Tag: New Musik (Page 2 of 3)

NEW MUSIK From A To B: The Sony Years

7 March 2023 /

Forming in 1977, NEW MUSIK are quite possibly the most underrated band from that first wave of synth-flavoured acts who followed TUBEWAY ARMY into the UK singles charts after ‘Are Friends Electric?’ went to No1 in Summer 1979.

However frontman, main songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tony Mansfield felt more at home in the studio and maintained a parallel career as a producer. Featuring Clive Gates on keyboards, Phil Towner on drums and bassist Tony Hibbert, NEW MUSIK appeared on ‘Top Of The Pops’ with their first four singles between 1979-1980.

NEW MUSIK were often dismissed by the music press as a novelty act due to the comedic voices often used in their songs. But despite their apparent frivolity, there were often serious existential lyrical gists amongst the lush melodies and crisp production. Giving its name to a new almost definitive 4CD NEW MUSIK compendium, the debut album ‘From A To B’ was recorded as a collection of songs over a period of more than a year. There was a fluid band line-up that earlier on also included Nick Straker who was to have a 1979 international disco hit ‘A Walk In The Park’ which Mansfield,  Towner and Hibbert played on.

Opening ‘From A To B’ with NEW MUSIK’s first single ‘Straight Lines’, the backdrop of acoustic guitars, synths, string machines, piano, deep drones and electronic claps demonstrated Mansfield’s desire to create a sonic balance between pop and oddness, laying the template for a unusual hybrid sound.

Released in 1980 on GTO Records who had THE NEW SEEKERS, FOX, HEATWAVE, THE WALKER BROTHERS and THE DOOLEYS in their roster, ‘From A To B’ contained their biggest hit in the quirky ‘Living by Numbers’. Although it embraced a perky radio-friendly sound, Mansfield’s lyrics projected more dystopian concerns with life reduced to numerical identity, be it for age, statistics, registration, credit or wealth. NEW MUSIK were to have another hit with ‘This World Of Water’, a musical metaphor for drowning in the pressures of society.

While both hits featured varispeeded and treated voices, they acted as memorable hooks in a manner that pre-dated THE ART OF NOISE. With a cascading synth riff reminiscent of John Foxx’s ‘Underpass’, the stomping ‘Sanctuary’ proved that NEW MUSIK’s chart successes were not flukes, but it would prove to be their last.

With three Top 40 singles on their debut long player, most bands would have been content but ‘From A To B’ possessed some other magnificent riches. The fabulously dreamy ballad ‘A Map of You’ was one of the non-single highlights with its beauty  counterpointed by discordant metallic arpeggios. Meanwhile displaying an affinity to Thomas Dolby, ‘Science’ fully presented the widescreen scope of the Mansfield production palette.

‘Dead Fish (Don’t Swim Home)’ reflected the nuclear paranoia of the times while issued as a single in Europe, ‘On Islands’ was covered by German trio CAMOUFLAGE in 1989 on their ‘Methods Of Silence’ album. There was also the chirpy ‘Adventures’ which lyrically dealt with the curse of demotivation before the magical synth-layered folk of ‘The Safe Side’ completed what was a brilliant debut album.

Despite NEW MUSIK’s success, Mansfield sought to record a proper album with ‘Anywhere’ released in 1981. Aiming to be less pop and more experimental, the scene was set with the opening track ‘They All Run After the Carving Knife’ which following an obscure minute long avant-garde intro, burst into what in hindsight sounds like an anguished blueprint for A-HA with a marvellous closing passage of synths in the final 90 seconds!

‘Anywhere’ also saw drum machines brought more into the mix as on the spacey ‘Areas’ while ‘Churches’ brought in vocoder. Playing with eerie chorals and reverse voices, one of the singles ‘Luxury’ utilised a mechanised swing as Mansfield questioned the Thatcherite politics of the time, a theme also touched on in ‘Division’.

With technology leaping forward at a phenomenal rate, another single ‘While You Wait’ added PPG-derived bells and a dominant synthbass but although it was more accessible than the other tracks, it was not quite hit material. Despite a long instrumental intro and Mansfield’s lead vocal not coming until around the 2 minute mark, ‘Changing Minds’ provided a snappy highlight laced in rigid beats, strums and sumptuous synth heaven.

Although ‘Anywhere’ was a more serious album, a sign of Mansfield’s sense of humour came with the inclusion of a ballad called ‘This World Of Water’ which was totally unconnected with the 1980 hit. Meanwhile ‘Peace’ made use of a subtle bossa nova and ‘Back To Room One’ provided another classic NEW MUSIK number to finish as Mansfield expressed his desire to make a fresh start. Less immediate than its predecessor and perhaps overlong at 12 tracks, there were no hits from ‘Anywhere’ and the album itself, although very good, only reached No. 68 in the UK charts as a result.

By 1982, the signs were not good as NEW MUSIK’s label GTO Records folded while Towner and Hibbert departed the band. Signing to GTO parent company Epic Records, the final album ‘Warp’ was recorded by Mansfield and Gates with Cliff Venner on live percussion. But having been influenced by his collaborations outside of the band with Yukihiro Takahashi of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA, with the advent of digital samplers and sequencing technology, the end result was almost entirely electronic.

