Yazoo- "Don't Go" (1982) "Live" BBC TV Appearance

Everything you ever wanted and more coming up next

Isao Tomita- Snowflakes Are Dancing: Electronic Performances of Debussey's Tone Paintings (1974) / Pictures at an Exhibition (1975) / Firebird (1975) MP3 & FLAC

Isao Tomita: "[I]n painting the artist is free to use whatever color or material he may choose. In other words the medium for his expression on the canvas is free and unlimited. There are plenty and abundant mediums, whereas in music we have had to use very limited means: the musical instruments. In painting one could use unlimited variety in color, but in music only certain numbers of timbres were available to express composers' ideas and feelings [....] My doubt was, should music be always like this? Couldn't it get some new source of sound beyond existing musical instruments? That was my doubt and at the same time my dream." After having spent the formative years of his childhood with his father in China during the 1930s, Tomita returned to the place of his birth, Tokyo, eventually studying Art History at Keio University during the early 1950s while also taking private lessons in Music Composition and Orchestral Theory in order to pursue his overriding passion for music. Having already paid his dues by regularly composing for local orchestras in order to fund his education, by the time Tomita graduated, he had amassed an impressive amount of experience and skill, which allowed him to quickly transition into a career scoring films, television and theatre, something he pursued for the next 15 years until hearing Walter Carlos' groundbreaking Classical work on the Moog synthesizer. Tomita: "In 1969 I happened to listen to a record titled Switched on Bach which opened a new world to me and triggered a revolution in my musical life. At the time I saw on the jacket of the record, behind Bach, a synthesizer, which is to say a palette of sound. For the first time I discovered that the synthesizer is not an instrument to compose music by using the sounds of existing instruments, but is a new instrument or a new machine which creates unlimited sound sources."

Walter Carlos tending to his Moog III

Inspired by Carlos' groundbreaking work, Tomita purchased a Moog III synthesizer (identical to the one pictured on the Switched on Bach album cover) and built a recording studio in his home shortly after forming a music collective called Plasma Music with several other Electronic-minded musicians. After a false start in the form of a largely forgettable album of Moog renditions of contemporary rock songs, Tomita turned his attention to the work of French composer Claude Debussy, and, in contrast to Carlos' emphasis on note-for-note transcription as well as the recreation of traditional acoustic sounds using the new Electronic medium, Tomita's work, perhaps due to his extensive experience as a composer, focused on re-conceptualizing the source material using the infinite array of new musical possibilities inherent in the new Electronic medium. The result was Snowflakes Are Dancing: Electronic Performances of Debussy's Tone Paintings, an album that proved to be both a revolutionary step forward in synth-based programming and a considerable commercial success. Tomita on the approach and response to the album: "I never expected that so many albums would be sold, but to tell the truth I was expecting something different and I had, if I may say, some revolutionary intention or theory when making this music [....] Walter Carlos' emphasis when realizing Debussy was on the level of mere description and depicting [....] My emphasis was more on the timbre or color of the music [....] it was kind of an experiment for me. I experimented with my theory to create first the color of the sound which the conventional instruments never could bring out [....] The intention of my playing was that with a synthesizer I could break the limitations of such instruments and go into the unlimited world, and I started with the color of the sound, and the result was this piece. But we are going beyond even the color; we are going to the form of music composition and finding new aesthetic rules and creating a new world of music."

