Although PRESENCE OF MIND released recordings as early as 1995 on the cult synth compilation ‘Circuit One’, the Swedish trio only released their debut album proper in the summer of 2014.
Their first recordings borrowed from the Vince Clarke school of synth programming but today, PRESENCE OF MIND are a much darker but no less song based proposition.
Influenced by the likes of MESH, DE/VISION and inevitably ‘Violator’-era DEPECHE MODE, childhood friends Christoffer Lundström, Johannes Ambros and Anders Wallroth have taken their time.
But without the pressure of constant touring, they’ve utilised a developing songcraft and life experience to pay dividends on the resultant long player entitled ‘Interpersonal’. Utilising the crisp production ethos of Wallroth and Ambros, ‘One Step I’ takes some killer squelch bass and places it alongside the strong, melodic vocals of Lundström.
Just accorded a new promo video, the track is a great bleep forward from their earlier work and the interim ‘Between Emotions’ EP from 2005. Another good example of their passionate synth rock is ‘Queen Of Redemption’, an obvious second cousin of ‘Enjoy The Silence’ but with a Svenske twist.
PRESENCE OF MIND are an enticing live proposition, as proven by their impressive appearance at the pre-party of Electronic Summer 2015 in Gothenburg. Lundström in particular, is a charismatic and engaging frontman with a lively but controlled stage presence that contrasts the dark, but danceable electronic soundtrack.
With excellent uptempo songs such as ‘Alive’ and sensitive ballads like ‘In My Dreams’ in their repertoire, the threesome from Mariestad are already at work on a second album to maintain their new-found momentum with tracks such as ‘Brittle Bones’ already having received public premieres. PRESENCE OF MIND are now finally knocking on the door of Northern Europe and making a positive impression on its independent electronic pop scene.
‘Interpersonal’ is released as a download and CD via Cramada
Some bands crop out of nowhere, quickly put together the material, not knowing what the real direction of the album they’re writing is, then place high hopes for a fast success.
Other musical creatures work for years to develop their sound and perfect their trade, while branching out into other projects, just to come up with a masterpiece. The formation of DESTIN FRAGILE dates back to 1993 when Swede Pontus Stålberg started collaborating with various musicians before joining forces with Daniel Malmöf and Stefan Nilsson for live performances.
Nilsson and Stålberg ran a side project, the EBM inclined SPETSNAZ, who released four albums and enjoyed fair amount of popularity. Malmöf returned to complete the DESTIN FRAGILE cycle, which has culminated in the release of ‘Halfway To Nowhere’ on Dark Dimensions.
Since it’s been a 20 year wait for the album, the expectations run high; ‘Run Away’, which opens the production, immediately brings to mind a mixture of vintage DEPECHE MODE and elements of Germany’s AND ONE with a clear vocal by Stålberg, that is quite different from what SPETSNAZ ‘s fans are used to hearing. Ethereal and gentler in tone, it somewhat resembles Mark Hockings of Bristol’s own UK electronica masters MESH.
Clever, heavier synth follows on ‘In Your Eyes’; burly, very AND ONE and decadent, it leads to ‘In the Frame’, which is characterised by CAMOUFLAGE-like landscape, off beat drum patterns and irregular keys. ‘Alive (It’s Up To You)’ opens with a recognisable Gahan influence, a definite gloomy love affair, bearing Doug McCarthy’s vocal stamp, with a filthy synth finish. The poppier and gentler title track floats in, with TEARS FOR FEARS meets ‘Ultra’ era DM qualities. Rather superb in its simplicity, it is roughly interrupted by the incoming ‘April Light’, which couldn’t be more AND ONE in its texture.
The rhythmic ‘Change’ brings out qualities of SPETSNAZ at first, to transcend into the perfect synth pop tune, just before ‘Worlds Apart’ breaks the beat, followed by ‘In Plain Sight’.
Unsurprisingly, elements of FROZEN PLASMA are rather palpable; many a band this year has used their influence in their own creations. A dance tune at its best – fast, to the point, not over complicated with unnecessary filler sounds and simple enough to please.
