Tag: John Foxx (Page 17 of 18)

A Short Conversation with HANNAH PEEL

1 December 2011 /

Hannah Peel will be known to synthpop fans as one of the musicians with JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS.

However, she first became known to the synth world via her debut EP ‘Re-Box’ released on Static Caravan in 2010. It featured musicbox covers of ‘Tainted Love’ which was made famous by SOFT CELL, NEW ORDER’s ‘Blue Monday’, OMD’s ‘Electricity’ and COCTEAU TWINS’ ‘Sugar Hiccup’. An edition of 300 were pressed onto 7 inch vinyl and promptly sold out.

A first class honours graduate from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, Hannah Peel curated The Audio Vision Festival at the 3LD Art and Technology Centre as part of Liverpool’s celebrations as European Capital of Culture in 2008.

Later, she worked as a session musician for Nitin Sawhney as well as writing songs for her debut album ‘The Broken Wave’. As was usual with the MySpace generation of artists, Hannah streamed her material online. Having been brought to his attention by her cover of ‘Electricity’, OMD’s Andy McCluskey asked to sample her composition ‘Organ Song’ for a possible album track. The end result was ‘Bondage Of Fate’, a haunting waltz ballad which featured her vocals and keyboards prominently on the finished recording. It was included on OMD’s comeback album ‘History Of Modern’ in 2010.

Although her own 2011 debut album ‘The Broken Wave’ was more traditional and influenced by her Irish and Yorkshire roots, it was while she was recording with producer Mike Lindsay at his Play Studios that she met co-owner Ben Edwards aka Benge, synth collector extraordinaire and collaborative partner in the JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS project. As a result, she was invited to become part of the live set-up for the Interplay tour in Benge’s artistic vision of a Shoreditch Exploding Plastic Inevitable.

Proficient on both piano and violin, she did her Maths homework and adapted extremely well to the electronic sound of the former ULTRAVOX front man. Handling a Micro-Korg and Roland JX3P while twiddling a pink Ibanez AD80 delay, she authentically recreated a plethora of futuristic sounds that warbled off and on. But it was her eerie bowed embellishments to the ‘Metamatic’ material that drew her most praise, drawing comparisons with ULTRAVOX’s Billy Currie, the godfather of synth playing electric violinists!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK met Hannah Peel after the final XOYO show in London and later chatted to her about her burgeoning career and electro-friendly development.

How did the idea for your ‘Re-Box’ EP come about?

I discovered the programmable music box when scoring some music for a theatre show in Liverpool. It wasn’t until afterwards when I thought; this box could work really well with singing. As a bit of a joke, I made the remix of ‘Tainted Love’ instantly recognisable and the riff works really well on the box. I played it live at gig one night for a friend and the reaction was pretty incredible! So I decided to create a few more remixes, put them on a CD and give out to a few people who I knew would like it, calling it ‘Re-Box’.

The CD made its way into the hands of Geoff Dolman at Static Caravan who then released it as a limited 7 inch vinyl. What makes the covers attractive, even though they are programmed, is the contrast to the rigid tempos of the original tracks programming. The music box strips away all that as it is hand wound and leaves you with the bare minimal melodies and structures of the songs, which are quite beautiful and classic.

Where did you first hear these synth classics?

I think as an 80s child, ‘Blue Monday’, ‘Tainted Love’ and ‘Electricity’ are without a doubt, ingrained into my brain somewhere. However, it wasn’t until I had played with Laura Groves from BLUE ROSES, who noted that I have hiccups everyday, that ‘Sugar Hiccup’ by COCTEAU TWINS would be a perfect remix.

Is using the musicbox a bit like programming an antique sequencer in a way then?

Yes, in that you are using a punch card type of system, resembling early computer techniques when having to give digital instructions. Much like MIDI really. I’m not sure how they made the card, but for me all the notes on the music box are made using a hole puncher and can take me sometimes a solid 12-18 hours to complete.

I remember OMD’s Paul Humphreys enthusing to me about your work. Was your cover of ‘Electricity’ how they first got to hear about you?

Yes, I sent Andy McCluskey a copy of the CD when I had finished, I lived in Liverpool at the time so knew of his studio there.

How did you feel when they wanted to sample ‘Organ Song’ for their track ‘Bondage Of Fate’ on ‘History Of Modern’?

Really flattered. I had written a lot of music previously for theatre and short films, but ‘Organ Song’ at the time was one of the first songs I had embarked on and recorded myself.

What did you think of the end result?

I think it works really well. Mainly because, it works really well in contrast to the others. It has a more organic, emotional atmosphere around it. But I would say that though wouldn’t I!?

So what’s actually happened to ‘Organ Song’ itself? Will it turn up on your next album?

Well, actually it has been released on my first album ‘The Broken Wave’ as ‘Today Is Not So Far Away’. I took the original to Mike Lindsay the producer, and we re-worked it – so much so, there is now no resemblance to the original!

Your own music and debut long player ‘The Broken Wave’ appear to be perhaps more from a folk tradition? What is your own musical background and influences?

Although I was born in Ireland, we moved to Yorkshire at an early age… my family are very much into singing, playing and dancing – I was constantly being made to go to folk sessions that I am now glad they did! However, I was also in a competition brass band on the trombone right up until I left for university, so traditional elements have always played a part rather than just folk music.

I listen a lot to film, classical music and a lot of 60s / 70s music, mainly because I love the melodies, arrangements and emotional connections. These are very important for me and I suppose I’ve been labelled with folk because of this connection to rawness. I feel like a lot of modern music lacks these elements and is just noise to fill the ever increasing void in modern life, rather than being there for a reason and to say something important. I won’t ever put something in my music, whether it is lyrics, sounds or instruments unless they have a reason to be there.

What got you more involved with synthesizers?

I get a lot of satisfaction from playing analogue synths. They feel real and tangible and enable a sense of control but also experimentation and fun in exploring what you can create but I honestly did not know much about them until I came to London to make my record with Mike Lindsay. His studio was run by Benge, so you can probably guess how much my eyes exploded from finding this completely new world.

So how did you end up being part of JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS?

John and Benge were making Interplay next door as I was making ‘The Broken Wave’. I’d spoken to John a few times, mainly when our paths crossed but Benge had seen me play and knew what I was like musically. So I suppose when they were looking at putting a band together and needed a singer/keys player and violinist – I fitted the bill.

Benge has got quite synth collection hasn’t he? What would be your favourite synths, past and present?

I am in no way an expert on these things! However, yes Benge has got a unique and brilliant collection. I have been in the studio a lot working over the last year and I still don’t know half of what is in there, but so far my favourite vintage ones are the ARP synths. The ARP Omni, which we used on tour (played by Serafina Steer) and the Odyssey, which we couldn’t take unfortunately as it is just too valuable. I just bought the new Korg MicroTribe which we used on tour for the track ‘Interplay’, that’s very good and analogue too.

What did you think of John Foxx’s work when you were first introduced to it because you weren’t born when ‘Metamatic’ or ‘The Garden’ were released?

It has a clear distinctive sound. One that sets him apart from other acts of his earlier career, and I still feel he maintains and pushes his sound and boundaries even further now. I started playing with him with no preconceptions and fresh ears for the new record, and hopefully that came across in the live performances.

As a trained musician, what things have you observed about John Foxx’s compositional and arrangement style?

