TEARS FOR FEARS’ Roland Orzabal once said that artists should make fewer albums when explaining the 4 year gestation time for ‘The Seeds Of Love’ album.
While that album was perhaps less than satisfactory, he had a point. Within that same period between 1985 to 1989, OMD issued two albums plus a greatest hits and then split up as a result of the burn out. If the best ten songs had been siphoned off ‘Crush’, ‘The Pacific Age’ and their corresponding non-album appendices, there probably would be a smaller but stronger body of work to represent OMD’s Hollywood phase…
Long periods between albums of original material are now common occurrences among veterans of the Synth Britannia era. HEAVEN 17 are currently recording their first album since 2005’s ‘Before After’ while Alison Moyet had a 10+ year gap before her triumphant artistic rebirth with ‘the minutes’ last year.
And now Midge Ure returns with ‘Fragile’, a solo album of new songs and his first since 2001’s ‘Move Me’ Of course, the diminutive Glaswegian has not been idle having released a collection of covers entitled ’10’ in 2009 and returned to ULTRAVOX with the ‘Brilliant’ album in 2012 being the end result. And all this without even mentioning his endless touring and collaborations with European artists such as SCHILLER, JAM & SPOON and X-PERIENCE.
Indeed, the success of the ULTRAVOX comeback appears to have been a big motivator in Ure getting his creative focus back. It can’t be easy as he has nothing to prove as one of British music’s esteemed elder statesmen. But despite being still highly regarded in Europe, the general public in the UK appear to be apathetic as to what he can still offer. Now, while Ure is highly unlikely to reach the heights of No1 singles like he achieved with ‘If I Was’, or headline Wembley Arena as he did in support of his 1985 debut long player ‘The Gift’, his new meisterwerk is an impressive musical diary of a man pondering and confronting his post-midlife.
Although not featuring on ‘Fragile’, his recent orchestral laden collaboration ‘Taking Back My Time’ with Stephen Emmer probably sums up the album’s manifesto. But the collection begins with another poignant title ‘I Survived’ which sensitively soars and sees Ure comfortable in his own skin, unafraid to question how his life has turned out. “Keep it and hold it while you can” he sings.
The eight songs and two instrumentals that comprise ‘Fragile’ sentimentally recall his work with VISAGE, ULTRAVOX and Mick Karn as well as his earlier solo work. But then, this is a Midge Ure album, and apart from a contribution by Moby and a sampled drum loop, ‘Fragile’ is all his own work. “In a way, it’s a much more grown up record than anything I’ve done before” he told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK
‘Are We Connected?’ could well be a thematic follow-up to ‘Contact’ from ‘Brilliant’, but is much harder rhythmically like DEPECHE MODE’s ‘In Your Room’ from ‘Songs Of Faith & Devotion’. Appropriately enough, there is much intense questioning before Ure then cries “All hail to this new religion, crossed wires in conversation”! The album eases into a more sedate pace on ‘Let It Rise’, a track recorded for SCHILLER’s ‘Atemlos’ album back in 2010.
A much more epic proposition in its original form, Ure goes back to basics for his version 2.0 but retains the track’s electronic eloquence with some shrilling synths and pretty melodic motifs. Now whereas ‘Brilliant’ and ‘Move Me’ both had Ure rocking out on his guitar, other than on ‘Star Crossed’, ‘Fragile’ is much more gentle and textural.
The beautiful progressive ambience of ‘Wire & Wood’ that starts Side 2 is a fine example of Ure’s sound painting. Free from the pressure of writing lyrics, he utilises various spiritual atmospheres including Spanish guitar, oboe samples and washes of synth before a Morricone styled pan pipe and vocal ad-lib combination in the final of the piece’s four movements. With a monochromatic Film Noir instrumental ‘Bridges’ also featuring in the second half, these two selections are a reminder of the wordless wonders that made up a fair chunk of ‘The Gift’.
But it is the songs that most listeners will be interested in and Ure certainly doesn’t disappoint in that department. ‘Become’ is unsurprisingly the album’s lead single and a romantic, less abrasive take on ‘After A Fashion’. With a danceable metronomic beat and all the hallmarks of classic VISAGE, as the album’s most uptempo number, it is inevitably the focal point of ‘Fragile’. But there are other songs that are easily its equal.
The most notable of these is ‘Dark, Dark Night’, a co-write with a certain Richard Melville Hall, otherwise better known as Moby. The song is quite obviously a descendant of ‘Rockets’ from his ‘Destroyed’ opus. Optimising the latter’s rich symphonic string sounds and chilled vibes, ‘Dark, Dark Night’ builds to an amazing climax with melodic screeches and a tremendous guitar solo from Ure.
Together, the follically challenged pairing are a partnership made in heaven and it has obviously had a prolonged effect as ‘For All You Know’ is another wonderful example that mirrors that template. Adding simulated fretless bass and symphonic choirs into the equation, although Mr Hall is not involved in this one, ‘For All You Know’ does rather sound like ULTRAVOX’s ‘Change’ slowed down and reimagined by Moby!
In fact, the sad modulated string synth pads reminiscent of OMD are all over ‘Fragile’ but they are certainly more interesting than the thinner Virtual String Machine generated tones that characterised the ‘Brilliant’ album. These sounds give the album a comparatively primitive but emotive feel, familiar in shape but fresh in feel. To close the album, there is the Floydian tones of the ‘Fragile’ title track. This solemn epic is such that it could be considered Ure’s own ‘Comfortably Numb’.
Overall, ‘Fragile’ sees Midge Ure reinvigorated by his musical past and enjoying using electronic sounds again on top of a much more mature outlook while evoking a true honesty in his voice. Clearly, the ULTRAVOX experience has been an important factor in Ure rekindling his muse… quite ironic as Matt Bellamy and Co have turned ULTRAVOX’s sound up to 11 and taken it round the world’s stadiums!
‘Fragile’ is available as a CD, vinyl LP and download via Hypertension Music
Midge Ure needs no introduction as one of the most highly regarded elder statesmen of the British music scene. Having become fascinated by KRAFTWERK when they hit the UK charts with ‘Autobahn’, he purchased his first synth, a Yamaha CS50 in 1977 and eventually became a prime mover in helping electronic music gain a mainstream acceptance in the UK.
Through his work as a member of VISAGE and ULTRAVOX, songs such as ‘Sleepwalk’, ‘Vienna’, ‘Fade To Grey’, ‘Mind Of A Toy’, ‘The Voice’, ‘The Anvil’, ‘Hymn’, ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ and ‘Love’s Great Adventure’ have since become recognised standards in Synth Britannia folklore. During this period, he also produced tracks for FATAL CHARM, RONNY and MESSENGERS.
