NEW ALBUM: RESONATE : OUT 31st January 2025
Transmission Suite is a 4-piece electronic / indie act from Stirling, described as a mixture of 80’s Electronica, 90’s Baggy & Synth-wave. This is the result of a melting pot of styles that creates an up-to-date version of electronic led music with guitars from the decades past and takes it right into the present.
Transmission suite provides a unique blend of influences transcending many decades with a definite electronic undercurrent. The combination of pounding drum machines and layers of melodic synthesisers mixed with guitars and melodic vocals is what makes us stand out from the crowd. Our live show is full of big electronic rhythms & catchy melodies.
Resonate’ is due for release on 31st January. The album has been described as musically having an Electronic / New Wave / Post Punk vibe akin to that of bands such as New Order and OMD, but with anthemic and uplifting qualities of The Stone Roses and Echo and The Bunny.
1.Who are ‘ Transmission Suite’
Transmission Suite are a 4-piece electronic / Indie act from Stirling consisting of: Ronnie Marshall – Vocals / Drum Machines. Andrew Rainey – Keys / Sequencing. Lewis McMillan – Guitar. Alan Aitchison – Bass
2. For someone that is yet to discover you, how would you describe your music?
Our music is probably best described as a blend of 80’s Electronica with a wash of synth -wave and a sprinkling of 90’s dust.
It is a unique blend of influences that transcends several decades with a definite electronic undercurrent. A combination of pounding drum machines and layers of melodic synthesisers mixed with guitars and melodic vocals to create a new wave tour de force.
For fans of New Order, Electronic, OMD, Echo & the Bunnymen, Simple Minds, Ride and The Stone Roses
3.What inspired you as an artist?
We really wanted to do something different for this project which is why we ditched the traditional drums, bass, guitars and vocal set up and got into electronic hardware.
It started as a bit of a pie in the sky idea really. No-one knew how to play a note on a keyboard or operate a drum machine. Our sound was crafted over the course of around 3 years starting around the time of lock-down, and in that time, we taught ourselves how to manipulate synthesisers, program drum machines, and sequence music via hardware. Our set up is completely live, so no pre-programmed tracks running on the likes of Ableton etc. – it’s all played by ourselves through external gear. Of course we love guitars also, so it made sense to have bass and guitar to really bring the music to life.
We’ve been inspired by a lot of 80’s music and a lot of New Wave / Synth-wave stuff since the inception of this project and we have really leaned into this as well as bringing our own diverse tastes to the table.
4.What is your process for preparing to perform live? Do you have any Diva demands?
Depending on the show, we will plan out a setlist based on the length of time we have to play and to best appeal to the crowd we are playing to. Once this is set, we normally do a big rehearsal the week before the gig. We are strict on sticking to playing our setlist and working out how to get it to flow.
We then try to practice the night before the gig so that we are as tight as possible and this has served us really well over the course of the last 18 months.
5. Where do you feel you fit into the music scene?
It’s a difficult one really. Being from Scotland does really restrict us at times. There’s a lot of folk and rock music around, but not a lot of what we do. When it comes to putting us onto a bill, it’s never easy to find the right fit.
Our way around that has been to look to support touring bands of similar styles where we know our music will appeal to their crowds. We have been very fortunate over this last 18 months to have supported some really cool bands such as A Flock of Seagulls and Man of Moon which has helped put our music into the right ears.
There are definitely a good clutch of bands around at the moment that we would sit quite well with. Bands like WH Lung, The KVB, Nation of Language and Cold Cave are all doing something that is in a similar ball park.
6: What are your favourite musical genres, and are there any you dislike?
We love a lot of different kinds of music from 80’s Electronica, New Romantic, 90’s guitar stuff, Gothic, Baggy and House music are all present in our sound somewhere.
We all have such varying tastes as individuals and we each bring something unique to the table which has helped to create a real melting pot of styles spanning a number of different musical decades.
When growing up we were listening to the likes of New Order, The Cure, The Stone Roses, Depeche Mode, Simple Minds, Happy Mondays, Underworld and The Verve etc.
Later bands such as The Sunshine Underground, The Music, The Rain Band, Cut Copy, The Rapture, The Horrors, Interpol and BRMC had a big influence.
Most recently, bands such as Drab Majesty, W.H. Lung, The KVB, Molchat Doma, Tycho and Nation of Language have been floating our boat.
7. Is there a story behind the Bands Name?
It was really difficult to find an original name that hasn’t been used before! We tried lots of names but didn’t have too much joy. But eventually we came across an album that we liked by 808 State called ‘Transmission Suite’ and it just seemed to fit the music and vibe that we are going for in this project.
8.What would you say is your greatest strength as an artist?
