For the past few months, Strangers In Stereo has been selecting DJs, artists and producers alike to create mix tapes as part of the Strange Sounds series. This month it was Hard Candy's turn to take the reigns, and they decided upon Florrie to create a mix for their Strange Sounds instalment.
Tracklist:
The Rapture – No Sex For Ben
Duck Sauce – Barbra Streisand
Cee Lo Green – Forget You
Two Door Cinema Club – Something Good Can Work
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Garden
Annie – My Love Is Better
Delphic – Doubt
Florence And The Machine – You Got the Love (Jamie xx Rework ft. The xx)
Alex Gaudino – Destination Calabria (ft. Crystal Waters)
Burns and Fred Falke – You Stopped Loving Me
Florrie:
«Here are ten of my favorite tunes at the moment; some are old, some new, but they all make me wanna dance around like a crazy person with a mean bass player expression on my face. I used Ableton Live to put the mix together. I’ve opened the mix with a song called “No Sex for Ben” by the Rapture. It’s an older track but I love the way they’ve created the beat out of bits of his vocal, and it was the soundtrack of my last trip to New York. It lasted about 24 hours and I played this song a hundred of times! I’ve put some Two Door Cinema Club in there; I’m touring with them at the moment and they are preeetty damn cool. There’s some Annie too. We’ve written together recently and I think she’s awesome.
Two words: Barbra Streisand. I asked my fans what song they would choose for this mix and this Duck Sauce tune was one of the most popular. After a long awaited release it’s finally out this week in the UK and has gotta be heading for number one. It. is. brilliant. I get properly excited when I hear it!. Who next? Ah yes, Monsieur Fred Falke! He’s just done a new track with Burns and I think it’s gonna be BIG (check out the video, it’s tres jolie). I write a lot with Fred and he’s working on my album too…I love him! I won’t give away any more, you’ll have to listen for yourself…enjoy! *BARBRA STREISAND*»
Nadine Coyle was interviewed by The Guardian and she inevitably spoke of her time as a Girls Aloud. Here's an excerpt from the article, where she talks about her favourite Girls Aloud records, how she recorded the initial vocals to all their songs and that the group will come back when the time is right and if the time is right:
From Girls Aloud's debut album onwards, Coyle sang all the initial vocals in the studio, at the express wish of their producer, Brian Higgins of Xenomania. "From day one. Well, maybe not day one, but definitely week two. And that's how it worked from then onwards. The girls just left me to it." She nods. "And then they would come in and do their parts, and they would have their holidays."
So Girls Aloud don't always make records together? "Oh yes. We were very, very separate. We didn't know it any other way." Coyle speaks in the past tense about the group all the time – although she bats off questions about whether they have split, or are splitting. "After the last record, it was the right time to go and do our own individual things, and then come back together when the time was right, if the time was right." Even when she is pushed, this is as far as she will go.
However, she brims with enthusiasm for her favourite Girls Aloud records – their second album, What Will the Neighbours Say?, and their 2007 single, Can't Speak French. She liked dressing up in Marie Antoinette frocks for that video, she laughs, although "all that stuff" is far less important than the music.
Florrie will be a busy girl in the coming months. Besides touring with Two Door Cinema Club in November in France, she will stop by Barcelona for a gig at Razzmatazz Club.
She has also just announced a new set of live dates throughout the UK in February 2011. The tickets will go on sale tomorrow, 15th October - for full information on tickets for all live shows, events and concerts, go to Florrie's Gigs & Tickets page.
