Welsh duo SHELTER are back with their third album ‘Soar’ and it largely sees them in a more introspective mood.
The usually flamboyant pairing of Mark Bebb and Rob Bradley have toned down their approach following their previous full-length offering ‘Ascend’ in 2016. That record had been something of a mixed bag, the sound of a band trying too hard and unable to shake off the spectre of ERASURE, although the more subtle ‘Figaro’ was an indicator of what they were capable of.
Their Crowdfunder mission statement said: “This time around, they’ve simply let the songs breathe their own life and be just what they felt the songs needed to be organically to tell their respective stories, without feeling a need to try to make them fit to any specific genre / sub-genre or generic template”.
For the start of ‘Soar’ though, it is business as usual for SHELTER with the supercharged opener ‘Electronica’ being an enjoyable PET SHOP BOYS styled celebration of electronic music utilising great synth lines and an appropriately procured robotic vocal aesthetic. The lyrics though, while well-intentioned don’t work so well.
Second song ‘Touch’ bases itself on ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’ and throws in the kitchen sink with a variety of stabs, sawtooths and drops that might cause the listener to duck!
But ‘Karma’ sees SHELTER at their best yet and realising their potential with a dark and more restrained demeanour. “What you want is what you’ll get…” sings Bebb, “You will get a lot more that you planned”. With the message relayed loud and clear, Bradley compliments the sentiment with a dynamic production that hits the spot with its highs and lows.
One of the dilemmas that has always haunted SHELTER is the many directions they can take their music; one example is ‘Soar’ which is a good song with a great topline. However, it might have benefitted from a less rigid rhythmic base and a more synthpop-based treatment.
On their previous album, it was observed that Bebb needed to work on how best to apply his voice. He’s done his homework and really makes very good use of his vocal potential on the lovely ballad ‘Pieces’ which will surprise many who may not have taken to SHELTER in the past. It’s the sort of tune that Midge Ure might have come up with for his ‘Fragile’ opus.
Following on, the heartfelt ‘Survive’ is cut from a similar cloth although more synthetically orchestrated in its superb cinematic arrangement with Bebb’s deep proclamation that “the sun will rise”.
‘1984’ does what it says on the tin, recalling the great octave bassline driven melancholic pop of the classic era, while the optimistic ‘Extraordinary’ plays with a Latin flavoured R’n’B template that emulates SHAKIRA and actually works! ‘Sorry’ features more great synth work from Bradley while Bebb tries to put a positive slant on the end of a relationship.
Closing with the staccato drive of ‘Exhale’, it’s SHELTER punching the air and making their play for a spot in a Jerry Bruckheimer movie!
A big improvement on ‘Ascend’, this is a more refined SHELTER unafraid to explore their darker side. Less can more and ‘Soar’ is documentary evidence of that.
The recent documentary ‘Italo Disco Legacy’ and its accompanying soundtrack allowed a much maligned if cultishly celebrated form of electronic pop to be artistically re-evaluated.
Arguably pioneered by Italian producer Giorgio Moroder via his various projects using the then-new sequencer technology, Italo Disco coincided with the growing use of synthesizers, vocoders and drum machines within dance music and became a distinct sub-genre with its own electro heart.
Despite its name, Italo was not strictly a native affair; the form became a stylistic phenomenon in territories such as Spain, Greece and France, parts of the USA such as New York and Los Angeles, Sweden and Germany. In fact, it was the German record label ZYX Music who coined the term and were particularly key in taking the music out of Italy, leading it to become a rogue gene in House music before eventually mutating into Eurodance.
One of the countries not to truly embrace Italo Disco was the UK where club audiences preferred the more soulful adrenalin rush of HI-NRG. However, it literally came in through the back door when it was a key influence in the music of PET SHOP BOYS and NEW ORDER, particularly in their use of very Eurocentric octave shift basslines and easy-to-dance-to beats.
Highlighting the British hypocrisy of only accepting Italo Disco provided it was fronted by the aloof cool of a Neil Tennant or a Bernard Sumner, in a 1986 issue of Record Mirror discussing PET SHOP BOYS’ ‘Suburbia’, the reviewer confessed: “Despite the fact that I love the PET SHOP BOYS as much as I loathe MODERN TALKING, I have to admit that musically, they’re not that different!”
