Category: Lists & Beginner’s Guides (Page 1 of 23)

THE ELECTRONIC LEGACY OF 1985

9 January 2025 /

Electronic pop music laid slightly wounded in 1985.

It was a year of transition as DEPECHE MODE did not release a new album, but consolidated with a handy compilation ‘The Singles 81-85’ although its very weak new track ‘It’s Called A Heart’ was thankfully not a sign of things to come.

Meanwhile after the critical acclaim with their debut single, the Bobby Orlando produced version of ‘West End Girls’ in 1984, PET SHOP BOYS were struggling to gain traction despite signing a deal with EMI with their first single for the label ‘Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money)’ which stalled on its first release at No116; but a re-recorded version of ‘West End Girls’ produced by Stephen Hague issued towards the end of 1985 would change fortunes in time for the start of 1986.

One of the key singles of 1985 was ‘Slave To The Rhythm’ by Grace Jones; wonderful, sun-kissed funky pop in its radio version, producer Trevor Horn took the multiple remix approach he had piloted with FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD to its zenith with the parent album. Having worked endlessy to come up with the perfect version and therefore different approaches, rather than actually do a collection of songs, why not do an album that was effectively multiple remixes and interpretations of one song?

The rise of FM synthesis, sampling and computer controlled systems during 1984, sidechained to the success of more guitar driven acts such as U2 and THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS in America, meant that traditional instruments and realistic presets were now the new badge of honour as music made with the inventive electronic sounds prevalent during Synth Britannia faced a backlash. EURYTHMICS moved away from synths to a more conventional band sound while THE SMITHS would continue to be held up by the music press as purer flagbearers of “real music” with Morrissey having already declared “there was nothing more repellent than the synthesizer…”

An early indicator of where things were heading came when ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ was released by SIMPLE MINDS in February 1985 in the US as the theme to a new teen angst movie ‘The Breakfast Club’. Written by Steve Schiff with Keith Forsey who already had co-writes for ‘Flashdance’ and ‘Never Ending Story’ to his name, Radio1’s Richard Skinner called the song “bland” but highly FM radio friendly, it was an American No1 before the start of the Summer and was one of centrepieces of the US leg of Live Aid at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The event coincided with an explosion in corporate rock and “DDD” music made for the up-and-coming CD format by the likes of DIRE STRAITS.

This more rock-infused but technically polished new wave sound would be key to TEARS FOR FEARS’ huge success across the Atlantic with their second album ‘Songs From The Big Chair’. It saw bands like VITAMIN Z adopting that style and they even went as far as hiring Ross Cullum who co-produced TEARS FOR FEARS debut to helm their first album ‘Rites Of Passage’; despite a UK tour opening for Midge Ure, although sales were not forthcoming, singer Geoff Barradale would later use his experience to great effect when he managed ARCTIC MONEYS and took them to stardom.

The most disappointing record of 1985 was ‘Crush’ by OMD; while producer Stephen Hague made their sound more palatable for Trans-Atlantic consumption with more guitars, piano and acoustic drums as exemplified by the uninspiring single ‘So In Love’, the inner sleeve credit of “electronic keyboards” instead of individual synths as on ‘Dazzle Ships’ and ‘Junk Culture or “synthesizers” as on previous albums was a pointer to the blanding out of this once great band for a wider audience in the US.

Despite synths being less desirable in terms of Trans-Atlantic marketability in the move away from cooler European artistry, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has been able to assemble a list of 20 albums seen as being part of the admittedly weaker electronic legacy of 1985. Listed in alphabetical order, there is a restriction of one album per artist moniker.

ABC How To Be A Zillionaire!

After the rockisms of ‘Beauty Stab’, the third ABC album sprung a major surprise in its New York electro flavoured lead single ‘How To Be A Millionaire’. “We saw it happening in Times Square, there were B-Boys doing that whole thing to KRAFTWERK which was just amazing. The minute the Emulator II came out, we bought one. No need to pay a Fairlight programmer £750 a day!” said Mark White; ‘Fear Of The World’ would later be sampled for the ELECTRONIC B-side ‘Lean To The Inside’.

‘How To Be A Zillionaire!’ is still available via Mercury Records

https://www.abcmartinfry.com/

A-HA Hunting High & Low

Despite being labelled a teenybop group, from the beginning A-HA were always so much more than just the catchy pop of ‘Take On Me’. Containing another three hit singles, there was the wistful ‘Hunting High & Low’ title song while ‘The Sun Always Shines On TV’ revealed a lyrical darkness as the combination of synths and edgy guitar put them in the same league as ULTRAVOX and ASSOCIATES. But ‘Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale’ was the track that outlined A-HA had longevity.

‘Hunting High & Low’ is still available via Rhino Entertainment

https://a-ha.com/

ARCADIA So Red The Rose

In response to THE POWER STATION, ARCADIA was Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor’s attempt to be JAPAN, smothered in an esoteric pond of lush arty indulgence. ‘Election Day’ featuring Grace Jones could have been a DURAN DURAN song, as could ‘The Flame’ which bore a resemblance to ‘A View To A Kill’. But ‘Goodbye Is Forever’ was art funk that pointed to where DURAN DURAN would head with ‘Notorious’.

‘So Red The Rose’ is still available via EMI Music

https://duranduran.com/

ASSOCIATES Perhaps

With the departure of Alan Rankine after ‘Sulk’, Billy Mackenzie recruited Martyn Ware and Martin Rushent on its follow-up ‘Perhaps’. Although more glossy in sound, the Rushent produced ‘Waiting For The Love Boat’ could have easily come off ‘Sulk’ while ‘Those First Impressions’ produced by Ware narrowly failed to crack the UK Top40. But the epic string laden drama of ‘Breakfast’ helmed by Rushent was possibly Mackenzie’s greatest single moment.

‘Perhaps’ is still available via Warner Music

http://www.billymackenzie.com/

BLANCMANGE Believe You Me

Despite good crossover songs such as ‘Why Don’t They Leave Things Alone?’ and ‘Lorraine’s My Nurse’, with synthpop now no longer in-vogue, there was a lukewarm reception for the third BLANCMANGE album ‘Believe You Me’. With a proclamation from Neil Arthur that “I feel like I’m losin’ my mind” in the electro-funk of ‘22339’, it led to him and Luscombe calling it a day in order to protect their friendship after a show at the Royal Albert Hall.

‘Believe You Me’ is still available via London Records

https://www.blancmange.co.uk/

CHINA CRISIS Flaunt The Imperfection

Produced by Walter Becker of STEELY DAN, the influence of his band on ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ resulted in much more of a live soulful feel with the contribution of accomplished session musicians while Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon focussed on the songwriting. Classic CHINA CRISIS songs like ‘Black Man Ray’ and ‘King In A Catholic Style’ secured two UK Top20 hits from a single album for the first time.

‘Flaunt The Imperfection’ is still available via Caroline International

https://www.facebook.com/chinacrisisofficial

DEAD OR ALIVE Youthquake

DEAD OR ALIVE looked like they’d missed the boat when their rivals FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD reached No1 with ‘Relax’. Having heard ‘You Think You’re A Man’ by Divine, Burns recruited the song’s production team of Stock, Aitken & Waterman to work on ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’ which hit the top of the UK singles chart. The eventual ‘Youthquake’ album was a mixed bag, but included another hit ‘In Too Deep’ and the gothic funk epic ‘It’s Been A Long Time’.

‘Youthquake’ is still available via Edsel Records

https://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/catalogue/releases/dead-or-alive-youthquake-40th-anniversary-edition-4cd/

ERASURE Wonderland

Andy Bell and Vince Clarke’s debut album ‘Wonderland’ was not an instant hit. The lead single ‘Who Needs Love (Like That)?’ was mistaken by some to be an unreleased YAZOO recording. Among the album’s highlights were the joyous ‘Reunion’ and the funky ‘Push Me… Shove Me’ . The record’s HI-NRG centrepiece ‘Oh L’Amour’ flopped as a single but undeterred, ERASURE toured the college circuit to build up a new fanbase from scratch.

‘Wonderland’ is still available via Mute Records

https://www.erasureinfo.com/

JANSEN BARBIERI Worlds In A Small Room

After JAPAN, drummer Steve Jansen and keyboardist Richard Barbieri formed a new creative partnership. ‘Worlds In A Small Room’ was an instrumental suite commissioned by JVC to accompany a documentary about the Space Shuttle Challenger. ‘Breaking The Silence’ was a beautiful opening piece with elements recalling Ryuichi Sakamoto while the more structured ‘Moving Circles’ had a Jansen vocal added for the Japanese release’s bonus song ‘Move In Circles’.

‘Worlds In A Small Room’ is currently unavailable

https://www.stevejansen.net/

http://www.richardbarbieri.co.uk/

HOWARD JONES Dream Into Action

Thanks to the success of his debut album ‘Human’s Lib’, the follow-up ‘Dream Into Action’ was written by Howard Jones on the road by necessity; “I was writing in dressing rooms on an Akai 12 track recorder…” he said, “we were experimenting a lot so it’s a much more complex record”. There were hopeful anthems in ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ and ‘Life In One Day’ while the plaintive ‘No One Is To Blame’ would become a huge Trans-Atlantic hit in a new version produced by Phil Collins.

‘Dream Into Action’ is still available via Cherry Red Records

http://www.howardjones.com/

NEW ORDER Low-life

‘Low-life’ saw for the first time, a single ‘The Perfect Kiss’ taken from a NEW ORDER album as a compromise following a new US deal with Qwest Records. ‘Low-life’ featured several other highlights and opened with the Country ‘n’ North Western ghost story ‘Love Vigilantes’. The mighty ‘Sunrise’ was another number in the tit-for-that exchange with THE CURE which was clearly influenced by ‘A Forest’ while the brilliant ‘This Time Of Night’ exuded a throbbing post-punk growl.

