Post by JohanneSoulless on Jan 6, 2023 17:02:43 GMT
Red Flag is an American synthpop/industrial project founded in 1984 by brothers Chris and Mark Reynolds (originally from England). They’ve started composing music since 1982. After going briefly by the name “Shades of May”, they changed it to “Red Flag” (taken from a warning signal used in surfing). According to the brothers, the music of Red Flag is “a blend of synthpop, new age, and ambient” and was inspired by bands like Depeche Mode and the Cure.
The duo released 8 studio albums and a great number of singles, EPs, and remix albums between 1988 and 2003. The brothers toured frequently, playing at first as opening act to new wave and synthpop artists such as Devo, Thomas Dolby, Book of Love and Real Life. Red Flag’s dark and tragic album The Crypt (2000) was as highly acclaimed as their light and danceable debut “Naïve Art” (1989). But the subsequent years appeared to be very hard for the band. Their next albums met with poor reception, and in spring of 2003 the vocalist Mark Reynolds killed himself (the possible reasons were never officially stated; some fans suggest Mark’s health issues). Red Flag’s future was up in the air till 2007 when Chris Reynolds (who took over as vocalist) decided to revive the project. He's released a few studio albums and moderately toured with the live band. The music’s become even darker and more austere, but it still remains melodious and romantic. Last album "Endless" (released after 7 years of silence) seems pretty minimalistic in musical terms. But it still manages to convey in full Red Flag’s individuality the fans have come to expect and love.
How I’ve become a fan. By chance . I’ve never been interested in synthpop, so I didn’t even hear of Red Flag. About 2014, I think, a friend on music-related social media (it doesn’t exist anymore) posted a track by them on my wall. It probably was Gaslamp Paradisio, a short instrumental from their “reviving” 2007 album. I didn’t know anything though, I just liked the music and checked out more. Well I reckon I like no more than half of all their songs. But the ones I like are really important, and I can listen to them for hours on end. As time goes by, I re-evaluate the songs I didn’t like at first, so my love for RF is literally capable of growing . Although some things remain unchanged: I’m not so much into The Crypt and all about Naïve Art (although it doesn’t go well with my general music taste), and Time remains my favorite song by RF.
I must admit I listen to more songs from “Mark’s era”, but that may be due to the fact that Chris just released fewer albums. Their styles and voices are rather different, but I wouldn’t say that one seems better than the other to me. A funny thing is, I recall being surprised that the voices of the brothers didn’t sound like each other at all, but… in some time I started mixing them up . Well, I’m just not entirely sane; their timbres ARE different. And they really didn’t look like each other (I’ve no idea: they might be actually half-brothers or not blood relatives at all, or just born like that), so the difference should be kind of expected… Chris scored 11 additional points with his last album though; it took me quite a time to get into Endless, but now I love it★ Hope Chris will be able to continue with the project
(Mark is on the right here.)
(One website defines their music as “goth-flavored electronica, with classically oriented melodies, driving dance beats, and industrial-sounding samples and fills.”)
The duo released 8 studio albums and a great number of singles, EPs, and remix albums between 1988 and 2003. The brothers toured frequently, playing at first as opening act to new wave and synthpop artists such as Devo, Thomas Dolby, Book of Love and Real Life. Red Flag’s dark and tragic album The Crypt (2000) was as highly acclaimed as their light and danceable debut “Naïve Art” (1989). But the subsequent years appeared to be very hard for the band. Their next albums met with poor reception, and in spring of 2003 the vocalist Mark Reynolds killed himself (the possible reasons were never officially stated; some fans suggest Mark’s health issues). Red Flag’s future was up in the air till 2007 when Chris Reynolds (who took over as vocalist) decided to revive the project. He's released a few studio albums and moderately toured with the live band. The music’s become even darker and more austere, but it still remains melodious and romantic. Last album "Endless" (released after 7 years of silence) seems pretty minimalistic in musical terms. But it still manages to convey in full Red Flag’s individuality the fans have come to expect and love.
How I’ve become a fan. By chance . I’ve never been interested in synthpop, so I didn’t even hear of Red Flag. About 2014, I think, a friend on music-related social media (it doesn’t exist anymore) posted a track by them on my wall. It probably was Gaslamp Paradisio, a short instrumental from their “reviving” 2007 album. I didn’t know anything though, I just liked the music and checked out more. Well I reckon I like no more than half of all their songs. But the ones I like are really important, and I can listen to them for hours on end. As time goes by, I re-evaluate the songs I didn’t like at first, so my love for RF is literally capable of growing . Although some things remain unchanged: I’m not so much into The Crypt and all about Naïve Art (although it doesn’t go well with my general music taste), and Time remains my favorite song by RF.
I must admit I listen to more songs from “Mark’s era”, but that may be due to the fact that Chris just released fewer albums. Their styles and voices are rather different, but I wouldn’t say that one seems better than the other to me. A funny thing is, I recall being surprised that the voices of the brothers didn’t sound like each other at all, but… in some time I started mixing them up . Well, I’m just not entirely sane; their timbres ARE different. And they really didn’t look like each other (I’ve no idea: they might be actually half-brothers or not blood relatives at all, or just born like that), so the difference should be kind of expected… Chris scored 11 additional points with his last album though; it took me quite a time to get into Endless, but now I love it★ Hope Chris will be able to continue with the project