Goin’ Old School isn’t a trip down music memory lane, it’s a mugging in the dark alleyway of nostalgia:
First up is some seriously smooth early ‘80’s, 1982 to be exact, electronic Soul from Imagination and their classic ‘Just An illusion’.
In the starkest contrast possible we have Front 242, with arguably their Poppiest song, ‘Tragedy For You’ from 1989.
And finally some relaxing, experimental, tones from Tangerine Dream’s ‘Tiergarten’ from 1985. Actually the flip side to ‘Le Parc’, one of the greatest synth tracks ever written.
Sam Sparro, the man with the croonyest voice in electronic Pop music is back with the second, and lead-in, single taken from his forthcoming ‘Return To Paradise’. It’s more classic Pop, less Disco, than the previous single ‘Happiness’. Actually more like the Sam Sparro of old, but slightly more musically mature.
The single comes complete with an eclectic reMix package, the reaction to which I have found interesting and a little bewildering. The music blog world is awash with the Azari & III reMix, which has the typically deep, stripped down Chicago House vibe you’d expect from them. It’s actually a really cool track with a sweet hypnotic pulse, but it’s not the best reMix on the single. A fewer number of blogs have picked up on the Stereogamous mix, with it’s robo Disco groove that highlights the emotion of the vocals, also an very nice track, but not the best reMix on the single either. The standout reMix comes from Devil’s Gun, and that’s a massive surprise. When I think of Devil’s Gun I usually think of something dark and gritty. Even on their collaboration with future Pop starlet Queen Of Hearts they kept things grinding and doom laden, but with their reMix of ‘I Wish I Never Met You’ they go positively Dreamwave. It got a huge Disco sound with layers and layers of chunky synths that give it a touch of that grit, alongside a solid retro Disco flavour. It’s big and funky and fun and I have no idea why it’s been largely overlooked by the music blog world. I suppose Devil’s Gun don’t drive the same kind of traffic as Azari & III though, not yet anyway…
♫ Sam Sparro – I Wish I Never Met You (Devil’s Gun reMix)
♫ Sam Sparro – I Wish I Never Met You (Azari & III reMix)
♫ Sam Sparro – I Wish I Never Met You (Stereogamous reMix)
‘I Wish I Never Met You’ is taken from Sam Sparro’s forthcoming new album, ‘Return To Paradise’, out 27th May.
From the opening notes of the heavy synth bassline of the title track of ‘Burning Feeling’, the début album from Lovelock, you know something synthetically special is happening. Lovelock is one of the many monikers of Synth legend Steve Moore. I say ‘legend’ because the man has a prolific and consistently amazing out put. Whether it’s as in Zombi or Miracle or as Gianna Rossi or just himself you know that with the Moore stamp on it, you’re in for some amazing, emotional synth work.
His latest release, Lovelock’s ‘Burning Feeling’ is in part a collection of his work under this pseudonym to date, some of the tracks, including the title, date back a couple of years and will be familiar to most fans of synth music, whist some are brand new, and the two sit side by side effortlessly. maybe du in part to Moore’s retro influences, maybe just due to the sheer quality of the songs, nothing on the album sound dated (or at least, not dated in the bad sense of the word). The album is loaded with futuristic Sci-Fi soundscapes and Cosmic Disco grooves, robotic Italo basslines and heartfelt Funk. ‘Burning Feeling’ itself is one of the most powerful SynthPop tracks you’ll hear in a while. Punchy EBM basslines and jackhammer drums mix with epic power ballad vocals to create a weird, but utterly amazing Industrial/Pop crossover. Elsewhere on the album Lovelock presents a more boogie laden Moroder-esque analog Disco vibe with track like ‘New Age Christ’ .Maybe Tonight’ and ‘The Fog’, albeit with his trademark warbling synth solos along for the ride. Mainly, though, ‘Burning Feeling’ is like the best collection of ‘80’s TV themes that never existed. ‘Deco District’ channels a more New York Disco version of Jan Hammer, as does ‘Love Reaction’ which ups the ante with some sweet female vocals. And in the middle of all this future funk and soundtrack majesty sits ‘South beach Sunrise’, a chilled out respite from the energy of the rest of the record, complete with a beautiful sax solo. ‘Burning Feeling’ truly is a masterpiece, an amazingly good album that impresses right from the moment you put it on. An electronic music fan’s record collection is just not complete without this album.
♫ Lovelock – Don’t Turn Away (From My Love)
♫ Lovelock – Love Reaction
♫ Lovelock – Maybe Tonight
♫ Lovelock – South Beach Sunrise
Lovelock’s ‘Burning Feeling’ is released 26th April on Prins Thomas’s Internasjonal imprint.
