Görl, the new electronic duo formed by Robert Görl (DAF) and DJ Sylvie Marks, will release its debut album “Dark Silver Moon Light” through Grönland on limited transparent 180g vinyl, standard black 180g vinyl, and CD. Grönland describes the album as one that “reflects on the aesthetic tradition of DAF while transcending it into the present and future.”

The album contains ten tracks: “Irgendwann ist jetzt,” “So wie Du bist,” “Falscher Ton,” “Don’t stay at home,” “Dark Silver Moon Light,” “Der Fluss,” “Wir brechen aus,” “Bänder im Haar,” “Spiel mit mir,” and “Es ist nie zu spät.” A lyric video for “Irgendwann ist jetzt” is already online, making that track the first public preview of the album. You can watch it right below.

It is the first full album issued under the Görl name after a six-year collaboration between Robert and Sylvie Marks, which followed around the final DAF period after the death of Gabi Delgado-López in March 2020. We previously already covered the Robert Görl and DAF single “Ich Denk An Dich” released in 2020 which was produced by Robert and Sylvie Marks.

She also was involved in the Grönland-issued DAF album “Nur Noch Einer” in 2021.

About Görl

Görl brings together two established names from German electronic music. Robert Görl co-founded Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (DAF) in Düsseldorf in 1978 with Gabi Delgado-López. After DAF’s first run, he launched his solo discography with “Night Full of Tension” in 1984. He later released the 1993 single “Psycho”, followed by the album “(Psycho) Therapie” in 1994. More recently we also covered the archival release “The Paris Tapes” in 2018.

Sylvie Marks built her career as a DJ and producer. She became the first female resident DJ at Frankfurt’s Dorian Gray. Her first releases appeared as Synsyl in 1992 and 1993. She then issued “Row Of Houses” in 1995. Her debut album, “Krazeee”, a collaboration with Hal 9000, followed in 2004.

The duo have worked together for six years leading up to the debut Görl album “Dark Silver Moon Light”.

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

After releasing his debut album on Nadanna, MARTINÉ returns with this second opus, which even includes an additional disc of remixes in the CD format. This project is particularly difficult to categorize, as the album blends a variety of genres. It begins with typical German EBM in the style of DAF, before transitioning into more Electro/Body-Pop tracks. Later on, Dark-Electro influences emerge, evoking the early years of Skinny Puppy. Towards the album’s end, the sound becomes more sophisticated, incorporating elements reminiscent of Haujobb. Although the album may feel somewhat incoherent at times, it remains a strong release because Martiné excels across all genres. The work is filled with excellent songs, supported by solid production.

The second disc also features many compelling remixes, with highlights including tracks remixed by Mach Fox and Insect Plasma, which I highly recommend. (Rating:8½).

Listen to “Stuka”:

About MARTINÉ

MARTINÉ is a German electronic project from North Rhine-Westphalia. The music moves between old-school EBM, electro/body-pop and dark-electro.

The debut album “My Mind : The Hand Grenade” was released on December 9, 2022 on Nadanna. The second album “Nichts Währt Ewig” followed on May 13, 2024, with a CD edition on Echozone that adds a bonus disc of remixes.

The albums “Survive or Perish” and “Erase My Self” (July 2025) later followed “Nichts Währt Ewig”, the second full-length reviewed here.

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

This summer, I came across “I’m Too Young to Die”, the debut album by German artist Oliver Decrow. His Minimal-Electro/Wave music evokes an ’80s flashback, enhanced by a modern and personal touch through its gritty analog synth sounds. Released by the renowned Cold Transmission label, the album captivated me with its cold, sterile aesthetic layered over deep, human themes. It felt like the perfect opportunity to reach out to this promising artist. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Can you introduce us to the musical world of Oliver Decrow? Where are you from, and how did you first get drawn into the world of electro music?

Oliver: I’m from Dresden, East Germany. I began producing music at an early age at school, but it really took off when I studied fine arts at the Art Academy in Dresden. During that time, I met several DJs and shared a studio with a local DJ and tattoo artist. He introduced me to music from the 80s, Italo-Disco, Cold-Wave, and Minimal-Wave like Decadance, Medio Mutante, S.M. Nurse, John Maus, SS-Say, Deux, Eleven Pond, Knight Action, Charlie (Spacer Woman), Moderne, and Linea Aspera.

During this period, I also spent time in shared apartments (WG’s), moving from one party to another. I had no money, and survival was hard, but discovering and enjoying music became a release, helping me get through each day and deeply impacting my personality.

While painting, we would listen to Intergalactic FM or Bohren & der Club of Gore (Piano Nights).

During my studies, I decided to leave Germany and moved to Montreal, where I lived in a tiny flat and made music every day. It was there, and in New-York, that I filmed my first music videos. I’ve always been a computer guy, but I try to bridge the digital and analog worlds. So, making music as an art form or expression felt natural for me. I did many collaborations and projects back then. I also worked with opera singer Annette Jahns, who would visit my cheap basement in Dresden once a week, bringing a bottle of good wine and something to eat and then we produced music together. Rest in peace, Annette! Around this time, I also met Sneaker DJ, who gave me valuable production tips and mastered my first tracks.

Q: You released your debut album “I’m Too Young To Die” this year. A first album is always special, so how does it feel to have it out, and what was the journey like in creating it?

Oliver: ‘Stress test’ is the first thing that comes to mind, especially in the last few weeks. My first album is like a retrospective of three years of making music. There are songs where, as soon as I hear them, memories of specific stories and situations come rushing back. For example, the suicide of my best friend is reflected in the track “Horse Hoof,” and “In My Room” deals with experiences I had with my mother.

The journey to my first album was full of doubts, joy, depression, anxiety, and great moments. Yin and yang -it was a rollercoaster, much like my life. Nothing was stable; everything was questioned. But I’m glad I made it. It was also a relief to finally finish something after such a long time.

One of the most rewarding parts of the journey was meeting new people and connecting with positive individuals worldwide who shared my interests, experienced similar situations, and could relate to my music. I learned a lot during the process and fulfilled a long-term dream. In the end, everything came together. You know, making an album is personal -you open your heart for everyone to see, and that often comes with a price. But I’m already looking forward to the next chapter of my life.

Q: Your sound echoes ’80s Electro-Wave with a modern twist. Which artists or albums have had the most significant impact on you, and how do they influence your music?

Oliver: Life has influenced me the most. I make music primarily to express my emotions or to lose myself in my inner world. If I had to name a few artists who have impacted my style or approach to music, they would be Boy Harsher, Sneaker Dj, Joy Division, Jennifer Touch, Molly Nilsson, Boan, and DAF. But my influences often change, and I love discovering new artists like VOID Palace, Abu Nein, Nights In Athens, Lila Ehjä, Laura Krieg, Kris Baha, Lovataraxx, Asymetric80, Years Of Denial, ManMachine, and Curses.

I’m drawn to artists who present their music in a way that feels authentic, not just like another copy. For example, I met ManMachine at the Ombra Festival in Barcelona last year, and after chatting with him, I saw his music differently. A man, a father, a keyboard -it felt warm and pure. My music is more influenced by emotions and life events than by specific artists, so to speak.

Q: Many of the album’s tracks were performed live before being recorded. How did these songs evolve during the recording process, and what changes or improvements did you make?

Oliver: That’s an interesting observation, and you’re right. The songs on my album really grew during live performances. I redid some finished tracks, adjusting the vocals and synth parts after realizing during live performances what could add that final touch. Every track underwent a few makeovers after live shows. I see the process like painting. You build something up and then destroy it to create something unique and new. The challenge is knowing when to stop.

Q: You already evoked some lyrical themes in your songs which are quite dark and intense. What drives these narratives, and how does turning personal struggles and dark subjects into music serve as a form of therapy or healing for you?

Oliver: Yes, your question holds the answer. I won’t go into detail about how difficult my life was because everyone has their own stories, struggles, and fate. Music is definitely a form of therapy for me. It’s an art form and a way to break out of daily routines and the system we live in. I often wonder what the world will look like in 10 or 20 years, with all the technology, greed, commercialism, and hate. But I know that there will always be people searching for real emotions, analog experiences, and real intelligence or just something like breathing fresh air in the woods.

Q: Are you already working on new material? What can we expect in terms of singles, remixes, videos, live shows, and future projects with your label G50 Records?

Oliver: Of course! A remix tape is coming out, and new tracks are in the works. I love diving into music, especially when life hits hard, and right now, it definitely does. This year, you can catch me playing in Nuremberg at the Bunker Rituals Festival (28th of September), in Dresden with Lovataraxx (20th of October), and in Chemnitz with Left For Pleasure (14th of December). G50 Records is like a DIY label with no aspirations for profit. I’m not sure if there will be any projects with my old friends, like the Klassenfeind-project, but who knows?

I’m really happy with the guys from Cold Transmission Music, namely Andreas and Suzy. It’s like a real family feeling, and we talk daily about the scene and our next creative ejaculations.

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

(Photo by Bobby Talamine) Bill Leeb’s first solo album, “Model Kollapse”, drops tomorrow. Leeb, a Vancouver-based musician, is best known as the mastermind behind electro-industrial giants Front Line Assembly and ambient-pop duo Delerium. He’s also played a pivotal role in projects like Noise Unit, Intermix, and Cyberaktif.

This marks Leeb’s first solo effort since the early days of Front Line Assembly in the mid-80s, when he began recording in his bedroom and released his work on limited edition cassettes. Nearly four decades later, “Model Kollapse” was crafted between Vancouver, Toronto, and Los Angeles, with production support from Dream Bullet, long-time collaborator Rhys Fulber, and mixing engineer Greg Reely.

You can now stream the full album exclusively on Side-Line, including standout tracks like “Demons” and “Terror Forms”.

Today we can also present you this brand new video for “Muted Obsession”.

Musically, “Model Kollapse” taps into the legacy of post-punk electronic pioneers like DAF, Front 242, and Skinny Puppy (Leeb himself being an original member), while also drawing from more contemporary influences like Gesaffelstein and ADULT.

The album’s title refers to a phenomenon in artificial intelligence where trained models, particularly those dependent on synthetic or AI-generated data, degrade over time. Leeb elaborates, “As we push forward with unprecedented technological advances, I wonder how much longer we can truly stay in control. Automation has already consumed entire industries. With tech ruling much of the world, are we headed for a ‘Model Kollapse’? Chaos would surely follow.”

Released by Metropolis Records, Leeb notes the label’s crucial role in alternative music, saying, “This album was possible thanks to my long-standing friendship with the late Dave Heckman, who gave me complete artistic freedom.” Heckman, Metropolis’ founder, passed away in the summer of 2022.

Videos from “Model Kollapse”

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-Pop, Wave-Pop, EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Hailing from Scotland Propter Hoc aka J.A. Harrington has already self-released multiple productions. “Zodiac Carousel” is the official debut album released by Cold Transmission Carousel.

Content: “Zodiac Carousel” sounds like Electro-Pop enhanced with Minimal-EBM. The music sounds infectious, which is enhanced by the cool, melody lines. The songs remind me a bit of Dupont and even DAF when they went on the Pop tour.

+ + + : The music certainly doesn’t sound new, but in my opinion there are not enough productions in this genre. “Zodiac Carousel” is the perfect sonic bridge between Electro-Pop and EBM; a great crossover that catches on and results in cool songs such as “Beyond The Pleasure Principle”, “Lip Servant”, “Immortelle”, “Velvet Season” and especially “Transportable Subway Entrance (Crushed)”.

– – – : I noticed a very few uninspired cuts among the tracklist but they fortunately can’t take my enthusiasm for this album away.

Conclusion: Propter Hoc is a project to keep in mind if you’re in search of less stereotypical projects.

Best songs: “Transportable Subway Entrance (Crushed)”, “Immortelle”, “Beyond The Pleasure Principle”, “Velvet Season”, “Lip Servant”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076665708904

Label: www.coldtransmission.com / www.facebook.com/coldtransmissionmusic

About Propter Hoc

Propter Hoc is the solo project of Scottish artist A. Harrington, known as John, who began recording during the 2020 pandemic lockdown after early tracks posted online drew a quick, positive response, leading to a deal with Cold Transmission Records. “Zodiac Carousel” is his debut album, released in 2024, followed in 2025 by “Seduction and Betrayal” and two additional EPs, and in 2026 by the album “Dramaturgy”.

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 EBM pop duo AD:keY are back with a fresh EP, “Nackt”, following their previous single, “Two Souls”. With this new release the Berlin-based duo, Andrea and Rene Nowotny, offers a glimpse of what you can expect on their forthcoming album, “0609”.

“Nackt” holds 4 tracks, 3 remixes (including a single mix) of the title track plus a mix of the track “Deine Augen”. As usual the tracks come with the band’s signature blend of male and female vocals.

As usual with Alfa Matrix the release is first out on Bandcamp with other platforms to follow in the next weeks.

About AD:keY

AD:keY was formed in 2006 as a side project by the keyboardist from the band Armageddon Dildos. The band’s sound is rooted in pure old school EBM blending what we then described “the synths and beats of DAF and Nitzer Ebb with the vocal style and slight spaciness of Welle:Erdball”.

Their music is characterized by stomping beats, muscled bass lines, addictive melodic electro sequences, and powerful male and female vocals. Over the years, AD:keY has carved out its own identity within the Electronic Body Music scene releasing material via the Belgian based electro label Alfa Matrix.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Electro-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: After the debut work (mini-album) “Herzblut” released in 2022 the duo Uwe Kanka (Armageddon Dildos) – Martin Bodewell (Orange Sector) are back on track unleashing the “Stroboscope”-album featuring eleven songs.

Content: Uwe Kanka sings and Martin Bodewell takes care of the music. “Herzblut” was great EBM but the album sounds more diversified and also exploring Electro-Pop fields. It’s quite interesting the way songs are switching from one genre till the other; sometimes reminding me of Pet Shop Boys for the Electro-Pop side and DAF for the harder, and pure, EBM work. The tracklist features 4 album-edits from songs that were already released at “Herzblut”.

+ + + : This is an exceptional project for the collaboration between two of the greatest EBM projects from the German 90s scene. The EBM side of the album remains terrific and definitely the songs I prefer. “Marathon” remains a great song but I also have to mention “Feuer” (also known from the mini-album) and “Strobolight”. “Techno Club” is another cool piece which seems evoking the famous Frankfurter Techno Club while sound wise it reminds me a bit of ECO. The Pop side is less interesting although revealing a few cool and well-crafted pieces always driven by solid bass lines. Uwe Kanka is definitely a talented singer for this kind of music. I here recommend listening to “Sisters & Brothers” which sounds like a hard adaptation of a Pet Shop Boys song.

– – – : As said before I’m less convinced by the Electro-Pop side of the work however it brings diversity.

Conclusion: Kanka Bodewell sounds much more than simply a fun project between EBM mates; those guys rock and have accomplished a cool work.

Best songs: “Marathon – Album Version”, “Techno Club”, “Strobolight”, “Feuer – Album Version”, “Sisters & Brothers”, “Wasteland”.

Rate: 8.

Artists: www.armageddondildos.info / www.facebook.com/armageddondildos / www.facebook.com/OrangeSector

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

About Kanka Bodewell

Kanka Bodewell is the collaborative project of Uwe Kanka of Armageddon Dildos and Martin Bodewell of Orange Sector. The idea for a joint project was born at a shared gig in Frankfurt, but the pair only started working together after Bodewell sent Kanka a set of tracks. The duo debuted in 2022 with the EP “Herzblut” on Infacted Recordings, followed two years later by the full-length “Stroboscope”, which reworks four “Herzblut” songs as album edits alongside new EBM and Electro-Pop material.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Minimal-Electro, EBM.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/havoc2027

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

Listen to “Spanish Electronic Body Music”:

About HIV+

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

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Michael Schrader strikes back with the fourth album of his sonic alter-ego Tension Control. The album features thirteen new songs.

Content: If you’re familiar with this German project you’re expecting new ‘old-school’ EBM. And that’s precisely what “Industrielle Revolution” stands for; good-old EBM reminding the energy and power of bands like DAF, AD:Key and co. The work is carried by solid bass lines and danceable kicks. The lyrics are switching from English to German and vice versa.

+ + + : Tension Control sounds as an ode to good-old EBM; a ‘pure’ EBM format which is however more and more accomplished. Tension Control is evolving throughout the years while remaining faithful to its initial approach. The album brings a succession of danceable, hitting, cuts. It’s not easy to give you favorites but I particularly like “Your Voice”, “50 Hertz”, “Feel The Rhythm” and “Survivor”. A last and essential point is the artwork of the album which is in the continuation of previous albums. I like this standardized  and recognizable approach.

– – – : I think that if the album would have been recorded with better equipment and/or in a better studio it would reach an extra -and higher, level.

Conclusion: Tension Control remains a solid ambassador of the contemporary ‘old-school’-EBM.

Best songs: “Your Voice”, “50 Hertz”, “Feel The Rhythm”, “Survivor”, “Form Folgt Funktion”, “Und Keiner Geht Hin”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.tensioncontrol.de / www.facebook.com/tension.control.ebm

About Tension Control

Tension Control is the solo project of German musician Michael Schrader. “Industrielle Revolution” is the project’s fourth album, thirteen songs of old-school EBM sung in English and German. Side-Line interviewed Schrader in 2020, in a Click Interview titled ‘My Intention Is To Keep The Old-School EBM Alive’.

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: Cold-Wave, Electro-Wave, EBM.

Format: Digital, Vinyl.

Background/Info: “XL” is a fine selection of ten songs taken from the three last albums (cf. “Control”, “Different World” and “Shelter”) from Belgian DIY-artist Enzo Kreft (aka Eric Vandamme).

Content: This work brings nothing new although a kind of ‘best of’-tracks from the last full lengths by the Belgian Cold-Wave artist. The vintage sound treatments and especially the strings remind me of Gary Numan. But “XL” also features a few harder and even pure EBM pieces. This is a moody but always danceable Electro with the half sung half spoken vocals of Eric Vandamme on top.

+ + + : If you never heard of Enzo Kreft -which would be a shame, this album is a great opportunity to discover the artist’s work from the past few years. His global approach in sound and production hasn’t really changed over the years; he remains faithful to the 80s electro sound driven by analog sound treatments. The strings running through the songs have this early 80s magic -which will please Gary Numan fans. “XL” reveals numerous great pieces from the artist and it’s even hard to give you a favorite one. We get an impressive list of brilliant and accomplished pieces instead. I however would dare to tip “Disobedient” for its danceable Electro-Wave, “Viral Paranoia” which is good-old EBM reminding me of the bass line of DAF, “Duck And Cover” for its anguished side and “Woke Up This Morning” for its overwhelming, dark, sphere. A last word I want to say is the engaged lyrical themes of the artist which are also quite poetic and sung in an impressive half spoken way.

– – – : I sometimes regret the tracks aren’t just a bit longer.

Conclusion: Enzo Kreft at his best! This artist deserves a wider recognition for his great talent to bring 80s Electro-Wave music alive with a refreshing touch.

Best songs: “Disobedient”, “Viral Paranoia”, “Duck And Cover”, “Woke Up This Morning”, “Biometrics”, “It’s Going On And On”, “Blood Diamonds”.

Rate: 9.

Artist: www.facebook.com/enzo.kreft

About Enzo Kreft

Enzo Kreft is the solo project of Belgian artist Eric Vandamme, who started composing electronic music in the 1980s. His most prolific period began a few years ago, with self-released albums that each center on a specific topic, mixing Electro-Wave, EBM and Minimal-Electro. Recent full lengths include “Control”, “Different World” and “Shelter”, the latter built around war themes.

“XL” compiles ten songs drawn from those three albums, released digitally and on vinyl.

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

Here’s an exclusive event we co-present with Cold War Night Life in London. Robert Görl (DAF) and Hanna Rollmann will read from their book, “The Voice That Dwells Within”, on Saturday, January 27, 2024, at The Strongroom in London (tickets available here). The duo will also sign copies of their book during this intimate event.

Robert Görl co-founded DAF (Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft) in 1978 — 45 years ago — with vocalist Gabi Delgado. The band started as a punk/experimental outfit, using a combination of conventional instruments and electronics, before relocating from Dusseldorf to London. After meeting Mute Records’ Daniel Miller, they released “Die Kleinen und die Bösen,” featuring production by Conny Plank. The group consolidated as the duo of Görl and Delgado, made the jump to Virgin Records, and released three albums that changed the face of German (electronic body) music. They formed the template for a line of bands, including Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb. They were working towards a new album at the time of Delgado’s sudden death in 2020, which Goerl completed alone as “Nur Noch Einer.”

In the spaces between DAF releases, Görl and Delgado each released separate material. Görl’s 1984 solo album, “Night Full of Tension,” featured an appearance by Annie Lennox of Eurythmics — returning the favor after Görl played drums on that band’s Conny Plank-produced debut, “In the Garden.”

“The Voice That Dwells Within” uses Görl’s memories to reconstruct stories from all these events. The book is centered around the 1989 car crash that almost killed Görl and led him to Buddhism.

The event will take place at The Strongroom, Curtain Road, London EC2A 3SQ, on Saturday, January 27, 2024. The starting time is 7 pm. Tickets are £15 in advance / £20 on the door.

Here’s a video trailer.

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

Cologne’s Blue Shell hosts a brand new event series: The Neue Klangordnung (New Sound Order, NKO). The newly founded NKO collective brings the “Blue Shell” back to its roots: rough industrial underground sound, rooted in body music (EBM), post-techno and the new cold / dark wave.

The NKO sees itself as a space for dance and sound experiments, “in which people regain control of their smartphones and their heads are freed for the experience.”

Max Esser explains: “By mainstreaming underground music genres such as techno, the NKO wants to shape new, alternative music styles of tomorrow with its DIY approach. This is inspired by sound pioneers such as Cabaret Voltaire, DAF, Test Dept. and Esplendor Geómetrico, and the next chapter of Industrial is to be entered into at NKO under the term Post-Techno. This is implemented behind the mixing desks of DJ and darkwave performer BORGBORG, the industrial-purified mixing master Hugo Dirac, the Cologne selector Klaus F., and the sound researcher MX Probe.”

View this profile on Instagram

Neue Klangordnung (@neueklangordnung) • Instagram photos and videos

For fans of: Einstürzende Neubauten, Esplendor Geométrico, NAKED, Spit Mask, Broken English Club, Parrish Smith, Bauhaus, Severed Heads, DJedjotronic, ADULT, Fixmer/McCarthy, Boy Harsher, Alessandro Adriani, Ancient Methods, Randolph & Mortimer, Unconscious, Sarin, Alen Skanner, Years of Denial, Whitehouse, Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV, Qual.

This is what the NKO Spotify playlist sounds like.

What, where and how of The Neue Klangordnung

• When: 24. November 2023 – 22:00 o‘clock
• Where: Blue Shell, Luxemburger Str. 32, 50674 Cologne
• Cost: 8€ Box office, 6€ limited presale via Rausgegangen

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 December 1st is the new album from the Paris-based musical duo Leroy Se Meurt (LSM). “Voué à rouiller” will be out under the Mannequin Records label and will be available in a limited LP format.

Formed in 2018, Leroy Se Meurt is known for its eclectic and experimental sound and a rather unique blend of genres. Their sound is an amalgamation of old-school EBM – reminiscent of minimal Nitzer Ebb with DAF influences – fused with fierce electro elements, all bound by a punk ethos. If you’re a fan of post-punk or are interested in exploring this genre, you’ll find aspects of it in their music, but be prepared for a sonic experience that goes beyond conventional labels.

While there are no official videos for the new album yet, fans can get a taste of Leroy Se Meurt’s live performance through these two live tracks available on YouTube.

