In the early 1960s radio stations of unknown origin began broadcasting mysterious messages across Europe’s public frequencies. As the Cold War divided Berlin and Germany between East and West, these number stations became part of the era’s clandestine communications network, with Berlin as a focal point for the covert exchange of secret information.
Drawing from their teenage experiences of scanning radio frequencies, Maile and Demarre revisit the mystique surrounding these transmissions in “Number Stations”, with the original synthetic female voices reciting enigmatic sequences of numbers and letters.
The accompanying music video, created by award-winning director Daniel Lwowski (Grönemeyer, Anne Clark, Mogwai), who also grew up in Germany during this time, employs a documentary-style approach to evoke the shadowy world of Cold War espionage. Reminiscent of declassified footage, the visuals elicit strangely contradictory feelings, mirroring the track’s darkly melancholic yet calming nature.
“Number Stations” reflects on the transient nature of espionage technology from a bygone era and how it has evolved into today’s sophisticated surveillance and communication networks, while the global balance of power remains as precarious as ever. Neither the spying of that time, the attempt of two systems to out-manipulate each other, nor the brief pause afterwards have significantly altered the balance of terror in today’s world. This is what Maile and Demarre express with “Number Stations” – a fitting soundtrack for our current times, as is the whole album, whose title perfectly captures the prevailing mood.
“Neostalgia”, which recently debuted on NPR’s “New Music Friday,” is described as “cosmic, spacey and occasionally ambient but mostly melodic.” It showcases the duo’s ability to merge the familiar with the unexpected, blending nostalgia with contemporary sounds and inventive melodies while drawing from various electronic styles, including wave, ambient, and Krautrock.
“Number Stations” will be released on November 14th by Bureau B, available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp
