Sista Mannen på Jorden

Page Overcome Resistance with New Album

by coldwarnightlife
written by coldwarnightlife

Eddie Bengtsson‘s record collection has been a big influence on the sound of Page. The singles of Silicon Teens provided the template for the band. John Foxx-era Ultravox! and early OMD contributed style and attitude. Billy Currie’s work with Gary Numan lent sophistication. Listening to different periods of Page recordings is like crate-digging with an old friend.

The release of Inget motstånd [EN: No Resistor or No Resistance] finds the Swedish duo exploring the section marked “Krautrock.” There has been a subtle shift in the sound from British New Wave towards Conny’s Studio and the Neue Deutsche Welle. Bengtsson cites NEU!, Can, and La Düsseldorf as providing inspiration on “Klarar det ändå” [EN: “Still Making It”]. There is a Kraftwerkian quality to the song, as well.

Bengtsson’s nostalgia for the innovative spirit of the 1970s is matched by the clarity of expression brought by Christer Hermodsson’s (Biomekkanik, Spark!) production work. The two have worked together in Sista mannen på jorden (SMPJ) and are both S.P.O.C.K alumni. Their familiarity means that Hermodsson knows how far he can take the mixing without straining the impact of the material.

Founded by Marina Schiptjenko and Bengstsson way back in 1980, Page filled the gap left in Swedish poptronica by the fade-out of ABBA. They quickly established themselves as a fearlessly creative act; exploring the possibilities of monophonic synths and drum machines in answer to Synth Britannia.

The opening track in the set, “Kan inte tänka på allt” [EN: “Can’t Think of Everything”] makes the point. Although it leans towards Bengtsson’s work in SMPJ and the short-lived This Fish Needs a Bike, it’s impressed with Page’s signature vocal and melodic styles. The icy synths project Nordic coolness; cozy but moody.

“Mycket mer” [EN: “Much More”] chugs with a motorik beat, in tribute to Klaus Dinger’s distinctive and precise drumming. The flange is strong with this one, but the key to the sound is a Moog bass that pulses like street lights reflected on a speeding car. It is the missing link between Neu! and John Foxx’s Metamatic.

The highlight of the album is “Gå itu” [EN: “Breaking Up”]. An absolute stormer of a track, it finds Bengtsson in excellent form. “Om ett tag” [EN: “In a While”] will get the crowds moving with its metronomic time-keeping and infectious hooks. “Sen så blev det värre” [EN: “Then It Got Worse”] opens up with an exhilarating chorus, but the full box of tricks is on display, including horns and harmonies. There is a lot of drama at the core of the set.

“Klarar det ändå” [EN: “Can Still Do It”] appears to make references to “The Robots” and “Europe Endless.” It is followed by “Inget som betyder någonting” [EN: “Nothing that Means Anything”], which has echoes of SMPJ’s “Ögon.” The tracks highlight Bengtsson’s ability to humanise the machines.

“Moderna Saker” [EN: “Modern Things”] is impressed with strings influenced by Billy Currie, while echoing OMD’s early sequencer work. That provides the scaffolding on which Bengtsson has built a remarkably catchy poptronica edifice.

Page (Photo: Jonas Karlsson)

The strings return with greater complexity for “Kära Du” [EN: “My Dear”], which finds Page at their most cinematic. The instrumental is reprised on piano, and it is hard not to imagine the sounds coming from a drawing room in the 1930s with one of Mr Edison’s newfangled phonograph players. Crate-digging was more complicated then, but arguably no less expensive a hobby.

Throughout Inget motstånd, what stands out is the confidence of the duo entirely at ease in their own sound world. The result is a pleasing and progressive album that is entirely consistent with Page’s pioneering role in Swedish poptronica.

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Shine On: Eddie Bengtsson

by coldwarnightlife
written by coldwarnightlife

Photo: Petter Duvander

Eddie Bengtsson is rightly called the Swedish Vince Clarke. The poptronica specialist holds his own in a roll-call of synth masters, alongside Clarke, Heaven 17’s Martyn Ware and John Foxx, but he is not as well known outside of the Nordics as he deserves to be.

The story goes that Bengtsson initially wanted to become a drummer. Knocking out beats in his father’s apartment in southern Sweden, Bengtsson was intrigued by the electronic sounds reaching across the Baltic from European artists like Kraftwerk, Space and Jean-Michel Jarre.

