My history with Revenge of Calculon goes all the way back to 2017, when I ran through the sideways rain of a November Reykjavik evening to catch them live in the upstairs room at a bar called Dillon. A friend insisted I had to check them out, so despite the insane weather I headed out into the night. I sat down with my beer, soaked, and watched two guys in tracksuits and luchador masks setting my their equipment as I wondered what I was getting myself into. But as soon as Sonic Abuser started blasting sleezy synths at me, with JC900 slapping some funky bass rhythms, I was hooked.
Over the last decade Revenge of Calculon have treated us to seven 7″ records, just enough to keep scratching that itch. But this year they’re going all in with their first full-length LP entitled Manipulator, and I for one can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy next month when they play Iceland Airwaves 2024. But for now I’m jamming to some mp3s the guys sent over, my anticipation building with each play.
I caught up with Sonic Abuser (aka “Rob”) to get a bit more info on Calculon’s inspiration, how they get their unique sound, and what to expect from their upcoming record release shows (Rough Trade Nottingham on October 26 and Lucky Records Reykjavik on November 8).
Rob, tell us about Revenge of Calculon’s backstory.
“Me and JC were in a band before called Spaceships Are Cool and we wanted to a have a short break for doing the type of music we were making (plus SAC were an eight piece band and it was getting too complex to go on tour). I had just bought a load of old 1980’s synths and basically went down the electro rabbit hole before realising that if I get JC to play some squelchy bass we’d have something special on our hands.”
You describe Calculon’s style as “crunchy beats, sleazy bass grooves and enough old fashioned synth squelch to satisfy the even most hungry of space funk explorers.” What are your influences, both musical and non-musical, and what is the Secret Calculon SauceTM that you add to make your tracks?
“Hmmm, well musical influences range from my favourite electronic music pioneers like Deliah Derbyshire who worked in the BBC radiophonic workshop (she created the theme tune to Dr Who!) and some French synth legends like Jean-Jaques Perrey, and then there’s Bernhard Ferve who I worked with on remix projects and is now known as the artist Black Devil Disco Club.
“That’s the electro side, now the other stuff… Parliament and Funkadelic obviously, Devo, Frank Zappa, Sun Ra and I’m a massive fan of Primus and Ween.”
Revenge of Calculon put out seven 7” records, going back to 2014. Why was this the right time for the first full-length album? How did you approach this differently than your other releases?
“The decision to make the LP was by popular demand really. I’ve certainly never been into concept albums and really wanted to avoid going that ‘hey let’s disappear up our own ass and write twenty minute masterpieces’. But it just seemed like the right time because we had a load of material we wanted to release all in one go.
“We approached it exactly as we did each single but the only difference was how each track would follow each other on the record. Because we were intending it to be on vinyl we had to programme an A and a B side, meaning we had to have a start, middle and end on each side of the record. But when it comes to the digital release for streaming, I couldn’t really give a shit about that because so many people just put their fave tracks on repeat and skip the others. Which is a shame really.
“Plus you don’t get a 12” piece of artwork to look at either.”
I know Calculon use a number of different synths and instruments. Are there one or two specific items that help truly define your sound?
“Hell yeah baby! My go-to synth is a vintage Korg MS20 and Korg VC10 vocoder (synth heads out there will know what I’m on about), JC has some great effects pedals for his bass that always seem permanently set to “squelch mode”, and I’ve got a 1950’s drum kit made by a long since gone company called Beverley, which it turns out used to be based just twenty minutes down the road from our studio.”
You have some record release shows coming up Nottingham and Reykjavik. I know you’re from the Nottingham area, but tell us a bit about your background with Reykjaivik? What can fans expect from your live shows?
“That’s quite a long story so I’ll try my best to condense it a bit. I first went to Iceland in 2002 to visit my cousin who had moved from the UK to the Westman Islands off the south coast. I ended up playing at a crazy festival there called þjoðhatið. Theres was a big gap between then and my next trips, but the Reykjavik stuff started in 2010 when I started playing at Iceland Airwaves festival with various different bands. I also knew an Icelandic electro band called Bloodgroup, who’s members included Janus Rasmussen from Kiasmos and experimental art-pop artist Sunna Margrét so we played a lot of shows with that band. And over the years we’ve been playing at Airwaves I’ve got to know some great people including a legend who runs the best record store in Reykjavik (you know who I’m talking about right?1). I’ve also still got family out there.
“Our live shows are pretty much a big old funk fest. You can certainly expect to see plenty of sexy dance moves by nutters in Luchador masks. If you’re lucky, you might get a miniature disco ball thrown your way (we seemed to have collected a bunch of them from somewhere).”
What other artists are you into right now who readers should check out?
“Definitely the new Kiasmos LP, Kae Tempest, and Bo Ningen. I just saw Bo Ningen do a live soundtrack to Alejandro Jodorowski’s film The Holy Mountain, and if you think that film was batshit crazy you should definitely get the Bo Ningen soundtrack! (on a triple vinyl LP I believe).”
Manipulator provides a full dose of Revenge of Calculon to inject straight into your bloodstream, a dozen tracks of funky, fuzzy, freaky fabulousness sure to get your feet moving and head bobbing. The tracklist includes some Calculon Classics(Patent Pending) such as “Atari-Safari”, “X, Y, and Z Rays”, and the absolute banger “Electric Soup”, as well as some new standard-setters like the title track “Manipulator”, strutting its way out of your speakers like it damn well owns the place, slinking into your ears, strolling around inside your head, and adjusting the wires in your brain.
Vocally Revenge of Calculon are eclectic. “Electric Soup” is a straight-up, bar-spittin’ rap, while “Casino Fight!” features a story of sorts told in a deadpan delivery by an accented female narrator. You want modulation? Great, they got “Fear of the Blue Demon”. Samples? “Battle-Atomic-Disco-Wow!” Stephen-Hawking-like computerized voices? “Brainwash Burrito” is here for you. And if none of that floats your boat, there are purely instrumental tracks too.
I could break Manipulator down song-by-song, but that’s not really the litmus test for what makes a great album. So let me put it simply – Manipulator is great because IT’S FUN. Remember fun? Because if you don’t, this record is the album-ification of fun. It makes me smile, and it will make you smile too, like you used to when you were younger and getting ready to go out for a big night on the town with your friends.
“Manipulator” the single is currently available for streaming, and Manipulator the album will be out in late October. Your best bet to get a copy will probably be direct from Sonic Abuser and JC9000 at Revenge of Calculon World Headquarters HERE.
- In fact I do. He speaks, of course, of the one and only Ingvar, aka King Lucky, of Lucky Records in Reykjavik. ↩︎