More experimental than ‘Anywhere’, ‘Warp’ confusingly had two songs called ‘All You Need Is Love’ including a propulsive electronic take on THE BEATLES song with ‘Greensleeves’ tagged onto the end as well as Mansfield’s own pretty composition based around the original’s chord progression! With a Simmons barrage that would later be a trademark of Mansfield’s NAKED EYES productions, ‘Here Come the People’ was a neo-instrumental that went straight into the cleverly produced ‘Going Round Again’ which connected Mansfield with Trevor Horn in their adventures in modern recording.

‘I Repeat’ recaptured some of the classic NEW MUSIK magic in its bright hooks but was ultimately not radio-friendly material, but the oddball instrumental ‘Green & Red (Respectively)’ was fun and banged a can in its use of sampling. ‘Kingdoms For Horses’ provided some new funk in an attempt to move forward with the times but was tucked away towards the end of the album, ‘The Planet Doesn’t Mind’ was proof that NEW MUSIK could still produce excellent singles although this too failed to chart.

Closing proceedings with the playful ‘Warp’ title song, its tape chewed ending was symbolic. Seeing a brighter future in record production, Mansfield disbanded NEW MUSIK before the start of 1983. The sound seeded on ‘From A To B’, ‘Anywhere’ and ‘Warp’ would later appear in varying degrees on records by CAPTAIN SENSIBLE, NAKED EYES, AZTEC CAMERA, VICIOUS PINK and many more.

As well as the three NEW MUSIK albums, this boxed set includes a bonus CD of selected B-Sides, single edits and extended versions. B-Side to the ‘All You Need Is Love’ cover, the delightful ‘Twelfth House’ acts as a reminder of the ‘From A To B’ period, albeit with more updated instrumentation like Simmons drums. Meanwhile ‘She’s A Magazine’ and ‘From The Village’ were also worthy flipsides while ‘Chik Musik’ did as the title suggested and aped CHIC. NEW MUSIK also had a knack for brilliant synth instrumentals with ‘The Office’ particularly shining while ‘24 Hours from Culture (Part 2)’ now comes over as an inspiration for OMD’s ‘Junk Culture’.

Time has shown that NEW MUSIK were underappreciated in their day and deserve critical re-evaluation. The legacy of Tony Mansfield and his crafted sparkle combining pretty synth melodies alongside gentle strums and punchy electronic rhythms has can be heard today in THE WEEKND, particularly on ‘Less Than Zero’ and ‘Blinding Lights’. As if to confirm that link, after NEW MUSIK, Mansfield did the original production for A-HA’s first album ‘Hunting High & Low’.

In common with THE BUGGLES, LANDSCAPE and TELEX, NEW MUSIK featured musicians who subsequently excelled outside of their bands as producers. To be a good producer, it helps to be musical as well as technical and Tony Mansfield certainly proved that. This excellent boxed set provides an opportunity established music fans who may have missed them first time round and new listeners to discover the wonderful world of NEW MUSIK.

‘From A To B: The Sony Years’ is released as a 4CD boxed set by Cherry Red imprint Lemon on 24th March 2023, pre-order from https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/new-musik-from-a-to-b-the-sony-years-4cd-box-set/

https://www.new-musik.co.uk/

http://www.discog.info/mansfield.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/128706093862654

https://www.youtube.com/@tmcstudio

Text by Chi Ming Lai
7th March 2023

A Beginner’s Guide To TONY MANSFIELD

4 January 2023 /

Photo by Andrew Douglas

Tony Mansfield is perhaps one of the UK’s most underrated production and songwriting talents.

Born in London, he first found fame as the leader of NEW MUSIK who released three albums and scored three successive Top40 hit singles. In common with Trevor Horn, Mansfield felt more at home in the studio than fronting a band and he maintained a parallel career as a producer. His innovative points deal with TMC Studios owner Bernie Proctor allowed Mansfield almost endless studio time to hone his craft.

With Clive Gates on keyboards, Phil Towner on drums and bassist Tony Hibbert, NEW MUSIK appeared on ‘Top Of The Pops’ with their first four singles ‘Straight Lines’, ‘Living By Numbers’, ‘This World Of Water’ and ‘Sanctuary’ between 1979-1980. But in their day, the band were often dismissed by the music press as a novelty act due to the comedic voices in their songs.

Mansfield’s aim was to create a sonic balance between pop and oddness; while the varispeeded and treated voices heard on NEW MUSIK tracks could be considered annoying, these acted as memorable hooks that grabbed the attention of listeners and in that respect, they pre-dated THE ART OF NOISE.

Despite the seemingly perky radio-friendly sound, Mansfield’s lyrics projected dystopian concerns and downright bleakness. ‘Living By Numbers’ summed up how life was subject to numerical identity be it age, statistics, registration, credit or wealth. Meanwhile ‘This World Of Water’ was a metaphor for drowning in the pressures of society and ‘Dead Fish (Don’t Swim Home)’ reflected the nuclear paranoia of the times. But Mansfield could get genuinely wacky too and ‘Home’ by his short-lived side-project PLANET HA HA in 1982 was an ode to ‘ET The Extra-Terrestrial’.

A guitarist and self-taught keyboard player with a fascination for technological developments, the Korg 700s, Logan String Melody, Roland VP-330, Prophet 5, Yamaha CS80, Oberheim OBXa, Emulator, PPG Wave 2.2, Synclavier 2 and Fairlight CMI were among his tools during his career.

