Ultravox – SIDE-LINE

Ultravox’s ‘U-Vox’ turns 40 on 13 October

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0000

British new wave band Ultravox released their eighth studio album, “U-Vox,” on 13 October 1986 through Chrysalis Records. The record turns 40 this year.

Ultravox and Conny Plank co-produced “U-Vox,” recording it across several studios in 1986: Plank’s own studio near Cologne, Hot Food, Music Fest, West Side and AIR in London, and Windmill Lane in Dublin. Drummer Warren Cann had left the band, dismissed over “musical differences” before sessions began, and Big Country’s Mark Brzezicki played drums on the album instead. Chris Cross, Billy Currie and Midge Ure wrote all nine tracks, which run:

“Same Old Story”
“Sweet Surrender”
“Dream On”
“The Prize”
“All Fall Down”
“Time to Kill”
“Moon Madness”
“Follow Your Heart”
“All in One Day”

The Chieftains featured on “All Fall Down,” Beggar & Co’s horn section played on lead single “Same Old Story,” and George Martin arranged and conducted the closing track, “All in One Day,” written about the previous year’s Live Aid concert. “U-Vox” peaked at number 9 on the UK Albums Chart, the last Ultravox studio album to reach the UK top 10, and was certified Gold by the BPI.

About Ultravox

Ultravox trace back to Tiger Lily, formed in London in 1974 around Dennis Leigh (later John Foxx), Chris Cross on bass, Warren Cann on drums and Billy Currie on keyboards and violin. Signed to Island Records in 1976, the band shortened its name to Ultravox! and released three albums, including 1978’s “Systems of Romance,” before Island dropped the group and Foxx departed in 1979. Midge Ure, a veteran of Slik, the Rich Kids and Thin Lizzy’s touring band, joined as vocalist and guitarist, and the retooled line-up signed to Chrysalis Records. “Vienna” (1980) gave Ultravox its commercial breakthrough, and “Rage in Eden” (1981), “Quartet” (1982, produced by George Martin) and “Lament” (1984) kept the band in the UK top 10 through the first half of the decade. Ure co-wrote and produced Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in November 1984, and Ultravox performed at Live Aid the following July.

Cann’s exit before the “U-Vox” sessions left Cross, Currie and Ure to finish the album as a trio augmented by session and guest musicians, and the record’s reduced chart return compared with its three predecessors preceded the band’s split in 1987 once the European U-Vox tour, which opened in Gdansk that October, had run its course. Currie carried the Ultravox name through two further studio albums, “Revelation” (1993) and “Ingenuity” (1994), before dissolving the project in 1996. Cann, Cross, Currie and Ure reunited in 2008 for the “Return to Eden” tour and released a further studio album, “Brilliant,” in 2012, later touring UK arenas alongside Simple Minds. Chris Cross died in March 2024 at the age of 71, as Side-Line reported at the time, and Chrysalis marked the catalogue’s ongoing reissue campaign in October 2025 with “The Collection (Deluxe Edition).” “U-Vox,” the last Ultravox studio album to carry the 1980s Ure-era line-up’s name before that long hiatus, turns 40 this October.

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

Ultravox’s ‘Systems of Romance’ turns 48 on 8 September

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Ultravox, the British new wave and electronic band, released “Systems of Romance” on 8 September 1978 through Island Records. The album turns 48 this year. It was the group’s third studio album, the first credited without the exclamation mark the band had carried since its debut, and the last to feature original singer and lyricist John Foxx.

The band recorded it at Conny’s Studio near Cologne, West Germany, with Conny Plank and Dave Hutchins co-producing alongside Ultravox. Guitarist Stevie Shears was dismissed in early March 1978 and replaced by Robin Simon, whose only Ultravox album this is. The line-up was completed by Chris Cross on bass, synthesizer and vocals, Billy Currie on keyboards and violin, and Warren Cann on drums, rhythm machine and vocals. Electronics carried more of the record than on either of the two previous albums: synthesizer bass replaced conventional bass on several tracks, “Quiet Men” used a Roland TR-77 rhythm box in place of drums, and “Dislocation” and “Just for a Moment” dropped acoustic and synthetic drums entirely in favour of treated ARP Odyssey sounds. Cann later described the opening track to interviewer Jonas Warstad as the point where the two halves of the band’s sound met: “it perfectly represented our amalgamation of rock and synthesizer, many of the ideas and aspirations we had for our music gelled in that song”.

The ten-track album runs “Slow Motion”, “I Can’t Stay Long”, “Someone Else’s Clothes”, “Blue Light”, “Some of Them”, “Quiet Men”, “Dislocation”, “Maximum Acceleration”, “When You Walk Through Me” and “Just for a Moment”. Island issued “Slow Motion” as a single on 11 August 1978 and “Quiet Men” on 20 October 1978, book-ending the album. The band had already played early versions of both at the Reading Festival on 27 August 1978. Neither single nor the album entered the UK charts. Sales figures differ by source: the 2006 reissue sleeve notes give over 20,000 copies, while Wikipedia’s Ultravox entry cites initial sales of over 25,000.

Foxx has explained the title as a borrowing from Plank’s working method and his interest in systems music. “I liked the idea of intangible emotional elements running through mathematical frameworks,” he said. “It seemed a perfect encapsulation of the spirit of the music I was attempting to get to at that moment.” No song of that name appears on the album; Foxx recorded one for his 1981 solo album “The Garden”.

British reviews split. In Sounds on 2 September 1978, John Gill rated the album four out of five and wrote: “Whatever anyone says, Ultravox (sans ‘!’) have always been that important step ahead of fashion… Personally I don’t think it’s their best (album) but the deftly alienating production and the tricky use of electronics make it an important enough development in the career of a band that always aims for the unusual”.

Island dropped Ultravox on 31 December 1978. The band financed a US tour itself in early 1979, and at its end in March Foxx announced he would leave to work solo, handing the remaining members the band name. He had decided as early as the first Systems of Romance rehearsals, he told Vice in 2013. Simon stayed on in the United States. Currie was recruited that same year by Gary Numan, who has named the 1970s Ultravox as the most important influence on his music, first for a Tubeway Army appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test and then to play on Gary Numan’s ‘The Pleasure Principle’ and its tour. Cross, Currie and Cann later recruited Midge Ure, who wrote in his 2004 autobiography that he “loved that album”, and whose reconstituted line-up played Systems material live with Ure singing Foxx’s lyrics.

About Ultravox

Ultravox formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily, on the initiative of Royal College of Art student Dennis Leigh, who later took the name John Foxx. Chris Allen, later Chris Cross, played bass and Stevie Shears guitar; Warren Cann joined on drums in May 1974 and Billy Currie on violin that October. The group released one single as Tiger Lily in 1975 and went through several further names before signing to Island Records in 1976 and settling on Ultravox! in October that year, the exclamation mark a reference to Neu!, another Conny Plank production. Island released the debut “Ultravox!” in February 1977, co-produced by Steve Lillywhite and Brian Eno, and “Ha! Ha! Ha!” later the same year. Neither charted. The closing track of the second album, “Hiroshima Mon Amour”, used a Roland TR-77 drum machine and pointed towards the direction the band took next.

“Systems of Romance” moved that balance towards electronics, working with Conny Plank, who had produced Kraftwerk‘s first four albums. After Island dropped the band and Foxx left in 1979, Foxx recorded the electronic solo album “Metamatic” (1980) and then “The Garden” (1981), which revisited the Systems-era material with Robin Simon on guitar; Side-Line covered the complete ‘Cathedral Oceans’ vinyl boxset drawn from his later work in 2016.

Cross, Currie and Cann continued with Midge Ure on vocals, guitar and keyboards, signing to Chrysalis Records. “Vienna”, released in July 1980 and again produced by Plank, reached number 3 in the UK on the back of its title single, which peaked at number 2 in early 1981. Ultravox’s ‘Rage in Eden’ followed in 1981, recorded once more at Plank’s studio, then “Quartet” (1982) with George Martin producing, “Lament” (1984) and “U-Vox” (1986). Cann was dismissed before the U-Vox sessions, and the band split after that album’s tour in 1987. Currie reformed Ultravox with new singers for “Revelation” (1993) and “Ingenuity” (1994) before dissolving it again in 1996. Cann, Cross, Currie and Ure reunited in 2008, toured from 2009 and released the studio album “Brilliant” on 28 May 2012; their last show was at London’s O2 Arena on 30 November 2013. Chris Cross died on 25 March 2024, aged 71, as Side-Line reported in Ultravox musician Chris Cross dies aged 71. Chrysalis issued “The Collection (Deluxe Edition)” in December 2025, and Richard Evans published a band biography discussed in Richard Evans on Ultravox. Forty-eight years on, “Systems of Romance” remains the record where the Foxx line-up put its synthesizers at the centre, months before the band that made it came apart.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

Richard Evans on Ultravox: ‘They were too rock for electronic purists, too electronic for rock audiences’

János Janurik — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 10:43:47 +0000

For more than four decades, Ultravox have occupied a rather unusual position in British music history. They were pioneers of electronic music, yet never quite belonged to the electronic camp. They emerged from the post-punk scene, embraced technology early, and later became one of the most successful British bands of the early 1980s. Yet their reputation has often been reduced to a handful of familiar titles, most notably “Vienna” and “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes”.

Richard Evans believes the band deserves a good deal more recognition.

Following his 2022 book “Listening To The Music The Machines Make – Inventing Electronic Pop 1978-1983”, Evans has turned his attention to Ultravox with “Looking Backwards Towards the Future: The Story of Ultravox”, an authorised biography published by Omnibus Press on October 8, 2026. The 400-page hardback carries a foreword by Moby; North American, Australian and New Zealand editions follow on February 9, 2027. Evans has two book events confirmed so far: the Mowlem Theatre in Swanage on October 29, 2026, and Sound Affects in Brighton on November 4, 2026, both a talk, Q&A and signing.

For Evans, Ultravox was a natural subject because their story crosses several musical worlds at once. They were already active when his previous book began, and were still active when it ended. More importantly, they repeatedly moved ahead of musical fashion rather than following it.

We spoke to Richard about the origins of the book, John Foxx, the transformation brought by Midge Ure, the Blitz and New Romantic scene, the band’s unexpected connection with early Depeche Mode, the reunion years, and why he believes Ultravox are still waiting for the recognition they deserve.

‘All of a sudden I was writing a book about Ultravox’

Side-Line: Your previous book covered a whole musical movement. What made you decide that Ultravox should be your next subject?

Richard Evans: The exact moment was in a pub in London in 2024. I had gone into town to meet Omnibus Press, who had published my previous book, because they had got in touch to ask if I was interested in writing another one for them. “Listening To The Music The Machines Make” had sold well and they wanted to hear if I had any ideas for something else.

I had a small number of ideas, maybe four in total, which I told them about over a beer. They said they liked the sound of the Ultravox one the most and that was basically it. All of a sudden I was writing a book about Ultravox.

What interested me about the band was that they were one of only a small number of artists who were already active in 1978, at the start of “Listening To The Music The Machines Make”, who were still active in 1983, at the end of that book.

Also, I didn’t actually know that much about them. I had a few of their singles but I didn’t know much about the band beyond that. However, I had listened to a lot of their music while I was writing “Listening To The Music The Machines Make” and I really liked it, and the idea of finding out more about them was interesting.

Plus, of course, there wasn’t already a book about them. I don’t know why that was the case but it felt like a perfect opportunity.

A band that never quite fitted anywhere

Side-Line: Was there a particular question about Ultravox’s history that you wanted to answer?

Richard Evans: There wasn’t a particular question about Ultravox’s history that I wanted to answer. It was all of their history that caught my eye: the fact that they were a rare band who were so often ahead of musical fashions, who were true pioneers, but who were almost too far ahead of those curves to receive the credit for what they achieved.

They also interested me because they never made anything easy for themselves. They were always pushing themselves to explore new areas, often at the expense of easy commercial success, and I admired them for that.

Side-Line: That idea of Ultravox being difficult to categorise seems to run through their entire career.

Richard Evans: Ultravox are a funny band in that they never quite fitted anywhere. They were too rock for electronic purists, too electronic for rock audiences, too arty, too single-minded… all qualities that make them such an interesting band.

That is one of the things that became clearer to me while writing the book.

John Foxx: the beginning of everything

Side-Line: Your story goes all the way back to the origins of the band and John Foxx. How important was Foxx’s original vision?

Richard Evans: Incredibly important. Fundamental actually.

John Foxx actually conceived the idea of creating a band in response to a lecture he attended at art school, and in fact the formation of the band was a college project of sorts. That’s where the story starts, and none of the rest could have happened without that initial impetus.

Side-Line: Foxx is fascinating because his influence extends far beyond the years he spent as Ultravox’s frontman.

Richard Evans: John Foxx is a fascinating character, he deserves a biography dedicated to just him in fact.

He is incredibly articulate and innately curious and his career, which covers music, art, design, academia and more, is very interesting. He feels like a true maverick and a genuine innovator, but Ultravox! was the starting point for that.

If that hadn’t happened then he might have gone in an entirely different direction. An artist or an illustrator perhaps, or a writer or a teacher.

Ultravox! set him on a path to everything he has achieved and explored. It took a while for the world to catch up but I do think that his influence is now being realised and recognised.

