Category: Reviews (Page 89 of 199)

HOWARD JONES Transform

10 May 2019 /


Electronic pop stalwart HOWARD JONES’ new album ‘Transform’ features another singular-worded title after the 2014’s multimedia-based project ‘Engage’.

‘Transform’ sees a welcome full-on return to (almost) pure synthesis for Jones after exploring more singer/songwriter acoustic piano/string avenues during the past few decades.

‘Transform’ also sees a rare artist collaboration in the form of Brian Transeau aka BT, the respected dance producer best known for his pioneering trance work including ‘Flaming June’ and his intricate production work for US boyband N-SYNC on the track ‘Pop’.

The album kicks off with the first of three BT joint works, ‘The One To Love You’ which plays to the strength of both artists, spotlighting Transeau’s exemplary sound design and Jones’ distinctive songwriting style. If anything, the song is highly evocative of the work of JON & VANGELIS with its LinnDrum programming and CS80-style synth textures and means that ‘Transform’ really hits the ground running.

‘Take Us Higher’ is the first of two shuffling 6/8 time signature numbers on ‘Transform’ and it’s interesting seeing Jones approach this kind of direction after it being appropriated by many synth-based artists down the years from GOLDFRAPP through to AESTHETIC PERFECTION.

The other is the previously released ‘Eagle Will Fly Again’ which first appeared on the soundtrack to the ‘Eddie The Eagle’ feature film. In his recent interview with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, he revealed that working on the film along with the process of remastering his first two albums had reignited his love of older synths and drum machines, thus informing the overall electronic aesthetic of ‘Transform’.

Also from the ‘Eddie The Eagle’ film, ‘Hero in Your Eyes’ illustrates this usage of vintage gear both in the track and the promo video; featuring his early signature analogue equipment including a Roland Jupiter 8, Moog Prodigy and Sequential Circuits Pro One. Like many of the tracks on ‘Transform’, the track is a perfect mixture of vintage HOWARD JONES combined with a modern production sheen.

The title track to ‘Transform’ is the second joint work with BT and provides an uplifting combination of JAM & LEWIS-influenced production alongside sweeping portamento monosynths and lush analogue synth chords. The song breaks down in the middle with robotic vocodered vocals and like ‘The One To Love You’, showcases a perfect musical fit between the two artists.

‘Beating Mr. Neg’ is an epic sequencer-driven piece which explores the flipside of one of Jones’ favourite topics, positivity; in the song, negativity is given a character to represent that all familiar nagging voice of doubt in our heads. Sonically the uplifting chorus is reminiscent of some of OMD’s more recent work and then at the four minute mark breaks down into an ambient coda with the “I can win this time” line floating over 90 seconds of heavily reverberated pianos.

The third of the trilogy of BT collaborations, ‘At The Speed of Love’ drops the tempo with ‘Vienna’ inspired electro percussion; although not the strongest track here, it is beautifully produced and does provide a welcome change of pace.

‘Transform’ ends in upbeat fashion with the funk-inflected ‘Stay With Me’; the usage of some Nile Rogers’ rhythm guitar and vocodered vocals driving the track along.

It’s been four years since HOWARD JONES’ last work ‘Engage’ and ‘Transform’ shows that this time period has been put to highly productive use; the key strength of his highly recognisable and emotive vocal remains unchanged since his imperial heyday and his new material shows that he is still pushing and capable of producing quality synthpop.

Long-term fans will undoubtedly love the songs here, and those that have maybe not delved into his work for a while should certainly investigate ‘Transform’.

‘Transform’ is released on 10th May 2019 by Dtox Records as a deluxe 2CD with book, standard CD, vinyl LP and download

HOWARD JONES 2019 35th Anniversary ‘Transform’ tour with special guests CHINA CRISIS includes:

Birmingham Symphony Hall (23rd May), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (24th May), London Palladium (25th May), Cardiff St David’s Hall (26th May), Leicester De Montfort Hall (29th May), Manchester Bridgewater Hall (30th May), Edinburgh Queens Hall (31st May), Gateshead Sage (1st June)

http://www.howardjones.com/

https://www.facebook.com/howardjones

https://twitter.com/howardjones

https://www.instagram.com/thehoward_jones/

Text by Paul Boddy
Photos by Simon Fowler
10th May 2019

COVENANT Fieldworks Exkursion EP

2 May 2019 /

COVENANT, known and loved for their expansive back catalogue of boot stomping hard synth, sometimes accessorised with an orchestra, have gone and done something completely out of character.

Showing a rather softer approach, and proving their eclectic tastes, the Swedish electronica masters are back with a series of EPs entitled ‘Fieldworks’. “All songs are based on field recordings of great and small sounds from tours across six continents, mixed with the everyday noise of living”,

And while Eskil Simonsson and co aren’t the first or the last to utilise sampling of the surrounding world, “COVENANT uses field recordings as a medium and vessel to challenge our perception of media, manipulation, and hidden agendas”.

