Swedish electro artist EMMON released “Relics (Agent Side Grinder Remix)” on 14 August 2026 through Icons Creating Evil Art. The track is the third remix issued ahead of “ICONMIXED”, a remix album scheduled for 23 October 2026. Jimmy Monell produced and mixed the new version, Hans Olsson mastered it, and Emma Nylén is credited as writer.

The original “Relics” is the eighth track on “ICON“, the album EMMON released on 17 October 2025 with Emanuel Åström as guestvocalist. Agent Side Grinder move it off its EBM footing and into house tempo, adding LinnDrum programming, a Euro-disco riff and acid basslines.

Johan Lange of Agent Side Grinder set out what the duo changed:

“Had a great time remixing my dear friend Emmon (and a certain obscure guest singer). I took the EBM-driven original and pushed it in a more ’90s house direction, with LinnDrum, a Euro disco riff and plenty of acid basslines.”

Two reworkings of “Speak to Me” preceded it, one by SIIE and one by Copenhagen trio The Foreign Resort. “ICONMIXED” reworks material from “ICON” across a wider set of collaborators.

Icons Creating Evil Art issued an official video for the original “Relics” the same day. Niklas Kärreskog directed it, with Tyko Lann Lundin as editing assistant and Joakim Kärreskog on technical resources. Kärreskog set out his reference points in the video credits:

“Relics could easily be part of the soundtrack to a film adaptation of William Gibson’s Neuromancer. That’s why I aimed for a cyberpunk aesthetic inspired by Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) and Shinya Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo (1989). To achieve this, the video was processed through a CRT television and many metres of cable.”

EMMON has run this pattern before. “RECON” arrived in 2022 and drew a full companion remix record a year later; “ICONMIXED” applies the same treatment to the newer album.

About EMMON

EMMON is the solo project of Swedish artist and producer Emma Nylén, based in Stockholm and signed to Icons Creating Evil Art. Her earlier catalogue runs from “The Art and The Evil” and “Closet Wanderings” through “Nomme”, “AON” and “Under Construction”, built on hard synth basslines, clipped vocals and melodic electro structures.

“RECON” followed on 7 October 2022 and reopened that catalogue after an extended gap. Its eleven tracks include “Machines”, “Like A Drum” and “Purebloods”, a duet with Agent Side Grinder vocalist Emanuel Åström that set up the working relationship behind the current remix. On 6 October 2023 EMMON issued “RECONMIXED”, a thirteen-track companion that handed “Machines”, “Reconstruction”, “Purebloods” and others to Ultra Sunn, Tobias Bernstrup, Sex Kino, Harlem, Fred White, Maschine Brennt, Majestoluxe, ZackZackZack, Potochkine and Livmødr.

The “XCEPTION” EP came next, then “ICON” on 17 October 2025, a ten-track album covering “Neon Brown”, “Decisions”, “Shades of Blue”, “Cold Within”, “No Mans Land”, “Speak to Me”, “Blood on the Ceiling feat. Majestoluxe”, “Relics”, “DARK” and “Slow Running”. Icons Creating Evil Art issued it on vinyl, CD and digital. Side-Line covered that release and published an EMMON interview in February 2026.

The rollout toward “ICONMIXED” started with SIIE and The Foreign Resort on “Speak to Me” and continues with Agent Side Grinder on “Relics”. The album is due on 23 October 2026.

Karo Kratochwil

Based in Wrocław, I work as a music journalist and photographer covering electro, industrial, EBM, gothic, and darkwave. My work includes features and live coverage, as well as concert, portrait, promo, and theater photography. What interests me most is the connection between artistic intention, what the work communicates, and what unfolds live on stage, all in pursuit of the bigger picture behind the music.