‘Systems Of Romance’ and the DNA of electronic music

Side-Line: The first three albums occupy a fascinating place in electronic and post-punk history, with “Systems Of Romance” in particular becoming a reference point for later generations. Did researching them change the way you heard those records?

Richard Evans: They are indeed, and you’re right about “Systems Of Romance” in particular. That album represented a very special moment where creativity and technology were being explored in a new way and Ultravox were among the very first to start exploring that.

My research led me to listen to those records in a different way and they contain lots of idiosyncrasies and pieces of formative DNA which pointed to everything that came next, not just for the band, but for music in general.

That’s quite an achievement, isn’t it?

Side-Line: Did you deliberately avoid turning John Foxx’s later solo career into part of the Ultravox narrative?

Richard Evans: I don’t delve into John Foxx’s work after Ultravox in the book but I agree that “Metamatic” was a very important record.

Throughout “Looking Backwards Towards the Future” I tried to give equal weight to all the members of the various line-ups as best I could. They pretty much all had other projects going on outside Ultravox and if I explored one then I would have to explore them all, which would have taken focus away from the core Ultravox story and would have made the book much too big and unwieldy.

For what it’s worth though, I view “Metamatic” and John Foxx’s subsequent projects as being distinct from Ultravox rather than being extensions of it.

‘Vienna’, Blitz and the New Romantic moment

Side-Line: Ultravox’s relationship with the emerging Blitz and New Romantic scene is particularly interesting. How important was that environment to the band’s success?

Richard Evans: For the individual band members I don’t think it was particularly important, but for the success of “Vienna” it was crucial.

That period in time, those new electronic sounds, were incredibly new and startling, but it took Blitz and the New Romantics – none of Ultravox liked that name, although at the time they said they were more comfortable with being called Futurists – to create a world around that music by adding the dance-floor, the fashions and a compelling post-punk aesthetic to hang everything on to create a scene.

That scene in turn allowed all sorts of very diverse artists, Ultravox amongst them, to smuggle themselves into the mainstream under the cover of New Romanticism.

Side-Line: Depeche Mode were also part of that wider environment, although they quickly tried to distance themselves from the New Romantic label.

Richard Evans: It was a very fertile period and lots of bands who previously wouldn’t have been grouped together suddenly found themselves part of a movement, but the smarter artists already knew that fashions fade fast.

Having used the scene as the first steps on their career ladders, they were quick to try to distance themselves from it. Even at the time very few bands identified as New Romantics even though they were thrown together under that banner.

Depeche Mode could see that, I think, and didn’t want to be held back by it.

I think Ultravox were the same, but perhaps they played the game a little better!

When Ultravox and Depeche Mode almost crossed paths

Side-Line: There is also the story of Depeche Mode being offered an opportunity to support Ultravox around the period of the “Some Bizzare Album” and Stevo’s scene. What did you learn about that episode?

Richard Evans: It is something I touch on in the book.

You will be unsurprised to know that I was able to talk to Vince Clarke about Ultravox for “Looking Backwards Towards the Future” and we talked about exactly that.

It’s absolutely true, but although Stevo offered Depeche Mode a support slot with Ultravox as an incentive to sign with him, I don’t think that he was in a position to actually make that happen.

I think Depeche made the right decision!

Midge Ure and the creative chemistry of equality

Side-Line: When Midge Ure joined, Ultravox didn’t simply become a more commercially successful version of the same band. The entire musical and visual identity evolved. What made that line-up work so well?

Richard Evans: I think it was equality.

The previous incarnation of Ultravox was John Foxx’s project and he drove it, but with this new line-up everyone was equal and that led to a real creative connection.

Talking to the band about those sessions I get the impression they were having fun both creatively and personally, and they were very driven at that stage in their career, which was also an important factor.

Side-Line: They also resisted the obvious commercial option. After the enormous success of “Vienna”, they followed it with something as strange and eccentric as “Rage In Eden”.

Richard Evans: Initially I think they had fun with success.

It’s interesting – and very typical of the band – that following the massive success of “Vienna” they made an album as strange and as eccentric as “Rage In Eden” when the safe option would have been to simply capitalise on their success and do more of the same.

But I also think that as they moved forward, and as their success allowed them to explore other areas, internal dynamics did start to change and they got caught in a cycle of recording, releasing and touring album after album, which ultimately became unfulfilling and creatively challenging for them.

Beyond ‘Vienna’

Side-Line: Did researching “Vienna” itself reveal anything that changed the familiar story?

Richard Evans: The band have been asked about “Vienna” so many times over the years that I think everything that could be said about it has already been said.

That said, I did talk to the television promotions person from Ultravox’s label at that time, Chrysalis, and his memories of the band doing “Top Of The Pops” for the first time were interesting and new to me at least, so maybe I have added a little to the story of that song after all!

Side-Line: How much space did you give to the tensions behind the success?

Richard Evans: I think the public face of any band is never quite aligned with what is going on behind the scenes, but yes, those tensions are part of the story and so they have been included.

I was guided by the band members themselves as to how much they wanted to put in the public domain, but they were all very honest, I think.

Sometimes too honest, and sometimes that honesty made it into the book, and sometimes it didn’t…

Where does the classic Ultravox story end?

Side-Line: The “U-Vox” period is often regarded as the end of the classic Ultravox story. Do you agree?

Richard Evans: Warren Cann was already out of the band by the time “U-Vox” was released, so I would say that the end of the classic Ultravox story actually comes at the end of the “Lament” album project.

“U-Vox” was a tricky moment in the band’s career though.

That said, I always liked the album artwork!

Side-Line: And what about the Tony Fenelle and Sam Blue line-ups?

Richard Evans: I write about both of those line-ups but for me, and for a lot of other fans of the band, they aren’t true Ultravox albums.

They are interesting Billy Currie projects and there’s some good music to be found from both, but attaching the name Ultravox to them just doesn’t sit right for me looking at them in retrospect.

Sorry Billy…

Side-Line: So was the end of the band ultimately a creative, personal or musical problem?

Richard Evans: Definitely a combination of all three!

An influence still waiting for recognition

Side-Line: Ultravox’s reputation continued to grow through compilations and retrospectives. When did they become a genuine historical influence on new generations?

Richard Evans: That’s a really interesting question.

I talk to a couple of artists who claim Ultravox as a major influence on their own careers: Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran, who is a huge fan of the earlier incarnation of the band, and Moby, who is more of a fan of the later records.

But despite their respective flag-waving for the band, I don’t think that Ultravox have really ever been given the respect they deserve.

Hopefully the book will help remind people of what they achieved as another stepping stone towards that kind of recognition.

The reunion: serendipity rather than nostalgia

Side-Line: The reunion in 2008 seemed almost improbable. What brought the four classic members back together?

Richard Evans: It was such an unlikely thing to happen, which is typically Ultravox in itself and I suspect that was part of the appeal for them.

It was basically a case of good timing.

One of Ultravox’s former managers, Chris O’Donnell, sent each of them an email wondering if they might consider doing some shows, and on that particular day, and in those particular moments, all four of them thought that there might be something in the idea.

The stars just happened to align.

Serendipity.

Side-Line: And then came “Brilliant”.

Richard Evans: The band have mixed feelings about that title, but it’s a decent album in my opinion.

I think that by the end of the making of it a lot of the old tensions were back in the band, which took a lot of the joy out of the project…

Writing an authorised biography without losing independence

Side-Line: You had access to the surviving members, as well as former collaborators, archive material and people from the band’s wider circle. How did you build the research?

Richard Evans: I was lucky on the research because I had already gathered a lot of it for “Listening To The Music The Machines Make”, so that turned out to be unexpectedly valuable.

Once Omnibus Press agreed to the idea of an Ultravox book I approached the surviving band members to see if they would be comfortable with me writing about them, and also to sound them out on whether they might want to become involved.

I had interviewed John Foxx, Billy Currie and Midge Ure previously for other things, so I started with them and they all confirmed they were happy for me to write the book, and also that they would make themselves available to answer questions.

Billy connected me to Warren, who also agreed to be on board, and John Foxx’s manager introduced me to Robin Simon, who also said yes.

Nobody was still in touch with Steve Shears though, and tracking him down took some time, and when I did he decided that he didn’t want to be directly involved.

I told the band that I would only ask them about things that they hadn’t previously talked about, rather than making them go over the same things they have been asked a hundred times over the years. I think that helped my case.

I’ve worked in the music industry for long enough that I knew people who had worked with the band, or who could easily connect me with people who worked with the band.

And other people I talked to I just approached out of the blue, like Steve Lillywhite and Moby, or I already knew, like Vince Clarke and Nick Rhodes.

Conflicting memories and uncomfortable truths

Side-Line: Was there any archive material that proved particularly revealing?

Richard Evans: I think the most interesting archive materials were the interviews the band did for the Ultravox fanzine “Extreme Voice”, which eventually became their official fan newsletter.

Those interviews were not only very relaxed conversations with the band, but they also delved deeply into unexpected corners in the way that only true fans could have done.

If I had to choose one then it would be the very honest interview that Warren Cann gave to the “In The City” fanzine after being sacked from the band, which wasn’t published at the time but later appeared in “Extreme Voice”.

Aside from that, John Foxx hasn’t really talked about a lot of things I asked him about. In fact, he told me he dislikes talking about this part of his history, so there are some very interesting contributions from him and it seems I was lucky to get them.

Side-Line: How do you balance honesty with fairness when different members remember the same events very differently?

Richard Evans: Sometimes it was tricky.

As I got to know the various band members a little over the course of the project I got to like them all, and as a result I very much wanted to represent each of them equally.

Sometimes their individual recollections didn’t quite match, or were dramatically different, and in those situations I tried to present all views side by side.

Did I leave some things out?

Yes I did, but only if I felt that they were unfair, overly personal or unsubstantiated.

Side-Line: And did the fact that this is an authorised biography ever compromise your independence?

Richard Evans: Not really.

None of the band members asked to see any of the book while I was writing it, and at this exact moment in time they still haven’t. As soon as printed copies are available I will send a copy to each of them and I very much hope they approve of it.

Ultimately it’s my book rather than theirs, but the band were kind enough to trust me to tell their stories, so I did feel a responsibility to represent each of them properly and respectfully.

I don’t recall not asking a question I wanted the answer to in any of my conversations with them though.

Why Moby?

Side-Line: Your previous book had a foreword by Vince Clarke. This time it is Moby. How did that happen?

Richard Evans: I didn’t know Moby, although our paths had briefly crossed in the early 90s, but I did know someone who could introduce me to his manager, which is what happened.

I knew Moby was a huge fan of Ultravox and when I explained what I was writing he agreed to talk to me.

We scheduled a Zoom and we got along really well.

His enthusiasm for Ultravox was so infectious and so heartfelt that he seemed to be the perfect person to provide the foreword.

He’s another really interesting character with interesting things to say.

Looking backwards, towards the future

Side-Line: You are planning book events around the publication. What would you like these events to become?

Richard Evans: When “Listening To The Music The Machines Make” came out I did an event for Sound Affects in Brighton. It was my first ever time doing a book event and although it went well I knew in retrospect that I didn’t do as good a job on it as I should have done, so I asked them if I could come back and do another one for this book, and they very kindly agreed.

Swanage is the closest town to where I live and I did an event at the same venue for “Listening To The Music The Machines Make”, which went well, so they asked if I might like to do another one.

Beyond those two I’m also having conversations with a few other people about doing talks and events at the moment. Potentially some of them will be me talking about the book, some will be conversations with other people. It’s all being worked out at the moment.

Side-Line: Finally, after spending so long looking backwards towards the future of Ultravox, where do you think the band belongs today?

Richard Evans: I think Ultravox are long overdue some proper respect for their achievements, and for always achieving those achievements on their own terms.

If the book can help amplify that for the band then I would be very happy, and if reading it makes people discover aspects of Ultravox they weren’t previously aware of then that would be amazing.

If nothing else, reminding people of the breadth and quality of their catalogue and reintroducing them to those songs feels like a successful outcome.

About Ultravox

Ultravox formed in London in April 1974 around singer Dennis Leigh, who took the name John Foxx, together with Chris Allen on bass, Stevie Shears on guitar, Billy Currie on violin and keyboards and Warren Cann on drums. The group worked as Tiger Lily before adopting the name Ultravox! in October 1976 and signing to Island Records. Allen had by then become Chris Cross. Steve Lillywhite and Brian Eno co-produced the debut album “Ultravox!”, released in February 1977; “Ha! Ha! Ha!” followed later the same year. Robin Simon replaced Shears on guitar for “Systems of Romance” in 1978, recorded in Germany with Conny Plank and built on synthesizers, treated guitar and drum machine. Foxx left in March 1979 after a final American date and went on to release “Metamatic” in 1980.

Midge Ure, previously of Slik, The Rich Kids and Thin Lizzy, joined as singer and guitarist on November 1, 1979, having worked with Currie in Visage earlier that year. The Ure line-up signed to Chrysalis and released “Vienna” in July 1980; its title track reached number two in the UK in early 1981. “Rage in Eden” followed in 1981, “Quartet” in 1982 with George Martin producing, and “Lament” in 1984, which carried “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes”. Cann was dismissed in 1986, before the recording of “U-Vox”, released that October. Currie continued the name with two further albums fronted by other singers, “Revelation” in 1993 with Tony Fenelle and “Ingenuity” in 1994 with Sam Blue.

