Connect with us

Music & Concerts

Reviving Animotion

Long-dormant ‘80s popsters reunite for fun new album

Published

on

Animotion, gay news, Washington Blade

Astrid Plane and Bill Wadhams have reunited as Animotion. (Photo courtesy Invisible Hands Music)

Los Angeles-based synthpop group Animotion became part of the fabric of ‘80s pop culture with their iconic 1984 single “Obsession.”

Built on Princely synths pulsing with electricity like something off “1999” with a touch of new wave weirdness for good measure, the infectious single reached no. 6 in the U.S. and has remained a staple of ‘80s nights the world over ever since. They weren’t quite a one-hit wonder, although they are often seen as such.

The follow-up to “Obsession,” the less immediately catchy “Let Him Go,” stalled at no. 39. The band’s second album “Strange Behavior” (1986) was a flop, with lead single “I Engineer” struggling to only no. 76. A major-lineup shift followed, including the firing of lead vocalists Astrid Plane and Bill Wadhams who were was replaced by Cynthia Rhodes, an actress and dancer known for her role in “Dirty Dancing,” and Paul Engemann. The new lineup scored one hit in 1989 with “Room to Move,” but that was it. Animotion was relegated to the dustbin of ‘80s history.

Twenty-eight years later, Animotion is back with its original vocalists and first album since its precipitous dissolution. “Raise Your Expectations,” out Jan. 20, is an apt title for a band returning from the dead after so long away, and by and large they exceed whatever expectations anybody may have had. Just hearing Astrid Plane and Bill Wadhams again on new material is a strange exercise in time travel that is a pure retro delight. First single “Last Time” is a synth-heavy melding of ‘80s sensibilities with a modern sheen. Its big melodic hook and rich layers of keyboards are at once familiar and fresh.

The rest of the album continues in much the same vein. Animotion stays grounded in its trademark sound of the past but updates it for a new millennium. “Not Your Lover” is a hard-driving synth-rocker with distorted vocals and jolts of guitar that give it an almost industrial vibe. “They Can’t Touch You” is a melodic mid-tempo gem with a sweet vocal by Wadhams. “Bad Review” dives us right back into the band’s glory days, beamed straight from their 33-year-old debut, with an energetic very-‘80s sound. The song is a wry reflection on the quick ups and down of success, a topic that Animotion is perhaps more suited to address than anyone.

“Everything” is a complete departure, a gorgeous acoustic-guitar based ballad with sublime vocal harmonies. The tempo amps back up quickly with the club-ready title track, a song that if given a chance would be a prime candidate for a series of hot remixes. “Trust Me” is a more experimental track with a vast electronic soundscape, Astrid Plane’s voice sounding just like we remember it from “Obsession” but somehow transported far into the future.

“You Love It” is another high energy dance-floor stomper, and the lovely “Surrender” is an old-school synth ballad with perhaps Plane’s finest vocal on the album. “Raise Your Expectations” closes with a dynamic re-imagining of their old hit “Let Him Go,” a futuristic hard-throbbing banger that’s injected with far more pep than the original.

No, “Raise Your Expectations” doesn’t tread any new ground, it’s not going to be on year end “best of” lists and it won’t spawn any additional Top 10 hits to add to the band’s legacy, but it doesn’t need to. “Obsession” will always ensure that Animotion holds a place in ‘80s pop lore, deservedly so. Hearing them back again with new music is an unexpected pleasure not only as an album but in what it represents: it’s never too late to start anew, take a risk and follow your drive and passion wherever it may lead. Kudos to Animotion for having the fortitude to come back strong after so many years out of public awareness.

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Music & Concerts

Here’s everything queer that just happened at the 67th Grammy Awards

LGBTQ megastars among winners, performers

Published

on

Screen grabs from Entertainment Weekly/Youtube

The 67th Grammy Awards featured debut performances by LGBTQ megastars Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Doechii — all of whom also won awards at Sunday’s awards ceremony, making the gay sons and thot daughters of the queer and trans world rejoice. 

Though Roan was the only queer artist to take home one of the “Big Four” awards — Best New Artist, Doechii, Carpenter, Charlie XCX, Billie Eilish, and Lady Gaga were also all nominated for one or more of the “Big Four.”

