Coming over like the love child of Richard Butler and Neil Tennant, KNIGHT$ is making waves with his self-confessed brand of sparkly Britalo!
Formally of London duo SCARLET SOHO who were capable of a good tune or two as proven by ‘Gigolo’ and ‘Two Steps From Heartache’, James Knights has a new electropop anthem in ‘Alligator’ co-produced by Martin Dubka. With its unashamedly glitterball disco drive, KNIGHT$ plays on his crowd pleasing nature like KID KASIO collaborating with LES RYTHMES DIGITALES.
The B-side ‘Playin’ It Cool’ doesn’t stray too far from the formula, but is evidence why he was chosen for a parallel role as the lead singer in the current live incarnation of veteran German electropopsters BOYTRONIC.
Shiny danceable pop might be what KNIGHT$ is all about, but he knows and understands his synthpop history, as exemplified by the covers that have featured in his live set. ‘Uncivilized’ was originally recorded by Canadian darkwave trailblazers PSYCHE, while at the other end of the spectrum is PET SHOP BOYS‘ fourth UK No1 single ‘Heart’.
These influences were all successfully mutated together for the impressive debut EP ‘What’s Your Poison?’ which came out in 2016. From it, ‘What We Leave Behind’ took up the mantle of Giorgio Moroder, while the playful neo-instrumental ‘Miami Knight$’ fitted right in with the current vogue for sun kissed synthwave. Then there was the loose electro-funk of the title song while borrowing from NEW ORDER’s ‘Subculture’, ‘So Cold’ more than affirmed KNIGHT$’ Britalo aspirations.
It is often very easy for a promising artist to make a good first impression only to lose it by the release of the first album, but KNIGHT$ still has the poptastic IAMX of ‘Cards On The Table’ up his sleeve. With a recent slot opening for HEAVEN 17 and an upcoming tour supporting Peter Heppner of cult German act WOLFSHEIM in November, things are certainly heading on the right trajectory for KNIGHT$.
‘Alligator’ featuring remixes from ITALOCONNECTION and SUPER HEXAGON is released on 13th October 2017 by Mirrorman / SpecchioUomo via the usual digital outlets
James Murphy has never been afraid to wear his influences on his sleeve. In the past, TALKING HEADS, JOY DIVISION, KRAFTWERK and DAFT PUNK have been mined for LCD SOUNDSYSTEM.
Seven years after the acclaimed album ‘This Is Happening’ which featured the wonderful ERASURE meets ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN electronic pop of ‘I Can Change’, the Brooklyn new romantic with an industrial edge continues his magpie ways with a new long player ‘American Dream’.
The title song previewed earlier this year is possibly a musical statement reflecting on the political situation in the US. But Murphy also glances across the Atlantic and back to the Winter Of Discontent and this widescreen 3/4 synth laden tune that has more than a passing resemblance to THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Circus Of Death’.
So did ‘The Clown’ referred to in that song remind Murphy of someone in particular? Older viewers will be half expecting London Weekend Television’s Peter Lewis to quip in with his “In just a few moments, we’re off to Hawaii to join Steve McGarrett and the team for tonight’s adventure…” introduction.
After a long gestation period and questions as to whether LCD SOUNDSYSTEM were actually out of hiatus, the fourth studio album is finally out with Murphy’s desire for the it to be available on vinyl on the same day as the digital format being one of the reasons stated for this delay. He said: “I insist that there is vinyl on the day it’s released (because… well… because I’m an old person)”
It’s this aged anxiety and a fraught midlife headspace that colours this whole album; “I promise you this; you’re getting older” he exclaims on ‘Tonite’ over a squiggly bassline laden tune that mixes NEW ORDER with John Grant, before adding ”You’ve lost your internet and we’ve lost our memory”. But it all begins with ‘Oh Baby’, a dreamy blip and buzz fest to an obscure offbeat and pretty synth shades, with echoes of Ian McCulloch in Murphy’s vocal phrasing before the album’s first highlight.
‘Other Voices’ borrows heavily from TALKING HEADS ‘Remain In Light’ opus as Murphy acts like a preacher chanting “You’re still like a baby” over some hypnotic rhythmic backing modulating around a single chord. With some brilliant infinite guitar soloing along for the ride, Nancy Whang counterpoints with an assured rap to finish this superb slice of cerebral art funk. Meanwhile ‘Change Yr Mind’ has as much talk as it does head although at a much steadier pace, with some choppy guitar as well as the spectre of Eno’s ‘No-One Receiving’ looming.
