Tag: Gemma Cullingford (Page 1 of 2)

ANOTHER 25 SYNTHY COVERS 2015 & Beyond

26 April 2025 /

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has always preferred a cover version over a remix any day of the week…

But if you are going to do a cover in an electronic fashion, then try to be original! Don’t be bleeding obvious, retreading a Numan track unless something fresh can be offered or recording a Depeche song weeks after it is released as some did with ‘Ghosts Again’… maybe pick an obscure country, folk or soul number and make it your own with an otherworldly synth-laden treatment…

A follow-up to the 25 CLASSIC SYNTH COVERS and 25 21ST CENTURY SYNTH COVERS 2000 to 2014 articles, this listing features recordings made since 2015 up to the present day. So here selected by ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK are ANOTHER 25 SYNTHY COVERS 2015 & BEYOND, with the list restricted to one song per artist moniker, presented in yearly and then alphabetical order …

MARSHEAUX Monument (2015)

The MARSHEAUX reworking of DEPECHE MODE’s second album ‘A Broken Frame’ shed new light on Martin Gore’s first long form adventure as songwriter and affirmed that ‘My Secret Garden’ and ‘The Sun & The Rainfall’ were just great songs. But ‘Monument’ was an example of a cover outstripping the original and given additional political resonance with the economic situation close to home that the Greek synth maidens found themselves living in at the time of its recording.

Available on the MARSHEAUX album ‘A Broken Frame’ via Undo Records

http://www.marsheaux.com/

METROLAND Close To Me (2015)

Needing to be heard to be believed, this rather inventive and charming cover of THE CURE’s ‘Close To Me’ by Belgium’s favourite passengers METROLAND utilised a selection of male and female computer voice generators to provide the lead vocal, in a move likely to upset the majority of real music purists. Meanwhile, the hidden melodies shone much more brightly than in the goth-laden original, thanks to its wonderful and clever electronic arrangement.

Available on the album ‘A Strange Play – An Alfa Matrix Tribute To The Cure’ (V/A) via https://alfamatrix.bandcamp.com/album/a-strange-play-an-alfa-matrix-tribute-to-the-cure

http://www.metrolandmusic.com/

PARALLELS Moonlight Desires (2015)

A song by mulleted Canadian rock musician Lawrence Gowan, ‘Moonlight Desires’ was first released by him in 1987 and featured Jon Anderson on backing vocals! Fellow Canadians PARALLELS fronted by Holly Dodson gave the hook-laden song a more nocturnal synthpop-oriented twist which wouldn’t have sounded out of place on the soundtrack a Brat Pack movie.

Available on the PARALLELS album ‘XII’ via Marigold Productions Ltd

https://www.iloveparallels.com/

TREGENZA The Partisan (2015)

Manchester based Ross Tregenza is an experienced hand having co-written ‘Diaries Of A Madman’ with Dave Formula and Steve Strange when he was a member of VISAGE II in 2007. He surprised electronic music audiences with a Spartan cover of ‘The Partisan’, a song made famous by Leonard Cohen. While some may despair at the very mention of the droll Canadian, his work has strong parallels with Gothic veined musical forms, especially with this harrowing tale of fighting for La Résistance.

Available on the TREGENZA album ‘Into The Void’ via Tregenza Music

https://www.facebook.com/tregenzamusic

JOHAN BAECKSTRÖM Jerusalem (2016)

One of DAILY PLANET’s main inspirations was cult UK synth trio WHITE DOOR. So when their chief synthesist Johan Baeckström was needing tracks to include on his ‘Like Before’ EP, the almost choir boy overtures of ‘Jerusalem’ was a natural choice for a cover version. Of course, this was not the first time Baeckström had mined the WHITE DOOR back catalogue as the more halcyon ‘School Days’ adorned the flip of his debut solo single ‘Come With Me’.

Available on the JOHAN BAECKSTRÖM EP ‘Like Before EP’ via Progress Productions

https://www.facebook.com/bstrommusic/

PSYCHE Ring The Bells (2016)

From the Cold War Night Life curated ‘Heresy: A Tribute To Rational Youth’, one of the highlights from the collection was PSYCHE’s take on ‘Ring The Bells’ from appropriately, RATIONAL YOUTH’s ‘Cold War Night Life’ debut. The clattering 808 beat and elegantly haunting sweeps combined with Darrin Huss’ mournful vocal provide an atmospheric reworking that betters the original and reflects the decades long kinship between RATIONAL YOUTH and PSYCHE.

Originally on the album ‘Heresy: A Tribute To Rational Youth’ (V/A) via Cold War Night Life, currently unavailable

http://www.psyche-hq.de/

THE FRIXION Under A Cherry Moon (2017)

Forming in 2016, seasoned vocalist Gene Serene and producer Lloyd Price’s combined sound delightfully borrowed from both classic synthpop and Weimar Cabaret on THE FRIXION’s self-titled EP debut. From it, a tribute to The Purple One came with this touching take of his ‘Under The Cherry Moon’, highlighting PRINCE’s often hidden spiritual connection to European pop forms and recalling ‘The Rhythm Divine’, YELLO’s epic collaboration with Shirley Bassey.

Available on THE FRIXION EP ‘The Frixion’ via https://thefrixion.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TheFrixion/

HEAVEN Lonesome Town (2017)

The mysterious HEAVEN first came to wider attention with the release of the ‘Lonesome Town’ EP. Caked in reverb and virtually unrecognisable, the funereal paced title song cover of the Ricky Nelson ballad captured the fragility of the broken heart as conveyed by the forlorn vocals of Aja Emma. Closer scrutiny revealed that HEAVEN was another project helmed by the ubiquitous musician and producer Johnny Jewel, best known a member of CHROMATICS.

Available on the HEAVEN EP ‘Lonesome Town’ via Italians Do It Better

https://www.facebook.com/ITALIANSDOITBETTER/

KALEIDA 99 Luftballons (2017)

Moody electronic duo KALEIDA first came to wider attention opening for Róisín Murphy in 2015. Covers have always been part of Christina Wood and Cicely Goulder’s repertoire with ‘A Forest’ and ‘Take Me To The River’ being among them. Their sparse rendition of ‘99 Luftballons’ by Nena earned kudos for being very different and included in the soundtrack of the Cold War spy drama ‘Atomic Blonde’, hauntingly highlighting the nuclear apocalypse warning in the lyric.

Available on the KALEIDA album ‘Tear The Roots’ via https://kaleida.bandcamp.com

http://kaleidamusic.com

UNIFY SEPARATE Mute (2017)

What happens when you cross anthemic Scottish indie with cinematic Swedish synth? You get US, now known as UNIFY SEPARATE. A cover of a 2001 song with an acoustic but modern flavour by Swedish singer-songwriter Stakka Bo aka Bo Johan Renck, this was perfect for Andrew Montgomery of GENEVA and Leo Josefsson of LOWE to showcase their different musical sensibilities in a more electronic setting as their debut single.

