When is synthwave not synthwave? When it’s synthpop of course and much of the best synthwave is actually pop.
While a lot of synthwave appears to be just formless meandering instrumentals made by gamer boys with a Lamborghini fixation, the majority of the best exponents have been female and tune-based like NINA, MECHA MAIKO and Dana Jean Phoenix. Looking to join that roll of honour is Roxi Drive, a talented West London born singer / songwriter and actor with a crush on Ryan Gosling who confesses to “Living my Neon dreams one song at a time” and her debut album ‘Strangers Of The Night’ being “A collaboration of pure synth fusion”.
It imagines a world where Madonna Louise Ciccone and Pat Benatar get immersed in the wonders of the synthesizer and doesn’t forget the songs either. Opening number ‘Run All Night (Chase This Dream)’ pulses the night away like a maniac with a neon lit vocal, while the breathy ‘Falling’ recalls the synthpop of THE FRIXION with its various hooks and counter melodies.
The enjoyable ‘Walking Out Of Love’ borrows from the guilty pleasure of classic Italo disco complete with a Moroderesque vo-coda although whether the variable equalisation on the drums is deliberate or not, it makes for a highly frustrating listen. Production quality also blights ‘Call Me Tomorrow?’ which is a delightful ditty that would have sounded even better with a more sympathetic widescreen mix.
The ‘Strangers Of The Night’ titled song verges into AOR like much of the current crop of synthwave and doesn’t work, but much better is the more synthetically charged pop of ‘All Night Long’.
The energetic new wave of ‘Synthicide’ sees a pacier electronic take on ‘Words’ by MISSING PERSONS and might have made it into a John Hughes film if it had been released in 1985, but as it’s a Stacey Q cover, maybe that’s why! Meanwhile ‘See It In Your Eyes’ interludes with a funkier vibe to contrast the album.
‘Behind The Mask’ takes proceedings to a moodier level in a manner not dissimilar to KIRLIAN CAMERA and would go down a treat with the Amphi crowd before ‘Stay With Me’, a marvellous ‘Drive’ influenced ballad with a touch of ELECTRIC YOUTH concludes ‘Strangers Of The Night’.
While a promising and varied record, some of its production is unable to fully exploit the potential of the material, with an inconsistent sound that lacks clarity. Meanwhile, some of the vocal effects are also perhaps too overbearing at times in an attempt to get things heard over the busy backing; seven producers of varying experiences appear to have been credited on the album which could account for this.
While much of this long player could have been more sonically accomplished, what ROXI DRIVE has proved with ‘Strangers Of The Night’ is she can write songs. Coupled with the right studio team, she could be up there in the future with the best of the current crop of independent synth-based artists.
Producer and remixer Richard Philips, better known as Richard X, began his musical career creating bootlegs or mash-ups.
This was an illegal creative practice of combining two existing and often incongruous records to make an entirely new track. The fusion of disparate elements, where often the vocals of one recording from a particular genre were placed over the instrumental backing from another.
This became a fashionable practice in clubs; Belgium’s 2 Many DJs were among one of the more notable exponents alongside Richard X. Influenced by THE HUMAN LEAGUE and KRAFTWERK in particular, Richard X’s first notable mash-up under the name GIRLS ON TOP was ‘I Wanna Dance With Numbers’ in 2001; it dropped Whitney Houston over KRAFTWERK and inspired by the apparent elitism of the electronica scene at the start of the 21st Century.
But it was when he placed ‘Freak Like Me’ by R ‘n’ B artist Adina Howard over TUBEWAY ARMY’s ‘Are Friends Electric?’ for a bootleg entitled ‘We Don’t Give A Damn About Our Friends’ that figures within the music business realised Richard X’s Frankenstein vision might have commercial potential. Ironically, one person who didn’t was Adina Howard herself who refused permission for her vocal to be used on an officially sanctioned release. Instead, the British female pop trio SUGABABES recorded a cover version of the mash-up produced by Richard X and the rest is history.