Ure, Currie, Cann and Cross reunited in November 2008, played their first show together in more than two decades at the Edinburgh Playhouse in April 2009 and released “Brill!ant” on May 28, 2012. Chris Cross died on March 25, 2024 at the age of 71. Chrysalis issued “The Collection (Deluxe Edition)” in December 2025. “Looking Backwards Towards the Future: The Story of Ultravox” is the first full-length book on the band.

Interview by János Janurik.

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.

I WANT MY MTV!

Jan Ronald Stange — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 14:35:20 +0000

By guest columnist Per Aksel Lundgreen (Apoptygma Berzerk / Angst Pop / Cronos Titan / Chinese Detectives / Shatoo / Sub Culture Records) MTV ended their transmissions at 6 AM on December 31st 2025, and it is hard not to appreciate or acknowledge the impact MTV had on me growing up.

The backstory of MTV

I lived on Kurland in Sarpsborg, the second place in Norway after Oslo to get MTV and Super Channel through Janco Kabel TV.

I was at the ripe age of 15 when MTV started airing; my sister was 12. We were the prime target audience. Young, and interested in (pop) music and the latest fashion. We lived in a grey and industrialized town where no real bands ever played and where cover bands came to die.

We had 3 record shops, and I had just started working at the biggest one, Borg Platebar. This was my dream job while going to school, and to stay up to date, I was reading up on New Musical Express (NME), Smash Hits, the Swedish Magazine OKEJ, and the more rock’n’roll oriented Norwegian Magazine, PULS, which I later worked for as a freelance journalist.

Per Aksel Lundgreen in the 80’s

My sister and I had a ton of friends and schoolmates over every day after school, and we’d hang out in the living room with the TV as our newfound altar on where to worship this new pop culture. And we were willing to sacrifice ANYTHING to get our daily fix, be it sleep, school grades, a perfect attendance or a family dinner. We HAD TO consume what was served to us, at any given hour or minute of the day.

They did teach us that “commercials were cool”! We’d never seen them before, so we chanted along that the new Opel Corsa had five doors or stuttered when buying stu-stu-studio line, fixing gel, spike it, the way you like it! They destroyed us and brainwashed us into consumers with us singing along, smiling sheepishly.

But enough about that, let’s talk about the music!

The music on MTV

Pop music was at a huge peak in the early- to mid-80s and in this period, ANY band who had a music video got air time, because they had a 24-hour non-stop transmission going and all spots and slots had to be filled. A heavy rotation slot could make you a superstar overnight, and bands like The Human League, Duran Duran and Ultravox often attribute a large part of their success to the fact that they had music videos ready when MTV came around, and the promo babes at all the record companies dug up their old C-Cam and Betacam masters and used them for what they were worth, sometimes resulting in bands getting «hits» years after the original single was released.

Special interest programming came along, and Alternative Nation, Away From The Pulsebeat and 120 Minutes were the shows that presented me with so many viewing hours of pure bliss, fronted by the likes of Paul King and Marcel Vanthilt.

We watched Ray Cokes, Ronnie The Runner, Max Headroom, International Hour, Friday Night Video Fights and New Video Hour, and for many of us, especially in Norway, the pop music equivalent to Albania, it was the first time seeing our musical heroes in moving pictures, while at the same time discovering a ton of new ones.

It was a literal musical smorgasbord for us, and we were NOT on a diet, I can tell you, we stuffed ourselves on a daily basis. MTV filled a gap we didn’t even know was there, a 24-hour channel for the young, the posers, the hair-metal boys, the wannabes, the new-wavers, the pop-chicks, the people coming of age. It hit so far and so wide and it was inclusive, but not in a 2025 way, it just «was».

We learned how to dress, how to fix our hair, how to dance when drinking Coca Cola (no diet crap back then!) or wearing our LEVIS 501’s, or even how to spray paint our Dr Martens.

We drove our parents crazy, like all generations I guess, but for the very first time in history, the whole world of music and fashion was delivered into our living room, and everything changed overnight. Bright pastel colours, pilot sunglasses, LEVIS and Dr Martens took centre stage and when you were not at home, you got your fix through your yellow Sony Sports walkman and the latest mixtape.

The 80s were DEFINED by MTV and there was nothing you could do about it, like it or not, but unfortunately, with the arrival of social media and YouTube, MTV has not been relevant for decades, and when they became more TV and less music with all their reality shows and quirky MTV Cribs and “Springbreak” reports, it was definitively all over in my book.

However, the first 15 years were immaculate and the entire music world should thank you for it. The world was never the same after the arrival of MTV, and the cultural shift it imposed has forever set its mark on GenX and those after!

Per Aksel Lundgreen (Photo: Espen Ixtlan)

PS! For us, a small band in Norway, some time in 1994/1995, the Apoptygma Berzerk video for ‘Deep Red’ was aired on MTV, and we were ecstatic! Yeah it was at 4 AM, but who cares, WE had our video shown on MTV! Quite the feat back then, and something to be forever proud of.

A lot of output followed after that and many other videos were aired, but this “beginning” in the mid-90s helped us a lot! And the way MTV used to put on alternative and indie bands as long as they had a video and a good song, that was massive! Careers were made by this alone! That was the 80s and 90s equivalent of “going viral” today.

End of year but also end of an era…

(This observational piece was originally a Facebook post, but was carefully edited and formed into the format you’ve just read.)

MTV Video time!

Here are 26 videos presented on MTV back in the day that really had a huge impact on me. Maybe not the most famous or most successful songs from these artists, but arty, funny, cool or intelligent and very, very good!

Feel free to check them out on YouTube:

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

Ultravox to release ‘The Collection (Deluxe Edition)’ on December 5 via Chrysalis; new ‘Love’s Great Adventure (Blank & Jones so80s Reconstruction)’ video uses rediscovered footage

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 09:22:39 +0000

Chrysalis Records will release Ultravox’s “The Collection (Deluxe Edition)” on December 5, 2025. The synth-pop/new wave set expands the band’s 1984 hits compilation with additional audio and video content. A new video for the Ultravox track “Love’s Great Adventure (Blank & Jones so80s Reconstruction)” has been created from previously unseen material from the original 1984 shoot.

The original “The Collection” gathered Ultravox’s 14 Chrysalis-era singles from 1980–1984. Upon release in 1984 it peaked at No. 2 in the UK and was certified triple-platinum by the BPI, with worldwide sales exceeding two million.

The new version come in 2 formats and can be pre-ordered:

4CD + 2 Blu-ray Deluxe Edition (limited to 5,000 units): The boxset adds “The Collection II” (1986–2024 singles, alternative and unreleased versions), 10 newly created 12″ extended versions mixed by Midge Ure, Steven Wilson, Blank & Jones and others, the complete B-sides collection, and two Blu-ray discs with over four hours of material: all promotional videos (including alternative/uncensored cuts) and BBC TV appearances (Top of the Pops, Old Grey Whistle Test, ORS, and more). The package is housed in a 12″×12″ slipcase with two 20-page booklets featuring previously unseen images and lyrics. Digital/streaming editions will also be available.

2LP black (half-speed cut) and 4LP clear vinyl box: A newly remastered 2LP black set (half-speed mastered at AIR Mastering) recreates “The Collection” as a double album for improved fidelity. A 4LP clear vinyl edition mirrors the CD configuration by adding “The Collection II.” Both use die-cut sleeves with interchangeable front images and include four-page inserts.

Tracklists

CD1 – The Collection

Dancing With Tears In My Eyes [Single Version]
Hymn [Single Version]
The Thin Wall [Single Version]
The Voice [Single Version]
Vienna [Single Version]
Passing Strangers
Sleepwalk
Reap The Wild Wind
All Stood Still [Single Version]
Visions In Blue [Single Version]
We Came To Dance [Single Version]
One Small Day
Love’s Great Adventure
Lament [Single Version]

CD2 – The Collection II

All Stood Still [Alternative Version]*
The Thin Wall [Steven Wilson Single Mix]
Serenade [2025 Single Remix]*
White China [Steven Wilson Remix Edit]
Brilliant [Radio Edit]*
Same Old Story [Radio Edit]*
Hymn [Alternative Version]*
New Europeans [Moments From Eden Live]
Rise [Live]
Live [Single Edit]
Lament [Alternative Version]*
All Fall Down [Radio Edit]*
All In One Day [Single Edit]
Vienna [Alternative Version]*
*Previously unreleased.

CD3 – The Re-Mixes

Hymn [Steven Wilson 12″ Re-Mix]*
Sleepwalk [Steven Wilson 12″ Re-Mix]*
The Thin Wall [Steven Wilson 12″ Re-Mix]*
Visions In Blue [Steven Wilson 12″ Re-Mix]*
Reap The Wild Wind [12″ Re-Mix Extra]*
Love’s Great Adventure [Blank & Jones so8os Reconstruction]*
All Stood Still [Midge Ure 12″ Re-Mix]*
New Europeans [Extended Re-Mix Extra]*
Same Old Story [12″ Re-Mix]*
We Came To Dance [12″ Re-Mix]*
*Previously unreleased.

CD4 – The B-Sides

Waiting
Passionate Reply
Herr X
Alles Klar
Keep Talking (Cassette Recording During Rehearsal)
I Never Wanted To Begin
Paths And Angles
Hosanna (In Excelsis Deo)
Monument
Break Your Back
Overlook
Easterly
Building
Heart Of The Country [Instrumental]
Man of Two Worlds [Instrumental]
3
All In One Day [Instrumental]
Dreams?
Stateless

Blu-ray 1 – Promotional Videos
Includes “Passing Strangers,” “Vienna” (uncut), “The Thin Wall,” “The Voice,” “Reap The Wild Wind,” “Hymn,” “Visions In Blue” (uncensored), “We Came To Dance,” “One Small Day,” “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes,” “Lament,” “Love’s Great Adventure,” “Same Old Story,” “All Fall Down,” “Rise (Live),” plus additional alternate/extended edits and a 1982 Australian EPK.

Blu-ray 2 – At the BBC
Top of the Pops performances (1980–1984) and TV appearances including Old Grey Whistle Test (1982), The Kenny Everett Show (1982), ORS (1983–1984), One For The Road (1984), Saturday Superstore (1984), and Wogan (1986).

Vinyl configurations mirror the CD content (original “The Collection” on 2LP; “The Collection II” added on the 4LP clear box).

About Ultravox

Ultravox formed in London in 1973 (initially as Tiger Lily) with John Foxx (Dennis Leigh), Chris Cross (Chris Allen), Billy Currie, and later Warren Cann; early releases on Island Records included “Ultravox!” (1977, produced by Brian Eno/Steve Lillywhite), “Ha!-Ha!-Ha!” (1977) and “Systems of Romance” (1978).

In 1979 Midge Ure replaced Foxx and Ultravox signed to Chrysalis Records, beginning a run of UK hit singles and albums: “Vienna” (1980), “Rage in Eden” (1981), “Quartet” (1982, produced by George Martin), live set “Monument” (1983), and “Lament” (1984).

“The Collection” followed in November 1984 and became their highest-charting and best-selling album in the UK; “U-Vox” (1986) closed the original run. The classic Ultravox lineup reconvened for touring in the late 2000s and released “Brilliant” in 2012. Bassist Chris Cross died in 2024, aged 71.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

Ultravox musician Chris Cross dies aged 71

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 13:34:33 +0000

(Photo by Brian Griffin) Ultravox member Chris Cross, whose real name is Chris Allen, died on March 25 aged 71. The news was announced last night by former bandmate Midge Ure who described bass player Chris as “the glue that held the band together”.

Midge Ure: “We worked together, we played together, made music and directed videos together. We were instant friends as well as Ultravox comrades. Even after years apart we managed to pick up where we left off like the years in between never existed. You were the glue that held the band together. You were the logic in the madness and the madness in our lives. It was great to know and grow with you. You are loved and missed old friend.”

About Chris Cross

Chris, born on July 14, 1952, in London, established Tiger Lily in 1974, a band that would evolve into the iconic 80s group Ultravox. Alongside him were Dennis Leigh as the frontman and Stevie Shears on guitar, with Warren Cann on drums and William Currie, known as Billy Currie, joining later.

Between 1974 and 1979, John Foxx led Ultravox as its lead singer and primary creative force. In March 1979, Foxx departed to pursue a solo career, and Midge Ure took over as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and frontman from November 1, 1979. Ure, who had been collaborating with the band since April that year after working with Billy Currie on the Visage studio project, rejuvenated Ultravox, guiding them to their commercial peak with the “Vienna” album and sustaining success until their disbandment in 1987.

In 1992, a reformed Ultravox under Currie’s leadership saw limited success, with two albums not charting and only one single barely making it to number 90 in the UK charts. The band’s most celebrated lineup — Currie, Ure, bassist Chris Cross, and drummer Warren Cann — reunited in 2008, leading to live performances in 2009 and 2010, culminating in the release of a new studio album, “Brill!ant,” in May 2012.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

Disrupted Being returns with new electropop single: ‘Deeper’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 10:47:24 +0000

Disrupted Being, a Danish electropop act, has released a new single titled “Deeper”. This release marks their first original song in nearly two years, following their previous track “Sailor”. “Deeper” is available for listening across major music services right now.

