LADYTRON’s Helen Marnie has finally released her long awaited debut solo album ‘Crystal World’. Going under the moniker MARNIE, the project has, like recent releases by IAMX and Kelli Ali, been crowd funded by Pledge Music.
A new music business model which allows an artist complete independence, it also enables fans to become involved in the process with opportunities to purchase exclusive memorabilia but most importantly, hear the new material before anyone else.
MARNIE told her Pledgers: “I am humbled that so many of you had faith in me and were patient when the project was dogged by delays… I am proud of what we have achieved. This is just a small example of the power people have when they come together.”
Recorded in Iceland, ‘Crystal World’ captures the island’s beautifully relaxed but volatile atmosphere… after all, volcanoes look serene when dormant but when they erupt! With Daniel Hunt in the co-producer’s helm alongside Icelandic musician Barði Jóhannsson, ‘Crystal World’ will inevitably draw comparisons with LADYTRON as half the band are involved in its making. But the first thing to be noticed is how much lighter and brighter this album is than anything the quartet have ever done.
The high density brooding and gothic tensions of ‘Velocifero’ and ‘Witching Hour’ are largely absent, indicating that the darker perspectives of LADYTRON come from Mira Aroyo and Reuben Wu. While this album is not quite SAINT ETIENNE, the thunderstorm that was occasionally LADYTRON has cleared for now, allowing for some fresh air to enter and a warm front to move in.
Certainly classic pop tendencies are apparent with ABBA and Mama Cass being the obvious influences while MARNIE’s love of contemporary synthpop act and fellow WeegiesCHVRCHES has also played its part. Opening track ‘The Hunter’ is a tremendous calling card for ‘Crystal World’, the vibrant electropop single that LADYTRON never quite got round to releasing. It is simply gorgeous and delectably glacial.
‘We Are The Sea’ takes to a steadier tempo and pulses along like one of CHVRCHES’ recent offerings. It hits with a magical chorus that is almost like THE HOLLIES as whirring synths do battle while the closing string machine recalls Dindisc-era OMD. More vintage string machine layers colour ‘Hearts On Fire’, its structure possibly a cousin to atmospheric songs such as ‘White Elephant’ and ‘Ace Of Hz’ from ‘Gravity The Seducer’, an album that saw MARNIE assert her stamp vocally more than any other LADYTRON album.
But with her distinctive voice, even on ‘Violet Affair’ which is musically as far from LADYTRON as one can possibly go with its soulful Summer Of Love feel, thoughts hark back to the last LADYTRON album although her pristine MAMAS & THE PAPAS harmonies do make it more Kópavogur Dreaming than ‘Destroy Everything You Touch’.
Electronic bass propels ‘The Wind Breezes On’ and could be MARNIE’s ‘Love Is A Stranger’ but her higher register larynx keeps it distinct. ‘Sugarland’ is percussively dominant and perhaps the closest ‘Crystal World’ veers to the dark side as it ventures towards windier, more chilling climes with some infinite guitar textures adding some menace. It lightens up again as some marvellous Scandipop makes its presence felt on the wonderful ‘High Road’ before the neo-acappella ‘Laura’.
Using a variety of voice effects, MARNIE switches octaves on this lush centrepiece reminiscent of GOLDFRAPP circa ‘Felt Mountain’ before a detuned sequential passage interrupts for the coda. It’s back to pop on the extended drama of ‘Submariner’ before the climax of ‘Gold’. This closing track could be HURTS ‘The Water’ re-written from a female perspective as some lonely piano chords set the tone before an epic orchestration augmented by guitars and drums steadily kicks in.
‘Crystal World’ achieves MARNIE’s objective “to create an electronic album with more of a pop element and pristine vocals” but it is more than that. Like MARNIE herself, this album is pretty. Vocally and musically expansive, it is like a dreamy Arctic escapist fantasy.
The final word on ‘Crystal World’ must go to the lady herself: “For now, I am going to rest my ears, but my advice to you would be to play it loud and proud!!!! I owe you. Love Marnie xxxx”
‘Crystal World’ is released available as a download via Amazon and iTunes or CD via Les Disques Du Crépuscule
It had to happen but has the world found its female DEPECHE MODE?
