EXIT NORTH are the brooding quartet who comprise of Thomas Feiner, Steve Jansen, Ulf Jansson and Charles Storm.
Lead vocalist Feiner first worked with Jansen on his solo albums ‘Slope’ in 2007 and ‘Tender Extinction’ in 2016, but EXIT NORTH began in 2014 when the pair enlisted the talents of Ulf Jansson and Charles Storm.
The combo are about to release their magnificent debut album ‘Book Of Romance and Dust’, a captivating collection of nine songs seeded in Gothenburg and swathed in a variety of wintery instrumental colours including piano, synthesizer, trumpet, harmonium and a string section conducted by Mikael Backegård.
‘Book of Romance and Dust’ is a quality recording that also sees Steve Jansen, who first found fame as a member of JAPAN, returning to drums and percussion following the more ambient nature of his last two releases ‘The Extinct Suite’ and ‘Corridor’. He kindly chatted about the genesis and realisation of EXIT NORTH.
How did EXIT NORTH come together as a project?
In 2014 I asked Thomas how he felt about working on a more long term collaborative project with the hope of putting out an album together. His response was positive and since he’d begun writing with Ulf on piano, it seemed like a good idea to pull resources and make it a ‘band’ project.
Later Thomas had the idea to ask Charles to join us. Charles, a popular producer in Sweden, had already worked with Ulf for various sessions and he and Thomas had known one another since their first meeting at a show I performed in Sweden many years earlier.
‘Book Of Romance and Dust’ has had a long gestation period…
Yes, although if you condense the amount of time we actually spent on the making of the record, it would probably be around 3 months work. We each had other commitments and it wasn’t easy to move things forward at a regular pace. But the periods of stagnation were ultimately productive since we were able to re-evaluate more and take one another’s ideas onboard. It sounds the way it does because it took 4 years to complete and I wouldn’t want to change that.
In terms of the compositional dynamic, how often were you able to work together in the same room and what elements could you leave to more remote processes?
I made numerous trips to Gothenburg so that we could record together but after the piano parts were recorded, much of the initial arrangements were dealt with remotely. It’s pretty common these days to exchange audio stems and work on overdubs in the comfort (and affordability) of your own workspace. But we wanted to include a lot of real instruments and performances and because Charles has his own studio in Gothenburg which is fully equipped for live recording, we were able to make the best of both worlds.
Despite being a band project, ‘Book Of Romance and Dust’ does have this amazing forlorn quality about it…
I think it’s simply a matter of each of us being on the same wavelength musically. As is often the case with makers of ‘serious’ music, we’re not forlorn characters by any stretch of the imagination but we are sensitive to, and appreciative of, those more weighty emotions we all carry within us and if we can represent some of that stuff in music without boring everyone to tears then it’s a worthwhile exercise. I don’t think it’s something you can achieve very well when you’re still in your youth, so it makes sense to play to your strengths the older you get.
Much of the music is very cinematic, was there any particular approaches or influences that pointed it in this direction?
Much of the material derived from Ulf’s piano parts and as you can hear he is always introducing melody lines with the chords, and Thomas’ vocals follow different melodies, so as a listener you’re registering more than just the one melody line. There has to be ample space in the music to allow for this and so we managed to strip away anything superfluous and allow the music to breathe. The use of strings help to embellish these melodies and I think perhaps this combination might suggest a cinematic quality.
Thomas Feiner’s vocals have that distinct aged resonance which suits this type of material?
I think Thomas’ voice has a tremendous amount of gravitas and resonance and his delivery is better than most native English singers. I feel very fortunate to be working with someone this good.
What was it like for you to be back involved in songs and playing percussion after your more recent ambient releases?
Great. I’ve missed the experience of being in a group and sharing responsibilities whereby each member focuses on those elements that best serve the recording. There’s a tremendous level of diplomacy in the group and we all played a variety of instruments, some of which we’ve not bothered to credit as it would just look daft. And writing lyrics for songs with beautiful melodies provides a wonderful sense of job satisfaction.
Opening song ‘Bested Bones’ is quite a haunting number with some lovely strings and mysterious tones of brass?
This particular song was one that Thomas and Ulf worked on prior to the four of us teaming up. I think it demonstrates well how the two of them dance around one another melodically. All the strings on the album were added towards the end of the recording sessions and were very much the icing on the cake.
The acoustic elements on the album have a wonderfully airy touch about them, how did you set about achieving this during recording?
The sound of the record is down to Charles and his skill at recording and mixing. He worked tirelessly at making the very best of each and every process of the recording, since this project was so important to him.
‘Passenger’s Wake’ has some unexpected dynamic bursts?
Yes, it’s the most dynamic track on the album. After adding some brass type bursts to the chorus, it set the path to becoming much more aggressive and bombastic. It’s one of those tracks that found its place without any of us seeing it coming.
‘Lessons In Doubt’ has a rich timeless European feel… it would seem that this album has no real influence from across the Atlantic, had that been a conscious decision?
‘Lessons In Doubt’ had a working title of ‘The Russian’ because of the piano melodies. We all like this flavour. For such a simple sounding track it took a lot of work, but the string arrangement and percussive detail really added to that Bolshevik twist. I think it’s fair to say this isn’t an American sounding record which wasn’t a conscious decision, but to be honest I can’t recall ever making an American influenced album.
‘Spider’ appears to combine Scott Walker with latter day TALK TALK and THE BLUE NILE?
That didn’t occur to me but it’s a fair enough observation and now that you mention it, I can see what you mean.
The emotive and shimmering two parter ‘Losing’ with Anna Bylund’s angelic soprano counterpoint from to Thomas’ hum conveys exactly what the title suggests?
The lyrics refer to looking after that which is fragile. I wouldn’t want to describe specially where the inspiration comes from but if that image is relayed then I’m pleased about it.
Who do you hope EXIT NORTH will appeal to?
Ideally anyone who can draw deeper emotions from music but I know that not everyone needs that. I certainly don’t but that’s because I spend too much of my time working on it.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to Steve Jansen
Although their recorded output covered just five albums over a four year period, JAPAN are one of the most acclaimed bands from the flaboyant and colourful era which many came to know as New Romantic.
JAPAN’s final two studio albums ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’ and ‘Tin Drum’ are being reissued as Abbey Road Half-Speed mastered 2LP gatefold vinyl editions with two tracks per side, running at 45RPM to maximise audio quality. Along with the pair’s predecessor ‘Quiet Life’, they formed the Holy Trinity of JAPAN records on which the band’s reputation was based. The fact that Universal Music have considered there is sufficient demand for such product is an indication of the high regard JAPAN are held. In many social media discussions about bands which people wished they had seen live, JAPAN are invariably one of the acts that get mentioned.
