THE SOFT MOON is essentially a one-man project comprising of multi-instrumentalist and producer Luis Vasquez.
Hailing from Oakland in the USA, THE SOFT MOON gained wider exposure when they supported DEPECHE MODE on the EU leg of their ‘Delta Machine’ tour.
With a sound that distills both synth-heavy Krautrock and dark Post-Punk guitars+bass, ‘Criminal’ is the outfit’s fourth album following their emergence in 2010 with their eponymous debut.
Opening track ‘Burn’ is a take no prisoners kind of track, combining a lo-fi electronic kick with a flanged guitar sound favoured by John McGeoch from SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES; the guitar riff itself helps differentiate the track from your typical angsty NINE INCH NAILS fare and ‘Burn’ provides a strong opener to ‘Criminal’.
‘Choke’ slows the tempo with a vocal buried in a fuzz of what could be synths or guitars, the mixed up wall of sound obscuring the detail in the individual elements. Dirty, but hypnotic, the three minute track doesn’t outstay its welcome and signals to the listener that ‘Criminal’ isn’t going to be an easy ride…
’Give Something’ is a reverb drenched piece with the first real slivers of a more melodic vocal line from Vasquez; showcasing a bass part which recalls Simon Raymonde from COCTEAU TWINS, the song features a nifty gliding synth solo. The dark and twisted chorus hook “Give, give me something, when I give nothing” is wonderfully catchy and pinpoints ‘Give Something’ as a real highlight here and a certainty to be a candidate for a future single.
‘Like A Father’ initially revolves around a filthy EBM bass synth sequencer part, live / electronic drums and another densely textured vocal / guitar wall. The main elements which save the track from being one chord repetitive filler is the mix of time signatures which keeps the listener on their toes and a middle eight breakdown which takes ‘Like A Father’ on a welcome diversion with a driving live bassline entering the mix.
‘The Pain’ takes you on a cathartic journey with another bass heavy delivery, a self-doubting Vasquez intones “How can you love someone like me?” and climaxes the piece with a drum-less MY BLOODY VALENTINE-inspired ending.
‘It Kills’ is a dense tom-driven piece with another Banshee-inspired guitar line and a fuzzed-up chorus which recalls mid-period NINE INCH NAILS, the synth-based finish to the piece provides a welcome respite from the full-on assault of distortion.
‘ILL’, ‘Young’ and ‘Born Into This’ all mine a similar sound to their predecessors, before the title track ‘Criminal’ shares some welcome musical DNA with the direction that GARY NUMAN is currently following. The usage of a Roland CR78 loop and bolt-like shots of distorted noise help to reinforce this and a more melodic vocal from Vasquez brings the album to an epic close.
Ultimately it’s the live guitar and bass sound here which saves ‘Criminal’ from sounding overtly like a NINE INCH NAILS pastiche; but this aside, if you are a fan of the UK Post-Punk scene and favour flanged / reverbed guitars, then there is plenty to lap up here.
Another couple of tracks along the lines of ‘Give Something’ would have been welcome, but for fans of the darker side of electronica combined with live instrumentation, ‘Criminal’ would be a welcome addition to their musical collection.
‘Criminal’ is released by Sacred Bones Records in CD, vinyl LP and digital formats on 2nd February 2018
THE SOFT MOON 2018 European Tour dates include:
Baden One of a Million Festival (2nd February), Marghera CS Rivolta (3rd February), Copenhagen Pumpehuset (6th February), Gothenburg Pustervik (7th February), Stockholm Slaktkyrkan (8th February), Oslo Bla (9th February), Berlin Urban Spree (11th-12th February), Paris Le Trabendo (14th February), Amsterdam, Paradiso Noord (15th February), London The Dome (16th February), Brussels Orangerie Botanique (17th February), Luxembourg, LU – De Gudde Wëllen (18th February), Yverdon Les Bains L’Amalgame (20th February), Milan Magnolia (21st February), Rome Monk (22nd February), Napoli Lanificio (23rd February), Bologna Covo (24th February), Munich Kranhalle (7th March), Leipzig UT Connewitz (8th March), Hamburg Hafenklang (9th March), Cologne Gebäude 9 (10th March), Saarbrucken Garage Club (11th March), Nijmegen Doomroosje (13th March), Lille Les Paradis Artificiels (14th March), Nantes Stereolux (15th March), Lyon Epicerie Moderne (16th March)
In terms of his importance in regards to the timeline of electronic music, John Carpenter often gets overlooked in favour of the usual suspects like KRAFTWERK, DEPECHE MODE, THE HUMAN LEAGUE et al.
