RATIONAL YOUTH originated in Montreal in 1980 and to this day, the band is hailed as the first proper Canadian synth operation.
The self-confessed lovers of anything KRAFTWERK, Tracy Howe and Bill Vorn quickly became the leaders of the, up to then, fairly unknown electronic scene, opening for OMD in Montreal in only their second professional engagement.
Joined by Kevin Komoda on keyboards, the combo released ‘Cold War Night Life’, which is considered to be the very first Canadian full-on synth opus.
Following few hiatuses and member changes, Howe remained the only original member of Rational Youth, but the growing European interest in the band’s productions resulted, not only in ‘Cold War Night Life’ being reissued in Europe, but also a long touring stint throughout Scandinavia.
Still active, RATIONAL YOUTH released a 10 inch vinyl EP ‘Future Past Tense’ last year, which has now been reissued on CD format, together with bonus tracks, remixed by assorted artist, including the brilliant Swedes JOHAN BAECKSTRÖM and DISKODIKTATOR.
The EPs six tracks journey through the synth perfection of RY’s knowhow, with the KRAFTWERK-esque ‘Here It Comes Again’ and candied ‘Prison Of Flesh’. ‘This Side Of The Border’ opens with futuristic sci-fi electronica, with a depressingly gloomy lyric characteristic to Howe.
‘Western Man’ is an ironic poppy number glossing over serious subjects of war, politics and power, while ‘In The Future’ “we’re imagining the past”; yet another classic in RATIONAL YOUTH’s catalogue.
The closing ‘Unveiling The Secret (The Word Made Flesh)’ is a reincarnated version of PSYCHE’s hit and a shrine to electronic music and its influence worldwide.
A couple of the songs from ‘Future Past Tense’ have found their way into the additional, remixed versions such as ‘Western Man’, skilfully reworked by MX CARISMA into a minimalistic gem and ‘This Side of the Border’ by DECODED FEEDBACK, a rawer, almost EBM version of the track.
‘Here It Comes Again’ is showcased in multiple remixes by MARS TV and DISKODIKTATOR, giving the tune a factory feel. JOHAN BAECKSTRÖM features twice on the remix addendum, firstly on ‘The Face Of Dorian Gray’; a YAZOO blueprinted diamond originally recorded by Robert Marlow and a version of ‘Prison Of Flesh’.
Meanwhile, ‘Dancing To The Fall Of The Berlin Wall’ is an uptempo cover of TECHNIQUES BERLIN commemorating the poignant events leading to the fall of communism in the Eastern Block.
Being a cult enterprise, RATIONAL YOUTH tracks have been recently revamped by artists from UK, Sweden, Australia, Norway, Germany and Canada on ‘Heresy: a Tribute To RATIONAL YOUTH’, curated by the online electronic magazine Cold War Night Life.
Ever popular, even given the comparatively small back catalogue, RATIONAL YOUTH is still very much alive.
But there were plenty of quality songs on offer throughout the year and a number were significantly outstanding.
Rounding down to a final 30 songs is always difficult and among the acts in the initial shortlist were ADAM IS A GIRL, DELERIUM, EMIKA, KALEIDA, LADYHAWKE, METROLAND, PRESENCE OF MIND, REIN, FIFI RONG, SPRAY, WHITE LIES and the now disbanded ANALOG ANGEL.
After much deliberation and with a restriction of one song per artist moniker, here are ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 Songs of 2016 in alphabetical order…
APOPTYGMA BERZERK Rhein Klang
Futurepop veteran Stephan Groth certainly put his head on the line releasing an instrumental Sci-Fi concept album as an APOPTYGMA BERZERK long player. But with influences like KRAFTWERK, TANGERINE DREAM and Jean-Michel Jarre, ‘Exit Popularity Contest’ was an artistic success. Full of Groth’s electronic lifeblood, ‘Rhein Klang’ was a wonderful oscillating slice of synth motorik in tribute to NEU!
Johan Baeckström first gained recognition as part of DAILY PLANET with vocalist Jarmo Ollila. His first album ‘Like Before’ drew favourable comparisons to Vince Clarke. A competent vocalist himself, the long player’s title song instantly recalled the glory days of ERASURE with its precise, yet emotive synthpop with a message to “swim the oceans like before”.
