Not to be confused with the Latin rock band discovered by Sergio Mendes, MACONDO were a synthpop duo from Grays in Essex.
Comprising of Wayne Clements and his sidekick Vickie, their only album ‘Up Here For Thinking, Down There for Dancing’ was released in 2003 by Ninthwave Records, an American independent specializing in electronic pop founded in 2001 as part of Lexicon Magazine, originally an ABC fanzine that morphed into a more general platform featuring synthpop and new wave.
Ninthwave Records issued a number of new artist compilations including ‘Electricity’ which featured SUBVERSION, a synthpop act who included THE KILLERS’ Brandon Flowers as one of its members. It also handled the North American release of HEAVEN 17’s 2005 album ‘Before / After’, as well as curating tribute albums to OMD and YAZOO.
Take in the context of the period; the new millennium had begun and with the post-Britpop hangover, there was effectively no electronic music unless it was club focussed. Synthpop acts couldn’t get arrested and although LADYTRON released ‘604’ in 2001, it was done independently via their own Invicta H-Hi imprint. Even after they had achieved some critical success and signed a record deal, their second album ‘Light & Magic’ in 2003 was released in the USA first by Emperor Norton.
Wayne Clements had established his own synth imprint Lucky Pierre which later released a great compilation ‘Robopop Volume 1’ featuring CLIENT, VIC TWENTY, WHITE TOWN, KOMPUTER, EMPIRE STATE HUMAN and BAXENDALE.
But overall, it was a frustrating period for electronic music of a more pop focussed bent. It seemed North America were the saviours of synthpop, so it was no great surprise that MACONDO ended up signing to Ninthwave.
Some of that frustration came across on ‘Up Here For Thinking, Down There For Dancing’, an amusing collection of synthpop that brightened up the synthetic sky with its humour, wit, sadness, and disappointment.
On the opening number ‘Something’s Got to Happen Soon’, NEW ORDER collided with ERASURE via a wonderfully nonchalant vocal and some pretty, sparkling melodies. Lyrics like “I wanted to change my life and I was going to start today but then I got up late, there’s always tomorrow…” captured the essence of the proud pronouncements that people now make online, that ultimately wither away as unrealised ideas through lack of focus or just plain laziness. Undeterred, Wayne then declared ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ but he did.
Following on, the brilliant ‘Saturday Boys’ encompassed that very English attitude to being skint and therefore, uncommitted and unambitious; who doesn’t know someone like that? It’s the ultimate anti-aspiration song about “doing nothing to enhance our reputation…”
With hints of FRAZIER CHORUS, the brilliantly titled honesty of ‘Live Life To The Min’ also accurately captured this state of apathy in a life where “I don’t go out when I can stay in…” – indeed, who really gives a f*** about apathy?
The charming ‘Local Boy’z’ with its deliberately off-key vocals reflected on the small town mentality revolving around the M25 with the conclusion “it never occurred to us that we could leave…” while ‘Club Supper’ brought Vickie into the vocal mix with a break-up duet within a 6/8 Clarke inspired synthfest. Another swung ERASURE-ish number ‘He’s Got A Gun’ poked fun at the wannabe criminal underworld.
Within the shuffling midtempo backbone of ‘Disappointed’ and its Western theme harmonica solo was a great tune, while highlighting that ‘Up Here for Thinking, Down There for Dancing’ wasn’t just built around a single pace, there was the softer, more downbeat narrative of ‘What If He Doesn’t Show?’ and the closing cascading resignation of ‘Game Over’.
‘Up Here For Thinking, Down There For Dancing’ was a promising, quirky debut, and although there was a download remix collection ‘Down There For Dancing’ in 2004, other than an outtake ‘It Couldn’t Be Further From The Truth’ featuring Vickie on lead vocals appearing on the ‘Electricity 2’ sampler, that was it from MACONDO.
Another Lucky Pierre compilation ‘Robopop – The Return’, in association with production duo MANHATTAN CLIQUE and their label Planet Clique, did appear in 2006; on it were GOLDFRAPP, THE KNIFE, TIGA, MATINEE CLUB, ROBOTS IN DISGUISE and LORRAINE. But there was the surprise inclusion of MACONDO with a previously unreleased track called ‘CCTV’, again with Vickie on lead… it raised hopes of another album, but it was not to be.
