Montréal’s RATIONAL YOUTH were founded in 1980 by synth enthusiasts Tracy Howe and Bill Vorn.
Along with PSYCHE and MEN WITHOUT HATS, they were among the trailblazers for electronic music in Canada, a country that has more recently produced acclaimed acts such as GRIMES, PURITY RING, AUSTRA, TR/ST, ELECTRIC YOUTH and LOLA DUTRONIC. Vorn had a Roland System 100M while Howe used equations to programme sequencers. Later joined by Kevin Komoda, RATIONAL YOUTH quickly made an impression and supported OMD at Auditorium Le Plateau in March 1982.
Shortly after, the trio released ‘Cold War Night Life’, possibly the first ever Canadian synthpop album. A big seller in their home country despite being an independent release on YUL Records, it was later to be a cult favourite in Sweden where its influence was readily felt in their modern domestic electronic scene.
Photo by Kevin Komoda
Indeed, the 1997 RATIONAL YOUTH reunion concert with Howe and Vorn took place in Lund, Sweden. Now Cold War Night Life, the online magazine of electronic music and culture, has curated ‘Heresy: A Tribute To RATIONAL YOUTH’, a collection of the Canadian synth pioneers’ best-known songs, interpreted by artists from the UK, Sweden, Australia, Norway, Germany and Canada.
Going against the trend of Spotify and downloads, the package is gathered on two vinyl LPs and a 12 inch EP, all contained in a trifold sleeve, plus two accompanying CDs mirroring the vinyl, reflecting Cold War Night Life’s philosophy that “albums are to be touched, read and heard”.
The 12 inch EP features a brand new track ‘This Side Of The Border’ from RATIONAL YOUTH themselves. Now comprising of Tracy Howe and his wife Gaenor, it is classic RY featuring Howe’s characteristically direct, overwrought lyricism but with added midlife angst. The track itself premiered earlier in the year on the comeback six song mini-album ‘Future Past Tense’ released by Artoffact Records.
Perhaps not surprisingly, one of the highlights from ‘Heresy’ is PSYCHE’s take on ‘Ring The Bells’ from the ‘Cold War Night Life’ debut. The clattering 808 beat and elegantly haunting sweeps combined with Darrin Huss’ mournful vocal provide an atmospheric reworking that betters the original. It is also a recording that reflects the decades long kinship between RATIONAL YOUTH and PSYCHE.
Meanwhile on two further songs from ‘Cold War Night Life’, Sweden’s JOHAN BAECKSTRÖM acquits himself well with a blippy version of ‘Saturdays In Silesia’ in the vein of ERASURE while MACHINISTA don’t disappoint on a meaty ‘City of Night’, applying their enjoyable template of THE CURE gone synthpop with a rock ’n’ roll edge.
Speaking of rock, PROJECT GRUDGE do exactly as their moniker suggests on ‘Beware The Fly’, while ROSSETTI’S COMPASS expands on the JOY DIVISION doom pop of ‘Coboloid Race’ by adding a more prominent, metronomic beat in splendid ‘Isolation’.
KORD featuring the vocals of Annie Gylling provide some ADULT. entertainment while ‘Dancing On The Berlin Wall’, although the arrangement itself isn’t that radically different from RATIONAL YOUTH’s.
Although the collection is dominated by songs from ‘Cold War Night Life’, other tunes in RATIONAL YOUTH’s catalogue are represented. Swedish synth project DEN DÄR KILLEN offer a frantically paced ‘In Your Eyes’ from 1985’s ‘Heredity’, but the excellent arrangement is perhaps marred by some ambitious amateurism in the vocal department. TECHNOMANCER join forces with ANGST POP for ‘I’ve Got A Sister In The Navy’ which appropriately sounds very ‘Top Gun’, while PROCEDURE’s ‘Close To Nature (No TDM Mix)’ acts as a squelchy dystopian instrumental interlude.
However ‘Heresy: A Tribute To RATIONAL YOUTH’ does suffer from track duplication, with TOUCHING THE VOID doing ‘Ring The Bells’, CANDIDE also performing ‘City of Night’ and INDEPENDENT STATE attempting ‘Beware The Fly’; all are subsequently overshadowed by PYSCHE, MACHINISTA and PROJECT GRUDGE respectively and although RATIONAL YOUTH have a small catalogue, this repeating of songs is unnecessary in hindsight.
That aside, what this tribute album successfully does is reacquaint electronic music enthusiasts to the catalogue of RATIONAL YOUTH. Time has been kind to their work and it certainly deserves reappraisal. So, anyone fancy a ‘Holiday In Bangkok’?
The user manual for the Roland System 100 semi-modular synthesizer profoundly stated “there are no illegal connections…”
And in modern electronic music, that is still the case with the accomplished artists of today very much connected to the synth pioneers of yesteryear like KRAFTWERK, OMD, ULTRAVOX, JAPAN, DEPECHE MODE and THE HUMAN LEAGUE.
Belgian duo METROLAND would not exist without the tradition established at Klingklang, while EAST INDIA YOUTH’s interest in BRIAN ENO and Motorik beats curated a sound that has enabled parallels to be drawn with the artful template of the similarly influenced Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey.
And although Susanne Sundfør was already an established singer / songwriter in her homeland of Norway, attention was not fully drawn on her new synth based direction until she performed a sympathetic cover of ‘Ice Machine’ with RÖYKSOPP in late 2012.
