Rossetti's Compass

Formation and Evolution

Rossetti's Compass was conceived by Mark Warner during a 2010 visit to Berlin where he was working with Oppenheimer Analysis members Andy Oppenheimer and Martin Lloyd (now deceased). At the time an active member of the Minimal Wave band Sudeten Creche, Mark Warner was keen to explore the wider EBM sphere, and his early Rossetti's Compass compositions were used as set fillers by Sudeten Creche on their short European Tour in April 2011.

In the wake of Mark Warner splitting from Sudeten Creche in late 2012, Rossetti's Compass began to stretch its wings. A successful collaboration on the first Rossetti's Compass EP "Tear Garden" released in March 2013 saw Synthpop master and former member of Apoptygma Berzerk, Per Aksel Lundgreen, join Rossetti's Compass as a permanent member.

A second EP "My Beloved" was released in August 2013. Like Tear Garden it was mastered by Martin Bowes, a long-time friend of Per Aksel Lundgreen and member of the legendary UK dark industrial music act Attrition. This second EP release coincided with Martin Bowes joining the band as its third member, completing the current Rossetti's Compass line-up.

In November 2013 the band recorded a third, semi-live album entitled "Cage Sessions 01", which included guest vocals from Martin Bowes' Engram partner John Costello. The Cage Sessions are a Martin Bowes innovation inspired by the old John Peel band sessions, where musicians spend one day in the studio recording several tracks, and are interviewed at the same time. It is a chance for them to do something a little different. Profits from this release were donated by Rossetti's Compass to Cancer Research.

Recording work has started on a full debut album from Rossetti's Compass, with its release anticipated in early 2014, to coincide with a series of live gigs, the first in the band's history.

Name

The name Rossetti's Compass encapsulates the idea of freedom of musical exploration that is the cornerstone of the band's ethos. Whilst it expresses the concept of direction, this is driven from the heart by passion, thus casting aside the constraints of conformity.

Musical Style

The defining sound of Rossetti's Compass lies among the distinctive multilayered textures of Synthpop, and the hard, minimal, rhythmic beat of Electronic Body Music (EBM). And everywhere in between. At the EBM end of the spectrum the sound could stylistically be labelled as Dirty Pop or Future Pop.

Clearly illustrating the diversity of the Rossetti's Compass range, the first EP Tear Garden was described as "covering almost every phase of electro music".

A diverse array of musical influences is behind the Rossetti's Compass sound, reflecting the exploratory nature of its music. Key influences include electro bands from across the genre, such as Kraftwerk, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, Click Click, The Klinik, A Split-Second, hard CORPS, Test Dept, and Portion Control. Additional strains of punk derive from the likes of D.A.F., Sex Pistols, The Clash and early Siouxsie and the Banshees, with New Wave influences coming from bands such as The Human League, The B-52's, Tuxedomoon and Devo. Further rock and synthpop influences are found in the form of Yazoo, Bowie, Roxy Music, The Velvet Underground, The Legendary Pink Dots, Leather Nun, and Joy Division.

Mark Warner

Vocals, synth and guitar, programming

Per Aksel Lundgreen

Percussion and synth backing vocals, producer

Martin Bowes

Synth backing vocals, sound engineering, mastering

John Costello

Synth, backing vocals

Discography

A full discography for Rossetti's Compass and its members can be found from the links below:

1. EP - Tear Garden (2013) - Label - No Emb Blanc - Release Catalogue No. NEB012
2. EP - My Beloved (2013) - Label - Sub Culture Records - Release Catalogue No. SUBCULTURE012
3. The Cage Sessions 01 (2013) - Label - Two Gods - Release Catalogue No. TGCS01
4. EP - Attrition (2015) - Label - Sub Culture Records - Release Catalogue No. SUBCULTURE195
5. Single - Shivering Skin (2016) - Label - LJE Music - Release Catalogue No. LJEM D007