The German EBM / electro-pop act Digital Factor has released the digital EP “They Will Forget You (When You Die)” via Alfa Matrix. The five-track release is the first preview of the forthcoming album “0.8”.

The EP contains “They Will Forget You”, “They Will Forget You (Gwen Gaffa remix)”, “They Will Forget You (feat. Kalle Vogel – Logic & Olivia)”, “They Will Forget You (king size remix)”, and “You’re Going Down (live)”. The “king size remix” was executed by Carsten Canay. The closing live version of “You’re Going Down” points back to the 2011 album “Trialog”.

The new EP also means a new line-up as Gwendolyn Gaffa has now now joined Mike Langer as a permanent studio and live member.

An official video for the title track is available as well, you can view it below.

About Digital Factor

Digital Factor started in Altenburg, Germany, in 1993. Formed by Mike Langer, Torsten Heise, and Tino Schmidt the later line-up phases included Guido Litke and Leo von Leibnitz. Musically the project brings a mix of EBM and electro with later on also synth-pop, techno, and crossover elements.

The first release was the 1994 Hard Records released EP “F.A.L.L.I.N.G.- Down”. A move to Hyperium / Hypnobeat followed, bringing “Relationchips” in 1995, “On Demand” in 1996, “De Facto” and “Countercheck” in 1997, and “Over One Million Times” in 1999. After a quieter period, the band returned with “One More Piece” in 2006, “Look Back To Go Forward” in 2009, and “Trialog” in 2011.

Alfa Matrix signed the band in 2020 and released the band’s “Come With Me“. That release was followed by “A Chemical Process” in 2021, a few back-catalogue reissues, the EP “What?” in 2022, and in 2023 the singles “I Am What I Am”, “Ouvre”, and the charity album “G.B.A.-General Behavior Abrogate“.

The new EP is a first teaser for the new album “0.8”.

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.

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The Belgian electro label Alfa Matrix releases the twelfth volume in its “Matrix+ Downloaded” series to coincide with the label’s 24th anniversary. The digital-only set collects 69 tracks across the label’s current spectrum – EBM, dark elektro/industrial, synth pop – and newer Spleen+ additions spanning post-punk, goth rock and coldwave. The compilation is offered as a free/pay-what-you-want download via the label’s Bandcamp page and also includes a PDF booklet.

On the cover you will recognize Erica Dunham from Unter Null.

Artists included on this free download compilation include: Studio-X (feat. Kyoko Baertsoen), Rector Scanner, Aesthetische, Cut.Rate.Box, Kant Kino, Frontal Boundary, C-Lekktor, Acylum, Diffuzion, Implant, Neikka RPM, First Aid 4 Souls (feat. Aux Animaux), Noemi Aurora, Suicidal Romance, Llumen, Hanging Freud, Lederman/De Meyer, The Ultimate Dreamers, Aiboforcen, Digital Factor, Armageddon Dildos, Helalyn Flowers, Krystal System, The True Union, Freakangel, Totem Obscura, Lovelorn Dolls (feat. Dero Goi), The Breath of Life, The Names, ImJudas, Synapsyche, Miseria Ultima, Unter Null, Alien Vampires (feat. Dani Divine), Venal Flesh, Helle9, To Avoid, Pouppée Fabrikk, Stahlgeist, Nigra Nebula, Aengeldust, Circuito Cerrado, Matthew Creed, Cubic, Metroland, The Psychic Force, Komor Kommando, First Aid Tech, Die Robo Sapiens, ELM, Plastic Noise Experience, AD:Key, Elektroklänge, 808 Dot Pop, Avarice in Audio, Elektrostaub (feat. Echo Image), Cryogenic Echelon, Entrzelle, Neuroactive, Technoir, Mondträume, Star Industry, Stray, Psy’Aviah (feat. Sorrow Stories), Zombie Girl, Darkness on Demand, Circumpolar, Dunkelwerk, and Lights A.M.

A&R manager, Sebastien Dolimont says: “In 2025, Alfa Matrix proudly celebrates 24 years of existence. Nearly a quarter of a century fighting for dark alternative music, discovering new talents, and keeping the underground alive. This anniversary is not just about us and our artists – it’s about you, our fans. Because without your constant support, there would be no label, no releases, no future for the scene we all love.”

And he add: “In a world where indie labels are disappearing, streaming revenues collapse, and risks of signing new talents are higher than ever, we are proud to still stand strong — but we can only do it with you by our side. By downloading this compilation, you are not just enjoying music — you are actively supporting 69 artists and helping keep our scene alive, fresh, and forward-looking. From all of us at Alfa Matrix and Spleen+, and on behalf of all our artists: thank you for 24 years of loyalty, passion, and support. Together, we’ll keep writing the future of the dark underground.”

About Alfa Matrix

Alfa Matrix is a Brussels-based independent label founded in 2001. The catalogue focuses on electronic subgenres including industrial, EBM, dark elektro, and synth pop, later expanding into post-punk/coldwave via the Spleen+ division. The label’s team includes label & artists manager Seba Dolimont, promo manager Bernard Van Isacker, and head of design Benoît Blanchart.

From the early 2000s, Alfa Matrix used series-based releases to build international reach. Notable strands include “Sounds From The Matrix” (label samplers), “Re:Connected” (digital label overview), and the club-oriented “Endzeit Bunkertracks” multi-CD anthologies (first “Act” released 21 March 2005, featuring 60 tracks with 50 exclusives).

In 2023, Alfa Matrix inaugurated Spleen+, a division centred on post-punk and adjacent styles, and followed with multi-artist projects and catalogue building, including the “Resurgence” 7-CD box that assembled 133 contemporary bands from the post-punk family.

The label has since the very start focused on a direct contact with its fans and customers via their online webstore and Bandcamp.

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.

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The newest and seventh album by the German duo AD:Key, comprised of Andrea and René Nowotny, stands out as a particularly special release. Titled “06.09”, it references the couple’s wedding date, celebrating their bond through music. This album stays true to the energetic, intelligent, and old-school EBM style that has become AD:Key’s signature, delivering a powerful sound. Both members contribute vocals throughout, and they also invited long-time friend Uwe Kanka (Armageddon Dildos) to collaborate on one track. Interestingly, the album’s strongest tracks are positioned toward its conclusion. Compared to previous works, “06.09” has a slightly ‘softer’ or more Body-Pop sound, though it remains a refined and well-balanced production, merging strength and sophistication. An additional album complements the release with numerous remixes and alternative versions. Label mates Miseria Ultima and Digital Factor, as well as Martin Bodewell of Orange Sector, contribute compelling remixes, alongside AD:Key’s own reworks and another one from their side project, Rector Scanner. (Rating:8).

Listen to “By Your Side”:

https://alfamatrix.bandcamp.com/track/by-your-side

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

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Today the German EBM pop duo AD:keY releases a new double-CD album, “0609”, on Alfa Matrix. The duo, recently married Andrea and Rene Nowotny, matched the album’s title with the release date of the album: “0609” aka September 6th.

You can order the album now on Bandcamp as download and on 2CD via the Alfa Matrix webstore.

This is AD:keY’s seventh album. In “0609”, the duo reflects their deep bond as a married couple and as bandmates. Expect strong old-school EBM basslines, catchy synth melodies, and addictive choruses.

As a special treat, the album includes an 11-track bonus CD featuring alternative versions and remixes by friends such as Martin Bodewell (Orange Sector), To Avoid, Digital Factor, Miseria Ultima, Zweite Jugend, TC 75, Aktion:Fiasko, and their side-project Rector Scanner. Additionally, enjoy a special guest vocal contribution from Uwe Kanka, frontman of the cult act and label mates Armageddon Dildos.

About AD:keY

AD:keY, the German EBM pop duo, consists of Andrea and Rene Nowotny, who formed the band in 2006 as a side project.

Their first album, “Thema Nummer Eins”, was released on November 21, 2008, under the Electric Tremor Dessau label. This album featured tracks like “Alkohol” and “Hass Mich”, which helped establish their presence in the EBM scene. Following this, they released “A Deutschmaschine” on April 30, 2010, which included hits like “Deutschmaschine” and “Hölle”. Their third album, “Sharp Cuts”, came out on November 2, 2012, and included tracks such as “Haut” and “Prolet”.

