De/Vision on new world tour
De/Vision will go on tour in 2008. It will for once be a tour outside of Germany :-). The tour will be during the first 4 months of 2008.
Unfortunately they will not come by Europe or Scandinavia this time, the places in question can be found below, so lucky you all americans, be sure not to miss these Depeche wanna-be’s, hehe
The first few shows have already been confirmed and include the following cities: Madrid (SP), Barcelona (SP), Philadelphia (USA), Passiac (USA), Austin (USA), Tucson (USA), Los Angeles (USA), San Francisco (USA), Seattle (USA), Portland (USA), Salt Lake City (USA), Minneapolis (USA), Buenos Aires (ARG), Santiago de Chile (CH), Lima (PE) and Thessaloniki (GR). Be sure to check out the band live at work because you won’t have that many opportunities outside Germany.
A small clip of De/Vision below:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QcCKNhU72k]
See u tomorrow
Yazoo will re-unite next year
At least rumours has it that Vince Clarc and Alison Moyet will go on tour next year. And perhaps I will have to chew my last entry about not watching performances by old 80’s bands. Yazoo would definately be worth seeing live – much rather them than the utterly boring Erasure band.
Most likely their will also be a re-issue of their old stuff – why anyone would want to buy them, since readers of this blog most likely have everything by Yazoo already, maybe one can hope for some unreleased tracks…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhQWt8GVQfM]
Chinese Synthpop – does it exist?
Maybe because I am based out of Sweden the only hits I get on Google searching for good chinese synthpop bands I end up getting hits for the local band Chinese Theater (which of course is a rather nice band, but that is not what I am looking for 
)
However I yesterday stumbled on these guys who make very nice traditional synthpop – melodic, athospheric and kind of like old Twins, Alpha Ville etc. They´re called IGO and based out of Shanghai – I certainly recommend checking them out:
Here are some background facts on the band:
When the Shanghai band IGO plays on stage, there is really not much to “see,” with one man standing still playing the keyboards and another singing without much gestures.
However, people who have seen IGO live will still recommend it to you and tell you where they play, so you can experience the infectious atmosphere there and witness how and why the audiences get delirious for their music.
The one-year-old band is a combination of Shanghai’s most active club DJ and the former front-man of a local post-punk band. The duo has a large fandom online and at local music venues. Their popularity may keep expanding as their music finally reaches the CD player.
The duo, featuring synthesizer talent B6 and singer-songwriter J Jay, is releasing their debut album, “Synth Love,” on September 21 under Modern Sky, China’s largest independent record label.
It’s a time when IGO is among the most frequent players at Shanghai’s nightclubs, where pogo dance usually heats up in front of the band’s performances. This album is a collection of IGO’s most played songs. It is for those who are yet to get a chance to visit Shanghai.
IGO is now offering previews of some of the songs on their Neocha page, a local-based music-sharing website B6 co-founded, similar to MySpace.
8bitpoeple :-)
Came across this tremedous 8bit site the other day. Here you will find a veriety of new fresh bitpop tunes. This how the 8bitpeople describe themselves and their mission:
The 8bitpeoples first came together in 1999 as a collective of artists sharing a common love for classic videogames and an approach to music which reflected this obsession. Our primary interests were to provide quality music for free and most importantly to have fun. In the years since, we have grown in rank and expanded our goals.
We continue to provide the vast majority of all our releases for free, including printable covers and inserts so that anyone with the desire to can “manufacture” physical copies of our albums. Furthermore, limited runs of most of our releases are available, offering superior sound quality to the mp3 releases and occasionally bonus tunes.
In addition to our continuing devotion to music, we now have a research & development division dedicated to the creation of software, construction of hardware, and dissemination of documentation related to our cause. Our love for the audio/visual aesthetics of early videogame consoles and homecomputers continues to provide us with the drive to push the medium to its very limits, and then see just how much further we can go after that … you know, just for fun. Homepage >>
Mr Spastic:
Nullsleep:
Rushjet:
Modeselektor says Happy Birthday
Since my son had his birthday this week I thought I´d follow that up with a Happy Birthday song from Modeselektor plus a bonus video
Grattis Lukas – click on image to go to their MySpace website and listen to the Happy Birthday song
Bonus – Modeselektor live:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgocxagMFV0]
Twice a man – new album on its way
The old dolphines and whales sampling pioneers are due with a new album early next year. Their old album has always been a good source of inspiration. Their new album Clouds will be released on Jan 25th so make sure to check it out.
