New Metroland Album "Forum" Reviewed

Metroland have had a very busy 12 months or so, they released the album "0" in March of last year and have just released another album called "Forum", as with the previous album, continues the "World Economic Forum" concept.

What a superb opener "Co-Operation In A Fragmented World" is, I love the pace of the track, great bass-line too, sequencers are on form and the synth lead sounds are wonderful, one of the best Metroland tracks of recent times.

"The Great Reset" also shines in the melody department, I like the contrast between the dark and lighter tones of the sounds in the track too, another brilliant track, love it!

I like that minimal intro on "Activity As A Timetrigger", oh when that bouncing sequencer kicks in, heavenly :) Whilst the opening 2 tracks are a nod to the sound of "Mind The Gap", this is a nod in the direction of "Triadic Ballet", the sequencer parts excel on this track, I like how the track builds up, superb again.

"Happy Nothing", excellent use of the voice sample against the driving sequencers, that droning bass sound is very effective, cuts through the sequencers perfectly. Once again an excellent track.

"Baukultur" has fantastic rhythm, that pad lead is beautiful, man the way you layer sequencer parts always amazes me! Another big thumbs up for this track.

"Infotainment", love the depth in this track and the synth sounds are truly outstanding, sequencer heaven again :), lots going on in this track but everything has its own space, One of my personal favourites on the album.

"Quantum" has a darker more industrial feel about it, very dark sounds, for me the weakest track on the album so far.

"World Economic Forum" is good, I like the speak n spell on it, a nice touch, some excellent bass parts across the song, defintely has a Kraftwerk vibe, a very engaging track.

I really like "Industry 1.0", great sound palette, love the gentle pace of this segment, "Industry 2.0" flows really well, I am sensing a bit of an influence of "Trans Europe Express" here, especially with the sound effects, "Industry 3.0" starts off with a bit of an Erasure vibe, I must say I like this full suite for "Industry", it is brilliant, "Industry 4.0" bonds parts 1 to 3 to part 5 perfectly, "Industry 5.0" is superb it builds nicely on top of the other parts that make this composition and 10 minutes fly by, which is a very good sign.

"Industry 6.0" I like the "Computer World" type effects :) and voice :) and like the ambience of the track.

This is a really strong return to form, so many impressive tracks and a real pleasure to listen too.

9/10

The album is available on CD from the Alfa Matrix store here

CD Track Listing

01.Co-operation In A Fragmented World

02. The Great Reset

03. Activity As A Timetrigger

04. Happy Nothing

05. Baukultur (The Davos Declaration)

06. Infotainment

07. Quantum

08. World Economic Forum

09. Industry 1.0

10. Industry 2.0

11. Industry 3.0

12. Industry 4.0

13. Industry 5.0

14. Industry 6.0

 

The album is also available as a Digital Download here

 

Digital Download Track Listing

01.Co-operation In A Fragmented World

02. The Great Reset

03. Activity As A Timetrigger

04. Happy Nothing

05. Baukultur (The Davos Declaration)

06. Infotainment

07. Quantum

08. World Economic Forum

09. Industry 5.0

10. Industry 6.0

It is also available in additional formats/special editions on the 808 Dot Pop website here

Put The Needle On The Record - Week #21

Put The Needle On The Record Week #21 Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)

For this weeks feature we go back to September 1982 and the Simple Minds album "New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84).

"New Gold Dream...." was the 5th album released by Simple Minds and was the album that gained them critical and commercial success and is one of those albums on which every track could be released as a single. I bought my vinyl copy on the day of release from HMV on Market Street in Manchester (Over the years I must have spent a small fortune in that store!) The album spent 53 weeks in the UK album charts!

The album featured 4 singles, "Promised You A Miracle", a track I thought was the wrong choice for the lead single, for me it is also my least favourite track on the album (which reached number 13 in the UK Singles Chart), "Glittering Prize", which would have been my choice for lead singles (which reached number 16 in the UK Singles Chart), "Someone Somewhere In Summertime" (which amazingly only reached number 36 in the UK Singles Chart) and "New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)" which had a limited release only in Italy.

Despite how massive this album was it is surprising that the singles didn't do much better. It is my all time favourite Simple Minds album.

The album peaked at number 3 in the UK Album Chart.

Track Listing

Someone Somewhere In Summertime
Colours Fly And Cathering Wheel
Promised You A Miracle
Big Sleep
Somebody Up There Likes You
New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)
Glittering Prize
Hunter And The Hunted
King Is White And In The Crowd

So if you have the album in your collection and have n't played it in a while, dig it out and give it a spin!

i-Select #106 (Part 2)

Part 2 of edition #106 of i-Select has been released today on White Lion Radio

This is a series of shows dedicated to electronic/synthpop bands, that are unsigned, signed to a small independent label or self release their material.

