Tag: Kid Moxie (Page 1 of 9)

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

KID MOXIE: The Covers Interview

23 December 2024 /

Photo by Paige Von Bank

‘The Covers’ is the new long playing collection by KID MOXIE.

The musical vehicle of Greek-born Elena Charbila, although KID MOXIE has been busy these past few years with her 2022 long player ‘Better Than Electric’ and 2023’s collaborative EP ‘Lust’ with German Queen Of Synthwave NINA released on Italians Do It Better, the new collection was precipitated by her soundtrack work on the 2020 film ‘Not To Be Unpleasant, But We Need To Have A Serious Talk’.

While the majority of the material on the soundtrack was instrumental, it included a stark feminine reinterpretation of ALPHAVILLE’s ‘Big In Japan’; the traction gained led to further soundtrack commissions, most notably the drama series ‘Maestro In Blue’, the first Greek television series to be made available on Netflix. This led to a number of cover versions being commissioned in her continental cinematic pop style. Ranging from worldwide pop classics to Greek language evergreens, a number were included in the series and released as single while others remained unused on the hard drive… until now.

Now back in Athens after many years of living in Los Angeles, Elena Charbila spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about the stories behind recording the various songs included on ‘The Covers’ album…

Why did you decide to put together a covers compilation?

I feel like there was too many floating around and I think it was motivated by my OCD which wants things in boxes and chapters… covers are a big chapter of my musical life and something that more people got to know me from, as tends to happen with covers in general. So I thought I would put them in one chapter and put them away for a while because I’m ready to say “this was the covers chapter, let’s move on to more original stuff”. But I’m also really proud of this chapter so I wanted to highlight it.

What has been particularly delightful about this compilation is you’ve made a statement of your Greek heritage by including ‘Aniko Se Mena’, ‘Ela Mazi Mou’, ‘Poios To Kserei’, ‘Ti Einai Ayto Pou To Lene Agapi’, ‘Τa Ladadika’ and ‘Panselinos’?

It wasn’t intentional, but I was a little bit sceptical and apprehensive about going there. But it feels in life that going back full circle has a liberating feeling because there’s sometimes to fear about going back to your roots. I was always afraid of leaving America and moving back to Greece, it was almost “a step backwards” but I don’t see it that way anymore.

It’s the same with these covers, I don’t see singing in my native language as a step backwards, I see it as “what a cool bridge”, coming back full circle and singing in a language that was “too close to home” literally… liberating is one way of describing it, but there was a sensation of getting closer to where you may be running from. So you want to differentiate yourself from your heritage, your roots, your home, your parents and then once you’ve done that, it’s almost like the odyssey, you come full circle and can embrace it because I’ve found pieces of myself along the way. So I can embrace where I came from because that was the jolt to take the journey in the first place.

How would something like ‘Ti Einai Ayto Pou To Lene Agapi’ which was in a 1957 Sophia Loren film have been chosen?

Oddly enough, this was a suggestion from the label Universal Greece, they said “you haven’t really done anything Greek, this is an iconic Greek song, the one that has been sung the most because of Sophia Loren, how do you feel about doing this one?”

Usually I refrain from doing stuff that is already close to my vibe, this was already ethereal, emotional, sung by a woman and Greek…. one of the things when I do covers is I don’t want to be compared, so I always try to pick something so different in order to do something different. But it was a revelation to do something that I was a little apprehensive about and scared of. And now it’s one of my favourite covers I’ve ever done at this point 🙂

How did you decide on the eerie synthwave arrangement for ‘Ti Einai Ayto Pou To Lene Agapi’?

It was born into it with me, it’s the ballpark I like, I really like those sonic soundscapes and vibes. Something like this that’s been so traditional and filmic and Greek, how would it live in that soundspace? That was what really excited me.

In a way, your approach to this reminds me of PROPAGANDA doing that cover of ‘Wenn Ich Mir Was Wünschen Dürfte’ this year; I think as much as people can complain about Spotify etc, it has sort of created an international environment now where language is no longer a barrier to appreciating music anymore…

I agree and I actually thought it’s hot for people who don’t understand a language to still like it and get the feeling. For me, it’s never been about lyrics anyway, I write lyrics because I write music, lyrics always came secondary so it doesn’t matter what language they are in. Primarily it is about the melody and the music. I’m not a Bob Dylan fan, but people who love him, love him for what he says mostly, it’s just not my cup of tea and I don’t know if that’s sacrilegious but that’s now I feel because I don’t feel the vibes *laughs*

I know what you mean, I only like Bob Dylan songs when they are covered by other people and to be quite honest, I prefer Leonard Cohen! *laughs*

100%!

Photo by Paige Von Bank

You duetted on ‘Aniko Se Mena’ with Giorgos Mazonakis, how did this come about because this is unusual in that you are singing this with the original artist?

Yes, there’s two of these on the album, the other is with Haris Alexiou, both of them came as requests. All these Greek artists, I was surprised and grateful that they invited me to touch iconic songs of theirs and I can include them now on my album.

The one with Giorgos Mazonakis was for a Cannes award winning short film ‘On Xerxes Throne’. But he was ready to take a departure and make something really different plus he was also starring in the film, so that’s how it came about. This is another iconic Greek song that everybody in Greece knows, very traditional sounding with Bouzouki and all of that, but because I don’t listen to Greek music, I didn’t even know it which was a surprise to Mazonakis, he was like “C’mon dude, you don’t know my song?”! *laughs*

‘Panselinos’ is a duet with Haris Alexiou who released an album of reworks, the backing sounds a bit like that great late Greek Vangelis?

This song means “Full Moon”; I call Haris Alexiou “the DEPECHE MODE of Greece” because a couple of months after my collaboration with DEPECHE MODE on ‘Wagging Tongue’, people were asking me about her and she has a legacy of decades with a huge audience abroad as well. Sounding like Vangelis was intentional but it’s always unintentional at the same time, him and Angelo Badalamenti are my two favourite composers of all time. So I feel once you love and have delved into somebody’s work so much, it’s inevitable that you are going to bring it with you! So that’s an amazing compliment!

Photo by Paige Von Bank

‘Poios To Kserei’ was made famous by Nana Mouskouri who is a worldwide star and my mother played at lot at home, but you’ve given it a very different synthwave treatment?

