Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Claudia Brücken's brand new video Thank You



Claudia Brücken's brand new video by director Martin Gooch for her brand new single co-written with and produced by Stephen Hague (New Order, Blur, Pet Shop Boys). Taken from the brand new album Claudia Brücken - Combined.

It's brand new!

Available to pre-order now at ZTT's shop.
More info at ZTT's site.

Thank You!
for this incredible beautiful X-mas gift !!!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Claudia's best of: Claudia Brücken Combined























It's out there!

To be released on February 7th 2011,
on Salvo/ZTT 'Element Series' #13, SALVOCD046.
With a great video for 'Thank You' (soon!), written with Stephen Hague, like 'Night School'. With finally the release of This is not America with Frankie's Paul Rutherford. And a new reinterpretation with Andrew Poppy, Blue Velvet's In Dreams. And a cover to completely die for, thank you, Rebels in Control!

A great way to start the new year! :D

'Coming to prominence as the lead vocalist in ZTT's influential hit-making Düsseldorf combo Propaganda, Claudia Brücken was one of the more distinctive female voices of the mid-1980s (and one of the few females to front a synth-pop group). Following the implosion of Propaganda in 1986, Claudia has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arena of electronic pop and dance music, alongside a series of highly talented collaborators, including Thomas Leer (with whom she formed the cult duo Act after leaving Propaganda), Martin Gore (Depeche Mode), Paul Humphreys (OMD, Onetwo), Paul Rutherford (Frankie Goes To Hollywood) and Andy Bell (Erasure). This stylishly-packaged collection draws together the very best of Claudia's work over the last 25 years (in ComBination with the artists mentioned above); beginning with a trio of Propaganda hits and bringing us right up to date with a couple of superb new songs written and produced by Claudia and super-producer Stephen Hague, which are released here for the very first time. An unusual artist with a distinctive voice and a perennially stylish approach, Claudia has never been one to follow trends and commands a loyal following among devotees of electronic music. Following our highly successful deluxe reissue of the Propaganda album A Secret Wish, ComBined is a timely reminder of her often understated talents; a release that oozes class, much like the lady herself.'

Tracklist

1. Dr.Mabuse (A Paranoid Fantasy) - Propaganda
2. Duel - Propaganda
3. (The Beta Wrap Around Of) P:Machinery - Propaganda
4. Absolutely Immune - ACT
5. Snobbery And Decay - ACT
6. Kiss Like Ether - Claudia Brücken
7. Absolut(E) - Claudia Brücken
8. Delicious - Andy Bell And Claudia Brücken
9. Cloud 9ine - Onetwo
10. Thank You - Claudia Brücken
11. Sequentia - Onetwo
12. Light The Way (Radio Seduction Edit) - Chrome Seduction Feat. Claudia Brücken
13. This Is Not America - Claudia Brücken And Paul Rutherford
14. Night School - Claudia Brücken
(...encore...)
15. In Dreams - Claudia Brücken And Andrew Poppy

'Timing: Propaganda songs (1-3) written and recorded between 1983 and 1985. Act songs (4, 5) written and recorded between 1985 and 1987. «Love: and a Million Other Things» (6, 7) was released in 1991. «Delicious» (8) released on the Andy Bell album «Electric Blue» in 2005. «Cloud 9» (9) from the Onetwo album «Instead» released in 2007. «Sequentia» (11) remixed in 2010. «Thank You» and «Night School» (10, 14) written in 2009/10. «Light the Way» (12) released in 1993 «This is Not America» (13) recorded in 2001. «In Dreams» (15) recorded in 2010.'

All the little details at discogs.com
To be preordered fi at play.com or amazon.co.uk
With some interesting extra mp3's at an iTunes store near you or here

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Claudia Brücken, (re)released

Interviews accompagning the release of Propaganda's A Secret Wish 2CD deluxe edition and Claudia's solo album Love: and a million other things (2CD as well) are revealing it all: ...there's even more on its way from the Queen of Synthpop...!

Like a 'best of' retrospective album called 'ComBined' with new material (Onetwo, Stephen Hague..) in February 2011, 'maaaybe' a new Onetwo album in April 2011 (Claudia, BBC Radio Kent).... and touring A Secret Wish maybe...?...with new material, in the original line up...? dream within a dream...?