Listen to the show on Mixcloud here

Playlist

Metroland - World Economic Forum
Positronic - Sono Luminus
Hanging Freud - Beyond
The Frixion & Tipsy Eyes - Stay
Ultima engine - Evils And Animals
NewVersionOfBlue - Waterfall
Rogue FX - In The Dead Of Night (isunray To The Break Of Dawn Remix)
Sayana - Before (Radio Edit)
The Last Clouds - Songs From A Dying Star
execunit - Warrior Machine
Urban Fox - Gone (To End With You) (Re-imagined)
House Of Seb - Voltage
Stereo In Solo Ft People Theatre - I'll Never Come Back To You
Positronic - Find Our Way
CRED - Future
Metroland - Baukultur (The Davos Declaration)
SCALA & Vogon Poetry - Come Home Again
Anna Oberg - Sag Det Igen
Permer - Stay Don't Go Away
Church Of Trees - Where Is Love (Rob Stuart Mix)
Hometime - Burn The Photograph (Vinny Vero Extended Darkroom Mix)
Electron Odyssey - With You
Wesley Reid - All I See
Laura Dre - When I Fall (Andy Ellis Remix)
NewVersionOfBlue - Waves
Falling Bytes - Dis-Connected
Urban Fox - Before the Fall (Re-imagined)
Hanging Freud - Don’t Save Yourself For Him
Positronic - Surrender (Radio)
Fire Sign - Essential
Jay Wires - Meaningless
Metroland - The Great Reset

i-Select #106 (Part 1)

Edition #106 of i-Select has been released today on White Lion Radio

This is a series of shows dedicated to electronic/synthpop bands, that are unsigned, signed to a small independent label or self release their material.

Listen to the show on Mixcloud here

Playlist

deZeption - Puppet
Electron Odyssey - Artifact
Hanging Freud - A Pact Among The Living
Francesca e Luigi - You Were Not Really Amazing
Perpacity - More
Slave To The SQUAREwave - Starrs (Rob Stuart 2024 Ambient Mix)
ETH - Puppets (Depeche Mode cover)
Kraftman - Dancing In The Square (Synthception Remix)
Permer - Together In Japan
s475e - Frost
Sayana - Double Dose (Radio Edit)
Church Of Trees - Transience
HellaMox - One Man
LonelyKlown - Lonely Night (Nocturnal Isolation)
Mayah Camara & Sellorekt LA DREAMS - Good Time
Perpacity - Rule The Day
Slave To The SQUAREwave - Red Sun Horizon (Rob Stuart 2024 Chillout Mix)
Electron Odyssey - Our Time
O!Dorian - We Are One (United By Music)
ETH - Behind The Wheel (Depeche Mode Cover)
Stereo In Solo - Computer Soul
Permer - When I Wake Up
Sayana - Melancholy3 (Radio Edit)
s475e - White Ocean
Recodefy Ft The Rude Awakening - Lightfade (The Rude Awakening Remix)
eeman & Retrograth - Last Lines
Perpacity - Shout Out
Pol - Boys Are (Night Mix By Logan Sky)
Lucy Dreams - Love
deZeption - The Beginning

Put The Needle On The Record - Week #20

Put The Needle On The Record Week #20 Visage - Visage

For this weeks feature we go back to November 1980 and the self titled debut album by Visage.

This was the New Romantic super group, as it included Billy Currie and Midge Ure from Ultravox, John McGeoch and Dave Formula from Magazine and the Blitz duo Steve Strange and Rusty Egan. It is without doubt one of the very best albums of the 1980s era and an album I still play a lot to this day.

The 12 Inch extended mixes released off this album are fabulous, "Visage" is in my all time top 10 12 inch singles, superb drums and a brilliant track.

In all 4 singles were released from the album, "Tar" was their debut single, a song about smoking cigarettes! (which failed to chart in the UK), "Fade To Grey", a masterpiece, with a video that cost only £5,000 to make and is one of the first tracks that seems to feature in every 80s commpilation out there! (which reached number 8 in the UK Singles chart - it was number 1 in Switzerland and Germany), "Mind Of A Toy" (which reached number 13 in the UK Singles chart) and my favourite Visage track "Visage" (which reached number 21 in the UK Singles chart).

The album peaked at number 13 in the UK Album chart.

Track Listing

Visage
Blocks On Blocks
The Dancer
Tar
Fade To Grey
Malpaso Man
Mind Of A Toy
Moon Over Moscow
Visa-Age
The Steps

So if you have the album in your collection and have n't played it in a while, dig it out and give it a spin!

Maximum 80s #124

Welcome to edition 124 of Maximum 80s here on White Lion Radio, a show that celebrates the 1980s 12 Inch Single!

This a series of shows that features some of the finest 12 Inch Singles from the 80s all in one continuous mix.

The biggest hits in the 12 Inch format from the greatest decade in music history!

Listen to the show on Mixcloud here
 

Playlist

Red Box - Lean On Me (Extended Version)
Erasure - A Little Respect (12 Inch Vocal)
Michael Jackson - Another Part Of Me (Extended Dance Mix)
Spandau Ballet - The Freeze (12 Inch Version)
China Crisis - This Occupation (Extended Mix)
Divine - You Think You're A Man (12 Inch Mix)
Soft Cell - Bedsitter (12 Inch Version)
Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy - Kiss Me (1983 Extended Version)
Tears For Fears - Suffer The Children (Remix)
Kool & The Gang - Celebration (Long Version)
The Communards - Don't Leave Me This Way (Gotham City Mix)
Passion Puppets - Like Dust  (12 Extended Remix Version)

Put The Needle On The Record - Week #19

Put The Needle On The Record Week #19 A-Ha - Hunting High And Low

For this weeks feature we go back to October 1985 and the A-Ha album "Hunting High And Low".

