Tag: LCD Soundsystem (Page 1 of 3)

WHEN THE 2000s CLASHED: Machine Music For A New Millennium

22 October 2025 /

With an aim to “destroy authenticity in pop” and “embrace the superficial”, when FISCHERSPOONER were launched at a lavish art space event in London, Casey Spooner turned to his musical partner Warren Fischer and said “Warren, press play…”

Some would call it performance art while others thought the mimed escapade was an affront to real music and reacted angrily… despite much press hype, the single ‘Emerge’ stalled at No25 in 2002 and Ministry Of Sound who had signed FISCHERSPOONER internationally were left with egg on their faces. Q magazine would later place the parent album ‘#1’ in their 2006 list of “The 50 Worst Albums Ever!”

What came to be called electroclash was not considered cool by a wider public that was still drunk after the hangover that was Britpop! Like New Romantic before it, electroclash seen as self-indulgence by elitist poseurs but despite being ridiculed, longevity is nothing to be scared of. Today, the music of 1977-1983 has proved its worth as KRAFTWERK, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, NEW ORDER, DURAN DURAN and their like continue to fill arenas and festival fields around the world.

So now is the time for a re-evaluation of ‘When The 2000s Clashed’ and presented ”Machine Music For A New Millennium”; comprising of 5 themed CDs, the set has been compiled by Jonny Slut, founder of London club nite Nag Nag Nag and Mark Wood of READERS WIFES who DJed at the SOFT CELL reunion shows with superb sets that focussed on the songs, doing away with the self-important mixing and beat matching that afflicts many egocentric deckmeisters…

Just as New Romantic had a range of names which didn’t stick like Blitz Kids, peacock punks, futurists and the dreaded Cult With No Name, designations like synthcore, tech-pop and Romo were banded about before electroclash stuck. It became the all-encompassing term for this glittery yet gritty variant of electronic dance pop where klanky drum machines did battle with analog arpeggios, throbbing basslines on the oompah radar and often, snarly or spoken rather than sung vocals!

CD1 comprises of “Fundamentals” and here, superb trailblazing tracks such as ADD N TO (X)’s ‘Plug Me In’, JEANS TEAM’s ‘Keine Melodien…1, 2, 3, 4’, ZOMBIE NATION’s ‘Kernkraft 400’, ‘Hand To Phone’ by ADULT. and ‘Rippin’ Kittin’ featuring Miss Kittin take their place alongside PET SHOP BOYS’ Orange Alert Mix of ATOMIZER’s ‘Hooked On Radiation’ and LEGOWELT’s sinister ‘Disco Rout’. But it’s Peaches who steals the show with the feisty buzzy lo-fi romp of ‘F*ck The Pain Away’!

FISCHERSPOONER lead CD2’s “Essentials” summary with ‘Emerge’ and offering fine support are THE KNIFE with ‘We Share Our Mother’s Health’ and Richard Norris’ THE DROYDS with the reworded DURAN DURAN cover ‘Girls On Pills’. Although ‘Seventeen’ from LADYTRON is the undoubted classic of this set, other highlights include ‘What Was Her Name?’ from Dave Clarke featuring CHICKS ON SPEED and ‘Take A Walk’ by Andreas Bolz while DETROIT GRAND PUBAS offer the enjoyably bizarre ‘Sandwiches’!

CD3’s “Developments” documents the crossover of what many perceived as the electroclash sound into the mainstream charts with HOT CHIP, GOLDFRAPP, MGMT, LCD SOUNDSYSTEM and YEAH YEAH YEAHS as well as Annie and Róisín Murphy all present if not necessarily correct with THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS remix of ‘Slow’ chosen rather than ‘Come Into My World’, Kylie Minogue’s collaboration with FISCHERSPOONER.

Meanwhile it’s the Princess Superstar voiced take on ‘Exceeder’ as ‘Perfect’ rather than Mason’s superior original instrumental that is included. That aside, Khia’s ‘My Neck My Back’ can now be seen as a forerunner of Marie Davidson.