Isao Tomita relaxing in front of his Moog III

The most obvious difference between the work of Tomita and that of earlier attempts to re-interpret Classical pieces within an Electronic context is Tomita's ability to create a polyphonic sound despite the fact that polyphonic synthesizers were not commercially available when he recorded his most innovative work. He did this by painstakingly recording every part separately and meshing these parts together to lend his Electronic arrangements a symphonic depth missing on albums such as Switched on Bach. In addition, Tomita, especially on later albums such as Pictures at an Exhibition, Firebird, and his interpretations of Holst, avoids any conventional sense of reverence in his approach to the source material, as he treats them more as starting points for his exploration of new musical possibilities than monuments to be draped in synthetic raiment. Tomita: "In this kind of situation, music and, for instance, painting are different. There is one painting, one masterpiece, say. If another painter adds color or a line to this original painting, it is destroyed. But it is quite different with music. In music there may be one original score, but there may be thousands of scores of the same composition, and there will be hundreds and thousands of other composers and arrangers who may rearrange the original music; who may add something to the original, who may extract something from it [....] I don't think it's a problem which endangers or destroys the original score [....] If one plays a score, each player will interpret it differently and each conductor performs it differently, and you cannot limit or tell the conductor exactly how the original composer imagined it. The music score itself is loose." For Tomita, music cannot be mathematically reduced to a finite set of relationships between notes and between tones. As such, every composition potentially points the way to what he calls the "unlimited world," which, as with the act of interpretation, is infinite.

The Human League- "Don't You Want Me" Video (1981)

Things went downhill fast for The Human League; however, while they were at the top of their game, they produced some of the best synth-pop of the eighties.

Yazoo- "Nobody's Diary" (1983) "Live" on Top of the Pops

I've always loved this band, and right about now, this song hits deep.

Heaven 17- "Let Me Go" Video (1983)

One of the best and most underrated synth bands of the early eighties. Anyone know where they got their name?

David Bowie- "Be My Wife" Video (1977)

Classic Bowie from his "Thin White Duke" years. This song can be found on the first album of the Berlin Trilogy, Low:

Suicide- from the documentary "Punk Attitude"

Here's a taster for an upcoming post: Alan Vega & Martin Rev's legendary proto-post/punk duo Suicide, whose collected works are the only music I keep on my iPod (for long train trips and family gatherings)

John Foxx- Metamatic (1980) Deluxe Edition (Bonus Disc) / The Garden (1981) Deluxe Edition (Bonus Disc) MP3 & FLAC

"Over all the bridges, echoes in rows, talking at the same time, click click drone."

Despite being a seminal figure in the rise of experimental synth-pop during the late 1970s, John Foxx has never received the level of notoriety lavished on fellow synth-pioneers Kraftwerk and Gary Numan.  Nevertheless, Foxx's uniquely detached vocal style as well as his consistently challenging approach to Electronic music, both of which he progressively developed during his tenure in Ultravox(!), were clearly major influences on Numan as well as any number of lesser New Wave artists who littered the musical landscape throughout the early eighties. In fact, aside from David Sylvian's mature work with Japan, it would be hard to find a more trailblazing figure in post-Glam electro-pop. Foxx (then known as Dennis Leigh) spent much of the mid-seventies in a marginal Glam band called Tiger Lilly, but in the aftermath of the rise of the Punk movement, he, along with violinist Billy Currie, formed Ultravox! whose first three albums, Ultravox!, Ha!-Ha!Ha!, and Systems of Romance, trace an increasingly experimental progression from Glam and Krautrock-inspired Post-Punk to a more lush yet minimalist, synth-dominated sound that points ahead to Foxx's even more groundbreaking solo work. Perhaps due to Ultravox's unselfconsciously experimental nature, the U.K. press was always dismissive of Foxx's version of the band. John Foxx: "Very early on, we decided to investigate and develop lots of what had then been declared ungood and which we felt were manifesting themselves and were worth recording. These included psychedelia, electronics, cyberpunk, environments and elements suggested by the likes of Ballard and Burroughs, cheap European music and modes, and strange English pop, such as some aspects of The Shadows and Billy Fury which seemed to relate to a sort of English retro-futurism. We were interested in a sort of ripped and burnt glamour. I was also taken with a detached, still stance."

