The label which brought the world DEPECHE MODE, FAD GADGET, YAZOO, ERASURE, MOBY and GOLDFRAPP has been continuing its tradition of developing artists who combine quality songwriting with musical experimentation.
Along with Northampton’s MAPS, Colchester born songstress Polly Scattergood is one of a number of up-and-coming acts now on the legendary Mute roster. She was first introduced to Mute supremo Daniel Miller by Neil Ferris, a legend in DEPECHE MODE fan circles for his promotional work via The Ferret Plugging Company for the Basildon boys.
Her self-titled debut came out on Mute in 2009 to largely positive reviews. An intense organic collection of ethereal songs, Scattergood revealed herself to be a promising talent unafraid to express emotion and vulnerability, especially on numbers such as the quirky ‘Nitrogen Pink’ and the embittered epic ‘I Hate The Way’. Meanwhile, ‘Other Too Endless’ was bolstered by a superb Vince Clarke remix and highlighted the compatibility of her music within a synthesized environment.
Following a breathy guest spot on BEF’s 2012 covers LP ‘Music Of Quality & Distinction Vol3 – Dark’ performing ‘The Look of Love’, Scattergood finally launched the campaign for her second album ‘Arrows’ with the electro-COCTEAU TWINS twist of ‘Wanderlust’ in February 2013.
Support slots with label mates GOLDFRAPP followed in the summer before the album was finally unleashed to the public in September. The brilliant ‘Cocoon’ indicated that while she there were still signs of her folkier roots, synthetic textures and technological trickery were now much more part of the action.
More uplifting uptempo elements also featured with the accessible pop drive of ‘Falling’ and ‘Subsequently Lost’. Her love of BJörk and Kate Bush however has been maintained, especially with the highly emotive ‘Miss You’ and the dreamy ‘Silver Lining’ which sounded like it could have been a collaboration with Moby.
In all, ‘Arrows’ is a true grower of an album in which the obvious passion and vulnerability of the kooky Essex songstress can only attract empathy with Polly World. With a busy 2014 ahead of her, Polly Scattergood took time out to chat about her career so far…
After what appears to have been a steady start to the ‘Arrows’ campaign, things appear to be gaining momentum now?
Yeah, it feels good. I have made an album I’m proud of and the reaction from the people and the press and stuff has been great. We played a sold out show in London the other week and my new single is out March 10th – it all feels good.
How does ‘Arrows’ differ for you compared to your debut?
Big uplifting highs next to big lows… my debut album was mainly lows.
You hopped between Berlin and Norfolk to write and record. How did those contrasting environments help with your muse?
I’m massively influenced by my environment and each location gave me energy and I put that into the songs.
A fair number of your songs lyrically refer to the mind of a casualty like ‘Subsequently Lost’, ‘Disco Damaged Kid’ and ‘Falling’ whether from a personal or narrative point of view; are these autobiographical experiences?
Some of them are autobiographical. It’s a mixture, in order to write a song that makes people feel something, I think you have to feel it yourself.
‘Wanderlust’ is a startling avant pop number and appears to be a pivotal song on ‘Arrows’?
Yes, for me it was one of the tracks that really started the writing journey that I went on for this new album.
‘Wanderlust’ also signalled what appeared to be a greater use of electronics in your work? What sparked that shift?
I have always been fascinated by electronics. When I made my first album, although I enjoyed experimenting, it was all fairly new to me. But by the time I made ‘Arrows’, I guess I felt more confident in the sound I wanted to make.
Photos by Richard Price
What sort of instruments have you been you newly experimenting with for ‘Arrows’?
So many I can’t list them all, but the Minimoog is my favourite. And I played on an Axis Virus last week, I really want one. Synths and shoes they are my vice.
Just out of interest, what made you choose the Moog Little Phatty as your live synth of choice?
Because we used a Moog lots on the album and so it seemed like the right choice to play it live. It’s also such a beautiful instrument, it looks cool and it sounds cool.
You also use an iPad app in your show which acts a nice visual component. How do you see music technology heading? Is there something you would like to have that perhaps hasn’t been made yet?
I do think that the iPad is an incredible instrument, I wish they would put it on a strap so you can hang it round you like a guitar. People maybe see it as a gimmick but they maybe haven’t really used it to its full capabilities. The iPad has some incredible apps we used it quite a lot on the album. It’s great for noise and is visually interesting too.
Photo by Frank Bauer
You dig deep emotionally, especially with tracks like ‘Miss You’. Where does that strength come from and how do you handle having to revisit those feelings when performing live?
