German synthpop veterans CAMOUFLAGE are to release a 10CD boxed set containing all seven of their albums plus archive and rare material tracing their output from 1983 to the present day.
When ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK first heard one of their best known songs ‘The Great Commandment’ in a Hong Kong night club during the summer of 1989, it was mistaken for being a DEPECHE MODE B-side.
After a period of frantically buying DM singles to find this mystery track without any success, it was only several years later while visiting Braunschweig in Germany that ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK learnt that it was actually by this talented trio from Bietigheim-Bissingen. Heiko Maile, Marcus Meyn and Oliver Kreyssig met through a shared interest in KRAFTWERK, ULTRAVOX, YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA and DEPECHE MODE; it was natural they would start making electronic music together.
Naming themselves after a YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA song and taking their template from DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Some Great Reward’, CAMOUFLAGE developed on the industrial flavoured synthpop of ‘Master & Servant’ and ‘People Are People’ which the Basildon boys had all but abandoned from ‘Black Celebration’ onwards.
In today’s world, DEPECHE MODE influenced acts are common place but in 1987, this was highly unusual. But despite first impressions, CAMOUFLAGE had their own style, taking in more traditional melodies in the vein of KRAFTWERK which in turn were rooted to European folk and classical music. Vocally, Marcus Meyn was more like an accented Martin Gore. Preferring to sing in English, their naïve second language charm, both phonetically and lyrically, gave them a cautiously optimistic demeanour compared to the pessimistic realism of DEPECHE MODE.
CAMOUFLAGE’s debut album ‘Voices & Images’ on Metronome Records was an impressive first salvo. As well as ‘The Great Commandment’ (probably the best single DM never recorded), there was the rousingly anthemic ‘Strangers Thoughts’, the epically building ‘That Smiling Face’ and the beautifully fragile ‘Where Has The Childhood Gone’.
One aspect of CAMOUFLAGE that made them quite distinct from DEPECHE MODE was their use of detuned pentatonics as heard on ‘Winner Takes Nothing’. An obvious throwback from their love of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA, this was to manifest itself into CAMOUFLAGE’s later first phase work as they became less Modal.
With ‘The Great Commandment’ being a hit in Europe and the US (although not in the UK which by now had grown out of synthpop and was in the throws of the acid house revolution), the pressure was on for a follow-up hit. This came in the shape of the more Eurocentric ‘Love Is A Shield’. An even bigger hit in Europe than ‘The Great Commandment’, this co-write with Peter Godwin sounded more BRONSKI BEAT than DEPECHE MODE and further established CAMOUFLAGE’s reputation.
Employing Dan Lacksman of Belgian synth pioneers TELEX as primary producer, the parent long player ‘Methods Of Silence’ included an expanded instrumental palette featuring strings, woodwinds and more real instruments, but was less satisfying overall than ‘Voices & Images’. It also probably suffered from eventual comparison at the time with ‘Violator’, still regarded as one of DEPECHE MODE’s most accomplished albums.
Although the album yielded a further European hit with the oriental sounding ‘One Fine Day’ and the band completed a sold-out tour of Europe, their success proved to be too much for Oliver Kreyssig who left the band for personal reasons.
Photo by Walter Cymbal
The void left the remaining duo of Meyn and Maile to ponder their future direction. Working with DURAN DURAN and HUMAN LEAGUE producer Colin Thurston, they recorded the more conventional ‘Meanwhile’. Featuring live percussion and more guitars, the album was not embraced by CAMOUFLAGE’s fans.
The pair refound their synth roots with the 1992 AREU AREU covers side-project featuring versions of songs by FAD GADGET, HEAVEN 17, DEPECHE MODE and THE CURE. The busman’s holiday led to the return to form of ‘Bodega Bohemia’ in 1993. More focussed and electronic than its predecessor, this was CAMOUFLAGE’s strongest work since ‘Voices & Images’. As well as the marvellously trancey opener ‘Pedestrian’s Adventures’, there was the ‘Violator’-lite of ‘Suspicious Love’ and the epic 9 minute Sylvian-esque drama of ‘In Your Ivory Tower’.
Despite this artistic success, there were tensions with Metronome Records who had concentrated their resources on ACE OF BASE and failed to licence releases for ‘Bodega Bohemia’ outside of Germany.
As a result, the duo signed to BMG via its RCA imprint but 1995’s ‘Spice Crackers’ was unable to revive fortunes due to its esoteric nature, having been sourced from two shelved art based projects. However, the track ‘Kraft’ was one of its more memorable experiments while from the same period, the frantic electro rock ‘n’ roll cover of Moon Martin’s ‘Bad News’ was another highlight.
The duo took a hiatus but in 1999, CAMOUFLAGE announced their comeback with Oliver Kreyssig returning to the fold; they released a new single ‘Thief’. The resultant album ‘Sensor’ was held back until 2003 by assorted delays at parent label Polydor but was well worth the wait.
The lead single ‘Me & You’ with its blistering sub-Numan synth line sounded like what post-‘Violator’ DEPECHE MODE might have sounded like had the band stayed in Berlin and not ventured off to find The Blues! Meanwhile, the catchy ‘Perfect’ was looser but still electronic while ‘I Can’t Feel You’ could only have been a homage to Da Mode and was effectively an uptempo makeover of ‘The Things You Said’ from ‘Music For The Masses’.
Their seventh album ‘Relocated’ was released on SPV Records in 2006 and contained a number of great tracks including ‘We Are Lovers’, ‘Dreaming’ and ‘The Pleasure Remains’ to prove that CAMOUFLAGE were back for good. Since then, CAMOUFLAGE have been touring regularly and the forthcoming ‘Greyscale’ album is soon to be released.