American quartet FEATHERS are certainly in the running and in March, had the honour of supporting the Basildon boys at their SXWS gig in Austin, Texas. They have also recently supported LITTLE BOOTS in the US. Led by vocalist / songwriter / programmer Anastasia Dimou, FEATHERS became an electronic based project largely out of practicality after she left her previous band CRUEL BLACK DOVE. Bassist Courtney Voss, keyboardist Kathleen Carmichael, drummer Jordan Johns and alternate guitarists Alex Gehring and Destiny Montague joined to augment the live presentation.
Combining modernism, dystopia and deserts, titles such as ‘Dark Matter’ and ‘Night Seances’ provide the setting for a moody but accessible gothic allure that runs through the debut album ‘If All Now Here’. First single ‘Land Of The Innocent’ is a wondrous epic based around the arpeggio of ‘Ice Machine’ and is like LADYTRON’s ‘Black Cat’, driven by a hard incessant beat complimented by deep synth squelches.
Possessing an industrial gloom with an enlightening pop sensibility, it’s rather like MARSHEAUX borrowing from ‘Playing The Angel’ rather than ‘Violator’. And as Dimou is of Greek ancestry, the description is not wholly inappropriate. It’s the sound of a post-apocalyptic BANGLES going down to Berlin rather than ‘Going Down To Liverpool’!
The brilliant second single ‘Soft’ recalls the single version of ‘Behind The Wheel’ with its tightly sequenced synth bass and staccato vocal samples. Dimou’s dreamy middle eastern overtones nicely layer in the second half for that euphoric lift. Meanwhile ‘Some Great Reward’ era metallic samples permeate through ‘Dark Matter’, a tune with a Latino dancefloor heart but reimagined by NITZER EBB!
The electro disco of ‘Familiar So Strange’ is appropriately FEATHERS’ ‘Enjoy The Silence’ but of course, no DEPECHE MODE influenced act would be without a rousing 6/8 Schaffel stomper. A pair of those come with ‘Fire In The Night’ and ‘Believe’, the latter adding some raunchy blues slide guitar too. These rockier ditties showcase the album’s more organic middle section from which ‘Dream Song’ points to a conventional, rootsy side reminiscent of HOPE SANDOVAL.
But the shimmering synths and percussive programming return on ‘Leaves Start Trembling’ with cool atmospheres recalling Billie Ray Martin’s new project THE OPIATES and their ‘Anatomy Of A Plastic Girl’. One of the album’s highlights, while it shares its eerie sparseness, it does so with a more Trans-Atlantic stance. The drama of ‘Welcome Possession’closes a great debut album with some vibey filmic impressionism punctuated by icy pulsing sequences and octave shifts.
Despite first impressions, ‘If All Now Here’ is not entirely DM sounding and FEATHERS do possess an aural template that also references CURVE and NINE INCH NAILS while displaying a kinship with acts like AUSTRA and GHOST CAPSULES.
While DEPECHE MODE may be the first port of call on ‘If All Now Here’, from the moment Anastasia Dimou reveals her dulcet tones, FEATHERS become something else.
They may be Sisters Of Night, but FEATHERS have their own, very promising and enjoyable identity.
Without dobut, one of the key players in the renaissance of electronic music in the 21st Century have been LADYTRON.
The quartet’s dark flavoured, synthesized fusion has gained a loyal, enthusiastic audience with headline shows all over the world. A prestigious support slot with NINE INCH NAILS and invitations to open for DEPECHE MODE being indicators of their cult popularity.
Their five albums have varied from the classic synthpop of ‘604’ (2000), the edgier sonics of ‘Light & Magic’ (2002) and the great bleep forward of ‘Witching Hour’ (2005) to the rockier overtones of ‘Velocifero’ (2008) and the dreamy soundscapes of ‘Gravity The Seducer’ (2011).
Brian Eno, one-time member of ROXY MUSIC whose track ‘Ladytron’ the band are named after, said they were “the best of English pop music”. However, although the group originally based themselves in founder members Danny Hunt and Reuben Wu’s home city of Liverpool, the multi-cultural make-up of LADYTRON has been a key ingredient in their artistic success; Reuben Wu is of Chinese parentage, Mira Aroyo hails from Sofia while Helen Marnie is from Glasgow.
With LADYTRON currently in hiatus, main vocalist Helen Marnie has taken a busman’s holiday and recorded a solo album “with more of a pop element and pristine vocals”. The end result will be released under the moniker of MARNIE via Pledge Music, an online Direct-to-Fan / Fan-funded music platform that facilitates musicians to reach out to their fanbase and financially contribute to upcoming recordings or other musical projects in return for the music itself, exclusive updates and exclusive merchandise offers.