I sleep for hours after a show, I think subconsciously it takes a lots of energy… but is quite cathartic.
I understand you’re a fan of Leonard Cohen. What did you think of his electronic phase with songs like ‘First We Take Manhattan’ and ‘I’m Your Man’?
I love most things he has done. I saw him at Glastonbury a few years ago, it was one of the best gigs I have ever experienced.
Photo by Frank Bauer
You attended the Brits School. How did you find being in such an environment?
I am always a bit of an outsider, I have a few really close friends that I made there, but I am quite shy, and it takes me a while to get really close to people. It was a good place for me though, I learned a lot, it was the first time in my life I enjoyed being educated.
How aware were you of Mute’s history when you were considering signing with them?
I had grown up listening to Mute bands so I knew how legendary they are as a label.
Your music is quite esoteric and not immediate in a pop sense. What are the advantages for you of being with Mute as opposed to a conventionally focussed label?
They are a great label they understand me as an artist. They put great care into everything they do and have supported me through two albums which is rare especially in this day and age.
Of course, one of Mute’s major success stories is Vince Clarke who did a mix of ‘Other Too Endless’ and has now contributed his reworking of ‘Subsequently Lost’… how was that for you?
Yeah, it was an absolute honour to have him remix ‘Subsequently Lost’, I have been a fan of his work for years
Remixes are quite a big part of Polly World. There have been some great remixes from people like THE GOLDEN FILTER on ‘Please Don’t Touch’ and Tara Busch on ‘Bunny Club’ while you have also done remixes yourself of other artists such as MAPS and M83. How does remix culture sit within your own musical ethos and development?
I think it’s good, it’s like a breath of fresh air when you hear another artist’s take on your work, especially for me when people remix tracks I have worked on for a couple of years. I suddenly hear all these new bits I forgot I had done and got buried in the mix. I love remixing other artists, I would like to do more. You get to have all the fun of being in the studio and playing with someone’s work, their baby, but then you give it back at the end of the day and the pressure is off. It’s an enjoyable experience.
Photos by Richard Price
Between your debut and ‘Arrows’, you performed and recorded a great cover of ‘The Look Of Love’ with BEF. Would there be any other songs you would like to reinterpret?
I covered ‘New York New York’ for EA games’ ‘Crysis 2’ trailer. I do enjoy reinterpreting other people’s songs, but I think deep down nothing beets the buzz of writing them yourself.
What is next for you in 2014?
Well my new single ‘Subsequently Lost’ is out March 10th and you can pre-order it now! I have a few other things in the pipeline, I am working hard in the studio writing again which is my greatest pleasure. I’m also doing a few side projects and in my downtime I’m doing a little collaboration with my friend who is a jewellery designer; we are designing an ‘Arrow’s inspired collection for her company Bloodymarymetal. So it’s going to be a busy 2014 but all exciting!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Polly Scattergood
Special thanks also to Mellissa Bradbury at Brilliant! Artist Management
SUDDEN CREATION is the one-man synth vehicle for long time electronic music enthusiast Chris Mines.
Possibly the UK’s answer to MAISON VAGUE, Mines has described his sound as “Love, Death and middle-aged angst in three and a half minutes of synthpop…”; Certainly song titles such as ‘I’ve Never Met Vince Clarke’ and ‘Machine Man’ indicate a wry tongue-in-cheek demeanour gleefully gained by observing the electronic music scene from its fledgling Synth Britannia stages.
And none more so than with a track which Mines says was inspired by ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK! Entitled ‘Shouldn’t I Be A Girl?’, it gives an ironic commentary of the synthpop renaissance over the last five years… on paper, it seems perfect for many aspiring electronic musicians until the realisation dawns that most of the press coverage has been centred on female acts…
Using a 2009 quote that was made by this writer following the publication of Caroline Sullivan’s now prophetic article in The Guardian entitled ‘Slaves To Synth’, while ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK can neither confirm or deny any gender bias, the self-produced promo video ‘Shouldn’t I Be A Girl?’ amusingly captures that moment in time when synth girls ruled the world! However, with new albums by LITTLE BOOTS and LA ROUX seemingly rumoured to be less than synthy, maybe it’s now time for the boys to extract their revenge?
It was a weak year musically overall, but a number of acts with great potential emerged.
However, in stronger years, a fair number of these acts would not have been shortlisted, it has to be said. So here are ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 Songs of 2012, listed in alphabetical order.