Even the exquisite lo-fi Welsh language electronica of Gwenno can be traced to Sheffield, thanks to the songstress’ previous pop excursions which involved working on an album with the late Martin Rushent. As Jean-Michel Jarre said: “Electronic music has a family, a legacy and a future…” so to deny the glorious heritage of electronic music when assessing new acts would be futile. Indeed, acknowledging history is very much part of ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s style and it appears to have been appreciated, especially in regard to the feature ‘30 Favourite Albums 2010 – 2014’, one of a quintet of special articles to celebrate the site’s fifth birthday in March…
“Huge thanks to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK” said avid reader Hugh David, “A victory for well-written, artfully conveyed content curation once again… you knew exactly what to say to sell me on one artist or another. That rare ability of a reviewer to pinpoint the precise comparisons that enable me to decide to seek something out based on my own tastes is something lacking in so many other outlets; love that you’ve got that in spades”
Another reader David Sims added: “ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is a great way of discovering artists you might not otherwise be aware of. A bit like when a friend used to come round your house clutching an LP or C90 saying ‘I really love this, have a listen’, introducing you to new music that makes your neck hairs stand up in ovation”
2014 was a comparatively lean 12 months, but this year found many veterans returning to the fold. NEW ORDER released ‘Music Complete’, a much discussed comeback that was not only the Mancunians’ first album for Mute, but also without estranged bassist Peter Hook.
Marc Almond released ‘The Velvet Trail’, his first pop album for many years while ANDY BELL embarked on further solo adventures in support of ‘Torsten The Bareback Saint’.
SPARKS joined forces with FRANZ FERDINAND as FFS while telling everyone to ‘P*ss Off’ and proved that collaborations do work. Electronic music legend Jean-Michel Jarre also went the collaborative root. His first album for several years ‘Electronica 1 – The Time Machine’ featured the likes of LITTLE BOOTS, TANGERINE DREAM, AIR, GESAFFELSTEIN and MASSIVE ATTACK along with ArminVan Buuren, John Carpenter and Vince Clarke.
Another legend Giorgio Moroder made his statement of intent with ‘74 Is The New 24’ and released ‘Déjà Vu’, a disco pop record featuring the likes of Sia, Britney Spears, Foxes and Kylie Minogue.
Meanwhile, his artier counterpart Zeus B Held gave us some ‘Logic of Coincidence’ and Wolfgang Flur made his solo debut with ‘Eloquence’, his first length album project since 1997.
Liverpool duo CHINA CRISIS delivered ‘Autumn In The Neighbourhood’, their first original material since 1994’s ‘Warped By Success’ while Howard Jones showed he could still innovate at 60 years of age when he launched ‘Engage’, “a highly interactive live experience designed to immerse audiences in an audio / visual feast”. A-HA came back after disbanding in 2010 with ‘Cast In Steel’ and DURAN DURAN recruited an all-star cast that included Nile Rodgers, John Frusciante, Kiesza and Lindsay Lohan for the rather disappointing EDM blow-out ‘Paper Gods’.
BLANCMANGE’s ‘Semi Detached’ was Neil Arthur’s first without long-time partner Stephen Luscombe and he even found time to release a wonderful instrumental collection entitled ‘Nil By Mouth’. Indeed, there were quite a few instrumental opuses in 2015, with GHOST HARMONIC’s wonderful ‘Codex’ featuring John Foxx and the electronic pioneer’s own glorious ‘London Overgrown’.
DEPECHE MODE’s Martin Gore released the tutorial for his new Eurorack modular system as the simply titled ‘MG’. 2015 saw the 25th anniversary of DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Violator’ and to ignore its significance, as some DM fan related platforms did, would have been incredibly short sighted. However, there was none of that from premier DM tribute band SPEAK & SPELL who played their biggest UK gig yet with a splendid boutique showcase of that landmark album at London’s Islington Academy.
CAMOUFLAGE, a band who started off very much under the influence of the Basildon boys, issued the mature statement of ‘Greyscale’ while continuing the DEPECHE MODE album theme, Athens based synth maidens MARSHEAUX gave a worthy of re-assessment of ‘A Broken Frame’ and procured a number of interesting arrangements for some under rated songs. DIE KRUPPS got more metal than machine on their fifth opus ‘V – Metal Machine Music’.
Fellow Germans BEBORN BETON made up for a ten year absence with ‘A Worthy Compensation’ while SOLAR FAKE and SYNTHDECADE also got in on the action too.
CHVRCHES continued their quest for world domination with something that LITTLE BOOTS, LA ROUX, LADYHAWKE and HURTS never managed… a decent second album. But PURITY RING, the Canadian act whose template CHVRCHES borrowed, must have looked over with a touch of envy at the Glaswegian’s success so responded with ‘Another Eternity’.
HANNAH PEEL released an interim mini-album ‘Rebox 2’ which blended centuries of music technology while VILE ELECTRODES came up with the gorgeous ‘Captive In Symmetry’, possibly one of the songs of 2015. EURASIANEYES heeded all the guidance available to them to produce their most accomplished song yet in ‘Call Your God’ and ANALOG ANGEL went on a well-received tour supporting Swedish veterans COVENANT with a message to listeners of ‘Don’t Forget To Love’.
Elsewhere in the British Isles, CIRCUIT3, RODNEY CROMWELL and SUDDEN CREATION made their first excursions into the long player format just as KID KASIO and KOVAK each delivered album number two while Berlin based Brit EMIKA helpfully titled her third opus ‘Drei’.
“So, what’s so special about Sweden then?” someone once rather cluelessly asked TEC. Well, it is the modern hub of inventive, electronic pop. KARIN PARK offered her profanity laden fifth album ‘Apocalypse Pop’.
Still in Sweden, DAYBEHAVIOR went all female PET SHOP BOYS with the Italo flavoured ‘Cambiare’ and MACHINISTA followed up their debut ‘Xenoglossy’ with ‘Garmonbozia’. while there was also the unexpected return of alternative synthpopsters ASHBURY HEIGHTS.
But best of all were the mighty KITE; their ‘VI’ EP was a masterclass in epic, majestic electronic pop. In the rest of Europe, there was an influx of darker female fronted acts such as Hungary’s BLACK NAIL CABARET, Italy’s ELECTROGENIC, Greece’s SARAH P. and Germany’s NINA; the latter’s ‘My Mistake’ even ended up on a Mercedes TV advert. The male contingent did their bit too with Slovenia’s TORUL unleashing their second offering ‘The Measure’ while the prolific Finnish duo SIN COS TAN took things a little bit easier in their fourth year with just an EP ‘Smile, Tomorrow Will Be Worse’, having already released three albums since 2012.