‘Low-life’ is still available via Rhino

https://www.neworder.com/

GARY NUMAN The Fury

Co-produced with PPG operators The Wave Team, ‘The Fury’ was the best Gary Numan album since ‘Telekon’. Although very much with the times and in line with acts like FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD and DEAD OR ALIVE, the hard but bright digital sound complimented Numan’s downbeat lyrical outlook. Among the highlights were ‘Call Out The Dogs’, ‘Tricks’ and ‘Miracles’ while the haunting closing track ‘I Still Remember’ was a vocal reimagining of the 1979 instrumental ‘Random’.

‘The Fury’ is still available via Eagle Records

https://garynuman.com/

PHILIP OAKEY & GIORGIO MORODER Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder

After the worldwide success of ‘Together In Electric Dreams’ and the lukewarm response to THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Hysteria’ in 1984, Virgin Records swiftly despatched Philip Oakey to record an album with Giorgio Moroder. ‘Now’ was Oakey’s heartfelt commentary on economic corruption while the thumping side one segue of ‘Why Must The Show Go On?’, ‘Good-Bye Bad Times’ and ‘Take A Chance’ was a thrilling train ride.

‘Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder’ is still available via Virgin Records

https://www.giorgiomoroder.com/

PROPAGANDA A Secret Wish

Düsseldorf’s PROPAGANDA were dubbed “ABBA in Hell”! The magnificent film noir of ‘Dr Mabuse’ was their opening salvo produced by Trevor Horn. The producer’s helm was handed over to engineer Stephen J Lipson for the album ‘A Secret Wish’. ‘Duel’ exuded an accessible ice maiden cool while the Teutonic ‘P.Machinery’ was full of state of the art technical tricks. With the lengthy and poetic ‘Dream Within A Dream’, the listener was taken on a massive sonic adventure.

‘A Secret Wish’ is still available via ZTT / BMG

https://propband.tilda.ws/

SCRITTI POLITTI Cupid & Psyche 85

The first major label SCRITTI POLITTI LP ‘Cupid & Psyche 85’ contained the 1984 Arif Mardin produced hits ‘Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)’ and ‘Absolute’, the latter also seeing input from Gary Langan and JJ Jeczalik of THE ART OF NOISE. Green Gartside embraced of mainstream dance pop and state-of-the-art studio production with new song writing partner David Gamson. Meanwhile self-produced reggae inflected ‘The Word Girl returned to sound of earlier Scritti.

‘Cupid & Psyche 85’ is still available via Virgin Records

https://www.scritti.net/

SIMPLE MINDS Once Upon A Time

After the harder new rock sound of ‘Sparkle In The Rain’ produced by Steve Lillywhite, SIMPLE MINDS brought the synths back in, albeit with a Trans-Atlantic sheen helmed by American production heavyweights Jimmy Iovine and Bob Clearmountain. Despite the modern FM rock bombast which even included a rhythm n blues flavour on ‘Sanctify Yourself’, ‘Alive & Kicking’ saw Mick McNeil’s Gaelic accordion virtuosity applied to electronic keyboards for a huge hit in the US and Europe.

‘Once Upon A Time’ is still available via Universal Music

https://www.simpleminds.com/

TEARS FOR FEARS Songs From The Big Chair

DespiteTEARS FOR FEARS adopting more guitar compared to its predecessor ‘The Hurting’, the more band oriented ‘Songs From The Big Chair’ were still characterised by electronics and rhythm programming in its backbone. Cold War angst provided the tension to ‘Shout’ and the big American driving hit ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’ while ‘Head Over Heels’ with its blistering synth solo was another Stateside hit, later in the 2001 psychological thriller ‘Donnie Darko’.

‘Songs From The Big Chair’ is still available via Universal Music

https://tearsforfears.com/

WINSTON TONG Theoretically Chinese

Produced by Alan Rankine, ‘Theoretically Chinese’ was as much of an electronic pop departure for Winston Tong from TUXEDMOON as Robert Görl’s ‘Night Full Of Tension’ was from DAF. The era’s inherent Cold War tensions also loomed large on the fine pulsing opener ‘Big Brother’ as well as an excellent uptempo cover of Marianne Faithfull’s ‘Broken English’ while ‘Reports From The Heart’ provided an elegant sweeping ballad.

‘Theoretically Chinese’ is still available via LTM

https://www.ltmrecordings.com/theoretically_chinese_ltmcd2382.html

MIDGE URE The Gift

Midge Ure finally took the solo album plunge with ‘The Gift’. Songs like ‘When The Wind Blows’, ‘That Certain Smile’ and the title track sounded like ULTRAVOX enough to potentially worry his bandmates. But ULTRAVOX would never have covered JETHRO TULL’s ‘Living In The Past’ or recorded the lovey-dovey UK No1 single ‘If I Was’ which was rescued from the unreleased vaults of MESSENGERS whose instrumentalist Danny Mitchell was Ure’s main collaborator on this great adventure.

‘The Gift’ is still available via Chrysalis Records

http://www.midgeure.co.uk/

YELLO Stella

‘Stella’ was the first album YELLO made without founder member Carlos Perón; Boris Blank and Dieter Meier headed towards a more cinematic style of experimental pop, making greater use of the Fairlight and digital synths. It included the delightful ‘Vicious Games’ featuring vocals by Rush Winters but the album’s biggest track was ‘Oh Yeah’ which ended up in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’, ‘The Secret of My Success’ and ‘The Simpsons’.

‘Stella’ is still available via Universal Music

https://www.yello.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
9 January 2025

A Beginner’s Guide To ROEDELIUS

4 January 2025 /

On 26 October 2024, the legendary German experimental music pioneer Hans-Joachim Roedelius turned 90. To celebrate, there were special solo shows in Austria and Germany.

An extremely prolific artist since his first release ‘Klopfzeichen’ in 1969 as a member of KLUSTER with Dieter Moebius and Conrad Schnitzler, he now has over 40 solo albums to his name. Meanwhile he has also been involved numerous other projects in collaboration with the likes of Brian Eno, Michael Rother, Conny Plank, Mani Neumeier, Peter Baumann, Holger Czukay, Tim Story, Blixa Bargeld, Lloyd Cole, Christoph H Müller and Thorsten Quaeschning.

Born in Berlin, during the Second World War, Roedelius and his family were evacuated to East Prussia which in the aftermath of Soviet liberation became part of East Germany during The Cold War. After being conscripted into the DDR Volksarmee, desertion led to a prison sentence but Roedelius would later successfully escape across the border into West Berlin in 1961.

In 1968, Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler established the Zodiak Free Arts Lab with Klaus Schulze and Manuel Göttsching among those who passed through. The fledgling TANGERINE DREAM would make frequent live appearances there, playing improvised sets for several hours at a time. This was a fruitful period in German music with acts such as KRAFTWERK, CAN, AMON DÜÜL II and FAUST all emerging from various arts scenes and communes reacting against the dominance of America in popular culture.

Making lengthy improvised drone music using primitive electronic instruments and found devices such as coffee percolators, KLUSTER were clearly influenced by the experimental overtures of Karlheinz Stockhausen. After Schnitzler bowed out of KLUSTER to pursue a solo career, Roedelius and Moebius swapped the “K” for a “C” and continued as CLUSTER; they would make music together in various guises until 2009.

Label mates at Brain Records, when Michael Rother of NEU! asked to meet Roedelius and Moebius at their Forst studio in 1974 with a view to collaborating, the effect on all parties involved was to prove seminal. HARMONIA combined Rother’s chugging motorik rhythms, Roedelius’ melodies, and Moebius’ atonal weirdness into an amalgam of harmony and ammonia… finding a home to produce their best music yet, CLUSTER would join Rother at a new label Sky Records which had been established by Günter Körber after leaving his executive post with Brain, the label that he co-founded.

Through his solo work and particularly his romantic ‘Selbstportrait’ series of albums, Roedelius’ music has often been seen as seeding new age through its pastoral introspective nature. However, in collaboration, anything can and has happened. These days, his focus has been on the piano.

To sum up the portfolio of Hans-Joachim Roedelius in just 20 tracks is almost impossible but ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK will try for those only partially familiar with his music using this Beginner’s Guide with a restriction of one track per album. The man himself is unlikely to approve though because as he once said: “To get the complete picture of my music and art, people should listen and look to everything I did.”

CLUSTER Georgel (1972)

While Roedelius and Moebius originally continued with the dark droning style of their work with Schnitzler, the second album saw their work edited in smaller bite-sized dramas with actual titles. While still avant garde, it was signalling a change in approach. It saw Conny Plank working for the second time with CLUSTER with proceedings now less industrial. The ominous organ lines of ‘Georgel’ warbled as a sinister tension prevailed.

Available on the CLUSTER album ‘II’ via Cherry Red Records

https://www.roedelius.com/artist/cluster

HARMONIA Watussi (1974)

Roedelius and Moebius’ jams with Michael Rother became HARMONIA. Based around simplistic rhythm unit patterns, the restrictions allowed them to experiment on tracks such as ‘Watussi’. Effectively a condensed extract, this began as a solo Roedelius composition and the shortened edit was more of a pointer to the sound of the next CLUSTER album rather than NEU! or anything that would come later in Rother’s solo career.

Available on the HARMONIA album ‘Musik Von Harmonia’ via Grönland Records

https://www.groenland.com/pages/artist/harmonia

CLUSTER Fotschi Tong (1974)

Co-produced by Michael Rother and recorded in the same time frame as the two HARMONIA albums, although ‘Zuckerzeit’ was the third long payer by CLUSTER, it comprised of a solo EP each from Roedelius and Moebius. A highlight of the record was the Roedelius track ‘Fotschi Tong’ which featured immensely melodic keyboard lines and the hypnotic percussive chatter of an Elka Drummer One rhythm unit to give fresher sound.

