller first-hand exposure to William Orbit’s capabilities. So who better to ask to house-up ERASURE’s cover version of Cerrone’s electronic disco landmark? The end result was suitably vibrant while still importantly retaining the core of the tune amongst all the fascinating dance rhythms and interplanetary effects.

Available on the ERASURE boxed set ‘Singles – EBX3’ via Mute Records

http://www.erasureinfo.com/

THE HUMAN LEAGUE The Stars Are Going Out (1990)

From THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s final Virgin album, ‘The Stars Are Going Out’ was a good tune from Oakey and Co that was one of four mixed by William Orbit in a bitty collection that also contained two songs produced by Martin Rushent and one by ex-ZTT cohort Bob Kraushaar. Strangely though, there appeared to be little of Orbit’s distinctive magic audible in the end result. It had been an unhappy time, as Orbit preferred to work without any of the band present.

Available on THE HUMAN LEAGUE album ‘Romantic?’ via Virgin Records

http://www.thehumanleague.co.uk/

BASSOMATIC Fascinating Rhythm (1990)

Combining modern developments in house music and dub with the feel of SOUL II SOUL, Orbit slotted right into the zeitgeist with ‘Fascinating Rhythm’ featuring vocalist Sharon Musgrave and rapper MC Inna One Step with an uplifting club friendly number that had “pulsating action” and was “breaking into heaven”. BASSOMATIC lasted for just two albums but it cemented Orbit’s position as a studio wizard who understood sound as well as the dancefloor.

Available on the BASSOMATIC album ‘Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Bass’ via Virgin Records

https://www.williamorbit.com/

KRAFTWERK Radioactivity – William Orbit 12″ Remix (1991)

The most significant makeover on KRAFTWERK’s  ‘The Mix’ was ‘Radioactivity’ with its additional unsettling machine chant of “TSCHERNOBYL – HARRISBURGH – SELLAFIELD – HIROSHIMA” for an anti-nuclear message highlighting recent atomic catastrophes. For the single release, remixes were farmed out externally and Orbit’s version offered a more preferable electro enhancement than François Kevorkian’s house laden rework.

Originally available on the KRAFTWERK ‎single ‘Radioactivity’ via EMI Records, currently unavailable

http://www.kraftwerk.com/

WILLIAM ORBIT featuring BETH ORTON Water From A Vine Leaf (1993)

If there was a track that could be considered the root of the recognised Orbit signature sound, it probably has to be ‘Water From A Vine Leaf’, his first collaboration with kooky folktronica maiden Beth Orton. Having met at a party and beginning a relationship shortly after, he asked her to contribute spoken word phrases and singing for the third in his ‘Strange Cargo’ series over some looping rhythms, hypnotic bass and chill-out vibes. Orton went on to have a acclaimed solo career.

Available on the WILLIAM ORBIT album ‘Strange Cargo III’ via Virgin Records

https://www.bethortonofficial.com/

THE ELECTRIC CHAMBER Fratres (1995)

Orbit’s concept of adapting classical works came about because he wanted to make a chill-out album that had some good tunes. In his first attempt using a pseudonym, one key track was ‘Fratres’ by 20th Century Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. Comprising of a six-bar theme, Orbit gave his electronic arrangement a sublime haunting stillness that explored the piece’s rich harmonic space via a slow meditative tempo. However, Pärt objected and the album was quickly withdrawn.

Originally on THE ELECTRIC CHAMBER album ‘Pieces In A Modern Style’ via N-Gram Recordings, currently unavailable

https://www.arvopart.ee/en/

MADONNA Ray Of Light (1998)

With Orbit having remixed ‘Erotica’ in 1992, Ms Ciccone was keen to work with the Englishmen, spending four and a half months at Larrabee Studios in Hollywood. ‘Ray Of Light’ was an interpolation of a little known 1971 song ‘Sepheryn’ by the British folk duo of Dave Curtiss and Clive Maldoon. Despite its frantic pace, Orbit ensured that the rhythmic elements were subtle in their make up to procure an earthy rave quality that was the antithesis of most dance music of the era.

Available on the MADONNA album ‘Ray Of Light’ via Maverick/WEA

https://www.madonna.com/

WILLIAM ORBIT Triple Concerto (2000)

With his new found fame via Madonna, Orbit was given the opportunity to reissue ‘Pieces In A Modern Style’ and included several new recordings, one being Beethoven’s lesser known ‘Triple Concerto’. With synthetic bells and glistening pentatonics reminiscent of Ryuichi Sakamoto added for a soothing lullaby effect, use was made of the metallic percussive loop that had been part of his version of Arvo Pärt’s ‘Cantus’ from the original withdrawn album… waste not, want not!

