Genre/Influences: Minimal-Electro, EBM.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: French-Spanish Pedro Peñas Robles is a renowned artist who has been involved with different sonic projects but he’s also a DJ, performer, author and label owner (Unknown Pleasures Records). This work is getting us back to his most ‘famous’ music project HIV+ featuring a fine selection of twenty nine songs he released all over the years with other artists.

Content: Robles collaborated with very famous artists like The hacker, Millimetric, Chris Shape, Blind Delon, Adriano Canzian, Maman Küsters ao. The album is featuring original songs, cover versions (from Liaisons Dangereuses, DAF and The Normal) and remixes (by bands like Absolute Body Control, Radical G, Equitant, Marc Hurtado, Cruise [CTRL] ao) but also songs from one of his side-projects Adan+Ilse. The work brings us back to Minimal-Electro/EBM on which Pedro added his vocals.

+ + + : I first of all salute the artwork of the CD-edit but next there’s the content. I think it totally stands for the EBM-style the artist has often revealed by different releases on his own label. Solid bass lines, danceable beats, and a few, harsh, Industrial elements, bringing 80s EBM alive. On top of it all there’s the powerful and sexy voice of Robles. The list of ‘friends’ he has worked with is impressive and often resulted in a great symbiosis between music and vocals.

– – – : I’m less convinced by the different cover versions (cf. “Warm Leatherette”, “Los Niños Del Parque” and “Der Mussolini”). It’s always tricky covering legendary songs which I think are more suited to live performances instead of an album.

Conclusion: This is a great opportunity to re-discover HIV+ (which seems to be no longer active) and his collaboration with great, Electronic, artists.

Best songs: The Hacker & HIV+ “Novö Diskö – Remix by Alek Drive”, Dave Inox & HIV+ “Miss Conceptual – Remix By Raul Parra”, Oliver & HIV+ “Neither Wise Nor”, Radikal Kuss & HIV+ “Ça Suffit!”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/havoc2027

Label: www.zoharum.com / www.facebook.com/zoharum

Listen to “Spanish Electronic Body Music”:

About HIV+

HIV+ is a project of Pedro Peñas y Robles, a French-Spanish artist native to southern Spain and based in France. He began working as a DJ in 1987 and started an experimental music career in 2000, citing Esplendor Geometrico, SPK and Throbbing Gristle among his influences. He also runs the label Unknown Pleasures Records. “Spanish Electronic Body Music”, a double-CD collection of twenty nine songs released on Zoharum on October 30, 2023, gathers scattered singles and collaborations from across his catalog.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Rhythmic-Noise, Industrial.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Dirk Ivens (Klinik, Dive, Absolute Body Control, Mororik ao) and Eric Van Wonterghem (Monolith, Absolute Body Control, Klinik, Insekt ao) are back on track unleashing the ninth Sonar-album in history. “Future Cries” comes twenty seven years after the self-titled debut-album (when Patrick Stevens of Hypnoskull was involved and later on replaced by Eric Van Wonterghem) and nine years after their previous full length (cf. “Shadow Dancers”). It also is the first album released by Hands.

Content: It all feels like years have no impact on the sonic ogre called Sonar. The Belgian duo bring us back to the essence of heavy, merciless, Rhythmic-Noise. Hypnotic noise sequences and distorted rhythms are leading listeners into a frenetic dance although the work also features ‘softer’ and rather Minimal driven cuts. “Future Cries” features 12 short but raw, brutal, cuts.

+ + + : Definitely the most ‘extreme’ common project of Ivens – Van Wonterghem but also with a similar chemistry as for Absolute Body Control. This album will appeal to the early lovers of the project and also for a wider Industrial audience preferring a ‘softer’ and more minimalistic approach. I like the ‘no compromises’ attitude of Sonar; you’re either  going to like it or not. There’s no way in between but I experienced this album as more diversified. It’s not just brutal Noise power but still more ‘controlled’ tracks like the great “You Get Yours” and “Turn You On”. “Elevator” sounds more into the ‘early’ style and will just blow you away.

– – – : Sonar has always composed short cuts and that’s sometimes a pity when listening to a great track. It however remains a ‘heavy’ sound format reminding Industrial music from the 90s.

Conclusion: “Future Cries” stands for a heavy and murderous come-back of Sonar.

Best songs: “Turn You On”, “You Get Yours”, “Elevator”, “Modern Touch”, “Hold On”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/TheKlinikDiveSonarAbsoluteBodyControl

Label: www.handsproductions.com / www.facebook.com/hands.official

About Sonar

Sonar is a Belgian duo of Dirk Ivens and Eric Van Wonterghem, both also active in Absolute Body Control, with Ivens known for Klinik and Dive and Van Wonterghem for Monolith. Patrick Stevens of Hypnoskull was involved on Sonar’s self-titled debut album before Van Wonterghem took his place. “Future Cries” is the ninth Sonar album, arriving twenty seven years after that debut and nine years after “Shadow Dancers”, and is the project’s first release through Hands.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial, Industrial-Techno, Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Eric van Wonterghem (Absolute Body Control, Sonar, The Klinik, Insekt, Detune-X ao) doesn’t need any further introduction. The Belgian veteran strikes back with the twelfth full length album of his Monolith solo-project.

Content: The work takes off with a Cinematic-Industrial piece which sounds like an intro. We next embark on a dark sonic journey made of Industrial sound treatments, obscure and sometimes mystic atmospheres, menacing, low, bass lines and danceable rhythms.

+ + + : The album features 17 tracks so no need to say Monolith remains creative and prolific after more than 20 years of involvement. The tracks have been slowly built up and feature ‘Industrial intelligence’. “Concrete Playground” is a diversified opus like illustrated by the clubby track “Push”, the heavy “Gallium Element” which sounds like Thomas P. Heckmann on an Industrial journey, the mystic-like “Take Me High”, the haunting “The Hunter” and “The Sky Turns Red” for its irresistible, low, sound treatments. The album illustrates the endless creative mind of this Belgian sound guru but also his open-minded spirit to compose Industrial music.

– – – : I regret some of the tracks aren’t a bit more extended. I’m also missing the Tribal influences from earlier releases.

Conclusion: Monolith took out a patent on Industrial music like no other artist can make. “Concrete Playground” is a new must have!

Best songs: “Push”, “Gallium Element”, “Take Me High”, “The Hunter”, “The Sky Turns Red”, “Concrete Playground”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/monolithrecords

Label: www.handsproductions.com / www.facebook.com/hands.official

About Monolith

Monolith is the solo project of Belgian musician Eric Van Wonterghem, started in 1997. Van Wonterghem began his career in the early 1980s as composer for the minimal synth act Absolute Body Control alongside Dirk Ivens, later joining Ivens and Marc Verhaeghen in The Klinik, and continuing to collaborate with Ivens in Sonar. “Concrete Playground” is Monolith’s twelfth full-length album, released on Hands.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Minimal-EBM.

Format: Digital, Cassette.

Background/Info: Spectral Body is an American solo-project driven by Trance Furnace co-founder J. Weilburg. “Demonstration 23” features three songs.

Content: From the very first notes you’ll notice an explicit old-styled EBM sound driven by slow BPMs. There’s a heavy effect on top of the vocals. We next get an instrumental piece featuring sounds reminding me of the good-old Commodore 64. The last track sounds more minimal-like and into 80s stuff à la Absolute body Control.

+ + + : The retro elements and minimalism of Spectral Body both make the essence of this project.

– – – : The second track is missing elaboration so it all becomes a bit repetitive and monotonous.

Conclusion: This is an honest release which will for sure catch the attention of EBM-lovers.

Best songs: “Grey Dawn”, “White Floor”.

Rate: 6½.

