Client

Shine On: Robert Görl

by coldwarnightlife
written by coldwarnightlife

Compared to the privileged founders of Kraftwerk, who were able to launch their project with family money, Robert Görl had it tough. Raised in an orphanage in Munich, he was attracted to punk and became one of the outsiders hanging around Düsseldorf’s Ratinger Hof. There, he connected with fellow spirit, Gabi Delgado, and the duo became the core of Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft, one of the leading Neue Deutsche Welle acts. A formally trained jazz drummer, Görl brought a sense of rhythm and structure to the band, which was to spin off acts like Pyrolator and Liaisons Dangereuses.

The first album by DAF, Ein Produkt der Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft, was an experimental, improvised collection of instrumental tracks. It led to a trip to London, which saw the group of German punks sleeping on the floor of Daniel Miller‘s mother’s middle class house in Temple Fortune, London. The next step was an album, Die Kleinen und die Bosen, which was the first full-length release for Miller’s Mute Records label. Given the catalogue number, STUMM1 (‘stumm’ being the German word for ‘mute’), it featured a live side recorded in London and a studio side produced by Conny Plank. Plank’s son tells the story that Görl, Delgado and Miller went to Conny’s Studio in Germany to finalise the material. Miller had booked three days of studio time. On the first day, Plank cooked and chatted with Görl and Delgado. On the second day, the same thing happened. Miller was watching his budget being eaten up – literally. On the third day, as Miller’s anxiety was peaking, the Germans went into the studio and did the entire session in one go. This was the beginning of a key relationship between Plank and DAF.

DAFIt also led to the reorganisation of DAF as the duo of Görl and Delgado. After Die Kleinen…, they clinched a contract with Virgin Records and forged a new, minimal sound. The rest of the band were out, and Miller was told only after the deal was done. It was a messy affair, but it led to a series of albums that set new templates for European electronic music. With only a sequencer, basic synths, a drum kit, and Delgado’s voice, DAF crafted a distinctive sound with songs that cut open the belly of punk. Görl’s drums and electronics steered a path between icy anthems and intimate tracks, avoiding the traps of both 4/4 dance music and pub rock, while Delgado purred and shouted slogans and sensual promises with equal intensity.

The new arrangement was successful, but it didn’t last. It couldn’t have lasted. After three albums in two years, all produced in Conny’s Studio, DAF pulled the plug. The passion that kept the music interesting also led to collisions that blew the partnership apart. They regrouped in 1986 for a dance-oriented album, 1st Step to Heaven, but the tensions kept resurfacing. Over the years, the fans pulled DAF back into the studio and onto the stage, but keeping the band together was a recurring challenge.

In the gaps between DAF projects, Görl continued to produce exceptional music. In 1983, after the first DAF split, Görl returned to Mute Records with the single, “Mit Dir.” That led to a further single and album produced by Mike Hedges, including a collaboration with Annie Lennox of Eurythmics. Görl had provided drums for the Eurythmics’ 1981 single, “Belinda,” which appeared on the Plank-produced album, In the Garden, and kept close to Lennox. Although critically well received, Night Full of Tension failed to ignite Görl’s solo career in the UK.

After the second DAF split, in 1987, Görl went off to study acting in New York; quickly finding himself expelled for having the wrong visa. On return to West Germany, he was picked up by the army, which wanted to know why he hadn’t completed his national service. Faced with the choice of joining the Bundeswehr or making music, Görl split for Paris, where he recorded demos in a suburban flat. He took them to London, where Daniel Miller recommended that he connect with the Canadian prog musician, Dee Long, who had set up as a Fairlight operator at George Martin’s AIR Studios. Long had previously worked with Rational Youth on the Heredity album and with Images in Vogue, so had some experience working with the current technology. Before they could properly record the material that Görl had developed in Paris, however, he was involved in a horrific car accident. The drummer began 1989 with broken bones and soft tissue injuries that prevented further work and would impact him for the rest of his career.

