Tag: Sub Culture Records (Page 2 of 2)

TRAIN TO SPAIN A Journey

24 August 2018 /

Producer Jonas Rasmusson had been recording as TRAIN TO SPAIN since 2011, but it wasn’t until the recruitment of singer Helena Wigeborn in 2013 that things begin to gather momentum.

The 2015 debut album ‘What It’s All About’ featured songs such as ‘Passion’ and ‘Remind Myself’ which showcased the duo’s potential, coming over at times like like Lana Del Rey fronting YAZOO. ‘Believe In Love’, the brilliant first new song issued in 2016 after ‘What It’s All About’ developed on its promise, allowing more space within Rasmusson’s classic framework Wigeborn to work in.

With the aforementioned included as a bonus track, ‘A Journey’continues… riding on an upward momentum, the vibrant opening salvo ‘I Follow You’ is an optimistic pop statement in the Kylie vein. The upbeat fervour continues on ‘Saviour’, with Wigeborn hunting high and low over Rasmusson’s energetic backing. ‘You Got To Do It’ shows what TRAIN TO SPAIN can do using a more restrained approach, while the frantic pace of ‘Not With Me’ utilises the metallic klang of Berlin-era DEPECHE MODE.

‘Pretend We Won’ moves away from the usual TRAIN TO SPAIN four-to-the-floor template during its intro which is attached to a good melodic structure. But the gloriously guilty pleasure of ‘Monsters’ is one of those Eurodance stompers with chunky triplets that filled German discos once upon a time and at various points, it feels as though a rapper will make their presence felt!

The more midtempo ‘Confused’ allows for a breather and is another highlight, featuring an alluring chorus from Wigeborn and filmic synths from Rasmusson. Taking things down further, ‘Teaser’ about a girl “who knows how to mess with your mind” is a ballad that shows subtlety in its rhythmic backbone while swathed in atmospheric electronic sweeps, while ‘What If’ is another midtempo offering although driven by heavy electronic drums and shaped by Wigeborn’s lower vocal register which suits both her and the tune.

But the closing ‘80s Drum Machine’ is the disappointing ‘Martin, David & Fletch’ of ‘A Journey’. Like its ‘What It’s All About’ cousin, the song is intended as an affectionate tribute to TRAIN TO SPAIN’s influences, but actually is a throwaway novelty that is not entirely essential with its spoken vocal and stripped down production.

Another bonus track ‘Dominant One’ plays with octaves and crashing metronomic drums in the vein of ‘Blip Blop’ from ‘What It’s All About’ and as with ‘80s Drum Machine’, it could have been left off ‘A Journey’ altogether to leave a tighter collection of ten tracks. All-in-all, ‘A Journey’ is a progression from ‘What It’s All About’ on all fronts musically, vocally and aurally. But most importantly, it is good old fashioned appealing synthpop with a Eurocentric twist. So take a TRAIN TO SPAIN and go round the world again…

‘A Journey’ is released on 31st August 2018 by Sub Culture Records in CD and download formats, available via https://subculturerecords.bandcamp.com/album/a-journey

http://www.traintospain.se/

https://www.facebook.com/train2spain/

https://twitter.com/TrainToSpain

https://www.instagram.com/traintospain/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
24th August 2018

The Best TECHNOMANCER & ANGST POP Remixes

21 March 2017 /

Sub Culture Records is a Norwegian label founded by Per Aksel Lundgreen, whose motto goes “what you call culture, we call crap”…

Their artists have included MARTYN BAILEY, TRAIN TO SPAIN, former YELLO member CARLOS PERÓN, iEUROPEAN, DELAYSCAPE, SLEEP MUSEUM, MACHINISTA and TECHNOMANCER, to name but a few.

The label is no stranger to compilations, having just unveiled their latest, ‘The Best TECHNOMANCER & ANGST POP Remixes’ featuring a plethora of artists reworked in a Per Aksel Lundgreen approved manner.

The man himself has a long history within electronica genre, having co-founded YAZOO inspired covers act CHINESE DETECTIVES and played with APOPTYGMA BERZERK, while promoting many synth related acts and running his own project CRONOS TITAN.

