Tag: Propaganda (Page 3 of 7)

xPROPAGANDA The Heart Is Strange

16 May 2022 /

The legend of German quartet PROPAGANDA was etched into the psyche of the music cognoscenti with the 1985 release of ‘A Secret Wish’ on ZTT, a classic of the electronic era which heralded the advent of sampling and digital synthesis.

Among its fans were Martin Gore, John Taylor and Jim Kerr; over the years, ‘A Secret Wish’ has grown in stature with its influence felt on Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’, produced by Quincy Jones. Meanwhile, the foursome of Claudia Brücken, Susanne Freytag, Ralf Dörper and Michael Mertens dubbed “ABBA in hell” were a forerunner of acts such as LADYTRON.

But it all ended acrimoniously and despite attempts to reform PROPAGANDA over the last 30 years, they have all come to nought, although the quartet performed together at the Trevor Horn celebratory concert for The Prince’s Trust in 2004, while Freytag and Dörper joined Brücken for her career retrospective show at The Scala in 2011.

More recently, Brücken and Freytag have teamed up with Stephen J Lipson, producer of ‘A Secret Wish’ and had introduced their new project as D:UEL – so it was a surprise when it was announced that the pair would be playing two London shows performing ‘A Secret Wish’ as xPROPAGANDA in 2018.

‘The Heart Is Strange’ is the first fruit of labour from xPROPAGANDA; with that classic widescreen Lipson sound, the impressive opener ‘The Night’ does not disappoint with a dancey cacophony of sequenced digitised bass, crashing beats and sweeping synthetic strings. Additional brass flourishes, orchestrated bursts and percolating percussive colours permeate over multi-minute intro before Claudia Brücken delivers a fabulous vocal.

The spacious metronomic template of ‘Chasing Utopia’ hypnotically builds with the addition of guitars from the pleasuredome and snappy live drums as Susanne Freytag provides a spoken harmony next to Brücken before an alluring German monologue and a flugelhorn solo. Although tapping with rimshot before packing a punch, ‘Beauty Is The Truth’ is more aggressive with Freytag sparring with Brücken as their contrasting styles provide the tension over the buzzy trance-laden air.

‘Only Human’ is less pacey, crossing six string strums with electronics, acting almost as a mid-album breather. However, ‘Don’t (You Mess with Me)’ provides a synthetic rock edge and a piano motif that could have come straight from the Gary Numan playbook but the end result actually comes over like ABBA although not quite in hell but more a jungle full of tigers. With an exotic swirl ‘No Ordinary Girl’ heads towards the Mystical East and is bolstered by some heavy guitar and choppy strings plus a reference to the past with a knowing “Don’t be a fool!”

A warning on the rise of the extreme right wing using Brothers Grimm imagery, ‘The Wolves Are Returning’ is back to classic Lipson. It’s a bouncy driving number with another superb vocal from Brücken, an enticing middle eight phrase from Freytag and a magnificent sax solo from Terry Edwards, processed to the point of sounding like a guitar. Over 9 minutes, the cinematic closer ‘Ribbons of Steel’ provides a fitting atmospheric backdrop to showcase Susanne Freytag’s poetry. With references to The Cold War that are equally applicable to today’s world events, it’s a starker 21st Century follow-up to ‘Dream Within A Dream’ declaring “I never heard The Division Bell… I’m trapped on the wrong side, or is it the right side”.

As Brücken and Freytag summarised: “We always thought it was a shame that an album as distinctive and acclaimed as ‘A Secret Wish’ seemed destined to be a one-off. It certainly meant a lot to us, and it never seemed right that the story stopped there. Working again with Stephen Lipson and means that we can turn our dreams about what the ZTT follow up to ‘A Secret Wish’ would sound like into a reality. The reality is ‘The Heart is Strange’”.

While the distinct pop approach of ‘The Heart Is Strange’ perhaps is missing the gothic industrial spike of Ralf Dörper and the classically schooled eccentricity of Michael Mertens that added some of the character to ‘A Secret Wish’, where it does not disappoint is vocally and sonically; fans of PROPAGANDA and ZTT will relish and savour this thoughtfully crafted work.

