Tag: Moby (Page 1 of 4)

2024 END OF YEAR REVIEW

27 December 2024 /

Image by Simon Helm

Me? Definitely Won’t Be! Join the #SynthResistance

When ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK came into being in March 2010, synth was still on a recovery path and it seemed PET SHOP BOYS were the only act continuing to fly the flag successfully having been awarded the BRIT Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution To Music’ the previous year.

While DEPECHE MODE and SIMPLE MINDS had released albums in 2009, their latest material showed few signs of their imperial phases. BLANCMANGE, NEW ORDER and SOFT CELL had not yet returned, ULTRAVOX were still to release ‘Brilliant’ despite a well-received live return and while THE HUMAN LEAGUE were regulars on the live circuit, they had not issued a new album for 9 years. Meanwhile OMD and DURAN DURAN were in a state of creative flux having released disappointing albums in ‘History Of Modern’ and ‘Red Carpet Massacre’ respectively.

However in 2024, most of these acts are performing to sizeable audiences and while ULTRAVOX may have called it a day in 2013, Midge Ure continues to tour with songs from ‘Vienna’, ‘Rage In Eden’, ‘Quartet’ and ‘Lament’. For these heritage acts, the concert circuit is now very lucrative and a testament to their music still standing up after several decades and most importantly for longevity, appealing to new and younger audiences.

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

But for new synth music generally, particularly in Britain, it appeared to be in decline although these signs had been very apparent over the past few years. One thing that has been significant about ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 SONGS OF 2024 was that on only 4 occasions was there full or part representation from the nation that seeded Synth Britannia… how the mighty have fallen! And when Taylor Swift is doing better electronic pop songs than most, then there’s a real problem!

First time around during 1994 to 1997, Britpop had as good as killed off the synth and with the news of the OASIS live reunion in 2025 grabbing all the headlines, it looks as though history is repeating itself. But everything is cyclical and there was a backlash against guitar bands after the new millennium began. There is hope yet but while a MIRRORS reunion is unlikely any time soon, it takes darkness to appreciate the light so anything is possible 😉

2024 was a year fraught with uncertainty and this was reflected musically. With ongoing political tensions in their homeland and having spoken out against the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, MOLCHAT DOMA relocated from Belarus to Los Angeles. Their excellent fourth album ‘Belaya Polosa’ channelled the anxiety and fear of that journey into exile and literally saw the trio change from sounding like JOY DIVISION to sounding like NEW ORDER. But have they walked from the frying pan into the fryer?

Released back in March before the US Elections, one of the best albums of 2024, ‘Masochist’ by NIGHT CLUB became a dystopian prophecy come true. Emotions were summed up by the inclusion of ‘The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)’, a cover of the song by FUN BOY THREE. Written as a metaphor to the dangerous posturing games played by “The Cowboy” Ronald Reagan in 1981 during The Cold War, today the even crazier orange face is back followed by his flock of mindless MAGA sheep…

‘If You Tolerate This, Then Your Children Will Be Next’ sang MANIC STREET PREACHERS and more than ever in the UK, it is important to stand against the retarded racist scum getting behind the neo-fascist posturings of that pompous grifter Nigel Farage to cover up for their own life failings. Add in a crackpot billionaire who inherited blood money made during the vile South African Apartheid regime, playing a real life Dr Evil by throwing his cash into the far right and supporting the new Nazis in Germany of the AfD, and the world is in a very precarious position right now. Quoting Midge Ure who recently gave new live renditions of the ironically monikered RICH KIDS’ sadly relevant 1978 anti-Nazi anthem: “NEVER AGAIN DO I WANT TO HEAR THE SOUND OF MARCHING MEN!”

Anglo-German duo KALEIDA experienced an existential crisis due to the pressures of parenting and the shifting patterns of life. But Christina Wood and Cicely Goulder managed to make their long distance creative partnership work again and their reward was their third album ‘In Arms’. As the title suggested, it has been an impassioned battle capturing 3 years of artistic perseverance and reinforced their sense of purpose.

On a more personal level, Anglo-French artist Julia-Sophie delved deeper into the complexities of relationships by exploring themes of self-destruction, tenderness, love and emotional struggles. This is what happens when people ‘forgive too slow’ but swathed in an intriguing electronic sound, her understated fulfilment combined emotional unease with an airy beauty for some satisfying thoughtful listening for another of the best albums of 2024.

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

With the onset of climate change but still those in denial despite the scientific proof, Patricia Wolf conceived ‘The Secret Lives of Birds’. Having recorded various bird songs and calls, curiosity led her to become a conservationist and while her music was very beautiful at times, there were darker moments of angst and sadness driven by concern. Birds and their behaviour have been a creative haven for artists of a more ambient persuasion and Masayoshi Fujita continued his avian fascination on his new work ‘Migratory’.

Loula Yorke presented her new ‘Volta’ and the wonderful opener ‘It’s been decided that if you lay down no-one will die’ acted as a bittersweet meditation on overwhelm, an emotion many were feeling. For Finlay Shakespeare, his creative journey appeared to have taken its emotional toll and ‘Directions Out Of Town’ reflected turbulent times and was touted as possibly his last album. Meanwhile Polish producer ZAMILSKA summed feelings up with the impassioned ‘United Kingdom Of Anxiety’ as another exile from Belarus CHIKISS captured this moment ‘Between Time & Laziness’.

Photo by Thomas Stelzmann

While a new PET SHOP BOYS album was always on the cards and they duly delivered with their fifteenth ‘Nonetheless’, Michael Mertens and Ralf Dörper starting a new chapter of PROPAGANDA was perhaps on not on anyone’s bingo card at the start of 2024. Featuring the sultry vocals of Thunder Bae, PROPAGANDA presented an eponymous long player to signify a fresh start with the closing cover ‘Wenn Ich Mir Was Wünschen Dürfte’ being a key highlight.

There were several key esoteric releases in 2024; Gareth Jones and Daniel Miller released their third volume of ‘Electronic Music Improvisations’ as SUNROOF while Heiko Maile and Julian DeMarre offered ‘Neostalgia’, leaving Jori Hulkkonen with some ‘Hurt Humour’. And like a greeting from wherever he is now in the universe, Klaus Schulze had ‘101, Milky Way’ posthumously released in a continuation of his vast electronic legacy.