Carpenter was unique in that as well as directing his movies, he usually scored them too. And in his canon are a huge range of influential works, ranging from the proto-slasher ‘Halloween’ to the pre-CGI horror-fest remake ‘The Thing’ and the unique and prescient political commentary ‘They Live’. ‘Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998’ sees Carpenter re-recording his most well-known film themes with the help of his son Cody and his godson Daniel Davies, both of whom collaborated on his 2015 ‘Lost Themes’ album.
Rather than running chronologically, ‘Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998’ chooses to open with the theme to the Lovecraftian psychological horror film ‘In The Mouth of Madness’; unashamedly owing a huge debt to METALLICA’s ‘Enter Sandman’, the track is not typical of Carpenter’s most well-known soundtrack material, but still showcases a huge musical diversity at work.
‘Assault on Precinct 13’ features one of THE great synth basslines, latterly re-worked by BOMB THE BASS on their 1998 hit ‘Megablast’ and also re-interpreted by UK synthesist Mark Shreeve, it still sounds an utterly brilliant and minimalist electro track. Lesser known themes such as the ones to ‘The Fog’ and ‘Prince of Darkness’ are both paired-down atmospheric pieces which evoke a sense of menace and whilst the films they accompanied were not Carpenter’s strongest works, they still hold up as standalone pieces of music.
It could be argued that the theme to ‘Escape From New York’ almost single-handedly invented the Synthwave genre; with its TANGERINE DREAM influenced synth brass motif and unique chord progression, Carpenter and collaborator Alan Howarth were some of the first musicians to use a Linn Drum Computer on the original soundtrack and it’s hard to imagine films like ‘Drive’ sounding the same without their influence.
There is very little left to say about the iconic ‘Halloween’ theme, except that the version here remains relatively faithful to the original with the exception of an added prominent 4/4 kick drum and a more Moog-like bass sound. Equipment and budgetary limitations had a huge influence on the Carpenter sound, often resulting in a paired down minimalist feel with sometimes only a skittering hi-hat providing the only percussion; ‘Halloween’ remains a classic example of this.
The theme to Carpenter’s version of ‘The Thing’ was intriguing because composer Ennio Morricone was drafted in to provide the score and the music he came up with sounded exactly the kind of motif that one would imagine the director conceiving. Unrelentingly dark, the music fitted the gloomy all hope is lost theme to the film, one of which took several years to gain appreciation. At the time ‘The Thing’ was a box office flop and resulted in Carpenter being dropped from directorial duties on ‘Firestarter’ film adaptation.
Although ‘They Live’ remains one of Carpenter’s most original movies, its blues-inflected soundtrack is not one of his strongest and this re-recorded version still sounds at odds with the illuminati-themed film. The closing track to the album sees a re-work of the theme to the Stephen King-penned ‘Christine’ with Carpenter returning to the director’s chair for a promo video which has nods to both ‘Drive’ and ‘The Thing’.
For a director that had admittedly lost his film-making mojo a long time ago, it was a logical, yet genius move to for him to revisit his musical back catalogue both here and with his live shows over the last few years.
When the orchestral score was the norm, both JOHN CARPENTER and TANGERINE DREAM showed that electronic music could work in a film soundtrack context and ‘Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998’ reinforces how influential the man is and helps to cement his place in electronic music history.
Purists would argue that it would have been essential to have copies of the original versions here as well, but this is a minor quibble when the interpretations here remain faithful and act as a wonderful reminder of what a superb back catalogue of music JOHN CARPENTER has produced.
