Tag: Claudia Brücken (Page 6 of 8)

2012 END OF YEAR REVIEW

16 December 2012 /

Close Encounters Of The Synth Kind

The year began with the housewives’ favourite astronomer Brian Cox naming several synth friendly classics like OMD’s ‘Messages’ and DURAN DURAN’s ‘Friends Of Mine’ in his choices for ‘Desert Island Discs’ as well as declaring an appreciation of ULTRAVOX.

The confessions of the one-time keyboard player of DARE and D:REAM proved once again that electronic music is the preserve of the intelligent, discerning listener. And as with the strap line to ‘Close Encounters Of The Third Kind’ which featured the use of an ARP 2500 to communicate with the aliens incidentally!), it proved to many a synth enthusiast that “we are not alone”!

Speaking of ULTRAVOX, they made the comeback of the year with ‘Brilliant’, the first long player featuring the classic line-up of Warren Cann, Chris Cross, Billy Currie and Midge Ure since 1984’s ‘Lament’. While the album could have probably done with being two tracks shorter, it was the best of the bunch in a line of returns from the last few years by Synth Britannia veterans OMD, BLANCMANGE and THE HUMAN LEAGUE; not bad considering most of the band are now in their early sixties! The Dreaded Pink Thing has now been truly buried!

Gary Numan continued to tour like there was no tomorrow and reunited with his old backing band DRAMATIS on several of his ‘Machine Music’ shows in tribute to the late Ced Sharpley who had drummed for both. From the same management stable, JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS unleashed their third album in 18 months entitled ‘Evidence’ while Claudia Brücken released only her second solo album in just over 20 years with a soothing collection of reinterpretations called ‘The Lost Are Found’.

With only Synth-Werk plug-in hoaxes and Belgian clones METROLAND to keep Klingklangers entertained with new material, KRAFTWERK themselves undertook a 3D residency at New York’s MoMA featuring their eight most recent works with a controversial two tickets per customer policy. As most of these albums clocked in at just over 30 minutes, there was still an hour’s other favourites to savour for those lucky enough to get their names on the list.

This electronic extravaganza will be reprised at London’s Tate Modern in February 2013. As a former power plant, the location is wholly appropriate although the occasion will be tainted by the ticket fiasco that preceded it! Ex-member Karl Bartos was probably observing with amusement as he will be returning in 2013 with a new album ‘Off The Record’ and world tour. Disgruntled fans who missed out on the Tate Modern shows are now likely to be venturing his way for their KRAFTWERK fix!

Danny Boyle’s London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony attempted to showcase the best of British so with UNDERWORLD as musical directors, OMD, NEW ORDER, PET SHOP BOYS, BRIAN ENO and EURYTHMICS all figured during the evening.

DEPECHE MODE themselves announced a new album and tour for 2013 in a bizarre press conference that appeared to have no actual news! But this was not before Dave Gahan guested with SOULSAVERS and Martin Gore did a cameo for MOTOR; He also reunited with former bandmate Vince Clarke for the rather polarising techno project VCMG. And in a year that saw all members of the extended DM family busy, former bandmate Alan Wilder helped compile a tribute album to one-time synthpoppers TALK TALK and released the RECOIL concert film ‘A Strange Hour In Budapest’.

MARSHEAUX returned to London with a triumphant performance featuring The Blitz Club’s legendary Rusty Egan on electronic percussion during an encore of ‘Come On’, a song from their forthcoming fourth long player ‘Inhale’.

They also released a double headed single with the marvellous TWINS NATALIA; Sophie and Marianthi covered their cult favourite ‘When We Were Young’ to compliment their rendition of ‘Radial Emotion’.

After the label and personnel upheavals of last Autumn, MIRRORS regrouped as a trio and made a welcome return with a starker sound. While this new material perhaps lacked the immediacy of their ‘Lights & Offerings’ debut, songs like ‘Between Four Walls’ and ‘Dust’ captured a depth of mood that grew with each listen. MIRRORS off-shoot LOVELIFE decamped to make their fortune in New York and unveiled a promising number in ‘Brave Face’ which crossed OMD with HARD-FI.

Sweden proved its prowess with COMPUTE who beefed up her sound for second EP ‘The Distance’ while IAMAMIWHOAMI took her mysterious audio visual experience into the physical album arena for the first time with ‘Kin’ where the enigmatic electronic soundtrack stood up on its own. Just down the road, there was the RAMMSTEIN reincarnated as DEPECHE MODE menace of TITANS.

Electro crooners JULIAN & MARINA showcased their lounge crooner synthpop with a cover of a Hollywood-era Elvis number ‘A House That Has Everything’ and DAYBEHAVIOR released their third album ‘Follow That Car!’ after a year’s delay.

Among the best songs of 2012 was ‘Trust’ by Finland’s SIN COS TAN, a new project from VILLA NAH’s Juho Paalosmaa and ace producer Jori Hulkkonen. The parent eponymous album was impressive too and showed once again that the Nordic region was the perfect environment for the genesis of inventive leftfield synthpop.

From across the Atlantic, Canadians CRYSTAL CASTLES and PURITY RING were the darlings of the hipster cognoscenti along with GRIMES who hit the black keys of her Juno-G and impressed with her latest album ‘Visions’. She also made a timely appearance on ‘Later With Jools Holland’ which recalled the TV debut of LITTLE BOOTS back in 2008.

Sadly, Victoria Hesketh left behind her synth girl persona to head for the less challenging climes of clubland. Big rival LA ROUX was taking her time recording her second album while LADYHAWKE proved that she was always a rock chick in the first place with her second long player ‘Anxiety’sounding like it had been recorded down a drainpipe!

But in Diamond Jubilee Year, QUEEN OF HEARTS flew the electro flag with a glitzy slice of electro schaffel appropriately entitled ‘Neon’. A further single ‘Warrior’ proved it was not a fluke as the young royal turned into CLAUDIA BRÜCKEN meeting Emo KYLIE!

The UK found itself a few promising female-led electronic acts in the charmingly kooky …OF DIAMONDS, the Italo-led KOVAK and the dark but dreamy EVOKATEUR. But virtually out of nowhere came Glasgow’s new synth sensations CHVRCHES.

Despite only unleashing two songs ‘Lies’ and ‘The Mother We Share’ for public consumption, both were corkers; their much vaunted live performances met expectations, displaying both inventive synth arrangements and a vital pop sensibility.

The boys weren’t idle either with BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT and KID KASIO unleashing their long awaited debut albums while on the newer side of the tracks, there was the angry OMD of AUTOMATIC WRITING, the FAITHLESS gone rock of SINESTAR and the ERASURE for the new millennium of MODOVAR.

After the excitement of the years between 2008 and 2011, this was a comparatively quiet year for the sound of the synth with regards special events. There was no Short Circuit or gatherings on the scale of Tomorrow Is Today, the Vintage Electronic Phuture Revue or the BEF Weekender.

Within the mainstream, the majors were keen to support electronic music just so long as it was dance oriented. Notably, EMI pushed the generic foil of SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA and the ubiquitous David Guetta as the new acceptable faces of electronic music via their flawed ‘Electrospective’ promotional campaign; by default, this also involved Daniel Miller, Martyn Ware and Andy McCluskey due to the label’s ownership of the Virgin and Mute back catalogues! But some glaring schoolboy errors on their website and the use of quotes from COLDPLAY’s Chris Martin showed they didn’t really understand electronic pop…

There had been signs at the end of 2011 that the major record companies thought a rave revival would save their corporate bacons. Swedish synthpop duo THE SOUND OF ARROWS said that during their brief tenure with Geffen Records, the A&R had wanted them to sound more Ibiza club friendly. Their one-time label mate SUNDAY GIRL, who originally had a promising GOLDFRAPP meets JOY DIVISION sound, was reduced to covering dance numbers made famous by STEPS… her debut album originally slated for 2010 is still nowhere to be seen!

Meanwhile, MARINA & THE DIAMONDS‘ very good in places second album ‘Electra Heart’ had several of its songs spoiled by overdriving club beats! Is this really the only way to make people dance? It all seems a little brain dead! “NAME THAT TUNE…” snarled Rusty Egan on Facebook, “…if you can hear one?”

