Audioglobe announces that German synth-pop trio Camouflage will issue the “Spice Crackers (30th Anniversary Edition)” as a limited 2LP on black vinyl through Bureau B on January 9, 2026. The album was originally released in 1995 and arrives on vinyl for the first time.

Recording of ‘Spice Crackers’

“Spice Crackers” is Camouflage’s fifth studio album, released on 11 September 1995 by BMG/RCA (Germany). A remastered edition appeared on 28 August 2009 via Bureau B. The record followed a new deal with BMG Germany that gave the band wide creative latitude. Material and ideas from a halted opera project flowed into the album, pushing the group toward more experimental, sometimes sci-fi-tinged pieces alongside electropop tracks.

Sessions ran from October 1994 into 1995 at The House of Mr. Mendoza (Hamburg). Heiko Maile produced, with additional production by Stephan Fischer.

“On our previous productions, we started out with just a few songs, worked on these as demos and then went to an external studio to completely re-record them with a producer. Having the idea to produce an album in our own studio, thus giving us more time to experiment, basically wanting to do the whole thing differently, was the beginning of an interminable recording session,” says Heiko Maile, producer and founding member, about the recording process of “Spice Crackers”.

And he adds: “Once we got going, surrounded by synthesizers, drum machines, guitars, microphones, a mammoth analogue mixing desk and a few pieces of recording equipment, we simply taped everything that came into our heads. Only a few of these tracks—I’m deliberately refraining from calling them songs—ended up on the original CD. It was a very formative and inspiring time for us in terms of album production.”

The album mixes song-based synth-pop (“Bad News,” “X-Ray”) with instrumental or semi-instrumental cues and interludes (e.g., “Zwischenspiel 2”). Two singles were issued: “Bad News” (Aug 1995) – with single edit, album version, and a Tranceformer remix plus a video was also produced.

Next was “X-Ray” (early 1996) – issued with Tranceformer, Soft Single, and Ronda Ray mixes; a video accompanied the release as well.

The commercial impact of the album was limited which led to Camouflage pausing its activities before returning with “Sensor” in 2003.

About Camouflage

Camouflage formed in 1983 in Bietigheim-Bissingen, West Germany, with Marcus Meyn (vocals), Heiko Maile (keyboards/production), and Oliver Kreyssig (keyboards).

Their early demos led to a deal with Metronome; in the U.S. the releases appeared via Atlantic. The debut “Voices & Images” (1988) produced “The Great Commandment,” which reached No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart.

“Methods of Silence” (1989) yielded “Love Is a Shield” and reached No. 13 in Germany. Kreyssig left in 1990. “Meanwhile” (1991) followed, then “Bodega Bohemia” (1993). A new BMG Germany/RCA deal preceded “Spice Crackers” (1995), an experimental studio project produced by Maile; singles included “Bad News” and “X-Ray.”

The band regrouped as a trio in 1999 and they continued to release several more albums: “Sensor” (2003, Island/Polydor), “Relocated” (2006, Synthetic Symphony/SPV), and “Greyscale” (2015, Bureau B). Camouflage’s current lineup comprises Meyn, Maile, and Kreyssig.

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!

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It all began in 1983 under the name Xymox, a musical project founded and spearheaded by Ronny Moorings. Shortly after, the project evolved into Clan Of Xymox, marking the birth of a band destined to leave an indelible mark on the Dark-Wave scene. Signed by the legendary British label 4AD, the band released two seminal albums that would become classics in the genre. While they briefly returned to the original name, since 1997, they have been known exclusively as Clan Of Xymox. What makes Clan Of Xymox truly special is not only their pioneering role in the New/Dark-Wave movement but their unwavering ability to create valuable and impactful music over the decades.

Unlike many of their contemporaries, who often rely on the nostalgia of 80s hits, Clan Of Xymox has consistently released strong, fresh material, proving that their creative spirit remains as vibrant as ever. With a career spanning over 40 years, Clan Of Xymox has firmly established themselves as one of the most influential forces in Dark-Wave. Ronny Moorings has remained true to the essence of his sound while allowing it to evolve, ensuring a timeless yet contemporary edge. Their latest and 18th studio album, “Exodus”, released via Trisol (Germany) and Metropolis (USA), is a testament to this balance. Featuring a collection of masterful tracks, the album combines melancholic, dark, atmospheres with Pop-infused arrangements that are both haunting and danceable.

I felt it was the perfect time to take a retrospective look at Clan Of Xymox’s incredible journey. In this interview, Ronny Moorings graciously shared his insights, reflecting on the band’s beginnings, their evolution, and their current work. I am deeply thankful for his enthusiastic cooperation and for taking the time to answer in such detail. His dedication to crafting inspired music over such a long period is remarkable, as is the man behind the artist. Respect! (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

‘I Wanted To Be A Part Of Things Which Were Happening In Front Of My Eyes’

Q: Getting back to the early 1980s which marked the rise of New-Wave music and subgenres like Dark-Wave, Cold-Wave, and Post-Punk. How do you reflect on those formative years and what do you recall from the very beginning of your career? Specifically, what events or circumstances led to the formation of Xymox and, later, Clan Of Xymox and what was your original dream when you first started making music?

Ronny: I will make this a short story because there is so much to say about how it came to be. I was in bands from on my childhood in my birth town Roosendaal (NL) where I already played live at the age of 11 with older 15 year old friends. When it was time for me to study, I first moved to The Hague, deciding after a year of Social Academy that I’d rather do a Sociology study in Nijmegen.

In the early 80’s there was a lot going on. Musically we had the Deutsche Welle and from the U.K. came New-Wave. This appealed a lot to me and DJed (what I also already did in Roosendaal as a teenager) this type of music in the local venue Doornroosje. It was volunteers work, but I got to see all the cool bands coming in.
The alternative scene was thriving in the whole of The Netherlands. Naturally many British bands were on the fore front of innovation. The Goth / Wave movement came also to Doornroosje. I remember especially Bauhaus and The Virgin Prunes making a big impression on me because they sounded and looked visually stunning. The Virgin Prunes making a complete theatre out of their show; it looked like genuine madness with a lot of stuff flying about on stage. With Bauhaus, Peter Murphy just looked the ideal part, a new ‘thin white duke’ with white light shining under his chin and the rest of the band in fluorescent colours, exposed with a black light.

Every week there was a brilliant band to be seen in Paradiso (Amsterdam) or in Doornroosje, like Echo And The Bunnymen In an army outfit with camouflage nets hanging over the stage, The Sound, Dance Society, The Birthday Party with Nick Cave swinging like a monkey from left to right from the light supports, giving it a high energetic performance, Siouxie And The Banshees, The Cure ( they played in a circus tent) and later seeing Robert Smith playing guitar with Siouxie in Rotterdam , Theatre Of Hate, Eyeless In Gaza, Black Flag, The Comsat Angels, Sisters Of Mercy, in the Milkyway Amsterdam,  of course with Wayne Hussey,  Further The Slits, Liaison Dangereuses, U2 ( played in Arnhem for 400 people) who was pretty unknown still etc. Too many to mention!

All bands not jet known by the majority of people but making a big impact on everyone alternative seeing them live. New-Wave, Deutsche Welle, Punk, Synth-Pop and New-Romantics was now a major alternative movement perfectly fitting the times we were living in.

Also the Netherlands produced influential bands who made quite an impression on me, like I already mentioned Mecano & Minimal Compact from Amsterdam, Nasmak from Eindhoven, Coitus Interruptus from Utrecht, and ‘famous’ local bands from Nijmegen like Mechanic Commando and Vice.

By seeing all these brilliant international and national bands I knew there and then that I had to start something new and interesting too. I wanted to make music like these bands. I was totally inspired. I wanted to be a part of things which were happening in front of my eyes. I wanted a band instead of just making things late at night on my own on a 4 track for no one else to hear.I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. It seemed that nearly anyone in the local scene started a band. In every squat people started a band and rehearsing was no problem in these industrial buildings we all occupied. Music was becoming a way of life, a means to express your views. There were enough opportunities for bands to play. There were always some old factories freshly squatted. One of the first shows I did was on a festival in De Plu Fabriek, a desolate disused umbrella factory. The festival had a social awareness theme about ‘Acid Rain’ of which maybe a handful had heard about. It was not taken very serious yet by the general public. It was the first ever show of Xymox there.

Round the same time at the University we had to do a video project. We had to film something about a socially significant social subject, so I started filming and interviewing the squatters local bands I knew. I still have the V2000 video tape but because of its backdated discontinued format, I haven’t been able to see it since the presentation at the University of Nijmegen.

In the beginning of 1980 in Nijmegen I had no real serious relationship with anyone. I was fairly new in town and most people I found quite uninteresting. The typical jeans and long hair student types, freshly coming from their cosy parental homes, with only one aim in life and that is to study, graduate and getting a job. Also most people were just coming out of the seventies and their clothes reflected that, very colourful shirts, a lot of blue jeans and mostly having long hair. In Rotterdam long hair in the back and short in the front was accompanied by a little moustache was the local fashion there.

Anyway, just after my initiation weeks of the University back in Nijmegen, one night I went out, going to a bar where I would normally not come with my fellow student friends. I was standing there drinking beer with my mates until I spotted this girl in the distance. She had the same kind of image as me. Out of place I thought. I simply had to talk to her and soon we were engaged in conversation and ended up spending the night together in her basement flat.. She told me she came from Nuenen, a small village close to Eindhoven but very famous for the house of Vincent Van Gogh. Her name was Anke.

In this period I wanted to start a Live band with the name I already had:  Xymox.  One day I showed her my songs I had recorded and asked if she would want to be in my ‘band’ which was just me at the time 😉 I said it would not matter that it was only the two of us because a lot of bands played with a drum machine and it would be a cool thing to do; she agreed. The songs were most of the time two or three chords so it was not too difficult for her to learn the tracks. I released this tape at the time, sold it for cheap (some people still have it). She liked the songs and decided to learn and play the bass guitar so she could play live. We started rehearsing together in 1982. I started sending my old Xymox demos to various venues and to my surprise a dozen clubs or so liked it.

Soon we played live with the two of us in various alternative clubs. I was singing, playing guitar and the synth plus operating the rhythm box. She played the bass by now and did some backing vocals . The songs were all mine, if you could call them songs 😉 For transportation I had my old cheap orange Renault 4 with a shift stick. All the equipment fitted in beautifully. Because we were just with the two of us and the fuel was very cheap, the money earned was very reasonable for those days.

Later we got asked by the locally known band Vice to support them. We did so and managed to play quite a bit of shows in the South of the Netherlands again. We felt we were getting somewhere.

Later a few friends to join our ‘band’ live. They were hitting metal pieces or doing backing vocals etc. Inspired of course by Einstürtzenden Neubauten. We started rehearsing in the empty vaults of a squatted bank building. Soundproof and safe it luckily was 😉

Anke wanted to move to Amsterdam in 1983, when she changed her study. She wanted to study Psychology and since I finished my Sociology ‘Candidates’ phase holding an official diploma. I was looking for a relevant Masters study so I decided to go to Amsterdam as well, I chose for  ‘Media Studies’ at the ‘University of Amsterdam’. Apparently you would have a lot of freedom with this study as well.

In Amsterdam I was asked by a friend in 1983, if I wanted to DJ for a local pirate radio station WHS. The show; ‘De Lege Huls’, translated ‘The Empty Shell’, would be late at night which of course I gladly accepted. I did this for quite some time well into 1985 until I got too busy with Clan Of Xymox and its many obligations.

As I already said I saved for a while every penny in order to buy my much desired object, a Teac 4 track multi tape recorder. I bought it in Antwerp, Belgium, November 1982. After many recordings of songs and ideas in Nijmegen I started a new In April 1983, frantically starting to record some new songs; the old ones were already more than a year old and I wanted to have new ones. With the help of the Teac 4 track recorder I could be more creative with writing and recording, bouncing previous recordings and build on that.

The instruments I had access to were: a Yamaha synth, Korg Poly 6 Synthesiser, Korg MS10 and MS 20, a rhythm box K500 , an electric Framus guitar, Welson Keyboard, a standard Shure 58 mike of course, my fantastic vintage space echo, melodica, guitar pedal effects and a bass guitar. A later valuable asset was later a Solina Strings but this one was borrowed once and a while.

All instruments were played in real time on tape. No sequencer used. That was too expensive.
These were the days computers were only academic and hardly used by anyone at all. Computers were just those big main frames standing in a government building or only portrayed in science fiction. Today our ears are completely trained to sequenced patterns, then it was something new, the ear was untrained to these sounds and pattern uses.

Soon things were ready. I asked Anke if she wanted to sing one song on the track I already prepared for her. It ended up with the title “Call It Weird “, so now  all tracks were done and everything was set up to bring these recordings to a mastering plant near Amsterdam called  Dureco. This was a vinyl factory specialised in producing Dutch product, the type like ‘Dutch Schlager’ like Vader Abraham known internationally for his “Smurf” songs. He was prominent on the wall everywhere in the factory offices. The main earner. Newer versions of this first EP exist: “Muscoviet Musquito” ( deliberately spelled this way) and “Going Round”. Both have various versions over the years.