Taking things in a more post-punk direction, ‘I Used To’ is in the vein of THE CURE with the scratchy minimal guitar and resonant bass cocoon penetrated by lashings of icy synth. This mood continues via the 9 minute Gothic gloom of ‘How Do You Sleep?’; shaped by a brooding percussive mantra and aggressive synth wobbles, it explodes with a live drum track as the claustrophobic grandeur of PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED makes its presence felt with Murphy shouting to a newly crowned foe: “I remember when we were friends, I remember calling you friend…”
‘Call The Police’ also looks towards post-punk and although more guitar oriented, comes over like the lost NEW ORDER single ‘Procession’ gone Motorik. The frantic ‘Emotional Haircut’ is the most live of the all tracks, with full band thrash out JOY DIVISION style, complimented by some impressive drumming by Pat Mahoney.
Concluding with the very long and grief ridden ‘Black Screen’, it is almost like OMD with its detuned abstract melodies and mournful harmonic air of Eno. Murphy’s musical farewell to Bowie, he turned down the production role for ‘Blackstar’ and his sadness is expressed with a forlorn declaration that “I had fear in the room, so I stopped turning up but I should have tried more” – it beautifully progresses into a treated piano section reminiscent of appropriately ‘Lebwohl’ by NEU! to end on a solemn note.
Like OMD’s ‘The Punishment Of Luxury’, ‘American Dream’ is LCD SOUNDSYSTEM’s most electronic album yet. It will surprise some and disappoint others, but after the mixed promises of ‘Sound Of Silver’ and ‘This Is Happening’, James Murphy and his ensemble have finally delivered on that ‘synth heavy’ album that many have been longing for.
‘American Dream’ is released by Columbia Records / Sony Music in vinyl, CD and digital formats
LCD SOUNDSYSTEM UK 2017 live dates include:
Manchester Warehouse Project (16th-17th September), Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom (19th-20th September), London Alexandra Palace (22nd-23rd September)
Jori Hulkkonen is one of Europe’s most highly regarded electronic producers, yet remains something of a hidden secret.
While a fan of synthesized music such as PET SHOP BOYS, NEW ORDER and John Foxx, Hulkkonen’s love of Detroit techno and house music has brought a rhythmical edge to his many productions and remixes. Hulkkonen released his first album ‘Selkäsaari Tracks’ in 1996, but he first came to the world’s wider attention as ZYNTHERIUS with TIGA on their 2001 electro cover of ‘Sunglasses At Night’.
As well as solo long players such as 2010’s acclaimed ‘Man From Earth’ and collaborative projects like KEBACID, STOP MODERNISTS, PROCESSORY, SIN COS TAN and THE TANIA & JORI CONTINENTS, he has DJ-ed around the world, presented his own radio shows and remixed artists as diverse as Robyn, Kid Cudi and Joe Jackson.
Born in the small town of Kemi, he had The Cold War, the Inari missile-incident and the Tschernobyl disaster right next door, but Hulkkonen found his aesthetics for escapism from the ever-so-imminent nuclear war in electronic music.
Based in Turku on the southwest coast of Finland, Hulkkonen recently downsized the amount of hardware in his AlppIVhouz Studios, although he still retains a Korg PS3100, Emulator II, Roland Jupiter 4, Roland SH101, Roland TR808, Roland TB303, Siel Orchestra and the ubiquitous Eurorack Modular system.
Always up for the odd spot of artistic mischief, he assembled THE ACID SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, an experimental avant-garde techno ensemble of nine fellow conspirators each controlling a Roland TB-303, conducted and mixed by Hulkkonen; the collective famously supported KRAFTWERK on their Helsinki date in 2009.
More recently, Hulkkonen has teamed up with fellow Finn Jimi Tenor for a touring presentation of their silent art movie ‘Nuntius’. Starring Mr Normall as its central alien character, it features a live improvised soundtrack ranging from blippy ambient to frantic motorik; none of the music is to be released. So with each performance being unique, ‘Nuntius’ provides a cerebral audio / visual experience for who are able to witness it.
With such a varied catalogue of work and projects, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK looks back at the career of Jori Hulkkonen in the shape of this eighteen track Beginner’s Guide, arranged in chronological order and with a restriction of one track per album / project…
TIGA & ZYNTHERIUS Sunglasses At Night (2001)
This Corey Hart cover was adopted by the Electroclash movement and came about when Hulkkonen was in Montreal promoting his ‘Helsinki Mix Sessions’ CD released on TIGA’s Turbo label. “The synthline just felt very cool to use with the 808 beat” he said, “I’m glad I used a pseudonym for that release as even though I loved a lot of the music that was around and connected with Electroclash, the whole scene felt a bit distant to me.”