As far as their legacy is concerned, if JAPAN had not led the way with their arty aspirational poise, DURAN DURAN would not have had a role model to inspire them to their subsequent success. Le Bon & Co even used JAPAN’s regular photographer Fin Costello to capture the cover image used on their self-titled debut album.
Thanks to JAPAN’s flamboyant bassist Mick Karn who sadly passed away in January 2011, the sound of the fretless bass became ubiquitous in the mainstream for a number of years. It was a playing style that top session player Pino Palladino ultimately adopted and made his fortune from. Meanwhile, enigmatic front man David Sylvian was the ultimate pin-up for that flamboyant period, but later progressed to becoming a highly regarded solo artist with a no-compromise approach in parallel to Scott Walker, proving that there is life after pretty boy pop stardom.
Today, drummer Steve Jansen and keyboardist Richard Barbieri continue to release solo albums of a primarily instrumental nature as well as working on collaborative projects, while guitarist Rob Dean is now an ornithologist specialising in Costa Rican birdlife.
Londoners David Sylvian, Mick Karn, Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri and Rob Dean began their career as an aggressive funk laden glam rock outfit with a straggly image not dissimilar to NEW YORK DOLLS. Looked after by future WHAM! manager Simon Napier-Bell, who had been drawn to the band by Sylvian’s androgynous good looks which he described as “a cross between Mick Jagger and Brigitte Bardot”, the debut JAPAN album ‘Adolescent Sex’ was released in April 1978 by Ariola Hansa, the German label that had steered BONEY M to great success.
While the bizarre mix of rock, funk, glam and electronics achieved little impact in Britain, it was a surprise success with teenage girls in the country of Japan, resulting in the band playing to packed houses at big venues like Tokyo’s Bukodan.
With a reggae element also thrown into the mix, a largely more rock ‘n’ roll flavoured second album ‘Obscure Alternatives’ was released in October 1978; although it too was met with ambivalence, it proved to be a pivotal turning point for the band with the haunting closing instrumental ‘The Tenant’ a sign of things to come.
JAPAN’s continued success in Japan exposed the band members to South East Asian culture and its fascination with modern technology. These experiences were reflected in the recording of ‘Life In Tokyo’ produced by Giorgio Moroder in April 1979, which was arranged at the behest of Ariola Hansa who felt JAPAN should attempt to crack the disco market.
Now acknowledged as the bridge between growly funk-rock JAPAN and the more familiar, mannered and artier version of the group recognised by most today, ‘Life In Tokyo’ was a key interim landmark in their career as a recording that all band members were happy with. With the more mannered textures of ROXY MUSIC now emanating from their psyche, the electronically assisted template showcased on ‘Life In Tokyo’ was refined for their third album ‘Quiet Life’ released in January 1980.
Produced by John Punter who had worked on ROXY MUSIC’s ‘Country Life’ album, JAPAN found a willing conspirator who truly believed in them. JAPAN’s look also changed with stylish suits, heavier make-up and shorter coiffured hair for an effeminate demeanour that was similar to the New Romantics who were now frequenting The Blitz Club.
The opening title track’s resonant heart was a Roland System 700 driven by Barbieri’s snappy eight step Oberheim Mini-sequencer. Complimented by Mick Karn’s distinctively fluid fretless bass,and Sylvian’s lyrical conclusion that the band were outsiders in the environment they were born into, it was a sure-fire hit… but not yet as Ariola Hansa didn’t see fit to release ‘Quiet Life’ as a single in the UK at that point!
Also on ‘Quiet Life’, there was also an understated cover of ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’, understood to be Andy Warhol’s favourite Lou Reed composition alongside more uptempo art rock numbers like ‘Fall In Love With Me’ and ‘Halloween’. But the revelations of the ‘Quiet Life’ album were the tear-jerking epics ‘In Vogue’ and ‘The Other Side Of Life’ orchestrated by Ann O’Dell which premiered a very different aspect to JAPAN, one with an emotional centre.
Meanwhile, the gently mysterious ‘Despair’ was influenced by Erik Satie with its piano aesthetics. Crooned entirely in French, it no doubt took its lead from ROXY MUSIC’s ‘Song For Europe’. Highly cinematic, it was concluded with a glorious melodic ensemble of strings and choirs from an ARP Solina.
After their shaky start, the change in musical style and the more artful demeanour of ‘Quiet Life’ was pointing JAPAN in the right direction and towards Virgin Records. Again produced by John Punter, ‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’ saw Richard Barbieri seriously getting into technology with the ARP Omni, Polymoog, Roland Jupiter 4 and Sequential Prophet 5 among the many synths used on the album along with his own Oberheim OBX, Micromoog and Roland System 700.
While wonderful melancholic songs such as the title track and ‘My New Career’ were a natural progression of the muzak which shaped the ‘Quiet Life’ album, the band were beginning to tire of this gentle wall of sound and aspiring to do something more dynamic.
Indeed, the dropping of the more conventional sounding ‘Some Kind Of Fool’ for the more abstract Bowie / Eno influenced electronic mood piece ‘Burning Bridges’ at the last minute was a sign of that dilemma. In the studio, Sylvian in particular as the band’s songwriter was seeking to take more control, leading to disagreements with individual band members as well as Punter with regards production.
With Sylvian now writing songs on keyboards, this artistically left little manoeuvre for Rob Dean’s guitar despite his willingness to become more textural thanks to some Fripp inspired E-bowed embellishments. Dean was absent from four of the album’s eight tracks; Karn was also missing from two numbers. In their place came guest musicians such as Ryuichi Sakamoto on the exotic ‘Taking Islands In Africa’ and Bowie violinist Simon House who provided a solo to ‘My New Career’, beginning a pattern of collaboration that Sylvian would continue throughout his solo career.
Sylvian was aiming for a sparser sound and this was achieved with the mournful Satie-esque ‘Nightporter’. Featuring just Sylvian and Barbieri with session musicians Barry Guy on string bass and Andrew Cauthery on oboe, it was one of the album’s key tracks and a pointer of things to come for JAPAN’s leader.
Despite the tensions, when all five band members were featuring, they were firing on cylinders. The terrific ‘Swing’ combined Sylvian’s poetic travelogue with Richard Barbieri’s Oriental synth textures. In addition, Rob Dean made a full contribution with some excellent six string work as the rhythm section of Karn and Jansen maintained an amazing bounce over the Compurhythm driven bossa nova.
