Tag: OMD (Page 21 of 23)

PAUL HUMPHREYS & DOUGLAS COUPLAND Electric Ikebana

2 February 2013 /

Not a track from the new OMD album ‘English Electric’ but an indication of where it’s heading.

This is ‘Electric Ikebana’, a collaboration between Paul Humphreys and ‘Generation X’ author Douglas Coupland which Mr Humphreys first told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about back in 2010.

An audio/visual installation to act as the voice of the network, it was a commission for Alcatel-Lucent as part of their online 2011 Annual Review. The beautiful piece has Humphreys’ musical stamp and  conceptual hints of KRAFTWERK’s ‘The Voice Of Energy’ but with a far less Teutonic style. There’s even a charming mathematical formula recital “x = [-b +- √(b² -4ac)] / 2a” by Humphreys to the tune of the nursery rhyme ‘Pop Goes The Weasel’ which recalls ‘ABC Auto-Industry’ from ‘Dazzle Ships’…

The global communications company said: “we have asked Douglas Coupland, writer and artist, together with the musician Paul Humphreys, to bring the data that represents network usage to life through an audio visual installation. Together they have responded by creating ‘Electric Ikebana’, an artwork that captures the spirit of innovation that lies at the heart of our company”.

It all bodes well for the new OMD album ‘English Electric’ which is a true musical collaboration between its founder members Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey.

Humphreys said in Summer 2012: “Andy and I are really excited by ‘English Electric’. We’ve really gone to another level from ‘History Of Modern’ which was too much remote work. We realised we don’t work very well passing files back to each other; we work best when we sit in a room together… What we’d do is flesh out the ideas together and then we’d both take parts back to work on separately. But the spark of this record is us sitting together in a room. We really had a mantra for this album which was ‘What does the future sound like?’… we’re pushing boundaries”.

‘English Electric’ will be released on 8th April 2013

OMD’s 2013 ‘English Electric’ UK Tour

Margate Winter Gardens (28th April), Birmingham Symphony Hall (29th April), Nottingham Royal Centre (1st May), Ipswich Regent Theatre (2nd May), London Roundhouse (3rd May), Bristol Colston Hall (5th May), Oxford New Theatre (6th May), Sheffield City Hall (8th May), Leeds Academy (9th May), Manchester Academy (10th May), Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (12th May), Gateshead Sage (13th May), Liverpool Empire (14th May)

http://www.omd.uk.com/

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
Illustration by Supersonic Creative Inc
2nd February 2013

ANALOG ANGEL We Won’t Walk Away

26 January 2013 /

What’s this, is it the new OMD single?

No, it isn’t but ANALOG ANGEL have recorded an immediately enjoyable new song ‘We Won’t Walk Away’ which could be perceived as a laudable tribute to OMD’s classic ‘Organisation’ era, complete with primary chord structures, one-fingered melodies and motorik rhythm programming. There’s even a bit of Andy McCluskey tinged tenor or Ian Donaldson of H2O if you want to reference closer to ANALOG ANGEL’s hometown of Glasgow, although McCluskey’s father Jimmy was a Weegie and played for Celtic!

There’s also the more cosmic tones of LA DÜSSELDORF looming but most listeners will recall OMD simply because Wirral’s finest have been one of the greatest exponents of selling German influenced electronica back to the Germans!

Eschewing the more industrial template of their previous 2011 album ‘The Thin Line’, ‘We Won’t Walk Away’ is from ANALOG ANGEL’s new EP ‘Pride’. Formed in 2009, ANALOG ANGEL, who consist of John Brown (vocals, synths), Derek MacDonald (synths) and Ian Ferguson (synths), have supported the likes of VNV NATION, ASSEMBLAGE 23 and Toyah. This new collection of songs showcases a richer sound, complex layers of programming and some decidedly Euro-romanticised lyrics.

This broader palette has without doubt widened their appeal but whether ANALOG ANGEL’s existing fanbase will enjoy their new direction remains to be seen.

It could be the best thing they have done, but just one thing though… Paul Humphreys might want his Prophet 5 back 😉

‘We Won’t Walk Away’ is from the download EP ‘Pride’ and released on 1st February 2013 by Carbon 12 Records

http://www.analog-angel.com/

http://carbon12records.com/artists/analog_angel/index.htm

Text by Chi Ming Lai
26th January 2013

A Short Conversation with CLAUDIA BRÜCKEN & PAUL HUMPHREYS

20 July 2012 /

To celebrate the launch of her new live DVD ‘This Happened’, Claudia Brücken reprised her triumphant appearance at The Scala captured on that DVD with another guest filled show at London’s Bush Hall.

