Jean-Marc Lederman, known for his work with Fad Gadget, The The, Gene Loves Jezebel, The Weathermen, Ghost & Writer (with Frank Spinath from Seabound), and Rohn-Lederman with Emileigh from Chiasm, presents an audiobook of short sci-fi tales, “Sci-Fi Revisited”. The book is narrated by various singers and musicians, and it is accompanied by a computer puzzle game. The package also includes a 12-page micro book with 11 pulp covers.

Released under the The Jean-Marc Lederman Experience moniker, “Sci-Fi Revisited” features Tom Shear (Assemblage 23), Christina Z, Jim Semonik (Red Lokust), Mari Kattman, Emileigh Rohn (Chiasm), Ken Magerman, Daz Sharp, Julianne Regan, Jim Marcus (Die Warzau), and Sapphira Vee.

This release is a co-production between Les Disques De La Pantoufle and COP International. It was produced, arranged, and played by Jean-Marc Lederman. The images for the website and cover were prompted by Kevin B. Lederman. The lab/vault website and video game were developed by Kevin B. Lederman, courtesy of https://blackfoot.io/.

The album is available through COP International and on their Bandcamp page. Note that the CD version comes in a limited edition of just 100 hand numbered copies. It holds a 12-page micro book on 230 gram paper. You also get access to a puzzle game to unlock the tracks.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Jean-Marc Lederman (The Weathermen, Ghost & Writer, Lederman/ De Meyer ao) and Emileigh Rohn (Chiasm) got in touch for Jean-Marc’s conceptual album “Letters To Gods And Fallen Angels” (2019). It became a praised album and a successful collaboration inciting the Belgian-American duo to move on working together. Rohn-Lederman was born and a first album “Venus Chariot” was released in 2021. One year later the duo strikes back unleashing “Rage!”. Both albums released by COP International reveal a very own approach in sound, mixing different styles resulting in an atypical Electro-Pop production. “Rage!” sounds darker and harsher than its predecessor but also is a sophisticated piece of music. This is what both artists have to say about their common project.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: What motivated you to work together on a full length album and what makes the chemistry between both of you?

Jean-Marc: We kinda hooked up really from the beginning. I had provided Emileigh a song but ended up having to recreate the entire instrumental part beyond her voice. And she loved it. And I was so surprised as usually singers hate that, they’ll often get very self-conscious when the music changes too much. And I think Emileigh liked that I went as far as redoing a whole new music backing behind her. So we kind of got impressed by how each other was ready to alter course for making the end song shine through: commitment to the art.

Emileigh:  We began in 2019 with a song featured at Jean-Marc’s album “Letters To Gods And Fallen Angels” and realized the potential of continuing to try more.  So, we created an EP which eventually became an album and really haven’t stopped since. I think at last count, we have over 50 tracks released together at this point.  It’s been an incredibly dynamic partnership.

Q: Was there something like a consensus about the music, lyrical themes and global approach when setting up the project?

Jean-Marc: We just went straight in and got to discover things happening when they did and follow the rabbit down the music hole…

Emileigh:I recall, when we first began, having a discussion around Tom Waits quote regarding beautiful music saying terrible things. I think that intense emotional edge, especially with our recent “Rage!”-album, has only continued to sharpen. We knew well from our individual projects that our mindsets were similar and wanted to create music that continues to move and hold interest. I think we both have a fiery opposition to stagnancy.

Q: Jean-Marc, you already worked with numerous singers and artists so what makes the experience with Emileigh Rohn maybe different or that particular? What did she brought you never experienced before and in which way did she stimulates your artistic creativity and –skills in the production of this work?

Jean-Marc: I have been lucky enough to share a great music experience with amazing singers like Bruce Geduldig with The Weathermen and Frank Spinath with Ghost & Writer. Here, Emileigh brings in her amazing lyrical talent, her great voice, her ability to embrace changes and a genuine curiosity for bold and new things. The differences are multiples but I think it is also her natural attitude towards musical experiments.

Q: I often get the feeling Jean-Marc is one of the very few artists active at this scene who’s able to write the right music for the singers he’s working with… the singers becoming his muse? Do you recognize it or is it totally different? What’s your experience about it? 

