Monday 22 February 2016

i-Select #10

Welcome to edition #10 of a new series on White Lion Radio called, i-Select.


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Track List

Metroland - Music Machine
Vogon Poetry - Hyperspace Bypass (Autodafeh Remix)
Obsession Of Time - The Seeker
Andrew Franey - Stars Sun Moon All Align
Chinese Detectives - Run For Love
Fragile Tom - Bleak November Sun
The Dark Villager - Because Of Us (Aron Future Mix)
Metroland - Good Moaning (Healing Mix)
Electro Spectre - The River
Vogon Poetry - Spit It Out (The Department M25 Remix)
Train To Spain - Believe In Love
Fragile Tom - Together In Here
Angels And Agony - Omen
Obsession Of Time - Obsession
Vile Electrodes - Deep Red
Metroland - Quo Vadis

Friday 19 February 2016

Vogon Poetry "The Dented Stories" Remix Album Reviewed

Vogon Poetry follow up their excellent album "The Prefect Stories" with a remix album called "The Dented Stories". It features remixes of tracks that featured on "The Prefect Stories" and includes remixes by the likes of Johan Baeckstrom (Daily Planet), Glenn Main, Vanguard, People Theatre.


First up is the Oren Amram Club Mix of "Real Player One" and it is a cracker, full of energy which is what you want from a club mix, a very impressive start. Next we have the Glenn Main Remix of "Never Too Late", a beautiful remix, the vocals are heartfelt and I love the piano on the track, a punchy rhythm gives the track energy, a top class track and remix. "Spit It Out" the Keri Kohara Remix is another remix for clubland that delivers with it's powerful drums, a track the younger generation will love and we love to. Blipblop's remix of "Possibilities" is an interesting track, mixing old style lo-fi synths with new synth sounds, some brilliant melodic parts on this remix, which make this another excellent track, a superb vocal on this track too.

We have been massively impressed with the work of Johan Baeckstrom, his recent solo album "Like Before" is a must if you like synthpop! So how does he fair on remixing "Moments", he doesn't disppoint, absolutely brilliant remix, full of synthpop elements that John is known for (think yazoo!), the best remix in this collection. Autodafeh's remix of "Hyperspace Bypass" is given another synthpop makeover, flawless, very catchy, love it! Obsession Of Time's remix of "The Great Big Nothing" is well constructed, it's moody and atmospheric, we liked this remix so much we did some research on Obsession Of Time and we liked what we heared, so much so, we will be featuring tracks from their new EP as well as tracks from this album on this months i-Select Show.

The next remix is "Afraid" by Argh, again beautiful synths and piano, this is another impressive remix. "Virtues" is next which has been remixed by Vanguard, a band we are familiar with and have featured many times on our shows. Some heavy synths on this remix, which gives it a much darker feel, then for the chorus it develops more of a "Synthpop" feel and has more of a pop feel to it, interesting how they have fused the 2 contrasting sound elements and they have done a really good job on this remix. We have really enjoyed remixes by People Theatre over the years and were delighted they had contributed to this album. They have remixed "Ready Player One", all the usual sound elements associated with People Theatre are evident here, punchy bass-line and strong synth leads, another excellent remix. Also included on this album is the demo version of "Never Too Late", a great idea, as it gives you the chance to see how the song has developed, as a demo this is quite an impressive version, there's a lot going on and it actually sounds quite powerful even at this early stage.

The second remix of "Spit It Out" is by Department M25, it has a very "Ultravox" sounding piano and bass-line which we love, nice haunting pads as well which adds to the atmosphere of the track, an outstanding remix. ""Possibilities" the 2nd Happiest Remix is very much driven by it's rhythm section and bass-line with piano sections, another remix we liked. "Moments" is such a brilliant track and the remix by Modiga Agenter Remix doesn't disappoint, strong rhythm elements and throbbing bass-line with a choir pad that is to die for, it's a very uplifting track that once again has been brilliantly remixed.

The second remix of "Hyperspace Bypass" is by Bitflipp and sounds like a modern day dance record, which is no bad thing, it's not as strong as other remixes on the album bud does show great remix skills as it varies quite a lot from the original version. 56 Degrees North have remixed "The Great Big Nothing" and it shows glimpses of a Gary Numan and Depeche Mode influence, quite heavy sounding, in fact it's quite a departure from the rest of the remixes on the album but is very interesting to listen to. There is definitely a "Kraftwerk" vibe in the Kretz remix of "Safe", which has another very strong bass-line interspersed with clever melodic parts, quite a moody offering this one, another impressive job done remixing this track.

The album closes with the Me The Tiger Remix of "Virtues", starts off pretty low key then wallop crashing guitars through the chorus, totally unexpected, credit where credit is due they have certainly taken this song in a totally different direction but for me is probably the one weak remix on the album.

What can we say, the remixers here have shown first and foremost how good the songs are and have done Vogon Poetry proud with this selection of remixes, it is definitely an album to proudly put alongside "The Prefect Stories" album..........9/10

The album is released on March 4th and is available as a Digital Download Bundled with "The Prefect Stories" CD (at a special price) as well as a Digital Download in it's own right from Bandcamp:

https://vogonpoetrymusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-dented-stories

Monday 15 February 2016

The Electronic Music Hour #10

Welcome to edition #10 of our series "The Electronic Music Hour", which features some of the best electronic and synthpop music from the last 40 years.