So should ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK settle down with a pipe and slippers? While we prefer to “dance to disco” cos we “don’t like rock”, there must be more to electro than shallow repetitive four-to-the-floor thuds and glowsticks?

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK likes a tune and doesn’t pretend to love every variation of the electronic theme. And from conversations with several DJs, it would appear clubland doesn’t want to be associated with the classic synthpop world anymore than the classic synthpop world wants to be lumped in with dance culture… so why attempt to centralise everything?

Modern beat driven flavours and other influences can be appreciated but a full blown experience is not always what is required! As the marvellous new Texan duo ELEVEN:ELEVEN have proved, danceable electronic music can be made that is subtle and syncopated. And all this without the need of an annoying dubstep remix, or a 10 minute techno rework with no melodic elements!

It’s cool to be discerning…

ELECTRICTYCLUB.CO.UK Contributor Listings of 2012

PAUL BODDY

Best Album: DEADMAU5 >album title goes here<
Best Song: ORBITAL New France (Tom Middleton Cosmos remix)
Best Gig: RAMMSTEIN at London O2 Arena
Best Video: SPLEEN UNITED Days Of Thunder
Most Promising New Act: TITANS

STEVE GRAY

Best Album: ULTRAVOX Brilliant
Best Song: CHVRCHES Lies
Best Gig: HEAVEN 17 at London Shepherds Bush Empire
Best Video: SINESTAR I Am The Rain
Most Promising New Act: CHVRCHES

CHI MING LAI

Best Album: SIN COS TAN Sin Cos Tan
Best Song: SIN COS TAN Trust
Best Gig: HEAVEN 17 at London Shepherds Bush Empire
Best Video: IAMAMIWHOAMI Drops
Most Promising New Act: CHVRCHES

RICHARD PRICE

Best Album: SIN COS TAN Sin Cos Tan
Best Song: ULTRAVOX Rise
Best Gig: BAS II
Best Video: KID KASIO Telephone Line
Most Promising New Act: KARIN PARK

Text by Chi Ming Lai
16th December 2012

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 SONGS OF 2012

12 December 2012 /


It was a weak year musically overall, but a number of acts with great potential emerged.

However, in stronger years, a fair number of these acts would not have been shortlisted, it has to be said.  So here are ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 Songs of 2012, listed in alphabetical order.

All have been released either in physical formats or digitally as purchasable or free downloads during the calendar year. However, the list is limited to one song per artist. It also does not include tracks which are exclusive to streams and videos or DJs only promos…

AUTOMATIC WRITING Continuous

Consisting of the Merrick Brothers, AUTOMATIC WRITING are the angry OMD! Their sombre Eno influenced template is like Wirral’s finest have been given a contemporary anthemic facelift by having WHITE LIES’ Harry McVeigh recruited as lead vocalist! ‘Continuous’ whirs and spins while driven by mutant motorik beats and dysfunctional claustrophobia. The flip ‘Falling’ is a more mid-tempo cousin.

Available as a download single via http://automaticwriting.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/automaticwriting

BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT Immature

BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT is Welsh songwriter/producer Rod Thomas who adopted his ‘Gremlins’ referencing moniker to prevent being mistaken for an acoustic folk act. As the opener to the long awaited album ‘Make Me Believe In Hope’, ‘Immature’ is a great start as it rhythmically percolates in the manner of THE POSTAL SERVICE before a terrific synth section unexpectedly lifts the whole piece several notches. This is a superbly emotive and sensitive piece of pop.

Available on the album ‘Make Me Believe in Hope’ via The Blue Team/Aztec Records

http://www.brightlightx2.com/

CLAUDIA BRÜCKEN Everyone Says Hi

From ‘The Lost Are Found’ album produced by Stephen Hague which also features versions of songs originally by PET SHOP BOYS and DUBSTAR among others, Claudia Brücken’s lively reinterpretation of Bowie’s ‘Everyone Says Hi’ from ‘Heathen’ unveils a previously hidden heartfelt connection, a call for contact like Major Tom in ‘Space Oddity’. Dressed with catchy synth riffs and fuzzy shades, it combines ice maiden chill and organic warmth for an artful sound.

Available on the album ‘The Lost Are Found’ via There (there)

http://www.claudiabrucken.co.uk/

CHVRCHES Lies

Robyn doing an electro cover of ‘The Whole Of The Moon’ may not sound immediately appealing in concept but that’s how this punchy number starts before elevating into a rousing, spirited synth anthem. CHVRCHES could become the next electro combo to shake up the mainstream pop world since LA ROUX. A great song with great melodies and weird noises, herein ‘Lies’ the bridge between leftfield and bubblegum pop.

Available as a free download via Neon Gold

http://www.facebook.com/CHVRCHES

VINCE CLARKE Featuring ANE BRUN Fly On The Windscreen

Novelist Tonya Hurley commissioned her brother-in-law Vince Clarke to record a stark cover of his former band’s ‘Fly On The Windscreen’ with vocalist Ane Brun as part of promotion for her literary trilogy ‘The Blessed’. While the guitar-like textures appear to have been borrowed from the original in an act of artistic continuity, the rest of the arrangement is quite different as the vulnerable feminine twist acts as the ‘Twilight’ Generation’s perfect introduction to DEPECHE MODE.

Available as a download single via iTunes and Amazon

http://www.vinceclarkemusic.com/

http://anebrun.com/

COMPUTE Light As A Feather

COMPUTE is Ulrika Mild, a Gothenburg girl who discovered synthpop via DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Speak and Spell’. ‘The Distance’ is a follow-up to the debut album ‘This’ and from it, ‘Light As a Feather’ is a bouncy but melancholic ditty which suggests a snow mountain of vulnerability. That is certainly apparent in Ulrika’s sweet, fragile voice. It’s beautifully sequenced with layers of eerie string machine for that distinctive Nordic chill.

Available on download album ‘The Distance’ via iTunes and Amazon

http://www.compute.se

CURXES Spectre

Roberta Fidora shows yet another fine turn of aggressive resignation like SIOUXSIE SIOUX in a padded cell while instrumentalist Macaulay Hopwood picks out his unsettling bass notes to full effect. While this CURXES tune is perhaps more guitar driven than what would normally be expected of most electronica, ‘Spectre’ is positively Spartan with symphonic synth stabs and industrial beat snaps…it’s the sound of the overground or Goth ‘n’ Bass…or even Gotham Bass; geddit? Simply exhilarating!

Available as a download single via Amazon and iTunes

http://www.curxes.com

DIVINE KNIGHTS Clouds (THE SANFERNANDO SOUND remix)

Goth laden PET SHOP BOYS from the theatrical Aussie duo dreamily remixed by THE SANFERNANDO SOUND. This is richly synthesized with lashings of atmosphere and accessible melancholy. The extrovertly camp pair have even subverted the realm of the talent show by getting into the semi-finals of ‘Australia’s Got Talent’. Dannii Minogue said: “I think DIVINE KNIGHTS are brave for coming on a show like this because not everybody is going to get them…but I really hope they do well!”

Available as a download single via Amazon and iTunes

http://www.divineknights.com.au/

http://www.facebook.com/thesanfernandosound

ELEVEN:ELEVEN No Words

Texan duo ELEVEN:ELEVEN comprise the feline vocals of Sicca with the instrumentation of Jake Childs and throw in a variety of influences including Italo Disco, Hi-NRG and Electroclash. ‘No Words’ recalls MISS KITTEN & THE HACKER, capturing a tense nightlife seediness. Short but sweet with a swirling middle section, who needs an extended dance mix when the point is made in two and a half minutes?

Available as a free download via http://weare1111.com/

GAZELLE TWIN Changelings (JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS remix)

Stark and mysterious, the living art of GAZELLE TWIN is the moniker of Elizabeth Walling, the Brighton based songstress whose brooding, unsettling Hauntronica has impressed in all the right circles. JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS’ version of one of her best tracks ‘Changelings’ sees Mr Foxx adding his own Cathedral Oceans sweeps to Benge’s Mathematical solutions. In an productive year profile wise, her music was used in the promotion for the film ‘Prometheus’.

