Category: Interviews (Page 24 of 112)

A Short Conversation with ADULT.

8 April 2022 /

With nine acclaimed long players to their name, ADULT. issued their most recent album ‘Becoming Undone’ as a doomy discordant statement capturing “something that’s falling apart”.

In a 23 year career, Adam Lee Miller and Nicola Kuperus first came to wider attention with ‘Hand To Phone’ in 2001. Presenting a stark response to their surroundings, the dystopian demeanour of ADULT. remains as vital as ever as their living art project continues to evolve.

Although 2013’s ‘The Way Things Fall’ possessed an unexpected accessibility and 2017’s ‘Detroit House Guests’ saw the Detroit synth-punk duo open their doors to outside collaborators, this new body of work is more personal, embroiled in pain and bereavement while created in isolation during a state of flux with a healthy acceptance of destruction.

ADULT. kindly took time out from a hectic and intense European live tour to have a quick chat with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about ‘Becoming Undone’ and the development of their dark dance aesthetic…

Thematically and conceptually, how does ‘Becoming Undone’ differ from previous ADULT. albums?

In working on a new album, we always try to approach the process differently. For instance, the last album ‘Perception IS/AS/OF Deception’ was written in a black void with minimal equipment at hand for the demos. ‘This Behavior’ was written in a remote cabin in the woods. ‘Why Bother?’ was more soundtrack oriented and based on serial killers and cult leaders.

In our latest album ‘Becoming Undone’, it was literally written out of pure necessity to try to emerge out of the liminal state we were put in through the pandemic. We did not control the concept on this record – the world did. So there is a lot more dissonance and looping motifs in this record, rhythm is stronger than melody as there was no harmony in the world as we wrote it. This album was a mirror to the world land life in general.

‘Becoming Undone’ has been described as capturing “something that’s falling apart”?

Well, we wrote the album during the pandemic when everything was falling apart. Massive amount of people were dying of the virus and Nicola‘s father passed away (not from Covid, but during the pandemic). We had lost all of our tours and all of our income. Then as we were trying once again to get into the writing process, the ex-loser President of the United States decided to try to do his big lie and steal the election, followed by the insurrection on the US Capitol – sooooo everything really was falling apart and we felt to album should mirror that.

As well as synths, ‘Becoming Undone’ sees vocal loop pedals added to the tech armoury, what attracted you to using these?

One of the main things we like about analog equipment (which is 97% of our studio) is the different interfaces they have and the different abilities to move between control and arbitrary experimentation. We both find vocal loop pedals very non-intuitive (as opposed to something from Roland, which we understand easily the way the gear works). So for us, the looper gave us a chance to not be in control, to come up with some layers or parts to songs that we normally would not come up with. It added randomness to the songs.

The music has ramped up percussively and ‘Our Bodies Weren’t Wrong’ comes with a fitting EBM backdrop, had there been any inspiration from having worked previously with Douglas J McCarthy of NITZER EBB?

NITZER EBB has always been a major influence for the both of us. It was one of the few bands when we met years ago that we really had in common. The music on the new album ‘Becoming Undone’ has become more and more percussive because we included electronic pads, not only to the writing process, but to the live set as well. This came out of many different reasons, but one was that we figured after the pandemic, people were going to be ready to rage and as London, Brussels, Berlin and other cities have proven – that is very true!

THROBBING GRISTLE have been cited as an influence on the album with ‘Normative Sludge’ examining the delusional nature of the Instagram / Tik Tok generation, why was this such an inspirational source for you?

THROBBING GRISTLE is one of our favorite bands and it not only comes down to the quality of the songs but also the way they do not fit into any single genre. They came up with a name for their own genre (Industrial) which must have been very liberating until it was stolen from them for idiots like Marilyn Manson. Going back to this idea of things falling apart, THROBBING GRISTLE is so good at having songs that sound like they’re falling apart. As we wanted to discuss the ideas of collapse, they were an obvious inspiration.

Although there is less melody this time round, do you think ‘Undoing / Undone’ and ‘I Am Nothing’ could be considered quite classic ADULT. songs?

The only way to know if something will be classic is to allow time to pass. For us, everything on this new album is too close to us right now to dissect.

Industrial S&M looms on ‘I, Obedient’, is society too submissive now?

Society is an awfully big word. Of course there are parts of society that are too submissive and there are parts of society that are resisting. Always resisting.

‘Teeth Out Pt. II’ is a doomy aural collage of drones like a symbol of decay, how did the track come together?

This is one of those magical tracks where we got the new looper and we had absolutely no idea how to operate it. Adam always reads manuals but Nicola never does and that brings two different approaches to the song writing process. So Nicola just started immediately working with the pedal and suddenly there were three or four really beautiful layers counterpointing each other. When we came back to the demo months later, we were shocked it was almost complete as it was. We even tried adding drum machines to the song but in the end it became our first song ever without any beats!

What are your hopes and fears for the future, you have talked about how “Humans have always been pretty terrible”?

We have no hopes for the future and we have many fears like everyone right now, but at the end of the day we just have to be present – at least try to. Living in the moment seems to be the most important thing right now. We played a pretty insane show in Brussels two weeks ago and there was this 9 year old girl that was the daughter of one of the volunteers at the venue that befriended us during the evening and after the show she came up to Nicola and said “Do you know what I liked about your show? You just went for it!” That’s our current motto for this time and place in time.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to ADULT.