Supporting Two Door Cinema Club (France):
15 Nov - Lille @ Aeronef (info)
16 Nov - Strasbourg (info)
17 Nov - Lyon @ Transbordeur (info)
18 Nov - Toulouse @ Le Bikini (info)
25 Nov - Paris @ Olympia (info)
2011 dates, UK:
3 Feb 2011 - Glasgow @ King Tuts (info)
4 Feb 2011 - Manchester @ The Ruby Lounge (info)
5 Feb 2011 - Nottingham UK @ Stealth vs Rescue Rooms(info)
7 Feb 2011 - Bristol @ Thekla (info)
9 Feb 2011 - Leeds @ Cockpit 3 (info)
10 Feb 2011 - Sheffield @ The Forum (info)
11 Feb 2011 - Stockton @ Shine Like Stars (info)
12 Feb 2011 - Birmingham @ HMV Institute (info)
15 Feb 2011 - Brighton @ Coalition (info)
16 Feb 2011 - London @ Hoxton Bar & Kitchen (info)
18 Feb 2011 - Tunbridge Wells @ Forum (info)
19 Feb 2011 - Southampton @ UNIT (info)
Rock Feedback has published the first part of an interview with Pete Wiggs (Saint Etienne) today. An interesting detail: when the journalist met him in the pub for the interview, Pete was with ex-Xenomania Nick Coler. This is the part where Pete Wiggs talks about Xenomania:
Rock Feedback: Going back to Xenomania, there’s some history there?
Pete Wiggs: Yes, the first thing he (Brian Higgins) did was ‘He’s on the Phone’, as part of Motiv8, and they did a great mix of it, well, they made the song really, so there’s been some history, also on Finisterre there’s Xenomania input so yes, it’s been good for us.
We met Nick [Coler] at Xenomania, when working on Tales From Turnpike House. Some of it was recorded there, 3 or 4 songs, the rest was with Ian Catt in Coulsdon, which is where loads of our stuff is recorded. Both Bob and I grew up in Croydon, and I’ve known Bob since I was approximately one.
Did you find yourself in one of their song-writing rooms? Yes, Pete, Bob ad Sarah had a year of song writing there, and some of those songs ended up with us, and others with Xenomania,
Such as?
A Gabriella Cilmi track, not the big one [laughs] the follow up to that, (2008’s ‘Save the Lies’).
In the interview, Pete Wiggs also talks about the next Saint Etienne album. He says: «It’s probably going to be more of a hotchpotch than a unified concept; we’re writing with different people, it might even be a double album.». Another former Xenomania member, Tim Powell, has already announced that he's working on Saint Etienne's new album.
Annie has been busy doing DJ sets, releasing mixtapes and working on the follow-up to Don't Stop (2009). Her third album is expected to be released next year and, in the meantime, a new single should be released soon.
On her website, Annie has been writing about the time she spends at the Xenomania studios and she has even posted a few shots of the Xenomania garden (no ducks, though). Annie says: «I really love Westerham. It's a very special place and Brian Higgins and all the musicians who work there are really talented and wonderful people to work with.»
She adds: «Last time I was here we had a jam session with Fred Falke, Kieran Jones & Jason Resch, and I was singing. So this time I was writing lyrics to some of the stuff we were recording in August. (...) I try to go to Westerham and work there for at least a week every month. I work really good there. And it's inspiring to be somewhere with lots of hardworking creative people. Makes me working even harder I guess.»
Pet Shop Boys' new single, "Together", was written and produced by Pet Shop Boys and ex-Xenomania Tim Powell at the beginning of September.
It will be released on November 29th on two CDs and digital download. The track-listings will also include "Glad all over" (a version of the 60s hit by The Dave Clark Five, arranged and produced by Pet Shop Boys and Tim Powell), "I cried for us" and "Together (extended version)", remixed by Tim Powell.
"Together" will also be included on Pet Shop Boys' new greatest hits album, Ultimate, to be released on November 1st.
The new expanded versions of Saint Etienne's Tales From Turnpike House (2005) and Good Humour(1998) are out this week. Both albums now have an extra disc of original b-sides and unreleased material.
Tales From Turnpike House features two tracks co-written and produced by Xenomania: "Lightning Strikes Twice" and "Stars Above Us". One of the b-sides, "Got A Job"/"Gotta Jump" was also produced by the team. The original version of the album included a bonus EP of children's music, wich had a song co-written by Xenomania called "Let's Build A Zoo". That EP is, however, absent from this reissue.
