CHVRCHES’ brilliant first single ‘Lies’ is like ‘The Whole Of The Moon’ re-imagined by Gary Numan but fronted by Robyn.
It’s all driving electronic drums, meaty piercing synths, powerful vocals and a forlorn gothic demeanour but most importantly, ‘Lies’ has a tune!!
A bunch of influences such as Laurie Anderson, DEPECHE MODE and danceable pop music form part of CHVRCHES’ artistic vision. The enigmatic Glaswegian trio of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty have been very coy about overexposing themselves on the ether.
But a source who has seen CHVRCHES’ live show has confirmed that they are worthy of the excitement that appears to have centred around them via the various buzz blogs who like to be first and up-to-the minute.
Few bands manage to produce a song as good as ‘Lies’ in their lifetime, let alone as their debut so while ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK reserves judgement until a larger body of work has been heard, the signs are that even at this early stage, CHVRCHES should be taken seriously. They have a manager, invested in quality equipment such as the Minimoog Voyager and Prophet 08, made their signature song sound as dynamic as possible with high production values and like HURTS, have realised that a stylised video representation of the band is an important calling card.
They also did two days of dress rehearsal ahead of their first proper show at the Glasgow Art School… one might laugh but only a few years ago, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK witnessed the performance of one synthpop duo, much highly vaunted by the evening’s hosting blog, who had not bothered to rehearse before their debut gig…not surprisingly, they were rather appalling! Aspiring acts, please take note!
So CHVRCHES… can they “make a true believer of anyone”?
‘Lies’ is available as a free download via Neon Gold
SIN COS TAN is the new mathematically charged project of ace producer Jori Hulkkonen and VILLA NAH’s Juho Paalosmaa.
Having worked together previously on VILLA NAH’s superb debut album ‘Origin’ and on the track ‘Re: Last Year’ from Hulkkonen’s own ‘Man From Earth’ solo record, a further artistic union was almost inevitable. The duo made their live debut at Helsinki’s Flow Festival this summer.
Their first offering ‘In Binary’ will not be a complete surprise to anyone who has loved either VILLA NAH or PROCESSORY, Hulkkonen’s project with Jerry Valuri. With a stylish video by Pyry Lepistö, Juho Norokytö, and Matti Ranki, the track is an atmospheric amalgam of the two although probably biased more towards the futurist space ballads of the latter’s ‘Change Is Gradual’ album.
The superbly pulsating ‘Trust’ though is perhaps more VILLA NAH, and showcases the pair’s manifesto to be “a synthesized duo of great promise, broken dreams, and long nights”.
Add in sweeping drifts, sharp widescreen cimbalom, danceable but subtle beats and emotive vocals tinged with sadness from Paalosmaa, what more could you want? Haunted by the ghost of the late Billy MacKenzie, ‘Trust’ could possibly be the song of 2012…
So while VILLA NAH take a sabbatical and Hulkkonen wears yet another hat (other monikers have included ZYNTHERIUS, ACID SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, KEBACID, DRUMMAN, STOP MODERNISTS and THE TANIA & JORI CONTINENTS!), SIN COS TAN are finishing an album for forthcoming release.
A 12 inch white label featuring the songs ‘Not Over’ and ‘Sooner Than Now’ has been issued as a limited edition of 300 and is available from Stupido Records
TWINS NATALIA are an Anglo-German collective of creative minds from various artistic fields “working together in order to create some beautiful, catchy yet melancholic and substantial electropop”.
The brainchild of Steve Lippert, they also feature Marc Schaffer, Dave Hewson, Julie Ruler, Sharon Abbott and Marc Schaffer. Incidentally, the latter three are also part of the cult synth act POEME ELECTRONIQUE who released a single ‘The Echoes Fade’ in 1982 which found a champion in the late John Peel.
Speaking about TWINS NATALIA, Dave Hewson told Burning Flame: “it’s a kind of electronic co-operative. Marc sends me a demo of a track – and I then transform this into a finished song with lyrics from Sharon, Sharon sings lead vocals and Julie sings backing, although this is never set in stone.”
In 2008, this ensemble issued a fabulous single ‘When We Were Young’ b/w ‘Kleiner Satellit’. Rich in vintage machinery and deep resigned female vocals with glorious Weimar overtones a la GINA X, the two tracks were weirdly technostalgic but mysteriously futuristic at the same time. Indeed, there were even echoes of TECHNO TWINS’ lost 1982 electro cover of ‘Falling In Love Again’ which was made famous by MARLENE DIETRICH. But then this was not wholly unsurprising as TECHNO TWINS’ instrumentalist and unpictured third member was Dave Hewson!
Composed using drum machines such as the Boss Doctor Rhythm, Roland TR-606 and TR-808 alongside synths like the wonderfully ‘swimmy’ Crumar Performer, Korg MS-20, Korg Poly-61 and Roland SH-2, the metronomic structures of TWINS NATALIA’s songs are the backbone to a strangely humanic sound brimming with neu romance.
Releasing their work on Marc Schaffer’s own Anna Logue Records who issued the lost POEME ELECTRONIQUE material as a collection entitled ‘The Echoes Fade’, TWINS NATALIA’s only other recording so far has been the gorgeously sequenced ‘Destiny’ on ‘The Anna Logue Years – Fifth Anniversary Compilation’ from 2010 which celebrated the label’s back catalogue and included cult acts such as CAMERA OBSCURA (the Minimal Wave duo, NOT the hipster Glaswegians!)
But all that is about to change thanks to a union with Greek synth maidens MARSHEAUX. Marianthi and Sophie declared ‘When We Were Young’ their favourite song of 2008 and have sweetly covered it for a special split ‘AA’ sided 7 inch single.
