Tag: Causeway (Page 1 of 2)

CAUSEWAY Anywhere

14 February 2025 /

If THE BLUE NILE captured the image of cold rainy pavements and blurred headlights passing by, then CAUSEWAY are “In a reality where the sun is neon and the streets are lit with lasers…”

Following their well-received debut album ‘We Were Never Lost’ released on Italians Do It Better in 2022, American noir synth duo CAUSEWAY are back although there have been a few changes. The new album ‘Anywhere’ is issued on Sprechen Music, a British label based in Manchester while they have been exploring some different sonic territory.

Having evolved as a collaborative team, vocalist Allison Rae and synthesist Marshall Watson have streamlined their writing process and kept it remote, allowing a more vulnerable creative mindset with space to reflect, for a work that is authentic and deeply personal.

Maintaining their cinematic dreamwave sound, although the classic slow mo CAUSEWAY is prevalent on ‘Anywhere’, the title track is a key statement that goes all Motorik and minimal with the guitar of Dale Hiscock from ENDLESS ATLAS contributing the West Coast meets Düsseldorf flavour; eschewing the density of most of the tracks on the album, “To me it feels very ‘out of the box’ for CAUSEWAY but it fits in our universe” said Marshall Watson in an interview with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK

Photo by Khoa Nguyen

Opener ‘Love Me Like Your Last Time’ punches through with a determined power not previously heard on of their debut album ‘We Were Never Lost’ although elements such as the string machine textures and ominous basslines, along with Allison Rae’s resigned vocals remain. Elsewhere, ‘Human’ sees Hannah Lew of COLD BEAT guesting on vocals and its feisty rhythmic propulsion shapes some dark disco as the question is asked “what does it feel to be human?”

But not rocking the boat and not veering too much away from the CAUSEWAY template, the single ‘Dancing With Shadows’ reflects the shady mystery fitting of its title, throbbing and biting in a wonderful hook laden slice of popwave.

Not a cover of THE CURE, ‘It’s Never Enough’ is moodier but shuffles along percussively with various offbeats and obscure timing points which puts it in an intriguing sonic capsule with recollections of Moby. Meanwhile ‘Criminal’ takes on a more funereal pace and almost shoegaze in its wall of harsher frequencies.

Photo by Khoa Nguyen

Adopting a hypnotic triple bass drive and sparkling crystalline figures, the superb ‘Lightyears’ offers Allison Rae’s alluring feminine melancholy as someone “doesn’t want to change”… yes “maybe we’ll be alright in another life” but why carry on? But as she said to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “Having to leave someone that I loved was the hardest thing I have ever done.”

‘Put Up A Fight’ recalls the sound of ‘We Were Never Lost’ in its floaty melodramatic aura although the gothic resonances of THE CURE appear in its guitar interventions which reinforce the paranoia that “they’re coming for me…”

Although the droning gloom is offset by shinier pulses, ‘Ruin Me’ soundtracks an impending submission for better or worse that fittingly acts as what appears to be the closing number. However, the final act comes with a cover of ‘Nobody’s Diary’ that will polarise… the YAZOO classic beloved of many and written by Alison Moyet at the age of 18 will be seen as sacred to some but to their credit, CAUSEWAY go for a different percussive synth rock arrangement with everything thrown in.

Although CAUSEWAY had been originally intending to make a “Mean dirty break up album”, while ‘Anywhere’ is anguished and melancholic, it is also hopeful with a message of love. “It captures the complexity of moving through pain toward something brighter” said Allison Rae; certainly it’s an enjoyable reverb-laden one at that and a more than worthy follow-up to ‘We Were Never Lost’.

‘Anywhere’ is released by Sprechen Music, available in vinyl LP and digital formats from https://sprechen.bandcamp.com/

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
14 February 2025

A Short Conversation with CAUSEWAY

6 February 2025 /

Photo by Khoa Nguyen

American noir synth duo CAUSEWAY return in 2025 with their own brand of sophisticated downbeat melodrama on their second album ‘Anywhere’.

Comprising of Allison Rae and Marshall Watson, their first full length album ‘We Were Never Lost’ was released on Italians Do It Better in 2022 to immediate acclaim, with syncs on Netflix TV shows ‘Never Have I Ever’, and ‘Riverdale’ to reinforce that praise. The album’s excellent lead single ‘Dancing With Shadows’ heralds a new relationship with Manchester independent label Sprechen Music as well as an update to their dreamy cinematic sound.

With the dark and light narratives of ‘Anywhere’ due to be made public soon, CAUSEWAY chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about its making…

It’s been over 2 and a half years since ‘We Were Never Lost’ was released and even longer since the first CAUSEWAY song was late 2020, have you changed as people in the that time?

Marshall: I think we’ve evolved as a collaborative team. Back then we were two disparate people who happened to make a decent song and fell backwards into a label relationship without even trying. I think now we are much more cohesive as creatives and songwriters. We still have our roles, but the dialogue is different, the world is different, our energy is different and we express ourselves better.

Allison: I think we’ve really streamlined our writing process. For the first album, it was a blend of different approaches—some songs were written entirely remotely, others were created together in the same room, and some were a mix of both. Through that experience, we discovered that we work best when writing remotely, passing songs back and forth. For the second album, we embraced this method fully, and I believe it allowed us to be more vulnerable and true to what we were feeling. It gave us the space to reflect and express ourselves in a way that felt authentic and deeply personal.

As a person, I feel like I’ve changed quite a bit. Working through the frustrations and disappointment of my divorce was a significant journey. It was a challenging time, but it also offered a lot of growth and self-discovery. I think a few of our new songs really capture those emotions. Writing during that period was incredibly cathartic and eye-opening – it became a way to process everything I was feeling.

What was the approach this time round for ‘Anywhere’, it appears to be subtle development rather than say what AIR did from ‘Moon Safari’ to ’20,000Hz’ which was to cut off any sonic lineage?

Marshall: For me, I definitely didn’t want to cut off any lineage, in fact I think we were always trying to still ‘sound like us’, but we did want to explore some different sonic territory. Honestly I think we just took it one song at a time and really focussed on trying to make something special that we resonated with and hoped others would as well. The sound of this album, I think, still keeps a synth-centric feel, which we’ve always leaned toward.

Allison: I can’t speak much to the sonic qualities of the album – that’s all Marshall’s expertise. Lyrically, though, I feel like it carries a similar thread to our first album. Love and grief seem to be recurring themes for us, and they’ve naturally continued into the second album. That said, I do think our second album has a darker sonic quality, which I absolutely love. It adds a depth and intensity that feels like an evolution of our sound.

What synths were your main tools in the production of ‘Anywhere’?

Marshall: Lots of Prophet 8, ASM Hydrasynth Deluxe, and the Moog Grandmother. I have the same drums I use for nearly every track. I built the kick, snare and toms specifically for CAUSEWAY and I use them in just about every song. The Moog handles bass almost exclusively. I also have a Novation Summit which has an incredible sound… it can be really rough, distorted and powerful, and also super delicate. Many of the high end arpeggios come from the Summit. Every time the music seems to ‘soar’, that’s the Prophet though. That thing cuts through any mix.

The first single off the new album ‘Dancing With Shadows’ retains the shady mystery of the previous album, was it important not to shake things up too much for this preview of ‘Anywhere’?

Marshall: I like the word “mystery” when used with us. ‘Dancing With Shadows’ was written in a fever dream last year. I had the flu and was rocking a 102F fever and woke up one night and had nearly the entire song in my head. I got up and wrote it down and sung it into my phone. The next day I hit up Allie and we knocked it out in about 3 days. Call that what you will… mysterious, maybe just the universe guiding us a little bit. It just seemed to fit for the first single. It’s a little darker maybe, but I think it is a good lead in for ‘Anywhere’.

Allison: I absolutely love the song ‘Dancing with Shadows’. It was entirely written by Marshall. It’s heavy, dark, and powerful. It’s one of those songs that can completely transform the vibe of a room the moment it plays. This track was a no-brainer as our first single off Sprechen Recordings, especially with the brilliant remixes accompanying it. After two years without releasing anything, I think this song makes a bold statement: We’re still here making killer tracks. Get ready for more.

Creatively, has the process altered from previously, what had you decided you could do a bit better this time around?

Marshall: The process was pretty much the same. We bounce ideas off each other and eventually something sticks. Sometimes it’s as simple as a phrase. Allie had this amazing line in ‘Love Me Like Your Last Time’, where she basically sang those words in a demo. It stuck and the rest of the song was built off that. I started thinking about last time, first time, all time… etc. The rest of the song evolved really fast. We weren’t really trying to do anything better, we just communicated a little easier maybe. Sometimes it’s a musical motif that gets the flow going, and sometimes it’s a lyrical theme. We try to be open to the evolution. I read Rick Ruben’s book ‘The Creative Act’ last year and that really opened my eyes in terms of how to let things happen. In his book, he makes a distinction between a craftsman and an artist, which rang true to me. TLDR… you can’t control everything all the time.

Allison: The second album seemed to develop quicker than the first. I think it’s because we just figured out what process worked best for us.

The ‘Anywhere’ title song is different to what CAUSEWAY have done before as it is more Motorik and minimal, how did this track come about?

Marshall: I wanted to break out of the slow mo thing for a bit. . I’m a fan of NEU! and other ‘Kraut’ rock styles… COLD BEAT do that sound really well too, see also WAR ON DRUGS. I’ve been experimenting with that style of production for a while, but nothing really took hold. With ‘Anywhere’, we’d tried a few different angles on it, and then I got a really sweet Cherry Audio plugin of the CR78 drum machine… that sort of sealed the deal for the sound. We were already working on the lyrics, the rest of the song developed naturally. I asked Dale from ENDLESS ATLAS if he’d do some guitar work for us and he nailed it. To me it feels very ‘out of the box’ for CAUSEWAY but it fits in our universe.

Allison: Anywhere is definitely different from the songs we usually produce. It’s lighter with a softness that shines through its harmonies but it works. It serves as a beautiful contrast to the darker tones of the other tracks and gives the album a moment to breathe.

Photo by Khoa Nguyen

One of the album highlights ‘Lightyears’ refers to someone who “doesn’t want to change”, is this song autobiographical?

Marshall: There is a really honest story in this song but I’m not going to tell it. All of our tracks have an element of our own experiences in them, but rarely are they outright ‘autobiographical’ … this song is like that. Maybe some of it is, lots of it isn’t, but it’s a good story. To me I feel like we try to get to the universal… the thing that many people can relate to. “I’m trying really hard not to cry, when I do it just ends in a fight” isn’t about us, it’s about anyone who’s ever gone to bed sad.

Allison: “Maybe we will be alright, in another life” is such an emotional line to me. I can’t remember if that was a line that Marshall wrote or me. I remember I did edits on the lyrics and he wrote the majority of this track. It’s just so emotional because I feel everything I’m singing. Having to leave someone that I loved was the hardest thing I have ever done.

There’s a lot of paranoia on ‘Put Up A Fight’ which musically appears to fall under the spell of THE CURE? As a side, what did you think of their new album ‘Songs Of A Lost World’?

Marshall: I’ve only scanned through the new CURE album. Some of it I like and some of it might take a minute to connect with. The older CURE tracks definitely surface in ‘Put Up A Fight’. Definitely in the guitar work. Maybe ‘Kiss Me’ era?

Allison: ‘Songs of a Lost World’ is a masterpiece. It does not disappoint.

‘Ruin Me’ has great lyrics and great synth sounds, is this a fine example of your partnership dynamic firing on all cylinders?

Marshall: Is it? Of course it is… I think we’re firing on all cylinders all the time 🙂

Allison: I wrote the lyrics to ‘Ruin Me’ a few weeks after I filed for divorce. ‘Ruin Me’ is a very sexual song at face value, but its shadow side reveals anger and the willingness to take the fall, to endure the pain. It’s a plea that says, “go ahead and destroy me – I never want to feel this way again.” It’s intense, vulnerable, and captures the complexity of surrendering to something that hurts and also wanting it to hurt.

So “what does it feel to be human?”

Marshall: Ah. Maybe our only political track. This year and last, with Israel and Palestine, as well as Ukraine… it’s just so sad, no matter what your views are. There is just so much suffering going on. I was working on words that spoke to that, and was having trouble sorting it all out. I connected with Hannah Lew of COLD BEAT, and she helped finesse the writing and took on lead vocals. She and I finished out the track, trying not to be overtly “U2” political, but still have a message. Just…. stop. Everyone just try and be nice to each other.

Allison: Sometimes irritatingly vulnerable and not safe. I hope this track breaks through that heavy feeling and offers humanity a sense of hope. Hannah Lew’s delivery was absolutely incredible – she brought so much depth and emotion to the song. She re-crafted a few of the lyrics, including my absolute favorite line: “I lost my hope in the ruin, until I heard you say it’s alright”. That line captures a universal vulnerability, one that resonates deeply in the contexts of not only war, but love and loss. It’s a powerful reminder of human resilience.