Since then, Richard X has been approached to work with many artists, but remains selective, declining most of what he is offered and often only working on individual tracks, thanks to his own artistic assertion that “I’ve always been about singles…”
Richard X created his own production umbrella Black Melody to oversee his work and even released a collection of demos by THE HUMAN LEAGUE as ‘The Golden Hour Of The Future’ which had been shelved by Virgin Records back in 1981. Meanwhile as well as ERASURE, NINE INCH NAILS, GOLDFRAPP, MIRRORS, SAY LOU LOU and NEW ORDER, his productions and remixes have encompassed artists such varied as Will Young, Roísín Murphy, Rachel Stevens, Sam Sparro, Tiga, Jarvis Cocker and Lana Del Rey.
As a result of often working on just singular tracks with artists, Richard X has a large and diverse portfolio; ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK lists eighteen of his most notable tracks, with a limit of one track per artist and presented in chronological and then alphabetical order…
SUGABABES Freak Like Me (2002)
When Richard X dropped ‘Freak Like Me’ over ‘Are Friends Electric?’, a crossover hit was just waiting to be unleashed… enter SUGABABES, modern pop’s equivalent of ‘Charlie’s Angels’. This was a period when Gary Numan was being sampled left, right and centre by the likes of BASEMENT JAXX and DJ Armand Van Helden, so this Diabolus In Musica urban hybrid helped bring him to a curious new audience.
A huge fan of THE HUMAN LEAGUE, Richard X continued his mash-up magic, albeit in a more reproductive manner. When the appropriately monikered LIBERTY X came knocking, he took inspiration from the various versions of ‘Being Boiled’ and put Chaka Khan’s electro-funk classic ‘Ain’t Nobody’ over the top, helped by the fact that both tunes ran at a very similar BPM of 103/104.
Available on the LIBERTY X album ‘Being Somebody’ via V2 Records
RICHARD X in collaboration with DEBORAH STRICKLAND-EVANS Lemon / Lime (2003)
Deborah Evans-Strickland was best known for her deadpan vocal on THE FLYING LIZARDS’ very unusual cover of ‘Money’. Richard X dragged her out of retirement for a bizarre reinterpretation of ‘Walk On By’ as well as the Trans-Commuter Express job spec art piece ‘Lemon / Lime’. Stern but strangely alluring in her posh Essex accent, she came over like the scary HR Manager who everyone is secretly attracted to.
Co-written with Hannah Robinson and based on real-life music industry anecdotes, Richard X’s GOLDFRAPP-styled production on ‘Some Girls’ saw Rachel Stevens playing a wannabe on pop’s casting couch. Driven by having his GOLDFRAPP remixes rejected, it was ‘Some Girls’ that first put the icy glam electro sound into the mainstream consciousness before GOLDFRAPP themselves.
Available on the RACHEL STEVENS album ‘Come & Get It’ via Polydor Records
“There is no you, there is only ME!” exclaimed an angry and provocative Trent Reznor on ‘Only’, but Richard X smoothed things down, brought forward the chorus and took it down the discotheque, albeit a dark gothic one! With a frantic marimba line added and an increased dance tempo, this was one of Richard X’s best crossover reworkings that still retained the original’s heavy spirit of frustration expressed as part of Reznor’s battle with alcoholism and substance abuse.
LUKE HAINES Off My Rocker At The Art School Bop – Richard X Mix (2006)
Once referred to as the Adolf Hitler of Britpop by the music press, Luke Haines’ memoir ‘Bad Vibes: Britpop & My Part In Its Downfall’ declared that BLUR’s Damon Alban deserved far more to be nominated for that title! An installation of danceable pop terrorism by THE AUTEURS and BLACK BOX RECORDER leader with a full fat electro mix by Richard X, this gleefully satirised the Shoreditch club scene with an attack on its array of poseurs.
PET SHOP BOYS Fugitive – Richard X Extended Mix (2006)
Although the ‘Fundamental’ album was produced by Trevor Horn, Richard X powerfully extended ‘Fugitive’ as a limited edition exclusive for the fittingly titled ‘Fundamentalism’ bonus album. PET SHOP BOYS’ own post-9/11 song, Neil Tennant recently revealed in the reissued booklet notes:“It’s about a terrorist, a terrorist whose ideology is that he believes that by killing the enemy he’s going to go to heaven”.