When singles from post-punk leaders like the Human League, OMD and Silicon Teens made the journey to Skåne, his drum kit looked positively anachronistic. The latter project caught his imagination the most, and Bengtsson wrote a fan letter to the band in care of their North London label, Mute Records. Instead of a signed picture, he received a reply from Daniel Miller, admitting that it was his own studio project.

The drum kit went back to the shop, to be replaced by a monophonic synth. He learned to play it with help from his girlfriend, Marina Schiptjenko, and they linked up with another friend to start Page. Songs came quickly to Bengtsson and his band-mates, and Page acquired a dedicated following as they issued a stream of popular, hook-laden singles. Unusually, Page stuck to Swedish, which limited their international reach but reflected their desire to create an authentically local pop sound.

Bengtsson has been at the core of Page for more than three decades, but his creative output has been too wide for one act. Bengtsson also writes and performs as Sista mannen på jorden [EN: The Last Man on Earth and SMPJ from here on], which allows him to explore his love of themes drawn from science fiction. His previous outlet for that was S.P.O.C.K, which made the songs Depeche Mode should have but with a cosplay vibe. As This Fish Needs a Bike, Bengtsson has experimented with an English language act, but he continues to do his best work in his first language.

As a producer and remixer, Bengtsson has worked with a range of Swedish and international artists, including The Weathermen, Robert Marlow, My God Damn Territory, Naked Lunch, iSatellite and a host of other artists under the Electronically Yours banner. Bengtsson’s songs have been covered in live or studio settings by Rational Youth, Vision Talk, Celluloide and others.

There is a new Page album just around the corner, so it’s a good time to catch up with a true legend of poptronica.

10. Page – Dansande Man

One of the songs that Bengtsson is most closely associated is the first Page single, “Dansande man.” It was co-written with Anders Eliasson, who originally took vocal duties for the song but left before the band went into the studio. In this video from 1984, Bengtsson and Schiptjenko can be seen performing the hit at a show in Linköping.

9. This Fish Needs a Bike – Do It

Bengtsson’s only serious effort to develop an English-language project showed that his ability to knock out classy and catchy pop knows no borders. This Fish Needs a Bike has only yielded one album to date, but it is infused with the sophisticated synth stylings that Bengtsson has made his trade mark.

8. S.P.O.C.K – E.T. Phone Home

Originally formed for a friend’s birthday party, S.P.O.C.K is a stranger idea on paper than in practice. The songs contributed by Bengtsson are superior poptronica, on a plane with early Depeche Mode, but they use science fiction as both source material and setting. What, from a distance, looks like a Star Trek tribute act turns out to be a deeply philosophical and poetic project. Only Sweden could have made it work.

7. Page – Det syns ingen snö

As a live act, Page are a compelling proposition. Bengtsson is an engaging front man, and the band’s cult status means that domestic audiences know most of the words. Schiptjenko is a seasoned performer, too, but rarely steps outside of her modern art gallery to play these days. This clip shows the duo in front of their core audience, updating a classic song.

“Det syns ingen snö” started life as a cute, whimsical track, but it has been retooled by Bengtsson as a more straight-up dancefloor number. A studio version of this arrangement is expected on the next Page album.

6. SMPJ – Stadens alla ljus

Bengtsson originally offered “Stadens alla ljus” [EN: “All the City Lights”] to his former band-mates in S.P.O.C.K. They didn’t think it was S.P.O.C.K-and-roll enough for their live shows, so he recorded it as a SMPJ single. Inspired by his complex relationship with Malmö, it was also recorded in English for SMPJ’s first London shows.

5. Page – Som ett skal

Bengtsson’s love of space disco is well known. The sounds and visuals of bands like Space (of “Magic Fly” fame) and Kebekelektrik are part of Page’s DNA. The video for “Som ett skal” [EN: “Like a Shell”] captures that late-1970s vibe, while the track itself is bang up to date.

4. Page – Idag

Bengtsson recorded two albums as Page without Marina Schiptjenko. On one, he used synths to sound like guitars; on the other, he brought some in axes for real. The first approach confused Page’s fan base, who loved the band for its synth-only ethos; the second pushed away some who had got the gag first time round but thought Page were selling out to the commercial mainstream.