Available on the CLUSTER album ‘Zuckerzeit’ via Bureau B

https://www.bureau-b.com/cluster.php

HARMONIA & ENO ‘76 By The Riverside (recorded 1976 – released 1997)

HARMONIA played several gigs in 1974 including one in the presence of Brian Eno. He suggested collaborating with the trio but this not happen until 2 years later. With a steadfast pulsing electronic ambience accompanied by field recordings, the ominous tones of ‘By The Riverside’ provided a lengthy standout from the sessions. However, these recordings remained unreleased until 1997.

Available on the HARMONIA & ENO ‘76 album ‘Tracks & Traces’ via Grönland Records

https://www.michaelrother.de/

CLUSTER Es War Einmal (1976)

After HARMONIA ran its course and Rother began his lucrative solo career, Roedelius and Moebius returned to CLUSTER. Their fourth album ‘Sowiesoso’ was the duo’s first fully realised exploration into the soothing world of ambient electronics. Recorded in just 2 days with Conny Plank at the helm, ‘Es War Einmal’ was wonderfully pastoral with gentle melodic phrasing from piano and synths and no rhythm machine interventions.

Available on the CLUSTER album ‘Sowiesoso’ via Bureau B

https://clusterofficial.bandcamp.com/

CLUSTER & ENO Für Luise (1977)

Brian Eno returned to work with Roedelius and Moebius on two fruitful recordings. On the first, the front cover photo of a microphone up near the clouds summed up the approach with the album full of angelic atmospheres and gentle melodies. ‘Für Luise’ was a tense cold war drama with stark piano and minimal synth but again no rhythmic centre. This first official release with Eno brought CLUSTER to a much wider audience.

Available on the CLUSTER & ENO album ‘Cluster & Eno’ via Bureau B

https://www.instagram.com/hansjoachimroedelius/

BRIAN ENO By This River (1977)

Originating from his sessions with Moebius and Roedelius in Forst, Brian Eno produced this beautiful piano and synth ballad with Conny Plank engineering for inclusion on his fourth pop solo album ‘Before & After Science’. While the warmth extracted from the Yamaha CS80 used by Eno was one of the key stand-out elements of ‘By This River’, the backbone from Roedelius’ sweet ivories provided a special lullaby quality.

Available on the BRIAN ENO album ‘Before & After Science’ via Virgin Records

https://www.brian-eno.net/

ENO MOEBIUS ROEDELIUS The Belldog (1978)

Following ‘Cluster & Eno’, the second album from Eno, Moebius and Roedelius was issued under all their surnames and added Eno’s contemplative voice to the experimentation. While there was a mix of piano-oriented ambient pieces and avant pop songs like the unsettling ‘Broken Head’, the best number was the gentle sequencer led beauty of ‘The Belldog’ where “Most of the day, we were at the machinery…”

Available on the ENO MOEBIUS ROEDELIUS album ‘After The Heat’ via Bureau B

https://www.facebook.com/BrianEno

CLUSTER Breitengrad 20 (1979)

‘Grosses Wasser’ marked the return of CLUSTER working as a duo. Their producer this time was TANGERINE DREAM refugee Peter Baumann who was producing other acts likes Leda and in an interim phase before going pop with ‘Repeat Repeat’. Hinting at a form of avant jazz, ‘Breitengrad 20’ breezed like a morning walk as Roedelius’ clean piano lines sparred off the pulses from Baumann’s customised Project Elektronik modular.

Available on the CLUSTER album ‘Grosses Wasser’ via Bureau B

https://www.facebook.com/Roedelius

ROEDELIUS Wenn Der Südwind Weht (1981)

Roedelius was already progressing with his solo career which had begun in 1978 in parallel to CLUSTER. From his seventh solo album of the same name, ‘Wenn Der Südwind Weht’ was simply beautiful instrumental that translated from German meaning “When the south wind blows”; the piece was dominated by a glorious lead synth melody while gently rhythmical keyboard lines remained static in their hypnotic repetition. Everything blended for a soothing textural ambience.

Available on the ROEDELIUS album ‘Wenn Der Südwind Weht’ via Bureau B

https://www.bureau-b.com/roedelius.php

MOEBIUS + ROEDELIUS Emmental (1991)

Having put CLUSTER on hiatus for 8 years, Roedelius and Moebius cautiously reunited under their own names for ‘Apropos Cluster’. With a more understated ambience in the shorter compositions, taking a back seat was the rhythmical element. ‘Emmental’ saw a melodic fretless bass figure alongside spacious piano and synths. It became a signature track at their live shows and was often performed by Roedelius during his solo performances.

Available on the MOEBIUS + ROEDELIUS album ‘Apropos Cluster’ via Bureau B

https://www.bureau-b.com/moebius.php

AQUARELLO Deep Blue (1998)

AQUARELLO was a group comprising of the now-Austria based Roedelius and two Italian musicians, multi-instrumentalist Fabio Capanni and saxophonist Nicola Alesini. One of two new studio recordings on the otherwise self-titled live album, ‘Deep Blue’ was an adventurous cinematic piece co-written with Capanni that carried a marvellous European arthouse quality. It mutated into several distinct mini-suites despite clocking in an under 4 minutes.

Available on the AQUARELLO album ‘Aquarello’ via All Saints Records

https://www.instagram.com/capanni.music/

HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS & TIM STORY Lunz (2002)

Having already collaborated on the epic 56 minute soundscape ‘The Persistence Of Memory’, Roedelius had come together with Grammy-nominated American composer Tim Story to keep his muse alive. ‘Lunz’ featured largely shorter piano-based pieces reminiscent of Harold Budd, described as “Romantic and surreal – light and dark – an album of opposites attracts you like a moth to a flame”, this was the best in modern classical music.

Available on the HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS & TIM STORY album ‘Lunz’ via Grönland Records

https://timstory.com/

ARVANITIS & ROEDELIUS Digital Love (2002)

The biggest outlier in the Roedelius portfolio, he accepted an invitation to work with Greek producer Nikos Arvanitis on an electronic dance album. The superb title song was shaped by feisty house rhythms and deadpan vocals from Alexander Lovrek. But with an array of spikey and sparkling electronics, it highlighted Roedelius’ willingness to immerse himself into new music forms as he was approaching 70.

Available on the ARVANITIS & ROEDELIUS album ‘Digital Love’ via Plag Dich Nicht

http://www.nikosarvanitis.info/

HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS & THE FRATELLI BROTHERS Imogen (2011)

Roedelius’ musical instincts made him an ideal film soundtrack composer, but this did not happen until 2002 for Frederick Baker’s BBC TV documentary ‘Imagine IMAGINE’ about John Lennon’s iconic hit single. Working with THE FRATELLI BROTHERS, the tracks were re-recorded in 2011 for the album ‘Reverso’. With elegant synthetic strings and unusually in the music of Roedelius, a percussive loop, ‘Imogen’ offered a serene impressionistic quality even without the visuals.

Available on the HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS & THE FRATELLI BROTHERS album ‘Reverso’ via Musea

https://www.noh1.com/

LLOYD COLE / HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS Selbstportrait-Reich (2013)

Lloyd Cole was a fan of CLUSTER and his first electronic instrumental album ‘Plastic Wood’ recalled ‘Sowiesoso’. A mutual friend passed it over to Roedelius who was impressed and set about doing his own remix. Cole was flattered so the two discussed working together on a project. Cole created a number of minimal electronic sketches for Roedelius to develop in isolation. The glistening ‘Selbstportrait-Reich’ was a thoughtful union of the sorcerer and the apprentice.

Available on the LLOYD COLE / HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS album ‘Selected Studies, Vol1’ via Bureau B

https://www.lloydcole.com/

MUELLER ROEDELIUS 808 Fantasy (2015)

While perhaps not as much of a shock as ‘Digital Love’ was with Nikos Arvanitis, Roedelius’ collaboration with Swiss-German musician Christoph H Müller of the neotango band GOTAN PROJECT still sprung a surprise. ‘808 Fantasy’ did as it said on the tin with a curious contrast of jazzy piano and floating electronics glitched up around rigid drum machine beats. It closed the CD  version of their first album together.

Available on the MUELLER ROEDELIUS album ‘Imagori’ via Grönland Records

https://www.instagram.com/christoph.h.muller/

QLUSTER Beste Freunde (2016)

With CLUSTER splitting up, Roedelius changed the letters again and started QLUSTER with Onnen Bock before Armin Metz joined in 2013. The contemplative ‘Echtzeit’ album came after the sad passing of Dieter Moebius in 2015. With much of the recording taking place in a church, ‘Beste Freunde’ was self-explanatory, a musical eulogy from Roedelius where his piano took centre stage, sweetened by electronics and treatments.

Available on the QLUSTER album ‘Echtzeit’ via Bureau B

https://www.bureau-b.com/qluster.php

HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS, THORSTEN QUAESCHNING, HOSHIKO YAMANE, PAUL FRICK Klangtraube Part 9 (2020)

Roedelius was invited to perform at the 2019 Edgar Froese Memorial Day concert in Berlin by Froese’s widow Bianca Acquaye. Joining him were present day TANGERINE DREAM leader Thorsten Quaeschning along with violinist Hoshiko Yamane and new recruit Paul Frick. The closing ninth piece saw Roedelius on piano accompanied by the trio for a fitting tribute to his late friend from since the Zodiak Free Arts Lab days.

