Tag: OMD (Page 22 of 23)

On Tour with VILLA NAH

It has been an amazing year for VILLA NAH.

Friends since childhood, Juho Paalosmaa (vocals, synths) and Tomi Hyyppä (synths, programming) discovered the joys of electronic instrumentation when they started playing around with a Korg MS10 that belonged to Tomi’s father.

Releasing their impressive debut album ‘Origin’ in May which became a Top 10 album in their home country of Finland, they have since been steadily gaining a legion of admirers including BBC 6Music’s Mark Jones who invited them to play the Back To The Phuture curated opening night at Bestival 2010 alongside HEAVEN 17 and HOWARD JONES.

However, the biggest accolade came with the invitation from OMD to be special guests on the UK leg of their ‘History Of Modern’ tour. “We heard from our manager that Andy McCluskey had heard our album and really liked it” recalls Juho, the duo’s singer and main songwriter; “And then we got information that OMD wanted us to do a remix. We made the remix, they liked it and then we heard they would like us to support them as well which was amazing. So happy about that”

Support slots can be the making or breaking of an act. On the one hand, they can provide wider exposure and an opportunity to increase the fanbase. Sales of CDs and T-shirts afterwards can help sustain a band financially and enhance their profile as they work their way through a tour, usually at their own expense. On the other hand though, many concert goers, particularly those in the UK, see the support act as an excuse to spend more time in the bar. Such short sighted behaviour can lead to missing out on what could be the next potentially great thing happening in the adjacent room!

Indeed, people should look towards the headline act and remember their own humble origins. What if OMD had been ignored when they supported Gary Numan in 1979? It is possible OMD would have made it anyway but their well-received opening slot enabled them to play their songs to a bigger audience who would later come to their own headlining shows.

It’s the often the prospect of discovering something new and seeing it through to its possible success that motivates many a true music enthusiast to arrive early. It is highly unnerving to play to a new audience but OMD’s fans have been primed.

Juho and Tomi contributed the best remix of the ‘History Of Modern’ launch single while many have hailed VILLA NAH as one of the brightest prospects in intelligent synthesized pop for many years. At least VILLA NAH are within the same genre of music as OMD, unlike some of the bizarre acoustic choices for support that have been made by other heritage electronic acts over the last few years.

VILLA NAH are no strangers to being the support act. In their home city of Helsinki, they recently opened for R’n’B starlet KELIS where one would have assumed the audience might be less receptive to their style of electropop: “With that” recalls Juho, “the organisers were gathering a wide kind of audience. They had different types of DJs as well. KELIS and R’n’B are not necessarily that well known in Finland. And it turns out KELIS is not really R’n’B anymore, she’s more into dance music now! It was good and we knew it was a surreal setting for us to support her but we took it as just a show for ourselves. In Finland, it’s quite easy as we have our own crowd to see us.”

Although on paper, an incongruous pairing, VILLA NAH’s popularity in Finland has enabled them to snare a high profile gig. In the rest of Europe though, it’s a slightly different matter. Although they weren’t headlining, they closed Back To The Phuture night at this year’s Bestival: “Bestival was quite intimidating because it’s a huge festival and we played after HEAVEN 17 on a really big stage. As we’re relatively unknown here, you don’t know how the crowd’s going to be. It wasn’t terrible, it was quite good. At that level, you can see from the crowd attendance if people start leaving, they hate you! But they didn’t, they all stayed so that was good.”

For the OMD tour, VILLA NAH’s day starts with some promotional duties and then soundcheck.

Preparations for the setlist were completed a while back with the inclusion of a new number: “It’s called ‘Lights Out'” confirmed Juho, “it may be on the new album but we are definitely working on new material and we have other new songs that we might play so it’s a nice chance to try different things”.

But there’s little time for sightseeing: “We’ll see because it’s hectic” laughed Juho, “I think we’ll have a bit of time, maybe a couple of hours but mostly it’s work! Every city is something I look forward to. I’ve been to the UK several times but I’ve always been in London so now it’s my chance to see every city.” And the places that he’s looking forward to visiting? “Liverpool for one because it is OMD’s home arena”.

VILLA NAH’s manager is Piers Martin. How does he see VILLA NAH’s potential? “This tour is opening them up to an audience who love their synthpop and want to invest in it. VILLA NAH are not a million miles away from OMD and Andy McCluskey is a fan. It stands them in good stead and takes them out of the NME / hipster market, into a market where people actually love their music and it just comes naturally.”

As a paradox to the well-known horror stories of how some established artists have treated their support acts, VILLA NAH are warmly welcomed by their hosts: “Paul Humphreys showed us round, that was really lovely and Andy McCluskey was really nice when he said ‘have a good show guys’ just before we stepped on stage” remembers Juho, “I’m hoping to meet them for a longer chat at some point”.

And it is without doubt that their wistful, subtle electronic dynamics that allow OMD’s audience to empathise with them. For the first gig at Brighton Dome Pavillion which happens to be a standing venue, VILLA NAH triumph. The response is ecstatic with cheers of recognition for intros of ‘Remains Of Love’ and ‘Ways To Be’.

“That was amazing.” Juho modestly remarked, “As far as I’m concerned, they don’t really know who we are, yet they know the songs! It’s just remarkable”. ‘Envelope’ goes down particularly well as it possesses the melancholic soundscapes that are most reminiscent of classic OMD. Tomi, the technical genius and quieter of the pair grins with his thumbs aloft and can’t hide his obvious delight with the audience’s response. Among the crowd was Alexa who’d come all the way to see OMD from Minneapolis: “I thought they were great, they were just naturals”.

They weren’t the only ones who had been won over by VILLA NAH’s Nordic charm. Those who know their electronic music history were very complimentary: “Excellent, very OMD, very KRAFTWERK, a little bit CHINA CRISIS” affirmed Darren; “a little bit of all the old electronic stuff in there but a modern twist, I loved that! I’ll be straight on Amazon after the gig”! His pal John was also impressed: “It was the first time I’ve heard of them, brilliant! Nothing more I can say… going to get the album!”.

Asked if VILLA NAH had approached these dates differently compared their own shows, Juho replied: “In practice not but maybe mentally. It’s different because we’re in the UK and obviously as a support act, the crowd are here to see OMD. The crowd here was amazing. Far better than I would have imagined”. With a nervous chuckle, he added “I don’t know if I’m a pessimist, but maybe I had expectations that people would be in the bar! But people were here and everyone was lovely, really receptive”.

There appears to be a whole international following just waiting to embrace VILLA NAH. South African Jenny McGregor was more than happy with what she saw: “I loved it, they were really brilliant. I loved his voice, it was really powerful. It was emotional as well and I Ioved the sound, it was really great. I’m going to buy the CD”.

Jenny’s best friend Alison was all smiles too: “The music was amazing. It was like a step back in time but also quite modern at the same time. It was just fabulous”. She also appeared to have developed a crush on Tomi: “I was watching and the guy playing the keyboards, you just want to go up to him and hug him!! He just looked divine!”

During the interval, quite a few copies of ‘Origin’ are being sold and one of those purchasing the CD was long standing OMD fan Gary Constable, accompanied by his son Ryan: “Very original, good dance music. Very creative” he said, “it was very good indeed, I had to buy the CD”. Young Ryan, aged 12 has obviously been brought up to the sound of the synthesizer and youngsters like him are the key to electropop developing into its next generation: “I thought they were really good. New dance songs, really good band. I’m looking forward to listening to the songs on their CD”. Who knows, this evening may even inspire Ryan to start making music and become a pop star of the future, just like Andy McCluskey did after seeing KRAFTWERK in 1975.

The merchandise area is a sight to see as a polite queue develops at the end of the evening for autographs and photos. Juho and Tomi are shyly acknowledging the chat from their new fans… it’s something they’re going to have to get used to. “I think it’s lovely, the fact that people come up and say they listen to our record and give us everyday life examples of how they listen to it in the car, it’s great” said Juho; “I know it s a cliche but when fans come up to you, that really makes it worth it. Even if you’ve had a bad day otherwise, that can really save your day when a fan comes up to you and says the music means something to them. And you remember there are people that get something out of it.”

With the positive reaction in Brighton, Juho was able to express some cautious optimism for the remainder of the tour: “I hope it goes like tonight, if people everywhere are this receptive, it’s going to be fantastic really”. He allowed himself another grin but there was one nagging concern: “We have a little less gear with us… I always fear something breaks down. We’re in the UK and we don’t have anything to replace”.

As the tour progresses, even in seated venues like Bristol Colston Hall and Nottingham Royal Concert Hall, the crowd offer their appreciation. Peter McCafferty who accompanied his OMD loving wife Corrie to the Nottingham concert said: “I thought they were quite interesting and enjoyable. I thought the songs were interesting enough without the need for the rather thudding beat. Considering I went in completely cold to them, I quite enjoyed it and they held my attention”.

On a day-off from the tour, rather than take a break, VILLA NAH play a headline show at the Soup Kitchen club in Manchester before heading for the cavernous Liverpool Arena. This turns out to be Tomi’s favourite gig of the tour: “People say big arenas are scary but I didn’t find it at all, it was quite cosy being on stage because the sound was good and there was room to breathe”.

The most anticipated date of the tour is the prestigious Hammersmith Apollo in London. There is just something about the art deco interior and magnetism of this one-time cinema formally known as Odeon. Even with the heavy corporate sponsorship that is now apparent, it is still one of the best concert venues in London. This was the one place Juho was really looking forward to playing: “It’s legendary and the fact that we are playing there is just mind blowing! For me, I’m a big fan of David Bowie and I think it was Hammersmith that he ‘killed Ziggy Stardust’… it’s remarkable!”.

However, while headline acts often flourish, it’s not always so straightforward for the opening act. The London crowd are perhaps a little less excitable than the other audiences on the tour. “I think it went alright” said Juho, “A London crowd can be a bit more harsh maybe. But they warmed up quite well and because we’re supporting, I’m not really expecting people to know the music that well so I thought it was alright”.

Despite the comparatively cool reception, VILLA NAH give the capital a couple of musical treats. First of all, there’s another new song ‘Love Chance’ which was premiered in Glasgow and has a more optimistic feel that hints at the wistful overtones of early CHINA CRISIS. Juho explained this was a reaction to his home surroundings: “Because we come from Finland… it’s a cold dark country, I’m particularly fond of anything that’s sort of warm and sunny. We had a really record breaking warm summer and I think that affected it. It is a little bit warmer in sound. Also, I was on holiday in Singapore so maybe it originated from there, that kind of oriental feeling in it”.

But to finish the set, there’s a trip from Lake Geneva to the Finland Station in the form of a superb Suomen translation of PET SHOP BOYS’ ‘West End Girls’. Juho told the story of how this came about: “The Finnish version is actually a cult classic where we come from in a small circle of people. We didn’t really invent the cover version but thought that would be appropriate because we love the cover and the original. It’s about this town called Turku. We first played it there and it was like a special moment. Tonight we thought for just half humouristic reasons, it would be appropriate to do it for London people. I don’t know how it went down really.”

Their crystalline cover of a cover actually goes down very well. Polite applause from the many rather than enthusiastic approval from just a few always sounds better and there are people who have been impressed by the way the boys from Helsinki have projected themselves tonight. Paul Tarr said of their set: “I thought they were excellent tonight. I’ve seen them once before on the tour in Brighton. They’re very, very entertaining for two guys that are supposed to be rather static. Once you get into the rhythms of what they do, they are a very entertaining act.”

