SWEET MACHINE + BATTERY OPERATED ORCHESTRA + DARK RUST – THE BRUNSWICK, HOVE 2.5.25
The 20th ‘Brighton Fringe Festival’ kicked off with its first set of events this evening across Brighton & Hove and these will constantly run until 1st June. One of these was happening this evening in Hove at The Brunswick under the banner of ‘Electric Dreams’, which obviously took its name from the 1985 electronic pop smash hit single ‘Together in Electric Dreams’ by Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder, from the original soundtrack of the film ‘Electric Dreams’. So this evening is very much a homage event to the synthesizer and featuring a trio of varying electronic acts. Headlining tonight’s homage to 1980’s and 1990’s inspired synthpop are Sweet Machine and they are ably supported by Battery Operated Orchestra and Dark Rust.
Having thankfully secured nearby parking, we raced to the venue with literally seconds to spare as the performance room doors were about to close. On entry we were warmly welcomed by our hosts who kindly sourced some seating for us. I’ve been to this street level venue as well as their downstairs Cellar Bar performance area on several occasions, and this is the very first time that I have been seated for an event here.
Opening up proceedings this evening is Eastbourne based solo artist Dark Rust (or Jim to his mates). According to the event blurb Dark Rust offers “a captivating sonic journey that evokes the golden era of eighties electro”, or as his Bandcamp page puts it “Seamlessly melding synth-tronica and electro into a fractured dark-weave robo-disco infused rampage, Dark Rust uses analogue synths and samplers to blend retro beats into irresistible grooves. Haunting leads and gritty vocoders tempt you in as the pulsating bass lines make resistance futile”. Tonight this is achieved via the use of a Moog Sub 37, a Korg R3 and a Akai MPC live.
At 8pm our hosts introduce Dark Dust to the rammed full venue and the punters uniformly enthusiastically show their appreciation. In fact I’d go so far as to say that this had the feeling as though bags of Haribo were handed out to everyone prior to our arrival and had been immediately consumed. Basically, they were an extraordinarily appreciative bunch, which was most pleasing to witness. The mood was set and the seven tune 32 minute set gets under way with the title track of last year’s ‘Tetro Disco’ album, which commences with some vocoder action atop an electro backing beat. It’s reminiscent of ‘Supamotodisco’ by Aircooled and it’s a promising start and from our ringside seats that are level to the side of his equipment, we can see exactly how busy Jim is as he plays the keys, taps the presets and tweaks the knobs. Next up is the much slower Belgian New Beat-esque ‘Mekanique’, which is from the same album. It’s also evident that there’s a Gary Numan influence going on in the song as well. In fact all seven of tonight’s selections are from the same album.
‘Painkillers’ is selection three and this has a different vibe going on. Due to the sampled “opioids” information on the backing, Paul Hardcastle’s ‘19’ easily springs to mind, but there’s more going on in here. You could add ‘Sensoria’-era Cabaret Voltaire into the mix as well. ‘Folie à Deux’ is choice four and this has a long electronic booming intro prior to the beat kicking in. Think if Gary Numan was playing his vintage analog ARP Odyssey synthesizer along to a slowed down version of Men Without Hats ‘Safety Dance’ then you won’t be far off. It’s a great tune! Track five is ‘ABC’s’ which again benefits from some vocal samples, as well as some vocoder action. It’s here where electro and synthpop collide, and there’s a feel of The Human League’s ‘Being Boiled’ mixed with Clock DVA. The penultimate selection is ‘Manic’ which again has some vocoder action very much like what Gregory James Broussard used to offer us, namely Egyptian Lover. The set, like the album, closes with ‘The Game’ which has a typical darkwave vocal delivery and has an almost sinister feel to it, like Tubeway Army’s ‘We Are So Fragile’ meets a Combichrist vocal delivery. It’s been an enjoyable set and I wouldn’t mind a second live viewing in the future.
Dark Rust:
Jim Hennessy – vocals, electronics
Dark Rust setlist:
‘Tetro Disco’ (from 2024 ‘Tetro Disco’ album)
‘Mekanique’ (from 2024 ‘Tetro Disco’ album)
‘Painkillers’ (from 2024 ‘Tetro Disco’ album)
‘Folie à Deux’ (from 2024 ‘Tetro Disco’ album)
‘ABC’s’ (from 2024 ‘Tetro Disco’ album)
‘Manic’ (from 2024 ‘Tetro Disco’ album)
‘The Game’ (from 2024 ‘Tetro Disco’ album)
As all of the electronic equipment was set up in advance of the punters arrival, there was a very swift turnaround and a mere 11 minutes later Battery Operated Orchestra take to the stage. The event blurb states that they are “So cool & collected you can almost see the dry ice. Irresistible”. Thankfully, there’s no dry ice on the go this evening and the lighting is ideal for photographers to grab their desired shots. The sound in the venue is good as well.
