The Finnish electronic duo Platronic will release an all new single on June 7th, “Pride”. “Price” was originally the debut single of Finnish-German electronic duo, Platronic. The band adds: “It’s a song with many lyrical layers. It can be about a toxic relationship, inner conflicts, obsession and “hoping, dreaming and yearning” for finding true love!”

2024 Sami and Kay have re-visited their old track, freshened up the sound and created a new version, that sounds a bit like Icon of Coil dated Madonna back in the 90’s.

Here is the pre-save link to the track.

Platronic was founded by Finnish composer/producer Some-E and German singer-songwriter/producer Kay in 2020. Chats about music on Instagram in 2019 and thoughts about collaboration unexpectedly turned into a real duo on EBM Day, February 24, 2020. “It wasn’t planned! But suddenly we realized that we thought about music the same way and our heads and hearts were filled with ideas…”

Since then Platronic released five singles, one EP, and joined the Town and Towers Records family. In December 2023 Platronic was nominated for “Best Electro Act” (Radio Wigwam, London) for the second time. Their track “Memories” was chosen for “Top 100 best Synthpop songs 2023” by blogger Synthpopfantatic (Washington DC) and stayed 8 weeks in the Top 10 of GEWC (German Electronic Music Webcharts).

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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The female-fronted future-pop duo Platronic, based in Finland and Germany, has returned with a new single titled “Memories.”

The song explores the experience of going through a breakup; however, Kay’s goal was not to create a heart-wrenching ballad about it. The single is now available through the Danish label Town and Towers Records.

Comprising Finnish composer and producer Some-E, along with German singer-songwriter and co-producer Kay Burden, Platronic initially connected over a discussion about electronic music on Instagram in 2019. What began as an idea for future collaboration materialised into a bona fide duo on EBM DAY, 24th February 2020. As of the end of March 2023, the duo has released five singles and one EP.

Below is their new single.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Martin Gore from Depeche Mode was the man reason why Kay Burden from Platronic started writing songs. Kay: “It was love at first listen. I was overwhelmed by the intensity and intimacy of his lyrics and could not get enough of the special warm vibrato of his voice.” Her label manager now encouraged Kay to cover one of her favourite songs, taken from the1987 classic Depeche Mode album “Music For The Masses”.

The cover is very much stripped down version as you can hear below. The single is out via Town and Towers Records, a Danish Label.

The track can also be found on Conzoom Records’ upcoming Depeche Mode tribute CD which is out now.

Platronic are Finnish composer/producer Some-E and German singer-songwriter and co-producer Kay Burden. What started with chatting about electronic music on Instagram in 2019 and the idea of collaborating in the foreseeable future, turned into a real duo on EBM DAY – 24 February 2020. Since End of March 2023 the duo released five singles and one EP.

Side-Line also covered Depeche Mode’s ‘Speak To Me’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Platronic are a duo consisting of Finnish composer/producer Some-E and German singer-songwriter and co-producer Kay Burden. What started with chatting on Instagram in 2019 about electronic music and the idea of collaborating in the foreseeable future, turned into a real duo on EBM Day, 24 February 2020.

Now they are back with a new EP, “The Healing”. The whole EP is very personal so the band says, “like a long journey we have been going through, ‘The Resisdance’ is mirroring these difficult Corona times, when we were very desperate and couldn’t rehearse and meet.”

And the band adds: “Then this terrible war and some unexpected personal changes happened as well that effected our lives. So walking through ‘The Forest’ is a metaphor for feeling lost, confused and scared, you can’t breathe anymore and you can’t put it into words…no lyrics…you are just chanting for someone to help you out. And suddenly you can feel the energy of the nature and finally you can breath again…together. ‘The Beginning’ (the last song of the EP) feels like a new day dawning for the band, full of hope.”

Here’s the EP on Bandcamp.

The band is currently working on a ‘Best of’ video, but you can already check this video by the Belgian artist Synth Heaven for the track “The Residance”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Out now via the Side-Line Bandcamp page is the 2nd volume in our Ukrainian charity compilation series. “Electronic Resistance – Reconstruction” is the follow-up to our previous 55-track strong compilation “Electronic Resistance” which was released earlier this year.

The new release holds 58 tracks, including 4 remixes of the Iwan Lovynsky & KingSMarine track “Ukraina” by Aesthetische, Cubic, Acylum and Kant Kino.

