[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Canada’s Actors have given Europe a taste of their post-everything, alt-everything music this year. Krichan Wihlborg caught them on their stop in Gothenburg.
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Sweden’s Lejonhjärta continue to build on their post-punk sound with the release of “I Try Alone.” Part of a three track EP, which includes a song mixed by Mark Hockings of Mesh, this is the lead track of a release that shows the growing maturity of their material and style.
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When the Berlin Wall was breached, Germans partying on top of it had a ready-made soundtrack from a Canadian synth band.
“Dancing on the Berlin Wall” was one of the tracks on Rational Youth’s 1982 debut album, Cold War Night Life. It had references to Michael Caine’s nerdy rival to James Bond and David Bowie’s “Heroes.” Armed with a bass line that Kraftwerk wish they had written, the song carried a message about dancing as a social reaction to political repression. It was conveyed by Tracy Howe’s distinctive, calmly spoken vocals – an antidote to the worry and tension surrounding the introduction of medium-range nuclear missiles in the Central European Theater at the time of recording.
Those vocals can now be heard with additional clarity as the result of an excellent remastering job by Universal. A new edition of Cold War Night Life is now out on vinyl and CD with additional tracks. The singles released by the group around the time of the album – some of which have been available only as bootlegs and needle-drops for many years – have been put together here for the first time. As a whole, this package represents the first opportunity for fans to hear the material the way Howe and Bill Vorn intended when they went into the studio in Montreal.
The equipment used by Rational Youth to make Cold War Night Life seems quaint in its simplicity, but it had masses of character. The modular and keyboard synths that Howe and Vorn had collected were matched with a TR 808 drum machine and CV-controlled sequencers to make sounds that Canadians had until then only known from Japanese and German imports. The remastering highlights the importance of the band’s sound design, which was influenced by YMO, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream but also grew from their own engagement with the hardware.
The tracks included in the new edition are: “Power Zone,” “Coboloid Race,” “I Want to See the Light,” “Saturdays in Silesia” and the French and English versions on their second single, “City of Night”/”Cite Phosphore.”
The album includes extensive notes and graphics from Howe’s archives, along with testimonials from artists and music writers. Joakim Montelius (Covenant), Phil King (Lush), Tobbe Lander (Romo Night) and Chi Ming Lai (The Electricity Club), among others, offer their impressions of Cold War Night Life and its place alongside the pioneering electronic music of the day.
Rational Youth recently toured Europe with Psyche. Most of their shows were in Germany, which continues to take to heart their confidence that love can grow in no-man’s land and the barricades can be your dancefloor. This new edition takes the sound and impact of their message to a new level.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Queen of EBM, Rein, has been announced as the headline artist for TEC 006.
The Swedish singer, songwriter and producer was named Cold War Night Life’s New Artist of the Year in 2015. Since then, she has stormed stages across Europe and been nominated for awards by Swedish television and the magazine GAFFA.
With a fierce attitude and heavy-duty beats, Rein’s releases have transformed the landscape for EBM. Shouty men have had to step aside to make room for her sophisticated and intelligent style, which makes no compromise in politics or energy. As we wrote of the track, “Can’t Handle Me”:
Tougher than tempered steel, Rein has the attitude and skill to hammer out energetic tracks, using the dancefloor as her anvil. There are a lot of fine details in her vocals, which are confident and muscular when they need to be.
As confident in the studio as she is on stage, Rein co-produces her music, designs her own sounds and programs her own thundering bass lines.
TEC 006 is a series of electronic events curated by The Electricity Club. Cold War Night Life and The Electricity Club are copresenting TEC 006 with Rein and special guests who will be announced.
TEC 006 kicks off at 7:30 pm on the 30th of November, 2019, at Electrowerkz on Torrens Street (closest Tube: Angel, Northern Line).
Tickets are on sale now![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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The Norwegian composer and performer, Juno Jensen, has released her new Pieces of Juno album, Metanoia. It is an outstanding and creative conclusion to her “coloured wig” trilogy.
Metanoia (the green one) follows Kalopsia (the red one) and Tacenda (the blue one), and continues to explore the space between jazz and experimental music where Tuxedomoon, Cult With No Name, I Am Snow Angel and Tori Amos sometimes tread.
Named for the Greek term for changing one’s mind, Metanoia is a showcase for the elegance of Jensen’s songwriting and vocalisation.
The album opens with the question, “Is this a dream?” The ethereal piano behind Jensen’s voice on “Fortuna” draws you into into an endless space where everything is vapour, so perhaps it is.
The wash of the sea enters the frame on “Ocean Floor,” with Jensen’s emeraldine vocals dancing like blades of kombu on waves of reverb. On this album, she has collaborated again with Freddie Holm, who brought in the multi-instrumentalist Bebe Risenfors to add wind and brass to the sonic palette.
“Strawberry” and “Bluebell” have Jensen singing with a purr that will trigger the ASMR sensitive listener. Her style could be lifted from a cocktail lounge at the edge of imagination, combining an intensity of purpose and breadth of expression that is unique in our playlist.
The vapour clears a little on “Each Moment” with a story about a stranger met on a train. Jensen calls the Pieces of Juno style “Northern Noir,” and there is a black and white, shot on film, bleakness to the material. Outside the piano lounge where Juno sings in her wig, wolves prowl forests full of growth and decay. When you finish your drink, you will enter that world, too.
This is felt most of all on “Blood Love,” which closes the album with a declaration that combines the tangible and intangible. This might be a dream, but it is one that you can touch. Be careful with it.
