Tag: Yello (Page 5 of 6)

YELLO Toy

26 September 2016 /

Recorded in Zurich, Swiss electro pioneers YELLO deliver ‘Toy’, their first album since 2009.

Dieter Meier and Boris Blank had made a recorded return earlier in the year with the moody ‘Why This, Why That & Why?’, a track in collaboration with JEAN-MICHEL JARRE as part of his ‘Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise’ album.

Despite 37 years of making music together, the sound of YELLO remains intriguing and distinctly European.

The deluxe 17 track variant of ‘Toy’ starts with the delightful intro piece ‘Frau Tonium’, a short collage of bending synths and machine drones.

But the album begins proper with ‘Limbo’, a classic YELLO single laced with electronic effects and percussive mantras. Meier gives his distinctive drawl over a big metronomic beat syncopated by rhythm guitar for some suitably racey music.

The Moroder gone Latin Jazz lilt of ‘30,000 Days’ is appropriately moody, with brushes complimenting the vibrant but unimposing rhythmics before the superb ‘Electrified II’; with Meier’s mind blown by the velvet voice of Malia, this could be Shirley Bassey indulging in some seductive energetic electro-cabaret as she exclaims “Life’s a bitch and I’m no witch”.

Malia continues her soulful seduction on ‘Cold Flame’ which exploits the importance of grooves working in unison with fat driving beats. It shows exactly what club music at sunset should be.

Beijing-born chanteuse Fifi Rong makes her first vocal appearance on ‘Kiss The Cloud’, a slice of dreamy elegance over a drum loop that wouldn’t sound of place on one of her own recordings.

Malia returns for a gorgeous duet with Meier entitled ‘Starlight Scene’; as the man himself says, she is “out of this world” and with Blank’s bursts of vibratoed synth, this is a continental torch song that does its thing in just over three minutes. What is apparent about many of these new YELLO songs is how short they are, so they never outstay their welcome.

The pace picks up for ‘Tool Of Love’ with Blank’s crunchy electronics offsetting the inherent jive, while on the Malia-voiced ‘Give You The World’, a 6/8 pulse takes ‘Toy’ into another direction. The steadily pulsating ‘Dialectical Kid’ sees Meier’s robotised voice pair up with yet another female vocalist Heidi Happy, whose eerie overtones suit the track’s more obviously mechanical backbone.

The haunting ‘Dark Side’ sees the return of Fifi Rong where both Meier and Rong’s voices help create a wonderful filmic atmosphere alongside Blank’s layered voice samples. A instrumental interlude ‘Pacific AM’ does exactly what it says on the tin, conjuring images of sunsets over a hypnotic rhythmical motif before the sunny Balearic flavoured ‘Blue Biscuit’.

Featuring some great acoustic guitar from Jeremy Baer who contributes all the fret work on ‘Toy’, Boris Blank takes his turn on vocals and using all manner of layered voice treatments, weirdly tells the object of his desire “you never know how much I love you”. Taking its lead from the classic percussive snap of KRAFTWERK but with an added Latin flavour, ‘Lost In Motion’ with Fifi Rong sees her on an uptempo number for a change, with her angelic breathy tones offsetting the slightly fiercer electronic action.

With the song part of the deluxe variant of ‘Toy’ now over, the album concludes with three experimental pieces. The oddball voice sample ambience of ‘Magma’, while well-intended, sadly spoils the flow of the album. Whether in standard or deluxe versions, this strangely sits on both formats while ‘Electrified II’ and ‘Lost In Motion’ feature on the deluxe only. Much better though is ‘Toy Square’, a more frantic instrumental that explores LEFTFIELD territory. A full-length reprise of ‘Fran Tonium’ ends both editions of ‘Toy’ with a collage of drones and bleeps, but unfortunately outstays its welcome.

This last trio of instrumentals ultimately confuse the album, but will probably come fully into context at YELLO’s upcoming live shows with lashings of visuals and volume.

A danceable electronic record that is not built around the predictable beats and drops of EDM, ‘Toy’ is a mature and atmospheric statement, yet great fun. It loses it with the closing instrumental indulgences, but this album will not disappoint the eager YELLO faithful.

‘Toy’ is released via Polydor / Universal Music on 30th September 2016, available as a CD, deluxe CD, double LP and digital download

YELLO appear at Kraftwerk Berlin on 26th, 28th, 29th and 30th October 2016

http://yello.com

https://www.facebook.com/yello.ch/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
26th September 2016

YELLO Interview

17 September 2016 /

Boris Blank founded YELLO at the end of the 1970s, together with Carlos Perón.