Having worked on-and off with Anne Lilia Berge Strand since 2004 including her breakthrough song ‘Chewing Gum’, ‘Songs Remind Me Of You’ was another fabulous tune from the Richard X / Hannah Robinson songbook. Filled with high octane electronic dance flavours, “How does it feel…to hear your songs on the radio?” asked the Norwegian songstress wispily with an exquisite devenir a gris lilt inside a spiky synthesized mix.
Available on the ANNIE album ‘Don’t Stop’ via Smalltown Supersound
Conceived as a jokey publicity stunt for the Italo disco flavoured Annie single ‘Anthonio’, Richard X used its backing track to create a brilliant tongue-in-cheek response to her tale of broken holiday romance. As a modern exponent of Italo, HEARTBREAK’s charismatic vocalist Sebastian Muravchik amiably played the role of the disimpassioned Latin lover. The B-side featured a cover of THE GLITTER BAND’s ‘Angel Face’.
Available on the ANTHONIO single ‘Annie’ via Pleasure Masters
With some slight similarities to Kylie Minogue’s ‘The One’ and recorded by SAINT ETIENNE for an updated singles compilation, ‘Method Of Modern Love’ was again written by Richard X with Hannah Robinson alongside Matt Prime. A long-time fan of the trio, it had only been intended for Richard X to remix ‘This Is Tomorrow’, but he ended up producing them as they opted for ‘Method Of Modern Love’ as a new single after hearing the demo.
A superb collection of soulful 21st century electronic disco, ‘Overpowered’ was the second solo album from Roísín Murphy who found fame with MOLOKO and struck big with the international club smash ‘Sing It Back’. The Richard X helmed ‘Parallel Lives’ penetrated with some steady and deep sub-bass, providing a nice bonus to an album where Murphy had gloriously sounded not unlike Lisa Stansfield fronting PET SHOP BOYS.
Available on the ROÍSÍN MURPHY album ‘Overpowered’ via EMI Records
DRAGONETTE Pick Up The Phone – Richard X Remix (2010)
DRAGONETTE were fronted by singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara and while ‘Pick Up The Phone’ was a summery upbeat tune, the Canadian popsters took a breather from their usual Euro-leaning sound with electric guitars subbing for the usual synths. But this made things perfect for a superior Richard X remix to stick back in all the electronic dance elements that the band were actually best known for.
Available on the DRAGONETTE album ‘Mixin To Thrill’ via Dragonette Inc
From ‘Head First’, the poppiest album in the GOLDFRAPP catalogue, the Richard X assisted ‘Alive’ allowed Alison Goldfrapp to explore her Olivia Newton-John fixation with a tune that recalled ‘I’m Alive’, a song by ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA for the film ‘Xanadu’. The synth solo was big and fat with power chords plus a great middle eight to boot. With references to Billy Joel as well, ‘Alive’ sounded slightly more Oberheim than Korg…
Available on the GOLDFRAPP album ‘Head First’ via Mute Records
THE HUNDRED IN THE HANDS Young Aren’t Young (2010)
Hailing from Brooklyn, THE HUNDRED IN THE HANDS possessed a sultry new wave fusion with occasional gothic overtones. Despite having aspirations to be more like Warp Records label mates BROADCAST, Richard X produced a number of key songs on their self-titled debut. ‘Young Aren’t Young’ was a dreamy NEW ORDER influenced number layered with Bernard Sumner styled frenetic guitar playing.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor once fronted an indie rock band called THEAUDIENCE. Yet another Richard X and Hannah Robinson co-composition, the glitterball sparkle of ‘Starlight’ utilised a Linn Drum led rhythm section and sweeping synth strings for a dreamy electronic pop concoction. Alluringly finding “heaven in the dark”, it was one of those catchy Kylie-esque summer holiday disco anthems.
Available on SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR album ‘Make A Scene’ via EBGB’s
MIRRORS Into The Heart – Richard X Radio Mix (2011)
With a determined art for art’s sake concept for their ‘Lights & Offerings’ long player, the original sessions with Richard X were abandoned when MIRRORS chose to produce themselves, although he did contribute a Radio Mix for the reissued single ‘Into The Heart’; less intense and claustrophobic than the quartet’s album version, the majestic singalong proved that Synth Britannia influences were and still are nothing to be ashamed of.