Available on the UNIFY SEPARATE album ‘First Contact’ via https://unifyseparate.bandcamp.com/album/first-contact

https://www.unifyseparate.com/

IONNALEE Mysteries Of Love (2019)

The biggest surprise on the second IONNALEEalbum ‘Remember The Future’ came with the cover of ‘Mysteries Of Love’, the iconic Angelo Badalamenti ‘Blue Velvet’ song with lyrics by David Lynch, originally performed by Julee Cruise. Co-produced by RÖYSKOPP, Jonna Lee stole the moment with her angelic voice while big synth leads and widescreen atmospheres were reminiscent of Vangelis.

Available on the IONNALEE album ‘Remember The Future’ via To Whom It May Concern

https://ionnalee.com

KID MOXIE Big In Japan (2020)

Unwittingly reflecting the Covid crisis, KID MOXIE soundtracked the film ‘Not To Be Unpleasant, But We Need to Have a Serious Talk’. The plot centred around a womanizer who finds out he is a carrier of an STD, lethal only to women! She said of ‘Big In Japan’: “It didn’t feel right to necessarily use drums because I did want to take a departure from the ALPHAVILLE original. There was already a strong rhythm element with the synth bass and it takes it to a different place by having a woman sing it.”

Available on the KID MOXIE album ‘The Covers’ via Minos EMI

http://www.facebook.com/kidmoxie

NATION OF LANGUAGE Gouge Away (2020)

NATION OF LANGUAGE front man Ian Devaney was in an alternative rock band THE STATIC JACKS who released an album in 2013, but his interest in synths was sparked by hearing OMD’s ‘Electricity’ in his father’s car for the first time in years. In NATION OF LANGUAGE, he combined his past and future interests into an excellent electronic cover of PIXIES’ ‘Gouge Away’ which managed to maintain the frustration, aggression and menace of the original within a new blippy machine driven setting.

Available on the NATION OF LANGUAGE single ‘Gouge Away’ via https://nationoflanguage.bandcamp.com/track/gouge-away

https://www.nationoflanguage.com/

DIE ROBO SAPIENS FanFanFanatisch (2020)

More machine than metal, DIE ROBO SAPIENS is the more purely electronic sideline of Düsseldorf industrialists DIE KRUPPS. In honour of their home city which spawned KRAFTWERK, NEU! and DAF, they covered the less internationally well-known RHEINGOLD in tribute their late leader Bodo Staiger; Given the subject matter, his powerful DAF-influenced 1982 statement on toxic fandom ‘FanFanFanatisch’ was appropriately reworked into something where the body was strong.

Available on DIE ROBO SAPIENS ‘FanFanFanatisch – The Düsseldorf EP’ via https://alfamatrix.bandcamp.com/album/fanfanfanatisch-the-d-sseldorf-ep

https://www.diekrupps.com/

JORJA CHALMERS Rhapsody (2021)

Recorded for a SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES covers album, this superb take by Jorja Chalmers on ‘Rhapsody’ off their ninth album ‘Peepshow’, made use of an intriguing electronic warble within its stripped down arrangement; from its claustrophobic cocoon, Chalmers sounds trapped in an unsettling icy soundscape of synthetic strings and choirs.

Available on the JORJA CHALMERS album ‘Midnight Train’ via Italians Do it Better

https://www.instagram.com/jorjachalmers/

GEMMA CULLINGFORD Ode To Billie Joe (2021)

Making her name in the duo SINK YA TEETH, Norwich-based Gemma Cullingford made her debut as a solo artist with the ‘Let Me Speak’ album. Utilising a minimal programmed backdrop, a stark spoken word reading of Bobby Gentry’s ‘Ode To Billie Joe’ proved to be a highlight. “I loved the melody, the fact that it was quite a happy sounding song but the lyrics seemed quite dark” she said, “Then I read the lyrics and saw just how dark they are, and I kinda jokingly said I’d do a cover of it!”

Available on the GEMMA CULLINGFORD album ‘Let Me Speak’ via Outré Disque

https://www.gemmacullingford.co.uk/

DLINA VOLNY Hollywood (2021)

Italians Do it Better were named after a legend emblazoned on a T-shirt Madonna was wearing in the ‘Papa Don’t Preach’ video and would later release a tribute compilation featuring their roster of artists. Exiled from their homeland of Belarus, DLINA VOLNY alternated a detached deepness with an unexpected pop register on their reinterpretation of ‘Hollywood’ that presented the song as a much harsher warning to those seeking stardom.

Available on the DLINA VOLNY album ‘Dazed’ via Italians Do it Better

https://www.facebook.com/dlinavolny/

PSY’AVIAN featuring MARI KATTMAN Monoculture (2022)

PSY’AVIAH is the electronic rock vehicle of Yves Schelpe and in a collaboration featuring Mari Kattman of HELIX on vocals, the B-side to their ‘Can We Make It Rhyme’ single was a cover of Monoculture’ which came from the first reunion of SOFT CELL in 2002. Her voice fitted perfectly to the heavier backdrop with the Marc Almond’s original commentary on the world’s cultural mediocrity as relevant as ever.

Available on the PSY’AVIAN featuring MARI KATTMAN maxi-single ‘Can We Make It Rhyme’ via Alfa Matrix

https://www.facebook.com/psyaviah/

https://www.facebook.com/MariKattman

SCANNER Alone Again Naturally (2022)

Not known for his vocal work as SCANNER, Robin Rimbaud recorded a covers EP of his late mother’s favourite songs as a tribute to her memory. Using vocoder and synths, his take on ‘Alone Again (Naturally)’, Gilbert O’Sullivan’s introspective hit song reflecting on loss and bereavement, was particularly poignant and perhaps unexpectedly given the robotic backdrop, emotional. The other songs featured were ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?’ and ‘When I Need You’.

Available on the SCANNER EP ‘Jayemme’ via https://scanner.bandcamp.com/album/jayemme

https://scannerdot.com/

DURAN DURAN Bury A Friend (2023)

With a vampiric intro recalling David Bowie’s ‘Cat People’, DURAN DURAN’s take on ‘Bury A Friend’ was much more direct and propulsive compared to the minimal Billie Eilish original. Swathed in jagged synth and guitar sounds as well as Simon Le Bon’s histrionic vocals, it more than fitted in with the Halloween theme of the ‘Danse Macabre’ album which was primarily made up of cover versions and darker re-recordings of Duran faves.

Available on the DURAN DURAN album ‘Danse Macabre’ via BMG / Tape Modern

https://duranduran.com/

SOFT CELL The World Turned Day-Glo (2023)

Always adept at doing covers having had hits with ‘Tainted Love’ and ‘What’, SOFT CELL presented a brilliant electro tribute to Poly Styrene with ‘The Day The World Turned Day-Glo’. Taking a musical leaf out of ‘Sex Dwarf’ with Dave Ball making his syndrums and synths sound so menacing yet accessible, while Marc Almond delivers a vocal recalling the anguish of ‘Martin’ with sleazy sax passages resonating with the dystopian lyrics.

