When artists are mutually fans of each other, it can lead to a happy union, collaborative possibilities and even ‘Lust’.
For the LA-based Elena Charbila whose most recent solo album ‘Better Than Electric’ under her nom de théâtre KID MOXIE was released in 2022, she fell in love with NINA’s ‘Synthian’, the title track from the Berliner’s second album. Meanwhile, the German adored the Athens-born songstress’ cover of ‘Big In Japan’, the 1984 international breakthrough of fellow Germans ALPHAVILLE. Despite being thousands of miles apart, KID MOXIE & NINA bonded online over ‘Blade Runner’, ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Drive’.
Then crucially, the pair met for real in Berlin, Athens and Los Angeles, using the limited time together on each occasion to fuel their creative urgency. The end result is a 5 track EP entitled ‘Lust’ that captures a seductive film-noir tension with a fantasy world that provokes a cool air of mystery.
Released on Italians Do It Better, the first track to be premiered was a cover of ‘Waiting For Tonight’ on the label’s ‘After Dark 4’ collection in 2022; originally recorded by 3RD PARTY, an American girl trio fronted by the song’s co-writer Maria Christensen but made famous by Jennifer Lopez with added Latino dance vibes, this downtempo cover of a cover exudes a sensual anticipation of consummation with accentuation of the main melody.
The ‘Lust’ title song takes things further in a lengthy retrowave excursion into excess and passion, a cyclical feel to point to an affair that lingers unfinished but continues purely on chemistry regardless on consequences. As our heroines conclude that “lust is a crime”, ‘Crime’ provided some saxy drive from Skylar Funk as the ‘Blade Runner: The Erotic Cut’ approach adds arousing spoken word for an inviting “one night with you” to make your dreams come true to a backdrop of warped bass notes, cut-up voices and lush six string from Oliver Blair aka RADIO WOLF.
The paciest track on the EP, ‘Electric Kiss’ makes further use of Blair’s guitars for a dreamy carefree drive into the sunset. Counterpointing that mood, ‘Devotion’ is much more sinister with bendy synth sounds and Theremin swoops acting as aural metaphors into a forbidden relationship while mixing more spoken word mixing with sensual vocals to heighten anticipation.
A perfect match, ‘Lust’ is a sexy and sultry concoction that explores themes of erotica with a dark yet playful demeanour that provides a wondrous escape. Embrace this seductive partnership as you see fit, but the perusal is all part of the excitement.
“We’re creating a fantasy world cinematically, sexually speaking” said Charbila to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, “People can think whatever they want about ‘this’. Are we singing this to each other? Are we singing it to your man, my woman? It’s up for your interpretation; we’re not going to feed it to you. It’s just going to be a warm dish, you can eat it however you want.”
‘Lust’ is the title of upcoming collaborative EP by KID MOXIE & NINA released by Italians Do It Better.
KID MOXIE is the musical vehicle of Athens-born LA-based musician and composer Elena Charbila whose most recent solo album ‘Better Than Electric’ was released in 2022. Meanwhile, Berliner Nina Boldt is best known by her mononym NINA as the “Queen of Synthwave” with two acclaimed albums ‘Sleepwalking’ and ‘Synthian’ to her name.
The union began from Charbila’s desire to cover ‘Waiting For Tonight’, the 1999 hit by Jennifer Lopez, in a downtempo retrowave style. Meetings took place in Berlin, Athens and Los Angeles to produce five tracks and three videos together.
The end result came to the attention of Italian Do It Better, best known as the home of CHROMATICS and DESIRE who appeared on the soundtrack to the 2011 movie ‘Drive’. After issuing ‘Waiting For Tonight’ on the ‘After Dark 4’ compilation alongside other acts on the roster such as JOON, MOTHERMARY, DOUBLE MIXTE, CAUSEWAY, DLINA VOLNY, LOVE OBJECT and GLÜME, the prestigious label signed the pair to release the ‘Lust’ EP.