The theme of the first five song EP is spirituality and modern beliefs on the backdrop of uncertain times we live in. “Exkursion” number one is ‘Pantheon’ written by Joakim Montelius and it’s represented by a minimal, gentile, almost floating rhythm of a prayer. Not too unlike music for relaxation, this delicate piece envelops with hope and tranquility achieved by visiting The Pantheon.

Voices, announcements and background noise bring the listener back to reality, leading into a track inspired by quotes from Karl Marx and the English poet Percy Shelley, ‘All That Is Solid Melts Into Air’. This time the lyrics by Montelius meet the music of Simonsson. A more familiar sound to the hardcore COVENANT fans, with additional similarities to APOPTYGMA BERZERK and VNV NATION, this one is tribal in its feel.

Grabyourface, a French electro-industrial newcomer joins forces with the mighty Swedes on ‘False Gods’. This time the output is purely designed to anger in the style of THE PRODIGY; it’s urgent, pungent and straight to the point, mocking the choice of worship some engage in.

In tribute to the late Florian Fricke’s musical vehicle of the same name, ‘Popol Vuh’ is the Guatemalan “story of creation” recited to the music of Daniel Johansson, with the last excursion ending on another traditional text, ‘Das Nibelungenlied (Erstes Abenteuer)’. This time Andreas Catjar pens the music, which weaves itself like a serpent within the medieval German epic written in Middle High German.

“Uns ist in alten mæren wunders vil geseit von helden lobebæren, von grôzer arebeit, von freuden, hôchgezîten, von weinen und von klagen, von küener recken strîten muget ír nu wunder hœren sagen”

Inspiring? Oh yes, and so very different from the vast body of work to date from COVENANT. “What do we believe in? What is going on that we cannot hear but feel every day? Rediscover the world through its sounds (and silence), and rise to the challenge of our times”. This time the Swedish synth pioneers try transcending into the future and the past, often seamlessly, but always bearing the present in mind, and the effect? Deep and meaningful…

‘Fieldworks Exkursion’ ‘Fieldworks Exkursion’ is released as a limited edition CD by Dependent Records  on 10th May 2019 via  https://de.dependent.de/artists/covenant/covenant-fieldworks-exkursion-ep.html and Metropolis Records in the US via https://www.metropolis-records.com/product/11700/fieldwoks-exkursion-ep – also available now on all digital platforms

http://www.covenant.se/

https://www.facebook.com/Covenant-OFFICIAL-156626197713557/

https://twitter.com/Covenant_Sweden

https://en.dependent.de/artists/covenant/

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
2nd May 2019

SOFT CELL To Show You I’ve Been There…

26 April 2019 /

Photo by Paolo Di Paolo

SOFT CELL may have played their last show with a lavish adieu at London’s O2 Arena last September, but Marc Almond and David Ball continue to maintain their legacy with the publication of a luxury limited edition photo book.

Published as a 1300 limited edition high quality 21 x 28 cm hardback, ‘To Show You I’ve Been There…’ is the ultimate piece of memorabilia featuring over 150 images. Spanning the whole of SOFT CELL’s’s glorious career, the photos range from when Almond and Ball were unknowns sitting in various locations at Leeds Polytechnic and their first shoot with Gucci photographer Paolo Di Paolo to the iconic portraits by Peter Ashworth where the pair’s hair gets increasingly longer in the run up to ‘Soul Inside’.

For synth geeks, there is even two pages devoted to Dave Ball’s gear, including a Minimoog, Yamaha CS-5, Roland SH101, Korg 800DV, SCI Prophet 5, Korg MS10, Roland CR78, Alesis HR16, Oberheim DMX, Roland TR707, Yamaha QS330 and the distinctive core of the classic SOFT CELL sound, the Roland Synthe-Bass.

Photos by Peter Ashworth

Featuring commentary from Ball and Almond courtesy of new interviews with Mark Paytress, the story begins in 1979 around the Winter Of Discontent.

“Imagine how heavy it was back then. Leeds was full of National Front supporters and there was a lot of intolerance around.” reflects Ball on the state of the nation back then, sadly sounding like it is now, “SOFT CELL must have seemed revolutionary – a duo, one guy with a synth and a reel-to-reel tape recorder, and out front a gay bloke covered in eyeliner. F*cking hell, no one had seen anything like that!”

As SOFT CELL found fame, Almond recalls how naïve they were when they did their first major music press interview with Paul Morley for NME. As was par for the course, the scribe used his pseudo intellectualism to nastily and hypocritically look down on Ball and Almond for their Northerness; “Some time later, I bumped into him and pretended I didn’t hold a grudge but I kind of did!”