I did this one because my Mum loves it and what’s more Greek than doing something your Mum chooses! *laughs*

It’s a gorgeous song, this and ‘Ela Mazi Mou’ which means “Come With Me”, they are both my Mum’s choices, I said to her “I making some Greek songs, please tell me some of your favourites”; she wrote down a list, I picked two and I made them for her 🙂

Another song you have given a synthwave treatment to is ‘Τa Ladadika’ which in its Dimitris Mitropanos version has a traditional dramatic delivery complete with Bouzouki?

Talking about legends, people would have killed for Mitropanos who has now passed on, but he is someone who is so heavy in Greek culture and people are very passionate about him. This is a song about prostitutes in a particular area of Northern Greece and it was really interesting for a woman to be talking about that in those lyrics rather than a man as per the original. It’s a gorgeous melody and an iconic track.

Do you think your cover of ALPHAVILLE’s ‘Big In Japan’ presented you to a much wider audience?

YES I DO! *laughs*

How do you look back on the reaction to it?

Again, this was created for a film back in 2019 and that showed me what covers can do… it showed me that there is such a bridge between an indie artist and an audience once you throw in something really recognisable and twist it on its face. So I was thinking “oh cool, maybe I could do a little more of that” and more and more and more. It felt like the beginning and it’s still one of the ones I still listen to, because there is some stuff I listen to from the past, even in ‘The Covers’ where I think “this is good, I see why I wanted to do this” but ‘Big In Japan’, I’m a fan of how that sounds… I’m not saying that about everything but that one is one of my favourites.

Did Marian Gold of ALPHAVILLE ever feedback his opinion?

I did! We have the same publisher Schubert so I heard through them that he heard it and loved it, that was an amazing pat on the back on my first big cover 🙂

Doing the ‘Creep’ cover was a bold step, but while recording it, did you notice how close it really was musically to ‘The Air That I Breathe’ which was written by Albert Hammond and made famous by THE HOLLIES?

No! I never thought about that!

The song was done as a love theme for a Netflix show called ‘Maestro In Blue’, the third and final season has just dropped and three songs from ‘The Covers’ appear. That was actually a request on the strength of ‘Big In Japan’ from the director who loved ‘Creep’, he wanted the something close to that. But when I listen back to both of them, they really don’t sound similar. ‘Big In Japan’ definitely has a darker sparse edge whereas ‘Creep’ is way more ethereal. It also became one of my favourite covers and got a lot of love. And because people heard it, it brought me a lot of other beautiful things and people asked if I would like to work with them, it was very unexpected.

Because the show and song were popular, whether it’s liked or not, I was craving some hate mail! I was like “Where is my hate mail you guys?”; I felt people were going to think I was disrespecting it! It’s like with ‘Ti Einai Ayto Pou To Lene Agapi’, when it was released a couple of week ago, I was waiting for the hate mail, it didn’t come… but then about a week ago, somebody posted a horrific comment on Instagram about it saying that he’s been puking since he heard it and it’s a horrible thing and vile and I should die and how dare I, so I pinned it as a top comment, I was like “yeah, here we go!”… so ‘Creep’ didn’t get enough hate like I thought it was going to! *laughs*

What inspired you to put together a ‘Twin Peaks’ meets darkwave version of ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’?

Again, this was a request from the director for ‘Maestro In Blue’ for a very very important love scene, a full circle end of episode scene. As with ‘Creep’, I’m anticipating reaction, let’s see how that does… *laughs*

Photo by Paige Von Bank

‘Waiting For Tonight’ saw you do a delicious rework of the song with NINA, are there any plans to work together again?

Not in the immediate future, I think we’re both focussed on our own individual stuff but I am so proud of what we did together and the ‘Lust’ EP is one of my favourites, also getting to work with Italians Do It Better was something we had both been wanting to do for a long time. This song is like the womb it came out of so this EP was like the best home it could have had, all the visuals and everything about my collab with NINA was a beautiful chapter.

’Wild Is The Wind’ has been interpreted by many different artists, who did your favourite version and why did you do it? What did you feel you could bring it?

This was going to be in ‘Maestro In Blue’ and that was the only reason I touched it, I was never going to go there. I love it but I never felt the need… to be honest, that was one of the scariest things to tackle because I thought “this is going to swallow me alive”, that was way scarier than ‘Creep’ which is way more well known.

So I did it, it didn’t end up making the show because of rights, logistics and all that! But if I was going to pick between Nina Simone and David Bowie, Bowie’s is definitely the one I’ve listened to the most and resonated with, it has more of an explosion of emotion instrumentally which I really a big fan of. But neither Nina Simone’s or Bowie’s was an influence on this and I’m glad because I try to stay away from trying to imitate or take suggestions from an original or a well-known version because that is a recipe for not-a-good cover…

Photo by Paige Von Bank

Were there any reasons that you decided to leave off some of your other covers like AC/DC ‘Thunderstruck’, BEE GEES ‘Holiday’ or Julee Cruise ‘Mysteries Of Love’?

You know what Chi! I forgot about ‘Thunderstruck’! That’s an honest answer! *laughs*

Also, ‘Thunderstruck’ was quite recently released and on the ‘Better Than Electric’ album but as far as ‘Mysteries Of Love’ goes, I don’t see it as a cover because that was a rework with Angelo Badalamenti, so it was never living in me as a cover, we just did a new version of it. But you know what, you’re making me think, I don’t know if I made the right choice to leave them out, especially as ‘Mysteries Of Love’ was one the most beautiful experiences in my musical life ever.

Are there any songs you would still like to cover or any fantasy duets you would like to do?

With covers, I feel so inundated right now, I feel it’s been a lot and I’m sure come back to it, I’m sure I will but not right now.

Fantasy duets? If we’re going dream big, then Kate Bush would be the first person who comes to mind, that would be iconic, yeah!

What are you up to next?

I’m composing music for an animation show, so that’s going to be the case for a while as it’s multiple seasons. I’ve started on an album of original songs that may include a few I did for a Fox TV series. It will be an EP perhaps, I don’t know how many songs are going to end up coming out. That’s what I’ve been up to.

I’m going to be on two episodes of ‘The Voice of Greece’ as a guest judge and performer. The Teams are now fixed, Giorgos Mazonakis is one of the judges and has invited me as his guest to sing with him on one number while I’ll also be performing alone.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to KID MOXIE

‘The Covers’ is released by Minos EMI and available online now via Apple and Spotify

http://www.facebook.com/kidmoxie

https://www.instagram.com/kid.moxie/

https://kidmoxie.musicmerch.eu/en-gb

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
23rd December 2024

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 SONGS OF 2024

13 December 2024 /

Streaming has made music more accessible to people than at any time previously in the music industry’s history.

