Tag: Mark Reeder (Page 8 of 12)

EKKOES Interview

With their brand new album ‘Kinetik’, pop trio EKKOES are continuing their upward momentum following a prestigious slot opening for THE HUMAN LEAGUE on 2016’s ‘A Very British Synthesizer Group’ tour.

Comprising of Jon Beck, Dave Fawbert and Rosalee O’Connell, EKKOES released their well-received debut album ‘Elekktricity’ in Summer 2016. Three of its tracks were co-written and co-produced with MARSHEAUX’s production team FOTONOVELA, while respected Berlin based remixer Mark Reeder has been a notable champion of their music.

The new album’s launch single ‘You Got The Light’ is a catchy slice of shiny electronic pop which could be their most accomplished yet, while the rugged drive of the bittersweet ‘Love Won’t Save You Now’ maintains EKKOES’ aim for “maximalism”. That ambition continues in abundance with the seven and a half minute title track. A North West vibe emerges with ‘When You Wake’ on which O’Connell sings the verse lead, the guitar and synth backing echoing THE RAILWAY CHILDREN in their latter day Virgin guise.

The vibrant Italo house flavoured ‘Victim Of Love’ is not a cover of the ERASURE song but is equally danceable, while the spirit of PET SHOP BOYS can be heard loud and proud on ‘Without You I’m Nothing’, complete with muted synthetic trumpet solo.

Dave Fawbert from EKKOES kindly took time out from rehearsals for their album launch gig in London for ‘Kinetik’ to answer a few questions about their career to date…

What influences shaped the EKKOES sound?

It’s the clichéd answer but really it’s a combination of everything that we’ve ever listened to. You can write something and then realise later that it’s based on a snatch of lyric or melody from some long-forgotten hip hop track you listened to back in 1997 or something.

But I guess the artists we love the most come through the strongest: the pure pop songwriting of the likes of PET SHOP BOYS, ERASURE and Max Martin, the sonics of NEW ORDER and newer stuff like CHVRCHES, the precise guitar playing style of Johnny Marr, the atmospherics and beauty of SIGUR RÓS, a touch of MASSIVE ATTACK, the beats of LEFTFIELD, the euphoria of great trance – it’s all in there somewhere.

How did the dual male / female vocal template emerge?

Myself and Jon have always made music together and EKKOES was formed out of the ashes of a previous band – we just decided to do something new where it was just the two of us and we didn’t have to rely on, or wait for anyone else to do what we wanted (that went as far as me making the decision to learn how to produce as well, so we could literally do everything ourselves), so we didn’t initially plan on having any vocals other than Jon’s.

But we briefly worked with the legendary manager Jazz Summers – just before he had to step back from music due to illness – who suggested we try adding a female vocal into the mix. Rose was the first person to apply via a good old-fashioned rehearsal room advert, we tried her out on a couple of tracks (I think the first one was ‘Last Breath’, which ended up being our first album opener), and we liked what we heard – it just added that extra lift and dynamic to the songs. Now it’s hard to imagine our sound or songs without her.

In terms of writing and production, what is the creative dynamic between the three of you?

I’m a bit of a lone wolf when it comes to getting songs off the ground – I’ve tried co-writing and I find it quite difficult to have the confidence to experiment and work through a load of absolute rubbish, often for hours, before getting something great.

So usually I get a song 70% done on my own first and then take it to Jon, who’ll suggest improvements and changes, and then we usually work on the lyrics together before finishing off the rest of it.

We’ve written together for a long time and we can be very honest with each other – virtually every suggestion he makes ends up being the right one. Rose usually comes in at the end and works on the harmonies and extra backing vocals to take it to the next level – she’s a true pro and has a great ear for exactly what will work and benefit the song.

How did you come to the attention of Mark Reeder who then subsequently gave you your first official release with his remix of ‘Ice Cold’ on his ‘Five Point One’ album?

‘Ice Cold’ was the first track we ever stuck up on our Soundcloud and it was picked up by a blog called Electronic Rumors, who were big early fans of ours and passed it on to Mark Reeder cos they thought he’d be a fan. Lo and behold he was, and ever since has been a valued and enthusiastic supporter of ours. When he asked if he could remix the track for his ‘Five Point One’ album, then of course we were hugely flattered and said yes… it’s worth noting that this remix is credited to our old spelling of ECHOES – we should get that changed on streaming services actually!

You did a couple of new tracks ‘Electricity’ and ‘Heartbeat’ recorded with Mark Reeder that were released in 2017, how was it to be working with him again?

Those songs actually came about while we were putting our first album, ‘Elekktricity’, together – we looked at Mark being the producer of the record and gave him those two songs to work on. We loved what he did with them, but ultimately decided that we wanted the first album to be self-produced – I think we’d spent so long working towards it that we just wanted it to be our ‘statement’ of exactly who we were.

In the end, it was quite lucky really, as neither ‘Electricity’ nor ‘Heartbeat’ ended up on the album, as they didn’t quite fit with the other songs, so when Mark asked if he could use them for his ‘Mauerstadt’ album, it meant that they were nice new songs to bridge the gap between ‘Elekktricity’ and ‘Kinetik’. Our original version of ‘Electricity’ (which was mixed by the guys from SEEB, before they got mega famous with their brilliant Mike Posner remix) will be on ‘Kinetik’.

You also entered into a collaborative partnership with George Geranios and Nick Bitzenis aka FOTONOVELA who produce MARSHEAUX, how did that happen?

We originally got to hear of George Geranios because he wanted to release our first album in Greece on his Undo Records label whenever it was ready. Then Wall of Sound came knocking and, with George being a huge fan of Mark Jones, he then said he’d be happy to just licence it in Greece from WoS.

That never ended up happening which was a shame (more on that in a minute) but while we were waiting for things to be sorted, he asked us if we wanted to work on a track together for his new FOTONOVELA album, ‘A Ton Of Love’. He sent us some backing tracks as a starting point and we wrote ‘Fight The Feeling’ by chopping one up, rearranging it, writing the melody and lyrics and adding extra stuff to it. We were so happy with it we asked George if we could keep it to be the lead single for our own album and he said yes – but we said we’d do another one for their album.

Well the same thing happened again – twice! We wrote ‘Heaven’ and ‘Last Breath’ and asked if we could keep those too; luckily, George, being a lovely guy, said yes! Finally we wrote ‘Arrows’ and George and Nick got that one for ‘A Ton Of Love’. We also asked them to do some extra production work on ‘You Just Walked Away’ – a song that we re-recorded about five times before arriving at a final version, and their finishing touches were exactly what was needed.

EKKOES had a few label upheavals which led to a delay in the release of ‘Elekktricity’, how do you look back on what happened?

I won’t lie – it was enormously frustrating for us. We were signed to Wall of Sound and we had the album ready to go for around 18 months before it eventually came out – we waited and waited for label issues to be sorted out and eventually we realised that we’d be better off just going on our own.

We will always be grateful to Mark Jones though – we wouldn’t exist were it not for him… not long after forming, we bumped into him on Oxford Street just before we did what we thought would just be a one-off gig before we went off to do other things, and he asked us to send him our songs, so we thought there might be something in what we were doing after all. But yeah, it’s a shame we couldn’t have released that album earlier than we did – but we got there in the end.

What would you advise new acts to do with regards whether to go with a label or not?