Special thanks to Kate Price at Stereo Sanctity

‘Becoming Undone’ is released by Dais Records, available in various formats from https://adultmusic.bandcamp.com

http://adultperiod.com

https://www.facebook.com/adultperiod/

https://twitter.com/adultperiod

https://www.instagram.com/adultperiod/

https://www.daisrecords.com

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
8th April 2022

SALLY SHAPIRO Interview

4 April 2022 /

Since releasing their first album ‘Disco Romance’ in 2006, SALLY SHAPIRO have charmed audiences with a brand of melancholic but uplifting electronic pop.

Despite the name, they are actually a Swedish duo comprising of the enigmatic anonymous songstress Sally Shapiro and producer Johan Agebjörn. The albums ‘My Guilty Pleasure’ and ‘Somewhere Else’ followed but then in 2016, SALLY SHAPIRO issued a final single ‘If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind’ and retired.

Agebjörn had begun a parallel solo career with 2011’s ‘Casablanca Nights’ album featuring LE PRIX, LAKE HEARTBEAT and QUEEN OF HEARTS but his profile was raised again with his work on the Swedish comedy thriller ‘Videoman’ which included ‘Hot Boy’ with Samantha Fox and ‘Love On Ice’ with Italo star Ryan Paris in a duet with Sally. This seeded a reunion and work on a brand new SALLY SHAPIRO album entitled ’Sad Cities’.

Released with great acclaim earlier this year by Italians Do It Better and headed by the single ‘Fading Away’ after a 5 year absence, as with previous albums, a remix variant of ‘Sad Cities’ is now available, featuring reworks by ITALOCONNECTION, BETAMAXX, SUNGLASSES KID, BARK BARK DISCO and IDIB head honcho Johnny Jewel among many.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK had the pleasure of talking to Sally Shapiro and Johan Agebjörn about the making of ‘Sad Cities’, its remix collection and other aspects of their career to date…

What some don’t realise is that like GOLDFRAPP, SALLY SHAPIRO is a duo so what inspired you to adopt a “person” as a nom de théâtre rather than a group moniker?

Sally: We were inspired by some Italo disco artists like Valerie Dore or Katy Gray that had a female singer with an English-sounding pseudonym as the project name. So we wanted to do it in the same way. First the idea was to just make a single with that pseudonym, but then it quickly got established so it felt natural to continue to use it!

How would describe the creative and recording dynamic of SALLY SHAPIRO, do you sit together or work separately?

Sally: We work pretty much separately. Johan prepares the instrumental and then I go into the studio recording the vocals. Johan is not allowed to be in the studio when I sing. We of course listen to the music together and discuss different ideas and so on.

Are there any particular synths, drum machines and techniques that form the classic SALLY SHAPIRO sound?

Johan: We use a lot of drum sounds from the Simmons, LinnDrum, TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines. I have an old keyboard Yamaha PSR-3500 that has a bass sound and some percussion sounds that I’ve used a lot. The synths have been quite different ones, but a lot of Roland Juno and Jupiter series, or software emulations / samples of those. My favourite reverb is a built-in reverb in Propellerheads Reason.

SALLY SHAPIRO is a quite low key project in the grander scheme of things within the music scene but when did you realise the music was gaining traction and a cult following?

Johan: During 2006 and 2007, the listener count gradually grew, much thanks to Pitchfork who promoted every single we released and put ‘Disco Romance’ in their best-of-the-year chart. Still, it took a few years until we realised that some people actually viewed ‘Disco Romance’ as a cult album and were paying quite a lot of money for the original vinyl pressing. That felt weird.

The new album ‘Sad Cities’ came after a public announcement in 2016 that there would be no more music as SALLY SHAPIRO. But the gap was actually smaller than some acts’ time between albums when they haven’t announced a “retirement”, do you ever regret making the announcement and that perhaps a rest was all that was needed?

Sally: In one way, looking back it was maybe an immature announcement. At the same time, maybe it was a belief in a “total retirement” that was needed to get back the inspiration. We felt absolutely no pressure to make anything new, and maybe that was good for the creativity and the inspiration to record.

Saying that, the most recent album was ‘Somewhere Else’ in 2013 but there was the Johan solo album ‘Casablanca Nights’ before that. How do you look back on that prolific period?

Johan: It was a period with a lot of collaborations with other musicians, especially on ‘Casablanca Nights’, and a lot of DJing around the world, lots of remixing and lots of fun with now-defunct mp3 blogs that posted the music. I recently re-released ‘Casablanca Nights’ in a 22-track edition on Bandcamp, it was fun and nostalgic to revisit all the music from that time. In retrospect, this was the period when synthwave took shape and reached its creative peak, and I’m glad that we got some remixes by some of those artists (MIAMI NIGHTS 1984, MITCH MURDER, ANORAAK, LE MATOS etc) while the genre was still pretty new.

What was the impetus to relaunch SALLY SHAPIRO?

Sally: A few musical ideas that just had to take shape into SALLY SHAPIRO tracks. After that it felt necessary to make a whole album!

How did Italians Do It Better and Johnny Jewel come to be involved in ‘Sad Cities’?