JOHN CARPENTER tours the UK in 2018, dates include: London Eventim Apollo (16th October), Newcastle Tyne Theatre (18th October), Glasgow Barrowlands (19th October), Manchester Albert Hall (21st October)
Every now and again an album passes under the radar, being understated and not necessarily given the attention it deserves. But as we are entering the fully autumnal atmospheres, one opus stands out to fulfil the musical void, heading towards the wintery blues.
‘Okovi’ is ZOLA JESUS’ fifth long playing offering, which brings back the previously abandoned colder auras adored by her followers.
America’s ZOLA JESUS aka Nicole Hummel aka Nika Roza Danilova debuted in 2009 with the magnificently underrated ‘The Spoils’.
Having quickly aligned herself with the Ice Maiden Of Synth, Sweden’s FEVER RAY, who she supported live, Danilova started building a rather faithful fan base. Unlike her musical colleagues such as GRIMES, GAZELLE TWIN or KARIN PARK, Danilova with her operatic voice, plays within the boundaries of exceptional vocals over her very own take on electronica. All that against the backdrop of freezing Russian inspired themes, brings along a serving of uncommon coldness and eerie uncertainty.
‘Okovi’ or “shackles” in many Slavic languages, marks another symbolic journey for ZOLA JESUS, this time affected directly by her loved ones’ misfortunes. If life’s a struggle, we all carry our own shackles, which would stunt our progress, but it’s essential to learn how to exist through the journey regardless.
And with this theme in mind, Danilova invites to travel alongside her; a painful walk through the life path to perhaps let the shackles fall eventually.
From the dark opening with ‘Doma’, Slavic for “Home”, all the way to the wonderfully cinematic, heavenly orchestral ‘Half Life’, with nothing but monumental voice over sublime melody, Danilova takes one on a trip of self-discovery and self-respect.
Surreal, fear inducing and menacing strings lead into ‘Exhumed’, which opens up into a tribal magnificence of drums, along with a plethora of synthesised sounds and haunting choirs; a grown-up EVANESCENSE in essence.
How different is ‘Remains’ with its goth danceability factor, with powerful piano elements and iridescent vocals, or ‘Soak’ with the pop particles, reinforcing the message of support (“you should know I will never let you down”) with hauntingly beautiful vocal execution?
‘Ash To Bone’ continues the monochrome feel with classic instruments entwined with the wires of sparse electronica, which repeats in ‘Witness’, the latter being a melancholically wholesome offering of help against the darkest thoughts, “to keep the knife from you”.
‘Siphon’ takes the message of lending a helping help to those in depths of depression (“we just want to save you… we just want to show you there’s more to life”), Danilova “won’t let you bleed out, can’t let you bleed out” over an offbeat extravaganza of mesmerising noises, which towards the end become gritty and grizzly.
This leads into the masterfully menacing ‘Veka’, which features samples of words spoken backwards, similar to those used by Lynch in his celebrated ‘Twin Peaks’ series every time deceased Laura Palmer spoke. They certainly add to the spooky feel of the tune, being ghostly and not from this word entirely. The song flourishes into an alarmingly paced hybrid of euphoric revelation a la FAITHLESS’ ‘Insomnia’.
“If it doesn’t make you wiser, doesn’t make you stronger, doesn’t make you live a little bit, why do you do it?” Danilova cries in ‘Wiseblood’, questioning the motivations in our actions. Why do we hurt ourselves continuously? To learn perhaps…
The subject of depression, feeling unnecessary and unwanted has been portrayed by many artists over the years, throughout many genres, taking on many shapes and forms.
But what Danilova shows here is not just hope; it’s the realisation that it’s ok to be less than happy some of the time, to carry your “shackles” and to be ordinary. And it’s ok to think dark thoughts, it’s cathartic.
By far, ‘Okovi’ is her most grown-up, wholesome offering. Musically and otherwise, Danilova excels herself, having fought her own demons, and in the process creating an electronic masterpiece.
Congratulations ZOLA JESUS, you have made an album which will knock many of their pedestals. You have certainly erected yourself a monument here.
Today, electronic instrumental music is everywhere, but often in the form of tedious dance tracks with no tunes all over Beatport and social media.