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

(Photos from the personal archives of Jean-Marc Lederman) This article draws from various updates posted by Jean-Marc Lederman (The Weathermen, Kid Montana, Jules et Jim, Ghost & Writer, Lederman / De Meyer, Rohn-Lederman…) on his Facebook profile, which we’ve consolidated into a comprehensive piece. This compilation offers a profound understanding of the workings of the indie music industry during its ‘golden era’. Additionally, it provides specific insights into Mute Records, the label of Daniel Miller, as numerous individuals, including Fad Gadget, mentioned in this article have significant associations with the iconic UK label.

Digital Dance (1978-1979) / Daniel Miller

The year was 1979 and I had just quit, well I was sacked tbh, from Digital Dance , the first band I was in.

We were doing post punk/cold wave/new wave stuff and it was really exciting. I started doing bass with them on a..ARP 2600 whci I had bought working on building sites, yeah, far too much of an overkill I agree. We were rehearsing here and there but did a time at the famous Plan K where we supported Joy Division. Actually, that day I went to pick up Ian and Bernard Summers at the very seedy hotel they were in and I drove them to the gig.

They were laughing like kids, you know, young musicians being happy to play abroad. It was such a cold day, everyone was freezing and Ian even came close to Stefan Barbery (Digital Dance guitar player) who was close to an electric heater to tell him “Well, I guess this is why they call it Cold Wave…”

We also opened to Magazine and Fisher-Z and it was becoming too much of a routine for me: the Brussels band that does all the new wave support slots but hasn’t even got a decent recording contract…

Oh, we had one, and they made us record our very fast cover version of Kraftwerk’s “RadioActivity”. At the end of the session, they made me do some terrible sound effects, hoping to catch on the fad of the moment, and it just ruined the whole song. Tells you that if a thing sounds bad and contrived and cheesy on monday, still sounds the same the day after and 40 years later. Sorry Stefan, my fault.

Then Phil Wauquaire (whom I had met from Streets, the punk band he was in and I actually played with them live on a couple of songs with a…AKS, another overkill) joined us and I played synth with a Korg MS20 then with a Yamaha CS50M who weighted like half an olifant after a drinking binge.

Anyway, after a couple of gigs with Digital Dance at the Gibus in Paris, i was let go (which was fine, really). Two days later, I call Daniel Miller whom I had met in London a few months ago. Digital Dance had been foolish and crazy enough to believe that if you go to London you can pretty much be sure you’ll find a gig. All we did was rehearsing (below Beggar’s Banquet where I met Peter Kent from the future 4AD label) and waiting in our hotel off Kings Road. Anyway, we were trying to get Geoff Travis from Rough Trade to listen to our demo and he stopped it 20 seconds in and tell us: if you go to “Better Badges” now, you’ll see a man called Daniel Miller (from label MUTE RECORDS) and maybe he’ll like your stuff….

So, off we went to Better Badges and there we met Daniel, with a green basket full of The Normal badges.

Daniel and I hit directly like if it was an “International Conference Of Synths Fanatics”. I mean: synths weren’t as known or popular then as they were then. It was still a relatively rare sight on stage or in gigs or in bands that weren’t poppy or progrock. No, we’re talking new industrial scene in the UK: noisy and determined, not minimoogs played by long haired musos…

So, Daniel and I exchanged phone numbers and we traded letters and phone calls here and there. So, remember, I’m sacked from Digital Dance and I then realize that if I wanted to really go anywhere in music, Brussels isn’t the place to be and I must move to where things are happening. At that time, London was THE center of music in Europe and I decide that I want to try my luck and the two major chords I know there. I pick up the phone and call Daniel, asking him if he knew any musician that would be interested in moi ?

Yeah, I know someone, he’s on my label now, he’s looking for musicians, call him… His name is Frank Tovey….

Frank Tovey / Fad Gadget #1 (part 1)

The audition was simple: we didn’t even play a note or try to do a song, we just sat and drank coffee and laughed a lot. But there was no try-out, no keyboard or synths tickering… And that’s how Philippe Wauquaire and I became members of Fad Gadget #1 for a few months in 1980: a simple coffee cup meeting and an unmistakable good chemical feeling between us. Frank had played a few gigs on his own but wanted musicians around him so he could concentrate a bit more on being a little bit less concentrated if you know what I mean.

There was Frank: clever, astute, open, funny, with a lot of wit doubled with a good dose of sarcasm: totally my alley. But he knew what he wanted musically, there was no doubt about what he wanted to sound like. The plan was: rehearse at my place in Brussels, a first gig here, then play a few gigs as support for Deutsche Amerikanische Freundschaft in Germany and going to tour the UK as support for The Monochrome Set.

So, we start rehearsing in my attic: Frank on vocals, Pearl Syncussion and distorted electric piano, Phil on Fender bass and Korg MS 20 and myself on handling the cassette player (each song had its drums/rhythmic parts on a single cassette and I would feed the machine with a new cassette every song) and my 4 notes polyphonic, Yamaha CS 50M. Again, an overkill.

After a few hours of rehearsals, we have our first gig: support-act for Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark. We are all extremely nervous but the gig goes well: Frank doesn’t go into the mad behaviours he’s known for yet but you can see he’s holding up something big inside, something is boiling there. After the gig, we proceed to the German border and sleep in a motel there. In the morning, I’m being handed an envelope with my per diem (every day allowance a musician gets when on tour): it is the first time someone hands me money for doing something I love doing: playing music. I couldn’t believe it and I took a second piece of bacon and refilled my coffee cup. We are about to go to Dusseldorf to play The Ratinger Off as support for Deutsche Amerikanische Freundschaft.

Something started to happen at the Ratinger Hof: maybe it was the roughness of the place, the German lager (naaaaah) or the history of the place but this thing Frank had inside him but it slightly came out at that gig. See, there was an animal inside Frank, and that animal was as extrovert as Frank was introvert: Frank was then frontal and loud and, yes, obnoxious but in a gentle and friendly way but he wasn’t the shy Frank. In response to Frank’s changing live attitudes, Phil and I started to play loser and noisier and wilder (and there were far more bump notes on my part) but the band started to make sense.

The crowd wasn’t there for us, they were there for what would later become DAF, but the reaction was good and people liked us. I recall Frank and I going out in front of the place and that guy comes out dressed as a mod, full parka mode with a patch “Remember Brighton” which made Frank laughed a lot, people were out there with their beer and… Omg what am I saying: IT JUST FELT GREAT.

Deutsche Amerikanische Freundschaft at the time was a five piece band and they were fun and chaotic. You couldn’t miss Chris Haas, the synth guy, who was classy and special. He had a very specific body language when playing live: he would stand back, have a smile and just come here and there to play a few notes…He is the real grandfather of EBM as he introduced the famous 1/16th bass line (Korg MS 20 and SQ 10 sequencer) that will be the bone of so many records later on.

The morning after, we went out to the next gig. Daniel, Phil, Chris and myself embarked in my mum’s yellow Civic and we went down the motorway, singing loudly “Fahn Fahn Fahn Auf Der Autobahn” laughing and laughing… I guess Chris must have done that thousand of times before but, for Daniel, Phil and I it meant something different: we were doing it. We were travelling in Kraftwerk’s motherland and going to play electronic music there: it was immense.

We only played one more gig in Germany and then the whole tour was somehow cancelled… Roland Beelen: I saw the animal in Frank I guess a few months later at the Paasfestival in Koninfshooikt (organized by my friend Guy Vanwoensel) I was a stagehand there. Frank smashed a crucifix that was hanging above stage in the hall (parochiezaal)with his magic stick. The whole village was in shock when the news spread the next morning. The vicar organized a special service the next day to please the smashed fallen Christ ! they say he resurrected a few weeks later! All end, good end !

Frank Tovey / Fad Gadget 1980 (part 2)

Something had clicked in Frank after a few gigs: it’s like he had been showed by practice that it could work, that the songs were good, the voice was good but even more than that his FG personnae and ideas had an impact on the crowd. He would go out, do his thing, see people respond to his songs, lyrics and theatrics and then he would retrieve after the gig in the gentle and shy Frank Tovey. Phil and I were providing a background that wasn’t perfect but for Frank it was a great practice for FG future.

When we toured as support for The Monochrome Set, we were sometimes in fire and I could really feel people’s amazement at that born-to-be showman. He would play with the crowd and slowly take them into the show. Our sound might not have been very sophisticated but with Frank’s distorted piano, the CS50 brutal in and out sounds, Phil’s impeccable swirling bass, we were like The Stooges with synths and Frank was a perfect bionic Iggy Pop….I began to be very proud of us, we were quite something indeed and I was going on stage with a mission: to show people the songs and to let them fall in Frank’s performance.

I also remember that after the last show of the tour, possibly at the YMCA gig, one of the roadie came at the CS 50 and started to play some Bach’s prelude. I was stunned and shameful of the snobiness i may have shown the roadies on that tour, or before tbh. I learned a lesson that night and never again would I be feeling above anyone on a stage, or in studio, be them multiple charts success artists or simple roadie.

Something wild happened after our gig at the 100 club. Jock Mac Donalds (from the future Bollock Brothers) was very drunk and he started to look for a fight with us and being extremely aggressive, a bottle in his hand, waving it at us. Phil, FG’s bass player, was a karate black belt and he was looking very calm, coming closer to Jock inch by inch. Suddenly he jumped at Jock, put two fingers on his Adam’s apple and said with a slow voice: “OK, let’s kill”, his eyes deep into Mac Donald’s eyes.

The bottle instantly fell on the ground and the guy just ran out the club swearing loud and clear… Phil and I were sleeping at Daniel’s mom place for a few days and we were making music late at night. One of these nights, Daniel was on Phil’s MS 20, I was trying Daniel’s infamous Korg 700S (the one that was on TVOD and Warm Leatherette) and Phil was on the CS 50M but it was visibly too loud and too late as Daniel’s mum came down and asked us to PLEASE STOP !

Next gig to come was going to be the Clarendon, but we were told this would be our last gig with Frank as he wanted a full band behind him to totally free him from any other duties but vocals. I was devastated…

Frank Tovey / Fad Gadget #1 (part 3)

So, we were invited to headline Stevo’s kinda festival at the Clarendon, on June 27 1980. Stevo was a very colourful character who will make himself known later when managing bands like Soft Cell and The The. The bill was very symptomatic of the time: DAF, Naked Lunch, B.Movie, Vice Versa, Clock DVA,…

So, Fad Gadget #1 had started touring as a relative unknown a few months ago and we were by now talk of the town and headline this festival. It felt good and it felt also important and I was nervous. Everybody was. Frank had a song by Georges Folmby playing before we would go on. Folmby was a Lancarshire working class comedian and he was famous for playing double entendre ukulélé songs. It was a known and safe thing for British people and Frank used it as contrast as chaos would start when we would cut Folmby and go straight into “State Of The Nation” and follow that with most of what is on the album Fireside Favourites.

• State Of The Nation
• Back To Nature
• The Box
• Fireside Favourite
• Newsreel
• Pedestrian
• Coitus Interruptus
• Ricky’s Hand
• Back To Nature

Yes, Frank wanted shock and chaos, and he got that except that at the Clarendon it went a bit further than expected. During one of the early songs, Fad had already taken over Frank, he smashed up his face with one of the two Syncussion drums and it started pouring blood. Phil and I looked at him and he made us understand it was fine and let’s continue…So we continued until someone took Frank off stage as it was just like a fountain of blood by now. The gig was stopped.

We went backstage and Frank was adamant he was fine but Babra (his wife) disinfected the wound and placed a cloth on it. We went back on stage.

The crowd went MAD. Frank was standing there, his white clothes with red blood all over it, singing to the public that was all won. It was an incredible sight, and being on stage, playing the songs with a singer that went beyond the call of duty was something unexplainable. After the gig, we had to take the 5 am ferry. I was sitting on the stairs of the Clarendon and, yes, I was crying, letting all the tension, the fears of the gig off my system but also the sadness I felt after having lived some incredible times with
Frank, as synth player in Fad Gadget. I saw Frank playing with Fad Gadget #2 a few months later and he invited me to play in the encore: we were cool.

Still, I wasn’t done with London and would come back later…

Side-Line also covered Jean-Marc Lederman’s ‘Sci-Fi Revisited’.

About Fad Gadget

Frank Tovey (8 September 1956 – 3 April 2002), an English electronic musician and performance artist, recorded as Fad Gadget, becoming the first artist signed to Daniel Miller’s Mute Records after the two met at the Rough Trade shop in London. His recorded work combined synthesizers with found-object sounds and dark, comic lyrics. Studio albums as Fad Gadget include “Fireside Favourites” (1980), “Incontinent” (1981), “Under the Flag” (1982) and “Gag” (1984), after which he continued recording under his own name, releasing six further albums on Mute between 1985 and 1992. He died of a heart attack at his London home in 2002.

Belgian musician Jean-Marc Lederman played with Fad Gadget in the band’s touring lineup during the early-to-mid 1980s and has recounted memories of touring with Tovey, Daniel Miller and DAF’s Chrislo Haas in interviews, describing Tovey as bringing something unheard in electronic music at the time. Lederman has credited Daniel Miller and Fad Gadget’s early-1980s touring band, including Chrislo Haas of DAF, as formative to his own career.

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

The Swedish old school EBM act ELM is back with a second EP from the well-received, intense EBM album “Penetrator”. Expect powerful bass lines, a compelling drive, and commanding vocals and lyrics. Oldschool EBM like we like it.

The EP is available on Bandcamp from today on with other platforms to follow in the future.

The EP boasts a total of seven tracks, including remixes of the title track by J Wølf (Mildreda, Mildred in Oblivion, Your Life on Hold, Diskonnekted) and the iconic Swedish electronic act System. You’ll also find alternative dance floor mixes of “Excuses Excuses” and “Ha-Ha-Ha-Begär,” as well as the exclusive, heavy-hitting, DAF-inspired new track titled “For L…”.

Highly recommended for fans of early Nitzer Ebb, DAF, and Front 242.

Complete discography:

• Hardline (Deluxe edition) (2016)
• Edge EP (2016)
• Wapenrustning EP (2017)
• Kampftrinker EP (2017)
• Extreme Unspoken Tension (X.U.T. Remixed) EP (2019)
• Death Of The North EP (2019)
• Penetrator (Deluxe edition) (2022)
• Steel Hope EP (2022)
• Vessel Of Violence EP (2023)

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

www.side-line.com

What comes in mind when hearing the names Jürgen Engler, Marcel Zürcher and Ralf Dörper? Die Krupps! Right; but since a few years they also started a new side-project called Die Robo Sapiens. This new band moves back to pure Electronic music and will mainly appeal for EBM fans. The German project signed to Alfa Matrix unleashing a debut EP in 2018. We next had to wait four years till by the end of 2022 they released the debut album “Robo Sapien Race”. This work is one of the best EBM albums from the past year which is clearly featuring explicit retro elements. An album filled with power and still a part of fun… and that’s what Die Robo Sapiens  is all about. I asked Jürgen Engler a few questions for the interview.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You guys have been next to Die Krupps involved in multiple other side-projects but what does Die Robo Sapiens stand for? How did the project come to life and how does it feel to start a new ‘band’ when you’ve been involved in a successful formation like DIE KRUPPS for so long?

Jürgen: The idea for Die Robo Sapiens came to me when I didn’t get the budget from the record company that I needed to produce an Industrial-Metal album. I also realized that I always ended up writing songs from time to time that didn’t quite fit that Die Krupps Industrial-Metal concept. So I decided to leave those songs purely Electronic. I know we also have fans who are more into the Die Krupps-EBM style tracks, so why not cater to them and give them something they will enjoy? It is a fun project for me as well, I can really play around with all my analog synths!

Q: Listening to your music and the debut album I got the sensation Die Robo Sapiens move on there where Die Krupps started to play with guitars. Is this what you mean?

Jürgen: The concept picks up there, but isn’t restricted to staying within that framework. I wanted to create somewhat of a niche for us, merging hard Die Krupps EBM with the sound of Düsseldorf-Electro, and with that I mean the roots. Kraftwerk and Die Krupps may stem from the same city and we know each other quite well, but they were never a direct influence on me. But I understand that Düsseldorf will forever be associated with Kraftwerk, and their music breathes Düsseldorf. So it was a logical progression for me to combine these musical styles. It sounds unique, and expands the genres. Niemals stillstehen! 

Q: While your debut EP was already released in 2018 it took a few more years to achieve the debut album “Robo Sapien Race”. Tell us a bit more about the writing and accomplishment of “Robo Sapien Race”? What have been the different stages in the writing and production of the work and what’s the input of each member?

Jürgen:At the time of the EP, I was ready to continue with the project, but the former record company threatened not to release the album if it was an all Electro album. They insisted on getting an Industrial-Metal album, so I was forced to move ahead and finish the new Die Krupps-album first. When that album was completed and the following tour, we continued working on the tracks that fit the concept. During the process it became more and more clear to me what the music needed to give Die Robo Sapiens a sound of its own. To me it’s always important to find your own style and niche. That’s how we did it since the beginning, don’t follow trends, spearhead them!

Q: It seems there’s a kind of concept behind this album dealing with ‘the dehumanization and technological dependency of mankind… without it you are nothing…’ How do you face this fact and how do you see the pros and cons of technology in the evolution of Electronic music -especially when compared to the 80s analog era?

Jürgen: I am fascinated by new technology, but I won’t let it dominate my life unless it is useful and making my life easier. Unfortunately, most people let technology dominate their life nowadays, and the balance seems off. We cannot make ourselves completely dependent on computers and machines, I personally refuse to becoming a Robo Sapien in my lifetime! We are the human race and should resist becoming one with the machinery. Although it’s a fascinating thought, it will be the end of humanity. I think the time will come sooner or later that man will be replaced by robo sapiens. I know I won’t be around anymore, and I have a feeling that’s a good thing.

Q: Soundwise you already mentioned the Kraftwerk-touch which is easily noticeable for the sound color and atmospheres but there also is the hard EBM side of DAF… and Die Krupps as well;-). How do you perceive it  and was there something as a ‘Düsseldorfer’ scene?

Jürgen: DAF are not a Düsseldorf-band, they were from Wuppertal and part Austrian. But Gabi did start his musical career in Düsseldorf, that’s true. I was friends with him before he even started a band. Ralf and I knew Kraftwerk because we all used to hang out in the same clubs and movie theatres around town back in the 70s. I later became friends with Karl and also Wolfgang. I didn’t get in touch with them regarding guesting on the album, but it’s a nice thought and I will keep it in mind. Regarding the so called Düsseldorf-scene, sure there was a scene, and it was transitional when Punk happened. Kraftwerk, Neu, La Duesseldorf were the first wave, then came DAF, Die Krupps and Propaganda. We had our background in Punk, and not in the late 60s experimental strain of the Hippy scene. Although it produced very interesting bands, the two scenes never really crossed paths musically, until I tried to unite them in the mid 90s, when I brought members of Cluster, Guru Guru, Amon Duul, Faust and Die Krupps together to produce the album “Space Explosion”. It was an eye opening experience.

Q: What brings the future for Die Robo Sapiens? Is the album just a ‘one shot’ project or should we expect more stuff and eventually live shows, remixes etc?

Jürgen:This album is not supposed to be a one off, the project will continue. I am open to all kinds of adventures, even live shows, and I know Ralf is too, if we can find the time to do it. Die Krupps is and will always be our number one, but it feels good to have another outlet for the purely Electro tracks. I enjoy the different approach, and I’m also interested in defining the Robo Sapiens sound even more. The deeper you delve into a musical project, the more you understand its own mechanisms. And I believe Die Robo Sapiens has a lot more potential. Time will prove my point. Die Zukunft hat begonnen!

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Four years after their impressive debut EP Die Robo Sapiens are back with their debut album. The German side-project of Die Krupps featuring Jürgen Engler, Ralf Dörper and Marcel Zürcher brings us an album of ten songs plus an extra disc (available on CD and digital edits) featuring ten extra songs.

Content: Die Robo Sapiens stands for pure EBM. Good-old and elaborated songs from Düsseldorf which sometimes to me sound like a homage to legendary town mates Kraftwerk and DAF. Pure Electronic music mixing the robotic side and atmospheres of Kraftwerk together with the power of DAF. Engler’s captivating and alluring vocals on top will bring you to dance.

The extra disc features remixes by Seb Komor, Aiborforcen, Orange Sector, AD:key, Implant, Aesthetische, Cubic, Kant Kino, Metroland and Plastic Noise Experience.

+ + + : The already familiar songs “Teufelskreis” and “Tanz Mit Dem Roboter” both remain alluring cuts but I also have to mention “Transrapid Rapid”,  “Robotimierung”, “Robo Normativ”, “Niemals Stillstehen” and  “Automatenland” which all are outstanding pieces. It feels like Die Robo Sapiens moved on there where Die Krupps decided to experiment with guitar and Metal/Industrial music. You can feel the guys had some fun composing this album while the ‘Düsseldorfer’-sound reminding Kraftwerk but also DAF is a pretty cool wink. The bonus disc brings an impressive selection of great remixes in different genres; from EBM and sophisticated EBM to Minimal-Electro it’s nearly impossible to say which one sounds the best.

– – – : No minus points to mention.

Conclusion: When ‘veterans’ are teaching EBM artists how to compose great stuff!

Best songs: “Transrapid Rapid”, “Teufelskreis”, “Robotimierung”, “Tanz Mit Dem Roboter feat. JG. & The Robots”, “Robo Normativ”, “Niemals Stillstehen”,  “Automatenland” + “Teufelskreis – Sebastian Komor Rmx”, “Robotimierung – Orange Sector Rmx, “Transrapid Rapid – Aiboforcen Rmx”, “Niemals Stillstehen – Kant Kino Rmx”.

Rate: 9.

Artist: www.facebook.com/DieRoboSapiens

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix Read the news on ‘Robo Sapien Race’.

About Die Robo Sapiens

Die Robo Sapiens is a German side-project of Die Krupps, formed by Jürgen Engler, Ralf Dörper and Marcel Zürcher. The project debuted in 2018 with the single “Teufelskreis – Tanz Mit Dem Roboter” before releasing its debut album, “Robo Sapien Race”, through Alfa-Matrix in 2022 on digital, CD and vinyl formats, accompanied by a bonus disc of remixes. Side-Line spoke with the band about the project’s Düsseldorf-rooted EBM approach in a 2023 Click Interview.

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

Crime & the City Solution, who recently returned to the studio to record a cover of The Doors’ classic 1967 ode to alienation, “People Are Strange”, have just announced details of a series that will see their long out of print catalogue reissued on vinyl for the first time in decades via Mute Records.

The series begins in January 2023 with the reissue of the three albums that founder Simon Bonney considers the origin of his true voice and the definitive sound he sought for Crime & the City Solution: “Shine” (1988, set for release on limited gold vinyl), “The Bride Ship” (1989, available on limited white vinyl) and “Paradise Discotheque” (1990, out on limited orange vinyl).

Crime & the City Solution’s second album, “Shine”, heralds the arrival of the first Berlin incarnation, and sees Simon Bonney, Mick Harvey and Bronwyn Adams decamp from London to Berlin. With a more experimental sound, which drew less on Melbourne post punk scene roots and took a more explorative musical approach, this lineup featured Einstürzende Neubauten’s Alexander Hacke on guitar, ex-DAF/Liaisons Dangereuses electronicus Chrislo Haas on vintage Korg patchbay synth, and free jazz bassist Thomas Stern.

“The Bride Ship” soon followed and saw the Berlin line up return to Hansa Tonstudio in West Berlin, this time with Gareth Jones lending a hand with production. In 1990, following a move by Simon Bonney and Bronwyn Adams to Vienna, the now classic line up travelled to Conny Plank’s legendary studio to record “Paradise Discotheque”.