Ostensibly, Foxx's decision to go solo after Ultravox's brilliant third album, Systems of Romance, had to do with the band's increasingly difficult circumstances, which included being dropped by their label, Island, on the eve of a U.S. tour. However, Foxx has suggested his departure was inevitable given his desire to pursue his own muse without interference: "The band thing is a phase- like being in a gang. You can't really be part of a gang all your life; it begins to feel undignified and it stunts your growth, unless you want to be a teenager forever. Some do. Some don't. The benefits were the Gestalt- where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, a very powerful experience- and working in a closed society with people who have the same aim. Of course, the aims almost inevitably diverge as you all grow. The point of view I've always worked from is that of a ghost in the city- someone who is a sort of drifting, detached onlooker- but still vulnerable and trying against all odds to maintain a sort of dignity in the face of all the static." Foxx would take this "ghost in the city" approach to a new level on his inimitable debut LP, Metamatic, quite possibly the most important electro-pop album of the eighties. Recorded in a small studio in North London, which Foxx once described as "an eight track cupboard [...] Very basic, very scruffy, very good," the album represents quite a departure from his work with Ultravox, as it completely dispenses with conventional instruments (and in the process, Foxx's Punk origins), instead relying entirely on synthetic textures, and in doing so, achieving a chilly, mechanized aesthetic that is both aurally challenging and artistically compelling.

Foxx: "I lived alone in Finsbury Park, spent my spare time walking the disused train lines, cycled to the studio everyday and wobbled back at dawn, imagining I was the Marcel Duchamp of electropop. Metamatic was the result. It was the first British electronic pop album. It was minimal, primitive technopunk. Carcrash music tailored by Burtons." Both lyrically and musically, Metamatic conjures dystopian images of isolated individuals navigating cold landscapes populated only by architecture and machines, with a recurring theme being disconnection. For example, on the stunningly strange opening track, "Plaza," Foxx's dis-attached vocals are surrounded by several synths all sounding as though entirely isolated from each other. This gives the song an eerie dislocated feel that contrasts sharply with the rather straightforwardly descriptive lyrics. The most recognizably pop-oriented song on the album is "Underpass," an electro-pop masterpiece that manages to be minimalist and incredibly catchy at the same time; it's melodramatic synthesizers and Foxx's heavily treated robotic vocals create another dark tale of unbridgeable distances, but the tension is undercut by the song's inherent danceability. While Metamatic ultimately proved to be the least outwardly accessible of Foxx's eighties solo albums, it also proved to be his greatest, as its follow-up, The Garden, though a fine piece of synth-driven pop in its own right, signaled a step toward a more conventionally melodic sound that Foxx would continue to explore, despite diminishing returns, for the remainder of the decade until dropping out of public view in 1986; however, it did not take long for his considerable influence to be felt. Foxx: "All the same sounds surfaced again after 1987, reanimated with beautiful new rhythms, as the beginnings of Acid. I recognized the vocabulary immediately. A new underground at last. Adventure was possible again after the double-breasted dumbness of the mid-eighties."

John Foxx- "Underpass" Video (1980)

It amazes me how little-known John Foxx is these days. After three incredible records with the original incarnation of Ultravox, he made one of the most important albums of the eighties, Metamatic. if you've never heard it, stay tuned, because I will be posting it along with his second album in a few days.

John Maus- We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (2011) / Love Is Real (2007) MP3 & FLAC

"And this is the time to gather at tables aloud with memory of our lost play
and silent pageantry."

A brief glance through some of the critical reviews of John Maus' three albums, and it becomes clear that he is a polarizing figure, inspiring either condescension or adulation with very few reviews falling in between. While some describe the music as featureless or derivative, others characterize Maus' sound as opening new vistas of possibility in pop music. In actuality, Maus embraces a gloomy, Lo-Fi aesthetic, which is largely constructed with vintage analogue synthesizers; however, he is not shy about introducing conventional pop elements into the mix, but does so in a way that refuses the glossy seductions and easy resolutions that straightforward pop deals in. On his second LP, Love Is Real, Maus approximates the overly bright yet wafer thin sound of eighties synth-pop but strips it of all its clarity by throwing it down a well of hazy reverb and by using his sometimes clumsy and often exaggerated doom-filled Ian Curtis croon to lend the songs a dark, claustrophobic feel. For example, on "Love Letters from Hell," a cheap drum machine and strangely funereal synth-based organ effect conspire to create a context for Maus' Dubby Post-Punk vocals that is equal parts Vangelis, Joy Division, and Lee Perry. While Maus' third album, We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves, does not stray far from its predecessor in terms of inspiration, it does demonstrate greater sonic depth, superior song-writing, and a slightly better drum machine. "...And the Rain" offers an interesting study in Maus' method; taking the most banal elements of cheesy eighties synth-pop, burying them in layers of foggy reverb, and juxtaposing them to his throaty vocals dripping with both sentimentality and irony, Maus approximates what Stephin Merritt might have sounded like fronting B-Movie in 1983. Nevertheless, there are moments on We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves where Maus transcends his deconstuctive retro-mode and points the way toward something new and intriguing. "Believer," the album's lead single, is one of these moments. Sounding a bit more produced than the rest of the album, the song's refracted Gregorian chant-style vocals provide an epic sense of depth, making Maus' stream of consciousness lyrics sound like echoes of something profound, and the procession of indelible hooks makes "Believer" easily the most memorable track on the album. Maus' music may not be as transformational as he wants it to be or, perhaps, as we want it to be, but given half a chance, it becomes clear that he is mining some interesting musical territory here.