Label: www.trancefurnace.com / www.facebook.com/TranceFurnace

Listen to “Demonstration 23”:

About Spectral Body

Spectral Body is the solo project of American musician J. Weilburg, co-founder of the label Trance//Furnace. “Demonstration 23”, a three-track EP recorded in 2022 using hardware including a Korg MS-20 Mini and Roland TR-08, was released via Trance//Furnace in 2023, with all instrumentation, vocals and engineering handled by Weilburg.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

In September 2008, the minimal synth twosome from Berlin, known as Bakterielle Infektion, took to the stage alongside Absolute Body Control for a festival performance. That concert is now being immortalized as “An Evening in Berlin” and is set for release on vinyl. Notably, unofficial versions of the live songs have been making the rounds in collector circles for years on cassette, their quality varying widely. However, the full concert from 2008 can now be savored for the first time as an official release, with audio taken directly from the mixing desk.

The vinyl record will be available in a limited edition run, released through the do-it-yourself label Minimalkombinat, known for their work with artists such as Grauzone, Fraktus, Guerre Froide, and more.

Last year saw the pair, one of the early adopters of the burgeoning post-punk/minimal wave trend, drop “15 Jahre Infektiös (1996-2011)”. This was a comprehensive double LP filled with club hits, rare tracks, and never-before-released material. The release, strictly limited to 225 copies, consisted of 30 tracks available exclusively on vinyl.

Despite these releases, fans should note that a reunion under the Bakterielle Infektion banner is not in the offing. The project split up in 2011 and since then Roger Semsroth continues his foray into solo techno under a variety of monikers, while Uwe Marx is busy producing and performing with his bands, Pleasure Victim and Brigade Rosse.

About Minimalkombinat

The German record label Minimalkombinat initially made its name releasing lathe-cut vinyl records housed in handmade covers. Over time, they expanded their offering to include CDrs, again encapsulated in handcrafted sleeves. Many of their releases were limited to the distinctly niche number of 23 copies.

However, since 2021, Minimalkombinat has experienced significant growth, now issuing vinyl records in runs as large as 225 copies. Even as it evolves, the label maintains its unique hallmark – the commitment to handcrafted packaging, an artisanal touch provided by the label owner himself.

Steering the ship is Mario S., otherwise known by his pseudonym, M23.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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!

side-line.com

Editors note: We completely distance ourselves from the Russian band Ploho on this line-up. They have have done nothing to express their support for the Ukrainian people or to condemn the cruel and unwanted invasion in Ukraine, on the contrary. The organisors of the festival have been made aware of our view on this.

The Greek darkwave and post-punk music lovers are in for a treat as the Death Disco Athens Open Air Festival 2023 announces its line-up. Set to take place at the Technopolis City of Athens on Saturday, July 22 and Sunday, July 23, the two-day event will showcase 14 bands across two stages.

The festival opens on Saturday, July 22, with a diverse roster of acts, including VNV Nation, The Soft Moon, Selofan, Rue Oberkampf, Ploho, Kalte Nacht, and Youth Valley. On Sunday, July 23, the event continues with headliners The Sisters of Mercy, followed by performances from She Past Away, ACTORS, Absolute Body Control, Mecano Un-Ltd., Mechanimal, and Data Fragments.

Located at 100 Piraeus Street, the Technopolis City of Athens is easily accessible by metro, trolley, and bus. To reach the venue, festival-goers can take the Blue Line (Line 3) to the Kerameikos station, trolley No. 21 from Omonoia station to Fotaerio Stop, or any of the following bus lines: No. 049, 815, 838, 914, Β18, and Γ18.

Tickets for the Death Disco Athens Open Air Festival 2023 are now available for pre-sale. For more information about the event and to purchase tickets, visit www.athens-technopolis.gr or call (+30) 213 0109300 or 213 0109324. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to experience some of the best live music in the heart of Athens.

Here is the list of all bands playing:

• The Sisters Of Mercy
• VNV Nation (Do also check out this VNV Nation interview.)
• She Past Away
• The Soft Moon
• Actors
• Absolute Body Control
• Mecano Un.Ltd
• Selofan
• Ploho
• Rue Oberkampf
• Kalte Nacht
• Mechanimal
• Youth Valley
• Data Fragments

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Future-Pop, Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, DCD & 3CD.

Background/Info: “Transcendent” is the eighth studio album by Berliner group Solitary Experiments. The album features an extra disc with remixes and guest singers while there’s also an extra disc available -which is an audio book.

Content: The main disc features 10 songs in the purest and unique tradition of the band. The Electro sound remains always catchy and danceable but still featuring ‘evil’ or call it darker parts. So there’s a song featuring Dirk Ivens (Dive, The Klinik,  Absolute Body Control). But there’s also a totally evasive song featuring Elena Alice fossi (Kirlian Camera, Spectra*Paris) reminding me of an imaginary mix between Delerium and Push.

The bonus disc features a few more guest singers. Among others you’ll discover songs with Patrik Hansson (Vanguard, Uncreated), Gabriella Aström (Me The Tiger) and Nina De Lianin (In Strict Confidence) while remixes have been accomplished by Supreme Court, Rob Dust, Grendel, MC1R, Run Level Zero, Controlled Fusion and Massiv In Mensch.

+ + + : Solitary Experiments remains an established name in Germany and according to me is still recognized enough abroad. The band however remains a great project when it comes to combining danceable vibes, melodies, darkness and Pop singing. The addition of Dirk Ivens and Elena Alice Fossi as guest singers accentuates the diversity of the album. I’ve been impressed by the somewhat Dance/Trance “The Great Unknown” featuring Elena Alice Fossi. Another great piece is “Self-Fulfilling Prophecy” which clearly sounds as a potential hit. Other noticeable cuts are “Wonderland” and “Heart Of Stone” but also the menacing sphere running through “Zeitgeist” featuring Dirk Ivens. The bonus disc brings a nice extra with more guest singers and a great selection of  remixers.

– – – : You can’t really blame Solitary Experiments for holding onto their sound which hasn’t changed throughout the years however the initial magic is a bit gone.

Conclusion: Solitary Experiments stands as an established value; you’ll be never disappointed as they’ve an imaginary qualitative label!

Best songs: “The Great Unknown”, “Self-Fulfilling Prophecy”, “Wonderland”, “Heart Of Stone”, “Zeitgeist”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.solitaryexperiments.de / www.facebook.com/solitaryexperiments 

Label: www.outofline.de  / www.facebook.com/outoflinelabel Read the news on ‘Transcendent’.

About Solitary Experiments

Solitary Experiments formed in 1994 in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, and later settled in Berlin-Friedrichshain. Founders Michael Thielemann and Dennis Schober initially recorded under the name Plague before adopting the Solitary Experiments name. Vocalist Dana Apitz featured on the band’s first two demo tapes, “Risque De Choc Electrique” (1996) and “Death in Small Doses” (1998), before Steve Graeber joined on keyboards; Frank Glassl serves as live e-drummer.

The band signed to Maschinenwelt Records in 1999 and released its debut album, “Final Approach”, the same year. It was followed by “Paradox” (2000), “Advance Into Unknown” (2003), and “Mind Over Matter” (2005).

Solitary Experiments released its eighth studio album, “Transcendent”, via Out Of Line in 2022, featuring guest vocalists Dirk Ivens and Elena Alice Fossi alongside additional singers and remixers.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Wave.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: French musician Yannick Rault remains very prolific. He released an impressive number of productions as Closed Mouth in the past few years. He now strikes back again with a new opus plus an extra album featuring previously unreleased material.

The set appeared on Icy Cold Records, the French label that also released the “Unreleased” companion collection in the same year.

Content: I can’t say there’s a huge difference between both albums. This project remains driven by good-old 80s Dark-Wave music. The songs remind me of an imaginary meeting between The Cure and The Danse Society with some extra Joy Division elements on top. The title song of “Last” is somewhat different for its Cinematic approach while it also is the longest cut from the album, holding you in its grip for more than 10 minutes.

