| _ Unofficial Xenomania fansite. | RSS |
|
Download: Florrie - You Wanna Start Something
(Fred Falke Club Edit) Posted at 1:59 PM, 07 September 2010 - 0 Comments 
 » You Wanna Start Something (Fred Falke Club Edit) (MP3 320 kbps 15 MB) » You Wanna Start Something (Fred Falke Club Edit) (MP3 128 kbps 6 MB) » You Wanna Start Something (Fred Falke Club Edit) (FLAC 37 MB) "You Wanna Start Something" was written by Florrie Arnold, Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Jason Resch, Kieran Jones, Toby Scott and Fred Falke.  Labels: Florrie Arnold, Fred Falke
New Florrie tracks: 'Come Back To Mine' & 'Fascinate Me'
Posted at 5:41 PM, 31 May 2010 - 6 Comments
 » Florrie – Come Back to Mine (feat. Moguai) Produced by Moguai, the man who provided the BIG samples for Sugababes' "In The Middle" plus Girls Aloud's "Fling" and "Something Kinda Ooooh". "Come Back To Mine" struts its electro-glam stuff with a robotic swing and Xenomania's classic patchwork songwriting. FREE MP3 Download: 320 kbps MP3 FREE MP3 Download: 128 kbps MP3 » Florrie – Fascinate Me (Fred Falke edit) A pure pop confection worked over by Fred Falke. "Fascinate Me" has synths that are gleeful and bouncy, a luscious chorus and Falke's trademark ethereal middle eight. Beautiful and sexy. FREE MP3 Download: 320 kbps MP3 FREE MP3 Download: 128 kbps MP3 Labels: Florrie Arnold, Fred Falke, Moguai
Download: Florrie - Panic Attack (Fred Falke Club Mix)
Posted at 3:32 PM, 22 May 2010 - 0 Comments
  Fred Falke has worked on a new chilled out summery remix of Florrie's "Panic Attack". The new Club Mix is, as usual, available to download from Florrie.com. The track is also on the Hype Machine if you want to heart it. FREE MP3 Download: 320 kbps MP3 FREE MP3 Download: 128 kbps MP3 Labels: Florrie Arnold, Fred Falke
Florrie & Fred Falke - Panic Attack (reviews)
Posted at 11:13 PM, 25 March 2010 - 0 Comments
Labels: Florrie Arnold, Fred Falke, Popjustice
Download: Florrie - Panic Attack (Fred Falke Extended Mix)
Posted at 11:33 PM, 24 March 2010 - 4 Comments
FREE download: 15 MB 320 kbps MP3 FREE download: 6 MB 128 kbps MP3 Vote for "Panic Attack" on the Hype Machine - just follow this link, register (it's quick!) and click the heart. This is the 6 minute version of the Fred Falke remix of Florrie's "Panic Attack", available as a FREE mp3 download. The video was filmed and edited by Florrie and Toby Scott in the grounds of Xenomania HQ, Kent, in March 2010. Once again Florrie unleashes her inner disco diva and even does a bit of scat singing. There are bells, whistles and a killer bassline, bringing funk, house and disco together. We love being spoiled with free downloads but we just can't wait to buy these tracks on shiny vinyl... Labels: Florrie Arnold, Fred Falke, Xenomania ducks
Florrie & Fred Falke - Call 911 (video, download, lyrics)
Posted at 5:42 PM, 11 February 2010 - 0 Comments
This is a video with Florrie Arnold and Fred Falke remixing "Call 911". You don't really get to see them working on the remix, but you can see Florrie & Fred getting into the groove, with plenty of head-bopping, arm-waving and fist-pumping. We also find out that Mr. Falke likes the Japanese manga/anime One Piece ("it's a pirate story"). Download the remix for free: Florrie - Call 911 (Fred Falke remix) 16 MB MP3 (320 kbps) Florrie - Call 911 (Fred Falke remix) 7 MB MP3 (128 kbps) Florrie - Call 911 (Fred Falke remix) 3 MB MP3 (64 kbps) LYRICS: Call 911 she's on the run (x7) Oh boy better get on your bike All the girls they wanna take a ride Never one to wanna compromise I'm the chase and you're my FBI, not Gonna get you off your head Don't you wanna take a ride instead Just remember every word I said Baby blow it bang bang you're dead! Are you tickin' on the line like a time bomb? Are you pickin' up the pace got your face on? Are you making my escape, keep away from Are you calling in the chase, wanna race on I cracked