Luckily, there are still exponents of the classic synth instrumental, and thanks to the rise of the Synthwave sub-genre, there is currently a sympathetic environment for more esoteric and melodic musical offerings. The key to a good instrumental is it either has to be very melodic to make up for the lack of vocals or very unobtrusive so that while the music is interesting enough to be listened to, it can also be ignored. Thus a Eurorack modular tutorial cannot credibly count as a valid release… 😉
As a follow-up to TEC’s 25 SYNTH INSTRUMENTALS Of The CLASSIC ERA, with a limit of one track per artist, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK presents its 25 FAVOURITE SYNTH INSTRUMENTALS Of The 21ST CENTURY in chronological and then alphabetical order…
SYSTEM F Insolation (2000)
While Dutch producer Ferry Corsten hit paydirt with international club hits such as ‘Out Of The Blue’ and ‘Cry’ as SYSTEM F, the debut album pointed towards the Trance’s link to electronic pop. As well as a brilliant collaboration with Marc Almond entitled ‘Soul On Soul’, the long player included the beautifully majestic classic instrumental ‘Insolation’ which took a breather from the usual four-to-the floor format.
PPK were a Russian trance duo comprising of Sergei Pimenov and Alexander Polyakov. The original melody of ‘ResuRection’ came from Eduard Artemyev’s synthesized theme from the epic 1979 Soviet movie ‘Siberiade’ which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Easily mistaken for Jean-Michel Jarre, the thrusting seven minute ‘Perfecto Edit’ in particular was like an exuberant rocket launch set to music.
Originally released by Perfecto Records, currently unavailable
With a piercing synthphonic riff, scat vocoder, robotic bass and a rigid programmed beat, ‘Turn It On’ saw LADYTRON take a bleep forward with an attempt at a KRAFTWERK track for the 21st Century via Liverpool, Glasgow and Sofia. But as it headed towards its final third, it detoured back to Liverpool and turned into ‘Electricity’ in a cheeky homage to Merseyside’s original electronic trailblazers OMD.
A Norwegian electronic duo consisting of Aggie Peterson and Per Martinsen, FROST released their second album ‘Melodica’ to a positive response, thanks to some production assistance by RÖYKSOPP on two tracks. The beautiful Arctic serenity of ‘Klong’ featuring local trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær alongside layers of gorgeous crystalline synths was one of the album’s highlights that easily outdid anything by GROOVE ARMADA and didn’t rely on using samples either.
Available on the album ‘Melodica’ via Frost World Recordings
‘Destroy Rock & Roll’ was the debut album by Scottish DJ Myles MacInnes that alongside DAFT PUNK and BASEMENT JAXX, summed up the sample laden dance music that was prevalent at the time. Produced on a computer in his own bedroo, the album’s best track however was the more downtempo, Moby-esque richness of ‘Emotion 96.8’ with its beautiful sweeping synth melodies and unobtrusive rhythm structure.
With a hypnotic Motorik rhythm, pulsating bleeps and spacey whirs driving a moodier template along the lines of cult German experimentalists EMAK, Phil and Paul Hartnoll continued their primarily instrumental template on their ‘Blue Album’, although SPARKS contributed vocals to a totally unrelated track called ‘Acid Pants’. The brothers split shortly after the long player’s release, but returned in 2009 to play The Big Chill Festival.
Available on the album ‘Blue Album’ via Orbital Music
From ‘Hymn’ to ‘First Cool Hive’ to ‘A Seated Night’, the man born Richard Melville Hall is a master of the instrumental. The solemn ‘Homeward Angel’ closed Moby’s sample-less song-based ‘Hotel’ album with a solemn yet uplifting slice of mood music that was incongruous with the main act. Since leaving Mute in 2008, his more recent self-released albums such as ‘Destroyed’ and ‘Innocents’ have displayed this more esoteric quality.
A ten minute instrumental epic, ‘Alpha Male’ came from RÖYKSOPP’s under rated second long player, a collection of music that saw Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland moving away from the chill-out climes of ‘Melody AM’ into much darker sonic territory. The track’s lengthy ambient intro was interrupted by a mighty metronomic beat and the sort of progressive synth overtures that would have made Jean-Michel Jarre proud.