Available on the TIGA & ZYNTHERIUS single ‘Sunglasses At Night’ via City Rockers / International Deejay Gigolo Records
JORI HULKKONEN featuring JOHN FOXX Dislocated (2005)
“’Metamatic’ is one of my all-time favourite albums” said Hulkkonen, “and for me it was a fantastic opportunity to get a chance to work with one of the people who had shaped my musical world. ‘Dislocated’ was written by me, with John and the sound of ‘Metamatic’ in mind”. It sounded like what the title suggested and the pair worked together again in more collaborative manner in 2008 on ‘Never Been Here Before’; it wouldn’t be for the final time either…
Available on the JORI HULKKONEN album ‘Dualizm’ via F Recordings
Work had actually begun on a TIGA & ZYNTHERIUS album, but the pair both felt that keeping the project as a one hit wonder was a much cooler alternative. However, several songs from those recording sessions ended up on their various solo albums, with ‘Dying In Beauty’ appearing on Hulkkonen’s ‘Dualizm’, while ‘High School’ with its hypnotic synth sequence and latent machine groove found a home on Tiga’s debut long player ‘Sexor’.
JORI HULKKONEN featuring JUSTINE ELECTRA Errare Machinale Est (2008)
2008 could be considered Hulkkonen’s Down Under phase and for the title track of his sixth solo record, he recruited Electra, a Melbourne-based singer / songwriter / musician / DJ to add her wispy nonchalant voice to this expansive mood piece with an extended ambient intro. The track utilised grainy Emulator II strings in an aesthetic that was to become one of his trademarks. The album also featured a tune fittingly titled ‘Forgive Me Father For I Have Synth’.
THE PRESETS This Boy’s In Love – Jori Hulkkonen Remix (2008)
Australian duo Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes made their international breakthrough with ‘This Boy’s In Love’, an uptempo ASSOCIATES flavoured highlight from their second album ‘Apocalypso’. Hulkkonen stretched out the track out for almost ten minutes in a beat laden squelch fest and described it as: “a 10 out of 10 remix on my standards. It’s difficult to say why but somehow everything just clicked when I was making it and it still sounds fresh”.
Co-written with one-time KILLING JOKE bassist Martin Glover aka Youth, Hulkkonen’s remix adopted a deep framework and applied a pulsing club friendly vibe to the dark cool of Client A and Client B’s Cold War Chic, while “dancing on a ticking bomb”. Growing up in Finland during that era with The Bear next door looming would have had a profound effect on Hulkkonen in shaping his soundscapes.
Available on the CLIENT album ‘Command’ via Out Of Line
Like its predecessor, TIGA’s ‘Ciao’ was mostly co-produced by Belgian brothers SOULWAX, although James Murphy of LCD SOUNDSYSTEM gave a helping hand on another track originally intended for TIGA & ZYNTHERIUS. Hedonistic and sweaty like a clubby Marc Almond, Tiga however could never quite escape the DJ tag to establish himself a fully-fledged artist in his own right. Indeed, he once congratulated LADYTRON “for escaping Electroclash”.
JOHN FOXX & LOUIS GORDON Neuro Video – Jori Hulkkonen Remix (2010)
‘Neuro Video’ came out of Foxx and Gordon’s ‘From Trash’ recording sessions and reflected Foxx’s known love of old science-fiction B-Movies which had influenced much of earlier solo work. For his remix, Hulkkonen stripped the track down and made it less percussively frantic, procuring a spacious groove for the bubbling electronics to work within. This remix and another of ‘Impossible’ were originally made available as a free download via Foxx’s Metamatic web platform.
Available on the JOHN FOXX & LOUIS GORDON album ‘Sideways’ via Metamatic Records
Hailing from East Helsinki, Juho Paalosmaa and Tomi Hyyppä’s superb debut album ‘Origin’ was co-produced by Hulkkonen. He said at the time: “The guys had written a lot of songs in the previous couple of years, so someone outside their songwriting duo having a fresh pair of ears was crucial in picking a group of songs that would make a good album… They have a lot going on for them though; great songwriting, a very good debut album to build on and definitely not least, Juho’s magical voice”.
Available on the VILLA NAH album ‘Origin’ via Keys Of Life
“We were both going through on a very deep phase with THE SMITHS” said Hulkkonen of ‘Lo-Fiction’, his first collaboration with reclusive vocalist Jerry Valuri in 2005. With their ambitious joint project PROCESSORY, the aim was “to create its own little universe” with various space travel themed concepts. With a lo-fi anguished gothique, ‘Take Me To Your Leader’ concocted some very introspective moods at The Finland Station… however, nothing has been proved.
Available on the PROCESSORY album ‘Change Is Gradual’ via Sugarcane Recordings
A cover of the lost NEW ORDER single from 1985, Hulkkonen remembered: “The idea was to take what me and STOP MODERNISTS partner Alex Nieminen felt was an underrated song, make a late 80s deep house interpretation and bring some extra twist with having Chris on the vocals. It’s very hard – impossible, actually – to explain how important this record is to me. PET SHOP BOYS have been the most important musical influence for me”.