It was the summer of 2010 that New York based eclectic ElectroPop duo of Amanda Warner and Pete Wade, better known to the discerning Pop world as MNDR, first came to out attention. A combination of stumbling across their track ‘Fade to Black’, and consequently the ‘E.P.E.’ EP, and then within a few months Mark Ronson’s MNDR & Q-Tip featuring ‘Bang Bang Bang’ blowing up, had us hooked.
MNDR manage to walk a line few people can successfully pull-off. Their music is both interesting, sometimes even experimental, and edgy, yet at the same time as catchy as the best Pop track and infectiously danceable. Thoughtful songs, loaded with meaning and a sense of humour, coupled with electronic music production that isn’t afraid to do something different, whist understanding the importance of melody, is a winning combination. The past year has seen MNDR go from strength to strength as Amanda has been touring extensively and releasing as string if acclaimed singles, most recently ‘#1 In Heaven’. All building anticipation for the release of MNDR’s début full length record ‘Feed Me Diamonds’, which promises to be one of the electronic albums of the year.
Synth fetishist Amanda Warner has a style and charisma that puts most frontwomen to shame, a prolific songwriter (she’s also written Pop songs for a publishing company), producer and performer with a clear vision of what she wants to achieve, took some time out from her schedule touring with The Ting Tings to speak to electronic rumors about, y’know, synths and stuff.
ER. Tell us a bit about your musical history leading up to MNDR, have you always been into making electronic music or have their been Rock bands along the way?
AW. I have been into and making music all of my life. From Classical all the way to noise and experimental and lots in between. So yeah there has been a few Rock bands…but always left of centre out of the grip.
ER. So what influences you, both from an electronic music point of view, and what inspires your actual songs?
AW. I have always been inspired by production and sound/sound design. I think it brings out melodies and micro melodies that can be lost a bit using traditional Western instrumentation. I think pop music is about connecting with as many people as possible. I took a break from pop music and was really involved with Experimental/Noise music, which felt more about exclusion than inclusion. When I decided to start making Pop music again I thought I should try and make it about connection and inclusion as much as I possibly can. I think people connect with emotion. For me, sounds can be as emotive as lyrics and melody. However, I think the challenge and what is inspiring about Pop music is writing lyrics and melodies that people can connect with. It is difficult to write a song that is direct and from the heart. It is a challenge to not drench it in metaphor. You can say I Love You or I Feel Sad many different ways using metaphors, but the challenge is to just say it…without irony and straight from the heart. I try and do that everyday with Pop music.
♫ MNDR – Fade To Black
ER. From the outside, it looks like New York is one of the only places in the US you can get away with interesting electronic music. The big dance acts seem to be working all over now but New York still seems to be the home of more eclectic synth stuff. Do you think MNDR could have kicked off anywhere else in the states other than New York? Has being based in NYC now given you an audience you wouldn’t have had otherwise?
AW. I have to respectfully disagree with you. Chicago, LA, SF, Berlin, Toronto, Minneapolis…truly electronic music is growing and changing everywhere. I don’t really think NYC is the centre of electronic synth music. I think this style of music is sort of beyond geography. I’m sure the best EDM is happening in Lawrence, Kansas right now….or Fargo, ND. That’s usually how it goes.
Truly I don’t know if MNDR would have changed into pop music if it weren’t for NYC. That is really odd to say come to think about it. I think NYC sort of focused me and what I wanted to do with pop music. NYC has a way of not letting you fuck around too much…the game is deep here.
ER. Does Pete ever play, or have any intention to play, live with you? Or appear in the videos? Or is he more comfortable holed up in the studio?
AW. MNDR is a duo in the studio with Peter and I, but as far as live performance and everything else that goes with doing an artist project, it is more of a solo endeavour.
ER. One of the coolest things about you, other then the music obviously, is that you’re apparently a massive synth geek. Where did you obsession with studio noodling come from?
AW. I grew up on a farm in rural North Dakota. My dad was a “blue eyed soul” Rock musician and moved onto more Dad music as the years rolled by. He built an extremely modest 4 track reel-to-reel studio in the basement of our old family farm house. It is cold as hell there and I just wanted to multi-track record. So finally when I was about 9 or 10 my dad taught me some basics of multi track recording and it went on from there. There was always music and musicians at our house.
ER. So, what’s in MNDR’s studio? Any favourite or go-to bits of kit?