Emileigh: I write from my own interpretations, but there’s no question that we inspire each other. Our tracks begin with a skeleton composed by Jean-Marc, and I create my songs around that.  Then he arranges the sounds around what I’ve provided, so there is indeed a chance for each of us to adjust what we’ve created.  It’s been an incredibly creative experience overall.

Q: Sound-wise Rohn-Lederman sounds driven by Electro-Pop influences and yet it sounds to me as an antidote to ‘classical’ Electro-Pop standards which are only but repeating themselves. What makes the inspiration for Rohn-Lederman and what’s your perception of Electro-Pop productions who nearly all sound the same?

Jean-Marc: We are both very open to many different music styles and we aren’t afraid of trying mixing things we’ve heard, be it in a Top Ten hit or an obscure sound in a song penned by an unknown Moldavian band from the seventies (lol). So, no real influences but many of them. Luckily enough, they get draft in and mix themselves with all the others and it makes up for something rather different. Electro-pop productions are most often amazing sound wise and terrible inspiration and novelty wise.

Q: I guess you didn’t record the album together in studio but did everything over the net. Don’t you think working together in the same room/studio would result in a different production? What’s your opinion about it? And what’s the next step now for this project?

Jean-Marc: Sure it would sound different: what we get today is the result of that studio isolation and geographical distance. Being together in the studio would allow us to refine certain parts for sure but still we would go in the same area: putting together elements that aren’t supposed to be seen together.
It would be amazing to record in the same studio and very probably would lead to even more research and musical melting pot.

Next step? We have already kinda define where we want Rohn-Lederman 3 to go and lazily get going lol. But first Emileigh gets to work on her own Chiasm album and then we’ll regroup for our next one.

Emileigh: I’ve always preferred to work alone in my studio because it allows me to experiment with different sounds and techniques without the fear of judgement, the opportunity to self-edit in my own space. I think although we are comfortable sharing with each other mid-progress, we’re still giving ourselves this chance to branch out and create content that’s extra memorable for the listeners. As far as what’s next, yes, I’m constructing my new Chiasm-album and I’m sure that will have some influence on how we approach our next ROHN-LEDERMAN-album together.  It’s going to be wild!! 🙂

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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After her work with Chiasm and John Fryer’s album ” Missed the Noise”, Emileigh Rohn has jumped right into her next adventure with Jean-Marc Lederman (The Weathermen / Fad Gadget / Front242 / Ghost & Writer with Frank Spinath from Seabound) to launch a new band: Rohn-Lederman.

Their first offering is an EP named “Watch Out!” Which comes in 4 reworked versions on the EP. Remixers on duty include Claus Larsen (Leaether Strip), Tom Shear (Assemblage 23), Mark Hockings (Mesh, Black Car Burning) and an own Rohn-Lederman remix. Also Krischan Jan-Eric Wesenberg (Rotersand) made a remix which will be released later this year.

Here’s the video for the remixed version of “Watch Out!”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Jean-Marc Lederman is an artist who didn’t really need any further introduction. He belongs to the (Belgian) pioneers of electronic music and can look back at an impressive discography. He this year released a very special work under the moniker ‘Jean-Marc Lederman Experience’. The album “13 Ghost Stories” released on Dependent Records is an original concept featuring an impressive list of guest singers. The music has something pretty cinematic-like, but still revealing danceable passages and elements of pop. I’d a chat with the ‘leatherman’ and also asked Louise Fraser and Christer Hermodsson about their experience.

(Picture credits by Michel Clair / Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Your newest album “13 Ghost Stories” is definitely one of the most surprising ones you’ve accomplished and I even dare to affirm your ‘opus magnum’, but do you know how many albums you’ve released?

Jean-Marc: I think I’ve released about 20 albums of my own compositions and bands if you count Kid Montana (1 mini LP, 1 album), The Weathermen (8 albums + a couple of compilations), 1 album with Ether (DJ Moens from La Muerte + Luc Dufourmont), 1 with Jules & Jim (Julianne Regan from All About Eve), 1 ambient album with Man-Dello, 2 with Ghost & Writer (with Frank Spinath from Seabound), 1 with La Femme Verte (cover versions with many singers), 1 with Leatherman (cover versions with Jacques Duvall), 2 x Jean-Marc Lederman Experience (many singers) plus some I may forget… (www.jmlederman.com).