With a sparkling band led by her erstwhile Onetwo musical partner Paul Humphreys, on a slightly cramped stage they were additionally augmented by the skills of legendary ZTT producer Stephen J Lipson who worked with Claudia on PROPAGANDA’s ‘A Secret Wish’ and Act’s ‘Laughter, Tears & Rage’ albums. Also present from the Scala gig line-up was Susanne Freytag who performed ‘Dream Within A Dream’ while Claudia took a mid-set break.

HEAVEN 17’s Glenn Gregory participated in some playfully fun renditions of ‘Snobbery & Decay’ and ‘When Your Heart Runs Out Of Time’, while Martyn Ware joined them for a Teutonically ripe ‘Temptation’. Central to the evening though was her stripped down covers of ‘In Dreams’ and ‘Running Up That Hill’ with pianist Andrew Poppy which showcased Claudia’s emotive range and diversity.

But in the absence of Andy Bell came another Andy of the McCluskey variety who duetted with Claudia on Act’s ‘Absolutely Immune’ and OMD’s evergreen ‘Messages’. With other great tunes aplenty from Claudia’s repertoire like ‘Thank You’, ‘Absolut(E)’, ‘Sequentia’, ‘Night School’, the Martin Gore co-write ‘Cloud Nine’, ‘p:Machinery’ and of course ‘Duel’, it was another warm, heartfelt evening with plenty of love from Claudia’s loyal audience in return for an elegantly refined performance.

Just prior to the Bush Hall show, Claudia and Paul talked to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about what their futures might sound like…

Photo by Hege Saebjornsen

With regards to playing live at festivals as ONETWO, you did Vintage and Back To The Phuture Night at Bestival in 2011…

Paul: Vintage was a good line-up. Thomas Dolby was great…

Claudia: …Thomas was brilliant!

Paul: It was great to see Alan Wilder too cos I’d not seen him since Depeche Mode’s ‘101’ tour in America, we had a real good catch up. I really like Alan a lot.

ONETWO seem to be invited to play the cool festivals but is there any reason OMD don’t seem to get asked?

Paul: We will… we’re having an easy year in 2012. But next year, we’re pushing for some really good festivals.

Claudia, have you ever been tempted to accept an offer to play Here&Now or Rewind?

Claudia: I’ve not been asked before…there is this thing about me going out as Claudia Brücken and me going out as PROPAGANDA. If PROPAGANDA was set-up with everybody there, I think it is most likely we would have been approached, but not as Claudia Brücken.

Paul, you’re actually going to do Rewind as part of OMD…

Paul: Yes, this is going to be our first and maybe last concession to the retro thing, but we just fancied doing it really. For four consecutive years, we were asked to headline Here&Now and we turned it down every year! And then they stopped asking…

Claudia: …they stopped asking and then you said “we want to do it!” *laughs*

Paul: Then, we got offered Rewind and almost said no but we discussed it and we thought it might be nice to do a couple of British festivals this summer. The bill for our night is ok; Marc Almond, The Lightning Seeds, Midge Ure, The Christians…

You’ve both worked on some interesting projects like the ‘LA Noire’ computer game soundtrack for you Claudia, which was quite different as it was jazz…

Claudia: During Christmas 2011, I received an email which I thought was spam from the head of Rockstar Games saying there was this part of a German singer for a new game called ‘L.A. Noire’…

Paul: She nearly deleted it! *laughs*

Claudia: They wanted to ask if I would be interested in being the voice on three songs for that game. I thought: “why not?”. I heard the songs and thought they were so beautiful. I found it a really good challenge doing something I hadn’t done before.

Paul: It was out of your comfort zone…

Claudia: …I liked the whole idea.

Paul: What was interesting is that it tuned Claudia onto a much younger audience. Those songs are all over YouTube and some of the comments are from 16 year old gamers going “OMG, who’s this singer, where can I get an album like this?”…so they WILL have an album like this. We’re doing a noire album.

