Bryan Ferry

Fans and DJs alike are going crazy for the new Roxy Music remix: Love Is The Drug (Todd Terje Disco Dub). Todd Terje is a Norwegian producer who is making big waves in the underground music scene. Last year his version of Alphaville was included in Olympia Remixes:

We liked it so much that we asked him to have a go at the ultimate Roxy anthem.

The track is out now exclusively on Beatport digitally, and available for a limited time on deluxe vinyl – paired with the haunting Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas version of Avalon.

BF collaborator and director of ‘You Can Dance’ & ‘Shameless’ Videos, Ferry Gouw had created a twisted, retro video to accompany the release.

Some of the clips used were from the Olympia Tour visuals generated in-house by Anna Boberg (link: www.bopa.tv). Nick Knight has also picked-up on the track, using it for his Top Shop video celebrating 10 years of the high-street giant:

Here is an interview with man of the moment Todd Terje:

Todd Terje Interview

The last 12 months have been massive for you with Ragysh, It’s The Arps and your Roxy Music re-edit. What was your highlight of 2011?

My highlight was actually finishing working on the Ragysh EP. It’s been a long while since my last single, and finishing this one lifted a burden from my shoulders. I’m pretty sure that I’ll have a better pace from now on.

It’s The Arps was all made on one synthesiser, do you think that by limiting your equipment you can be more focused in the studio?

Definitely, it helped tremendously. With all the tools of today it’s sometimes hard to know where to start when you wanna make music. Only being able to make sounds from sine, saw and square waves forced me to be creative. When I find a sound I like, I have to record immediately, as recreating patches later can be quite tricky.

You remixed Bryan Ferry’s ‘Alphaville’ last year and have now dropped your ‘Love Is The Drug Disco Dub’ for Roxy Music – were you a fan of Ferry’s music before, and how did this come about?

I’m not the typical Roxy fan, I approach his catalogue more as a DJ than a regular “consumer”. Danceable tracks such as’ Love Is The Drug’, ‘Don’t Stop The Dance’, ‘I Put A Spell On You’ and ‘The Main Thing’ has always been favourites, but also Avalon and wonderful instrumentals like Nocturne go down well in my sets. I was thrilled when Isaac (Bryan’s son) asked me to remix Alphaville and really enjoyed turning it into something new.

Before you started releasing your own compositions you were infamous for your signature underground edits. With ‘Love is the drug’ the band gave you the original audio stems, and this has been a more official release than your previous vinyl-only edits. What are the pros and cons of official edits?

I don’t look at this version as an edit, as I had access to all the parts. Plain edits are just easy cuts and pastes, when you just have the normal released version. Sometimes that can force you to be creative as you don’t have much material (again, limitations), but the best thing about edits is that they’re so damn quick to do. When you have 30+ stems with kicks, snares, overheads, bass guitar, vox etc it gets complicated very fast. On the other hand, you have the chance to change sounds on a micro level, such as the compression on the drum bus, EQ and distortion on the bass, things you couldn’t access if you only had a stereo file. So this Love Is The Drug disco dub turned out to be more of a remix than a plain edit, but I tried to keep it close to the original, but with a The Clash-ish twist.

If you could have the individual audio stems to any song, what would that be and why?

There’s plenty of tunes on my want-list, (un)classics like Downtown Samba by Yello, I Want You by Marvin Gaye (I think those actually exist) etc. Normally it’s tracks that have an interesting sound. I learn a lot from looking at old stems, you realize that so much of the magic is actually in the way it’s mixed down and mastered, not necessarily how it was recorded. Ok, I’d die to look into the rhythm parts of Could You Be Love! Wonkiest beat ever.

Can you describe how disco factors into your own productions (whether that be through the use of samples, the way that tracks are arranged, emphasis on brass / strings / percussion, tempo etc?

I’ve obviously learnt lots from looking at and editing disco arrangements, as I’ve done literally hundreds of those. The drums of disco have always fascinated me. Sometimes it’s the off beat way of playing that sounds refreshing, sometimes it’s how it’s mixed. Dance producers today tend to emphasize the low end of kick drums (especially in minimal music), where the earlier disco producers got a more playful feel to the music because it didn’t feel too heavy. Kick drums were 90hz and up instead of the booming 40hz region (aka brown noise land). There’s lots to learn from all kinds of music though, and I don’t actually consider myself a disco artist.

Who is your ultimate disco hero, and why?