ANGST POP is his own moniker too, and many remixes on the compilation have been mastered by Lundgreen as well. Indeed, a multitude of known and adored synth acts have been featured here. ROBERT MARLOW’s ‘Smile’ opens the collection, followed by excellent take on DIE KRUPPS’ ‘Robo Sapien’, with metallic, EBM loaded beats perfect for feet stomping and head bobbing. NITZER EBB had to be present here as well, with a superb version of ‘Once You Say’.

Lundgreen’s brother from a different mother, Stephan Groth aka APOPTYGMA BERZERK, finds his place here with ‘Major Tom’; a cover of PETER SCHILLING’s nod towards Bowie, it’s here wrapped up in a melodic candy.

‘Darkest Hour’ by ANNE CLARK is a true highlight, strong, arty and full of attitude.

SHATOO, an act in which Per is also involved are featured here a few times with ‘Dangertown’, ‘Floodlights’, ‘Nothing That I Wouldn’t Do’ and ‘One Night Love’, the latter undoubtedly fit for Eurovision.

Meanwhile, ‘Som Ett Skal’ from PAGE is very ethereal and ear pleasing, while TOUCHING THE VOID dazzle with ‘Obsession’. TECHNOMANCER’s own ‘Electronic Warfare’ clashes with ANGST POP’s ‘Ødipus Rex 2012’ and SPEKTRALISED continue to ‘Learn & Teach’. CARLOS PERÓN closes this remix album with a bang on his ‘Der Komtur’.

While Lundgreen muses about releasing a single with TECHNOMANCER, he has been heavily concentrating on the production and remix work for other artists. He’d love to take CRONUS TITAN to Germany and his dream is to write a movie soundtrack under the same moniker. Until then, we have this extensive remix album to fall back on.

‘The Best TECHNOMANCER & ANGST POP Remixes’ is available from Sub Culture Records at https://subculturerecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-best-technomancer-angst-pop-remixes

http://www.subculture.no/

https://www.facebook.com/norwegiansubculture/

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
21st March 2017

TRAIN TO SPAIN What It’s All About

22 May 2015 /

Following their appearance at ‘An Evening With The Swedish Synth’ last March, Gothenburg synthpop duo TRAIN TO SPAIN have finally released their debut album ‘What It’s All About’.

Named after a lyric from THE HUMAN LEAGUE song ‘The Things That Dreams Are Made Of’, the duo’s first long player is an enjoyably flirtatious affair centred around a crashing metronomic heartbeat akin to the 1985 ‘Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder’ album combined with Jonas Rasmusson and Helena Wigeborg’s love of LADYTRON and DEPECHE MODE.

Indeed, titles such as ‘Work Harder’ and ‘Martin, David & Fletch’ indicate that this passion has permeated lyrically too. The immediate opener ‘Blip Bop’ has slightly banal lyrics but is good fun, with Wigeborg coming over like LANA DEL REY fronting YAZOO.

Following through, the album’s first single ‘Keep On Running’ is a wonderfully melodic ditty driven by thumping synth drums and a solid octave shift bassline that allows Wigeborg’s raspy voice to run free like she was fronting a reboot of BRONSKI BEAT.

In variations to the sprightly theme, the enticingly uplifting ‘All About’ and the more frantic sub-Italo ‘Screw It Up’ both maintain the energetic disco synthpop pace. Utilising many classic synthesizer sounds in the vein of Vince Clarke, musically at least, darkness is not on the agenda.

Things get slightly more serious through with a decreasing tempo on ‘Adam’, possibly a steadfast tribute to The Dandy Highwayman but more likely, an enigmatic character in a fictional love story. A descending sequence introduces ‘Pressure’ which takes the pace down further with its looser beat, but it would appear Wigeborg’s voice is perhaps less suited to slower numbers.

TRAIN TO SPAIN could be perceived as being a bit pop and fluffy, but ‘Grab and Touch’ deals with the rather serious subject of harassment. “You can’t get this girl over a drink” Wigeborg tells a sex pest who tries to excuse his bravado with drunkenness and society’s macho expectations. The album returns to its synth disco template with TRAIN TO SPAIN’s best known number ‘Passion’. The demo version was part of the free ‘Swedish Electro Vol 2’ compilation download package and Wigeborg’s lovely vocals remain enticingly vulnerable over a newly beefed up backing track from Rasmusson.