In 2014, AD:keY released “Reanimator” on May 9, featuring songs like “Mein Weg” and “Maschinen”. Two years later, on June 10, 2016, they released “D’Accord”, with tracks like “D’Accord” and “Der Letzte Tanz”. Their sixth album, “Herz und Verstand”, was released on April 20, 2018, and included songs like “Herz und Verstand” and “In Mein Herz”. Most recently, on September 18, 2020, they released “Resonanz”, featuring tracks such as “Maschinenliebe” and “Revolte”.

The band is signed to the Belgian 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.

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Emmo.biz Records is releasing a special 10″ red/transparent vinyl edition of the “V.A. 16. Elektrisch Festival” compilation on October 19th. The festival compilation is part of a series of releases celebrating the Elektrisch Festival, which focuses on electronic body music (EBM) and industrial music.

This limited release – available for ordering right here – features exclusive re-recordings from Cat Rapes Dog and Digital Factor, special edits by Accessory and Calva Y Nada, and two exclusive cover versions of Calva Y Nada classics by Supreme Court. Only 222 copies will be available.

Additionally, there’s a special festival package that includes a T-shirt, bag, and sticker which you can order here.

Here’s the tracklist of the compilation.

Side A:

1. Calva Y Nada – “Aufprall” Vinyl Edit (4:06)
2. Digital Factor – “Sexmachine” Freier24Mix (3:40)
3. Accessory – “Braindead” Vinyl Edit (5:57)

Side B:

1. Cat Rapes Dog – “American Dream 2024” (4:40)
2. Calva Y Nada – “Los Santos Inocentes” Elektrisch Version by Supreme Court (4:28)
3. Calva Y Nada – “Schlaf” Elektrisch Version by Supreme Court (4:28)

About Emmo.biz Records

Emmo.biz Records is a German label established in 2012, specializing in electronic body music (EBM), industrial, and synth-pop genres. Founded and managed by Jörg Freier, the label quickly gained recognition.

Despite its success, Emmo.biz Records ceased operations at the end of 2017. Jörg Freier decided to close the label due to time constraints from his other business, a butcher shop, which required his full attention. The label’s closure was marked by a huge sale to clear out remaining stock.

After years of silence, emmo.biz Records returned in 2024 and started reissuing Calva Y Nada. Regarding the label’s resurrection, Jörg Freier stated, “If you love and live music, there are always incentives to re-release things. I was always in constant contact with various bands… When Calva Y Nada finally agreed to play the sold-out 16th Elektrisch Festival, the decision was made to resurrect the label.”

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.

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(Photos by Carsten Schenker) The German electronic act Digital Factor added a few weeks ago another milestone to their already fruitful career with their brand new album “GBA” in the form of a charity project.  High time to have a chat with electro pioneer Mike Langer, the main person behind this project.

You can download the album from Bandcamp or order it on CD from the Alfa Matrix label.

SL.  Can you tell us more about the decision to make your new album, “G.B.A.-General Behavior Abrogate,” a charity project and donate all proceeds to the foundation for disadvantaged children (www.kinderstiftung-altenburg.de)? What inspired this choice?

Basically, I wanted to do something special for Digital Factor’s 30th anniversary. I have been following the work of the foundation for years and am also partly active in it myself. You appreciate this work when you have children of your own who can fulfill (almost) every wish. But unfortunately there are also children in the western world who need help. This is where the foundation comes in and with Como Vento, a drum group that also appears on “G.B.A.” is represented, it shows itself best. Here, the foundation helped finance the instruments at the beginning of the group. Now children from different social classes and different backgrounds come together and travel all over Germany. Such investments by the foundation must definitely be supported.

SL. The album features collaborations with various local artists from Altenburg. How did this collaboration process unfold, and how do you think it influenced the overall sound and vibe of the album?

Before it was clear who would be on the album, I wrote the songs and produced the first layouts. I implemented what I wanted to implement as a digital factor on this album. So I didn’t take any “consideration” into who would be singing in the future. Ultimately, I assigned the songs to the artists and the individual pieces developed their own power. After listening to the song hundreds of times before recording the lyrics, they were suddenly completely new. So somehow I lumped Digital Factor together and got Digital Factor plus X back. I think the experiment was very successful. Ultimately, everyone involved is also good friends, which is of course particularly fun when you work with them. 

SL. “G.B.A.” marks a departure from the dystopian themes of your previous work. What prompted this shift towards more hopeful and positive messages in the lyrics, and how do you believe it reflects the current times?

Up to now, as an artist, I always wanted to put a finger in the wound and therefore dedicated my texts very much to dark dystopias. In the meantime, in Germany and worldwide, it is mainly populists who rally supporters behind them with dystopian predictions and such. If a billionaire like Donald Trump sees himself as being persecuted by the “system,” then as an artist you have to take a different position. And so it was important to me, despite all the problems that really exist, that there is also good in the world. I experience this every day in my environment. People who have ideas, people who don’t complain but do something about problems or people who do things without ostensibly having an advantage, all of this needs to be valued much more today than it was a few years ago. This also fits into the overall concept of “G.B.A.” in collaboration with the foundation.

SL. You mentioned a significant remodeling of your studio and a focus on using analog synthesizers for this album. Could you delve into the production process a bit more? How did you approach transforming the production technologies of the 80s into the contemporary sound of Digital Factor?

I was socialized musically in the 80s and so the music of that time particularly touches me. After all, the 80s are considered the most influential musical decade in the history of pop and rock. The arrival of the synthesizer and the drum machine, the development of the alternative scene, the music video, the arrival of digital technology in the studios and the introduction of the computer, available to everyone, all of these changed the music scene and date back to the decade. I was mainly interested in the beginnings of electronic music. Back then, many synthesizers couldn’t store sounds. At the same time, many synths could not be controlled remotely via MIDI. So a bass or lead line had to be recorded by hand for the entire song. At the same time, many artists only had one synthesizer, so they had to get everything bass, lead or drums out of the machine. “G.B.A.” 95 percent is recorded exclusively with hardware synthesizers (i.e. very few computer plug-ins). I used synthesizers like the Arp Odyssey, the Korg MS-20 or the MonoPoly, none of which can store sounds. My analog drum machine doesn’t save any sounds either. This means that the songs on the album are unique. If I were to re-record them today, they would always sound a little different. Sometimes I recorded short sequences or song lines by hand so that they would always sound different. For many of the rhythmic sequences, I connected the synths to each other in a modular manner via CV (controlled voltage), so that the resulting loop or similar from one device is influenced by another synth. Nevertheless, with today’s computer technology it is ultimately much easier to record than, for example, in 1980, but I gave the synthesizer nerd in me a lot more room. You can probably hear this best in “The World Is Analog”. Here I wanted to 100 percent only use my analog synthesizers. The bass drum, snare and hi-hats also come from my Arp Odyssey, a synthesizer from 1972. 

SL. The album features contributions from your daughter Josephine. How did this collaboration come about, and what does it mean to you to involve family members in your musical projects?

In a way, Digital Factor is also a kind of family project. After all, my family has to do without me when I work in the studio. My wife is a graphic designer and has been doing the artwork for Digital Factor’s publications for years. My son isn’t really an artist, but he’s kind of the administrator in my studio. I can discuss technical solutions and details with him and he is much neater than I am when it comes to laying cables. Josephine is more of an artist in the next generation. She plays theater and would like to be part of every Digital Factor album. She also appears in numerous music videos (e.g. “Ouvre”). Ultimately, we and all of our friends are in a kind of artistic community within which my children are growing up. Of course that rubs off.

SL. As a band with a 30-year history, how do you see “G.B.A.” fitting into the evolution of Digital Factor’s sound and identity? In what ways does it build upon your previous work, and where does it chart new territory?

Digital Factor has developed over 30 years just as I have developed musically and in my use of synthesizers and drum computers. I would find it massively boring if I were or could only publish the 1993 copy today. For the 30th anniversary album, I built my “dream studio” in my house, which is constantly being optimized and rebuilt. All of this will continue to influence Digital Factor’s future releases. The tragedy is that I have more ideas than time, but I still try to implement as much as possible. The connection between Digital Factor and the people around the project as an audiovisual project will play an even greater role in the future. “G.B.A.” was a trigger, so after a few years of not performing live, I’m back on stage more often and developing ideas and projects with other musicians and artists. “G.B.A.” was the start of the next exciting 30 years, although I have to do the math again to see whether it will still work given my age.