It’s a shame, because both albums contain some of Bengtssons best compositions.

3. The Volt – Live in Gothenburg

Bengtsson’s appetite for collaboration is considerable. Among his many projects has been this duet with Ulrika Mild, which reached into the vaults for an early Cold War vibe.

2. Sista mannen på jorden – Ögon

Despite Bengtsson’s well-known love of science fiction, the name of SMPJ – which renders in English as The Last Man on Earth – was not taken from the Vincent Price adaptation of Richard Matheson’s novel, I Am Legend. The source is actually one of the earliest Human League tracks, and the choice shows Bengtsson’s attention to detail, as well as his love of the Sheffield sound.

SMPJ has only played once outside of Sweden (at the invitation of Cold War Night Life, we might add). The band’s first London show was a stormer, with several songs set in English and a limited edition CD released for the occasion. One track that remained in the original Swedish was “Ögon” [EN: “Eyes”], an evergreen live favourite.

1. Sista mannen på jorden – Luft

One of the most beautiful songs ever written, “Luft” [EN: variously rendered as “Breath” or “Air”] is the title song from SMPJ’s second album. You don’t need to understand Swedish to appreciate the melodic power of the track, rendered over the simplest electronic pulses. It might be the story of an astronaut running out of air, but it’s rendered with unparalleled sensitivity. Rational Youth’s Tracy Howe has called it, “an absolute drop-dead gorgeous masterpiece,” and he isn’t wrong.

SMPJ on the Web: www.moonbasealpha.space
Footage from A Secret Wish by Anders Wickholm.

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The Top 15 of 2015

by coldwarnightlife
written by coldwarnightlife

If 2013 was the year of new music and 2014 the year of the live show, what was the defining feature of 2015? We’d say that it was the development of collectives organising to support artists outside of the record industry mainstream. The trend picked up steam with I Am Snow Angel joining forces with Dani Mari and Claire London. They called themselves Female Frequency and started crowdfunding to produce an album made entirely by women artists. Over in Norway, the KOSO collective launched with a similar spirit. This was less of a feminist statement than a reflection of feminine confidence. The record industry might be run by men in suits and their hipster-bearded minions, and EDM might have been born in some boys’ bedrooms, but this year the female of the species got tired of waiting for her turn. She sounds great.

 

15. Train to Spain – What It’s All About

We called What It’s All About the soundtrack to summer, and with its effervescent synths and sparkling vocals it was glittery bliss for the trip to the beach on bright weekends. Those days are long forgotten in Europe, suffering in the cold and damp of a stormy December, but we have Polaroids to remind us that Train to Spain’s first album was an accomplished debut.

 

14. Hannah Peel – Rebox 2

Hannah Peel’s first EP of cover songs, Rebox, tackled classic 80s pop gems, like “Tainted Love” and “Blue Monday.” Her second, Rebox 2, picked tracks from more current artists, such as East India Youth (with whom she toured) and Perfume Genius. We love Peel’s original material, but there is no faulting her song choices or interpretations here. As ever, Peel’s voice is the draw – it travels on wavelengths of exceptional clarity and has the impact of a Holi carnival of colours.

 

13. Machinista – Garmonbozia

Machinista’s second album showed off the continued strength of their songwriting, as well as John Lindqwister’s penetrating vocals. Last year’s debut, Xenoglossy, set the template, and there was clearly more Lynchian, dancefloor-friendly poptronica waiting to come out.

 

12. Muricidae – Tales from a Silent Ocean

John Fryer, the legendary producer and songwriter, pushed out two major projects in 2015: Silver Ghost Shimmer, a grinding, sexy project with singer Pinky Turzo; and Muricidae, a Mortal Coil-esque enterprise featuring Louise Fraser. We found it hard to choose between them, but in the end kept coming back to this jewel from Muricidae’s debut album, Tales from a Silent Ocean. Set to repeat, it’s perpetually Sunday after sundown, and that’s our favourite time.

 

11. Marsheaux – A Broken Frame

Reinterpreting a Depeche Mode album with synthesizers might seem a neat conceit from a distance, but when it is A Broken Frame, the Basildon boys’ second, purely electronic album, you might also ask, “Why?” The answer is that Depeche Mode have long turned their back on that masterful set of experimental pop. If Gore and Gahan aren’t going to develop the ideas that were first captured in Blackwing Studios, back in 1982, then why not some fans from Athens who have a line in angelic electropop? By giving the songs a modern makeover, Marsheaux breathed new life into them – if only DM would do the same!