Tenacity. When we are in the studio rehearsing for example, there are times we have played the same song for 6 hours over and over until we can walk away and have the basis of a song. In previous projects, this would have been unthinkable, but we know when something sounds good and is worth pursuing. Having the drum machine helps as it never gets tired and wants to stop for a break which helps to keep everything moving along.
Similar story when it comes to getting our music out there. We have created all our own artwork, videos and content. For the album we put together our own email campaigns and built up a contacts list. Our guitarist Lewis is really handy with this kind of stuff. No one else is going to do it for us so we do it all ourselves. It makes releasing our debut long player so special knowing the blood sweat and tears that has gone into making it.
9. What would you say is your greatest weakness as an artist?
We are perfectionists. It’s just the way it is. It has to be right or it’s not good enough. We spent a lot of time pouring over the mixes for the album and making adjustments to individual instruments just to get the right sound. One that stands out was the snare sound on ‘Complicit Silence’. It must have taken about three mix iterations before we were settled on it! In the end though, we have something we are really happy with and proud to let people hear.
10.What can fans expect from your new Album ‘Resonate’
Some of the early feedback on the album has been great. One blogger described it as ‘a fantastic multi-layered piece of electronic art’, while another called it a ‘New Wave tour de force’.
It’s everything from 80’s Electronica with a large helping of synth-wave and a splash of 90’s guitar music. The album has a lot of layers to peel back. We recorded it at Green Door Studios in the West End of Glasgow which is an all-analogue studio filled with vintage gear. A lot of this gear ended up on the record. The Roland ‘Juno 106’ and the Korg ‘MS10’ synthesisers feature heavily. A lot of the drum machines we used were samples of original 80’s gear. The Roland Tr707 and Tr626 are the two most used on the record.
There is a fair bit of variation on the album and there are certainly a lot of ebbs and flows to hold the listeners interest. Within 3 songs it can go from being poppy to Dancy to trippy while still feeling like it’s all part of the same body of work.
If you like New Order, Depeche Mode, Simple Minds and The Stone Roses, you are going to like this record.
11. What music artist would you say have influenced your work?
New Order, Depeche Mode and Simple Minds have been big influences. More recently we have been listening to a lot of Synth-wave bands such as Drab Majesty, The KVB and Boy Harsher which has really helped us to push the envelope of our sound.
12. Who would you most like to collaborate with artistically?
It would be cool to work with ‘Flood’ who has produced some amazing records – most notably for us would be ‘Violator’ by Depeche Mode.
13. What was your worst performance?
We played a showcase in Glasgow last year, and we got to our 4th song and had a MIDI glitch which caused our drum machine and sampler to stop talking to each other which meant we couldn’t trigger any of the tracks. By the time we got back up and running, we only had time for one other song and the promoter was on stage telling us to stop playing!
It was a bit of an unmitigated disaster that was out of our hands really, but we learned a lot from it that has stood us in good stead since.
14: What was the most difficult obstacle you have ever faced and how did you overcome it?
Getting our music into the right ears. It’s so difficult to get someone from radio to listen to your music given the sheer volume of requests they must receive.
We have really immersed ourselves in the underground music scene and have received a lot of support from bloggers on social media for example which has helped to spread the word. We’ve worked closely with a small number of promoters that have really supported our journey and have given us some really cool supports which is also helping to grow our audience.
We just need to keep plugging away doing our thing.
15: What is your creative process when making music. Do you work with others or is there just you?
We normally practice with the drum machine, synths and sequencer initially and will work on an idea for hours on end. Once we hit the right feeling, we get locked in and plug away until we have the song structure and the basis of the melody and lyrics. The beauty of being electronic is that it allows us to be far more creative than we’ve ever been.
Once the song has a loose structure, we introduce guitars and start to develop the lyrics. The good thing is we play off each other and we know pretty quickly what the other is thinking and what direction to move.
As a result we probably have around 30 plus ideas that have been parked over the last two years because we can end up writing something on the spot which is better. We already have 3 new songs which are almost good to go after the album has been released.
16: Where do you see your musical career in 10 years?
Without sounding cliché, we are just taking it day by day. We honestly just want the album to be well received and hope that it leads to some more decent opportunities. We are already planning some gigs in Manchester and Liverpool this year and it would be great to play an outdoor festival this summer.
We honestly do it for the love of the music and anything that happens beyond the release of the album will be a bonus.
17:Your Top 3 Overrated Musicians, who when you hear them you think ‘ How The Fk…………..?
We’re all in it for the same reason. Regardless of whether we like an artist or not, it’s not our place to say they are overrated. They will be rated by someone out there, and that’s the beauty of music.
There are however, plenty of ‘underrated’ artists out there. In no particular order:
Drab Majesty, Boy Harsher and Nation of Language. All deserving of being bigger than they are.