Like their fellow ironic synthers YOUNGER YOUNGER 28s and BAXENDALE, MACONDO were an amusing aural relief to the landfill indie of the times, although unlikely to have been massively successful even in the current electro friendly climate. But they would have had some friendly faces around in this internet age.
Wherever they are now, whether they are section managers at Asda, designing logos for big corporations or writing comedy scripts for the BBC, Wayne and Vickie’s sub-FRAZIER CHORUS melodic pop and witty social observations are greatly missed.
The greatness started when Vasi Vallis from NAMNAMBULU met DIORAMA’s Felix Marc…
FROZEN PLASMA formed in 2005 and in the November of that year, the first single was released. ‘Hypocrite’ enjoyed a good position on German Alternative Charts and the first album ‘Artificial’ received positive reviews in many electronic publications at the time, praising the natural progression from NAMNAMBULU. Most recently, the duo have enjoyed success with hugely popular ‘Dekadenz’, hailed by chosen German reviewers as the best thing since sliced bread. (Oh… SLICED BREAD, the greatest electronic band of all!)
Joking aside, signed to Infacted Recordings, FROZEN PLASMA continue to make sensational synthpop albums and, consciously or not, have been copied by many new artists from around the globe. The recent productions from Utah based RARE FACTURE, and Swedes DESTIN FRAGILE plus many others all replicate the familiar synthscapes of FROZEN PLASMA in their own recordings.
Back in 2009, the hungry synth lovers eagerly awaited the second album, and in May that year, ‘Monumentum’ was finally revealed to the yearning public. The “momentum” was certainly achieved with that one; an album which still marks those glorious moments for Vallis and Marc.
The ethereal and floaty ‘Open’ kicks the album off with gentle strings, pleasant melody and this uncertain gut feeling one gets upon waiting for something grand and wonderful to come. Cinematic, atmospheric and truly beautiful, the track really does not herald what the production is about to transform into.
And so it comes, unprecedented synth with those magnificent vocals by Marc in ‘The End-Deliverance’. Doom, melancholy and grief, all of which are skilfully wrapped up in an epic dance track.
‘The Speed Of Life’ is quintessential FROZEN PLASMA as we know it nowadays, an urgent lyrical call to stop the rat race, in which many people are enveloped as of late.
It couldn’t be more current, even after six years since the album release: “Let’s cease the day, let’s go astray, there is no reason to be shy”, “running at the speed of life” to escape the ordinary, leave your worries behind and submerge into the simple pleasures of existence.
‘Phoenix’ marks the sound for which the duo have been endlessly praised, and which has been recreated in many recent releases by various artists. It’s a bouncy floor filler, marked with meaningful lyrics and a longing vocal. ‘Natural Born Liars’ bears the characteristics of quintessential FROZEN PLASMA. This semi-industrial instrumental is sci-fi inspired, and quite a lengthy track for a non-worder at 6:42.
The anthemic ‘Tanz Die Revolution’ bursts in next. Having previously been released separately, this epic production expands beyond the imaginable. It really had to be performed in German just to have this extra punch and aggression, which is essential for such a legendary track. A magnificent dance tune; one can just imagine the black adorned crowd stomping on the dance floor; it is impossible to sit through this one!
‘Earthling’ follows, with ringing synth and poignant lyrics “And I realise there is no peace of mind….there is no remedy inside, wipe me from this cruel reality, until my kingdom comes…”; it’s a heavy-hearted and gloomy realisation that nothing matters and we are as good as God’s puppets. ‘Almond Flower’, the longest track on the album at 7:09, bar the extended version of ‘The Speed Of Life’, is a melancholic depiction of a broken love affair, marked by a gentle keyboard pattern and ballad-like quality.
‘Touching Ground’ continues the solemn mood, yet bears the sign of hope (“to discover what is still unknown”, “participate in this sensation… you will be no enemy of mine”), while ‘Murderous Trap’, with its ominous title, returns to the classic FROZEN PLASMA sound. A story of a seductive girl, weaving her sexual trap over an unsuspecting man could be perceived as controversial nowadays… not that it hadn’t been done before (eg DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Little 15’); “she played her game so well”, but “sweet 16 it’s time to let you go”.