With traction of new music now very dependent on social media, many artists are playing the algorithm with single songs rather than bodies of work such as EP and albums which are now almost an afterthought.

While ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has always done end of year summaries around songs rather than albums, as they can best represent an annual period, the release strategy adopted by some proved frustrating for listeners. As a result, with everything now democratised and so much choice available following seemingly random patterns, promising new acts found it much harder to get noticed than 10 years ago and simply fell into the cracks of the web.

In 2024, there were albums released where 90 to 100% of the content comprised of previously released material; while the albums made sense as a journey in most cases, during the build-up, what used to be considered traditional “album tracks” were being issued as underwhelming singles that may have disappointed when listened to out of context from the main programme. Whereas the rant in the past with the plethora of different remixes available might have been “JUST GIVE ME THE VERSION THEY GOT RIGHT!”, today it is more likely to be “JUST GIVE ME THE BLOODY ALBUM!”

Then there were artists who only seemed to release single tracks with no EP or album likely, so unless a consumer had the time or the inclination to become a dedicated follower, it could be quite difficult to follow what was going on. Yes, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK may be stuck in the past as it is often accused of doing, but it simply does not embrace this bitty fragmented approach!

A straightforward list to compile, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 SONGS OF 2024 gathers tracks available on the usual online retail platforms with a restriction of one song per artist moniker and placed in alphabetical order…

BRIGITTE BARDINI Crush

Hailing from Melbourne in Australia, Brigitte Bardini is another artist to embrace her dark side having begun as an acoustic singer songwriter. Her first venture into the dark side came with the shady gothic techno of 2023’s ‘Start A Fire’. But ‘Crush’ was more ethereal, a dreamy melancholic number expressing some bittersweet heartache where “I’ll forget about you, if you want me to”. But despite a desire to hold on, it really is all over…

Available on the BRIGITTE BARDINI single ‘Crush’ via https://brigittebardini.bandcamp.com/track/crush

https://www.facebook.com/BrigitteBardiniMusic

CHARLIE Let Go

Not to be confused with the classic 1984 Italo disco track ‘Spacer Woman’ but no doubt in homage, ‘Spacewoman’ was the new EP by Berlin-domiciled DJ, musician and producer Leona Jacewska, best known by her stage name CHARLIE. Its highlight was ‘Let Go’, a thumping strobe-lit slice of dark disco saw Chicago meeting Italy in hypnotic bliss. Tonally and rhythmically, it was a sexy and sweaty number that provided an exhilarating ride.

Available on the CHARLIE EP ‘Spacewoman’ via Wrong Era / Slow Motion

https://www.instagram.com/charlieszum/

CURSES Vanish

Berlin-based New Yorker Luca Venezia, better known as CURSES, joined the Italians Do It Better family in 2024. One of the highlights of the ‘Another Heaven’ album comes with the superb ‘Vanish’; this was CURSES’ own ‘Your Silent Face’ with its brightly bubbling sequencers and solemn demeanour. There was even a subtle ‘Heroes’ like quality about it as our hero declared to his love that he wanted to ”vanish with you”.

Available on the CURSES album ‘Another Heaven’ via Italians Do It Better

https://www.cursesforever.com/

MARIE DAVIDSON Sexy Clown

Embracing her inner clown, ‘Sexy Clown’ was a delightful slice of detached minimal synth disco from Montreal’s Marie Davidson. Off her new album ‘City of Clowns’ out in 2025 on SOULWAX’s label DeeWee, the song explored the conflicted feelings around her treatment as an outsider where vulnerability and mettle, candidness and humour struggled to co-exist in other people’s minds. But real life is all about contrasts!

Available on the MARIE DAVIDSON album ‘City Of Clowns’ via https://mariedavidson.bandcamp.com/album/city-of-clowns

https://www.facebook.com/mariedavidson.official

DIE SEXUAL Need To Sin

From out of the shadows to under the strobe lights, DIE SEXUAL are the erotically charged Los Angeles-based duo of Anton Floriano and his wife Ros. Their second EP ‘Inservio’ developed on the themes of domination and submission of their debut EP ‘Bound’. With their penetrating club-friendly sound, ‘Need To Sin’ was conceived as a tantalizing roleplay of our seemingly innocent subject submitting to their ultimate desires and hedonistic fantasies.

Available on the DIE SEXUAL album ‘Elektro Body Musique’ via https://diesexual.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/die_sexual/

DINA SUMMER Halkidiki

A product of Berlin, DINA SUMMER blend new wave, synthpop, dark disco, techno and Italo; although their EP ‘Hide & Seek’ embraced a cutting Mittel Europa edge, it was just a precursor to a new album ‘Girls Gang’ in 2025. Released ahead of it, ‘Halkidiki’ was an infectious electronic club tune made for sultry summery nights and named after the popular holidaying destination in Northern Greece known for its sandy beaches.

Available on the DINA SUMMER album ‘Girls Gang’ via https://dinasummer.bandcamp.com/album/girls-gang-idi021

https://dinasummer.berlin/

GAVIN FRIDAY Ecce Homo

With a long gestation period, the ‘Ecce Homo’ long player started as a collaboration between Gavin Friday and Dave Ball who had first produced his band VIRGIN PRUNES on the 1986 album ‘The Moon Looked Down & Laughed’. Combining elements of synth with post-punk, the title song itself was a wonderfully deathly slice of disco gothique that sounded like Ian McCulloch meeting SOFT CELL at Berghain given an extra chill by an opera soprano sample!

Available on the GAVIN FRIDAY album ‘Ecce Homo’ via BMG

https://www.gavinfriday.com/

HAUTE & FREDDY Anti-Superstar

North American glam glee duo Haute & Freddy have only had two songs released but they made an impression in 2024. While ‘Scantily Clad’ was an excellent debut, the best of the pair was ‘Anti-Superstar’, a superb slice of avant synthpop with a chunky driving electronic bass triplet. There was certainly a cool wonderment about their style, sound and theatrics, making them one of the most promising new acts of the year.

