Brian Griffin is the renowned photographer whose work captured the inventive spirit of post-punk and Synth Britannia.
His numerous subjects have included DEPECHE MODE, ULTRAVOX, OMD, SPANDAU BALLET, THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS, TALK TALK, ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN and THE TEARDROP EXPLODES as well as Billy Idol, Howard Jones, John Foxx and Bryan Ferry.
Although perhaps not as well known as his contemporary Anton Corbijn, Griffin’s work is no less iconic and some would say, more focussed if far out…
The sleeve of ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN’s ‘Heaven Up There’ which featured his photograph of the band on a windswept Porthcawl Beach in South Wales was voted ‘Best Album Cover’ in the 1980 NME Readers’ Poll, while his image for DEPECHE MODE’s ‘A Broken Frame’ adorned the front cover of Life Magazine’s ‘World’s Best Photographs 1980-1990’ supplement.
Reflective of Griffin’s interest in socialist iconography which continued into DEPECHE MODE’s next album ‘Construction Time Again’, it projected the band’s musical interregnum without being too blatant. As Dave Gahan said to Richard Skinner on Radio1 at the time “Y’know, we didn’t want to be obvious and have a frame with a bit missing!”
While most of Griffin’s front cover photographs have become part of folklore among music enthusiasts, one that still provokes polarising debate is the sleeve of DEPECHE MODE’s debut ‘Speak & Spell’. Brian Griffin kindly discussed ‘Speak & Spell’, along with assorted anecdotes about his other work and what he would do on a DEPECHE MODE album cover today…
How did you become involved with Mute Records?
My photographic agent David Burnham held the lease on a shop in Seymour Place. Daniel Miller and Mute Records moved in on the ground floor. David Burnham did what agents do and showed Daniel my portfolio, with the rest being history.
What was the brief when you were asked to do the cover photo for DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Speak & Spell’?
From memory it was totally open. Although with the cover featuring a swan that cannot be the case. I personally would love to know what made me come up with that crazy idea.
What were the other concepts you considered before arriving at the swan in a bag pic?
Not doing the cover, because DEPECHE MODE was hardly my favourite band at the time.
Was using a photo of the band on the front cover of ‘Speak & Spell’ ever an option like had been done with your photo of ULTRAVOX for ‘Vienna’?
Never. A photograph by me was definitely required.
I personally love the ‘Speak & Spell’ sleeve, but it got a mixed reaction including from the band? What do you think of it now?
It’s right out there, but at the time it was regarded as being one of the worst album covers of recent years. I was at the time, certainly in some other space, maybe outer space!!
Did you feel at all aggrieved when the first CD issue of ‘Speak & Spell’ came out with just a small detail of the swan’s head and neck on the artwork?
Designers trying to give original images a modified twist always do my head in. Obviously the designer, whoever he or she is, is a load of crap.
You did all the album cover photos for DEPECHE MODE up to ‘Black Celebration’, which one is your favourite sleeve and why?
The imagery that I produced for both ‘A Broken Frame’ and ‘Construction Time Again’ I’m immensely proud of and to me, they are of equal merit. However the image choice for ‘Construction Time Again’ was poor by the decision makers, there being far better alternative choices.
The iconic photo used on ‘A Broken Frame’ ended up on the cover of Life Magazine’s ‘The World’s Greatest Photographs 1980-1990’ supplement and even on biscuit packaging in Greece. Where did the rumour that the woman in the photo was Daniel Miller in drag come from?
I haven’t heard that one before! It’s certainly not true.
Your worker images for ‘Construction Time Again’ are very interesting. Back in the day, I thought it was studio work superimposed but you and the musclebound model actually went to The Alps!
Yes, my assistant and his brother the model flew to Switzerland and we even took the sledgehammer with us from Rotherhithe London.
You also took portrait photos of DEPECHE MODE as well as artists such as ULTRAVOX, OMD and TALK TALK. How do look back on that whole Synth Britannia era?
At the time I was a great Krautrock fan like Daniel Miller and I found all these English bands not that interesting, although great photographic opportunities. Now I realise I was wrong and narrow-minded, for listening to them today they produced some great stuff.
Your portrait photos often featured an interesting use of props ie board games with DEPECHE MODE, a pool table with SPANDAU BALLET, chairs and ropes with OMD?
Back then you had to be so inventive. My studio was full of props from various shoots, with budgets low, we would just create ideas from whatever was at hand.
A number of artists you photographed like DEPECHE MODE, ULTRAVOX and ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN went on to work with Anton Corbijn as well… is that a coincidence?
Not really, for he was always hanging around waiting to pounce. Eventually I lost the bands to him.
You have an online shop that includes prints of your DEPECHE MODE photographs and many others. How did you decide upon which outtakes to put into the public domain and were there any interesting legal processes you had to go through to enable them to be sold?
With regards to the outtakes, they had been buried away 32 to 37 years.
It was now time for the fans to see them. I went through no legal processes, for it is such a positive gesture for everyone involved.
If you were photographing for a DEPECHE MODE album cover today, what sort of imagery would you be looking to use?