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

Out now via Bandcamp as a free download is DJ Shane Aungst’s “Electronic Bodies – Nightside Sessions” mega-mix. The Seattle (United States) based DJ produced this 2-part megamix including 23 tracks (and 2 intros) from “Electronic Bodies” during long evening sessions in October 2023. Note that the intros were created by Viscera Drip.

As you will know the original “Electronic Bodies” compilation (available here on Bandcamp) focused on EBM and its offspring. The proceedings of this mega-mix will equally go to charity.

Shane’s mixes mainly deal in the EBM/Aggrotech/Industrial genres, and come with heavy layers of sampling and edits. He has been doing studio work, working on sampling, mixes, edits, remixes, as well as putting together some original material. We will soon also publish an interview with Shane on his current and future work. Check his Instagram page for more info.

The tracklist is as follows:

Part 1

1. Night side sessions – Intro 00:00
2. Diffuzion – Ain’t Gonna Fuck With My Brain 00:49
3. Rabbits Wear Boots – Cyborg 04:54
4. Him+He – Dr Jones (Ocult Mix) 09:42
5. ELM – Vessel Of Violence (Weaponized Cardio Mix) 14:06
6. Ars – Thanatophobia 17:18
7. UCNX – Burning Slowly Down 21:54
8. Llumen – You Can Have It All (Matrix Edit) 25:41
9. The Psychic Force – Lockdown Lovers 29:50
10. Kant Kino – Frontline (Edit) 34:22
11. Raudadler – Sexual Deviants 37:15
12. First Aid 4 Souls – Anger 41:58
13. Miseria Ultima – Yet Shivering Profound 46:30

Part 2

1. Viscera Drip – Night side sessions Intro 00:00
2. Human Vault – Flesh And Bone (Void You Are Edit By Nadragea – Side-Line Cut) 00:52
3. Digital Factor – What 05:18
4. Aiboforcen – Cycle Of Life (Short Edit) 08:35
5. Aesthetische – Boiling Over (Celsius Version) 12:30
6. Diverje – Numb (EBM Remix By Psychosomatik) 16:50
7. Venus In Disgrace – Generation Commodore 20:25
8. Kreign – Don’t Force The Hand 23:13
9. Fuckware – Combat 27:22
10. Stahlgeist – Infected Colony (Alternate Version) 31:10
11. Sinthetik Messiah – Know Your Enemy 35:39
12. Töt – Mon Nom Est Personne 39:14

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.

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The German electropop act Digital Factor will release the videoclip of “Ouvre”, the title track of their brand new EP with the same name, on September 14. The EP is the second single from Digital Factor’s album “G.B.A. General Behavior Abrogate”, which will be released on October 27th.

Hit the notify button below to be informed when the video goes live.

2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the German electropop act Digital Factor. For the occasion, Mike Langer decided to make his new studio album “G.B.A.-General Behavior Abrogate” a very special release in many ways.

But before that we first get the EP “Ouvre”, the second single taken from the forthcoming conceptual album and featuring Manuel Kressin on vocals. In addition to the 3 different versions of the title-song (with the “Berlin” and “Van Wijk” remixes), you also get a 3rd album song with the synth pop cut “Your Echo” in its exclusive “JFlash” mix version by Andy Drabek.

You can get the EP right now from Bandcamp where it is available as an immediate download. All proceedings go to charity, the same goes for the complete album. A gesture that is seldom these days!

The new studio album “G.B.A.-General Behavior Abrogate” will be a charity project where all proceeds will be donated to Kinderstiftung Altenburg, a foundation for disadvantaged children, “bringing back some humanity to our crazy world and reminding all of us that music is a perfect media to set up connection and bring us all together.”

Mike Langer also took the challenge to collaborate on each new song with a different local artist from his hometown of Altenburg (Germany) giving to this new album a very eclectic and collaborative dimension. “As a musician, you always tend to say that the current album is THE special album. (laugh) But the current work with numerous musicians from my hometown, all embracing my musical style, is truly something special”, explains the German artist.

Note that one of the songs, namely the opening track “Take Me To The Limit”, features none other than Digital Factor’s founding member Torsten Heise.

Mike Langer who works in both music and film for theater productions, also recorded two songs together with two fellow actors: Manuel Kressin (for “Ouvre”) and Manuel Struffolino (“Change It”). Mike Langer’s daughter Josephine can also be heard on one of the songs, as well as guitarist and bassist Georg Kostron, who once again contributed to the album.

Pre-orders for the new album are available via the Alfa Matrix webstore on CD and via Bandcamp as download.

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.

side-line.com

2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the German electropop act Digital Factor. For the occasion, Mike Langer decided to make his new studio album “G.B.A.-General Behavior Abrogate” a very special release in many ways.

But before that we first get the EP “Ouvre”, the second single taken from the forthcoming conceptual album and featuring Manuel Kressin on vocals. In addition to the 3 different versions of the title-song (with the “Berlin” and “Van Wijk” remixes), you also get a 3rd album song with the synth pop cut “Your Echo” in its exclusive “JFlash” mix version by Andy Drabek.

You can get the EP right now from Bandcamp where it is available as an immediate download. All proceedings go to charity, the same goes for the complete album. A gesture that is seldom these days!

The new studio album “G.B.A.-General Behavior Abrogate” will be a charity project where all proceeds will be donated to Kinderstiftung Altenburg, a foundation for disadvantaged children, “bringing back some humanity to our crazy world and reminding all of us that music is a perfect media to set up connection and bring us all together.”

Mike Langer also took the challenge to collaborate on each new song with a different local artist from his hometown of Altenburg (Germany) giving to this new album a very eclectic and collaborative dimension. “As a musician, you always tend to say that the current album is THE special album. (laugh) But the current work with numerous musicians from my hometown, all embracing my musical style, is truly something special”, explains the German artist.

Note that one of the songs, namely the opening track “Take Me To The Limit”, features none other than Digital Factor’s founding member Torsten Heise.

Mike Langer who works in both music and film for theater productions, also recorded two songs together with two fellow actors: Manuel Kressin (for “Ouvre”) and Manuel Struffolino (“Change It”). Mike Langer’s daughter Josephine can also be heard on one of the songs, as well as guitarist and bassist Georg Kostron, who once again contributed to the album.

Pre-orders for the new album are available via the Alfa Matrix webstore on CD and via Bandcamp as download.

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.

side-line.com

Alfa Matrix, the renowned Belgian label, commemorates its 22nd anniversary with yet another mastodont compilation on Bandcamp. The latest installment in the acclaimed “Matrix Downloaded” series, titled “Matrix+ Downloaded 011”, is now available as a free download on their Bandcamp page. Packed with 60 tracks, including new signings and a preview of the upcoming Spleen+ label releases, this compilation showcases Alfa Matrix’s diverse music repertoire.

“Matrix+ Downloaded 011” soared to the top of the industrial Bandcamp charts within hours of its release, claiming the coveted number 1 position.

The collection holds 60 tracks in total including several new signings. These are the bands present on this brand new free download compilation: Hanging Freud, The Ultimate Dreamers, The Breath Of Life, Psy’Aviah Feat. Sorrow Stories, ImJudas, Star Industry, Halo In Reverse, Lovelorn Dolls, The True Union, Freakangel, Avarice In Audio, Siva Six, Alien Vampires, Synapsyche, Helalyn Flowers, Neuroactive, Elektrostaub Feat. Stefan Netschio, Technoir, Entrzelle, Llumen, Noemi Aurora, Aiboforcen Feat. Jan D., Reichsfeind, Mondträume Feat. N-Frequency, The Psychic Force, Digital Factor, Implant, Darkness On Demand, Aesthetische, Komor Kommando Vs. The True Union, Matthew Creed, C-Lekktor, First Aid Tech, Pouppee Fabrikk, ELM, Die Robo Sapiens, Plastic Noise Experience, Armageddon Dildos, Stahlgeist, AD:keY, Kant Kino, Suicidal Romance, Miseria Ultima, First Aid 4 Souls, Neikka RPM, Circumpolar, Venal Flesh, Helle9, Diffuzion, Acylum, Circuito Cerrado, Aengeldust, Studio-X, 808 Dot Pop, Cubic, Metroland, Rector Scanner, Elektroklänge, Cosmic Armchair, Lights A.M.