Oslo based studio legend John Fryer returned with two new projects, SILVER GHOST SHIMMER and MURICIDAE featuring vocalists Pinky Turzo and Louise Fraser respectively. Both reminded listeners of his work with COCTEAU TWINS and THIS MORTAL COIL, but with an Americanised twist. The Icelandic domiciled Denver singer / songwriter JOHN GRANT added some funkier vibes to his continuing electronic direction while IAMX moved from Berlin to Los Angeles, and did no harm to his art with the brooding ‘Metanoia’ album.
On the brighter side of North America, PRIEST’s self-titled debut long player became reality following their dreamy ‘Samurai’ EP, while HYPERBUBBLE made available their wacky award winning soundtrack to the short film ‘Dee Dee Rocks The Galaxy’ and joyous 2014 London show. And GRIMES caught the music biz on the hop when she released a new album ‘Art Angels’, having scrapped an album’s worth of material in 2014.
But despite North America itself being one of the territories flying the flag for the synth with acts like NIGHT CLUB, BATTLE TAPES, AESTHETIC PERFECTION and RARE FACTURE all figuring, the worst single of 2015 actually came from the USA! Literally decades of synth heritage were eminently obliterated in five soul destroying minutes… was this really what the Electronic Revolution was fought for? This is cultural history and it needs to be protected.
Although the year had flashes of brilliance, it was generally less impressive overall for fledgling electronic artists, with a number forgetting that all important factor of a good tune! Eddie Bengtsson of SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN remarked last year that synthpop was becoming a dying art.
And in 2015, synthpop’s credibility was further tarnished with lazy use of the term by the mainstream press for acts like YEARS & YEARS; one could argue that Taylor Swift and her ‘1989’ opus is possibly more synthpop than YEARS & YEARS have ever been! In a market where EDM appears to be king and clubbers are happy to witness DJs miming their two hour sets, there is clearly something wrong. Things were not helped by certain media outlets insisting that dance music was the only way; it was as if electronic music had somehow managed to jump from KRAFTWERK to Detroit techno with nothing happening in between.
And then, there were those who had never particularly enjoyed music from that key Synth Britannia period, who were trying to dictate how modern electronic music was being presented and pretending it had popped out of thin air!
Some bands were not doing themselves any favours either, showing little empathetic connection to the history of electronic music in their deluded optimism that they were crafting something completely new! As Jean-Michel Jarre amusingly quipped to Sound-On-Sound magazine: “Lots of people in America think that electronic music started with AVICII and it’s not exactly the truth…”
The lack of accuracy in a number of publications over the last 18 months was also shocking, particularly within magazines and online media that continued to employ writers with a history of not knowing their tape recorders from their drum machines. This simply proved the old adage that just because someone is employed as a professional writer, it doesn’t actually mean they are a good writer!
The domestic live scene had its challenges too with slow ticket sales and a number of events cancelled. But even when some true legends in electronic music were booked, ticket sales could not be guaranteed and efficient promotion was needed to maximise potential.
Some observers were bemoaning a lack of support for the scene, but if line-ups are not particularly appealing, then audiences cannot be expected to invest time and money to attend. A number of organisational infrastructures also lacked credibility; if a promoter doesn’t have at least some idea if they’re going to sell fifty tickets or five thousand, then they really shouldn’t be in the business!
The question that has to be asked then is, has anybody actually learnt from the Alt-Fest debacle of 2014? It really would appear not! While ‘A Secret Wish’ and SOS#2 were a couple of the year’s better UK events, Europe showed once again how things should be done. Electronic Summer in Gothenburg and the Electri_City_Conference in Düsseldorf were two of the most notable electronic music events of 2015.
The inherent knowledge and sense of understanding in both differed immensely to some British promoters. This perhaps could explain why electronic pop has generally flourished more in territories across the North Sea. Electronic pop needs to continue to develop, but quality control must be maintained to ensure the genre is not publically misrepresented. SOFT CELL once sang about ‘Monoculture’ while KID MOXIE declared how everyone was just content with ‘Medium Pleasure’.
If all that’s heard is the best of a bad bunch, then younger listeners (and therefore potential future synth oriented musicians) will not be inspired. That is why it is important that CHVRCHES and EAST INDIA YOUTH consolidate their positions as modern electronic pop’s representatives in the mainstream.
It is not good practice to support mediocre music just because it happens to be electronic. The finest examples need to be set so as to show what can be achieved; now if that means possibly referencing back to the golden age of synthpop, then so be it. Only then will the synth baton be able to taken up by a new generation who can then truly reinvigorate it.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK Contributor Listings 2015
PAUL BODDY
Best Album: EAST INDIA YOUTH Culture Of Volume
Best Song: NEW ORDER Restless
Best Gig: EAST INDIA YOUTH + HANNAH PEEL at London Village Underground
Best Video: BATTLE TAPES Valkyrie
Most Promising New Act: BATTLE TAPES
DEB DANAHAY
Best Album: IAMX Metanoia
Best Song: KITE Up For Life
Best Gig: NODE at The Royal College of Music
Best Video: IAMX Oh Cruel Darkness Embrace Me
Most Promising New Act: KITE
IAN FERGUSON
Best Album: EAST INDIA YOUTH Culture Of Volume
Best Song: KITE Count The Days
Best Gig: ASSEMBLAGE 23 at SOS#2 Festival
Best Video: VILE ELECTRODES Captive In Symmetry
Most Promising New Act: RODNEY CROMWELL
MONIKA IZABELA GOSS
Best Album: SILVER GHOST SHIMMER Soft Landing
Best Song: IAMX Happiness
Best Gig: IAMX at London Koko
Best Video: TORUL The Balance
Most Promising New Act: SYNTHDECADE
SIMON HELM
Best Album: LAU NAU Hem Någonstans
Best Song: ME THE TIGER As We Really Are
Best Gig: SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN at A Secret Wish
Best Video: JUNO Same To Me
Most Promising New Act: REIN
CHI MING LAI
Best Album: SUSANNE SUNDFØR Ten Love Songs
Best Song: KITE Up For Life
Best Gig: FFS at The Troxy
Best Video: VILE ELECTRODES Captive In Symmetry
Most Promising New Act: RODNEY CROMWELL
RICHARD PRICE
Best Album: EAST INDIA YOUTH Culture Of Volume
Best Song: NEW ORDER Plastic
Best Gig: EAST INDIA YOUTH + HANNAH PEEL at London Village Underground
Best Video: VILE ELECTRODES Captive In Symmetry
Most Promising New Act: KITE
In a far more productive year than 2014, many electronic music veterans returned to the fold in 2015 with their first new albums for many years. There were plenty of releases from independent acts too, with Nordic Europe being a particularly strong territory once again.