They were soon joined by singer Dieter Meier, and the Swiss group became one of the most respected and influential electronic acts in the world. Reduced to a duo after Perón left for a solo career in 1983, YELLO’s best-known songs include ‘Oh Yeah’, which featured in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’, and ‘The Race’, which was a Top 10 hit in the UK.

YELLO recently thrilled fans by announcing live Shows in Berlin in October. Boris Blank took a few minutes to speak with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about the shows and YELLO’s new studio album, ‘Toy’.

The upcoming shows in Berlin are being billed as YELLO’s first live gigs, so how are they different from 1983’s ‘Live at The Roxy’?

The Roxy was more of a twenty minute gig, which was not a full live concert as we are playing now in Berlin – fully 90 minutes. It was very well prepared at the time with the Fairlight sampling machine. A few little things were live – and Dieter’s voice, of course, was live – but the rest was from this media.

yellology-yello

This time, in Berlin, the richest track, ‘Tied Up’, will have fourteen people together with me and Dieter on stage. So, there will be some real live musicians on stage, as well – that is the difference between New York and today. People ask, after 38 years – the hardcore fans of YELLO – why don’t you do this for us? So I think it is time to share our music and our visuals with our YELLO fans.

Will you be playing some of the classic material? Will we, for example, get to hear ‘Domingo’ live?

‘Domingo’ is not on the list – no, I am sorry. There will be more famous tracks – ‘Oh Yeah’, of course. There will be other tracks like ‘The Evening’s Young’ and many other tracks from our old list of YELLO music. There will be ‘Tied Up’ – a very wild track. There will be bits of ‘Liquid Lies’. There will be some old tracks, of course, as well as the new YELLO tracks – and hopefully they will also become classic tracks in the next 25 years.

‘Toy’ has the classic YELLO sound, but it also feels more mature and refined. In the studio, did you have a vision of how you wanted the album to sound?

When making the music for YELLO, I never think about a certain aesthetic or a certain kind of concept. It just comes out. When you work every day, like I do in my studio, more as a painter than like a traditional musician, then things come up that I never knew before. I just make music for fun, of course – it should be fun all the time. At the end, that is the result, reflecting more or less my fantasy from the past months and years that I’ve been working on those tracks.

What is interesting and makes me very happy – it is sort of a compliment – is when people say, “You know, Boris, I can say after three bars that this is your music or this is YELLO music”. That is still, I think, the case with this album, as well. You can feel it or hear the characteristics.

boris-blank-fairlight

You mentioned the Fairlight, and your use of it is famous. Your old machine currently lives in Australia. Is it right that the lucky owner inherited your library of sound files?

The reason is that the hard drive didn’t work anymore, so I sent the whole Fairlight to Australia to have the system fixed. They played out all of my old library, which was immense – it is a huge library – and sent it back to me on two or three hard disks.

It is very nice going back into those sounds. I’m not using them for this album, but the next time that I find some space, I would like to recover or recycle those sounds with the newest technology for sampling and go deeper – like with a microscope, going deeper into the molecules of all those sounds – and make new sounds.

It is a tragedy for me, because there was a lot of heart and sweat in those old samples. I recorded everything at the time. I threw a snowball at the studio wall and worked it into a bass drum in the end – things like this. It is nice to go back and see, in retrospect, how I worked at the time; how my mind and my feeling for sounds today has changed. It is a funny kind of history – a documentary for myself – to dig out all those old sounds and recover or recycle them.


Do you work more these days with computers or do you prefer hardware synthesizers?

I do have, for sentimental reasons, still, the ARP Odyssey and a few other ones, but I hardly work with them because I am not an emotional or sentimental person. I work today with the newest plug-ins which are available.

Of course, it keeps my mind and my brain in a good condition. I think that, if I want to have a really dirty Moog type of sound, I can do this as well using some tricks. So, I am not a traditionalist – I am looking to the future.

We know you are a fan of THE NORMAL’s ‘Warm Leatherette’ / ’TVOD.’ Are you also a fan of FAD GADGET or other early electronic artists?

FAD GADGET, of course! I am also a fan of musique concrète. I am a big fan of Pierre Boulez, of course, György Ligeti, and even some parts from Karlheinz Stockhausen and Raymond Scott. They are real pioneers in using electronic music. They are big influences for my own music, as well. They gave me the original kick to start making electronic music.