You can download “Matrix+ Downloaded 011” for free via Bandcamp.

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

(Photo by _Carsten Schenker) German electropop artist Mike Langer (aka Digital Factor) will be releasing a new album, “G.B.A. – General Behavior Abrogate”, in Autumn 2023 via the Belgian label Alfa Matrix.

There will be a charity dimension to this collaborative album as all proceeds from this release will go to a foundation for disadvantaged children. For each song, Digital Factor collaborated with a different guest artist.

“The current work with numerous musicians from my hometown, all embracing my musical style, is truly something special,” so he says.

On the first single release, “I Am What I Am”, Mike Langer is joined by Gwendolyn Gaffa from the punk band Moroffa.

“I Am What I Am” is released as a free (pay as you wish) song.

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.

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Nine years after the release of their first tribute to The Cure, titled “A Strange Play – Tribute to The Cure“, Alfa Matrix and Spleen+ have joined forces to create a follow-up tribute album. The second volume in the series, “A Strange Play (Vol. 2) – Tribute to The Cure“, features 27 tracks, including electro, synth pop, EBM acts from Alfa Matrix and cold wave, post-punk, and gothic rock bands from their Spleen+ division and is out now via Bandcamp, the label’s webstore and all other platforms.

The album includes reinterpretations of classic hits and lesser-known B-sides, shedding new light on the original tracks or giving them an entirely different sonic perspective. The tribute album itself this time is a collaborative effort between both established and emerging artists from the Alfa Matrix and Spleen+ rosters.

Compiled by and for The Cure fans, this new tribute adventure brings together a growing roster of Spleen+ artists, including Noemi Aurora, Star Industry, Imjudas, The Ultimate Dreamers, The Breath of Life, and Lovelorn Dolls. Additionally, the album features synth and electro cult acts, as well as upcoming Alfa Matrix artists, such as Neuroactive, Armageddon Dildos, Implant, Darkness on Demand (formerly Dance or Die), Helle9 (an Alien Vampires side-project), Metroland, Aesthetische featuring Zombie Girl, Aiboforcen, Technoir, Kant Kino, Digital Factor, Regenerator, Lights A.M (an Essence of Mind solo project), Neikka RPM, First Aid 4 Souls, Diffuzion, Avarice in Audio, Elektroklänge, Circumpolar, and Cosmic Armchair.

In conjunction with the release of “A Strange Play (Vol. 2),” goth-metal/darkwave act Lovelorn Dolls has released a single and accompanying video clip for their cover of “Lullaby.” The music video, created entirely using artificial intelligence, tells the story of a girl pursued by a mysterious, threatening, yet alluring man. The video’s creator, Kristell, was inspired by her own childhood experience of being both fascinated and frightened by The Cure’s original “Lullaby” music video.

Here’s the track list for the new volume which is available now on 2CD via the Alfa Matrix webstore and as download via the Alfa Matrix Bandcamp page and the Spleen+ Bandcamp page.

Here’s the first volume.

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.

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Out now is an all new 8-track EO by the Belgian dark electro pop act Psy’Aviah. On this new EP Yves Schelpe has put his live vocalist (and partner in crime for the last few albums) Marieke Lightband in the spotlight.

“My Secret” was co-written with Lightband and describes the perception duality she herself experienced when she suffered from a burnout and where the girl she pretended to be in front of others had nothing to do with the “real her” in the bathroom mirror.

“We all have our secrets and there is always a point in time we need and want to share them,” she says.

The track is originally taken from the “Bittersweet” album. Besides the exclusive radio edit of the song, the EP features additional exclusive bonus remixes by Rob Dust, Entrzelle, Junksista, Digital Factor and Rool. The EP is at the moment exclusively available via Bandcamp with other platforms to follow in the next two weeks.

Check the official music video for “My Secrets”.

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:  Electro-Pop, Dance-Pop, Indie-Electro-Pop.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: “Bittersweet” is the final part of a trilogy which started with the album “Lightflare” (2018) followed by “Soul Searching” (2019). But the work is also meant to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Belgian project. There’s a bonus disc featuring fifteen surprising songs while the digital version  reveals fourteen extra tracks.

Content: The working formula of Psy’Aviah hasn’t really changed. Yves Schelpe composes the music while working with an impressive list of guest singers. The opening piece again features cavernous, spoken vocals by Dutch psychiatrist Dirk De Wachter. It’s a dark, dreamy intro followed by twelve, mainly, danceable cuts. The songs are meticulously elaborated and mainly Dance-driven, sometimes reminding me of the magic of Delerium. Olivya Nicole, Mari Kattman, Saydi Driggers, Lumi, Huong Su, Maysa, Marieke Lightband, Tina Forlorn, Eli Rho (2 songs), Rebecca Schneider and Addie Nicole contributed guest vocals while there also guest artists featured playing violin and cello. Notice by the way the tracklist features 2 ‘older’ reworked songs.

The bonus disc features Psy’Aviah songs taken from the wide discography of the band which have been all reworked -and in a way covered by an impressive list of artists. Madil Hardis, The Breath Of Life, Clairval, Your Life On Hold, IC434 (2 songs), Digital Factor, Aesthetische, KC Woong, Implant and Leather Strip contributed to this celebration while you’ll also hear collaborative tracks with Implant, Cat Hall and Bow Ever Down.

The digital format reveals extra songs featuring 808 Dot.Pop, Impulse Control Disorder, Fakzillity, Llumen, Miseram Mortem, Designer Violence, Hartung & Schleinitz, Y-Luk-O, Cosmic Armchair, Huilende Wolf, The Breath Of Life and Leather Strip plus 2 collaborative cuts together with Leather Strip and Implant.

+ + + : The main strength of “Bitter Sweet” is its ‘easy listening’ format. Psy’Aviah is nearly impossible to label -although hardly driven by a very personal approach of Dance music, but simply following its path. The project has seriously evolved throughout the years and the sound often appears a true challenge. The composition is well-crafted, styled, sensual for the slow rhythms and here again reveals an interesting and diversified list of talented singers. “Can we Make It Rhyme ” featuring Mari Kattman is a great piece of music reminding me a bit of Delerium. And I also want to mention “Tired” which is an older song that has been reworked and features passionate vocals by Addie Nicole (Hallocene).

I also have to salute the original concept of the bonus disc (and bonus songs for the digital edit) where the artists totally reworked the older Psy’Aviah songs while putting their own voice on it. The result is diversified but I especially recommend both cuts by IC434 and the one by Your Life On Hold.

– – – : The main strength of Psy’Aviah also appears to be its biggest weakness; hard to label and sometimes dangerously moving to the edge of pure ‘commercial’ Dance music. That’s why I often wonder if this is the right scene and label for this project? The bonus songs are a pretty cool commemoration although I’m missing Emélie Nicolaï who was the singer of the band during the first decade.

Conclusion: Psy’Aviah remains a true challenge although we can’t be unmoved by the creativity, ideas, concept and sound intelligence of this artist.

Best songs: “Can we Make It Rhyme”, “Tired – Rediscovered”, “Cold Summer Nights”, “The Wildness In Me” + “Broken Child” (IC 434), “Anger Management” (IC 434), “Our Common End” (Your Life On Hold), “The Worst In Me” (Leather Strip), “Wild Ride” (Llumen).

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.psyaviah.com / www.facebook.com/psyaviah

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

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Body-Pop.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: The last year released album “A Chemical Process” was the comeback of German EBM project Digital Factor. Mike Langer is now back on track unleashing three new songs plus three remixes from label mates.

Content: All songs are perfect stuff for an EP -or single. Two cuts are mixing Electro-Pop and EBM while “Sometimes We Are A Little Bit Closer” is pure EBM adrenaline carried by solid bass line à la Pouppée Fabrikk. All songs have been remixed by Psy’Aviah, Cubic and Neikka RPM. 

