Harald Grosskopf – Synthesist (Excerpt)
Harald Grosskopf – Synthesist
From the Synthesist reissue. Available February 15th, 2011.
Harald Grosskopf, the enigmatic percussionist behind Ash Ra Tempel, Klaus Schulze, and Cosmic Jokers
“The yo-yo tricks and animation featured in this video are inspired by the synthesizer sequence that runs throughout “Synthesist”. I used the synth waveforms to inspire the animated shapes, correlating the line movements to the yo-yo string and the rhythm to the spherical pulse. The tricks repeat and explore the simplicity of string arrangement and complexity of body movement. I hope you like it!” – Sid Seed, December 2010
Produced by Sid Seed.
RVNG Intl. ©2010
igetrvng.com
Handmade Music at Digitópia
This was the handmade music party at Digitópia on December of 2010!
Stereoklang in an exclusive talk with synth pioneer John Foxx
Anyone with the slightest interest in electronic music has come across the works of John Foxx. John more or less on his own reshaped the electronic landscape with albums like Metamatic and The Garden. Starting off in the 1970’s forming the band Tiger Lily, that later morphed into the legendary act Ultravox. However, John left the band in 1979 to pursue a solo career and over the years, since then, John has been extremely productive – to say the least. John did withdraw from the music scene for a while to pursue other areas, but reappeared in the 90’s via Nation12 and then later on actively started to pursue his music career often in collaboration with others like Louis Gordon, Harold Budd and most recently with Benge (ben Edwards). Currently we are all set for a real treat with the new album called Interplay, featuring John Foxx & the Maths. Without further a due, and introductions, we dive deep into the mind of Mr. John Foxx
The Metamatic album has lots of pop format songs with raw and distorted synths, a sound that still feels fresh. But no-one picked up on that combination until much later, e.g EBM and Futurepop movement in the 90s and even more so by the Skweee movement of the 00s. Not even yourself continued in that direction with those raw synth sounds until your more recent work. – Why didn’t you pursue that direction? Was it going against the time too much?
There were many other things to pursue. For instance, reclaiming some of my own ground from ‘Systems of Romance’ on ‘The Garden’ album. I also wanted to make ‘Cathedral Oceans’ and other kinds of quiet music.
Then there was the preoccupation with Psychedelia, and its link to German electronic music. This wasn’t at all recognized in England at the time. At one point, I was also afraid that perhaps Metamatic was too raw and minimal and cold. This seems odd, because it seems quite warm now – but it certainly didn’t compared to other records being made at the time. A few years later, when I had the perspective to be able to appraise things from a safe distance, I realized there might be something special about Metamatic after all.
You’ve once said that new instruments like the electric guitar, synthesizers and drum machines changes the shape of the music. That you write to accommodate to the machines – Do you perceive that the DAW/laptop studio made the same impact?
Oh yes, every technological introduction changes the music – there are musicians who would not exist in other environments – The form of many new musicians’ work is enabled by intelligent use of new technologies – Autechre for instance, require a portable digital ecology in order to exist in their present form. Theirs is an intelligent, visceral response to new digital environments.
XXX require flexible digital recording technology to review and refine their music. It is clearly not based on any purely acoustic hierarchy of sound.
Just as Frank Sinatra changed both singing and recording by using a microphone and an amplifier – enabling him to sing quietly in front of a big band, so DAWs and laptops have created methods of working and kinds of music that were not possible before.
Code 64 – Progenitor
Our home made video for Progenitor, taken from the album “Trialogue” released on Progress Productions
Via code64music
Waves under Water – Tomorrow
Tomorrow by Waves under Water, taken from the album “All of Your Light”.
Enjoy
New video from Joy Serene
Celebrate the Silence is the opening track of Joy Serenes self-titled debut album. A single containing three additional remixes will be released 16 February 2011.
Bio:
The band started out in 2006, when Carl-Johan, Niklas and Tony felt the urge to create something beyond the ordinary. After making their first songs, and releasing them for free on the Summer EP 2007, it stood clear that they were going to make an album. At this stage the boys were moving on a strict line between comfortable and the sensation of being bound with a rope, having your bones worn out by the pavement thats passing underneath, since the other end of the rope is tied to the dreams of a freezing penguin. Many ideas got reworked several times, just to be rejected. They spent a summer holiday in an isolated old house in the middle of nowhere, and finally, Joy Serene had seven strong tracks they wanted to put on the record. With distribution help by swedish Sound Pollution, the music got out to audiences all over the world.
Just as much work has gone in to engineering their live show, with video projections and lights that mesmerize.
Interview with Necro Facility
Necro Facility recently finished the recordings for their upcoming third studio album “Wintermute”.In this interview Henrik Bäckström and Oscar Holter talks about the new album that is scheduled to be released the next couple of months.
Necro Facility released the debut album “The Black Paintings” back in 2005. Two years later, in March 2007, they released the follow-up “The Room”. Last year they returned in a collaboration together with Covenant and their single “Lightbringer”.
Die Krupps and Nitzer Ebb join forces on tour
We have all heard Die Krupps’ and Nitzer Ebb’s collaboration “Machineries of Joy” from 1989. Now, 22 years later the two legendary bands join forces on a nine-date “Join in the Rhythm of Machines” tour in April and May. They will play Paris, Dortmund, Antwerpen, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Malmö, Berlin, Bratislava and Budapest.
A special EP is being recorded as we speak, to be sold exclusively at the concerts. There will also be surprises on stage.
The Insanely Happy EP
A new 7″ vinyl will be released on EE Tapes on February 7, 2011: “The Insanely Happy EP” featuring various artists. Limited to just 250 copies it’s collection of vintage 80s tracks by various Insane Music label bands from Belgium, compiled by Alain Neffe. Four projects feature Neffe himself in different disguises: Pseudo Code, Human Dance, Subject and Bene Gesserit, and one track by M.A.L., a long-time Insane collaborator. This vinyl EP contains 6 tracks of which 4 were never released before.
Both Bene Gesserit tracks are taken from their classic LP on Insane, long out of print by now. The first 85 copies are handnumbered and contain 2 extra photographs. Order yours at www.eetapes.be .
Via SL
The new album from And One – TANZOMAT
A new album from one of the most successful German synth-pop groups offers twelve times highly electrified harmony between EBM and pop music. Old fans of the band will appreciate that the multi-crafty mix strong again moved in the direction of the And One early works. With And One, you are getting what you came for. The new long player from Germany’s most successful synth pop group features twelve instances of highly electrifying euphony, balancing the scales between massive beat madness and the eternal quest for the holy grail pop.
The band recently released solo EP was “Zerstörer” – where the title track is completely separate and not included in the forthcoming full length album. During the year, it has also scheduled a number of live dates together with Camouflage, De / Vision and Minerve. The new album is released, in addition to the regular edition, in a double-disc edition * in digipak with accompanying bonus CD of live material
“Tanzomat” released March 4 via Out Of Line….
Gigantic tunes, big feelings and a more than healthy dose of rhythmic gymnastics in nice Bodypop-surround. Long-time fans of the band will appreciate the fact that the satire-tinged and versatile mix is very much going back to the roots of the early works of And One.
DATAMASKIN