Photo by Klaus Mellenthin
‘The Box 1983-2013’ is a fitting way to draw attention to the back catalogue of CAMOUFLAGE which over 30 years has seen some of the best electronic pop produced from Germany outside of KRAFTWERK. Indeed, their B-side ‘Kling Klang’ and live cover of ‘Computerliebe’ are fine indicators of that lineage.
Within in the box set, there is also the inclusion of the AREU AREU EP plus a version of TALK TALK’s ‘Today’ recorded in 1989 on the ‘Archive#2 Live Recordings’ disc. This wealth of rare archive and concert material will satisfy their loyal following the world over.
Photo by Mathias Bothor
Recommended listening to those new to CAMOUFLAGE:
The Great Commandment
That Smiling Face
Neighbours
Winner Takes Nothing
Strangers Thoughts
Where Has The Childhood Gone
Music For Ballerinas
Love Is A Shield
Kling Klang
Pedestrian’s Adventures
Suspicious Love
In Your Ivory Tower
Bad News
Kraft
Me & You
Perfect
I Can’t Feel You
We Are Lovers
The Pleasure Remains
Dreaming
‘The Box 1983-2013’ is released by Bureau B and Tapete Records on 8th February 2014, limited to 1000 signed and numbered copies
The year started appropriately enough with an electronic number ‘2013’ by Belgian duo METROLAND.
For the first six or seven months of 2013, it proved to be one of the most productive periods in electronic pop music. Not since the Autumn of 1981 when had so many significant releases coincided. It was strangely quality and quantity, a rare occurance in modern times for music, especially of the synth propelled variety.
That time saw THE HUMAN LEAGUE ‘Dare’, GARY NUMAN ‘Dance’, ULTRAVOX ‘Rage In Eden’, DEPECHE MODE ‘Speak & Spell’, SOFT CELL ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’, HEAVEN 17 ‘Penthouse & Pavement’, SIMPLE MINDS ‘Sons & Fascination’, NEW ORDER ‘Movement’, JAPAN ‘Tin Drum’ and OMD ‘Architecture & Morality’ all coming out within weeks of each other!
Interestingly from that list, only JAPAN and SOFT CELL are missing as currently performing entities although Marc ALmond himself made a number of concert and theatrical appearances during the year.
OMD got back to their Kling Klang roots with their best album in 30 years entitled ‘English Electric’. Although enthusiasts of the band’s pioneering work were satisfied, fans of OMD’s pop phase were confused as to why Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys had recorded an electronic album influenced by KRAFTWERK! This was an indicator of how the band have mutated and been perceived over the years.
But that was nothing compared with DEPECHE MODE whose single ‘Soothe My Soul’ was remixed by ZZ TOP’s Billy F Gibbons… although recognisably reworked, listeners could barely notice the join, thus fully confirming DM’s development into the world’s premiere stadium electro blues combo. Their album ‘Delta Machine’ was a big improvement on 2009’s ‘Sounds Of The Universe’, but it was no ‘English Electric’.
Among the other evergreens with new long players in 2013 were PET SHOP BOYS, BEF and Alison Moyet. Messrs Tennant and Lowe finally worked with the ubiquitous Stuart Price to produce an album that was ‘Electric’ by name and electric by nature. Meanwhile Moyet found her most musically compatible partner since Vince Clarke in Guy Sigsworth for the stunning return to form of ‘the minutes’.
Over at BEF, Martyn Ware assembled his most impressive cast of guest vocalists yet including ERASURE’s Andy Bell and CULTURE CLUB’s Boy George for the third volume of the ‘Music Of Quality & Distinction’ covers series; subtitled ‘Dark’, it featured some of Ware’s most starkly electronic work since he was in THE HUMAN LEAGUE.
Another welcome return came from electronic disco pioneer GIORGIO MORODER. The icon is now 73 years old yet with his stomping track ‘Racer’, he proved could mix it with all the young pretenders. Indeed, his autobiographical contribution to DAFT PUNK’s tribute ‘Giorgio By Moroder’ reflected the respect and admiration he holds within the dance world.
Although only a few years younger, KRAFTWERK’s Ralf Hütter showed no real signs of moving his iconic brand forward despite the 3D spectacle of ‘Der Katalog 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8’ live retrospectives in Düsseldorf, London, Tokyo and Sydney. With the various hosting art spaces still seeing their ticketing systems collapse, was this really just an elaborate publicity stunt? After all, how many heritage acts get on the news for sending websites into meltdown?
It certainly didn’t do KRAFTWERK any harm as a headlining slot at Latitude Festival and its resultant BBC TV coverage proved. However, new material was still not forthcoming but such is the demand that several unscrupulous eBay dealers in Russia were passing off CD-Rs of three tracks from METROLAND’s 2012 album ‘Mind The Gap’ as KRAFTWERK demos! Meanwhile, former colleague Karl Bartos exorcised his Kling Klang ghost with ‘Off The Record’, a collection of his unreleased KRAFTWERK-era compositions which made a fine companion to OMD’s ‘English Electric’; his upcoming 2014 world tour is eagerly anticipated.
ULTRAVOX opened for SIMPLE MINDS but with Midge Ure spending most of the year doing the rounds with solo acoustic gigs, their synth lynchpin Billy Currie released his ninth solo offering ‘Balletic Transcend’. Meanwhile in a revival of a project that both had been involved in, a fragmented VISAGE unleashed their first album in nearly 30 years to a mixed reception.
