Circuit21 – Love in the shadows’

On 28th July 2013, Belfast born and bred Robert Brown aka Circuit21 releases his debut single, a floor-filling electro re-work of the 80’s cult classic ‘Love In The Shadows.’

It’s a song that has been seared on to my mental hard-drive from the minute I heard it,’ says Robert. ‘I’ve always loved it, as it’s a lament to losing love, but is still really uplifting.’

Since its first release back in 1986 by E.G Daily, ‘Love In The Shadows’ has become a much loved classic, re-recorded by many, including Celine Dion, who released it as ‘Délivre-Moi’ in 1988.

Fast forward to 2013 and Circuit21 have added powerhouse vocals, high-energy synths and a driving bass line that manage to maintain the sadness of the original, whilst combining it with a new hands in the air euphoria, that could make it one of this summer’s biggest anthems.

I thought it was time someone re-worked it,’ says Robert. ‘I wanted to put my slant on it and bring it to a new generation. I’ve always thought the song had a timeless quality and I think it still has something to say.’

And don’t miss the accompanying video. Set in a futuristic disco where Blade Runner meets Studio 54, its dark, camp and over the top, and has already had an impressive 16,000 views since going live.

Circuit21 is Robert Brown, an established musician, who’s been performing and working in the industry since the 80s. Having started out with a career in fashion, winning ‘Designer of the Year’ in 1986 and working with labels like Prada and Gucci, Robert started pursuing a career in music, fronting various covers bands.

Highlights included touring with Bronski Beat, and recording an electronic version of Shirley Bassey’s ‘Big Spender’ for an indie film ‘Rhythm and Blues,’ alongside Marc Almond.

His biggest success came in 2007, when he auditioned and won the role of lead vocals in the Dutch pop 4-piece BearForce1.

As their first single reached over 3 million views on YouTube, Hollywood blogger Perez Hilton called them ‘The Best Thing Ever’ and they quickly became an international pop sensation, gaining notoriety across the globe for their tongue in cheek videos and high energy dance routines. ‘It was a total blast and a total learning curve,’ recalls Robert. ‘We sort of hit the ground running, with 1 million hits in 1 week for the first video alone.  We had to tour quickly, so it was dates around Europe extensively and then the USA.’

Their second single ‘Xmas Is Here’ reached the top 10 in the Dutch Xmas charts, but after releasing the 3^rd single ‘Shake That Thing’ they decided to call it quits, with each member wanting to live in separate countries, it became logistically impossible. ‘Most of the guys are now living in different parts of Europe, so we don’t speak as often as we’d like, but I know that they’re all still shaking their own things, wherever they are!

After the BearForce1 sensation ended Robert moved back to Belfast and got to work on writing his solo material, and after hooking up with legendary Belfast electronic producer Graeme Laverty at Cloud9 studios, Circuit21 was born.

Love in the Shadows’ is the first single taken from the upcoming album, ‘Eventually,’ influenced by everyone from Gary Numan, Kate Bush and David Bowie to Kraftwerk and Mahalia Jackson.

‘Every song is written around the sound of the synths in my head. It was just trying to get that sound matched in the studio that took time.’

I’d recommend wearing comfortable shoes, because it takes you on a brisk walk through the 1980’s, taking twists and turns, dipping into different musical genres as you go,’ says Robert.  ‘Not just for the sake of it though. It’s just how it turned out.  Each song almost morphs into the next, the energy builds as it goes.’

The end result? ‘Very much the sound of something future, winking at the past…’

Homepage : www.circuit21.com

Circuit21’s debut single, ‘Love in the Shadows’ is out July 28, the debut album, ‘Eventually’ is due out later this year.

MySoCalledGayLife.co.uk | UK & Ireland