At The Electricity Club
interview with Claudia Brücken, 'Another Hope Feeds Another Dream'
Published date: 29 August 2010
By Chi Ming Lai

At Der Spiegel
interview with Ralf Dörper, Propaganda
Published date: 30 July 2010
By Christoph Dallach

At Electronically Yours
interview with Ralf Dörper, Propaganda
Published date: 24 July 2010
By Orac

At BBC Radio Kent, on iPlayer for 7 days only
interview with Claudia Brücken, Propaganda
Broadcasted date: 20 July 2010
By Roger Day

At RememberTheEighties.com
interview with Claudia Brücken, Propaganda
Published date: 17 July 2010
By Richard Evans















At the
Yorkshire Evening Post
interview with Claudia Brücken, Propaganda












'A minute into our conversation Claudia Brücken's mobile phone rings. She answers it in German. It's Suzanne Freytag, her former bandmate in 80s synth pop group Propaganda.

"I told her we were talking about the past," she says in soft tones a few moments later, apologising for the interruption.

Coincidentally it's their former group that we're due to discuss, and their classic debut album A Secret Wish, which is this month reissued in a deluxe edition to mark its 25th anniversary.

Claudia joined the group in 1982, shortly after they were founded in Düsseldorf, Germany by Ralf Dörper, Suzanne Freytag and Andreas Thein. Suzanne "had a great speaking voice" and the trio had already recorded a demo but found they needed "another voice to do all the melodies". Suzanne thought of her then 18-year-old friend.

"The Düsseldorf crowd, they all knew each other," remembers Claudia. "It's a small town atmosphere; everybody is in bands and knows the other one who's in bands."

She jumped at the chance to "join the club".

The first track Claudia sang on was Dr Mabuse, a tribute to the 1920s film villain who was a master of disguise. At the time it was "very hardcore" and "very German", she recalls, but in the hands of English record producer Trevor Horn, who signed the fledgling Propaganda to his new record label ZTT, it was to become a sizable European hit.

"It had all the elements so when Trevor met us everything was in it," says Claudia. "But he's a great producer and he managed to accentuate those things. We translated it into English because we wanted to be internationally recognised."

That was in March 1984. The problem the band faced was following it up. Britain was in the grip of 'Frankie-mania' and Trevor Horn was committed to producing Frankie Goes to Hollywood's debut album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome.

With the option on their record contract running out, Propaganda had to find another producer and crack on with their LP. In stepped Stephen Lipson, a musician and engineer who'd previously worked with Horn.

He proved a good choice, says Claudia, doing "a wonderful job" in nurturing his inexperienced protégés, who by then had gone through a line-up change with Michael Mertens replacing Thein.

At SARM West studios this "German band from an arty background" blossomed, thanks to "a limitless budget" and the willingness of Paul Morley, ZTT's co-founder and for a time Claudia's husband, to let the band experiment.

Claudia recalls "having access to incredible musicians and machinery".
"Stewart Copeland one day walking in playing drums – how cool was that? It was all fun. From an experience point of view I thought it was amazing."

At the end of each day, Horn, who was A Secret Wish's executive producer, would drop by and "demoralise us or inspire us" with his opinions on their work.

Claudia evidently looks back on this creative period with fondness. "For me it was like winning a lottery," she says. "All these serious bands that I've known would have given their right hand to be produced by Trevor Horn. It fell in my lap. It was amazing."

A Secret Wish was eventually released in July 1985, three months after the band's second hit single Duel. It reached No.16 in the UK and charted across Europe. Claudia remembers "Duel did really well in Italy and it captured the imagination of the Dutch people". Propaganda were also popular in France, Spain and their homeland – but not so popular that they were mega-stars.

A Secret Wish's greatest legacy has been its consistent sales over 25 years.

"What was special about this album was not that it came out and charted and everybody knew about it. It was very different. Years later people would say, 'Have you heard that album?' It kept selling well over the years."

Sadly the band's time in the sun was rather more short-lived. Tensions began to mount over the "terrible deal" they had signed with ZTT. Efforts to renegotiate it were not helped, Claudia says, by "a manager who would just split us up all the time". In 1986 the rest of the band decided to leave the label; Claudia opted to stay because "I enjoyed working with them so much".

