Genre/Influences: EBM, Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: My Love Kills is a Swedish-French duo featuring Fredrik Sigeback (Erotic Elk) and Viconte Vampyr Arkames (Ad Inferna). What seemed to be just a side-project became a formation with a huge potential. The band self-released two albums and especially “Imitatio Dei” became a true masterpiece. That’s for sure why the band has been signed to Progress Productions releasing their third opus “To A World Of Gods And Monsters”.

Content: The new work moves on there where “Imitatio Dei” stopped. It’s a new merge of EBM and Dark-Electro empowered by guitar riffs and with good-old string parts on top. The vocals are harsh, sometimes enraged and totally matching with the darkness of the production. Most of the vocals have been sung in English but you’ll also notice French sung tracks. This album will appeal for fans of early Skinny Puppy and Frontline Assembly.

+ + + : My Love Kills is a band I supported from the very start. They don’t deal with the typical- and average EBM/Dark-Electro sound formula but are merging both styles together. The Pop arrangements from the previous works are less explicit but still noticeable which accentuates the unique format of this project. The work takes off with “Back To Life” which has been also released as a single but the best cuts are right in the final part of the album. I like the more EBM accentuated “La Danse Des Fantômes” featuring cool female backings vocals, “Future Hell”, “On The Path Of Last Shadows” and “The Dark Throne About”. This is pure 80s/90s nostalgia with a refreshing touch on top.

– – – : Speaking for myself I’m missing the more explicit Pop arrangements from the previous album although there’s no reason to complaining.

Conclusion: My Love Kills stands for a recognizable EBM/Dark-Electro sound with a very personal touch on top.

Best songs: “Future Hell”, “La Danse Des Fantômes”, “On The Path Of Last Shadows”, “The Dark Throne About”, “Back To Life”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/Mylovekills

Label: www.progress-productions.com / www.facebook.com/progresspro

The album was released on 29 April 2022 and runs to ten tracks. The label and the band’s own Bandcamp page list the title as “To A New World Of Gods And Monsters”, one word longer than the wording used on the physical edition.

Listen to “To A New World Of Gods And Monsters”:

About My Love Kills

My Love Kills was formed in 2014 as a Swedish-French duo pairing Fredrik Sigeback, who composes the music and also records as Erotic Elk, with Viconte Vampyr Arkames, who writes the lyrics and fronts the French act Ad Inferna. The project is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and introduced itself with the track “Love Undone”.

Five years of silence followed. The duo returned in 2019 with the single “Love Is Suffering”, then the debut album “Glitch” and the “Love Undone” EP. Work on the follow-up started in the summer of 2019, with Arkames writing from his divorce and Sigeback composing twenty tracks around those lyrics. The digital EP “Silent Scream” preceded the album and carried two unreleased tracks plus a remix of the “Glitch” opener “Alone”.

“Imitatio Dei” arrived on double CD through ScentAir Records on 14 April 2020, on Bandcamp on 21 April 2020 and on the remaining platforms on 24 April 2020. Side-Line also ran a ‘Click Interview’ with My Love Kills in December 2020. The signing to Progress Productions followed, and the third album reviewed here appeared on that label on 29 April 2022.

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

MY LOVE KILLS  is the sonic meeting between two artists from different countries, but still from different music universes. Swedish musician Fredrik Sigeback gained some recognition as member of the Electro-Pop band Erotic Elk while French artist ‘Vicomte Vampyre Arkames’ is the vocalist of the harsh Electro-Industrial group Ad:Inferna. This surprising duo released a first album “Glitch” is 2019 on, which they mixed elements of EBM and Electro-Pop. They this year are back on track unleashing their second opus, which is a double disc featuring a total amount of twenty songs (including a hidden track). “Imitatio Dei” has been again released by the Russian label ScentAir Records. The composition sounds as the imaginary hybrid between Skinny Puppy and Electro-Pop music. It’s a sophisticated and refreshing production I can only, but highly recommend.  