Disrupted Being’s next performance will be a sold-out concert with Boytronic at RUST in Copenhagen on April 26th, 2024, featuring Rusty Egan as the DJ for the event. Disrupted Being will also play at Basement CPH, May 3rd 2024 with Swedish female fronted electronic act E:lect, HellaMox and the Danish EBM band ManMindMachine.

About Disrupted Being

The band is based in Copenhagen and consists of Morten Kristensen (synths and backing vocals) and Peter Wammen (synths and lead vocal). Their music features a blend of classic analogue synths and modern electronic sounds, drawing inspiration from 80s synth music and artists like Jean Michel Jarre, Camouflage, and Ultravox. Morten Kristensen notably favors the ARP Odyssey synth, a preference shared with Ultravox’s Billy Currie.

Kristensen and Wammen first met in 1988. Although their project has been ongoing since their meeting, various personal and professional commitments intermittently paused their musical pursuits. In 2018, they officially reformed and began performing as Disrupted Being, which led to their signing with Danish electronic label Town & Towers Records. Since then, they have released multiple singles, an EP, and performed live concerts in Denmark, Sweden, and Germany.

You can watch an interview with Disrupted Being on Nightshade TV’s YouTube channel.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

Brian Griffin, the iconic Depeche Mode photographer, dies aged 75

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 14:00:09 +0000

The UK mourns the loss of Brian Griffin, a trailblazing British photographer who passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 29, 2024, at the age of 75. Born on April 13, 1948, Griffin carved a niche in photography with his distinctive portraits of 1980s pop musicians, earning him the title of “photographer of the decade” from The Guardian in 1989. His influential work now graces the permanent collections of esteemed institutions like the Arts Council, British Council, Victoria and Albert Museum, and National Portrait Gallery in London.

Griffin’s lens captured iconic images of music legends including Siouxsie Sioux, Kate Bush, Depeche Mode, Ultravox, R.E.M., Billy Idol, Iggy Pop, Ringo Starr, Queen, and Peter Gabriel. His collaboration with Depeche Mode notably shaped their visual identity in the early 1980s. He created compelling record covers that captivated audiences even before they listened to the music.

One of his most celebrated works is a record cover for Depeche Mode’s “A Broken Frame”, which, at the decisive moment, he captured with precision. This iconic photo was later acclaimed as the best photo of the 1980s by LIFE magazine. Griffin also ventured into video production, directing the mystical music video for Depeche Mode’s “Only When I Lose Myself”. His artistic contributions were recently compiled in the Depeche Mode book “Mode”.

Our readers will particularly remember Griffin for his significant impact on Depeche Mode’s image and style. Last year, we had the privilege of interviewing Brian Griffin, where he shared insights into his illustrious career.

For more on Depeche Mode, see Depeche Mode collaborates with Hublot for a special watch on Side-Line.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

Marsheaux solo project Aspra comes with debut single ‘Velvet/Anoint’ – Out now

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Sat, 02 Dec 2023 11:35:56 +0000

Out via Amour Records is solo project by Marsheaux member Sophia Sarigiannidou. Now active as Aspra her debut single “Velvet/Anoint” now comes re-released as a limited edition 7 inch single (300 copies) on white vinyl. The set also holds a (folded) A2-sized colour poster, the whole comes inside an outer plastic bag.

“Velvet” is a rework of the shoegaze track by Big Pink and was released already last year. “Anoint”‘,” is originally by The Field Mice.

Aspra-Velvet (Digital) by Aspra

Both tracks were written and recorded during the lockdown at Sarigiannidou’s studio in Athens, Greece. This is the first ever new material by (one half of) Marsheaux, after their split. The Greek electro girl duo released their fifth (and last) studio album “Ath.Lon” in June 2016.

Aspra recently also collaborated with the veteran electronic composer Lena Platonos, resulting in the releases of “Markos” and “Kymata”.

In related news, Sarigiannidou also curated the release “Play for Tomorrow Vol. 1” holding a collection of rare and obscure post-punk and minimal synth pop tracks from the period 1977-1985.

Tracklist “Play for Tomorrow Vol. 1”

The Gadgets – U.F.O. Report N°1 (1980)
Michael Rother – Karussell (1977)
Amin Peck – Love Disgrace
Car Crash Set – Fall From Grace (1983)
Alan Burnham – Music To Save The World By (1981)
Blaine L. Reininger – Mystery and Confusion (1984)
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Of all the Things we’ve made (1981)
Ruth – Polaroid/Roman/Photo (1985)
Chrisma – Black Silk stocking (1977)
Buggles – On TV (1981)
Electronic Circus – Direct Lines (1981)
I Start Counting – Still Smilling (1985)
Chris & Cosey – October Love Song (1983)
Ultravox – Just for a Moment (1978)

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

Strange Tales returns with first synthpop album in 30 years, ‘Untold’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 07:41:38 +0000

The Swedish synth group Strange Tales is set to release their full-length album “Untold” on Friday, November 24th, across all streaming services. On the eve of the release, they will host a launch party and free concert at FOLK, Foajén, Järntorget in Gothenburg, Sweden. In addition to the digital release, a limited edition 6-panel digipack CD featuring extra tracks and remixes will be available. Furthermore, the album will be offered as a limited edition colored gatefold vinyl, showcasing cover art by Gothenburg artist Patrik Andiné, an alumnus of the Royal Institute of Art (1990-95).

Fans can currently pre-order “Untold” from Bandcamp, either as a digital download or on CD.

Strange Tales ‘Untold’ digipack

Featuring on the album is Toril Lindqvist of electroclash band Alice in Videoland, with production handled by Charles Storm of Cloudchamber Studios (known for his work with Exit North, Mando Diao, Anna Öberg, Håkan Hellström, and Henrik Berggren).

About Strange Tales

Formed in the mid-1980s, Strange Tales was born from a love for the New Romantics movement, London sojourns, 12″ vinyl records, and synth music, founded by Johan Larsson, Tobbe Lander, and Jonas Berg. Their sound is a blend reminiscent of bands like Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Human League, Visage, Duran Duran, among others. Initially playing at youth clubs, their first release was a 1985 demo cassette titled “Five Songs”. Tobbe Lander notably ran the synth club Romo Night in Gothenburg for two decades, a hub for both prominent and indie synth acts in Sweden.

After a hiatus, the band has reunited with new material. They emphasize a philosophy for their music: engaging, varied, and impactful. As they put it, “Music should evoke real emotions, mirroring life’s unscripted and unique nature. Our songs are crafted with this ethos – they’re meant to resonate deeply and authentically.”

To get a taste of their music, check out Strange Tales’ music videos below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

Depeche Mode photographer Brian Griffin talks about his new photo book ’Mode’ – Out now

János Janurik — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 17:31:37 +0000

(Photos by Brian Griffin, Interview by Janos Janurik for Side-Line) Brian Griffin was responsible for the visual perception of Depeche Mode for a while in the early eighties. He made record covers so interesting, you wanted to own them before you even heard the music. He also photographed one of the most famous record covers from pop history for our favourite group. He waited with his finger on the shutter release – then the perfect moment had come. The final result was then voted the best photo of the 1980s by LIFE magazine. Several years later, the music of “Only When I Lose Myself” was accompanied by his mystical video clip. And now his unforgettable artwork is being collected for Depeche Mode and these pictures, which are actually beautiful impressions of a wonderful journey through time, deserve to be immortalised in an album forever.

Brian Griffin book on Depeche Mode

The photo book is called “MODE” and made by one of the most important British photographers of his generation, who is also a poet and performance artist, Brian Griffin. I was very honoured when he responded positively to my contact request. In 2009, I had the opportunity to interview Anton Corbijn on the occasion of his exhibition opening in Budapest and now I was privileged to have the interview below with Mr Griffin, whose work I have admired since my teenage years. I asked him about his years with Depeche Mode and about this elaborate photographic book project. Enjoy the read!

SL: For more than 35 years, Anton Corbijn’s name has been closely associated with Depeche Mode as the band’s artistic director. From image photos to video production to stage design, he has done everything for the visuals and for the strong band branding. He took over this role in 1986, in the ‘Black Celebration’ era, when you were last responsible for the cover design. Did you meet him back then, did you exchange ideas?

BG: I have never met Anton. Maybe after more than 35 years of Anton, Depeche Mode needs a change to freshen up. What ideas could I exchange with Anton…?

SL: Your work with Depeche Mode began in 1981 when you created the album cover for their debut album. How long had you been in the pop biz? Which famous artists have you worked with?

BG: I had been in the Pop business for only 2 years. It was only a small part of my photographic output when I shot “Speak And Spell”. In fact it remained that way throughout the 80’s. I worked with Iggy Pop, Queen, OMD, Echo & The Bunnymen, Kate Bush. Elvis Costello, John Foxx, Billy Idol, Devo, Ultravox and the list goes on and on. I think something like 200 to 300 record covers.

SL: Ultravox – a musical role model for Vince, Martin & Co – released their masterpiece ‘Vienna’ even before your collaboration with the newly established Depeche Mode, who were signed by Daniel Miller to his recently created Mute label. The record sleeve for ‘Vienna’ was also your work and it shows – at least for me – a bit of similarities to Depeche Mode’s ‘Speak And Spell’ album cover. With Ultravox you used wrapping paper for the cover photo and with Depeche Mode a plastic foil. The difference is that with ‘Vienna’ you wrapped the band Ultravox itself with wrapping paper and with ‘Speak And Spell’ a swan was wrapped in a plastic bag. Did you want to visualise the ‘cool’ synthesizer sound – described by some critics as ‘plastic pop’ – of these two bands?

BG: I really loved the sound of the synthesiser from when I first heard Krautrock, and still do. However with “Speak And Spell” and “Vienna” I was not influenced in any way that can be connected with my use of wrapping paper or plasticated foil.I just did what I felt would be a good idea at the time.

SL: The album cover with the swan is perhaps not your most famous and most recognised work. But the subsequent album cover of ‘A Broken Frame’, which you photographed for Depeche Mode in 1982, has already stood the test of time. Almost everyone knows the story behind this breathtaking photo of the woman in the wheat field with the sickle in her hand, but maybe there are still ‘little stories about this big subject’ that you have rarely told… So what would be your personal story in connection with this record cover?

BG: “A Broken Frame” is probably one of the most famous photographs on earth. I am so proud that I had the talent to produce that photograph. The secret being is there is something or someone watching over me. I have always felt that.

A Broken Frame (Alternative)

SL: The next time you were commissioned to do a Depeche Mode album cover, you had to go to Switzerland, to the Alps. The once again socialist realism photo was shot on top of the famous Matterhorn. By the way, my favourite photo of you would be the cover photo for the single ‘Love In Itself’ from that era. It was 40 years ago. Looking back, how strong do you find this artistic period?

BG: I never listened to Depeche Mode’s music prior to photographing the covers for them. This period was certainly one of my most creative, especially with my ability in employing artificial light.

Love In Itself

SL: The next chapter of Depeche Mode’s adventure in the world of ‘Industrial Pop’ was the ‘Some Great Reward’ album, to which they also owe their world fame. A young married couple in the middle of an industrial estate, perfectly fitting the album motto ‘The world we live in and life in general’. Romantic-dark, like Martin Gore’s lyrics. Most of the songs were about love, but not in the style of traditional pop music. They were self-experienced love and life stories of Martin Gore, in which thousands of fans could define themselves. Depeche Mode has been using this magical recipe for pop songs ever since, with great success. If you could just name one favorite song of Depeche Mode, which song would it be?

BG: “Somebody”

SL; Another milestone in the band’s history was the ‘Black Celebration’ album. The main songwriter, Martin Gore, has repeatedly emphasized that he counts the most important and significant period of the band from the release of this record. Most fans also count this ‘black and gloomy’ album among their personal favourites. You came up with your last cover design idea for Depeche Mode for this record. If I’m not mistaken, the final cover art wasn’t exactly the same as your concept art. Please tell us a bit about this cover story!

BG: All is revealed in my new book MODE.

SL: And now a few words about your band portraits of Depeche Mode. Were the boys – from a photographer’s point of view – treatable? Anton Corbijn once said that Alan Wilder showed the most interest in his work as a photographer/director at that time, the others almost didn’t care what he wanted to get out of a clip or a photo. And how did the band behave in front of your camera?

BG: Their attitude towards me was very similar to what Anton experienced. I preferred that attitude believe it or not, and found it most inspiring.

Depeche Mode portrait 1982

SL: You also shot a clip for Depeche Mode, the music video for ‘Only When I Lose Myself’. At that time the band was experimenting with other directors, because they had only worked with Anton Corbijn for more than 10 years and wanted to change the routine a bit. How did you get into the picture? Did you get a free hand in the production? What memories do you have of the shooting?

BG: It was wonderful in every way. I gave up photography for film making from 1991 to 2003. “Only when I lose Myself” is one of the best tracks by DM, it is also one of my best films by far. Daniel Miller freaked out when he saw the rough edit, as he had left me to let the creative juices flow. He made us cut the film drastically, but its strengths still shine through!

SL: Speaking of Anton, he has already released two photo albums (‘Strangers’, ‘Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn’) about Depeche Mode, the latter shortly before Andy Fletcher’s death. Why did you wait so long with your photo album (‘MODE’)? You were part of the band growing up and also contributed to their image.

BG: My friend Vaughn George inspired and encouraged it to happen.