Meanwhile on the magnificently jagged ‘Methods Of Dance’, the spine-tingling middle section saw Jansen contributing drums, marimba and percussive keyboard embellishments bookended by a sophisticated arrangement layers of distinct keyboard parts, Karn’s sax, bursts of tense ringing guitar from Dean and the cry of a Japanese girl named Cyo.
But both of these songs were incredibly long and complex, formed of many distinct sections in a manner akin to progressive rock. Now while for anyone prepared to stick out these sub-seven minute tracks which formed half of the album, there would be ultimately be satisfaction and enlightenment, it was not going to prove easy to market such lengthy songs as 220 second edits to national and commercial radio. With Virgin promoting the album as “Music For Adults Only” and perhaps paradoxically with a key front cover for ‘Smash Hits’, it was close but no cigar.
Although ‘Gentleman Take Polaroids’ did not as yet yield a hit single, JAPAN were finally selling out concerts on home turf, notably a show at London’s Lyceum to launch the long player. But cracks were already appearing within the quintet, with Rob Dean leaving after a May 1981 tour supporting ‘The Art Of Parties’ single which he had not actually played on.
Photo by Steve Jansen
However, momentum was building and one party that noticed was JAPAN’s former label Ariola Hansa. In August 1981, they cashed-in with the release of ‘Quiet Life’ as a single which reached No17 in the UK singles charts. As a result, a new younger audience was becoming interested in JAPAN, one that was not only seeking something modern and stylish but with a depth of musicality too.
For JAPAN’s fifth album released in November 1981, the band took the influences of the Far East even further with the Chinese flavoured ‘Tin Drum’. The slimmed down band line-up was reflected in the music. A much more minimal album than any of the band’s previous work, ‘Tin Drum’ had hardly any guitar while the synths used were restricted to an Oberheim OBX, Prophet 5 and occasionally the System 700, with the work split 55:45 between Barbieri and Sylvian. That Stockhausen derived minimalism with its sense of space was taken to its zenith with ‘Ghosts’ and its iconic chilling metallic intro.
Richard Barbieri told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “Not being a technically gifted player, the keys were of less importance to me than the actual controls. What I tried to do was to make more events happen from one note than playing 200 notes. The prime example to that is the intro to ‘Ghosts’ because it’s just one triggered note on the System 700, but I’d programmed in this evolving series of movements with filters, LFOs and pitch frequency oscillation. I’ve never been able to quite get that sound again, but it caused havoc for the engineer because there were lots of peaks and it was quite difficult to record.”
Exquisitely programmed as opposed to relying on effects, JAPAN were aiming for synth derived acoustic colours constructed using ring modulation as well as parallel tuning in fourths and fifths for sounds that possessed a dead echo. Produced by another Roxy cohort Steve Nye, the arrangements were simpler with repeating patterns, tight hand played sequences and clean rhythmic tones.
But it was no less sophisticated with the assortment of timbres within those parts providing the variation and the air of Brian Eno and David Byrne’s ‘My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts’ looming. The wondrous ‘Still Life In Mobile Homes’ in particular saw East meeting West with Oriental vocal aesthetics and cleverly programmed organic synthesized sounds sitting next to state of the art digital technology such the Linn LM1 Drum Computer, all with the prowess of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA.
The lyrical themes of ‘Tin Drum’ flirted with Chinese Communism as Eno had done on ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)’. Sylvian appeared to be taking inspiration from the Little Red Book of Chairman Mao, a point highlighted by the pentatonic polyrhythmic single ‘Visions Of China’ and its less frantic but similarly dida enhanced sister song ‘Cantonese Boy’.
With co-writing credits on ‘Visions Of China’ and the traditional sounding instrumental ‘Canton’, Steve Jansen was playing an increasing role as well, but it was clear that his older brother still maintained overall control. Jansen told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “That would have been put down to the fact that what I was doing rhythmically played a bigger part than usual in the inspiration and direction of the songs. But in reality I don’t think it was the right way of doing it. I think all JAPAN’s music was methodically arranged by each member and warranted some co-writing credit however small.”
While Mick Karn was becoming slightly more isolated having not played on ‘Ghosts’, he still provided some memorable bass runs and got a co-writing credit for his dominant mantra and harmonics on the percussively brooding seven minute ‘Sons Of Pioneers’. But on the whole, the songs on ‘Tin Drum’ were shorter and sharper like ‘Talking Drum’, providing a degree of immediacy that had not been present before; the album became the band’s biggest UK success, both commercially and critically.
However, all was not well within the band. Frustrations about publishing and personal differences came to a head with the now well-documented tensions between Sylvian and Karn tearing the band apart as they soldiered on with a British tour. The individual band members spent 1982 undertaking their own projects while JAPAN was put on hiatus. Despite rumours of a split, JAPAN became chart regulars in 1982, notching up a further six Top 40 singles including a cover of Smokey Robinson’s ‘I Second That Emotion. However, the biggest surprise came when ‘Ghosts’ caught the mood of the moment with a Top 5 hit that April as the British Task Force was heading south towards the Falkland Islands.
An extensive Autumn tour of the UK, Europe and South East Asia was arranged by Napier-Bell to capitalise on their wider profile as he sought to buy time to keep his charges creatively together. Although the majority of the dates were sold out, JAPAN called it a day at the height of their powers with a final performance in Nagoya, Japan on 16th December 1982.
Sylvian and Karn continued with solo careers as well as collaborating with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Midge Ure respectively, while Jansen and Barbieri worked with both of their former bandmates, as well together as THE DOLPHIN BROTHERS who released an album ‘Catch The Fall’ in 1987. That same year, relations had thawed enough between Sylvian and Karn for them to jointly record two songs ‘Buoy’ and ‘When Love Walks In’ for the bassist’s second solo album ‘Dreams Of Reason Produce Monsters’ which was co-produced by Jansen.
So in 1989, the quartet gathered at Studio Miraval in the south of France for what was considered to be a JAPAN reunion in all but name. But that episode in itself was a whole other story…
‘Gentlemen Take Polaroids’ and ‘Tin Drum’ are each released as Abbey Road Half-Speed Mastered gatefold 2LP 45RPM vinyl sets with download key by Virgin Records / Universal Music on 24th August 2018, both albums will also be available in a 180 gram single LP edition playing at the standard 33RPM
Steve Jansen has been very busy of late over the last 12 months with projects involving both music and photography.
