“I don’t like country & western, I don’t like rock music… I don’t like rockabilly! I don’t like much really do I? But what I do like, I love passionately!!”: CHRIS LOWE
To be still releasing great pop records 44 years after your debut is a fine achievement and that is exactly what Kim Wilde has done with her new album ‘Closer’.
Interestingly, the songstress herself has stated that ‘Closer’ is a companion record to her 1988 long player ‘Close’ which saw a revival in fortunes thanks to the hits ‘You Came’ and ‘Four Letter Word’. Coupled with a high profile tour opening for Michael Jackson, that occasion followed a few comparatively leaner years after the huge success of her self-titled debut and the sophomore offering ‘Select’.
Although Kim Wilde has never gone away, apart from a hiatus into horticulture which led to an award for best courtyard garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2005, while she has always maintained a loyal fanbase and continues to perform shows across the world, there is something in the air surrounding her latest work. Produced and co-written as usual by her brother Ricky Wilde with additional songwriting contributions from his daughter and her niece Scarlett, they stood stage right as part of a tight septet. Alongside was Steve Power with a Korg Kronos and Roland keytar while to the left were other long-standing Wilde-men Paul Cooper (bass), Neil Jones (guitar) and Jonathan Atkinson (drums).
With a funky opener in ‘Hey Mister Heartache’, the initially tentative audience were all on their feet for ‘You Came’, a classic pop tune in anyone’s book. The introductory showcase of the ‘Close’ album also featured ‘Never Trust a Stranger’ but slotting in perfectly were songs from ‘Closer’. The powerful ‘Trail of Destruction’ highlighted environmental and existential concerns while providing reinforcements was the synth rock statement of ‘Midnight Train’. What was particularly impressive was how Kim Wilde’s backing band left no rest for the wicked, energetically seguing straight into the next track without batting an eyelid.
Taking a breather, the audience sat back down for the soulful ballads section that included ‘Love’s a No’ and ‘Four Letter Word’. While the feisty Kim and Scarlett duet ‘Hourglass Human’ didn’t get the crowded immediately back on their feet, the evergreen ‘Cambodia’ did! This was followed a barrage of the early hits ‘Water on Glass’, ‘View From A Bridge’ and ‘Chequered Love’ which gave plenty of opportunities for singalongs and “Molly Ringwald in ‘The Breakfast Club’ style dancing”. Again, the band co-ordination in the segues made sure there was no sleep ‘til Indigo2!
A rocked-up ‘Love Is Love’ added some 21st Century momentum to proceedings and if there’s a song that could win Eurovision again for the UK, it is this one. Meanwhile, ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ brought Motown and plenty of “woah-oh-oh-oh-oahs ” into the room.
For the encore, it was time to party again like it was 1981 and while the new wave power pop of ‘Scorpio’ is from the new album, it could have easily been mistaken to be a lost song from ‘Kim Wilde’. And as the band gathered in front the drum riser preparing to do battle for the final time of the evening and sharing a similar electronic pulse, there was only her fabulous signature tune ‘Kids in America’ left to do!
In fine voice and exuding her charming down-to-earth presence, joyous is the only word that could be used to describe the warm family atmosphere resonant throughout this enjoyable evening. If you’ve never been to Kim Wilde show before, now might be a good time to change that 😉
With thanks to Sacha Taylor-Cox at Hush PR
‘Closer’ is released by Cherry Red Records as a CD, black vinyl LP, limited edition white vinyl LP and download
It took 13 years for DESIRE to follow-up their acclaimed self-titled debut album with ‘Escape’ but it’s taken just under 3 years for ‘Games People Play’ to emerge containing “twenty love songs for your dreams…”
Led by Megan Louise with Johnny Jewel at her side in the production seat, DESIRE are now very much the highest profile of act on Italians Do It Better and seemingly on an endless world tour. Unfolding like a game of chess with Megan Louise as the latex-clad queen, fate as the dealer and love as the wager, the shadowy premise of ‘Games People Play’ is “Checkmate is inevitable – but who will make the final move?”
