11 June 2018

5 years of Crystal World

Today it's the 5th anniversary of Marnie's awesome debut album, Crystal World.

11 April 2018

Ladytron - The Animals lyrics

There's no wrong, there's no God
There's no harm, there's no love
We are more like you
Than the ones that you knew

Phantom road, erased address
Duplicate queen, dismantled cross
We are more like you
Than the ones that you knew

Is it that we know we are animals
Or because to them we are animals
You're inventing words for defending me
While lined up to shoot for the enemy
While lined up to shoot for the enemy
You're inventing words for defending me
It's because to them we are animals
Or because we know we are animals

Concrete soul, machine-read heart
Poison creed, primate savant
We are more like you
Than the ones that you knew

Is it that we know we are animals
Or because to them we are animals
You're inventing words for defending me
While lined up to shoot for the enemy
While lined up to shoot for the enemy
You're inventing words for defending me
It's because to them we are animals
Or because we know we are animals

Is it that we know we are animals
Or because to them we are animals
You're inventing words for defending me
While lined up to shoot for the enemy
While lined up to shoot for the enemy
You're inventing words for defending me
It's because to them we are animals
Or because we know we are animals

There's no wrong, there's no God
There's no harm, there's no love
We are more like you
Than the ones that you knew

10 April 2018

Ladytron announced the first tour dates in 2018

2 November: O2 ABC, Glasgow
3 November: O2 Academy, Liverpool
4 November: Roundhouse, London

29 March 2018

The Electricity Club interview (2018)

Named after a wonderfully eclectic song from the first Roxy Music album, appropriately it was Brian Eno who said that Ladytron were "the best of English pop music". Despite Eno's description, one of the most distinctive aspects of Ladytron is their diversity, with Bulgarian-born Mira Aroyo and Glaswegian Helen Marnie joining Liverpudlians Danny Hunt and Reuben Wu in Summer 1999.

With five internationally acclaimed albums in '604', 'Light & Magic', 'Witching Hour', 'Velocifero' and 'Gravity the Seducer' under their belt, Ladytron are now working on their sixth long player after a hiatus of 7 years. It will be released via Pledge Music, the crowdfunding platform which was used by Helen Marnie to support the recording of her debut solo offering 'Crystal World'.

The new Ladytron album has been launched with 'The Animals', a dark electronic rock number in the vein of 'High Rise', 'International Dateline' and 'Tomorrow' which also comes with a Vince Clarke remix. With all systems go in the Ladytron camp, Danny Hunt kindly took time out from the studio to chat to The Electricity Club about the new album, his favourite synths and his own career highlights.

When did the genesis for the first Ladytron album in 7 years begin? Was it a gradual process?

We knew we were going to do it eventually, but various things made it not come together as early as we imagined. Huge changes in our personal lives, and our locations – two of us moved across hemispheres. In mid-2016, we felt ready to move ahead and began writing and planning.

Was there any point where you personally thought there might not be another album?

That was never a possibility.

Helen did two solo albums, but what were the rest of you up to during the hiatus? You co-produced Helen's first solo offering?

Yes, I produced and co-wrote some of Helen's first one. Since then, I've worked with some other artists that I felt a creative connection with, for example last year I co-wrote and produced an EP 'Lua Vermelha' with a very special artist in Brazil called Lia Paris. I also produced Lush's comeback EP 'Blind Spot', which I loved doing. Other than that, film scores and some other things that'll see the light of day soon enough.

Reuben has been concentrating on his photography, he's built a big reputation with that.

Mira has been working a lot with documentaries which was always a love of hers. We're generally creative people, and were never solely focussed on one project.

The individual members all live in different parts of the world now, so in terms of writing, has there had to be a more remote approach by necessity?

As it always was, even with the first five records we never lived in the same city, or at times even country, there were only brief moments when more than two of us did. Eighty percent of the time we weren't living in the same place.

The method is the same regardless of distance; we work, collaborate remotely and then come together for a period to turn the work we've done individually and collaboratively into a record.

How would you describe the creative dynamic of Ladytron and how it has evolved over the years?

