With their European tour that begins next month, Simon Bonney and Bronwyn Adams are launching their new Berlin-based incarnation of Crime & the City Solution, the band’s first following a ten-year hiatus.

During the “History of Crime” tour, the band will be playing tracks from all their albums, including Just South of Heaven (1985), Room of Lights (1986), Shine (1988), The Bride Ship (1989), Paradise Discotheque (1990), The Adversary (1993) and American Twilight (2013)

Dubbed Crime & the City Solution VI, this latest incarnation of the band includes Simon Bonney on vocals, Bronwyn Adams on violin, backing vocals, loops and found sound, highly respected Berlin-based Australian drummer Chris Hughes, Floridian synth and guitar maestro Georgio Valentino, Berlin-based bass player Baron Anastis and long-time collaborator and friend, Melbourne guitarist and pianist Donald Baldie.

Crime & the City Solution was formed in 1977 in Sydney, Australia by musician Simon Bonney at the age of 16. The band’s early performances between 1977 d 1979 made a huge impact on key figures of the burgeoning Melbourne art-punk/post-punk scene.

In 1984, with the help of Bad Seed Mick Harvey, Bonney relocated to England to form the London-based version of the group with legendary ex-Birthday Party guitarist Rowland S Howard, his brother Harry Howard on bass, and Epic Soundtracks on drums.

After two years of touring in support of EPs and a full-length album, this lineup reached its peak with a performance in Wim Wenders’ cinematic masterpiece Wings of Desire aka Der Himmel über Berlin.

Relying less on the band’s Australian post-punk roots for a more experimental approach, Bonney would form the first Berlin-based incarnation of Crime & the City Solution, which would release three studio albums and a live CD between 1986 and 1991.

This lineup was comprised of Einstürzende Neubauten’s Alexander Hacke on guitar, ex-DAF/Liaisons Dangereuses Chrislo Haas on vintage Korg patchbay synth, and free jazz bassist Thomas Stern. The lineup was rounded out with two Australians, including Mick Harvey on drums and Bonney’s longtime lyrical collaborator Bronwyn Adams on violin.

In 2012, the band relocated to Detroit, and released their fifth studio album, American Twilight the following year.

Here are some poetic words from Simon Bonney that accompany the announcement of the band’s return:

“Crime & the City Solution: children of the Ice Storm, participant observers, the spirit of Gonzo rising, witnesses and chroniclers of histories, appearing, when the siren calls, at key moments in time and then disappearing back into the ether. From the walled city, the Glasnost East, Chernobyl strawberries and soldiers on the night train, burning cities and the fragility of civility, tear gas and bush knives in the rainforest, a boat snaking its way through the jungle into the hidden outback, Vienna and the Third Man, an atoll sinking, the hands of the sea stretching out to engulf her, two lovers in an empty park surrounded by an army, the faces of the ‘others’ pressed against the invisible barrier, two worlds separated, two strangers with a citizen child cross a continent – Sunday lunch in the Ozark.
 
The siren called last in 2012 and Crime put down its sexton and maps to paint a portrait of the present as it careened towards the future – from their Detroit home they constructed the cartoon villains and division that informed American Twilight. In 2022 it is time for Crime to be again – rock and anti-rock, Hegel’s thesis and antithesis, Rumi’s footsteps disappearing at the water’s edge, art and documentary, a conversation between the past and the present, the space that fills the empty cup, an invisible essence full of experimentation and joy – to be with their people once more, to play again, no two shows the same because they belong to the moment of their creation, an interplay between band and audience – between friends old and new.”

Crime and the City Solution VI will tour Europe throughout the summer, returning to the UK in September for a series of dates that will include Glasgow, Nottingham, Manchester, London, and Bristol– see dates below.