Disc 1 Sun In My Morning / Milk Bottle Symphony / Lightning Strikes Twice / Slow Down At The Castle / A Good Thing / Side Streets / Last Orders For Gary Stead / Stars Above Us / Relocate / Birdman Of EC1 / Teenage Winter / Goodnight
Disc 2
Murder In E Minor / Take Me Home (On A Pushbike) * / Another Cup Of Coffee * (Mike & The Mechanics cover) / School Run * / You Can Judge A Book By It's Cover / Who Pays The Rent * / Woodhenge * / Got A Job / Must Be More * / Holiday Song * / The Leyton Art Inferno / Missing Persons Bureau / Inside The Hive * / Aqualad * / Book Norton / Quiet Essex
Disc 1
Wood Cabin / Sylvie / Split Screen / Mr Donut / Goodnight Jack / Lose That Girl / The Bad Photographer / Been So Long / Postman / Erica America / Dutch TV
Disc 2
Hill Street Connection / Hit the Brakes / Madeleine / Swim Swan Swim / 4.35 In The Morning / Clark Co. Record Fair / Zipcode / My Name Is Vlaovic / Afraid To Go Home / La La La / Do You Love Me * / Cat Nap / Jack Lemmon / Constantly / The Emidisc Theme / 4.35 In The Morning (original version)
The next release from the Popjustice Hi-Fi label includes a song co-created by 'exnomania' (*) Tim Powell.
It's called "Lydia" and it's the b-side to the single "Teenagers" from the singer/producer/graphic designer Japayork. The single is out on December 5th as a download and as a 7" gatefold CD.
The single's b-side is the first fruit of sessions with Tim Powell. You can download "Lydia" free over at the Popjustice Hi-Fi site, where you'll also find more info on the single release and Japayork himself.
Listen to it below:
(*) term coined by Popjustice to define a former member of the production/songwriting team Xenomania.
This is Florrie's version of the Blondie classic "Sunday Girl". Production by Xenomania and drumming by Florrie. If you're in France, you can buy this right now on iTunes.
Emeli Sandé announced on Twitter that she is writing with Miranda Cooper this week. Last year, Miranda Cooper talked to Red Magazine about Emeli. Miranda said: «She's part of an exciting new generation of producers and writers, and I am always hearing great things about her.»
Emeli Sandé is a 23-year-old Scottish singer and songwriter who has been writing songs since she was 11. A former medical student, she has achieved two top 10 singles in the UK, by collaborating with rapper Chipmunk on "Diamond Rings" (2009), and then with Wiley on "Never Be Your Woman" (2010).
She also sings on Professor Green's "Kids That Love To Dance", and on Tinie Tempah's "Let Go" and is working on her debut album.
Alex Gardner's new single is in stores now. "Feeling Fine" is the follow-up to his debut "I'm Not Mad". It was produced by Xenomania and written by Alex Gardner, Brian Higgins, Jason Resch, Kieran Jones, Tommy Baxter and Simon Tellier.
After receiving mixed feedback, a new version of the song, with reduced vocal effects, is now being released. The digital bundle comes with a remix by Wez Clarke, while the CD-S is backed by an acoustic version of "I Wanna Be With Her".
If you buy the CD from the Universal Music store you'll get an exclusive signed copy - buy it here. See the reviews, read the lyrics and watch the video.
Nadine from Girls Aloud has said that her debut solo album has a running storyline and that the self-penned tracks each tell a part of the story:
«I wanted the album to be very real, in terms of real instruments. No auto-tune, a full gospel choir on there, really heavy backing vocals, lyrical content that made sense - but not lyrics that only made sense to me, but could make sense to everybody listening. You can take from it what you will, but there's a storyline, and just music that I wanted to hear.»
Nadine also revealed that it was different to record an album for Girls Aloud: «In Girls Aloud, except for 'Stand By You' and 'See The Day', none of our other songs had any storylines whatsoever. It was deliberate, it wasn't about storylines, it was about the music and the fact it could be worked with clothes and it was a backing canvas for us to go as crazy as we wanted with costumes and hair and stuff, so it was a different style.»