The result was a hiatus from music that lasted until 1992. In that time, Görl became a monk at a Buddhist monastery in Thailand; a role he traded in for techno production after returning to a reunited Germany and experiencing Berlin’s Love Parade. His love for Buddhist spirituality remained, but so did his drive to make music as DAF. In 2003, he and Delgado released Fünfzehn neue D.A.F.-Lieder, updating the DAF sound while demonstrating their continuing relevance. More splits followed, but a way forward was always found. In 2021, following the death of Delgado, Görl released the final DAF album, Nur noch einer, drawn from archive material and ideas the duo had been working on together. It was a kind of closure, but not the end of the journey: Görl has recently continued to perform as DAF, and there are other sketches in the vaults that could still be worked on. DAF lives…

10. DAF – Kebabträume

The first DAF single on Mute, “Kebabträume” is an electro-punk treatment of the controversy about Turkish immigration to West Germany. It deals with the division of Berlin and cold war spycraft, reflecting the anxieties of the times. It was re-recorded by the Görl-Delgado version of DAF for their third Virgin album, Für Immer, with cleaner production and a more minimal style, but the original 7″ in the Simone Grant sleeve remains the definitive version.


 

9. Robert Rental – Double Heart

Görl’s skills as a drummer have been called upon a number of times for other acts. Rental had worked with Daniel Miller on a tour of the UK and France, which had been documented on a one-sided album for Rough Trade. It was natural, therefore, that he would release his second single on Mute. It was recorded at Blackwing Studios, where Miller was working on his Silicon Teens material, with Thomas Leer and Görl assisting.


 

8. DAF – Ich und die Wirklichkeit

The version of DAF that went to Virgin was one that Mute would have loved to have bid for. DAF’s first album for Richard Branson’s label, Alles ist Gut, was to become a classic and a crossover hit in Germany. With the instrumentation reduced to drums and sequenced synths, the duo was able to reinvent electronic music entirely. The live version of this track offers a view of the band’s strong punk sensibilities; rejecting both the hippy ambience of Tangerine Dream and the angular pop of the Anglo-American New Wave.


 

7. DAF – The Gun

The return of DAF in 1987 was at the height of Stock Aitken Waterman’s powers. Hi-NRG was all over the dancefloor, and the band was well positioned to take a run at commercial success. They brought with them an early track – “Absolute Body Control” – and wrote new material, including this funky 12″ single. Some saw this as a sell-out, but DAF’s club campaign yielded a string of excellent singles and an album that added polish to their sound.


 

6. Robert Görl – Dominatrix Supreme

Görl’s return to Germany led to a period of techno production that is sometimes overlooked in his work, but the material is of very high quality. DAF’s sound was one of the major influences on the development of dance music, and it is only natural that Görl would have turned his hand to the music of the clubs.


 

5. Client with Robert Görl – Der Mussolini

In 2006, Görl performed live with Client, the band fronted by Sarah Blackwood and championed by Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode. At the end of their set, they had a go at this classic dancefloor number by DAF. In 2007, Görl’s remix of the band’s Adam Ant-written song, “Zerox Machine,” was released.


 

4. Robert Görl – Part 1 (Vince Clarke Remix)

The accident that prevented Görl from taking forward his second solo album with Dee Long was very serious. He spent six months in hospital, was implanted with steel pins, and had to learn to walk again. Completely defeated by chance, he took himself away to a monastery and gave up music entirely. The discovery of a cassette with his demos led to the release of an album by Grönland Records in 2018. Vince Clarke provided a remix of this track; hinting at the way the material could have taken shape if Görl had worked on it in London as planned.


 

3. FLA – Eye on You

Canada’s Front Line Assembly called on Görl to contribute to this track from 2019. As Bill Leeb told The Electricity Club: “We met at M’era Luna and another festival. We all hung out backstage, and I kind of hunted him down. One time, [DAF] played right after us and we were hanging out backstage, waiting to change, and I just started talking to him. I was such a huge fan, and the first couple of DAF albums were groundbreaking – kind of like the whole Mute and DEPECHE MODE world. We just started chatting in German, and he’s a super nice guy, and next thing you know we were doing the track.”


 

2. DAF – Ich denk an dich

Released in the wake of Delgado’s untimely and unexpected death, “Ich denk an dich” [EN: “I Think of You”] is Görl’s tribute to his musical partner. Their relationship was sometimes difficult, but it was also productive. Some of Görl’s most significant material is inseparable from Delgado’s contributions. With the last DAF album, he had an opportunity to express this using archival recordings and the sketches made with Delgado.


1. Robert Görl – Mit Dir

Released in the spring of 1983, “Mit Dir” finds Görl singing a love song over a minimal, icy-cold set of synth sounds. One of the most beautiful songs released on Mute, it is a masterpiece that shows off Görl’s expressive range and control of minimalist instrumentation.