Photo by Khoa Nguyen

You have been performing a cover of ‘Nobody’s Diary’ by YAZOO live and have committed it to vinyl as the album’s closer, was there much tweaking to do in the final arrangement you settled on?

Marshall: This one has been cooking for a while now. I think we took the same approach as we did for the Madonna cover of ‘Crazy For You’… reduce it, extend it, destroy it, and rebuild it, all the while remaining, or at least trying to remain, reverent to the original. I’m a huge YAZ(OO) fan, and ‘Nobody’s Diary’ is probably my favorite track. Alison Moyet has such a soulful delivery, and we took a more defiant angle – I can hear the anger in Allie’s delivery, and I love it. I intentionally delayed the lead off synths so we could work our way into the song… kinda hide the magic so to speak.

This version is pretty close to the way it was a couple years ago when we were playing it out, but we had it mixed (as well as everything else) by Jesse Beuker, who mixes all of R. MISSING’s work. I think that he took it to the place it needed to be sonically. Actually, speaking of Jesse, he really created a wonderful space with all the mixes, I can’t recommend him enough. We really put him through the ringer with revisions and ultimately we landed in a place that everyone was super happy with. He’s as patient as he is skilled.

How did the new label relationship with Sprechen music in Manchester come about, what made them attractive to CAUSEWAY?

Marshall: I got connected with Chris through another DJ friend Alice Palace (UK/Ibiza), he and I hit it off musically right away as he’s part of the ALFOS community, a direct legacy DJ crew of Andrew Weatherall. Initially he wanted to work with Allie on track for his THIEF OF TIME project, and that sort of opened doors for a release and the conversations about the album.

Manchester holds this kind of magical place in my musical history for me… that’s where some of my favorite music and many of my musical influences come from… NEW ORDER, OMD, JOY DIVISION, most of the Factory Records catalogue–it seemed like a great fit for us. Our relationship was immediately organic and honest – he says what he means and means what he says. Additionally, Chris is a super nice guy, incredibly talented, and he’s involved with some of the best music coming out of the UK right now. I feel like he kinda went out on a limb with us, and it’s an honor to be working with him.

Allison: I love working with Chris. He’s been very supportive from the beginning and just all around a nice guy. I hope to maintain relationships with him and IDIB. Looking forward to more opportunities in 2025.

Do you have a favourite song for the new album, one that holds the best memories during recording?

Marshall: Personally I like ‘Anywhere’ and ‘Lightyears’. We just played a packed show opening for NEW CONSTELLATIONS here in Boise, and there was a great moment where we were playing ‘Anywhere’. When Allie sang the words “I had my reason, you had your lines, it’s taken years but I’m just fine…”, the crowd went bonkers. It’s such a quiet part of the song, it was amazing to me how they were really connected to what she was singing in a live setting… and no one had even heard that track before. It’s the one and only time we’ve played it out. I really felt connected to the audience at that moment. Honestly I like all the songs for different reasons.

Allison: Hands down, ‘Love Me Like Your Last Time’. This track was the last track we wrote for the album. Before we wrote it, I kept harassing Marshall telling him we needed one last banger. I think I might have annoyed him a little, but he came around and sent the audio file to me and I immediately was like THIS IS IT! Then we worked together on the lyrics and here we are!

Photo by Khoa Nguyen

Do you think you’ve achieved the “Mean dirty break up album” that you said you hoped to make when we last spoke?

Marshall: I dunno. I don’t think this album is mean, in some ways I think it’s actually kinda hopeful. I think it’s better than our last one, both in songwriting and production. I like where we’ve gone with music, and I like this freedom to do what we want. I also feel like we connected with more universal themes this time around. Maybe??

Allison: Haha! I think that might have been something that I said. I think we’ve created something darker and more mysterious. It carries the weight of heartbreak but also hope. It captures the complexity of moving through pain toward something brighter.

What are CAUSEWAY’s plans for the rest of 2025 and beyond?

Marshall: Keep making music. I have a lot going on with music, some new collaborative work with Cole Odin, and a new single of my own with Alona Esposito on Sprechen slated for next year. There are some life changes coming, but Allie and I have always been a kind of ‘file sharing’ sort of project, so I doubt anything changes with CAUSEWAY. I’m super excited for the new album, and I hope people connect with it. This time around we’ve worked with some amazing people – the Sprechen team, Jesse, Hannah, Dale … ‘Anywhere’ took all of us operating at our best. I hope you liked it, and I hope other people will too.

Allison: Continue to write music that inspires people and makes them want to dance! I never want to stop making music. It’s the best kind of drug.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to CAUSEWAY

‘Dancing With Shadows’ is avaible now as a download bundle with 4 remixes

‘Anywhere’ is released on 14 February 2025 via Sprechen Music in vinyl LP and digital formats from https://sprechen.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/wearecauseway

https://www.instagram.com/weare_causeway/

https://wearecauseway.bandcamp.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3V6PIgndeEbvQu6ThnLQ5i

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
5 February 2025

R. MISSING Interview

27 January 2025 /

New York-based duo R. MISSING finally issued their first full-length album ‘Knife Shook The Hand’ at the end of 2024 having debuted in 2017 with the mini-album ‘Unsummering’.

Comprising of the enigmatic Sharon Shy and the even more elusive Toppy Frost, the pair originally bonded over their shared dislikes. With a shadowy brand of understated electronic pop noir characterised by Sharon Shy’s sad forlorn vocals and Toppy Frost’s ethereal synthesized backdrops, R. MISSING have focussed on standalone songs with ‘Crimeless’, ‘New Present City’, ‘All Alone With Seas’ and ‘Verónica Pass’ among the fine examples of their portfolio.

However, while releasing singles to streaming platforms has been very much the norm these last few years, the low profile presence of R. MISSING has meant they have passed many listeners by despite the quality of their work. However, ‘Knife Shook The Hand’ has now provided the long playing focal point that their music deserves; among the collection’s highlights were Party Fade Into Air’, Make It Starry Most’, ‘The Down That Creeps’ and ‘Sleep Will Darken It’.