the code Are you watching me baby lose control? I'm running they're coming go crazy Gotta get gotta get gotta get gotta get Gotta go home Gotta go I've blown another name Boy take a seat let me explain Don't break the chain Come get your beat back in the game Gotta put my foot down switching lanes Sensation pumping through my veins Let's go again I got your back so let it rain! Call 911 she's on the run (x8) I'll meet you on a Friday night Play the game we're gonna keep this tight Listen up we'll get em' on your side Reel it in and baby then you bite, back Undercover keep your head Kinda like a bit of infra-red Just remember no you won't forget Baby blow it bang bang you're dead! Are you tickin' on the line like a time bomb? Are you pickin' up the pace got your face on? Are you making my escape, keep away from Are you calling in the chase, wanna race on I cracked the code Are you watching me baby lose control? I'm running they're coming go crazy Gotta get gotta get gotta get gotta get Gotta go home Gotta go I've blown another name Boy take a seat let me explain Don't break the chain Come get your beat back in the game Gotta put my foot down switching lanes Sensation pumping through my veins Let's go again I got your back so let it rain! Call 911 she's on the run (x8) You play with fire, this love love was running from the start Full of desire this love love let it break my heart Call 911 she's on the run (x7) Are you tickin' on the line like a time bomb? Are you pickin' up the pace got your face on? Are you making my escape, keep away from Are you calling in the chase, wanna race on I cracked the code Are you watching me baby lose control? I'm running they're coming go crazy Gotta get gotta get gotta get gotta get Gotta go home Gotta go I've blown another name Boy take a seat let me explain Don't break the chain Come get your beat back in the game Gotta put my foot down switching lanes Sensation pumping through my veins Let's go again I got your back so let it rain! Call 911 she's on the run (x8) Labels: Florrie Arnold, Fred Falke
Florrie & Fred Falke - Call 911 (reviews)
Posted at 5:22 PM, - 0 Comments
 The Internet has been kind to the Fred Falke remix of Florrie Arnold's "Call 911". Blogs, message boards and the like seem to be very enthusiastic about the song. Here a few reactions:
Labels: Florrie Arnold, Fred Falke
Listen: Florrie Arnold - Call 911 (Fred Falke remix)
Posted at 6:33 PM, 09 February 2010 - 1 Comments
Brand new song from Xenomania solo artist Florrie Arnold. This is the remix by frequent Xenomania collaborator Fred Falke. Update: Here's a link to download the Fred Falke remix for free (and legally). . Labels: Florrie Arnold, Fred Falke
Xenomania news roundup
Posted at 3:13 PM, 05 February 2010 - 2 Comments
Labels: Alex Gardner, beyond Xenomania, Carla-Marie Williams, Florrie Arnold, Fred Falke, Gabriella Cilmi, Girls Aloud, JFK, Mini Viva, NiteVisions, St Trinians
Fred Falke: it's all about the bassline
Posted at 8:31 PM, 09 December 2009 - 0 Comments
 French DJ and producer Fred Falke was one of the most active remixers of 2009. He is also producing his own solo material and is working with Xenomania.Falke began his career as a bass player before starting to produce records in the late '90s. His background as a bass player is what makes his remixes stand out. In a recent (and rare) interview, he explained that the bass line is the key: «I always start with the bass line. The bass line and the melody of the song are the two key elements. I always need to find a bass line that people can dance to». Rather than just stretching out the original songs into an endless/tedious mantra, his remixes have added substance, with deep basslines, sunshine synths and plenty of room for dancefloor action. This year, Falke has remixed songs from artists like Annie, Gossip, Miami Horror, Robbie Williams, Ke$ha, U2 or Music Go Music. He has also