Johan: We had been in contact a few times earlier through the years, I emailed them and asked if Johnny wanted to take part in the production of the album in some form. They replied and were very enthusiastic about the album and after a while it felt logical to release the album on Italians Do It Better. Johnny and I mixed the album together and he helped out with some drum sounds that he recorded from his drum machines. He also remixed ‘Forget About You’ for the remix album.

‘Forget About You’, the opening song on ‘Sad Cities’ began as a collaboration with Ryan Paris, how did that come about?

Johan: We made a collaboration with Ryan Paris in 2018, ‘Love On Ice’ (released as a Johan Agebjörn track with duet guest vocals by Sally and Ryan), for the soundtrack to a Swedish movie called ‘Videoman’. We liked how it turned out, and ‘Forget About You’ was originally also a Sally / Ryan duet released as a Johan Agebjörn single in 2020, but then for the album we re-recorded it as a Sally solo track. Then Johnny Jewel liked it so much that he wanted it to be a single, and also the track that he wanted to remix for the remix album. Actually, there’s also an original instrumental version of the track from 1994 that I recorded on my Yamaha PSR-3500 keyboard at the time, completely without computer. That version is included as a “B-side” on the single!

‘Million Ways’ surprised listeners with its Italo House and jazz vibe?

Johan: Yeah, it was an attempt to recreate the Italo house sound of 1990 (in particular the productions at the time by Gianfranco Bortolotti – Cappella, 49ers etc) with the SALLY SHAPIRO atmosphere. I was a big fan of that sound at the time with the Korg M1 pianos and clattering 909 snares, also pretty similar to what MADONNA (‘Vogue’) and PET SHOP BOYS did at the time.

‘Fading Away’ is an epic dance tune to close, what was its genesis?

Johan: Thank you! I and Mikael Ögren have been working on ambient music and this is actually a result from those sessions, but something that we thought should be more synthwave-ish. So it has both a bit of atmospheric ambient feel and a bit of the relentless 80s disco / synthwave feel.

How do you think ‘Sad Cities’ has been received?

Johan: Really well! We had no idea if people would still be receptive of our music, but we feel really welcomed back.

As with previous SALLY SHAPIRO albums, ‘Sad Cities’ is being released in a remix variant; as someone who has remixed material for others, is there a brief given out to producers and do you have power of veto just in case?

Johan: We usually don’t give any directions, but sometimes they ask and we tell them maybe which of their tracks that have the sound that we think could sound good with Sally. We usually give some feedback during the process though, a lot of the times we ask for the vocals to be louder. Interestingly, that’s also what Johnny often asked me to change on the original versions! I think that when you produce a track you “know” the vocals and want to highlight all different parts in the production, but as someone listening for the first time, it’s important that the vocals stand out and sound clear if it’s pop music, I think.

Unlike many other remix albums, the companion to ‘Sad Cities’ is very listenable with the SUNGLASSES KID remix of ‘Tell Me How’ and ITALOCONNECTION’s take on ‘Believe In Me’ being particularly good. How did you choose the remixers?

Johan: It has to be a producer with some kind of warmth in their sound, but apart from that we like to have varied styles from ambient (Krister Linder) to techno (VONDA7) and a lot of 80s style producers of course. Many times it’s of course producers / remixers that have produced / remixed something that we’ve been impressed with. Some of them are artists we’ve been following for many many years, like Johnny Jewel, Fred Ventura of ITALOCONNECTION or Krister Linder (Swedish ambient / synthpop legend).

Ben Macklin gives ‘Dulcinea’ a wonderful pop treatment which is quite different from the midtempo synthwave-based original?

Johan: Yeah, Ben made a remix of our 2016 single ‘If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind’ that we were really happy with, so we wanted to ask him again, and were really happy with the luxurious result.

BARK BARK DISCO’s remix of ‘Holiday’ is on the album as a sort of extra, what was the thinking behind covering this particular MADONNA song out of so many?

Sally: We made the ‘Holiday’ cover for Italians Do It Better’s MADONNA compilation last summer. It’s one of our favourite MADONNA tracks and suited us really well. But actually, our first choice would have been ‘La Isla Bonita’ but that song was already taken!

Johan: For a while we thought about including ‘Holiday’ on the original album, but in the end we didn’t think it fit with the rest of the tracks. When we removed it, BARK BARK DISCO had already started remixing ‘Holiday’, and on the remix album, we think his remix fits better than the original ‘Holiday’ did on the original album. It’s a really fun and groovy remix.

Which are your own favourites from the remix version of Sad Cities’?

Sally: Oh it’s too difficult to choose!

What would you say have been your proudest moments as SALLY SHAPIRO, be it particular albums, songs or synchronisations?

Johan: Difficult question. Right now we feel a bit proud of ‘Sad Cities’, since the project felt buried just a few years ago.

So what is next either as SALLY SHAPIRO or under different umbrellas or projects?

Johan: It’s too early to speak about new SALLY SHAPIRO releases, but we have a mix for another artist in the loop. I am currently preparing a live ambient / chillwave performance together with Mikael Ögren for a festival in Norway this summer. I and Mikael haven’t performed live together before, so it requires some planning and practising!

Finally, talking of other projects, what was it like working with Samantha Fox on ‘Hot Boy’ for the ‘Videoman’ soundtrack in 2018?

