The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for music .(June 2022) |
Atlantic Popes | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Berlin / Düsseldorf, Germany |
Genres | Synth-pop, electrowave, new wave |
Years active | 1989–present |
Members | Max Holler Bernhard Lloyd |
Website | atlanticpopes.com |
Atlantic Popes are a virtual music project by Bernhard Lloyd, co-founder and long-time member of the German synth-pop band Alphaville, and singer Max Holler.
The duo produces electropop with a big variety of styles and soundscapes.
In relation to the band's name, "Atlantic" refers to the southwest of France, where the duo wrote most of the songs on their first album. "Popes" is meant jokingly. According to Lloyd, both musicians liked the idea that everyone is a Pope and that "Popes" has the word "pop" in it. [1]
Holler and Lloyd met for the first time in Berlin in 1989. Holler was looking for a producer for his project "Echo Romeo" and Lloyd was somehow in the mood for adventure and a new musical challenge. He liked Holler's voice and singing as well as his songs.
After joining forces, they took some time off to work on the project on the southwest coast of France. After the creation phase in France, the first album was recorded at the LunaPark Studio in Berlin and later finished in Lloyd's home studio. At the end of the 1990s, they then gave their music project its name, Atlantic Popes. The first album entitled Atlantic Popes was released on 4 January 2001 and contains 14 songs, including "Love" and "Ice", also in a French version. [2] Marian Gold, the singer of Alphaville, contributed backing vocals on the song "Games". For each song on the album, the band produced short comic animation videos. [3]
In 2001, Atlantic Popes were invited to participate on the tribute album True Faith: A Tribute to New Order . Since they could choose the song, the band produced a cover of "Ceremony", a song released shortly after Ian Curtis' death and which Bernhard Lloyd particularly likes.
This was followed by an almost 20-year break from publishing, during which the duo remained in friendly and creative contact without interruption. Many demo versions of songs were written during this time. [4]
In May 2020, the duo returned with the song "Hold On". [5]
Since then, the duo have been releasing new songs at regular intervals and have been active on various social media channels. Their second album is currently in the works.
In 2021, Dream Image covered the Atlantic Popes song "Clouds and Years". [6]
Erasure are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a member of synth-pop duo Yazoo. From their fourth single, "Sometimes" (1986), Erasure established themselves on the UK Singles Chart, becoming one of the most successful acts of the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. From 1986 to 2007, the pair achieved 24 consecutive top-40 entries in the UK singles chart. By 2009, 34 of their 37 chart-eligible singles and EPs had made the UK top 40, including 17 climbing into the top 10. At the 1989 Brit Awards, Erasure won the Brit Award for Best British Group.
Vincent John Martin, known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously the main songwriter for several groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and the Assembly. In Erasure, he is known for his deadpan and low-key onstage demeanour, often remaining motionless over his keyboard, in sharp contrast to lead vocalist Andy Bell's animated and hyperactive frontman antics.
Alphaville is a German synth-pop band formed in Münster in 1982. They gained popularity in the 1980s. The group was founded by singers Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd, and Frank Mertens. They achieved chart success with the singles "Forever Young", "Big in Japan", "Sounds Like a Melody", "The Jet Set", and "Dance with Me". Gold remains the only continuous original member of Alphaville. They took their name from Jean-Luc Godard's film Alphaville.
Forever Young is the debut studio album by German synth-pop band Alphaville. It was released on 27 September 1984 by Warner Music Group. Four singles supported the album: "Big in Japan", "Sounds Like a Melody", "Forever Young", and "Jet Set". The album charted well, hitting the top 20 in six European countries and reaching number 1 in Norway and Sweden. Alphaville followed up with their second album in 1986 with the release of Afternoons in Utopia.
Marian Gold is a German singer-songwriter who gained fame as the lead singer of the German synth-pop band Alphaville, but also has recorded as a solo artist. He is known for his tenor multi-octave vocal range.
"Stripped" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released as the lead single from their fifth studio album Black Celebration (1986) on 10 February 1986, through Mute Records. Written by the band's lead songwriter Martin Gore, "Stripped" introduces the more dark and sample oriented composition that featured on the Black Celebration album. It incorporates various samples into its instrumental; most notably, the sound of an idling motorcycle engine was recorded, altered slightly, and inserted as a percussive element.
Alan Charles Wilder is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer and member of the electronic band Depeche Mode from 1982 to 1995. After his departure from the band, the musical project Recoil became his primary musical enterprise, which initially started as a side project to Depeche Mode in 1986. Wilder has also provided production and remixing services to the bands Nitzer Ebb and Curve. In 2020, Wilder was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Depeche Mode. He is a classically trained musician.
Salvation is the fifth album by German synth-pop band Alphaville and was released in 1997. Three tracks from the album were released as singles: "Wishful Thinking", "Flame", and "Soul Messiah". However, none of them charted on the German single charts. It is the last album at the Warner/metropolis label. It was also the last album with Bernhard Lloyd, who left the band in 2003.
"Everything Counts" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode from their third studio album, Construction Time Again (1983). A live version of the song was released in 1989 to support the band's live album 101. The original single reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart, whereas the live version reached No. 22.
"A Question of Time" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 11 August 1986 in the UK as the third and final single from their fifth studio album, Black Celebration, following the similarly titled "A Question of Lust".
"Never Let Me Down Again" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released as the second single from their sixth studio album, Music for the Masses (1987), on 24 August 1987. It reached No. 22 in the UK, No. 2 in West Germany, and the top-10 in several other European countries such as Sweden and Switzerland, topping the Danish charts. In the US, it entered the Billboard Hot 100. The cover art features fragments of a Soviet map of Russia and Europe, with different fragments used for the different editions of the single.
For the Masses is a 1998 tribute album to the British band Depeche Mode, specifically the works of Martin Gore. The album charted in America and reached the Top 20 in Germany, making it the most successful Depeche Mode tribute album of all time. The album title is taken from Depeche Mode's 1987 album Music for the Masses. The album cover was photographed by Martyn Atkins who shot and designed early Depeche Mode artwork; the whole album artwork is consistent with the past Depeche Mode albums.
The Breathtaking Blue is the third album by German synth-pop band Alphaville, released in April 1989. A companion video, Songlines, was released in September 1989. The CD release of this album was one of the first commercial CD+G format discs. Alphaville released three singles from the album, "Romeos", "Summer Rain" and "Mysteries of Love", the first of which charted internationally.
Afternoons in Utopia is the second album by German synth-pop band Alphaville, released in 1986 via Warner Music. The album was recorded between September 1985 and May 1986.
"Forever Young" is a song by German synth-pop band Alphaville from their first album Forever Young (1984). The single was successful in Scandinavia and in the European German-speaking countries in the same year.
Songlines is a video released by the German band Alphaville in 1989, created during the production of Alphaville's 1989 album The Breathtaking Blue.
Nedelle Torrisi is an American musician who lives in Brooklyn, New York.
"Big in Japan" is the debut single of German synth-pop band Alphaville, from their 1984 album Forever Young.
Sebastian R. Komor is a Polish-born, Norwegian-raised electronic musician, best known for his collaborative work in Icon of Coil and Zombie Girl. A prolific artist, Komor has also released electronic music under a variety of solo projects and aliases since the late 1990s.
Bernhard Lloyd is a former member and co-founder of the German synth-pop band Alphaville.