Claudia: What was really nice was that the producer Stephen Coates is London based so that made it all plausible and Paul recorded the vocals.

Paul: Later this year, we get the rights to those songs back from the game but there were some other songs they did that were fantastic which didn’t make it onto the game. Stephen’s written a few other songs so we’ve got enough for an album. It will be with a different twist, not completely jazz, it will be a bit more David Lynch…

Claudia: …a bit dark. Like ‘The Third Man’ meets ‘Twin Peaks’

Photo by Hege Saebjornsen

Paul, you’ve done the ‘Electric Ikebana’ with Douglas Coupland…

Paul: The feedback’s been amazing and I’ve been interested in the comments on the OMD site. People are saying “Oh my god, it’s like Dazzle Ships’ for this century” and “I hope the new album’s got something like this on it”… and IT DOES!

So what about the future projects then?

Claudia: I’ve done a solo album, it’s in the can and we’re hoping to release it in November. The theme is melancholy songs…they’re sad but they don’t make you slash your wrists. I recorded it in four months with Stephen Hague and we had this real clear vision of what we wanted to do. It was recorded after the Scala gig…

Paul: …yes, I went on a big American tour with OMD and Claudia thought “I’m going to make a record”! *laughs*

Claudia: We’d work on the song arrangements remotely but when I was ready to sing, I’d go over to Stephen’s studio in Hastings and that was an amazing experience. I’m so happy about this album because you really can’t put it into a certain time, it kind of ignores what’s current and it’s not competing with it.

Stephen is playing all the instruments and that’s a great gift he has. He loves his electronic references, but he enhances it as he’s a multi-instrumentalist.

So Paul, what’s happening with OMD?

Paul: I’ve been working on ‘English Electric’ which will be out in 2013 and it’s fab by the way. Andy and I are really excited by ‘English Electric’. We’ve really gone to another level from ‘History Of Modern’, which was too much remote work. We realised we don’t work very well passing files back to each other; we work best when we sit in a room together. And so I’ve been up to Liverpool loads. What we’d do is flesh out the ideas together and then we’d both take parts back to work on separately.

But the spark of this record is us sitting together in a room. We really had a mantra for this album which was “What does the future sound like?”…we’re pushing boundaries. There is a song called ‘Night Café’, which is like ‘She’s Leaving’ meets ‘Souvenir’ and lovely. The album’s a little bit more musical than ‘Dazzle Ships’, but it is ‘Dazzle Ships’ for the 21st Century in a sense because it’s not just a collection of songs. The album is themed although it’s not a concept album. There are sections that maybe only last a minute and a half, there’s pieces that are three minutes and nine minutes as well. We’ve also got a song called ‘Metroland’ which I think is going to be really fantastic.

And when can we look forward to the next ONETWO album?

Claudia: It’s coming along but obviously with all these projects, the DVD etc, there’s only so much we can do and you need focus. So Paul and I have been writing and recording but personally I thought it would be great if Andy and Paul could make a great album as OMD.

Paul: Who knows if there is going to be another OMD album after this? Maybe there will but if this was to be our last album and I have to think in these terms now, I want to leave an album that is really special. And I think ‘English Electric’ has a good chance of being that album. I’m really happy with it.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to Claudia Brücken and Paul Humphreys

Claudia Brücken ‘This Happened’ DVD+CD set is available now through the There(there) shop.

OMD play Rewind Festival on Sunday 19th August 2012 in Henley-on-Thames

http://www.claudiabrucken.co.uk

http://www.theremusic.com

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
20th July 2012

OMD Synthetic Engineering

16 March 2012 /

OMD’s existing performance set-up with two Roland Fantom X8 workstations actually has its roots in the 1983 ‘Dazzle Ships’ Live Presentation.

Some of the more purist observers complain about the lack of analogue instruments in the current live shows but Andy McCluskey said recently: “Who says that digital can’t be a beautiful as analogue?”

Even in the pioneering days, OMD were thinking carefully about how best technologically to present themselves in a live context to an audience that was still growing accustomed to electronic based music. It is well documented that the success of ‘Architecture & Morality’ tour had taken its toll on the band emotionally and functionally. Extended touring had robbed the band of time in their studio The Gramophone Suite to compose new material.