Opener ‘Darkside’ offers the classic dreamy side of DESIRE while the enigmatic ‘Russian Roulette’ is an eerie ivory laden spoken word en Français. Flutey and French, ‘Réflexion Sous La Pluie’ allures as a vibey ballad that sits well alongside the atmospheres of ‘Demons In The Rain’.
On the other side of the coin, ‘Human Nature’ is danceable pop DESIRE with ‘Vampire’ providing a Germanic flavour while borrowing the synth line of ‘The Boys Of Summer’. Popwave and techno make their presence felt on ‘Dangerous Drug’ and ‘Dream Girl’ respectively.
A frequent purveyor of cover versions, DESIRE’s take on ‘Tell It To My Heart’ is elegantly nocturnal, as is the gentle self-penned ‘I Know’ which concludes with a particularly spicy arpeggiated twist. There’s a sharp cascading synth instrumental in ‘Sometimes’ but ‘The Judge’ is artful and alluring with an enticing percussive backdrop while ‘Love Races On’ is an airy slice of electronic pop.
The arpeggio laden bounce of ‘Cold As Ice’ is not a cover of the near-namesake Italian disco number by Grant Miller but throws in orchestral stabs while Italo house stomper ‘Drama Queen’ comes with a Madonna ‘Vogue’ type rap.
It would be fair to say in its second half, ‘Games People Play’ is particularly moody with Johnny Jewel providing a fitting cinematic backdrop with Megan Louise resigned to the way the chess game is playing out.
Maybe there is too much to take in and while the styles are varied, all types of DESIRE are represented. There is something for everyone so if in doubt, compile a playlist to suit your own DESIRE.
Established on 15th March 2010, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK celebrates 15 years online.
Aiming to feature the best in new and classic electronic pop music, during that time it has conducted over 550 interviews from fledgling independent acts and veteran cult artists to established international stars.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK prides itself in asking interesting questions that are a bit different and seeded by knowledge of the subject. As a result, these interviews have been appreciated by those music enthusiasts who know their tape recorders from their drum machines.
As for the interviewees, the vast majority have been a joy to work with and luckily, boring or difficult interviews have been rare. However, the most disappointing situations arise when someone agrees to an interview and continues communications for several weeks but doesn’t come clean to say they are not actually interested in participating… it is the interviewing equivalent of being ghosted 😆
Photo by Rob Harris
While sending questions via email for an artist to answer in their own time is the modern way of conducting an interview and is convenient with artists who have day jobs, don’t speak English as a first language or are in a different time zone, it is not particularly interactive and lacks a conversational flow. A true interview is a two way live conversation conducted face-to-face, by phone or a conferencing platform where opinions, thoughts and recollections can be obtained through reactive questioning.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK lists its 25 favourite interviews from over the years. Reading like a ‘Who’s Who?’ of electronic pop, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK all the interviews were conducted in-person or via a live call, except those with Alan Wilder, Karl Bartos and Rob Dean which were done by email.
PAUL HUMPHREYS (2010)
This Paul Humphreys interview put ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK on the map. At his studio complex in London, he chatted about the past, present and future of OMD, hinting at the contents of the upcoming album ‘History Of Modern’. The interview proved popular and was later quoted by The Guardian in a feature about OMD. This was the first of five interviews, the most recent of which was for OMD’s 40th Anniversary in 2019.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK bumped into Sarah Blackwood after a HEAVEN 17 concert in Cologne and so began a long lasting friendship. Conducted at a café in St Pancras, this interview captured an interesting interregnum with our heroine between the end of CLIENT and the start of the DUBSTAR reunion. This was to be the first of two Sarah solo chats while she would be interviewed with Chris Wilkie twice as DUBSTAR.