Previously, he’d been a member of THE RICH KIDS and had worked with THIN LIZZY and THE SKIDS. And all this is without mentioning his three UK No1s with SLIK, BAND AID and as a solo artist, plus his charity work with the Band Aid Trust, the Prince’s Trust and Save The Children. The last few years have been particularly busy for Midge Ure.
A regular on the live circuit with his endearingly intimate acoustic gigs featuring career highlights in stripped back form, he also undertook a number of key collaborations in Europe with acts such as X-PERIENCE, SCHILLER and JAM & SPOON. There was of course his own covers album ’10’ in 2009 with Ure’s emotively respectful takes on Peter Green’s ‘Man Of The World’ and Freddie Mercury’s ‘Nevermore’.
But his most high profile project was the reformation of the classic ULTRAVOX line-up. His successful live reunion with Warren Cann, Chris Cross and Billy Currie in 2009 subsequently led to the recording of 2012’s ‘Brilliant’ album. An impressive collection of songs by any standard, the songs ranged from the motorik stomp of ‘Live’ and the ‘U-Vox’ gone right melodic rock of ‘Lie’, to the pulsing electronica of ‘Rise’ and the Odyssey laden ‘Change’. It was a highly apt return as ULTRAVOX’s biggest legacy has probably been the stadium pomp of MUSE… just listen to ‘Apocalypse Please’, ‘Starlight’ and ‘Guiding Light’ if any proof is needed.
2014 has seen Ure contribute to the orchestrated great adventure of ‘International Blue’, an album celebrating the art of the crooner. Assembled by Dutch composer Stephen Emmer, the album also features Ure’s old pal Glenn Gregory from HEAVEN 17. With the release of Ure’s song ‘Taking Back My Time’ as a single and his first solo album of original material in 12 years ‘Fragile’ about to be unleashed, Midge Ure kindly chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK at the world famous Abbey Road Studios about both projects and what the future may hold for ULTRAVOX…
Photo by George Hurrell
How did it feel to be working with an orchestra again on ‘Taking Back My Time’, having done so previously on ‘All In One Day’ and at the ‘Night Of The Proms’ concerts in Germany?
This is slightly different. Stephen Emmer did all the arrangements for the ‘International Blue’ album so I was presented with a backing track that he’d fine honed and worked on.
He thought my voice and my style of melody and lyric writing would suit this project.
This is very grown up stuff, it’s really complicated, beautiful musical arrangements… so to sing a track like that, it was an absolute joy because I didn’t do it the same way I would normally approach one of my songs; it was a different key for me, I sing it much lower so it’s a different vocal range and you can hear that.
Were there any particular classic reference points you used for ‘Taking Back My Time’?
Not really… I mean the chord structure and arrangement that Stephen already had were so reminiscent of the Burt Bacharach school of songwriting, that whole Scott Walker thing, the melody instantly came into place so my process of writing for this took maybe two or three days so it wasn’t a huge amount of time to sit there and do it. My big worry was that I wasn’t going to do Stephen’s backing track justice. So I had to make sure I was singing something that was solid and informative plus had interesting plays on words and subject matter. But the melody itself had to embellish and compliment what he’d already put there.
You have a new solo album ‘Fragile’ coming out soon. How would you describe it?
I describe it as wearing my musical influences on my sleeve. There are elements of prog rock, a lot of electronics, a lot of electric guitar… it’s very difficult for me to say what it is but if one of the tracks came on right now, you would know it’s me… you’d know from the melodies, counter-melodies, structures and vocals of course. So it’s very definably me. In a way, it’s a much more grown up record than anything I’ve done before. It’s been worked on over a period of maybe twelve or thirteen years,
There’s a song ‘Let It Rise’ which you originally did with SCHILLER. How have you reworked it to suit your own style?
SCHILLER’s got his very own, very good and distinctive style which is much more of a laid back, trip-hop dance thing. And although when we wrote it, the track suited his style incredibly well, I thought I could take it back again and turn it into something that’s much more me which is precisely what I’ve done.
One of the highlights of ‘Fragile’ entitled ‘Become’ is another of the songs that’s been around?
It’s the first single… that’s kind of harking back to early VISAGE.
You had originally offered ‘Become’ for the VISAGE comeback album?
I decided not to get involved when originally Rusty Egan and Steve Strange looked like they were getting VISAGE back together again. But when Rusty wanted to start playing around with remixes using modern electronic computer recording techniques, he asked if I had anything so I gave him ‘Become’. He started playing around with it and changing it; but I kept saying to him “Rusty, I will finish that at some point, it’s just something for you to dabble with”! Then it was going to be a track with Steve singing on it, it was going to be a VISAGE track, it was going to be this, it was going to be that… eventually, I said “it’s mine, I’m gonna finish it!” – Rusty is more than welcome to take it down the route he was taking it, but it’s a very different track to the one I finished, although they were conceived from the same idea.
You also worked with Moby on this album?
Yes, the track is called ‘Dark Dark Night’ and it was originally going to be for Moby’s last album… but in true Midge Ure style, by the time I’d finished it, Moby’s album was out! So I converted it and turned it into my thing. I’ve never met Moby or spoke to him, but we’ve got an email / tweeting relationship, so he asked me to do a modern collaboration and that was one of the songs he sent over. I’ve run it past him, he absolutely loves it and more than happy that I’ve put it on ‘Fragile’. I’m touring in America during the summer and he’s coming to the show at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, so I’ll finally meet up with him.
Photo by Chi Ming Lai
Is there a concept behind ‘Fragile’?
Yes, subject matter-wise, I always think of an album as a diary and about what affects you. The period, between this album and the last one ‘Move Me’, is such a long period that there have been many highs and many lows during it. So I just documented most things. Some of the songs were starting to be conceived way back then, but I never completed them until the last couple of months, so the whole thing still is coherent and works as a unit, as an album. I’ve started playing with instrumental music again, it’s fairly diverse and very distinctly me.
It’s been 12 years since ‘Move Me’ and you’ve mentioned that part of the delay has been the frustration of the modern music industry. What are your hopes and fears regarding the future… if there is one in the conventional sense?
I can’t predict how it is going to go but I can’t imagine it’s going to get any worse in the industry. We seem to have gone through a massive period of mediocrity while there’s still been some great music, writers and musicians out there. But they seem to be buried under this sea of apathy. I think that the more people understand that the industry as we knew it has completely and utterly gone, then they have to start to do what I’ve had to do for the last thirty years, which is learning how it all works.
