I initially set up this site to promote a radio documentary I have been working on (and off) for a number of years about the film composer and director, John Harrison, and his soundtrack for the Stephen King-George Romero team-up, Creepshow — but with the long view of this website becoming a home for audio stories made under the moniker of FOTW Audio Productions.
I recently completed the first of these, “E. A. Poe and the Krautrock Connection”, featuring the music of Carlos Péron (one of the two founders of eighties band Yello) and the Seattle band, The Fascination Movement.
The inspiration for the story comes from an experience I’d had as a teenager while visiting a female friend. Having spent years reading Stephen King and Clive Barker, I thought there could be no way I would like someone like Edgar Allan Poe: What could be scary about black cats and swinging pendulums?
But while she was out of the room, I started reading her collection of Edgar Allan Poe short stories she had sitting by her bed — and within moments I was completely and utterly drawn in. I couldn’t believe how quickly it had had an effect on me.
Krautrock, I discovered a few years ago, and thought that it would be a great leaping off point into the imagination, if you were that way inclined. The final element was meeting someone who I thought would be great to try and impress.
Filed under:Glass Candy,Music — posted by I J Wilson on September 27, 2011 @ 11:48 am
Johnny Jewel on keys and singer Ida No of duo Glass Candy
Glass Candy and Chromatics recently performed live on Seattle radio station KEXP, during their September West Coast tour. Playing tracks from their new EP Warm in the Winter, Johnny Jewel and Ida No talk about their influences and the level of work going into their next album with Audioasis Producer Sharlese Metcalf.
Incidentally, Jewel was interviewed earlier this month forBox Office Magazine, about his involvement in the latest Nicholas Winding Refn film, Drive, starring Ryan Gosling, where he provided part of the soundtrack. This accompanies news that he is also set to score Refn’s upcoming remake of the 1976 sci-fi film Logan’s Run for Warner Bros.
If you are not acquainted with the Glass Candy, Chromatics or Italians Do It Better label sound, you can now download their 2007 compilation After Dark for free, a great introduction to many of these artists.
Local Sydney DJ, Bobby O, recently put together a radio special of music that could be loosely defined as “hauntological”, eerie sounds from the darker waters of the collective unconscious, interspersed with his trademark disco beats.
Spanning a couple of decades of music, there is a swathe of tracks from the fantastically phantasmic Ghost Box label, including Belbury Poly, Jon Brooks and The Focus Group. Also listen out for Bot’Ox, Visage’sThe Mind of a Toy, and Japanese producer KZA’s, Le Troublant Acid.
The show was originally broadcast on Sydney radio station, 2ser, on Extended Play, Monday 9.00 – 10.30 Pm. You can also follow Extended Play on mixcloud.
Filed under:John Carpenter,Music — posted by I J Wilson on September 3, 2011 @ 12:18 pm
John Carpenter and Alan Howarth at work on Season of the Witch (scan courtesy of Mike Conway)
The growing interest in John Carpenter as a composer of electronic music, and not just a director of horror films, seems to be reaching a critical point at the moment: his music is celebrated in The Sound of Fear festival in London this weekend; the latest issue of Wire magazine features an interview with his composing partner, Alan Howarth (who will appear at the Sound of Fear festival); and French duo Zombie Zombie released an album late last year called “Zombie Zombie Play John Carpenter”.
A reknowned hardworker, John Carpenter may not be aware of just how much of an impact he has had on a successive number of generations of electronic musicians. Regarded in the same league as Giorgio Moroder and Vangelis, whose soundtracks for Midnight Express and Blade Runner, respectively, have had a life of their own, Carpenter is often cited as a major inspiration by many electronic musicians.
The real interest in John Carpenter’s music began with his soundtrack for his 1976 film Assault on Precinct-13. For its title theme, he used a simple electronic riff that he had pinched from a Led Zeppelin song, and a spare percussive line composed on a drum machine, giving the film an unusual texture, slightly cold and synthetic, and pre-dating the new-wave/industrial sound of bands like Throbbing Gristle and Coil.
Of course it was the Halloween theme (and the film) that put him on the map, acting as a kind of surrogate audio cue for anything spooky over the last couple of decades (along with the Twilight Zone theme and “Tubular Bells” from the Exorcist).
But Carpenter had also composed a number of other exceptional horror soundtracks – The Fog was amazing, and so was the score to the third “Halloween” film, Season of the Witch, even though it was unrelated to the original. With each successive film, he seemed to go deeper into the music, and his elongated sounds – drones, and wide bending bass notes – toyed with parts of the brain rarely used outside of sleep.
Zombie Zombie’s version of the Halloween theme live in Glasgow
John Carpenter’s music first started being covered by European groups who wanted to recreate what they had heard in Assault on Precinct 13. German producer Ralf Hennings, as The Splash Band released his own 12″ of the “End Theme” in 1983, near the height of John Carpenter’s influence on the film world.