45 quality songs made the shortlist and were eventually whittled down to 30. So mention must be made of ALICE IN VIDEOLAND, ANALOG ANGEL, BEBORN BETON, BECKY BECKY, CAMOUFLAGE, CLUB 8, ELECTROGENIC, EURASIANEYES, ME THE TIGER, HANNAH PEEL and SIN COS TAN who all released recordings in 2015 that would have easily made the listing in less competitive years such as 2012 and 2014. Even DURAN DURAN’s disappointing ‘Paper Gods’ yielded one decent track in ‘Face For Today’, but one swallow doesn’t make a summer.
So the decision has been made; with a restriction of one song per artist moniker, this alphabetical list comprises tracks released in physical formats, or digitally as purchasable or free downloads during the calendar year. Here are ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 SONGS OF 2015…
A-HA She’s Humming A Tune
Having played what appeared to be their farewell concert at the Oslo Spektrum in December 2010, A-HA reunited in a relaxed manner that recalled their days as a fledgling band. On ‘She’s Humming A Tune’, there were hints of 1986’s ‘Scoundrel Days’ in a lower key with sweeping synths, bottle neck six string and live drums moulding the chilling soundscape with that exquisite Nordic allure. ‘Cast In Steel’ was the antithesis of the misguided EDM blow-out that DURAN DURAN attempted on ‘Paper Gods’
Available on the album ‘Cast In Steel’ via Universal Music
Feeling gloomy? Then take heed of the advice from BLACK NAIL CABARET and “Don’t be sad! Don’t be whiney!” – this brooding slice of Gothtronica was the lead single from the Hungarian duo’s second album ‘Harry Me, Marry Me, Bury Me’. Laden with a delicious synth bassline like DEPECHE MODE reimagined for a Weimar Cabaret set piece and topped with eerie string machine, ‘Satisfaction’ was the duo’s best individual offering to date. The pair also made a worthy impression opening for CAMOUFLAGE.
Available on the album ‘Harry Me, Marry Me, Bury Me’ via Basic Unit Productions
From Neil Arthur’s first BLANCMANGE album without long time bandmate Stephen Luscombe, ‘Useless’ was a brilliant hybrid of BRIAN ENO circa ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’ with LCD SOUNDSYSTEM. “It’s about anyone who thinks they might be useless” said Arthur, “This song is about that whole idea that we’re all flawed and you’re ‘useless as you are’… there are just times when you think ‘f*cking hell, I couldn’t organise a p*ss up in a brewery’ or that whole thing about confidence”.
Available on the album ‘Semi Detached’ via Cherry Red Records
Although launch single ‘Shine’ indicated it was business as usual, as hinted at with the title, CAMOUFLAGE’s long awaited long player ‘Greyscale’ was their most mature artistic statement yet. The mellow and warm ‘Count On Me’ saw Marcus Meyn duet with Peter Heppner of WOLFSHEIM fame. The lush blend of vocals and atmospherics showcased two of Germany’s most highly regarded electronic acts at their best.
CHVRCHES stuck to the synthpop template of their debut and delivered what LITTLE BOOTS, LA ROUX, and LADYHAWKE and HURTS all failed to do… a decent second album! The propulsive four-to-the-floor action of ‘Clearest Blue’ shows how far CHVRCHES developed. Although not unlike an amalgam of ‘Gun’ and ‘Science / Visions’, ‘Clearest Blue’ is even more accomplished, wonderfully held in a state of tension before WHACK, there’s a dynamic surprise that recalls the classic overtures of Vince Clarke.
Available on the album ‘Every Open Eye’ via Virgin Records
RODNEY CROMWELL is Adam Cresswell, formally of ARTHUR & MARTHA. ‘Black Dog’ recalled the pulsing post-punk miserablism of SECTION 25 and was embellished some Hooky styled bass. Cresswell said: “It’s all broadly linked to experiences in my life over the last ten years; themes of love, loss, depression, redemption”. As with NEW ORDER’s ‘Temptation’, despite the inherent melancholy, there was light at the end of the tunnel that made ‘Black Dog’ a most joyous listening experience.
Available on the album ‘Age Of Anxiety’ via Happy Robots
Utilising her Italian heritage, DAYBEHAVIOR’s lead singer Paulinda Crescentini gave a suitably alluring performance on ‘Cambiare’, the B-side of the Swedish trio’s single ‘Change’. Remixed to poptastic effect, the joyous yet melancholic tune took the best elements of Italo disco with an expression of sorrow and happiness that recalled imperial phase PET SHOP BOYS. With a catchy chorus and seductive topline, Linguaphone language lessons were never this much fun…
An offshoot of Swedish EBM veterans SPETSNAZ, DESTIN FRAGILE are a very different animal with hints of CAMOUFLAGE and DEPECHE MODE in their sound. ‘Run Away’ opened their ‘Halfway To Nowhere’ opus, an album which some observers have hailed as one of the best of 2015. Featuring a fine vocal from Pontus Stålberg resembling MESH’s Mark Hockings, this is what modern synthpop should be like; pop music with synths and melody as well as dynamic synth solos.