He approaches his music like a true artist. Parts and sounds seem to be created as if they were from a visual image, placed with a delicate awareness and added to make a picture whole. It’s not just about a huge vocal part or a massive synth riff, each instrument and part is there to create the bigger picture. For me, this makes the tracks more interesting and certainly when playing on tour, you never become tired of your part.

His fans have been particularly positive about your contribution to the live sound, especially with the violin. How did you find adapting to a quite different style of music to your own?

That’s very nice indeed! We actually had a very intense rehearsal period. There was a lot to learn and all the tracks had to be adapted with the right synth programming for us three to play behind John’s vocals. You will have noticed Sefa and me playing two completely different parts at once and singing on top. It took a lot of co-ordination and concentration for all 18 songs and so I never had the time to consider the different style of music until we were on stage!

Which of his songs did you particularly enjoy playing live?

Ah there are so many, but the ones featuring the violin felt the most satisfying to play live, mainly because of the effects on the violin pedal board, lots of distortion, delay and extra octaves. To quote Benge, “Like an animal being murdered”! ‘Burning Car’, ‘He’s A Liquid’ and ‘The Shadow Of His Former Self’ are all amazing songs and great fun live.

Are there any other Synth Britannia or contemporary electronic acts you would like to work with?

Yes certainly, at the height of the time, I wish I’d been there! So much incredible sounds and acts were allowed to come through into the music industry. But to work alongside someone now, who has retained their open-minded enthusiasm and perspectives and credibility as an artist, I am very happy to be working alongside John. Current acts, THE KNIFE. I love their live shows and sound, and also Karin Dreijer Andersson’s solo project FEVER RAY. I met them once with Benge in Shoreditch for a drink just after I moved from Liverpool to London last year.

Is further electronic experimentation likely in your future work? Perhaps in a wonky pop folktronica hybrid?

Yes, I’ve already started work creating new tracks with Benge and John for a different album. I’m very much hooked. Although, for my own songs, I won’t intend for them to be pinned as folktronica, that term makes me feel funny somehow. Working with synths certainly brings out the more cinematic side of my writing.

So what’s next few you?

THE MAGNETIC NORTH – I’ve made a record with the singer Erland Cooper (from the psych / folk band ERLAND & THE CARNIVAL) and VERVE / BLUR / GORILLAZ guitarist Simon Tong. Called ‘Symphony of The Magnetic North’, the album is based on the Orkney Islands and is inspired by a 1930s travelogue journal. It will be out next year and is quite a mix of darkened stories from the Islands with strings / brass / guitars / a local Island choir / port and ship samples and our vocals. Benge has just finished mixing it too!

I’m also working on my next album too, based on the book ‘Invisible Cities’ by Italo Calvino.

ELECTRICTYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Hannah Peel

Special thanks to Colin Wallace

‘Re-Box’ and ‘The Broken Wave’ are available now on Static Caravan

http://www.hannahpeel.com/

www.johnfoxxandthemaths.com

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Alex Wolkowicz, Ed Fielding, Mike Cooper and Richard Price
1st December 2011

MARK REEDER Interview

21 November 2011 /

Renowned remixer Mark Reeder’s first flirtation with near fame was when he was in punk band THE FRANTIC ELEVATORS with SIMPLY RED’s Mick Hucknall.

In 1978, he moved to Berlin and became Factory Records German representative in Germany while also working in the studio with bands such as all-girl avant noise terrorists MALARIA! who he co-managed and DIE TOTEN HOSEN.

In 1981, Reeder formed post-punk duo DIE UNBEKANNTEN while in 1983, he helped put together the Berlin Special of ‘The Tube’ TV music show which featured acts such as DIE ÄRTZE. Later on, DIE UNBEKANNTEN changed their name to SHARK VEGAS and toured Europe with NEW ORDER.

In 1990, Reeder established his own electronic dance music record label Masterminded For Success (MFS) and discovered Paul Van Dyk who he guided into becoming an internationally famed DJ and recording artist. His passionate approach and highly respected reputation for care and attention in all areas including concept, artwork, PR and sound gained many notable admirers within the music industry. So when Reeder focused on remixing in the late noughties, he was given the opportunity to work for a number of major artists including John Foxx and PET SHOP BOYS.

He also collaborated with popular German dance duo BLANK & JONES on a musical restyling project entitled ‘Reordered’ which featured among its vocalists NEW ORDER’s Bernard Sumner, Robert Smith from THE CURE, Steve Kilbey of THE CHURCH and Claudia Brücken. Its highlights however were probably the ‘This Time Of Night’ aping Alone In The Dark Mix of ‘Loneliness’ sung by Bobo and the Save Yourself Mix of ‘Manifesto’ featuring Vanessa Daou.

Reeder is about to release his brand new labour of love entitled ‘Five Point One’. It is a dream compilation album of new, rare and unreleased remixes by his own hand of established heavyweights such as DEPECHE MODE, PET SHOP BOYS, BLANK & JONES and BAD LIEUTENANT alongside cult favourites DIE TOTEN HOSEN and Anne Clark plus comparative newbies like MARSHEAUX, MAY 68, NOBLESSE OBLIGE and ELECTROBELLE.

Comprising of a deluxe DVD and 2CD package, the DVD is remastered in Dolby 5.1 surround sound to create a listening experience to enhance the depth and radiance of the original stereo mixes. What shines through particularly is Reeder’s intuitive approach which adds a developmental enhancement to proceedings while retaining the all important compositional essence of the originals.

Mark Reeder kindly spoke about ‘Five Point One’ and added a few thoughts about the welcome return of the song in modern electronic pop plus some stories about his days with Factory Records… “anything can happen in the next half hour…”

Photo by Katja Ruge

What was your inspiration particularly for this compilation?

I’ve always been a fan of surround technology and love the idea of multi-dimensional cinematic wrap-around sound. Although I’ve never owned a Quad system I have Quad versions from the 60s and 70s of ‘Switched-On Bach’ by Wendy Carlos (she was called Walter back then) and ‘Quadrophenia’ by THE WHO and I released a couple of B.A.S.E super spacial stereo and surround albums on my MFS label too.

So making my own 5.1 album was, I suppose, a natural process. I confess, I was definitely inspired by the 5.1 releases of PINK FLOYD, DAVID BOWIE and DEPECHE MODE, which I immediately snapped up.

However, making a 5.1 mix is a complex and expensive undertaking. I first made a 5.1 mix for my remix of ‘German Film Star’ for The PET SHOP BOYS and Sam Taylor-Wood and one for ‘Sink or Swim’ for BAD LIEUTENANT and then ‘Underpass’ for John FOxx, then followed MARSHEAUX and we just went from there. The idea that the album was to have some of my all-time fave bands and all my remixes for them together on one 5.1 surround album just started to happen. It was initially intended to be an audio only album, but when John Foxx said I could use his original 80s video, then we also had a visual element to the album too.

You’ve remixed the songs in DVD 5.1 Surround sound for one disc, how did you the motivate yourself for this endeavour?

The motivation was the challenge. Micha Adam, my studio partner and I wanted to see if we could do it. We wanted to push our own boundaries and test our abilities. Our aim was to re-remix our remixes in 5.1 surround and hopefully release them on one album. Most people, especially in the music industry, currently can’t see the reason behind making a 5.1 album, but that is because there is not that much 5.1 music about and nothing to really compare it with and therefore no visible market for it. That’s most probably because of the cost involved, not only in making a 5.1 mix, but for the consumer too.