Strangely, in 2003 – twenty years later – a limited edition CDr came out, entitled The European Tribute to John Carpenter, using the same pumpkin orange colour that the Splash Band had used. It was a compilation of different electronic artists from around Europe, covering and composing tracks in his style, but with a decided dark wave bent. This was at the height of the electroclash movement, where an interest in the origins of modern electronic dance music, in new-wave, EBM, New York electro, and Euro-pop (like italo-disco) was underway. This interest also bought synthesizers back into the standard band line-up, something that hadn’t really been seen since the eighties.
A number of musicians like Holland’s Legowelt, Germany’s Anthony Rother and Booka Shade, and Australian band Midnight Juggernauts have acknowledged Carpenter’s influence on their music. Although Carpenter rarely composes music for films now – the workload is just too great – he has left behind a considerable body of music to be enjoyed.
Most of his music is still available. Besides the bigger Varese Sarabande releases, niche labels like Record Makers (home of Sebastian Tellier) released his Assault on Precinct 13 for the first time back in 2003, while La-La Land Records put out Big Trouble in Little China a couple of years back.
Over the years I have re-watched the original 1968 movie Planet of the Apes, partly out of nostalgia, as it reminded me of Saturday afternoons at home, where it was shown on TV every couple of years. But it has seriously grown on me as a film.
The original had an amazing soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith of mostly experimental percussion. It was influenced by earlier modernist composers like Edgar Varese and Karlheinz Stockhausen, and was a style of film-scoring that was used a lot in the late sixties – particularly by Goldsmith. Hearing it, paired with images of men struggling through a desolate landscape, is evocative both of an era of movie-making, and of a particular type of epic journey, that staring up at the midday sun, gasping for water, solar flares spinning over the camera lens.
Also, the key sociological themes of the film about the unthinkable, impermanent nature of human civilisation, and the role of truth and versions of history when it comes to maintaining social order, can never really date, and will pretty much always be relevant, as long as the earth is turning and human beings are on it.
Finally, there is something about monkeys that strikes a special chord with viewers: muscled out of the civilisation game, experimented on by various industries, and basically not treated as you would a near relative, them gaining the upperhand is not such a far-fetched and implausible idea. It is just a matter of how.
So I was pleased to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes turning up on the big screen.
James Franco is great. The CGI is used well, and not too over-the-top. There is an element of realism in the film, which is a strong-point of good, young directors in Hollywood at the moment (and one of its saving graces). The film as a story also goes against the grain of being a staid rehash of something old. There is an innovative and fresh feel about it, and it is cleverly constructed, in the same way that Inception was.
The trailer (depending on which one you see) is slightly misleading, as it seems that most of the film will be about humans and monkeys fighting, which is not really the case: the main story lies with Caesar and his relationship with his mad-scientist type father, as well as the slow and gradual bonding of Caesar with other monkeys, as an organised, revolutionary movement.
There are a few links to the original Planet of the Apes film like Caesar building a cardboard model of the Statue of Liberty, and a quote from the original, uttered by a lesser character; but the film didn’t really need them: it stands up so well on its own, that people can watch and enjoy it without having a clue about its history. It also manages to end on an epic suggestion, that does capture the impact of the original, that you honestly do not see coming.
And its also an enjoyable film, which really is the most important thing for a Hollywood blockbuster. It’s not everyday that you get to see monkeys tram-surfing up the hills of San Francisco. So do yourself a favour, buy yourself a choc-top and some popcorn, and get behind those monkeys.
Trans-European friends (from left to right): Michael Künzer, Keen K, and Fred Ventura
The German electronic outfit Alba are on a winning streak at the moment. They kicked it off late last year by releasing the sparkling, three-part powerhouse Philomena, and are now following it up with the emotionally electric torch-song, Without You.
Though the London-based member of the group, Roland Sebastian Faber has sat this particular release out as he works on his solo album, the other two members who are based in Germany — Michael Künzer and Keen K — have gained a singer, the legendary Fred Ventura.
A well-respected veteran of the italo scene, Fred Ventura started his music career in the late seventies playing drums with the Milanese new-wave band, State of Art. He went on to have a solo career through most of the eighties as a vocalist with a string of hits like “Love Theme from Flexxy Ball (You’ll Never Change No More)” and “Body Heat” with the group Fockewulf-190 that have come to be regarded as italo classics. In recent years, he has come back into the limelight outside of Italy through the work of I-F and Alden Tyrell.
Working with Fred Ventura marks a milestone in the history of the Aube label, as their first official release back in 2007 was another italo-styled track, Hold Me by Jupiter Black, that was built around lyrics provided by Ventura. After its release, it received great feedback from music journalists and fans alike; it was championed by I-F on his internet radio station, CBS, and was described by music journalist Lina Goldberg as one of Fred Ventura’s strongest songs.
