Released: September 23
Alphaville delve into their synth-pop history for an album of newly orchestrated recordings of their best-loved singles and fan-favourite releases from across their career.
Although the group’s UK success stalled following the release of their debut single Big In Japan – sans the No. 98 single Forever Young – across Europe it was a different story, with the group enjoying hits throughout the decade and beyond.
The reason for the snub? “It was clear to me from the start that Alphaville music is not of the present day, not of our world,” says Marian Gold, who remains the group’s sole member.
“I have always sought to paraphrase it, saying: Our songs are like dreams, our music is dream music. It’s no accident that the first piece on the new album is entitled Dream Machine.”
The track is one of 23 that is revisited on the album, which although exhaustive, brings up some gems that add new life to the original compositions while maintaining their essence.
The newly arranged songs are now recorded with the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg, with the dramatic narratives of numbers such as Sounds Like A Melody enhanced immeasurably by the new instrumentation, which adopts a dreamlike quality over the course of the collection.
“All 23 numbers on this album have been essentially clarified by their arrangement, they’re stripped clean, released, set free. Their true nature has been revealed,” explains the musician.
“So ‘Eternally Yours’ really does sound to me as if it were actually the first Alphaville album – except that for forty years, it lay unreleased. We simply didn’t have access to an orchestra in those days, we ‘only’ had synthesisers and rhythm machines.”
What’s noticeable across the record is how well the tracks translate into their new arrangements, from the epic early-’80s sound of Big In Japan to the album’s title song, which is a brand new composition and has lyrics drawn exclusively from Shakespearean sonnets.
And the thread that holds it all together is Marian’s vocals which, 40 years on, have matured beautifully and offer a fresh interpretation of his career-spanning works.
“On ‘Eternally Yours’ I was sometimes singing with the last of my strength,” he muses. “I confess that as a singer, I’m starting to feel my age. Vocally, I have put into this album everything I had to give.”
It makes for a compelling listen and, with plans for more music on the horizon, a perfect (re)entry point to Alphaville’s music of times gone by.
‘Eternally Yours’ is available now.