In 2024, there were albums released where 90 to 100% of the content comprised of previously released singles; one of those was the debut album by LEATHERS, the side-project of ACTORS keyboardist Shannon Hemmett which explored her love of dark electronic pop. Another was the appropriately titled ‘VII’ by Swedish duo KITE which was their seventh body of work containing music from their seven most recent singles released over the past seven years, gathering the power and the glory of their ambition.

Using a similar strategy,  R. MISSING finally released an album ‘Knife Shook Your Hand’ after years of embracing a scattergun standalone song approach which at times was frustrating to follow, especially with today’s now widely embraced Netflix-led home and mobile entertainment methodology of “binge watching” TV series.

Photo by Volker Maass

CAMOUFLAGE finally took their ‘Rewind To The Future & Goodbye’ tour on the German road with a show look backing on four decades. Meanwhile celebrating 45 years of BLANCMANGE, ‘Everything Is Connected’ was a new career-spanning collection supported by a tour where Neil Arthur supported himself with his collaborative side project THE REMAINDER. Celebrating 25 years of the multi-million selling ‘Play’, Moby delivered a mighty greatest hits set in front of a packed house at London’s O2 Arena as well as highlights from that album.

Midge Ure aired his catalogue of his greatest hits and with so many ULTRAVOX songs part of the set, it was difficult not to think of his departed bandmate Chris Cross who passed away this year. Another sad loss in 2024 who had connections to ULTRAVOX and their former leader John Foxx was the iconic photographer Brian Griffin; his other subjects included DEPECHE MODE, OMD, SPANDAU BALLET and TALK TALK.

With 16 tracks speeding through its restless 40 minutes, ‘Powder Dry’ saw Tim Bowness revisiting his passion for the post-punk and electronic pop acts of his teens, having opened for the solo Billy Currie version of ULTRAVOX and worked with members of JAPAN while in his first band NO-MAN with Steven Wilson; of course the latter has been behind the spate of new remixes of ULTRAVOX for their series of lavish boxed sets.

A number of veterans returned after long new release absences. Michel Moers, best known as the front man of Belgian electronic trailblazers TELEX released what was only his second solo studio album ‘As Is’ and had Claudia Brücken guest on its lead single ‘Microwaves. Meanwhile after several years in the making, Harald Grosskopf presented ‘Strom’, translated from German as “electricity”.

Across the Atlantic, Los Angeles-based multimedia artist Geneva Jacuzzi gave a detached Eurocentric poise reminiscent of Gina X and her third album ‘Triple Fire’ was an enjoyably delightful mix of accessible electronic pop and energetic art chaos. Comprising of North America’s alternative music power couple Tom Shear and Mari Kattman, HELIX took their fans to an ‘Unimaginable Place’ as another US based couple XENO & OAKLANDER further refined their precise yet spirited productions for their eight album ‘Via Negativa (in the doorway light)’.

Newer North American acts making a splash were IMMORTAL GIRLFRIEND and Canada’s MINDREADER while Los Angeles-based duo DIE SEXUAL finally brought their erotic charge to the stage opening for the likes of IAMX and LEÆTHER STRIP. But the most promising act emerging stateside were Haute & Freddy.

Photo by Tim Darin

For the past few years, Alison Lewis has focussed on her ZANIAS solo venture but she was back playing live with Ryan Ambridge as LINEA ASPERA in the summer with the pair having been quietly writing and recording new material together. Having found TikTok fame performing synthwave styled covers, DREAMKID released his second album ‘Daggers’ to capitalise on his social media traction while both exploring much darker climes, CURSES and CZARINA released their third full length albums.

In Europe, Belgian duo METROLAND released their sixth album ‘Forum’ as well as simultaneously maintaining their solo projects 808 DOT POP and LECTREAU. In Sweden, Johan Agebjörn was a very busy man releasing EPs with Yota and Mikael Ögren while also announcing he has a work-in-progress with NINA; the Queen of Synthwave’s own musical partnership with RADIO WOLF was developing nicely, with a European tour opening for CANNONS giving the couple a chance to showcase their darker sound.

As the summer ended, IONNALEE ambitiously issued her new album simultaneously in English and Swedish while Norwegian neighbours PISTON DAMP declared there were “No Points For Trying” as they launched the more pessimistic instalment of their twin volume ‘Mastermind’ album venture.

Photo by Joanna Wzorek

Presenting the second volume of their ‘Midnight Confessions’ series, ITALOCONNECTION were back with their vintage but modern style of Italo disco while Greco-German trio DINA SUMMER showed that good electronic dance music with a grittier impassioned outlook was alive and well in Berlin. Also based in the former divided city, Polish DJ and producer CHARLIE emerged as one of the promising new stars on the Italo-Proto scene.

Retrospective sets can often compile another time, another place as exemplified by releases this year from Bryan Ferry, Peter Baumann and NO-MAN proved. But the best one came from FRANK CHICKENS whose ‘Ninja Legends 1983-1989’ captured them in their quirky prime, especially on the collection of BBC radio  sessions which made it an essential purchase. On the book front, ‘1984: The Year Pop Went Queer’ was among the best.

The desire to revisit the past became a major thing in 2024, as exemplified by the frenzy surrounding the sale of tickets for the OASIS reunion shows which were among the first in the UK to employ the dreaded but perfectly legal scam of dynamic pricing. But the need to see any band years past their commercial peak with the likelihood of a less accomplished performance than before, be it vocally, musically or energetically, was a head scratching prospect. The music world has been trying to make up for lost time and money since 2021 but the post-covid gig bubble may have now burst.

With ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK having seen many bands back in the day at their best, the shows now available with a hint of nostalgia may not have been universally appealing as they were to those who were too young or not even born to have attended first time around. But paradoxically thanks to the dearth of new quality music, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK found itself listening to podcasts of old people talking about old music! So it was an honour to be invited by host Iain McDermott to chat about our favourite year in music 1981 for his wonderful ‘Back To NOW’ podcast centred around the noted compilation album series.

‘The Album Years’ hosted by Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness remarked that “talking about music IS the new music” and on the most knowledgeable, passionate and humorous podcasts, hosts were able to express their opinion and say a record or an artist was “sh*t” without immediate fear of social media retorts while also praising where praise was deserved!