Available on the SOFT CELL album ‘*Happiness now completed’ via BMG

http://www.softcell.co.uk

RICKY WILDE x NINA Lovers On A Beach (2023)

A fabulous cover of the Italo flavoured Kim Wilde B-side to ‘The Second Time’ from 1984, the throbbing ‘Lovers On A Beach’ saw NINA sounding sexier than ever before. Ricky Wilde said “I just thought there was a little bit more that it needed that I maybe wanted to add back in the day”. With sharp spikey edges boosting the trancey template, he provided a superb extended end section that paid homage to Giorgio Moroder in the best way possible.

Available on the RICKY WILDE X NINA album ‘Scala Hearts’ via New Retro Wave

https://twitter.com/Wildericky

https://www.iloveninamusic.com/

SALLY SHAPIRO Rent – NICOLAAS remix (2023)

Covered by acts as diverse CARTER THE UNSTOBBALE SEX MACHINE and Liza Minnelli, the latest interpretation of PET SHOP BOYS stark narrative of a kept woman came via this wispy account by Swedish duo SALLY SHAPIRO. Keeping the relationship dependency theme close to its heart but offering an icier Nordic vision from a female perspective, the sax of Steve Moore provided extra sleaze to the NICOLAAS remix.

Available on the SALLY SHAPIRO single ‘Rent’ via Italians Do It Better

https://www.facebook.com/shapirosally

NIGHT CLUB The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum (2024)

‘Masochist’ was the highly appropriate title for the fourth NIGHT CLUB album, a dystopian prophecy that came true! Written by FUN BOY THREE in 1981 as a metaphor by to the dangerous posturing games played by Ronald Reagan aka “The Cowboy” during The Cold War, the inclusion of a cover of ‘The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)’ became even more sinister with the ultimate lunatic duo of Donald Trump and JD Vance now given control of the nuclear button…

Available on the NIGHT CLUB album ‘Masochist’ via Gato Blanco

https://www.facebook.com/nightclubband

PROPAGANDA Wenn Ich Mir Was Wünschen Dürfte (2024)

Starting a new chapter of PROPAGANDA, Michael Mertens and Ralf Dörper recruited young German singer Thunder Bae. Her talent shined with a superbly enticing performance in a haunting cover of ‘Wenn Ich Mir Was Wünschen Dürfte’, a Weimar-era song written by Friedrich Hollaender in 1930 that was made famous by Marlene Dietrich. The song had been also used for a controversial scene in the 1974 film ‘The Night Porter’.

Available on the PROPAGANDA album ‘Propaganda’ via by Bureau B

https://propband.tilda.ws/

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s ‘A Fistful Of Electronic Covers’ playlist featuring reinterpretations through the ages can be heard via Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/12XFwF5iuLj3Jl7Tj2GTpE

Text by Chi Ming Lai
26th April 2025

GEMMA CULLINGFORD The Komiza Project

15 April 2024 /

Following up her collaborative EP ‘FOMO’ with performance poet Luke Wright, Gemma Cullingford presents another 4 track offering ‘The Komiza Project’.

It is the soundtrack to her lovely 25 minute short film ‘Home’ which comprises of Super 8 cine footage from between 1974 to 1983 assembled by Gemma Cullingford of her parents from their late teens through to their early 30s in East Anglia, Italy and Switzerland, with cameos from her grandparents, uncles and aunties, brother, friends and pet cat Beans.

The songs themselves date back to 2012 as compositions co-written with Liam Capper-Starr for her first band KOMIZA who released just one EP ‘Early Hours’ in 2014. Taking a step back from the sequencer-assisted dance friendly tunes of her two solo albums ‘Let Me Speak’ and ‘Tongue Tied’, ‘The Komiza Project’ captures Cullingford’s relationship break-up haziness of the time with observational lyrics by Capper-Starr.

The glorious melancholy of ‘Early Hours’ is a synth-laden song of wanting straight out of the Julee Cruise / Angelo Badalamenti / David Lynch songbook. Embroiled in hurt but less direct, ‘Hurry Home’ gazes more to the floor with its shimmering wall of sound and airy vulnerable vocal in the vein of Sarah Cracknell.

‘Ashes’ brings in a subtle bounce and a hint of optimism as part of the emotional recovery with the wonderful synth strings doing a great job of brightening the light at the end of the tunnel. Beginning like a SAINT ETIENNE acoustic ballad, ‘Battle Sighs’ closes with an acceptance to let things go and move on as more of those icy but beautiful synth strings take hold.

As accompaniment to the ‘Home’ film, the personal ethereal songs on ‘The Komiza Project’ make a perfect backdrop to ‘A Norfolk Love Story’ with their ghostly but nostalgic dreamlike qualities complimented by soft wispy vocals. It all fits wonderfully well together despite the seperate components having been made decades apart.

‘The Komiza Project’ is released by Shake! Shake! Records as a 12” vinyl EP in an individually hand numbered plain white sleeve with a unique 6”x4” photograph taken from the ‘Home’ film on 20 April 2024 for Record Store Day 2024 and digital formats on 27 April 2024

https://www.facebook.com/gemcullingford

https://twitter.com/gemcullingford

https://www.instagram.com/gemma_cullingford/

https://gemmacullingford.bandcamp.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
15th April 2024

A SYNTH IS FOR LIFE & NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS…

2 December 2023 /

As the Yule Tide season gets into full swing, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK presents a collection of modern seasonal tunes with a more artful slant…

With a song to play on each of the 25 days in December until Christmas, some are covers with a modern approach while others gather their thoughts and emotions into original compositions. But each has their own take on the holiday period, whether happy or sad or both.

Synths at Christmas are not entirely new; ‘Last Christmas’ by WHAM! was primarily made with a Roland Juno 60 while BAND AID’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas? was dominated by PPG Wave 2.2 with a percussive sample taken from ‘Memories Fade’ by TEARS FOR FEARS also being key to the intro.

However the traditional nature of Christmas often dictates traditional instrumentation in its songs, which means that Christmas synth songs are comparatively uncommon and a more recent phenomenon.

Whatever your plans whether with the family or in the studio, please remember, a synth is for life and not just for Christmas… may it bring you lots of cheer! The 25 songs are presented in yearly then alphabetical order within…

BE MUSIC Rocking Carol (1982)

A Be Music production for a limited edition flexi-disc of 4400 given away at The Haçienda on Christmas Eve 1982, with the greeting “Merry Xmas From The Haçienda And Factory Records”, this was NEW ORDER covering the traditional Czech seasonal tune also known as ‘Jesus Sweetly Sleep’ and ‘We Will Rock You’ as a robotic electronic tone poem. The second track was a version of Ludwig van Beethoven’s ‘Ode To Joy’ in a similar style!

Available on the compilation album ‘Ghosts of Christmas Past (Remake)’ (V/A) via Les Disques du Crépuscule

https://www.neworder.com/

EURYTHMICS Winter Wonderland (1987)

Recorded as part of an album on behalf of Special Olympics that featured U2, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams and Alison Moyet among others, EURYTHMICS’ glistening electronic take on romance during the winter season was cited by ASCAP as now the most played version of the song which was made famous by Darlene Love on the classic 1963 album ‘A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector’.

