These days, Martha Ladly teaches interactive design at OCAD, but in 1983 she had found herself in England, immersed in the country’s flowering pop scene. Together with fellow Canadian art school refugee, Brett Wickens, she wrote and performed this gem, which featured Peter Hook from New Order on bass and had a Peter Saville sleeve. Formerly one of the two Marthas in Martha and the Muffins, Ladly sang for Roxy Music and The Associates, dated Saville and was credited for suggesting the names of OMD releases. Wickens played with The Spoons and Ceramic Hello, released a 12″ with Jah Wobble and worked closely with Saville. Name-dropping aside, this is a lovely slice of Anglo-Canadian pop, just right for summer.
coldwarnightlife
We hardly knew Jeff Plewman, the man behind the bandages. Nash the Slash, on the other hand, had a global following. In his top hat and suit, Nash was a silent film star in an age of noise; widely appreciated for his misuse of electrified violins and mandolins. Fed through effects pedals and played over drum machines and keyboards, Nash’s instruments yielded shrieks and drones that could mute a banshee or echo Prokofiev.
Gary Numan stumbled across Nash in a Toronto nightclub and immediately dropped his scheduled support act. Nash accompanied him on tour, gaining exposure, a UK record deal and even a place on a Smash Hit flexidisc (alongside OMD); however, unlike Canadian label-mates, Martha & The Muffins, Nash failed to achieve commercial success in the UK. Dindisc, the Branson-funded label run by Carol Wilson, promoted Nash as a post-punk novelty act, playing on his horror-film imagery and clever covers of songs by The Rolling Stones and Jan & Dean. Frustrated by the lack of appreciation for his inventive original material, Nash returned to Canada.
From his base in Toronto, Nash released records on the Cut-throat imprint. The label’s distinctive logo included a skull, and one of the eye sockets was positioned over the spindle hole on Cut-throat releases. Listening to a Nash album therefore required listeners to impale the skull and rotate it around the violated socket. That dark sense of humour and his attention to detail were constant features of Nash’s work, whether in songs like “Vincent’s Crows” or in the production of a Nash the Slash comic book.
Nash played to packed arenas and small clubs. He warmed up for The Who but also for The Spoons. He toured with Iggy Pop and played along to silent films in local cinemas. He composed albums that could be played at any speed and practically invented the sound of The Orb and System 7 with “Blind Windows” in 1978.
He retired from music in 2012, leaving a note charting his accomplishments and lamenting the consequences of file-sharing:
A journalist once asked me to describe a typical Nash the Slash fan. I replied, ‘They just get it’. They get my references to Ray Bradbury, Boris Karloff, and even my opening quote from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It was my intention to shock, but not offend.
Nash had a full stage name – Nashville Thebodiah Slasher – but his family and friends knew him as Jeff. His passing last weekend leaves a hole in the heart of alternative music.
Rational Youth, SMPJ, Psyche and I Satellite: The Nordic Tour for the New Cold War
At the end of April 2014, a series of mini-festivals were organised in Norway and Sweden, showcasing some of the most exciting electronic music acts from the 1980s and today. Cold War Night Life took in the Swedish shows and came back with bags of salt licorice and memories of unmissable performances.
RATIONAL YOUTH
Malmö, 30 April 2014
Gothenburg, 2 May 2014
Stockholm, 3 May 2014
Caught between two superpowers, Canada was the right place for an album called Cold War Night Life in 1982. Though recorded in Montreal, the atmosphere of Rational Youth’s debut was distinctly European: basslines and leads echoed the sounds coming from Dusseldorf, Liverpool and London, while the lyrics evoked the shadows and fog of divided Berlin and Gdansk. As troops stared at each from opposite sides of no-man’s land, Tracy Howe and Bill Vorn absorbed the tension and cynicism of the times, filtered it through a construction kit of analogue synthesizers and sequencers, and produced a world-class collection of songs on themes of love, alienation, glamour and paranoia.