Johan: It was a surreal experience! I made the track ‘Hot Boy’ together with my frequent co-writer Roger Gunnarsson, and Kristian (the director of ‘Videoman’) suggested that we should send it to Samantha Fox. I thought there was one chance in a million, but contacted her through her official website and got a reply after a few days from her manager, that she had listened to the song and wanted to sing on it!

She recorded the vocals in the UK, so we never met during the recording process, but she came to Gothenburg for the recording of the music video later. The music video was prepared and filmed by the ‘Videoman’ team at a hotel, it was a fantastic day with a lot of enthusiastic people. Samantha was very joyful and easy to talk to.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Sally Shapiro and Johan Agebjörn

Special thanks to Frankie Davison at Stereo Sanctity

‘Sad Cities (The Remixes)’ and the original album are released by Italians Do It Better, available now from https://sallyshapiro.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/shapirosally

https://twitter.com/sallyshapiro

https://www.instagram.com/sally_shapiro_official/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
4th April 2022

BILLIE RAY MARTIN Interview

30 March 2022 /

Photo by Lewis Mulatero

Billie Ray Martin first became widely known as the front woman of ELECTRIBE 101.

Born in Hamburg, she became immersed in the punk and industrial scenes in Berlin before being introduced to soul music by a local record shop owner. Relocating to London, in a similar way to Alison Moyet, she placed an ad in Melody Maker stating “Soul rebel seeks musicians – genius only”.

Birmingham based electronic dance music enthusiasts Joe Stevens, Les Fleming, Brian Nordhoff and the late Rob Cimarosti replied and together they formed ELECTRIBE 101, named after the Roland synth.

At around the same time, Billie Ray Martin worked with S’EXPRESS on the SLY & THE FAMILY STONE inspired hit ‘Hey Music Lover’. Meanwhile, ELECTRIBE 101’s first single ‘Talking With Myself’ became an underground club favourite. After they signed deal with Mercury Records, Tom Watkins who had previously looked after PET SHOP BOYS became their manager.

The second single ‘Tell Me When The Fever Ended’ and a reissued ‘Talking With Myself’ were both hits and earned appearances on ‘Top Of The Pops’ with Billie Ray Martin’s animated performance coming over like Cilla Black on Acid. With a Top30 debut album ‘Electribal Memories’ released in 1990, ELECTRIBE 101 were part of the bill at ERASURE’s open air ‘Wild! Party and the opening act for DEPECHE MODE on the European leg of the ‘World Violation’ tour.

A second ELECTRIBE 101 album ‘Electribal Soul’ was completed but record company politics led to it being shelved for 30 years. Undeterred, Billie Ray Martin signed a deal with Warners and released the 1995 solo album ‘Deadline Of My Memories’ which included the worldwide hit ‘Your Loving Arms’ and new recordings produced by Brian Transeau aka BT of several songs that had been part of ‘Electribal Soul’.

After her time in the spotlight, Billie Ray Martin adopted a lower profile approach to explore her eclectic interests and recorded her second solo album ‘18 Carat Garbage’ in Memphis to authentically pursue her love of soul with guests including legendary divas Carla Thomas and Ann Peebles. But she returned to electronic music in 2011 in THE OPIATES with Robert Solheim on the album ‘Hollywood Under The Knife’ which was provided a stark dissection of celebrity culture.

With ‘Electribal Soul’ finally getting its belated release and demonstrating that ELECTRIBE 101 had been on the cusp of a wider breakthrough, Billie Ray Martin kindly talked to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about its background as well as other aspects of her career.

‘Electribal Soul’ comes out 30 years after it was intended, how does it feel to actually have it released?

Now that all these incredibly positive press reviews are in, it feels like a very happy thing. Daunting to start with, but now I’m all excited. And to read that the music would have actually broken down all the doors for us, had it been released at the time, makes me sad too.

What was the impetus to finally get it out, had there been any complex contractual issues that needed to be sorted?

Not really. I don’t think anyone, including us, had any interest. We had been dropped by Phonogram so we assumed the album was no good. Finally I felt like someone had to put this out there.

Were there any tweaks on the mix done to release it for the 21st Century or is it basically as it was laid down in 1991?

Exactly as it was laid down.

It seems unbelievable now that your management and label sat on the album, as time has proved now that these songs and recordings are of high quality?

They didn’t sit on it, they shat on it. Manager had been sacked before that, so he had nothing to do with it. The record company heard it and dropped us.

ELECTRIBE 101 had just finished supporting DEPECHE MODE on the ‘World Violation’ tour, had the vicious Devotee reaction helped fire you up when it came to putting together the follow-up to ‘Electribal Memories’?

No it did the contrary. The tour had put a lot of pressure on us. We were canned off stage every night for two months and that took its toll on us as a group of people who were struggling to come together anyway. It was a nail in the coffin.

Photo by Lewis Mulatero

What were band relationships like at the time, were there changes in the creative dynamic for ‘Electribal Soul’ compared with the debut?

We were finding out voice as writers together. Rob came up with all these beautiful chord progressions, once I’d given ideas of what I was looking for. Joe came up with all this incredible production, hooks and beats. And Les on bass. Really, it’s all played live. He’s so great. Brian produced too of course. But I think our confidence as a group was not strong enough so we didn’t seem to know what we had.