As Andy once remarked: “you can’t sit up the back of a tour bus and strum your synthesizer…”. But there was also their reliance on the equipment they took out on the road. Paul Humphreys had his ever faithful Korg Micro-Preset but also the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 first used on the single version of ‘Messages’ and the subsequent ‘Organisation’ campaign.

In addition, there was the hefty sky blue Elgam Symphony dual action organ and the huge, even more cumbersome Novatron which was an updated version of the Streetly Mellotron M400 that had been during the recording of the album. “We used a Mellotron Mk1 on ‘Architecture & Morality’ but were advised that if we were going on the road to get a Novatron.” said Andy, “The Mk1 had a very bad whine created by the power supply. Streetly told us it was a design fault.”

LEAD Technologies Inc. V1.01LEAD Technologies Inc. V1.01

The Mellotron aka Novatron was an electro-mechanical keyboard that played tape loops of sounds such as choirs, strings and brass. The name Novatron was adopted for instruments produced after 1976 due to a legal blunder which meant the name Mellotron could not be used. It was the dominant texture of ‘Joan Of Arc (Maid Of Orleans)’ as well as several other tracks on ‘Architecture & Morality’ so was considered a necessity on tour sonically. But it was extremely heavy, weighing in at 55 kg and due to its delicate systems, was vulnerable to malfunction under the heat of stage lights.

But there were also power supply issues as Andy recalled from a gig in Italy: “All the power was from a small generator and every time the lights got really bright on stage, the power supply to equipment reduced making the Novatron flywheel slow down so the notes went very flat. Once our lighting guy realised the problem, we did the rest of the show with reduced lights to keep the Novatron in tune.”

Meanwhile, the Prophet 5 had been a godsend as one of the first programmable polyphonic synths and used integrated circuits to make it more compact and versatile compared with say, a Polymoog or Yamaha CS50. It played an important role in the pioneering OMD sound as much as the Mellotron, with tracks such as ‘Romance Of The Telescope’. “’Romance…’ is actually a Prophet 5 factory preset for the out of tune brass sound but the choir is Mellotron” remembered Andy.

Previously, cheaper synths either had presets like Paul’s little Korg which restricted the number of sounds they could make, or they would have no memory like their Korg MS20. Synths like the latter were largely impractical for live use as a keyboard although Mal Holmes had the MS20 to generate fixed sounds for percussive effects triggered by his drum pads. But now with a programmable synth and patch memories at their disposal, a sound could be created or found, stored and then recalled for its corresponding song at a touch of a button.

However, it was still early days for developments in chip based technology and while the Prophet 5 was invaluable for studio work, the oscillators which generated the sound source would destabilise over the time it was switched on, thus causing tuning difficulties. Also the precious memories could be scrambled due to voltage spikes. To add an extra headache, the Prophet 5 had a reputation for reliability issues which necessitated two examples being taken out on the road.

Martin Cooper’s set-up included Roland SH09 and SH2 monosynths for basslines and melodies plus a Vox Jaguar organ for chords. While this organ had been an essential part of the early OMD sound, especially on the first album, it was of 1960s vintage, large and of transistor construction. So again, it was extremely delicate and not suited for the perils of a world tour.

Mal Holmes’ percussion complex consisted of a big Tama bass drum, large Pearl snares and conventional Paiste hi-hat alongside an array of electronic percussion pads triggering the aforementioned Korg MS20 and a pair of Pearl Syncussion units which controlled two percussive timbres each. With minimised microphone spill allowing very loud acoustic drums to combine with the raw electronic noise, these helped give OMD a uniquely crunchy live sound.

But this system was also very fragile due to the exposed ceramic piezoelectric sensors on the pads. Ceramics are not a naturally malleable material so therefore prone to breakage when hit hard. Famously, a home made electronic kit designed by Paul Humphreys and Paul Collister fell to pieces while being used by Mal during OMD’s first show as a live quartet. “I hit the crystal microphone inside the pad and smashed it to bits!” remembered Mal.

The practicalities of a one and a half hour show had shown various shortcomings and provided unnecessarily stress for a group of young musicians still fighting with a music press and audience that didn’t consider synthpop real music and thought synth bands couldn’t play live! So with the future in mind, OMD looked for an instrumental set-up that was more streamlined and practical for live work.