The debauchery is broken up by a stunning instrumental ‘Forgotten Earth’; divine, statuesque and sophisticated in its simplicity, an ambient female backing vocal drives the melody through corners of the human mind, leading up to equally elegant ‘Close’ which concludes the making.
After six years, ‘Monumentum’ still has that charm of seductive synth ballads, interspersed with heavy, dance floor-worthy anthems. It clearly rings many bells for numerous artists, who try and recreate the mood, which Vallis and Marc have been spoiling audiences with since 2005.
If you have never come across FROZEN PLASMA yet, this album would be a good place to start. Beware however, you may love it too much…
‘Monumentum’ is still available as a CD or download via Infacted Recordings
‘Blood Spills Not Far From the Wound’ was an album released in 2007 by NECESSARY RESPONSE, a pseudonym adopted by Daniel Graves of AESTHETIC PERFECTION when they were certainly a different sounding beast to the one they are now.
If you have only been exposed to fairly recent songs such as ‘Antibody’ and ‘Big, Bad Wolf’, then tracks such as ‘Fix’, ‘Sacrifice’ and ‘Surface’ from ‘Close to Human’, although featuring some undeniably hooky synth lines, also showcased aggressive, screamed post-hardcore vocals which could certainly prove deal breakers for those into vocally melodic strains of electronic music.
‘Intro’ starts the album, a short piano-based instrumental piece with minimal drums, a sampled breath running throughout and a dark / sinister vocodered voice intoning “Let’s spill some blood….” which introduces the first song on ‘Blood Spills….’
Opening piece ‘Spilling Blood’ is intriguing in that in certain respects it musically templates what was to eventually become the next AESTHETIC PERFECTION album ‘A Violent Emotion’. A far more typical industrial sound, with big distorted 909 kicks, filtered sawtooth synths and a triplet Schaffel feel.
What differentiates it from what was to come AP-wise (and say a typical COMBICHRIST song from the era) is the lead vocal, itself very melodic with a vocoder ghosting underneath it to give it more of an edge. The song starts with a mid-range voice announcing “Every living creature on earth dies alone” with other less discernible snippets of film dialogue following. The song’s chorus is big and anthemic with the “She says she’s never been so alone, don’t you care about me?” lyrical hook providing a real emotional twist to what is a very hard-edged machine-driven track.
‘Forever’ sets the template for much of the album, both musically and vocally. It is a very melodic 4/4 piece with hypnotic synth and haunting choral introduction lines, but with an overlong instrumental bridge and a musically underdeveloped chorus which doesn’t quite do the songwriting justice. ‘Forever’ could be interpreted as being written from the perspective of a touring musician trying to come to terms with commitment and being able to maintain a faithful relationship, with lyrics which talk about spending “our whole life together” but not “knowing how it’s done”.
‘Vapor’ is one of the standout songs on the album. Lyrically it details a fleeting and potentially doomed romantic liaison set against monophonic synth riffs which wouldn’t be out of place on the debut DEPECHE MODE and YAZOO albums.
The main drawback to ‘Vapor’ is its length; a three and a half minute edit would be perfect for a traditional synthpop song of this ilk. But stretching it out to nearly six means that a lot of the track’s emotional impact becomes lost, especially when another repeated chorus appears around about the five minute mark! ‘Dying In The Worst Way’ and ‘This Distance’, the other instrumental on the album, are the darkest tracks on ‘Blood Spills…’
The former recalls NINE INCH NAILS lyrically, whereas the latter comes across as a Dystopian sci-fi theme with filter swept ‘Man Machine’ style bass synths counterpointing the intricate stuttering of the main elements.
After a detached Apple-style robotic voice repeats “this distance is breaking me apart” in the middle eight, a deep Reese / detuned sawtooth bass adds to the overall menace before the lone computerised voice appropriately breaks down at the end.
Both pieces flirt with the Glitch genre and feature cut-up slices, helping to differentiate the songs from just being standard synth-pop compositions.
‘Devotion’, the album closer starts with looped found sounds combined with a low droning bass, ominous piano and strings. The song itself has Depeche DNA at its heart, but again the glitched components of the chorus help set it apart from something that Basildon’s finest would produce. An overlong drum-less middle section hampers the momentum of the track to a degree, but the chorus returns back at the end to lift the piece.
The main selling point for a casual listener to explore ‘Blood Spills….’ is the quality of the songwriting and synth work contained within.