Surpassing both the Brücken-less PROPAGANDA long player ‘1234’ and ACT’s ‘Laughter, Tears & Rage’, ‘The Heart Is Strange’ can be considered a worthy follow-up to ‘A Secret Wish’.

‘The Heart is Strange’ is released by ZTT on 20th May 2022 as in CD, 2CD, vinyl LP, red vinyl LP, Bluray audio and digital formats

xPROPAGANDA perform at The Garage in London on 24th May 2022

The ‘Secretstrange’ 2022 tour of Germany includes:
Berlin Columbia Theater (2nd November), München Schlachthof (4th November), Frankfurt Nachtleben (5th November), Bochum Zeche (6th November), Hamburg Kent Club (8th November)

https://www.xpropaganda.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/xPropagandaOfficial

https://twitter.com/_xPropaganda

https://www.instagram.com/_xpropaganda/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Jimmy King
15th May 2022

MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY Beta Blocker

4 January 2019 /


In an enlightening chat with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK after his ‘Infinity Mirror’ album launch show, Ryan A James, the talented Welshman behind MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY confessed that ‘Beta Blocker’ was where his headspace was currently at and indicative of his future musical direction.

Using the competitive antagonist drug prescribed predominantly to manage abnormal heart rhythms as a lyrical metaphor, ‘Beta Blocker’ is paradoxically one of the energetic highlights from the excellent third album by MAN WITHOUT COUNTRY.

The track itself is characterised by a meaty programmed electronic bassline of the type not unlike those PPG Wave derived ones which adorned many a record by PROPAGANDA, FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD and GARY NUMAN.

‘Beta Blocker’ now comes with a lyric video created by James using “an old TV, a video synth and a circuit bent video mixer found down an eBay rabbit hole.”

Interestingly, Beta Blockers were also used frequently by snooker and gold professionals before they were outlawed within their sports, but the track itself is perhaps more lively and much harder than James’ dreamier past offerings.

The outstanding work of primarily just one musician, ‘Infinity Mirror’ was one of the best albums of 2018, bursting with craft and melody. Showcasing the talent of Ryan A James, it’s one that has already been recognised by ROYKSÖPP who invited him to contribute to their track ‘Sordid Affair’ from ‘The Inevitable End’ album in 2014.

‘Beta Blocker’ is from the album ‘Infinity Mirror’ released by Killing Moon Records and available from https://manwithoutcountry.bandcamp.com/album/infinity-mirror

https://manwithout.country/

https://www.facebook.com/manwithoutcountry/

https://twitter.com/mwc_music

https://www.instagram.com/mwc_music/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
4th January 2019

PROPAGANDA The Murder Of Love

11 August 2018 /

A new fan-made PROPAGANDA video which founder member Ralf Dörper has described as “unglaublich” has just hit the web. Set against ‘The Murder Of Love’ from ‘A Secret Wish’, it reimagines a visit to New York by PROPAGANDA during their ‘Outside World’ tour in 1985 when they performed at the Irving Plaza.

With cinematography by Rick Martinez plus makeup by Connie Ojeda Smith and Jaelene Jaquez, the superb and affectionate visual presentation is directed and edited by Vlad Panov. A humorous and nostalgic tribute to PROPAGANDA, Hannah Fleming and Talia Shvedova as respectfully Claudia Brücken and Susanne Freytag are quite convincing, while Panov himself could pass for Michael Mertens in the way the actors who played Stephen Morris in ’24 Hour Party People’ and ‘Control’ did.

However, Vladimir Putin lookalike Michael DeGrandpre could do with a pair of stack heels or stilts as Ralf Dörper. As is always the way, these type of films play with artistic licence and in this instance, the very tall Düsseldorfer actually declined to be part of the ‘Outside World’ tour so was not even in New York on 26th September 1985.

Ralf Dörper told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in Autumn 2012: “I had a quite stubborn view on playing live as PROPAGANDA as I believed it would be not possible to give a proper impression without lifting the studio on stage. And I did not consider it an option to use guest musicians … especially no guitar player.” – their label ZTT just issued a press release to say he was at his day-job in a bank to cover for his absence!