It’s an innovative approach that is very much in keeping with the forward thinking ethos of LADYTRON. With the almost complete project still very much under wraps but scheduled to be unleashed in the Spring of 2013, Helen Marnie kindly chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about what may be in store with her debut offering and how she thinks crowdfunding is the way forward for musicians…
The LADYTRON ’00-10′ compilation nicely documented the band’s career to date. What have been your own career highlights?
It’s such a long time, there’s been quite a few. Playing the Sydney Opera House was one of them. I’m a massive fan of Australia and being asked to play there by Brian Eno was pretty cool. Doing Coachella both times was amazing, coming from the UK and going over there playing to a crowd that big… you feel like you’re relatively unknown so it’s quite special.
Going to China in 2005 was another, we were taken out there by The British Council and we did five gigs there in Shenzhen, Chongqing and Shanghai. Before going out there, I was a bit hesitant because no-one was going to know us, they couldn’t even get the album out there. But Shenzhen, it was right next to Hong Kong. So playing there, it was really great and absolutely packed as people had travelled over from Hong Kong where LADYTRON probably went down quite well. Overall, that tour was quite an eye opener, I’d never been to China and it was educational.
How do you look back on the last LADYTRON album ‘Gravity The Seducer’ as it seemed to get a mixed reaction from fans?
Well, I think there was, but then there always is! *laughs*
I love it and we were all happy with it. I think that album and ‘Witching Hour’ are my favourites. But there are always fans that want another ‘604’ or ‘Light & Magic’.
We weren’t really happy to stay that way and after you’ve done ten years of touring, it kind of changes you and the kind of record you want to make, so you want to keep doing things differently. I think as well, there’s a lot of Mira fans who want something in Bulgarian and if you don’t deliver, they get a bit… disappointed! If Mira wants to sing in English, she’ll sing in English! It’s her choice! *laughs*
You can never please everyone… so as long as we’re happy, that’s cool.
The approach to the vocals on ‘Ambulances’ was quite different to what you had done before. What inspired that?
I don’t know, I wrote that song so it’s quite personal to me but it just comes naturally. I guess it is a bit different as it’s quite high; it’s falsetto-ish which I guess is unusual for LADYTRON. It’s what came and felt right for the track and I think it’s quite an emotional song so maybe it’s sung that way as well.
When did a solo album become a realistic project for you to undertake and what motivated you? What’s its title?
The album doesn’t have a title yet. I played around with the idea for a couple of years and joked about it for while. I had a handful of songs and when LADYTRON had some time off last year, I began to believe it could be a reality. I thought if I have the opportunity, I’m just going to go for it. So I started writing as much as I could. The album is produced by Danny from the band but I was very aware that I didn’t want it to be a LADYTRON record…
Obviously I’m one quarter of LADYTRON but I wanted it to be something different. I don’t think it would sound like a LADYTRON record with just me because we’ve all got different ideas of what we want and different elements from everybody go into the band. So there’s another producer Bardi Johannsson who has worked with KEREN ANN, he has his own band BANG GANG and he’s working with AIR right now. He’s from Iceland so the opportunity came to go out there and record at his home studio.
You mentioned Danny Hunt being involved but bearing in mind what you said about wanting it different from LADYTRON, had you considered to making this album Tron free?
Looking back now, maybe I should have done it that way but the opportunity arose and Danny wanted to do it. I wasn’t quite sure how I would do it with anyone else really at the time. It just felt right.
The instrumental soundtracking the launch video is very dreamy and appropriately serene… how has the Icelandic environment been to work in and did the landscapes inspire you?
The record was written before I went out there but I’ve been to Iceland before… it’s kind of a strange place! *laughs*
Reykjavik is pretty cool but tiny. It’s very relaxing and the people are nice, it’s very fresh and there’s a lot of creative people there. Working with Bardi was cool because he’s like an Icelandic rock star so knows absolutely everyone there. So if we wanted a drummer in, he could arrange that or someone on strings. But the reality is, we were working quite long days so it was limited how much light I saw but the experience overall was pretty good
What approaches have you been taking that are different from LADYTRON?
I guess having to write on my own, and a whole album as well. The approach is not so much different because in LADYTRON, one person writes and you either take it into the studio and develop it, or someone else adds something. That’s was pretty much the same thing. I had the songs as far as I could take them and they were developed more fully in Iceland. They’ve changed quite substantially with instrumentation and things like that.
