Tag: Undo Records (Page 4 of 5)

FOTONOVELA A Ton Of Love

10 December 2013 /

Guest vocalist albums are a strange beast; often too varied to give a coherent directional focus but too samey to work as a compilation, reactions to them are mixed.

But among the best in recent years though has been 2009’s debut album by KLEERUP featuring Robyn, Lykke Li, Marit Bergman and Titiyo. And now comes the second album from Greek production duo FOTONOVELA. Although their own catalogue has been small, their fingers have been in many pies. Primarily known for their work with MARSHEAUX, they have also remixed PET SHOP BOYS, GROOVE ARMADA and THE HUMAN LEAGUE.

Named after the cult Italo standard, FOTONOVELA’s sophomore LP is called ‘A Ton Of Love’; it kind of sums up the concept and is appropriately, an anagram of George Geranios and Nick Bitzenis’ professional moniker. The album is a far more song based collection than its groove laden predecessor, ‘Mistakes Are Good’.

The concept of ‘A Ton Of Love’ was to produce a supreme electronic record featuring vocalists from all stages of classic synthpop as a homage to the genre. As a sign of their ambition, the first person they approached was OMD’s Andy McCluskey and the sessions went well… so well in fact that the resultant number ‘Helen Of Troy’ ended up on OMD’s ‘English Electric’ opus! Great for FOTONOVELA’s standing but back to square one for the album. Next up was a collaboration with new Wall Of Sound signings EKKOES… that went well too with ‘Fight The Feeling’> pencilled in as their debut single!

One could be forgiven for thinking with FOTONOVELA’s tracks being coveted by their collaborators for their own albums, the tracks remaining on ‘A Ton Of Love’ might not be of the same standard.

But with a cast that features DUBSTAR, SECTION 25, MIRRORS, CLAPS, KID MOXIE and of course MARSHEAUX, the quality is maintained and in a few cases, exceeded.

Exceeding all expectations is one of the numbers with James New from MIRRORS. Capturing the essence of classic OMD with a spirited, majestic vocal, ‘Our Sorrow’ is a fine tribute to Humphreys/McCluskey but also highlights how much the wonderful MIRRORS are missed.

One cannot failed to be moved by the middle eight where New emotively exclaims “your love is poison to my veins”! And if that wasn’t enough, there’s another James New vocal in the fizzy uptempo synthpop of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ which takes on a slightly lighter shade than the usual pop noir of MIRRORS.

Meanwhile the wonderful Sarah Blackwood warms up for the recorded return of DUBSTAR in 2014 with great pair of wonderfully feisty numbers ‘Justice‘ and ‘Beautiful’. Continuing FOTONOVELA’s hitchhike through the North West of England, SECTION 25’s Bethany Cassidy gives it a pensive ‘Clean Slate’.

A FOTONOVELA album would not be complete without the voices of MARSHEAUX at some point; their ‘So Strange’ was the highlight of ‘Mistakes Are Good’. Unsurprisingly given that the two parties are joined at the hip, ‘Big Black Hole’ doesn’t veer too far from the usual MARSHEAUX formula although more prominent pulsing synthetics add a distinct high energy vibe. However, ‘Close To Me’ delivers some enigmatic pop in a surprisingly higher register than MARSHEAUX have reached before, recalling SANDRA’s ‘Maria Magdelena’.

Remaining near the Aegean Sea, ‘Freeze Frame’ voiced by Elena Charbila aka KID MOXIE is dreamily melancholic with an air of fragile vulnerability. It proves again that the Hellenic beauty has finally found her voice with that gorgeously breathy continental style following her guest spots on Nick Bitzenis’ NIKONN project.

Daryl Smith from cult duo THEY GO BOOM! is brought out of semi-retirement to add his voice to ‘Heartful Of Nothing’ and the result sounds like THE STONE ROSES fronting ERASURE!

Unfortunately, ‘Love Without Fear’ with CLAPS vocalist Patrick Donohoe sounds a little too frantic and forced.