Available on the HAUTE & FREDDY single ‘Anti-Superstar’ via Even If

https://www.instagram.com/hauteandfreddy

HELIX Unimaginable Place

North America’s alternative music power couple Tom Shear of ASSEMBLAGE 23 and Mari Kattman returned as HELIX. Blessed with one of the most captivating voices in electronic music, Mari Kattman was on top form with ‘Unimaginable Place’, an infectious slice of electronic pop with sparkling hooks and groovy rhythmics. Tom Shear said “I prefer to make other people dance than to dance myself. If you’ve ever seen me perform live you know why! I can’t dance to save my life”

Available on the HELIX EP ‘Unimaginable Place’ via https://helix.bandcamp.com/https://helix.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/HelixElectronic

GENEVA JACUZZI Dry

With a detached Eurocentric poise reminiscent of Gina X, Geneva Jacuzzi described her third album ‘Triple Fire’ “as a hit parade of wildcard synthpop and sly post-apocalyptic camp”. Brilliantly catchy, ‘Dry’ offered alluring danceable synthpop which went weirdly discordant halfway through. A commentary about dehumanisation, it highlighted the song’s lyrical gist about being ghosted following a date.

Available on the GENEVA JACUZZI album ‘Triple Fire’ via Dais Records

https://www.genevajacuzzi.com/

IONNALEE The End Of Every Song

Jonna Lee returned in 2024 as IONNALEE to the electronic sound she is best known for after 2022’s more organic IAMAMIWHOAMI record ‘Be Here Soon’. This third IONNALEE long player ‘Close Your Eyes’ had the twist of having a Swedish Language twin in ‘Blund’. ‘The End Of Every Song’ surprised with a thumping rhythm and a cacophony of chunky sequences and piercing electronics, the vocals sitting brilliantly like ABBA on helium in outer space!

Available on the IONNALEE album ‘Close Your Eyes’ via to whom it may concern

https://ionnalee.com/

ITALOCONNECTION Europa

In 2021, ITALOCONNECTION issued ‘Midnight Confessions Vol1’, a record themed around love. On ‘Vol2’, there was a twist; en Français using an AI generated female voice, ‘Europa’ paid homage to the art movements and machine music of the continent in a dramatic midtempo piece accompanied by synth passages that could be Jean-Michel Jarre. KRAFTWERK, TELEX, PET SHOP BOYS, PROPAGANDA and NEW ORDER were among those getting a name check.

Available on the ITALOCONNECTION album ‘Midnight Confessions Vol2’ via Bordello A Parigi

https://www.facebook.com/italoconnection

JAIN Nobody Knows

French singer Jeanne Louise Galice is more known for mixing pop with Afrobeat, but with an electronic energy and Moroder-esque throb, ‘Nobody Knows’ was very different from her previous work. With a similar lyrical disposition to Taylor Swift’s ‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart’, where “Nobody Knows, it’s just the way I’m feeling tonight, I’ll keep on dancing, but I feel heavy-hearted”, underneath the glitterball splendour was deep sadness.

Available on the JAIN single ‘Nobody Knows’ via Spookland / Sony Music

https://www.instagram.com/jainmusic/

JULIA-SOPHIE Numb

The long awaited debut long player from Julia-Sophie entitled ‘forgive too slow’ was a contemplative body of work as reflecting on past relationships. Lead single ‘numb’ was a marvellous avant pop set piece over a subtle rhythmic rumble with a stark haunted monologue. But then things took a frantic about turn as sung and spoken passages alternated with the growing intensity. A concluding barrage of unsettling cut-up voices highlighted her resigned state of mind.

Available on the JULIA-SOPHIE album ‘forgive too slow’ via Ba Da Bing Records

https://www.facebook.com/juliasophiex0x

KALEIDA Stranger

It looked as though KALEIDA would disband due to the pressures of parenting and the shifting patterns of life. But Christina Wood and Cicely Goulder made their long distance creative partnership work again and their reward was a third album ‘In Arms’. The glorious ‘Stranger’ sprung a surprise with 808 electro dance rhythms and a superb collage of staccato voice samples, punchy bass and great vocals that came over in a prayer-like chant.

Available on the KALEIDA album ‘In Arms’ via Embassy One

https://www.kaleidamusic.com/

KID MOXIE Ti Einai Afto Pou To Lene Agapi

The Greek love song ‘Ti Einai Afto Pou To Lene Agapi’ was made famous when Sophia Loren sung it with Tonis Maroudas in the 1957 film ‘Boy On A Dolphin’. For 2024, KID MOXIE gave the song an emotive electronic arrangement that was both sweet and haunting. It was included in the soundtrack of the new season of Netflix drama series ‘Maestro In Blue’ which had been the first Greek television series to be included on the platform.

Available on the KID MOXIE single ‘Ti Einai Afto Pou To Lene Agapi’ via Minos EMI

https://www.facebook.com/kidmoxie/

KITE Glassy Eyes

Releasing their first EP in 2008, KITE finally released their first full-length studio album on the American independent label Dais Records. As their seventh body of work and following on from the numbered series of EPs, the appropriately titled ‘VII’ contains music from their seven most recent singles released over the past seven years. Like a slice of Nordic gospel, ‘Glassy Eyes’ confronts the turmoil of existential anxiety.

Available on the KITE album ‘VII’ via Dais Records

https://www.facebook.com/KiteHQ

LEATHERS Daydream Trash

While ACTORS have been gaining increased worldwide recognition, their keyboardist Shannon Hemmett has developed her more synth focussed solo project LEATHERS in parallel. Her long awaited debut album ‘Ultraviolet’ contained romantic synthpop with sinister twists in that classic Lynchian fashion. However, ‘Daydream Trash’ was a wonderful outlier, a summer new wave tune that was “100 in the shade” and could have easily come off the soundtrack of a John Hughes film.

Available on the LEATHERS album ‘Ultraviolet’ via Artoffact Records

https://www.leatherstheband.com

LINEA ASPERA Mycelium

While Alison Lewis has focussed on her ZANIAS solo venture for the past few years, she was back playing live with Ryan Ambridge as LINEA ASPERA in the summer. The pair had quietly been writing and recording together with the absorbing ‘Mycelium’ being the first fruit of labour. Featuring Ambridge’s characteristic arpeggio-laden backdrop, Lewis turned to using the fuzzy mass growing on mouldy food as a metaphor for the state of a personal relationship.

Available on the LINEA ASPERA single ‘Mycelium’ via https://lineaaspera.bandcamp.com/track/mycelium

https://www.facebook.com/lineaaspera

MICHEL MOERS featuring CLAUDIA BRÜCKEN Microwave

Best known as the front man of Belgian trailblazers TELEX, in 2024 Michel Moers released what was only his second solo studio album. Recorded primarily using Logic, the songs were developed over several years. While Moers continued with his distinctive cynical surrealism, the single ‘Microwaves’ featured Claudia Brücken on lead vocals for a more straightforward slice electronic pop with solid bass and icy synth lines that came over like PROPAGANDA meeting TELEX.