co-written recent Xenomania songs such as Alesha Dixon's "The Light", Jessie Malakouti's "Standing Up For The Lonely", Sarah Harding's "Too Bad" (from the upcoming St Trinian's film) and Mini Viva's "Left My Heart In Tokyo" (where he also plays the bass). The Mini Viva single came out of writing sessions with Annie and Xenomania. Falke said in an interview: «I was really amazed, I stayed with them for two weeks working on tracks. Miranda Cooper and Brian are amazing songwriters, and everyone who works there with them is so talented. Everyone there is working, working non-stop, which is something I really like». He adds: «When I see the amount of success they achieve, you can’t do that if you’re not working constantly. But at the same time, everyone at Xenomania loves music and loves making music. It’s not like a factory, it’s about making a lot of great tracks — sharing your ideas with everyone. It’s unique». Labels: Fred Falke
Xenomania - THE X FACTOR
(Q magazine article, October 2009) Posted at 12:01 AM, 02 September 2009 - 0 Comments
Written by: Johnny Davis Published: Q (October 2009) In a Kent country house, Britain's pop factory cranks out hits for Girls Aloud, Kylie, and many, many more. Clock on at Xenomania - the "21st-century Motown"...  A Xenomania meeting in progress
The pair met in 2007 at an audition held by a record label calling itself Select Music UK. Connolly had been targeted via her MySpace; Love showed up "after I'd seen a flyer". Soon they were driven to a house in Kent. "We came in and we were, like, Oh My God," recalls Connolly. "Seeing all the gold records on the wall!" They spent the next two years training to be pop stars. This May they found themselves in the seventh-floor boardroom of Universal Music Group International's base in London. Their audience: Lucian Grainge, Universal's chairman and CEO, and arguably the most powerful executive in the British music industry. It was 11am and Grainge was eating muesli. But they stormed through Left My Heart In Tokyo and Mini Viva had a deal confirmed before Grainge had time to down his spoon. Six weeks later Mini Viva are sitting in the garden of that same Kent house. It belongs to Brian Higgins, co-director of Xenomania, the most successful songwriting and production house Britain has produced in 20 years. From here Xenomania have written, recorded and produced 20 of Girls Aloud's record-breaking run of 21 singles. They have proved hitmakers for the Sugababes, Kylie, Pet Shop Boys and more, shifting some 25 million records in their 12-year history. Their songs are defined by a compulsion to corral pop music down ever more thrilling and creative avenues. Sugababes' Round Round or Girls Aloud's The Promise crossed dancefloor electronics with rock club guitars, classic '60s songwriting and sparkling '00s production. Lyrically, too, Xenomania patented their own lines in winningly impenetrable silliness ("Something kinda ooh/Jumping on my tutu"), so much so that one journalist was compelled to ask Cheryl Cole whether 2004 hit The Show was about anal sex (it wasn't). Aided by five winning personalities, it was songcraft that escorted Girls Aloud from the nadir of credibility (winners of 2002 proto-X-Factor, Popstars: The Rivals) to somewhere near its zenith (two 2009 Brit Award nominations, Wembley Stadium gigs with Jay-Z and Coldplay).  Xenomania: Nick Coler, Miranda Cooper and Brian Higgins