For this new release, Flemming Dalum, the legendary Danish DJ, mentor and custodian (with a record collection numbering in the thousands) has given it the thumbs up for capturing an authentic italo sound, but without what he calls the cheesiness of italo. This is down to Ventura, who has the ability to handle dramatically over-the-top themes, like lost love and bitter seperations, with a poigancy that fits perfectly with moody synth-pop.
Künzer and Keen K are also very talented electronic musicians; they are able to recreate sounds from over twenty years ago, but never lose themselves in it with enough of their own musical inventions and signatures to keep it fresh.
They have also inherited the creative mantle of the Düsseldorf school of electronic music. They don’t put out a lot of music; but when they do, it is of a very high quality, with great technical skill hidden behind the vinyl. This particular release was recorded entirely on analogue equipment to get the sound outside of the computer box that most electronic music is often trapped in.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, one of the great features of Aube”s releases are their record sleeves, featuring original artwork by internationally reknowned artists like Emil Schult and Marc Brandenburg. The latest is a return to Syd Brak, who did there first release, Hold Me, and whose iconic airbrush art is instantly recognisable as a major feature of early eighties art.
Although CDs are certainly becoming a thing of the past, I still think that they are a great way for artists to collect their best work together and give themselves some posterity, rather than to be scattered to the four-winds of the internet. I hope that Alba one day collect the best tracks together onto a single album.
Without You is available as a limited edition 12″ and digital download through the Aube website, as well as the regular internet music outlets. (You can also download a preview from the soundcloud embed below)
Filed under:Bernard Fevre,Music — posted by I J Wilson on April 11, 2011 @ 1:41 pm
Before and After: French musician Bernard Fevre compares himself to an earlier version
Ray Russell, a former editor of Playboy in the 50/60s, was obsessed with the devil in all its guises, and wrote a short story called “I Am Returning.” It was a cosmic tale of how the devil travelling through time and space, finally crashlands on a planet, and watches as over the course of a million years, the plant life and animals grow up around him, slowly shaping into something we modern day people would recognise as our neolithic ancestors.
A strange parallel tale exists with the life of the French musician Bernard Fevre, a pioneer of electronic music, and the first to construct disco music of a dark and electronic nature.
His rare recordings from the late seventies were first mysteriously re-issued on Luke Vibert’s Rephlex label in 2004, while his music was simultaneously championed by New Yorker’s Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani. But it has been the English labelLo Recordings that have invested in him as one of their major artists, releasing three full-length album of his over the past five years.
His come-back has also been enmeshed with a plethora of other artists working in a similar vein of music: a dark, slightly horror-influenced, nu-disco sound.
What is incredible about his original music though was that he was creating it at least half a decade before the advent of MIDI (a special synthesizer language that allows for the accurate synching up of electronic instruments); and that the music itself was just simply so unlike anything else of its time. This unique sound has had a delayed reaction, spanning across the decades, and now having a special relevance to the retrofuturist sound of many new and younger artists.
– Which just goes to show that the Devil is a survivor.
The latest Black Devil Disco Club album “Circus” is out now on Lo Recordings. Check out the Black Devil Disco Club website for more info.
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY:
The Strange World of Bernard Fevre (1975) L’Illustration Musicale
Disco Club – Black Devil (1978) RCA / Re-issued by Rephlex in 2004
28 After – Black Devil Disco Club (2006) Lo Recordings
Eight Oh Eight – Black Devil Disco Club (2008) Lo Recordings
REMIXES:
Black Sunshine EP – In Flagranti, Quiet Village, Elitechnique (2007) LoEB
[To see the dark-lord of the absinthe fairy in action, watch this great clip recorded for Last.FM a few years back ]
Filed under:Johan Agebjörn,Music — posted by I J Wilson on March 5, 2011 @ 9:09 am
The Mountain Lake is the second ambient album from Swedish producer/composer Johan Agebjörn to be released on the US ambient label, Lotuspike. His first album, Mossebo, came out in 2008. Johan is also the producer behind the neo-italo disco project, Sally Shapiro, who have gained a solid international reputation after releasing their Disco Romance album back in 2006.
Johan’s musical interests have their roots in 90s ambient music with artists like Autechre, The KLF, and Biosphere. But he also has a number of other influences coming through in his work like Hi-NRG dance music, Scandinavian pop (he was a big fan of A-Ha growing up) and French House.
Ambient music was a massive genre of the early nineties, with the chill-out room being a major feature of the rave scene. This was a productive period for new ambient music, but it also drew in the earlier ambient artists like Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream and Vangelis, introducing them to a new generation of kids.