In reciprocation, TWINS NATALIA have recorded ‘Radial Emotion’ from ‘Lumineux Noir’ in their own inimitable style, adding a more Teutonic demeanour and fiercer euro-rhythmics. Incidentally, another split ‘AA’ release ‘I Avoid Strangers’ on 12 inch is due for release in mid-August with (you’ve guessed it!) POEME ELECTRONIQUE who contribute ‘I Wouldn’t Change Me For Anyone’.
TWINS NATALIA’s debut album, which provisionally features songs such as ‘C’est La Weekend’, ‘Freedom’, ‘In My Arms Again’ and ‘Scary Monster’, is expected to be completed later in the year. Based on what previews there have been so far, it’s all sounding very good!
TWINS NATALIA / MARSHEAUX ‘Radial Emotion’ / ‘When We Were Young’ is released as a 7 inch vinyl limited edition of 500 copies on 7th June 2012 by Anna Logue/Undo Records. It features a full colour outer sleeve with a printed embossed inner.
“Les filles, ces trois filles. Ils avaient l’air si doux, si vulnérable, mais ils avaient acier à l’intérieur entre eux, la dureté de la terre elle-même. C’était comme si elles étaient faites …de diamants.”
From Norwich, it’s the band of the week! …of DIAMONDS are possibly the English countryside’s answer to AU REVOIR SIMONE and compriseof three Norfolk girls Vikki Diamond, Natalie Diamond and Kimberley Diamond.
They differ from the Brooklyn threesome in their use of organic instrumentation alongside the synthesized experiments. Augmented by Boy on Drums, they deliver hybrid electronica with three-part harmonies that can be bittersweet but not without some wry humour and fun. Band interests include tea and cake… so they’re the real life East Anglian version of HO-KAGO TEA TIME!
Working with producers Sankt & Neudorf, the end result sounds like a kooky musical workshop from a Girl Guide camping weekend… there’s tradition but there’s also adventure! With a love of KRAFTWERK and BLONDIE, the varied mix of influences which also include STEREOLAB, SUGARCUBES, THE KNIFE, STRAWBERRY SWITCHBLADE and BANANARAMA make for some intriguing music.
Their debut single ‘…of Diamonds Theme’ was an enjoyably bizarre three movement mash-up of KRAFTWERK, JANE BIRKIN, NINE INCH NAILS and AIR. For that alone, the girls deserve an award or a straitjacket or something! Described in their press release as “rural electronic girl-pop weirdos”, that may be so but as their previous B-side ‘Weirdo’ testifies: “If I am a weirdo, then you are much weirder…”
Their new EP ‘Two Songs About Love’ is their second release and from it, the catchy ‘Friends’ features a promo video of the girls singing in front of some mock Twitter subtext to illustrate the standpoint of virtual relationships. As the girls themselves say: “Breaking up on Twitter is so hard to do…”Also on the EP, ‘Go Far’ is a quirky buzz ‘n’ bleep laden Magical Mystery Tour via THE CURE’s ‘In Between Days’. And in a twist to ‘Are Friends Electric? and its story of failing robot lovers, ‘Buddy’ gives a quaint alternate take on the matter…funnily enough, it sounds like a less gothic ROBOTS IN DISGUISE!
“We formed from carbon atoms that came from stars” say Vikki, Natalie and Kimberley; …of DIAMONDS are distinct from many other acts using synths who might prefer industrialised or minimal strains. Delectably charming to the nth degree, having played a handful of gigs in their hometown, the girls hope to bring their live show to the rest of the UK in the Autumn.
‘Two Songs About Love’ EP is released by Norfolk Mining Company on 20th August 2012. It can be purchased via iTunes and Amazon, other digital retailers are available…
One act flaunting their potential right now Stateside are Texan duo ELEVEN:ELEVEN.
Comprising the celestial voice of Sicca with the instrumentation of Jake Childs, their electronic sound recalls a variety of influences including Italo Disco, Hi-NRG, Electroclash and BERLIN…no, not the one-time divided city with the Brandenburg Gate as its focal point but the LA combo led by Terri Nunn who had a worldwide smash with ‘Take My Breath Away’.
Prior to selling their souls to the F-14, BERLIN were the flagwavers for Eurocentric synthpop in the US with brilliant songs such as ‘The Metro’, ‘Masquerade’, ‘Pleasure Victim’ and ‘Now It’s My Turn’. While their song titles like ‘Electric Sex’, ‘Little White Lies’ and ‘No Words’ are very BERLIN-esque, what ELEVEN:ELEVEN do differently is Sicca avoids Terri Nunn’s rock histrionics which occasionally made BERLIN sound like ULTRAVOX fronted by HEART!
Sicca is much more feline and restrained while Childs provides a sparse, futuristic soundtrack sans guitars. ‘Little White Lies’ in a case in point, driven by an arpeggiated bassline and dressed with portmento synth stabs while Sicca sounds rather seductively detached.
From their debut EP of the same name, ‘Infection’ is more Studio54 with hypnotic hints of BOBBY O and GIORGIO MORODER while ‘Pawn’ is precise mechanical electro disco with a poker faced stare. Crucially, Childs gives the songs dynamics with syncopated high and lows which are free of the disease in current mainstream pop where four-to-the-floor thuds are just thrusted into oblivion.
‘No Words’ recalls MISS KITTEN & THE HACKER, capturing a tense nightlife seediness. Short but sweet with a swirling middle section, who needs an extended dance mix when the point is made in two and a half minutes? In keeping with the modern trend for a series of EPs and singles eventually leading to a long player, ELEVEN:ELEVEN are currently working on a concept entitled ‘Through The Veil’. This will steadily see the release of a track one-at-a-time, culminating in a finished album. So far, only ‘Little White Lies’ and No Words’ have seen the light of day. But based on these two numbers, the other eight tracks are now anticipated with great interest…
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