onetwo - item
well i never expected this.
the return of claudia brucken, along with paul humphreys.
for those that need a little history lesson here's a very brief resume. claudia brucken was one of the lead vocalists in propaganda. a german band who made one of my top 5 records ever - the 12" single 'the nine lives of dr mabuse' - a majestically dark epic synth pop classic that scared and intrigued all those who were fortunate to pick up the ztt masterpiece. propaganda went onto to release a fine debut, had a few more hits and then all sorts of worldly chaos ensued and so claudia ran away and became part of a double act (pun intended) with thomas leer. while i am sure that 'act' album would have been wonderful i had already moved on and so never heard it. but 20 years later, i still reckon that claudia's unmistakeable contribution to 'dr mabuse' were one of pop music's greatest moments. genuinely. and as for paul humphreys ? well, he was part of 'orchestral manoeuvres in the dark' - a band i never really got into, but by all accounts the earlier stuff was a lot more interesting than the well known pop records. which i am prepared to believe, for the time being, on the evidence provided here.
then, recently on an internet crate digging session i came across details the two of them teaming up and creating new noises. i became intrigued. as ever, a little more digging and patience meant i now have the item (ah ha !) in my hand. lucky me.
the overall effect is one of a gorgeous 'chill up the spine' tingle. over 5 tracks we are treated to beautifully produced synth pop like it was 1986 with updated studio toys. to start things off there are pauls lead vocals on the lead song 'sister', and its sonically stripped down reappearance at the end of the ep as 'one and only (sister)', provide a sugary sweet electro pop song that is exactly what you would expect from a master of synth pop. both tracks are very nice and catchy and could indeed get massive radio appeal if presented via the right channels.
for me though, as i'm sure you have guessed, things get more interesting when we get to the tracks featuring the other half of this duo, 'cloud 9' has the added bonus of depeche modes' martin gore on guitar and song writing duties setting his mysterious pop against claudias moody emotions creating an epic divine atmospheric synthetic groove. breathtaking stuff.
there is a synchronicity in evidence here, as the pair obviously know how to get the best out each others talents. pauls' experience in the production and noises comes to the fore throughout, as this is all very modern sounding and current with all sorts of weirdly sci-fi noises filling the stereo spectrum in fine fashion, especially the ambient-techno breakdown in 'signals' recalling prime era orbital, all of which is well suited to claudias singing style - who is sounding fantastic throughout the ep.
so while this is a low key return to the pop world, the product only available via the bands website and ebay, i would seriously recommend putting in the effort, cos put this stuff up against any of the new synthpop revivalist stuff that the press love, and i'm sorry, no contest.