So on the ‘Fragile’ album, not only have I played 99% of the instruments, I’ve engineered it, I’ve produced it, I’ve mixed it, shot a video and edited it… you have to be a kind of king of many things. You have to understand how it all works, because there aren’t people out there to do it all for you. There are no budgets out there to throw money at the wall and hoping it will stick! You have to get it right for you, first and foremost. I’m a firm believer that if you absolutely are convinced it’s right, other people will get it.
Photo by Chi Ming Lai
You did some dates with ULTRAVOX supporting SIMPLE MINDS in Autumn 2013… was that to test the water with the view to ULTRAVOX continuing in the future at some point, or just some fun?
I think the ULTRAVOX thing, as we said from day one when we got back together, was that we’ve opened doors now that were certainly closed before. And now ULTRAVOX can just sit on a shelf until we find something that interests us to do.
The idea of just going out every year and doing another tour / another tour / another tour kinda is self defeating because it’s a case of diminishing returns… the more often you go out, the less people will go and see you and it becomes a bit pathetic. And we never set out to make it anything pathetic. We want to keep it quality and keep it right. So it’s still sitting there, still breathing, we’re just waiting for a breath of life to spark it back into action again.
The 30th Anniversary of the original BAND AID recording is approaching. Are there any plans to officially commemorate it?
You know what? I honestly have absolutely no idea! There are no plans to do any celebratory 30th Anniversary things. We did Live8 ten years ago, we did BAND AID20 ten years ago… there was talk of a new version of the song, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. But watch this space, who knows?
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Midge Ure
Special thanks to Sacha Taylor-Cox at Impressive PR
The year started appropriately enough with an electronic number ‘2013’ by Belgian duo METROLAND.
For the first six or seven months of 2013, it proved to be one of the most productive periods in electronic pop music. Not since the Autumn of 1981 when had so many significant releases coincided. It was strangely quality and quantity, a rare occurance in modern times for music, especially of the synth propelled variety.
That time saw THE HUMAN LEAGUE ‘Dare’, GARY NUMAN ‘Dance’, ULTRAVOX ‘Rage In Eden’, DEPECHE MODE ‘Speak & Spell’, SOFT CELL ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’, HEAVEN 17 ‘Penthouse & Pavement’, SIMPLE MINDS ‘Sons & Fascination’, NEW ORDER ‘Movement’, JAPAN ‘Tin Drum’ and OMD ‘Architecture & Morality’ all coming out within weeks of each other!
Interestingly from that list, only JAPAN and SOFT CELL are missing as currently performing entities although Marc ALmond himself made a number of concert and theatrical appearances during the year.
OMD got back to their Kling Klang roots with their best album in 30 years entitled ‘English Electric’. Although enthusiasts of the band’s pioneering work were satisfied, fans of OMD’s pop phase were confused as to why Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys had recorded an electronic album influenced by KRAFTWERK! This was an indicator of how the band have mutated and been perceived over the years.
But that was nothing compared with DEPECHE MODE whose single ‘Soothe My Soul’ was remixed by ZZ TOP’s Billy F Gibbons… although recognisably reworked, listeners could barely notice the join, thus fully confirming DM’s development into the world’s premiere stadium electro blues combo. Their album ‘Delta Machine’ was a big improvement on 2009’s ‘Sounds Of The Universe’, but it was no ‘English Electric’.
Among the other evergreens with new long players in 2013 were PET SHOP BOYS, BEF and Alison Moyet. Messrs Tennant and Lowe finally worked with the ubiquitous Stuart Price to produce an album that was ‘Electric’ by name and electric by nature. Meanwhile Moyet found her most musically compatible partner since Vince Clarke in Guy Sigsworth for the stunning return to form of ‘the minutes’.
Over at BEF, Martyn Ware assembled his most impressive cast of guest vocalists yet including ERASURE’s Andy Bell and CULTURE CLUB’s Boy George for the third volume of the ‘Music Of Quality & Distinction’ covers series; subtitled ‘Dark’, it featured some of Ware’s most starkly electronic work since he was in THE HUMAN LEAGUE.
Another welcome return came from electronic disco pioneer Giorgio Moroder. The icon is now 73 years old yet with his stomping track ‘Racer’, he proved could mix it with all the young pretenders. Indeed, his autobiographical contribution to DAFT PUNK’s tribute ‘Giorgio By Moroder’ reflected the respect and admiration he holds within the dance world.
Although only a few years younger, KRAFTWERK’s Ralf Hütter showed no real signs of moving his iconic brand forward despite the 3D spectacle of ‘Der Katalog 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8’ live retrospectives in Düsseldorf, London, Tokyo and Sydney. With the various hosting art spaces still seeing their ticketing systems collapse, was this really just an elaborate publicity stunt? After all, how many heritage acts get on the news for sending websites into meltdown?
It certainly didn’t do KRAFTWERK any harm as a headlining slot at Latitude Festival and its resultant BBC TV coverage proved. However, new material was still not forthcoming but such is the demand that several unscrupulous eBay dealers in Russia were passing off CD-Rs of three tracks from METROLAND’s 2012 album ‘Mind The Gap’ as KRAFTWERK demos! Meanwhile, former colleague Karl Bartos exorcised his Kling Klang ghost with ‘Off The Record’, a collection of his unreleased KRAFTWERK-era compositions which made a fine companion to OMD’s ‘English Electric’; his upcoming 2014 world tour is eagerly anticipated.
ULTRAVOX opened for SIMPLE MINDS but with Midge Ure spending most of the year doing the rounds with solo acoustic gigs, their synth lynchpin Billy Currie released his ninth solo offering ‘Balletic Transcend’. Meanwhile in a revival of a project that both had been involved in, a fragmented VISAGE unleashed their first album in nearly 30 years to a mixed reception.
With just Steve Strange remaining from the original line-up, ‘Hearts & Knives’ was essentially a solo project. There were heated exchanges on social networks between Strange and his estranged Blitz Club partner Rusty Egan about misappropriated royalties and the validity of the reconfigured brand. Whatever, the raw video recording of the new VISAGE performing ‘Fade To Grey’ live at London’s Hoxton Bar and Kitchen stood as possibly the most embarrassing moment of the year.
Artists who made their name during Electroclash such as ADULT. and MISS KITTIN made welcome returns in 2013 while also from that era, LADYTRON’s Helen Marnie released her first solo offering ‘Crystal World’ crowd funded via Pledge Music. It was a novel but effective way of securing a promotional budget that involved fans in the process by offering exclusive updates and an opportunity to purchase exclusive memorabilia. In MARNIE’s case, items on sale ranged from hand written lyric sheets to her Mini-Cooper and a bikini!