I would produce an image that would form a trilogy with ‘A Broken Frame’ and ‘Construction Time Again’.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Brian Griffin
Special thanks also to Deb Danahay
A selection of Brian Griffin’s iconic photographs can be viewed and purchased from his website at http://www.briangriffin.co.uk/
It was the document that put DEPECHE MODE into the big league. But while ‘101’ affirmed the Basildon boys’ status into Trans-Atlantic Stadium Monsters, it also symbolised the end of the synth wars…
The battle of Synth Britannia had now been won but with no fight left, the journey had come to an end. And at the post-Live Aid roundabout, DEPECHE MODE had to take a different course to survive and maintain their new found prosperity.
So they got rockier and bluesy to fatten the sound for those huge venues while Dave Gahan’s stage gestures got more provocative and more physical as he had the cover the width of the stage. Even Fletch’s arms aloft gestures became a key part of the bigger show. This ultimately culminated with the pseudo-rock explosion of ‘Songs Of Faith & Devotion’ and its corresponding self-destructive tour. But all that was to come later…
Released 25 years ago in the UK on 13th March 1989, the ‘101’ double album and accompanying film directed by acclaimed filmmaker D A Pennebaker was aimed squarely at telling onlookers-at-large that DEPECHE MODE were no longer those fey synthpoppers in need of a good tailor, but a band with the potential to do battle with U2, who coincidentally had their own film ‘Rattle & Hum’ out in the same year.
While a popular live draw stateside in 1988, DEPECHE MODE had only previously headlined arena sized venues on America’s two coasts. The popularity of British post-punk acts among white American teenagers thanks to the Anglophile soundtracks of John Hughes films like ‘The Breakfast Club’, ‘Pretty In Pink’ and ‘Some Kind Of Wonderful’ was at an all time high. SIMPLE MINDS had nailed a US No1 with ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ from ‘The Breakfast Club’ while OMD had hit the Top5 with ‘If You Leave’ from ‘Pretty In Pink’.
Indeed, Depeche’s American label Sire had attempted to relaunch them in this Hollywood centred environment by having their B-side ‘But Not Tonight’ as the theme to a largely forgotten teen movie ‘Modern Girls’. The song flopped which proved to be a blessing, especially when looking at the later career trajectories of SIMPLE MINDS and OMD following their initial post-John Hughes flushes of success…
To capitalise on the momentum of increasing US album sales of the album ‘Music For The Masses’ and their most successful American tour yet, they elected to play a ‘Concert for The Masses’ at the 70,000 capacity Pasadena Rose Bowl on 18th June 1988. The 101st and final show of their ‘Music For The Masses’ tour, it was a risky strategy at the time as the band had achieved only one Top 40 single ‘People Are People’ in the US.
But the buzz around the band, especially from the listenership of the influential college friendly radio stations such as KROQ indicated that DM’s newly Devoted American fanbase would make the special trip to witness what was effectively their own musical Superbowl.
Recorded around backstage antics and a road trip following a group of fans on their way to the show inter-dispersed with concert footage from various shows, it was to establish DEPECHE MODE as a credible worldwide force, particularly with dissenters in the UK press who had always been resistant and cynical to their worldwide success.
The result of the release of ‘101’ was that even neutrals in the UK, who had bought the odd album or single in the past, were astonished to find synthpop classics such as ‘Everything Counts’ were now being aired to the masses in all the world’s stadiums… at least that was the perception. Jim Kerr of SIMPLE MINDS was quite bemused at their newly acquired status, retrospectively commenting to Word Magazine in 2006: “Who would’ve thought Depeche Mode plink-plonking away would play in stadiums?”
As a profile building exercise for DEPECHE MODE, ‘101’ was a big success but its legacy also had an effect on Mode’s contemporaries. Rather than opening doors, ‘101’ inadvertently shut them to others. Having been Vince Clarke’s original inspiration to take up the synthesizer and eventually launch DEPECHE MODE, main support act OMD could only watch in awe as their apprentices wowed the massive crowds night after night.
It must have been demoralising to Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys despite their own, not unsubstantial success in Europe. But in the rush to break America, OMD may have had a Top 5 US single to their name, but they could not (and have never been able to) attract the Devoted loyalty which Messrs Gahan, Gore, Fletcher and Wilder had steadily built and enjoyed. They could only go one way after this and looking back, their split in 1989 was predictable!
Supporting proceedings that night in Pasadena was Thomas Dolby who also had to rethink his own artistic aspirations. Despite a Top5 US hit single to his name, he had his own struggles with pressure for more hits from his various record labels. As a solo act, he could not split with himself but after his 1992 album ‘Astronauts & Heretics’, he effectively retired from the music industry.
Working in Silicon Valley on music integration software for the brave new world of the internet with great success and developing the polyphonic ringtone engine for Nokia along the way, he only returned to music in 2006 and supported DEPECHE MODE again at London’s Hyde Park that same year.
By the time of the more organic but still primarily electro album ‘Violator’, DEPECHE MODE had overtaken all their peers, and this symbolism was highlighted when they played at Dodgers Stadium in August 1990 to conclude the North American leg of the ‘World Violation’ tour. The support act were ELECTRONIC, a supergroup made up of refugees from NEW ORDER and THE SMITHS plus both PET SHOP BOYS thrown in for good measure! Messrs Gahan, Gore, Fletcher and Wilder had now become the UK independent scene’s biggest post-punk success story.