Band-less, however, she felt lost, "even though I left them". ZTT encouraged her to form the duo Act with Thomas Leer but their debut album, Laughter, Tears and Rage, flopped. The great shame, she says, was that their single Snobbery and Decay was not a hit.

"It was quite critical toward Thatcher. It was such a strong record. I was surprised how it was not received at all. I wonder whether my nationality had something to do with it – that they did not want a German to tell them about English decline."

Claudia made a lovely but equally unsuccessful solo album, Love and a Million Other Things, in 1991 then disappeared from public view. "I became a single mum," she explains. "It was really hard to bring up a child on your own."

She continued to dabble in music, however, recording with Barry Adamson and the Bristol band Startled Insects ("they make music for animal programmes") but sadly neither was released. In 2005 she made covers album with the pianist Andrew Poppy and also appeared on albums by Erasure singer Andy Bell and Depeche Mode's Martin Gore.

In 2007 she paired up with Paul Humphreys of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark on the album Instead. Their band, Onetwo, had been instigated by "a lovely A&R guy" at the German label Logic and continues to last. In between Humphreys' work with OMD, they're currently writing a follow-up.

Its release, though, has been temporarily put on hold while Paul helps work on Claudia's 'best of' album, due out next February. "Paul is remixing some Onetwo tracks for it," she says. "I'm also working with Stephen Hague on some new songs which are going to appear on the album as well."

Despite the difficult climate in the recording industry, the 46-year-old singer is enjoying working once more.

"We were very spoilt in the 80s, we had everything," she notes. "Now it's so different. Especially for bands from the 80s it's a big shock... From unlimited budgets that I had, to finance it yourselves it's testing, but I love what I'm doing."

The re-release of A Secret Wish may at least help financially.

"I've a feeling that it was something special for people," she says of the album's lasting impression. "I still get lovely letters and emails. I know it has been an album that's influenced people. I did not know it at that time, but Suzanne and I were quite tough. There were all these smiling girls and we were the dark side. Our first rule was 'never smile'.

"What I love about A Secret Wish," she adds, "is it's a journey. It's not just 12 songs in a particular order. Some things sound dated now but it's a nice fantasy. It still carries that weight. It would be nice if it could reach a younger audience."

A Secret Wish: deluxe edition is released on July 19.'

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

A Secret Wish re-enters the UK charts at its 25th anniversary

Propaganda's A Secret wish just re-entered the UK charts at #92, at the exact same position it left 25 years ago. Amazing, in times like these...! You can keep an eye on the charts here.



- excited like it's 1985! -

Thursday, July 08, 2010

Claudia Brücken's Love: and a million other things rereleased as a 2CD

.




















Yes, after almost 20 years the rerelease is finally there!
As a double CD, with a lot of extra's.
Or, as Cherry Red Records states it:

'Expanded 2CD reissue of the only solo album to date from Claudia Brücken, electronic pop siren and lead singer of Propaganda, the band NME described as the 'Duel' in ZTT Records' crown.
* Originally released in 1991, the album includes the singles 'Absolut[e]', 'Kiss Like Ether' and 'Fanatic', cowritten with godfather of electronic music Thomas Leer, with whom Claudia formed the cult ZTT band Act in the late 80s.
* Cherry Red's expanded reissue includes the original album plus 10 bonus tracks covering all the singles, B-sides and remixes of the era.
* 'Love...' was produced by Pascal Gabriel who at the time was on the wave of massive success producing and cowriting Bomb The Bass' Beat Dis and S'Express' Theme from S'Express. But it was this album with Claudia Brücken that set the standard for every electronic diva that has followed in her wake all of which have been produced by Pascal Gabriel (Goldfrapp, Kylie, Dido, Little Boots, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Ladyhawke).
* Other artists featured on the album include Glenn Gregory (Heaven 17), Steve Jansen (Japan), John Uriel (ABC, Thomas Lang), Steve Nye (Penguin Cafe Orchestra), and singers Claudia Fontaine and Carol Kenyon.
* Three tracks are released on CD for the first time, including Pascal Gabriel's promo-only 12" Bastille Mix of 'Absolut [e]' and the Earth Mood Magic in a Present Tense 12" mix of 'Kiss Like Ether' by John Waddell, whose remix credits range from Kylie to De La Soul.'