The SOFT CELL story is one against adversity, about how two working class boys shot to No1 and became a UK chart fixture, achieving five Top 5 UK hit singles in the space of 13 months during 1981-82 in a strike rate that neither THE HUMAN LEAGUE, DEPECHE MODE, OMD, JAPAN or ULTRAVOX ever managed and of their contemporaries, only Gary Numan even came close.

Each book is accompanied by an exclusive bonus 7 inch vinyl EP called ‘Magick Mutants’ containing four completely re-recorded tracks from the band’s early song archive highlighting how SOFT CELL saw themselves as the pop version of SUICIDE. Best of the bunch is ‘Bleak Is My Favourite Cliché’ which has only been heard previously in distorted demo form on ‘The Bedsit Tapes’ and has since reappeared on the ‘Keychains & Snowstorms’ boxed set. The haunting reverberant electronic bass and doomy synthetic choir sounds provide an appropriate balance of glitter and grit to bring the song up to date, while a declaration that “It’s so European, bleak, it’s very bleak today” is strangely poignant and down with the zeitgeist.

Photo by Paul Cox

Driven by a solid synthbass triplet, ‘Science Fiction Stories’ is gloriously danceable and minimal, characterised by its spacey synth theme. Another demo from ‘The Bedsit Tapes’ sessions, like with ‘Bleak Is My Favourite Cliché’, its potential gets more fully realised and is deservedly as Almond himself sings “not to be forgotten”.

Originally one of the highlights on the ‘Some Bizarre Album’ compilation, the revisit of ‘The Girl With The Patent Leather Face’ is interesting if only to compare the vocals of the wayward energetic student Almond of 1981 with the battle-hardened abstinent artiste of today. The synths are as menacing as ever if missing the hiss and noise of vintage recording but on this one, the recklessness of youth has gone.

In a recognition of their art school roots at Leeds Polytechnic, Marc Almond and Dave Ball play tribute to fellow student and inspiration Frank Tovey with an authentic cover version of FAD GADGET’s ‘Back To Nature’. While remaining as detached as the original with deep dual voices for a schizophrenic quality, albeit with one part in a more torchy manner, as the sombre mood piece comes to its conclusion, Almond adds it’s all “For Frank”.

With artwork created by Dave Ball as on SOFT CELL’s debut EP ‘Mutant Moments’, the tracks on this 7 inch vinyl (with corresponding traceable downloads via an exclusive individual code) will ONLY be available by purchasing this book.

Full of “Postcards, pretty pictures and little bits of plastic”, this artefact is a must for SOFT CELL fans, but for popular culture observers too because without Marc Almond and Dave Ball paving the way, life might have been that bit more difficult for BRONSKI BEAT, ERASURE and of course, their most obvious successors PET SHOP BOYS.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Stuart Kirkham

‘To Show You I’ve Been There…’ including the exclusive 7 inch ‘Magick Mutants’ vinyl EP is available from 1st May 2019, pre-order from https://www.lexermusic.com/deluxe/soft-cell-to-show-you-ive-been-there-hardback-book

Book content previews at http://www.softcell.co.uk/book

https://www.facebook.com/softcellband/

https://twitter.com/softcellhq

https://www.instagram.com/softcellhq/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
26th April 2019

IOANNA GIKA Thalassa

24 April 2019 /

IOANNA GIKA is a Greek American artist who is part of IO ECHO, a band who have opened for NINE INCH NAILS, JON HOPKINS and HAIM amongst others.

She also writes film scores, having been notably shortlisted by the academy for her original song ‘Gone’ from ‘Snow White & The Huntsman’. Citing her Hellenic heritage, Gika releases her debut solo album ‘Thalassa’, named after the Greek primeval spirit of the sea.

Compared to the likes of WEYES BLOOD, ZOLA JESUS or MYRKUR, Gika showcases her own private take on loss and death experienced in Greece.

“A series of deaths drew me home to Greece. The city of childhood memories was in disrepair.” she recalled, “I drove past painted swastikas towards burial sites. I said goodbyes and grieved for those I didn’t get to say goodbye to. ‘Thalassa’ is about going through change that is unwanted yet unstoppable. It is a document of the dread, the adrenaline, and the surrender in the moments when you realize the only way to survive the wave, is to brace yourself and go through.”

Recorded between Athens and California, the opus features additional production from Leopold Ross and engineering from Hugo Nicholson. Gika opens ‘Thalassa’ with simplistically beautiful melody, which quickly transcends into a feeling of dread in ‘Roseate’, expanding into directions not readily expected.

‘Out Of Focus’ claims more of an immediate perception of motion and necessity. Delicately placed electronic elements meander around the central vocal, creating urgency and confusion, seemingly clear to the artist herself.