You’ve described this album as “an electronic pop album” and cited ABBA as an influence; this sounds quite intriguing as Reuben once described LADYTRON as “ABBA Noir” while Danny said “I’m suspicious of people who don’t like ABBA – it’s like not liking music!”…who have been the other influences?
ABBA is kind of a flippant inspiration; probably I was more referring to the album being song based; melodies and things like that. The stuff I’ve written is electronic but I find it difficult to pin point really what genre it’s in… that’s probably not a bad thing. It’s definitely more pop than LADYTRON, and I wanted it to be like that, and more song based. It’s not a dance album so if people are expecting that, they’re going to be disappointed. But there are elements of that in there.
It’s quite dramatic… when I’m writing, I tend not to listen to that much of the stuff that’s going on around now. I find it a bit distracting because you never know what will slip into your head and then you’ve written something and think “oh this is amazing” and then you realise a little bit of it’s from somewhere else. So I’m quite enjoying now actually listening to loads of stuff after the process has finished. *laughs*
It’s weird, when I sit down to write, it’s like a specific time and something’s happened…I feel like I need to get it out and it’ll start from there. It’s an emotional process and that’s probably when I get most writing done.
What instruments have you been using? Are you still using the faithful Korg Delta or the Cordovox? Or have you gone virtual or organic as it were?
There’s a Delta in there, there is a Moog and Vocoder but they’re subliminal. You wouldn’t necessarily know they’re there. There’s piano across the album and some autoharp, but there’s lots of synths and organs. It’s all virtual to start with and we’ll add more or take away what was on the demo and replace it with a real synth. That’s generally how it happens.
Can you describe some of the songs you’ve been working on?
There is a song called ‘Submariner’, it’s about a person but also influenced by the environment and the sea obviously. And… yeah, that’s all I’ll give you right now! *laughs*
Pledge Music is a novel idea for raising an independent budget for the album, how does this work for you as an artist?
Basically, if I hadn’t had done the pledge, I wouldn’t have been able to do this album. I couldn’t really see a label taking it up, especially when the demos weren’t quite in the right state for them to hear. I don’t think it would have happened without Pledge. I know a lot of people are saying “hasn’t she got her own money, why can’t she make it herself?”
But the reality is, it costs a hell of a lot of money to make an album with a producer and a studio so Pledge Music made it viable. I think as well, the people who have pledged are quite excited by it and feel like they’re a part of it… well, they are because they contributed to making it. I’m glad I’ve gone down this route so far, it’s not over yet but I’m happy with how it’s gone. I think it’s been a success. I just hope that the people who have actually paid good money aren’t disappointed with what they get because they haven’t heard any of it yet apart from a tiny little bit of a song! *laughs*
It’s interesting this “less is more” approach because you can give too much away on the internet these days, it’s nice to have a bit of mystery…
Yes, but I do feel the pressure of possibly letting them down a little bit. I think they’ve got to be open minded to do it in the first place because they don’t know what to expect. They can’t expect something sounding like LADYTRON because it’s me! But I think that crowdfunding is going to explode, it’s already a huge thing but it’s just going to go a lot further because where are artists making money these days? And how can they? Bands and artists have to do things themselves now so this is a good way for them to do it.
I noticed IAMX is doing his next album via Pledge Music…
There a lot of people doing it, they’re making a lot of money though… *laughs*
One of the things you get with Pledge Music is the sale of artefacts and memorabilia. I see you had takers for your shoes and your bikini…
A MAN!!! *laughs*
What? For the bikini or the shoes??
Yeah…both of them!! *laughs*
Was there much interest in your Mini-Cooper?
NO!! Not at all! I kinda put it on there for a laugh… no-one is seriously going to buy it but if someone wants to do, then they can have it y’know! I really love my Mini, I’m going to keep it and it’s garaged.
But I have a dog now and I can’t fit my dog on my knees so it’s not really ideal! But it’s a good car! I thought it would be a fun thing for the pledge. *laughs*
The moniker MARNIE is obviously from your surname but are you a fan of the Hitchcock film?
Oh yes, definitely but we came first… a lot of people call me MARNIE anyway so it feels close to me and I didn’t feel comfortable using my full name so I thought I’d do it that way.
Is MARNIE intended to be a studio-bound project or will you go out live?