Arguably there are issues with the overlong songs and underdeveloped production in places, but it still has the power and charm to make you want to revisit it regularly.
Daniel Graves kindly spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK to discuss some of the songs on the album, why he deemed it necessary to adopt a different name for the project and also why ‘Blood Spills…’ has received a 2015 ‘re-boot’ with the addition of ‘Never Enough’, a previously unreleased song from that period…
What was the main reason to step away from AESTHETIC PERFECTION to record and release ‘Blood Spills…’?
I was forced to! At the time, the powers that be insisted that AESTHETIC PERFECTION be a strictly aggrotech act. The original cut of ‘Close to Human’ contained ‘Tomorrow’, ‘Forever’ and ‘Elements’, and even though the labels liked those songs, they said I’d have to create a new project if I ever wanted to release them. I was young and eager to make people happy, so I did it. Ever since then, the goal was to slowly lead AESTHETIC PERFECTION towards what it was supposed to be from the beginning: A dynamic expression of all ranges of emotion.
Initially you went to quite a lot of effort to keep the identity and source of the act secret, including the creation of a fake MySpace located in Sweden, why was that?
I wanted the music to speak for itself. I had hoped NECESSARY RESPONSE would garner attention because the songs were good, not because they were made by “the guy from AESTHETIC PERFECTION”. Ironically though, the album was a total flop, so in hindsight I should have exploited everything I had!
As NECESSARY RESPONSE, you toured as support for DE/VISION, how was that experience?
At the time it was the longest tour I had ever done. Don’t forget, this is about a year before ‘A Violent Emotion’ came out, so AESTHETIC PERFECTION hadn’t done any significant amount of touring yet. The response was positive, but it still wasn’t enough to get the project off its feet.
I think this album, more than anything else I’ve done, was the slowest burn. People didn’t take notice of it until after AESTHETIC PERFECTION got more popular.
The phrase ‘Emo-tronica’ came into my head whilst listening to ‘Blood Spills…’
I’ve always been partial to “Emo Body Music”. Not only because it contains the word “emo” which receives an automatic knee-jerk reaction from anyone in the Goth scene, but it pairs it with the oh-so-sacred EBM acronym to really drag the nails across the chalkboard. If you want me to be honest, I’ve always thought of my music as “dark electro”, but that’s way less fun sounding. I’ve always found it funny that people associate ‘Blood Spills Not Far From the Wound’ with being sincere, open and honest and not the other AESTHETIC PERFECTION albums. Lyrically, I don’t see how ‘Sacrifice’ is any different from ‘Dying in the Worst Way’. All of my music is deeply personal. I don’t know how to write lyrics that aren’t.
On many AESTHETIC PERFECTION songs, you often come across as a larger than life persona… NECESSARY RESPONSE feels like it could be the ‘real’ Daniel Graves…..
None of what you see is the “real” me. Although, the “real” me just wants to be “Daniel Graves”. It’s two sides of the same coin. I can promise you that there was just as much performance in the NECESSARY RESPONSE days as there is now.
I wasn’t as good at it then, though. I’ve improved over the last eight years! It’s important for me that the listener interprets the song for themselves. My songs mean to me what they mean to me, and they mean to you what they mean to you.
The opening instrumental ‘Intro’ is reminiscent of a lost ‘Protection’-era MASSIVE ATTACK track, are you fan?
Nope! I absolutely hate MASSIVE ATTACK and trip hop in general!
‘Forever’, along with other tracks on the album, include some cut-up, glitchy elements, was there anybody that particularly inspired you to incorporate these?
I used to be huge into IDM and GRIDLOCK. They inspired the instrumentals on ‘Close to Human’ and ‘Blood Spills Not Far From the Wound’. You’ll notice though, that around 2007 I lost interest in the style and those types of songs stopped appearing on my albums!
Did you use the LiveCut plug-in to help program the glitches?
I’ve never heard of the LiveCut plug-in. I did everything manually!
An AESTHETIC PERFECTION trademark is the use of dialogue samples and snippets, did you add these afterwards or did they start as springboards for song ideas?
Samples almost always come at the end. I think of them as the icing on the cake rather than the batter.
‘Vapor’ sounds like a very personal lyric…
They’re all very personal, but I’d say this one was definitely less vague than the others. I think the narrative is very plainly laid out for the listener. It’s definitely one of my favourite songs, but it didn’t need to be six minutes long!