That really is a difficult question to answer. It’s never been easier to release stuff yourself (and to record and produce it yourself) but the big problem is how to get anyone to take any notice? Ultimately the big labels still control most of the access to radio and big streaming playlists – and they have the cash that sometimes you need to get off the ground. If a good label approaches you with a sensible deal and an A&R that gets what you’re trying to do and will support you through ups and downs, then signing a deal can still be a very positive thing.

On the other hand, there are countless acts that have signed deals and then something changes at the label and they never end up releasing anything, get dropped, and finish, having never achieved anything. Either way, the bigger you can make yourself and the more work you do before going with a label, the better deal you’ll be able to command, and the more artistic control you’ll have. And, of course, if you can get popular without a label, then you’ll make a hell of a lot more money as you own everything.

Some good friends of ours, a band called THE DAYDREAM CLUB, have racked up millions of Spotify plays releasing totally independently, so it can be done – but it’s not easy, and you need patience, commitment and no small slice of luck. We’ve been lucky to release independently (KIDS Records is my own label, which I released stuff by lots of great artists on since 2005) but have the odd touch of help by people with industry connections to kickstart things – like Mark Jones, Mark Reeder and our manager Simon Watson.

You opened for THE HUMAN LEAGUE at the end of 2016, what was the experience like for you to actually go on an extensive UK and European tour?

It was nothing short of incredible from start to finish. It was everything we’ve ever wanted to do. Over the course of our band – and ones before this one – we’ve often been promised stuff that has never materialised, so we learned not to get our hopes up, lest they be dashed at the eleventh hour. Right up until the tour started we were convinced it was all going to fall through; that we’d be replaced, or one of us would break our arm or something.

So the first show, in a snowy Stockholm, was amazing for us – just to get through the gig, our first to crowd of that size in a very long time, and our first outside the UK. Of course, once we’d made it through without disaster, the next task was to actually get the set to be as good as it could be – there’s nothing like a run of gigs to enable you to sharpen every aspect of a set, from the music itself to the stagecraft. I remember by about the fourth or fifth show suddenly realising that I’d played the whole set without even thinking about what I was actually playing with my fingers, or worrying about it – I’d just been enjoying it and putting everything into the performance, and that’s an amazing feeling, to be in total control of what you’re doing.

The show in Berlin was particularly memorable – to play in such an iconic city of electronic music supporting pioneers of the game – I remember playing the first chord and then thinking, “well, if I drop dead now, I can still say I played a gig in Berlin”. And then the UK shows were a total joy – we had the set nailed, we were confident, and playing arenas for the first time – in Brighton, Birmingham and Sheffield – was a great experience. Of course, it helped that THE HUMAN LEAGUE crowd were so friendly and enthusiastic and keen to give a new band a chance – we had virtually full houses for every show.

Over the past few years, you’ve also opened for ERASURE, BLANCMANGE, BEF and xPROPAGANDA… have there been any concerns that EKKOES might get pigeonholed?

Yes, it’s definitely been something we’ve talked about, but fundamentally, we love and respect all of these bands and anyone should feel lucky to have the opportunity to play in front of those crowds. We’d love to also support newer big bands like CHVRCHES, ST LUCIA or anyone really, but so far we haven’t been asked and we’re not exactly going to turn down chances to play with these legends.

We personally don’t feel that we’re a total 80s retro act – while, of course, we are heavily influenced by it, I think we have plenty of other more modern influences that come through in our songs as well – but if fans of 80s acts like us, then we’re certainly not going to complain – it’s an honour that anyone takes the time to listen to our music or see us live.

You like your cover versions, with ‘Self Control’ on ‘Elektricity’ and ‘Wallflower’ on your new album ‘Kinetik’, they’re from quite opposite ends of the spectrum? Any other ones you’d like to try?

Making a cover version is an incredibly enjoyable experience. It sounds obvious, but simply because all of the pressure is off in terms of songwriting – you know it’s a great song, otherwise you wouldn’t be covering it – so you can concentrate purely on the sonics and the arrangement and really experiment in that department. It’s just really, really fun.

Of course, the world is full of covers these days so you have to try and find something interesting and unusual to stand out; ‘Self Control’, while obviously an iconic song, is still something of a cult hit (I’d never heard of it until my hairdresser recommended I check out the version by RAF – we literally recorded our version of it the day after), while ‘Wallflower’ isn’t even on Spotify – a travesty, given that we think it’s a total lost classic.

We have a constant and ever-expanding list of songs we want to cover – forgotten classics, overlooked album tracks, modern hits from a completely different genre – we’ve mulled over the idea of a covers EP at some point, but it would need to be seriously good for it to be worthy of releasing.

Your new album ‘Kinetik’ appears to be a step forward, with ‘You Got the Light’ possibly being your best single yet, have you made any changes in approach with regards recording?

Yes, we got stuck straight into it pretty much straight after finishing THE HUMAN LEAGUE tour. My initial instinct had been to do that whole introspective, darker thing on the second album, but I soon realised that actually we should do the exact opposite. I was constantly moaning about how boring so much modern pop music was – minimal, introspective, zero dynamic, virtually no big melodies or choruses – and suddenly thought, well why would we want to add to that? Why not go in the total opposite direction?

Go huge. Go technicolour. Make everything big and euphoric. Go ‘maximal’ instead of minimal. And the first two tracks that came out of it were ‘You Got The Light’ and ‘Wallflower’, and they set the template for the rest of the album. Sonically I wanted massive drums, big sweeping synths, huge vocals – I invested in a few new nice plugins and a new vocal mic to achieve all this. We also got Stu, our live percussionist, to record parts for virtually every track – he wasn’t on the first album and I think it makes a massive difference that he’s on ‘Kinetik’.

Some observers have found some of your music a bit on the polite side, what would you say to that?

It’s funny, listening back to ‘Elekktricity’ after finishing the tour with THE HUMAN LEAGUE, I kinda understood that. Playing the songs live we’d ended up beefing them up with extra guitar parts, Stu’s live percussion on top and the confidence of gigging them night after night – and they sounded massive. So listening back to the album, it did sound a little polite in comparison. I guess this is inevitable though really, and I’m still really proud of the album – ultimately, the songs, I think, are strong and will stand the test of time.

The new single is called ‘Love Won’t Save You Now’, what’s that one about and how did that come together in the studio?

It’s actually a song that’s been knocking around with us for a while. We’ve always loved it, and wanted to save it for the second album where it could really get its moment of glory. I’ve always liked songs that have the confidence to take their time building, knowing that the final payoff will be worth the wait, which is why we decided to have the song in two parts – to really build that tension and let that glorious synth pad roll around for the first minute and a half before any drums come in. When the first ‘big’ chorus kicks with, with guitars blasting away, that bubbling arpeggiated synth and Jon and Rose going for it, it really is a moment.

Lyrically – it’s a strange one, the chorus words just came to me without thinking as I was writing the melody, and then when me and Jon sat down to finish the rest of we realised it kinda sounded like a murderer – who regretted what they’d done, but a murderer nonetheless – on the run, so we just went with that theme. What would be going through your head if you knew the net was closing in on you and no one was going to believe you?

Which is your personal favourite song on ‘Kinetik’?

I think ‘Wallflower’ is probably my favourite – just because I have such an emotional attachment to that song; I loved it as a kid and have pretty much been waiting my whole life to cover it – and we even have the blessing of Gerry and Danny from MEGA CITY FOUR, who like our version, which means a lot.

But I’m also very proud of the last track on the album, ‘Nothing Here Lasts Forever’, which is totally restrained – there’s no drums, it’s just guitar, piano, some very subtle synths and Jon’s vocals – and it has a certain magic to it – it’s both desperately sad, but also quite touching I think. Stu says it reminds him of Johnny Cash’s version of ‘Hurt’ and I can’t think of much higher praise than that.