Swedish darkwave and synth artist EMMON’s track “Speak to Me (The Foreign Resort Remix)” is released on 24 July 2026 on Icons Creating Evil Art. The new version comes from Copenhagen post-punk and shoegaze trio The Foreign Resort and is the second remix to surface from EMMON’s upcoming remix album “ICONMIXED”, following an earlier version by Swiss-German duo SIIE.

The Foreign Resort commented on reworking the track: “What do you do when the song you’re remixing already sounds amazing? You change it from electronic to analogue and add layers of reverb and distortion! And of course a Slayer-inspired guitar solo. Because it fits the song, and because we love metal!”

“Speak to Me” was written by Emma Maria Nylén, André Winter and Anne-Marie Pappas, with lyrics by Emma Nylén. The remix can be pre-saved now via found.ee ahead of its release.

About EMMON

EMMON is the solo project of Swedish artist and producer Emma Nylén, conceived in 2001 as an art project while she was studying at Konstfack in Stockholm. She first gained recognition with the group Paris before continuing her musical path as EMMON, developing a sound that mixes EBM, synth-pop and darkwave with melodic, 1980s-referencing electronics. Her 2022 album “RECON” was followed by the 2024 EP “XCEPTION” and the album “ICON”, co-produced with Jimmy Monell. EMMON’s upcoming remix album “ICONMIXED” reworks tracks from her recent catalogue with contributions from acts including SIIE and The Foreign Resort.

About The Foreign Resort

The Foreign Resort formed in 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The trio, made up of Mikkel Borbjerg Jakobsen on vocals, Steffan Petersen on bass and Morten Hansen on drums, has played more than 600 shows across North America and Europe, including SXSW, Iceland Airwaves, Cold Waves Festival, Wave Gotik Treffen and Amphi Festival. The band’s sound combines post-punk and shoegaze with a driving, dark production style.

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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Swedish electronic artist EMMON and Zweite Jugend join forces on “Salz”, a reworked and reimagined version of a Zweite Jugend track released via Icons Creating Evil Art. What began as a remix idea turned into something far less predictable: a club driven, tense and physical piece that brings together Zweite Jugend’s reduced EBM architecture with EMMON’s high impact electronic language.

The result is a collision of methods, instincts and voices. “Salz” moves through repetition, desire, pressure and transcendence, carrying the severity of body music into a more expansive contemporary club space. In this interview, Emma Nylén of EMMON and Eli van Vegas of Zweite Jugend discuss how the track changed shape, why collaboration still matters in electronic music, and what older and newer currents in EBM can still learn from each other.

EMMON and Zweite Jugend discuss ‘Salz'”‘ collaboration

Karo: “Salz” began as a Zweite Jugend track and then became a shared work with EMMON. What was the element in the original version that had to remain intact, and what needed to be opened up, intensified or challenged?

Emma:We immediately fell for the groove and the repetitive vocals in Elis Transendenz’s version, and asked if we could do a remix inspired by that groove – but we failed completely, and it accidentally turned into a techno banger with Chemical Brothers influences instead.

Karo: At what point did this stop feeling like a remix or guest feature and start feeling like a new artistic statement with its own identity?

Emma: There was probably never a clear boundary – it evolved organically into something other than just a remix. Since we were never satisfied with our original remix version, we eventually let go of control completely instead. At first we thought it sounded like garbage, but the track kept growing on us until we started to love it.

Karo: Emma’s voice and production presence bring a very distinct kind of pressure to the track. How did EMMON’s contribution change the emotional temperature and physical direction of “Salz”?

Eli: I think, the lyrics are exactly that kind of universal that these can be used on different genres. Songs that represent this kind of black and white like intimacy and a night out at a club. I originally wrote the lines for Krischan Wesenberg‘s solo project which was progressive house in one way or the other. So yeah, it was meant to be fitting into a techno driven context. As the lyrics are about experiencing sexuality in a transcendental way, having a second person in the story makes perfect sense. It opens up the opposite perspective which is basically the same. Or, it wouldn’t be transcendent otherwise. So it wasn’t just a technical learning how to work together. It just felt natural. And I think that I love how it turned out with Emma‘s and my voice combined. Like as this version was always meant to be.