The way Xenomania work is unusual. Based 45 minutes outside London "to avoid all the distractions", the team would never do anything as straightforward as sit down to write "a song". Instead they each work on backing tracks, chords or beats, Higgins choosing the best bits and building up songs like jigsaws. Xenomania believes that for a song to be "sincere", the artist must always be involved, so melodies and lyrics are always collaborative. Higgins: "The melodic side, which is about life, is the essence of songwriting. There's not many 17-year-olds who have Number 1 hits. If you're giving a melody to them to tell their life story through that melody, you've effectively given them the experience of the older person." Higgins and Xenomania have already achieved success that would seem more than enough for most people. But it would be a terrible mistake to consider Higgins and Xenomania most people. "Presidents of labels go, Why haven't you retired yet?", he barks. "You think, is that what you're in it for? That's surely indicative of what they themselves are chasing. It's not someone who loves music. It's someone who wants overnight success. Well, I don't want to work with people like that. If you're searching fr overnight success, then get the fuck out of the business." Xenomania are playing a long game, the next stage of which is to "bypass the nonsense" of the industry by launching their own record label. Aiming to become, as the team's head of A&R Sheila Burgel puts it, "a Motown of the 21st-century", Higgins's team have spent the last two years scouring the world for acts to develop. Turning the traditional pop producer's role on its head, Xenomania won't wait for record companies to bring them artists to work with. Instead, they'll sell record companies the artists they've discovered and developed. That means presenting them "99 per cent complete", with a finished album with its first three singles earmarked, pre-style, rigorously drilled in performing live (50 shows for all new acts is now a ballpark figure) and, in Mini Viva's case, with their own brand of so-bad-it's-brilliant synchronised dancing. "I don't think record labels have the skill set to develop acts any more", says Higgins. "You need to be outside of it." And if Xenomania's USP has thus far largely been girl pop, the next six months will see them comprehensively edging out of whatever remaining comfort zone they have left. Following Mini Viva, there'll be Vagabond (lusty soul-rock band), Pageboy (Pink-esque pop), Alex Gardner (groove-based blue-eyed rock), Nite Visions (the sons of Duran Duran's Andy and Roger Taylor, and sounding like it) and Gerard O'Connell (who'll release his music, a sort of four-to-the-floor Coldplay, under the name of Goldmark). This comes at a time when pop is once again in the ascendant; the days of Dizzee Rascal's Holiday and Lady GaGa's Paparazzi. "Pop was a dirty word", says Radio 1's George Ergatoudis, whose swap of indie Jo Whiley for poppy Fearne Cotton perhaps signals a subtle station repositioning." But quality, exciting pop music sounds fresh now. Xenomania are doing it."  The Xenomania houseAlice Liddell, the inspiration for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, used to live here. A team of gardeners are attending to the not-insubstantial garden. There's a stream, and ducks everywhere. "There only used to be two", notes Florrie Arnold, one of two impossibly beautiful girls who float to greet Q, "Now they're breeding like rabbits." At 20, Arnold turns out to be one of the grizzled old hands - a member of Xenomania's house band. Elsewhere teenagers sit around a wooden hall table, playing back music on MacBooks, writing lyrics in notebooks, and generally being so good-looking you feel like running screaming out the back door. The house is a hive of activity. An east wing is off-bounds - Higgins's living quarters, with long-term partner Sarah ("I've no idea why it says 'danger' on the door," notes Arnold.) "We're churning out ideas all the time," says Nick Coler, who is currently "trying to get some beats together" for an undetermined artist for the St Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold soundtrack. "You're trying to sell someone a feeling, and that's the feeling you're trying to get," he says. "It's easy to make something catchy. To be able to listen to it a thousand times, and still have that feeling - that's hard."