What are your hopes and fears for ‘Kinetik’ and the future of EKKOES?

I remember Jazz Summers telling us that if one person enjoys your song, then you’ve made a positive contribution to the world. You’ve created art from nothing, and you’ve improved one person’s life, no matter how small an improvement that might be. It’s always stuck with me, particularly as someone who previously worked in the music industry and saw how easy it was to get sucked into toxic talk of units, sales and profitability.

Our only hope is that more people like ‘Kinetik’ than dislike it, and that as many people like it as possible – be that a hundred, a thousand or a million. As for EKKOES, we want to keep making music as long as we’re able to, and as long as people are interested. It’s a simple answer, but it’s true.


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to Dave Fawbert

‘Kinetik’ is released by KIDS Records on 7th September 2018 in CD and digital formats

EKKOES play live at The Lexington in London on Monday 10th September 2018 with special guest RODNEY CROMWELL

http://ekkoes.com

https://www.facebook.com/ekkoes

https://twitter.com/ekkoesmusic

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Dan Beck
5th September 2018

EKKOES You Got The Light


EKKOES release their most accomplished single yet in ‘You Got The Light’, a catchy slice of shiny electronic pop that probably would have made the Capital Radio playlist back in 1991.

Comprising of Jon Beck and Rosalee O’Connell on vocals with Dave Fawbert handling the instrumentation and programming, EKKOES released their debut album ‘Elekktricity’ in 2016, with three of its tracks ‘Fight The Feeling’, ‘Heaven’ and ‘Last Breath’ co-written and co-produced with MARSHEAUX production team FOTONOVELA.

It would be fair to say that ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK have found EKKOES a bit too musically polite in the past, but there were signs of more muscular development with two new songs ‘Electricity’ and ‘Heartbeat’ recorded in collaboration with one of the trio’s biggest champions MARK REEDER; he featured both tracks on his ‘Mauerstadt’ long player released last year and it was Reeder who gave EKKOES their first formal release with his remix of ‘Ice Cold’ on his ‘Five Point One’ collection in 2011.

Having opened for the likes of THE HUMAN LEAGUE, ERASURE, BLANCMANGE, BEF and xPROPAGANDA over the years, EKKOES showcased their wares to a potentially receptive audience, although with the various label upheavals they were exposed to during the realisation of ‘Elekktricity’, some momentum was lost.

But with a fresh start and buoyed by the interest from other established music figures like CHICANE who invited O’Connell to contribute vocals on his new album, EKKOES’ second album ‘Kinetik’ out in September promises more big choruses and an aim for, as they put it, “maximalism”. After their rollercoaster career to date, this could be their time…


‘You Got the Light’ is available now on digital platforms and from the upcoming second album ‘Kinetik’ released by Kids Records on 7th September 2018

EKKOES launch ‘Kinetik’ with a live date at The Lexington in London on Monday 10th September 2018

http://ekkoes.com

https://www.facebook.com/ekkoes

https://twitter.com/ekkoesmusic

https://www.instagram.com/ekkoes/

https://soundcloud.com/ekkoesmusic


Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photo by Dan Beck
28th July 2018

A Not So Short Conversation with MARK REEDER

Having remixed NEW ORDER, DEPECHE MODE, PET SHOP BOYS and BLANK & JONES, Berlin-based Mancunian Mark Reeder possesses a notable portfolio of work.

The one–time Factory Records representative for Germany and respected techno trailblazer has been credited with introducing electronic dance music to NEW ORDER.

Meanwhile, his acclaimed documentary film ‘B-Movie (Lust & Sound in West-Berlin)’ captured the legendary subkultur of the divided city from the post-punk era to The Iron Curtain fall at the end of 1989; playing in cinemas all around the world, a number of showings were accompanied by Q&As with Reeder himself afterwards.

The symbolism of The Berlin Wall and its relevance to the current worldwide political climate inspired his album ‘Mauerstadt’ which was released in Summer 2017, featuring remixes of NEW ORDER and INSPIRAL CARPETS, plus collaborations with THE KVB, EKKOES, MFU and QUEEN OF HEARTS amongst others.

Taking time out from his busy schedule, Mark Reeder chatted about a number of his recent music projects, including an exciting new Chinese band called STOLEN he has produced and whose debut album ‘Fragment’ will be released on his iconic record label MFS, which has been resurrected for the occasion.

A year on, how do you think ‘Mauerstadt’ has been received and are you generally still happy with it?

Well Chi, to be honest, I’m never ever one hundred percent satisfied. I always feel that I could have done better, that’s just me. I am very strict on myself. Luckily, I know when to stop and always hope that I can improve with the next release.

The ‘Mauerstadt’ limited CD was released in Autumn 2017 and the limited double vinyl finally at the end of December, just in time for Christmas. Naturally, it would have been really nice if we had been able to release them simultaneously and sell thousands, but in today’s physical record market, that’s sadly no longer the case. That said, it’s done really well and I’m quite pleased at the reactions. I think it’s an album you can listen to today or in ten years time.

We still have a couple of CDs and a handful of white limited vinyls available, because we put a few aside for latecomers, but once they are gone, people will start selling them on eBay for ridiculous prices, like some of my previous releases.

The main attention drawn towards ‘Mauerstadt’ was with your two remixes for NEW ORDER of ‘Academic’ and ‘The Game’?

Of course, yes the main attraction of ‘Mauerstadt’ were my two versions of ‘Academic’ and ‘The Game’ that I had made for NEW ORDER. These were released a few weeks before my album by Mute as a digital download package only, so all those NEW ORDER music completists that want to have a physical version are practically compelled to buy my album, which I hope doesn’t disappoint them too much.

Initially, I was asked to remix ‘Academic’, but then I ended up remixing ‘Singularity’ instead and so ‘Academic’ found its way on to my album, along with ‘The Game’ that I had reworked especially for ‘Mauerstadt’.

One of the most interesting collaborations was with THE KVB, what attracted you to their brooding percussive sound?

I had been following THE KVB for quite a while and I really loved their ‘Of Desire’ album. Then I discovered they were living in Berlin, so we met up for a coffee and one thing led to another. I ended up remixing one of my favourite tracks off their album, ‘White Walls’, which they released on a limited edition 12” vinyl.

As I was in the process of putting together ‘Mauerstadt’, I asked them if they would be interested in collaborating on a track. They told me they had started on a piece, but it was basically a skeleton, in fact, just a simple guitar sequence, so I added some twangy rhythm, a bass guitar and a synth melody and Kat fleshed it out by adding vocals, more keyboards and her riff; Nic added more guitars and vocals and then it started to come together.

I wanted to make it sound foreboding and tense, and present a dark insight to what our future could be if we don’t get our act together, by giving it a bit of a dystopian feel with the threat of imminent nuclear attack.

On the other side of the spectrum, you did two songs with synthpoppers EKKOES who appear to have a much tougher sound when you’re at the helm?

I like them. I worked with them on one of their first tracks and debuted it and the band on my ‘Five-Point-One’ surround sound album. They made a very surreal and dreamy video for it. I think John has got a very distinctive voice, which is complemented by Rose and Dave is a man of many talents. I wanted these two songs to have a more poppy-dance feel to them. Of course, their versions of these songs will eventually be featured on their own album.

You recently remixed Mute signings LIARS’ ‘Staring At Zero’, what was your approach to that?