Available on the STOP MODERNISTS single ‘Subculture’ via Keys Of Life
When VILLA NAH went on hiatus, Hulkkonen and Paalosmaa formed SIN COS TAN. Explaining the difference, Paalosmaa said: ”With VILLA NAH, I’ve been solely responsible for the songwriting, so I knew that would be different with SIN COS TAN. With Jori, we both bring our ideas to the table”. Very nocturnal in tone, ‘Trust’ was a superb 21st Century answer to ‘Enjoy The Silence’, described by Hulkkonen as “Disco You Can Cry To”. Indeed, like that iconic tune, ‘Trust’ had been written as a ballad.
Available on the SIN COS TAN album ‘Sin Cos Tan’ via Solina Records
BILLY MACKENZIE Boltimoore – Original JiiHoo Bootmix (2012)
The magnificent voice of Billy Mackenzie from his stark cover of Randy Newman’s ‘Baltimore’ was flown into a hypnotic tech house bootleg constructed by Hulkkonen. With deliberate incorrect spelling of our hero’s name to mask its illegal nature, it was a haunting ghostly return from the heavens to the dancefloor. Mackenzie would have loved it and had he been alive today, he would have almost certainly been working with Hulkkonen; what magic that would have been…
Available on the 12” vinyl release ‘Boltimoore’ via Kojak Giant Sounds
Despite their collaborations, Foxx and Hulkkonen had never worked together on a body of work with a conceptual theme, but the opportunity came with the ‘European Splendour’ EP. Using the grainier downtempo template of PROCESSORY, ‘Evangeline’ was full of depth. Coupled with an anthemic chorus and vibrant exchange of character throughout, this rousing yet soothingly futuristic number was quite otherworldly.
Available on the JOHN FOXX & JORI HULKKONEN EP ‘European Splendour’ via Sugarcane Recordings
SIN COS TAN featuring CASEY SPOONER Avant Garde (2013)
Hulkkonen first found fame during the Electroclash era and a noted personality from that scene made an appearance on the second SIN COS TAN album ‘Afterlife’. ‘Avant Garde’ featured Casey Spooner who provided a suitably cynical snarl to contrast Paalosmaa’s lost boy cry on a track that sounded like THE CURE being produced by PET SHOP BOYS. Paalosmaa was particularly thrilled, saying “I’ve been a big FISCHERSPOONER fan since their debut in 2001, so it was a very cool honour”.
Available on the SIN COS TAN album ‘Afterlife’ via Solina Records
A brilliant slice of uptempo electronic pop with more than just a hint of Giorgio Moroder and NEW ORDER, ‘Italian Love Affair’ was Italo Disco laced with a soaring vocal and a fabulous neon lit groove. Despite having shied away from singing throughout the majority of his career, Hulkkonen took on vocals himself on this highlight from his ninth solo album, with the end result sounding not unlike a cross between Jerry Valuri and Juho Paalosmaa.
Available on the JORI HULKKONEN album ‘Oh But I Am’ via My Favorite Robot Records
FEELS If You’d Meet Me Tonight – Jori Hulkkonen Remix (2016)
FEELS are a Helsinki based indietronica band comprising of Sofi Meronen, Mikael Myrskog and Jooel Jons; when Hulkkonen saw them band play live in Turku, he became a fan and asked if he could work on their material. Speeded up considerably and pracatically changing the entire character of the song, his remix of ‘If You’d Meet Me Tonight’ was highly danceable, but still retained the trio’s glorious Nordic melancholy for some more of that “Disco You Can Cry To”.
VILLA NAH unexpectedly returned after six years and Hulkkonen was there to assist again as co-producer. Of the magnificent track with which they returned, Paalosmaa said: “‘Stranger’ is a play on words; how somebody you’ve known can turn stranger over the span of time… and end up as a complete stranger in the process”. This was classic crystalline synthpop with a modern twist at its best, in a fine juxtaposition of swirling arpeggios and melodic tension.
Available on the VILLA NAH album ‘Ultima’ via Solina Records
Hulkkonen has released several EPs and singles over the last couple of years in the build-up to a new long player, while a new single ‘Don’t Believe In Happiness’ is set to be unleashed. A cinematic synth wave instrumental with a dripping percussive template, ‘Tintån Terdel’ signals a possible future in film work. It’s an avenue already being explored by himself and Jimi Tenor in a live context via the unique presentations of their silent Sci-Fi movie ‘Nuntius’.
While acts like THE ART OF NOISE and DEPECHE MODE pioneered the use of sampling found sounds to use as new virtual instrumentation, eventual improvements in the technology meant whole recognisable phrases could be cut, manipulated and looped to create new compositions and arrangements.
For those on a budget, some of the samples would have been replayed as a way of saving money and not having to pay mechanical royalties to the original artist.