Never sitting still for long, R. MISSING’s start to 2025 has been heralded by a wonderful new song ‘Fakesnow’ in collaboration with Johan Agebjörn; and it was via an introduction by the Swedish producer that ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK was able have a virtual chat across the Atlantic with Sharon Shy…

R. MISSING have finally released a full length long player ‘Knife Shook The Hand’, this might sound a silly question but does it now feel “proper”, like things have got “real” as a band? How has the audience response been?

The aim was just to create a fast way to locate all of our most recent releases. We feel no more or less “real” than before. The audience response has been nice.

‘Knife Shook The Hand’ is a striking title but I can’t help but notice that its cover artwork looking at you from behind staring at greenery is like the photos which THE KNIFE used around the time of ‘Shaking The Habitual’, was this a homage to the sibling duo?

No – but that sounds very interesting. I should have a look…

‘All Alone With Seas’ was a fine track but ultimately didn’t end up on the album, so how did you go about selecting which songs would form ‘Knife Shook Your Hand’?

‘Knife Shook Your Hand’ is a collection of songs released in 2024. ‘All Alone With Seas’ came out the year prior.

How would you describe your creative dynamic with Toppy Frost in R. MISSING, is it working in a room together or much more remote? Do you have specific roles?

We typically work remotely, although there are exceptions. I usually start with concepts and Henry then makes things come to fruition.

CHROMATICS are often cited in reviews of R. MISSING, but which artists have been key in influencing the sonic palette of R. MISSING?

It changes day after day, week after week. One day it might be French yé-yé, the next, Eurodance or Virna Lindt, then THE FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON or something else entirely. I’m generally more inspired by books than by other music, too.

Since the debut mini-album ‘Unsummering’ in 2017, R.MISSING had been following a “singles only” strategy, what was the thinking behind this? Was this to maximise the streaming algorithms or was it more down to practicality?

We change very quickly and often feel almost disconnected to a song soon after its completion. Releasing quickly sends out the message when it’s still very new and pertinent. I wait every evening for a world that’s fast, quiet and calm.

Would you say that ‘Crimeless’ released in 2021 helped R.MISSING achieve a wider profile breakthrough? What was it about the song do you think that made it so appealing?

That I don’t know. I can’t say for certain that it appeals to anyone. All I can say is that it’s a moment in time.

With ‘New Present City’, you went as far as commissioning a video to accompany it, did you work with the video director on the storyline or did you allow them total artistic freedom to interpret the music as they saw fit?

The director had a vision for the concept of the video that he made come to life all by himself. We cannot take any credit for that.

For ‘Sleep Will Darken It’ with its brilliant synth solo, you self-produced a very effective DIY video for it; with R. MISSING having projected an enigmatic image, how was it to perform in front of the camera?

Fast and unstudied. Just another starless night in the underpass parking somewhere.

So what is ‘The Down That Creeps’?

It’s the disquiet you might feel at Club Altair when the music stopping times up with the windows jamming.

With songs like ‘Jane Four’, ‘Get Careful Darker’, ‘Maryhead’, ‘Cry Quicker’ and ‘Imagination To Be Sad’, R. MISSING don’t mess about and all clock in under three minutes? Was it intentional to keep these songs short?

Not intentional. Concision is just my automatic feeling.

Do you have any favourite songs on the album and if so, why those particular ones?

No. The truth is I never really think about anything once it’s alive.

Since the album ‘Knife Shook The Hand’ came out, there has been a new single ‘Fakesnow’ with Johan Agebjörn, how did this come about and what was the writing process between you like?

Johan created an elegant dark Italo disco instrumental that luckily worked extremely well with a concept and lyrics we had floating in our brains for a while.

There was the 2023 collaboration ‘ Wear The Night Out’ with CAUSEWAY which was very fitting and they also made a ‘My Time As A Ghostly Someone Else’ remix. Are there anymore collaborations planned for the future with other producers and artists?

Quite possibly. Although I’m not the best at guessing the future, I’ve always wanted to be a sci-fi side character.

R. MISSING like to do the occasional cover version and these have ranged from new wave numbers like ‘I Could Be Happy’ and ‘Spellbound’ to soul classics such as ‘Superstition’, so how do you choose a song that will suit the R. MISSING aesthetic? Are there any more particular songs you would like to do?

A record label asked us to do several covers that suited several themes they had in mind. I’m not sure we’ll be doing any other covers.

What is next for R. MISSING? You don’t play live very often, is that something that might change in the future?

More releases. And yes, more live shows.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Sharon Shy

Special thanks to Johan Agebjörn

The album ‘Knife Shook Your Hand’ and the most recent single ‘Telepolartears’ are available digitally from https://rmissing.bandcamp.com/music

‘Fakesnow’, the collaboration with Johan Agebjörn is available from https://agebjorn.bandcamp.com/album/fakesnow

https://rmissing.com/

https://www.facebook.com/rmissingmusic

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

https://www.threads.net/@r.missing

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
27 January 2025

JOHAN AGEBJÖRN & MIKAEL ÖGREN Interview

23 August 2024 /

Photo by Liora Havstad

1982 saw the release of the Diana Ross single ‘Work That Body’ and Jane Fonda’s ‘Workout’ video which cashed-in on the phenomenon of home exercise and aerobics. On the soundtrack of the latter were disco tunes by the likes of THE JACKSONS and BROTHERS JOHNSON.

But with participants seeking a more communal experience to fitness, there was an explosion in health clubs and gyms as captured in the storyline to the Jamie Lee Curtis and John Travolta film ‘Perfect’ in 1985. People wore lycra bodysuits, headbands and legwarmers, now often ubiquitous as the retro fancy dress image of “The 80s” and leading to the midlife Peloton pop of today.

Almost simultaneously, the New Age movement was blossoming using downtempo and ambient music for inspiration, relaxation and optimism during yoga, massage and meditation. Such was its expansion that Tower Records in Mountain View, California introduced a “New Age” section in 1981 while major labels like Geffen Records signed artists such as Japanese electronic composer Kitaro and American crossover jazz musician Pat Metheny to capitalise.

Inspired by the music and exercise tapes of that period, and in tribute to those times, Swedish producers Johan Agebjörn and Mikael Ögren present ‘Dynamic Movements – Music for Exercise & Relaxation’. Agebjörn is best known for his work in Sally Shapiro and has made two ambient albums ‘We Never Came To The White Sea’ and ‘Artefact’ with Ögren over the last few years.