Available on the compilation album ‘A Very Special Christmas’ (V/A) via Universal Music

https://www.eurythmics.com/

S.P.O.C.K White Christmas (1992)

Swedish electronic pop veterans S.P.O.C.K celebrated their 35th Anniversary in 2023; originally recorded for Energy Rekords’ ‘Virtual X-Mas 92’ EP and then a bonus song on their 1995 compilation ‘A Piece Of The Action’, this cover of the Irving Berlin standard made famous by Bing Crosby was suitably melodramatic as the holiday season was celebrated in The Neutral Zone while under threat of an alien attack.

Available on the compilation album ‘Virtual 2020 X-Mas’ (V/A) via Energy Rekords

https://www.facebook.com/StarPilotOnChannelK/

SAINT ETIENNE Featuring TIM BURGESS I Was Born On Christmas Day (1993)

Delightfully catchy with a house-laden bounce, ‘I Was Born on Christmas Day’ was written in acknowledgement of band member Bob Stanley’s birthday for an EP ‘Xmas 93’. Featuring a duet between Sarah Cracknell and special guest vocals by Tim Burgess from THE CHARLATANS, the joyful narrative saw the couple elope, confusing some fans and press who thought the press photos were for real.

Available on the SAINT ETIENNE album ’A Glimpse Of Stocking’ via PIAS

http://www.saintetienne.com/

DEAD OR ALIVE Blue Christmas (2000)

Originally recorded as a sparse ballad for the B-side of 1990 DEAD OR ALIVE single ‘Your Sweetness Is Your Weakness’, Pete Burns’ foray into the music for holiday season was given a dancier makeover in 2000 by band mate Steve Coy. In hindsight, now sounds like a stylistic blue print for PET SHOP BOYS ‘It Doesn’t Often Snow At Christmas’. The two would later work together on the excellent if menacing ‘Jack & Jill Party’ in 2004.

Available on the DEAD OR ALIVE album ‘Fragile’ via Demon Music Group

https://www.discogs.com/artist/46720-Dead-Or-Alive

SALLY SHAPIRO Anorak Christmas (2006)

With their naïve wispiness, understated cinematics and disco beats, if there act who are ably suited to Christmas pop music, it is Swedish duo SALLY SHAPIRO. A cover of a song by NiXON, the project of fellow Swede Roger Gunnarsson, the lines “The first time that I saw your face on a cold December night, it was a Tuesday on a gig with a band that we both liked” captured an innocent romance and the aural warmth of the named apparel.

Available on the SALLY SHAPIRO album ‘Disco Romance’ via Paper Bag Records

https://www.facebook.com/shapirosally

PET SHOP BOYS It Doesn’t Often Snow At Christmas (2009)

Originally recorded in 1997 for an exclusive fan club single but remixed in 2009, ‘It Doesn’t Often Snow At Christmas’ was a suitably cynical offering. Famous for keeping THE POGUES ‘Farytale Of New York’ off the 1987 UK Christmas No1 spot with their cover of ‘Always On My Mind’, while this didn’t hit those commercial heights, it provided a very PET SHOP BOYS take on the madness of the festive season.

Available on the PET SHOP BOYS EP ‘Christmas’ via EMI Records

http://www.petshopboys.co.uk/

CHEW LIPS When You Wake Up (2010)

With their last single having been released in 2012, CHEW LIPS might well have disbanded but in 2010, on the back of their only album ‘Unicorn’ and its subsequent tour, they were on a productive high. ‘When You Wake Up’ was a bonus tune recorded and given away as a Christmas gift to fans at the end of that very successful year. Delivered with lead singer Tigs’ usual feisty panache, listening back only highlights how much CHEW LIPS are missed.

Originally released as a free download via https://soundcloud.com/chewlips/when-you-wake-up

https://www.facebook.com/CHEWLiPS/

HURTS All I Want For Christmas Is New Year’s Day (2010)

With their TAKE THAT dressed as ULTRAVOX template, following the success of their debut album ‘Happiness’, Theo Hutchcraft and Adam Anderson turned their attentions to memories of “the worst Christmas of our lives”. In true Bros Go To Bavaria style, despite the mournful start, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is New Year’s Day’ transformed itself into a hopeful uplifting anthem with a big chorus and lashings of tubular bells.

Available on the HURTS album  ‘Happiness’ via Major Label / RCA

http://www.informationhurts.com/

LOLA DUTRONIC Another Christmas Without Snow (2010)

In the UK, a wet Christmas is always more likely,  but LOLA DUTRONIC’s ‘Another Christmas Without Snow’ resonated with its melancholic yet pretty demeanour. The project of Canadian producer Richard Citroen and using a flexible roster of wispy female vocalists, the tones of Lola Dee came over all dreamy like SAINT ETIENNE and conveyed the season’s mixed emotions. In 2014, they presented ‘The Christmas Disco’.

Available on LOLA DUTRONIC single ‘(Another) Christmas Without Snow’ via Lola Dutronic

https://www.facebook.com/LOLA-DUTRONIC-80232595392/

ERASURE Gaudete (2013)

Andy Bell and Vince Clarke’s version of this traditional Ecclesiastical Latin carol continued an ERASURE tradition that had first begun with ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ for the CD edition of the ‘Crackers International’ EP in 1988. With a precise electronic backbeat, ‘Gaudete’ was taken from its 16th Century origins and thrown into the new millennium with a cheeky ‘Ice Machine’ reference for good measure.

Available on the ERASURE album ‘Snow Globe’ via Mute Artists

http://www.erasureinfo.com/

HYPERBUBBLE A Synthesizer for Christmas (2013)

HYPERBUBBLE A Synthesizer for ChristmasWhether it was a Casio, Yamaha or Roland, everyone who ever loved synth music wanted ‘A Synthesizer For Christmas’. Texan synthesizer couple HYPERBUBBLE took that enduring memory and turned it into a delightful synthpop ditty that could resonate with electronic geeks from 8 to 80 the world over. Short but very sweet, it was another joyous “cartoon automaton symphony” from Jess and Jeff DeCuir.

Available on the HYPERBUBBLE single ‘A Synthesizer For Christmas’ via Socket Sounds

http://www.hyperbubble.net/

VILE ELECTRODES The Ghosts Of Christmas (2013)

VILE ELECTRODES The Ghosts Of ChristmasIf ‘Twin Peaks’ met ‘Leader Of The Pack’ under the mistletoe, it would probably sound like ‘The Ghosts Of Christmas’. Possibly the best Christmas tune of the last 15 years, VILE ELECTRODES’ harrowing tale of a departed loved one and three wise men dressed in blue with dreadful gifts to bear is strangely enticing, with the beautifully haunting echoes of Julee Cruise’s ‘The Nightingale’ lingering over the frozen lake.