Some of the other tracks on ‘Blood Spills…’ could have quite comfortably followed a 3-4 minute ‘pop’ format…
I wish they had. I absolutely despise long songs now. Anything over four and a half minutes had better be some ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ rock opera epic-ness.
The album has a very clean and clear vocal production – what is your opinion on Industrial acts that treat their vocals almost as an afterthought to the music?
The human voice is the most unique and expressive instrument we have. No two are alike, why would you want to hide it in effects? Bring it all to the front. Don’t fear criticism. Own your flaws. Do whatever you need to do, but vocals are NOT an afterthought, they are the anchor.
Some of the album cuts ‘Elements’, ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘For All the Lost’ sound like they were done on quite a minimalist set of equipment…
Most of this record is an Access Virus B, a Nord Lead 2 and recorded in Logic with various softsynths. I’ve always tried to keep my set-up as small as possible. I find too much gear gets confusing, and you never truly learn the ins and outs of what you have. These days, the Nord and Virus collect dust as recording actual synths is totally impractical, but I like to bring them out every now and again.
The album ‘Blood Spills…’ has an almost minimal / monophonic KRAFTWERK-style aesthetic to it, are you proud of it in hindsight?
I get the worst idiot shivers when I hear the production on that record. It’s so NOT up to par. Even in 2007, it didn’t sound like a well-produced record. What I’m proud of are the songs, I think people like the record in spite of the production and not because of it. To be fair, though, I’m an artist and I hate almost everything I do. I have no objectivity, I have no perspective. I’m grateful that people like that record.
You sound REALLY unhappy with some of the aspects of the album…
Almost all artists are unhappy with their previous work. That’s the motivation to continue on and make something new, to learn from your mistakes and grow. If you believe you’ve made the perfect album, where else is there to go? I think the original version of that album sounded horrific. Those songs deserved better than that!
Which leads on to the news that you are about to release a new AESTHETIC PERFECTION version of the album…
It’s not an “AESTHETIC PERFECTION” version of the album. This record should have ALWAYS been under the AP moniker. This is me taking my album back and releasing it on my own terms. Sure, I spit-shined the production and redid the vocals, but it’s very much the same. Most of what you’ll hear are from the original recordings. I tried my best to avoid George Lucas-ing the record… believe me, it was hard!
Finally, and according to Wikipedia, “….on September 13, 2012, Daniel Graves posted on the official AESTHETIC PERFECTION Facebook page that “I wish there was a way to telepathically project, to everyone, that NECESSARY RESPONSE is dead, buried, and will not return… ever” – Any comments?
Does Wikipedia say that? I don’t remember if I ever said that, but it sounds like something I’d say! Look, I love the fact that people like that album, I like it too, but there is no need for NECESSARY RESPONSE to exist.
It’s frustrating that no matter how many times I explain that NECESSARY RESPONSE is just a name, and that if I were to ever make another album in that style again, it would be released as AESTHETIC PERFECTION. Funny enough, I approached ‘Til Death’ as if I were writing a follow up to ‘Blood Spills Not Far From the Wound’… I tell people that, and they still don’t get it. Whatever, you can’t please all the people, all the time!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Daniel Graves
SKYRAY was the experimental instrumental project of Paul Simpson, a cult figure within the Liverpool music scene based that spawned acts such as OMD, ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, DEAD OR ALIVE, FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD and WAH!
Simpson had been a founder member of THE TEARDROP EXPLODES before moving on to form THE WILD SWANS. When the trio folded after releasing the brilliant single ‘Revolutionary Spirit’, Jeremy Kelly and Gerard Quinn went on to form THE LOTUS EATERS while Simpson joined ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN producer Kingbird aka Ian Broudie in a “doomed romantic” duo named CARE.
Despite the three promising singles ‘My Boyish Days’, ‘Flaming Sword’ and ‘Whatever Possessed You’, CARE dissolved before a debut album was finished. Broudie went on to find fame as THE LIGHTNING SEEDS while Simpson reformed THE WILD SWANS with Jeremy Kelly to finally release an acclaimed debut LP ‘Bringing Home The Ashes’ in 1988 before the band fragmented again.