While Dörper continues today touring and recording as a member of DIE KRUPPS, Brücken and Freytag will be opening as xPROPAGANDA for HEAVEN 17 on ‘The Luxury Gap’ tour this Autumn. Meanwhile, Mertens continues as a successful freelance composer whose production company Escape Route has had commissions from Volkswagen, Renault, Ford, Autostadt and C&A.

‘The Murder Of Love’ is from ‘A Secret Wish’, available via BMG in vinyl LP, CD and digital formats

xPROPAGANDA open for HEAVEN 17 on ‘The Luxury Gap’ 35th Anniversary Tour, dates include:

Northampton Roadmender (Friday 9th November), Norwich UEA (Saturday 10th November), Bournemouth O2 Academy (Friday 16th November), Birmingham O2 Institute (Saturday 17th November), Glasgow O2 ABC (Friday 23rd November), Liverpool O2 Academy (Saturday 24 November), London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire (Friday 30th November), Bristol O2 Academy (Saturday 1st December), Manchester O2 Ritz (Friday 7th December), Sheffield O2 Academy (Saturday 8th November)

DIE KRUPPS go on ‘The Machinists United Tour’ with FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY in 2018, dates include:

London O2 Islington Academy (19th August), Paris La Machine (20th August), Utrecht De Helling (21 August), Krefeld Kulturfabrik (22 August), Gothenburg Truck Stop (24 august 2018), Stockholm Klubben (25 August), Wroclaw Stary Klasztor (29 August), Prague Lucerna Music Bar (30 August),
Budapest A38 (31 August), Bratislava Majestic Music Club (1st September), Vienna Viper Room (2nd September, Munich Backstage Halle (4th September), Frankfurt Batschkapp (5th September)

https://www.facebook.com/claudiaandsusanne/

http://www.diekrupps.com/

http://escaperoute.de/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
11th August 2018

BRÜCKEN FROESE Beginn

27 May 2018 /

One is a former member of TANGERINE DREAM and son of electronic music pioneer Edgar, while the other is best known for her being part of PROPAGANDA.

‘Beginn’ sees the first results of a new collaboration between Jerome Froese and Claudia Brücken. Atmospheric album opener ‘(The) Last Dance’ starts with a synth string pad, lo-fi Roland CR78-style drum machine and subtle piano part. From the off, this is a beautifully produced track, Brücken sounds absolutely stunning here and her vocals float ethereally over Froese’s textural synth and guitar parts. Sequencers are used sparingly throughout and the emotional impact comes from the lyrics which catalogue the unavoidable break-up of a relationship “…we danced our dance”.

With a couple of exceptions, this is very much a downtempo, chilled-out album. The tempo rarely raises itself above 100bpm and the second track ‘Wounded’ is another example of this. With its skittery percussion and dark string synth textures, ‘Wounded’ has the kind of production aesthetic and chord progression which wouldn’t have sounded out of place on DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Exciter’. The track’s chorus really lifts off with a dark droning FM-bass synth underpinning everything; lyrically we are again dragged into pretty dark surroundings with Brücken storytelling about a person trapped in a relationship.

‘Flight (of) Fancy’ (there are plenty of brackets on the track names!) lightens the mood considerably and is the most guitar-oriented piece on ‘Beginn’; possibly a bit too lightweight in conception (one could imagine Emma Bunton or Natalie Imbruglia covering this), it’s partially salvaged by a welcome minor key sequencer-based part in the middle 8.

‘Cards’ is similar in tone and conception to Alison Moyet’s some of recent solo works… in fact if you were looking at an overall comparison point for ‘Beginn’, then ‘the minutes’ would be a good place to start. Breakbeats which are introduced later in the track and some middle-Eastern inflected melodies keep the dark vibe going and gets ‘Beginn’ back on track again.

‘Light (of the) Rising Sun’ is a short ambient piano / synth based piece; more of an interlude than a complete song, Brücken delivers another beautiful vocal in a track which has positive and uplifting lyrics which counterpoint some of the darker themes present elsewhere.