 

 

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Depeche Mode’s Fletch Leaves in Silence

by coldwarnightlife
written by coldwarnightlife

Andrew Fletcher has died. The founding member of Depeche Mode was reported on the band’s social media pages to have passed away, leaving fans and friends in shock. He had recently received medical care for an injury to his arm while on holiday, but there had been no indication that the 60 year old was in danger or suffering from illness.

“Fletch” had a unique role in electronic music. Originally charged with playing bass lines for Depeche Mode, his lack of musicianship meant that he started to mime to backing tapes early in their career. As the band’s fortunes rose, becoming only second to the Rolling Stones as a global touring act, Fletch kept his position at shows in front of a keyboard but played a more critical role off-stage. He was often described as the glue that held the band together, acting as a go-between for other members and an avatar for songwriter Martin Gore. He became involved in management issues, such as merchandising, but his main function was to give voice to Gore’s vision.

This role famously brought him into conflict with Alan Wilder, who had been brought into Depeche Mode following the departure of Vince Clarke. Wilder, a classically trained musician with deep studio skills and a sense of discipline, resented Fletch’s lack of musical contributions. As tensions widened between Gore and singer Dave Gahan, however, Fletch’s importance as a balancing act in the dysfunctional Depeche Mode environment came increasingly to the fore. It was said, with some fairness, that there could not have been a Depeche Mode without Fletch.

In 2002, Fletch launched the Toast Hawaii record label, and with it the recording career of Client. Featuring Sarah Blackwood as Client B, the band toured with Fletch as DJ. That he could only put on records, one after the other, and did not try to beat mix, was entirely in keeping with the Fletch brand. So was naming the label after a German canteen snack that he became known for while Depeche Mode had been recording.

Food played an important part in Fletch’s personality. On stage, he was famously captured eating a banana while other band members played their instruments. He also owned a restaurant in London’s St. John’s Wood called Gascogne that attracted Depeche Mode’s loyal fans keen to have pints pulled by one of their heroes. The restaurant was sold off, but he returned to the hospitality game when he bought into a local pub.

A Christian who started preaching with Vince Clarke in the Basildon Boys Brigade, Fletch was reportedly shocked by the lyrics to “Blasphemous Rumours,” an early Mode single. He is also reported to have preferred a pint of beer over the heroin, coke and speed consumed by his bandmates. Following the shocking news of his passing, many musicians took to social media to share their memories of Fletch as a supportive and caring friend. He was also known as someone willing to call out anyone who cut into a queue at a concert – a core element of British morality – even if his choice of words was…well, choice.

Fletch is survived by his wife, Grainne, and two children, Megan and Joe. His departure leaves a hole in the hearts of the black army of Mode fans around the world.

 

 

 

 

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Shine On: Sarah Blackwood

by coldwarnightlife
written by coldwarnightlife

dubstarSarah Blackwood might not be an angel, but her voice is among the most seraphic in British pop. As the most visible member of Dubstar, the dream-pop band that gave us “Stars” and a remake of Billy Bragg’s “St. Swithin’s Day,” Blackwood was one of the most recognisable faces of the 90s.

A decade on, styled as an SAS air hostess reimagined by Wallpaper magazine, she became the voice of Client. While Dubstar always seemed free-spirited – their first album was banned for its depiction of a fuzzy pencil case in a manner that Woolworths found objectionable – Client’s presentation was more controlled: members were designated by letters, had their faces cropped from releases, and aimed for a prim and proper look (never mind that their PR material always seemed to make them look like dominatrices styled by Muji).

This dialectic of pop imagery was finally resolved in 2011, when Blackwood left Client to focus on real life, freeing her to engage with artists as disparate as Fotonovela and Die Krupps. Throughout, her distinctive voice, gently inflected with an accent that signals her Yorkshire roots, has carried melodies with the kind of sensuous English beauty that would make a choirmaster blush.

Born singing, Blackwood always knew what she wanted to do. After leaving school in Halifax, Blackwood signed up for art college in Newcastle with the aim of finding a band to join. That didn’t work out, but through her then-boyfriend she connected with Steve Hillier and Chris Wilkie, who were performing as The Joans. Replacing Hillier as vocalist, the band became Dubstar, and in 1995 they released their first album, Disgraceful. Produced by Stephen Hague, whose credits included New Order and Pet Shop Boys, the album was finely-crafted, off-center pop: weekends listening to On-U Sound compilations might have influenced the bass lines, but the guitars and strings owed as much of a debt to Cocteau Twins and XTC. Blackwood’s own contribution was less Partridge/Moulding than Fältskog/Lyngstad: there is an ABBA-esque element to the vocals that Hague’s production brings to the fore.