Carpenter, Roan, and Doechii also shocked audiences with their debut performances, showing us what it really means to be out and loud. 


Doechii

The self-proclaimed swamp princess from Florida took home a well-deserved win for Best Rap Album (“Alligator Bites Never Heal”). 

She stunned audiences with her performance and her speech, dedicating her win to Black women everywhere. Only two other women have won the award — Lauryn Hill and Cardi B since the category was introduced in 1989. 

“I know there are so many Black women out there that are watching me right now and I want to tell you: You can do it. Anything is possible,” said Doechii during her acceptance speech.  

Chappell Roan

Roan won the Best New Artist award, prompting her to whip out her notebook and deliver a speech about her struggles with the healthcare industry after getting dropped by her first record label radicalized her. 

On the carpet, she served looks on the red carpet while delivering Jean Paul Gaultier vintage realness and thanking the trans girlies who made her who she is today. 

“Trans people have always existed and they will forever exist. They will never, no matter what happens, take trans joy away and [they] have to be protected more than anything because I would not be here without trans girls,” said Roan on the red carpet. 

She also served during her debut Grammys performance, turning Crypto.com Arena into the Pink Pony Club while dedicating the performance to Los Angeles — the city that embraced her when she wanted to break into the industry. She used her acceptance speech as her opportunity to shine a light on her journey toward becoming the icon she is today — and to no one’s surprise, it didn’t come easy to her. 

Roan opened up about her struggles with healthcare and being dropped as an artist in L.A., leaving her without health coverage and scrambling for solutions. Seems like the healthcare system has radicalized yet another one. 

St. Vincent 

St. Vincent revealed that she has a wife and daughter during her acceptance speeches, thanking them after winning three Grammys for Best Alternative Music Album (“All Born Screaming”), Best Alternative Music Performance (“Flea”), and Best Rock Song (“Broken Man”). 

During her red carpet interview, reporters asked Clark about the shocking news about her mentioning her wife and daughter, she responded “Most people were [unaware]. It’s young, so we’ve kept it under wraps.” The reporter then continued his line of questioning, meanwhile intrusive thoughts quickly got ahold of Clark, prompting her to interrupt the reporter to clarify that she meant the child is young, not the person in the relationship she’s in. 

Girl, you’re good.

Sabrina Carpenter 

Though Carpenter didn’t win any of the “Big Four” categories, she did win Best Pop Vocal Album for (“Short n’ Sweet”) and Best Pop Solo Performance for (“Espresso”).

According to E!, Carpenter’s acceptance speech was apparently censored, cutting her off after she said: “Thank you, holy sh*t, bye!”

The pop star was nominated for Record of the Year (“Espresso”), Song of the Year (“Please, Please, Please”), Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album (“Short n’ Sweet”), Album of the Year (“Short n’ Sweet”), Best Remixed Recording (“Espresso – Mark Ronson x FNZ Working Late Remix”), Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (“Short n’ Sweet”) — all within her first year as a record-releasing musician. 

Charli XCX

Charlie XCX truly brought the brat energy to the Grammys with her performance of (“Van Dutch”), also taking home the wins for Best Dance/Pop Recording for (“Van Dutch”) and Best Dance/Electronic Album for (“Brat”). 

Lady Gaga 

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance went to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. Gaga used her acceptance speech to advocate for trans people stating that we all need love and to be uplifted.

“Trans people are not invisible. Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love. Thank you,” said Gaga.

No, thank you mother. 

Last, but not least

It is also worth noting that our tried and true ally, Alicia Keys used her moment on the Grammys stage to advocate for the restoration of DEI initiatives. 

“This is not the time to shut down the diversity of voices,” said Keys. “We’ve seen on this stage talented, hard-working people from different backgrounds, with different points of view, and it changes the game. DEI is not a threat, it’s a gift — and the more voices, the more powerful the sound.”

Continue Reading

Music & Concerts

Gay Men’s Chorus starting the year with a cabaret

‘Postcards’ to be performed at CAMP Rehoboth

Published

on

The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington performs 'Postcards' in Rehoboth Beach, Del. on Jan. 18. (Photos courtesy of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington)

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington will perform “Postcards,” a cabaret, on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 5:00p.m. and 8:00p.m. at CAMP Rehoboth Elkins-Archibald Atrium. 

