Category: Reviews (Page 119 of 200)

VEiiLA Dive

4 December 2017 /

познакомиться с новой музыкой из Санкт-Петербурга

Used to the fact that the vast majority of prolific European electronic acts emerge from either Scandinavia or Germany, one wouldn’t necessarily look towards Russia to discover a shiny synth gem within that cold and inhospitable environment.

But the Russians love their electro and synth, just like the next person, often welcoming many established acts to play live gigs, regardless of the off-putting visa requirements from their government.

And so, there comes VEiiLA…. assembled in Saint Petersburg three years ago and consisting of Vif Nüte (vocals/synths) and Bes Eiredt (synths), the duo’s high energy performances, enticing with über quality visual concepts, have gathered them a following and led the twosome to open for such acts as THE NEIGHBORHOOD, Sian Evans of KOSHEEN, ALEX CLARE, ABOVE & BEYOND and ATB. Fellow Russian lovers of electro have awarded the band with accolades in local music contests and fully embraced the unusual sound of VEiiLA.

Self-described as “music for introverts”, the band members like to keep a veil of mystery when it comes to their private affairs and rarely give interviews, styling their output to reflect the feeling of “eavesdropping to somebody’s intimate conversation”.

Having released their first single in 2016, the Nüte / Eiredt partnership have worked hard on their live shows and the production of their debut EP.

‘Dive’ consists of a rework of previously released ‘RDMV STR’, and five brand new tracks, with the title number opening the sequence with Sarah Blackwood era CLIENT-sounding vocal from Nüte.

Soon enough, the voice raises to operatic levels, and the tempo changes, incorporating a nautical feel with Gothic overtures reminiscent of EVANESCENCE.

‘No Cry’ introduces superb electronic elements and is vocally performed in the style of FLORENCE & THE MACHINE. The break comes when the time signature changes to that of a club feel; there are even snippets of dubstep. And all that sounds good, extremely good…

The slow starting ‘Mantra’ erupts with the vitality of a Middle Eastern choir over upbeat techno direction, hypnotising with the promise of “fearless, adventurous” savagery. PET SHOP BOYS could have written this and they’d be proud of it too.

‘Never Come Back’ masks the sadness with a cheery rhythm à la SPECTRA PARIS, with its glittery, shiny exterior. Further dance beats are palpable on the Detroit techno meet Eurotrance of ‘Set Me On Fire’.

Yet the closing ‘RDMV STR’ closely resembles the work of ZOLA JESUS who, while claiming the Russian heritage, is capable of some stunning vocal and musical deliveries. Nüte lets the rebel in her rule here, combining the capable voices with exquisite musicality, leaving one wanting more, when there’s no more to be had.

VEiiLA certainly did their homework with ‘Dive’. The EP is edgy, grown-up and deep, displaying some magnificent elements of elegant electronica, as well as the witty vocal delivery by Nüte. Although the duo’s influences are clearly apparent, their own material doesn’t imitate; it’s innovative and fresh.

The claimed dark states of solitude and unhappiness are very well disguised within the high energy tracks, and the whole package is designed to please. After all, even behind the darkest of darks, there must be plenty of sunshine and clear blue skies…

Пусть всегда будет солнце, Пусть всегда будет небо, Пусть всегда будет мама, Пусть всегда буду я!

‘Dive’ is released as a digital EP on 7th December 2017, available from https://veiila.bandcamp.com/album/dive

http://veiila.com

https://www.facebook.com/veiilamusic

https://www.instagram.com/veiilamusic/

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
4th December 2017

GAZELLE TWIN Kingdom Come

2 December 2017 /

Keeping her privacy well under wraps always seemed rather important for Elizabeth Bernholz aka GAZELLE TWIN.

The concept of portraying herself via her music, instead of physical looks surely speaks for itself. “This is me” she says, through the animated noises, quirky sound manipulations and captivating imaginary, both audio and visual. Not a stranger to artistic enterprises, such as her ‘Out Of Body’ project and its predecessor, ‘Unflesh’, Bernholz isn’t the one to dissect her musical directions, “explain or justify my work to anyone, least of all try persuade someone to persevere with it if they don’t already have the desire to do so”.