In 2015, the one-time drummer of JAPAN published ‘Through A Quiet Window’, a book of his photos taken between 1978-1991 documenting his time with the band and touring with fellow sticksman Yukihiro Takahashi of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA.
Featuring band mates David Sylvian, Mick Karn, Richard Barbieri and Rob Dean, ‘Through A Quiet Window’ is must for JAPAN fans, capturing the band at work in the studio and relaxing in a variety of situations.
Interest in the book has led to exhibitions of Jansen’s photos in Kyoto and Sydney, Nova Scotia with an ambient soundtrack recently prepared to accompany the installation at the latter location. That music will be released as a brand new album ‘Corridor’ with the floating 48 minute title composition appended by ‘Recovery Room’, an 8 minute instrumental fusing percussive electronica with classical elements.
Steve Jansen kindly chatted about the genesis of ‘Corridor’ and ‘Through A Quiet Window’ while also shedding light on the perception of JAPAN as a band at the height of their artistic success.
Your new album ’Corridor’ is aesthetically paired with your previous release ‘The Extinct Suite’, but is maybe more minimal, especially the start?
Visually the artwork is aesthetically paired with ‘The Extinct Suite’ and sonically there are similarities but not so many. The music of ‘Corridor’ is less structured since many of the tracks on ‘The Extinct Suite’ were instrumental versions of songs from ‘Tender Extinction’ and therefore have more form. ‘Corridor’ leans more towards ambient / minimalist music overall.
Like ‘The Extinct Suite’, ’Corridor’ has been derived from some of your previous work, in this case ‘STER_01’ & ‘STER_02’ and connected with new music?
That’s correct. STER (‘Sounds That Emit Randomly’) was a project folder title of mine containing various sound files that I ended up compiling into two pieces (01 & 02). Some sounds originated from my own piano playing at my home and others were more randomly sourced. It was my intention to create a series of tracks along these lines, however with the photo exhibition project materialising, I thought these pieces might work with new material as an installation piece.
There’s a variety of ethnic acoustic textures that dominate the second third of the piece, how were those achieved?
These were recorded in Sweden on an instrument known as an Akkordzither that Charlie Storm had in his studio in Gothenburg. I played various takes and treated them in different ways to create the ethnic acoustic textures that you hear.
’Corridor’ was specifically constructed for your ‘Through A Quiet Window’ exhibition at The Cape Breton University Art Gallery in Nova Scotia. Like Brian Eno’s ‘Discreet Music’, it is designed for low volumes so recording wise, are you able to explain how is this different from music intended to be played loud in terms of production?
Due to most galleries being acoustically live environments with little or no sound insulation, there needs to be some consideration for the way in which bass frequencies will spin out of control and overly complex music will not perform well.
These concerns need to be considered during the compositional stage as well as the mixing stage. Also due to the live acoustics of the room, the music would not be good at high volume as the audio will bounce around the walls creating unwanted echo that will end up as a wash of sound with no distinct content or detail. It’s therefore best set at low level volume where the visitor might then experience subtle audio changes that enhance the experience of the room. Of course, it can still be listened to at any personally preferred volume.
The late Mick Karn makes a brief appearance about 30 minutes into ‘Corridor’?
Yes, it was a sample I had of Mick testing his bass sound during an improvised recording. The album consists of simple bass elements such as occasional rumbles and sustained drones and this relates to your previous question.
The ‘Through A Quiet Window’ photo book is a fabulous visual document of your time in JAPAN, and highlights your kinship with Mick in particular?
During that period Mick and I would often go on local excursions to take photographs for some purpose or other. It wasn’t unusual for us to stay up all night as work often went through the night, so it became a way of life even when not in the studio.
The photograph of Mick with the Sleeping Buddha for example was taken along Kensington High Street at dawn when very few people were about, apart from the occasional jogger heading into Holland Park. David and I would also take time out to go do some photographs together, sometimes at the request of Japanese magazines such as Rock Show, otherwise simply to have some new images on file. More candid shots were taken during work and travel times and these are generally my favourite images.
The photos were mostly naturally lit, but also captured how photogenic the members of JAPAN were, even in more candid situations?
Being young does have its advantages and whoever said “the camera never lies” was lying. I think capturing natural light is the most important element in photography because it recalls the mood and ambience in the room and can actually enhance it somewhat too simply by the way that analog film reacts to light differently to our eye.
There’s a great one of Mick and David having corn flakes and burnt toast in Stanhope Gardens; what type of memories and feelings were there when you were sorting through your photos from this period?
The memories are generally happy ones. The 70s was a peculiar decade with a lot of societal changes occurring and by the early 80s, we were in a more comfortable place where opportunities were opening up.
By some change of fortune, we’d become seen as being somewhat at the forefront of whatever youth movement our band was associated with. We pre-empted the ‘New Romantic’ scene which was a nightclub / fashion scene that emerged later, however the press were keen to throw JAPAN in that mix which we found irritating as ‘New Romantic’ sounded so lame. We were not culturally connecting with it at all, not musically nor aesthetically.
Ironically, our first hit ‘Quiet Life’ came at a time when we were in the process of finishing our final album ‘Tin Drum’, two albums after ‘Quiet Life’, so we were fairly out of sync with the music scene of the time, and this had always been the case since we first emerged around the time of punk, playing music that was anything but punk. So when I see images of the band, I can’t help but think we were an anomaly but that this actually suited who we were and went on to define who we were to become artistically.
The photos of Yukihiro Takahashi are much more relaxed and are mostly in colour?
I have both, I think in the book there are also both. When we had the chance, Yukihiro and I would spend time together socially, going fishing (he loves fishing, I was there more for the experience) staying in the countryside, visiting Onsen (hot springs), finding nice places to eat etc so I have quite a few relaxed images of him.
How did you go about selecting the final photos for the book and the exhibition?
Selecting images for the book was a process of elimination. I knew which images I wanted to include and then I had to reduce it down to the amount that would comfortably fit within the confines of the book format.
When it came to the exhibition in Kyoto, because it was located on the men’s floor of the ISETAN store, I generally chose images that displayed how the band members styled themselves during those years, interspersed with various others to offer some variety. The images for the exhibitions in Canada were mostly selected by the curator for both galleries, Greg Davies.
You mentioned on your Sleepyard blog that Universal Music had acquired the catalogue of NINE HORSES, the trio comprising of yourself, David Sylvian and Burnt Friedman. What’s possibly happening in terms of reissues, is there any released material still in the can?
There isn’t any unreleased NINE HORSES material and to be honest, I’m not too sure what plans Universal have for it.