Given all this, it's perhaps no coincidence one of Girls Aloud's albums was called What Will The Neighbours Say?." The villagers have generally got used to it," says Kieran Jones. "Though some do stand on the green and just stare at the house. That's a bit disconcerting." Soon, housekeeper Pilar has lunch ready. Catering for 36, it's a feast comprising roast pork, cod mignon, hazelnut and vegetable salad, cabbage, beetroot and roast potatoes. There's a minor surge kitchen-wards. "Can you wait till Brian comes in first?" advises his PA Claire, in a tone that suggests it would be a good idea. Lean and gym-fit, in his leather jacket Brian Higgins might bear physical resemblance to a Formula 1-era Damon Hill, but in temperament he's more Sir Alan Sugar: famously hard to please. A "work obsessive-compulsive" he's made no bones about packing pop stars he can't get along with on the train back to London, expects 12-hour days from his team and cheerfully admits to "binning 90 per cent" of Xenomania's work in his quest for the perfect pop song. Franz Ferdinand excitedly proclaimed working with Xenomania on their recent Tonight: Franz Ferdinand album would be "a music marriage made in heaven" only to abandon the sessions three months later. "It didn't really work," said singer Alex Kapranos. "I think Brian liked Franz Ferdinand... on a personal level," says Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant, whose 2009 collaborative Xenomania album Yes proved more successful. "But he works you very hard. He's very headmaster-ly. The first time I worked with, Miranda [Cooper] said, Right, now we'll try that with a different melody. And write some new words. I was like, What?" "And you get marked," notes Tennant's partner, Chris Lowe. "He puts stars by your work, and comments. It's ruthless. It's fantastic!" His self-belief is certainly impressive. In February, he had the first six acts signed to Xenomania perform for an audience of music business heavyweights that included six label presidents, two chairmen, 10 Radio 1 producers and key journalists. "One of the presidents said to me afterwards, If you'd fucked that up, you would have been fucked, Brian," he says. "But to me it was logical: the quality was there. And," he grins, "everyone left wanting to buy something." Higgins was born in Whitehaven, Cumbria, the second eldest of five siblings. His father was a GP, his mother an actress. Aged 20, he co-wrote the song that would become Cher's Believe. At that stage he was a sales director at magazine publishers Reed. At night, he'd start his second job, writing and remixing pop songs into the small hours. Along with Tim Powell and Matt Gray, he wrote All I Wanna Do, a Number 4 hit in 1997 for Dannii Minogue. "That was my entry fee," Higgins says. Executives at Warners asked if he had anything good for Cher, then hankering after a pop-dance direction. He'd spent eight years sitting on just the thing. Believe went to Number 1 in 23 countries, sold 10 million copies and ensured Higgins would never have to do a day's work again - an unlikely scenario.
Xenomania set about mastering pop. "As far as songwriting's concerned, we're fucking scientists", says Higgins. "I went through the whole of The Beatles songbook once, playing the chords on my left hand and working out all the melodies on my right. I just don't think there's that level of analysis of melody and chordal structure anywhere else."
Over the last two years Higgins has "sunk hundreds of thousands of pounds" of his own money into the next stage - establishing Xenomania as a label. After lunch, there are rehearsals, in 72 hours, Xenomania will host a room at the iTunes Live London Festival '09 in Camden. Alex Gardner's album isn't out until at least January 2010, but it's all part of a long-lead build up to launching Xenomania's acts; and generating as much industry and media anticipation as possible while simultaneously honing their live performance. Backed by the Xenomania house band, Pageboy's singer Brooke X romps through Heartbreak and Red Wine - a sultry pop-rock tune that lodges itself in your head. The next day Q return to find Danish pop types Alphabeat in the hallway. Later Gerard O'Connell, Mini Viva and Jason Resch perform. Cooper and Higgins look on, the former bouncing on her hands, while Higgins stares ahead inscrutably. "With this job, it's your life more than your job," says 19-year-old Alex Gardner, who'd come to London from Edinburgh to model before being earmarked by Burgel. "Everyone wants to make it work as best as possible for each other. It's like a big family." He's recently signed to Duffy's label A&M, with whom he's already drawing similarly "potentially massive" comparisons.