But during a recent edition of ‘The Small Town Boys’, Clark Datchler of JOHNNY HATES JAZZ remarked that while music critics back in the day could be “cynical” and “nasty”, today they are at the other extreme and “sycophants now” with “hardly any criticism of records released” – this everything is brilliant mentality has undoubtedly led to an acceptance of mediocrity and a lack of perspective in a monoculture of medium pleasure.

With those forthright and articulate expressions key to their success, live presentations of these podcasts in theatres and arenas are becoming increasingly popular and profitable thanks to lower overheads, especially when compared to concerts.

Among ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s favourite music podcasts in 2024 were ‘Word In Your Ear’ presented by former Smash Hits and Q editors David Hepworth and Mark Ellen, ‘Electronically Yours With Martyn Ware’ and ‘The Giddy Carousel of Pop’ discussing the history of Smash Hits. But best of all was the more general podcast ‘The Rest Is Entertainment’ hosted by Richard Osman and Marina Hyde which is part of Gary Lineker’s Goalhanger Podcast empire also behind ‘The Rest Is Politics’, ‘The Rest Is History’, ‘The Rest Is Money’, ‘The Rest Is Classified’ and ‘The Rest Is Football’; one suspects the popular socially conscious former footballer will not miss the BBC the way it will miss him 😉

If 2023 was something of a strange year, 2024 might have actually been stranger. There is a glimmer of hope for the future, but the signs are already there that things may get worse, be it socially, politically, environmentally or culturally… sometimes, people really do deserve what they get!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 2024 playlist ‘The Great Bleep Forward’ containing over 235 tracks from the year can be listened to on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4xMrAkCbeWvUmTfrN6i6Gu

Text by Chi Ming Lai
27 December 2024

MOBY Live at London O2 Arena

21 September 2024 /

Photo by Zoran Veselinovic

Celebrating 25 years of his multi-million selling album ‘Play’, Moby delivered a mighty greatest hits set in front of a packed house at London’s O2 Arena.

The vegan musician who has also been a proud environmental and animal rights activist had not toured for over 10 years when Barack Obama was still President of the United States. The world has changed considerably since then and not for the better. So it was timely, having kept a lower profile in recent years, that Moby should return to performing in Europe and give 100% of the tour’s profits to local animal rights organisations while also expressing his reasoned viewpoints.

At the time of the release of ‘Play’ on Mute Records in 1999, Moby was at a career crossroads following the commercial failure of the guitar driven statement ‘Animal Rights’. Believing it was going to be his last ever album, the man born Richard Melville Hall had nothing to lose and began experimenting with vocals sampled from songs by the blues and gospel singers Bessie Jones, Boy Blue and Vera Hall taken from the 1993 box set ‘Sounds of the South’ of field recordings collected by ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax. The contrast between these spiritual vocalisations and Moby’s electronica backdrops provided an unexpected emotional centre which resonated with the wider public. With all 18 tracks made available for commercial licensing, ‘Play’ notched up 12 million worldwide sales.

Photo by Zoran Veselinovic

Despite the focus on ‘Play’, the evening began formally with the uplifting gospel rave of ‘In My Heart’. Eschewing the use of the album’s samples, the live vocals from the deep voiced Choklate and the silky soulstress Nadia Christine Duggin recreated the various phrases or were expressed in glossolalia where studio editing had created a unique language.

With an accomplished backing band of keyboards, bass and drums, as well as cello and violin in a nod to his recent orchestrated reworkings albums ‘Reprise’ and ‘Resound NYC’, Moby was happy to let his vocalists take centre stage. Although the man himself was mostly on guitar, he ventured occasionally to synths and congas, as on his breakthrough techno banger ‘Go’. With its dreamlike quality recreating the ‘Laura Palmer’s Theme’ sample from ‘Twin Peaks’ on strings and synths alternating with the old skool rave action, it was mighty but had proceedings peaked too soon?

Photo by Zoran Veselinovic

Luckily they hadn’t, as ‘Bodyrock’ and ‘Find My Baby’ maintained the show’s early momentum. Things were taken down nicely with the surprise inclusions of the inspirational ‘Almost Home’ from 2013’s ‘Innocents’ and the mournful ballad ‘When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die’ off 1995’s ‘Everything Is Wrong’, both beautifully sung by Nadia Christine Duggin. Meanwhile, ‘In This World’ was a reminder that although ‘18’ was considered a less consistent version of ‘Play’ on its release in 2002, this song was equal any of the best tracks from it.

With Nadia Christine Duggin and Choklate having done the vocal heavy lifting so far, Moby took to the mic for ‘Porcelain’ (which perhaps surprisingly he said was nearly left off ‘Play’), an uptempo revamp of ‘We Are All Made of Stars’ and the sinister machine throb of ‘Machete’. Like a modern day Nina Simone with a touch of sartorial flamboyance, support artist Lady Blackbird offered superb renditions of ‘Walk With Me’ which she had resounded with Moby in 2023 and an outstandingly emotive ‘Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?’.

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

There was the unexpected but welcome addition of the elegiac instrumental ‘Everloving’ from ‘Play’; having been used in many animal rights campaigns, before the rendition, Moby announced that the charities that profits from the UK leg of the tour would go to The Humane League UK, Plant-Based Universities, The Animal Law Foundation, Earth Percent (Brian Eno’s climate organization) and The Jane Goodall Institute.

Effectively now seen as the signature theme to the ‘Bourne’ series of films, Moby’s tale of regret ‘Extreme Ways’ provided another rousing highlight while concluding the main act, ‘Honey’ provided fitting bounce. Returning to the stage for the first encore donned in a white stetson, Moby and his talented ensemble indulged in a fun acoustic cover of ‘Ring of Fire’ as made famous by Johnny Cash, prompting audience singalongs both for the chorus and the trumpet solo.

Despite giving encouragement to Americans to vote for Kamala Harris to defeat Donald Trump and save democracy, ‘Lift Me Up’ unfortunately stalled in its new stadium rock incarnation but victory was snatched back with a glorious ‘Natural Blues’ voiced by Choklate.

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

Deciding not to indulge in the pretence of walking off for the second and final encore, the 2 hour show climaxed with the “sound system rocking” to the happy hardcore of ‘Feeling So Real’ and the avant techno frenzy of ‘Thousand’ which saw Moby stood on a podium to absorb the exhilaration of the sped up drum machine and the cheers of the crowd.

