We Are So Unnatural.

Been hit by a cold pretty hard today so what better way to celebrate than leaving work early in the rain, watching BBC4's 'Synth Britannia' and then passing out for six hours. Pretty decent doc though the British wave isn't necessarily my go to subgenre for late 70's/early 80's synth. However, I gotta say that there's a number of great interviews, my favorites being: Daniel Miller (The Normal/Mute Records), Gary Numan (Tubeway Army), Richard H. Kirk (Cabaret Voltaire), and Chris & Cosey (Throbbing Gristle). Wolfgang Flür and everyone's recollections on Kraftwerk's influence was a nice unifier. I probably could have done without as much focus on Human League, Depeche Mode, OMD, Yazoo and Heaven 17 but that's really neither here nor there and more a matter of personal preference. The Joy Division/New Order excerpt seemed a little too quick in passing, though worth while for Bernard giving an account on building his own Transcendent 2000 and how JD wrote & recorded 'Atmosphere' in two freaking days. Also, how the BBC could use a clip from Dr. Who and gloss over Delia Derbyshire is beyond me, though Walter/Wendy Carlos does get an appropriate nod for pioneering groundwork. Tangent and minor gripes aside I enjoyed it overall and wish the U.S. could get similar programming.

You can download BBC4's 'Synth Brittania' (1hr 27min AVI) here:

Part 01, Part 02, Part 03, Part 04

or watch it on youtube.



P.S. - Related albums well worth listening to:

Gary Numan/Tubeway Army - Replicas

Daniel Miller:
The Normal - T.V.O.D./Warm Leatherette
Silicon Teens - Music For Parties

Cabaret Voltaire - Red Mecca

Throbbing Gristle - 20 Jazz Funk Greats

P.P.S. - With the amount of J.G. Ballard references, I think 'Crash' is getting a bump in my reading queue.