“MODE” Photography Book by Brian Griffin

SL: This beautifully designed photo book of yours is the result of a huge fundraiser from the fans. I don’t think you could ask for more recognition as an artist. Please tell us about this project!

BG: This book “MODE” has been made with very little financial reward, and financed by the generosity of the fans. They have not been exploited, but have been rewarded with a beautiful book.

SL: According to your info mail, the photo album ‘MODE’ will eventually be available in stores. Where can the book be ordered by those who did not participate in the fundraising?

BG: This book is self published and distributed by me and will not be available to be purchased in bookshops. For people who did not pledge to the Kickstarter of “MODE”, you can buy the book by visiting the the shop section of my website.

Depeche Mode photographer Brian Griffin

SL: Depeche Mode are currently on tour with their latest album, ‘Memento Mori’, which – albeit unintentionally – is heavily affected by Fletch’s death. When did you last meet the band – with or without Fletch? How will you keep them in your memory?

BG: I met Martin at the Olympic Stadium gig in London before lockdown. I will remember Depeche Mode as the band that inspired me to produce some of my finest album cover photographs.

Side-Line also covered Depeche Mode’s ‘Untitled’.

About Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode formed in Basildon, Essex, England, in 1980, initially under the name Composition of Sound. The lineup that became Depeche Mode came together that year around Vince Clarke (keyboards, guitars), Andy Fletcher (keyboards, bass) and Martin Gore (guitars, keyboards), with Dave Gahan joining shortly after as lead vocalist. The band adopted the name Depeche Mode at a gig at the Bridge House in Canning Town on 24 September 1980, where Mute Records founder Daniel Miller saw them and signed the group.

Depeche Mode’s debut single, “Dreaming of Me,” was recorded in December 1980 and released on Mute in February 1981, followed that October by the debut album “Speak & Spell.” Vince Clarke left the band that November, going on to form Yazoo and later Erasure; Alan Wilder joined on keyboards in 1982 and became an official member from the 1983 single “Get the Balance Right!” The band’s catalog through the 1980s includes “A Broken Frame” (1982), “Construction Time Again” (1983), “Some Great Reward” (1984), “Black Celebration” (1986) and “Music for the Masses” (1987), the latter turning the band into arena headliners in the US off the back of their Rose Bowl concert, later documented in the film “101.”

“Violator” (1990) and “Songs of Faith and Devotion” (1993) marked the band’s commercial peak, but Wilder departed in June 1995, continuing his own project Recoil, leaving Gahan, Gore and Fletcher as a trio. The band released “Ultra” (1997), “Exciter” (2001), “Playing the Angel” (2005), “Sounds of the Universe” (2009), “Delta Machine” (2013) and “Spirit” (2017) as a three-piece, touring with long-serving live members Christian Eigner (drums, keyboards, since 1997) and Peter Gordeno (keyboards, bass, since 1998). Alongside the band, Gahan released solo albums “Paper Monsters” (2003) and “Hourglass” (2007), and Gore released “Counterfeit²” (2003).

Depeche Mode was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 7 November 2020. Andy Fletcher died on 26 May 2022, and Gahan and Gore continued as a duo, releasing “Memento Mori” in 2023 with Eigner and Gordeno again on the road. The band has sold more than 100 million records and placed 54 singles on the UK charts. Brian Griffin’s photography dates to the band’s early-1980s period, alongside director Anton Corbijn’s later, longer-running visual collaboration with the group.

János Janurik

Melbourne-based synthwave act Suburban Spell unveils the ‘Bright Gold Cross’ single and video, providing a glimpse of the upcoming ‘Falling Down’ EP

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 16:36:27 +0000

The solo synthwave project of Peter Endall, Suburban Spell presents the new single and video “Bright Gold Cross”, a teaser for the forthcoming “Falling Down” EP. The track’s title directly alludes to the long-lasting repercussions of poor decisions and succumbing to guilty pleasures. The accompanying video was crafted by Melbourne’s Dingo Cross Films, with production and direction by Paul Puccio and Cassie Dart.

From April 25, “Bright Gold Cross” will be accessible on various esteemed digital platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp. However, the video is already available for viewing today on Side-Line.

Suburban Spell, Peter Endall’s solo venture, melds numerous 80s synth-pop influences with a touch of noisy grind. Drawing inspiration from new wave’s golden era and 70s-80s electronica, his music is undeniably influenced by artists like Ultravox, OMD, Visage, Jean-Michel Jarre, The Cars, Gary Numan, and New Order.

Peter Endall explains that “the song ‘Bright Gold Cross’ symbolises absolution within a Christian religious context and how it can be employed to erase years of abhorrent behaviour. Absolution is a process that forgives mortal sins and allows one to perish in a ‘state of grace’, eventually gaining entry to heaven. This essentially serves as a ‘get out of jail free card’ for those inclined to exploit it.” He adds, “The peculiar circumstances of my childhood upbringing and the religious cult in which I was raised during those years have had a somewhat quixotic effect on me and Suburban Spell. Exposed to a belief system that ultimately proved to be flawed and maintained an inconsistent set of values throughout my formative childhood years, these challenges consistently resurface when creating music for the Suburban Spell project.”

Peter’s former band, Schizo Scherzo, was active during Melbourne’s vibrant 80s music scene, performing alongside acts such as The Eurythmics, Pseudo Echo, Real Life, and Fergal Sharky. Re-emerging on the music scene as Suburban Spell, Peter has discovered his niche in contemporary Australian electronica.

The “Falling Down” EP is set for release on June 23.

The “Falling Down” EP follows one year after his “Split Levels – Remixes” EP, a collection of reimagined tracks from his “Split Levels” album. The remixes feature goth-rock/post-punk legend William Faith (Christian Death, Mephisto Walz, Shadow Project, Faith & The Muse, The Bellwether Syndicate), as well as New Zealand’s Robots In Love, Australia’s Ontic, Pittsburgh’s Tragic Impulse, and Italian artist Kurs.

Split Levels – Remixes by Suburban Spell

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

Click Interview with Kill Shelter: ‘I Am Undoubtedly My Harshest Critic’

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 10 Dec 2022 18:00:00 +0000

Pete Burns started playing guitar when he was nine years old and has always retained a passion for creating music. He was the outsider kid at school who listened to alternative music and didn’t conform even at that age. Some things never change. Pete was (and still is) a big fan of Modern Eon’s “Fiction Tales” and that album epitomises Post-Punk for him. Other notable and influential releases from that time included “Quiet Life” and “Gentlemen Take Polaroids” by Japan, “Systems Of Romance” by Ultravox, “JuJu” and “Peek-A-Boo” by Siouxsie And The Banshees, “Black Celebration”, “Music For The Masses” and “Violator” by Depeche Mode, and the early Sister Of Mercy singles as well as “First And Last And Always”. Laterally bands like She Past Away, Trentemøller, The Soft Moon, Soft Kill, M!R!M and the now disbanded Ascetic have all, amongst many others, played a part in refueling Pete’s for the genre. Kill Shelter stands for pure Cold-Wave music. A first album “Damage” got released in 2018 by Unknown Pleasures Records. Four years later he strikes back with “Asylum” –released by Manic Depression Records for Europe and Metropolis for the US. Pete Burns worked together with guest singers and accomplished a true masterpiece. I talked about Kill Shelter with this genius Scottish multi-instrumentalist and producer.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You’re a so-called ‘multi-instrumentalist’ playing guitar, bass, e-bow, synths. Do you’ve a favourite instrument and is there a kind of hierarchy in the instruments when composing songs?

Pete: Definitely. I always start on the guitar. In some cases like “The Necklace”, it’s the bass but mainly my go-to instrument is the guitar. I’ll write the main riffs and themes first and once I’ve got those down, that forms the basis of the demo. In some cases those guitars will stay to the final edit or some may be completely removed. I’ll put down the bass after that and then start to work on the drums. Synths, guitar processing and textures come last. The vocals will always come in after the song has most of the parts written. I’ll then arrange the song around the vocals before doing final production work.

Q: I’m deeply impressed by your guitar play injecting a true, dark, spirit into your work. How do you see yourself as a guitarist? Who are your favorite guitar players and what do you especially like in their play?

Pete: Thank you so much. That really means a lot to me. I still see myself as a guitarist first but I think most people know me for my production work.

When it comes to guitar I will happily listen to a lot of stuff even if I don’t particularly like it from a style perspective. I’m always open to learning. I prefer guitarists who have tried to do something different like Christian Fennesz, Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Robin Simon, Rob Dean, Tony Iommi, Mick Karn, Andy Summers and John McGeoch. Gary Marx wasn’t a technical guitarist but he had a wonderful sense of melody and he’s one of my favourite guitarists because of it.

I’ve been working on something that isn’t for Kill Shelter which is mainly guitars. I’ve developed Dupuytren’s disease and arthritis in my hands so I’m keen to get as much recorded as possible before playing becomes impossible. I already struggle on some days but, whatever happens, I’ll find a way to make a noise in one way or another.

Q: Your new album “Asylum” comes four years after the great debut album “Damage”. How do you look back at “Damage” and how did the transition in between both albums happen? Did you focus on new/different elements of the production?

Pete: I was extremely fortunate with “Damage” to have the support and buy-in from so many like-minded people from around the world. I am still very grateful that they agreed to work with me, especially as I was (and still am to some extent) a totally unknown artist. I think I was finding my feet with Kill Shelter through “Damage” and the early remixes but I’ve had a plan for the trilogy of multi-collaboration albums from the outset.

At the time, “Damage” focussed solely on emerging talent. In contrast, I wanted “Asylum” to reflect the last four decades of Dark-Wave. At first I thought “Asylum” was going to be a double album but the delivery was fraught with difficulties as people who were scheduled to appear could no longer commit for one reason or another. It wasn’t straightforward and that’s one of the reasons it was four years in the making.

I think I was more confident and determined tackling “Asylum”. Adding my own vocals and having a guitar-only track (“Time Will Come”) were very conscious decisions that pushed me out of my comfort zone. I think working with others always pushes my production skills but I find that harder to achieve when I’m working on my own, especially when it comes to gauging if it’s good or not. I am undoubtedly my harshest critic.

Q: “Asylum” sounds like a dark and tormented title which is also reflected in the lyrical themes. What did you, together with the guest singers, try to express and/or eventually externalize? What is it all about?

Pete: I always work with an overriding concept when I tackle albums be it “Damage”, “A Haunted Place” or “Asylum”. It makes the collaborations more cohesive. The core approach with “Asylum” was to explore the duality of the meaning of the word, highlight global humanitarian issues such as human trafficking, domestic violence, exploitation and the plight of asylum seekers, as well as exploring themes of personal disillusionment and mental health. For example, domestic abuse has risen by 33% and over 75,000 migrant deaths have been recorded globally – these numbers speak for themselves.
Remembering that “Asylum” was written with the backdrop of a global pandemic, Brexit here in the UK, destructive international politics, Black Lives Matter, Me Too, increased effects of global warming and, more recently, the war in Ukraine.

We’ve seen a lot of things happen in the last few years. It’s not an overtly political album but these threads run through the overall themes and narrative and, as with many of my lyrics, they can be interpreted in various ways.

Q: Kill Shelter is much more than simply a solo-project as you’re working with guest singers –and even very famous ones like Ronny Moorings. What are your main criteria to work with a guest singer and how do the collaborations happen? The most surprising name among the list is for sure Stefan Netschio so how did you come to work together?

Pete: The starting place for me is always people with outstanding vocals and that have written songs that I think ‘I wish I’d written that’. I’m not a great singer and I also like to work with other people – it always takes the material in an unexpected direction and I can listen more objectively when someone else is involved.

I write demos with specific people in mind and I think that really helps the process. I don’t just write a track for the sake of it then try to desperately find someone to sing on it. It’s far from that. I’ll either have the demo ready or float the idea with the artist first. I always ensure that they are part of the process and that they are totally happy with the way that they are represented.
Stefan has an incredible voice and “Daisy Cutter” is one of my all time favourite songs. He is very personable and professional and is a producer’s dream to work with. I was delighted he was so open-minded as he hadn’t heard of Kill Shelter when I originally spoke to him so there was a big leap of faith on his part to work with me. We got on really well through the process and I had the absolute pleasure of meeting up with him recently. They say never meet your idols but in this case I would say that definitely doesn’t apply.

I was absolutely delighted when “In This Place” reached number one in the Deutsche Alternative Charts and I really hope we can work together again soon.

Q: In between “Damage” and “Asylum” you also released an album together with Antipole. I noticed a true chemistry between both of you, but how do you look back at this experience, which I think was inspired by personal themes like loss, addiction, isolation and remorse? Can we expect a new album? Any other plans in the pipeline?

Pete: Karl has become a really good friend of mine. After sharing the same label (UPR) for our debut albums, working on remixes together then Karl appearing on “Damage” we have kept in touch for years now. We got the chance to meet at the Cold Transmission Festival in 2019 where I did a Rule of Three DJ set. We got on incredibly well over that weekend and decided there and then we should do an album together. We are very like-minded. Troubled and sensitive but determined at the same time. We share a lot of ideals and philosophies.

