Tag: Section 25 (Page 4 of 5)

SECTION 25 Interview

19 May 2016 / electricityclub

Founded by the Cassidy brothers Larry and Vin, SECTION 25 became best known for their seminal electro classic ‘Looking From A Hilltop’ in 1984.

The track was notable for featuring Larry’s wife Jenny on lead vocals and came from the album ‘From the Hip’ co-produced by Bernard Sumner. Its Peter Saville designed artwork continued the colour coded alphabet theme that began on NEW ORDER’s ‘Power, Corruption & Lies

However, the Blackpool combo opened their long player account with the Martin Hannett produced ‘Always Now’, which was released on Factory Records in 1981. The album recently had a boost in profile when rapper Kanye West sampled the song ‘Hit’ from it for his track ‘FML’.

Sadly Larry and Jenny passed away in 2010 and 2004 respectively. But in a fitting gesture, Vin Cassidy recruited his niece Beth, daughter of the departed SECTION 25 couple to join the band full-time as lead singer alongside regular guitarist and programmer Steve Stringer. She had already featured on several SECTION 25 recordings previously.

The new phase of SECTION 25 era was launched in 2011 with the release of the ‘Invicta’ EP. With the addition of Beth’s cousin Jo on backing vocals and keyboards, SECTION 25 steadily transformed themselves into glossy electronic pop act with the album ‘Dark Light’ released on Factory Benelux being the end result.

Retaining its core DNA, the spirit of SECTION 25 lives on and the band remain a cult favourite on the live circuit. Beth Cassidy kindly took time out to chat about her personal and musical journey…

How did you end up in “The best old / new band in Britain”, as The Guardian put it?

Yes, best review ever, haha!

I first worked with SECTION 25 in the recording studio back in 2008; they wanted to introduce female vocals for the ‘Nature + Degree’ album, so as my lovely mum had passed away in 2004, I suppose they thought it was fitting for me to contribute… in hindsight, I think it was also an experiment to see if there was a natural place for me in the band. Over time I started playing live… it was quite a gradual process.

What’s it like to be heading the family business now?

I’ve never really seen myself as heading the band, as everything we do together is wholly collaborative. Writing, recording, decision making, live work, promoting, money, we all do it together, historically that’s the way SECTION 25 has always run as a project. But I feel proud to be able to keep the family legacy alive.

How does being in a family band differ from being in other bands in your experience?

I’ve never been in any other band so I can only assume: There are no inflated egos, because there’s no-one to show off to, we’ve all grown up and older together, so there is no desire to prove anything. We have a lot of shared experiences from the past, and for me, I get to live through very similar experiences that my parents went through, it’s a strange parallel, but it keeps me close to them, which is very cool.

‘Colour, Movement, Sex & Violence’ in 2011 was a good start for the rebooted SECTION 25 and captured that classic Manchester indie dance club vibe…

Yeah, it’s a bright and catchy pop record that was a good entrance the next phase of SXXV… Christ knows what phase we’re up to… No 8 maybe?

The subsequent album ‘Dark Light’ was released on Factory Benelux in late 2012, which from a brand point of view, could be seen as continuing the tradition? The title reflects the contents…

Yes, I suppose if you had to put SECTION 25 in a box, it would either be a dark box with air holes in the lid, or a light box room with some darker dingy corners. It depends which way round you look at it. A lot of sh*t has happened, but I try to view things with a hopeful optimism, and that was my way of thinking whilst writing ‘Dark Light’. Lows and then highs.

‘My Outrage’ has a good blend of electronics and guitars, was that a conscious template to go for with the ‘Dark Light’ album?

It wasn’t a theme as such, but we wanted quite a big sound overall, and the combination of the two worked. It’s got to have a sense of balance though, so it had to feel like SECTION 25 in 2012, but with elements inspired by the past. For me, ‘Love Cuts’, achieves this the most.

What was the inspiration behind ‘My Outrage’?

‘My Outrage’ is about the small pleasures of the everyday and the effects of when they run parallel to / mirror the purely outrageous. Outrage is the Yin to Sunday morning’s Yang. It’s also a reference to my unbalanced, slightly manic personality…

‘Early Exit’ is quite poignant but also, a stompingly optimistic number?

It’s like when you cry with a smile on your face, it’s a powerful thing! I like to try and reach different levels of emotion when I’m writing, and with ‘Early Exit’, I think the words came first and then we built the track around them?

