Upcoming Kolour Kult Performences!

Attention everyone! The Kolour Kult have listed two NEW upcoming shows this winter:

• December 30, 2011 at The Salon in Providence, RI
• December 31, 2011 at AS220 in Providence, RI

Merry Christmas from Neo Electro

New Mitch Murder Album!

Mitch Murder is the morbid stagename for Swede Johan Bengtsson's moody synth project, taking inspiration from Deloreans and practically everything '80s.

In 2010, Mitch Murder released his first full-length album, Burning Chrome, a collection of bright synth instrumentals, with a slight funk edge a la Paul Hardcastle. The highlight for me is the beautiful "Beach Interlude". I think Mitch's definite strength is Jan Hammer-like slow jams that are hypnotic and lulling.

Just this month, Mitch Murder has released a follow-up which is even better - much more concise and focused.  Mitch has moved beyond the Delorean and Back to the Future obsessions and into "new" territory. Current Events is centered around major trends and events of the 1980s, complete with evening news soundbite samples mixed in - including the rich, avuncular voice of none other than Mr. Ronald Reagan himself, albeit eerily announcing his failed "Star Wars" missile program, officially known as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). But it's Mitch's selection of soundbites that are truly excellent and actually deeply enhance the music and his message.

Sampling started in the 1980s (when else) and is all but cliche now. Mitch manages to make it interesting again because he's selected some genuinely interesting sound bites, such as the opener, "Looking Back", when a reporter, I assume in 1989, cleverly notes at the end of the decade how the second half of the 20th century was so neatly packaged into clear eras every ten years, culminating in the very distinctive 1980s, which did end rather neatly on January 1, 1990 (though one could argue it had an extended stay until 1992 when George H.W. Bush was kicked out).

The best example of Mitch's chilling use of soundbites is on the magical "Palmer's Arcade". The song is a lush, dreamy, emotional slow groove that builds to a fascinating mid-section sample, where he interjects a reporter (Dan Rather? Tom Brokaw?) interviewing a presumably young teenage man about video game arcades. "Did it change your life Greg?" the reporter asks. "Oh yeah. Now my life centers around the game. Right now that's my thing," answers the young guy, enhanced by an echo Mitch has added on for extra effect. I've never heard that interview and it's truly fresh, honest and insightful. I was caught off guard by how innocent it sounded. People having fun, playing, living, just enjoying their time on planet earth. Mitch Murder has done it - he's captured the 1980s in an album, and it's not forced over overblown but subtle and reflective. It was a special time.

It will be hard to top Current Events, complete with it's SDI-inspired artwork (Mitch and I must be on the same wavelength as I just watched a vintage youtube vid on SDI this past week, where I'm positive the image he used came from). But it's been fun to watch a neo-electro artist outdo themselves. I look forward to whatever Mitch Murder has planned next.


Buy the album here and check out his soundcloud page here, including a promo mix in support of Current Events.

The World of CFCF

CFCF is the stage name for a Canadian synth project by Michael Silver.

In 2009, CFCF released their first and so far only album, Continent, a wonderful collection of ambient instrumental dance tunes, borrowing bits and pieces from vintage songs and textures from the '80s and '90s and patching them together into inspiring new wholes.

The opener "Raining Patterns" sets the mood immediately, awash in contemplative '80s synthesizers and Japanese waterfall chimes. "Monolith" is an ode to piano-driven early '90s house. "Letters Home" dabs in worldbeat. And then "Break-In" brings us back to the sequencer-fueled '80s a la Tangerine Dream. "Snake Charmer" works a nice spindly guitar gothic rock vibe of New Order or Echo and the Bunnymen.

Continent is relaxing but not slick, the songs organic but futuristic, one melting into another. It's the truly the best of both worlds: melded together into a beautifully coherent, fresh vision.

Here's hoping CFCF can bring us more of the same, or something different. Just something.

Moment of Electro Zen Part IX

New Kolour Kult Song!

Just since my last post about The Kolour Kult they have released a new song called "Princes"!