This was the debut album from A-Ha, with the first single taken from the album "Take On Me" catapulting them into mega stardom, on the back of the ground breaking video made for the track, which went on to receive many awards and of course the video was released at the height of MTV, it was another video that was regularly seen on pub and club video jukeboxes.

What may surprise people is the fact that guitarist Pal Waaktaar wrote most of the songs and co-wrote a couple of tracks, lead singer Morten Harket is credited with one co-write and that was on "Take On Me".

The album featured 10 tracks, with 5 released as singles, "Take On Me" (which reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart), "Love Is Reason" (which was only released in Norway and the Phillippines!), "The Sun Always Shines On TV, my favourite A-Ha track (which reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart), "Train Of Thought" (which reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart) and the fabulous title track "Hunting High And Low" (which reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart).

For me it is another album where all 10 tracks are superb.

The album reached number 2 in the UK Album Chart.

Track Listing

Take On Me
Train Of Thought
Hunting High And Low
The Blue Sky
Living A Boy's Adventure Tale
The Sun Always Shines on TV
And You Tell Me
Love Is Reason
I Dream Myself Alive
Here I Stand And Face The Rain

So if you have the album in your collection and have n't played it in a while, dig it out and give it a spin!

Rubik's 80s Mix #124 (January 1986)

Edition #124 of Rubik's 80s Mix is now out on White Lion Radio and as is a New Year we have introduced a new idea into the Rubik's 80s Mix shows, each month we are going to feature songs in the charts on a specific month from the 1980s, this month we feature songs that were in the charts in January 1980.

This a series of shows that includes the very best in 80s music all in one continuous mix.

The biggest hits from the greatest decade in music history!

A show guaranteed to bring back so many happy memories!

Listen to the show on Mixcloud here

Playlist

Madonna - Dress You Up
Cherrelle & Alexander O'Neal - Saturday Love
Sting - Russians
A-Ha - The Sun Always Shines On TV
Dire Straits - Walk Of Life
Fine Young Cannibals - Suspicious Minds
Five Star - System Addict
Eurythmics - It's All Right (Baby's Coming Back)
Talk Talk - Life's What You Make It
ABC - Ocean Blue
Billy Ocean - When The Going Gets Tough (The Tough Get Going)
Whitney Houston - How Will I Know
Bronski Beat - Hit That Perfect Beat
Mr Mister - Broken Wings
Aretha Franklin - Who's Zoomin' Who

New Kraftman EP Released Today!

 Kraftman has released a brand new 4 track EP called "Skala System", a song that is about the computer system that was installed at the Chernobyl Nuclear plant at the time of the disaster in 1986.

The EP features 2 versions of "Skala System", including a 12 Inch Extended version by Kraftman, in addition the EP also features a fabulous remix of the track "Dancing In The Square" by Synthception (it has been given a "Vince Clarke" type makeover) and the i-Replicate synthetic 12 Inch Remix of the track "Anatoly Dyatlov".

 The lead track is not featured on the album "Chernobyl" as it was written and recorded after the release of the album.

The 4 track EP is available from Bandcamp

https://kraftman.bandcamp.com/album/skala-system-ep

The last few remaining copies of the CD version of the album "Chernobyl" are available from Bandcamp here:

https://kraftman.bandcamp.com/album/chernobyl

The EP is also available on leading digital download platforms:

Amazon here

itunes/Apple Music here

Spotify here 

Tidal here

Put The Needle On The Record - Week #18

Put The Needle On The Record Week #18 Madonna - True Blue

For this weeks feature we go back to June 1986 and the Madonna album "True Blue".

In the 80s Madonna could do no wrong and it was a decade that turned her into a mega star, her early albums also bring back memories about some wonderful holidays for me as lots of bars and clubs were playing her music.

"True Blue" is a fantastic album from start to finish and was Madonna's 3rd studio album and was the first album on which she co-wrote songs, it was the best selling album of 1986 and sold a staggering 25 million copies....Wow!

The album featured 5 singles, "Live To Tell" (which reached number 2 in the UK Singles chart), "Papa Don't Preach" (which reached number 1 in the UK Singles chart), "True Blue" (which also reached number 1 in the UK Singles chart), "Open Your Heart" (which reached number 4 in the UK Singles chart) and "La Isla Bonita" (which was another track that hit the top of the UK Singles chart).

As you would expect after all those number 1 singles the album also topped the UK Album charts.

Track Listing

Papa Don't Preach
Open Your Heart
White Heat
Live To Tell
Where's The Party
True Blue
La Isla Bonita
Jimmy Jimmy
Love Makes The World Go Round

So if you have the album in your collection and have n't played it in a while, dig it out and give it a spin!