Available on the VILE ELECTRODES EP ‘The Ghosts Of Christmas’ via Vile Electrodes

http://www.vileelectrodes.com/

HANNAH PEEL Find Peace (2014)

HANNAH PEEL Find Peace‘Find Peace’ was a Christmas song longing for the cold but merry winters of yesteryear under the modern day spectre of global warming, armed conflict and political tension. The off-kilter analogue buzzing and almost random sequences made for a striking listen as a frantic percussive death rattle and an emotive synth drone take hold to provide an appropriate backdrop for the eerie but beautiful voice of Hannah Peel.

Available on the HANNAH PEEL single ‘Find Peace’ via Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club

http://www.hannahpeel.com/

MARSHEAUX We Met Bernard Sumner At A Christmas Party Last Night (2015)

GHOSTS-OF-CHRISTMAS-PAST-twi158cd‘We Met Bernard Sumner At A Christmas Party Last Night’ was a wonderfully whispery synthpop number that capture that classic wispy MARSHEAUX vibe. The lyrics were constructed from the song and album titles of NEW ORDER to provide an imaginary narrative on Marianthi Melitsi and Sophie Sarigiannidou surreally bumping into the Manchester combo’s lead singer at a Yule Tide function.

Available on the album ‘Ghost Of Christmas Past (Remake)’ (V/A) via Les Disques du Crépuscule

http://www.marsheaux.com

SPARKS Christmas Without A Prayer (2015)

On 1974’s ‘Kimono My House’ album, the Mael brothers recorded a song called ‘Thank God It’s Not Christmas’, a typically perverse SPARKS romp that had nothing to do as such with the holiday season. After their fruitful FFS collaboration WITH FRANZ FERDINAND, Russell and Ron ended the year with ‘Christmas Without A Prayer’, a fitting offering which also amusingly outlined that albums by WINGS were actually unwanted gifts.

Available on the SPARKS single ‘Christmas Without A Prayer’ via Lil’ Beethoven Records

http://www.allsparks.com/

VICE VERSA Little Drum Machine Boy (2015)

“A twisted cover of a cover of a cover”, this synthy reinterpretation of the tune based on a traditional Czech carol made famous by a bizarre but enjoyable version by David Bowie and Bing Crosby, saw former ABC stalwarts Mark White and Stephen Singleton reconvene as VICE VERSA to wax lyrical about 303s, 808s, 909s and a “shiny new Roland toy” in a combination of sleigh bells, squelching arpeggios and of course, drum machines…

Available as a free download via https://soundcloud.com/vice-versa-electrogenesis/little-drum-machine-boy

https://www.facebook.com/Vice-Versa-Electrogenesis-806726912703189/

ASSEMBLAGE 23 December (2016)

“Silent and alone, trying to make sense”, when you’ve had enough of Christmas shopping and the in-laws, there’s probably nothing better to let off steam than a bit of ASSEMBLAGE 23. While not exactly seasonal, Tom Shear’s Futurepop discoscape captured many of the mixed emotions endemic with the final month of the year, because in his determination to endure and to thrive, “when December ends, the pain will disappear…”

Available on the ASSEMBLAGE 23 album ‘Endure’ via Metropolis

https://www.assemblage23.com

SIN COS TAN Dead By X-Mas (2016)

A superb cover of Finnish metal glamsters HANOI ROCKS written by guitarist Andy McCoy predicticing where the band’s lifestyle could lead, this take on ‘Dead By X-Mas’ from the nocturnal synth duo SIN COS TAN came over a bit like Billy Idol gone electro, but with an elegiac twist. In 2006, the former William Broad himself issued his own collection of seasonal tunes entitled ‘Happy Holidays’ … it’s a nice day for a ‘White Christmas’!

Available as a free download via https://soundcloud.com/theofficialjorihulkkonen/sin-cos-tan-dead-by-x-mas

https://www.facebook.com/homeofsincostan/

FERAL FIVE I Want U (2017)

In a feminist call to reject the trash, with female empowerment lyrics like “I don’t need any money or a new handbag, I just need a kind of thing I’ve never had, who says you have to have some shabby gifts”, FERAL FIVE attacked tacky commercialism at Christmas in a sonic cacophony of crunchy bass guitar, big beats, sparkling electronics and chilling string machines for an alternative take on accepted practices during the seasonal festivities.

Available on the FERAL FIVE single ‘I Want U’ via Primitive Light Recordings

https://www.feralfive.com/

CIRCUIT3 I Believe In Father Christmas (2018)

Made famous by Greg Lake, CIRCUIT3 used analogue synths such as a Sequential Pro-One, Roland JX10, Korg Wavestation and Moog Sub37 to provide an eerie chill to the already cynical and  morbid 1975 song protesting at the commercialisation of Christmas. The lyricist was KING CRIMSON’s Peter Sinfield who later wrote the words to BUCKS FIZZ’s No1 ‘The Land Of Make Believe’ which warned against the evils of Thatcherism.

Available on the CIRCUIT 3 single ‘I Believe In Father Christmas’ via Diode Records

http://www.circuit3.com/

WAVESHAPER Walking In The Air (2020)

Written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film ‘The Snowman’ which later added a cameo intro by David Bowie, ‘Walking In The Air’ became a hit for Aled Jones although the original version was actually sung by choir boy Peter Auty. Tom Andersson is the Swedish synthesist and retro gamer known as WAVESHAPER and his symphonic instrumental synthwave cover was both respectful and beautiful.

Available as a free download via https://soundcloud.com/waveshaper-2/walking-in-the-air-waveshaper-synth-edit

https://www.facebook.com/Waveshaperofficial

RODNEY CROMWELL Cold Christmas (2022)

If Canadian post-punk quartet ACTORS did Christmas songs, then it would have probably sounded like this gothic motorik number from the ever cheerful Rodney Cromwell. Written for Cherryade Records’ ‘A Very Cherry Christmas’ compilation, its chilling ARP synth strings and driving bass guitar was in total antithesis to Cliff Richard with bleak observational lyrics “like ‘Eleanor Rigby’ turbo-charged for 2022”.

Available on the RODNEY CROMWELL single ‘Cold Christmas’ via Happy Robots Records

https://www.facebook.com/rodneycromwellartist

SOFTWAVE featuring BARNEY ASHTON-BULLOCK Will It Ever Be Christmas Again? (2022)

“Of the year behind that we survived and the future we’d wish to see”, ‘Will It Ever Be Christmas Again?’ was presented as “Probably the first synthpop Christmas song in Danish music history”, SOFTWAVE provided a hopeful message to hold back on overindulgence.  ‘Andy Bell Is Torsten’ writer Barney Ashton-Bullock made a Santa Claus cameo reminding everyone that “Self-service, doesn’t mean self, self, self…”

Available on the SOFTWAVE single ‘Will It Ever Be Christmas Again?’ via Softwave

http://www.softwavemusic.com

GEMMA CULLINGFORD In The Bleak Midwinter (2023)

Something of a tradition having covered a variety of recent and traditional seasonal tunes like ‘Walking In The Air’, ‘Lonely This Christmas’ and ‘Deck The Halls’ in previous years, Norwich-based Gemma Cullingford took Christina Rossetti’s poem and Gustav Holst’s musical arrangement of ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’ into darker and colder electro dance territory, reflecting today’s divided world in a cost of living crisis.

