Moons in Retrograde debut ‘Mirror Obscura’ video on Side-Line
Moons in Retrograde debut 'Mirror Obscura' video on Side-Line
The Flensburg, Germany-based dark alternative / gothic electronic rock act Moons in Retrograde, the solo project of US-born artist Kara Kuckoo, releases the lead single and video “Mirror Obscura” today, September 5, 2025. The track introduces the forthcoming debut album “The Third Side of the Coin”.
Kuckoo explains the concept behind the single: “Carl Jung said, ‘Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.’ ‘Mirror Obscura’ is about facing one’s own darkness through the infinite mirrors of other people… The video portrays the perceived duality of black and white and the madness within us as we avoid our own darkness. The elements of color are glimpses into the spectrum of wholeness… I especially wanted to shoot at sunrise because those moments of dusk and dawn are the magical spaces between day/light and night/dark.”
On the project’s broader intent, she adds: “Moons in Retrograde is about digging up and reflecting on buried emotions… MIR weaves a soundscape which shines a light into the deepest corners of the mind and exposes the truth about the dark side of humanity while simultaneously discovering the core of the human soul.”
About Moons in Retrograde
Moons in Retrograde is the solo project of Kara Kuckoo, a US-born musician and multimedia performance artist now based in Flensburg, Germany. The project blends music, body-paint, staging, dance and film.
Prior to Moons in Retrograde, Kuckoo was active in In Winter (Cleveland, Ohio) and the Las Vegas trip-hop duo Azure Noir.
Quickly becoming local favourites in the dark alternative scene, In Winter opened for The Birthday Massacre, Wednesday 13, The Genitorturers and others, and released one album, “Murmur”, in 2005, before Kara left the group the following year. She next embarked on the All Hamerican Tour (2006) as a backing vocalist, before relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada. In Vegas, Kara and MC / producer Kielen King formed the dark trip-hop / ambient / downtempo duo, Azure Noir in 2007. Officially, Azure Noir disbanded in 2009 when Kara moved to Germany. However, Kara and King have continued to collaborate, with singles being released in 2010 and 2012, and murmurs about releasing new music together in the near future.
Recent tracks include “Haunted” (2023), “Cardboard Coffins” (2023) and “Lamented Dreams” (2024).
“Mirror Obscura”, the new single and video from Moons in Retrograde, is out now: streaming from Spotify and all the usual outlets, and as a digital download from Bandcamp with all presales for “Third Side of the Coin”. The debut album is scheduled for release on 20 October 2025.
Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!
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