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"

Yaz @ Terminal 5, NYC - July 16, 2008 (cerdsp)

tonight in NYC
* FREE
* DANCE
* Yazoo @ Terminal 5
* The Dodos @ Cake Shop
* Ted Leo in Castle Clinton
* Brian Wilson in Coney Island
* Fiery Furnaces in East River Park
* Brendan Canning (BSS) @ Mercury Lounge
* Woman & other bands @ Death By Audio
* DJ Spooky @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist @ McCarren Pool
* Ra Ra Riot & The Spinto Band @ Union Hall
* Girls, Imaad Wasif & Quinn Walker @ Market Hotel

What else?

Tickets are on presale for the Yaz show at Beacon Theater. (password=reconnected)

The July 16th & 17th Yaz reunion shows at Terminal 5 are now sold out, so they added a third one. The new date is July 19th and it's at the Beacon Theatre. Tickets will go on sale Monday.

ALSO: Boy George @ Terminal 5....still not sold out.

Tickets are on sale for the upcoming Yazoo reunion shows.

Continue reading "Yaz tickets on sale (presale)"

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)"