It is early days still and just a matter of time. Once the technology gets cheaper and 5.1 becomes easier to make then more music will emerge. It took stereo over 30 years to reach the household in the late 60s and when 5.1 systems eventually become cheap and affordable, then people will also want something to play on them.

Also new and futuristic technological developments aim to make 5.1 available on every mobile phone too. That was another inspiration. Once we all have the 5.1 DolbyMobile chip in our smartphones then we will want to hear music in 5.1 too, which was a further driving force for us. This special chip means that you can listen to music in 5.1 on your phone, on normal stereo headphones, albeit in simulated 5.1, but if you connect your phone to a real 5.1 sound system, it will play back in true 5.1 surround. Fascinating!

Making the actual 5.1 remixes was the real challenge though, as it is all about getting the balance right so that the mix sounds like the original remix, but the music comes from all around you, just like in the cinema. That was the thrill. Yet, mixing an album in surround is not as easy as you might think and the end result will probably sound a bit different to everyone, especially considering that each home system is set up individually to taste. By the way, mixing a track in stereo is much easier too, as you can layer and hide things within the mix, whereas surround is much more revealing.

You are featuring several new acts on ‘Five Point One’ such as MARSHEAUX and NOBLESSE OBLIGE alongside established luminaries such as PET SHOP BOYS, DEPECHE MODE and John Foxx. I can see the newer artists being very co-operative but how straightforward was it to persuade the established acts to allow you to rework their material with your instrumentation and methods?

Yes, I’ve tried to create a balance between the more established acts and a crop of newer artists. Some of which have their debut on ‘Five Point One’. I thought this way I could bring them to a wider audience.

Generally, I think I’ve been very very lucky, as it wasn’t really all that difficult for me to obtain the clearances, as it might have been for other people. The artists that I have initially done the remixes for know who I am and obviously respect me and my work and my idea. They appreciate the amount of time, dedication and creativity that has gone into preparing this project. I guess they know I would also try and do my best and that I would take great care remixing their song. They also know the kind of music that I make.

Mind you, remixing a well-known and legendary song like ‘Underpass’ was still very nerve wracking. I’ve always loved this song and getting the chance to remix it for the first time after 30 years was such an honour. At first I was elated, then came the feeling of fear! Naturally, I wanted to do it justice without destroying it too much, as these days it seems so simple to take a great track, whack it into Ableton and strip it of all its atmosphere and identity, then add a techno beat and scatter a sprinkling of the original vocal over it, so it becomes totally unrecognisable and in most cases, disappointing.

I really don’t make my remixes like that. I’m old school. I like to still be able to hear the song, but give it my own signature and atmosphere, while at the same time use as many of the original elements as possible.

Luckily, John really liked my ‘Underpass’ remixes and he was very cooperative. In fact all the artists and labels were. Making a remix for a well-known song though is definitely much more daunting than making a remix for a new song. The obvious comparison aspect is overwhelming and the expectation is so great.

Obviously, I know I could never ever better the original and I don’t try to, I just make my interpretation. I also understand that my remixes won’t appeal to everyone, but I really only make a remix in the hope the artist themselves will like it and I suppose in the end, it’s for all those people who do actually like it. If you don’t like it then that’s fine too, just don’t listen to it. I always strive as much as I can to at least give the song I’m going to remix, the respect it deserves, regardless of its status.

Remixing ‘Sweetest Perfection’ was also very precarious. Daniel Miller gave me the chance to remix ‘Sweetest Perfection’ for the last DEPECHE MODE remixes album, but due to family problems I was unable to complete it on time. So I asked if I could use it on my own remixes album. My DEPECHE MODE remix actually took the longest to clear, simply because EMI / Mute were in the process of releasing their own DEPECHE MODE remixes album.

You also feature cult singer/songwriter Anne Clark who worked with John Foxx in 1985. For those who have not heard of her, how would describe her music and why do you like it?

It is quite interesting the threads between the artists on the album, in some obscure way they are all connected. I think Anne is very unique. She is a poet, who sets her poems to music. Although she is from England, she is probably more well-known outside of the UK. Her legendary status was formed in the early 80s and her brilliant song ‘Sleeper in Metropolis’ was huge in the new wave clubs across Europe at that time. It eventually became a Goth anthem and inspiration for many to follow. Its analogue synth sequencer sounds have never been bettered. Of course, her music today is very delicate but still powerful and anyone who has seen her perform live, knows exactly how beautiful her music is. I remixed two of her songs off ‘The Smallest Acts of Kindness’album which I really liked. I was inspired. They were intended for a remixes album, but that album hasn’t yet materialised and so they are now on mine. I really like this spoken word matched with music idea.

You’re credited with introducing Bernard Sumner to Giorgio Moroder and Italo disco through the cassettes you used to send him from Berlin. How do you feel about his more rocky material with BAD LIEUTENANT? And is featuring remixes of them a way of you putting Bernard back into that electronic dance thing that he does so well but rarely touches now?

Well, I know Bernard is still very much into electronics and club music and he promised there will be more to be heard on the next BL album, but he wanted to show a different side with BAD LIEUTENANT and distance his band from NEW ORDER, which is understandable. I thought their album was really excellent. I’m not just saying that because Bernard is a friend, but because I really think it is. It is a bit of an unpolished jewel. Anyway, I played it to death. I think it was a very optimistic album and if you give it the chance, it gets better every time you play it.

Anyway, Bernard asked me to film some sequences for their ‘Sink Or Swim’ video and then I was asked if I wanted to do a remix for it too. I thought there are probably a few fans out there, like myself and Micha, who would also like to hear a more electronic, dancier type version of the song. So I made one. The same goes for my remix for the PET SHOP BOYS. They also wanted a more traditional PSB sounding remix without having to return to that style themselves.

Then Bernard asked me if I could do a quick remix for ‘Twist of Fate’, which was a track I also really liked and wanted to remix. I made two variations, one is a heavy-ish sounding half tempo mix with a pulsating bass and the other is a more uptempo dance mix variation. Both mixes are featured on ‘Five Point One’. I thought Steve Young made a truly brilliant sci-fi puppet video for that track too, with very scary looking puppets. You can see the love, care and dedication he has put into making this Gerry Anderson inspired video and I wanted to applaud his work and so we feature the video on the DVD too. He was kind enough to recut his video and add newly created footage just so that it would fit to my 5.1 remix.

Making these BAD LIEUTENANT remixes was much more difficult than we had imagined, as all the songs were played-in live by the band and there was lots of natural speeding up and slowing down within the track, which you don’t usually get with a precise timed 4/4 techno record. I had a great time with Micha making these two remixes, as we had to slice every single word and every note of every instrument and move them into position by hand to make them still sound organic, which took forever. It was good practise, as it turned out, because the BAD LIEUTENANT remixes were still easier than making the DEPECHE MODE or TOTEN HOSEN remixes.

Your Lange Hosen remix of DIE TOTEN HOSEN’s ‘Disco’ was very interesting. You go back a long way with them. They are known as being a punk band, but when did it occur to you that their material could be tailored for the dancefloor?

Actually, I realised that their music could be tailored for the dancefloor back in the 80s with ‘Hip Hop Bommi Bop’, which they made with legendary New York rapper Fab Five Freddy.

We used to listen to a lot of disco music on tour mixed in with AC/DC and plenty of punk classics. It just seemed natural to me that their track ‘Disco’ should have a real Italo-rock-disco-esque sounding remix.