Highly rated duo EKKOES finally make their appearance on ‘Arrows’, but there’s something not quite there too… their remixes of KATE BUSH and DRAGONETTE have been superb and on paper, they should be loved. But their Achilles Heel seems to be singer Jon Beck’s voice; it’s pleasant enough but lacks impact. Or maybe it’s the song; ‘Fight The Feeling’ was much better.

These two are the least essential items on the collection; and it’s a shame that for contractual reasons, the lovely enigmatic ballad ‘Scarecrow’ by Swedish jazz singer Jay Jay Johansson isn’t on the album and won’t see light of day until Record Store Day 2014 as a separately sanctioned release. But with three of the original songs intended for ‘A Ton Of Love’ going elsewhere, the final tracklisting was bound to be a little compromised.

Overall, ‘A Ton Of Love’ is great album but has sort of been a victim of FOTONVELA’s own success. The sessions have spawned some the best songs of 2013 and luckily, a number of them are on this album. This is a rather fine showcase for one of best production teams in Europe; ‘A Ton Of Love’ does what it says rather well.

‘A Ton Of Love’ is released as a CD by Undo Records on 11th December 2013 and available from http://www.undorecords.bigcartel.com/product/cdun46-fotonovela-a-ton-of-love-cd

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
10th December 2013, updated 29th December 2016

KID MOXIE The Bailor

11 March 2013 /

“Does my soul live in a far-off land?” KID MOXIE is the musical vehicle of Elena Charbila, the stunning Greek actress based in Los Angeles.

Her roles have included appearing alongside the legend who is Al Pacino in the film ‘Wilde Salome’ while her various assignments have taken her face all around the globe. KID MOXIE’s 2008 debut EP ‘Human Stereo’ featured the atmospherically Gallic ‘Ma Romance D’Hiver’ which appeared on the soundtrack of TV series ‘The L Word’. The first full length album ‘Selector’ was released by Undo Records in 2009.

Although the collection was a mixed bag, it introduced her formally to the music world with its bonus tracks bolstered by a MARSHEAUX remix of its best song ‘Medium Pleasure’. Continuing her association with the Athens based electro family, she guested on NIKONN’s album ‘Instamatic’ in 2012. Always sounding her best when adopting a breathy continental vocal style, tracks such as ‘The Sea’ and ‘Moby Is Around’ provided the most perfect of Aegean chill out tunes. Taking a leaf out of her work with NIKONN, Elena Charbila has now recorded possibly her best song yet as KID MOXIE with ‘The Bailor’.

The accompanying promo video directed by Zan Tot looks like a mini-Hollywood movie which exploits the sexy allure of its leading lady to the full. Meanwhile the song itself is wonderfully hypnotic with its ‘Porcelain’ piano and soothing synth strings enhancing the gorgeous wispy blend.

A new album is slated for release later in the year and set to feature a collaboration with renowned film composer Angelo Badalamenti, courtesy of a version of ‘Mysteries Of Love’ which he originally recorded with Julee Cruise Incidentally, this song has also been recently covered by Claudia Brücken .

‘The Bailor’ is available now on Amazon and iTunes

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
11th March 2013

MARSHEAUX The E-Bay Queen Is Dead

9 July 2012 /

‘The E-bay Queen Is Dead’ is a fantastic collection of rarities, covers and unreleased tracks from the MARSHEAUX archives.

Although the artwork pays tribute to THE SMITHS’ ‘The Queen Is Dead’, content wise, the album probably has more in common with the Manchester foursome’s ‘Hatful Of Hollow’. Housed in two different vinyl replica gatefold sleeves featuring Marianthi and Sophie in that iconic pose made famous by Alain Delon, these CDs are worth the purchase price for that alone…but what about the content?