Available on the HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS, THORSTEN QUAESCHNING, HOSHIKO YAMANE, PAUL FRICK album ‘Klangtraube’ via Eastgate

https://www.tangerinedreammusic.com/

ROEDELIUS & ARNOLD KASAR Lifeline (2023)

Roedelius continues to compose and release music; one of his more recent works came with Berlin based musician and sound engineer Arnold Kasar. Their second album ‘Zensibility’ comprised of call-and-response pieces where Roedelius played piano while Kasar worked in the electronics. As with the vibey charm of ‘Lifeline’, the album’s end result exuded an airy meditative calm while any treatments and soundscapes were ultimately fitting and respectful.

Available on the ROEDELIUS & ARNOLD KASAR album ‘Zensibility’ via 7K!

http://kasarmusic.de/

‘90’ featuring unreleased music recorded between 1968 -1980 is out now as a 4LP boxed set via Grönland Records from https://www.groenland.com/

‘Kollektion 02: Roedelius Compiled By Lloyd Cole’ is available via Bureau B

For more information on the music and life of Hans-Joachim Roedelius, please visit https://www.roedelius.com/

An ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK playlist ‘The Roles Of ROEDELIUS’ highlighting these and other works can be heard on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/18OiPxpBrQRjBDzVcL8rc1

Text by Chi Ming Lai
4 January 2024

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 SONGS OF 2024

13 December 2024 /

Streaming has made music more accessible to people than at any time previously in the music industry’s history.

With traction of new music now very dependent on social media, many artists are playing the algorithm with single songs rather than bodies of work such as EP and albums which are now almost an afterthought.

While ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has always done end of year summaries around songs rather than albums, as they can best represent an annual period, the release strategy adopted by some proved frustrating for listeners. As a result, with everything now democratised and so much choice available following seemingly random patterns, promising new acts found it much harder to get noticed than 10 years ago and simply fell into the cracks of the web.

In 2024, there were albums released where 90 to 100% of the content comprised of previously released material; while the albums made sense as a journey in most cases, during the build-up, what used to be considered traditional “album tracks” were being issued as underwhelming singles that may have disappointed when listened to out of context from the main programme. Whereas the rant in the past with the plethora of different remixes available might have been “JUST GIVE ME THE VERSION THEY GOT RIGHT!”, today it is more likely to be “JUST GIVE ME THE BLOODY ALBUM!”

Then there were artists who only seemed to release single tracks with no EP or album likely, so unless a consumer had the time or the inclination to become a dedicated follower, it could be quite difficult to follow what was going on. Yes, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK may be stuck in the past as it is often accused of doing, but it simply does not embrace this bitty fragmented approach!

A straightforward list to compile, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 SONGS OF 2024 gathers tracks available on the usual online retail platforms with a restriction of one song per artist moniker and placed in alphabetical order…

BRIGITTE BARDINI Crush

Hailing from Melbourne in Australia, Brigitte Bardini is another artist to embrace her dark side having begun as an acoustic singer songwriter. Her first venture into the dark side came with the shady gothic techno of 2023’s ‘Start A Fire’. But ‘Crush’ was more ethereal, a dreamy melancholic number expressing some bittersweet heartache where “I’ll forget about you, if you want me to”. But despite a desire to hold on, it really is all over…

Available on the BRIGITTE BARDINI single ‘Crush’ via https://brigittebardini.bandcamp.com/track/crush

https://www.facebook.com/BrigitteBardiniMusic

CHARLIE Let Go

Not to be confused with the classic 1984 Italo disco track ‘Spacer Woman’ but no doubt in homage, ‘Spacewoman’ was the new EP by Berlin-domiciled DJ, musician and producer Leona Jacewska, best known by her stage name CHARLIE. Its highlight was ‘Let Go’, a thumping strobe-lit slice of dark disco saw Chicago meeting Italy in hypnotic bliss. Tonally and rhythmically, it was a sexy and sweaty number that provided an exhilarating ride.

Available on the CHARLIE EP ‘Spacewoman’ via Wrong Era / Slow Motion

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

CURSES Vanish

Berlin-based New Yorker Luca Venezia, better known as CURSES, joined the Italians Do It Better family in 2024. One of the highlights of the ‘Another Heaven’ album comes with the superb ‘Vanish’; this was CURSES’ own ‘Your Silent Face’ with its brightly bubbling sequencers and solemn demeanour. There was even a subtle ‘Heroes’ like quality about it as our hero declared to his love that he wanted to ”vanish with you”.

Available on the CURSES album ‘Another Heaven’ via Italians Do It Better

https://www.cursesforever.com/

MARIE DAVIDSON Sexy Clown

Embracing her inner clown, ‘Sexy Clown’ was a delightful slice of detached minimal synth disco from Montreal’s Marie Davidson. Off her new album ‘City of Clowns’ out in 2025 on SOULWAX’s label DeeWee, the song explored the conflicted feelings around her treatment as an outsider where vulnerability and mettle, candidness and humour struggled to co-exist in other people’s minds. But real life is all about contrasts!

Available on the MARIE DAVIDSON album ‘City Of Clowns’ via https://mariedavidson.bandcamp.com/album/city-of-clowns

https://www.facebook.com/mariedavidson.official

DIE SEXUAL Need To Sin

From out of the shadows to under the strobe lights, DIE SEXUAL are the erotically charged Los Angeles-based duo of Anton Floriano and his wife Ros. Their second EP ‘Inservio’ developed on the themes of domination and submission of their debut EP ‘Bound’. With their penetrating club-friendly sound, ‘Need To Sin’ was conceived as a tantalizing roleplay of our seemingly innocent subject submitting to their ultimate desires and hedonistic fantasies.

Available on the DIE SEXUAL album ‘Elektro Body Musique’ via https://diesexual.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/die_sexual/

DINA SUMMER Halkidiki

A product of Berlin, DINA SUMMER blend new wave, synthpop, dark disco, techno and Italo; although their EP ‘Hide & Seek’ embraced a cutting Mittel Europa edge, it was just a precursor to a new album ‘Girls Gang’ in 2025. Released ahead of it, ‘Halkidiki’ was an infectious electronic club tune made for sultry summery nights and named after the popular holidaying destination in Northern Greece known for its sandy beaches.

Available on the DINA SUMMER album ‘Girls Gang’ via https://dinasummer.bandcamp.com/album/girls-gang-idi021

https://dinasummer.berlin/

GAVIN FRIDAY Ecce Homo

With a long gestation period, the ‘Ecce Homo’ long player started as a collaboration between Gavin Friday and Dave Ball who had first produced his band VIRGIN PRUNES on the 1986 album ‘The Moon Looked Down & Laughed’. Combining elements of synth with post-punk, the title song itself was a wonderfully deathly slice of disco gothique that sounded like Ian McCulloch meeting SOFT CELL at Berghain given an extra chill by an opera soprano sample!

Available on the GAVIN FRIDAY album ‘Ecce Homo’ via BMG

https://www.gavinfriday.com/

HAUTE & FREDDY Anti-Superstar

North American glam glee duo Haute & Freddy have only had two songs released but they made an impression in 2024. While ‘Scantily Clad’ was an excellent debut, the best of the pair was ‘Anti-Superstar’, a superb slice of avant synthpop with a chunky driving electronic bass triplet. There was certainly a cool wonderment about their style, sound and theatrics, making them one of the most promising new acts of the year.

Available on the HAUTE & FREDDY single ‘Anti-Superstar’ via Even If

https://www.instagram.com/hauteandfreddy

HELIX Unimaginable Place

North America’s alternative music power couple Tom Shear of ASSEMBLAGE 23 and Mari Kattman returned as HELIX. Blessed with one of the most captivating voices in electronic music, Mari Kattman was on top form with ‘Unimaginable Place’, an infectious slice of electronic pop with sparkling hooks and groovy rhythmics. Tom Shear said “I prefer to make other people dance than to dance myself. If you’ve ever seen me perform live you know why! I can’t dance to save my life”

Available on the HELIX EP ‘Unimaginable Place’ via https://helix.bandcamp.com/https://helix.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/HelixElectronic

GENEVA JACUZZI Dry

With a detached Eurocentric poise reminiscent of Gina X, Geneva Jacuzzi described her third album ‘Triple Fire’ “as a hit parade of wildcard synthpop and sly post-apocalyptic camp”. Brilliantly catchy, ‘Dry’ offered alluring danceable synthpop which went weirdly discordant halfway through. A commentary about dehumanisation, it highlighted the song’s lyrical gist about being ghosted following a date.

Available on the GENEVA JACUZZI album ‘Triple Fire’ via Dais Records

https://www.genevajacuzzi.com/

IONNALEE The End Of Every Song

Jonna Lee returned in 2024 as IONNALEE to the electronic sound she is best known for after 2022’s more organic IAMAMIWHOAMI record ‘Be Here Soon’. This third IONNALEE long player ‘Close Your Eyes’ had the twist of having a Swedish Language twin in ‘Blund’. ‘The End Of Every Song’ surprised with a thumping rhythm and a cacophony of chunky sequences and piercing electronics, the vocals sitting brilliantly like ABBA on helium in outer space!

Available on the IONNALEE album ‘Close Your Eyes’ via to whom it may concern

https://ionnalee.com/

ITALOCONNECTION Europa

In 2021, ITALOCONNECTION issued ‘Midnight Confessions Vol1’, a record themed around love. On ‘Vol2’, there was a twist; en Français using an AI generated female voice, ‘Europa’ paid homage to the art movements and machine music of the continent in a dramatic midtempo piece accompanied by synth passages that could be Jean-Michel Jarre. KRAFTWERK, TELEX, PET SHOP BOYS, PROPAGANDA and NEW ORDER were among those getting a name check.

Available on the ITALOCONNECTION album ‘Midnight Confessions Vol2’ via Bordello A Parigi

https://www.facebook.com/italoconnection

JAIN Nobody Knows

French singer Jeanne Louise Galice is more known for mixing pop with Afrobeat, but with an electronic energy and Moroder-esque throb, ‘Nobody Knows’ was very different from her previous work. With a similar lyrical disposition to Taylor Swift’s ‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart’, where “Nobody Knows, it’s just the way I’m feeling tonight, I’ll keep on dancing, but I feel heavy-hearted”, underneath the glitterball splendour was deep sadness.