Today, his combination of gently strummed 12 string alongside pretty synth melodies and punchy electronic rhythms has highlighted a sonic connection to modern pop such as THE WEEKND, particularly on songs such as ‘Less Than Zero’ and ‘Blinding Lights’. As if to confirm the link, Mansfield did the original production on A-HA’s debut album ‘Hunting High & Low’ in 1984.

While Mansfield’s work with A-HA did not have a happy outcome with his work on ‘Take On Me’ first remixed and then replaced with what eventually became the re-recorded hit version produced by Alan Tarney, it would be fair to say that without their time with Mansfield, A-HA may not have become as driven to pave their own path so ambitiously. Despite this set back, Mansfield’s production portfolio has included many other notable artists and netted UK No1s, European Top5s and US Top10s along the way.

Notably reclusive, Mansfield withdrew from the limelight after NEW MUSIK to concentrate on the job in hand. In more recent times, the world has been his oyster with international hit productions such as the 1997 Spanish No1 album ‘Puntos Cardinales’ for Ana Torroja and ‘Online’, the 2001 “Latvian Pop Music Album of the Year” by BRAINSTORM.

With the timely announcement that the Cherry Red imprint Lemon will be issuing a 4CD NEW MUSIK boxed set ‘From A To B – The Sony Years’ on 24th March 2023, here are 18 tracks selected by ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK which act a Beginner’s Guide to the impressive and understated career of Tony Mansfield, listed in yearly and then alphabetical order by artist moniker…

AFTER THE FIRE Life In The City (1979)

AFTER THE FIRE were a London prog rock band who gradually developed into having more new wave inclinations by the time of their second album ‘Laser Love’. Notable for its fabulous synth solo, ‘Life In The City’ was re-recorded with Tony Mansfield producing for a single in late 1979 after NEW MUSIK first appeared on ‘Top Of The Pops’. AFTER THE FIRE would score a US Top 10 single hit with a cover of FALCO’s ‘Der Kommissar’ in 1983 after they had disbanded.

Originally available on the AFTER THE FIRE single ‘Life In The City’ via CBS, currently unavailable

http://afterthefire.co.uk/

NICK STRAKER BAND A Walk In The Park (1979)

Nick Straker had been school friends with Tony Mansfield and was even slated to become NEW MUSIK’s keyboardist; he played on ‘Straight Lines’ and ‘On Islands’ which was later covered by German trio CAMOUFLAGE. Simultaneously Straker had been working on his own songs with the members of NEW MUSIK as his band. Produced by Jeremy Paul, ‘A Walk In The Park’ was picked up by Pinnacle records and became an unexpected and huge European disco hit.

Originally available on the single ‘A Walk In The Park’ via CBS, currently unavailable

http://www.nickstraker.com/

NEW MUSIK Sanctuary (1980)

Proving that the successes of ‘Living By Numbers’ and ‘This World Of Water’ were not flukes, NEW MUSIK scored a third Top 40 hit single taken off their debut album ‘From A To B’. Although ‘Sanctuary’ featured a similar cascading synth riff that appeared on John Foxx’s ‘Underpass’ which was released a few months before, Mansfield maintained that it was already on their demos from the previous year. He also felt that ‘From A To B’ was more a collection of songs rather than a proper album.

Available on the NEW MUSIK album ‘From A To B’ via Lemon Records

https://www.new-musik.co.uk/

NEW MUSIK Changing Minds (1981)

The second NEW MUSIK album ‘Anywhere’, aimed to be less pop and more experimental. With a long instrumental intro and his lead vocal not coming until close to the 2 minute mark, ‘Changing Minds’ provided a snappy highlight laced in rigid beats, strums and synth heaven. A sign of Mansfield’s quirky sense of humour, the album featured a song called ‘This World Of Walter’ which was totally unconnected with the 1980 hit. But there were to be no hits with the album’s singles.

Available on the NEW MUSIK album ‘Anywhere’ via Lemon Records

http://www.discog.info/mansfield.html

YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI Drip Dry Eyes (1981)

Tony Mansfield had publicly cited YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA as his favourite band in 1980 and on ‘Drip Dry Eyes’ where he contributed keyboards to their drummer Yukihiro Takahashi’s 1981 solo album ‘Neuromantic’, the glistening synth melodies made it NEW MUSIK in all but name. 1982’s ‘What Me Worry’ saw Mansfield duet with Takahashi-san on ‘Disposable Love’; incidentally both songs featured Andy Mackay of ROXY MUSIC on sax.

Available on the YUKIHIRO TAKAHASHI album ‘Neuromantic’ via Sony Music Direct Japan

https://www.room66plus.com/

PHILIP JAP Total Erasure (1982)

‘The David Essex Showcase’ was a bizarre BBC talent contest involving the major labels; the winner was performance artist Philip Jap who fought off TALK TALK and Thomas Dolby to win. Mixed by Tony Mansfield, ‘Total Erasure’ was a slice of synthesized art funk in the vein of Zaine Griff that provided the victorious performance. His self-titled 1983 album featured productions by Trevor Horn, Colin Thurston and Mansfield, but mainstream success was not to be.

Originally available on the single ‘Total Erasure’ via A&M, currently unavailable

https://www.discogs.com/artist/108718-Philip-Jap

NEW MUSIK The Planet Doesn’t Mind (1982)

The 1982 NEW MUSIK album ‘Warp’ was a more experimental and mostly electronic affair that confusingly had two songs called ‘All You Need Is Love’ including THE BEATLES one with ‘Greensleeves’ tagged onto the end! But ‘The Planet Doesn’t Mind’ was proof that they could still produce excellent singles although this too failed to chart. However, seeing a brighter future in record production, Mansfield had disbanded NEW MUSIK by the end of the year.