Tracklist

Disc 1
1. Kiss Like Ether
2. Baby Sigh
3. Absolut[E]
4. Suicide - A Song For A Ghost
5. Unforgivable
6. Moments Of Joy
7. Fanatic (The Nail In My Soul)
8. Love In Another World
9. Always...
10. Surprise

Disc 2
1. Absolut[E] (Shooting Star)
2. Absolut[E] (Bastille Mix)
3. Whisper
4. Kiss Like Ether (As Pure)
5. I, Dream
6. Kiss Like Ether (Electrical Embrace)
7. I, Dream (Recurring)
8. Kiss Like Ether (Earth Mood Magic)
9. Kiss Like Ether (Earth Mood Magic In A Present Tense)

Audio CD (16 Aug 2010)
Number of Discs: 2
Label: Cherry Red
ASIN: B003UN58VU

Already ready for preorder at amazon.co.uk or play.com

Love the deja vu feelings all these rereleases provoke, oh! :D

Friday, June 18, 2010

Propaganda's A Secret Wish 2CD deluxe edition - full tracklisting

.
As the releasedate approaches things are getting more and more detailed...





















2xCD: SALVOMDCD14 / Element 11

Disc One the dark religions depart...

Dream Within A Dream 09:08
The Murder Of Love 05:13
Jewel 06:23
Duel 04:43
Frozen Faces 04:25
p:Machinery 03:50
Sorry For Laughing 03:27
The Chase 04:05
Dr. Mabuse 10:42

the analogue variations: Dream Within a Dream (08:03)*, Jewel (03:08)*, Duel (04:43)*, p:Machinery (03:50)*, Dr. Mabuse (First Life) (04:57)*, The Last Word (Strength to Dream) (02:59)*

Disc Two ...and sweet science reigns:

Do Well: (i) The First Cut, (ii) Duel, (iii) Jewel (Cut Rough),
(iv) Wonder, (v) Bejewelled 19:55 *
Testament One 01:20 **
die Tausend Augen des Mabuse (Ridge Farm 12" Remix of Mabuse, May 1984) 10:08 **
Sorry for Laughing (Unapologetic 12” Remix, September 1985) 10:00 **
Thought (part i) 02:05
Thought (part ii) 00:30
p:Machinery (out-take 26.04.85, Goodnight 32) 04:11 **
The Chase (out-take 26.04.85, the Goodnight Mix) 03:58 **
(Echo of…) Frozen Faces 10:19
p:Machinery (p:Polish) 09:26
Testament Three 00:20 **

** previously unreleased
* previously unreleased on CD

CD1 total running time: 74:36
CD2 total running time: 72:12

You are wishing upon part eleven in ZTT's 2010 Element Series, previously 13 in the Action Series “through the eternal recurrence of all things.”

A product of Zang Tuum Tumb, the organisation of pop.
Coming next: a phenomenon of megabytes.

...and official!

and ZTT adds some extra butterflies by:

'Announcing... the definitive, deluxe edition of one of the 80s most inspiring albums, Propaganda's A Secret Wish, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

Featuring the hit singles Duel, Dr. Mabuse and p:Machinery and produced by Trevor Horn and Steve Lipson, this is the album that inspired a generation of synthpop, dance and electronica.

This deluxe edition includes the original album plus all of the cassette/vinyl-only mixes on Disc One, complete with guest appearances from David Sylvian, Steve Howe and Glenn Gregory. Disc Two adds a wealth of bonus material including the complete, unexpurgated 20-minute cassette mix of Duel, Trevor Horn's previously unreleased Thousand Eyes... remix of Dr. Mabuse, a works-in-progress version of The Chase, and a previously unreleased 12” remix of Sorry For Laughing by Paul Morley.

Cited as a major inspiration by Depeche Mode's Martin Gore, Propaganda's A Secret Wish continues to send ripples through pop music. Some might know Dr. Mabuse as the first ever video by Anton Corbijn. Others the classic film soundtracks like Luc Besson's Subway (Murder of Love) and John Hughes' Some Kind of Wonderful (Dr. Mabuse). Pop fans might know Duel from the recent cover by Sophie Ellis-Bextor...

However you know it, get to know it again. A Secret Wish is catalogued at 11 in the element series, and is available to pre-order now.'