Karl really supported the idea of me doing vocals on “A Haunted Place” even though it was originally going to be an instrumental album featuring mainly guitars. Because it was entirely my voice on the album, the songs had to be very personal to me. I always wear my heart on my sleeve and, in a way, writing the songs on “A Haunted Place” was a very cathartic process for me.
We still chat most days and I’m looking forward to the day I either head to Norway or he visits here. We do have plans to do another album together but there’s no immediate rush or pressure on that. I have the working title and concept and we have a few demos already so the process has started. I want it to be different from our last album though. It needs to feel like a development not more of the same.

I contracted Covid in August and have had some ongoing issues following that so, unfortunately, I’m having to take some time away. Both my hearing and voice have been affected so I need that to settle down before I begin that journey again. I’ve had to pull quite a few things from my schedule and it’s never great to have to let people down but things aren’t great at the moment.
I’m looking forward to things getting better all round for all of us…

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

They Die – Deviant Love (Album – Jetglow Recordings)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 18:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Cold-Wave, Post-Punk, Gothic.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: They Die is an Italian trio set up in 2020 and, which this year released their official debut album. The work features 10 songs.

Content: From the very first notes you get the feeling of awakening somewhere in the late 80s. This is pure Cold-Wave & Post-Punk music driven by guitar playing and achieved with melodic Electronic sound treatments. The vocals have been produced in a pretty cavernous way. One of the surprising songs is the cover version of Ultravox’ legendary “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes”, which has been accomplished by fuzzy guitar playing.

+ + + : They Die is pure nostalgia. The guitar parts have this unique 80s Cold-Wave spirit. Some passages are reminiscent of The Sisters Of Mercy, but I can also mention a more contemporary band as Lebanon Hannover and She Passed Away. The Electronic arrangements inject a cool melodic touch, which makes some of the choruses uplifting. Some of the most noticeable songs are “Bride Into The Dark”, “Your Silence” and “To Smile To Death”. Last, but not least I also recommend the CD format for its cool digipak.

– – – : The only song that couldn’t convince me is the Ultravox cover. This song might be cool on stage, but is poorly accomplished.

Conclusion: They Die has accomplished a noticeable debut work. Let’s keep an eye on this band.

Best songs: “Bride Into The Dark”, “To Smile To Death”, “Your Silence”, “Sick Boy”, “That Flame Goes Out”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/They-Die-109914517503014

Label: www.jetglowrecordings.it / www.facebook.com/jetglowrecordings

About They Die

They Die is an Italian electro trio founded by Giorgio Ricci, previously of Templebeat (Dynamica-Machinery, Sub/Mission, 21st Circuitry). “Deviant Love” (2021) was the band’s official debut album. They Die went on to release “Emptiness Prevails” (July 2022) and, via Swiss Dark Nights, the third album “Black Magic” (February 2024).

Inferno Sound Diaries

www.side-line.com

Blutengel – Fountain Of Destiny (Album – Out Of Line)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Mon, 10 May 2021 18:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro, Electro-Wave.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: While Chris Pohl last year released the debut album of his side-project She Hates Emotions, which was devoted to the 80s, he now strikes back with this new Blutengel album featuring cover versions of legendary 80s songs. The album is available in different formats, but I here review the classical CD version featuring ten covers plus two extra songs.

Content: Blutengel transposed the original Electro-Wave/Pop songs into a very personal interpretation. You always recognize the original songs, but also the typical –and rougher, but melodic Blutengel touch. Chris Pohl remains the lead singer while Ulrike Godmann sings a few songs as well.

The bands that were covered include Duran Duran, Alphaville, Ultravox, Gary Numan, Steinberg & Kelly, Mike & The Mechanics, Yazoo, Propaganda, A-Ha and Erasure. Last, but not least we also get two extra songs written by Blutengel featuring the instrumental “Journey To The Edge Of The Night”.

+ + + : Covering legendary songs such as “Wild Boys”, “Forever Young”, “Nobody’s Diary”, “Dr. Mabuse”, “The Sun Always Shines On TV” or yet “Ship Of Fools” remain a tricky business. It’s an exercise, which is often more efficient when the songs are played live instead than releasing a ‘special’ album. But there’s a reason if Blutengel is recognized as one of the absolute leading formations from this scene and that probably explains why these interpretations have been accomplished with passion and knowledge. It sometimes feels like Blutengel is the original writer of the songs, this way realizing a sonic bridge between the 80s and Blutengel’s sound. The production of the vocals is absolutely great. We probably all have our favorites, but the way Duran Duran’s “Wild Boys” has been reworked is brilliant. I also have to mention Yazoo’s “Nobody’s Diary sung by Ulrike Goldmann. Blutengel takes their fans by surprise by this new opus. And as a little bonus you get a great song entitled “Unsere Zeit”, which is a typical, but efficient Blutengel piece.

– – – : I definitely prefer original albums, but I can live with this one.

Conclusion: I think this album has been a way to bring homage to legendary 80s artists, who probably inspired the work of Chris Pohl.

Best songs: “Nobody’s Diary”, “Wild Boys”, “Dr. Mabuse”, “Alone” + Unsere Zeit”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.blutengel.de / www.facebook.com/BlutengelOfficial

Label: www.outofline.de / www.facebook.com/outoflinelabel Read the news on ‘Fountain Of Destiny’.

“Fountain Of Destiny” by Blutengel

About Blutengel

Blutengel is a German electronic band founded in Berlin in 1998 by Chris Pohl, who released the debut album “Child Of Glass” in 1999 and has since been joined on vocals by Ulrike Goldmann. The band records for Out Of Line.

Days after “Fountain Of Destiny”, Pohl announced the band’s next studio album, “Erlösung – The Victory Of Light”, in four editions, and discussed the band’s approach to digital releases in an August 2021 interview.

Inferno Sound Diaries

www.side-line.com

Strikkland interview: ‘Here we are, seven months, three singles and one EP later.’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 06:52:15 +0000

(Interview by Simon Helm / photo by Krichan Wihlborg) Sweden’s love affair with EBM goes back a long way. Bands like Pouppée Fabrikk, Container 90, Kropp, Sturm Café and Spetsnaz have carried the torch for body music for many years.

The next generation of Swedish artists influenced by the sound has included Rein, Circumpolar and Strikkland. These acts have built on the beats of their predecessors by adding elements of electronic pop.

The last of these has started to release a series of singles and an EP independently in 2020. A duo composed of Henric Ceder (keyboards and computers) and Henrik Johansson (vocals), Strikkland has combined EBM and pop influences to striking effect. They have also leveraged Johannson’s skills as a videographer to ensure that their visuals are as dramatic as their sound.

We asked Ceder to tell us about Strikkland’s work and plans in the time of corona.

SL: How did you come together as Strikkland?

S: Strikkland was started in Trollhättan, Sweden, in 2015.

Henrik and I had been friends for a long time, and we shared a passion for electronic music. We had often talked about starting a band, since he had a background as a singer in a metal band and I had been mucking about with synthesizers since the mid 1980’s. In 2015, we actually sat down to make something, and the result was “Predatorial Right.”

Unfortunately, Life™ intervened. I got divorced, moved to Gothenburg, and Predatorial Right ended up in a drawer until the summer of 2019, when it was played at a private Subkult Festival pre-party in Trollhättan.

The feedback we got was amazing, and in April 2020 it became our first single, released on all major streaming platforms. To our surprise, the single was nominated as a newcomer at the German Electronic Web Charts (GEWC.de) and aired at several Web radio stations across Europe and even in South America. That was like a vitamin injection for us that really sparked our creativity. So, here we are, seven months, three singles and one EP later.

The “Dance Like a God” video.

SL: How important is the visual element to you?

S: The visual element is pretty important. A reason for that is probably the fact that Henrik is a photographer by trade. The cover art of our releases are all photos taken by him. Our first (and, so far, only) music video (“Dance like a God”) is shot by his film production company and directed by his wife Sofie.

The obvious thing to do would be to go to a closed-down factory and take pictures in black-and-white, posing in combat boots in front of chimneys, rubble and cog wheels, and use that as cover art; but the visuals are an equally important part of our art (if we may call it art without sounding like pretentious wankers). So, we do our thing just like we do with our music.

SL: Your style is based on old school EBM, but you have acknowledged influences ranging from metal to Depeche Mode. What do you draw upon to create your music?

S: We both love old school EBM, and it has had a huge impact on us in terms of influence, but we can never become another DAF, Nitzer Ebb or Front 242, even if we wanted to. We also have to confess that we love synth-pop, lush pads and solid melodies. I mean, I grew up in the 1980’s with Human League, Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Alphaville, Yazoo and all the other great artists like Vangelis and Jarre – that was the soundtrack to my youth. So, of course, that all sits in the back of my brain when I write the music.

I also took classical piano lessons for more than a decade when I was young, so that probably has an impact, as well. I usually sit down with the intention to make a raw bassline on an analog hardware synth, but a few hours later there are pads and melodies added. That is our workflow, by the way: I write the music and Henrik writes the lyrics and does the vocals.

SL: What is next for Strikkland? There seem to be remixes on the way?

S: There is another single in the making, which will hopefully be released in November. We will also be releasing some remixes of our music that other bands are working on right now. No ETA on those yet, though. We are also working on a remix for the amazing Swedish band Octolab, and we are making a cover song for a German compilation that will be out before Xmas.

There is a small Covid-safe live performance together with our good friends Peter and Robert of Dpoint scheduled for December 18^th. Hopefully, we can pull that one off, but of course nobody knows these days. Last but not least, we are looking for a label to help us to the next level – to release a full album on physical media.

SL: Are you happy with how your material has been received?

S: We are extremely happy and thankful for the amazing support and positive feedback we have received. Strikkland wouldn’t exist without it, and that is what sparks us to continue. With that said, we did expect some of the songs on the A Gift to Solitude EP to attract more streams and attention. I mean, “Kinky Sophisticated Gentleman” deserves to be a floor-filler, and “Truth Will Unfold,” where my wife Cecilia contributes with some vocals, is a pretty solid track with a 80’s vibe to it.

But, all in all, we are extremely happy with the reception of our music and we really want to thank everyone who helps making this journey possible for two fifty year olds!

Released so far…

Predatorial Right by Strikkland Levitate by Strikkland Dance like a God by Strikkland A gift of Solitude by Strikkland

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Mission, Gary Numan, etc. unite for brand new charity single ‘Tower Of Strength’ – check the preview

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 15:11:30 +0000

Wayne Hussey, frontman of The Mission, will soon have a new single out in support of key workers dealing with Covid-19 globally. He has remade the classic Mission anthem “Tower Of Strength”, joined by members of The Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Slowdive, Bauhaus / Love and Rockets, The Smiths, The Twilight Sad, Depeche Mode, The Cult, The Wonder Stuff, Gary Numan, Evi Vine, Midge Ure (Ultravox), Spear of Destiny / Theatre Of Hate, Beauty In Chaos, The Soft Cavalry, All About Eve, Guns N’ Roses, Nine Inch Nails and Gene Loves Jezebel.

The actual collaborators include: Andy Rourke, Billy Duffy, Budgie, Evi Vine, Gary Numan, James Alexander Graham, Jay Aston, Julianne Regan, Kevin Haskins, Kirk Brandon, Lol Tolhurst, Martin Gore, Michael Aston, Michael Ciravolo, Midge Ure, Miles Hunt, Rachel Goswell, Richard Fortus, Robin Finck, Steve Clarke, Tim Palmer, Trentemøller

Produced by Wayne Hussey, this release features mixes by Tim Palmer and Trentemöller. This is also the first time brothers Jay and Michael Aston (of Gene Loves Jezebel) have recorded anything together since parting ways many years ago.

Here’s a preview of the song featuring for instance Martin Gore.

The single itself will be out on August 28 on all digital platforms followed by a 12” vinyl and CD on October 2.

Wayne Hussey: “When Covid-19 hit I started receiving messages asking ‘why don’t you re-issue Tower Of Strength for the front line workers?’ The song had apparently been adopted as an anthem by some NHS workers, and it got me thinking that I would like to contribute something to the greater cause at this unprecedented time and the only thing I could really contribute is music. So in conjunction with my good friend Michael Ciravolo, I came up with the idea of recording a new version of Tower Of Strength for charity by enlisting the help of musician friends and acquaintances. Tower Of Strength was first released by The Mission as single in 1988 and then again in 1994. It charted twice in the UK top 40 and has proved to be probably our biggest song and the one we generally close our shows with. It is anthemic. I wondered if recording a more well known song might have a greater reach but neither Michael or I could come up with any suggestions that seemed to fit lyrically without getting too corny. So Tower Of Strength it was then.

Usually I detest things that are done for charity that are also self-serving, but I came up with a plan that satisfied my conscience. I spoke with my fellow Mission band members who co-wrote the song – Craig Adams, Mick Brown and Simon Hinkler – and we agreed to give up any publishing income generated by the new version to nominated charities, including mechanical and performance royalties and 100% of any revenue raised by sales. TOS2020 has been renamed to divert funds from the original version, and the charities will all be personally nominated by the people involved in its recording and release. Because the musical contributions are global our idea is that the proceeds will be divided and distributed equally among all the beneficiaries.”