One of the protagonists at the Pasadena Rose Bowl on 18th June 1988 was of course, Alan Wilder. In an exclusive interview for its 25th Anniversary, he kindly answered some questions about ‘101’ and discussed its legacy…
In hindsight, the ‘101’ film, while good for DEPECHE MODE’s profile at the time, appeared to focus on some of the wrong things ie there’s too much footage of the fans on the bus, not enough actual music?
Even though Don Pennebaker had previously made music concert films (David Bowie at Hammersmith Odeon for example), he is primarily a documentary filmmaker.
This was appealing to us although it is debatable whether the pre-determined set-up of the group of bus people (collected and auditioned a la ‘Big Brother’) is not an inferior form, as opposed to entering an already existing situation and truly being a fly on the wall. After all, Reality television has little to do with reality.
Once commissioned and given a fairly free reign, Pennebaker looked at his options and decided to make a film about what he considered to be the most (perhaps the only) interesting factors of the DM phenomenon. The fact that Don had not really even heard of the group, let alone any of its music, gave him an outsider’s perspective and he soon realised that he wasn’t likely to glean any pearls of wisdom from the band members. As individuals, we were not deep-thinking angst-driven people with massive world insight. His decision to focus on the fans was probably the right one.
In its defence, it shouldn’t be forgotten that we’ve all been saturated with the kind of voyeurism that Reality TV has spewed forth into our consciousness for more than two decades, but in 1987 this was an unusual and precarious approach. Nobody knew what would transpire or whether it would be of any interest at all.
I’d go as far as to say the idea was somewhat groundbreaking as it clearly pre-dates all that MTV malarky which most people consider to be where the Reality craze got started. Also, the naivety and carefree exuberance with which the bus protagonists go about their adventures has a charm which could probably not be repeated today, given the knowing self-promoting instincts from most who take part in these ventures now, along with the predictable audience consumption, moral judgements and salacious anticipation of all things about to fall apart.
This kind of format has not only become hugely popular but also the centre of heated discussions about tabloidisation, media ethics, privacy and the representation of the real. At the time, I felt short-changed by ‘101’ as I wanted the band itself to be explored more profoundly, preferably by someone who had knowledgeable insight into the music, our working practices and what we (albeit sometimes clumsily and naively) were generally trying to do.
Pennebaker didn’t pretend to understand the band at all – he made no bones about that fact – but, with hindsight, he did manage to make a piece which says something about the era and I think, allied to the fact that it holds no pretentions (unlike some rock docs of the period – err… hummm… ‘Rattle and Hum’), it stands the test of time. Having said that, I find the film at best curious rather than ‘deep’.
The fanbase connection with the band appeared to be what was trying to be highlighted on ‘101’. For example, the crowd has been mixed in very loudly on the live footage and audio whereas a good number of live albums of the time would neutralise the audience noise?
I feel to highlight the fanbase connection was fair enough. After all, this is the real crux of the DM fascination – how “four Walters from Basildon” (to quote an early single review) could form the source of nothing short of a worldwide phenomenon, the nature of which is quite perplexing, way out of proportion for a pop band – a strange, bizarre and enduring religion which has been demonstrated again more recently in Jeremy Deller’s film ‘The Posters Came From The Walls’.
Is that right about the crowd levels? I haven’t listened for a long time to the album but the film soundtrack may be even more that way. Again, I haven’t watched the film for many years and it’s possible that the Pennebaker crew had some extra control over that music-to-crowd balance. My memory though is that we controlled the music mixes and so the album balance would have been the decision of those of us who mixed the tracks.
‘101’ symbolises DEPECHE MODE’s entry to the wider international stage but perhaps also, the end of Synth Britannia as of those support acts who played that day in Pasadena, OMD split up soon after while Thomas Dolby retired from the music industry a few years later. It was as if DM had set a bar that their peers couldn’t hope to reach… any thoughts on that?
I’m not sure that DM’s ‘success’ would have had any negative bearing on other electronic artists. If anything, the expectation of positive reverberations and opening of doors would have been more likely. A lot of it was luck for DM though, coupled with plenty of donkey work touring in the US leading up to the big (and unexpected to such a degree) explosion. It seems the timing was right for that kind of music where genres were being choked by mainstream rock radio as a huge cult level of other music listeners were being shafted.
We benefited from a kind of breaking of the dam which finally gave way, resulting in those stations almost being forced into recognising and playing the newer UK artists of the time – such as The Cure, The Smiths, New Order, DM and many other groups which had been, up until then, considered ‘alternative’ or ‘cult’ in the states. I can’t hazard a guess about the examples you cite or speculate as to why some acts may have failed to capitalise. I do know that there is never a correlation which one should assume between the quality of a band / artist compared to the amount of people who turn up to their concerts. It’s a funny old game…
With that in mind and with DEPECHE MODE established publically with ‘101’ as a ‘stadium act’, had the development into a more organic, rock / bluesy sound to suit those types of venues been a conscious move in order for DM to maintain that position with ‘Violator’ and ‘Songs Of Faith & Devotion’?
Subconsciously there may be an element due to the nature of the venues and larger (more distant) crowds needing to be serviced. Dave, I’m sure, would have welcomed the more ’rocky’ approach to release and enhance his own stage performances. But ‘Violator’ is still a very electronic album when you listen to it now, and its less electronic elements, rather than derived from stadium experiences, were mainly influenced by the wave of hip hop and rap music which permeated the scene at that time. The methods of those artists employing more left-field sampling techniques left a significant mark on both myself and Flood.