Available on the MICHEL MOERS album ‘As Is’ via Freaksville Records

https://www.instagram.com/michelmoers/

MINUIT MACHINE Hold Me

Now the solo project of Parisian producer and DJ Amandine Stioui, MINUIT MACHINE has been described as “disrupted, emotional, and terribly addictive”. But making a fresh restart with a clear sheet on her Instagram, ‘Hold Me’ showcased an optimistic lyrical gist and melodic drive on top of the thumping beats than had been heard in her work with previous MINUIT MACHINE creative partner Hélène De Thoury aka Hante.

Available on the MINUIT MACHINE single ‘Hold Me’ via https://minuitmachine.bandcamp.com/track/hold-me

https://www.facebook.com/minuitmachine/

MOLCHAT DOMA Kolesom

Now exiled from Belarus to LA, MOLCHAT DOMA brought in the dancier but still sombre sequenced pulses of classic NEW ORDER and DEPECHE MODE for their fourth album to create a more refined studio product. The magnificent ‘Kolesom’ was a glorious slice of apocalyptic electronic disco with an obvious NEW ORDER influence although Bernard Sumner never sounded this foreboding! The ominous baritone offered a commentary on the banality of modern life.

Available on the MOLCHAT DOMA album ‘Belaya Polosa’ via Sacred Bones

https://molchatdoma.com/

NIGHT CLUB The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)

‘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 “The Cowboy” Ronald Reagan during The Cold War, the inclusion of a cover of ‘The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)’ with an even more sinister resonance was sadly relevant as the crazy orange monster was mindlessly voted back as the leader of the free world!

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

https://www.facebook.com/nightclubband

NINA & RADIO WOLF My Dark

Created, recorded, produced and mixed at home in Berlin, ‘My Dark’ encapsulated a dark romantic spirit between NINA and RADIO WOLF. “I knew we’d be creating a kind of revelatory anti-love song about the dark side of relationships” said RADIO WOLF while NINA added “we both felt like creating something quite heavy and I wanted to let out my inner femme-fatale… it’s very moving as a dance track yet provocative like a sex scene in a movie”.

Available on the NINA & RADIO WOLF single ‘My Dark’ via https://iloveninamusic.bandcamp.com/track/my-dark

https://www.iloveninamusic.com/

https://www.radiowolfmusic.com/

PROPAGANDA Wenn Ich Mir Was Wuenschen Duerfte

Michael Mertens and Ralf Dörper starting a new chapter of PROPAGANDA young German singer-songwriter Thunder Bae was perhaps on not on anyone’s bingo card at the start of 2024. She gave a superbly enticing performance in a haunting cover of ‘Wenn Ich Mir Was Wünschen Dürfte’ (translated into English as “If I had a wish”), a Weimar-era song written by Friedrich Hollaender in 1930 also featuring Oscar winning pianist Hauschka.

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

https://propband.tilda.ws/

R. MISSING Sleep Will Darken It

Following a trail of sporadic singles with minimal promotional fanfare, R.MISSING have not been straightforward to follow. But with the enigmatic voice of the appropriately named Sharon Shy and the backing of Henry Frost, their alluring pop noir has been compelling when it hits the spot. Short and sharp with the air of a more electronic CHROMATICS, ‘Sleep Will Darken It’ came from their long awaited debut album.

Available on the R. MISSING album ‘Knife Shook Your Hand’ via Terminal Echo

https://www.instagram.com/r.missing/

MARIA UZOR What U Need

“I wrote this track on a social media break as an ode to reclaiming oneself from the grasps of Musk et al” said Maria Uzor, best known previously for being a member of SINK YA TEETH with Gemma Cullingford. Self-produced with a feisty twisted energy, ‘What U Need’ was a techno anthem celebrating detox from the online world that signalled another development in her fearsome beat-laden underground.

Available on the MARIA UZOR single ‘What U Need’ via https://mariauzor.bandcamp.com/track/what-u-need-single

https://mariauzor.com

PATRICIA WOLF The Secret Lives Of Birds

Combining modern and natural worlds, one key aspect in the music of Patricia Wolf is her use of field recordings and this shapes her new album ‘The Secret Lives of Birds’ into a soundtrack for an as-yet-unmade wildlife documentary. While the ambience is very beautiful at times, there are darker moments of angst and sadness driven by concern. Self-explanatory and with synthetic droplets simulating contact calls, ‘The Secret Lives of Birds’ title piece sets the scene.

Available on the PATRICIA WOLF album ‘The Secret Lives of Birds’ via Nite Hive

https://www.instagram.com/patriciawolf_music/

XENO & OAKLANDER Magic Of The Manifold

From their Connecticut laboratory bubble, the new XENO & OAKLANDER album sees a further refinement to their precise yet spirited productions. Past works have demonstrated and reinforced Liz Wendelbo and Sean McBride’s talents as the Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg of synth. With an immediate rhythmic bounce, ‘Magic Of The Manifold’ is classic XENO & OAKLANDER with its squelchy bassline programming being a prominent feature.

Available on the XENO & OAKLANDER album ‘Via Negativa (in the doorway light)’ via Dais Records

https://www.facebook.com/xenoandoaklndr

YOTA & JOHAN AGEBJÖRN Universe In Flames

Yota is a Paris-based singer / songwriter hailing from Stockholm, while Johan Agebjörn is the Swedish producer who is best known as the instrumental half of SALLY SHAPIRO. Blending his melancholic electronic pop style to her sumptuous vocals, ‘Universe In Flames’ provides a telling global warning message. A fine mix of Scandipop, synthwave and rock with sinister twists, it showcased the best of both talents, combining classic synthpop styles with dance music.

Available on the YOTA & JOHAN AGEBJÖRN EP ‘Universe In Flames’ is released by Keytar Records

https://www.instagram.com/yota_official_artist/

https://www.instagram.com/johan.agebjorn/

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 2024 playlist ‘The Great Bleep Forward’ containing over 230 tracks from the year can be listened to on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4xMrAkCbeWvUmTfrN6i6Gu

Text by Chi Ming Lai
13th December 2024

KID MOXIE Close To You

14 May 2024 /

Having taken a diversion in 2023 to work with German Queen Of Synthwave NINA on the ‘Lust’ EP. KID MOXIE is back on the soundtrack trail.