All have been released either in physical formats or digitally as purchasable or free downloads during the calendar year. However, the list is limited to one song per artist. It also does not include tracks which are exclusive to streams and videos or DJs only promos…
AUTOMATIC WRITING Continuous
Consisting of the Merrick Brothers, AUTOMATIC WRITING are the angry OMD! Their sombre Eno influenced template is like Wirral’s finest have been given a contemporary anthemic facelift by having WHITE LIES’ Harry McVeigh recruited as lead vocalist! ‘Continuous’ whirs and spins while driven by mutant motorik beats and dysfunctional claustrophobia. The flip ‘Falling’ is a more mid-tempo cousin.
BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT is Welsh songwriter/producer Rod Thomas who adopted his ‘Gremlins’ referencing moniker to prevent being mistaken for an acoustic folk act. As the opener to the long awaited album ‘Make Me Believe In Hope’, ‘Immature’ is a great start as it rhythmically percolates in the manner of THE POSTAL SERVICE before a terrific synth section unexpectedly lifts the whole piece several notches. This is a superbly emotive and sensitive piece of pop.
Available on the album ‘Make Me Believe in Hope’ via The Blue Team/Aztec Records
From ‘The Lost Are Found’ album produced by Stephen Hague which also features versions of songs originally by PET SHOP BOYS and DUBSTAR among others, Claudia Brücken’s lively reinterpretation of Bowie’s ‘Everyone Says Hi’ from ‘Heathen’ unveils a previously hidden heartfelt connection, a call for contact like Major Tom in ‘Space Oddity’. Dressed with catchy synth riffs and fuzzy shades, it combines ice maiden chill and organic warmth for an artful sound.
Available on the album ‘The Lost Are Found’ via There (there)
Robyn doing an electro cover of ‘The Whole Of The Moon’ may not sound immediately appealing in concept but that’s how this punchy number starts before elevating into a rousing, spirited synth anthem. CHVRCHES could become the next electro combo to shake up the mainstream pop world since LA ROUX. A great song with great melodies and weird noises, herein ‘Lies’ the bridge between leftfield and bubblegum pop.
VINCE CLARKE Featuring ANE BRUN Fly On The Windscreen
Novelist Tonya Hurley commissioned her brother-in-law Vince Clarke to record a stark cover of his former band’s ‘Fly On The Windscreen’ with vocalist Ane Brun as part of promotion for her literary trilogy ‘The Blessed’. While the guitar-like textures appear to have been borrowed from the original in an act of artistic continuity, the rest of the arrangement is quite different as the vulnerable feminine twist acts as the ‘Twilight’ Generation’s perfect introduction to DEPECHE MODE.
Available as a download single via iTunes and Amazon
COMPUTE is Ulrika Mild, a Gothenburg girl who discovered synthpop via DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Speak and Spell’. ‘The Distance’ is a follow-up to the debut album ‘This’ and from it, ‘Light As a Feather’ is a bouncy but melancholic ditty which suggests a snow mountain of vulnerability. That is certainly apparent in Ulrika’s sweet, fragile voice. It’s beautifully sequenced with layers of eerie string machine for that distinctive Nordic chill.
Available on download album ‘The Distance’ via iTunes and Amazon
Roberta Fidora shows yet another fine turn of aggressive resignation like SIOUXSIE SIOUX in a padded cell while instrumentalist Macaulay Hopwood picks out his unsettling bass notes to full effect. While this CURXES tune is perhaps more guitar driven than what would normally be expected of most electronica, ‘Spectre’ is positively Spartan with symphonic synth stabs and industrial beat snaps…it’s the sound of the overground or Goth ‘n’ Bass…or even Gotham Bass; geddit? Simply exhilarating!
Available as a download single via Amazon and iTunes
DIVINE KNIGHTS Clouds (THE SANFERNANDO SOUND remix)
Goth laden PET SHOP BOYS from the theatrical Aussie duo dreamily remixed by THE SANFERNANDO SOUND. This is richly synthesized with lashings of atmosphere and accessible melancholy. The extrovertly camp pair have even subverted the realm of the talent show by getting into the semi-finals of ‘Australia’s Got Talent’. Dannii Minogue said: “I think DIVINE KNIGHTS are brave for coming on a show like this because not everybody is going to get them…but I really hope they do well!”
Available as a download single via Amazon and iTunes
Texan duo ELEVEN:ELEVEN comprise the feline vocals of Sicca with the instrumentation of Jake Childs and throw in a variety of influences including Italo Disco, Hi-NRG and Electroclash. ‘No Words’ recalls MISS KITTEN & THE HACKER, capturing a tense nightlife seediness. Short but sweet with a swirling middle section, who needs an extended dance mix when the point is made in two and a half minutes?
