WARNER BROS 05/91
BERNARD SUMNER Vocals, Keyboards
JOHNNY MARR Guitars, Bass, Keyboards
Electronic, a collaborative effort between Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr, began in the Hacienda, where they met. It was in that Manchester hot spot that Sumner, lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of New Order and Marr, guitarist and co-writer with The Smiths, resolved in 1988 to form a new group -- Electronic. Pooling their songwriting prowess, the core duo of Sumner and Marr would bring in outside collaborators whenever they so desired. Electronic would give the two creative freedom to work outside the confines of a rigid group format.
In the late spring, Warner Bros. released Electronic, the document of this promising undertaking.
From the start, Sumner and Marr, each responsible for some of contemporary music's most distinct and affecting songs, struck up an instant rapport as a songwriting team. Of course, throughout 1988, they had other commitments to fulfill, with Sumner polishing off New Order's Technique LP and subsequent U.S. tour and Marr teaming up with The The to record Mind Bomb. By Spring, 1989, Marr had also embarked on a world tour with the group.
In September of 1989, the Pet Shop Boys caught wind of Electronic. Neil Tennant, another modern-day pop visionary, became the first outside artist to join the fold.
The First incarnation of Electronic proved quite fruitful. Tennant and fellow Shop-er Chris Lowe commuted to Manchester for the recording sessions. Tennant wrote some of the lyrics and sang some back-up's on the bittersweet, lifting tune entitled "Getting Away With It" -- Electronic's debut single. In 1990, in America's decidedly album-oriented climate, "Getting Away With It" hit the Top 40, selling over 350,000 copies. The single rose to #11 in England and met with much critical kudos, including many a "Single Of The Year" mentions on both sides of the Atlantic.
The four also wrote another song, "Patience Of A Saint," during the evening's sessions, which appears on Electronic's eponymous debut EP.
With American anticipation for Electronic piqued by their debut single, Depeche Mode invited the group to play two Dodger Stadium dates, August 4th and 5th, on DM's 1990 megatour of the U.S. So, aided by percussionists Donald Johnson (from A Certain Ratio) and Kesta Martinez and keyboardist Andy Robinson, Electronic made their stage debut at a sold-out Dodger Stadium -- capacity 60,000+. For both shows, the Pet Shop Boys, making their first-ever live performance in the U.S., joined Electronic to perform the two songs they had co-written.
Since September, 1990, Sumner and Marr have been able to devote all their efforts to Electronic -- and the results are astonishing. Whether it's the hip-hop guitar scrawl of the lead-off track, "Idiot Country." the smoothing, near-perfect shuffle of "Feel Every Beat" or the synth jabs and layered acoustic guitars of "Tighten Up," Electronic is an entirely singular creation. No belabored juxtaposition of "funky" guitars over tired break beats, the LP is a dance album informed by the tension and melodicism of cutting-edge pop, a perfect balance between "the synthetic and the sensual" (NME)
As a group, Electronic remains independent in the truest sense: they have complete freedom and control, from co-producing and producing all the songs to commissioning the artwork and videos. The clip for Sumner's and Marr's intoxicating second single, "Get The Message," is filmed atop a volcano in the Philippines. The single and video hit these shores mid-April.
Appropriately enough, Electronic made their British debut with a surprise gig at Hacienda -- celebrating the renewal of the club's license -- on Wednesday, January 9. Said Melody Maker: "For their first U.K. show, Electronic almost achieved the impossible -- matching expectation with exhilaration."
With Electronic, Sumner, Marr and their fellow travelers set new standards for what is and is not possible in pop music.
BERNARD SUMNER Vocals, Keyboards
JOHNNY MARR Guitars, Bass, Keyboards
Bringing together mainstays of two of the most influential bands of the last 15 years -- Bernard Sumner of New Order and Johnny Marr of The Smiths -- the music of Electronic has exceeded even the high expectations that such a creative partnership undoubtedly engenders. Now, with the release of Raise The Pressure, Electronic has raised the stakes with a collection of original songs that don't stretch the expressive boundaries of modern music, but shred them entirely. Produced by Electronic, Raise The Pressure features the group's new single and video, "Forbidden City," as well as such potent, propulsive tracks as "Second Nature," "For You," "Dark Angel," "One Day," "Free Fall" and "How Long." Guest musicians include Kraftwerk keyboardist Karl Bartos and Primal Scream vocalist Denise Johnson, as well as drummer and percussionist Ged Lunch, keyboardist Danny Saber and bassist Guy Pratt.
The duo first met in 1983, when Johnny Marr was recruited to play guitar on a album by the group Quando Quango, which Bernard Sumner was producing. The pair stayed in touch, and in 1988 formed Electronic. Their debut single, "Getting Away With It," featuring co-writer Neil Tennant of The Pet Shop Boys on backing vocals, was released the following year and immediately climbed to No 11 on UK charts, as well as selling over 350,000 copies in the UK.
Electronic's eponymously-titled debut album followed, yielding two more UK hits --"Get The Message" and "Feel Every Beat" -- along with reams of ecstatic press, including the bald-faced claim for Melody Maker that Electronic was "one of the greatest albums of all time."
It was a popular and critical groundswell that might have suggested a quick return to the studio, but it wasn't until 1992 that Electronic was heard from again, and, while it was only with the single "Disappointed," Electronic fans kept the faith by making that track another substantial U.K. charter and pan-European hit.
Now, six years after their debut album, Electronic returns with Raise The Pressure. A collection of thirteen new songs, Raise The Pressure meets, matches and exceeds Electronic's first album from the opening note to the final fade. With a sound and substance that ups the ante for millennial music, Raise The Pressure is worth the wait.
Source: http://www.worldinmotion.net/electronic/biography/history.htm