As usual, I wanted to retain as much of their original song as possible though, so that it is still recognisable as a TOTEN HOSEN song. So the guitars and vocals are all in there. I’ve just changed the tempo and groove and added a straight driving bass guitar and pulsating synth so it can be played in a proper disco type of disco.

You’ve worked with MALARIA! in the past and there was a collaboration with CHICKS ON SPEED a few years back of 1981’s ‘Kaltes Klares Wasser’. Could their material work on the contemporary dancefloor and have you ever considered remixing them?

Yes, I did briefly consider it, but then again I didn’t just want to have a kind of oldies only album. I wanted a mixture of established artists and new ones. I wanted to give the unknown artists the opportunity to be on an album with some very well-known ones.

Was there any track that you really wanted on ‘Five Point One’ but were unable to use due to the usual contractual stuff?

Yes, there was. I really wanted to include my remix of ‘A Forest’ on ‘Five Point One’ that I made for the ‘Reordered’ album. In fact, I already made a 5.1 mix of it in the hope that I could use it, but unfortunately, BLANK & JONES said they couldn’t license it to me due to their strict contractual obligations with Robert Smith. So that particular remix remains exclusively available on ‘Reordered’ in normal stereo.

Are there any particular favourites for you on this compilation?

Yes, tracks 1-25.

Who do you hope ‘Five Point One’ will appeal to?

I guess it’s for all those people who like the artists featured on the album and wish they were all on one album. Now they are. Then it is also for those who enjoy this kind of retro sounding synthpop style of music and it’s especially for all those with a thirst for 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound. For the moment, it seems only major label artists like DEPECHE MODE, KING CRIMSON, DAVID BOWIE, PINK FLOYD or THE MOODY BLUES have been able to release surround albums.

I thought why can’t my favourite artists also have a 5.1 release too? I wanted to put all my own remixes for some of my favourite bands together on one 5.1 album. After all, who wouldn’t like an album that featured new mixes for legends like DEPECHE MODE and PET SHOP BOYS as well as John Foxx and Anne Clark all together on one album and all in 5.1? I certainly would.

How do you think electronic pop music has been developing over the years and where do you see it heading in the future?

After 20 years of electronically driven techno, trance and the many derivatives spawned from it, I feel that the current style of electronic pop music is quite refreshing. Of course, club music will always be there in one form or another and DJs and dancing will never go out of fashion. But for myself, I’m really enjoying hearing artists making songs again. Maybe in the future the synthpop sound will finally have its renaissance, one that it so rightly deserves. It seems more and more people are yearning for it. After all, the 80s appear to represent a time not only of political balance and security but of experimentation in fashion and music.

Back in the 80s, synth music was mainly European and futuristic sounding, but the overwhelming influence of major label funded American rock music was able to stamp synthpop into the ground. Also the synth technology sadly had its limitations too, I remember back then our Moog and Korg synths were terribly temperamental when it came to temperature or humidity change.

Today synth music is much easier to produce. We are living in that future, now. So why not make 80s sounding futuristic music? What I find interesting today is the current mixture of retro sounds of old synths being played in a contemporary way. I suppose the availability of new software for long forgotten analogue synths and the amazing technical plug-ins which have been getting better and better, all help to form the current sound of the music. All I know and care about really, is that there have been some great songs and cool new artists emerging recently and that is very inspiring.

Is there a favourite story you can tell from your days as Factory’s German representative?

Many. I remember Rob Gretton sent me a huge roll of posters to promote the first NEW ORDER album in Germany. To save on postage because the roll was so bloody big and heavy, he sent them by land and not airmail… well, they eventually arrived, three months later!

There are many funny stories and this interview would be longer than my Myspace page if I told them all. What many people don’t realise is that it was very difficult trying to promote Factory’s records in Germany back in the late 70s and early 80s. No one really wanted to know. This was due to the fact that Germany was rediscovering its own musical ability and creating its own new wave scene.

Early German punkbands like TEMPO, PVC or DAF had been fuelled by the UK punk movement, they in turn paved the way for the alternative avant-garde like MANIA-D, P1/E, DER PLAN or EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN and later, the more commercial new wave pap like NINA HAGEN, SPLIFF or IDEAL. No one was particularly interested in a small indie label from Manchester and certainly not in a miserable sounding band called JOY DIVISION.

Sure, there was some interest from the dedicated anglophiles but it was very small and it appealed to a few. Of course, this attitude changed somewhat when Ian died.

Have you heard SECTION 25’s new single ‘Colour, Movement, Sex And Violence’ which is released on Peter Hook’s Fac51 The Haçienda label? What do you think of the spirit of Factory Records being kept alive and kicking?

Yes, I have heard it and I think it’s a great tune. Love it. Very Manchester. I’ve always enjoyed SECTION 25 and this song is one of their best in ages. The spirit of Factory will be kept alive by the numerous fans of the sound the label had and by the new fans who are discovering it for the first time. Without Factory, the Manchester music scene wouldn’t be what it became and is today and most boys would probably still not know how to dance. In Germany, Strut have just released a new ‘Factory Dance’ 12″ double CD compilation, which introduces some of the lesser known Factory dance artists together with a few better known ones. It has very striking looking artwork and is a must-have for any Factory fan.

What are your own upcoming plans after Five Point One?

I plan to release a remastered version of DIE UNBEKANNTEN’s ‘Don’t Tell Me Stories’ album finally on CD, this might include some SHARK VEGAS tracks too and also in 2012, I hope to release a deluxe version of DIE VISION’s ‘Torture’, the last album to be recorded in communist East Berlin that I produced there in 1989. As for my own projects, now that would be telling wouldn’t it?

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Mark Reeder

‘Five Point One’ is released on 25th November 2011 by Kennan Limited and distributed in Germany by Rough Trade Deutschland.

For more information on Five Point One including the full tracklisting and how to order this deluxe 2CD/DVD set, please visit http://www.five-point-one.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/markreedermusic/

https://twitter.com/markreedermfs

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
21st November 2011

On Tour with JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS

16 November 2011 /

John Foxx’s first concert tour for several years captured the hearts of loyal electro heads and the curious alike.

Featuring the album ‘Interplay’, his most accessible and critically acclaimed body of work since ‘Metamatic’, the show delivered a mechanised charm while simultaneously adding a humanic warmth.

Ably assisted by Chief Mathematician Ben Edwards aka Benge with stylish synth girls Serafina Steer and Hannah Peel, classic and new songs were combined as the welcome live return of ‘A New Kind of Man’ and ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour’ blended in perfectly with the Trans-European dystopia of ‘Watching A Building On Fire’ and the futuristic folk of ‘Evergreen’.

John Foxx means different things to different people, so longtime followers stood side-by-side with the newly-converted. Tapio Normall remembers discovering the one-time Dennis Leigh as an impressionable teenager in Finland: “It is actually a small wonder that I started to like John Foxx. Radio didn’t play his songs, Finnish music magazines didn’t write about him and where I lived, there were no English music papers available. My friend’s sister had a compilation album called Modern Dance. It had ‘Europe After The Rain’ that was where I heard a John Foxx song the first time. A few months later I saw the ‘Dancing Like A Gun’ video on TV and after that I was sure this is my thing”.

Thirty years on, Tapio says: “Today I like John Foxx more than ever and I’ve been lucky to meet him few times”. Although arrays of vintage equipment were present during previous one-off shows at The Roundhouse and The Troxy, mobilisation for a European tour dictated a more practical rather than wholly artistic approach.