Conducted in London to coincide with the reissue of her debut solo album ‘Love: And A Million Other Things’, Claudia Brücken talked about her time in PROPAGANDA, ACT and ONETWO while she also talked about plans for a compilation called ‘ComBined’ collecting highlights from throughout her career. Her most recent ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK interview was together with Susanne Freytag as xPROPAGANDA.
The majority of interviews are cordial affairs but this one with Andy McCluskey following the release of OMD’s comeback album ‘History Of Modern’ was a bit ‘Frost/Nixon’. ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK echoed some of the fan disappointments about the record and to his credit, he was unrepentant and batted away criticisms with aplomb. A less confrontational interview followed in 2013 for ‘English Electric’.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK were surprised when a request to interview Stephen Morris was accepted, especially as NEW ORDER had seemingly disbanded. The conversion had The Human Drum Machine at his best with stories about JOY DIVISION as well. But why was this interview taking place, why was he doing a fashion shoot for ‘Arena Homme+’? It was all subtle profile rebuilding as NEW ORDER was relaunched months later!
With many discussion points covered, a thoroughly entertaining hour was spent chatting to Neil Arthur in his studio during a break from rehearsals for the first BLANCMANGE live shows since 1986 in support of a new album ‘Blanc Burn’. The artist who has been interviewed the most times by ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, he has since been featured a further nine times including with his side projects FADER and NEAR FUTURE.
The intelligent aesthetics of MIRRORS made them ideal for ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s first interview using the Vintage Synth Trumps format. Conducted in the dressing room of Cologne’s Gebaude9 prior to the first show of their headlining German tour, James New and Ally Young chatted about the synths used on their ’Lights & Offerings’ album. But tension was evident between the pair and it ultimately led to the sad end of the band.
While often reluctant to talk about DEPECHE MODE, when Alan Wilder auctioned off a large collection of his studio equipment, vinyl and memorabilia, he was ready to talk about the band he left in 1995 again as well his own musical venture RECOIL. For the 25th Anniversary of the release of the ‘101’ live album and documentary film in 2014 , ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK was the only platform he granted an interview to.
One of the nicest guys in the music business, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK had the pleasure of chatting to Howard Jones about his then-upcoming tour performing his first two albums ‘Human’s Lib’ and ‘Dream Into Action’. Focussing on the period between 1983 to 85 when he became a household name and was many people’s entry point into the world of synthpop, the interview included lots of analogue and digital synth talk.
A short conversation conducted remotely, Karl Bartos talked about his new album ‘Off The Record’ and recalled his collaborations with Andy McCluskey, Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr. When he performed at Cologne’s Live Music Hall on the same night that KRAFTWERK received a Lifetime Achievement Grammyin January 2014, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK were granted an audience with the man himself.
The album ‘the minutes’ saw the return of Alison Moyet to electronica and this inevitably led to reminiscences about YAZOO in this delightful and sweary interview conducted face-to-face in Islington. She was frank and open about all aspects of her career, the misconception of her being a “jazz singer” and which two songs from the YAZOO portfolio she particularly hated! Can you guess without look at the transcript which ones they are?
VILE ELECTRODES remain the act that ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has been proudest of featuring. Invited to support OMD on the German leg of their ‘English Electric’ tour following Andy McCluskey spotting the band while perusing ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, this informative interview was conducted in Anais Neon and Martin Swan’s synth-filled apartment and completed online to update it after the news was announced.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK were literally given a few days notice that is was to interview Gary Numan at his home in Los Angeles by phone. Coinciding with the release of the ‘Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)’ album which had taken 7 years to complete, he was in buoyant mood after an artistic rejuvenation. Refreshingly honest, he admitted his original plan to make all the songs on ‘Splinter’ one-dimensional was “a sh*t idea”!
