After 30 years working on their respective ongoing music projects, Vince Clarke (Erasure / Yazoo / Depeche Mode) and Martin L. Gore (Depeche Mode) come together for the first time since 1981 as VCMG to release a brand new album preceded by a series of EPs.

VCMG is the fruit of initially tentative discussion and subsequent enthused collaboration where Vince and Martin, both influential as pioneers in electronic music, get to exercise their lifelong love of the genre as the techno inspired VCMG.

As Vince explains: "I've been getting into and listening to a lot of minimal dance music and I got really intrigued by all the sounds... I realised I needed a collaborator... so it occurred to me to talk to Martin."

Says Gore: "Out of the blue I got an e-mail from Vince just saying, 'I'm interested in making a techno album. Are you interested in collaborating?' This was maybe a year ago. He said, 'No pressure, no deadlines,' so I said, 'OK'."

VCMG released an EP called Spock in December and will follow that up with an LP this year (2012). Listen to "Spock" and check out the EP's remix-filled tracklist below.

Erasure played Austin recently, as part of a round of tour dates supporting their new LP Tomorrow's World. That tour hit Terminal 5 in NYC on 9/13 and 9/14.

Listen to some Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure & VCMG below...

Continue reading "VCMG (Vincent Clarke + Martin Gore) EP released; LP coming"

Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yazoo) and Andy Bell, better known as the synthpop duo Erasure, are currently on an international tour which will come to North America at the end of August. The shows are being billed as their first US and Canada shows in five years, though that McCarren Park show they played was more like four years ago. Yaz also played here in 2008. All current dates are listed below.

Erasure's tour will NYC's Terminal 5 on September 13 and 14. Tickets for both NYC shows go on sale Friday (6/24) at noon, though there will be a whole bunch of presales before then including an EIS member presale that supposedly begins soon for the mailing list.

Erasure have been at work on their fourteenth studio album Tomorrow's World with producer Frankmusik (Pet Shop Boys, Lady Gaga) which is due out on Mute this fall. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Erasure announce new album & tour dates"

Tickets are still on sale for the upcoming Yazoo reunion shows in NYC, CA & Chicago. Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet sat down and discussed their thoughts on why they're getting back together and related topics. Watch the video interview below....

Continue reading "YAZ (Vince Clarke/Alison Moyet) discuss the reunion (video)"

Yazoo (known as Yaz in the U.S.) was a short-lived but highly successful English synthpop duo from Basildon, Essex that had a number of top ten hits in the British charts in the early 1980s.

Heavily influenced by earlier bands like Kraftwerk, Yazoo expanded upon the synthpop formula by juxtaposing Alison Moyet's vocals with Vince Clarke's electronic hooks. Its sound referenced disco but added a more disaffected attitude that disco lacked. Their second album saw greater songwriting input from Moyet, adding a rather more mature and soulful flavour, particularly on the hit single "Nobody's Diary."

Another way to put it: Yazoo was Vince Clarke's band after he left Depeche Mode and before he started Erasure with Andy Bell. Even if the name doesn't ring a bell, you probably know at least one song.....

Continue reading "Yazoo (Yaz) - reunited, reissues, 2008 Tour Dates (USA, NYC)"

Relive the 80's this Friday night @ McCarren Pool when Erasure rolls through Brooklyn and tries to make Williamsburg dance. I know, they're still making music over 20 years later, but they'll (unfortunately?) always be known best for the "80's music" mixtape essentials: 'A Little Respect' and 'Oh Lamour'.

The $40 ticket price is probably a little high for those with casual interest, but maybe FREE will make it worth it. I have THREE PAIRS of tickets to give away to Friday night's show. To win them, email BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Erasure), and let me know what the last show you saw was. Include your first and last name for list. Three random winners will be contacted, and awarded a pair. More Erasure tour dates HERE, and a bunch of videos to help you relive the 80's at your desk (or on your iPhone or wherever), below...

Continue reading "ERASURE - Videos & McCarren Ticket Contest"

Dresden Dolls, The Gossip, Cyndi Lauper, Erasure, Deborah Harry...

Continue reading "VIDEOS: behind the scenes on the True Colors Tour"