With just Steve Strange remaining from the original line-up, ‘Hearts & Knives’ was essentially a solo project. There were heated exchanges on social networks between Strange and his estranged Blitz Club partner Rusty Egan about misappropriated royalties and the validity of the reconfigured brand. Whatever, the raw video recording of the new VISAGE performing ‘Fade To Grey’ live at London’s Hoxton Bar and Kitchen stood as possibly the most embarrassing moment of the year.
Artists who made their name during Electroclash such as ADULT. and MISS KITTIN made welcome returns in 2013 while also from that era, LADYTRON’s Helen Marnie released her first solo offering ‘Crystal World’ crowd funded via Pledge Music.
It was a novel but effective way of securing a promotional budget that involved fans in the process by offering exclusive updates and an opportunity to purchase exclusive memorabilia. In MARNIE’s case, items on sale ranged from hand written lyric sheets to her Mini-Cooper and a bikini!
Meanwhile, former SNEAKER PIMPS sparring partners IAMX and Kelli Ali also went down the Pledge Music route, pointing the way forward to a music industry future without interference from record label middle men. But the failure of several crowd funding campaigns proved the model was not for everyone.
The Britpop era was not particularly known for its use of electronics but two acts who did indulge, REPUBLICA and DUBSTAR, made formal comebacks on the live circuit in 2013. Seeded from around the same time, Bristol’s MESH made possibly their best album yet in ‘Automation Baby’. Celebrating 30 years in the business, techno icon WESTBAM assembled a diverse cast including Iggy Pop, Lil’ Wayne, Hugh Cornwall, Bernard Sumner and Richard Butler for an intriguing set called ‘Götterstrasse’. It was the surprise electronic release of the year.
There were also sophomore albums from LITTLE BOOTS, HURTS and AUSTRA which all drew muted responses from fans following their well received debuts; the promising spark had been present in all three acts appeared to have faded although each album had strong highlights. But there were impressive debuts in 2013 by GHOST CAPSULES, COLLINS and MODOVAR; and all this happened before the summer had started!
On the more guitar driven end of the spectrum, NIGHT ENGINE pursued an art rock aesthetic that would have made Berlin-era DAVID BOWIE proud. And of course, The Dame himself returned with ‘The Next Day’ headed by the touchingly reflective ‘Where Are We Now?’.
Adopting a more post-punk attitude, GIRL ONE & THE GREASE GUNS showed how battered synths, clanky guitars and motorik drums could still come together in perfect harmony while maintaining an air of mystery.
Meanwhile, WHITE LIES continued their New wave odyssey into how THE TEARDROP EXPLODES would have sounded had Julian Cope not got upset by BLANCMANGE’s ‘Happy Families’; they even borrowed a snatch of ‘Fade To Grey’ for the title track of their third album ‘Big TV’. This was despite the mainstream music media’s attempt to downplay their use of synths although the band countered that by declaring TEARS FOR FEARS, TALK TALK and THE BLUE NILE as kindred spirits rather than INTERPOL or EDITORS.
The second half of the year brought the much anticipated debut from CHVRCHES entitled ‘The Bones Of What You Believe’. The trio have moved the goalposts as far as modern synthpop is concerned but they were not without their flaws such as the inexplicable decision to use dreary indie-styled male lead vocals on a pair of tracks. But despite this, with sold out club tours, gigs supporting DEPECHE MODE in Europe and the might of Virgin Records behind them, world domination surely beckons and with it, a new raised profile for the synthesizer overall.
Virgin Records themselves celebrated 40 years in the business with a series of London concerts and its legacy in electronic music was represented by CHVRCHES, HEAVEN 17, SCRITTI POLITTI and SIMPLE MINDS. Although the label is now owned by the Universal Corporation (having been under the control of EMI since 1992), its colourful history remains associated with the championing of new and unconventional music forms during its fledgling years.
And in a diversion from music, one-time Virgin signee Thomas Dolby produced and directed ‘The Invisible Lighthouse’, a documentary on a monument local to his childhood home. In a novel style of presentation, the film went on a tour accompanied by a live narration and soundtrack from TMDR with some of his songs dispersed in between.
Gary Numan’s long delayed ‘Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)’ finally became a reality. A move to LA relaxed him to the point where he was posting his holiday photos on Twitter! Musically though, he was as intense as ever but luckily, ‘Splinter’ was not the one dimensional riff monster that had been threatened and contained some of his best work in over ten years. Interestingly NINE INCH NAILS, who have been a major influence on Numan and vice versa, also returned after a period of absence with ‘Hesitation Marks’.
Over at Mute, there was another Sorcerer versus Apprentice battle when GOLDFRAPP and Polly Scattergood both released new records in the same month. Now no longer on Mute but very much still part of the extended family, MOBY released the impressive ‘Innocents’ which didn’t tinker too much with his well established formula and included a great collaboration with Wayne Coyne of FLAMING LIPS that sounded like Gary Numan in a Pentecostal church!
In 2013, North America appeared to be turning into a new haven for synth talent. There was LA pop duo NIGHT CLUB while also based in the region, SOFT METALS continued their Detroit Techno inspired progression with ‘Lenses’. Slightly eastwards, Texan based FEATHERS made an impressive statement with their debut long player ‘If All Now Here’; a European tour supporting DEPECHE MODE in January 2014 was fine recognition of their talent.
Fellow Texans ELEVEN:ELEVEN finally got their debut album ‘Through The Veil’ out too. New Yorkers HOLY GHOST! sprung the enjoyable electronic disco of ‘Dynamics’ while also from the area, AU REVOIR SIMONE returned with their fourth album ‘Move In Spectrums’ after an extended break.
