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100 Pages·2016·13.82 MB·English

E L E C T R O N I C S O U N D
THE ELECTRONIC MUSIC MAGAZINE ISSUE 2.0 £5.99
KARL BARTOS
THE ASSOCIATES
STARWALKER
NISENNENMONDAI
BETH ORTON
RISE OF THE ROBOTS
THE BIRTH OF UK ELECTRONICA 1975-1984
JOHN FOXX | THE HUMAN LEAGUE | THROBBING GRISTLE | OMD | BLANCMANGE
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HELLO
WELCOME TO
EDITOR
Push
@Pushtweeting
ELECTRONIC SOUND 2.0
DEPUTY EDITOR
Mark Roland
@MarkRoland101
COMMISSIONING EDITOR
Neil Mason
@Neil_Mason
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Finlay Milligan The all-new analogue version of Electronic Sound 
@finmilligan has landed.
If this is the first time you’ve picked up Electronic Sound, it’s great
to have you on board. We’ve been around for three years and we’ve
ART EDITOR put out 19 issues during that time, but up until now we’ve been a
Mark Hall digital-only magazine. With this edition, we’re making the transition
@hellomarkhall into the world of glorious print.
We’re a magazine mostly about music made with machines.
Although neither the music bit or the machines part is a deal
CONTRIBUTORS breaker, as you’ll come to discover. Electronic music has always
Steve Appleton, Bethan Cole, Stephen been associated with ideas and the people who are attracted to it
Dalton, Cosmo Godfree, Carl Griffin, are often inquisitive, futurist types, interested in where things are
Andrew Holmes, Sophie Little, heading and how they’re going to build on what has come before. 
Kris Needs, Wendy Roby, Fat Roland, Electronic Sound tries to reflect that curiosity, charting the
Sam Rose, Mat Smith, Joachim Sperl, best of what’s going on right now and what is about to happen. We
Jools Stone, David Stubbs, Brian like a bit of time travel too, journeying back to the earliest days of
Sweeney, Neil Thomson, Ben Willmott electronic music experiments and stopping off at significant points
along the way.
Inside Electronic Sound this time around, we talk to John Foxx,
ADVERTISING Martyn Ware, Chris Carter, Andy McCluskey and others about
[email protected] the late 1970s and early 1980s electronic scene in the UK, surely
01603 951 280 one of the most inventive periods of British music. We take a trip
to Australia to see the monster synth collection of the Melbourne
SUBSCRIPTIONS Electronic Sound Studio, before heading to Japan to meet precision
electronicsound.co.uk/subscribe engineered noiseniks Nisennenmondai. We also chat to former
[email protected] Kraftwerker Karl Bartos about communication, the theme of his
01778 392 462 “lost” 2003 solo album, to Beth Orton about her collaboration with a
Fuck Button, and to Air’s Jean-Benoît Dunckel about his Starwalker
project. We have a terrific interview with Alan Rankine and Michael
PUBLISHED BY Dempsey from The Associates too.
Pam Communications Limited The next edition of Electronic Sound will be out in July and will
be available in high street newsagents across the UK. We’ll be
Studio 18, Capitol House, celebrating by giving away a free CD with the July issue, with further
Heigham Street, Norwich NR2 4TE, free CDs over our next few issues. To be sure of getting your copy,
United Kingdom check out our special trial subscription offer, which will give you
the next three print issues of Electronic Sound for a total payment
© Electronic Sound 2016. No part of this of just £4.99 (UK postage included). Go to electronicsound.co.uk/
magazine may be used or reproduced in
any way without the prior written consent subscribe for more information.
of the publisher. We may occasionally Now if you’ll excuse us, like Marty McFly, we’re going back to the
use material we believe has been placed
in the public domain. Sometimes it is future. Who’s got the keys to that DeLorean? 
not possible to identify and contact the
copyright holder. If you claim ownership of
something published by us, we will be happy Electronically yours
to make the correct acknowledgement. All Push & Mark
information is believed to be correct at the
time of publication and we cannot accept
responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies
there may be in that information.
www.electronicsound.co.uk WITH THANKS TO OUR PATRONS:
facebook.com/electronicmagazine Mark Fordyce, Gino Olivieri,
twitter.com/electronicmaguk Darren Norton, Mat Knox
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HINTERLAND
St Peter’s Seminary
Cardross, Argyll and Bute
24 March 2016
Words: NEIL MASON
Picture: BRIAN SWEENEY
A few miles west of Glasgow, the crumbling
concrete ruins of St Peter’s Seminary have
been hidden in overgrowth for the last 30
years. But the impressive listed building was
recently brought back to life with Hinterland,
a light, projection and sound installation by
ever-inventive public arts company, NVA.