GAZELLE TWIN Changelings (JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS remix)
Stark and mysterious, the living art of GAZELLE TWIN is the moniker of Elizabeth Walling, the Brighton based songstress whose brooding, unsettling Hauntronica has impressed in all the right circles. JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS’ version of one of her best tracks ‘Changelings’ sees Mr Foxx adding his own Cathedral Oceans sweeps to Benge’s Mathematical solutions. In an productive year profile wise, her music was used in the promotion for the film ‘Prometheus’.
Available on the album ‘The Entire City Remixed’ via Anti-Ghost Moon Ray Records
GRIMES is the kooky Montreal sensation that is Clare Boucher and this Lykke Li fronting KRAFTWERK tune is sumptuously infectious. Despite almost unintelligible vocals, ‘Oblivion’ is probably the most immediate track on the ‘Visions’ album although other tracks like ‘Genesis’ and ‘Be A Body’ explore similarly accessible synthesized avenues. ‘Oblivion’ is ideal for those looking for subtler percussive colours and synthesized tapestries in a leftfield lady meets pop princess fusion.
HUSKI first came to public attention on the trendy Shoreditch electro scene back in 2007 with ‘Take Me Your Picture’. The late lamented Word magazine described ‘Close To The Edge’ as sounding “not unlike how Clare Grogan might if she took a guest slot with THE HUMAN LEAGUE”. As both THE HUMAN LEAGUE and ALTERED IMAGES worked with the late Martin Rushent, that is not as peculiar as it first sounds and it brims with a cutesy allure.
IAMAMIWHOIAMI is the enigmatic electronic multimedia project fronted by Jonna Lee. From her first full length album ‘Kin’, ‘Drops’ is uptempo but almost trancelike. The beats are subtle with just layers of ice and chill to compliment. The clattering fits of noise and metallic textures add to the hypnotism. Jonna Lee’s piercing larynx will polarise listeners but this is Nordic weirdness in all its wonderful glory.
Available on the album ‘Kin’ via To Whom It May Concern
Hailing from Belgrade and featuring the nucleus of vocalist Jelena Miletić and instrumentalist Jovan Vesić, INJE have supported HURTS and FAITHLESS in their home country. Their chromatic East European charge will almost certainly please followers of LADYTRON. The excellent ‘Kofein I CO2’ is sort of DUBSTAR in Serbo-Croat meets David Lynch soundtrack, possessing an aural magnetism that is gorgeously layered with an air of wispy innocence.
‘Killer Boots’ is cooing new wave electropop with an immediately catchy Italo vibe…think ‘Self Control’ or even ‘Touch Me’! Appropriately decadent and sexy, this catchy song is produced by Gary Numan collaborator Andy Gray. Colourful, energetic and glamourous, KOVAK are like BLONDIE meeting DRAGONETTE and Gwen Stefani through a TUBEWAY ARMY voltage controlled filter.
Is it dubstep or is it electro? ‘Keep On Dreaming’ actually sounds more like the latter. When the half beat/two step influences kick in, luckily they do so without the irritating, skipping CD nightmares that devilishly plague most dubstep. But like with all crossover songs, it is the flavour rather than the full blown experience that often wins favour. Confused? Just enjoy… this number by young Stockholm songstress Josefine Jinder features lots of lovely synths!
From the creative minds of former MIRRORS man Ally Young and Lee Newell from one-time indie darlings VIVA BROTHER, ‘Braveface’ is a chilling but uplifting piece of mood music which comes over like OMD fronted by HARD FI! With its Cool Britannia meets Synth Britannia fusion via the Big Apple, LOVELIFE’s genre blend may be confusing indie and electronic music fans alike but at least it’s different.
Since slimming down to a trio, MIRRORS have been heading for a sparser, textural direction which is perhaps less immediate than their debut album ‘Lights & Offerings’ but nevertheless rewarding with further listens. The beautifully stark drama of ‘Between Four Walls’ is sublime and full of post 3am drama. It is high end atmospheric electronic balladry at its best. “Do you ever wonder how you’ll ever get there when you never turn back around?”
Comprising of Glen Wisbey on synths and the suave persona of Christopher Beecham on vocals, MODOVAR’s most immediate number is the emotively rousing ‘Clearly’. Beecham is a man with a self-confessed admiration of Alison Moyet so ‘Clearly’ connects as a song of love in the first degree. It is just one of their “melodic, anthemic, chorus led songs, lyrically focused on the undercurrents of love and the human condition”. Also check out their cover of ROXY MUSIC’s ‘Same Old Scene’.
