The Sonic Music Review Playlist: Week 4

This week's playlist compiled by The Sonic Music Review looks back on some of the earliest work featured on the site. This playlist combines the highlights of the progressive rock and synth pop music covered, featuring a selection of works from acts including Camel, Neu! and Ellie Goulding.

Tracklisting:

1. Camel                    - Dunkirk from The Snow Goose

2. NEU!                     - Negativland from NEU!

3. Kraftwerk              - Autobahn from Autobahn

4. The Prodigy           - Omen Reprise from The Most Incredible Thing

5. Depeche Mode      - Personal Jesus (The Stargate Mix) from Personal Jesus (The Stargate Mix)

6. La Roux                 - Tigerlily from La Roux

7. Ellie Goulding        - The Writer from Ellie Goulding

For the Spotify streamable playlist, click here.

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Karl Bartos: Communication

Following up from a previous feature by The Sonic Music Review of 'Lifestyle' by Karl Bartos, available here, the field of focus turns to the artist's most recent release, the 2003 release 'Communication.' Bartos' following will undoubtedly be aware of his prior involvement with the highly influential German band Kraftwerk, a quality which is audible, but this album shines as a great example of music with character, a credit to the talented composer.

Karl Bartos: Communication

The album opens with 'The Camera,' an initial illustration of Bartos' inimitable writing style which has been constantly refined over a number of years. The track in question uses purely electronic instrumentation, a feature throughout the album, underpinned by strong rhythmic percussive elements and a particularly interesting synthesiser sequence. As with many other tracks, the song is led by synthesised speech, an uncommon production choice in much contemporary music.

Much of the material is centred around major themes of celebrity and everyday lifestyle, ides which in the past have also given an ideological foundation to Bartos' music. Of the 10 tracks which make up the 45 minute album, 'Electronic Apeman' stands out as a highlight. The track seeks to combine a live sung voice and synthesised vocal elements to great effect, complemented with fine harmonic sequences and very interesting interaction between harmony and bassline. Being a percussionist, the percussive elements are very well programmed throughout. The track 'I'm The Message' embellishes this rhythmic interest with a discontinuity of pulse between the introduction and main material.

The album concludes with 'Another Reality,' a fitting title for this concluding track which sees a much more peaceful feel, a quality provided through the sustained chords and wavering synthetic lines. The speech synthesis in this piece also serves as one of the best recent examples of the technique, unsurprisingly perhaps given the artist's prior ability demonstrated the previous decade in 'Lifestyle' as one example. The final seconds inevitably fade, drawing some of Karl Bartos' finest material to a close.

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Two Tigers: Dunes

Following a liberal amount of twitter prowling, The Sonic Music Review is pleased to feature 'Dune' by Two Tigers having stumbled across their profile and link to their Soundcloud page here. Two Tigers are a musical act from Chile producing quite a commercial, polished selection of tracks, clearly influenced from 80's acts such as Depeche Mode but stylistically are far more akin to a combination of MGMT and Daft Punk.

Two Tigers - Dunes by twotigersmusic

The track featured here, 'Dunes,' illustrates the act's notable proficiency with synthetic instrumentation within a pseudo-'pop' setting. The piece begins with a simple, clean and crisp guitar riff with subtle use of stutter editing to add additional interest, used in moderation so as not to be intrusive. Layered vocals quickly enter but one of the best moments in this track is the first exposition of synthetic instrumentation which comes soon after.

The orchestration seen throughout, with particular regard to the synthetic timbres, is very accomplished for an independent act, each musical element has its place within the track and within the mix and has been very well crafted. There is a great temptation by many artists to create a single, homogenous wash of sound but the production and great care in orchestrating this track has paid great dividends in making such a varied arrangement which draws the listener in.

As the arrangement continues, the listener is treated to an instrumental section in place of a second verse which further exemplifies Two Tigers' talent in their craft, the keyboardist clearly in their element at this point. This continues before a segue into a repeat of the first verse and chorus, whereupon the piece reaches its conclusion at just over three minutes. The adaptation of the typical three-minute pop song is again a credit to Two Tigers, proving to be highly effective, although a more convincing ending could be achieved. Nonetheless, this is one of the best songs that The Sonic Music Review has had the pleasure of discovering and has been a pleasure to feature for our readers.

For more information on Two Tigers, you can visit their official website here. As ever, if any of our readers represent an independent artist and would like to submit music, please get in touch or find us on Twitter @SubsonicWinter.

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Yazoo: Only Yazoo - The Best Of Yazoo

Despite creating some of the most definitive 80's synthpop tracks, the British Duo Yazoo, or 'Yaz' in America, had a sadly short lived career with only two studio releases. After these two releases, the lead singer Alison Moyet sought her own solo career, while keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously chief writer with Depeche Mode, went on to form the group Erasure.

Yazoo: Only Yazoo - The Best Of Yazoo

This charming retrospective of the duo's fine output begins with their debut single, 'Only You.' Forgoing complex musical textures, this track, like most of the tracks featured in this compilation, consist of a few primary synthetic textures with Moyet's strong Soul influenced vocals. It is this approach which set the duo apart from their contemporaries and gave their music its distinctive naive charm. The next track, 'Ode To Boy,' illustrates a more experimental approach to sampling which was seen in the output of several bands at the time, given the rise in affordable sampling units.

Dispersed throughout the album are the bands best known work, 'Don't Go,' 'Situation,' 'Nobody's Diary,' the list goes on. It is truly to the duo's credit that just two studio releases spawned such a formidable portfolio of tracks in the days where record Companies were far less restrictive on musical content and merit.