In this performance, the choir will share hilarious and heart-warming stories and songs about the travel adventures they’ve had and hope to have. Songs include “Midnight Train to Georgia,” “Streets of Dublin,” “Magic To Do,” “Home,” and “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” Tickets cost $35 and can be purchased on Camp Rehoboth’s website.

Continue Reading

Music & Concerts

WMC’s ‘Comfort and Joy’ fuses drama, well-being, light

Soloist describes production as ‘reverent and beautiful’

Published

on

Opal Clyburn-Miller (Photo courtesy Clyburn-Miller)

‘Comfort and Joy’
Washington Master Chorale
Sunday, Dec. 22, 5 p.m.
Church of the Epiphany
1317 G St., N.W.
washingtonmasterchorale.org

With its warmth and unfettered imagination, it’s no surprise that the Washington Master Chorale’s enduringly popular winter program remains a holiday favorite. 

This December the Washington Master Chorale (WMC), helmed by out artistic director Thomas Colohan presents “Comfort and Joy” a selection of British and American works like “Lute-Book Lullaby,” “I Saw Three Ships,” “Puer Natus” by Samuel Scheidt and “Hosanna to the Son of David” by Orlando Gibbons. 

In addition to these Christmas classics, WMC will perform 2022 Florence Price Commission Winner Mason Bynes’s “Ephiphanytide” and Ēriks Ešenvalds’ “Northern Lights,” the firsthand accounts of arctic explorers Charles Francis Hall and Fridtjof Nansen and their experiences surrounding the fabled aurora borealis.

Described as “reverent and beautiful” by “Northern Lights” tenor soloist Opal Clyburn-Miller, “Comfort and Joy” fuses drama and well-being, and the import of light. 

And as an artist who uses they/them pronouns, Clyburn-Miller says where classical music is concerned, “it seems people are put in their boxes and that’s where they stay.” They add, “there’s been some progress. It’s pretty much a traditional art form.” 

With regard to their career, Clyburn-Miller, the Baltimore based Peabody Conservatory student, says the work usually comes through word of mouth: “You show up, you’re a good colleague and people want to work with you again.”

The solo piece, according to Colohan, is perfect for Clyburn-Miller. The soloist says in response: “Maybe I have the imagination to think of what Northern Lights might look like in Eastern Europe. I’ve never been that far north but I can put myself in that sense of wonder and astonishment.”

But the gig hasn’t been entirely without its tests. The lyrics are in Latvian, a new language for the meticulous singer.

“It’s been a bit tricky getting the Latvian down,” they say. “Usually in my singing experience, it’s been German, Italian and French, and I’m familiar with Spanish and some Hungarian and Russian, but this is entirely new.”

A perfect chorale venue requires easy parking; good acoustics; a concert level Steinway, and an excellent organ; a sanctuary wide enough to accommodate a 50-person chorale; and audience friendly loos, says Colohan. 

The Church of Epiphany meets most if not all of these requirements.  

Raised Catholic in Richmond, Colohan came out at Ohio’s progressive Oberlin Conservatory. Around this time, he remembers visiting Washington for a music educator’s conference and partying at JR.’s, Badlands, and other bars. He says, “I saw that D.C. had a huge population of clean-cut gay boys. That journey which started with me being gay, prompted me to ask questions.” 

As WMC artistic director since 2009, Colohan, who lives with his partner in Silver Spring, became increasingly interested in secular poetry and literature, especially the ways in which it intersects with chorale music. For him, that became the heart of the art form. 

“My secular approach is wider than some. I’m like the curator of the museum going down to the basement to bring some stuff up. You cannot hear the music if we don’t sing it.”

He’s remained conservative as an aesthetic but not an ethos. “I can wear a blazer and not be crazy right wing. Spiritually speaking, I’m Zen Buddhist now.”

A lot of the concert is about darkness and light. Colohan says, “In ancient times when the world became darker, the days leading to the solstice were scary and then on the 22nd they saw that days were getting longer and it was lighter.”

“Comfort and Joy” closes with a candle lit chorale memorably singing “Silent Night.”  

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Sign Up for Weekly E-Blast

Follow Us @washblade

Advertisement

Popular