‘Whispers (of) Immortality’ is the epic center piece of ‘Beginn’ with Brücken providing a spoken word contribution throughout. The song, which features hissing analogue snare and hi-hats, has a Brücken vocal delivery which is very reminiscent of THE VELVET UNDERGROUND’s Nico, especially on the “here she comes” line.

In contrast, the following ‘Sound (of the) Waves’ is very much a game of two halves, the first stripped back with little percussion, then the second lifting off with more breakbeats.

‘Sweet Sense (of) Liberation’ is a definite highlight of ‘Beginn’ and the most contemporary-sounding piece here by a long shot, ’s xPROPAGANDA bandmate Susanne Freytag. With its deep detuned Reese sawtooth sound and Drum N Bass kick / snare pattern, it wouldn’t sound out of place on a Hospital Records compilation. Adding to the album a welcome change of pace, the track has some PROPAGANDA-style spoken word elements in it’ middle section and sparkling blippy sequencer lines throughout.

The album climaxes (as it started) in a low-key fashion with ‘Unbound Spaces’, featuring a mixture of found sounds and synthetic textures and brings the album to a satisfying and melodic atmospheric conclusion.

Interestingly, ‘Beginn’ is a bit of a curveball in that it’s really not what you would expect considering the backgrounds of the two artists; if you approached it expecting a TANGERINE DREAM album fronted with icy PROPAGANDA vocals, then you may be surprised.

It’s plainly obvious to the listener that ‘Beginn’ has had a lot of time and love invested in it; it is immaculately produced and Brücken has never sounded better.

Her vocals compliment Froese’s synth and guitar textures perfectly and if you are seeking a reflective downtempo album which combines these elements, it’s unlikely you will hear a better one delivered this year. A perfect beginning…

‘Beginn’ is released by Cherry Red Records on 15th June 2018 in download, CD and limited edition double vinyl LP featuring two bonus FLEETWOOD MAC cover versions, pre-order direct from https://www.cherryred.co.uk/artist/brucken-froese/

http://www.claudiabrucken.co.uk

http://www.jeromefroese.com

https://twitter.com/ClaudiaBrucken1

https://twitter.com/jeromefroese

Text by Paul Boddy
27th May 2018

xPROPAGANDA A Secret Wish Live at The Garage

29 March 2018 /

PROPAGANDA’s ‘A Secret Wish’ is often hailed as a classic album of the electronic era which heralded the advent of sampling and digital synthesis. 

Among its fans were the likes of Martin Gore, John Taylor and Jim Kerr; over the years, ‘A Secret Wish’ has grown in stature with its influence felt on Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’ produced by Quincy Jones. Meanwhile, the quartet of Claudia Brücken, Susanne Freytag, Ralf Dörper and Michael Mertens dubbed “ABBA in hell” were a forerunner of acts such as LADYTRON.

But it all ended acrimoniously and despite attempts to reform PROPAGANDA over the last 30 years, they have all come to nought, although the quartet performed together at the ‘Produced by Trevor Horn’ celebratory concert for The Prince’s Trust in 2004, while Freytag and Dörper joined Brücken for her career retrospective show at The Scala in 2011.

More recently, Claudia Brücken and Susanne Freytag have teamed up with Stephen J Lipson, producer of ‘A Secret Wish’ and have been using social media to introduce their new project named D:UEL; so it was something of a surprise when it was announced that the pair would be playing two London shows performing ‘A Secret Wish’ billed as xPROPAGANDA.

Despite the online protestations of Michael Mertens, the two shows quickly sold out and it was interesting to see Ralf Dörper at the bar as an interested observer to hear how the songs he co-wrote with Mertens would come over in the 21st Century.

Squeezed onto the comparatively small stage at The Garage, Brücken and Freytag were joined by Stephen J Lipson on guitar, famed ZTT percussionist Luis Jardim, regular CB sidemen James Watson and Philip Larsen, drummer Paul Jones and Sam Tate on flugelhorn.