We were attracted to the inherent feel of played drum loops for example rather than precisely programmed rhythm from machines or individual drum samples. This ‘looping’ was taken much further with ‘SOFAD’ of course – an album style conceived mainly because we didn’t want to just repeat ‘Violator’ despite its success. That would have been seen as stagnation and some of us at least were very wary of that.
You did not appear in the interviews or commentary for the bonus features on the ‘101’ DVD reissue, why was that?
A surprising amount of pressure was put on me to take part in the ‘director’s commentary’ idea, mainly from Daniel Miller and Pennebaker himself. But I didn’t feel I had some exciting anecdotes or anything particularly insightful to add for the reissue. I’ve never enjoyed the commentary concept – frequently empty and often unnecessarily demystifying (I like to retain something for the imagination). The ‘101’ film is not exactly complicated and doesn’t contain any technical issues which needed explaining either. It speaks for itself.
Even though, on paper, the idea of a group and director ‘talkover’ maybe could have worked – i.e. jogging each other’s memories etc – I just knew that putting four rock band members together in a room to randomly comment would result in silly giggling, talking over each other and the spouting of mainly nonsense. And that filled me with dread.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Alan Wilder
The DEPECHE MODE ‘101’ film and uninterrupted Pasadena Rose Bowl concert highlights are available as a 2DVD package via Mute Records. The ‘101’ 2CD live album is still available
For information on Alan Wilder’s RECOIL and his other projects, please visit http://blog.recoil.co.uk/
The label which brought the world DEPECHE MODE, FAD GADGET, YAZOO, ERASURE, MOBY and GOLDFRAPP has been continuing its tradition of developing artists who combine quality songwriting with musical experimentation.
Along with Northampton’s MAPS, Colchester born songstress Polly Scattergood is one of a number of up-and-coming acts now on the legendary Mute roster. She was first introduced to Mute supremo Daniel Miller by Neil Ferris, a legend in DEPECHE MODE fan circles for his promotional work via The Ferret Plugging Company for the Basildon boys.
Her self-titled debut came out on Mute in 2009 to largely positive reviews. An intense organic collection of ethereal songs, Scattergood revealed herself to be a promising talent unafraid to express emotion and vulnerability, especially on numbers such as the quirky ‘Nitrogen Pink’ and the embittered epic ‘I Hate The Way’. Meanwhile, ‘Other Too Endless’ was bolstered by a superb Vince Clarke remix and highlighted the compatibility of her music within a synthesized environment.
Following a breathy guest spot on BEF’s 2012 covers LP ‘Music Of Quality & Distinction Vol3 – Dark’ performing ‘The Look of Love’, Scattergood finally launched the campaign for her second album ‘Arrows’ with the electro-COCTEAU TWINS twist of ‘Wanderlust’ in February 2013.
Support slots with label mates GOLDFRAPP followed in the summer before the album was finally unleashed to the public in September. The brilliant ‘Cocoon’ indicated that while she there were still signs of her folkier roots, synthetic textures and technological trickery were now much more part of the action.
More uplifting uptempo elements also featured with the accessible pop drive of ‘Falling’ and ‘Subsequently Lost’. Her love of BJörk and Kate Bush however has been maintained, especially with the highly emotive ‘Miss You’ and the dreamy ‘Silver Lining’ which sounded like it could have been a collaboration with Moby.
In all, ‘Arrows’ is a true grower of an album in which the obvious passion and vulnerability of the kooky Essex songstress can only attract empathy with Polly World. With a busy 2014 ahead of her, Polly Scattergood took time out to chat about her career so far…
After what appears to have been a steady start to the ‘Arrows’ campaign, things appear to be gaining momentum now?
Yeah, it feels good. I have made an album I’m proud of and the reaction from the people and the press and stuff has been great. We played a sold out show in London the other week and my new single is out March 10th – it all feels good.
How does ‘Arrows’ differ for you compared to your debut?
Big uplifting highs next to big lows… my debut album was mainly lows.
You hopped between Berlin and Norfolk to write and record. How did those contrasting environments help with your muse?
I’m massively influenced by my environment and each location gave me energy and I put that into the songs.
A fair number of your songs lyrically refer to the mind of a casualty like ‘Subsequently Lost’, ‘Disco Damaged Kid’ and ‘Falling’ whether from a personal or narrative point of view; are these autobiographical experiences?
Some of them are autobiographical. It’s a mixture, in order to write a song that makes people feel something, I think you have to feel it yourself.
‘Wanderlust’ is a startling avant pop number and appears to be a pivotal song on ‘Arrows’?
Yes, for me it was one of the tracks that really started the writing journey that I went on for this new album.
‘Wanderlust’ also signalled what appeared to be a greater use of electronics in your work? What sparked that shift?
I have always been fascinated by electronics. When I made my first album, although I enjoyed experimenting, it was all fairly new to me. But by the time I made ‘Arrows’, I guess I felt more confident in the sound I wanted to make.
Photos by Richard Price
What sort of instruments have you been you newly experimenting with for ‘Arrows’?
So many I can’t list them all, but the Minimoog is my favourite. And I played on an Axis Virus last week, I really want one. Synths and shoes they are my vice.
Just out of interest, what made you choose the Moog Little Phatty as your live synth of choice?
