Melina Merkouri was the popular Minister for Culture in a series of Greek governments after the restoration of democracy. Her credentials for the post included her work as an actress and singer. Mikro is a Greek electronic band on the Undo Records label, home to Marsheaux. They recently contributed this remix for a tribute album, released twenty years after Mercouri passed away. Their touch on this mix is discreet, letting Merkouri’s voice shine through. She was known to some as “the last Greek goddess,” but we are sure there are others – there just isn’t another Melina Merkouri.
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Jonas Sjöström is one of Sweden’s unsung musical talents. The Stockholm-based synth master sports a Sequential Circuits tattoo on his arm and a studio full of analogue equipment, which he deploys to create poptronica of real quality and distinction. He has been putting out his music on Soundcloud, while providing remixes for other artists like Candide and appearing on compilations as part of The Future and La Dolce Vita. CWNL caught up with Sjöström to dig a little deeper into his influences and background.
You have released a number of songs on Soundcloud and taken part in several cover or remix projects, but when we will get to see an album of Jonas Sjöström music?
Well, good question really, haha! Mostly, I have just been playing for fun and haven’t really thought more of it, but of course it would be nice to release something at some point. I need someone who can write lyrics and sing first, I think. I would feel a bit more comfortable releasing something as a band, if the possibility would arise, rather than a solo act. It would make it easier to perform live, as well. I’ve always preferred the studio work before the performance part, but I have to admit the very few appearances I have done in recent years have been really fun.
Your dedication to Dave Smith’s technical legacy is written on your arm, but what is it about the Sequential Circuits and DSI instruments that most attracts you?
Ohh, there is something about his instruments that really appeals to me – first of all, the sound! I love the Curtis LPF filter, they look good, and one of my first synths – the SCI Pro~One – also had the built-in step sequencer, so for me it was like a dream machine. They are far more versatile than most of the other synths of the era. Also, when I think of a sound I have in my head and transform it on a Prophet, it just sounds they way I imagined it to sound. You know what happens if you turn “that” knob. They also have quite a sophisticated modulation matrix or modulation possibilities that enable accidental sounds, too. Even his new synths have this classic Prophet sound but take the modulation possibilities to a completely new level – almost like a modular synthesizer. I could go on forever.
How did you first get involved with synths?
Like for many people, it was my older sibling who introduced synths into my life, back in 1983. Overnight, 90% of his class started to listen to synth music, so he brought home LP albums with Depeche, OMD, Kraftwerk and Yazoo and VHS cassettes with videos, which were fairly new at the time, and I was hooked! The 2 first songs I heard were ”Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats and ”Love in itself” by Depeche Mode. Depeche still stands out as number one, even to this day. But it wasn’t until 1989 that I got my first synthesizer, a Korg Mono/poly, and started to mess around with the instruments myself.
In the summer of 1992, I finally got hold of a Pro~One. I had read about it for years but couldn’t afford one. At that time, a friend of mine who also was very interested in the analogue world of synths taught me a lot about programming sounds, so my programming skills are much thanks to him – and then, of course, thousands of hours just turning knobs and step-program sequences on the Pro~One sequencer. We only set two rules: no MIDI and no digital. So, that is how I started.
Vince Clarke is clearly one of your synth heroes. Which other artists working with synthesizers do you most respect?
Is it that obvious? Vince is probably my number 1, 2 and 3, even! But, of course, there are others. Besides him personally, there is of course Depeche Mode as a band – a huge inspiration to me. Daniel Miller is another one. Other artists are Sweden’s Eddie Bengtsson (PAGE, SMPJ), who is a big inspiration to me, then there’s DAF, OMD, The Human League, Adolfson & Falk and Lustans Lakejer, to name a few.
Which other current artists do you feel are doing the most interesting things in electronic music?
Trust and The New Division are two artists/bands that really stand out for me, and also Junior Boys.
What instruments are in your current set-up?
Oh, I love this question. It’s always interesting to see what instruments people are using. In my current setup, I have the following instruments: SCI/DSI Drumtraks, Prophet~5, Prophet ’08, Prophet 12, MoPho, Moog Sub37, KORG MS20, Roland MC-4, System-1, TB-3.
I also have the Arturia V Collection, and when I use it I usually use the Prophet V, ARP 2600 V and the Spark VDM. Another software synth I have and use occasionally is the UVI Emulation II (Emu Emulator II).
If you could take one instrument with you to a desert island, which one would you choose and why?
Ohh my! Hmm… it used to be the Pro~One (before I sold it), but I have to say, today, it would be the Prophet ’08. They sound almost identical, but with the Prophet ’08 you get four of everything. The Pro~One used to be my “go-to synth,” but now it is the Prophet ’08. Most melodies, syncussion and bass lines tend to be written on the Prophet ’08 – amazing machine!
Mark Stewart’s rage is key to the sound of The Pop Group and most of his solo output, but in 1987 he offered a combination of Satie and Tackhead hip-hop rhythms as the setting for an incantation of unpredictable beauty. The righteous rage returned in short order, but for a moment (in love) Stewart tamed his beast and gave us sight of his soft side.