Foxx was leading his young crew from behind his Roland PC300 controller like a veteran ship’s captain while in the engine room, Benge primarily played the distinctive Simmons SDS5 hexagonal pads over various Roland CR78/TR808 and LinnDrum patterns while occasionally turning to a variety of other devices.

The marvellous ARP Omni MkI string machine was delicately handled by Serafina Steer who also had an Alesis Micron at her disposal. It was April 2010 when PULP’s Jarvis Cocker said her album ‘Change Is Good Change Is Good’ was “Probably my favourite album of the year so far”. Since then, she has become a mainstay of John Foxx’s band. Stage left, new addition Hannah Peel had that ubiquitous female friendly modelling synth in the MicroKorg plus a Roland JX3P.

Martin Swan is a member of newish combo VILE ELECTRODES; an analogue synth expert who was part of the project team who curated the Oramics To Electronica exhibition at the Science Museum, he gave some interesting thoughts while at one of the London XOYO shows: “They’ve obviously slimmed down the set-up from before and I think they’ve made some very astute decisions about what it’s important to take. It was interesting to see they’re using virtual analogues onstage – the MicroKorg and Serafina’s Alesis Micron – they were presumably picked specifically because they were small…”

He also added: “Most importantly however, it didn’t seem to make a big difference sonically: Sound wise I don’t think it affected the quality, although I think Benge was playing some stuff off his laptop… cheat ­ haha! They were obviously using some live pedals and grungy effects which always helps a lot to take the digital edge off modern synths”

He also has some thoughts about the transportation logistics: “In terms of touring with some of the older stuff, the JX3P that Hannah Peel used is a fairly sturdy beast. My main hope is that they have a decent flight case for the ARP Omni!” That particular antique is rumoured to be of at least 1976 vintage so would be expected to have a degree of fragility but according to Martin: “Maybe surprisingly, old kit often stands up to tours very well because it’s made of wood and metal, rather than plastic! I’m not sure that some of the synths being made today will be on the road in 30 years time. I’m glad I’m not their roadie though…”

So this jaunt was a much more streamlined set-up with no film projections and focussing as a playing unit. Organic tensions were provided by Serafina Steer’s bass guitar and the VU-like bowed embellishments of Hannah Peel. A solo artist in her own right, in 2010 she released the Rebox EP on Static Caravan which included musicbox covers of synth laden classics such as ‘Tainted Love’, ‘Blue Monday’ and ‘Electricity’. With her own ‘Organ Song’ being sampled by OMD for ‘Bondage of Fate’ and her inclusion in the band line-up, Peel’s reputation has certainly been enhanced by the endorsement of such Synth Britannia luminaries.

The live components came together like a fusion of LADYTRON and ULTRAVOX with Peel and Steer also providing Mira and Helen styled backing vox to compliment Foxx’s own distinct tones. Meanwhile, Benge’s analogue percussive snaps, Steer’s bass and Peel’s violin (particularly on the ‘Metamatic’-era material such as ‘Plaza’, ‘He’s A Liquid’ and ‘Burning Car’) indicated how these songs could have sounded had Foxx not parted ways with Messrs Cann, Cross and Currie back in 1979.

London’s XOYO in Shoreditch played host to two shows presented by Artrocker magazine with different support acts on each night.

On the first date, Tara Busch, described by John Foxx himself as a cross between “Karen Carpenter, Nico and Doris Day on a Moog” did exactly that as Richard Price found out: “She started her set with THE CARPENTERS cover Rainy Days & Sundays, it came across as nice and soft on gently played out synth”.

Her set, which also included her marvellous Bob Moog Foundation charity single ‘The Rocket Wife’, impressed Tapio Normall: “I liked Tara Busch and her one woman show. Her gig reminded me of how Thomas Dolby started and look where he is now; in Suffolk. No really… Tara Busch’s small scale live show was engaging thing to hear and see”.

Meanwhile Brighton’s GAZELLE TWIN aka Elizabeth Walling was a different kettle of fish altogether: “Wow, what can I say? Just dark but done well” said Richard Price, “she sings really well in an almost operatic style. The band had these finger LED lights on which worked very well in the almost total darkness of the act”. Tapio Normall, who has just about seen it all on his musical travels, commented “she was maybe the strangest thing I have seen and I’ve seen some quite odd stuff! GAZELLE TWIN’s most unusual look and haunting songs are something else. You don’t confuse them with your average rock ‘n’ pop act”!

The second London gig featured the acclaimed XENO & OAKLANDER who have just released their third album ‘Sets & Lights’. They were particularly impressive, literally fighting on stage to keep their array of vintage and virtual gear operating in unison. Tapio Normall remarked “they were a very appropriate support band. A friend of mine said they sound like early BERLIN. Is that true? I wouldn’t know but my impression of XENO & OAKLANDER was positive”.

VILE ELECTRODES lead singer Anais Neon noticed the platform Foxx had given female electronic musicians to perform, both in his band and as support: “In the past, girls in electronic music were often just a pretty face fronting someone else’s music, so it’s great seeing women on stage manning the synths (no pun intended) and being multi-instrumentalists just as well as their male counterparts”.

So have music fans finally cottoned onto the idea of female friendly synthesis? Anais certainly thinks the genre has been slow to respond: “For such a futuristic and forward thinking style of music, popular electronic music has really lagged behind guitar driven music in terms of girls being properly at the helm. Although women have long had a lead role in avant garde electronic music: think Daphne Oram, Laurie Anderson, Delia Derbyshire etc but, for some reason, popular electro missed the boat. More women and more synths, I say!”

And at the final London show, the tremendous reaction from the audience rose to being particularly ecstatic at the end. One thing that must be celebrated is how respectful and knowledgeable fans of John Foxx are. No inappropriate whooping during quiet sections of the show, chit-chat during the more esoteric material or lack of appreciation of the imperial, pioneering back catalogue. When the fanbases of several Synth Britannia-era acts are reduced to nostalgia freaks whose only interests are drunken singalongs to greatest hits and the lead singer’s trouser content, John Foxx is proof of how the elder statesman’s role can be carried forward with dignity.

At the height of his powers by delivering possibly his best ever live set and new material that is equal to his most regarded work, John Foxx is in an enviable position. And as one of electronic music’s father figures, rather than dismissing the new breed of synthesizer based artists for their apparent lack of integrity as some of his peers have done, Foxx has actually had them share the stage with him or become part of his band.

One thing that is not normally talked about with John Foxx is his humanity; “He’s a man with a very expressive face, you might say he’s one of those people who has grown more distinguished as he’s grown older. As a photographer I find this fascinating” said Mike Cooper, “Foxx was massively influential on electronic music’s development, up there and in fact in earlier than some of the other Synth Britannia pioneers such as THE HUMAN LEAGUE, Gary Numan and THE NORMAL – ‘Metamatic’ had sounds, songs, and an aesthetic that would be influential on synthpop, minimal wave, EBM, industrial, and eventually techno…”

Continuing his ever prolific creative spurt of the last decade, available on this tour was the new JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS album ‘The Shape Of Things’ which features starker, reflective material that didn’t fit into the overall pop concept of ‘Interplay’. On it, ‘Rear View Mirror’ and ‘Unrecognised’ are perhaps the most immediate tracks with their pulsing hypnotics.

