Bérèche You kicks off the autumm with the brand new EP “Into The Night”, yet again with Cassiel Agrippa on vocal duty. The EP contains five tracks/mixes including the new single “We Could Have Been So Right”.

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)

Songwriter and vocals Thomas CA Brevik a.k.a. Cassiel Agrippa gave some swift replies to a couple of questions just after the release.

Side-Line: Why the title of the EP – not a track title – is there a story behind?

Cassiel Agrippa: As with things creative they have a tendency to evolve and change as they mature and are finalised. The working title of the track “We Could Have Been So Right” ended up being the title for the EP. In a way it is fitting for the EP as a common theme that binds the two new tracks together – the night. While the first track delves into the lost opportunities of love, lost as a shadow in the night, the second track “Would You See The Light”, has a somewhat darker theme, yet also linked to the night – and darkness. Actually, the line “into the night” is part of the lyrics for the song “We Could Have Been So Right”.

Side-Line: More to tell about the lyrics?

Cassiel Agrippa: Sometimes the beauty of lyrics is that they can hold meaning that is specific to the listener alone. While the lyrics for a song tells a story, people tend to relate it to their own perspectives. Sometimes the text can resonate especially well. In that sense, the lyrics for the two new tracks are somewhat specific, yet ambiguous enough that it is possible to relate to them. Hopefully.

The track “We Could Have Been So Right” is a throwback to past flings that never panned out or never became a thing. There is nostalgia there, but not quite regret. Yet a curiosity, as in “what if?”.
And perhaps a tiny bit regret all the same. Sometimes you can still regret something that never was, even knowing it would never have worked out. Is it from experience? I think we all have a story like that.

The other new track, “Would You See The Light” is more reflective, about someone longing for affirmation, hoping to be seen, not just for the light side, but also for the deeper darkness that also exists in a person. “Can you handle the whole of me?” in a way. Then again, in another interpretation, the lyrics are about hope. Which path do you choose? Sometimes you choose the light, just to stay afloat. Other times you need to delve into melancholy. And other times you just let things unfold. As in the line “the destinies unfolding right in front of my eyes”.

To some people the lyrics are not that important, but they form an integral part of the whole of the song nevertheless. My ambition is to craft lyrics that hold some meaning and can resonate, without being complex. In that sense I hope we have achieved lyrics that go well with the melodies. The first track is vibrant and quite up-beat. The second track is more sombre and melancholic, yet not too dark. Just like the lyrics.

Available everywhere now > Spotify: https://shorturl.at/9drGI | Apple iTunes: https://shorturl.at/kw1qT | YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXV-HOLrhwA ++

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

The Vancouver, British Columbia based industrial pop artist Eva X has just unveiled her newest single and video, “Dopamine Blind”. “Dopamine Blind” is born “out of escaping life into the night” so the artist says. And she adds: “The track chases the need to forget our problems and capture a moment of bliss, no matter where it takes us.”

The “Dopamine Blind” video was co-created by Erik Gustafson Cinematography and Eva X aka Gabrielle Gustafson.

“Dopamine Blind” is available on all major digital outlets including Spotify and Bandcamp.

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

Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop, Dark-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: After a self-released debut album and next albums on Juggernaut Music Group and Analogue Trash Records IIOIOIOII stroke back by the end of 2023 unleashing a new opus on Distortion Productions.

Content: Chris Gurney remains faithful to his dark format of Electro-Pop music. The sound remains pretty evasive, spiced with a melancholic touch and some carrying choruses.

+ + + : There’s a noticeable improvement in the global writing- and production process of this work. IIOIOIOII (pronounced ‘eye o’) became more mature while holding on its original influences. I like the darkness and melancholia of the songs but I especially recommend listening to “Until I’m Free” and “Carousel”.

– – – : The album is missing a true, potential’ hit.

Conclusion: IIOIOIOII don’t release new albums at regular basis but “Dreaming” is a fully appropriated title for a noticeable new work.

Best songs: “Until I’m Free”, “Carousel”, “Into The Night”, “Legacy”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.iioioioii.com / www.facebook.com/IioIndustrial

Label: www.distortionprod.com / www.facebook.com/distortionproductions

About IIOIOIOII

IIOIOIOII is the electropop project of Christopher Gurney, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and started in 2012 in his home studio. The debut album “Reflect” was self-released, followed by “Sun” in late 2013 through Juggernaut Music Group and the EP “Post Brimstone” in 2015. Further albums followed on Analogue Trash Records.

IIOIOIOII returned in August 2023 with the single “Frozen Sea”, followed by the album “Dreaming” on Distortion Productions at the end of 2023.

