LATEST NEWS
Freudian Geology: Dubstar Release “Tectonic Plates”
Dubstar, the duo of Sarah Blackwood and Chris Wilkie, are back with new material. "Tectonic Plates" is their first release since last year's "Hygiene Strip" and "I Can See You Outside" singles, which were also produced by the studio legend, Stephen Hague. Although styled to resemble a geology lesson, "Tectonic Plates" is actually about boy-meets-girl...
This Fish Needs a Reissue
First released in 2004, Between A&B was Eddie Bengtsson's first solo album with English lyrics. Until that point, the Page and Sista mannen på jorden (SMPJ) front man had made a point of singing in his native language. So, it was a pleasant surprise for non-Swedish speaking audiences when the CD came out under the artist name,...
Market Led: I Start Counting Return to the Stall
The I Start Counting duo were famed for their connections to London's Spitalfields Market. The circle is completed, then, with the news that Mute Artists will be releasing two, limited edition, cassettes of demos from 1985 and 1986 at the 10th Anniversary Independent Label Market this weekend. The event takes place on Sunday, 18 July...
Wire Reveal RSD Special
Wire's Record Store Day release this year is PF456 DELUXE. Issued on the band's Pink Flag imprint, PF456 DELUXE is a retooled version of their 2002 album, PF456REDUX. The next edition features full length versions of the songs featured on the original, which had been edited from their Read & Burn EP and Send album....
A Patch Above: Sunroof Reveal Album
(Via Mute) Sunroof [Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones] have announced, after four decades of friendship and collaboration, the release of their debut album. Electronic Music Improvisations Volume 1, a collection of eight improvised modular pieces recorded as live in various studio spaces across London in the spring and summer of 2019, will be released on the newly revived Parallel…
Telex Reveal Lost Beatles Cover Ahead of Mute Reissues
(Via Mute) Telex have released their kaleidoscopic synthpop take on The Beatles’ 1968 track, ‘Dear Prudence’. ‘Dear Prudence’ was recently discovered by Telex while were compiling their first release with Mute, This is Telex, a brand new 14-track compilation - out on 30 April 2021. This is Telex features singles from across the Belgian synthpop...
Emmon and Processor Dig Deep
Emmon’s “The Game” has been put through the Processor, and the result is a dark, jagged track from the Swedish electronic acts. “Hole Digger” took shape as Processor worked on a remix for Emmon, but the material took on a life of its own. Emma Nylen’s vocals are barely recognisable, but their sleek, dynamic tones…
Page Remain on the Bleeding Edge of Pop
Page, the Swedish poptronica pioneers, have revealed a striking new EP. The title track, “Blutest du,” is a German rendering of the song, “Blöder du,” from their current album, Fakta för alla. Released in a limited edition of 300 copies, the EP also contains an English-language version of “Start,” a cover of Gary Numan’s “Tracks,”…
REVIEWS
Totally Wired: Sunroof’s Modular Improv
Before you break the plastic seal around Electronic Improvisations Vol. 1, you are already back in the 1970s. The golden age of modular music saw sleeves that imparted important information about the sound and artist. They might have featured signposts in the form of waveforms or patches. The records were as often found in libraries...
Notes from the Underground: Karin My’s Silence Amygdala
Karin My was discovered by the promoters of Gothenburg's legendary Electronic <Seasons> events, busking in the underpass leading from the city's main shopping centre to the Central Station. What first caught their ears were My's clever renditions of songs by Depeche Mode, Apoptygma Berzerk, VNV Nation and other alternative artists. The autodidactic musician was clearly...
From the Ashes: Page Tend the Flame of Synth Britannia
The first cold, robotic phase of electronic music did not last long. Initiated by Ultravox! and distilled by Gary Numan, the use of synthesisers as cybernetic extensions of alienated musicians lasted for only a few short years before the instruments were defrosted and humanised. John Foxx retreated to The Garden, in search of a more...
Lederman Stein: Optional Lessons for the Future
Erik Stein The singer for Cult With No Name, Erik Stein, has the kind of smooth vocals and cowboy-movie good looks that get the girls in a tizzy. Textbooks for Tomorrow pairs Stein with Jean-Marc Lederman, the Belgian composer who has played live with Fad Gadget and The The, had hits with The Weathermen, and...