Bernard Van Isacker explains: “The war is still far from being over and what the Russians started on February 24th 2022 already has had a huge impact on all of our lives, but way more on those of the Ukrainian people. It’s clear that this topic is very touchy to many. Since the release hit Bandcamp yesterday evening, my mailbox is inundated by ‘proza’ from Russians who don’t agree with the concept of this compilation. But I also get a lot of feedback from Russian readers who appologize for what is happening, which is actually a good thing.”

The concept of this new volume is all about reconstruction, reconstruction of people’s lives, but also reconstruction of a nation which is still being brutalized by Russian aggression. The release holds again more than 50 darkwave / post-punk acts from the Ukrainian underground scene only including a lot of new names.

The compilation is now occupying the number 1 spot on Bandcamp’s industrial charts.

Bernard explains the difficulties to get this new volume on the road: “Just like with the first volume, we were again confronted with difficult conditions to get hold of the necessary files as some disks were in occupied territories, other files were lost and so we sometimes worked with very raw source material to reconstruct the tracks. Add to that that this time electronic contact was made extremely difficult due to the many electricity outages caused by Russian rocket attacks. Many track titles again refer to the current situation as you will notice. We again had the honor to have music from musicians active on the frontline, from soldiers to medics, and from people who continue to help out where possible. Heroes as far as I am concerned.”

All donations this time will go to United24, a global initiative to support Ukraine.

EBM Day Merchandise

But that’s not all. “We refuse to let Putin and his companions hijack what used to be a joyful EBM day, so we decided to both remember Ukraine’s resistance and EBM-day in one go by launching a special T-shirt line. Also the revenue from this T-shirt line will go to Ukrainian aid,” Van Isacker adds

A second T-shirt line comes accompanied with a special handmade steel medaillon, limited to 180 copies, representing the electronic resistance logo. You can use it as an amulet, or as a keychain. It is sold in combination with the EBM-day T-shirt (including an Electronic Resistance badge).

Both items hold the download of the “Electronic Resistance – Reconstruction” compilation.

Shipping takes places end of December so you are sure to get your merchandise before the 24th of February. We do advise to place your order as soon as possible as the post is not always so fast and shipping costs will go up after December so the post told us.

You can order the ‘EBM Day T-shirt’ right here and the ‘EBM Day T-shirt + medallion + badge’ right here.

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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Platronic are Finnish composer/producer Some-E and German singer-songwriter Kay Burden. They ‘met’ 2019 on Instagram of all places as Sami was interested in remixing a track that Kay had just released back then. The band creates danceable, dreamy sounds and melodies. What originally started with the idea to compose a track together turned suddenly into a real duo on February 24 2020 (EBM day).

Readers will know the band from their track “Control” on our recently released free download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 7”.

The new Platronic single “Now!” is out now and turns out to be a very atmospheric and philosophical blend of synthpop and 80s/90s Electronica. It was composed and recorded during the ‘White Nights’ in a Mökki in Finnland.

You can check the track below followed by the video for the track. The band will perform at the Elektroland Festival in Herlev on 16 September; it will also be the band’s first official gig. You can get more info here.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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“Industrial Beats” is the all new single from the Texas based EBM squad Spankthenun. The single features a whopping 10 different versions of the bouncy EBM track.

Next to a remix the EBM’ers from Kalt also made a total remake of the track with Kalt taking over vocal duties and rewriting the track from the ground up. Other remixers include DJ Matt Hart, Diverje, Dread Risks, SINthetik Messiah and an ultra-aggressive remix from Harsh R.

The single will be released on all platforms on February 24, that’s right, EBM day. The single is available now on Bandcamp for pre-order. You can see the new video for the track and get four early release 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. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Hailing from Sydney (Australia) the duo Warren Bones (‘BONES’) and Craig L. Saunders (‘<Sik>’) are active for more than twenty years now as NOVAkILL. They release albums at irregular basis, the newest opus “Iconoclast” being released in 2020 on RepoRecords. It’s the band’s fifth full length and without a shadow of doubt also the most accomplished one to date. It’s a great production appealing for EBM fans in search of well-crafted and intelligent body music.

(Picture credits by Virginia Young / Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You guys last year released your fifth album to date, which I think was meant as a search for new ideas and progression. What is this all about and in, which way(s) is “Iconoclast” different from previous works? 