Tracklist for the vinyl:

Vinyl Side A

TOS2020 (Beholden To The Front Line Workers Of The World mix)
TOS2020 (single)

Vinyl Side B

TOS2020 (Trentemøller remix)*
TOS2020 (Albie Mischenzingerzen remix)**

Tracklist for the CD:

TOS2020 (Beholden To The Front Line Workers Of The World mix)
TOS2020 (Trentemøller remix)*
TOS2020 (Albie Mischenzingerzen remix)**
TOS2020 (single)

Tracklist for the digital bundle:

TOS2020 (single)
TOS2020 (Beholden To The Front Line Workers Of The World mix)
TOS2020 (Trentemøller remix)*
TOS2020 (Albie Mischenzingerzen remix)**
Tower Of Strength (original new remaster) – The Mission (free bonus track with bundle only)

Side-Line also covered Depeche Mode’s ‘s Martin Gore launches new solo track ’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

Exclusive – Alan Wilder talks about the PPG: It Was A Sensitive, Delicate And Bloody Difficult Beast!

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 15:08:40 +0000

Palm Products GmbH, a highly regarded manufacturer of audio synthesizers which was founded and owned by Wolfgang Palm, has been acquired by the software company Plugin Alliance. PPG is located in Hamburg, Germany and, for 12 years from around 1975 to 1987, manufactured a range of electronic musical instruments, all designed by Palm. We asked Alan Wilder (ex-Depeche Mode, Recoil) for some feedback on the PPG as you can see further in this article.

It is Plugin Alliance’s founding member Brainworx which acquired the assets of Wolfgang Palm’s PPG brand. PPG’s synth products will join Plugin Alliance, updated by Brainworx in close cooperation with founder Wolfgang Palm.

From keyboardist to keyplayer in audio synthesizer market

Wolfgang Palm was active as a keyboardist in bands in the Hamburg area before starting his company in 1975 which focussed on the developing synthesizer market. His first commercially available synthesizer was a modular synthesizer, the 300 Series, which failed to sell in large quantities. Inspired by the design of the Minimoog, Palm introduced the 1002 and 1020 synthesizers which were portable, analog, monophonic, and relatively compact. In 1979, PPG introduced the 340/380 System, a complex digital synthesizer which consisted of the 340 Processor Unit, the 340 Generator Unit, and the 380 Event Generator (a 16-track sequencer). Itt was used by Tangerine Dream and Thomas Dolby during the early 1980s.

But the big breakthrough only happened in 1980, when Palm introduced the “wavetable synthesis”. These digital synthesizers expanded upon the capabilities of Palm’s earlier synthesizers by expanding the sound creation tools with limited samples, which were compiled together in lists called wavetables. The first PPG synthesizer to implement this algorithm was the Wavecomputer 360, released in 1980 in two versions. But it was with the release of the Wave 2, which debuted in 1981, that the ball started rolling. In total, around 1,000 Waves were manufactured between 1981 and 1987, making it the most successful product PPG manufactured.

From a-ha to Depeche Mode’s Alan Wilder

The PPG Wave was used by artists such as A-ha, Alphaville, David Bowie, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Depeche Mode, Propaganda, Jean Michel Jarre, Level 42, Gary Numan, Robert Palmer, The Stranglers, Talk Talk, Tangerine Dream, Tears For Fears, Ultravox, and many others.

We asked Alan Wilder (ex-Depeche Mode, Recoil) for some feedback on the PPG.

Exclusive: Alan Wilder Talks The PPG: It Was A Sensitive, Delicate And Bloody Difficult Beast!

Alan Wilder: “Depeche used a PPG Wave 2 (+ subsequent 2.2) mainly in the studio for the second album (‘A Broken Frame’, 1982) and onwards for a couple of years. Its unique and distinctive sounds are unmistakable on that record. The single ‘See You’ features the very recognisable choir sound, plus the bell riff and other parts, while that release’s B-side ‘Now This Is Fun’ also has PPG’s hallmark stamped all over it. The gratifying array of rich preset sounds it produced were not so easy to improve upon, although Dan Miller would have a go. Complex synthesis produced bell-like overtones that, until that time, had never really been heard to such an extent electronically – later to be resurrected, via equally confusing algorithms, in Yamaha’s DX7 but not nearly with comparable depth or character in my view.

The PPG was a sensitive, delicate & bloody difficult beast however – trying to use it in a live environment proved to be disastrous and the band soon jettisoned that idea following endless embarrassing breakdowns. When it failed, just to let you know how unhappy it was, a massive ‘clunk’ would be accompanied by a loud piercing siren-type noise. Only a re-boot would sort it out – sadly an all too short-lived fix. No, it needed caressing & cajoling and I guess when sampling came along, coupled with Dan Miller’s beast of a Synclavier featuring heavily on DM’s next album ‘Construction Time Again’, the forlorn-looking PPG got relegated and ignored somewhat. A real gem of its time.”

PPG officially ceased business operations and closed its doors in 1987 after shelving the Realizer project. The Realizer was an all-in-one studio machine which combined production, recording, sequencing, and mixing tools into one machine in addition to a sophisticated sampling and synthesis system.

Wolfgang Palm after PPG

After the decline of PPG, Wolfgang Palm continued to be an active innovator in the area of synthesizer technology. For Waldorf Music for example he designed the digital ASIC for the first Waldorf product Microwave (1989) which basically contained the complete sound engine of the PPG wave 2.2. In 2002, Steinberg from its side released PLEX, a software synthesizer designed by Palm.

Today, nearly every digital synthesizer implements wavetable synthesis in some form, and the Wave’s unique integration of analogue and digital circuitry influenced synthesizers such as the Monowave and the E-mu Emulator.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

‘Click Interview’ with Mark Burghgraeve: ‘We Were Multicultural Anarchists With A Rainbow Of Tastes And Opinions’

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 14 Jun 2019 17:00:20 +0000

Does the name Mark Burghraeve make ring a bell? No doubt about it, ‘older’ electro heads know this Belgian artist born in 1961! Together with Marc Verhaeghen he set up The Klinik and created the band’s original look. Both ‘old’ mates are now back again working on new Klinik-stuff. You might also know him from his work under the Somnambulist moniker and M.Bryo & D.M.T. He also worked with artists and bands such as Niki Mono, Bill Leeb, Insekt, Vomito Negro, For Greater Good, Mike Shelter, Brain Pilot, Dark Poem, Hybryds, Les Boufons Tristes ao. Mark Burghraeve is a man of many talents and next to his music activities he’s also active as a multimedia artist and graphic-, video- & sound-designer and sound & light engineering. But back to music! The French label Nuit Et Brouillard recently released the album “Things I Was Due To Forget 1979 – 2005”. The work has been released on different vinyl formats and is now planned to be released on CD format as well. The music brings us back to the early and original sound of electronic music… to the roots. This interview will give you more background information about this passionate, fascinating and visionary artist.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: The least I can say is that you’re involved with an impressive number of very different artistic projects. Do you’ve some preferences in your artistic creation, what’s the importance of music and do you still have secret dreams in mind?

Mark: My preferred creations are the ones where I could sit at home and work on them in my own tempo and atmosphere, without any unwanted interference from the outside world. The ones where I could set my own deadlines and delegate some of the time consuming work. I like to see myself as a multi-media artist in the broad sense of the word. Music is one of the media I use to evoke or reproduce feelings, visions and dreams, based on my experiences and observations. I jump from one medium to another, sometimes mixing them. And the more I can use in one project, the more satisfying it becomes. The final result grows into a part of a viewer’s or a listener’s precious time. The artist has only this short period to take them on a small journey by exposing himself.

I try to keep my mind and taste open. My dreams are no secret. It would be nice to have my work survive the times, interpreted by others as it has already happened. The best feeling one can have is that his work is appreciated by as many people as possible, I guess. Making an immersive VR experience is on the want-list. Another film score would be nice too. A book maybe? A golden tie?

Q: You’ve been inspired by early electronic pioneers, but you in a way became a pioneer yourself. How do you look back at the early years of electronic music? Was there a kind of particular ‘spirit’, ‘philosophy’, ‘goal’… and do you see common elements with what’s happening today?

Mark: I always felt as a pioneer, out to get a taste of the future. Electronic music was the most futuristic music then. That time, synthesizers were expensive and not seen as a full instrument yet. They were more like an effect in a classic rock setting, an extra weird toy for the keyboard player, like Pierre Henry did in the sixties with “Psycho-Rock”. Or they were used as sound effect machines for cinema as Bebe and Louis Barron already did in the fifties for the movie “Forbidden Planet”. Apart from “Popcorn” by Anarchic System, full electronic music was not yet popular. There weren’t that many people in Belgium who had a synth and tried to make music that fitted the expectations of a new sci-fi future vision.

After the ‘No Future’-era, we were looking for one. Most of the guys who had synths made ‘cosmic’ music or just collected buttons. Pure electronic music was not regarded as ‘real’ music yet. But there was a kind of spirit of togetherness between the artists of that time in Antwerp, a lot of independent projects and disciplines crossed each other: theater, music, fine arts, fashion, performance. It was a period in time when we revolted more, as a group or as individuals, against anything we were opposed to. We used the new technologies. We walked away from tradition and uniformity. Sometimes we even had ‘goals’. From political- and ecological awareness to shared ethics and aesthetics. We were multicultural anarchists with a rainbow of tastes and opinions. We were the avant-garde. We were the underground.

I don’t see this anymore, it seems culture has been institutionalized, nationalized, censored and belonging to the happy few who get financial support from the government. I see increasing xenophobia and homophobia. I see aggression, racism, poverty and despair in this modern day dystopia. And cell-phones, lots of cell-phones. But then again, I don’t go out that much anymore, so I might miss out on a lot of what is happening today.

Q: One thing is for sure, the late 70s and early 80s were pure ‘underground’-like! I think it had something magic, connecting people a different way than today. Today we’ve the internet, electronic music became much more accessible… everything became that different. What’s your perception about this evolution? The pros and cons?

Mark: The pros are that it all became much more accessible and now more people can create, produce and put their stuff on the internet. One can reach a global audience immediately. A computer is now a household thing and most people have cell-phones. We are all connected by wire or by Wifi and have libraries of virtual synths and plug-ins at the touch of a button or screen, complete with professional production tools and low distribution costs, if any. Also you can get direct feedback from people all over the world who value your stuff. One can communicate faster. Co-operations over great distances get easier. Tools are easier to find.

The contras are that anybody can make music and put videos on YouTube. But without talent, proper promotion or attention of the media one can get lost in the flood of banal information. Today’s internet has become a marketplace, a big and busy one. You need extra skills if you want to get noticed as an artist. Like for instance opening an e-mail account to get PayPal. It also still leaves a very big and bad ecological footprint. Think of the control knob you ordered on e-bay, transported by trains, planes and diesel trucks.

The search for new music has also dramatically changed, we have robot programs that search for everything we want, telling us what we are supposed to like, based on databases and tags. Before all this, we physically went to the record shop to buy what they were offering. We had magazines with no commercials. No cell-phones, no social media sites, no e-mail, no internet. Just telephone, fax, modems and walkmans. Cassettes were the independent medium of that time. The home-studio was born. Affordable, but still expensive. I was lucky to have Stefan Van Elsen (Trans-4M, Brain Pilot, …) of Central Tapes who distributed my work. Teac, Tascam & Fostex competed with Revox. There were still U-matic, 12-bit Digital Recording, Commodore & Spectrum, Memorex. All these factories sold physical equipment. Nowadays, big companies sell or even just rent data for the same use.

It has it’s pros and cons. The thing is, it’s here. One has to use it as a tool and avoid distractions. It’s still very new and it already had a very radical impact on all our lives. Writers like Kafka, Orwell or Huxley couldn’t even have dreamt this up. It’s like their warnings became handbooks for the rulers. Are we in the hands of a system we don’t understand, own or even know anymore? Who collects and controls the data? Does all this ‘security’ make us feel safe or does it make us more scared or paranoid? Since the expression ‘Fake News’ has been introduced, nobody trusts the media anymore, from both sides. We have political propaganda and commercials in between the services we paid for. We’ve all seen how YouTube and Google have evolved from data providers to data collectors. Do we lose freedom and privacy and should we protect these values? What’s this thing with wars, money, power and persistent ecological & political unawareness?

We live in glass houses. Too many rats in a cage with an overload of information. Sorry, what was the question again?

Q: Nuit Et Brouillard recently released the double album “Things I Was Due To Forget”; I should say an appropriated title for songs taking us back to your first sonic compositions. How did this release come through and can you tell us something about the origin of the songs?

Mark: Sylvie, co-founder of the French Nuit Et Brouillard-label, once made a compilation tape from records she had borrowed from a friend to play in her car. One of the songs was “The Empty Street” by M.Bryo & D.M.T. from the “No Big Business” compilation. Years later she found me on Facebook on a picture with Marc Verhaeghen (the Klinik) and Bill Leeb (Frontline Assembly), from the time we worked together on Noise Unit. She knew both Marc and Bill, but had never heard of me until she did some investigations. Nuit Et Brouillard invited me to Lille to meet them in person, so I took all my courage, some luggage and a train to France. There I met Stéphane as well. We talked about music and politics and played with the idea of making a release. It was a bit like checking each other out, before we made this idea concrete.

For Nuit Et Brouillard it would certainly have been the most ‘commercial’ record they would have ever made, since they were mainly releasing more experimental and ‘obscure’ music. A bold step. They showed me their beautifully made releases. Some of them had handmade art covers. All their releases were treated as gems, showing a deep involvement and respect for the artist. They were not driven by money, but by passion. Of course I felt very flattered by the offer and I loved the people there in Lille who supported me. I had the chance to do everything from A to Z; music, lyrics, recordings, mastering and artwork. I am very lucky to have had this opportunity and I am proud with the result.