This was a triumphant return for Moby, if it can be called that. He continues to make music and is a leading exponent of modern ambient while he released a brand new album ‘Always Centered At Night’ earlier this year featuring guest vocal collaborators including the late Benjamin Zephaniah, Gaidaa, Akemi Fox, Choklate and Lady Blackbird; although the latter was not performed, it is a worthy addition to a tradition. But tonight was not about Moby promoting his new works but using his most recognised music and his platform to help further the causes close to his heart.

Special thanks to Sarah Pearson and Alix Wenmouth at Wasted Youth PR

‘Always Centered At Night’ is self-released and available as a vinyl LP or CD and via the usual platforms

http://www.moby.com/

https://www.facebook.com/mobymusic

https://www.instagram.com/moby/

https://open.spotify.com/album/6Q9F246p5fOQzz8tts4ylS

Text by Chi Ming Lai
21 September 2024

AFTER THE RAIN Black Is The Colour EP

26 January 2019 /

Despite B-MOVIE having released their debut EP ‘Take Three’ back in 1980, their guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Paul Statham is now possibly busier than ever musically.

As well as releasing B-MOVIE new material in the shape of the excellent three song ‘Repetition’ EP featuring the superb ‘Stalingrad’, his experimental solo ambient work and the avant Americana adventure of THE DARK FLOWERS, Paul Statham has now unveiled his DJ Shadow-inspired sample-based electronica soundscape project AFTER THE RAIN.

Statham’s career has included the electropop trio PEACH who had a US Top20 hit with ‘On My Own’ in 1997, as well as collaborations with people as diverse as Peter Murphy, Jim Kerr, Billy Mackenzie, Dido, Dot Alison, Sarah Nixey, Kylie Minogue and Rachel Stevens.

Now while AFTER THE RAIN does feature vocals, the tracks are not in the conventional song vein which saw Statham become one of the quieter success stories of ‘Some Bizarre Album’.

With Moby as a ubiquitous reference point, lead track ‘Gospel Train’ uses an emotive four line sample of ‘The Gospel Train’ sung by Belleville A Cappella Choir taken from a collection entitled ‘Southern Journey Vol. 1: Voices from the American South’. Offset against a propulsive electronic framework, the two contrasting elements hauntingly and successfully combine to recall the work of not just the one-time Richard Melville Hall, but also that of Alan Wilder in RECOIL.

Also cut within a gospel backdrop, the strangely vibey ‘Black Is The Colour’ uses phrases from the traditional standard of the same name made famous by Nina Simone, vocalised for AFTER THE RAIN by London soul jazz artist Billie Black. Punctuated by atmospheric and big beat sections, it offers a rather cerebral listening experience.

Beginning with acoustic six string, ‘Waterfront’ is less synthetic, its country roots flavour providing a nod towards THE DARK FLOWERS. Given an alien outlook by vocodered phrases borrowed from the similarly titled John Lee Hooker number, the brooding combination is unusual if nothing else, coming over like some of the Brian Eno song based album ‘Another Day On Earth’ from 2005.

Constructing new music around decades old archive material can be a thorny subject, but in his introductory offer for AFTER THE RAIN, Statham does it well and respectfully. Mysterious, yet hopeful and familiar at the same time, he adds yet another string to his talented bow.

‘Black Is The Colour’ is released as a download EP by Loki Records, available direct from https://aftertherain1.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.facebook.com/aftertherain.london/

https://www.lokirecords.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
26th January 2019

TWIN PEAKS & FRIENDS: Introducing The Weird & Wonderful Musical World of David Lynch

8 September 2017 /

Photo by Mark Berry

“My childhood was elegant homes, tree-lined streets, the milkman, building backyard forts, droning airplanes, blue skies, picket fences, green grass, cherry trees. Middle America as it’s supposed to be. But on the cherry tree there’s this pitch oozing out – some black, some yellow, and millions of red ants crawling all over it. I discovered that if one looks a little closer at this beautiful world, there are always red ants underneath. Because I grew up in a perfect world, other things were a contrast”.

And so we are invited to go in; into the mysteriously twisted, sickening at times, never straightforward world of David Lynch. One likes the arts and photography, another excels in music, or vocals, few make good films, while the rest write or paint; Lynch has done it all. Having introduced his unparalleled strangeness into American film making and being true to his own ideas, the “madman” (as Mel Brooks called him), even refused to direct ‘The Return Of The Jedi’, claiming that Lucas would do it better his way.

Meeting Angelo Badalamenti, while filming his hugely successful ‘Blue Velvet’, proved to be the start of a captivating musical relationship, which Lynch has proven to treasure till today.

Angelo Badalamenti, whose superlative musical understanding led to various working relationships with many a pop and rock band, with Pet Shop Boys, Orbital, Tim Booth, Anthrax, Marianne Faithful and others, all creating electrifying soundscapes with a little help of the virtuoso.

As Lynch’s films gained critical acclaim worldwide, his musical interests and collaborations grew in parallel.

Who directed a 2011 Duran Duran gig streamed live from Mayan Theater in LA? Lynch did…

Who collaborated with Interpol on ‘I Touch a Red Button Man’ animation? Lynch did…

Who directed Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Came Back Haunted’ video? Lynch did… (incidentally striking a further musical pact with Reznor)

Photo by Michel Delsol/Getty Images

As it often appears, happenstance creates the optimal conditions for working relationships, and that’s exactly what happened with Lynch and Cruise.

The ethereal sounding, dainty Julee may have never worked with the visionary, if it wasn’t for the fact that Lynch couldn’t use Tim Buckley’s ‘Song To The Siren’ covered by This Mortail Coil in a key scene of ‘Blue Velvet’. As an alternative, he commissioned Badalamenti to compose a song of similar feel, with lyrics by Lynch.

As someone had to sing ‘Mysteries Of Love’, Badalamenti recommended Cruise, known for her sublime voice. Recently the rather talented Kid Moxie re-visited the tune with Badalamenti , putting her own spin onto the Badalamenti/Lynch hit.

And so enter ‘Twin Peaks’; first aired in 1990 on ABC, later being taken off air due to dwindling popularity, the series was far more than the crime drama with a twist, expected by the fans of Lynch. Having teamed with Mark Frost, the master created a cult program, which is often described as one of the best TV series ever.

