We have been playing together as a 2-piece for nearly 8 years, and have released 2 albums and 8 EPs in that time, as well as playing regular live shows across the UK and Europe.
Our synths are dark, and bleak, but are often combined with insistent machinegun rhythms and spikey basslines, with layered, plaintive vocals that tell Ballardian tales of loss of both love and humanity.
Our musical influences acknowledge modern electronic pop, but have as much in common with disco, acid-house, techno and intelligent dance music. There are moments that veer deep into Kosmische Musik and early electronic music. At other times it could be coldwave and industrial music, or Systems Music, minimalism and film soundtracks.
We have toured with OMD, and played shows with John Foxx, Michael Rother (Neu/Harmonia), the Radiophonic Workshop, Jerome Froese (Tangerine Dream), Manuel Göttsching (Ash Ra Tempel), Melt Yourself Down, Happy Mondays and The Orb. We also contributed music to the BBC Radio 3 production ‘Memoirs of the Space Women’. In 2014, our debut album 'The Future Through A Lens' won ‘Best International Album’ and we won 'Best International Artist’ at the Schallwelle electronic music awards in Germany.
Our live shows are characterised by wires – lots of wires - and the sound of old-school analogue synthesizers, drum machines and modular synths.
It’s been said our music neither sits wholly in the past nor the present. It flirts both with strange experimentalism and classic pop songwriting, whilst never quite settling in any place long enough to be predictable or easily classifiable.
“The true brilliance of Vile Electrodes is that they’ve risen above the herd of synthpop sound-alikes and found their own voice. In other words, they have their cake and eat it. Clever bastards.”