One of the fun things about the Vintage Synth Trumps series of interviews is that there is a degree of jeopardy for both interviewer and artist. Taking time to gain acclaim and recognition , the first Rodney Cromwell album ‘Age Of Anxiety’ was perfect for mainman Adam Cresswell to talk about his love of synths and DIY recording as well as the influence of NEW ORDER and SECTION 25 on his music over a fish supper in London’s Soho.
It was known that Richard Barbieri is often not that keen on talking about JAPAN and ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK assumed all the chat over the phone would be about his new album ‘Planets + Persona’. But unprompted, he chatted about his MicroMoog which was used on a number of JAPAN albums. But the crowning glory of the interview was how he did the metallic intro of ‘Ghosts’ using his Roland System 700 Lab Series.
While not as well-known as Giorgio Moroder or Conny Plank, producer Zeus B Held contacted ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK after it did a Beginner’s Guide feature on his career portfolio. A coffee meeting was arranged at Foyles bookshop in London and morphed into a full interview which saw the talkative German reflect back on working with GINA X PERFORMANCE, FASHION and DEAD OR ALIVE as well as John Foxx and Gary Numan.
When in Düsseldorf… despite the confrontational aspects of DAF, their drummer and sequencer programmer Robert Görl is something of a thoughtful and spiritual soul. This face-to-face interview was conducted before a performance of his ‘Glücksritter’ live only project and took in DAF, his wonderful solo debut long player ‘Night Full Of Tension’, working with Annie Lennox and the great standalone single ‘Mit Dir’.
Marc Almond and Dave Ball surprised all with a reunion for ‘One Night Only’ at London’s O2 Arena that has since become an ongoing world tour. But with it came a lavish boxed set, various books and new albums. In a London pub, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK had an in-depth chat with Dave Ball focussed on the ups and downs of SOFT CELL. This was followed up with an entertaining game of Vintage Synth Trumps in 2023.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has enjoyed seven interviews with Martyn Ware encompassing HEAVEN 17 and BEF, but this chat was about his time as a co-founder member of THE HUMAN LEAGUE to coincide with a live celebration of their first two albums ‘Reproduction’ and ‘Travelogue’. This was a fascinating insight into how THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s “vocals and synthesizers only” sound became the future of pop music.
Although he left JAPAN in 1980, guitarist Rob Dean gave an eye witness account to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK into the making of their third album ‘Quiet Life’ to coincide with a remastered boxset. JAPAN were in a state of transition from the growly glam funk of their first records to the mannered artful combo people remember them for today, so with him now residing in Costa Rica, this email Q&A provided some insightful commentary.
While most of ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s interviews with Our Man In Berlin have been conducted remotely at his convenience, apart from an onstage interview at a 2016 event in Düsseldorf, this Vintage Synth Trumps chat was a rare live outing on Skype. Among the topics were his remixes for NEW ORDER and YELLO while there was also mention of the Transcendent 2000 which Bernard Sumner had built from a kit and given to him.
With his noted dry humour, Billy Currie was on top form for probably the best interview in the Vintage Synth Trumps series so far. With insight into the workings of ULTRAVOX and VISAGE as well solo work and his brief time in the Gary Numan live band. Of the latter, Currie went into detail about the ARP Odyssey solo on ‘On Broadway’ while also shedding light on how ‘Touch & Go’ co-written with former band mate John Foxx became ‘Mr X’.
Some say that the Belgians don’t have a sense of humour, but that was proved wrong when surviving TELEX members Michel Moers and Dan Lacksman gave a laugh a minute interview to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in support of their self-titled boxed set released by Mute Records. The most hilarious moment was when the pair recalled their dismay when Portugal awarded them 10 points at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1980.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has had the honour of interviewing Midge Ure on a number of occasions, the first time at the world famous Abbey Road Studios. But the most recent occasion was the best where he discussed a life in music ahead of his 70th birthday and a special show at the Royal Albert Hall. This was an extensive chat which included music technology such as the PPG Wave and the Roland GR700 guitar synthesizer.