 

10. Vile Electrodes – Captive in Symmetry

There still isn’t a band in Britain that is making music at the level of Vile Electrodes. Their three-track EP, Captive in Symmetry, reminded everyone of that, but so did a show warming up for Mesh and a headline performance at “A Secret Wish.” This was also the year that the BBC discovered the Viles, as did lecturers in media studies at an academic event in Dusseldorf. After years of breaking the fourth wall, surely it’s time they punched through the glass ceiling, as well!

 

9. Pieces of Juno – “Same to Me” VIDEO OF THE YEAR!

In the year of A-Ha’s return, we discovered a Norwegian artist we like better: Pieces of Juno, an Oslo-based songstress, caught our attention with leftfield poptronica and creative video work. We first heard her providing backing vocals for Karin Park at Electronic Summer, which was a mighty performance all-round, and a little digging unearthed a vein of gold and silver.

Nothing against Morten & Co., but things have moved on a little. These days, Juno and friends in the KOSO collective are making their own way without the support of major record labels. As this effort shows, Norwegians are still doing great video work to accompany the sounds from the North.


 

8. Me the Tiger – Vitriolic

One of the stand-out performances of 2015 came from Sweden’s Me the Tiger at Gothenburg’s legendary Electronic summer event. The trio from Falun shook the walls with outstanding songs and fabulous vocals from Gabriella Åström. It turned out that they’d put it all down in the studio, too, and Vitriolic was bottled lightning. With DAF’s management behind them, they’re going to go far.

 

7. Jennie Vee – Spying

The word “muse” comes up a lot in writing about New York’s Jennie Vee. Not in the sense of a glam- and prog-influenced rock band that puts marching teddy bears in their anti-NWO videos, but as an artist who stimulates others. Courtney Love has used the term to describe Vee, as has her photographer, Katrin Albert. We just call her great, because Vee has given shoegaze a shiny, patent-leather kick from behind. Her first solo album, Spying, demonstrated that the preceding EPs weren’t kidding with their emphatic, bass-driven dreampop. We’ll be spinning this for a long time yet.


 

6. Karin Park – Apocalypse Pop

The arrival of Karin Park’s fifth studio album was keenly anticipated. There had been a three year interlude since Highwire Poetry, and it turned out that the extended gestation period did nothing to detract from Park’s sense of melody. With a diverse group of songwriters collaborating on compositions, the album’s flavours change like an American gobstopper candy: layers peel away to reveal a raw, inner core of emotional authenticity that you get from few other artists. “Hard Liquor Man” and “Look What You’ve Done” will become classics of Park’s live show, but we also loved “Stick to the Lie,” which had a single release with this remix.

 

5. Dan Söderqvist – Dark Flowers Awake

Dan Söderqvist’s sidelines from Twice a Man have included a number of collaborations with European and American artists. This year, he picked through the archives for some of the best, which were collected as Dark Flowers Awake. With contributions by the artists behind Building Castles Made of Matchsticks, Narcoleptica and Mono-Drone, among others, the album showcased Söderqvist’s experimental forays but also how far his influence reaches beyond Sweden’s borders.

 

4. Rein – “Concrete Jungle” NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR!

We’ve been waiting for Rein to come along – a fierce, independent woman who combines talent with a capacity for attitude and aggression that can tame the hardest death metal grunt. Armed with a copy of Reason, Rein stormed onto Soundcloud with the old-school EBM of “There Is No Authority But Yourself,” followed quickly by “Concrete Jungle.” The latter proved that she has a fantastic voice, while this mix pushed us out onto the floor all over again. Dance, pilgrim!

 

3. Lau Nau – Hem. Någonstans

Finnish avant-folk composer, Lau Nau, breezed into our consciousness with the soundtrack to Hem. Nagonstans, a film by Lotta Petronella. Readers of The Wire and visitors to obscure festivals will have got there ahead of us, but the musical world of Laura Naukkarinen is one that we are happy to inhabit. A rare London appearance confirmed the organic beauty of Lau Nau’s voice and vision. We’ve been walking barefoot among the birch trees ever since.