AW. I ended up selling a lot of stuff when I moved from California to NYC. So I was pretty in the box for a long time. I just recently started to purchase gear again. I finally rented a proper production room in Brooklyn. Right now I have a Moog Voyageur, Dave Smith Evolver, Nord G2 Engine, a replica of an EMS MK1 suitcase synth, Electrix Repeater, and some pedals…bits of this and that. I am super into the Roland EP series vintage keyboards. I believe Fela used them or I know that Antibolis has them. I have a 1974 Telecaster, 1970 Fender P-bass, and some other great guitars. I am getting way back into playing guitar and bass…I guess that’s where I started. I imagine by the end of the year I will be sleeping under a pile of MIDI cables and modules. Oh yeah I just bought an OP-1 and I LOVE IT!!!!!! Also I have heard great things about the Tempest. Does that answer the question? I think I rambled a bit.
ER. And how does the writing and recording process work? Do you and Pete write together?
AW. Generally it starts with a beat that Peter and or I started and then it goes from there. We write almost everything together. Our goal in the studio is to always just start from pure creativity and emotion. I truly hate starting music with “we need a fill in the blank song” sort of mentality. I don’t think it lends itself to good song writing….or at least it doesn’t for Peter and I.
ER. If money was no object, what synth (or bit of studio kit) would you love to own?
AW. I pretty much want everything. If I had to choose, I am super into a vintage Eventide Omnipressor. I would also love a Yamaha CS-80 or maybe a tubon. I also would love a 300 year old baroque double bass with a 500 year old bow. I also want every vintage Danelectro and I want to live at Steve Albinis or John McEntire’s studio…maybe Carl Craig. I think I truly want everything. I really like old studio gear that has a ton of character.
♫ MNDR – C.L.U.B.
ER. Your new video for ‘#1 In Heaven’ sees you sans huge glasses, was losing them for the clip a hard decision? What’s the thinking behind the video?
AW. There’s more to life than glasses…but I do need them and they are my actual prescription. I have some new pairs of glasses….so you will see some of my four eyes again. The video directed by Cody Critcheloe (SSION) is a manifesto. We were inspired by Valerie Solanas, Patty Hearst, zines, and posters. The song is about Patty Hearst and her involvement with the SLA. The video is a live action zine and manifesto being created in real time. We wanted the political/zine undertones to be involved with the video. Cody is a genius…so he can make anything come together.
ER. So, I didn’t really know much about Patty Hearst and the SLA, although it was news over here I don’t think it made the same impact in the cultural psyche. So when I read that the chorus of ‘#1 In Heaven’ was based on her arrest statement I read up on the subject. Is the whole song based on those events or just those chorus lines? What about that situation inspired you to write about it?
AW. The whole song is inspired by her sympathizing with her captors (SLA). I am inspired by heroines and people who have moments of clarity and are willing to throw everything away for their beliefs. Patty Hearst is a million times more wealthy than let’s say Paris Hilton, and she believed in something so much, she was willing to throw away her fortune and fame. The SLA was a violent organization, which I don’t agree with, as I am a humanist, but I can appreciate on some level extreme idealism. I guess I am SO BORED with everyone these days selling purses instead of doing something interesting.
ER. When can we expect the MNDR full length album? And what can we expect from it?
AW. MNDR album entitled ‘Feed Me Diamonds’ is out this summer in late July/early August on Ultra Records. This is a pop album. It has ballads, dance songs, mid-tempos and everything in between. I think you will find that it is not solely a “dance pop” album, but more of a “pop album” you catch my drift????
ER. Are you a cereal for breakfast person, or more of a pile of pancakes kinda’ gal? Would that change the night after a big show?
AW. I am an oatmeal girl no matter what sort of trouble I was in the night before.
Many thanks to Amanda for taking the time to speak to our readers (that’s you lot!), we can’t explain how excited we are to hear to new album.
‘#1 In Heaven’ is out now with MNDR’s full length album, ‘Feed Me Diamonds’ due out this summer, both on Ultra.
Nashville Indie-Electro band Future Unlimited’s ‘Golden’ was the highlight of their recent EP, a lush sing-a-long ElectroPop epic full of rousing chords and heartfelt vocals. Well the best on the EP just got a little bit better with a reMix from southern Californian ElectroPop four piece The New Division.
the New Division bring a little more groove and a little more synth goodness to their reMix. ‘Golden’ was pretty anthemic to begin with, but The New Division take it to uplifting new places, places where it’s constantly sunrise. Giving the track a bit of a House makeover and adding some truly euphoric synths give the track some goosebump inducing moments. Dipping and rising from gritty basslines, softly sung verses to massive Poptastic choruses, this reMix has got hooks, both vocally and melodically, in all the right places.