The story of the death of young and beautiful Laura Palmer, set in idyllic landscapes of rural Washington state, and the search for her murderer has, for years, evoked fear, lust, wonder and interest into the metaphysical and mystical.

Needless to say, a correct musical setting was necessary to depict the uncertainty, terror and weirdness of the events unfolding in, otherwise, quiet town of Twin Peaks.

A quiet town… at least that’s what one expects on the surface; but Twin Peaks has its own dark secrets. The horrors and wrongdoings that underline the death of Laura Palmer are palpable and Lynch made sure that his take on the human immorality is fully stamped on his characters.

Cruise was again chosen to perform a number of songs, and Badalamenti provided the musical mysticism, resulting in a multi-million selling soundtrack to the series, even with the tracks being largely instrumental.

But within those magical non word pieces, lay three acutely polished gems, all performed by Cruise. ‘Falling’, acting as the theme tune, must be, by far, one of the most recognised songs that go with any TV series.

Cruise further benefitted from the Lynch/Badalamenti collaboration by releasing her first album ‘Floating Into The Night’, which housed ‘Falling’, ‘Into The Night’ and ‘Nightingale’, all used in ‘Twin Peaks’.

‘Rocking Back Inside My Heart’ is one of the songs performed by Cruise live on stage at the Twin Peaks bar everyone gathers at, with most of the young female characters singing to it.

‘Falling’ has been so popular, that a number of artists decided to cover it, and further inspirations appeared by Apoptygma Berzerk, Bright Light Bright Light, The Joy Formidable, The Wedding Present and many others. The latest cover is, interestingly enough, performed by Chrysta Bell, who appears in the Twin Peaks revival series, and has been involved in working with Lynch for many years.

Joined by LA based music magician and celebrated producer John Fryer, Bell provides a synthy rendition, which is a true testament to the song’s longevity and prowess.

Lynch and Badalamenti also produced ‘Summer Kisses Winter Tears’, which, originally by Elvis Presley, was covered by Cruise and featured in ‘Until The End Of The World’ movie. A wonderfully presented come back of the 50s, with dreamy guitar and lazy piano, floating over the consciousness, not without an underlying uncertainty, however.

Chrysta Bell met Lynch in 1999 and the pair have collaborated since, with the master co-writing two of her albums. Her stunning song written with the director himself, ‘Polish Poem’, was featured in the closing scenes of ‘Inland Empire’. Not only is it hauntingly beautiful, but depicts the end of the movie in a sublime manner.

But Lynch sings himself too, oh yes! ‘Good Day Today’ is minimal electro, breaking into the popular culture, with heavily melodyned vocal pleading for the want of having “a good day today”. The lensman wants to be sent an angel, and complains of tiredness over a fast paced, catchy beat; all this happening against a back drop of a disturbingly Lynchian video.

Karen O joins the magician on ‘Pinky’s Dream’, which has been skilfully remixed by Trentemøller into an electronic burst of metallic beats and heavy bass. Together with ‘Good Day Today’, both taken from ‘Crazy Clown Time’, the first album by Lynch, the tracks have been described as having serious electro pop influences.

‘I’m Waiting Here’, performed by the Swedish singer and songwriter Lykke Li, found itself on Lynch’s second album ‘The Big Dream’. Featuring a video, which could have been taken from any of Lynch’s productions, the dreamy arrangement gets abruptly cut off by unexplained noise and the uncertainty is ushered, breaking off the waltzing style of the music. This is what David is about; nothing is ever perfectly straightforward.

He remixes too… ‘Evangeline’ by John Foxx and Jori Hulkkonen was masterfully adapted by the filmmaker. It’s gritty, dirty and fragmented: mechanical in texture. It feels like observing the intricate workings of a Swiss watch, while on blow, being surrounded by robots.

Moby has collaborated with the master for years too. This includes video directing, interviews and remixes. ‘Go’ was largely influenced by the Twin Peaks theme, which is sampled here, and it sold a staggering two million copies. And now Richard Melville Hall stars as the guitar player in Rebekah Del Rio’s band, performing live in Part 10 of ‘Twin Peaks’ Revival.

The Lynch collaborations are endlessly eclectic when it comes to genre and style. From ambient, pop, rock, via synth, classical and experimental. The working relationship with Marek Zebrowski, a Polish-American composer, also started during the production of ‘Inland Empire’, part of which was shot in Łódź. As both displayed interests in musical experimentation and improvisation, a concept evolved under the name of ‘Polish Night Music’.

More recently the hungry fans of the original ‘Twin Peaks’ series have been in for a treat. Lynch has always stressed that the story of Laura Palmer wasn’t complete and this year has seen the revival series hit the television screens. When Julee Cruise happily took to the stage in the original series, dazzling with a plethora of eerie, ethereal notes and semi-shy demeanour; the Revival brings plenty of musical surprises, inviting different performers to do their own sets in The Bang Bang Bar, a roadhouse in Twin Peaks. Each episode features a live performance from handpicked musicians, many of whom have a long history of association with the film master.

First off, Chromatics showcase ‘Shadow’, the video to which reminds of the Black Lodge’s red curtains. The Portland based band has undergone many a member change, but ‘Shadow’ certainly proves that the current set up is perfect. The track is Badalamenti dreamy, still bearing the electronic sounds of the now, and as an opener to the newest of the tales of the sleepy Washington town, it blends in nicely.

Au Revoir Simone from New York picks up the baton in Part 4, following The Cactus Blossoms. ‘Lark’ keeps in with the intangible atmosphere, leading through to Trouble’s ‘Snake Eyes’. An Americana rock and roll style, with added sexy saxophone and jazzy influences, this instrumental track leads into Part 6, with Sharon Van Etten’s ‘Tarifa’. With the copious amounts of folksy soothing day dream, the quirky vocal and bluesy elements, at times a la Fleetwood Mac, it’s a perfect summer evening track.

None other than Lynch’s old collaborator Trent Reznor comes back to mingle with the master yet again, after having worked on the score for ‘Lost Highway’, and Nine Inch Nails’ video for ‘Came Back Haunted’. This time taking the role of a goth band frontman, the leather clad Reznor and co, take to the Roadhouse stage to deliver ‘She’s Gone Away’.