Available on the WILLIAM ORBIT album ‘Pieces In A Modern Style’ via WEA

https://www.facebook.com/WilliamOrbit

ALL SAINTS Black Coffee (2000)

Following Madonna’s success, next in line for the Orbit treatment were London girl group ALL SAINTS. Having scored a No1 with the sublime ‘Pure Shores’ from ‘The Beach’ soundtrack, the combination did it again with ‘Black Coffee’. Orbit’s dreamy electronic aesthetics, spacey effects and minimal textural guitar worked perfectly for the soulful quartet to produce something that was commercial and accessible yet otherworldly.

Available on the ALL SAINTS album ‘Saints & Sinners’ via London Records

http://www.allsaintsofficial.co.uk/

U2 Electrical Storm (2002)

With his high-public profile thanks to Madonna and ALL SAINTS, it was no big surprise when U2 came calling. With a suitably airy beginning and heavy on acoustic guitar for the more esoteric sound that the Dubliners had been peddling since working with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, in the end ‘Electrical Storm’ built up to sound just like U2, albeit with occasionally prominent windy electronic textures.

Available on the U2 album ‘The Best Of 1990-2000’ via Island Records

https://www.u2.com/

WILLIAM ORBIT featuring SUGABABES & KENNA Spiral (2006)

Orbit teamed up with the UK pop’s answer to Charlie’s Angels SUGABABES and US/Ethopian artist Kenna on this slice of ambient electro R’n’B. Continuing to collaborate with TORCH SONG bandmates Laurie Mayer and Rico Conning, while the ‘Hello Waveforms’ album continued in the chill-out vein of ‘Pieces In A Modern Style’ and even included ‘The Humming Chorus’ by Puccini, prominent vocals were in the mix as well as real strings and brass.

Available on the WILLIAM ORBIT album ‘Hello Waveforms’ via Sanctuary Records

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugababes

ROBBIE WILLIAMS Louise (2006)

By the mid-noughties, Robbie Williams was the biggest popstar in the world but strange things were happening in the wake of his split with hit collaborator Guy Chambers. Finding a new collaborator in Stephen ‘Tin Tin’ Duffy, he belatedly went electroclash with their first fruit of labour ‘Radio’. He then went all Synth Britannia on ‘Rudebox’, working with PET SHOP BOYS but also covering his new writing partner’s ‘Kiss Me’ and THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Louise’ which Orbit produced…

Available on the ROBBIE WILLIAMS album ‘Rudebox’ via EMI Records

https://www.robbiewilliams.com/

WILLIAM ORBIT featuring SARAH BLACKWOOD White Night (2010)

During the CLIENT hiatus, Sarah Blackwood took time out to work on ‘White Night’, a Rico Conning penned track for Orbit’s ‘My Oracle Lives Uptown’ album which dated back to their TORCH SONG days. Although her version did not appear on the final tracklisting, her take was offered as a free download. More accessible than some of CLIENT’s offerings but more purely electronic than DUBSTAR, this was a priceless pop gem which lyrically expressed her pain during that period.

Originally available as a free download, currently unavailable

https://www.dubstarofficial.co/

WILLIAM ORBIT Carmen (2010)

‘Pieces In A Modern Style 2’ continued where its predecessor left off, offering another predominantly chill-out album that had some good tunes. But one of the bonuses was an unexpected novelty in a sparkling technopop version of Georges Bizet’s opera standard ‘Carmen’, complete with stabbing synths and dramatic percussive passages to portray the seductive title character as a kind of Barbarella.

Available on the WILLIAM ORBIT deluxe album ‘Pieces In A Modern Style 2’ via Decca Records

https://www.instagram.com/therealwilliamorbit/

BRITNEY SPEARS Alien (2013)

A co-write with the one-time princess of pop, ‘Alien’ highlighted Britney’s feelings of loneliness. However, a vocal warm-up recording without her characteristic electronic treatment was leaked onto the internet, prompting Orbit to say in defence of the starlet: “Whomever put this on the internet must have done so in a spirit of unkindness, but it can in no way detract from the fact that Britney is and always will be beyond stellar! She is magnificent! And that’s that.”

Available on the BRITNEY SPEARS album ‘Britney Jean’ via RCA Records

https://www.britneyspears.com/

TRIANA TERRY Did It For Love (2013)

Becoming a superstar producer had made Orbit unhappy and he said he was pleased to have blown his fortune as all he did was spend it on first class travel and equipment he never used. So when he recorded ‘Did It For Love’ with actress, artist and performer Triana Terry, the sentiment couldn’t have been more poignant in a feisty oddball mixture of electronic, pop and rock dynamics. Together, Orbit and Terry have presented exhibitions combining paintings and music.