‘Out Of The Darkness’ is delicious vocally and musically alike. The PET SHOP BOYS styled production is marked with eloquent formulation of synths from the lost era, combined with AND ONE’s ‘Virgin Superstar’ style of manufacture of a superior electronic track.
The closing bonus ’11’ is fabulously surprising, a vintage Merry- Go- Round, Victorian music box, horse cart and choir certainly aren’t a concoction one would expect as the culmination of this record. But that’s exactly what you get. Truly inspired and wonderfully wrapping this excellent album up.
To some, the obvious DEPECHE MODE and AND ONE characteristics, so often audible on this production, could be a turn off. It has to be said, however, that DESTIN FRAGILE have made those influences their own and the overall effect is highly pleasing.
Sweden certainly doesn’t cease to give birth to some excellent acts in the genre. Stålberg and friends have the aura of the weathered, grown up daddies of electronica about them, which differentiates them from many an act on the scene.
DESTIN FRAGILE recently showcased their material at Gothenburg’s Electronic Summer 2015 Festival at The Brewhouse with considerable success. Let’s hope they continue creating synthpop soundscapes worthy of the ever expanding electronic Swedish music scene.
‘Halfway To Nowhere’ is available as a CD or download via Dark Dimensions
Exciting are the times when two great bands come together to do a gig, one that will lighten up the darkest and coldest January night.
MESH and VILE ELECTRODES performed at The Garage and the event was certainly one to remember. Richard Silverthorn of MESH mentioned that he would never choose mediocre bands to support them, as he was more interested in the overall experience for the ticket buyer, rather than being the top dog and shining above all others.
That certainly was true for this gig; the headliner being one of the most celebrated alternative electronic acts that the UK has to offer with years of experience and multiple albums to showcase their immense back catalogue; and the main support, an extremely unique duo with superb synth interplay and quirky vocals, fast gaining popularity both in the UK and Europe. The Garage was certainly the place to be.
2014 closed a chapter for VILE ELECTRODES, a period which has seen them support OMD and JOHN FOXX as well as playing live in front of ex-members of KRAFTWERK. So for their first gig of 2015, the South Coast based synth couple took the opportunity to air some new material.
Despite taking a running start with the accessibly groovy ‘Empire of Wolves’ from their first album, it was straight onto the road test with ‘Drive’, a great little electronic ditty that was pleasingly immediate, yet fresh as well. The dynamics of studio and live performance are quite different so although very promising, ‘Last Of The Lovers’ went on a bit too long, a fact that was dwelled upon by Anais Neon who endearing admitted to forgetting to cut out the last verse in the planned edited version they had rehearsed.
But while not yet fully formed, the other new songs ‘Evidence’ and ‘Stark White’ showed why VILE ELECTRODES have been winning music awards in Germany and enthusiastically championed by OMD’s Andy McCluskey. Non-album EP track ‘Re-Emerge’ made a welcome return to the set, its energetic arpeggios now augmented by a barrage of Simmons drums from Martin Swan.
Meanwhile ‘Proximity’ and its haunting synth line borrowed from JOY DIVISION’s ‘Decades’ closed a well received set in front of an almost capacity crowd. MESH began their part proceedings with singer Mark Hockings standing by the mixing desk with stripped down renditions of ‘Trust You’ and ‘Not Prepared’.
This was a brave way to start with the beany capped Hockings exposed, but fully relishing his challenge. The full live band of Silverthorn, Sean Suleman (drums) and Richard Broadhead (keyboards) launched into ‘Flawless’ as the singer rejoined his bandmates on the stage and so began a passionate set, dealing with the downturn of relationships, both personal and virtual.
Indicative of the Bristol combo’s success in Europe, fans had come from all over the continent for this special show with German being the dominant language in the venue. These fans were treated to a wonderful surprise in a terrific cover of YAZOO’s ‘Tuesday’ as Hockings did a fine tribute to Alison Moyet without actually trying to imitate her. This early Vince Clarke song was effectively turned into one of MESH’s own while still retaining its original essence and grace.