+ + + : I’m always a bit skeptical with prolific artists but Closed Mouth always tries to put a different accent in each new work. The guitar playing is predominant, injecting the dark 80s spirit into the songs which is accentuated by the low bass lines. But there also is a great balance with the electronic arrangements. One of the most Electro-driven songs “No Reason” even reminds me of Absolute Body Control with Joy Division on top.

– – – : You have to like this band and/or being a Dark-Wave lover to start this listening featuring 28 songs. It’s quite understandable all the tracks aren’t convincing but globally speaking ‘mission accomplished’ for Closed Mouth.

Conclusion: I haven’t heard all the albums of this project so far as I can remember, but  I think this album is the best one. Great Dark-Wave songs so let’s hope this is not the ‘last’ album.

Best songs: “Lonely Life”, “Give Me Your Tongue” + “No Reason”, “No Movement”, “Don’t Leave You Alone”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/closedmouth19

Label: www.facebook.com/icycoldrecords

About Closed Mouth

Closed Mouth is the solo project of French musician Yannick Rault, who describes the music as influenced by coldwave, dark wave and post-punk. Rault plays guitar, bass and electronics and handles the vocals himself.

The project has been running since the mid-2010s and is one of the most prolific in its field: Discogs lists more than a hundred Closed Mouth releases, the large majority of them self-released digital albums and EPs. The earliest listed entry is “Insomnia #1” from 2014, followed by a long run of titles including “Radio” and “Coffee And Cigarettes #3” in 2016 and “Tesla”, “Another Strange Day”, “This Day” and the “Bluebirds” series in 2017.

Icy Cold Records issued the pairing of “Last” and the “Unreleased” collection in 2022, the first Closed Mouth material to appear on a label rather than under Rault’s own name. The label returned to the project with the CD album “Forgotten” in 2024, and the Spanish label Oráculo Records released the limited 12″ EP “You Dont need a God” in 2025.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Minimal-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Svaj. Is a Swedish solo-project driven by Tomas Z. Westberg. This guy is busy with different projects. Last year I had the opportunity to discover the old-school EBM project, Syntet. He now strikes back with Svaj. The songs were originally composed in the late 80s and reactivated plus reworked in 2022.

Content: “Rewind” is pure nostalgia. The Electro-Wave and Minimal-Electro format definitely belong to the 80s. The global production and still the vocals remind me of Absolute Body Control.

+ + + : Svaj. Is a must have and a true discovery for 80s fans. The songs smell like pure 80s Electro-Wave. The cuts are short, dark, driven by simple tunes and recovered by sweeping effects. “Still Standing” and “Dream Telepathy” both the most noticeable cuts.

– – – : I regret the songs aren’t a bit longer but here again that’s pure 80s like.

Conclusion: Svaj. Is another cool Electro project byTomas Z. Westberg and I hope to hear more new stuff in this direction.

Best songs: “Still Standing”, “Dream Telepathy”, “Rewind”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist & Label: https://www.tzw.se

Listen to “Rewind”:

About Svaj.

Svaj. is a Swedish electronic project that started in 2022 around Tomas Z Westberg, who sings and plays the electronics. The release credits also list Anders O Öhgren on bass, and the project is described elsewhere as a duo of Westberg and Öhgren. The music mixes electro-wave, minimal-electro and synth-pop with a strong visual concept. Westberg also runs the old-school EBM project Syntet.

“Rewind” came out on 14 March 2022 through TZW Produktion and holds six tracks: “Rewind”, “Dream Telepathy”, “The Freaks”, “Still Standing”, “Ashes” and “Brända Barn”. The last of these is a cover of a 1980 song written by Anders Brodin and Mikael Svensk. Irre plays trumpet on the title track, Syntetmusik recorded and mixed the release, and D. Kaufeldt mastered it at AI Static.

“Until We Fall” followed as the second release, and the third, “Maggots”, arrived in 2025 with a full-length video presentation.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

The 2021 edition of the Sinner’s Day Festival will take place from 30th October until 1st November 2021 at The Max in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. About 53 new wave, EBM, industrial, post-punk, synth-pop and eighties bands are featured on 2 stages.

This year the line-up includes: Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft (Robert Goerl & DAF world premiere), Gary Numan, Clan Of Xymox, Praga Khan, Covenant, Fields Of The Nephilim, Suicide Commando, Funeral Dress, The Arch, The Bollock Brothers, Your Life On Hold, Ground Nero, Absolute Body Control, A Slice Of Life, Astrasonic, Blancmange, Diary Of Dreams, Agent Side Grinder, Red Zebra, Siglo XX, The KVB, And Also The Trees, La Muerte, UK Subs, Glen Matlock, IAMTHESHADOW, A Split Second, BFG, Then Jericho, She Past Away, The Foreign Resort, Minuit Machine, Leaether Strip, Haujobb, Gene Loves Jezebel, Twin Tribes, La Lune Noire, Empathy Test, Jah Wobble and more!

There is also The Batcave, the dance-area where you can party while DJ’s spin their finest tracks 13h/day. A camping area is available if you want to stay next to the festival area at night!

Tickets can be ordered here

Be aware that you need to show a valid Covid certificate/Covid Safe Ticket to get access to the festival!

Genre/Influences: Minimal-Electro, Electro-Wave.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl, Cassette.

Background/Info: Dirk Ivens (Dive, Klinik, Sonar, Motor!k ao) and Eric Van Wonterghem (Monolith, Sonar, Insekt ao) have known each other for quite a long time and began making music together in 1980 as Absolute Body Control. The Belgian band hasn’t released that much new stuff in quite a long time, but are now back on track unleashing six new tracks, which have been released in different formats by different labels.

Content: “Waving Goodbye” is the opening track, which reminds me of the early years and probably the biggest hit of the duo, “Is There An Exit?”. There’s a similar icy sphere and vintage sound treatments with Ivens’ very own timbre of voice on top. This is Electro-Wave from the good-old days and both artists perfectly know how to bring this unique atmosphere alive. The songs are short, dark and evasive, but sometimes also pretty Experimental. There also is a short instrumental cut.

+ + + : Absolute Body Control takes us back in time, like bringing the 80s back to life and no one else but Absolute Body Control knows how to emulate this unique sphere. The typical sound of the good-old rhythm box and cold strings are pure 80s like. The main strength of the production hides in its simplicity. “Waving Goodbye” is a really great song, but I also have to mention “Earth Takes A Break”.

– – – : Some of the tracks are more Experimental and aren’t exactly my favorites. If you buy the vinyl you’ll hear a great A side and 3 less convincing cuts on the B side.

Conclusion: It’s good to see Absolute Body Control striking back with their pure retro driven Minimal-Electro-Wave style.

Best songs: “Waving Goodbye”, “Earth Takes A Break”, “Empty Cities”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/AbsoluteBodyControl

Labels: www.facebook.com/Wool.E.Tapes / www.mecanica-records.com / www.facebook.com/mecanicarecords / www.noisedemocracyrecords.com / www.facebook.com/NoiseDemocracyRecords

About Absolute Body Control

Absolute Body Control is the minimal-synth duo of Dirk Ivens (also of Dive, Klinik, Sonar and Motor!k) and Eric Van Wonterghem (also of Monolith), who began working together in Belgium in 1980. The pair released the single “Is There An Exit ? / I’m Leaving” and a self-titled album in 1981, followed by “Numbers” (1982), “Figures” (1983) and the live album “Live” (1984). After a long hiatus the duo returned with “Tracks” (1989) and “Eat This” (1993). Side-Line covered the band’s 2015 flexidisc “Waving Hands” and the 2016 vinyl reissue of “Wind(Re)Wind” with extra tracks. “A New Dawn”, released in March 2021 to mark the band’s 40th anniversary, brought the duo back with its first new material in over a decade, issued across vinyl, CD and cassette through Mecanica, Noise Democracy Records and Wool-E Tapes.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Out via Mecanica on July 20th is a 4LP and 2CD reissue of the Absolute Body Control collection “Lost / Found”. “Lost / Found” holds a total of 52 songs including 8 previously unreleased tracks.