I’ve listened to and learned a LOT from Walter Gibbons, no surprises here. He used a lot of the tricks we use today in dance music, like stripping down tracks to the minimum and building them up again from there. Sending different sounds into plate reverbs to create space, extending drum breaks, teasing the audience dropping out the kick drum etc. Sounds like your normal night out, right?

Are there any contemporary producers & DJs involved in the scene that people should keep an eye and ear out for?

3 years ago I stuck my head in the ground, refused to come up again. It’s quite nice down here actually, and I don’t have to worry what’s going on above the surface, who’s doing what, which track is big etc. But ok, just to name someone… Seahawks, Cos/Mes, Mano Le Tough, Magnus Internasjonal, Sid Who, Justin V.

What is your favourite disco production of all time, any why?

African Suite by Richie Rome is one of the most out there disco productions ever to be released on a major label, and I’m very glad they did release it, as it’s been a big inspiration for many years. It’s got a perfect balance between functionality and stupidity. Rhythm wise it’s flawless and the whole album is sugarcoated with sexy girl whispering. Everytime I listen to it I hear something new. Another contender is the Walter Gibbons mix of Catch Me On The Rebound by Loleatta Holloway (actually he did two, both are amazing!).

Have you ever thought about producing an album for another band? And if you could work with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

I haven’t produced a band yet, but I just finished mixing an album for Lindstrøm, which will come out around the end of this year. I’m generally not a fan of working with anyone else though, as I just get stressed when they see how slow I work, he he (“where’s that sample? why doesn’t this VST work??”). I’d love to work with Sly & Robbie, as they’ve played on so many of my favorite productions.

You’ve started your in-depth audio blog, letsnerd.com, and have been interviewing like-minded producers and artists. Who would be your ideal interviewee from the past?

Steven Stanley of Compass Point? Bob Clearmountain? Walter Gibbons? Haverchuck from Freaks And Geeks? From the present it would be great to interview f.i. Eric Prydz, just because his productions have been so defining.

Your fellow Scandinavian disco maestro Lindstrøm has developed his live show significantly in recent years – do you foresee a bigger live production for yourself beyond DJ’ing in the future?

Yep.

All of your recent releases have stormed the Beatport charts and ‘It’s The Arps’ has received critical acclaim… What are your plans for 2012?

I’ve got a couple of singles planned on my Olsen label, a few remixes and the already mentioned Lindstrøm album. Besides that I’m planning to sleep a lot.

Bryan Ferry was reunited with model Cara Delevingne, shot by Simon Emmett for S Moda magazine.

Cara Delevingne, now the face of Burberry, was spotted by Ferry in an editorial back in 2010 and was subsequently cast as one of the leading girls in the YOU CAN DANCE and SHAMELESS videos. Since then her career has hit astronomical heights, gracing catwalks and starring in editorials and worldwide campaigns for the biggest fashion houses.

Images of Delevingne were also projected during the recent Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry tours.

Cara Delevingne, The new face of Burberry

Link to spanish article in S Moda.

BF performed to a star-studded audience in Geneva for the prestigious IWC watch company on Tuesday 17th January. The Top Gun themed extravaganza was organised by IWC Schaffhausen to tell the story of their new Pilot Watches.

The event took place in the immense Palexpo Hall which had been elaborately decorated in the the style of an American military aircraft carrier including a life sized captain’s bridge and a fighter jet with an in-cockpit flight simulator.

IWC Schaffhausen CEO Georges Kern, model Adriana Lima and singer Bryan Ferry visit the IWC Schaffhausen booth during the 22nd SIHH High Jewellery Fair at the Palexpo Exhibition Hall on January 17, 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo by The Image Gate/Getty Images for IWC)

Guests included Adriana Lima, Ronan Keating, Ewan Mcgregor, Cate Blanchett, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Arsene Wenger and Laurent Blanc.

Nick Warren has mixed Bryan Ferry’s tour on an Avid Venue D-Show console, making use of on-board plugins, as well as Waves’ Vocal Rider.

Slave to Sound
BY LARRY JAFFEE
[Originally appeared in Pro Sound News, Jan 2012]

Although the band officially called it a day in 1983, Roxy Music has been a perennial favourite on the road, reconvening for multiple reunion tours starting 2000 in its native UK, Europe and other parts of the world. In between those jaunts, leader Bryan Ferry has been embarking on his own solo theater tours, including a recent 10-date run that started in Miami and finished up at The Greek in Los Angeles, with Eighth Day Sound (Highland Heights, OH) supplying control and monitor gear.