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: I didn’t exactly expect a band featuring members of EROTIC ELK and AD:INFERNA; I mean you’re not only living in different countries, but the bands you’re involved with are totally different in style and influences. So how did you get in touch and what brought you to set up this band?

Fredrik: When we made EROTIC ELK’S album “Solitary” VoA VoXyD from AD:INFERNA mixed and mastered the album. Later on Arkames contacted me and we wrote “Love Undone” I made a remix for one of their tracks that, when I listen to it now reminds a lot of the songs on “Glitch”.

Arkames : I remember the day I heard the remix Fredrik did for AD:INFERNA; it was emotional, a very good product with a little Miami Vice touch. I thought it was simply great. And when I decided a few years later to create a new band, I directly sent a message to Fredrik!

Q: What did you try to express by this band name and what can you express through MY LOVE KILLS you maybe can’t with EROTIC ELK and AD:INFERNA?

Fredrik: For me personally I wanted to do something more in EBM style. The EBM formula is more open than when you make Synth-Pop. But I didn´t know what the final product would sound like. But it´s a constant evolution.

Arkames : I wouldn’t talk about sorts of music because “Imitatio Dei” is so varied in my opinion. I’m looking for a trip and I follow the creations Fredrik is sending to me. To be a kind of painter who puts colors with voices, words and sounds.

Q: I can imagine you’re using the net to switch ideas and folders to compose your music, but what’s the input of each member and how did you produce the music and the vocals?

Fredrik: I usually start making some music demos and send to Arkames; he sends me something back that we 9 out of 10 times use. I have never met any person that I am so musically connected to. He gets the sense and feeling of the song directly. I produce the final product with input from Arkames.

Arkames: “Imitatio Dei” was an amazing experience. Sometimes, Fredrik sent me demos, like for “Dead Man Walking”. The music was so intense and I felt it deep inside of me: few hours later, he got a link with the vocal parts and the lyrics too.

Q: You’ve released two albums in two years so how do you look back to the evolution from the more Pop-orientated “Glitch” towards the new and darker sounding “Imitatio Dei”?

Fredrik: “Glitch” was something of a first try, a link between our first track “Love Undone” that we made in 2015. We wanted to evolve the sound and go a bit harsher and darker with the next album.

Q: “Imitatio Dei” has something reminding me to early Skinny Puppy, but with some refined Pop touch on top! Does this definition fit to what you tried to accomplish? Tell us a bit more about the influences (sound- and lyrical wise) and the production criteria for this album?

Fredrik: When writing and producing the first songs for the album I ended up with songs that were influenced by 80’s North-American EBM and especially Skinny Puppy from that era. We thought it sounded just right so we continued that way. Since I am musically a pop guy we somehow kept the classic verse/refrain receipt. Skinny Puppy’s albums “Cleanse Fold Manipulate” and “Mind TPI” are albums that has made a great impact on me and that formula they created on those albums are still up to date. We wanted to write 10-12 songs for the album, but ended up with 25+ songs. We just couldn’t stop, I have never been so productive. And Arkames delivered high class material all the way.

Arkames : I have many different influences, but Black-Metal is maybe the most pronounced. The dark part inside of me is always present in my lyrics since two decades. Sometimes, like in the song “La Voisin”, the Black-Metal vocals are identifiable. But I don’t want to resume my work on MY LOVE KILLS on one kind of voice, thus, I vary my way of singing as much as possible.

Q: Are (or were) there plans to bring MY LOVE KILLS on stage? And how do you see this essential aspect of playing live evolving while the world is going through this terrible pandemic? What are your further plans?

Fredrik: Our focus is to start writing new material quite soon. Playing live would be nice, whenever it is possible.

Arkames : Yes, Winter is the perfect time to open a new chapter of MY LIVE KILLS. I don’t know which orientation the new album will take, but something is FOR sure: fans won’t be disappointed.

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, Double CD.