+ + + : The title song opening the EP plus the EBM driven “Sometimes We Are A Little Bit Closer” both are great pieces reminding us of the great writing skills of this project. “What?” sounds a bit catchier while “Sometimes We Are A Little Bit Closer” is driven by evil forces. The remixes are pretty interesting as well but especially “I Wanna Taste” where Neikka RPM injected something extra thanks to sensual and mysterious chants of Neikka RPM’s singer.

– – – : The original version of “I Wanna Taste” is the only cut which couldn’t convince me. Well that’s not that bad for an EP!

Conclusion: Digital Factor confirms to be back into business. This is great EBM-driven stuff for retro-lovers and open-minded fans.

Best songs: “Sometimes We Are A Little Bit Closer”, “What?”, “I Wanna Taste – Neikka RPM Remix”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/digitalfactor

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

The German electro pop / EBM act Digital Factor was co-founded in 1993 by Mike Langer. The band soon played supporting acts for well-known electro bands such as Placebo Effect or X Marks the Pedwalk and quickly established itself as a sought-after live act in the electro scene. In 1994 the band signed to the Danish label Hardrecords where it released its first EP called “Falling Down” (re-released in 2021).

In 2021 Digital Factor’s Mike Langer decided to revisit the band’s repertoire and re-release with Alfa Matrix the fully remastered versions of his back-catalogue.

‘On Demand’ remasted

After the “Falling Down” EP and “Relationchips” album re-releases, we now get the re-release of “On Demand” in a fully digitally revised remastered version. Originally released in 1996 on Hyperium / Hypnobeat, this is the band’s second album.

It was also their breakthrough album on the German dark EBM scene thanks to songs like “Go Ahead” and “X-Rayzor” for which a video clip was also shot during the European tour for “On Demand” which Digital Factor made together with Evils Toy.

New single ‘What?’ and first 2 videos

Also released today on Bandcamp is a brand new single featuring 6 tracks: “What?”. The release holds 3 exclusive brand new songs, each accompanied by a remix version from Alfa Matrix label mates. You can expect one video clip per song. The first two are available now right below.

“What?” reveals a more upfront dance floor approach although staying faithful to its electro pop / EBM roots.

And here are the first two videos…

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.

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(Photo by GNY) Out on April 1st – but already available in pre-order via the Alfa Matrix label’s webshop – is the all new album from the Belgian dark trip electro pop act Psy’Aviah. “Bittersweet” is the last album in the introspective trilogy that started with the previous 2 albums “Lightflare” and “Soul Searching”.

The first disc of this 2CD set offers 13 new songs featuring several collaborators including Irina Markevich on violin and Polina Faustova on cello, and the vocalists Addie Nicole, Mari Kattman, Marieke Lightband, Saydi Drigger, Huong Su, Lumí, Tina Forlorn, Eli Rho,  Rebecca Schneider or yet the famous Belgian professor Dr. Dirk De Wachter. Next to the new songs the first disc also offers revamped versions of the classic Psy’Aviah songs “Tired” and the mega hit “OK”.

To celebrate the band’s 20th anniversary, this first edition of the album comes as a limited double-CD digipak holding the exclusive 15-track CD “Rediscovered (20th Anniversary)” plus a download link to 14 extra additional songs. These 29 tracks (!!) hold cover version of Psy’Aviah tracks by a long list of other bands including The Breath Of Life, Implant, Aesthetische, 808.DOT.POP, Leaether Strip, Your Life On Hold, Digital Factor, IC 434, Llumen, Madil Hardis and many more.

The 2CD (and the additional 12 download tracks) can be pre-ordered via the Alfa Matrix webstore, while you can get the full 42 tracks in one bundle right here from Bandcamp.

Below you can already listen to 4 tracks.

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

In April of this year, the electropop act Suicidal Romance released their “Runaways” comeback EP (available here on Bandcamp). Out now is their brand new 4-track EP “Love Promise”. The duo Dmitry Darling and Viktoria Seimar deliver here an electrowave love-song augmented with 3 remixes by Digital Factor, Kilmarth and Cubic.

Gefundenes Fressen for fans of Blutengel, L’ame Immortelle and In Strict Confidence.

The single was written and produced by Dmitry Darling, mixed by Pjotr Latosev and mastered by Max Gerasyonov except for the remixes which were mastered by Ocean Black. On the artwork by Gobotoru we recognize Vira Takinada.

You can check out the single below or download it right here from Bandcamp.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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Out now is the debut single “Telos” by the new industrial pop project ¡-PAHL-! as first track of the forthcoming album. ¡-PAHL-! is the unconventional collaboration of Olaf Parusel (sToa), Peter Hardlab and Leo von Leibnitz (Digital Factor, Y-Luk-O, Promo.Fabrik).

You can watch the video below.

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.

side-line.com

Hailing from the former Eastern part of Germany, DIGITAL FACTOR rapidly became a renowned and successful EBM formation during the 90s and early Millennium years. The band released multiple noticeable albums on the defunct Hypnobeat. They moved on releasing a few more productions after 2000, the last album “Trialog” being released in 2011. Core member Mike Langer brought DIGITAL FACTOR  alive, started working on new material and found a deal with Alfa Matrix. The EP “Come With Me” released in 2020 was an appetizer to the this year unleashed new opus “A Chemical Process”. The work is still driven by EBM vibes, but also into Minimal-Electro treatments and Electro-Pop vibes. This is a new chapter in the band’s history and I talked about it with Mike Langer.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Ten years have passed since the “Trialog”-album (2011) so how does it feel to be back with a new opus and how would you introduce DIGITAL FACTOR in 2021?

Mike: It is of course always a good feeling when you start with new material and especially when you get so much positive feedback on it. Usually this is more of a feedback when you’re on tour. But due to the Corona pandemic, significantly more is happening via social media.

DIGITAL FACTOR was and is a German Electronic band since 1993. We were one of the first bands in this genre from Eastern Germany to get a record deal after the fall of the Berlin Wall and to release a CD.

In 2020/2021, the musical concept of DIGITAL FACTOR has come back to where it began, with the fascination of Electronic sound generators. 

Q: The new album “A Chemical Process” clearly reveals a different approach in sound and influences. How do you look back at your earlier work and what inspired and influenced you to compose new songs?

Mike: The early productions of DIGITAL FACTOR were already shaped by the enthusiasm for synthesizers and the way you can work with them. Now, over 20 years later, you only really know how the parts work properly and you get to work in a much more targeted manner. So you can get a lot more out of a sound generator than we thought it could be possible at the beginning of our musical career. What has been preserved is the joy of every new instrument in the studio. In contrast to the past, every synthesizer today has a special sound function within a production. Currently I have been working on two digital remasters of old DIGITAL FACTOR releases and even if you would and do a lot of things differently today,  I’m still discovering songs on the old albums that are still really cool today.

Q: Did you see main and noticeable changes in the music industry and the scene today compared to the 90s when DIGITAL FACTOR started?

Mike: In the 90s, the music industry was shaped by people who were enthusiastic about music. Of course, the CD business was also important, but everyone was keen to experiment. When bands met, it was always a kind of workshop for music and instruments. Today everything is usually much more busier, maybe a little more mellow. So I’m very happy about the collaboration with Alfa Matrix, because music enthusiasts still work here and this complements the creative environment that a musician must have. 

Musically, many releases today are unfortunately very uniform, you often hear the same presets from software synthesizers. I don’t mean to say that this is bad music, but experimentation is increasingly lost and with it the independence of the music. In this respect, it is important to me that DIGITAL FACTOR develops again and again and also challenges itself musically. A band’s musical concept should never be finished. If you think you have finished with it, then you can only be monotonous and You will become a copy of Yourself… boring.

Q: You first started composing all songs on guitar and next transposed them to synthesizers, right? Tell us a bit more about this way of working? And what has been the input and importance of bassist and guitarist Georg Kostron who contributed to the work?

Mike: Interestingly, I’ve read this somewhere before and don’t even know where the rumor came from. In fact, I’m a pretty bad guitar player and I’m learning this a little from my daughter taking guitar lessons. But she is much more better than me at that. I originally learned piano and this is often the basis for my first layouts. Parts of “A Chemical Process” were created on the piano and then implemented in the studio. Other songs come from working in sound design.