A statement of intent comes with the spacey soul opener ‘Insatiable Love’, what was the inspiration?

I was that person. It is about a relationship and every sentence, every word, is me. Musically I think the guys came up with that musical idea and I’d found it easy to write to it.

THROBBING GRISTLE’s ‘Persuasion’ is an inspired choice for a cover that is quite out there, what was the idea behind reinterpreting it?

That was always on my list. I already released with spooky after E 101 broke up. I asked the guys if they wanted to do it and they immediately said: ‘Sure’. I brought some samples (Machines, Machines) which was funny and we had a lot of late night fun playing around with all that.

‘Space Oasis’ would have probably been a Top20 hit had it come out in 1992 and it later appeared on your debut solo long player ‘Deadline Of My Memories’, had it been the intention to do a more immediate pop record with ‘Electribal Soul’?

I wrote the song with Martin King prior to meeting the guys from E 101. I brought it along as we were still not sure if we could write good songs together as a group. We were still trying to find out voice regarding that. So this was a song that they re-interpreted and worked their beautiful magic on. It’s their production that makes it really shine.

A point of interest for anyone who has followed your work is there are also the first finished versions of ‘Deadline Of My Memories’, ‘Hands Up & Amen’, ‘True Moments Of My World’, ‘You & I (Keep Holding On)’ and ‘Moving Downtown’ (which became ‘Running Around Town’), songs that also ended up on your first solo album…

Yes after we split, I sort of took those songs with me to put them on my future work. I felt they were strong songs.

Now you have had some distance, do you have any preferred versions of these songs that are on both albums?

I find the E 101 album much more soulful and as they should be. They are convincing.

While “soul” was naturally the emphasis on this album, despite its proto-trip hop loop, hints of the countrified feel that appeared more prominently on a few ‘Deadline Of My Memories’ tracks emerges on ‘A Sigh Won’t Do’?

It’s such a strong song, maybe our best. I can’t remember what the inspiration was but the guys have a strong reggae background, coming from Birmingham and I remember playing that little additional bassline in the break and they said: how reggae of you. As far as my lyrics and melody go, I always have that soul / country thing going on.

How close was ‘Electribal Soul’ to being actually released back then, were there any realistic options to take it to another label?

It was played to some and turned down. That’s all I know.

When and how did the decision to disband ELECTRIBE 101 and go solo come about?

Being dropped and not getting signed was our last straw as a group of people I think. We really doubted ourselves to the point where it seemed really emotionally painful to continue.

Things worked out well for you when you teamed up with THE GRID to produce ‘Your Loving Arms’ which became a huge hit in 1995, Dave Ball has said that was one of his career highlights…

Dave is an angel and I love him. So nice to work with him on a few occasions. So yes, I guess it was the song that made all the difference for me and does to this day. I am grateful

After knocking on the door of mainstream stardom for a few years, ‘Your Loving Arms’ opened it but how did fame and the increased attention sit with you?

I loved it. It was crazy in America where you’re treated well when you have your 15 Minutes of Fame. I enjoyed every second of it. That’s as far as the audience goes and people celebrating my record in clubs. As far as the ‘industry’ goes, that was all the same bullshit as always. I was not appreciated in any way by these majors. But I’m forever grateful for all that happened.

You formed THE OPIATES and released the album ‘Hollywood Under The Knife’ in 2011. It took a few years to come together but ‘Anatomy Of A Plastic Girl’ and ‘I’m Not Simone Choule’ are fantastic tracks, how do you look back on this project? Will there ever be a second album?

I look back on it and I like it a lot. Again when we did it, with little promotion and not really getting all that much feedback, it seemed like one of those things where you’re not sure if it’s any good. Now I have to say that I underrated it. I don’t think there’ll be another one, because without massive promo budgets, no one would find out about it.

You have a vast portfolio and have recorded music in many different styles, are there any which you would recommend to people who may be fans of ELECTRIBE 101 and your first solo album but who may have lost touch with your work since then?

I like ‘Eighteen Carat Garbage’ in some places, ‘Four Ambient Tales’ but really people should have a rummage and see what appeals to them.

What is next for you, is it true you are working on four albums?

I am indeed, with three already more than half done. Once they’re done there’ll be no getting aways from me! *big laugh*

All developed live in the studio with incredible musicians and no programming in sight!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to Billie Ray Martin

ELECTRIBE 101 ‘Electribal Soul’ and other releases from the Billie Ray Martin back catalogue such as ‘Eighteen Carat Garbage’ and THE OPIATES ‘Hollywood Under The Knife’ are available from https://billieraymartin.bandcamp.com/music

https://www.billieraymartin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/billieraymartinmusic

https://twitter.com/billie_r_martin

https://www.instagram.com/billieraymartin/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
30th March 2022

INDIA ELECTRIC CO. Interview

18 March 2022 /

Cole Stacey and Joseph O’Keefe of INDIA ELECTRIC CO. will be familiar to fans of Midge Ure as members of his backing band.

The South West English duo released their debut album ‘The Girl I Left Behind Me’ in 2015 and while their music has traditional folk-derived roots, they have since added keyboards and synths to augment their sound after Midge Ure launched his BAND ELECTRONICA live format to revisit his VISAGE and ULTRAVOX work.