BONES: Not so much a search as a deliberate effort to do things a different way. Our first four albums were all done using the same software, Synapse Audio’s Orion, and we had basically approached things the same way. But Orion was discontinued quite a while ago and we ended up moving to Cubase, which led us down quite a different path, which we were keen to follow. It introduced us to a whole lot of things, many unexpected, and we wanted to explore those possibilities.

<SiK>: For us, the progression was in the process. It initially started the same way, developing a few song ideas and sharing them, though once Bones made the decision to do a song a month it gave it real impetus and a coherence. We were building on our usual style, and had a few strong EBM based tracks, that then allowed us to play more and deviate a little, and we kind of expanded the idea of what can be a NOVAkILL track..  The idea for the intermezzo tracks is something we have talked about for a couple of albums, though never did it. This time we of course did, and I feel they lend a lot to the album listening experience.

Q: One thing is for sure, this new work definitely sounds as the most accomplished and mature production to date; retro EBM elements mixed with a very own, powerful and contemporary touch! Did you handle specific references and/or criteria to achieve this work? 

BONES: Not at all. The big difference for us this time around was that we put a time limit on things. We set a goal to write one new song every month in 2018 so that we would have an album’s worth by the end of the year. It worked really well, we had something like 15 songs by September, which meant that for the first time we had new songs that didn’t make it onto the album.

We did all that while we were still using Orion and by the end of March 2019, we had it finished. But during that time we had started working with Cubase and we ultimately decided to re-do all the songs in Cubase and choose the versions we liked more. That meant another year of work but, in the end, “Strike” and “Descent” were the only Orion versions that made the cut.

I don’t normally work with my influences front of mind, but it is inevitable that they will find their way into what you do. If you like the way a certain artist does something, it will always affect the way you approach the same thing. Most of my inspiration comes from the instruments we use. “Twisted”, for example, came from a beautiful pad sound I got from one of our plugin synths that I spent a whole evening just playing from one of my keyboards.

<SiK>: We have a set idea of what constitutes a NOVAkILL track, and though, as mentioned above, we expanded on that a bit there are still elements to our process and style that push us down a certain path to achieve a sound we like, so of course other artists/music we like will be reflected in that. We never think we want to sound like a particular or specific artist, we always set out to make a NOVAkILL track, but of course influences come through. I take a very Post-Modern approach, the whole ‘everything is a remix’ idea, and take influences/concepts/styles and kinda blend them together, then they go through the Bones filtering and production process.

Q: The title of the album “Iconoclast” needs some extra explanation; what or who did you’ve in mind to find the title and how does it reflect the lyrical content of the album?

BONES: To me it is an obvious title for what we do. In ancient times, iconoclasts were people who went around smashing craven idols. Today it is associated with people who speak out against the status quo, which is exactly what we try to do. I actually think “Iconoclasm” would have been a better title, but I didn’t think of it in time.

<SiK>: Our albums often go through a few titles before we settle on one.. and the word “Iconoclast” felt good, and is sorta what we do…  it doesn’t relate to one specific song or idea, but reflects our basic political/ideological standpoint..  ‘don’t blindy trust icons, idols, authority etc.., question them, pull back the curtain,  tear them down if you have to’. 

Q: Tell us a bit more about the writing and production process of the album. What have been the different stages you’d to go through? What were the biggest challenges, the main difficulties you encountered and finally the points of satisfaction and/or improvement?

BONES: First off, I hadn’t written a song in a long time, maybe 8 or 9 years. For “Kill Everyone” and “I Hate God”, Sik had come up with pretty much all the musical ideas and a lot of the arrangements, too. If I’m honest, I had lost motivation and was really only going through the motions. That’s why there was such a long break between “I Hate God” and “(D)anger”.

On the back of “(D)anger”’s success we got to play Wave Gothik Treffen in 2017 and we spent several months rehearsing, far more than we’d ever really done before, and that got me motivated again. I was keen to keep things on the boil, which is why we decided on the schedule I mentioned earlier.

Our production process is pretty simple. Whichever one of us comes up with the idea works on it until it’s in some kind of usable shape, then we share it with the other, who continues the process, refining it and adding extra bits and pieces. They all end up back with me and I add vocals, do the final mixing and mastering.

