WAW: Blondie- Mother

Blondie have recorded an official video for the first single "Mother" from the album 'Panic of Girls'. Both, the single and the album are set to be released this month. The video for the song "Mother" was recorded by Laurent Rejto.

Psyche- Insomnia Theatre Box Set

This month VOD Records will release 'Insomnia Theatre' - the original Canadian Edition of Psyche's 1985 debut. Now as a beautifully redesigned and remastered 3 LP Boxset including the recordings from "Tales From The Darkside" & early vintage tracks from '83 - '86. Added to the package are a 7" single with extended mixes of "Misery" & "Goodbye Horses". Plus a bonus DVD including the complete "Beyond Sensation" videos and a few more extra surprises!

http://www.psyche-hq.de/

Spoons- Static in Transmission

The Canadian band Spoons have returned with a new album this year. Their new album 'Static in Transmission' was released in March on Fontana North/Universal Music Canada and it is their first album after 'Vertigo Tango' from 1988. "Static In Transmission" CD release party will be held on June 1, 2011 at the Revival 783 College Street in Toronto. To promote their new album they will also be doing few live shows. More info about that via Spoons official.

WAW: John Maus- Believer

The release date of John Maus' long awaited third album 'We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves' is approaching, it is set to be released on June 28, 2011. In the meantime here is an official video for a song "Believer", to be taken from the album. The video was created using a mixture of rare vintage video equipment and experimental techniques reflecting the often blurry yet always determined world of John Maus.

Mark Hollis and Talk Talk

Talk Talk is an English band which was formed in the early 80’s consisting of Mark Hollis (vocals), Simon Brenner (keyboards), Lee Harris (drums) and Paul Webb (bass guitar). The group released five brilliant studio albums and several hit singles during their ten year existence. In the early years, they were generally associated with the New Romantic movement and their music was mainly based on synthesizer sound. Due to some line-up changes, the band managed to transform their music into the authentic Talk Talk and to serve more complex and organic sound. On both tracks, the band remains as one of the most influential bands in the music history.

The group was formed around a nucleus of drummer Lee Harris, bassist Paul Webb, and singer and chief songwriter Mark Hollis. Previously Mark had been in the band the Reaction until its disintegration in 1979. Mark Hollis continued to write music and he was offered some studio time to demo his song writing in 1981. Rehearsals with Hollis's new material went well, Simon Brenner was introduced on keyboards and the band officially became a four–piece group Talk Talk. The band's demo material and a couple of gigs secured them a session on Radio One, and a subsequent deal with EMI.

Talk Talk's first line-up released a self-titled debut EP in 1982 which was quickly expanded into a full-length album entitled ‘The Party's Over’ which was produced by Colin Thurston who was also producing albums for label mates Duran Duran. The album itself was not a huge success upon release and reached 21 after the single “Today” topped the charts. ‘The Party’s Over’ remained the only album on which writing credits were shared by the entire band.

In 1983 Simon Brenner left the band, just after the non-LP single “My foolish Friend” was released as a single. Later he was replaced by Tim Fries-Greene who became Talk Talk’ unofficial fourth member, Hollis frequent songwriting partner and a major contributor to the band’s studio output. Friese-Greene did not regularly play with the band during live shows or appear in publicity material and the band was officially a trio.

Nothing further was released for a year and Mark Hollis spend the whole year writing new material and assembling musicians to record a follow-up. Talk Talk became a looser more flexible creative unit and abandoned synthesizer s as the main instrument of the band. Their second album ‘It’s my Life’ was released in 1984 and two songs from the album, "It’s my Life" and "Such a Shame" became top ten hits around Europe, but were largely ignored in their native UK. Their new sound featured more melodic arrangements and guitars for the first time. Things went quiet after the third single release and Talk Talk came up with a mini LP release which featured extended and remixed versions of the previously released singles.

The band started recording again throughout 1985 and their first result was the stunning new single “Life’s What You Make It”, released in 1986. The album was released a month later. Instead of synthesizers the, ‘The Colours of Spring’ was a record of rich textures and featured natural instruments and more organic sound. The album went gold and became their biggest studio album success in the UK. Talk Talk launched a major world tour to promote it. Most notable among those concerts was the one at the 'Montreaux Jazz Festival'.

The success of ‘The Colour of Spring’ afforded the band a bigger budget and schedule for the recording of their next album. Their next record ‘Spirit of Eden’ was released in 1988, on EMI's Parlophone label. The album was assembled from many hours of improvised instrumentation that Hollis and Friese-Greene had edited and arranged using digital equipment. The result was a mix of rock, jazz, classical, and ambient music. Although the album made the UK Top 20 upon release, the band declared they would not tour in support of it. During the making of ‘Spirit of Eden’, Talk Talk manager Keith Aspden had attempted to free the band from their recording contract with EMI, and after many months of litigation, the band ultimately succeeded in extracting themselves from the contract. EMI then sued the band, claiming that 'Spirit of Eden' was not "commercially satisfactory", but the case was thrown out of court.

