Kate Bush’s return to live performance this year has highlighted the debt owned to her by any number of female fronted musical projects. THE KNIFE take their lead from Bush’s uncompromising stances while GOLDFRAPP’s avant pop instincts show that while Ms Bush pushed boundaries, she had tunes as well.
More recently, the kooky demeanour of the lady who came up with ‘Babooshka’ has also been omnipresent in Sweden’s IAMAMIWHOAMI but the more epic, gothic overtones of Bush’s work have now appeared in a new Brooklyn based electro duo called AZAR SWAN.
Comprising of Zohra Atash and Joshua Strawn, AZAR SWAN’s drum machine laden, synth and sample assisted template dominates their second album ‘And Blow Us A Kiss’. The immediately appealing title track is a dance friendly death rattle with a beautifully feline vocal from Atash backed by string machine chills and sombre brass tones.
Meanwhile, the brilliant new single ‘We Hunger’ borrows melodically from GOLDFRAPP’s ‘Strict Machine’ and adds some eerie exotic vocal timbres reminiscent of KELLI ALI, whose most recent album ‘Band Of Angels’ is possibly the one most comparable with ‘And Blow Us A Kiss’.
AZAR SWAN’s other cited influences include cult industrialists FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY and Essex’s own sonic experimentalists THESE NEW PURITANS; this is quite evident in their cavernous sound. The tribal ‘Bury The Sun’ brings in contemporary sonic references such as GAZELLE TWIN and NIKI & THE DOVE while the exotic drama of ‘Kiss Of Life’ is a marvellously percussive number that comes over like a modern Bond Theme sans strings and even breaks down to percapella at various stages of the song. And with a detuned rhythmical backbone, the minimal ‘Sugar’ makes the most of Atash’s passionate voice around some rich synthesizer moods.
Benefiting from a more streamlined compositional nucleus following the frustrations of multiple musicians slowing the writing and performing process in their previous band RELIGIOUS TO DAMN, the pair’s mutually revived interest in electronic music and hip-hop has blended to form a dark but accessible hybrid that will be enjoyed by those who like their music to be brooding.
‘And Blow Us A Kiss’ is released by Zoo Music in CD, LP and download formats
MemeTune, the acclaimed London studio and label curated its first festival just down the road from its base in Hoxton at Shoreditch’s Red Gallery.
Although lacking in natural ventilation, the sociable art space proved to be a fine venue to host live electronic music with several luminaries from the music scene present including Hannah Peel, Serafina Steer, James Nice, Anais Neon, Martin Swan and err… Bobby Gillespie! Proceedings started at precisely 7.41pm with cult Dutch combo MINNY POPS who are probably best known for being signed to Factory Records and supporting JOY DIVISION at the notorious Bury gig in 1980 which ended in a riot.
Formed in 1978 and named after the 1967 Keio Minupops 7 rhythm box and not the dodgy children’s entertainment show produced by Mike Mansfield, it began with vocalist Wally van Middendorp standing in the audience, blindfolded and silent for what felt like 10 minutes before holding a placard which announced “FAC57 NOT FUC57… Secret Story revisited” and launching into the track itsellf.
It was all very art school and prolonged, but there appeared to be a glint of sly Low Countries humour lurking.
A new song ‘Patti Hurst’ followed as coruscating guitars, mournful string synths and the band’s trademark drum machine reverbed around the venue like INTERPOL trapped down a well.
Wally van Middendorp was charismatic if nothing else with his dead fly moves and deathly baritone… it all rather made JOY DIVISION sound like STEPS. With their early albums ‘Drastic Measures Drastic Movement’ and ‘Sparks In A Dark Roomm’ out now as 2CD deluxe packages via Factory Benelux, MINNY POPS’ polarising experimentation is being re-investigated by a new audience if nothing else.
With the level of the PA raised a notch, the rumbling sub bass caused part of the lighting rig to judder and drop off the front of the stage just before the fierce and uncompromising GAZELLE TWIN commenced her set. Sounding tune-based in comparison with MINNY POPS, GAZELLE TWIN aka Elizabeth Bernholz stalked the stage like a caged animal, occasionally dropping to her knees to (almost) worship her loop pedal.
In what was the most minimal of set-ups, a hooded programmer / sample player triggered and manipulated a tiny podium-based sample pad whilst Bernholz projected a completely asexual persona. With her facial features disguised with a sheer stocking mask and dressed in a deliberately unflattering hooded track suit tucked into a pair of sports socks, the cumulative effect was to focus the listener on the music.