About Crime and the City Solution

Formed in Sydney by Simon Bonney at the age of 16, Crime & the City Solution’s early performances from 1977-1979 had a big impact on key figures of the early Melbourne art-punk/post punk scene. In 1984, Bad Seed Mick Harvey shipped Bonney to England to form the London based Crime with their friend ex-Birthday Party guitarist Rowland S Howard, with his brother Harry Howard on bass and Epic Soundtracks on drums. Two years on, having toured Europe, the UK and US and released several EPs and an album, this lineup reached its zenith at its finale in a historic swansong performance in Wim Wenders’ cinematic masterpiece “Wings of Desire”.

Following the Berlin incarnation, encapsulated in these three reissues and the live album, “The Adversary”, it would be 20 years before the band, then based in Detroit, would return with their fifth studio album, “American Twilight”.

Back now after a 10-year hiatus, Simon Bonney and Bronwyn Adams have been touring through Europe with a new Berlin based incarnation, their final date of the year will be at La Maroquinerie in Paris on 27 November.

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

Skren is a German duo driven by ‘Bias’ and ‘Poisa’. Hailing from Düsseldorf they this year self-released their second album “Chaos”. This work comes one year after the debut-full length “Grell” while they also released multiple singles. I discovered an Electronic duo driven by multiple influences like Industrial, Techno and EBM. The fusion between all these elements creates a dark and powerful sound. The production sounds raw and unpolished, but still visionary. This might be the sound for further generations of Electronic artists. Skren definitely deserves a wider attention and recognition so I hope this interview will incite people to discover the ‘analog chaos and digital dust’ made by Skren.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Skren: Skren is analog chaos and digital dust. Skren is part of our Industrial Riot-label that includes productions of Electronic music, art and all types of collaborations.

Bias: As a kid I was always listening to music-cassettes that my sisters recorded with 90s stuff like Clawfinger, Type O Negative, NIn, Faith No More. I wrote lyrics taught myself to play the guitar and the drums. I programmed my first midi sequences on and old Roland Groove-box and learned working with a DAW. It was a very creative time with lots of artistic experiments. All my friends also did something with music and we pushed each other to get ahead. After I’ve been involved in various sound-projects Poisa and I started making music together. We got our first synth the Waldorf Blofeld which is still a part of our studio today. We continued making music during my studies at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and Skren was initiated shortly after the graduation.

Poisa: In my family music and art were always around. I play the piano since the age of 5 and my two older brothers really were into having a band and playing their music in our basement. As a teenager I had to follow my personal taste in music to differentiate myself from the traditional styles of music that surrounded me. Instead of studying music I decided to study fine arts, focusing on sculpture and painting during these years. In my art studies I learned to be able to express myself in any medium. It enabled the liberation of my music from the academic approach and I now make music my art.

Q: I noticed you guys are hailing from Düsseldorf. I instantly think about Kraftwerk, DAF, Die Krupps… but what’s the impact of those artists on younger generations of musicians like Skren?

Poisa: We always get confronted with these artists and the time frame they came up in. The history of these bands is connected to the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and they leave a strong legacy. We have great respect for these artists and their work. But we don’t continue this tradition, because we’re following a very different expression… more dark, more heavy, more aggressive. We don’t care much about making music in Düsseldorf of all places. Skren’s sound can happen everywhere. Contemporary music is much more interesting for us.

Bias: Only a handful of artists here in the city do Noise, EBM, Hard-Techno and Industrial stuff. The vital places where music developed back in the days aren’t there anymore. Without being disrespectful to the artists you mentioned, but they are already part of the music history with an exhibition in the local museum. For me personally, I respect the pioneering spirit but the influence is very harmless, I need a completely different musical energy.

Q: You already released a few productions so how do you look back at the evolution from the early songs till the “Chaos”-album?

Poisa: Our first attempt producing songs for an album ended up after nearly one year, because we were not satisfied with the sound and the feel of the material. So we had to reset the whole setup and workflow to start with a new mindset. We refreshed our gear and ended up in changing the vocals from English to German which helped us a lot to become more direct and authentic and in this state the “Grell”-album happened almost naturally. It was the first collection of songs that made up sense as an album to us and defined a direction we could imagine to continue and build up on.

Bias: The “Chaos”-album developed more under an over-all vision we had. Sound-wise, lyrically and visually we both had some plans where we wanted to go. But the production was a little difficult for both of us and we struggled a lot to finalize the different production steps. But in the end we are very proud of the result with all the different musical directions it opens up for us, and how it comes together with the video visuals and the artwork. With every single production we got more into synth- and production-techniques.

Q: I think you perfectly exposed the theme of “Chaos” by the artwork of the album… which is pure chaos! What did you try to express by the title and the artwork and how do you transform the theme of chaos into music?

Bias: For me the title “Chaos” is a term to set the outline for the scenario that opens up within the album. I felt like existing in a world where it is hard to find reliable and consistent points to orientate oneself. The constant uncertainty about the future and the feeling of powerlessness in the face of events has helped me to shape the vision for the album. The songs reflect different situations to face this chaos.

Poisa: The title song “Chaos” is about this totally functional system that is so controlled and efficient. It is always pushing forward up to the limit, highly technical and everything gets swept away in a current. But a small change can bring this whole system into trouble, into a total loss of control. I like the idea of destruction and the search for a fresh start. When you have to rethink your routine and discover new perspectives. It is a struggle which is always present in life especially as a visual artist who in this world first fulfills no purpose at all except to ask questions. For me our music and the artwork represent this struggle. The structured elements get counteracted by parts which happened by accident. The confrontation of opposing parts and the intentional loss of control is our way to integrate chaos into the music.

Q: Your sound is featuring multiple influences, but how do you perceive this work? What’s the input of each member and what have been the main difficulties when writing and producing this album?

Bias: The multiple influences that can be heard in our music certainly result from the different music styles we listen to and from the interest in playing various instruments. When we produce music we try to follow the requirements of the song. It’s not about adapting our music to a certain genre. Therefore Skren’s sound is open to various influences. And of course this is audible in the music. That is how we define Industrial for us. It is a form of mixing different elements together to achieve contrast and friction. My musical approach is basically to transport feelings and moods and to give them expression. I do the vocals, write the lyrics, and come up with guitar ideas and drum-sounds. And I do additional synth programming, sample work and most of the technical side of mixing and mastering. When it comes to arrangement and mixing and mastering we sit down together and listen to what we prefer the most.

The main difficulties in writing the “Chaos”-album were to bring all the different parts together to achieve our sound and distill the essence from all the ideas.

Poisa: I do most of the synth stuff like programming sounds and sequencing basslines or lead patterns. And I also play the bass in some songs. I do the counterpart during arranging, mixing and mastering and listen from a more distant perspective. I often take on the subtractive part in the band. When we have collected a lot of material for a song, it is often my job to shorten and reduce in order to come to a straighter musical line.

Q: Skren seems to be a pure DIY (do it yourself) formation, but how important is it to you to stay ‘independent’ and would you consider singing to a label? What brings the future by the way?

Bias: Doing everything on our own is the most direct way to immediately express everything we want to as an artist. The independency we have is good for us and we really can work on stuff in our tempo without thinking about deadlines and fitting into defined categories. But working independently is very time-consuming. The whole organization to exploit all possibilities for people to get to know our music requires a lot of energy that we would rather spend in the studio. For this it would be advantageous to have a professional partner who takes over these tasks.

Poisa: For the future we are open for any kind of collaboration if it pushes Skren to new and exciting directions. Currently we are working on new material for future releases and we are preparing a set for a live scenario. So we hope to hit some stages soon. 

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 now is the re-release of Faust’s 3rd album “The Faust Tapes”. It’s far from sure that this re-released krautrock album will sell as much as the initial original release back in 1973 which ended up selling between 50 to 100.000 copies. All thanks to the clever marketing strategy of Virgin Records boss Richard Branson.

Back at the time Virgin Records wanted to cash in on the rush for German music and it was Virgin’s Richard Branson who wanted the UK to get to know Faust. Although, honestly speaking, Virgin Records’ boss did have a preference for very alternative bands. After all, he signed Mike Oldfield, Gong, Public Image Ltd., DAF, and so on.

As for Faust’s first album on Virgin Records, Branson’s marketing strategy was very simple, selling the LP for 49 pence, the price of a single at that time. But by selling the album for the extremely cheap price, the album was quickly declared ineligible for chart placement. By then, the ‘damage’ was done as they say and the album was available to thousands of households. Nevertheless, the sales of the album put Virgin at a £2,000 loss.

There’s a crypto-terrorist in the house named Nettelbeck

Our chief editor Bernard Van Isacker talks about “quite a weird achievement for this band which was powered by producer and crypto-terrorist Uwe Nettelbeck.” Bernard: “I clearly add crypto-terrorist because Nettelbeck was an associate of the Baader-Meinhof terrorist organization and as an editor of the underground magazine Konkret, he gave a platform to the very cute but communist nutcase Ulrike Meinhof, the founding member of the Red Army Faction (RAF). In short, Nettelbeck didn’t have any problem selling thousands of records and at the same time being a die-hard communist who adored Mao and supported extreme left wing terrorism. Orwell’s “Animal Farm” comes to mind indeed. Note that over the years several bands and artists would glorify Ulrike Meinhof in their music such as Marianne Faithfull and Doris Days to name just two. A kind of very misplaced idolatry you can say.”

Musically not a real album according to the band

The music on this album, drawn from Faust’s own library of private tapes, was recorded informally and not originally intended for release. There was literally no post-production work done and the band itself never referred to it as their 3rd album but considered it more as a bonus release to mark their signing with Virgin Records. That was also what the band communicated.

The album had 2 tracks, both called untitled, and the album had a running time of a bit more than 43 minutes.

You would think that Faust’s next album “Faust IV” would be a hit after all this ‘Branson’ work. Allas, the band, who was used to live in a Hamburg based commune, didn’t like the music industry enough to make that happen. They in the end broke up in 1975 after Virgin rejected their fifth album.

The band would reform in 1994 to release “Rien”, their fifth album.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

www.side-line.com

Behind Pyrolator we find Kurt Dahlke who not only is a member of Der Plan and Fehlfarben, but also a founding member of DAF (which he left in 1979) and co-founder of the label Ata Tak. Dahlke has also released a line of solo works since 1979 under the name Pyrolator. Several times he has been commissioned by the Goethe-Institut for workshops or concerts.

Out on July 29th is the new Pyrolator album “Niemandsland” which is a back to the roots story for Pyrolator in the musical sense. “Niemandsland” was created exclusively with modular synthesizers with the computer merely being a recording device. All of the tracks were played live and direct – neither storable nor replicable. This is the sixth album in Pyrolator’s ‘Land’ series.

About Pyrolator

In 1979 Dahlke released “Inland”, his first album as Pyrolator. The music was quite experimental, close to industrial music, incorporating field recordings and harsh electronica. On the follow-up “Ausland” (1981) he worked with a list of Ata Tak associated guests including his Der Plan colleagues and Holger Hiller. The songs ranged from experimental electronica to synth-pop. 1984 saw “Wunderland” being released with references to world music.

In 1985 Dahlke collaborated with Arnd Kai Klosowski for the album “Hometaping Is Killing Music” an early effort in popular music based entirely on sampling. 1987’s Pyrolator’s “Traumland” had Susan Brackeen on vocals and a whole range of guest musicians. It became the project’s most commercial and less experimental album. He then teamed up with Linda Sharrock and Frank Samba for “Every 2nd”, an album commissioned for the German Olympic pavilion at the 1988 Seoul Games.

With the singles “Ficcion Disco” and “City Space” from 1992/1993 he moved towards techno, which led to his productions for Antonelli Electr., the techno project of Stefan Schwander – another Ata Tak artist (with The I-Burnettes, 1990, and The Bad Examples, from 1996 on).

“Neuland” from 2011 was the first Pyrolator album not released on Ata Tak but on Bureau-B. It was followed by “Con-Struct” in 2015 with the help of with Conrad Schnitzler.

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

Sascha Tayefeh was fifteen years old when he set up Ghosting in 1989. The German formation was inspired by the British Post-Punk scene and started to release successful productions. The band was quite ‘hot’ in the 90s but finally stopped its activities. Nearly twenty years passed till Sascha decided to reactivate Ghosting. He started to compose new songs although his latest album “Black Pearls” released by Dark Dimensions/Alice In… is a fine selection of early songs that have been reworked and remastered. Ghosting went through different line-ups but is now a solo-project. I got in touch with Sascha Tayefeh to talk about the past and the present.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You set up Ghosting in 1989. Can you draw up the balance sheet of the past 33 years? What have been the best- and worst memories?

Sascha: Well, I guess we’ve published about 7 or 8 full length albums, have been on stage for about 50 times (I’m not so much the stage guy) and created about 100 songs that we’ve published on albums, singles or compilations. I don’t know how many members Ghosting has had, but it must be a dozen.

The best memories I’ve got concern the very beginning of my music creation, back in 1989 when I had got my first sampler (actually, my first gear was a sampler, not a synth) and I was exploring the possibilities of sound creation. A sampler was a rare and expensive gear back then, and I loved the way it estranged the sound of natural instruments. It was all new to me, and it was pure magic.

The worst memories concern the co-working with most of the band members in the early years. I was too young and not so much of a team player. And I’ve never liked being on stage so touring also stays deep within my hated experiences.

Q: You were a teenager when setting up Ghosting. How do you today as an adult look back at these early years and how much of the early Sascha Tayefeh do you still recognize in you today?

Sascha: I have gone through various, deep transformations since then. I think I have completely changed a couple of times, you wouldn’t recognize me. But then again, when I decided to restart doing music two years ago, after almost 20 years of off time, I was very keen to get back to my roots, to get familiar with the Sascha of 1989. I thought the best way to do so was to recreate my first 20 songs using precisely the same gears I used back then. Doing some kind of a wanna-be time warp into my past. It actually worked and that’s how “Black Romantic III & IV” were created and released two years ago.

You know, I thought during my musical journey I had lost something I was in possession of when I started making music. This travel back into my past, into the young, almost child, was for me the point I wanted to restart doing music and see what happens. I think I was successful. The new songs I am about to create sound way more like what I want to do than what I did in the 2000s.

Q: Germany became really famous in the 90s for its Gothic scene. What made this scene become that successful? Was there a kind of spirit and what have been your experiences with other bands?

Sascha: Oh, I am sorry, I don’t know. I’ve been asked this question quite regularly, but I never considered myself to be part of the 90s German Goth scene.

First, I was involved into the London Goth scene, which I had started to explore in 1988 and where I went regularly at least twice a year until, say, 1993. Of course, I visited German Goth clubs, too, but I was never ever into the German Goth style. And back then, most Goth DJs would tell me they had no idea when to play my songs, they’d never fit in theirs sets. No, no, I didn’t like german Goth and the German Goths didn’t like me.

Second, by 1993 I had already been involved in Goth for five years, and it was becoming boring to me. While on the other hand, there was this Rave and Techno thing evolving at my doorstep, Frankfurt. I found it extremely exciting, it was the Sound of DAF, Kraftwerk, Nizzer Ebb and Front 242 taken to its max. It was something completely new. And it was exploding! Naturally, I got involved more and more into Techno.

But when I started to merge Goth with Techno in 1994 or so, nobody liked it. For the Goths it was too Techno, for the Raves too Goth. I find it very funny that meanwhile Electro-Goth sound quite like my first attempts.

So that said, I didn’t have much contact with other bands, especially not German ones of the 90s.

Q: You this year released the album “Black Pearls” which is a compilation (’best of’) of early, remastered songs. How did this album saw the daylight and did you’d specific criteria to choose the songs?

Sascha: I had plenty of requests of listeners for re-releasing the old albums. But it seemed to make no sense, because there were many songs included, I didn’t like. So I thought instead of releasing 7 old albums with mostly not-OK songs, I’d compile the songs I value the most on one single album and give it a useful cover artwork. Frankly, I think this is going to be the final physical release. I was quite surprised that there was interest in physical releases at all. I was glad to get rid of all my vinyl, CDs and tapes and have it all online now for streaming. And I am sure this is the future.

Q: A lot of things have changed over the years; think about equipment, recording- and production techniques, social media, streaming platforms etc… What’s your perception about this evolution?

Sascha: Lovely! I started with four devices –one sampler, one effect rack, one mixer and one 4-track recorder. We’ve been to recording studios stuffed full of devices and with huge mixers. By the end of the 90s, I had such a studio at home, dozens of synths, guitars, effect racks and a huge mixer. Now, I have reduced myself to 10 devices, most of them synths. All the rest is done with my computer and I am very happy about it.

Also, I love the way I am now able to manipulate each and every nuance of the sound. Back then it was all about avoiding noise and distortion. Now I can choose how much and what kind of noise and distortion I want to add to what sound. And recording and cutting and adjusting audio recordings has become so easy. Yes, indeed, I love the progression.

Q: You’re still composing new songs like the ones featured at the EP “No Dreams”. Are there significant changes in the modus operandi of the writing and production? What does Ghosting mean to you today and what are the further plans/dreams?

Sascha: There has been a change indeed in the writing. When I started writing back in 1989, I was coming from a classical composition education, i.e. I used a pen and a score paper to first write down my chords and notes and then play them on the keyboard. I had lost this practice during the 90s and that had a tremendously negative impact on the complexity of my chord progressions. I am back to that now, I start on an empty score sheet and then play it on the keyboard.

Ghosting to me is very important today. When I had stopped creating music in about 2003, I thought I could live without music at all. I thought I didn’t need it, neither listening nor creating it. Now I know I cannot do without. And when I explored my own compositions, I found that music is way more than just some sound assembled. If you mean it seriously. The creator exposes his soul. Like the photographer catches the visual moment of something or somebody, a honestly created song can be the snapshot of your emotions, your thoughts, your very soul.

I was glad I had that on the old tapes and I could relive all that. And I am glad for that insight, because now I see all serious composers with different eyes. I have realized it’s their innermost soul they expose and give you to read.

And that’s what Ghosting is to me: my way of exposing my soul, record it and create a snapshot for the world outside –and for myself. It somehow helps doing so.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: German EBM cult band Orange Sector strikes back with a new EP following their successful last opus “Alles Wird Gold”.

Content: “The Work Is Done” was one of the most noticeable songs from their last opus; pure old-school EBM reminding me of DAF but also Nitzer Ebb. Orange Sector accomplished a hard remix of the song while Rob Dust and Puppenjungz remixed it. You’ll also notice two remixes of “Angstmann” which is another song from the album and previously released as an EP-title track. One remix has been made by Kreign. “No Justice – No Peace” is one more song taken from “Alles Wird Gold” which has been transposed into a darker edit. The exclusive “Blood Brothers” is an extra-smashing cut of EBM.

+ + + : The EP will bring no surprises for the fans but it however confirms the leading status of the German EBM formation. This is solid and hard-danceable retro-EBM; no tricks but just a pure sound! “The Work Is Done” is a perfect mix of old DAF and Nitzer Ebb with this little extra personal touch on top. I also enjoyed the “Short Aggression Mix”. The previously unreleased “Blood Brothers” is a cool new song holding on to the ‘aggressivity’ of the album stuff.

– – – : Nothing that new, but the fans don’t need innovation!

Conclusion: “The Work Is Done” is an appropriate title for this new release by Orange Sector.

Best songs: “The Work Is Done”, “The Work Is Done – Short Aggression Mix”, “Blood Brothers”, “Angstmann – Angstfrau Club Mix”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/OrangeSector

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: “Ton Aus Strom” is the third album by German project Tension Control which is driven by Michael Schrader. This is also the first self-released opus.

Content: If you’re familiar with the band you exactly know what to expect. This is pure old-school EBM. No tricks nor complexity but just straight forwarded EBM with DAF as their ultimate reference and source of inspiration. Most of the songs are sung in German but you’ll also find a few sung in English. You’ll also find cover versions from Der Plan and Michael Matters.

+ + + : Tension Control stands for pure 100% old-school EBM. The songs are moving on where the previous album stopped, same sources of inspiration, same fascination for DAF. This is an album appealing for fans of Orange Sector, AD:Key, Armageddon Dildos ao. It’s not hard-core but simply powerful music featuring carrying choruses. The title song is a great piece of music but my personal favorite one is “kRaNK KrANk” driven by a great bass line.

– – – : Tension Control avoids any innovation but simply keeps the true EBM spirit alive. I was less convinced by the few English sung tracks but you don’t hear me complaining. I can’t understand why this band hasn’t been signed to a ‘big’ label.

Conclusion: Tension Control stands for pure EBM and is a band deserving more recognition.

Best songs: “kRaNK KrANk”, “Ton Aus Strom”, “Kraftwport”, “DAF Im Plattenbau”, “Deutschland, Bleiche Mutter”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/tension.control.ebm

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: “Alles Wird Gold” must be the thirteenth full length album by German EBM formation Orange Sector. Lars Felker and Martin Bodewell have been joined by René Nowotny (AD:KeY, Rector scanner) since the previous album “Alarm” (2019).

Content: The sound of Orange Sector brings us back to the early hours of EBM; short and aggressive songs carried by solid bass lines and linear, danceable kicks. The alluring vocals sound like commanding people to dance.

+ + + : Orange Sector has been often linked to DAF, but more than ever before this opus sounds like being touched by the legacy of DAF. I heard the work as an ode to Gabi Delgado and I think wherever he is, he must be reassured EBM will never die. This work sounds like a great vintage production driven by short, but powerful songs. Next to the already familiar “Angstmann”, “Gold” is another terrific piece of EBM. 

– – – : Orange Sector doesn’t reinvent EBM, but is it really necessary when you’ve the skills to compose such a great piece of kicking music. It’s just a pity the album is only featuring more or less 30 minutes of music.

Conclusion: “Alles Wird Gold” reminds us of the essence of EBM; no tricks, no complexity, but just hard-hitting songs to make you dance!

Best songs: “Gold”, “Angstmann”, “Fick Dich”, “The Work Is Done”, “Te Amo”.

Rate: 8½ .

Artist: www.facebook.com/OrangeSector

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

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

Polish musician Kuba Włodarski set up Egoist around 2002/2003 as a solo Electro-Industrial music project. A self-released demo CD came to light in 2004, and was followed by live gigs. In 2008 Kuba had the pleasure to collaborate with ‘Jan Siuta Art Gallery’ in Krakow, which resulted in the “Phazes”-album; Industrial-Ambient music to accompany cycle of exhibitions: “Ritual, Rhythm, Harmony”. In 2020 the digital version of the album “Breaking Moment” got released by Slovak label Aliens Production and followed by a limited physical release in 2021. The album is clearly appealing for lovers of Canadian EBM reminding Front Line Assembly. The album is a well-crafted and sophisticated work. Recently the digital remix album “Phantoms” has been released on Aliens Production as well.  

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Egoist is an ‘older’ project, which has been reactivated, right? Can you tell us how you got involved with music and what kind of music/sound did you wanted to create with Egoist?

Kuba: Egoist is an old project indeed, but it was rather hibernated than abandoned… I was always involved in doing music, but even when I was working in some cooperative projects covering slightly different musical stylistics, I was always keeping Egoist in back of my mind, and was composing ‘Egoist’ songs –slowly but surely…

Q: Your sound is clearly driven by EBM influences reminding Front Line Assembly. What’s your perception of EBM and what’s the impact of Frontline Assembly and other sources of inspiration on your own music? How do you transpose these influences into an own sound?