Available on the album ‘The Entire City Remixed’ via Anti-Ghost Moon Ray Records

http://www.gazelletwin.com/

GRIMES Oblivion

GRIMES is the kooky Montreal sensation that is Clare Boucher and this Lykke Li fronting KRAFTWERK tune is sumptuously infectious. Despite almost unintelligible vocals, ‘Oblivion’ is probably the most immediate track on the ‘Visions’ album although other tracks like ‘Genesis’ and ‘Be A Body’ explore similarly accessible synthesized avenues. ‘Oblivion’ is ideal for those looking for subtler percussive colours and synthesized tapestries in a leftfield lady meets pop princess fusion.

Available on the album ‘Visions’ via 4AD Records

http://www.grimesmusic.com

HUSKI Close To The Edge

HUSKI first came to public attention on the trendy Shoreditch electro scene back in 2007 with ‘Take Me Your Picture’.  The late lamented Word magazine described ‘Close To The Edge’ as sounding “not unlike how Clare Grogan might if she took a guest slot with THE HUMAN LEAGUE”. As both THE HUMAN LEAGUE and ALTERED IMAGES worked with the late Martin Rushent, that is not as peculiar as it first sounds and it brims with a cutesy allure.

Available on the album ‘H’ via Amazon and iTunes

http://www.huskimusic.com/

IAMAMIWHOAMI Drops

IAMAMIWHOIAMI is the enigmatic electronic multimedia project fronted by Jonna Lee. From her first full length album ‘Kin’, ‘Drops’ is uptempo but almost trancelike. The beats are subtle with just layers of ice and chill to compliment. The clattering fits of noise and metallic textures add to the hypnotism. Jonna Lee’s piercing larynx will polarise listeners but this is Nordic weirdness in all its wonderful glory.

Available on the album ‘Kin’ via To Whom It May Concern

http://www.towhomitmayconcern.cc/

INJE Kofein I CO2

Hailing from Belgrade and featuring the nucleus of vocalist Jelena Miletić and instrumentalist Jovan Vesić, INJE have supported HURTS and FAITHLESS in their home country. Their chromatic East European charge will almost certainly please followers of LADYTRON. The excellent ‘Kofein I CO2’ is sort of DUBSTAR in Serbo-Croat meets David Lynch soundtrack, possessing an aural magnetism that is gorgeously layered with an air of wispy innocence.

Available as a free download from http://inje.rs/

KOVAK Killer Boots

‘Killer Boots’ is cooing new wave electropop with an immediately catchy Italo vibe…think ‘Self Control’ or even ‘Touch Me’! Appropriately decadent and sexy, this catchy song is produced by Gary Numan collaborator Andy Gray. Colourful, energetic and glamourous, KOVAK are like BLONDIE meeting DRAGONETTE and Gwen Stefani through a TUBEWAY ARMY voltage controlled filter.

Available as a download single via 74 Music

http://kovak.co.uk/

LITTLE JINDER Keep On Dreaming

Is it dubstep or is it electro? ‘Keep On Dreaming’ actually sounds more like the latter. When the half beat/two step influences kick in, luckily they do so without the irritating, skipping CD nightmares that devilishly plague most dubstep. But like with all crossover songs, it is the flavour rather than the full blown experience that often wins favour. Confused? Just enjoy… this number by young Stockholm songstress Josefine Jinder features lots of lovely synths!

Available as a download single via Trouble & Bass

http://www.facebook.com/littlejinder

LOVELIFE Brave Face

From the creative minds of former MIRRORS man Ally Young and Lee Newell from one-time indie darlings VIVA BROTHER, ‘Braveface’ is a chilling but uplifting piece of mood music which comes over like OMD fronted by HARD FI! With its Cool Britannia meets Synth Britannia fusion via the Big Apple, LOVELIFE’s genre blend may be confusing indie and electronic music fans alike but at least it’s different.

Available on the free download EP ‘El Regreso’ from http://www.lvlf.info/

https://www.facebook.com/LVLFinfo/

MIRRORS Between Four Walls

Since slimming down to a trio, MIRRORS have been heading for a sparser, textural direction which is perhaps less immediate than their debut album ‘Lights & Offerings’ but nevertheless rewarding with further listens. The beautifully stark drama of ‘Between Four Walls’ is sublime and full of post 3am drama. It is high end atmospheric electronic balladry at its best. “Do you ever wonder how you’ll ever get there when you never turn back around?”

Available as a download single via http://mirrorsofficial.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/theworldofmirrors

MODOVAR Clearly

Comprising of Glen Wisbey on synths and the suave persona of Christopher Beecham on vocals, MODOVAR’s most immediate number is the emotively rousing ‘Clearly’. Beecham is a man with a self-confessed admiration of Alison Moyet so ‘Clearly’ connects as a song of love in the first degree. It is just one of their “melodic, anthemic, chorus led songs, lyrically focused on the undercurrents of love and the human condition”. Also check out their cover of ROXY MUSIC’s ‘Same Old Scene’.

Available on the download EP ‘Clearly’ via Amazon and iTunes

http://modovar.com/

MOTOR featuring MARTIN L GORE Man Made Machine

MOTOR’s electro stomper ‘Man Made Machine’ features vocals by DEPECHE MODE’s Martin Gore in a collaboration that sounds not unlike a camp IGGY POP being backed by an angry GOLDFRAPP. In the absence of DM material in 2012, this has been a worthy substitute with Gore luring nervously over the duo’s brand of harder edged techno electro. Incidentally, the same titled parent album also features guest such as Gary Numan and Douglas J McCarthy.

Available on the album ‘Man Made Machine’ via CLR

http://www.wearemotor.com/

THE MYSTIC UNDERGROUND Remember Me

New York domiciled Anglophile duo THE MYSTIC UNDERGROUND’s make “pop songs for the disenchanted, disillusioned and disenfranchised”. Featuring Vladimir Valette on vocals and Benedetto Socci on keyboards, their “life…set to a dance beat” touches a nerve and now more so than the NEW ORDER influenced ‘Remember Me’. An emotive guitar assisted number in the vein of ‘Leave Me Alone’, it is slightly mournful and despaired but melodically secure.

Available on the download EP ‘Dreamers & Lovers’ via Stereosonic Recordings

http://www.themysticunderground.com

KARIN PARK Thousand Loaded Guns

Bjorne goes synthy via THE KNIFE on ‘Thousand Loaded Guns’, a danceable tune that provides a degree of accessibility into the world of darker Nordic climes. Hailing from the forests of Djura in Sweden, Karin Park is yet another child of Drejer-Andersson, straddling between electropop and artier aspirations. Her sound is sonically awkward, albeit in a liberating artistic way. Scandinavia is a great place to be musically at the moment.

Available on the album ‘Highwire Poetry’ via State Of The Eye Recordings

http://www.karinpark.com/

QUEEN OF HEARTS Neon

Following her Arrival in 2011, QUEEN OF HEARTS graced the music world with a glitzy slice of electro schaffel appropriately entitled ‘Neon’. On first hearing this live, t ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gleefully pronounced that this managed to out Goldfrapp GOLDFRAPP. While this had the obvious hallmarks of Lady Alison’s glam stomp, Queenie added her own cooing poptastic flavour, recalling RACHEL STEVENS’ under rated and great lost album ‘Come & Get It’.

Available on the download EP ‘Neon’ via All Things Go Records

http://www.iamqueenofhearts.com/

RITUALS James

Hailing from downtown Los Angeles, RITUALS comprise vocalist Neil Popkin and electronic producer Julian Denis. ‘James’ is rousing neo-NEW ORDER meets THE BRAVERY (remember them?) stomper which is only slightly short of being outstanding due to its demo-ish production…but the song resonates with an appealing doom. ‘Walk Away’ from their 2011 debut EP is another fine example of their potential.

Available as a free download via http://ritualsla.bandcamp.com/

http://ritualsla.com/

SIN COS TAN Trust
SIN COS TAN is the new mathematically charged project of ace producer Jori Hulkkonen and VILLA NAH’s Juho Paalosmaa, “a synthesized duo of great promise, broken dreams, and long nights”. They have certainly delivered with ‘Trust’, all draped in melancholy with emotive vocals haunted by the ghost of Billy Mackenzie. This is subtle, hypnotic dance music with layered strings, sampled cimbalom and Cold War dramatics, it is one of the songs of the year.

