FOTW Audio Productions

         Singer Kristina Brodowski basks in the warmth of an orange stage light

The expression biding your time is an important one to creative people; true artistic success isn’t always tied into youth, or being on the cutting edge of fashion. Often creative people spend a good number of years becoming good at what they do, perfecting their technique, and weeding out their imperfections.

The problem with music, though, as a creative art is that it is so tied into commerce and the “rock star trajectory”, that the only way to be successful is to capture the youth market — and that often means by being young yourself.  When you look at the bands that have had the biggest impact with a mass audience, they have often only ever been a few years older than the audience, and as they age, they take that audience with them, like the Rolling Stones have with the baby boomers.

German band The Sweeps, however, are a few years older than the average band and are working with the sounds they have grown up with, rather than a purely contemporary sound. A trio consisting of singer Kristina Brodowski, and Christoph Duwe and Niels Wesner, who both play synths; provide back up vocals; and add finishing touches with a glockenspiel and a melodica.

Their fourth self-released album, In the Night, showcases their affinity for analogue synthesizers like the Moog and the Italian designed string-synthesizer the ELKA. With many eighties elements in their music (think Cutting Crew, New Order and Clannad) they have acknowledged a love of Italian singer Valerie Dore and italo-disco, but also cite more recent influences like Röyksopp, Air and St Etienne. 

Falling into the same class, as acts like Sally Shapiro (who were also influenced by Valerie Dore) and Ontario’s Junior Boys, the Sweeps have a more mainstream pop range, reminiscent of, funnily enough, Phil Collins, and English band Talk Talk (Gwen Stefani covered their song “It’s My Life” a few years back).

They nail a particular sound that a lot of younger artists are trying to emulate — that cool, French Riviera, discotheque sound, their success lying in the fact that have grown up with it and have a natural infinity for it — and are not just fetishisizing it as generational outsiders.

The other thing that is very interesting about this album is that many of the tracks segue together, something often not looked favourably upon by big record labels who want something that they can market in distinct chunks.

But an album, as a whole, is often a programmed journey for the listener; musicians think carefully about how all the tracks fit together to tell a story — not always conceptually, but in the mood that the songs evoke, and what kind of  feelings the songs will stir in the listener. Major artists have often lamented about letting music executives make decisions about their track-listing in the final stages of their album, and wrecking the feel that they were looking for.

The Sweeps technical accomplishments on this album goes without saying; they have performed, recorded, and mixed the album entirely by themselves — and musically, its fantastic. Tracks like Days Gone By and Synthetic Lover are excellent; conjuring up an imaginative landscape, it would be great if at least a couple of these songs could make their way into normal radio airplay, or onto a movie soundtrack, the way that many neo-eighties songs were recently picked up by Nicolas Winding Refn for his Drive soundtrack.

Below is an extended remix by The Silicon Scientist of one of their earlier songs, Facing the Night, which was recently released on the fourth Radio Cosmos compilation. The original version appeared on their 2009 Missing Pieces album.

There is also a great video for another version of this song by Zak B, a dark trip through Laura Palmer country.

DISCOGRAPHY:

Electric Electric (2006)

The Great Lie about Eternity (2007)

Missing Pieces (2009)

Nostalgia for the Future EP (2010)

In the Night (2011)

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Want to get social with The Sweeps?

Find them on Facebook, Soundcloud, Myspace and Discogs.

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)

Promo Aube011 – Alba feat. Fred Ventura “Without You” by Aube Records

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.

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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’ free here)

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)

LINKS:

Johan’s website: http://www.johanagebjorn.info/

Lotuspike:  http://www.lotuspike.com/

   The noble Prophet-5 synthesizer (picture courtesy of synthgear.com)

Igloo Magazine is an online magazine dedicated to the more unusual areas of electronic music: italo-disco, synth-pop, new wave, detroit techno, abstract and experimental genres, covering obscure labels and artists from around the world, and describing itself as ”focusing on electronic music that is unique and under-represented.”

In its tenth year — quite a feat for any website, especially one covering music, they have kept track of releases and profiled labels like Anna Logue, Das Drehmont and Aube, Belgium’s Flexx and New York’s Minimal Wave, as well as bigger labels like Warp and Environ; reviewed a range of international artists, from Australia’s Snog and Oren Ambarchi to Sweden’s Prins Thomas, Holland’s Novamen, and the Finnish experimental artist Mika Vaino. Igloo Magazine has also introduced its readers to new genres like chiptunes (way back in 2001), IDM and doombient, and has covered landmarks in the music industry like the demise of music retailing chains, netlabels and the impact of the ipod.

The strength of Igloo is its range of contributors, all with specialist knowledge, overlapping to create an expansive guide to interesting music. One of the greatest problems of the internet is its lack of original material; most of it is information repeated ad infinitum, pinched from traditional news websites, especially news about entertainment, music and movies.

Igloo Magazine is a rare bird in that it is has a high editorial standard (you’ll rarely find a typo), articles are well-thought out and researched, and discretion is used in the material they choose to review. Think of Wire Magazine, but on a shoestring budget.

Igoo Magazine (igloomag.com)