Available on the download EP ‘Clearly’ via Amazon and iTunes
MOTOR’s electro stomper ‘Man Made Machine’ features vocals by DEPECHE MODE’s Martin Gore in a collaboration that sounds not unlike a camp IGGY POP being backed by an angry GOLDFRAPP. In the absence of DM material in 2012, this has been a worthy substitute with Gore luring nervously over the duo’s brand of harder edged techno electro. Incidentally, the same titled parent album also features guest such as Gary Numan and Douglas J McCarthy.
New York domiciled Anglophile duo THE MYSTIC UNDERGROUND’s make “pop songs for the disenchanted, disillusioned and disenfranchised”. Featuring Vladimir Valette on vocals and Benedetto Socci on keyboards, their “life…set to a dance beat” touches a nerve and now more so than the NEW ORDER influenced ‘Remember Me’. An emotive guitar assisted number in the vein of ‘Leave Me Alone’, it is slightly mournful and despaired but melodically secure.
Available on the download EP ‘Dreamers & Lovers’ via Stereosonic Recordings
Bjorne goes synthy via THE KNIFE on ‘Thousand Loaded Guns’, a danceable tune that provides a degree of accessibility into the world of darker Nordic climes. Hailing from the forests of Djura in Sweden, Karin Park is yet another child of Drejer-Andersson, straddling between electropop and artier aspirations. Her sound is sonically awkward, albeit in a liberating artistic way. Scandinavia is a great place to be musically at the moment.
Available on the album ‘Highwire Poetry’ via State Of The Eye Recordings
Following her Arrival in 2011, QUEEN OF HEARTS graced the music world with a glitzy slice of electro schaffel appropriately entitled ‘Neon’. On first hearing this live, t ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gleefully pronounced that this managed to out Goldfrapp GOLDFRAPP. While this had the obvious hallmarks of Lady Alison’s glam stomp, Queenie added her own cooing poptastic flavour, recalling RACHEL STEVENS’ under rated and great lost album ‘Come & Get It’.
Available on the download EP ‘Neon’ via All Things Go Records
Hailing from downtown Los Angeles, RITUALS comprise vocalist Neil Popkin and electronic producer Julian Denis. ‘James’ is rousing neo-NEW ORDER meets THE BRAVERY (remember them?) stomper which is only slightly short of being outstanding due to its demo-ish production…but the song resonates with an appealing doom. ‘Walk Away’ from their 2011 debut EP is another fine example of their potential.
SIN COS TAN Trust SIN COS TAN is the new mathematically charged project of ace producer Jori Hulkkonen and VILLA NAH’s Juho Paalosmaa, “a synthesized duo of great promise, broken dreams, and long nights”. They have certainly delivered with ‘Trust’, all draped in melancholy with emotive vocals haunted by the ghost of Billy Mackenzie. This is subtle, hypnotic dance music with layered strings, sampled cimbalom and Cold War dramatics, it is one of the songs of the year.
Available on the album ‘Sin Cos Tan’ via Solina (Europe) and Sugarcane Recordings (Rest of World)
Bristol’s SINESTAR are a full blown five-piece band with drums, bass and guitar as well as synths and their MESH derived synthesized rock has the potential to crossover into several electronic sub-genres. With a so far small but impressive body of work as showcased on the ‘I Am The Rain’ EP, the terrific ‘Hurricane’ is like FAITHLESS gone rock! Catchy, tuneful and anthemic, they just need to work on the production.
Available on the download EP ‘I Am The Rain’ via Dead Rat Recordings.
STRANGERS have been perilously close to COLDPLAY territory on occasions. But on ‘Safe/Pain’, a moody slice of sweeping synth noir with a lonely piano intro, the big surprise comes when a series of rave stabs cut in for the ultimate euphoric lift, crossed with a bit of dubstep! The BBC loved ‘Safe/Pain’ and used it for a clip of Team GB’s immense cycling achievements at the end of the London 2012 Olympics, while they got support slots with BLANCMANGE under their belt.
‘It’s Dark’ could be RAMMSTEIN reincarnated as DEPECHE MODE with fewer the flame throwers! TITANS’ vocalist Dan Von Hoyel sounds like a lower register Dave Gahan winning a fight with a less Teutonic Till Lindemann. In an electronic sub-genre known for its shouting, ‘It’s Dark’ manages to sound menacing without forcing the aggression. The edgy electronic backing from Fredrik Mattsson and Jimmy Svensson blends marvellously with the band’s doompop manifesto.
