Back to the Phuture Radio with 80s keyboard duo Blancmange

Record company boss and electronic music enthusiast Mark Jones continues his series exploring synthesised music past and present.

Sunday 16 January 2011

On the latest show, Mark talks to 80s keyboard duo Blancmange. Described by Mute Records' Daniel Miller as the "maiden aunts of electronic music," Blancmange shot to fame in the early 1980s with a string of top 10 hits including 'Living On the Ceiling', 'Blind Vision' and 'Don't Tell Me'. Having been cited as influences by bands including La Roux and Faithless – who recently collaborated with vocalist Neil Arthur on their album 'The Dance' – the band release a new album in March after a 25 year break.

Mark Jones and Blancmange at BBC 6 Music at the recording of the Back to the Phuture radio show

The duo join Mark to talk about the music which inspired them to pick up electronic instruments, why they've decided to reunite after a quarter of a century apart and what they've been up to in the intervening years. In the last half hour of the show, there's a guest mix from new Brighton-based electro band Mirrors. Having toured Europe with OMD at the tail end of last year, the band play a mix of the 'synthfluences' which have informed their debut album 'Lights And Offerings', due out in February. Mark also plays an exclusive track from upcoming new Human League album 'Credo', due out on his label in March.

BBC 6 Music: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xhzkt

Music played:

Japan — Quiet Life, MNDR — Fade To Black, Blancmange — Living On The Ceiling, Omd — Vcr, Propaganda — Dr Mabuse, The Human League — Never Let Me Go, Mirrors — Into The Heart, Blancmange — Don't Tell Me, King Crimson — The Devil's Triangle, Terry Riley — A Rainbow In Curved Air, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band — Moonlight On Vermont, Brian Eno — Baby's On Fire, Delia Derbyshire — Doctor Who Theme, Pere Ubu — Nonalignment Pact, Young Marble Giants — Brand New Life, Roxy Music — Street Life, The Human League — Being Boiled, Kraftwerk — The Robots, Blancmange — The Western

Mirrors mix:

Gas — Gas I, Kraftwerk Kraftwerk — Radioactivity, Fad Gadget Fad Gadget — Sleep (Electro Induced Original), Drexciya — Temple Of Dos De Agua, Brian Eno & David Byrne Brian Eno & David Byrne — Help Me Somebody, Susumu Yokota Susumu Yokota — Future Tiger, Michael Bundt — La Chasse Aux Microbes, Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream — No Man's Land, LFO — Nurture, Carl Craig — At Les, Bruce Haack — Mean Ol Devil, David Bowie David Bowie — Art Decade, Carl Craig Carl Craig — Mind Of A Machine, Aphex Twin Aphex Twin — We Are The Music Makers, Basic Channel — Phylyps Track, LFO — Premacy, Pierre Henry — Waves (Vagues), The Knife — Silent Shout, The Associates — White Car In Germany, Roedelius — Homage A Forst, New Order — Procession, Kraftwerk — Europe Endless, The Human League — Dancevision, Thomas Brinkmann — Walk With Me, Harmonia — Dino, Oneohtrix Point Never — Zones Without People, Oneohtrix Point Never — Russian Mind, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — Enola Gay, Severed Heads — Dead Eyes Opened, Chris Carter — Electrodub, The Advisory Circle — Nuclear Substation Pif, Kraftwerk — Endless Endless, Eine Kleine Nacht Musik — GÖtterdÄmmerung, LFO — Nevertheless, Kraftwerk — Metropolis, Moritz Von Oswald Trio — Pattern 4

BBC 6 Music: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xhzkt