ELECTROSQUAD: Synthpopalooza Featured ARTIST OF THE MONTH

Hello! This is the latest of a series of interviews that Synthpopalooza Radio will be doing with premier and unknown acts in the synthpop genre. These hopefully will be featured once a month. This month, we head to the Land Down Under ...

Electrosquad are the talented Australian duo of Craig Simmons and Peter Cooper. Together, these lifelong best-friends have been making waves in the international synthpop community. Along with fellow countrymen Neuropa, they are slowly putting the growing Australian synthpop scene on the map. They hail from a region whose independent music scene usually consists of the more typical grunge, noise, and angst; or as the Squad themselves like to refer to it, "cock rock".

Electrosquad have a fairly unique style. Their music has all the analog synth stylings, hooks, and melodies which recall the light synthpop style of Erasure, with occasional surprises thrown in. Visually, however, the Squad draw upon all kinds of 1960's influences and styles. Of particular note are the visual references to James Bond, The Avengers, and the other secret agent movies and TV shows of the 1960's. Perhaps this is what Synthpop might have looked like had it been conceived during this era.

Electrosquad made a fairly noticeable splash in the international synthpop scene with the release of their debut album Espionage in 2000. This is light fluffy synthpop at its sweetest. Of particular note here are the tracks "Head", a bubbly analog dance tune about being in love; "Envy", a lyrically creative song which uses colours as metaphors vor the various facets of love, hate, and jealousy; "Too Young to Know", a definite organ-dominated reference to the mod culture of the 1960's; and "The Seed", a synthpop tune in which the lyrics evoke biblical end-of-time imagery.

While Espionage was successful, the Squad often got criticized for sounding too much like Erasure or other 1980's music. Perhaps it was this perception which was partially responsible for their subtle shift in style for their 2001 follow-up album, Operation: K. While retaining the analog trimmings of the previous release, the music here introduces acoustic elements, including guitars, orchestral arrangements, ethnic instruments like the sitar, and the over-the-top timpani drum stylings which are heavily inspired by the John Barry music present in the James Bond theatrical movie series. It is this release that sees Electrosquad's 1960's style shifted from the visual to the audio realm.

Another noticeable accomplishment for Electrosquad was a guest remix appearance on the very popular Ganymede album Euromantique. The Squad did their own take on the retro-new wave anthem "Neon Rain", infusing it with their own unique style. In addition, Electrosquad contributed to another Ninthwave release, Messages: A Tribute to OMD. On this release, Electrosquad contributed a cover of the OMD song "Souvenir".

The following Synthpopalooza Radio interview reveals further insights into the music of Electrosquad:

SYNTH: At what age did you find yourself first becoming interested in music, and what were some of your musical influences at the time?

CRAIG: I first became interested in Pop Music in 1982. I remember seeing the video clip to Duran Duran's Hungry Like The Wolf on TV and being so taken with the song that I went to my room and drew a picture of Simon Le Bon wading his way through the swamp. The first record I bought was Come On Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners, although it wasn't till about 85 when I started to spend all my money on records. My favourite bands at the time were Duran Duran (I had all their 12" Mixes on Vinyl), New Order and Pet Shop Boys. A little bit later I was buying music from ABC, Erasure, Depeche Mode, The Blow Monkeys, Level 42, Howard Jones, Scritti Politti and OMD.

PETER: Craig and I liked a lot of the same music, which was why we hung around together, but I guess my main interest was Wham! and later George Michael as a solo artist.

SYNTH: I've noticed a lot of James Bond imagery in your art design and your music. What other ideas from the 60's decade would you credit as having an influence on your musical/artistical ideas?

PETER: The 60s thing is really Craig's influence...

CRAIG: I like that whole swingin' 60s attitude - it was so naive, but very cute. (That's what "Too Young to Know" is all about, incidently). It was a "consequence free" society which I think was extremely healthy for the arts. It was a period of great innovation in art, design and popular music.

As a songwriter, The Beatles have been a major influence - I think they are the single most important band in the history of popular music. Growing up in the 80s, I didn't realize how much all the music I was listening to was influenced by them despite the style of production being completely different.

