Electronically Yours

Chi Ming Lai braved a heat warning in cental London where temperatures were higher than Thailand to witness an act who are currently on top of the UK singles and album charts



Here's Chi's report and photos of the La Roux album launch at the HMV Forum....

It has been a bit deja vu these last couple of days. The UK is locked a heavy recession with an unpopular Prime Minister at the helm, the threat of two rival championships in Formula One has narrowly been averted and Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' album is in the Top 10.


So in a strange week where events have echoed like an episode of 'Ashes of Ashes', it was apt that a new star named Jackson should hit the top of the singles charts on the occasion of MJ's passing.

Sister Elly Jackson (for it is she) has been making noises since LA ROUX were shortlisted for 'BBC Sound Of 2009'. And I'm not just talking about her falsetto voice!
Last December, she proclaimed 'Girls look wicked playing synths' and she was spot on.

Meanwhile, other forthright views about how women should dress to avoid attracting undesirable men and the state of manufactured pop have polarised opinion but at least Elly has something to say.



After years of being patronised with retarded R'n'B and its accompanying videos of misogyny, young women in particular are spurning all this junk and are relating to LA ROUX.

The red-headed one's success and distinct image has finally woken up the music industry to the fact that the public are also tired of vacuous drama school graduates like THE SATURDAYS, who are presented as models of aspiration and X-Factor wanabees who break into dull acapella every time they're stuck for something interesting to say!

Of course, we haven't even talked about the music yet. Last Autumn's 'Quicksand' introduced LA ROUX as a contemporary sound influenced by the melodic bleeps of classic synthpop and the funky Minneapolis rhythm structures of PRINCE and JAM & LEWIS.


The belting 'In For The Kill' unexpectedly sold 445,000 and just missed out on the top slot for what seemed like an eternity. However, the crunchy Hi-NRG musical 'two fingers' of 'Bulletproof' has made amends.
It's not often one has bought a single that went to No1, let alone be present at a gig in the week that the artist of said single is actually No1! So here was I, alongside an enthusiastic crowd at LA ROUX's album launch gig at the HMV Forum, London.

Augmented by usual her boy/girl synthesizer line-up of 'Mikey' and Mickey O' Brien (who makes her own music under the name LADYBURDEN), Elly also welcomed the addition of electronic percussionist William Bowerman who played his first gig with the band a few weeks ago on Radio1's 'Live Lounge'.


A standing sticksman in the tradition of Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flur, the wonderfully quiffed William fitted in well with his brand new Yamaha kit and (for display purposes only!) Simmons bass drum pad.
They're obviously still getting used to what this set-up can do because tonight, the sound isn't perfect.

Unfortunately, the rhythmical snap that is so important to the LA ROUX template seems strangely muted.

Following the opener 'Quicksand', 'Tiger Lily' is instantly a standout. The electro bossa-nova drives along with the thud of synth toms and Elly gives a fantastically spirited delivery.

Add in the poignantly 'Thriller' inspired monologue from Elly's actor dad Kit Jackson and you have a satisfying slice of perfect pop.

The various tempo changes on 'Colourless Colour' are a refreshing alternative to the endless repetition of most dance music, adding a tension and vibrancy to the mix.






'As If By Magic' is brilliant, some people will cry YAZOO but it also recalls that other great lost eccentric synth duo BLANCMANGE. And on 'Fascination', Elly nearly takes your head off as her unique oral timbre lets rip!

Missing from the set though is the gorgeous ballad 'Cover My Eyes'; instead we get the slightly disappointing 'Armour Love'. But Elly's rather chipper mood makes up for it. Uncharacteristically smiling a lot, she thanked the crowd for getting her to No1 and even danced a bit, although usually with her back to the audience. There was certainly an air of 'well, how did I get here?' as she acknowledged all the cheers and applause.

While shy and not a natural live performer, Elly has been working hard on honing her stage act and with time, can only get better.

Ending with her two big singles, the crowd show their appreciation as a white brassiere and pair of knickers are thrown onto the stage. Elly looks a little embarrassed at this but gamely holds the brassiere to her chest and throws it back to a welcoming frenzy, recalling that infamous photo of SMITHS' fans fighting over MORRISSEY's shirt!

Connecting with the largely young female audience who were singing along to every track and even chorusing 'Bulletproof' as they were leaving the venue, Elly has become their new heroine.


The types of girls who would have loved Molly Ringwald's character 'Andi' in 'Pretty In Pink' have now found someone who articulates their angst and despair.





The landscape is changing again and Elly may have to get used to the attention. With Jazz Summers (Yazz, Wham!) now acting as her co-manager, plans are probably afoot for world domination!

But as David Sylvian once sang: 'Les artistes de demain en desespoir agreable.'

With thanks to Mr Blue





Paris Is Burning!

Depeche Mode at Stade de France: Saturday 27 June 2009
Words: Steve Gray / Image: Michael Rose

For the four of us who boarded the Eurostar to Paris on Saturday, Depeche Mode have provided the soundtrack to our lives.

Between us is a long friendship and even two marriages founded on a mutual love of DM. So as we crossed the Channel to see Depeche play their biggest gig to date on French soil, excitement was running high.

In Paris it was a beautiful summer evening; perfect for a gig in the vast open-air stadium that is Stade de France. Here some 80,000 devotees had gathered to see Basildon's finest.

This is a big as electro gets!

There has been genuine concern amongst the fanbase about Dave's recent ill health, which had forced the cancellation of several shows. So when a healthy smiling Dave first appeared on the giant video screens, the roar of delight from the assembled masses was both heartfelt and spine-tingling. And from that moment on, the band could do no wrong.

I won't give too much away, but the set list is, as the French say, 'formidable! If, like me, you're not a big fan of the current album, then don't worry. There are plenty of DM classics to warm the heart of even the most jaded fan, including a few very welcome surprises from the past!

The band were flanked by their now customary video backdrops, and the visuals were striking throughout, but tonight it was really all about the band's performance.

This was a celebration (a black one, naturally) and everyone was celebrating.

Picture a stadium full of people singing 'peace will come to me' under a warm Parisian sunset; or a huge sea of waving arms to 'Never Let Me Down Again'.


Dave Gahan even slipped in a cheeky tribute to the late Michael Jackson, with a high-pitched 'yee-hee!' during 'Strangelove' (no I didn't make that up, it really happened!)

If Stade de France had a roof, DM would've blown it off tonight. When the show finally came to an end and the house lights came up, one of my companions said 'that was the best EVER!' And I smiled, because I'd been thinking the same...