Available on the album ‘Like Before’ via Progress Productions
BEYOND THE WIZARDS SLEEVE’s ‘Diagram Girl’ was the work of Erol Alkan and Richard Norris, formally of THE GRID. Featuring the unisex vocals of Hannah Peel, a deeper pitch shift provided a psychedelic out-of-this-world feel which bizarrely fitted in alongside the songstress’ dreamily breathy tones. Meanwhile the pulsing electronic soundtrack had surreal echoes of OMD.
BLACK NEEDLE NOISE featuring KENDRA FROST Warning Sign
It can be tricky keeping up with the prolific studio legend John Fryer. His BLACK NEEDLE NOISE project employed a flexible lead vocal policy and focussed on just single songs. Magically breathy, ‘Warning Sign’ employed the soaring vocals of Kendra Frost from KITE BASE against a spacious backdrop of synths, beats and guitars for a brooding sonic amalgam.
With a mighty Linn Drum engine room that would make Martyn Ware proud and some rugged lead synth, ‘Hundred Hands’ was the best track on CIRCUIT3’s debut album. The work of Dublin-based Peter Fitzpatrick, he even dropped in hints of KRAFTWERK’s ‘Showroom Dummies’. The parent album ‘siliconchipsuperstar’ was classic styled synthpop made by someone weaned on classic synthpop.
The elegiac ‘Thank You’ utilised some ‘Endless Endless’ vocodered stylings over layers of sweeping synthetic strings and a gentle metronomic pulse. A list of Rusty Egan’s musical heroes, this tone poem was a touching acknowledgement of electronic music’s marvellous history. A simple yet highly effective idea, the beauty is in its realisation. Appropriately, it ends with a touchingly poignant “VISAGE… thank you”.
‘A Man & A Woman’ was a surprise in that it was less rigid than previous JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS recordings. Featuring some enchanting whispers from the seemingly ubiquitous Hannah Peel, it was an interesting departure that even featured some subtle acoustic guitar flourishes. Foxx’s work is still under-appreciated so ‘21st Century: A Man, A Woman And A City’ provided a chance to catch up.
Welsh songstress Ani Glass served her apprenticeship with girl groups GENIE QUEEN and THE PIPETTES and worked with Andy McCluskey and Martin Rushent respectively along the way. ‘Y Ddawns’ (‘The Dance’) was a wonderfully exhilarating pop art adventure. Swathed in synths and driven by a metronomic beat, it was a declaration of hope, deeply voiced in the verse with a gorgeous soaring resonance in the chorus, about “finding solace and meaning in music, dance, art and culture”.
Helsinki-based Ringa Manner has been making crystalline sine waves as THE HEARING. Her second album ‘Adrian’ boasted the sub-eight minute epic ‘Kabeldon’. A outstanding electronic work with an affinity to Norwegian songstress Susanne Sundfør, there were also bows to DAVID BOWIE’s ‘I’m Deranged’ when the mad cascading piano kicked in alongside the frantic drum ‘n’ bass and steadily building cacophony of noise. Then, when it appeared all over, the song mutated into an eloquent Nordic dubstep ballad!
Available on the album ‘Adrian’ via Solina Records
The project of Julie Kathryn, the haunting tension of ‘Losing Face’ accentuates a variety of electronic and organic colours. A muted chop’ n’ chuck provides the percussive backbone while an eerie soundscape is steadily configured as Kathryn succumbs to lust. “You’re different when you’re on top of me… how I hate the state I’m in” she paradoxically reflects, as bubbling detuned synth swirls and acoustic guitar penetrate the foreboding atmosphere in the vein of ‘Felt Mountain’ era GOLDFRAPP.
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE & CYNDI LAUPER Swipe To The Right
After decades of composing lengthy synth symphonies, there must have been times when the French maestro must have just wanted to do a four minute pop tune. This Jean-Michel Jarre managed in a quirky collaboration with Cyndi Lauper. No stranger to electronic forms, particularly with her under rated ‘Bring Ya To The Brink’ album of 2007, ‘Swipe To The Right’ had big bass riffs galore for a great poptastic exploration, while reflecting on the use of Tinder in modern relationships.