As can be expected from the Athens synth maidens, the quality is top notch. ‘Do You Feel?’ and ‘Inside’ aka ‘Thirteen/True’, which were recorded during the sessions for their upcoming new album ‘Inhale’, are a fine indicator of what could be expected from this highly anticipated fourth long player. Previewed online earlier this year, they reveal the high standards of MARSHEAUX’s output even though this pair will not be included on the final tracklisting.

The ‘Breakthrough’ B-side ‘How Does It Feel?’ is a suitably strange mechanised addition to the tradition with its wobbly effects and chopped up breathy samples. ‘Sadly’ is another fine tune originally recorded for their second album while there is also the brilliant FRONT 242 influenced ‘Bizzare Love Duo’ which was previously a vinyl only release coupled with ‘Ghost’.

Meanwhile, ‘Ghost’ itself makes an appearance in the form of a great Smash Up with FOTONOVELA’s ‘Hammer’, turning the song into a more dance laden cocktail. And despite being a slightly more throwaway offering, the ironically titled ‘Fischerprice’ is good fun although unlikely to win any songwriters awards.

MARSHEAUX are known for their charmingly delightful synthpop covers and THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Empire State Human’, Billy Idol’s ‘Eyes Without A Face’ and a solo interpretation of OMD’s ‘She’s Leaving’ are all present and correct. However, their version of DEPECHE MODE’s ‘New Life’ from Undo’s ‘A Greek Tribute To Depeche Mode’ CD is absent and would have been preferable to the shortened stripped down alternate strings mix of NEW ORDER’s ‘Regret’ from ‘Peek ABoo’.

Of the little heard archive recordings included, the electroboppy instrumental ‘Now & Never’ is a very promising demo that would make Vince Clarke proud while the two short variations of a theme entitled ‘Fly Away’ and ‘Cosmogirl’ indicate the potential for a magnificent full length composition. ‘The E-bay Queen Is Dead’, despite the disparate sources of the tracks, delivers a mostly cohesive listening experience and will become a highly collectable artefact. So don’t hesitate… if you see it, buy one. Or two if you fancy owing the set!

‘The E-bay Queen Is Dead’ is released by Undo Records and will be available as a CD and download

For the girls’ liner notes on the tracks, please view their blog entry at: http://marsheaux.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/e-bay-queen-is-dead-but-sophie-says-she-isnt/

http://www.marsheaux.com

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
9th July 2012

A Short Conversation with MARSHEAUX

15 April 2012 /

Comprising of Marianthi Melitsi and Sophie Sarigiannidou, the name MARSHEAUX is actually derived from the first syllable of each of their names.

Originally from Thessaloniki, the girls moved to Athens and came together to further their appreciation of electronic pop music. Brought up to the sound of the synthesizer and learning to dance to the beat of electronic drums, Marianthi and Sophie lived on a healthy diet of DEPECHE MODE, HUMAN LEAGUE, OMD, SPARKS, SOFT CELL, DURAN DURAN and NEW ORDER.

They released their first studio album’ e-Bay Queen’ in 2004. MARSHEAUX’s irresistible mix of classic pop hooks and virtual analogue synthesis has seen them stretch their sophisticated appeal across Europe.

2007’s ‘Peek ABoo’ made a great bleep forward but it was their third opus ‘Lumineux Noir’ that was considered to be MARSHEAUX’s most accomplished work to date. Well received appearances at festivals including Pluswelt and Amphi have gained them a loyal, enthusiastic following. In addition, MARSHEAUX have also played prestigious support slots for OMD, ROISIN MURPHY and CLIENT. As well as recording original material, MARSHEAUX have remixed for other artists from DEPECHE MODE, THE HUMAN LEAGUE and OMD to Moby, Katy Perry, Mylène Farmer and Andy Bell.

In a break from recording their fourth album, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK were kindly granted an audience with MARSHEAUX and chatted to us about their upcoming campaign.

The new album has taken longer perhaps than the fans were expecting. What has been happening since ‘Lumineux Noir’ in 2009?