Background/Info: The Swedish-French duo Fredrik Sigeback (Erotic Elk) – ‘Vicomte Vampyre Arkames’ (Ad Inferna) are back on track unleashing their second opus, which is a double disc featuring a total amount of twenty songs (including a hidden song).

Content: “Imitatio Dei” moves on where “Glitch” stopped. The duo again mixes explicit EBM elements together with some Pop refinement. The album takes off with rather accessible songs mixing both genres, but quite progressively the tracklist evolves towards good-old EBM reminding me of early Skinny Puppy polished with Electro-Pop arrangements. I also noticed a few passages with guitar sounds on top. The vocals are mainly sung in English, but there are also French lyrical passages. The spooky way of singing creates a perfect match with the music.

The second disc is quite similar to the main disc, but I noticed a few softer cuts and even a somewhat Cinematographic part. Three songs are totally new while the others are taken from other releases.

+ + + : “Glitch” was already a good surprise, but this album is more than a confirmation. My Love Kills have assimilated retro-EBM together with Pop arrangements. The sound is still dark, but never rough. There are great choruses you can easily keep in mind while great sound atmospheres support the work with cold elegance. I already said a word about the production of the vocals, which accentuates the ghost-like approach of the global sound production. I also like this album because we get 20 songs; there’s no remix and no real B-side cuts.

– – – : The Pop element might hurt some narrow-minded EBM freaks, but I think there are no real minus points about this work. One thing is for sure, the best songs can be found on the main disc.

Conclusion: My Love Kills has improved most aspects of the production, unleashing a sophisticated and efficient piece of EBM!

Best songs: “The New Babylon”, “Silent Scream”, “La Voisin”, “Unterwelt”, “No Remorse”, “Catatonie”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Mylovekills

Label: www.scent-air.com / www.facebook.com/ScentairRecords Read the news on ‘Imitatio Dei’.

About My Love Kills

My Love Kills pairs Swedish musician Fredrik Sigeback, also known from Erotic Elk, with French vocalist “Vicomte Vampyre Arkames” of Ad Inferna. In a Click Interview, the pair explained the connection began when Ad:Inferna’s VoA VoXyD mixed and mastered Erotic Elk’s “Solitary” album; Sigeback later remixed an Ad:Inferna track, and Arkames invited him to start a new band. Their debut album “Glitch” appeared in 2019, and “Imitatio Dei” is the duo’s second full-length, again released via ScentAir Records.

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, CD.

Background/Info: V.V. Arkames (Ad Inferna) and Fredrik Sigeback (Erotic Elk) is a rather unexpected duo, but I’ve to say their debut album “Glitch” released last year was a promising work. They’ve a new album out now entitled “Imitatio Dei” while this self-released EP features three previously unreleased songs plus alternative edits from a song from their debut work and another from the new album.

Content: Some parts of this work and especially the debut track, which is the “EP Version” of “Silent Scream” sounds pretty EBM driven while the chorus is more polished and pop-inspired. But the essence of the work might be considered as electro-pop like. But it’s an evil format, which is probably due to the input of Ad Inferna. “Alone” is a song taken from the new album and featured at the EP as “Beat Version”. This song reminds me a bit of Evils Toy. The previously unreleased songs are more evasive, sometimes making me think to a kind of intermezzos.

+ + + : My Love Kills confirms great writing skills, but it’s not only about a cool composition. The style of this duo is transposing electro-pop into a rough format and that’s something I really like. The aforementioned songs “Silent Scream” and “Alone”, both are very efficient cuts. Among the new songs I especially recommend listening to “Epilogue”, which also has this evil pop sound. I also like the darker atmosphere recovering some tracks and, which totally matches with the somewhat ghost-like vocals’ production.

– – – : The previously unreleased songs don’t really add a bonus. They’re exclusive ones, which is cool for an EP, but rather sounds as ‘fillers’.

Conclusion: I should say that “Silent Scream” confirms the potential of My Love Kills; this band deals with a rather creative electro-pop approach.