Over 10 nights, the sold-out event marked
the beginning of NVA’s multi-million pound
project to save the building, turning it into a
600-capacity venue due to open in 2018.
“It’s a long, long story,” says NVA creative
director Angus Farquhar, no stranger to vast
industrial spaces having been a founding
member of Test Dept. “I first visited the site
in 2007 and just made a decision there and
then that we were going to be the people to
save it.”
The Hinterland show set out the creative
possibilities that the revitalisation of the site
will bring as a dramatic setting for public art.
“I’ve spend my life working in large, brutal,
industrial locations, so it’s par for the course
for me really,” laughs Angus.
That the former Test Dept man ends up
restoring one such building seems fitting,
doesn’t it?
“Exactly,” he says. “Things seem to have
come full circle.”
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THE OPENING SHOT
03 Welcome
04 The Opening Shot
THE FRONT
08 Short Circuits
10 Jimmy Cauty, Bill Drummond
12 The (Hypothetical) Prophets
14 Matthew Herbert, Jean-Michel Jarre
17 Devo
20 Let's Eat Grandma
21 Bob Moog
22 Hawkwind
26 Synthesiser Dave
30 Klaus Dinger
32 Tim Gane
34 Jack Dangers
36 Fat Roland
38 S'Express
THE FEATURES
40 Rise Of The Robots
48 Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio
54 Beth Orton
58 Starwalker
62 Nisennenmondai
66 Karl Bartos
70 The Associates
THE BACK
76 Brian Eno
78 Shit Robot, Tim Hecker,
Highasakite, Amp Studio
79 Matthew Bourne, Teleman, Niagara
80 Dave Clarke, Win
81 Oliver Coates, Wire, Olga Bell, Jameszoo
82 LEO, Boys Noize, Jolly Mare
83 M elt Yourself Down, Memotone
84 Tuxedomoon, John Carpenter,
Wild Palms, Anohni, Parquet Courts,
Space Dimensional Controller
85 Ladyhawke, Max Richter, Clark
86 Belbury Poly, Xeno & Oaklander, Kowton,
Wrangler, Larry Levan, The Lines
87 S usanna, Kenneth James Gibson,
Antwood
88 Mira Un Lobo!, Kikagaku Moyo,
Luke Abbott
89 Mark Pritchard, The Field, Cluster
90 o nDeadWaves, The Comet Is Coming
91 Cate Le Bon, Commodo, Patterned Air
92 A rbeit Schnickert Schneider,
Logan Takahashi, Polly Scattergood
93 John Foxx, The Gasman,
Teho Teardo & Blixa Bargeld
94 Lakker, Mogwai, Gold Panda, Szun Waves
95 Pantha Du Prince, Peter Baumann
96 Kris Needs
CONTENTS
MELBOURNE ELECTRONIC SOUND STUDIO PAGE 48
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PLAY
DIY Synth Kit
S
The DIY collection from the excellent Technology Will
T Save Us features a Gamer Kit, a Speaker Kit and even an
Electro Dough Kit, but their Synth Kit is what we really
I want to be putting together. This no-soldering-required
U device comes with full instructions and will no doubt
lead to an entire generation taking their first steps in
becoming synthpop legends. Completely customisable,
C
you’re able to reconfigure it to make different sounds
and it can even be connected to the BBC micro:bit. Great
R
for those who want to make music as well as learning
how. £25 | techwillsaveus.com
I
C

T
R
O
H
S
The world of
electronic
music isn’t
always a cheap
one, but fret not
because here’s
some pocket-
sized kit that’ll
get you more
blips and beeps BBC micro:bit
for less of your
earth units…
This miniature green and black wonder chip is being
given to every 11-year-old in the UK. As well as having
a built-in compass, Bluetooth and motion detection,
young wannabe electronic stars can programme the
micro:bit to be their very own musical instrument. With
a jack cable and a pair of headphones/speakers to hand,
the device can create note frequencies by turning the
speakers on and off again in double swift time. We can’t
wait for the first micro:bit cover of ‘Computer World’.