These days everyone is pretty much self-contained. Technology has changed enormously after all, when we began it was a different world in so many ways. And we were basically children playing around with brand new methods.

'The Animals' is the first single and appears to be a return to the harder, more intense sound of 'Witching Hour' and 'Velocifero'?

Perhaps, but it's still too new to judge.

Vince Clarke has remixed 'The Animals', how did he become involved and are you pleased with his quite different and more rigid interpretation?

I love it. I always wanted us to collaborate in some way with him. It came about when I remixed the ERASURE single last year.

After the textural atmospherics of 'Gravity the Seducer', is 'The Animals' representative of the new album's overall sound? If not, how would you describe it?

Well the album isn't finished, the songs are there but it has a long way to go. To me, it is difficult to describe beyond simply that it sounds very much like a Ladytron record.

How do you now look back on 'Gravity the Seducer'?

Very proud of it. It was intentionally more sedate, which was exactly what we wanted, needed at that time. Some of the tunes on it, such as 'White Gold' and 'Transparent Days', are amongst my favourite things we've done. I've had people whom I really respect tell me that they didn't get into any of our stuff until that record.

The way music is financed and consumed has changed considerably since 2011 with crowdfunding and streaming more prominent. What are your own thoughts on this?

I don't have strong feelings on any of this. I am rather traditionalist in this respect.

You've opted to market the new album via Pledge Music, had the band been drawn to it from Helen's positive experience of it?

In our case, it is an ideal way to make records independently.

Being on Pledge Music often involves providing fly-on-the-wall insights into the recording process and other benefits, like China Crisis offered an opportunity to see Liverpool FC match with a band member while Gary Numan sold his old gear. As a band who have generally not courted a personality based profile in the past, have you decided what types of updates you will do yet?

We don't know yet.

You're offering vinyl, CD and download versions of the new album, but also cassette! Have you got your head around why there's a resurgence in this format, what are your own memories of using cassettes?

I'm of the generation for whom the cassette was the format of choice, I never accepted that it went away.

Isn't there just a general longing for actual objects now that our digital lives can evaporate in a moment?

And is not just in the case of records, for example I now buy more actual books than I ever did. We need to leave the historians some physical record of our culture.

Have you added any more vintage synthesizers to your armoury for the new album or have you moved towards VSTs these days? Do you have a particular favourite synth?

We have all our old toys and a couple of new ones. I had to transport as much of my gear as I could halfway across the world to fit my studio out down here. Each time I returned home, I brought a few more things south with me. I love my Crumar Stratus, that and the SH-2 are my main instruments.

What do you think about these recreations like the Korg MS20 Mini, the Korg ARP Odyssey or the new Minimoog?

About 15 years ago, we begged Korg to make a new MS20. We insisted that if they were available, they'd become as ubiquitous in studios as a bass guitar.

So I'm all for this gear being available in a cheap, practical and reliable way. We sometimes used to burn through old analogue synths every couple of days on the road – rare gear we had collected over many years.

As Ladytron's guitarist, how do decide when it's best to integrate the instrument into proceedings?

I'm a keyboardist, guitarist, bassist whatever. To me, through a chain of effects, it's just another object that makes noise.

Are you self-producing the album or have you brought in an outsider for this?

We have people we trust and work with regularly. How we are going to approach this one is still being discussed.

Are you able to reveal any of your own personal highlights of the new album? What are your hopes and fears after 7 years away?

It's early days to talk about highlights as there are still tracks being worked on. All I'd say is that we are already very happy with how it is progressing.

Do Ladytron intend to tour the new album?

Yes, we will, but the most important thing for us is to make a new record. Once that is done we will think about everything else.

Which territories have generally been your strongest?

Besides the US, Canada, Spain and various countries in the EU, we always did well in South and Central America. But we've been all over. Australia. China. It is hard to say which is strongest because obviously everyone does more shows in the EU and North America, where we have always done well with our tours.

What's your proudest achievement as a member of Ladytron? Any particular songs, shows or tours?

Sydney Opera House for Brian Eno was special obviously. When something exceptional happens – like we played China when very few had, and in Colombia at a time when almost no artists would go there because of the civil war – those ones stick in the memory.