“Sometimes throbbing and at other times gently lapping at your toes”, the result is a limited edition cassette contrasting ‘music for exercise’ on side A and ‘music for relaxation’ on side B. But ‘Dynamic Movements – Music for Exercise & Relaxation’ has an interesting concept, in that other than the inclusion of their 2020 single ‘A Tribute To Florian Schneider’, the tape is made up of remixes and reworkings of their cosmic Scando-disco  track ‘Dynamic Dance’. These have been provided by musicians and producers from around the world to create an album of diverse interpretations and deep sonic nourishment.

In their happy place, Johan Agebjörn and Mikael Ögren spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about making ‘Dynamic Movements’.

Photo by Lasse Nilsson

How did you first come to be aware of each other and then work together?

Johan: We were neighbours between 2011 and 2018, but it took a few years until we became friends and discovered our common musical taste in 90s electronic music (techno, IDM, ambient etc), and still a few years before we started to make music together. The first track we made was a remix for TOMMY ‘86 ‘Aurora’, that was in 2015. It went so well that we started to work on our first album.

Mikael: I think it started out with Johan borrowing one of my synths and then we just thought it could be a trip trying a collab together. And that most certainly was the case.

Which was, at that time, your favourite piece of music by the other?

Mikael: Back then, I really hadn’t released that much, and I wasn´t familiar with Johan´s music. But as soon as I started exploring his discography I instantly got sucked into his more ambient soundscapes. His ambient releases ‘Mossebo’ and ‘The Mountain Lake’ in particular, are albums that were an inspiration to me.

Was there any “synth envy”, did one of you have a piece of equipment that the other didn’t have and was fascinated by?

Johan: If there is one of Mikael’s synths that I would like to own then it would be the Roland JD-800. Our ambient music would not sound the same without that synth, it has such a calming mellow sound. Some pad sounds from it that Mikael has programmed have been used for some Sally Shapiro tracks as well.

Mikael: Well, ever since I heard Johan’s stunningly beautiful ‘Swimming Through The Blue Lagoon’, I´ve had a special eye for the Casio MT-52. The things he does with that home keyboard sound! Such an inspiration to me, and a reminder that it´s not always the fancy Stradivarius of synths that does the trick.

Photo by Lasse Nilsson

In terms of your creative dynamic, do you compose together from the bottom up or is it remotely?

Johan: Since we live in the same city, there is always at least one session where we work on a track together, either from scratch or based on some idea that I or Mikael have. Usually it’s me who then makes the final mix. We both compose, and if we have different production roles then Mikael is leaning more towards sound synthesis and I more towards arrangement and mixing.

Mikael: It´s funny, because more than one time, a collab has started out with me sitting in my studio noodling around and then Johan shows up from nowhere asking “Hey, what’s this?” and we start off from that point. Usually, Johan has such skills refining our studio sessions, that I rarely have that much to do with the final steps of the process.

How do you look back on the two albums you have made together so far ‘We Never Came To The White Sea’ and ‘Artefact’?

Johan: We are proud ha ha 🙂 It’s cool that both of these are concept albums with a soundtrack vibe. ‘We Never Came’ is a soundtrack to a road trip to Russian Karelia. ‘Artefact’ is a soundtrack to the novel ‘Rendezvous With Rama’ by Arthur C Clarke. ‘We Never Came’ is more warm and nature romantic, ‘Artefact’ is more cold and spacey.

Mikael: It’s been a beautiful ride completing these two concept albums. Whereas ‘We Never Came’ was more of a “building the road while we travel it” kind of project, we had kind of an ultimate aim with ‘Artefact’ (since it was based on Clarke´s beautiful novel). Both projects were exciting processes to work together on.

Photo by Lasse Nilsson

In 2020, you did a re-edit of PET SHOP BOYS ‘The Man Who Has Everything’ which was from the ‘Relentless’ bonus album that came with ‘Very’, was there any particular reason for this?

Johan: ‘The Man Who Has Everything’ is my favourite track from ‘Relentless’ and actually one of my favourite PET SHOP BOYS tracks overall. I thought the production of the original could be a bit updated and I also got some musical ideas playing on one of Mikael’s programmed Schulze-like sounds on the JD-800. We took these ideas and added some drums and a bassline from the Alesis Micron. This was during a period when we didn’t work on any other musical projects, so it was just a spontaneous in-between thing that we were so happy with that we gave it an unofficial release.

Mikael: Both I and Johan are long time PSB fans (even though Johan is much more of a hardcore fan than me). And I think the one thing we both fancy with this relatively unknown release is its more dark and melancholic approach. Both of us are kind of “minor” rather than “major” guys, so it was exciting to experiment with this one.

The new album ‘Dynamic Movements – Music for Exercise & Relaxation’ has two distinct moods, what was the idea behind this?

Johan: The project rotates around the track ‘Dynamo Dance’ and different interpretations of that one, and since that track has both nu-disco and ambient qualities (a one-minute ambient intro followed by a dance arrangement), it fit very well for being interpreted in both dancey and chilly ways. So it was a perfect departure for the idea of an exercise tape where you can exercise to side A and chill / stretch to side B!

Was there a Swedish equivalent of the Jane Fonda Workout or Jamie Lee Curtis’ ‘Perfect’ film?

Mikael: Actually, the big work out icon in Sweden was Susanne Lanefelt. She appeared regularly in her work out programs on public television (back in the day, there only existed two channels in Swedish television, and they were both public service). You could say that she was a perky, considerably more commonplace counterpart to Jane Fonda´s significantly more exotic, sexy and suggestive persona. But to me as an 11 year old boy, I found Susanne´s shows kind of arousing and the music pretty exciting.

Photo by Lasse Nilsson

‘Dynamo Dance’ is now out as a single, what inspired it and in particular, the slinky sax passage?

Mikael: ‘Dynamo Dance’ is a new musical direction for us. We have mostly worked on ambient music before, as well as some excursions to 90s trance. This single is something different, more like Norwegian space disco, but still with our trademark of mighty soundscapes. Actually, we played live on a festival in Norway in 2023, and were inspired by the space disco we heard there.

Johan: We thought the track needed “something else”, and for a while we considered turning it into a vocal track, but we decided to keep it more of an instrumental dancefloor track and instead a section with some funky solos, first a sax solo and then a synth solo. We asked my long-time friend / collaborator Steve Moore to play a saxophone solo for it. He has played the sax a few times in tracks I’ve been involved in already – on his Sally Shapiro ‘Down This Road’ remix and on the Sally Shapiro ‘Rent’ remix by NICOLAAS – so the choice came naturally.