Being a multi-generational combo, there must be some amusing musical reference discussions in rehearsals. Are there any examples you can recall?

Not as much discussions, more like random, disjointed jamming episodes, where Vin will start to play the drums from a WIRE song, Steve will come in with some DAVID BOWIE Thin White Duke guitar chords, Jo will play a classic house synth sound melody and I’ll do some James Murphy style rhythmic talking, hahaha! It’s all good fun.

What are your own musical tastes and how do they fit into SECTION 25?

My true love is electronica, techno, minimal, bassy, dirty sounds. I moved to Berlin after I finished my degree partly because of the techno and club scene, I wanted to be totally enveloped in it! It was the best music I’ve ever heard… I also love a lot of music from the 80s and early 90s, Kate Bush, INXS, COCTEAU TWINS, YELLO, TALKING HEADS, then all the Madchester music scene, classic house records from the 90s, SHADES OF RHYTHM, ALISON LIMERICK, ASHA, etc etc.

When I started my degree, all my housemates were listening to ANDY C and SQUAREPUSHER, and I was blasting out ‘Cream Classics’. I do love finding new music too though, GHOST POET, STEVE MASON, PIXX. I think I’m drawn to interesting electronic sounds, and I instantly want to work out how they’ve made the sound, and I also search for really thoughtful lyrics, and interesting lyrical arrangements.

In 2013, you collaborated with FOTONOVELA on the track ‘Clean Slate’, how was that?

I really enjoyed collaborating, it was a bit of a challenge to see if / how I faired going solo without the comfort of the band, and I loved it. It sounds daft, but I proved to myself that I am a proper musician! I used to have a niggling doubt that I was just winging it, because I totally just fell into the band… but the collaboration got rid of the doubt.

Are you planning any further collaborations with anyone else, or have any ambitions as to who you would like collaborate with?

No plans yet, but open to offers!

What was it like to hear that Kanye West had sampled SECTION 25?

Surreal, hilarious, ace. We rehearsed earlier today for a festival in Norwich that we’re playing at in a couple of weeks, and we tried ‘Hit’. It sounds good, it sounds current! I’m really excited to play it.

The new live album ‘Alfresco’ is a timely release that nicely documents this phase of the band…

We’re in a really nice place with everything at the moment, and ‘Alfresco’ summarises the bands continual progression. Andrew Weatherall was in the audience at that gig, right at the front, nodding his head. He’s a bit of a hero of mine, so it was a monumental live session for me, and now we’ve eternalised it.

What is it like to perform a cult classic like ‘Looking From A Hilltop’ with all its history?

Very very good. It’s pretty transcendental to be honest, I definitely go to another place when we play it live. It’s so loaded with meaning, it makes me feel stronger. Now it does, anyway.

I used to get tears in my eyes and have to turn my back on the audience.

Which other songs do you particularly enjoy playing live? ‘Desert’ in my opinion is a real highlight…

Yeah that’s a dreamy one to play live. I also love to play ‘Dirty Disco’ as it’s got the groove, and lots of spirit. There’s a lot of connective energy between Jo and I when we play songs like ‘Memento’ and ‘Pitch Black Box’, so that’s fun. And ‘Wretch’… I reach inside and pull out my inner ‘Larry’…!

What’s next for SECTION 25? Any new material on the horizon?

Yes! We’re in the jamming stages of writing a new album, so we’ve got about 4 and a half skeletons of songs, and we’re planning to continue pick the writing back up in autumn… Watch this space.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Beth Cassidy

Additional thanks to James Nice at Factory Benelux

SECTION 25 play the ‘Down By The River’ Indie All Dayer at The Waterfront in Norwich on Sunday 29th May 2016

‘Alfresco’, ‘Dark Light’, ‘Always Now’ and ‘From The Hip’ are available from Factory Benelux at http://factorybenelux.com/section25.html

http://www.section25.com

https://www.facebook.com/section25

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
19th May 2016

SECTION 25 Live in London

3 May 2016 / electricityclub

SECTION 25 first came to wider attention with the Martin Hannett produced album ‘Always Now’ on Factory Records in 1981. That album recently ‘Hit’ the news when rapper Kanye West sampled that very song for his track ‘FML’.

