Ville Sings ABBA's 'Knowing Me Knowing You' On MGT Album

[kellylugosisdead]

British guitarist Mark Gemini Thwaite, MGT for short, has signed with Hanover record imprint SPV and is scheduled to release his first solo album, "Volumes", at the end of June. The lead single, "Knowing Me Knowing You", a cover version of the ABBA classic featuring guest vocalist Ville Valo of HIM, will be available from April 15, mixed by Tim Palmer and mastered by Maor Appelbaum.

Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/hims-ville-valo-sings-abbas-knowing-me-knowing-you-on-mgt-album/#zjWOxs2RLWeeh5Z0.99

[Zhivago]

The song is supposed to play on some UK site tonight.

Info here:
http://saintscream.ru/

[Daedalus]

You can now hear the song at the same link. It's...ok. Ville doesn't sound like he really tried at all. Someone just needed a paycheck until he can get off his ass and get another HIM album out.

[616]

Well, at first when that idea was represented i was  a little afraid .... "Ville sings ABBA song " but then i realized that HIM did all kind of weird covers like Backstreet Boys so i decided NOT to check the original ABBA song as i dont know it so i wont be influenced.
To the song - i like it, Ville did a good job. No he did a great job - he has so strong and great voice there, even in lows. At 4:01 i like that "....the best i can doooooooooooo" from that moment its awesome until the end.

And i cant agree more with @Daedalus - Ville needs to work on the new album more. One more month and it will be 3 years since Tears On Tape ..... Can you believe that it has been so long?

[Until_Love_Do_Us_Part]

I agre. I thought it was extremely misrepresented. I could barely hear Ville except for "good days.... bad days...."

I thingk Ville just needed a paycheck. And as for Mark, I think he's riding the coattails of Ville. He was barely in the song at all, but of course its the singpe for the album.

[kellylugosisdead]

Zhivago, thanks so much for the link!

I really think he did a good job on the cover, but I wish they'd have left the "aha" in the chorus from the original instead of replacing it with that guitar bit after he sings "knowing me, knowing you". I feel like his voice sounded pretty heavily processed, though, and at times sounded more like he was just singing along instead of trying to inflect emotion into what he was singing. Either way, it's nice to hear something kind of new.

[kellylugosisdead]

Well, at first when that idea was represented i was  a little afraid .... "Ville sings ABBA song " but then i realized that HIM did all kind of weird covers like Backstreet Boys so i decided NOT to check the original ABBA song as i dont know it so i wont be influenced.

I've heard Ville's actually a huge pop fan, so it's not that surprising! HIMBrasil did a video of HIM covers that included some pop: https://youtu.be/Qwx2xNGgJ9g

[Steel]

Neat. I can't wait to get this. Haven't been on here in awhile hope everyone is well.

[Zhivago]

I hope it's not a digital only song.

[kellylugosisdead]

From MGT's Twitter:
"Ville Valo on video shoot for 'Knowing Me Knowing You' with MGT 21March. #villevalo @TheHeartagram @MarkGThwaite https://t.co/HKqQtXLoEH"

Our boy's in fine form, ladies and gents.

[616]

without the tattoo he looks almost like a slightly aged version of himself from 2005

[Fink_7]

He needs to shave and then it will be Ville from 2005

[DarkSecret666]

The video is here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INIx3B5F_0g

[616]

Ville with hair !  i mean no beanie, finally, he looks great like this

something between 2000 year and  2005 year Ville with a little bit of facial hair , looks good

[kellylugosisdead]

Ahhhhh he looks so so so good in that video, Ville Juurikkala did a fantastic job.

[Fink_7]

Let me ruin everethyng! Just kidding
Actually, If it wasn't Ville and his sexy body , the clip would be boring af. And he looks so bored and unenthusiastic, but maybe he's supposed to look like that, idk. So let me just fangirl about how's Ville looking good and stuff. That's the only thing I like about this video.

[AcousticFuneral]

I must say the song is really growing on me, okay it's not HIM but it'll tide be over for the time being, but please Ville not too long.

[six6sixways2love]

I hate that I've been singing along to an Abba song. But it's a great track.

Mr Valo is looking amazing for almost 40

[Kaysa]

And yet again I have too much free time on my hands. (I really don't. It's just that this is more interesting to translate than stuff about Harlem, sorry.)
Apologies for the suckyness of my English.


Sonic Seducer 05/2016

Mark Gemini Thwaite feat. Ville Valo
One man, countless bands

Nearly everyone has heard him play or seen him on stage before. But most people don't know him. Mark Gemini Thwaite is probably the humblest guitarist on earth. He played in Tricky's, Peter Murphy's, and Gary Numan's bands. Even though he has worked on more than 20 albums and was a member of The Mission for many years he always took a back seat. Just now has he finished his first solo album. For the vocals he rounded up the who's who of the scene. A foretaste of the album gives the single "Knowing Me, Knowing You" with Ville Valo. An ABBA cover.