But one slow burning combo were Canada’s TR/ST; led by the enigmatic and moody Robert Alfons, at times he sounded like a young LEONARD COHEN updating the sleazy demeanour of SOFT CELL. They toured extensively and garnered some more well deserved attention for their grower of a debut ‘Trst’ which actually came out back in January 2012!
However, all the good work was undone by a ticket lottery fiasco for an end of year London gig in which unsuccessful applicants were not notified until three hours before the concert, this despite communications to the contrary telling people to arrive at the door with ID. In this ever more challenging music industry, artists have to be innovative with promotion. But restricting availability and tricking fans into what was effectively a marketing scam for a larger London concert in May 2014 only alienated audiences.
Like in previous years, Europe was again a centre of creativity. Athens based synth maidens MARSHEAUX were back with their maturer fourth album ‘Inhale’. Meanwhile, their production team FOTONOVELA gathered DUBSTAR’s Sarah Blackwood, MIRRORS’ James New, KID MOXIE and SECTION 25’s Bethany Cassidy for ‘A Ton Of Love’ while riding on a crest of a wave from ‘Helen Of Troy’, their acclaimed collaboration with OMD. The song ‘Our Sorrow’ featuring James New turned out to be particularly poignant as after a year of minimal activity, MIRRORS called it a day.
From their Berlin HQ, NOBLESSE OBLIGE delivered an ‘Affair Of The Heart’ with its stark funereal cover of ‘Hotel California’ while Slovenian trio TORUL impressed audiences opening for MESH. Still fiercely independent and uncompromising, THE KNIFE divided opinion with their performance art presentation of their experimental double opus ‘Shaking The Habitual’. From Demark, TRENTEMØLLER delivered his third album ‘Lost’, an adventurous blend of real and electronic instruments that more than proved his suitability as a future prospective DEPECHE MODE producer.
With the critical acclaim still resonant for her 2012 album ‘Highwire Poetry’, Karin Park continued to tour the world but found time to co-write Norway’s Eurovision entry ‘I Feed You My Love’. Sung by Margaret Beger and leftfield by pure pop standards, it came a respectable fourth but predictably, the UK gave it nul points! Following their wonderful eponymous debut album in 2012, SIN COS TAN swiftly followed it up with the more organic but still synth friendly ‘Afterlife’.
But best of the local crew though were VILE ELECTRODES; they snagged a prestigious support tour with OMD in Germany where the local crowds connected with Anais Neon and Martin Swan’s analogue electricity and opened for John Foxx in Brighton on their return. Their long awaited debut LP ‘The future through a lens’ did not disappoint and from it, the closer ‘Deep Red’ was easily the best OMD song that Humphreys and McCluskey never recorded.
As with last year, attempts were made within the industry to centralise electronic pop and dance music. But as the cancellation of the Playground Festival due to poor ticket sales proved, the two factions do not mix. Scheduled to appear on the Saturday, despite the technological influence of Gary Numan, John Foxx and Wolfgang Flür on the dance scene, the fans of those artists generally loathe the lifestyle and attitude of club culture.
Most just want to see the headline act and go home… the idea of paying an extra premium on the ticket price for a couple of DJs tagged on the see out the early hours of the morning simply doesn’t appeal! And those who are there for the DJs and larging it certainly aren’t interested in live bands. The sooner promoters and record labels realise that electronic pop and dance music are NOT the same thing, the better. That said, it was a difficult time for live events generally with a number of name acts playing to half full venues.
Elsewhere, the music press were on the backfoot with rumours that the once mighty Q Magazine and NME were in trouble. But lazy journalism and lack of adventure by both were as much to blame as any proliferation of the internet or smart technology. That aside, 2013 was a superb year where the music spoke for itself. Many of the veterans gave the best up-and-coming artists a real run for their money. And while the amount of new electronic music was at an all time high and the finest exponents rewarded with assorted high-profile opportunities as a result, a number of lesser accomplished acts suffered from the comparison with the best.
Helen Marnie said: “I think it’s great that electronic music is on a high right now but it’s so saturated as well. Everyone’s going it’s great cos it’s electronic and I’m like ‘I’m not so sure’… but there’s lots of good stuff”. In fact, the standard was so high in 2013 that some of the acts who ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK featured in 2012 probably wouldn’t have got a look in this year. From those who sounded like the middling bands featured on the Janice Long Show circa 1985 to 21st Century synthpop reincarnations of HUE & CRY, the volume of music available in many ways made it quite easy to distinguish the excellent from the pleasant but ordinary material that was, as the dreaded ‘Say Nothing Auntie Of Landfill Indie’ Jo Whiley would say, “alright”!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK accepts the continuing mission to maintain a degree of quality control in 2014 as it has done since its inception. As @TheRobMo put it on Twitter: “gatekeepers / tastemakers… it’s what we go to you for”. Meanwhile on the site’s Facebook, regular reader Brian O’Malley correctly added: “Not all synth music is great, and not all guitar music is rubbish”.