Cold War Night Life became one of the defining electronic albums of the early 1980s, comfortably sitting alongside John Foxx’s Metamatic, Kraftwerk’s Computer World and Fad Gadget’s Under the Flag. Released on an independent Canadian label, its commercial reach was limited, but over the years the record became a cult favourite among the synthescenti. A copy found its way to neutral Sweden and C90 duplicates began to circulate throughout the country’s burgeoning electronic music scene. In this case, home taping didn’t kill music; it built a base of fans for whom Rational Youth issued distant signals on wavelengths tuned to the alternative dancefloor.
It was only at the turn of the last century that Rational Youth finally bridged the physical distance between them and their Swedish fans, playing selected dates with local synthpop heroes like Elegant Machinery and contemporaries like Robert Marlow. The warmth of their reception on these occasions stayed with singer Tracy Howe, and a return to the Nordics was organised to coincide with the release of a box set on the German artisan label, Vinyl-on-Demand, and new vinyl editions of the last studio album, To the Goddess Electricity.
The original plan was to transport a six-piece pop combo from Canada for a mini-tour of Sweden and Norway, but logistical considerations trimmed the act down to the essential duo of Howe and original keyboardist Kevin Komoda. Not a problem: fans were more than happy to receive them for a purely electronic show. Armed with a Moog Little Phatty and Roland JX-8P, Komoda was able to recreate classic sounds while confidently adding runs and fills that lifted the atmosphere higher than the International Space Station.
For Rational Youth, the shows were about revisiting familiar songs and old friends. In Malmö, Howe sported a personalised version of the jersey of Sweden’s national hockey team – a gift from S.P.O.C.K’s singer on a previous tour – while diplomatically avoiding mention of the Olympic games final. At the same show, Howe paid tribute to the Swedish scene’s finest songwriter, Eddie Bengtsson, performing an English-language version of “Luft” by Sista mannen på jorden. Joined on-stage by Bengtsson, Howe was visibly moved by the beauty of the music and their reunion.
Rational Youth’s sets on each date were dominated by tracks from Cold War Night Life, such as “Ring the Bells” and “Beware the Fly”. The songs have lost none of their vitality in the three decades since they were recorded, and the tug-of-war over Ukraine by empire-builders provided them with a familiar geopolitical back-drop. Tracks from later releases, including “The Man in Grey” from their eponymous EP on a major label and “Pink Pills, Orange Pills” from To the Goddess Electricity, were warmly received. The loudest cheers were reserved for “Saturdays in Silesia” and “City of Night” – both up-tempo, sequenced singles fondly remembered from the days when superpower submarines prowled Sweden’s archipelago.
A surprise show-closer in Malmö and Stockholm was a cover of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” including Angus-like hopping. Firmly tongue-in-cheek, it was a playful riposte to the scene’s purists. Like many of the electronic pioneers, Howe was a punk who found his way to synthesizers (he still plays drums with his old band, The Normals), and he clearly couldn’t resist breaking down walls. It was also a coded signal that he hasn’t given up on adding drums and guitars to Rational Youth’s live act. A return to Europe is a real prospect, as is an expanded line-up with a new take on the band’s classic songs. The purists will secretly love it.
PSYCHE
Malmö, 30 April 2014
Gothenburg, 2 May 2014
Stockholm, 3 May 2014
Legendary Canadian exports, Psyche, have been pioneers on the dark electro scene for almost three decades. Informed by the hard electronics of early Fad Gadget and the Gothic imagery of post-punk artists like Joy Division and Bauhaus, Psyche launched in 1982 but first came to wider attention with 1985’s Insomnia Theatre, an album of horror-inspired classics with titles like “The Brain Collapses” and “Mr. Eyeball Ooze.” In due course, Europe called and Psyche were transplanted to Germany, from where they have continued to release edgy music born in the depths of the night and build their reputation as an outstanding live act.
Psyche’s Swedish shows opened with the hard-edged stomp of “The Saint Became a Lush” from 1986’s Unveiling the Secret. There were hints of “Tubular Bells” in the sequencer pattern; but, instead of Max von Sydow in a dog-collar, the fog gave way to singer Darrin Huss, occupying the stage with a vigorous dance routine, and keyboardist Stefan Rabura. What followed was a selection of hits from Psyche’s extensive back-catalogue, covering a range of styles while maintaining the dialectic between the morbid and uplifting. Songs like “15 Minutes”, “Sanctuary” and “The Crawler” easily got the appreciative crowd making noise: in Gothenburg, Huss told the boisterous audience, “I’m singing to the rhythm of your screams!”