It was belated but welcome recognition for the combo that originated from Blackpool. Founded by the Cassidy brothers Larry and Vin, SECTION 25 later became best known for the cult electro favourite ‘Looking from a Hilltop’ in 1984. Co-produced by NEW ORDER’s Bernard Sumner, it featured Larry’s wife Jenny on lead vocals.

Sadly Jenny passed away in 2004 and Larry in 2010. In an appropriate and respectful move, Vin recruited his niece Beth, daughter of the departed SECTION 25 couple to front the band. She had already featured on several SECTION 25 tracks previously and possessed a vocal style that was eerily reminiscent of her mother.

At the time of Larry Cassidy’s passing, work was almost finished on ‘Retrofit’, a collection of classic SECTION 25 tracks reconfigured for the 21st Century with father and daughter sharing leading vocals. Its eventual release was a fitting tribute. The band continued touring and recording, with their most recent album ‘Dark Light’ released on Factory Benelux in 2013.

SECTION 25 live-Simon Helm01

Now featuring guitarist Steve Stringer and Beth’s cousin Jo Cassidy on keyboards, percussion and backing vocals, The Islington was the venue for the London leg of SECTION 25’s short series of dates to promote their new live album ‘Alfresco’. Dubbed “The best old / new band in Britain” by The Guardian in 2013, it was an evening of songs from all periods of SECTION 25’s history.

Opening number ‘Beating Heart’ was one of the first songs back in the day to herald SECTION 25’s then new electronic direction, but unfortunately this aspect got lost in the live mix with the synthesized bottom end unable to be heard. Undeterred, the quartet soldiered on into the second song ‘Colour Movement Sex & Violence’, the danceable synth led ditty that was the first to emerge from the Beth fronted SECTION 25 in 2011. But again, the programmed elements were barely audible and on its conclusion, Beth politely asked the soundman for “some more backing track”.

Less reliant on sequencers, things improved with the serene atmospheres of ‘The Process’ and the more conventionally driven ‘Memento’. Meanwhile, the beautiful ’Desert’, originally part of 1984’s ‘From The Hip’ album but tonight played in its electronically driven ‘Retrofit’ guise, was the evening’s first stand-out. The sun-kissed ambience provided some relief for the end of a viciously cold April, while Beth provided an angelic vocal performance to suit.

Crossing supreme pop with a post-punk sensibility, ‘My Outrage’ was the possibly the highlight of ‘Dark Light’ but tonight, Beth introduced a slower, stripped down rendition. It was a shame that the brilliant synth laden album version wasn’t aired, but it worked, thanks to the experience of the senior Cassidy and Stringer, while the down-to-earth charm and enthusiasm of the two Cassidy girls was a joy to witness.

Their fun-filled presence made itself even more apparent on the euphoric samba party of ‘Garageland’ and a feisty take on ‘Wretch’ where Jo particularly came into her element. With the sound fully fixed, the show was now truly gaining momentum.

And when the magnificent pulsing sonics of ‘Looking From A Hilltop’ emerged, spiced with frenetic guitar lines and syncopated percussion, it all fell into place. Beth’s embracement of her mother’s signature song was pure exuberance, aided by her spirited gyrations and a suitably wispy vocal. There was much dad dancing amongst the crowd and it brought smiles of approval from the Cassidy girls. Quite why this song still isn’t more widely known is one of life’s great mysteries. But perhaps that will now change? To finish, there was the ‘Always Now’ favourite ‘Dirty Disco’, a vintage 1981 composition updated with a delicious machine groove.

Now, while SECTION 25 are obviously a different entity to the one that first made its name on Factory Records, its line of succession provides an authenticity that other rebooted acts, who feature only one original member, can’t claim.

Utilising live and computerised instrumentation coupled to a vibrant freshness from new blood, the spirit of SECTION 25 has evolved while literally retaining its core DNA. It has transformed itself into something almost as glossy and accessible as sister acts MARNIE and MARSHEAUX. Their defiant sense of optimism in the face of loss and sadness is an example to all.

SECTION 25’s live album ‘Alfresco’ is available as an 8 track vinyl LP + 11 track CD set from Factory Benelux at
http://www.factorybenelux.com/alfresco_fbn124.html

http://www.section25.com

https://www.facebook.com/section25

https://twitter.com/section25

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Simon Helm and Chi Ming Lai
3rd May 2016

Lost Albums: SECTION 25 Dark Light

15 February 2016 / electricityclub

Issued in late 2012, ‘Dark Light’ was the eighth studio album by the cult independent combo SECTION 25.