Available on the album ‘Halfway To Nowhere’ via Dark Dimensions
EAST INDIA YOUTH’s debut ‘Total Strife’ pointed towards William Doyle’s potential to pen sublime pop, and with the follow-up ‘Culture Of Volume’, this was more than realised. But the album’s centrepiece was ‘Carousel’. Imagine the start of OMD’s ‘Stanlow’ reworked during BRIAN ENO’s sessions for ‘Apollo: Soundtracks & Atmospheres’. With no percussive elements and over six minutes in length, Doyle gave a dramatic vocal performance resonating in beautifully crystalline melancholy.
Available on the album ‘Culture of Volume’ via XL Recordings
Berlin-based EMIKA is one of the dark horses of the UK electronic scene. A combination of her classical training, Czech heritage and use of modern technology has made for a provoking, brooding sound that has attained critical acclaim over the last few years. From her third album, helpfully named ‘Drei’, ‘My Heart Bleeds Melody’ was its highlight, a concoction of intricate pulsing layers and solemn detachment that provided a captivating listening experience.
FFS proved collaborations do work. A total triumph, ‘P*ss Off’ was possibly the album’s most outstanding number. With the vibrancy of ‘Kimono My House’ and ‘Propaganda’ era SPARKS, there were plenty of jaunty ivories and camp vocal theatrics in the vein of classics like ‘Something For The Girl With Everything’ and ‘BC’. “It’s inexplicable” they all growled as the multi-track phrase of “HARMONISE” kicked in! A total joy, ‘P*ss Off’ was the ultimate two fingered art school pop anthem.
One of the highlights in Herr Flür’s DJ sets has been The Ninjaneer Mix of ‘Cover Girl’, a swirling synthpop track that the former KRAFTWERK percussionist has described as ‘The Model MkII’. He said: “Her story goes on and unfortunately shows her going downhill. She had bad experiences with drugs, alcohol and other things so had to dance in night clubs for earning money at least. A true story, a bad life… that’s sometimes the way how super models are knitting their career”
Available on the album ‘Eloquence’ via Cherry Red Records
JOHN GRANT’s adventure into a solemn electronic template on ‘Pale Green Ghosts’ not only won him a BRIT Award nomination too. Meanwhile his collaboration with HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR showed he understood the disco as well. ‘Disappointing’ combined the two approaches and added some funk for an enjoyable Bowie meets YAZOO styled workout. In a song full of surprises, not only was there the presence of slap bass, but there was the dulcet tones of EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL’s Tracey Thorn too.
Available on the album ‘Grey Tickles, Black Pressure’ via Bella Union
GWENNO’s Welsh and Cornish heritage has allowed her to develop a unique brand of lo-fi electronica. Her full-length Welsh language debut ‘Y Dydd Olaf’ came out on Peski Records in October 2014. Now reissued in 2015 by Heavenly Recordings, GWENNO has deservedly gained an increased profile for her music. With beautiful, traditionally derived melodies placed in a spacey yesterday’s tomorrow setting, the spacey ‘Calon Peiriant’ was one of the more immediate delights on offer from a wonderful album.
Available on the album ‘Y Dydd Olaf’ via Heavenly Recordings
Depression despite apparent material success has been an ongoing lyrical theme for Chris Corner as IAMX. And with ‘Happiness’, his craving for a mind to be free of bad news, negative influences and jealousy was countered with his line of “Everywhere hypocrisy!” as pulsing arpeggios kicked in for the final third’s gentle but drama laden climax. Highly poignant in the current economic and political climate, Corner’s move from Berlin to Los Angeles certainly did his music no harm.
Available on the album ‘Metanoia’ via Caroline International
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE & VINCE CLARKE Automatic Parts 1 + 2
The French synth maestro’s first album for since ‘Teo & Tea’ in 2007 was an opus entitled ‘Electronica 1 – The Time Machine’ featuring collaborations with TANGERINE DREAM, LITTLE BOOTS and MASSIVE ATTACK among many. But the two part ‘Automatic’ with Vince Clarke was the highlight, taking in the best of the tune based elements of both artists while not letting one party dominate. VCJMJ was certainly a more artistically realised proposition than the polarising techno of VCMG!
Available on the album ‘Electronica 1: The Time Machine’ via Columbia Records
“Whether I release it in 2013 or 2016, it’s still going to sound like 1985!” said KID KASIO main man Nathan Cooper. A man whose is plainly honest about where his influences lie, his love of classic synthpop permeates throughout his work. Now imagine if DEPECHE MODE was fronted by Nik Kershaw instead of Dave Gahan? With ‘Full Moon Blue’, that musical fantasy became fully realised with a clever interpolation of ‘Two Minute Warning’, one of Alan Wilder’s songwriting contributions from ‘Construction Time Again’.
Despite having been around since 2008, Swedish synth duo KITE have tended to be overlooked internationally. But Nicklas Stenemo and Christian Berg’s wonderfully exuberant array of sounds and rugged, majestic vocals deserve a much larger audience. Issuing only EPs and never albums, KITE’s most recent release ‘VI’ opened with the magnificent progressive electronic epic ‘Up For Life’. The passionate and sublime first half mutated into a beautifully surreal journey of VANGELIS-like proportions for the second.
The syncopated electro disco feel of ‘The Bombs’, one of the highlights from MACHINISTA’s second album came almost by accident. Instrumentalist Richard Flow remembered: “Actually the first version of ‘The Bombs’ had a completely different rhythm in the drums. I actually did get stuck with this song and I wasn’t happy at all about the music. Once I did change the bass drum to a simple 4/4, I was back on track again. Most of the sounds from the original version I did keep, so perhaps a simple 4/4 bass drum mixed with the sounds for this original rhythm created this ‘disco’ feel…”
Available on the album ‘Garmonbozia’ via Analogue Trash Records
A worthy of re-assessment of DEPECHE MODE ‘A Broken Frame’ has been long overdue and MARSHEAUX have certainly given a number of its songs some interesting arrangements. Their version of ‘Monument’ borrowed its bassline from latter day DM B-side ‘Painkiller’. Combined with some wispily resigned vocals, it provided a tense soundtrack that could be seen as metaphoric commentary on the economic situation in Greece. It’s not often that cover versions are better than the originals, but this is one of them.