KID MOXIE is Elena Charbila, the Greek born singer and actress who likes to make music with friends. Working best in collaboration, her well-received album ‘1888’ showed she had blossomed and displayed an inventive maturity following the gutter pop of her early releases. From her best body of work yet in ‘Perfect Shadow’, the seductive ‘Still High’ was gloriously cinematic synthpop with a touch of maiden iciness that affirmed this artistic progression.
Available on the mini-album ‘Perfect Shadow’ is via West One Music Group
One-time label mates of MARSHEAUX, LIEBE are the electro disco duo comprising of George Begas and Dimos Zachariadis who could be considered the Greek PET SHOP BOYS. Sitting on that difficult bridge between pastiche and post-modern, their romantic disco friendly sound mines Europop while adding the vocal drawl of Jarvis Cocker. The magnificent Jean-Michel Jarre goes Italo disco of ’The Box’ was the highlight of their wonderfully escapist pop album ‘Revolution Of Love’.
Recorded in London and Athens, a new approach saw MARSHEAUX’s trademark wispiness blended in with a subtle tone of aggression. The opening song on ‘Ath.Lon’, the album title of which was derived from the cities of Athens and London, ‘Burning’ was a harsh but sexy slice of synth expressionism. While clearly referencing darker electronica forms with its hypnotising percussive motif, it crucially maintained the essence of a good tune.
With their new album ‘Looking Skyward’, MESH alleviated any fears that they might not be able to sustain the artistic momentum seeded by 2013’s ‘Automation Baby’. Despite the lyrically negative nature of ‘The Fixer’, a driving bass triplet attached to a solid four-to-the-floor beat and an anthemic topline shed a light of optimism amongst the gloom. MESH have firmly carved their own niche and any disillusioned DEPECHE MODE fans should consider joining the fold immediately…
In August 2015, METROLAND’s sound engineer and close friend Louis Zachert, aka Passenger L, passed away. The Brussels based duo recorded ‘Things Will Never Sound The Same Again’, a musical eulogy created from scratch as their way of paying homage to their fellow passenger. The uplifting ’Music / Machine’ with its Jarre-esque melodies started as a METROLAND remix of MUSICOCOON, a project involving Louis and his friend Philippe Malemprée. Kindly donated, its presence is in honour of Louis as the last piece of music he ever worked on.
Buoyed by the acclaim of their EP trilogy and their power as a live act, NIGHT CLUB experimented with a more aggressive synth rock disco sound for their debut long player ‘Requiem For Romance’. Playing around with a range of unsettling vocal pitch shifts and religious imagery for the sinister overtones of ‘Pray’, Emily Kavanaugh and Mark Brooks have more than substantiated their position as one of North America’s best independent electronic pop duos.
It’s been a busy year for Hannah Peel; layered with staccato voice samples and uplifting bursts of symphonic strings, the driving arpeggio laden ‘All That Matters’ was her calling card, not just as her most synthpop offering yet but also as a mantra to live in the moment. The opening track of her second album ‘Awake But Always Dreaming’, her very personal musical journey themed around memory and the effects of dementia was a startling artistic triumph.
Never mind their age, PET SHOP BOYS are still ‘The Pop Kids’ and ‘Twenty-something’ ones at that. But on the moodier ‘The Dictator Decides’, there comes one of those politically laced introspective numbers in the vein of ‘My October Symphony’ and ‘Don Juan’ that Tennant and Lowe always do so well. As Tennant deadpans “if you get rid of me, we can all be free”, the song provides an amusing surreal narrative of a tyrannical politician bored of his outright power and wanting to live a normal life.
From the Cold War Night Life curated ‘Heresy: A Tribute To Rational Youth’, one of the highlights from the collection is PSYCHE’s take on ‘Ring The Bells’ from appropriately, RATIONAL YOUTH’s ‘Cold War Night Life’ debut. The clattering 808 beat and elegantly haunting sweeps combined with Darrin Huss’ mournful vocal provide an atmospheric reworking that betters the original and reflects the decades long kinship between RATIONAL YOUTH and PSYCHE.