Since his musical return in 1997 with ‘Shifting City’, John Foxx has practically had albums coming out of his ears in song-based, ambient and soundtrack formats, both solo and in collaboration with other artists. The spacey mechanical Schaffel of ‘Kurfurstdendam’ came from an imaginary soundtrack he called ‘Tiny Colour Movies’, inspired by a friend’s birthday screening of a private film collection comprising of random surveillance clips and offcuts from Hollywood.
Few acts actually genuinely sound like their name… SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN, which translates as “the last man in space”, is the solo project of Swedish synthpop trailblazer Eddie Bengtsson, he of PAGE and S.P.O.C.K fame. The frantic ‘Space-Elevator’ with its swimmy string synths and Sci-Fi derived melody acted as an effective Moroder-esque interlude on his excellent sixth album ‘Tredje Våningen’ and also featured ‘Allt Är Klart’ which borrowed off the ULTRAVOX instrumental ‘Alles Klar’.
Borrowing the distinctive bassline from SIMPLE MINDS’ 1981 single ‘Love Song’, TENEK put together this lively instrumental for their debut EP. With a modern mechanical groove coupled to their trademark synth rock, the almost funky ‘Ice Fields’ became an early live favourite, although the duo have focussed on more song based adventures for their three albums to date, ‘Stateless’, ‘On The Wire’ and ‘Smoke & Mirrors’.
In 2007, Andreas Kleerup, producer and one-time drummer for THE MEAT BOYS, undertook his first mainstream collaboration with fellow Swede Robyn. The success of ‘With Every Heartbeat’ led to the recording of his self-titled debut album which featured a number of brilliant instrumentals. ‘Hero’ was its perfect start and with a solid bassline and strong choral timbres, it had the vibe of how OMD might have sounded if they had formed in the 21st Century.
While most of the ‘Tron Legacy’ soundtrack was orchestrated by Joseph Trapanese, DAFT PUNK’s spiky electronics and drum machine were kept in alongside the epic strings for the end titles of the sequel to the 1982 movie ‘Tron’. There were nods to Wendy Carlos who composed the original film score, with Thomas Bangalter focusing on the heroic themes while Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo was more inclined to generating the darker elements.
Available on the soundtrack album ‘Tron Legacy’ via Walt Disney Records
Forming in 2001, Swedish duo 047 began their chiptune experiments thought a mutual appreciation of vintage video games. But after their debut long player, Peter Engström and Sebastian Rutgersson began to incorporate melodic song based elements and vocals into their music. The end results led to the impressive second album ‘Elva’, but they celebrated their chiptune influenced roots with the jolly YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA salute of ‘Kanpai!’
‘The E-Bay Queen Is Dead’ was collection of rarities from the MARSHEAUX archives. While Marianthi Melitsi and Sophie Sarigiannidou have done a fair number of cover versions in their time, they are not really known for doing instrumentals. But the electro-boppy ‘Now & Never’ was a very promising wordless demo that Vince Clarke would have approved of; as one of his former DEPECHE MODE colleagues once sang: “words are very unnecessary…”
Fusing Detroit techno with more European experimental forms, Patricia Hall and Ian Hicks’ second SOFT METALS album ‘Lenses’ featured the fabulous instrumental ‘Hourglass’. As Hall put it: “I really wanted to write lyrics for that one, but was never quite satisfied with what I came up with. I decided it would be better to let that one be an instrumental. I think it holds up on its own. It’s nice to give the listener a chance to interpret its meaning on its own rather than direct them with words”.
Available on the album ‘Lenses’ via Captured Tracks
Anais Neon and Martin Swan’s tribute to ‘Assault On Precinct 13’, ‘The future through a lens’ was a moody but booming instrumental that began their excellent debut longer player of the same name, which later netted a Schallewelle Award for ‘Best International Album’ in 2014. With their vast array of analogue synthesizers and exquisite taste for sound textures, it won’t be too surprising if VILE ELECTRODES aren’t offered some soundtrack opportunities in the near future.