Available on the MIRRORS single ‘Into the Heart’ via Skint Records
THE SOUND OF ARROWS are Stefan Storm and Oskar Gullstrand, a Swedish electronic pop duo described as “Disney meets Brokeback Mountain” and “the HURTS you can dance to” by Popjustice. Like PET SHOP BOYS fed with Fox’s Glacier Mints, the Richard X produced widescreen instrumental ‘Lost City’ was fittingly dramatic, although its main melodic theme may have been a bit too ‘Top Gun’ with synths for some listeners…
Available on THE SOUND OF ARROWS album ‘Voyage’ via Skies Above
Produced by Richard X, ‘The Violet Flame’ saw ERASURE return to form with their fourteenth album and express an infectious zest for the future with songs seeded via Vince Clarke’s pre-recorded dance grooves. With ‘Sacred’, this was another classic ERASURE pop tune, although the bizarre phrasal spectre of ‘Sweet Child O Mine’ by GUNS N ROSES could be found in the verse of Andy Bell’s vocal topline!
For the Mancunians’ first album of new material without estranged founder member Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner promised a return to electronic music. That was certainly delivered on with ‘Plastic’, a full-on throbbing seven minute electro number in the vein of Giorgio Moroder, solidly mixed by Richard X with blippy echoes of ‘Mr Disco’. Dealing with the issue of superficiality in relationships, it declared “you’re like plastic, you’re artificial…”
Available on the NEW ORDER album ‘Music Complete’ via Mute Artists
Produced by Richard X and Sunglasses Kid, a nocturnal warmth exuded from ‘Beyond Memory’, demonstrating how German songstress NINA’s pulsating electronic pop acted as a bridge between the sub-genres of synthwave and synthpop. With her vocals deliciously slicing the moonlit atmosphere with a superbly breathy chorus, ‘Beyond Memory’ reflected on the lifelong impact of past relationships.
Available on the NINA album ‘Sleepwalking’ via Aztec Records
London’s Zigfrid Von Underbelly played host to two of the best acts currently bridging synthpop and synthwave, PARALLELS and NINA.
For Toronto trio PARALLELS, this was their first UK gig as part of a short European jaunt also taking in Sweden and France. Meanwhile for NINA, it was her first full live performance since the release of her acclaimed debut album ‘Sleepwalking’.
Accompanied by her ever faithful electronic percussionist and backing vocalist Laura Fares, NINA came on stage alluringly cosplaying as Charlie Blackwood from ‘Top Gun’ and opened proceedings on her Roland Gaia with ‘Don’t You Give Up’, her vibrant collaboration with Swedish producer Oscillian who worked his studio magic on the majority of ‘Sleepwalking’.
With a good turnout for the evening, the enthusiastic crowd welcomed the marvellous moonlit triumph of ‘Beyond Memory’ and its sister song, ‘My Mistake’. While the latter was picked up by Mercedes-Benz back in 2014, the former showcased the strength of NINA’s development since that first burst of praise and recognition.
Continuing with the driven pop of ‘Empire Of Love’, NINA’s poignant delivery of her anti-bullying anthem ‘One Of Us’ captivated all those present. The mighty ‘Your Truth’ allowed Laura Fares to shine energetically on her Roland percussion pad, adding pertinent dynamics next to NINA’s devoted assurance that “I’ll be there for you”.
But the best was saved to last with the neon-lit thrust of ‘80s Girl’, NINA’s touching song dedicated to her mother. Embroiled in passion and positivity like a missing theme tune from ‘Mannequin’, all Laura could do was crouch down in awe as she observed NINA’s neo-acapella conclusion to the song’s fading synths.
During the interlude, DJ She-Ra pulled off the impressive feat of playing a set of synthwave and Italo that, while largely unknown to the wider public, was immediate and enjoyable without having to resort to the same old – same old. Other music anchors should follow her example while her inclusion of ‘Let Me In’, the KLEERUP collaboration with SUSANNE SUNDFØR, showed she also had impeccable taste.
Accompanied by her bother Nick on drums and Oliver Blair on synths, Holly Dodson led PARALLELS through an enticing performance that proved their worth as an engaging live band, a more than welcome sight when a number of noted synthwave acts’ live presentation comprises of just one man and his laptop, with some visuals if you are lucky.