This is another excellent and emotional track that I instantly recognize from their live show I attended a few weeks ago. "Princes" finds The Kolour Kult deep in big smoldering mid-tempo groove-mode, with a great tin percussion hook, thick production and impassioned vocals that reach the heavens above.

I guess it's not technically a part of their new EP, but rather a stand-alone digital download. Who knows what will be next? It's a real treat.

Grab it for free from their website here.

Keep it up guys!

Moment of Electro Zen Part VIII

New on the Radar: Kolour Kult + Live Performence Review

The Kolour Kult are a two-man synth-pop act based in my capital city of Providence, Rhode Island. Consisting of Martin Van Etten on keys and guitar and Jack "Prime" Wilmarth on vocals, their music is a loving ode to New Romantics, Pet Shop Boys and Italo Disco - but with a special homage to eccentric British electronic superstars of the '80s. After all, we can thank England for more than a fair share of memorable music during the Reagan-Thatcher era.

I was fortunate enough to catch Kolour Kult perform live Saturday night, without knowing what I was getting into. My friend Megan and I were hanging out when she mentioned there was some "party at Legend Bicycle with music". I asked what kind of music, leery I'd be trapped listening to folk rock for several hours, but she responded, somewhat unsure herself, with "dance music?". It took a few minutes later for me to decide I wanted to go.

Inside, the party was just getting started. Megan and I awaited the start of some music act, their equipment tucked cozily in the corner of the dark shop amid hanging wheels, lounge chairs, neon signs and assorted bike gear.

When vocalist Jack Prime took the center of attention, I immediately recognized him as someone I had seen before at a party over the summer, but knew nothing about; I didn't even remember what his speaking voice sounded like. Jack has this great, highly expressive, Sean Penn-like face, with a small mouth and intense eyes framed by a prominent chin and parted close-cropped school-boy haircut. He's distinctive looking but you can't pigeonhole him right away. However, I will now forever identify him as one thing and one thing only: a master entertainer.

Kolour Kult started the night by delving into this amazing, highly danceable synth-pop concoction that I swore was a Pet Shop Boys cover but which later turned out to be a rendition of their own original, "Sentimentality Fails". It was a bizarre, almost surreal experience seeing Kolour Kult perform. They had the same gusto you only see in music videos on youtube. I really never thought I would ever see anything like this in my lifetime.

Martin behind all the gear was a typical chilled-out '80s keyboarder like Tony Banks, Vince Clarke and Chris Lowe; all heart, mind and soul plugged into the machinery and focused on delivering the electronic goods. The keyboards and drum machine patterns were sharp, unabashedly retro and really professional sounding.

Jack's impassioned delivery, which included standing on chairs, kneeling on the floor, looking into the heavens, squinting his eyes and flirting with female onlookers, really nailed everything home. There was zero awkwardness or hesitation. Jack and Martin were true performers. I was blown away at the whole, complete, thoroughly convincing package. The thought and effort and talent is very evident.

Kolour Kult also performed two covers and they were exceptional as well. The first was a brilliant slow-tempo, guitar-led, almost Prince-esque R&B version of The Outfield's 1985 hit "Your Love". It was totally unexpected, believe it or not, because it's a rock song and they are more dance, but I was deeply moved by it. The second cover and last song of their set was a rendition of The Human League's "Don't You Want Me", including a duet with Liz Isenberg filling in the female verses.

Then they ended. Jack was down to just a t-shirt, having stripped his jacket, tie and button shirt during the performance (a moment of hilarity ensued when he tried to hand the crowd his clothes but the cuff buttons were preventing a complete transfer so I nudged Megan to un-button it and liberate him. She did so dutifully and he later thanked her).

I immediately shook Jack's hand vigorously and asked if they were on the web to which he replied yes. "I've loved synth-pop all my life," I blurted out, confessing my addiction. "So have we," he replied, nodding his head in natural approval.

So there you have it - a love of synth-pop so strong it has motivated two talented musicians to perform their own fresh material - and do it in a very audience-friendly, charismatic way.