Bernholz admits to being a nervous / anxious performer, donning a mask and anti-fashion dress code in an attempt to distance herself from the standard “LOOK AT ME!” stage persona – if anything, this unique approach makes GAZELLE TWIN even more voyeuristically watchable.
Unlike much current electronic music, there was very little common frames of reference here, songs from current album ‘Unflesh’ drifted into each other, shards of melody occasionally appearing, then disappearing and the vocal hook “It’s coming at me” of the album’s title track being the most memorable of the evening.
What impressed most was Bernholz’s vocal range and ability to switch into different styles, this combined with a charismatic stage presence meant that the Red Gallery crowd were held in rapture fully for the duration of their 40 minute set.
With the headline act WRANGLER approaching, it became apparent that most of the Red Gallery audience were here to see Stephen Mallinder’s new outfit as the crowd significantly filled out during the break after GAZELLE TWIN.
In the seminal ‘Made in Sheffield’ documentary, another former CABARET VOLTAIRE member Chris Watson ruminated as to what the ‘perfect Cabaret Voltaire performance’ would be, whether it was driving around Sheffield city centre in a van blaring out their music or even in a public toilet somewhere.
But tonight the Shoreditch venue with its superb sound system suited WRANGLER perfectly, the gloomy and arty ambience although initially intimidating, suiting the dark / dystopian sound of the band to a tee. On the left of the stage, John Foxx’s right hand man Benge spent most of the performance hammering away at a minimal twin pad drum synth whilst on the other side of a centrally placed Mallinder was Phil Winter who handled synths and MIDI controllers.
With just one album under their collective belts, most of the evening material was taken up with tracks from ‘LA Spark’ with the title track, ‘Lava Land’ and a Kaoss Pad driven ‘Mus_IIC’ all getting strong outings. The biggest cheer of the evening was reserved for a faithful version of The Cabs’ ‘Sensoria’, the sequenced riffs and danceable drum patterns getting the crowd really moving.
What also impressed was the use of front screen projection onto a curtain in front of the act, the recognisable WRANGLER “W” logo and a variety of semi-3D computer graphics appeared to float hypnotically in front of the band during their hour set. Drawing the set to close, the final track of the night was a re-worked version of ‘Crackdown’.
Despite the dark nature of their material, Mallinder and the rest of WRANGLER seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves throughout and the combination of the diverse acts on the bill made this a perfect way to enjoy a Saturday nights electronic music. On the strength of tonight’s event, it can only be a matter of time before we get MUS_IIC Festival.02.
With thanks to Steve Malins at Random PR
WRANGLER ‘LA Spark’ is released by MemeTune
GAZELLE TWIN ‘Unflesh’ is released by Anti-Ghost Moon Ray / Last Gang
MINNY POPS ‘Drastic Measures Drastic Movement’ and ‘Sparks In A Dark Room’ are released by Factory Benelux
Anti-Ghost Moon Ray is the Brighton based artist collective and record label that spawned the acclaimed haunting songstress GAZELLE TWIN and which “explores common ground in a strong aesthetic approach towards art, film, music, technology, science, and nature”.
But as with all collectives, there are other, lesser known but no less innovative members. One such is BERNHOLZ aka Jez Bernholz, a musician, sculptor and filmmaker with his own niche in experimental music utilising a Tascam cassette portastudio with Casio synths as well as modern digital equipment. The end result is appropriately titled ‘How Things Are Made’ and collects together some obscure art pop accompanied by bleepy synth and occasional guitar. And this approach is ably showcased on the opening track and his 2012 debut single ‘Austerity Boy’.
Despite some deep foreboding tones accompanied by percussive six string and synthesizer interplay, in an antonymic play on Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’, the famous “living in material world” phrase is pitch shifted into a quirkily ironic refrain over a crescendo of thunderous syncopated drums. It’s sombre but fun!
Continuing this frantic pace, ‘Horses’ fuses Krautrock overtones with an Eno-esque strategy while the comparatively conventional but highly enjoyable ‘My History’ sees BERNHOLZ come over like DALEK I LOVE YOU’s Alan Gill accompanied by sequenced pulses and building layers of assorted instrumentation.