I think LIARS are fantastic. One of the best live bands I’ve seen. So entertaining. I met Angus in Berlin and a while later I was asked to remix ‘Staring at Zero’, a track off their ‘TFCF’ album. Their original version is quite disjointed and I wanted to make a version that I could play in my DJ sets. So I listened intensely to the track and discovered all the little bits that I could use.

I took a short part, looped it and added a heavy duty beat, with a sub bass, which I then made into the main groove and then I added a crunchy bass guitar riff and more synths. As always, I used as many of the original parts as I could so that I could retain the feeling and sound of their version. Angus was really pleased and thanked me by saying it was the best LIARS remix he’d ever heard, which was a huge compliment, especially coming from him.

You’ve been to China and worked with an electronic band called STOLEN, how did you discover them and how do you assess their potential?

I was introduced to STOLEN by an old DJ friend of mine, radio show host, NiBing of Drum Rider Records. I have worked with NiBing since the end of the 90s and he brought me over to China many times.

He had arranged for me to perform at a great little festival on the edge of a forest outside of Chengdu and STOLEN were headlining one of the nights. Just before I arrived, they sent me a few demos and I could already hear their potential. They just didn’t know how to get there… yet.

Before the gig, I sat in at one of their practice sessions and I was really impressed. Their demos didn’t do them justice at all. So, we went into the studio in Chengdu after the festival and we recorded three new demo songs, more to see what would happen than anything else. They posted them up in China, and the response was very positive and so the band decided to release them in China as an EP. It was quite successful for them.

In China they don’t have a chart, they have a ratings system, whereby a song, album or film is rated by how many likes it receives. Their EP got a very high rating, which brought the band to ask me to produce their new album, but as these three songs were already on the EP, I decided to remix them for the album, so that they are different to the EP versions. I really like STOLEN as people, they are a dedicated and ambitious bunch of working class lads, who are very passionate about their music. They work, practice, write and tour. They obviously live and breathe it every day and I like to see that ambitious fever.

China is a huge country, so have different music genres grown and mutated in particular regions?

Yes it is, and unfortunately I haven’t seen all of it yet, but I hope to one day. From what I have seen though, there is a desire to achieve acceptance, especially from the West. Most Chinese bands feel they are not worthy or competent enough to compete with their image of well-promoted Western bands, but I think this is an illusion and quite the wrong attitude.

They should be proud, as they have some super talented and creative musicians in China, all waiting for that one lucky break, and it’s really only a matter of time before they get recognised by the West and are able to perform on an equal platform.

Like I previously mentioned, there is a budding new music scene in Chengdu, and I saw some great bands there like the all-girl group HORMONES. I noticed there are a lot of girls making music and DJing in China. Which was very refreshing. At most of the talks I gave, the girls were always in the majority. While I was in China, I also produced an album for an all-girl band from Beijing called HANG ON THE BOX, who told me they had initially been inspired by MALARIA!

In a weird way, the rapid rise of K-Pop in the West is starting to open doors and change perceptions towards all kinds of East Asian artists. Westerners are discovering new things from Asia all the time, thanks to connected links and tags on platforms like YouTube or Vimeo and this is broadening people’s musical horizons.

Of course, there are a lot of imitators out there too, especially when it comes to musical styles, such as EDM, hip hop and rap or even traditional techno. It’s easy to jump on an already successful bandwagon. It’s normal, once something becomes popular everyone wants a piece of the action. We also have to understand, the young Chinese don’t have a long, evolving pop or rock music history, like we do in the West, as theirs is only happening now. We all know that copying is all part of learning, but eventually, you decide to go it alone. You want to establish yourself, and this is where China finds itself now.

The über-commercial pop music styles, which the West has successfully sold to the Chinese since the start of the millennium, have over-saturated themselves and are becoming a bit stale. After talking to many young students for example, I could feel their frustration and I felt that Chinese kids shouldn’t really be imitating America anymore, because that’s a one-way street.

They should now be thinking about creating their own playworld. I guess they just had never thought about that before, because it just wasn’t possible before. The new generation of fashionable twenty-odd year olds that I met, are simply thirsty for culture, but who up until now, they didn’t have much in the way of an alternative to adhere to and certainly not a home-grown one whereby people could really identify or be proud of.

Now the tables are slowly turning. I believe if one Chinese band manages to achieve recognition and real success in the West, this will open up a whole new playing ground for both sides. A prospect which I find really exciting.

If the USA carries on shutting the doors on foreign artists, they will eventually stop being influential. We need to look towards the East and embrace these young, fresh and eager artists and see how we can come together and be creative. That is exciting!

The Chinese are on the brink of creating their own brand of progressive underground music and the scene to go along with it. I found there is a very strong desire to create something new, the bands are experimenting by mixing genres and styles and adding a touch of their own, they just haven’t found the right formula to get there yet. Eventually they will. Being a musician in China still isn’t easy however.

They still have strict rules and regulations, especially when it comes to lyrics, but these are just obstacles an artist has to work around, to find a compromise which will make both sides happy. It is not rebellion, that is all part of being creative. It’s great that they’re almost reinventing themselves.

I discovered that STOLEN are an exceptional band, they are all very good musicians and each can equally play drums, guitars, bass or keyboards. They have been together since their early teenage years. I discovered some very talented people on my tour too, many who are floundering in their huge mega cities and not knowing there are others out there with a similar desire and no idea where to turn.

This maybe has something to do with the lack of focal points, like the availability of music periodicals or platforms which focus on a particular music and fashion genre. That is unfortunately, the modern world. China is so immense and there is not a single platform anymore. I hope that with their achievements, STOLEN can help to change that.

You brought STOLEN over to Berlin to record their album ‘Fragment’. What changes did you see in them as they absorbed the local atmosphere?

Actually, almost none, as there just wasn’t enough time. We had such a tight schedule, that we decided to take advantage of their jet-lag and so we worked all day in the studio and in the late evenings they just ate, rested watching TV, listened to music and slept. They hardly went out. Besides, Berlin in winter was much too cold for them, coming from the tropical climes of Chengdu. They went to a couple of gigs while they were here, but really not much else. I was very happy with their conscientious approach to work, which was great, as we could always start really early.

Thankfully, they had been to Berlin before on a holiday trip, so they had already experienced the music scene here and had visited clubs like Tresor, Berghain, Griessmuhle and such places. I think this time, they probably spent more time in music instrument shops, supermarkets and cooking than clubbing – By the way, they are all great cooks too – Szechuan style!

As a six-piece band, how did you capture STOLEN’s obvious spiky energy while ensuring that there was a reasonably polished product that at the end of the day could sell their sound?

We had quite a few long talks even before they came out to Berlin. I wanted to see where they wanted to go, what is their aim. They had played me a few demo ideas and expressed their desires.

Atmosphere was very important to them. We wanted the album to invoke a particular feeling. One thing they were initially worried about was performing the songs live. Their first idea was to just record the songs and then mix them so they had more of a live feeling, but I thought it would be a wasted opportunity. I wanted to make them an album that would help to elevate the band to another level.

I started out with their live idea and just worked on fine tuning the rest, that way I was able to capture the energy of the live element without it sounding like a live recording. I convinced the band that they had to separate live from studio, after all, the album is the thing that will last, whereby a live gig is a thing of that moment.

I also thought, it would be good for them to have a challenge afterwards, to bring their album to the live stage, as that would help them to solve problems and evolve. They asked me to choose the running order of the album and so I decided it should unfold a bit like a story, similar in the way they write their songs. I am very pleased with the end result, as it has turned out to be something to listen to as well as dance to.

