Beijing meets Berlin on ‘The Crown’, the first fruit of labours from FIFI RONG and LO.
Adding a twist to the alluring sound that was last heard on the ‘Awake’ EP earlier this year, ‘The Crown’ showcases a synergy between two music creatives from two previously walled cities with a feeling of empowerment and freedom.
The past couple of years have seen Miss Rong wear a number of different dresses from the Trans-Atlantic pop of ‘The Same Road’ and the reggaefied overtones of ‘The One’, to guesting for the highly regarded Swiss trailblazers YELLO. But she describes ‘The Crown’ as “the most consistent body of work I have written in terms of style and mood; no more, no less”.
‘The Crown’ title song is as gorgeous and airy as one can expect from Miss Rong, a blippy arpeggio leads into an unexpected drop which formulates a mutant groove and high pitched vocal modulations which some will love but others may not find so appealing.
The moody and mysterious ‘Hunger Game’ offers some chilled atmospheres as the sun goes down, with its shimmering qualities enhancing a great pop ballad and Miss Rong making the most of her vocal range.
Going ‘Upstream’, Miss Rong and LO offer a building epic of cinematic proportions with swoops, sweeps and layers that almost conjure a strangely Sci-Fi Country & Western feel… ah yes, ‘Twin Peaks’ meets ‘Nashville’ in Outer Space!
‘Foreign’ is more obscure and unusual, sitting it is own aural cocoon and conveying the feelings of an outsider attempting to settle into a new environment in the face of adversity over a soothing bass mantra,
But while it is more akin to modern pop than perhaps any of her previous releases, ‘The Crown’ still maintains an aura of delightful oddness that will bridge long standing followers of Miss Rong while and welcome newcomers to her magical world.
‘The Crown’ EP is released in CD and download formats
Following some singular adventures in the neo-stateside pop of ‘The Same Road’ and the experimental reggae of The One’, avant-pop songstress FIFI RONG is back with a 4 track EP entitled ‘Awake’.
She says: “Awake is about waking up to the truth after you have hypnotised yourself and deconstructing the paradoxes of human nature: subordination and rebellion, pain and joy, self-limitation and liberation”.
Fresh from a series of special guest appearances with YELLO during their recent European live jaunt where she provided her dreamy elegance to their songs ‘Lost In Motion’ and ‘Kiss The Cloud’, the Beijing-born beauty is in a buoyant artistic mood.
Indeed, spending time with Dieter Meier and Boris Blank appears to have had an effect with the angelic air of the ‘Awake’ title track recalling the solid rhythmic charge of her Swiss collaborators.
Exotic and delightfully odd, the superb aural barrage of ‘Attack’ really is genre-bending, bursts of drum ‘n’ bass, techno noise, distortion, computer game bleeps and creepy vocal pitch shifts with rather crucially, a great melody as well.
The rhythmic ragga ‘n’ hum of ‘Horizon’ utilises its electronics to full effect, while Miss Rong adds a ghostly resonance, blurring the picture with soprano cut-ups.
‘Sin City’ is straightforward Fifi as past listeners have known and loves her, with “the bleak darkness” shimmering alongside her wonderful voice and gentle percussion on the threes conjuring an unusual but divine sound.
Playful yet melancholic, accessible yet intriguing. After the singles trail of the last 18 months, it is great to again have a body of work to represent the current artistic mindset of FIFI RONG in ‘Awake’. Curious? Yes, you should be! 😉
One person who is not shying from experimenting within the electronica genre is Beijing born, London based FIFI RONG.
Not only has she rebelled against the ordinary in her homeland China, but when the realisation that spreading her musical wings wasn’t going to happen there, she took the bald step of relocating to somewhere she could really emerge. And since, she has with sublime songs such as ‘Only If I Knew’ and ‘Next Pursuit’. Bred on MAZZY STAR and COCTEAU TWINS, the dainty songstress has been developing her own ethereal, eerie style, with the incorporation of some magnificent electronica, to challenge many of her contemporaries.
None other than YELLO invited her to tour and perform with them, and the Oriental Beauty has been going from strength to strength since with her multiple single releases.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is catching up with FIFI RONG just in time for her latest release ‘The One’.
The last time ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK chatted to you, you were embarking upon your YELLO adventure and since then, there have been live events with the guys themselves!
Yes! Last year I did 4 sold out shows at Kraftwerk Berlin with YELLO. They were their first-ever shows so it was intense and I loved it. And this year we are doing different dates, and much more spread-out.
The Montreux festival was a lot of fun. Geneva was very beautiful. And I’m looking forward to the upcoming arena shows in Germany, Switzerland and Austria too.