The “Evolutions” themed CD4 opens with the still outstanding ‘We Are Your Friends’ from JUSTICE VS SIMIAN but while also including DIGITALISM, SOULWAX, CSS and NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB, this particular part of the collection proves to be the most hit and miss of the entire box, but it’s all just a matter of taste…

CD5 looks back at the “Origins” of electroclash with the usual suspects like KRAFTWERK, SPARKS, THE NORMAL, CABARET VOLTAIRE, THE HUMAN LEAGUE, GINA X PERFORMANCE, NEW ORDER, HEAVEN 17, FAD GADGET, VISAGE and SOFT CELL all included. But while is it wonderful that a track other than ‘Homosapien’ in the brilliant ‘Telephone Operator’ is included from the Pete Shelley back catalogue alongside the Germanic quirkiness of ‘Fred Vom Jupiter’ by DIE DORAUS UND DIE MARINAS and ‘Zauberstab’ by ZaZa, this could almost be any other alternative collection of influential electro works.

Instead, this fifth disc could have gathered tracks from the period by THE HACKER, THE FAINT, FC KAHUNA, GREEN VELVET, NORTHERN LITE, SYNTAX or TECHNOVA next to DJ Hell, Felix Da Housecat, Anthony Rother, Tiga or Ferry Corsten, with the latter’s ‘Whatever!’ nonchalantly voiced by Esmee Bor Stotijn from 2006 being a slice of prime cut electroclash.

The way it was in the past 25 years ago, this boxed set shows that the back-to-basics approach of many of these tracks provided an excitement that led to an albeit short-lived reinvigoration of electronic pop by acts whose names began with an “L” like Little Boots, La Roux, Lady Gaga and Ladyhawke.

Gathering a diverse selection of artists, producers and remixers ranging from the biggest starlets and synthpop duos to cult bands and underground DJs, ‘When The 2000s Clashed: Machine Music For A New Millennium’ highlights that the passing of time has finally been kind to electroclash and in selecting from the best of its type, what is left is great electronic pop music. So when synthwave is reassessed in 10 years time and gets the boxed set treatment, will it too have evergreens that have stood the test of time? It will but it probably won’t have as many as ‘When The 2000s Clashed: Machine Music For A New Millennium’.

‘When The 2000s Clashed: Machine Music For A New Millennium’ is released on 31st October 2025 by Demon Music Group as a 5CD boxed set, 3LP vinyl highlights edition also available.

https://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/catalogue/releases/when-the-2000s-clashed-machine-music-for-a-new-millennium-5cd/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
22nd October 2025

ZIMBRU Interview

8 February 2021 /


Comprising of Teodora Retegan, Andrei Bobiș, Paul Bucovesan and Oana Pop, ZIMBRU are a synth assisted Romanian art pop quartet with a strong TALKING HEADS influence.

Their promising 2019 debut EP ‘Little Creatures’ offered haunting forlorn vocals, synthy hooks, art school sensibilities and intriguing rhythmic backdrops for the dancefloor.

‘Terejo’ with its rhythmical neo-funk motif imagined what TALKING HEADS might have sounded like as a more electronic band and perhaps unsurprisingly sounded like a female fronted LCD SOUNDSYSTEM.

Showcasing the varied musical facets of ZIMBRU, the ‘Little Creatures’ title song was moodier, constructed around a prominent off-beat and an incessant electronic drive. Their most recent single ‘The Ground’ released in August 2020 reflected the sadness many were feeling around the world in difficult times and acted as something of a cathartic release for the band.

Eager to play live again, ZIMBRU will perform at the Berlin Mixtape virtual concert on THURSDAY 11TH FEBRUARY 2021. Originally conceived as a single band event, it has since developed into a project where six Romanian singers will each a cover song that has a strong connection to the city of Berlin.

The songs were selected by LOLA Magazine based in Berlin while all the singers are managed by Cirkular in Romania. Teodora Retegan from ZIMBRU will be one of the singers while the instrumental parts for all of the songs have been produced by Andrei Bobiș who incidentally is a co-founder of Cirkular. Other featured singers include Sofia Zadar, Geo Aghinea and Adame Wolf among others.

In a break from preparations for their upcoming online event, Teodora Retegan and Andrei Bobiș from ZIMBRU talked about the band’s career to date.

How did ZIMBRU come into being, specifically as a band using electronics?

Andrei: ZIMBRU came into being over e-mail! Teo, Oana and I used to play in another band called LIGHTS OUT and about a year after that was wrapped up, I sent Teo this silly song idea and she recorded some cool vocals and then we realized we really missed each other and spent the next three years writing songs basically. Oana and Paul joined in 2018 and that’s when we started putting a live show together. I guess we liked a lot of artists that have cool arrangements featuring both electronic and acoustic stuff mashed together in interesting / peculiar ways.

The ‘Little Creatures’ EP title and that band name indicate that ZIMBRU have a strong TALKING HEADS influence?