The dark yet uplifting ‘Crash’ from 2006’s ‘We Collide’ provided a great dance rock moment with plenty of anthemic qualities. And it’s this that MESH do best, emotive gothic tinged electro with melodies and the occasional dancefloor tendency. There was another surprise when REPUBLICA front woman Saffron made a special guest appearance on ‘Who Says’, a number from ‘A Perfect Solution’ which was originally a boy/girl duet with Julia Beyer of cult German band TECHNOIR.
The surprise pairing certainly kept the crowd in good spirits as they went on to enjoy further excellent songs from MESH’s most recent album ‘Automation Baby’ such as ‘Never Meet Your Heroes’, ‘Just Leave Us Alone’ and ‘Adjust Your Set’. Incidentally during ‘You Didn’t Want Me’, former MESH live keyboardist Geoff Pinckney made a passing remark that watching his former colleagues live from the other side was “very emotional”.
The rousing stomp of ‘You Want What’s Owed to You’ and a fine crowd singalong conducted by Richard Silverthorn during the closing bars of ‘Taken For Granted’ was warmly embraced by all in attendance, with that latter now possibly MESH’s own ‘Never Let Me Down Again’. Returning with fan favourites ‘Born To Lie’ and ‘Friends Like These’ for the encore, MESH ably delivered to their loyal public.
With every UK MESH gig, the audience receives a rare treat. First of all, the exquisite performance from the band themselves, both musically and vocally, with Mark Hockings being indistinguishable from the album recordings.
Secondly with the choice of their main support; VILE ELECTRODES were a perfect pick and followed in the footsteps of KLOQ, DE/VISION and TORUL, each unique and fresh, making the whole experience truly one to remember. It was a most satisfying way to begin the year’s busy gig schedule.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Richard Silverthorn
MESH play ‘Gothic Meets Classik’ with COVENANT and ANNE CLARK at Leipzig Haus Auensee on SATURDAY 24TH OCTOBER and Lepizig Gewandhaus on SUNDAY 25TH OCTOBER. Details at http://www.gothic-meets-klassik.de/
VILE ELECTRODES play ‘A Secret Wish’ at The Lexington in London on SUNDAY 18TH APRIL with SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN and guest DJ JOHN FRYER. Tickets are £10 in advance or £15 on the door, available from https://billetto.co.uk/asecretwish
MESH are the UK’s secret gem, celebrated widely in Europe, America and South America alike.
Starting with 1996’s ‘In This Place Forever’ and continuing onto ‘Fragile’, ‘Fragmente’, ‘The Point At Which It Falls Apart’, ‘Who Watches Over Me?’, ‘We Collide’ onto ‘A Perfect Solution’ and finally the jewel that is ‘Automation Baby’, MESH have established themselves with electronic music fans portraying life, relationships, love and technology in a way not many acts can. Electrifying tunes like ‘Crash’ or ‘Friends Like These’ have become well known staples of the live MESH diet that induce the audience into a psychedelic state totally under the influence of Mark Hockings’ solid voice.
Upon the fantastic news that in January 2015, there will be a MESH concert on home soil with VILE ELECTRODES, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK had the great pleasure of talking to Richard Silverthorn of MESH in preparation for the event. So ‘Adjust Your Set’, ‘Hold It Together’, as ‘This Is What You Wanted’!
Your last gig in London was with DE/VISION, whom you seem to like sharing the bill with. What’s the story between the two bands?
We have been good friends for many years. In 1998, we supported them on their ‘Monosex’ tour which took us across Europe. In 2011 we also did a joint headlining 3 week tour of the USA with them along with IRIS. Our paths have crossed many times at festivals too. We have remixed many of their singles including ‘Strange Affection’, ‘Hear Me Calling’ and ‘Rage’. When we returned to the UK on our ‘Automation Baby’ tour, we asked them along as an additional support. I think we have a mutual admiration of each other.
This time the acclaimed VILE ELECTRODES will take to the stage supporting you. You don’t invite any old mediocre support acts, do you?