Personally, I wanted their album to sound like nothing that had come out of China before, as their music is not stuck in one particular style, but is a nice mixture of darkwave rock, techno and a billion other influences, even krautrock. They are such talented and open-minded musicians that it was very easy to suggest something and try it out, and when it worked, then we would just go with the flow.

They were also always very excited when I played something on a track too, and as soon as I would go to the keyboard or guitar, all their phones would immediately come out. I think ‘Fragment’ is a very listenable album. The club tracks work in a club environment, I know that because I have tried them out in my DJ sets, and the quieter tracks are to sit back and relax to.

So you’ve revived your label MFS to release ‘Fragment’?

Yes, I have decided to defrost MFS and bring it out of retirement, as I wanted the album to go to a good home and I wanted to be able to manage, to a degree, what happened to it, as the album has a lot of me in there too. So what better place than to release it on my own label?

Although I am not managing the band, I feel a necessity to guide and help them understand the mechanisms of the Western music industry. I wanted to give their music the best possible platform and by re-igniting MFS, I thought that in itself would be an interesting attraction too. I think this band deserve to be heard and seen. This is only the start.

You’ve been doing a few DJ sets at selected events, how are you finding this or do you prefer the live Q&As that you’ve done for ‘B-Movie (Lust & Sound in West-Berlin)’?

It’s all part of the job really, the Q&As are usually fun and hopefully informative, the DJing has just evolved out of that. As ‘B-Movie’ has now been accepted by the educational system and become part of the German school curriculum, I do quite a few Q&As over the year.

I used to get asked to show the film and then DJ at an 80s style after-party event, then it just became playing a DJ set, but I’m not your traditional techno DJ and I don’t play generic techno, or a load of lacklustre oldies. I only play the tracks and remixes that I have made or produced myself. That way I can usually test new stuff too and see what works and what doesn’t.

I never had the ambition to be a DJ, if I had I would have started decades ago, I simply see DJing as part of the event and it is actually quite fun too. Events are all different and as it’s usually never a straight techno event, I can just play whatever I want. I always try and take the crowd on a little journey though, and they get to hear tracks they might even know in their original form, but when I play, they are all remixed by me.

What’s next for you?

I have quite a few projects on the go at the moment, but I really don’t like to talk about things that are not finished. One thing is for certain, I won’t be making ‘E Movie’. My main focus right now, is getting the STOLEN album out at the end of September and working on the promotion and remixes. Everything else is top secret.


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to MARK REEDER

‘Mauerstadt’ is released in CD and double vinyl formats by Kennen, still available direct from http://www.mauerstadt.com/

STOLEN ‘Fragment’ co-produced by MARK REEDER is released by MFS, available from https://mfsberlin.com/

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

https://twitter.com/markreedermfs

https://www.instagram.com/markreeder.mfs/

https://www.facebook.com/strangeoldentertainment/


Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
4th July 2018

A Beginner’s Guide To NEW ORDER Collaborations + Projects

Like PET SHOP BOYS, NEW ORDER collaborated with other artists from quite an early stage in their career, as well as later working on their own various projects during the band’s recurring hiatuses.

Even in the JOY DIVISION era, Ian Curtis, together with manager Rob Gretton produced ‘Knew Noise’ by SECTION 25 in 1979. Following the passing of the charismatic front man, NEW ORDER underwent a well-documented transformation.

Aided by the advancements in technology, while NEW ORDER began with electronic instruments such as the Doctor Rhythm DR-55 drum machine, ARP Quadra and Sequential Pro-One, their synth armoury would expand to a Moog Source, Emulator, several Prophet 5s and an Oberheim DMX.

Bernard Sumner in particular relished the opportunity to further his craft by recording with other artists. Although more naturally inclined to the live environment, Peter Hook did bring his experience into the studio as well, while Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert primarily found an outlet for their knowhow within television. The compilation boxed set ‘NEW ORDER Presents Be Music’ released on Factory Benelux gathered many of these works.

But there are still a significant number of tracks which featured the artistic input and involvement of a NEW ORDER member that are worthy of discovery and recognition. So here are 20 tracks which encapsulate the spirit of NEW ORDER through the medium of collaboration and joint working, restricted to one track per project and presented in chronological order.


MARTHA Light Years From Love (1983)

Martha Ladly had produced the paintings for the Peter Saville Associates artwork of ‘Temptation’ and the ‘1981-1982’ EP. Formally of MARTHA & THE MUFFINS, she teamed up with fellow Canadian Brett Wickens on this charming pop tune that echoed THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Open Your Heart’. Peter Hook provided his distinctive melodic six-string bass and dynamic production came from Steve Nye. The promo video was directed by Midge Ure and Chris Cross of ULTRAVOX.

Originally released as a single on Island Records, currently unavailable

http://samemistakesmusic.blogspot.com/2009/01/charmed-life-of-martha-ladly_22.html


52ND STREET Cool As Ice (1983)

While the trailblazing electro of ‘Cool As Ice’ was solely produced by Donald Johnson, Bernard Sumner contributed the synth basslines which were from a Moog Source run from a Powertran 1024 sequencer; it was to become the trademark feature on many of the NEW ORDER front man’s productions. The hybrid of authentic Manchester soul courtesy of Beverley McDonald’s vocals and New York urban influences was unsurprisingly a cult success across the Atlantic.

Available on the compilation boxed set ‘‘NEW ORDER Presents Be Music’ (V/A) via Factory Benelux

https://www.discogs.com/artist/11896-52nd-Street


MARCEL KING Reach For Love (1984)

One of Bernard Sumner’s productions for with Donald Johnson, ‘Reach For Love’ featured the late Marcel King who was in SWEET SENSATION, a vocal group who won ‘New Faces’ and had a No1 with ‘Sad Sweet Dreamer’. With its distinctive Moog bassline programming, this was a vibrant electro disco tune. Shaun Ryder of HAPPY MONDAYS remarked that if this had been released on a label other than Factory Records, it would have been a hit!

Available on the compilation boxed set ‘NEW ORDER Presents Be Music’ (V/A) via Factory Benelux

https://www.discogs.com/artist/36617-Marcel-King


NYAM NYAM Fate/Hate (1984)

Despite Peter Hook’s more rock inclined sympathies and productions for acts like STOCKHOLM MONSTERS and THE STONE ROSES, he showed that he knew his way around the dancefloor as well with this Moroder-esque offering by Hull combo NYAM NYAM which he produced. Featuring a Roland TR808 plus NEW ORDER’s Emulator and Prophet 5 amongst its instrumentation, ‘Fate/Hate’ deserves to be as lauded as SECTION 25’s ‘Looking From A Hilltop’.

Available on the compilation album ‘NEW ORDER Presents Be Music’ (V/A) via Factory Benelux

http://www.ltmrecordings.com/nyam_nyam.html


SECTION 25 Looking From A Hilltop – Restructure (1984)

In a change of direction where founder member Larry Cassidy stated “you can’t be a punk all your life”, Factory Records stalwarts SECTION 25 recruited vocalist Jenny Ross and keyboardist Angela Cassidy to go electro. Produced by Bernard Sumner and Donald Johnson, the clattering drum machine accompanied by ominous synth lines and hypnotic sequenced modulations dominated what was to become a much revered cult club classic.