Previously incongruous genre blends were now more straightforward for producers and DJs as easy listening and AOR would end up sitting on top of house tracks while significantly, a number of acts who made their name during Synth Britannia would feature in R’n’B and hip-hop.
So ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has put aside some of its snobbery to seek out 25 of the most inventive, and some would say, sacrilegious uses of classic synth samples in popular music. However in a wider context, this diverse selection of tracks acts as a popular culture record of Synth Britannia’s influence in particular, especially when the Musicians Union attempted to ban the synthesizer from studio work and live performance in 1982.
Presented in chronological and then alphabetical order with a limit of one track per artist moniker, here are the names that have gone on the list…
NEW ORDER Blue Monday (1983)
Once you delve into the background behind NEW ORDER’s ‘Blue Monday’, you will see that it is a real Frankenstein’s monster of a track including a sample of the neo-robotic Vako Orchestron choir sound from ‘Uranium’ by KRAFTWERK. And although not sampled, ‘Blue Monday’ took direct influence from a variety of sources including Ennio Morricone, Sylvester, Donna Summer and Klein + MBO.
Available on the NEW ORDER album ‘Singles’ via WEA Records
Mirroring the way in which KRAFTWERK had entered the urban community’s consciousness via Electro and Breakdancing, Thomas Dolby helped write and produced the single ‘Magic’s Wand’ for the Brooklyn hip-hop duo WHODINI. Centering around a superb synth riff and vocodered vocals, the track stood out from some of its contemporaries due its electronic production and TMDR himself ended up reworking elements of the song for himself on his own track ‘Puppet Theatre’.
Available on the THOMAS DOLBY album ‘The Flat Earth’ via EMI Music
One of ERASURE’s best known songs, ‘Blue Savannah’ had originally been inspired by Roy Orbison and for its single release, Mute Records commissioned a plethora of remixes. ‘Der Deutsche Mix I’ by Gareth Jones and leftfield house trio FISCHERMAN’S FRIEND took the novel step of using KRAFTWERK samples from ‘Computer World’ and ’Tour De France’ but in a more obvious fashion, as opposed to a few blips as THE KLF had done on ‘What Time Is Love?’.
Available on the ERASURE boxed set ‘3’ via Mute Records
BOMB THE BASS mainman Tim Simenon loved the Synth Britannia era, later working with John Foxx and DEPECHE MODE. ‘Winter In July’ featured a sample of the atmospheric Roland System 700 synth FX used in the intro to ‘Ghosts’ by JAPAN, while the rhythmic backbone of the track also owed a lot to the drum pattern from ‘Visions of China’. The song caught the eye of Sarah Brightman, who did her own cover for the ‘La Luna’ album in 2000.
U.S.U.R.A.’s ‘Open Your Mind’ centred around the opening polysynth part of SIMPLE MINDS ‘New Gold Dream (81 – 82 – 83 – 84)’ and took its title from a dialogue sample from the Kuato character played by actor Marshall Bell in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film ‘Total Recall’. The Italian dance trio responsible for the frantic club track also used a short female “oh” voice sample from Ashford & Simpson’s ‘Solid’ in this fast and furious techno romp as well.
Available on the USURA single ‘Open Your Mind’ via Deconstruction Records
UTAH SAINTS were serial samplers with Annie Lennox and Kate Bush being the dominant voices on their first two singles. ‘Believe In Me’ used significant chunks from THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Love Action’ as well as Sylvester’s ‘Do You Wanna Funk?’ and CROWN HEIGHTS AFFAIR’s ‘You Gave Me Love’. Central to the track was Phil Oakey’s mid-song chant which helped propel this immensely catchy club stomper to number 8 in the UK charts in 1993.
Available on the UTAH SAINTS album ‘Utah Saints’ via FFRR Records
Pivotal in pioneering the Big Beat genre, THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS looped a short section from the vocodered intro to KRAFTWERK’s ‘Ohm Sweet Ohm’ track for ‘Leave Home’. Aside from the beginning of the piece, the sample doesn’t appear elsewhere and the track relies more on the “Brothers gonna work it out” vocal by American singer / songwriter Willie Hutch and a live bass part played by John ‘Segs’ Jennings of the punk band THE RUTS.
Available on THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS album ‘Exit Planet Dust’ via Virgin Records
This big beat duo of Paul Daley and Neil Barnes were said to have been one of the loudest live acts ever. At Brixton Academy in 1996, the sound system caused dust and plaster to fall from the roof. For ‘The Beach’ soundtrack, LEFTFIELD contributed a thumping instrumental track for the beginning of the film. However, on closer scrutiny, the basis of ‘Snakeblood’ appeared to be the melody line from OMD’s ‘Almost’! When challenged, the duo fessed up amicably.