EY's quote of the week - Elly Jackson on 'braindead' RnB:

'I think a lot of it is, 'Baby I love you, I want to kiss you.' It's just like, 'What are you on about? Shut up.' It certainly doesn't make me feel anything special, or doesn't make me think, or go somewhere else in my mind. I just don't get it'

Read Elly's anti-RnB attack over at The Daily Mirror.

The musical times are a changing and we love this girl even more....

20 year old Brixton girl Elly Jackson and retro knob twiddler Ben Langmaid this week released their self produced debut album 'La Roux' on the back of their first UK Number One 'Bulletproof'.


In the months leading up to the official debut single, Elly spoke of her desire for a return to the 'real' pop stars of New Wave and her love for Heaven 17, Yazoo, Depeche Mode and Eurythmics.





A few demos were floated on the net several months ago with glimmers of BEF promise yet the electro backing was so 'primitive' and raw, many pop commentators and blogs across the land marked La Roux as 'least likely to succeed'.
Attention soon turned to Lady GaGa who resisted full on electro with some pleasant and enticing R'n'B flavoured cuts for the Transatlantic Rihanna market.

La Roux's debut opens with 'surprise' hit single 'In For The Kill' - a track originally rejected by Radio One who claimed the single sounded 'too tinny', yet EY was astonished by the quality of this pop tune when the demo surfaced on the net earlier this year.


At this wobbly point, Polydor could easily have panicked and thrown the new tracks over to Lady Gaga's producers or countless other names who have worked with Britney, but to their credit, they kept calm.



Someone at Polydor was in tune with EY and sensing the biggest electro revival since 1981 (the La Roux debut is currently Number One in the midweek album charts).



When the static and rather cheap video was released of Elly sitting in an 80's sports car with glowing white eyes, many thought that the writing was on the wall for this artist until 'In For The Kill' entered the UK top 20.
It then did the unthinkable by rising to number 2 a few weeks later where it would stay for another 5 weeks - the longest grip on the Number 2 slot since ' Vienna' way back in 1981.
Some say that the 'drum and bass' Skream mix contributed to much of that success and in part it's true, EY has heard this mix blasting out from some unexpected places but this wasn't the mix that daytime radio were playing.


Radio One eventually playlisted the single after getting it so horribly wrong and 'In For The Kill' went on to sell a staggering half a million copies with virtually no hype proving that people know a good pop tune when they hear it.




Many other electro acts would have failed at this initial hurdle.


How many times since the birth of this site have we cherished a great pop tune (with synths) and seen it cut short by national BBC radio who played the safe card and opted instead to playlist American led 'urban' (yawnfest) music?





'In For The Kill' works because it's a simple yet brilliant pop tune that currently sounds like nothing else on mainstream radio. Even ff you stripped away the ancient and delightfully raw synth layers, this track would still reach out and shake up the masses.
It's a rare pop gem and they don't come round too often

EY was recently driving through a mile long tunnel in Holland full of speeding strips of multi coloured neon lights whilst 'In For The Kill' was blasting out . For three glorious minutes, it felt like the future had finally arrived.

This track is perfect for night time driving.

Putting aside the stomping opening track that is familiar to masses of people beyond this site and electro genre, the real test for this La Roux debut lays in the new tracks that haven't been leaked.

After the very first listen, EY had already marked 'Tigerlily' as the (possible) 4th single. There was a bit of a buzz about this track from people who had seen La Roux live earlier in the year along with one or two others.


'Tigerlily' kicks off like an electro waltz with sinister fairground backing. The closest to it would be Goldfrapp's 'Satin Chic' from 2005's 'Supernature'.



Theatrical 'Tigerlily' highs include a hilariously creepy spoken monologue from Elly's Father (who must be an actor) that pays timely homage to Vincent Price's cameo on Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'.


The best bit of the track is when Elly doubles up on her vocals to show how good she is with harmonies with the spine tingly line 'I can see you burning with desire for a kiss. Psychbabble all upon your lips'.

The vinyl only debut release 'Quicksand' keeps up the pace with it's blend of funked up electro that lays somewhere between Heaven 17's 'Penthouse & Pavement' and 'When Doves Cry' by Prince. It's the track that undoubtedly helped Elly make it into the BBC's Sound of 2009 once place above Lady Gaga.
Prior to hearing the album, EY was hoping that this single would follow 'Bulletproof' and get a proper release and despite the shining quality of 'Quicksand', there are better tracks to follow...

Almost two months ago, EY made one of it's wild analogue claims about 'Bullerproof'. So convinced of it's pop brilliance, we bravely predicted that it would go one better than 'In For The Kill' and be a future chart topper with a gradual climb to the top.

We just didn't expect it to go straight in at Number One after a few days on sale.

Not only has La Roux saved UK pop, but she's also created a surge in the sales of UK singles with some of the purist electro in over 20 years.




'Bulletproof' is full of mid 80's analogue programming not seen since Dead Or Alive's SAW produced 'Youthquake' debut back in 1985 or some of the early Blancmange recordings, but it's the insanely catchy chorus that makes the track special and Elly's sheer vocal range.

Many of you will observe friends, lovers, work colleagues and other poor souls with no previous interest in analogue electro suddenly singing 'This time baby I'll be Bulletproof'.

EY has already noticed this phenomenon a few times this week and we flash a knowing smile.




For the first initial plays of La Roux's debut album earlier in the week, it took several listens before we could finally get to the end of the album. The reason for this is that we kept skipping back a few tracks to hear 'Tigerlilly' again and this next one....

'Colourless Colour' is a moody and mid temp track that could possibly have come from The Eurythmics 'Touch' period.
There are several moments on this album where you can almost imagine Annie Lennox taking over on vox particularly on the track's best bit where Elly sings: 'Early nineties decor. It was a day for. We wanted to play, But we had nothing left to play for. Colourless colour. Once in fashion. And soon to be soon'.


This is a magical shimmering pop moment where the song steps up a gear with emotional Elly vox and a tingly bassline - the closest La Roux gets to Heaven 17's 'Come Live Me' in terms of haunting synth chords.

EY will now make another prediction. Track 6 'I'm Not Your Toy' is another future chart topper (we are certain that this will be single number 3 in the autumn).
With steel drums, this track is very much like The Knife's 'Pass This On' but with a pop sensibility that will easily result in a massive hit. The chords also remind us a bit of Jim Diamond's 1982 hit 'I Won't Let You Down' but please don't let that put you off (we rather like Jim's track).

Our fave bit is when Elly warns that she's 'not your toy' and that it's 'All false love and attention. You don't like me. You just want the attention'.

Usually, we tend to skip 'ballads'.

When we first played 'Cover My Eyes', there wasn't a dry eye here at EYHQ as were were transported back to the rawness of young love and the point where you see your EX (and love of life) walking hand in hand with a new lover.

'Cover My Eyes' captures all that pain and the stab in the heart.


