06.26.06 (MusicPortal.com) Swedish Electronic duo THE KNIFE's current release, "Silent Shout," is set for issue in North America on July 25th via Mute Recordings. Commenced in an old carbon-dioxide factory in 2004, recordings were moved to the vaults beneath The Grand Church in Stockholm's Old Town, where the band planned to build a permanent studio. But 15th century medieval brickwork and future-sounding art-synth-pop proved incompatible. 'We had to move because of the poor sonics of the room,' says Olof. 'But mainly because it was so old the walls were falling apart so we had brick dust in our lungs.' Retreating to the health and safety of their respective home studios, then a Stockholm studio complex, The Knife finished the album just as the huge exposure for "Heartbeats" was introducing the craft and magic of their song writing to a worldwide audience. Any way you look at it, "Silent Shout" is an astounding achievement: intriguing and bewildering, enigmatic and engaging, and never less than compelling. 'One Hit' is a Gothic sea shanty, 'Still Light' an electro/a capella hymn. 'Neverland' is a thumping dancefloor anthem with a punchy lyric ('I'm dancing for dollars for a fancy man'), while the twinkling starscapes of 'Na Na Na' could be the work of a sci-fi Sigur Ros. Throughout the album, voices are manipulated and transformed every which way, a cacophony of vocal styles evoking the myriad characters peopling the songs: solitary sailors, a hermaphrodite, a sickly person or two, male-bonding groups in crisis, TV addicts, a scared housewife, and, The Knife say, "a biologically weighty citizen that desperately tries to get to know his body." "I guess many songs are about looking for something to spend time, and to fill the body, to avoid loneliness and the physical functions or dysfunctions of the body, says vocalist Karin. "It's one step forward and one step back. And the 'Silent Shout' title, it's like when you dream and really want to scream something, nothing comes out. Or we are screaming but not telling you what we are screaming." "Silent Shout" is more focused than "Deep Cuts" - not just because it contains 11 tracks where its predecessor had 17. The songs are rich with detail, thoughts and ideas and innovations piled hard on top of each other. It may not make you want to dress up like a crow, but "Silent Shout" is a jaw-dropping fusion of technology and emotion, circuitry and the soul, melodrama and melody.
[WATCH]

06.23.06 (MusicPortal.com) Veteran Electronic outfit CAMOUFLAGE will release a new album entitled "Relocated" on August 25th. The first single from the album, 'Motif Sky,' will hit stores July 28th. Typically, the trio has always been driven by the desire to follow their own path. It all started when the band was founded back in 1983. While countless guitar bands struggled with Hard Rock riffs in their hometown of Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany, Heiko Maile, Marcus Meyn and Oliver Kreyssig got hold of some synthesizers. They spent three years in the rehearsal room, experimenting with the fascinating possibilities of Electronic music and experimenting without restraint. Their first musical ideas arrived along with their developing musical skills. Camouflage's debut album, "Voices & Images," arrived in 1987, and their early masterpiece 'The Great Commandment,' out on single, promptly advanced from underground status to worldwide hit. One year later, the three newcomers signed with U.S. major imprint Atlantic Records, who released the album in 28 countries which -- along with the 'The Great Commandment' single -- went on to top the Billboard Dance charts. Their 1989 single release, 'Love Is A Shield,' turned into another Pop evergreen, staying in the German top ten for nine weeks and on the charts for almost a year. Their second album, "Methods Of Silence," was another high-flyer, earning the hard-working band sold-out concerts. But despite their success the boys from Bietigheim always remained with their feet firmly on the ground. "We performed 'The Great Commandment' on TV shows, and two days later I took my math A levels," Marcus Meyn recalls. "Relocated" is a fitting title for their seventh album, which combines old school vibes and new ones. The release also mixes a positive attitude with the melancholia that is so typical of the band. "It's a feeling we carry inside us," Meyn notes, adding: "I feel more comfortable in a minor key than in a major key." The inspirations for titles such as 'Dreaming' and 'Motif Sky' stem from the early Nineties, which underwent a complete overhaul and feature a whole new instrumentation. An optimistic love song such as 'The Pleasure Remains' stands alongside the stirring track 'Passing By,' which Meyn refers to as a "space drama with a happy end." All in all, despite its diversity, "Relocated" has the trademarks of a typical Camouflage album which their fans should enjoy.

06.19.06 (AP) A clearly annoyed Manhattan judge issued an arrest warrant Friday for BOY GEORGE after the former Culture Club singer failed to appear in court to explain why he wants to change his sentence for falsely reporting a burglary. Judge Anthony Ferrara also ridiculed the singer's suggestions for serving community service, which included a proposal to hold a fashion-and-makeup workshop. But he said he would not order an arrest until a June 26 hearing on whether Boy George violated the terms of his sentence. The singer, whose real name is George O'Dowd, pleaded guilty in March to false reporting of a burglary at his Manhattan apartment, where police found cocaine. Under his plea deal, O'Dowd was to enter a drug-treatment program in England and do five days of community service in Manhattan. He was also fined $1,000. But the judge angrily complained that O'Dowd had not paid the fine and had never reported to the office that assigns community service work. "I put people in jail who don't pay fines," the judge told O'Dowd's lawyer, Louis Freeman. "Why shouldn't I do that?" Freeman said he had told O'Dowd, who was in England, that he did not have to appear Friday but that he should be ready to fly to New York on a moment's notice. He said the singer would be present for his next court date. Assistant District Attorney Craig Ortner called O'Dowd's absence "audacious" and told the judge he opposed any modification of the sentence. "The defendant got a good deal. He got a fair deal," Ortner said. O'Dowd's drug woes reportedly led to the collapse of Culture Club, which scored the hit 1980s singles 'Karma Chameleon' and 'Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?' The judge ridiculed Freeman's community service proposals, which included helping teenagers make a public-service announcement, holding a fashion-and-makeup workshop, and serving as D.J. at an HIV/AIDS benefit. His lawyer said O'Dowd hoped to do something more worthwhile than sweeping streets and sidewalks. "There's nothing wrong with that if that's part of his punishment, but it will turn into a media circus, and the press will be following him every day," Freeman said. The judge said he understood the objection to street cleaning: "It's humiliation." However, he said, O'Dowd "got out from under a felony, and he took a (misdemeanor) deal that had an element of humiliation. And he doesn't serve himself well by not paying the fine. We know he has the means."

[Electronic News: May 2006]
[Top]