The tour is almost over and for VILLA NAH, this has been the pinnacle of their international career so far. “It’s been amazing, I really mean it” Juho said “When we got onto this tour, we didn’t really know what to expect. And every town, all the crowds have just been so warm and acceptive. I think it’s the OMD crowd as well, they just have fantastic fans”. Tomi nods in approval and gave his thoughts: “It has been quite easy. All the arrangements have been a surprise for us so we are really enjoying ourselves.”

And with greater recognition comes more opportunities and a busier timetable but even a promising new act can’t be in two places at once. VILLA NAH have had to decline the offer of a support slot with another classic Synth Britannia band due to scheduling conflicts: “We were asked to support THE HUMAN LEAGUE on their UK tour but we can’t do it… I would have loved to have done it.” said Juho.

But despite this disappointment, things are looking rosy for VILLA NAH’s Way Of The Future: “We have some quite big shows in Finland, we’re going to play in a legendary rock club. But then we are slowing down to get into the studio to record. We’re just aching to do that.”


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to VILLA NAH and Piers Martin

Additional thanks to Sandra Croft at Freeman PR

‘Origin’ is released by Keys Of Life

https://www.facebook.com/villanah/


Text and Interviews by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Richard Price
10th November 2010

WE HOPE YOU ENJOY OUR NEW DIRECTION Some Not So Great Albums By Some Great Acts

While opinion is totally subjective and in the mind of the beholder, in the same way that a footballer can occasionally fluff a shot, then a musician can also score their equivalent of an own goal.

The less than impressive albums on this list have generally been derided by both fans and critics. In most cases, these recordings were made by established acts with sure-fire reputations at the height of their career; or they were part of a much vaunted comeback.

But as can be expected with the highs and lows of the music industry, a number were produced during difficult periods in an artist’s creative dynamic following personnel changes or record company pressures. So in hindsight, poor results were often predictable and inevitable. However, based on the standards of their strongest work, most of the talents mentioned here should have known better.

But even in the face of informed criticism, some musicians can be terribly stubborn and unrepentant. Reacting to negativity surrounding his infamous ‘Metal Machine Music’ double album of feedback and electronic screeching, Lou Reed famously snorted: “if they don’t like it, they can go eat rat sh*t”! Oh well, would you like fries with your rat sh*t?

Inspired by the Q Magazine article ‘Can I Have My Money Back?’ from 1996, here are 20 of the better known creative blips, in alphabetical order. It should be noted that ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK actually bought all but 5 of these albums, so make of that what you will!


KARL BARTOS Electric Music (1998)

Proof that pioneering geniuses lose their way once in a while. Following his ‘Esperanto’ album in 1993 with Lothar Manteuffel of RHEINGOLD under the moniker ELEKTRIC MUSIC which many accepted as a KRAFTWERK record in all but name, Karl Bartos went to work with Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr on ELECTRONIC’s ‘Raise The Pressure’. He found the experience liberating and on his return, adopted the guitar for his next ‘Electric Music’ album.

Speaking in 2005, he said that when he started playing music as a teenager, it was in his bedroom with his guitar pretending to be Chuck Berry and this album was him getting back to all that. ‘Young Urban Professional’ was actually a song originally written for KRAFTWERK, but is turned into THE SMITHS’ ‘Hand In Glove’ with vocoder! ‘Sunshine’ is typical of the clumpy rock that marred NEW ORDER’s 2001 comeback ‘Get Ready’ while the rest of the album is pretty much the same. Only ‘Call On Me’ possesses any kind of spark as a song. Bartos himself described ‘Electric Music’ as an “exploration of the sound of the sixties – guitar pop out of the computer” and thanks Johnny Marr in the credits! Luckily, Bartos returned to synths and was back on form with 2003’s ‘Communication’, delivering a collection that showed his former cycling partners over at Kling Klang a thing or two.

Best track: ‘Call On Me’

‘Electric Music’ was originally released by SPV Records

http://www.karlbartos.com/


DEPECHE MODE Sounds Of The Universe (2009)

Following a return to form with ‘Playing The Angel’, much was expected of ‘Sounds Of The Universe’ when the band’s biggest world tour to date was announced in 2008. Unfortunately, the lacklustre ‘Exciter’ from 2000 appeared to be the musical template and the tracks that leaked were not particularly promising. The resultant album lacked spark, dynamics and creative tension. It was dreary mid-paced electro blues that dominated on this turkey.

The outstanding track from the sessions ‘Oh Well’ was a spicy uptempo Moroder-esque collaboration between Martin Gore and Dave Gahan but only appeared in the 4CD deluxe box set while the fact that the two best tracks on the main feature were a ballad voiced by Gore and a short instrumental said it all! But this became rather trivial when Gahan was diagnosed with a life threatening illness while on out on the road in Athens!

Best tracks: ‘Jezebel’, ‘Spacewalker’, ‘Oh Well’ (deluxe box set only)

‘Sounds Of The Universe’ was originally released by Mute Records

http://www.depechemode.com


DURAN DURAN Thank You (1995)

This covers album was recorded at the behest of EMI Records who were strangely impressed by DURAN DURAN’s rather strained cover of THE VELVET UNDERGROUND’s ‘Femme Fatale’ from ‘Wedding Album’ and eager for a quick cash-in on their 1993 renaissance. Among the songs attempted were ironic takes on ‘White Lies (Don’t Do It)’ and another drug dependency tale ‘Perfect Day’, as well as songs by Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and Sly Stone!

The covers of Iggy Pop’s ‘Success’ and THE DOORS’ ‘Crystal Ship’ were actually quite enjoyable but among all the ham reinterpretations of established standards, the band actually covered themselves in a new version of ‘The Chauffeur’ entitled ‘Drive By’! Often regarded as one of the worst albums ever recorded, this disaster was dubbed “No Thank You” by many fans! Worse was to come for DURAN DURAN though as John Taylor left the band and EMI UK then refused to release their 1997 album ‘Medazzaland’. It would take a reunion of the classic line-up in 2004 to get them back on track and it wasn’t until 2011’s ‘All You Need Is Now’ album that they fully recaptured their former artistic glories.

Best tracks: ‘Success’, ‘Crystal Ship’

‘Thank You’ was originally released by EMI Records

http://www.duranduran.com


ERASURE Loveboat (2000)

In a poor period for Andy and Vince, this was a close run thing with their covers album ‘Other People’s Songs’ but at least with the latter, there were quality songs on show even if some of the versions left a lot to be desired. The problem wasn’t just the emphasis on guitar driven dynamics, it was also severely lacking in the usual ERASURE charm. Andy Bell admitted how shocked he was when he heard how “weird and indie” Rob Kirwan’s final mix sounded.

Despite production by Flood,  it was all very muddy. And even the album’s one potentially great song ‘Moon & The Sky’ was missing an uplifting chorus which was only later added to the Heaven Scent Radio Re-Work version that was released as a single. The redeeming consequence though was that despite these tough times creatively, ERASURE took to soft synths and made one of their best albums in 2005 with ‘Nightbird’.

Best tracks: ‘Freedom’, ‘Moon & The Sky’

‘Loveboat’ was originally released by Mute Records

http://www.erasureinfo.com


HEAVEN 17 Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho (1988)

‘Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho’ were the affectionate nicknames given by Terence Trent D’Arby respectively to HEAVEN 17’s Martyn Ware, Glenn Gregory and Ian Craig Marsh. The conventional sounding ‘Pleasure One’ released in 1986 had been given a lukewarm reception, while Martyn Ware’s success as a producer for artists such as Tina Turner and Mr D’Arby himself may have started to spread his creative energies just a little too thinly.

Whatever, when ‘The Ballad Of Go Go Brown’ was released as lead single and Glenn Gregory appeared on the album cover wearing a Stetson and cowboy boots, the writing was on the wall. A lot of the album features the blue eyed soul of the times but with younger acts like WET WET WET, AZTEC CAMERA, HUE & CRY and even PERFECT DAY (featuring a certain Mark Jones of Wall Of Sound fame!) gaining the public’s attention, HEAVEN 17 then went on hiatus for the next nine years before returning with the electronically driven triumph ‘Bigger Than America’.

Best tracks: ‘Big Square People’, ‘Train Of Love In Motion’

‘Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho’ was originally released by Virgin Records

http://www.heaven17.com


THE HUMAN LEAGUE Crash (1986)

Work had started on ‘Crash’ in 1985 with producer Colin Thurston but the results were not deemed suitable for release by Virgin Records. To overcome the creative block, THE HUMAN LEAGUE were despatched to Minneapolis to record with top producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Here, they became part of the manufactured R’n’B conveyor belt that had already seen success for Janet Jackson and Alexander O’Neal.

Ian Burden in particular was considered surplus to requirements by the producers. Disconcertingly, the album’s two strongest numbers ‘Human’ and ‘Love Is All That Matters’ had no songwriting input from any of THE HUMAN LEAGUE themselves… but then, they weren’t involved in the album’s two stinkers either! The David Eiland composed ‘Swang’ was horrible while ‘I Need Your Loving’ surely had to have been a Janet Jackson reject? Eventually, Oakey and co went home leaving Jam and Lewis to finish ‘Crash’. ‘Human’ was an American No1 and helped keep THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s profile up Stateside while the album’s end results sounded nothing like them with Phil Oakey’s voice left exposed as it was not really suited to the dynamics of soul. It would take almost ten years for them to regain momentum with 1995’s ‘Octopus’.

Best tracks: ‘Human’, ‘Love Is All That Matters’, ‘Money’

‘Crash’ was originally released by Virgin Records

http://www.thehumanleague.co.uk


JAPAN Rain Tree Crow (1991)

This was the much heralded reunion of David Sylvian, Mick Karn, Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri aka JAPAN, a band who many considered had broken up before their time following the highly acclaimed ‘Tin Drum’ album in 1981. However, the split was due to personal rather than artistic differences when Karn’s girlfriend Yuka Fujii left him for Sylvian. Time eventually healed wounds and the quartet gathered together in France.

Under the Sylvian inspired Native American moniker RAIN TREE CROW, the idea had been to compose and record as a group through improvisation as opposed Sylvian being sole songwriter and studio dictator which had previously been the case during the JAPAN days. However, Sylvian’s stubborn imposing character led to a return to old ways. Supported by a huge budget from Virgin Records, unbelievably it was exceeded. So Virgin gave them an ultimatum where no more money would be forthcoming unless the project was presented under the name of JAPAN. The others agreed but Sylvian refused. Walking off with the tapes to mix the album under his own finance and supervision, he refused to let any of his bandmates in on the sessions! The result was an unfocussed set consisting of progressive avant jazz and self-indulgent ethnic instrumental pieces tha sounded unfinsihed. Only the magnificent single ‘Blackwater’ bore any kind of relation to JAPAN’s brilliant legacy. The quartet never worked together again and with Mick Karn’s sad passing, never will.

Best track: ‘Blackwater’

‘Rain Tree Crow’ was originally released by Virgin Records

http://www.nightporter.co.uk


JEAN MICHEL JARRE Sessions 2000 (2002)

It is always going to end in tears when an artist embarks on a jazz odyssey! And so it was when Jean-Michel Jarre came up with what appeared to be an attempt to break his then recording contract with Sony Music. ‘Sessions 2000’ contained six tracks named presumably after the days they were composed. Recorded by Jarre with collaborator Francis Rimbert, all had deliberate chill-out lounge jazz undertones and unfortunately, a distinct lack of melody.