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: EBM, Techno-Body.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Dead Lights strikes back with their second album. The duo (half English – half Netherland) moved from Cold Transmission Records to darktunes to unleash eleven songs.

Content: The work sounds like it’s a continuation of their self-titled debut-album (2021); phenomenal, vibrating, bass lines and a solid kick will bring you to dance. On top of the production you’ll get a few elements of Techno-Body grooves. Male- and androgynous vocals are a last but essential element of the band.

+ + + : The debut part of the work left me breathless. Dead Lights improved every little detail of the production resulting in outstanding tracks carried by impressive, low, bass lines. The kick sounds like a command to dance and “Glitterspit” definitely appears to be hot dancefloor stuff. There also is an irresistible, sexy, touch emerging from the vocals.

– – – : I noticed a few softer cuts which aren’t the best exponent of the album.

Conclusion: Dead Lights confirm the strong potential of their debut album and is a band with a modern, powerful and elaborated EBM sound.

Best songs: “I Am Electric”, “Receiver – Album Version”, “Let The Ugly Out”, “Rush”, “Into The Night”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/officialdeadlights

Label: www.darktunes.com / www.facebook.com/darkTunesMusic

About Dead Lights

Dead Lights is a duo split between England and the Netherlands. The band’s self-titled debut album appeared in 2021 on Cold Transmission Records; “Glitterspit” is the follow-up, eleven songs released through darktunes.

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

Out on Friday via the Arizona based SubGoth / ECR label (you can order it now on Bandcamp) is the all new 2-track single, “Year V” / “How Do We Stay Together”, by ΣΕΘ(SET). For this single Francisco Mendez returned to a moody and witch house vibe. Lyrically the two tracks delve into lost love and the agony of rejection.

The single is the first new material since 2022’s “Spooks, Specters & Ghosts” album and “If I Find A Way (I Would Disappear Into The Night)” single.

Below is a video for “Year V”.

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

Deine Lakaien (Alexander Veljanov and Ernst Horn) have released the lyric video “Nightfall” as the first single taken from their forthcoming new album “Dual +”. “Dual +” is scheduled for release on November 26, 2021.

The previous album “Dual” was strictly following a principle of one cover version on the first album with a new song that was inspired by it on the second record, on “Dual +” the band keeps the basic formula.

“While creating ‘Dual’, we had already considered to have each new track directly following or preceding the cover version that it relates too”, explains Ernst Horn. “This idea was dropped when we recorded more and more songs, which finally led us to create a double album. Now we saw a good opportunity to bring the immediate contrast back on “Dual +” as ‘Nightfall’ is musically clearly connected to Pink Floyd’s classic “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”. Lyrically, there is a different type of contrast as “Nightfall” represents the beginning of a journey into the night, to travel through the infinite expanse of space to the stars, which symbolises our longing for home far away.”

Here’s the first track, “Nightfall”.

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

Black Needle Noise, featuring legendary producer John Fryer (Cocteau Twins, Depeche Mode, This Mortal Coil), has teamed up with PIG for the download track “Seed Of Evil”. “Seed of Evil” features PIG vocalist Raymond Watts.

Watts explains how the collaboration started: “When John Fryer called, it was like cream was fed to my poison crop. I was thrilled to lend Satan’s little helping hand to Black Needle Noise,” says Watts of the devilish collaboration. “The result from this marriage made in hell was appropriately called ‘Seed of Evil’ … it pours out of me into the night, where the devil ties it nice and tight.”

Fryer meanwhile states: “After many a moon passing we finally get to work together again. I had to find the right song for Raymond but I think we have a great noise-pop hit on our hands. It’s been a real pleasure working with Raymond on this and I can’t wait to hear it in the clubs.”

Black Needle Noise has previously released music featururing a diverse who’s who of alternative vocalists such as Mimi Page (Delirium), Jennie Vee (bassist, Hole), Ana Breton (Dead Leaf Echo), Omniflux (Puscifer), Kendra Frost (Kite Base), Andrea Kerr (Colt), Sivert Hoyem, Antic Clay, and ZiaLand, among others.

“Seed Of Evil” is now available on Bandcamp, and you can check it out below.