Battery Operated Orchestra are a Newhaven based husband and wife synthpop duo comprising Tasmanian born Brigitte Rose on lead vocals and synth, and Scottish born Chris Black on backing vocals, keyboards, electronics. As far as I can recall, I first witnessed BOO live in action at the Lewes Con Club on 11th April 2015 and from that very night I was hooked and have purchased all of their officially self-released CD’s ever since. I have seen them playing live on numerous occasions and it’s always refreshing to note what equipment they bring along each time from the vast array from their collection. As they do this, the songs quite often sound slightly different and retain that fresh and interesting quality, as is the case this evening, where they have brought along a Bass station 2; Microfreak; akai MKS mini plus; 1010 music tangerine; Yamaha CS1; Zoom d6 mixer; and various FX pedals for their 45 minute 10 song set that runs from 8:43pm until 9:28pm.
They are introduced by the hosts and are again warmly greeted by the enthusiastic crowd. First up is ‘Nightclub Mishap’ which is found on their recent ‘Compulsory Games’ album. It’s immediately obvious that they are seriously on the ball tonight and that Brigitte (or Brie as hubby calls her) is radiating her retro-chic look, whilst Chris eagerly beavers away like an enthusiastic Labrador. BOO are a somewhat loveable quirky act and this is reflected in the bouncy ‘Nightclub Mishap’ not sounding too unlike Lene Lovich’s ‘Lucky Number’. This is followed by ‘Obelisk’ from 2014’s ‘Incomplete Until Broken’ album for which Brie dons a Yamaha CS01, a small analogue synth that she plays slung from a strap, like a guitar, and Chris adds the backing vocals when required. Tune three is the bouncy ‘Lady Megawatt’ from 2020’s ‘Yesterday Tomorrow And You’ album and this has a synth drumbeat that’s not far off Depeche Mode’s ‘Personal Jesus’. BOO are seriously getting into their stride now and Brie is very animated and Chris is really going for it on the synths. It’s evident that they are feeling very much at home this evening.
We now get a couple of tunes from 2023’s ‘Compulsory Games’ album, this first of which being ‘Killing Girl’ which sounds different from previous live outings I’ve witnessed. Tonight’s version begins with some tinkling electronics that sound just like the intro of ‘Ghosts’ by Japan, and then the backing beat kicks in and it becomes much like The Human League’s ‘The Sound Of The Crowd’. The next tune from the current album is the danceable ‘Dead News’ which is typical BOO trademark material. There’s also a different backing on the speedy bouncy track ‘The Sea’ (from 2016’s ‘Radiation’ album) for tonight’s performance and often when they play new versions live this embellishes their historical material. Selection seven is ‘Perfect Wreck’ which is found on their ‘Snare’ album from 2018. This has a deep bass synth backing which is juxtaposed by Brie’s high vocal delivery, and thus has the feel of The Human League MkI vibe.
The flow of the performance was sadly interrupted when their cordless mic wasn’t quite delivering and so the sound guy had to install a new mic with a lead and Brie’s vocals did actually sound different on the next song, which is their evolving comical take on the theme tune of ‘Are You Being Served’ being grafted onto the beginning of their 2024 ‘Service Economy’ single, thus making it the ‘Mr Humphries Mix’ – “Ground floor: perfumery, stationery and leather goods, wigs and haberdashery, kitchenware and food. Going up…”. This brought a smile to many faces in the crowd. The penultimate selection was ‘The Dissolve’ from 2020’s ‘Yesterday Tomorrow And You’ album and the intro keys sound reminded me of ‘Tell Me When’ by The Human League. Then the retro synth beat kicks in like a heavier version of something that could have been found on Depeche Mode’s debut ‘Speak & Spell’ album. For this track Brie dons the Yamaha CS1 again which looks cool. They sign off with the best tune of the set for me, this being ‘Fairy Tale’ from 2016’s ‘Radiation’ album, which also happens to be my favourite BOO album. There’s some added key sounds in this rendition by Chris and you can’t fault those Numan-esque sounding key sequences. Their setlist did list ‘Where Nobody Can Find Us’ which was a Katsen tune from Chris’ previous project, but sadly they had run out of time. Suffice to say that BOO went down an absolute storm!
Battery Operated Orchestra:
Brigitte Rose – lead vocals, synth
Chris Black – backing vocals, keyboards, electronics
Battery Operated Orchestra setlist:
‘Nightclub Mishap’ (from 2023 ‘Compulsory Games’ album)
‘Obelisk’ (from 2014 ‘Incomplete Until Broken’ album)
‘Lady Megawatt’ (from 2020 ‘Yesterday Tomorrow And You’ album)
‘Killing Girl’ (from 2023 ‘Compulsory Games’ album)
‘Dead News’ (from 2023 ‘Compulsory Games’ album)
‘The Sea’ (from 2016 ‘Radiation’ album)
‘Perfect Wreck’ (from 2018 ‘Snare’ album)
‘Service Economy (Mr Humphries Mix)’ (a 2024 single)
‘The Dissolve’ (from 2020 ‘Yesterday Tomorrow And You’ album)
‘Fairy Tale’ (from 2016 ‘Radiation’ album)
There’s a frantic dash to the bar for some liquid refreshment and a mere 12 minutes later the headline set by Sweet Machine commences. According to the event blurb they offer “Original synthpop with a strong 80’s vibe – Depeche Mode meets Pulp!”. The band are a mature bunch that have been together for some quite considerable time and although the four bandmembers are spread across from Hove to the West Country, they do still manage to get together to play some concerts. The lineup comprises Tim Clayton (vocals), Rob Petherick (Hohner B2 headless bass guitar), Stephen Shiliito (guitar, programming via Arturia unit and laptop), and Richard Churchyard (Nord Stage 3 & King Korg synthesizers). We received a 64 minute 13 tune set that ran from 9:40pm to 10:44pm.