Meanwhile, former SNEAKER PIMPS sparring partners IAMX and Kelli Ali also went down the Pledge Music route, pointing the way forward to a music industry future without interference from record label middle men. But the failure of several crowd funding campaigns proved the model was not for everyone.
The Britpop era was not particularly known for its use of electronics but two acts who did indulge, REPUBLICA and DUBSTAR, made formal comebacks on the live circuit in 2013. Seeded from around the same time, Bristol’s MESH made possibly their best album yet in ‘Automation Baby’. Celebrating 30 years in the business, techno icon WESTBAM assembled a diverse cast including Iggy Pop, Lil’ Wayne, Hugh Cornwall, Bernard Sumner and Richard Butler for an intriguing set called ‘Götterstrasse’. It was the surprise electronic release of the year.
There were also sophomore albums from LITTLE BOOTS, HURTS and AUSTRA which all drew muted responses from fans following their well received debuts; the promising spark had been present in all three acts appeared to have faded although each album had strong highlights. But there were impressive debuts in 2013 by GHOST CAPSULES, COLLINS and MODOVAR; and all this happened before the summer had started!
On the more guitar driven end of the spectrum, NIGHT ENGINE pursued an art rock aesthetic that would have made Berlin-era DAVID BOWIE proud. And of course, The Dame himself returned with ‘The Next Day’ headed by the touchingly reflective ‘Where Are We Now?’. Adopting a more post-punk attitude, GIRL ONE & THE GREASE GUNS showed how battered synths, clanky guitars and motorik drums could still come together in perfect harmony while maintaining an air of mystery.
Meanwhile, WHITE LIES continued their New wave odyssey into how THE TEARDROP EXPLODES would have sounded had Julian Cope not got upset by BLANCMANGE’s ‘Happy Families’; they even borrowed a snatch of ‘Fade To Grey’ for the title track of their third album ‘Big TV’. This was despite the mainstream music media’s attempt to downplay their use of synths although the band countered that by declaring TEARS FOR FEARS, TALK TALK and THE BLUE NILE as kindred spirits rather than INTERPOL or EDITORS.
The second half of the year brought the much anticipated debut from CHVRCHES entitled ‘The Bones Of What You Believe’. The trio have moved the goalposts as far as modern synthpop is concerned but they were not without their flaws such as the inexplicable decision to use dreary indie-styled male lead vocals on a pair of tracks. But despite this, with sold out club tours, gigs supporting DEPECHE MODE in Europe and the might of Virgin Records behind them, world domination surely beckons and with it, a new raised profile for the synthesizer overall.
Virgin Records themselves celebrated 40 years in the business with a series of London concerts and its legacy in electronic music was represented by CHVRCHES, HEAVEN 17, SCRITTI POLITTI and SIMPLE MINDS. Although the label is now owned by the Universal Corporation (having been under the control of EMI since 1992), its colourful history remains associated with the championing of new and unconventional music forms during its fledgling years.
And in a diversion from music, one-time Virgin signee Thomas Dolby produced and directed ‘The Invisible Lighthouse’, a documentary on a monument local to his childhood home. In a novel style of presentation, the film went on a tour accompanied by a live narration and soundtrack from TMDR with some of his songs dispersed in between.
Gary Numan’s long delayed ‘Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)’ finally became a reality. A move to LA relaxed him to the point where he was posting his holiday photos on Twitter! Musically though, he was as intense as ever but luckily, ‘Splinter’ was not the one dimensional riff monster that had been threatened and contained some of his best work in over ten years. Interestingly NINE INCH NAILS, who have been a major influence on Numan and vice versa, also returned after a period of absence with ‘Hesitation Marks’.
Over at Mute, there was another Sorcerer versus Apprentice battle when GOLDFRAPP and Polly Scattergood both released new records in the same month. Now no longer on Mute but very much still part of the extended family, MOBY released the impressive ‘Innocents’ which didn’t tinker too much with his well established formula and included a great collaboration with Wayne Coyne of FLAMING LIPS that sounded like Gary Numan in a Pentecostal church!
In 2013, North America appeared to be turning into a new haven for synth talent. There was LA pop duo NIGHT CLUB while also based in the region, SOFT METALS continued their Detroit Techno inspired progression with ‘Lenses’. Slightly eastwards, Texan based FEATHERS made an impressive statement with their debut long player ‘If All Now Here’; a European tour supporting DEPECHE MODE in January 2014 was fine recognition of their talent.
Fellow Texans ELEVEN:ELEVEN finally got their debut album ‘Through The Veil’ out too. New Yorkers HOLY GHOST! sprung the enjoyable electronic disco of ‘Dynamics’ while also from the area, AU REVOIR SIMONE returned with their fourth album ‘Move In Spectrums’ after an extended break.
But one slow burning combo were Canada’s TR/ST; led by the enigmatic and moody Robert Alfons, at times he sounded like a young LEONARD COHEN updating the sleazy demeanour of SOFT CELL. They toured extensively and garnered some more well deserved attention for their grower of a debut ‘Trst’ which actually came out back in January 2012!
However, all the good work was undone by a ticket lottery fiasco for an end of year London gig in which unsuccessful applicants were not notified until three hours before the concert, this despite communications to the contrary telling people to arrive at the door with ID. In this ever more challenging music industry, artists have to be innovative with promotion. But restricting availability and tricking fans into what was effectively a marketing scam for a larger London concert in May 2014 only alienated audiences.
Like in previous years, Europe was again a centre of creativity. Athens based synth maidens MARSHEAUX were back with their maturer fourth album ‘Inhale’. Meanwhile, their production team FOTONOVELA gathered DUBSTAR’s Sarah Blackwood, MIRRORS’ James New, KID MOXIE and SECTION 25’s Bethany Cassidy for ‘A Ton Of Love’ while riding on a crest of a wave from ‘Helen Of Troy’, their acclaimed collaboration with OMD. The song ‘Our Sorrow’ featuring James New turned out to be particularly poignant as after a year of minimal activity, MIRRORS called it a day.
From their Berlin HQ, NOBLESSE OBLIGE delivered an ‘Affair Of The Heart’ with its stark funereal cover of ‘Hotel California’ while Slovenian trio TORUL impressed audiences opening for MESH. Still fiercely independent and uncompromising, THE KNIFE divided opinion with their performance art presentation of their experimental double opus ‘Shaking The Habitual’. From Demark, TRENTEMØLLER delivered his third album ‘Lost’, an adventurous blend of real and electronic instruments that more than proved his suitability as a future prospective DEPECHE MODE producer.