Daniel Miller is best known as the owner of Mute Artists (formerly Mute Records, but the original name didn’t come with the sale by EMI) and as The Normal, the artist name used for the release of “TVOD”/”Warm Leatherette.”
The son of Austrian refugees, Miller grew up in North London with a love of Kraftwerk, Can and Neu! and worked as a DJ before buying a Korg 700s and recording his first single. Modest and uncomfortable in the limelight, Miller performed as The Normal with Scottish electronics pioneer, Robert Rental, but found himself happier in the studio and working behind the scenes with his record label than standing on the stage himself.
He discovered and propelled the careers of Depeche Mode and others, but over the years has also been seen lending a technical hand to Thomas Dolby and Soft Cell or producing The House of Love. Miller still records as Sunroof! with his close friend and Mute producer, Gareth Jones.
To launch our new feature, Shine On, we’ve picked out a number of songs to reflect the breadth of Miller’s work as a producer, composer and performer. The constants are a well-developed sense of arrangement, an instinct for unique sounds that are often detuned or shaped in unexpected ways, and a feeling for driving rhythms. These reflect his Krautrock influences but also the effort that comes with closely reading the manuals to his collected synthesizers and then throwing them away.
10. Missing Scientists – Big City Bright Lights
The synthesizer credit on this 1980 release is granted to one “Jacki” and a co-production credit on the A-side goes to “Larry Least,” but both are pseudonyms for Miller. “Jacki” was one of the mythical players in Miller’s Silicon Teens fantasy pop group, while “Larry Least” was a name he adopted as a reference to the producer, Mickey Most.
The reggaetronica style is one that is not commonly associated with Miller, though he was later to contribute to On-U Sounds’ legendary Pay It All Back compilation a few years later.
9. Voice of Authority – Fuh Fuh
When On-U Sound released their first sampler album, Pay It All Back, in 1985, it cost the same as a single and was packed with the juiciest reggae/experimental tracks from Adrian Sherwood’s burgeoning stable of artists. It also contained this short and peculiar composition by Miller, featuring early sampling technology.
8. Thomas Dolby – Radio Silence
In the early 1980s, it was known that, if an artist needed help with some complicated synthesizer set-ups, or the use of a Synclavier, Miller was the go-to person. He did production work with Soft Cell, but less well known is his contribution to this 1982 Thomas Dolby song.
7. Alex Fergusson – Stay with Me Tonight
Another 1980 production effort credited to “Larry Least,” this single from Alex Fergusson (Alternative TV, Psychic TV) is clearly programmed/performed by Miller. At the time, Ferguson was experimenting with the move from punk to electro-pop, a path charted by Mute Records. This single appeared on the Red Records label.
6. Silicon Teens – Sun Flight
Miller’s Silicon Teens project was, for the most part, a series of covers of rock standards, like “Memphis, Tennessee” and “Just Like Eddie,” but it also yielded a couple of original Miller compositions. “Sun Flight” is the one that gets remembered best, as it combines themes of space travel and synths in a way that was not totally dissimilar to a later Mute release, “Fred vom Jupiter” by Die Doraus und Die Marinas.
5. Fad Gadget – Lady Shave
The strength of Miller’s songwriting and production work came out most strongly in his work with Frank Tovey (aka Fad Gadget). Miller took songs written by Tovey and turned them into brooding electronic classics with the menace of punk but a style of their own. The early Fad Gadget singles became an outlet for Miller’s creativity, where he could stretch his one-fingered compositional style to the limits.
“Lady Shave” is an exceptional song from a number of standpoints: the sequenced bassline that carries the song is electro-minimalism incarnate; the studio itself is played to generate tones based on an electric shaver; and the unconventional top line is distinctively Miller.
4. Duet Emmo – Or So It Seems
The most achingly beautiful pop song ever made, we’ve called “Or So It Seems” before, and this collaboration between Miller and Wire refugees, B.C. Gilbert and Graham Lewis, shows Miller at his one-fingered best. Lewis’ vocals are like threads of glass spun around the core of a grumbling bass-line and bells, but the build-up and release of tension in the song is 1982 shot-through.
3. Sunroof – Hero
Miller’s occasional project with Gareth Jones, Sunroof has largely been responsible for covers of Krautrock classics, like this legendary Neu! track. The vocals here are provided by the extraordinarily beautiful Alison Conway, who has appeared as A.C. Marias on Mute and made a number of videos for the label.
2. The Normal – TVOD
If you put out a record by yourself, while living in your mum’s house, the last thing you’d expect is for it to be covered by Grace Jones and adopted as the title for her album. Such was Miller’s luck with “Warm Leatherette,” which Jones’ producer probably heard played by DJ Rusty Egan at the Blitz club.
An attempt to make punk music with synthesizers, “TVOD”/”Warm Leatherette” came out in 1979, while the DIY spirit was still strong, and it is the springboard for everything that followed. We’ve picked “TVOD” for this list, because it gets less attention but shows off techniques like tape cut-up that link the single to the industrial scene that was taking shape at the time.