Founded by the Cassidy brothers Larry and Vin, SECTION 25 first came to wider attention with the acclaimed album ‘Always Now’, which was released on Factory Records in 1981 and produced by Martin Hannett.

However, the band became best known for their seminal electro classic ‘Looking From A Hilltop’ in 1984, when Larry Cassidy’s wife Jenny Ross joined the band and featured on lead vocals.

Sadly the husband and wife team passed away in 2010 and 2004 respectively. In a fitting gesture, Vin Cassidy recruited his niece Bethany, daughter of the departed SECTION 25 couple to join the band full-time alongside regular guitarist Steve Stringer and bassist / porgrammer Stuart Hill.

Bethany had already featured on SECTION 25’s 2009 album ‘Nature + Degree’ and possessed a vocal style that was eerily reminiscent of her mother. ‘Retrofit’, a 21st Century reworkings album released after Larry’s passing included a new updated version of ‘Looking From A Hilltop’, produced by Stephen Morris from NEW ORDER.

SECTION 25 today02 But the new SECTION 25 era was heralded in 2011 with the release of the ‘Invicta’ EP via Fac51 The Hacienda, an imprint started by estranged NEW ORDER bassist Peter Hook.

It featured ‘Colour Movement Sex & Violence’, a danceable synth led ditty which captured that classic hedonistic Manchester vibe and recalled THE OTHER TWO’s ‘Tasty Fish’. Also featuring on the EP was a slightly more aggressive number entitled ‘Inner Chaos’; both songs were a sign of things to come.

Using a title and photo given to them by Factory graphic designer Peter Saville, the band had always intended to have the word ‘Light’ in the title to reflect the poppy nature of the record. But SECTION 25 had a wider reputation for darker, heavier music, so the title was an indicator of their change in direction. ‘Dark Light’ was also a technical term for the colour seen by the eye in perfect darkness, so it matched Saville’s Polaroid image which was used on the artwork.

Largely co-produced with Alan Gregson and Derek Miller aka OUTERNATIONALE, ‘Dark Light’ was a ten track set that signalled a spiritual return to the technopop flavours and pastoral textures of ‘From The Hip’. With the addition of another Cassidy in Joanna on backing vocals and keyboards, SECTION 25 transformed themselves into something almost as glossy as MARSHEAUX or MARNIE, certainly when compared to the raincoat demeanour of ‘Always Now’ or even the more optimistic Bernard Sumner steered opus ‘From The Hip’ from which ‘Looking from A Hilltop’ spawned.

On the opening song ‘World’s End’, the gentle sequencers and soothing synths recalled the more ambient elements of ‘From The Hip’, and introduced Bethany’s sweet vocals as a more raspy version of Lauren Mayberry from CHVRCHES.

Following the sedate start, a dynamic punch in the face came courtesy of the feisty ‘My Outrage’. Crossing supreme pop with a post-punk sensibility, this was a prime girl power anthem signalling that 35 years after their formation, SECTION 25 now had the potential to appeal to a multi-generational audience.

The excellent ‘Pitch Black Box’ was a cool and bouncy dance track in the vein of NEW ORDER, with sax lines making the overall sound unusual yet familiar. Seductive Blackpool accented spoken vocals provided another enigmatic counterpoint, coming over like how LITTLE BOOTS should have sounded with her more club-focussed direction, post-‘Hands’. The lyrics certainly expressed some flirty assertiveness, with a call to “be abusive, intrusive, corruptive…”

‘Love Cuts’ took a rumbling machine bass and solid beat to provide a stern groove while with a less intense and looser rhythm construction, ‘Colour Movement Sex & Violence’ worked well in its new format, although its appeal was not quite as immediate as the original radio friendly single take. However, the propulsive female/ male vocal duel of ‘Inner Drive’ became more accomplished its dreamier ‘Dark Light’ version and realised its potential.

SECTION 25 today01 Like a North-by-North West REPUBLICA, ‘78’ took on a rockier stance coupled with a Eurodance flavour, while held together by a percussive mantra, ‘Letter to America’ was more sinister, with Steven Stringer’s deadpan male voice providing opposition to the more innocent female vocals. Curling with rhythm guitar syncopating over a pulsing electronic backbone, ‘Memento’ kept the album’s consistent club friendly vibe going before the final song ‘Early Exit’.