They found it with the E-mu Systems Emulator. Founded in 1971 by Scott Wedge and Dave Rossum, E-mu began making modular synthesizers whose users included jazz virtuoso Herbie Hancock. At a convention, Wedge and Rossum saw the Fairlight CMI, the world’s first computerised digital sampling synthesizer and set about making a less expensive sampler.

 

The Emulator was released in 1981 at a price of £5000, considerably less than the £20,000 Fairlight. It was a floppy disk-based keyboard workstation which enabled the recording of any sound to non-volatile media and allowed these samples to be played back as musical notes. As an instrument, the Emulator had no sound of its own.

Each aural palette had to be loaded into its memory separately, whether it was from a factory disk of sounds produced by E-mu themselves like the symphonic strings used on ‘Silent Running’, the sound of OMD’s own synths such as the Prophet 5, the voice of Andy McCluskey crooning “blue” on ‘Dazzle Ships’ or the bugle from the BBC Sound Effects record used on ‘This Is Helena’. But by wanting to make life easier for themselves on the road, OMD also entered the brave new world of sampling and were now able to realise some of their more musique concrete ambitions as was apparent on the ‘Dazzle Ships’ album.

But with regards touring, the Mellotron, Elgam, Vox Jaguar and the Prophet 5 could now be retired and replaced by two of these wonder machines on stage. However, the samples were low resolution and grainy at only 8 bits. While these sounds were suitable for chords and effects, the live punch required from the rhythm section meant that Martin’s Roland SH2 was retained as its phat twin oscillator bass sound was formidable in a live context.

Also kept was the similar looking but single oscillator SH09 which was OMD’s preferred synth bass in the studio. Meanwhile, Paul’s Korg Micro-Preset also remained. This was an important artistic gesture as when layered with suitable effects, it provided a cutting melodic bite that was in keeping with OMD’s original garage band ethos. In that spirit, a reel-to-reel tape machine containing things such as the sequence of ‘Messages’ and the Speak & Spell Machine on ‘Genetic Engineering’ was still very much part of the line-up although this was upgraded to a new Tascam from the older Revox.

With Andy, there was no equipment change at all with his trusty Fender Jazz bass guitar. Martin however had his own Fender Jaguar bass for use on ‘Julia’s Song’ as Andy’s was strung in an unconventional manner with the lowest string ‘E’ at the bottom due to first learning to play on a left handed Wilson Rapier bass turned upside down!

For Mal, his new toy came with three Simmons SDS-V drum synths. Co-designed by LANDSCAPE’s Richard James Burgess, these replaced two of the pads hooked to one of the Pearl Syncussion units. The Simmons was very sturdy, having already been road tested on tour by acts such as JAPAN and ULTRAVOX. It was also less of a headache to soundcheck than normal drums.

The SDS-V’s distinctive hexagonal pads were actually made from the same material as police riot sheets.Although he didn’t use the whole Simmons kit, Mal later complained of aching arms. This was from a ‘shock’ that came from hitting the Simmons pads as they did not have the natural give of skinned acoustic drums or even the earlier electronic pads that controlled the Syncussion units and MS20 which to all intents and purposes, were tiny but amplified drums!

Although a fuller Simmons kit was used subsequently on the ‘Junk Culture’ tour, it was only later as OMD made in-roads into breaking synthphobic America with the more conventional sounding ‘Crush’ that Mal started to use a full acoustic drum kit and was allowed to have one of the ultimate percussive symbols of rock ‘n’ roll, the cymbal! This would explain why Mal’s early drum kit always looked like it had been raided by thieves between the soundcheck and gig! Mal remembered “So many people like the road crew said ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with your drum kit but it looks really different! NO CYMBALS, THAT’S IT!’”

Although access to digital representations of their old synths and keyboards were now available using the Emulator live, the fledgling technology was prone to reading errors with the then state-of-the-art 5 ¼ floppy disks. These visually did make interesting artefacts however as Peter Saville found when he saw NEW ORDER’s Emulator and designed the iconic ‘Blue Monday’ sleeve as a coded 12 inch floppy complete with cut-outs!

The Emulator would seem to take forever to load in the context of a show and the setlist needed be arranged to accommodate this. One interesting consequence of the Emulator’s loading time was that Andy’s between song banter increased to cover it up!!! Later when the band upgraded to the Emulator II with its then innovative hard drive in 1985, Andy would often joke about Paul’s problems with his hard disk!!