Available on the download album ‘For The Long Gone’ via Progress Productions
There were so many songs that could have been chosen but with this opener from their err… Brilliant comeback album was ULTRAVOX’s optimistic message of intent. Musically, ‘Live’ is ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ without the imminent nuclear holocaust! The instrumental breakdown, which drops to a magnificent pulsing sequence, piano and lone bass drum before the climax, is pure LA DÜSSELDORF and really is something to be savoured.
Available on the album ‘Brilliant’ via Eden Recordings/EMI Records
While recording their long awaited new album ‘Inhale’, MARSHEAUX added to their remix portfolio with a terrific reworking of a track dating back to 1969 by Japanese classic singer Saori Yuki. Adding incessant beats, infectious pulsing synth and melancholic washes of sound to the more organic re-recording with PINK MARTINI from 2011, this brings Kayokyoku (a style of Japanese music thatabsorbs various Western styles) into the electro age with a Melody For a New Dawn.
Robert Marlow’s ‘The Peter Pan Effect’ is a true lost album.
Recorded between 1982 to 1984, although four singles were released via his best mate Vince Clarke’s imprint Reset Records, parent label RCA declined to release the album.
It did not actually see the light of day until 1999 when Swedish electronic label Energy Rekords, whose roster included VNV NATION, S.P.O.C.K and ELEGANT MACHINERY, picked it up.
Often seen as a Vince Clarke curio recorded in the interim between YAZOO and ERASURE, the songs on ‘The Peter Pan Effect ‘were wholly written by Marlow with Clarke at the producer’s helm along with EC Radcliffe who worked on YAZOO’s ‘Upstairs At Eric’s’ and was the ‘Eric’ of the album’s title. Listening back, the end result is a charming collection of HI-NRG synthpop, almost like FAD GADGET on Prozac!
‘The Face of Dorian Gray’ is the track familiar to most, possessing that early monophonic ultrapop quality which featured so highly on Vince Clarke’s work as part of DEPECHE MODE and YAZOO. ‘Calling All Destroyers’ is another quirkily jaunty single but one track from the sessions that is also worthy of mention is the extended version of ‘No Heart’, the B-side of ‘I Just Want To Dance’ much acclaimed by electronic music enthusiasts around the world, which comes over like a pulsing take on ‘Fade To Grey’.
But who better to discuss ‘The Peter Pan Effect’ than the man himself. ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK caught up with Robert Marlow to chat about his cult classic.
How did you meet Vince Clarke and become involved in the Basildon music scene?
I met him when we were 8 years old at the Boys Brigade, we both shared a good friendship and a common interest in music. He was having violin lessons, I was learning to play the piano and we both picked up the guitar. So that was how we got together doing music.
We diverged later in our teens when he went off to college and I got involved with Alison Moyet who invited me… well she bullied me into playing a gig with her band THE VANDALS in Southend. I got into that for a while and it was from there that the music bug gripped *laughs*
Meanwhile, Vince was doing more mellow acoustic things and we got together in a band later on called THE PLAN. He played guitar and I bought the first synthesizer in Basildon, an old Korg 700 on hire purchase…it made these really beautiful sounds and it was then that Vince got into synths and bought one himself. He went on to form COMPOSITION OF SOUND which as we know is the early incarnation of DEPECHE MODE. For a while, we were in two rival bands, there was COMPOSITION OF SOUND while I had a band called FRENCH LOOK and we both shared the very talented Martin Gore on keyboards!
What were the circumstances leading to you recording with him?
After Vince left DEPECHE MODE and was in the middle of the YAZOO project, I tapped him on the shoulder and said “I’ve got some songs, can you give me a day in the studio?” and he went “No, it’s very expensive… I can’t do it” and I was “Please! Please!” Eventually, we did one day and we recorded The Face Of Dorian Gray which actually then went on for about 3 to 4 weeks… after we spent all that time, Vince said “it seems daft just to do a demo, let’s get it released”. I was made up and we found RCA who decided to licence Vince’s own label Reset Records and that was it. What happened was four singles and the recording of ‘The Peter Pan Effect’ album.
What instruments and synths were you using?
I was very excited to use the LinnDrum Mk2 and there was a DX7 which was kind of the birth of digital. We also used the RSF Kobol, Sequential Pro-One, Minimoog and most excitingly, the Fairlight! We didn’t actually use the Fairlight that much because in those days, the samples were appalling… they were very short and you had to EQ them up to the hilt to get a discernable sound. On ‘The Peter Pan Effect’, you can hear it in a couple of songs just as effects more than anything else.
What was the creative dynamic between you and Vince with regards arrangements and production?
