It has already been announced at the start of their latest venture that METROLAND would release a 2nd single bringing renewed attention to their concept album “Men In A Frame”. An album where photography got all the focus due to a unique collaboration with 5 professional photographers who triggered every little detail of the album, both aurally and art wise.
“Memorabilia” serves as an obvious link to the aforementioned concept, with a little wink to 80’s cult, showcasing the darker club side from both Passengers. Just like with the former single “Man In A Frame”, the main track here is once more exclusive and not even taken from the album itself, deserving to be in the spotlight on its own while still connecting the dots with the overall album concept… The single B-side is called “Sunwriting”, not just any random title, but a reference to the very first process of modern photography executed by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in the 19th century by means of a heliograph, reminding us again of the in-depth study of METROLAND when exploring their musical concepts.
Last but not least, METROLAND on their turn expanded “Memorabilia” into a “Souvenir Mix”, following their renown 80s’ style of extending their songs.
This “Memorabilia” single also comes out as a “remixes” alternative edition.
This exclusive compilation album can normally only be purchased during special “METROLAND” expositions where attendants can experience how it is to look and listen to an image at the same time. These expositions are aptly called ‘Pictures To Listen To’.
In order to give a chance for die hard collectors to get their hands on this precious gem bound to become one of the most sought after METROLAND releases, the Belgian duo accepted giving us a very limited quantity of these carton sleeve CD’s for our own e-shop.
METROLAND is one of the very few bands who carry out the trademark of creating conceptual albums. For their newest album ‘Men In A Frame’, METROLAND collaborated with 5 professional photographers of a cooperative named F-8 (pronounced as Faith).
TRACK-LISTING
01. Pictures To Listen To 02. The Passenger 03. Cube (Small) 04. F-8 05. Theme For Metroland (7inch Remix) 06. Quo Vadis 07. Thalys (London Edit) 08. 3 Directors 09. Enjoying The View (7inch Version) 10. Ikone Der Moderne 11. Synthetic Sound (Alternate 7inch) 12. Zeppelin 13. Shades Of Pale 14. Utopia 15. Man In A Frame (Re-framed) 16. Mind The Gap
For this occasion METROLAND created a unique compilation for attendants so they can get acquainted with their synthetic works. This 16-track compilation entitled ‘Pictures To Listen To’ contains songs from the solid back catalogue that METROLAND has been building on over the past 5 years and comes with fitting artwork related to the ‘Men In A Frame’ album.
Next to cult songs like ‘The Passenger’, ‘Zeppelin’, ‘Mind The Gap’ or ‘Thalys’, this compilation holds several tracks that did not yet appear on any sort of physical carrier.
The most remarkable about this release is the exclusive theme song that METROLAND have created for their ’Pictures To Listen To’ expositions.
Belgium’s very own vintage synth duo METROLAND is one of the very few bands that maintain a huge focus on delivering fully conceptual albums, both in art and music. Their loyal and continuously growing fan base already warmly embraced 3 highly appreciated themed albums (‘Mind The Gap’ – 2012, ‘Triadic Ballet’ – 2015 and ‘Things Will Never Sound The Same Again’ – 2016) and a massive 4cd best of box (’12×12′ – 2017). Today “Men In A Frame”, their brand new studio album, glorifies the 4th concept by the Belgian synthesizer duo: photography.
Faithfull as ever to their well-known typical soundscapes, METROLAND this time joined forces with 5 Belgian professional photographers from an art collective called F-8 (pronounced as ‘Faith’). Each one of the F-8 photographers carefully relinquished 2 unique pictures including apt titles. Consequentially, METROLAND unleashed their machines to translate these images into their trademark electronics. The result is an almost filmic soundscape, filled with layered sequences and samples of all kinds, standing side-by-side with vintage electronic rhythms, making the whole a truly visual aural experience like never before.