At the shows in Berlin, Dieter will be front and centre, but is there a chance that we will get to see some of your collaborators – perhaps Malia and Fifi Rong?

Fifi Rong and Malia will be live there. Fifi will sing two tracks, Malia one track and two tracks in a duet or collaboration with Dieter. We are looking forward to keep them happy, of course!


You worked with Malia on another project, ahead of the YELLO album. How did you come together?

It is kind of a long story, because friends of Malia came to me and asked a few times whether I would like to collaborate with her to produce four or five demo tracks that she could use to get a new contract. Finally, we started working between YELLO works, over about two years.

It was not enough doing four tracks – why don’t we do a whole album? On and off, she came to the studio and we worked together for at least two years. She is still a good friend of YELLO, of course, so that is her voice – it fits well on our new album.

In the past, you have worked with Shirley Bassey and Billy Mackenzie, who are two of the great vocalists of the last century. Malia’s voice sounds just as rich.

Yes, she has a special touch in her voice. It is not a colour which you find every day on this planet. She has a really special characteristic to her voice. She is one of the most respected Nina Simone interpreters; so, yes, she has a great voice. She has something alive and emotional in this voice, which is very unusual.

You recently collaborated with Jean-Michel Jarre, what was that experience like?

The experience with Jean-Michel Jarre was, if you compare it to chess players, like if you send a move to your friend in Stockholm or Tokyo. He was in Los Angeles and he sent me the track which he would like to collaborate on with YELLO for his album. As our move, Dieter and I sent him back some voices and a story, which Dieter came up with, and a few rhythmic and sound ideas from myself.

We haven’t met so far, but it was a nice experience and I admire his musical life a lot. I remember ‘Oxygene’. When I was very young, l thought “Wow, this is a whole other world of electronic music” – you know, it had the characteristic that Krautrock, all the German electronics, had at the time.

It was a pleasure and a big honour for us to be on this album, in such great company, with MASSIVE ATTACK and all these great people involved in the project.

YELLO released a music-making app called the Yellofier. Do you think you could see YELLO making a commercial track using that technology?

There are some sounds – some parts, some fragments – on the new album which I had done with the Yellofier. Also, we are developing some more effects or features for the Yellofier quite soon. I would like to get in a collaboration to build some hardware or a sampling machine that has the architecture I wish to work with – an expanded version of the Yellofier – just limited somehow. But that is an idea for the future.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Boris Blank

Special thanks to Duncan Clark at 9PR

‘Toy’ is released via Polydor / Universal Music on 30th September 2016, available as a CD, deluxe CD, double LP and digital download

YELLO appear at Kraftwerk Berlin on 26th, 28th, 29th and 30th October 2016

http://yello.com

https://www.facebook.com/yello.ch/

Text and Interview by Simon Helm
17th September 2016

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise

8 May 2016 /

Released last October, ‘Electronica 1: The Time Machine’ was JEAN-MICHEL JARRE’s first album since 2007’s ‘Téo & Téa’.

It was a worldwide collaborative adventure where the French Maestro “had this idea of merging DNA with musicians and artists of different generations, linked, directly or indirectly, to electronic music in a kind of sharing process in a world where we’re more isolated than ever by our smartphones and the Internet”.

During its five year mission, the ‘Electronica’ sessions produced an excess of tracks, thanks to the number of willing contributors who embraced Jarre’s ethic to write in the same room, as opposed to remote working via the web. “Electronic music is all about connections” he said, both practically and figuratively. ‘Electronica 1: The Time Machine’ featured AIR, TANGERINE DREAM, Vince Clarke, John Carpenter and Laurie Anderson; so for those who were unaware of any electronic music before AVICII, it came as something of an education.

The second instalment ‘Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise’ has no less impressive a cast, with PET SHOP BOYS, THE ORB, YELLO, Peaches, Gary Numan, Hans Zimmer and Sebastien Tellier all willing conspirators in one of the ambitious music projects ever undertaken.

‘The Heart of Noise, Pt. 1’ featuring French techno kid Rone begins with an almost Morricone aesthetic, as if the Italian composer had used synths. After a marvellous impressionistic start with an enticing filmic ambience, the more uptempo second part sees Jarre taking classic trance melodies along for the ride, utilising steady beats and percussive mantras without being obtrusive.

