Author: electricityclub (Page 7 of 415)

“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

“Good taste is exclusive”: NICK RHODES

IONNALEE Close Your Eyes

10 September 2024 /

Jonna Lee is back as IONNALEE after the more organic IAMAMIWHOAMI record ‘Be Here Soon’ in 2022 which saw her return to her folk singer-songwriter roots.

What’s the difference between the two one may ask? IAMAMIWHOAMI is a full duo effort between Jonna Lee and Claes Björklund who himself works solo as BARBELLE; thus IONNALEE is the solo moniker of Lee although perhaps confusingly to some, Björklund is still closely involved on instrumentation as well as occasionally production and mix.

‘Close Your Eyes’ sees Jonna Lee return to the electronic sound which she launched with IAMAMIWHOAMI in 2009 and continued as IONNALEE from 2018. But this third IONNALEE long player after ‘Everyone Afraid To Be Forgotten’ and  ‘Remember The Future’ and comes with a twist in that it has a Swedish Language twin in ‘Blund’; “I recently moved out of Stockholm back to the area where I grew up in Östergötland” she said, “Singing in my mother tongue gives my artistry a different angle and that feels really exciting – it’s like exploring a new language!”

Lush and airy, opening tune ‘La La love’ begins like classic IONNALEE with a stutter but then bursts into a straight passage of synth bass and strums while questioning whether the physical disconnect in today’s virtual world has muted the ability to feel love.

‘Innocence Of Sound’ is slightly more chilling, reinforced by a rumbling engine room that recalls her earlier IAMAMIWHOAMI albums ‘Kin’ and ‘Blue’ with rich toplines to compliment the delightful oddness with a breathless energy in an anthem for today’s troubled times.

‘Not Your Cherry’ steadies the pace with a zing and a declaration to not play second fiddle using a delightful cake baking metaphor. A combination of droning synths and ethnic instrumentation colours ‘Forgive Her’ and while the vocals dominate, a cutting drum loop takes hold at the end.

The beautiful avant Scandipop of ‘Luminary Rainbows’ is a sumptuously widescreen highlight that declares it is good to chase the dream and thrive. Another is ‘The End Of Every Song’ which surprises with a thumping rhythm and a cacophony of chunky sequences and piercing electronics, the vocals sitting brilliantly like ABBA on helium in outer space!

The punchy digital computer grooves continue on ‘Run Wild’ but as ‘Darkness Is A Real Place’, IONNALEE sounds forlorn on a song that if orchestrated could be Celine Dion; but over a sparse backdrop of chilling synthetic strings and drum machine, it comes over marvellously otherworldly.

The sampled cello and guitar sees ‘You Hold Me Like Water’ project an ominous mood but the bubbling synths provide the contrast that pushes song structure conventions. The cinematic closer ‘Who’ seeks sanctuary and a request to “take me somewhere safe” within a glorious pool of sound design.

By going back to crystalline electronic backdrops on ‘Close Your Eyes’ after the folk and jazz inflected excursions of ‘Be Here Soon’, Jonna Lee has highlighted, whether as IONNALEE or IAMAMIWHOAMI, what actually sets her part for any number of Nordic singer-songwriters. In placing her traditional voice in an otherworldly setting, the contrast is what helps to provide that mysteriously emotive resonance in her sound.

‘Close Your Eyes’ is about how to dream during dark times and maintaining hope in a less than certain future. While there is much melancholy throughout, there are many moments of lifting optimism as well.

‘Close Your Eyes’ and ‘Blund’ are released on 13 September 2024 by to whom it may concern in various formats, available from https://twimc.se/release/448437-ionnalee-close-your-eyes

https://ionnalee.com/

https://www.facebook.com/iamionnalee/

https://www.instagram.com/ionnalee/

https://twitter.com/ionnalee

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by John Strandh
10 September 2024

CHARLIE Spacewoman EP

6 September 2024 /

Not to be confused with the classic 1984 Italo disco track ‘Spacer Woman’ but no doubt in homage, ‘Spacewoman’ is the new EP by Berlin-domiciled DJ, musician and producer Leona Jacewska, best known by her stage name CHARLIE.

She has become known for her notable series of SZUM electro events and being one of the spearheads of the Italo-Proto scene in Berlin which has also seen acts such as DINA SUMMER, NEU-ROMANCER, CURSES and PARADOX OBSCUR emerge.

With a Roland Juno 60, Moog Source, ARP Solina, Roland VP770, Crumar Bit 99, Moog Minitaur, Moog Little Phatty, Oberheim OB6, Sequentix Cirklon, Roland TR808 and Pearl Syncussion SY-1M in her arsenal, Charlie’s most recent release was 2022’s impressive ‘Cold Inside’ which included a remix by the notable Danish DJ legend Flemming Dalum. She opened her account with ‘Polarity Walk’, a track on the various artists ‘Mechatronica Aid EPII’ in support of Berlin-based artists during the 2020 lockdown.

