the carpenters , fad gadget , throbbing gristle ,billy mackenzie , marc almond , peter hammill , the cure , morrissey , wedding present ,dino jr , sonic youth , aotea , gaz numan , theatre of hate , psychic tv , prince , sigue sigue sputnik, brel.
Recently signed to Little Power Records . Neon Mussolini specialises in analogue synths meets guitars and personnal vocals.
Neon Mussolini has also produced the following :-
The Elephant Dress , Aotea , Frisco Farr , Standby For Action , Minnow Cuckoo , Sonny Delight & more
Below is a review of the current E.P -
Neon Mussolini (what a great name!!) is Italian/English musician/producer Simon Elliot and here you have to think Kraftwerk meets New Order.
Modernistic 'orchestrated' electronically biased pop music that leaves the listener unsure what is real (if anything!!) and what is sampled, programmed and/or synthesized - extremely well assembled, wonderfully executed and stunningly produced 'Neon Mussolini EP' is the magical exception to the, all-too-often, ordinary electro rule!!
'Neon Mussolini' may only be a four track work but, what tracks they are!! It really is a quite brilliant EP!! Elliot's ability to conjure up workable electronic music for the (may I say more mature discerning) pop market is amazing; there's nothing at all quirky here yet all is so different to the 'electro' norm. Elliot doesn't take the easy route of just generating passage after passage of obvious analogue or digital sound that so typifies the digital age of music - this is bordering of 'classical' music for the very modern man.
'Proper' music with true commercial viability, music that could be coming from a full orchestra, 'big' sound, real sound - at least that's what is comes over as!
As I listen I'm amazed at how well this EP has been handled; from composition right through to performance 'Neon Mussolini' is nothing short of exceptional. Elliot is clearly an extremely gifted and original musician and 'Neon Mussolini' is a really classy piece of modernistic work.
Not at all what I was expecting and all the better for it's shock quotient!! 'Neon Mussolini' shows another side of electronic experimental music - for me, a better side - it's fantastic!! 'Neon Mussolini' puts me in mind of what Robert Wyatt got close to achieving - same kinda gentle but exciting vibe, same kinda original vocal/instrument interplay, same kinda avant-garde approach but perhaps just a touch more 'producer' oriented!
Initially I thought 'Neon Mussolini' was gonna be just another piece of bland, spiky, gargly electro-house or similar. How wrong I was! 'Neon Mussolini' is one of the purist sounding electronically generated works I've ever come across.
The feel is fantastic, the whole thing is totally believable, 'Neon Mussolini' is absolutely brilliant!
Peter J Brown aka toxic pete (www.toxicpete .co.uk)