Indeed, there are several quirky sonic parallels with DALEK I LOVE YOU’s 1980 debut LP ‘Compass / Kumpas’ in its unorthodox use of keyboards, bass guitar and voice. The template is repeated on the more steadfast ‘The Modernist’ and the stark LinnDrum driven ‘What You Want To Do’, the repetitive rhythmical mantra of which additionally recalls electro hipster faves FACTORY FLOOR.
Preceding those though is the male voice choir dominated title track which could be a successor to DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Pipeline’ but sans the metal samples. Closing ‘How Things Are Made’, the bare ‘Mesopotamia’ uses a cacophony of BERNHOLZ’s own voice samples as a hypnotic accompaniment before being swamped by synths.
Quoting Gustav Metzger’s Auto-Destructive Art Manifesto, BERNHOLZ says “The amplified sound of the auto-destructive process can be an element of the total conception”. Certainly as an artistic concept, ‘How Things Are Made’ will be an intriguing listen for some, if not necessarily for all.
‘How Things Are Made’ is released in CD and download formats by Anti-Ghost Moon Ray
GAZELLE TWIN’s second album ‘Unflesh’ is a collage of artistic violence that has allowed the Brighton based songstress Elizabeth Bernholz to extract her demons.
A raw, rhythmical attack to the senses with a deliberate lo-fi sound away from the cinematic hauntronica of debut album ‘The Entire City’ and interim EP ‘Mammal’, ‘Unflesh’ takes risks by being even less obviously melodic and throws caution to the wind.
It is bleak and not easy listening. However, while uncompromising, ‘Unflesh’ has more accessible entry points perhaps than THE KNIFE’s ‘Shaking The Habitual’. Partly autobiographical, Bernholz conceived ‘Unflesh’ as a means of acting out vengeance on her antagonists like teenhood, recurring dreams and her own body.
As the album’s song titles alone indicate, her lingering metaphysical concerns continue. Bernholz told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “That’s something I can’t switch off. But I don’t want to. There are rarely moments where I’m not considering the wider meaning of all things, on a day to day basis. I’ll make a sandwich and think of the former life of all the ingredients, all these particles that are being slammed together to ultimately end up as my sh*t… I like that sort of thought process”.
One of the key tracks is ‘Exorcise’, an impressively aggressive cross between PINK FLOYD’s ‘On The Run’ and KRAFTWERK’s ‘Home Computer’. It is accorded additional resonance by Bernholz’s deadpan as a vicious percussive and synthetic crescendo takes hold. Meanwhile, her trademark metaphysical commentary comes with the industrialised tribal salvo of ‘Belly Of The Beast’ and the rhythmic stutter of ‘Anti Body’. Both are strangely danceable and even deviantly sexy while warped Moog Modular arpeggios kick in on ‘Belly Of The Beast’, courtesy of Chief Mathematician Benge who co-mixes ‘Unflesh’ with Bernholz.
But with a 6/8 pulse and a whisper to a scream, the opening ‘Unflesh’ title track is barer but no less unsettling with banshee wails and soprano cries in abundance while ‘Guts’ adds an almost Prince-like funk groove while fusing the Fourth World overtones of Jon Hassell and a sombre gothic take on THE ART OF NOISE. Throughout the album, Benge throws some extra Formant and CS80 machinery into the process. The end result of this external influence is that Bernholz becomes freer in her expression.
As well as these adrenaline crushes, there are gentler but still dark moments like the eerie neo-acapella of ‘Child’ and the ghostly COCTEAU TWINS lullaby of ‘Premonition’ which like Gary Numan’s ‘A Prayer For The Unborn’, reflects on the trauma of miscarriage. And the theme of mortality is explored further with ‘Good Death’, a stark eulogy on the subject of Euthanasia given extra sonority with Bernholz’s hauntingly slithery pitch manipulations.
And things get even more unsettling. The primitive Linn driven oddness of ‘Human Touch’ looks at the children raised by animals while the history of European colonisation is told on the self-explanatory ‘I Feel Blood’ with an eerie string machine extending further sonic chills to the subject matter. But as the album draws to its conclusion with a drifting drum mantra, things end as they began with Bernholz screaming into submission before a series of distorted snaps on ‘Still Life’.
As something outside of the routine synthpop or generic industrial conveyor, ‘Unflesh’ is a worthy aural journey capturing the mood of an uncertain world. Tortured, cathartic and uncomfortable, ‘Unflesh’ is a considerable artistic achievement for GAZELLE TWIN.