 

2. Sista mannen på jorden – …translate EP OF THE YEAR!

R-6954020-1430309974-3662.jpegReleased to mark SMPJ’s first London show, at Cold War Night Life’s “A Secret Wish,” …translate was an ultra-limited edition EP, featuring English versions of some of the band’s best-known songs. With a darker version of “Stadens alla ljus” rendered as “All the City Lights” and the classic “Luft” reprised as “Air,” this was the perfect introduction to Sweden’s best-loved poptronica outfit.

The EP isn’t available as a download – you had to be there. Sorry if you couldn’t make the show, but singer/songwriter Eddie B did share this taster on his Soundcloud account.

 

1. Twice a Man – Presence ALBUM OF THE YEAR!

Twice a Man have been making music together for four decades, but they’ve never lost their bleeding-edge coolness. In 2015, they released a new album, Presence, with the political verve and musical mastery to show the new generation how it is done. This is a remix that appeared on the single for “Black,” proving that there is plenty of juice in the engine yet.

 

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My God Damn Territory – Beyond TQ (Redux by Eddie B)

by coldwarnightlife
written by coldwarnightlife

My God Damn Territory are back with new material. After The Stabby Sessions album comes a remix by Eddie Bengtsson of Page and Sista Mannen på Jorden (who are playing in London on 19 April 2015, don’t you know) of a track from their previous release, Who Are You Talk Show? Bengtsson and the band have met in the mix before: their third album, released in 2012, was billed as My God Damn Territory vs. Page. The combination is still potent, as this track shows.

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Black Celebration: electriXmas 2014

by coldwarnightlife
written by coldwarnightlife

ELECTRIXMAS
Inkonst, Malmö
13 December 2014

Turnout for the annual electriXmas event in Malmö is traditionally strong, attracting legions of black-clad synthers from across Sweden and around Europe, many of them musicians coming to size up or show their appreciation for the competition. The line-up for this year’s event had real pulling-power, with the Belgian EBM legends, Front 242 and Suicide Commando, headlining a festival that also featured two of Sweden’s best home-grown acts, Sista mannen på jorden and Machinista. The highlights of the event came from these last two, who electrified the audience with poptronica of such strength and quality that the running order of the programme could easily have been reversed without any drop in energy.

Machinista are the duo of vocalist John Lindqwister and keyboardist Richard Flow. Lindqwister takes to the stage in typically stylish fashion, sporting an Aladdin Sane shirt and tattoos – a sartorial signal of what is to come, as he belts out crowd favourites like “Pushing the Angels Astray,” “Molecules and Carbon” and “Salvation.” Beside him, Flow drives the machinery and adds colour with a sonic palette boasting hues of Italo and industrial dance music. Their record label closed its doors earlier this year; but, with a brace of remixes in the vaults and new songs on trial, Machinista are clearly pregnant with a second album. You can tell by the glow on the faces of their fans.

Eddie Bengtsson’s SMPJ project has three studio albums behind it, along with a compilation of demos and rare tracks. Practically every one of the songs on those releases is suitable for a live show, so narrowing the choices down for a set list must be daunting. On this outing, classic hits like “Sekunder” [EN: “Seconds”], “Ögon” [EN: “Eyes”] and “Stanna kvar” [EN: “Remain”] are joined by “Leonov” from Ok, Ok, Ok. The most recent SMPJ single, “Stadens alla ljus,” [EN: “City Lights”] gets a make-over as “Malmös alla ljus” in a cheeky ad-lib, but it’s all in fun and the crowd happily take up the chorus. Behind Bengtsson, Christer Hermodsson does an impression of Ron Mael from Sparks; leaving his keyboard to offer some impromptu dancing before rushing back to hit his cues. The show is practiced but not predictable, and the crowd roar into life as they recognise the first notes of each song. Their only disappointment is that the band is on a schedule and its set has to come to an end.

Front 242 are soon lining up “Headhunter” for the black-armoured crowd. Their aggressive electronic rhythms are a hit, but the Front’s cyber-sonic assault stands in contrast to the layers and textures of the poptronica acts that came before them. There’s a light-hearted contest for the hearts and minds of the audience, but on this night the unending movement of hips and feet mean that everyone’s a winner.