Together with Midge Ure’s drummer Russell Field, INDIA ELECTRIC CO. will be undertaking their first headline UK Tour in three years, while preparing their third album for release to coincide with with Midge Ure’s ‘Voice & Visions’ tour which will see Stacey and O’Keefe not only back the diminutive Glaswegian again but also be his opening act.

During a break from rehearsals, INDIA ELECTRIC CO. spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about becoming part of the Midge Ure axis and how the experience has permeated into their own music.

Anyone who has ever seen the two of you backing Midge Ure in the last 7 or so years will be aware that you are very versatile musicians. How did you come to his attention?

Back in 2014, Midge was kind enough to let us do the support on a couple of intimate acoustic solo shows, so we packed the Ford Fiesta and drove from Devon to Motherwell in one day. The dressing room was so close to the stage and we were making such a noise that Midge heard our set and a plan to work together was hatched.

INDIA ELECTRIC CO. played with Midge on the ‘Breathe Again’ tour in 2015. That album is largely traditional in instrumentation. But the ‘Something From Everything’ tour in 2016 used a similar format but featured fresh takes on more electronic derived material such as ‘The Damned Don’t Cry’, ‘ I Remember (Death In The Afternoon)’, ‘Fade To Grey’, ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ and ‘If I Was’. What was the dynamic between the three of you in terms of arrangements?

The whole concept was built around stripping the songs back to their fundamentals and letting one or two of the main melodies work around the brilliant vocal lines of what are iconic tunes. As we didn’t have drums, the rhythms and energy came from guitars and mandolins balanced by the violin and piano. Working out the arrangements and picking out individual synth lines that could be replicated on violin and mandolin was an incredible way as songwriters ourselves to get to the nuts and bolts of why certain songs were so successful. Ultimately the songs took on a different life and maybe connected with people in a different way, certainly songs like ‘Live Forever’ and ‘I Remember (Death In The Afternoon)’ felt like new incarnations and were huge fun to play everywhere we went.

Reworking a song in an acoustic manner is not always straightforward is it?

It maybe allows you to see if a song is still accessible to people without textures, layers and counter melodies, the great thing about those acoustic tours with Midge is they allowed audiences to hear his extraordinary vocals really close up and our role was accompanying that and trying to let the song speak for itself. Fortunately rehearsals were at Midge’s house and coffee and cake was on hand to keep us going strong as we tried to figure out accordion melodies and how to make the mandolin sound less twangy!

Were there any songs that didn’t work as well in this ‘Something From Everything’ set?

You’d have to ask the audiences that but no matter whether it was in Melbourne or Minehead people seemed to connect with the songs in this format. Songs that on the face of it like ‘Fade to Grey’ that maybe might not work in this format seemed to shine as guitar, violin and mandolin.

Midge Ure then presented BAND ELECTRONICA in 2017 and you were handed synthesizers, how did you find the transition? Were you like ducks to water?

Possibly more squirrels to water. It did feel like a voyage of discovery but hearing how those ULTRAVOX records were made and subsequently played live without computers was incredible. Getting the opportunity to work with Russell on drums and have bass was huge fun but ultimately we knew a lot of the songs albeit in a different format, so it felt like a natural transition…whether Midge would say the same is a different question!

Does the extra technology aspect reduce or accentuate anxiety in a live context?

Copper & Blossom Photography

Hahaha, the first time INDIA ELECTRIC CO. used a laptop and interface on stage at Glastonbury, our 10 minute soundcheck was spent turning the computer on and off because we lost sound so it’s certainly a different level of anxiety compared to tuning a mandolin!

With BAND ELECTRONICA sometimes there’s 6 different keyboard splits for one song and so requires a different level of focus perhaps. Fortunately Midge has a great team with him who are on hand should one of us be having a technological meltdown!

The ‘1980’ tour in 2019-2020 featuring VISAGE material and the whole ULTRAVOX ‘Vienna’ album proved this be one of Midge Ure’s most popular tours in recent years, why do you think these songs have stood the test of time over four decades? Is there something in the structure or melodies that you have observed from playing the songs over many nights?

The concept of playing a whole seminal album live as if you’re listening it to on the record player is brilliant and when you add in the fantastic lighting that Rick Forman did on the ‘1980’ tour, it felt like it allowed people to be transported back to when they first heard the ‘Vienna’ album. It was such a unique sound from a unique band and moving seamlessly from ‘Private Lives’ to ‘Astradyne’ to ‘Vienna’ within an album demonstrated so many skills ULTRAVOX had. Having Rusty Egan and a Blitz Club narrative within each show gave a feeling of nostalgia mixed with the songs sounding fresh and alive in 2019.

This experience has now permeated into your own material and your upcoming third album features more electronics. Is it like a new adventure for you, in what situations might you use synthesizers now that perhaps you wouldn’t done before?

Midge lent us his Moog Minatuaur four years ago and we used it on a traditional folk track and no-one seemed to notice or mind so we haven’t looked back since! We’ve always tried to fuse traditional instruments and contemporary production techniques and this feels like the logical progression. In the pandemic we got hold of a DFAM which will feature heavily on the album and days have been lost to creating sounds and beats.