Recorded at her Lemon Tree Studios, the spine-tingling ‘Close To You’ is not a cover of THE CARPENTERS but a self-written song by Elena Charbila for the film ‘Don’t Open the Door’. An independent Greek horror movie by two brothers The Unboxholics has become massively popular in its home. Far from civilization, in a frozen forest on an inhospitable mountainside, a group of researchers is attacked by an unidentified figure. The sole survivor, a young biologist, takes refuge in the isolated cabin of a mysterious man…

Elena Charbila chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about this latest commission as well as what else is on the horizon as KID MOXIE…

So was ‘Close To You’ specially written and produced for the film ‘Don’t Open The Door’ or was it a song that you’d had on your computer for a while?

Yes, it was very much specifically for the film, its’ the first song I’ve fully, written, produced, mixed and mastered ever. This film happens to be one of the most successful Greek movies at the domestic box office in decades. It was a scary process as I’d never fulfilled a whole song on my own before. In the past, I’d always done as much as I felt could and then given it over to a co-producer or mixer.

As this was a homemade film, I wanted it to be full home made at my end as well. I locked myself up in my studio and pulled all the blinds down… where I live, there’s a lot of sun usually so for about 3 days, I lived in complete darkness, this is a really dark film and this particular song was going into one of the most pivotal scenes of the film and it’s a really dark scene by subject matter because of the location so I wanted to put myself where the actors were… and that’s how the song was born!

“If you bleed, I die…” is quite a striking statement?

Yes, this might be my favourite lyric in the song, just because it is very striking… I’m into striking things whether that’s a statement or an image. It also goes very much hand in hand the theme of the movie which has to do with karma. It also has something very lethal yet very erotic as a statement, the play on words in that it has something to do with death and has something to do with sex, it’s just very intriguing to me…

… and very Shakespearean too! The Unboxholics have directed the video ‘Close To You’ although the visual aesthetic is quite different from the film trailer?

So part of it was shot on location where one of the film’s pivotal scenes was shot and part of it was shot at The Unboxholics’ home studio which makes it look like I’m in a Ridley Scott set, like I’m in ‘Blade Runner’ or Cyberpunk land or something… I would say half of it matched the aesthetic of the film and half of it matches what I love and what The Unboxholics love which is that neon / vaporwave aesthetic.

You’ve been on social media quite a bit of late, is this a modern “needs must” situation to maintain your profile? Is it pressured or do you actually enjoy it?

I have to say social media has been an acquired taste for me. I’m extremely private, I don’t post private stuff ever, it’s always fantasy stuff. I want people to know that I obviously don’t post very personal or vulnerable stuff for better or for worse. So what you see on social media is not really my everyday life *laughs*

It’s my life in neon, it’s how I would want you to see me. Having said that, it’s a bit of a “needs must” situation in order to maintain it, I’ve put some pressure on myself but then I sort of became an autopilot thing and I just kept it going…

You have a covers album planned for this Fall, can you say anything about its concept and what will be included?

It basically is a recap of all the covers I’ve ever put out and a bunch of covers that are yet to come out. They will be staring to come out in the Fall, one of them is going to be in the new season of the Netflix show ‘Maestro In Blue’ in which ‘Creep’ was featured. I’ve had this need to have all my covers in one chapter because they were all over the place. Call it OCD, I don’t know or call it opening and closing a chapter. I love covers but it’s not what I want to be doing forever. So to put them in one big chapter and call it KID MOXIE ‘The Covers’, that is what is happening.

I know you did a cover of Burning Up’ by Madonna once, will that ever see the light of day?

OH BOY! YES! I DID do a cover of Burning Up’ by Madonna! I was a baby when I did that, I wasn’t very proud of the production or my vocals actually. I had a listen to it maybe a year ago and it was cringey for me! So I will not be putting it out as it is unless it gets majorly reworked let’s just say! 😉

‘Close To You’ is released by MINOS-EMI/A Universal Music Company and available on the usual platforms via https://KidMoxie.lnk.to/CloseToYouEP

Other KID MOXIE releases are available from https://kidmoxie.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/kidmoxie

https://twitter.com/KIDMOXIEMUSIC

https://www.instagram.com/kid.moxie/

https://unboxholics.com/

https://www.instagram.com/unboxholics/

https://open.spotify.com/album/5JTCgRgnG6gqx5XRmaWq8S

Text by Chi Ming Lai
14th May 2024

2023 END OF YEAR REVIEW

18 December 2023 /

Photo by Jori Hulkkonen

Just as it looked like it would be safe to come out to play, there was uncertainty within the music industry again.

What had become the artists’ favourite platform thanks to its low commission and 0% Fridays, Bandcamp was taken over by Epic Games in 2022 but then following a move by employees to unionise, was sold to Songtradr who immediately dismissed half of its staff… in hindsight, despite its proclamation that this platform cared about the music, it looked like this had been yet another start-up by tech venture capitalists. Just as many acts dropped their own websites in favour of Facebook over a decade ago but were then trapped into sponsored posts to reach the majority of their own fanbase, online shops had been dropped for Bandcamp. So, things are back to square one as many consider a rebuild of their web presence.

Meanwhile, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino made a controversial declaration that concert ticket prices were generally too low and that artists could easily “charge a bit more”. While THE CURE notably refused to do this and capped their face value tickets at $20 for their US tour, the Live Nation sister outlet Ticketmaster applied excessive booking extras of more than $20 per ticket for a “service fee”, “facility charge” and “order processing”! With dynamic pricing in place at a number of high profile events and so-called VIP tickets on the rise (which didn’t actually include a meet ‘n’ greet but only a nearby bar and a lanyard), fans had their “FOMO” anxieties triggered and simply paid up!

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

Another artist who kept ticket prices low was Midge Ure who embarked on the successful ‘Voices & Visions’ tour after a year’s delay due to uncertainties over the Covid situation in 2022. Complimented by a straightforward but very effective light show and material from his second and third long players with ULTRAVOX ‘Rage In Eden’ and ‘Quartet’, it was a triumph. He was rewarded with a 70th birthday show celebrating his career at The Royal Albert Hall, which despite its plush surroundings was also kept affordable.

Who says an artist has no control over retail pricing? But one band who were shamelessly happy to charge more for concert tickets, more for merchandise and more for physical releases were DEPECHE MODE. For their first album and tour since the passing of co-founder Andy Fletcher in 2022, the remaining members played the death card with ‘Momento Bori’ and managed to plonk an even more underwhelming arena show into the stadiums of the world… at least the ‘Global Spirit’ tour featured risers!