Well I always think it is good to put on a quality show. I don’t like the “let’s get a crap band as support to make yourself look good” theory. People have paid good money to see you so let’s make it a good event. I have read and heard quite a lot about VILE ELECTRODES and thought it would be a good band for our audience. I am sure they will go down really well and we are looking forward to seeing them. We also have another band called THE DOMINO STATE who I quite like too.
Your first album was released in 1996 and much has changed since then in the music industry?
The internet has changed the music world. I think it has certainly evened the playing field for most bands nowadays. Back when we started, it was very difficult to get noticed outside your home town. Luckily enough for us (and our persistence) we got exposure from a large UK based music technology magazine which kick started everything for us. Financial budgets have also changed a lot too. Everything is all about cost and record companies have been hard hit by illegal downloads which has a knock on effect to the artist.
Being a secret UK export, do you wish the UK media recognised MESH more?
Yes, of course but I think we have accepted a long time ago that the UK market is so blinkered. Luckily for us we found a market for what we do and it’s not so important to us now. I really would love for some UK recognition for what we have achieved. We do still send out material with every new release to relevant people here and generally get a good response so we haven’t given up just yet.
Following the huge success of ‘Automation Baby’, how do you plan to match its success with any future releases?
‘Automation Baby’ was a huge success for us. It topped all the Alternative European charts and even entered the mainstream German Album Charts at number 33, so trying to better that is going to be a challenge. I always feel a lot of pressure when it comes to writing.
I am constantly thinking “is this better than the last album?” but hopefully this is what pushes us on. In the last month, Mark and I have started writing again. Let the stress begin.
How do you feel about UK electronic music scene in general at the moment?
It still has a long way to go but it all looks very positive at the moment. There seems to be a lot of new bands writing new material and lots of shows and festivals for this kind of music genre starting up. This has got to be seen as a very positive step forward. Again I think the internet and social media has helped this come together. People are travelling from far and wide to attend these events.
How does the current live line-up of MESH with yourself, Mark, Richard and Sean compare to any previous ones? Do you think you have the perfect team?
Yes, I think it is quite a strong unit musically and socially. Spending so much time in each others company you have to all get along. I guess bands evolve and change as they go along. Ultimately MESH has always been Mark and myself writing and producing. The live line-up has changed over the years because of people’s commitments but things are good and strong at the moment.
You have a lot of friends and fans alike, helping out with the MESH enterprise, be it either on social media or in other capacities, how does that feel?
I always feel overwhelmed by people’s enthusiasm for everything we do. I get so many emails and messages through Facebook etc and I do my best to answer them all as I feel we have a good family of friends and fans. This is why we are still here doing what we love. If you upset these people, you may as well give up. Any band with longevity has a great fan base behind them. As well as our fan base, we also have a great team of people that work behind the scenes with us and believe in what we do.
Yourself and Mark, unlike many bands, write actual songs with meaningful, thought through lyrics and complicated melodies. Does that stem from years of experience or your true writing capabilities?
We are firm believers in real songs, songs that stand up on their own without all the fancy production. This is always the starting point. Mark is an amazing lyricist. His songwriting always leaves the listener feeling they have lived through or felt the emotion he is singing about. The song subjects are never obvious and are open for interpretation in many different ways. We played a big show just outside of Dresden in a castle recently. When I was walking back to the dressing room after the show, I was stopped by a girl who hugged me and thanked me for writing the soundtrack to her life. She said that our albums have helped her though so many tough times in her life. What the hell do you say to that? Erm… thanks? That for me sums it all up and is why we do this.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Richard Silverthorn
MESH, VILE ELECTRODES + THE DOMINO STATE play The Garage, 20-22 Highbury Corner, London N5 1RD on SATURDAY 31ST JANUARY 2015.
Undo Records is the Athens based record company founded by Nick Bitzenis and George Geranios.
Continuing the tradition of iconic labels like Factory and Mute with an attention to detail and a tasteful if occasionally eccentric design aesthetic, Undo’s physical products have captured the hearts of music fans worldwide and become highly sought after collector’s items.