Karo: Zweite Jugend’s sound often works through reduction, analogue tension and direct physical impact, while EMMON brings a more expansive club instinct. How did you negotiate the space between austerity and excess?

Emma: We did not, we just had a flow creating the track aming it to be a dance floor banger and hoped (knew) that ZJ would like it, haha!

Karo: The lyrics in “Salz” move through repetition almost like a fixation. What does repetition allow you to express here that a more narrative structure would weaken?

Eli: It is a fixation. Yes. And that‘s the whole dried here. If you are at the border to transcendence you would not want to leave that mental and emotional space so you keep on going. It‘s like being at a rave at 5 a.m. and you close your eyes and the very next thing that you realise is that it’s noon. It‘s a state of euphoria.

Karo: The track feels built for the body, but the body it imagines does not feel simple, happy or purely hedonistic. It feels tense, driven and haunted. What kind of physical state did you want “Salz” to create?

Emma: Like that manic, inspiring, intense energy you could feel in your guts at an illegal rave party in the mid-’90s.

Eli: Well, the initial idea behind the lyrics was to keep it at the personal level. Now it has opened up to a two-pieced perspective with not only gives it different ingredients but also takes the song to a whole different level. I think, what only this new version brings into account is the complexity. It introduces it for the very first time. The described mental state can be either plain and simple our reflect on the holistic condition of the content.

Karo: EBM has always carried a certain severity, but “Salz” also has sensuality and atmosphere. How important was it to keep the track dangerous without turning it into pure aggression?

Emma: Not at all, it was just a happy accident that came from combining us together. The mood of the track is more like the forbidden feeling of doing something you desperately long for, but aren’t allowed to do.

Karo: Emma, your work has always carried a rare combination of control, force and elegance. In this collaboration, did you feel you were entering Zweite Jugend’s world, pulling them into yours, or creating a third space between both?

Emma: Since Jimmy and I were completely free creatively to do whatever we wanted, you could maybe say that we totally hijacked the track until it became its own creation.

Karo: Eli described inspiration as something that does not have to move in one direction. How important is reciprocity in a scene that often builds its mythology around strong individual identities?

Eli: I feel that the very ancestors of this genre (if you want to just call it one) were all about collaborations and featurings. People came in and left some elements to bring used and left again, or they stayed and became the myth that you are talking about. But behind that it wasn‘t that narrow minded at all. And I feel it is about time to collaborate more to create even greater arts, now that many of the ancestors are gone or retiring. To keep the spirit of this kind of music alive we need to embrace different approaches and let them clash into one work. Just to be separated in other cases.

Karo: “Salz” connects different generations and approaches within the electronic underground. What can older and newer currents in EBM still teach each other when they meet without nostalgia?

Eli: Nostalgia is a very emotional point of view. It can be useful to reflect on old days or to even learn something. But it doesn’t say anything about this present and the past. It‘s most definitely on us to create that future. EBM is more or less dead and now lives in way more open scenes that build on that. If that’s the question, let‘s just accept the past for what it is and build a future that we want to have. Let the younger generation of creators be expressive and successful.

Karo: Collaboration can reveal blind spots in an artist’s own method. Did working together change the way you hear your own sound, your limits, or your future direction?

Emma: What we especially love is working on all kinds of inspiring collaborations, because it’s such an effective way to gain perspectives and discover things you never would have found otherwise. That’s how Jimmy and I both love to work — together and with other artists.

Eli: I always wanted to work with bands like Emmon. Personally, you can’t tear me down to one genre. Today I would listen to NIN und tomorrow it might be Röyksopp. To be honest, I‘m always very disrespectful with my own work. That‘s the essence of being an artist. You have to be your biggest critic. A collaboration is a good way to break this a bit as you might find someone else in your own soul. And that‘s it exactly, colliding souls that build emergence. This just happened to me with Salz and Emma. We are now connected forever. I have left a print of my soul in hers and so she has in mine.