"I actually never wanted to make a solo album," admits Mark Gemini Thwaite. "I don't write lyrics and I don't have a good singing voice. What made me change my mind was working with the musicians collective Primitive Race. We sent each other song ideas and then got different singers for them. So I thought: Why not do that for a solo album?" Gemini already had song ideas for the album in heaps and he also wrote new pieces, sometimes with a singer in mind already. Because of his good contacts to the music scene it was easy for him to find friends and colleages to sing on his album. Among them Wayne Hussey, Julianne Reagan, Miles Hunt, Saffron, Ashton Nyte, Andi Sexgang, and the golden voice of HIM, Ville Valo.

"For 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' I immediately had Ville in mind. I wanted to make a cover of that ABBA song for a long time. As a really dark version in the style of The Mission. But I was never able to actually do it because I didn't work with anyone who I thought wanted to sing it. The moment I decided to make the solo album I knew I wanted to record the song. I asked Ville who was the ideal choice for me", says Thwaite.

Ville Valo, a friend of Thwaite since the nineties, immediately agreed. It's his first guest performance outside of HIM since years. "HIM usually consumes all my time. Because of that it's always hard for me to take part in projects besides HIM," explains Ville, "but Mark is a friend and the stars were right. It was the right song at the right time."

Surprisingly, Ville Valo didn't know the ABBA song about a broken relationship. Ville laughs: "I am a Scandinavian but that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm a fan of ABBA. I grew up in a family that didn't own a single ABBA album." Which turned out to actually be an advantage for the singer. He was able to approach the song without any bias or expectations. Ville explains: "I wanted to give the song a gothic vibe. The song itself is really poppy but the lyrics are pretty dark. There's no light at the end of the tunnel which was very surprising to me." Mark Gemini Thwaite adds: "I wanted to keep everything that's good in the original. My only aim was to change the vibe. The 'Ahhs' in the song are now played by guitars and that removes the cheesy pop factor. Now it almost sounds like a HIM song."

Thwaite actually planned that Ville Valo write a melody with lyrics for one of his demos but that didn't work out because of the lack of time. The next HIM album is still a thing of the distant future, as Valo reveals, but he's already busy gathering ideas. A cover version was easier for him to fit into the schedule, as he explains: "Musicians tend to overanalyze their songs. With a cover you don't have to think about the lyrics. That's why they often sound less forced and more relaxed. You can just take what is already there, set your stamp on it, and don't have to think about it too much. It's the same for me when I play cover versions with HIM."

Apart from the ABBA song and a Human League cover all of 'Volumes' is new material. It's fascinating how it all fits together really well even though the many guests from the scene all left their mark on the songs. Musically, all options were on the table from the start, says Thwaite. "The album surely is on the darker side. But I didn't have a definite idea in mind for the sound. The good thing about the album is that it's really organic and that I could write whatever I wanted. I didn't worry about whether the goth kids would like it or not. But both my guitar play and taste of music now and then brush the gothic genre, and you can hear that on the album." 'Volumes' will be published by record label SPV. Old friends of Thwaite that he's known since his years with The Mission. More on Thwaite and "Volumes" in the next issue.

[SilverLiningBE]

The next HIM album is still a thing of the distant future, as Valo reveals, but he's already busy gathering ideas

So... not this year...

Personnaly, I find your English perfect (but I am not english spoken either)!

Thank you very much for this translation

[666WTLOnVinylFTW]

I'm perfectly fine with the probability of there not being a new album this year. They can take as much time with it as they please. I'm glad Ville doesn't seem pressured to release something as soon as possible once again due to the ever-declining fanbase. Tears On Tape was rushed out the door in order to capitalize on the hype of their comeback after releasing Two Decades Of Love Metal. It featured the “best of the worst” (so to speak) of the unused/unfinished material that Ville had lying around. This band is better than that. Whatever it takes for them to kick ass once again and show everyone that they've still got it, I'm down for.

[Daedalus]

I'm kind of surprised we haven't seen some sort of new compilation album this year...it has been 3 years since ToT and a year and a half since the 4 album remasters in the US...doesn't someone want to take my money for little to no new material???

[616]

I'm kind of surprised we haven't seen some sort of new compilation album this year...it has been 3 years since ToT and a year and a half since the 4 album remasters in the US...doesn't someone want to take my money for little to no new material???

yeah DVD Love Metal Archives vol 2 would be great!

[SilverLiningBE]

Did someone manage to download the highest quality video from youtube before it was put under copyright?

Since I permanently deleted the video by mistake yesterday, I have been trying for hours to download it again (or to merge the "without sound" youtube mp4 dowloadable file with the iTune m4a file, in vain).

I also tried two software to restore the deleted file without success because I was downloading something else at the same time...

Anyway, I am so pissed off for my mistake!!  Not to be able to download the video again is driving me crazy. Could someone please help me?

[Fink_7]

I don't know but for me everything works great and I don't see any copyright restrictions. But anyway, I have this video in 1080, so If you want I can send it to you.