Performing ‘A Secret Wish’ in order, it was Freytag who took centre stage first with ‘Dream Within A Dream’, her spoken Germanic tones reciting the stark poem by Edgar Allen Poe. With Brücken on vibraphone, the pair were backed by a progressive soundtrack of hypnotic bass guitar from Watson and some synthetically layered drama from Larsen. While Lipson’s transient soloing maintained the tension, the solid dual percussive backbone of Jones and Jardim were unable to recreate the frenzied attack of the original’s middle section.

The machine rhythm of ‘The Murder Of Love’ welcomed Brücken’s first lead vocal of the evening with an enthusiastic response from the audience, although whether they appreciated Lipson’s jazz guitar work was debatable.

‘Jewel’ brought Brücken and Freytag into an appealing shouting match as a barrage of aggressive textures sourced from the original album were brought into play, before Freytag left the stage for Brücken to give a spirited rendering of ‘Duel’, joyfully accompanied by the crowd. A supreme pop song, Stock Aitken & Waterman loved it so much that they recorded a version of it with Mandy Smith in 1988, while Sophie Ellis-Bextor covered it in 2007!

Freytag returned to offer her shade next to Brücken’s light on ‘Frozen Faces’ before the volume went up a gear for a magnificently powerful rendition of ‘P: Machinery’. The electronic cover of JOSEF K’s ‘Sorry For Laughing’ continued the power trip before the unsettling cinematic glory of ‘Dr Mabuse’; it seems amazing now that this slice of avant pop noir could have even entered the Top 30 of the UK singles chart in 1984, but it was a much more open-minded and visionary time back then… to close the main set, Brücken and Freytag playfully bashed Simmons drums side-by-side to the coda of ‘The Chase’ before departing to the haunting endsay of ‘The Last Word’.

After a short interlude during which the love could clearly be felt in the room, Freytag returned for the encore brandishing a whip for the welcome performance art of ‘Disziplin’.

Acknowledging the contribution of Ralf Dörper, Michael Mertens and late founder member Andreas Thein to PROPAGANDA in her introduction, ‘Disziplin’ was once presented live on ‘The Tube’ back in the day; inspired by THROBBING GRISTLE’s rather stern ‘Discipline’, it was Dörper who wrote some new German lyrics and the demo got PROPAGANDA signed to ZTT.

Brücken swapped places with Freytag and for her encore contribution, she performed a fabulous version of ‘Femme Fatale’, the Lou Reed song originally voiced by German chanteuse Nico for THE VELVET UNDERGROUND’s debut album produced by Andy Warhol, which was the B-side to ‘Dr Mabuse’. With all the classic line-up PROPAGANDA material now performed, there was a reprise of ‘Duel’ to end proceedings on a nostalgic high.

Brücken and Freytag will have a busy year as they take xPROPAGANDA out on the road opening for HEAVEN 17 as well as playing select European festivals in the summer. But while Claudia Brücken celebrates her past, there is the mouthwatering prospect in June 2018 of her new collaborative album ‘Beginn’ with Jerome Froese (son of the late TANGERINE DREAM legend Edgar Froese) which is set to include electronic reimaginings of two FLEETWOOD MAC songs, ‘Sara’ and ‘Gypsy’.

Whether working in the past or present, another hope feeds another dream…

xPROPAGANDA open for HEAVEN 17 on ‘The Luxury Gap’ 35th Anniversary Tour, dates include:

Northampton Roadmender (Friday 9th November), Norwich UEA (Saturday 10th November), Bournemouth O2 Academy (Friday 16th November), Birmingham O2 Institute (Saturday 17th November), Glasgow O2 ABC (Friday 23rd November), Liverpool O2 Academy (Saturday 24 November), London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire (Friday 30th November), Bristol O2 Academy (Saturday 1st December), Manchester O2 Ritz (Friday 7th December), Sheffield O2 Academy (Saturday 8th November)

http://xpropaganda.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/propagandamabuse/

https://www.facebook.com/claudiaandsusanne/

http://www.claudiabrucken.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/ClaudiaBruckenMusic/

https://twitter.com/ClaudiaBrucken1

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Richard Price
29th March 2018

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