Q: What can you tell us about the idea behind this work, its concept, the influences and the writing and what does this work mean to you?

Jean-Marc: I was looking for a new challenging and exciting idea after the demise of Ghost & Writer(name chose by Frank where he’s ‘Writer’ and I’m ‘Ghost’)  in 2017 as I didn’t know where to go musically. I was having a lunch with a friend and he asked me ‘so, how is the ghost going to come back?’ and the morning after I had the concept of the album: asking multiple singers how they would behave if they could come back… to Earth as ghosts, for 24 hours….

I had no special influences for this album but, as ever, the multiple styles music I like doing (from dark ambient to future-pop to more experimental sounds or cinematic music) got me into this direction or that direction and I didn’t want to stay on a single simple trajectory so I worked with thinking of the impact of having songs going in different directions instead of trying to stay within one genre. I didn’t care if people wouldn’t understand as I wanted to have no stop for my creativity. So, every song is a little world in itself but also serves as cement for the whole recording.

This album means a lot because I think it’s indeed a personal ‘opus magnum’, a place where I could gather all the things I liked expressing musically,  with very talented partners (which makes my work really easy). It has also a very strong image with the artwork of my wife Erica Hinyot and the novels added to the limited, and sold-out, edition.

Q: Do you believe in ghosts?

Jean-Marc: I believe in alternate relativities sometimes collapsing with each others, like a Venn diagram between different worlds.

Q: I see you as an artist who’s always ready to experiment with new ideas and music styles. You the past few years moved from electro-pop top EBM to experimental music while “13 Ghost Stories” sounds more as a soundtrack/electro-ambient composition. What does this eclecticism reveal about the person hiding behind the musician and how is it for you working on different styles and with different people?

Jean-Marc: It reveals that I’m a person interested in many things and many different aspects of life: I’m very curious of everything. It’s a great asset to be able to work in diverse areas as I rarely get bored. Plus you’re getting inspired by the people you work with as you want to serve them with a musical environment that will enhance what you like about their own work.

Q: I sometimes get the impression you composed the music after having read the lyrics while I can imagine it happened the other way round? It really sounds you’ve carefully written each song for each singer; the match or symbiosis between music and vocalists is totally accomplished. How did it really happened and what has been the main focus in the writing of this album?

Jean-Marc: Yes, the music was created before I get to read the lyrics, just after the singer said she/he wants to be on board. I contacted the people I’d like to work with, if they’re on board I sometimes send them directly a song penned with them in mind or I ask them what kind of direction they’d like me to work in: sometimes people want to do something really wild, sometimes they need to stay in their comfort zone. Sometimes I also had sketches of songs I reworked with the specific singer in mind.

Once I get their vocals, I mix the track and refine the mix until we’re both happy with the end result.

The main focus was to provide exciting moments that pleased both the singer and me. I have what I believe is a constant dictatorial quality control on my own work and I delete every attempt at a song if it bores me.

Q: I think you mainly worked with artists you know and you like for their work and voices. I can’t imagine it has been the single criteria to work with all those singers. Tell us a bit more about criteria and eventually surprises in the lyrical content and/or vocal performance?

Jean-Marc: Actually, no, I didn’t know personally most of the singers involved.
I just look for interesting tones in their voice and their lyrical talent and then I contacted them. Most of them were on board quickly cos they liked the concept and they know I do quality work. Plus I have a bit of a (good) reputation so they jump in rather quickly. Some didn’t, but it’s fine.
The criteria are there: interesting voice and good lyricist.

Q: Do you have further plans/ideas for this project? Live? Maybe a next, similar concept?  

Jean-Marc: This is a rather impossible project to take on a stage as some singers are from the USA and some from Australia…Plus I don’t like to play live: too stressful for me and the end result is never as good as when I can fine-tune details at my own speed in my studio.