‘Brick England’ with PET SHOP BOYS is classic mid-tempo Euro disco, with Tennant and Lowe not breaking ranks with a rockabilly tune or anything. But Jarre’s ribbon controlled lead synth does sound as though it might break into ‘The Final Countdown’! Following on, ‘These Creatures’ with experimental singer / songwriter Julia Holte takes things downtempo with a gentle blippy soundscape. Holter provides some wonderfully angelic vocals and voice samples, as the dreamy build swims along seductively.

PRIMAL SCREAM are a surprise inclusion although their flirtation with harder electronic forms on ‘Autobahn 66’ and their cover of ‘Some Velvet Morning’ justifies their presence. However the basis of ‘As One’ is a speeded up take on ‘Come Together’ from ‘Screamadelica’ and sees pitch shifted voices alongside vocoder processed tones that could easily be mistaken for GRIMES going happy hardcore.

The unlikely friendship between Gary Numan and Jean-Michel Jarre has resulted in ‘Here For You’, possibly the most purely electronic work Numan for many years. Significant in its absence of crunching guitars, Jarre himself amusingly described this stomper as “Oscar Wilde Techno”. Whatever, it is certainly the darkest thing Jarre has ever recorded

‘Electrees’ sees an eagerly awaited collaboration with award winning soundtrack composer Hans Zimmer epic. Jarre’s father Maurice of course won Oscars for his work on ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ‘Dr Zhivago’ and ‘Passage To India’. Zimmer has a varied CV including BUGGLES, HELDEN and even producing a single for THE DAMNED, but first worked on fusing the traditional orchestral arrangements and electronic instruments in 1980 with English composer Stanley Myers who wrote ‘Cavatina’, the theme to ‘The Deer Hunter’.

With a cinematic sheen, ‘Electrees’ harks back to Zimmer’s synth roots with choral samples and synthesized strings, recalling Moby’s ‘God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters’.

A non-musician collaboration comes in the form of ‘Exit with National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden. Frantic and tense with a stop / start structure, it slows for a monologue by Snowden. The track’s political slant is thematically closer to 1988’s ‘Revolutions’ with a chip tune influence that soundtracks a spy chase and “finding a way out”.

On the other side of the coin, the brilliant ‘Gisele’ with Sebastien Tellier is very melodic and unsurprisingly Gallic, the gathering of two French talents sounding not unlike Serge Gainsbourg gone electro. THE ORB’s distinctly spacey textures make their presence felt during ‘Switch On Leon’. They actually first worked with Jarre on a remix of ‘Oxygène 8’ in 1997, but it was said at the time that he was unhappy with the results so the track was subsequently issued as ‘Toxygene’ by THE ORB themselves. Whatever the story, water must have passed under the bridge for the two parties to reunite.

‘What You Want’ has the unmistakeable snarl of Peaches  over an electro hip-hop backbeat. With her characteristic diva humour coupled with some asexual madness, it’s a diversion from Jarre’s usual template that will horrify fans of ‘Oxygene’ with its dubstep and rap elements.

Meanwhile, ‘Circus’ with German producer Siriusmo is very dance pop with DAFT PUNK robot voices in abundance; while good fun, it begs the question as to what a collaboration with Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter would sound like. No questions as to how a YELLO versus Jean-Michel Jarre co-write would turn out like as ‘Why This, Why That and Why’ delivers the expected; Dieter Meier gives his distinct droll while Boris Blank and Jarre provide an airy blend of soothing atmospheric backdrops.

‘The Architect’ with house trailblazer Jeff Mills is hypnotic, orchestrated Detroit techno that provides an accessible entry point to the genre. But more appealing to a handbag filled dancefloor is ‘Swipe To The Right’. Possibly another politically coded piece or the use of Tinder, the brilliant song partners Jarre with Cyndi Lauper. No stranger to electronic forms, particularly with her under rated ‘Bring Ya To The Brink’ album of 2007, there are big bass riffs galore for a great poptastic exploration that is both catchy and danceable. A sample from the Minipops rhythm box that appeared on ‘Oxygene’ even drops in for possibly the standout track on this collection.