Greek electropop goddess Sarah P. started her music career as the frontwoman of KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS. With ‘I’d Go’ she said: “Most of the people do not get that this song is not as happy as it sounds at a first listen”. In her own words she confesses: “I’m a childish woman and nobody can stop me from being one” and adds “If there’s anything I stand for with all my heart is the ‘Go be you’ motto!” – her full length debut long player ‘Who Am I?’ is eagerly awaited.
Available on the mini-album ‘Free’ via EraseRestart
Enigmatic Gothenburg electronic trio SILENT WAVE possess the hauntronica hallmarks of fellow Swedes THE KNIFE. ‘War’ is a reminder of how that sibling duo once combined tunes with their experimentation. With a suitably dark Nordic vibe, it could easily have come off ‘Silent Shout’ and while the template is undoubtedly derivative, ‘War’ is extremely well executed.
Available on the download single ‘War’ via Silence Records
With his career spanning 10 CD box set ‘Trials Of Eyeliner: Anthology 1979-2016’, the last thing anyone expected from Marc Almond this year was an electronic pop album. Almond first recorded with Anglo German production duo STARCLUSTER in 2008. A great cover version, ‘To Have & Have Not’ was originally recorded by RONNY and retains the stern manner of the former Parisian model, while giving this slice of modern Weimar Cabaret a new lease of life.
Available on the album ‘Silver City Ride’ via Closing the Circle / Private Records
An appearance at the 2015 ELECTRI_CITY_CONFERENCE in Düsseldorf reinforced TINY MAGNETIC PETS’ reputation as an intriguing live act by winning over figures such as Rusty Egan and Andy McCluskey. The soulful ‘Not Giving In’ makes the most of Paula Gilmer’s enticingly wispy voice. With detuned pulses contrasting the digital chimes and staccato voice samples, an unusual stuttering reggae inflected beat enhances the atmosphere.
Highly exuberant and featuring a poptastic four chord progression, ‘Believe In Love’ was TRAIN TO SPAIN’s first recording to feature producer Lars Netzel aka NOT LARS as a full-time member. It developed on the promise of songs like ‘Passion’ from their debut album ‘What it’s All About’ released in 2015 and significantly gave more space within Jonas Rasmusson’s classic synthpop framework for lead singer Helena Wigeborn to exude her charm in. But it seems TRAIN TO SPAIN are back to a duo again…
Available on the download single ‘Believe In Love’ via Subculture Records
‘River In Me’ was an unusual Trentemøller recording in that Jehnny Beth from SAVAGES actually came to his home studio in Copenhagen to lay down her vocals. The end result possessed a Gothic intensity, yet was vibrant and melodic with Beth’s Siouxsie-like tones complimenting the hybrid synth laced soundscape. While some complained that ‘River In Me’ was not as dark as the Dane’s previous work, it was his most immediate offering yet with a fine balance of accessibility and mood.
It’s the avant pop approach reminiscent of early OMD that sets VILE ELECTRODES apart from and makes them so captivating. ‘The Vanished Past’ is a potent successor to the drama of ‘Deep Red’, complete with a mighty drum cacophony à la OMD’s ‘Navigation’. Bleak and wonderful, “not everything is as it seems” as a forlorn stranger joins in. As the seven minute adventure unfolds like a lost OMD epic, that stranger begins to sound like a certain George Andrew McCluskey!
From their superb second album ‘Ultima’, ‘Stranger’ was a brilliant return for VILLA NAH after a five year absence. Front man Juho Paalosmaa said: “‘Stranger’ is a play on words; how somebody you’ve known can turn stranger over the span of time… and end up as a complete stranger in the process. I don’t think it’s a track I would’ve written as a 20 year old. It requires some years of age and experience to really understand how time can change people, including yourself.”