Although making his name within EDM circles, the Norwegian producer born Todd Olsen paid a musical tribute to ‘Back To The Future’ and its futuristic gull-wing doored Delorean DMC-12 car with this suitably driving Synthwave instrumental. Unlike other so-called dance producers, Terje is conversant with electronic music history and possesses a wry sense of humour, as evidenced by the witty wordplay of track titles like ‘Inspector Norse’ and his own DJ moniker.
After the first phase of BLANCMANGE, Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe worked within the TV and film industry, scoring soundtracks and incidental music. Although best known for his voice, Neil Arthur’s instrumentals have been a continual form of expression. The brilliant ‘Cistern’ comes over like an imaginary Bond Theme for a retro-futuristic world. The wordless wonder that is the parent album ‘Nil By Mouth’ is an unsung masterpiece.
Adam Cresswell’s sombre vocals and the darker lyrical themes on his debut Rodney Cromwell album ‘Age Of Anxiety’ took a breather with the bright and breezy ‘Baby Robot’. With sweet synthesizer melodies, pretty glints of glockenspiel and a bouncy beatbox, the instrumental was inspired by birth of his son. “Yes, ‘Baby Robot’ is the one track on the album that’s 100% upbeat as it is about the experience of being a father” he gleefully said.
While Danish duo DARKNESS FALLS are better known for their melancholic Nordic vocals and neo-gothic overtones on songs like ‘The Void’, the dark synthy instrumental ‘Thunder Roads’ proved to be one of the most striking tracks on their second album ‘Dance & Cry’. With a punchy drum machine mantra and menacing reverberant sequence, it was augmented by guitar screeches and sombre six string basslines reminiscent of JOY DIVISION and THE CURE.
Available on the album ‘Dance & Cry’ via Fake Diamond Records
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE & BOYZ NOISE The Time Machine (2015)
Jean-Michel Jarre’s first album for since ‘Teo & Tea’ in 2007 was a two volume opus entitled ‘Electronica’; it features collaborations with a number of synth pioneers and modern day dance artists including BOYZ NOISE aka Berlin DJ Alexander Ridha. This climactic track took on a new life as the set closer on the French synth maestro’s ‘Electronica’ world tour, with a lasered 3D visual feast that required no special glasses! BUT BEWARE OF FLASHING IMAGES! 😉
Available on the album ‘Electronica 1 – The Time Machine’ via Columbia Records
The horror film king recorded his ‘Lost Themes’ series in collaboration with his son Cody and his godson Daniel Davies as standalone pieces, without the pressure of having to put the music to moving images. The second volume was completed on a tighter schedule to accompany a world concert tour and thus replicated some of the challenging moods in his soundtrack work with tracks like ‘Utopian Façade’ recalling his classic movie soundscapes.
Dixon and Stein are members of the Texan group SURVIVE and their accompanying music to ‘Stranger Things’, a cross between ‘ET’, ‘The Goonies’ and ‘Alien’, sent electronic music fans into online meltdown with its use of vintage analogue synths. With a soundtrack influenced by the horror flicks of Dario Argento and of course John Carpenter, the one minute opening title music to the acclaimed drama series said all that was needed to be said in its brooding dissonant tones.
As would be expected from a title like ‘Klangfarben’, this vibrant instrumental from Dublin trio TINY MAGNETIC PETS is an enjoyable homage to Germanic music forms, with a loose percussive feel that still maintains that vital degree of Motorik. A word meaning “soundcolour”, it refers to a technique whereby a musical line is split between several instruments, rather than assigning it to just one instrument, thereby adding timbre and texture to proceedings.
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sees Carpenter re-recording his most well-known film themes with the help of his son Cody and his godson Daniel Davies, both of whom collaborated on his 2015 
album.
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or “shackles” in many Slavic languages, marks another symbolic journey for ZOLA JESUS, this time affected directly by her loved ones’ misfortunes. If life’s a struggle, we all carry our own shackles, which would stunt our progress, but it’s essential to learn how to exist through the journey regardless.
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