‘I Felt That The Xymox Days Were Not The Right Way To Go’

Q: Xymox became Clan Of Xymox when you signed to 4AD, but later you reverted to Xymox before ultimately returning to Clan Of Xymox in the late ’90s. How do you view these shifts in retrospect? What, in your opinion, distinguishes Xymox from Clan Of Xymox?

Ronny: I started with the name Xymox and released my first EP “Subsequent Pleasures“ under this name. When Xymox got signed by 4 AD and the first debut album was called “Clan Of Xymox” I decided it was a slightly better name also because I had found people to play the songs live, so hence the ‘Clan’. I considered Xymox as my Pseudonym.

When Clan Of Xymox got signed by Wing / PolyGram USA I felt this was a significant change and wanted to underline this with shortening the name and perhaps with the reasoning that it would be easier for people in general to remember our name when it was shorter.

After 4 albums under the name Xymox, with the album “Phoenix” it had gotten too commercial in my opinion. With the 2 UK releases “Metamorphosis“ and “Headclouds” which were too Experimental and nothing much to do with the early material on 4 AD I decided in 1997 it was time to reintroduce Clan Of Xymox again with the same approach and attitude as in the earl 80’s. I felt that the Xymox days were not the right way to go and that it was better to stick to my own opinion instead of letting people influence me in one way or the other.

The result was the album “Hidden Faces” released worldwide on Tess Records and Pandaimonium Records in Germany in 1997. This was the start of Clan Of Xymox again. Since Phoenix I didn’t tour anymore. Had actually no live band anymore. I started to find again people who could play live with me and soon I had a live band ready to start promoting “Hidden Faces” and the older works on 4AD. Mojca my partner was there already since 1991 with me learning to play an instrument, keys and bass. She already designed the artwork from on 1992. In 1995 I decided to play in The Netherlands and promote “Metamorphosis” and “Headclouds”. The old live members from the 80’s Frank Weyzig and Will Anvers joined me on stage together with Mojca on Keyboards. This tour made me realise I missed playing live and soon since 1997 Clan Of Xymox played live each and every year till now and will keep on playing live.

I have a steady crew for more than a decade now with Mojca from on 1991 (of course), Mario ( more than 20 years), Sean and Daniel. I stay with the labels Metropolis (USA ) and Trisol (Germany ) as well as I run my own label Xymox Control now for decades a steady course with Clan Of Xymox, only expanding with my band, slowly but gradually. It manifests in the vast amount of sold out shows we are having each year.

‘We Were In Our Extravaganza’

Q: You were closely associated with 4AD, one of the most groundbreaking labels of the early New-Wave era. How did an unknown band from the Netherlands find its way onto such an iconic label? And how did your time with 4AD influence your evolution as an artist?

Ronny: Back in 1983 I felt that my former town Nijmegen ‘deserved’ a few copies of “Subsequent Pleasures” too. I was doing all the distribution myself. I sold 150 through Rough Trade UK, 150 in New Waves France and 150 export to Essen in Germany. Anyway, so I went to Nijmegen the night of the ‘Day of the Dead’, 1st of November.
I decided to visit a friend but he was not at home so not knowing what was going on that evening  I soon found out The Cocteau Twins were playing in Doornroosje that night, so I had to see them. There was still plenty of time left so I decided to have something  to eat in my favourite eating cafe De Plak. Whilst having dinner I heard English was spoken on another table, so my interest was aroused. Maybe this couple were The Cocteau Twins? Had to be! An English male and female.  Without any hesitation I went to their table and asked them all sorts of questions about their band The Cocteau Twins. They informed me politely that they were not The Cocteau Twins but were their supporting act called Dead Can Dance and if I wanted they could put me on the guest list; which I naturally did not decline since I was no longer active in Doornroosje anymore. In return I gave them a copy of “Subsequent Pleasures” for them to listen to.

Having seen Dead Can Dance they blew me away, just like of course The Cocteau Twins. After the show I went boldly to the dressing room and drank some beer with both the bands as they were sharing the dressing room and already established that we were all like-minded, talking to each other, or trying to, because Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau’s had a very heavy Scottish accent. Difficult to understand for a  Dutchman who knew and spoke only ‘school’ English. That night I learned then that Brendan was Irish, lived in New-Zealand, moved to Australia, met Lisa in Melbourne and moved to London to work on their musical career. A similar story was true for The Cocteau Twins who moved from Scotland to London to work on their career. All was very interesting and at the end of the night we swore to keep in contact and said our goodbyes.

During that time I kept in contact with Brendan and Lisa who lived together on the Isle Of Dogs. They invited me to their London home and I stayed at their place quite a few times. In those days I had to travel by ferry to the UK, a long journey. They lived on the 11th floor with a fantastic view over London. The flats were those typical council flats, ashen grey and reeking of urine in the elevators. They had a staggering amount of locks installed on their front door. With all their equipment at home I could understand their mistrust of their surroundings. It was all very depressing but very exciting for me. Brendan worked the same way as I did. We ended up with almost the same equipment in 1986. Brendan and Lisa were then still living together and were really dedicated to music. Every day they recorded or rehearsed. Lisa mainly singing and playing the Yang Ching. I slept in the living room and later on some visits they had a closet, like the one of “Harry Potter”. I slept there and was pretty cosy;)

Xymox started playing live in 1984 again. One day Brendan Perry called me up and asked me if we wanted to support them on a tour in the UK.  Without any hesitation I agreed to do it and almost a week later we were in London. Unfortunately when we arrived nearly all the dates of Dead Can Dance got cancelled and there were only three dates left:  one in London, Huddersfield and one in Dudley. We stayed with Brendan and Lisa, sleeping all on the floor in the living room, which I knew already too well.

During our first concert In London I nearly disappeared through the hole in the stage, I had to walk very carefully  because they did not manage to cover all the holes under the stained carpet. The father of Brendan was I believe the tour manager and his mother made sandwiches for Dead Can Dance when we went on the road to Dudley. The town looked nothing much and the bar we had to play likewise.. our dressing room was between beer barrels and if we wanted to have a drink we had to buy it at the bar said the promoter resembling “Dell Boy” of “Only Fools And Horses”. Still we had a great time hanging out with Brendan and Lisa, who were very generous to give us some money for covering our ferry expenses, which I know for sure they were paying out of their own pockets. After that we did more shows all over The Netherlands till summer.

Brendan Perry was the first one who told me about 4AD.  Before that I only paid attention to bands and not too much to record labels strangely enough.  He said he gave “Subsequent Pleasures” to Ivo Watts Russell , the label boss of 4AD, and so I followed up with sending a demo to 4AD with some newer additional tracks in July 1984, recorded in the Amsterdam Octopus 8 track studio. The demo I had sent 4AD after our shows in Paris’ old theatre La Seballe Club, several Dutch and the 2 UK dates. I was getting impatient as always. I gave Ivo Watts Russell a phone call. I was complaining about how the Dutch music industry sucked and that his label was the only independent label appealing to me. A week before that,  I had a meeting with the Dutch division label EMI but this meeting reminded me of all the cliches I ever heard about Major labels. To my absolute delight and surprise Ivo told me he liked what he had heard from the demo so far and wanted to meet, to see us in person and talk about it.

Ivo wanted to meet the band, so arriving in London, me and Anke  were heading to the private home of Ivo Watts Russell and his girlfriend Debby who also worked for 4AD as their press agent. They lived together in a residential SW12 London area. We stayed in their house for a week.

Anke and I had placed these long extra hair extensions in our hair so we looked a bit like ‘Uber Goths’ with a lot of make-up and special clothing we had designed for us by a friend who was handy with the sewing machine and wanted to become a fashion designer. I saw the surprise on Ivo’s face when he saw us for the first time. We were obviously not looking the way he expected us to look. Most of his bands on the label looked actually quite normal with no real image to speak of; so here we were in our extravaganza.

Luckily Ivo and Debby liked us or the music enough to offer Xymox a record deal and with that great news we went back home. The news had spread that we were the first band 4AD signed since two years of their last signing of Dead Can Dance. After this published fact my phone started to ring frequently and offers for radio and new Dutch live shows offers came in by the plenty.

When the self-titled album “Clan Of Xymox”’ was released funny enough nearly all the journalist thought we were Scottish by origin judging by their reviews. An Englishman is always very sensitive to accents. I saw it as a compliment though. Of course ‘Clan Of’ was suggestive enough 😉 . Most reviews were ecstatic, full of praise with five star ratings, the highest you could get. I guess we got lucky with my intention not to advertise we were Dutch. Having no names on the artwork and let the album speak for itself.

The British can be real chauvinists regarding their music industry, they didn’t take foreigners making music too seriously in those days. Of course the weekly music magazines Sounds, Melody Maker, New Music Express etcetera made up their ‘mistake’ in the eye to eye interviews, clearly pointing out us being Dutch and using the usual stereotype references, with headlines like ‘Dutch Bake’, ‘Dutch Courage’, ‘Going Dutch’, ‘Hollandaise Sauce’ and any phrase relating to the war between the Dutch and the Brits a few centuries ago. Anyway it did not matter anymore because we got the attention;  had a proper selling debut album. We did a lot of photo shoots with an English photographer using drapes in the back ground giving us a more Gothic image. This was used as our promo picture.The Music Maker and Sounds were giving us regular features and interviews afterwards, which gave us finally an international standing. Soon 4AD set up a few shows in Croydon and the University of London plus a John Peel session, which was very important to establish up and coming bands.

‘We Had To Prove Ourselves Time And Time Again’

Q: You’ve already mentioned several legendary British bands that were prominent in the 1980s and shared strong connections and camaraderie. What was your experience of the Dutch music scene during that time? How do you reflect on it now?

Ronny: I only had French, British and Scottish bands as friends. I could not get along with any band in The Netherlands in the mid-eighties. In the Netherlands there was a very strong Rock culture with no space for bands like us. We had to prove ourselves time and time again. I didn’t understand the provincial attitude towards synths coming from the Dutch critics. In a very first review the national music magazine Oor reviewed synths as magic boxes which made them nervous listening to them. When our first album came out we finally got greeted by the more alternative media which just got a foot in the door and were played on radio and TV, MTV and the like. Suddenly we were part of a movement to be reckoned with. Sometimes we even played live twice on a day in The Netherlands.

‘The Only Disappointment For Me Was That I Actually Never Got To Meet John Peel’

Q: During that period, you worked with or crossed paths with notable figures like the aforementioned Brendan Perry. But what about John Fryer, David M. Allen and John Peel? What can you share about those interactions and their impact on your journey?

Ronny: Our first John Peel session was in the beginning of  November 1985. It was pretty stressful for me. We had to record 4 to 5 songs with the live band in one working ‘BBC’ day of 6 hours or so. It didn’t occur to me that I should have taken adaptors for English power plugs with me.  Because it is the BBC, no one is allowed to change a power plug without the assistance of a fully qualified engineer, so it took them already one hour to find such a person as labour union regulations dictated that the technician supposed to have his tea break of an hour. We were already losing valuable time! We didn’t have computers in those days. My first Commodore computer with TV monitor I got in 1988 when I wrote the “ Twist Of Shadows“ album.  The Macintosh 128K a normal mortal could not afford. Clan Of Xymox did however use an 8 track recorder for the backing tracks, like Depeche Mode or The Cocteau Twins used as well. It consisted of individual drum tracks, sequenced bass triggers and strings. This made life a bit easier.  We could thanks to the ‘eight track’ finish within the timeframe of the BBC.

The only disappointment for me was that I actually never got to meet John Peel. Even then he was a legend, especially to me, because it was the best program for discovering new exciting bands. I only got to call him from the 4AD office, thanking him for the opportunity he gave us. He declared in his program that we were the pioneers of Dark-Wave. That was a huge compliment and recognition for Clan Of Xymox. Soon Dutch radios started to follow suit. We got to record a live show for Radio Veronica in Hilversum. Several TV shows invited us for music programs like the VARA. MTV picked us up too. We felt we were on a roll!

John Fryer I instantly liked as a person and sound engineer. He was the in house sound engineer of 4AD and knew what he was doing. He was not afraid to experiment with sampling sounds and replacing them. The AMS delay was his secret weapon. I remember sitting evenings together with John mixing tracks by hand. So I had to pull and push knobs on my side and he on his side. It was a lot of fun and very educational. Later in live John made me a remix for “Big Brother“ from the album “Limbo” (2021).

I worked with David M. Allen on tracks like “Out Of The Rain” and “Sing A Song” together with Jools of Nitzer Ebb. It was in Leamington Spa in John Rivers’s studio. I worked with John Rivers already on the “Blind Hearts”-EP for 4AD and several B-sides for later PolyGram. Now I was working with John on the “Hidden Faces”-album (1997) and we thought it would be very cool to have Dave M. Allen involved. This certainly worked. I wished we had the budget to work on all the songs but I was already glad these two songs worked out fantastically. Dave is a very likeable person with an air of mystique around him. He gives suggestions for you to try and they always make sense. He taught me to delve deeper when needed.

‘Without Me There Is No Clan Of Xymox’

Q: Both Xymox and Clan Of Xymox included founding members Anke Wolbert and Pieter Nooten. What role did they play in shaping the band’s identity, and how do you reflect on the line-up changes over the years?