Karo: This collaboration sounds less like a side note and more like a possible threshold. Did “Salz” open any ideas for future work together, either in the studio or on stage?

Emma: Maybe, we’re totally open for all kinds of expressions that inspire us and try not to work with any limitations at all.

Eli: With Zweite Jugend we can now retire. That at least is our approach after we have now the feeling that our story has been told. Which opened up to take some time and see how we want to sound in the future and how to progress without losing the identity. As soon as I heard what Emmon would bring to the table, I was fascinated and inspired. I mean, the least to take from this is inspiration. You never know, probably we should do more collaborations. And we don’t talk about live featurings, because it‘s obviously a things that we most likely should and must do. As soon as our paths cross anyway or on purpose.

Zweite Jugend & EMMON release “Salz” on May 29, 2026 via Icons Creating Evil Art. The track revisits Zweite Jugend’s original version and pushes it into a shadowy, hypnotic club realm, where analogue EBM tension meets EMMON’s darker electronic drive. “Salz” will be available worldwide on major streaming platforms, with an official visualizer also released on YouTube

Karo Kratochwil

Based in Wrocław, I work as a music journalist and photographer covering electro, industrial, EBM, gothic, and darkwave. My work includes features and live coverage, as well as concert, portrait, promo, and theater photography. What interests me most is the connection between artistic intention, what the work communicates, and what unfolds live on stage, all in pursuit of the bigger picture behind the music.

Meanwhile, Swedish artist Emma Nylén aka Emmon has been active in the underground Electro scene for over two decades. She initially gained recognition with the group Paris before continuing her musical path with Emmon. What began as a solo project rooted mainly in Electro-Pop later returned as a duo after a hiatus of several years, embracing a harder, more EBM-oriented sound. In 2022, Emmon made a strong comeback with the album “Recon”, followed last year by “Icon”. Released on Icons Creating Evil Art, “Icon” creates a charged and imaginary tension between EBM, Industrial-Pop, and uncompromising emotion. I spoke with Emma Nylén, the undisputed figurehead of Emmon. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Emmon interview

Q: Emma, you’ve been active in the Electro scene for many years now, and with your solo project Emmon you’ve built an impressive and substantial discography. When you look back on this artistic journey, what comes to mind first? And how do you see yourself today as an artist, musician, and producer?

Emma: Being active as a solo artist on the Electronic music scene for several decades inevitably means going through different phases of creative development and evolving in terms of sound. But after taking a long break in 2014 and then making a comeback with the album “Recon” in 2022, Emmon has been reshaped into something entirely new. Even though I’m still the face of the project, the biggest difference is that Emmon it’s now kind of a duo, as my partner and co-producer Jimmy is much more deeply involved in the entire process. 

Our shared passion and love for music is our greatest source of inspiration, and we draw heavily from everything we listen to and have listened to over the decades. The blend of it all becomes what defines Emmon’s sound.

Q: You released your latest album, “Icon”, at the end of last year. What was the starting point—or perhaps the trigger—for this album, and what does “Icon” represent for you?

Emma: Since releasing “Recon” in 2022, I’ve spent a lot of time on tour, and the stage has truly become my natural habitat. Together we pushed the music toward a more energy-driven sound—something that delivers a powerful rush for both us and the audience. While “Recon” was about rebuilding and redefining both Emma as a person and Emmon as an artist, “Icon” is a bold statement—a confident manifesto rooted in strength, creativity, and unwavering presence. 

Q: What were the different stages, challenges, and obstacles you had to overcome in order to bring this album to a successful conclusion—also in terms of collaboration with others? And how critically do you look back on that process now?