Andrei: We definitely love TALKING HEADS and have danced to many TALKING HEADS records over the years, so I’m sure that plenty of that has subconsciously made it into our music. However the title is not a direct reference to the TALKING HEADS album. It was one of those placeholder titles (until we think of a better one, never actually thinking of one) that kind of started making more and more sense as our debut EP came together. Our latest single ‘The Ground’ has a strong TALKING HEADS influence, as a lot of it was written as I was reading Byrne’s book ‘How Music Works’ – especially the chapter on their work on ‘Speaking In Tongues’ and ‘Remain In Light’.


What other bands have inspired ZIMBRU?

Andrei: Uuh, tough one, a list feels like a weird thing to do so I’ll do the next best thing and point you towards some of the playlists we have curated over the past two years under the DJ BIVOL moniker which are available on our Spotify artist profile.

What was it like to grow up in Romania with the more artistic aspirations you had in your psyche? Was it easy being around people at school who might have preferred football or waiting to be called up for national service?

Teodora: Usually it’s not very desirable to explore this as a career (that goes for anything in the arts department) because there is a lot of poverty in Romania and of course parents would prefer their children having stability and picking a career that would ensure a monthly income. I think most humans have artistic potential, but it’s hard to express it under capitalism because if you can’t monetise it, you don’t stand a chance in doing it more than a hobby. That is very heartbreaking to me. I have been privileged enough to be supported by my family so here I am, trying.

‘Dog Heaven’ was your debut single, how do you look back on it now?

Andrei: Not a single per se, though, as it never had an actual release other than the live version. Uhm, it has been so long since we played it or listened to it that it’s like listening to another band really, but maybe time passing hasn’t really changed anything about it? I bet I’d still be pretty pumped to play it if playing music was still a thing.

How did you decide between singing in your own language and English?

Teodora: Honestly I don’t know how much of a conscious decision it was. Growing up in post revolution Romania, we had all these brands and music channels and fast food chains entering our country and for a while we thought all things western were Jesus Christ. You could hear English songs on the radio and you thought “ah this is so cool, can I do that?”. Romanian is beautiful though, I’ll try to write more in română.

Both ‘Terejo’ and ‘Dyo’ sound like an enigmatic female fronted LCD SOUNDSYSTEM? Have they been an inspiration to ZIMBRU, in particular with their use of electronics?

Andrei: Yeah, definitely an influence, we even used to do a cover of ‘I Can Change’ live, though probably more of an influence in their use of cowbells than their use of electronics.

The union between art and music is particularly prevalent in ZIMBRU’s video for ‘Divination’, how important is this ethos to you as a band?

Andrei: Well, we put our hearts into the songs and everything we make around the songs, be it videos, photos or anything else – and I guess that’s the highly relevant part, creating some sort of context for the music that means something and is truly genuine. However not taking ourselves too seriously is also a thing that matters, so you know, which art, what music?

Your most recent single ‘The Ground’ has been described as your saddest (which is quite fitting with the current situation) and it calls for kinship with Mother Nature, please describe the song’s genesis?

Teodora: My father was doing some gardening in lockdown and I joined him on this particularly windy day, I think we planted radishes and lots of onions. Here comes the cliché part *ah revelations* where after months of isolation, I start feeling connected to the soil, I shove my fingers in the ground like I never knew it was there all along. So I went into a permaculture spiralling spiritual phase and made everybody watch documentaries about the ground, probably annoyed them a bit, and after a while the song came to life. Maybe I did not annoy them that much, we’re nature loving hobbits…

The do-it-yourself video for ‘The Ground’ makes a strong visual statement, how did you come up with the concept?

Teodora: We wanted something simple and filled with love. We made it one afternoon in Oana’s garden and it’s probably one of my favourite days up to this point. There is something magic about seemingly mundane activities such as hanging out with friends outside. It’s a small treasure I don’t want to take for granted again.

Is ‘Slow Disco’ actually a metaphor as opposed to being about dancing?

Andrei: Actually it is quite a literal title, the early instrumental version sounded like a disco track that was slowed down. As with ‘Little Creatures’, it was a placeholder title that stuck and started to make a lot more sense as time went on. Looking through the studio computer, I actually found that before it was named ‘Slow Disco’, it had yet another placeholder title, ‘Indina’, can’t quite remember why.

What is the band’s format and ethos with presenting music live?

Teodora: I think we often laugh about how we want to be punk on stage. I am not sure it’s the energy we exude but we sure as hell want it to be. Maybe after more than half a year of not doing any shows we will be 100% punk!