Available on the SECTION 25 album ‘From The Hip’ via Factory Benelux

http://www.section25.com


PAUL HAIG The Only Truth (1984)

Possibly the best NEW ORDER song that NEW ORDER never recorded, although ex-JOSEF K front man Paul Haig demoed the song to an almost complete standard, when as Haig told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “Bernard Sumner and Donald Johnson started adding more to it like extra guitar, bass and percussion. We spent a long time on the sound of the percussion”. ‘The Only Truth’ was like a brilliant cross between ‘Blue Monday’ and ‘Temptation’, and the 12 inch version was almost as long!

Available on the PAUL HAIG album ‘At Twilight’ via Les Disques Du Crepuscule

http://www.rolinc.co.uk


SHARK VEGAS You Hurt Me (1986)

Mark Reeder moved from Manchester to Berlin in 1978 and was for a time Factory Records’ representative in Germany. Reeder often sent records to Bernard Sumner from the emerging electronic club scenes around the world. His own Deutsche musical journey started with DIE UNBEKANNTEN, who mutated into SHARK VEGAS; the sequencer heavy ‘You Hurt Me’ was produced by Sumner at Conny Plank’s studios near Cologne.

Available on the MARK REEDER album ‘Collaborator’ via Factory Benelux

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


REVENGE Jesus I Love You (1989)

The aptly named REVENGE was Peter Hook’s response to Bernard Sumner’s ELECTRONIC. Comprising of Hook, Dave Hicks and Chris Jones, the  single ‘Seven Reasons’ backed with the edgy gothique of ‘Jesus I Love You’ got in the shops a few weeks before ‘Getting Away With It’. Coming over like early SISTERS OF MERCY with some extra raw power, it was a promising calling card. However, as things progressed, the output of REVENGE was not particularly well-received by the music press.

Available on REVENGE album ‘One True Passion V2.0’ via LTM Recordings

http://www.ltmrecordings.com/revenge.html


THE BEAT CLUB Security – Remix (1990)

Miami duo THE BEAT CLUB were the husband and wife team of producer Ony Rodriguez and singer Mireya Valls. The Bernard Sumner remix of ‘Security’ was the first ever release on Rob’s Records, the imprint of Rob Gretton. Sumner’s creative additions saw an overhaul of the original version with the crucial addition of his own vocal contribution, giving it an unsurprisingly NEW ORDER-like feel along the lines of ‘State Of The Nation’.

Available on the compilation boxed set ‘NEW ORDER Presents Be Music’ (V/A) via Factory Benelux

http://www.ltmrecordings.com/the_beat_club.html


808 STATE Spanish Heart featuring BERNARD SUMNER (1991)

Having been largely instrumental and sample based on their debut ‘90’, the Manchester dance collective used guest vocalists on their more melodic second long player ‘Ex:El’; while Björk contributed to ‘Ooops’, Bernard Sumner added his voice to the dreamy Balearic of ‘Spanish Heart. A less frantic cousin of ‘Mr Disco’ from ‘Technique’ with its holiday romance subject matter, ‘Spanish Heart’ had a blissful feel not too distantly related to ELECTRONIC’s ‘Some Distant Memory’.

Available on the 808 STATE album ‘Ex:El’ via ZTT Records

https://www.808state.com


ELECTRONIC Some Distant Memory (1991)

Frustrated with the conflicts within NEW ORDER, Bernard Sumner had planned a solo album. But on bumping into Johnny Marr who had just departed THE SMITHS, it was turned into a collaborative project with the occasional guests including Neil Tennant, Chris Lowe and later Karl Bartos. It was ELECTRONIC not just in name but also in nature. The beautiful closing section of ‘Some Distant Memory’ featuring the oboe of Helen Powell enhanced the string synth melancholy.

Available on the ELECTRONIC album ‘Electronic’ via EMI Records

http://www.electronicband.com/


THE OTHER TWO Tasty Fish (1991)

Having done the music for the BBC shows including ‘Making Out’ and ‘Reportage’, Gillian Gilbert and Stephen Morris began turning their stockpile of unused material into songs when NEW ORDER went into hiatus. With Gilbert on lead vocals and amusingly titled after a fish and chip shop near Stockport, ‘Tasty Fish’ was a catchy electropop single that should have been a big hit.

Available on THE OTHER TWO album ‘And You’ via LTM Recordings

http://www.ltmrecordings.com/the_other_two.html


A CERTAIN RATIO Shack Up – Radio Edit (1994)

Smoother, tighter, speedier and dancier plus more ELECTRONIC in both name and nature,  industrial funksters A CERTAIN RATIO reconfigured and re-recorded their 1980 signature cover which had come out on Factory Benelux with Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr at the production controls. Originally a rare groove track by BANBARRA from 1975, this was part of a 1994 updates retrospective for Creation Records.

Available on the A CERTAIN RATIO album ‘Looking For…’ via Creation Records

https://acrmcr.com


MONACO What Do You Want From Me? (1996)

With the demise of REVENGE and seemingly NEW ORDER, Peter Hook regrouped with guitarist David Potts to form MONACO, a combo very much in the mould of the latter. Proudly embracing his signature melodic bass sound, the first single ‘What Do You Want From Me?’ sounded like it could have come off ‘Technique’, with Hook’s Curtis-like baritone and Potts’ Sumner-esque refrain enabling a prompt audience acceptance for the duo.

Available on the MONACO album ‘Music For Pleasure’ via Polydor Records

http://peterhook.get-ctrl.com/#/


THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS featuring BERNARD SUMNER Out Of Control (1999)

‘Out Of Control’ was THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS’ sonic template actually fulfilling its potential within a song based format with Bernard Sumner as the willing conspirator. With echoes of NEW ORDER’s 12 inch only excursions like ‘Blue Monday’, ‘Confusion’ and ‘Thieves like Us’, ‘Out Of Control’ had everything from a bombastic backbeat, cerebral sequences and bizarre lyrics, especially when Sumner resigned to the fact that “Maybe my moustache is too much…”

Available on THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS album ‘Singles 93-03’ via Virgin Records

http://www.thechemicalbrothers.com/


BLANK & JONES featuring BERNARD SUMNER Miracle Cure (2008)

Having worked with Robert Smith of THE CURE, German trance duo Piet Blank and Jaspa Jones had Bernard Sumner high on their list for their album ‘The Logic Of Pleasure’, which also featured Claudia Brücken. The track managed to fill the electronic dance gap that had opened up with NEW ORDER’s more rock focused albums ‘Get Ready’ and ‘Waiting For The Siren’s Call’, while the single release came with excellent remixes  from Mark Reeder and Paul Humphreys from OMD.

Available on the BLANK & JONES album ‘The Logic Of Pleasure’ via Soundcolours

http://www.blankandjones.com/


FACTORY FLOOR A Wooden Box – STEPHEN MORRIS remix (2010)

Some say the music of FACTORY FLOOR is genius, others a load of repetitive bleeping to an incessant four-to-the-floor beat. Stephen Morris was a fan, hearing kindred spirits in their use of sequencers next to live drums and guitars, sometimes on the brink of post-industrial noise chaos. With his remix of ‘Wooden Box’, Morris brought out its more tuneful elements and added some vocoder processing. He continued to work with the band as the producer of 2011’s ‘(Real Love)’.

Available on the FACTORY FLOOR single ‘A Wooden Box’ via Blast First Petite ‎

https://www.facebook.com/factoryfloor/


WESTBAM featuring BERNARD SUMNER She Wants (2013)

Techno DJ WESTBAM celebrated 30 years in the music business with an intriguing mature collection of songs under the title of ‘Götterstrasse’ which featured Iggy Pop, Brian Molko and Hugh Cornwall. ‘She Wants’ saw the return of Bernard Sumner on a new electronic recording. With the guitar driven BAD LIEUTENANT having been his main vehicle over the intervening years, it was great to hear him on something approaching the sound of synth-centred NEW ORDER again.