‘The Same Road’ took your followers as surprise with a faster tempo and a clear nod towards the poppier side of things?
Yes. I like challenging myself and I like experimenting. I know I can do moody downtempo all day long, but I like to explore the uptempo side of me too while staying undeviated from who I am.
Are we to expect for ‘The One’ to usher more changes which will define your creations for a while, or is the organic process of your music making never ceasing to evolve?
I think ‘The One’ is more holistic and conclusive, from what I was in the very early days to what I am now. It happened as a simple bassline, I had no intention for it to become a so-called dub reggae vibe. I’m not aware of these things, I thought it was interesting, that’s all. So who knows what will be the next bits of excitement that are coming my way 🙂
Having released some fantastic singles, are we to expect a long player to follow?
Yes. I’m making an EP first, and this is likely to be followed by the album sometime next year. I know I have been warming up for a while. But I hope it’s worth the wait as I have been writing so much. Basically I’m being patient and I only want to release the best tracks, rather than 5 mediocre albums with some good tracks. I’m in no rush. Quality comes first.
The Pledge Music campaigns have really worked for you…
Yes, I’m very fortunate to have a small group of loyal followers who believe in me as an artist, a person, and a spirit behind all this. And they support and stay open minded to grow with me and accept my changes and evolution.
You have travelled extensively over the last few months. Any highlights?
Yes! Geneva was paradise! So in love with the lake and the mountains there. But I only got to stay there for one day. Texas was lovely. Beautiful and generous sun shine… Spain, where I escaped to on my working holiday, where I went on a solo adventure into the mountains and to the sea. You get the pattern. I like sunny places with clear water. But ironically I’m attached to London. Like a complicated love hate relationship:)
Is China still shutting you out, or are they warming to your creations? Have you any thoughts about how popular music is developing there?
Haven’t had many thoughts or attention towards it. If there was another Fifi, I’d delegate her to have a scan of what’s going on. Otherwise, London is my home, regardless of how it perceives me 🙂
Any new hardware or software in your studio you’d like to share your excitement about?
Oh yeah lots!! I got my Maschine2 with Komplete and a new system. I absolutely exhausted my old set up with the previous version of Logic X and my own samplers. So I’m exploring the new systems, very slowly.
I’m a bit like a dog with a bone type of person when it comes to music technology. A bit thick but I eventually get my teeth into it and won’t let go 🙂
Would you say this year marks a milestone in your career so far?
I would say it’s been nice and steady and I like the pace of my development as a songwriter, performer and producer. All these things take time and craft from the insider perspective. And the outside result is simply what it looks from the outside. I don’t think about it too much 🙂
What does the future hold for FIFI RONG as 2018 approaches?
A new EP and album as I mentioned earlier. It means lots of hard work on songwriting, recording and production 🙂
So basically it’s a case of just putting my head down, as I feel I’ve only just scratched the surface of my creativity…
‘The One’ is available now via AWAL through the usual digital outlets
FIFI RONG plays London Archspace on 19th October 2017
THE FRIXION are a new name, but the duo are both experienced hands…
British-born singer and lyricist Gene Serene emerged from Berlin’s hedonistic club scene and teamed up with RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP and CLOR cohort Bob Earland for her debut album ‘The Polaris Experience’ in 2015.
Meanwhile, synthesist and producer Lloyd Price is best known as a collaborator of SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK’s Martin Degville and a member of alternative eyeliner punk combo MASSIVE EGO who released their most recent opus ‘Beautiful Suicide’ on Out of Line Records.
Forming in 2016, Serene and Price’s combined sound mines both classic synthpop and Weimar Cabaret on their debut EP offering. The rich and stellar vocals of Gene Serene are on full display on the title track; ‘If U Ever Wonder’ oozes an accessibility reminiscent of LITTLE BOOTS, but thanks to Price’s production and arrangement, there’s a dark avant quality about it too.
The pop sensibilities continue on ‘Heartbroke Disco’, with Serene coming over like a Goth Kylie over Price’s trancey Numan-eqsue backbone. The brooding musicality of ‘From Dusk ‘Til Dawn’ exposes THE FRIXION’s moodier side, the wobbling bass synth and minor key mode lifted by a great chorus that is countered by a haunting spy drama instrumental section.
‘We Walk A Line’ swings in 6/8 like a mighty electro-COCTEAU TWINS trapped at Hansa Tonstudio, while to finish the five song collection, there’s a tribute to The Purple One with a touching take of his ‘Under The Cherry Moon’.
This excellent reinterpretation accentuates PRINCE’s often hidden spiritual link to European pop forms and recalls ‘The Rhythm Divine’, YELLO’s collaboration with Shirley Bassey.