There may have been three years since the last album but it doesn’t mean though that we haven’t done any other work! We did a lot of remixes and collaborated with other artists too. The truth is though that we work with our own time schedule. We don’t put deadlines and we don’t want to get stressed about it. Also, the last two years of the crisis happening here in Greece, it would have been a lie if we’d said that it didn’t affect us.

How do you look back on ‘Lumineux Noir’? Many considered it your most accomplished piece of work, your ‘Violator’…

Ha! Ha! We’d rather say that ‘LN’ was our ‘Low Life’ and that now, we are releasing ‘Technique’. So you have to be patient about our diamond ‘Power Corruption & Lies’. ‘LN’ was literally a wonderful album. We had great critics coming from all over! Our new album though is going to be even better than that!

Have your writing and recording methods changed much since Lumineux Noir? Where has there been the biggest development in your opinion?

We haven’t changed much. The way we write songs is exactly the same as before… the only thing that has changed is that we have better sound cards and mixer!

Have you purchased any new toys or instruments to help you along?

We’ve bought some old drum machines like Linn Drum LM2 and Oberheim DMX. Also the Korg PSS50 Super Section that Martin Rushent once advertised which we bought from Dean Honer of I MONSTER who did the production for THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Credo’. We also want to buy the Dave Smith Tempest designed by Roger Linn!

You have been unfairly criticised for your lyrics in the past… I would like to see these people write in Greek. How are you finding this aspect of your songwriting now?

We never claimed to be the Leonard Cohen of electropop. A lot of wonderful phrases in Greek don’t sound as great in English or even worse sound silly when written down on paper. You have to think and write like you are English, which is really difficult as we are not brought up there! We’ve made an extra effort on the new album though!

What new musical influences have there been? FEVER RAY seems to be one, but are there any others?

If you are referring to’ Can You Stop Me?’, you may be right, but it is the only song written in that style. We really love FEVER RAY but she’s never been of our main influences! We prefer THE KNIFE. We haven’t been influenced by any in particular in this album.

You had over twenty songs to choose from for this album? How did you come to your final selection?

It’s been really hard because the three years that have passed since ‘LN’, we’ve written a lot of demos. The twenty songs we’ve come down with are considered to be the ones that have the dynamic for a new MARSHEAUX album. Eleven of them made it to the album, some of rest remained really rough, some others were completed but were rejected. These ones are going to be put, among with other obscurities, in a compilation named ‘The eBay Queen Is Dead’, that will be only be available at our concerts.

How would you describe the sound of the new album? What makes it different to ‘Lumineux Noir’ and your other work?

Atmospheric electro pop… honestly it is difficult to tell the difference from our other albums. All of the albums are our children. Each one of them symbolizes a different time period in our lives. ‘eBay Queen’ has the naivety of the beginner, ‘Peek ABoo’ has all our optimism and a very good mood while ‘LN’ is a bit darker. The new one has our feelings more exposed and is more daring.

What are your favourite songs from the new album and why?

‘Self Control’, ‘Alone’, ‘Inhale’, ‘End Is A New Start’ and ‘Come On Now’ are some but we won’t say more, because we don’t want to spoil it!

How is the packaging looking for the new album? What crazy proposals did you consider and reject?

We really don’t know yet. We’ve already discussed some ideas with Undo, the only thing for sure is that we are going to use our own images on the cover. We’d really love to have a colorful 7’’s box. We love to have vinyl. We believe it would work with our aesthetics. Undo is going to release all of our three past albums in vinyl in 2012.

Which festivals and countries do you hope to be playing as part of this forthcoming album campaign?

We already have Spain, France, Portugal, Sweden, Canada and USA booked. We have to wait though first for the album to come out so that we later can announce our tour! Another difference from the other albums is that we have decided to tour for this one, something we’ve never done before!

Your favourite songs or albums by other artists at the moment?

