The 11th track on our free (or pay-what-you-want to support our charity work) download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 5” is by the Argentina based electro-industrial act Bloque Del Sur. If you want some oldschool Front 242 sounds (think “Kamfbereit”), then you should definitely check this one out!

Bloque Del Sur debuted in 2016 with the 4-track EP “Periferia”. It was released on the Pakapi Records label and was the third of the Industria Tropical series of EPs by artists who published on the Industria Tropical compilation. You’ll recognize the band’s signature sound: vhs samples, cutting synth layers and dark beats or exactly what Front 242 sounded back in 1986. Since their debut they have been featured on a few compilations, and right now they get the full treatment on our own compilation.

For the fans, Pakapi Records is a record label based in Argentina which focuses on South American artists.

You can listen to “Sistema De Autoprotección” right below.

Check “Face The Beat: Session 5” on Bandcamp to discover the other bands. All donations will go to charity.

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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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Genre/Influences: EBM.

Background/Info: Bloque Del Sur is an Argentine solo-project, which a few people might have discovered on a compilation released on Industria Tropical. “Periferia” is the debut-EP featuring 4 cuts released on Pakapi Records.

Content: The sound is clearly inspired by good-old EBM. You’ll rapidly notice some Front 242-inspired bass lines while the low BPMs were quite typical for old-school EBM as well.

One of the other main characteristics is the instrumental versions. Bloque Del Sur doesn’t work with vocals, however adds a few sampled screams here and then.

+ + + : The old-school body music of this band sounds interesting. The carrying bass lines and multiple sound effects are cool. The sampled screams running through “Megaperiferia” are a bit cliché and yet I still like this kind of ‘trick’.  

– – – : “Periferia” clearly sounds as a debut production. There are several aspects to improve and work on while the addition of a singer would be suitable as well.

Conclusion: I’m always into discovering underground electronics from less familiar countries. There still is a lot to work on, but let’s keep an eye on Bloque Del Sur.

Best songs: “Megaperiferia”, “Diagrama”.

Rate: (6).

Band: www.facebook.com/juanjose.calarco

Label: www.facebook.com/pakapi.rec

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.

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