Because we used a Moog lots on the album and so it seemed like the right choice to play it live. It’s also such a beautiful instrument, it looks cool and it sounds cool.
You also use an iPad app in your show which acts a nice visual component. How do you see music technology heading? Is there something you would like to have that perhaps hasn’t been made yet?
I do think that the iPad is an incredible instrument, I wish they would put it on a strap so you can hang it round you like a guitar. People maybe see it as a gimmick but they maybe haven’t really used it to its full capabilities. The iPad has some incredible apps we used it quite a lot on the album. It’s great for noise and is visually interesting too.
Photo by Frank Bauer
You dig deep emotionally, especially with tracks like ‘Miss You’. Where does that strength come from and how do you handle having to revisit those feelings when performing live?
I sleep for hours after a show, I think subconsciously it takes a lots of energy… but is quite cathartic.
I understand you’re a fan of Leonard Cohen. What did you think of his electronic phase with songs like ‘First We Take Manhattan’ and ‘I’m Your Man’?
I love most things he has done. I saw him at Glastonbury a few years ago, it was one of the best gigs I have ever experienced.
Photo by Frank Bauer
You attended the Brits School. How did you find being in such an environment?
I am always a bit of an outsider, I have a few really close friends that I made there, but I am quite shy, and it takes me a while to get really close to people. It was a good place for me though, I learned a lot, it was the first time in my life I enjoyed being educated.
How aware were you of Mute’s history when you were considering signing with them?
I had grown up listening to Mute bands so I knew how legendary they are as a label.
Your music is quite esoteric and not immediate in a pop sense. What are the advantages for you of being with Mute as opposed to a conventionally focussed label?
They are a great label they understand me as an artist. They put great care into everything they do and have supported me through two albums which is rare especially in this day and age.
Of course, one of Mute’s major success stories is Vince Clarke who did a mix of ‘Other Too Endless’ and has now contributed his reworking of ‘Subsequently Lost’… how was that for you?
Yeah, it was an absolute honour to have him remix ‘Subsequently Lost’, I have been a fan of his work for years
Remixes are quite a big part of Polly World. There have been some great remixes from people like THE GOLDEN FILTER on ‘Please Don’t Touch’ and Tara Busch on ‘Bunny Club’ while you have also done remixes yourself of other artists such as MAPS and M83. How does remix culture sit within your own musical ethos and development?
I think it’s good, it’s like a breath of fresh air when you hear another artist’s take on your work, especially for me when people remix tracks I have worked on for a couple of years. I suddenly hear all these new bits I forgot I had done and got buried in the mix. I love remixing other artists, I would like to do more. You get to have all the fun of being in the studio and playing with someone’s work, their baby, but then you give it back at the end of the day and the pressure is off. It’s an enjoyable experience.
Photos by Richard Price
Between your debut and ‘Arrows’, you performed and recorded a great cover of ‘The Look Of Love’ with BEF. Would there be any other songs you would like to reinterpret?
I covered ‘New York New York’ for EA games’ ‘Crysis 2’ trailer. I do enjoy reinterpreting other people’s songs, but I think deep down nothing beets the buzz of writing them yourself.
What is next for you in 2014?
Well my new single ‘Subsequently Lost’ is out March 10th and you can pre-order it now! I have a few other things in the pipeline, I am working hard in the studio writing again which is my greatest pleasure. I’m also doing a few side projects and in my downtime I’m doing a little collaboration with my friend who is a jewellery designer; we are designing an ‘Arrow’s inspired collection for her company Bloodymarymetal. So it’s going to be a busy 2014 but all exciting!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Polly Scattergood
Special thanks also to Mellissa Bradbury at Brilliant! Artist Management
Undo Records are to release ‘History 1984-1991’, a special compilation box set of the lost French technopop act VIENNA.
Formed sometime in 1984 under the name ACADEMIE, they comprised of vocalist Odile Arias, her brother Dominique and Thierry Martinez. Impressing with a demo that caught the attention RCA Records, they went on to support noted French band INDOCHINE who had an international hit with ‘L’Aventurier’.
Changing their name to VIENNA, their 1984 debut single was the sublime ‘Say You Love Me (Tu As Juré)’. Coincidently having named themselves after the ULTRAVOX song, Warren Cann later appeared as a guest drummer on INDOCHINE’s album ‘7000 Danses’!
Influenced by KRAFTWERK and Synth Britannia acts such as DEPECHE MODE and OMD, VIENNA sounded like a dreamy, less industrialised cousin of HARD CORPS who had supported DEPECHE MODE during the ‘Music For The Masses’ tour. But the DM connections didn’t end there for Odile was Martin Gore’s girlfriend during this period, having met at a DM show after VIENNA signed to Mute Sonet France in 1987. She can be seen as part of the Mode entourage in the D A Pennebaker documentary ‘101’.
Another great single ‘Pour Ne Pas Me Toucher’ produced by Rico Conning (best known for his ‘Blind Mix’ of DM’s ‘Strangelove’ with Daniel Miller and co-producing Gore’s ‘Counterfeit’ covers EP’) was issued shortly after but by 1989, VIENNA were no more. Odile Arias continued briefly as a solo artist, releasing ‘Reste Avec Moi’ in 1990.
