Well, you might feel as if you are turning Japanese when you spin The Living Secrets disc, the new Secret Secret cd released on the Denki Tiger label.

Secret Secret is a gothic synthpop project brought to life by frontman, Rob. Now Rob might be from San Francisco, but I do believe he left his heart (and possibly broke a few) in Japan.

I recently met Rob for the first time at the Tim Sweeney & Associates Music Strategies conference in Las Vegas (www.musicstrategies.com) and I was instantly charmed. Rob had brought along his trusty MacIntosh laptop, so I got to see a "live" performance of Secret-Secret while sitting poolside at the Riviera, courtesy of Rob's Mac. I also was privy to Rob's private collection of photos from his most recent visit to Japan, and Rob was kind enough to give me some wonderful insight into his fascination with Japan.

Rob seems to derive much of his musical influence from the Japanese culture. This is quite apparent in The Living Secrets, with Japanese female vocals adding an exotic flare to many of the tracks. My favorite tracks on The Living Secrets are "Nichiyobi" (which is getting wonderful airplay); and "People Go Out".

Rob is heavily influenced by the likes of Gary Numan, which comes through loud and clear in The Living Secrets; as he does a cover of Gary Numan's "Metal". Secret-Secret also performs a cover of Souxsie and the Banshee's "Cities in Dust" on The Living Secrets disc.

The Living Secrets cd also includes a QuickTime movie of Secret Secret (of which I am unable to view because of the ancient technology that I call my computer!)... but with the movie, and 5 bonus tracks that are not listed on the CD insert; The Living Secrets makes a very nice little synthpop package.15

Secret Cajun Band: Big House

Secretaries, The: The Secretaries

[Issue Forty-One // October 2001]