A melancholic number featuring great live drums from Vin and coloured by a mood of reflection possibly in reference to Bethany’s parents, this was undoubtedly another of the album’s highlights. Full of hope despite the sadness, ‘Early Exit’ was a fitting album closer in the euphoric vein of NEW ORDER’s ‘Dream Attack’ or listening today as a more recent reference, ‘Superheated’!

Utilising live and computerised instrumentation coupled to a vibrant freshness thanks to the new blood, SECTION 25 evolved while literally retaining its core DNA. A fine addition to the Cassidy Family tradition, with its defiant sense of optimism and willingness to move on, ‘Dark Light’ certainly merits investigation by anyone remotely interested in quality synthpop.

‘Dark Light’ was released by Factory Benelux and is available direct from http://www.factorybenelux.com/

http://www.section25.com

https://www.facebook.com/section25

http://www.factorybenelux.com/section25.html

Text by Chi Ming Lai
23rd February 2016

Vintage Synth Trumps with RODNEY CROMWELL

30 January 2016 / electricityclub

The name of RODNEY CROMWELL is comparatively new to electronic pop music.

But the man behind the persona, Adam Cresswell is a seasoned hand, having previously released an album ‘Navigation’ as part of oddball synth duo ARTHUR & MARTHA with Alice Hubley in 2009.

But a number of personal circumstances led to ARTHUR & MARTHA disbanding. While Hubley went on to form cult indie band COSINES, Cresswell laid low, at least until 2015. He re-emerged as RODNEY CROMWELL with ‘Age Of Anxiety’, a concept album of sorts chronicling his problems with depression and anxiety that had affected his life and creative muse.

The honesty apparent in Cresswell’s dissonant vocal styling, alongside crisp electronics and acoustic instrumentation, has made ‘Age Of Anxiety’ an unexpected favourite of both critics and online radio outlets. Echoing the spectre of acts such as SECTION 25 and NEW ORDER, songs like ‘Black Dog’ and ‘You Will Struggle’ embody the album’s concept perfectly.

Ever the synth enthusiast, he accepted ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s invitation to a round of Vintage Synth Trumps.

Your first card is the Yamaha CS60, does that mean anything to you?

Absolutely not… I always regarded Yamaha as people who made motorbikes! I’ve never owned a motorbike, I’ve only ever been on one once and it scared the sh*t out of me! I bought a Yamaha 4-track… when I got my student loan, I went out and spent it all on a Yamaha MTX4. And that is where I learnt to be a producer, by recording to tape.

4 tracks, it’s very limiting so you learn to be disciplined. I used to record 3 tracks and then bounce them all down to the fourth, and then start again. You’d be making a record using the same process they made ‘Sgt Pepper’ with, but you’re doing it in your own bedroom! *laughs*

Are you one who relishes equipment restrictions to provide the artistic drive?

Yes! To be honest, whenever I see a photo of people in a roomful of analogue synthesizers and loads of gear, I’m thinking “are you throwing in gear to fill a hole in your creativity!?”.

I have got 4 synths… 5 if you count the MicroKorg, which I don’t! And I’ve used them on the last three albums I’ve made, not because I’m a cheapskate but those 4 synths have become my sound. I like working within the limitations of what they can do. I say limitations, but the possibilities of just one half-decent analogue synth are almost limitless anyway! I love the fact you can plug it in, turn it on and it’s never quite the same as last time! It makes it interesting playing live with them.

Have you ever seen one of these, a Jen SX1000?

I saw one of those in the music shop at the end of my road last summer. I went in to buy a cable and there was a Jen SX1000… I was going to buy it, but my wife said “no, you’ve got enough synths in the house!” *laughs*

Next card, it’s a Moog Prodigy…

It’s a good synth, I always liked the white buttons on it but I don’t have a Prodigy, I have a Moog Rogue. They’re a bit similar in that they’re in the entry level bracket… all my synths are in the entry level bracket!

Were they like the Casiotones of their day?

That’s a bit too demeaning… my synths are a Moog Rogue, a Moog Opus3, a Korg MS-10 which is my stage synth and an ARP Quartet which has the string sound on it. I bought them all within 2 years. They all get the job done and they are my sound.