I did all of the music and melodies but I was rubbish at programming… Vince was a programming genius. In those days, we were working on a Roland MC4 Micro-composer which you had to programme in step times of 12, 24 and 48s… my maths was appalling but Vince was very quick at it. I used to say “I want it to sound like this…da-dah-dah”, and he would get it very quickly.
It was very time consuming so we did a lot of programming at his house beforehand and go to Eric Radcliffe’s home studio in Dartford. Then we took it into the studio at Blackwing but then Vince and Eric formed their own company within Blackwing and another studio was built in the drum store called Splendid studios and that’s where the rest of the album was finished.
‘The Face Of Dorian Gray’ should have been a hit. Any thoughts in hindsight as to why it wasn’t?
Well, in many respects I do think RCA at the time thought that they were getting Vince Clarke rather than his record company. So they thought merely his name could sell the record itself as he was so successful in DEPECHE MODE, YAZOO and THE ASSEMBLY. So their publicity machine wasn’t really up to full whack. In those days, you had to get three radio plays a day on Radio 1 and sometimes I was getting one or two so it did get some airplay but who knows… maybe it just wasn’t good enough, that’s the thing!
You got on perform in on Channel 4’s Switch. Can you remember much about it?
It was my first TV, it was a live show filmed out in Bushey! I was on the same bill as ANIMAL NIGHTLIFE and Elvis Costello! It was a long, long day and I thought: “this is not glamourous at all!”. We were just sitting around. I remember we had a big backdrop made of the Dorian Gray single cover and some slides made up of me getting older using make-up. Anyway, when I went and did the first rehearsal, it was just me singing to taped backing, this voice from the gallery went: “Is that all he does?”… it was the director! *laughs*
During the performance, I was all over the place doing this weird dancing to look more animated and the slide show went a bit weird. It was all quite exciting because afterwards, we went by fast car to the West End of London to play a gig at a club in Mayfair called The Titanic Club!!! *laughs*
It was a weird club, they had almost early electronic house music in the DJ sets and had someone on stage doing spot welding…it was very performance art!
‘Crying For The Moon’ almost has a SILICON TEENS vibe to it like an electro-‘Great Balls Of Fire’…
It is, that was exactly what I wanted… the riff is almost Eddie Cochran, very SILICON TEENS! I wanted that cod, camp Rock ‘n’ Roll feel to it with synths. It was good.
Do you think ‘Claudette’ musically may have sounded too much like THE ASSEMBLY’s ‘Never Never’?
It did, it has a similar chord construction but it was recorded before ‘Never Never’. I’m certainly no Fergal Sharkey and that’s why when the single came out, we used cellos and made it different. It’s a shame but I don’t know the masters for that are!
Photo by Brian Hedges
How was it working with Eric Radcliffe in the studio?
Lovely, very talented. I was so pleased to be working with him as he was instrumental in the career of FAD GADGET who I worshipped. Eric reminded me a lot of Charlie Drake and had a real “can do” mentality. He did a lot of the drum programming on ‘The Peter Pan Effect’, he was a very accomplished rock musician who played guitar, bass and banjo!
What was the relationship with RCA like because they eventually passed on the album?
I was not particularly involved in dealing with RCA as we had a label manager and she did a lot of negotiation. I think Vince and everyone else involved were trying to keep that from me that they were losing interest. So the first thing I heard about it was when Vince came down to see me and said: “RCA are withdrawing but we’re going to go with Sonet”. Sonet licensed ‘Calling All Destroyers’ and ‘Claudette’ so there wasn’t a big difference but we didn’t have the power of RCA. But we didn’t get the airplay.
It was disappointing that the album didn’t come out. But when you work on a project like that, you can’t see the logic when you think of the cost in studio time and all of that. It wasn’t a big production compared with other artists. Just stick it out… if it sells, it sells; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t! To sit on the shelf, it just didn’t make any sense. Contractual issues stopped us from putting it out ourselves at the time but I wasn’t very good at following things up like that so I accepted it and calmly dropped out of the music scene.
Was there ever any talk of you and Vince working in a more permanent set-up, or even joining what was to become ERASURE?
No, I’ll be honest with you… Vince is my best friend and I love him dearly but he has a particular way of wanting things done and is very, very driven. And it’s different to what I want. So although I’m very proud of ‘The Peter Pan Effect’ and all the music I did with Vince, perhaps if he wasn’t Vince, it would be a different sound. At times, it did get a little fraught, nothing terrible but some frustrations now and then. So I don’t think it was ever on the cards for us to work that way.
How did the arrangement with Energy Rekords in Sweden come about to finally release the album in 1999?