The way I’m approaching it is one step at a time. The album is not finished yet, it needs to be mixed and mastered. Then we have to fulfil all the pledges. So once it’s out and anyone likes it and they want me to do some things, I will consider it. I’m very open to things but I’m realistic as well. I want to see how things go but I think it would be really exciting… I would be scared sh*tless doing something live on my own I think, but I would be really excited!
Have you heard the new Glaswegian electronic act CHVRCHES?
Oh yes, I love them. I think they’re going to be huge. I think they’re great, they’re really crunchy, they’ve got good melodies, rests and stuff going on. The singer, she’s got a unique voice and it works well with the music that they’re making.
What else have you been listening to?
I got into GRIMES, the vocals of REN HARVIEU and BAT FOR LASHES but then, I’ve always liked her. I don’t necessarily listen to electronic stuff all the time and some of it, I’m kinda “Hmmmm”! I think it’s great that electronic music is on a high right now but it’s so saturated as well. Everyone’s going “it’s great” cos it’s electronic and I’m like “I’m not so sure”… but there’s lots of good stuff.
What’s next for LADYTRON?
LADYTRON are still all together. It’s just a period of time to think really.
Mira’s busy with her family, Danny’s just recently moved to Brazil, I think Reuben’s moving to the US and I’ve just moved back up to Glasgow… so it’s a period of change.
We need some time just to get ourselves together but we’ll be writing over the next few months to get the songs together for another album which could be out this year, but we’ll just see how it goes really. We do plan to do another album which we will all be working for when the time is right.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to MARNIE
Special thanks to Zach Weinberg and Tim Husom at Redbird Management
“It begins with deposits of ice crystals that are more or less separated; it forms during the cold, windy and foggy days when cooled water droplets catch the chill and immediately freeze”
Incidentally, their name in Serbian means ‘frost’. Hailing from Belgrade and featuring the nucleus of vocalist Jelena Miletić and instrumentalist Jovan Vesić, INJE have had the pleasure of supporting HURTS and FAITHLESS in their home country as well as being invited to play at Exit, one of Serbia’s most prestigious festivals.
Their chromatic Eastern Bloc charge will almost certainly please followers of LADYTRON. The excellent ‘Kofein I CO2’ from their EP ‘Protok’ is sort of DUBSTAR meets DAVID LYNCH film soundtrack with some sparing guitar work by Marko Ignjatović. It possesses an aural magnetism that is gorgeously layered with an air of wispy innocence. The self-directed video meanwhile captures a suitably enigmatic tension in keeping with the song.
Serbian newspaper Politika have described INJE as “minimal, dream-like electropop with ethereal female vocals”. Their first recording ‘Lego’ was for the compilation ‘Maska Sessions’ in 2008. While not particularly electronic sounding and sweetened with sax, it was a well crafted object of beauty.
Their acclaimed 2010 single ‘Danas’ has been a cult favourite in the Balkans while the remainder of the ‘Protok’ EP has a reserved melodicism driven by danceable but chilled out grooves. ‘Bez Protoka’ in particular with its steady backbeat and sweeping synthetic atmosphere recalls MARSHEAUX’s Sorrow which in turn was inspied by DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Halo’.
‘Kofein I CO2’ featuring two extra remixes, The ‘Protok’ EP and ‘Danas’ are available as free downloads via INJE’s website
So what did ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK think was hot back in 2011?
It featured a day in March when THE HUMAN LEAGUE, DURAN DURAN and John Foxx all released new albums, while VILE ELECTRODES launched their debut EP. In a year when the synth pioneers were finally recognised for their valuable contribution to popular culture, here are our 30 favourite songs of 2011 presented in alphabetical order by artist…
AUSTRA Spellwork
Canadian trio AUSTRA deliver a stark, baroque form of electronica fuelled by sexual tension. Like a gothic opera which successfully blends light and darkness with fragility and power, Katie Stelmanis and friends borrow the tones of classic DEPECHE MODE and cross it with THE KNIFE for this, their most accessibly brilliant synthpop offering from their debut album. The B-side ‘Indentity’ is a worthy listen too.