For those after easy listening pieces of electronica, GAZELLE TWIN is not at all suitable; one won’t find gentle, beautifully orchestrated musical gems, catchy hooks and the challenges of “what can this synth do for me” type. What you will find is: reflection, politically charged landscapes, metaphysical elements and the most unusual sounds, painting utopian visions of the world of today.

While ‘Out Of Body’ dealt with the beauty and ugliness of our mortality, with the intricacies of how our bodies work, the crude physicality of the shell versus the mind, ‘Kingdom Come’ looks at the devastation of modern societies and the very social diseases that eat away at nations and individuals.

Based on the eponymous book by JG Ballard, the father of dystopian modernism, who in music has influenced everyone from Gary Numan to Madonna, ‘Kingdom Come’ is a thoughtful representation of how the corporate greed and misplaced alliances alienate individualism and crash what’s truly important, all the while eliciting the tribal and primal behaviours from, otherwise docile human beings. Homosapiens are violent predators, lead to believe we have an alternative. If Ballard’s notions felt unpleasant, GAZELLE TWIN likes to “get under the skin of those ideas, because they are bizarre, and uncomfortable.”

The audio visual experience was first commissioned for Manchester’s Future Everything festival; ‘Kingdom Come for Two Vocalists’ saw the production from Bernholz performed by Natalie Sharp, also known as LONE TAXIDERMIST, and Stuart Warwick. Dressed in a mixture of sharp business suits and gym outfits, the pair run the rut of life on treadmills, getting nowhere. The life of work, controlled leisure activities, contrived fun and artificial happiness ooze from the performance, which has now been presented in an audio mini-album of seven tracks.

Opened by ‘See How They Run’ with its haunting aura of dread, it is followed by galling ‘Metro’ ,quoting the utopian truths such as “choices are compulsory”, uttered in frightfully distorted mantric voices are deeply disturbing. Next, the machine gunned out ‘The Suburbs’ continues the feelings of danger and inability to escape the reality, while the cinematic ‘I Consume Only’ emulates the voice of a Catholic father preaching the mass of never-ending greed , “I can suck you dry”.

‘Hallowed’ deafens with a paralysing sound of horns, suppressed female vocals and the occasional sigh of struggle, or is it sexual? It matters not, it’s all monitored by the state, right? We are all on the ‘Death Drive’; a fast paced road to nowhere, where’s the end of it? Death is the end of it. To summarise, ‘Cling Film’ covers it all, in a further rise of unnerving sound elements and frightening voices.

GAZELLE TWIN feels dystopia as a theme is here to stay for a while; after all it’s an indefinite source of inspiration, and the world events observed unfolding daily certainly can’t provide the alternative. And what’s the alternative? Socialism? Religious freedom or anarchy?

Elizabeth Bernholz’s conceptual approach to music has reached higher levels.

It is weird watching two vocalists on treadmills, uttering sometimes indescribable sounds, crying out mutilated words and twisting in agony of something incomprehensible may feel peculiar; but what an interesting approach to portray the wrongs in this world.

Terrifying? Yes.

Food for thought? Definitely.

‘Kingdom Come’ is released by Anti-Ghost Moon Ray as a digital download, available from https://gazelletwin.bandcamp.com/album/kingdom-come

http://www.gazelletwin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/gazelletwin

https://twitter.com/gazelletwin

http://www.antighostmoonray.com

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
2nd December 2016

MIDGE URE Orchestrated

1 December 2017 /


Giving your back catalogue an orchestral rework has become the thing to do of late, be it using classical musicians as a bolster for a full band performance such as the farewell live A-HA shows at the Royal Albert Hall, or the recent performances by the likes of COVENANT, VNV NATION or OOMPH as part of the Gothic Meets Classics concerts where synths are replaced by wood, brass and strings.

Another band that performed on the GMC stage were MESH whose recently released ‘Live at Neues Gewandhaus Leipzig’ shows how well electronically realised songs can transfer over to an Orchestral setting.