The 4LP version is limited to 1,000 copies with 4 records inside individual sleeves, insert and numbered certificate. The 2CD digipak version is limited to 500 copies on vinyl record gatefold sleeve replica with 2 individual printed inner sleeves.

About Absolute Body Control

Absolute Body Control was formed by Dirk Ivens in 1980 influenced by the sound produced by the likes of Suicide, D.A.F. and the UK electronic scene. The project originally feature Marc De Jonghe (synths) and Veerle De Schepper (backing vocals), though Mark was replaced in 1981 by Eric Van Wonterghem, after the release of the debut 7″ “Is there an Exit?”.

The band split up in 1985.

Although they released a few cassettes, there was never a proper release on vinyl or CD. A compilation of tracks entitled “Eat this” was eventually compiled in 1993 and a first edition of the collection “Lost / Found” was issued on CD in 2005.

Dirk and Eric took the project back on stage in 2006 and decided to re-activate it. They first re-recorded some of their classic songs for the album “Wind[Re]Wind” and then continued releasing new material.

Side-Line also covered Absolute Body Control’s ‘Wind(Re)Wind’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial, Electro-Industrial, Industrial-Ambient.

Format: Digital, CD, Box (CD, Vinyl, Vinyl 7”)

Background/Info: Dirk Ivens (The Klinik, Absolute Body Control, Sonar, Motor!k) is back on track unleashing a new album of his sonic alter-ego Dive! Throughout the years he collaborated with soul mates Eric Van Wonterghem (The Klinik, Absolute Body Control, Sonar, Monolith, Detune-X) and Ivan Iusco (Nightmare Lodge). There also was an album in collaboration with Sigillum S while the previous full length (cf. “Underneath”) also featured Rafael M. Espinosa (Geistform). Dirk this time joined hands together with Jan Dewulf (Your Life On Hold, Diskonnekted, Mildreda). It’s not their first collaboration as Diskonnekted in 2006 released the “Frozen”-EP featuring Dirk Ivens.  

Content: It doesn’t really matter with who Dive collaborates with; Dive remains Dive! Driven by an Electro-Industrial sound and the spooky vocals of the artist, this new work is directly linked to the particular ‘dark’ and ‘industrial’ sound of the Belgian sound terrorist. I however have to say that this work is probably the darkest Dive-album ever; you simply can hear it the tormented atmospheres, which became pretty explicit at some more Ambient-driven songs in the midst of the work.

“Underneath” was the most sophisticated Dive work so far, but some tracks from this opus are even moving a step further. The drum patterns from some tracks have never been that complex; even featuring a kind of slow Industrial breakbeats at “Black Star”. This work is filled with anguishing spheres, little sonar bleeps and ‘Klinik’-al’ sequences. Notice by the way, the title song is also an early Suicide Commando track on, which Dirk sung while “Inside Your Head” is an original Monolith-song featuring Dirk as guest singer.

The EP featured at the ‘Box’-edition reveals “EP Versions” of the songs “Inside Your Head” and “Black Star” plus remixes by Numb and Suicide Commando.

+ + + : The “Frozen”-EP from Diskonnekted already was a song that could have been released as Dive, but “Where Do We Go From Here?” confirms there’s a real connection and chemistry between both artists. Jan Dewulf injected a refreshing –although tormented, touch to the Dive sound. It’s the darkest and most disturbing work to date, which is accentuated by 3 more ‘ambient’-driven pieces on, which some background drones are empowering the darkness mixed with Ivens’ spooky vocals. But the best passages clearly are the most danceable cuts like the brilliant opening song “Inside Your Head”, but also “Black Star” driven by an Industrial –although breakbeat inspired, cadence. The minimalism running through “Invisible” is another remarkable cut while the title-song –as the last track, reminds me of good-old Klinik. On top of the production you still will notice the charismatic vocal performance of Dirk Ivens. From the EP-tracks I especially recommend the elaborated remix of “Death Machine” (one of the so-called ‘Ambient’-cuts) by Don Gordon (Numb).

– – – : I’m not as convinced by the softer, Ambient-driven songs. The production of Ivens’ vocals remains absolutely great, but I now and then miss the more enraged, shouting way of singing from the early years. The Suicide Commando–remix from “Leave Me Be” couldn’t convince me; the tune being a bit simplistic and not adding a bonus to the song.

Conclusion: The first self-named Dive album was released in 1990 (!), but 30 years later the Belgian Industrial ‘dino’ is still kicking ass. The collaboration between Ivens and Dewulf opens perspectives for the future!

Best songs: “Inside Your Head”, “Black Star”, “Where Do We Go From Here”, “Invisible”, “Leave Me Be”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.dirkivens.com / www.facebook.com/TheKlinikDiveSonarAbsoluteBodyControl

Label: www.outofline.de  / www.facebook.com/outoflinelabel

About Dive

Dive is the solo alter-ego of Belgian artist Dirk Ivens, also known from The Klinik, Absolute Body Control, Sonar and Motor!k. Past Dive collaborators include Eric Van Wonterghem, Ivan Iusco and Sigillum S, with Rafael M. Espinosa featured on the previous album “Underneath”.

“Where Do We Go From Here?” pairs Ivens with Jan Dewulf, known from Your Life On Hold, Diskonnekted and Mildreda. The two had already worked together on Diskonnekted’s 2006 EP “Frozen”, which featured Ivens as a guest. The album was released in December 2020 on Out Of Line in digital, CD and a limited box edition combining CD and vinyl formats.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Set up as a solo-project in 1997 by Eric Van Wonterghem MONOLITH became a true reference in the Industrial music genre. This dinosaur from the Belgian and international Electro-underground scene has been involved with numerous projects such as ABSOLUTE BODY CONTROL, THE KLINIK, INSEKT, SONAR, DETUNE-X while contributing to the writing of DIVE-albums. He this year strikes back with the eleventh (!) full length album of MONOLITH. “Unnatural Bodies” has been released on Hands and sounds like symbolizing the fusion between Techno- and Industrial music. I talked about it with Eric Van Wonterghem.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries) 

Q: “Unnatural Bodies” seems to be inspired by the work of Jim Whiting, which I remember from the great “Rockit”-clip by Herbie Hancock. What caught your attention by the work of Whiting and how do you transpose this inspiration into music?

Eric: Yes he did the “Rockit”-clip and the “Frankenstein”-movie effects I think. I liked his exhibition work in the 80s, the weirdness behind, and how he  created ‘human – machines’,

different from robots programmed  to do certain things. The “Unnatural Bodies” like Jim Whiting called it first were  combined mechanical elements with air-pressure  connected with  parts of ‘dummy’ bodies. His ‘moving art’ seemed  suddenly to be organic and alive.

I somehow liked to achieve something similar with my music, art without rules! When you follow the book how to make art or music, that will mostly never bring something interesting.

Q: What can you tell us about the different stages you’d to go through to release “Unnatural Bodies”? What have been the main difficulties and eventually challenges in the writing and production of the album? 

Eric: To produce a MONOLITH album, I know the creation of sounds is a progress that will take me the most of time. It also is the most difficult part for me, but also the most interesting one. There got always to be some excitement in hearing a melody or sound, if not I start the next day from scratch. After several albums, it can become sometimes more complex as the listeners often like to hear what they know you for, and as a artist I like to evolve,  I take my time until I’m satisfied with the creative part making sounds and feeling all fits into that album.

After that follows the editing, mixing and producing part, that goes fast. After all this year of studio work  for my projects and other bands it became something natural… almost immediately I create what I’ve in mind.

Q: I think it’s really interesting to see the evolution in sound and influences of early MONOLITH releases versus the productions from the past few years. Is that like you said because you like to evolve? And what has been the impact of the Berliner Techno scene on your music?