The perky electronic disco of ‘Work Harder’ with its cooing ad-libs is another welcome addition but the best is saved for the marvellous Euro stance of ‘Remind Myself’.

A very classic pop number, it derives from the crashing metronomic flavour of the album’s earlier songs.

With hints of faux lesbian duo TATU but without the helium, these are Wigeborg’s strongest vocals of the set and the whole vibe locks together brilliantly with Rasmusson’s fast and furious electronics.

The final song ‘Martin, David and Fletch’, while affectionate, is perhaps a bit throwaway, although a few fan references are thrown in to give it credibility. The melody is more CAMOUFLAGE than DEPECHE MODE and almost trance-like, Wigeborg’s spoken monologue will be seen as either alluring or nonchalant on this polarising track.

Overall, ‘What It’s All About’ is a promising debut from TRAIN TO SPAIN that wears its disco synthpop influences on its sleeve. Jonas Rasmusson must be relieved to have finally released a body of work after more than ten years recording with various line-ups as TRAIN TO SPAIN .

Whether others will embrace it will depend on their views of female fronted synthpop… some like it, others refuse to embrace it on some strange chauvinistic principle that music always needs to have balls.

But ELECTRICTYCLUB.CO.UK happens to love female fronted synthpop and has no interest whatsoever in balls 😉

‘What It’s All About’ is released by Sub Culture Records and available from
http://subculturerecords.bandcamp.com/album/what-its-all-about

http://www.traintospain.se/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Train-To-Spain/252355014792419

Text by Chi Ming Lai
20th May 2015

Introducing TRAIN TO SPAIN

10 March 2015 /


First spotted sharing a stage with PAGE and MACHINISTA at Cold War Night Life’s ‘An Evening With The Swedish Synth’ last March, promising Gothenburg synthpop duo TRAIN TO SPAIN are finally set to release their debut album.

Named after a lyric from THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘The Things That Dreams Are Made Of’, synthmeister Jonas Rasmusson has been making music for a while as TRAIN TO SPAIN.

Having previously used a variety of different singers since 2001, he subsequently met “a girl on a boat” and recruited the sultry Helena Wigeborg as vocalist. Combining their love of DEPECHE MODE and LADYTRON, the journey got underway again for TRAIN TO SPAIN.

The first single is the steadfast ‘Keep On Running’, a wonderfully melodic number driven by thumping synth drums and a solid octave shift bassline that allows Wigeborg’s raspy voice to run free like a female fronted version of BRONSKI BEAT.

In variations to the theme, TRAIN TO SPAIN’s developing brand of uptempo, energetic pop utilises classic synthesizer sounds in the vein of Vince Clarke and a metronomic rhythm structure akin to the 1985 ‘Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder’ album. These are best represented by the crashingly immediate ‘Blip Bop’ and the enticingly uplifting ‘All About’.

Coming over like LANA DEL REY fronting YAZOO, Wigeborg’s cooingly vulnerable vocals on ‘Passion’ let rip on a suitably complimentary electronic backbone from Rasmusson. And for the B-side of their first single release, ‘Passion’ has been superbly remixed by MACHINISTA for some beefy gothic disco goodness.

The release of ‘Keep On Running’ ends a period of uncertainty for the pair following business upheavals at the record label they had originally signed to following ‘An Evening With The Swedish Synth.

It would have been a shame if this material had not seen the light of day so thankfully, TRAIN TO SPAIN’s first album is now slated for a Spring 2015 release via Sub Culture Records, the Norwegian label that recently issued the single ‘Activity Of Sound’ by iEUROPEAN featuring WOLFGANG FLÜR.

The single ‘Keep On Running’ b/w ‘Passion (Machinista Club Remix)’ is available via the usual digital outlets

http://www.traintospain.se/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Train-To-Spain/252355014792419

Text by Chi Ming Lai
10th March 2015

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