The other tracks on ‘Dynamic Movements’ are remixes and reinterpretations by other artists and producers which is an interesting approach, did you give them a brief or were they given a totally free rein including the titles used?

Johan: We wanted these interpretations to work together as a compilation album, so we asked them to divert quite a lot from the original and to keep it danceable for side A and chilly / ambient for side B. The titles were decided together, sometimes the ideas came from us and sometimes from the artist.

Mikael: Yeah, and we’re happy that we gave them a lot of freedom to do their own interpretations. In that way it was easier to avoid that their contributions went down a more generic road with less space for artistic room for manoeuvre. The result was exciting to say the least.

How did you choose each of the artists?

Mikael: To me, several of the artists have been true inspirations, and their contributions to the release has been an honour for us. For example I’ve been an admirer of Dr Atmo’s work since the early 90s, and many of the releases of Patricia Wolf have been touching me on a deeper level. Jarle Bråthen we met when we performed on a Norwegian festival, and felt like an obvious artist to include on this specific release. Every single artist in this project are producers who, each and everyone, has contributed with one important piece to ‘Dynamic Movements’ with their own unique characters and approach.

Johan: We chose the artists in close collaboration with Jon Tye of Lo Recordings (who is also 50% of SEAHAWKS, so that selection came naturally) with the aim to be of high artistic quality and fitting for the project and for the Lo Recordings sound. Steve Moore / Lovelock is a longtime collaborator / remixer for both my solo work and Sally Shapiro. CAUSEWAY is a label mate from Italians Do it Better. It was also nice to ask some artists from the new ambient scene (Mary Yalex and One Million Eyes) on the A Strangely Isolated Place label.

Photo by Lasse Nilsson

You have included a previous single ‘A Tribute To Florian Schneider’ from 2020 on the album, how did this fit into the concept, or was it just too good a track to not get a wider audience for?

Mikael: Since this is one of our favourite productions, we always felt that it deserved more love and attention than was the case when it was dropped. In addition, we think that one of the icons that by far has been the greatest inspiration to us, really deserves as much tribute and acclaims as ever possible.

Johan: In addition to this, including the track made the project reach exactly 32 minutes on each side of the tape. On cassettes, it’s always a challenge to avoid a few minutes of silence at the end of the side… so it felt like fate wanted it to be included!

Is there a conceptual reason that ‘Dynamic Movements’ is a cassette only release in the physical realm?

Johan: Since the project is clearly divided into two halves, it felt like a must to release it on a medium with two sides, like cassette or LP. A cassette release fits very well in tradition with “exercise tapes” of the 70s and 80s.

What is next for you both, individually and together?

Mikael: Together, Johan and I have three new ambient tracks pretty finalized – two of them will appear on Johan’s forthcoming ambient album, the third one will most likely be released as a single. There´s also a nice deal of other projects that calls for my attention. I´ve produced an electronic interpretation of a classic Bach masterpiece that´s in the final mixing stage and will drop in late 2024. Furthermore there´s an old school acid trance collaboration that I aim to release further ahead. In addition to that there´s a number of parallel productions that I´m about to give the final touch. These are truly exciting and productive times.

Johan: I’m currently focusing on finishing the new Sally Shapiro album, which is currently in mixing stage (actually Mikael has co-produced two of the tracks on it). I’m also working on a new ambient album which is about 90% finished, but moving forward quite slowly – that one will be my first solo album with completely new material in about ten years. Before those two albums, I’m releasing an EP with the synthwave singer Yota in early October (on 12” via Keytar Records), the first single from it ‘Universe In Flames’ is already released.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Johan Agebörn and Mikael Ögren

‘Dynamic Movements – Music for Exercise & Relaxation’ is released on limited edition cassette and didgital formats via Lo Recordings, available direct from https://agebjorn.bandcamp.com/album/dynamic-movements-music-for-exercise-relaxation

https://www.johanagebjorn.info/

https://www.facebook.com/agebjorn

https://x.com/johanagebjorn

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

https://www.facebook.com/synthmikael/

https://x.com/OgrenMikael

https://www.instagram.com/mikael_ogren_music/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
23 August 2024

2023 END OF YEAR REVIEW

18 December 2023 /

Photo by Jori Hulkkonen

Just as it looked like it would be safe to come out to play, there was uncertainty within the music industry again.

What had become the artists’ favourite platform thanks to its low commission and 0% Fridays, Bandcamp was taken over by Epic Games in 2022 but then following a move by employees to unionise, was sold to Songtradr who immediately dismissed half of its staff… in hindsight, despite its proclamation that this platform cared about the music, it looked like this had been yet another start-up by tech venture capitalists. Just as many acts dropped their own websites in favour of Facebook over a decade ago but were then trapped into sponsored posts to reach the majority of their own fanbase, online shops had been dropped for Bandcamp. So, things are back to square one as many consider a rebuild of their web presence.

Meanwhile, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino made a controversial declaration that concert ticket prices were generally too low and that artists could easily “charge a bit more”. While THE CURE notably refused to do this and capped their face value tickets at $20 for their US tour, the Live Nation sister outlet Ticketmaster applied excessive booking extras of more than $20 per ticket for a “service fee”, “facility charge” and “order processing”! With dynamic pricing in place at a number of high profile events and so-called VIP tickets on the rise (which didn’t actually include a meet ‘n’ greet but only a nearby bar and a lanyard), fans had their “FOMO” anxieties triggered and simply paid up!

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

Another artist who kept ticket prices low was Midge Ure who embarked on the successful ‘Voices & Visions’ tour after a year’s delay due to uncertainties over the Covid situation in 2022. Complimented by a straightforward but very effective light show and material from his second and third long players with ULTRAVOX ‘Rage In Eden’ and ‘Quartet’, it was a triumph. He was rewarded with a 70th birthday show celebrating his career at The Royal Albert Hall, which despite its plush surroundings was also kept affordable.

Who says an artist has no control over retail pricing? But one band who were shamelessly happy to charge more for concert tickets, more for merchandise and more for physical releases were DEPECHE MODE. For their first album and tour since the passing of co-founder Andy Fletcher in 2022, the remaining members played the death card with ‘Momento Bori’ and managed to plonk an even more underwhelming arena show into the stadiums of the world… at least the ‘Global Spirit’ tour featured risers!