Mjolnir are back! It’s been a while since we heard from this Indonesian trio of Nu-Disco gurus, but their latest reMix for, Brazilian artist Strausz, sows they have only spent their time getting better and better.
The original version of the track is, well, a bit weird. Big synths and various peices of ethnic instrumentation from various cultures in a mix mixing pot. But that’s why we have slick Disco remixes, right? And Mjolnir deliver 100%, with a bouncy bassline and Tropical chimes to set the scene and lush synths and a smooth ‘90’s House piano line to get the party going. This track is Tropical in the truest sense of the word, exotic percussion and floaty eastern melodies capture the imagination and transport you to a more equatorial climate. Pure beach-party good times, with a nice not to the legacy of Chicago House music in there too.
♫ Strausz – Garoto Nacional (Mjolnir Dub Mix)
You can pick up Strausz’s whole ‘Garoto Nacional’ EP for free from here.
Horror Machine, a relative newcomer to the SynthWave scene, is an 18 year old producer from France who is following in the footsteps of countrymen College & the Valerie collective in making sweet, soundtracky, electronic nostalgia. and what better way to do that than reMixing David Grellier’s modern Dreamwave classic ‘Teenage Colour’.
The riff from ‘Teenage Colour’ is instantly recognisable, but Horror Machine takes the track into calmer, more thoughtful and emotional places. That’s not to say it’s not still a huge dance track, because it still is. Horror Machines Italo influenced beats and layers and layers of thick retro synths are certainly good to whip up the dancefloor. It’s still early days for Horror Machine, and sure, the production is a little rough, but there is tons of potential, and tons of talent in there. Just check out his latest original track, ‘Joli Printemps’, it sees the producer in a much more confortable place. Slick SynthWave with a keen ear for interacting melodies and depth of sound. Horror Machine is definitely one to keep an eye on.
Cosmonauts – April Top Ten = London’s most cosmic Disco double act, Cosmonauts, drop their favorite tracks of the month. Expect an hour of retro space-age grooves, deep synth Funk and the smoothest of House track. This mix has been workin’ our weekend!
Lopez, or LPZ as they like to be known, are a Paraguayan trio continuing in that fine tradition of not being able to think of a band name so just dropping the vowels out of something. A tradition I think most people think it’s time to abandon. Name aside, they are releasing am EP on relatively new London House label Body Work next month and the title track is pretty damn special.
The other two tracks on the ‘1983’ EP are OK, ‘Snake & Butterfish’ is a hypnotically groovy, if a little uninspired, dark tribal Acid tune and ‘Mafia (Dub)’ is a nice dub flavoured Deep House track that unfortunately never seems to go anywhere. But ‘1983’ itself, is stratospherically above the rest of the EP, and worth the price of the EP alone. Mixing up a late night House vibe with B-Boy Electro sensibilities crates an intoxicating slice of dancefloor gold to loose yourself in but that keeps a poppin’ & lockin’ flavour. This should seriously be a staple of any DJs record box, drop just when the crowd is suitably warmed up and sit back and enjoy. Watch that low funky bassline and Sci-Fi synths do their work. “Funky Fresh for 1983”? Funky fresh for right now, I’d say.
So, we already established that French ElectroPopsters Jupiter’s ‘One O Six’ is probably an ode to the Roland Juno 106 synthesizer when we wrote about the fantastic A.N.D.Y. reMix of the track. The whole single, including the B-Side is a pretty special collection of tracks that definitely deserves further investigation.
‘One O Six’ is a deep analog bass funkin’, synth stabbin’, dreamy vocal croonin’ slice of DiscoPop. Musically imbued with a particular French sense of humour, this is exactly the kind of bouncing quirky SynthPop we’ve come to expect from this twosome in the last few years. The B-Side, ‘Multicolorising’, many not have the catchy vocal hook of ‘One O Six’, but my word does it make up for it in tons of Cosmic Funk. Vocodered robot vocals chant melodically over thick Moog-esque bass and laser synth zaps. This is late ‘70’s/early ‘80’s electronic Disco amazingness and, to be honest, is the stand out track on the EP. We’ve already heard the stunning A.N.D.Y. reMix, the other reMixes on the single come courtesy of Juveniles with laid back French Disco mix, T.E.E.’s deep Acid track, and The Supermen Lovers with two reMixes, the ‘Classic’ mix which lays on the ‘70’s Disco hard, and this ‘Basic’ mix. A growling House cut lead by some intense percussion that takes the track deep and dark while retaining the groove. The ‘One O Six’ single is a top quality taster of what to expect from Jupiter’s forthcoming, and long awaited ‘Juicy Lucy’ album. We’ve heard it, it is seriously good. More on that later though.
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