What is your new album called and how would you describe it? Are there any particular songs that are likely to appeal to electronica enthusiasts?

It is being recorded this very minute and it’s tough to suggest song names as the bit that comes last normally around the time the artwork needs doing! The last track on our last album ‘Tempest II’ hinted at what was to come by using an 808 and bass synth modules. We are using bolder rhythms, taking more risks and having huge fun with the synths. So this is an album we hope will connect with more people outside a folk world and launching it in time for the Midge shows feels like it gives us the best to judge whether we’ve got that right. We want to write and record songs that are as accessible to the most amount of people and after three years of writing, we’re really looking forward to sharing them.

Do you have any defined roles when composing for INDIA ELECTRIC CO?

Since we were 19, sitting in bedrooms in Devon with a piano and guitar, we’ve always tried to write together and bring our different skills together. Always having diverse references for writing and then production helps a huge amount and in many ways the enforced break from touring has given us the space and time to get back to a more organic way of writing. The influences of beats from the DFAM has given us a new platform for writing which hopefully shines through on the album.

Hannah Peel who played with John Foxx has successfully used traditional and electronic textures together, what are the future possibilities for INDIA ELECTRIC CO?

If we’re half as successful as Hannah Peel then we’ll have done well, her late night Radio 3 programme is always full of gems that we go back to time and time again. Already by adding drums to our live set, it’s expanded our horizons and with the bass elements of synths creating a bigger sound live is a big focus. Right now we are concentrating on this third album, getting ready to tour and trying to work out which coffee shops to drag Russell to when we’re on the road.

Was this headline tour initially to keep you both stage sharp after the postponement of Midge’s ‘Voice & Visions’ tour? What can people who are thinking about coming along expect?

It felt right to play a headline set in as many towns and cities that we were in with Midge and keep momentum going, we’ve had three years off so we’re ready to play as many shows as possible!

By April we’re hoping people will be keen to get out and see live music again and rather than go back to 2019, we wanted to give people more of a show and move forward so we’ve asked Russell Field to join us for the whole tour on drums. We’re going to play old songs with new arrangements and new songs that have only been heard by us and the neighbours so it’s really exciting. We’ve always tried to play in the most diverse range of spaces on our own tours, from museums to chapels and laundrettes to campfires so that each night is different. People have been incredibly supportive that we’ve had to just add an extra night so hopefully we’ve found the right balance for the shows.

When the ‘Voice & Visions’ tour finally gets going, you will also be the opening act as well. How will you maintain the energy and enthusiasm to play two sets each night?

We’ve had two years off so we’re more energised than ever! We can’t wait to finally get going with the tour and enthusiasm is just a natural part of the experience, there would be no point in doing it if you didn’t get huge enjoyment from playing every night. To have the energy from audiences again will be incredible. We might have to have a quick costume change between sets but apart from that it’ll run like clockwork!

Will there be anything you will do differently when playing to people who come to Midge Ure’s more electronic based shows compared to your own audience.

For the support shows with Midge, we’ll be playing half an hour and as loyal and amazing as his fans are, we are aware that playing 30 mins of traditional folk tunes on mandolin and accordion would be foolish. We’ll have our full set up with drums for these shows and will combine our new album and the songs we think work best with a song they might be more familiar with to try and find some common ground. We had huge fun re-working ‘Wicked Game’ by Chris Isaak in the lockdown and many of Midge’s fans were very kind and positive in their response to how we recorded our version.

How were rehearsals for the ‘Voice & Visions’ tour coming along? Do you have any favourite songs from Midge Ure’s portfolio that you particularly enjoy playing?

The band have done days of pre-rehearsal prep by sorting out all the parts and who’s playing which part and with what sound. As always Midge has prepared meticulously and knows exactly what sound for each instrument. It’s huge fun sitting down together and talking through how the songs should work and we are about to go for a week’s long rehearsals so by September we’ll be raring to go. ‘Serenade’ is currently a bit of an IEC favourite although that may be giving too much away already! From the previous years ‘Astradyne’ and ‘Private Lives’ were always so much fun playing live.

What are your hopes and fears as you prepare to go out on the road after quite some time?

It’s a hugely exciting time preparing for the year ahead and for getting back out and sharing new songs and sounds with audiences. For us, having the opportunity to tour our headline shows with Russell is something we can’t wait to do and learning what new songs connect with people in a live format. We can’t wait for April!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to INDIA ELECTRIC CO.

Special thanks to Richard Duncan at Shoelay Music

INDIA ELECTRIC CO. UK Tour 1st Leg:

Aldershot West End Centre (6th April), Fareham Ashcroft Arts Centre (7th April), London Kings Place (8th April), Bournemouth Folk Club  (9th April), Newcastle The Cluny (13th April), Edinburgh Voodoo Rooms (14th April), Glasgow Glad Cafe (15th April), Manchester Bury Met (16th April), Oswestry Hermon Chapel Arts Centre (20th April), Clonter Opera Theatre (21st April), Otley Courthouse (22nd April), Sheffield Greystones (23rd April), Liverpool Royal Philharmonic (24th April), Cambridge The Junction (25th April), Burton-on-Trent Brewhouse Arts Centre (26th April), Lyme Regis Marine Theatre (28th April), South Petherton The David Hall (30th April)

https://indiaelectricco.com/

https://www.facebook.com/indiaelectricco

https://twitter.com/indiaelectricco

https://www.instagram.com/indiaelectricco/

https://indiaelectricco.bandcamp.com/music

INDIA ELECTRIC CO. will be touring with Midge Ure through 2022-2023, visit http://www.midgeure.co.uk/ for further information