Comprising of ridiculously tanned singer Thomas Anders and musician Dieter Bohlen, MODERN TALKING’s overtly catchy Italo-inspired tunes like ‘You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul’, ‘Cheri Cheri Lady’ and ‘Brother Louie’ ensured they were simultaneously the most successful and most hated pop duo in West Germany. Bohlen later gained notoriety as a judge on ‘Deutschland Sucht Den Superstar’, taking on the role of Germany’s answer to Simon Cowell.
Italo went global with Laura Branigan whose two biggest hits ‘Gloria’ and ‘Self Control’ were covers of Italian artists Umberto Tozzi and Raf respectively, while Samantha Fox and Sabrina were two of the more noticeable figures in pop who used it as a springboard for their own high profile careers.
One key aspect of Italo Disco was that the majority of its artists used very English names in an attempt to hide their origins. However, the charming accents often captured an amusing vocal detachment while the frequent “woah-oh” refrains, abundance of catchy melodies and timing mistakes also contributed to its escapist appeal.
Providing the soundtrack to many a Mediterranean summer holiday, the zenith of Italo Disco’s ubiquity (and some would say banality) was probably Baltimora’s ‘Tarzan Boy’, the worldwide hit fronted by the late Northern Irish model Jimmy McShane, although the lead vocals were performed by one Maurizio Bassi in a practice that was exploited frequently by the sub-genre’s producers.
Longevity was very rare in Italo Disco, so its history is represented more by a number of great records rather than great artists, although several such as Fancy, Savage, Bobby O and Ryan Paris have entered into music folklore. Latterly, Anglo-Argentine duo HEARTBREAK revived the form with a much harder sound and KNIGHT$ has added his own Home Counties take on the form labelled as Britalo. Meanwhile Italo Disco’s continuing influence can be heard within most types of modern electronic music including Synthwave.
In these darker, more turbulent times, the sunnier disposition of Italo Disco is just what the Doctor Rhythm ordered. So here are 25 nominally Italo flavoured tracks which have brought a smile to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s face, with a restriction of one track per artist in chronological and then alphabetical order.
KLEIN & MBO Dirty Talk (1982)
KLEIN & MBO were formed by Italian producer Mario Boncaldo and American arranger Tony Carrasco. Like a blueprint of early house music, their rhythmically hypnotic neo-instrumental ‘Dirty Talk’ with its orgasmic vocal interludes by jazz singer Rossana Casale proved to be a big influence on NEW ORDER for ‘Blue Monday’. Meanwhile MISS KITTIN & THE HACKER covered the track for their ‘Champagne’ EP in 1998.
Available on the KLEIN & MBO single ‘Dirty Talk’ via Tirk Recordings
Italian-American producer Bobby Orlando is credited as one of the founding fathers of Hi-NRG dance music thanks to his work with Divine, but operating at a more Ttalo disco friendly 122BPM, ‘I’m So Hot For You’ was ‘Don’t You Want Me?’ taken on a New York subway ride with its rolling bass lines and Latin beats. The track was later sampled in 2003 for ‘Da Hype’ by Junior Jack featuring Rober Smith of THE CURE!
Available on the BOBBY O album ‘The Best Of’ via High Fashion
THE FLIRTS were an interchangeable girl trio of one redhead, one blonde and one brunette under the control of Bobby Orlando, whereby those who did the personal appearances had no relation to those who had sang on the tracks. ‘Passion’ was a favourite of PET SHOP BOYS so much so that it was the inspiration for ‘In The Night’ while Felix Da Housecat ripped it lock, stock and barrel for ‘Silver Screen – Shower Scene’.
A Canadian disco producer of Italian heritage, Gino Soccio’s finest moment came with ‘Remember’, a pulsating sequencer assisted number featuring some vocoder augmentation and the sexy nonchalant voice of Marie-Line Vasseur over a fabulously retro-futuristic string machine. Ahead of its time, this was a forerunner of what was to emerge as Electroclash while techno DJ Jeff Mills sampled it for 1995’s ‘Black Is The Number’.
Available on the GINO SOCCIO album ‘Face To Face’ via Rhino Atlantic
A project helmed by Maurizio Cavalieri of the Italian group FIREFLY and co-written with Giorgio Stefani, ‘Spacer Woman’ featured a mysterious Gina X styled lead vocal over some electro break beats that unlike other Italo Disco recordings, used more colder synth sounds that were more associated with UK acts like THE HUMAN LEAGUE. Picked up by ZYX Music for international release, this was to be the only CHARLIE track released.