Kuba: I always had a soft spot for Canadian Electro-Industrial music. Skinny Puppy, Numb, early Psyche and of course Front Line Assembly. What kept me interested, especially in Skinny Puppy and FLA, was the complexity of their sound, attention to almost every detail that emerges in the background, helping to create rich, evolving sonic atmospheres. As to the FLA –in my early stuff I might have been under too much influence regarding song structures, etc., it seems, however, that I managed to broke off that convention as you may hear in more recent songs.

I really appreciated, but was never too carried away by classic European EBM bands such as Front 242, DAF or Nitzer Ebb. I was always intrigued in more complex alternative ‘body’ music – like Haujobb, Gridlock as well as classic industrial acts.

Q: Tell us a bit more about the re-release of “Breaking Moment”, which was originally (self)-released in 2004 as an EP. And what can say about the extra songs?

Kuba: The self-released demo consisted of 5 original tracks and a remix of a Controlled Collapse song. It was received rather well by the audience and gave me opportunity for live shows. In 2005 I did a gig in Bratislava, during ‘Apocalyptic Visions’-festival, organized by Ryby (Peter Rybar) of Disharmony and Aliens Production label. During full European lockdown AD 2020 Peter contacted me and proposed releasing a full LP with tracks from my demo plus previously unpublished material. I collected songs that I thought were good enough to be released, Ryby took care of mastering and production side of things, and released it as both digital download and 13 track physical CD. I believe the extra songs are more mature, complex and showing an evolution in music I make.

Q: How do you see yourself as musician/producer? Do you’ve a specific way of working and are there specific references/criteria in the production work?

Kuba: I do not have a proper modus operandi when it comes to creating music. I try to combine the most convenient benefits of hardware synths, drum machines, samplers, whatnot and the overwhelming power of computer equipment used for musical purposes nowadays. I’m certainly not a big fan of mixing and music production in general, as I find it much less interesting than the creative process, such as sound sculpting, arranging, etc.

If you ask about the compositional process -it varies, sometimes I have a general outline of the main theme and structure of the piece or just fragments of the melody lines around which I arrange the whole song. Sometimes interesting ideas emerge during jam sessions to be developed later during work in D(igital)A(udio)W(orkstation).

Q: There’s a new album (or EP) out now featuring two new songs and an impressive list of remixes. Tell us a bit more about the writing of the title song “Phantoms”? What do you think about the remixes? Any favorite ones?

Kuba: Remixes are intentionally of different, bar electronic, stylistics, as it shows how much one can make with the same source track. It is a very interesting experience to find out what parts of the original song were most appealing to remixers, and how they transformed it, picking up different ‘start points’ and approaches.

If I had to choose my favorite remix –I think it would be Tomtylor’s one or a dancefloor killer by Procesor Plus.

Q: What are your further plans about new productions, live shows, remixes and eventually side-activities?    

Kuba: I did remixes for well known Polish alternative artists, i.e.: Agressiva 69 and Clicks. Right now I am finishing a thing for legendary polish Post-Punk formation 1984. I am also preparing EGOIST live shows, which will start at the end of 2021 at ‘Energia Dzwieku’-festival in Wroclaw, alongside Frett, Liebknecht and Haujobb, as well as trying to find time and energy to finish an EP of my side-project Brud.

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

(Photo by Chris Carter) Out on 28 January 2022 via The Grey Area (Mute) is the reissue of the 1979 album “The Bridge” by Thomas Leer And Robert Rental. This new reissue will be available on limited edition white vinyl and CD, both featuring new sleevenotes.

The reissue of Leer and Rental’s sole collaboration will coincide with “From The Port To The Bridge”, an exhibition detailing the duo’s work and legacy, due to run at The Horse Hospital in London from 21 January through to 10 February 2022.

Discovered by Throbbing Gristle

Thomas Leer and Robert Rental, both from Port Glasgow in Scotland, were at the vanguard of a DIY electronic scene that went on to influence and inform the 80s synth-pop movement. After self-releasing two solo 7” singles, they came to the attention of Throbbing Gristle and signed to their label, Industrial Records. Their one and only collaboration, “The Bridge”, was originally released in 1979, the first non-TG / associated release for the label.

Recorded at Rental’s home over two intense weeks using equipment provided by Throbbing Gristle (with only rudimentary explanation of how to use it), their album was cited by a number of electronic musicians at the time, including John Foxx, Matt Johnson (The The) and ABC.

Listen to “Monochrome Days”.

The late Robert Rental retired from the music industry

Robert Rental (who sadly died in 2000), went on to collaborate with The Normal – Daniel Miller and Rental’s live album, “Live at West Runton Pavilion, 6-3-79”, was released in 1980 by Rough Trade. Rental also released a single on Mute, “Double Heart” / “On Location” in 1980 and produced music for the Comic Strip’s “A Fistful of Traveller’s Cheques”, before retiring from the industry.

Thomas Leer continued to release music

Thomas Leer went on to release albums on Cherry Red and Arista, formed Act with Claudia Brücken (formerly of Propaganda) in the late 80s who released on Trevor Horn’s ZTT label. After a hiatus, he re-emerged with a series of releases from 2001, and currently lives in Greenock.

About The Grey Area

The Grey Area was founded in 1990 to restore and reissue albums by important and influential artists, initiated by catalogue deals between Mute and Throbbing Gristle, Can and Cabaret Voltaire.

The label went on to be the home for the catalogues of DAF, Virgin Prunes, SPK, Swell Maps, Dome, The Radiophonic Workshop and The Hafler Trio as well as key early works by Wire, Buzzcocks and Einstürzende Neubauten.

Dormant for a few years during the 2000s, The Grey Area emerged again quietly in 2013 with the re-release of Cabaret Voltaire’s Virgin period work, Richard H. Kirk’s solo work, the Sandoz catalogue and a new agreement with Throbbing Gristle.

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

Reality’s Despair is a Belgian solo-project, which was set up more than 20 years ago now. The project self-released numerous productions, went through a hiatus of several years and got reactivated again. For the new album “Perfidious Depopulation”, Reality’s Despair got signed to the Russian label Insane Records. The work is characterized by strong retro-elements of EBM and Dark-Electro. I’d a chat with Tom.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Let’s get back to the origins of Reality’s Despair. Who’s hiding behind this project and what did you’ve in mind when setting up the band? What have been your main sources of inspiration?

Tom: Reality’s Despair is a one man’s project, with headquarters just below Antwerp (Belgium), producing music in the genre of EBM and Dark-Electro, with a strong 90’s influence and with heavily processed vocals. The main sources of inspiration I find in the supernatural, the off worldly and the destructive nature of humankind, the misery of being, melancholia etc.

Q: The name of band sounds dark and totally fitting with the reality and the world of today! What did you really try to express and how did you experience the entire pandemic thing thus far? Has it been inspiring for you as musician?

Tom: Reality’s Despair is a reference to the desperation in everyone’s life, the falling and getting up, the reaching for the unattainable, chasing the dream that always will stay just a dream, the pain and loss we meet in our lives, the little to no impact we have on existence…

As for the pandemic, it’s more like a ‘plandemic’ if you ask me. Humanity on this planet is controlled by a small fraction of very wealthy and obsessed people, who advocate a reduction in human population, just to stay in control of things, and to keep possession of earth’s declining resources.

Check the data and think for yourself… sadly some people died, but how deadly is this ‘pandemic’ really? Do we really need those jabs and boosters? Are those so safe? How long will our freedom be limited? Do other opinions regarding this pandemic really need to be censored that hard? Is this proposed great reset really beneficial for us? ‘You will own nothing but you will be happy’?

There are some topics around this issue that I will address further in the coming album, so yes it’s an inspiration I guess 😉

Q: Reality’s Despair is active since the late 90s. You self-released an impressive number of productions while your new album “Perfidious Depopulation” has been signed by Insane Records. How comes it took that long to get a label deal and what does this signing mean to you? What have been your experiences as DIY artist?

Tom: The intent from the start was to completely stay independent with this project, to be able to keep doing my own thing and to evolve on my own pace. Sites like Bandcamp are an ideal place to start for a new DIY band. Bandcamp offers some fine tools to attract a decent fanbase for instance, and offers streaming as well. But after some time DIY artists hit an exposure plateau.

With some releases on the counter, I felt the time was right to scale the project up a little, to gain some more following, attract some more attention in the world of music. So, let’s say it was ‘good timing’ by Insane Records to contract me.

They made it very clear from the first conversation they truly wanted me on board, and offered me the necessary freedom I want and need for this project, so I jumped on board.

This doesn’t mean I will never be DIY again in the future, but for now I’m very happy with the label. The brain behind Insane Records actually is a very nice, respectable and reliable person, so that’s a big surplus and a good base for a stable cooperation.

Q: Let’s talk about “Perfidious Depopulation”. How did the writing and production of the album happened? Did you handle specific criteria and references in the writing/recording/production/mastering process?

Tom: It was entirely written, recorded, mixed and mastered by myself. In the past I mainly used some analog gear, like a Roland synth, sampler and drum computer, but since the restart a few years ago I mainly use the Cubase daw, and some fantastic software instruments and effects. It all happens in the box these days. It’s impressive what current software emulations can do with sound.

As for criteria and references, I just let my emotions flow and try to keep external musical influences out of my head as much as possible. I always say: music is an art, created by your brain and shaped by your heart!

Q: You already evoked your music is featuring elements of EBM and Dark-Electro while there’s a strong and explicit 90s touch running through the work, reminding me artists like Calva Y Nada, DAF, Orange Sector… Do you consider yourself as an ‘old-school’ artist and what’s your perception about ‘contemporary’ Electronics?

Tom: Thank you for the comparison, I totally love the bands you mention. Although I would have liked the name of Cygnosic in that list 🙂 I consider myself an old-school artist for sure.

Nowadays I don’t listen to current Electro often, although there are some great bands around. But I often feel there’s too little emotion put in present day music, not enough drama…

Q: After more than twenty years of involvement, how do you expect the project evolving? Are there specific items you want to improve/change? And what about live shows?

Tom: There are no plans for doing live gigs in the future, cause I don’t like to be placed in the spotlight, but never say never, right?

I always want to keep improving my writing and production skills, and I intent to keep REALITY’S DESPAIR active for some years to come, since I really enjoy the creative process. I am not going to make the mistake of quitting twice!

I feel the best song still needs to be written and there are still many topics Reality’s Despair needs to evoke. There’s still a lot of ‘butt-kicking’ to be done 😉

I am perfectly happy with my small fanbase who support me, who really love the music, and who dig the messages behind the curtains. I don’t feel the need to have thousands of fans. The more fans with certain expectations you got, the less creative freedom you have, you understand? It are the loyal fans who keep this project alive after all.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

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

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

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

Tickets can be ordered here

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

The Operating Tracks have released a brand new video and single for the track “Poison ID” featuring Emma Anitchka.

For those not familiar with the band (a shame!), this Swedish combo – based in Stockholm – started in the fall of 2014 based on their musical roots which was in times when DAF and The Normal were revolutionary and when they, for the first time, heard about Orwell’s future theme.

In late 2015 and early 2016 the band released “Testify” that featured Rein (and that’s how we first got to hear about Rein actually) before her breakthrough in 2016 and the EP “Colliding Bodies” which held the such tracks as “Daniel”, “The Collider” and “Human Blood”.

After that everything went quiet. Carl Nilsson moved forward with Lucifer’s Aid and released a number of very hard electronic albums. Carolina Lindahl from her side re-appeared in 2020 with the new project The Brides of the Black Room. Andreas Jismark, who stayed in the shadows between 2014-2016, has since managed and worked with acts like Rein, Wulfband and The Lovers of Valdaro.

The band luckily reconnected in 2021 when Progress Productions asked if they could release “Testify” and “Daniel” as a 12″ vinyl. So they started to work with some other old songs as well such as “1000 Ways to Die” and “1001” which were two songs that the band recorded in early versions and played at the first live shows (with Youth Code in Stockholm) back in 2014. With two brand new versions of these tracks the 12″ soon turned into an EP.

The band also started writing songs again and added some brand new guests vocals to the material. The first one to discover is Emma Anitchka from the duo The Guilt who sings on the band’s comeback single & video “Poison ID”

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

Franky Deblomme got some recognition with his EBM-project Darkmen. After having stopped the project we didn’t hear new stuff from this musician till he started working under the CUBIC moniker. After the excellent “Alphabet Hymn”-EP and having revisited the 808 Dot.Pop-album “Cubic Temperature”, Franky unleashed CUBIC’s debut album “The Cubic Alphabet”. The work has been released by Alfa Matrix, which in a way is a kind of consecration for the artist and a promising start for Cubic. The sound has a clear connection with 808 Dot.Pop and Metroland; a kind of Kraftwerk-Pop with a personal and more diversified touch on top. “The Cubic Alphabet” is a refreshing opus, which brings something extra to traditional Electro-Pop.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Franky, I think you started experimenting with music in 1981! What kind of musician are you and how did you see yourself evolving throughout the years? 

Franky: The fascination for synthesizer started in ‘81 (seeing Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran behind a prophet 5 synth); the experimenting followed a few years later .

At first with toy machines: a casio SK5 and some cassette players, as the years passed I was able to buy the real stuff. I’ve always been a collector of hardware synths, samplers and sequencers (even now). Getting to know these machines inside out is something that drives me.

I’m not a trained musician, but with 30 years of knob twiddling and a trained ear, I dare to say that I know what I’m doing. Even now I’m still eager to learn, especially in the mixing and mastering process where there’s still room for improvement .

Q: EBM fans for sure remind you from your involvement with Darkmen. How do you look back at this project and how did you finally come to set up CUBIC, which is still Electronic although quite different –and your first new music experience in years? 

Franky: I did the Darkmen-thing for 10 years together with one of my best friends, Thomas Vrambout. We managed to meet or play live with bands we admired ( like DAF, Nitzer Ebb, Orange Sector, SA42, Terrence Fixmer…) and we travelled the world for free to do something we liked to do. So you can say It was a wonderful experience.

The downside, EBM is a quite restricted genre in terms of artistic freedom. EBM is almost like a mathematical formula (in sound, structure, artwork and lyrics ). In the end I felt too restricted. So when we both turned 40, It was time to pull the plug and leave EBM to the ‘Jügend’.

With CUBIC I wanted to incorporate a lot of my other musical influences and preferences .

Q: I experienced a kind of duality in the sound of Cubic; pretty old-school driven and yet a pretty refreshing sound. Tell us a bit more about Cubic-sound and the different sources of inspiration? 

Franky: Like most of us I was influenced by Synth-Pop (Duran Duran, Depeche Mode), the dark Belgian sounds (Front 242, Neon Judgement, New-Wave).

But the Electronic sounds and bands that emerged in the early 90’s, were the ones that had the most impact on me; think Orbital, Leftfield, System 7, The Orb or labels like Warp or R&S Records .

In that period I also was a ‘Techno’-DJ, playing in clubs and parties so the whole 90s club sound is something that I still like .

Not that I’m into EDM or the current Techno sounds, but bands like Der Dritte Raum, Steven Rutter or Extrawelt can inspire me.

All those influences I wanted to incorporate in the Cubic sound. With the first album I still had to find my musical direction, but the new demo’s will be a 100 % Cubic.

Q: Behind your debut album “The Cubic Alphabet” is a kind of concept, but what is it really all about? And how did the writing and production of the album happen? 

Franky: Well, the alphabet has 26 letters so I’ve intended to write 26 letters/songs ,  each one referring to one letter of the alphabet.

So the first full album (with 13 letters / songs on it ) is the first part . In a later stage a second full length album with 13 letters will be released, forming the whole alphabet .

The album was written/mixed and mastered in my ‘Bong 13’ studio over a period of 12 months. All songs are based on hardware synths, drum machines and effects, recorded to a digital platform. Half of the songs already existed in demo form, and were rearranged for the album, others were newly written .

Q: I think you’ve always been pretty close with Sven Lauwers aka ‘Passenger S’ from Metroland and 808 Dot.Pop (and formerly Ionic Vision). You even reworked all songs from his 808 Dot.Pop-album  “The Colour Temperature” into a new work entitled “The Cubic Temperature”. What can you reveal about this ‘musical friendship’ and how did “The Cubic Temperature” see the daylight? Any plans to set up a common project? 

Franky: It must have been 16 years ago now I got in touch with Sven (he was running the EBM sublabel Machineries Of Joy). From the beginning It was clear that we had the same taste (in music, humor and beer). So many years later, he’s one of my closest friends. His musical ear for details in his music and the way he translates concepts into sounds and songs both are a real inspiration. We both push each other to a higher level.

I have made a lot of remixes for all of his projects, and  “The Cubic Temperature” is to my opinion the highlight of our collaboration over all the years. That album is not a remix album. I wanted to keep a lot of the original 808 signature sounds and add layers of Cubic on top. It started out with one song (cf. “Placnk’s H”) and the result was so exciting the idea grew to do the whole album.

I still think it’s a great concept, one artist doing an interpretation of another artist without losing the soul of the original songs (and remixing it to death). It took almost 6 months to finish, but it was worth it.

Other plans? Yes and now: we have to be careful not to overdo this collaboration. When we get together it often results in crazy ideas or concepts, maybe some of those will see the light of day.

Q: What brings the future? Do you’ve concrete plans to go with Cubic on stage? How do you expect Cubic evolving after the debut album?

Franky:Playing live is for sure something I want to do in the future, full live or a mixture of DJing and live, everything could be possible.

The fist focus is now releasing some more music, and creating the real ‘cubic’-signature sound and creating something of a following.

Let’s hope to get some live action in 2022 .

Some remixes I’ve done for fellow Alfa Matrix bands will probably be released soon… and some more Cubic sounds.

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, Future-Pop.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Finnish project Aeronaut V was set up in 2018. This year they released the single “Discovery” and this debut-EP –which rather looks like a mini-album, featuring six songs.

Content: The songs are clearly the perfect offspring between Electro- and Future-Pop music. One of the cuts still has a bass line reminding me of the softer side of DAF. The production reveals powerful sounds and multiple analogue-like sound effects. The vocals have something charismatic; all songs are sung in English. I don’t like comparing bands, but I think this music might appeal to lovers of Covenant.

+ + + : Aeronaut V took me by surprise; the work revealing a well-crafted song writing and professional production. This band stands for maturity and even if the sound isn’t that original it however has something personal and refreshing. The music has something retro-like and still features contemporary elements. The production of the vocals has something emotional. The work features 6 different tracks and except one, they all have a true potential.

– – – : EK Product is a label I’ve always connected with EBM and related genres. Aeronaut V sounds a bit different and definitely more into Electro/Future-Pop, which is the kind of music released by the label’s sub-division Space Race Records.

Conclusion: This debut EP by Aeronaut V is a pretty cool surprise; a great electronic production, which will appeal for lovers of Electro- and Future-Pop, but also some EBM heads. This is a name to keep in mind!

Best songs: “Too Much”, “Zero Zero”, “No Wonder”, “Into Two”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/AeronautV

Label: www.ekproduct.com / www.facebook.com/EKProduct

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

Twenty years after Forma Tadre’s last physical release, the project has prepared another CD album: “Geiger’s Day”. The album is going to be self-released and is available via Bandcamp as you can see below.

Behind the German electronic music project we find Andreas Meyer.

He explains the concept behind the album: “‘Geiger’s Day’ is about a journey – set in the near future – from the West Coast of the US to the east after the breakdown of civilization. It features a lone protagonist and a sci-fi setting, where broken machinery has come to life and most of the laws of nature have been turned upside down.”

The tracks were written and recorded in the period 1999-2001, shortly after the release of “Automate”, Meyer’s second album. You can already check out a few below.

About Forma Tadre

Forma Tadre began as a three-piece band in 1986 including Andreas Meyer. Andreas was heavily influenced by the electronic band Tangerine Dream which provided the impetus for the name Forma Tadre as a sort of portmanteau from Tangerine Dream’s album “Force Majeure”. The band recorded the EP “Brightful Times” in 1987, which was produced by German producer Robert “Bobby” Giddens who worked with many German bands including DAF.

After this release, two of the members eventually split from the band without producing any more releases together, leaving Andreas as the sole member by 1994. Andreas was then convinced by Björn Junemann – a member of Haujobb at the time – to submit demo tapes to record labels, which eventually led to the attention of Off-Beat Records, who released his next two albums.

In 1996, Andreas released his first album as the sole member of Forma Tadre, “Navigator”, which was a marked style departure from the previous, more traditional three-piece incarnation of the band mixing together epic, symphonic instrumentals with numerous highly-technical EBM tracks. After “Navigator”, Andreas was approached by Daniel Myer of Haujobb to work together on a music project, which resulted in the formation of Newt. The duo would produce two albums and a single between 1997 and 1999.

Beginning around 1995, Andreas worked with a female vocalist on a project which offered traditional, classical music via electronic instrumentation. The project, named Eisriesenkönig, released only a single track – a remix of a Forma Tadre song – on the 1996 Off-Beat compilation “The O-Files”.

Forma Tadre’s second album, “Automate”, was released in 1998 and offered a more ambient style of music. The 13-track album “The Music of Erich Zann” would follow almost 10 years later. In 2019, a hybrid vinyl-digital reissue of “Brightful Times” was released, adding eight tracks recorded between 1987 and 1992 to the original four track EP.

In 2020, Forma Tadre released a pair of anthologies. “Navigator Travelogue” contained remixes, singles, demos and unreleased tracks from the project’s most active years 1994-1997 while “P-SongX” contained unreleased songs that Andreas recorded during the span of time between “Brightful Times” and “Navigator” along with one new track, “M15 – She a threat?”.

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

The last year it has been very calm in the OOMPH!-camp. No online concerts during corona, no rescheduled festival-dates, no new album news at all. The sudden announcement that OOMPH!’s lead singer Dero Goi has left the band, after 32 years being the frontman, reached us today via the official facebook-page of the band. At this moment it is unclear if Dero will start a new project or stops with singing completely. OOMPH! however continues to exist under the same name with composers Crap and Flux and a new singer, who hasn’t been announced yet.

Some time ago Dero posted on social media that he got baptised and also announced that he’s against Covid-vaccinations. His last side-project DIE KREATUR also suddenly stopped after disagreements with Chris Harms (Lord Of The Lost) who wrote on 31st December 2020 on facebook: “Not to forget, I have released an album with a side project called Die Kreatur, which I was looking forward to so much, which I have been proud about big time, but sadly short after its release, some circumstances have rendered a continuation of the project impossible. This year I have made new friends. This year I have lost friends – some to death, some to a world of insanity, where I can’t possibly follow them to. Once more I have learned that prejudices are so damn misleading and I still can’t entirely free myself from them. Some people that I liked in the beginning turned out to be real jerks, and some others that really made me shake my head in the beginning became brothers.”

OOMPH! was originally founded in 1989 in Wolfsburg (Germany) by Crap, Dero Goi and Robert Flux. They released their first single “Ich Bin Du” in 1991, followed by the single “Der Neue Gott” and their first (self-titled) album in 1992. The band played in 1993 in the legendary Limelight club in New-York and became “crossover”-pioneers in mixing elements of EBM with groovy metal guitar-riffs, or as Billboard magazine said “Sepultura meets DAF”. Unwillingly they created the “Tanz-Metal” (Dance-Metal) or “Neue Deutsche Haerte” (New German Hardness) genre, which was the German answer on American Industrial-Metal bands as Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Prong, etc. There is no doubt that OOMPH! has paved the way for many later bands as Rammstein, Eisbrecher and many others.

