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Rating: "Carneade, who was he?" asked dear old Don Abbondio, and centuries later, the situation hasn't changed much, despite the progress of technology and the almost unlimited possibility of informing and deepening one's knowledge in any field.
In this specific case, talking about Futurepop here in the Beautiful Country is a bit like trying to grow orchids in Siberia; I can already imagine someone thinking that such a term is nothing more than the title of Justin Timberlake's or Lady Gaga's new album, and I am puzzled about how this kind of music, with many excellent qualities and commercially not at all unsellable, can be considered as "niche" even in its countries of origin (Germany and the Scandinavian area). Futurepop originated in the '90s on the foundations of industrial and EBM, with which it has practically the same evolutionary relationship that in the early '70s linked hard rock and blues rock to the glam phenomenon: futurepop is certainly much more accessible and catchy compared to the genres from which it derives, with epic atmospheres, powerful and catchy melodies, no particular roughness, full respect for song form. Yet no futurepop band has ever managed to truly break into the mainstream, for multiple reasons: for many, rock is seen as an Alpha, dominant genre, regardless of the quality of the offering, while FP, which presents themes and structures much more refined compared to the generic mainstream rock average, with much more depth, style, and substance I would add, does not renounce its electronic soul, consequently giving up all the outdated and cloying rhetoric and bombast that sees music based on guitar, bass, and drums as something strong, sincere, genuine, stuff for tough guys, real men, and blah blah blah. Secondly, futurepop lacked a charismatic entity to lead the entire movement, such as Rammstein for Neue Deutsche Härte or Nirvana for grunge, and a press able to promote the genre (if it had been a typically English phenomenon it would have been much easier to find journalistic support to exploit). As if that wasn't enough, no futurepop artist has ever done anything that could attract the attention of tabloid magazines, thus denying themselves the unpleasant but nonetheless useful attention of busybodies and gossipers; with these premises, mainstream breakthrough remains a mirage.
One of the most representative, beautiful, and particular Futurepop albums is undoubtedly "No Sleep Demon," the 2001 debut of the German duo Seabound, consisting of singer Frank Spinath and keyboardist Martin Vorbrodt. Compared to the technological themes and the substantial coldness of the Swedish Covenant, often considered the "godfathers" of the genre, or the more instinctive and visceral approach of their compatriots Rotersand, Seabound travels on calmer and introspective routes, both musically and thematically. Their sound is far from paranoid industrial beats and dystopian visions, the most evident inspiration comes from "enlightened" synth pop, taken back in its essence and stripped of unnecessary frills, and even though there are danceable episodes, the album has a very relaxed and reflective mood, at times almost relaxing, thanks also to Frank Spinath's calm and reassuring voice. The epic and martial stride of "Smoke" is quite reminiscent of "Uprising" by Muse, it goes without saying that it would be much more correct to state the exact opposite, but here the sounds are purely electronic, without cunning contaminations and grandeur pretensions, the tones are lower, the songwriting much more incisive and deep, the voice controlled and almost conversational, characteristics that repeat throughout the album, a product with a very strong and unified identity, not a mash-up of assorted "quotations." The basic idea developed by Frank and Martin is well clear and defined: re-elaborate synth pop and new wave sounds in a chiaroscuro that unfolds entirely between gray areas: sometimes dark but never truly gothic and oppressive atmospheres alternate with more danceable moments and soft and ethereal atmospheres, always with a looming and well-perceived unease. Hypnotic and majestic dances like "Exorcise" and "Hooked" plus the concluding mid-tempo "Day Of The Century", strongly influenced by certain avant-garde electronics and disco from the late '70s, share the scene with darker episodes of clear new wave derivation, "Travelling" and "Dunnocks", the chaotic industrial disorientation of "Coward", the labyrinthine and cerebral melancholy of "Rome On Fire." The heavy and lingering atmosphere of "Point Break" dissolves into the mantra-like beat and filtered voices of "Torn" forming a continuum of spiritual, almost ascetic atmospheres, present in a more purely contemplative form in "Avalost", an excellent instrumental mood piece.
With its excellent songs and its unique charm, shadowy, elegant, and introspective, moreover excellently structured and devoid of fillers, "No Sleep Demon" deserves a broadly positive evaluation, it is an excellent album that with a bit of professionalism and cunning manages to achieve a perfect synthesis between pop and electronics, where it is the pursuit of quality and refinement that gives life to excellent melodic ideas and fascinating atmospheres, not "cultured" influences forcibly incorporated into a well-packaged and easily sellable context to the masses. It can truly be the right album to approach this unfairly underrated musical trend, which deserves at least curiosity and maybe a little more detailed investigation.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Travelling (05:19)
Every day I travel
To keep my mind quiet in its cage
Every night I'm dancing
With the images I generate
What moves my soul?
Where do I go?