From opposite sides of the Atlantic, Elena Charbila and Nina Boldt got together on Zoom with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK to chat about their fruitful partnership, the making of the ‘Lust’ EP’ and becoming part of the Italians Do It Better family.
So who approached who?
Nina: Our manager Michael Pagnotta, who we’d both known for a long time individually, brought us together, he thought our voices would match really well together. He was right and it’s such a cool collaboration. I found our voices to be very complimentary.
Elena: Michael worked with ERASURE and that’s our mutual connection because Nina played some shows with them in the US… I was asked to do them too so we would have met then but I ended up doing a remix of ‘Sacred’ from their album ‘The Violet Flame’. Michael told me I had a doppelgänger in Germany and made the suggestion to do something.
At the time, I was obsessed with the idea of doing a J-Lo cover so when we started talking, it became apparent that this would be awesome to do as a duet and how sexy it would be to put a new twist on such a dance track, slow down the beats and make it sinister like Miami Nights 1984 or something. That’s how it started…
Photo by Paige Von Bank
Your version of ‘Waiting For Tonight’ has this sensual anticipation of consummation… *laughs*
Elena: I feel the way it was, it was very clubby and commercial… we’re both obsessed with stuff like ‘Drive’, ‘Blade Runner’ and all those things, and they have this driving bass sound which is sort of like a trademark for both of us at this point. I felt we should bring it to that song. It has such a beautiful melody but I think the whole beat situation and Latin vibes don’t let that shine. I feel like in our cover and I’m very proud of it, I think we really accentuated the melody.
Did you know the Jennifer Lopez version of ‘Waiting For Tonight’ is a cover, the original was by 3RD PARTY?
Elena: I found out along the way! *laughs*
Nina: Chi, you’re doing your homework really well… even knowing that, I have a special fondness for J.Lo’s version as it was kind of a new millennium dance theme.
In terms of getting to know each other musically, was there a particular song by the other which convinced you “I want to work with this girl!”?
Nina: That’s a very good question!
Elena: When Michael mentioned Nina again to me, I started listening to her stuff and I became obsessed, like I know ALL the lyrics!
Nina: You were AMAZING! You were singing ‘Synthian’ really loud and knew all the lyrics while we were driving in LA! I was impressed!
Elena: I was obsessed! These songs are magical, they’re beautiful. There were certain songs like ‘Synthian’ for example that I found so ballsy, it could have been an 80s anthem, there was no holding back. I loved the idea of that, it was very courageous in a way and it was owned itself. That particular track for me, I was like “let’s f**king do it!”
What was it about Elena that convinced you to work with her?
Nina: I fell in love with her vocals, I love how sensual and smooth they are. One of my favourite tracks is ‘Big In Japan’ by ALPHAVILLE so when she covered that, I thought it was awesome because covers are difficult things to do and not everyone gets it or you don’t feel connected to it because you are so used to the original… but this cover, she made it her own just like she did with ‘Creep’. So before I met Elena in person, ‘Big In Japan’ was the standout for me, just because it’s one of my favourite songs…
Elena: It’s such a good German choice 😉
Photo by Paige Von Bank
So how did the Italians Do It Better connection develop?
Elena: Well Nina knew Megan Louise who is DESIRE and President of the label…
Nina: A while back, Megan featured my cover of Blondie’s ‘Heart Of Glass’ in one of her mixtapes. Being a huge fan of DESIRE, this was a great honour for me, so I reached out and we started talking. She was so supportive of my first independent release ‘Carnival Night’ when it came out, which I really appreciated. I got to know her a bit better and after meeting Elena, we both realised that we felt the same way about Italians Do It Better, so it was an obvious choice for us to go with them.
Elena: We really wanted to be adopted…
Nina: We were both free and it was like “Take us, we love you!” *laughs*
Let’s talk about the title song of the EP. I thought it was interesting that there is the obvious English meaning which is more erotic but ‘Lust’ is the German word for “Pleasure” in a more innocent manner… was there any deliberate choice of that word?