‘June 21’ just plods along aimlessly for over six minutes while ‘September 14’ aims at the atmosphere of ‘Twin Peaks’ but does nothing in its excruciating nine! Haunting piano and detuned tones colour the Ryuichi Sakamoto influenced ‘May 1’ but any potential is unrealised. Only ‘March 23’ has any kind of musical shape with a distinct rhythmic pulse textured with synthetic brass and slide guitar samples but is far too long. Jarre eventually got back up to speed with the improved but still laid back ‘Geometry of Love’ and the dance driven ‘Teo & Tea’.

Best track: ‘March 23’

‘Sessions 2000’ was originally released by Sony Music

http://www.jeanmicheljarre.com


KRAFTWERK Tour De France Soundtracks (2004)

The first new material from KRAFTWERK since the disappointing ‘Expo 2000’, this was Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider’s opportunity to reconsolidate their position as electronic godfathers. However, it was also 14 years since the departures of percussionists Wolfgang Flür and Karl Bartos, and it showed. One of the weakest links in ‘Tour De France Soundtracks’ was the rhythm programming which lacked punch and neither encouraged excitement or dancing.

Ironically for an album about cycling, ‘Tour De France Soundtracks’ was strangely pedestrian. Everything was tightly sequenced and structured but noticeably absent was the humanity and humour which were two of KRAFTWERK’s strongest suits, even on tracks like ‘Sex Object’ and ‘Boing Boom Tschak’ from 1986’s lacklustre predecessor ‘Electric Cafe’. The reworkings of the original 1983 ‘Tour De France’ track are the best things on here while Karl Bartos’ ‘Communication’ album, which happened to be released a few weeks later, was infinitely superior.

Best track: ‘Tour De France’, ‘Tour De France Etape 1’

‘Tour De France Soundtracks’ was originally released by EMI Records

http://www.kraftwerk.com


NEW ORDER Waiting For The Sirens’ Call (2004)

NEW ORDER’s musical strength was fusing the spirit of punk into electronics and dance. However, with keyboardist Gillian Gilbert leaving the band on their recorded return, Messrs Sumner, Hooky and Morris filled the void with a bunch of stodgy rock numbers on 2001’s ‘Get Ready’. For the next album, the trend towards rock continued although there were marginally more synths this time although the array of producers involved confused matters.

As possibly the worst song NEW ORDER have ever recorded, ‘Who’s Joe?’ had none of the spirit of their best guitar numbers. Even the lead single ‘Krafty’ was uninspiring NEW ORDER by numbers while its follow-up ‘Jetstream’ featuring SCISSOR SISTERS’ Ana Matronic was terribly lame despite being produced by Stuart Price. Only the title track and ‘Dracula’s Castle’ have any flashes of their classic brilliance. Legend has it that when Peter Saville was commissioned to design the sleeve, he was so unimpressed by the quality of the album that he decided to send an ironic message to warn any potential punters!

Best tracks: ‘Waiting For The Sirens’ Call’, ‘Dracula’s Castle’

‘Waiting For The Sirens’ Call’ was originally released by London Records

http://www.neworder.com


GARY NUMAN Warriors (1983)

Things had looked promising with Gary Numan returning to the live stage after retiring in 1981. Bill Nelson was slotted in to produce ‘Warriors’, but the pair fell out very early on in the sessions. Nelson then had his more trebly cutting mixes wiped by Numan so asked for his name to be taken off the credits! With the alien embracement of jazz and funk influences, ‘Warriors’ ended up a well played if confused, characterless body of work.

The use of some top flight session musicians was a major part of this mess. Dick Morrissey played saxophone solos whether they really ought to have been there or not, while Joe Hubbard’s slap bass was at times self-indulgent and wholly incongruous with the Numan sound. Although there were a couple of good tracks like the dreamy ‘The Iceman Comes’ and the synthetic THIN LIZZY of ‘My Centurion’, this was the start of a creative dip that Gary Numan wouldn’t truly recover from until 1994. In between, he appeared far more interested in flying than his music career.

Best tracks: ‘The Iceman Comes’, ‘My Centurion’

‘Warriors’ was originally released by Beggars Banquet Records

http://www.numan.co.uk


OMD Liberator (1993)

Following the success of ‘Sugar Tax’ in 1991, remaining sole OMD founder Andy McCluskey was on a commercial roll and decided to continue this well trodden poptastic path. As a result, ‘Liberator’ featured lots of busy modern dance effects. “It was an album for kids” lamented McCluskey later to Jens Lindell on Swedish radio in 1996. But by the time of its release in 1993, Da Kidz were worshipping acts such as TAKE THAT and EAST17 who were closer in age to the intended demographic.

An album of C-sides, ‘Stand Above Me’, ‘Everyday’, ‘Love And Hate You’ were all painfully poppy and not exactly the strongest songs in the OMD canon. Meanwhile, opinions are still divided about the synth MOR tune ‘Dream Of Me’, based on LOVE UNLIMITED ORCHESTRA’s ‘Love’s Theme’. The confused schizophrenic nature of the album’s concept was compounded by the pure genius of darker, more traditional OMD numbers like ‘King Of Stone’ and ‘Christine’. The muted reception to ‘Liberator’ led to the brave but conventional and ultimately doomed ‘Universal’ in 1996, before McCluskey retired the OMD brand. Bruised, he then set his sights on launching ATOMIC KITTEN! And that is a story in itself!

Best tracks: ‘King Of Stone’, ‘Christine’, ‘Best Years Of Our Lives’

‘Liberator’ was originally released by Virgin Records

http://www.omd.uk.com


PET SHOP BOYS Release (2002)

With pun totally intended, ‘Release’ was marred by the input of THE SMITHS’ famed guitarist Johnny Marr who had already used his influence to fill the last ELECTRONIC album ‘Twisted Tenderness’ with harmonica, getting Bernard Sumner rock out again in the process and even inspiring Karl Bartos to use guitar on every track of his ‘Electric Music’ album… note the irony with both band monikers!

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe meanwhile attempted a collection of understated songs which were not only free of club derived beats but also of hooks and melodies! ‘Release’ certainly had none of the quality of their other understated album ‘Behaviour’. ‘I Get Along’ comes over like a camp version of Oasis while the worthiness of ‘Here’ wasn’t revealed until PET SHOP BOYS’ own dance remix for ‘Disco Vol3’. ‘The Night I Fell In Love’ is a lyrically amusing narrative about Eminem having a gay fling with a fan, but apart from the uptempo ‘The Samurai In Autumn’, this album is mostly plodding six-string led numbers devoid of any of the mastery that made them great. They were wearing someone else’s clothes and they didn’t fit. Ironically, ‘Release’really was PET SHOP BOYS ‘Being Boring’! And did you know that Johnny Marr in French (J’en Ai Marre) means “I am fed up”?

Best track: ‘The Samurai In Autumn’

‘Release’ was originally released by EMI Records

http://www.petshopboys.co.uk


SIMPLE MINDS Street Fighting Years (1989)

Lambasted for embracing stadium rock, one thing though about 1985’s ‘Once Upon A Time’ was that it was an enjoyable uptempo synthetic rock record that successfully exploited its commercial possibilities with its sharp radio friendly outlook. However, when they took the album out on the road, Jim Kerr and co persisted with overlong, pompous arrangements and hectored the audience with tiresome repeated shouts of “show me your hands” and “higher”!

For the ‘Street Fighting Years’ album, the band retreated to the tranquillity of rural Scotland to inspire a more earnest, political direction… unfortunately, the overlong, pompous arrangements remained! Instrumentally, the bombast and synths were replaced by brushes, rootsy bottleneck guitar and Hammond organ flourishes that were ubiquitous of the period. But the songs meandered along formlessly at over six minutes at a time. Their only UK No1 single ‘Belfast Child’ outstayed its welcome by at least four and a half minutes! Even the production skills of Trevor Horn and Stephen J Lipson, who were recruited because Jim Kerr was a fan of PROPAGANDA’s ‘A Secret Wish’, couldn’t save this one!

Best track: ‘Wall Of Love’

‘Street Fighting Years’ was originally released by Virgin Records

https://www.simpleminds.com/


SPARKS Terminal Jive (1980)

Following the success of the singles ‘The No1 Song In Heaven’, ‘Beat The Clock’ and ‘Tryouts For The Human Race’ from the Giorgio Moroder steered album ‘No1 In Heaven’, SPARKS were despatched by Virgin Records to record a swift follow-up. Although Moroder was still nominally at the helm, ‘Terminal Jive’ was more ‘Hot Stuff’ than ‘I Feel Love’. Harold Faltermeyer of ‘Axel F’ fame took up a large part of the production duties as Moroder started to lose interest.

The songs were mostly lethargic synth assisted FM rock numbers. ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll People In A Disco World’ seemed to reflect the confused direction both lyrically and musically. Ironically, despite featuring more guitars and therefore a more American friendly sound, ‘Terminal Jive’ was the only SPARKS album that wasn’t issued in the US on its original release. The highlights were ‘When I’m With You’ which was a massive hit single in France and the satirically pervy ‘Young Girls’. However, the lack of quality material, as summed up by the inclusion of the instrumental version of ‘When I’m With You’, was the real problem. Disillusioned, SPARKS left Europe and returned to the States where they attained some varied domestic success having been previously ignored by their compatriots. They wouldn’t be seen much in Europe again until 1994 when the brilliant ‘When Do I Get To Sing My Way’ became as smash and gave them an unexpected career renaissance.

Best tracks: ‘When I’m With You’, ‘Young Girls’, ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’

‘Terminal Jive’ was originally released by Virgin Records

http://allsparks.com


TANGERINE DREAM Cyclone (1978)

So this was a great idea, a TANGERINE DREAM album with vocals and flute! Featuring Steve Jolliffe on those said two colours, the first 13 minute track ‘Bent Cold Sidewalk’ came over like GENESIS and JETHRO TULL with its mystical lyrics and Hobbit vocal delivery. The uptempo ‘Rising Runner Missed By Endless Sender’ actually sounded like ULTRAVOX, but unfortunately in their Foxx-less and Ure-less ‘Ingenuity’ guise fronted by the best forgotten Sam Blue!

The progressive rock overtones took a breather on the more traditionally cosmic instrumental ‘Madrigal Meridian’ which saved the show, but most TD fans had probably headed down to the second hand stores by the end of side one. Although not well received, such was Messrs Froese and Franke standing at the time, ‘Cyclone’ was TANGERINE DREAM’s sixth best-selling album in the UK.

Best Track: ‘Madrigal Meridian’

‘Cyclone’ was originally released by Virgin Records

http://www.tangerinedream.org


TEARS FOR FEARS Everybody Loves A Happy Ending (2004)

‘Everybody Loves A Happy Ending’ saw TEARS FOR FEARS’ original nucleus of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith reunited for the first time since the tedious ‘The Seeds Of Love’ album from 1989. Friends since childhood, Orzabal’s domination of those sessions proved too much for Smith and it would be many years before they would even speak again. However, the reunion was already in trouble when Arista Records, who had signed the duo, pulled the comeback album.

But it was easy to see why… the album consisted of dull derivative compositions with little flair. The title track was another attempt at THE BEATLES pastiches from the last time Orzabal and Smith recorded together. Americana was one of the main templates with ‘Call Me Mellow’ basically a retread of THE LAs’ similarly influenced ‘There She Goes’. Eventually released on Gut Records after a year’s delay, only the original closing track ‘Last Days On Earth’ had any redeeming features but even that sounded like The Isley Brothers. As further a sign of their lack of creative juice, the duo even took to using Gary Jules’ arrangement of ‘Mad World’ from the ‘Donnie Darko’ soundtrack when performing the song live! Anyone who expected the sixth form synth angst of ‘The Hurting’ or even the MTV friendly rock of ‘Songs From The Big Chair’ was going to be disappointed.