Available on the NEW MUSIK album ‘Warp’ via Lemon Records

https://www.facebook.com/groups/128706093862654

SEARCH PARTY Urban Foxes (1982)

SEARCH PARTY comprised of Londoners Lee Jacob and Alan Rear, the pair respectively had an eccentric duet singing and talking style of expression. Having met Tony Mansfield at TMC studios and provided backing vocals on ‘Anywhere’, it was unsurprising that when he produced ‘Urban Foxes’, it sounded a bit too much like NEW MUSIK. Their second and final single ‘All Around The World’ was produced by Mansfield’s chief engineer Pete Hammond who later went on to work for PWL.

Originally available on the single ‘Urban Foxes’ via Magnet, currently unavailable

https://www.discogs.com/artist/588719-Search-Party

MARI WILSON Just What I Always Wanted (1982)

The self-styled “Neasden Queen Of Soul” scored her first biggest hit with this classic beehive pop pastiche produced by Tony Mansfield. Despite its brassy big band image and presence, ‘Just What I Always Wanted’ was laced with the latest studio technology, featuring voice samples, subtle synths and big electronic drums. The parent album ‘Showpeople’ also mostly produced by Mansfield featured variations on the theme.

Available on the MARI WILSON album ‘The Neasden Queen Of Soul’ via Cherry Red

https://www.mariwilson.co.uk/

AZTEC CAMERA Walk Out To Winter (1983)

Roddy Frame’s early AZTEC CAMERA singles on Postcard led to the young Scot being signed by Rough Trade. So who better than to handle acoustic guitars while adding a modern sheen than Tony Mansfield. The original 7” single version of ‘Walk Out To Winter’ saw a lovely synth intro while Emulator voices were brought in to add a then state-of-the-art texture. But it was reworked with a six string strum for the eventual album version.

Extended Version available on the AZTEC CAMERA deluxe album ‘High Land, Hard Rain – Expanded Edition’ via Warner Music

http://www.roddyframe.com/

CAPTAIN SENSIBLE Glad It’s All Over (1983)

Best known as the guitarist with THE DAMNED, Captain Sensible caused something of a shock by reaching No1 with a synthesized novelty cover of ‘Happy Talk’ produced by Tony Mansfield. The connection was made by The Captain’s NEW MUSIK fan girlfriend. While there has another novelty hit in the Croydon rap of ‘Wot!’, things took a more serious turn with the poignant anti-Falklands War anthem ‘Glad It’s All Over’ co-written by Mansfield.

Available on the CAPTAIN SENSIBLE album ‘The Power Of Love’ via Cherry Red Records

https://www.facebook.com/sensiblecaptain

NAKED EYES Voices In My Head (1983)

Hailing from Bath, Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher were NAKED EYES. Although their Simmons drums heavy Bacharach & David cover of ‘Always Something There To Remind Me’ didn’t trouble the UK Top 40, it reached No8 in the US. The parent album ‘Burning Bridges’ was produced by Tony Mansfield and it opened with the catchy ‘Voices In My Head’. Rob Fisher later had hits with Simon Climie but sadly passed away in 1999 while Peter Byrne continues performing as NAKED EYES.

Available on the NAKED EYES album ‘Burning Bridges’ via Cherry Red Records

https://www.nakedeyesmusic.com/

A-HA Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale – Early mix (Recorded 1984, released 2015)

Tony Mansfield had done the original production on A-HA’s debut album ‘Hunting High & Low’, but the band had been unhappy with the Fairlight-assisted results so remixed the sessions with their manager John Radcliff. The 2015 30th Anniversary Edition saw a number of Mansfield’s original mixes publicly emerge for the first time. Apart from having much louder drum machine, ‘Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale’ was not that much different in vision from the final album version.

Available on the A-HA album ‘Hunting High & Low – 30th Anniversary Edition’ via Warner Music

https://a-ha.com/

VICIOUS PINK Cccan’t You See (1984)

Formally known as VICIOUS PINK PHENOMENA, Josephine Warden and Brian Moss had begun as SOFT CELL backing vocalists, appearing prominently on ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’. Their debut single ‘My Private Tokyo’ had been produced by Dave Ball, but having shortened their name and got a deal with Parlophone, Tony Mansfield was at the helm of their best song ‘Cccan’t You See’. Sultry and sexy, it was luscious pop that deserved better than its UK peak of No67.

Available on the VICIOUS PINK album ‘Vicious Pink’ via Cherry Red Records

https://www.instagram.com/vicious.pink.music/

THE B-52’S She Brakes For Rainbows (1986)

Produced by Tony Mansfield, ‘Bouncing Off The Satellites’ was the last album featuring founder member Ricky Wilson who passed away aged 32 during its recording. Although released a year later, promotion was low key as the band were still in mourning and declined to tour. Meanwhile the material perhaps not unexpectedly had a darker and more melancholy atmosphere. The album closer ‘She Brakes For Rainbows’ utilised a range of synthetically flavoured tones.