The songs had their origin in the late seventies, the start of punk, affordable synths, drum machines & multi track recorders. Bands like Kraftwerk, Tubeway Army, Ultravox and The Human League had just started and people like Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre, Tomita and Walter Carlos had already opened the door to popular electronic music.

I lived in industrial Hoboken and was a DJ for some time, pretty up to date. By buying the ‘trash’ the record shop couldn’t sell on a Friday, I got a lot of weird unknown stuff. The weirder it was, the more I liked it. Anyway, I had fun in my room with my machines, later got into computers and now I’m still trying to use technology as a medium, not only for making sound.

Q: When it comes to music, I think there’re very different types of artists; classical schooled musicians, composers, producers, self taught artists and experimentalists who clearly break the codes. Where do you place yourself and tell us a bit more about the different aspects of being the musician/artist you are?

Mark: I’m a self-taught mad experimentalist, composer, bad musician, an OK writer and from time to time, if I may say so, a very able producer with neo-classical ambitions, and some more… I cherish my work as a musician as much as I like using other media. If I get bored or stuck with one medium, I jump onto another one. It keeps the creative ball rolling. Sometimes one inspires the other. Bringing as much art forms as possible into one project is the most satisfying, I think. To me, programming is an art form as well. Sometimes a program can be written as elegantly as a poem.

Q: You’ve been involved with different music projects; M.Bryo & DMT, The Somnambulist, The Klinik… and you’ve worked with an impressive list of artists. What did you keep in mind from all these projects and experiences and tell us something more about The House of the Thepaphone?

Mark: So many stories to tell. So many experiences. Every contact has its anecdotes. Sometimes, it seemed as if I lived in a soap opera, complete with the melodrama and the intrigues. But the fun part was the work itself, trying to get the best results with the tools I had. Having my own rock-band KOYT! was great, but what I liked especially were the one-on-ones, like Les Bouffons Tristes with Peter Geysels, whom I knew from For Greater Good or the ones with Sophie from Dark Poem.

With The House of the Thepaphone, I try to create a cosy place for my friends and I on Bandcamp, a popular music site for independent use, with a possibility to get some money for the music. Not big amounts, but since money seems to be a handy thing to have on this planet, any return is always welcome. It’s where I put some of the collaborations with other artists and completed works from my archive. On SoundCloud I put my most recent sketches and portfolios. ReverbNation was one of the first music libraries I used on the web. I forgot MySpace, but who didn’t? I think of building some more websites. They open possibilities for experiment and promotion. Recently, I got on Spotify and iTunes, to keep up with the new tools and platforms. I’m still learning.

The House of the Thepaphone :

https://somnambulist-mbryo.bandcamp.com

Nuit Et Brouillard:

https://www.discogs.com/M-Bryo-DMT-M-Bryo-Things-I-Was-Due-To-Forget-1979-2005/master/1479468

Cyber Monday revives ‘To have and have not’ by the cult New Romantics artist Ronny – download it for free!

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 17:37:52 +0000

Electropop act Cyber Monday has its first cover version out namely a cover of the track “To have and have not” by the 80s act Ronny. The track has just been released and is free to download for a short period of time via the band’s label right here.

You can check the video below.

With Ronny, Cyber Monday has picked up an artist which many had forgotten as her career was extremely short-lived. She used to be a top French model who after meeting entrepreneur Rusty Egan in the Paris club Privelege co-produced several songs with Midge Ure, Vangelis, Georg Kajanus and Peter Godwin. You might also remember her as the model who appeared on the Ultravox “Station” record sleeve and can be seen in Visage‘s “Visage” video. Ronny also did a duet with Steve Strange called “The Lady Is A Tramp”. Neither the single nor the video was ever released.

If you wan’t to check out the original by Ronny, you can check that one below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com

Technomancer releases ‘The Outsider’ EP with Apoptygma Berzerk and Angst Pop joining in Depeche Mode cover song

Jan Ronald Stange — Mon, 02 Jul 2018 16:01:36 +0000

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)

The Norwegian futurepop and EBM act Technomancer, fronted and produced by Alyxx J. Digre, releases ‘The Outsider’ EP both on Bandcamp and Spotify, paying tribute to songs from Depeche Mode, Psyche, Ultravox and Rational Youth. Joining in on the Depeche Mode cover song ‘Puppets” are both Angst Pop (Per Aksel Lundgreen) and Stephan Groth (Apoptygma Berserk), making this collaboration one of the best Norwegian efforts to do a Depeche Mode cover… ever?

All songs produced by Technomancer and Per Aksel Lundgreen a.k.a. Angst Pop. ‘Puppets’ co-produced by Stephan Groth / Apoptygma Berzerk. Backing vocals and MS-20 synths on ‘Puppets’ by Stephan Groth. Backing vocals on ‘I’ve Got A Sister In The Navy’ by Per Aksel Lundgreen.

Buy and listen:

https://technomancer.bandcamp.com/album/the-outsider-ep

Side-Line also covered Depeche Mode’s ‘s ’.

Jan Ronald Stange

www.facebook.com/jrstange

Click Interview’ with Noyce™: ‘Music Has Lost Its Value Through Spotify And Others’

Inferno Sound Diaries — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 18:00:11 +0000

Set up and driven by the creative spirit of Florian Schäfer and Oliver Goetz, German formation Noyce™ is already active for more than 20 years now. They released their fourth full length album “Love Ends” at the end of 2017, which also was their first new opus in eight years. The album released on Focile Art Tribe belongs to one of the best productions from 2017. It’s an opus filled with delicacy and passion resulting in a truly artistic piece, which you can’t really compare to any other band. I got in touch with Florian Schäfer who perfectly transposed this ‘passion’ in his answers. A fascinating read…

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: The least I can say is that Noyce™ is not releasing new albums on regular basis. So how does it feel to have achieved this fourth full length in history and what explains the gap of time between the albums?

Florian: I know… 4 albums in a period of 21 years is at the first view not a massive output and I understand that you and others ask why there is always that big gap between the releases. Well… we are 100% independent and so we’ve to pay everything ourselves. Instruments, studio costs and mixing, CD-artwork and CD-printing, DJ- and print promotion, advertising… everything. On the other side we try to hold up the high level we build in the past with good songs and meaningful lyrics, a brilliant sound and a special artwork. So it costs a lot of money and our songs always need a lot of time to get accomplished.

Our songs are ready when we feel the goose bumps on our skin… when we think the sound pictures are now nearly perfectly painted. But nothing matters more than the fact that we do music because we love it and because it is our passion. So the best and logic answer to your question will be ‘we do music because we love music and not longing for being commercial, successful or to get 45min of fame on a festival stage’!

Q: “Love Ends” is a somewhat pessimistic and melancholic title while lyrical wise we all can feel it’s a very intimate piece of work. What did you try to express and maybe exorcize on “Love Ends”?

Florian: Even if “Love Ends” is a pessimistic- and yes… a melancholic title, the album should express love. Love is always a better answer than hate. A ‘hello’ is better than a ‘go away’. We have songs about the new nationalism all over the world, refugees, hates peech, populism… the world change because some people fear that this have an impact of their lives. but is that fear that big? I mean in “Die Ungeliebten” we count dates of terrorism attacks from the last back to the first which is 9/11. But it needs that date to understand what the song is about? Strange, isn’t it? I mean you normally should remember the closer dates. Maybe this is a kind of human protective mechanism or simply ignorance. Is it indifference or missing empathy? At the end we tried all songs should spread love and hope so that we all start questioning about our lives and that humanity and empathy both play again a bigger role in the future.

Q: Sound wise Noyce™ remain a mystery to me. Your music is not exactly belonging to an established music genre rather than bringing multiple influences together. It might also explain a part of your success, but what’s your own perception of this success story?

Florian : Oliver and me grew up with bands like Yello, Ultravox or Depeche Mode, but we also liked Nine Inch Nails, And Also The Trees, The Young Gods or Clan Of Xymox. I guess if you mix all these bands together you will get something what sounds like NOYCE™. It has always been our claim not to copy ourselves. I mean it would be easy to do an album full of “Fall[out]”-songs, but where is the creativity then? I guess most of the people buying our CDs expect something special… simply the unexpected. In my point of view nothing is more boring in music than when every song sounds the same; if just the lyrics, the bpm’s or the sounds change a little bit… but more or less every song is equal. If a band cover their own songs in the eternal loop!

Of course, it always depends on what and how you want to reach your goal with your music. If I want to earn money then it is like a job. You need to be commercial. But this is not our motivation because we love what we do. We want to make music with an artistic aspect; music with a repertoire and value in a fast-moving and instant fame-oriented world. So simply… music we love! And if you understand music as art like we do then it doesn‘t need a genre, but it simply needs the listeners and their opinion… they’ll like it or not.

Q: You didn’t spare any effort to get the album the best as possible asking famous producers like John Fryer and Krischan Wesenberg to contribute to the album. How was it working with those renowned artists and what has been their impact at the final result?

Florian: We asked John Fryer because Oliver an me love some albums he mixed and produced in the past. “Pretty Hate Machine“ from NIN, “Medusa“ from Clan Of Xymox, “Head/Down” from Moev to give you a few examples. So we contact and simply ask him if he would mix 3 songs. We’d fun working together, but he doesn‘t produced the songs, so there were no ideas or sounds from his side. It was simply not possible because when he starts with “The World Is Quiet“ he lived in Norway and when he worked on the mixes of “Brave New World“ and “Propaganda“ he lived in Los Angeles.

About Krischan, we know each other for a couple of years now and he mixed “Heimat“ and in 2012 he helped us to give “Fall[out]“ the right sound and a great mix. He would say his impact was not that big, but all the sessions in his studio plus the coffee breaks where we discussed about the music scene gave us the right motivation to start working again with him. Sadly it was not possible to do more songs because he is very busy and we… well… are very slow in producing songs.

The main part of the album was mixed by sound fetishist Adrian Le Monde. He gave “Love Ends“ that brilliant homogenous sound for that we are longing for and he did some awesome mixes as well. To make it short, it was a real pleasure working with those great people.

Q: What’s the link between the title “Brave New World” and the famous novel of Aldous Huxley? Do you feel close with the so-called ‘dystopian writers’ such as Huxley, Orwell, Burgess and co?

Florian: There is no direct link but if then our “Brave New World” describes the revolution against Huxley’s world. It is the last wake up-call for a revolution to wake up and don‘t let it happens. But if you open your eyes you can see some parts from Huxley’s world are becoming real in some countries. Turkey, United States, Russia, Syria, North-Korea have all leaders who don’t serve the people. The rebirth of nationalism in Europe, Populism where lies are sold as truth, hate speeches on internet or the end of laws and jurisdiction. We don’t need science fiction books… we sadly write new ones.

Q: I remember your previous band Silence Gift, so are there some elements and influences you still recognize from this band in Noyce™? I’m also wondered what you think about the evolution in the music writing, production techniques, social media ao between the 90s and today?

Florian: Silence Gift was exactly what we wanted to do in the beginning of the 90s, but it sounded very pop/wave and cut our musically freedom. This is why we found NOYCE™ to do whatever we want to do.

I think most of the NOYCE™ songs sound just like Silence Gift would have sound today. I’m sure that in the future we will continue to dress Silence Gift songs in a NOYCE™ robe as we have already done with some songs.

I‘m not quite sure if there still is an evolution in the music scene. Sure it is not easy to do something completely new, but most of the newer bands just try to sound like VNV Nation, Suicide Commando or Rammstein. As I explained before, it is the best way to get your 5 minutes of fame, but musically it is boring. Production-wise it is sad that a lot of these newer bands are not able, even with today’s possibilities, to reach the production level of… for example Skinny Puppy‘s “Worlock“. I mean the song is nearly 30 years old! So some of them produce their stuff at home using some apps for free, load up at Facebook and think, after receiving 13 likes, ‘we are the ones everybody is waiting for even no producer or mixer involved’! So the quality is poor. The next step is that they pay to play at festivals. They don’t see that this is ridiculous.

The last newer band who are really brilliant and unique in my eyes is Empathy Test. It’s very well produced and mixed featuring great lyrics and well-done artwork. Sure not every new band is crap and not everything from the past is brilliant, but in my point of view there was simply a lot more variety. One thing is for sure, music has lost its value through Spotify and others. Even if people still listen to music, the result will be that in some years only equal commercial music will survive.

Inferno Sound Diaries

www.side-line.com

Massive John Foxx 5x vinyl boxset for John Foxx titled ‘The complete cathedral oceans’ available now

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 19:00:33 +0000

Out by the first week of January – but available right here already – is John Foxx’s “The complete cathedral oceans” super deluxe 5 LP album-style 12×12 book set. The release contains all 3 of Foxx’s ambient classics “Cathedral Oceans I” (1997), “Cathedral Oceans II” (2003) and “Cathedral Oceans III” (2005) spread over five LPs.

The 12×12 book contains dozens of Foxx’s images along with passages from his (audio) book “The Quiet Man” which contains the surreal, dream-like stories from John Foxx’s on-going novel. The complete track list can be viewed right here.

Here’s a preview of what to expect:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

side-line.com