Photo: Petter Duvander

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CWNL Presents: The Top 10 Releases of 2014

by coldwarnightlife
written by coldwarnightlife

If 2013 was a bumper year for recorded music, then 2014 was the year of the live show. Besides carefully curated festivals, like Electronic Summer and TEC 003, there was an ambitious Nordic tour by Rational Youth, Psyche, Sista mannen på jorden and I Satellite, followed by a German-Polish outing for Rational Youth and Psyche. Cold War Night Life sponsored “An Evening with the Swedish Synth” in Brick Lane, showcasing leading poptronica Vikings, Page, Machinista and Train to Spain. Karin Park and Parralox stormed the London stage this year, as well. The high water mark for UK artists was set by Vile Electrodes, however, who warmed up for their show at TEC 003 by winning awards in Germany. Sure, Avicii can fill hockey arenas with EDM DJ sets, but does he hand-make CD sleeves from faux fur, wear hats made from washing-up gloves and sing like a young Debbie Harry? No, and until he does, the Vile ones will have the creative edge.

With that, we are pleased to present Cold War Night Life’s Top 10 Releases of 2014.

 

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

1. Rational Youth – Cold War Night Life / Recordings 1981-84

IMG_9621Pole position in 2014 was easily taken by a set of recordings that were all made by 1984. Rational Youth’s first album, Cold War Night Life, came out in 1982 and quickly took a place in the synth pantheon next to the classic releases from that time, such as Depeche Mode’s Speak and Spell and John Foxx’s Metamatic. Over the years, it has become a cult favourite outside of Canada, with Swedish and German synthers fanning the embers into occasional flames. This year, the leading European artisan label, Vinyl on Demand, lovingly collated it with live recordings, demos, singles and EPs for one of their ultra-high quality box sets. Stunning sound from heavy-duty 180gm vinyl and amazing design mean that this is a package that only comes around once every thirty years.

 

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

2. Sista mannen på jorden – ”Stadens alla ljus”

10171757_625556007514876_1542272301361497548_nEddie Bengtsson nearly didn’t record “Stadens alla ljus” [EN: “City Lights”] himself. He first offered it to his former band, S.P.O.C.K. It was only after they turned it down that he took the plunge with his legendary project, Sista mannen på jorden [EN: The Last Man on Earth]. That proved to be a good move, as SMPJ fans have come to expect world-class poptronica with themes of space and longing from Sweden’s own Vince Clarke. “Stadens alla ljus” is the story of an astronaut looking down on the Earth and commenting on urban illumination as his air supply runs out. With sweeps that cover the cosmos and sequences set to Warp 4, it’s an evocative song made more poignant by Bengtsson’s emotive vocals. Once you’ve been transported by the chorus, there’s no way back.

The 12” version came with another SMPJ original, “Vem gör det då?” [EN: “Who does it, then?”], as well as two covers: an exquisite version of OMD’s “Stanlow” with Swedish lyrics and a faithful Devo tribute, “Going Under”. The combination was unbeatable in 2014.

 

3. Hannah Peel – Fabricstate

IMG_9361One of the highlights of the year was receiving a copy of Hannah Peel’s Fabricstate EP on a Saturday when the Sun was shining. We said:

“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.”

Peel’s talent and technique are solidly in evidence throughout. We couldn’t pick just one song, so the whole EP takes third place in this year’s list.

 

4. Machinista – Xenoglossy

machinista_xenoglossyMachinista’s infectious poptronica travelled well in 2014, reaching London for “An Evening with the Swedish Synth.” Their live show is a razor-sharp combination of up-tempo pop and experimental rock (think Bowie meets Suicide at Nico’s house with lots of Italo records scattered around). Xenoglossy is their first proper album, and it comes filled with the same superb, original poptronica; sometimes pointing at the skies and sometimes in our hearts for signs of life, but always moving feet and hips in tandem. On disc, John Lindqwister’s vocals let rip while Richard Flow runs the machines, and the two Swedish veterans conjur up a sound that is both fresh and electrifying.