John Maus- "The Believer" Video (2011)

Keyboard player for Animal Collective, Panda Bear and Haunted Graffiti with some lush, lo-fi ear candy:

Pete Shelley- XL1 (1983) / Heaven & the Sea (1986) MP3 & FLAC -For Andie James-

"You and I will never change. Though we're different, we'll remain the same. 
Love's devoid of reason anyway."

On his unexpected solo debut, Homosapien, Pete Shelley largely abandoned any trace of the guitar-heavy punk-pop of his previous band, the Buzzcocks, instead building the album's sound out of a unique combination of electronic instruments and acoustic 12-string guitar. While this stemmed partly from his desire to break all ties with his former band, it was also a re-visitation of his original interest in Electronic music. However, on his second LP, XL1, Shelley decided to re-introduce electric guitar into the mix, and the result is a wonderfully edgy and claustrophobic electronic-rock hybrid that manages to build on the strengths of its predecessor while moving into even darker emotional territory. From the beginning of his career as a songwriter, Shelley had nurtured a lyrical preoccupation with the idea of unbridgeable emotional isolation, such as his classic Buzzcocks composition, "Ever Fallen in Love": "You spurn my natural emotions / You make me feel like dirt / And I'm hurt / And if I start a commotion / I run the risk of losing you / And that's worse." While there is still a glimmer of faith (albeit a masochistic one) in the possibility of love in the preceding lyrics, on XL1, the emotional climate is one of cold pessimism. For example, on the infectiously dark "Telephone Operator," perhaps the pinnacle of Shelley's solo career, Shelley introduces heavily distorted guitar bursts into an arrangement that borrows heavily from Kraut-Rockers such as Kraftwerk; lyrically, the song sets the stage for the entire album, as it establishes the theme of isolation on several levels in the form of a lonely drunk trying to seduce a disembodied (and emotionally disconnected) voice on the phone. Shelley also explores the sense of isolation within relationships as on "You Know Better Than This," which contrasts his ironic, almost tongue-in-cheek vocals and faceless synth-dominated arrangement with lyrics alternating between professions of devotion and bitter musings about the inevitability of emotional stagnation. It would be three years before Shelley would issue his third (and final) solo album, Heaven & the Sea, which dials down the dance rhythms significantly and suffers greatly for it. It seems Shelley is going for something more reflective on this album, and while songs such as "On Your Own" and "Life Without Reason" have their charms, overall, the album ends up sounding a little too glossy (thanks to Stephen Hague's production). As a result, Heaven & the Sea has not aged nearly as well as Shelley's earlier solo albums.

Pete Shelley- "Telephone Operator" Video (1983)

Some dark and edgy synth-pop that somehow hasn't dated a bit...

Pete Shelley- Homosapien (1981) MP3 & FLAC

"And the worlds built of age are a stage where we act out our lives."