Available on the album ‘A Broken Frame’ via Undo Records
METROLAND’s second album ‘Triadic Ballet’ was a triumphant electronic celebration of the Bauhaus, art movement led by Walter Gropius. Gropius theorized about uniting art and technology and on the B-side of its launch single ‘Zeppelin’, METROLAND worked towards the 21st Century interpretation of that goal. Now imagine if GARY NUMAN had actually joined KRAFTWERK in 1979? Then the brilliantly uptempo ‘(We Need) Machines Without Romance’ would have surely been the result.
Studio legend John Fryer has been busy and the project that perhaps harks closest to THIS MORTAL COIL is MURICIDAE. Featuring the exquisite vocals of Louise Fraser, she and Fryer apparently “met on the beach searching for mermaids”… the sea is very much the visual theme for their music, with Fryer cultivating “sonic sculptures to musically embody the exquisite Muricidae Shell itself”. The tranquil beauty of ‘Away’ captures a shimmering soundscape that compliments Fraser’s plaintive lament.
Available on the EP ‘Tales From A Silent Ocean’ via Muricidae Music
After the guitar dominated proceedings of the last few NEW ORDER albums, Bernard Sumner promised a return to electronic music for the Mancunians’ first album of new material without estranged founder member and bassist Peter Hook. That was certainly delivered on with ‘Plastic’, a full-on throbbing seven minute electro number mixed by Richard X with blippy echoes of ‘Mr Disco’. Dealing with the issue of superficiality, it declares “this love is poison, but it’s like gold”… yes, beware of anything plastic and artificial!
Available on the album ‘Music Complete’ via Mute Artists
In 2015, the Norge domiciled Swedish songstress’ KARIN PARK finally released her fifth album, the profanity laden fifth ‘Apocalypse Pop’. While less harsh in sound to some of the other tracks on the long player, ‘Stick To The Lie’ was no less angry. The most overtly synthpop track on the collection, this accessible yet emotive song was one of the highlights on a collection that affirmed KARIN PARK’s place in modern electronic pop.
Available on the album ‘Apocalypse Pop’ via State Of The Eye
With CHVRCHES having borrowed PURITY RING’s electro template and pushed it into the mainstream, the direction taken on the Edmonton duo’s sophomore album ‘Another Eternity’ was going to be watched with interest. Certainly it was more focussed than its predecessor ‘Shrines’. Still utilising glitch techniques, booming bass drops and Corin Roddick’s rattling drum machine programming, the album’s best song ‘Begin Again’ made the most of Megan James’ sweet and dreamy voice.
Available on the album ‘Another Eternity’ via 4AD Records
Sweden’s SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN (translated as “The Last Man on Earth”) are led by Eddie Bengtsson, best known for his work with S.P.O.C.K and PAGE. The themes of space travel and Sci-Fi are regular lyrical gists and while all of SMPJ’s songs are voiced i Svenska, Bengtsson opened up his Vince Clarke influenced synthpop to the English language in 2015 with the ‘Translate’ EP. Brilliantly produced, ‘All The City Lights’ (a version of his 2014 single ‘Stadens Alla Ljus’) was its highly enjoyable opening gambit.
SUSANNE SUNDFØR and her acclaimed ‘Ten Love Songs’ album developed on the electronic focus of its predecessor ‘The Silicone Veil’. With an eerie, droning intro with echoes of THE WALKERS BROTHERS’ ‘The Electrician’, ‘Delirious’ thundered with some fierce electronics bolstered by dynamic orchestrations like THE KNIFE meeting DEPECHE MODE. It captured love as a reluctant battle of the emotions while our heroine announced with emotive resignation “I’m not the one holding the gun”.
Available on the album ‘Ten Love Songs’ via Sonnet Sound
TRAIN TO SPAIN’s developing brand of uptempo, energetic pop utilises classic synthesizer sounds in the vein of Vince Clarke coupled to a metronomic rhythm structure akin to the 1985 ‘Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder’ album. Coming over like LANA DEL REY fronting YAZOO, Wigeborg’s cooingly vulnerable vocals on ‘Passion’ let rip over a suitably complimentary electronic backbone from Rasmusson, while a superb remix by MACHINISTA added some beefy gothic disco goodness.
Available on the download single ‘Keep On Running’ via Sub Culture Records
Manchester based Ross Tregenza is an experienced hand having co-written ‘Diaries Of A Madman’ with Dave Formula and Steve Strange when he was a member of VISAGE II in 2007. He surprised electronic music audiences with a Spartan cover of ‘The Partisan’, a song made famous by LEONARD COHEN. While many may despair at the very mention of the droll Canadian, his work has strong parallels with many Gothic veined musical forms, especially with this harrowing tale of fighting for La Résistance.
Originally from the EP ‘Stolen Thunder’, alternate version available on the album ‘Into The Void’ via Tregenza Music
On VILE ELECTRODES’ mesmerising ‘Captive in Symmetry’, “Filmic” is indeed a very apt description with the booming synth bass motif possessing echoes of the ‘Twin Peaks’ theme tune ‘Falling’. As beautiful sequences, eerie strings and Anais Neon’s hauntingly alluring vocals take hold, it all comes over like a dreamboat collaboration between JULEE CRUISE and OMD that could easily be considered for use in the proposed revamp of the surreal North American drama.
Available on the EP ‘Captive In Symmetry’ via Vile Electrodes
Germany was effectively the spiritual birthplace of electronic music as we know it. But it was via Synth Britannia that the pop variant spawned and took over the world.