Ronny: They were both not founding members. They joined me in the beginning of the Xymox period. First Anke as I told you and later in 1985 Pieter. Because they were the first ones joining they are seen as founding members but I am sorry to say; it was always my thing. I was and still am the driving force behind the band and it’s musical direction. No one else. They concentrated mainly on their own songs like “Masquerade” or “Stumble” and “Fall” back in the days. The bulk I wrote. I participated also on their songs as well.

Regarding the songs it is true we worked more together like a band should. In the beginning we rehearsed the songs for live shows and many got changed during this process. This was only sustainable for a short while as nobody liked to rehearse together.

We ended up as 3 individuals writers with different taste and musical directions so it was inevitable it wouldn’t work out long because we were all to egocentric to begin with. When I officially broke up with Anke it was also the end of working together as a collective. We all went our own way.

Indeed we had many changes but maybe the irony is in the word ‘Clan’, a group of close knitted people. So in the end there were many LIVE musicians joining the band for a short or longer period. Joining ‘the Clan’. The red line was and is simple: without me there is no Clan Of Xymox.

All happened really fast in those days. It was a learning process for all involved. Books about the music industry and bands hardly existed. Everyone was left to do whatever with their experiences, positive or negative.
I never knew or expected that just making music could make me enemies but also gaining a lot of friends of course. Jalousie and spite can make people really vicious and vindictive and yet equally so many fans or friends treat you with the utmost respect or even adoration. To me it is just music but soon you realise it is something more than that. 

Former friends or partners turning into your personal enemy. It is the worst thing that can happen, because they know your weaknesses and irritation points and will not shy away from using this against you if they have no pride, dignity or integrity.

Thinking back on this short period between 1985 and 1989 stir more negative emotions then positive ones in me. It wasn’t all bad of course but I can’t remember real long good periods. I realise looking back that I am only happy with the band since the beginning of the  mid 90’s to now, at least 33 years so far:)

Q: How does the young Ronny Moorings compare to the musician you are today? What traits have endured, and which aspects of your younger self do you miss in your music or approach to life?

Ronny: I was definitely very naive in the beginning. When I wrote a song for example I just split the rights between the band members because I thought it would motivate my band to pull more their weight in the band and…. after all I was a socialist and not a capitalist 😉

Soon I discovered that when people sense they don’t have to do too much and can simply lay back whilst I do the heavy lifting because they get paid anyway.

I started to get annoyed with this uneven situation and learned from this that I should not give away my rights that easily just to please band members or partner. So I ended this naive approach and never looked back.
Equally I used to work with bigger crews, managers, tour managers, lawyers and all the professional people they told you would need to have in order to make it as a band.

After many annoyances about the enormous bills I decided I could do most jobs way better. I know I am a control freak. You have to be. You have to understand the way things work. Now I have a lean machine and I like it a lot. Later I also learned to delegate things and that is also very rewarding. I guess ‘live and learn’ is true in my opinion.

‘Dark-Wave Has A Strong Hold All Over The World Like In The 80’s’

Q: Many legendary New/Dark-Wave bands achieved their greatest success in the ’80s. Why do you think those years were so special and unique for the genre? How do you see the evolution of New/Dark-Wave music from its origins to today, particularly in terms of its spirit and cultural significance?

Ronny: Yes, it was a new style taking over with fashion unseen before, It was against the Hippy culture, the jeans wearing long haired pot smokers. It was a clean break from all of this, plus the ‘no future’ feeling with all the political turmoil and nuclear threats hanging over our heads. Remember Thatchers England. Ronald Reagan as president.

These bands made the sound track of our lives and guess what? It is happening again. Dark-Wave has a strong hold all over the world like in the 80’s. Yes, it’s not on the dying radio or TV stations as we know it but streaming like crazy, this time on internet radios, YouTube, Spotify It feels a bit like maybe the pirates in the 80’s.

It feels the same to me and also we have the same nuclear threats back again. In a way it feels coming ‘full circle’.

Q: Over the decades, the music industry has undergone tremendous changes -rising social media, streaming platforms, declining physical album sales, advances in technology, and shifts in performance venues from intimate gigs to massive festivals. How have you navigated these transformations, and what are your thoughts on the (r)evolution of the industry?

Ronny: I navigate these changes just fine I think. I always welcomed change and will ever do. We need to improve. We need to move forward and not backward. When for the very first time in the 80’s I could get my hands on a computer I embraced it as a big help with sequencing and programming. It made endless rehearsing patterns on keyboards so much easier. Later it became my entire virtual studio platform. Streaming is now the most important thing now in the music industry and some artists do not like it, but remember when music was pirated and artists would get nothing from it financially and no insight how many like to listen to your music etc. I love Spotify and as an artist you have access to all date regarding what your fans are listening to.
Most music I listen to these days is from platforms, on my phone with airpods. This gives me more time to listen to music when I am on the move or outside. Everything in one device is just brilliant I think. Of course I have at home all old media devices still in place. I do play vinyl as well when I am in the mood. I still love vinyl and the looks of it. The best format for the artwork to shine.

Q: While it’s difficult for any musician to choose a single album or song as their best, is there a particular piece in your discography that holds special significance for you? Or do you believe that your most recent work is always your finest?

Ronny: I have to agree with my fellow musicians. My recent is indeed the best so far as I can see and feel 😉 It is simply because new songs are for the one who wrote and recorded it the most exciting, the most fresh and recent to your current experiences. You have to play them live which you haven’t done before and in the end they will sound different then when it came out. If you don’t have that feeling the artist should not release the album in the first place 😉

‘I Let The Listener Feel What I Feel’

Q: Your lyrics often feel deeply expressive, sometimes addressing social and political themes, other times delving into introspection. Do you see your lyrics as a reflection of your true self? What value and purpose do they hold for you?

Ronny: Sometimes yes and sometimes no. It’s complicated 😉 I definitely sing about emotions I feel or felt. Say I sing about Evelyn, Louise or Michelle. That doesn’t mean I know a person with that name or sing about a real person. All these names are fictional but the feelings and thoughts what went into these songs are real. Sometimes more than one person I think about finds its place into a song lyric. It all depends. Political themes are the ones which affected me like in the Lockdown periods in the early 20’s. It comes home, becomes personal and I describe more the situation than anything else. I let the listener feel what I feel.
Sometimes I write a song to blow off steam and feel good afterwards. Most of the time it’s about a person who doesn’t want to leave me alone almost my entire life 😉 I can keep going on like that. I always delve the lyrics out of the depths of my mind where it lay buried until I get it out through some type of instrumentation deciding for me what the topic is going to be. A new to be written song has most of the time its own will and direction.

Q: Clan Of Xymox has consistently attracted new fans over the years. What do your fans mean to you, and how does it feel to have a lasting influence on the Dark-Wave scene?

Ronny: Fans are the most important to me. Without a doubt. We meet so many dedicated fans, traveling to all of our shows they can reach within reason. We always talk to anyone after the show who’s interested, have selfies taken, give autographs, give something a fan would like to experience, a closeness you can’t give onstage. A hand shake, a look in the eye.

I am honoured to contribute to the Dark-Wave scene as it is today. All bands who are now big I met when they were still beginning and were our support one time or the other. I know that we had an influence on them but now they are an influence on me the same. So it works in the end both ways. To me this scene is the best scene ever for me.

Q: Looking back on your career, what do you consider to be your biggest milestones? And what were the most significant disappointments?

Ronny: I am still working on my biggest milestone 🙂 My quest is to see how long I can still play live with the band. That is my ultimate quest in life. Disappointments enough, especially in people, but to me that is also an inspiration to write songs about so in the end all turns out for the best. I am lucky I have many good friends in my life to compensate for the negative. Unfortunately I am a person who has to be on the darker side of things in order to feel inspired. So I don’t mind 😉

Q: How have you managed to keep finding fresh ideas and challenges over the years? Were there periods where inspiration waned, and if so, how did you overcome those creative blocks?

Ronny: I think in the beginning it was harder to write as it is now. To me writing comes very natural I think. Maybe because I have more to say now than when I was in my twenties. In that time I read a lot of books in order to get lyrically inspired. For a long time now I just write from what comes up in my mind and put it into lyrics. Way easier I think and less time consuming 😉 The music was never a problem. Finding words to it is a harder nut to crack sometimes.

A creative block I handle very easy: I put the song away and start with something else. Sometimes its years later that I have a look at it again, if I can do something with it and often that’s the case. So for me I don’t like to force a song if it doesn’t present it by itself.

‘Joy Division, The Sisters Of Mercy And The Cure Were Very Important To Me’

Q: One of the most surprising entries in your discography is “Kindred Spirits” (2012), a cover album featuring renowned songs and artists. How did you choose the tracks, and what connection do you have to those songs? Would you consider them key sources of inspiration?

Ronny: When I was young, the only means of getting to know music was the radio or “Top of the Pops” later in the 70s. In the Netherlands we had bands like Shocking Blue, Brainbox, Earth And Fire, Focus, The Golden Earring and such, which appealed to me a lot. These were the bands I was interested in. On TV we grew up with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and of course The Monkees especially grouped for US TV. These bands made me want to play an instrument at a very young age. After that I always stayed on the alternative side of music. On my album “Kindred Spirits“ you can see and hear which artist influenced me in the direction I was going. Bands for example like Joy Division, The Sisters Of Mercy and The Cure were very important to me.

I gave or restricted myself to make a choice for ten songs of bands who had in one way or the other an impact on my musical taste. I wanted to give an ode to these bands and revive these songs in my memory to keep and make them as my own. In the end I did 11 tracks of my all-time favourite bands or songs.

Too many bands like to hide their influences or deny them. I decided to give them my own pedestal.

Q: This year marks the release of Clan Of Xymox’s 18th album, “Exodus”. What does this album represent within your extensive discography? Can you share insights into its creation?

Ronny: I finished and released the album “Limbo” in 2021 and I wrote the “Exodus” album after writing “Save Our Souls” in 2022 in 2023. The last song I wrote for this album was in January 2024 and here we are. In a way keeping the tradition of one album release in every two or three years.

We toured an awful lot so the little time I had, I spend in the studio taking my mind of things. The late general developments in the world I felt writing about. Instead of introspective lyrics I felt more like describing our current times we live in. After “Save Our Souls” I wrote “Fear For A World At War”, especially after all the rhetoric of Putin threatening Europe or the world with nuclear strikes. Because the world is massively gearing up for war.

When I was born there was the biggest world crisis between the Soviet Union and the USA about the missiles in Cuba.

It is ironic that now we are living with almost the exact conditions but this time closer to home, having a nuclear missile threat. History repeats itself . I certainly hope this is not getting out of hand but the signs are that we seem to step up our war talk more and more. SOS indeed. The world is at turmoil and nothing good will come out of this. Exodus for me as well when it gets out of hand. Anyway, this is the back ground for writing all these songs for “Exodus”.

Q: Talking about “Save Our Souls”, there clearly is a sense of commentary on the state of the world. Do you see music and this album as a unifying force in troubled times? How do you perceive its broader impact on society?

Ronny: “Save Our Souls” was specific about the invasion of the Russians into the Ukraine. It was a shocker for me. Especially after just having toured there in September 2021. I see music in troubled times more as a safety blanket you can wrap yourself in. It gives comfort and soothes your mind and well-being. An escape as it were from the daily sorrows we get bombarded with each and every minute. So far music can change or influence politics when masses cry out for social change. I don’t see that happen with this album or any of my albums;) Never intended for it either.

Q: Authenticity seems to be a hallmark of your music. Many fans describe a sense of genuine emotion and connection in your work. How do you experience this dynamic and interaction with your audience? How powerful or influential do you think music can be in bridging gaps and inspiring change?

Ronny: Wow, if you talk about the grand scale of things you might have a chance to do so but in the cult circuit we are maybe just the inspiring factor. That which might work on a small scale. I should certainly hope that our fans and other listeners get the music of Clan Of Xymox and feel the emotions I feel when I perform these songs with my band. Live you notice this the best. During the show I always look at people and there are so many various expressions on people faces, you feel that you are almost privileged to see an expression of someone when they sink into the song with mind and body. I love it!

‘Contrast Works Always The Best In A Way’

Q: Your music often combines dark, melancholic themes with an energy that makes people dance and feel alive. How do you reconcile these contrasting elements?

Ronny: Contrast works always the best in a way. I defines, it outlines. I have a lot of slow songs with equally dark lyrics but playing live I want to entertain people, want to make them move inside and out. I have luckily lots and lots of songs to choose from and during the years it taught me a lot about which songs people like to hear when they go to our concert. That means the classics are always included and never ignored.

Q: Finally, let’s end with a few rapid-fire questions:

• ‘Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘N’ Roll’: does this resonate with you?

Ronny: During my long career all certainly resonates at one time or the other. Experimenting with drugs I steered away long time ago. It was perhaps hip in the 80’s or attractive to experiment but the same goes for smoking or anything else unhealthy. I value a healthy life style with perhaps an alternativee: Sex, Wine and Wave 😉

• Is there a band or artist you would have loved to collaborate with?

Ronny: It’s a shame I never got to work with David Bowie. I met him once in LA when he came to see our concert in the Palace. I was too starstruck to even think of asking him. What a missed chance !

