After the All About Eve faded away in the early 90's and before their recent reformation, Julianne worked with a number of musicians and bands.  Some like the infamous Bernard Butler collaboration didn't see the light of day but others like this track by the obscure Japanese band Schaft did.

Julianne contributes lead vocals to the seventh track "Broken English", which is mixed by John Fryer.  This military, beat driven track is introduced by Germanic Nazi-ranting speeches and goes on to a full orchestral mix.  Julianne's layered vocals sound great and the album, is well worth hunting down for those interested.  (See the MP3 section for a sample of the track)  The rest of the album is a real mixed bag but also well worth a listen.  Its unlikely to appeal to those die-hard Matha's/Scarlet fans though, especially as its quite expensive to get hold of (Buy online section)

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Broken English
If you've heard the Jules & Jim material and thought that was unlike anything you'd heard Julianne work on before, then this just takes that notion and kicks the whole thing onto the next level. Martha's Harbour it ain't. After a crackly introduction that sounds like it's come out of Germany in the 1930s, the song breaks out into a loud, driven, relentless rhythm through which Julianne's unmistakeable voice has to fight to get out for the next five minutes.

On first listen I didn't like this track *at all*, but with hindsight that was probably the shock factor as much anything else. Much to my surprise, it bears up to repeated plays a lot better than I expected, to the point where I'm actually starting to enjoy it, in a peculiar kind of way. Strange indeed.

  - Reviewed by Derek Trimbrell

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About SCHAFT
Schaft is a unit originally formed in 1991 by Maki Fujii and Hisashi Imai (BUCK-TICK). In the same year, they contributed one track to the compilation "DANCE 2 NOISE 001" and after their one-off gig at Nishi-Azabu's YELLOW, a long period of silence followed.

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Switchblade - 1994

"SCHAFT resurfaced again in 1994. Although both Imai and Fujii han been active composers in ther respective bands for many years, neither could be comsidered as a prospective singer, so the album was made with the appearance of PIG's Raymond Watts as the main vocalist, along with an array of guest vocalists and musicians, including Keith Le Blanc (Tack-Head), Jonny Stephens (Meat Beat Manifesto), Julianne Regan (All About Eve) as well as the engineering/production talents of Coil, Jon Fryer and the remix expertise of techno's new hope Autechre.

The result of this was that the instrumental-based experimental unit SCHAFT was reborn as a noisy moreover pop-orientated band at the same time as being an agressive rock band." - Written by J Tanaka, A&R - 

Schaft - Switchblade, Victor Entertainment 1994

This is a Japanese "industrial" band with help from Raymond Watts. Raymond contributes with the programming and some guitars; he also does vocals on half of the songs, and these particular tracks sound very similar to his solo stuff with Pig (aggressive depravity with some big band samples mixed in here and there), with a little more chaotic edge to it. Raymond also has a tendency to re-use some of his lyrics from his solo work, but unlike KMFDM, he surrounds them with a different sound and atmosphere so that they come across in a totally different light. While the songs involving Raymond are the best on the album, the two actual members of the band show they are very adept at composing a wide variety of styles (using different vocalists on each song).  From the new-wavish Broken English' to the atmospheric, sound piece of Olive' to the Dead Can Dance-like Visual Cortex'. Every one of these tracks are remixes with such names as Autechre (who provide an incredible techno-ambient twist), Meat Beat Manifesto, and Coil delving their very capable hands into this process. However, since these are all remixes, it does leave some confusion as to how the two members original material sound likes. (Kevin Congdon)

Schaft is: Imai Hisashi - guitars, vocals,noises
Fuji Maki - electric devices, computer programming, acoustic piano, noises
with Raymond Watts - vocals, computer programming, guitars, noises

Lyrics to Broken English

I could have got through anytime Cold lonely puritan What are you fighting for It's not my security It's just an old war Not even a cold war Don't say it in Russian Don't say it in German Say it in broken English say it in...

Lose your father your husband Your mother your children What are you fighting for It's not my reality It's just an old war Not even a cold war Don't say it in Russian Don't say it in German Say it in broken English Say it in broken English

Schaft Discography

• 1991 SCHAFT formed by HISASHI IMAI, & MAKI FUJII. 
• 1991 October 21th - released "nicht-titel" on VICTOR ENTERTAINMENT.
• 1994 September 21th -1st Album "SWITCHBLADE" released.
• 1994 October 21th -2nd Album "SWITCH" released.
• 1994 November 21th -Live VTR "SWITCHBLADE VISUAL-MIX" released.

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Many many thanks to Toru Nagao for sending in the information to Candytree