NINE HORSES was very much a band-led project, how did the working methods differ for you personally when compared within, say for example, JAPAN and RAIN TREE CROW?
David and I worked as co-composers along with Burnt which meant that various tracks originated from different members, or from myself and David together. This was never the case with the previous incarnations you’ve mentioned in your question.
On ‘Wonderful World’, you got to work with Swedish artist Stina Nordenstam?
Yes, Stina was an artist David really wanted to work with so he made the connection. The two of us flew from the US to Stockholm to record with her over two days and things went really well. After this visit, she and I made a connection that spanned over a few years, during which time she never failed to be an engaging and intense personality, both strong and opinionated yet vulnerable and fragile.
‘Serotonin’ is a favourite from ‘Snow Borne Sorrow’, how did that one come together in the studio?
‘Serotonin’ was Burnt’s music upon which we built. During all of the NINE HORSES recording Burnt was never present with David and I, his parts were done by exchanging files virtually.
Photo by Ulf Jansson
EXIT NORTH is an ongoing project of yours, how are things progressing there?
The EXIT NORTH album is complete except for one track which is proving somewhat troublesome. As soon as that’s done, we will send the mixes off for mastering.
I very much enjoy working with Thomas, Charlie and Ulf. I totally respect them and what they’ve created with this work and I hope the feeling’s mutual.
We realise it’s been a long time in the making but we hope that this music, by way of its disassociation with contemporary genres, will stand the test of time as a collection of songs, therefore it’s important to us that we get it right. And because this is a self-funded project and we are four persons each with our own lives and projects to support, this one is subsequently taking a little longer than it would otherwise.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Steve Jansen
“The medium of reinterpretation” as HEAVEN 17 and BEF’s Martyn Ware once put it, is an important creative opportunity that can widen a musical audience and expand the aural palette.
This was most evident in 1981 when SOFT CELL’s cover of ‘Tainted Love’ became ubiquitous as Synth Britannia’s first true crossover record. It reached No1 in UK, Germany, Australia and Canada while also breaking the US Top 10 a year later.
A disgruntled rival musician had told Marc Almond only a few months before that “You couldn’t make a decent dance record if you tried”, but make one he did! Written by Ed Cobb, ‘Tainted Love’ was recorded by Gloria Jones (partner of the late Marc Bolan) and became a Wigan Casino favourite on the Northern Soul scene.
As a fan of that scene, David Ball knew the song and took it into haunting electronic torch territory. Segued with a Motown cover ‘Where Did Our Love Go?’ on an extended version, it became one of Sire Records biggest selling 12 inch singles in America.
It was to be a double edged sword though as the coupling of two covers made SOFT CELL minimal money despite the record selling millions. Thus successful cover versions generally only make the original songwriter any dough. Although often perceived as a sign of creative desperation, a fair number of cover versions are genuinely recorded as a labour of love.
So what of the other great synth reworkings? The covers in this listing are predominantly conventional songs reworked in a synthpop manner. And in several cases, the reworks have been so distinct and definitive that it is often forgotten they are actually covers! Restricted to one song per artist moniker, they are presented in chronological order.
VISAGE In Year 2525 (1978 – released 1983)
ZAGER & EVANS’ pessimistic ditty was perfect fodder for the first VISAGE demo steered by Midge Ure in 1978. ‘In The Year 2525’ was perfectly resigned aural dystopia. Steve Strange’s deadpan fronted the sombre tone perfectly but Ure’s vocal backing and counterpoints added some musicality. But when Ure presented the demo to his then employers at EMI Records, it was rejected! Remixed later by John Hudson, it was finally unleashed for public consumption in 1983.
Available on the VISAGE album ‘The Face’ via Universal Records
One of first Japanese bands to have a Top 20 hit single in the UK was YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA in 1980. ‘Firecracker’ was a cover of a 1959 composition by Martin Denny, but actually released as ‘Computer Game (Theme From The Invader)’. Recorded in 1978, the parent self-titled album was noted for its use of the then brand new Roland MC8 Micro-Composer to control the synthesizers. The result was a clean, exotic pop sound that was unusual, even in the synthpop heartland of Europe.
Written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil, a quartet who between them have written some of the greatest songs in pop history, the original by THE DRIFTERS was a favourite in the Webb household. So Gary Numan did a live machine music rendition on 1979’s ‘The Touring Principle’. However, the star on this magnificent reinterpretation of ‘On Broadway’ is not Numan himself, but guest keyboardist Billy Currie of ULTRAVOX with his screaming ARP Odyssey solo.
On paper it shouldn’t have worked; a funereal take of the song that heralded the birth of Rock ‘N’ Roll smothered in robotic vocoder. And it caused much head scratching when it became a UK Top 40 hit, although one person listening was Daniel Miller who borrowed the concept for SILICON TEENS. Belgian trio TELEX always had a sense of subversive irony about them. This mischief came to its head with their lampooning number ‘Eurovision’, which they actually entered for 1980 Eurovision Song Contest!
An all synth rework of Head Spider Mick Ronson’s guitar dominated cult favourite, the metronomic tension was enhanced on THE HUMAN LEAGUE version by the metallic sequence of a Roland System 100 while monophonic synth lines complimented the futuristic atmosphere. Oakey impressively bellowed away while Martyn Ware provided some sprightly vocal support. ‘Only After Dark’ had been due to be released as a single but was cancelled in favour of a reissue of ‘Empire State Human’.
Available on THE HUMAN LEAGUE album ‘Travelogue’ via Virgin Records
Said to be Andy Warhol’s favourite Lou Reed composition, this interpretation of THE VELVET UNDERGROUND’s Nico-led cult classic was turned from a Teutonic funeral march into a looser, synth assisted beat ballad in the vein of ROXY MUSIC. Demo-ed under the supervision of manager Simon Napier-Bell in 1979 but remixed later by John Punter, ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ was to herald the sophisticated muzak direction that JAPAN were to become ultimately associated with.
Available on the JAPAN album ‘Quiet Life’ via BMG Records
This cover of ‘The More I See You’ had actually began musically as a new OMD composition until Andy McCluskey started improvising and using the words of this vintage tune written in 1945 by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon. It was subsequently a hit for Chris Montez in 1966, although OMD’s version was a far darker proposition, with the spectre of JOY DIVISION vocalist Ian Curtis looming over the bright synthesizer melodies and deep bass drones.
