Paragon Cause are proud to release their interpretation of the hidden gem, Modern Love is Automatic by A Flock of Seagulls. The duo was asked to record and perform their interpretation of the song for a special release.
The lush and powerful production re-imagines the song to make a statement on the current state of the world. After a psychedelic introduction, the song explodes into the progressive lush sound the duo is known.
The duo took an experimental approach to the song. “We drew on a bunch of influences, Syd Barret, Trentemoeller, David Gilmour and Psychadelic Space Rock of the 60s and 70s. We also tried to use movies like Berberian Sound Studio by Peter Strickland as an inspiration for the tone of the first half of the song. Of course, we tried to stay true to the song, particularly the incredible guitar playing by Paul Reynolds. We never really took the time to listen to the guitar on A Flock of Seagulls songs, but after doing this, we were pretty amazed at his inovation, particulary during a time when synthesisers dominated music.”
Production wise, Paragon Cause attempted to only utilize equipment that was available in the 80’s to produce the single. “We learned from our frequent collaborator Sune Rose Wagner (The Raveonettes) that sometimes, setting limitations on your work spurs creativity. The entire song was made using a Roland JX-3P synth, a Roland SE201 Space Echo, a Yamaha SPX90II for the reverb and a more modern Reverb called the Oto Bam, which is based on the earliest 60s, 70s and 80s digital reverb, before they were perfected. If we couldn’t reproduce the synths, Michelle sang the parts. So if you listen closely, you will hear some of the parts with Michelle singing processed through the equipment. For guitar, we used a Boss Chorus Flanger from the 80’s to get that lush 80’s tone. It was a challenging experiment, but we think it paid off.”
This is the first cover song the duo has released but plan on recording a second one in November. To support indie radio in Ottawa, the duo presented an album of B-sides and outtakes. All profits from the album will be donated to Ottawa College radio, CKCU. One of those who donate will be able to choose a song for the band to cover.
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