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

(Interview © Janos Janurik) 2019 is a year full of anniversaries and anniversary releases and tours, just think of bands and records or special concerts such as Alphaville (“Forever Young” (Super-Deluxe-Box)), the anniversary tour to A-ha`s debut album “Hunting High And Low”, special live performances of The Cure to their legendary “Disintegration” album – just to name a few…

This series is complemented by the re-release of Erasure’s “Wild!” LP. The album was originally released in October 1989 and put the duo of Vince Clarke and Andy Bell on the top of the charts. According to Erasure’s fan base this record is still one of their best and contains timeless classics like “Drama!”, “You Surround Me”, or “Blue Savannah”, which are still part of their concerts.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Wild!”, our contributor, Janos Janurik, invited three people involved in that project for an interview: the unique and unrepeatable Vince Clarke and his right hands, who also have a good reputation among Depeche Mode fans: the two producers, Gareth Jones and Mark Saunders.

They were all ready for a discussion and answered the questions of our colleague as follows.

Vince Clarke

SL: In the series of the Mute album re-releases the last Erasure LP of the eighties, “Wild! ” will be published on the occasion of its thirtieth anniversary. Which (not only musical) memories of the autumn of 1989 are still awake in you?

VC: – I remember the music was recorded in my very first home studio in London. Mark Saunders worked with me whilst Andy recorded with Gareth Jones at the ‘Church’ studio.

SL: The producer of this album was Gareth Jones, a long-time studio employee of Mute Records artists like Depeche Mode, Wire, and Nick Cave. His partner in the production team was the legendary mix master Mark Saunders. You worked together with Gareth on other Erasure albums. Which cooperation do you remember best? Do you have a favourite remix of Mark’s Erasure catalogue?

VC: – Mark did a fantastic remix of ‘You Surround Me’. He was/is very easy going and we got on well. At that point I didn’t really know Gareth.

SL: The single releases “Drama!” and “Blue Savannah” are still fix parts of your live setlists. On the Violet Flame Tour you performed remixes of the rarely played “Wild! ” singles “Star” and “You Surround Me”. Except “2000 Miles” you actually played all album songs at your previous concerts. Are you still satisfied with this material? How do you rate this album after 30 years of time?

VC: – Not bad. 🙂

SL: The “Wild! Tour” has perhaps been the biggest of your tours so far. You toured the world with a gigantic stage set. For the first time you had dancers on stage besides the background singers and there were also several costume changes and two different setlists. During this tour you also played live behind the iron curtain in Prague and then in exotic places like South America, Japan and Australia for the first time. Not to mention the legendary finale at the Milton Keynes Bowl. Do you have any special souvenirs from this tour that will bring back good memories?

VC: – I don’t have any souvenirs, but I remember that the tour was very exciting, especially play to such big crowds.

SL: The second disc of the forthcoming re-release will feature 14 bonus B-sides, remixes, rarities and live recordings, five of which are previously unreleased, including a brand-new remix of “Drama!” by Richard Norris and a recently discovered unreleased mix of “How Many Times?”. This song is my favourite song from the album and which one is yours?

VC: – “Blue Savannah”.

SL: But Erasure is not a nostalgia band of the 80s, because in the meantime you have released more than a dozen albums that have all been received positively – by fans as well as critics. What does the band-future of Erasure look like? Are there any plans for new material yet?

VC: – We hope to be writing for a new album in 2019.

SL: What would your message be for your fan base?

VC: – THANK YOU!

Gareth Jones

SL: Gareth, you’re supposed to be the in-house producer for Mute Records. Before working with Erasure, you’ve worked with renowned Mute artists such as Depeche Mode, Wire and Nick Cave. How do you remember the first meeting with label boss Daniel Miller and the studio work in Berlin with Depeche Mode on their „Construction Time Again” album?

GJ: – I have told this story many times, so I will keep it brief.

I was introduced to Daniel Miller and Depeche Mode by my friend and mentor John Foxx. He owned a studio called “The Garden” in Shoreditch in East London, and Daniel and Depeche Mode were interested in recording there. I was working for John at the time and he sent me over to the MUTE Records office, which at that time was in Kensington Gardens Square in West London, to meet the whole team. I was a bit nervous, but they were all super nice and normal people, and agreeably weird. Luckily for me they felt good about me too, and offered me the job.

SL: How did the request to produce Erasure’s „Wild!” album come about? Have you had contact with Vince Clarke and Andy Bell before?

GJ: – Before we started working on the “Wild” album I didn’t know Vince or Andy very well at all. For this record they had decided to make sure that there was plenty of time for Andy to work on his vocals. They were looking for someone to engineer and produce the vocals.  I had already been working in Berlin with the incredibly talented Diamanda Galas.  She had met Andy a couple of times I believe (I don’t know where) and she was kind enough to recommend my vocal production skills to him. So that is how I join the team.

SL: How was it working with them compared to Depeche Mode?