Legend has it that the name Undo was actually an abbreviation of “United Donkeys” after the name “Gaga” was rejected! The label was conceived by the pair as a better way of utilising their business interests in light of a lucrative sponsorship deal for Bitzenis’ band MIKRO that saw little return for the power pop combo after a three album tenure with Warner Music Greece.
Undo’s first release though was actually ‘E-Bay Queen’ by MARSHEAUX in 2004, featuring the catalogue number KUCD001 which reflected Undo’s then partnership with distributor Klik Records. Meanwhile, MIKRO’s fourth album ‘180°’ was the label’s second release as KUCD002.
But it was following the cult success of MARSHEAUX’s breakthrough release ‘Peek ABoo’ in 2007 that the label secured a wider distribution deal with EMI Greece. With fans such as Andy McCluskey, Tom Robinson, Stuart Maconie and Jared Leto, the Athens based synth maidens have since become Undo Records’ most acclaimed and prized asset, with MARSHEAUX’s most recent album ‘Inhale’ becoming their biggest seller to date.
A decade later and the label have nearly fifty releases to its name including some key names from classic and modern electronic music. “We make electro pop records!” Undo say, so quite why a representative from a UK music distributor approached them about licensing the BEADY EYE debut long player still remains a mystery!
So here are 18 songs affectionately chosen for a fantasy CD compilation that represents the ethos of Undo Records. Restricted to one song per artist moniker or guest vocalist combination and arranged in catalogue number / chronological order, this is A Beginner’s Guide to Undo Records…
FOTONOVELA But Not Tonight (2005)
Nick Bitzenis and George Geranios had initially met through the Greek DEPECHE MODE fan club Hysterika. So a DM covers album featuring the best of Greece’s independent bands was a natural artistic undertaking for the pair. MARSHEAUX contributed ‘New Life’ while MIKRO did ‘World In My Eyes’. But the highlight turned out to be from Bitzenis and Geranios themselves via their own music production platform FOTONOVELA with a lounge cover of Da Mode’s often forgotten but popular B-side ‘But Not Tonight’ featuring Bitzenis on lead vocals.
From the CD compilation ‘Around The World & Back: A Greek Tribute To Depeche Mode’ (V/A) – KUCD003
2005’s ‘We Collide’ was MESH’s best album to date at that point, so it was a major coup for Undo to have been able to license it for their fourth catalogue release. With ‘Crash’, MESH continued on their usual regular lyrical gists on the conflict within the human condition, providing the sort of synthesized anthems that the blues obsessed 21st Century DEPECHE MODE no longer delivered. For one of the album’s extras on the Undo variant, MARSHEAUX contributed a brilliant electro disco remix of ‘Crash’.
Although a cult success in Greece via his power pop outfit MIKRO, Nick Bitzenis wanted an outlet to express some of his more soundtrack based ideas… enter NIKONN. His beautiful solo debut album ‘Poladroid’ opened with ‘Sunday’, a rich chill out tapestry in the vein of MOBY featuring expansive synths, soothing vocoder and the exquisite vocals of Maria Papadopoulou. Incidentally, ‘Poladroid’ sold out its original KUCD005 run and was reissued as an ‘SX70 Edition’ with bonus material in 2013 while NIKONN’s work has appeared on ‘CSI: Miami’ and numerous bar compilations.
From the 2CD album ‘Poladroid – SX70 Edition’ – CDUN05
While ‘Ready For Love’ was actually a Eurodisco hit from the film ‘Deep End’ featuring the Greek actress and Playboy model Maria Korinthiou on lead vocals, the song appeared on a CD compiled by Undo Records that was given away free with domestic music magazine ‘Pop+Rock’ in Spring 2007. Breathy and highly alluring, the mysterious connection that enabled ‘Ready For Love’ to be included was that ESTE turned out to be Bitzenis and Geranios’ production wing FOTONOVELA in disguise!