In 1990, Simpson released another album ‘Space Flower’ under THE WILD SWANS name which was produced by Ian Broudie, but by now, he was becoming disillusioned by the years of music industry politics. As a result, he began to abstain from singing and started composing progressive instrumentals which were inspired by both ambient and kosmische music forms.
Four of these lengthy recordings were given limited runs on 10 inch vinyl singles between 1996-97, but the works were collected together along with new material on an album entitled ‘Tranquilliser’. Released in 1998 on Ochre Records, it combined melodic beauty, minimalist drones and motorik rhythms all on one very long CD.
Held together around a dreamy piano motif and layered by pretty synth strings, album opener ‘Rocket Lake’ took the listener on a futuristic journey to a tropical island with burst of simulated Hawaiian guitar. Reminiscent of OMD’s more pastoral offerings, it was the perfect start to a body of work that had variance in both style and structure.
Released as SKYRAY’s second single, ‘Neptune Variations Part One’ was produced by Henry Priestman of THE CHRISTIANS and his sonic enhancements provided a sheen of accessibility as a repeating piano riff and hypnotic drum loop acted as the backbone. ‘Neptune Variations Part Two’ was a longer, slowed down version of ‘Part One’ and as with its more uptempo sister, repetition was the key, with enough melody to catch the ear despite its less percussive nature.
The first ever release by SKYRAY, ‘Invisible Part One’ featured Will Sergeant from ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN. His cacophony of guitar derived effects embellished what was probably the most kosmische derived piece on the collection. With its motorik drum machine and deep bass guitar runs, it was also possibly the most excessive and least essential track on ‘Tranquilliser’. With no obvious hook or melody over its eighteen minutes, chemical enhancements were perhaps needed to appreciate its somewhat enigmatic qualities!
‘Invisible Part Two’ was better though, incorporating the melodic riff heard earlier on ‘Neptune Variations Part One’. The more sprightly rhythm section accented on occasion so dynamically, this was a more realised interpretation. Despite the comparatively muted nature of both versions of ‘Invisible’, the closing ten minute synth dronefest of ‘Magnetic North’ was the perfect ending to ‘Tranquilliser’ with an unsettling yet, cerebral vibe that evoked images of icecaps and chilling long nights.
Simpson actually took ‘Tranquilliser’ on the road, notably opening for ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN with just a bass guitar, slideshow and tape machine for company… the bemused looks of the raincoat brigade, more used to post-punk snarls, were a picture, But for those who were more open minded, the SKYRAY live experience was enlightening.
Two further SKYRAY albums followed before the new millennium, with the third long player ‘Mind Lagoons’ being a more accessible offering that featured shorter, sharper arrangements and a narrative cameo from Bill Drummond on the title track under the pseudonym of Tenzing Scott-Brown!
While the most recent SKYRAY album ‘Liquid Crystal Display’ was in 2005, the last few years have seen Simpson busy with the return of THE WILD SWANS and a 2011 album entitled ‘The Coldest Winter For A Hundred Years’. Whether he will return to instrumental work remains to be seen.
Winston Tong is best known for writing and singing ‘In A Manner Of Speaking’, a song that was subsequently covered by DEPECHE MODE’s Martin Gore on his 1989 ‘Counterfeit’ solo mini-album.
Originally performed by TUXEDOMOON, Tong had joined the experimental art rockers in a flexible arrangement that allowed him to pursue other projects. He had not featured on TUXEDOMOON’s 1979 debut album ‘Half Mute’, but performed on its 1981 follow-up ‘Desire’, an album that was to become a favourite of DM’s Andy Fletcher.
Born in San Francisco, the son of Chinese parents forced into exile by Chairman Mao’s Communist regime, Tong studied at the California Institute of Arts. One of his teachers was Marni Nixon, who was best known in Hollywood for providing the singing voice for Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn in the films ‘West Side Story’ and ‘My Fair Lady’ respectively. On graduating, he started specialising in leftfield performance and puppet theatre.
His first solo album ‘Like The Others’ was released in early 1983 by the prestigious Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule. Issued on cassette only, it was a collection of abstract monologues backed by members of TUXEDOMOON. Around this time, TUXEDOMOON’s lead singer Blaine L Reininger temporarily left for a solo career.