• Do you feel a spiritual connection with any particular artist or band?

Ronny: Yes, plenty! I have got so many great friends in the current scene who make great music. Backstage is always fun when we meet.

• In a world without music, what do you think you’d be doing?

Ronny: Not breathe.

• Which Clan Of Xymox song would you recommend to someone who has never heard your music before?

Ronny: “A Day”, “She” or “Loneliness” as a starter.

• How many albums has Clan Of Xymox sold, and which remains the most successful?

Ronny:  Wouldn’t you like to know 😉 “Twist Of Shadows” was still the most successful in terms of hard record-CD/Cassettes sales because it was at the time people could only buy that and did. There was no piracy then, apart from the classic copying on a blank cassette. In terms of streaming and overall impact I have to point to my later works.

• What is the ultimate dream for Clan Of Xymox?

Ronny: To carry on like the last two years.

• What would you want written on your epitaph and that of Clan Of Xymox?

Ronny:  

See you on the other side.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am not there, I didn’t go.

I didn’t die, so you know. 

See you on the other side.

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 today is “Between Trees”, the newest single from Heiko Maile + Julian Demarre. The single is out on Bureau B and acts as a teaser for the album “Neostalgia” which will be in stores on September 6th. It’s the follow-up to the earlier released “Reflection (Dark Horses)”.

The band explains the single as follows: “Who doesn’t know the feeling? A certain place you fondly remember, perhaps even long to return to. Memories of a cherished spot that you once discovered, where you could linger and ponder, free from the distraction of everyday noise and commotion. A sanctuary you can recall in detail even after many years.

For us, such a place is a forest clearing, being surrounded by trees with the wind softly rustling through them, the ground covered with knee-high soft grass, evoking a sense of space and calm, far away from the constant noise of our cities. This was the image that repeatedly came to mind while we were creating the music for this track.”

Here’s the video that accompanies the single.

About Heiko Maile

Heiko Maile, born on January 12, 1966, in Sydney, Australia, is a German musician and composer best known for his role in the synth-pop band Camouflage. He grew up in Bietigheim-Bissingen and began his musical journey with classical guitar lessons at a young age. In 1983, Maile co-founded Camouflage, which gained popularity with hits like “The Great Commandment” and “Love Is a Shield”​.

Apart from his work with Camouflage, Maile has made contributions to film music. He composed scores for notable films such as “The Wave” and “We Are the Night”, receiving the Deutscher Fernsehpreis for best music in 2017. He also worked on the soundtrack for the “The Crocodiles” film series​.

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!

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Heiko Maile, known for his work with Camouflage, and Julian Demarre have released a new single, “Reflection (dark horses)”, from their upcoming album “Neostalgia”, set to debut on September 6, 2024. The track is available on the Bureau B label.

“Reflection (dark horses)” features dark, fatalist vocals and has a wave-like sound influenced by early Yellow Magic Orchestra, Laurie Anderson, and Kavinsky. This single evolved from sketches initially intended for their collaborative album but gained recognition after being featured in the American film “Killerman”, starring Liam Hemsworth.

The song, now reimagined with a new structure has vocals by director and performer Malik Bader, who depicts the internal struggle of a drone pilot on a mission, exploring a moral dilemma in a dystopian dreamscape.

The single can be streamed on YouTube and is available for download on various platforms.

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

Disrupted Being, a Danish electropop act, has released a new single titled “Deeper”. This release marks their first original song in nearly two years, following their previous track “Sailor”. “Deeper” is available for listening across major music services right now.

Disrupted Being’s next performance will be a sold-out concert with Boytronic at RUST in Copenhagen on April 26th, 2024, featuring Rusty Egan as the DJ for the event. Disrupted Being will also play at Basement CPH, May 3rd 2024 with Swedish female fronted electronic act E:lect, HellaMox and the Danish EBM band ManMindMachine.

About Disrupted Being

The band is based in Copenhagen and consists of Morten Kristensen (synths and backing vocals) and Peter Wammen (synths and lead vocal). Their music features a blend of classic analogue synths and modern electronic sounds, drawing inspiration from 80s synth music and artists like Jean Michel Jarre, Camouflage, and Ultravox. Morten Kristensen notably favors the ARP Odyssey synth, a preference shared with Ultravox’s Billy Currie.

Kristensen and Wammen first met in 1988. Although their project has been ongoing since their meeting, various personal and professional commitments intermittently paused their musical pursuits. In 2018, they officially reformed and began performing as Disrupted Being, which led to their signing with Danish electronic label Town & Towers Records. Since then, they have released multiple singles, an EP, and performed live concerts in Denmark, Sweden, and Germany.

You can watch an interview with Disrupted Being on Nightshade TV’s YouTube channel.

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

Monospore is a Danish duo set up in 2009 by Jannik Vittrup and Søren Brandstrup. They last year released their second full length album “Into Darkness”. The opus features ten EBM songs driven by aggressive bass lines and carried by cold tunes. The vocals are harsh but not too much. “Into Darkness” is an accomplished production which I can only but recommend to EBM-lovers.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You guys seem to be involved with music since quite a long time and have been busy with multiple projects and music styles. Tell us a bit more about your background, the different projects and how did you finally come to set up Monospore?

Søren: Jannik and I started in 1986-87. We made music inspired by Depeche Mode and Camouflage and a bit of Front 242/Nitzer Ebb on an Amiga computer and we added two EMAX’s to the setup. However, we never actually got anything released. During the many following years, we made several different music styles with various singers, in styles like Ace Of Base, Paul Elstak etc.

I have only made some small project alone and with a few other people, but nothing was ever released.

Jannik: Besides the projects I did with Søren I also did some solo projects called, Executor, Bioreactor & Johhny Mnemonic amongst others. I also collaborated with other musicians most know is probably my collaborations with Thomas Elers on Cellblock X, Cbx Project and Latex Empire.

After a very long break we went to see a lot of live acts like Combichrist, Nitzer Ebb in the late 2000’s, and decided to follow our hearts in our new project just doing the music that gives us energy and that we love. We have always been huge fans of EBM (Nitzer Ebb, Front 242 etc.) We started to experiment with a lot of track, sounds and vocal styles before we found our style. First real Monospore track was “Blue Haze” which ended up as a bonus track on our debut album “Control The Game, Regain Control” from 2012.

Q: Monospore has been set up in 2009, but you’ve been mainly busy releasing singles and the album “Into Darkness” during 2023. How comes and how do you perceive the evolution from the band from the first albums till “Into Darkness”?

Monospore: We had a long break after our debut album “Control The Game… Regain Control!!!”. We both have families, and in that period we both build houses. At the same time, we both had professional careers as our day jobs. Søren finished his Master-degree in Building Physics in 2016, and Jannik finished his academy degree in Business IT a little earlier. We did do a lot of demos in the time in between the albums and one track (cf. “Fall For Me”) in 2018 for the Danish Electro v.2 compilation though.

There has been a huge leap in the production from our first album “Control The Game… Regain Control!!!” to the second album “Into Darkness”. First of all, we build a new studio in between the 2 albums and second, we also decided the overall sound to be more ‘old-school’ and less distorted than on our first album.

In our opinion the tracks on the new album have a much better and dynamic sound, but we appreciate both albums and are super proud of them. In the process for album 2, we did several new tracks that didn’t fit on the new album. These take Monospore in another direction and will be included on our next album.

Q: What more can you tell us about “Into Darkness” and what do you try to reflect by its title?

Monospore: We are very much into very hard music and find our inspiration in that as well as we wanted to evolve our sound. Nothing inspired us for the album as such except some of the bands we listen to ourselves. We love the soundscapes of Gary Numan’s productions as well as Alan Wilder’s and the album also has a much more dynamic sound than our first one. The title was mainly inspired by the cover photo location as well as it is the title of the last track on the album.

Q: What makes the chemistry between both of you and who’s taking care for the different aspects of the composing- and production process?

Jannik: I see it as a very shared process, we do a lot of demos separately and then work on them together. Often, we do some details on the tracks separately and then send it to each other to listen to. We always finish it together in the studio and do the mixing and mastering together as well.

Q: What about Monospore as a live band? How do you transpose the songs from the studio to the stage?   

Søren: We always strive to make our live set as hard as possible and bring some special versions for the audience though it is important for us to keep the sounds and vibe from the original track. It is always very motivating to feel the response from the audience and see the venue boiling of aggressivity and moving bodies. We are very grateful for the very positive responses we have got from our performances so far. Now we are working on getting booked outside of Denmark which is a bit hard when you are not yet an established name.

Q: All works have been released by Delta-Ego which I think is your very own label, right? How do you manage all the aspects aside of composing music like promotion, distribution, management etc…?

Monospore: You are right, Delta-Ego is our own label that we formed in 2012. To be honest our focus is writing the songs and creating the music and eventually playing it live.

The promotion and distribution are a necessity but often take away the focus from what we love, which is producing and playing the music and it can be hard doing promotion when having a full-time job and family.

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

“Dazzle Ships,” the fourth studio album from the English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), is set for reissue with additional demos and rarities. Originally released on 4 March 1983 by Virgin Records under the fictitious Telegraph label, the album’s title and cover art were inspired by Edward Wadsworth’s Vorticist painting, “Dazzle-ships in Drydock at Liverpool,” which featured dazzle camouflage.

The 12-track album served as the follow-up to OMD’s commercially successful 1981 release, “Architecture & Morality.” “Dazzle Ships” showcased a departure in sound for the band as they struggled with writer’s block and pressure from the record company to replicate their previous album’s success. The record is renowned for its experimental content, particularly its use of musique concrète sound collages and shortwave radio recordings to explore Cold War and Eastern Bloc themes. The album also delves into the rise of technology in society. It produced two singles, “Genetic Engineering” and “Telegraph.”

Although “Dazzle Ships” was initially a commercial disappointment, it eventually gained a cult following and inspired numerous recording artists. Music journalists have come to recognize the album as an underrated, misunderstood, and ahead-of-its-time work. Despite the later recognition, the band embraced a more radio-friendly sound on the follow-up album “Junk Culture” (1984).

Already re-released once in 2008, the expanded reissue of “Dazzle Ships” now includes bonus demos and rarities compiled and mixed by OMD’s Paul Humphreys. The album is available in three formats:

• Limited Edition black 180g 2LP vinyl in the original bespoke die-cut sleeve, including a lithograph print of the album artwork
• Colored 2LP vinyl in a standard gatefold sleeve (blue and silver color)
• CD

The 2008 reissue featured the following extra tracks:

1. “Telegraph” (The Manor Version 1981)
2. “4-Neu” (“Genetic Engineering” single B-side)
3. “Genetic Engineering” (312MM version)
4. “66 and Fading” (“Telegraph” single B-side)
5. “Telegraph” (extended version)
6. “Swiss Radio International”

The new version offers these additional tracks:

1. “Telegraph” (Very Early Demo / 1982)
2. “Silent Running” (Demo)
3. “Sold Our Souls” (The Avenue Demo)
4. “Shakespeare ’82”
5. “Untitled Instrumental ’82”
6. “In Heaven Above” (4- NEU Demo)
7. “Telegraph” (Live 1984)

Here’s the teaser 3-track release on Spotify.

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: Wave-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: After having released their two first albums on Tapete Records, at the end of 2022, Swedish formation A Projection released their second album on Metropolis Records.

Content: A Projection remains strongly influenced by good-old 80s New-Wave music although this album also appears to be a new start. While previous works  were mainly driven by guitar,  “In A Different Light” features a clear and mainly electronic sound. Effects, arrangements, deep bass lines, melody lines, drums and production of the vocals are bringing us back to the 80s.

+ + + : One could say A Projection is just one of the numerous 80s emulations I think this band also has a true 80s spirit. It comes through in nearly every little detail. They carefully listened to 80s productions and I immediately thought of bands like Alphaville and Camouflage. “Paris Stockholm” and “Regenerate” both are true contemporary Wave-Pop jewels.

– – – : The work is rather different than its predecessor; the influences are still 100% 80s like but it all sounds different.

Conclusion: “In A Different” sounds as a cool flashback. 

Best songs: “Paris Stockholm”, “Regenerate”, “Careless”, “Anywhere”, “Confession”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.aprojection.com / www.facebook.com/aprojectionband

Label: www.metropolis-records.com / www.facebook.com/MetropolisRecords

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: Electro-Pop, Wave-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: “Happy Pop Music” was released two years after the debut album “Melancholic Maniac” (2020). This German solo-project driven by Blutengel front man Chris Pohl brings us an album featuring eleven songs plus 3 alternative versions.

Content: She Hates Emotions remain totally devoted and inspired by the 80s Electro/New-Wave music the artist was listening to through his childhood. The songs evoke numerous famous artists like Alphaville, Camouflage, Gary Numan, The Human League and even Michael Cretu. All songs have been sung in English revealing typical 80s effects and arrangements -which are mainly coming through in the drum sections. The songs are full of catchy and melodic parts.

