When GARY NUMAN broke through in 1979 as the world’s first ever synthesizer pop star, it was not only musically that he made an impressive impact. Visually, the unsmiling, pale faced ‘Machman’ cast a striking figure. Post-punk, he unwittingly represented the fears of an alienated youth facing minimal prospects and unemployment under the spectre of ‘The Bomb’.

Now a newly released DVD entitled Machine Music : The Best of GARY NUMAN captures the one-time Mr Webb throughout his career from his early innovative promo videos right up to the present day, plus the added bonus of TV appearances and live highlights which have helped shaped the myth and occasional ridicule of GARY NUMAN. More inside>>

In her piece entitled Evergreen – Why Synth Britannia Still Rules, The Electricity Club’s Jus Forrest described the track that would become Brilliant as “a luminous construction, articulated by those previous melodic concepts that were so prominent in the past; intensified with a euphoric synth tapestry that goes some way to creating an intoxicating nostalgic touch.”

That’s pretty much spot on! But one of the main talking points about Brilliant has been Midge Ure’s voice. More inside>>

Several cities have a special place in the heart of the heart of electronic music lover; Düsseldorf, Sheffield, Berlin, but none has more resonance than Basildon. This new town in Essex was the birthplace of the world’s biggest electronic band DEPECHE MODE, as well as YAZOO and a host of related acts.

Given this remarkable musical legacy, it is surprising that Basildon has done little to celebrate its most famous sons. That is, until now…More inside>>

Following her Arrival in 2011, QUEEN OF HEARTS graces the music world with a glitzy slice of electro schaffel appropriately entitled Neon.

On first hearing this live, The Electricity Club gleefully pronounced that this managed to out Goldfrapp GOLDFRAPP. While this has the obvious hallmarks of Lady Alison’s glam stomp, Queenie adds her own cooing poptastic flavour, recalling RACHEL STEVENS’ under rated and great lost album Come & Get It. More inside>>

TEC002 with MARSHEAUX, FOTONOVELA and guest DJ RUSTY EGAN was a big success. MARSHEAUX played for 75 wonderful minutes and mixed hits from the first three albums, with emphasis on the last album Lumineux Noir  but including Computer Love, Hanging On, Dream of a Disco, Summer, Breakthrough, Exit, Radial Emotion, Stand By and So Far with three new songs from the upcoming album Inhale  to be released in July.The new songs Self Control, Inhale and Come On Now were all very well received by audience, especially the latter. More inside>>

ROBERT MARLOW’s The Peter Pan Effect is a true lost album. Recorded between 1982 to 1984, although four singles were released via his best mate Vince Clarke’s imprint Reset Records, parent label RCA declined to release the album and it did not actually see the light of day until 1999 when Swedish electronic label Energy Rekords, whose roster included VNV NATION, S.P.O.C.K. and ELEGANT MACHINERY, picked it up.

Often seen as a Vince Clarke curio recorded in the interim between YAZOO and ERASURE, the songs on The Peter Pan Effect were wholly written by Marlow with Clarke at the producer’s helm along with EC Radcliffe who worked on YAZOO’s Upstairs At Eric’s and was the ‘Eric’ of the album’s title. More inside>>

By no means a comprehensive list, here is a snapshot of electronic music from between 1990 to 1999 featuring 45 near-hits, minor hits, flops and oddities.

Not all of these were released in the UK, with many treasures emanating from other European territories in a period when the guitar returned with a vengeance through Grunge and Britpop… More inside>>

GAZELLE TWIN is the moniker of Elizabeth Walling, the Brighton based songstress whose brooding, unsettling Hauntronica has won favour with many critics and notable musicians in 2011. One in particular was JOHN FOXX who named her debut album The Entire City as his album of the year.

The appreciation resulted in GAZELLE TWIN support JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS in London and her hometown as well as several reciprocal remixes. More inside>>

The Family Jewels by the delectable MARINA & THE DIAMONDS was a great, quirkily tuneful debut with barking mad lyrics and staccato melodies fuelled by plenty of SPARKS inspired Fe-Mael Intuition.

But the Greco-Welsh songstress has since shed her wholesome brunette locks for what appears to be an ironic exploration into the world of the archetypal All-American blonde starlet with Electra Heart. “It’s an Ode to dysfunctional love,” Marina said in her press release “I based the project around character types commonly found in love stories, film and theatre, usually ones associated with power and control in love, as opposed to weakness or defeat…” More inside>>

After low key release of Shake last Autumn, LITTLE BOOTS aka Victoria Hesketh finally relaunches herself into the music spectrum with new single Every Night I Say A Prayer.

With an ELECTRIBE 101 deep house template and a topline that crosses SAINT ETIENNE with KYLIE MINOGUE, it seems the kooky synth girl persona is truly gone, now ably inherited by GRIMES. More inside>>