xPropaganda
Renowned for its fashion, design, vibrant arts scene and proximity to the rest of Europe, the German city of Düsseldorf was also responsible for two of the finest Electronic albums of the 1980s. First came Kraftwerk’s 1981 commentary on the rise of computers in society, ‘Computer World’, whilst four years later, Propaganda gave us ‘A Secret Wish’.
By 1987, the members of Propaganda, keyboardist Ralf Dorper, percussionist Michael Mertens, programmer Andreas Thein and vocalists Susanne Freytag and Claudia Brücken had all broken away to pursue other musical ventures. However, the 21st Century has seen various reincarnations of the band, the latest being xPropaganda, a duo comprising Freytag and Brücken and formed in time to support Heaven 17 (who’s vocalist Glenn Gregory guested on ‘A Secret Wish’) on their 2018 ‘The Luxury Gap’ 35th Anniversary Tour. Roll forward four years and with Lipson, fresh from collaborating with Hans Zimmer on the ‘No Time to Die’ (2021) soundtrack having returned to offer a similarly epic production, xPropaganda present their fantastic new album ‘The Heart is Strange’, due for release on ZZT Records on 20th May.
Released on ZZT Records and produced by Stephen Lipson under the guidance of label boss Trevor Horn, ‘A Secret Wish’ was not only a huge critical success, but also a commercial one, reaching number sixteen on the UK charts and spawning two top 30 singles, ‘Dr. Mabuse’ (UK#27) and ‘Duel’ (UK#21). Meanwhile, a third single, ‘pMachinery’, featuring Japan’s David Sylvian, provided the soundtrack for Duran Duran vocalist Simon Le Bon’s 1985 Whitbread Round the World Race yachting video ‘Drum’, became a number one hit in Spain and, in the US, featured in a 1986 episode of ‘Miami Vice’ entitled ‘The Fix’.
“We always thought it was a shame that an album as distinctive and acclaimed as ‘A Secret Wish’ seemed destined to be a one-off”, says Brücken. “It certainly meant a lot to us, and it never seemed right that the story stopped there. Working again with Stephen Lipson means that we can turn our dreams about what the ZTT follow up to ‘A Secret Wish’ would sound like into a reality. The reality is ‘The Heart is Strange’”. And with its strident beats, glacial soundscapes and expressive vocal performances, it is an album which manages to evoke classic Propaganda whilst being effortlessly contemporary.
A Strange and Heartfelt Return Review and Interview by Alice Jones-Rodgers.
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