With ‘Metamatic’ about to celebrate its 45th Anniversary, it was a perfect time for ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK to chat to John Foxx about his close encounters with synthesizers over a game of Vintage Synth Trumps in Düsseldorf, the spiritual home of modern electronic pop. As well as talking about his seminal debut solo album, he recalled how ULTRAVOX came to utilise synths and drum machines in their music.
“The medium of reinterpretation” is still very much present in the 21st Century.
There have been albums of cover versions from the likes of SIMPLE MINDS and ERASURE as well as Midge Ure and Claudia Brücken celebrating their influences, as well as numerous various artists collections paying tribute to particular acts. However, the phenomenon of covering an entire album happened for a few years, something which MARSHEAUX, BECKY BECKY and CIRCUIT 3 attempted on works by DEPECHE MODE, THE KNIFE and YAZOO respectively.
On the other side of the coin in recognition of the cultural impact of the classic synth era, the Anti-Christ Superstar Marilyn Manson covered SOFT CELL’s cover of ‘Tainted Love’ but added more shouting, while David Grey took their own ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’ and turned it into a lengthy Dylan-esque ballad.
There has also been a trend for girl groups to cover songs from the period with GIRLS ALOUD, THE SATURDAYS and RED BLOODED WOMEN being among those introducing these numbers to a new younger audience.
So as a follow-up to the 25 CLASSIC SYNTH COVERS listing, here is ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s selection taken from reinterpretations recorded from 2000 to 2014, restricted to one song per artist moniker and presented in chronological order.
SCHNEIDER TM va KPTMICHIGAN The Light 3000 (2000)
Morrissey was once quoted as saying there was “nothing more repellent than the synthesizer”, but if THE SMITHS had gone electro, would they have sounded like this and Stephen Patrick thrown himself in front of that ten ton truck? Germany’s SCHNEIDER TM aka Dirk Dresselhaus reconstructed ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ to a series of minimal blips, blops and robotics to configure ‘The Light 3000’ with British producer KPTMICHIGAN.
God Made Me Hardcore was a label set-up by Andy Chatterley and Richard Norris for electroclash tracks they had involvement in and as THE DROYDS, they covered ‘Take Me I’m Yours’ was the debut single by SQUEEZE. The original was notable for its use of synths inspired by KRAFTWERK, so the duo reinterpreted it as a full deadpan electronic number that truly revealed its Kling Klang roots.
Available on the compilation album ‘This Is Hardcore’ (V/A) via God Made Me Hardcore
‘Automatic Lover’ was a 1978 disco-flavoured hit by Dee D Jackson and exploring a more electronic direction after his original trip hop success, the song was perfect foil for his fifth album ‘Antenna’. Filmic with layers of melancholic vocal and vocoder treatments over the gently pulsing electronics, the end result had something of a doomed romantic quality in its beautiful resignation.
From the JAY-JAY JOHANSON album ‘Antenna’ via BMG Sweden
A breathy Euro disco classic made famous by sultry Spanish vocal duo BACCARA, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory’s take on this cheesy but enjoyable disco standard came over like The Cheeky Girls at The Nuremburg rally! Now that’s a horrifying vision! All traces of ‘Yes Sir I Can Boogie’ apart from the original lyrics were rendered missing in action as the stern Ms Goldfrapp played the role of the thigh booted dominatrix on this highly original cover.
Available on the GOLDFRAPP single ‘Twist’ via Mute Records
When BLACK BOX RECORDER went on hiatus, Sarah Nixey recorded a beautifully spacey cover of JAPAN’s ‘Ghosts’ with INFANTJOY whose James Banbury became her main collaborator on her 2007 debut solo album ‘Sing Memory’. The duo’s other member was ZTT conceptualist Paul Morley. MIDI-ed up and into the groove, Nixey later also recorded THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘The Black Hit Of Space’.
