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)
Filed under:Music,Soft Rocks — posted by I J Wilson on August 26, 2010 @ 12:41 pm
Over the last five years, Brighton group Soft Rocks have been unable to put a foot wrong. After releasing a number of 12 inches - the Disco Powerplay and Chocolate Love series - and last year remixing MGMT‘s Of Moons, Birds and Monsters, the news is that they are currently working on a full album, this time entirely comprised of original sounds.
They have also just started doing a regular radio show “Live From the Bowels of Brighton” on Deep Frequency.
Below is the stunning Leave Your Earth Behind from the second Milky Disco compilation, which also came out as a 12″ and digital download on the Redux label. With synths in the style of Japanese group Kitaro, a tightly structured framework of rhythms and early-rave/deep-house repetitive dischords, Leave Your Earth Behind is a heavily-layered and complex track with a real driving-through-the-backstreets-at-night feel.