Available on the LEFTFIELD album ‘A Final Hit’ via Sony Music
Using a repetitive scratched one bar loop from Gary Numan’s ‘Cars’, ‘Koochy’ was one of several tracks around this period which sought influence from the synth icon. Also featuring a robotic KRAFTWERK-inspired vocal and 808 cowbells, the track went Top 5 in UK national charts, despite it frankly being a bit of a mess and unfufilled in its potential. It helped prompt the steady rebirth of the former Gary Webb.
Available on the ARMAND VAN HELDEN album ‘Killing Puritans’ via Southern Fried Records
Along with ‘Koochy’, ‘Where’s Your Head At?’ certainly did no harm in helping to rehabilitate the faltering career of Gary Numan; using the sped up central Minimoog bass riff of ‘M.E.’, the song also cleverly incorporated elements of ‘This Wreckage’ too. With a brilliant video to match, the song showed that it was possible to create a synth-oriented dance track that wasn’t cheesy and almost had a punk aesthetic to it.
Available on the BASEMENT JAXX album ‘Rooty’ via XL Records
FELIX DA HOUSECAT featuring MELISTAR Harlot (2001)
Blatantly sampling the rhythmic elements of THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘The Sound Of The Crowd’ without acknowledgement, nonchalant vocalist Melistar joined Felix Stallings Junior to ironically wax lyrical about the joys of using feminine charms to get by in life! With some great analogue riffage on this bridge linking past, present and future with an icy detachment, Stallings was very forward thinking and knew she was a feline… the European female’s here!
YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA’s hit cover of ‘Firecracker’ forms a significant element of this single by the actress / singer /dancer /model from The Block. Interestingly Mariah Carey made an enquiry to use the sample first for her song ‘Loverboy’, but as a result of involvement from her ex-husband and Sony label boss Tommy Mottola, the riff ended up with Lopez instead, prompting a war of words between the two parties.
Available on the JENNIFER LOPEZ album ‘J.Lo’ via Sony Music
‘Shoot the Dog’ was the late Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou’s protest song directed at the so-called special relationship between George W Bush and Tony Blair. Appearing a few years before PET SHOP BOYS’ ‘I’m With Stupid’, the more veiled ‘Shoot The Dog’ used the middle eight section of ‘Love Action’ by THE HUMAN LEAGUE including Phil Oakey’s vocal, while also borrowing from ABC’s ‘Be Near Me’ and his own ‘Fast Love’
Available on the GEORGE MICHAEL album ‘Twenty Five’ via Sony Music
GIRLS ON TOP mash-up merchant and producer Richard X dropped Adina Howard’s R’n’B number over ‘Are Friends Electric?’ by TUBEWAY ARMY as a bootleg. A crossover hit was waiting to be unleashed but Howard refused permission for her vocal to be used; enter SUGABABES, modern pop’s equivalent of ‘Charlie’s Angels’. This Diabolus In Musica urban hybrid helped bring Gary Numan to a curious new young audience.
Belgian domiciled Italian DJ Vito Lucente dabbled in house and Eurodisco. But his best known recording borrowed from the HI-NRG scene in New York, sampling ‘I’m So Hot For You’ by Bobby O that had borrowed its riff from THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Don’t You Want Me’, which itself was inspired by ABBA’s ‘Eagle’. In amongst all this, he somehow persuaded THE CURE’s mainman to contribute some of his afflicted gothique to proceedings.
Available on the JUNIOR JACK album ‘Trust It’ via Defected Records
No stranger to delving into the mine of THE HUMAN LEAGUE, Richard X started his career in the underground club scene creating mash-ups. ‘Finest Dreams’ with KELIS was a reworking of ‘The Finest’ written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis which was made famous by THE SOS BAND. Using a similar trick to ‘Freak Like Me’, the musical structure was based around ‘The Things That Dreams Are Made Of’ and became a Top 10 hit in the UK.
SOUL MEKANIK are the duo of Kelvin Andrews and Danny Spencer. Probably best known for co-writing Robbie Williams’ ‘Rock DJ’, the pair took most of the instrumental elements of ‘Visions of China’ by JAPAN and used it as a soundbed for a new female vocal and some added portamento synths. Surprisingly successful in its conception, it was a shame this effectively well-worked track didn’t reach a wider audience.
Available on the SOUL MEKANIK album ‘Eighty One’ via Rip Records
Using a sample from SOFT CELL’s iconic cover of the Northern Soul favourite by Gloria Jones, ‘S.O.S.’ co-writer JR Rotem said “I heard ‘Tainted Love’ and wanted to take the bass line and update it with a new swing”. Utilising pitch shifted vocals worked with compression software to increase the tonal spectrum, ‘S.O.S’ was effectively a musical cry for help that was to become the Barbadian singer’s first big hit. Swathed in synth riffs and machine beats, she was to use a similar template for ‘Umbrella’.