GJ: – This was a very different process from working with Depeche Mode. Initially I was hired to record and produce Andy’s vocals. Vince was in another studio with the other co-producer of the record, Mark Saunders. We were in the church studio and I think Mark and Vince were in Swing Studios. 

The studios were both in North London so we were able to have meetings often, and we were continually exchanging musical and vocal ideas.

When it came to mixing it was decided that Mark and I would both mix the album. I was mixing in the Church and Mark was mixing in Konk.  We were all determined to get the best out of the songs, so we all pushed each other to do our best like a Sound System contest.

I remember the first single “Drama!” went back and forth between our two studios a few times! Eventually we were all happy.

SL: Are there any favourites from this album that you are still proud of today?

GJ: – The whole record was an amazing experience. Vince and Andy are such strong song writers, talented musicians and all around wonderful people that it was a real pleasure and privilege to be a part of this great record.

I loved the whole process and I have a special affection for “Drama!” and” Blue Savannah”.

SL: You were not only involved in the „Wild!” project as a producer, but also as a remixer, for example the „Syrinx Mix” from „You Surround Me”, which is one of my favourites. Do you have a favourite remix from Erasure`s discography that you particularly enjoyed working on?

GJ: – I did 2 remixes of “Blue Savannah” (“Der Deutsche Mix 1 & 2”) in Berlin with my friends Sun Electric – Stephan Fisher, Max Loderbauer and Tom Thiel. I really enjoyed this – they are all so musical, creative and professional. It was truly a fantastic experience.

SL: After the „Wild!” album you had numerous co-productions with Erasure – among them you worked on one of my favourite albums from them, on the self-titled „Erasure”. And how about you? Do you have a favourite album from Erasure?

GJ: – The first album, “Wild!”, is dear to my heart. I also love the “Erasure” album. It was such a pleasure to work with my friend Thomas Fehlmann as a co-producer on the album and he bought so much to the table. I was so happy that Diamanda agreed to do a guest vocal on the record. We also had the pleasure of an amazing LP mix by Francois Kevorkian.

– The „Wild!” album also included an extensive world tour. Did you see Erasure live back then? If so, where? What did you think of them as a live act?

GJ: – I saw the Wild tour in Hamburg I think. I invited my parents to come along. The show was incredible. I am always impressed by Erasure live shows. The love between the band and the audience is so tangible and touching. Andy is an outrageously talented frontperson, and Vince is always Mr Cool. What a great combination!

SL: What are you currently working on and what are your plans for the future?

GJ: – I am currently writing and recording a solo electronic music project and a new collaboration that I am very excited about.

This year I will also be writing and releasing a new LP for the “Spiritual Friendship” project – an ongoing collaboration with the amazing Nick Hook.

I am also producing an exciting and enjoyably weird electronic pop album with American and European musicians for a new project called “Of Love And Lust”.

I will be back in Yann Tiersen’s fantastic new studio on the island of Ushant (Ouessant) later in the year, helping out with a new recording.

Mark Saunders

SL: Among your early outstanding works is the engineering of some of David Bowie’s songs from 1985 and 1986, who was the idol of several generations of musicians, including Erasure’s Vince Clarke. How do you remember this studio work?

MS: – I feel incredibly lucky to have been in a studio to witness the true legend, David Bowie at work. It was just under a year from starting at West Side Studios in London when Bowie first came in to work on songs for the movie that he was also acting in – „Absolute Beginners”. Before that, I’d been making demos on a Tascam 8-Track tape machine in a dilapidated cow shed on my dad’s farm. Working with Bowie was an unfathomable step up! When the Bowie sessions started, I was transitioning from assistant engineer to house engineer. My bosses, producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (Madness, China Crisis, Elvis Costello, Bush, Bowie & Jagger), were constantly throwing me in the deep end on sessions. There were quite a lot of jazz songs that we recorded for the Absolute Beginners soundtrack were and there would often be drums, bass, piano, guitar, and sometimes up to 9 brass players all playing together in the studio. It was intense as a newbie engineer to get thrown in on those sessions. I remember one session feeling somewhat overwhelmed and turning around to my boss Alan to get some confirmation that I was doing ok and he was asleep on the sofa behind me! For Bowie’s songs for the soundtrack, when the band were laying down the backing track for Bowie to sing on, Bowie would always sing along a ‘rough’ vocal to keep the band inspired. His vocals were always brilliant and as far as I was concerned, nearly every one could have been the master vocal take. But surprisingly, when Bowie was happy with the backing track, he would approach singing lead vocals in quite a clinical way. He would often sing one line, stop, and listen back to it before moving on to the next line. He would also quite regularly check his vocal on the demo version of the song to during this process. His vocals always sounded fantastic though. The pinnacle of those Bowie sessions was when on one day, we recorded the epic title track „Absolute Beginners” and then late in the afternoon, Mick Jagger came in to record „Dancing In The Street” for Live Aid! This was incredible for me – this was a year and one day from starting in a professional studio – and I was working with Bowie & Jagger! This being before cellphones and frustratingly, I had no way to text friends and say – „You’ll never guess who I’m working with today!”. „Dancing In The Street” was one of the first records I ever got an engineering credit on.