Fast forward to 2014, and those singles plus B-sides like ‘Viens Dans La Chambre’ have been given a chance to shine again by Undo Records. ACADEMIE material such as ‘Push Me Down’ and the solo recordings have also been gathered on CD1 of this 4 disc set. CD2 is made up of the ‘Lost Mute Album’ while CD3-4 comprise of unheard demos including a Karl Bartos produced instrumental of ‘Pour Ne Pas Me Toucher’.
As can be expected, the sound quality is variable, ranging from full studio masters to cassette recordings but several numbers like the sparsely chirpy ‘Rendez-vous Sur La Mer Noire’ and the moodier ‘Un Dernier Dimance Avant La Guerre’ are wonderfully exquisite diamonds in the mine that have now been unearthed. Odile’s exquisite Gallic allure provides much of the enjoyment to the synthesized soundtrack.
In an exclusive interview, Odile Arias answered some questions that ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK put to her about VIENNA and her time in the DEPECHE MODE circle…
When you listened back to the tapes to produce this compilation, what memories did it bring back to you?
Mainly, the first image that came back to me was either the home studio I used to work in or the ‘machines’ I used to work with for the making of this or that particular song, or the emotions or facts that had inspired it to me.
But then after a moment, it started bringing back this huge patchwork of snapshots from the eighties which I was indeed happy to recall and remember and get drowned in.
It’s a bit like the kind of feeling you can have when you bump into a close friend you haven’t seen for so many years but you’re still attached to. I am not a nostalgic person, so to me it felt nice though a bit strange to feel linked again to this part of my life. It focused on feelings that I am glad to recognize as still being part of me, but that I have other ways to express now.
Which of your songs do you think particularly stand the test of time?
Well, considering the combination of lyrics and melody, I think that the ones from the CD2, which we called the ‘Lost Mute Album’, remain very interesting and efficient. Even now, I still enjoy listening to ‘Naufragés’, ‘Un Dernier Dimanche Avant La Guerre’, ‘La Terre Est À Nous’, ‘Aller Trop Loin’ or ‘Viens Dans La Chambre’, and I’d still be very glad to sing them. But it’s quite hard for me to answer, there are so many different fields in music. Some people really like the sound of the eighties, some others definitely hate it.
To me, a good melody by itself, can always stand the test of time. I think its’ much harder to make a song where both the lyrics and the melody will stand it, and the lyrics that I wrote were definitely much better later on. For example, I’ve never really liked ‘Say You Love Me’. I don’t know why the record company choose this one song for the single? Even then, I had much better ones. The manner of thinking of most artistic directors I have met will always remain a mystery for me.
You had the opportunity to do a version of ‘Pour Ne Pas Me Toucher’ with Karl Bartos?
We all used to be very fond of KRAFTWERK and Karl Bartos was a friend of our first producer, Maxime Schmidt who had been involved in some KRAFTWERK’s promotion or production and with whom he shared the same passion for cycling. After meeting him in Paris, Karl came to visit us in this studio in Belgium while we were working on the first version of this song. He clicked on the melody and once back to Germany he created this own new version of the song with a friend of his, and Maxime gave us the option to release it if we wished to. It was so amazing!
Well on the other hand, working with them on that song implied that I would have to go to Germany alone, not with the band I mean, and then work on our music without the band. It was quite hard to decide, I was really puzzled.
Karl’s version also sounded very much “KRAFTWERK” style and not really “VIENNA” anymore. My admiration for KRAFTWERK was so strong that I thought I might not be able to defend my own notion of this “VIENNA” sound, so that in the end, right or wrong… and probably wrong though… I didn’t go!
Why did the debut album from VIENNA originally never actually get finished / released?
Our first record company, RCA/BMG, was waiting for a really successful single before investing any money in an album. But we didn’t stay long enough with them. Maybe they didn’t bet on the right songs also. Very quickly deep disagreements arose between us and Maxime Schmidt.
We then shifted to Mute Sonet France, with more interesting producers and sound engineers, something humanely and musically much closer to our expectations, more stimulating also, but then again they still shared the same marketing approach. That’s why the ‘Lost Mute Album’ is merely a projection of what our first VIENNA album could have been.
Retrospectively, with hindsight, I think we should have given more concerts so as to defend the songs that we wished to use in an album.
Do you think your close relationship with DEPECHE MODE helped or hindered you?
Neither one nor the other I think, I mean «professionally».
I was very determined not to use my relationship with Martin to obtain benefits for VIENNA. That was really important to me. I didn’t feel like boasting or using this nice feeling so as to promote myself or my band and become more famous through it. For example, I never took any pictures of me with Martin… which I regret now, of course, so if anyone still has any of these, I would certainly be very happy to see them and of course have them! Rather hard to believe in the Facebook world! But on the other hand, it certainly helped me in my musical and personal development.
Martin encouraged me a lot to go on and keep working on my own music. With the greatest simplicity and humility, he introduced me to his own way of working, to different practices and approaches. I could just enter the studio while he was recording ‘Counterfeit’, his first solo album with Rico Coning, and stay with them, listen, learn…
And I’ve also learned a lot from the DM concerts, from backstage on the ‘101’ tour. Martin also introduced me to the Elvis world and to the country music which was totally unknown to me. Well, it’s quite a shame but I’ve grown up mostly listening to either French songwriters or classical music. I still had lots to learn. Then again, what better music lesson indeed than witnessing the birth of ‘Personal Jesus’ or ‘Enjoy the Silence’?