To close, the album finishes with two solo compositions ‘Falling Down’ and ‘The Heart of Noise (The Origin)’; the former floats a vocodered vocal over a distinctly harder-edged mechanical pulse, while the latter is a third variation on the title track. It would be fair to say with ‘Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise’, the results cannot help but be mixed.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK was told by Gary Numan that Jean-Michel Jarre “is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my entire life” – so obviously he didn’t want to upset anyone and decided to release everything! However, such is the method of modern music consumption, the listener can be more brutal and from the two volumes, a great 16 track ‘Best Of Electronica’ playlist can easily be constructed. While Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise’ is not as consistent as the first instalment, there is something for anyone remotely interested in electronic music. The choice is yours.

Jean-Michel-Jarre-Electronica-uk-Tour-2016‘Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise’ is released by Columbia / Sony Music

The ‘Electronica’ World Tour runs from July to December 2016, please check Jean-Michel Jarre’s website for more details

http://jeanmicheljarre.com/

https://www.facebook.com/jeanmicheljarre

https://twitter.com/jeanmicheljarre

http://aerojarre.blogspot.co.uk/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
8th May 2016

A Short Conversation with FIFI RONG

16 October 2014 /

FIFI RONG dual

One musician taking electronic music into some intriguing fusions is Beijing born Fifi Rong.

Now resident in London, she first came to prominence as a member of THE TENORIONS but has since embarked on a journey which has involved collaborations with Tricky and releasing her first album ‘Wrong’ in 2013.

With influences such as COCTEAU TWINS and MAZZY STAR, Fifi Rong’s development of her own traditionally inspired brand of crisp electronica has resulted in her most impressive body of work to date.

The six track ‘Next Pursuit’ EP combines the vocal mystery of Kelli Ali and the quirkiness of MOLOKO with an exotic beauty. The title track is a particular highlight but there is much more. The eerie ‘Intimacy’ plays with a sparse backbone and comes over like a less intimidating PORTISHEAD while ‘Breathless’ sees Miss Rong play with her native Mandarin language for a unique, downtempo culture blend.

‘Wishes Fault’ ups the tempo and melodically references the more traditional aspects of the Far East with a hypnotic resonance. The windy acoustic excursion ‘Cold In You’ is an interesting diversion in the manner of Lana Del Rey that showcases Fifi Rong’s versatility before the closer ‘Equality’ which takes a spacey R’n’B template and adding the vocal menace of Róisín Murphy.

Fifi Rong has manifested her own dream laden template with her hypnotic vocals as a focal point. With the release of a new EP ‘Next Pursuit RMX’ and an upcoming show at The Barfly in London’s Camden, she kindly spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about her career so far plus her upcoming collaboration with YELLO.

Since arriving in the UK, you have undergone an artistic journey of several years to reach your ‘Next Pursuit’?

Yes. In fact I had undergone a whole life journey to reach my life purpose i.e. music right now. However, the journey is not as rollercoaster-ish as before. Now, it’s a momentum of constantly reaching for better production skills, new ideas and more authentic ways of capturing my current thoughts and philosophy. Music should mature as the artist matures, and I demand growth as an artist.


What first fascinated you about the approach to music here compared with what you may have been accustomed to?

The UK embraces all kinds of experimentations in music genres. There’s a sense of freedom here, and I never felt any limitations of what I can or what I can’t. That matches my personality really well.

If it’s not new or it’s been done before, I’m not interested, and that sense of freedom to create is important to me. I was never really apart of the Chinese group, so I was not accustomed to anything. They thought I was weird.

When you first become known in the UK, you were using the Yamaha Tenorion. What interested you about using electronically derived sounds and processes for your music?

I get bored of traditional sounding genres easily. I would be learning an instrument, and get bored before getting good at it, and plus I don’t find the idea of playing someone else’s awesome composition with my own interpretation very attractive. The space to create in a given genre or an instrument is a lot narrower than what the computer can offer, unless one imposes limitation on him or herself.

MAZZY STAR appear to have been a strong influence on you, has there been anyone else?

I wouldn’t say MAZZY STAR is a strong influence as much as Martina Topley-Bird or COCTEAU TWINS. I would say Chinese folk/traditional style is an inherent element, and then there was Brit rock, R’n’ B, neo-soul and dub reggae, UK garage… now I’m digging MOUNT KIMBIE, BURIAL, FLYING LOTUS types of sounds. As I said, I get bored easily.

Fifi-flame

How would you prefer your music to be described?

Hmm! Maybe new / hybrid / alternative singer-songwriter / producer… I know this is not the most satisfying answer, it’s arguable whether singer/songwriter is a genre, but without it, my music can be misunderstood as just music with no songs. But that is untrue.