Elly's emotive range is at it's best on this track which we suspect is single number 4 - a Christmas Number one possibly (though don't quote us on that).


Whilst the emotions are laid bare, the backing is all warm and buzzy with some gorgeous analogue sounds and the lead hook is very oriental - much like Ryuichi Sakamoto lead synth on 1983 gem 'Forbidden Colours'.

Elley is backed by The London Community Gospel Choir during the chorus that helps to give the track a bit of an edge.
Be prepared to reach for the tissues when Elly lays out her soul during the chorus: 'When I see you walking with her. I have to cover my eyes. Everytime you leave with her. Something inside of me dies'.

Probably best to skip this one if you've just split up from a loved one....

'As If By Magic' sounds a bit like something from Sophie Eliis Bextors 'Read My Lips' (2001)- an album that contained one or two gems including the analogue driven 'Final Move'.
There's a slight hint of acoustic guitar on this track but it's no more jarring than the opening chords of Erasure's 'A Little Respect' and it's all handled rather nicely.
This is a very pleasant tune and the first track on the album that hints at Vince Clarke and 'You & Me Both' Yazoo.





'Fascination' and 'Reflections Are Protections' have been available online as demos for many months now.

'Reflections' in particular was the track that convinced EY back in December 2008 that La Roux could be an intriguing future attraction.

It seemed to tune in to the electrical foundation of all things EY with 'Reproduction' sounds and unstable synths.




Our hope back then was that this debut album would match the early promise and quality of these two tracks. The rest of this La Roux debut is infinitely better than these two tracks, Elly and Ben have taken their band to another level and one that few acts can currently match.
So far, this debut is already shaping up to be one of the most important mainstream electronic records since Propaganda's 'A Secret Wish' in 1985.

Penultimate track 'Armour Love' threatens to break out into T'pau's 'China In My Hand' with the opening few bars but thankfully the similarities end as the main melody kicks in and it all begins to remind EY of The Assembly's 1983' hit 'Never Never' with fat synth lines and lovely instrumental breaks. There is always a dual vocal trick going on during the chorus that was used many times by Yazoo.
With vulnerable lyrics about love and loss, there is a very tender and emotional side to Elly's songwriting and lyrically, some of this album is astonishing.

The UK version of La Roux's debut comes with a bonus track. Usually 'bonus' tracks are complete rubbish and worthy of no more than one play.
The only thing that confuses us about the La Roux bonus track is this...
'Growing Pains' is a single!!!
Why was it relegated to a mere 'bonus track' when it's as good, if not better than some of the others?

'Growing Pains' is a chirpy pop song with a bit of disjointed harmonica thrown in before the chorus and it all sounds much like The The's 1983 single 'This Is The Day' - a track we adore here at EY.

'O I make mistakes . And you just say it's growing pains'


La Roux is full of life lessons and growing pains and the girl from BEF is only just beginning to reveal her electro soul.

Electronically Yours Rating: 9.5/10


Choice tracks: All of them.





Grab a copy of 'La Roux' over at Amazon












Additional....




During a recent Radio 5 interview, La Roux's Elly hinted about a shift towards Heaven 17's The Luxury Gap' with the use of full orchestras and the experimental epic nature of 'And That's No Lie' from 1984's 'How Men Are'.

Human League's founding member Martyn Ware has even offered to produce Elly so that BEF collaboration could well become a reality later down the line.


Heaven 17 are currently planning a UK tour next year where they will perform live for the first time their debut album 'Penthouse & Pavement'.




'EY VOL 1' was back at Number One on Musicnonstop after it was briefly overtaken by VNV Nation yesterday whilst Marsheaux climb to Number 2.

We are currently busy preparing a track by track guide to the UNDO/EMI compilation with notes from some of the featured bands and cheeky electro gossip.

o r a c x

'EY Vol 1' looks set to surrender the Number One spot over at MNS shortly with the imminent release of one the albums of the year.
No regrets here at EY HQ as we vacate the top for two of the loveliest girls in electro - Marianthi & Sophie.

Musicnonstop are now taking pre-orders for the Out of Line limited edition version of 'Lumineux Noir'- a 2 CD set that includes additional remixes of 'Breakthrough' and 'Summer' plus 2008 vinyl single and live fave 'Ghost'.

'Lumineux Noir' is released on July 10th and we will shortly be posting an EY track by track guide to this essential album.

To pre-order your copy, please jump here.

(Image © Out of Line)

Lady Victoria at Glasto!

The gorgeous Little Boots yesterday played a half hour set to a packed John Peel set at this weekend's Glastonbury.

Dressed in a very fetching sequined designer dress, Lady Victoria gave an energetic performance that began with the track that we really think should be a single 'Earthquake' with lots of lovely synthy bits.
'Meddle' and 'Love Kills' (with a 'Brian May solo'....on synth!) were both delightful but the real highlight for EY was 'Symmetry' (minus Philip Oakey this time round but still works brilliantly with Victoria singing the entire song).

The biggest cheer however was for the final track of the night and EY's Song of 2008 - 'Stuck On Repeat'.

The BBC have the entire Little Boots performance online and if you're living in the UK, grab a nice cup of tea, sit back and watch this. It's the best thing we've seen on a Sunday morning in a long, long time.





Hear the new La Roux album!

Monday sees the release of La Roux's debut album and EY is patiently waiting for the CD to drop through the letterbox from Amazon.

Despite selling half a million singles this year (which is amazing given that most people had overlooked Elly since the BBC Sound of 2009 and the BBC wouldn't playlist her), Elly has astonishingly been given a tough time in the various electro forums from people bemoaning the lack of success for electro bands fronted by men blah blah blah.


La Roux's success has nothing to do with 'hype'.

La Roux is succeeding because she's co-writing brilliant pop songs that are reaching out to a very wide audience.




We personally can't get our heads around the negativity. UK Electro is finally back at the top of the charts, RnB is finally on the way out and the mainstream press is writing about this genre.

It's good news all round.

Topshop are currently streaming the entire La Roux album. We ask that you jump here and listen to this album.

Some of you are really going to fall in love with this debut album. 'I'm Not Your Toy' is another chart topper in our humble opinion.

The Undo/EMI compilation 'Electronically Yours Vol 1' today overtook VNV Nation's new album 'Of Power, Faith & Glory' to reach Number One on the Musicnonstop Top Ten Bestsellers Chart.

We would like to raise a glass and say a big 'chin chin' to all the fabulous artists from across the globe who helped make this compilation a sonic delight and one that we still enjoy blasting out here at EY HQ.

Additional linear notes and insights into the making of 'EY VOL 1' will follow very shortly.

'EY VOL 1' can currently be purchased online from Musicnonstop in the UK and Undo Records in Greece.