I'm simply proud that our work has reached people, that we've made five albums and we're making another.

Source

28 March 2018

Into More interview (2018)

Over the last twenty years, few bands have been more pivotal in the development of electronic music than Ladytron. The Liverpudlian four-piece, founded in 1999, has consistently walked the line between critical and commercial success, attracting praise from the legendary Brian Eno and a string of high-profile collaborators.

Now, seven years after their most recent release, Gravity the Seducer, the band is back with a frenetic, haunting new single, "The Animals," as well as a PledgeMusic campaign to fund the creation of a new album. The project is still very much in its early stages, but demos have already been laid down and Jim Abbiss, the producer behind the band's seminal album Witching Hour, has been enlisted to work his magic once again.

Individually, the members of Ladytron have been hard at work on their own separate projects, but the announcement of a new album has sent a shockwave of excitement through the band's core fanbase; already, over 70% of the crowdfunding target has been met. So, we reached out to lead vocalist Helen Marnie to find out more about the upcoming project, the choice to crowdfund, and the band's ongoing determination to maintain full creative control.

Tell us a little about "The Animals" – why did this feel like the right song to come back with?

Seven years is a long time in the music world. So much has changed since we last toured our album Gravity The Seducer and, personally, I've changed, as has the rest of Ladytron. So really it was about choosing a song that was quintessentially Ladytron, but which also reflected that we've moved on and are ready to create again. We're bursting with ideas and itching to get new stuff out there, so "The Animals" is easing people in gently.

A PledgeMusic campaign has been launched for the album. Why did you decide to go down this route?

We'd been talking about doing a crowdfunding campaign for quite some time, so it was just a matter of finding the right platform for us, and PledgeMusic fitted the bill. I'd also had the experience of doing a Pledge campaign for my first solo record, Crystal World, so knew all the pros and cons from that. We like the control that we have doing it this way: we get to choose everything from PR to art to songs to formats. The only pressure is the pressure we put on ourselves.

What benefits are there to crowdfunding an album?

It means complete control. Although, I guess, Ladytron has never really been the type of band that was ever dictated to. However, it's the little things that sometimes make a difference, and we get to make the decisions on them, too. In the past, with record labels, we've experienced mistakes being made here and there, and they end up making quite an impact.

Why did you decide to reunite with producer Jim Abbiss for this new project?

Of all the albums we've made, making Witching Hour with Jim Abbiss really stands out, and I think it comes across on the record. It's a coherent, interesting body of work, and that, in part, is due to Jim. I can remember times making records where it wasn't all fun and games, but not with Witching Hour. I think, as people, we all just get along. Jim is super experienced and is full to the brim with ideas, and having that extra dimension is what matters. A fifth brain. He also knows how to push you without "pushing" you; like, how to get the best out of someone in the right way. We all agreed that he was the person we wanted to work with again.

You've worked with some huge names in the past. Are there any collaborators you're keen to get involved with this project?

Oh, there are numerous people we'd love to work with, but I think our new record needs to be about Ladytron and not who we're collaborating with. Having been out of the game for so long, I think it would be weird to come back with an album full of names that weren't ours.

You're already well on the way to meeting the album goal; how does it feel to have this fan support even after such a long hiatus?

As of today, we're at 73%, which is pretty fucking amazing. I can't deny it – it feels good! It feels good that people still have our back and haven't forgotten about us. We have a very loyal fanbase though, so I wouldn't expect any less from them.

Sonically, what can we expect from the new album?

It's difficult to say at this stage, because we're yet to go into the studio and record everything. However, I can say that all the material is there and that the demos are already sounding great – if the Pledge campaign goes according to plan, then we'll be going into the studio soon. That's when everything will come together and the record will take on a life of its own.

We've seen a glimpse of the new aesthetic in the PledgeMusic video. How important will visuals be to this campaign?

Visuals are so important. That is the way of the world right now, so, of course, we'll be really putting the work in and keeping things interesting. "The Animals" video, due for release soon, was shot in Brazil; it looks so beautiful.

Source

04 March 2018