With the ‘Men In A Frame’ album, METROLAND presents the illusory first-ever concept of “Pictures To Listen To”. You have to see and hear it to believe it! What you see is what you hear…
2018 marks the start for METROLAND with a new album, ergo a new unseen concept and thus a first new single, called “Man In A Frame”. “Man In A Frame” is a cold, synthetic song, holding an untypical blend of sampled voices and minimal vocals, set on tight sequenced electronics.
This first single is not taken from the new album, as one would suspect from former albums, but it is a very profound push towards the yet secret content of the new concept.
As 2nd track (what used to be called a b-side), METROLAND offers “F8”, which also is a link to the yet unrevealed new theme. Robotic voices over a nervous rhythm section with a load of dreamy strings will guide you through the song.
A 2 track download “Man In A Frame” single comes out holding both the original versions.
Next to that METROLAND delivers an extra download set of remixes. This 3-track release offers an extended version of the main title in METROLAND’s typical interpretation of an 80’s style version (as they formerly showed on the “12×12” 4CD release). In addition to this, METROLAND offers a remix of both songs, notably retouched by the bands “The Frixion” and “Maschine Brennt”.
“Man In A Frame” and “F-8” pave the future path for the filmic new set of songs coming your way on the new album.
2018 marks the start for METROLAND with a new album, ergo a new unseen concept and thus a first new single, called “Man In A Frame”. “Man In A Frame” is a cold, synthetic song, holding an untypical blend of sampled voices and minimal vocals, set on tight sequenced electronics.
This first single is not taken from the new album, as one would suspect from former albums, but it is a very profound push towards the yet secret content of the new concept.
As 2nd track (what used to be called a b-side), METROLAND offers “F8”, which also is a link to the yet unrevealed new theme. Robotic voices over a nervous rhythm section with a load of dreamy strings will guide you through the song.
A 2 track download “Man In A Frame” single comes out holding both the original versions.
Next to that METROLAND delivers an extra download set of remixes. This 3-track release offers an extended version of the main title in METROLAND’s typical interpretation of an 80’s style version (as they formerly showed on the “12×12” 4CD release). In addition to this, METROLAND offers a remix of both songs, notably retouched by the bands “The Frixion” and “Maschine Brennt”.
“Man In A Frame” and “F-8” pave the future path for the filmic new set of songs coming your way on the new album.
In 2012 METROLAND appeared as a fresh new band to the electronic scene with no demo history at all. Quite rapidly they became a steady player gaining more and more attention by magazines and radio stations, supporting and remixing larger bands, aided by their tight concept driven electronic releases.
Today, METROLAND invites everyone to enjoy their fascinating ride again, spanning over a period of 5 years, with the release of a conceptual 4CD compilation box entitled “12×12”, containing over 250 minutes of rare and previously unreleased songs, mixes or versions.
The “12×12”-box mainly contains tracks that were never released on physical format before, next to a plethora of unreleased tracks. All 12 releases, including their newest single “Cube”, are presented by conceptual artwork. A card per release contains photographs and the story behind each single song.
Three CD’s take you on a journey through METROLAND’s 12 extended versions (12×12), all the 12 b-sides (12+12) and last but not least METROLAND’s 12 single versions (12<>12). As a cherry on the cake, METROLAND took a dive into their electronic vaults and present a 4th limited bonus CD containing demos, hard to find or unreleased remixes, and yes, even never released songs…
This box is a wonderful opportunity to get an overview of the wide spanning collection of music signed by METROLAND’s seal of quality, a pure Belgian electronic product, who managed to establish their vintage electronic trademark sound in no time and which also brought them unmistakable comparisons with keyboard pioneers like KRAFTWERK or yet TELEX.
“12×12”by METROLAND is absolutely the perfect opportunity to relive their journey so far and to get ready for their next trips.
“Cube” is already the 12th special momentum in METROLAND’s prolific career. This new 5-track EP marks another milestone in the Belgian band’s repertoire, making the junction between the “Triadic Ballet” era’s closure and the forthcoming “12×12” conceptual anniversary box.