EY's top electro girl heading for UK Number One?





EY has been predicting big things for this 'future chart topper' for quite a while (back here) and the single has dominated EY's playlist for the past few months - so huge congratulations to La Roux who is currently Number 1 in the midweek UK singles chart with the best single of the year so far... 'Bulletproof'.

Previous single 'In For The Kill' narrowly missed out on the top spot to spend over a month at Number 2 whilst the very clever Skream remixes reached out to ghrab an unsuspecting audience and could be heard everywhere.


Click on the 'Louise-esque' single cover to watch the new promo video.

Elly is...the girl from BEF!

orac xx

EY is proud to announce that 'Electronically Yours Vol 1' has today officially gone on sale across Europe via Undo and the UK's premier music store Musicnonstop
where it climbed to Number 4 late last night - one place behind Deppy Mode's haunting new single 'Peace'!

This 2-CD deluxe 'art' edition contains 23 tracks of blistering new female fronted electro.
Packed full of passion and songs of love, dancing and betrayal, 'EY VOL 1' is 100% analogue pop - compiled by Orac and Undo Label Manager George Geranios.

Artists appearing on two luscious EY CDs include; Client, Marsheaux, Katsen, Oblique, Tiger Baby, Parralox, Ultrasonics, Red Blooded Women, Mikro, Electrobelle, Noush, Cassette Electrik, Hidden Place, Technologic, Fotonovela, Kid Moxie, Northern Kind and Rachel Car.

Initial packaging delays late last year eventually led to the commissioning of bonus remixes. Appearing on CD for the first time are the exclusive Marsheaux extended remixes of 'Hanging On' and Electrobelle's 2007 classic 'Mirrorball', Katsen's bleepy 'Tragedy Mix' of 'Where Nobody Can Find Us' and the Parralox 'EY3' remix of 'Electricity' gem 'X Minus One'.

To celebrate this release, we've just added the lovely Extended Marshy Mix of 'Hanging On' to the EY Myspace player - jump here and have a listen.

All tracks have been remastered in Athens by Undo Records who are releasing this compilation along with EMI.



From the opening linear notes by Orac: 'EY Vol 1' would not exist today had it not been for the sonic innovations of Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Human League, Heaven 17, Yazoo, ABC, Soft Cell, OMD & Gary Numan...'



To grab a copy of the Deluxe 'Art' Edition of 'EY VOL 1' for just 15 euros - please jump here.

Coming soon - a track by track guide to the featured songs and artists on 'EY VOL 1'


2008 EY interviews with Marsheaux, Parralox, Client and Kid Moxie can be reached here.

It is officially Marsheaux week here at EY HQ in Royal Ascot.


We've spent the day blasting out the delicious analogue sonics of 'Lumnieux Noir' repeatedly & totally oblivous to the Queen and her chums who are making a right old drunken racket over at the racecourse (which is up there in EY's pet hates along with fox hunting. rugby, cricket...and Tories).









To hear the final remastered version of the new Marsheaux album on shiny CD together with a bottle of Turner Road Reserve Chardonnay will surely rank as one of EY's most treasured days of 2009.

'Luminoux Noir' is pure space age pop, a collection of twelve blistering pop classics all gorgeously sequenced with tingly vocal hooks and seductive whispers. The album is everything we could have possibly hoped for as a follow-up to EY's album of 2007 - 'Peek A Boo'.









'Lumineux Noir' has delighted EY so much with it's sensual layers and hypnotic analogue pulses that we've decided to give away four gorgeous copies of the official UNDO promo to readers EY as from tonight!

Each copy is personally signed by Premier Space Age Pop Princesses... Marianthi & Sophie and the winners will receive their copies a few days before the official release date of July 10th.

You could be the first to sample the brilliance of 'So Far' - a track that recently so impressed BBC DJ Stuart Maconie (and it is Marshy's finest moment to date), or swoon with a loved one to the DM inspired 'Sorrow'.

Alternatively, you could simply dance till you drop to new anthems such as the achingly catchy 'Summer' followed by the equally instant and warm bleepy buzz of 'Radial Emotion' - and the giveaway doesn't end there as we also have four deluxe copies of the long awaited 'Electronically Yours Vol 1' to accompany 'Lumineux Noir'!






The 2-CD UNDO/EMI compilation is finally here in sumptuous packaging with fold-out posters - full of female fronted electro including Marsheaux, Client, Katsen, Hidden Place, Tiger Baby, Parralox, Noush and many, many more.

All lovingly compiled before Little Boots and La Roux thankfully brought electro back to the masses and the UK media.

To win a double prize of both 'Lumineux Noir' & 'EY VOL1' simply send us your name and postal address here. with the header Marsheaux/EY.

This comp closes on June 30th and is open to EY readers across Europe.


'EY VOL 1' will be available to order via Musicnonstop shortly.


Related links:
Pre-order 'Lumineux Noir' from Out Of Line
Marsheaux @ myspace
Official Marsheaux forum

A few months back, we ran a Human League competition for readers to see Philip and the girls perform live at Forestry Commission's annual Live Music programme on July 9th and we are pleased to announce that the following people will each receive a pair of tickets.

Innovative electro congratulations to:

Michele Bowker
London

Heather Look
Aldermaston

Steven Howard
Aylesbury

Keep up with the very best Human League gossip over at the Secrets forum.




Coming tomorrow - La Roux - the girl from BEF?

Love from a radial emotional orac x

MARSHEAUX have released their most accomplished work in their third opus 'Lumineux Noir'.

All the potential that was showcased on the first two albums 'E-Bay Queen' and 'Peek A-Boo' has now been fully realised.

There are no covers this time, such was the determination of Marianthi and Sophie to make this the artistic statement from their electro heart.
But as the album title suggests, in amongst the night there's something a bit brighter lurking too.

They've not turned into NINE INCH NAILS just yet!

With their contrasting vocal stylings; Marianthi: soft and sweet, Sophie: more alto and icy; they compliment each other in a similar fashion to Helen and Mira in LADYTRON or Claudia Brucken and Suzanne Freytag when they fronted PROPAGANDA.

If PROPANGANDA were 'ABBA in hell' then MARSHEAUX are the 'Hellectro' Agnetha and Annifrid. With a sexy Eurocentric charm, their voices are the crucial additional instrument alongside all the electric dreams.

With a cinematic start in 'Exit', there are no bright lights but it builds. It's also a statement of intent as MARSHEAUX launch a darker approach to proceedings recalling how DEPECHE MODE opened their first black day with a 'Black Celebration'.

'Breakthrough' borrows LADYTRON's electro-rock template with a thundering four-to-the-floor beat and sprinkling of synthesised sweeps.