Available on THE B-52’S album ‘Bouncing Off The Satellites’ via Island Records

https://www.theb52s.com/

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER How To Do That ‎(1989)

Mansfield co-wrote and co-produced this appealing Euro house track with flamboyant fashion icon Jean Paul Gaultier which debuted as a single sided laser etched single in the UK and France. Meanwhile he also co-composed the majority of the parent album ‘Aow Tou Dou Zat’ which featured remixes by Norman Cook, JJ Jeczalik, Tony Moran, Mantronik, CJ Mackintosh and Dave Dorrell. Gaultier would go on to present Channel 4 TV show ‘Eurotrash’ with Antoine de Caunes.

Available on the JEAN PAUL GAULTIER single ‘How To Do That’ via Mercury Records

https://www.jeanpaulgaultier.com/ww/en

MADER En Résumé… En Conclusion

Releasing his first single ‘Les Bandes Dessinées’ in 1978, Toulouse singer-songwriter Jean-Pierre Mader scored his biggest domestic hit ‘Macumba’ in 1985. Adopting a heavy synth-based sound, he turned to Tony Mansfield for his fourth album ‘Midi À Minuit’ from which, the highlight was ‘En Résumé… En Conclusion’. A song co-written for him by French superstar Françoise Hardy, she recorded her own version with David Bowie producer David Richards.

Available on the MADER album ‘Midi À Minuit’ via Polydor

http://www.jeanpierremader.com/

MIMORI YUSA Kotori (1994)

Tony Mansfield brought his distinctive synth and strums sound to two tracks on Mimori Yusa’s 7th album ‘Aluhi-Halenohi’. The Japanese singer made her nationwide TV debut aged 6 reciting a nursery rhyme. ‘Slowly’ saw original NEW MUSIK bassist Tony Hibbert return while the bittersweet ‘Kotori’ featured a melancholic Mansfield declaring “all you need is a cage”. She was also in supergroup LOVE, PEACE & TRANCE which featured Haruomi Hosono of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA.

Available on the MIMORI YUSA album ‘Aluhi-Halenohi’ via Sony Music Direct Japan

https://www.mimoriyusa.net/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
4th January 2023

THE WEEKND Less Than Zero

15 January 2022 /


After ‘Blinding Lights’ and ‘Save Your Tears’, THE WEEKND have done it again and reminded the mainstream of the emotive beauty that can come from classic synthpop with ‘Less Than Zero’.

‘Less Than Zero’ has been co-produced and co-written by Swedes Max Martin and Oscar Holter; the ubiquitous Martin is the man behind hits by Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Britney Spears but Holter was formally a member of industrial act NECRO FACILITY. Studio hands from a darker electronic background getting involved in pop is not unusual with Dave “Rave” Olgilvie from SKINNY PUPPY having helmed the final mixes of Carly Rae Jepsen.

Taken off the new album ‘Dawn FM’, ‘Less Than Zero’ itself sounds not unlike Michael Jackson produced by Tony Mansfield. The cross of catchy hooks, glorious counter-melodies and acoustic strums are reminiscent of Mansfield’s own combo NEW MUSIK who had UK hits with ‘Living By Numbers’, ‘This World Of Water’ and ‘Sanctuary’ in 1980; Tony Mansfield himself later went on to produce most of A-HA’s debut album ‘Hunting High & Low’.

The lush tones of ‘Less Than Zero’ even recall Cliff Richard’s appealing Alan Tarney produced synth period and of course, Tarney also went on to work with A-HA on a number of their biggest hits including ‘Take On Me’, ‘The Sun Always Shines On TV’, ‘Cry Wolf’ and ‘Stay On These Roads’.

Over pop history, mainstream acts going through a period of synthpop or at least doing a synth-driven song or two has been a rock ‘n’ roll rite of passage. While the likes of Cliff Richard, Robert Palmer, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Leonard Cohen and even Neil Young have entered the mysterious world of electronics in the past, with the assistance of that renowned Nordic melancholy and folk tradition, Abel Tesfaye appears to be enjoying his synthpop adventures as THE WEEKND more than most.

In ‘Less Than Zero’, he has created more magnificent earworm magic that harks back to the tradition of A-HA and others who came before them. No kids, the synth was not invented by Ryan Gosling in 2011 for the film ‘Drive’ ?

‘Less Than Zero’ is from the album ‘Dawn FM’ released by XO / Republic Records

https://www.theweeknd.com

https://www.facebook.com/theweeknd

https://twitter.com/theweeknd

https://www.instagram.com/theweeknd

Text by Chi Ming Lai
15th January 2022

MUSIK MUSIC MUSIQUE 2.0 1981 | The Rise Of Synth Pop

12 October 2021 /

1981 is the year covered by the second instalment of Cherry Red’s ‘Musik Music Musique’ series.

1980 was something of a transition year for the synth as it knocked on the door of the mainstream charts but by 1981, it was more or less let in with welcome arms. From the same team behind the ‘Close To The Noise Floor’ compendiums and the most excellent ‘Electrical Language’ boxed set, ‘Musik Music Musique 2.0 1981 – The Rise Of Synth Pop’ presents rarities alongside hits and key album tracks from what many consider the best year in music and one that contributes the most to the legacy of electronic music in its wider acceptance and impact.

Featuring HEAVEN 17  with ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’, OMD with ‘Souvenir’ and the eponymous single by VISAGE, these songs are iconic 1981 canon that need no further discussion. Meanwhile the longevity of magnificent album tracks such as ‘Frustration’ by SOFT CELL and ‘I Remember (Death In The Afternoon)’ by ULTRAVOX can be summed by the fact that they have featured in 21st Century live sets alongside their parent acts’ hits.