Why did you get a Rogue instead of a Prodigy?

Oh, this was in the days before the internet, and you would buy whatever you saw in a shop or the small ads. My mum phoned me up one day after looking in catalogue and said “Oh, I know you’re looking for a Moog Prodigy, but this shop in Croydon says it has got a Moog”. I drove over and there on the top shelf above rows of horribly plastic digital synths was this Rogue with a chip on one key, so it looks like it’s got a broken tooth! *laughs*

They got it down and dusted it off… it was like when GARY NUMAN discovered synths, it made this massive great noise and I thought “I’ve got to have that!” – it took a month’s wages to buy the thing and that’s really where it all started for me.

So was that in your early indie phase?

Yes, I was in a band called SALOON and I took this Moog through to ARTHUR & MARTHA as well. In fact I haven’t done a gig without the Rogue since 1998 and I can’t imagine getting onstage without it, it’s part of the family. We’ve been through an awful lot together from leaving it in the road and almost losing it the first day I took it to a recording studio, to climbing down a mountain in Spain in the dead of night with it.

What’s its main characteristic?

It’s got a dirty sub-bass all the way up to glass shattering whistles and pops. But what I most like about it is you can throw it about and bring a bit of drama to the stage performance; you can’t get out of little plastic digital synths… you know, twisting the filters, throwing the switches in an overly dramatic way.

Live though, you are a good mix of analogue and digital sequences via the laptop…

The reason we use a laptop on stage is I won’t ever work with a drummer again! Not because I have anything against drummers personally, but that whole lifting drum kits into the backs of vans… I’m too old for all that! *laughs*

Using sequencers can be a little restricting but equally, life is too short for too much freeform synth jamming, I just want to be playing pop music. I like the live thing to be controlled in terms of sequenced songs, but with the opportunity for some level of improvisation which the analogue synths bring, because they never sound the same… sometimes, I wish they were more the same, but you go with it.

A good example of your analogue / digital live mix is on ‘Black Dog’. How did the track musically come together in the studio?

I was playing with my brother’s Korg Prophecy, I hit a key and it made this pulsing sequencey noise and when I played another key, it sounded like a sequenced pattern. The song was made up by playing those sequences live… it sounded just about in time!

It reminds me of NEW ORDER and SECTION 25…

Funny you should say that! When you hit those notes and they sound a little bit like ‘Temptation’, you’re going to go with it aren’t you? *laughs*

What’s very characteristic about your sound is although you love synths, acoustic textures such as glockenspiel and melodica have always been part of your world, as well as the more traditional guitar and bass… what was your ethos behind this?

That’s a very good question… I think they just suit the mood. It’s nothing more than that, it just sounds right. I love electronics, but I like things that bring something else to it. One of the bands that switched me on back in the day was STEREOLAB, they had electronics but also glockenspiel and horns or whatever. I literally play what’s knocking about in the house. We have a glockenspiel that sounds pretty good so I use that, and I have a decent a bass guitar. I just use whatever, although there’s not much guitar on ‘Age Of Anxiety’ because I’m a terrible guitar player…

You prefer the bass?

Yes, I was a bass player for 6 years; I used to play in a Peter Hooky kind of style because I wanted people to know I was a songwriter too. So much of the time I would add a melodic counterpoint on the bass to go with the vocal lines. When it came to ‘Age Of Anxiety’, I was just enjoying myself playing the bass for the first time in years… I cranked the tone knob up, whacked on a bit of chorus and it sounds like Peter Hook! I thought “Sod it! Why not?”

Considering the album is called ‘Age Of Anxiety’ and about your experiences, fronting RODNEY CROMWELL must have been a challenge. What were your coping strategies?

To be honest with you, it has been a way of me showing to myself that I am able to cope. I can stand up in front of people and perform, I’ve always been quite good at that. It’s the other things… just don’t ask me to travel to a gig through The Blackwall Tunnel. I don’t like flying either!

But I have to do it, especially if people are listening to the record and coming up to me saying “I love what you’re doing, I suffer from anxiety and it’s really helped me”; I can’t then say “don’t talk to me” and huddle up in the corner, that’s not going to help them!

It’s been a very weird year becoming a front person in a musical act. I’m a middle-aged bald guy, I’m supposed to be at the back where nobody looks at you, not at the front with people throwing their underwear! *laughs*

How would describe the music environment from the time with ARTHUR & MARTHA in 2009 to today as RODNEY CROMWELL?