In 2004 the band received a platinum award for the single “Augen Auf!”, in 2015 a golden award for the album “GlaubeLiebeTod” and in 2018 a platinum award for the album “Wahrheit Oder Pflicht”. The last album “Ritual” reached in 2019, for the first time ever in the history of the band, the number 1 position in the German album charts. OOMPH! (featuring Marta Jandova) won the German “Bundesvision”-contest in 2007 and their music was also used in games (“FIFA”), movies (“Alien vs. Predator”) and tv-trailers (“The Walking Dead”). The band did remixes for bands as Korn, And One, Joachim Witt, De/Vision and others and worked together with artists as Nina Hagen and Apocalyptica. OOMPH! released 13 studio-albums in total and also played as support-act for Metallica, Marilyn Manson, HIM, Skunk Anansie, …

The last years the band was especially very popular in Russia although it’s not sure if the live-dvd with symphonic orchestra, recorded in 2018, will ever see the daylight.

Out soon via Grönland Records is the new release “Nur Noch Einer” by Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (DAF).

On vocals we find Robert Görl, as Gabi Delgado died in March 2020 just when Görl and Delgado had reunited to record a new album aided by producer Sylvie Marks. Sound wise this album features a lot of the band’s unfinished 80s sequences which Görl found on old tapes and used for this release. After the death of Delgado, Görl started writing and recording the lyrics.

The album holds 15 tracks and will be released on November 26th on CD and vinyl.

Track listing

1. Erste DAF Probe
2. Im Schatten
3. Kunststoff
4. Wir Sind Wild
5. Das Pur Pur Rot
6. Gedanken Lesen
7. Du Bist So Zart
8. Ein Kind Aus Dem Ratinger Hof
9. Loslassen
10. Neue Welt
11. Kein Ausweg
12. Es Muss Ans Licht
13. Holland Road
14. Das Geschenk
15. Nur Noch Einer

About Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft or DAF, was an influential German electropunk/Neue Deutsche Welle band from Düsseldorf, formed in 1978 featuring Gabriel Delgado-López (vocals), Robert Görl (drums, percussion, electronic instruments), Kurt Dahlke (electronic instruments), Michael Kemner (bass-guitar) and Wolfgang Spelmans (guitar). Kurt Dahlke was replaced by Chrislo Haas (electronic instruments, bass guitar, saxophone) in 1979. Since 1981, the band has consisted of Delgado-López and Görl.

Their first album, “Ein Produkt der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Freundschaft”, was released in 1979 on Dahlke’s Ata Tak label (then called Warning). The album was 22 improvised untitled instrumentals, Delgado having temporarily left the band at the time.

The band then moved to London, met Daniel Miller and signed to Mute Records. DAF recorded “Die Kleinen und die Bösen” for Mute, one side held studio material and most of the other side of the album were live recordings. DAF then shrank to just Delgado and Görl, and the duo signed to Virgin Records where they released “Alles ist gut” which became their breakthrough album.

The next two albums, “Gold und Liebe” and “Für Immer” followed by by then the band had reached its limits and they split during the recording of “Für immer”. Delgado and Görl reunited in 1985 to record “1st Step to Heaven”, their only album in English.

When DAF reformed for the 2003 album “Fünfzehn neue D.A.F.-Lieder” their style had shifted to a fusion of the classic Plank-produced DAF sound with elements taken from Robert’s techno work. The band prepared more music, but split before they could make another album. In 2010, the band returned with a new single “Du bist DAF”, limited to 2010 copies. The band announced its 5th split in January 2015, with another farewell tour.

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, Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Belgian solo-project Reality’s Despair was set up more than twenty years ago. After numerous self-released productions and a hiatus of numerous years, Reality’s Despair struck back and even signed a deal with the Russian label,  Insane Records to unleash the official debut album.

Content: “Perfidious Depopulation” features 11 songs plus 3 reworked (older) cuts. This work will appeal to EBM lovers and reveals a quite diversified spectrum of EBM influences. From pure old-school EBM reminding me of DAF, Orange Sector and co towards more sophisticated writing à la Calva Y Nada, the common thread between the songs is the 90s driven source of inspiration. An essential element in the sound is the melodic touch of the strings. The vocals were mainly produced in a ghost-like way.

+ + + : This work will ravish EBM nostalgic from the 90s. “The 509th” is clearly reminiscent of the sophistication of Calva Y Nada. It’s a brilliant song, which according to me reveals a true potential. But “1952 Flyby” is something totally different and into retro EBM à la Orange Sector and co. And here again Reality’s Despair reveals great writing skills. I also have to mention some of the reworked songs, but especially “Cytokine Storm – Club Edit” is worthy of examination.

– – – : A few tracks like “Distance Kills Existence” and “A Shadow In The Fog” have something more inhibited and that’s not exactly the best part of the album. I also get the feeling Reality’s Despair is still in search of its own sound and EBM format, the album being pretty versatile.

Conclusion: This work is an antidote to innovation, but it’s a cool retro-inspired EBM production.

Best songs: “The 509th”, “1952 Flyby”, “Cytokine Storm – Club Edit”, “Our Future Is Cold – Extended”, “Evil Intent”, “Oasphe Collapsing”. 

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/realitysdespair

Label: www.insane-records.com /  www.facebook.com/InsaneRecordsEU Read the news on ‘Perfidious Depopulation’.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, Vinyl, Cassette.

Background/Info: Tomas Zackarias Westberg is a Swedish artist who has been involved with numerous projects. During the past few years he mainly focused on his EBM project Syntet, releasing multiple singles. “Hjärtats Slag” was released by the end of 2020 and is the project’s debut album featuring ten songs.

Content: While the front cover of the album looks clearly inspired by a Throbbing Gristle album, the sound is into pure EBM. Syntet deals with a somewhat minimal-like EBM sound, which reminds me of DAF. The songs have been sung in Swedish and are featuring some backing guest vocalists; Leif Viklund isn’t exactly a familiar name, but one of the songs is featuring J3 from à Grumh… (and that’s maybe not totally surprising as one of Westberg projects, Queer, was influenced by à Grumh…).

+ + + : Syntet took me by surprise. This project deals with pretty cool retro/minimal-driven EBM. There’s something to say about nearly every single song although I have a preference for “Ungdomens Hus” and “Som Du”. All songs excel in great minimalism, like reminding us that a good song doesn’t need to be complex. It’s just the power and efficiency of the sound treatments and structures.

– – – : The songs are pretty short and that’s a pity; before you really realize it the album is already coming to its end. 

Conclusion: If you like retro-EBM and you don’t know Syntet yet, just buy this work without hesitation!

Best songs: “Ungdomens Hus”, “Som Du”, “Brinner Ut”, “Lova Mig Allt Blir Bra”, “Genom Natt Och Dag”.

Rate: 8.

Artist & Label: www.facebook.com/syntetmusik

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Minimal-Electro, Electro-Pop.

Format: Digital, Vinyl.

Background/Info: German EBM formation QEK Junior is back on track, unleashing their first new work in ten years. After the promising debut album “Ausverkauf” (2009) and the rather unknown “Druschba” (2011) they became pretty silent. The band is now back with a new line-up, but still driven by core member Dominic Daub.

Content: “Anomie” is not just EBM and that’s maybe the main difference with the early work. The songs sound like a mix between EBM elements, reminding me of  DAF and a more Experimental and yet Electro-Pop composition à la Welle:Erdball. The second part of the album is a bit darker and more into old-school EBM. All songs have been still sung in German.

+ + + : I definitely prefer the B-side of the album revealing 4 songs in a personal EBM vein; it’s retro-like, dark and into minimalism, but pretty exciting. “Kind Der Actziger” is an excellent piece reminding me of the best years of DAF. But I also have to mention “Erörterung Basaler Kapitalistischer Prinzipien In Knapp Drei Minuten (Jawoll Herr Schmidt)” and the darkest songs from the album “Dicta Delgado” and “Wer Hat Den Ganzen Lack Gesoffen?!”. The sound of this band is still pretty exciting so it’s good to see QEK Junior back on track.

– – – : The album only features 4 songs and that’s a pity especially considering the songs are rather short and the first side sounds more like a warm up for the B-side.

Conclusion: QEK Junior still has that funny EBM approach, which will appeal for all lovers of vintage EBM.

Best songs: “Kind Der Achtziger”, “Dicta Delgado”, “Wer Hat Den Ganzen Lack Gesoffen?!”, “Erörterung Basaler Kapitalistischer Prinzipien In Knapp Drei Minuten (Jawoll Herr Schmidt)”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.qek-junior.eu / www.facebook.com/qekjunior

Label: https://youngandcold.de /

www.facebook.com/youngandcoldrecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Nattskiftet is a Swedish formation set up in 2015. The band consists of Anna Johnning, Tobias Eliasson, Christer Björndahl and Lars Björndahl (the two last members are also involved with the Electro-Pop/Italo-Disco project Disco Digitale). Nattskiftet is the Swedish word for ‘Night Shift’ while their debut album means ‘Punching In’. They previously released an EP “Aceton” in 2015 and now strikes back with their debut album.

Content: Natskiftet stands for pure old-school EBM sung in Swedish. They sound a bit like the Swedish version of DAF, but it would be too easy defining them as new DAF clones. The music is carried by strong bass lines, hopping sequences and sometimes achieved with a somewhat Pop-driven touch/tune on top. Anna Johnning is singing in a rather sterile, but charismatic way while the male vocals inject some extra power to the work.

+ + + : Nattskiftet doesn’t innovate, but they have a nose to compose great retro-styled EBM. I noticed great and intelligent sound treatments and analogue effects. The choruses are often elevating and I like the mix of male- and female vocals. “Aceton” and “Bara Jobb” are familiar tracks for those who know the band, and are some of the album’s best cuts. But I also have to mention “Folkets Sång”, which could be the perfect song to be released as single. But there are more great songs like “Nattskift”, “Ingeting”, “Adrenalin”, “Vid Dagens Slut” and “Götaverken”. The last mentioned track features a cool, icy lead. Notice by the way Krischan Wesenberg did the mixing of this work. Nattskiftet has been presented as one of the best old-school EBM bands and I can only, but agree. I can’t stop playing several songs of this album, the Swedish language adding a pretty cool- and personal touch to their work.

– – – : No real minus points, the tracklist being a succession of great songs and non-stop energy.

Conclusion: “Stämplar In” took me by surprise; what a great and accomplished EBM work from a band, which will for sure become a new sensation!

Best songs: “Folkets Sång”, “Bara Jobb – Album Version”, “Aceton – Album Version”, “Vid Dagens Slut”, “Götaverken”.

Rate: (9).

Artist: www.facebook.com/nattskiftetmusik

Label: www.progress-productions.com / www.facebook.com/progresspro

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

(Picture by Renee Parkhurst ) Let’s hope this article doesn’t get flagged by Google, Facebook and related because the follow-up of words in the title is rather worrysome (joke aside).

Adult has launched a remix of the Bestial Mouths song “Unshivered”. A video was equally made and can be seen below. The song is included in Bestial Mouths’ remix album “Thousandneedles” that features collaborations with SRSQ, Ash Code, Void Vision, Light Asylum, and more and which dropped earlier this month.

“Thousandneedles” will be available on vinyl and cassette versions this August via Fill-Lex Records and Soil Records.

In a reaction Adult says: “We got this remix request in the summer from Bestial Mouths and it was just the thing we needed to get us back in the studio again. It wasn’t like looking at a blank canvas and it felt more like collaboration in a way, which was much needed during such an isolating time.”

The track’s visual counterpart offers a psychological portrait of a person clawing their way to meaning. Director Jamie Parkhurst, who has previously worked with Los Angeles post-punk outfit, Death Bells, and experimental electronic artist Trevor powers, was helped by producer Yelena Akopian, stylists and designers Bradley Soileau and Elliott Evan, photographer Renee Parkhurst, DP Connor Ellman, and camera operator Alex Van Putten. The video was edited by editing is by Alex Nicolaou (Drab Majesty).

Here is the video.

Tracklist “Thousandneedles”

1. Grendel – Ruins Remix
2. Adult – Unshivered (If I Could Feel Mix)
3. Rodney Anonymous Or 7th Victim (Of Dead Milkmen) – Withiin Remix
4. Plackblague – Heavy Coil Mix (Industrial Waste Remix)
5. Ash Code -The Bleed Remix (Mixed/Mastered By Doruk Ozturkcan From She Past Away)
6. Nnhmn – The Loss Remix
7. Statiqbloom – The Falls Remix
8. Buzzkull – Lain To Rust Remix
9. Srsq – Reimagination (Souls Take Remix)
10. Shannon F /Light Asylum – Industrial Waste Remix
11. Kontravoid – Dry As Dust Remix
12. Void Vision- (A) Siren Calls Remix
13. Crowhurst – 23 Hours Before Resurrection Bestial Mouths Remix
14. Melania – Inshroudss

About Bestial Mouths

From their inception in 2009, the core root of Bestial Mouths has combined Lynette Cerezo’s voice with several genre influences across the spectrum of goth, industrial, post-punk, new wave, noise, metal, and other underground sounds using live acoustic and electronic drums and analog synthesizers. Since 2018, Bestial Mouths has been the sole project of Cerezo.

2019’s “Inshroudss” EP was the first Bestial Mouths release entirely written and conceived by Cerezo. The EP was released on the independent label RuneE & Ruin, which Cerezo formed together with friend and frequent collaborator Alison Lewis (Linea Aspera / Zanias / Fleisch Records).

In their decade-plus existence, Bestial Mouths have worked with a long list of producers and artists. Zola Jesus, Mick Harvey, Egyptrixx, Boy Harsher, Die Krupps, Mater Suspiria Vision, Zanias, The Horrorist, and Ludovico Technique are just a few collaborators, while they’ve shared the stage with the likes of Psychic TV, Austra, Chelsea Wolfe, DAF, 3 Teeth, OAKE, Front Line Assembly, White Ring, Suicide Commando, David J, King Dude, Youth Code, Cut Hands and Light Asylum.

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

Back in 1991 I started writing my first reviews for Side-Line magazine. I would have never thought to go on writing reviews and making interviews non-stop for 30 years. So 2021 is a special year to me, a kind of ‘celebration year’. I got the idea to celebrate this special event by interviewing people from the scene who all have a special meaning to me. ‘Journalists’ have to remain neutral, but it doesn’t take a way we all have our own favorite artists. Juno Reactor is one of my all-time favorites. Instigator Ben Watkins is an artist who each time again takes me by surprise. His work is mixing influences like Psy-Trance, Tribal and Cinematographic music. The Juno Reactor sound has something special featuring elements you directly recognize; a true sound-DNA. I already got the opportunity to interview Ben Watkins before, but I’ve been deeply touched he accepted to answer questions for this special interview. Great artists aren’t only composing great music; they’re still accessible and humble persons. I’d an endless number of questions to ask. Ben took his time to answer and it finally resulted in one of the most informative and complete Juno Reactor interviews ever. Thanks Ben and respect!

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

‘I Was Smitten By Girls And Rock’

Q: What have been your first experiments as a musician? What have been the triggers and, which were your favorite bands as a teenager? 

Ben: I was born into a family of five kids, I was the second, my parents had both been actor’s. When I was between 5 and 6 years old I would wait for my brother in my classroom to finish his school -I would have about an hour, so about 10 of us kids and a teacher would do drawing, games etc. One day I suggested we do a “Top Of The Pops” (a popular TV show); I formed a band with air-minus-everything, sat my mate Jason down on drums as he had the biggest nose like Ringo Star, can’t remember the others; we would make what surely was a cacophony of made-up words and stamping to the beat. “She Loves You Yeah Yeah Yeah” must have rung out beyond the classroom as the headmaster, a demonstrative man, with a liking for beating kids with his sports shoe would appear at the window looking very irritated. As it was not the first time I had had the unwarranted shoe across my backside, a shiver would go down my back as his eyes and Hitler moustache bobbed above the door partition. 

These pleasant heady afternoons were soon banned due to the repetition of “She Loves You Yeah Yeah Yeah”. I noticed the rather large female teacher was pretty good at the piano, So I asked if I could have lessons, even her non-stop smoking didn’t not put me off. 

The headmaster had too much of a liking for giving me a sore ass, so I asked my parents if I could move school. I had joined the parish choir, the choirmaster was a man named Roy Massey. Roy Massey was cool and pushed me as he liked my voice. He suggested I go to a Cathedral Choir school and apply for a scholarship. 

First I went to audition at St Pauls Cathedral in London. It was a bleak audition, I didn’t prepare enough, and glad I escaped what reminded me of a Charles Dickens movie. Next was Chichester. I could breathe in this atmosphere, I passed the audition of 200 kids for one place and felt very puffed up with myself, knowing my parents didn’t have to pay for my education. 

Violin followed, along with daily practise -7 am wake up, 30 minutes piano or violin practise. 8 am breakfast, 8:30 practise piano violin, 9 am going to the classroom, 12:00 choir practise, lunch then school, sports, choir practise, choir service, dinner, do homework, play free games, practise then bed. This went on for 4 years along with a new disciplinary teacher who equally enjoyed punishment -this time a cane, up the wide massive stairs of the bishops palace, down a long dark corridor, knock, explain my crime, ‘Ben-d over Watkins’, a leather chair which when bent over lifted my behind into the perfect position. 6 whacks later, my hands firmly on my butt, dark bruises would appear later in the night. I had been born again to the boy I should have been in the first place. 

Music school and punishment always seemed interlinked. Even now it annoys me that the first headmaster refused to put my name on the scholarship board, what a cunt. His name was Mr. Sandford.

 I survived Chichester, I became the head of House, by this time I was no longer beaten, and had a champion in Mr. Ross, the disciplinary teacher, sports freak alto in the choir with a certain eye for pubescent males. I was good at winning in Rugby, as we had the biggest 13-year-old god or whoever made him, like a superhero he would destroy other schools and me riding on his coattails basked in his glory. Mr. Ross showed me how to take down a man, so we did with as much aggression as possible when he joined in. 

I left Chichester, a remnant from the stone age of how not to teach a dyslexic kid like me through corporal punishment on how to learn -I didn’t. My choirmaster at Chichester I must say was equally odd, looking like Eric Malcombe (a British comedian). He again had a draconian delight in making sure the boys of the choir feared him, his eyes would hover over you like the follow spots of a prison camp from high above us in the organ loft. He had two mirrors focused on us, and if you looked up, the Vampire of Bela Lugosi would be there. I can’t say I cried when he died a few years ago, as I still hold a dagger that was thrown too many times my way. 

So Wells Cathedral school was next, my introduction to the female sex… well, bye bye learning, OK practise the violin, do all the rest, then focus on bands, Led Zep, David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Alice Cooper, Queen, glam rock. I was smitten by girls and rock. My mate Simon Baggs was older and had a car, we would venture out of the school across to Glastonbury plateaus, a labyrinthian set of roads through old mash lands, country pubs to drink cider, smoke John Players Special fags, and listen to his 8 tracks (?) as the beams of his car entered the mists of the backcountry lanes. Alice Cooper’s “Love It To Death” album never sounded so sweet. I continued exploring musical possibilities by experimenting with my first band Spiritual Sky, influenced by David Bowie, whose concerts was the first I went to, the Aladdin Sane tour at the Earls Court Stadium.

‘I Was Listening To D.A.F. And I Realised This Is The Future’

Q: Hailing from London (UK) I can imagine the late 70s and 80s have been fascinating years when it comes to music and the (r)evolution of Electronic music. What did these years mean to you and do you still feel an impact today? 

Ben: I left school when I was 16/17 with the intent of going to a music college. At that time I played classical guitar, and would practise 8 hours a day, and got quite OK on it. I flunked the first audition as I didn’t present a second instrument. This depressing point changed the course of my life, I was so annoyed by myself, I stopped playing classical guitar and got more into songs of Dylan and people like John Martin. Smoked a ton of dope, started busking, went off to Paris with a semi pyscho guy called Lynn, a man with an addiction to Valium and a crushing right hand as a rhythm guitarist, and spent the summer playing on the streets of Saint Michelle and the Champs Elysée. After months of being arrested (and sometimes put into prison -the police were quite nice and would give me beers to play) I had had enough. I wanted to form a band! Due to my parents lengthily separation and all the conflicts attached to it, starting since I was 9, and final divorce shortly after my return home from Paris, life diverted and I ended up establishing a rehearsal room in the now deserted parental house, where I and my older brother would continue living alone, experiencing the newly found peace and evolving musical projects while rehearsing with my first band Panther. I started gigging, Punk-Rock was kicking off! I was playing, now with my band Rainstorm, the same pubs as the Sex Pistols, Japan, The Stranglers amongst others, we did a tour withThe Frankie Miller Band. A Glasgow singer that should have been born in Memphis -a great singer, wild and very much a Glaswegian. Back then I was booking shows from a red phone box -coins every 30 seconds. Rainstorm turning into I.O.U., we played pretty much every music pub in the country. I really wish I’d kept my bass player from I.O.U. for my next musical project, a guy named Ian Taylor, who I had a natural affinity with.

I was bored of being skint and driving up and down the country for 2 years in our Box Transit with 6 aircraft seats, a PA we had on HP (higher purchase/credit) and going nowhere, fun but nowhere. One time we had to be rescued by the police near Shropshire in Winter, heavy snow blocked the roads at midnight, and the Transit was stranded and being snowed in, the guitarist, also called Ben, had icicles forming on his moustache. I remember crossing fields alone to find a house, first one wouldn’t help us, onto another who did ring the rescue, six of us stuff into a police car -never felt so good.

I partnered up with some musicians an A&R man from CBS suggested. The A&R man was a guy called Chas de Whalley, the brother of a friend of mine from back in the days of the headmaster with a penchant for corporal punishment. We, The Hitmen, went on to be signed to CBS after a year of rehearsals and songs that sounded like a primitive AI had made for a pop audience. Much to the chagrin of CBS, the management and the band, we were incredibly unsuccessful despite all the money and machinery CBS provide. I hated it, the mentality of playing the same notes, in-jokes and seriously underwhelming emotions. I had to leave as I couldn’t stomach The Hitmen any more, the characters in the band were the antithesis of my mental state or desire. Luckily the second album decided to shoot itself in the head, due to too much fighting, no focus and CBS’s realisation The Hitmen were doomed.  

Phil Manzanero’s studio (the guitarist of Roxy Music) was a white circular house -I had never seen anything like it! The engineer was a guy called Ian Little. We had made the last Hitmen record there, and I got on with him well. We talked nearly the same language, as opposed to the disconnect with the band. He wanted to make an avant-garde album, free of doctrine -just do what you want. So for a few tracks I threw away all concern and I was to be David Bowie, imagining myself on an alternative “Lodger”-album. Nothing was written, all just improvised. The band was called New Asia… This set my brain off into new ways of writing, like Brian Eno, as studios were expensive and this gave me a chance to experiment. 

So in the ’70s and ’80s it felt like I was always playing catch up with what other people were doing. I had had the band signed to CBS – it sounded like another band (Elvis Costello mix), or my previous bands -we didn’t sound particularly individual. It was only when I was sick enough of all the ego’s, bullshit or the hatred that you got from possibly jealous band members, that when I got introduced to a drum machine and a sequencer I realised I could get rid of half the band. I was listening to D.A.F. -it was a two-piece and I realised this is the future.