Follow Crime and the City Solution:

• CrimeAndTheCitySolution.org
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook

CRIME & THE CITY SOLUTION TOUR DATES – 2022

31 May – Odense DK – Posten
1 June – Copenhagen DK – Beta
3 June – Stockholm SE – Debaser
4 June – Oslo NO – John Dee Club
7 June – Hamburg DE – LOGO
8 June – Berlin DE – Kuppelhalle
9 June – Mannheim DE – Das Rind
11 June – Haacht BE – Can’t Live in a Living Room
15 June – Bologna IT – Montagnola Park
16 June – Florence IT – Terazza Forte Belvedere
17 June – Milan IT – Torchiera Open Air
19 June – The Hague NL – Grauzone Festival
21 June – Prague CZ – Lucerna Music Bar
22 June – Vienna AT – Volkstheater 
23 June – Brno CZ – Kabinet Muz
24 June – Budapest HU – A38
25 June – Zagreb HR – Boogaloo Club
26 June – Ljubljana SI – Kino Siska
9 July – Tel Aviv IL – Ozen Bar
5 Sept – Glasgow UK – King Tuts
6 Sept – Nottingham UK – Rescue Rooms
7 Sept – Manchester UK – Band on the Wall 
8 Sept – London UK – The Garage
10 Sept – Northampton UK – The Black Prince
11 Sept – Bristol UK – Thekla
12 Nov – Athens GR – Fuzz Club

The post Crime and The City Solution to Embark on “History of Crime” Tour and Reissue Entire Catalogue appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Pressed on a limited edition coloured vinyl and digitally, the new EP follows 2020’s album Shadow Of Fear, Cabaret Voltaire’s first release with Richard H. Kirk as sole sonic arbiter.

Shadow Of Fear and the Shadow Of Funk EP are interconnected and part of four releases that continue into the spring with the release of two drone albums. The first of these, a 50-minute piece entitled Dekadrone, is due out on March 26th, 2021. The second and final release in the series, the 64-minute piece BN9Drone, is released on April 23rd, 2021. Both will be available on CD and limited edition double vinyl.

Cabaret Voltaire has traditionally been a group ahead of their time, ever prescient, and this series of releases does not break from that progression in sound.

Kirk explains:

“The current situation didn’t have much of an influence on what I was doing – all the vocal content was already in place before the panic set in – but maybe due to my nature of being a bit paranoid there are hints in there about stuff going a bit weird and capturing the current state of affairs.”

Listen to “Billion Dollar” below:

Following the appearance at Atonal and the Recent years’ live performances, and 2020’s new album release, the pioneering Sheffield music project Cabaret Voltaire with these releases, enters a new epoch while holding fast to its legacy as an innovator across electronic, post-punk, and industrial music.

Making his manifesto clear regarding his dynamic and compelling series of new releases, Richard H. Kirk adamantly rests on no laurels: “The mission statement from the off was no nostalgia. Normal rules do not apply. Something for the 21st Century. No old material.”

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Thrusting into orbit an ignition of percussive space-age analogue synthesizer beats, “Shot A Satellite” is both modern and classic Erasure, and a sampling of what to expect from the band’s 18th studio album, The Neon.

The Neon takes its inspiration from pop music through the decades, from bands singer Andy Bell loved as a child through to the present day, he explains:

“It was about refreshing my love – hopefully, our love – of great pop. I want kids now to hear these songs! I wanted to recharge that feeling that pop can come from anyone.”

Watch the Neon tinged lyric video for “Shot A Satellite” below:

Written and produced by Erasure, the album’s initial sessions saw Vince Clarke and Andy Bell reunite with fresh optimism and energy. Vince had been feeling drawn towards his older machines, some of which he’d had since their very early years together:

“There’s a warmth to them. There’s also a real beauty in putting different analogue synthesisers together, too – a Pro-One, a Sequential Circuits, a Moog – they give this lovely sheen,” he explains.

The Neon will be available as pre-order exclusives on limited edition neon orange vinyl, limited edition neon green cassette and CD in a fold-out orange foil-blocked sleeve with fold-out lyric and photography booklet, as well as on black vinyl, to download and stream.