With renowned UK venues such as Printworks and Moles closing down, as had already been highlighted by Juls Garat of US goth band PILGRIMS OF YEARNING via social media in 2022: “If you’re spending a kidney on DEPECHE MODE tickets and not attending a local show this weekend, I don’t wanna see you complaining that there’s no scene, local venues or new music anymore”. However, one seemingly oblivious Devotee said about the inflated ticket prices: “Really don’t know what the issue is. Happily paid £108.00 for a DM ticket. Would have paid more!!”. And therein lays the problem… DEPECHE MODE played a date at Stadion Wankdorf in Bern and that said it all! As the man who Devotees call a genius once wrote: “Some great reward will be coming my way…”

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

As The Devotees wallowed in their collective misery during 2023, the Stockholm Syndrome was stronger than ever. On the Bratislava leg at the National Football Stadium, one of The Black Swarm commented to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “I was there… I must admit, a bit disappointed… but I still love them!!!”. It was business as usual for DEPECHE MODE, with “business” being the operative word. It was reported that so much money had been sucked out of the European alternative music market in particular that a number of acts had to schedule their planned tours to 2024, while others who had made good albums worthy of attention in 2023 got lost in the sea of DM propaganda on the web.

Despite increased ticket prices at all levels, gig etiquette declined to the worst possible standards with the constant chatter and bad manners among some attendees. Surely if you have paid upwards of £30 or more for a show, you might want to pay more attention and enjoy it? ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has never seen it this bad in the 43 years it has been going to concerts, but this entitled arrogance to talk extremely loudly about total bollocks is a undoubted legacy of Brexit and Covid which in combination has normalised a lack of social graces in gathered environments… and when challenged, these total numbskulls become aggressive, pitifully unaware that they are ruining the evening of those around them.

Meanwhile, there was another undesirable element who only go to gigs to post selfies and badly distorted footage on their socials… these were often the sort of people who actually hated the band back in the day, but after 40+ years realised they like the song on the Vitality or Waitrose advert so are sudddenly giving it the big “I AM” about being a fan… but BECAUSE they are only there for one song, they then treat the rest of the gig like they were out with their mates in the pub! 🤬

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

The best live shows of the year came from PET SHOP BOYS and DURAN DURAN with their arena extravaganzas full of hits, classic fan favourites and great staging. Among the album celebrations, CHINA CRISIS ran through their second long player ‘Working With Fire & Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume 2’ on tour to celebrate its 40th anniversary and founder bassist Peter Hook took the first NEW ORDER compilation ‘Substance’ out on the road to coincide with its expanded 4CD reissue.

“Sweden’s best kept pop secret” KITE impressed with an imitate headliner for their debut London gig and later at Cologne’s Amphi Festival to a much larger crowd, while the return of Ollie Wride to the London stage at The Scala illustrated why he has potential to be the next synthwave artist to crossover into the mainstream.

Photo by Ed Miles

‘Time’s Arrow’, LADYTRON’s second album since their return from hiatus proved to be something of a disappointment while fairing slightly better with its anti-Brexit sentiments, ‘Bauhaus Staircase’ was touted as the final album from OMD; now kissing the strict machine, having previously been supportive of new electronic pop via ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK championed acts MIRRORS, VILLA NAH, VILE ELECTRODES, METROLAND, TINY MAGNETIC PETS and SOFTWAVE, their choice of art glam hipsters WALT DISCO as opening act on the UK leg of the 2024 tour was symbolic of the general poor state of modern synthpop ie pop music using synths, particularly within the narrow-mindset of Brexit Britain.

Although the UK was continuing to party like it was 1933, the incendiary language that Cruella Braverman was using was so extreme that she was even dismissed from fronting the Conservative Party new wave covers band A FLOCK OF SIEG HEILS… as a trio of poets from South Yorkshire once said: “BROTHERS! SISTERS! WE DON’T NEED THIS FASCIST GROOVE THANG!” ✊

Reflecting a wider issue, 2023 also saw ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK publish its fewest number of ‘Introducing…’ new artist articles since its inception in 2010 with only Brigitte Bardini and Madeleine Goldstein featured. There were a number of possible reasons…

Photo by Bella Salvatore

“The technology leads the art form and it always has” said veteran producer Steve Lillywhite on a recent Rockonteurs podcast, “if the technology allows you to reference other people’s records… you WILL do that!”. This was summed up by an Apple Mac advert featuring sample-based British pop singer PinkPantheress demonstrating how to have a hit by appropriating a topline from Kelly Rowland and plonking it into GarageBand before processing her voice through AutoTune and nabbing the intro of ‘Gold’ by SPANDAU BALLET… you said it yourself Miss Walker, IT SOUNDS LIKE GARBAGE!

While the accessibility, usability and sound quality of modern tech has totally democratised music making, as another veteran producer Stephen Hague put it to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK “it’s made it far too easy”, with the end result being familiarity and imitation rather than innovation. Now that an acceptable sound is able to be obtained fairly quickly on software such as GarageBand, the level of songwriting has generally declined in many genres. Artists abstain from putting in the hard work towards the actual songcraft because they think their track is already great, as it sounds like someone they’ve based it on!

However, the misuse of “synth” as a description reached a new nadir in 2023. There were those using “synth” or “synthwave” in their brand identity who proudly revealed via their Spotify Wrapped that their Top Genre was actually rock or made bizarre comments like “What I like most about synthwave is the guitar solos”. Meanwhile one artist declared they were synthpop because they had spent their youth “listening to too much Madonna”! But synth music as an enduring form is ultimately doomed when social media platforms using “Synthpop” in their idents think that guitar-based bands like BIG COUNTRY and COCTEAU TWINS are part of it, or compile acoustic playlists!! 🤦‍♂️

“Synth” has now somehow become is a general term for any retro-flavoured pop with an element of shiny artifice whether synthesizers have been used or not! These artists and “content creators” are now too young to understand what “synth” in music actually once meant and probably think the term is short for “synthetic” as in clothes and hair products, as opposed to “synthesizer”.

That said, 2023 was not all bad and there was a lot of excellent music. The song of the year was by the unlikely synth hero in glum rocker Lloyd Cole; while guitars made a more prominent but limited return on his album ‘On Pain’ following 2019’s electronically-dominated ‘Guesswork’, the standout song ‘The Idiot’ saw him provide a touching narrative on the relationship between David Bowie and Iggy Pop as they relocated to Berlin in 1976.

Swedish veterans PAGE took the Numanisation of their poptronica to its zenith by bringing in former imperial phase Numan band members Chris Payne and RRussell Bell on their new album ‘En Ny Våg’. Across the Öresund Bridge, Danish synthpop couple SOFTWAVE showed the world the ‘things we’ve done’.