Free (for all 11 year olds) | microbit.co.uk
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THE FRONT
Pocket Operator
From Swedish electronics company Teenage
Engineering comes a range of frankly gorgeous pocket
synthesisers, aptly named Pocket Operators. Stripped
back with PCBs on show and unique LCD displays, these
Game Boy-like devices are full of character and easy to
use. There are six in total (Rhythm, Sub, Factory, Arcade,
Office and Robot) and, if you collect them all, you can
sync them up via a 3.5mm jack to create your own Pocket
Operator band. Great fun, beautifully designed and the
perfect blend of affordability and functionality.
£39 | teenageengineering.com
Raspberry Pi 3
The most recent iteration of the game-changing micro
computer boasts a 10-fold increase in processing
power over the Pi 1, as well as full compatibility with
its predecessors. The Pi has been to the International
Space Station and they’re making strides in open
source programming but, more importantly, you can
turn them into synths. Knowledge of programming is
required, but environments such as Sonic Pi and Piana
enable the micro machines to become virtual analogue
synthesisers. £30 | raspberrypi.org
Korg littleBits
Developed in partnership with Korg to bring a powerful
modular synthesiser to the home, the littleBits is a bit
like LEGO and, similar to the DIY Synth Kit, includes
instructions on how to put everything together. You don’t
need vast amounts of tech know-how to complete it, and
with endorsements from Brian Eno and Hans Zimmer, it
seems that the littleBits kit is perfect for those who want
to take their synth tinkering to the next level.
£140 | littlebits.cc
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SEE
New Model Army
Big tour for Jimmy Cauty's mini riot
One of the highlights of Banksy’s dystopian theme park ‘Dismaland’
in Weston-super-Mare last summer, the bewildering miniature world
crafted by former KLF troublemaker Jimmy Cauty has kicked off a UK
tour that runs until Christmas.
Set somewhere in Bedfordshire, ‘The Aftermath Dislocation
Principle’ is a 1:87-scale model of the scene after a rather
destructive night. To a suitably post-apocalyptic soundtrack of
crackling police radios and sweeping helicopter searchlights, the
only people left surveying what appears to be a mass riot are 3,000
or so yellow-jacketed coppers. INTRODUCING…
The installation, which covers 448 square feet and represents Mind Enterprises
approximately one square mile, has been rehoused in a specially
converted 40-foot shipping container with 123 holes drilled into the
sides, through which audiences can view the aftermath. Clambering aboard synthpop-infused
The tour, which began in April, will spend rest of the year visiting groovy train
the sites of historic riots in over 35 UK locations. jamescauty.com
WHO HE?
Mind Enterprises, otherwise known as Andrea Tirone,
moved from sunny Turin to less sunny Clapton, east
London, in order to broaden his musical horizons. His
plan worked well, as he was swiftly picked up by the
Double Denim label, who released his ‘Summer War’
single, a weird mix of jarring synths and crashing
percussion, in August 2012. 
WHY MIND ENTERPRISES?
He’s an emotional soul who pours everything into his
music. “I can spend 24 hours playing the same note
over and over, but I don’t get bored, because I am
slightly mad,” he offers helpfully. Experimental and
minimalist, his 2013 EP ‘My Girl’ came fuelled with
post-punk roots and afro-funk influences. Layered,
jittery and offbeat, it was a record you never tired of.
Since then, he’s refined his sound further, switched
labels and released his debut album, ‘Idealistic’.
TELL ME MORE
‘Girlfriend,’ which appears on said album, was the first
song he wrote as Mind Enterprises and was recorded
KLF Watch after an epiphany in the dead of night. “I remember I
woke up singing the melody and recorded it straight
away,” he says. Sitting alongside the funk-infused
They like to roam the land… synthpop of ‘Idealistic’ and ‘Chapita’, it seems that
move to London was a good call after all. Never mind
All this Jimmy Cauty talk made us think of Bill Drummond. What’s he the greyer skies, there’s nothing dull about what Mind
up to, you say? Well, he has also embarked on a travelling exhibition, Enterprises is creating.
but what he’s doing makes his former bandmate’s Christmas deadline
look a little tardy. The 2014-2025 World Tour of his ‘The 25 Paintings’ FINLAY MILLIGAN
show finds Drummond taking up a three-month residency in a
different location around the world every year until 2025. ‘Idealistic’ is out now on Because
Alongside the exhibition, which represents the climax of his
eclectic career, Drummond is also creating a series of new pieces.
‘The 25 Paintings’ began in Birmingham in 2014, where it will also
conclude in 2025. Last year, the show was in Sydney and it will
arrive in Calcutta this November. For more information, don’t visit his
penkilnburn.com website as it’s currently closed until further notice.
“I am having a rest from the internet,” Drummond explains.
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