Vince and I’s publisher was a real Rock ‘N’ Roll character named Rob Buckle who ran Sonet Records who were based in Sweden. It was a subsidiary of a blues label for people like Muddy Waters. He got in touch with me and said “I’ve been to a music fair and there’s this small label who want to put the album out” and I was made up. But our relationship with Energy didn’t really kick off, I think there were some language differences so we didn’t do anything more. But it was great to have the album remastered at Polar Studios where ABBA had worked and going over there to play the Helsingborg Festival and a small tour of Scandinavia later that year. I still go over to Sweden two or three times a year, I was there last week in Malmo.
How was the reaction to the album?
I was amazed because the album has never sold massive amounts but having the played that festival gig on the eve of the album coming out in Helsingborg, there was about 500 people there and they knew all the words! Not just the singles but the album tracks as well. I don’t know how, maybe it had been going backwards and forwards as a bootleg on cassette or something…but these kids weren’t born when the album was recorded so I was really, really gobsmacked to have such a reaction. It’s been like that since… every time I get p*ssed off and I think “I’m a 50 year old bloke, what am I doing this for?”, there’s a gig like last week in Malmo or Berlin or Budapest. You’re making people happy and that’s the thing.
What are you up to now musically?
For the past 10 years, I’ve been in a partnership with my friend Gary Durant in a project called MARLOW. Unfortunately, pressures of work and musical differences have led to us to part ways which is a shame as we have an album’s worth of material ready to go. We may actually release it at some point, probably on Electro-Shock records but we want a rest from it. We’ll see where the land lies and possibly it may see release next year.
You recorded the album between 1982 and 1984. Listening back to the album, what were your favourite tracks at the time and which do you think truly stand up today?
I’ve always liked ‘That Dangerous Age’, the sound on it is good and ‘The Kiss’ because it was quite dramatic and intense…that was my best vocal performance. Yes, it’s an album recorded in 1982-83 and it will sound like early ERASURE, YAZOO, DEPECHE MODE because it’s the same synths being used. But it is definitely my album, I wrote all of the music and Vince added his bits so it would be ungenerous to say he didn’t add his musical bent to it. He put the sounds on it and made it was it is. I’m very proud of it and I think it’s great.
What’s the funniest story you can tell us involving you and Vince?
There’s one that doesn’t particularly involve me but one that happened during the time I worked with Vince but he was still working with Alison Moyet in YAZOO… they was driving backwards and forwards from the studio back to Basildon. His and Alison’s relationship was going its course and on the way back from London, they were in the Dartford tunnel and he ran out of petrol which she was not best pleased about!! *laughs*
So he had to walk through the Dartford tunnel to get petrol! Bearing in mind he’s been on Top Of The Pops two nights before, I was saying to him “surely you had money to get enough petrol?” That always amused me, the idea of him struggling through the Dartford Tunnel leaving Alison fuming in the car! *laughs*
And on the 12 inch version of ‘The Face Of Dorian Gray’, there’s a bit where we decided to physically whistle the tune. So that involved me and Vince in studio, and Eric running from the control room to join us at the mike after he hit record. We lined it all up to go as everything had to be done in one take. But we unplugged his headphones, so when Eric came in and started whistling, he couldn’t hear a thing and we cracked up… you can hear us laughing on the record!
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Robert Marlow
DEPECHE MODE founder members Vince Clarke and Martin Gore have recorded together for the first time since 1981’s ‘Speak & Spell’.
The fruit of their endeavours is ‘Ssss’, a collection of minimal techno which is very much Martin Gore’s kind of disco.
Indeed, the album is very reminiscent of Gore’s DJ set on the final night of 2011’s Short Circuit Presents Mute. ERASURE were headlining the event and it was there that the pair first discussed their project formally.
The tracks were put together by the two Basildon electro boys via exchange of sound files by email.
The most immediate track is the marvellous ‘Lowly’ which opens the album with some sweeping synthetic strings over metronmic rhythms. Other tracks like first single ‘Spock’ follow-up ‘Single Blip’ and the ironically titled ‘Skip This Track’ follow a more stripped system of incessant dance but overall, these tracks are possibly more accessible than purer forms of techno, thanks partly to the duo’s inherent song based prowess.
However, ‘Ssss’ is distinctly wordless but provides an interesting beat driven addition to the lineage that already includes YAZOO, THE ASSEMBLY, ERASURE, RECOIL and various other solo DM projects. With regards ‘Ssss’, The Blitz Club’s legendary DJ Rusty Egan has commented “…love the VCMG album”.
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than the man himself. ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK caught up with Robert Marlow to chat about his cult classic.
is available now on Mute Records
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