SL:Erasure are part of the success story of Mute Records. Your first commissions with the record company included remixes of Depeche Mode`s „Strangelove” and „Everything Counts”. These tracks are – after 30 years – still firm parts of the Depeche Mode club evenings. Did you like making them (with Tim Simenon)?

MS: – I think that these remixes occurred just after or around the time that I worked with Tim on Neneh Cherry’s brilliant debut album „Raw Like Sushi”. Tim was great to work with, he was young and came from the DJ-ing aspect of music rather than being a studio musician or an engineer and he had a naive (in a good way) approach to making records that kept things moving along and fresh sounding – particularly noticeable on „Buffalo Stance” by Neneh Cherry – her first hit. The „Everything Counts” Depeche remix was a pretty simple affair. I seemed to remember hiring in a Roland SH-01 for that session which was definitely used for the bass. Personally I would have preferred to have made the remix more musical – but Tim was happy to keep it more of a hardcore club track. Our Strangelove remix was much more complicated and fraught with technical difficulties.

In those days I was syncing my Atari 1040st computer, running Cubase, to a timecode track (SMPTE) which was recorded on one track of the multitrack tape that contained the song.

This quite often lead to difficulties because after hours or playing and rewinding the tape, the tape would start to wear out. Usually the code track was on the edge of the tape and the edges wore out faster.

So as it go late into the night, we had real problems syncing the computer to the tape machine. And the computer was running all the new parts and samples that Tim and I were adding for the remix. I think this one turned out pretty well though!

SL: Before the release of “Wild!” you also made remixes for Erasure songs like „A Little Respect”, „Stop!” and „Knocking On Your Door”. Did you follow the band`s history from the very beginning?

MS: – I’d been a fan of Vince since the early Depeche days and the Yazoo era but I missed the early Erasure days. My first Erasure work was a remix of „A Little Respect”. I’m sure this came about because of my work for Tim Simenon who was signed to Rhythm King records which was based out of Mute’s offices. I didn’t meet the band though until I mixed the „Crackers International EP” which included the songs „Stop!”, „Knocking On Your Door”, „God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman” and – my favourite – „The Hardest Part”. I mixed „The Hardest Part” first and that was the first time I met Vince – when he came in to check the mix. I was nervous and nobody had warned me about his very dry, deadpan sense of humour. For one thing, when he listened to the mix, he barely moved. He barely even seemed to blink! He didn’t tap his feet, smile or turn around to me to give me an assuring look – nothing! He sat like a robot with his head between the speakers. I took this as a sign that he must absolutely hate the mix – I was literally pacing back and forth behind him wondering how I’d got the mix so horribly wrong! Eventually the song finished, Vince stopped the tape and then paused for what felt like an eternity before turning around and saying „I love it!” And then with a dead straight face he said – „Just one thing… Did you not like like the kick drum?” My heart nearly stopped! Had I really missed out the entire kick drum track on an Erasure record! But before I had a chance to respond, he said „Just kidding… there’s no kick drum on this song!”

SL: In 1989, Erasure`s „Wild!” album was released that still belongs to the fans’ favourites and includes such classics as „Drama!” and „Blue Savannah”. What memories can you recall of these studio works with Erasure?

MS: – As Erasure had time constraints for the making of „Wild!”, I was hired to co-produce the tracks with Vince Clark and Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Wire, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Interpol) was hired to work on vocals with Andy. When Vince and I finished a track in his basement studio in his house in Notting Hill, London, the multitrack would be whisked off to The Church studios in Crouch End in the north end of London for Andy to sing on. On the first day of the recording, Vince sat me down and said – in his deadpan way, „Do you want to know how much money you’re going to make from this album?” Before I could utter much more than „Oh… well… err”, he’d tapped away on a calculator for a few seconds and was holding up the resulting calculation to show me and said „How’s that?” To which I gulped and said „Err… that looks just fine… thanks.” Vince’s basement studio contained nearly every great synth known to man and it was beautifully laid out, with a mixing board against one wall facing the window, and the other three walls had floor to ceiling racks laden with all the synths. One thing completely stunned me on day one though. We decided on what song to start with and Vince then proceeded to expertly get a kick drum sound from one of his synths – an ARP 2500 I think. When he was happy with it, he said, „OK let’s print that to tape (an Otari 24 track 2in Tape machine)”. I said „Are you sure you want to record it now?” He frowned and said „Why not?”.

