Last week I was astonished to run across mention of an album the Berlin’s John Crawford had made…almost two years ago, with my favorite Post-Punk guitarist, Robin Simon. I’ve made it my life’s work to own everything that Simon has played on, and yet, news of this just didn’t drift down from above into my little universe. And I chide myself.

Apparently, following his last assignment with John Foxx + the Maths, under his belt, Robin Simon found himself in Los Angeles; dining with John Bryant, the leader of August Day Records. The man who had produced the modern phase of Visage featuring Simon on guitar as well as having recorded an orchestral album with Berlin and Crawford. Bryant, sitting there with these two creatives, went into movie producer mode and suggested that the two musicians collaborate on a project. It could be good.

From Crawford’s perspective, getting to write and record with the guitarist who co-wrote Ultravox’s “Slow Motion” was a terribly exciting prospect. With a Wayne’s World “we are not worthy” vibe given that Ultravox was the biggest influence on the California musician in his formative years. Simon was up for the idea and then six months later, they had an album’s worth of music out of the writing sessions, ready to go.

JCRS – John Crawford + Robin Simon: Arclight – UK – CD [2022]

1. Firedogs
2. There’s Only You
3. Like Crimson
4. Slide
5. I Could Stand On My Own
6. Vectors (Part 1)
7. Vectors (Part 2)
8. Shifting Sands
9. Supposing
10. The Universe Suddenly Shrinks With One Thought

Producers John Bryan and Sare Havlicek formed the core of the “band” together with Crawford and Simon and with the work those two did on the modern Visage work, I have the fullest of confidence that this will be some Synth Rock right in my personal wheelhouse. A look at the credits reveals that all four, along with a couple of unknown quantities [John Grant, Mark Iannucci] the lead off track “Firedogs,” sported a Steve Strange credit, so something from the Visage days might have been put to use on this album.

I can see that the DL is all over the internet, yet I can also see that there is a CD listed in Discogs, so I dug around and saw that it’s still available from the August Day webstore at a modest $11.00. I’ll be needing to get one of those sooner than later, at this point. In the meantime, there was a single released from the album with a handful of remixes; including one by the ever busy Logan Sky! Let’s have a listen.

The single is an easy glove to fit into, with Simon’s warm, flanged guitar juxtaposed against the icy chill of the synths to call back to the early Berlin era. We’re not use to Crawford singing, apart from the occasional awkward, spoken interludes on early Berlin records, but he acquitted himself nicely here [I never actually played that Big F single I have…] and lyrically, the song was the furthest thing from the lurid psychodrama that early Berlin music could be.

Given the pedigrees of all involved, I am looking forward to securing a disc of this project at some point and reporting back with my findings. How many of us after 40 years get a hero dropped into their lap for a team up event and then get the chance to work with them…on someone else’s dime? If you want to join me in this quest, then DJ hit that button!

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