With renowned UK venues such as Printworks and Moles closing down, as had already been highlighted by Juls Garat of US goth band PILGRIMS OF YEARNING via social media in 2022: “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”. However, one seemingly oblivious Devotee said about the inflated ticket prices: “Really don’t know what the issue is. Happily paid £108.00 for a DM ticket. Would have paid more!!”. And therein lays the problem… DEPECHE MODE played a date at Stadion Wankdorf in Bern and that said it all! As the man who Devotees call a genius once wrote: “Some great reward will be coming my way…”

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

As The Devotees wallowed in their collective misery during 2023, the Stockholm Syndrome was stronger than ever. On the Bratislava leg at the National Football Stadium, one of The Black Swarm commented to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “I was there… I must admit, a bit disappointed… but I still love them!!!”. It was business as usual for DEPECHE MODE, with “business” being the operative word. It was reported that so much money had been sucked out of the European alternative music market in particular that a number of acts had to schedule their planned tours to 2024, while others who had made good albums worthy of attention in 2023 got lost in the sea of DM propaganda on the web.

Despite increased ticket prices at all levels, gig etiquette declined to the worst possible standards with the constant chatter and bad manners among some attendees. Surely if you have paid upwards of £30 or more for a show, you might want to pay more attention and enjoy it? ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has never seen it this bad in the 43 years it has been going to concerts, but this entitled arrogance to talk extremely loudly about total bollocks is a undoubted legacy of Brexit and Covid which in combination has normalised a lack of social graces in gathered environments… and when challenged, these total numbskulls become aggressive, pitifully unaware that they are ruining the evening of those around them.

Meanwhile, there was another undesirable element who only go to gigs to post selfies and badly distorted footage on their socials… these were often the sort of people who actually hated the band back in the day, but after 40+ years realised they like the song on the Vitality or Waitrose advert so are sudddenly giving it the big “I AM” about being a fan… but BECAUSE they are only there for one song, they then treat the rest of the gig like they were out with their mates in the pub! 🤬

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

The best live shows of the year came from PET SHOP BOYS and DURAN DURAN with their arena extravaganzas full of hits, classic fan favourites and great staging. Among the album celebrations, CHINA CRISIS ran through their second long player ‘Working With Fire & Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume 2’ on tour to celebrate its 40th anniversary and founder bassist Peter Hook took the first NEW ORDER compilation ‘Substance’ out on the road to coincide with its expanded 4CD reissue.

“Sweden’s best kept pop secret” KITE impressed with an imitate headliner for their debut London gig and later at Cologne’s Amphi Festival to a much larger crowd, while the return of Ollie Wride to the London stage at The Scala illustrated why he has potential to be the next synthwave artist to crossover into the mainstream.

Photo by Ed Miles

‘Time’s Arrow’, LADYTRON’s second album since their return from hiatus proved to be something of a disappointment while fairing slightly better with its anti-Brexit sentiments, ‘Bauhaus Staircase’ was touted as the final album from OMD; now kissing the strict machine, having previously been supportive of new electronic pop via ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK championed acts MIRRORS, VILLA NAH, VILE ELECTRODES, METROLAND, TINY MAGNETIC PETS and SOFTWAVE, their choice of art glam hipsters WALT DISCO as opening act on the UK leg of the 2024 tour was symbolic of the general poor state of modern synthpop ie pop music using synths, particularly within the narrow-mindset of Brexit Britain.

Although the UK was continuing to party like it was 1933, the incendiary language that Cruella Braverman was using was so extreme that she was even dismissed from fronting the Conservative Party new wave covers band A FLOCK OF SIEG HEILS… as a trio of poets from South Yorkshire once said: “BROTHERS! SISTERS! WE DON’T NEED THIS FASCIST GROOVE THANG!” ✊

Reflecting a wider issue, 2023 also saw ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK publish its fewest number of ‘Introducing…’ new artist articles since its inception in 2010 with only Brigitte Bardini and Madeleine Goldstein featured. There were a number of possible reasons…

Photo by Bella Salvatore

“The technology leads the art form and it always has” said veteran producer Steve Lillywhite on a recent Rockonteurs podcast, “if the technology allows you to reference other people’s records… you WILL do that!”. This was summed up by an Apple Mac advert featuring sample-based British pop singer PinkPantheress demonstrating how to have a hit by appropriating a topline from Kelly Rowland and plonking it into GarageBand before processing her voice through AutoTune and nabbing the intro of ‘Gold’ by SPANDAU BALLET… you said it yourself Miss Walker, IT SOUNDS LIKE GARBAGE!

While the accessibility, usability and sound quality of modern tech has totally democratised music making, as another veteran producer Stephen Hague put it to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK “it’s made it far too easy”, with the end result being familiarity and imitation rather than innovation. Now that an acceptable sound is able to be obtained fairly quickly on software such as GarageBand, the level of songwriting has generally declined in many genres. Artists abstain from putting in the hard work towards the actual songcraft because they think their track is already great, as it sounds like someone they’ve based it on!

However, the misuse of “synth” as a description reached a new nadir in 2023. There were those using “synth” or “synthwave” in their brand identity who proudly revealed via their Spotify Wrapped that their Top Genre was actually rock or made bizarre comments like “What I like most about synthwave is the guitar solos”. Meanwhile one artist declared they were synthpop because they had spent their youth “listening to too much Madonna”! But synth music as an enduring form is ultimately doomed when social media platforms using “Synthpop” in their idents think that guitar-based bands like BIG COUNTRY and COCTEAU TWINS are part of it, or compile acoustic playlists!! 🤦‍♂️

“Synth” has now somehow become is a general term for any retro-flavoured pop with an element of shiny artifice whether synthesizers have been used or not! These artists and “content creators” are now too young to understand what “synth” in music actually once meant and probably think the term is short for “synthetic” as in clothes and hair products, as opposed to “synthesizer”.

That said, 2023 was not all bad and there was a lot of excellent music. The song of the year was by the unlikely synth hero in glum rocker Lloyd Cole; while guitars made a more prominent but limited return on his album ‘On Pain’ following 2019’s electronically-dominated ‘Guesswork’, the standout song ‘The Idiot’ saw him provide a touching narrative on the relationship between David Bowie and Iggy Pop as they relocated to Berlin in 1976.

Swedish veterans PAGE took the Numanisation of their poptronica to its zenith by bringing in former imperial phase Numan band members Chris Payne and RRussell Bell on their new album ‘En Ny Våg’. Across the Öresund Bridge, Danish synthpop couple SOFTWAVE showed the world the ‘things we’ve done’.