Available on the album ‘Sin Cos Tan’ via Solina (Europe) and Sugarcane Recordings (Rest of World)

http://www.facebook.com/homeofsincostan

SINESTAR Hurricane

Bristol’s SINESTAR are a full blown five-piece band with drums, bass and guitar as well as synths and their MESH derived synthesized rock has the potential to crossover into several electronic sub-genres. With a so far small but impressive body of work as showcased on the ‘I Am The Rain’ EP, the terrific ‘Hurricane’ is like FAITHLESS gone rock! Catchy, tuneful and anthemic, they just need to work on the production.

Available on the download EP ‘I Am The Rain’ via Dead Rat Recordings.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sinestar/310216912403126

STRANGERS Safe/Pain

STRANGERS have been perilously close to COLDPLAY territory on occasions. But on ‘Safe/Pain’, a moody slice of sweeping synth noir with a lonely piano intro, the big surprise comes when a series of rave stabs cut in for the ultimate euphoric lift, crossed with a bit of dubstep! The BBC loved ‘Safe/Pain’ and used it for a clip of Team GB’s immense cycling achievements at the end of the London 2012 Olympics, while they got support slots with BLANCMANGE under their belt.

Available as a download single via Beatwolf

http://strangers.co.uk

TITANS It’s Dark

‘It’s Dark’ could be RAMMSTEIN reincarnated as DEPECHE MODE with fewer the flame throwers! TITANS’ vocalist Dan Von Hoyel sounds like a lower register Dave Gahan winning a fight with a less Teutonic Till Lindemann. In an electronic sub-genre known for its shouting, ‘It’s Dark’ manages to sound menacing without forcing the aggression. The edgy electronic backing from Fredrik Mattsson and Jimmy Svensson blends marvellously with the band’s doompop manifesto.

Available on the download album ‘For The Long Gone’ via Progress Productions

http://www.facebook.com/TitansOfficial

ULTRAVOX Live

There were so many songs that could have been chosen but with this opener from their err… Brilliant comeback album was ULTRAVOX’s optimistic message of intent. Musically, ‘Live’ is ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ without the imminent nuclear holocaust! The instrumental breakdown, which drops to a magnificent pulsing sequence, piano and lone bass drum before the climax, is pure LA DÜSSELDORF and really is something to be savoured.

Available on the album ‘Brilliant’ via Eden Recordings/EMI Records

http://www.ultravoxbrilliant.com/

SAORI YUKI Yoake No Scat (MARSHEAUX remix)

While recording their long awaited new album ‘Inhale’, MARSHEAUX added to their remix portfolio with a terrific reworking of a track dating back to 1969 by Japanese classic singer Saori Yuki. Adding incessant beats, infectious pulsing synth and melancholic washes of sound to the more organic re-recording with PINK MARTINI from 2011, this brings Kayokyoku (a style of Japanese music thatabsorbs various Western styles) into the electro age with a Melody For a New Dawn.

Available as a download single via EMI Japan

http://ameblo.jp/saori-yuki

Text by Chi Ming Lai
12th December 2012

CLAUDIA BRÜCKEN The Lost Are Found

29 October 2012 /

‘The Lost Are Found’ is an emotive body of songs, each from their very own world, but together blending to form an eleven episode triste drame.

The journey started when Claudia Brücken teamed up with the top producer Stephen Hague whose credits have included PET SHOP BOYS, OMD, ERASURE, COMMUNARDS, NEW ORDER and A-HA. Recording two brand new songs ‘Thank You’ and ‘Night School’ for her ‘Combined’ retrospective in 2011, they bookended that phase of her career which began of course with PROPAGANDA. ‘Thank You’ in particular captured a Bond Theme meets MASSIVE ATTACK vibe and planted the seed for an intriguing project which was the idea of her daughter Maddy.

Claudia Brücken told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK back in July: “The theme is melancholy songs…they’re sad but they don’t make you slash your wrists. I recorded it in four months with Stephen Hague and we had this real clear vision of what we wanted to do”.

Despite the varying eras of the compositions, memories and emotions within the human condition exist whatever the period. So by default, songs of love and heartbreak are generally timeless. And because many of these carefully chosen songs are semi-obscure, even within the catalogues of some of their more high profile writers, this album can be approached with fresh ears, like an adventure that has been previously uncharted. In that respect, ‘The Lost Are Found’ does exactly what it says on the tin.

The journey begins with the ethereal ‘Mysteries of Love’ written by David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti. Layers of treated voices climb over synth mountains as lonesome ivories and glacial atmospheres bring Middle America to Alpine Europe. As featured in the film ‘Blue Velvet’ in its Julee Cruise version, also on the soundtrack was ROY ORBISON’s ‘In Dreams’, another song which Claudia has previously recorded. One suspects this surreal film noir might be one of her favourites.

Following it, ‘Memories Of A Color’ from Nordic avant songstress Stina Nordenstam is a mix of acoustic and electric guitars with distorted organ over a mid-tempo percussive jazz shuffle as Claudia’s vocals provide an approachable counterpoint. Although ‘The Lost Are Found’ features a technological base, this is probably the most organic collection Claudia Brücken has ever recorded. Although her excellent ‘Another Language’ long player with Andrew Poppy was acoustic, that relied on stark, minimal theatre for its effect. ‘The Lost Are Found’ combines the ice maiden chill with a fuller naturalistic warmth for an artful but accessible sound.

One nice surprise is ‘The Day I See You Again’ from DUBSTAR’s first album ‘Disgraceful’; Claudia’s reinterpretation of the kitchen sink drama about a man who has grown to be “more Morrison than Morrissey” is done Düsseldorf style with Weimar piano and beautiful flügel tones complimenting the resigned frustration. Then one of the albums highlights arrives with ‘Everyone Says Hi’, a brilliantly lively take on one of Bowie’s more recent numbers dressed with catchy riffs and fuzzy shades.

Lesser known ELO B-side ‘One Summer Dream’ was the first song to emerge from these sessions and begins with a vintage gramophoned segment before building to a pretty John Barry influenced, ‘Felt Mountain’-era GOLDFRAPP arrangement which is frankly quite wonderful. Interestingly, Jeff Lynne himself has recorded his own album of classic tunes recently called ‘Long Wave’.

Another Stina Nordenstam work ‘Crime’ emerges with its pizzicato colours, subtle bass and sparring six string. It acts as a steadfast mid-album interlude in almost hushed resonance before it all snaps back into place with THE LILAC TIME’s ‘The Road To Happiness’. Here Stephen Duffy’s ironic ditty kisses Claudia within an idyllic setting of angelic chorals, spritely strums and French accordion courtesy of Stephen Hague. Salute!

Perhaps thanks to Stephen Hague’s production duties on the original, Claudia’s reworking of PET SHOP BOYS’ ‘Kings Cross’ retains the song’s melancholic edge, the metaphor of capitalism is actually very much still intact. But how it differs is the pressure now rises to a dramatic climax and adds a rush not previously apparent in the song. On the album’s singular new composition from The Burt Bros called ‘No One To Blame’, hints of ‘Spiegel Im Spiegel’ like an antique music box flit in while the electronic orchestration lifts the tune into a dreamboat setting as Claudia’s timbres alternate between innocence and worldliness.

As ‘The Lost Are Found’ steps to its conclusion, the revamp of ‘And The Sun Will Shine’ rom BEE GEES’ 1968 album ‘Horizontal’ is marvellously majestic with rousing string stylings, the neo-Riviera flavour sitting well with the soaring chorus.

The album closes with Robbie Robertson and Richard Manuel’s rustic ‘Whispering Pines’ from which ‘The Lost Are Found’ title comes from. With spacey synth forte not unlike THE KORGIS ‘Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime’ sitting alongside percussive brushes, it’s not quite how one would imagine THE BAND to sound but that’s the point…

The character spectrum which Stephen Hague has crafted for ‘The Lost Are Found’ is a hopeful, soothing experience that is not at all overbearing; Hague is known for placing his emphasis on vocals and by working the music around them, all the instruments have their place.