The ‘If U Ever Wonder’ EP is a fine collection to launch THE FRIXION; the songs are varied enough while still having a core identity to build a connection with a curious electronic pop audience.
It’s rather like making a good impression on a first date in the hope of at least getting a second one… and yes, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK would like its second date 😉
‘If U Ever Wonder’ will be available as a CD EP or download on 14th August 2017, pre-order from https://thefrixion.bandcamp.com/
Last year’s ‘Close To The Noise Floor’ was a Cherry Red Records compilation which collected together many of the formative roots of UK electronic music, with recognised artists like THE HUMAN LEAGUE, BLANCMANGE, BEF, OMD and THROBBING GRISTLE side-by-side with those that didn’t get the same level of recognition and/or commercial success.
Now from the same label comes ‘Noise Reduction System’…
Subtitled ‘Formative European Electronica 1974-1984’, this 4CD set spreads a wider net and encompasses artists from countries which have an established heritage in electronic music (eg Germany and Belgium) through to those that don’t (eg Spain and Latvia).
DAF are represented here with their track ‘Ich Will’ which follows their usual template of bass sequencer driven music with live drums and guttural vocals.
The early YELLO song here ‘Glue Head’ is barely recognisable as the act that latterly went onto success with fully synthetic / sampled tracks such as ‘The Race’ and ‘Oh Yeah’. Full of dense live instrumentation including drums and guitars (and very little synth), it almost sounds like a completely different band.
One of the gems here is ‘Caramel’ by CLUSTER, a nifty monosynth and drum machine driven synthpop track from the 1974 album ‘Zuckerzeit’ which has an ending which sounds like a town hall meeting of The Clangers.
‘Krematorien’ by UNIVERSALANSCHLUSS has a rather wonderful minimalist early Mute Records aesthetic; pretty well mixed for its age and combining lo-fi drum machine, sequencer patterns and punky female vocals. The intro to the track also features a couple of Romanian flutes being bashed together to add to the rhythm of the piece, but mostly this is primitive electronics all the way.
The Swiss duo SCHALTKREIS WASSERMANN provide one of the better produced tracks here, utilising a Prophet 5, ARP 2600, Roland System 100M and an MC4 Sequencer, the track has a tightly programmed Giorgio Moroder feel to it.
Originally released in 1982, the track featured on the album ‘Psychotron’ which went Top 10 in the Melody Maker’s electronic chart.
Another worthy inclusion is ‘Multitrack Suggestion’ by VANGELIS, taken from the 1980 album ‘See You Later’, it sees a very different VANGELIS sound to the lush polysynth driven one we are familiar with. Almost KRAFTWERK-ish in conception with a Roland CR5000 drum machine, the overdubbing of live percussion sounds hints at the sound that was to come and features a vocal by Peter Marsh.
Unsurprisingly, much of the material here is pretty uncompromising, from the 21 minute plus ‘Geld’ by Berlin’s MALARIA, the 24 minute ‘Love You Generator’ by VAN KAYE & IGNIT and the 26 minute long ‘Zitternde Luft’ by GIANCARLO TONIUTTI; all of which vary very little over their running times.
On CD3, KLAUS SCHULZE’s ‘1984’ only just provides some light relief from a selection of tracks which mostly bear comparison with the darker experimental side of THROBBING GRISTLE.
‘1984’ is a beat-less pad-driven instrumental with Mellotron textures that recall some of the work of mid Virgin-era TANGERINE DREAM, Schulze’s former band.
On the final CD, ‘Principles’ by Belgium’s FRONT 242 recalls an early monosynth-driven DEPECHE MODE but with added speech samples and improvised electronics and ‘Shai Hulud’ by BERNARD SZAJNER adds some welcome melody with a trippy/sequenced instrumental piece.
‘Noise Reduction System’ is at times a daunting but ultimately fascinating curio which pulls together a quiet revolution which simultaneously took place across Europe at a time when electronic music equipment started to become affordable.
The artists featured here adopted the DIY ethos of punk but channelled it into a far more experimental direction. So for that reason, those seeking melodic synthpop should really look elsewhere.
However, for fans of uncompromising lo-fi electronic music, this compilation proves to be a treasure trove of hard to find and genuinely obscure tracks, which when researching certain pieces even Google failed to bring forth much in the way of information on some of the artists featured!
If you have an interest in the early roots of European electronic music, then ‘Noise Reduction System’ is worth seeking out. But for most synthpop fans, most of the material here will be a little too impenetrable…
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Beijing meets Berlin on ‘The Crown’, the first fruit of labours from FIFI RONG and LO.
‘The Crown’
is available now via AWAL through the usual digital outlets
is released by Cherry Red on 21st July 2017
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