Available on the OMD album ‘Organisation’ via EMI Records
Before they became Birmingham’s most famous boat crew, DURAN DURAN recorded this speeded up version of David Bowie’s art funk co-write with John Lennon and Carlos Alomar for the 12 inch B-side of their flop single ‘Careless Memories’. As well as having a more frantic pace and layers of Nick Rhodes’ Crumar Performer string machine, Andy Taylor even aped Robert Fripp to add a screaming guitar solo that had not featured in the original.
A speeded-up, manic darkwave rendition of an early Marc Bolan composition, this was the one of the best tracks on the ‘Some Bizzare Album’ after DEPECHE MODE, SOFT CELL, BLANCMANGE, THE THE, B-MOVIE and ILLUSTRATION. The screeching synths and aggressive, unorthodox vocals are all over in a matter of a couple of minutes. THE FAST SET disappeared after just one proper single ‘Junction One’ which also featured another Bolan song ‘Children Of The Revolution’ on the flip.
DAVE STEWART & BARBARA GASKIN It’s My Party (1981)
Keyboardist Dave Stewart, once of prog rockers HATFIELD & THE NORTH recruited friend and backing vocalist Barbara Gaskin to sing on the second of his electronic pop covers, the first being ‘What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted’ with Colin Blunstone. Their inventively oddball synth version of ‘It’s My Party’ (made famous by Lesley Gore) was a triumph and a worldwide hit which reached No1 in the UK and Germany. Stewart and Gaskin have continued to worked together and have a new album pencilled in 2018.
Available on the DAVE STEWART & BARBARA GASKIN album ‘The Singles’ via Broken Records
TECHNO TWINS were wife and husband duo Bev Sage and Steve Fairnie; they indulged in their own brand of ‘Technostalgia’ with silent partner Dave Hewson who later reappeared in POEME ELECTRONIQUE and more recently TWINS NATALIA. This abstract theatrical cover of the 1930 German song composed by Friedrich Hollaender as ‘Ich Bin Von Kopf Bis Fuß Auf Liebe Eingestellt’ and made famous by Marlene Dietrich actually managed to reach No70 in the UK singles chart!
Originally released as a single by PRT Records, currently unavailable
‘Wichita Lineman’ was one of Jimmy Webb’s great narrative songs like ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’, ‘Galveston’ and ‘Where’s The Playground Susie?’ which were made famous by Glen Campbell. Although included for the ambitious ‘Music Of Quality & Distinction Vol1’ project, BEF’s recording is a HEAVEN 17 track in all but name and was originally recorded by the other Glenn as his audition piece. The chilling electronic arrangement takes on an even darker turn as a magnificent cacophony of sound invades the climax.
Available on the BEF album ‘1981-2011’ via Virgin Records
NEW ORDER Turn The Heater On (1982 – released 1986)
Reggae artist Keith Hudson’s ‘Turn The Heater On’ was a favourite of Ian Curtis and recorded by NEW ORDER for their second John Peel session as a tribute to the late vocalist of JOY DIVISION. Bernard Sumner’s melodica gave a claustrophobic dub laden vibe alongside the white noise rimshot of Stephen Morris, while Hooky actually played bass as opposed to his trademark higher register six string and Gillian Gillian’s ARP string machine added some appropriately frozen textures to match to the title.
A cover of a cover, ‘No Regrets’ was written by Tom Rush and a comeback hit for THE WALKER BROTHERS in 1976. During a break from ULTRAVOX, Midge Ure created this synth heavy rework. But that wasn’t all that was heavy… out of nowhere came a blistering guitar solo that would have made Gary Moore proud and a doubled Linn / Simmons pounding for the overdriven climax. Possessing high and lows in a way that previous versions never had, the diminutive Glaswegian made ‘No Regrets’ his own.
Available on the MIDGE URE album ‘No Regrets’ via EMI Gold
FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD Ferry Cross The Mersey (1983)
FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD were very good at covers as Born To Run’ and ‘War’ proved. With a superbly honest vocal from Holly Johnson, the Trevor Horn produced reworking of this paean to Liverpool’s famous river crossing, written by Gerry Marsden for the 1965 film of the same name, climaxed with some joyous cascading synth lines and a frantic Linn Drum programme in a manner that couldn’t have been originally imagined by its composer.
Available on the FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD album ‘Frankie Said’ via Union Square / Salvo
NAKED EYES Always Something There To Remind Me (1983)
NAKED EYES, who comprised of Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher, had actually been in a band called NEON with Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. They had a huge US hit with a synthpop cover of this Bacharach and David classic which had been put together in the studio from memory. Rob Fisher later met Simon Climie and formed CLIMIE FISHER who had a number of UK hits, but he sadly passed away in 1999 aged just 42; Pete Byrne still continues to tour as NAKED EYES.
There once was a time when it was not cool to like ABBA and covering their songs was certainly not on many artists’ agenda. But BLANCMANGE changed all that with their version of what many regard as the last ABBA song. Combining that noted Swedish melancholy and melodicism with the artful quirkiness of Synth Britannia, ‘The Day Before You Came’ fitted well with Neil Arthur’s deep melodramatics. Add in the mystique of the Indian sub-continent and it was pure heaven.
Available on the BLANCMANGE album ‘Mange Tout’ via Edsel Records
They did the ‘Abba-esque’ EP and the mid-career crisis ‘Other People’s Songs’ album but ERASURE’s best cover was right at the beginning with this Hi-NRG romp in the big shadow of DIVINE. Turning ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!’ into the ultimate anthem, the progressively faster ending made for an appropriately thrilling climax. Following not long after BLANCMANGE’s cover of ‘The Day Before You Came’, the seeds of an ABBA revival were now well and truly planted.
Remix version available on the ERASURE deluxe album ‘Wonderland’ via Mute Records
Written by Paul Haig and Malcolm Ross, ‘Sorry For Laughing’ was the key song on from the only JOSEF K album ‘The Only Fun In Town’. It had been a favourite of ZTT arch strategist Paul Morley and as per the label’s early policy, he persuaded his then-new signings PROPAGANDA to the rework the frenetic guitar track into a more moodily percussive electronic one. However, Ralf Dörper later said: “I very much would have preferred to have a THROBBING GRISTLE cover version…”
Available on the PROPAGANDA album ‘A Secret Wish’ via Union Square
Having written and sung lead vocals on ‘In A Manner Of Speaking’ with TUXEDOMOON which was later covered by a certain Martin L Gore, Winston Tong embarked on a solo electronic pop adventure with Alan Rankine of ASSOCIATES fame at the production helm. The subsequent album entitled ‘Theoretically Chinese’ dealt with the theme of cultural identity and an excellent uptempo cover of Marianne Faithfull’s ‘Broken English’ slotted into the overall concept perfectly.