The 'warm' LADYTRON tag that some have been using to describe MARSHEAUX isn't far off as this has a similar energy to Tron's 'Sugar' but adds an uplifting quality to avoid it slipping into neo-indie rock gloom.

'Who's gonna make you feel alright?' indeed!

Sweetness presides in 'Summer' with an instant melody and hypnotic octave shifts. There's also vibratoed interludes which shows how the inventive use of virtual analogue sounds is very much part of MARSHEAUX's electro DNA, it's quite lovely.

Meanwhile, the more urgent 'Stand By' has a great chorus among the swirling glissando and staccato stomp. The trademark counterpoint between the Marianthi and Sophie's different vocal timbres works a treat here.

'Radial Emotion' is the most immediate track on 'Lumineux Noir' but that's not to say there isn't more substance to it.
Other than being immensely catchy, there is a battle of the squelchy synths taking place amongst the Atari game jingles and syndrums!

The pace slows a little for 'Destroy Me' which is very dreamy with its (shock horror!) acoustic guitar samples sitting alongside the symphonic strings and Teutonic pulse.

Again, the vocals are just gorgeous. They have a breathy quality that will make you melt.


'Loss Of Heaven' is another song you will fall for with its choral edge and meaty syncopated Klingklang beat. Fast, appregiated sequences punctuate the mood towards the climax.
'Faith' shows despite working in a largely electro pop context, MARSHEAUX are not afraid to add in some avant experimentation with some Stockhausen-like detuned tones for extra spookiness.



'It's Fine' is rhythmically a sister to 'Breakthrough' but with a new found aggressiveness.
Whilst not sounding like THE PRODIGY, it's a pointer as to how Sophie and Marianthi were consciously trying to make this album a little less girly.

'Thousand LEDs' is closest to the straightforward electro pop sound of early MARSHEAUX as heard on 'E-Bay Queen'. It's a rather nice way of saying 'Hey, this is what we were like but listen to the next one to hear how we've moved on'.


So with the following 'So Far', it's one of highlights in a remarkable album of highlights. As approved by BBC 6Music's Stuart Maconie who likened it to early HUMAN LEAGUE when he heard the track on its public debut at EY4, it is strangely edgy while still being accessible.
At first, it does sound odd.

There's lots of bleeping and what appears to be a syntax error. And this is where its genius lies. In the same way TUBEWAY ARMY's 'Are Friends Electric?' riff is discordant and off-key, the fat REX THE DOG influenced bassline IS off-beat but it works!
Add in the classic MARSHEAUX angelic vocals and you have one of the most innovative electronic tracks of the decade. Marianthi pining 'I don't know why I still feel you so far!' will be guaranteed to give you goosebumps.

The magnificent closer 'Sorrow' is the best DEPECHE MODE song that Messrs Gahan, Gore, Fletcher and Wilder never recorded.

It is totally epic and wears guilt like shackles round its feet, like a halo in reverse.

Simply brilliant!

This album is technically very accomplished and has a dynamically Krafted sound, thanks to George Geranios and Nick Bitzenis of FOTONOVELA at the production helm.

It's 'Architecture & Morality', 'Violator' and 'Dare' all-in-one, combined with a feminine touch. With hooks galore and plenty of space for all the sounds to work in, 'Lumineux Noir' has the 'air-synth' factor of those afore-mentioned classics plus some enormously hummable tunes that lifts it way above the competition.

So beautiful in places yet slightly unsettling in others, 'Lumineux Noir' has the melancholic realism of Martin L Gore's best songs with the textural grandeur of ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK.

Add in a touch of electro pop sensibility via THE HUMAN LEAGUE with the analogue inspiration of KRAFTWERK and you have one of the best albums of the last twenty years!

'Simply the finest electro album since DEPECHE MODE's Violator'claimed The Fly when it wrote about THE PRESETS 'Beam'...NAH!
That was nowhere near close!

MARSHEAUX's 'Lumineux Noir' is the real thing!

EY RATING: 9.5 out of 10

Related links:
Pre-order 'Lumineux Noir' from Out Of Line
Marsheaux @ myspace
Official Marsheaux forum

Undo Records and Germany's Out Of Line label have released details of one of the key electronic albums of the year - the third studio album from Greek Sensations Marsheaux.


Marianthi & Sophie's new pop gem 'Lumineux Noir' is released on July 10th as an Out Of Line limited edition together with a bonus disc of 'Breakthough' remixes and it's EY's most played album of the week.


This edition also comes with the 2008 vinyl single 'Ghost'.


A standard worldwide version of the album will be available on CD and digital outlets in late July.

The tracklisting for the LTD German edition is now confirmed as:


CD 1

Exit
Breakthrough
Summer
Stand By
Radial Emotion
Loss Of Heaven
Destroy Me
Faith
Ghost
It's Fine Now
Thousand LEDs
So Far
Sorrow

CD 2

Breakthrough - Radio Edit
Breakthrough - Fotonovela Remix
How Does It Feel?
Breakthrough - Auto Auto Remix
Breakthrough - Marsheauxxxx Remixxxx
Summer (Radio Edit)
Summer (august 15th Remix)

To pre-order this edition directly from Out Of line for just 14.99 (Euros)- please click here.




Undo Records are also releasing an alternative Special Edition in lush packaging complete with posters featuring lyrics from 'Lumineux Noir'.

The packaging is pictured opposite and contains the main album minus the Out Of Line 'Ghost' bonus track.
This Undo version will be avaialble drectly from their official site soon.

An EY review of this very special release will follow shortly from Chi Ming Lai, but in the meantime do head on over to the official Marsheaux forum where you could win one of the Undo promos autographed by S&M!

All you need to do is complete the following sentence in no more than 15 words....

'I want to be Luminous Black because....'


The closing date for this comp is Tuesday June 23rd at 21:00 GMT


Related link: official Marsheaux forum

LITTLE BOOTS' debut album was released this week to great fanfare with a big media campaign including TV advertising and a pair of gigs at HMV stores in Blackpool and London.


EY were there at HMV Oxford Street and here's Chi Ming Lai's eyewitness report.

'It's exciting being the new girl, but the hype has put pressure on this album...it's all good though' said Victoria Hesketh to The London Paper.

'LA ROUX's done amazingly well, which shows the charts aren't what everyone thought - that people don't just want Akon or whatever and maybe times are changing'

A large and varied crowd gathered for a free concert and signing by BBC Sound of 2009 and EY fave LITTLE BOOTS. They were of all ages, genders, sexualities and races. But herein lays the potential pro and con of her appeal. Everyone wants their own version of LITTLE BOOTS. Whereas everyone is entitled to their opinion, one clueless criticism came on one forum: 'album is a bit meh...Next album, more pop production, less electro please'.