Best songs: “Silent Scream – EP Version”, “Alone – Beat Version”, “Epilogue”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/pg/Mylovekills

About My Love Kills

My Love Kills pairs Swedish musician Fredrik Sigeback, also of Erotic Elk, with French vocalist Vicomte Vampyre Arkames of Ad Inferna. The duo formed after Arkames contacted Sigeback for a remix, and released the debut album “Glitch” in 2019. Their second album, “Imitatio Dei”, followed in 2020 on ScentAir Records, the same year as the “Silent Scream” EP reviewed here; the pair discussed both records in a Side-Line Click Interview. My Love Kills went on to release “To A World Of Gods And Monsters” in 2022 and “Mors Nobis” in 2025.

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.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Swedish Finkseye is the solo-project of Henrik Fink Nilsson. “Ecocide” is already the third album released by Razgrom featuring nine songs plus two bonus tracks (which aren’t featured on the digital edit).

Content: Finkseye has been always linked to the EBM scene, but is clearly not the most classic band from the scene. You for sure will discover a few, elaborated and rather typical driven EBM songs. But the main part of the work is more into dense atmospheric passages mixed with EBM elements. Several cuts remained instrumental edits, like a kind of intermezzos. Most of the songs are rather short. Some songs are also featuring guitar sounds, injecting some extra power to the work, but also some extra diversity. Among the bonus tracks you’ll find a remix by compatriots and electro-pop formation Erotic Elk.

+ + + : If you think that EBM is only meant to get people on the dancefloor, some bands like Finkseye might be an exception. Their best tracks are however danceable and driven by usual EBM ingredients. I especially like the solid bass lines, but there still is a kind of haunting atmosphere recovering these songs. “Unreality” is for sure one of the absolute highlights. The spooky vocals are also perfectly matching with the sound. But this work again reveals great atmospheric EBM pieces like “Playing God”, “The Day The World Went Away” and “Extinction Level event” (featuring Swedish vocals). I also have to mention the solid ‘intro’ “Entering A Storm”.

– – – : The album is maybe a little too short; 11 songs, but only 39 minutes of music! I also regret there are no more ‘harder’ cuts featured, but Finkseye first of all appears to be a band apart from the traditional EBM scene.

Conclusion: If an EBM soundtrack should be invented, “Ecocide” would be a judicious choice!

Best songs: “Unreality”, “Entering A Storm. Intro”, “Playing God”, “Extinction Level Event”, The Day The World Went Away”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Finkseye

Label: www.razgrom.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Razgrom-Music/218060094876247

About Finkseye

Before Finkseye, Henrik Fink Nilsson was involved with the band Struma. The Finkseye name combines his middle name, Fink, with the “eye” of his artistic side, which also covers acrylic paintings, ink drawings and photography. He came up with the name and logo in 1995 and began making music under it in 1996, having discovered electronic music as a child through Kraftwerk’s “Radio-Activity” before moving on to Depeche Mode and Gary Numan. Older Finkseye-era tracks were released under the name Ventilounge on Soundcloud. “Ecocide” is his third official Finkseye album, released on Razgrom Music.

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 Stockholm (Sweden) based electro act My Love Kills are back less than a year after their rather good debut album “Glitch” (here’s our review). “Imitatio Dei” will be released both digitally on all major platforms and physically on a double CD. The CD will be released via ScentAir Records on the 14th of April 2020. The digital Bandcamp version will follow on the 21st of April, all other platforms will follow on the 24th of April 2020.

Prior to the album there will be a digital EP released of ”Silent Scream” including two unreleased tracks and one remix of last album “Glitch” opening track “Alone”.

Recordings for the material for “Imitatio Dei” started in the Summer of 2019 and shows how song text writer V.V. Arkames transformed his current personal experience, his divorce, into a ‘lyrical exorcism’ as he calls it putting the words that hurt on paper. Fredrik Sigeback from his side composed 20 tracks to go along with the lyrics.