These shows not only include well known artists from the last 4 decades but new and emerging bands on the electronic music scene from around the world, a lot of which are either unsigned, or on a small independent label, or self release their material.

So the shows will feature old and new tracks that fit in the electronic/synthpop genre.

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Track List

Depeche Mode - World In My Eyes
Machinista - Arizona Lights
A-Ha - The Sun Always Shines On TV
Naked Lunch - La Femme
Ashbury Heights - Derrick Is A Strange Machine
Gary Numan - We Are Glass
Heaven 17 - Who'll Stop The Rain
Blume - To The Night
The Human League - Tell Me When
Vaylon - Shades Of Secrets
Minerve - Lost In Your Room
Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance
Alison Moyet - Filigree
Camouflage - The Great Commandment

Monday 8 February 2016

Maximum 80s (Volume 34)

This is a series of shows that feature nothing but the very best in 1980s 12 Inch Singles. The biggest hits on the biggest format from a classic decade......the 1980s.


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Track List

Change - Change Of Heart (12 Inch Mix)
A-Ha - Take On Me (Extended Mix)
Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (12 Inch Version)
Shannon - Let The Music Play (12 Inch)
Bananarama - Cruel Summer (12 Inch Version)
Nick Kamen - Each Time You Break My Heart (Dance Mix)
Living In A Box - Living In A Box (12 Inch Club Mix)
Go West - We Close Our Eyes (Total Overhang Club Mix)
Ollie & Jerry - Ain't No Stoppin' Us (12 Inch Mix)
Kool & The Gang - Fresh (12 Inch Version)

Tuesday 2 February 2016

New Fragile Tom Album "The Particular Go" Reviewed

Fragile Tom are an electronic band from Germany and their new album "The Particular Go" is the follow up to their album "Kingdom Of Mistrust". White Lion Radio gave you a taster from the new album on January's i-Select show and played the tracks "Removed From Fiction" and "Naked Bone".


The opening track is called "The Tone" and is definitely a nod to the Vince Clarke era of Depeche Mode, nice melodies over a meaty bass-line, great rhythm track on this track and strong vocals make this an excellent introduction to the album. "Elbows" is in a similar vain and listening to it I am drawn to the sound of Mr Jones Machine and N-Frequency, a well structured song with well balanced synth parts, the thing I like about this band is they keep things nice and simple when it comes to the synth hooks. "Removed From Fiction" is an outstanding track, superbly constructed with melodic hooks a plenty, a good atmospheric vocal delivered with passion, a definite contender for a single, a moody yet uplifting track, superb!

Next is the track "Together In Here", they do love there little melody parts and why not, they are very effective, this has the hint of an early Depeche Mode influence, a mid tempo song that once again delivers, a beautiful track. Following that we have the title track, with great use of piano and a brilliant punchy rhythm section, perhaps a bit of a Blancmange influence on this track, especially with the lyrics and the way the vocal is delivered. I love the synth melodies in this song too.

On to "Naked Bone" a synthpop gem, catchy and uplifting with brilliant synth lines, that says it all! "Bleak November Sun" is a track that is moody and has plenty of depth, beautiful and haunting strings, bell melodies adorn this track and is another fantastic song. "Anna" is another little synth gem, the synth chorus melody is to die for, there are female backing vocals on this one and they work perfectly with the lead vocal, I must say at this point the lyric writing is exceptional on this album.

"Hollow Eyes" as you would expect has strong synth hooks and some good effects used on the vocals, not as immediate as other tracks on the album but fits in well with the overall sound of the album. "Time" is an erie track with the string/organ chords used which build up the track as it develops, a simple arrangement which is very effective and adds to the atmosphere of the track and I do like how it builds up. To close the album we get an alternative version of "Anna", which is a more in your face dance version, with powerful drums and retains the melodic parts of the original.

I am often amazed at the high standard of the music sent in by bands that are part of the independent electronic music scene and this album has both surprised and delighted me, it is a confident piece of work with superbly crafted songs, my advice is simple, check this album out as you wont be disappointed.

An absolute pleasure to listen to 8/10

 The album is available via Bandcamp here

Monday 1 February 2016

Rubik's 80s Mix (Volume 34)

Welcome to Volume 34 of a series of shows on White Lion Radio called Rubik's 80s Mix, a show that features classic hits from a classic decade......the 1980s.


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Track List

Simple Minds - Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)
Dollar - Give Me Back My Heart
Chaka Khan - I feel For You
McFadden & Whitehead - Ain't No Stoppin' Us
Marc Almond - Tears Run Rings
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message
Billy Ocean - Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)
Adam & The Ants - Prince Charming
Kool & the Gang - Ladies Night
Aswad - Don't Turn Around
Visage - Mind Of A Toy
The Cure - Inbetween Days
Yarbrough & Peoples - Don't Stop The Music
Split Enz - I Got You
Galaxy Ft Phil Fearon - Dancing Tight
The Assembly - Never Never