Photo by George Tripodakis

Another music veteran Ricky Wilde teamed up with NINA to reveal their ‘Scala Hearts’; full of classic pop references and a modern sheen, this was the record Wilde had wanted to make for a few years but hadn’t been able to with his sister Kim. Its creative drive showed and this was also the best long player that NINA had been part of since she launched her solo career in 2011. In a busy year, NINA also found time to satisfy many a red blooded fantasy by collaborating with Kid Moxie on the ‘Lust’ EP released by Italians Do It Better.

The Finns were strong too, with Jaakko Eino Kalavi and Jori Hulkkonen producing two of the best albums of 2023. The former’s eclectic ‘Chaos Magic’ featured Alma Jodorowsky, Mr Silla and Jimi Tenor as special guests while the latter’s ‘There Is Light Hidden In These Shadows’ brought in John Grant, Ralf Dörper, Jake Shears, Jon Marsh, Juho Paalosmaa and Tiga.

While maintaining his front man role in MESH, Mark Hockings presented his solo project BLACKCARBURNING in long playing form and was ‘Watching Sleepers’. Also going it alone, Alison Goldfrapp squarely hit the dancefloor via ’The Love Invention’ with Kylie Minogue’s similarly glitzy ‘Tension’ as its companion. But with ACTORS still busy touring the world, the planned long playing debut from LEATHERS was yet to emerge but there were two new singles in the interim.

METROLAND and side project 808 DOT POP ambitiously released albums in five different formats with exclusive tracks on each between them simultaneously, in a move that had not been seen since 1978 when all four members of KISS released solo records on the same day. Much more discretely, ITALOCONNECTION came up with ‘Nordisko’ which comprised of Nordic pop disco covers. More ambient experiments were served by John Foxx, Vince Clarke, Patricia Wolf, Johan Agebjörn and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, while putting those ethereal textures into song was Hinako Omori with her appropriately named second album ‘stillness, softness…’

Germany’s BEBORN BETON offered bleak commentary on the state of the planet with ‘Darkness Falls Again’ but encouraged everyone to be dancers in the dark while Chinese band STOLEN highlighted this ‘Eroded Creation’. Within their ‘Circle Of Doom’, NNHMN had pressing matters closer to home while ZANIAS emerged from her ‘Chrysalis’. FERAL FIVE confronted and worked with AI to declare ‘Truth Is The New Gold’ and Finlay Shakespeare tapped into his ‘Illusion + Memory’.

Photo by Tim Darin

Among the promising emergent acts with debut EPs were NEU-ROMANCER and DIE SEXUAL while German solo artists Jennifer Touch and Laura Dre added to their long playing portfolios, as did OHNOTHING and BUNNY X. Fronted by respectively by John Grant and Neil Arthur, CREEP SHOW and THE REMAINDER outlined the benefits of collaboration while CAUSEWAY joined forces with R. MISSING for the single ‘Wear The Night Out’.

Despite having plied their trade for over 50 years, SPARKS continued to be as eccentric as ever and even had Cate Blanchett appear in the video for ‘The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte’. With ‘*Happiness now completed’ and Dave Ball returning to the live fold after a period of serious illness, SOFT CELL effectively issued another new album featuring a significant number of previously unreleased tracks including covers of Giorgio Moroder and X-RAY SPEX to provide a much more satisfying listening experience than the parent ‘*Happiness not included’ record. Then there was the unexpected recorded return of CLASSIX NOUVEAUX with their ‘Battle Cry’.

Veteran acts who ceased active operations many years ago got worthy boxed set treatments; TELEX provided ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK with the funniest interview of the year in support of their self-titled retrospective on Mute while LANDSCAPE were comprehensively catalogued by Cooking Vinyl. Not to be left out, the trusty Cherry Red via their Lemon imprint showcased how underrated NEW MUSIK and their leader Tony Mansfield were, especially with the latter’s sound clearly audible in today’s pop acts such as THE WEEKND.

Despite the return of Q, the jury was still out on whether music magazines are still desirable aside from their CD and vinyl artefacts. Meanwhile, music-based social media dumbed down its engagement to cut ‘n’ paste Wikipedia snippets accompanying archive photos or artwork, pointless 26th anniversary posts and non-significant birthday celebrations to attract likes. Comments from the public such as “My favourite album… I wish I still had it!” and saying “Happy Birthday” when the platform wasn’t even connected to the artist concerned only highlighted further the continuing inane nature of online interaction. And this was without those irritating “POV” reels and reaction videos on TikTok and Instagram which were unfortunately prevalent!

The less said about the right wing gammon infested sh*t show that Twitter has become, the better but on the new Threads platform intended to take it on, PENDULUM’s El Hornet remarked “omg threads is full of music industry self help w*nkers making lists about things nobody asked abort! ABORT!” 🤣

With such platforms also seemingly centred around the exposure of flesh with photos “just for fun” be the subject a golfer, gamer, painter, baker, comedian, hairdresser, photographer, psychologist, racing driver, book reviewer, poet, dating coach or Lego enthusiast, is it any wonder that several music artists resorted to setting up OnlyFans accounts to sell nude photos!

With pun totally intended, in this challenging climate for exposure, some acts simply got a bit too big for their boots and were unbearably conceited on their socials with their bragging and frivolous chatter to appease a needy flock who hung onto their every word, desperate to be seen to be “friends” of wannabe stars while crowdfunding towards their spa weekenders and vet bills for their cat… it was therefore ironic that one of these acts declared “Music isn’t a competition!” when it appeared that another band might be taking away some of their limelight! Well, stop acting like it’s a 24 hour edition of ‘The Apprentice’ then!!! 🙄

On the other side of the coin, one too cool for school band took a strange attitude to promotion by refusing to accept questions about their influences while trying to come over like total originals. Despite their inspirations being blatant and obvious to hear, they had a misguided self-belief that they were somehow speaking a new language! But everybody knows they started out by purchasing the sheet music to ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ from a New York thrift store! 😆

A few years ago, a lone British artist was complained about the lack of press attention for their new admittedly good album, but then proceeded not to answer emails containing interview pitches. Artists need to engage, no matter how much they say they hate doing promotion, they can’t have it both ways. The days of RADIOHEAD not doing interviews to promote a new album and letting the music speak for itself are long gone…

With the world now making up for lost time since 2020, it would be fair to say that 2023 has been something of a strange year!

Text by Chi Ming Lai
18th December 2023

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