Nina: That’s interesting, I never actually thought of it like that! I had this lyric “lust is a crime” and I just wanted something about open love and excess which we both felt the same way about. We originally thought about calling it ‘You & I’ or even ‘You & The Night’ early on, but I think it was Johnny Jewel who suggested ‘Lust’.
How did the title track develop musically?
Elena: It was the second or third track musically that came together, ‘Waiting For Tonight’ was first and sprung the whole idea of the EP, then ‘Devotion’ and ‘Electric Kiss’ were respectively the darkness and the light. ‘Electric Kiss’ was the carefree ride and ‘Devotion’ more the sinister ride *laughs*
‘Lust’ actually came last as a compliment to everything that was going on sonically, like a bridge… it was like we needed something soft yet deep because ‘Electric Kiss’ carries the emotion of sweet connection but there’s no actual love or devotion.
For the most part, the music was made in Athens with Hristos Lainas aka Franklin producing the project. I was writing it and sending it to Nina and she would give feedback, we would bounce back our vocal ideas about it and it went from that.
Then there’s the video for ‘Lust’…
Elena: The video is pretty sensual and erotica, now that I think about it, there’s different kinds of love in every song… in Greek, there’s different words for each kind of love, it’s not just “love”, there’s “eros” which is the erotic love and there’s the devoted deep love… ‘Waiting For Tonight’ is maybe our anticipation for new love in my head.
Nina: ‘Lust’ for me is like a deep connection, that excess and passion…
Elena: It’s that going back one more time, something that’s unfinished, it has that cyclical feel to it musically and lyrically that it keeps going back. For me, it was like my personal favourite, I immediately had such a ❤️ connection to that particular track. Which one is yours Nina?
Nina: They all have something special but if I have to pick one, it’s ‘Devotion’ because I really love that spoken word mixing with the sensual vocals and it’s a bit more playful and there’s anticipation there. I think it’s interesting also that Hristos did that bendy synth sound…
Photo by George Tripodakis
Yes, I really like that bendy synth sound on ‘Devotion’, it’s as though it’s illustrating the risk of driving into a forbidden relationship?
Nina: There’s a lot of that, but with ‘Electric Kiss’, it’s more sweet and innocent, that’s more a “drive into the sunset” kind of song, I feel that contrast. It feels a lot more 80s in a way, Synthwave fans will hopefully enjoy that track as well. RADIO WOLF does that dreamy guitar sound which I’m a big fan of.
The EP’s palette is quite varied, you have pacy songs, slow retrowave, covers and ‘Crime’ has this “saxiness”…
Elena: It was supposed to be called ‘Sax Is A Crime’ but you know, people just said “use one word, ‘Crime’”!
Nina: The sax for ‘Crime’ was a bit of a surprise when I heard it in LA and that prompted some sexy spoken words. Our approach was ‘Blade Runner: The Erotic Cut’! Haha! For the EP as a whole, since we wanted to express ourselves in new ways, we incorporated unexpected musical ideas. That’s why the mix of lush guitars, warped bass notes, and cut up vocal FX are built in. They aroused our creativity..
Elena: We’re both obsessed with ‘Blade Runner’ so when I recorded it here in LA, I had this view of the skyline and I had one of my best friends Skylar play that particular sax line. I didn’t know if we were going to put vocals on it or have it as an outro to the EP to add to the cinematic element of the other tracks. When Nina and I heard it together, Johnny Jewel felt it needed to be like ‘Blade Runner’, sultry like ‘Tears In The Rain’ but as it’s androids, its devoid of sexuality, whereas ours, it’s very human and very inviting, it’s inviting “one night with you”, we’ll make your dreams come true.
We’re creating a fantasy world cinematically, sexually speaking. People can think whatever they want about ‘this’. Are we singing this to each other? Are we singing it to your man, my woman? It’s up for your interpretation; we’re not going to feed it to you. It’s just going to be a warm dish, you can eat it however you want.