Your own recording of your Tricky collaboration ‘Only If I Knew’ pointed to a crisper, less claustrophobic approach?

Yes, it’s one of my approaches or varieties, but it doesn’t mean I won’t go back to my earlier sound. I just do whatever feels right for the track at hand.

One fascinating aspect of your music is how you use Chinese harmonic interplay within your melodies and vocals to provide quite a unique sound alongside the Western and African derived dance styles. How challenging is it to mix it all together to produce a coherent piece of work?

There’s no challenge at all. It’s like asking me how challenging is to speak English with a little Chinese accent? It’s natural to me, both my music and my accent.

Can you remember when you first had a dream in English and what it was all about?

Yes, when I was a little kid I had a dream speaking English fluently and living in a Western country while I didn’t know a word of English. And when I woke up I was utterly disappointed. However the good thing is, my dream always comes true 🙂


‘Next Pursuit’ is a brilliant track with sections of tempo and rhythm variation. What inspired that?

It’s a co-production with Sadsic, the tempo is the original 140bpm I did, but the rhythm variation is thanks to Sadsic’s addition.

What is ‘Next Pursuit’ is about?

There are more conformists in the world who will tell you to be realistic and do what you should with the best intention than that tiny percentage of people who are living their dreams and tell you yes go for it.

‘Next Pursuit’ is essentially about the attitude of not settling for less and making compromises in life and be honest with myself. There are pressures from both sides, family, friends and people in general thought the music path is almost an impossible one, unrealistic, and I should get a real job in return of years of education. Then there are people in music attempting to influence me towards their ways. It is a tougher problem as sometimes I can’t tell if it’s good or bad straight away, more commercial doesn’t mean worse, but whether I’m comfortable with it, it will take a long time until I realise.

Videos are a part of your artistic ethos. How important is it for you to present a visual aspect of your art to compliment the music?

I would walk around all day thinking about music but I not how I look. I’m essentially just a music maker who spends most time in my home studio. Now my music has integrated into live performance so I have to wear those additional hats you see. So I need to think about what you see, some of the time.

Your music has had a positive response in the UK and Europe. But has there been much reaction to what you are doing back in China at all?

Yes, interestingly as I haven’t promoted or released there. In China, most social networks here are blocked, but they always get their ways around to find the music and upload it on their equivalent Chinese social sites.

Fifi with Boris Blank

You were spotted at the launch party for Boris Blank’s ‘Electrified’ box set and are now working with YELLO. How did your collaboration come about?

Yes, we are collaborating on the songs ‘Electrified’, ‘Big City Grill’ and one more track hopefully. Boris Blank reached out to me by email and said he really liked my music and the way I do my harmonies in my tracks. And that’s about it! 😉

Where would you like to take your music next for your second album?

More to my current music tastes I think. I don’t know until I start making it. It will be a documentary of where I am right now. Sometimes it’s not good to think too much… music and intention don’t go well together, for me at least.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Fifi Rong

Fifi Rong plays The Barfly in London’s Camden on WEDNESDAY 29TH OCTOBER 2014, tickets are available from www.mamacolive.com/thebarfly

The ‘Next Pursuit RMX’ EP is available now from https://fifirong.bandcamp.com/album/next-pursuit-rmx

Meanwhile, the ‘Next Pursuit’ EP is still available as a CD from www.fifirong.com or can be downloaded via the usual digital outlets.

https://soundcloud.com/fifirong

https://www.twitter.com/fifirong

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
16th October 2014

A Short Conversation with BORIS BLANK

5 September 2014 /

YELLO co-founder and instrumentalist Boris Blank is to release a boxed set of unreleased soundtrack material recorded between 1977-2014.

Together with partner Dieter Meier as YELLO, the Swiss duo’s tongue-in-cheek avant pop attained a worldwide cult following with songs such as ‘I Love You’, ‘Lost Again’, ‘Vicious Games’, ‘The Race’ and ‘The Rhythm Divine’ featuring Dame Shirley Bassey. Their music notably appeared in films such as John Hughes’ ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ and Michael J Fox’s ‘Secret of My Success’.

‘Electrified’ is a solo collection of soundtrack work from Blank; this limited edition boxed set will contain 3 hours of unreleased music. Over the years, he wrote a large number of soundtrack ideas that were never publicly released.