In recent times, I've also been influenced by the work of the 60s composer - John Barry. Most people immediately assume that I'm refering to Bond here, but I like his non-Bond scores & themes just as much.

60s art is also of great interest to me - 60s abstraction and Pop art in particular. Furniture design and architecture was pretty hip during this period, too.

SYNTH: For all the technophiles out there, please tell us what sort of musical equipment you use in your studio.

CRAIG: This is the core equipment that was used on both ElectroSquad albums:

Kurzweil K2000 Synth + Sampling Option & Orchestral ROM Studio Electronics SE-1 Rack Mount Synth Roland Jupiter 6 Synth Oberheim Matrix 1000 Synth Module Novation Basstation Synth Module Roland TR-909 Drum Machine Sony V77 Multi-effects Sony V55 Multi-effects Behringer Composer Compressor Frankenstein Stereo Enhancement Hotcake Distortion Pedal Sony C-48 Condenser Mic Mackie CR-1604 Desk Cubase VST Sequencer/Recording

SYNTH: I've noticed a passing similarity between your track "Envy" and the New Order track "Bizarre Love Triangle" (both in chord progression and in lyrical subject matter) ... did you have this song in the back of your mind when you composed it?

CRAIG: I think there is a stylistic similarity but this was more a coincidence than anything, I certainly wasn't thinking of BLT when I wrote Envy. The chord progressions are actually quite different, although there is common chord change in the chorus of both songs.

There is a bitter-sweet quality in both, although the lyrics of Envy are slightly to the bitter side of the dividing line. I should declare however, that BLT is one of my favorite songs of all time.

SYNTH: The usage of biblical imagery in "The Seed" is very powerful. Did either of you have a strong religious upbringing, and what inspired you to write this song?

PETER: Yes, Craig and I both went to a Seventh Day Adventist high school which had bible classes everyday.

CRAIG: So we were able to easily draw on Biblical imagery when writing this song. I should point out though, that this is really a love song.

SYNTH: Who are the girls that appear in your cover artwork for "Envy", "Cowgirl in my Mind", and the "operation: k" CD, and how are they related to the band members themselves?

CRAIG: We've used the Australian model Talia Marmont for all artwork. She's a natural blonde but is wearing a black wig on Envy and Espionage. The exception is the Cowgirl In My Mind image, which is an illustration based on the Bond actress Denise Richard's face and Clint Eastwood's Cowboy Hat!!!

SYNTH: I have noticed many Synthpop artists tend to make their followup albums a bit less "electronic", or experiment with real instruments or studio musicians. What prompted your subtle change of style for your "operation: k" album?

CRAIG: There where a number of reasons really. Some people criticised "Espionage" for being too 80s sounding, so when I started work on "operation: k" I began to look for different ways to progress the synth-pop genre. I wanted to make an album that was contemporary, relevant and original, but at the same time, was still essentially synth-pop. Emil Hyde from Mystechs, described "operation: k" as trip-pop, which I thought was quite apt.

The choice of instrumentation was partly the result of the John Barry influence. I sincerely believe the best pop music comes from artists that are influenced by music outside of their genre. It keeps their music sounding fresh.

SYNTH: What, specifically, would you say has been bad about mainstream pop music since the 80's died?

PETER: I think songwriting has deteriorated, particular melody lines. There is so little to modern day pop songs - they're shallow and ultimately dull. Longer, more satisfying melodies have been replaced with short repetitive hooks, but I don't classify short hooks as songs! Society has become so obsessed with slick production values or trying to sound cool and sophisticated, that the personality in music has been strangled out of it.

SYNTH: If you could do the theme music for any James Bond movie, which one would you choose, and why?

CRAIG: It would be a decision between Goldfinger and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Goldfinger is the quintessential and defining Bond, where as OHMSS is precisely the opposite - romantic and atypical. Modern day Bond films need to be more adventurous generally speaking. Hiring us to do the theme would be a good start ;)))

SYNTH: Could you explain how the Ganymede remix project came about, and what was it like to work on this project?