Huss’ vocal range is impressive, and he is capable of bluesy belters as well as more delicate interpretations. On “Goodbye Horses,” one of Psyche’s signature covers, Huss successfully conveyed the song’s careful balance of pain and splendour, while Rabura’s accompaniment underlined its emotional ambiguity. The full power of Huss’ voice really came out on “Unveiling the Secret,” their 1986 hit, showing exactly how Psyche became a lasting presence on the dark electro scene.
A treat for Gothenburg fans was the appearance of Gothic personality, Adora BatBrat – who was on DJ duties for the event – for a cover of Soft Cell’s “Sex Dwarf.” The Swedish singer and model brought her entertaining brands of glamour and humour to the song – a main-stay of Psyche’s live shows – while acting as a foil for Huss’ own improvisation. Like the public service announcements used to say, “Sometimes the after-effects never wear off.”
SISTA MANNEN PÅ JORDEN
Malmö, 30 April 2014
Gothenburg, 2 May 2014
Stockholm, 3 May 2014
Eddie Bengtsson nearly gave away one of his best songs to his old band, S.P.O.C.K. When they turned down “Stadens alla ljus” (EN: “City Lights”), he recorded it for his own project, Sista mannen på jorden (EN: The Last Man on Earth). Released in time for Swedish shows alongside Rational Youth, it is a fusion of space disco, with a pulsating, filtered bass and classic sweeps, together with a melody line that Jean-Michel Jarre would die for. S.P.O.C.K probably knew their limitations: given a live outing, “Stadens alla ljus” fits smoothly into the SMPJ canon, sending hips and feet into motion with a sleek style more Studio 54 than old-time S.P.O.C.K-and-roll.
Bengtsson has an informal rapport with fans, who push to the front of the stage to sing along to “Sekunder” (EN: “Seconds”), “Allt är klart” (EN: “Everything is Ready”) and other SMPJ classics. Flanked by Christer Hermodsson, he knocks out energetic poptronica gems with an ease that belies their sophistication. For sheer elegance, songs like “Luft” (EN: “Breath”) and “Det där är grönt” (EN: “That is Green”) are without peers in modern electronic music. The crowds in Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm know this, and the bartenders at the venues are left in relative peace for the duration of SMPJ’s sets.
A SMPJ live show is an interactive affair; and, as the lyrics are all in Swedish, the audience easily sings along at Bengtsson’s prompting. You don’t need to speak a word of the language, however, to enjoy the throbbing basslines and clever melodic poptronica: a pair of dancing shoes will do the job perfectly.
I SATELLITE
Malmö, 30 April 2014
Gothenburg, 2 May 2014
Stockholm, 3 May 2014
The first single Rod MacQuarrie ever bought was Gary Numan’s classic, “Cars.” On the B-side of the US release was “Metal,” one of the cover songs that is a highlight of I Satellite’s Nordic shows. MacQuarrie, who grew up in a remote part of Canada but now lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan, clearly absorbed Numan’s futurist vibe deeply, as I Satellite travels with a vintage Korg System 700 synthesizer and an analogue sequencer the size of a small house. Turning out catchy songs that deconstruct city living and the love lives of replicants, I Satellite was a popular discovery for Nordic audiences who grew up with The Pleasure Principle and Telekon on their built-in IKEA record shelves.
MacQuarrie’s show isn’t all robotic longing: audience favourite, “Bubbleboy,” taken from 2003’s Auto:Matic album, explains the fate of a boy “alone in a bubble world,” superimposed over a sonic palette lifted from 1979. The I Satellite originals on display are both quirky and catchy, and after the shows groups of young men press forward to ask questions and seek signatures. Who knew in Södermalm that Kalamazoo was hiding such an interesting act?