Despite the expected glitches with the new Emulators, on the whole they gave the band less to worry about, especially after the difficult gestation of ‘Dazzle Ships’ and the critical mauling it received from the press. It allowed for the band to deliver a more confident and professional performance that when combined with Ken Kennedy and Peter Saville’s impressive stage set, would later be recognised as their best live tour to date. But that’s another story although strangely, brass sections and America were only just round the corner…

Special thanks to Alex Machairas for his valued help and granting permission for the use of the archive photographs

‘Dazzle Ships’ is still available in a number of formats via Virgin Records

https://www.omd.uk.com

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https://twitter.com/OfficialOMD

Text by Chi Ming Lai
16th March 2012

A Beginner’s Guide To The MARSHEAUX Remixes

3 December 2011 /

In these days of modern remixing, recordings are often reworked to oblivion with the end result being a pointless club track that bears little relation to the original.

In these types of reinterpretations, vocal samples might occasionally appear but everything else is as good as rendered unrecognisable. One of the worst early examples of this indulgence was the Transcendental Constant Viper Mix of OMD’s ‘Stand Above Me’ by Phil Kelsey from 1993… that case was made even worse because what had actually been reworked was another track altogether, namely ‘Dream Of Me’!

Who these versions are aimed at is often a mystery although an excellent article on How The Major Labels Sold ‘Electronica’ To America sheds light on how this madness may have started. And now today with reciprocal remix arrangements being used as part of a dual marketing tool, sometimes quite incongruous pairings are procured with the final outcome getting a mixed reception and often alienating both sets of fanbases.

However, some artists take a more sympathetic approach to the remix opportunity and offer beat enhancements, extra melodic parts and instrumental breakdowns to compliment a track in a far more classic tradition. Richard X, Mark Reeder, PET SHOP BOYS, THE MANHATTAN CLIQUE and FREEMASONS have proved to be fine purveyors of this more accessible song based interplay. But one duo who outstrip them all with their digi-electro style are Athens based synthgirls MARSHEAUX.

Together with their producers FOTONOVELA, Marianthi Melitsi and Sophie Sarigiannidou combine their best synthpop sensibilities with both feet on the dancefloor to deliver some of the best received pop styled remixes of the last ten years with many established artists among their portfolio. These include official commissions, such as one for Katy Perry which has since become the biggest selling single recording that MARSHEAUX have been involved in, as well as bootlegs for their own club DJ sets.

The gift Sophie and Marianthi have when remixing is they always manage to enhance a song with their stamp while retaining the core essence of the original – simple in theory but in reality, not an easy thing to do! But when MARSHEAUX had a go at remixing OMD’s comeback single ‘If You Want It’, even their dainty craft work couldn’t turn that particular donkey into a racehorse!

So with a new album from Sophie and Marianthi still a while away, here then are MARSHEAUX’s best 18 remixes to check out, in alphabetical order by artist. ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK believes this impressive collection would make a rather good compilation album. Perhaps it could be called ‘Dream Of A Disco’?

CLIENT Its Not Over (2008)

MARSHEAUX took their visual inspiration from CLIENT so when they toured Germany together in 2008, it was a most perfect pairing. On ‘It’s Not Over’, some Hellenic shine is added to CLIENT’s Cold War chic for a slice of electro perfection. Sarah Blackwood’s vocal is given space to breathe while the sharpened glitterball backing retains the fuzzy edge of the original but with some additional Eurocentric riffage.

Available on the CD EP ‘It’s Not Over’ via Out Of Line Records Germany. Listen on YouTube http://youtu.be/P1A9d6kU7JE

www.client-online.eu

www.eblackwood.com

DAYBEHAVIOR It’s A Game (2011)

This synth trio hail from Stockholm but with singer Paulinda’s Italian heritage, a Mediterranean flavour colours their cooler Nordic spirit. So with that in mind, come the bouncy remix of an already brilliant track, this version of ‘It’s A Game’ could easily be mistaken for one of Sophie and Marianthi’s own recordings.