But the final word on 2013 must go to BEF and Glenn Gregory (or HEAVEN 17 if you prefer) via their electronic cover of an Ervin Drake song made famous by Ol’ Blue Eyes: “And it poured sweet and clear… it was a very good year”
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK Contributor Listings of 2013
PAUL BODDY
Best Album: MAPS Vicissitude
Best Song: MAPS Built To Last (Free School Remix)
Best Gig: ALISON MOYET at London Royal Festival Hall
Best Video: HOLY GHOST! Dumb Disco Ideas
Most Promising New Act: JUVENILES
STEVE GRAY
Best Album: CHVRCHES The Bones Of What You Believe
Best Song: MARGARET BERGER I Feed You My Love
Best Gig: BAS 2013
Best Video: IAMX I Come With Knives
Most Promising New Act: TORUL
CHI MING LAI
Best Album: OMD English Electric
Best Song: FOTONOVELA feat MIRRORS Our Sorrow
Best Gig: OMD + VILE ELECTRODES at Cologne E-Werk
Best Video: FEATHERS Land Of The Innocent
Most Promising New Act: FEATHERS
SOPHIE NILSSON
Best Album: ALISON MOYET the minutes
Best Song: SPACEBUOY Breathe
Best Gig: DEPECHE MODE at Copenhagen Parken
Best Video: DEPECHE MODE Soothe My Soul
Most Promising New Act: CHVRCHES
RICHARD PRICE
Best Album: PET SHOP BOYS Electric
Best Song: OMD Dresden
Best Gig: KARIN PARK at The Lexington
Best Video: MONARCHY featuring DITA VON TEESE Disintegration
Most Promising New Act: CHVRCHES
1972’s ‘Popcorn’ could arguably be seen as Europe’s first electronic pop hit.
Made famous by HOT BUTTER, they were actually a combo of session players led by Stan Free who had been a member of FIRST MOOG QUARTET with ‘Popcorn’ composer Gershon Kingsley. It was largely considered a novelty record but it inspired many cover versions throughout the world including France where it was a No1.
There, one came courtesy of a young musician named Jean-Michel Jarre who recorded ‘Popcorn’ under the moniker of THE POPCORN ORCHESTRA. While working on his first proper full length electronic album in 1976, Jarre adapted a melodic phrase from ‘Popcorn’ as the main theme of what was to become the project’s lead single. That composition was ‘Oxygène IV’ and the rest is history.
After ‘Oxygène IV’ became a Top 5 hit in the Autumn of 1977, the synth instrumental became a popular medium, even spawning budget covers albums such as ‘Synthesizer Hits’ and ‘Synthesizer Gold’.
But coinciding with accessibility of affordable synthesizers, instrumentals were seen by some as a cop out for a B-side or album filler. A bridge between pop and experimentation, these tracks were actually an artform of their own and many would become cult favourites among enthusiasts who understood that music did not necessarily need words to convey an emotive atmosphere or make people dance.
However today, it does appear to be a dying art with some musicians not understanding that formless noodling, club racketfests or tracks in which the vocalist appears to have forgotten to sing don’t quite cut it. So here are twenty five other instrumentals from the classic era when the synth went mainstream and discerning listeners looked forward to an imaginative wordless wonder.
This chronological by year, then alphabetical list however has a restriction of one track per artist and features no tracks that use a repeated vocal phrase as a topline, thus excluding most recordings by KRAFTWERK! And if you’re wondering where GIORGIO MORODER is, his work was covered recently in his own Beginner’s Guide to him…
NEU! Isi (1975)
By 1975, NEU! had broken into two artistic factions with Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger unable to agree a direction for their new album. So they divided its space with the manic Dinger piloting his rambling proto-punk of side two and the more sedate and thoughtful Rother directing the less jarring first side. ‘Isi’ was a wonderful synthesizer and piano instrumental that was still driven by a motorik beat but less dominantly Apache.
Available on the album ‘Neu! 75’ via Gronland Records
Effectively the closing track on KRAFTWERK’s iconic ‘Trans Europe Express’ album, this neo-classical piece was eerily emotive with its combination of Vako Orchestron string ensemble over some gentle Synthanorma Sequenzer pulsing. The haunting elegance of ‘Franz Schubert’ was like Ralf Hütter had been possessed by the ghost of the great German composer, reflecting the art of his melodic and harmonic intuition.
Available on the album ‘Trans Europe Express’ on EMI Records
SPACE was the brainchild of Didier Marouani who went under the pseudonym Ecama and formed the collective with Roland Romanelli, and Jannick Top. With compatriot Jean-Michel Jarre and a certain Giorgio Moroder also in the charts, the space disco of the iconic ‘Magic Fly’ heralded the start of a new European electronic sound within the mainstream. With its catchy melody and lush, accessible futurism, ‘Magic Fly’ sold millions all over the world.
Available on the album ‘Magic Fly’ via Virgin France
Inspired by the grim Roman Polanski film, ‘The Tenant’ signalled the Lewisham combo’s move away from funk rock into artier climes. A merging of the second side of David Bowie’s ‘Low’ with classical composer Erik Satie, it saw Richard Barbieri play more with synthesizer and piano textures to create atmosphere while Mick Karn dressed the piece with his fretless bass rather than driving it. Karn’s burst of self-taught sax at the conclusion is also quite unsettling.
Available on the album ‘Obscure Alternatives’ via Sony BMG Records
For anyone who first became a fan of electronic pop during the Synth Britannia era, ‘Airlane’ was a key moment. As the opening track of ‘The Pleasure Principle’ and its subsequent concert tour, it was the calling card that literally announced “GARY NUMAN IS IN THE BUILDING”! Yes, Numan had done instrumentals before, but with its sparkling Polymoog riffs, ‘Airlane’ provoked excitement and anticipation.