Throughout the last 5 years, METROLAND managed to build their own identity, release after release. And this new 5-track EP “Cube” reinforces this once more. And although METROLAND definitely have established their very own signature sound, they have also always continued challenging themselves, redefining their sonic palette to get it best fitting each new original concept and musical direction while steadily surprising their growing fanbase again and again.
Well, “Cube” is probably the best example for this, being the most atypical and “out of the ordinary” song for a METROLAND single! It features unconventional rhythm patterns moving onto a complex and dynamic melodic set of exotic electronic sequences bathing in wobbly acid bass lines. And its B-side “Led Me Think” is even weirder and more experimental with its strange mixture of bizarre rhythms and retro technological bleeps.
These songs also got the remix treatment by Belgian dance act CARAT ROUGE, Swedish (or should we say Düsseldorf?) act KRETZ and French techno basher MILLIMETRIC.
“Cube” is different, out-of-the-ordinary and an unexpected twist for METROLAND, setting new boundaries and new ventures for many years to come…
“Brother” is the third and final single from “Things Will Never Sound The Same Again”, the album that METROLAND created solely as an In Memoriam for their sadly departed friend, sound engineer and Passenger: Louis Zachert who passed away exactly 1 year ago.
For this new release, METROLAND reached out to their fan base and fellow artists with a remix competition, giving them a chance to use music as their personal message. The immense feedback resulted in METROLAND having a difficult time choosing between all the entered remixed versions.
The outcome offers you 7 superb and very emotional remixes spread across 2 separate EP’s, each remix created to pay homage and to honor the beloved Passenger L. within a range of dark sounding versions to rock solid 80’s vintage sounds.
Next to those remixes, Metroland recreated and reworked “Brother” in 2 new versions and a brand new song, called “See You”, another moment for METROLAND to properly say goodbye to their friend, secretly hoping to see him again. Just like “Brother”, “See you” holds revamped samples from one of the bands that Louis regarded as ‘brilliant’…
“Brother” is the third and final single from “Things Will Never Sound The Same Again”, the album that METROLAND created solely as an In Memoriam for their sadly departed friend, sound engineer and Passenger: Louis Zachert who passed away exactly 1 year ago.
For this new release, METROLAND reached out to their fan base and fellow artists with a remix competition, giving them a chance to use music as their personal message. The immense feedback resulted in METROLAND having a difficult time choosing between all the entered remixed versions.
The outcome offers you 7 superb and very emotional remixes spread across 2 separate EP’s, each remix created to pay homage and to honor the beloved Passenger L. within a range of dark sounding versions to rock solid 80’s vintage sounds.
Next to those remixes, Metroland recreated and reworked “Brother” in 2 new versions and a brand new song, called “See You”, another moment for METROLAND to properly say goodbye to their friend, secretly hoping to see him again. Just like “Brother”, “See you” holds revamped samples from one of the bands that Louis regarded as ‘brilliant’…
METROLAND delivered a musical testimonial for their lost friend Louis Zachert (Passenger L) by releasing their album ‘Things Will Never Sound The Same Again’. This unique product contains songs that are all related to their friendship.
Where the first single ‘Under The Roof’ was named after the recording studio where they spent loads of time together, their new single ‘Synthetic Sound’ is about their common deep love for synthetic music and sound. Bits, bytes, keys, synthetic sounds and mega-hertz are clearly present on this release. METROLAND deliberately opted to remix all the versions themselves, in order to contain the true spirit of their synthetic sound. Passenger S unleashed some electroclash on the ‘7inch’ and ‘12inch Alternate’ version.
“Synthetic Sound” is again a release, submerged in the typical METROLAND style with hypnotic and melodic sequences, vibrating bass lines and pulsating rhythms paying homage to a great friend.
This single is released here in an alternative “remixes” version.
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