Posts tagged "del marquis"
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Notes: 1 / 2 years ago
Del Marquis – All about the Pet Shop Boys
My closest friends in life share one thing in common, besides myself, the Pet Shop Boys. One friend favours Kylie and Madonna, and the other, Suicide and Kraftwerk; Yet they both meet in the middle regarding PSB.
I was fortunate enough to catch their show in NYC last week and afterwards had a nice chat with both Chris and Neil. They are fans of the Sisters (and as it turns out, discuss my solo project with Peter Robinson of Popjustice…nice !)
As people they are gracious and open, as artists they remain relevant by caring deeply about production, songwriting, aesthetics and the fan connection. In fact fans talk about them as a subject on par with Russian lit and macro-biology; worthy of analysis and dissection.
I asked two friends to help elaborate on their long and fascinating career. My contribution beyond this is a grainy photo of myself, aged 19, with Neil autographing a few items of mine at a record signing.
Del
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Domino Dancing by David Russell
(Manager of recording artist Sia)
A “latin” Pet Shop Boys track sounds a bit like an oxymoron, but in reality DOMINO DANCING is, for me, their finest pop moment. It’s been said by Neil and Chris that they were inspired by the late 80’s freestyle explosion that was popular in the US at the time, particularly in New York City and Miami. It was after hearing the various hit singles by the girl band Exposé that they decided to look up their producer, Lewis Matrineé, to produce the track. Pairing DOMINO DANCING next to Exposé’s own LET ME BE THE ONE is a perfect pop match.
Even in its demo form, before Martinez added the synth-tinged orchestra stabs and calypso drum beats, DOMINO DANCING had a bit of an island sway to it. It was the first time Pet Shop Boys had ever released a track so mournful, longing for love instead of commenting on it.
The latin moments continued in the homoerotic video for the track, which Neil
himself has said is singlehandedly responsible for ending their chart success in the states. No matter; the song reached number 7 in the UK and remains and enduring pop classic.
…But Pet Shop Boys have always been less about chart success (as considerable as theirs has been: 38 top 20 singles in the UK) and more about the marriage of pop and art. The idea that a song featuring a modern day Noel Coward rapping over beats inspired by Kurtis Blow could reach number 1 worldwide seems as preposterous now as it did then, and yet that is exactly what WEST END GIRLS managed. It’s not easy to incorporate the ethos of punk, the beat of disco, the swell of orchestra, the sweat of after-hours, the horns of the island and chart success…but somehow PSB manage to do it over and over again.
VIDEOGRAPHY by Edward Quist
(Founder of Embryoroom and director of best selling DVD Kuvaputki)
The Pet Shop Boys were first seen by my own eyes in mid April of 1985 for the video West End Girls. Clad in a black trench coat stood Neil Tennant and the other (who was transparent !), looking rather bemused, would be Chris Lowe. From that moment, I was captivated by something that I was too young to put my finger on. Over the years, the myriad of videos and subsequent images materialized, headed by various famed directors and intelligent art design.
These videos are a genre unto themselves, an alternate reality. Whether it be love, life, sex, religion, human rights or a sinister relationship with technology; the Videography of the PSB stands in the corridors where pop culture and high art meet. It’s a Sin, Before, Rent, Can You Forgive Her, Being Boring, and West End Girls are all landmarks in modern music videos and emerging music films. My own work through Embryoroom (The Third Rail & Litter to Society) were in part inspired by “the boys” work with Howard Greenhalgh.
I wonder where they will take image and videos next ? As of late, they have been cartoons and immersed in motion graphics in an excellent Douglas Hart / fan-made hybrid and spectacular multimedia tour. I suspect, in the not too distant future, there might be a Pet Shop Boys video compilation titled Holography. Where I imagine the PSB in 3D and 360 degrees.
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2 years ago
Some fantastic records were torn to shreds upon initial release (U2 – The Unforgettable Fire, Kraftwerk – Electric Cafe , The Cult – Love).
It’s a good rule that the best and worst reviews should cancel each other out. What about when a review borders on slander ? Given the viral nature of the internet, and the incestuous world of grudges, this could be as simple as a blogger writing an untruth that becomes a matter of national gossip.
Character Assassination EP (Itunes 3/09) was inspired by an attack on a good friend. The concept for the song evolved into a discussion about how close to ruin we are, no matter how grand we think life is; most of what keeps us happy is often just an illusion. It is also a comment on the abuse media and its manipulation.
On a personal level, we all do things that aren’t ok morally within society but OK in our private lives. Thanks to the Internet and twitter, that necessary world of privacy is close to destruction… Its tough to be a deviant these days.
Click here to watch the video that my collaborators Embryoroom did for Character Assassination;
My favorite song on this EP, Harmony Park, can be streamed here.
http://delmarquis.com/pepsimax1
It was an anemic demo until the live drums were recorded…once inspired by that I added most of the electric guitar in the mix-room on a flawless Gretsch (I exclaimed, “this tone IS Soundgarden !”) The experience taught me to never discount a song, which can come together in the last moment.
Del
XP.S. – I’ve designing some guitar strap with an as-yet unnamed company, the prototypes should be back in October…so excited. Photo of my templates to the right along with an older strap I fashioned from a vintage belt.
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2 years ago
Introduction… Del Marquis
I’ve never kept a blog before. I don’t twitter, and I’m sh*te at keeping up my personal web pages; Myspace, Facebook, etc. Too much information, too much being shared and not enough mystery. If I truly knew the artists who made the music I loved, I would probably love it less. I’ve met some heroes in my short pop career, but mostly I prefer to know them by the songs they sing, and not by their up-close faces, offstage drama or everyday realness.
But here goes…
I have spent the past year cultivating a project that is very close to my heart, and for that reason it is impossible not to take things personally. The low blows are especially low and the highs, thrilling.
In Scissor Sisters, I can keep things at a distance, my offstage personality is a world away from my everyday one. Creating a stage personae was organic, the person onstage is still very much me, but someone who would otherwise be too bold in everyday life to fit in, you are allowed so much more liberties as a performer, and it is an amazing rush.
So now that I have to get people up to date on what I’ve been doing , solo-wise, it’s important for me to make the distinction between these two musical beings. My output as a solo artist is through an independent label set up by my friends and I (Embryoroom). There isn’t one element that isn’t handled personally to completion by our small group of three people; artwork, video, production, and to a degree management and promotion.
Why contribute more audio noise to an already saturated world ? Cause this project is goddamn important and needs to be heard, that’s why.
More soon.
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Del
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