While electronic music has now mutated into EDM and the modern variant of R’n’B, today traditional synthpop is a less common, but still much appreciated artform. Over in the Nordic basin though, synthpop is alive and well. Continuing on the tradition laid down by veterans such as LUSTANS LAKEJER, PAGE, SMPJ, S.P.O.C.K. and COVENANT, flying the Sveriges flagga alongside KITE, KARIN PARK, IAMAMIWHOAMI, DAYBEHAVIOR and TRAIN TO SPAIN have been MACHINISTA.
Since appearing at ‘An Evening With The Swedish Synth’ in Spring 2013, the duo of John Lindqwister and Richard Flow impressed audiences internationally with their debut long player ‘Xenoglossy’. Their catchy and danceable sound has been compared to THE CURE gone electro and ALPHAVILLE crossed with SUICIDE. Despite MACHINISTA obviously having a pop element, they have a harder edge and lyrically, their material takes on a heavier spectre, as exemplified by ‘Love And Hate Song’, ‘Molecules & Carbon’ and ‘Pushing The Angels Astray’.
The new album ‘Garmonbozia’ is a natural progression from ‘Xenoglossy’, but with more real guitars added to the mix alongside their beloved softsynths. From the glorious ‘Picture Frame Eternity’ and the melancholic ‘Dark Heart Of Me’, to the passionate native tongue of ‘Brandbergen, Stockholm Via Kalmar Till Malmö’ and the deviant disco of ‘The Bomb’, MACHINISTA remain on form and true to their sound.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK spoke to John Lindqwister and Richard Flow about MACHINISTA’s journey so far and their future ambitions.
When you formed MACHINISTA, you had each been involved in CAT RAPES DOG and VISION TALK. How did you set out to make MACHINISTA different from your past work?
John: I think for me it was a matter of singing more clearly, but I didn’t really know how it would sound. But I think I kinda found my voice when I had my postpunk band just before, DEPARTEMENTET, where I actually sang in Swedish. That was what I wanted, that voice. In fact the song ‘Brandbergen, Stockholm Via Kalmar Till Malmö’, in that one I have THAT voice. Even the lyrics for that song started back then.
Richard: For me, VISION TALK had come to an end and I wanted to start up something new and fresh and to focus a lot more on music. It was pretty exciting since I’d always been a big fan of John´s other bands. And we really found our own “style” I think.
You have described your music as “synthpop with a rock ‘n’ roll edge”… some might consider that ‘synthpop’ is a dirty word? What do you say to that?
John: That’s weird, but I get that feeling and it was the same with my old band BASSWOOD DOLLIES. We had that feeling there to. I think it has to do with what we normally listen to, and of course our background. I started out listening to Elvis and other rock music and moved on the synth as I reached 13-14 years old when KRAFTWERK, YAZOO, OMD, JOHN FOXX, ULTRAVOX, FAD GADGET etc and so on, you know those sort of lovely acts. Then I moved on the goth metal, death metal etc.
No it’s just music that’s good, all from these good 80s bands to singer / songwriters like JOHN GRANT and acts like I BREAK HORSES or whatever. And yeah the word synthpop has a bad vibe about it, especially if you want to break big time. I think a band can fail to get attention a bit when labelled synthpop. Sad I think, but all music seems to get filed in a certain kind of genre. Its music ok, that’s enough.
Richard: It’s so damn hard to put a “genre” to music nowadays. But of course there’s a lot of synthpop in our music, but like I mentioned, I think we found our own style with MACHINISTA. And with some more guitars added on the new record as well as live, there is some rock-n roll edge to it! You never know what to expect from us hehe!
You launched MACHINISTA with a cover of Bowie’s ‘Heroes’… that was a bold move?
John: I just love that song and thought it could be done easily. Easy to sing, not to do better, haha! ‘Life On Mars’ would be harder and I love that one too.
Richard: Bowie is one of the really big ones out there, so we did the song with respect. A lot of people seem to like our version so we are more than happy. Actually ‘Heroes’ was the first song along with ‘Molecules and Carbon’ that we recorded.
Your debut album ‘Xenoglossy’ was very impressive. Some of the lyrics like on ‘Pushing The Angels Astray’ were quite heavy. What inspired those thoughts?
John: It’s way easier to write darker lyrics than those with lightness in there. I guess it is kind of a way to get through sh*t, to write about it. I tend to write more about the past these days as I don’t feel bad now. But life isn’t easy, I find it really difficult navigate through it, every day. I’ve never felt that I fit here amongst all these humans. I’ve learned to deal with them and with this reality that we see, but it’s hard and weird. I really hope there is something else after, I would love to be in a more abstract world where you can change everyday life in way you can’t now. Nuff of that… haha!
Another standout song was ‘Molecules & Carbon’. Does the human condition prey on your mind a lot coming towards middle age?
John: Yes, the more you learn, the more you get to be a misanthrope. That’s the downside getting older I think, that you learn and see too much. Your inner child dies a little bit every day. Sad I think. I fear what my daughter Astrid will react as she goes on in life. Pretty sensitive she is…
The label that released ‘Xenoglossy’ folded not long after its release. How did that affect the momentum you had built up at that time?
Richard: Of course it was sad! But, both me and John did promote MACHINISTA pretty hard on Facebook, Twitter etc so we did manage to spread our name and music anyway.
Also, after the release of ‘Xenoglossy’ we had started to get a lot of offers from other labels so when we had half of ‘Garmonbozia’ finished, we kinda knew that things would work out fine. We are more than happy now with our new home Analogue Trash Records.
How would you describe your new album ‘Garmonbozia’ and how does it differ in approach from ‘Xenoglossy’?
Richard: I think with ‘Garmonbozia’, we did manage to get a more clear red line through all the songs with some more acoustic elements here and there, but in the right dose. ‘Xenoglossy’ was more like me and John came together and started to find out the direction to take. A bit darker and less synthpop as well. I am more than happy about all good feedback so far.
How did you arrive at the title ‘Garmonbozia’, is it anything to do with ‘Twin Peaks’?