In hindsight, Pete Shelley's unanticipated exit from the legendary punk-pop band The Buzzcocks and his incipient career as an artsy New Wave solo artist is not as shocking as it must have appeared to his fans in the early eighties. Shelley had actually recorded an album's worth of Kraut-Rock-influenced Electronic music before forming The Buzzcocks (released in 1979 as Sky Yen). As such, the shift in focus from guitar-based arrangements to the overriding emphasis on synth-based textures and electronic percussion that is evident on his solo-debut, Homosapien, did have some aesthetic precedence for Shelley. The songs comprising the album were actually intended for a fourth Buzzcocks album; however, Shelley decided to record the demos solo primarily using synths, acoustic 12-string guitar, and drum machines, and he was reportedly so impressed with the results that he ended up unceremoniously disbanding one of the greatest bands of the Punk-era. While the musical context is radically changed, Shelley's lyrics and vocals retain much of the gritty pop spirit that characterized his work with his previous band. The classic title track, which clearly provided the blueprint for Pulp's alluring electro-pop of the mid-nineties, blends Bowie-esque vocals and some wonderfully cheesy electronic beats and hand-claps to create one of the true highlights of the New Wave genre. On "I Generate a Feeling," Shelley borrows heavily from Synth-pop pioneers Kraftwerk to create a sound-scape that would be indistinguishable from any number of the faceless synth-bands of the time if it weren't for the brooding lyrics, which effectively establish a thematic tension in relation to the music that is characteristic of the entire album; in doing so, Shelley creates a very similar effect, though in a vastly different arena, to the Buzzcock's unique brand of Punk.

Talk Talk Series, #11: .O.Rang- Herd of Instinct (1994) / Spoor EP (1994) MP3 & FLAC

What makes Talk Talk's final two albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, so distinctive is their formal experimentation with both organic instrumentation and diverse aural textures as well as an unconventional recording process based on mostly improvised fragments woven into whole cloth through the editing process. To a large extent, this approach is carried over into .O.Rang, Paul Webb and Lee Harris' often brilliant and always enjoyable post-Talk Talk venture that necessitated the construction of its own studio (called "The Slug"). For the largely impromptu sessions comprising both the Spoor EP and Herd of Instinct, a steady and diverse stream of musicians were brought in to record improvisational jam-sessions with the intention of capturing free-form performances that highlight both the individual instruments themselves, but also the way they seamlessly cohere into carefully constructed soundscapes. Despite the similarities in method between O.Rang and Talk Talk's later work, their results are quite distinct, as .O.Rang tends to delve much more deeply into World Beat textures. On Herd of Instinct, this approach pays off with some amazing Dub and Post-Rock-influenced tracks, such as "Orang," which opens the album. Here, Harris' insistent drumming drives the proceedings while a sea of guitar textures buzzing and ringing in the background carry the oblique melody; however, the song is punctuated by some dynamic moments of calm that keep things from lapsing into repetition. Another standout is "Loaded Values," a song that is slightly reminiscent of Dead Can Dance's later work. Comprised of some great guitar work, Afro-Beat vocals, and a host of other instruments all seemingly doing their own thing in the mix but somehow cohering into something larger, it is a truly engaging listening experience. While .O.Rang's second album, Field of Waves, is also an impressive work, Herd of Instinct retains a certain imprecise, improvisational tone that lends the songs a more organic feel than those on the later album. Highly recommended.

Pete Shelley- "Homosapien" Video (1981)

"New Wave" just didn't get any better than this:

Talk Talk Series, #7: .O.Rang- Fields and Waves (1996) MP3 & FLAC

One of the most unsung aspects of Talk Talk's groundbreaking later work was the band's rhythm section comprised of bassist Paul Webb and drummer Lee Harris. While earlier albums such as It's My Life  and The Colour of Spring  were far more traditional in their use of bass and percussion, on the final two albums, Webb and Harris regularly traversed into Jazz territory with an emphasis on texture and space rather than beat. On the heels of Talk Talk's demise after recording Laughing Stock, Webb and Harris built their own studio and formed .O.Rang. While .O.Rang's sound bears little outward resemblance to Talk Talk, Webb and Harris do retain the experimental ethos of their previous band's best work. For example, before putting together their brilliant debut, Herd of Instinct, .O.Rang brought in a diverse range of musicians to improvise in the studio with acoustic-based instruments, thus providing the raw materials from which they built the tracks comprising the finished album. Fields and Waves, .O.Rang's second album, is a more formally produced affair and introduces a Techno vibe to the the Ethno-Ambient sound forged on the first album. On "Barren," the album's beautiful lead track, Web and Harris create an expansive and multi-layered soundscape that is punctuated by bursts of notes from a santoor, making the song sound reminiscent of Dead Can Dance. Another distinctive track is "Moratorium," which features Webb taking a turn on vocals in amidst a melange of tribal rhythms and distorted guitars, resulting in the closest thing to a traditional pop-song .O. Rang has recorded. While Herd of Instinct was distinctive due to its Jazz-like free-form approach, Field of Waves tightens up the song structures a bit to make the proceedings a bit more danceable, but still manages to retain the eclectic, experimental feel that defines .O.Rang's sound.

Portishead- Numb EP (1994) / Sour Times (Nobody Loves Me) EP (1994) MP3 & FLAC

"'Cause nobody loves me, it's true, not like you do."

The Numb and Sour Times (Nobody Loves Me) EPs house the first two singles culled from Portishead's stunningly original debut, Dummy. Comprised of both non-LP tracks and significantly different versions of the title tracks, these EPs provide an interesting and often rewarding addendum to the album proper. On the Numb EP, "Numbed in Moscow" treats the title track to a cooler, more emotionally detached mix, while "A Tribute to Monk & Canatella" takes Portishead in a noir-jazz direction; the results are mixed, but it's never anything less than intriguing. The clear highlight on the Sour Times (Nobody Loves Me) EP is "Theme from 'To Kill a Deadman'," one of the best non-LP tracks Portishead has lingering in the backwaters of its discography.

Portishead- Dummy (1994) MP3 & FLAC

"Love don't always shine through."

Seventeen years and countless imitators after the fact, Portishead's debut, Dummy, still sounds as fresh as the day it was released, which is a testament to the album's originality and stark emotional depth. Something of a unique mash-up of Hip-Hop-inspired beats and samples, singer-songwriter pathos, psychedelic overtones, and electronic-based sonic manipulations, this unapologetically moody classic, while categorized as "Trip-Hop," is actually genre-defeating from start to finish. Dummy also marks the first appearance of one of the most hauntingly beautiful voices of the past thirty years, and it is Beth Gibbons' contributions to Portishead's sonic palette that consistently allows the music to transcend the sum of its parts. Nowhere is this more in evidence than on "Glory Box," a seductive slow-burner, which combines Gibbons at her soulful best with sampled strings and distorted guitar to create an indelible melodic effect. Gibbons oscillates between several vocal styles during the course of this song, while showing the ability to express myriad emotions through the simplest of inflections. Truly, one of the most stunning releases of the nineties (a decade not particularly known for stunning releases).

Wendy Carlos- Clockwork Orange: Complete Original Score (2000) MP3 & FLAC -For Nick-

Wendy Carlos (formerly known as Walter) was largely responsible for bringing the singular sound of the Moog synthesizer into the music mainstream of the 1970s. Beginning with Switched on Bach, released in 1968, Carlos enjoyed a level of critical success that must have come as something of a surprise, given the general stodginess exhibited by the Classical music community in response to non-traditional approaches to musical interpretation. Among the many admirers of Carlos' work was film director Stanley Kubrick, who had decided to film an adaptation of the Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was to be featured prominently in the storyline as well as the soundtrack, and quite fortuitously, Kubrick commissioned Carlos to create Moog renditions of a number of classical pieces as well as to create some original Moog compositions for the film. The results are nothing less than ground-breaking. In particular, "Title Music from A Clockwork Orange," an adaptation of Henry Purcell's Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary, seems to sonically encapsulate the entire film in just over two minutes, a simply stunning display of the Moog synthesizer's expressive capabilities. Also of note is Carlos' innovative use of the vocoder in her interpretation of "The Fourth Movement" of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, which gives the piece an eerie mechanistic feel that matches the aesthetic mood of the film perfectly. Easily one of the most essential film scores ever recorded.