Best track: ‘Last Days On Earth’

‘Everybody Loves A Happy Ending’ was originally released by Gut Records

http://www.tearsforfears.net


ULTRAVOX U-Vox (1986)

Also known by fans as “The Dreaded Pink Thing”, the signs had not been good when drummer Warren Cann was booted out of the band for preferring to use computer generated percussion while in the wake of his successful solo career, Midge Ure was dictating a more back-to-basics approach. Paradoxically though, soulful backing vocalists, funk bass, orchestras, brass sections and sax solos all entered into the equation, resulting in a totally unfocused sound.

‘Sweet Surrender’ was frankly a bit of a mess while ‘Moon Madness’ didn’t know whether it should have been rock or jazz. Backed by The Chieftains and featuring no synthesizers at all, ‘All Fall Down’ polarised listeners with its Celtic folk roots and anti-war message. But the poor title ‘U-Vox’ summed it all up… a band with something missing! However, ‘The Prize’ was as good as anything TEARS FOR FEARS or SIMPLE MINDS did in their stadium phase, ‘Time To Kill’ retained some European cool despite the acoustic guitars and the epic ‘All In One Day’ was the best thing Scott Walker never recorded.

Best tracks: ‘The Prize’, ‘Time To Kill’, ‘All In One Day’

‘U-Vox’ was originally released by Chrysalis Records

http://www.ultravox.org.uk


VISAGE Beat Boy (1984)

Midge Ure and Billy Currie had both left VISAGE in 1982, leaving Steve Strange and Rusty Egan with the VISAGE name and ownership of a very expensive Synclavier computer synthesizer. Despite the promising edgy electro-disco of interim single ‘Pleasure Boys’, the direction chosen for ‘Beat Boy’ was an ill-advised sojourn into rock with a group of session musicians filling in slots vacated by the former members of ULTRAVOX and MAGAZINE.

Without Ure’s production guidance, Steve Strange’s singing was all over the place. Neither ‘Only The Good Die Young’ nor the dreadful title track knew when to finish, while ‘Can You Hear Me?’ didn’t know when to actually start. And the backing vocals by guitarist Andy Barnett on the gross heavy metal of ‘Casualty’ were truly appalling! The eight tracks that made up ‘Beat Boy’ were all far too long although ‘Questions’ possessed a funky energy while ‘Love Glove’ could have easily come off ‘The Anvil’. However, this poor album led to the end of VISAGE. Rusty Egan went to work for U2 while Strange formed the unsuccessful STRANGE CRUISE and sadly later experienced some well documented personal difficulties.

Best tracks: ‘Love Glove’, ‘Questions’

‘Beat Boy’ was originally released by Polydor Records

http://therealvisage.com/


NEIL YOUNG Trans (1982)

Many of the albums mentioned have had the disaster of synth based acts adopting more conventional colours. This was one which where it happened the other way round. ‘Trans’ was Neil Young’s 1982 excursion into synthesizers, Linn Drum computers and vocoders. Despite the noble gesture of wishing to artistically express the difficulties of communicating with his son Ben who had cerebral palsy, ‘Trans’ didn’t work.

‘We R In Control’ and ‘Computer Cowboy’ both sounded like Metal Mickey fronting THE EAGLES while ‘Sample And Hold’ was an excessively long robotic march. However, there was an almost ethereal ‘Neon Lights’-like beauty in ‘Transformer Man’. Although there were still enough essential elements for ‘Trans’ to be nothing but a Neil Young album, it baffled his fans and was lambasted by the real music brigade. “I could never get anybody to believe that the f***ing idea was any good” said Young looking back, perhaps because it wasn’t in Young’s instinctive musical DNA to effectively use electronics. Indeed, he was later sued by his label Geffen Records for producing “deliberately uncommercial and unrepresentative work”!

Best Track: ‘Transformer Man’

‘Trans’ was originally released by Geffen Records

http://www.neilyoung.com


Text by Chi Ming Lai
18th April 2011

ANDY McCLUSKEY Interview

In 2007, OMD reformed to play a series of concerts focussing on their most successful album ‘Architecture and Morality’ and their much-loved catalogue of singles such as ‘Electricity’, ‘Messages’, ‘Enola Gay’ and ‘Sailing On The Seven Seas’.

Featuring the classic line-up of Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Malcolm Holmes and Martin Cooper, although the shows had an obvious nostalgic element, it was always the intention to eventually release new material.

In 2010, this finally happened with the release of ‘History Of Modern’, a 13 track collection of songs that captured elements of OMD’s past, present and future. Since its release, ‘History Of Modern’ has seen OMD re-established as a relevant pioneering force that has influenced a variety of new synthesizer powered acts like KLEERUP, MIRRORS, VILLA NAH and MARSHEAUX as well as less likely alternative bands such as THE XX, in much the same way that OMD were inspired by KRAFTWERK.

Incidentally, one song on the album which gave an affectionate nod to the Düsseldorf Fab Four came in the form of ‘RFWK’, the title of which was made up from the first initials of the four classic line-up members Ralf, Florian, Wolfgang und Karl.

Following a successful jaunt around the UK and Europe in the Autumn of 2010, the ‘History Of Modern’ tour will soon be heading Stateside. While finalising arrangements for the territory that gave them one of their biggest international hits in ‘If You Leave’, OMD’s leader Andy McCluskey took time out to speak about how the campaign was progressing and where he hopes OMD will head next.

Now you’ve had time to reflect, how do you think things have gone with the ‘History Of Modern’ album and tour?

The general consensus within the band is that the tour was our favourite since we reformed, possibly because we are now comfortable that we know how to do it and the audience still likes us. It was wonderful to be playing some new material, it felt like the tour was relevant and it slotted so well into the setlist. The only downside was my bloody knee which I’m still in the process of rehabilitating. The reviews for the gigs were fabulous.

The album was received wonderfully as well which is quite remarkable if you compare it with the reception to many of our previous albums, even the ones that are now considered classics! It’s now sold over 100,000 and counting which is not too bad. I was reliably informed that it has sold more in Europe that either of the last two DURAN DURAN albums *laughs*

‘History Of Modern (Part I’) looks like it’s become a live favourite?

Yes, I would say in terms of live favourites, ‘History Of Modern (Part I)’ and ‘Sister Mary Says’ went down very well like it was a hit single from years ago; it was incredibly well received live considering the bitching that was done about it prior to the album’s release. I think that ‘New Holy Ground’… people never go bananas at the end of a slow quiet song, but the feedback has been that it slotted into the kind of ‘Statues’ / ‘The Beginning And The End’ section after ‘Maid Of Orleans’ really well.

Why was ‘History Of Modern (Part I)’ not originally chosen as the lead single?

The radio stations in the UK and Germany were offered four tracks; ‘If You Want It’, ‘Sister Mary Says’, ‘History Of Modern (Part I)’ and ‘New Babies: New Toys’. Most of them came back and said either “we can’t choose because they’re all good” or ‘If You Want It’. So we went with ‘If You Want It’ just because the radio stations said they’d play it… and then most of them failed to play it which was a bit frustrating *laughs*

I think ‘Sister Mary Says’ in particular was the obvious second choice and judging by the support we had from Radio2, maybe we should have gone with that first, I don’t know. ‘History Of Modern (Part I)’ now as the third single, it’s probably a bit late. We have struggled everywhere except Radio2 in the UK to get airplay. There’s this perception that OMD are “a heritage act and they play live, their fans will buy the album but we’re not going to play it our radio station because we only play classic hits or current hits, we’re not going to play something new by OMD!”, I think ‘History Of Modern (Part I)’ will probably struggle at radio.

‘If You Want It’ was dropped during the tour? Was there any reason for that?

Yes, it was an absolute tw*t to sing in its original key!

The melody line and chorus are in quite a high octave register, are you able to tell me who it originally written for?

Err! NO! I’m not going to tell you! *laughs*

It’s very high, it sounds great in that key on the recording but doing it live… we did it in Brighton and it was hard to sing. And as an encore, it just felt like you wanted something people knew better. So we swapped it over with ‘Walking On The Milky Way’. The dilemma we’ve got now is we’ve got a setlist that works and finishing with ‘Walking On The Milky Way’ and ‘Electricity’ bloody well works just as closing the main set with ‘Enola Gay’ works.

But we put ‘If You Want It’ back in for Germany and we dropped it down two semi-tones… it was a lot easier to sing but it didn’t sound as good, that was the problem. It didn’t soar quite as well. So it was a problem to play live.

There’s only one other song we’ve shifted the key in and that was ‘The Native Daughters Of The Golden West’ for the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra show because some of the vocals are just so high. But I am quite proud of the fact I think I must be one of the only men of my age who still sings songs in the original key. If you ever go onto YouTube and look at bands singing old songs, it’s in an awfully low key!! *laughs*

‘Save Me’ effectively launched the History Of Modern campaign but appeared to confuse some of the audience, especially with it being a mash-up of ‘Messages’ with Aretha Franklin and not being included on most versions of the album? What do you think now?

Difficult to say, I still think it’s a brilliant piece of music. I can see the argument that if you’re trying to re-establish yourself as a credible current record making act, possibly a mash-up is not the most credible way to relaunch yourself. However, everyone who heard it who wasn’t a die-hard OMD fan just went “that’s a hit!”.

People wanted to play it, but the cool people and the fans were largely reluctant about it so in the end, as we weren’t going to release it as a single, we chose to hold it off the album and have it as a bonus thing on iTunes. However, the Americans insisted they wanted it on their album. And if you want my opinion, I think it should still be released as a single in the summer or something.

Germany appears to be as responsive as ever to OMD, more so than the UK. Why do you think that is?

Several reasons, we have always had a strong following in Germany. We probably get even more radio play of the old songs in Germany than we do in the UK. But for this campaign, there were two elements that really helped us. As soon as Rough Trade / Good To Go in Germany heard the album, they came straight in with a big offer of an advance to secure the album so we could put together an independent promotion team.

Strangely enough, most of them have previously worked promoting DEPECHE MODE. And they then made contact with Pro-SiebenTV in Germany who offered us a deal to put together a massive TV campaign which gave us huge TV advertising with a major station on prime time… that certainly helped.

‘New Babies: New Toys’ is probably the nearest you’ve come to ‘Radio Waves’ and the motorik aesthetic of that NEU! / LA DÜSSELDORF axis for a while. You wrote ‘4-Neu’ which was your first love song to a German band. How influential have they been to the OMD sound in the past?

I think ‘Electricity’ was probably our first love song to a German band. As I said to Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flür, ‘Electricity’ was really just ‘Radio-activity’ sped up and they said “yes, we know!” *laughs*

I am a huge fan of that driving motorik thud… yes, you’re right, ‘New Babies: New Toys’ probably is the closest we’ve come back to it. It’s been an element that we’ve had for years; ‘Radio Waves’, ‘Genetic Engineering’, ‘The New Stone Age’. Just occasionally, we do something that drives straight down the middle in a kind of linear fashion.

Have you heard that lost unreleased ‘Neu! ’86’ album that was reworked by Michael Rother and issued recently?

No, I haven’t managed to listen to it because I’ve been away so consistently, I haven’t managed to update my laptop… my iTunes store hasn’t worked for several months! Most of last year was just mental, I’ve forgotten how busy you are when you’re pretending to be a popstar, AND a husband and a father at the same time! *laughs*

So what did you think of it?