*HaPpY!*

Sunday, May 30, 2010

A new Onetwo gig! Blitz Remixed featuring Onetwo

Woohoo!! :)

Onetwo are playing their first gig in more than one and a half year to, as they say, 'get back in the swing of things'! Soooo, when you're in or near Windsor two weeks from now... (you're a very lucky b*st*rd!)

Blitz Remixed featuring Onetwo
Saturday June 12th 2010

The Firestation
St Leonards Road
Windsor SL4 3BL

More info here, at the site of the venue!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Propaganda's A Secret Wish 2CD deluxe edition this summer

Never look back - Schau nicht zurück ?

After years and years (25 in total) of re-releasing the same old good-good stuff in little variations, Ian Peel (and Union Square Music) finally managed to clear up the ZTT vaults a bit and will give us Propaganda's highly acclaimed '85 album A Secret Wish in a 2CD deluxe edition this summer...












ooooh, heaven is waiting...

The album consists of rare and previously unreleased remixes, studio outtakes, Trevor Horn 12"s and the 20-minute cassette mix of Duel (!)

CD1
01 Dream Within A Dream
02 The Murder Of Love
03 Jewel
04 Duel
05 Frozen Faces
06 p:Machinery
07 Sorry For Laughing
08 The Chase
09 Dr. Mabuse
10 Dream Within A Dream (analogue variation)
11 Jewel (analogue variation)
12 Duel (analogue variation)
13 p:Machinery (analogue variation)
14 Dr. Mabuse (First Life)
15 The Last Word (Strength to Dream)

CD2
01 Do Well (The First Cut / Duel / Jewel (Cut Rough)/Wonder/Bejewelled
02 Testament One
03 Die Tausend Augen Des Mabuse
04 Sorry For Laughing (Unapolagetic 12")
05 Thought Part I
06 Thought Part II
07 p:Machinery (Goodnight 32)
08 The Chase (the Goodnight Mix)
09 (Echo of) Frozen Faces
10 p:Machinery (p:Polish)
11 Testament Three

Indietective is one of the first online sellers which listed it, you can preorder it here for it's release on 16.07.2010.

Come on Claudia, Susanne, Ralf und Michael:
Let's Add Some Gigs!!!
so I can fall in love all over and over and over again :D

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Claudia Brücken is special guest at Heaven 17’s Penthouse and Pavement!

Claudia will be joining BEF's Glenn Gregory and Martyn Ware on stage next month, at Leamington Spa's The Assembly on Tuesday March 2nd and at Sheffield’s Magna on Saturday March 6. Penthouse and Pavement will be played in its entirety, but that’s not all at all…!

Info at Heaven17
Info at Magna
Info at The Assembly

So if you're in for a nice surprise...
























And the results are:

These boots are made for walking, March 2010 @ Magna Sheffield



These boots are made for walking, March 2010 @ Leamington Assembly




Earlier, Temptation at the Billy MacKenzie tribute, March 2007

Friday, January 01, 2010

list 2009

always near a cdplayer and on my iPhone
fever ray - fever ray
hell - teufelswerk
jon hopkins - insides
the whitest boy alive - rules
simian mobile disco - temporary pleasure
kompakt - total 10 (va)
blank&jones and mark reeder - reordered
wild beasts - two dances
depeche mode - sounds of the universe
delsin - II compilation (va)
mew - no more stories are told today
basement jaxx - basement jaxx
zoot woman - things are what they used to be
fryars - dark young hearts
royksopp - junior
gossip - music for men
luomo - convivial
major lazor - guns don't kill people...lazers do
tiga - ciao

played a few times
phoenix - wolfgang amadeus
vive la fete - disque d'or
peaches - i feel cream
antony and the johnsons - the crying light
white lies - to lose my life...
miss kittin and the hacker - two
metric - fantasies
kyteman - the hermit sessions
hanne hukkelberg - blood from a stone
laurent garnier - tales of a kelptomaniac
la roux - la roux
lindstrom & prins thomas - II
amanda blank - i love you
tim exile - listening tree

played only once, but giving it another chance in 2010
telepathe - telepathe
paolo nutini - sunny side up
pet shop boys - yes

to give away!!!
simple minds - graffiti soul
revolting cocks - sex-o-olympic-o
discovery - lp
shitmat - one foot in the rave
let me know if you're interested :)