Yes, I have started working on a new JML E. It’s not the same theme of course, but the same axe: providing a strong and coherent record that will surprise the listeners and me/my partners when all assembled (or on a track per track basis).

Q: Louise Fraser, what did you think when Jean-Marc came up with his idea of “13 Ghost Stories” and what’s your impression when you heard the final song and the album?

Louise: Straight off I thought this was a great idea. I mean who doesn’t love a ghost story? Moreover, beyond creating a really unique unifying concept, the question inevitably draws some really personal insights out of each singer. I thought that was very clever of Jean-Marc, who is also such a terrific guy to work with that I would have written on any theme he gave me.

I personally love the collection because it’s both unified and diverse. Jean-Marc’s musicianship weaves together some very unique, and often stunning vocal performances. As such the project really holds my attention, which is not an easy feat! I also think Jean-Marc deserves credit for his mixing skills. When he played me the first mix of our track, I didn’t have a single mix comment, and believe me, that is super rare! He just nailed it off the bat.

Q: Christer Hermodsson, how did you get in touch with Jean-Marc Lederman and what kind of artist is he to you?

Christer:  Jean-Marc simply contacted me. What kind of an artist? Hmm, talented and odd/weird/strange, but in a good way!

Side-Line also covered Jean-Marc Lederman’s ‘The Helpless Voyage Of The Titanic’.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, wave-pop.

Background/Info: While you maybe heard of this ‘new’ band before (being featured on a label compilation “Dependence 2012”) “Radioakt One” is the debut full length of Krischan Wesenberg (Rotersand, Future Lied To Us ao), Frank Spinath (Seabound, Lionhearts, Edge Of Dawn, Ghost & Writer ao), Daniel Myer (Haujobb, Architect ao) and Sascha Lange (who seems to make his first steps as a band member). Notice by the way the album is also available as double CD format featuring extra songs and remixes.

Content: When some of the most genius artists from this scene come together with one of the most praised singers you only, but can expect a masterpiece. “Radioakt One” is a record on, which you can hear the input of the ‘three’ big names from the band. Some arrangements and sound treatments are clearly reminding to Rotersand while more evasive atmospheres sound like the trademark of Daniel Myer while Frank Spinath has this unique timbre of voice. The songs sound like a very personal and somewhat future-like vision of electro-pop.

+ + + : Radioaktivists clearly is the meeting between some of the biggest names active at the wider German fields of electro-underground music. And the good thing is that they clearly have injected their very own touch to the work, which resulted in a harmonious and accomplished work. The album sounds as a sonic exploration moving from evasive passages towards a few harder cuts. But in the end it all remains an album, which is more made to listen to instead of music for the dancefloor. I personally like the darker and even anguished parts such as the last track “Leere”. I also have to recommend “Radioactive” for the osmosis of Haujobb and Rotersand plus “I Want You”, which is the most accomplished and artistic piece of the work.

– – – : No doubt about it, this album will get a great response and especially in Germany, but it also is a rather complex piece of music. It’s not exactly the most accessible music, which also is hard to label.

Conclusion: The good thing is that Radioaktivists are playing live so this album might be more than a one-shot project. Let’s now hope that there’ll be a harmony between those artists instead of an ego-clash.

Best songs: “I Want You”, “Radioactive”, “Sinner”, “Leere”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Radioaktivists

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Ghost & Writer, the band created by Frank Spinath (Seabound) and Jean-Marc Lederman (The Weathermen) will play a very rare gig at Fort II Wommelgem (Antwerp/Belgium) this Saturday August 13th 2016, with True Zebra as support.

For the occasion, an exclusive and strictly limited CD, “Girls Rejected”, will be on sale at the merch stand: an eight tracks CDR with various collaborations. You’ll find collaborations with Edward Ka-Spel from The Legendary Pink Dots who sings “on Never Take Fire”; Miss FD who remixes and sings on “Quit” plus you’ll get an unreleased rarity, some remixes (“Never take Fire” remixed by Mark B from Decay Inc) and a couple of demos, all mastered by Krischan from Rotersand.

An exclusive Ghost & Writer t-shirt will also be available at the merch table. See you in Antwerp !

Below is the sleeve of the strictly limited CD:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com