Photo by Jovan Mrowiński

With a hearty rhythmic snap, the ‘Spacewoman’ title song utilises powerful kicks and throbs with sparkling synth hooks galore and suitably detached vocals that are both spoken and sung with treatments for a brilliant thumping club track.

With Chicago meeting Italy, ‘Let Go’ is hypnotic bliss, a sexy and sweaty number that swings and shifts tonally and rhythmically; this perfect strobe-lit slice of dark disco possesses a thrust and mood in the vein of fellow Berlin residents DINA SUMMER that bursts with groove and energy.

With colder trancier elements, the instrumental ‘Dark Waver’ is metronomic but bubbles infectiously as hints of ‘Oxygène IV’ threaten to breakthrough but it is jagged in all the right ways with a percussive barrage to close! ‘In The Night’ though is not a PET SHOP BOYS cover but its energetic combination of big beats, solid basslines, invader blips and spacey swirls concoct another fine instrumental, revealing a kinship with other young producers in Berlin such as Laura Bailey aka NEU-ROMANCER.

Sonically, ‘Spacewoman’ is immensely satisfying and works in the head as well as on the dancefloor. This retro-futuristic EP showcases CHARLIE as a talented electronic producer of worth, with an ability to bring workable changes within her exhilarating melodies and patterns while retaining the necessary repetitious elements essential to good club friendly music.

‘Spacewoman’ is released by Wrong Era / Slow Motion on 6 September 2024 as a 12″ vinyl EP from selected retailers, also available digitally from https://wrongera.lnk.to/Spacewoman

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557049403213

https://www.instagram.com/charlieszum/

https://soundcloud.com/charlieszum

https://ra.co/dj/charlie

Text by Chi Ming Lai
6 September 2024

MASAYOSHI FUJITA Migratory

5 September 2024 /

Masayoshi Fujita is a Japanese vibraphonist and marimba player with eight albums to his name including collaborations, his most recent solo offering being ‘Bird Ambience’ in 2021.

Birds and their behaviour are a creative haven for artists of a more ambient persuasion and in a year which has also seen the release of ‘The Secret Life Of Birds’ from Patricia Wolf, Fujita continues his avian fascination on his new work ‘Migratory’. Using the combination of electronic sound texturing and acoustic percussion instrumentation which first appeared on ‘Bird Ambience’, the follow-up’s intent is to capture a traveller’s wonder of being home.

Doing as German duo CLUSTER before him, Fujita returned to Japan with his family after 13 years of living in Berlin, to live and compose music in the midst of nature. Relocating to the mountain hills along the coast of Kami-cho on Honshu, the largest islands that make up Japan, once settled in, he established the Kebi Bird Studio in a former kindergarten to record ‘Migratory’; its concept surreally imagines birds travelling between continents and hearing this music from the land underneath.

With inspiration from swallows and cumulonimbus cloud formations, the opening piece ‘Tower of Cloud’ is glorious with a mesmerising synthesizer theme offset by marimba rolls. ‘Pale Purple’ and ‘Blue Rock Thrush’ continue the instrumental mood, although with the former is more organic and the latter introduces the jazzier sax overtones of Fujita’s father. Also sax inflected, ‘In a Sunny Meadow’ is reminiscent of the serene quality of ‘Torn Sunset’, Theo Travis’ collaborative album with John Foxx.

Vocal turns come in on ‘Our Mother’s Lights’ which brings in a spoken narrative from poet Moor Mother over soothing sax and a gently percussive motif while the angelic voice of Hatis Noit compliments the gentle hymn-like ‘Higurashi’. ‘Ocean Flow’ soothingly does as its title suggests while sparse resonances ably illustrate ‘Distant Planet’ as ‘Desonata’ floats beautifully and ‘Valley’ comes swathed in a widescreen drift.

The closing drone soundscape of ‘Yodaka’ adds another colour to the palette in the Japanese woodwinds of the shō played by Swede Mattias Hållsten; based on the ‘Yodaka No Hoshi’ children’s short story of ‘The Nighthawk Star’, the track exudes a peaceful but hopeful melancholy as it illustrates the plight of The Nighthawk who is bullied by other birds but responds with determination, non-violence and self-sacrifice to shine forever beside Cassiopeia.

Filled with appreciation of the natural world, as Fujita himself says: “Nature is there as the image to be evoked by the listener from the music”. With shades of Harold Budd’s Brian Eno produced debut ‘The Pavilion Of Dreams’ and others in their ilk, ‘Migratory’ is a wonderful collection of discreet music to be savoured in a state of satisfied tranquillity.