In the last few months I have rebuilt my studio in such a way that all synthesizers are connected to one another, similar to a modular system. Analog sequencers, sound generators and drum machines work with one another and also enable jam sessions. Some of them can be seen on the DIGITAL FACTOR YouTube channel. These jam sessions are often the basis for new material that is currently being created. My guitar playing is only enough for a few small riffs in the songs. When things get more complicated, I work with Georg Kostron, who plays the guitar for “Noone On The Line”. As a trained bass player, he is currently recording bass lines for a new DIGITAL FACTOR album. 

Q: I get the feeling the lyrical part of the album is also very important while featuring dark, existential themes. What is it all about? What inspired you and what did you try to express… and maybe exorcize?

Mike: I’ve always been interested in why people do what they do. Logically, there is always a reason for this, even though it cannot always be understood or it is so simple that one thinks too complex to understand other people. I work with that in my lyrics. But it is always about the position of the individual within society, the disappearance of the individual in the human mass. In this respect, the main inspiration is observing people and following processes that are initiated and influenced by people.

Somehow I try to answer questions with the texts that I ask myself, even though the answer is at most an approximation of something like an objective truth. The latter is also a topic on the album that many people think they know the truth. Only a few are able to look at themselves and to question themselves and their own opinion and, much more unthinkable, to revise them. By the way, politicians are particularly bad at this.

Q: How do we have to understand the title of the album “A Chemical Process” and the clip you made of the song?

Mike: Chemical- and biochemical processes are in the background for everything we do. Ultimately, the same processes take place with Donald Trump as with the Dalai Lama, for example. And yet the worlds of the two are completely apart. On “A Chemical Process” I ask why this is so. This is implemented in the video clip for the title song of the album. From love to war, everything is sustained by these chemical processes. The results are very different to the joy or sorrow of ourselves or others. 

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

Since the release of Digital Factor’s splendid comeback album “A Chemical Process”, Mike Langer decided to revisit the band’s repertoire and start re-release fully remastered versions of his back-catalogue via his new label Alfa Matrix.

The first 2 re-releases are available now exclusively via Bandcamp with more platforms to follow..

Langer and Alfa Matrix decided to start from the beginning with the project’s official debut release: the “Falling Down” EP that came out in 1994. This remastered 2021 version also features a brand new remix of the title song “Falling Down” made by Mike Langer himself. In April 1994, the “Falling Down” EP was an immediate chart success.

You can download the EP below via Bandcamp.

The second re-release is “Relationchips”, the 1995 cult first full length album of Digital Factor which was recorded in the cult Elsterparkstudio in Leipzig (Germany). Most demos of the album had already been written on forehand and two songs (“Years Ago” and “Work”) were also already known from the first tape release “Suiciety”. The song “Mindbooster” also showed the band injecting guitars into their electronic sound style. From “Relationchips”, we all of course remember the excellent now cult club hit “Electro Shock” that is still today part of the band’s live playlist.

“Relationchips” was released in 1995 as a collaboration release between Hard Records and Hyperium/Hypnobeat. It is now made available for the very first time on all digital platforms and in a fully digitally revised remastered version.

You can download the EP below via Bandcamp.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

side-line.com

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

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: One year after the EP “Wake Up” featuring Henrik Iversen (NamNamBulu), German Electro-Pop project Elektrostaub strikes back with a new EP featuring Patrik Hansson (Vanguard, Uncreated). This new EP is an appetizer to Patrick Knoch’s announced album “Reliance”.

Content: The EP features 12 tracks; “We Are Dreamers” is the title song featuring guest vocals by Patrik Hansson. The song sounds as a pure fusion between classical Electro-Pop and heavier Future-Pop influences. The chorus has something powerful and catchy. Remixes have been made by People Theatre, Spektralized, We The North, Excubitors and Uncreated (solo-project of Patrik Hansson). One song features female vocals by Claudia Uhle (X-Perience).

The other song left “Loneliness” has been accomplished together with !Distain resulting in pure Electro-Pop; catchy and somewhat melancholic. Remixes have been accomplished by Technoir, Digital Factor and also People Theatre while there also is a wafting version without drums as the last cut.

+ + + : The more you listen to “We Are Dreamers” the more you gone like it. It’s a cool Electro-Pop driven song with a great vocalist on top. It sounds catchy and danceable while we also get a few cool remixes like the one by People Theatre, but also the boosted edit by Uncreated (a project which is maybe better than Vanguard) and more Future-Pop driven remix by Excubitors. The B-side “Loneliness” is another potential title track. It sounds more ‘classical’, but still totally accomplished. 

– – – : I expected a bit more from the remixes of “Loneliness”.

Conclusion: Without setting the Electro-Pop scene alight, Elektrostaub has achieved a new EP, which is definitely more convincing than its predecessor.

Best songs: “We Are Dreamers – Radio Edit”, “We Are Dreamers – Excubitors Mix”, “We Are Dreamers – Uncreated Mix”, “Loneliness – Club Edit”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.elektrostaub.de / www.facebook.com/Elektrostaub

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

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

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

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: The new Digital Factor album is the first one in ten years! The German project gained some recognition during the 90s –releasing their work on Hyperium, and the first decade of the new millennium.  Mike Langer last year struck back unleashing the EP “Come With Me” on Alfa Matrix and is now back on track with the project’s eighth album to date. The album has been written and released in collaboration with Austrian bassist and guitarist Georg Kostron.

Content: I should say that the album moves on in the same vein as the EP. Digital Factor is no longer dealing with its familiar and powerful EBM sound formula, the songs becoming more minimal-like although still driven by EBM reminiscences. The work is now more subtle and also intimate. The work is driven by solid choruses. Notice by the way there are 2 extra songs at the CD-edit featuring a remix by Saint Paul plus the song “Into My Eyes”.

+ + + : I was not entirely convinced by the “Come With Me”-EP, but this album definitely sounds worthy of examination. Digital Factor has renewed its sound, creating an intimate and intelligent Minimal-EBM format. This minimalism is emerging from the subtle sound treatments and bleeps. Some songs like “Systematic” and “Reason To Live” took me by surprise, mixing sensual vibes and danceable elements. Another attention grabber is the somewhat Chemical Brothers reminding “I Am Dangerous”.

– – – : I sometimes miss a little bit more power, this album being not a dancefloor killer! I’m afraid EBM die-hard fans will be disappointed.

Conclusion: Digital Factor strikes back with style, but still with a different, refreshing EBM sound.

Best songs: “Systematic”, “Reason To Live”, “I Am Dangerous”, “Come With Me”, “Noone On The Line”.

Rate: (8).

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

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

Although Elektrostaub’s previous “Wake Up” EP featuring Henrik Iversen is only out since December, the project already kicks back with yet another new collaborative EP: “We Are Dreamers” (available now via Bandcamp). “We Are Dreamers'” is the second EP taken from Elektrostaub’s forthcoming new album “Reliance”.

This time, he joined hands with Patrik Hansson of Swedish Electropop band Vanguard for an upbeat club synth pop song. Alternate remixes of the songs were created by People Theatre, Spektralized, We The North and Uncreated. Elektrostaub on top recorded a totally different version featuring the female voice of Claudia Uhle from X-Perience fame.

For the B-side song “Loneliness”, Elektrostaub aka Patrick Knoch worked again with his good old partners in crime from !Distain. Besides the club mix and the ‘no drum’ edit of this song, we also get more laidback and introspective interpretations of this catchy song by People Theatre as well as from label mates Technoir and Digital Factor.

In total you get 12 tracks which you can check out below on Bandcamp (and other platforms in the next weeks).

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.

side-line.com

In October 2020, one of the most missed cult electro-EBM bands from the early nineties took everyone by surprise with the release of the “Come With Me” come-back EP and 2 associated video clips. We are talking about Digital Factor of course!

Out now via Alfa Matrix is “A Chemical Process”, the German band’s 9th studio album. The new album merges modern electro techno elements with synth pop song arrangements mixed with pure industrial / EBM elements. Interesting detail, for this album Mike Langer decided to create his new songs first on a guitar before recreating them on synths. He was helped in the process by Austrian bassist and guitarist Georg Kostron.