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
18th March 2022

SNS SENSATION Same River Twice

11 March 2022 /


“Love not war, art not invasion, inspiration not fear” is the message of ‘Same River Twice’, the sixth single by SNS SENSATION, the ice cool minimal Italo-influenced project of Sebastian Muravchik who is best known as the charismatic front man of HEARTBREAK who have shared stages with THE PRESETS, LA ROUX, LITTLE BOOTS, ITALOCONNECTION and BLANCMANGE.

While rooted in synthpop and swathed in a monochromatic sepia, ‘Same River Twice’ takes a more baroque direction compared with previous SNS SENSATION releases, outlining how a relationship can embody the metaphysical questions of change and permanence.

Sebastian Muravchik chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.BO.UK about the more cerebral philosophical approach to the genesis of ‘Same River Twice’, both aurally and visually…

‘Same River Twice’ is a very on point phrase right now, but what had been your original intent with the song?

I can’t speak of intent, but I can say the process involved looking deeper into Parmenides (which is quoted in the lyrics), and looking a bit further into transcending the binary opposition between being and becoming (between Parmenides and Heraclitus, as it seems to be widely understood). I’m trying to work out the idea that everything is always changing and you cannot step into the same river twice (Heraclitus) and that at the same time there is no “twice” because time is an illusion and it’s all “being” (Parmenides).

The point that has been made before and I am building on is that we can look at the beauty of an idea and decide to take it on the basis of its beauty alone. So two beautiful ideas such as these two can be both true even if supposedly opposed. Beauty overrides exclusivist binarisms.

Of course looking into what beauty means is important here, and I suppose the best way to explain it is in relation to flow and freedom, which is not the same as excitement (neo fascists get excited about their ideas but these are not beautiful ideas; the excitement is the energy of trauma repressed in the subconscious and coming out as fresh repressive violence to try and control the repressive mandates that have oppressed the fascist himself as he was traumatised and then developed his sociopathy). Liberation is key here. That is, not the identification with the oppressor that imprisons so many people, but the awareness of our oppressor inside. When those repressive mandates are silenced, I believe the beauty available to you glows like nothing else in this life; but it is a long journey that many people choose not to undertake unfortunately. SNS SENSATION is all about that journey: music and art are as effective conduits to liberation and the ideal state of permanent flow as you’re going to get.

But as I was writing the song, a story of disappointment and alienation also filtered through. Time was already a key theme but now it was about time and distance, and how time destroys hope and connection between people (perhaps as much as it helps develop it, or that might be how it feels now, with the end of humanity looming on different fronts).

And yet in this story of increasing alienation and oblivion, I found a sense of infinity which I hear a lot in disco music but not as much in synthpop. That’s why the song fades out, because at that point in the song I believed it deserved to reach out to the infinite; this song did not need to end, it needed to merge into the silence of infinity (which incidentally befits both being and becoming).

I think this is one of my favourite songs of mine, it feels as if I’ve really found my fog. Infinite flow glows in this fog as it takes me with it wherever the wind may blow.

Was the video inspired by any particular artists or film directors?

I think late Beckett is usually important (‘Not I’ in particular, but also ‘Rockaby’). But also, interestingly, talented DJ and drone artist Xen Von Katz mentioned the music video for ERASURE’s ‘Blue Savannah’ – as a fellow ERASURE fan I was so pleased to discover that subconscious influence in this project.

The split face has a scary Impressionism, what the thinking behind this imagery?

I guess I have now reached the point where I get to see these images for what they are in themselves, their potential for meaning a mere aspect of their constitution – that is, seeing them as potential rather than as embodying a definitive intent. So in effect I know as much about the thinking of it as anyone else, and so the intent is multiplied.

Now that you ask, though, my interpretation of this might be that there has to be an element of that being-becoming dichotomy. But also, there’s an element of breaking, of breakdown, of crisis but also of liberation and multiplication somehow.

Like if you’re sad then you need to think about how you think about your sadness. Sadness in itself can be very beautiful, but it must be dealt with appropriately to avoid anxiety and panic. I wish this culture of ours focused less on money and power and fetiche, and more on the complexities of flow. In flow we can experience life as creation, and we are unburdened from notions of ownership. Like Moria Casán said “si queres llorar, llorá”.

We have been aided, multiplied, write Deleuze and Guattari on transcending the binary. I guess I hope this music video works as the cracked mirror inside of us, burning, splintering and synthesised in the same way the infinite and oblivion join forces in the ether of music, the only version of the absolute idea that seems to work for me.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Sebastian Muravchik

‘Same River Twice’ is released as a download single direct from https://wearesns.bandcamp.com/track/same-river-twice

https://www.facebook.com/wearesns/

https://twitter.com/sns_wave

https://www.instagram.com/sns_discopop_noir/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1pgg7obJpfQdaCvw_bwuXA

https://open.spotify.com/artist/77pgZLgAxmVYtNaJm96m7P

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
11th March 2022

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