The deluxe edition includes a bonus CD of remixes with two highlights being Andy Gray’s superb reworks of ‘Watching A Building On Fire’ and ‘Interplay’. Also worthy of mention are XENO & OAKLANDER’s take on ‘Evergreen’ and ‘Where You End & I Begin’, a collaboration with TARA BUSCH. So as this tour of JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS proves, the link between past, present and future in electronic music is the healthiest it has ever been.

Special thanks to Steve Malins at Random and all who contributed their valued recollections of the tour.

‘The Shape Of Things’‘ is released by Metamatic Records

http://www.johnfoxxandthemaths.com/

http://www.metamatic.com

http://playstudios.carbonmade.com/

http://serafinasteer.com/

http://www.hannahpeel.com/

http://tarabusch.com/

http://gazelletwin.com/

http://xenoandoaklander.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Richard Price and Mike Cooper
16th November 2011

A Short Conversation with JOHN FOXX

4 August 2011 /

Photo by Ed Fielding

Following his appearance at the London leg of ‘Back To The Phuture – Tomorrow Is Today’ earlier this year, JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS will be performing material from their highly acclaimed album ‘Interplay’, along with classic songs from the early ULTRAVOX catalogue and John Foxx’s solo career on a UK tour this October.

Foxx will be joined on-stage by Benge (keyboards, percussion), Serafina Steer (keyboards, bass) and Hannah Peel (keyboards, violin).

‘Interplay’ is possibly JOHN FOXX’s most complete and accessible body of work since his classic ‘Metamatic’. With its exclusive use of vintage synthesizers, it possesses a mechanised charm while simultaneously adding a correlative warmth. The Quietus described it as “One of the finest electronic records you’ll hear in 2011”.

In a break from extensive production rehearsals, JOHN FOXX kindly talked about the tour preparations and recalls his first ever solo shows.

Photo by Ed Fielding

The band is more streamlined for this tour than the shows at The Roundhouse and The Troxy. How will the rhythm tracks be handled for this tour?

Benge will play Roland and Simmons percussion over CR78, 808 and LinnDrum loops. Got a lot of strings to his bow, that boy.

Have you decided which of the vintage synths you will take out on the road?

Not quite, weight and size are crucial on aircraft, and there aren’t many wee analogues, unfortunately. The Korg Mono/Poly is definitely in, that’s a blinder and Benge uses it all the time. My old Roland Vocoder Plus has a very useful strings section for the odd bits of polyphony and Serafina seems to enjoy working with that and the Korg MS20. Maybe we’ll use the Juno 60 as well, it’s got more memory than any of us. We’ll try various combinations out in rehearsals.

You have the multi-talented Hannah Peel on board. How did you first hear about her and what will she bring to the JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS live sound?

Multi-talented is right – photogenic too. She was working on her album down at Benge’s studio, with Mike Lindsay producing. I liked what they were doing as I passed their bit of the studio, so we got talking.

We have to get her playing some nice Velvets distorted electric violin on a couple of tracks… I know Cale did viola, but you know what I mean.

A strong bit of THE MATHS concept is those Exploding Plastic Inevitable film clips from 1965. Hannah looks as if she just walked out of that.

What of Hannah’s work would you recommend the curious to check out?

‘The Broken Wave’ on Static Caravan.

You’ve also been working in the studio with Tara Busch?

Benge always seems to work with interesting women. Serafina Steer, for instance, also made a fabulous album there. He played a song of hers to me in the studio one day and I was transfixed. We knew we had to get her to play with us.

Then Tara came over and devastated us all with her voice and musical abilities. Nothing she can’t do. Karen Carpenter appeared, along with Nico and Doris Day. Then Bob Moog wandered in. You can only look on in awe.

So who will you be having as your support act?

Tara Busch, then Xeno & Oaklander. How good is that? All such brilliant, brilliant people. We got lucky all round.

Photo by Ed Fielding

Which have been the key tracks from the ‘Interplay’ album for you personally?

Oh, ‘Watching A Bulding On Fire’, ‘Catwalk’ and ‘A Falling Star’ I think.

‘Watching A Bulding On Fire’ – Because I got to work with Mira Aroyo. Wanted to do that for years, but the context had to be absolutely right. Then we were suddenly making the right record in the right place and Mira happened to be in London during that period, so we got lucky. It all turned out beautifully, thanks to her. Just right… very satisfying.

‘Catwalk’ – I had this sound in my head after coming back from New York, sort of GrungeElectroVelvets. Managed to get the right sort of filthy riff, then Benge put that old compressor on the vocals and we suddenly got live feedback squeals. Perfect. We just grinned and got on with it.

‘A Falling Star’ – I got to play this ancient 1970s Crumar that had the right sound, every time I touched the thing there was a new song. It was like finding some kind of sÿance unit in a pawnshop. Bit scary, but beautiful. The sound of lovedust.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK happened to be at your first solo show at Hitchin Regal in 1983 and you even signed my ‘Golden Section’ lyric book mid-set! Do you have any particular memories of that first concert tour?

Ha! That was the warm-up! It all seemed a bit dark and cavernous, but the audience was really up for it. Great fun. We went all over – Japan, too. Lots of very good memories, especially Spain. There was this marvellous club in Barcelona, full of the most beautiful models. I remember it well.

What projects have you got on the go that we can look forward to?

Paul Daley. He’s got to release these songs we did a couple of years ago, after he’d been working with Afrika Bambaata, I think. They seemed really good at the time; Extreme Electro. I’ve got a certain affection for one about walking through walls and another about glowing in the mirror. We got to some interesting places, Paul and I, with great efficiency.

Suddenly, it feels like some global New Wave is going on at the moment. There’s a lot of people we like and urgently want to work with. They’re all so different, but you also sense a connection, some sort of emergent strata.

One ever-developing project; the working title is ‘Alice In The Cities’, it involves Serafina Steer, Hannah Peel, The Smoke Fairies, The City of London, Benge, Steve D’Agostino and me.

We’re also recording with, or in discussion with The Soft Moon, Robin Simon, LoneLady, Ghostbox, Tara Busch and Xeno & Oaklander. It’s a sort of global cross-pollination experiment – you hear their music and go – Bastards!

Instinctively, you want to get yourself mixed up with all of ’em, just to see what happens. They pull you out of shape in all sorts of interesting ways, they’re that good.

There’s some movies afoot with Macoto Tezuka, Jonathan Barnbrook and Karborn – and a documentary with Iain Sinclair. And this odd set of recordings made in empty rooms that turned up some interesting results. It seemed appropriate to combine them with some parlour piano pieces from one of the rooms. The project’s called ‘Electricity & Ghosts’.

In among all this, I’ll be turning over a few tracks for Mira’s scrutiny. Benge is on the case at all points. He’s turned into Conny Plank visited by Stockhausen. Let’s hope Phil Spector doesn’t show up in there, or we’re all in trouble.

