Marsheaux
Encyclopedia
Marsheaux is a Greek
synthpop
duo formed in Athens
in 2003. The group is composed of vocalists, songwriter
s and keyboardist
s Marianthi Melitsi and Sophie Sarigiannidou. The name Marsheaux is derived from the first syllable of each band member's name. Both members sing almost exclusively in English
. Andy McCluskey
of OMD
said about this band: "I do have a soft spot for Marsheaux I have to say. They have a certain sort of wispy, melancholic charm".
, Greece
. In 2000, they moved to Athens
and founded Marsheaux in 2003 to further their appreciation of electronic pop music.
Marsheaux came to national prominence in Greece with their debut single, a cover of Gershon Kingsley
's "Popcorn
". The single received extensive air play in Greece and mainland Europe
. They continued to gain international recognition for their remixes of "Will I Ever" by In Vox.
Now signed to Undo Records, Marsheaux released their debut album E-Bay Queen in June 2004. The album played heavily on Marsheaux's stated influences of The Human League
, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
, New Order
, Yazoo
and Depeche Mode
. E-Bay Queen was critically well received internationally.
In December 2006, Undo Records released Sophie and Marianthi's follow up album Peekaboo
. The album included two covers, "Regret" by New Order
and "The Promise" by When In Rome
. The site Electronically Yours rated it "Album of the Year 2007". The single "Hanging On" was released in 2007.
As well as recording original material, Marsheaux also remixed existing tracks of artists such as Moby
, Depeche Mode
, Sakis Rouvas
, Gwen Stefani
or Hurts
. In 2008, Marsheaux featured to the remix of the song "She's Leaving" by OMD
. They also issued the limited 7" vinyl "Ghost", which included the B-side "Bizarre Love Duo".
In July 2009, the band released their the third album, Lumineux Noir
at Undo Records/Out of Line. The album was issued in two versions: the Standard edition with 13 tracks and the Limited edition, including a bonus disc with remixes and a new song. According to the Side-Line
magazine, it did not "bring an evolution in sound, but shows a growing maturity in song writing and production". It is reminiscent of 1980s synthpop with tracks that have been compared to Ladytron
, The Chemical Brothers
and Client
. Two singles supported the album: "Breakthrough" and "Summer".
In May 2011, Marsheaux released a new song, "Can You Stop Me?".
, Pluswelt, Amphi
and Exit
. The duo also have played support slots for OMD
and Róisín Murphy
in Greece
, and Client
in Germany
. Both band members have regular guest DJ slots in clubs in Athens
.
, Minimoog
, Roland SH101
, Speak & Math
and Yamaha CS01. Sophie plays Microkorg
, Korg MS-10
, Roland Alpha Juno
2, Akai AX80
, and Roland CR-78
.
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
duo formed in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
in 2003. The group is composed of vocalists, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
s and keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
s Marianthi Melitsi and Sophie Sarigiannidou. The name Marsheaux is derived from the first syllable of each band member's name. Both members sing almost exclusively in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Andy McCluskey
Andy McCluskey
George Andrew "Andy" McCluskey is the lead singer, bass guitarist, and primary songwriter for the band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark ....
of OMD
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
said about this band: "I do have a soft spot for Marsheaux I have to say. They have a certain sort of wispy, melancholic charm".
History
Marianthi Melitsi and Sophie Sarigiannidou were born in ThessalonikiThessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. In 2000, they moved to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and founded Marsheaux in 2003 to further their appreciation of electronic pop music.
Marsheaux came to national prominence in Greece with their debut single, a cover of Gershon Kingsley
Gershon Kingsley
Gershon Kingsley a contemporary German American composer, is well known as a pioneer of electronic music and the Moog synthesizer and founder of the First Moog Quartet, as a partner in the famous electronic music duo Perrey and Kingsley, and for his rock-inspired compositions for Jewish religious...
's "Popcorn
Popcorn (instrumental)
"Popcorn" is an early electronic pop instrumental, originally composed by Gershon Kingsley in 1969 on his album Music to Moog By. The same year this tune was released and recorded at Audio Fidelity Records label in New York City....
". The single received extensive air play in Greece and mainland Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. They continued to gain international recognition for their remixes of "Will I Ever" by In Vox.
Now signed to Undo Records, Marsheaux released their debut album E-Bay Queen in June 2004. The album played heavily on Marsheaux's stated influences of The Human League
The Human League
The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...
, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
, New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
, Yazoo
Yazoo
Yazoo may mean:*Yazoo tribe, a Native American people who lived in Mississippi*Yazoo *Yazoo River, in the state of Mississippi*Yazoo stream, a type of floodplain tributary...
and Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
. E-Bay Queen was critically well received internationally.
In December 2006, Undo Records released Sophie and Marianthi's follow up album Peekaboo
Peekaboo (album)
Peekaboo is the second studio album of the synthpop duo Marsheaux. It was issued in 2006 by Undo Records.Upon its release in Marsheaux's native Greece in December 2006, it earned positive reviews from music critics. The album was formally released in the UK on 9 April 2007...
. The album included two covers, "Regret" by New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
and "The Promise" by When In Rome
When in Rome (band)
When in Rome are an English New Wave trio, originally consisting of vocalists Clive Farrington and Andrew Mann, and keyboards player Michael Floreale. They are best known for their 1988 single, "The Promise".-History:...
. The site Electronically Yours rated it "Album of the Year 2007". The single "Hanging On" was released in 2007.
As well as recording original material, Marsheaux also remixed existing tracks of artists such as Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, Sakis Rouvas
Sakis Rouvas
Anastasios "Sakis" Rouvas II , often referred to mononymously as Sakis, is a Greek musician, television and film artist, businessman, and former pole vaulter who is one of the most successful and influential entertainers of all time in Greece and Cyprus...
, Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...
or Hurts
Hurts
Hurts are a British synthpop duo formed in 2009, consisting of singer Theo Hutchcraft and synthesist Adam Anderson . Their debut album Happiness, which was released in September 2010, has reached the Top 10 in 12 European countries, and has sold over 800,000 copies worldwide...
. In 2008, Marsheaux featured to the remix of the song "She's Leaving" by OMD
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
. They also issued the limited 7" vinyl "Ghost", which included the B-side "Bizarre Love Duo".
In July 2009, the band released their the third album, Lumineux Noir
Lumineux Noir
-Limited edition:This double disc was only produced with a limitation of 1,000 copies, and only available via the Out Of Line music label.-External links:* *...
at Undo Records/Out of Line. The album was issued in two versions: the Standard edition with 13 tracks and the Limited edition, including a bonus disc with remixes and a new song. According to the Side-Line
Side-Line
Side-Line is an online music magazine specialising in electronic music, and electro-goth/industrial in particular. It was founded in 1989 as a print publication, and had a circulation of 6,000 in Europe and America...
magazine, it did not "bring an evolution in sound, but shows a growing maturity in song writing and production". It is reminiscent of 1980s synthpop with tracks that have been compared to Ladytron
Ladytron
Ladytron are an English electronic band formed in 1999 in Liverpool, Merseyside. The group consists of Helen Marnie , Mira Aroyo , Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu .Their sound blends electropop with New Wave and shoegazing elements. Ladytron described their sound as "electronic pop"...
, The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
and Client
Client (band)
Client are an English electronic musical group from London. They are most popular in Germany where they have had limited commercial success...
. Two singles supported the album: "Breakthrough" and "Summer".
In May 2011, Marsheaux released a new song, "Can You Stop Me?".
Touring
Marsheaux performed live at various festivals including InfestInfest (festival)
Infest is an annual three day music festival held at the University of Bradford Union in the United Kingdom, featuring alternative electronic music acts from genres including industrial, EBM, futurepop, synthpop and power noise...
, Pluswelt, Amphi
Amphi Festival
The Amphi Festival is a music festival that has been taking place since 2005 featuring a wide-ranging program for a heterogeneous audience, albeit primarily fans of alternative, electronic music, and dark music...
and Exit
EXIT (festival)
Exit is an annual summer music festival in the Petrovaradin Fortress of Novi Sad, Serbia. It is staged annually since 2000 and usually lasts four days ....
. The duo also have played support slots for OMD
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
and Róisín Murphy
Róisín Murphy
Róisín Marie Murphy is an Irish singer-songwriter and record producer, known for her electronic style.Murphy first came to note as part of the electronic music duo Moloko. Her partner in the band was then-boyfriend Mark Brydon. After the two ended their romantic relationship, Murphy released her...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, and Client
Client (band)
Client are an English electronic musical group from London. They are most popular in Germany where they have had limited commercial success...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Both band members have regular guest DJ slots in clubs in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
.