Emma: Our guiding principle in everything we create together is that it should be fun and playful, it makes the process more smooth and easier. I’m also in a place where I feel completely free to take risks without pressure—experimenting and pushing boundaries.

In that sense, “Icon” was quite an easy album to create, as the process flowed smoothly after the work on “Recon”. Since 2022, we’ve maintained a steady pace, producing remixes and working for other artists, and Jimmy was also deeply involved in the music production for the major show “Kite On Ice”. When you do something a lot, you hopefully get better at it too.

Q: Over the years, your music has clearly evolved toward a more aggressive sound with strong EBM influences. How do you reflect on that evolution, and are there specific emotions or states of mind you can now express through this ‘harder’ approach that you couldn’t before?

Emma: I wanted to reconnect with the very reason I love creating and performing music. The answer was simple: to revisit what has always inspired me—hard, infectious Electronic beats that make you feel powerful, both vulnerable and almost immortal at the same time. There’s no better feeling than performing this live on stage. The sense of complete presence in the music together with the audience is deeply addictive

Q: At times, it feels as if your lyrics form an internal dialogue—a conversation with yourself. They come across as introspective and deeply human. What inspires your lyrics, and how important are they for you in terms of expression, processing emotions, or even self-protection?

Emma: For me, lyrics are actually the final stage in the process of creating music. But that doesn’t make them any less important. I often start by building moods and narratives based on the sound, experimenting with different phrasings that feel right. Then it’s like I enter a bubble I can’t really explain—and sometimes I don’t even understand how it happens, it just does. Often, when I listen back to my songs later, I wonder how on earth I managed to create that, and only then do I truly grasp the meaning of what I wrote

Q: You already played quite a number of shows last year, and 2026 looks set to be a very busy year live. What does Emmon stand for on stage, and how do you translate your studio work into a live experience?

Emma: One of the greatest feelings on stage is having full focus and control while completely surrendering to the music and disappearing into it in a magical interplay with the audience. That’s the vision for every show we do. I truly love that state of being, and I believe you can feel it when you see and feel Emmon live. A complete release of energy!

In terms of sound, the songs and music also evolve when performed live. Jimmy often jams exciting new loops on his samplers and synths, and I find new ways to express myself vocally. Most of the time, the songs truly come into their best potential after we’ve toured with them for a while. Maybe we should release a live album sometime?

Q: Beyond your live performances, what other major plans or ambitions do you have for this year?

Emma: I’m really looking forward to releasing a remix version of “Icon” during 2026 featuring a number of really exciting artists as guest remixers. At the same time start creating new material, both for Emmon and possibly for other artists. To be continued!

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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Emma Nylén has been active with her solo project EMMON for more than 20 years now. The Swedish artist has built an impressive discography over the years and returns this year with her latest album, “ICON.” The album features 10 tracks and was preceded by several notable singles.

EMMON stands for a distinctive style that bridges the gap between EBM and Electro-Pop. On the one hand, there is the aggressive and raw energy of EBM, particularly evident in the bass lines; on the other, a more floating and melodic approach rooted in Pop sensibilities. Above it all is Emma’s charismatic voice, which fits the music perfectly. Personally, I am more drawn to the harder and more direct EBM tracks, which are especially prominent at the beginning of the album.

EMMON follows her own path, presenting a strong and varied body of work that includes several outstanding songs. “ICON” is an album that will surprise many. (Rating:8).

Listen to “Shades Of Blue”:

About EMMON

EMMON is the solo project of Swedish musician Emma Nylén, who launched it in Stockholm in 2001. The project mixes EBM and electro-pop, pairing hard bass lines with melodic, pop-rooted arrangements and Nylén’s vocals.

Her discography opened with “The Art and the Evil” (2007) and “Closet Wanderings” (2009) on Wonderland Records, followed by “Nomme” (2011). After a break she returned with “Recon” in 2022, and the 2025 album “ICON” continues that run of EBM and electro-pop.

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