Legendary producer John Fryer presents his latest album ‘These Mortal Covers’ under his Black Needle Noise moniker. This is a covers-based album, involving collaborations with a handful of varied vocalists, including Anjela Piccard, Pinky Turzo, Beca, Tom Berger, Magic Rebecca Coseboom, and Betty X.
This album follows BNN’s most recent single – ‘What a Wonderful World’ featuring Tom Berger on vocals, a beautiful and dramatically dark redux far from the original recorded by Louis Armstrong. The accompanying video was directed by Christoph Vitt and Alex Makarov and starring model Dori Darkmoon with Tom Berger.
The album’s first single ‘She Talks To Angels’ features vocalist Anjela Piccard, whose powerful rendition of this Black Crowes track brings their own unique twist and stylistic trademark. Earlier, Black Needle Noise released ‘Seed of Evil’ with PIG, an unholy collaboration between Fryer and industrial music legend Raymond Watts (KMFDM).
As one of the most innovative sonic architects in our age, “John Fryer has practically soundtracked your entire life” (Impose Magazine). His musical imprint is massive, having shaped the sound of bands from Nine Inch Nails and Cocteau Twins to HIM and Depeche Mode. He is also one of just two masterminds behind This Mortal Coil (along with Ivo Watts-Russell – not only producing, but also keyboards, strings and synthesizer sequencing).
“The whole idea of doing cover versions started back with DarkDriveClinic. We were backstage for one of our live shows and the floor was gruby and Rebecca asked if she could put on my shoes to get something from the other side of the room and then I said, hey, let’s do a cover of “Walking In My Shoes” and so then the covers album was born
back in 2011,” says John Fryer.
“The 1st BNN track to be released was ‘Bang Bang’ and other covers I have been asked to do for movies. Benny from Cleopatra heard ‘What A Wonderful World’ and a couple of others and said these are amazing and really wanted to put them out as an album. The rest is history/herstory as they say.”
John Fryer started his career in 1979 at London’s Blackwing Studios (London) and soon began working with seminal bands on 4AD, Mute, Rough Trade and Beggars Banquet, including Depeche Mode, The Wolfgang Press and Cocteau Twins. His achievement in helping develop the latter’s pioneering ethereal and ambient sound ultimately led Watts-Russell to recruit Fryer as his partner for This Mortal Coil.
A sense of expectation about his music has never left him – expectations he often exceeds from release to release, having produced many iconic artists, including Love and Rockets, Swans, HIM, Cradle of Filth, Clan of Xymox, Nitzer Ebb, Dead Can Dance, Yaz (Yazoo), Xmal Deutschland, Fields of the Nephilim, De/Vision, Stabbing Westward and many others. Fryer has also produced many film soundtracks, such as Seven, Clerks, Johnny Mnemonic, Mortal Kombat, Faust and Resident Evil: Apocalypse.
‘What a Wonderful World’ is out now, available at online stores like Apple Music, and streaming platforms such as Spotify. It is also available directly from Black Needle Noise via Bandcamp, along with their debut album ‘Before The Tears Came’ (CD, vinyl, digital) and following ‘Lost In Reflections’ LP (vinyl, digital).
As of October 27, the full ‘These Mortal Covers’ album will be released digitally via Cleopatra Records via Bandcamp. Several weeks later, the good folks at Los Angeles’ 33.3 Music Collective will also be offering CDs, obtainable exclusively as a gift when you purchase something via the Black Needle Noise website.
TRACK LIST
1. Bang Bang feat. Dr Strangefryer
2. Wonderful World feat. Tom Berger
3. Magic feat. Beca
4. Black Magic feat. Anjela Piccard
5. Walking In My Shoes feat. Rebecca Coseboom
6. Love Don’t Live Here Anymore feat. Anjela Piccard
7. Changes feat. Pinky Turzo
8. She Talks To Angels feat. Anjela Piccard
9. Let This Be The Night feat. Pinky Turzo
10. Losing My Religion feat Rebecca Coseboom
11. I Know What Boys Like feat. Betty X
John Fryer photos by Martha Schuster. Group of 3 photo by Candice Ghai
Keep up with Black Needle Noise
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook BNN | Facebook John | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Spotify | Press contact
Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram | Spotify | LinkedIn| Email