As a result, there is plenty of room for Claudia to breathe and manoeuvre. While obvious electronic references are perhaps more muted than what one would normally expect from her work, the varied organic embellishments add an enjoyable lounge dimension to Claudia’s repertoire which matures with each listen.

With thanks to Rosie Johnstone and David Lawrence at Impressive PR

‘The Lost Are Found’ is released by There (there) on 5th November 2012

http://www.claudiabrucken.co.uk

http://www.theremusic.com

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Andrew Catlin
29th October 2012

HEAVEN 17 Interview

23 September 2012 /

Photo by Gered Mankowitz

HEAVEN 17 will be touring their platinum selling second album ‘The Luxury Gap’ this Autumn.

Featuring their classic hits ‘Come Live With Me’, ‘Let Me Go’, ‘Crushed By The Wheels of Industry’ and ‘Temptation’, the album’s resonant social commentary is wholly fitting in the current economic climate. Back in 1983 when the album was released, Glenn Gregory, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh flew the red flag for the Socialist Republic of Yorkshire with their witty observations of the greed and yuppie culture in the Thatcher era.

Perhaps more obviously pop oriented than its predecessor ‘Penthouse and Pavement’, ‘The Luxury Gap’ had a glossy sheen which combined synthesizer programming and digital drum computers with orchestrations, brass, jazz piano, rhythm guitar and paving slabs.

Glenn Gregory, who had been working as a photographer in London, was recruited into HEAVEN 17 following the split of THE HUMAN LEAGUE Mk1 in 1980. While Phil Oakey found two girls “in a cocktail bar”, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh formed BRITISH ELECTRIC FOUNDATION (BEF), a production company along the lines of THE CHIC ORGANISATION to best utilise their talents.

Among their first projects were the instrumental ‘Music For Stowaways’ cassette and the ambitious covers album ‘Music Of Quality & Distinction Vol 1’. Although he was partly involved in both, Gregory became lead singer for what was to be BEF’s pop outfit, influenced by the soul funk fusion of THE JACKSONS as well as the electronic music technology that had now become more affordable and user friendly.

‘Penthouse and Pavement’ was a critical success with steadily increasing sales but with the mainstream appeal of ‘The Luxury Gap’, HEAVEN 17 eventually took priority over BEF.

Photo by Gered Mankowitz

The period between 1981-84 is often considered to be HEAVEN 17’s imperial phase but during this period, they didn’t actually perform live, save a few live vocal / playback appearances in clubs for promotional purposes.

Having successfully toured ‘Penthouse & Pavement’ in 2010 to great acclaim, it is now the turn of ‘The Luxury Gap’.

Glenn Gregory spoke about this classic album and also why HEAVEN 17 keep performing songs from the early phase of THE HUMAN LEAGUE like ‘Being Boiled’ and ‘The Black Hit Of Space’ in their live set…

There’s a 2CD/DVD box set of ‘The Luxury Gap’ about to be released– what can fans expect in terms of rarities?

We’ve dug around and there’s three tracks from ‘Night Of The Proms’ we’ve put on. That’s amazing because it’s a full orchestra and 75 piece choir. There are the extended remixes BUT we did forget to include the original demo of ‘Temptation’!!! *laughs*

That’s a shame because moving from that KRAFTWERK meets SOFT CELL demo to the electro-soul fusion…that’s quite a transformation?

Yes, quite a lot of our early demos were much more electronic and we were writing with similar equipment to THE HUMAN LEAGUE. It’s only afterwards when we went into the studio that we started to experiment and change the way we were conceiving and perceiving the songs.

For instance, it took us a long time to find a girl for ‘Temptation’. Martyn had the idea for the Motown backbeat but it’s still very electronic really… there was this part that built and we decided to try an orchestra. So we were in the studio with this massive orchestra and it was like “oh my god”, it was amazing because it was so different. It was a complete game changer.

Rusty Egan found us Carol Kenyon; we tried a couple of people including Josie James who sang on ‘Penthouse & Pavement’, but she was too soft, it wasn’t ballsy enough. So I phoned him up and explained what we needed and he went: “I GOT JUST THE GIRL FOR YA GLENN, COME DOWN THE WAG CLUB!” so that was it! He introduced us to Carol so big thanks to Rusty on that one *laughs*

What inspired ‘Come Live With Me’?

I was at that time I wrote it, seeing a young girl and I was getting a few jibes like “what time do you pick her up from school?”…it was half past three actually! *laughs*

So there was this “she’s half your age” thing and all that kind of stuff but it started to be about word play. “I was thirty seven – you were seventeen – you were half my age – the youth I’d never seen”… the words were making us laugh! It was all messing around! That’s where it all came from and we were quite surprised we’d written quite a beautiful song by the end of it because we were laughing like mad.

We did this cancer charity gig with John Shuttleworth at the Bloomsbury Theatre and there was a version of one of his comedy songs ‘Dandelion of Burdock’ which I did in the style of ‘Vienna’… it was a showstopper! But we did ‘Come Live With Me’ as well and John  was on with us… as the lyrics went: “I was thirty seven – you were seventeen”, he replied: “Well, I don’t know if I approve of that!” That was fun. *laughs*

Photo by Tracey Welch

You and Martyn have always maintained that ‘Let Me Go’ is your favourite H17 song. It had that TB303 Bassline which was very innovative at the time…

It changed so much from the demo and we wrote it in my flat on a TEAC 4 track. We had a tiny Yamaha keyboard and we came up with that melody which was almost film soundtracky. It was beautiful but as the song steadily got bigger, it went through a whole heap of changes. But we kept the TB303 Bassline.  It needed some balls so we put bass guitar on it but it didn’t work. Then we added these low piano notes like ‘Vienna’ and that didn’t work!

But then Martyn made this “wowww” sound on the Jupiter 8 with the delay, that was great and the start of it with the drums, that was me actually playing real drums. We got these toms in and I did this big Phil Collins fill. I did it twice and they all went “yeah, that’s brilliant” but I went “I wanna do it more! I’m enjoying this!”

When we finished ‘Let Me Go’, we realised we’d lost the original beauty of the demo so we did it again… so basically, ‘The Best Kept Secret’ is ‘Let Me Go’ but redone with an orchestra. So we got two songs out of it. It took a lot out of us but it gave us so much more back. We really do love that track, it’s a great song to sing. It’s very emotional and it’s great for my range, I can really belt it out. It gives a lot back that song.

You’ve talked about seeing ULTRAVOX play The Roundhouse and how vibrant the show was – did you draw inspiration from that when you put together the HEAVEN 17 / BEF weekend and debuted ‘The Luxury Gap’ live there?

Yes, that is absolutely true… Midge invited me and Martyn down. I had never actually been to The Roundhouse before and I went not knowing what to expect from a revamped ULTRAVOX or The Roundhouse and how the sound would be. But I was absolutely blown away by the artistry and sincerity of ULTRAVOX and the audience were amazing. They didn’t milk anything or act like ‘comeback kids’… to me, it was like watching THE KILLERS! I thought “this is an amazing place”, it was like a happening. I felt privileged to be there and that’s what put the idea in my head. And then Peter Price at William Morris Agency suggested doing the weekender with BEF thing which Midge loved the idea of.

That weekend must have been quite tricky to co-ordinate with all those high profile artists making an appearance?

That was just so much work to pull all that together. We got people to say yes and to turn up at odd times for rehearsals.

But we hadn’t really thought about the night itself. So there was all these people singing and we realised we’d need a stage manager!

So Martyn got this mate who worked at the Royal Opera House who does that. She made the backstage bit run really smoothly. At the end of the weekend, I needed four nights off!

Any tense moments for you or did you just let Martyn sweat it out alone?

Yeah, I was just helping it run smoothly and telling everyone they were going to be alright! *laughs*

What are you singing on the new BEF ‘Dark’ album incidentally?

I’m singing ‘It Was A Very Good Year’ which was made famous by Frank  Sinatra. Martyn has scored it, but using just System 100 and synths so it’s really odd and weird. He’s done a really good job of it. It’s slow and lumbering but quite obviously, dark as well *laughs*

So what’s the format for the upcoming tour – you’ll be playing ‘The Luxury Gap’ again – can we expect any surprises… more HUMAN LEAGUE songs?