Not officially released, only available on YouTube

http://trianaterry.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai with thanks to Simon Helm
Photos by Simon Helm
13th April 2019

ANDY BELL Torsten In Queereteria

9 April 2019 /

As described by Andy Bell himself, Torsten has been “the biggest challenge of (his) career so far”.

Having released solo projects before, 2014 saw the birth of an age-defying polysexual in a stage production that bent genres and shook values, shocking as well as eliciting love and empathy towards the wounded figure of a hedonistic individual who endlessly looks for love and acceptance.

The first in the series, ‘Torsten The Bareback Saint’, was “sporadic, psychotic, quite confusing to people” according to Bell, describing the hero’s early days, his time as a schoolboy, the first jobs, the first loves of both sexes as well as Torsten’s fragile mental state.

‘Torsten The Beautiful Libertine’ painted a clearer picture of his character, delving deeper into the past and showing the cracks in his existence. It’s the tale of a man who “finds himself in extraordinary circumstances” and simply trying to continue his endless being.

Written as a collaboration between Andy Bell, poet playwright Barney Ashton-Bullock and the musical genius of Christopher Frost, the Torsten productions enjoyed viewings during The Edinburgh Fringe Festival and a four week run at Above The Stag Theatre in London respectively. And now Torsten returns ‘In Queereteria’, which covers four acts depicting various aspects of the semi-immortal’s life story and his self-realisation.

Act one, entitled ‘Remembrance, Youth and Beauty’ ushers the sadness that defines Torsten’s existence, the eternal fight that goes on in his mind, the realisation that his “beautiful libertine” times will pass, and ‘A Hundred Years Plus Today’ he may or may not be here. While ‘You Stampede An Open Wound’ of a “broken man”, this bossa nova deepens the melancholy further, leading “so far from home” on ‘Lowland Lowriders’.

The nautical sounds of ‘I Am Of The Sea’ float ominously over the storms of life, fighting the tempest of survival over the “seven seas from home”.

The second act, ‘The Hedonism And The Hurting’ brings back the city lights in ‘Cabaret Awayday’; a highly melodic piece which crudely describes the random sexual encounters “in a toilet cubicle” under “flickering strip lights” performing the chosen “subtle perversion”. But it is the ‘Queereteria’ club with its “musical diarrhoea” where the debauchery reigns above all, even ‘If We Want To Drink A Little’, while duetting with Hazel O’Connor.

‘Bitter Regrets’ is Act Three, where ‘Thou Shalt Be My Vibe’ portrays an intoxicated Torsten, who’s realised he’s hit the bottomless hole. The rent boy status of ‘Money With Menaces’ doesn’t seem to suit him anymore, while he tries to deny the fact his drinking is beyond control in ‘Let’s Be Sober Another Time’, even inviting his remaining acquaintances to ‘Come And Taste My Breakdown’. Like in a dark circus of “insanity and breakdown”, Torsten seems to lose himself thoroughly.

Some balance is restored in Act Four ‘To Mourn And To Miss’, seeing an older Torsten who’s trying to distance himself from the years of partying and loose lifestyle. ‘To Know Good Men From Perverts’ is a lesson of being able to distinguish between those who wish one harm and those whose intentions are pure. The leading single from the album, ‘We Haven’t Slept For Twenty Years’, describes the crazy times of constant over indulging “cruising for kicks” and “not giving a toss years” with a romantic approach, as if watching one’s life like a series of slides.

A tribute to an aged lover recently lost is presented in ‘Silence Is Golden’. The closing ‘Not Opting Out’ brings the realisation that Torsten’s life may be coming to an end, yet he’s still adapting to the changes it’s bringing, even if it’s becoming harder and harder to keep up.

‘Queereteria TV’ is scheduled to open to audiences at Above The Stag Theatre in London, where Torsten finds himself in post-apocalyptic Britain, wanting to reinstate live TV transmissions from ‘Queereteria’ cruising club. This time joined by Peter Straker of ‘Hair’ and ‘Doctor Who’ amongst others, alongside Barney Ashton-Bullock and Christopher Frost, Andy Bell is likely to bring Torsten to life again, signing his heart out, portraying the melancholy and sadness of Torsten’s long existence.