Can Xenomania become a Motown for the 21st century? In attempting to do so, they're diverging from their success with girl pop - which has upset some of their faithful fanbase. "The hardcore Xenomania fans have been, What the hell is going on?", says Vagabond's singer Alex Vargas. "What is this Vagabond?" In fact Higgins has already spent three years steering Vargas from dreams of becoming Robert Plant, into a more soulful direction. "That was a blow, but good in the long run. I was 18; slightly arrogant. Brian showed me that melody is the key to everything. I'm glad he pointed that out". "What Brian is attempting is a big task," says Colin Barlow. "But I can't think of anyone else who could create something like that. With that work ethic, talent and passion, he has every chance." Two days later, Alex Gardner is onstage at the iTunes night. It's a compelling four-song performance. Cooper, Burgel and Higgins stand directly in front of the stage, two of them dancing, Higgins standing stock still and mouthing every lyric. Afterwards Fred Falke is effusive. "How can you not enjoy it?", he beams. "You have to be deaf, dead or drunk." Higgins is more cautious. "I'm standing here thinking of all the things that can be done better," he says. "But it's only his 25th performance." Twenty-five more to go? "Something like that," he says. "We'll get there." Don't doubt it. Labels: Alex Gardner, Brian Higgins, Brooke X, Florrie Arnold, Fred Falke, interviews, JFK, Mini Viva, Miranda Cooper, Pageboy, pictures, Sheila Burgel
[Beyond Xenomania]
Carla-Marie Williams, Fred Falke, Sacha Collisson Posted at 6:14 PM, 20 August 2009 - 0 Comments
 • Carla Marie Williams appears on Crookers' new single "Put Your Hands On Me". Carla-Marie is a Xenomania songwriter - she has co-written songs for Girls Aloud and Alesha Dixon and sings on Pet Shop Boys' "The Way It Used To Be".She contributes with guest vocals on Crookers' "Put Your Hands On Me", along with rapper Kardinal Offishall. The single will be released on October 5th, on Southern Fried Records - you can listen to a clip of the song here. "Put Your Hands On Me" is the first single to be taken from Crookers' debut album Tons Of Friends, out in January 2010. Other collaborators on the album include Kelis, Soulwax, Major Lazer, RadioClit, Spank Rock, Pitbull, Tim Burgess and Róisín Murphy. •  Xenomania collaborator Fred Falke has been putting out another series of highly-acclaimed remixes. Falke's remixes are being praised for being breezy, soaring and dancefloor-ready, sounding a whole lot better than their original form.Falke has recently remixed songs from Mike Snow, La Roux, Example and Miami Horror. He has also released a solo EP titled Chicago - you can buy it on Beatport. Listen to some of his recent work: Miami Horror - Make You Mine (Fred Falke Remix) Example - Watch The Sun Come Up (Fred Falke Remix) La Roux - Bulletproof (Fred Falke Remix) Fred Falke - Chicago (Feat. Teff Balmert) Fred Falke - Back To Stay  • Sacha Collison's latest project is out now. The Unclubbed album is a collection of stripped back, acoustic covers of classic house tracks.The album features covers of hits like Moloko's "Sing It Back", Deee-Lite’s "Groove Is In The Heart", "Missing" by Everything But The Girl, "You Don't Know Me" by Armand Van Helden, iiO's "Rapture", and many more. The songs are re-sung, rearranged and reinvented, performed by vocalists such as Katherine Ellis, Abigail Bailey, Rosie Gaines, Roachford, Sam Obernik, Sweet Female Attitude and more. Unclubbed includes 14 covers, a few original interludes and a version of Sacha Collisson's own track "Mezmerized". You can stream the album here. Buy: iTunes / Amazon.co.uk / Recordstore.co.uk Labels: beyond Xenomania, Carla-Marie Williams, Fred Falke, Sacha Collisson
Beyond Xenomania: Fred Falke
Posted at 8:16 PM, 31 May 2009 - 1 Comments