I met Youth (the bass player of Killing Joke) in ’82, around the time when he had just left Killing Joke and was looking to start a new band, which became Brilliant. I was the only guy he knew with a sequencer so for a short time I joined. Toured UK and Spain. We went on to record under the Name The Youth & Ben Watkins on the “The Empty Quarter”-album and “The Empty Quarter” on the “Delirium” album. Both albums were extremely quick in making;  first album -the official soundtrack to Jonathan Moore’s stage play “Street Captives” -2 days. Written, recorded and mixed with predominantly pulsating bass lines, drums, early Greengate samplers and synthesizers. Second album -5 days. We recorded “Delirium”, focusing more on rhythms and Electronic elements with still some instrumental aspect, ranging from Tribal to Industrial to Gothic-Funk. So many funny stories with Youth -the time in Spain on the evacuation of the tour, as it all fell apart after Barcelona; we took all our equipment back on the train, decided to eat all of our dope before the French border. By the time we arrived at midnight, the French border police wanted to play games with this group of English stoners. ‘Who is this woman’ they said, referring to a passport. We all looked and couldn’t identify her? ‘Go find her…’ so we all went looking on the train platform, bewildered and laughing, about an hour later we returned to their pigeon hole and asked to look again, as no way was she still on the platform. Upon second look we realised it was me they were referring to… Ha. Ha.

I heard DAF and Suicide around this time, I was saved! This music spoke to me. My grandmother died and left me 200£ which I immediately spent on a Roland MC 202, a sequencer with one monophonic synth. On HP I bought a cheap drum machine and a Moog Rogue. I formed The Flowerpot Men with Adam Peters, a classical cellist, who later became Echo And The Bunnymen’s orchestrator. 

 Our first single sold well for an underground track. We toured with Dead Or Alive and Siouxsie And The Banshees. Steven Severin of the Banshee’s produced the first “Single Joe’s So Mean to Josephine”, a dark murderous story I had read in the papers. The police knew who had killed the woman in bed, but couldn’t work out how Joe had managed to tie himself up. For the track I expanded on the story a bit. The 202 was driving this with the added influences of T.Rex, sort of a suicide inspired track. It charted in the indie charts and you could hear it being played by John Peel on BBC Radio 1 and loads of underground Gothic Dj’s. “Jo’s So Mean (to Josephine)” was also on our own independent record label, Compost Records.

In 1985 we recorded a cover of Dr Johns “Walk On Gilded Splinters” with Dr John on guest vocals, at Run DMC’s Studio In Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn NY. The B side featured a track called “Melting Down On Motor Angel” which was an elongation of the new drug MDMA, which we sampled on a roof garden on 8th Street watching a shoot-out down below. “Melting Down On Motor Angel” was also the album title to Sunsonic’s only album.

Around this time also, Sigue Sigue Sputnik started turning up to our gigs in full dress, noting down all we were doing, later to make their own version of our madness. A single a year, then along came Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in 1986 completely out of the blue.

Another EP “Alligator Bait”, four songs inspired again by the time in New York… what wasn’t great about New York at that time? So much vibe, parties, gigs, the Danceteria, hanging out with artists, musicians, actors, painters, just walking down the street was like being in a Kojak episode, I loved it!

We were building a nice audience when Adam decided to go produce a Punk band in Denmark instead of headlining the Temple of Gothic achievement -the Camden Palace. The Flowerpot Men were no more.

 Yello had come into my life with the “80 – 85”-remix album, it never left the record player, Sonic Youth, Front 242, most of the Mute Records catalogue, Beggars Banquet label, ZTT were making records I could only dream of creating…

So rethink time, 9 months of thinking, writing; rave music came in 86/87, early parties hanging out with KLF in their squat. Sometimes engineering their remixes, or going on the highland adventures with the KLF, making a copy of “The Wicker Man” for all KLF’s licencees, flown onto a small island on the Western Isles (the same place they burnt a million pounds in the name of art and cocaine), so like a twat, as again I was skint I did the opposite of good, and tried and succeed in going and signing with another major label, this time Polydor Records and with my Flowerpot partner, I started Sunsonic. Part of the deal was they build us a studio to save on costs, so what seemed a cool idea -and was in some ways -was us investing into learning how (and not) to become an engineer, an album that should have taken a few months turned into two years and sounded like it: over thought under inspired.

I worked with Alex Paterson (The Orb) again and formed a short-lived band called Peace In The Middle East, same name as the track we created, a sort of goodwill floppy dance sounding workout, nothing special.

 When there was so much great quick music being made we were in creative limbo. So the impact changed. Find a new way to present a band, no longer did I want the ego of one partner, I wanted a collective or collaborators and keep the vibe and atmosphere good and exciting. 

Adam left for the USA, I stayed and started Juno Reactor.

‘Juno Reactor Was Set Up As An Art Collective’

Q: I think Juno Reactor was originally set up as an art collective/gallery, right? Who was involved? What was it all about and how did it finally become a music collective centred around you? 

Ben:  Juno Reactor was set up as an art collective, with writers, installation artists, filmmakers, etc. Norma Fetcher, my girlfriend, took a surface to air missile and we drove it around London down past Parliament Square, Big Ben, Whitehall on a flatbed truck, with armoured personal carriers front and back whilst dressed as Arabs -an anti Gulf War protest, and installed it into an art Gallery, the Diorama, that was owned by the Queen and had a perfect silo shape in the middle where the rocket was newly erected. For this, I wrote “Luciana” -really Juno Reactor’s first album, which was also a suggestion of Jimmy Cauty (KLF) that I should do an hour mix as he had just done, as an experiment. The trouble with art was funding and much easier for me to get musical backing so it folded as soon as it began. Although R&S Records did sponsor that show as I had released a track called “I Love You” under the name of Electrotete with future JR musician Stephan Holweck (who later became Total Eclipse), a crazy French guy and brilliant bass player who also lived in the Benio squat with Jimmy.

The main people in the first two Juno Reactor albums were: Mike Maquire, a great guy I met at the distribution company Greyhound, when releasing a self-released title “Pycho SlapHead”, a brutal rave track with a sense of murderous humour. Mike was great, he had been in India many times and loved the early scene where DJ’s were already playing my tracks. I had to find out more, so we went into my studio in Bowl Court and Mike turned me on to the current sound of India. As it was so close to my Electronic sound it was an easy hop onto a train – Sci-Fi Landscapes, my 202 still purring like a train, we made the track “High Energy Protons”. Mike took it to India and immediately it became a big track there and abroad: Japan, Greece, France, Germany and UK. Tracks kept on hoping out in two or three days, with Stephan Holweck and Mike and soon we had about nine or ten tracks, so I took them up to Mute Records, intending to only perhaps sell one track. They loved it and wanted the album!

No one knew what this music was, so they called it intelligent Techno, albums were selling, gigs were happening, I was feeling more comfortable about the debts of Sunsonic being paid off. 

‘For Me It Was A Sci-Fi Scene For Acid Party People’

Q: The singles “Laughing Gas” and “High Energy Protons” plus the debut album “Transmissions” (1993) were into Goa-Trance. Back in time this genre was something totally new and often introduced as ‘Electronics for hippies’. What did you keep in mind from this album and how did you see the Goa-Trance movement evolving? 

Ben: Well, I never saw it as music for hippies -for me it was a Sci-fi scene for acid party people, hippies were still listening to Dylan in my mind. I had come from the Industrial-Rock routes, with heavy sense or brutal Electronica, which was also being played out in India, so for me, it was not much of a diversion, more like an extension of what I had already been doing. So I hooked up with Mike and Johann Bley, a great writer and drummer, who lived in Goa for 6 months of the year whilst I stayed in the UK and carried on writing tracks. Youth by this time was also indulging in holidays out there. It was a great way to write with no commercial interest, and just get what was great feedback from India and the parties. Essentially it was a very positive way of producing after what was a rather grim time whilst with Sunsonic. 

“Transmissions” was the first real beginning of something special, Mike Maguire – Stephan Holweck – Johann Bley even Turnip the Swede Jens Walderbeck, had an important part to play in the new playground. Mike and Johann would go to Goa and live there for 6 months of the year, send feedback on tracks, that even in these days of fire hilltop communication, managed to pass on the vibe of the parties, as I worked on new tracks to send out, or wait for their return. I had no idea of the lazy days on the beaches, rented houses year round, with cleaners and cooks, small or large jungle parties where monkeys would be interactive with the monkeys our tracks (“Jungle High”) -I have sampled a lot of monkey sounds.

These new Cyber-Punks would network in the blessed out Goa sun, to return to their homelands, far away from paradise and the free love of this un-celebrated underground unknown music, their generation accepting of all ages, colours race. Would telegraph their passion, create parties in on hidden mountains in Japan, sex clubs in L.A, warehouse London, gymnasiums in Paris, disused airports in Germany, Outback volcanos in Australia. We were invisible to the industry of wannabe stars and bankrupt music.

This kinetic energy of knowing you were onto something new was the drug, like a secret society that anyone could join, if you had digested the shared psychedelic values.

Our new world was fresh, driven, invited around the world, “Transmissions” was transmitting on a global level, that music magazines and house DJs couldn’t fathom.

 The studio building was from the time of Jack the Ripper, a 3 story warehouse used for  god knows what, the atmosphere had not left it, along with some of the rather back street people you might expect in that area of London. Prostitutes would use the car park at the back, working their trade. Sometime city guys in suits would be aggressive and attack the women, so we kept a baseball bat by the door and if we heard their screams we would run out in the name of protection.

Q: Your next album “Luciana” (1994) was something totally different and not exactly the most familiar album from your discography. But I think there’re a few interesting things to say about this work; it revealed your interest in Soundtracks while it got released on Alex Paterson’s (The Orb) own label Inter-Modo. What brought you to write this album and how did you get in touch with Alex Paterson? 

Ben: This goes back to the Missile Project and the involvement in installation art. Alex (THE ORB) heard the album and loved it, he said ‘Can I release it?’, why not I thought, so I spent an afternoon with Alex in the studio, he added some elements over the stereo track and that became the album. I met Alex in 1986, as he is Youth oldest and best friend, an ex roadie of Killing Joke with an amazing record collection, a massive ability to smoke more than London can produce and speak in a way you need a hearing aid to listen. 

Q: I’ve always linked Juno Reactor with solid bass lines and transcendental drums. “Beyond The Infinite” (1995) perfectly symbolizes these elements, but also your interest to explore new ideas like Tribal drums. What did this work say about your perception of ‘sound’ and eventually your passion for drums? 

Ben: “Beyond The Infinite”, by this time Mute and cool London were not fans of Goa or Trance anymore, and decided to call it ‘Tarquin Techno’ in the media, because of the image that rich kids were behind the scene, which -looking at myself, was obviously bollocks, but in Goa there certainly were a few, and maybe the other scenes sensing danger, ridiculed it. They were about to steal the name of trance. Paul Oakenfold(like ‘Sique Sique Sputnick’) was hanging out at parties, listening, collecting ideas and tracks, the house was moving to Trance. Clever, to take this and add all the crap vocals and sell it off to the sheep… Their power and media savvy then became ‘Trance’. Not sure what our scene was, Psychedelic-Trance? Along come all these pigeon holes. Name it, sell it. We didn’t give a shit and stayed as far away from the cliché as possible. Mike was so great at this time, he had the best tunes of anyone, and was in great demand as an international DJ, from the USA to Japan and sometimes we would join him as a live three-piece. Brilliant days, we were a family. 

Q: I think you’re an artist with a very unique sound DNA! What I’m trying to say is that I instantly can recognize your work by the bass lines, the orchestral arrangements, the hypnotic drum sections… What makes this DNA and where does it come from? 

Ben: I have no idea. Like all musicians, I have collected and been inspired by what I needed and wanted. I love all types of music, still do, these DNA strands are unique, the hard part is how to lay them out for others to share and enjoy. I wanted to be a photographer when very young, my dad said it was too expensive, so film, TV, pictures, music all collided and formed whatever I am in my tastes for music.

‘I Decided To Become More Grounded In Earthly Sounds From The Percussion’

Q: It’s impossible not evoking “Bible Of Dreams” (1997), which revealed new ideas and collaborations. I consider this work as your magnum opus, which even today hasn’t lost its original magic. How do you look back at this work 24 years later and are there some aspects of the production you would do differently? 

Ben:  So the time of “Bible Of Dreams” came along. Robert Trunz, CEO of MELT2000 -the umbrella company which ran Blue Room, and Simon Ghahary, the managing director of Blue Room -a sub-label based in the UK specialising in Electronic music, had signed Juno Reactor to Blue Room/Melt 2000 for “Beyond The Infinite”, as Mute didn’t want it. Robert was a jazz freak, and he got me involved in his great love for African music. Robert and Simon were different, business was easy, as Robert was pretty loaded and loved to invest in his artists. He took over my shabby warehouse studio, put in a massive Raindurk Symphony Desk, massive monitors that would be anyone’s wet dream, 9 bass drivers aside, they blew the roof off. He took over landlord costs, God I was free of all these costs, and could make music without the fear of losing it all.  

I had been introduced to the African musicians on Melt 2000. All the scene was doing was still making chemical noises, and stick in an alien landscape for the acid heads. Although this is enjoyable, it became very repetitive. So I decided to become more grounded in earthly sounds from the percussion. The only percussionists I had been introduced to before Amampondo were generally white guys, flipping away on drums in a sloppy-sloppy fashion, or German-style timpani military way which I had found pretty useless and saw no advantage in it on a track. So my mind was blown away by Mabi -power, rhythmic complexity, fun, tradition, amazing rhythms that propelled the track! My eyes were opened and I felt stupid I had not seen what so many others had -say for example my favourite drummer Ginger Baker -why hadn’t I noticed African drumming that years before? Anyway, I was now awake to its potential in my world of cross over, not interested in world music in its pure form and wanted to create a fusion with electronic music and see what comes out. 

Working with Mabi was so instinctive, we both saw tracks in the same way as pictures and thoughts, I literally fell over him in a music studio corridor where he was asleep on the floor when I was producing a Zulu Band for Melt 2000 in South Africa. We got talking and I invited him and Amampondo to play all the percussion, so in a way, our future was laid out there.

I felt I knew what I was doing, none of my UK band wanted to tour the USA with Moby for just 30 minutes a night, so I called Mabi and Amampondo , did a few rehearsals and off on tour! This moment diverted the future of the project for the next 12 years where I would tour with Amampondo.

 “God Is God” could finally be added to a Juno Reactor album, as now JUNO RREACTOR was more interested in the earth sounds, leaving sci-fi behind. “God Is God” was written around the end of “Transmissions”, needed a better mix, but was ready. The album fell into place so easily. 

I wouldn’t touch “Bible Of Dreams” as it is a record of where I was musically at the time. I firmly believe people walk on our path for a reason, be it for a short or long period. How we interact with them is up to us. Some people unexpectedly turn out to be far more important than you could ever have imagined. Some you will love until you die, while other return to the mist of being.

Q: I read somewhere that after “Bible Of Dreams” you got the feeling to be done with Electronic music. What was it all about? Was it a kind of exhaustion or blank page syndrome?

Ben: It happens a lot to me, especially with Electronic music. Far too many people seem to be happy to create a platform. Be it Trance, Techno, Ambient, Drum’n’Bass, Bass music, whatever. It gets like an L.A motorway full of polluting gases all sounding the same. So I go left, maybe my mistake there, but as I am totally useless at being commercial, I prefer my way. And hope others enjoy it.

‘The Track Was Built Around My Love For Tarantino And Westerns, Clint Eastwood And “Once Upon A Time In The West”’

Q: The opening song “Pistolero” from the “Shango”-album (2000) probably became your biggest hit ever. It sounds differently because of this guitar play and yet it remains 100% Juno Reactor! I remember my reaction when I heard it for the very first time: ‘this guy is crazy’! Was this song a kind of antithesis to all what you’ve done before? And how did you imagine the future of the project right at the new millennium? 

Ben: On tour I met up with Steve Stevens. After speaking with him on the phone about the recent Traci Lords album that I produced, I invited him to play on a show in L.A, a great venue, like an old-fashioned sports hall with a running track above. Now, I think how freaked out he must have been, as I patched him into my desk, he would play, and I would cut him off at random, he kept on looking over as if to say ‘WHAT THE FUCK?!’, he must have thought I was crazy, he didn’t complain but you don’t do this to a Rock Legend. Anyway, we got on, he asked me to produce a track for his album – yep, “Pistolero”.

Steve wasn’t used to my regime of endless hours in the studio and I think after six days his eyes were somewhere down near his guitar swaying hips, exhausted he returned to the USA. He wasn’t that impressed, so I agreed to pay his costs, and I would release it. I worked on it a ton more, and out popped the track we know.

The track was built around my love for Tarantino and Westerns, Clint Eastwood and “Once Upon A Time In The West”. When it was released I named it the “Tarantino Radio Edit”. Quentin loved it and Robert Rodriguez and Tarantino then wrote “Once Upon A Time In Mexico” after being inspired by my “Pistolero” track, which they credited in the CD booklet.

Currently, I’m working on the new album, Steve Stevens, Sugizo and Amir Haddad will hopefully all on the same track.

Working with Amampondo was a dream, we never argued, just laughed a lot, after having lived in each other’s pockets on tour we got on well. I learnt more from them than they did of me. Their sense of rhythm, spontaneity, improvisation, the humour of dance, the humour of anything. We would do shows, stop the machines and go into full-on Tribal rhythms, songs of the Pondo’s. Every night was different. Mandla and Simpewe would perform acrobatics when we played “Feel The Universe”, crowds loved this, even though injuries happened, the next night they would do it again. I carried on working with them for 12 years until it became impossible to bring them from South Africa due to rising costs and falling promoters budgets. 

I should add that Traci Lords was also very cool to work with, and had several enjoyable sessions with her, which led to a top 5 USA billboard track titled “Control” and a number of movie syncs from these sessions.

‘“Matrix” Was Like Being Shot And Landing In Heaven With A Ticket Back To Earth’

Q: Your songs got more and more featured in movies and you wrote different songs for Soundtracks. I can imagine the “Matrix”-experiences must have been a kind of ultimate dream and accomplishment? But what has been the impact of all these experiences –and more especially “The Matrix”, on your career?

Ben: I love films, first of all, so for it to combine with my music is a dream job no matter what the film is. I will score a bug on a wall, and still enjoy it. “Matrix” was like being shot and landing in heaven with a ticket back to earth. After the initial meeting with the Wachowski’s I had to smash nails into my boots to keep me from flying off to the stars. Reality hit in a good way and was the toughest discipline mixed with the excitement of being able to please the directors and myself. What do I take away from it? A sense of achievement that I did something very special. I still get composers coming up to me and saying it is a landmark film for integration of Electronics and orchestra which is what the Wachowski’s wanted. It helped me believe in my writing al lot more, although confidence is like the wind, some days you have it others not.

The daily routine of waking up in heaven is not always as easy as it sounds, as even in my camp I would experience jealousy, I had brought with me a programmer (Stephan Holweck) an engineer (Greg Hunter) Singer (Taz) Stephan more turned into a cook and this frustrated his, as he wanted to be more involved, but the way out worked out there was no real room for him. Greg brought in his friend, which added to the annoyance of Greg; Greg would come in and say as I was working on “The Burly Brawl”, ‘that is a load of crap’ in-front of his friend as a light heated joke, which they all found very funny, I took Greg outside and suggested he return back to London as he wasn’t on my team, either buck up or go home. I should have sacked Greg as he would do things like after a mix was finished, he wanted to polish it more, so first time I agreed and I went back to the Paramore to sleep. I got a call from the dub stage early in the morning saying ‘what is this mix, it is horrible!!!’ I asked what time it was made they said 8 am, I replied please listen to mix from 1:00 am . They did and said thank you this is great.

Greg Hunter had in the hours between, added noises, effects I knew would be unwanted, and a rebalance uncalled for. He had become a liability to me, as now Warner were clocking his over times. I could not get rid of him as I didn’t know another great engineer in L.A. I would never use him again. These unexpected invasions add a colour I would have preferred had not happened, as these were not the only times he tried to unravel the job.

 Zig Gron (my Music Editor)  on the other hand, a man I did not know previously was my guardian angel. He walked me through all of the landmines, I asked him to teach me all he could, and I was in a 100 milesper hour world on information upload. Zig was funny, informative and such a bloody relief to have near me. God save Zig Gron and all who sail around him.

Q: The Soundtrack you composed for the “Brave Story”-animation film (2006) must have been something really special. For the very first time you composed the entire Soundtrack and here again I discovered some new aspects like the song “Juno Waltz”. How did you prepare and finally composed this work? 

Ben: This was composed under my name Ben Watkins rather than Juno Reactor. I had done another one, like “Beowulf”. I asked them why they wanted me to write for mainly orchestra, and they said we would like to hear how it sounds. So I sort of did my impression of ‘a man who knew what he was doing and what they were talking about’. There were a few production problems re-budget, as it wasn’t cheap for an Anime film. Once that was over, it was surprisingly easy, maybe a lot easier than writing for pure Electronics as the orchestra tone is defined by what you want, and once set, you have your pallet of sounds more or less. “Juno Waltz”, funny you mention that one, as it was the one I most feared to write, as again it has been so defined by other writers. I wrote it last, and it just popped out, it was also the one I felt the orchestra liked the most as they would tap their music stands like clapping. 

We recorded the Orchestra and choir in Bratislava, The Bratislavian Symphony Orchestra and a Vienna choir. I remember on the way to the massive radio sound stage all the older ladies at the bus stops had bright blue/purple hair. A hangover from communist times maybe, thought it looked great and definitely a way I wouldn’t mind my hair, like Quintan Crisp on acid.

Q: You also composed music for animation games. Does it need a different approach than for soundtracks? Any preference and/or favorite? 

Ben: “The Mark Of Kri” was a sort of nightmare, in as far as I had to create on each level two hours of non repeating music, on 0.5 MB, which now sounds insane huh. So you have an excitement engine, 0 – 100, fight mode is 50 plus. I had to build the macros to enable this. So deep learning curve, endless nights on the phone to Scott in San Francisco. This is a bit like the early beginning maybe of programs like WWise.com -which is a sampler on Crack, and hold so many possibilities for AI and VR, which makes me really excited for the future of music and sonic displacement for composers. My preference for games is really to write and hand over in stereo or 5.1. 

“PS4 Gran Turismo” -I made special mixes of tracks from the not so soon to be released album “The Mutant Theatre”, I didn’t have much involvement on this as they loved the tracks I presented and it was done.

Thanks of the Galaxy was a scored mobile game. Despite it being for mobile-only, I really enjoyed working with the team in Finland, in which I presented a Sci-fi industrial orchestral score made from orchestra libraries by George Strezov well worth checking out.

www.strezov.net  www.strezov-sampling.com

‘“Navras” Is The Biggest Track I Have Written’

Q: “Labyrinth” (2004), “Gods & Monsters” (2008), “Inside The Reactor” (2011), “The Golden Sun Of The Great East” (2013) and “The Mutant Theatre” (2018) are the studio-albums released after 2000. How would you analyze the evolution of these productions considering items like influences, technology vs. production and new collaborations? 

Ben: “Labyrinth” is “The Matrix”-album, and after the experience of the last track for “The Matrix Revolutions”, “Navras”, I couldn’t write a thing. “Navras” is the biggest track I have written, or been involved in with 120-piece orchestra, 80-piece choir, soloists, percussionists… So for three months after that I was bashing my head against a wall back in the UK. I think mainly as I was still missing the vibe of L.A, the people always around, the buzz. Until “Conquistador” Parts 1 & 2 came to save me along with guitarist Eduardo Niebla. I was mainly working very analogue, real drums, humans playing, and I still do, but now I am 75% out of the box and 25% in the box. Loads of new software have enabled me to make it more expansive. 

“Gods & Monsters”-I wanted it less epic than “Labyrinth”, write some songs that spoke to me at the time, and try a sort of Jazzy feel to some of it. Not very popular with the Juno Reactor dance crowd at the time, I still love certain tracks. A lot of artists musicians feel constrained by the genre they are in, main thing to me is to stand by what you write, and try it, it ain’t going to kill you. 