With the critical acclaim still resonant for her 2012 album ‘Highwire Poetry’, Karin Park continued to tour the world but found time to co-write Norway’s Eurovision entry ‘I Feed You My Love’. Sung by Margaret Beger and leftfield by pure pop standards, it came a respectable fourth but predictably, the UK gave it nul points! Following their wonderful eponymous debut album in 2012, SIN COS TAN swiftly followed it up with the more organic but still synth friendly ‘Afterlife’.
But best of the local crew though were VILE ELECTRODES; they snagged a prestigious support tour with OMD in Germany where the local crowds connected with Anais Neon and Martin Swan’s analogue electricity and opened for John Foxx in Brighton on their return. Their long awaited debut LP ‘The future through a lens’ did not disappoint and from it, the closer ‘Deep Red’ was easily the best OMD song that Humphreys and McCluskey never recorded.
As with last year, attempts were made within the industry to centralise electronic pop and dance music. But as the cancellation of the Playground Festival due to poor ticket sales proved, the two factions do not mix. Scheduled to appear on the Saturday, despite the technological influence of Gary Numan, John Foxx and Wolfgang Flür on the dance scene, the fans of those artists generally loathe the lifestyle and attitude of club culture.
Most just want to see the headline act and go home… the idea of paying an extra premium on the ticket price for a couple of DJs tagged on the see out the early hours of the morning simply doesn’t appeal! And those who are there for the DJs and larging it certainly aren’t interested in live bands. The sooner promoters and record labels realise that electronic pop and dance music are NOT the same thing, the better. That said, it was a difficult time for live events generally with a number of name acts playing to half full venues.
Elsewhere, the music press were on the backfoot with rumours that the once mighty Q Magazine and NME were in trouble. But lazy journalism and lack of adventure by both were as much to blame as any proliferation of the internet or smart technology. That aside, 2013 was a superb year where the music spoke for itself. Many of the veterans gave the best up-and-coming artists a real run for their money. And while the amount of new electronic music was at an all time high and the finest exponents rewarded with assorted high-profile opportunities as a result, a number of lesser accomplished acts suffered from the comparison with the best.
Helen Marnie said: “I think it’s great that electronic music is on a high right now but it’s so saturated as well. Everyone’s going it’s great cos it’s electronic and I’m like ‘I’m not so sure’… but there’s lots of good stuff”. In fact, the standard was so high in 2013 that some of the acts who ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK featured in 2012 probably wouldn’t have got a look in this year. From those who sounded like the middling bands featured on the Janice Long Show circa 1985 to 21st Century synthpop reincarnations of HUE & CRY, the volume of music available in many ways made it quite easy to distinguish the excellent from the pleasant but ordinary material that was, as the dreaded ‘Say Nothing Auntie Of Landfill Indie’ Jo Whiley would say, “alright”!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK accepts the continuing mission to maintain a degree of quality control in 2014 as it has done since its inception. As @TheRobMo put it on Twitter: “gatekeepers / tastemakers… it’s what we go to you for”. Meanwhile on the site’s Facebook, regular reader Brian O’Malley correctly added: “Not all synth music is great, and not all guitar music is rubbish”.
But the final word on 2013 must go to BEF and Glenn Gregory (or HEAVEN 17 if you prefer) via their electronic cover of an Ervin Drake song made famous by Ol’ Blue Eyes: “And it poured sweet and clear… it was a very good year”
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK Contributor Listings of 2013
PAUL BODDY
Best Album: MAPS Vicissitude
Best Song: MAPS Built To Last (Free School Remix)
Best Gig: ALISON MOYET at London Royal Festival Hall
Best Video: HOLY GHOST! Dumb Disco Ideas
Most Promising New Act: JUVENILES
STEVE GRAY
Best Album: CHVRCHES The Bones Of What You Believe
Best Song: MARGARET BERGER I Feed You My Love
Best Gig: BAS 2013
Best Video: IAMX I Come With Knives
Most Promising New Act: TORUL
CHI MING LAI
Best Album: OMD English Electric
Best Song: FOTONOVELA feat MIRRORS Our Sorrow
Best Gig: OMD + VILE ELECTRODES at Cologne E-Werk
Best Video: FEATHERS Land Of The Innocent
Most Promising New Act: FEATHERS
SOPHIE NILSSON
Best Album: ALISON MOYET the minutes
Best Song: SPACEBUOY Breathe
Best Gig: DEPECHE MODE at Copenhagen Parken
Best Video: DEPECHE MODE Soothe My Soul
Most Promising New Act: CHVRCHES
RICHARD PRICE
Best Album: PET SHOP BOYS Electric
Best Song: OMD Dresden
Best Gig: KARIN PARK at The Lexington
Best Video: MONARCHY featuring DITA VON TEESE Disintegration
Most Promising New Act: CHVRCHES
1972’s ‘Popcorn’ could arguably be seen as Europe’s first electronic pop hit.
Made famous by HOT BUTTER, they were actually a combo of session players led by Stan Free who had been a member of FIRST MOOG QUARTET with ‘Popcorn’ composer Gershon Kingsley. It was largely considered a novelty record but it inspired many cover versions throughout the world including France where it was a No1.
There, one came courtesy of a young musician named Jean-Michel Jarre who recorded ‘Popcorn’ under the moniker of THE POPCORN ORCHESTRA. While working on his first proper full length electronic album in 1976, Jarre adapted a melodic phrase from ‘Popcorn’ as the main theme of what was to become the project’s lead single. That composition was ‘Oxygène IV’ and the rest is history.
After ‘Oxygène IV’ became a Top 5 hit in the Autumn of 1977, the synth instrumental became a popular medium, even spawning budget covers albums such as ‘Synthesizer Hits’ and ‘Synthesizer Gold’.
But coinciding with accessibility of affordable synthesizers, instrumentals were seen by some as a cop out for a B-side or album filler. A bridge between pop and experimentation, these tracks were actually an artform of their own and many would become cult favourites among enthusiasts who understood that music did not necessarily need words to convey an emotive atmosphere or make people dance.
However today, it does appear to be a dying art with some musicians not understanding that formless noodling, club racketfests or tracks in which the vocalist appears to have forgotten to sing don’t quite cut it. So here are twenty five other instrumentals from the classic era when the synth went mainstream and discerning listeners looked forward to an imaginative wordless wonder.
This chronological by year, then alphabetical list however has a restriction of one track per artist and features no tracks that use a repeated vocal phrase as a topline, thus excluding most recordings by KRAFTWERK! And if you’re wondering where GIORGIO MORODER is, his work was covered recently in his own Beginner’s Guide to him…
NEU! Isi (1975)
By 1975, NEU! had broken into two artistic factions with Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger unable to agree a direction for their new album. So they divided its space with the manic Dinger piloting his rambling proto-punk of side two and the more sedate and thoughtful Rother directing the less jarring first side. ‘Isi’ was a wonderful synthesizer and piano instrumental that was still driven by a motorik beat but less dominantly Apache.