I said, „Well, wouldn’t you prefer to hear the kick drum in context with a bass and maybe a couple of synths before you commit it to tape?” He still looked completely baffled – like I was asking him to pilot a space craft to the moon or something else outside of his comfort zone.

He replied „But this is the way I’ve always done it.” – which is a fair response from someone whose already produced a shed load of mega hits! „OK”, I said, „but surely, you have more than enough excellent gear here to have all the parts running live from your sequencer and refine all the sounds in context with each other before we need to commit to tape – right?” Long pause and more deep frowning – followed by „I’ve never thought about doing it like that”. This blew me away! This was Vince Clarke, the guy that I watched on Tomorrow’s World many years before I got into the music biz explaining how the Fairlight could sample sounds and play them musically on a keyboard and then sequence them to create a song – all inside a massive computer. Ground breaking stuff! And yet here was the same guy who hadn’t thought of running multiple parts on his sequencer before! Anyway, luckily, rather than kick me out of his studio, Vince gave my suggestion a go and after a couple of hours he said „I like this way of doing it…” and so that’s how we worked from then on. Vince is a musical genius and I loved working with him. He was all about keeping stuff dead simple and keeping songs short… He would quite often say „That’ll do”, like a builder who’s just skimped on the bolts holding some majorly important steel beams together. An example of the Vince Clark genius was the rising and descending piano riffs in „Blue Savannah”. Vince, during the programming/recording said „This needs a piano riff”. Then he just seemed to sit there and stare into space. After a while, I said „Why don’t you just try and play something?” He said… „Sshh… I’m thinking!” After what seemed like an eternity, he started furiously typing numbers into his ancient BBC UMi computer. Minutes later, he sat back and said „Right, let’s have a listen then.”… and my jaw dropped when the brilliant piano riffs popped out of the speakers. He had worked it all out in his head and then had typed in – numerically – each note, the position of the note, the note length and the velocity. Bloody brilliant! At the beginning of the record, Daniel Miller, the Mute Records boss, said to me „I want you to try and get Vince to try some new sounds on this record – experiment a bit more. He’s been using the same sounds for years.” So I tried, but I didn’t push the idea with Vince because I loved all his tried and trust analog synth sounds. We did use some samples from my Akai S1000 sampler a few times, like the acoustic guitar sample on „Star” – although Vince had no interest in using a sampler, as far as I remember. When the recording was finished, both Gareth and I started mixing the songs. I can’t remember if we both mixed all of the songs or not – and I can’t remember exactly who’s mixes ended up on the record – but I think it was a fairly even split between Gareth’s and mine. I mixed in Konk Studios, just up the road from The Church where Gareth was mixing. Konk, owned by The Kinks, had a great big room with a full size snooker table in it which was fab. Vince drove up from Notting Hill one day during the mixing and said „Come on, take a break… Let’s have a game of snooker!” So that’s what we did – we played at least two games and then I said, „OK, let me play you some mixes then”, to which he replied ‘nah, I only came up here for a game of snooker’. I assumed he was joking because, for one thing, the drive from his house to Konk was a fairly arduous journey across a big chunk of London. He told me he was deadly serious though and it took a great deal of effort to persuade him to stay and listen to a mix. I decided to play him „Blue Savannah”. Now, if you’ve ever heard the acoustic slide guitar samples in my 12” remix of this song… well, I had originally put them in the album version. I found the samples in my library while I was working on the song and when I loaded them into the Akai S1000, I loved them! They fit the key of the song perfectly. But somehow I had a feeling that I might be on shaky ground when Vince heard them. My instinct was right. When I played him my album mix, he assumed his normal position… stone faced, and dead still in front of the speakers. But when the first slide guitar riff came in, he positively flinched… like someone had slapped him around the face! But amazingly he kept listening without moving again until the end of the song.

Then he turned to me and said „Yeah, it’s good… but… I would never, ever, have a slide guitar in any of my songs… ever!” So that was the end to the slide guitar in the album mix. And now I think about it… how did I ever get away with putting them in the 12” version?!

Vince had an unerring confidence in what he was doing. If Daniel Miller, the Mute Records boss, had any doubts about anything to do with the record, Vince would say „Don’t worry Daniel, it’s going to go to number 1” – which of course it did, in it’s first week of release!