Dubstar lasted for two more albums, which both followed Disgraceful into the UK Top 40. Their second effort, Goodbye, was also helmed by Hague, and it yielded strong songs like “No More Talk,” “I Will Be Your Girlfriend” and “Cathedral Park,” which built on the original template. The turn of the century gave us Make It Better, on which the sound became more emphatic, darker and guitar-driven: “Take It” was originally intended for Gary Numan (who did collaborate with Dubstar on “Redirected Mail” at about the same time); and Led Zeppelin fan Wilkie had been waiting for two albums for his chance to rock out a little. Although rumours of another Dubstar record were floated from time to time, the band’s store of material was as exhausted as its members were of working together. The “Swansong” on Make It Better really was one, as Dubstar disbanded in the album’s wake.

tumblr_m6hgzvGJWy1r70raso1_1280Word got out that Blackwood was available for other assignments, and in 2002 Kate Holmes invited her to join Technique, which incorporated Blackwood as singer and changed its name to Client. Holmes, who had played with Frazier Chorus, was an enormous New Order and Depeche Mode fan, and she quickly hit it off with the pop-loving Blackwood. Adopting the pseudonyms Client:A (for Holmes) and Client:B (for Blackwood), Client were adopted by Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode, who released the band’s recordings through his Toast Hawaii label. Their first show was at Tobbe Lander’s 2003 Swedish Alternative Music Awards in Gothenburg, Sweden, and a rush of dates across Europe followed. Fletcher became a familiar site at their shows, DJ-ing as Client:F, which permanently cemented their link with Devotees across the continent.

client2The retro-futurist style of Client’s music won them many fans, but commercial success outside of their core audience proved elusive. Their first album, 2003’s Client, was scored only 3/10 by the Springsteen-boosting magazine, Uncut, while lauded as “bloody good stuff” by its rival, DJ. Being enigmatic and having a love for early Human League material might have been cool, but it wasn’t a way to chart success in the UK after the turn of the century. Their second studio album, City, included collaborations with members of The Libertines (then managed by Holmes’ husband, Alan McGee) and Martin Gore, but it didn’t raise Uncut’s opinion, even though it contained impressive material, such as the singles “Radio” and “Don’t Call Me Baby.”

By 2006, things started to get complicated for Client. The band’s patron and label boss, Fletcher, was consumed by the demands of Depeche Mode’s own activity, while sales slumped along with the rest of the recorded music market. The electroclash scene, which had provided some support for Client’s style, had long since peaked. A change of label preceded the release of Heartland, Client’s third album, for which they assembled a team including Youth, Adam Ant, Stephen Hague, Simon Tong (The Verve) and Tim Burgess (The Charlatans). Youth, who co-produced the album, put his finger on a key point, calling Client “a dance band that nobody could dance to.” He set out to change that, building up the sound for Heartland and its successor, Command, with bass lines and hooks given pride of place.

The change of gear didn’t bring Client closer to chart success, and in the end the members of Client started to get on each other’s nerves. The project stopped for a while. When it started up again, it was without Blackwood, who had endured enough band politics to last a lifetime. With time, she turned towards a focus on her physical and spiritual wellness, while working with other artists on their own projects. In 2007, Blackwood had worked with Die Krupps on a cover of Visage’s “The Anvil,” while in 2010 William Orbit (producer of Madonna and Britney Spears, among others) released a version of his song, “White Night,” with Blackwood on vocals. Fotonovela’s 2013 album, A Ton of Love, featured Blackwood on two tracks.

The essential quality of all of these contributions was Blackwood’s evergreen vocal style, which remained untainted despite two decades of performance, clubbing, hard living and professional heartbreak. The tone of her voice today remains as compelling as it was at the time of this interview and short feature:

10. Dubstar – Not So Manic Now

The release of “Not So Manic Now” in 1996 took Dubstar into the UK Top 20 for the first time, reinvigorating interest in the band’s first album (which had come out several months earlier) and precipitating the re-release of “Stars” as a single. A cover of a song by the rather more obscure band, Brick Supply, you would never guess from Blackwood’s delivery that it’s the first-person account of an assault on a pensioner in a tower block.