Available on the GEMMA CULLINGFORD single ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’ via Elmo Records

https://www.gemmacullingford.co.uk/

A further varied collection of seasonal synth based tunes compiled by ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK can be listened to at: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7vIIjZkGd3cVOSarUPvX85

Text by Chi Ming Lai
2nd December 2023

GEMMA CULLINGFORD & LUKE WRIGHT Interview

31 August 2023 /

Gemma Cullingford is the acclaimed musician, songwriter and producer with two solo albums ‘Let Me Speak’ and ‘Tongue Tied’ to her name. Luke Wright is the dynamic performance poet with a stark but witty take on 21st century British life. Together they have a “fear of missing out”.

‘FOMO’ is the 4 track extended play release by Gemma Cullingford and Luke Wright. The pair have known each other for around 20 years within the Suffolk arts scene with Luke’s then poetry collective AISLE 16 often compering for bands which Gemma was part of, the 2021 lockdown sparked an idea for an electro-poetic collaboration.

With shades of renowned punk-poet John Cooper Clarke and East Midlands duo SLEAFORD MODS, ‘FOMO’ is an enjoyable but abrasive dance friendly commentary that covers toxic masculinity, dance aversion, inner demons and the fashion for self-improvement.

ELECTRICITTYCLUB.CO.UK spoked to Gemma Cullingford and Luke Wright about their fear of missing out and much more.

How did you come together to do some electronic disco poetry?

Gemma: Luke and I have known each other since the early 00s when Luke’s poetry collective AISLE 16 who were based in Norwich used to compere shows at Norwich Arts Centre and I was often one of the bands in those shows back then. I had dabbled with a similar concept in the mid-00s with another of AISLE 16 – our mutual friend Yanny Mac – when I first purchased an eMac (remember those?!) and started teaching myself Garage Band. We formed a kinda fake band called DED DOG briefly and wrote a few tunes where I’d cut up Yanny’s poems and put them to a backing track. I’d always fancied trying that again.

Fast forward to 2021 when my first solo single came out and Luke took a shine to my instrumental tune ‘104’. He dropped me a line to say how much he liked it and I asked him if he fancied trying a collaboration with his poems over my music. He was game and a week later we had these 4 songs! We’ve only just got round to releasing them though as we’ve both been super busy with our own projects (Luke is still mega busy and successful!)

Luke: I really wanted to collaborate with Gemma but I was too nervous to ask, so it was very nice that she did. I remember walking along the coast with ‘104’ on repeat just improvising lyrics over the top, it was such fun in that was a very bleak period.

Had John Cooper Clarke’s albums with Martin Hannett like ‘Disguise In Love’, ‘Zip Style Method’ and ‘Snap, Crackle & Bop’ been an influence?

Gemma: I’d never actually heard them, so no!

Luke: I’ve been JCC’s regular tour support for about 12 years, and been gigging with him regularly for years before that. He was a huge influence on me when I was starting out, but less so for the albums, more as a live poet. I do know those albums, and I love tracks like ‘Valley of the Long Lost Women’ but on the whole, I prefer the poems without that music.

Was featuring both your voices a conscious move in the concept of this EP?

Gemma: As always with me there are no conscious moves or concepts, it’s just what feels right. I like the contrast in our voices and I think they balance each other out a bit. The track ‘FOMO’ was a song I’d had sitting around for a good few years which only had part vocals. When Luke put his poem to it, it fitted magically!

Luke: The other tracks were made from scratch and come together quite organically. ‘Therapist’ was a poem Gemma cut up and put over music. ‘Ballroom’ was a track I wrote lyrics to. ‘Beast’ was a track I cut up and made into a more traditional pop song shape then wrote lyrics to. But ‘FOMO’ was a little different in is much as Gemma had done all her bits and was already quite attached to the song as it was and sent it to me with the caveat not to be offended if she didn’t use anything I added to it! In the end, I used a poem that already existed called ‘William Hague in a Baseball Cap’, about male insecurity in a time of female empowerment. By far the most lyrics of any of the songs and it just sort of worked.

Where has the world’s “fear of missing out” come from? Why does it appear to be a bigger issue now than it was before and has social media amplified it?

Luke: I used to get FOMO really badly and then I got married and had kids and missed out on absolutely everything, the point where it was pointless to care about it. But then I got divorced and entered into a long distance relationship. My girlfriend was often going out with her mates while I was stuck at home with the kids hundreds of miles away, which left me feeling like a teenager. Only I was a lot fatter.

Countering that “fear of missing out” is ‘Ballroom’ which recalls Gary Clail, is this a fight for the right NOT to party? It’s a fascinating paradox…

Gemma: I love Luke’s lyrics to this as an introvert! I often feel awkward on stage and I don’t move around much so I could totally get behind these lyrics. I do love a dance after a good few drinks though, but I mean a REAL good few! Plus I love writing danceable music yet I don’t like clubbing or raves etc. I’m full of contradictions, me!

Luke: I’m really glad you like this one, Gemma, because I was a bit meh about it. I was writing a poem for the Kennedy Foundation For Human Rights. There were 30 poets, each writing about a different article of the UN Convention For Human Rights. Mine was article 20: “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.” I had a metaphor in my poem about a dance floor that didn’t really fit, so I developed it here. This is about social media to an extent, about trying to remain above the fray, not to get involved in group think. And it’s about dancing!

The ‘FOMO’ tracks and its lines about being “pale male and stale and not all men” and “I am the sh*t Morrissey says in interviews” are all part of a starker observation about toxic masculinity?

Luke: I wrote this in 2018 when there was a lot of discussion around toxic masculinity in the wake of #MeToo. As a left-wing liberal person, the media I consume, and the people I follow, are very progressive, so my online life seemed to a succession of posts saying “UGH MEN!” This piece isn’t complaining about that, I think most of this discourse was sorely needed. It’s just feeling it a bit and also trying to be funny about it as well. Sending up the woundedness, lampooning myself.

Are things improving since #MeToo or is the continued adulation of high profile misogynists like Andrew Tate and Donald Trump proof that there is a long way to go?

Gemma: Women being heard and taken more seriously and the general awareness of misogyny are improving perhaps, but unfortunately I don’t think it’ll stop certain types of folk from needing to feel powerful and belittling (and worse) women in order to do so. Through talking about it and forming social movements, it equips women with knowledge and awareness. I’m only just waking up to certain things. I’m realising that behaviour – both from and aimed at all genders and walks of life – can be oppressive and it’s things that I might have just accepted as being normal before, but actually it’s not right at all. It’s all so very subtle and how we’ve all been conditioned in society. This country is a lot better than some but as a world, I think we’ve all a looooong way to go.

