Artist: BLACK NEEDLE NOISE Who: The moniker of legendary producer John Fryer who started his career in 1979
in London where he soon began working with seminal bands on 4AD, Mute, Rough Trade and Beggars Banquet, including Depeche Mode, The Wolfgang Press and Cocteau Twins. His achievement in helping develop the latter’s pioneering ethereal and ambient sound ultimately led Watts-Russell to recruit Fryer as his partner for This Mortal Coil.
(photo by Martha Schuster)
Album: THESE MORTAL COVERS What: A covers-based album by John Fryer/Black Needle Noise, involving collaborations with a handful of varied vocalists, including Anjela Piccard, Pinky Turzo, Beca, Tom Berger, Magic Rebecca Coseboom, and Betty X, featuring awesome versions of top tracks by Black Sabbath, Nancy Sinatra, R.E.M. and Louis Armstrong among others.
Released (digitally): 27 October 2020
John Fryer: “The whole idea of doing cover versions started back with DarkDriveClinic. We
were backstage for one of our live shows and the floor was gruby and Rebecca asked if she could put on my shoes to get something from the other side of the room and then I said, hey, let’s do a cover of “Walking In My Shoes” and so then the covers album was born back in 2011.”
Turn Up The Volume: This huge wall of titanic synth soundscapes takes your breath away. Overwhelming, staggering, and mind-blowing at times. A varied bunch of classic crackers, old and new, get another sonic life when they come under the electronic spell of Fryer‘s melodramatic vision. Most covers albums fail badly because they lack open-mindedness, inspiration, and inventive imagination. These Mortal Covers is a triumphant exception.
Don’t miss this elevating experience!
Singles: She Talks Angels (probably the best cover I heard all year) / What A Wonderful World
– SHE TALKS TO ANGELS –
(Original by Black Crowes)
– WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD –
(Made famous by Louis Amstrong in 1967)
Fifteen Knockout Tracks hitting Turn Up The Volume‘s speakers this past month!
A steamy melting pot of isolation corkers and lockdown cuts. Don’t worry, be happy!
– Incinerate – PHOSPHENE (Portland, Oregon, US)
Twinkling guitars, pulsating drums, radiant melodiousness, and bright vocals bringing Cocteau Twins‘ wonderful singer Elisabeth Fraser. Glimmering shoegaze sparks. From
their excellent longplayerLotus Eaters.
. – Hear Me Now – DJ DOVE and ROWETTA (UK) #Selfishness is toxic #Change is desperately needed #LetUsDance is the message #DJDove is the techno wizard #Rowetta is the sky-high soul voice #Beach-party-tune #IbizaRules
– Born To Run – by RICH GIRLS (NYC)
For all those tramps who were born in the USA, go and dance in the dark before
you need to run for that sickly narcissistic American idiot. The Boss for president!
. – Rainbow Records – OCEANOGRAPHY (Oakland, California)
Glorious guitar pop humdinger getting your aural attention instantly with a repetitive
riff sticking as first-class glue. Inflammable passion, scintillating ardency, and vehement fervor. Affecting voice reminding me of Greg Dulli‘s imposing vocals at times.
. – Televised Mind – FONTAINES D.C. (Dublin, Ireland)
Rollicking Krautrock-like jam with charismatic frontman Grian Chatten‘s parlando
vocals rattling on and on and on. From the brand new top albumA Hero’s Death.
– A Boat To Drawn In – METZ (Canada)
Halfway this storming steamroller turns into a trance-like juggernaut driven by
boisterous drum kicks and raucous guitars. Hypnotic and mind-boggling. It’s Metz’s deafening sound of hope. New album ATLAS VENDING out 9 October.
– Down The Stairs – SHEHEHE (Athens, Georgia, US)
A blistering jackhammer doing your head in from the explosive get-go. A thunder and lighting corker that rages like a Formula One race car at a dangerous speed. Noise-tastic!
– My Faith Is Larger – SAVING JACKIE (San Antonio, Texas, US)
Move over RATM for this shattering, striking slam dunk with the merciless power
of a bone-crushing iron ball. A hot-tempered sucker-punch triggering every single
nerve, every single muscle, and every single vein in your shuddering body. Hell yeah!
– Unstoppable – MIESHA & THE SPANKS (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
A rumbling crackerjack rolling from the kick-off. A sickly sticky stunner to jump along, scream along and sweat along. Crackling guitars, hammering drum kicks and spicy vocals is what you get, hopping like a kangaroo on drugs is what you should do. Isolation firework to pump up your mood and body temperature. C’mon!
. – Hetty O’Hara Confidential – ELVIS COSTELLO (UK)
The great imperishable songsmith still knows how to surprise.
This sonic jim-dandy, a sort of beatbox banger says it all. Boom boom.
– Keep Your Eyes Peeled – by ULTRA SUNN (Brussels, Belgium)
Combine D.A.F.‘s industrial vibrations, Sisters Of Mercy‘s catchy gloom and doom hallucinations and Depeche Mode‘s pop-noir melodies, and what you get is a trip to
a tenebrous underground basement where Ultra Sunn‘s Sam Huge and Gaelle Souflet
are the DJ’s. Dance like it’s 1999 all over again.
. – Jackie – HYPERSPACE (Atlanta, Georgia, US)
Riff extravaganza / Electrical lobotomy / Gabba Gabba Hey /
High-voltage power pop / Alive and ticking / Punktastic!
. – A Hymn – IDLES (Bristol, UK)
A slow-moving ominous groove that feels like it will explode any second, but doesn’t. Like a fierce volcano about to spew lava but… doesn’t! The tension is almost unbearable. Another topnotch stroke! Idles keep on delivering soul-stirring thrills.