Available on the download single ‘It’s A Game’ via Graplur Records Sweden

www.daybehavior.com

DEPECHE MODE A Pain That I’m Used To (2007)

Already a magnificent brooding epic in its original form, this mighty opener to the ‘Playing The Angel’ album boasted “pain and suffering in various tempos” was brilliantly transformed by MARSHEAUX. They adding their own sparkling top end dynamic as well as an ominous bass rumble. Although never officially released, this was voted top remix in a poll of DEPECHE MODE fans.

www.depechemode.com

ELECTROBELLE Mirrorball (2008)

The original first appeared in 2008 on an EMI Greece related compilation as part of the lead up to a full single release by Undo Records. However, this did not materialise and it wasn’t until Autumn 2010 that it was issued in its own right as an independent EP. The original was good but MARSHEAUX’s remix was even better. The girls toughened ‘Mirrorball’ up to an EU friendly dancefloor splendour with additional air-synth riffage and interluding attacks that added some extra energy to proceedings.

Available on the CD EP ‘Mirrorball’ via Eden Records

https://www.facebook.com/electrobelle

MYLÈNE FARMER N’aie Plus D’amertume (2011)

Gallic songstress Mylène Farmer is her country’s equivalent of Madonna if slightly less controversial and diva-ish. Her sound does seem to benefit from disco enhancements, having already scored a No1 in her own country with the MOBY / MANHATTAN CLIQUE collaboration ‘Crier La Vie’. Almost translating as “do more bitterness”, this ballad is given a dreamy uptempo facelift by MARSHEAUX which is pop perfection.

www.mylene.net

THE HUMAN LEAGUE Sky (2011)

Like a post mid-life update of 1984’s ‘Louise’ for the new millennium, Philip Oakey says ‘Sky’ is about “meeting dead girls in bars”. Suitably sombre and monotone synthpop for ‘The Vampire Diaries’ generation, ‘Sky’ is proof that Da League can still come up with great tunes. MARSHEAUX’s busy pulsing adds more fortified Italo elements without disrupting the original’s wonderful melancholy and livens the tempo.

www.thehumanleague.co.uk

HURTS Better Than Love (2010)

Theo Hutchcraft and Adam Adamson’s HI-NRG ditty underwent many manifestations having been originally part of their previous band DAGGERS’ live set. The fastest paced song in the HURTS catalogue, MARSHEAUX’s version hypnotised with its frenetic dancefloor friendliness and sequencing. Again retaining all the best euphoric elements of the song, this remix simply sparkles with optimism.

www.informationhurts.com

IN-VOX featuring ANDY BELL Will I Ever? (2004)

Ever wondered how ERASURE would have sounded doing ‘Go West’? Here it is in this highly uplifting collaboration with Greek duo IN-VOX. The original was fairly guitar driven but MARSHEAUX’s remix, which incidentally was their first, added a distinct electronic sheen to make it a pop masterpiece. Much better than the cover versions which Andy and Vince were attempting at this point.

Available on the CD single ‘Will I Ever?’ via Sony Music Greece and Columbia Records Austria.  Listen on YouTube http://youtu.be/YvkwXKlvZwk

www.myspace.com/invox1

www.andybell.com

KID MOXIE Medium Pleasure  (2009)

KID MOXIE give a cynical snarl waxing lyrical about how society accepts the culturally mundane and mediocre. With a tedious evening led by COLDPLAY, SNOW PATROL and ELBOW for Children In Need warmly received by the masses, this just rings so true. Thankfully, MARSHEAUX’s interpretation of ‘Medium Pleasure’ is anything but mundane and mediocre, with rhythmical life enhancement through exposure to cool female fronted electro guaranteed.

Available on the Greek CD edition of ‘Selector’ via Undo Records. Listen on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRRrL0pWyrk

www.myspace.com/kidmoxie

MESH Crash (2006)

Adding some light into the dark industrialists’s repertoire, this bleepy reworking emphasises MESH’s sometimes hidden knack for rousing and catchy electronic tunes. With some of the rockier tendencies stripped away, it becomes club friendly gothic pop that retains the all the dynamic tension and synth soloing of its parent recording. It’s almost like DEPECHE MODE go disco, complete with a lift from ‘It’s No Good’!

Available on the Greek CD edition of ‘We Collide’ via Undo Records.

www.mesh.co.uk

MIRRORS Into The Heart (2011)

Christened the ‘Greek Girls Are Not Easy’ mix, Sophie and Marianthi turned MIRRORS’ most accessible if monocromatically Cold War centric track into a sensational neo-robotic danceathon. The as-yet-unreleased extended version added even more sharp synth counterpoints to the majestic singalong with the whole package proving that classic Synth Britannia influences are nothing to be ashamed of.