Available on the album ‘Ultima’ via Solina Records
If CABARET VOLTAIRE had hijacked Compass Point Studios in The Bahamas while TALKING HEADS were recording ‘Speaking In Tongues’, the end result might have ended up sounding a bit like this. ‘Stupid’ sees Stephen Mallinder in warped falsetto mode over a hypnotic sequence of menacing synths from Benge and Phil Winter. The track’s rhythmic heart creates an almost robotic, yet electro-funk feel for one of the undoubted highlights on WRANGLER‘s ‘White Glue’ album.
Despite 37 years of making music together, the distinctive sound of YELLO remains intriguing and distinctly European and the new album ‘Toy’ delighted fans. On the superb ‘Electrified II’ (the original version appeared on Boris Blank’s boxed set of the same name), Dieter Meier has his mind blown by the velvet voice of Malia. As she exclaims “Life’s a bitch and I’m no witch”, this could be Shirley Bassey indulging in some seductive energetic electro-cabaret.
Available on the album ‘Toy’ via Polydor / Universal Music
Montréal’s RATIONAL YOUTH were founded in 1980 by synth enthusiasts Tracy Howe and Bill Vorn.
Along with PSYCHE and MEN WITHOUT HATS, they were among the trailblazers for electronic music in Canada, a country that has more recently produced acclaimed acts such as GRIMES, PURITY RING, AUSTRA, TR/ST, ELECTRIC YOUTH and LOLA DUTRONIC. Vorn had a Roland System 100M while Howe used equations to programme sequencers. Later joined by Kevin Komoda, RATIONAL YOUTH quickly made an impression and supported OMD at Auditorium Le Plateau in March 1982.
Shortly after, the trio released ‘Cold War Night Life’, possibly the first ever Canadian synthpop album. A big seller in their home country despite being an independent release on YUL Records, it was later to be a cult favourite in Sweden where its influence was readily felt in their modern domestic electronic scene.
Photo by Kevin Komoda
Indeed, the 1997 RATIONAL YOUTH reunion concert with Howe and Vorn took place in Lund, Sweden. Now Cold War Night Life, the online magazine of electronic music and culture, has curated ‘Heresy: A Tribute To RATIONAL YOUTH’, a collection of the Canadian synth pioneers’ best-known songs, interpreted by artists from the UK, Sweden, Australia, Norway, Germany and Canada.
Going against the trend of Spotify and downloads, the package is gathered on two vinyl LPs and a 12 inch EP, all contained in a trifold sleeve, plus two accompanying CDs mirroring the vinyl, reflecting Cold War Night Life’s philosophy that “albums are to be touched, read and heard”.
The 12 inch EP features a brand new track ‘This Side Of The Border’ from RATIONAL YOUTH themselves. Now comprising of Tracy Howe and his wife Gaenor, it is classic RY featuring Howe’s characteristically direct, overwrought lyricism but with added midlife angst. The track itself premiered earlier in the year on the comeback six song mini-album ‘Future Past Tense’ released by Artoffact Records.
Perhaps not surprisingly, one of the highlights from ‘Heresy’ is PSYCHE’s take on ‘Ring The Bells’ from the ‘Cold War Night Life’ debut. The clattering 808 beat and elegantly haunting sweeps combined with Darrin Huss’ mournful vocal provide an atmospheric reworking that betters the original. It is also a recording that reflects the decades long kinship between RATIONAL YOUTH and PSYCHE.
Meanwhile on two further songs from ‘Cold War Night Life’, Sweden’s JOHAN BAECKSTRÖM acquits himself well with a blippy version of ‘Saturdays In Silesia’ in the vein of ERASURE while MACHINISTA don’t disappoint on a meaty ‘City of Night’, applying their enjoyable template of THE CURE gone synthpop with a rock ’n’ roll edge.
Speaking of rock, PROJECT GRUDGE do exactly as their moniker suggests on ‘Beware The Fly’, while ROSSETTI’S COMPASS expands on the JOY DIVISION doom pop of ‘Coboloid Race’ by adding a more prominent, metronomic beat in splendid ‘Isolation’.
KORD featuring the vocals of Annie Gylling provide some ADULT. entertainment while ‘Dancing On The Berlin Wall’, although the arrangement itself isn’t that radically different from RATIONAL YOUTH’s.