+ + + : Blutengel of course remains Chris Pohl’s leading project but we have to recognize all the other projects he has been involved with -think of Terminal Choice, Miss Construction, Tumor… were pretty successful as well. She Hates Emotions sounds like pure fun but with a very precise and judicious 80s emulation. Chris Pohl transposed the New-Wave legacy into an alluring, contemporary, production. The already familiar singles “Space & Time” and “This Ain’t Good” both remain excellent tracks featuring great melody lines, superb effects and refined arrangements. But I also have to mention “Meant To Be Alone” which is more reminding me of Gary Numan and “No Time To Waste” which is one of the catchiest cuts.

– – – : Originality is hard to find but who cares when the result is fully enjoyable.

Conclusion: The 80s remain a very inspiring period for genius artists like Chris Pohl.

Best songs: “This Ain’t Good”, “No Time To Waste”, “Space & Time”, “Meant To Be Alone”, “Ich Will Hier Weg”, “She Takes Control”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/SheHatesEmotions

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

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

Under the name Areu Areu, the two Camouflage musicians Heiko Maile and Marcus Meyn released a 5-track EP in 1992, which is now being re-released in an extended version in a limited edition and for the first time on vinyl.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of this release, the complete work of Areu Areu now appears on a full length album for the first time, as a digipak and on vinyl. The release will be out via Bureau B on November 18th.

Here’s the tracklist and revised artwork:

1. Day Tripper
2. Mr. X / Modern Technology
3. Ricky’s Hand
4. I’m Your Money / Tora Tora Tora
5. Cold
6. Day Tripper (Instrumental)
7. Mr. X / Modern Technology (Instrumental)
8. Ricky’s Hand (Instrumental)
9. I’m Your Money / Tora Tora Tora (Instrumental)
10. Cold (Instrumental)

The genesis of Areu Areu

In 1991, a friend and companion of Heiko Maile and Marcus Meyn, the photographer Reiner Pfisterer, celebrated his 24th birthday. Instead of records or books, the two Camouflage founders planned to present the birthday child with a performance by a band formed especially for the occasion and launched Areu Areu.

After Camouflage had just released their rather acoustic sounding album “Meanwhile”, Maile and Meyn were more in the mood for purely electronic music, so this side project was just what they needed to play around with the electronic gear they had accumulated in their studio in the centre of the small town of Bietigheim in southern Germany.

The result were cover versions of songs that had always strongly influenced Maile and Meyn: “Day Tripper” (Beatles), “Cold” (The Cure), “Ricky’s Hand” (Fad Gadget) and a two-song medley of “I’m Your Money” (Heaven 17) and the Depeche Mode Classic “Tora! Tora! Tora!”. In addition, several versions of their legendary German-language song “Mr. X” were worked out. A few weeks after the party, Maile and Meyn told their A&R manager about the project, and in 1992 a limited 5-track EP was released on Metronome, in a small edition on CD.

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!

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Patrick Knoch set up Elektrostaub in 2007. Elektrostaub  can be defined as Electro/Future-Pop and is a solo-project with guest singers. After the first official album “Birthday And Death” released in 2017 on Echozone, the German project joined hands together with Alfa-Matrix. The new album “Reliance” features guest singers Patrik Hansson (Vanguard, Uncreated), Henrik Iversen (Namnambulu), !DISTAIN, René Anke (Logic & Olivia), Stefan Netschio (Beborn Beton), Jan Dieckmann (Norderney), Alex Rush (Unity One), Claudia Uhle (X-Perience), Damasius Venys (Mondträume, Mental Exile), Alex Nórdika (Nórdika) and Darrin Huss (Psyche). The work is a diversified, danceable and ambitious piece. I asked a few questions to Patrick Knoch.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Patrick, tell us a bit more about your music background and how did you come to set up Elektrostaub? 

Patrick: I received musical education in my childhood at a Yamaha music school, mainly on the electronic organ and keyboards. In the early 2000s I founded a band and later decided to start a solo project to better implement my own ideas and ideas.

Q: Elektrostaub is clearly driven and inspired by different forms of Electronic music, but ‘Pop’ definitely appears to be the main source of inspiration.  What are your examples and references in music and how would you analyze your own composition? 

Patrick: I’ve always been a fan of Electronic music and I liked the music of Depeche Mode, Camouflage, Erasure to name a few. Later, Silke Bischoff, Vnv Nation, Solar Fake, for example. So it was relatively obvious that I should try to make music in this direction myself.

Are you looking for powerful beats, flying, melodic and dreamy surfaces as well as modern sounds and catchy Electro-Pop songs? Then you’ve come to the right place with Elektrostaub. Due to the large number of singers involved, the styles of the respective bands also flow into the project and increase the spectrum of versatility.

Q: You mentioned the large number of singers so why do you prefer working with guest singers instead of a real band singer? And what’s your connection with the guys of !Distain? 

Patrick: In the beginning, the main idea was to do remixes and write instrumentals. Later on the idea came up that I could have guest singers set it to music. 

On this album all lyrics come exclusively from the guest singers. I think it’s important that my guests can get involved in the project themselves.

I have known Manfred and Alex from !Distain since the beginning of Elektrostaub and they have become very good friends of mine. Producing songs together is similar to do house music with your family… lol.

Q: How did the writing- and production process of “Reliance” happened? And how did the collaboration with the different singers happened?  

Patrick: First I write the arrangements and instrumentals. When that happens I think carefully about which singer could sing the song best. In most cases I choose artists whose music I also like and whether I personally like the voices or would simply go very well with the song.

When the process is finished I write to the respective artist and ask if they are interested.

After receiving the vocal tracks, I embedded them into the arrangements and then created the final mixes.

Q: There’s an impressive evolution in sound and production from your debut album “Birthday And Death” (2017) towards “Reliance”. How do you look back at your debut work and the transition to “Reliance”? 

Patrick: Thanks so much. I would think it’s just a constant development and advancement. Perhaps the experience gained plays a role. I don’t really like to look back, I love to look forward 😉

Q: How do you expect Elektrostaub evolving and what are the further plans regarding aspects like live shows, remixes, singles and clips? 

Patrick: I will start work on the third album soon. I will write several arrangements and instrumentals again and then proceed as always. I still have some remixes to do in the near future. I’ve been doing a few lately and they’ll all be out soon. Live shows are not planned or very feasible due to the fact that I don’t have a permanent singer.

In which direction will Elektrostaub evolve? I can’t say that today. I’ll just try to develop myself musically and hope to take the next steps.

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 Bureau B by the end of this month is a limited 30th anniversary edition (1500 copies) in 2CD digipak reissue of the Camouflage album “Meanwhile”. The bonus CD holds a wealth of rare and unreleased recordings.

Founded in the southern German city of Bietigheim-Bissingen by Heiko Maile, Oliver Kreyssig and Marcus Meyn in the year 1984, the band Camouflage scored an unexpected international hit with their debut album “Voices & Images” in 1988. Their sophomore album “Methods of Silence”, released just a year later, was an even bigger success with songs like “The Great Commandment” and “Love is a Shield” becoming synth pop classics.

For the production of their third album “Meanwhile” Heiko Maile and Marcus Meyn (Oliver Kreyssig had left the band by then) recorded the songs with a band lineup with real drums, bass, guitar and keyboards. This change brought some controversy, and Marcus later said that if they had been given advice against the change in style, things may have gone differently.

Two singles were released from “Meanwhile: “Heaven (I Want You)” and a double a-side of “This Day” and “Handsome”.

Tracks on the bonus CD:

1. Mother (Electronica Mix 2020)
2. Waiting (Demo)
3. Spellbound (Demo)
4. Seize your Day (Demo)
5. Bitter Sweet (Demo)
6. Who the Hell is David Butler? (Demo)
7. Riding with Lawrence (Demo)
8. Finally Writing (Demo)
9. Lonestar Karma (Demo)
10. Missing Mark (Demo)
11. Quest for a Cure (Demo)
12. Towers (Demo)
13. Heaven (Club Mix)
14. Heaven (Club Too Mix)
15. Handsome (Mosaic Remix)
16. Handsome (Psycho-Ray-Mix)
17. Handsome (Slow-Motion-Mix)
18. Handsome (Live 2000 preparation)

Here are the original video’s from the release.

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

Out on June 25th via Bureau B is the Heiko Maile CD/LP “Demo Tapes 1984-86”. These recordings actually present the beginnings of Camouflage if you check them out. Most of the tracks on this album were recorded with a basic stereo (2-track) cassette recorder. The studio set-up looked more or less like this: a drum computer (no Midi) and a sequencer were connected to each other and synchronized rhythmically.

For this reissue Heiko used the latest studio technology and audio restoration algorithms to get these tracks back into listenable shape. 15 tracks were selected to be included.

Here’s what Heiko says about the way he worked back in the early 80s: “Ideas, compositions, arrangements, sound and not least the technical question of the recording process – this was all completely new ground for me. Getting to grips with songwriting and studio engineering without any form of training or professional guidance involves a great deal of trial and error and, above all, plenty of time. Any spare minutes I had were spent with our synthesizers and recording equipment. Every demo, every attempt to imitate the sound of a favorite record or device rang true to the mantra of “learning by doing“… equipment with no memory function (please do not touch!!!), the constant humming of cheap wires and cables (soldering is a must-have skill!), rotten-sounding cassettes (which had been recorded over several times, of course), a healthy degree of overconfidence (who needs a Fairlight CMI?) or the frequently unpredictable vagaries of analog technology on a home studio budget – there were many lessons to be learned.”

As for recording the demo material presented here, Heiko reveals this: “I crafted melodic sequences and rhythms and usually transposed them to the desired pitch manually, using the keyboards. Other live instruments were played over the top. Then everything, the sum of all the sound sources, was put together in a kind of “live recording” with the aid of a mixing desk. Just a single mistake would mean having to start all over again. Reconfiguring many of the sounds once the controls had already been adjusted was a painstaking process. I ended up with heaps of cassettes, often featuring seemingly endless versions and variations of the same track.”

Tracklist:

1. Beat For Ikutaro (Tape 52)
2. Vega Drive (Tape 13)
3. Heizungskeller (Tape 66)
4. Ear Piercer (Tape 48)
5. Murky Water (Tape 02)
6. Floating Bottles (Tape 04)
7. Spoken Letter (Tape 75)
8. Wavy RX (Tape 57)
9. Nachtspaziergang (Tape 40)
10. Grandma’s Kitchen (Tape 29)
11. Steam Engine (Tape 40)
12. Bike Spokes (Tape 02)
13. Fernsprecher (Tape 75)
14. Submarines in Space (Tape 07)
15. Film Drei (Tape 09)

About Heiko Maile

Australia born Heiko Maile is a German musician and composer who is best known as a member of the band Camouflage and as the composer for the score of the films “The Wave” and “We Are the Night”.

Growing up in Bietigheim-Bissingen (Germany), his first musical steps were at a young age when he started taking classical guitar lessons. His career as a musician and producer began in 1983, as one of the founding members of the synthpop band Camouflage.

Camouflage consisted of lead singer Marcus Meyn, Heiko Maile and Oliver Kreyssig. Their only Billboard Hot 100 hit was “The Great Commandment”, which earned No. 59 place in 1988, and earned three weeks at No. 1 on the US dance chart. They also had two additional minor dance hits in 1989.

In the 1990s, Maile founded with Marcus Meyn the music publishing company, Areu Areu. During this time, he met the music producer Mathias Willvonseder. They formed a long-term partnership, resulting in numerous commercials and films, which were often awarded prizes at festivals.

He is also a member of the Composers’ Collective Gutleut, where he met composer and arranger Torsten Kamps, and the two began working closely together. During this time, Maile started to develop a desire to compose for films and approached producer Christian Becker. Maile finally began composing for films in 2006 when he did the music for a short film called “Basti”. Maile was then hired by Becker to create the score as well as a few original songs for the teen-thriller “The Wave”.

Maile went on to work with Christian Becker and “The Wave” director Dennis Gansel and composed the music for “We Are the Night”, which was nominated for German Film Prize (the German Oscars) in 2011.

Heiko Maile now lives and works in Stuttgart.

The last Camouflage album was “Greyscale”, their eighth studio album. The record was released on 6 March 2015 in Germany and on 27 March 2015 in the rest of the world via the Bureau B label. It was the band’s first studio album in nine years, following 2006’s “Relocated”.

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: Wave-pop, electro-pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: With She Hates Emotions, the Blutengel front man Chris Pohl wanted to pay homage to the 80s, a decade he has known as teenager and which has inspired him throughout bands such as Depeche Mode, Camouflage, Human League, Alphaville ao. It also is a new project set up by Christina Pohl who next to Blutengel got renowned for being involved with Terminal Choice, Tumor, Miss Construction, Seelenkrank ao.

Content: She Hates Emotions has nothing in common with Blutengel expect it is the same artist and operator so you for sure will recognize similar elements, but globally speaking this indeed is something completely different. Chris Pohl injected typical 80s elements, which you’ll hear emerging from some effects, snare drums and of course the melody lines, but there also is something more personal. This artist has been never a copyist so the songs rather sound as a personal interpretation of 80s influences or the transposition of new-wave elements into a contemporary version.

All songs –except the last ‘bonus’ track, have been sung in English revealing lyrics about love, loss and some rather familiar pop- and 80s subjects. The songs are danceable and definitely melodic, which is one of Chris Pohl’s trademarks.