Photo by George Tripodakis
Are there any more videos planned?
Elena: There’s one for ‘Crime’, it’s definitely in line with the song, it’s hot and very inviting, and it’s very red and black! *laughs*
Nina: There’s sexy silhouettes…
Elena: And there’s one for ‘Devotion’…
Nina: Yes, it’s a bit more of a driving song so we have a car in there. It was filmed in Los Angeles and it’s got lots of neon lights, very sexy and colourful, I don’t want to give away too much… it’s quite different from ‘Lust’ which is nice…
Elena: …it’s probably the most ‘Blade Runner’ influenced because of the location amongst the tall buildings. There’s a chase and as our most dangerous sounding song, it has some Theremin in there as well. There’s a universe where ‘Devotion’ is the track of being chased, but whoever is chasing us doesn’t want to do anything bad to us. *laughs*
Now although you are on different continents, you have met up a few times in Berlin, Athens and LA… which meet-up was the most fun?
Nina: It’s hard to choose. So many great memories but meeting in Berlin was exciting because it was our first encounter. We just gelled together so well. I’m so proud that we managed to write five songs in only two days, that was incredible. Also to me personally, after COVID and all that, things had been difficult so it was a real escape just being in the studio making music.
Elena: I feel like Berlin was basically finishing the EP, putting down all the vocals and writing the lyrics, I’d never co-written lyrics before… co-writing can be such a “back-and-forth” thing and can take f**king ages, but this was, and I kept joking about it, like German efficiency… cos Chi, you know, Greeks, when you leave them loose on their own, they ain’t efficient! *laughs*
So Berlin was like hankering down to finish the EP but then LA was about putting the visuals to the music with a video directed by Joe Rubenstein for ‘Devotion’. It was like fleshing out the universe of ‘Lust’ as it does have themes of old Hollywood with images of palm trees, glamour and driving luxurious cars at night… it has a mystique.
Then in Athens, we shot two videos with director Paige Von Bank, it was so crazy because we did them both in a day. They were filmed by George Geranios of FOTONOVELA who you know and Sophie Sarigiannidou from MARSHEAUX did our make-up, it was all such a family affair… and then we feasted at George’s family tavern after the shoot
That does explain the creative tension in this collaboration which does have this urgent feel about it, there’s no “mañana” about it …
Elena: yes, for me, it was the first time we crammed so much in a “pop” or song-based project of mine. With the soundtrack stuff, I am more used to the pressure of “deliver this now” which feels very stressful always, but for this, it felt like the good kind of stress that you are going to be so productive and you have this challenge. I feel like we made it every single time with Nina. Usually, it’s just “I’m just writing a song, it could take however long” but this time it really worked for me.
Photo by George Tripodakis
So what is the future of your creative relationship? Are you going to do a second EP?
Elena: I would love to do more stuff and I’m sure we will, but we are working on our own individual projects at the same time so it’s an open door.
Nina: That would be great! I think collaborating is a wonderful way to learn new things and push the envelope. I’m always open to it.
Are live shows a possibility or is that really not practical or cost-effective?
Elena: I mean, it’s not easy but we both want it and hopefully we will make it happen.
Nina: It would definitely be an adventure that everyone would enjoy, so I hope we can make it happen. Where there’s will there’s a way!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to KID MOXIE & NINA
With DESIRE, GLÜME and CLUB INT’L having done their bit for Italians Do It Better at Fabric a few days earlier, it was the turn of MOTHERMARY, LOVE OBJECT and JOON for a second label showcase at the trendy Laylow in London’s Notting Hill.
A four floor establishment with a restaurant frequented by the likes of George Clooney, Kate Moss and David Beckham plus a basement music venue, a mortgage was required for a couple of drinks at Laylow.
But the financial pain was soothed almost immediately by DESIRE front woman Megan Louise on the decks playing Giorgio Moroder’s ‘Chase’. Throughout the evening, the Italians Do It Better President provided an enjoyable soundtrack of Italo disco, electroclash, techno and French New Wave between acts that was discerning and hip but not too cool for school, a lesson that could be learnt by other DJs.