Available on the CHARLIE single ‘Spacer Woman’ via Mr Disc
The project of Italian duo Flavio Vidulich and Giorgio Bacco (hence the moniker), the futuristic robotic vocoder opera of ‘Take A Chance’ had a subtle tinny banality that made it extremely appealing. PET SHOP BOYS borrowed its feel for the early B-side ‘A Man Could Get Arrested’ while its use of choppy minimal rhythmic guitar and throbbing sequencers clearly had an effect on NEW ORDER’s Bernard Sumner.
Available on the MR FLAGIO single ‘Take A Chance’ via The Saifam Group
A project led by KOTO’s Stefano Cundari, he hit upon the idea of covering the prog synth epic ‘Pulstar’ by Vangelis as a disco number. Recording it with KOTO bandmate Anfrando Maiola and producer Alessandro Zanni, the track actually worked with a bouncy octave bassline and a backbone at 122BPM. Less successful was its B-side ‘End Title’ from ‘Blade Runner’ which tried to add a squelchy electro-funk groove while blipping the main theme.
Available on the HIPNOSIS album ‘Hipnosis’ via ZYX Music
Ivan was the stage name of Spaniard Juan Carlos Ramos Vaquero and he naturally found a home for his music in Spanish speaking territories like Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile. The sunny octave vibe of ‘Fotonovela’ with its bells, strings and accordions was to be his greatest moment; indeed the Greek production duo of George Geranios and Nick Bitzenis’ who are the production team behind MARSHEAUX are named after this song.
Available on the IVAN album ‘Lo Mejor De’ via Sony Music
Italian musician and singer Pietro Paolo Pelandi named himself P.LION thanks to only having Ps in his name while with his aristocratic background, his family coat of arms was a lion. Featuring an anti-war and anti-greed lyric, the optimistic synth brass laden ‘Happy Children’ was to be his biggest song, becoming popular in France and later in the colder climes of Sweden where Italo Disco was to find an unexpected audience.
Born Maurizio Dami, the Italian electronic musician was a founder member of the quirky art cabaret trio named AVIDA. ‘Problèmes D’amour’ with its clattering drum machine, swirling analogue synths and cutesy female voiced counterpoints found a cult audience. Later working in soundtracks and world music, Dami continues making electronic dance music in the present day under the Alexander Robotnick moniker, remixing ‘Stuck On Repeat’ for LITTLE BOOTS in 2009.
Available on the ALEXANDER ROBOTNICK single ‘Problèmes D’Amour’ via Materiali Sonori
While his real name was Fabio Roscioli, his huge hit ‘La Dolce Vita’ was written and produced for him by Pierluigi Giombini, who not only wrote songs exclusively in English but was keen to move the established Italian singer away from rock. Paris recently returned to the spotlight with ‘Love On Ice’ in collaboration with Johan Agebjorn and Sally Shapiro, a song from the soundtrack for the Swedish thriller ‘Videomannen’.
Available on the RYAN PARIS album ‘The Best Of’ via Dvmor
Despite having a long music career which continues to this day, Tuscan native Roberto Zanetti is still best known for debut single ‘Don’t Cry Tonight’, a moody slice of disco lento that was hugely successful across Europe. Named after the American comic character Doc Savage, one notable fan was Chris Lowe, who used the song to open his playlist in PET SHOP BOYS ‘Back To Mine’ double mixtape collection in 2005.
The alluring tones of VALERIE DORE were actually masterminded by producer Roberto Gasparini and fronted by Monica Stucchi who lip-synched on public appearances to the vocals of Dora Carofiglio on the first two hits ‘The Night’ and ‘Get Closer’. Stucchi herself voiced her recordings after 1986 and continues performing as Valerie. Meanwhile ‘Get Closer’ itself was covered by Marc Almond with STARCLUSTER in 2016.
Available on the VALERIE DORE album ‘The Best Of’ via ZYX Music
Under the stage name of Fancy, Manfred Alois Segieth cut a striking androgynous figure within Italo Disco, scoring an international hit with the extremely saucy ‘Slice Me Nice’. The German-born Spaniard even made headway in the US Billboard Dance Charts in 1985 with ‘Chinese Eyes’ and ‘Come Inside’, while ‘Bolero’ hit No1 in Spain. At the age of 70 in 2017, he took the Guinness world record for the highest ever pop concert in La Paz, Bolivia!
Originally released on Milan’s Discomagic Records, ‘Butterfly’ was Moroder influenced Italo Disco with an oriental flavour and a catchy refrain derived from Puccini. It’s so obscure that there is virtually no information about it, although it was written by Ronald Hanson, Michele D’Alessandro and Massimo Parretti while progammed by Piero Cairo. ZYX Music dug it out of obscurity for a compilation in 2010.
