“The idea was we place our songs into a symphonic orchestral arrangement, and it should sound as if these songs had been written a long time ago in the 19th century.”
360°Sound recently spoke with Marian Gold, Alphaville vocalist & lyricist, about his career and the imminent release of Eternally Yours, featuring orchestral arrangements of classic Alphaville tracks. Come back to 360°Sound on Thursday 1 September and read the full interview.
Alphaville, formed in Germany in 1983 by Gold and keyboardist Bernhard Lloyd, topped the charts globally with such massive hits as “Big In Japan” and “Forever Young.” Now Gold is re-imagining the jewels in the Alphaville catalog through the prism of a symphony orchestra.
“As a band, normally in the production we’re in the center, we write the music, we do the production, and suddenly we just stood aside. The idea was not a band playing in front of an orchestra. We wanted a complete new approach to the songs and a complete new result. I think we achieved that. I’m really very satisfied. Everybody should listen to this album because it is just a fucking great album. It is really a masterpiece, and I can say that because I did not do it alone [laughs].”
“Big in Japan,” from their debut full-length release Forever Young, was the band’s breakout single. This dramatic, synthno-groover topped the charts worldwide in 1984, including the US Billboard Dance Chart. Gold recorded new vocals for Eternally Yours and he still sounds deft and powerful.
Eternally Yours is out 23 September on double CD. If vinyl is your thing, that will be available 4 November.
Get current with Alphaville here – alphaville.info