2009 was a very difficult period in terms of musical promotion because of the financial crash; for one people were very reticent about investing. We had ‘Navigation’ in the can for a least a year before it came out, with labels saying they would put it out and then not committing, and we missed the boat when things like LA ROUX and LITTLE BOOTS were happening.

People didn’t know what the right model was at all, they didn’t know whether to put out vinyl, CD or downloads. They didn’t know how to promote things, whether it should be blogs or newspapers and stuff like that. Distribution companies didn’t know what they were doing… we had two distribution companies, one doing the CD and one doing the digital! It was a very funny period! So that’s why we started our own record label Happy Robots because we got so fed up and thought we could do a better job ourselves.

Now it seems to be a bit different, in that blogs and websites are very much a big part of the model. You’re going to get a lot more traction on a specialist outlet like ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, than a bigger general music platform or the Daily Express.

In terms of distribution, people realise there’s no money in it anymore, so let’s not be deluded about it, you don’t press 1000 copies if you’re a new artist, you press 300 and hope for the best! Do I think it’s better or worse? I don’t know! I think things are more straightforward now in that it’s more clear cut. It’s easier to get a handle on the right thing to be doing and what isn’t. I mean, I never thought I’d play another gig again after ARTHUR & MARTHA ended, but if I want to sell CDs, I’ve got to go out and do some gigs.

Another card? A Roland SH-2… have you ever wanted a Roland?

No, not really! I think I’m a Moog snob *sniggers*

Me and my guitarist do have Boss pedals, which are built by Roland of course… I have five of them and one Moog guitar pedal and of all those, which is the one that plays up and doesn’t work? It’s not the blooming Boss is it! Hahahahaha! So maybe Roland is the way forward for me!

‘Cassiopeia’ is a great title, did you have a Casio? How do you see them in the pantheon of accessible technology and how it changed the landscape?

I think Casios are great, I love the Casiotones. The very first RODNEY CROMWELL track which I wrote in 2002 for a ‘Lord Of The Rings’ compilation was just the MS-10 and a Casiotone. They’re great for kids as well. My kids have got a Casio, but they just hit the Autosong thing and thump it a bit…

…I think a few bands do that! *laughs*

Casiotones are really cheap in boot fairs!

You have been a strong advocate of the instrumental with tracks like ‘Baby Robot’ and ‘One Two Seven’, there’s not enough of them on albums today… discuss?

I would have loved to have done a whole instrumental album to be honest, because of that whole not putting yourself forward as the singer, but I can’t help but gravitate towards vocals, lyrics and being pop, although there’s nothing better than a really good instrumental. With ARTHUR & MARTHA when that started, I thought we were mostly going to be instrumental, doing that ADD (N) TO X thing, sort of noisy and experimental, throwing synthesizers around all over the place.

Although your vocals are quite sombre, your synth melodies are quite bright and pretty like on ‘Baby Robot’?

Yes, ‘Baby Robot’ is the one track on the album that’s 100% upbeat as it is about the experience of being a father.

Some of the synth sounds even on ‘Black Dog’ are quite bright?

Yeah… the thing is, if you’re making a song about anxiety, if you’re not going to make the melodies hummable and the synths sound bright and happy, you’re just going to make a Goth record! And I don’t want to make a Goth record! *laughs*

Yes, you end up sounding like THE WAKE!

Exactly… although I like THE WAKE! *laughs*

It’s only recently since I’ve remixed other people that I’ve consciously realised that I have a formula, which is major key with an upbeat disco tempo.

The most favourite synth you’ve owned and why?

The Rogue is my favourite, but the ARP Quartet gets used more these days because it does great piano melody lines as well as the big string sound. This album is probably more MS-10 than it is Rogue. The Rogue is great for live or whatever… but this question is a bit like asking “what do you like about your Black & Decker Workmate?”… the MS-10 is a really good tool, to me it’s a workhorse, and it gets the job done.

But with the Rogue, there is more of an emotional connection there… we’re special buddies who is like your best mate who you see every couple of months, you don’t need to talk to each other but you know what each other are thinking.

The synth you’ve most wanted but never had, that use could use musically as opposed to having ornamentally?