What did you do after VIENNA dissolved?
I’ve released one single with Mute Sonet France and wrote some of the songs that can now be found in the VIENNA Box. I made a demo with Bertrand Burgalat with a French cover of ‘A Letter To A Friend’, but we never released it. I took Church Organ lessons at the Conservatoire de Musique of Marseille. Big sound with no plugs and wires, rehearsing alone in a dark and gloomy empty church, (a childhood dream of mine!), and also an introduction to counterpoint, harmony, and a basic ways of writing music on paper.
I followed my Italian fashion photographer boyfriend, Antonio Capa, in Italy and worked with him as a collaborator, but never stopped writing some kind of easy piano sketches to be reused later on, like some kind of intimate musical note book .
After having converted my analogical home studio into a digital one, I wrote a lot of new songs, mostly with just piano, voice, and very light arrangements, giving more importance on the lyrics, with the idea of offering them to French singers who could be interested. I ended up with a very warm response from Michel Coeuriot, a quite famous French producer I had always been very found of, and who used to work with my favourites French songwriters. He was willing to work on the arrangements of my songs and offered me to start doing so immediately.
This was the beginning of a very exiting collaboration that finally decided me to try to stay in Paris, where I moved with Antonio. Unfortunately while working on the final demos, Antonio fell seriously ill, having a cancer, so I suspended the project to just care for him until he died, in Italy. Then I had to quickly find a new way of living and of supporting my own self, afford a place to stay, find a job, everything. Financially, it was no longer possible for me to go on with the music in Paris. I was in Italy then and I sure preferred to stay there.
Are you still doing music?
Now I live in Italy, by the sea, in this beautiful wild Liguria, were I met a huge diversity of amazing musicians. I am still doing music, of course: giving a hand to the mix for some concerts, playing the accordion with great amatory band, GLI ILLUSTRI CUGNI who play covers of Fabrizio De Andrè (a very famous and important Italian’s poetry songwriter I discovered while living here), giving local concerts singing French songs from the sixties with local fellow musicians in my little band ODILE ET SES COPAINS, giving piano lessons also.
Nothing professional, just a different, simpler and more humble approach of music, where I am still learning and discovering things with lot of fun and the freedom that success most of the time… I think… robs you.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Odile Arias
In a multitude of people’s eyes, being an artist on Mute Records IS still a big deal.
The label formed by Daniel Miller indelibly helped shape the future of electronic music, introducing many to acts from different polar opposites of that genre, from the dark experimental sounds of FAD GADGET and THROBBING GRISTLE to the chart-reaching heights of DEPECHE MODE, YAZOO, ERASURE, MOBY and GOLDFRAPP.
Currently carrying the flag and representing both the commercial and more esoteric side of Mute’s synthetic roster is MAPS, aka James Chapman. MAPS first gained attention by being nominated for the Mercury Music prize for the debut 2007 album ‘We Can Create’, a symbiotic mixture of electronica, shoegazing guitars/vocals and heavily reverbed textures which recalled everybody from MY BLOODY VALENTINE to THE BEACH BOYS.
The follow-up ‘Turning The Mind’ showcased a more electronic direction and in places a more danceable edge, yet still with Chapman’s distinctive atmospheric/ambient vocals on top.
Earlier in the year saw the release of the third MAPS long-player ‘Vicissitude’ which (if anything) has followed an even more electronic template. The current MAPS album features a selection of what appear to be highly personal songs, all of which are produced with rich, electronic textures and a strong melodic backbone. Standout tracks include the oblique ‘A.M.A.’, the uplifting/inspiring ‘You Will Find A Way’ and ‘Built To Last’, a song which will appeal to anybody who’s suffered a relationship-inflicted kick in the teeth!
The album is not afraid to let its instrumental synthesizer sections shine and the Spotify version features a couple of self-remixed versions of both ‘A.M.A.’ and ‘I Heard Them Say’ which take the original versions on extended electronic journeys which are arguably even stronger than their aforementioned counterparts.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK caught up with the man behind MAPS, James Chapman and quizzed him on what had help shape his sound, his relationship with Mute Records and how it felt to remix DEPECHE MODE.
‘Vicissitude’ had a fairly long gestation period, what was your overall concept and reasoning for making the album?
The concept kind of developed as I started writing the songs, there were recurring themes to the lyrics and feel of the music which then became the overall theme of the album.
I went through a tough time personally before I started this album, so I think that came through in the songs I was writing.
Although you use primarily electronics in your music, there’s been a gradual shift in the sounds that you use. ‘Vicissitude’ has a far more analogue sound than ‘We Can Create’, which is more organic, (literally as it does have a lot of organ sounds on it!) Is there a particular reason for that?
That’s funny that you picked up on the organ sounds on ‘We Can Create’! That is true. Mainly due to the fact that I really only used one sequencer back then, so a lot of the sounds I used tended to be the same ones.
To answer your question, I feel it has a lot to do with the equipment you are using which gives a record the overall sound. For ‘Vicissitude’, I wanted to create a more open spacious sounding album (‘Turning The Mind’ was quite claustrophobic). So once you decide what you want to achieve, it’s really just about using the correct equipment to try and realise that vision.
A lot of your music sounds as if it’s very cathartic? How do you come up with your lyrical themes?