Has ORBITAL’s album been released? We’ve great expectations from this one! We’re also waiting for the new HOT CHIP. The 2BEARS side project was really good. Thomas Dolby’s album was a surprise! WASHED OUT are great! Same goes for John Maus. We were expecting much more from GRIMES and of course we have to mention THE SOUND OF ARROWS and Johan Agebjörn’s ‘Casablanca Nights’, their work that got stuck on our players. We also love ECHOES, they are going to remix our new single and we recently heard STILL CORNERS ‘Creatures Of an Hour’! Great work too!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to MARSHEAUX and Undo Records.

http://www.marsheaux.com

http://www.facebook.com/marsheaux

https://twitter.com/marsheaux

http://marsheaux.wordpress.com/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
15th April 2012

NIKONN Interview

31 May 2011 /

Nick Bitzenis is the musical genius behind Greek power popsters MIKRO and the co-founder of Undo Records with George Geranios.

With Geranios, he is also a member of FOTONOVELA who not only released their own album ‘Mistakes Are Good’ in 2008 but also produced MARSHEAUX’s three albums ‘E-Bay Queen’, ‘Peek a Boo’ and ‘Lumineux Noir’.

Another notable production was the 2004 Eurodisco hit ‘Ready For Love’ featuring the model Maria Korinthiou as guest vocalist for ESTE, who on closer scrutiny were found to actually be FOTONOVELA in disguise! Never one to sit still, he also has a brilliant solo project under the moniker NIKONN.

In addition to instrumentals, it has featured a variety of guest vocalists such Maria Papadopoulou (whose own album Nick also produced) and Maroola Koutsouri as well as his own voice. Released in 2005, the superb debut ‘Poladroid’ quietly became one of Undo Records biggest sellers. It was the perfect electronic chill-out album with beautiful widescreen textures, warm melodies and subtle beats. The 2008 follow-up ‘Utopia’, described by Nick as “a soundtrack of our dreams”, maintained the high standards set by ‘Poladroid’.

NIKONN’s brand new album ‘Instamatic’ began its genesis with a strong Nordic influence. Indeed, the working titles of the tracks referred to countries or regions in the area.

But the final titles themselves reflect the continual tranquillity that was part of the original concept. This has now been combined with a sun-kissed drama that can only come from living close to the Aegean Sea. ‘Instamatic’ itself is a wonderfully dreamy listen, rich in wispy vox femina and nominally more uptempo than its two predecessors.

Although entitled ‘Silence’, this opening number is paradoxically percussive and features Nick’s own vocals alongside the gated, indie-like backing. ‘The Sea’ is suitably Mediterranean with sexily breathy vocals from KID MOXIE’s Elena Charbila while ‘Afterimage’ is what DEPECHE MODE would have sounded like, if Martin Gore had moved to Barcelona instead of Berlin in 1984 and replaced Dave Gahan with Patsy Kensit.

‘Moby Is Around’ also featuring KID MOXIE does exactly what it says on the tin and is a charming tribute to the former Richard Hall.

The title track’s gorgeous string pads continue the MOBY theme while on the neo-rave of ‘Lifeless’, the ghost of ‘Go’ isn’t far away. However, the angelic chorals provide a great counterpoint to the thumping dance beats.

‘All We Can Do Is Love’ recalls the laid back lounge of AIR’s ‘You Make It Easy’ although at the opposite end of the spectrum, Someday is surprisingly motorik. Piano textures and strings shape the effervescent ‘La Bottega’ while the charming mystique of the French Yeh-Yeh girls and some Riviera vibes concoct the lovely cocktail that is ‘Sunrise’.

‘Nikonn Vals’ provides a waltz interlude before finishing the album with ‘Lust’, a comparatively discordant collage with steady drum loops jarring against the vibrato synth lines. A satisfying fifteen tracks form Instamatic and as an ideal travel companion for a holiday soundtrack, it is perfect.

In a break from his busy schedule, Nick Bitzenis joined ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK for a spot of Souvlaki and a chat about his varied catalogue of work.

Who were the artists that inspired you to become an electronic musician?