Available on the OP.8 single ‘Butterfly’ via ZYX Music
Raffaele Riefoli actually lived in London before starting out his musical career. He scored a domestic hit with his co-write ‘Self Control’, but hit paydirt when it was covered by Italian pop enthusiast Laura Branigan. ‘Black & Blue’ was a highlight from his debut album ‘Change Your Mind’ featured slap bass and all the then-modern technological trimmings which wouldn’t have sounded out of place on PET SHOP BOYS’ Spaghetti Records imprint.
Available on the RAF album ‘Self Control’ via East West Italy
The vehicle of Italian singer Maria Chiara Perugini, the sophisticated and stylish aura of CLIO’s ‘Faces’ was written and produced by Roberto Ferrante who later founded Planet Records. With its pretty colourful melodies and punchy rhythms, it could have been mistaken for early Madonna. The track was covered by Canadian synth duo ELECTRIC YOUTH in 2011 for the ‘Valerie & Friends’ compilation..
Singer and actor Fabrizio Rizzolo was the man behind the ice and ‘Talking To The Night’ was apparently composed and written in just a few minutes, using just about every Italo Disco cliché in the book, especially with its “woah-oh” vocals. A limited edition 12 inch issued on ZYX Music played from the label outwards! He later co-wrote ‘Never Be Lonely’ for Gloria Gaynor and continues a successful career in Italian TV and theatre.
Sensing he could achieve another massive hit if the song had an extremely handsome frontman, Fancy made the idea reality when Indiana-born model Grant Miller-Benton was introduced to him by Divine. Produced by Fancy under his Tess Teiges moniker, Miller scored a debut hit in Germany when it was released by ZYX Music. A later single ‘Doctor For My Heart’ released in 1986 was produced by Dieter Bohlen of MODERN TALKING.
Caroline Catharina Müller was a German domiciled Dutch pop singer who was a member of the girl group OPTIMAL and had the domestic hit ‘Er War Magnetisch’. Spotted by Dieter Bohlen of MODERN TALKING, he signed her to Hansa Records and launched her solo career. A breathy vocal and an enticing lead synth line plus a fabulous catchy chorus laced with orchestra stabs ensured that ‘Cause You Are Young’ was a big European hit.
Available on the CC CATCH album ‘The 80’s Album’ via Edel Records
Hailing from Peterlee in County Durham, Cliff Richard fan and model Edward Huntington sought fame and fortune as a pop singer in Italy. Discovered by Baby Records, they took him to Milan to record the catchy ‘USSR’, written by the same production team behind Den Harrow. Released in the rest of Europe by ZYX Music, the song unexpectedly became a hit in the Soviet Union. Huntington later returned to the UK to become a teacher.
Available on the EDDY HUNTINGTON album ‘Bang Bang Baby’ via Baby Records International
Sweden’s Paul Rein was their home grown Italo Disco star and ‘Lady-O’ showed that cold weather and dark nights was no barrier to producing upbeat electronic dance music. He has since continued a career as a songwriter for artists like Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore, but perhaps as a reaction to his fame, his daughter Joanna is now making waves in EBM, having opened for DAF in 2016!
Available on the PAUL REIN album ‘Communicate’ via 22:22 Music
Italo Disco legend Federico Di Bonaventura began his music career with a 4 track cassette machine, a Roland Juno 60, an Oberheim DX and a passion for NEW ORDER. ‘Winds of Change’ was a rousing Italo Disco track with cowbells and big digital drums that brought him European success. He continues making music today with Paolo Gozzetti as ITALOCONNECTION who have remixed THE HUMAN LEAGUE, HURTS and KNIGHT$.
LINDA JO RIZZO You’re My First, You’re My Last (1986)
Linda Jo Rizzo was an Italian-American who worked in Milan as a fashion model. A former member of THE FLIRTS, she combined her Sicilian temperament with a New York sass. Moving to Germany, on the energetic ‘You’re My First, You’re My Last’ produced by Fancy under his Tess pseudonym. As well other singles like ‘Heartflash (Tonight)’ , as per the time, she would also provide uncredited vocals for another Italo artist Mona Lisa.