Available on the WESTBAM album ‘Götterstrasse’ via Vertigo Germany

http://www.westbam.de/dt/en/


NEW ORDER featuring BRANDON FLOWERS Superheated (2015)

Brandon Flowers named THE KILLERS after a fictional band in the ‘Crystal’ video while his own combo covered the JOY DIVISION standard ‘Shadowplay’ for the ‘Control’ film. So a collaboration was not totally unexpected in this union of the sorcerer and the apprentice. A Stuart Price production featuring Flowers on the chorus, ‘Superheated’ was a slice of supreme pop which despite the frantic drum ‘n’ bass elements, sounded more like THE KILLERS than it did NEW ORDER.

Available on the NEW ORDER album ‘Music Complete’ via Mute Artists

http://www.neworder.com


KOISHII & HUSH featuring GILLIAN GILBERT Lifetime – FM ATTACK Remix (2016)

Simon Langford and Alex Sowyrda are the British-Canadian duo KOISHII & HUSH whose tracks have featured unusual vocalists ranging from DURAN DURAN’s John Taylor to actress Joanne Whalley. Gillian Gilbert lent her voice to ‘Lifetime’, sounding not unlike Sarah Blackwood who incidentally sang on their 2015 offering ‘Rules & Lies’. The remix from FM ATTACK aka Canadian synthwave exponent Shawn Ward added a serene crystalline quality to proceedings.

Available on the KOISHII & HUSH single ‘Lifetime’ via Grammaton Recordings

http://www.koishiiandhush.com


RUSTY EGAN featuring PETER HOOK The Other Side (2017)

With the opening salvo ‘The Otherside’ featuring Peter Hook on Rusty Egan’s debut solo album, sonic comparisons with NEW ORDER were inevitable and the song’s melodic basslines showed how much his sound was a vital part of the band. The Bass Viking’s vocals also exuded a vulnerability that listeners could empathise with. But with Hooky touring the JOY DIVISION and NEW ORDER back catalogue, new material has been rare.

Available on the RUSTY EGAN album ‘Welcome To The Dance Floor’ via Black Mosaic

http://rustyegan.net


FREEBASS You Don’t Know This About Me – Remix Instrumental (2017)

A Mancunian supergroup of three bassists Hooky, Mani and Andy Rourke that spent five years in gestation before imploding. Producer Derek Miller aka OUTERNATIONALE was a fan and told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “Really liked this song despite Hooky’s project falling apart on him! As you know, I’ve started and thought it deserved a proper release, albeit belatedly! So, I’ve been back in the studio with it and totally overhauled it sonically. There’s also a surprisingly punchy instrumental mix now”

Available on the FREEBASS single ‘You Don’t Know This About Me’ via 5 Pin Din Recordings

http://www.5pindinrecordings.co.uk


Text by Chi Ming Lai
24th March 2017

2017 END OF YEAR REVIEW

Oscillate Mildly

The world found itself in a rather antagonistic and divisive state this year, as if none of the lessons from the 20th Century’s noted conflicts and stand-offs had been learnt.

Subtle political messages came with several releases; honorary Berliner Mark Reeder used the former divided city as symbolism to warn of the dangers of isolationism on his collaborative album ‘Mauerstadt’. Meanwhile noted Francophile Chris Payne issued the ELECTRONIC CIRCUS EP ‘Direct Lines’ with its poignant warning of nuclear apocalypse in its title song. The message was to unite and through music as one of the best platforms.

After a slow start to 2017, there was a bumper crop of new music from a number of established artists. NINE INCH NAILS and Gary Numan refound their mojo with their respective ‘Add Violence’ and ‘Savage (Songs From A Broken World)’ releases, with the latter recording his best body of work since his imperial heyday.

But the first quarter of the year was hamstrung by the anticipation for the 14th DEPECHE MODE long player ‘Spirit’, with other labels and artists aware that much of their potential audience’s hard earned disposable income was being directed towards the Basildon combo’s impending album and world tour. Yet again, reaction levels seemed strangely muted as ‘Spirit’ was another creative disappointment, despite its angry politicised demeanour.

Rumours abounded that the band cut the album’s scheduled recording sessions by 4 weeks. This inherent “that’ll do” attitude continued on the ‘Global Spirit’ jaunt when the band insulted their loyal audience by doing nothing more than plonking an arena show into a stadium for the summer outdoor leg.

Despite protestations from some Devotees of their dissatisfaction with this open-air presentation, they were content to be short-changed again as they excitedly flocked to the second set of European arena dates with the generally expressed excuse that “it will be so much better indoors”.

By this Autumn sojourn, only three songs from ‘Spirit’ were left in the set, thus indicating that the dire record had no longevity and was something of a lemon. Suspicions were finally confirmed at the ‘Mute: A Visual Document’ Q&A featuring Daniel Miller and Anton Corbijn, when the esteemed photographer and visual director confessed he did not like the album which he did the artwork for… see, it’s not just ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK 😉

Devotees are quick to say all criticism of DEPECHE MODE is unfair, but the band can’t help but make themselves easy targets time and time again. But why should the band care? The cash is coming, the cash is coming…

Luckily, veteran acts such as OMD and Alison Moyet saved the day. The Wirral lads demonstrated what the word spirit actually meant on their opus ‘The Punishment Of Luxury’, while the former class mate of Messrs Gore and Fletcher demonstrated what a soulful, blues-influenced electronic record should sound like with ‘Other’.

As Tony Hadley departed SPANDAU BALLET and Midge Ure got all ‘Orchestrated’ in the wake of ULTRAVOX’s demise, the ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ album directed by Rusty Egan, to which they contributed, became a physical reality in 2017.

Now if DM plonked an arena show into the world’s stadiums, KRAFTWERK put a huge show into a theatre. The publicity stunt of 2012, when Tate Modern’s online ticket system broke down due to demand for their eight album live residency, did its job when the Kling Klang Quartett sold out an extensive UK tour for their 3D concert spectacular.

No less impressive, SOULWAX wowed audiences with their spectacular percussion heavy ‘From Deewee’ show and gave a big lesson to DEPECHE MODE as to how to actually use live drums correctly within an electronic context.

Mute Artists were busy with releases from ERASURE, LAIBACH and ADULT. but it was GOLDFRAPP’s ‘Silver Eye’ that stole the show from that stable. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM returned after seven years with their ‘American Dream’ and it was worth the wait, with the most consistent and electronic record that James Murphy’s ensemble has delivered in their career.

To say Neil Arthur was prolific in 2017 would be an understatement as he released albums with BLANCMANGE and FADER while Benge, a co-conspirator on both records, worked with I SPEAK MACHINE to produce ‘Zombies 1985’ which was one of the best electronic albums of the year; and that was without the JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS stage play soundtrack ‘The Machines’.

Despite JAPAN having disbanded in 1982, solo instrumental releases from Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri were particularly well-received, while David Sylvian made a return of sorts, guesting on ‘Life Life’ for ‘async’, the first album from Ryuichi Sakamoto since recovering from his illness. On the more esoteric front, Brian Eno presented the thoughtful ambience of ‘Reflection’, while THE RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP had ‘Burials In Several Earths’.