The eponymous piece of ‘Thalassa’ marks the feeling of being thrown into the depths of the sea, unaware of the possibility of saving yourself or the ones you lost. The track is wonderfully cinematic and rather ethereal, with haunting vocals and sparse instrumentation.

The urgency returns with ‘The Messenger’, which is running towards an unknown goal, punctuated with operatic vocals and perpetual beat of misshapen bass.

Graceful and poised on the surface, but frantic underneath the water, ‘Swan’ is a melodically beautiful ballad, calming like a stroke of Mother’s hand, gentle and nurturing. ‘Weathervane’ lays Gika’s vocals bare, mourning and lamenting those long gone, melancholically drawing in deeper and deeper.

The sea’s ‘New Geometry’ doesn’t add up, not wanting to let up. California meets the Ionian Coast in a rapid rhythm, building up to the long sought answers, but is she finally fulfilled? Supposedly not, ‘No Matter What’. A more tribal feel of Wiccan origins, swirling in the abyss of unanswered pleas and desperately trying to get to the surface; or is it just a never ending ‘Spiral’?

Finally Gika finds herself ‘Drifting’, but she’s “too far from the shore”. Magnificently performed with a stunning clear vocal, the song aims to warn and set on the right path, hoping it’s not too late.

‘Thalassa’ may be a debut, but it is a debut from an artist who knows exactly which direction to take to wow the listeners. Not as heavy as ZOLA JESUS can be, but equally emotive and potent, Gika proves that her voice and artistry can produce a stunning record, which will transcend time and calm the senses, no matter what themes it is based on.

‘Thalassa’ is released by Sargent House, available in CD, vinyl LP and digital formats

https://sargenthouse.com/ioanna-gika

https://www.facebook.com/ioannagika/

https://twitter.com/ioannagika

http://instagram.com/ioannagika

https://ioannagika.bandcamp.com/album/thalassa

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
24th April 2019

RRUSSELL BELL Like-A-Human EP

19 April 2019 /

It’s been a long time coming but one-time Numan guitarist and sideman Richard Russell Bell (hence the RRussell spelling!) releases his first EP ‘Like-A-Human’.

Russell Bell joined Chris Payne, Cedric Sharpley, Paul Gardiner and Billy Currie’ for Numan’s ‘The Touring Principle’ in 1979.

This was during the electronic pioneer’s imperial phase, playing to sold-out crowds in the UK and then the world after Billy Currie left to rejoin ULTRAVOX, replaced Denis Haines.

But Bell wasn’t just required for duties on his chosen instrument as he told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in 2012: “I was the guitarist and I had five synths!! I had a Polymoog, two Minimoogs, Moog Taurus pedals, Synares and a Roland guitar synth!”

On ‘The Teletour’, he would be required to play violin while when he formed DRAMATIS with Payne, Sharpley and Haines, he would add saxophone, Chapman Stick and a Moog Liberation to his armoury.

DRAMATIS only released one album ‘For Future Reference’ in 1981. Haines left shortly after so the remaining trio of Bell, Payne and Sharpley soldiered on to issue a further three singles before disbanding and rejoining their former boss for the ‘Warriors’ tour.

Decades later, DRAMATIS announced they were reforming but sadly Cedric Sharpley passed away in 2012. A new track featuring Bell and Payne called ‘Retro Alien Thing’ had radio play in 2014 but since then, there has been something of an are they or are they not going saga with DRAMATIS. Chris Payne issued a solo album ‘The Falling Tower’ this year while the pair performed ‘Fade To Grey’ together at the Royal Albert Hall in 2018 opening for Numan on his string laden tour with The Skaparis Orchestra.

The title song could easily be retitled “Like-A-Numan”, with Bell adopting the verbal mannerisms of the former Gary John Webb in a touching homage that will be enjoyed by long-standing card carrying Numanoids. Meanwhile on guitar, Bell turns into Robert Fripp!

On ‘Haunted By You’, Bell springs a another vocal surprise in a duet with the fabulous feminine allure of Charlie Jones, while the man himself offers a deeper vocal resonance away from the strained larynx heard on the work of DRAMATIS. The straightforward rhythmic backbone is perfect for the song’s cinematic surroundings.

Cut from a similar cloth, ‘We Drown In Bars’ is exotically Eastern and airy, especially within its guitar motif with Bell offering another confident low register vocal with some Numanesque overtones. To end the EP, the gothic prog of ‘Cold Zero’ maintains the baritone while there is some fabulous frantic drum programming and a full-fat guitar solo emerging from the haunting choir filled soundtrack.

Russell Bell says there will be new DRAMATIS material and it appears that the ‘Like A Human’ EP is a welcome first step in sparking such a possibility.

‘Like A Human’ is released as a digital EP, available now from https://rrussellbellslike-a-human.bandcamp.com/

https://www.rrussellbell.com/

https://twitter.com/RRussellBell

Text by Chi Ming Lai
19th April 2019

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