ZIMBRU have a small back catalogue so far of several singles and an EP, what are your future plans for recording and releases?

Andrei: I don’t know what kind of plans you could possibly make given the context. We’d love to write new things and that’s about the only thing on our mind right now. We don’t really sit on our music so you’ll be hearing from us soonish (fingers crossed).


Does the increasing profile of MOLCHAT DOMA from Belarus give you any encouragement with regards alternative Eastern European acts making breakthroughs to Western audiences?

Andrei: I think a lot of music coming out of Eastern Europe is either sold as a token – like MOLCHAT DOMA – or as an exotic item to western audiences, like a lot of acts that play music with “oriental” influences, for example. Both are equally bad. Of course, I’m more than happy that these acts have found an audience, but it doesn’t mean much. The one thing that is exciting is that it feels that some of the gatekeeping events like showcase festivals have become increasingly accessible.

What are your hopes and fears as a band and as people as 2021 begins?

Teodora: My hope is that we’ll write more songs about nature and non-human animals and maybe do something more on the activist side of things. And my *personal* and kind of two years in the future dream is to start a queer commune and a sanctuary! I might never stop if I start talking about fears, so I’ll be nice and spare you!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to ZIMBRU

Special thanks to Ingo Tegge at Goethe-Zentrum Klausenburg

The ‘Little Creatures’ EP and ‘The Ground’ available from the usual digital platforms including https://zimbru.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/zimbrumusic/

https://www.instagram.com/zimbrumusic/

https://www.youtube.com/zimbrumusic

http://smarturl.it/SpotifyZimbru

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
8th February 2021

Introducing ZIMBRU

16 January 2020 /

ZIMBRU are an intriguing synth assisted Romanian art pop four-piece comprising of Teodora Retegan, Paul Bucovesan, Andrei Bobiș and Oana Pop, their songs characterised by Retegan’s deep forlorn expression.

The title of their debut EP ‘Little Creatures’ suggests a TALKING HEADS influence, reinforced by the band’s moniker being a near namesake to ‘I Zimbra’, although “Zimbru” is actually the Romanian word for the European bison. However, ‘Terejo’ does play with the quirky sound of David Bryne and chums.

Its rhythmical neo-funk motif imagining what TALKING HEADS might have sounded like as a more electronic band and not unsurprisingly coming over like a female fronted LCD SOUNDSYSTEM. The bounce of ‘Dyo’ takes this eclectic template further with the bass synth driven groove augmented by cowbells interrupted with a booming dystopian doom reminiscent of Gary Numan.

By comparison, the EP’s lead track ‘Divination’ appears comparatively straightforward but plays with a dominant laser attack and adopts playful time signature changes alongside spacey synths and new wave guitars. The excellent accompanying video certainly reflects their artful poise and that stranger things might be afoot.

The ‘Little Creatures’ title song itself takes on a moodier pace, utilising a prominent off-beat and an incessant electronic pulse to drive it along, showcasing the varied musical facets ZIMBRU. In all, this is a promising debut EP release that offers haunting vocals, synthy hooks, art school sensibilities and intriguing rhythmic backdrops for the dancefloor.

‘Little Creatures’ is available from the usual digital platforms including https://zimbru.bandcamp.com/album/little-creatures

https://www.facebook.com/zimbrumusic/

https://www.instagram.com/zimbrumusic/

https://www.youtube.com/zimbrumusic

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photo by YANA
16th January 2020

FAKE TEAK Fake Teak

5 November 2018 /


FAKE TEAK were actually first name checked by VILE ELECTRODES back in 2011.

With diverse influences such as Krautrock, Afrobeat, funk, rock and electronica, the band has since evolved and it would be fair to say they have a unusual hybrid sound that falls neither into exclusively synth or alternative music circles. After a long gestation period, the London-based quartet of Andrew Wyld (bass, synthesizer + vocals), Alastair Nicholls (guitar, synthesizer, bass + vocals), Joanna Wyld (synthesizer, flute + vocals) and Andrea Adriano (drums, production + vocals) finally get to release their self-titled debut long player.

As an opening statement of intent with hand-driven organic synth sounds galore, the spectre of LCD SOUNDSYSTEM looms heavily on ‘Dance Like Nobody’s Watching’ while on the frantic seize the day mantra of ‘Bears Always Party The Exact Right Amount’, early TALKING HEADS enter the mix via a groovy rhythmic backbone. Meanwhile, ‘Post Office Tower’ is a quirky ode to that London monument with the revolving restaurant, traditional yet slightly off-the-wall.