Pre-order Here

The Neon Tracklist:

1. “Hey Now (Think I Got A Feeling)”
2. “Nerves of Steel”
3. “Fallen Angel”
4. “No Point In Tripping”
5. “Shot A Satellite”
6. “Tower of Love”
7. “Diamond Lies”
8. “New Horizons”
9. “Careful What I Try to Do”
10. “Kid You’re Not Alone”

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The original 2001 CD release of The Best of Fad Gadget was the last release before the untimely early death of Fad Gadget’s Frank Tovey in 2002. The tracklisting, his own personal selection, was designed to be both a concise retrospective of the Fad Gadget years and an introduction to his work for a new generation as he embarked on Depeche Mode’s Exciter tour as their special guest.

Fad Gadget was Mute founder Daniel Miller’s first signing to his label, and the groundbreaking debut 7”, “Back To Nature” / “The Box”, recorded using a drum machine and a synthesiser, was the second release on the label. following Miller’s own project The Normal with “Warm Leatherette”.

Alongside Cabaret Voltaire, The Human League, Throbbing Gristle, Soft Cell and The Normal, Frank Tovey was at the forefront of the British electronic movement of the late 70s/early 80s and his live performances, drawing on his art school background and interest in performance art, were intense, spectacular and innovative.

The Best of Fad Gadget features the classic singles “Ricky’s Hand”, “Fireside Favourite”, “Collapsing New People” and “For Whom The Bells Toll” (featuring Alison Moyet), b- sides and tracks from his celebrated albums, Fireside Favourites (1980), Incontinent (1981), Under The Flag (1982), and Gag (1984) as well as ‘Luxury’, taken from 1986’s Frank Tovey release, Snakes & Ladders.

This release is the first stage of Mute’s celebration of Frank Tovey’s work, to be followed by a career-spanning box set in early 2020 marking the 40th anniversary of his first album Fireside Favourites.

The silver vinyl edition of The Best of Fad Gadget is out 6 September through Mute.

Order Here

The Best of Fad Gadget tracklisting
Side A
1. Back To Nature
2. The Box
3. Ricky’s Hand
4. Handshake

Side B
5. Fireside Favourite
6. Insecticide
7. Make Room
8. Lady Shave

Side C
9. Saturday Night Special
10. King Of The Flies
11. Life On The Line
12. 4M
13. For Whom The Bells Toll

Side D
14. Love Parasite
15. I Discover Love
16. Collapsing New People
17. One Man’s Meat
18. Luxury

The post The Best of Fad Gadget Issued on Vinyl for the First Time⁠—Celebrating 40 years Since Frank Tovey’s Debut Single appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

On the same day, 1974-76 will get its first vinyl release. The album, originally released on cassette via Industrial Records in 1980, was reissued on CD by The Grey Area of Mute (a division of Mute dedicated to reissues) in 1992 and will be available on limited edition transparent orange double vinyl and digital formats. 1974-76 is a selection of material recorded by Cabaret Voltaire in their formative years. Recorded in Chris Watson’s attic on a domestic reel-to-reel tape recorder, a number of the recordings were included in the now legendary limited edition cassette released by the band in 1976.

The lost Chance Versus Causality tapes
Chance Versus Causality was recorded in 1979 as the soundtrack for director Babeth Mondini’s film of the same name. The band originally met Mondini at the infamous Brussels Plan K show which saw Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire and William Burroughs share a bill, and soon after, Mondini asked them to create the soundtrack for her film.

The soundtrack was recorded live by the original Cabaret Voltaire line up—Richard H. Kirk, Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson—at the band’s Western Works studio with no prior knowledge of the film or instruction from the director.

Only one copy of the soundtrack existed on 2 reels of tape that were sent to Holland for inclusion in the split-screen 16mm film which was given a limited release and never even seen by the band. Around 15 years ago, the tapes were returned to Cabaret Voltaire and only recently resurfaced during discussions with Mute. The artwork for Chance Versus Causality was executed by Richard H. Kirk and Phil Wolstenholme.

Listen to a sample from the soundtrack below:

The post Cabaret Voltaire To Release “Chance Versus Causality” and “1974-76” From The Band’s Archives appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Following the departure of founding member Vince Clark to form Yazoo with Vocalist Alison Moyet, songwriting duties on A Broken Frame were left to Martin Gore, who continues his role as the primary songwriter to this day. Gore wrote the entirety of A Broken Frame, despite Alan Wilder having already become involved with the band. Wilder had not officially joined the Depeche Mode yet despite already becoming a part of the touring band prior to the release of the album.