So Tong lent his voice to an interim single ‘Soma’ in 1984. However, he opted to collaborate with Belgian singer Niki Mono who he had met following the band’s relocation to the more sympathetic artistic playground of Europe. The pair recorded a nine song demo which impressed Crépuscule enough to sign them. However, by the time the first single ‘Theoretical China’ appeared in November 1984, Mono had departed the project and the release was credited to just Tong.
But ‘Theoretical China’ was a promising calling card, the combination of alternative electronic disco and Tong’s Bowie-esque mannerisms recalled ‘Charlie Cat’ on Robert Görl’s ‘Night Full Of Tension’ which was produced by Mike Hedges, the man behind the desk for ASSOCIATES ‘Sulk’. The ASSOCIATES connections didn’t end there either, as the track and subsequent album was recorded under the production supervision of Alan Rankine.
Accompanied by an all-star cast of cool, ex-PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED bassist Jah Wobble added some of the distinctive dub flourishes that had adorned his own ‘Snakecharmer’, while other renowned guests included NEW ORDER drummer Stephen Morris and MAGAZINE’s Dave Formula who also co-produced the track.
The finished electropop opus was released in October 1985 under the title of ‘Theoretically Chinese’. On it, the theme of cultural identity, which had been the lyrical gist of ‘Theoretical China’, was further explored via compositions like ‘Yellow Peril’ and an excellent uptempo cover of Marianne Faithfull’s ‘Broken English’. The era’s inherent Cold War tensions also loomed large on the fine pulsing opener ‘Big Brother’, its syncopated construction reminiscent of TALKING HEADS.
The bouncy ‘Endgame’ added saxophone to the synth dominated palette, while the similarly augmented ‘No Regrets’ was an enjoyably rousing number that wouldn’t have gone amiss on Bowie’s ‘Tonight’ album or a Ryuichi Sakamoto solo album of the period. The effervescent ‘Principles Of Movement’ closed proceedings on ‘Theoretically Chinese’, but it wasn’t all frantic, digitally programmed energetics as the elegant sweeping ballad ‘Reports From The Heart’ and the moodier set piece ‘The Quotidian’ proved.
With Alan Rankine’s vibrant sequencing and keyboard work alongside his layered guitars, it was not hard to imagine how ASSOCIATES’ follow-up to ‘Sulk’ might have sounded had Alan Rankine and Billy Mackenzie not parted company. ‘Theoretically Chinese’ sold well for a European independent release, partly thanks to the positive reception for ‘In A Manner Of Speaking’ and its parent album ‘Holy Wars’ which came out earlier in 1985.
But true to the spirit that led to Tong’s flexible status within TUXEDOMOON, he had already left the band and as his second solo album reached the collections of the cognoscenti, he was off composing for a modern ballet production called ‘Miserere’. Thus, any further potential sales of ‘Theoretically Chinese’ that could have been gained from touring, remained unfulfilled.
Winston Tong’s danceable synthpop outing was as much of a departure from TUXEDMOON as Robert Görl’s ‘Night Full Of Tension’ was from DAF or Paul Haig’s ‘Rhythm Of Life’ was from JOSEF K. In all three cases, a lightened spirit previously hidden amongst the angsty overtones of each parent band was allowed to shine through. But Tong opted not to develop this comparatively commercial sound… he was done with his experiment and quickly moved on. He ventured into jazz and continued his various theatrical pursuits, with the occasional reunion with TUXEDOMOON.
While ‘In a Manner of Speaking’ has since become a cult favourite, thanks to Mr Gore and numerous media synchronisations, the ‘Theoretically Chinese’ album deserves rediscovery and reappraisal as a demonstration of how art school and dancefloor can live together in a sophisticated, harmonic union.
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Wayne Clements had established his own synth imprint Lucky Pierre which later released a great compilation ‘Robopop Volume 1’ featuring CLIENT, VIC TWENTY, WHITE TOWN, KOMPUTER, EMPIRE STATE HUMAN and BAXENDALE.
. On it, the theme of cultural identity, which had been the lyrical gist of ‘Theoretical China’, was further explored via compositions like ‘Yellow Peril’ and an excellent uptempo cover of Marianne Faithfull’s ‘Broken English’. The era’s inherent Cold War tensions also loomed large on the fine pulsing opener ‘Big Brother’, its syncopated construction reminiscent of TALKING HEADS.
featuring five songs from the ‘Theoretically Chinese’ period is available on CD dierctly from
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