I thought some of it was just brilliant, there’s a track on there called ‘Euphoria’ which sounds like a lost OMD demo but of course, there was a couple of those mad Klaus Dinger sound collage things!

Ah!

So did you yourself have any reservations about resurrecting unreleased material such as ‘Sister Mary Says’, a song that was recorded for ‘Universal’ in 1996 or ‘The Future, The Past, and Forever After’ which was rooted in the ‘Sugar Tax’ era?

No I didn’t because I thought the songs were really strong. There are a few elements on ‘History Of Modern’ which I knew in advance were going to p*ss people off; like the hi-hat programming sounded like the Alesis HR16 drum machine from 1991… perish the thought! But to be perfectly honest, by calling the album ‘History Of Modern’, it gave ourselves the right to do that. I’m very happy with ‘History Of Modern’ considering it was a clearing of the decks album, it was getting us started again. Paul and I have described this is our John The Baptist album… it’s the one that speaks of the one who will come after! *laughs*

… back to the old religious imagery again! *laughs*

Yes! It was a very strong album but both Paul and I are excited now about the prospect of a new album. We’ve used up all the stuff we’ve had lying around. It was good stuff but stylistically, maybe a few people can moan that “it wasn’t early 80s, it was early 90s”… shock, horror! I think ‘Sister Mary Says’ is f*cking great but if there’s one song on the album that I sometimes blow hot and cold over with, it’s ‘The Future, The Past, and Forever After’.

But speaking of modern, there was a throbbing, almost feminine electro dancefloor vibe on ‘Pulse’. How did the GENIE QUEEN members Abi Clancy and Anna Ord come to be involved?

That song is sort of a semi-cover version. It was originally given to me for GENIE QUEEN, that’s how they come to be on it. And I always loved it. The GENIE QUEEN girls cut some vocals on it and then it never got used for them and it was lying around, I just kept coming back to it. So I threw away all of the verse vocals, redid my own verse vocals in what my wife calls ‘the dirty phonecall song’ and I kept Anna and Abi in it.

The Danish girl was off the original demo that was sent to me. Essentially in a very modern and thieving way, I robbed somebody else’s song and turned it into our own.

What did you think of some fans reaction to it?

I think we can still p*ss people off!

Have you thought about getting another girl group to do it, because there’s possibly a hit single there if it was done by the ladies?

Yes, I think you’re right. I’ve actually got a few other tracks lying around that I would like a girl group to do, but having been through ATOMIC KITTEN, GENIE QUEEN and helping other young artists get established, just about the last f*cking thing I want to do in the world is to try and sell an act or songs to a record label. It fills me with horror, I have nothing but disdain for 95% of people in the music industry.

The mistake I made with GENIE QUEEN was, I should have just released it myself. The amount of time and money I spent on it, I should have gone straight in with ‘What A Girl Goes Through’, made a single and video, had a hit and then had people begging me to sign them!

‘New Holy Ground’ probably represents what is great about classic ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK as opposed to OMD. On the new songs you have written with Paul Humphreys, how have your collaboration methods changed from when you were doing it at The Gramophone Suite? And do you intend to work in this more collaborative manner in the future.

The initial way we worked, I have to be honest and both would agree, it wasn’t terribly effective. We thought we could solve the problem of the geography by sending files through the internet. It works but it’s just too slow. And I think Paul would admit as well that you need to stay on his case. Left to his own devices, he always got something else to do. I think we’ve discovered that the ideal way for us to work is for me to demand he’s in the same room as me. And that way, things happen a lot more quickly. And there’s a spark and chemistry as we patently discovered with ‘New Holy Ground’.

With ‘Green’, it was one you did sending files across?

I played him that song in its original demo when he came to my studio. He said it was a good song but we both agreed the music was pants. So he said “send me the vocal and I’ll rework the backing track” and he did a brilliant job. There is one other song I’ve got that I might do with Paul that has a great lyrics but the backing track doesn’t quite work. I think ‘Green’ worked because there was already a blueprint in the sense that we had a vocal and arrangement that worked, but Paul had to come up with a backing track that would tie the whole thing together. But it’s quite a slow process working with Mr Humphreys.

The demo of ‘Green’ actually had that movement on the lovely end section that was influenced by ROXY MUSIC’s ‘If There Is Something’.

Yes, which we decided to keep. What we basically did on that one, we just cut the demo tape and flew the stereo track onto the end of ours and just put overdubs on it! It’s a brutal piece of editing! *laughs*

What is it about the early ROXY MUSIC stuff with Brian Eno and later, the ‘Stranded’ album that makes them so special for you?

I think the pure energy of the uptempo songs and the pure melancholy of the slower songs. I think the reformed ROXY MUSIC that came back with ‘Manifesto’, ‘Flesh and Blood’ and ‘Avalon’, it’s was beautiful and very slick, but it took me a while to get my head round it. But it was almost like a different band, because everything they did before was completely different. It was like they’d turned into STEELY DAN! It was almost two different bands, even more so than early OMD and 90s OMD!

I have a soft spot for ‘In Every Dream Home A Heartache’, that is so clever, so well done. It’s so touching and so raw.

I liked the raw honesty of what BRYAN FERRY used to do. People raved to me about his new ‘Olympia’ album and I did get it. Apart from the single ‘You Can Dance’ and the very last track ‘Tender Is The Night’, I thought the rest of it sounded like a bunch of out-takes from ‘Avalon’ but with lyrics where Bryan really couldn’t be a*sed!

Will you be checking ROXY MUSIC out on this ‘For Your Pleasure’ 40th anniversary tour?

I might try and go to that. But if he plays any of ‘Olympia’, I’ll be going to the bar! I’m a huge Ferry and Roxy fan but I was disappointed. I guess in the same way everyone was nervous when ‘History Of Modern’ came out, you want it to be great and then if you hear something and it isn’t, you’re like hmmm!

There were some KRAFTWERK inspired synthesizer tunes on the album. How did you get the vintage Vako Orchestron choral sound on ‘The Right Side?’

It actually a mixture of a Mellotron, a Roland string and an actual CD-ROM sample of female sopranos, the same ones that were used on ‘Sister Mary Says’. It’s a mixture of the three that creates the harmonic blend that actually works.

What did Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flür think of ‘RFWK’?

Karl loved the old synthy sound and was quite flattered. And Wolfgang, I never found out because he came to the Cologne gig and we didn’t get to meet him afterwards because he found the gig was so hot and full that he ended up feeling ill and leaving! Unfortunately, something similar happened to Karl Bartos as well. The gig in Hamburg was so full, he and his partner Bettina couldn’t get in, they were listening to it from the foyer and after a few songs they just thought “b*llocks” and left! *laughs*

So unfortunately, both of them came to the gigs and I didn’t get to see them because they couldn’t get into the venues properly!

This was one of the problems with the German tour, some of the gigs were not quite sold out while others were over sold! The gig in Leipzig, there were 300 people who had to spend the whole gig in the foyer! Next time, we’ll be having someone clicking numbers on the door!

Wolfgang Flür has said his book ‘I Was A Robot’ and the ‘Synth Britannia’ documentary about how the young OMD came backstage at The Liverpool Empire in 1975 to tell KRAFTWERK that they had shown you the future. Is this actually truth or just legend?

It’s legend! I was the only one who saw them play at The Liverpool Empire. And I didn’t go backstage. I was 16, I wasn’t going to be hanging about backstage! And also, they were building the Mersey Rail underground at the time and I had to get the bus back so I couldn’t hang around. The first time I met them was 1981 at the Zeche Club in Bochum, Germany so it’s an apocryphal urban myth. Wolfgang sort of got his story mixed up there! *laughs*

So should the KRAFTWERK brand continue on and record new material?

My thing is KRAFTWERK will always be God to me as far as I’m concerned, But if Ralf Hütter is going to do an album that sounds like ‘Vitamin’ and ‘Aerodynamik’, then I’m not interested. The problem for me with Ralf Hütter is he’s distilled his concept of KRAFTWERK to the point where it’s like distilled water, it has no taste. It was all the vagaries of the human playing and not so perfect electronic instruments that gave the earlier albums a real humanity.

If you listen to them now, you can feel the human touch on them as we’re so accustomed now to programmed music. I’m sure they wished they weren’t, that they were programmed by robots in the first place. The more Ralf gets to his ‘nirvana’, the worse the music is unfortunately.

With that in mind, can you therefore relate to why some OMD fans may have been disappointed with ‘History Of Modern’?

I can see why a few tracks would be not what they wanted because I know the hardcore fans wanted something that sounded like the first four albums and nothing else. So I can understand why some of the songs didn’t tick all their boxes. However, I think that if Ralf Hütter released something that sounded like ‘Vitamin’ but had a f*cking great lyric and melody, I would lap it and I wouldn’t sit there going “there’s the hi-hat programming that was on the reworked Mix album which I didn’t really like in 1991…”

I thought some of the nit picking was excruciatingly anal and said much more about them than the quality of the music that was on the album. And I’m sorry, I think that anything less than 4 out of 5 stars is b*llocks.

‘History Of Modern’ is better than almost all the albums OMD have ever done apart from the first four. I was very comfortable with the album and I think most people recognised that, regardless whether you thought it was a real Korg or a Pro-Tools version, or right or wrong hat! I thought the songs were brilliant and for middle aged men, I think it p*ssed over most people’s comeback albums.

I’m entirely unrepentant Chi, I think it was a f*cking great album, especially when you consider it was the first one we’d done in how many? years. If KRAFTWERK made an album like ‘History Of Modern’, I would be over the moon. Yeah, I might decide that this particular track isn’t my favourite but I would die for KRAFTWERK to do something as good as I believe ‘History Of Modern’ is.

How do you think the support acts VILLA NAH and MIRRORS went down with the OMD faithful?

I thought they were both great, very well received and rightly so.

It was really nice that both acts included samples of ‘Messages’ into their songs during their sets.

NO! YOU’RE KIDDING ME?

VILLA NAH had it on the end of ‘Ways To Be’ and MIRRORS had it running through ‘Ways To An End’…

Well! I’m freaked out now because I don’t remember hearing any of that but to be perfectly honest, when you’re backstage, the sound isn’t that clear!

You weren’t too keen on some of the female electro artists like LA ROUX and LITTLE BOOTS who found fame in 2009. But you’ve found a bit of love for ROBYN. And what do you think of 2010’s generation of male electronic based acts like HURTS or DELPHIC?

HURTS and DELPHIC are ok. I like Stay by HURTS but in some respects, HURTS sound a bit to me like a millennial boyband with synthesizers, although a lot of the album doesn’t sound as simple and as spartan as ‘Wonderful Life’. DELPHIC? I’m sorry but they don’t quite press my buttons either.

But the more I listen to the ROBYN stuff… I’ve gone backwards now and I’ve fallen in love with ‘Konichiwa Bitches’ from the ‘Robyn’ album which I really wasn’t that bothered about. And the video is funny as f*ck! And of course, I’ve started doing a bit more homework because I’ve been sat here. And I’ve now become a huge fan of KLEERUP who she did ‘With Every Heartbeat’ with.

KLEERUP’s album is brilliant. If there’s anyone who’s got the OMD sound nailed for the 21st Century, it’s him!

Yeah, I think so. Basically, the vocal melodies on his songs are like they’re derived from synth melodies so they have that sort of OMD sound. It’s often a clear, often slow developing vocal melody. I’m very slow off the mark, just literally in the last week I’ve started listening to KLEERUP. I absolutely love it and even to the point of wondering about whether or not we should be doing some work, or some mixing or producing.