A play on the Italian word “denaro” meaning money, this project was the brainchild of producers Miki Chieregato and Roberto Turatti. Fronted by fashion model Stefano Zandri, it was however American singer Tom Hooker who voiced the biggest hit ‘Don’t Break My Heart’. Despite Zandri admitting in 2012 that he did not sing on any of the records, he makes public appearances as Den Harrow having taken singing lessons in 1998.
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
Having started as a group of performers, the enterprise that is now FISCHERSPOONER consists of core members Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner, who are joined by a troupe of dancers and singers.
Fischer is a classically trained musician, while Spooner has his fingers in many pies, including performing in experimental theatre, fashion and producing various types of art.
Their first album came in 2001, named ‘1’, cleverly released on many labels, to be followed by ‘Odyssey’
With their third opus, ‘Entertainment’, the duo went to Jeff Saltzman to aid the production and the current offering ‘Sir’ is being produced by none other than Michael Stipe from REM.
‘Sir’ follows Spooner’s art exhibition of the same name, which centres around nudity, featuring himself and many of his former partners, friends and lovers in assorted sorts of nakedness. “We’re living through this sexual revolution. Everyone has a camera. People are redrawing their boundaries of what they share and what they don’t” claims Spooner, introducing his saucy enterprise, to which the newest album is a perfect accompaniment.
With the tone being “aggressively homosexual”, with love moans being used as part of the soundtrack, Spooner showcases the liberated states of today’s society.
‘Have Fun Tonight’ heralds the album as the first single, and what an entrance it is! Big, bold, full of defined synth but not devoid of good melody and sexually charged vocals by Spooner. Mantric drum rolls and arpeggiated electronic elements flow freely throughout this sublime dance track, leading into sweet oblivion.
‘Togetherness’ with CHAIRLIFT’s Caroline Polachek, sounds like vintage PET SHOP BOYS meets GOLDFRAPP, with love pains present. ‘Butterscotch Goddam’ describes the vocalist’s long standing relationship which ended, resulting in Spooner’s liberation and the discovery of endless sensual possibilities.
The apparent sleazy Brazilian trysts are being described in ear-ringing ‘Top Brazil’, which marries marvellous synth a la DEPECHE MODE with filthy lyrics, as one can never have enough of gay sex! ‘Stranger Strange’ with its offbeat tribal simplicity boils up to a hallucinating psychedelic plea to be “fixed up”, while ‘Everything Is Just Alright’ brings a heavier synth line into play.
Multiple vocals on ‘Discreet’ frolic within the realms of simple melody depicting the urgency of “now” in sexual relations, leading gently onto ‘Strut’ with its club feel euphoria and contributions from Juho Paalosmaa of VILLA NAH and SIN COS TAN. While Spooner admits: ‘I Need Love’, he also needs to ‘Get It On’.
Andy LeMaster joins in on ‘Try Again’; an arpeggiated gem full of sadness in the lyrical content, where the desperate cries for “everything I ever wanted, everything I ever needed” prevail.
‘Oh Rio’ with Holly Miranda closes the opus with an alternative twist to wrap up the record of sexual freedom, the power of choice and the beauty of partying and being able to do what one wishes, no strings attached.
Spooner muses: “When I started, the record was optimistic because I was in a happy, open, long-term relationship”, but it wasn’t to be; otherwise the eclectic, sex laden product would never surface. Fischer agrees with “The best thing that happened to this record is you getting dumped.”
‘Sir’ marks the time to play and explore and Spooner is grabbing the opportunities with both hands: “Everyone thinks I’m having a midlife crisis, and maybe I am”…
And if it wasn’t for his midlife crisis, we wouldn’t be listening to the marvel that ‘Sir’ is!
Shiny danceable electronic pop is what KNIGHT$ is all about and as the vehicle of James Knights, formally of SCARLET SOHO, his ethos is to make synthwaves with his brand of sparkly Britalo!
It’s been a busy time for the Winchester based singer/songwriter, with his first two releases ‘What’s Your Poison?’ and ‘Alligator’ gaining airplay on internet radio. Meanwhile, he also provided lead vocals for the current incarnation of veteran German electropopsters BOYTRONIC on their comeback album ‘Jewel’. Coming over like the love child of Richard Butler and Neil Tennant, the crowd pleasing nature of James Knights himself has made him a must-see live act, while the music of KNIGHT$ has that unashamedly glitterball disco drive.
Having just returned from a successful German tour opening for WOLFSHEIM’s Peter Heppner, James Knights unpacked his suitcase and kindly chatted about his upcoming plans for KNIGHT$…
You’ve described the music of KNIGHT$ as Britalo, what led you to pursue your new poptastic direction?