“Bryan never stops being involved,” said FOH engineer Nick Warren, who first joined Ferry’s sound crew towards the end of his 2007 Dylanesque tour and has been with him and Roxy ever since then. During soundchecks, Ferry often likes to sit out front the entire time. “Not every day; but he’s always got an eye on the show,” Warren noted. “Bryan never lets it stagnate.”

That focus extends to keyboards, a key factor in the artist’s luxurious sound, as the singer plays on six songs when he’s not at center stage, crooning into an Audio-Technica AT4053 microphone. “Bryan’s attention to detail with keyboard sounds makes my job easier,” said Warren. That led to replacing Ferry’s grand piano in favor of Nord Scandinavian keyboards, “which have been a godsend. We used to have two hours of tuning every day. I can’t tell the difference sitting out here; in fact, I’d say the Nords even sound better.”

Ferry has given fans what they want in terms of the show, with songs like “The Main Thing” and “Kiss and Tell,” which was a hit in the U.S. Only two or three tracks from Ferry’s most recent album, Olympia, released in October 2010, have been in the sets. “There’s so much other stuff. This is a man with a back catalog; you can’t run out of tunes.”

Warren attributed the lush sound of Ferry’s recorded output—both solo and Roxy—to the work of longtime producer Rhett Davies, who consulted with the live team before hitting the road. In preparation for the solo tour, Davies gave Warren some pointers: “He’s a bit of a legend. He turns up off the golf course with a big cigar. He’s always positive, got good things to say, ‘the whole song sits around that.’ For mixing, these are really useful tips.”

Is it a big challenge to replicate the aural opulence in a live setting? “That’s [Ferry’s] thing,” commented monitor engineer Steve May, who has been part of Roxy/Ferry’s crew for 12 years. “It makes mixing it a pleasure, all the nuances and pieces, especially when you add samples of certain things from a really old track. It’s nice to be challenged; it’s not a gig that’s the same set every day.” Warren agreed that it’s challenging, “but as with anything, you need to get the band right.”

The European leg of the tour kicked off with two drummers: longtime Roxy/Ferry associate Andy Newmark and Ferry’s son Tara, who left after a few shows and was not replaced. When the American leg was planned, Ferry was still not happy with the drums, and it was Warren who suggested that original Roxy drummer Paul Thompson be brought back; he had also done solo Ferry solo tours previously. “You can set your watch by him—meticulous all night,” said Warren. “As soon as Paul came back, it settled down.”

The U.S. tour picked up local PAs at every stop, though Warren noted that they’d been “juggling d&b” audiotechnik systems throughout the European leg. For the band’s stop at New York City’s Beacon Theatre, the in-house QSC-powered JBL VerTec system was pressed into service. “When the band is right, it sounds like a CD, as long as it’s going through the right PA,” Warren observed.

Despite using a new system every day, Warren found that most venues on the Ferry/Roxy tours of the past year sounded similar—a feat he attributed to using line arrays, “which is a great thing, because that means we’re getting a good template to mix the show. I’ve got a graphic; sometimes I don’t even touch it from the night before. That says something about the quality of PAs these days: You can get pretty much a good result every time.”

Well, not quite every time. “You’ve got to go with the flow a little bit. The sound was awful last night. Where were we? The Wellmont in Montclair, New Jersey—it was a loud, angry room. No matter what you did, it wasn’t working.”

While he spent 10 years mixing The Prodigy live, Warren recently realized he’s coming around to a different view on volume levels: “It’s more dynamic when you mix quietly. It’s not quiet—there are some bits that take off, and you say, ‘Oh, my God.’ That’s the great thing about having a big old live band—that’s what happens.”

There are some other considerations, too, for running the show a bit less loudly, he noted. “Suddenly, the age group I’m mixing for is a lot older. I don’t mean that in a bad way. I see them coming in, and I say to myself, ‘You know what? It’s probably too loud for these fellas.’” Asked to clarify whether he was referring to the audience or the band, Warren laughed. “Both! If you add up the age of the band, we’re up to about 370!”

May concurred that the volume on stage can get loud at times, and affect the FOH mix. “It goes both ways; Warren’s got far more speakers than me,” noted May. Regarding monitors, “some of the band are on wedges and seven are on ears.” The backup singers—two on each side of the stage—are on personal monitor systems this tour because of the stage layout and their need to hear clicks on backing tracks.