Huh? It would appear some people don't understand LITTLE BOOTS and the lineage linking her to GIORGIO MORODER, THE HUMAN LEAGUE and PET SHOP BOYS.

She may be glamourous and girly but there's her Korg synth, her Stylophone and Yamaha Tenori'on.

She is one of EY, a 'synth geek' albeit a very pretty one...

One thing for sure is that LITTLE BOOTS needs to be experienced live. Victoria gave her all during the short set on the small shop stage as she had done at Heaven several weeks previously.

Playing keyboards and stylophone, dancing and waving her tambourine, programming her Tenori-on and engaging the gathered throng, she gave an enthusiastic performance that will almost certainly wow festival audiences this summer.

New single 'Remedy' particularly sounded impressive, kicking powerfully with the (say it quietly!) live drum kit than on record while 'New In Town' works well in a concert setting despite its disappointment as a single. But it's the other songs 'Meddle', 'Mathematics' and 'Stuck On Repeat' that show where the spirit and excitement of LITTLE BOOTS truly lies.

Victoria kept her cool as what appeared to be hundreds of Paparazzi tried to photograph her while she was genuinely a bit taken aback to see her live visage on the large live screen projection at the back of the stage.

Afterwards, Victoria met the fans to sign copies of 'Hands'. Record store signings can be distinctly impersonal affairs through no fault of the artist.

Security can often be just a little over zealous as they were to me when I chatted to Victoria and lent over to pass an EY business card to her.

She gave me a quick smile and said she'd check out the site while I was 'moved on'!

But not before she scribbled on my CD booklet: 'Dear Chi, Lots of Love Boots x' (sigh!)







Orac's electro media watch




With such a high profile release this week from Little Boots (and 'Hands' is currently dominating EY HQ's hilariously retro Ghetto blaster), the UK media has been full of coverage for two of it's leading girls - Little Boots and La Roux.

A chart battle is brewing on the horizon which is beginning to catch the imagination of the UK's media, a level of interest that we haven't seen since the head on 1995 Brit Pop collision between Blur and that Gallagher band (whom we refuse to mention here on EY).

Earlier this week, BBC reporter Ian Young posted an article on the 'new pop divas' with amusing pye charts to explain and introduce the new electro sound to an audience whose ears have been repeatedly bashed and damaged by R'n'B.





Little Boots pye chart contains 13% of Human League and a whopping 23% of Saint Etienne (Ian is on to something there) whilst La Roux's biggest influence appears to be the Eurythmics with 25% and a nice slice of Yazoo on 15%.

No mention for Heaven 17 even though Elly has name checked them several times in recent months and declared 'Come Live With Me' as one of her all time fave tunes.

Ian's other pop diva is Florence & The Machine with bits of Bjork and Kate Bush - so we may have to delve into her music at some point.

To read Ian's article in full, please click here.

Elsewhere on the BBC, Lady Victoria explained how and why the perfect collaboration with Philip Oakey became a reality for the stunning 'Symmetry':

A year ago she was singing covers on YouTube. Now she's rolling out dream duets with 80s pop outfit The Human League on her debut album, Hands.

"I'd written this song called Symmetry and it just felt like it needed some male vocals on there," she explains. 'I'm a huge Human League fan and I just didn't think it would happen. When Phil Oakey said he would do it, I was like, 'Wow, incredible', because I'm just a massive fan.
Unfortunately we didn't get to be in the studio together, gutted.'

As for joining her hero onstage at one of the mountain of festivals she's playing this summer, Victoria had this to say: 'In my dreams it may happen, in my electric dreams boom boom.'

For the full interview - jump here.

Staying with the electro loving BBC, the corporation gave 'Hands' a glowing review describing it as 'the sort of album which unites lovers of pop, young and old' with the following praise for 'Symmetry':
'Of the highlights, Phil Oakey popping up to duet on Symmetry is a thing that dreams are made of, and may cause riots if not released as a single at some point.'

Link: BBC Music


Grab a copy of 'Hands' and hear what all the fuss is about...




Depeche Mode resume tour in Germany

Dave Gahan returned to the stage last night in Leipzig, Germany thanking fans for all their support since the singer was taken seriously ill in Athens last month. Twelve shows were cancelled or postponed in total including the high profile O2 gig in London a few weeks back.

Dave also praised the doctors who looked after him during treatment for a low-grade malignant tumour and said 'Being back onstage is an incredible feeling and I'm looking forward to each and every show'.

The Tour of The Universe moves on to Berlin on June 10th and Depeche release their new single 'Peace' on June 15th.

Source: BBC News

'Let's be really honest - this is showbiz. Which is why 'Dare' worked - we had pictures of the group, professional photography and the name of the group very big. We're gonna do what we can to sell it. It's the music we care about, but if people can't walk in the shop and say 'I like that group I saw last night', it's not going to get you anywhere'.
Philip Oakey, from 'Totally Wired: The Post-Punk Interviews' by Simon Reynolds

'The goal, I suppose, is to sell records'. Victoria Hesketh, from interview with Popjustice

'I really clearly thought 'We are going to be the new Roxy Music'. There was a band at the time in Sheffield called The Extras and they had the same idea. But they did it by having one guy be like Bryan Ferry, getting in a sax player like Andy MacKay, getting in a synth guy like Eno! What we thought was 'What would Bryan Ferry do now if he was coming out of art college and wanting to make music? 'That's what THE HUMAN LEAGUE did - notice what was going on and what had changed with technology!'
Philip Oakey, from 'Totally Wired: The Post-Punk Interviews' by Simon Reynolds.

So what would Joanne Catherall and Susanne Sulley do today if they were coming out of school and wanting to make music? With the cheap laptop / keyboard technology available and a taste for quirky pop forms, they probably would have come up with something like LITTLE BOOTS and wouldn't have bothered going on tour with a fragmented synth boy band!

Sharing a musical affinity with THE HUMAN LEAGUE, PET SHOP BOYS and GOLDFRAPP, LITTLE BOOTS aka Victoria Hesketh is possibly the next star of quality electro pop. And she's doing it her way. Not for her, the 'boys with toys' attitude of repeating everything in the DEPECHE MODE songbook.


There has never been a young lady who has fully embraced a love of gadgets, electronic disco and decadent glamour.

All this fused with musicianship and an ambition to become very popular.

She's everything that her older 'electro sister' Alison touched on but never fully realised. Ms Goldfrapp has been one of the most influential figures in 21st Century female pop but there was always the impression she was never totally comfortable on stage and quite embarrassed about playing the role of a space age disco diva.

No such inhibitions for Miss Hesketh though.