Available on the album ‘The Pleasure Principle’ via Beggars Banquet
With their eponymous debut under their belt, YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA fully found their technopop sound on ‘Solid State Survivor’. Written by drummer Yukihiro Takahashi, ‘Rydeen’ was a percussively colourful pentatonic tune filled with optimism and flair. This was the trio at their best as the later ‘Technodelic’ was a quite doomy, while their swansong ‘Naughty Boys’ was overtly mainstream.
Available on the album ‘Solid State Survivor’ via Sony Music
Armed with an ARP Odyssey, Elka string machine and Roland Compurhythm, John Foxx’s ‘Mr No’ was like a futuristic Bond theme or a signature tune for some space gangster. The mechanical giro was menacingly snake-like while the swirling chill invaded the speakers to prompt some almost funky robot dancing. The ‘Metamatic’ era track originally surfaced on the ‘No-One Driving’ double single pack with aother instrumental, the more sedate ‘Gilmmer’.
Available on the album ‘Metamatic’ via Edsel Records
Written by Jeff Wayne for a cinema advert, THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s cover of ‘Gordon’s Gin’ kicks in like an commercial for Moloko Plus being sold at the Korova Milk Bar. Glorious and euphoric with futuristic sounds that weighed more than Saturn, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh left the band shortly after to form a project named after an imaginary group from a scene in ‘A Clockwork Orange’ discussed by anti-hero Alex with a couple of devotchkas at the disc-bootick!
Available on the album ‘Travelogue’ via Virgin/EMI Records
Of ‘Astradyne’, Billy Currie said: “Midge started with that strong melody, Chris’ bass was also a very strong feature. I played a piano counter melody behind. The track was so strong that we felt at ease to lengthen it with a long textural piano bit that is sort of bell-like with the metronomic bass drum beats and the violin tremolo solo… Midge came up with that final section lift taking it out of the long ARP solo. I double it! It is a very good strong keyboard part. It is very celebratory at the end…”
Available on the album ‘Vienna’ via Chrysalis/EMI Records
One of two Martin Gore compositions on the Vince Clarke dominated DEPECHE MODE debut ‘Speak & Spell’, ‘Big Muff’ was a fabulous highlight on the album’s more superior second side. Highly danceable and enjoyably riff laden, this futuristic romp was named after an effects pedal made by Electro-Harmonix who later branched into portable synths. It allowed many a synth obsessed teenager to declare “I like big muff” without embarrassment!
Available on the album ‘Speak & Spell’ via Mute Records
Even with the advent of the free download era, ‘Theme for Great Cities’ is one of the greatest freebies of all time having initially been part of ‘Sister Feelings Call’, a 7-track EP given gratis to early purchasers of SIMPLE MINDS’ fourth album ‘Sons & Fascination’. Starting with some haunting vox humana before a combination of CAN and TANGERINE DREAM takes hold, the rhythm section covered in dub echo drives what is possibly one of the greatest instrumental signatures ever!
Available on the album ‘Sons & Fascination/Sister Feelings Call’ via Virgin/EMI Records
Not actually written as an instrumental, the original was the B-side of VISAGE’s first single ‘Tar’ and much faster paced, featuring Steve Strange rambling about not very much. For its dance mix, ‘Frequency 7’ was slowed down and Strange’s vocal removed. The result was a masterclass in Barry Adamson’s bass counterpointing with Billy Currie’s ARP Odyssey bursts of screaming aggression and Rusty Egan’s metronomic electronic beats for a creepy robotic aesthetic.
There are two versions of this cult classic; a mutant countrified ambient piece based around the bassline of Brian Eno’s ‘The Fat Lady Of Limbourg’ from the ‘Some Bizzare Album’ and the lively Mike Oldfield inspired album version from ‘Happy Families’. Each has its merits but the percussively jaunty re-recording just wins over with its synthesized wallows, chiming guitars and crashing Simmons drums.
Available on the album ‘Happy Families’ via Edsel Records
The hypnotic B-side to ‘Face on The Wall’ showcased the fusion of the classical, rock and prog elements that were the core talents of Chris Payne, RRussell Bell and CedSharpley who had been the mainstay of the first GARY NUMAN backing band. Not a cover of Edward Elgar’s near-namesake composition ‘Pomp & Circumstance’ , DRAMATIS‘ rousing number would however make a perfect closer for the Last Night Of The Proms in the 22nd Century!
Available on the album ‘For Future Reference’ via Cherry Red Records
Technically, ‘DNA’ is not a really synth instrumental with the hook line being far too guitar oriented. However, it had a key role breaking down barriers for music with a more futuristic bent in synthobic America and snatched a 1983 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. And for that, ‘DNA’ deserves kudos! A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS‘ cultural impact can be measured by leader Mike Score’s iconic hair style being lampooned in ‘The Wedding Singer’ and ‘Friends’.
Available on the album ‘A Flock Of Seagulls’ via Cherry Pop
A solo Dave Ball composition that was on the B-side of ‘What?’, the tall, pensive synthesist created an electronic disco number while Marc Almond was off doing the first MARC & THE MAMBAS’ album that would have done GIORGIO MORODER proud. Reminiscent of the Italian producer’s ‘Chase’, ‘….So’ featured wonderful percolating synths over a fabulously danceable groove and a solid metronomic beat that required no additional vocal histrionics or energetics.
Available on the album ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’ via Mercury Records
CARE was a short lived project comprising of soon-to-be main man of THE LIGHTNING SEEDS Ian Broudie and THE WILD SWANS’ vocalist Paul Simpson. Combining acoustic strums with synthesizer melodies, CARE had promise but imploded due to musical differences. ‘On A With Cloud’ was an epic instrumental with thundering percussion, castenets, ringing guitar and heavenly synthetic layers that appeared the 12 inch B-side of the duo’s best 45 ‘Flaming Sword’.