Almost a homecoming having studied music technology in London, Maltese producer Yasmin Kuymizakis gave her first gig in the capital as her alter-ego JOON. Appropriately opening with the brilliant ‘Good Times’, Kuymizakis left her workstation to join the audience for an impromptu sing-song.
Her optimism and joy set the tone for a performance featuring a number of songs from her debut album ‘Dream Again’. The blippy pop of ‘ET’ came complete vintage horror film Theremin tones yet had people dancing while despite playing with drones, the quirky instrumental ‘I.You’ provoked a few smiles. The final song of the set was the huskily voiced ‘Worse Things’ which had been due to appear on ‘Dream Again’. But it had now been reworked from its ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ origins into something more clubtastic.
So well received was JOON’s performance that the audience demanded not one but two encores. Kuymizakis obliged with a pair of works-in-progress of which, the first was very promising despite having sections that had not yet been completely worked out.
Russian duo LOVE OBJECT first appeared on the Italians Do It Better compilation ‘After Dark 3’ and came out with their debut album ‘New Flesh’ on the label at the end of 2021. Comprising of singer Dasha Utochka and producer Danya Mu, an erotic overtone lingers over LOVE OBJECT, perhaps not surprising as Utochka co-founded ‘Areola’, a publication whose mission statement is “To help people become more liberated and freethinking!”.
LOVE OBJECT’s ethos is to challenge control so their stark neo-industrial was fitting. After opening with a cover of Madonna’s ‘Frozen’, Utochka’s vocals were delivered mostly in her native language. The doom laden hip-hop of ‘Virus’ was on point with its apocalyptic rap of truths while ‘Object Of Desire’ included a short narrative from Mu before Utochka took over like Miss Kittin reciting Cyrillic script. Closing with their best song ‘Transparent Woman’, this speedy slice of tech-pop made the most of its percolating percussive metallics.
Inspired by the Prayer of the Blessed Virgin, the striking MOTHERMARY are like real-life ‘Twin Peaks’ characters, the backstory being that twins Elyse and Larena Winn escaped their strict Mormon family upbringing in remote Montana and uprooted to Brooklyn. “Women can be mothers and nurturing and caring and smart, and we also get to have f***ing sex drives” MOTHERMARY said in the press release for their debut album ‘I Am Your God’ released at the start of 2022.
Religious imagery is a recurring theme in the Winn’s sexually charged music as they channel their collective repression to confront patriarchy. Taking to the stage from the audience in red veils to the ominous tones of ‘Devils’, MOTHERMARY formally began their London premiere with the bubbling electro R’n’B of ‘Give It Up’. Removing their veils to reveal black leather coats, ‘Pray’ made references to a “sacrificial offering” over an acid house squelch, while the twins declared “We’ll pray for you…”
Photo by Belle Piec
Disrobing to latex basques and thigh length boots for the Schaffel driven ‘Catch Fire’, MOTHERMARY toasted themselves as “the cult to end all cults”. No stranger to the songs of Madonna Louise Ciccone having covered ‘Like A Prayer’ on ‘I Am Your God’, their live version of ‘Like A Virgin’ illustrated more vividly, the haunting anguish and subsequent emotional rebirth behind the Tom Kelly / Billy Steinberg composition. Meanwhile ‘Coming For You’ provided a sinister stalker-like statement of devotion, before the set culminated in ‘Burn With Desire’ and a performance of ‘Like A Prayer’ itself.
It was another enjoyable evening of music, where each artist had their own considered style of presentation. Assorted emotions were conveyed across varied interpretations of electronic pop and held together by the brand identity of Italians Do It Better. Avoiding the “see if it sticks” approach of other independent labels, there was a distinct curated quality behind it all.