It’s funny because it’s me that pushes that HUMAN LEAGUE thing and I love that early stuff. I was a massive fan even though I knew them all. I must confess that yes, I have programmed up a few more things already… I’ve been on at Phil Oakey every time I see him saying: “Please Phil; you, Martyn and Ian… go and do the first two albums, just do it once”. But he won’t have it! I would have my ticket and be at the front weeks in advance…

You and Claudia Brücken were in The Independent recently about how you both met and she’s was saying you should do new material…is there a chance of a new HEAVEN 17 album – how are the odds looking today with regards to going back into the studio?

We’ve got to take a different view of it and have a different head on… it’s partly me, and Martyn as well. We could easily write a couple of tracks, sing them and put them out…that’s fine but there’s something in us that thinks “if we’re going to do it, we would want to do it really well” and that might mean using an orchestra or working with other people. It’s going to take more effort. BUT it doesn’t have to be that, we could just do it. For instance, I did the track for John Shuttleworth in about 3-4 days and it’s sounded great, Martyn said it was “awesome”…and I was just messing about really! I’m kind of coming round – Claudia’s winning I think… she’s always going on at me *laughs*

How was performing with Claudia Brücken at The Scala and Bush Hall?

It was great, Claudia and I just keep ending up working together. It’s always an absolute pleasure. She’s a lovely person and we get on well. I take the p*ss out of her because she’s German and she doesn’t understand so it’s great for me. *laughs*

You did ‘When Your Heart Runs Out of Time’ live with her. The original recording you did for ZTT was produced by Midge Ure under the alias Otto Flake Junior, have you any interesting memories of that?

The hilarity of that is, for this German TV documentary Midge and I did, I invited Claudia down to the studio so that we could do ‘When Your Heart Runs Out of Time’. So Midge said: “ok, can you send it to me?”. So I sent it to him and we were talking…he did not remember doing it!! He has no memory of it at all! Claudia was saying “Midge, we were in your studio!”; “Which studio?” Midge replied…Claudia goes: “In Chiswick” ! He had no idea, it was hilarious! *laughs*

Paul Morley got the gig for the ‘Insignificance’ film and had the idea of putting me and Claudia together to do this Country and Western track written by Will Jennings. It’s at the end of the film, it was just a very funny thing to do. The video for it was hilarious; Paul said “The premiere’s tonight in Haymarket, why don’t we get Claudia in a white dress all Marilyn Munroe-esque, you get your suit on and we just film you lip-synching to the song as people are leaving”.

Claudia was going: “Oh Paul, I cannot do that!”… so I gave Claudia some vodka! And gave her some more! So people would literally have just come out of the cinema as we were performing it! If you look at it on the video, I’ve got hold of her wrist really tightly, it looks like a love thing but it’s not, it’s to stop her running away! *laughs*

So this ‘Durch Die Nacht (Into the Night)’ documentary for German TV with Midge Ure…how did that come about? It looked a fun night!

It was a lot of fun, Hasko Baumann, the director, contacted Midge about it. The concept is they arrive at your house and follow you… they don’t say anything or interfere. When I read about it in the email, I thought: “What? How does that work?” So there’s two crews, one with you and one on location plus cameras in the car. They just put two people together, film them and make an hour programme out of it. We filmed from 5.30pm until 12.45am constantly with me and Midge ranting about the state of play! *laughs*

Midge was also on the first BEF album as part of THE NANCY BOYS doing backing vocals on the Paula Yates sung track ‘These Boots Are Made For Walking’…

…yes, it was me, Martyn, Midge and Bob Geldof… THE NANCY BOYS! *laughs*

You also did backing vocals on ‘The Gift’ track ‘Antilles’ and you co-wrote ‘Personal Heaven’ with Midge for X-PERIENCE which was a hit in Germany. Any chance of you doing you more work with him?

Yeah, it’s funny, I said that to him the other day. We get on really well and we’re good friends. When he came round, I was playing ‘Wild Is The Wind’ on guitar and he said he loved it, we like the same things. So I said “You know what? We should just do something together”. Instead of half a day’s work, we should really consider doing something together… I think people would be interested. It’s never really occurred to us, we’re just friends outside of music really.

I’ll tell you a funny story about Midge… I was in Cornwall with my wife and parents. We were sitting in this bar and this girl walks past with a small girl and a guy; I thought “that looks like Sheridan (Midge’s wife) and that could be Midge… hang on, it is Midge!!”. So I shouted “MIDGE!” but he just ignored me! So I thought: “that can’t be Midge” but my parents went: “go and ask… he might be deaf”. So I ran after him! I went “MIDGE” and he turned round and saw me and went: “F***ing hell, I thought you were just some nutcase shouting my name!” I said: “I AM!” *roars of laughter*

There’s a book due out shortly by David Buckley called ‘Electric Dreams: The Human League, Heaven 17 and the Sound of the Steel City’. Are you involved in this?

I’ve done a couple of interviews for it, but there’s been a few delays for various reasons.

With all the recent HEAVEN 17 activity of the last few years, do you miss Ian Craig Marsh being around at all?

We are still really close… I say “are” even though we’ve not spoken to him for several years. He just very slowly stopped being in contact with Martyn first, then me. And then Lindsay, my wife who was always the one who could get him to answer, he stopped with her too. He then just totally disappeared.

And when we started to do stuff again, we emailed him and asked if he would like to be involved… we didn’t hear back, so we asked again… nothing. Then we said “If we don’t hear back, we’re just going to do it anyway and presume that you don’t want to do it”. But I still feel completely the same about him, although he’s never explained why he went. Y’know, there’s still all the love there and he’s a brother but it’s weird, we’re all Facebook friends! *laughs*

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Glenn Gregory

Special thanks to Sacha Taylor-Cox at Impressive PR

The double CD+DVD box set of ‘The Luxury Gap’ is released on 22nd October 2012 by Virgin/EMI Records

‘The Luxury Gap’ UK and German 2012 Tour includes:

Liverpool 02 Academy (23rd October) , Glasgow 02 Academy (24th October), Newcastle 02 Academy (26th October), Sheffield 02 Academy (27th October), Birmingham 02 Academy (29th October), Bristol 02 Academy (Tue 30th October), Aschaffenburg Colos-Saal (10th December), Hamburg Fabrik (11th December), Berlin C-Club (12th December), Köln Live Music Hall (13th December), Leipzig Anker (14th December)

https://www.heaven17.com/

https://www.facebook.com/heaven17official/

https://twitter.com/heaven17bef

Text and Interview Chi Ming Lai
Live photos by Richard Price, Steve Gray and Chi Ming Lai
23rd September 2012, updated 21st October 2018

RALF DÖRPER: The PROPAGANDA Interview

10 September 2012 /

PROPAGANDA release a compilation of their best known material from their time on ZTT, the erstwhile label run by producer Trevor Horn, his wife Jill Sinclair and conceptualist Paul Morley that also gave the world FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD and THE ART OF NOISE.

Subtitled ‘A Compact Introduction To PROPAGANDA’, the album contains 76 minutes of bite size highlights and a choice of extended variations featuring ‘Dr. Mabuse’, ‘Duel’, ‘p:Machinery’ and ‘Dream Within A Dream’.

Founded by Ralf Dörper of cult industrial electronic band DIE KRUPPS, Andreas Thein and Susanne Freytag from girl band TOPOLINOS, PROPAGANDA germinated within Düsseldorf’s vibrant art school scene based around Die Ratinger Straße. They recorded a reinterpetation of ‘Discipline’ by THROBBING GRISTLE which was heard by Paul Morley and he signed them to ZTT. The line-up was expanded to include classically trained percussionist Michael Mertens and songstress Claudia Brücken who had been in TOPOLINOS with Susanne Freytag.

Although Andreas Thein left after the Trevor Horn produced debut single ‘Dr Mabuse’ in 1984, the remaining quartet, dubbed “Abba in Hell”, recorded the now legendary album ‘A Secret Wish’ under the helm of Stephen J Lipson. The 1985 album’s notable fans included DEPECHE MODE’s Martin Gore, DURAN DURAN’s John Taylor, SIMPLE MINDS’ Jim Kerr and MICHAEL JACKSON producer Quincy Jones who later borrowed its industrial pop elements on MJ’s 1987 album ‘Bad’.