Eric: I was always interested in a wide spectrum of electronic sounds and music. I liked making the first albums with MONOLITH, back then I  searched  something new in sound, the ‘Tribal-Industrial’-sound was the result and it was not really fitting in any style, it got the attention by a certain audience, and that’s what you need as artist to keep on releasing albums. 

But after years of performing, underground parties and realizing by my own the evolution and concerts everywhere, Berlin was kind of heavier than most parts in the world, as the weekend counts 7 days there… There it was very nice to discover that the techno scene  start liking harder beats and harsher sounds, less melodic music was played, Ambient drone-sound mixed with loud reverbed kicks became a way to escape from reality  and in the Industrial scene there was also a search for a more open sound… less distorted! 

Both scenes crossed borders and started to experiment with their sound. Like many other Industrial artists I liked this evolution, it’s inspiring and so you can reach a new audience and more events. The music played in both scenes was pretty similar,  only the mixing was done a different way.

Q: It’s an evolution you can also hear on the HANDS productions, which became more Techno-driven. How do you explain this phenomenon and what’s the connection between both genres?

Eric: Like I said, both scenes are crossing their borders. Adam X’ label Sonic Groove created back then a good name for a party; it was called ”Crossing the Parallels”; different scenes that fit together, but have another audience. So that phenomenon was a normal thing to happen,  people  going out, meeting people and discovering that there’s more…

Q: You earlier this year also (self)released a digital productions entitled “The Disco Buddha Variations”, “Disco Buddha” being probably one of the biggest MONOLITH hits. What makes the magic of the original edit and tell us a bit more about the different variations/edits of the song?

Eric: The magic in that track was the never ending kick drum. The end of the sound was connected to the start, in that time a not so often heard, with a simple Noise hi-hat making the mechanical rhythm and when I created a singing Buddha on this beat, the track became very recognizable and hypnotic…

The “Disco Buddha”-variations were made 20 years later, although there were in already made some different versions in the years on request for compilations. I performed all these versions as a special on Udo Wiesmann’s birthday event from the famous industrial HANDS label. To keep this memory I released it also on my  SoundOfMonolith Label found on Bandcamp.

Q: The Covid-19 pandemic has seriously affected all artistic life –especially live performances for musicians, so what’s the impact on your own activities? How do you try to manage and face this fact and what are your plans for the coming months?

Eric: It’s heavy for all of us. I’m lucky to get my music, listening records, playing synths, creating sounds… The live action is gone for now and that’s very, very sad; unbelievable when thinking to all events and festivals that have been cancelled. I keep to be creative during- and after lockdown, but I’m patiently waiting with all of you together until this is over; till that moment that we can get back to concerts and festivals in the same way as in the past. We will enjoy that so much and even more than ever before!

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Krautrock, Psychedelic Electro-Rock, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: One year after their self-titled debut release the Belgian Motor!k trio is back on track unleashing six new songs. Motor!k is the sonic brainchild of Joeri Dobbeleir  (guitar and synths), Dries D’Hollander (drums) and Dirk Ivens (guitar and effects). Especially the presence of Dirk Ivens (The Klinik, Dive, Absolute Body Control, Sonar ao) is quite surprising, but Motor!k definitely seems to be an extra project in his long career.

Content: I have to admit I wasn’t totally convinced after the debut work. The band defines their sound as Krautrock, which is probably the correct definition although it’s more accessible than numerous projects in this genre. The songs are once again instrumental edits revealing a perfect harmony between the guitar  –which clearly injects the style of Motor!k, the crescendo going drums and electronics. The tracks are progressively built up and are sometimes reaching a Trance-like sensation. I also noticed a more Ballad-like experiment (cf. “Memoria”) while the last song (cf. “Penta”) is more into Electro, the sequences adding an extra dimension to the song.

+ + + : The global approach and influences are exactly similar to the previous work, but this new album (which is more a kind of mini-album) is definitely more efficient. It all feels like there’s a better balance between the sound layers. The guitar playing is the most essential element of the work creating an elevating effect. The opening cut “Tyrants” is a cool song illustrating this hypnotic feeling, but “Ritual” even moves a step further leading the listener into trance. “Ritual” also has something pretty sensual, which is an aspect I especially like in music. But there’s also something to say about “Sundown”, which has a more dark Cinematic appeal. The already mentioned last song “Penta” reveals explicit Electronic sound treatments, which are in perfect balance with the guitar and drums.

– – – : The softer “Memoria” is the only song from this work that can’t convince me. It probably also is the most Experimental one.

Conclusion: “Motor!k 2” took me by surprise revealing a pretty accessible sound and the huge potential of Motor!k.

Best songs: “Ritual”, “Penta”, “Sundown”, “Tyrants”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/MOTORIKBELGIUM

Label: www.outofline.de / www.facebook.com/outoflinelabel

About Motor!k

Motor!k is a Belgian krautrock trio set up in 2018 by Joeri Dobbeleir (guitar and synths), Dries D’Hollander (drums) and Dirk Ivens (guitar and effects), the latter also known for The Klinik, Dive, Absolute Body Control and Sonar.

The trio released its self-titled debut album in 2019 on Out Of Line, followed by “Motor!k 2” in 2020, the “Odyssey” EP in 2022 on Ant-Zen, the albums “3” (2022) and “4” (2023), and “5” in 2024.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Techno, Industrial-Techno.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Do I really have to introduce Eric Van Wonterghem? I just prefer to remind you that this Belgian veteran of Electronic music has been involved in some of the most successful and visionary bands from the Belgian- and international underground scene; The Klinik, Absolute Body Control, Insekt, Sonar, Detune-X… and of course Monolith. “Unnatural Bodies” is the eleventh full length since 1997!

Content: It’s fascinating to see how Monolith has evolved in style and influences since the earliest works. The sound has always been dominated and carried by as strong rhythmic, being mainly driven by tribal rhythms. But quite progressively and probably because Van Wonterghem relocated to Berlin (Germany) the music got contaminated by what I should call ‘the Berliner Techno School’. That’s precisely what this album stands for; a constant energetic fusion of Techno kicks and dark sound treatments. There are no real moments of relief or yet, maybe one (cf. “Already There”). I also noticed a more minimal-driven cut (cf. “Crawl Back”), which reminds us of the Klinik-al period of the artist; icy sequences and a tormented sphere.

+ + + : This album is a threshold to move from Industrial music towards Techno. But this is not simple and cheap Techno music; Monolith has been infected by a subtle ‘bacteria’ called Dark-Techno music! Music with bollocks to make you dance! Music for dark cellar clubs, techno that will give you an electroshock! The sound formula might sound easy, but has been carefully adapted to fill the hiatus between Industrial- and Techno music. “Melting Mountains” will bring you a total climax; being driven by great sound treatments and supported with a mysterious sphere. I also have to mention “Crawl Back” for its minimalism and tracks like “Unnatural Bodies” and “Stop The World”. One thing is for sure, I won’t stop Monolith from composing this kind of Dark-Techno food!

– – – : If there’s one single minus point I can imagine, it’s for sure the rather repetitive sound formula. There’s not enough diversity between the tracks and that’s what makes “Melting Mountains” that special!

Conclusion: This work sounds as a sonic rotor that has been engaged!

Best songs: “Melting Mountains”, “Unnatural Bodies”, “Crawl Back”, “Stop The World”, “God Is Your Shield”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/monolithrecords

Label: www.handsproductions.com / www.facebook.com/hands.official

About Monolith

Monolith is one of the projects of Belgian musician Eric Van Wonterghem, also known for his work with The Klinik and Absolute Body Control. Van Wonterghem’s relocation to Berlin is reflected in Monolith’s increasingly Techno-driven direction, and “Unnatural Bodies” is the project’s eleventh full-length since 1997, released through HANDS.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Despite of their French band name, Rue Oberkampf is a German formation set up in 2016. The trio started to release digital singles inspired by minimal electronics and composed with analogue gear. They next released the EP “Waveclash” (2018) on No Emb Blanc and the single “Sans Toi” (2019) on Circonstances Aggravantes. The debut album “Christophe-Philippe” was released by the end of 2019 on Young and Cold Records. It’s a truly masterpiece mixing minimal EBM together with electro-wave. I talked about the debut opus with the three band members. (Picture credits by KEYI Studio)

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: First of all there’s this intriguing band name, but also the title of the album and the nickname of your singer (Julia De Jouy), both inspired by the French naturalized German industrialist Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf. The idea for this name must have been during a trip in Paris, but what is it really all about and what do you know about the industrialist Oberkampf?