Although not quite as celebrated, ‘You Were There’ from pastoral second John Foxx long player ‘The Garden’ captures the move from stark JG Ballard imagery to something almost romantic. DEVO are represented by the LinnDrum driven ‘Through Being Cool’, the opener of the ‘New Traditionalists’ album which comes as a statement that the mainstream was their next target; the Akron quintet were one of the many acts signed by Virgin Records as the label focussed on a synth focussed takeover that ultimately shaped the sonic landscape of 1981.

Then there’s TEARS FOR FEARS’ promising debut ‘Suffer The Children’ in its original synthier single recording and The Blitz Club favourite ‘Bostich’ from quirky Swiss pioneers YELLO. Another Blitz staple ‘No GDM’ from GINA X PERFORMANCE gets included despite being of 1978 vintage due to its first UK single release in 1981. The use of synth came in all sorts of shapes and FASHIØN presented a funkier take with ‘Move Øn’ while the track’s producer Zeus B Held took a more typically offbeat kosmische approach on his own ‘Cowboy On The Beach’.

Pivotal releases by JAPAN with the ‘The Art Of Parties’ (here in the more metallic ‘Tin Drum’ album version) and A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS ‘(It’s Not Me) Talking’ highlight those bands’ then-potential for mainstream success. But in the battle of the New Romantic boy bands, the sitar tinged DURAN DURAN B-side ‘Khanada’ easily blows away the SPANDAU BALLET album track ‘Reformation’ in an ominous sign as to who would crack it biggest worldwide.

The great lost band of this era, B-MOVIE issued the first of several versions of ‘Nowhere Girl’ in December 1980 on Dead Good Records and its inclusion showcases the song’s promise which was then more fully realised on the 1982 Some Bizzare single produced by the late Steve Brown although sadly, this was still not a hit.

The best and most synth flavoured pop hits from the period’s feisty females like Kim Wilde and Toyah are appropriate inclusions, as is Hazel O’Connor’s largely forgotten SPARKS homage ‘(Cover Plus) We’re All Grown Up’. But the less said about racist novelty records such as ‘Japanese Boy’ by Aneka, the better… the actual nation of Japan though is correctly represented by their most notable electronic exponents YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA with ‘Cue’ from ‘BGM’, the first release to feature the Roland TR808 Rhythm Composer.

With these type of boxed sets, it’s the less familiar tracks that are always the most interesting. As the best looking member of TANGERINE DREAM, Peter Baumann had a crack at the single charts with the catchy Robert Palmer produced ‘Repeat, Repeat’ while former Gary Numan backing band DRAMATIS are represented by ‘Lady DJ’ although its epic A side ‘Ex Luna Scientia’ would have equally merited inclusion. But BEASTS IN CAGES who later became HARD CORPS stand out with the stark dystopia of ‘Sandcastles’.

The one that “should-have-been-a-pop-hit” is the ABBA-esque ‘I Can’t Hold On’ by Natasha England and it’s a shame that her career is remembered for a lame opportunistic cover of ‘Iko Iko’ rather than this, but the delightful ‘Twelfth House’ demonstrates again how under-rated Tony Mansfield’s NEW MUSIK were, and this with a B-side!

The rather fraught ‘Wonderlust’ by THE FALLOUT CLUB captures the late Trevor Herion in fine form on a Thomas Dolby produced number with a dramatic Spaghetti Western flavour that is lushly sculpted with electronics. Over a more sedate rhythm box mantra, ‘Love Moves In Strange Ways’ from BLUE ZOO swirls with a not entirely dissimilar mood.

Mute Records founder Daniel Miller was breaking through with his productions for DEPECHE MODE in 1981, but representation on ‘Musik Music Musique 2.0’ comes via the colder austere of ‘Science Fiction’ by Alan Burnham. ‘West End’ by Thomas Leer adds some jazzy freeform synth soloing to the vocal free backdrop, while ‘Surface Tension’ from ANALYSIS is an appealing instrumental.

The strangely accessible weirdness of Chris & Cosey’s ‘This Is Me’, MYSTERY PLANE’s ‘Something To Prove’ and the gritty ‘Brix’ from PORTION CONTROL will delight those more into the leftfield, while AK-47’s ‘Stop! Dance!’, the work of Simon Leonard (later of I START COUNTING and KOMPUTER fame) is another DIY experiment in that aesthetic vein.

Some tracks are interesting but not essential like Richard Bone’s ‘Alien Girl’ which comes over like an amusing pub singer SILICON TEENS, Johnny Warman’s appealing robopop on ‘Will You Dance With Me?’ and the synth dressed New Wave of ‘Close-Up’ by THOSE FRENCH GIRLS. For something more typically artschool, there’s the timpani laden ‘Taboos’ by THE PASSAGE and SECOND LAYER’s screechy ‘In Bits’.

More surprising is Swedish songstress Virna Lindt with her ‘Young & Hip’ which oddly combines showtune theatrics with blippy synth and ska! The set ends rather fittingly with Cherry Red’s very own EYELESS IN GAZA with the abstract atmospherics of ‘The Eyes Of Beautiful Losers’ although they too would eventually produce their own rousing synthpop statement ‘Sunbursts In’ in 1984.