One unlikely admirer was Pete Waterman who subsequently recorded a cover of ‘Duel’ with Mandy Smith in 1988 as he plotted world domination with his PWL empire…ironically, Stock Aitken & Waterman had been suggested as producers by Jill Sinclair when Trevor Horn’s commitments with FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD and GRACE JONES made him unavailable to work on ‘A Secret Wish’!

The classic line-up of Claudia Brücken, Susanne Freytag, Ralf Dörper and Michael Mertens only ever recorded the one album but the quartet did reunite in 2004 for a performance of ‘Dr Mabuse’ during a special concert at Wembley Arena which celebrated the work of Trevor Horn in aid of The Prince’s Trust. More recently, Claudia Brücken, Susanne Freytag and Ralf Dörper have performed together at the ‘This Time It’s Claudia Brücken’ show at London’s Scala which is now immortalised on the ‘This Happened’ DVD.

With the release of ‘Noise & Girls Come Out To Play’, Ralf Dörper kindly spoke about his time with PROPAGANDA…

Photo by Peter Brown

With ‘A Secret Wish’ being readily available and hailed by many as a classic album, who is the ‘Noise & Girls Come Out To Play’ album aimed at do you think?

For a start, we do not own our back-catalogue so that seems to be a question the record company should answer – which, I believe, initially wanted to compile a best-of covering not just the ZTT era but the Virgin period (and possibly even more) as well. But licensing issues prevented that. I have to admit that I was quite concerned regarding this release – as it could be seen as flogging a dead horse and might backfire on us. PROPAGANDA released just one album ‘A Secret Wish’ on ZTT… so how to make a proper introduction without repetition?

But in my opinion, the curator has done an excellent job – again. After having listened (at proper volume) I can fully say that this “introduction” really gives a full picture of the weirdness that was essential to PROPAGANDA. Because behind the polished sheen of the singles – the hits are included – you get frantic string arrangements, industrial noises and weird vocal manipulations – and you get Michael Mertens singing – well worth the admission…

The only flaw in my humble opinion is the packaging. Once more the full frontals of the ‘Duel’ nude photo-sessions were omitted and just the portraits were used…

Do you think potential listeners are still possibly intimidated by the “ABBA in Hell” descriptions of PROPAGANDA and the general Teutonic nature of the music, hence this ‘An Introduction to…’ compilation?

We have been demons to some, angels to others… whoever came up with “ABBA in Hell” – we took it as a compliment, not as an intimidation. Much better than “Fleetwood Mac in Hell” I think. I am not sure about the “general Teutonic nature of the music” you refer to however. We never did marches – or we actually stopped doing them realising that LAIBACH are much better at that.

You and Michael co-wrote ‘Dr. Mabuse’ with original member Andreas Thein. How did that come together and was it intended originally for Susanne to perform lead before Claudia joined?

When ZTT showed interest on the strength of our first (non-released) recording ‘Disziplin’, Andreas and myself had plenty of musical sketches but just a few more structured demos, such as ‘Doppelgänger’ (recorded but not released)… in fact plenty of “D”-songs to start with, because I had the lyrical concept for ‘Duel’ already and the intention to do a song called ‘Dr. Mabuse’, it actually evolved from a sequencer-line (TB-303!).

The song structure was developed with Michael who more or less joined the ranks at the same time as Claudia, so ‘Dr Mabuse’ was never conceived as a song for Susanne but very much already with Claudia and Trevor Horn in mind… and I won’t confirm the rumour that I wrote the line “sell him your soul” after we signed the contract with ZTT.

Trevor Horn and his team – and the unlimited access to sounds – enabled us to explore the potential of ‘Dr. Mabuse’ much further and to enter new sound territories we wouldn’t have dared to image or try before. There had been re-starts, scrapped ideas – but no erased tapes. That’s why the ‘Mabuse’ takes on ‘Noise & Girls…’ are all very interesting. Maybe ZTT should have done it the ‘Slave To The Rhythm’ way and released a ‘Mabuse’ mini-album in 1984… Fritz Lang actually needed three movies to show all facets of the Doctor…

Photo by Peter Brown

In the compositional process, what synths and equipment were you using in PROPAGANDA?

Pre-ZTT, we worked with very basic equipment as synths still were pretty expensive. As these were also pre-MIDI times, we used mostly the basic Roland machines as these synchronized well. In the recording of ‘Disziplin’, we also had temporary access to PPG and the Linn modules which we triggered. Michael brought his marimba (which when played by a proper musician sounds like a sequencer made from wood) and an Oberheim he used.

I met Michael when I answered his classified ad – he wanted to sell a rhythm machine. When I saw that equipment at his home-place, we started talking. It was great, somebody who had no knowledge or interest in actual pop music – but was keen to explore… Michael played with the Düsseldorf Symphonic Orchestra and studied composition and percussion instruments! In London, we were confronted with state-of-art musician’s machines, which for example recorded your mistakes and did not correct them straight-away by quantisizing. This led to some hiccups and not so well spent studio time in the beginning…

Quite a few of the songs were made from scratch in London – sometimes with false starts but great advice from the engineers and producers. Here the unlimited supply of technical possibilities sometimes was a problem as the operators knew their equipment best… how should we have known what sounds JJ of THE ART OF NOISE had hidden in his Fairlight…

But it got much more focused after we had managed to squeeze some money from ZTT – or better from Perfect Songs. To become more independent from the Fairlight etc, Michael and myself invested a publishing advance to buy some equipment, especially the PPG system.

Photo by Peter Brown

How would you describe the dynamic in the way the songs grew from your demos to the eventual Stephen Lipson productions using the Synclavier, Sony 1610 digital recorder etc?

In general terms, you could say that ‘Dr. Mabuse’ (produced by Trevor Horn) was very much based on Fairlight while the album production (by Steve Lipson) was much more Synclavier, PPG and still Roland. The Super Jupiter is featured quite often.

Steve Lipson was great as he understood our ideas even when they were still in an embryonic state. The quality of the demos improved drastically because of Michael, which means that ‘p:Machinery’ (of which an early version is included on ‘Noise & Girls…’), ‘The Chase’ or especially ‘Dream Within A Dream’ were fully structured as demos already. Whereas ‘Dr. Mabuse’ was just very basic and created step-by-step (including false starts) in the studio.

‘Duel’ was tricky as we wanted to have a musical duel taking place within the song itself – let’s say harmony and noise fighting each other. This concept was too heady and not properly working. But we found the solution in the end to have ‘Duel / Jewel’ like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – and the conceptual idea was realized by confronting the A-side of the single with the B-side. Hard to understand for someone just knowing about iTunes nowadays…

The possibilities in the studio with the digital technology became almost endless with dozens of remixes for some tracks. Were there many creative tensions with regards a track like ‘Dream Within A Dream’ for example which hasn’t really appeared in multiple versions? It’s almost like you were all happy with that?

‘Dream Within A Dream’ was a track which was nearly fully pre-arranged in Düsseldorf. This was made possible as the PPG – ie our own equipment – made us more independent from the sound sources at Sarm which were only fully grasped by their respective programmers and engineers. You really had to attend educational seminars before you could manage those complex systems as Fairlight or Synclavier. It would take ages to try to understand them just by reading the manuals.

It was also Michael’s idea to use the Flügelhorn on ‘Dream Within A Dream’. He tried that out with a former college of his from the Düsseldorf Symphonic Orchestra. And later we flew him in to do this part in the Studio. It’s a real instrument, no Synclavier!

Photo by Anton Corbijn

Whose idea was it to cover THE VELVET UNDERGROUND’s ‘Femme Fatale’?  And why was a vocal version of THROBBING GRISTLE’s ‘Discipline’ never actually released? Did you consider doing any other covers as Claudia has done quite a few in her various guises?

I have a very stern view with regard to cover versions – I think there are too many and I hate tribute albums in particular.