 

5. I Satellite – Zephyr EP

artworks-000076614130-12nl15-originalRod MacQuarrie’s collection of machines is impressive by any standards: he owns equipment formerly housed by Bill Zorn of Rational Youth and Phil Collins, and his studio is crammed with Oberheims, Rolands, Logans and ARPs that can be used to recreate the sounds of classic tracks by everyone from Alphaville to ABBA. With the release of Zephyr, the Kalamazoo-based musician showed off his old-school influences, as well as his ability to construct distinctive original material. Covers of New Order’s “Your Silent Face” and ABBA’s “I Am the City” are polished and respectful; but, by moving more in the direction of Gary Numan and John Foxx, we’d argue that the latter is arguably better than the original version. Tracks like “This Time” and “City Streets” are instant classics, while “Bubbleboy” channels alienation and pain to a mid-tempo beat. It’s pure magic.

 

6. Karin Park – “Shine”

karin-park-shineKarin Park ran a remix competition on Beatport for her 2014 single, “Shine,” but none of the contributions came close to the original. With pained lyrics yielding a glimpse of hope in the chorus, the track sounded best with the attack side of the envelope set high on the keyboards and the beats restrained. Park’s voice is distinctive and sometimes compared to Karin Dreijer Andersson’s, but it’s got a texture of its very own. It provides the emotional overlay that lifts “Shine” to the next level, gliding frictionless over the instrumental track.

 

7. William Orbit – Strange Cargo 5

avatars-000082801444-daft9x-t500x500It’s perhaps easy for an album given away for free on social media to be overlooked, but the latest instalment of William Orbit’s Strange Cargo series wasn’t exactly a vanity project. The musician and producer, best known in popular music circles for his work with Madonna, Britney and (once, but we doubt ever again) Blur, had the material up his sleeve but just wasn’t looking to cash in on it. He could have charged the market rate for Strange Cargo 5, because it is the type of exemplary poptronica that record companies write him large cheques to use as a platform for their major stars, but he just put it on Soundcloud with the download feature enabled. Pure class – in more ways than one.

 

8. Parralox – “Crying on the Dancefloor”

a1184752648_10We interviewed Parralox just before they appeared in London as support for Polly Scattergood. John von Ahlen’s sophisticated pop sense had consistently impressed us, but we were still blown away by the unveiling of “Crying on the Dancefloor.”  With the addition of vocalists Francine and Johanna, Parralox ramped up its capabilities and glammed up its image even further. The accompanying video, in which the band play the role of a talent show jury, revealed them to have a sense of humour, as well as style. Parralox are back on the London stage to warm up for Erasure before the end of the year, and this is certain to be a crowd favourite. We’ve featured a techno mix here by Your Silent Face.

 

9. Vile Electrodes – “Empire of Wolves”

a4154517545_10Drawing enough power to keep National Grid engineers on their toes during live performances, Vile Electrodes are the UK’s leading electro duo. Anais Neon has stunning vocal control, while keyboardist Martin Swan just about keeps the machinery under his spell in their synthetic Fantasia. This high-voltage track came in an exclusive package of remixes, embedded in a faux fur envelope, and it’s coiled to spring out of your speakers with fangs bared.

 

10. Colouroïd – Long Play

275638_largeColouroïd are the Icelandic/Swedish duo of Jòn and Ella Moe. Besides making excellent lower-case M and W minimal wave music, they also run the FlexiWave label from their Stockholm base (which we hear will be relocating to Berlin soon). Their first album is a masterful slab of vinyl, pressed with grooves cooler than the surface of Neptune. From the run-in groove until the stylish inner-label, each side is an icy, voltage-controlled mindscape. With titles like “Pillow Fort” and “Eye Shadow,” we’d say their songs are playful and dark – fifty shades of black, if you will.

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SMPJ Reveal New Single

by coldwarnightlife
written by coldwarnightlife

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)

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New Releases from Diskodiktator

by coldwarnightlife
written by coldwarnightlife

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!

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Track of the Day: I Satellite – Bubbleboy Redux

by coldwarnightlife
written by coldwarnightlife

Swedish synth legend, Eddie Bengtsson, remixed this track as part of his project, This Fish Needs a Bike, back in 2004. I Satellite is Sault Ste. Marie native, Rod MacQuarrie, who is making the journey to Europe as support for two Rational Youth shows in May 2014. Bengtsson is also on the bill, in his Sista Mannen på Jorden guise. This song will no doubt get a great reception, as it is as catchy as it is quirky.

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