I’d love to have one of those British Synthis like the AKS, they look and sound stunning., I remember Barry 7 from ADD (N) TO X throwing one about on stage. The VCS3 is cool too, I remember SONIC BOOM playing a gig with his EXPERIMENTAL AUDIO RESEARCH project with two of those on stage, going up and down the filters, it was just noise! I used to have a T-shirt with ‘Putney’ written on it, nobody got it… apart from me. The EMS Synthi 100, DELIA DERBYSHIRE and the BBC RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP… it’s the daddy of synths, one of the greatest bits of British Engineering. I also like the Wasp and the Gnat in their black and yellow.

How was it to reunite with Alice Hubley again playing live? I understand ‘Autovia’ is now part of the set?

It was brilliant, we’ve realised what good mates we are and she’s a really good synthesist, it’s great because she hasn’t been really using analogues in the COSINES live set. A few weeks ago we thought we’d dig out ‘Autovia’. When we hit the droney groove at the end, I felt like I was in NEU! It was just the best moment, it’s great to be working with somebody who is on the same wavelength, even though she loves TAYLOR SWIFT! *laughs*

How do you see the future of synthpop?

I hope it doesn’t become a retro thing… what I was trying to do with this record was to use retro gear, but use it in a forward looking way, in the same way that ‘I Feel Love’ did, it was about making records that sounded like the future. I think with that sort of instrumentation, you can still do that. But nobody has quite cracked it yet. I like the stuff that’s uplifting like CHVRCHES, but it’s about bringing enough new to the party, to bring the sound forward.

My thought is, it’s the people who are getting into CHVRCHES now, who will be inspired to make a synthesized form of music in the future…

I agree, and they’re the only band really who are at the right level to be inspiring a new generation. I really hope that happens. I think there’s a lot of good stuff going on, but we need young blood coming up and showing us old timers how it’s really done.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Adam Cresswell

RODNEY CROMWELL ‘Age Of Anxiety’ and ARTHUR & MARTHA ‘Navigation’ are both available in CD or download formats direct from Happy Robots at
https://happyrobotsrecords.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/rodneycromwellartist/

http://www.happyrobots.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/happyrobotsrecords

Vintage Synth Trumps is a card game by GForce that features 52 classic synthesizers

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
30th January 2016

RODNEY CROMWELL Black Dog

15 October 2015 / electricityclub

RODNEY CROMWELL’s debut gig at The Victoria in Dalston turned out to be a fitting reunion of ARTHUR & MARTHA, a quirky duo whose only album ‘Navigation’ in 2009 was a promising debut.

The work of electronic music enthusiasts Alice Hubley and Adam Cresswell, the long player’s highlight was ‘Autovia’, a synthetically motorik soundtrack that was ideal for motorway journeys north of Watford Gap.

Since then, Hubley has formed the indie band COSINES while after a musical break of several years, Cresswell has returned as RODNEY CROMWELL. The lo-fi aesthetic of ARTHUR & MARTHA is still very much in evidence on his recently released debut album ‘Age Of Anxiety’. The live performance in July saw Hubley joining Cresswell on a Moog Rogue, while the frontman brought along his trusty Korg MS10.

Utilising a combination of vintage synths, computer backing, bass and guitar, the show climaxed with ‘Black Dog’, a part duet with Hubley. The lengthy, but tremendous closer of ‘Age Of Anxiety’ has now been released as a single with an accompanying video. Possibly one of the best songs of 2015, ‘Black Dog’ recalls the pulsing post-punk miserablism of SECTION 25 and is embellished with the beauty of Cresswell’s Hooky bass.

Of course, ‘Black Dog’ not actually about a dark coloured canine. Of the album, Cresswell told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “It’s all broadly linked to experiences in my life over the last ten years; themes of love, loss, depression, redemption”. As with NEW ORDER’s ‘Temptation’, despite the inherent melancholy, there is an optimistic light at the end of the tunnel that makes ‘Black Dog’ a most joyous listening experience.

”The vocals might not always be pitch perfect, the guitars and synths a bit rough round the edges” says Cresswell, “but those records got soul!”

‘Black Dog’ is can be downloaded from iTunes or listened to on Spotify

The album ‘Age Of Anxiety’ released by Happy Robots and available as a CD or download via
https://happyrobotsrecords.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/rodneycromwellartist/

http://www.happyrobots.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/happyrobotsrecords

Text by Chi Ming Lai
15th October 2014

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