From the CD compilation album ‘Undo LM.End_1’ (V/A) – MPH049
Originating from Greece’s other big city Thessaloniki, MIKRO were noted for their catchy uptempo party anthems. ‘Kalinihta’ from their fifth album ‘Restart’ perfectly captured the imminent conclusion of a rousing night out with some seductive Greek language vocals by Ria Mazini. ‘Restart’ was the first Undo release that featured a ‘CDUN-’ catalogue prefix, reflecting their new distribution deal with EMI Greece. Meanwhile, MIKRO’s next album was released by Undo in separate Greek and English CD editions as ‘Download’ and ‘Upload’ respectively in 2009.
By 2007, CLIENT had left Mute Records and had secured a new European deal with Out Of Line for their third album ‘Heartland’. In 2008, Undo licensed the album for the Greek and Cypriot markets. ‘Zerox Machine’ was a futuristic pop cover of the cult ADAM & THE ANTS favourite that was simultaneously glamorous, cold, emotional and sexy. In a touring tie-in which also saw MARSHEAUX sign to Out Of Line for the rest of Europe while Undo developed a close friendship with lead singer Client B aka Sarah Blackwood that continues to this day.
KID MOXIE is the musical project of stunning LA based actress Elena Charbila whose film career has seen her appear alongside Al Pacino and Malcolm MacDowell. Prior to her current cinematic phase on songs like ‘The Bailor’, her first album ‘Selector’ dabbled in what Charbila termed “Gutter Pop”. For the Greek physical edition of the release, FOTONOVELA took the title track and imagined ‘Are Friends Electric?’ reworked as an electro disco track for one of the bonuses while MARSHEAUX remixed ‘Medium Pleasure’.
‘Electronically Yours’ was a compilation that gathered a number of the new synthesizer acts such as HIDDEN PLACE, TECHNOLOGIC and TIGER BABY. A trio of feisty ladies with a vibrancy in their passion for pop with an edgy synthetic sound not heard before in the world of the girl group, RED BLOODED WOMEN were like GIRLS ALOUD produced by Daniel Miller. ‘You Made Your Bed’ was a satirical look at the IKEA generation’s relationships. The electronic bassline wass octave shift heaven carried by a throbbing sequence and beat!
From the 2CD compilation album ‘Electronically Yours’ (V/A) – CDUN14
With two albums to their name, Marianthi Melitsi and Sophie Sarigiannidou delivered on their promise with their most accomplished work to date in ‘Lumineux Noir’. ‘Radial Emotion’ with its infectious chorus and vibrant syncopated beats almost stole the show on an album which also included some of MARSHEAUX’s best songs like ‘Sorrow’, ‘Breakthrough’, ‘Summer’, ‘So Far’ and ‘Exit’. The innovative packaging for ‘Lumineux Noir’ consisted of a perforated black box that needed breaking to access the CD… thus, many fans bought one to play and one to display!
ROCKETS IN A COMA’s striking front woman Elektra first came to prominence as a guest vocalist on FOTONOVELA’s 2008 debut ‘Mistakes Are Good’. With her feisty vocal style coupled with musical partner Java Kid’s eclectic production style, the duo delivered a mutant strain of dominatrix electro rock disco with hints of MIKRO, THE CURE and GOLDFRAPP. This was wonderfully showcased on their first single ‘Psycholover’ and ‘You In Me’. But despite these sexily provocative overtures, Elektra has since effectively retired from music in order to raise a family.
Greco Jordanian vocalist TAREQ was a member of TECH SOIR who released their only album ‘Dark Room’ on Undo in 2007. So it was not a total surprise when his solo debut appeared on the label in mid-2010. The relaxed but pacey drum ‘n’ pop of ‘Mosquito’ was enhanced by a charming vocal croon that was not that different from INXS’ Michael Hutchence. Indeed, the parent album ‘Cocoon’ featured a cover of ‘Need You Tonight’ to further substantiate the link. TAREQ’s second album on Undo entitled ‘Fish’ came out in 2013.