2017 was a year that saw acts who were part of the sine wave of Synth Britannia but unable to sustain or attain mainstream success like BLUE ZOO, B-MOVIE, FIAT LUX and WHITE DOOR welcomed back as heroes, with their talent belatedly recognised. Germany had something of a renaissance as veterans Zeus B Held and ex-TANGERINE DREAM member Steve Schroyder came together in DREAM CONTROL as another TD offshoot QUAESCHNING & SCHNAUSS offered up some impressive ‘Synthwaves’, while there actually was a new TANGERINE DREAM album, their first without late founder member Edgar Froese.

Eberhard Kranemann and Harald Grosskopf offered up some KRAUTWERK as other veterans like RHEINGOLD, DER PLAN, BOYTRONIC and DJ HELL also returned. Comparatively younger, 2RAUMWOHNUNG and KATJA VON KASSEL both offered up enticing bilingual takes on classic electronic pop.

The Swedish synth community again delivered with DAILY PLANET, PAGE, REIN, VANBOT, ANNA ÖBERG, 047 and LIZETTE LIZETTE all delivering fine bodies of work, although KITE were missed, with their German tour cancelled and release of their ‘VII’ EP postponed due to vocalist Nicklas Stenemo’s illness; ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK wishes him all the best in his recovery.

Across the Baltic Sea, Finnish producer Jori Hulkkonen released his 20th album ‘Don’t Believe In Happiness’ while nearby in Russia, a duo named VEiiLA showcased an unusual hybrid of techno, opera and synthpop and ROSEMARY LOVES A BLACKBERRY offered a ‘❤’.

One of the year’s discussion points was whether Synthwave was just synthpop dressed with sunglasses and neon signs but whatever, Stateside based Scots but Michael Oakley and FM-84 made a good impression with their retro-flavoured electronic tunes. It wasn’t all about the expats and in a territory as big as North America, there came a number of up-and-coming home grown electronic artists with LOST IN STARS, PARALLELS, PATTERN LANGUAGE, SPACEPRODIGI, COMPUTER MAGIC and BATTLE TAPES all gaining traction.

Canada’s PURITY RING infuriated some of their fanbase by working with KATY PERRY on three tracks for her album ‘Witness’. AESTHETIC PERFECTION’s new singles only policy was paying dividends and the Electro Mix of ‘Rhythm + Control’, which featured the promising newcomer NYXX, was one of the best tracks of 2017.

Female solo artists had strong presence in 2017 as FEVER RAY made an unexpected return, ZOLA JESUS produced her best work to date in ‘Okovi’ and Hannah Peel embarked on an ambitious synth / brass ‘Journey to Cassiopeia’. Meanwhile, SARAH P. asked ‘Who Am I’ and MARNIE found ‘Strange Words & Weird Wars’ as ANI GLASS and NINA both continued on their promising developmental path.

Other female fronted acts like KITE BASE, SPECTRA PARIS, BLACK NAIL CABARET, AVEC SANS, EMT and THE GOLDEN FILTER again reinforced that electronic music was not solely about boys with their toys.

Respectively, Ireland and Scotland did their bit, with TINY MAGNETIC PETS and their aural mix of SAINT ETIENNE and KRAFTWERK successfully touring with OMD in support of their excellent second album ‘Deluxe/Debris’, while formed out of the ashes of ANALOG ANGEL, RAINLAND wowed audiences opening for ASSEMBLAGE 23. Other new(ish) acts making a positive impression this year included KNIGHT$, MOLINA, ANNEKA, SOFTWAVE, THE FRIXION and KALEIDA.

Despite getting a positive response, both iEUROPEAN and SOL FLARE parted ways while on the opposite side of the coin, Belgian passengers METROLAND celebrated five years in the business with the lavish ‘12×12’ boxed set

Overall in 2017, it was artists of a more mature disposition who held their heads high and delivered, as some newer acts went out of their way to test the patience of audiences by drowning them in sleep while coming over like TRAVIS on VSTs.

With dominance of media by the three major labels, recognition was tricky with new quality traditional synthpop not generally be championed by the mainstream press. With Spotify now 20% owned by those three majors, casual listeners to the Swedish streaming platform were literally told what to like, as with commercial radio playlists.

It is without doubt that streaming and downloading has created a far less knowledgeable music audience than in previous eras, so Rusty Egan’s recent online petition to request platforms to display songwriting and production credits was timely; credit where credit is due as they say…

While ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK does not dismiss Spotify totally and sees it as another tool, it should not be considered the be all and end all, in the same way vinyl is not the saviour of the music industry and in physics terms, cannot handle the same dynamic range as CD. Music is not as emotionally valued as it was before… that’s not being old and nostalgic, that is reality. It can still be enjoyed with or without a physical purchase, but for artists to be motivated to produce work that can connect and be treasured, that is another matter entirely.

However, many acts proved that with Bandcamp, the record company middle man can be eliminated. It is therefore up to the listener to be more astute, to make more effort and to make informed choices. And maybe that listener has to seek out reliable independent media for guidance.

However, as with the shake-up within the music industry over the last ten years, that can only be a good thing for the true synthpop enthusiast. And as it comes close to completing its 8th year on the web, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK maintains its position of not actually promoting new acts or supporting any scene, but merely to write about the music it likes and occasionally stuff it doesn’t… people can make their own mind up about whether to invest money or time in albums or gigs.

Yes, things ARE harder for the listener and the musician, but the effort is worthwhile 😉


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK Contributor Listings 2017

PAUL BODDY

Best Album: QUASCHENING & SCHNAUSS Synthwaves
Best Song: BATTLE TAPES No Good
Best Gig: SOULWAX at O2 Ritz Manchester
Best Video: SOULWAX Is it Always Binary?
Most Promising New Act: MARIE DAVIDSON


IAN FERGUSON

Best Album: OMD The Punishment of Luxury
Best Song: SPARKS Edith Piaf (Said it Better Than Me)
Best Gig: SPEAK & SPELL at Glastonbury
Best Video: ALISON MOYET Reassuring Pinches
Most Promising New Act: MICHAEL OAKLEY


SIMON HELM

Best Album: PAGE Det Är Ingen Vacker Värld Men Det Råkar Vara Så Det Ser Ut
Best Song: LAU NAU Poseidon
Best Gig: PAGE at Electronic Summer 2017
Best Video: PSYCHE Youth Of Tomorrow
Most Promising New Act: ANNA ÖBERG


CHI MING LAI

Best Album: I SPEAK MACHINE Zombies 1985
Best Song: AESTHETIC PERFECTION Rhythm + Control – Electro Version
Best Gig: OMD + TINY MAGNETIC PETS at Cambridge Corn Exchange
Best Video: I SPEAK MACHINE Shame
Most Promising New Act: MICHAEL OAKLEY


RCHARD PRICE

Best Album: FADER First Light
Best Song: OMD Isotype
Best Gig: MARC ALMOND at London Roundhouse
Best Video: GOLDFRAPP Anymore
Most Promising New Act: NINA


STEPHEN ROPER

Best Album:  OMD The Punishment of Luxury
Best Song: DUA LIPA Be The One
Best Gig: HANNAH PEEL at Norwich Arts Centre
Best Video: PIXX I Bow Down
Most Promising New Act: PIXX


MONIKA IZABELA TRIGWELL

Best Album: ZOLA JESUS Okovi
Best Song: GARY NUMAN My Name Is Ruin
Best Gig: ERASURE at London Roundhouse
Best Video: GARY NUMAN My Name Is Ruin
Most Promising New Act: ANNA ÖBERG


Text by Chi Ming Lai
14th December 2017

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