Available on the INFANTJOY album ‘With’ via serviceAV
Of this mighty industrialised cover, Ralf Dörper said: “When I first heard ‘The Anvil’ (‘Der Amboss’) by VISAGE, I thought: “what a perfect song for DIE KRUPPS” – it just needed more sweat, more steel. And it was not before 2005 when DIE KRUPPS were asked to play a few 25-year anniversary shows that I remembered ‘Der Amboss’… and as I was a big CLIENT fan at that time, I thought it would be a good opportunity to ask Fräulein B for assistance in the vocal department”.
Comprising of Aggie Peterson and Per Martinsen, FROST have described their music as “upbeat space-pop”. Much of their own material like ‘Klong’, ‘Alphabet’ and ‘Sleepwalker’ exuded a perfect soundtrack for those long Nordic nights. Meanwhile their ultra-cool cover of OMD’s ‘Messages’ embraced that wintery atmosphere, while providing a pulsing backbone of icy synths to accompany Peterson’s alluringly nonchalant vocal.
In this “PINK FLOYD Goes To Hollywood” styled rework, Claudia Brücken revisited her ZTT roots with this powerful and danceable version of Roger Waters’ commentary on music business hypocrisy. ‘Have A Cigar’ showed a turn of feistiness and aggression not normally associated with the usually more serene timbres of Claudia Brücken and Paul Humphreys’ ONETWO project. But by welcoming pleasure into the dome, they did a fine cover version.
Budapest’s BLACK NAIL CABARET began life as an all-female duo of Emese Illes-Arvai on vocals and Sophie Tarr on keyboards, with their first online offering being a darkwave cover of Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’. Already very synthy in the Barbadian starlet’s own version, it showcased their brooding form of electro which subsequently impressed enough to earn support slots with COVENANT and CAMOUFLAGE while producing three albums of self-penned material so far.
Liverpudlian easy listening crooner Michael Holliday was the second person to have a UK No1 written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the first being Perry Como with ‘Magic Moments’. His second UK No1 penned by Earl Shuman and Mort Garson was a romantic guilty pleasure. CHINA CRISIS pledged their Scouse Honour with this jaunty synth / drum machine driven rendition of ‘Starry Eyed’ layered with reverbed synthbass warbles and harmonious vocals.
LITTLE BOOTS gave a dynamically poptastic rendition of Giorgio Moroder and Freddie Mercury’s only collaboration from 1984, retaining its poignant melancholic quality while adding a vibrant and danceable electronic slant. The recreation of Richie Zito’s guitar solo on synths was wondrous as was the looser swirly groove. While Blackpool-born Victoria Hesketh didn’t have the voice of Mercury, her wispy innocence added its own touching qualities to ‘Love Kills’.
Available on the LITTLE BOOTS EP ‘Illuminations’ via Elektra Records
Yuck, it’s Chris Martin and Co but didn’t Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe do well? Merging possibly COLDPLAY’s best song with the synth riff from their own Latino disco romp ‘Domino Dancing’, ‘Viva La Vida’ was turned into a stomping but still anthemic number which perhaps had more touches of affection than PET SHOP BOYS’ marvellous but allegedly two fingers Hi-NRG rendition of U2’s ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’. So altogether now: “Woah-oh, ooh-ooah!”
No strangers to raiding the Bowie songbook having previously tackled ‘Fame’ in 1981, DURAN DURAN however blotted their copy book with their 1995 covers LP ‘Thank You’. They refound their stride with the return-to-form album ‘All You Need Is Now’, but just before that, this superb reinterpretation of ‘Boys Keep Swinging’ reconnected them to their New Romantic roots with washes of Nick Rhodes’ swimmy Crumar string machine and John Taylor’s syncopated bass runs.