My Love Kills was formed in 2014 and introduced themselves in the scene with the track “Love undone”. After an unexpected 5 years of silence, V.V. Arkames (Ad Inferna) and Fredrik Sigeback (Erotic Elk) returned with a new single called “Love Is Suffering” followed by the debut album “Glitch” and the “Love Undone” EP.

Here’s an idea of what the band sounds like. Read the review of ‘Imitatio Dei’.

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

Genre/Influences: EBM, body-pop.

Background/Info: The debut-album “Glitch” resulted from the common efforts between V.V. Arkames (Ad Inferna) and Fredrik Sigeback (Erotic Elk). While French formation Ad Inferna deals with a harder, electro-industrial sound, Swedish band Erotic Elk is known for their electro-pop sound. The album was preceded by the EP “Love Is Suffering”.

Content: I can imagine “Glitch” will be an introduction for many music lovers to the sonic universe of My Love Kills. The sound rapidly appears to be a melting pot between influences moving from EBM to electro-pop to darker and more sophisticated parts reminding me of the 90s sound of Paracont. The vocals are now spooky and wafting and then harsh and distorted. The global production of songs and vocals is clearly characterized by some versatility. Notice by the way that Tomas Gustafsson (still involved with Erotic Elk) played some guest guitar parts on 2 songs and he did backing vocals on one song as well.

+ + + : I especially like the 90s EBM approach emerging from songs such as “My Last Words”, “Exil” and “2 As 1”. I here discovered a more elaborated and intelligent electro format. But “Glitch” has much more to offer and that’s why I also refer to songs as “Alone” and “Just for One Kiss”, which next to their EBM touch also has something pop on top. I’m also in for the passages featuring sensual vocals.

– – – : I’m rather convinced by this debut work although I sometimes get the impression My Love Kills is still in search of a proper music style. The title song from their EP (cf. “Love Is Suffering”) is a song that couldn’t convince me.

Conclusion: My Love Kills has released an album featuring several noticeable songs, but still has to grow finding their real style. I can only encourage them to keep at it!

Best songs: “My Last Words”, “Alone”, “Exil”, “2 As 1”, Love Undone”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Mylovekills

Label: www.scent–air.com / www.facebook.com/ScentairRecords

About My Love Kills

My Love Kills was formed in 2014 by V.V. Arkames and Fredrik Sigeback, introducing themselves with the track “Love Undone”. The project then went silent for five years before returning in 2019 with the single “Love Is Suffering”, followed by the debut album “Glitch” on ScentAir Records. The band returned in 2020 with a second album, “Imitatio Dei”, a double CD of twenty tracks again released through ScentAir Records, with lyrics written by V.V. Arkames and music composed by Fredrik Sigeback.

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: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: Tomas Gustafsson, Fredrik Sigeback (both also known as Erotic Elk) and Johan Siegeback are releasing their debut album “Mirage”. They previously released several EP’s.

Content: State Of The Nation is Swedish electro-pop that will make people happy. The sound is sweet, but danceable. Some guitar parts can be noticed now and then. Next to the more danceable cuts, the work also reveals a few, softer songs. The vocals are somewhat fragile-like, but perfectly matching with the music.

“Mirage” features 10 songs plus 4 remixes.

+ + + : “Mirage” is a real entertaining opus, which doesn’t really innovate in the electro-pop genre and yet, it doesn’t sound like a new ‘cheap’ copy from a leading formation in the genre. This albums has something pretty ‘Summer’-like for its ‘happiness’, but it also is an artistic piece of music. The songs are well-crafted and the sound production reveals a professional approach. I especially like the “Endless” song, which also is one of the most danceable ones, but in a different way I recommend “Complementary”, which is a short, but emotional cut.

– – – : The album is missing an absolute hit, but we get several cool songs instead. The remixes don’t really add a bonus to the work.

Conclusion: Sweden clearly reminds one of the most prolific countries when it comes to produce electro-pop music. I definitely prefer Erotic Elk, but State Of The Nation is something different and pretty cool as well.