Available on the JAIN single ‘Nobody Knows’ via Spookland / Sony Music

https://www.instagram.com/jainmusic/

JULIA-SOPHIE Numb

The long awaited debut long player from Julia-Sophie entitled ‘forgive too slow’ was a contemplative body of work as reflecting on past relationships. Lead single ‘numb’ was a marvellous avant pop set piece over a subtle rhythmic rumble with a stark haunted monologue. But then things took a frantic about turn as sung and spoken passages alternated with the growing intensity. A concluding barrage of unsettling cut-up voices highlighted her resigned state of mind.

Available on the JULIA-SOPHIE album ‘forgive too slow’ via Ba Da Bing Records

https://www.facebook.com/juliasophiex0x

KALEIDA Stranger

It looked as though KALEIDA would disband due to the pressures of parenting and the shifting patterns of life. But Christina Wood and Cicely Goulder made their long distance creative partnership work again and their reward was a third album ‘In Arms’. The glorious ‘Stranger’ sprung a surprise with 808 electro dance rhythms and a superb collage of staccato voice samples, punchy bass and great vocals that came over in a prayer-like chant.

Available on the KALEIDA album ‘In Arms’ via Embassy One

https://www.kaleidamusic.com/

KID MOXIE Ti Einai Afto Pou To Lene Agapi

The Greek love song ‘Ti Einai Afto Pou To Lene Agapi’ was made famous when Sophia Loren sung it with Tonis Maroudas in the 1957 film ‘Boy On A Dolphin’. For 2024, KID MOXIE gave the song an emotive electronic arrangement that was both sweet and haunting. It was included in the soundtrack of the new season of Netflix drama series ‘Maestro In Blue’ which had been the first Greek television series to be included on the platform.

Available on the KID MOXIE single ‘Ti Einai Afto Pou To Lene Agapi’ via Minos EMI

https://www.facebook.com/kidmoxie/

KITE Glassy Eyes

Releasing their first EP in 2008, KITE finally released their first full-length studio album on the American independent label Dais Records. As their seventh body of work and following on from the numbered series of EPs, the appropriately titled ‘VII’ contains music from their seven most recent singles released over the past seven years. Like a slice of Nordic gospel, ‘Glassy Eyes’ confronts the turmoil of existential anxiety.

Available on the KITE album ‘VII’ via Dais Records

https://www.facebook.com/KiteHQ

LEATHERS Daydream Trash

While ACTORS have been gaining increased worldwide recognition, their keyboardist Shannon Hemmett has developed her more synth focussed solo project LEATHERS in parallel. Her long awaited debut album ‘Ultraviolet’ contained romantic synthpop with sinister twists in that classic Lynchian fashion. However, ‘Daydream Trash’ was a wonderful outlier, a summer new wave tune that was “100 in the shade” and could have easily come off the soundtrack of a John Hughes film.

Available on the LEATHERS album ‘Ultraviolet’ via Artoffact Records

https://www.leatherstheband.com

LINEA ASPERA Mycelium

While Alison Lewis has focussed on her ZANIAS solo venture for the past few years, she was back playing live with Ryan Ambridge as LINEA ASPERA in the summer. The pair had quietly been writing and recording together with the absorbing ‘Mycelium’ being the first fruit of labour. Featuring Ambridge’s characteristic arpeggio-laden backdrop, Lewis turned to using the fuzzy mass growing on mouldy food as a metaphor for the state of a personal relationship.

Available on the LINEA ASPERA single ‘Mycelium’ via https://lineaaspera.bandcamp.com/track/mycelium

https://www.facebook.com/lineaaspera

MICHEL MOERS featuring CLAUDIA BRÜCKEN Microwave

Best known as the front man of Belgian trailblazers TELEX, in 2024 Michel Moers released what was only his second solo studio album. Recorded primarily using Logic, the songs were developed over several years. While Moers continued with his distinctive cynical surrealism, the single ‘Microwaves’ featured Claudia Brücken on lead vocals for a more straightforward slice electronic pop with solid bass and icy synth lines that came over like PROPAGANDA meeting TELEX.

Available on the MICHEL MOERS album ‘As Is’ via Freaksville Records

https://www.instagram.com/michelmoers/

MINUIT MACHINE Hold Me

Now the solo project of Parisian producer and DJ Amandine Stioui, MINUIT MACHINE has been described as “disrupted, emotional, and terribly addictive”. But making a fresh restart with a clear sheet on her Instagram, ‘Hold Me’ showcased an optimistic lyrical gist and melodic drive on top of the thumping beats than had been heard in her work with previous MINUIT MACHINE creative partner Hélène De Thoury aka Hante.

Available on the MINUIT MACHINE single ‘Hold Me’ via https://minuitmachine.bandcamp.com/track/hold-me

https://www.facebook.com/minuitmachine/

MOLCHAT DOMA Kolesom

Now exiled from Belarus to LA, MOLCHAT DOMA brought in the dancier but still sombre sequenced pulses of classic NEW ORDER and DEPECHE MODE for their fourth album to create a more refined studio product. The magnificent ‘Kolesom’ was a glorious slice of apocalyptic electronic disco with an obvious NEW ORDER influence although Bernard Sumner never sounded this foreboding! The ominous baritone offered a commentary on the banality of modern life.

Available on the MOLCHAT DOMA album ‘Belaya Polosa’ via Sacred Bones

https://molchatdoma.com/

NIGHT CLUB The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)

‘Masochist’ was the highly appropriate title for the fourth NIGHT CLUB album, a dystopian prophecy that came true! Written FUN BOY THREE in 1981 as a metaphor by to the dangerous posturing games played by “The Cowboy” Ronald Reagan during The Cold War, the inclusion of a cover of ‘The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)’ with an even more sinister resonance was sadly relevant as the crazy orange monster was mindlessly voted back as the leader of the free world!

Available on the NIGHT CLUB album ‘Masochist’ via Gato Blanco

https://www.facebook.com/nightclubband

NINA & RADIO WOLF My Dark

Created, recorded, produced and mixed at home in Berlin, ‘My Dark’ encapsulated a dark romantic spirit between NINA and RADIO WOLF. “I knew we’d be creating a kind of revelatory anti-love song about the dark side of relationships” said RADIO WOLF while NINA added “we both felt like creating something quite heavy and I wanted to let out my inner femme-fatale… it’s very moving as a dance track yet provocative like a sex scene in a movie”.

Available on the NINA & RADIO WOLF single ‘My Dark’ via https://iloveninamusic.bandcamp.com/track/my-dark

https://www.iloveninamusic.com/

https://www.radiowolfmusic.com/

PROPAGANDA Wenn Ich Mir Was Wuenschen Duerfte

Michael Mertens and Ralf Dörper starting a new chapter of PROPAGANDA young German singer-songwriter Thunder Bae was perhaps on not on anyone’s bingo card at the start of 2024. She gave a superbly enticing performance in a haunting cover of ‘Wenn Ich Mir Was Wünschen Dürfte’ (translated into English as “If I had a wish”), a Weimar-era song written by Friedrich Hollaender in 1930 also featuring Oscar winning pianist Hauschka.

Available on the PROPAGANDA album ‘Propaganda’ via by Bureau B

https://propband.tilda.ws/

R. MISSING Sleep Will Darken It

Following a trail of sporadic singles with minimal promotional fanfare, R.MISSING have not been straightforward to follow. But with the enigmatic voice of the appropriately named Sharon Shy and the backing of Henry Frost, their alluring pop noir has been compelling when it hits the spot. Short and sharp with the air of a more electronic CHROMATICS, ‘Sleep Will Darken It’ came from their long awaited debut album.

Available on the R. MISSING album ‘Knife Shook Your Hand’ via Terminal Echo

https://www.instagram.com/r.missing/

MARIA UZOR What U Need

“I wrote this track on a social media break as an ode to reclaiming oneself from the grasps of Musk et al” said Maria Uzor, best known previously for being a member of SINK YA TEETH with Gemma Cullingford. Self-produced with a feisty twisted energy, ‘What U Need’ was a techno anthem celebrating detox from the online world that signalled another development in her fearsome beat-laden underground.

Available on the MARIA UZOR single ‘What U Need’ via https://mariauzor.bandcamp.com/track/what-u-need-single

https://mariauzor.com

PATRICIA WOLF The Secret Lives Of Birds

Combining modern and natural worlds, one key aspect in the music of Patricia Wolf is her use of field recordings and this shapes her new album ‘The Secret Lives of Birds’ into a soundtrack for an as-yet-unmade wildlife documentary. While the ambience is very beautiful at times, there are darker moments of angst and sadness driven by concern. Self-explanatory and with synthetic droplets simulating contact calls, ‘The Secret Lives of Birds’ title piece sets the scene.

Available on the PATRICIA WOLF album ‘The Secret Lives of Birds’ via Nite Hive

https://www.instagram.com/patriciawolf_music/

XENO & OAKLANDER Magic Of The Manifold

From their Connecticut laboratory bubble, the new XENO & OAKLANDER album sees a further refinement to their precise yet spirited productions. Past works have demonstrated and reinforced Liz Wendelbo and Sean McBride’s talents as the Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg of synth. With an immediate rhythmic bounce, ‘Magic Of The Manifold’ is classic XENO & OAKLANDER with its squelchy bassline programming being a prominent feature.