Available on the album ‘Neu! 75’ via Gronland Records
Effectively the closing track on KRAFTWERK’s iconic ‘Trans Europe Express’ album, this neo-classical piece was eerily emotive with its combination of Vako Orchestron string ensemble over some gentle Synthanorma Sequenzer pulsing. The haunting elegance of ‘Franz Schubert’ was like Ralf Hütter had been possessed by the ghost of the great German composer, reflecting the art of his melodic and harmonic intuition.
Available on the album ‘Trans Europe Express’ on EMI Records
SPACE was the brainchild of Didier Marouani who went under the pseudonym Ecama and formed the collective with Roland Romanelli, and Jannick Top. With compatriot Jean-Michel Jarre and a certain Giorgio Moroder also in the charts, the space disco of the iconic ‘Magic Fly’ heralded the start of a new European electronic sound within the mainstream. With its catchy melody and lush, accessible futurism, ‘Magic Fly’ sold millions all over the world.
Available on the album ‘Magic Fly’ via Virgin France
Inspired by the grim Roman Polanski film, ‘The Tenant’ signalled the Lewisham combo’s move away from funk rock into artier climes. A merging of the second side of David Bowie’s ‘Low’ with classical composer Erik Satie, it saw Richard Barbieri play more with synthesizer and piano textures to create atmosphere while Mick Karn dressed the piece with his fretless bass rather than driving it. Karn’s burst of self-taught sax at the conclusion is also quite unsettling.
Available on the album ‘Obscure Alternatives’ via Sony BMG Records
For anyone who first became a fan of electronic pop during the Synth Britannia era, ‘Airlane’ was a key moment. As the opening track of ‘The Pleasure Principle’ and its subsequent concert tour, it was the calling card that literally announced “GARY NUMAN IS IN THE BUILDING”! Yes, Numan had done instrumentals before, but with its sparkling Polymoog riffs, ‘Airlane’ provoked excitement and anticipation.
Available on the album ‘The Pleasure Principle’ via Beggars Banquet
With their eponymous debut under their belt, YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA fully found their technopop sound on ‘Solid State Survivor’. Written by drummer Yukihiro Takahashi, ‘Rydeen’ was a percussively colourful pentatonic tune filled with optimism and flair. This was the trio at their best as the later ‘Technodelic’ was a quite doomy, while their swansong ‘Naughty Boys’ was overtly mainstream.
Available on the album ‘Solid State Survivor’ via Sony Music
Armed with an ARP Odyssey, Elka string machine and Roland Compurhythm, John Foxx’s ‘Mr No’ was like a futuristic Bond theme or a signature tune for some space gangster. The mechanical giro was menacingly snake-like while the swirling chill invaded the speakers to prompt some almost funky robot dancing. The ‘Metamatic’ era track originally surfaced on the ‘No-One Driving’ double single pack with aother instrumental, the more sedate ‘Gilmmer’.
Available on the album ‘Metamatic’ via Edsel Records
Written by Jeff Wayne for a cinema advert, THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s cover of ‘Gordon’s Gin’ kicks in like an commercial for Moloko Plus being sold at the Korova Milk Bar. Glorious and euphoric with futuristic sounds that weighed more than Saturn, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh left the band shortly after to form a project named after an imaginary group from a scene in ‘A Clockwork Orange’ discussed by anti-hero Alex with a couple of devotchkas at the disc-bootick!
Available on the album ‘Travelogue’ via Virgin/EMI Records
Of ‘Astradyne’, Billy Currie said: “Midge started with that strong melody, Chris’ bass was also a very strong feature. I played a piano counter melody behind. The track was so strong that we felt at ease to lengthen it with a long textural piano bit that is sort of bell-like with the metronomic bass drum beats and the violin tremolo solo… Midge came up with that final section lift taking it out of the long ARP solo. I double it! It is a very good strong keyboard part. It is very celebratory at the end…”
Available on the album ‘Vienna’ via Chrysalis/EMI Records
One of two Martin Gore compositions on the Vince Clarke dominated DEPECHE MODE debut ‘Speak & Spell’, ‘Big Muff’ was a fabulous highlight on the album’s more superior second side. Highly danceable and enjoyably riff laden, this futuristic romp was named after an effects pedal made by Electro-Harmonix who later branched into portable synths. It allowed many a synth obsessed teenager to declare “I like big muff” without embarrassment!
Available on the album ‘Speak & Spell’ via Mute Records
Even with the advent of the free download era, ‘Theme for Great Cities’ is one of the greatest freebies of all time having initially been part of ‘Sister Feelings Call’, a 7-track EP given gratis to early purchasers of SIMPLE MINDS’ fourth album ‘Sons & Fascination’. Starting with some haunting vox humana before a combination of CAN and TANGERINE DREAM takes hold, the rhythm section covered in dub echo drives what is possibly one of the greatest instrumental signatures ever!
Available on the album ‘Sons & Fascination/Sister Feelings Call’ via Virgin/EMI Records
Not actually written as an instrumental, the original was the B-side of VISAGE’s first single ‘Tar’ and much faster paced, featuring Steve Strange rambling about not very much. For its dance mix, ‘Frequency 7’ was slowed down and Strange’s vocal removed. The result was a masterclass in Barry Adamson’s bass counterpointing with Billy Currie’s ARP Odyssey bursts of screaming aggression and Rusty Egan’s metronomic electronic beats for a creepy robotic aesthetic.
There are two versions of this cult classic; a mutant countrified ambient piece based around the bassline of Brian Eno’s ‘The Fat Lady Of Limbourg’ from the ‘Some Bizzare Album’ and the lively Mike Oldfield inspired album version from ‘Happy Families’. Each has its merits but the percussively jaunty re-recording just wins over with its synthesized wallows, chiming guitars and crashing Simmons drums.
Available on the album ‘Happy Families’ via Edsel Records
The hypnotic B-side to ‘Face on The Wall’ showcased the fusion of the classical, rock and prog elements that were the core talents of Chris Payne, RRussell Bell and CedSharpley who had been the mainstay of the first GARY NUMAN backing band. Not a cover of Edward Elgar’s near-namesake composition ‘Pomp & Circumstance’ , DRAMATIS‘ rousing number would however make a perfect closer for the Last Night Of The Proms in the 22nd Century!