May aims for “clarity” in his stage mix “so [the musicians] are able to hear what they’re playing. Bryan has everything—he requires a full front-of-the-house style mix.” May uses lots of solo cues for the guitars, keyboards and saxophone. In regard to any special mixes for the band members, May says “it’s all pretty stable. The only person I have to concentrate on is Bryan.”

The Yamaha PM5D in monitor world was selected partly because of cost, and it accommodates all the Ferry band needs. “I’m using all 24 channels; it’s pretty full on,” May says.

At the FOH position, Warren was mixing on an Avid Venue D-Show console, which he’s used for the past four years for Ferry/ Roxy gigs before that for other tours. “The digital desk helps an awful lot. It has a lot of tricks—nice reverbs, plug-ins—that add up to make it sound better. It’s a great sounding board.”

When it comes to plugins, Warren generally sticks with the onboard offerings, though he’s added a few items from Waves. “I’ve got Vocal Rider, which turns the vocal up when he’s on it, and down when he’s not on it. It avoids me doing that all night, because there are four wedges around the mic—when he walks away, you can imagine the kind of spill! I also bought a nice delay from Waves because Bryan likes some crazy delays on things.”

Every engineer has his own mixing style, but Warren observed that “a great song mixes itself; a shit song, you’ll be turning things up and down from start to finish [to no avail]. I’ve found on this tour, once the band gets the arrangement, it’s easy and a joy to mix. I never get bored.” What does Warren aim for each show? “Not to have a queue of people at the desk with an opinion. You want everyone to leave happy.”

Meanwhile, Ferry seems happy himself, showing no signs of slowing down. Warren noted, “[Ferry] likes to work, so I think we’re out to the middle of 2012,” which happens to be Roxy Music’s 40th anniversary, so don’t be surprised if the troops are rounded up.

VITALstats : Bryan Ferry
Eighth Day Sound
(Highland Heights, OH)

FOH Engineer: Nick Warren
Monitor Engineer: Steve May
Monitor Tech: Gary Sylvester

FOH Console: Avid Venue D-Show
Monitor Console: Yamaha PM5D
Monitor Speakers: d&b audiotechnik
Personal Monitors: Sennheiser G2; Ultimate Ears; Westone UM2
Monitor Amplifiers: d&b audiotechnik
FOH /Plug-Ins: TC Electronic Bundle; Waves Vocal Rider, others
Microphones: Audio-Technica 4053; Shure SM58, SM57, Beta52; Sennheiser e604, e901; AKG C 451 B, C 414

Bryan Ferry married Amanda Sheppard on 4th January 2012. The simple private ceremony took place at the Amanyara resort on the Turks and Caicos Islands. The bride wore a white dress by Lanvin, and the groom a dark blue suit by Anderson & Sheppard.

PHOTO: Isaac Ferry

Bryan Ferry is proud to announce his participation in Amnesty International’s latest music project, Chimes Of Freedom: The Songs Of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International. The album project features over 80 musicians across the generational and musical spectrum who have donated their time to support Amnesty International, and is dedicated to people worldwide who are unjustly imprisoned or threatened for the peaceful expression of their beliefs.

‘Bob Dylan’s Dream’ was originally recorded by Bryan Ferry in 2006 during sessions for the Dylanesque album. The track didn’t make it onto the Dylanesque album because BF wasn’t happy with the vocal recording. When Amnesty approached in the summer, we knew that this was a good reason to finish off ‘Bob Dylan’s Dream’.

Musicians:
Piano & Keyboards – Colin Good
Guitars – Chris Spedding & Oliver Thompson
Percussion – Frank Ricotti
Vocals & Harmonica – Bryan Ferry
Violin – Gavyn Wright
Violin – Jacki Shave
Viola – Jon Thorne
Cello – Anthony Pleeth

Recorded at: Townhouse Studios & Studio One, London
Produced by: Rhett Davies & Bryan Ferry
Associate Producer : Colin Good
Mixed by: Simon Willey & Rhett Davies

You can support Amnesty International’s life-saving work by pre-ordering Chimes Of Freedom today! Please visit: http://www.amnestyusa.org/chimes.

The original version of “Bob Dylan’s Dream” can be found on the album ‘The Freewheelin’ released in 1963.