This is the first in a (hopefully) series of posts in which we'll take a closer look at the musicians/songwriters that have worked with Xenomania, focusing on what they do outside the team. First up is Fred Falke.  Fred Falke is a 33-year-old French musician, producer and DJ. He's been working at Xenomania, most recently appearing on the latest Pet Shop Boys album, as well as remixing the Mini Viva single "Left My Heart In Tokyo".He began his career as a bass player around 1995, before starting producing records in the late 1990s. After meeting Alan Braxe, they decided to collaborate as a dance music producing duo. In the heydays of what is now called "French house" (which was fronted by the likes of Daft Punk and Cassius), they released several singles. In 2006, Fred Falke went solo and dedicated himself to production work and remixes. His remixing output has been highly acclaimed. Falke has reworked songs from artists as diverse as Little Boots, The Gossip, U2, Annie, Grizzly Bear, Alesha Dixon, Ladyhawke, Lykke Li, among many others. Fred Falke's work is influenced by funk and disco music. His reinterpretations tend to take the simple ideas from a song and transform them into a big sounding record, with a strong focus on melody. His remixes are deconstructed to a point where they still maintain the essence of the song, while at the same time bringing it closer to the dancefloor. Have a listen to some of his work: The Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix) Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks (Fred Falke Extended Remix) Annie - Anthonio (Fred Falke Remix) Mini Viva - Left My Heart In Tokyo (Fred Falke Dub Mix) Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix) Little Boots - New In Town (Fred Falke Remix) U2 - Magnificent (Fred Falke Remix) Kish Mauve - Lose Control (Fred Falke Remix) Candice Alley - Falling (Fred Falke Extended Vocal Mix) Pryda - Pjanoo (Fred Falke Remix) Kris Menace feat. Fred Falke - Electricity Fred Falke - Sanctuary Alan Braxe and Fred Falke - Rubicon Links: Fred Falke on MySpace Fred Falke discography Buy Fred Falke music Labels: beyond Xenomania, Fred Falke
Annie is working with Xenomania again
Posted at 10:37 PM, 30 April 2009 - 0 Comments
 Annie has revealed in an interview with Tellé Records that she will return to the Xenomania studios in May to work with Brian Higgins and Fred Falke."My Love Is Better" will (finally) be released as a single in June, in Annie's own label Totally Records. The album should be out in September: Annie: Yes, ‘My Love Is Better’ will be out on my own label Totally in June! In addition to that, I will return to the UK and spend some time in the studio with Brian Higgins and Fred Falke. Meanwhile, the Richard X-produced single "Anthonio" will be released in digital format on 4th May and in physical formats on 11th May. Annie began recording the album Don't Stop in the summer of 2007, with Brian Higgins working as executive producer.The album was originally scheduled for a release in October 2008, but a change in management at Island Records led Annie's album to be delayed several times, and she eventually left the label. Labels: Annie, Fred Falke
Mini Viva remixes on sale now
Posted at 12:42 PM, 08 April 2009 - 0 Comments
 The Treasure Fingers and Acid Girls remixes of Mini Viva's "I Left My Heart In Tokyo" are now available to download. They're exclusively on sale through Beatport for a short while - click here to buy. Frankee Connolly and Britt Love, who make up Mini Viva, formed last year and are being looked after by Xenomania. Last October, new label World’s Finest Records put out a limited 10'' single of "I Left My Heart In Tokyo", with a Fred Falke dub mix on the a-side and an instrumental mix on the b-side. Fred Falke's dub mix recently appeared in the Hed Kandi compilation Nu Disco: The Future Sound Of Disco (CD2). Catch Mini Viva live on these dates: 9 April, 19:00 - Water Rats, London 24 April, 20:00 - Camden Crawl Labels: Fred Falke, Mini Viva, new acts, releases
Pet Shop Boys speak about Xenomania's unusual methods
Posted at 1:24 PM, 13 March 2009 - 0 Comments