One track for example, “Tanta Pena” from “Gods & Monsters” -I was driving to the studio at Ridge Farm when a voice came on the BBC world music show, I had to stop and listen. A cross between a butterfly and a thunderstorm, it took the wind out of my lungs. As soon as the song was over I rang the station and asked who it was. Yasmin Levy! I contacted her husband who was also her agent/manager and asked if she would be interested in recording with me. 

Yasmin and the manager arrived on a beautiful Summer’s day. Ridge Farm is in the Surrey countryside, an Elizabethan Estate with grounds, a swimming pool, beautifully landscaped gardens, all made possible by Frank Andrews never-ending building work on his estate. 

I had moved into Ridge Farm after “The Matrix” films when I heard the studio on the estate was laying bare. I was able to bring my equipment and use one of Englands classic studio’s. Muse, Queen, Ozzie Osbourne and so many more had recorded here… 

Yasmin was shy, and maybe only 20yrs old when she visited the farm. I played her my idea’s, talked a little, not much really and went into record! With one take it was done on both tracks, no need to do any more, she had nailed it! It is quite amazing when this happens, like Lakshmi Shankar on “Navras”. 

I carried on working the track to bring it to her level, with an amazing Zook player from Arminia, Tigran Aleksanyan with the merciless drumming of Greg Ellis, who, when I started working with him in the studio, sounded a bit like a session player. His appearance was that of a typical tattoed L.A drummer, calm, spiritually balanced in appearance -and a very amiable personality.

I asked Greg to let his rage out for this track, really hit those fuckers! I unleashed a beast, a monster, his whole countenance changed, Fire and brimstone drumming, an apocalypse of anger and frustration came out! Drum skins didn’t last long, an inverted blister would appear on the snare within one take! Greg loved this approach, which you can also hear on “The Immaculate Crucifixion”. After this, “Tanta Pena” was complete. 

The original song dates back to the time when the Spanish ejected the Jewish population or made them convert to Christianity around 1492. It is sung in Ladino by Yasmin Levy whose father was a famous archivist of Ladino music, “No More Blood” –“Tanta Pena”.

 “Golden Sun Of The Great East” -I went to India to record a lot of the soloists, and this opened up my world to new horizons, as I found Bombay very “Blade Runner”-ish, ancient and modern all running parallel, crazy, mad, tragic and beautiful. 

Magical things happen, even when you are not looking, I was on a day trip around the studio’s of Mumbai with a potential agent for me in India. We entered a black and gold studio, very camp, I would expect Freddie Mercury of Queen to pop out and say ‘Hello darlings, welcome to my fuck fest!’ instead it was a wonderful Panjabi singer being recorded for a film. Our next appointment was with the Mozart of Indian film music, A R Rahmen. Excited I jumped in the taxi, horns blaring, rain falling, a bright night journey. Next to me in the taxi was the Panjabi singer, ‘Hey can you sing me a song into my zoom recorder, as we wait for my agent to say his goodbyes’. 4 minutes later, a song that never varied off its pitch, was in my data control. Leaving out the A R Rahmen meeting as it was nice, but nothing special, I returned to the hotel where eagles would fly high above in the morning light, I listened back, to the Mumbai traffic and the voice of a celestial being. I started writing “Invisible”, the second track on the album.

“The Mutant Theatre” was written for the show -a Sci-Fi extravaganza where choreographed performance really took over the direction. 

For me, the last two albums speak to me how I want to hear them, and possibly my favourite albums.

“The Mutant Theatre” was designed as a show album. In 2015 I was asked by the Ozora Festival to come back the next year with a new show, I had thought of a show to be called “The Mutant Theatre” 5 years before when in Russia and working with two amazing Performance groups, Agnivo, from Moscow, and Stigma Show from St.Petersburg. I presented this idea in pictures to Ozora, which they loved. It was expensive as it involved around 18 people.

Eyal Yankovich had been my agent for 5 years or so, also the head of Hommega Records. He was an OK agent, getting me the occasional gig or tour, what he was really good at was igniting my imagination with tunes, and suggest I listen to many great tracks, ‘How about a new “Pistolero” Ben?’

Eyal Hung himself before he could listen to the final “Return Of The Pistolero”-version or the album, which still a saddens me.

 Sanja Music, our tour manager, started to really help me, not only from a business perspective, but also from a listening view point. Despite being unable to discuss in a musical language, she would always hit it on the head, find a way to describe the best versions, enthusiasm, insights, referenced insights how fans can view it, how it might work on stage. Spend hours discussing and evolving ideas. I met Sanja many years before in Slovenia when we were playing with Laibach. A tall shiny girl in Japanese fashion appeared solo waiting for the doors to open, a Sugizo fan I believed. We stayed in contact through Myspace and later meeting up in Japan when I was having tours there. She came to the 2015 Ozora Festival and I’ve asked her to photograph Juno Reactor. After we went to Budapest to sight see the city, when I realised what a great addition she would me to Juno Reactor, little did I know how central to my thinking and the project she would become.

‘I Want To Give Something To The Audience That They Might Not Have Seen Before’

Q: You’ve always worked and composed your albums with guest musicians and –singers while going on tour with dance companies, drummers ao. It all feels a bit like the initial goal of creating a ‘collective’ has never changed. What did you learn from all these meetings, collaborations and exchanges? 

Ben: I want to give something to the audience that they might not have seen before. Maybe this goes back to my days of loving David Bowie, and his great performances, always looking for a new way. I feel a sense of family when we are on the road, not always possible with some people, but when it is good it is great. I am still learning how best to be, and how to navigate the waters of human interaction. I feel most comfortable in my studio along with all the other me’s talking.

Q: Your brother Simon Watkins has been often involved in the artwork of Juno Reactor. It all looks like arts is a family thing. Where does it come from and is there a next Watkins generation to hold on this artistic fire? 

Ben: Simon, my brother, helped me focus on art and how to look at it. He always had an unusual taste, a black comedy in his work that I loved. My parents were actors, and despite we were a family of 5 kids, and totally squint, I have no clue why our blood directs us to the arts, as it would be much simpler if we had just wanted a normal life. My parents gave up on their careers too early I always felt, and so I have to live with the musical sword in my hand.

Django, my younger son, is at film university learning the art of script writing and direction, Tim, my older son, is a great musician and records tracks I love. Scarlet and her friend wrote a track for a Japanese singer that was pretty successful. Scarlet at one time wanted to take over Juno Reactor, maybe she still does who knows, but she has chose marine photography for now.

‘AI, VR & AR Have So Much Potential For Young Musicians To Escape The Old Models Of Creation And Start A New Chapter In Music’

Q: A lot of things have changed/evolved since the early Juno Reactor years; think about technology, new equipment & music programs, streaming, social media etc… What have been the pros and cons? 

Ben: I started out on an MC 202 and now I have a museum, a laboratory, loads of instruments that I play. I miss the hangouts in the studio, as everyone has a studio, so we became moles. I love the independence of starting a Juno Reactor label, which I and Sanja Karin Music, who is my manager and for a number of years has also collaborated on artwork, future NFTs on knownorigin.io and other platforms, and a variety of creative projects and activities, which we will be rolling out in the coming year.

The new possibilities of NFT’s and blockchain, which might well help the independent musician into a new economic model. AI, VR & AR have so much potential for young musicians to escape the old models of creation and start a new chapter in music, independent from middlemen and greedy manipulators from the dark alleys of the old music industry. A new world awaits in the decade to come, and I am excited by it, and what it will become. This doesn’t in any way exclude the old ways, or purity of the orchestra, classical musicians, just a new voice in the galaxy.

Q: Covid-19 has seriously affected artistic activities all over the world. How did you keep yourself busy and what are you actually working on? 

Ben: I am learning the Viola, this has kept me in focus at times, writing new tracks with this has been very enjoyable, as well as testing, as I am still learning, and it will take me a long time to play the way I would like. I swim in the sea, this I love when I can afford the time -a sea swim now takes me about 2:30 hours compared to the pool of 1 hour. It blows all the cobwebs and bad thoughts away -of which there have been many through the past year, no question. I think a lot of artists had a very hard time, a lot of artists might have been forced to stop doing what they love, which is very sad. Like many others as well, I have been forced to look into the paperwork side of the project and face all the different misdemeanours and manipulations from a number of people I preferred not to face while gigs were still bringing in enough money to keep going.

‘Sooner Or Later An Autobiography Could Certainly Happen’

Q: I read in a post you got the idea to write an autobiography, which I think is a real interesting idea. Is it something concrete and are there some next ‘big’ dreams you want to accomplish?  

Ben: Well, it is odd, as I have lived long enough to tell stories other people find interesting, or so they say. Sometimes I get caught up in them, and it reminds me of talking to family members before they died. As you can ask them a historic question of how life was, and you can see their eyes glaze over as they reminisce as if they are walking the streets and cafes they used to. It is beautiful to see and hear. I don’t want to become a broken record and recite story after story, so maybe one time if I can write it OK, it might be interesting. My manager Sanja has been pushing me to write down or talk about times in my life and slowly collect all these to be turned into an entity at some point, so sooner or later an autobiography could certainly happen. It might have been silly of me to suggest I’m writing it on a simple social media travel picture that looked to me like a book cover, but perhaps having the public know and expect it will give me an extra boost to keep working on it, with my managers help, as an dyslexic person I was surprised to find that I’m really enjoying this process.

‘The Older I Get The More I Want To Do Music, Scuba, Swim, And Exploring New Horizons’

Q: An interesting item for the autobiography could be to know what you would have done in life without music? And do you have specific hobbies/passions next to music? 

Ben: I remember one day my father said ‘If you pass this exam, I will buy you a pony’. I tried my best, but still failed, and thus had to grow up pony-less. I wonder what would have happened had I passed the exam. Would I really have gotten a pony? Would I perhaps be in a completely different profession today? I should ring up my dad and ask if he actually planned to get that pony …

A lot of people through-out my life have mistook my dreamy exterior to think I am lazy, when in fact my brain has never stopped talking, the conversations I have in my mind seem to me to be more interesting than the ones outside, so I can be non responsive, come over as aloof. The reality is I have drifted off into my own world again. Where I might think I have answered a question asked by someone, just to realise it was only answered in my head. Dyslexia has strange traits, and for me it is this, I am word blinded sometimes that also raises my pulse to a train, panic. I envy people who can be logical, and competent in social exchanges. Stage is my way out, a sort of nether world between reality and dreams where I feel confident of its power.

Without music, I would be a shadow, maybe worked in a stable or farm all my life, something that didn’t need a searching brain. The older I get the more I want to do music, scuba, swim, and exploring new horizons.

Q: “Pistolero” is the Juno Reactor-song I make people listen to, who aren’t familiar with your work. Which one would you choose? 

Ben: At the moment, Ummm my latest one: “Coyote You Me And The Stars”. As it was written for a very special moment and one I will forever remember. I bought an amazing keyboard at the beginning of the crisis, which has been my main frame and primary sound source, the Quantum keyboard by Waldorf, it is such an unusual instrument. It is possible to create sonic textures I haven’t heard before, a 3D motion I have been looking for, this along with the viola.

I am more interested in how I can hold the sound in the stereo field to give depth and spatial pleasures. Political events don’t usually invade my thoughts yet this has been unavoidable.

Witten by: Ben Watkins

Co-editor: Sanja Karin Music (management & shrink services)

Side-Line also covered Juno Reactor’s ‘Let The Flowers Grow’.

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

LIVINGTOTEM is a Hungarian solo-project driven by András Gulyás. He released his first official album “40K” in 2014 on Advoxya Records. The next album “Raw Effort” got released in 2017 on Ant-Zen and revealed a strong fusion between different music styles like Industrial, Trance, Techno, IDM and Tribal. The newest opus “Surreal Existence” got released by the end of 2020 and clearly sounds as a new masterpiece, but also revealing an artist with a very own sound approach. If you don’t know yet LIVINGTOTEM I can only, but encourage you to discover the great work of András Gulyás.

(Picture credit by infinitbeat.hu / Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: How did you get in touch with Electro/Industrial music and what incited you to set up LIVINGTOTEM?

András: I grew up in the vicinity of a brick factory, so I experienced industrial noises and visual impacts at a young age. However, sometime in the late 80s, getting to know FRONT 242, DAF, TEST DEPT and SKINNY PUPPY gave me the real push towards that direction. At that time it was not easy to get this music here in Hungary, the ‘iron curtain’ was still closed and we were living in the era of cassette copies… but there were also Hungarian bands at that time. These concerts also left a mark on me. We even shot a documentary about it a few years ago, but have not managed to finish it yet due to the lack of time and financial means, so the material is resting on a multi-terabyte external drive at the moment, unfortunately…

In 1992 I started DJ-ing once a month at the legendary Depeche Mode Fan Club events at the PECSA Klub in Budapest, along with DJ Fatman. After a while I was more and more drawn to music that mixed my favorite styles, but there were very few bands that actually did that / Tribal-Industrial-Acid-EBM-Techno. So I started thinking about making my own music. For the sake of this, I was trying to find a compact piece of hardware -but not a laptop, that I could take on stage as a one-man act. This came true in 2006 when I bought my first Electribe groove box. This cost about 730EUR, at a time when my monthly salary in Hungary was around 290EUR!

Q: You’ve been involved with different bands; from QUANTUM COWBOYS to PANORAMIC BARRIER to LIVINGTOTEM and you’re still active as DJ! What means music to you and tell us a bit more about these different projects?

András: For me, music always gets absolute priority. This, of course, poses challenges both in my professional- (I work in the construction industry 8-10 hours a day on weekdays) and in my private life as well. LIVINGTOTEM is my main project. As I have mentioned, this mixing of styles is like a Ritual Cyber-Punk dystopia in Industrial technology.

My other project is PANORAMIC BARRIER, it’s a completely analog stuff fusing EBM, Techno and Experimental. The ‘gear’ is completely CV-controlled just like in the 70s; no MIDI, no USB; including semi-modular synths, drums and effects. This is practically a live-only project. All of these performances are unique and unrepeatable.

The band QUANTUM COWBOYS will never be as it used to be again because BradyO, one of our lead singers, passed away in 2013. I have even recorded a song or two with her as a duo, one of which appeared on a compilation of 4mg Records titled “Little Green Bag”. Of course, I hope to be able to get on with this style as well, but who knows what the future holds.

As a DJ, I usually play within the New-Wave, EBM, Industrial, Rhythm & Noise, Ambient and Psychedelic-Trance styles, not only at party events but also in my bi-weekly radio broadcast on Tilos Radio / FM90.3 Budapest, tilos.hu.

Q: You already mentioned the mix of styles, which is characterizing LIVINGTOTEM. What can you say about your influences and your way of composing/producing music? How does your studio looks like?

András: I pay attention to music of every genre in general. I went to a lot of events, exhibitions for as long as I could and these all served as an inspiration. Work, movies, exhausted moments after parties or when I’m intoxicated by love, all these challenges that swirl in my head help me to find inspiration, culminating in the music I make.

At home I use the same hardware machines as during the performances, Korg Electribe, Korg mixer with a built-in chaos bench, Roland SP-555 sampler, Waldorf Micro Q, Zoom effect and self-made sound generating devices… I make a lot of demo recordings at home, of which about a quarter gets ever released. One day I hope to share these on some platform. I create 90% of the music on these instruments, recorded on multiple tracks before we start mixing. In this process, we can add or even subtract much more effects and sound designs. That’s why the music will surely sound different in a live performance than on a record! It really matters to me that my audience gets more from a live gig than just an exact reproduction of what the release contains! Going to the studio, make recordings and mixing requires a lot of time that I’m usually lack of. So it takes several years for an album to be completed. Usually I just find a couple of hours on the weekends with my friend Péter Buza, with whom I create the final sound of the album at the Astral Escape Studio. He was also actively involved in an album for NOUVELLE PHENOMENE.

I need a studio because of idea ‘more ears, hear more’. I always welcome comments and suggestions from others. These are added values, which I think can add color to existing music. I asked Eric Van Wonterghem for mastering again; I respect him very much and I appreciate his work. Many people insist on doing everything themselves; music, mixing, mastering, cover design… which is why they come up with very similar things after two or three records. I want to blend a bit of the Industrial-EBM world of the ’80s with today’s modern, dark club sound and also draw from the world of early Acid, which can of course get ‘distorted’ in many ways flowing into a tribal sound out of this world. I don’t often make remixes, but I was very happy when TEST DEPT asked me to do a remix for them which I gladly accepted of course. They came out with a very good new album in 2019 and I was able to perform as their support act at their concert here in Budapest which was also a great honor for me.

Q: You’re taking time to work on new material. How do you prepare a new album and how did you achieve “Surreal Existence”?

András: Due to my job the final process of making music, i.e. studio work, is a bit difficult for me. The other thing is that I’m having a hard time picking the tracks that end up on the release from the countless demo recordings. There are still several tracks that I could not include, but they will certainly appear on the next album or in some other form. The equipment of the studio also evolved and changed in the meantime. Therefore, three of the tracks had to be recorded again, but in my opinion and also according to the feedback, it was really worth it. The physical release also encountered some obstacles which we eventually managed to solve. Attila Csihar who is a good old friend of mine also contributed to this record. This acquaintance dates back to 1992 when he played in a band called PLASMAPOOL. We had been planning to make music together for a couple of years, we had a lot of jam sessions, but due to a lack of time we never found time for more. We have now finally managed to collaborate on one single track.

Last but not least I was very happy to be able to release this album at the Ant-Zen records label, just as my previous one. The title of the album refers to all the surreal things that occurred in my home country and in my life.

Q: 2020 has been a dramatic year because of Covid-19! How did it feel at your side and especially as a musician who could no longer play live to present his new work? What do you expect for the further months?

András: The situation is really dramatic, and the whole world has become strange, as if we were part of a huge experiment like in World War III. I have the feeling, unfortunately, that life as we knew it before the end of 2019 will never return. However, I can call myself lucky because I was able to play at the Fekete Zaj Festival with my projects PANORAMIC BARRIER and LIVINGTOTEM featuring my friend Mr. TibaLt KusH known from ROSINFLUX. We called our performance a ‘bound improvisational fusion’. With PANORAMIC BARRIER I had another live gig at “Alkotótábor” which is an artistic camp. These open-air gigs were an amazing boost of energy. At the end of the year I had an online live-gig with LIVINGTOTEM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkZkYX6A4Is) which was originally planned as an album release party (Industrial Fusion) that had to be cancelled when all clubs were closed in November. Just before that, clubs in Budapest could still operate with a curfew at 11pm. I also played a few DJ-sets, like the International EBM-Day in February and an extended chill-set before and after Carbon Based Lifeform. Even in Autumn I was able to play at some EBM and New-Wave parties. I do hope that 2021 will bring at least some domestic events. Who knows, maybe even a movie will come out with a soundtrack from me…

Q: Tell us a bit more about your live performances? What are you exactly doing on stage and how do transpose the studio tracks into a live performance?

 András: For me, the process is exactly the other way around, I test my new compositions live on stage first, sometimes I even play demo versions in DJ-sets at Industrial-Techno parties. I pay attention to the reaction of the audience that helps me with deciding which tracks to include on the record. But there are always 1 or 2 tracks that I have never played live which can only be heard on the album because they do not fit into the live concept. As a result, so to sum it up, I play a lot of new music at live gigs where I’m already testing the material for the upcoming albums. I never play two identical concerts because I always play 2-3 brand new compositions. I keep fine-tuning them at every single performance. In this scene, there is unfortunately practically zero revenue from social media and other online platforms or physical releases. The only way to make money out of music is to play live.

Originally, I have started LIVINGTOTEM as a live act to show how music is created by rolling and turning all those little knobs, instead of looking at a person standing in ‘blue light’ behind a monitor pushing some buttons you can’t even see. I like to put great emphasis on the stage set as well and I don’t only mean the background projection, but a whole design concept that I have in mind.

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

ENZO KREFT is a Belgian solo-project set up in the 80s by Eric Vandamme. After a long break the artist reactivated his project and started composing new music. Early this year ENZO KREFT unleashed his newest album “Different World”, which is the first new work since the artist’s come-back. The album is inspired by the ongoing pandemic while the sound mixes elements of EBM and Electro-Wave. “Different World” sounds as the imaginary hybrid between GARY NUMAN, KRAFTWERK and DAF. I talked about this accomplished retro-like work with Eric Vandamme.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Your new album “Different World” is clearly inspired by the ongoing pandemic while you also hold on your dystopian perception of the Western World. Do you think dystopia became reality? And what do all these themes say about the person hiding behind ENZO KREFT?

Eric: I think we are indeed in dystopia at the moment. Very often I write about fictional future dark scenarios, but this time it became reality, very close to home for everyone. In “Woke Up This Morning” I therefore sing’“It’s stranger than fiction, this is a different world’. Never before today’s generations have experienced such a dramatic event on a global scale. Its impact is enormous. 

The person behind Enzo Kreft… well what should I tell about myself? That as an individual I was of course also very much shaken by the outbreak of this pandemic. I usually find the inspiration for my projects in themes related to threats to our society and I can express my dissatisfaction, anger or concern.  Working on “Different World” was a good way to personally channel and process this pandemic.

Q: I often think it’s easy –although important, for ‘artists’ to deal with all these subjects, but what’s the real goal behind it? Is it a kind of message or an internal exorcism? Do you think it can have any form of impact on listeners?

Eric: I guess I simply feel the need to write about these subjects, because we live in strange, very uncertain times. It’s primarily a way indeed to exorcise my fears. I do hope my topics can have an impact on listeners, on the one hand they might be a wake-up call for some. On the other hand, a part of my audience consists of fans of Wave music with a dark edge, who simply like this kind of music about dystopian themes.

Q: Over now to the writing process of the album. How did the composition process happened? Did you try to change and/or improve some aspects compared to previous albums?

Eric: I always experience realizing an album as an organic process and it actually felt the same way when creating “Different World”. Maybe this time I’ve been more into perfectionism than on previous albums. Making “Different World” felt like writing a varied and relief-rich but consistent story.

I usually collect a number of ideas, topics, words, sentences, a catchy melody line,… Some of those initial approaches can grow into a song surprisingly quickly, others simmer for a while and take shape a little later. It’s thinking, ruminating, letting things sink in, puzzling,… The more the album evolves, the better I understand which direction it should go and the more clearly the pieces of the puzzle come together. Then the feeling that everything is right becomes stronger. Which does not alter the fact that at the end of the whole process I’m sometimes overcome with doubts and cold feet to come out with it.  But at that moment everything is over and I have to let go of the beast anyway.

Q: I experienced “Different World” as your most diversified work to date although still connected by 80s influences. What makes the 80s still special to you and did you handle specific criteria and references to compose your new work?

Eric: I could say that I got stuck in the atmosphere of the Electro-Wave of the early 80s from a kind of mesmerization. I’ll never forget the period when I first heard synth music in some obscure clubs. It sounded unbelievably otherworldly and it really blew my mind. Love at first sight! So it didn’t take long before I bought my first synthesizer and rhythm machine myself.

I do indeed use specific criteria and references to compose my new work. I actually see it as my personal recipes that I gradually developed. My own sound idiom with a number of elements rooted in the 80s that I continue to use and combine with each other, a bit like a painter develops his own recognizable style. That happens in an almost intuitive way when I compose, until I feel that everything is right.

Q: More than ever before this album has been accomplished in a true D.I.Y. spirit except the collaboration with Wool-E Discs. Why is it that important for you to control all aspects of the production? How do you expect the future for D.I.Y. artists?

Eric: I love all aspects of the production of an album: writing songs, playing instruments, working out lyrics, arranging, composing, recording, mixing, mastering, producing,… all these things I really enjoy doing so I don’t feel the need handing things out. I like working out visual aspects such as artwork and layout of an album and I’m also fond of producing video clips. In the end I have the feeling that everything results in a well-matched whole that becomes more than the sum of the parts, after all it all comes from within myself. And finally, it may sound a bit selfish, the production as a whole runs more smoothly than when working with several people. I think the future for D.I.Y. artists is promising anyway thanks to the current technical possibilities.