When my previous project went on a break, it was important to take some time out and think about what to do. I knew I would be the main writer/performer in KNIGHT$, so I wanted to create an alter ego to hide behind, someone very different from me in real life. I toured mainland Europe a few years ago, and I was introduced to some older pop music we never had over here in the UK. This Italo sound inspired me for sure, along with so many US one-hit wonders and some Synthwave tracks, plus Falco, Gazebo, Stephen Falken etc. At the time, I needed something to drag me away from all the music I knew before, and this captured my imagination and inspired me to be creative again.
There’s an air of ‘American Gigolo’ both aurally and visually within your music?
What can I say? It’s not intentional, but I guess there’s something about that kind of vibe I like to take with us on the stage. Every time you perform you have a chance to change the whole ambience of a venue. I see this as a challenge. I love it!
You appear to place as much importance on videos and a good live presentation as the music, what’s your thinking behind this?
We’re in such a visual time. I consume music with my ears and eyes and hope other people do the same! I know I can write a song, but that’s just one part of the role.
Your first two releases ‘What’s Your Poison?’ and ‘Alligator’ were quite a bit more sparkly than some of your previous work with SCARLET SOHO? What are the stories behind the title tunes?
‘What’s Your Poison?’ and ‘Alligator’ were some of the first tracks I wrote as KNIGHT$. ‘Alligator’ is just a little anecdote about something we all experience from time to time, the one-sided conversation with someone who doesn’t listen! ‘What’s Your Poison?’ was a bit of a slight on today’s dating culture.
I guess I thought people would have a better idea of finding the perfect date by offering people drinks and judging them on their choice! Gotta be better than Tinder!
Songs like ‘Gigolo’ and ‘Two Steps From Heartache’ indicate that what became the KNIGHT$ sound was omnipresent in SCARLET SOHO. How do you look back on that period and what the band achieved?
SCARLET SOHO was a way of life for anyone involved. For almost 15 years, we were making music together. We were very young when we started the project, and learned a lot about writing, recording, live shows and the business. You could look back and say mistakes were made along the way of course! I’m very proud to have done it.
What have been the main differences for you creatively between working solo and within a band format?
I think working alone has made the process a bit slicker perhaps. I’m always on the move when I demo tracks, and I like writing music on the train and stuff. With a band, you can deliberate over ideas for too long.
Are you a softsynth or hardware man? Has there been too much over romanticisation of vintage gear maybe?
I programme everything on my laptop with some approximated sounds. Then, when the arrangement is complete, I take the demo, all the vocals, and all the MIDI files to a studio so we can bounce the synth sounds through vintage synths and begin mixing. If you have access to the real gear you should use it. I mean, why not?
NEW ORDER’s ‘Subculture’, which appears to be the inspiration for ‘So Cold’, is their most under rated song? Discuss!
Love it, great track of course and I love NEW ORDER! I hope I don’t disappoint you here though… the biggest influence on ‘So Cold’ was 70s disco!
You’re known for performing covers which have ranged from ‘Uncivilized’ by dark Canadian trailblazers PSYCHE to PET SHOP BOYS ‘Heart’, you’ve even sung U2’s ‘New Year’s Day’ with BOYTRONIC. How do you choose your cover versions and are there any others you would like to attempt?
If it sounds good I’ll have a go! There are loads I’d like to try… it’s just finding the time. ‘Don’t Cry Tonight’ by SAVAGE would be a good one, ‘Monday Morning’ by FLEETWOOD MAC I like to sing, and the Spanish version of ‘Toy Soldiers’ by MARTIKA, topped off with ‘I.O.U’ by FREEEZ!
You have a close bond with Germany and a number of its veteran electronic acts, why do you think this has managed to develop over the years?
I performed in Germany for the first time in 2006, shortly after that SCARLET SOHO signed to a German label and we spent more time over there. So naturally we met more people and were introduced to music and bands we hadn’t heard before which was really exciting. We always felt very at home.
For those who have not witnessed a KNIGHT$ live performance, what can they expect from you?
The stage show grows in strength the more time I rehearse with the band, I hope to have some new songs in the set and play for a little longer than usual! Maybe a costume change or two midway through, or a special guest.
What’s next for KNIGHT$ on the release schedule? Does the album format figure in your plans or are EPs the way to go in the future?
I would like to make an album as most of the songs are ready now. I’m talking to some labels and we’ll see what happens. If not, I will continue with EPs on vinyl!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to James Knights
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