One of the most popular acts in the synthpop scene currently is Australia's Neuropa. They first came to our attention with a remix of the song "Lifeline" that appeared on the A Different Drum compilation Too Good For Radio. After hearing "Bound" and "Beyond Here And Now," we became hooked. Their newest album, Born, was just recently released and is easily their strongest work to date. We spoke recently with keyboardist Albert Martinez...
AeschTunes: Where did the group's name come from?
Albert Martinez: Well, initially we wanted a name that would convey the sense that our music was from European neuromantic origins, which is what we love. So we played around a bit with words to combine what is now `Neuropa'...voila!
AT: How did the band get started?
AM: Jason and I met at school in 1986 and stayed friends for a few years after leaving. I worked in a few different bands and other electronic projects until we started to work seriously together for the first neuropa album New Faith which came out in 1997.
AT: Vince Clarke seems to have been a big influence on Neuropa - with both a cover of Erasure's "True Love Wars" on the Beyond Here And Now album, and some very Yazoo-like arrangements on Born (particularly "Standing Still In Time"). Who else has been influences for you?
AM: I'd say my influences do change over time but there were some bands that I started out listening to when I was forming my musical taste that really did it for me and they would be: YMO, Visage, Ultravox, The Human League, Gary Numan & Devo.
AT: I'm not familiar with "YMO"...?
AM: YMO is Japanese Band from the 80's Yello Magic Orchestra, headed by Ryuichi Sakamoto. A very influencial electronic band with some awesome material. Check them out!
AT: We haven't heard much synthpop coming out of Australia outside of yourselves; most of what we hear usually comes from the USA and Europe. What is the synthpop scene like Down Under?
AM: The music scene in Australia is vastly dominated by major labels pushing rock & very sanitised pop for the masses. There are only 2 or 3 other bands making music that I'd consider interesting and they are mostly based in Melbourne.
AT: How did you come to the attention of American independent synthpop label, A Different Drum?
AM: We finished our first album New Faith in 1997 and had it printed up ourselves and then obviously needed some way of distributing it. I sent Todd a copy of the album and he liked it and offered us a distribution deal. The second album was done in this way also. Each album has sold better than the last so he offered us a more conventional contract with his label for our 3rd full length album.
AT: Jason provided vocals to a song ("You Feel The Same") on the Virtual Server album, Installed. How did Jason hook up with DJ Ram for this project? How was the project executed, as vocalists for the entire project lived on three different continents?
AM: Jason was sent an email asking if he'd be into the idea of contributing vocals for his project as he was a fan of neuropa. DJ Ram had a musical piece he'd been working on which he sent Jason, who then worked on lyrics & melodies for it. We don't normally work in this way at all, we always have lyrics first and do the music later, so it was quite unusual. We recorded the vocals at my studio here in Sydney and sent DJram the finished vocals for him to use with the final music tracks back in Russia.
AT: Your most recent album, Born, was preceeded by the single "Every Second." What can you tell us about the meaning of the song?
AM: When I wrote that one I was reffering to the fact that we have a limited time in this life & every second is precious & to not take anything for granted. I tried to keep the sense of urgency in the lyrical and melodic elements consistent to fit it with the general theme. The music is a little more aggressive also which works for us.
AT: Are the lyrics generally a collaborative effort, or is it more a "I've got this idea, and here's how it goes" kind of thing?
AM: It does depend on the track. We more often these days will write lyrics separately and perhaps one track per album will be completely collaborated on lyrically.
AT: One of the songs on Born is labelled as "Away 2004 Mix." The song "Away" hasn't appeared on any of your albums or singles previously, so why was it designated as a 2004 Mix?
AM: This track was previous released on a compilation as an exclusive mix only. The new mix obviously had to distinguish the fact the song had been given an Extreme Makeover!
AT: One of my favorite songs on the album is "Control". I find it interesting that the lyrics seem to be a dialogue between two people. Was that the intent in writing the track?
AM: We do often take different standpoints in our lyric writing. It helps us push the boundaries a little and stop from getting into creative habits. In a way this track was a new challenge from the perspective of using two viewpoints within one context. We're very happy with the way it turned out.
AT: The Born album is currently being packaged with a limited edition remix CD, which is a little scant on production details. Who
did the assorted remixes on the disc?
AM: We did most of them but also DJ Ram, A Modern Effigy from the USA (great job on that one guys), Sequentia from Argentina etc. The bonus disk is limited to the first 500 cd's only so the remixes are being given full credit on the actual disk with their relevant contact emails etc. Todd printed up much more than this so for economic reasons the mixes were not mentioned on the sleeve art, again as I previously stated though, they have been given full production credit on the extra remix disc.
AT: If you were to select a follow-up single for the album, which track would you choose?
AM: I doubt very much that there will be a single follow up as our label is very reluctant to put them out these days due to a downturn in single sales of late. I would perhaps think that `A Better Place' would be chosen or 'Belief', both tracks have been getting a great response from people so far.
AT: A "free question" - what would you like to tell the readers of this newsletter, about the band, yourself, life in general...?
AM: We strive to write & produce the best music we can keeping a certain level of authenticity whilst being open to new influences. We enjoy immensely creating catchy music with a message & are greatful to all our fans for their support.