Richard: Yes, it´s this word that David Lynch came up with. It means “Pain and sorrow”. It did fit our darker sound and because our first album had a weird word, we liked this a lot. One can only speculate what the title for our next album will be haha!
‘Brandbergen, Stockholm Via Kalmar Till Malmö’ is sung in Swedish, what is the song about and did you try an English version at all?
John: Nope, it was meant to be in Swedish and as I said, the lyrics started out a long time ago. But you can read the lyrics in English at our site. Just translated, they don’t fit the melody!
‘Picture Frame Eternity’ and ‘Dark Heart Of Me’ are both very accessible highlights from the album, what are the stories behind these two?
John: Lyricwise ‘Picture Frame Eternity’ is about thinking what happened in the past of my life and that time seems to move faster as life goes by, and thinking “what happened with all these years?”
‘Dark Heart Of Me’ is about not having loved in many years and that it hides somewhere deep inside. Of course, I have love for my child and that has been a saviour I think.
‘The Bombs’ has an electro disco feel, where has this influence sprung from?
John: Haha, I have not even thought about that. Richard has to answer that one!
Richard: Because we go to disco every single night! No haha! Actually the first version of ‘The Bombs’ had a completely different rhythm in the drums. I actually did get stuck with this song and I wasn’t happy at all about the music. Once I did change the bass drum to a simple 4/4, I was back on track again. Most of the sounds from the original version I did keep, so perhaps a simple 4/4 bass drum mixed with the sounds for this original rhythm created this “disco” feel, or whatever you may call it hehe
One thing that is very noticeable about ‘Garmonbozia’ is the dynamic production. Were there any particular techniques used to achieve this, or is that a secret?
Richard: Hehe, well as a musician I always try to evolve. I learn something new every single time I create music and that is inspiring. With every song I work on, I always try to do it better than the last one before. I think the input with acoustic elements and guitars here and there did affect our songs and production in a good way.
Do you have any favourite synths that you like to use?
Richard: It´s more or less VST synths I work with and there is a lot of good ones out there. Omnisphere, Sylenth1, Predator, Kontakt to mention a few.
Is there a synth you have not yet owned but would like to?
Richard: When we play live, I sometimes have hardware synths but I must admit, since I started to work with VST synths, I am not so updated anymore. John did receive some cool stuff from an old band member that we will look into and probably use on stage!
John: Yeah, it’s a drum module called Zoom and a Kaosillator, and something more.
Where do you think MACHINISTA sit within the current electronic scene? Who do you regard as your peers?
John: That’s not an easy question cos I don’t really listen to the scene much. For me, it’s still those good old ones and I can’t drag in Bowie or THE CURE into this. Well THE CURE is in the thoughts of people it seems when they hear us. THE CURE gone electro, hehe. That’s fine with me. Other than that, I can say that I think we should gig with COVENANT, APOP or even more with PLACEBO or INDOCHINE. It would be loooovely.
Are there any classic acts who you love that you aspire to be as successful as?
John: Haha there’s a bold answer to that… DEPECHE MODE! Haha well I would be happy if we could be big as COVENANT.
The music scene in Sweden is particularly vibrant at the moment… so what’s so special about Sweden then?
John: I have no f*cking clue to that! But Sweden is a huge exporter of music. We’re second or third biggest in the world, I think we broke the UK some years ago…
Richard: Like John says, Sweden is a big music exporter with a lot of good bands. It may sound like a cliché, but I think this Scandinavian melancholy has something to do with our music writing up here.
What’s next for MACHINISTA?
John: To get bigger and get paid for our f*cking gigs, right!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to MACHINISTA
First spotted sharing a stage with PAGE and MACHINISTA at Cold War Night Life’s ‘An Evening With The Swedish Synth’ last March, promising Gothenburg synthpop duo TRAIN TO SPAIN are finally set to release their debut album.
Named after a lyric from THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘The Things That Dreams Are Made Of’, synthmeister Jonas Rasmusson has been making music for a while as TRAIN TO SPAIN.
Having previously used a variety of different singers since 2001, he subsequently met “a girl on a boat” and recruited the sultry Helena Wigeborg as vocalist. Combining their love of DEPECHE MODE and LADYTRON, the journey got underway again for TRAIN TO SPAIN.
The first single is the steadfast ‘Keep On Running’, a wonderfully melodic number driven by thumping synth drums and a solid octave shift bassline that allows Wigeborg’s raspy voice to run free like a female fronted version of BRONSKI BEAT.
In variations to the theme, TRAIN TO SPAIN’s developing brand of uptempo, energetic pop utilises classic synthesizer sounds in the vein of Vince Clarke and a metronomic rhythm structure akin to the 1985 ‘Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder’ album. These are best represented by the crashingly immediate ‘Blip Bop’ and the enticingly uplifting ‘All About’.
Coming over like LANA DEL REY fronting YAZOO, Wigeborg’s cooingly vulnerable vocals on ‘Passion’ let rip on a suitably complimentary electronic backbone from Rasmusson. And for the B-side of their first single release, ‘Passion’ has been superbly remixed by MACHINISTA for some beefy gothic disco goodness.
The release of ‘Keep On Running’ ends a period of uncertainty for the pair following business upheavals at the record label they had originally signed to following ‘An Evening With The Swedish Synth.
It would have been a shame if this material had not seen the light of day so thankfully, TRAIN TO SPAIN’s first album is now slated for a Spring 2015 release via Sub Culture Records, the Norwegian label that recently issued the single ‘Activity Of Sound’ by iEUROPEAN featuring WOLFGANG FLÜR.
The single ‘Keep On Running’ b/w ‘Passion (Machinista Club Remix)’ is available via the usual digital outlets
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, his craving for a mind to be free of bad news, negative influences and jealousy was countered with his line of “Everywhere hypocrisy!” as pulsing arpeggios kicked in for the final third’s gentle but drama laden climax. Highly poignant in the current economic and political climate, Corner’s move from Berlin to Los Angeles certainly did his music no harm.
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