Yes it is a cathartic process for me. When writing, I normally start with the music, and snatches of lyrics will come into my head when working on that. I’m quite obsessive when working on the music, so after hearing a song for about 50 times, the lyrics are pretty much written in my head! For this album I had a lot to draw on from some personal experiences, but I tried to keep the lyrics more open to interpretation so more people could relate to them.
One of the standout tracks on ‘Vicissitude’ is ‘A.M.A.’, especially the version for Spotify where you remixed yourself, the extended ending is wonderful… do you have a preference between the two versions?
Thanks, I’m glad you like it. I like both versions actually. A few people have asked me whether it’s hard to remix your own material, but I actually just approached those remixes the same way. It was fun to try something different with my own song – I enjoy doing remixes because it feels like there is more freedom to experiment and play around a bit more.
Your first album ‘We Can Create’ had the honour of a Mercury Music Prize nomination, was that a blessing or a curse?
It was a blessing because it meant that my music reached far more people than I could have ever imagined possible. I wouldn’t say it was a curse at all. I guess it was hard not to feel some pressure with what I followed up with, but I really just try to make the music I enjoy making and hope that people connect with it. I think if you start to measure the success of the music by what other people think of it, then you’re in trouble.
What sort of a relationship do you have with Mute records in terms of their influence on the music that you produce?
It’s been different with each album, but they’ve always been great with letting me do what I want to do. With this album they really just told me to go away and make the album I wanted to make, which I thought was a wonderful thing for any record label to say.
Mute will always be associated with electronic acts that achieved commercial success such as YAZOO, GOLDFRAPP, ERASURE and DEPECHE MODE but it’s also always been a home to electronic artists who have tended to be more leftfield and experimental – which camp would you put your sound into?
I’d like to think that my music could be split into both those camps but I really don’t know. I do like to experiment with the sounds I make and that’s always when I’m happiest in the studio. But I also realise that it’s important to make music that has a melodic quality to it, so I do keep that in mind when writing the songs. This album was much more about the songwriting aspect, but I still wanted to push MAPS forward sonically as well.
Who would you say were your main musical influences?
It’s always changing. And it’s been different for each album. For ‘We Can Create’, I was listening to a lot of American guitar bands and IDM electronica and for ‘Turning The Mind’, I was listening to harder minimal techno type stuff. For this album, I got heavily into more experimental electronica and weird movie soundtracks! But overall there’s always THE BEACH BOYS, THE BYRDS and BOB DYLAN who I return to.
Like the early days of Mute, even now there’s a proliferation of synth duos around, yet very few artists that are completely self-contained – does being a one man band have both its benefits and limitations?
It has a great deal of benefits, mainly because of the freedom in creativity. You can go a bit crazy sometimes when you’ve listened to the same track for days and you start to lose objectivity. But I’m used to the process now so I wouldn’t change it for the world. The limitations come when performing live – it’s always been tricky to figure out a way to get it to work because I never wanted to play live just on my own. It’s nice to have the camaraderie of other people when playing live.
The production on your records is pretty unique sounding. I teach music technology and I always warn students to be sparing with their use of reverb, yet you seem to have a completely different approach to that…
Haha! That’s interesting. Well I should say that I never learnt the rules of recording properly, I taught myself all that stuff as I went a long. I think my production has definitely improved over the years and I have certain tricks that I’ve picked up along the way. I think it’s true that too many different reverbs can make things messy. It’s good to just use one global reverb as a starting point to gel the mix together, otherwise it starts to get complicated!
What sort of equipment do you use in the studio and how do you go about your songwriting?
From the very beginning my favourite bit of equipment was the Yamaha RM1x – I used to compose whole albums on that! Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to collect other bits of equipment. My current favourite is the Access Virus TI Polar. It is insane! I do really believe that it’s more about choosing one bit of equipment you enjoy using and getting to know it inside out.
Having too much choice can be a negative thing. The limitations lead to being creative I think. So with the songwriting, I like to keep it simple and stick to mainly writing on the same synth.
How did it feel to be asked to remix DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Should Be Higher’ and did you approach this one any differently to other remixes you’ve done?
It was a really honour to be asked. I did spend a lot of time on it, but I do with all my remixes. I don’t think I approached it that differently, but I wanted to stay respectful to the song, so I didn’t mess around with the structure too much. I’m happy that they liked what I did.
What do you see as the future of MAPS?
I’m going to take a bit of time to experiment and try some new projects. I’m not sure exactly what the future holds for MAPS just yet, but I’m going to branch out and explore some different territory. I’m excited to see what happens!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to James Chapman
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film and uninterrupted Pasadena Rose Bowl concert highlights are available as a 2DVD package via Mute Records. The ‘101’ 2CD live album is still available
is a true grower of an album in which the obvious passion and vulnerability of the kooky Essex songstress can only attract empathy with Polly World. With a busy 2014 ahead of her, Polly Scattergood took time out to chat about her career so far…
which (if anything) has followed an even more electronic template. The current MAPS album features a selection of what appear to be highly personal songs, all of which are produced with rich, electronic textures and a strong melodic backbone. Standout tracks include the oblique ‘A.M.A.’, the uplifting/inspiring ‘You Will Find A Way’ and ‘Built To Last’, a song which will appeal to anybody who’s suffered a relationship-inflicted kick in the teeth!
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