Genre/Influences: Cinematic, Electro.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Alex Kourelis is back with a work he composed during the pandemic and which was meant as an, ‘artistic exercises’.

Content: The title of the album speaks for itself; this is a different work than what Digital Geist is usually composing. This is a pure Cinematic experience composed with Industrial sound treatments, EBM elements, Technoid kicks and a touch of IDM. The tracks are short with the exception of one longer cut going over the 9 minutes. 

+ + + : I can perfectly imagine this work being used as Soundtrack for a movie, documentary or any other kind of visual arts but still dance and theatre. Digital Geist reveals great, vintage, sound treatments and a true intelligence in the writing process.

– – – : I honestly would have liked to get less tracks (39 is really a lot) but more elaborated pieces.

Conclusion: This is not exactly the Digital Geist work I would recommend listening to if you never heard of this project before. It however features the familiar ingredients of the American artist.

Best songs: “The Broken Lens”, “The Dixie Flatline”, “Hexagonal Dreams”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.digitalgeist.com / www.facebook.com/digitalgeist

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, techno-body, experimental.

Background/Info: “Minor” resulted from the meeting between Alex Kourelis (Digital Geist) and Patrick Codenys (Front 242). The second protagonist needs no further introduction while American project Digital Geist can be described as inspired by ‘242’ and dealing with a techno/body and even cinematic approach.

Content: This 12” features 4 cuts. “Minor V1” and “Minor V2”  both stand for danceable, instrumental cuts inspired by EBM. You’ll easily recognize some typical Front 242 arrangements (especially in the drum patterns and bass line). There also is a more experimental edit plus a remix by Marcos Cabral, which is extremely danceable and suited for the dancefloor.

+ + + : This vinyl will catch the attention of the Front 242 fans as it becomes rather rare today to see Patrick Codenys getting involved in new stuff and who knows, a new project. The “Minor”-songs are well-crafted, reflecting intelligence and danceable vibes. I especially like the carrying bass lines and crescendo drum patterns. The remix by Marcos Cabral sounds pretty cool as well.

– – – : The “Ambient”-edit of “Minor” is not exactly the most successful one although injecting diversity.

Conclusion: This 12” is an exciting experiment, but we need more songs to get an idea about the potential of this project. I hope it’s not a ‘one shot’ project!

Best songs: “Minor V1”, “Minor V2”, “Minor – Marcos Cabral Remix”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/digitalgeist

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: Cinematographic, electronic.

Background/Info: Alex Kourelis aka Digital Geist is an American artist I discovered by his “The Zero Engine”-album (2006). A few more productions have been released afterwards dealing with a progressive body-technoid sound. “ROTOR Rewired” is an ambitious project, which took 3 years to accomplish. It consists of a soundtrack that has been written for a sci-fi movie “Rotor” that was originally released in 1989. Digital Geist replaced the original soundtrack with his very own interpretation featuring 42 cuts.

Content: Alex Kourelis takes you away on  a trip of an hour and a half. You rapidly will recognize the soundtrack format, which is accentuated by numerous dialogues from the movie, but the music has been entirely written by Digital Geist.

It’s a varied piece of music, mixing many influences like the electro-techno style of the band together with buzzing sound blasts, groovy sequences, pure space-ambient atmospheres and numerous sound effects. Most of the tracks are rather short, but you also will discover more elaborate pieces. The very last song also is the only one with real vocals.

+ + + : The concept of “ROTOR Rewired” is damn crazy and very original. Digital Geist reveals great skills in composing soundtrack music, which totally fits with a sci-fi theme. There are several well-crafted tracks on this work, which confirm the electronic avant-garde approach of the musician. I like the way he brings different electronic styles together to get a fusion between EBM, techno and ambient. From deep and menacing bass lines to danceable grooves and metallic technoid sounds this album covers an impressive electronic canvas.

– – – : A soundtrack often is just a piece belonging to a wider entity. A movie is nothing without the music and that’s why you really have to discover the movie and the music available on Youtube to feel the real impact of this work.

Conclusion: “ROTOR Rewired” is a crazy original concept confirming the talent of this visionary band. I can’t say it’s the best work from Digital Geist, but definitely the most surprising one.