Music collectors should be informed that the limited CD digipak edition of this album holds 2 exclusive bonus tracks: the hypnotic dancefloor killer “Into My Eyes” and the club remix of “Come With Me” by The Saint Paul. These will not be made available for download.

You can order the download album via Bandcamp while the ltd CD digipak version with 2 extra tracks is available via the Alfa Matrix webstore.

Enjoy the official video clips for “Come With Me” and “I’m Dangerous”.

About Digital Factor

Digital Factor was founded in 1993 by Mike Langer, Torsten Heise and Tino Schmidt. The band soon played in the opening act of well-known electronic bands of that time such as Placebo Effect or X Marks the Pedwalk and quickly established itself as a popular live act on the electronic scene. In 1994 the band signed to the Danish label Hardrecords which released the band’s first EP called “Falling Down”.

In 1995 the Hyperium / Hypnobeat label (including Project Pitchfork , Die Form) took a license and released five albums.

But after the 1999 album “Over One Million Times”things got rather quiet around Digital Factor. Founding member Tino Schmidt left the band that year. After a long break and with guitarist Guido Litke on board, Digital Factor released their seventh album “One More Piece” on Wannsee Records in 2006. In mid-2007 the band went back to the studio and started working on a new album. After the online single “Dein Herz” the “Look Back To Go Forward” album was released in 2009. For this, Digital Factor worked together with artists such as Steril and Leonardo von Leibnitz.

In 2010 Torsten Heise left the band and was replaced by Leo von Leibnitz and they started work on a new studio album “Trialog”, which was released in 2011 via Black Rain.

In 2020 the band got revived and signed to the Belgian label Alfa Matrix. A first single / EP “Come With Me” was released in October.

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.

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It has been a hectic year, also for Alfa Matrix, but luckily their bands took the time to work in their studio to record new material. Out now via the Alfa Matrix Bandcamp page is the label’s 10th edition in the “Matrix Downloaded” compilation series, again offering you a – free – insight in what the Belgian label is all about. You can discover 64 tracks right here on Bandcamp.

The download holds tracks from Cubic, Psy’Aviah, Aesthetische, Digital Factor, Reichsfeind, Llumen, Zombie Girl, Diffuzion, Matthew Creed, Circuito Cerrado, Circumpolar, Venal Flesh, Mentallo & The Fixer, Freakangel, Alien Vampires, I:Scintilla, Schwarzblut, Totem Obscura, Reactor7X, First Aid 4 Souls, Lederman / De Meyer, Implant, AD:keY, Kant Kino, Die Robo Sapiens, ELM, Pouppee Fabrikk, Armageddon Dildos, Plastic Noise Experience, Synapsyche, Avarice In Audio, Elektrostaub, Junksista, First Aid 4 Souls, Benestrophe, Mental Exile, Star Industry, Halo In Reverse, Lovelorn Dolls, Helalyn Flowers, Essence Of Mind, Rector Scanner, Elektroklänge, Metroland, Lights A.M, Cosmic Armchair, Aiboforcen, H.O.W., 808 DOT POP, Suicidal Romance, Entrzelle, Technoir, Neuroactive, Mondträume, The Psychic Force, Studio-X, Studio-X Vs Simon Carter, Neikka RPM, Komor Kommando, Siva Six, Aengeldust, Acylum, Dunkelwerk and Növö.

Exclusive face masks

Next to that you can also get the download together with a face mask, out in a very limited series. You can either buy them separately or get all 3 in one. Check the set of 3 Face Masks (Blue Matrix + Endzeit + Red EBM Alert) or the separate masks.

Note that EVERY face mask order comes with a free compilation CD on top: “Sounds from the matrix 022” with 20 extra tracks.

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.

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Genre/Influences: EBM, Body-Pop.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: “Come With Me” is for the comeback of the German EBM formation Digital Factor. The German formation driven by the creative spirit of Mike Langer released a successful album during the 90s and the first decade of the new Millennium. Nine years after the last album “Trialog”, Digital Factor has been reactivated and joined hands together with Alfa Matrix. The band’s eighth album will be released in 2021.

Content: The new EP features the title song plus 8 remixes and 1 B-side track. “Come With Me” is a rather soft, but danceable song mixing elements of EBM with dark Electro-Pop. The remixes by Armageddon Dildos, Heise, Ah Cama Sotz, Margaret Street and Damascus Knives bring some diversity. From the boosted edit by Armageddon Dildos to the minimal driven remix by Damascus Knives, the original song has been seriously revisited while Mike Langer reworked the song into some extra mixes; one into the 80s spirit, another with a wink to the 90s and even an acoustic version. Last, but not least the song “I Am Dangerous” sounds a bit harder. 

+ + + : The comeback of this formation is an interesting fact. The title song is maybe not the hottest dancefloor stumper this band has ever composed, but it rocks. I like the diversity of the remixes and especially seeing Ah Cama Sotz remixing this kind of project is interesting; a crossover between different genres! I have a preference for the totally minimalistic remix of Damascus Knives (a side-project by David Christian from Cervello Elettronico). But there’s also something to say about the 80s- and 90s edits, which are original. I also enjoyed the remix by Margaret Street, which sounds vintage-like. 

– – – : I’ve never been a fan of EP’s with an endless number of remixes. The “Acoustic Version” for example is maybe original, but nothing less than an EP filler. This EP doesn’t say that much about the announced new album so let’s be patient.

Conclusion: Digital Factor is back and that’s what this EP mainly inspires; the title song is cool, but not exactly what I expected from a comeback.

Best songs: “Come With Me – Damascus Knives Remix”, “Come With Me”, “I Am Dangerous”.

Rate: (7).

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

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

Over 3 years after the release of his successful debut album “Birthday And Death”, German synth pop act Elektrostaub is back with a brand new EP, “Wake Up” and announces the release of his second album “Reliance” in 2021 on his new label Alfa Matrix.

For the new EP – out now on all platforms including Bandcamp and Spotify – Patrick Knoch was joined by Henrik Iversen (Namnambulu). A second A-side song is also added to this EP with the harder and darker EBM song “Futurism” featuring the vocals of Norderney’s frontman Jan Dieckmann.

The EP features in total 11 songs, offering 9 bonus remixes going from moody synth pop to upbeat electro dance through EBM and modern electro wave remakes by artists in the likes of Aiboforcen, The Second Sight, Aesthetische, Culture Kultür, Digital Factor vs Margaret Street, Versus, DJ Thommy, Nordic and DMT Berzerk.

Back catalogue re-released

For the occasion of the signing of the German act Elektrostaub on the Belgian Alfa Matrix label, the complete back-catalogue was also re-released.

“Birthday And Death”

Originally released on 17th November 2017, “Birthday And Death” is the first album of Elektrostaub that was then much anticipated thanks to the resonant success of the two previous club hit singles “Also Without You” featuring Anne Goldacker (ex-Obscyre, Wintry) and especially “Unforgotten” featuring a collaboration with Namnambulu’s frontman Henrik Iversen.

This 13-track debut album also includes 5 songs made together with his long-term friends of !Distain but also a second song “Prediction” together with Henrik Iversen as well as additional guest vocal collaborations with artists like The Eternal Afflict, Datasushi or yet Roberto Lindner.

“Unforgotten” (feat. Henrik Iversen) EP

Originally released on 21st July 2017, “Unforgotten” is the debut single of Elektrostaub and features guest vocals by singer Henrik Iversen (from Namnambulu fame). The EP holds some 12 various versions of the song.

“Also Without You” (feat. Anne Goldacker) EP

Originally released on 22nd September 2017, “Also Without You” is the second single of Elektrostaub and features guest vocals by female singer Anne Goldacker (ex-Obscyre, Wintry). The EP holds some 13 various versions of the song.

“Funeral Of Love” EP

Originally released on 16th February 2018, “Funeral Of Love” is the third single of Elektrostaub taken from the debut album “Birthday And Death”. It reveals this time a harder side of Elektrostaub closer to EBM and perfectly matching with the powerful vox of Ruined Conflict’s frontman Xavier Morales. This track was also sung in Spanish by Nordika’s singer offering a more synth pop dimension to this very melodic song.