It doesn't end there, either. The Kolour Kult are out with a new 5-track EP available for free on their bandcamp page. Click here to get this excellent debut.

I never thought Providence would have a synth-pop act to call their own. But now they do, the act happens to be excellent, and I'm proud of them. I wholeheartedly support any enterprise that revives this wonderful genre. Thanks guys, and I look forward to more.

Friday Night Video

 

"Venice Beach" is a track by Futurecop! from their sparkling 2010 album It's Forever, Kids. Futurecop! was founded in 2006 and consists of British duo Manzur Iqbal and Peter Carrol. Though they have released only one album, they have a new EP out. Here's hoping their fantastic musicianship, knack for melody, gratuitous use of stingy synths chords and great sense of humor keep us entertained for years to come. Find them on soundcloud here.

Moment of Electro Zen Part VII

Moment of Electro Zen Part VI

'Drive' Soundtrack featrues neo-electro artists!

Here is some big news regarding some of our favorite neo-electro acts, and the underground electro movement as whole.

Songs by Kavinsky, Electric Youth and College were featured in a major Hollywood movie called Drive and were included on the soundtrack too!

Drive is a 2011 thriller that was released this past September, directed by Nicholas Winding Refn and starring Ryan Gosling as a stunt car driver by day and getaway driver by night.

Shame on me, but I haven't actually seen the film yet. I vaguely remember hearing about the film, then forgot about it and wouldn't have remembered it until a friend recently mentioned he saw it the other day, and then I saw an advertisement for it on the Valerie Collective website. Since they have few ads otherwise, the ad for Drive stood out and I immediately wondered if there was any direct connection to Valerie Collective. Sure enough upon further investigation I discovered that several Valerie Collective artists had songs used in the film and were featured on a soundtrack.

This is huge. What was only just a few years ago an independent, internet-oriented electronic music movement has now moved to the big leagues. Who knows how this well effect those artists, the Valerie Collective label, and the future of the movement. Heck, at this pace, other very talented and deserving artists like Michael Cassette and Anoraak should be electronic superstars. But then that would probably change them for the worse - hence the conundrum here. At the very least, some moderate sales and exposure are a great thing. I'm rooting for them.

I'll definitely have more to say when I experience both the film and the soundtrack, but since I know little else I'll leave this at that but encourage people to get the DVD when it comes out and buy the soundtrack! Knowing these artists, you will not be disappointed. The movie? I have a feeling there could be worse ways to spend two hours.

Moment of Electro Zen Part V

Moment of Electro Zen Part IV

Whatever Happened to Soviet?

No, not the Soviet Union. We all know what happened to them.

Soviet, the neo-electro band.

Soviet just may have been the band that started the whole neo-electro craze at the beginning of the new millennium ten years ago.

It all began with the April 2001 release of their album We Are Eyes, We Are Builders. Soviet was a New York City act and there was a budding "electroclash" movement (so it was named then) centered there around the same time. We Are Eyes was released right before the last free summer of 2001, before the terror attacks later that September. The key track on their debut album was "Candy Girl", a truly original, bubbly, sweet-sounding new wave pop song, complete with the singer's adoring chrous ode to "my candy girl" and that amazingly innocent synth whistle accent on the chorus hum-la-la. It's so charming and great sounding I can instantly conjure up images of friends running, screaming and dancing in water pouring down from an open fire hydrant on hot New York City pavement, or later melting ice cream cones and eventual awkward kisses on the pier underneath a scarlet sunset, even though I was never there. That's how vivid and successful "Candy Girl" and that whole album is.

Soviet jump-started a whole new genre of music. While mainstream music of the 1990s was centered on so-called "alternative" rock (in which the "alternative" was the mainstream), the truly independently-produced Soviet had a clear and unwavering fondness for synthesizers, drum machines and sensitive lyrics, all of which recalled the glory days of new wave in the 1980s, which had also started in New York City. So by 2001, Soviet's old-new sound was ripe for exposure and appreciation. It was time, after a decade of angsty rock, to bring back sleeker, more introspective, more fun music. Soviet filled the void, and then some.