Originally released on the 12 inch single ‘Flaming Sword’ via Arista Records, currently unavailable
CHINA CRISIS recorded a variety of instrumental sketches and the results were often superb. But as the duo of Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon only had a couple of hits, most of this material was little heard having been tucked away on B-sides. ‘Dockland’ is a prime example having been the flip of the flop single ‘Working With Fire & Steel’. The sublime nautical transience inspired by Liverpool’s once vibrant docks lying wasted in a period of high unemployment was captivating.
Available on the album ‘Collection: The Very Best of China Crisis’ 2CD edition via Virgin Records
‘Tiger Tiger’ is the best JAPAN instrumental that Sylvian and Co never recorded plus some would consider any DURAN DURAN track without a Simon Le Bon vocal to be a bonus. That aside, John Taylor and Nick Rhodes had more artier aspirations so indulged on this musical tribute to the William Blake poem. Taylor does a superb Mick Karn impersonation on fretless bass while Rhodes adds a great synth melody to proceedings.
Available on the album ‘Seven & The Ragged Tiger’ via EMI Records
Strangely enough, Vince Clarke is not really known for his instrumentals. Co-composed with Eric Radcliffe, ‘Stop/Start’ was effectively Clarke’s first instrumental as DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Any Second Now’ had a ‘(Voices)’ variant while YAZOO’s ‘Chinese Detectives’ was only played live. A Casiotone infused ditty with Linn drums and a cute melody, ‘Stop/Start’ was the B-side to THE ASSEMBLY’s only single ‘Never Never’.
Available on the boxed set ‘Mute: Audio Documents’ via Mute Records
Throwing off his mental chains, Mr Jones took inspiration from his own Buddhist spirituality and the overtures of Vangelis’ 1979 album ‘China’ for this rather beautiful piece which used to open his early shows. Using pentatonic melodies and sweeping chords on ‘Tao Te Ching’ in the style of Tomita and Kitaro, it’s a shame that this aspect of Jones’ quite obvious musical capabilities has never really been explored.
Available on the album ‘The Very Best Of Howard Jones’ via Warner Music
Inspired by a ‘Blade Runner’ sample, ‘Junk Culture’ was a reggae-ish number set to a bizarre time signature and signalled OMD’s move away from Germanic electronica. Still experimenting, only this time with more World Music forms thanks to the advent of sampling technology, the detuned Tijuana brass, deep dub bass and schizo voice snippets recalled the work of Jah Wobble, Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit.
Available on the album ‘Junk Culture’ via Virgin Records
‘The Marauders’ and ‘Empire Building’ showed TEARS FOR FEARS were adept at instrumentals and their best was ‘Pharaohs’, the B-side of ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’. Launched with a crunchy 6/8 heartbeat, the sedate piano motif and drifting synths gave a distinctly nautical feel, enhanced by sound bites from the BBC shipping forecast. But out of nowhere, the middle eight Emulator voice theme from the A-side introduces its partnering chordial guitar solo!
Available on the album ‘Songs From The Big Chair’ 2CD deluxe edition
This theme was composed in 1988 for the eight part Granada TV series hosted by Factory Records’ supremo Tony Wilson and featured two of Manchester’s most iconic club footballers, George Best and Rodney Marsh. With a great string synth melody, Hooky bass, clubby beats and Italo piano stabs, this prompted the FA to commision NEW ORDER to write ‘World In Motion’ for the 1990 World Cup, while the series allowed ‘Best & Marsh’ to embark on a popular speaking tour.
Available on the album ‘Technique’ 2CD Deluxe edition via London Records
Dramatic, tense and melodic, Vangelis’ closing theme to the acclaimed 1982 Ridley Scott directed Sci-Fi movie ‘Blade Runner’ succeeded in orchestrating a score using just synths and samples to maintain the futuristic unsettlement of the story. However, the glorious track was not actually released until 1989 on the ‘Themes’ compilation, while an actual soundtrack album didn’t actually see the light of day until 1994.
Available on the album ‘Blade Runner’ via Warner Music
DEPECHE MODE are indisputably the world’s biggest synth band. The figures speak for themselves: 100 million records sold to date, and on their last tour they performed to 2.7 million people worldwide.
The ‘Delta Machine’ tour, which kicked off in May, is even more ambitious in scale with further dates still being added through into 2014.
Sustaining them throughout their 32 year career has been their enormous legion of fans who remain as fiercely loyal and devoted as ever. When a two night residency at London’s O2 Arena was announced, both dates sold out in a flash.
It is not unusual for fans to attend several shows and to travel across countries and continents to see the band. There are some Devotees attending up to 16 shows on this tour! The band appear to have rewarded this loyalty, changing no fewer than five songs on the setlist for the second night at the O2 with ‘World In My Eyes’, ‘Behind The Wheel’ and ‘Only When I Lose Myself’ among those getting an airing.
When the first night finally arrived and The Black Swarm started to pour out of the tube station towards the iconic O2 arena, excitement was at fever pitch. Fans stopped to have their picture taken against a giant billboard of the band, and the cafes and bars all over the venue were blasting out DM classics to greet the arriving masses.
The show itself began in low key style, with the first two tracks, ‘Welcome To My World’ and ‘Angel’, mirroring those of the new album. It was a slow build, a teaser for the great things to come.
Sure enough, when the distinctive opening bars of ‘Black Celebration’ rang out and the massive lighting rig began to descend toward the stage, it was a truly spine-tingling moment that felt like love’s first kiss. The setlist overall struck a good balance between perennial classics and new material.