Originally launched as a Kickstarter project, the 58 musical sketches range from the race friendly uptempo title track ‘Electrified’ that was commissioned for Volkwagen, to the more abstract, spacey vibes of ‘The Time Tunnel’. The reggaefied synth strings of ‘The Last Mile’ give a stylised diversion to the rhythm while ‘Future Past’ buzzes and whirs over a thumping four-to-the-floor beat. The unsettling beautiful ‘One Minute To Go’ could have been in a John Carpenter movie while the sombre, tribal jazz of ‘Cult Of Mirrors’ is in another world.

These tracks make up the main 45 track part of the release covering 1984-2014. But there is a bonus cassette / download of material that was originally recorded between 1977-83 onto Revox A77 2-track or compact cassette. The electro scratch flavoured ‘Aqua Marine’ begins this ‘Rote Fabrik’ archive section and will not disappoint YELLO fans. There’s also the surreal drama of ‘Echo Gang’ and ambience of ‘Violetta’ while the percussive ‘Young Dr Kirk’ brings in some detuned harmonics into the equation. The boxed set also contains a 36-page booklet of Boris Blank’s personal photographs, biography and comments.

Boris Blank kindly spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about ‘Electrified’, his career with YELLO and working with the late Billy MacKenzie…

BORIS BLANK_image

How did you manage to have so much unreleased material in the vaults for this ‘Electrified’ boxset?

I have a great similarity with squirrels. They bury their nuts and dig them out when needed. But sometimes they forget about them. In the last 35 years, I’ve written about 200 tracks that were never used. Ian Tregoning, the man who brought YELLO to the UK, was on a visit 2 years ago and we started listening to the vaults. One hard-drive alone contained 26 songs that are now on ‘Electrified’. That was the decision to launch a boxset on this scale.

‘Electrified’ was made possible by the Kickstarter platform. Is crowdfunding the future for an artist in your position?

I think, there are two important points for crowd-funding:

1. A set of this complexity would never be published by a record company, because it would be too expensive. I also have complete control of content and packaging.

2. You have an immediate feedback from your fans, so you can see very quickly whether the project is concluded or not. This saves energy.

It must have been fascinating to listen back to the recordings, but also be reminded how the electronic instrumentation was developing through the years?

Amazingly, they sound very good. Some of them almost timeless. Working with modern technology is much more convenient though, it stops you making final decisions.

What were your favourite synths?

The ARP Odyssey was my first love. One of the few analog synths I still have. Herbie Hancock used it on the ‘Sextant’ album and it changed my life. I saved up and bought one.

Did the variety of recording media that would have been used present any issues in terms of the final sound quality of the product? For instance, was there any good material that had deteriorated which had to be left out?

In the early days I recorded directly onto cassette, sometimes bouncing tracks and playing new parts at the same time. The synths were also pretty noisy so there were several ‘technical challenges’ on the ‘Rote Fabrik (1977-83)’ material. Luckily, no material was dropped because of deterioration.

Was any of this ‘Electrified’ material ever considered for YELLO?

For 35 years now, I make music for YELLO like a painter who paints dozens of pictures for an exhibition. In the end, however, it takes only 12 or 14 tracks for a YELLO album so the rest of the images remain in the workshop. These are the songs. These are now ‘Electrified’.

What are particularly your favourite tracks on ‘Electrified’?

Mmm, it’s like asking a father to pick his favorite child. My current favourites are ‘The Time Tunnel’ and ‘Electrified’. I recommend the videos, they’re amazing.

With this box set, and Dieter Meier performing solo concerts, what is the state of play at the moment with YELLO?

2014 is the year of the side-chain. 2015 starts in a few months and YELLO will return to the main street. The new album is nearly ready.

The late Billy MacKenzie was a regular collaborator of YELLO, what was he like to work with and what was your favourite work you did with him?

The songs ‘Capri Calling’ and ‘Because You Love’ still get under my skin. Working with Billy was always a pleasure. He worked fast and sang with his whole heart and soul, he gave everything. You could see it was very emotional for him. And for me.

What would you say were your proudest career moments with YELLO?

Proud is a funny word but yes, I am proud that YELLO still exists in 2014. In 1977, I never would have believed it.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Boris Blank

Special thanks to Lee Puddlefoot and Josh Cooper at 9PR

‘Electrified’ is released by Blank Media as a vinyl / CD / cassette boxset on 15th September 2014. A limited edition 20 track promo CD is also available.

http://yello.com

https://www.facebook.com/yello.ch

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
5th September 2014

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