GAZELLE TWIN 2014 live appearances include: Brighton Dome Studio Theatre (26th September), London Corsica Studios (1st October), Glasgow Old Fruitmarket (3rd October – with WRANGLER + SCANNER) and London Red Gallery (18th October – with WRANGLER + MINNY POPS)
GAZELLE TWIN premiered her new album ‘Unflesh’ with a special performance at Birthdays in London’s trendy Dalston district.
The live presentation showcased a heavier sound that has distinctly moved away from the cinematic hauntronica of debut album ‘The Entire City’ and interim EP ‘Mammal’.
The moniker of Elizabeth Bernholz, GAZELLE TWIN has acquired an impressive host of admirers and collaborators including John Foxx, Gary Numan and Clint Mansell. ‘Unflesh’ has with artistic violence allowed the Brighton based songstress to exorcise her demons.Indeed, the closing number of the evening is appropriately titled ‘Exorcise’; an impressively aggressive cross between PINK FLOYD’s ‘One The Run’ and KRAFTWERK’s ‘Home Computer’, it is accorded some extra uneasy resonance by Bernholz’s deadpan commentary.
Clothed in a school-blue goodie with a head stocking and brown wig replacing the mysteriously veiled Elephant Woman look of her shows supporting JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS in late 2011, GAZELLE TWIN’s new material has a more threatening intent, focussing on the more industrialised template introduced by ‘Belly Of The Beast’ and new single ‘Anti Body’.
The ‘Unflesh’ title track and ‘I Feel Blood’ are even barer but no less unsettling while ‘Guts’ follows a similar path but adds an almost PRINCE-like funk groove. Indeed, much of the material on ‘Unflesh’ is strangely danceable…
Elizabeth Bernholz kindly spoke with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK before her ‘Unflesh’ showcase to discuss her latest incarnation of expression.
How would you describe the differences in the way you’ve conceived ‘Unflesh’ compared with ‘The Entire City’ and the ‘Mammal’ EP?
The writing process has simplified. I restricted myself so that I ended up with a more direct and quite a lo-fi sound. There are connections with ‘The Entire City’, the first full length thing I ever wrote and produced, but the relationship with ‘Unflesh’ is minimal. It has been written very much with live performance in mind.
Titles such as ‘Unflesh’, ‘Belly Of The Beast’, ‘Guts’ and ‘Anti Body’ indicate you still have metaphysical concerns?
That’s something I can’t switch off. But I don’t want to. There are rarely moments where I’m not considering the wider meaning of all things, on a day to day basis. I’ll make a sandwich and think of the former life of all the ingredients, all these particles that are being slammed together to ultimately end up as my sh*t…
I like that sort of thought process. I’m hypersensitive to everything around me all the time. This is not always useful. I suffer from anxiety and have numerous phobias that mostly arose from childhood. I have overcome most of them through making music, and this record is very much a continuation of that process.
The ‘Unflesh’ project has been supported by a striking audio / visual component. The faceless girl in the school-blue sportswear… is the character in any way autobiographical?
100%. It’s from a memory of school, 16 years ago. I chose to confront a difficult experience from that time, by re-embodying it. The difference is that this time I’m in control. A pretty simple exercise in self-help when you think about it… people will continue to be baffled and weirded-out by it, but that’s OK. That’s the fun part of it. That makes me want to do it even more.
When we last spoke, you described recording an album as being “a bit like doing a thesis”. Has that still been the case with ‘Unflesh’?
I researched anatomy – more as a hobby than being very academic about it. I’m especially interested in disease and mutations in nature. I have always enjoyed finding rhymes in nature – in structures, behaviours, rhythms etc. I also researched a lot of artists and artworks that deal with similar themes. I find doing this really rewarding and enlightening. There is so much out there to absorb.
Since ‘The Entire City’ was released, THE KNIFE returned with the uncompromising ‘Shaking The Habitual’. What did you think of it and has it has any bearing on your own artistic directions for ‘Unflesh’?
I had pretty much finished writing most of ‘Unflesh’ by the time ‘Shaking The Habitual’ came out, but I love that album of course and proudly align myself with its stance on politics, including the politics of performance art and how gender is dealt with in popular culture. Uncompromising is the key. They are one of the best conceptual performance groups out there right now. I wish there were more.