Q: Since you reactivated ENZO KREFT you never stopped composing and releasing new material. How do you perceive the evolution/changes from your early 80s work towards the different productions from the past five years? What are your further ambitions and challenges?

Eric: The albums I made in the early 80’s were much less elaborate than my recent material. This was partly due to the technical limitations I had at the time, I had to achieve the best possible result with minimal resources. That made my songs sound a lot messier and more LoFi, but those imperfections also have a certain charm. I didn’t want to listen to that early work for years, now I’ve made peace with it and I can look back on it with a smile.

So I have indeed gone through an evolution, I’m now almost 40 years older, that will be felt and moreover I now have an unlimited arsenal of technical possibilities. That makes a huge difference, yet I think the connection with my early work is still there.

Ambitions and challenges? They’re certainly still there, I keep dreaming of new projects and I’ll be ready to start breeding on a new album in a while. In addition, I’m considering planning something for the year 2023, when Enzo Kreft will be 40 years old. The future looks bright.

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-Wave, EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Enzo Kreft (real name Eric Vandamme) is a prolific artist since the resurrection of his project. The Belgian musician who was active during the 80s and early 90s brought his project back to life after years of silence. “Different World” is Enzo Kreft’s fourth full length album since 2016 –while he also released a compilation album with early stuff. “Different World” is inspired by the ongoing pandemic.

Content: The main source of inspiration can be noticed in some titles of the tracklist and of course in the lyrics. Enzo Kreft feels concerned about the world we’re living in and Mother Nature. The pandemic is a logical, but sad evolution of human’s behavior and that’s what he clearly tries to explain. Sound-wise he holds on to his taste for vintage electronics, mixing Minimalism together with the 80s Electro-Wave we’re used to hearing. There also is a solid EBM piece (cf. “Viral Paranoia”), which sounds as a wink to DAF and the somewhat Kraftwerk-pop driven “Ostrich Politics”.

+ + + : “Different World” once more confirms the talent and skills of this Belgian artist. His work remains a fascinating mix between Electro-Wave with synth lines reminiscent of Gary Numan and some harder and other darker pieces. The EBM-driven “Viral Paranoia” is a cool song in its genre. The darker sounding “It’s Going On And On” is totally appropriated with the lyrics revealing a dystopian perception of our world. Enzo Kreft is the living testimony of the 80s; desolated themes put on dark, melodic sequences and sometimes empowered by harder EBM vibes. This album also reveals an engaged artist who feels clearly concerned about our planet and the failure of the Western World…

– – – : I know it’s pretty 80s like, but I’ve never been a huge fan of songs ending with a fade out.

Conclusion: Enzo Kreft already composes an accomplished retro-like Electro work. This artist definitely deserves more recognition and especially from abroad!

Best songs: “Viral Paranoia”, “Woke Up This Morning”, “It’s Going On and On”, “Ostrich Politics”, “Nature Isn’t Bound By Borders”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/enzo.kreft

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

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

KREIGN is an American set up in 2010 by featuring Ryan Hutman and Xiån Austin. They met thanks to a mutual friend. Ryan was involved with HARDWIRE and in search of a drummer. Xiån was drumming for Sang:Rael and Alter Der Ruine at the time and finally joined HARDWIRE. Some HARDWIRE songs were pretty EBM-driven, which was the reason to start a side-project. KREIGN was born and asked Dave Strand (THE STRAND) to join in as singer. But he finally decided to move on with THE STRAND. Being a side project, KREIGN didn’t really move anywhere for 10 years even though they had quite a few songs started and set aside. But KREIGN finally released their self-titled and self-released debut album in 2020, which got rapidly re-released by Scanner (Dark Dimensions). The work is a powerful mix of good-old EBM with an impressive sophisticated production on top. “Kreign II” is a true masterpiece and one of the best EBM releases from the past years.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: KREIGN has been set up as a tribute to ‘old-school’ EBM. What makes this ‘old-school’ style that special and what do you like in EBM sound? 

Ryan: It evokes aggression from me and I like that. I like the groove. I like that it is simple and minimal. 

Xiån: I grew up a New-Waver… in Utah of all places. My first glimpse of EBM and I’m not sure  if it could be categorized as such, but it was MINISTRY’s “Twitch”-album. I could not stop listening to “We Believe”. It was the driving bassline and simplicity of the beat that gripped me. I wanted to hear more. I was now on the hunt for something similar. Back then there was no Internet. The only way to find new music at the time was via magazines, clubs and/or word of mouth. A friend of mine had a DJ buddy in New York City. He would send him mixtapes of music he was spinning. I discovered bands like FRONT 242, NITZER EBB, DAF, PANKOW, SKINNY PUPPY, FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY and more. I would comb through record stores for hours and I would buy anything with cool cover art that looked Industrial or EBM. That’s how I discovered the now legendary Wax Trax Records. 

In the late 80’s, early 90’s, Salt Lake City spawned a killer Industrial club called ‘The Pompadour’. We would go religiously every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. The DJ was awesome and he knew his shit. Funny thinking about it now, he was probably more annoyed at the fact that, almost every song, we’d go to the booth and ask who he was spinning. Haha! 

Q: You guys got both involved with HARDWIRE while you were still active in other projects as well. What did you learn out of these previous experiences and what makes the difference with KREIGN? 

Ryan: Jonah from HARDWIRE taught me to not always use the ‘easy’ word to make a rhyme and to put more thought into my lyrics. Now, I am proud of my lyrics, even though they are usually simple. I can say more with less words. 

Mike from HARDWIRE and I learned early on that a live drummer can take a show to the next level. Even though I admit I suck at playing drums, I do it for KREIGN when Xiån sings “Disco King” and “In That Frame Of Mind”.

Xiån: I learned that it’s very difficult to manage multiple projects. Haha! All good though, the experience was worth every moment. I enjoyed traveling, playing shows and meeting cool peeps. As far as the difference with KREIGN, I think Ryan and I have very similar mindsets. When we hook up to write, it just flows. It’s a freak of nature I suppose.

Q: Old-school EBM often sounds simple and powerful; solid bass lines mixed with a danceable tempo plus harsh vocals and eventually metallic percussion parts. I consider KREIGN as one of the first bands breaking the codes; your music being definitely old-school like, but much more sophisticated and elaborated. Tell us a bit more about ‘sound’ and writing/production of the songs? 

Ryan: I figured out how to bend notes with soft synths in Cubase and I couldn’t stop doing it. We then translated that forced portamento back into the Nord Lead 2. Then Xiån and I would grab a few knobs on the Nord while the computer played the midi and recorded whatever we thought sounded cool. Fucking with FM, octave selector, pitch, and cutoff was so fun. We couldn’t do it without four hands on it and us laughing at the crazy sounds it made as we pushed the keyboard to it’s limits. It became a signature bass sound in most of the songs. It is rare for us to leave a bass sound without at least messing with the cutoff. Almost every sound is modulated by hand or is programmed to modulate.

Our formula also includes a few other hallmarks like basslines that play for just one verse, break downs that go to ultra minimal and then build up bigger, random sounds that only happen once in the song, ambient creepy background noise, and lead synth lines.

Q: How did the self-titled debut album “Kreign” see the daylight? What have been the influences, triggers, maybe references, lyrical themes and criteria to achieve the album? 

Ryan: I was really influenced by WULFBAND and GESSAFELSTEIN. I went back through a bunch of our songs and randomly detuned them after hearing WULFBAND for the first time. GESSAFELSTEIN influenced me to go back and crank the treble on the synths.

Lyrically, most of the songs have an upbeat message about how to deal with stress, anxiety, and tragedy. “Live Fast” is about my love for my Harley Davidson. “Disco King” is a fun song written with tongue in cheek.

Xiån: The push came from our good  friends in HOCICO. Erk invited us to play a show with them in Mexico City. We couldn’t decline the offer. We only had a couple finished tracks at that time. I think we had three or four months to complete the album, learn the songs, and rehearse them enough to perform a decent show.

It was an amazing experience. To this day I can’t believe we pulled that one off. (Still breathing heavy)…

Q: The limited edition of the album is something really special featuring only great remixes by mainly great names from the EBM scene. How did this bonus disc see the daylight and tell us a bit more about the different artists and the remixes they made?

Ryan: We had previously done a remix CD and an EP with some remixes with HARDWIRE. We met Jürgen Engler first through Facebook when we asked him to remix HARDWIRE. We got to meet him in person on the FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY-tour. When we asked him to take a look at KREIGN, he liked it and wanted to remix “5 Layers Of Chaos”. He also wanted to sing a duet with Xiån on “Disco King”. I thought it would be cool if he would sing it in German and he agreed, even though he was unsure if German lyrics would even fit the song. I think it sounds perfect. 

I had worked with REACHING FOR SHADOWS on some of the songs on her debut album. We met SPANKTHENUN, NZ, and NOVA STATE MACHINE through Facebook and Bandcamp. As much as I hate Facebook, sometimes it comes in real handy. 

Xiån: Peter ELM and I have been friends for many years. He was one of the first people we asked to do a remix. His amazingness never fails. A number of years ago I was invited to play drums for VOLVO:242 (a side-project of SPETSNAZ) at ‘Familientreffen 5’ back in 2009 (there’s a couple of cornball videos on YouTube) and I met the guys in AUTODAFEH who were also on the bill. These guys are top notch! Loved their music and performance. They later asked me to play drums on a couple tracks for their upcoming album, “Identity Unknown”. (“Evil Doll & Love Hate” and “Pain” to be exact). I was honored to do so.

Q: 2020 has been for sure a horrible year to release a debut album. How do you experience the pandemic versus your artistic activities? And what are the plans for post-Covid 19?  

Ryan: We would like to play more shows. We did a livestream show called “Isolation Room” and it was fun, but it was in an empty room. We usually feed off of the energy of the audience. It pushes us further to perform harder. We’d like to eventually play shows in Europe.

Xiån: Luckily we’ve stayed healthy throughout the pandemic and have spent a lot of time in the studio writing for our next album. Hope you will all stay tuned. New ideas and sounds are brewing…

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: Gothic, EBM, Electro-Wave.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Jan Doyle Band is a UK band, which is already active for more than twenty years. Last year they released the digital-EP “The Body Balanced” featuring five different songs. The band sent me a personalized CDR with some extra cuts.

Content: Jan Doyle Band defines themselves as ‘Clash on acid’. That’s a funny description, which in a way totally fits with the band’s approach. This band is switching from one style to another; from a Gothic-like title song with a catchy touch on top to pure old-school driven EBM reminding me of DAF to Electro-Wave songs and finally a totally weird cover of the Disco/Pop hit “Yes, Sir I Can Boogie”.

The extra songs, which aren’t available in the digital release, are mainly instrumental cuts of the different tracks.

+ + + : Jan Doyle Band makes me think of a cover band devoted to 80s music; the kind of formation, which feels good playing different music styles, but with one common element: the 80s New-Wave and related genres. I have to say “Body Balanced” is a great title song featuring ‘classical’ New-Wave/Gothic guitar play and elevating electronics. The instrumental version I heard even gives a better idea about the well-crafted composition. There’s also something to say about the EBM-driven “Confusion”. Baccara’s “Yes, Sir I Can Boogie” is pure fun and I can imagine a great song to play live. I also have to say this band took me by surprise personalizing their promo-CDR in a very original way; respect for this guys!

– – – : The mix between all different styles has something pretty confusion and that’s probably why I got the impression I was listening to a cover band. Sound-wise I think the mix could have been more professional.

Conclusion: Jan Doyle Band is pure fun; dark music without pretension, but to bring people together!

Best songs: “Body Balanced”, “Confusion”, “Play Pretend”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/jandoyleband

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Electro-Metal.

Format: Digital, 6 CD Box.

Background/Info: Swedish cult EBM formation Pouppée Fabrikk struck back earlier this year by the phenomenal and dynamic EBM album “Airmen”. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic the band couldn’t play live again and released this massive Box instead. EKM stands for ‘Electronics Kroppsmusik’, which is the name they used to define their music. Anthology refers to thirty years of Pouppée Fabrikk; songs that were originally composed in between 1989 and 2019. This impressive anthology features 94 songs; taken from their albums, EP’s, but still some exclusive remixes, live tracks, rehearsal edits and demo cuts. The fans get 42 exclusive songs!

Content: Pouppée Fabrikk can be easily defined as an EBM master; a band that left a trademark in EBM history. Often compared with bands like Nitzer Ebb and DAF for the straight forward and merciless EBM they later on injected guitar playing and Metal influences getting them closer to Die Krupps. But this anthology first of all reveals that Pouppée Fabrikk still has a very own sound DNA, the kind of band that you instantly recognize for their solid bass lines, dark and disturbing sphere, heavy rhythmic and deep growls. But Pouppée Fabrikk also had something pretty Punk-like.

This Box is a way to get back to early and essential albums “Rage” and “Portent” plus the first EP’s “Summoning” and “Betrayal”, pure and unpolished, raw EBM with a Punk attitude. The next releases “We Have Come To Drop Bombs”, “Djävulen” and “Your Pain – Our Gain” revealed a sound in evolution; EBM getting mixed with furious guitar riffs becoming more Metal-like. The album “The Dirt” released in 2013 was a kind of move back to the roots.

Songs from later EP’s like “I Want Candy”, “Elite Electronics”, “Bring Back The Ways Of Old” and “H8 U” have been featured as well. Most of the exclusive songs are demo edits from some of their most famous tracks, but also exclusive remixes by Plastic Noise Experience, Nexus Kenosis and Angst, next to other remixes by Spetsnaz, Blush Response, Kant Kino, Aesthetische, Autodafeh and Polyfuse. And you’ll discover some live recordings from the early years; from 1989, 1991 and 1994.

+ + + : No need to say this Box is an absolute must have for the Pouppée Fabrikk fans. It’s a complete anthology getting us back to the band’s greatest hits, but still an opportunity to discover numerous exclusive songs. This legendary band deserves such an artistic box. The work also is an opportunity to see how the band evolved throughout the years; from the brute and unpolished “Rage” to the more accomplished “Portent” to the Punkish “We Have Come to Drop Bombs” to the Metal-orientated “Djavülen” and “Your Pain Our Gain” to the move back to EBM “The Dirt” while reminding us of essential EP’s like “Summoning”, “Betrayal” and “I Want Candy”. Pouppée Fabrikk is not just EBM, it’s a band with a very own and easy recognizable sound. Probably one of the darkest and hardest retro-EBM bands. 2020 has been the year of Pouppée Fabrikk! We first get this great new album “Armén” featuring core members Henrik Nordvargr Björkk, Leif Holm and Jouni Ollila working back together, but now there’s this great retrospective. It’s also interesting to know your favorite Pouppée Fabrikk song; mine will always be “Die Jugend” from the EP “Summoning”. Among the multiple remixes, I’ll mention the great job done by Autodafeh remixing “Bring Back The Ways Of Old”, originally released on the same-titled EP. 

– – – : The less convincing part of the work is the live recordings; the songs were previously unreleased, but unfortunately suffering from a poor sound quality.

Conclusion: There’s no better way resuming this album –and the entire work of Pouppée Fabrikk, than the title of their debut album: Rage!

Best songs: “Die Jugend”, “Retrospect”, “T.O.D.N.”, “Keine Zukunft”, “Summon The Spirits”, “Where Are You?”, “Bring Back The Ways Of Old – Autodafeh Remix”.

Rate: (9).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Pouppée-Fabrikk-100329766260

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

Set up in 2007 by René and Andrea Nowotny AD: KEY rapidly became a noticeable band in the ‘old-school’ EBM style. The band’s debut works were released by the now defunct Electric Tremor Dessau (a true reference in this music genre) while they next signed to Emmo.biz, which is another label that is no longer active. The German duo finally joined hands together with Belgian label Alfa Matrix. They this year released their sixth full length album “Resonanz”. It remains an EBM experience although AD: KEY experienced with new elements so this work is maybe opening new paths for René and Andrea.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries) 

Q: “Resonanz” is your sixth full length album. How do you look back at the writing and production of this album and what is it all about?

Rene: “Resonanz” is primarily about interpersonal relationships. We tried to reflect on daily life; less our own lives than what we hear, see and read.

Andrea: It’s about love and hate, about hurt vanities. But also about problems such as sexual harassment, where every woman is sure to have had her unpleasant experience. This is exactly what our song “Ich Will, Dass Du Jetzt Gehst” is about, for example.

Q: I experienced “Resonanz” as your most sophisticated and maybe mature work to date. How do you explain the evolution in sound? Is it just growing experience & maturity or still a will to experience with new sounds, equipment and ideas?

Rene: The fact that “Resonanz” sounds a little different from the previous albums has several reasons. At first, our goal was not to repeat ourselves over and over again. This time we wanted to push the EBM attitude a bit into the background and work more song-oriented. We are also constantly looking for interesting sounds. And since we’re fans of the 70s and 80s electronics, we went the opposite way that many other bands take. We didn’t want to use modern equipment or software, but analog synthesizers. So we rebuilt our studio and bought a lot of new / old equipment.

Andrea: We are also older (except me):-D, maybe more mature.

Q: The song “Electro Musik” sounds to me as a homage to DAF and Gaby Delgado. What did you try to express with this song and do you want to say something about the tragic loss of Gaby who definitely belongs to the icons of EBM?

Andrea: Gabi Delgado’s death in Spring hit us hard. I’m a big DAF fan -Gabi and Robert‘s music has always had a certain influence on AD: keY. Then we made a cover version of “Verschwende Deine Jugend”, because this song speaks to us from our hearts. Maybe someday we will release this cover version.

Rene: Our song “Electro Musik” was written a few months before Gabi’s death. The song is the result of a jam session that we did together with Axel Machens from Placebo Effect in the AD: keY studio. We wanted to test one of my new synthesizers -and Axel had his Korg MS 20 -a synthesizer that DAF used very often. In principle, the basic structure of “Electro Music” was ready that evening. The song name speaks for itself -a nod to the roots of electronic music.

Q: I always link EBM with energetic live performances so I can imagine it must be frustrating because of Covid-19 to no longer play on stage. What are you feelings about this situation and how do you expect to see things evolving?

Rene: Yeah. It is very frustrating not to be able to go to any more concerts and not be able to play any more live concerts. We miss that very much. But in September this year we were very lucky to be able to perform at the NCN Festival for a concert under strict hygiene rules. It was an indescribably good feeling.

Andrea: But we see the need to implement these tough restrictions. We hope that the situation will improve in the foreseeable future. But this COVID 19 virus doesn’t just go away on its own. So we retired to the studio and work on new music. There will be a new AD: keY EP in December.

Rene: At the same time, I’m working on my side project, a new RECTOR SCANNER album that is due to be released next year.

Q: René, you’re still pretty close with ARMAGEDDON DILDOS and became member of ORANGE SECTOR too. What’s your input with these other bands and is there something like a big German EBM family?

Rene: Yes, I’m good friends with Uwe from the ARMAGEDDON DILDOS. Nothing has changed about that, even if I‘m no longer a live member. We sometimes stil work together making music. Uwe recently made a remix for AD: keY and I did a mix for ARMAGEDDON DILDOS. Uwe has always been a kind of musical mentor to me, and I value his opinion very much.

With ORANGE SECTOR it’s a lot of fun on stage. It’s just as great as it was with the ARMAGEDDON DILDOS. Martin, the mastermind of ORANGE SECTOR, produces the songs and the basic concept. The main work is up to him. He sends the files to me, I add my files and tracks and he mixes everything together.

Overall, one can say that the EBM / Electro scene in Germany is kind of a big family. Because the scene is relatively clear, you know each other, respect each other and are friends.

Q: How do you see AD:KEY evolving towards the next few years? What might we expect and what are you still dreaming of?

Rene: I don’t know how AD: keY will develop in the coming years. We are open to new influences because we don’t want to limit ourselves. We like to experiment. AD: keY will always sound like AD: keY. We stay true to our basic sound.

Andrea: In any case, we will start a new AD: keY album in 2021. We just let ourselves go -and we’ll see what comes out of it in the end.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: EBM and Other Dark-Electronic bands have been often inspired by war, battles, soldiers and related themes. Ralf Rönckendorf went into war and on a mission in Afghanistan back in 2010 he lost some of comrades and got a severe eyesight injury. Back in time Ralf was already interested in EBM, but Endzustand (translated Final Condition) became his own project and probably a way to exorcise all the horror from war.  

Content: “Werk Des Krieges” features 11 songs, which are clearly driven by good-old EBM mainly reminding me of DAF. From the very first sequences and typical dry bass lines you recognize what this is all about: retro-EBM without compromises! The songs have been sung in German and have something pretty commanding. The composition is rather simplistic, but that’s what we’re used to hearing from this music genre.

+ + + : The production is raw and unpolished clearly reminding me of the early DAF years, but still evoking 90s productions in the genre. The opening cut “Vaterland” is driven by military cadence and creates a great match with the harsh EBM. “Hass”, which has been released as a single is for sure one of the best cuts from the work; it’s not that different in style and format, but it has something extra. If you like this kind of old-school EBM you for sure are going to like this work, which is composed by good-old analogue gear.

– – – : I think that some songs could have been a little bit more elaborated. There’s less diversity between the songs while the production of the vocals could be a little less improved as well.

Conclusion: “Werk Des Krieges” is an honest debut work, but I’m sure this artist is able to improve and polish some elements of his work. It however is an interesting new formation in the old-school EBM troops.

Best songs: “Hass”, “Aufschrei”, “Vaterland”, “Roter Freitag”.

Rate: (7).

Artist:  www.facebook.com/Endzustand-113743810414367

Label: www.echozone.de / www.facebook.com/EchozoneMusic

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Wave, Dream-Pop, Shoegaze.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Based in Roma (Italy) 3+Dead saw the daylight in 2017. Set up by Elisa Pambianchi (vocals), Roberto Ruggeri (guitar, synths) and Giuseppe Marino (bass) they released their self-titled debut album by the end of last year.

Content: “3+Dead” is an album getting us back in time, somewhere in the magic and dark 80s decade. The Shoegaze style mixed with an explicit Dream-Pop influence has something reminding me of the magic of The Cocteau Twins. The guitar playing is an essential element of the album, but especially the spirit of the songs. Elisa Pambianchi sings in a fragile and sometimes emotional way. One of the most surprising songs is the cover version of DAF “Kebabtraume”, which has been transposed into the band’s approach.

+ + + : 3+Dead doesn’t take the work by surprise; the originality is hard to find, but the way this band has achieved their debut album is absolutely remarkable. They found a perfect balance between all the influences with masterfully guitar injecting a true spirit and emotion into the songs. That has been accentuated by the fragility of the singer’s timbre of voice. It resulted in several dreamy, dark Dream-Pop songs, but still in a few harder pieces like the “The Thing That You Call Love”, which is for sure my favorite one. But I also have to mention their very personal adaptation of “Kebabtraume”. You for sure recognize the lyrics of the song, but the music has been reworked into pure Shoegaze & Dream-Pop. 

– – – : The debut part of the album features a few songs, which are a little less hesitant, but quite progressively the work evolves towards its best part.

Conclusion: Even if this album was already released a while ago, it’s a successful debut from a band I can only, but recommend.

Best songs: “The Thing That You Call Love”, “Kebabtraume”, “Snake Of June”, “Shine”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/ThreePlusDead

Labels: www.swissdarknights.ch / www.facebook.com/SwissDarkNights /www.facebook.com/icycoldrecords

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