Featured photo by Cecilia Riis Kjeldsen.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Lost and found, this video for Twice a Man’s “Back on Venus” demonstrates why the Swedish art band have been so influential. With reverb and rhythms at the fore, they were the psychedelic edge of new wave.
The images of an office worker climbing a hill of sand matter less here than the magical, post-prog rock that Twice a Man excel at, but they make you look and they invite you to think.
Carter Tutti Void have lifted the veil on the first video from their third album, Triumvirate.
“t3.4” combines the funky alternative bass style from Chris & Cosey’s “Jink Jive” or “Coolicon” with Nik Void’s drawn guitar in an epic rhythmic cocktail.
We first saw CTV at the Mute Short Circuit Festival in 2011 (Ed: There we are, in Chris’ stage picture). Pity the sorry souls who couldn’t get into the room to watch the recording of the first CTV collaboration because they were too busy trying to track down members of Depeche Mode; but at least they could buy Transverse as a document of what they missed.
The combination of Chris Carter, Cosey Fanni Tutti and Nik Void continued in the studio with f(X) in 2015. Their artistic bond relationship bonds had grown from their first outing at the Roundhouse.
The CTV project now comes to its conclusion with the power of the trinity: three musicians; three words; three albums. Triumvirate is released by Conspiracy International on 30 August 2019.
Rational Youth, the Canadian poptronica pioneers, have announced a very special edition of their debut album, Cold War Night Life.
The 1982 release ranks with John Foxx’s Metamatic and Depeche Mode’s Speak & Spell among the classics of 1980s synthesizer music. Made with state of the art analogue equipment, including the Roland System 100, Moog Source, MC4 microcomposer and TR808 drum machine, Cold War Night Life was North America’s best response to the electronic sounds coming from Europe at the time.
The album has aged remarkably well. With melodic hits, such as “Saturdays in Silesia” and “Beware the Fly,” sounding as fresh in 2019 as when they were recorded, Cold War Night Life remains a triumph of pop songwriting. Nevertheless, Rational Youth have used this opportunity to have the album remastered in accordance with their original intentions.
There are both vinyl and CD deluxe, expanded editions on the way from Universal Music. The vinyl edition is in transparent material with added tracks from their first three singles. The CD version includes the same songs in a digipak.
Both versions are available for pre-order now for release on 30 August 2019.
Daniel Miller (Photo: Diane Zillmer)
It is common knowledge that Daniel Miller was inspired by the writings of J.G. Ballard when he came up with the lyrics for “Warm Leatherette.” It is less well known that his imagination was fuelled by the sounds of actual car crashes taking place at Henlys Corner, just a short distance from the house where he lived with his mother in North London. As Miller lay in his room at night, he could hear the vibrations of violent collisions drifting through his open window.
One of Miller’s contributions to STUMM433, the forthcoming release from his Mute label, is an ambient recording of the sound outside his former residence at 16 Decoy Avenue. His performance of John Cage’s 4′ 33″ is only the third time that he has recorded as The Normal, and it forms part of a compilation issued to raise funds for mental health and tinnitus charities.
Cage’s infamous work requires performers to avoid playing instruments for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. Instead, they play with the audience by upsetting their expectations and drawing attention to the sounds they are making themselves. Coughs, rustling of programmes and the sounds of breathing are common elements in concert settings.
STUMM433, a play on the catalogue number for the album and the title of Cage’s composition, sees more than fifty Mute artists turning in recordings of their own performances. So, one shouldn’t expect to hear Dave Gahan’s sleazy crooning on Depeche Mode’s contribution; nor should Erasure fans hope for melodic work from Vince Clarke’s New York studios. Rather, each interpretation will reflect the sounds around the artists as they staged the work.
Miller, himself, appears several times on the album, as The Normal, Silicon Teens and part of Duet Emmo (his collaboration with Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis). We will have to wait to see if the Fad Gadget contribution is from Miller’s studio time with Frank Tovey. Other featured artists include:
If that wasn’t enough, the vinyl version of the release will be spread across five LPs in a box set with designs from Anton Corbijn and Malcolm Garrett, among others. As Mute note:
Each artist has created a visual to accompany their performance and a selection of 28 designers associated with Mute have contributed artwork inspired by 4’33”, including Simone Grant, who worked with Miller on a lot of the early Mute artwork (The Normal, Fad Gadget and Depeche Mode); Steve Claydon, a member of Add N To (X) who designed for Goldfrapp; Slim Smith, who worked with Mute through the 1980s and 1990s; Malcolm Garrett, who designed the House of Illustrious box set for Vince Clarke and Martyn Ware; Tom Hingston, who has worked with Erasure and created the majority of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Grinderman artwork since the early 2000s and Anton Corbjin, who has worked closely with Mute on many campaigns since the early 1980s, including Depeche Mode, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Fad Gadget.
Box set purchasers will also receive a set of candles infused with the scent of silence, as imagined by Joseph Quartana of Six Scents Parfums.
A CD version will be available, but it doesn’t come with candles or a certificate of authenticity signed by Daniel Miller.[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Linea Aspera lived only from 2011-2013, but the star that shone half as long shone twice as bright.
The duo of Alison Lewis (Zoe Zanias) and Ryan Ambridge issued only a few recordings, but for a brief moment they were the most exciting new act on British soil. One of the few bands to use the classic, cheap but hard-to-program Kory Poly 800, Linea Aspera made hard, minimal electronics that seared the soul. Lewis’ vocals penetrated the skin with razor-like precision, getting to the meat of the matter over heavy-duty beats.
Out now is an album collecting material from their posthumous cassette release and other deep cuts. The title track is a reminder of what we have been missing.
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