She also told Digital Spy what it was like to write her own material away from Xenomania and Girls Aloud:
«I found it liberating. The best thing was being able to come back to songs and re-jig bits: adding a bit of drums here, some BPM there, a bit of drum 'n' bass on that. In Girls Aloud it was always someone else making those decisions. None of us were quite sure who that 'someone' was, but it's great knowing that it was me for this album. It makes the whole thing feel genuine, although I was always half-expecting someone to be on my shoulder telling me, 'No, not like that!'.»
This week Tim Powell scored his first top 10 post-Xenomania with the single "I'm In Love (I Wanna Do It)", which he co-wrote. Some of his upcoming productions include Pet Shop Boys' "Together" and Ed Drewett's "Champagne Lemonade" and he has also been in the studio with Saint Etienne.
Today sees the first official release of his remixing alias "pepptalk", from the man who was once known as "Tony Lamezma". Visit Pepptalk's MySpace to listen to his reworks of Bright Light Bright Light's "Love part II" and Love Is Electric's "Beating Like a Drum".
BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT is singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rod Thomas. He is the second signing from PopJustice HiFi.
"Love Part II" includes the b-side, "Cry At Films", (with guitar and backing vocals from Scissor Sisters' Del Marquis) and a remix from Pepptalk.
The single is out now digitally and as a limited edition CD in gatefold 7" sleeve. Buy it now:
POPJUSTICE HI-FI is a label that specializes in "above-average pop tuneage". Its first release was "Waterfall" by Rosanna.
The label is a joint venture between Popjustice founder Peter Robinson, Dan Stevens and David Laub from Darling Artists and Virgin Records, so it's somewhere between an indie and a major label.
Popjustice Hi-Fi treats pop music like the most important thing in the world "because there is little evidence to the contrary". Click here for more.
TONY LAMEZMA was the generic name given to Xenomania's in-house remixes between 2004 and 2008. Those remixes were mostly done by Tim Powell, although occasionally other Xenomania members also had some input.
He mostly remixed Girls Aloud's singles; the only non-Xenomania production he reworked was Sophie Ellis Bextor's "Me & My Imagination".
Lamezma's remixes became cult favourites for their euphoric extravaganza and the "club banger" status. With Tony Lamezma you always knew what you were getting, and that was no bad thing at all.
2004: Girls Aloud - The Show / Girls Aloud - Love Machine / Girls Aloud - I'll Stand By You / V - Hip To Hip 2005: Girls Aloud - Wake Me Up / Girls Aloud - Long Hot Summer / Girls Aloud - Biology 2006: Girls Aloud - Whole Lotta History / Girls Aloud - Something Kinda Ooooh / Girls Aloud - I Think We're Alone Now 2007: Girls Aloud - Sexy! No, No, No... / Girls Aloud - Call the Shots / Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Me and My Imagination 2008: Girls Aloud - Can't Speak French
"Feeling Fine" is now available to download from iTunes - click here to buy. The download bundle features a new version of "Feeling Fine" with reduced vocal effects (listen here), the video and a remix by Wez Clarke, a South London producer and resident DJ for Hed Kandi.
The CD-single will be out tomorrow - pre-order now from HMV or order a signed copy here. The b-side is an acoustic version of "I Wanna Be With Her".
Go to Alex's YouTube Channel to watch a behind the scenes video on the making of "Feeling Fine", plus an acoustic version of the track:
Mike Chapman has began working with Xenomania this week. In the photo above (tweeted by Florrie) you can see the man during a writing session at Xenomania HQ. That's Florrie, Mike Chapman, Fred Falke, Toby Scott, Kieran Jones and Jason Resch's head. Brian Higgins is either taking the picture or simply hiding from the camera.
Mike Chapman is an Australian-born producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including Sweet and Suzi Quatro with co-writer and co-producer Nicky Chinn. He later produced breakthrough albums for Blondie and The Knack.
Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman - the "Chinnichap"
In collaboration with Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman was among the most successful songwriters of the 1970s. He was in the group Tangerine Peel when he first teamed with Chinn. Under the supervision of RAK Records' chief Mickie Most, the duo quickly composed a series of smashes for acts including Sweet ("Ballroom Blitz"), Suzi Quatro ("Stumblin' In"), New World ("Living Next Door to Alice"), and Mud ("Tiger Feet"), in all scoring over 40 U.K. hits during the 1970s.
Mike Chapman with Debbie Harry and Ronnie Spector. Pop royalty.
As a solo producer, Chapman enjoyed his first hit with Nick Gilder's City Nights (1978). But his real breakthrough was Blondie's classic Parallel Lines, which launched the blockbuster "Heart of Glass". The album also includes "Sunday Girl", which Florrie recently covered for the Nina L'Elixir campaign.
Florrie with Jason, Kieran & George at the Nina L'Elixir launch. Any similarity with Parallel Lines is not a coincidence.
The partnership between Blondie and Mike Chapman catapulted the group from the underground to mainstream chart success. He produced three more Blondie albums -- Eat to the Beat (1979), Autoamerican (1980) and The Hunter (1982) -- and most of Def, Dumb and Blonde (1989), a Deborah Harry solo album. Chapman also teamed with The Knack, whose Get the Knack yielded "My Sharona" (quite possibly influencing Girls Aloud's "No Good Advice"). In 1979, Chapman and Chinn formed their own label, Dreamland, and created hits like Exile's "Kiss You All Over" and Toni Basil's "Mickey".
Chapman remained in demand through the 1980s and 1990s as a songwriter and producer. His compositions have included Tina Turner's "Simply The Best" and Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield", while he has produced albums for Altered Images, Australian Crawl, ABBA's Agnetha Fältskog, Divinyls, Rod Stewart, Lita Ford, Baby Animals, Material Issue and Bow Wow Wow.
"Sunday Girl" is now available to download from iTunes France - click here to buy. It was produced by Xenomania and recorded by Florrie, who also plays drums on the track. "Sunday Girl" is a new version of the original 1970s song by Blondie, written by Chris Stein. Florrie has slightly tweaked the lyrics to fit in with the ad.
Florrie is the face and voice of Nina Ricci's new advertising campaign for the Nina L'Elixir fragrance. The song is played on the TV advert:
Lyrics: Florrie - Sunday Girl
I know a girl from a fantasy
A world of rainbows and mystery
Close your eyes, Sunday Girl
Hey, I saw your guy under the apple tree
He said hold tight and come with me
Run and fly, Sunday Girl
Hurry up, hurry up and wait
Until the sun comes up and breaks the day
Cherry trees and honey bees
Won't you come and hide with me
She can catch up with the fireflies
Dance across the blueberry skies
Live in dreams, Sunday Girl
Baby, meet me under the stars tonight
Think I've got something you might like
Come with me, Sunday Girl
Hey, I saw your guy under the apple tree
He said hold tight and come with me
Run and fly, Sunday Girl
Hurry up, hurry up and wait
Until the sun comes up and breaks the day
Cherry trees and honey bees
In our world of make believe
My sky is blue
Please please please come see
What you do to me
My sky is blue
My Sunday Girl, my Sunday Girl
Tim Powell was a member of Xenomania from the very beginning. In March 2010, after 14 years with the team, Tim became an independent producer and songwriter. His first co-write since leaving Xenomania is out now (Alex Gaudino's "I'm In Love") and Ed Drewett's "Champagne Lemonade" (which he co-wrote and produced) will be released on 1st November. Tim has also worked with the Pet Shop Boys for their new single "Together", to be included on their new Greatest Hits album. Also look out for his remixes under the alias Pepptalk.
Alex Gaudino & Maxine - I'm In Love
Alex Gaudino's new single was originally just a dance track with a catchy piano line and the looped "I'm in love" chant, in the same vein as Eric Prydz's "Call On Me".
But the song was given new life with a topline written by Tim Powell. A former Xenomania singer called Maxine Ashley stepped in to perform the vocals.