Obviously we are very happy with “Iconoclast”, it turned out better than maybe we thought we were capable of. Still, we can hear areas where we can improve further still, so we’re keen for a follow-up, although we haven’t started anything yet.

<SiK>: As Bones outlined, this album went through a couple stages, the initial gathering of some sounds and ideas, then the process of building them into songs, with a reasonably strict deadline, and in that process a few tracks were written from scratch.  At the end of a year we had an album that was 90% or more complete, bar final touches and processes, but we had the album done.  We weren’t in a rush to release it, and gave it a little time to ‘rest’, and then, partly as a learning exercise and partly as a ‘what If’, we thought we would try to rebuild the tracks in a different DAW, which forces you to re-examine the elements, and make/remake some of the writing/production decisions. The albums always go through a stage of adjustment/change/etc though usually that is working with what was there, this time it was kind of a tear down, build again, and that process either affirmed what we had, or exposed things that could be improved which, overall strengthened the end product…

Q: What are the main differences between NOVAkILL and all the other (side)projects you both are/were involved with? What makes this project so special?

BONES: That’s easy, we both have the same musical tastes and we (hopefully) never let our egos get in the way of making the right calls. It’s a simple case of the whole being more than the sum of the parts. It’s a rare and special thing that’s allowed us to achieve way more than I could ever have hoped when I first got up on stage, solo, in 1985.

Until recently, I’d never really had any side-projects, but I think at one stage Sik had more than half-a-dozen on the go. But last year I started working on a few cover versions and during that process I realized that it might be a good way to get some live gigs (we haven’t played since WGT in 2017) so I’ve been working on that. I’ve got about 50 covers, mostly successful 80s stuff, and we’re in the process of trying to turn that into gigs. With COVID, it’s been a challenge.

<SiK>: NOVAkILL is Bones and me. We have a process and a sound unique to that combination. My ‘side-projects’ are often ways for me to just try things and experiment, or just ‘do’. NOVA STATE MACHINE started with the idea of doing a ‘pure’ EBM album, but with a different flavour, and I was after vocals in Russian to create a particular sound,  though in the process of making the first album (which was also a deliberate homage to some of my favourite artists) things evolved… which working with others always brings. I like the collaboration process, and some of my projects are specifically that… a way to work with certain people…  It challenges me to try different things, in ways I wouldn’t normally do. If it is just ‘me’ then I can do whatever the hell I want, be it good or bad… but it is about doing something different to NOVAkILL, sometimes in a small way, like a change to a drum sound, or sometimes in bigger ways, be it song structure or overall sound, but it is all about continuing to work, experiment, learn, develop… and it all feeds back into NOVAkILL through production and writing. ‘Everything is a remix’ some NOVAkILL tracks began life in a ‘side-project’.

Q: We last month celebrated the ‘international EBM day’ (24/2). Does it have a special meaning to you and what’s your perception of EBM?

<SiK>: EBM day has never been a ‘thing’ for us… Every day is Halloween, I mean EBM day… I don’t really go out of my way to mark the occasion. The ‘scene’ down here in Australia is very small, and while there are a few ‘club nights’ here and there,  it is not something I tend to do… though having said that, Bones and I had been discussing resurrecting our Industrial club night “Virus”, but then COVID hit and the idea was shelved. Maybe this year we will do something ‘special’,  start the next NOVAkILL album perhaps…  BONES: I’d never even heard of it until a couple of weeks ago. The scene here in Sydney no longer exists. It’s just gone and I can’t see or think of any mechanism that will change that.                                                                    

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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It’s EBM day tomorrow (24/2) and as usual the Belgian electro label Alfa Matrix is having a special campaign.

But unlike last year, they are using quite a different approach. People who comment on the Facebook article below will immediately be sent a coupon of 20 € and this straight in their Facebook Messenger mailbox. The coupon can be used in the Alfa Matrix CD/DVD/vinyl webstore.

The code is valid until Sunday March 1st included and can be used for all purchases above 40,00 €. Just add it when checking out. The code applies to all products released more than 6 months ago and not in -pre-order.

What is EBM Day ?

Ever since Front 242 started up in 1981 the number 242 has held a special position in the numerology of Electronic Body Music. Using the date format often used in Europe (dd/mm = 24/2) it’s fairly obvious why the International EBM day is celebrated on february 24.