It took over a year for We Are Eyes to catch on with the masses, however. Being an independent label, the original release was small and relatively obscure by the time the song "Candy Girl" actually caught on. So much so, it was re-released in the summer of 2002, but by then the world had changed. Still, it garnered more exposure and even more appreciative reviews (read one here and another here). "Candy Girl" was also featured on several compilations, perhaps most notably Ministry of Sound's This is Tech-Pop compilation from 2002.

Yet after Soviet fever died down, and dozens of similar bands rose to carry the torch on, nothing else was heard from them beyond live shows. In fact, by the time I had belatedly discovered We Are Eyes just a few years ago, they still hadn't released a follow-up. Their discogs.com file was depressingly stark and empty, featuring only a listing for We Are Eyes, but no singles, no EPs and no compilations. Not even any remixes. What happened? Even with today's second wave of more vigorous neo-eletcro, artists keep in touch with their fans and release music one way or another, even if it's just one mp3 at a time. But all was silent on the Soviet front for way too long.

Fortunately they do have a website, and I eventually did discover a follow-up called Spies in the House of Love, which was released in 2009, eight years after We Are Eyes, but, according to the website, was actually delayed since 2003. I eagerly obtained Spies giddy with excitement about what this now-legendary band had created following their debut. Sadly, it's not at all what I expected and wanted to hear. Spies is more rock-influenced than synthesized, and the vocals sound totally different, more, dare I say, "emo". Since emo was in high-gear in 2003, I'm guessing the band suffered from a classic case of retro-guilt and wanted to sound more fresh and up-to-date, even though the neo-electro genre they helped launched was as fresh as anything. Disappointed, I wrote-off their debut as a one-hit wonder never to be touched or duplicated again. And how 80s is that?

Today, it seems like too much time has passed for Soviet to capitalize again on their whimsical independent electronic music credentials. More importantly, maybe they don't want to. Their website has no other news or updates, although there is mention of a rarities compilation that maybe has some "vintage" We Are Eyes-era leftovers and b-sides. I'd definitely give that a try, if I could find it.

What will never change is the impact their debut had, and the delightful listen it remains a whole decade later. For all the talk of "80s" and "new wave", Soviet's contribution to the music world is looking pretty timeless to me. Thanks guys.

Seeking More Midnight Club

So far Midnight Club have released just one debut EP of excellent instrumentals called The Machine in 2010. Much like their name suggests, they have a dark, glittery, late-night club sound that really grows on you the second and third time around. Despite their strong EP, there is very little information about who Midnight Club is and when or if they ever plan on releasing a follow-up, though I very much wish they do. I particularly liked "The Machine (Worship Remix)". If don't know much about Midnight Club, I really don't know much about Worship. According to discogs.com they are a Swiss-based project that has remixed tracks for Grum and My Luminaries, but that's it. At the very least I like their work with Midnight Club.

If anybody has any information on them, let me know. Hey, maybe Midnight Club will see this.

Moment of Electro Zen Part III

Personal Favorite: Flashworx

Flashworx is a duo from Switzerland who burst onto the neo-electro scene in 2010 with an astoundingly fresh and engaging all-instrumental EP called Two Guys in Japan. Clearly drawing inspiration from italo-disco and Giorgio Moroder's classic instrumentals, Flashworx is all thumping dance music odysseys that are by turns flashy and flamboyant (especially with that electro-slide synth wine) and yet also moody and atmospheric. I really love the pulsating opener "Love is Anywhere", with its slow-building intro and a ponderous glass-twinkle key accent on the verse section.

I have special memories of listening to Flashworx while I drove my friends to a Japanese stakehouse in the middle of a blizzard last winter. There is something about icy synth music and cold, snowy weather that just go together. The exotic, far-off sound of Flashworx was perfect for the night, and I've never forgotten it.

Flashworx has captivated myself and my friends ever since. Fortunately, they promise more to come. In fact, they've just released a new EP this past month, and according to this interview they gave here, they have TWO more EPs and additional projects to come. Whatever they do, I hope it remains in the spirit of their now-classic debut EP.