9. Dubstar – I Will Be Your Girlfriend

Although the title initially must have looked like a promise to spotty students up and down the country, the lyrics of Dubstar’s eighth UK Top 40 single make it clear that there is a sting in the tail:

I’m the gum on your shoes
The prostitute who rings your family
I’ll take your breath away
You crossed my path and you’ll pay
And both your friends will laugh

Lifted from Goodbye, Dubstar’s second album, Blackwood’s taunting vocals sit over a house groove that perhaps owes something to Happy Monday’s “Wrote for Luck.”

8. Client – Radio

“There’s no music on my radio,” Blackwood sang back in 2004. Certainly, it was difficult to find anything back then on the radio dial that was worth tuning into: UK radio was a series of drum-and-bass pirate stations with DJs interrupting every ten seconds for neighbourhood shout-outs, while the commercial channels used up the airwaves with Britney, Beyonce and Eminem. That might not have been Client’s main complaint, but Blackwood’s plaintive delivery reminds us why the delivery of a DAB radio that Christmas was so unwelcome.

7. Client – Heartland

Co-produced by Joe Wilson of Sneaker Pimps, the title track from Client’s third album moves away from the minimalist aesthetic of Client’s earlier work, while retaining their characteristic sense of angst. This is music to smoke behind the shopping mall to:

Deep down and lonely
Long place from home
I was always a loner,
I was never alone.

6. Soman – Blue Monday

It is not without cause that Sarah Blackwood has been called “the female Bernard Sumner.” It’s not that she gets prickly about Peter Hook or refuses to play her old stuff, so comparisons must arise from her soft, Northern vocals. This cover of “Blue Monday” by a German band isn’t the best from the instrumental angle, but the real point of interest is to hear Blackwood singing a classic New Order track. A duet with Sumner would be a logical next step.

5. William Orbit – White Night

William Orbit is a particular kind of genius. Best known for producing Madonna, Blur, Britney and others, Orbit’s own output is both exceptional and experimental. For his 2009 album, My Oracle Lives Uptown, Orbit recorded this track with Blackwood, but the version that finally appeared featured long-term collaborator Laurie Mayer, with whom he had originally recorded the song for Torch Song back in 1986. The Blackwood version generated a lot of fan interest, so Orbit released it on his Web site as a free download. As we said – genius!

MP3 Download

4. Die Krupps – Der Amboss

That Blackwood should become involved in a project of Die Krupps, Jürgen Engler and Ralf Dörper’s EBM band, might be surprising, but Dörper is no stranger to the poppier end of the scene, having been a key figure in Propaganda. When Die Krupps prepared to cover Visage’s “The Anvil,” he immediately thought of Blackwood, then in her Client:B role, to lend a hand. The result was a meeting of leather, sweat and beauty like a Helmut Newton picture made into sound.

Blackwood took to the stage with Die Krupps, when they visited London in 2008, but such was her anonymity as Client:B that the maker of this video had to ask who she was:

3. Fotonovela – Justice

The Greek electro duo, Fotonovela, got ambitious when inviting vocalists to help out with their 2013 album, A Ton of Love. James New from Mirrors, fellow Athenians Marsheaux, Kid Moxie and Blackwood were among those asked to collaborate. Blackwood contributed to two tracks, “Justice” and “Beautiful.” Featured here is “Justice,” an energetic, uplifting track with aggressive lyrics. Is it about anyone Blackwood knows? We can’t say, but you’ll be roused to action.

2. Client B – Acoustic at The Club Bar & Dining

In 2008, still presenting herself as Client B, Blackwood recorded and released an album of live recordings, with acoustic settings of Dubstar and Client songs, together with covers of tracks by New Order and The Smiths. The link below is to the album, which was originally released in parts through the Client Web site. It’s a RAR package, so you will need to unzip it first.

RAR Download

1. Dubstar – Stars

The track for which Dubstar is best known just dented the UK Top 40 when it was released in 2005; but, after momentum built behind the band in early 2006, the record company re-issued it and the single climbed to 15th position. New mixes by Motiv-8 and Way Out West led the way to the dancefloor, and Blackwood’s heavenly vocal lines floated over ravers in fields and factories alike.

