P.O.E.M.

POEM - Power Of Electronic Music - the aim of this show is not only to highlight electronic music in all its shapes and forms but also to highlight the value of this often times misunderstood and stigmatised music - in short, a new radio show that deals with all things electronica from interviews with musicians, authors, scholars etc. to testing out instruments and more

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Non-audio episode: MARSHEAUX - A Broken Frame ... fixed?

Greek all female synth duo Marsheaux has been a revered musical outlet since its inception in 2003. There is something very unique about them which is especially true considering that they have recorded quite a number of cover versions of iconic electronic music gems.

Now they have re-worked an entire album: Depeche Mode’s 1982 album “A broken frame”.

Apart from its award-winning cover, A broken frame was nowhere near its predecessor Speak & Spell. Shortly after the aformementioned S+S album their main songwriter Vince Clarke had left to subsequently enrich the world with his creations Yazoo, The Assembly and, most notably, Erasure, who are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year.

In 82 Depeche had to find their feet musically and, although there are some hidden gems on A broken frame , it is not one of their better ones and, in retrospect, gives little indication that Depeche Mode would one day become the cultural phenomenon that they are today.

So, perhaps an overhaul was long overdue – Marsheaux certainly gave it new life (no pun intended) as they put a 21st century stamp on the songs.


We put five questions to Marianthi Melitsi and Sophie Sarigiannidou aka Marsheaux and here is their response:

1) what prompted you to record your own version of Depeche Mode's 'A broken frame' ?
We love this album a lot. We like its melancholic and romantic mood. We strongly believe that it’s a really dark album and of course, it’s the most underrated of all of their albums although all the tracks are little diamonds. All Depeche mode fans think the same way. We did a lot of covers in the past but that was a bit different. We wanted to cover an entire album, even the artwork. Someone told us that we moved the standards for tribute albums very high and that was the best compliment we got.
2) If you could freely pick, what band would you love to tour with?
Not easy to answer.... There are too many.... But Sparks comes first in mind, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The dark of course, Mylene Farmer and Erasure and may many more.
3) what is the best thing about being in marsheaux?
That we do music, music that we love. Another good thing is that we turned our hobby into a profession, and that we have the time to work on our music. We travel the world, we meet people. We' ve met most of our heroes and with some of them we have collaborated. We are really happy with what we do.
4) what was your best selling album to date?
The German edition of Peek A Boo. Lumineux Noir was also a big seller for our greek company Undo Records.
5) what do you think of electro pioneers Kraftwerk?
We always say that Depeche Mode are the princes and Kraftwerk are the kings of electronic music. They transformed electronic music and gave it the today’s shape. Kraftwerk's distinctive sound was revolutionary, and has directly influenced all the electronic acts that followed (and not only). We red somewhere that Kraftwerk might be "the most influential group in pop history" and we totally agree. RESPECT! Also we strongly believe that Ralf and Florian were extraterrestrials. Karl and Wolfgang were just their ambassadors, their link with us. We believe the same for ABBA as well. All these cant be human. Its impossible! 

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