Luke: I’m not surprised that figures like Andrew Tate have come to prominence. It’s a backlash against stuff like #MeToo. But those of us on the side of progress just need to keep pushing back. I am the father of teenage sons who are appalled by Andrew Tate, so it’s not a lost cause. It’s about education and bringing people with you. I can understand the howls of anger from women about male behaviour but if you want to take a new generation of boys and men with you, the discussion needs to feel inclusive so figures like Andrew Tate can’t get a look in.

‘You Are Making Progress With Your Therapist’ is a typical Gemma backing track, but how much of the monologue was already part of something already written, how did things develop to completion?

Gemma: ‘Therapist’ was the first track that came out of this collaboration and I wrote the music the very night that we decided to collaborate. Luke recorded and sent over the poem and I popped it over the top of the music and repeated the line to make a kinda chorus out of it. At the exact same time, I sent Luke an instrumental track and he wrote a poem to go over it, which ended up as ‘Ballroom’. So both tunes happened pretty simultaneously and very quickly. Which then spurred us to create two more…

Luke: It was poem I’d just finished. It worked being split in two. It’s my favourite of our tracks.

There’s some great Moroder-esque programming and keys work on the backing track of ‘The Beast’ which really adds to the narrative tension but who is that beast that is angrily being referred to?

Gemma: Thanks! That was another song I’d had kicking about for a couple of years which needed vocals. I sent that to Luke and he chopped it up a bit and put a snarly John Lydon-meets-Shaun Ryder-esque vocal to it.

Luke: F*ck knows that this is about. I used all the lines I liked best in my notebook. But… it is kind of about an old rockstar shuffling around the town years after fame and riches have passed him by. I do actually know someone like this. “The Beast” is rock n roll, I think.

What is next for you, would you like to do more collaborations?

Gemma: I’m taking a bit of a break from performing to recharge my batteries. Performing, promoting and touring really takes it out of me and I’m a bit of a home bird, I get overwhelmed quite easily. So I’m gonna take a break from performing and writing until the urge to do more comes – which I’m sure it will! In the meantime at the moment I’m enjoying my DJ venture with my partner – we play vinyl only singles and I get immense enjoyment from playing other people’s songs that I love and that have shaped me and my musical tastes!

I do have a Christmas song to come out but I’ll not be performing it live anywhere. However, knowing me, I could be eating my words in a few weeks – but right now, this is my current plan. I would totally be up for more collaborations with Luke in future but he’s an extremely busy guy. Make sure to check out his shows. Seriously good stuff!!

Luke: I think we should do another song! Saying I’m busy makes it sound like I’m working on a series of glamorous projects, in reality I’m just driving from town to town playing small theatres. I’m a long distance driver who does a bit of poetry on the side.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Gemma Cullingford and Luke Wright

‘FOMO’ is released by Elmo Recordings via https://gemmacullingford.bandcamp.com/album/fomo

The ‘FOMO’ EP Launch takes place at Karma Café in Norwich on Friday 1st September 2023

To celebrate the release of ‘FOMO’, Gemma Cullingford and Luke Wright have teamed up with brewery Iron Pier and artist Duncan Grant to create a limited edition tropical hazy pale ale, available online direct from https://ironpier.beer/collections/cans/products/fomo-5-3-440ml-can

https://www.gemmacullingford.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/gemcullingford

https://twitter.com/gemcullingford

https://www.instagram.com/gemma_cullingford/

https://www.lukewright.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/MrLukeWright/

https://twitter.com/lukewrightpoet

https://www.instagram.com/lukewrightpoet

Text by Chi Ming Lai
1 September 2023

2022 END OF YEAR REVIEW

22 December 2022 /

Photo by Tapio Normall

It was hoped to be a year of positive electricity but with the oddball burst of negative waves, 2022 was summed up by the title of its best album.

The product of Finnish duo SIN COS TAN, ‘Living In Fear’ captured the anxieties of living with The Bear Next Door in a post-pandemic world. With billionaires taking over social media with the intent of allowing the extreme right wing an increased voice, it was as if the lessons of Trump and Bolsonaro had not been learned.

‘The Wolves Are Returning’ warned xPROPAGANDA on a track from their excellent album ‘The Heart Is Strange’, the message coming from two Germans whose grandparents’ generation “did nothing” and had made the mistake of opening up the door to the Nazis was extremely poignant.

It was as if The Cold War had never ended; the poetry of one who has escaped ethnic genocide and been separated from next of kin as a refugee has substance. So for Alanas Chosnau on his second album with Mark Reeder, this was ‘Life Everywhere’ and provided a deeper statement on life during wartime. Meanwhile China’s STOLEN presented their ‘Eroded Creation’ and explained ‘Why We Follow’.

Battles both worldwide and personal were being reflected in music everywhere with ‘War’ by I SPEAK MACHINE being another example. Things did not get much cheerier with Rodney Cromwell whose long-awaited second long player ‘Memory Box’ provided commentary on a sadly post-truth world, the so-called “alternative facts” as Donald Trump’s extremely dim advisor Kellyanne Conway liked to put it.

The decade so far has not been a barrel of laughs and the likes of UNIFY SEPARATE, BOY HARSHER, O+HER, NNHMN, VANDAL MOON and ADULT. captured the zeitgeist of the past 3 years.

Meanwhile, MECHA MAIKO maintained it was still ‘NOT OK’, I AM SNOW ANGEL felt it was now a ‘Lost World’ and Swedish duo SALLY SHAPIRO made their comeback by reflecting on ‘Sad Cities’.

As sardonic as ever, DUBSTAR presented their second collection of kitchen sink dramas since they reconfigured as a duo with ‘Two’ and reunited with producer Stephen Hague for their most acclaimed record since their 1995 debut ‘Disgraceful’.

On a more optimistic note, Italians Do It Better brought their cinematic world to London with headline shows by DESIRE and MOTHERMARY who each had new long form releases to air, while shyness was nice for the most promising breakthrough act of the year Gemma Cullingford who got all ‘Tongue Tied’ on her second long player. Meanwhile DAWN TO DAWN, ULTRAFLEX and H/P offered electronically escapist solutions to the year,

But KID MOXIE was happy to ‘Shine’ with the best video of 2022 while CZARINA got mystical with ‘Arcana’, Karin Park looked back at her ‘Private Collection’ and Patricia Wolf explored ambience on ‘See-Through’. Other female talent that shone brightly in 2022 included Norway’s SEA CHANGE, Sweden’s Hanna Rua, Alina Valentina from The Netherlands, Mexican Valentina Moretti and Anglo-French avant songstress Julia-Sophie but sister / brother duos MINIMAL SCHLAGER and SPRAY proved siblings could continue to work well together in synth.

40 years after the release of their debut album ‘Happy Families’, BLANCMANGE returned home to London Records for a ‘Private View’ while mainman Neil Arthur was keeping himself busy with FADER too. Having being shelved for 30 years, the second ELECTRIBE 101 album ‘Electribal Soul’ finally saw the light of day. And some 39 years after it was first conceived, the lost Warren Cann and Hans Zimmer opus ‘Spies’ was released in a new 21st Century recording by the HELDEN Project’s lead vocalist Zaine Griff.