Written by Bobby Troup and covered by artists such as diverse as Nat King Cole and The Rolling Stones, this signalled the start of DEPECHE MODE’s fixation with a more blues based sound. While largely guitar driven, the rhythmical structure was driven by drum machine and sequences while the instrumental break of’Behind The Wheel’ made a guest appearance during the middle eight. It was performed as an encore during the ‘World Violation’ tour in 1990, but with Dave Gahan on lead vocals instead of Martin Gore.
Available on the DEPECHE MODE single ‘Behind the Wheel’ via Mute Records
Often having his biggest hits with covers, you could be forgiven for thinking Jimmy Sommerville was some kind of falsetto karaoke machine. But for the most part, his reinterpretations were good. One of his lesser known covers was ’From This Moment On’, a throbbing contribution to the charity album ‘Red Hot & Blue’ of Cole Porter standards. With a snatch of ‘I Feel Love’ thrown in for good measure, this was one of the best recordings from the collection which also featured U2 and ERASURE.
Available on the album ‘Red Hot & Blue’ (V/A) via Chrysalis Records
Performed at The Hacienda in 1991, ‘Go West’ had been due to be released in Christmas 1992, but PET SHOP BOYS bottled it when it was pointed out a VILLAGE PEOPLE cover would look like the duo were aping ERASURE’s ‘Abba-esque’. ‘Go West’ was based on Pachebel’s ‘Canon’ and its elegiac quality was particularly poignant with AIDS still very much in the news at the time. Meanwhile the ‘Oklahoma’ male choir styled key change gave the song a lift that was never apparent in the original.
Available on the PET SHOP BOYS album ‘Pop Art’ via EMI Records
Written by Moon Martin, an American rock artist who also wrote ‘Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)’ which was covered by Robert Palmer, ‘Bad News’ with its metronomic core had been popular in German new wave clubs, which was how CAMOUFLAGE came to hear it. Given a pacey Eurodance treatment that was very much of its time, it also mixed in twangy ‘Pulp Fiction’ surf guitar elements alongside the trancey electronics for an unusual but successful hybrid of styles.
Available on the CAMOUFLAGE album ‘The Singles’ via Polydor Records
Originally a little known song by Wakefield indie band BRICK SUPPLY, DUBSTAR made ‘Not So Manic Now’ their own with the Northern lass earthiness of Sarah Blackwood providing the chilling commentary of an attack on a helpless pensioner. Stephen Hague’s wonderful production fused programmed electronics with guitars and cello in fine fashion, while the incessant programmed rhythms drove the song along without being obtrusive to the horrifying story.
Available on the DUBSTAR album ‘Disgraceful’ via Food Records
The world found itself in a rather antagonistic and divisive state this year, as if none of the lessons from the 20th Century’s noted conflicts and stand-offs had been learnt.
Subtle political messages came with several releases; honorary Berliner Mark Reeder used the former divided city as symbolism to warn of the dangers of isolationism on his collaborative album ‘Mauerstadt’. Meanwhile noted Francophile Chris Payne issued the ELECTRONIC CIRCUS EP ‘Direct Lines’ with its poignant warning of nuclear apocalypse in its title song. The message was to unite and through music as one of the best platforms.
After a slow start to 2017, there was a bumper crop of new music from a number of established artists. NINE INCH NAILS and Gary Numan refound their mojo with their respective ‘Add Violence’ and ‘Savage (Songs From A Broken World)’ releases, with the latter recording his best body of work since his imperial heyday.
But the first quarter of the year was hamstrung by the anticipation for the 14th DEPECHE MODE long player ‘Spirit’, with other labels and artists aware that much of their potential audience’s hard earned disposable income was being directed towards the Basildon combo’s impending album and world tour. Yet again, reaction levels seemed strangely muted as ‘Spirit’ was another creative disappointment, despite its angry politicised demeanour.
Rumours abounded that the band cut the album’s scheduled recording sessions by 4 weeks. This inherent “that’ll do” attitude continued on the ‘Global Spirit’ jaunt when the band insulted their loyal audience by doing nothing more than plonking an arena show into a stadium for the summer outdoor leg.
Despite protestations from some Devotees of their dissatisfaction with this open-air presentation, they were content to be short-changed again as they excitedly flocked to the second set of European arena dates with the generally expressed excuse that “it will be so much better indoors”.
By this Autumn sojourn, only three songs from ‘Spirit’ were left in the set, thus indicating that the dire record had no longevity and was something of a lemon. Suspicions were finally confirmed at the ‘Mute: A Visual Document’ Q&A featuring Daniel Miller and Anton Corbijn, when the esteemed photographer and visual director confessed he did not like the album which he did the artwork for… see, it’s not just ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK 😉
Devotees are quick to say all criticism of DEPECHE MODE is unfair, but the band can’t help but make themselves easy targets time and time again. But why should the band care? The cash is coming, the cash is coming…
Luckily, veteran acts such as OMD and Alison Moyet saved the day. The Wirral lads demonstrated what the word spirit actually meant on their opus ‘The Punishment Of Luxury’, while the former class mate of Messrs Gore and Fletcher demonstrated what a soulful, blues-influenced electronic record should sound like with ‘Other’.
As Tony Hadley departed SPANDAU BALLET and Midge Ure got all ‘Orchestrated’ in the wake of ULTRAVOX’s demise, the ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ album directed by Rusty Egan, to which they contributed, became a physical reality in 2017.
Now if DM plonked an arena show into the world’s stadiums, KRAFTWERK put a huge show into a theatre. The publicity stunt of 2012, when Tate Modern’s online ticket system broke down due to demand for their eight album live residency, did its job when the Kling Klang Quartett sold out an extensive UK tour for their 3D concert spectacular.
No less impressive, SOULWAX wowed audiences with their spectacular percussion heavy ‘From Deewee’ show and gave a big lesson to DEPECHE MODE as to how to actually use live drums correctly within an electronic context.
Mute Artists were busy with releases from ERASURE, LAIBACH and ADULT. but it was GOLDFRAPP’s ‘Silver Eye’ that stole the show from that stable. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM returned after seven years with their ‘American Dream’ and it was worth the wait, with the most consistent and electronic record that James Murphy’s ensemble has delivered in their career.
To say Neil Arthur was prolific in 2017 would be an understatement as he released albums with BLANCMANGE and FADER while Benge, a co-conspirator on both records, worked with I SPEAK MACHINE to produce ‘Zombies 1985’ which was one of the best electronic albums of the year; and that was without the JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS stage play soundtrack ‘The Machines’.