Anthems such as ‘Enjoy the Silence’ and ‘Personal Jesus’ were there of course, much to the delight of the 20,000 strong crowd. Of the ‘Delta Machine’ tracks, the new single ‘Soothe My Soul’ stood out with its gritty blues-driven riff sounding immense in the live setting. ‘Should Be Higher’ also impressed, showcasing Dave Gahan’s remarkable vocal range and culminating in an impromptu crowd singalong.
However, ‘Secret To The End’ fared less well, placed incongruously towards the end of the set amongst crowd-pleasing hits and duly prompted an en masse comfort break amongst sections of the audience! Two of the biggest surprises in the set came from reworked versions of old songs. ‘A Pain That I’m Used To’ was given a new lease of life thanks to the Jacques Lu Cont Remix, which transformed it into a full-on stadium stomper. Later on ‘Halo’ was performed in the stripped-down, haunting style of the GOLDFRAPP Remix, and was given additional pathos with its stark monochromatic backing projections.
Visually this was a stunning show, with the ‘Delta Machine’ triangles providing a consistent theme throughout, and video projections complemented by a vast motorised lighting rig.
Anton Corbjin’s visuals were typically quirky, but for the most part highly effective. ‘Should Be Higher’ was given a backdrop of Chinese lanterns and fire breathers, bathing the stage area in a warm glow of embers.
‘Enjoy The Silence’ featured female contortionists forming human triangles – a striking image but not one for the squeamish! Most impressive of all was ‘I Feel You’, which featured silhouettes of a frenetic dancing girl framed by coloured triangles… think iPod advert and you wouldn’t be far wrong. It was brilliantly executed and compelling to watch.
The band themselves were on fine form and appeared relaxed and at times playful. Dave Gahan is in remarkably good shape for his years, and was as energetic on stage as he’s ever been, spinning round wildly with his mic stand, shimmying, pirouetting and totally commanding the attention of the audience throughout. Interestingly, in a 2012 poll conducted by XFM, Gahan came third in a poll for the World’s Greatest Frontman behind Freddie Mercury and (bafflingly) Liam Gallagher. However, on tonight’s evidence the crown must surely be his!
That said, Fletch is unlikely to take the crown the world’s greatest synth player. On the closing finale of ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ he was let loose on his instrument, with a slightly off tempo bass synth line that delighted and entertained all present.
As for Martin Gore, the enigmatic genius behind the band, his solo slots are revered by the fans, and tonight their devotion was rewarded with a spine-tingling rendition of ‘Higher Love’, followed by ‘When The Body Speaks’ from ‘Exciter’ and, as an encore, the beautifully poignant ‘Home’, which culminated in the now customary mass singalong.
The two hour set climaxed with a roof raising rendition of ‘Never Let Me Down Again’, and whilst the waving cornfield has become somewhat inevitable, it is still an uplifting sight to see 40,000 arms all swaying in unison.
Such is the power of DEPECHE MODE, although their post-millennium output has not always hit the heights of their glory years, as a live act they remain in a league of their own. The ‘Delta Machine’ is unstoppable.
‘Delta Machine’ is released by Columbia/Sony Records
DEPECHE MODE return to the UK at the end of 2013 and start of 2014. Dates include: Belfast Odyssey Arena (7th November), Glasgow Hydro (11th November), Leeds First Direct Arena (13th November), Manchester Arena (15th November), London O2 Arena (19th November), Birmingham LG Arena (27th January)
DEPECHE MODE have unveiled the video for ‘Soothe My Soul’, the second single to be taken from ‘Delta Machine’.
One of the standout tracks from the album, ‘Soothe My Soul’. The song bears the hallmarks of vintage DM, featuring a strong vocal performance from Messrs Gahan and Gore, set to a catchy blues riff not dissimilar to that of world conquering 1989 hit ‘Personal Jesus’. Indeed, the similarity between the tracks has already led to a spate of mash-ups appearing online.
Lyrically the song deals with one of Martin Gore’s favourite subjects; “there’s only one way to soothe my soul” he asserts, and the video should leave little doubt as to what he is referring to! Be warned if you are viewing at work, there is some risqué content featuring a naked model and a snake. Directed by Warren Fu, whose previous video credits include THE KILLERS and DAFT PUNK, it is an undeniably stylish affair, shot entirely in monochrome with a distinctive square frame.
Meanwhile, new album ‘Delta Machine’ has been generally welcomed by critics. Whilst all agree that it is an improvement on 2009’s lacklustre outing ‘Sounds Of The Universe’, some are hailing the album as a complete return to form for the trio.
Certainly this new single will delight fans who like their Mode dark, sexy and a little subversive. With ‘Soothe My Soul’, DEPECHE MODE might just have rediscovered their mojo!
‘Soothe My Soul’ is from the album ‘Delta Machine’ released by Columbia/Sony Records in an assortment of formats including CD, deluxe 2CD and double vinyl
DEPECHE MODE play London’s O2 Arena on 28th and 29th May 2013
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‘The Box 1983-2013’ is released by Bureau B and Tapete Records on 8th February 2014, limited to 1000 signed and numbered copies
, ‘The Tenant’ signalled the Lewisham combo’s move away from funk rock into artier climes. A merging of the second side of David Bowie’s ‘Low’ with classical composer Erik Satie, it saw Richard Barbieri play more with synthesizer and piano textures to create atmosphere while Mick Karn dressed the piece with his fretless bass rather than driving it. Karn’s burst of self-taught sax at the conclusion is also quite unsettling.
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