With the band now released from EMI, the label released the retrospective compilation ‘Natural History’ in 1990. It peaked at number 3 on the UK album chart and was certified Gold by the BPI for sales of over 100,000 copies, and eventually went on to sell more than 1 million copies worldwide. The 1984 single "It's My Life" was also re-released, and this time became the band's highest charting single in their native country, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. A re-release of the single "Life's What You Make It" also reached the Top 30. Following up on this renewed popular interest in the band, the label then released ‘History Revisited’ in 1991, a compilation of 12 inch singles and alternative versions which made the Top 40, an unusually high placing for what was effectively a remixes album. The band sued EMI for releasing the remixed material without their permission.

In 1990, Talk Talk signed a two-album contract with Polydor Records. They released ‘Laughing Stock’ on Polydor's Verve Records imprint in 1991. The album crystallized the experimental sound the band started with ‘Spirit of Eden’ and adopted an even more minimalist style than its predecessor.

Note:The artist James Marsh designed the first cover image for It's My Life based on the band's name. He followed the theme for subsequent singles, remaining the band's artistic frontman and creating all their covers and posters throughout their career.

After Laughing Stock, Talk Talk disbanded in 1992. Paul Webb rejoined Lee Harris, and the two went on to form the band .O.rang, while Tim Friese-Greene started recording under the name Heligoland. In 1998, Mark Hollis released his self-titled solo début 'Mark Hollis', which was very much in keeping with the minimalist post-rock sound of 'Spirit of Eden' and 'Laughing Stock'. Hollis retired from the music industry shortly afterwards.

Twenty years after Talk Talk disbanded, EMI has reissued a double CD compilation which features the group’s most successful albums to date, ‘It’s My Life and ‘The Colour of Spring’. In his recent blog entry Alan Wilder announced that he has recorded a cover track for the upcoming Talk Talk tribute album. Full updates will be up as the project is confirmed.

On February 24th, it was reported on social media that the lead singer and the creative mastermind of Talk Talk has passed away. The news was confirmed the next day. His former manager confirmed that his death after two days saying that Hollis died  after "a short illness from which he never recovered"

Source:
Wikipedia (edit)
Mark Hollis Unofficial (edit)
News about Talk Talk Tribute Album

Rational Youth- New EP Series

Rational Youth will release a series of EP's of new re-recordings of some of their classic songs through their re-launched record label YUL Records. Their new EP is based on their 1982 hit "Dancing On The Berlin Wall" which contains six new tracks: two different versions in each of English and German, as well as an extended mix in English. The EP was mixed by Jean-Pierre Isaac. All the tracks are available for downoad from iTunes.

More info: www.rationalyouth.net

WAW: Kate Bush- Deeper Understanding 2011

The video for Kate Bush's remake of the song "Deeper Understanding" has been released and it is available on Youtube. The brand new Kate Bush official site is now available under the name "Fish People- The official site of Kate Bush", be sure to check it out.

http://www.katebush.com/home

Led Er Est - May EP

Following up their excellent Wierd Records debut LP "Dust on Common" and a limited European split-12", Led Er Est return with a new 12" EP, named "May", their second release on C/T. The trio describe the record as a ".. collection of theme-based songs, almost like a dark sci fi film soundtrack..." The songs were written at various points some were written on the long drives over their last European tour. "May" is available for digital and vinyl release and is a precursor to their forthcoming LP on the brilliant Sacred Bones label.

http://lederest.com

Dave Gahan- Among Godfathers of Glam

The March 13th, 2011 edition of the New York Times ran a photo spread called "Ballad Of A Thin Man - Godfathers Of Glam". Dave was featured among artists as Bryan Ferry, Iggy Pop and Michael Stipe.
Earlier this month, he participated at this year's MusiCares MAP concert on May 6th. He received the "Stevie Ray Vaughan Award" from the Recording Academy's charitable arm for his support of the MAP Fund. During the Music Cares concert, he performed the Joy Division's classic "Love Will Tear Us Apart"

http://www.nytimes.com

B.E.F. & Heaven 17's 'The Luxury Gap' Live

Following the success of Heaven 17’s 'Penthouse and Pavement 30th Anniversary Tour' in 2010, Martyn Ware’s production project, ‘British Electric Foundation’ (B.E.F.) is proud to present ‘Music of Quality and Distinction Live’, a 2-day festival at London’s prestigious Roundhouse from October 14-15th, celebrating 30 years of seminal electronic music and unique collaborations.

Heaven 17 will perform the world premiere of their 1983 album ‘The Luxury Gap’ on Friday October 14t husing 3D soundscape composition techniques pioneered by Martyn Ware and Vince Clarke followed by B.E.F.’s first ever live performance featuring tracks from the albums ‘Music of Quality & Distinction Vol. 1 & 2’ on Saturday October 15th. Guest vocalists confirmed for the Music of Quality and Distinction concert include Elly Jackson (LaRoux), Boy George (Culture Club), Green Gartside (Scritti Politti), Sandie Shaw, Kim Wilde, Andy Bell (Erasure), Shingai Shoniwa (Noisettes), Midge Ure (Ultravox), Glenn Gregory (Heaven 17) and Polly Scattergood (more names to be confirmed shortly).

Tickets go on sale Thursday April 12th at 10am. Ticket hotline: 0844 844 0444. Book online: www.ticketmaster.co.uk. Day tickets: £23.50. Weekend tickets: £42.50.

http://www.heaven17.com/index.html