Available on the CD ‘Feel It Break’ via Domino/Paper Bag Records
Fresh from opening for John Foxx, Tara Busch released a charity EP for The Bob Moog Foundation. If you’ve ever wanted to hear that bizarre sonic other worldiness of GOLDFRAPP’s first album ‘Felt Mountain’ again, it’s right here on ‘Rocket Wife’. With hints of the eerie classic Star Trek theme, this is really does sound like THE CARPENTERS in outer space! Calling occupants of interplanetary craft, across the universe…
Available on the download EP ‘Rocket Wife’ via The Bob Moog Foundation
With wonderful riffs and an uplifting chorus, this is delicious electronic pop from the cult Swedish trio of Paulinda Crescentini, Tommy Arell and Carl Hammar. Remixed by Athens synth maidens MARSHEAUX, this has the best of both worlds and could easily be mistaken for Sophie and Marianthi. However, PaulindaCrescentini’s Italo Nordic charm gives ‘It’s A Game’ a wonderfully distinct and alluring Mediterranean flavour.
Available on the download EP ‘It’s A Game’ via Graplur Records
BETH DITTO would probably be the Alison Moyet of modern electro if she didn’t prefer the funky punk of her band GOSSIP. ‘Do You Need Someone?’ sees Ms Ditto’s powerful and passionate yearning adding soul to the sparkling electronic dance groove. With production from SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO, KRAFTWERK’s ‘Computer World’ tones towards the song’s coda are a marvellous touch. A future career as an alternative disco diva beckons.
Available on the CD EP ‘Beth Ditto’ via Deconstruction Records/Sony Music
While Dolby’s album return was largely organic with hints of bluegrass and Americana, its token synthpop offering was the wonderful ‘Spice Train’. Over its hypnotic, squelchy sequence and mechanised dance beat, it gets strangely humanised by a Mariachi horn section. With the kitchen sink and a host of exotic influences thrown in via Bollywood and the Middle East, ‘Spice Train’ does exactly what it says on the tin.
Available on the CD ‘A Map Of The Floating City’ via Lost Toy People.
‘All You Need Is Now’ saw DURAN DURAN cyclically return to the funk-led syncopated pop of their first two albums. ‘Being Followed’ is a superb sequencer assisted disco number with a tingling metallic edge, touches of THE CURE’s ‘A Forest’ and Nick Rhodes’ vintage string machine capture the tension of post 9/11 paranoia. Simon Le Bon gives it his all and while he is technically one of the most chronic singers of his generation, he is unique AND untouchable…
Available on the CD ‘All You Need Is Now’ via Tape Modern
NIKONN’s brand new album ‘Instamatic’ is suitably Mediterranean so add that instrumentation to the voice of raspy New Yorker Lana Del Rey and the end result is a glorious sun-kissed dancefloor moment. Somehow, you end up feeling much happier after dancing to, what is essentially in its original form, a quite stark, heartfelt minor key ballad. Now officially sanctioned, the remix brought the former Lizzie Grant to an electronic pop audience.
Originally issued as a free download but currently unavailable.
From her under rated album ‘Make A Scene’ which includes contributions from Richard X and Armand Van Buuren, the appropriately titled Synchronised is a synthpop tune with a distinct YAZOO flavour to it. All highly appropriate as she supported ERASURE during their forests tour this year. This superbly cements her electro kinship which has been apparent since ‘China Heart’ from her ‘Tripping The Light Fantastic’ in 2007.
Available on the CD ‘Make A Scene’ via Douglas Valentine Limited
The best track on the ‘Interplay’ album is a co-written duet with Mira Aroyo of LADYTRON. ‘Watching A Building On Fire’, with its chattering drum machine and accessible Trans- European melodies, oozes a synthetic smokiness. Aroyo’s counterpoint is almost playfully feline although Foxx’s inherent dystopianism gives it his stamp, making this a second cousin of ‘Burning Car’. The Andy Gray remix is also a worthy acquisition.
Available on the CD ‘Interplay’ via Metamatic Records
JOY DIVISION’s original on ‘Closer’ was one of the most fragile, funereal collages of beauty ever committed to vinyl but Elizabeth Walling has covered this cult classic and made it even more haunting! Replacing the piano motif with eerily chilling synth and holding it together within an echoing sonic cathedral, she pays due respect while adding her own understated operatic stylings… you should hear her version of ‘Louie Louie’!
Available on the download EP ‘I Am Shell I Am Bone’ via Anti-Ghost Moon Ray Records
Susanne Sulley does her best LITTLE BOOTS impression with this opener to ‘Credo’, the long awaited comeback album from THE HUMAN LEAGUE. Sounding like ‘Crash’ gone right or CLIENT gone funky, it is also auto-tuned to the hilt as Da League go all contemporary with this marvellous slice of electronic pop. Let’s hope it’s not another ten years before there’s new material!