Although the collection is dominated by songs from ‘Cold War Night Life’, other tunes in RATIONAL YOUTH’s catalogue are represented. Swedish synth project DEN DÄR KILLEN offer a frantically paced ‘In Your Eyes’ from 1985’s ‘Heredity’, but the excellent arrangement is perhaps marred by some ambitious amateurism in the vocal department. TECHNOMANCER join forces with ANGST POP for ‘I’ve Got A Sister In The Navy’ which appropriately sounds very ‘Top Gun’, while PROCEDURE’s ‘Close To Nature (No TDM Mix)’ acts as a squelchy dystopian instrumental interlude.
However ‘Heresy: A Tribute To RATIONAL YOUTH’ does suffer from track duplication, with TOUCHING THE VOID doing ‘Ring The Bells’, CANDIDE also performing ‘City of Night’ and INDEPENDENT STATE attempting ‘Beware The Fly’; all are subsequently overshadowed by PYSCHE, MACHINISTA and PROJECT GRUDGE respectively and although RATIONAL YOUTH have a small catalogue, this repeating of songs is unnecessary in hindsight.
That aside, what this tribute album successfully does is reacquaint electronic music enthusiasts to the catalogue of RATIONAL YOUTH. Time has been kind to their work and it certainly deserves reappraisal. So, anyone fancy a ‘Holiday In Bangkok’?
Synthesist Johan Baeckström first came to prominence with DAILY PLANET.
A synthpop duo formed with vocalist Jarmo Ollila, their debut album ‘The Tide’ came out on the legendary Swedish electronic music label Energy Rekords in 1996. Despite positive reviews of ‘The Tide’, DAILY PLANET went on hiatus for 18 years before they unexpectedly returned in 2014.
Appropriately titled ‘Two’, their comeback long player was released on Progress Productions, home of the acclaimed duo KITE. However, during that long break, Baeckström had been preparing a solo record. Riding on the momentum accorded by the warm welcome back for DAILY PLANET, Baeckström completed his solo adventure, now titled ‘Like Before’.
Released in summer 2015, it was a classic synthpop jewel that recalled the tuneful prowess of a certain Vince Clarke at his finest. But the biggest surprise was Baeckström’s capability in the vocal department. Possessing timbre similarities to Andy Bell, there was certainly no danger of him coming over like Clarke did on YAZOO’s ‘Happy People’!
Now do the similarities to ERASURE on ‘Like Before’ matter? ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK says “no” and as James Nice of prestigious Belgian record label Les Disques du Crépuscule once put it: “I have no problem at all with something new being imitative, as long as it’s good”.
In a break from his more-than-well equipped studio in Örebro, JOHAN BAECKSTRÖM kindly took time out to chat to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about why the ‘Synth Is Not Dead’…
You are best known in independent Swedish music circles as a member of DAILY PLANET, what prompted you to undertake a solo project?
As you may know, DAILY PLANET was pretty much inactive after the first album ‘The Tide’ was released. In early 2013, however, I started re-building a studio and writing music again, but this time doing everything myself, including the vocals.
A bit later that same year, Jarmo and I decided to make another DAILY PLANET album, and I shifted my focus to that project instead. A few of the solo-ideas appeared on ‘Two’, but the idea of a solo album felt more and more appealing to me, so I finished it and had it released, after we did ‘Two’.
The single ‘Come With Me’ will please any fan of ‘The Innocents’ and appears to be about escape?
Correct, it’s about the everyday boredom, and the wish to just leave it all behind and go to some other place; I think we all feel from time to time.
One of the B-sides was a track called ‘Synth Is Not Dead’. ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK does its best to keep classic synthpop alive, as opposed to EDM, so what inspired this wonderful tune?
The synthpop genre is having difficulties these days – you have to actively look it up all by yourself, since no radio stations will play anything other than artists from the major labels. I guess I just wanted to reflect on the fact that there still IS a synthpop scene with some really great bands, both old and new. In another way, the song is sort of my “thank you” to some of the artists that inspired me for several decades – some of them are mentioned in the lyrics, but far from all of course.