The performance begins with the first of three cuts from their ‘1979’ album which dropped in 2015, this being ‘Run & Hide’. It’s immediately evident that this quartet are huge fans of retro bouncy synthpop, but are delivering it in their own fashion. Song two, as far as I can find, is an unreleased number titled ‘Divine Intervention’ and the beat is very much Dead Or Alive meets Bobby O. It gets rather interesting for choice three, ‘Glass And Steel’, which is the first of a handful of cuts from their latest ‘Shimmer’ album from back in 2022. Musically, this tune reminds me of the criminally underrated somewhat partly forgotten outfit Hohokam, who famously went out on tour with Gary Numan back in 1984. The sound is unmistakably that mid 1980’s electronic music vibe, that hasn’t aged as well as some of the standout tunes of that era (eg ‘Blue Monday’). ‘Glass And Steel’ is however a bouncy synth number and this witnessed a few ladies leaving their seats for a boogie. The tune incorporates the chorus of Bronski Beat’s ‘Smalltown Boy’ “Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away (Oooh)”.
Vocalist Tim next informs the punters that the next tune was written about lockdown when folk couldn’t travel the world, and in this case it’s ‘Brasilia’ which is from their ‘Shimmer’ album. This is followed by the debut live performance of a new track. This is called ‘New Tricks’ and this too is a further upbeat number that could have easily been released by Hohokam back in the day. The less intense ‘Shimmer’ title track comes next, and is followed (and bettered) by ‘Underworld’ which is also found on ‘Shimmer’ and this has the catchy earworm “ticket to ride…to the underworld” lyrics. After this we get the second yearned world destination during lockdown, this time around it’s ‘China’ with its “Made in China” lyric. Soundwise it’s not far off early Heaven 17, both vocally and musically with its bouncy uplifting beat and enjoyable Nords Stage 3 synth key action, and is for me their best track so far.
The ‘1979’ album title track comes next and we are told it’s a disco version of the tune, but it’s not as immediate as its predecessor. On completion, Tim now goes into great depth regarding their forthcoming single, which was specially written for Rainbow Paradiso which is a new kind of Club Night that the band played at on 13th March at Komedia Bath and it featured host and games mistress Kiki Babs (international queen, judge on UK Drag Idol and TV star). The tune is therefore not surprisingly titled ‘Rainbow Paradiso’ and it was quite likely a majority of the punters choice tune thus far on account of the loud applause at the end. The word “Eurovision” was mentioned and I can see why. My colleague likened it to Split Endz, but I heard a HiNRG beat. Their setlist was showing the next tune as ‘Kylie’, but this actually turned out to be a cover of the diminutive Australian’s ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ megasmash. This certainly brought the ladies back on the dancefloor, but for yours truly, it was an unnecessary dip into dodgy cruise ship (or Butlins Weekender) covers, and I would have been far happier without it being played! (Cue “Miserable sod” reply by Kylie fans!).
Thankfully their penultimate selection was a self-penned number, titled ‘The Last Man On Earth’ from 2015’s ‘1979’ album. It’s another HiNRG tune that you might have expected Divine to have put out. After the applause we were rewarded one more (encore) track, which according to the setlist was ‘Spin’, and low and behold it’s another cover, this time it’s the Dead Or Alive wedding classic ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’, thus cementing my earlier Dead Or Alive sound spot. Yet again, this went down with the punters, but I reckon they should maybe stay away from heading towards being a covers band, and carry on writing their own decent material.
It’s been an enjoyable night and it was rather nice meeting all those concerned, who came across as truly lovely people.
Sweet Machine:
Tim Clayton – vocals
Rob Petherick – bass, bv’s
Stephen Shiliito – programming, bv’s
Richard Churchyard – keyboards, bv’s
Sweet Machine setlist:
‘Run & Hide’ (from 2015 ‘1979’ album)
‘Divine Intervention’ (unreleased)
‘Glass And Steel’ (from 2022 ‘Shimmer’ album)
‘Brasilia’ (from 2022 ‘Shimmer’ album)
‘New Tricks’ (unreleased)
‘Shimmer’ (from 2022 ‘Shimmer’ album)
‘Underworld’ (from 2022 ‘Shimmer’ album)
‘China’ (from 2022 ‘Shimmer’ album)
‘1979’ (from 2015 ‘1979’ album)
‘Rainbow Paradiso’ (forthcoming 2025 single)
‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ (Kylie Minogue cover)
‘The Last Man On Earth’ (from 2015 ‘1979’ album)
‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’ (Dead Or Alive cover)