‘Migratory’ is released by Erased Tapes as a vinyl LP, CD and download, available via https://www.erasedtapes.com/release/eratp167-masayoshi-fujita-migratory

https://masayoshifujita.com/

https://www.facebook.com/MasayoshiFujitaVibraphone/

https://www.instagram.com/masayoshifujitavibraphone/

https://x.com/MasayoshiFujita

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photo by Ryo Noda
5 September 2024

HEIKO MAILE & JULIAN DEMARRE Neostalgia

4 September 2024 /

A product of Stuttgart and Los Angeles, ‘Neostalgia’ is the new collaborative album by CAMOUFLAGE’s Heiko Maile and composer Julian DeMarre.

The pair first worked together on the 1991 CAMOUFLAGE album ‘Meanwhile’ produced by Colin Thurston. It saw a musical diversion into more conventional instrumentation such as violin, saxophone, guitar and drums when the band from Bietigheim-Bissingen were reduced to a duo.

Outside of his dayjob with Marcus Meyn and their reunion with Oliver Kreyssig in 1999 which now sees CAMOUFLAGE celebrate their 40th Anniversary with the ‘Rewind To The Future & Goodbye Tour’, Maile and DeMarre partnered up to soundtrack the American action crime film ‘Killerman’ in 2019.

In 2020, the world was locked down by the Covid pandemic and with months of isolation at home, Maile and DeMarre got creative in each of their separate bases to create musical love letter to early electronic music from Wendy Carlos to Conrad Schnitzler and PINK FLOYD to YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA, Brian Eno to Vangelis with naturally TANGERINE DREAM and KRAFTWERK along the way. Despite ongoing soundtrack commissions for both delaying completion, the end result is the appropriately titled ‘Neostalgia’.

The opening piece ‘Patience’ is superb, originally written for ‘Killerman’ and titled ‘Leaving NY’, it has been reworked from the sweeping ambience of the soundtrack version to something more pulsating and percussive while there is a greater melodic presence.

Other tracks seeded from ‘Killerman’ like ‘Reflection (Dark Horses)’ and ‘Helios’ appear but another strong highlight is ‘Hollow Earth’ which utilises DeMarre’s Korg Lambda string machine alongside Maile’s hypnotic sequence. As the tempo rises, there comes a chilling drama enhanced live percussive rolls and textural guitar interventions which recall TANGERINE DREAM.

Meanwhile ‘Melancholia’ is a wonderful showcase for a number of vintage synth warhorses in the Yamaha CS60 and Korg PE-1000 although instead of a Mellotron, a real flute from Torsten Kamps provides the desired airy effect.

Featuring fretless bass and pretty synth, ‘Serengeti Ostinato’ rumbles rhythmically in tribute to the late Oscar winning German conservationist Bernhard Grzimek and his TV classic documentaries on African wildlife while ‘Universal Universe’ heads to the cosmos to illustrate the viewpoint of Stephen Hawking with a swinging neo-Schaffel backbone. But planet’s earth’s nature is the focus on ‘Between Trees’, a reflective ambient exploration to reflect the sense of openness between tree branches and how trees have defied changing climates before the arrival of humankind and civilisation.

Cosmic, spacey and occasionally ambient but mostly melodic, ‘Neostalgia’ blends of a variety of electronic styles with lengthy intros and outros forming key components. Tense yet hopeful, this is an album that will be appreciated by those who love the esoteric instrumental music of four or five decades ago.

‘Neostalgia’ is released by Bureau B in vinyl LP, CD and digital formats, download available from https://heikomaile.bandcamp.com/album/neostalgia

https://www.heikomaile.com/

https://www.facebook.com/HeikoMaile/

https://www.instagram.com/heikomaile/

https://www.instagram.com/juliandemarre/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Reiner Pfisterer
4 September 2024

MOLCHAT DOMA Belaya Polosa

2 September 2024 /

Since their formation in 2017, MOLCHAT DOLMA gained a worldwide cult following with their first two albums ‘S Krysh Nashikh Domov’ and ‘Etazhii’.

From the off, the Belarusian trio had international ambitions and their popularity in Europe and the US led to the prestigious New York based independent label Sacred Bones signing MOLCHAT DOMA and releasing their third long player ‘Monument’ in 2020. Delivering a stark brand of post-punk that sounded like it had been demoed on a portastudio with dirty tape heads, with this highly derivative sound, MOLCHAT DOMA have been target of many jibing if affectionate memes by the @sounds.like.joy.division Instagram parody account.

But with ongoing political tensions in their homeland and having spoken out against the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Egor Shkutko (vocals), Roman Komogortsev (guitar, synthesizer, drum machine), and Pavel Kozlov (bass, synthesizer) relocated from Minsk to Los Angeles. The end result is their fourth album ‘Belaya Polosa’ which channels the anxiety and fear of that journey into exile to face a future of uncertainty.