‘Synth Is Not Dead’ is much less angry than the equally brilliant ‘Synthpop’s Alive’ by MAISON VAGUE? But there is a melancholic optimism in what you do, despite the expressions of self-doubt?
It’s good to see there’s more of us out there, singing the gospels of synthpop. I think you pretty much nail it with “melancholic optimism” by the way. I am a sucker for melancholy in music.
What is particularly striking about your album ‘Like Before’ is not so much that it is reminiscent of ERASURE, but the quality of the songwriting, particularly with the title track, ‘Great Unknown’ and ‘Running Away From Myself’. How would describe your writing process?
Thanks! The process actually varies quite a lot. ‘Running Away From Myself’ for example started off after programming a great bass sound on the Pro-One, that I just HAD to write a song for.
On ‘Talking In Your Sleep’, I started in a completely different way, sitting at the piano in my girlfriend’s house writing the intro/lead melody. Usually I start with the music, programming a simple draft arrangement. Mostly I have an idea about the vocal melodies already at that stage, but as the process moves forward, I tend to change it quite a lot from the original idea.
You own a fine collection of synthesizers of various vintages. What do you have and what are your favourites to use in your music?
Synthesizers are addictive, to say the least! The rig for the moment looks like this:
Roland Juno-106
Roland Jupiter 6
Roland SH-09
Korg Mono/Poly
Korg MS-20 mini
MicroKorg
Korg Volca Bass
ARP (Korg) Odyssey
Sequential Circuits Pro-One
Dave Smith Instruments Prophet 08
Crumar Bit One
Arturia Minibrute
Akai AX-73
Waldorf Streichfett
Yamaha DX7
Moog Little Phatty
It’s very hard to pick favourites, since they’re all great in their own way. The ones I tend to use the most are probably the Pro-One, Jupiter 6, SH-09, Mono/Poly, Odyssey and MS-20. The DX7 and the MicroKorg – not so much. The Bit One needs to see a doctor, so it’s not used at all for the moment.
I have to bring up Vince Clarke…
Sure, I don’t mind the comparison at all.
How do you make this all sound so authentically VC?
In my book, the two YAZOO albums are the pinnacle of electronic pop. It can’t get any more perfect than that.
I can still remember exactly where I was when I first heard ‘Nobody’s Diary’, which was the song that opened a whole new world of synthpop for me. I think it’s only natural that this reflects in my own music and it is, by far, the most common comparison people make, which of course is flattering.
Has there ever been a synth that you purchased that you were disappointed with, that didn’t meet expectations?
Not really. I think I know pretty well on beforehand what instruments I buy, and why. The disappointments are more like when you find a vintage synth in good condition, and the damn thing breaks down after 2-3 weeks and you’ll have to spend even more money on it to get it fixed… part of the vintage charm, I keep telling myself.
Many artists which ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has spoken to who still use analogue synths, rarely use drum machines now. What’s your thoughts about how to get the best from the percussive elements of your music?
For kicks, snares and hi-hats, I most often use drum machine samples triggered from Groove Agent in Cubase. I also create a lot of my drums and percussion sounds on different synthesizers. I don’t have any hardware drum machines actually, but I’m considering getting one. I think it could be a great starter for new songs – to be able to quickly build a beat and start jamming along, basically. I used drum machines a lot in the 80s and 90s, and I sort of miss them from time to time.
As shown by the artwork on the ‘Like Before’ album, you obviously know your tape recorders from your drum machines. But how do you find integrating the analogue and digital worlds? Is it as simple as analogue for sounds, but digital for control and recording?
It’s indeed that simple. I use Cubase for MIDI-sequencing synthesizers, recording, FX and mixing. In a way, I would really like to go all the way and record on analogue tape too, but it wouldn’t work out for me, since I come back to each song multiple times, over several months. Without the convenience of total recall in the DAW environment, that would be impossible. For now, I just have to settle with a tape simulation plugin instead.
You recorded a cover of RATIONAL YOUTH’s ‘Saturdays In Silesia’. Why do you think this Canadian band was popular in Sweden, but seemingly nowhere else?
I’m not sure really why that is, but I remember from back in the 80s that a lot of people I knew were very actively searching for new music that no-one had heard, through magazines and mail orders from abroad.