A Broken Frame was recorded at Blackwing Studios in London, and produced by Daniel Miller, with engineering by John Fryer and Eric Radcliffe. The album sleeve features the return of legendary 80’s photographer Brian Griffin (Echo and The Bunnymen, Siouxsie and The Banshees, etc), who took inspiration from Russian and Ukrainian art for the cover.

The album had three singles, with each an accompanying video directed by Sex Pistols videographer Julien Temple.

“See You”

“The Meaning of Love”

“Leave In Silence”

The post Depeche Mode | A Broken Frame appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

German Neue Deutsche Welle pioneers of electronic music DAF have recently released their collection of four studio albums in the boxset DAS IST DAF, out now through Groenland Records.

The releases cover a short period of time between the years of 1980 and 1982, beginning with the band’s second album, 1980’s Die Kleinen und die Bösen. This album was—after a series of singles—the first LP to ever be released on Mute Records. The album was also the last release from the band as a post-punk 4-piece before transitioning into a the proto EBM duo of Gabriel “Gabi” Delgado-López and Robert Görl.

The next 3 records on the collection are The Virgin Trilogy, as Alles Is Gut, Gold und Liebe, and Für Immer were all released on Virgin Records. Alles Is Gut contains the band’s hit single Der Mussolini.

 ‘Die Sprache Der Liebe’ is a new track featured on the collection, which you can watch above.

Order DAS IST DAF

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Now Daniel Miller is curating Mute: A Visual Document—a 320 page book of comprehensive discographies, including photography and video stills from legendary photographers, conceptual artworks, and “rare ephemera and equipment”. Also included is a family tree of Mute artists,  and anecdotal and photographic contributions from important figures in the label’s history that include Moby, Alison Goldfrapp, Anton Corbijn, Bleddyn Butcher, Brian Griffin, Jon Spencer, Barry Adamson, Ivan Novak (Laibach), Angus Andrew (Liars), Adrian Shaughnessy and Tom Hingston.

The book follows the comprehensive 10-disc singles and b-sides boxset Mute: Audio Documents 1978 – 84, which was released in 2007.

Mute: A Visual Document, is a project helmed by author and musician Terry Burrows is being released by Thames & Hudson on November 28th

Pre-Order Here

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The concert is scheduled for September 18th, and tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday—with a special New Order presale beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday and an additional Hollywood Bowl pre-sale beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday.

For more info on the presales, visit www.neworder.com

In a less than two weeks, New Order will performing five Manchester dates at the Old Granada Studios honoring the late Tony Wilson and their Factory Records history with 12-member synthesizer ensemble at the Manchester International Festival.

See the band’s full tour dates below.

New Order tour dates:

June 29: Old Granada Studios, Manchester, UK
July 1: Old Granada Studios, Manchester, UK
July 6: Old Granada Studios, Manchester, UK
July 13: Old Granada Studios, Manchester, UK
July 15: Old Granada Studios, Manchester, UK
Sept. 15-17: Riot Fest, Chicago, IL
Sept. 18: Hollywood Bowl, Chicago, IL (w/ Goldfrapp)

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The album is significantly lighter in tone due Clarke’s writing— which changed when Martin Gore took over songwriting duties from A Broken Frame onward.

The track “Photographic” has an alternate version appears on the Some Bizarre Album, due to that track being recorded first and ultimately with the help of Some Bizarre Records owner Stephen John Pearce, led to the signing with Mute Records, after a good word was put in by Pearce to Mute owner Daniel Miller.

The album featured the singles:

“Dreaming of Me”

“New Life”

and “Just Can’t Get Enough” (watch at top of the page)

Tracklist:

1. New Life
2. I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead
3. Puppets
4. Boys Say Go!
5. Nodisco
6. What’s Your Name?
7. Photographic
8. Tora! Tora! Tora!
9. Big Muff
10. Any Second Now (Voices)
11. Just Can’t Get Enough

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