As if in a tit-for tat response to Jennifer Lopez’s YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA-sampling ‘I’m Real’, THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS’ Nicole Scherzinger’s ‘Steam’ sampled the central riff from KRAFTWERK’s ‘Numbers’. Sounding rather out of place, after the first four singles from the planned ‘Her Name Is Nicole’ album flopped, Scherzinger shelved the project and the track did not actually see the light of day.
HILARY DUFF featuring THE PROPHET Reach Out (2008)
There was a period when DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Personal Jesus’ was either being covered by artists as diverse as Johnny Cash and Marilyn Manson or sampled for pop tunes by R’n’B starlets like Jamelia. Built around the voice samples, synth fuzzes and guitar riff from the original track, ‘Reach Out’ saw the one-time ‘Lizzie McGuire’ star attempt to sex up her previously goody two shoes image with an innuendo-laden Schaffel romp that included an obligatory rap as well!
Available on the HILARY DUFF album ‘Best Of’ via Hollywood Records
GZA featuring RZA & IRFANE KHAN-ACITO Life Is A Movie (2008)
Track number four in this listing that features a Gary Numan sample. This time WU-TANG CLAN member GZA takes elements from ‘Films’ off ‘The Pleasure Principle’ album and reworks it into a dark hip-hop track which recalled the vintage breakbeat of Da Clan. And it works largely thanks to the late Ced Sharpley’s live but solid drum breaks from the original, while Numan also makes a cameo appearance.
Available on the GZA/GENIUS album ‘Pro Tools’ via Babygrande
Former DEPECHE MODE member Alan Wilder occasionally relied on esoteric samples for his RECOIL project and on ‘Allelujah’, he paid homage to TANGERINE DREAM by using the hypnotic Moog sequencer pattern and electric piano part from ‘Rubycon’ for the second half of the nine minute track. Originally appearing on the ‘subHuman’ album, ‘Allelujah’ also featured as the B-side to the CD single release of ‘Prey’.
Available on the RECOIL album ‘subHuman’ via Mute Records
With the live reunion of Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke, there was a brief period in the late-noughties when the template for a modern girl group was to utilise a YAZOO inspired backing track. RED BLOODED WOMEN took that literally with a little help from cult electronic trio TRADEMARK on this interpolation of ‘Don’t Go’. The feisty trio lterally sounded literally like GIRLS ALOUD produced by Daniel Miller!
Available on the RED BLOODED WOMEN promo CD EP ‘4 Track Sampler’, never officially released
Jake Williams was REX THE DOG and made his name with some superb remixes for artists such as Robyn, THE KNIFE, CLIENT, SOULWAX, RÖYKSOPP, DEPECHE MODE and THE PRODIGY. Released during the year of the YAZOO reunion, ‘Bubblicious’ saw him recycling a whole chunk of ‘Midnight’ from their debut album ‘Upstairs At Eric’s’ and taking what was originally a sensitive synthetic torch song and turning it an uptempo banger.
At a time when the YAZOO songbook was being ripped left, right and centre, one pop act that became particularly joined at the hip with Vince Clarke were THE SATURDAYS. As well as lifting the synth riff off ‘Situation’ for their first single ‘If This Is Love’, Clarke remixed their third single ‘Issues’. And to cap it all, ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ was covered for Comic Relief as their fourth single release in 2009!
‘Mauerstadt’ literally translated from German means “wall city” and it’s the title of the new album from renowned Berlin based remixer Mark Reeder.
Its release date set is on the day that the French Revolutionaries broke down the walls of the Bastille, so Reeder says the album title is significant “because my album’s title / theme is about breaking down the walls in your head and confronting the idea that building a wall to keep your enemies out or your own people in, is starting to become fashionable again and how it really isn’t such a good idea”. Reeder adds “It’s not a concept album though, it’s basically an album full of tragic love songs”, but he readily admits “ok, it’s basically ‘Collaborator’ part 2” 🙂
‘Collaborator’ was Reeder’s previous compendium of remixes and of course, musical collaborations released on Factory Benelux in 2014. Featuring highly on the album with a number of vocals was his long standing friend Bernard Sumner on tracks by BAD LIEUTENANT, WESTBAM and BLANK & JONES.
Despite his association with Factory Records as their German representative in Berlin and NEW ORDER over the years, it was only until recently that Reeder got to work on material from his favourite band when they returned to the fold in 2015 with ‘Music Complete’. Invited to remix three of its tracks, two of them appear on ‘Mauerstadt’ as the centrepieces of the collection.