Though people over the world probably have celebrated this day before along with their friends, it has never been an official celebration day before. But from now on, every year on february the 24th; it’s International EBM day! Its only purpose is that all EBM fans over the world now have a special day when they can get together and listen to, or dance to, or party to, Electronic Body Music.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Set up in 1982 in Ljubljana (Slovenia) Borghesia became a so-called pioneer in the electronic-underground scene. Early albums such as “No Hope No Fear” and “Escorts” both released on Play It Again Sam became EBM-icons. They next went on releasing noticeable productions such as “Resistance”, “Dreamers In Colours” ao, but the influences progressively evolved. The band finally stopped their activities in 1995, but came back alive in 2009. Core members Dario Seraval and Aldo Ivančić got joined by new members. The band released a new album entitled “And Man Created God” (2014) on Metropolis Records. And now they’re back again with the opus “Proti Kapitulaciji” released in their homeland on the independent label Moonlee Records. The work reveals a very own approach mixing elements of industrial- and rock music. I’d a chat with Aldo Ivančić. For this interview I would like to thank Side-Line and Peek-A-Boo for their interest to each publish this interview as a kind of ‘collaboration’ between both Belgian online platforms.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: How would you introduce Borghesia ano 2019 while reflecting items such as line-up, sound & influences, production and live performances?  

Aldo: The line-up is: Dario Seraval (vocals), Irena Tomažin (vocals), Jelena Rusjan (bass guitar and vocals), Ivo Poderžaj (vocals, bass guitar and guitar), Sašo Benko (guitar), Aldo Ivančić (drums), Lina Rica and Boštjan Čadež (video), Primož Vozelj (sound engineer) and Igor Remeta (lights). So, quite a big project with a lot of people. We like every kind of music and for this project we explored music from the beginning of 20^th century, artists like Luiggi Rusollo, Marinetti, Kurt Weill, Russian constructivists… very interesting stuff 😉 Our new performance is kind of multimedia with prepared computer graphics with live processing and live performance combined with back tapes from computer.

Q: “Proti Kapitulaciji” is your newest full length album. What kind of work did you want to accomplish and how do you look back at the writing and recording plus the multiple contributors (mainly singers) of the work?

Aldo: We worked for 3 years on this project. First we selected 12 poems by Srečko Kosovel and it was very hard to make a decision, because he has a lot of good poems. His poetry is timeless and a lot of people were surprised when they discovered that these lyrics where written 100 year ago. Can you imagine that he wrote 100 years ago: ‘The phone lines are all dead, Oh, but this one is cordless’.

Very visionary. So, the central point of the record are definitely the lyrics and we built the music around them. Most of the people think that W. Burroughs is inventor of cut – up technique, but we think, that Srečko Kosovel had invented it 50 years earlier. He called them ‘Kons’ (Constructions). Our approach was in a way cinematic in editing the lyrics like the film is made of different scenes. That is the reason why we used a lot of different vocals in one song. It is not very often that you can hear it in ‘pop’ songs. Maybe Frank Zappa, but this is another story;)

Q: You just mentioned Srečko Kosovel as main source of inspiration. While he’s a kind of Slovenian icon of poetry, I guess he remained unknown for a lot of readers and people. Tell us a bit more about him, his work and the influence he had on your work as musicians?

Aldo: Srečko Kosovel was a strange bird. He died at the age of 22 and as a radical anarchist he was not popular in his time nor is he today in petit bourgeoisie society. Even today he does not have a single monument in the capital of Slovenia and still after four months, our record was not presented on National Radio and Television. No review at all.

From the song “I Protest”:

Everyone of you, sitting in theatres,

bars and coffee houses

and other haunts of pleasure:

I protest!

In pain,

ruthless struggles,

I curse you,

I,

the fallen nation’s

fallen son.

From “Genealogy”:

Slave.

Slave the Servant.

Slave Servantich the Servant.

Slave Slavetich Servantich the Humble.

Slave II.

Slave Humblich III.

Servantich IV.

Janez the Humble, the Craven, the Grandiose.

(Janez is common name in Slovenia like John in GB)

He was also a strong critic of hypocrisy of politicians and economic elite

From “Destructions”:

Millions are dying,

but Europe is lying.

To destroy, To destroy, To destroy!

From “Kons”:

Civilization lacks a heart.