The final 5 tracks in the album consist of remixes and alternative mixes of 'Situation,' 'Don't Go' and 'Only You.' This offers more material although some more contemporary remixes could benefit this tracklisting. Overall however, this is a fine example of synth pop at its best.

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La Roux: La Roux

La Roux are a British pop duo who first found success following their debut 'La Roux' album released in 2009 which brought to the fray a form of popular music notably reminiscent of 80's synth pop with a more refined production methodology. The voice of Elly Jackson, often mistaken as an independent artist as her collaborator Ben Langmaid rarely appears in PR documents and does not join Elly in live performances, leads each piece on the album accompanied by synths and drum machines to provide the rest of the instrumentation.

La Roux: La Roux

The album begins with 'In For The Kill,' also the second single to be released from the album, also known for an alternative version featuring Kanye West which was released later. 'In For The Kill' is commercially the duo's biggest hit, containing one of the most memorable hooks from 2009. This is followed by 'Tigerlily' which sees a much darker theme compared to most other tracks from the album. 

'Tigerlily' later resolves into the opening of 'Quicksand,' the duo's debut single and a highlight of the album. Like many of the other tracks on the album, the instrumentation in 'Quicksand' is restricted but a large musical texture is created through subtle timbral variations between sections and the doubling of vocal parts. While clear in its synth pop origins, the album takes on a much clearer mix and slightly harsher timbres than would be seen in the 80's, when the synthpop movement began, congruent with the production values in the contemporary popular music industry.

The album contains plenty of high quality material, the second half however sees a change in style to a smoother and less upbeat writing style on the whole, ultimately giving more variety but potentially dividing its audience. Regardless, this album is evidentiary of great talent from the duo, with a followup album greatly anticipated.

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Depeche Mode: Violator

By 1990, British Synthpop group Depeche Mode had been active for a total of 10 years, having released six studio albums in that time. Their seventh album, 'Violator' came on sale in March 1990, spawning two of the band's best selling singles to date: 'Personal Jesus' and 'Enjoy The Silence.'

Depeche Mode: Violator

The first track on the album, also the fourth single to be released from it, 'World In My Eyes' quickly establishes the slightly dark and surreal nature of the entire album, combining extensive synthetic elements with a strong sequenced groove. This typical use of instrumentation for the band contrasts with the first single from the album, 'Personal Jesus,' which is heavily influenced by blues music and features prominently an electric bass and guitar in lieu of purely synthetic derivation of sounds.

'Waiting For The Night' comes later in the album, exemplifying the brooding and dark quality of the album, not least due to the use of restricted instrumentation and passive accompaniment. This track leads on to the second single to be released from the album, 'Enjoy The Silence,' undoubtedly a highlight of the album. In this track, the band reference some of their earlier work through the initial rhythmic foundation offered by a sequenced synthesiser and sophisticated use of additional electronic elements. The track also ends with a more experimental extended postlude which hails back to the band's earlier work.

At a point in their career in which the band was already well established, such a successful release contributes to the band's long standing successful image. The band's later tour, the Tour Of The Universe also makes use of several tracks from Violator and is reviewed here.

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Jean Michel Jarre: Oxygene 7-13

Jean Michel Jarre first found fame during the mid-late 70's for his use  of instrumental electronica composition which received widespread acclaim. 'Oxygene 7-13,' released in 1997, is a sequel to his 1976 breakthrough album, 'Oxygene,' dedicated to his former mentor Pierre Schaeffer, the father of Musique Concrete.

Jean Michel Jarre: Oxygene 7-13

This album was recorded using a number of classic synthesisers Jarre used for his previous 'Oxygene' and makes us of the Korg Minipops drum machine which provided many of the uncommon synthetic drum patterns in both albums. Stylistically however, this album is much less experimental than its prequel, with many of the tracks notably influenced by trance music with a much clearer structure.

This album comes at an uncertain point in Jarre's career in which several releases were made in various styles without a clear development of style, rather large changes. The album however does pitch itself right for the time as it combines many of the elements of popular electronic music at the time with some of Jarre's previous composition style. 

The album contains very good material and this reviewer finds it more consistent than its prequel in this regard. Many of the tracks are quite upbeat, part 12 also makes extensive use of sequenced elements which fans may enjoy. This album serves as a good introduction into Jarre's work and this style of music as a whole.

For a review of 'Oxygene,' click here.

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Depeche Mode: Tour Of The Universe

'Tour Of The Universe' is a live album/DVD release recorded during synth pop group Depeche Mode's most recent tour in 2009. While the tour was largely supporting the group's 12th studio release, 'Sounds Of The Universe,' the set list contains material which goes back as far as the group's 1986 'Black Celebration' album.

Among the credits to the album is its chart performance, in fact going platinum in Germany and becoming the first live album to top the German music charts in a period of two years. The album also exhibits the group's praiseworthy musicianship, a notable virtue given the band's 31 years in the industry.

The album begins with 'In Chains,' 'Wrong' and 'Hole To Feed,' all from the group's 'Sounds Of The Universe' album, before revisiting tracks from their wide and varied musical past. Among the highlights of the album are 'Enjoy The Silence' and 'Personal Jesus,' in addition to several of the band's classic played toward the finale of the set. The band's energy sustains a listener's interest through the 2 hour long album and indeed the new arrangements to their older material allow Depeche Mode to showcase their formidable talent.

The album is clearly crafted with great precision to sustain their audience's attention, seen particularly in the juxtopposition between the energy of 'Personal Jesus' and sobering finale of 'Waiting For The Night.' While the audio CDs' are mixed with loving care, the DVD performance certainly adds even more to this fantastic live album.

For the review of the band's 1990 release 'Violator,' from which several tracks in the set list are taken, including 'Personal Jesus' and 'Waiting For The Night,' click here.

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