Photo by George Tripodakis

Another music veteran Ricky Wilde teamed up with NINA to reveal their ‘Scala Hearts’; full of classic pop references and a modern sheen, this was the record Wilde had wanted to make for a few years but hadn’t been able to with his sister Kim. Its creative drive showed and this was also the best long player that NINA had been part of since she launched her solo career in 2011. In a busy year, NINA also found time to satisfy many a red blooded fantasy by collaborating with Kid Moxie on the ‘Lust’ EP released by Italians Do It Better.

The Finns were strong too, with Jaakko Eino Kalavi and Jori Hulkkonen producing two of the best albums of 2023. The former’s eclectic ‘Chaos Magic’ featured Alma Jodorowsky, Mr Silla and Jimi Tenor as special guests while the latter’s ‘There Is Light Hidden In These Shadows’ brought in John Grant, Ralf Dörper, Jake Shears, Jon Marsh, Juho Paalosmaa and Tiga.

While maintaining his front man role in MESH, Mark Hockings presented his solo project BLACKCARBURNING in long playing form and was ‘Watching Sleepers’. Also going it alone, Alison Goldfrapp squarely hit the dancefloor via ’The Love Invention’ with Kylie Minogue’s similarly glitzy ‘Tension’ as its companion. But with ACTORS still busy touring the world, the planned long playing debut from LEATHERS was yet to emerge but there were two new singles in the interim.

METROLAND and side project 808 DOT POP ambitiously released albums in five different formats with exclusive tracks on each between them simultaneously, in a move that had not been seen since 1978 when all four members of KISS released solo records on the same day. Much more discretely, ITALOCONNECTION came up with ‘Nordisko’ which comprised of Nordic pop disco covers. More ambient experiments were served by John Foxx, Vince Clarke, Patricia Wolf, Johan Agebjörn and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, while putting those ethereal textures into song was Hinako Omori with her appropriately named second album ‘stillness, softness…’

Germany’s BEBORN BETON offered bleak commentary on the state of the planet with ‘Darkness Falls Again’ but encouraged everyone to be dancers in the dark while Chinese band STOLEN highlighted this ‘Eroded Creation’. Within their ‘Circle Of Doom’, NNHMN had pressing matters closer to home while ZANIAS emerged from her ‘Chrysalis’. FERAL FIVE confronted and worked with AI to declare ‘Truth Is The New Gold’ and Finlay Shakespeare tapped into his ‘Illusion + Memory’.

Photo by Tim Darin

Among the promising emergent acts with debut EPs were NEU-ROMANCER and DIE SEXUAL while German solo artists Jennifer Touch and Laura Dre added to their long playing portfolios, as did OHNOTHING and BUNNY X. Fronted by respectively by John Grant and Neil Arthur, CREEP SHOW and THE REMAINDER outlined the benefits of collaboration while CAUSEWAY joined forces with R. MISSING for the single ‘Wear The Night Out’.

Despite having plied their trade for over 50 years, SPARKS continued to be as eccentric as ever and even had Cate Blanchett appear in the video for ‘The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte’. With ‘*Happiness now completed’ and Dave Ball returning to the live fold after a period of serious illness, SOFT CELL effectively issued another new album featuring a significant number of previously unreleased tracks including covers of Giorgio Moroder and X-RAY SPEX to provide a much more satisfying listening experience than the parent ‘*Happiness not included’ record. Then there was the unexpected recorded return of CLASSIX NOUVEAUX with their ‘Battle Cry’.

Veteran acts who ceased active operations many years ago got worthy boxed set treatments; TELEX provided ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK with the funniest interview of the year in support of their self-titled retrospective on Mute while LANDSCAPE were comprehensively catalogued by Cooking Vinyl. Not to be left out, the trusty Cherry Red via their Lemon imprint showcased how underrated NEW MUSIK and their leader Tony Mansfield were, especially with the latter’s sound clearly audible in today’s pop acts such as THE WEEKND.

Despite the return of Q, the jury was still out on whether music magazines are still desirable aside from their CD and vinyl artefacts. Meanwhile, music-based social media dumbed down its engagement to cut ‘n’ paste Wikipedia snippets accompanying archive photos or artwork, pointless 26th anniversary posts and non-significant birthday celebrations to attract likes. Comments from the public such as “My favourite album… I wish I still had it!” and saying “Happy Birthday” when the platform wasn’t even connected to the artist concerned only highlighted further the continuing inane nature of online interaction. And this was without those irritating “POV” reels and reaction videos on TikTok and Instagram which were unfortunately prevalent!

The less said about the right wing gammon infested sh*t show that Twitter has become, the better but on the new Threads platform intended to take it on, PENDULUM’s El Hornet remarked “omg threads is full of music industry self help w*nkers making lists about things nobody asked abort! ABORT!” 🤣

With such platforms also seemingly centred around the exposure of flesh with photos “just for fun” be the subject a golfer, gamer, painter, baker, comedian, hairdresser, photographer, psychologist, racing driver, book reviewer, poet, dating coach or Lego enthusiast, is it any wonder that several music artists resorted to setting up OnlyFans accounts to sell nude photos!

With pun totally intended, in this challenging climate for exposure, some acts simply got a bit too big for their boots and were unbearably conceited on their socials with their bragging and frivolous chatter to appease a needy flock who hung onto their every word, desperate to be seen to be “friends” of wannabe stars while crowdfunding towards their spa weekenders and vet bills for their cat… it was therefore ironic that one of these acts declared “Music isn’t a competition!” when it appeared that another band might be taking away some of their limelight! Well, stop acting like it’s a 24 hour edition of ‘The Apprentice’ then!!! 🙄

On the other side of the coin, one too cool for school band took a strange attitude to promotion by refusing to accept questions about their influences while trying to come over like total originals. Despite their inspirations being blatant and obvious to hear, they had a misguided self-belief that they were somehow speaking a new language! But everybody knows they started out by purchasing the sheet music to ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ from a New York thrift store! 😆

A few years ago, a lone British artist was complained about the lack of press attention for their new admittedly good album, but then proceeded not to answer emails containing interview pitches. Artists need to engage, no matter how much they say they hate doing promotion, they can’t have it both ways. The days of RADIOHEAD not doing interviews to promote a new album and letting the music speak for itself are long gone…

With the world now making up for lost time since 2020, it would be fair to say that 2023 has been something of a strange year!

Text by Chi Ming Lai
18 December 2023

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