The new wave flavour of ‘Solid-State’ makes good use of an ARP Odyssey Mk1 as FAKE TEAK sing of “going electronic again” while the unwavering art funk of ‘Recall A Thought’ explores an inner Byrne.

‘Whole Lot O’ Grief’ throws offbeats and flute into the equation alongside a bassy synth rumble, but ‘Lagos 82’ takes on a great energetic FRANZ FERDINAND feel and codas with a wonderfully glorious chant. Meanwhile, ‘101’ is not a tribute to DEPECHE MODE but actually comes over bizarrely like DR HOOK backed by AZTEC CAMERA and when the Roland Juno 60 strings kick in, it sounds even weirder!

But the best is saved until almost last; an affectionate parody of HOT CHIP’s ‘Ready For The Floor’, ‘No Shame’ is a delightfully odd but catchy disco tune about that strange moment when people with nothing in common come together on the dancefloor.

With plenty of synth action, there’s a rousing church-like middle section in which each band member contributes vocals to provide a rather fabulous harmonious effect, recalling the Alex Kapranos produced CITIZENS! Closing with the eerily filmic ‘Breathless’, the syncopated rhythmics are offset by layers of synths and eccentric vocals.

What stands out about FAKE TEAK is how they don’t stylistically pander to any musical fashions.

And despite their use of vintage synthesizers, the synths are not the excuse for the song, but neither are they for pose or just part of the background to fill out the odd chord here or there.

If you like the idea of a distinctly English take on LCD SOUNDSYSTEM and TALKING HEADS, topped with a dash of HOT CHIP and FRANZ FERDINAND too, FAKE TEAK may be right up your country lane.

‘Fake Teak’ is available on the usual digital platforms

https://www.facebook.com/faketeak/

https://twitter.com/faketeak

https://www.instagram.com/faketeak/

https://soundcloud.com/faketeak

Text by Chi Ming Lai
5th November 2018

FAKE TEAK Bears Always Party The Exact Right Amount

25 June 2018 /

When Andy Pandy and Teddy were “waving goodbye” at the end of each episode, what was actually going on once the box was shut? Was it really “time to go home” or were the pair partying the night away?

London-based combo FAKE TEAK with their brilliant new video ‘Bears Always Party The Right Amount’ show that like girls, bears just wanna have fun. Cleverly filmed around the city and on the London Underground with seemingly no strings attached, Bear joins his pals Monkey, Giraffe, Dolphin and FAKE TEAK themselves for a night of disco revelry.

Self-directed by the band themselves, their puppetry skills have certainly not been in vain and the end result is one of the best independent low-budget music videos to have been made in recent years.

Giving away some of their trade secrets, singer and instrumentalist Andrew Wyld recalled: “We used broom handles with fishing line on them—since the breaking strain on fishing line is quite high, it was enough for the weight of the stuffed animals, but it’s also very fine and mostly doesn’t show! For close up work, we also used coathanger wire, which we slid inside the stuffed animals’ arms, for example, as in the scene where they share a drink…guitarist Alastair Nicholls came up with the concept for the video, I storyboarded it and then between us we figured out the shooting script and how we were going to move the stuffed animals”

It’s proof that once a band puts their mind towards some inventive visual representation to accompany their music, anything is possible. The song itself is an appealing quirky mix of LCD SOUNDSYSTEM and TALKING HEADS, driven by synth-derived organ sounds and a groovy rhythmic backbone from Andrea Adriano.

The second single from FAKE TEAK’s upcoming debut album, the band’s ARP Odyssey Goddess Joanna Wyld said: “’Bears Always Party The Exact Right Amount’ is about everyone being welcome to be exactly who they are and to party exactly how they want. It’s about seizing the day and not caring how you look or whether you made a mistake. However much you want to dance: that’s the right amount. However we just played it: that was the right way”

Just a quick note that the Bear was not hurt during filming and even if he was, IT’S A PUPPET! 😉

‘Bears Always Party The Exact Right Amount’ will be available as a download single from the usual digital platforms

FAKE TEAK launch the single with a gig at The Finsbury, 336 Green Lanes, Harringay, London N4 1BY on Friday 29th June 2018 – nearest tube is Manor House on the Piccadilly Line

https://www.facebook.com/faketeak/

https://twitter.com/faketeak

https://www.instagram.com/faketeak/

https://soundcloud.com/faketeak

Text by Chi Ming Lai
25th June 2018

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