Julia: When I was a child, I used to go to Paris with my mom to visit my family. Being raised bilingual, I was disturbed by the name of this metro station called Oberkampf. The ‘Germanish’ word it sounded hard to me, but since I was in France, I didn’t understand the deeper meaning. When we were looking for a band name I remembered this weird name and street ‘Rue Oberkampf’. So it’s a combination of personal history, the German- French sounding name which is a bit provocative in German, but comes from a very admired and social personality in France: Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf.

He was a German cloth manufacturer who moved to France in the eighteenth century and created a very specific type of cloth, called toile de Jouy. My grandmother was a tailor and she used that material as well -so here’s my perfect pseudonym.

Q: Next there’s your music, but how did you get in touch with each other and what were the initial purposes and ideas about sound creation and music?

Damien: Each one of us had been playing around with analogue- or digital instruments for quite a while. We all knew each other since the early 2000s but we only had the idea to work on music together around 2016.

Michael: First, it was just all about having fun, but then we created this cover of Absolute Body Control’s “Melting Away“ (“Le Train”) and we definitely wanted to publish it. We posted a video and a few days later, Dirk Ivens shared it on his Facebook account – that was probably our point of no return…

Q: You music sounds inspired by vintage electronics composed with good-old analogue gear. How does your home studio(s) look like and is there a particular procedure in the writing of the songs? What’s the input of each member and is there someone taking the final decisions?

Damien: Our music definitely is inspired by vintage electronics and analogue gear! Most of the time, we’re working in my home studio in Passau. It’s not huge, but there’s place for my analogue gear like a Korg MS20, an Arp Odyssey, my Waldorf Pulse 2 and Micro Q, several analogue effects and my favorite one, a DSI Pro-2. The most important ‘gear’ are my two cats – the most analogue step sequencers we have.

Julia: We’re very lucky to have 3 places for music production. Like Damien said we have his home studio, a little home studio in Munich and the absolutely amazing Young and Cold Records studio in Augsburg with all those synths, a great mixing console and vocal booth. And of course, the lovely Young and Cold Team with Daniel Hallhuber and Marcel Leidenroth.

Michael: Usually, we start with a synth sequence. One of us, mostly Damien, creates a very first idea and then we iterate it together or one by one. We all work in the same amount on the whole production but sure, everyone has his/her ‘specialities’. Damien is very good in tweaking our synths’ knobs to the right sounds and creates awesome sequences. Julia is the queen of effect automation and drops…

Julia: …and Michael is great in building the right track structure and snappy drums.

Q: I think you were active as DJ’s before setting up Rue Oberkampf. What did you learn out of your DJ activities to compose your own music? And what’s your perception of DJ’s in the contemporary electro-underground scene?

Michael: That’s right, we’ve had several DJ projects by ourselves or also together -mostly in the dark underground. For my part, I also had my own Soul and Mod event in early 2000. As a DJ, I sure get my energy and motivation from the crowd on the dancefloor.

Julia: As a DJ in this scene (at least in southern Germany), you have to know your crowd very well and learn to predict which songs will work. You have to be able to do a right mix for all the lovers of those different sub-genres -at least if you’re interested in a full dancefloor. The less ‘gothy’ the crowd is, though, the less do people only dance to songs they know -that’s my experience.

Damien: When we’re producing new tracks, we automatically think about how ‘danceable’ a song is. Both because we love to dance and based on our experience as DJs.

Q: I noticed you’ve already (self)released several clips. What fascinates you in this universe? What’s the impact of clips today and what do you try to expose throughout the content?

Julia: For us, Rue Oberkampf always has been a multimodal experience. First of all, sure, there’s the music, but also the visuals/lights and the bass/percussion that goes through your whole body. I feel a very strong need to frame our tracks and songs into a visual body. By our light pyramid (live) and videos, we want to create a holistic experience of Rue Oberkampf. In addition, the video clips underline the meaning or general topic of the lyrics. We also get others’ view on our music by collaborating with other (video-)artists, which is really special for us (see “Es Versucht“, “Le Soir Bleu“ and “Tokyo“).

Michael: You also asked about the impact of the clips: even if the golden era of MTV is over, we realized that our tracks with video are spreading waaay better than those without. We hope that we’ll have enough time to create videos for everything we produced one day…

Q: Because of the Covid 19 pandemic all concerts and festivals have been cancelled/postponed, which I think must be really frustrating –and especially for a ‘new’ formation, when you’ve your first album out. What’s your feeling about the whole thing? What have you been doing during the lockdown and what brings the future?

Michael: On the one hand side, yes, it is quite frustrating, especially since this year would have been our first ‘international’ year. We were booked for shows in London, Leiria, Moscow and many others. You could say, that 2020 could have been ‘our year’! So sure, for our band live, this period is really depressing. But on the other side, there’s simply so many more important aspects now -health, having a great supporting network, a job etc.

Damien: We’re all pretty forward looking, so we try to make the best out of it and take some more time for working on new stuff, doing some interesting cooperations for which we would not have had the time in the ‘other’ 2020.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Suicide Commando is a long-time leading formation from the dark-electronic scene. The band is an important source of inspiration for numerous new bands. So I got the idea asking a question to artists who are or have been related to Johan Van Roy. What do they think about his music, about the man hiding behind the artist…

I got in touch with Torben Schmidt, Dirk Ivens, Jean-Luc De Meyer, Jan L., Nero Bellum, Markko Barientos and Sakis (aka SynthetiC).

Speaking for myself I got the opportunity to work with Johan on a common project called Toxic Shock Syndrome. That was quite a long time ago now, but all over the years Johan remained the same kind and accessible guy for which I can only express my admiration for the talented artist he is and my respect for the great person hiding behind the artist. There where some artists are ‘struggling’ with their egos, he simply remains himself…

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Torben Schmidt is the owner of Infacted Recordings, member of Lights Of Euphoria and Binnary Park plus long-time live member of Suicide Commando.

Q: We all know Johan Van Roy as an ‘artist’ and ‘performer’, but what kind of man is he behind the scenes?

Torben: I know Johan since more then 20 years now and I have to say that he is one of the most loyal and kind guys I ever met. In fact he turned from an artist I respect into a real friend. We experienced so many cool things in the last 17 years being a part of his band which really made us friends. I’m really happy that I got to know him and that we had the chance to expand our friendship.

Dirk Ivens is a living legend of the electronic underground scene, front man of The Klinik, but still involved with Dive, Sonar, Absolute Body Control… he also was a source of inspiration for Suicide Commando.

Q: The Klinik definitely was one of the main sources of inspiration for Suicide Commando. How much of The Klinik do you recognize in Suicide Commando?

Dirk: It looks like more than 30 years after the release of the first album of The Klinik that these songs are still very much alive and were a big inspiration for a lot of bands during the years.. including Suicide Commando. Johan was one of them and especially his early work before he developed and finally found his own musical touch.

Jean-Luc De Meyer is the singer of the pioneers of EBM, the one and only Front 242! He’s also involved with 32 Crash, Underviewer and Modern Cubism. Jean-Luc De Meyer did some guest vocals on the song “The Pain That You Liked”, which was originally released as EP and featured on the newest Suicide Commando album as well.

Q: Jean-Luc, you already sung in multiple projects and did multiple guest vocals, but I never expected you singing on a song of Suicide Commando. What kind of experience was it for you and what’s your perception of the Suicide Commando sound?  