Despite JAPAN having disbanded in 1982, solo instrumental releases from Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri were particularly well-received, while David Sylvian made a return of sorts, guesting on ‘Life Life’ for ‘async’, the first album from Ryuichi Sakamoto since recovering from his illness. On the more esoteric front, Brian Eno presented the thoughtful ambience of ‘Reflection’, while THE RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP had ‘Burials In Several Earths’.
2017 was a year that saw acts who were part of the sine wave of Synth Britannia but unable to sustain or attain mainstream success like BLUE ZOO, B-MOVIE, FIAT LUX and WHITE DOOR welcomed back as heroes, with their talent belatedly recognised. Germany had something of a renaissance as veterans Zeus B Held and ex-TANGERINE DREAM member Steve Schroyder came together in DREAM CONTROL as another TD offshoot QUAESCHNING & SCHNAUSS offered up some impressive ‘Synthwaves’, while there actually was a new TANGERINE DREAM album, their first without late founder member Edgar Froese.
The Swedish synth community again delivered with DAILY PLANET, PAGE, REIN, VANBOT, ANNA ÖBERG, 047 and LIZETTE LIZETTE all delivering fine bodies of work, although KITE were missed, with their German tour cancelled and release of their ‘VII’ EP postponed due to vocalist Nicklas Stenemo’s illness; ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK wishes him all the best in his recovery.
Across the Baltic Sea, Finnish producer Jori Hulkkonen released his 20th album ‘Don’t Believe In Happiness’ while nearby in Russia, a duo named VEiiLA showcased an unusual hybrid of techno, opera and synthpop and ROSEMARY LOVES A BLACKBERRY offered a ‘❤’.
One of the year’s discussion points was whether Synthwave was just synthpop dressed with sunglasses and neon signs but whatever, Stateside based Scots but Michael Oakley and FM-84 made a good impression with their retro-flavoured electronic tunes. It wasn’t all about the expats and in a territory as big as North America, there came a number of up-and-coming home grown electronic artists with LOST IN STARS, PARALLELS, PATTERN LANGUAGE, SPACEPRODIGI, COMPUTER MAGIC and BATTLE TAPES all gaining traction.
Canada’s PURITY RING infuriated some of their fanbase by working with KATY PERRY on three tracks for her album ‘Witness’. AESTHETIC PERFECTION’s new singles only policy was paying dividends and the Electro Mix of ‘Rhythm + Control’, which featured the promising newcomer NYXX, was one of the best tracks of 2017.
Female solo artists had strong presence in 2017 as FEVER RAY made an unexpected return, ZOLA JESUS produced her best work to date in ‘Okovi’ and Hannah Peel embarked on an ambitious synth / brass ‘Journey to Cassiopeia’. Meanwhile, SARAH P. asked ‘Who Am I’ and MARNIE found ‘Strange Words & Weird Wars’ as ANI GLASS and NINA both continued on their promising developmental path.
Respectively, Ireland and Scotland did their bit, with TINY MAGNETIC PETS and their aural mix of SAINT ETIENNE and KRAFTWERK successfully touring with OMD in support of their excellent second album ‘Deluxe/Debris’, while formed out of the ashes of ANALOG ANGEL, RAINLAND wowed audiences opening for ASSEMBLAGE 23. Other new(ish) acts making a positive impression this year included KNIGHT$, MOLINA, ANNEKA, SOFTWAVE, THE FRIXION and KALEIDA.
Despite getting a positive response, both iEUROPEAN and SOL FLARE parted ways while on the opposite side of the coin, Belgian passengers METROLAND celebrated five years in the business with the lavish ‘12×12’ boxed set
Overall in 2017, it was artists of a more mature disposition who held their heads high and delivered, as some newer acts went out of their way to test the patience of audiences by drowning them in sleep while coming over like TRAVIS on VSTs.
With dominance of media by the three major labels, recognition was tricky with new quality traditional synthpop not generally be championed by the mainstream press. With Spotify now 20% owned by those three majors, casual listeners to the Swedish streaming platform were literally told what to like, as with commercial radio playlists.
It is without doubt that streaming and downloading has created a far less knowledgeable music audience than in previous eras, so Rusty Egan’s recent online petition to request platforms to display songwriting and production credits was timely; credit where credit is due as they say…
While ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK does not dismiss Spotify totally and sees it as another tool, it should not be considered the be all and end all, in the same way vinyl is not the saviour of the music industry and in physics terms, cannot handle the same dynamic range as CD. Music is not as emotionally valued as it was before… that’s not being old and nostalgic, that is reality. It can still be enjoyed with or without a physical purchase, but for artists to be motivated to produce work that can connect and be treasured, that is another matter entirely.
However, many acts proved that with Bandcamp, the record company middle man can be eliminated. It is therefore up to the listener to be more astute, to make more effort and to make informed choices. And maybe that listener has to seek out reliable independent media for guidance.
However, as with the shake-up within the music industry over the last ten years, that can only be a good thing for the true synthpop enthusiast. And as it comes close to completing its 8th year on the web, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK maintains its position of not actually promoting new acts or supporting any scene, but merely to write about the music it likes and occasionally stuff it doesn’t… people can make their own mind up about whether to invest money or time in albums or gigs.
Yes, things ARE harder for the listener and the musician, but the effort is worthwhile 😉
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and 
are being reissued as Abbey Road Half-Speed mastered 2LP gatefold vinyl editions with two tracks per side, running at 45RPM to maximise audio quality. Along with the pair’s predecessor 
, they formed the Holy Trinity of JAPAN records on which the band’s reputation was based. The fact that Universal Music have considered there is sufficient demand for such product is an indication of the high regard JAPAN are held. In many social media discussions about bands which people wished they had seen live, JAPAN are invariably one of the acts that get mentioned.
was released in April 1978 by Ariola Hansa, the German label that had steered BONEY M to great success.
was released in October 1978; although it too was met with ambivalence, it proved to be a pivotal turning point for the band with the haunting closing instrumental ‘The Tenant’ a sign of things to come.
via Universal Records
via Sony Music
via Beggars Banquet Records
via EMI Belgium
via Virgin Records
via BMG Records
via EMI Records
via EMI Records
(V/A) via Some Bizzare Limited
via Broken Records
via Virgin Records
via Strange Fruit Records
via EMI Gold
via Union Square / Salvo
via Cherry Pop
via Edsel Records
via Mute Records
via Union Square
via LTM Records
via Mute Records
(V/A) via Chrysalis Records
via EMI Records
via Polydor Records
via Food Records
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