Special thanks to Frankie Davison at Stereo Sanctity
After a successful first outing in 2021, The Pitchfork Festival London was back to present a variety of established and newer acts with various curated themes at venues across the capital including The ICA and Roundhouse
On the final day of the almost week long festival, the renowned superclub Fabric hosted a showcase by cult US electronic music label Italians Do It Better featuring DESIRE, GLÜME and CLUB INT’L.
The label was co-founded in 2006 by Johnny Jewel who continues to run the label to this day with partner-in-crime and the face of DESIRE, Megan Louise. Best known for once being the home of CHROMATICS, the profile of Italians Do It better was boosted a number of key soundtrack inclusions, notably the 2011 Ryan Gosling film ‘Drive’ which featured ‘Tick Of The Clock’ by CHROMATICS and ‘Under Your Spell’ by DESIRE.
More recently, Italians Do It Better has expanded its roster and signed a number of acts from all around the globe including JOON, LOVE OBJECT and MOTHERMARY who were present at Fabric to support their colleagues, but also to play at their own showcase at Laylow later in the week.
Opening proceedings were CLUB INT’L, essentially the vehicle of multi-instrumentalist John Eatherly but tonight, he has been accompanied on stage by co-vocalist and self-styled “Movie Character” Logan Avidan.
The photogenic couple looked like they finished a Jean Luc-Godard film and had music to match with a twist. Highlights included the shoegazey single ‘Ride’ and an appealing rendition of ‘The Tide Is High’, the reggae tune originally by THE PARAGONS made famous by BLONDIE.
The fashionable crowd waited in anticipation for GLÜME, the “Walmart Marilyn Monroe” whose 2021 debut album ‘The Internet’ unexpectedly gained worldwide traction and was praised by alternative artists such as Daniel Graves of AESTHETIC PERFECTION.
On stage, she showed her endearing vulnerability performing autobiographical songs such as ‘Child Actor’, ‘Body’ and ‘Nervous Breakdown’ but it was the new material premiered from the upcoming sophomore album like ‘Do Me A Favor’, ‘Main Character’ and ‘Surgery’ that impressed.
Playing on her Norma Jeane Mortenson parachuted into Twin Peaks persona, there was a playful Marilyn cover in ‘After You Get What You Want’ from the 1954 musical ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’.
The Gary Numan meets LADYTRON styled ‘Get Low’ got the audience participating in an crouching disco dance ended a highly enjoyable performance. For a girl who had never been outside of the USA before 2021, the world is now GLÜME’s oyster.
The acclaimed debut album by DESIRE was released in 2009 and creating a follow-up has seemingly been an arduous process. But Megan Louise hasn’t been idle over the intervening years, continuing to release singles, collaborate and getting involved in the day-today operations of Italians Do It Better.
With the second DESIRE album ‘Escape’ finally released in 2022, Megan Louise and Johnny Jewel had more songs to play around with compared to their last London gig at The Roundhouse opening for CHROMATICS in 2019. Live favourites such as ‘Don’t Call’, ‘If I Can’t Hold You’ and the cover of NEW ORDER’s Bizarre Love Triangle’ remained. But in came glorious atmospheric electro-disco numbers like ‘Zeros’ and ‘Liquid Dreams’ with wonderful synth interventions by Jewel on his vintage Univox K-2, the US variant of the MiniKorg 700s. Benefitting from more penetrating rhythmic backdrops, ‘Black Latex’ and ‘Days & Nights’ ensured that there was no excuse to go for a comfort break.
Dressed in black latex, Megan Louise was tastefully brazen while playfully teasing the crowd. At one point, she even made out with a skeleton while accidently dismembering it.
With the support of those present, all the “LAHS” came out in force during a reinterpretation of Kylie’s ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ and a dynamic take on the ‘Escape’ title song before a toughened-up ‘Under Your Spell’ provided a thumping close to the evening.