LITTLE BOOTS has commanded a lot of attention having been voted 'BBC Sound of 2009'. With every act who has been awarded the 'Sound' accolade going on to major success (except notably, electro-influenced THE BRAVERY), expectations for her debut album 'Hands' have been high.

Many of the tracks have been blogged for over a year now so how fresh can an album be when her audience actually know most of the songs? Certainly as Quentin Crisp once remarked, 'familiarity breeds contempt' and the impact of several brilliant tracks has been dampened as a result.

Of course, this is the modern way of marketing but there are still many who are oblivious to the joys of Lady Victoria and will need to be persuaded to join 'The Cult of Boots'!

'New In Town' was the first song Victoria wrote with Greg Kurstin in LA having been left behind by her former Dead Disco bandmates. She goes into semi-shouting mode because she wants to 'show you a good time'.
It's a feisty if unadventurous opening but luckily, everything else on 'Hands' is better. A great analogue riff opens 'Every Little Earthquake'. Its brilliance comes from the chorus being catchy and uplifting while the downbeat love story is in the best tradition of Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Annifrid.
Will they ever do a musical around the songs of LITTLE BOOTS? Only time will tell but I bet you it will be based on Venus rather than an idyllic Greek island.

Next is EY's song of 2008 and the track that started it all. A co-write with Greg Kurstin and Joe Goddard from HOT CHIP, the Moroder-esque 'Stuck On Repeat' is pure synth heaven!


It was the most downloaded free 'single of the week' in the history of iTunes earlier this year but the savage edit included here makes it feel like a book without its final chapter.


Yes, the original was quite long but a better compromise could have been reached like in the six minute live version.

However, 'Stuck On Repeat' still achieves that PET SHOP BOYS-like ambition of being pop art.

The mood subsides for 'Click' which is full of bubbling effects to a precise chattering rhythm. Victoria is not afraid to use old style analogue sounds and placed together with her sweet voice, a warmth presides through all her songs despite all the incumbent circuitry.

'Remedy' starts with some terrific scaling synth riffage reminiscent of CYNDI LAUPER's 'She-Bop'. And yes, the soaring singalong chorus is pure ABBA!
Enhanced to great poptastic effect with a production by RedOne of LADY GAGA fame, this smells of big hit potential.






Speaking of which, the stuttering beats of 'Meddle' see that song's producer Joe Goddard playing at being Timbaland while Victoria does her Britney.

But if you stuck in crashing distorted analogue noise instead of the digital claps, it wouldn't sound that much unlike 'Travelogue' era HUMAN LEAGUE.

In 'Ghost', we have the world's first electro Argentine Tango.
Appropriately enough, Argentine Tango, like electro, is a continually evolving art form which has changes occurring virtually everyday unlike traditional Ballroom Tango where the steps have been fixed in style for decades!

Sound familiar?






Starting with Victoria's 'ooh-ohh-ooh-ohh' samples before snare drums launch into a military tattoo, the gorgeous ARP-styled string synths provide the chill over the baroque sequences. Like a piece of mini-musical theatre, 'Ghost' has a spirit of adventure.

Anyone remember Pythagoras? His formula helped calculate the size of the different sides of a triangle. Victoria loves her space triangles and 'Mathematics' manages to cleverly mix in numerically correct bleeps with a Sylvia Plath poem. Strange subjects and strange sounds but unlike Fourier analysis, it's all very accessible. The formula for love? 'A heart plus a heart'....that 'nothing can divide'.

'Symmetry' is the long awaited duet with Philip Oakey; Victoria has not hidden her love of Sheffield's finest and the end result really does sound like a League track from the 'Secrets' sessions.


Philip says to Victoria: 'Tell me your dreams and I'll tell you all my fears'.


They compliment each other in a way that's not been heard even on a League record before as this is a proper old-fashioned duet.




With a fabulous chorus, this will be the nearest thing you'll get to a new HUMAN LEAGUE track before the decade is out! Meanwhile, EY has found its next dancefloor filler!

Tune Into My Heart' shows how machines can have a pulse too. Despite some fairly cold wave Moogy backing, Victoria's feminine instincts add charm, colour and melody.

Dynamics are provided by the kind of syncopated 'dry' drum patterns heard on NEW ORDER's mid-80's albums, thanks to production from LADYHAWKE collaborator Pascal Gabriel. It adds a sense of alternative looseness to the programmed proceedings

If you're an electronic music fan and you fail to like this, then your VCO is probably broken!

Things get a bit more leftfield with 'Hearts Collide' where Victoria reveals a taste for the more challenging textures of THE KNIFE and FEVER RAY.

Her 'little girl lost' manner keeps it pop but there's a breathy 'Film Noir' edge about it.


The work of Gallic Chanteuse MYLENE FARMER (who had a French No1 with MOBY) springs to mind. Victoria says 'her hands are tied'...what could she mean? There's definitely more to this girl and this is what sets her apart from some of the other acts she's thrown in with.

On closer 'No Brakes', love overtakes as a female interpretation of 'Love Comes Quickly' provides the 'L-Word' electro generation with a PET SHOP BOYS tribute. Victoria delivers a Northern lass monologue over the beautiful strings which then build around the pulsing bass sequences like classic Tennant and Lowe.

It's simply quite Bootiful!

But just as you think the CD ends, there's a hidden track that brings us a token piano ballad. Victoria said she didn't want to make a Tori Amos type 'girl on a piano' album but here she is with 'Broken Heart'. Still, 'Hands' is a strong debut so she can be forgiven.

Better that's she's being Tori Amos than bloody Katie Melua!

'Hands' has a major emotive quality despite all the programmed technology in its backbone.

The word ' heart' is used rather a lot. Women are known to be better at expressing their feelings than men so it was always a given that if they ever took to control of a synthesizer, modern electro pop would be forever changed from its Krafty origins.



LITTLE BOOTS' debut really has been worth the wait!

EY RATING - 8.5 out of 10

Choice tracks: 'Click', 'Earthquake', 'Meddle', 'Symmetry'. 'Hearts Collide', 'Tune Into My Heart', 'Remedy', 'Stuck On Repeat'.



'Hands' is released in the UK on June 8th

Already praised by some of the UK's finest music sites including Worrapolava and Popjustice who swiftly awarded the following track as a PJ Song Of The Day, Hurts are a brand spanking new all boy(!!) duo who have risen from the ashes of Manchunian electro band Daggers.

The Daggers quickly became a fave of NME headlining several shows that eventually led to a Gary Numan support slot before disbanding for reasons unknown.
Their track 'Money' - which kicked off the very first EY event with Marsheaux - was one of our most cherished pop tunes of 2007 (we even tried to get it for 'EY VOL 1').