As the first band to be actually introduced by an MC, NIN hauntingly induce their semi psychedelic, disturbingly mish-mashed track full of guitars over Reznor’s seductive male interceptions. Backing vocals are provided by Mrs Reznor, Marqueen Maandig.

Hudson Mohawke takes the DJ reins on ‘Human’ in Part 9, while Au Revoir Simone returns in the same episode with ‘A Violet Yet Flammable World’, which begins with a similar beat to Depeche Mode’s classic ‘Ice Machine’, to develop into an all girl extravaganza of voice and purely electronic sound, reminiscent of Marsheaux.

Rebekah Del Rio delivers memorable rendition of ‘No Stars’ written by Lynch. The Latin-American songstress has been a muse for the filmmaker for years, providing a cameo appearance in ‘Mulholland Drive’ to perform a Spanish a cappella performance of Roy Orbison’s ‘Crying’. In ‘Twin Peaks’, she is seen in a dress with a pattern reminiscent of the Black Lodge floor, ushers in a stunning vocal, both in English and Spanish. Yet another classic ‘Twin Peaks’ track.

What follows in Part 11, is a twist: a beautifully composed piano piece ‘Heartbreaking’ performed by Count Smokula.

Chromatics return in the next episode with instrumental ‘Saturday’, while the ominous number 13 brings the original series’ familiar James Marshall with ‘Just You’, which also appears on ‘Twin Peaks Music: Season Two Music and More’.

Folksy Lissie performs ‘Wild West’, just where David Bowie appears for the first time in Cole’s dream as Phillip Jeffries of ‘Fire Walk With Me’ movie.

Bowie moves back in in Episode 15, which is wrapped up by The Veils performing ‘Axolotl’. The London based indie band has been yet another of Lynch’s favourites chosen to perform live in Twin Peaks and they don’t disappoint with the quasi electronic, gripping tune, which injects a further dose of fear and uncertain weirdness so typical of Lynch’s disciples.

Number 16 showcases none other than Pearl Jam’s finest, Eddie Vedder, introduced as Edward Louis Severson with ‘Out Of Sand’. The fact that Vedder had been listed as a cast member well before the episode aired, created a stir and many fans eagerly awaited his performance at the Bang Bang Bar. Although the tune had been available prior to the premiere of Part 16, EV toned it down to acoustic guitar as the only instrument accompanying his hauntingly hungry voice. Interestingly enough Vedder isn’t in the closing titles; Audrey Horne gets to perform ‘Audrey’s Dance’ once more, with a more sinister ending however.

The real treat wraps up Episode 17, with none other than Julee Cruise returning beautifully to finish the part, where Cooper and co go back to the past to try and save Laura Palmer. Julee’s second to none, ethereally magical voice on ‘The World Spins’ is an ultimate tribute to the whole of the series, with Number 18 (being the last) stripped off the, now familiar, musical end.

If anyone wanted answers in the Revival series, they’re probably banging their heads against the wall (or are getting tangled in the Black Lodge curtains), because more questions were introduced and the aura of weirdness has been intensified to almost mystical levels. Has the evil been eradicated? We don’t think so.

Have we got a happy ending? Certainly not so.

But isn’t that what Lynch is all about?

Riddles, riddles, riddles…

And what’s next for the genius? More music perhaps? Who knows, but with the wealth of experiences from the master over the years; musical or visual, haven’t we all been in for a treat?

ELECTRICITY ELECTRICITY

‘Twin Peaks (Music from the Limited Event Series)’ and ‘Twin Peaks (Limited Event Series Soundtrack)’ are available now via Rhino Records

http://www.sho.com/twin-peaks

https://www.facebook.com/TwinPeaksOnShowtime/

https://twitter.com/SHO_TwinPeaks

https://www.instagram.com/twinpeaks/

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
Original photos courtesy of Showtime except where credited
8th September 2017

25 FAVOURITE SYNTH INSTRUMENTALS Of The 21ST CENTURY

25 April 2017 /

Today, electronic instrumental music is everywhere, but often in the form of tedious dance tracks with no tunes all over Beatport and social media.

Luckily, there are still exponents of the classic synth instrumental, and thanks to the rise of the Synthwave sub-genre, there is currently a sympathetic environment for more esoteric and melodic musical offerings. The key to a good instrumental is it either has to be very melodic to make up for the lack of vocals or very unobtrusive so that while the music is interesting enough to be listened to, it can also be ignored. Thus a Eurorack modular tutorial cannot credibly count as a valid release… 😉

As a follow-up to TEC’s 25 SYNTH INSTRUMENTALS Of The CLASSIC ERA, with a limit of one track per artist, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK presents its 25 FAVOURITE SYNTH INSTRUMENTALS Of The 21ST CENTURY in chronological and then alphabetical order…

SYSTEM F Insolation (2000)

While Dutch producer Ferry Corsten hit paydirt with international club hits such as ‘Out Of The Blue’ and ‘Cry’ as SYSTEM F, the debut album pointed towards the Trance’s link to electronic pop. As well as a brilliant collaboration with Marc Almond entitled ‘Soul On Soul’, the long player included the beautifully majestic classic instrumental ‘Insolation’ which took a breather from the usual four-to-the floor format.

Available on the album ‘Out Of The Blue’ via Premier

http://www.ferrycorsten.com/

PPK ResuRection – Perfecto Edit (2001)

PPK were a Russian trance duo comprising of  Sergei Pimenov and Alexander Polyakov. The original melody of ‘ResuRection’ came from Eduard Artemyev’s synthesized theme from the epic 1979 Soviet movie ‘Siberiade’ which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Easily mistaken for Jean-Michel Jarre, the thrusting seven minute ‘Perfecto Edit’ in particular was like an exuberant rocket launch set to music.

Originally released by Perfecto Records, currently unavailable

http://promodj.com/ppk

LADYTRON Turn It On (2002)

With a piercing synthphonic riff, scat vocoder, robotic bass and a rigid programmed beat, ‘Turn It On’ saw LADYTRON take a bleep forward with an attempt at a KRAFTWERK track for the 21st Century via Liverpool, Glasgow and Sofia. But as it headed towards its final third, it detoured back to Liverpool and turned into ‘Electricity’ in a cheeky homage to Merseyside’s original electronic trailblazers OMD.