The first artist that inspired me was KRAFTWERK. Then after KRAFTWERK, there was DEPECHE MODE, VANGELIS, OMD, THE HUMAN LEAGUE and YAZOO.


Are you a classically trained musician?

No, I’m self-taught. As a kid, I liked playing with buttons to make noises. When I was five years old, I cried for one week to my father to buy me a small keyboard!

I understand you once played in a DEPECHE MODE tribute band?

Yes, that’s correct. I was in a band called NAKIN EYES that played covers.

But the tribute band that only played DEPECHE MODE songs was CARPE DIEM IV, the name is Latin.

What was your favourite DEPECHE MODE song to play?

I think ‘Stripped’. We played the festival that Hysterika, the Greek DM Fan Club held which is where I met George Geranios.

You have been recently touring with MIKRO in Greece with the Download album, how is your popularity in your home country?

It is very big; I think we are the most famous home-grown electronic band in Greece.

You also played in London in November 2009 supporting MARSHEAUX to promote the English version of the album called ‘Upload’. How do you think it was received?

We were very nervous about it, but because we usually play to an audience who like already like our music. So it was a big surprise that we had people dancing to our music and like it. I know it is very difficult in England, in London to present this kind of music… it’s a tough audience but the feedback we received was very nice for us, it gives us more power to continue our work.

How do you feel about this age of free downloading?

It helps spread the music. Downloading is only a type of media, what’s important is the music. In ten years from now, it will be another type of media. We had CDs, then minidiscƒ do you remember minidisc? *laughs*

What do you think about the loss of sound quality in MP3s?

People have moved from listening to music on Hi-Fi to headphones. 90% of people do this so they can’t understand the difference in sound.

What influenced you to undertake an ambient solo project such as NIKONN. Was it the success of artists such as MOBY, ROYKSOPP and even Greece’s own VANGELIS?

With MIKRO, it’s loud musicƒmore power pop. I needed a solo project to express some of my sound ideas. It’s like an atmospheric soundtrack with electronic moods. I like soundtrack music very much.

 


Your music as NIKONN has a wonderful filmic quality. Has it been featured on any soundtracks yet?

One track was featured on ‘CSI: Miami’. NIKONN is more successful abroad; I have four tracks from the ‘Poladroid’ and ‘Utopia’ albums on various ‘bar’ compilations.

Do you prefer female vocals on your work?

I like girly vocals very much but it depends on the song. If itÍs my vocals or a girl’s vocals, itÍs not a problem for me.

You are part of MARSHEAUX’s production team. What is it like working with the girls in the studio?

It’s very hard work! *laughs*

You are very busy with FOTONOVELA too. The first album ‘Mistakes Are Good’ appeared to be more grooves rather than songs. So what concept will the new album take?

FOTONOVELA was George’s idea to make pure electro music with 80s influences like Italo Discoƒ the band’s name is taken from the song. The new album goes further with songs.

We would like to have a more serious but modern sound and make the music that we like, whatever! And the vocals, we will experiment. We hope to have a lot of guests; we are talking to Claudia Brucken from PROPANGANDA and ONETWO, Sarah Blackwood from DUBSTAR and CLIENT, and Daryl Smith from THEY GO BOOM.

What have been your favourite albums or artists over the last 12-18 months?

GROOVE ARMADA ‘Black Light’ is my favourite album at the moment; I listen to it all the time. THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS’ album ‘Further’ is good. I also like MIRRORS ‘Lights And Offerings’ and THE SOUND OF ARROWS. THE GOLDEN FILTER ‘Volupsa’ is very nice, although I didn’t like ‘Head First’ by GOLDFRAPP; but I’m in love with Alison and the first albums ‘Felt Mountain’ and ‘Black Cherry’.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its thanks to Nick Bitzenis

‘Instamatic’ is released by Undo Records

https://www.facebook.com/undonikonn/

http://www.undorecords.com/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
31st May 2011

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