Almost as soon as the curtain came down, Megan Louise was already in casuals, meeting fans in the foyer and happily posing for selfies. It was just one of those good natured evenings with a welcoming atmosphere and of course, great music. With their brand outlining a distinct stamp of quality, hopefully Italians Do It Better will be back again in London soon to put on more showcases… KID MOXIE & NINA next time please 😉
Special thanks to Frankie Davison at Stereo Sanctity
‘Escape’ is the long awaited follow-up to the acclaimed debut album by DESIRE which was released in 2009. One of its tracks ‘Under Your Spell’ notably featured in the synthwave-tinged soundtrack of 2011’s ‘Drive’ starring Ryan Gosling.
Originally from Montreal, vivacious latex-clad front woman Megan Louise hasn’t been idle, continually releasing singles, collaborating and becoming president of Italians Do It Better. Produced by IDIB head honcho and beau Johnny Jewel, ‘Escape’ was mixed by Vaughn Oliver. Inspired by Italian Giallo horror films, the record was constructed in Los Angeles and Palm Springs.
‘Escape’ is multilingual singing in English, French, and Korean while Megan Louise plays the role of vixen and villain, opening proceedings with ‘Black Latex’, a spoken word art piece in French and English inspired by Andy Warhol. With pizzicato interventions and glorious synth salvos, ‘Telling Me Lies’ does that alluring moonlit driving thing over a tom-laden drum machine backbone where “you can run but you can’t hide”.
“All out of trying, all out of tears” while swathed in layers of electronic sounds and a wash of emotions, ‘Liquid Dreams’ echoes one-time label mates CHROMATICS and is boosted by a great frequency tuning solo. But featuring current label mates MIRAGE, ‘Love Is A Crime’ begins with an enigmatic and semi-spoken verse which is countered by a vocodered chorus. There are dense filtered tapestries where the processed voice declares “there’s no-one left to hold you” before the nostalgic tones of dial-up internet ring.
The wonderful ‘Zeros’ which was first released in early 2021 remains gorgeously dreamy and seductive with its sunset noir cinematics burying the past and “adding up to zero every single day”. Short, sweet and sans batterie, more spoken word is presented on the sparsely vibe laden ‘Dark Age’.
With elegant airy movements in Korean from ETHER’s Soo Joo Park, the forlorn ‘Haenim’ is an electronically styled cover of the 1968 Kim Jung Mi folk song with its narrative about woman who carries a traumas from the past confirming that “some scars never heal”; the haunting synth noir reinterpretation could be considered akin to when MIRRORS covered ‘Something On Your Mind’ which was recorded by Karen Dalton.
“Fading slow” with a delightful burst of synthesized pop bliss, ‘Ghosts’ is not for when the room is quiet, especially during the blistering keyboard solos. Given a remix, the brilliantly naive escapist electronic disco of ‘Escape’ which imagined BANANARAMA fronting NEW ORDER doesn’t quite hit the spot in this new version which is a shame in its position as the title track; the original slice of pop perfection should have been the preferred inclusion
Based around Fender Rhodes, ‘The Young & The Restless’ sounds like a song from a lost French arthouse movie while 11. the absorbing nocturnal electro-disco ‘Days & Nights’ is a gorgeously enticing highlight that glistens as “stars are shining”. Preceded by the interlude ‘L’Amulette De Vie’, the GOLDFRAPP-like ‘Friends & Enemies’ utilises Mellotron flute tones to provide another sparse resigned ballad, concluding with a haunting chorus of children and a foreboding toll.
Featuring seven previously released singles and six new tracks, that’s slightly more than TEARS FOR FEARS ‘The Hurting’ which only featured four new tracks when it came out back in 1983. ‘Escape’ does as its title suggests, a synth-laden soap opera with an idealistic narrative to overcome the challenges that life brings. It has been a long wait but the second DESIRE album is finally here with moments to savour.
‘Escape’ uses the following instruments: MiniKorg 700s, Roland Jupiter 8, Roland TR909, Mellotron, Simmons Rhythm Modules, ARP Solina String Machine, Roland D-50, Fender Rhodes
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