Jean-Luc: I’m not that sociable you know so I lately met Johan, maybe 3 or 4 years ago now. But I’d seen numerous concerts of Suicide Commando before. Singing on “The Pain That You Like” was a rather easy job because music and lyrics both were already written and I only had to interpret the song. It was quite simple and a bit of an evidence for me as I felt like a fish in the water singing on this kind of music…

Jan L is for sure another leading artist from the electronic underground scene. From Noisuf-X to X-Fusion to Stoppenberg he ever ever set up Kombat Unit together with Johan Van Roy.

Q: You ever set up Kombat Unit together with Johan Van Roy. What did you keep in mind from this experience and what’s your perception of Johan Van Roy as an artist/performer?

Jan L: Yes, we started Kombat Unit some time ago.. and we had a lot of fun making music together. We both have very different ways of working.. but it worked very well in the end, even if we only finished 2 songs. Our problem was only our lack of time. That´s why we stopped with Kombat Unit.

You maybe know that we both know each other since a very long time and we are close friends. I respect Johan as a very nice person and as a great artist. I also love to work with him, when it comes to mixing/mastering his Suicide Commando stuff. His music inspired countless bands since a very long time and he is a very important person in our scene. Without him our scene would be very different.

Nero Bellum is the front man of Psyclon Nine and get featured on the opening song of the new album.

Q: How did you get in touch with Johan Van Roy and what kind of experience was it for you contributing to the opening song (cf. “The Gates Of Oblivion”) of the new album?

Nero: I believe that my first correspondence with Johan took place just as “Mindstrip” was being released. I had just formed my band Psyclon Nine and had just begun work on our first album. Suicide Commando was one of my biggest influences at the time and Johan was happy to give me advice.

“The Gates Of Oblivion” gave us an opportunity to collaborate in a much deeper way. While Johan had most of the music written when he approached me, I was able to bring live, modular synthesis into the picture as well as my lyrical contributions. Performing the track at ‘Wave Gotik Treffen’ 10 minutes before my shuttle arrived was something that I won’t soon forget.

Markko Barientos is without a shadow of a doubt one of the leading artists from the Mexican dark-electro scene, but he in the meantime became a word-wide recognized artist involved with C-Lekktor, Circuito Cerrado and Kromak.

Q: Do you remember the first time you’ve heard Suicide Commando and what did you think? What means this band to you?

Markko: Yeah I still remember that day, the first time I heard Suicide Commando here in Mexico city we have a ‘Music Market’ named “El  Chopo” and I got the “Critical Stage” CD by luck. At that time there wasn’t internet and to find original CDs was something that became a real pain in the ass, but fortunately I found it and it was so blasting that it changed my own panorama from what I was listening to those days. ‘COLD-VIOLENT AND CATCHY’ are my favorite 3 words when it comes to dark electronic music. I just wanted to get more and more from Suicide Commando.

Suicide Commando had already released the “Stored Images”-album around that time I found the “Critical Stage”-album (so you can see how hard it was to find music in Mexico during that time?) From that day I always knew that I was so engaged with his sound and after all these years I still consider it as one of my biggest pleasures and influences in my music. For me “Construct-Destruct” is and will be always one of the best albums. To keep it short, ‘I’M A SUICIDE COMMANDO ADDICT, aren’t you?

Sakis aka SynthetiC from Nano Infect is a Greek artist who definitely found his inspiration in the cold electro sound of Suicide Commando. Johan Van Roy was guest singer on the Nano Infect’s song “Lifeless”.

Q: Suicide Commando clearly sounds like a source of inspiration for numerous dark-electronic bands. What makes the sound of Suicide Commando that special and what specific elements in this sound do you like?

Sakis: What makes Suicide Commando so special to a point that, at least to me, literally everybody is inspired, is the man behind the project; Johan Van Roy himself. He’s a loyal and simple guy while his sound features a straight forward structure plus a melody that gets stuck in your head from the very first moment. Needless to mention the groovy bass lines and that super fat sounding signature snare!
As for the lyrics, you get to see that Johan Van Roy is an everyday normal guy with thoughts like yours and mine… Songs about depression, death, the way the mind works… simple thoughts of a man who feels he has to express them…

It has been an honor to know him and I would like to thank him in public again for everything.

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

Side-Line also covered Suicide Commando’s ‘Hellraiser’.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

It’s now 27 years ago that Dirk Ivens (the legendary singer of The Klinik) took the world by surprise unleashing the self-titled debut album “DIVE”. The sound revealed a heavy, industrial and unpolished production mixed with  charismatic vocals. This work was the debut of a successful career featuring numerous great albums and essential songs. The music remained dark and industrial, but still featuring electronic treatments. But after the “Behind The Sun”-album (2004) the fans had to wait for 13 years to get new studio material. “Underneath” has been released on Out Of Line and is featuring good-old guest contributor Ivan Iusco (Nightmare Lodge and owner of Minus Habens Records) and Rafael M. Espinosa (Geistform) who already collaborated on “Behind The Sun”.

You can order the latest Dive releases right here on vinyl.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Did you ever thought to come back with a new Dive-album and what was the ‘click’ to start working again on new stuff?

Dirk: . After the definitive chapter to stop The Klinik from my side and the decision to take a long break with Absolute Body Control after the intensive touring, I suddenly realized I had all the time of the world to work in all quietness and peace on a new DIVE album. People asked me for years about new material and I realized it was more than a decade ago since the last album “Behind The Sun”.

Q: What kind of album did you’d in mind (sound- & lyrical wise) when starting the composition of “Underneath”?

Dirk: The ingredients are always the same; dark atmospheric electronics with a haunting voice. Of course there was a lot happening in the world during the last decade. We got confronted with terrorism, which is heavy cutting in the minds of Western people. The world will never be the same as we knew it and I try to capture that image and feelings also in my lyrics.

Q: You asked Ivan Iusco and Rafael M. Espinosa to help a hand. What’s the real impact of both musicians on “Underneath”, which according to me became your most accomplished album ever?

Dirk: As a non-musician I like to work together with other people otherwise every album would sound like the first DIVE record. With Ivan I used to work a lot in the past and with Rafael I collaborated on the last one. This time I asked them both to send music in the style that would fit in the DIVE concept, we discussed about the tracks and made changes where needed, I wrote the lyrics and did the singing. Beside that I also composed a few tracks and this way of working is perfect because this brings variety in sound and structures and keeps it very interesting. On stage DIVE is and will always be a one man project, but on recordings I always worked together with others.

Q: “Underneath” also sounds as a refreshing work and a kind of antidote to all dark-electro and industrial-like bands which all sound pretty similar to each other. What’s your perception of the ‘scene’ today?

Dirk: I don’t listen that much to other electronic bands because there is not much development in that genre, everything has been already done thousands times before. Originality is the keyword, bands like Twice A Man or Portion Control are still making excellent albums, but most of the younger generation sounds like a copy of Nitzer Ebb or DAF, really not my thing. For the “Underneath” album I went to a factory and recorded the banging noise on my discman, just like during the old days. So, be creative instead of using all the same sounds.

Q: I noticed there’re 27 (!) years between your self-titled debut-album and “Underneath”. How would you analyze the evolution of Dive throughout the years and what does it mean to you as an artist/performer?

Dirk: The very first DIVE gig was indeed in 1990, it’s unbelievable how time runs fast. For me music is the red wire in life, I feel like a fortunate person who could do musically what I wanted to do with all of my projects. I have seen a lot of technologic changes, from recording on two track tape desks to digital with all formats in between. The world changed and so do I, my wish is to continue another 3 years and celebrate 30 years of DIVE on stage, a nice way to end this story, right?

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Background/Info:

Read the news on ‘Underneath’.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Minimal-electronics, cold-wave electro.

Background/Info: “Anucrusis” is the 2^nd full length album for the duo Kriistal Ann –  Toxic Razor, which has been released again on the British label Peripheral Minimal. The songs have been composed with good-old analogue equipment and released on vinyl format, strictly limited to 300 copies.