– You Are Just Not Alone – by BLACK MOON BOOK(Chicago, US)
A tender and romantic ballad with a Nils Lofgren-like, starry-eyed voice as the most important instrument in the middle. You can file this comforting reverie next to Kurt Vile and The National. Relax, sit down, and enjoy…
Last month iconic producer JOHN FRYER a.k.a BLACK NEEDLE NOISE and industrial
hero PIG (Raymond Watts of KMFDM) joined forces for a battering collaboration,
entitled Seed Of Evil. An impressive high-tech darkwave hammer.
And he’s already back. This time teaming up with imposing voice ANJELA PICCARD
for a majestic cover of SHE TALKS TO ANGLES, a 1990 power ballad by legendary American rockers The Black Crowes led by impassioned voice Chris Robinson.
“Always been a big fan of the Black Crowes and it always feels good to pay homage to bands you like. We wanted to give it a totally different and cinematic feel to the song in our version. Anjela’s vocals are very heartfelt in her interpretation and delivery of the lyrics and being inspired by the cities of New Orleans and LA, the City of Angels,” says Fryer.
She Talks To Angels is the first taster of a new Black Needle Noise album called These
Mortal Covers. The grand performance of this magical song is no less than awesome.
A huge wall-of-industrial-sound-symphony. Absolutely brilliant. As overwhelming as the Niagara Falls, as giant as the Titanic and as mysterious as the Archangel. No, I’m not on drugs, I just translate what I feel while the adrenalin storms thought my body. The king-sized vox of Anjela Piccard makes the sonic rhapsody complete while the sky-high chorus sends shivers down your spine. Big tune, big sound, big vox. Breathtaking!
A maddening cocktail of roaring rippers and sassy strokes.
Fifteen jackhammers that heated up my isolation days!
Here’s Turn Up The Volume‘s Knockout May Team!
‘Skimmington Ride’ by SEX SWING (UK)
Apocalyptic and intimidating barnstormer matching these science-fiction-like times.
Contender-of-the-year single from their contender-of-the-year album TYPE II. Yeah!
‘Behajung’ by ELEFANT (Belgium)
Exotic designed title track of Belgian’s Krautsludge and sound-exploring crusaders from their new Sturm und Drang longplayer. Shake your belly and pirouette yourself dizzy. Fab!
‘Mr. Motivator’ by IDLES (UK)
Punk rebels hit again with riff crazy corker made to start crowded moshpits at gigs. Bingo!
‘Crossbow’ by TAMAR APHEX (Israel)
A shattering juggernaut, dynamized by a rattling machine-gun drum and a mind-blowing bass vibrancy. A 24 Karat score you’ll have on repeat for quite a while. Flabbergasting!
‘IW2BWU4EVR’ by FANTASY NON FICTION (New Orleans, US)
Resplendent roaring ‘n’ roll jingle having a vertiginous effect on your limbs. From
the band’s multifaceted, rad self-titled debut album. Advice: play this very loud!
. ‘Celebration’ byRHYS BLOODJOY (Manchester, UK)
Electro-industrial madness mixed with psycho wave lunacy. Bloodcurdling synths whipped up by a bone-chilling cadence. From stunning debut album Human.Pattern.Repeat.
‘I’m Not Getting Excited’ by THE BETHS (New-Zealand)
A boiling ripsnorter pushed by rattling riffs, heated hooks, and lively licks. Supersonic!
‘Suck My Mind’ by CHEMTRAILS (UK)
High-voltage roller fueled by ruthless percussion, guitar extravaganza, 60s organs and ecstatic vocals. From their fresh must-hear album The Peculiar Smell of the Inevitable.
. ‘Just Friends’ by SMALLTOWN TIGERS (Italy)
The Stooges fronted by Joan Jett with the Ramones sniffin’ glue in the producer’s room. Riot girls firework from Italy. Check their mad debut longplayer Five Things. 1-2-3-4!
. ‘Seed Of Evil’ by BLACK NEEDLE NOISE (Norway)
A colossal, diabolic electronic drone thumping mercilessly as a brain-fucking hammer causing thunder and lighting electricity. Be ready, Armageddon is just around the corner.
‘Black Love’ by UNRULY GIRLS (Italy)
Head-twisting sledgehammer as dark as the night. Jaw-dropping industrial killer from their new, storming Epidemic album. A decibels-loaded beast of a record! Sonic nightmare!
‘Fresh Air’ by GREAT HARE (Sweden)
Electric-powered slacker swagger, glimmering guitars, glowing vocals, and a tenacious chorus. Impossible to resist. Probably the best piece of this Swedish quartet. Top stuff!
. ‘POS’ by THE BUNDY BUNCH (Norway)
Furious. Red-hot-angry. Discombobulated. Pulverizing and disordered. You can burn
your poor ears by listening to this crashing bang. Let that be a loud and clear warning!
. ‘It Ain’t Water’ by ALISON MOSSHART (US)
When the lady sings the blues. Second striking solo single from The Kill’s wonderful singer.
Iconic producer JOHN FRYER a.k.a BLACK NEEDLE NOISE and industrial hero PIG (Raymond Watts of KMFDM) joined forces for a battering new single.
SEED OF EVIL is pushed all the way by a colossal, diabolic electro drone thumping relentlessly as a brain-fucking hammer causing thunder and lighting. This is a high-
tech industrial steamroller made to play on repeat in hell when the Apocalypse party
kicks off. An intimidating bastinado that does your poor head in while scaring vocals amplify the devilish impact. Expect spine-chilling hullabaloo that tests your speakers’ resilience. Imagine German Goth metal scoundrels Rammstein fronted by Ministry‘s
mad man Al Jourgensen . Be ready, Armageddon is just around the corner.
Seed of evil’s
Empty gun
Hell is waiting
When you’re done