So in hindsight then, do you think that Mike Crossey was the best choice to mix ‘History Of Modern’? Although he has had enormous success, his track record ie RAZORLIGHT, THE FOALS, THE KOOKS didn’t indicate an empathetic ear for electronic based pop music. Could ‘History Of Modern’ have sounded better with say either KLEERUP or FOTONOVELA (who produce MARSHEAUX) behind the studio desk?

I suspect you might be right. I think Mike improved the mixes he was given.

He fattened them out, got some better effects, got a better balance. I think Mike’s dilemma was he had me hovering over his shoulder! I think it might be better to give something to somebody and say “do your version of it” and then we’ll spend time adjusting to whether we think it works or not. Because that was the other thing with Mike, we didn’t really have time to allow him to go off, he was just mixing what we gave him.

Maybe we should think about being a bit more pro-active with people like KLEERUP and the FOTONOVELA boys, and saying “we like what you do, we’re not far away from each other so just do something like that”. But they’ve both got very different sounds; FOTONOVELA have got a much more crystal clear digi-analogue sound… very bright, very wet. KLEERUP has got a much more grungy electro sound which is quite interesting actually because I quite like the lo-fi-ness of some of his drum sounds. But they’re absolutely incredibly present loud lo-fi drums… it’s not distant sh*t drums, it’s right in your face!

You and Paul did quite a few promotional live sets as a duo recently which harked back to the Eric’s days and you both appeared to be very comfortable with the format. Have you considered touring in this guise, perhaps in territories where OMD may a following but not have a particularly large foothold? I’m thinking in America…

I think the feeling is if we’re a band, we’re a band. We generally only do the two piece thing when that’s really just not practical like in-stores or a charity concert where we can turn up and do a short gig. I don’t think the two of us and a laptop would really want to do a full hour and a half OMD set, it wouldn’t be right. But obviously we could tour places like Japan and Australia, and probably not lose the kind of money we would do if we took the whole band. Y’know, we’ll think about it.

You’re touring North America in March. How important is it for OMD to play the USA again?

I don’t think we treat it like The Holy Grail like people used to. Paul Humphreys always says: “We broke America, but America broke us!”. I think we’re realistic about it, but it seems right that we finally get to go and play in America. We’re doing this with the band and crew on a sleeper bus, no lights, no PA, just house systems, whatever they’ve got. No LEDs, no projections, just pure and simple. Here’s the band, here’s the audience, here’s the music… GO!

Having spent the last three and a half years playing so successfully, I would love to tour the whole world. I want go to Asia, Australia and South Africa again. And I want to go to places in Europe that we don’t seem to be able to get into. And I want to go to South America. It pains me not to be touring the world but it’s purely and simply the financial logistics of taking the whole band and the crew, and what the local promoters are prepared to pay. You’re absolutely right… if me and Paul went, we could do it for peanuts and OMD as a two-piece could tour the world. But it just seems wrong, there would be two versions of OMD publically.

Your cover of Mercury winners THE XX’s ‘VCR’ has been premiered on Soundcloud, but you’ve recorded a magnificent version of ‘Shelter’ as well…

I think ‘Shelter’ is even better than ‘VCR’! It beautiful because it’s got that suspended choir chord that sounds like KRAFTWERK and the piano. It’s been quite interesting learning THE XX’s songs because when you listen to them, your initial impression is they’re quite meandering and unfocussed.

But once you get past the ‘stoner’ presentation that they have, they actually have quite simple, specific arrangements. They are arranged, they have a format but the sheer minimality of it is really quite impressive. I have to say it took me quite a few listens to get into THE XX. It was a bit like I had to acquire the taste.

But having stripped down and analysed their songs, strangely enough I think it’s going to have a good influence on OMD because things like ‘New Holy Ground’, ‘VCR’ and ‘Shelter’ have encouraged us to be confident in the quality of the minimal work again. People go how did OMD influence THE XX… but have you listened to ‘4-Neu’? Have you listened to some of the really simple, stripped down B-sides?

What were they recorded for?

The record company thought it would be very cool to ask THE XX to do a mix for us. Of course, everybody and their dog last year wanted THE XX to do a mix for them. The NME were planning to do a covers compilation album of THE XX’s songs so the band said “if you cover one of our songs, we’ll do a mix for you” in a reciprocal deal. We did ‘VCR’ which I loved playing the bass on and then they went “Oh God, not ‘VCR’… everyone’s doing ‘VCR’!” so we did ‘Shelter’. So that’s why we did two of their songs, but the album never happened.

So will ‘Shelter’ be the B-side of ‘History Of Modern (Part I)’?

No, ‘VCR’ is one of the B-sides… ‘Shelter’ we have got up our sleeves for future reference to tease people with. I’m glad you loved it, ‘VCR’ is good but ‘Shelter’ is f*cking gorgeous!

And what next for OMD?

We have the North American and German dates. A lot depends on this American tour… if its successful, we may go back in the Autumn.


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Andy McCluskey

‘History Of Modern (Part I)’ is released on 28 February 2011 as a limited edition 4 track 10 inch vinyl single and an extended CD EP which includes all the previous ‘History Of Modern’ period B-sides. Both formats also feature OMD’s cover of ‘VCR’.

The album ‘History Of Modern’ is still available

OMD’s 2011 North American tour includes:

Toronto Phoenix Concert Theatre (5 March), Montreal Le National (6 March), Boston Paradise Rock Club (7 March), New York Webster Hall (8 March), Washington DC 9:30 Club (9 March), Chicago Park West (12 March), Atlanta The Loft (14 March), Houston House of Blues (16 March), Dallas Granada Theatre (20 March), Denver Bluebird Theater (22 March), Salt Lake City The Depot (23 March), Los Angeles The Music Box (25 March), San Francisco Mezzanine (26 March)

They also play the following German dates in 2011:

Erfut Thueringerhalle (22 June), Leipzig ParkbÜhne (23 June), Dresden Elbufer (26 June), Cologne Tanzbrunnen (1 September), Hamburg Stadtpark (2 September), Bochum ZMF (4 September), Berlin IFA Sommergarten (5 September), Schwerin Freilchtbuehne (6 September)

https://www.omd.uk.com/

https://www.facebook.com/omdofficial

https://twitter.com/OfficialOMD


Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
30th January 2011

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 SONGS OF 2010

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK came into being on 15th March 2010 following the HEAVEN 17 aftershow party at Sheffield Magna.

The year also saw the release of a new album by OMD in ‘History Of Modern’, their first since 1996 while there was a long awaited single by THE HUMAN LEAGUE. Meanwhile there was the emergence of new acts such as VILLA NAH, MIRRORS, THE SOUND OF ARROWS and HURTS.

At the end of 2009 when LITTLE BOOTS and LA ROUX heralded a renaissance in the sound of the synth, KRAFTWERK’s Ralf Hütter said to Mojo Magazine: “From all our work comes inspiration. We have been very lucky because the music we envisioned, the ideas we had of The Man-Machine and electro music, have become reality and technology has developed in our direction… and electro is everywhere!”

In a tremendous year for all things electro, here are our 30 songs of 2010 in alphabetical order by artist:


CHRISTINA AGUILERA & LADYTRON Birds Of Prey

In 2008, there was much talk of Christina Aguilera going electro and collaborating with LADYTRON. The two finished tracks ‘Birds Of Prey’ and ‘Little Dreamer’ were relegated to bonus track status on her album ‘Bionic’, with the latter only on iTunes. ‘Birds Of Prey’ softens the percussive noise that dominated ‘Velocifero’ with Ms Aguilera showing some great vocal restraint herself, with an almost hypnotic Middle Eastern feel.

Available on the album ‘Bionic (Deluxe Edition)’ via RCA

http://www.christinaaguilera.com/

http://www.ladytron.com/


ARP High Life

ARP is New Yorker Alexis Georgopoulos who crafts gorgeous contemporary kosmische musik for the 21st century. ‘The Soft Wave’ was a glorious work and from it, ‘High Life’ was a cute instrumental with beautiful synth strings dominated by the spectre of KRAFTWERK and CLUSTER. Minimal guitar adds texture to the pulsing accompaniment, recalling other German heroes such as Michael Rother and Manuel Göttsching.

Available on the album ‘The Soft Wave’ via Smalltown Supersound

http://www.studioalexisgeorgopoulos.com/ARP


AU REVOIR SIMONE Tell Me (Un Autre Monde Remix by MIRRORS)

Although AU REVOIR SIMONE have a wispy girls next door demeanour, this remix by MIRRORS recrafts the originally bare ‘Tell Me’ into a dense apocalyptic ditty which makes Erika Forster, Annie Hart and Heather D’Angelo sound almost suicidal! With its heavy synthetic percussive backbone, this is definitely dance music from another world! Like an alternative gothic disco soundtrack to Sofia Coppola’s ‘The Virgin Suicides’!

Available exclusively as a download on the album ‘Night Light’ from Juno:
http://www.junodownload.com/products/au-revoir-simone-night-light/1582186-02/

http://aurevoirsimone.com


BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT Love Part II

Shimmering Emulator type strings, pulsing sequences and a rousing chorus make this a very immediate slice of synthesized pop. BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT mainman Rod Thomas reworks the template of ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ and gives it a bit of a sensitive new man outlook. ‘Love Part II’ is NEW ORDER’s disco music for lager louts taken back to its slightly camper Italo roots. Not one for those who wear football shirts to the pub!

Available on the single ‘Love Part II’ via Popjustice Hi-Fi

http://www.brightlightx2.com/


THE CHANTEUSE & THE CRIPPLED CLAW Are You One?

Assisted by I MONSTER’s Dean Honer who also co-produced THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Night People’, THE CHANTEUSE & THE CRIPPLED CLAW’s first single ‘Are You One?’ has Candie Payne’s very classic pop presence coupled with Adrian Flanagan’s eccentronic backing. It is a concoction that wonderfully sounds like Sandie Shaw being backed by a BBC Radiophonic Workshop collaboration with Lalo Schifrin!

Available on the single ‘Are You One?’ vai Arms Controller

https://myspace.com/chanteusenthecrippledclaw


CHEW LIPS Rising Tide

Usually dealing in a brand of “8-bit Casiotone drone-disco” sounding like YEAH YEAH YEAHS with synths, CHEW LIPS look like OMD being led by Debbie Harry! And they take the OMD thing further here with their best track ‘Rising Tide’, the iTunes bonus song on their debut album ‘Unicorn’. The haunting piano, precise drum machine and bass with sparkling synth-harp runs and a spirited vocal come together nicely to build up to a rousing crescendo.

Available exclusively as a download on the album ‘Unicorn’ from iTunes.

https://www.facebook.com/CHEWLiPS


DELPHIC Halcyon

Here are the young men of DELPHIC, continuing the electronic dance / rock fusion pioneered by the legend of Factory Records. The backing is pure NEW ORDER and reinforced by a great klanky guitar solo which would do Bernard Sumner proud. Now, if DELPHIC could just develop things into great pop songs like ‘Halcyon’ rather than some of the prolonged jams and grooves that dominate their debut album ‘Acolyte’.

Available on the album ‘Acolyte’ via Polydor

https://www.facebook.com/delphicmusic/


THE GOLDEN FILTER Look Me In The Eye

With their melodic and glacial electronic disco, you’d think they were Scandinavian, but THE GOLDEN FILTER consist of an Aussie in Penelope Trappes and a Yank in Stephen Hindman. Penelope’s vocals have an uplifting quality on the chorus while still retaining a distant chill but the counter melodies compliment the danceable twists. A little I Feel Love creeps in during the chorus to give a wonderful dancefloor adrenalin rush.