+ + + : We already knew the EP-title song “See The Light”, but there’re clearly other potential singles featured. What I like in this artist is his ability to invent new projects with a different focus. The 80s inspiration is something he had never done before and he accomplished with a real devotion. I especially like the songs with explicit 80s aspects, “The Final Dance” being a little jewel. But I also have to mention “Turn Back The Time”, which is somewhat different for its melody line reminding to Kraftwerk. The production of the album is also an essential element. There’s a great sound based upon well-crafted songs with the right melody line and catchy choruses.

– – – : Blutengel definitely remains the artist’s best project ever! It all sounds like his other projects are just living in the shadow of Blutengel…

Conclusion: This debut is refreshing tribute to the 80s new/electro wave style!

Best songs: “The Final Dance”, “Don’t Leave Me”, “Turn Back The Time”, “Cry Wolf”, “See The Light”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/SheHatesEmotions

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

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

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Camouflage album “Methods Of Silence” via Bureau B, the band opened up the archives to assemble a special bonus edition including a wealth of rare and unreleased recordings including demos, US 12″ mixes, rough mixes and extended versions. The release will be issued as a limited to 500 triple LP sets and 1,500 double CDs.

Founded in the southern German city of Bietigheim-Bissingen by Heiko Maile, Oliver Kreyssig and Marcus Meyn in the year 1984, the band Camouflage scored an unexpected international hit with their debut album “Voices & Images” in 1988. One of the tracks in particular, “The Great Commandment”, went on to become a classic of the synth pop genre.

Their sophomore album “Methods Of Silence”, released just a year later, was an even bigger success. The band produced the record in Brussels, working on the songs with Dan Lacksman (Telex).

Here’s what the band released for the 30th anniversary release of their debut album “Voices Images”:

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

Set up in 2005, Hidden Souls is an Argentinean band based in Buenos Aires. They got featured on a few compilations like “Electropop 12” released on Conzoom and did a few noticeable remixes for electro-pop formations Parralox and Zoon Politicon. They signed a record deal with Echozone and this year unleashed their debut album “The Incorruptible Dream”, which is a real nice surprise appealing for lovers of electro-pop, future-pop and EBM. I’d a chat with one of the members, Guillermo Pardo Neira.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Can you briefly introduce your band and the way you got in touch with electronic music?

Guillermo: We are an Argentinian band, a trio based in Buenos Aires. We combine elements of synth-pop, future-pop, EBM and dark music.

When we were kids we grew up listening to 80’s music and most of those songs inspired us to compose music with synthesizer. In that time we were listening to the radio discovering bands like OMD, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Camouflage… It was the way we got interested into electronic music.

Q: I can imagine it’s not an easy thing for an Argentinean electro-underground band to catch the attention of the European- and American scene where most of the bands in the genre are coming from. What’s your perception about this point and what can you tell us about the ‘scene’ in your country?

Guillermo: That’s right! It’s so difficult… We have a lot of economic problems in our country and that’s the reason why the ‘scene’ in Argentina remains too small. We must pay double the price for the equipment than in Europe or U.S… and we must work double time to earn that amount of money. For example, if an European band needs one year to buy all the ‘machines’, in our country we need four years! So it’s so hard to start a band… you can have the talent, but without money the world doesn’t turn.

Q: So I can imagine your debut album being signed on Echozone means a lot to you!? How did this deal happened, what do you expect and what have been the first reactions on the album?

Guillermo: Yes, for sure! We are so happy… We are proud to be part of the Echozone family. A lot of bands we like are signed on Echozone. Sincerely, it’s our debut album and we didn’t expect that various records labels around the world would be interested in our music. It was a wonderful and nice surprise! We met Sven Schaak (manager of In Good Faith) who listened to the album and he introduced me to Ulf Müller (Project Ich) from Echozone.

Most of the reviews are positive and we are so glad about the reactions. There’s a positive feeling around us… The ‘charts’ and the sales go well. The album is selling very well and especially for a debut album debut coming from a band that never played in Europe and based in a country, which is 12.000 kilometers away from its record label.

Q: What kind of album did you want to accomplish with “The Incorruptible Dream” all about (sound- and lyrical wise)?

Guillermo: We tried to mix our taste of music, blending different genres of music. Starting from the base that we don’t like the music ‘labels’ that are so often used to classify the bands. So, on “The Incorruptible Dream” you can find elements of synth-pop, future-pop, EBM, but always recovered with a dark atmosphere because of the lyrics… But you can notice folk guitars (cf. “Know”) or long instrumental intros (“Political Brainwash Machine”). A few songs don’t have the typical structure you would expect for a ‘synth-band’.

Q: I’ve been impressed by the production of the album, which has been done by Fernando Sande Dallas. Tell us a bit more about him and what have been his impact on the sound?

Guillermo: He has a lot of experience in music, so I learnt a lot from him. He has an electro band called Nekrodamus and a dark-folk project called Hyperborei. He also composes soundtracks.

When I finish a ‘Demo’ I send it to Fernando who gives me his point of view about the song and we next make the final arrangements together. We are long-time friends loving the same music and we know each other very well, but the most important thing is that he understands me, he ‘understands my work’… He knows how my brain works! (Hehehe!)

Q: You made a clip of the song “The World Is Falling…”, which is meant as an anti-war song and have just finished another clip of the song “Hearts And Minds”.  What did you try to express/reflect and what do you expect from a clip? 

Guillermo: We love movies! Just as music, a movie can be used as a distraction from the outside world, but a movie can be a ‘wake-up call’ to our society either. For us, filming a video is more than a ‘commercial thing’. We tried to show something more… make ‘a short film’ to help to bring a certain message, as we did in “The World Is Falling”. Lyrics, music & video works perfectly together. But sometimes when the lyrics are more intimate, it’s hard to express yourself in just a few minutes. Also, it’s a little awkward too because we don’t enjoy to be in front of a camera.

In our second clip, “Hearts & Minds”, we made a (funny) ‘tribute’ to David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks”. One of the filmmakers who cater to our fears, desires or maybe necessities.

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: Electro-pop, indie-pop.

Background/Info: This new German formation is the meeting between Camouflage singer Marcus Meyn, Jochen Schmalbach, guitarist Volker Hinkel (Fool’s Garden) and drummer/producer Jochen Schmalbach.

Content: What might you expect from a project featuring Camouflage singer Marcus Meyn? This album sounds as classical electro-pop music can sound! The songs reflect a perfect harmony between electronics, guitar and drums. The songs are constantly evoking Depeche Mode and De/Vision.

+ + + : This album is not the most innovative one, but it’s carried by a great production! The professionalism and talent of the artists comes rapidly through and finally resulted in a great opus featuring numerous cool songs. There’s a perfect balance between electronics and guitar while most of the songs are carried by great choruses. From melancholic- to happy passages, this album covers all familiar aspects of electro-pop music.

– – – : Originality is far to find and that’s definitely the main –and single, problem with this album. There’s only one Depeche Mode and an endless number of Depeche Mode followers!

Conclusion: This album has something schizophrenic; it’s definitely a great work featuring multiple cool songs, but it’s also that predictable and without any single innovation!

Best songs: “Undone”, “Lean On”, “White Trash”, “Dangerous”, “Things We’ve Done”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/minemusicband

Label: www.spv.de / http://de–de.facebook.com/spvhannover

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

Camouflage’s debut album “Voices & Images” was released in March 1987, selling well over half a million copies worldwide and becoming a classic in the genre of synth pop. To mark the 30th anniversary of “Voices & Images”, the album now earns a repackaged, limited edition reissue featuring deleted remixes, rare versions and B-sides.

The album is available as a double CD which can be ordered here.

Founded in Bietigheim-Bissingen by Heiko Maile, Oliver Kreyssig and Marcus Meyn in 1984, Camouflage recorded their first demos in a home-made studio which they set up in the cellar of one of their parents’ houses. These early recordings found their way onto a local radio station via a competition which caught the attention of a small publishing company. Ultimately, this led to the band signing a deal with Metronome, a major record label.

They scored a hit with their debut single “The Great Commandment”, released in the autumn of 1987. Even more astonishing than the #14 spot they reached in the German singles charts was their success across the Atlantic, where a remix version peaked at #1 on the Billboard Dance Club chart! The single topped the charts in countries like Taiwan and Singapore, rightfully claiming its status as a worldwide hit, enhanced by heavy rotation for the song’s video on MTV.

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

Set up in 1993 by Ken Evans and Georgina Emery, Australian formation Tycho Brahe recently released the “Triplex [complete]”-album on ScentAir Records. It’s without a shadow of a doubt their most accomplished work to date. The songs will probably ravish 80s synth-pop lovers, but it first of all is a great production the band might be proud of. This was a real good reason to organize an interview with the band.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Tycho Brahe saw the daylight in 1993. What have been the main facts about your career and how much of early Tycho Brahe do you still recognize in your writing today?

TB: We started off as something different and evolved into our current form. The consistent thing about us though, is that we have always approached every situation with a total sense of self-belief. We’ve never been afraid to take a risk and do something ‘crazy’ or to do the impossible when others might say it can’t be done eg like organize an international support in 2 other states with 5 days’ notice when we haven’t rehearsed in five months. Or organize an interstate gig for an international or interstate band whose promoters let them down with one weeks’ notice.

With this never say never and can-do attitude, we’ve ended up playing shows with other notable acts like The Human League, John Foxx, VNV Nation, Covenant, Real Life, Psyche, Pseudo Echo etc and made many great connections and strong relationships within the industry. We are self-taught in everything, including playing our instruments, programming, recording and production…everything…but have never seen that as a disadvantage. Through self-belief and determined application we have succeeded.

Compared to the earlier Tycho Brahe songs, some of the more recent work has been more unusual in structure (eg “1985” and “Valerie Perrine”), and that has been a deliberate decision to try and keep things interesting. There’s also more confidence these days in being more personal about song lyrics. But the biggest difference between the early Tycho Brahe releases and the more recently recorded work is the level of production we’ve achieved in an independent studio setting. We feel that “Triplex [complete]” is easily our most accomplished body of work so far on many levels.

Q: I noticed your early work has been released on cassette format. What does that evoke to you and what’s your perception about the evolution of technology (recording techniques, instruments, social media, streaming etc)?

TB: Our first two releases were on professionally duplicated cassette in 1996. This was the most affordable format at the time. We’d spent a lot of money in professional studios before that, which was fairly normal for a band in those days, however we made those recordings ourselves very cheaply on a borrowed 4-track system, with the intention that they would be used as demos. We were playing a lot of live shows, and we needed to be able to make our music available to promoters as well as fans, so we put the best of these recordings on a cassette – that first release is literally called “The Promotional Cassette”. The reaction was great, and we realized that for our purposes it didn’t matter if we recorded in a 24 track studio or on a home 4-track system, as long as the music was good, and was recorded and produced to a suitable standard. This appealed to our self-taught ‘do it yourself’ manifesto, so we decided to completely move away from expensive professional studios, and instead invest that money into achieving self-sufficiency for recording and producing. We were early adopters of the digital recording revolution, and the freedom to experiment with recording and production on our own time schedule was a total revelation. Our debut album “Cassiopeia” (released in 2000) was recorded on a PC running very basic 8-track recording software on Windows 98. Our studio setup has now evolved to the point where we’re able to integrate and centrally control all of our vintage hardware synths, drum machines, effects units, DAW software and VST’s etc quite seamlessly. We are living in a golden age of digital recording.

Social media is the great enabler for independent bands which allows us to not only connect globally with geographically dispersed fans, but to connect with other musicians and producers, creating great opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t exist. Before social media, in the early days of the internet, it was still difficult as an independent act to grow beyond our local area and we were still reliant on local gigs, press and radio to generate interest and connections, which of course is very limiting. Streaming services like Spotify are both a blessing and a curse – whilst they deliver practically no income for the artist, people who otherwise may not have listened to acts like Tycho Brahe can hear the music very easily for no cost. It’s just one aspect of the modern democratization of music distribution, although as an artist it is painful to see very little financial return on the recorded work through these streaming services.

Q: Your newest CD-album “Triplex [complete]” features your 3 latest digital EP’s. How important is to have these songs released on CD format and how did you get in touch with Russian ScentAir Records?

TB: Digital distribution is obviously a far more pragmatic way of distributing music, but it is killing the album format. The recordings on the “Triplex”-EP’s were originally intended for a cohesive album, so from an artistic perspective we feel that presenting them in a physical format such as a CD album encourages people to listen to that entire body of work rather than hearing random individual songs from a digital playlist, and that is very important to us. And to have a business external to the band share a belief in the recorded work to the point where they’re willing to invest money into manufacturing and distributing physical copies of that album is a very affirming and validating process.