Outside of the music, the booklet is a bit disappointing with the photos of OMD, TEARS FOR FEARS, HEAVEN 17, B-MOVIE and a glam-bouffanted Kim Wilde all coming from the wrong eras. And while the liner notes provide helpful information on the lesser known acts, clangers such as stating Toyah’s ‘Thunder In The Mountains’ was from the album ‘The Changeling’ when it was a standalone 45, “GONG’s Mike Hewlett” and “memorable sleeve designs by Malcolm Garrett’s Altered IMaGes” do not help those who wish to discover the origins of those accumulated gems.

But these quibbles aside, overall ‘Musik Music Musique 2.0’ is a good collection, although with fewer rare jewels compared with the first 1980 volume which perhaps points to the fact that those who had the shine to breakthrough actually did… 40 years on though, many of those hit making acts (or variations of) are still performing live in some form.

Was 1981 the most important year in synth as far becoming ubiquitous in the mainstream and hitting the top of the charts internationally? With VISAGE’s ‘Fade To Grey’ becoming a West German No1 in Spring 1981 through to SOFT CELL taking the summer topspot in the UK and culminating in THE HUMAN LEAGUE eventually taking ‘Don’t You Want Me?’ to No1 in the US, the sound of synth had done its job. Setting the scene for 1982 and 1983, further editions of ‘Musik Music Musique’ are planned.

‘Musik Music Musique 2.0 1981 – The Rise Of Synth Pop’ is released by Cherry Red on 15th October 2021 as a 3CD boxed set

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/musik-music-musique-2-0-the-rise-of-synth-pop-3cd-clamshell-box/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
12th October 2021

MUSIK MUSIC MUSIQUE 1980 | The Dawn Of Synth Pop

13 July 2020 /

1977 is often seen as Year Zero for synthpop, thanks to hit singles by Donna Summer, Jean-Michel Jarre and SPACE.

But it was not until 1979 with TUBEWAY ARMY reaching No1 with ‘Are Friends Electric?’ that the sound of synth truly hit the mainstream.

Although ‘No1 Song In Heaven’ by SPARKS had actually been a hit a few months earlier, ‘Are Friends Electric?’ was the beginning of the synth being accepted as a worthy mode of expression, rather than as a novelty. But as synths became more affordable, they became the perfect tool of youthful expression.

From Cherry Red, makers of the excellent ’Electrical Language: Independent British Synth Pop 78-84’ 4CD boxed set, comes ‘Musik Music Musique’; subtitled ‘1980: The Dawn Of Synth Pop’, this 3CD 58 track collection explores the arrival of synth pop and the dawn of a new musical era. This was the year before the synth became the rule rather than the exception with the success of SOFT CELL and DEPECHE MODE.

The set starts appropriately with OMD and ‘Messages’, one of the first tunes showcasing the warmer side of electronics following the colder wave led by Messrs Numan and Foxx. But as if to counter this next generation of youngsters, ‘Messages’ is immediately followed by the collection’s vocoder laden title song ‘Musik Music Musique’ from Zeus B Held and the superb proto-industrial ode to loveless sex ‘Coitus Interruptus’ by the much missed FAD GADGET.

Zeus B Held was later to make his impression on popular culture remixing ALPHAVILLE and SIMPLE MINDS as well producing the likes of FASHION, DEAD OR ALIVE, SPEAR OF DESTINY and TRANSVISION VAMP, but his wider breakthrough came as part of GINA X PERFORMANCE in 1979 with The Blitz Club favourite ‘No GDM’; on this compendium, the lesser-known but just as worthy ‘Vendor’s Box’ from their second album ‘X-Traordinaire’ is deservedly provided a platform.

The best producers often earn their spurs as artists and realising their limitations, use their accumulated studio nous to subvert the mainstream via pop. ‘Astroboy’ by BUGGLES sees Trevor Horn develop his sonic architecture to prove that he had another song that wasn’t ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’. Meanwhile the welcome inclusion of NEW MUSIK’s other hit ‘This World Of Water’ allows Tony Mansfield to showcase the crafted sparkle that would later go on to adorn records by CAPTAIN SENSIBLE, VICIOUS PINK, A-HA and NAKED EYES.

It may seem strange to see SPANDAU BALLET as part of this package but when they first appeared, they were considered a synthesizer band; ‘Glow’ was a UK double A side single with ‘Musclebound’ in 1981 and while it was the last synth-led track they did, their funk soul aspirations were there for all to hear. In fact, songwriter Gary Kemp had conceived ‘Glow’ with a brass section in mind, so it is now something of a curio that could be seen as a precursor to ‘Chant No1’.

SPANDAU BALLET were produced by Richard James Burgess who co-designed the Simmons SDSV; his electro-jazz combo LANDSCAPE figure with the Colin Thurston helmed ‘European Man’ which was actually designated “electronic dance music” on its single artwork some three decades before it was appropriated and abbreviated to become EDM…

Many of the usual suspects from the period like VISAGE, JAPAN, THE HUMAN LEAGUE and OUR DAUGHTER’S WEDDING are all present and correct with familiar recordings, but interestingly (although not for the better), it’s the original version of Phil Lynott’s ‘Yellow Pearl’ without the Rusty Egan drums or the Midge Ure remix that gets the nod!