Content: Paradox Obscur sounds totally devoted to the vintage electronic style and quickly awakens good-old memories from the 80s electronic cold-wave scene. It sounds pretty cold and into minimalism. I noticed a few EBM influences, and also space-like bleeps and evasive passages carried by great synth sounds.

It’s a pure old-school minded compositions, which might remind you of a band like Absolute Body Control. There also is this typical 80s production in the vocals, which sounds sterile and without real emotion.

+ + + : Kriistal Ann more and more becomes a reference for fascinating vintage electronics. “Anucrusis” has been accomplished with a real passion for vintage electronics. The songs are carried by irresistible retro-like sound treatments and cold, bewitching vocals. This album only features 10 songs, but has several great cuts. Paradox Obscur has brought this typical 80s spirit back to life.

– – – : There are no real minus points about this album, but I’m just afraid it’s the kind of minimal production that will only catch the interest of a restricted number of people and that’s really a pity because this is a great piece of work.

Conclusion: “Anucrusis” is an album that clearly does not have the pretention to innovate in sound rather than a successful ode to early electronic pioneers experimenting with minimal EBM and related genres.

Best songs: “Shock”, “Hot Steel”, “Drone”, “Coal And Dust”, “Spectral Isis”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.facebook.com/paradoxobscur

Label: www.peripheralminimal.co.uk /  www.facebook.com/PeripheralMinimal

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Background/Info:

Read the news on ‘Time Running Out’.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

In 2007 the Belgian act Absolute Body Control (aka Dirk Ivens and Eric Van Wonterghem) re-formed and released “Wind[Re]Wind” on a very limited picture disc LP and later on CD including updated and re-recorded versions of their best tracks.

Now, almost a decade after the first pressing, “Wind[Re]Wind” is relaunched including all the 13 tracks from the CD plus two new versions (“Waving Hands” and “The Man I Wanna Be”) and a live recording from WGT 2007 (previously available only on a limited CD).

You can order this limited 2LP set right here. More Absolute Body Control releases can be found here.

Absolute Body Control was formed by Dirk Ivens in 1980 and joined by Eric Van Wonterghem just after releasing the first single “Is There an Exit?”. After a few years, the band members all went their separate ways and started up other acts such as The Klinik, Dive, Sonar, Monolith and Insekt.

Side-Line also covered Absolute Body Control’s ‘Lost / Found’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, minimal-electronics, EBM.

Background/Info: This album was released during the first half of 2015, but is an irresistible piece of music by the Dortmund (Germany)-based Echo West. “Pagan City Ghosts” is their 7^th album to date and the 2^nd in the “Pagan City”-trilogy, which started with “Pagan City Gods”.

Content: Dirk Torben Klein is a talented, but often underestimated sonic craftsman who brings vintage electronics back to life. The vintage electronic treatments bring us back to the early years of electronic music reminding me of an imaginary hybrid between Absolute Body Control, Portion Control and Fad Gadget. “Pagan City Ghosts” is awakening old electronic spirits of the 80s made by rhythm box and icy noise manipulations. The songs have been accomplished by freaky sweeps and multiple effects.

The production of the vocals is another ingredient reminding me of the 80s. The echoing and somewhat sterile vocals match with the icy sequences. Echo West is not exactly composing ‘feel-good’ music and yet it sounds delightful.

The sound formula is quite easy, but efficient. “Pagan City Ghosts” reveals a succession of great compositions and will definitely appeal for all 80s dark-electro lovers. Notice by the way that this work also features a remix of “Are We City Humans”. The original version originally appeared at the “Pagan City Gods”-album.

+ + + : The analogue sound sculptures are absolutely well-crafted while the album reveals several outstanding songs.

– – – : I can’t explain why such a genius band has never gain more recognition!

Conclusion: “Pagan City Ghosts” smells like an unknown treasure that has been finally introduced to the world.

Best songs: “Hospital Of Ghosts”, “Heartbeat Of Life”, “False Illusions”, “Are We City Humans – Re-mix”, “Emergencies”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.echo–west.de / www.facebook.com/EchoWest.Musick

Label: www.darkvinyl.de / www.facebook.com/darkvinylrecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Out via the fine Mexican label Mechanic from early April on is the vinyl reissue on double red vinyl of the 2007 released Absolute Body Control album “Wind[Re]Wind” which was originally released on a very limited picture disc LP and later on CD including updated and re-recorded versions of their best tracks.

This 2LP red vinyl reissue can be ordered right here, be fast it will be selling out in no time.

Now, almost a decade after the first pressing, “Wind[Re]Wind” will be relaunched including all the 13 tracks from the CD plus 2 new versions (“Waving Hands” and “The Man I Wanna Be”) and a live recording from WGT 2007 (previously available only on a limited CD). Check out the complete track list.

Absolute Body Control was formed by Dirk Ivens in 1980 and joined by Eric Van Wonterghem just after releasing their first single “Is There an Exit?”. After a few years, the band members all went their separate ways forming acts such as The Klinik, Dive, Sonar, Monolith and Insekt.

Here’s a track as featured on the reissue.

Side-Line also covered Absolute Body Control’s ‘Wind(Re)Wind’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro, synth-pop.

Content: Debut album of the Belgian duo Gunther Haegeman (Obverse Reality, Synthetic Dream) and Dries De Vreeze, released on the label of Dirk Ivens (Dive, Absolute Body Control, …) and mastered by Eric Van Wonterghem (Monolith).
A wide sound-spectrum of different styles such as electro, new-beat, minimal, trance, etc. come to mind when listening to this very danceable CD.

Opener “Redhead Sky” throws you right back in the ’80’s and is followed by “Syquest”, a song built up, layer by layer, going from an ambient-like intro towards a full danceable electro-pop song in the style of Goose. “Der Nachtmann” reminded me on “Housewife” of Daan and is a song which could have been part of the repertoire of Vitalic while “Terror Rice” sounds very atmospheric and ‘spacy’, starting from an Antiloop-wise intro.

“Buchstabieren” is for me by far the best (danceable) track and has the potential to become a club-hit and dancefloor-filler! I also recognized the sound of Vitalic in “City Loneliness”, a song where even guitars are used to create the climax.

Another highlight is “Bunkerkopf”, a downtempo song which creates a very dark gloomy atmosphere. Track 8, “Floorlayer” reminded me of Tiga and is for sure very club-minded as well.

“Kontrolieren” I found the least-interesting song while the synths on “Untkalker” (what’s in a name!) also threw me back to the ’80’s. The last piece “Gamebreaker” has a huge new-beat content and is a worthy closing-track of this 57 minute duration album, of which each song has an average playing-time of approximately 5 minutes.
If I have to say one minor point about the music it is that sometimes the drums (roll-overs) sound a bit too simple (basic). But what I like most on this album is the fact that both gentlemen combine different styles which are closely connected to the dark electronic scene although their stuff also fits perfectly in the alternative dance scene.

Also important to keep in mind: the live-sound of this duo is as clear as on CD!

Conclusion: If you are into electro, new-beat, minimal, trance, and fan of Vitalic or Goose, check out this stuff!

Best songs: “Terror Rice”, “Buchstabieren”, “Bunkerkopf”, “Floorlayer”, “Gamebreaker”.

Rate: (WH:8)WH.

Band: www.facebook.com/pages/Karl-Hefner-Hugh-Lagerfeld/128855857266795

Label: www.daft-records.com

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Remember those cheap flexidiscs made in the 80s? They have become collectables in no time and are fetching high prices on all kind of auction sites. Out now is such a flexidisc from Absolute Body Control and this via the fine Mexican label Mecanica. Limited and hand-numbered to 250 copies you can order your copy right here.

The disc holds a new and unreleased version of the original song from 1981.

Side-Line also covered Absolute Body Control’s ‘Wind(Re)Wind’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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!

side-line.com