It is 40 years since Propaganda's seminal and, as it turned out, practically their only album in that time, A Secret Wish, was released. And, if we look back (if we haven't sold our souls to man without shadow by now, haven't we?), we must admit that the times and the associated music and sounds have changed. They did not always change for the better, but that is the world for you.
The time of Trevor Horn’s Sarm West Studio, after several stages of Sarm reorganization, is also apparently over (that place now hosts luxury flats instead, likely following the overall social and economic developments). Still, I have sometimes been missing new recordings with colors and transparency and breath associated with the old Horn/Lipson production, and all those sound landscapes that bring all the instruments easily and charmingly, yet convincingly.
And then, the recent years brought out a follow-up. In 2022, Susanne and Claudia, with Steven Lipson, made xPropaganda, and The Heart Is Strange, although recorded in a different studio (Battery Studio), is a real reminder of those great ZTT days, confirming the still paramount importance of the producer.
On the other side, Ralph and Michael came with their own Propaganda project, in 2024 releasing an eponymous album. For this old Propaganda fan, it was a bit strange to see and hear Propaganda without Susanne and Claudia, but that is also all OK. And it's worth remembering the new name: Thunder Bae. And it is a classy, seriously produced piece by talented authors, in the best tradition of the old Propaganda. It is sonically somewhat different (it was recorded in Düsseldorf and produced by Ralph and Michael), but with the same high standards and abilities, and it stands well above today’s production, recalling how electronic music can be a serious undertaking, and a frame for serious achievements.
For now, it looks to me like the old Propaganda heritage developed into the rhythm and atmosphere and sound picture of xPropaganda, and a more experimental course of Dorper and Martens. And it is great to have both these projects playing in the system.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LbjI2bJrhE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhKR2TQBYCM
And, as a sidenote, with no intent to interfere with this Propaganda's piece: a nocebo. In the audio, it might work, just as a placebo. A word, too often brought to audio in an inciting way. Anyhow, they both come down to the (unjustified) expectations. And, although living without expectations is not easy and probably not possible, developing one's own taste and trusting one's own ears on a personal level, and letting others do the same on a social level, is more fun, and it makes life better.
It is 40 years since Propaganda's seminal and, as it turned out, practically their only album in that time, A Secret Wish, was released. And, if we look back (if we haven't sold our souls to man without shadow by now, haven't we?), we must admit that the times and the associated music and sounds have changed. They did not always change for the better, but that is the world for you.
The time of Trevor Horn’s Sarm West Studio, after several stages of Sarm reorganization, is also apparently over (that place now hosts luxury flats instead, likely following the overall social and economic developments). Still, I have sometimes been missing new recordings with colors and transparency and breath associated with the old Horn/Lipson production, and all those sound landscapes that bring all the instruments easily and charmingly, yet convincingly.
And then, the recent years brought out a follow-up. In 2022, Susanne and Claudia, with Steven Lipson, made xPropaganda, and The Heart Is Strange, although recorded in a different studio (Battery Studio), is a real reminder of those great ZTT days, confirming the still paramount importance of the producer.
On the other side, Ralph and Michael came with their own Propaganda project, in 2024 releasing an eponymous album. For this old Propaganda fan, it was a bit strange to see and hear Propaganda without Susanne and Claudia, but that is also all OK. And it's worth remembering the new name: Thunder Bae. And it is a classy, seriously produced piece by talented authors, in the best tradition of the old Propaganda. It is sonically somewhat different (it was recorded in Düsseldorf and produced by Ralph and Michael), but with the same high standards and abilities, and it stands well above today’s production, recalling how electronic music can be a serious undertaking, and a frame for serious achievements.
For now, it looks to me like the old Propaganda heritage developed into the rhythm and atmosphere and sound picture of xPropaganda, and a more experimental course of Dorper and Martens. And it is great to have both these projects playing in the system.
And, as a sidenote, with no intent to interfere with this Propaganda's piece: a nocebo. In the audio, it might work, just as a placebo. A word, too often brought to audio in an inciting way. Anyhow, they both come down to the (unjustified) expectations. And, although living without expectations is not easy and probably not possible, developing one's own taste and trusting one's own ears on a personal level, and letting others do the same on a social level, is more fun, and it makes life better.