We became aware that there was a synth-pop scene happening out of Russia, when we stumbled across a pirated Russian synth-pop compilation which we were on with the likes of Depeche Mode, Beborn Beton and Camouflage. It was completely illegal but somehow flattering. So our curiosity was piqued, and we investigated the Russian scene a little further and realized that our musician friends Empire State Human (ESH) had recently released an album through ScentAir, who appeared to be one of the few remaining independent synth-pop labels still releasing CDs. Tycho Brahe had previously collaborated with ESH/The Garland Cult when we remixed each other, so we contacted Aiden from ESH. After he said very positive things about ScentAir, we decided to directly approach them with the idea of compiling the “Triplex”-EP series into the proper complete CD album. This had been our original plan and ScentAir were very keen to do it, with distribution through Poponaut. We’re very happy in our relationship with ScentAir, and would like to release further albums through them in the future. If we could ever do so, we’d also love to tour in support of those releases in Europe, but living in Australia makes that a very expensive proposition.

Q: I’ve to admit I’m deeply impressed by this album revealing a perfect balance between electronics and guitar while featuring bombast and refined bleeps, alluring bass lines and catchy choruses, typical 80s arrangements with charismatic vocals on top. Tell us a bit more about the writing and recording of this masterpiece?

TB: Thank you, we’re glad that you like it! “Triplex [complete]” is our fifth album, and we actually started work on it immediately after our “Atlantic” album in 2006. The first song to be completed was “Loveless”, which debuted on Myspace way back in 2007, before our “Transatlantic”-remix album was released, and that recording set the writing and production standard that we wanted to achieve for the rest of the album. We were playing and refining songs from “Triplex” at live shows with bands like The Human League, Psyche etc, and that live work plus other commitments slowed progress on recording the album…

Before we knew it, four years had passed, and then our studio was flooded, completely submerged, under 4 metres of filthy flood water in the devastating Brisbane floods of January 2011. We saved all of the equipment, but then we were basically demolishing and rebuilding for the next year, but then decided to relocate to higher ground anyway as we were post-traumatic from losing a studio and a home to the flood… every time it rained we would freak out. The flood cost us two years of progress, and around that time Andy Walls (live keyboards and co-writer), decided to leave to ‘take up gardening’ which was another setback. We had a semi-functional temporary studio which wasn’t really set up for vocals during this time, so in 2012 we recorded and released the novelty song “Sex Rocket” as a single – which is one reason why it has a vocoder in place of vocals… it was remixed by Parralox, Neuropa and Psyche, we also did a follow up song in a similar style, “Super Hot Robot”, another fun novelty song but not representative of our usual work. (Both songs have videos on Youtube and were created by another talented member of the Tycho family, Thomas Evans.)

So as fate would have it, the album was shelved until we could get our studio and our lives back in order. When we finally re-established the studio and got back to the album, we found that we were being perfectionists wanting a very high production standard, and recording was slow and painstaking, so we became impatient to release something. That is when we decided to split the album into three parts, so we could complete four songs at a time and release three EPs over a longer period, maintaining some output. Georgina came up with the name “Triplex”, which means ‘having three parts’, or a house divided into three residencies. We digitally released each EP ourselves, with artwork by our friend Stig Olsen in Denmark, who has also done graphic design work for The Human League, and on our “Sex Rocket”-CD single. Each EP was mastered in Sydney by Kathy Naunton at dB mastering, who has worked on albums by Severed Heads, Boxcar, Midnight Oil… the songs themselves range from very personal, such as “No Love”, to “Castaway” which is about not fitting into society, to “Valerie Perrine” which is about the hot tub scene from the Village People movie, “Can’t Stop The Music”! Our favorite track on the album is probably “Metropolis”, the intro has a mobile phone recording from a New York subway which sets the mood perfectly.

Q: “1985” is an interesting song with references to the 80s. Are you guys nostalgic and what has been the impact of the 80s on you as teenagers and later on as musicians?

TB: We’re massive ‘80s fans, obviously music especially but also movies like “Buckaroo Banzai” and “Electric Dreams”, video games (Georgina has a vintage Galaga arcade machine), musical equipment… most of our synths are vintage ‘80s machines like the Prophet 5, Emax sampler, Juno-106, LinnDrum, Simmons, etc because we love how they sound… even the registration plates on our cars… Georgina’s is “80-MIX” which is the music she’s always playing in the car – a mix of ‘80s stuff; Ken drives a Mustang convertible with the plate ‘FAC-73’ which is the Factory Records catalogue number for the “Blue Monday”-single, the song that made him want to create music way back in 1983. Most people’s formative years are their teens, and the ‘80s certainly had a huge impact on us, but it was a groundbreaking era for music, with all of that incredible new technology becoming available and affordable in the post-punk years.

The song “1985” is deliberately nostalgic and is about specific events experienced in the ‘80s with various friends…”Park Avenue” is referenced in the song, it was a Hi-NRG club in Adelaide that played Man 2 Man, Dead Or Alive, early Stock Aitken & Waterman… we would actually dance all night and emerge at daybreak; the song is quite personal and about still being anchored to that era. In 2011 we were able to work with Giorgio Moroder’s 1980’s bass player/programmer Arthur Barrow, and we released a remix single for the song “1985” in the production style of Moroder in 1985, with Arthur Barrow contributing parts using the same bass guitar and Jupiter-8 synth he used with Moroder, and our LinnDrum loaded with custom Giorgio Moroder sounds used around the Scarface/Electric Dreams era. There might even be some sneaky “Back To The Future” samples hidden in that song too…

Q: I’ve to ask you a last question about a real exciting project consisting of doing some programming for the upcoming tour of Peter Hook. How did you get in touch with each other and what is it all about?

TB: We became friends with Peter Hook and The Light when they toured Australia in 2010, when we shared drinks and stories with them after their Brisbane show, and we’ve since caught up with various members socially and travelled to see the band play overseas. They’re wonderful people and an amazing, hardworking band, and one of our favorite live acts of all time. Some of the New Order songs that Peter Hook and The Light play require pre-programming and digital multi-track playback onstage (also known as backing tracks) to re-create the complex vintage sequenced synth and drum machine parts. Peter Hook initially became aware that Ken was an expert in recognizing the distinct New Order sounds and the synthesizers that made them, when he sought his help in clarifying how some early New Order equipment would have worked on certain songs for his latest book. Ken had also assisted in setting up a live vocoder system for their keyboard player, who also knew that Tycho had been covering “Bizarre Love Triangle” live. This led to Ken being asked in 2015 if he’d like to attempt new programming and backing tracks for “Bizarre Love Triangle” for them, as they weren’t particularly satisfied with what they’d been using. They were very happy with the result and so Ken has been creating backing tracks for Peter Hook and The Light ever since.

About half of the New Order songs from their recent international “Substance” tours in 2017 and 2018 featured Ken’s work. He’s been working on new backing tracks for the “Technique” and “Republic” albums since late 2017, for a tour commencing in September 2018. By the end of the current project, Ken will have re-created the synth and drum machine parts for over 30 classic New Order songs. It is incredibly challenging work, as everything has to be completely made brand new, from scratch, without access to any of the original source material due to legal reasons, with only the released versions from albums etc as a guide. The most complex of these can take around 60 hours of work, and it involves researching the original equipment used, detailed sound design, forensic listening techniques, and then the actual programming, sequencing, mixing and production to essentially build a new multi-track recording of the electronic parts, as close to the original as possible. Ken has set up a separate business called Tycho Sound Design to accommodate this work, and he has also now done similar work for Australian ‘80s band Machinations.

Tycho Brahe literally would not exist if not for New Order releasing “Blue Monday”, so to be working with Peter Hook brings us full circle and is a huge honor. Last year in our home town of Brisbane Ken was invited on stage to sing “Bizarre Love Triangle” with Peter Hook and The Light, which was a very surreal and emotional moment.

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: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: Some of the ‘older’ synth-pop lovers and especially German people will probably remember Sea Of Sin. I remember their debut album “Watch Out!” released in 1995 on Subtronic Records. A next full length entitled “Urban Chemistry” got released in  2000 on Synhtphony Records. The band was pretty close to Camouflage (Heiko Maile producing some of their work). After a hiatus of more than 15 years Sea Of Sin has been recovered from dust and delivered this new EP.

Content: The songs aren’t totally new as Frank Zwicker and Claus Schill revisited their early albums, reworking 3 songs from “Watch Out!” and 2 cuts from “Urban Chemistry”. They added one new cut. The influences are pretty German electro-pop like; which means inspired by Depeche Mode, but transformed into an electro-pop approach reminding German giants such as De/Vision and Camouflage. The songs are elaborated, sometimes revealing a little flavor of melancholia and carried by strong choruses. The new song “Star” is somewhat different and more into a reverie sensation.

+ + + : The old songs have been perfectly reworked and transposed into a refreshing electro-pop format. The production is fully accomplished revealing harmony between verses and choruses. There also is a perfect balance between music and vocals featuring an appropriated and talented singer for this kind of music. The ‘old’ cuts remain excellent synth-pop that will appeal for fans of the aforementioned bands.

– – – : My only regret is the rather poorly inspired new song, which more sounds like a song that has been never released and here serves as a break between the songs from the first- and the second album. Sea Of Sin doesn’t bring anything new, but will please the synth-pop community.

Conclusion: Even if this EP avoids any innovation in a music genre that already counts an endless list of similar bands, this adaptation, from songs that were originally released in the 90s, is quite refreshing and pleasant. Let’s now wait for the real ‘new’ work!

Best songs: “Last Day In Paradise”, “I Live My Life”, “Truth”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/seaofsinGER

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 first release from Lederman / De Meyer is a fact! Out now – and available only on Bandcamp for now – is the debut EP “A Tribe Of My Own”.

The project is the union of 2 legendary musicians from the electro movement in Belgium: Jean-Marc Lederman (The Weathermen, Fad Gadget, …) and Jean-Luc De Meyer (Front 242, Underviewer, 32CRASH, …) who offer dark and danceable material on their debut EP “A Tribe Of My Own”.

On the EP you’ll get the title track in an album edit plus also a remix by Sebastian Komor (Icon Of Coil, Komor Kommando, …).

But that’s not all. Also included is the duo’s own cover version of the Fad Gadget cult hit “Back To Nature” which got a very nice future pop remake by Edge Of Dawn. Coldkill from their side turned the track into a darkwave industrial mix.

Last but not least, you’ll also get a 3rd song with “Dots, Circles And Lines”, a more sarcastic introspective song in a remix version by Rob Dust known for his cult remix work for bands like Camouflage, Alphaville, Joachim Witt, etc..

A very promising 5-track EP which you can download right now from Bandcamp.

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, EBM, new-wave, electro-punk, metal-rock.

Background/Info: Thee Flanders is a German psychobilly formation, which has already released several albums throughout the years. They sometimes seem to cover famous songs. This album features 20 remixes by an impressive list of mainly electro-underground formations.

Content: The main songs of this release are “You Spin Me Round” from Dead Or Alive and “Nightmares” from A Flock Of Seagulls. Both 80s new-wave hits have been covered by Thee Flanders, sung together with Bela B (Die Ärzte) and Markus Meyn (Camouflage) and remixes by Leather strip, Die Krupps, Blind Passenger, Robert Görl, Ad:Key, Beborn Beton, Scheuber feat. G. Thomas, Patenbrigade: Wolff, In Strict Confidence, Absurd Minds, Mirko Hirsch, Head-Less, White Trash Wankers, T.A.N.K., Sound Tessellated, Beyond Obsession, Tomas Tulpe, Modekay, Keller Technik and The Klaak Syndrome.

The result is a very diversified release, which mainly sounds electro-like, but moving from darker-electro remixes to EBM to electro-minimal, but also electro-punk, new-wave and somewhat metal-orientated work. Notice by the way that White Trash Wankers is the only band that remixed another song (cf. “Buried Alive”).

+ + + : This album definitely sounds like a challenge, but especially for the fans of the band who I can imagine aren’t used at all to hearing their favorite band remixed by electronic formations. It’s not only a challenge, but I like this originality and it could be fun to hear one of those famous electro-acts featured on the album getting remixed by psychobilly bands. Why not? But the main point is that especially the remixes of “You Spin Me Round” feature a few outstanding versions. I want to make a special mention for the originality and minimalism of Patenbrigade: Wolff, the groovy approach of Head-Less, the harder version of Die Krupps and into EBM transposed remix of AD:Key. Another noticeable remix is “Nightmares” from Leather Strip.

– – – : There are a few less inspired remixes featured, but that’s rather understandable when you get a total amount of 20 remixes. But the main point remains for sure the reaction of the Thee Flanders fans about this totally weird challenge.

Conclusion: Is it just for fun or a psychobilly formation that has found a way to enter electro clubs? Whatever it is, this work is DJ food and be sure you are going to dance to it!

Best songs: “You Spin Me Round – Patenbrigade: Wolff Mix”, “You Spin Me Round – Head-Less Mix”, “Nightmares – Leather Strip Mix”, “You Spin Me Round – Die Krupps Mix”, “You Spin Me Round – Mirko Hirsch Mix”, “You Spin Me Round – AD:Key Mix”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.theeflanders.de / www.facebook.com/theeflanders

Label: www.half7records.de /  www.facebook.com/Halb-7-Records-203287363058978

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

Toronto-based industrial/synthpop band for all the emptiness has been releasing one video each day on Facebook during the past week containing behind-the-scenes footage from their “Hearts against minds” video which you can watch below!