‘Interplay’ uses the following equipment: ARP Odyssey, ARP Omni, ARP Sequencer, Crumar Bit 01, Crumar Multiman, Crumar Roadrunner, DBX 119 compressor, EMT plate 140, Fairlight CMI, Formant Modular, Hohner Pianet T, Ibanez AD80, Korg Monopoly, Korg MS20, Korg PS3100, Lexicon 224, Linn LM1, MCI 416b console, Minimoog, Moog Modular, Polymoog, MXR flanger/doubler, Oberheim Xpander, PAiA Phlanger, Roland 100M, Roland CR78, Roland RS202, Roland SH101, Roland Space Echo 201, Roland TR808, Roland VP330, Sequential T8, Sequential VS, Serge Modular, Simmons SDS5, Studer 900 series console, Ursa Major delay, Yamaha CS30, Yamaha CS80, Yamaha Rev1

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to JOHN FOXX

Special thanks also to Steve Malins at Random PR

JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS 2011 ‘Interplay’ UK Tour includes:

Leamington Spa Assembly Rooms (13th October), Bristol Thekla (20th October), Manchester Academy 4 (21st October), Liverpool Stanley Theatre (22nd October), Glasgow Arches (23rd October), York Duchess (24th October), London XOYO (25th October), London XOYO (27th October), Holmfirth Picturedrome (28th October).

Support will be from Tara Busch except 27th and 28th October which will be supported by Xeno & Oaklander

www.johnfoxxandthemaths.com/

www.metamatic.com/

http://playstudios.carbonmade.com/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
4th August 2011

JORI HULKKONEN Interview

5 July 2011 /

Jori Hulkkonen is one of Europe’s most highly regarded electronic music producers.

One of 2010’s best albums, ‘Origin’ by VILLA NAH is one of his co-productions. Although he released his first album ‘Selkäsaari Tracks’ in 1996, he first came to the world’s wider attention as part of TIGA & ZYNTHERIUS on their 2001 electro cover of Corey Hart’s ‘Sunglasses At Night’ which became a massive international club hit.

In 2005, he collaborated with John Foxx on ‘Dislocated’ as part of his fifth solo album ‘Dualizm’. This also featured Jerry Valuri on the track ‘Lo-Fiction’ and led to the formation of their duo PROCESSORY and the release of a self-titled debut in 2007.

Up for the odd spot of artistic mischief, he assembled THE ACID SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, an experimental avant-garde techno ensemble of nine fellow conspirators each controlling Roland TB-303 Bassline computers, all conducted and mixed by Hulkkonen while operating various Roland drum machines. Described as “performance art meets acid house”, the collective famously supported KRAFTWERK on their Helsinki date in 2009.

As well as undertaking remixes for CLIENT and ROBYN among many, in 2010 he released his seventh solo album ‘Man From Earth’ which featured VILLA NAH and again Jerry Valuri who sang on two songs including the brilliant title track which made ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s Top 30 songs of that year.

Never one to stand still, together with DJ Alex Nieminen, he has just released a cover version of NEW ORDER’s ‘Subculture’ under the moniker STOP MODERNISTS. The original track saw the Factory Quartet at the start of their Italo inspired sub-PET SHOP BOYS imperial phase so this rework appropriately enough features none other than Chris Lowe on lead vocals.

But it’s PROCESSORY that is Jori Hulkkonen’s main focus at the moment. The new album ‘Change Is Gradual’ is a more synthetic and collaborative effort than its predecessor with hints of a lo-fi gothique and the reclusive Valuri’s anguished vocals providing a foreboding atmosphere over the retro-futuristic instrumentation.

Perhaps initially less dance oriented than his better known work, this is an ambitious 18 track neo-concept album in three acts. And as the title suggests, there is a progressive escapist vibe running throughout. Album opener ‘Young Italians’ has strong moody overtones filled with grainy Emulator strings. ‘Farewell, Welfare’ is creepily dystopian and built around some gloriously weird noises while the collections highlight ‘Take Me To Your Leader’ actually concocts some very introspective moods at The Finland Stationƒbut nothing has been proved.

‘Recovery Measures’ bleeps up the pace and is more readily accessible. But on the more downbeat side ‘Human, Unfortunately’ could be a eulogy from ‘Blade Runner’ and this minimal wave continues with closing numbers ‘In The Unlikely Event Of An All Life Erasing Gamma-Ray Burst, This Is The Soundtrack’ and ‘Adaptation For Survival’. These are spacey takes on the similarly apocalyptic themes explored on MUSE’s three part ‘Exogenesis Symphony’.

With the album now released, Jori Hulkkonen kindly spoke about ‘Change Is Gradual’ and his varied musical adventures to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK

You have recorded under a variety of guises; as yourself, ACID SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, KEBACID, DRUMMAN, STOP MODERNISTS and PROCESSORY. Another person who had as many identities as this is fellow producer Stuart Price. What made you decide to wear so many hats?

Originally, when I signed my debut album followed by an artist contract with the French label F Communications in the mid 90s, it was agreed that I may still release music on other labels, but not use the name I would use on F Comm. And as I decided early on to work my artist albums under my real name, it was only natural to develop pseudonyms for music on other labels. And as I worked with many different labels, I always tended to come up with a new name. To date I think I’ve recorded under about 20 different names.

ACID SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA had the honour of supporting KRAFTWERK in the summer of 2009. How did it feel to support the mighty Kling Klang foursome? Any stories about that event?

The whole visual side of the ASO is lending heavily from the imagery of KRAFTWERK, so getting the opening slot for them was pretty amazing.

Ralf Hütter told me after the show he was very impressed by the whole concept and our performance, making the experience a truly exceptional one.

When did PROCESSORY come into being with Jerry Valuri?

I’ve known Jerry for 15 years, and even before ‘Lo-Fiction’, which was recorded in 2004, we experimented with his vocals. Jerry had never done any singing before so it was a long learning curve. I think the first record released with Jerry’s voice is Man From Solaris which was released on 12″ vinyl in 2001. In 2002 it was included on my album ‘Different’ which featured another song with Jerry, ‘Four Seasons, Four Loves’.

‘Lo-Fiction’ was the first proper song thing where Jerry wrote his vocals and lyrics on top of a musical idea I had. We were both going through on a very deep phase with THE SMITHS. After the success of the song – but more importantly because it being a very cool experience for both of us – we decided to start working on an album As it was a proper collaboration, we didn’t even consider doing the album as a JORI HULKKONEN record, but we wanted to create its own little universe. Our self titled debut album was released in 2007.

So what makes PROCESSORY different from your last solo album ‘Man From Earth’ which also featured Jerry Valuri on two tracks?

The two tracks on ‘Man From Earth’ with Jerry were both written by me, Jerry just re-sang my vocals as I’m not such a great vocalist. Same thing with the VILLA NAH collaboration on that album, ‘Re Last Year’.

The idea with PROCESSORY, although I do all the final mixes, is to bounce ideas back and forth, musically, lyrically and thematically. So it’s a real collaboration, whereas on JORI HULKKONEN records, I’m a dictator who doesn’t negotiate.

‘Change Is Gradual’ is divided into three parts. What was the idea or thought behind this?

Two reasons. First of all, it’s very long record, pretty much the maximum length of a CD. We felt that dividing it into three parts maybe makes it more accessible. Secondly, the album took about one year to record. There were three phases we went through and that’s roughly the partition you have. Originally we wanted to make a slow, dark album, which is the first part, mixing a variety of influences from new age to dub.

The second part features more traditional pop songs, which I was kind of against initially, as I didn’t want the record to sound too much like the VILLA NAH album I had produced earlier that year. But the songs took their own direction and became something totally different. The last part is more based on productional ideas leaning towards dance music, lending to Detroit techno and disco and generally have a more upbeat vibe to them. After recording everything, we thought maybe we should release three separate mini-albums but eventually came up with this three part solution.

Which would you say are the key tracks on the ‘Change Is Gradual’ album and why?