ROBERT MARLOW
Stockholm, 3 May 2014
Robert Marlow could have been a contender. While his Basildon contemporaries saw their careers take off with Depeche Mode and Yazoo, Marlow narrowly missed out on stardom. On paper, a label deal and production help from Vince Clarke should have been the ideal platform; instead, he was Andrew Ridgeley in the shadow of the talent he stood closest to. Sales of his singles were slow, and an album recorded with Clarke and Eric Radcliffe was shelved until the end of the 1990s.
Never mind – the crowd at Stockholm’s Nalen venue knows all of the words to the 1980s singles: Claudette, The Face of Dorian Grey and Calling All Destroyers. They sing along contentedly, while Robert Enforsen, the former Elegent Machinery vocalist, handles iPad and keyboard duties and adds harmonies. Marlow’s voice holds up, but the years have clearly weathered the lad from Essex.
“Touch me!” cries a heavily made-up Marlow, extending his free hand from the stage. A sea of friendly Swedish hands reach back; and, at least until the music stops, Marlow is the Smash Hits cover star he always wanted to be.
The process of manufacturing vinyl records affords a final opportunity for creativity to artists, labels and engineers, before the final product is packaged and distributed. When the master is cut, prior to stamping of the records, it is common for identification marks to be added, such as catalogue numbers, references to the mastering house and notes about the tape being used by the engineer. A practice also emerged of engineers adding their names, nicknames or logos, and inscribing messages of their own, such as references to lyrics or notes meaningful to themselves or to the artists. Scrawled into the inner run-off grooves of the record, nearest the label, such matrix etchings are important for record collectors to help identify different editions, but they also provide a source of coded communication to fans keen to discover every detail about their favourite recordings. Holding records at an angle to the light reveals the messages, which are otherwise overlooked by the listener.
One of the best-known practitioners of the subtle art of matrix etching was the engineer, George Peckham, who signed off many masters as “Porky” or added his mark, “A Porky Prime Cut”. The hand-drawn face of a pig can also be traced back to Peckham. Here’s an example of Peckham’s sign-off, taken from Fad Gadget’s “Fireside Favourites/Insecticide” single:
Peckham’s sense of humour is evident, as next to his motto he has drawn a picture of a fly buzzing (in reference to the lyrics of “Insecticide”):
Sometimes, the messages look like they could be personal statements about the engineer’s own musical tastes. Take, for example, this message cut into the A-side of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence” (BONG18):
Other times, they look like paying tribute to the songs being worked with. This is the etching on New Order’s first single, “Ceremony”:
We’ll post some more of these shortly, but feel free to send your favourites to post@coldwarnightlife.com.
Sista mannen på jorden (EN: The Last Man on Earth) is Eddie Bengtsson’s highly regarded solo project. The Swedish poptronica legend is best known as one half of Page, but in his SMPJ guise Bengtsson has released five acclaimed albums of melodic electronic music inspired by science fiction and themes of love and longing. SMPJ is on a mini-tour this Spring, playing dates in Sweden alongside Canadian electro-pioneers Rational Youth, Psyche and others. To coincide with the shows, a new SMPJ single is being released, and it’s a sublime slice of synthesized pop.
The A-side is “Stadens alla ljus” (EN: “All the City Lights”), a pulsating trip to the dancefloor, swept along by dream-like pads and bubbling filters. It’s one of Bengtsson’s finest efforts, and certain to be a favourite at the upcoming shows. On the B-side, “Vem gör det då” (EN: “Who Does It Then”) is an up-tempo track in classic SMPJ style.
CWNL spoke with Bengtsson about the new release:
When does the new single come out?
Its going to be out on the 30th of April, just in time for the joint SMPJ, Rational Youth, I-Satellite, Psyche and Robert Marlow tour in Sweden.
What is the story behind the cover art?
It’s actually a tribute to two of my favourite album covers (and my favourite albums, music-wise), “Magic Fly” by Space and “Oxygene” by Jean-Michel Jarre. If you take those two covers and blend them with a touch of SMPJ, that’s what you get.
When you write a song, do you decide that it is for SMPJ or Page beforehand? Is there a SMPJ mood that is different from that associated with Page?