One of the main beauties of these thoughtfully curated collections is to be able to sway away from the obvious and feature a known-name with a lesser-known work; in the case of ULTRAVOX, it’s the occasionally Eno-inspired and Conny Plank produced ‘Waiting’ which was the B-side to their first Midge Ure fronted single ‘Sleepwalk’. Meanwhile, SUICIDE are represented by the excellent Ric Ocasek produced ‘Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne’ and YELLO with ‘Bimbo’, the oddball opener of the Swiss trailblazers’ debut long player ‘Solid Pleasure’.

SILICON TEENS get to feature with something other than ‘Memphis Tennessee’ and it’s the Daniel Miller‘s self-penned instrumental ‘Chip N Roll’ that has the honour, while the Mute Records founder gets another track in with ‘Brushing Your Hair’, a gloriously vibrant instrumental production and co-write for Alex Fergusson of ALTERNATIVE TV.

There’s additionally tracks by lesser known international acts or those bands that faded from view after effectively being one hit wonders. The entire career of M may have been overshadowed by the ubiquitous ‘Pop Muzik’ but Robin Scott did go on to release three albums and work with Ryuichi Sakamoto; the sombre ‘Official Secrets’ may not really have much of a hook but it contains some percolating bleepy sections that pre-date KRAFTWERK’s ‘Home Computer’ by one year.

‘A Circuit Like Me’ from Australian combo, THE METRONOMES actually sounds very 21st century with its detached female vocal and charming monosynths, while the gallop of ‘Drawn & Quartered’ by THE KORGIS is a worthy find. Now while ROCKETS found fame with a catchy robotic flavoured cover of ‘On The Road Again’ with the help of Zeus B Held, the silver faced Italians found that the vocoder suited their performance art poise and reapplied it for the self-penned space rocker ‘Galactica’.

Also possessing a bit of a gallop is LORI & THE CHAMELEONS’ wispy Morricone-influenced single ‘The Lonely Spy’ although with its acoustic strum, it is quite different from the understated electronic disco of their best known track ‘Touch’. Cut from a similar melodic post-punk cloth, the Martin Hannett produced ‘Sympathy’ from Pauline Murray is a reminder of how women were coming to the fore after punk in synth-assisted new wave, a fact borne out on ‘Musik Music Musique’ by the inclusion of more obscure works from Toyah, Kim Wilde and Hazel O’Connor.

‘Musik Music Musique’ is also an opportunity to become reacquainted with lost tunes of yore and ‘The Eyes Have It’ by Karel Fialka will be remembered by those who owned the 1980 Virgin Records compilation ‘Machines’, as will the octave driven ‘Destiny’ by DALEK I LOVE YOU. Some enjoyably avant pop adventures come courtesy of XYNN’s ‘Computed Man’ and SCIENCE’s ‘Tokyo’, while one of the more bizarre but successful experiments included is ‘I’m A Computer’ by THE GOO-Q.

One of the lesser known acts featuring with the eccentric ‘Money’ is MOEBIUS, not the member of German duo CLUSTER but an American art rock band with a penchant for DEVO. ‘Doctor …?’ by BLOOD DONOR is another wonderful discovery while of the more experimental art pieces included, Nini Raviolette’s ‘Suis-Je Normale’ delightfully comes over like a collaboration between Jane Birkin and Laurie Anderson.

Düsseldorf is often seen as the spiritual home of electronic music and there is worthy representation from DER PLAN and ‘Da Vorne Steht Ne Ampel’ illustrating how there were other dimensions to German electronic music other than that engineered by KRAFTWERK. But closing the set is the band named after the Electri_City itself, LA DÜSSELDORF with the light-hearted ‘Dampfriemen’; a quirky slice of synth “Oompah” with comedic chants and a kazoo section, it sums up the manic oddball nature of the former NEU! drummer Klaus Dinger.

There are many other tracks that have merit, but textures which reoccur on ‘Musik Music Musique’ to date stamp the period are the icy chill of the affordable ARP Quartet string machine and squawky sax, although not in an overblown jazz funk way.

Despite ‘Musik Music Musique’ comprising of a carefully researched tracklisting, a few errors do slip through; as well as the SPANDAU BALLET track being released in 1981 as already mentioned (although it was available on a very scarce Japanese-only promo sampler in late 1980), the version of ‘Kebabträume’ by DAF is the 1982 Conny Plank version from the Virgin album ‘Für Immer’ and not the Bob Giddens produced Mute Records five piece band recording which actually came out in 1980.

Then in the booklet, the Foxx fronted 1977 line-up of ULTRAVOX! gets illustrated as opposed to the New Romantic suited Midge Ure one, while LA DÜSSELDORF’s Hans Lampe is referred to as a “Keyboard Whizz” when he is actually a drummer and now performs with Michael Rother who was Klaus Dinger’s partner in NEU!; in fact Dinger handled keyboards himself under the pseudonym of Nikolaus Van Rhein.

Those are minor quibbles though, because this set is very good value and acts as a great music history lesson as well as offering the chance to hear some new vintage synth. While many may have heard of BERLIN BLONDES, THE PASSAGE, THE FALLOUT CLUB and EYELESS IN GAZA, only a few will have heard their music.

‘Musik Music Musique’ offers something of a low risk opportunity to make some new friends while becoming reacquainted with a few old and lost ones. Here’s to the 1981 follow-up set…

‘Musik Music Musique – 1980: The Dawn Of Synth Pop’  is released on 31st July 2020 as a 3CD boxed set by Cherry Red Records

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/musik-music-musique-1980-the-dawn-of-synth-pop-various-artists-3cd/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
13th July 2020

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