CRAIG: Dave Friede has been a friend for a while now. Dave bought "Espionage" from our site and became a fan. He asked me to do a remix of Neon Rain, but since I was busy finishing off "operation: k", it wasn't ready in time for the single, and therefore was added as a bonus track to the album "Euromantique". I think it came out quite well. It's quite different from the original, too.

Ganymede will be returning the favour with a remix for the 3rd ElectroSquad album.

SYNTH: Any plans for future albums or remix projects, or touring?

CRAIG: Currently working on the 3rd ElectroSquad album for a 2002 release. We're also working on a track for another synthpop tribute album. In addition, we will be contributing tracks to a couple of forth-coming compilations.

The final 10 questions, off the top of my head here ...

1. Which person in your life had the greatest influence on you growing up?

CRAIG: Not sure if I had a mentor growing up (?)

PETER: Craig and I were too head strong for that.

2. What is your favourite movie (non-James Bond)?

CRAIG: Alfred Hitchcock's "North By North West"

PETER: Woody Allen's "Manhattan"

3. If you could pick any year to go back to and relive again, which year would you pick and why?

CRAIG: It would probably be 1987. This was the year of my first girlfriend - she gave me glandular fever and my health hasn't been quite the same since. If I could relive that year I would have decided not to go out with her. :)

PETER: 1984 was an exciting year for me. Our family had moved from the country to the city and this opened up a lot of new things to me. This was also the year I became aware of pop music.

4. Are either of you romantically involved?

CRAIG: I'm single with no current romantic interest.

PETER: I was married recently.

5. If you could visit a location outside of Australia, where would you go to?

CRAIG: At the moment, I'm fascinated with Copenhagen - it's a very Design focussed city and the home of the late grand daddy of hip design - Arne Jacobsen. I hope to take a holiday there next year.

PETER: Las Vegas - so I can clean up at the casinos.

6. What would you consider to have been the most embarassing situation you've ever been in?

CRAIG: OK picture this. You get a phone call from a very annoying person. You put them on hold whist you find out some information regarding their enquiry, however, you take the opportunity to tell everyone else in the room what an asshole they are. You use a lot of profane language. You pickup the phone and realize that the hold button on your phone is not working properly and that the person on the other end has heard everything you said. Ouch!!!

PETER: In 1986 my band was asked to play two songs at a big school event. This was the first time Craig performed in the band, although he was playing guitar. The keyboard player was on Piano and so had asked Craig to start the sequencer at the beginning of each song. The first song was an up-tempo track at 140 bpm but the second song was a ballad at 100 bpm. Craig was supposed to change the tempo before starting the second song, but forgot. There wasn't much of an intro, so I had to start singing this ballad at a hundred miles an hour. To make matters worse, the keyboard player signaled Craig to bring the tempo down. So Craig adjusted the tempo in real time during the first verse and I had to follow this dramatic tempo change with my singing.

CRAIG: I'm surprised Peter ever wanted to work with me ever again after that. One of the other guys in the band still hasn't forgiven me to this day - he wrote the song, you see. Strangely enough, the audience seemed to think it was some strange, but intentional effect!

7. What was the title of the last CD you purchased?

CRAIG: New Order "Get Ready"

PETER: I don't buy CDs!

8. Have you let your family members (parents, siblings, etc.) listen to your musical projects and how have they reacted?

CRAIG: Absolutely. Naturally my Mum thinks we're great - now if only other people did :)))

PETER: Same goes for me - Mum's very proud!

9. When you aren't recording, what leisure activites do you enjoy?

CARIG: Painting - I do a curvy but geometric style of abstract art. Plus the usual sort of stuff: Shopping, Art Galleries, Exhibitions, Cinema, Theatre, Concerts, Beach.

PETER: I enjoy writing and playing cards. I also follow sport quite closely, particularly Aussie Rules Football.

10. Which James Bond actor was your favorite and why?

CRAIG: Sean Connery is the best and most convincing actor to have ever played Bond. However, Roger Moore is just so funny - that's a real talent in itself.

PETER: Roger Moore is the one for me.

That's all for this month. Many thanks to Peter and Craig for participating in this interview. For more information about Electrosquad music, go to http://www.electrosquad.com. Until next month, keep on Synthpoppin' ...

NEXT MONTH: NURVIS