Click here to get Flashworx's new 'Futurisma' EP for free from the artists on soundloud!

Moment of Electro Zen Part II

Catching up with Keenhouse

Keenhouse is a vibrant synth-pop act created by Ken Rangkuty. Though they have no full-length albums, Keenhouse does boast several terrific EPs, such as the first I experienced, 2008's Civic Transit, featuring standout tracks like the title song as well as my personal favorite, "Deep in the Forest". According to their official website (click here), Keenhouse helped kick-start the "electro" craze among U.S. youth after Europe. I think Keenhouse's particular variety of neo-electro is bright, colorful, funky and playful. It's state-of-the-art party music.

Keenhouse's latest release is an EP that came out in September 2011 called The Summer Society.

Listen to the first track of Keenhouse's latest EP here! 

Moment of Electro Zen Part I

New Futurecop! EP

Futurecop! is a UK-based act that has a small but promising discography of unabashedly retro 80s-inspired disco. To date, they have only one full-length album, It's Forever, Kids from 2010 (which was only released in Japan, sadly) featuring a healthy 14 tracks of highly energetic, pulse-pounding, sparkling synth rave-ups. Highlights include the frenetic opener "Transformers (Into the Future)", the epic ode to California summer "Venice Beach", and the synth-soaked emotion of "Street Hawk I".

Fortunately they're out with a new release his past October 2011, an EP named "The Adventures of Starpony", continuing in their theme of vintage animations.

Click here to listen to the new Futurecop! EP!

From Death Comes New Life

I start this new blog with an entry about an ending of sorts: Elegant Machinery, a lesser-known synth-pop band from Sweden, has broken up.

Elegant Machinery are unknown to the masses but had cultivated a devoted following over the years to become one of the most successful synth-pop acts out of Sweden and Scandinavia.

They started their career in 1988 as Depeche Mode clones in a sea of Depeche Mode clones like Camouflage, Seven Red Seven and Red Flag, who all flirted with brief success in the late '80s and early '90s. But that's not a bad thing - I for one love Depeche Mode and have found the unabashed imitators to be quite good on their own terms.

Unfortunately, Elegant Machinery did not have great timing, as they released their first album in 1991, just when synth-pop was falling fast out of flavor in America and soon in Europe as well. That didn't stop them, however, as they continued to release albums of solid synthesizer-driven dance music for the rest of the '90s.

I'll never forget the first time I heard Elegant Machinery. It was a dark and cold winter night and I was driving my friends around in my car when an extended version of "Process" came on. The vocals only sang the emotional chorus line, and the verses were all caverns of deep, dark house grooves. We were blown away. It's since become a classic among my friends and it will always take us back to that time.

But what really makes Elegant Machinery special and why they warrant a mention here is because in 2008, what should have been well past their prime, they released an incredible album called A Soft Exchange that qualifies as thoroughly neo-electro. Using the same sensitive lyrics coupled with new millennium sonics, Elegant Machinery had not just brilliantly updated their sound but created a new high standard in neo-electro, standing tall in a very different musical landscape then when they started. Elegant Machinery proved that longevity can win the day, and to never count out an old horse. They put their original inspiration, Depeche Mode, to shame with A Soft Exchange. Depeche Mode hasn't had a good album since Violator from 1990. But Elegant Machinery, who started relatively weak around that time, were putting out work that was better than ever in the late 2000s.

Their split this year makes A Soft Exchange even more bittersweet. It will probably be their last album. But I can definitely say they went out on a high note.

So, from the ashes of Elegant Machinery, one of the few surviving synth-pop acts left from the '80s, comes a whole new generation of electronic artists devoted to bringing us similar music, but with a whole new twist. And that's why I'm here.

One small look back, one giant look forward.

First post!

Welcome. This blog is devoted to bringing you the best new electronic music from the new millennium and beyond. There is NO file sharing, but there will be plenty of reviews, inspirational images, news about upcoming releases, links to other sites and more. I'm excited to start!