The single is out this week, on the Ministry of Sound label, and has been steadily climbing up the iTunes chart.
"Champagne Lemonade" is Tim Powell's first production work since leaving Xenomania. The song, which he also co-wrote, is Ed Drewett's debut single, to be released on November 1st. This is the video:
Pet Shop Boys - Together
The track-listing for the forthcoming Pet Shop Boys' greatest hits album includes 25 years of hits from 1985's "West End girls" to 2009's "Love etc." and concludes with a new song, "Together", written and recorded this month.
The new song was written and produced with Tim Powell and will also be released as a single. The release date will be announced shortly. Ultimate Pet Shop Boys will be out on November 1st.
Pet Shop Boys' latest album Yes (2009) was entirely produced by Xenomania. The team also co-wrote three songs on the album: "The way it used to be", "More than a dream" and the single "Love etc.".
Bright Light Bright Light - Love Part II (Pepptalk remix)
During his Xenomania days Tim Powell was also known as "Tony Lamezma", whose remixes became cult favourites. Now he continues to remix tracks under the name Pepptalk.
You can now pre-order a special edition signed copy of the new Alex Gardner single - click here to buy. "Feeling Fine" can also be pre-ordered from Amazon and HMV. It will be released on September 27th. This is the CD tracklist:
01 Feeling Fine (Vocal Mix) 03:38
02 I Wanna Be With Her (Acoustic) 02:50
A new version of "Feeling Fine", with reduced vocal effects, will be the one released as a single - listen to the vocal mix. The song has also been remixed by Wez Clarke, a South London producer and resident DJ for Hed Kandi. The remix should be available to buy digitally.
In her new biography as a solo artist, Nadine Coyle talks about the time she spent being a Girls Aloud and recording with Xenomania:
"We developed a machine-like mentality. I don't regret a second of it. It taught me amazing discipline. I learnt everything I needed to learn about myself as a singer and songwriter from Brian [Higgins]. We made some amazing records with him. And I got to do that alongside four great girls".
Nadine also talks about how her dream was singing songs where "every line means the world to you" with the full back-up of a live-band . She says that the closest she got to that dream with Girls Aloud was when the five girls wore the sparkling gold gowns in "The Promise" video. She even adds that "The Promise" is among the top five songs Girls Aloud ever made.
She also talks about her vocal register in Girls Aloud: "If you listen to all the Girls Aloud records, they're in a really low register. It was because I'd just come off tour and we had to record with my throat tired from three months singing at full energy on the road. I didn't want to have the same constrictions this time."
There is also an interesting paragraph in her biography that explains in a very succint and superficial way how Girls Aloud's albums were made:
«If in modern music industry terms two years seems like a lengthy gestation period for an album, consider for a moment how long Girls Aloud were given to put their five records together. Nadine Coyle has certainly earned her dues. At the end of every one of their ever-increasing tours, Nadine would be sequestered off to the house of GA producers Xenomania in deepest, darkest Kent. She’d work with producer Brian Higgins for two weeks, three maximum, putting vocal licks for songs together, run off on holiday for a week and then return. A week for mastering and bingo! There’s your album. Six weeks, maximum.»
Pet Shop Boys announced on their official site that they will release a new greatest hits compilation on November 1st. Ultimate Pet Shop Boys will feature 19 hit singles in chronological order from "West End girls" to the Xenomania-produced "Love etc.".
The Special Edition version will feature a DVD containing a series of classic BBC TV performances from Top Of The Pops and other shows recorded over the last 25 years, as well as Pet Shop Boys' Glastonbury headline show from June.
Pet Shop Boys have also revealed on Twitter that they have recorded a new song, apparently with ex-Xenomania member Tim Powell.
Xenomania is a songwriting and production house based in Kent, England. It was founded by songwriter and producer Brian Higgins.
Since 1996, Xenomania have written, produced and remixed tracks for a string of successful artists including Girls Aloud, Pet Shop Boys, Sugababes, Dannii and Kylie Minogue, Saint Etienne, Cher, Gabriella Cilmi and many others.