The melding of pop/rock and classical performers is nothing new of course. From DEEP PURPLE and the Royal Philharmonic at the Royal Albert Hall (a performance that was famously conducted by Malcolm Arnold who on hearing that the classical musicians were being ‘sniffy’ towards their rock brethren told them they weren’t fit to tie Purple’s “f*cking bootlaces…”) to the ill advised ELP US orchestral tour of the USA, many have made the foray into placing their songs under the baton.

One musician who has worked with large orchestral groups over the years is Midge Ure. In the past, he has performed with the likes of SCHILLER to spectacular effect live on ‘Let it Rise’ and with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra at the Ryder Cup concert where ‘Vienna’ brought the house down. He has also played a number of the Night Of The Proms shows over the years, so is no stranger to working and reworking material in this setting.

So to his latest release, ‘Orchestrated’, a collection of ULTRAVOX and solo career songs arranged by the composer Ty Unwin, who’s work will be familiar to anyone that has watched a BBC documentary over the last 10 years. A graduate of Huddersfield University, which fittingly is in Billy Currie’s hometown, Unwin has assisted Ure in bringing out the drama and at times hidden depths in a group of familiar songs.

Opening with a sweeping ‘Hymn’, the album quickly sets out its stall. The arrangements on all the pieces are pretty much as on the original recordings which is sensible, as an album like this can become a hard sell if presented more esoterically.

Few could argue that the music of ULTRAVOX and to an extent Ure as a solo artist doesn’t drip with drama and this is shown to immediate effect on ‘Hymn’ with the tension of the original maintained throughout.

Next is one of my standouts on the album, ‘Dancing With Tears in My Eyes’. I will admit this track is one of my least favourite ULTRAVOX releases, I always thought that at least one other track on ‘Lament’ would have made a better single (more of which later…) but here, it is quite frankly spectacular. Slowed down and driven by a plaintive piano, Ure’s voice is dripping in sadness and regret that the original rockier setting didn’t allow.

On the subject of Midge’s vocal… he has frankly never sounded better. Always ‘some chanter’ as we say in Glasgow, his vocal now has a depth and richness that many of his peers would kill to have. As a front man, Ure always favoured letting his talent do the talking without resorting ‘rockstar’ histrionics and few can hold a candle to the voice he now has, irrespective of age or stadium filling ability.

The arrangement on ‘Breathe’ with be familiar to anyone that has seen the acoustic tours undertaken of late. ‘Man of Two Worlds’, the track I alluded to as being a more suitable UK single release from ‘Lament’, goes for the full cinematic treatment with sweeping strings and romantic underpinning to the female vocal coda.

‘If I Was’ and ‘Vienna’ are here because they are expected to be and these versions add little to the originals and I’m still not sure about the guitar soloing on the later as opposed to Billy’s viola, but the original is so iconic nothing is going to replace its power and beauty.

‘The Voice’ gallops along wonderfully and highlights clearly those classical influences Billy Currie brought to ULTRAVOX with the familiar themes in this song still recognisable performed by a different set of instrumentation. ‘Ordinary Man’ is the only new song on the album and wouldn’t be out of place in a West End musical.

Like the 2014 ‘Fragile’ album show that Ure still has songwriting chops a plenty in an age where a six minute plod can be hailed as an epic/classic from other artists, he grabs the opportunity presented by the setting. It will be interesting to see if in the future he flips this into an electronic band arrangement.

Next my favourite track on the album, a spectacular reworking of ‘(I Remember) Death in the Afternoon’ from ‘Rage In Eden’. Building from a swirling string part the driving synthesised throb of the original is replicated easily by cellos and basses. The rock drums are retained which means this version needs to be played loud!

‘Lament’ actually adds a bass synth and follows the original’s template as does ‘Reap The Wild Wind’, before closer ‘Fragile’ brings the album to marvellous close with a signature Ure guitar solo reminding us of his and the song’s rock roots.