‘Torsten In Queereteria’ is released by Cherry Red as a CD and download on 12th April 2019; available from https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/andy-bell-torsten-in-queereteria-cd/

Andy Bell stars in ‘Queereteria TV’ at Above The Stag Theatre from 10th April to 28th April 2019, this is a musical comedy set in a post apocalypse Britain where three egotistical misfits attempt to reinstate live TV transmissions from the infamous ‘Queereteria’ cruising club. It also stars Peter Straker alongside the other two members of ‘Andy Bell is Torsten’ collective, Barney Ashton-Bullock and Christopher Frost – tickets available from: http://www.abovethestag.com/vxl/whatson/torsten/

http://www.andybell.com/

https://www.facebook.com/officialandybell

https://twitter.com/AndyBell_info

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
9th April 2016

SOFTWAVE Game On

4 April 2019 /


Since their debut EP ‘Together Alone’ in 2016, Danish duo SOFTWAVE have been gaining momentum with well-received live performances and endorsements from luminaries such as one-time member of THE HUMAN LEAGUE Jo Callis and former Numan sideman Chris Payne.

From their studio in Herlev, Catrine Christensen and Jerry Olsen have not stood still, learning from their first release and actually improving on it, particularly with Jerry’s Alternate Version of the catchy ‘On & On & On’ on the companion remix EP.

And now sees the release of the couple’s debut long player with a declaration that it’s all now ‘Game On’. Cross ERASURE with the influence of singers such as Celine Dion, Tina Turner, Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne, and you get the picture that while female fronted synthpop is a plenty, SOFTWAVE offer something special in the vocal department for their first album.

It’s a journey that has excited Catrine Christensen who told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in Autumn 2017: “An album is like a story with smaller parts that connects and become that greater story. It’s small parts and emotions from your life that fits together, some being uptempo and energetic, some being slow and some sad etc.”

With a dramatic intro appropriately titled ‘Takeoff’, SOFTWAVE’s inaugural full length mission features a spoken commentary and countdown from Christensen to connect to the album’s futuristic gamer theme.

The album’s first single and calling card ‘Something Is Missing’ is buzzingly sub-ERASURE, an alluringly catchy and assured synthpop statement with melodies and counter-melodies galore.

In a tune partly inspired by her unique relationship with her dog Nero, as Christensen puts it: “life contains greater things than just temporary material things”.

More uptempo but punctuated by machines of ice, ‘No Need To Hide’ is undoubtedly Clarkean too, celebrating positivity in possibly SOFTWAVE’s finest moment yet with one of those rousing Scandipop choruses.

‘Reflected Memories’ sparkles but retains that touch of melancholy which Nordic acts are so good at. Here, Christensen is vocally rich and more confident while Olsen has upped the ante on production values since the debut, applying bravado and vibrato as appropriate.

Comparatively more sedate, ‘Guardian Angel’ plays with dripping arpeggios, airy soundscapes and the occasional Celine Dion hairbrush moment for something that Christensen declares is almost spiritual.

Rewarding their ‘Valor’, this enjoyable filmic instrumental sets the second for the second act; so with bursts of stabbing electronic energy, ‘I Need Love’ take a leaf from its Moroder-esque title, but with an effective offbeat on it rhythm construction for a love song for people who hate songs about love but who need it and feed on it.

‘Curiosity’ provides a breather and another ballad moment with Christensen displaying her range over Olsen’s sympathetic backdrop; it’s an inventive fictional story about a forgotten “one-hit-wonder” who is deep frozen in an underground laboratory, brought back to life by a fan and together they make another hit record… the concept is downright bizarre but brilliant, showing how much SOFTWAVE are thinking outside of the box.

The trancey ‘Human Beings’ is set at dancefloor pace, but Olsen’s production puts the song itself at centre stage rather than percussively overdriving it. With a commentary about how people use people and love things, rather than the other way round, the end result all the much better for it. Closing the album, the sweet ‘Galaxy Of Stars’ is classic ERASURE, pulsing and signalling gloriously as Christensen stares into the night sky reflecting on her day.

So with ‘Game On’ now “game over”, what is the verdict? SOFTWAVE have delivered a fine and enjoyable debut album with off-the-wall narratives contained within a classic melodic framework. So the natural reaction is to press “play” again.

Striving for continual artistic improvement and displaying a willingness to learn as they progress, there is no doubt that based on this documentary evidence, SOFTWAVE’s synthpop heart will go on…

‘Game On’ is released on 11th April 2019, available as a download album from https://softwave.bandcamp.com/album/game-on

http://www.softwavemusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SoftWaveMusic/

https://twitter.com/SoftWaveMusic

https://www.instagram.com/softwave_music/

https://softwave.bandcamp.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5wo2L2BtVUYsopJnWAo8Z6

Text by Chi Ming Lai
4th April 2019

A Short Conversation with ANDY BELL

1 April 2019 /

Andy Bell is Torsten again!