Living in a country that only had 2 TV channels and 3-4 radio channels at the time, which all were uncommercial public service channels, I guess that having to find the music yourself, rather than having it served to you through commercial channels, may have resulted in people sometimes finding these “hidden gems”.
How is electronic pop being viewed in Sweden at the moment? Although there has been a vibrant domestic scene there during the last few years, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is sensing a bit of a backlash, even among people who are part of it. What do you think?
To be honest, I don’t have a very good overview of the scene. I think you’re right though – it’s certainly not a growing scene, but the fans that’s still out there are extremely devoted! Unfortunately there’s not very much re-growth, though. However – last time we played in Gothenburg with DAILY PLANET, I got to sign our CDs for two girls who were in the same age as my kids, which means they were like 2 years old when ‘The Tide’ was released! So maybe there’s SOME hope for the scene, after all? 😉
What have been the highlights of your career so far in your opinion, as part of DAILY PLANET, a solo artist and a remixer?
The highlight of it all is, without a doubt, all the love I get from people from all over the world! That’s the second biggest reason for me to keep doing this. The biggest reason is of course the pleasure I get from it myself, being creative with sounds and melodies.
You’ve been in the studio a lot recently, what’s next for you?
Yes, I’ve been working a lot here lately on a couple of different projects. I can’t really say much more at the moment, but there will be some news coming within not too long. Watch this space!
Finally I would like to thank you guys for the great job you do for the genre! Keep it up.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Johan Baeckström
Johan Baeckström has been an active writer and producer of electronic music for several decades.
It was 1994 when he started his project DAILY PLANET with vocalist Jarmo Ollila. Hailed as the top voice of electronica, Ollila’s distinctive tones featured on two albums that the band released, even though there had been an 18 year break between them. In 2015 Baeckström outed his solo project ‘Like Before’; an analogue gem, which brought upon him comparisons to Vince Clarke himself.
ERASURE inspired indeed, the original mix of ‘Like Before’ brings back the likes of sweetly synthesised tracks from ‘I Say, I Say, I Say’; with a competent vocal from the man himself, proving that he, too, can hold his own as the main singer.
Songs like ‘Come With Me’, ‘Great Unknown’ and ‘Running Away From Myself’ maintained the standard on a very promising debut that also included a blippy cover of RATIONAL YOUTH’s ‘Saturdays In Silesia’. A label mate of KITE, March 2016 marks the return of the Swedish wizard with the ‘Like Before’ EP, featuring four versions of the title track, as well as a cover of WHITE DOOR’s ‘Jerusalem’.
‘Jerusalem’ gently envelops the proficient vocal with an adequate number of synth sounds, before three further remixes of ‘Like Before’ produced by DELAYKLINIKEN, WAVE IN HEAD and QUANTUM SYMPHONICS respectively, show off an efficient concoction of electrifying elements.
This short and sweet production will certainly appeal to the fans of DAILY PLANET, but should hopefully introduce new listeners to Baeckström’s endeavours, and deservedly so. Has Sweden done it again?! Yes! Yes, they have 🙂
The ‘Like Before’ album and EP are both released by Progress Productions
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RATIONAL YOUTH originated in Montreal in 1980 and to this day, the band is hailed as the first proper Canadian synth operation.
The closing ‘Unveiling The Secret (The Word Made Flesh)’ is a reincarnated version of PSYCHE’s hit and a shrine to electronic music and its influence worldwide.
via Hard: Drive
via Progress Productions
via Phantasy Sound
via Metamatic Records
via Solina Records
via I Am Snow Angel
via Columbia / Sony Music
is via West One Music Group
via Emerald & Doreen Recordings
via Undo Records
via Dependent Records
My Own Pleasure
via x2
via EraseRestart
via Silence Records
via Subculture Records
via In My Room
via Solina Records
via MemeTune
via Polydor / Universal Music
came out on the legendary Swedish electronic music label Energy Rekords in 1996. Despite positive reviews of ‘The Tide’, 
, their comeback long player was released on Progress Productions, home of the acclaimed duo 
…
are both released by Progress Productions
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