Lyrics to Bob Dylan’s Dream

While riding on a train goin’ west
I fell asleep for to take my rest
I dreamed a dream that made me sad
Concerning myself and the first few friends I had
With half-damp eyes I stared to the room
Where my friends and I spent many an afternoon
Where we together weathered many a storm
Laughin’ and singin’ till the early hours of the morn
By the old wooden stove where our hats was hung
Our words were told, our songs were sung
Where we longed for nothin’ and were quite satisfied
Talkin’ and a-jokin’ about the world outside
With haunted hearts through the heat and cold
We never thought we could ever get old
We thought we could sit forever in fun
But our chances really was a million to one
As easy it was to tell black from white
It was all that easy to tell wrong from right
And our choices were few and the thought never hit
That the one road we traveled would ever shatter and split
How many a year has passed and gone
And many a gamble has been lost and won
And many a road taken by many a friend
And each one I’ve never seen again
I wish, I wish, I wish in vain
That we could sit simply in that room again
Ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat
I’d give it all gladly if our lives could be like that

Copyright © 1963, 1964 by Warner Bros. Inc.;
renewed 1991, 1992 by Special Rider Music

BUY "Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco and Destiny" on AMAZON UK

Legendary Disco Star, producer and Guitarist Nile Rodgers has published his autobiography, and it’s storming the bet-sellers charts worldwide. While promoting his autobiography “LE FREAK” on BBC News, Nile Rodgers spoke about what inspired him to form his band, Chic.

“There were a couple of catalysts … I saw a band called Roxy Music here in London and I thought they had this completely immersive artistic experience and that was interesting to me … they looked cool, the audience looked like them … Roxy had these great covers and everything was stylised … So we dressed up in suits, called ourselves ‘Chic’ and we became a concept band, if you will.”

MORE: BBC NEWS – Meet the Author
Nile played guitar on every song from the Olympia album.

Bryan Ferry got a mention on the US hit TV show GLEE last month (Season 2, Episode 5, “The First Time” – November 2011).

Kurt is in Blaine’s bedroom, listening to “Love Is The Drug” by Roxy Music. Blaine says “…God, Roxy Music makes me want to build a time machine, just so I can go back to the 70′s and give Bryan Ferry a high-five.”

Academy Award winning film composers Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor have included a reinterpretation of Bryan Ferry’s “Is Your Love Strong Enough” in their new cinematic score for David Fincher’s “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” (2011). Together with Mariqueen Maandig Reznor on lead vocals, they make up the band How to Destroy Angels.

Get The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Soundtrack

The original version of “Is Your Love Strong Enough” was written and performed by Bryan Ferry with David Gilmour on guitar and was included in the soundtrack for Ridley Scott’s film “Legend” (1985).

“Is Your Love Strong Enough” (Ferry)

Just one step at a time
And closer to destiny
I knew at a glance
There’d always be a chance for me
With someone I could live for
Nowhere I would rather be

Is your love strong enough
Like a rock in the sea
Am I asking too much
Is your love strong enough?

Just one beat of your heart
And stranger than fantasy
I knew from the start
It had to be the place for me
Someone that I would die for
There’s no way I could ever leave

Is your love strong enough?
Just one beat of your heart
Is your love strong enough?

Just one beat of your heart
Strong enough?

“Is Your Love Strong Enough?” as written by Bryan Ferry
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing

Last week Bryan Ferry and the band were in Berlin to open ‘Bryan Ferry An Exhibition’ and perform at the Electronic Beats Festival.

The opening was on Wednesday 7th – where over 500 invited guests were treated to a preview of the exhibition.

Fans were also treated to a rare ‘in conversation’ between Bryan and his friend and ‘Roxy’ novelist Michael Bracewell. The discussion took place in the old cinema where they chatted about the origins of Roxy Music, the album artwork, and Bryan’s musical career.

Bryan Ferry – An Exhibition opening night in review

The next evening BF rejoined the band for one of the final instalments of The Olympia Tour. The concert was at Admiralspalast to a sold-out audience that witnessed the longest set of the tour … 24 songs!

Electronic Beats presents Bryan Ferry in review

The exhibition runs till the 8th January 2012 and features rare photographs from the Ferry / Roxy archives and a cinema showing live performances, documentaries and music videos.

Electronic Beats presents Bryan Ferry – An Exhibition.
December 8th 2011 – January 8th 2012, Berlin, .HBC, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 9
Doors: Free entry
Monday – Tuesday from 7pm,
Wednesday – Sunday from 2pm,
closed December 24th – 26th

PHOTOS: Grey Hutton & Roland Owsnitzki
www.greyhutton.com