Tough, it’s still too close, I could probably answer this better in a few years, but ‘Trickle Down’ was the first track we recorded for the new album and it laid down some basic directions. ‘Take Me To Your Leader’ and ‘Non-Aggression Principle’ are probably my favourite songs on the album at the moment, they both turned out exactly as I wanted plus the album closer ‘Adaptation For Survival’, that kind of sums up the vibe of the whole album.

Do CD and vinyl versions of the album have same tracks?

‘Change Is Gradual’ is available only on CD and digital, then there will be a series of three 12″ vinyl EPs that feature both originals from the album but also remixes by the likes of AEROPLANE, HERCULES & THE LOVE AFFAIR and CFCF

You also co-produced VILLA NAH’s ‘Origin’. How did you meet Juho and Tomi?

In 2008, a friend of mine had seen them live and gave me the link to their MySpace page thinking I might like it. They had the demo versions of ‘Daylight’, ‘Ways To Be’, ‘Envelope’ and ‘Emerald Hills’ up there and I was instantly hooked. I’d spent so much time listening to these songs on MySpace that when we started working on them later in 2009 in my studio, changing them felt somehow wrong. So those particular songs didn’t change that much from the demo stage.

At the time in 2008, I was organizing a small weekender festival in Helsinki and I booked them to play there. Also at the show were the guys running the Keys Of Life label. We were all totally blown away by their performance so the plan of recording an EP that I’d produce was made the same night.

One thing striking about ‘Origin’ was that it was dance influenced but very sparse and not in-your-face like most club recordings. What was the main thing that you brought to it?

There was a lot of material to begin with. The guys had written a lot of songs in the previous couple of years, so someone outside their songwriting duo having a fresh pair of ears was crucial in picking a group of songs that would make a good album. Secondly I brought in options. I would hear potential in a certain song that could be fulfilled with a different approach; a good example being ‘All The Days’ which was quite different when we started work on it.

How do you assess VILLA NAH’s potential as a synthpop act in the 21st Century?

It all depends on them really, what they want to do. They have a lot going on for them though; great songwriting, a very good debut album to build on and definitely not least, Juho’s magical voice.

Many people internationally first became aware of you via TIGA & ZYNTHERIUS’ cover of ‘Sunglasses At Night’ in 2001. How was that song chosen to be covered and what was it like to be swept along by the Electroclash movement of that time?

As with most things, it was all very accidental and not very planned at all. I was in Montreal promoting my new mix CD ‘Helsinki Mix Sessions’ released on Tiga’s Turbo label in 2000, and we just had some spare time to mess around in Tiga’s home studio.

We tried a few cover versions including ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’, ‘Small Town Boy’ and ‘When Doves Cry’ before trying ‘Sunglasses At Night’. I’d originally found the song back in ’84 on a 12″ called ‘West End Sunglasses’, a megamix of Corey Hart’s ‘Sunglasses’ and the original version of PET SHOP BOYS’ ‘West End Girls’, and the synthline just felt very cool to use with the 808 beat. It took us a couple of months before re-listening to what we’d done and sending it off to DJ Hell. We weren’t really expecting that much of the whole thing. I’m glad I used a pseudonym for that release as even though I loved a lot of the music that was around and connected with Electroclash, the whole scene felt a bit distant to me.

You’ve continued to occasionally produce / co-write with Tiga on his solo albums. It is good that you still work together but was a permanent partnership never really a possibility?

After ‘Glasses’, we actually started work on a TIGA & ZYNTHERIUS album and it was very close to being finished, titled ‘The Strings That / Us’. Eventually we concluded that keeping T&Z as a one hit wonder was a lot better – and cooler – alternative though so we agreed on focusing our solo careers, with some songs of those sessions ending up on our albums, such as ‘Dying In Beauty’ on my ‘Dualizm’ album, and Highschool on Tiga’s Sexor. Because we do work together pretty well as songwriters, we’ve tried to get in a studio at least once year and actually we’ve accumulated quite a few unreleased songs that have never made it on either of our albums.

You collaborated with John Foxx on two tracks ‘Dislocated’ from ‘Dualizm’ and ‘Never Been Here Before’ from ‘Errare Machinale Est’. How did you first come to be working with him?

I believe it was around the time John Foxx & Louis Gordon’s album ‘Crash & Burn’ came out, I got in touch with John’s manager Steve Malins. John Foxx’s ‘Metamatic’ is one of my all-time favourite albums.

For me it was a fantastic opportunity to get a chance to work with one of the people who had shaped my musical world. ‘Dislocated’ was written by me, with John and the sound of ‘Metamatic’ in mind, whereas ‘Never Been Here Before’ was a co-write, sounding more contemporary club music.

Would you like to do a full collaborative album like the JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS project ‘Interplay’?

We’ve talked about further collaborations, and yes I’m sure more music will be coming sometime in the future from us in one form or another.

And you have also recorded a cover version of NEW ORDER’s ‘Subculture’ with PET SHOP BOYS’ Chris Lowe on lead vocals?

The idea of re-recording ‘Subculture’ by NEW ORDER is something I’d considered for a long time. In fact, my first cover version of the song goes back to 1990. The idea was to take what me and STOP MODERNISTS partner Alex Nieminen felt was an underrated song, make a late 80s deep house interpretation and bring some extra twist with having Chris on the vocals.

It’s very hard – impossible, actually – to explain how important this record is to me. PET SHOP BOYS have been the most important musical influence for me, and to be part of the official PSB canon in way completes a circle that started in the mid 80s when hearing ‘West End Girls’ for the first time and deciding “that’s what I want to do”

Where do you stand on the balance between using vintage and modern equipment. Do you have any particular favourite synthesizers or devices that are important elements to the Jori Hulkkonen sound?

I love hardware, and I love vintage synths and drum machines, but at the same time I love new technology and software and follow what’s going on in there.

I think using old machines but then mixing and manipulating in a virtual environment gives you the best of both worlds, and that’s where I’ve been at for the last ten years. I don’t think I have any trademark synths. Seems over time that when I work with a new piece of equipment, hardware or software, I always end up trying to make them sound the same!

Have you had any formal musical training or are you self-taught?

Self taught – that was the one thing that got me into electronic music, the idea that you could do everything by yourself, in your bedroom with no real musical education. It felt truly radical.

You have done remixes for many acts. Has there been a particular one that has stood out for you which has been personally a great artistic success?

I think ‘This Boy’s In Love’e by THE PRESETS is a 10 out of 10 remix on my standards. It’s difficult to say why but somehow everything just clicked when I was making it and it still sounds fresh.

What projects are you working on next?

There’s plenty of stuff that I’m working on, as an artist, producer and remixer. The next release I have lined up is another collaboration album, this one I did with Via Tania from Sydney, Australia. We’re called THE TANIA & JORI CONTINENTS and our album is called ‘Continent One’. It’ll be out this summer on the Australian label Other Tongues. It’s a mix of synth and chamber pop. Tania has the most amazing voice.

Is there anyone else you’d be interested in working with?

Yes, and I’m working on it!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Jori Hulkkonen

Special thanks also to Tapio Normall for his valued assistance and contribution

PROCESSORY ‘Change Is Gradual’ is released by Sugarcane Records

‘Subculture’ by STOP MODERNISTS featuring Chris Lowe is released by Keys Of Life Records

www.jorihulkkonen.com

www.facebook.com/JoriHulkkonen

www.facebook.com/Processory

www.facebook.com/stopmodernists

www.facebook.com/AcidSymphonyOrchestra

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
5th July 2011

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