SL: A remix of „You Surround Me” also bears your name. You made a danceable club hit out of that original ballad. Erasure even played this version live on their Violet Flame Tour 2014. Please tell us a little about it! Which song, by the way, is your favourite from the „Wild!” album?

MS: – I was in Mayfair studios in London for this remix. I remember getting depressed because for quite a long time I couldn’t get anything going that I liked – mainly because of the tempo of the track I think. Then I tried playing double tempo drums along with the song and all of a sudden I was up and running and excited about the mix! I’m pretty sure I was thinking Billy Idol when I did this version. I was pretty happy with the result and was very flattered to learn that the band played my version live. My favourite song from „Wild!” is definitely „Blue Savannah”. My next favourite song that I worked on with Erasure was „All This Time Still Falling Out Of Love” from the album „Nightbird”.

SL: Not only for Erasure, but also for Yazoo you made a remix for their hit „Situation”. Did you see the duo live during their reunion 10 years ago?

MS: – Working on the remix of „Situation” with Daniel Miller was a great honour. What an absolutely perfect pop song… and less than 2 minutes and 30 seconds long! On my website is an extended edit of the song that never got released… actually, I don’t think I ever played it to the band or Mute. I was lucky enough to see them in New York during their reunion tour. They sounded great. Alison Moyet is awesome… I got to work with her too a couple of times and she, like Vince, has a very dry sense of humour and is very down to earth.

SL: What future plans and current works in progress do you have?

MS: – I moved back from the States in 2017 which was a big deal after 21 years of living there. I feel much more inspired musically in the UK. I’m in love with the BBC 6 Music radio station… best radio station I’ve ever heard. They play the most eclectic range of music that you could possibly imagine but they somehow nearly always play stuff that appeals to me! I have two young boys and for a few years now life has been more about family life than pursuing my career but I feel that as they are getting older there is going to be room for both – hopefully soon!

P.S.: A short info for all those who have missed a conversation on the topic with Andy Bell, he is currently very busy with his new solo project “Torsten in Queereteria” (release date: 12 April 2019) and therefore unfortunately could not be at our disposal.

“Erasure – Wild! – 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition”, is out Friday, 29th March 2019 via BMG / Mute Records.

CD1 Track Listing:

• Piano Song – Instrumental
• Blue Savannah
• Drama!
• How Many Times?
• Star
• La Gloria
• You Surround Me
• Brother and Sister
• 2000 Miles
• Crown Of Thorns
• Piano Song

CD2 Track Listing:

• Sweet, Sweet Baby – The Moo Moo Mix
• Drama! – Richard Norris Mix (unreleased)
• Blue Savannah – Mark Saunders 12″ Mix
• Piano Song – Live at the London Arena (unreleased)
• Runaround On The Underground – Remix
• How Many Times? – Alternative Mix (unreleased)
• Supernature – Daniel Miller & Phil Legg Remix
• Star – Soul Mix
• No GDM. – Unfinished Mix
• Drama! – Act 2
• Brother and Sister – Live at the London Arena (unreleased)
• Dreamlike State – 7″ A Cappella Mix (unreleased)
• You Surround Me – Gareth Jones Mix
• 91 Steps – 6 Pianos Mix

János Janurik

I began my career in online music journalism in 2001, writing about artists I had followed since the late ’80s and early ’90s, including Depeche Mode, Erasure and The Cure. I later edited the Hungarian Mute microsite for EMI Music Hungary. This led to interviews with Erasure, Nitzer Ebb and Alan Wilder, and some of those collaborations developed into lasting friendships. Since 2014, I have been part of the editorial team of depechemode.de. I also contribute interviews to Reflections of Darkness, Peek-A-Boo Magazine and Kaput Mag. I maintain a close connection to Mute Records artists and have also supported releases on Very Records. I am proud to collaborate with Side-Line Magazine, where I regularly publish interviews and features.

Terence Fixmer and Douglas J. McCarthy (Nitzer Ebb) are back on track unleashing one of their hardest and most industrial cuts ever. The new EP “Chemicals” released on Sonic Groove is a must have for all fans of minimal-techno & EBM. I got the opportunity to ask a few questions to both protagonists.

You can order several limited edition vinyls from Terence Fixmer right here.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: After a hiatus of several years, “Chemicals” is your second single in less than 2 years. How does it feel to be back again in studio? 

Douglas: Actually, we haven’t really been in the studio together much. A lot of the new material has been worked on remotely – me in LA and Terence in Europe. We have worked on songs whenever we’re playing shows, so a lot of ideas have literally been tried for the first time in front of an audience.