The ‘Akademix’ version of ‘Academic’ gives the primarily guitar driven anthem a superb sequenced makeover that improves on the original. But with the already quite electronic number ‘The Game’, Reeder takes a different approach on the ‘Spielt Mit Version’ by stripping it down and restructuring it with more orchestrated overtones. Although both previously released on the ‘Remix’ download EP through Mute, these tracks now get a much requested physical release as part of ‘Mauerstadt’.
As well as NEW ORDER, Reeder is also known for his love of female fronted electronic pop with MARSHEAUX, MARNIE and QUEEN OF HEARTS among the notable inclusions on ‘Collaborator’. The latter contributes two songs on ‘Mauerstadt’, the best of which is a mighty extended ‘Bonded by Sadness Mix’ of ‘United’. Effectively the song with a lengthened instrumental end section, after Queenie coos passionately in Bush-like banshee style, Reeder takes to his guitar for a short solo that is part-Sumner and part-Hooky. Meanwhile, the heart wrenching ‘Killer Queen Mix’ of ‘Suicide’ sees more strings added to the QUEEN OF HEARTS fan favourite from her album ‘Cocoon’.
But ‘Mauerstadt’ opens with British duo THE KVB and ‘In Sight’, their brooding collaboration with Reeder. More accessible than FACTORY FLOOR, this is danceable electro with mood and melody. The album is also notable for featuring some of Reeder’s more recent solo work. There’s a tribal filmic quality to ‘Giant Mushrooms’, while his ‘RIAS Mix’ of the title track which was originally part of his ‘B-Movie – Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989’ soundtrack, is a cavernous swirl of hard electronics and big beats.
The frantically paced ‘Like A Sonic Tonic Remix’ of ‘You’re So Good For Me’ for INSPIRAL CARPETS is a fine tribute to their late drummer Craig Gill on one of his last recordings with the band, providing an enticing indie disco hybrid. Continuing the Mancunian theme, ‘Mmm Mmm Ahhh’ from electro wave duo MFU grooves along with some Cold War inspired drama and a gritty bass guitar line on Reeder’s ‘Umm & Arrggh Remix’.
Driven by a mighty Linn handclap and an imperial PET SHOP BOYS styled club vibe, the ‘Power Surge Mix’ of EKKOES’ ‘Electricity’ certainly delivers more bite than their original material on the ‘Elekktricity’ album, although the Italo House feel of ‘Heartbeat’ on Reeder’s ‘Heart Throb Mix’ is perhaps less appealing.
Thrusting with a synthetic bass triplet, ‘Broken Hearts’ is Reeder’s collaboration with Swedish songstress Maja Pierro and with its uplifting HI-NRG feel, blips away for the kind of hypnotic dance number that Our Man In Berlin is known and appreciated for. Perhaps coincidentally, the ‘Will Love You Tomorrow Remix’ of ‘If You Love Me Tonight’, also featuring Pierro, sounds like a female fronted EKKOES or could that be more that the Reeder sound is actually the identifying factor here?
So Mark Reeder does the trick again with ‘Mauerstadt’ and ably uses his punk, pop, disco and trance sensibilities to procure another fine collection of remixes that work at home, on headphones, in the car and on the dancefloor. That is no mean feat; as Reeder’s friend Rusty Egan once commented about the inane material contained within Beatport: “Name that tune, if you can hear one…”
Luckily, ‘Mauerstadt’ has the tunes and the beats.
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KNIGHT$ opens for Peter Heppner of WOLFSHEIM on the following dates:
is released by Columbia Records / Sony Music in vinyl, CD and digital formats
in 1996, but he first came to the world’s wider attention as ZYNTHERIUS with TIGA on their 2001 electro cover of ‘Sunglasses At Night’.
and collaborative projects like KEBACID, STOP MODERNISTS, PROCESSORY, SIN COS TAN and THE TANIA & JORI CONTINENTS, he has DJ-ed around the world, presented his own radio shows and remixed artists as diverse as Robyn, Kid Cudi and Joe Jackson.
CD released on TIGA’s Turbo label. “The synthline just felt very cool to use with the 808 beat” he said, “I’m glad I used a pseudonym for that release as even though I loved a lot of the music that was around and connected with Electroclash, the whole scene felt a bit distant to me.”
via City Rockers / International Deejay Gigolo Records
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via Modular Recordings
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via PIAS
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via Keys Of Life
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via Sugarcane Recordings
via Solina Records
via My Favorite Robot Records
via Solina Records
via My Favorite Robot Records
via WEA Records
via EMI Music
via Mute Records
via Camden Records
via Deconstruction Records
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via Defected Records
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via Def Jam
via Hollywood Records
via Babygrande
via Mute Records
via Hundehaus Records
via Polydor Records
was Reeder’s previous compendium of remixes and of course, musical collaborations released on Factory Benelux in 2014. Featuring highly on the album with a number of vocals was his long standing friend 
as the centrepieces of the collection.
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