I believe you should only do a cover if you can add something special or move the song into another dimension – maybe that is the reason that nobody dared to cover ‘Dr. Mabuse’ so far. Or you use a cover version as a reference point, to express where you stand or where you are coming from. This might not necessarily apply for solo singers, but in my opinion, a band should avoid covers or make very careful and conscious choices only. Did KRAFTWERK, SUICIDE or ULTRAVOX! (John Foxx version) ever do a cover? – I ask.

But ZTT’s policy in the beginning was to have a cover version on the B-side of the singles… I think the idea was scrapped after the artists realised what amounts of publishing income would go to a lucky stranger…while the Relax B-side ‘Ferry Cross The Mersey’ for me is a good point of reference for FGTH as a hymn to Liverpool, we had some problems with Morley’s initial choice of a CARPENTERS (!) song.

Me and Andreas strongly opposed and it would have contradicted our concept. In the end we came to the compromise of ‘Femme Fatale’ which has quite a European sentiment in the original version sung by NICO, who is German.

‘Disziplin’ was not a full cover version of ‘Discipline’ but more a song inspired by… – I would say nowadays. Not sure if Genesis P. Orridge objected as I did totally new lyrics… however I very much would have preferred to have a THROBBING GRISTLE cover version – if any – on our debut instead of ‘Sorry For Laughing’.

Photo by John Stoddart

What do you think the follow-up to ‘A Secret Wish’ would have sounded like had you, Claudia, Susanne and Michael been able to stay together for a few more years?

Although I like speculation (…go short in euro, long in pound…), I am not really inclined to go for this futile exercise. In 1985 the tensions were growing rapidly, there were plenty of unsolvable issues internally – not to mention the huge problem of unfair remuneration!

But three quarters of PROPAGANDA continued anyway – albeit after a long frozen period. And I think that ‘Ministry of Fear’ and ‘Vicious Circle’ are very much in the tradition of ‘A Secret Wish’…it is also rather futile to argue if the choice of producers was right…how to follow Horn/Lipson?

But one thing is for sure, in case of a continuation it would be much easier for any passing listener of ‘1234’ to identify the band’s origin: it’s Düsseldorf, Germany not Ohio, USA…

You decided not to remain with Michael for what became the ‘1234’ album?

You could also say WE decided… and you should speak to Michael to get the full account of the story as I think PROPAGANDA’s Virgin period was nearly as dramatic as the ZTT time.

We started with a handicap because we were lacking a singer when we were in the wilderness of legal proceedings against ZTT – and our accounts had been frozen. But thanks to the help of friends in Germany and especially Derek Forbes (ex-SIMPLE MINDS) in Scotland, we had access to studios where we could work on some material which got us signed eventually by Virgin records in 1988.

The new singer Betsi Miller was discovered by Susanne (indirectly, by her bother) and we thought it should be mainly her decision after she had been pushed away from the spotlight by ZTT somewhat… however the chemistry between the two did not really develop, so she left first – but she can still be heard on ‘Vicious Circle’, the song on ‘1234’ which has – together with ‘Ministry Of Fear’ – most of the former PROPAGANDA flavour I believe.

I also have to admit that I somewhat had lost interest in pop in the second half of the 80s and was keen again on more extreme sounds. I was living in London at that time (and working in the City) and often listened to pirate stations on the radio which played Chicago Acid and Detroit Techno. And in the clubs you heard hard electronic sounds (again) which reminded me of the early 80s in Düsseldorf – for example NITZER EBB who continued where DAF stopped…

In fact I met with Andreas (Thein) again at that time. He often visited London living off the Mabuse-fame. I convinced him to do an acid track together – using his alias RIFIFI. We recorded it in Germany in two and a half days. It became the first German acid track and went straight into the charts in Germany – it was called ‘Dr. Acid & Mr. House’ and was mainly programmed on the machines we started ‘Dr Mabuse’ on: Roland TB-303 and TR-808…

So the “vicious” circle had closed – that was the time me and PROPAGANDA parted company… however I think Michael, Derek and the others made a record to be proud of. And I am still proud to have written the words to ‘Only One Word’ which was a very big hit in South America…

How was it for you to be on stage with Claudia and Susanne for the 2011 concert at The Scala to perform PROPAGANDA songs? That must have been interesting as you were unable to play live with PROPAGANDA back in the day because of your day job I understand? 

This might be the official story – however, it sounds a bit odd given the fact that I played a couple of hundred concerts in Europe and North America with DIE KRUPPS in the 90s – while still having a so called “day job”. In fact I had a quite stubborn view on playing live as PROPAGANDA as I believed it would be not possible to give a proper impression without lifting the studio on stage. And I did not consider it an option to use guest musicians … especially no guitar player.

HEAVEN 17 had a similar stance and will – for the first time – perform ‘The Luxury Gap’ this year because just now it is possible without compromising, due to today’s technology. As I like one-off events, I did the Trevor Horn event at Wembley and Claudia’s show at The Scala. This was especially for the fans – and the latter also to express my respect for the works of Claudia.

But what happened in Düsseldorf?

I did not do Düsseldorf as this event was not open to the public but more of a promotional tool for the local Stadtwerke (energy board). Here the audience consisted mainly of management and chosen employees – and friends and family of the promoter…

I understand you, Claudia and Susanne have been in the studio together more recently, can you tell us more about that?

No, I cannot confirm that rumour. Or do you refer to the abridged session roughly two years ago? Michael Mertens, who creates a lot of music for TV and advertising, had done a snippet for Heidi Klum’s model show, which is big here on German TV. That was a short teaser – great hook – on which Claudia did the vocals.

At that time we considered giving PROPAGANDA another try – and the hook was promising enough to elaborate… I kept the words of the chorus and added the verses…but this proved to be the final PROPAGANDA track as old conflicts / wounds / problems / whatever broke out again…

Photo by John Stoddart

What have been your own proudest moments with regards PROPAGANDA and the band’s legacy?

It’s been 30 years! (PROPAGANDA was conceived in 1982!)

So many crucial moments to recall and too difficult to bring them in a proper order – so I stick to the most recent ones…

So, recent moments of pride:

– The audience going wild at The Scala when the intros of ‘p:Machinery’ and ‘Dr. Mabuse’ were played

– The feat of charting with the reissue of ‘A Secret Wish’ in the UK (I thought this is only possible for ‘Tubular Bells’ or ‘Dark Side of the Moon’)

– Discovering a Mexican ‘Best of the 80s’ compilation which included PROPAGANDA during my holidays

What projects are you working on at the moment?

Actually I stopped recording music more or less at the end of the 90s. However DIE KRUPPS – which also stopped in 1997 – are back on the live circuit since 2005. The reason was the 25-year anniversary of our first record and the rising demand. Funnily enough, the band is seen as some sort of EBM / industrial-godfathers and there is a big scene not just in Germany but all over Europe and the Americas.

Last year we did a joint European tour together with Mute act NITZER EBB which was fun. We like to play concerts because we have a young audience – it has nothing to do with revivalism. We play mainly our greatest hits but include from time to time new songs.

We actually recorded a version of ‘Der Amboss / The Anvil’ by VISAGE which we made only available at concerts. It features Sarah Blackwood aka Client B. We also from time to time play a simplified but hard version of ‘Dr. Mabuse’ live…

And are there any new acts who you like who may be of interest?

I am living in the past…well, that was a joke, but currently I am re-discovering some things which were taking place when we were sucked into the ZTT machinery… for example I discovered what exciting recordings Conny Plank made (mainly with Dieter Moebius) in the middle of the 80s. That material – among others – has been brought back by German label Bureau B which takes good care of Germany´s electronic music heritage.

Interestingly Karl Bartos (who once was in KRAFTWERK) will release new material there. Something to look forward to… I am also waiting for the final THROBBING GRISTLE record – and the first FACTORY FLOOR album.

With regard to new acts, I guess ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is well aware of what is good and worthwhile. I could only name one act to of interest you might not have heard of yet: it is from Düsseldorf, called STABIL ELITE.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Ralf Dörper

‘Noise & Girls Come Out To Play’ is released by Salvo/Union Square as a CD and download

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Propaganda-Band/135375113199791

http://www.ztt.com/artists/propaganda.html

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
10th September 2012

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