Available on the XENO & OAKLANDER album ‘Via Negativa (in the doorway light)’ via Dais Records

https://www.facebook.com/xenoandoaklndr

YOTA & JOHAN AGEBJÖRN Universe In Flames

Yota is a Paris-based singer / songwriter hailing from Stockholm, while Johan Agebjörn is the Swedish producer who is best known as the instrumental half of SALLY SHAPIRO. Blending his melancholic electronic pop style to her sumptuous vocals, ‘Universe In Flames’ provides a telling global warning message. A fine mix of Scandipop, synthwave and rock with sinister twists, it showcased the best of both talents, combining classic synthpop styles with dance music.

Available on the YOTA & JOHAN AGEBJÖRN EP ‘Universe In Flames’ is released by Keytar Records

https://www.instagram.com/yota_official_artist/

https://www.instagram.com/johan.agebjorn/

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 2024 playlist ‘The Great Bleep Forward’ containing over 230 tracks from the year can be listened to on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4xMrAkCbeWvUmTfrN6i6Gu

Text by Chi Ming Lai
13 December 2024

A Beginners Guide to KOMPUTER – FORTRAN 5 – I START COUNTING & Friends

22 October 2024 /

“We are the perfect pop band” said KOMPUTER in 1998 on their debut album ‘The World Of Tomorrow’.

Comprising of Simon Leonard and Dave Baker, KOMPUTER emerged in 1996 as a response to OASIS ripping off THE BEATLES; “We decided that someone should rip off KRAFTWERK, so we did, and the name we chose was KOMPUTER” . said Baker, “Subsequent releases were less obviously KRAFTWERK influenced and still do!”

But some were not into the concept with one observation being remembered by Baker written in a review of a 1996 show at The Garage in London: “My memory of that Garage gig is a very animated and upset young man in an ill-fitting jumper, spilling Tuborg about the place, screaming at the top of his voice, ‘WHAT IS THE FACKING POINT?!’”

Simon Leonard had released experimental music in 1979 as FILE UNDER POP with the Rough Trade single ‘Heathrow’ and as AK PROCESS with the self-explanatory ‘Electronic’ on Output Records. Meanwhile Dave Baker played keyboards in a band called SONS OF CAIN; “I had no creative input except for keyboard parts” he recollected, “I got increasingly fed up and walked off stage one night in the middle of a gig and left the band!”

Baker and Leonard had met at Middlesex Polytechnic in 1982 and bonded over a love of pop. With Baker’s own first experiences of synth sounds coming from ‘Switched On Bach’, then Tomita’s ‘Snowflakes Are Dancing’ and ‘Autobahn’ coupled with Leonard’s experience of having already released electronic music, it was only natural that they would become a synth duo.

Named after the coming-of-age drama thriller starring Jenny Agutter, they became I START COUNTING, signing to Mute Records in 1984. “Some of the synths we started with are still in use” Baker told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, “Roland 100M modular system, Roland VP330, Korg MS20. A little later the Roland SH101 twins arrived, then the Yamaha CS30. When we started as I START COUNTING we used a Roland MC 4 sequencer, then an MC500, followed by Atari based sequencing. We started using Ableton Live as KOMPUTER.”.

Despite I START COUNTING opening for ERASURE on their 1987 European tour, the musical landscape was changing. The new music that Leonard and Baker were making fell under the spell of techno as the dance music revolution took hold. So in 1990, “for a fresh, initially anonymous start and a new dancey direction”, the duo became FORTRAN 5.

FORTRAN 5 was of a more collaborative umbrella, working with a variety of artists including Thrash from THE ORB, DJ Colin Faver, Neil Arthur, Jocelyn West, Katharine Blake, Larry Graham, Rod Slater of THE BONZO DOG DOO-DAH BAND and Derek Nimmo. Samplers became the order of the day. Baker remembered “the original Mute studio above Rough Trade in Kings Cross had an Akai S612, then we got our own Greengate DS3 sampler, followed by the Akai S900 and S1000, followed by an Emu E5000 which is still in use”.

Despite their first live appearance in while at London’s Electrowerkz in 2019, currently “KOMPUTER is resting but may revive any time” said Baker, “Meanwhile I continue to release material as LONELYKLOWN. I have also just re-released my OOO EEE OOO album ‘Burning Through Time’ on CD and digital. All my solo music is available from my Bandcamp at https://davethekeys.bandcamp.com/ “

Material from their three main incarnations was combined in 2011 for the release of ‘Konnecting…’ and while all these different monikers and side projects could be a challenge to follow, they served a purpose; “Because we refreshed our musical identity once in a while” said Baker, “we re-evaluated our working methods and priorities regularly”

So with commentary from Dave Baker himself, here is ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 20 track Beginners Guide to the KOMPUTER axis and its many konnections…

AK-47 Stop! Dance! (1981)

Named after the assault rifle by Soviet small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, AK-47 was another solo moniker of Simon Leonard. A lively slice of minimal synth with the vocodered phrases that referenced the weapon, ‘Stop! Dance!’ was released a year before Leonard met David Baker – “Simon was working with other people when I joined but they gradually stopped contributing, leaving the two of us. We were friends, DJ-ed and discussed music before we started working together.”

Available on the compilation boxed set ‘Musik Music Musique 2.0 1981 – The Rise Of Synth Pop’ (V/A) via Cherry Red Records

I START COUNTING Letters To A Friend (1984)

The first I START COUNTING single was produced by Daniel Miller. ‘Letters To A Friend’ was “Our first release on Mute” reminisced Baker of the charmingly deadpan English pop tune with a bright glassy backdrop that sounded like it was recorded in a church. It was “demoed on a Portastudio at Simon’s stepmum’s in Hampstead. Programmed on Daniel’s Synclavier at his mum’s in Decoy Avenue. Musically inspired by a CULTURE CLUB song, lyrically autobiographical”.

Available on the I START COUNTING / FORTRAN 5 / KOMPUTER compilation ‘Konnecting…’ via Mute Records

I START COUNTING Still Smiling (1985)

Also produced by Daniel Miller and with the metallic resonances of ‘Some Great Reward’ era DEPECHE MODE, the bouncy ‘Still Smiling’ was “Almost a sequel to ‘Letters To A Friend’” recalled Baker, “The B-side was ‘There Is Always The Unexpected’ which foretold our future experimentation! Simon and I have both always loved and admired the Daniel Miller and Flood’s extended remix of this. Adrian Sherwood did an amazing one too”.

Available on the I START COUNTING / FORTRAN 5 / KOMPUTER compilation ‘Konnecting…’ via Mute Records

I START COUNTING Ra! Ra! Rawhide (Rasputin) (1988)

Using an edited JFK quote “Communism is the wave of the future” on the artwork while turning Frankie Laine and BONEY M into a musical Frankenstein’s Monster, Dave Baker recalled this early example of a mash-up (before the term existed) as: “A biting piece of political satire bookending the American cowboy classic ‘Rawhide’ and the classic Russian anthem ‘Rasputin’, which so inspired LADY GAGA. There was a scathing review by Mark E. Smith somewhere”.

Originally released on the I START COUNTING single ‘Ra! Ra! Rawhide (Rasputin)’ via Mute Records, currently unavailable

FORTRAN 5 Heart On The Line (1991)

‘Heart On The Line’ was an airy part spoken-part sung folky number with a blissful electronic dance backdrop number was that deserved to be hit when the UK charts was full of rave-driven novelty material that was far inferior. “The original demo sampled the intro from the BLONDIE song ‘X Offender’” said Baker, “Vocals by two of MIRANDA SEX GARDEN (we helped produce their first single in return). Remixes by Vince Clarke, Moby and Justin Robertson!”.

Available on the album via the I START COUNTING / FORTRAN 5 / KOMPUTER compilation ‘Konnecting…’ via Mute Records

FORTRAN 5 featuring DEREK NIMMO Layla (1993)

A superb eccentric upper class reading of ‘Layla’ that saw “Derek doing Derek”, Eric Clapton’s worldwide hit (which incidentally he DID NOT play the signature riff for, that was actually Duane Allman!) was turned into classic English poetry over bouncy electronic backing – “Derek Nimmo was a famous 70s comedy actor” Baker remembered, ”We actually got him in the Mute studio to record this. He was very entertaining and humble!”

Available on the album via the I START COUNTING / FORTRAN 5 / KOMPUTER compilation ‘Konnecting…’ via Mute Records

FORTRAN 5 VP330 (1995)

Named after the Roland Vocoder Plus VP330, Baker said “That VP330 has been through a lot but it still works perfectly. Bought new 1979/80, toured around UK and Europe, on loan to Studio Mute for a few years, now part of my home studio set up. A few of the keys have melted patches where Simon rested cigars”. Using the VP330’s distinctive if less realistic synthetic choirs, the track had an eerie KRAFTWERK resonance in a sign of things to come.

Available on the FORTRAN 5 album ‘Avocado Suite’ via Mute Records

JOHN CAME Ink Tank (1995)

Rumoured to have been ERASURE in disguise, John Came was actually a Leonard and Baker side project where a singular persona was adopted to create the illusion of a lone frontman. Baker remembered that the sinister robotised ‘In Tank’ was “The only track on the album ‘Rhythmicon’ with vocals. These were produced by a custom made talking box, which required painstaking and time consuming programming. We made a brilliant video on Super 8 film”.

Available on the JOHN CAME album ‘Rhythmicon’ via Mute Records

KOMPUTER Valentina Tereshkova (1996)

Embracing the “K” word and mining ‘The Model’ while speeding it up, this was a tribute to the first female Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova. But Baker recalled how the song could have come out quite differently: “An original demo was made with Claudia Brücken, with completely different melody and lyrics. The eventual lyrics were inspired by BONEY M’s sometimes biographical style. An anonymous, instrumental 12” was also released”.