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Fifty Shades of Client

by Jennifer Last
written by Jennifer Last

Client were a supergroup who preferred anonymity. Although formed by two charismatic performers, Kate Holmes of Frazier Chorus and Sarah Blackwood of Dubstar, they used code names (Client A for Holmes and Client B for Blackwood) and chose body shots over portraits for their promotional materials. Their choice of clothing was typically airline stewardess grey: neutral uniforms adding to the mystery, albeit with a hint of glamour. They used corporate platitudes as marketing slogans.

Musically, Client were capable of being as deadpan as The Flying Lizards or as melodic as Depeche Mode, with whom they toured. Andy Fletcher took them under his wing, signing them to his Toast Hawaii label, and Client were on their way. Then they weren’t: the band left Fletcher’s label in 2006, Blackwood left the band in 2010, and things went relatively quiet for an extended period. Earlier this year, Client returned with a new album, Authority, and a new line-up (Holmes and Nicole Thomas aka Client N). The site of their live relaunch was Gothenburg’s Electronic Summer festival, where CWNL’s Jennifer Last caught up with them.

How does it feel now, when the first show is all over?

[Kate] It was our first gig together. We’ve felt a little bit of anxiety, but good anxiety. You know, all the things that could go wrong: stage fright, the keyboard could stop working. But when you get into it, and the audience is so lovely. We’re quite blessed to be playing for an audience that lovely. They kept yelling, “We love you!” The set goes kind of up and down, so the audience grew with it. It was fantastic. They loved it so much, and we couldn’t ask for a better crowd than that, really.

Client3What’s the biggest difference between when you’re playing at a festival and at a club?

[Kate] I think, when we play at a place like this, people are coming because they love the music. They’ve heard the records, they’re singing along and know all the words. At most festivals, you get a crowd that moves around. They stand there for 15 minutes and then move away. Here, everybody pays quite a lot of money to get a ticket and it’s a true fan base.

How have you, Nicole, been preparing for this show, as being the very first show as the new Client?

[Nicole] I’ve been rehearsing a lot. One thing I’ve been trying to do is to bring some meinto the band. I’ve tried not to replace anything or anybody, or to pretend that I’m something I’m not. So it was great having Kate saying that I’m allowed to have that freedom.

[Kate] She’s bringing this new, sexy youth actually. Kind of vibrant. She’s like a young Madonna jumping around but electronic. She’s a little bit younger, which is nice.

How did you form the new Client?

[Kate] David [Francolini, who produced Authority], who is also a friend of my husband’s [Creation Records founder, Alan McGee], said that he really loved Client and that we should do another album, and I was like, “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” And he said that he was going to write me some music. And I said, “Yeah, yeah.” I’ve heard this fifty times before, and no one ever brings it. No one ever does anything. They go away. They forget about it. It always reaches a point where nothing ever happens.

But then, six months later, I got a phone call from Bristol going, “I’ve done it!” And I was like, “WHAT?”

So, I went to Bristol. And we had to find someone to sing it. And he gave the suggestion of this amazing girl. She was a lead singer already. It was a natural process. I do believe – this is going to sound a bit spiritual – but I believe the universe, sometimes, it will give you something back. If I just let go of everything, it will come naturally. And we have this amazing energy. It sounds hippie and spiritual, but it’s all been very easy with this album. It came out; we’ve got amazing reviews; it’s not been that much struggling, really. And the expectations, for me, I was more like, “So, okay, we’ve got this. It’s amazing. Let’s just do it.”

How long did you work on the album?

[Kate] For a year now. Working, rehearsing and working with the David the producer, who is a perfectionist. It could take him weeks to just get the bass right, so it sounds amazing. We can play wherever now, because we’ve got it all set up. We had the album come out six months ago and we’ve played one gig. A lot of people will think that’s shit, but I think it’s amazing. The gig we just had was one of the best gigs in my life, really.

What is the worst memory playing live with Client?

[Kate] The worst place I’ve ever played in was in Naples at a Sky TV party. The venue was no bigger than this room [the backstage area at The Brewhouse is the size of a bedroom]. There were 20 people in it. There was no toilet. There was no stage or mixing desk, either. Our sound guy had to build a stage from scratch and build a mixing desk with two channels. We had to pee in a bucket on stage. In the corner of the stage, that was the dressing room. We couldn’t move for three hours. We just sat there.

Client5Nicole, what have you done musically before you became the other half of Client?