‘Green’ was a demo from the solo phase of OMD that Andy McCluskey wrote with Stuart Kershaw and sounded like a ploddy rock ballad. Taking ‘Almost’ as a reference point with its white noise-like cymbal, Paul Humphreys reworked the track with a classic but contemporary electronic feel that became one of the highlights of ‘History Of Modern’. For its Greek release, Undo put the standard album into a lavish box with a bonus remix EP and ribboned it with a unique OMD wax seal.
From the 2CD+DVD boxset ‘History Of Modern’ – CDUN25
ROLLA SCAPE featuring MARSHEAUX Heaven Is Real (2011)
MARSHEAUX found themselves in funky disco mode on this guest appearance with ROLLA SCAPE, a pseudonym of K.BHTA, an Athens based Australian electronic musician. While the wispy vocal tones of Marianthi Melitsi are unmistakeable, the repetitive and sparse dance flavour of ‘Heaven Is Real’ augmented by rhythm guitar is quite unlike anything else in the MARSHEAUX catalogue and an enjoyable diversion away from their more obvious synthpop sound.
A unity of art and technology, MIRRORS were the perfectly modern take on the Synth Britannia era. The outstanding ‘Somewhere Strange’ was possibly the most euphoric and roaring train ride since NEW ORDER’s ‘Temptation’ with a hypnotic assault of propulsive blips and cacophonies of percussive noise. Undo’s special 2CD release of ‘Lights & Offerings’ chronicled the album and the brilliant B-sides. The Undo arrangement led to singer James New contributing the brilliant ‘Our Sorrow’ and ‘Romeo & Juliet’ on FOTONOVELA’s ‘A Ton Of Love’ in 2013.
With the spectre of Moroder and the slight, unorthodox vocal vibe of PULP’s Jarvis Cocker looming, the Thessaloniki based electro duo LIEBE borrowed an Italo style reminiscent of PET SHOP BOYS but added an extra sense of tongue-in-cheek. Also fusing elements of THE HUMAN LEAGUE to their highly immediate sparkling disco sound, the first single from the ‘Somewhere In Time’ album, ‘Strangers’ was a radio success in their home country while ‘Flamingo Nights’ took their uplifting retro euphoria even further.
VIENNA were a cult French synth act who were led by Odile Arias, best known for being Martin Gore’s girlfriend at the time when the iconic DEPECHE MODE ‘101’ documentary was filmed. Lively and sublime with an almost Middle eastern derived melody, ‘Rendez-Vous Sur La Mer Noire’ was originally released in 1984 as the B-side to their debut single ‘Say You Love Me (Tu As Juré)’. VIENNA captured a promising Gallic electro sound that never got fully realised back in the day. But in Undo’s first retrospective product, they were rescued from obscurity in this lavish boxset.
From the 4CD boxset ‘History 1984-1991’ – BXCDUN39
The concept of FOTONOVELA’s sophomore offering ‘A Ton of Love’ was to produce a supreme electronic record featuring vocalists from all stages of classic synthpop as a homage to the genre. Andy McCluskey was the first to come on board but the resultant song ‘Helen Of Troy’ turned out so well that it ended up on OMD’s ‘English Electric’! Undeterred, the duo recruited MARSHEAUX, KID MOXIE, MIRRORS and Sarah Blackwood who took FOTONOVELA onto a cloudier but enjoyable hitchhike through the North West of England with her feisty contribution to ‘Justice’.
“If Dimitris Biniaris and Theod Kopoul hadn’t formed SAD DISCO, they would probably hate each other” said their enlightening press release. Creative tension can be a positive thing in music, so with interests as disparate as heavy metal, post-punk and err… sad disco, the duo set about making music that was like “the sound echoing in your head while you are walking away from a club”. With hints of THE PRESETS and CUT / COPY, the grooving disco lento on ‘Beat’ provides an appropriate backing for the introvert melancholy of Binaris’ high register vocals.
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The rhythmic ‘Change’ brings out qualities of SPETSNAZ at first, to transcend into the perfect synth pop tune, just before ‘Worlds Apart’ breaks the beat, followed by ‘In Plain Sight’.
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