Best songs: “11.4”, “Nevermind”, “Welcome To The Machine”, “Hideaway”, “Straight Nitro”.

Rate: (7).

Band: http://digitalgeist.com / www.facebook.com/digitalgeist

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, dark-body music.

Background/Info: Coldlink is a new EBM project set up by ex-Filament 38 singer Rob Armstrong and keyboardist Shawn McNoldy. “Ghosts I’ve Known” is the official debut work from this duo. It’s a more a kind of mini-album featuring 6 songs plus 3 remixes.

Content: the band claims to be inspired by bands like Nitzer Ebb and NIN. The EBM inspiration is rapidly noticeable and sounds rather dark and cold. The rough vocals accentuate the dark side of the work.

There’s some diversity between the 6 songs accomplished by Coldlink. The sound is not only into an EBM-driven approach, but also features wafting synth passages getting the work a bit softer.

Remixes have been accomplished by Textbeak, Digital Geist and label mate Diverje.

+ + + : Coldlink clearly doesn’t reinvent EBM standards, but this EP is a successful debut. Next to the alluring title song, which is a perfect way to start off, I also like “W1tchvnt” for its great and menacing bass line plus “Disappear Tomorrow” for the cool sound treatments. Coldlink is not a new ‘copyist’, but a formation inspired by EBM and trying to create a unique sound in the genre.

The remixes are cool although I have a little preference for the “Shelter Remix” of the title song by Textbeak.

– – – : I’m less convinced by the ‘softer’ parts on this EP. They inject some variation in the tracklist, but Coldlink clearly has a stronger ‘hard EBM’ potential.

Conclusion: Coldlink clearly has not the pretension to reinvent EBM. It’s just an honest debut production from a band with an interesting approach. So let’s keep an eye on this band.

Best songs: “W1tchvnt”, “Ghosts I’ve Known”, “Disappear Tomorrow.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.coldlinkmusic.com / www.facebook.com/coldlinkband

Label: www.dsbp.cx / www.facebook.com/dsbprecords

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, techno-body, electro-trance, acid, electro-ambient.

Background/Info: Alex Kourelis set up Digital Geist in the late 90s. He released a few noticeable productions and I especially remember him from the album “The Zero Engine” (2006). This American artist now strikes back with a kind of ‘anthology” unleashing 40 songs that were unreleased. The songs have been spread over 2 albums, the first one featuring 20 songs in between 1999 and 2003 while the other album covers 20 tracks composed between 2004 and 2014.

Content: The sound of Digital Geist is pure electronic, but definitely covering different genres. While we often notice EBM influences there also is a solid part of techno music running through the work. Some of the earliest cuts are pretty techno-minded and sometimes suffering from the weight of time.

But at the other side Alex K. clearly is a passionate sound maker. His work is sophisticated and elaborated with impressive sound treatments and intelligent arrangements. He explores much more fields than only EBM and techno. He’s also moving on electro-ambient paths, a few d’n’b influences and great dubby arrangements. The work can be now pretty astral-like and next into heavier bombasts. The cadence can be slow, but mainly driven by pumping dance kicks. The tech-trance inspiration is quite usual in the work of Digital Geist.

You can hear “Afterthought 2” sounds more fresh and worked out. The influences are globally speaking nearly the same although I also noticed acid treatments and groovy passages. All aspects of the production have been seriously improved and the period 2004 – 2014 clearly reveal several cool cuts.

Notice by the way that except the last song featuring vocals all of the songs remain instrumentals although featuring spoken samplings.

+ + + :  Digital Geist clearly sounds like one of the last hidden treasures of the underground electro scene. Kourelis is a talented composer and producer as well. His work reflects a great sound knowledge and composing skills. I was especially impressed by the global sound treatments this work has been made of. I personally prefer his work in between 2004 and 2014.

– – – : I’m not sure –even for an anthology, it was really essential to release a few ‘older’ cuts. The album features 40 songs, which is a bit over the top for an artist who remains rather unknown.

Conclusion: I really got some pleasure re-discovering this project, which I’m still convinced really deserves a wider recognition.

Best songs: “I’m Screaming Why You Can’t Hear Me”, “Alkaline” + “Charybdis”, “Moebius Fox II”, “Cold Front”, “Grid I”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.facebook.com/digitalgeis

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