Available on the KOMPUTER album ‘The World Of Tomorrow’ via Mute Records

KOMPUTER Terminus – Memory Man (1998)

The highlight of the debut KOMPUTER album as ‘Terminus Interminus’ with its strong ‘Trans-Europe Express’ in outer space vibe, ‘Terminus’ came in a number of variants without the original’s transport narration. A remix by German DJ COSMIC BABY was chosen to be the single but Baker preferred “An excellent mix by the very talented Mr Daniel Miller” as Memory Man which provided a frantic electro tension not present on the other versions.

Available on the I START COUNTING / FORTRAN 5 / KOMPUTER Digital Deluxe album ‘Konnecting… (B-Sides And Rarities)’ via Mute Records

KOMPUTER Kompaktor (2002)

Taking a far more abstract experimental approach on the second KOMPUTER long player, ‘Kompaktor’ was “Inspired by the sounds of a large rubbish crushing machine on Old Spitalfields Market, where Simon and myself worked for many years. It made very loud creaking, wailing sounds like some gigantic elephant or something. From the album ‘Market Led’ which used many samples from both the market and discarded records we reused”.

Available on the KOMPUTER album ‘Market Led’ via Mute Records

KOMPUTER My Private Train (2003)

Compiled by Wayne Clements of Essex duo MACONDO, ‘Robopop Volume 1’ was possibly the closest thing to the ‘Some Bizzare Album’ in the 21st Century. ‘My Private Train’ dated from ‘The World Of Tomorrow’ sessions and was “Never given a standalone release” as Baker recalled, “it was included on a synthpop compilation. I still really like this song. A video was made on a train journey we made between London and Scotland to play at a festival”.

Available on the compilation album ‘Robopop Volume 1’ (V/A) via Lucky Pierre Recordings

KOMPUTER Headphones & Ringtones (2007)

After the pure KRAFTWERK homage of their debut and the experimental sampling of its follow-up, the third KOMPUTER album ‘Synthetik’ explored the brave new world of virtual synths. ‘Headphones & Ringtones’ was an impassive but witty observation on how music consumption had changed in the 21st Century. “The title came from a line from another song, ‘Night Bus’, which was demoed but never released” said Baker.

Available on the album via ‘Synthetik’ via Mute Records

ERASURE Victim Of Love – KOMPUTER Mix (2009)

Having already remixed ERASURE previously as FORTRAN 5 with their ‘Lay All Your Love On Me (No Panties Mix)’, Leonard and Baker were back again with a new take on ‘Victim Of Love’ for the companion piece of the expanded ‘Total Pop! The First 40 Hits’ collection: “I just listened to it for probably the first time since making it and thought it sounded very good” said Baker, “I think the idea was to make it sound more ERASURE than ERASURE”.

Available on the ERASURE compilation album ‘Pop Remixed’ via Mute Records

OMD The Right Side? (2010)

‘The Right Side?’ was the closer of the ‘History Of Modern’ album featuring new vocals, lyrics and melody from Andy McCluskey who had an idea based on ‘Looking Down From London (Metroland)’ after hearing the KOMPUTER remix; “Andy from OMD rang me to ask permission to use our track. Of course we agreed. We were very surprised and pleased with the resulting song, which basically kept our original intact as the basis”.

Available on the OMD album ‘History Of Modern’ via Blue Noise

BLANCMANGE God’s Kitchen – KOMPUTER Remix (2014)

With ‘Happy Families Too’, Neil Arthur wanted to approach BLANCMANGE’s classic debut album using modern technology with updated references like “I’ve just been shopping… online!” on ‘Kind’. The bonus tracks were remixes by Vince Clarke who reworked ‘Living On The Ceiling’ and KOMPUTER who did ‘Cruel’ and ‘God’s Kitchen’; “This is really very good” said Baker of the latter, “I don’t remember anything about making it at all!”

Available on the album BLANCMANGE album ‘Happy Families Too’ via Blank Check

DAVE THE KEYS The Lights Of The Pub (2020)

“My first solo release for the first Lockdown Christmas of 2020”, Baker had envisaged ‘The Lights Of The Pub’ “as a ‘Fairytale Of North London’, it was a tribute to all the pubs standing empty at this time, remembering festive seasons of the past and looking forward (hopefully) at future ones. It specifically referenced The Lamb on London’s Holloway Road, where I play piano every Thursday and raised funds for a Crowdfunder in aid of the pub”.

Available on the single ‘The Lights Of The Pub’ via https://davethekeys.bandcamp.com/track/the-lights-of-the-pub

KOMPUTER Spacer (2020)

From a charity collection comprising of 22 cover versions, it featured an enjoyable Komputerised take on the 1979 Sheila B Devotion disco classic complete with dreamy vocoder. Baker said ‘Spacer’ was “One of very few cover versions we have ever done, released on a compilation in aid of a Crowdfunder for The Lamb pub. The original is one of my favourite ever 12 inch singles, with genius production from Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards of CHIC”.

Available on the compilation album ‘Hatful Of Holloway’ (V/A) via Lamb Ade at https://smarturl.it/hatful-of-holloway

OOO EEE OOO Summer 20 (2021)

Taken from the OOO EEE OOO album ‘Burning Through Time’ released on limited edition cassette only in 2021 and re-released on CD and digital in July 2024, Baker added “This is my favourite track on the album, including snatches of radio noise and speech as well as field recordings from local walks in Queens Wood, Highgate. I like to think it conjures up an atmosphere of being suspended in time in an endless summer”.

Available on the OOO EEE OOO album ‘Burning Through Time’ via https://davethekeys.bandcamp.com/album/burning-through-time

LONELYKLOWN Everything I Try To Do Is Wrong (2022)

Waste not – want not, ‘Everything I Try To Do Is Wrong’ was “actually a rejected KOMPUTER song. During Lockdown I would walk to Simon’s flat in Crouch End every Friday and exchange ideas. I would give him a USB stick with audio on and he would give me handwritten lyric ideas. This was a combination of verses Simon wrote and a chorus idea I’d had a while ago. Simon didn’t think the resulting song was really KOMPUTER so I asked if I could have it”.

Available on the LONELYKLOWN EP ‘Wrong X4’ via https://davethekeys.bandcamp.com/album/wrong-x4

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Dave Baker

https://komp46.wixsite.com/komputer

https://www.facebook.com/KomputerOfficial

https://www.instagram.com/komputerdave/

https://twitter.com/komputerdave

https://linktr.ee/lonelyklown

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1gEqsqT3mT13pTcUhEyzzs

Text by Chi Ming Lai with thanks to Simon Helm
22 October 2024

THE ELECTRONIC LEGACY OF 1978

3 August 2024 /

At the start of 1978, disco and AOR was still ruling the airwaves.

ABBA had released ‘The Movie’ which reinforced their success of previous years while the UK charts became dominated by songs from the film ‘Grease’ which helped facilitate a rock ‘n’ roll flavoured revival led by bands like SHOWADDYWADDY, DARTS and RACEY!

Punk had peaked with THE SEX PISTOLS’ Johnny Rotten rhetorical statement “Ever Get the Feeling You’ve Been Cheated?”. However, punk’s ethos was mutating into a form of power pop under the guise of new wave with BLONDIE, BUZZCOCKS and THE BOOMTOWN RATS. One epic opus that captured the public imagination was ‘Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the World’; featuring synthesizer work from Ken Freeman, it complimented the album’s orchestrated rock with an alien science fiction edge.

Although first released in Autumn 1977, ‘Supernature’ by Cerrone belatedly became a Summer 1978 Top10 hit in the UK singles charts, indicating that after ‘I Feel Love’, ‘Oxygène’, ‘Magic Fly’, ‘Sound & Vision’ and ‘Trans-Europe Express’, electronic pop music had potential longevity and was not a novelty.

A new DIY art pop form was emerging as the independently produced singles ‘Warm Leatherette’ by THE NORMAL and ‘Being Boiled’ by THE HUMAN LEAGUE were released to an unsuspecting public but despite not troubling the mainstream due to their limited audience reach, they were to have a wider impact.

Meanwhile, as punk band TUBEWAY ARMY were preparing to record their debut long player, their leader Gary Numan tried a Minimoog that had been left behind from a previous studio session. It was to be an epiphanal moment as he decided that electronics would become a future part of his sound.

According to a recent Ace Records podcast hosted by Pete Paphides, his guest Bob Stanley said that Minimoog belonged to reggae legend Dennis Bovell who was working on a song he had just written called ‘Silly Games’. When it stalled a No2 sung by Janet Kay, in a bizarre coincidence, the single that was to stop it from getting to No1 in Summer 1979 was recorded in the same Gooseberry Studios in London’s Chinatown… it was ‘Are Friends Electric?’!!!

Here are 20 albums which ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK sees as contributing to the electronic legacy of 1978. They are listed in alphabetical order with a restriction of one album per artist moniker…

ASHRA Blackouts

Featuring “Sequencer, Keyboards and a lot of guitar” with the recommendation that “this record should be heard comfortably”, ‘Blackouts’ was Manuel Göttsching’s second album as ASHRA and while it did not quite have the total cosmic magic of its predecessor ‘New Age Of Earth’, it was a satisfying record. ‘Midnight On Mars’ set the scene while there was another wonderful 20 minute end piece in ‘Lotus Part I-IV’.

‘Blackouts’ is still available via Virgin Records

https://manuelgoettsching.com/

AUTOMAT Automat

AUTOMAT were Romano Musmarra and Claudio Gizzi who released just one album. Stating “in the beginning there was the machine – the survival and the organization of the planet depended upon the machine – the future and the past depended upon the machine – …the past? But who wanted the machine?”, the key track was the eponymous three part electronic prog disco opus that would have made Giorgio Moroder proud. Meanwhile ‘Droid’ showed the Italian duo were also fans of Vangelis.