Introducing the third part of Torsten’s highs and lows, the celebrated ERASURE frontman tackles the task described previously as the biggest challenge of his career. ‘Torsten In Queereteria’ wraps up the triptych, following ‘Torsten The Bareback Saint’ and ‘Torsten The Beautiful Libertine’, where the story of the age defying polysexual is sung with the angelic Bell’s voice.

Written as a collaboration between Bell, poet / playwright Barney Ashton-Bullock and the musical genius of Christopher Frost, the Torsten productions enjoyed viewings during The Edinburgh Fringe Festival and a four week run at Above The Stag Theatre in London respectively.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK had the pleasure to chat to Andy Bell again to discover what the Torsten plays brought into his artistic life…

The first Torsten shows back in 2014 were presented to very limited audiences, with many not knowing it was ERASURE’S Andy Bell, ‘The Beautiful Libertine’, however, picked up a wider crowd?

I think perhaps the word had started to spread that is was something completely different from what people associated me with, it’s quite hard to break away from the pop mould and takes perseverance but once I’d signed up to the project you must see it through Barney and Chris are very talented and Above the Stag have been very generous with their time!

After the first shows, did you have a feeling you did something very right?

I wouldn’t say whether it was right or wrong but I have faith in the songs and the concept.

And then came the continuations, with the latest being the third in the series… will this be the last part of Torsten’s story?

I don’t imagine this will be the last we’ve heard of Torsten as long as Barney keeps him alive.

A couple of years ago we spoke about the braveness of the content of Torsten’s songs, and the fact some people were quite uncomfortable with the “close to the bone” references. Do you feel the audiences will have come to accept the highs and lows of Torsten’s by his third outing?

I think the state of the world has become a lot open as if with the internet the genie has been let out of the bottle so to speak so people are less afraid to discuss intimate subjects.

Inevitably many see Torsten in you, and maybe that’s what’s making it harder?

Well, I suppose there is some of him in me but I still wouldn’t like to discover the “fountain of youth”!

What did Vince think of the Torsten plays?

I’m not sure if he’s ever seen the stage version but he describes me as fearless… he doesn’t know how much I quake underneath.

And in the meantime, ERASURE rose to greater heights with the superb ‘World Be Gone’… unusually so, you showcased the album in its entirety alongside some of the top hits during your live performances, a very brave move…

I think we never want to be a cliché and try different things you have to take the long route and go against the grain, it’s harder work sometimes but well worth the effort.

Would you say the world has moved on since the first Torsten and his character would be more understood now, in 2019?

Definitely but probably in either direction its more extreme now.

The latest Torsten is divided into four acts, what was the idea behind this particular approach?

That’s just the running order to make the songs more palatable and understood.

All three productions don’t shy from flowery, at times vulgar and obscene language. Torsten’s story is as real as it gets…

I think it’s probably very reminiscent of medieval London.

After the first instalment of Torsten, you felt you wouldn’t be able to get on with someone like him in real life. Having now completed the cycle, would you say you know and understand the character deeper?

I think he’s a lot more knowing and considerate than I gave him credit for you’d say that life’s too short but for him it’s the opposite way round.

The talents of Andy Bell don’t end there, though. What’s next for you?

More writing with Vince and some retro ‘Lets Rock’ solo shows.

Maybe it’s time for another solo pop project now?

I can’t decide whether to do something more orchestral or Northern Soulish. X

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Andy Bell

Special thanks to Sharon Chevin at The Publicity Connection and Matt Ingham at Cherry Red

‘Torsten In Queereteria’ is released by Cherry Red as a CD and download on 12th April 2019; pre-order at https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/andy-bell-torsten-in-queereteria-cd/

Andy Bell stars in “Queereteria TV” at Above The Stag Theatre from 10th April to 28th April 2019, this is a musical comedy set in a post apocalypse Britain where three egotistical misfits attempt to reinstate live TV transmissions from the infamous ‘Queereteria’ cruising club. It also stars Peter Straker alongside the other two members of ‘Andy Bell is Torsten’ collective, Barney Ashton-Bullock and Christopher Frost – tickets available from: http://www.abovethestag.com/vxl/whatson/torsten/

http://www.andybell.com/

https://www.facebook.com/officialandybell

https://twitter.com/AndyBell_info

https://www.instagram.com/andy_bell_is_torsten/

Text and Interview by Monika Izabela Trigwell
1st April 2019

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