Signals from Distant Shores: Lau Nau and Matti Bye
LAU NAU Själö OST (Fonal) MATTI BYE Tove OST (Rotor) LAU NAU & MATTI BYE Signals (Time Released Sounds) The last show we produced before COVID-19 took over the world was Lau Nau with Vile Electrodes at Cecil Sharp House in London. Both acts performed with modular synthesizers and voice as their principal instruments; taking...
Like Tears in the Rain: Chosnau and Reeder
Mark Reeder started making (brave new) waves in Berlin soon after he arrived in the decadent Western sector. As documented in B-Movie, the Mancunian exile absorbed and reflected the spirit of the Cold War from both sides of the wall. As the main point of contact for Factory Records in Germany, Reeder subverted NATO with…
FEATURES
Plague Songs: The Top 20 of 2020
2020 - the Year of Cancellations Who ordered the year of plague and misery? Just as things were getting interesting, musically, many parts of the world were forced to shut down in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Shows were postponed, one after the other, and then cancelled or pushed into 2021. Simple Minds came...
The 50 Albums Strage Should Have Included
Fredrik Strage, the Swedish culture journalist, has published his list of the 500 best albums of all time. Appearing in Dagens nyheter under the title, "From The Congos to Alphaville - Here Are Fredrik Strage's Best Albums," the list includes plenty of classics, but we couldn't help noticing that there were some big gaps. Everyone...
Still Life: Estelle Moughton
Born and educated in Australia, but living on the other side of the planet, Estelle Moughton is a self-taught painter. She has worked as a model for fashion editorial, music videos and fine art projects, but she is most often found with brush in hand. From her base in Stockholm, Moughton creates abstract works that...
Still Life: Julia Pivén
Julia Pivén Julia Pivén is an artist, organizer, DJ, writer, and model from Sweden. In this piece, she describes her artistry, which is built on dark existentialism and many years of practice at the easel. She has a background as a painting student at Gothenburg School of Art and as founder of various art organizations...
INTERVIEWS
Brian Griffin: Black Country Dada
Self Portrait (Photo: Brian Griffin) Brian Griffin's camera has captured some of the most iconic images of the past century. His image of a Soviet-style peasant in a wheat field for Depeche Mode's second LP, A Broken Frame, was selected by Life for the cover of their collection, The World's Greatest Photographs. He was proclaimed...
Claus Larsen: Going Hell for Leæther
Interview with the Danish musician better known as Leæther Strip.
Back to the Future with Page
It is the 40th anniversary of Page this year. From their beginnings as a Swedish version of Silicon Teens brought to life, to a mature poptronica duo keeping the spirit of futurist electronics alive, they have a scrapbook filled with enduring songs of love and lust. With Under mitt skinn [EN: Under My Skin], the...
S.P.O.C.K Beam in from the Neutral Zone
Sweden's poptronica legends, S.P.O.C.K, will make a rare London appearance on Saturday, 1 February 2020. They have been orbit above Scandinavia and Germany for many years, but they will appear right at the moment of Brexit to show that the planets are still united, even if Europe is not. Actually, it is a party at...
December Love Song: Facket Strejkar
One of the great things about Chris & Cosey is that the project was partly artistic and partly romantic. The love affair between the two musicians is what took them out of Throbbing Gristle and into each other's arms. The same combination of oscillators and hormones is evident in the work of Facket Strejkar. The...
Random Acts of Synthesis: A Chat with Eric Random
Eric Random once relocated to the Himalayas to learn percussion. It was about as far as one could get from the sooty brickwork of Manchester's post-industrial decline. Even at home, however, the former Tiller Boy was a million miles removed from the stagnant, commercial culture of Britain's Top 40 charts. Random's musical journey began when...
TRACK OF THE DAY
CCILIA – The Wall
From Gothenburg comes CCILIA, a dark wave act that fuses the icy cool of Grace Jones with the rumbling bass of the alternative club. With music programmed and played by Henric Ceder of Strikkland, "The Wall" features Cecilia Ceder on vocals. The Swedish couple have recorded together for Strikkland, but this is the first single...