That’s exactly what I try to do. With Page, I try to get in a “ordinary” pop mood, and with SMPJ I try to add a more sentimental and moddish flavour – and, of course, a touch of a science fiction theme (not always, though). A slightly fun thing is that the A-side of the new single, “Stadens alla ljus” (All the City Lights), was initially a song that I wrote for S.P.O.C.K last winter. They heard it and didn’t like it – a fact that I’m very glad for now, since it is one of the best SMPJ songs I’ve ever done (in my opinion).
SMPJ is clearly inspired by science fiction. Which books and films are particularly important to you?
A science fiction book that really got me hooked on sci-fi, long ago, was 2001: A Space Odyssey. Then there is my all-time favourite sci-fi TV-series, Space: 1999.
You have live shows coming up with Rational Youth, Psyche, I Satellite and Robert Marlow. You’ve remixed both I Satellite and Robert Marlow previously. How was that experience?
I feel very satisfied about how they came out, especially the mix I made Robert Marlow. I wanted to give that song with Marlow a glamtronica workover, and I think I succeeded very well – one of my favourite remixes/redux versions from those I have done.
We hear that Rational Youth are working on a version of Luft by SMPJ. How do you feel about other artists covering your songs?
I’m honoured that other artists are making covers of my songs, and its going to be very interesting to hear Rational Youth’s version. I’m sure they are going to do it very well.
We saw that Page was well received in London. Is there a chance of SMPJ playing outside of Sweden, as well?
I really do hope so! Playing in London was a wonderful thing to do. And I hope that the audience there wants to see and hear SMPJ, too, in the near future.
“Stadens alla ljus” is released on 30 April 2014 by Electronic Sound Sweden Records.
Sista mannen på jorden are appearing at the following shows:
Malmö, Sweden – 30 April 2014 (Babel)
Göteborg, Sweden – 2 May 2014 (Musikens hus)
Stockholm, Sweden – 3 May 2014 (Nalen)
You know that 2014 is heating up as another good year for electronic music when the release schedule starts filling up with recordings from Rational Youth, Sista mannen på jorden, Psyche – and now Diskodiktator.
Former S.P.O.C.K keyboardist, Johan Billing, is the Diskodiktator – sharply dressed and as well known for lounge music reinterpretations of Swedish synth classics as he is for controversial originals, like the alternative club hit, “Just Say No to Democracy”. There is a new Diskodiktator album just around the corner, named Malmö C after his home city’s central railway station, led by a new single, “Inte så svårt” (EN: Not So Hard). Influenced by DAF, it will cut a dashing figure on the EBM scene; trading the angst and gloom of much recent material for a more stylish approach. With remixes from TopGun, Beborn Beton and Social Ambitions, there are several listening angles, all made-to-measure for the dancefloor.
Samples below, which signal good things for the forthcoming album!
Frank Tovey is sadly no longer with us or we would have to ring to ask about his Prince look in this video gem. Frank was one of the true greats among performance artists, and in his Fad Gadget guise gave us several amazing albums. Unmissable music from an artist who is sorely missed.
Hannah Peel took the third position in CWNL’s Top 10 Songs of 2013, as we highlighted an excellent song from her Nailhouse EP. With the release of Fabricstate, a four-track EP, Peel is early off the mark to chart again this year.
It’s not just that the record is pressed in red vinyl, mirroring the colour of her hair; nor that it contains Chloe, the award-winning song already heard in a British television production – the thing that sets Fabricstate apart is that it is infused with distillates of folk music but is a thoroughly modern musical cocktail. Take the title track, which begins with a piano accompaniment, but quickly develops a martial rhythm underpinned by Test Dept-esque metal, before razor-sharp sawtooth waveforms come in. Peel’s voice has a delicate quality, which sits against the more dangerous sounds of the instrumental track, setting them off by highlighting just the slightest hint of menace. Folk music for urban living, let’s call it.
Another song, Desolation Row, builds up with an anthemic quality that could fill a stadium in a live outing, but it is restrained on record by the use of strings and brass that are intimate, rather than bombastic. It’s a hard balance to maintain, but Peel keeps the tension going while showing off her ability to add power to her vocals when necessary. It could be a radio hit or remixed for clubs, but it’s going to sound best sung-along to by a large audience.