 Pet Shop Boys are the guests on this week's Guardian Music Weekly podcast. Click here to download or listen to the podcast.In the interview, Neil Tennant says that with Xenomania «it's the most unusual way of working». He describes Xenomania's headquarters as being a bit "chaotic" sometimes and gives a rundown of some of the things that happen inside the house: - all the rooms upstairs have a different studio setup - in the attic there's "two young Australian guys" playing guitars and keyboards (Jason Resch and Kieran Jones) - in other room there's "people working with mixing and lots of programming" (among them are Tim Powell and Nick Coler - who used to work with The KLF in the early '90s). - there's "a french guy" (Fred Falke) - in another room, a guy who records the vocals mainly and who's "a very good engineer" (Matt Tait?) - «people keep coming in and handing him memory sticks with a new bit of a song on and he listens to it and grades it» With this setup, the Pet Shop Boys had to keep taking turns from one bedroom to another: «Sometimes we might be in different bedrooms. I might be doing vocals with Matt in one room, and on the other end of the corridor Chris is with Tim working on programming or something.» Neil revealed that every now and then «there's a meeting downstairs where they go through all the different projects». «When we were there, Girls Aloud's album was being finished and that was the priority, 'cos it was coming out that year. They also had their own bands developing and Alesha's album», Neil explained in the interview. «It was exciting because while we were there "The Promise" was on the radio, Alesha's single "The Boy Does Nothing" was ALL OVER the radio, and they were having a big hit at the time with Gabriella Cilmi. So Brian Higgins would be looking at radio charts and things». At this point, Paul MacInnes (the Guardian interviewer) asked whether Brian Higgins looked triumphant. Neil replied: «He looks quietly satisfied, he doesn't really do triumphant». Chris Lowe said that they were looking forward to writing songs with Xenomania: «It's quite interesting seeing how other people write the songs, we were really up for that. It's quite an interesting challenge. It was fascinating really, 'cos they write songs in such a different way than we do, and we've taken quite an awful lot away from it. They will keep on working the song, trying more melodies and trying more lyrical ideas, switching them around the song, and they'll just keep on pushing, and pushing, and pushing, until they've tried everything that can go there». There's a a funny part in the interview when Neil Tennant is talking about the song "More than a dream" and starts singing various different bits. «It was originally a song called "Where the wild things are" and it had a spoken intro and a whole chorus that was based on the dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee [Neil starts singing the main melody riff]. That melody is still on the record but Miranda Cooper thought it was crap - because it was, it was a bit corny. We were going to scrap this song and then Chris wrote a bit of a melody (...), and suddenly Brian loved the savage contrast between the optimistic riff and this very European-sounding melody. The PSB melodies are more lugubrious, they've got more nerve and a bigger range, whereas Xenomania really got the pop riffs». «With their songs, the song isn't really totally evident until the record is 70% made. I can wake up in the morning and finding myself singing something and then think "oh... it's 'The next big thing', the song we wrote with Xenomania that's never been recorded, that's lurking around on various memory sticks down in Kent. I quite like that song [laugh]». The Pet Shop Boys consider Yes to be «a bit like a greatest hits record», with a sort of a «and the beat goes on concept»: «We wanted to have very, very, very strong melodic songs with strong ideas one after the other, and we wanted Xenomania because we wanted it to be electro-pop all the way through. So there's a linking sound, this album really hangs together». Labels: Brian Higgins, Fred Falke, Jason Resch, Kieran Jones, Miranda Cooper, Nick Coler, Pet Shop Boys
|
LinksXenomania official websiteXenomania song list Xenomania remixes Xenomania interviews Xenomania Records MySpace Xenomania Records Facebook Xenomania Records Twitter
Xenomania productionsAbs, Alesha, Alex Gardner, Alexis Strum, Annie, Bananarama, Cher, Dannii Minogue, Florrie Arnold, Frank, Franz Ferdinand, Gabriella Cilmi, Girls Aloud, Kylie, Lene, Mania, Mel Blatt, Mini Viva, Moonbaby, Natacha Atlas, Pet Shop Boys, Rachel Stevens, Saint Etienne, Sean Sennett, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Sugababes, Texas, V, Vagabond
Contact:
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.
|