‘Clump’ could be the sound of the drums on OMD’s ‘History Of Modern Part 1’ but it’s actually this kooky little number by IAMAMIWHOAMI aka Jonna Lee. A synthetically charged amalgam with vintage sounds and even a toy piano thrown in, this is a bit brighter than some her contemporaries if still delightfully odd and mysterious. It’s musically more Bjork than FEVER RAY although she does share the same management with the latter.
Available on the download single ‘Clump’ via iTunes and Amazon
IAMX have captured an electro Gothic aesthetic that combines the theatrics of Weimar Cabaret with themes of sex, alienation and dependency. Despite the lyrical and aural fervor, Corner’s songs are strongly melodic with an accessible grandeur. The superb lead single ‘Ghosts Of Utopia’ from new album ‘Volatile Times’ has instant appeal with its exhilarating mechanical drive and electrickery. His scream of “this is psychosis” is wholly believable! Dance in the dark!
Available on the CD ‘Volatile Times’ via Republic of Music/BMG
Flautist textures dominate the more sedate pace of ‘Mirage’ almost as a reaction to the loudness war of previous album ‘Velocifero’. Helen Marnie’s voice beautifully suits the synthetic atmospherics while the widescreen, spacious mix compliments a catchy tune that has hints of SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES. Although confusing some of their fans, given room to explore, ‘Gravity The Seducer’ is that under rated album which will be hailed as a classic in years to come.
Available on the CD ‘Gravity The Seducer’ via Nettwerk Productions
Living in a dream since 1983 and as a homage to ‘The Pleasure Principle’, MAISON VAGUE mainman Clark Stiefel responded musically to a YouTube video entitled ‘Synthpop Is Dead’. The opening salvo is brilliant and the lyric of “Everyone’s entitled to opinion, you have yours and well I have mine” hits home. But it’s the retort of “And though it seems that our opinions differ, you’ll agree in time!” that says it all as the sound of PLACEBO gone electro. This battlecry has heart, soul and humour.
Available on the download album ‘Synthpop’s Alive’ via Amazon
Closing MIRRORS’ outstanding ‘Lights & Offerings’ long player, ‘Secrets’ shifting phat bass riff across two octaves is pure Kling Klang, driven by an intense percussive march. An epic at over ten minutes in length and split into three movements, the ambient interlude of the second section consists of an aural sculpture that plays with the mind. It then suddenly reprises with a piercing military tattoo for its finale with unsettling voices for some added claustrophobic edge.
Available on the CD ‘Lights & Offerings’ via Skint Entertainment
Yes, Moby has settled into a formula but he does it well. One of the more immediate tracks from the excellent independently released ‘Destroyed’ album, ‘Be The One’ is full of rich layered synth strings with moody chordial sweeps over a motorik beat and textured vocoder. Despite the simplistic robotic couplet “I was the hell that you needed – I was the one when you needed love”, it strangely exudes warmth and emotion.
Available on the CD ‘Destroyed’ via Little Idiot Records
From their second EP Radio, with Caroline Myrick’s soft vocals attached to Darin Rajabian’s classic electro disco inspired backing, ‘On The Run’ could be described as Ellie Goulding gone right and is free of folkisms. : “I want back the soft quiet days of ever, when there was lemonade and sand, and rainy screen doors and sad movies; when the minutes were no one else’s but ours”.
Available on the download EP ‘Radio’ via their website
Anthemic gothic rock is what the former Gary Webb deals in these days but ‘The Fall’ is a lot less heavier and one-dimensional than the offerings on previous album ‘Jagged’. Co-written and co-produced by Ade Fenton as an interim project when work on the ‘Splinter’ album was put on hold, with a fair smattering of gritty synths, this achieves a much better sonic balance and Gary Numan’s most accessible number in years.
Available on the CD ‘Dead Son Rising’ via Mortal Records
THE OPIATES are former ELECTRIBE 101 chanteuse Billie Ray Martin and Norwegian DJ and producer Robert Solheim. They have been dubbed as The Carpenters of Electro. Several years in the making, the debut album contained ‘Anatomy Of A Plastic Girl’, a fine avant pop structure that told the tale of a young wannabe actress in Los Angeles who reflects on the facial surgery that has left her scarred…
Available on the CD ‘Hollywood Under The Knife’ via Disco Activisto Records
QUEEN OF HEARTS is Liz Morphew, formally of RED BLOODED WOMEN; this mysterious young royal with her assorted headgear and couture is modern electropop’s own Queen Amidala. From a galaxy far, far away and light years ahead of the poptastic competition, this moody, pulsing cover of indie rockers THE FOALS is transformed by a hypnotism textured with spacious synths to give our Queenie room for some sexy breathiness.