Available on the album ‘Light & Magic’ via Telstar

http://www.ladytron.com/

FROST Klong (2003)

A Norwegian electronic duo consisting of Aggie Peterson and Per Martinsen, FROST released their second album ‘Melodica’ to a positive response, thanks to some production assistance by RÖYKSOPP on two tracks. The beautiful Arctic serenity of ‘Klong’ featuring local trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær alongside layers of gorgeous crystalline synths was one of the album’s highlights that easily outdid anything by GROOVE ARMADA and didn’t rely on using samples either.

Available on the album ‘Melodica’ via Frost World Recordings

https://frostnorway.com/

MYLO Emotion 96.8 (2004)

‘Destroy Rock & Roll’ was the debut album by Scottish DJ Myles MacInnes that alongside DAFT PUNK and BASEMENT JAXX, summed up the sample laden dance music that was prevalent at the time. Produced on a computer in his own bedroo, the album’s best track however was the more downtempo, Moby-esque richness of ‘Emotion 96.8’ with its beautiful sweeping synth melodies and unobtrusive rhythm structure.

Available on the album ‘Destroy Rock & Roll’ via Breastfed

http://www.mylo.tv/

ORBITAL Pants (2004)

With a hypnotic Motorik rhythm, pulsating bleeps and spacey whirs driving a moodier template along the lines of cult German experimentalists EMAK, Phil and Paul Hartnoll continued their primarily instrumental template on their ‘Blue Album’, although SPARKS contributed vocals to a totally unrelated track called ‘Acid Pants’. The brothers split shortly after the long player’s release, but returned in 2009 to play The Big Chill Festival.

Available on the album ‘Blue Album’ via Orbital Music

http://orbitalofficial.com/

MOBY Homeward Angel (2005)

From ‘Hymn’ to ‘First Cool Hive’ to ‘A Seated Night’, the man born Richard Melville Hall is a master of the instrumental. The solemn ‘Homeward Angel’ closed Moby’s sample-less song-based ‘Hotel’ album with a solemn yet uplifting slice of mood music that was incongruous with the main act. Since leaving Mute in 2008, his more recent self-released albums such as ‘Destroyed’ and ‘Innocents’ have displayed this more esoteric quality.

Available on the album ‘Hotel’ via Mute Records

http://moby.com/

RÖYKSOPP Alpha Male (2005)

A ten minute instrumental epic, ‘Alpha Male’ came from RÖYKSOPP’s under rated second long player, a collection of music that saw Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland moving away from the chill-out climes of ‘Melody AM’ into much darker sonic territory. The track’s lengthy ambient intro was interrupted by a mighty metronomic beat and the sort of progressive synth overtures that would have made Jean-Michel Jarre proud.

Available on the album ‘The Understanding’ via Wall Of Sound Records

http://royksopp.com/

JOHN FOXX Kurfurstdendam (2006)

Since his musical return in 1997 with ‘Shifting City’, John Foxx has practically had albums coming out of his ears in song-based, ambient and soundtrack formats, both solo and in collaboration with other artists. The spacey mechanical Schaffel of ‘Kurfurstdendam’ came from an imaginary soundtrack he called ‘Tiny Colour Movies’, inspired by a friend’s birthday screening of a private film collection comprising of random surveillance clips and offcuts from Hollywood.

Available on the album ‘Tiny Colour Movies’ via Metamatic Records

http://www.metamatic.com/

SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN Space-Elevator (2007)

Few acts actually genuinely sound like their name… SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN, which translates as “the last man in space”, is the solo project of Swedish synthpop trailblazer Eddie Bengtsson, he of PAGE and S.P.O.C.K fame. The frantic ‘Space-Elevator’ with its swimmy string synths and Sci-Fi derived melody acted as an effective Moroder-esque interlude on his excellent sixth album ‘Tredje Våningen’ and also featured ‘Allt Är Klart’ which borrowed off the ULTRAVOX instrumental ‘Alles Klar’.

Available on the album ‘Tredje Våningen’ via Energy Rekords

http://www.moonbasealpha.space/

TENEK Ice Fields (2007)

Borrowing the distinctive bassline from SIMPLE MINDS’ 1981 single ‘Love Song’, TENEK put together this lively instrumental for their debut EP. With a modern mechanical groove coupled to their trademark synth rock, the almost funky ‘Ice Fields’ became an early live favourite, although the duo have focussed on more song based adventures for their three albums to date, ‘Stateless’, ‘On The Wire’ and ‘Smoke & Mirrors’.

Available on ‘EP1+’ via https://tenek.bandcamp.com/album/ep1

http://www.tenek.co.uk/

KLEERUP Hero (2008)

In 2007, Andreas Kleerup, producer and one-time drummer for THE MEAT BOYS, undertook his first mainstream collaboration with fellow Swede Robyn. The success of ‘With Every Heartbeat’ led to the recording of his self-titled debut album which featured a number of brilliant instrumentals. ‘Hero’ was its perfect start and with a solid bassline and strong choral timbres, it had the vibe of how OMD might have sounded if they had formed in the 21st Century.

Available on the album ‘Kleerup’ via EMI Music

http://kleerup.net/

DAFT PUNK Tron Legacy – End Titles (2010)

While most of the ‘Tron Legacy’ soundtrack was orchestrated by Joseph Trapanese, DAFT PUNK’s spiky electronics and drum machine were kept in alongside the epic strings for the end titles of the sequel to the 1982 movie ‘Tron’. There were nods to Wendy Carlos who composed the original film score, with Thomas Bangalter focusing on the heroic themes while Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo was more inclined to generating the darker elements.

Available on the soundtrack album ‘Tron Legacy’ via Walt Disney Records

https://www.daftpunk.com/

047 Kanpai! (2011)

Forming in 2001, Swedish duo 047 began their chiptune experiments thought a mutual appreciation of vintage video games. But after their debut long player, Peter Engström and Sebastian Rutgersson began to incorporate melodic song based elements and vocals into their music. The end results led to the impressive second album ‘Elva’, but they celebrated their chiptune influenced roots with the jolly YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA salute of ‘Kanpai!’