Restless I keep searching
To understand the madman's heart
I'm wandering the streets of pain
Taking the confusion
Shed my skin, adore the rain
Merge in the illusion
There's no use denying
The truth beyond our anxious lies
Paradise is fiction
And love's a desperate compromise
We will burn
Feel the fascination
You will learn
I'm wandering the streets of pain
Taking the confusion
Shed my skin, adore the rain
Merge in the illusion
We're walking down the streets of pain
Sharing the confusion
Leave your home, forget your name
Merge in the illusion
03 Exorcize (05:12)
You eat the time
Spit out the seeds
You're planting life
You speak the words
Control the beat
You're an agent of change
Send out the light
Raging from the sky
Refine my vice
Absorb my fears
Brand me with your signs
We are partners in crime
Exorcize - No choice but to believe
I turn to you and close my eyes
Exorcize - I will not suffer
Exorcize - Raise your voice not to deceive
I turn to you and close my eyes
Exorcize - Rage will do no better
You dull my mind
You leave me blind
Define my course
You're breaking news
You are on the scene
Our schedule is yours
You worked your way
'Round the firewalls
Reverse the time
Absorb my fears
Brand me with your tears
We are partners in crime
Exorcize - No choice but to believe
I turn to you and close my eyes
Exorcize - I will not suffer
Exorcize - Raise your voice not to deceive
I turn to you and close my eyes
Exorcize - Rage will do no better
Without choice but to believe
05 Torn (03:54)
I pose in foam
Attracting no one
I'm on my own
I'm torn
Forming extinct species
Just like my own
Naked to the bone
I'm torn
As white turns black I know
It's light these pictures lack
A tree of life that has no leaves
I'm feeling grief beyond belief
As white turns black I know
It's light these pictures lack
A tree of life that has no leaves
I'm feeling grief beyond belief
I smile at wine and downers
A blade, the phone
I'll quit this all time low
I've sworn
My legs shape Vs and Ss
Amid the storm
From this sea of red
I'm born
Or torn ?
Or am I ?
As white turns black I know
It's light these pictures lack
A tree of life that has no leaves
I'm feeling grief beyond belief
As white turns black I know
It's light these pictures lack
A tree of life that has no leaves
I'm feeling grief beyond belief
If you love me you will find me
06 Dunnocks (05:11)
Another boring day is close to the end
We share the last glass of wine
Much too tired to move, head on my hands
Avoid to look into your eyes
Let's watch a movie, watch a comedy
Watch pornography
Fast food for our minds
The rich man's far too fat
I don't like his grin
But all the women try to mate with him
If we really share a functional design
An adapted mind
This might prevent our lives from parasites
Still, it's a big waste of time
All the answers
To the questions
This protein structure asks
Play 'hard-to-get' and this is
Why we want them so badly
I'd like to regress
To an infant psyche
'Feed me, feed me, feed me'
If we really share a functional design
An adapted mind
This might prevent our lives from parasites
Still, it's a big waste of time
07 Hooked (04:56)
Pounding heart you shake me
I have never been so close
To an earthquake
Take my word I'm trembling
For I know
What I have felt
Pounding heart believe me
Rain is sweeter than
The spring water fountain
Take my hand and lead me
To a place
For us to melt
Into one another
Think the inconceivable
Desire the untouchable
I've come to understand that bliss
Is quite impossible and if
I'll ever find a way
I'll claim another life
I've come to understand that kiss
Was quite impossible and if
I'll ever find a way
I'll halt the turn of time
Pounding heart awake me
I have never been so far
From the shore
Waves mount up around me
Still I don't want to go back
Loving heart believe me
Your sincerity will
Give me the strength to
Work my way through the sea
Memorize the words you said
Think the inconceivable
Desire the untouchable
I've come to understand that bliss
Is quite impossible and if
I'll ever find a way
I'll claim another life
I've come to understand that kiss
Was quite impossible and if
I'll ever find a way
I'll halt the turn of time
08 Coward (03:53)
Turn around...
Don't be so stupid to believe
In what they say
Rest assured of that
They'll get you out of the way
Don't be so stupid to believe
In what you hear
Rest assured of that
They know no fear
How many sinners do you know like this?
Out of their minds
How many cowards do you know like this?
Out of their minds
No will to move
They'll get you
Out of the way
How many sinners do you know like this?
They'll get you
Out of the way
Rest assured of that
They'll get you out of the way
10 Rome on Fire (04:11)
I?m staring at the wall
Thoughts dried up like desert sand
I fall
Time means nothing anymore
The clocks have simply stopped
I drop
Curious child, shallow mind
When will we meet again?
And will we still be friends?
Check the footprints in the sand
It all got out of hand
Now you say it's not yourself
You just turned to someone else
You are laughing
And you're kissing me goodbye
Tousled playmates on the shelf
You keep shouting 'Rome's on fire'
Indifferent
But now and then
You panic for a while
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