Best known for ‘Looking From A Hilltop’ in 1984, the song’s husband and wife vocalists Larry Cassidy and Jenny Ross have sadly since passed away. So it was highly appropriate that for SECTION 25’s recorded return, fronting the former punks would be Larry and Jenny’s daughter Bethany. She does a fine job with this danceable synth led ditty which captures that classic hedonistic Manchester vibe that recalls THE OTHER TWO’s ‘Tasty Fish’.
Available on the download EP ‘Invicta’ via Fac 51 The Hacienda
SOFT METALS are a newish electro duo comprising Patricia Hall and Ian Hicks. Now resident in Los Angeles, they have an accessibly minimal sound with Hall’s pretty vocals being a particular delight and reminiscent of Dot Allison’s flirtatious aura. ‘Eyes Closed’ is probably the highlight from their very promising self-titled debut album, elements of ORBITAL creeping into the danceable bleep fest.
Available on the CD ‘Soft Metals’ via Captured Tracks
Stefan Storm and Oskar Gullstrand hail from Gavle in Sweden. Both filmic and musical elements are important factors in THE SOUND OF ARROWS. Produced by Richard X and featuring a sweet guest vocal from Sarah Nyberg Pergament aka action biker, the choral patches and the symphonic templates are just so reminiscent of OMD. Coupled to some fantastically optimistic ambition, ‘Longest Ever Dream’ is a panoramic joy!
Featuring mournful violin by Chris Payne from The Gary Numan Experience, ‘What Do You Want?’ is the first TENEK track that could be described as possessing a degree of beauty. The Brtish duo’s more rousing anthemic style takes a breather here and although this has more in common with their other ballad track ‘The Art Of Evasion’, the subtlety and strings add a new sonic dimension to the developing TENEK sound.
TIGER BABY are a Copehagen trio led by singer Pernille Pang with Benjamin Teglbjærg and Nikolaj Tarp Gregersen in synthetic support. They released their debut album ‘Noise Around Me’ in 2007. Stylistically, this has all the unmistakeable melodic sensibility that Scandinavian pop acts seem to naturally possess as pretty arpeggios and wispy vocals combine for some dream laden electro accompanied by a fabulous video.
Available on the CD ‘Open Windows Open Hills’ via Gunhero records
VILE ELECTRODES are a colourful beat combo who combine analogue synths with fetish fashion. Their sound could be described as THE SMITHS reincarnated as CLIENT but ‘My Sanctuary’, the closing track on their debut EP is a sweeping moody epic that recalls imperial phase OMD. Anais resigned melancholic vocal gives that ice maiden demeanour over glorious symphonic synth strings and deep sombre tones. It’s magnificence embroiled.
They’re the 21st Century equivalent of THE TEARDOP EXPLODES but with no brass. WHITE LIES however are much more bombastic with synths carrying melodies and assorted effects. Driven by a sweeping theme and deep bass thud before leading to a sense of urgency in the verse, a thoroughly anthemic chorus doesn’t appear until halfway to increase tension. This is possibly what TX could have sounded like if Julian Cope hadn’t gone to live under a tortoise shell!
Available on the CD ‘Ritual’ via Fiction/Polydor Records
Chugging arpeggios, clattering primitive drum machines and slightly unorthodox vocals, minimal duo XENO & OAKLANDER give a brilliantly vibrant offering of vintage futurism. ‘The Staircase’ is their most immediate offering yet. Based in Brooklyn, part of their authentic Europeanism comes from Liz Wendelbo’s wispy French / Norwegian charm. Writing with partner Sean McBride since 2004, they successfully supported JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS in 2011.
Available on the CD ‘Sets & Lights’ via Wierd Records
Those dark Nordic nights certainly have their effect as this cynical tune from this Finnish duo indicates. Comprising helpfully of two friends Tapio and Matti, ZEBRA & SNAKE fuse vintage electronics with a touch of ambient dexterity as an “artistic form of therapy”. ‘Empty Love Song’ is suitably bittersweet and sounds a bit like MGMT’s ‘Time To Pretend’ after six months in deep freeze! However, despite its lyrical stance, it possesses a grand anthemic quality.
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