Available on the album ‘Elva’ via Killing Music

http://www.047.se/

MARSHEAUX Now & Never (2012)

‘The E-Bay Queen Is Dead’ was collection of rarities from the MARSHEAUX archives. While Marianthi Melitsi and Sophie Sarigiannidou have done a fair number of cover versions in their time, they are not really known for doing instrumentals. But the electro-boppy ‘Now & Never’ was a very promising wordless demo that Vince Clarke would have approved of; as one of his former DEPECHE MODE colleagues once sang: “words are very unnecessary…”

Available on the album ‘The E-Bay Queen Is Dead’ via Undo Records

http://marsheaux.com/

SOFT METALS Hourglass (2012)

Fusing Detroit techno with more European experimental forms, Patricia Hall and Ian Hicks’ second SOFT METALS album ‘Lenses’ featured the fabulous instrumental ‘Hourglass’. As Hall put it: “I really wanted to write lyrics for that one, but was never quite satisfied with what I came up with. I decided it would be better to let that one be an instrumental. I think it holds up on its own. It’s nice to give the listener a chance to interpret its meaning on its own rather than direct them with words”.

Available on the album ‘Lenses’ via Captured Tracks

https://www.facebook.com/SOFTMETALS/

VILE ELECTRODES The future through a lens (2013)

Anais Neon and Martin Swan’s tribute to ‘Assault On Precinct 13’, ‘The future through a lens’ was a moody but booming instrumental that began their excellent debut longer player of the same name, which later netted a Schallewelle Award for ‘Best International Album’ in 2014. With their vast array of analogue synthesizers and exquisite taste for sound textures, it won’t be too surprising if VILE ELECTRODES aren’t offered some soundtrack opportunities in the near future.

Available on the album ‘The future through a lens’ via
https://vileelectrodes.bandcamp.com/album/the-future-through-a-lens

http://www.vileelectrodes.com/

TODD TERJE Delorean Dynamite (2014)

Although making his name within EDM circles, the Norwegian producer born Todd Olsen paid a musical tribute to ‘Back To The Future’ and its futuristic gull-wing doored Delorean DMC-12 car with this suitably driving Synthwave instrumental. Unlike other so-called dance producers, Terje is conversant with electronic music history and possesses a wry sense of humour, as evidenced by the witty wordplay of track titles like ‘Inspector Norse’ and his own DJ moniker.

Available on the album ‘It’s Album Time’ via Olsen Records

http://toddterje.com/

BLANCMANGE Cistern (2015)

After the first phase of BLANCMANGE, Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe worked within the TV and film industry, scoring soundtracks and incidental music. Although best known for his voice, Neil Arthur’s instrumentals have been a continual form of expression. The brilliant ‘Cistern’ comes over like an imaginary Bond Theme for a retro-futuristic world. The wordless wonder that is the parent album ‘Nil By Mouth’ is an unsung masterpiece.

Available on the album ‘Nil By Mouth’ via Blanc Check

http://www.blancmange.co.uk

RODNEY CROMWELL Baby Robot (2015)

Adam Cresswell’s sombre vocals and the darker lyrical themes on his debut Rodney Cromwell album ‘Age Of Anxiety’ took a breather with the bright and breezy ‘Baby Robot’. With sweet synthesizer melodies, pretty glints of glockenspiel and a bouncy beatbox, the instrumental was inspired by birth of his son. “Yes, ‘Baby Robot’ is the one track on the album that’s 100% upbeat as it is about the experience of being a father” he gleefully said.

Available on the album ‘Age Of Anxiety’ via https://happyrobotsrecords.bandcamp.com/

http://www.happyrobots.co.uk/

DARKNESS FALLS Thunder Roads (2015)

While Danish duo DARKNESS FALLS are better known for their melancholic Nordic vocals and neo-gothic overtones on songs like ‘The Void’, the dark synthy instrumental ‘Thunder Roads’ proved to be one of the most striking tracks on their second album ‘Dance & Cry’. With a punchy drum machine mantra and menacing reverberant sequence, it was augmented by guitar screeches and sombre six string basslines reminiscent of JOY DIVISION and THE CURE.

Available on the album ‘Dance & Cry’ via Fake Diamond Records

http://darknessfallsmusic.com/

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE & BOYZ NOISE The Time Machine (2015)

Jean-Michel Jarre’s first album for since ‘Teo & Tea’ in 2007 was a two volume opus entitled ‘Electronica’; it features collaborations with a number of synth pioneers and modern day dance artists including BOYZ NOISE aka Berlin DJ Alexander Ridha. This climactic track took on a new life as the set closer on the French synth maestro’s ‘Electronica’ world tour, with a lasered 3D visual feast that required no special glasses! BUT BEWARE OF FLASHING IMAGES! 😉

Available on the album ‘Electronica 1 – The Time Machine’ via Columbia Records

http://jeanmicheljarre.com/

JOHN CARPENTER Utopian Façade (2016)

The horror film king recorded his ‘Lost Themes’ series in collaboration with his son Cody and his godson Daniel Davies as standalone pieces, without the pressure of having to put the music to moving images. The second volume was completed on a tighter schedule to accompany a world concert tour and thus replicated some of the challenging moods in his soundtrack work with tracks like ‘Utopian Façade’ recalling his classic movie soundscapes.

Available on the album ‘Lost Themes II’ via Sacred Bones

http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/

KYLE DIXON & MICHAEL STEIN Stranger Things (2016)

Dixon and Stein are members of the Texan group SURVIVE and their accompanying music to ‘Stranger Things’, a cross between ‘ET’, ‘The Goonies’ and ‘Alien’, sent electronic music fans into online meltdown with its use of vintage analogue synths. With a soundtrack influenced by the horror flicks of Dario Argento and of course John Carpenter, the one minute opening title music to the acclaimed drama series said all that was needed to be said in its brooding dissonant tones.

Available on the soundtrack album ‘Stranger Things – Volume 1’ via Invada Records

https://www.facebook.com/survivesurvive/

TINY MAGNETIC PETS Klangfarben (2016)

As would be expected from a title like ‘Klangfarben’, this vibrant instrumental from Dublin trio TINY MAGNETIC PETS is an enjoyable homage to Germanic music forms, with a loose percussive feel that still maintains that vital degree of Motorik. A word meaning “soundcolour”, it refers to a technique whereby a musical line is split between several instruments, rather than assigning it to just one instrument, thereby adding timbre and texture to proceedings.

Available on the EP ‘The NATO Alphabet EP’ via https://tinymagneticpets.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Tiny-Magnetic-Pets-69597715797/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
25th April 2017

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