Clouds:
|
01: Opening 02: Novemberness 03: Solitude 04: Mars Is Still Around 05: Microhive 06: Skylark 07: Letters 08: Clouds 09: Conquerer 10: When September Shined 11: Shoe |
This is the first release from Twice a Man since Johnny Friberg joined founders Dan Söderqvist and Karl Gasleben as a permanent member. He hasn’t joined the band on stage yet though, but is responsible for a lot of the quite advanced rhythm programming. Shall be quite interesting to see what he can add.
Below one of my old favorites:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_BAbWNUAGk]
C=iao
Spacesynth
Excellent resource for Spacesynth
Spacesynth, synthdance, spacedance, spacedisco or whatever you want to call it is instrumental upbeat synth music that focuses on melodies instead of rhythm. Driving basslines, catchy synth riffs, sci-fi influences and futuristic track titles and album covers have always been a major part of spacesynth.
Spacesynth originated in the mid 80’s. At that time synthesizers and electronic sounds had become an essential part of popular music and were widely used by such artists as Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk and Art of Noise. Synthpop hits like Magnetic Fields 2, Pulstar and Magic Fly are well known tracks even today.
Protonic Storm is a synthdance project by Krzysztof Radomski. The creator of Protonic Storm lives in Kowary, Poland. He’s the first synthdance artist from Poland who has released music abroad! Krzysztof has been making music since 1997, mainly synthdance, but sometimes also psychedelic trance and ambient. At first he put some of his tracks to traxinspace.com, then to sites like Spacesynth.de (formerly known as Laserdance.de) and finally MP3.com.
Resources
Epsilon Pages, www.epsilonpages.net
Audio Objekt – Laugh or Cry or perhaps Smart?
It sure is a good laugh
Sorry for those of you who do not understand Swedish, but I have also heard that these guys are getting assitance from Ralf Hutter on their next album
Go for it guys
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEPUlR3QraE]
Front 242
Before the weekend starts
As one of the most commercially successful industrial acts of the late ’80s and early ’90s, Front 242 still adhered to the gritty, stripped-down basics of industrial rock even after finding limited commercial success.
Forming in Belgium in 1981, Front 242 took the minimalist ethos of post-punk acts such as Public Image Ltd. and combined them with techno sounds, pioneering the harsh sounds of industrial rock. Industrial sounds were intended to reflect modern industrial society, both through a reliance upon technology reflecting modern production methods and through the band’s attitude toward making music.
With massive, pounding beats generated through a drum machine rather than a live player providing Front 242 a heavy backbone for its harsh sounds, the band emphasized its synthetically produced sounds. With steady machine-like tempos pushed out by drum machines, Front 242 further strengthened the link between its sound and industrial production.
While heavy beats dominate the band’s sound, other aspects shine through musically. Keyboards and synthesizers pump minimalist melodies throughout each song, and guitar work is held to a similarly withdrawn sound. With a combination of grating, repetitive sounds and random bursts of modest harmonics, Front 242’s style was designed to both embrace and assault listeners.
Full story here >>
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPpUFBVSyWs]
Have a nice weekend
C=iao
De/Vision
It’s been some time since I listened to De/Vision, I still have some problems with their Depeche wanna-be style, but their latest album Noob has some qualities, at least as a background running a car home from a much fatter party….
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7440kGrPvk]
De/Vision have been among the leading representatives of the Electro / Synth-Pop genre for almost twenty years and their constant open-mindedness towards new influences and forms of expression is without doubt one of the fundamental factors for enduring success of this band. Last year’s “Best Of” album contained a wide range of exceptionally gifted pop anthems, including the exclusive “Love Will Find A Way”, recorded specifically for the compilation and Thomas and Steffen’s first real compositional collaboration with their production team Schumann & Bach. This new collaboration worked so well that “Noob” was recorded entirely by this tried and tested gang of four.
The pleasing result of this new working method is an album that sparkles with lightly shimmering Electro-Pop gems. Songs such as “Death Of Me”, “What You Deserve”, “Living Fast Dying Young”, the promo single “Flavour Of The Week’ or the new version of “Love Will Find A Way” flow with invigorating lightness, De/Vision immersing
themselves in melancholy dream worlds with “See What I See”, and above all this hovers a nostalgic retro feeling that brings to mind the band’s musical roots. “Noob” finds De/Vision embarking ( to some extent ) on a journey back to the 80’s, a time of busy experimentation in the resurrected Electro scene, meticulously merging pop, rock and ambient elements.
DATAMASKIN