Besides 5 other versions / remixes of the title song, this EP also features an exclusive remix of the slower and poppy song “2806” featuring vocals by !Distain and Seyhan.

“Birthday And Death” (feat. !Distain) EP

Originally released on 1st June 2018, “Birthday And Death” was the 4th and last single to be released from Elektrostaub’s same titled debut album. The EP features !Distain on vocals. The EP holds some 11 various versions of the song.

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.

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, Double CD.

Background/Info: Armageddon Dildos is back on track unleashing the first ‘new’ studio album since “Untergrund” (2011). Uwe Kanka introduced the new album by the solid EP “Heut Nacht” released earlier this year. “Dystopia” wants to be a critical reflection about the dystopian world we’re living in. The front cover clearly reminds me of the legendary “1984” novel of George Orwell.

Content: The regular album features 13 songs while the bonus disc features 12 extra songs/remixes. The album takes off with a unique song for the band, but still a great and overwhelming piece of music. Armageddon Dildos next moves from harder EBM cuts –including the already known “Heut Nacht”, towards slower pieces. I also noticed some interesting experiments like the minimal driven “Night People”, which sounds a bit 80s like. The song “Neon” is also a noticeable cut featuring female vocals by Malin Kanka (Uwe’s daughter). “Stay” is already something totally different and brings a surprising guitar Electro-Rock style. The work ends with a hard “Club Mix” of the title song.

The bonus disc is featuring remixes by Schramm, Intent:Outtake, First Aid 4 Souls, Inertia, Dave Anderson, Digital Factor, Orange Sector, AD:Key, Fredrik Söderberg, Lights Of Euphoria, Rico Ferenc Piller and Synapsyche.

+ + + : “Dystopia” is a diversified album driven, by good-old EBM sequences mixed with eclectic elements. The die-hard fans will be ravished discovering songs such as “Dystopia” and “Heut Nacht”. “High Up In The Sky” stands for modernism while “Night People” is a great ode to 80s electronics. “Heut Nacht” and “Destruction” both reveal noticeable melody lines. Last, but not least “Ohne Dich” is a cool Body-Pop song sung in German while featuring female French samplings. Among the remixes I want to mention the devastating remix of “Dance Of Dead Bodies” by Lights Of Euphoria. Intent:Outtake did also a great job remixing “Dystopia”.

– – – : Some cuts are clearly unexpected, and not totally convincing. I of course refer to the already mentioned “Stay”. The early and successful days of this band are clearly a way behind us.

Conclusion: I remember to have been disappointed when discovering the “Untergrund”-album while “Dystopia” reconciles me a bit with the true spirit of the band.

Best songs: “Ohne Dich”, “Dystopia – Club Mix”, “Heut Nacht”, “Night People”, “Destruction” + “Dance On Dead Bodies – Light Of Euphoria Stadium Mix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.armageddondildos.info / www.facebook.com/armageddondildos

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

“Come With Me” is the title of the newest Digital Factor download EP which holds 10 tracks and which is out today via Alfa Matrix. That’s correct, one of the most missed cult electro-EBM bands from the early nineties is back. Not only will Digital Factor release a new single, the German band have equally announced their forthcoming 8th studio album on their new label Alfa Matrix.

While spending the last years writing music for movies, theatre, adverts, radio plays and producing other artists, original founding member Mike Langer took the time to upgrade his home studio to reactivate Digital Factor.

10-track EP and video out now

The “Come With Me” 10-track EP offers an excellent mix of synth pop and EBM. Next to the future pop inspired “Come With Me” title track, you get various versions of the track going from an eighties synth pop mix to Heise’s house/dance version, from an old school EBM version by Damascus Knives to an acoustic piano version. You also get a trancelike remake by Margaret Street and remixes by Armageddon Dildos and Ah Camarillos Sotz.

The EP also holds a second new song, “I Am Dangerous”. This track offers a more modern and eclectic electro approach merging Front 242-esque basslines, female vocals and powerful male vocals.

You can check the EP below or download it right now from Bandcamp.

Also launched today is the official video clip for “Come with me”, depicting how seductive products, ideas or chemicals can sometimes be by promising us that ultimate trip that we can’t resist.

The official video clip for “Come With Me”.

The good old days are back

Digital Factor was founded in 1993 and quickly established itself as a popular live act on the electronic scene. In 1994 the band signed to the Danish label Hardrecords after which their first single “Falling Down” was released.

In 1995 they joined the Hyperium / Hypnobeat where they would release five albums here. After the release of the 1999 album “Over One Million Times” things got quiet around the band. Founding member Tino Schmidt left the band that year.

After a long break and with guitarist Guido Litke on board, Digital Factor released their seventh album “One More Piece” on Wannsee Records in 2006. In mid-2007 the band went back to the studio and started working on a new album. The online single “Dein Herz” was followed in January 2009 by “Look Back To Go Forward”. For this, Digital Factor worked together with artists such as Steril and Leonardo von Leibnitz.

In 2010 Torsten Heise left the band and was replaced by Leo von Leibnitz after which the band began work on a new studio album “Trialog”, which was released in 2011 by Black Rain.

In 2020 the band signed to Alfa Matrix pro write a new chapter in their history.

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.

side-line.com

In March 2020 Düsseldorf’s leading EBM act Armageddon Dildos launched a brand new download EP, “Heut Nacht” (available here on Bandcamp). Today the band releases a new album. Uwe Kanka takes the opportunity to protest against our world’s dystopia in general, and socio-political issues in particular like intolerance, abuse, disinformation or yet selfishness.

For the occasion he surrounded himself with studio gurus and old time friends Mathias Black and Sven Mouhcine. You can expect 80’s melodic influences with the 90’s power of industrial dark techno.

Below you can listen to the complete album.

The limited edition of the album includes a bonus album featuring one remix of each album song by a wide range of collaborators including Orange Sector, Digital Factor, Ad:Key, Lights Of Euphoria, Schramm, Intent:Outtake, First Aid 4 Souls, Inertia, Synapsyche, Dave Anderson, Rico Piller and Fredrik Söderberg.

Available formats:

Armageddon Dildos – Dystopia Download
Armageddon Dildos – Dystopia CD
Armageddon Dildos – Dystopia 2CD

And here are the first 2 tracks to check out.

Slowly but steadily

Armageddon Dildos was formed in 1988 in Kassel Germany, and the name comes from the slang term for intercontinental ballistic missiles. The band has always been popular within their native Germany but also outside of Germany they have a cult following among industrial music lovers. They released their first album, “That’s Armageddon”, in 1990 on the cult label Zoth Ommog. The rest is history.

Noticeable is that the band has always taken it time to record and release new material. Their latest full album already dates from 2011 when they released “Untergrund”, also on Alfa Matrix.

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.

side-line.com

Metroland recently released the single “Synthetic Sound” (in 2 versions), and now they suddenly launch a full blown remix contest for a brand new single: “Brothers”. The single will be last single to be taken of the “Things will never sound the same” album.

The bands who want to pay their own personal final homage to Louis Zachert can now remix the “Brother” song. The best remixes will be chosen for the official remix single. Interested? Then download the stemms, midi-file and conditions right here. Make sure to send your files back and this before June 30, 2016.

Here’s the original song:

Louis Zachert, also known as Metroland’s Passenger L, passed away in his sleep last August. We have known Louis Zachert for many years, especially since he was so close with our buddies Sven and Andy from Metroland and Ionic Vision fame.

Louis Zachert’s musical career spans many years, including a solo album “Vie!” (1992) under his own name, a lot of sound engineering work on Ionic Vision releases (“The End”, “Sweet Isolation”, “Complete Isolation”) and albums under the Cycloon name together with Axel Kleintjes (“Plasma Fusion”, “Head|Over|Now”, “Zeitseize “, …) and so on. Many of these releases are now impossible to find and have gotten a second life on eBay reaching incredibly high prices. Via his UnderTheRoof – Audio Mastering studio Louis Zachert kept himself very busy working with other artists like David Rey, Inertia, Digital Factor, Leo Nocta, Ortta, Bye Bye Leader, Amaury, Philine, Jean Delouvroy, Buenas Ondas, No Sunglasses, Darkmen, Teradélie and so on.

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.

side-line.com