‘Orchestrated’ as noted earlier sensibly both keeps it familiar and allows Unwin free rein to work the songs into at times memorable versions. This is clearly not the sound of an artist who is either releasing a career end quick buck maker or who has run out of ideas. A recommended release and I didn’t even miss those ARP solos, well not that much…

‘Orchestrated’ is released by BMG in CD and digital formats

MIDGE URE’s Band Electronica’ will be the special guest of THE HUMAN LEAGUE on the following 2018 dates:

Southend Cliffs Pavilion (21st November), Brighton Centre (23rd November), Manchester Arena (24th November), Glasgow SEC Armadillo (25th November), New Castle City Hall (27th November), Cambridge Corn Exchange (28th November), Bournemouth BIC Winter Hall (30th November), Birmingham Arena (1st December), Cardiff Motorpoint Arena (2nd December), Leicester De Montfort Hall ( 4th December), Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (5th December), Sheffield Fly DSA Arena (7th December), London Hammersmith Apollo (8th December)

http://www.midgeure.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/midge.ure/

https://twitter.com/midgeure1

Text by Ian Ferguson
1st December 2017

JORI HULKKONEN Don’t Believe In Happiness

27 November 2017 /

In the frozen depths of the Synthy Nordic basin hides one of the greatest European music producers, turning out accomplished pieces of capable electronica, both for himself and as the part of various collaborations with JOHN FOXX, PROCESSORY and SIN COS TAN.

Finland’s finest Jori Hulkkonen released his first album ‘Selkäsaari Tracks’ in 1996.

However he first came to the world’s wider audience as ZYNTHERIUS with TIGA on their 2001 electro cover of ‘Sunglasses At Night’

The love of Detroit techno has always added a certain dose of magical rhythmic edge to his productions, although bred on the likes of JOHN FOXX, PET SHOP BOYS and NEW ORDER’s synthesis, the man from Turku on the southwest coast of Finland, creates his very own discernible sound.

Keen to explore unusual possibilities of synthesis, the Finn assembled a group of nine like-minded buddies, where each of them operated a little acid box of crafts, otherwise known as the Roland TB-303, conducted and mixed by the man himself. The project called THE ACID SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA famously supported KRAFTWERK during their Finnish date in 2009.

To add to his interesting outings, Hulkkonen joined forces with his fellow Finn Jimi Tenor to showcase their silent movie ‘Nuntius’, which improvised soundtrack was presented to live audiences for a unique audio visual experience. But presently, the Finnish master returns with a brand new album, ‘Don’t Believe In Happiness’, marking the release of his long player number twenty!

And indeed from the opening ‘Tintån Terdel’, with its pleasantly satisfying star gazing textures à la early PSB, offers floaty qualities of capable musicality, until the gratifyingly uncomplicated ‘New Ideologies’, Hulkkonen takes one onto a journey of the familiar unknown. The title track glides masterfully over the sedate instrumentation; soothingly enticing and teasing, while ‘I’m Just A Phase I’m Going Through’ introduces more powerful synth beats and the faster tempo.

‘We Will Tear Love Apart Again’ steadies the beat into a mantra, which hypnotises and mystifies, while ‘Lowlife Crises’ generates the nostalgia for the easy listening tracks from the best synth years. The arty, GAZELLE TWIN-like elements are introduced in ‘Reach Out To China’. The excellently synthesized noises capitulate to the simplistic melody, to be reintroduced towards the end of the track, creating an open-closed masterpiece of electronic pleasure.

‘I Think About Your Car When I Drive Mine’ shines with the use of assorted synth noises, only to progress into the inconspicuous ‘Sometimes You Win, But Not Very Often’.

The rhythms reminiscent of MOLOKO dazzle on ‘I Am The Night’ and ‘Moon Is Real’. With a more defined beat and creative use of instrumentation, Hulkkonen creates his very own take on bossa nova, Suomi style. They’re the two perfect dance tracks.

‘Water Wars 2021-2027’ brings the futuristic vision of sci-fi inspired things to come. Almost tribal, the ringing rhythms manage to anaesthetise and stupefy, meandering through the computerised textures and vivacious elements. ‘Don’t Believe In Happiness’ is like being taken onto a journey into the depths of yourself, discovering the familiar unfamiliarities and being soothed by the powerful self, all at the same moment.

Opus number twenty marks the number of the gratifying achievements, all coming out from within. It’s sedate yet uplifting, grandiose yet simplistic, raw yet polished to perfection.