This frantically paced cover of controversial neofolk band DEATH IN JUNE was recorded for the LADYTRON ‘Best Of 00-10’ collection and purposely uncredited. The antithesis of the midtempo atmospherics of ‘Gravity The Seducer’, this cutting four-to-the-floor romp was the last of the quartet’s in-yer-face tracks in a wind down of the harder ‘Velocifero’ era. With the multi-ethnic combo subverting the meaning of ‘Little Black Angel’, it deliberately bore no resemblance to the original.
Available on the LADYTRON album ‘Best of 00-10’ via Nettwerk Records
‘The Eternal’ from ‘Closer’, the final album by JOY DIVISION, was one of the most fragile, funereal collages of beauty ever committed to vinyl. But in 2011, the mysterious Brighton based songstress GAZELLE TWIN reworked this cult classic and made it even more haunting! Replacing the piano motif with eerily chilling synth and holding it together within an echoing sonic cathedral, she paid due respect to the song while adding her own understated operatic stylings.
MIRRORS revealed an interesting musical diversion with this haunting take of a rootsy country number originally recorded by Karen Dalton. Written by Dino Valenti of psychedelic rockers QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE, ‘Something On Your Mind’ was a touching ballad with its tortured yearning suiting the quartet’s pop noir aspirations. Ally Young said: “It was very nice for us to be able to apply our aesthetic to someone else’s song.”
THE XX had a minimalist approach which Andy McCluskey said was “really quite impressive”. This bareness made their material quite well suited for reworking in the style of classic OMD. ‘VCR’ had Paul Humphreys taking charge of the synths while McCluskey dusted off his bass guitar and concentrated on vocals. McCluskey added: “People go ‘how did OMD influence THE XX?’… but have you listened to ‘4-Neu’? Have you listened to some of the really simple, stripped down B-sides?”
Using a logo that was based on the DDR motor company that produced the Trabant, when German chiptune quartet WELLE: ERDBALL made their tenth album ‘Der Kalte Krieg’, they included numerous German schlager style covers as an ironic nostalgic trip back to the nuclear angst of that era. One of those was a joyous synthpop cover of ‘Ein Bißchen Frieden’, the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest winner sung by Nicole, known in its English version as ‘A Little Peace’.
Available on the WELLE: ERDBALL album ‘Der Kalte Krieg’ via Synthetic Symphony
Folk-oriented songs are just made for electronic reinventions and as COMPUTE, Sweden’s Ulrika Mild did just that on ‘Goodbye’, a song made famous by Mary Hopkin which was written by Paul McCartney who had also produced her debut hit ‘Those Were the Days’. The track formed part of a charity compilation under the supervision of Eddie Bengtsson from PAGE who covered ‘Cos I Luv U’ while it also included versions of ‘Silver Machine’ and ‘Heart Of Gold’.
Available on the compilation album ‘Friends Of Electronically Yours Present The Seventies Revisited’ (V/A) via Electronically Yours
‘My Blue Heaven’ was a popular song written by Walter Donaldson with lyrics by George A Whiting. A 1927 song used in the Ziegfeld Follies and a hit crooner Gene Austin, this atmospheric synth reinterpretation by the Finnish duo of Juho Paalosmaa and Jori Hulkkonen was recorded to celebrate the end of their first year as SIN COS TAN as a seasonal gift following the acclaimed for their self-titled debut album.
As I SPEAK MACHINE, Tara Busch has been known for her haunting and downright bizarre live covers of songs as diverse as ‘Cars’, ‘Our House’, ‘The Sound Of Silence’ and ‘Ticket To Ride’. For a John Foxx tribute EP which also featured GAZELLE TWIN, she turned ‘My Sex’, the closing number from the debut ULTRAVOX! long player, into a cacophony of wailing soprano and dystopian synths that was more than suitable for a horror flick.
Available on the EP ‘Exponentialism’ (V/A) via Metamatic Records
French theatrical performer Valerie Renay and German producer Sebastian Lee Philipp are NOBLESSE OBLIGE. Together, they specialise in a brand of abstract Weimer cabaret tinged with a dose of electro Chanson. Their lengthy funereal deadpan cover of THE EAGLES ‘Hotel California’ highlighted the chilling subtext of the lyrics to its macabre conclusion! The synthesizer substitution of the original’s iconic twin guitar solo could be seen as total genius or sacrilege!