Available on the album ‘For Future Reference’ via Cherry Red Records
Technically, ‘DNA’ is not a really synth instrumental with the hook line being far too guitar oriented. However, it had a key role breaking down barriers for music with a more futuristic bent in synthobic America and snatched a 1983 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. And for that, ‘DNA’ deserves kudos! A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS‘ cultural impact can be measured by leader Mike Score’s iconic hair style being lampooned in ‘The Wedding Singer’ and ‘Friends’.
Available on the album ‘A Flock Of Seagulls’ via Cherry Pop
A solo Dave Ball composition that was on the B-side of ‘What?’, the tall, pensive synthesist created an electronic disco number while Marc Almond was off doing the first MARC & THE MAMBAS’ album that would have done GIORGIO MORODER proud. Reminiscent of the Italian producer’s ‘Chase’, ‘….So’ featured wonderful percolating synths over a fabulously danceable groove and a solid metronomic beat that required no additional vocal histrionics or energetics.
Available on the album ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ via Mercury Records
CARE was a short lived project comprising of soon-to-be main man of THE LIGHTNING SEEDS Ian Broudie and THE WILD SWANS’ vocalist Paul Simpson. Combining acoustic strums with synthesizer melodies, CARE had promise but imploded due to musical differences. ‘On A White Cloud’ was an epic instrumental with thundering percussion, castenets, ringing guitar and heavenly synthetic layers that appeared the 12 inch B-side of the duo’s best 45 ‘Flaming Sword’.
Originally released on the 12 inch single ‘Flaming Sword’ via Arista Records, currently unavailable
CHINA CRISIS recorded a variety of instrumental sketches and the results were often superb. But as the duo of Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon only had a couple of hits, most of this material was little heard having been tucked away on B-sides. ‘Dockland’ is a prime example having been the flip of the flop single ‘Working With Fire & Steel’. The sublime nautical transience inspired by Liverpool’s once vibrant docks lying wasted in a period of high unemployment was captivating.
Available on the album ‘Collection: The Very Best of China Crisis’ 2CD edition via Virgin Records
‘Tiger Tiger’ is the best JAPAN instrumental that Sylvian and Co never recorded plus some would consider any DURAN DURAN track without a Simon Le Bon vocal to be a bonus. That aside, John Taylor and Nick Rhodes had more artier aspirations so indulged on this musical tribute to the William Blake poem. Taylor does a superb Mick Karn impersonation on fretless bass while Rhodes adds a great synth melody to proceedings.
Available on the album ‘Seven & The Ragged Tiger’ via EMI Records
Strangely enough, Vince Clarke is not really known for his instrumentals. Co-composed with Eric Radcliffe, ‘Stop/Start’ was effectively Clarke’s first instrumental as DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Any Second Now’ had a ‘(Voices)’ variant while YAZOO’s ‘Chinese Detectives’ was only played live. A Casiotone infused ditty with Linn drums and a cute melody, ‘Stop/Start’ was the B-side to THE ASSEMBLY’s only single ‘Never Never’.
Available on the boxed set ‘Mute: Audio Documents’ via Mute Records
Throwing off his mental chains, Mr Jones took inspiration from his own Buddhist spirituality and the overtures of Vangelis’ 1979 album ‘China’ for this rather beautiful piece which used to open his early shows. Using pentatonic melodies and sweeping chords on ‘Tao Te Ching’ in the style of Tomita and Kitaro, it’s a shame that this aspect of Jones’ quite obvious musical capabilities has never really been explored.
Available on the album ‘The Very Best Of Howard Jones’ via Warner Music
Inspired by a ‘Blade Runner’ sample, ‘Junk Culture’ was a reggae-ish number set to a bizarre time signature and signalled OMD’s move away from Germanic electronica. Still experimenting, only this time with more World Music forms thanks to the advent of sampling technology, the detuned Tijuana brass, deep dub bass and schizo voice snippets recalled the work of Jah Wobble, Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit.
Available on the album ‘Junk Culture’ via Virgin Records
‘The Marauders’ and ‘Empire Building’ showed TEARS FOR FEARS were adept at instrumentals and their best was ‘Pharaohs’, the B-side of ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’. Launched with a crunchy 6/8 heartbeat, the sedate piano motif and drifting synths gave a distinctly nautical feel, enhanced by sound bites from the BBC shipping forecast. But out of nowhere, the middle eight Emulator voice theme from the A-side introduces its partnering chordial guitar solo!
Available on the album ‘Songs From The Big Chair’ 2CD deluxe edition
This theme was composed in 1988 for the eight part Granada TV series hosted by Factory Records’ supremo Tony Wilson and featured two of Manchester’s most iconic club footballers, George Best and Rodney Marsh. With a great string synth melody, Hooky bass, clubby beats and Italo piano stabs, this prompted the FA to commision NEW ORDER to write ‘World In Motion’ for the 1990 World Cup, while the series allowed ‘Best & Marsh’ to embark on a popular speaking tour.
Available on the album ‘Technique’ 2CD Deluxe edition via London Records
Dramatic, tense and melodic, Vangelis’ closing theme to the acclaimed 1982 Ridley Scott directed Sci-Fi movie ‘Blade Runner’ succeeded in orchestrating a score using just synths and samples to maintain the futuristic unsettlement of the story. However, the glorious track was not actually released until 1989 on the ‘Themes’ compilation, while an actual soundtrack album didn’t actually see the light of day until 1994.
Available on the album ‘Blade Runner’ via Warner Music
There is a new VISAGE album but the majority of its founder members have not been involved.
John McGeoch passed away in 2004 and although Barry Adamson played on the first two albums, he gave up his equity in the collective after the first single ‘Tar’.
Whilst Dave Formula has contributed one song ‘Dairies Of A Madman’, ULTRAVOX members Midge Ure and Billy Currie did not participate.
The collective’s original catalyst Rusty Egan did take part in the initial stages as musical director of the project, but withdrew due to artistic differences and disagreements over production values.
Then in November 2012, Steve Strange announced on German TV that he was writing songs with Midge Ure which proved to be incorrect while various sources reported on the fallout to confirm that all was not well.
Thus Steve Strange is the only ingredient from the original Blitz Club days who appears throughout the resultant album entitled ‘Hearts & Knives’. Although there are guest appearances by notable players from the scene such as ex-ULTRAVOX guitarist Robin Simon and ex-SIMPLE MINDS keyboardist Mick MacNeil, this album to many ears is not a realVISAGE album.
Rusty Egan spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about the background of ‘Hearts & Knives’ and how he intends to pursue his own musical interests in the future…
How did the idea for a new VISAGE album come about?
I was consulted about the possibility of a new VISAGE album on the basis that royalties due to me, the estate of John McGeoch and to Dave Formula had been misappropriated by Steve Strange over a period of eight years.