[Nicole] I’ve always been a vocalist. Basically, I’ve been helping people out with techniques in the studio, working in studios and things like that – in Bristol, where I’m from, but also in Scandinavia and in Germany. Last year was quite exiting when I played at a massive stadium. The Rugby League World Cup came to England for the first time in 101 years. My home town was one of the host cities. They’d asked me to write a song and perform it at the stadium, and it was so, “Gosh, twenty million people watching!” But before that, I did a lot of behind-the-scenes work. I was the tour manager for an independent label, so I’ve seen the other side of it as well – so it’s nice to be on the other side, finally.

Client have been very quiet for the past five years. What have you been doing during this period of time?

[Kate] Well, you’ve [to Nicole] been doing music. I’ve been working on my fashion line. I’m still doing it actually, but it’s so difficult. It’s a nightmare, to be honest.

How did you get into all that?

[Kate] I did a line of uniforms, but what I’ve realized in fashion is that people pay nothing for their clothes. In England, they pay like three pounds for a dress. And it costs to make the dress. 40 pounds just to make it, plus the material. So I can’t sell anything for less than 60 pounds. But the mass-market wants to pay three pounds for a dress from Primark. In a way I’ve realized that the fashion world is such a nasty, horrible business. Really. But I’ve still got the line going.

Do you have any plans for the future?

[Kate] Any gig anyone offers we’re gonna take. Hello, everybody out there! E-mail me, Facebook me! We’re hopefully coming back for a show in Sweden at the end of the year. And after that we’ll do China. So the next year: touring. But nice gigs, the ones that we like.

Are you going back to the studio for some new material?

[Kate] I think, with this album, we’re gonna be touring for two years actually.

[Nicole] But you never know…

[Kate] I think we’ll just tour the album and we’ll see what happens.

Can you describe your music with a colour?

[Kate] I think it’s kind of… It’s quite dark. It’s quite black. With a couple of shots of red or something. Vibrant. Dark green.

[Nicole] Some shoots of a color coming through. Many shades. It’s hard.

Fifty shades, maybe..?

[Nicole] Fifty shades of Client – yes! Exactly that.

[Kate] Brilliant. But why is it dark?

[Kate] I think the average music is kind of bright. Light colors. Then there’s a bit more passion, and it gets darker, isn’t it? But the melody is quite pop. So I think maybe it’s black with a strip of bubble gum pink, actually. That’s the perfect description.

Can you describe it with a feeling?

[Nicole] Intense.

[Kate] Quite anxious, I think.

And why is that?

[Kate] I think that, even in things that are good, there’s always some anxiety in it. What are the songs about?

[Nicole] It depends on which song.

[Kate] I think each song is more like a state of mind, you know? Obsession is about a stalker…

[Nicole] But then you’ve got the other side of the album which is quite political. Authority, Quarantine… Where you’re actually fighting against a big corporation, saying like, “Hang on. Wait a minute!”

[Kate] It’s a bit more punk, in a way.

Are you politically active?

[Kate] No, not really. I mean, I’m a feminist. I’m a left-wing feminist. I think every woman is a feminist, really. So these songs are from a feminist point of view, but it’s a bit anti-royalist as well.

What about you, Nicole?

[Nicole] Quite similar feelings to be honest with you. It’s quite funny, whilst making the album I remember Kate and David saying like, “Are you okay with this XXX action? You’re putting yourself out there a bit.” And I said that I’m actually fine with that. But I said that Quarantine, that worries me because it’s so intense and it’s so dark and the message is so real. But I’ve done some research, I looked into it, and I thought that, yeah, this is true. That’s why I can sing it and mean it.

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The Electronic Summer Playlist

by coldwarnightlife
written by coldwarnightlife

The lightning storm over Gothenburg this past weekend can only mean one thing: Electronic Summer is coming. One of Europe’s best-programmed festivals, ES turns a large venue in Sweden’s second city into a hive of ~tronica for three days, starting on August 28. This year, as an added bonus, Deb Mann will be taking part to share her memories of Depeche Mode’s first years. To help accompany the celestial light-show, we’ve put together some tracks from our favourites among this year’s featured artists.

COVENANT – “Prime Movers”

EMMON – “Smalltown Boy”

DAILY PLANET – “Nobody’s Friend”

CLIENT – “Refuge”

LEGEND – “City”

CANDIDE – “Änglar”

AESTHETIC PERFECTION – “Big Bad Wolf”

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