With her big auburn hair and wearing a striking sequinned black jacket, Holly had that inherent onstage confidence having grown up in the music business after her father Rich found fame as the singer and guitarist of Canadian AOR combo THE STAMPEDERS with his song ‘Sweet City Woman’, a domestic No1 in 1973.
Indeed, one could be forgiven for thinking Holly was the lead singer of a band like HEART, rather than an electronic pop group.
Opening with the playful ‘Find The Fire’ which appeared on ‘Kitsuné Maison Compilation 8’ back in 2009 alongside CHEW LIPS and DELPHIC, Holly was a natural at connecting with the audience, all while moving around singing and occasionally veering over to play keyboards.
There was a delightful synth-off between Holly and Oliver on ‘Dry Blood’ before she sweetly dedicated the CHVRCHES influenced ‘Metropolis’ to everyone at ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, while the bouncy electropop of ‘Tell The World’ from the ‘Metropolis’ album maintained momentum.
On the gorgeous ‘Runaway Girl’, a brilliant track written by Oliver Blair for his RADIO WOLF project, she gave a marvellously candied performance that was powerful too.
Breezy with ‘Electrimotion’, as an introduction to ‘IRL’ (a commentary on internet dating), Holly encouraged the audience to hug each other, before the percussive ‘Ultralight’ allowed Nick Dodson to indulge briefly in a drum solo during a middle section respite from the song’s pulsing electronics.
PARALLELS’ most recent single ‘The Last Man’ arrived in its more frenetic RADIO WOLF variant with Oliver Blair clearly relishing the opportunity to present his neo-gothic handy work. Closing with the synthy New Wave drama of ‘Counterparts’, this was an accessible and lively set with no lulls that was enjoyed by the appreciative crowd, no doubt buoyed along by Holly’s sparkling personality.
In a live marketplace where there are far too many mismatched billings, PARALLELS and NINA made a perfect pairing, more than complimenting each other in style, mood and sound while both being different in their presentation and approaches. With great tunes, lots of synths and insistent groovy rhythms, this evening was exactly what modern electronic pop music should be all about.
‘Sleepwalking’ is the long-awaited debut album from the classically trained German songstress NINA.
With a musical palette shaped by a love of QUEEN, DEPECHE MODE, DAVID BOWIE, ALPHAVILLE, KRAFTWERK, NENA, CHROMATICS and LADYHAWKE, it contains some of her most personal work yet; “I think it’s important to keep your work personal and evolve as an artist” she told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK.
Since her second single ‘We Are The Wild Ones’ in 2013, Berlin-born songstress NINA has grown in profile and stature. Support slots with ERASURE and DE/VISION followed in 2014 but it was her third single ‘My Mistake’ that became her breakthrough song. Beginning the long player, nocturnal warmth exudes from ‘Beyond Memory’, demonstrating how NINA’s own brand of pulsating electronic pop acts as a bridge between synthwave and synthpop.
With her vocals deliciously slicing the moonlit atmosphere with a superbly breathy chorus, ‘Beyond Memory’ is about past relationships. A close relative of the Mercedes-Benz endorsing ‘My Mistake’, ‘Beyond Memory’ more than makes up for its absence on the album.
Meanwhile, ‘Born To Live’ is embroiled in confidence with a soaring chorus recalling AVEC SANS, sweetened with a highly alluring almost spoken middle eight à la KID MOXIE, while the synth line recalls the rather obscure ‘There Goes the Cure’ by ONE DOVE.
Full of arpeggiators and pulsating synths, ‘Sleepwalking’ is a vibrant number that paces the mood to a gallop, with a delightful keyboard cascade finish. Bubbling electronics over a sparse intro lead into the nocturnal synth AOR of ‘It Kills Me’. With piano also entering the fray, it’s not unlike Toronto’s very own electronic pop combo PARALLELS.
The previously issued B-side ‘Purple Sun’ does what it says on the tin, is it a love letter to PRINCE or something else entirely? The layers of backing vocals might provide a clue…
The drive-friendly ‘Empire Of Love’ lifts the tempo again with a glorious whirring ULTRAVOX-styled synth solo to buoy up proceedings, but at the opposite end of the album’s colourful spectrum, ‘Diamonds In The Rough’ is a perfect Brat Pack movie ballad, while also emulating some of the best in Scandinavian pop overtures and allowing NINA’s soprano to shine. And although “everybody’s here, they’re having fun”, a forlorn NINA reflects on not fitting in… cut from a similar cloth, the cinematic Nordic pop of One Of Us’ is heartfelt, Fraulein Boldt’s musical catharsis about school bullying.