Terence: Strangely, the years have passed by fast, but in my head we have never really stopped, we are always in contact for one thing and other – to start to do the “So Many Lies”-EP and now “Chemcials” are just a normal flow without any strange feeling to ‘re-work’ on music.

Q: Do you notice some changes/evolution in the global writing and approach compared to the earlier work of F/M?

Douglas: We made a very conscious decision to return to a more aggressive and minimal approach similar to “Between The Devil…”, but I think there is a progression in terms of the sound and production that Terence now has.

Terence: The first album “Between The Devil…’ in 2003 was really instinctive and direct, and when we did the 2^nd album, “Into The Night”, we wanted to show another side of us, including more melodies, but I think we realized that the real fun for F/M is to be on stage, and when we played some melodic songs live, I feel like we wanted to be harder. It is not like we are bored but we like to deliver powerful music and to see Douglas running from left to right all the time!

Q: From a very personal point of view “Chemicals” is without a shadow of a doubt the rawest and maybe most ‘industrial’-like song you ever have written. What kind of song did you had in mind and tell us a bit more about the writing? 

Douglas: I agree. Terence sent me the baseline and I was immediately reminded of the mid 80’s when Nitzer Ebb first began doing shows in Spain, specifically in Valencia and Murcia on the South-Eastern coast. There was a club in Valencia called ‘Spook Factory’ that we’d go to after playing. It was pre acid-house but certainly an early version of what was later termed ‘Balearic Beats’. There was a penchant for having a drug capsule sticker on the back of your car, basically the same design as I did for the cover.

Terence: To me, it is just a direction or a sequence which could have been in our first album in terms of energy, and style. I don’t think it is a more industrial song but it is a really powerful sequences which maybe could become a classic F/M track such as “You Want It” or “Destroy”.

Q: The sound of F/M has been often described as EBM and techno-like, but I’m more interested to know your own perception about aspects like ‘sound creation’, ‘composition’, ‘equipment’, ‘production’ etc? 

Douglas: I think that analogy is a fair description. Terence is a prolific writer of baselines and other parts. He presents ideas to me and if I hear a vocal idea we continue with the track, if I don’t we choose another of his ideas. I record in LA if I am not able to be in Europe. Our approach to what particular style changes. After the melodic-ness of “Into The Night” we were in the mood for a change.

Terence: I work instinctively. I use some classic old analog machines coupled with some modern ones. In the end it is just about feelings and usually i really know when it will fit for F/M or for my solo work.

Also, I think with Douglas we both have  the same feelings about music with a common taste for underground music, and we both are really instinctive and direct, so actually it is never complicated with us, if it works it works for both at same time.

Q: So what makes the chemistry between Terence Fixmer and Douglas McCarthy and do you have a particular way working together?

Douglas: We are both extremely childish and have a really dumb sense of humor. We spend most of the time laughing and joking about pretty much everything. We do not take ourselves seriously at all. Fixmer/McCarthy is fun.

Terence: Totally true, we have the same level of stupidity (or maybe wisdom) so we understand each other really well.

Q: You both played at the biggest festivals and all kind of events so what makes the magic to move on playing live and what might the fans/audience expect from the next few shows? 

Douglas: We try to give a performance that inspires a reaction, even if it is one of curiosity. We’re never afraid to be ourselves and each show has differences based on how we are feeling the audience is, we seem to be able to win over a crowd.

Terence: What I like is to realize that we have an F/M fan base who really follow us and knows all our tracks. So of course we like to play those classics F/M tracks, but we always add the new ones, and unreleased ones. Sometimes we play unreleased ones, and people follow quite quickly the lyrics from Douglas and sing with him… then at this moment we know that it’s gonna be a good one to release.

Q: “Chemicals” is the first F/M production released on Sonic Groove. What incited you to join hands with Adam X and what are the further plans for F/M right now? 

Douglas: We’ve both known Adam for a long time. I first met him in New York before he moved to Berlin. He’s always a very positive guy with a lot of energy and drive. He saw us perform at Berghain last September and asked about releasing “Chemicals” and we thought it was a great idea. We definitely look forward to continuing to work together.

Terence: I know Adam for many many years, we both really understand, belong and play in the same scene. I know how deep he is into industrial, EBM and techno. Adam is one of the most true and passionate artist, he has been faithful to his sound and vision for decades so industrial, EBM and techno are his keys elements. As friend I always told him I’ll do something for him, and then I realize that he’d be really happy to have an F/M release on Sonic Groove, as he has always supported F/M and myself solo.. so it was obvious to do this release with him and it is a good match sonically.

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

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

Read the review of ‘Chemicals’.

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