Available on the Greek CD edition of ‘Lights & Offerings’ via Undo Records. Listen on YouTube https://youtu.be/77f812hkDBg

www.theworldofmirrors.com

MOBY Lift Me Up (2005)

The original version was used as the theme for the UK’s Formula 1 coverage for a few years in the noughties and while it doesn’t have the instant resonance that FLEETWOOD MAC’s ‘The Chain’ has in its association with motorsport, it is certainly an energetically rousing anthem. At a less frantic pace, MARSHEAUX’s remix with its firm octave shift drive is a regular staple in their DJ sets and always well received by clubbers.

www.moby.com

OMD She’s Leaving (2008)

Technically, this is not a remix as it started life as a cover version of the ‘Architecture And Morality’ classic. However, a new vocal by Andy McCluskey was added and this delightfully rounded with the angelic melancholy of MARSHEAUX’s own sweet timbres. Given a modern discofied softsynth facelift, this pretty duet is a fine example of how yesterday’s tomorrow can successfully meet the present and the future.

Unreleased at time of writing, listen on YouTube http://youtu.be/ly6JDo8o1I0

www.omd-messages.co.uk

KATY PERRY Hot ‘N’ Cold (2009)

Katy Perry kissed a girl and liked it, but behind all the shock tactics was some quality songs written by Cathy Dennis and in the case of ‘Hot ‘N’ Cold’, Swedish megapop producer Max Martin. Taking its cue from the PET SHOP BOYS remix of THE KILLERS’ ‘Read My Mind’, this superb reworking by MARSHEAUX can only be described as truly banging! When presented to Katy Perry’s management, they were none too pleased but the lady herself loved it and sanctioned its release.

Available exclusively as an iTunes download single via EMI Minos

www.katyperry.com

SAKIS ROUVAS Shake It (2004)

MARSHEAUX went to the Eurovision Song Contest with their electro assisted radio mix of this saucy uptempo number. Sakis Rouvas, who could be considered Greece’s own Ricky Martin, came 3rd in proceedings and went to No1 in his home country. While ‘Shake It’ is not exactly a work of genius, it is good fun and did considerably better than the UK’s entry which came 16th.

Available on the CD Single ‘Shake It’ via EMI Records

http://www.sakisrouvas.com/

SALLY SHAPIRO Jackie Jackie (2010)

SALLY SHAPIRO is the Queen of Scandinavian electropop and has won many admirers. With her wispy vocal and discotheque tendencies, she shares a musical affinity with MARSHEAUX. Interestingly though, the original of this was more of a pretty crystalline ballad. So MARSHEAUX added a 2010 percussive backbone to give it disco potential and thereby construct an uplifting anthem in time for the new decade.

www.facebook.com/shapirosally

TAREQ Mosquito (2011)

Greco Jordanian Tareq Souleiman was previously the lead singer of TECH SOIR and his vocal timbres make him electro’s answer to INXS’ Michael Hutchence as his cover of ‘Need You Tonight’ indeed shows. ‘Mosquito’ with its relaxed but pacey drum ‘n’ pop was the superb highlight from his first solo album ‘Cocoon’. Here though, MARSHEAUX take the pace down to a slower off-beat groove for an even greater chilled mood with Marianthi’s soft vocals, symphonic strings and KRAFTWERK’s Vako Orchestron choirs from ‘Radio-Activity’ added to the mix.

http://www.facebook.com/Tareqdisco

TIGER BABY Girlfriend (2006)

Dream laden electro from Copenhagen, TIGER BABY are another act who could be mistaken for MARSHEAUX with that synthpop vibe combined with sweetly gorgeous vocals from Pernille Pang. Stylistically, this has all the impressive hallmarks of the MARSHEAUX sound combined with the unmistakeable melodic sensibility that Scandinavian pop acts seem to naturally possess.

Available on the CD single ‘Girlfriend’ via Gunhero Records Denmark

www.tigerbaby.dk

With thanks to MARSHEAUX, all at Undo Records and EMI Greece

A selection of MARSHEAUX’s remixes can be heard at:
https://soundcloud.com/marsheauxremixes/

http://www.marsheaux.com

http://www.undorecords.com

Text by Chi Ming Lai
3rd December 2011

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