And when she is ‘Counting Stars’, the song utilises vintage synth sounds to the max, both rich and retro-futuristic with “a mission on our own” like classic PET SHOP BOYS. ‘Your Truth’ is more compelling neon-lit synth AOR, with another rousing chorus and some guitar inflections combining with those vintage love theme Emulator voices as she confirms “I’ll be there for you”.
For a fabulously optimistic conclusion to the album, ‘80s Girl’ comes beaming over like the missing theme song from the film ‘Mannequin’. With big Simmons drums, sampled orchestra stabs and driving synthbass triplets, it is however delivered with subtlety and restraint so that it doesn’t turn into a HEART or STARSHIP pastiche.
Dedicated to her mother, it’s great song that sums up the best in NINA. And in a telling message to everyone, she declares “don’t let the past hold you back”. Yes, it all does sound like a John Hughes film soundtrack but that’s not a bad thing.
A highly enjoyable musical journey that’s strong on melody, Richard X, Oscillian and Sunglasses Kid have each done a very good job working with NINA to produce a cohesive body of work.
A positive album for outsiders and individuals, NINA is a songstress who speaks for the lonely and disenchanted without going all Emo. It’s been many years in the making, but NINA’s ‘Sleepwalking’ has been well worth the wait.
In modern electronic music terms, London-based Berliner NINA is the crucial link between synthpop and synthwave.
With a musical palette shaped by a love of QUEEN, DEPECHE MODE, DAVID BOWIE, ALPHAVILLE, KRAFTWERK, NENA, CHROMATICS and LADYHAWKE, she released her first single ‘Take Me Away’ in September 2011 on Aztec Records.
After a second single ‘We Are The Wild Ones’, NINA achieved her breakthrough with ‘My Mistake’ in 2014; the song was picked up by Mercedes-Benz the following year for a worldwide TV and radio advertisement campaign. Meanwhile, opening slots on tours for acts like DE/VISION and ERASURE gained her further momentum.
After a long gestation period, with the singles ‘Beyond Memory’ and ‘One Of Us’ acting as tantalising teasers, NINA’s debut long player ‘Sleepwalking’ is finally about to be unleashed. Trailed by the album’s title track, it is a wonderfully moonlit pop number with a Eurocentric sensibility that will also act as perfect to soundtrack a West Coast night drive.
NINA kindly spoke about the making of her ‘Sleepwalking’ album and how she has applied various life experiences into her evolving artistic expression.
Your debut album has been a long journey, but you’re there at last…
I know it’s been a long time coming but I’m a perfectionist and I didn’t want to release something that was only halfway there. The whole songwriting / recording process takes time. And Oscillian, who is our main producer, is based in Sweden, so it does slow things down a little. But we’re all very proud of the finished product.
Previously released songs ‘Beyond Memory’, ‘One Of Us’ and ‘Counting Stars’ are on the album while ‘My Mistake’ and ‘We Are The Wild Ones’ are not; was it a difficult process to decide which of the older songs to include to provide a familiarity point for those who are curious, while keeping it fresh for your loyal following which you’ve gained over the years?
Absolutely, some tracks are quite old now and I feel like I’ve matured and moved on since then. Those singles are still available in digital stores worldwide. But our team has changed, so we tried to focus on the newer tracks we wrote, which fans love just as much.
It’s a very melodic album, both vocally and instrumentally…
Yes, it’s all about the melodies for me. We like strong harmonies for most sections of the songs. Lots of dynamics, and interesting arrangements too, and it needs to be something you can sing along to and remember. I guess this is where my love for pop comes into the equation!
The album features four different producers but you’ve managed to get a continuity running throughout…
We were very adamant about the sounds and the vibe we wanted for this album. It had to all sound coherent and I’m glad we achieved that. All producers involved have that strong 80s synth influence that I was after.
How would you describe each of the creative dynamics when working with Oscillian, Richard X and Sunglasses Kid?
