August 5th, 2010
The Brazilian release of the Information Society DVD “It Is Useless To Resist Us: 25 Years Of Information Society” was recently featured in the Brazilian newspaper Diário do Nordeste. Special thanks to Carol Murray for her assistance with the English translation.
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CADERNO 3 – DIÁRIO DO NORDESTE – Fortaleza, Ceará
Monday, June 28th, 2010
80’S
RECYCLABLE POP MUSIC
Within two years of delay, the DVD that celebrates the 25th anniversary of Information Society, the synthpop icon that conquered the Brazilians, is finally released in Brazil
By Dellano Rios – Reporter
Free translation by Carol Murray
God is the only one who knows the reasons why Bikini Cavadão, an average 80’s band, has conquered the Cearences (*people from the state of Ceará) almost a decade ago (nowadays the relationship has been a bit worn down, due to the frequency of the group in the city). In the same category of the unexplainable facts, section “chemistry between artists and audience” is the success of Information Society in Brazil. The North American synthpop trio (see box beside), formed in 1982 and still active, has one of the biggest fan bases in the country. The group even has a Brazilian official website, the Information Society Brasil (www.insoc.com.br), which is the first address to show up on a Google search when the band name is typed.
Unexplainable, because there’s nothing less Brazilian than Information Society. It’s not possible to explain the success appealing only to the band’s genre since other groups more expressive than InSoc are used to being ignored by the record lables. A classic of the 80’s pop, New Order hasn’t even had their best albums edited on CD in Brazil. A mystery which makes even more intriguing the DVD’s title “It is useless to resist us”.
Released abroad in 2008, the DVD shows a live performance of the band during the tour that celebrated its 25 years of existence. Like the other groups that work with the more electronic tendencies of pop, the Information Society from this decade try to reach the difficult peak of renewing their music without losing its characteristic. The result is a beat that sounds a bit nostalgic, but frenetically efficient. The visuals, that have never been that colorful in the iridescent decade, became even more somber, proving that the trio took lessons from more recent groups that drank from the synthpop fountain, the case of Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails.
In the live performance only “Repetition” is missed, the ballad that’s always present in the romantic radio flashback programs (mixed between motel adds). There are, however, pearls like “What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)”, “Walking Away” and “Think.” In “The Classic Videos – Direct from original masters,” the music videos of the band’s hit songs are included. And good news: “Repetition” is one of them.
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May 7th, 2010
Paul Robb will be playing a guest DJ set at Dracula’s Ball in Philadelphia on Saturday, May 15th. He will also appear at the Digital Ferret booth for a Meet & Greet with fans.
Also taking place at Dracula’s Ball is the Dark Dreams Collection Raffle. Among the raffle items is a brand new 30-second song for your ringtone recorded by Information Society. All proceeds from the auction and raffle benefit Musicopia and SPARC.
For more details about Dracula’s Ball and where to buy tickets, please visit http://www.draculasball.com/details.htm.
Posted in News, Shows | 2 Comments »
March 23rd, 2010
@JoshGrillsItAll: How many variations of “A Knife and A Fork” are there- including those from ThinkTank?
Paul Robb: There are at least two major variations, the one that exists on “Hack” and the one embodied on “Mandroid”. There are of course numerous remixes of each, including one by the Propellorheads that was released only in the UK.
@virtadpt: If you wanted to start making synthpop music, in what aspect of music would you recommend starting?
Paul Robb: Songwriting. Always songwriting. 700 years ago, my career actually started when I sold my band’s live mixer and bought a multi-track cassette deck, thus focusing my energies on writing rather than performing. A good song can exist nicely in any number of genres, a bad song doesn’t really work in any genre.
@DarylNorthrop: Love your work! Synthesizer is a great album. Any touring soon?
Paul Robb: Sadly, not at the moment. All three members are embroiled in other projects and daily life, and it’s difficult to find the time.
@manfariel: I’d ask if it is true that inSoc comes (to Brazil) from July 15-30? It is me, Paul, Viviane (Brazil, S?£o Paulo)
Paul Robb: It is not true, unfortunately. Kurt has just started at a new company and can not really get away until the new game is out in the fall.
@chrisakavern: How come “Fire Tonight” is not in the live set?
Paul Robb: It’s a little bit of a downer for the live set, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you people rather see us jumping around shrieking like monkeys?
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October 30th, 2009
We’re giving away a copy of the new Information Society DVD “It Is Useless to Resist Us” on Saturday, Oct. 31! Check the INSOC MySpace blog tomorrow between 5pm – 6pm ET / 2pm – 3pm PT for your chance to win.
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September 22nd, 2009
This DVD celebrates the 25th anniversary of this hugely influential and popular electronic pop act by giving fans a full live concert, their music videos (never before released on DVD), bonus archival footage and photos, and a brand new EP, all on one disc.
The live concert took place in Philadelphia in 2008 and featured James, Paul and Kurt in fantastic form. A German film crew shot the entire show from multiple angles and captured the fantastic energy of both the band and the audience. The track listing for the concert is:
1 Peace and Love, Inc.
2 Wrongful Death
3 The Seeds of Pain
4 Walking Away
5 Baby Just Wants
6 Burning Bridges
7 Think
8 Jonestown
9 Growing Up With Shiva
10 I Like The Way You Werk It
11 Run Away
12 Back in the Day (Old School Electro Version)
13 Running
14 Are ‘Friends’ Electric?
15 What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)
In addition to the full concert, the DVD contains all five videos released by the band during their time at Warner Records, available for the first time on DVD, taken directly from Warner’s archive masters. Bonus features include several photo montages, a video montage from their first tour of South America in the late 1980s, and a few other clips, including the infamous “Wall Street” video.
As if that wasn’t enough, the DVD also contains a full version of the band’s digital-only “Modulator” EP in MP3 format. Only available through digital download, this nine-track EP contains remixes from the Synthesizer album by such folks as Dave Aude’ and Tommie Sunshine, as well as a brand new track with Kurt on vocals (“Don’t Touch The Devil”) and a live recording of a track not previously available in stores (“Wrongful Death”).
This DVD is in NTSC format, which is the standard for American DVD players. Customers outside of North America using PAL or SECAM systems may or may not be able to view NTSC format. There is no Region Code on this DVD (Region Code 0).
The official release date for this product is October 20, 2009.
DVD Cover – VERY LARGE
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