The video was shot on-site at multiple locations in Nevada during a fierce wind storm, making some of the shots difficult at first. But the band and production company used the wind to their advantage so it seems. Jonathan Kaplan of for all the emptiness: “We worked with a local production company, who assisted with the entire production. From concept to the final cut.” In short, the video follows the story of a world of people trapped within themselves, struggling, in pain, and wanting to break free.

In the video, the walls of the set are covered with newspapers with headlines and photos of war and horrible crimes, and mindless “drones” in military camouflage. The intent is to change hearts and minds to end such things, symbolized, as the song progresses, by the newspapers being taken down.

for all the emptiness is also preparing to release a remix version of their EP titled “mt repeat”. The album contains 5 remixes from well-known artists including Apoptygma Berzerk, Aesthetic Perfection, Neuroticfish, Laetherstrip, and Sebastian from Icon of Coil.

for all the emptiness originally started as an idea by vocalist/composer Jonathan Kaplan after viewing Apoptygma Berzerk’s live DVD “apbl98” and seeing frontman Stephan Groth go into the crowd after a performance. In 2011 they released their debut album “axioms”. It was produced by Yone Dudas of Decoded Feedback. In 2012, a remix version of “axioms” was released featuring remixes by Assemblage 23, Beborn Beton, Decoded Feedback and more. To help promote the release they went on a North American tour with artists Die Sektor, The Gothsicles, and Deviant UK.

For more information, please visit the band’s official website.

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: EBM.

Background/Info: This album apparently is the final opus from the “Deluxe Anniversary Limited Box”-trilogy celebrating the 35^th anniversary of Front 242. When the masters of EBM released “Pulse” in 2003 on the French label XIII BIS Records they were already living EBM Gods for years. It also was their first new studio album in 10 years and unfortunately the last one to date.

“Pulse” has been revisited by a judicious track-list selected by Daniel B. as a kind of DJ set and still featuring songs from the maxi “Still & Raw” (2003). The album is available like on the other boxes as vinyl- and CD format while you also will get a live CD and an Alfa Matrix label sampler plus once again great fan material like cards, a lanyard ao.

Last, but not least, but this is a real essential element, the vinyl-sized carton box features a military camouflage design with a spotted varnish printed Front 242 logo and a die-cut ‘2’ across the upper cover, which once assembled with the two other limited collector box sets released for the anniversary series, you get the ‘2-4-2’ cut across the 3 box sets.

Content: Let’s be honest; “Pulse” is not exactly the album that entered into history. Previous albums “Off” and “Up Evil” (both released in 1993) already revealed an experimental approach and that’s exactly the same although in a different sound on “Pulse”. The work is characterized by complexity and the usual sophisticated sound treatments.

“Pulse” feels a bit like Daniel B. was locked up in his sound lab and composed the most weird noise treatments. This work was no longer into EBM, but simply experimentalism. It’s a difficult opus, which was carried by outstanding effects and a high-tech production. There’s an impressive progression in the songwriting, but clearly a break with the early sound of the band.

The live album brings us back to 1989 and an astonishing performance of the band at the Brussels temple of music “Ancienne Belgique”. I had the chance to assist at this gig, which brings us back to some of their most legendary hits from the album “Front By Front” (1988). This period revealed ‘242’ at their best and at the top of the scene featuring hits like “Until Death (Do Us Apart”, “Im Rhythmus Bleiben” and of course “Headhunter”.

+ + + : This final edition of the ‘anniversary’ box will appeal for the most experimental lovers, but it once again shows the incredible skills of manipulating sounds and noises. Front 242 clearly were and still remains the most sophisticated and probably versatile album in a genre they’ve invented. Time will tell if “Pulse” was their most visionary work and maybe a reference for the further EBM generations. The live recording from the 89’ “Front By Front”-show is absolutely essential for the fans. Last, but not least, the 3 boxes together are absolutely brilliant and will rapidly become the masterpiece of your Front 242 collection.

– – – : Just like for both other boxes I regret there’s not any single word from the band (or at least one of the members) to give us some background information about the content, the period the albums and songs have been made and things like this. It would have added an extra and really informative element to this great release-series.

Another and I guess essential point is why the band celebrated their 35^th anniversary by the albums “Geography”, “No Comment” and “Pulse”. Why didn’t they choose albums like “Front By Front” and “Tyranny For You”? I guess the explanation is quite clear, because all other albums were originally released on Red Rhino Europe (Play It Again Sam), which for sure has the rights on the work. The band and their label found a perfect alternative to add live CD’s featuring songs from these other albums.

Conclusion: “Pulse” is not exactly my favorite work of Front 242 and I in a way rediscovered this opus, but it’s an essential item in this special ‘anniversary box’. I’m really wondering what 2021 will bring for their 40^th anniversary!?

Best songs: “Together”, “Matrix”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.facebook.com/Front.242

Label: www.alfa–matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

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: Breakbeats, electro-rock, technoid-rock.

Background/Info: The 3^rd full length album of Kloq is a fact. The band driven by producer Oz Morsley (founder of the legendary band Empirion) and completed by singer Dean Goodwin, guitarist Tim Jackson and drummer Chris Jacobs have decided to self-release their new opus.

Content: Kloq is a band, which doesn’t repeat itself and simply goes in search of a new challenge on every single new full length. They once started a pure techno-body style, but progressively moved towards a rock-minded approach with electronics treatments on top. “Behind The Screams” sounds this way as well, but is more electro-minded than the previous “Begin Again”-album (2013).

Kloq even moves back to the magic of breakbeats, which is a dynamic way to start off. The influence of The Prodigy hangs over the debut song, but quite progressively Kloq shows their own approach. Great electronic manipulations lead to heavy sound blasts. Oz Morsley is turning on the knobs of his equipment like mad. The sounds are irresistible and revealing a raw technoid texture. It sometimes evolves into a trance-minded break to move on with powerful drums and passionate vocals.

Singer Dean Goodwin again sings in a rather clear way. This guy has a unique timbre of voice and doesn’t necessary need all kinds of effects as a camouflage.

+ + + : This new album sounds like the offspring between the early Kloq sound for its technoid approach and the rock-touch of the previous work. The real bass playing adds a real dark and freaky touch, but the global production remains dominated by the magic of the electronics. I especially like the monstrous electro blasts, which can’t leave you unmoved.

– – – : This new album only features 8 cuts including the already familiar “The Gun” (previously released as EP title-song). I’m still convinced that Dean Goodwin is a real talented singer, but I sometimes get the impression his way of singing and the powerful sound of Kloq doesn’t always match. It makes the particularity of this band, but maybe also one of the only aspects making me a bit skeptical about the possible success.

Conclusion: You sometimes need to pick up the best elements from the past and mix them with ‘new’ ideas to create a successful sound formula. “Behind The Screams” sounds like filling the gap between “Move Forward” and “Begin Again”.

Best songs: “We Are Now”, “Drive”, “Behind The Screams”, “Black Slab”.

Rate: (7½). 

Band: www.facebook.com/Kloqmusic

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

Alfa Matrix has revealed a first real visual of the upcoming Front 242 deluxe anniversary limited boxset “<Filtered> Pulse” (the Side-Line Instagram followers got the exclusive news first). The label has also announced that they will start shipping the boxset this week.

The set, which holds an LP and a double CD, comes as a vinyl-sized carton box featuring a military camouflage design with a spotted varnish printed Front 242 logo and a die-cut “2” across the upper cover. Once assembled with the two other limited collector box sets released for the anniversary series, you get the “2-4-2” cut across the 3 box sets.

For those who missed out on this very limited release, you can order it right here, full details can be viewed right here.

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

Bruderschaft’s very own Rexx Arkana has now himself been diagnosed with cancer, the disease of which his father died of and which pushed him to launch the famous Bruderschaft project. The bad news came while preparing for unrelated surgeries approximately 2 months ago. Incidental testing confirmed that he had cancer.

Rex has recently undergone surgery, and is in the process of going through a substantial recovery program which of course has weakened him a lot. These treatments are on top very costly, which is why a fundraiser has been raised in order to help him while he gets back on his feet.

And we want to help him with that! Let us all help Rexx staying out of money worries while he works on his speedy recovery. And this fundraiser offers the best perk there is: Knowing that you have made life a lot less worrisome for one of the best and sweetest guys around in the electro / ebm scene (we still remember he couch-surfed in the Side-Line offices 10 years ago, and it was a true pleasure having Rexx ‘Nuke them all’ Arkana in the house for a couple of days).

The fundraiser can be found here, leave a message too if you want to send kudos to Rexx.

New York City-based DJ Rexx is worldwide known for backing the Bruderschaft project (besides his own aggro tech project FGFC820), an electronic music artist’s collective which was conceived as a charity project focused on cancer research and treatment in the wake of Arkana’s father’s death from the disease. Bruderschaft brought together a large number of artists from the underground electronic music scene for the production of the band’s first single, “Forever”. The collaboration included Rexx Arkana (lyrics), Ronan Harris (VNV Nation – vocals), Sebastian Komor (Icon of Coil – programming/production), Joakim Montelius (Covenant – samples/loops) and Stephan Groth (Apoptygma Berzerk – backing vocals). Released by RazorBurn Records, in European partnership with Alfa-Matrix in 2003, the “Forever” EP featured a large list of remixers, including Front 242, Camouflage, Feindflug, Melotron, The Retrosic, Negative Format, Angels & Agony, Colony 5, Lights of Euphoria, Davantage, Grendel, Punto Omega, [:SITD:]. In 2013, Bruderschaft returned with the single “Falling,” featuring Daniel Myer of Haujobb on vocals. The EP was released through the Alfa Matrix label later that year.

In short, this is THE man which has made a lot of things happening for a lot of people. Now let us all make it happen for him too!

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

Out in June is the newest Vanguard album “Never surrender”. The album is the follow-up of the teaser single “I want to live” which was released in late 2015. For their 3rd studio album, Jonas Olovsson and Patrik Hansson asked the help of producer Rob Dust who is probably known to some for his remix and production work for Camouflage, NamNamBulu, Chrom, Frozen Plasma, Visage, Torul, Joachim Witt and so on.

Because of delays the band’s new album “Never surrender” has taken more time than expected so the band told a while back. Not that the band didn’t tease their fans in the meantime as you can see/hear below. The album is now up for pre-order right here!

Pre listening the new album in the car. Soon.. ? #vanguard #synth #synthpop #electropop #neversurrender

A photo posted by VANGUARD (@vanguardofficial) on Feb 18, 2016 at 9:58am PST

The new album will have 12 tracks and you can view a preview below.

And here’s a video for “I Want To Live” in a KC Killjoy Vs ExoSun Starsign Mix.

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-pop, cabaret-pop, cinematographic.

Background/Info: This is the 8^th full length released by Parralox, which remains driven by the creative mind of John Von Ahlen. The Australian band remains one of the most recognized synth-pop formations from Australia.

Content: The least I can say is that Parralox doesn’t repeat them and this album is something really apart from what they’ve done before although nothing new in history. The electro-pop approach and inspiration remains the main basis, but there also is a noticeable cabaret and cinematographic approach. This album is an ode to some of their favorite bands and that’s why it features cover versions of bands like Rational Youth, Psyche, Camouflage, Pet Shop Boys and Human League (5 covers).

“Holiday ‘15” sounds more minimal and that’s precisely the kind of cabaret-touch emerging from the composition, which also makes the originality of these covers. It has been mixed with some good-old ‘retro’ influences of the original versions. It reminds me sometimes of Marc Almond while there’s no cover of this artist. You now and then also will notice some funky arrangements and nu-disco effects adding a glitch touch to the work.

+ + + : This is an original and creative adaptation of some ‘classics’. I like the approach of the covers.

– – – : “Holiday ‘15” doesn’t exactly sound danceable and that’s maybe a pity when you have some original songs like “Being Boiled” and “Gods And Monsters” in mind.

Conclusion: The cover concept is an old formula that has been used and abused by numerous bands, but Parralox tries to achieve it with some refreshing ideas and totally reworked the original songs.

Best songs: “Gods And Monsters”, “Always On My Mind / In My House”, “I Want To See The light”, “Morale / You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.parralox.com / www.facebook.com/parralox

Label: www.conzoomrecords.de / www.facebook.com/conzoomofficial

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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Out now is a brand new free download compilation compiled by Synth Radio: the Camouflage tribute compilation “The Great Compliment”. “The Great Compliment” holds 20 tracks in total and you can preview it below, and download it right here.

The 20 bands included are Substaat, Intent Outtake, Sad January, Parralox, WANTed, Edenfeld, Spreading Point, Machinista, Модуль, Vaylon, deZeption, 56 Degrees North, Supercraft, Rayphonic, Equatronic, Fate Creator, Last Phase, TourDeForce, Radiomun, Halovox.

These acts have been covering the following songs: “Love Is a Shield”, “Sooner Than We Think”, “Helpless”, “Stranger’s Thoughts”, “Me and You”, “Where Has the Childhood Gone”, “They Catch Secrets”, “I Can’t Feel You”, “Spice Crackers”, “That Smiling Face”, “The Great Commandment”, “Here She Comes”, “Feeling Down”, “Crime”, “One Fine Day”, “Motif Sky”, “Conversation”, “X-Ray”, “Suspicious Love”, “Together”.

Here’s a preview of the compilation:

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