Jori Hulkkonen has reached the status of god and he deserves every inch of the success that comes his way. With the ergonomic musical design to suit all users, this record is simply superb.

‘Don’t Believe In Happiness’ is released by My Favorite Robot Records

http://www.jorihulkkonen.com

https://www.facebook.com/JoriHulkkonen/

https://twitter.com/jorihulkkonen

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
27th November 2017

GIRL ONE & THE GREASE GUNS The Strange Little Lies That Humans Draw In The Dust

26 November 2017 /

Of GIRL ONE & THE GREASE GUNS, Undo Records say “Imagine a place where THE HUMAN LEAGUE meet LUSH, but on the way they stumble on Sarah Records’ Heavenly and all together, they finally meet Alan Vega and SUICIDE!!! Confused, that’s the point!!”

GIRL ONE & THE GREASE GUNS are shrouded in mystery… their names Sissy Space Echo, Warren Betamax, Charles Bronson Burner and Bruce LeeFax confirm their intentions “to thrive on causing confusion with a mixture of pure synthpop and more experimental electronic sounds”.

They came to the attention of small UK indie label Squirrel Records by placing a cassette under the windscreen wiper of a car outside the label’s HQ! Since 2013, they have released a series of vinyl singles. But now, all their recordings have been compiled on a singular CD by Undo Records, snappily titled ‘The Strange Little Lies That Humans Draw In The Dust’.

Containing the dysfunctional indie synthpop of ‘Driving Without Headlights (Once Again)’ and the noise fest of ‘(I’m A) Willing Receiver’, this pair of paranoid dystopian ditties served as the opening gambit of GIRL ONE & THE GREASE GUNS.

But it was their accessible second single ‘Jessica 6’ that got the mysterious combo some wider attention. A tribute to the cult Sci-Fi favourite ‘Logan’s Run’, the eerie post-punk cacophony of sound laced with icy Yamaha string machine and a frantic reverbed backbeat was a frantic salvo that came over like THE PIPETTES fronting an OMD assisted JOY DIVISION.

The brilliantly titled ‘Bring On The Dancing Horse Meat’ on the flip showcased some sexily nonchalant vocals from Sissy alongside a barrage of low-fi guitars and a battered Casio. Despite being capable of melody, GIRL ONE & THE GREASE GUNS couldn’t help their progressive mechanical desolation, as proven by their third single ‘(Here Come) The Catastrophe Machines’, basically ‘Nag Nag Nag’ but more violent!

Indeed, ultra-violence was a recurring theme as titles like ‘Hitting The Brick Wall’, ‘The Nightmare Room’ and ‘Bashed, Beaten & Broken (Trip The Switch)’ proved. But despite this, a song like ‘The Shatterproof Man’ sparkled with pretty melodies like early OMD meets THE RONETTES despite the detuned synth backing.

GIRL ONE & THE GREASE GUNS actually revealed a much softer side with their marvellous fourth single ‘No Longer Spellbound’. With its beautiful atmospheric quality smothered in icy synth strings and grainy vox samples, if ‘Twins Peaks’ had been set in The Lake District, then the theme tune might have sounded like this.

All bases were covered with a version of ‘Veronica’ originally by punksters THE MANHATTAN LOVE SUICIDES treated with some frantic pulsing electronics, while the feisty ‘Suburban Robot’ recalled the magic of early LADYTRON. An unsettling dysfunctional waltz shaped ‘The Creep Circus’ which only added to the oddball but tuneful fun and this was without THE NORMAL inspired ‘Jesus On The Grille’.

With their DIY noise and motorik backbone, this compilation of GIRL ONE & THE GREASE GUNS is like the winter of discontent set to music and an ideal soundtrack for the current frosty climate. Yes, it’s time to fuel that paraffin heater until the combo release their first album proper…

With thanks to Undo Records

‘The Strange Little Lies That Humans Draw In The Dust’ is released on CD by Undo Records

http://www.squirrelrecords.co.uk/girl-one-and-the-grease-guns/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Girl-One-And-The-Grease-Guns/440754999339179

http://www.undorecords.com

Text by Chi Ming Lai
26th November 2017

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