For this album, we mainly worked with Oscillian. He’s based in Sweden, so he flew to London and I went to Sweden to record vocals over the years, but a lot of it was done over the distance, on long skype calls! It’s a very organic process with him, and we inspire each other a lot. We’re already working on my second album.
Richard X is a legend and really understands how to make a great song, he’s had so many commercial worldwide hits, and the quality of his production is world-class.
Sunglasses Kid used to be my neighbour in North London and we’re both signed to the same label / publisher, so we met a few times. We also tend to play a lot of the same synthwave festivals. A collaboration seemed like the natural thing to do! Two great songs came out of that, ‘Beyond Memory’ and ‘80’s Girl’.
The atmosphere is very filmic, how much have you been influenced by film soundtracks, in particular by say Giorgio Moroder and Vangelis?
Yes, I think that’s because of the dynamics in my songs. In some way I think both Moroder and Vangelis influenced my music, as they were pioneers in this genre. We’re looking at releasing the album instrumentals as a deluxe digital version, as a lot of fans have been asking for them.
Did you have any particular go to synths to get the colours and textures you desired for this?
Oscillian mainly used soft synths like the Oberheim OB-X and Korg PolySix for the album. And I used my Roland Gaia. I’m also a big fan of detuned analogue synth sounds, so we included some of those sounds too.
You’ve described the album as being more personal than your past work?
It certainly is. ‘One Of Us’ is about me being bullied in High school, ‘80s Girl’ is about my mum and her struggle of being a single mum in Berlin in the 80s and ‘Beyond Memory’ is about one of my past relationships and how I got my heart broken. I think it’s important to keep your work personal and evolve as an artist. I do love writing narratives too but it always comes back to something I can relate and connect to.
The ‘Sleepwalking’ title track is vibrantly neon lit but there’s real emotion in there.
Yes, the beat is pretty uplifting but when we wrote the lyrics, we were thinking about how we subconsciously become protectors of the ones we love and care about, almost as if we were a hunter in a trance, or sleepwalking. It also talks about how people can dramatically change throughout a relationship.
The serene ballad ‘Diamonds In The Rough’ is very heartfelt, that could have come from a Brat Pack movie, in fact you can visualise Rob Lowe and Demi Moore 😉
It’s my favourite track of the album. A very good friend of mine wrote most of the lyrics. It’s about falling in love for the first time. I actually played this track at my mum’s wedding in Las Vegas a couple of years ago. Those were a very emotional few days, as we’re very close and this song represents the true essence of happiness you can find with someone.
Which were your favourite Brat Pack movies and was there a particular actor or actress you could relate to the most?
My favourites are ‘The Breakfast Club’ and ‘Mannequin’. I’m a huge Andrew McCarthy fan. I can mostly relate to Molly Ringwald in ‘Sixteen Candles’. I get all shy and awkward when I like someone. That movie is hilarious.
What’s next for you?
I have a few shows lined up this year to promote the album, which I’m very excited about. We’ve also started to work on my second album, which we’re hoping to release early next year. I won’t take 5 years this time! Promise 🙂
ELECTRICITY CLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to NINA
She also appears at Retro Future Fest II on SATURDAY 28TH JULY 2018 at 229 in London alongside VINCENZO SALVIA, VHS DREAMS, WAVESHAPER, PLAYER ONE, THE DEPARTMENT and many more, tickets available from http://www.wegottickets.com/f/11337
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which had been shelved by Virgin Records back in 1981. Meanwhile as well as ERASURE, NINE INCH NAILS, GOLDFRAPP, MIRRORS, SAY LOU LOU and NEW ORDER, his productions and remixes have encompassed artists such varied as Will Young, Roísín Murphy, Rachel Stevens, Sam Sparro, Tiga, Jarvis Cocker and Lana Del Rey.
via Universal Music
via V2 Records
via Virgin Records
via Polydor Records
via Nothing Records
via Fantastic Plastic
via EMI Records
via Smalltown Supersound
via Pleasure Masters
via Heavenly Records
via EMI Records
via Dragonette Inc
via Mute Records
via Warp Records
via EBGB’s
via Skint Records
via Skies Above
via Mute Artists
via Mute Artists
via Aztec Records
album maintained momentum.
is released by Aztec Records, available as a download from 
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