Not one to hang around and forever armed with his bible (a copy of Simon Reynold's definitive guide to early 80's new wave 'Rip It Up and Start Again'), singerTheo has created a new band and knocked out a future pop hit called 'Wonderful Life' and it's a stunning track.



Not to be confused with Black's equally brilliant and somber single of 1987, Hurts really do have a gem on their hands here that reminds EY HQ of ZTT and the genius of Propaganda (MK1).

With lots of sweeping chords, powerful hooks and the odd analogue bleep, this all seems very, very promising at a time when the girls are really leading the pack here in the UK with electro.

Special mention must go to the black and white promo video with some of the best dancing since Chris Lowe's little twist in the video for 'What Have I Done To Deserve This'.

Can we have some more?

Hurts @ myspace



Marsheaux bring on 'Summer'



Not too long to wait now for the brand new Marsheaux album 'Lumineux Noir' in synchronicity with a very rare hot spell here in the UK, the Marshy girls have added the insanely catchy 'Summer' to their official myspace player.

Once it's in your head, it simply won't leave so be warned before hitting this link.

An exclusive UNDO extended version of the track is still on offer for a limited time if you head over to the Marsheaux forum and sign up here.



Marsheaux made their debut over at Amazon.co.uk with the official Out Of Line release of 'Breakthrough' - the first single to be lifted from 'Lumineux Noir' on May 29th.

For just under 4 squid - you can get a digital bundle that includes Marsheaux's first ever b-side 'How Does It Feel' - or you can grab the tracks individually for 79 pence each.

Click here to legally download some Athens brilliance.

orac

With just over a week before her long-awaited debut album 'Hands' is released, LITTLE BOOTS aka Lady Victoria Hesketh played under the arches at London's Heaven for her biggest headline show yet.


Much has been anticipated since she was voted BBC Sound of 2009.

Amidst some press and (so-called) pop fan backlash while her first major label single 'New In Town' was launched, Victoria took to the stage in a beautiful gold dress and matching heels accompanied by one of the brightest light shows in clubland.

Opening with 'Earthquake', this is the electro-ABBA number that Phil Oakey had been threatening to do since around 'Dare'. With her Agnetha-like soprano vocal, Victoria does that Bjorn and Benny trick of fusing downbeat relationship lyrics with a high octave killer chorus topline. Despite the melancholy, like with ABBA, you can't help but smile while being graced with this delightful ditty.





Two singles followed and played back-to-back, they couldn't be anymore different.


'Meddle' is wonderfully squelchy with its stuttering rhythmic backbone and Gregorian chant middle eight while 'New In Town' is all shouty and in-yer-face, a bit like a hen night in Blackpool!


LITTLE BOOTS' music is varied if nothing else.

Lady Victoria loves her gadgets and is a real Tesla girl. On stage were her ever faithful Tenori-on, a fantastic LITTLE BOOTS branded Stylophone and ubiquitous Korg synth.






With THE KNIFE-like 'Mathematics', she pulls off that brilliant past trick done by KRAFTWERK, THE HUMAN LEAGUE and OMD of adding some equations into the pop mix.

Simmer with some additional references from Sylvia Plath's 'Life Is A Parralax' and you have something for the smarter than average bear.

Next came 'Click'. As one of Victoria's moodier numbers, it's a grower in the truest sense of the word. Criticised by some for being too slow, it's hardly a dreary Snow Patrol power ballad!

With its layered sequencing and her lyrical frustration at the lack of chemistry with a potential suitor, it showcases the ambition of her songwriting.

'Tune Into My Heart' sounds like 'Telekon' era GARY NUMAN defrosted to room temperature with some added feminine glitz. A bassline in triplicate drives it along while the pretty melody does what it says on the tin. What strikes you about this one is how all the weird juicy Moog noises are somehow cleverly voiced into a pop context.

One can picture beautiful robots dancing alone!


The scaling analogue riff of 'Remedy' brings to mind the wonderful 'She-Bop' by CYNDI LAUPER. With a soaring, singalong chorus, Victoria looked astonished as the crowd joined in. If there is a belting hit single in the LITTLE BOOTS cannon, it has to be this one! Getting one of the biggest cheers, it was one of the highlights of the evening.

Victoria announced the next song 'Symmetry' as a duet recorded with Lord Philip Oakey for her album ' Hands'.
As she started, she looked around nervously as if waiting for a date to arrive.

Suddenly as the chorus was about to start, a tall familiar figure with the dead-pan baritone appeared stage right to the delight of everyone. An electric dream sounding like a lost HUMAN LEAGUE classic, Victoria did her best Susanne Sulley impression in a 'Don't You Want Me' for the 21st Century.

It really was love in perfect symmetry although it was amusing to see the diminutive figure of Lady Victoria standing next the six foot plus frame of Lord Oakey. A fitting endorsement from one of the pioneers to the new girl in town, it was like a synthetic baton being handed over for the next phase of electronic pop music.





'Love Kills' has now become so associated with LITTLE BOOTS that no-one seems to remember it was written by Giorgio Moroder and Freddie Mercury! And herein lays the clues to Lady Victoria's muse.



It's the influence of European electronic disco forms like 'Italo' and Moroder's Music Machine that readily aligns her with people like PET SHOP BOYS (who she'll be supporting on their upcoming US shows) and of course, THE HUMAN LEAGUE.

She has passion for music, knows her history and it shows.

'Stuck On Repeat' is the ultimate nod to Moroder and got rapturous applause as the encore; this classic is infectious, melodic perfection. Performing it with her band, she's like a cross between Kylie Minogue and Alison Goldfrapp.



While still honing her stage act, Victoria is naturally both lively and engaging. While perhaps not as relaxed as she has been at previous shows due to the bombastic PA which drowned her out at times and most probably, the suits from Warners watching her every move, she still danced, smiled and played to her hearts content to the delight of the predominantly male crowd.

The pace of the show was kept very vibrant; there was no time to take a breather.
Even the slower numbers were closer to a Unicorn gallop rather than a steady canter.

As her YouTube covers attest, her brief but sharp show really was ALL ABOUT THE FUN!

For those who may have found 'New In Town' a little disappointing, luckily every other song played tonight from 'Hands' is much superior.


And this is without numbers like the sophisticated electro-tango 'Ghost'[ which was absent from the set tonight.


Believe the hype, LITTLE BOOTS really is the future of pop. Ignore her if you must but you'll be missing something!

Related links:
Pre-order 'Hands'



Myspace are now exclusively streaming the entire Little Boots debut album 'Hands' from today for a limited time only.

Do grab some wine and nibbles and check out our fave tracks 'Tune Into My Heart', 'Remedy' and future Number One - 'Symmetry' just to see what all this EY fuss is about,


Simply jump here jump here for one of the biggest things to happen to UK electro since The Human League.