The heart lacks civilization.

An exhausted struggle.

Evacuation of souls.

The evening burns like fire.

The dead is Europe!

Mercy! Mercy!

Q: So we easily can consider “Proti Kapitulaciji” as an ‘engaged’ work; a reflection about the social-, cultural-, artistic- and political situation of the ‘great’ Europe! What did you try to express?

Aldo: After the fall of the Berlin Wall, we thought that better days were coming for Europe. But we witnessed a war in Yugoslavia in which 140 thousand people were killed, we saw the lies about WMD in Iraq (courtesy of Tony Blair and other bandits), then Libya,  Syria, now we have Brexit, the rise of right wing nationalists in almost every country, xenophobia, hate fake news, egoistic, competitive selfie narcissistic culture, stupid reality shows, uninterested pacific hipster youth promoting stupid values, corporative ‘truth’….

Q: You often have been considered as a ‘controversial’ band because of your imagery and themes, but in the end it was all about artistic freedom. I can imagine it hasn’t been always easy to handle and do you think things have changed today when it comes to artistic freedom and controversy?

Aldo: We think that today is even worse, since Thatcher/ Reagan neo-liberal politics occupied everything, media and political floor. We were always fans of critical artists like Woody Guthrie, sixties music, punk, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Test Department… Today it would be impossible for such artists to reach the wider audience. You just have to compare top charts from the past and today.

Q: The EBM community recently celebrated the international EBM day (-24/2 – February, 24th).. What does EBM mean to you today and what did you keep in mind from the early years of EBM when you were considered as ‘pioneers’?

Aldo: Like every style of music, EBM also had a limited period of duration. First comes the innovative, creative period, then the commercial one, and then the decline, just repetition of itself. We are very proud that we were part of this innovative period, but after so many years we are not the same persons anymore and the world has changed. EBM in some way become EDM and 95% of music today is made on computer. We were one of the first musicians that had an Atari on the stage.;) Today a smart phone is 1.000.000 times more powerful than Atari and now you can make music on a smart phone on the beach and this is very nice. In a very near future there will be Artificial Intelligence composing music to suit your personal taste, Artificial Intelligence will write books to suit your tastes… Most people will be just good consumers controlled by multinational corporations 😉

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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242 Week, that’s the week before International EBM Day, 24/2 and at Storming The Base they have started a true clearance pricing on nearly 200 vinyl releases at discounts which you can’t impossibly say no too.

Not convinced, check the below screenshot… You can access this special clearance action right here.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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“Today he has no means He’s alone and anonymous, but written in his cells he’s got the marks of a genius”, with these Front 242 lyrics (“Headhunter”) the Belgian electro label Alfa Matrix has launched quite an impressive EBM day action offering no less than a 30% discount on all of it’s physical (and download releases) including the much wanted Front 242 vinyls sets.

All you need to do is use the code ebmday242 to get 30% off on all of the labels releases (ltd editions, boxsets, t-shirts, vinyls, …) purchased via the Alfa Matrix webstore and the official Alfa Matrix Bandcamp page.

The code ebmday242 is only valid today and this weekend and will be applied on all products you have added in your basket.

And that’s not all! the label has also added a huge list of VERY low priced compilations right here.

Included in this massive discount action are all physical and download releases by 32CRASH, Acylum, Aengeldust, Aesthetische, Agonised By Love, Aiboforcen, Alien Vampires, Ambassador21, amGod, Armageddon Dildos, Avarice In Audio, Ayria, Bruderschaft, Cosmic Armchair, Crisk, Cynical Existence, Depeche Mode (the tribute releases), Diffuzion, Diskonnekted, Dive, Dream Recall, Dunkelwerk, Elektroklänge, ELM, Entrzelle, Epsilon Minus, Essence Of Mind, Freakangel, Front 242, Gaytron, Glis, Halo In Reverse, HausHetaere, Headscan, Helalyn Flowers, Hungry Lucy, I:scintilla, Implant, Internal, Inure, Junksista, Kant Kino, Klutæ, Komor Kommando, Krystal System, Leaether Strip, Lovelorn Dolls, Malakwa, Male Or Female, Mari Chrome, Mentallo and the Fixer, Metroland, Mind:State, Mnemonic, Mondträume, Monolith, Nebula-H, Neikka RPM, Nitzer Ebb, Növö, O.V.N.I., Plastic Noise Experience, Pouppee Fabrikk, Prozium, Psy’Aviah, Razorfade, Recoil, Regenerator, Saeldes Sanc, Schwarzblut, Sebastian Komor, Seize, Sero.Overdose, Shaun F, Simon Carter, Siva Six, Star Industry, Stray, Studio-X, Suicide Inside, Tamtrum, Technoir, The Cure (tribute), The Psychic Force, Totem Obscura, Trisomie 21, Unter Null, Venal Flesh, Virgins O.R Pigeons, Virtual Embrace, XMH, Zombie Girl, … plus a long list of compilations.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Right on International EBM-day (24/2) Front 242 have officially revealed more details about their forthcoming release planning.