I AM SNOW ANGEL is the project of Brooklyn based producer Julie Kathryn; her debut album ‘Crocodile’ was a lush sounding affair and could easily be mistaken as a product of Scandinavia were it not for her distinctly Trans-Atlantic drawl. Already full of surprises, to close the long player, out popped a countrified drum ‘n’ bass take of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m On Fire’! Quite what The Boss would have made of it, no-one is sure but it was quietly subversive…
Available on the I AM SNOW ANGEL album ‘Crocodile’ via I Am Snow Angel
Reinterpreting Bowie is fraught with the possibility of negative feedback and MACHINISTA taking on ‘Heroes’ set tongues wagging. Recorded as the duo’s calling card when experienced Swedish musicians John Lindqwister and Richard Flow first came together, electronic pulses combined with assorted synthetic textures which when amalgamated with Lindqwister’s spirited vocal, produced a respectful and yes, good version.
Available on the MACHINISTA album ‘Xenoglossy’ via Analogue Trash
Comprising of frisky vocalist Emily Kavanaugh and moody producer Mark Brooks, NIGHT CLUB simply cut to the chase with their enjoyable electronic cover of INXS’ ‘Need You Tonight’. Here, the familiar guitar riff was amusingly transposed into a series of synth stabs before mutating into a mutant Morse code. It wasn’t rock ‘n’ roll but we liked it! Purists were horrified, but history has proved the best cover versions always do a spot of genre and instrumentation hopping.
Spike is the nom de théâtre of London-based singer-songwriter Hannah McLoughlin.
Under her own name, she released an experimental electronic soundscape EP ‘The Tower’ in 2020 and has been a regular performer at London’s Cafe Oto. But Spike is a much more song-based and avant popcentric, influenced by Irish composer Roger Doyle and his songs as part of OPERATING THEATRE like ‘Spring Is Coming With A Strawberry In The Mouth’ and ‘Queen Of No Heart’ which featured the vocals of Elena López and were released by U2’s Mother label in 1986.
Adept at flute, EWI and synth, Spike delivers a brand of macabre disco dealing with the undead and the inhuman. It’s therefore perhaps no big surprise that her debut self-titled EP opens with a deadpan electronic cover of Warren Zevon’s ‘Werewolves Of London’. A gothic reimagining, this will be seen as sacrilege to some but it is certainly more inventive than Kid Rock’s pick ‘n’ nick hatchet job ‘All Summer Long’!
The video for ‘Werewolves Of London’ was filmed by McLoughlin on 16mm and included many of the London Soho landmarks referenced in Zevon’s lyrics except the Lee Ho Fook Chinese restaurant in Gerrard Street which was part of the original lyrics and closed in 2008. Incidentally, this was 3 doors away from the now-also closed Gooseberry Studios which was where Gary Numan recorded ‘Are Friends Electric?’
The promising EP also includes the enjoyable melancholic Motorik rave of ‘Tiquetonne’ which delightfully interpolates ‘Con Te Partiro’ aka ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ as made famous by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. More rhythmically metronomic and possibly the stand-out song, the wonderful ‘You’re Missing’ offers a slice of glorious angelic oompah and vocally recalls the sadly departed Trish Keenan of BROADCAST.
‘Voca Me’ brings in a deeper ghostly atmosphere but as it shuffles along, it deals out more choir girl resonances in the second half. The EP closes with the eerie vocodered tone poem ‘I Could Wait’ where the cerebral approaches of Laurie Anderson loom large.
Short and sweet, this varied debut showcasing an intriguing new talent provides a fresh take on electronic avant pop seeded by that uniquely British eccentricity.
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