‘Automat’ was originally released by EMI Italiana, currently unavailable

https://www.discogs.com/artist/29817-Automat

BRIAN BENNETT Voyage (A Journey Into Discoid Funk)

The drummer for THE SHADOWS since 1961, Brian Bennett worked on theme music on the side and became inspired by the emergence of electronic disco from the likes of Giorgio Moroder and Marc Cerrone. Described as “A Journey Into Discoid Funk”, ‘Voyage’ was a cosmic affair with jazz and funk influences. Highlights included ‘Pendulum Force’, ‘Ocean Glide’ and ‘Chain Reaction’ while one track ‘Solstice’ was later sampled by rappers Kanye West and Nas.

‘Voyage (A Journey Into Discoid Funk)’ is still available via Cherry Red Records

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/brian-bennett-voyage-2cd-expanded-edition

DROIDS Star Peace

Inspired by ‘Star Wars’, French space disco combo DROIDS were best known for their underground hit ‘(Do You Have) The Force’ in 1977. Included on it, their only album ‘Star Peace’ came the following year with material written and played by Yves Hayat using Moogs, ARPs and Oberheims. It was an enjoyable electronic romp with groovy tracks like ‘Be Happy’ and ‘Shanti Dance’ to take on fellow countrymen SPACE.

‘Star Peace’ is still available via Barclay

https://www.discogs.com/artist/93198-Droids

LA DÜSSELDORF Viva

Fronted by Klaus Dinger from NEU! while also featuring his brother Thomas on percussion and Hans Lampe on drums, the second long player LA DÜSSELDORF ‘Viva’ was self-produced and their most successful album. There was the magnificent 20 minute madness of ‘Cha Cha 2000’, but the album also yielded the beautifully epic ‘Rheinita’, a glorious instrumental that became the blueprint for OMD’s ‘Architecture & Morality’ album.

‘Viva’ is still available via WEA Records

https://dingerland.de/

ENO MOEBIUS ROEDELIUS After The Heat

Following aborted sessions with cult German band HARMONIA featuring Michael Rother of NEU! alongside Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius of CLUSTER, Brian Eno continued collaborations with the latter pair. With a wonderful 1977 ambient collection ‘Cluster & Eno’ to their name, their second album ‘After The Heat’ added Eno’s contemplative voice to the experimentation, the best track of which was the gentle sequencer led beauty of ‘The Belldog’.

‘After The Heat’ is still available via Bureau B


‎
https://www.roedelius.com/album/after-heat

EDGAR FROESE Ages

This double album was released at the start of 1978 before TANGERINE DREAM took their vocal prog rock misstep with ‘Cyclone’. ‘Era Of The Slaves’ was a particular delight in the Berlin School vein with Edgar Froese channelling his creative energies wonderfully following the departure of Peter Baumann. Overall, ‘Ages’ was lively, as exemplified by ‘Nights of Automatic Women’ while ‘Children’s Deeper Study’ displayed a brighter tone.

‘Ages’ is still available via Virgin Records

https://www.edgarfroese.com/

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Equinoxe

The follow-up to the massively successful ‘Oxygène’, ‘Équinoxe’ was conceived as representing a day in a person’s life. As well expanded multitrack recording, ‘Équinoxe’ benefitted from the use of the customised Matrisequencer 250 designed by sound engineer Michel Geiss. The album’s eight parts were rich in melody, rhythm and in places neo-gothic grandeur. It confirmed Jean-Michel Jarre was not to be just a one-hit wonder.

‘Equinoxe’ is still available via Sony Music

http://jeanmicheljarre.com/

KRAFTWERK The Man Machine

By 1978, the classic KRAFTWERK line-up of Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Wolfgang Flür and Karl Bartos were at the height of their powers with ‘Trans Europe Express’ becoming an unexpected favourite on the New York dancefloors. ‘The Man Machine’ contained the belated hit single ‘The Model’ while there was also the Giorgio Moroder-inspired ‘Spacelab’ and ‘Metropolis’. With ‘The Robots’, the Das Quartett reinforced they were Musikarbeiter.

‘The Man Machine’ is still available via EMI Music

http://www.kraftwerk.com/

LEDA Welcome To Joyland

Having left TANGERINE DREAM and inspired by the success of ‘I Feel Love’, Peter Baumann produced Italian artist Leda on her album ‘Welcome To Joyland’. Applying his sequenced knowhow into a more song based format, highlights included the title song and the Giorgio Moroder aping ‘Future’. Something of a curio in his portfolio, it became a pointer to the pop based direction he launched in 1981 with ‘Repeat Repeat’.

‘Welcome To Joyland’ is still available via Private Records

https://www.voices-in-the-net.de/welcome_to_joyland.htm

GIORGIO MORODER Midnight Express

‘Midnight Express’ was a graphic prison drama directed by Alan Parker who wanted electronic accompaniment in the style of ‘I Feel Love’ for a key scene in the film. Enter Giorgio Moroder who, assisted by Harold Faltermeyer, did just that with the mighty ‘Chase’. Meanwhile, the moody main theme and with its exotic overtones all but invented synthwave. Moroder would win his first Oscar for “Best Original Score”.

‘Midnight Express’ is still available via Casablanca Records / Universal Records

http://www.moroder.net/

RICHARD PINHAS Chronolyse

Richard Pinhas was a member of French rock band HELDON who became fascinated by the possibilities of experimental electronics. Inspired by sci-fi writers Michel Jeury and Frank Herbert, the ‘Chronolyse’ title suite was split into seven waves of cerebral minimalism reminiscent of Terry Riley and Philip Glass. But there was a volte face in ‘Paul Atreïdes’, a noisy half hour jam with his HELDON band mates that took up an entire side.

‘Chronolyse’ is still available via Bureau B

https://www.richard-pinhas.com/chronolyse/

RIECHMANN Wunderbar

The only album by the tragic figure of Wolfgang Riechmann, ‘Wunderbar’ was an elegant and ultimately fragile collection with a fine balance of electronic technology and real instrumentation where none of the elements were overdone. The resonant melancholy of its content became even more poignant once it is learnt that he was murdered in Düsseldorf just weeks before its release by Sky Records in August 1978.

‘Wunderbar’ is still available via Bureau B

https://riechmann.bandcamp.com/album/wunderbar

MICHAEL ROTHER Sterntaler

After the success of ‘Flammenden Herzen’ set Michael Rother off on the path to becoming Germany’s answer to Mike Oldfield, his second solo album ‘Sterntaler’ saw a greater use of synths for melody lines as on the uplifting title track. ‘Orchestrion’ was more of a layered guitar symphony but the moody textures of ‘Sonnenrad’ would later become the inspiration for ULTRAVOX’s ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’.

‘Sterntaler’ is still available via Grönland Records

http://www.michaelrother.de/en/

CONRAD SCHNITZLER Con

Conrad Schnitzler had been a member of TANGERINE DREAM and KLUSTER before going solo. ‘Con’ was produced by Peter Baumann. While much of the album was unsettling soundscapes like ‘Electric Garden’ and ‘Black Nail’, ‘Ballet Statique’ was his most accessible piece and up there with the best of minimally structured German electronic music. Meanwhile ‘Zug’ did as the title suggested with its locomotive rhythm collage.

‘Con’ is still available via Bureau B

https://www.fancymoon.com/con_s/

KLAUS SCHULZE X

After his 1977 masterpiece ‘Mirage’, Klaus Schulze was by now well into what many consider his imperial phase and planting the seed for New Age in the process. For the ambitious double opus ‘X’, drums by Harald Grosskopf and strings were incorporated into “Six Musical Biographies” in honour of figures such as philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, composer Friedemann Bach and ‘Dune’ author Frank Herbert.

‘X’ is still available via SPV

https://klaus-schulze.com/

SPACE Just Blue

Having had a worldwide hit with ‘Magic Fly’, ‘Just Blue’ was the third album by France’s SPACE and the last featuring original writer Ecama, the pseudonym of Didier Marouani. With proggier inflections and more vocal phrasing, this album did not hit the highs of ‘Magic Fly’ but this was still a good record. The title song had catchy synth hooks while ‘Final Signal’ brought in fretless bass and ‘Secret Dreams’ got all new age.

‘Just Blue’ is still available via Nang

https://www.facebook.com/Didier.Marouani.et.spAce/

TOMITA The Bermuda Triangle

Best known for 1974’s pioneering ‘Snowflakes Are Dancing’ which reinterpreted Debussy, Isao Tomita was applying his Moog modular craft to Prokofiev and Sibelius for an ambitious concept album subtitled “A Musical Fantasy of Science Fiction”, there was even an adaptation of ‘Close Encounters Of The Third Kind’. As befitting a record about ‘The Bermuda Triangle’, it was dark and experimental in places with a fabulous palette of sound design.

‘The Bermuda Triangle’ is still available via Revive Music

https://www.isaotomita.info/

ULTRAVOX Systems Of Romance

Working with the legendary Conny Plank for their third album ‘Systems Of Romance’, ULTRAVOX became more texturally powerful thanks to the ARP Odyssey of Billy Currie, Chris Cross’ EMS Synthi AKS and new guitarist Robin Simon. Despite leader John Foxx leaving to go solo, ‘Slow Motion’, ‘Quiet Man’, ‘Dislocation’ and ‘Just For A Moment’ were a harbinger of things that were to come with a certain Gary Numan taking notes.

‘Systems Of Romance’ is still available on ‘The Island Years’ via Caroline Records

https://www.ultravox.org.uk/

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA Yellow Magic Orchestra

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA was intended as one-off project for producer Haruomi Hosono with Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto; all three already had solo careers. Their self-titled debut was noted for its use of the then-new Roland MC8 Micro-Composer progammed by Hideki Matsutake. The trio became standard bearers for Japanese technopop with the hit single ‘Firecracker’, also known as ‘Computer Game’.

‘Yellow Magic Orchestra’ is still available via Sony Music

http://www.ymo.org/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
3 August 2024

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