One record at a time: 468. xPropaganda - The Heart is Strange

xPropaganda is a collaboration between vocalists Susanne Freytag and Claudia Brücken along with producer Stephen Lipson. All three had previously been involved in the creation of the seminal Propaganda album "A Secret Wish" and there's no doubt this record is an attempt to distil some of that classic sound (Universal even went as far as resurrecting the ZTT imprint to hammer the point home). The result is that whilst Ralf Dörper and Michael Mertens continue to record as Propaganda, only their former collaborators actually sound like the Propaganda.

This limited edition red vinyl came with a free art print and was released in 2022. The sound reproduction is on the good side of middling - but the packaging and graphic design is of the highest order. 

The first track "The Night" immediately immediately brings back those "A Secret Wish" vibes with its rumbling synth bass and mute trumpet improvisations. Whilst there are no crunchy Fairlight samples or Trevor Horn 'gags' in the music, it still carries a very distinctive flavour. These unique qualities are in no small part due to the vocals of Susanne and Claudia, but Stephen Lipson has also manages to create a sonic palette that is both contemporary and consistent with Propaganda's eighties vibe.

I enjoy every track on this record, though a few stand out as personal favourites. One such highlight is "Beauty Is Truth," where Claudia and Susanne trade call-and-response vocals over a pulsating electronic backdrop. The groove rolls forward with effortless momentum, knowing it doesn't have to work that hard to impress you. 

The flip side opens with "Don't (You Mess With Me)" where the synths burble and groan as Claudia makes it clear she not a woman to be trifled with. I love the bilingual nature of the vocals and there's no doubt this track deserved to be a single. Another favourite track is "The Wolves Are Returning" which has a fantastic sub-bass, but the saxophone solo does detract from it quite a bit.

I regard this as one of the best albums from 2022 and I still listen to it regularly. There's no doubt there is a special chemistry at play when Stephen Lipson works with Claudia and Susanne and this album captures that magic nicely. That's not to say this album ends up sounding like "A Secret Wish Part 2" as it stands on its own two feet. This is great electronic pop. 4/5

Radio daze

Until the advent of DAB, the most frustrating aspect of listening to the radio for me is was not knowing what is actually playing. Often DJ’s will not tell you either the artists or the song they have just played. For many, many years I yearned to own a few songs which I had only ever heard on the radio but had no idea of who created them. I drove me to distraction at times. Songs that I heard, loved and never owned in the pre internet or DAB era were:

Propaganda ‘Duel’ 

An instrumental section of this song was used as the music for TV coverage of the British Rally for many years on BBC television and I heard it on the radio a few times in my youth. Remembering only a few of the lyrics made the track impossible to pin down. Yet I loved it. One of my primary goals when I first became plugged into the web was to find this song.  

Eric Clapton ‘Behind the mask’ 

This one came as a surprise when I finally found out who was singing ‘Who do you love? Is it me babe?’ It was an even bigger surprise to find it was a superior cover version of a song by the Japanese synth pioneers Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Deee-Lite ‘What is Love?’ 

When I heard this track on the radio, I was immediately struck by its obvious Kraftwerk influence. Yet I had no idea who the track was by for a few years (in retrospect the lyric ‘How do you say Deee-Lite?’ should have told me really). This track was a double A side with ‘Groove is in the Heart’ in the UK but was ignored by almost everyone.

Wax ‘Building a bridge to your heart’ 

I actually knew who recorded this track but was unable to get hold of it until the internet came along. In my youth I had a cassette with a recording of this song from the radio; complete with the ubiquitous over compression added by FM radio broadcasters. In the heady days of Napster I downloaded this one.

This subject popped into my head the other day following a seemingly meaningless series of actions: I was listening to a radio show a few days after it had originally been broadcast via the internet. I heard a song I liked. I checked in the play list on the website and proceeded to amazon.co.uk and bought the track. Within a minute I had my own copy of the song. Doesn’t sound too exciting does it? Yet when I consider this in the context of the years I spent not knowing who created some of my favourite, barely heard tracks, I feel very grateful for the internet.