With the inevitable comparisons to JOY DIVISION and THE CURE, MOLCHAT DOMA have always had a brutal gothic aesthetic that polarises in black and white. But on ‘Belaya Polosa’, in a new creative environment where the sun is shining on most days, the trio while remaining monochromatic have added some musical colour. While they have not turned into WHAM! or DURAN DURAN, the dancier but still sombre sequenced pulses of classic NEW ORDER and DEPECHE MODE have crept in for a more refined studio product that doesn’t come over like a third generation cassette duplication of THE WAKE or THE NAMES…

Full of front, ‘Ty Zhe Ne Znaesh Kto Ya’ is mighty as electronic body music dominates the mutant template with strident vocals on top to provide a punchy opening salvo. It highlights how MOLCHAT DOMA have grown from the band that released ‘Monument’ as synths stab and throb in a powerful cacophony of precise industrialised sound.

The magnificent ‘Kolesom’ offers glorious apocalyptic electronic disco with an obvious NEW ORDER influence although Bernard Sumner never sounded this foreboding! With an ominous baritone from Shkutko and minimal guitar, it is a commentary on the banality of modern life that acts as a dance in the dark.

‘Son’ is more of the expected MOLCHAT DOMA post-punk fare with its Doktor Avalanche backbone programmed by Komogortsev and accompanied by a gothic bass mantra from Kozlov. However, a surprise is sprung with a bubbly sequencer section appearing in the final third to provide a shimmering contrast to the largely morose mood.

The ‘Belaya Polosa’ title song heads into The Batcave, heavy drum loops and rumbling bass in post-Wilder ‘Ultra’ Mode while something of a sister song with a dominant rhythmic loop, ‘Chernye Tsvety’ is deeper and dreamier, dressed with Lynchian guitar and a hypnotic fretless bassline although in terms of execution, it recalls Swedish band LUSTANS LAKEJAR and their 1999 song ‘Cynisk’.

Fittingly by way of an extended interlude, ‘Beznadezhnyy Waltz’ captures a haunting Cold War atmosphere in a superbly eerie piano and synth instrumental with departing footsteps on wet cobbled paths to boot. But ‘III’ sees MOLCHAT DOMA doing sparkly New York electro dance influenced NEW ORDER with the keyboard solo action something a joy to behold before ‘Ne Vdvoem’ goes downtempo into the realm of THE CURE meeting TEARS FOR FEARS.

The excellent ‘Ya Tak Ustal’ utilises metallic samples that will be familiar to anyone who loved ‘Some Great Reward’ but MOLCHAT DOMA literally morph into Berlin-era DEPECHE MODE with only Shkutko’s vocals in Russian proving this is not Dave Gahan… if only DEPECHE MODE could still be this good today. Closing with the throbbing midtempo unease of ‘Zimnyaya’, this goes the full DEPECHE MODE hog with the chromatic six string interventions and digital drum computer beats authenticating the effect.

Having relatively polished up their sound and adapted to new environments both physically and musically, ‘Belaya Polosa’ is bursting with a chilling tension and drama that reflects the world at large from the point of view of those who have had to escape and find sanctuary. Sadness and defiance are simultaneously embraced as MOLCHAT DOMA leave behind their past. This timely musical document is undoubtedly their best album to date.

‘Belaya Polosa’ is released on 6 September 2024 via Sacred Bones in the usual formats, available from https://lnk.to/BelayaPolosa

MOLCHAT DOMA 2024 live dates:

Glasgow Galvanizers (October 20), Manchester New Century (October 22), Bristol SWX (October 23), London Roundhouse (October 24), Antwerp Trix (October 26), Utrecht Tivoli Vredenburg (October 27), Lille L’Aéronef (October 29), Lyon Le Transbordeur (October 31), Paris L’Olympia (November 2), Hamburg Große Freiheit 36 (November 4), Copenhagen Den Grå Hal (November 5), Oslo Sentrum Scene (November 7), Stockholm Fallan (November 9), Helsinki Kulttuuritalo (November 11), Tallinn Helitehas (November 12), Riga Palladium (November 13), Vilnius Compensa Concert Hall (November 14), Gdansk Stary Manez (November 16), Warsaw Progresja (November 17), Vienna Gasometer (November 21), Prague Lucerna Velký Sál (November 22), Berlin Tempodrom (November 23), Wiesbaden Schlachthof (November 25), Munich Theaterfabrik (November 26), Zurich X-TRA (November 27), Milan Fabrique (November 29)

https://molchatdoma.com/

https://www.facebook.com/molchatdomaband/

https://www.instagram.com/molchatdomaband/

https://www.tiktok.com/@molchatdomaband

https://x.com/molchatdomaband

Text by Chi Ming Lai
3 September 2024

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2017 ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK | Email: [email protected]
Privacy Policy

Up ↑