1. Depeche Mode – Shout
The influence of Miller on early Depeche Mode is very clear from their recordings. While a major label would have polished their sound and image beyond recognition, Mute and Miller brought out the experimental side of the band and gave them room to explore sounds and rhythms that were less obviously commercial. One of the best examples is on this B-side to 1981’s “New Life,” which is driven by sequenced drum-like sounds and the simplest synth line ever.
S.P.O.C.K might look, on the outside, like a Star Trek-themed novelty act, but in fact it’s a complex and sophisticated blend of poptronica and philosophy. Like the best science fiction, their music tells us more about our life on Earth than any imaginary venue in space, but the message is hidden within layers of vintage synths that lure you towards the dancefloor. It turns out that this video was made by the same company who produced Ace of Base’s “All That She Wants”, which makes sense in a way.
Chris & Cosey became Carter Tutti, but they have achieved great success performing their older music as Carter Tutti playing Chris & Cosey. The former Throbbing Gristlists have announced a new album under that title for 17 February 2015, mirroring the sets of their acclaimed live shows. The plan is to release CD and download versions, as well as a double album for vinyl lovers.
TRACK LISTING FOR CD / DL:
1 Lost Bliss
2 Retrodect
3 Driving Blind
4 Obsession
5 Beatbeatbeat
6 Workout
7 Watching You
8 Love Cuts
9 Sin
10 Dancing On Your Grave
Vengeance (Exclusive Remix – Compact Disc album only)
Synaesthesia (Exclusive Remix – Digital Download album only)
TRACK LISTING FOR DOUBLE VINYL:
1 Retrodect (2015)
2 Driving Blind (2015)
3 Obsession (2015)
4 Beatbeatbeat (2015)
5 Watching You (2015)
6 Love Cuts (2015)
7 Sin (2015)
8 Dancing On Your Grave (2015)
CARTER TUTTI REMIX CHRIS & COSEY
1 Cowboys In Cuba (Extended Remix)
2 Dancing Ghosts (Extended Remix)
3 Deep Velvet (Extended Remix)
4 Lost Bliss (Extended Remix)
5 October (Love Song) (Extended Remix)
To keep us warm until February, the duo have released a video for “Sin”:
I Satellite is the project of Kalamazoo’s Rod Macquarrie. It’s inspired by Numan, Foxx and Alphaville, but driven by the capabilities of his unique collection of vintage machines. This song was a firm favourite during I Satellite’s Nordic tour for the new cold war, earlier this year.
It’s been so long since Depeche Mode’s peak hour that it’s a joy to hear another artist pick up the stylistic touches that made them pre-eminent for so long. In this case, Magnus Norr’s deadbeat project hits the spot with “Mörk energi” [EN: “Dark Energy”]. Norr has previously worked with Compute’s Ulrika Mild and Fraulein Plastique, but here is in top form in solo mode. Or Mode.
The last stop on the European leg of Erasure’s “Violet Flame” tour brings them to The Forum in London’s Kentish Town. A line of fans snakes around the venue before door time, but the cold night and the promise of fabulous pop music drive them inside quickly. The air inside is warm and filled with anticipation. When the house lights go down, a black-clad trio steps forward and the first strains of “Eye in the Sky” fill the room. The keyboardist sings the lead from behind his Jupiter 6, while the glamorous vocalists on either side of him fill in the harmonies, lit by the glow of stage lighting and a pulsating Roland TR8. This is Parralox, the Anglo-Australian synthpop masters, taking pole position for the evening.
The audience know Parralox’s name from their red-hot remix of Erasure’s recent “Reason” single, and there are both long-time and new fans pressed against the barrier in front of the stage. The next song, “Black Jeans,” moves into glam stomp territory, and vocalist Johanna turns the girl power dial up a notch with a confident and dynamic rendition of the classic from Parralox’s first album, Electricity. The straight boys in the audience start getting their cameras out, too, and the glow of screens held aloft starts to add to the atmosphere. The normally aloof London audience begins to feel its way towards the rhythm, which has a comfortable familiarity.
Guest vocalist Francine, who featured on recent single, “Crying on the Dancefloor,” rounds out the sound with magical touches on Parralox originals like “Sharper than a Knife” and “Hotter.” The surprise addition of “Aeronaut,” Parralox’s next single, which is due for release in early 2015, raises the crowd’s collective pulse even higher. The cold outside is long forgotten when the set reaches its end, and for Parralox the connection has been made.
WIN PARRALOX’S NEW EP, HOLIDAY ’14!
We have three downloadable copies of Parralox’s seasonal EP, Holiday ’14, to give away! To be in with a chance, send an email to [ot-link url=”mailto:post@coldwarnightlife.com”]post@coldwarnightlife.com[/ot-link] with the subject line, “Parralox Contest” before 24 December 2014 and tell us what you like about Parralox. Winners will be notified by email on Christmas Day, 2014.
Good luck and Happy Synthmas from Cold War Night Life!