Claire Boucher aka GRIMES fedback to you about the demo of ‘Anti Body’. I SPEAK MACHINE aka Tara Busch has also reworked ‘Anti Body’. Do you feel an affinity with any of the current crop of female artists in electronic music?
I am asked this a lot… I guess because I am openly challenging the gender issue in performance. In the end, my interest is only in ideas. I might feel a great affinity with a very aggressive, masculine, male performer like Stefan Burnett (DEATH GRIPS) as well as a female artist who is exploring similar territory.
I think it’s important not to make the distinction about gender being the reason behind it. Over emphasis can sometimes push the divide even further. I fully support other artists who are female of course, and I stand firmly behind the feminist and the LGBT debate which is very important to keep in the forefront of the mind.
GAZELLE TWIN, in its very essence, began as statement against a commercially driven world (and music industry), which constantly wants to remind me of my own sex and tell me what I’m supposed to do with it.
Your musical connections with JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS and the MemeTune collective have led to further collaborations with people such as Stephen Mallinder via the WRANGLER project. You’re building up quite an impressive CV of collaborators?
It’s insane… I was thinking about some of the people I’ve encountered or worked with over the last year and I’m incredibly lucky to have had introductions to legendary figures like John and Mal, and also GARY NUMAN. It’s heavily down to my manager Steve Malins who is the chief orchestrator of all these connections and is really talented at connecting people very naturally, from very quite different backgrounds. Robin Rimbaud (aka SCANNER) has also introduced me to some amazing people too, such as WIRE’s Colin Newman and Chris and Cosey of THROBBING GRISTLE. All of this is a privilege and I’m very grateful for that, but long may it continue.
I visited MemeTune a few months back and was strangely drawn to the Polymoog… was there a particular instrument or device that you saw out of the vast collection at MemeTune that particularly fascinated you?
Every time I go there, I notice something new and become lost in the awe of all these incredible instruments surrounding me. Of course I am impressed with the rare synths like the CS80 and the enormous wall of modulars, but the thing that blew me away most of all was actually the simplest… The Plate Reverb – which is just a huge wooden box containing one sheet of metal, an amp and a dampener, with one big metal dial on top to change the tension of the metal. You turn it on from downstairs in the studio and can hear everything going through it upstairs. It’s really, really incredible.
You’re known for experimenting with vocal processing in your music. Have there been any new techniques that you’ve discovered which have shaped this album and perhaps your approach to live work.
The majority of my new material is about spoken and often whispered lyrics rather than sung. There’s a certain skill to achieving that in a live setting because it requires a different kind of performance. In contrast, I have also included a lot of chest voice passages which feel great to perform. I have tried to emulate techniques from Bulgarian Folk singers for these elements, bending my voice into new shapes. There’s still a fair amount of processing going on in this record, but it’s more upfront than anything I have done before.
You’re playing live to showcase the album. How do you feel about live work? Is it something you want to do, or feel you have to do?
Performing live requires so much effort. Not just working the songs into a live format, then rehearsing over and over and over again (which I really hate), but to then have to get through the nerves, deal with the gamble of the sound being alright after soundcheck (it SO often isn’t), and then to recover quickly after all that stress and do it all over again… It’s a hard job, but I consider it a challenge. I do want to perform more and try to garner more satisfaction from the process.
What are your hopes and fears for the future?
Good Health / Bad Health (respectively)
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Elizabeth Bernholz
Special thanks also to Jeff Schofield at Type PR
‘Anti Body’ is released by Anti-Ghost Moon Ray / Last Gang as a digital download and limited 12″ vinyl. It features the exclusive track ‘Phobia’ plus remixes by WRANGLER and I SPEAK MACHINE
‘Unflesh’ will be released later in 2014
Forthcoming GAZELLE TWIN 2014 live appearances include: St Gallen Grabenhalle (28 May – with PLANNINGTOROCK and BERNHOLZ), Hamburg Vogel Ball Festival (2nd August) and Glasgow Old Fruitmarket (3rd October – with WRANGLER and SCANNER)
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‘And Blow Us A Kiss’ is released by Zoo Music in CD, LP and download formats
is released by MemeTune
is released by Anti-Ghost Moon Ray / Last Gang
and ‘Sparks In A Dark Room’
are released by Factory Benelux
is released by Anti-Ghost Moon Ray / Last Gang on 22nd September 2014, download available from 
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