A Terrible Splendour

Elektrana / Zondag, 15 juli 2012

A Terrible Splendour is a London duo, consisting of MM Lyle (synth, vocals and sound FX) and Martin Block (vocals, synths,  metalophone), who narrate tales of blackmailing and desperation, cruelty and hopelessness through their songs.
 
Their musical genre can be classified as the "New Romantic Cabaret", according to them.

Inspired by the art of Automelodi, Fischerspooner, Visage and Gina X, we should not even pose the question why their sound is entangled in a dark, gloomy Synth Pop.
 
Their live performances have been highly praised by "Resonance FM", naming them "one of the most exciting music plays" for their resemblance to German Gothic and Expressionist theatres, inspired by tragic endings to various love stories. The audience, usually showered with rose petals, enchanted with chocolate cakes and mystical fortuneteller omens is just a small piece of what ATS offers.
 
Their debut album, produced by the world-renowned JJD (whose work includes Soft Riot, Savage Furs, Radio Berlin), lightened the band’s path with its first single, released in 2011, a combination of two songs - "Slaves to the City“ and "The Russians". "Slave to the City" in its first week appeared on the Burning Flame Blog Top 10, while "The Russians" was included in the Ninth-Wave Records 2012 Electro Sampler chart, and became #1 record track downloaded from Amazon’s free download chart in the United States.
 
This popularity gained in a short period of time matured quickly, and the duo was offered a place on a thematical LP vinyl compilation about the London Underground Wave scene, named "You'll find them Downstairs".
 
A Noir-style video was shot for the duo’s fourth single, named "Victimless Crime". The video contains a hint of surrealism and is coloured with monochrome Pop of epic proportions.
 
In the end, we quote them with this sentence: “You are all warmly invited to spend the night at Exit Festival with a pleasant and an unforgettable night with A Terrible Splendour!“