Available on the album ‘Voluspa’ via Brille Records

http://www.thegoldenfilter.com/


GOLDFRAPP Dreaming

As the title suggests, this is gorgeous and dreamy with a distinct European flavour from the enjoyable GOLDFRAPP album ‘Head First’ which perhaps is more focused on mid-Atlantic AOR. Alison’s voice still resonates as one of the best in the business and back to being accompanied by electronic instrumentation where it belongs. The pulsing sequences and string machine washes of ‘Dreaming’ make this perfect dancefloor material.

Available on the album ‘Head First’ via Mute Records

http://www.goldfrapp.com/


HELL featuring BRYAN FERRY U Can Dance

Mr Ferry has certainly been astute in recognising how much of an influence he’s been on younger musicians and accepting collaborative opportunities with modern dance luminaries such as HELL and GROOVE ARMADA. DJ HELL provides U Can Dance’  with some hard electronic backing, complimenting Ferry’s trademark vocals. Ferry recorded his own Roxy styled version for his solo album ‘Olympia’.

Available on the single ‘U Can Dance’ via International Deejay Gigolo Records

https://www.facebook.com/DJHellOfficial/

http://www.bryanferry.com/


JORI HULKKONEN Man From Earth

Hypnotic in the spirit of Giorgio Moroder crossed with Arthur Baker and featuring the guest vocals of Jerry Valuri who first collaborated with Jori Hulkkonen on his 2005 album ‘Lo-Fiction’, this dark club track’s spacey rolling sequences make this almost like a dancefloor take on THROBBING GRISTLE’s ‘Hot On The Heels Of Love’ before launching into a bit of New York electro disco in an unexpected middle section!

Available on the album ‘Man From Earth’ via Turbo

http://www.jorihulkkonen.com/


THE HUMAN LEAGUE Night People

After Philip Oakey’s collaborations in 2009 with LITTLE BOOTS and PET SHOP BOYS, THE HUMAN LEAGUE returned with the lead track from their forthcoming album ‘Credo’. Punchy with an elastic bassline and chanting chorus, the lyrical couplet “leave your cornflakes in your freezers, leave your chocolates and your cheeses…” shows Mr Oakey hasn’t lost his touch for off-the-wall symbolism. So “Join us now my friends we hail you!”

Available on the single ‘Night People’ via Wall of Sound

http://www.thehumanleague.co.uk/


HURTS Stay

HURTS have been certainly accused of style over substance. ‘Wonderful Life’ looked like being a one-off but luckily they have some other magnificent songs to back up their European art house film via the Weimar Republic persona. With ‘Stay’, the heartfelt intensity of the lush arrangement captures the understated but epic sophistication. With the symphonic grandeur of ULTRAVOX fronted by the melodic sensibilities of TAKE THAT, is this a ‘Vienna’ for the early 21st Century?

Available on the album ‘Happiness’ via Major Label

http://www.informationhurts.com/


HYPERBUBBLE Candy Apple Daydreams

From their third album of the same name, Texan bionic bubblepunk duo HYPPERBUBBLE have an almost cartoon-like take on synthpop in the vein of that great lost combo VIC TWENTY who released only one single on Mute back in 2003. With the decaration that “Good times are taking over!”, ‘Candy Apple Daydreams’ is fun and quirky with Jess DeCuir as the electro Emma Peel and husband Jeff as the obedient robotic version of John Steed.

Available on the album ‘Candy Apple Daydreams’ via Bubblegum Records

http://www.hyperbubble.net/


KATJA VON KASSEL Lies

Electro Weimar Cabaret is the easiest way to describe the music of Katja von Kassel. Lies’ features strong traditional European influences like French accordions and ‘Vienna’ piano but also has hints of Grace Jones ‘I’ve Seen That Face Before’. Not entirely surprising as both songs are routed in the same dance… the tango. LADYHAWKE collaborator Alex Gray’s intricate production alongside Katja’s magnificently deep vocal presence is like the “1930’s meets the future”.

Not yet released, view on Vimeo

https://www.facebook.com/KatjavKassel/


LCD SOUNDSYSTEM I Can Change

From what appears to be the only electronic based act that the real music purists positively fawn over, this is a superbly guitar free number that sounds like ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN mashed up with Gary Numan and early DEPECHE MODE. The wonderfully wobbly synths and steady drum machine beat take the lead in the poptastic style of Vince Clarke while James Murphy’s vocal hits a soaring falsetto after initiating a ‘Mac The Mouth’ tribute.

Available on the album ‘This Is Happening’ via DFA

http://lcdsoundsystem.com/


LOLA DUTRONIC Best Years Of Our Lives

LOLA DUTRONIC are a Canadian duo comprising of the eponymous singer and producer Richard Citroen who adapt classic Anglo-Gallic pop with modern electronic arrangements. ‘Best Years Of Our Lives’ borrows from the more recent past with quite obvious references to OMD, ERASURE and even PULP. It’s cutesy pop, perhaps reminiscent of prime SAINT ETIENNE and Lola’s accent is just alluring!

Available on the EP ‘Musique’ via Red Star

https://www.facebook.com/LOLA-DUTRONIC-80232595392/


MARINA & THE DIAMONDS Oh No!

Using a bit of Fe-Mael intuition, MARINA & THE DIAMONDS aka Marina Diamandis adds eccentricity to some catchy keyboard led pop helmed by the ubiquitous Greg Kurstin. “I have become my own self fulfilled prophecy” she proclaims before she screams up two operatic octaves taking a nod towards classic ‘Kimon My House’ era SPARKS while the coda turns into a Cossack dance! Frankly, this is brilliantly bonkers!

Available on the album ‘The Family Jewels’ via 679 Recordings

http://www.marinaandthediamonds.com/


KYLIE MINOGUE All The Lovers

Written and produced by Jim Eliot and Mima Stilwell but aided by Stuart Price at the mixing helm, ‘All The Lovers’ was Kylie Minogue’s best single since the KRAFTWERK-tinged ‘Slow’. This is euphoric Euro-disco with some wonderful synthetic tones, especially on the solo. There’s something for everybody here in this fabulous pop song. But what a shame about the disappointing parent ‘Aphrodite’ album though.

Available on the album ‘Aphrodite’ via EMI Music

http://www.kylie.com/


MIRRORS Ways To An End

MIRRORS hail from Brighton, the UK capital of hedonism but their intense and artful approach to dancing is very different to the ‘hands in the air’ culture of their home base. Synthetic chill and pulsing effects dominate this brilliantly uptempo electro number. Rhythmically this recalls TALKING HEADS ‘Crosseyed & Painless’ while the claustrophobic production is very post-punk, wonderfully dense but melodically dramatic.

Available on the single ‘Ways To An End’ via Skint Entertainment

https://www.facebook.com/theworldofmirrors


OMD New Holy Ground

In the true innovating spirit of their classic era, the sparse percussive framework of ‘New Holy Ground’ is merely the sound of footsteps. This is the nearest they have come to the lost B-side ‘The Avenue’. The wonderful piano line and virtual choirs contribute to the beautiful melancholy that characterised OMD’s best work where Paul Humphreys concentrated on the musical backbone while Andy McCluskey provided the narrative focus.

Available on the album ‘History Of Modern’ via Blue Noise

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


WILLIAM ORBIT featuring SARAH BLACKWOOD White Night

In period which has seen a flurry of solo activity and the reformation of DUBSTAR, the lovely Sarah Blackwood took time out to work with on a track from his album ‘My Oracle Lives Uptown’. Although a version without her ended up on the final tracklisting, her take was offered as a free download in 2010. More accessible than some of CLIENT’s recent offerings but more purely electronic than DUBSTAR, this was a priceless pop gem from our Sarah which lyrically was “full of pain”.

Originally available as a free download

http://www.williamorbit.com/


ROBYN Dancing On My Own (Radio version)

Inspired by her favorite “inherently sad gay disco anthems” with more bittersweet heartbreak from Ms Carlsson, ‘Dancing On My Own’ is driven by wonderful, edgy electronics while the simultaneous dancing and mourning reflects the vulnerability everyone experiences in the loss of love. Solemn synthetic disco at its best from the feisty, independently spirited Swede who is slowly turning into a modern day GINA X PERFORMANCE.

Available on the album ‘Body Talk’ via Konichiwa Records

http://robyn.com/


SHH Wonderful Night

SHH are Diana Huarte and Daniel Gorostegui from Argentina already with 2 albums to their name. ‘Wonderful Night’ is bouncy danceable electropop that does what it says on the tin. Euphoric sensualism captured in 3 and a half minutes, the chunky pulsing sequences to a solid dance beat and a rousing chorus add a blissful optimism full of Latin spirit. As the duo’s own mission statement announces, it is “Electronic pop, Buenos Aires style!”

Available on the album ‘Gaucho Boy’ via Sin Dormir Records

https://www.facebook.com/Shhsounds/


THE SOUND OF ARROWS In The Clouds

Described as “the HURTS you can dance to” and “Disney meets Brokeback Mountain”, the opening lines “I’m going to work my way out of this town, I’m going to be someone and know who I am” of ‘Into the Clouds’ are quite a mission statement. THE SOUND OF ARROWS are a duo based in Stockholm presesnting dreamy widescreen synthpop, swathed in beautiful Nordic melancholy. Their musical subtlety is an essential and enlightening listen.

Aavailable on the single ‘Into The Clouds’ via Labrador Records

https://www.facebook.com/thesoundofarrows/


SUNDAY GIRL Stop Hey!

Following up the previous two SUNDAY GIRL singles ‘Four Floors’ and her cover of ‘Self Control’, ‘Stop Hey!’ saw overdriven drum sounds and a piercing trebly riff dominate this piece of icy Eurocentric electro, sounding not unlike Ellie Goulding with a 20 cigarettes a day habit backed by MIRRORS and MGMT! This was kooky and stylish avant pop that hinted at something much darker going on in Jade Williams’ mind.

Available on the single ‘Stop Hey!’ via Geffen Records

http://www.wearesundaygirl.com


TAKE THAT Flowerbed

No, this isn’t a misprint! The hidden track on the reunited Manchester boy band’s Stuart Price produced opus ‘Progress’ is an electronic gem. Beginning with soothing vocoder before building to a percussive climax, in a rare lead vocal for Jason Orange, he comes over all apologetic in the manner of Al Stewart over a dreamy backing track that possesses the glacial Scandinavian quality of RÖYKSOPP with a sprinkling of Eno-esque ambience.

Available on the album ‘Progress’ via RCA

http://takethat.com/


TENEK Blinded By You

“Heartbeat? Get down!”, TENEK have successfully smoothed off some of their more industrial edges to deliver their most immediate and accessible song yet. A rousing chorus and a structure not dissimilar to THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘The Things That Dreams Are Made Of’, there are further synth anthems galore on their album ‘On The Wire’ with nods to the MTV-era of TEARS FOR FEARS and A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS.

Available on the album ‘On The Wire’ via Toffeetones

http://www.tenek.co.uk/


VILE ELECTRODES Deep Red

VILE ELECTRODES are a colourful trio who formed due to an unhealthy obsession with analogue synthesizers and fetish porn. ‘Deep Red’, a title inspired by Dario Argento’s ‘Profondo Rosso’, is a gorgeous 7 and a half minute synth ballad that comes over like CLIENT fronting classic OMD… tremendously dramatic stuff in the vein of ‘Statues’ and ‘Stanlow’!