Johan is also tapping into the art of sound-sculpting the Scandinavian landscape, which has a pedigree heritage in that part of the world. In 1992 there was the brilliant album Polar Region by the duo Cosmic Trigger which captured the musical equivalent of fjord mists evaporating in the morning sun. Glacial ambient music has also come to be regarded as a sub-genre of ambient and experimental music.
The title of The Mountain Lake is a literal English translation of the name of the suburb that Johan lived in when he started working on material for this album, an area known for being rough. But that is one of the beauties of art, that it has the power to transform things by viewing them in a new light.
He has worked with a number of people in putting this album together: Lisa Barra returns to provide vocals on ‘Love Ray’ (having originally provided vocals on a number of key tracks on Mossebo). Also, Steve Moore of Pittsburgh duo Zombi, who has worked with Johan before under his Lovelock guise, provides a remix of ’Siberian Train’ from Johan’s first album.
Clockwise from top left: Johan Agebjörn, Sally Shapiro, Glass Candy, Lisa Barra
But there is also a couple of new names that pop up: Sylwia van der Wonderland is a singer based in Amsterdam, originally from Poland, as well as NeonCoil from Germany who make industrial electro in the style of Soft Cell and Anthony Rother.
This is one of Johan’s skills: choosing good people to work with. The list of names that Sally Shapiro has been associated with — The Juan Maclean, Junior Boys, Lindstrøm, as well as some of the lesser known names, Bottin, CFCF, and Bogdan Irkük – is absolutely amazing.
As for The Mountain Lake, this new album is a mixture of new tracks as well as some re-worked material:
‘Spacer Woman from Mars’ is an ambient version of a sparkling italo-disco track that Sally Shapiro released back in 2008 as a 12” on Lo Recordings (also appearing on the first Milky Disco compilation).
‘Amylium Casparium’ is Johan’s track with NeonCoil, and has the synthesized choir sound made famous on Brian Eno’s Music for Airports.
‘The Stones are Blasted’ is a new track, show-casing Johan’s talent for staging his songs like journeys, full of musical twists and turns, and a palpable sense of excitement. (There is a free 128k MP3 of it at the end of this post).
‘Spiral Staircase’ is a downbeat track with a de-tuned melody, chip-tune squelches and Asian bells.
‘Swimming through the Blue Lagoon’ was the atmospheric opener for My Guilty Pleasure, but this version is slightly reworked by way of a Casio keyboard. (The original shorter version is really worth checking out).
‘Zero Gravitation’ is absolutely classic ambient techno, with its long notes and driving bassline. (Below is a ”beatless’ version of Zero Gravitation posted on youtube by Husmus Media – but headphones are still needed for maximum listening pleasure)
‘Take Me Home’ has elements of William Orbit’s Torch Song project and Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack work for films like Gladiator. The vocals are by Sylwia van der Wonderland.
‘The Chameleon’ is an edited remix by Agebjörn of Portland duo Glass Candy. It has a lot of low-pass filtering, sustained notes and radio static going on. The original remix appeared on the second Milky Disco compilation.
‘Last Tram to Comet Square’ is the epic journey song of the album, rhythmically punching its way through 13 minutes of perfect ambient programming.
‘Love Ray’ is a sweet concoction, with Lisa Barra breathing life into it. (This would be the perfect end point for the album as the listener drifts off to sleep).
‘Siberian Railway’ is a bonus track, a remix of a two part track from the previous album, inspired by Johan’s childhood journey with his mother on the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway. It has been remixed by Steve Moore, giving it a trance bassline and techno beats.
*
My main criticism of the album is that some of the tracks are of varying styles, and a few of the earlier ones like The Stones are Blasted and Spiral Staircase, do not sit well together. Part of the reason for this is, that unlike other ambient artists, Johan has not created this album in a single sitting, but rather has collected the tracks together over time. This kind of disparity can break the continuity of an ambient album, where continuity — that one long, deep journey — is a paramount feature of the genre.
But this changes with the second half of the album where the music takes on full effect: Zero Gravitation, Take Me Home, The Chameleon, Last Tram to Comet Express, and Love Ray, all go into deep, delta-wave territory.
Although Johan doesn’t tour as Sally Shapiro, he could easily put on a great ambient show — with a good video-mixer/VJ blending projected images, and an atmospheric venue filled with comfortable cushions, he would reintroduce a new generation to the lost art of the chill-out.
The Mountain Lake is available now through CD Universe, Spotted Peccary Music, and the itunes store. (But for the time being, you can download ‘The Stones are Blasted’ freehere)
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY:
Disco Romance (2006) Diskocaine / Paper Bag Records
Mossebo (2009) Lotuspike
My Guilty Pleasure (2010) Permanent Vacation / Paper Bag Records
Remixes by Johan:
The Case is Closed – Friday Bridge (available as a free download)