Although PET SHOP BOYS celebrated their career with the magnificent ‘Dreamworld’ tour for the best live event of 2022 and joined SOFT CELL in the ‘Purple Zone’, Marc Almond and David Ball presented the disclaimer ‘*Happiness Not Included’ before announcing that they would be performing at a run of outdoor events in 2023 despite having stated their 2018 O2 extravaganza would be their last.

Also having declared a final album in 2014, RÖYKSOPP returned with the triple volumed ‘Profound Mysteries’ that featured Susanne Sundfør and Alison Goldfrapp.

Veterans Howard Jones, William Orbit, Jean-Michel Jarre and Wolfgang Flür as well as long-standing Nordic combos LUSTANS LAKEJER and A-HA released new albums but while the quality across the releases was mixed, fans were loyal and happy. After various trials and tribulations, TEARS FOR FEARS returned with ‘The Tipping Point’ and erased memories of the lacklustre 2004 comeback ‘Everybody Loves A Happy Ending’, but the duo were unable to capitalise when the majority of the UK concert tour of stately homes was cancelled due to an unfortunate accident that befell Curt Smith.

Creating a dehumanised technologically dependent Sci-Fi world, DIE KRUPPS opted for more machine than metal under their EBM pseudonym DIE ROBO SAPIENS. With NASA making its first steps back to the moon with the Artemis project, fittingly Italian producer EUGENE spent ‘Seven Years In Space’ and Ireland’s CIRCUIT3 looked back at space travel’s past on ‘Technology For The Youth’. Back on earth, THE WEEKND was still being accused of stealing from synthwave while coming up with the song of the year in ‘Less Than Zero’. In the meantime, having infuriated audiences by saying “f*ck that ‘synthwave’ stuff as u name it” in 2018, KAVINSKY was ‘Reborn’ with a second album that had much less of the wave and expanded into broader electronically generated templates with the occasional funkier overtones.

Celebrating ‘40 Years Of Hits’ on a sell-out arena tour and issuing a new album ‘Direction Of The Heart’ which featured a guest appearance by Russell Mael of SPARKS on the single ‘Traffic’ with the obligatory ‘Acoustic Mix’, as the excellent book ‘Themes For Great Cities’ by Graeme Thomson highlighted, the best years of SIMPLE MINDS are now well behind them. They are a poor facsimile of the great band they once were and as a special Summer concert in Edinburgh in honour of ‘New Gold Dream’ proved, Jim Kerr and Co can’t even play their best album properly.

Music-related books continued to be popular with Martyn Ware and Karl Bartos respectively writing their memoirs ‘Electronically Yours Vol1’ and ‘The Sound Of The Machine’. In a wider historical context, that crucial 1978-1983 period where electronic pop was more or less invented got documented in the encyclopaedic ‘Listening To The Music The Machines Make’ by Richard Evans.

2022 saw several prominent figures depart for the jukebox in the sky; Vangelis, Manuel Göttsching, Angelo Badalamenti, Julee Cruise, Dave Smith, Herb Deutsch, Terry Hall, Robert Marlow and Andy Fletcher will be sadly missed but ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK was particularly devasted by the passing of German electronic legend Klaus Schulze only 4 days after he gave a rare interview to the site.

Meanwhile Dave Gahan and Martin Gore announced yet another tour of underwhelming arena shows plonked into stadiums for an as-yet-unfinished album that at least had a title ‘Momento Mori’. Ticketscalper took advantage with so-called dynamic pricing (or legalised touting) as hapless Devotees were fleeced thousands of dollars in North America… all this just to see a continually ungrateful frontman (who didn’t even sing is own words on a DEPECHE MODE song until 2005) gesture with a microphone in the air on a catwalk rather than actually singing on it and to possibly hear a pre-1985 song performed that will inevitably ruined by The Drumhead and The Noodler!

As Juls Garat of Massachusetts goth band PILGRIMS OF YEARNING observed via social media: “If you’re spending a kidney on DEPECHE MODE tickets and not attending a local show this weekend, I don’t wanna see you complaining that there’s no scene, local venues or new music anymore”. With the lack of curiosity amongst audiences who were content with nostalgia and the like, it was a difficult year for independent acts.

There is no easy answer and as the old saying goes, you can take a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink. But one promoter that did hit on an innovative idea was Duskwaves who came up with afternoon synth gigs. Hosted at various locations in the South East of England with the aim of drumming up daytime weekend business at venues, events started at 2.00pm and ended by 6.00pm to allow for an easy journey home or possibly dinner afterwards. Artists such as YOUNG EMPRESS, INFRA VIOLET, STRIKE EAGLE and AUW joined in the family friendly fun and while the concept was unusual, with classic synth audiences not getting any younger, it has potential.

While the worldwide situation remains uncomfortable and unsettling, for The Cold War generation, it all seemed strangely familiar. As Jori Hulkkonen of SIN COS TAN said in an interview with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK recently: “It feels kind of comfortable to be back in that same state of mind that you grew up in!! It’s like you grew up in not a nice place, but you get 20-30 years out of it and then you get drawn back into The Cold War state of mind. It’s where I come from and there’s nothing good about it, but somehow feels very familiar so you can handle it in a different way”.

The Cold War inspired songs such as ‘Enola Gay’, ‘Fireside Favourite’, ‘All Stood Still’, ‘Let’s All Make A Bomb’, ‘I Melt With You’, ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ and ‘Five Minutes To Midnight’ which encapsulated the nuclear paranoia of the times. So if the current tensions go on any longer, how will artistic expression be affected and driven?

But as Synthesizer Patel actor Sanjeev Kohli wittily remarked of the UK’s 41 day Prime Minister aka Mad Lizzie following her successful leadership bid: “Liz Truss has now been trusted with the nuclear button. I honestly wouldn’t trust her with the bossanova button on a broken Yamaha keyboard”.

In a year which saw the bizarre scenario of a black vicar worshipping Enoch Powell on the repulsive gammon TV channel GB News and the truth about Tory PPE scandals becoming clearer, Richy Sunak, Ugly Patel, Cruella Braverman and Krazi Kwarteng continued to be the ultimate race traitors in their Westminster tribute band A FLOCK OF SIEG HEILS. Failing to look in the mirror, their role as collaborators was all as part of a wider self-serving mission to help keep the whites Reich and line the pockets of their already loaded banker mates instead of paying nurses a fair wage. Nurses are for life and not just for Covid. So what did happen to that £350 million promised for the NHS by that pompous lying posh boy Boris Johnson if Brexit happened? As Tim Burgess of THE CHARLATANS summed it all up rather succinctly on Twitter: “Worth remembering that the real enemy travels by private jet, not by dinghy” ✊😉

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 2022 playlist ‘Stay Negative To Be Positive’ playlist can be listened to at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Mw0Fn10yNZQcrGzod98MM

Text by Chi Ming Lai
22nd December 2022

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