Equipment
As well as being vocalists, both musicians are skilled multi-instrumentalists. Marianthi plays MicrokorgMicroKORG
The microKORG is a MIDI-capable virtual analog synthesizer/vocoder from Korg featuring high-quality DSP analog modelling. The synth/keyboard is built in such a way that it is essentially a Korg MS-2000 with programmable step arpeggiator , a less advanced vocoder , lack of motion sequencing The...
, Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
, Roland SH101
Roland SH-101
Roland SH-101 is a synthesizer from the early 1980s, manufactured by Roland. It is a small, 32 key, monophonic analog synthesizer. It features one oscillator with 3 simultaneous waveforms, an 'octave-divided' square sub-oscillator, triangle and square/pwm waveform. It has a low-pass filter/VCF...
, Speak & Math
Speak & Math
The Speak & Math was a popular and revolutionary electronic toy created by Texas Instruments in 1980. Speak & Math was one of a three-part talking educational toy series that also included Speak & Spell and Speak & Read...
and Yamaha CS01. Sophie plays Microkorg
MicroKORG
The microKORG is a MIDI-capable virtual analog synthesizer/vocoder from Korg featuring high-quality DSP analog modelling. The synth/keyboard is built in such a way that it is essentially a Korg MS-2000 with programmable step arpeggiator , a less advanced vocoder , lack of motion sequencing The...
, Korg MS-10
Korg MS-10
Korg MS-10 is an analogue synthesizer created by Korg in the mid to late 1970s. Unlike its bigger brother , the MS-10 only has one VCO per voice.The MS-10 is well known for its huge sounding electro bass sounds....
, Roland Alpha Juno
Roland Alpha Juno
The Roland Alpha Juno series of keyboards were analog polyphonic synthesizers with digitally controlled oscillators manufactured by Roland Corporation in 1985....
2, Akai AX80
AX80
The AX80 is a polyphonic analogue keyboard synthesizer manufactured by Akai Professional in the mid-1980s. It was Akai's first venture into the professional electronic musical instrument market. The AX80 used digitally controlled analogue oscillators and filter circuitry based on the Curtis...
, and Roland CR-78
Roland CR-78
The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a drum machine launched in 1978. Although primitive by today's standards, the CR-78 represented an important advance in drum machine technology at the time...
.
Studio albums
- E-Bay Queen (2004)
- PeekabooPeekaboo (album)Peekaboo is the second studio album of the synthpop duo Marsheaux. It was issued in 2006 by Undo Records.Upon its release in Marsheaux's native Greece in December 2006, it earned positive reviews from music critics. The album was formally released in the UK on 9 April 2007...
(2006) - Lumineux NoirLumineux Noir-Limited edition:This double disc was only produced with a limitation of 1,000 copies, and only available via the Out Of Line music label.-External links:* *...
(2009)
Singles
- "PopcornPopcorn (instrumental)"Popcorn" is an early electronic pop instrumental, originally composed by Gershon Kingsley in 1969 on his album Music to Moog By. The same year this tune was released and recorded at Audio Fidelity Records label in New York City....
" (Undo Records, 2003) - "Hanging On" (Undo Records, 2007)
- "Ghost" (limited 7", Undo Records, 2008)
- "Breakthrough" (Undo Records, 2009)
- "Summer" (Out of Line, 2009)
Other releases
- 2005 – "New Life" by Depeche ModeDepeche ModeDepeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
covered on the tribute compilation album Around the World and Back: A Greek Tribute To Depeche Mode, released 21 March 2005 on Undo Records. - 2007 – "Empire State HumanEmpire State Human"Empire State Human" is a song by the British Synthesizer group The Human League. The song was written by Philip Oakey, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh...
" covered and released 4 March 2007 as a free download to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of The Human LeagueThe Human LeagueThe Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...
. - 2007 – Remix of the song "A Dark City's Night" from the German synthpopSynthpopSynthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
duo Portash (located on Portash's album Framed Lives). - 2007 – Remix of the song "It's Not Over" from the British electropop group ClientClient (band)Client are an English electronic musical group from London. They are most popular in Germany where they have had limited commercial success...
. - 2008 – Remix of the song "Perfect Girl" from the British electropop group The Ultrasonics, released 25 August 2008.