In 2016, 3 albums from the band’s repertoire will be re-released by their Brussels-based label partner Alfa-Matrix and this in various formats.

Here are the re-releases that are being planned:

• “Pulse” + “Still & Raw” (the band’s most recent studio album)
• “Geography” (the band’s cult debut album)
• “No Comment” + “Politics Of Pressure” (the band’s iconic second album)

These remastered versions will offer these recordings in the best audio quality made possible by today’s audio technology. There are various formats planned:

• CD format,
• vinyl format in very limited quantities (+CD included), each in 4 different vinyl colors,
• as a limited deluxe collector box (vinyl sized) with a 180 gram black vinyl edition (+ CD included), plus special Front 242 vintage fan-goodies and exclusive official bonus audio material on vinyl or CD format.

The final details for these releases are still being prepared before going to manufacturing and setting official release dates. From the info we obtained, but which we can’t publish yet, we can already assure you that what will be offered as bonus material will be a Front 242 fan’s wettest dream.

The pre-orders for these reissues will be launched in the next weeks in 3 consecutive waves and you better make sure to stay well informed because “due to the limited character of some of these releases, some items might sell out quite fast”. And that will be an understatement. Keep an eye on our news as we will be reporting about it the minute the info is being released or make sure to download the band’s recent 2 free download EPs and you’ll be informed right away when the news breaks.

2016 is the band’s 35th anniversary year of existence as Front 242 were formed in 1981 in Aarschot, near Leuven, Belgium, by Daniel Bressanutti and Dirk Bergen. The first single, “Principles”, was released in 1981.

Patrick Codenys and Jean-Luc De Meyer had separately formed a group called Underviewer at around the same time, and the two duos joined together in 1982. Bressanutti, Codenys and De Meyer took turns on vocals at first, until they settled on De Meyer as the lead vocalist.

Note that the early recordings with Bressanutti on vocals were subsequently released in 2004 via Alfa Matrix. That limited edition album is now sold out, only a download is still available via Bandcamp. In 1983, Dirk Bergen left the band to pursue graphic design, and Richard Jonckheere, often referred to as Richard 23, joined as vocalist.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

It’s International EBM-day tomorrow and the Belgian label is celebrating this all week long. From today on everyone using the EBM242 coupon code on the label’s online webstore and the label’s Bandcamp page will get 25% off the normal price.

In the label’s CD/DVD webstore the discount applies from a minimum order of 20 Euro and does not include products released in 2016 (not that this should be a problem since it includes hundreds of other new releases, from Alien Vampires, The Psychic Force, over Star Industry to Front 242 and Acylum). In the Bandcamp store it counts on all products.

International EBM-day refers to the date of 24/2 (February 24th) which has a clear Front 242 connotation. Since Front 242 is considered as THE cult EBM band, 24/2 has quickly been adopted as such.

Electronic body music, EBM or Industrial dance emerged in the early 1980s. The genre’s early influences range from industrial music (Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire), European synthpunk (DAF, Liaisons Dangereuses, Portion Control), and pop-oriented electronic music (Kraftwerk). The style is characterised by hard and often sparse danceable electronic beats, clear undistorted vocals, shouts or growls with reverberation and echo effects, and repetitive sequencer lines. Typical EBM rhythms are based on 4/4 beats, mainly with some minor syncopation to suggest a rock music rhythm structure.

Although EBM is mainly linked to Front 242 the term electronic body music was coined by Ralf Hütter of the German electronic band Kraftwerk in 1978 to explain the more physical sound of their album “The Man-Machine”.

Oh, and expect a special announcement tomorrow…

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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