Not yet released, view on YouTube

http://www.vileelectrodes.com/


VILLA NAH Remains Of Love

Have you ever heard Gary Numan almost jaunty? The fantastic ‘Remains Of Love’ is the poppiest thing that the former Gary Webb never recorded. Juho Paalosmaa is next to crying in the wonderful chorus but it almost sounds like Numan on prozac over Tomi Hyyppä’s crystalline melodies. With that all important air synth factor, VILLA NAH took the important elements of classic electronic pop and connected it to sharp dance rhythms.

Available on the album ‘Origin’ via Keys Of Life

https://www.facebook.com/villanah/


Text by Chi Ming Lai
30th December 2010

2010 END OF YEAR REVIEW

The Year Of Transistors

“Synthesizers can be explored and explored, and the music that can be made with electronic instruments is infinite in its breadth. KRAFTWERK may have said ‘we are the robots’, but anyone need only listen to Trans-Europe Express and compare it to most of the turgid, boring guitar-based rock that has been produced over the last 30 years to realise that electronic music can be deeply emotional. And anyone who says electronic music is not real music is just too simple-minded for our patience I’m afraid!”: MIRRORS

2010 saw the return of the male synthpop act, smart boys with their toys and their nods towards the classic era of Synth Britannia. Leading the way were VILLA NAH and MIRRORS who both fused quality songs with vintage sounds and crisp contemporary percussive frameworks. The two units were obviously pressing the right buttons as both opened as special guests to OMD. As a continued sign of their undoubted potential, both were also were invited to support THE HUMAN LEAGUE; an opportunity which unfortunately neither act was able to fulfil due to prior scheduling commitments.

Coming from Finland, VILLA NAH released one of the best long players of the year in ‘Origin’, while closer to home, Brighton-based MIRRORS’ forthcoming album ‘Lights And Offerings’ is likely to be one of the musical highlights of 2011. Meanwhile HURTS, the enigmatic Mancunian duo who many predicted for major success in 2010, rattled the cages of the style over substance brigade.

Whilst the cinematic grandeur displayed in their best songs like ‘Wonderful Life’, ‘Stay’ and ‘Sunday’ was simply outstanding, they did occasionally walk a fine line with their milder paced material, sounding occasionally like TAKE THAT backed by ULTRAVOX. Despite confusing some listeners, their album ‘Happiness’ was an enormous grower and their live shows won over many new fans, especially on the continent where artful intelligence is a highly regarded attribute.

Interestingly, TAKE THAT themselves released their album ‘Progress’ with Stuart Price aka LES RYTHMES DIGITALES at the producer’s helm. Featuring a strong electronic flavour, there was also a song called ‘Eight Letters’ based on ‘Vienna’ which resulted in the rather unusual credit ‘written by Barlow / Donald / Orange / Owen / Williams / Ure / Cross / Cann / Currie’!

Attracting cult followings in 2010 were DELPHIC and CHEW LIPS. DELPHIC captured the Factory Records aesthetic of the mutant disco pioneered by NEW ORDER and A CERTAIN RATIO, but were unable to attract mainstream recognition probably due to their reliance on grooves and jams rather than actual songs… they can only get better with time.

CHEW LIPS are YEAH YEAH YEAHS with synths and while they had several brilliant numbers in their cannon, not all were included on their rather short debut album ‘Unicorn’. This didn’t allow them to play to their strengths on record although this was fully exploited in their live show. Again, they will learn.

And not wishing to get wholly involved in the main skirmish, THE SOUND OF ARROWS maintained a low profile while recording their debut album in London but delivered some impressive concert showcases of their lush Nordic musicality. Their optimistic and aspirational ‘Disney meets Brokeback Mountain’ tone may be the fresh approach to electropop in 2011.

Kookiness was the order of the day with the raven haired beauties MARINA & THE DIAMONDS and EMILIE SIMON. Marina Lambrini Diamandis kept the spirit of SPARKS alive with some fe-Mael intuition on her superb debut ‘The Family Jewels’ while EMILIE SIMON crossed the channel for some ‘one girl and her synth’ shows to fill the gap left by the absence of LITTLE BOOTS in 2010.

As could have been expected after the promotional lash of last year, Victoria Hesketh took a break before starting work on her new album. Hertfordshire’s SUNDAY GIRL could be the next lady-in-waiting providing she can expand on the very promising material like All The Songs and Stop Hey! that was premiered in the latter part of the year.

Meanwhile LA ROUX toured the world and recorded a ‘Stones cover ‘Under Your Thumb’ for the ‘Sidetracked’ influences DJ mix compilation before giving old mate SKREAM the iTunes bonus track Saviour for a dubstep rework as Finally and guesting with CHROMEO. However, Elly Jackson appears to have forgotten that No.1 rule of not biting the hand that feeds you by exclaiming “… I don’t want to make synth music for the rest of my f*cking life!” and declaring the electropop genre “over”!

In the battle of Synth Britannia, OMD released their first collection of new material for 14 years while THE HUMAN LEAGUE delayed their full album return until 2011. THE HUMAN LEAGUE have the backing of electronic music guru Mark Jones’ Wall Of Sound label and thus far have played a ‘less is more’ approach. Despite not having an official website until this year, some clever viral marketing sent interest in their single ‘Night People’ sky high and provided good business for their now almost traditional Christmas UK tour.

While OMD’s ‘History of Modern’ album had several outstanding tracks worthy of comparison with past glories, it was confusingly launched with an Aretha Franklin mash-up that wasn’t on the final tracklisting and a nauseating Britpop pastiche as lead single. Ironically one of the statements made in its sleeve notes was “Modern is not… Oasis”!

It was as if audiences who had traditionally been sceptical of the whole synthesizer axis were now being targeted.

However, electronic pop’s spiritual homeland of Germany welcomed OMD back like one of their own and respectable business for ‘History of Modern’ was generated.

A-HA though are proof that consistently high quality new material is still a possiblity 25 years after your commercial heyday with the focus of their final album ‘Foot Of The Mountain’ very much on their synthesizer roots. In late 2010, they bid farewell with a final tour and a superb double CD compilation called ’25’ which featured not only their hits but the best of their much under valued album tracks.

Photo by Tracey Welch

Among the acts celebrating their legacies, HEAVEN 17 enhanced their reputation no-end by participating in a brilliant BBC6 Music collaboration with “the falsetto from the ghetto” LA ROUX. And if that wasn’t enough, they had not one but two BBC TV programmes featuring their highly regarded album ‘Penthouse & Pavement’ including their triumphant Sheffield Magna gig.

HOWARD JONES didn’t look a day older, proving that a vegetarian diet and a clean living spirituality was the key to eternal youth! He played ‘Human’s Lib’ and ‘Dream Into Action’ in full for the first time at Indigo2.

Former sparring partners ULTRAVOX and JOHN FOXX played very different types of live shows in 2010. ULTRAVOX almost went back to basics with the retrospective ‘Return To Eden 2’ tour while JOHN FOXX curated an audio/visual extravaganza at the Short Circuit Festival featuring a deluge of analogue synths and some new material to a mixed reception.

DEPECHE MODE completed their ‘Tour Of The Universe’ and capped it all with a special show at the Royal Albert Hall for The Teenage Cancer Trust where Alan Wilder was reunited with the band for the first time in 16 years during the encore of ‘Somebody’. It was an emotional night for many including the band. Does this lay out the foundations for, if not a reunion, at least some future work together?

GOLDFRAPP returned with ‘Head First’, a mid-Atlantic AOR styled electronic romp that had echoes of Laura Branigan and Olivia Newton-John. Some found it uninspiring but what could not be denied was the catchiness of the tunes. Given time, it will become a future guilty pleasure.

Meanwhile LADYTRON prepared a career spanning compilation Ladytron ’00-10′ to reinforce their reputation as one of the key electronic based acts of the last decade but they began the year contributing a pair of excellent bonus tracks to Christina Aguilera’s album ‘Bionic’ in ‘Birds Of Prey’ and ‘Little Dreamer’.

Swedish songstress Robyn continued her feisty independent spirit by releasing her ‘Body Talk’ trilogy and the excellent single ‘Dancing On My Own’, while both Lady Gaga and Kylie kept electronically produced pop in the mainstream consciousness.

Across the water, New York’s THE GOLDEN FILTER added a crisp vibe to the electronic dancefloor via some dreamy Scandinavian influences and frantic tribal percussion while their neighbours THE HUNDRED IN THE HANDS brought a mechanised twist to new wave on their self-titled debut. And for the perfect after party soundtrack in the Big Apple, ARP provided some gorgeous modern day ambience with the album ‘The Soft Wave’. Meanwhile, another North American based duo LOLA DUTRONIC relaunched their brand of dreamy Gallic flavoured electro-lounge pop with the ‘Musique’ EP.

Elsewhere internationally, the vivacious SHH became the latest in a line of Argentine musicians basing themselves in London for an assault on the UK and European market while Texans HYPERBUBBLE brought their own ‘bionic bubblepunk’ with the impressive ‘Candy Apple Daydreams’. MARSHEAUX had a quiet year, only releasing a cover of BILLY IDOL’s Eyes Without a Face for an Amnesty International compilation.

Promising newcomers VILE ELECTRODES steadily gained fans on the London club circuit with their mix of fetish porn and analogue synths while following some line-up changes, THE VANITY CLAUSE finally released their first album ‘Fractured’. And the quirky Sheffield based duo THE CHANTEUSE & THE CLAW unleashed a superb debut single in ‘Are You One?’.

Overall in 2010, the spark generated by the new generation of synthesizer acts and the willingness of others to incorporate more electronic sounds into their work accounted for yet another productive year with the heritage acts also getting the cultural recognition they fully deserved. Ever supportive, The Guardian even featured a piece on the older incarnation entitled Forgive Us Our Synths which interestingly was almost two years after their prophetic Slaves To Synth article hit the public consciousness.

There were more quality albums and live shows of interest to the electro fan than in many years past with acts such as MIRRORS, VILLA NAH and HURTS fulfilling the role of worthy successors to the classic Synth Britanniageneration. Hopefully, other acts will be following in their footsteps. In fact, despite being ignored by the BBC Sound Of 2011 and New To Q listings which appear to have been locked into some evil parallel universe where good taste does not seem to reside, “… fey, gay, pseudo-intellectual synth b*llocks” still rules!


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK Contributor Listings Of 2010

STEVE GRAY

Best Album: TENEK On The Wire
Best Song: HURTS Unspoken
Best Gig: DEPECHE MODE at London Royal Albert Hall
Best Video: MIRRORS Ways To An End
Most Promising New Act: MIRRORS


CHI MING LAI

Best Album: VILLA NAH Origin
Best Song: MIRRORS Ways To An End
Best Gig: HEAVEN 17 at Sheffield Magna
Best Video: HURTS Wonderful Life
Most Promising New Act: THE SOUND OF ARROWS


RICHARD PRICE

Best Album: HURTS Happiness
Best Song: OMD History Of Modern (Part I)
Best Gig: THE HUMAN LEAGUE + HEAVEN 17 at Galway Festival
Best Video: HURTS Stay
Most Promising New Act: MIRRORS


JOHAN WEJEDAL

Best Album: PAGE Nu
Best Song: POLAROID MILITIA Astana My Hero
Best Gig: PAGE at Gothenburg Synthklubben
Best Video: VILE ELECTRODES Deep Red
Most Promising New Act: THE GIRL & THE ROBOT


Text by Chi Ming Lai
28th December 2010

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