The proposition was that the only way to recover the misappropriated royalties was to produce a fourth VISAGE album and pay Steve Strange a reduced royalty share until the misappropriated funds were restored. I was only willing to be involved in the production of an album that would do credit to the heritage of VISAGE. I spoke with all the members to establish their willingness to reform which was a tough call, and one by one they all declined.
So what did you do then?
I then thought “If I was going to form VISAGE today, who would I invite?” I talked with Chris Payne who co-wrote ‘Fade To Grey’ for writing and keyboards, SPANDAU BALLET’s Steve Norman for sax and percussion, ex-ULTRAVOX guiarist Robin Simon, Didier Marouani of SPACE and as producer, Brian Tench who had worked with KATE BUSH and OMD as well as VISAGE.
But some might say your concept for a new VISAGE is no more valid than this solo Steve Strange version?
Of course, a VISAGE album without a contribution from Midge would be crazy. When the team started to come together, Midge kindly offered a song called ‘Become’.
But early in the production cycle, it became clear to me that the company who were funding the production had no intention of meeting my production values nor matching the quality of the team that I had pulled together with an album that would show them or the VISAGE heritage in a good light.
So why is ‘Hearts & Knives’ not a VISAGE album then in your opinion?
Midge Ure and I alone came up with the concept for VISAGE. That is a matter of historical fact. VISAGE was and is our intellectual and emotional property.
The album has been produced and released without the consent of Midge or myself.
‘Hearts & Knives’ I presume alludes to love and death. Well I loved VISAGE, but this album is the death of everything that VISAGE represented. This collection of songs/music does not represent the heritage and musical values of VISAGE. It is a Steve Strange album. I believe that no-one would be interested in a Steve Strange album so using the name VISAGE is the only way to market the album.
So what have you thought about the end result?
Given this background, I have really struggled to be impartial about this album. ‘Lost In Static’ is the only track on the album that actually works, just because it’s simple. It has a decent drum and bass track. There’s one song ‘Never Enough’ which was very SIMPLE MINDS; but it could be good if we worked on the lyrics, got some great guitar and pumped that bass… the final version sounds like a home recording that was submitted as a demo. The production company has only added some guitars.
‘Shameless Fashion’ is OK but does not sound like VISAGE. ‘She’s Electric’ is also OK but nothing special; the ‘Fade To Grey’ CR78 drum track has been copied as an intro. The thin drums once again sound like a demo as if the producer has said “We’ll do the drums later” but never got around to it. I hate the vocal delays.
‘Diaries Of A Madman’ is the only song written by Steve and he had recorded it a few years ago with Dave Formula.
‘Dreamer I Know’ appears to have some potential…
That song is the one that I am most upset about. I met Arno Carstens at the Isle Of Wight Music Festival after I saw his performance. I just had to ask him about this song, he said it had been released but without any great take up. “I love it” I said, “It is like DEPECHE MODE, can I use it for VISAGE but make some changes?” Arno said “Sure, just do it and let me hear it”. I hope he does NOT EVER hear this VISAGE version… I had nothing to do with it. I have done this song the justice it deserves.
So what are you going to do music wise?
I have continued to write with Chris Payne and an amazing writer Gerard O’ Connell who co-wrote ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’. We have done an amazing job on ‘Dreamer’; Youth co-wrote that with Arno, I have to say the mixes are simply wonderful. I have six more amazing songs co-written with Chris Payne and other songwriters. Didier plays his style keys, Steve Norman plays some nice sax which is very ROXY MUSIC.
Now I must say I am so much more content now to just do ‘Rusty Egan Presents…’ and release some tracks AFTER this album has gone away.
You’ve previewed ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ which is like GIORGIO MORODER meets DAFT PUNK…
Well, collaboration is really the way forward. Robin, Gerard , Didier, Brian Tench… there are many talented people I come across. If you listen to the radio show there are some amazing new bands that I would love to work with; SIN COS TAN really do it for me, METROLAND and KARIN PARK too.
‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ is an example of how I have always worked. There was this amazing bassline with synth stabs that grabbed me, but what I could hear was an electro style uplifting track and I wrote this on the roof of the villa in Ibiza… I just looked and thought “Welcome To The Dancefloor of THE WORLD”. It’s here and as a DJ, I am and always was inspired in Ibiza and will head there again this summer and write some more… we wrote that track and recorded it very simply and then sent it to Robin Skouteris who did the final mixes.
I first came across Robin when I heard his amazing ‘Wonderful’ mix featuring HURTS. We just clicked and he did exactly what I wanted with the finished mixes… we are working on every track together first, then some friends want to remix. We are speaking with Paul Oakenfold, Richard Grey, Michael Gray and Tim Overdijk. And I’m excited to be in contact with METROLAND.
Although you did the deep backing vocals on VISAGE songs like ‘Fade to Grey’ and ‘Night Train’, you’re not known for singing. So will all the songs be vocodered like ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ or do you have other plans?
I always did backing vocals on everything and I sung ‘Dancefloor’ then got Gerard to do it pre-vocoder.
On ‘Night Train’, I do the whole answer verses and on all my current stuff, I just sing it badly and then Gerard does it better.
I could sing it but it would be in the Bowie/ Iggy low baritone and I love that style but I am not a frontman. I would love VIKTORIA MODESTA rather than me.
Once I have the songs recorded… well, all I can do is make some calls and hope people like them. I would just love KARIN PARK to sing on them, I have two songs that I know would suit her and also Theo from HURTS or the guys in MIRRORS. There are so many perfect singers out there.
So now I just want to get the songs and the music right, the only good sign I have is that when I ask people to work with me, they hear the simple music and say “YES I love it, let’s do it” … that is the way I know I am doing something right.
I have Robin Simon playing on one song and it’s perfect, he just sounds like the Robin of the ‘Systems Of Romance’ era.
How are you finding doing the radio shows?
I say “Less Talk, More Music” as I really think ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is about the NEW MUSIC and the inspired classics. I am just the link… people love the tracks I select and that’s always been the case. I find bands / songs / music and say “I love this”… success!
It may take a year or four albums like with SIMPLE MINDS and ULTRAVOX but I can hear it, first time… and my track listings will show that we have found great talent; it may take time… but it’s QUALITY!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Rusty Egan
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, ‘The Tenant’ signalled the Lewisham combo’s move away from funk rock into artier climes. A merging of the second side of David Bowie’s ‘Low’ with classical composer Erik Satie, it saw Richard Barbieri play more with synthesizer and piano textures to create atmosphere while Mick Karn dressed the piece with his fretless bass rather than driving it. Karn’s burst of self-taught sax at the conclusion is also quite unsettling.
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