Infest is the UK’s premier festival of alternative electronic music. This year the 20th edition takes place from 23-26 August with an amazing line-up featuring: Empirion, Peter Hook & The Light, Zeitgeist Zero, Grave Diggers Union, Cubanate, Iszoloscope, Siva Six, Def Neon, SΛRIN, Mesh, Liebknecht, ACTORS, YURA YURA, Adam Is A Girl, Flesh Eating Foundation, Aesthetic Perfection, This Morn’ Omina, Strvngers, Elegant Machinery, VaLHaLL, Massenhysterie and Promenade Cinema.

The venue is the University of Bradford Students’ Union, in the City of Bradford (near Leeds), West Yorkshire, UK. Besides concerts there are also afterparties featuring renowned DJ’s from all over the world.

Additional info on the official website
Tickets are available here

Genre/Influences: Electro-rock, punk-pop.

Background/Info: The British duo consisting of Emily (vocals & bass guitar) and
Mickey (guitar & electronics) was set up in 2010 and first dealt with guitar- and rock music. They progressively added electronics into their work, which brought them to join AnalogueTrash Records. This self-titled debut album features 10 songs.

Content: Def Neon sounds like the offspring between punk and pop music. Next to solid guitar playing, the sound has been accomplished by furious electronic treatments. They really took care to create terrific electronic manipulations.

Emily’s vocals are more into a sweet format, which injects this pop-feeling. “Def Neon” reveals a nice contrast between guitar and electronics and at the same time it all sounds like a divine fusion in sound and influences. The songs are constantly moving from more rock orientated passages towards pop elements, but in the end it remains animated by a kind of naughty punk-pop sound.

+ + + : The main force of this work for sure is the creative exposure great electronic sound treatments and hard guitar riffs. Emily’s sweet timbre of voice injects an angelic touch to the work. Def Neon doesn’t really care about established music genres and simply creates their own style of music as an offspring between different influences. That’s why it also sounds a bit indie-like, making “Def Neon” pretty accessible for a wider audience.

– – – : “Def Neon” sounds a bit like a challenge. The sound is accessible, but hard to range in one established genre. I noticed a few songs without a real apotheosis and that’s especially true for the second part of the album.

Conclusion: ‘Punk is not death’ is an old slogan, which has been reinvented by Def Neon. They’re the punks of the 21^st Century and “Def Neon” will give you a great shock!

Best songs: “Destroy”, “Stand Up”, “Nightvision”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.facebook.com/defneonmusic

Label: www.analoguetrash.co.uk / www.facebook.com/analoguetrashofficial

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

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