Without buying into the synth wave resurgence, he has created a contemporary take on a retrograde sound with his own style. His choice of beats anchors his idea whilst allowing his synths and fingers to find new avenues for the cold and isolated bars of new wave memories.
To stretch a metaphor to its last tendon, Italo Disco is something akin to The Enlightenment (now give it a moment); it can be blamed for some synthesizer horrors (past and present) but overall was was a pretty positive step in electronic music. In the last ten years Italo is reaching a wider audience than in its heyday. A flood of artists, DJ’s and labels have been inspired by the catchy hooks of Spaghetti Dance. One DJ who has inspired a veritable horde of burgeoning turntablists is the adopted son of Rimini, Flemming Dalum. An original Italophile, Dalum cut his technics teeth in the hot Italian summers of the early 80’s. From these humble beginnings, Dalum has become a guru of all things Italo; with a record collection that probably cannot be matched. Ones of his latest mixes, “The Empire State of Italo,” brought together the old and the new. Unreleased tracks sat beside unheard classics and some non-italo made the cut. Legendary artists beside newcomers. Ageing labels beside brand new. One of the new labels, just taking its first steps into the vinyl world, that featured on this mix was Bordello A Parigi. But don’t be mistaken, this first of this outing ain’t Italo.
Bordello have drafted in the services of Model Man with Forever Stangers to break the ice. Model Man is the nom de plume of the diverse Dutch man DJ Overdose. Mr Overdose has a seriously impressive track record, being part of The Novamen and The Hasbeens as well as having his own line of electro. Here he appears to be trying his hand at something else. The relentless drive of the drum is at the centre of “Aimlessly Wandering.” The track hums of New Beat and EBM, the industrial pounding of the snare with the looming background calls up images of Chris and Cosey or Nitzer Ebb. “Forever Stangers” takes a completely different route. Quite an electro beat has been chosen whilst chords and pads are built around this central column to produce a swimming analogue work with some macabre disco elements. “Slipping Out Of My Hands” turns the tables again, with string like chords creating a complex piece of electronics. Elements of some of Model Man’s work with The Hasbeens coming through on this one. The flipside opens with the heavy beat of “How Do I Get You To Do?” around which synthesizer solenoids take hold. Indecipherable vocoder lyrics descend and the track takes on something of a Rude 66 feel with its cold distance and alluring composition. This is dark dense electro pop, sinister and playful and something the Dutch have become experts at. The industrial beat is again present for “Schaduw Van Mijzelf” but the piece is tempered, pulsating with primal energy but dolling it out in measured servings. To lead the listener out of Model Man’s audio parlour is “The Lost,” a reverberating and rich ambient work that ties the record together beautifully.
In the past few years DJ Overdose has gone from a respected producer to one of the real groundbreakers of The Hague scene. He has turned his hand to styles that few thought this scratch DJ could, from cultured electro pop to ambient abstractions. This Model Man alias is proving to be some of the most exciting material that Overdose has created yet. Without buying into the synth wave resurgence, he has created a contemporary take on a retrograde sound with his own style. His choice of beats anchors his idea whilst allowing his synths and fingers to find new avenues for the cold and isolated bars of new wave memories. But this isn’t just that, it has some disco hauntings, some electro echoes and more. Forever Strangers is simple evidence of why DJ Overdose turns heads, and is a great starting point for Bordello A Parigi. Already hungry for the next course.
Forever Strangers is out now on Bordell A Parigi.
Model Man – Forever Strangers by Bordello A Parigi