Best songs: “Endless”, “Hamburg”, “Complementary”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/sotnsweden

About State Of The Nation

State Of The Nation is a Swedish electro-pop project formed by Tomas Gustafsson, Fredrik Sigeback and Johan Siegeback. Gustafsson and Sigeback also record as Erotic Elk, a project formed in 2009 in Vinslöv, Sweden; the pair had previously played together in the bands Kranium and Taskforce 1 during the 1980s, with Sigeback also a member of Showdown in the 1990s. The band’s name references the 1986 New Order single of the same title. State Of The Nation released several EPs before its debut album, “Mirage,” reviewed here. A single and video for “Burden”, featuring remixes by People Theatre and The Real Dreamers and filmed in and around Malmö, followed in January 2019.

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

After a first introduction with the track “Love undone” and then an unexpected 5 years of silence, V.V. Arkames of Ad Inferna and Fredrik Sigeback of Erotic Elk are back with a new single called “Love Is Suffering”. This time, My Love Kills presents a club oriented dark song surfing between synthpop and different EBM styles.

Also a video has been launched for the new single:

The debut album “Glitch” will soon be completed and will be released on ScentAir Records.

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

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, body-pop.

Background/Info: Russian electro-pop formation WANT/ed returns with their fourth full length album. The band actually consisting of Yury Aryasov and Sergey Surkov unleashed an album featuring 10 songs plus 2 remixes. Some of the cuts have been already released on previous EP’s.

Content: The band invited numerous guest singers to achieve this work. Tomas Gustafsson (known from Erotic Elk) is not only singing, but also playing guitar on a few cuts. I also have to mention Patrik Hansson (Vanguard) and Miranda Cartel while names like Catrine Christensen, Holger Muller, Evgenly Rodionov and Teemu Salo (Fadeout)       are maybe less familiar names.

Because of the different vocalists this album also sounds pretty diversified. The tracks however moves in between electro-pop and harder body-pop cuts. Some of the female singers cover the work with a breeze of sensuality while the male singers mainly sing on the ‘harder’ cuts. From danceable tracks to melancholic passages, WANT/ed clearly sounds clearly inspired by Depeche Mode.

The bonus remixes have been done by Uncarnate and Erotic Elk.

+ + + : I’m often a skeptical about a band working with multiple singers, but I’ve to admit WANT/ed did a real great selection. The diversity of the work is interesting as you might be seduced by the sensuality of the songs featuring Miranda Cartel and Catrine Christensen at one side and Patrik Hansson (often linked to Mesh) at the other side. The songs are sometimes evoking Depeche Mode, but the most important thing is that they’re well-crafted and revealing all the experience of this Russian duo. Among the harder cuts I’ve to mention the pretty cool “Future Rhythm 2017” with guitar playing by Tomas Gustafsson.

– – – : This is album sounds cool, diversified and enjoyable from start till finish, but I’m just missing a potential hit!

Conclusion: WANT/ed simply confirms great electro-pop is not only and most of the times made in Germany or Sweden, but also in Russia. ScentAir has a nose for national talents and WANT/ed definitely is a band to discover and keep an eye on.

Best songs: “Future Rhythm 2017”, “Fall”, “Nothing To Fear”, “My Pride”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/wantedelectronicsounds

Label: www.scent–air.com / www.facebook.com/ScentairRecords

Read the news on ‘Unthinkable’.

About WANT/ed

WANT/ed is an electro-pop band from Kaliningrad, Russia, formed by Yury Aryasov and Sergey Surkov. The band joined forces with UK act One Vista in 2015 and released a multi-collaboration album in 2016, followed by the digital EP “Nothing To Fear” in 2017. “Unthinkable”, reviewed here, is the band’s fourth album for ScentAir Records.

WANT/ed followed “Unthinkable” later in 2018 with the EP “Peace”, featuring the SoftWave singer.

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

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)
The Russian electronic band WANT/ed continues their collaborations across the Baltic Sea when releasing their new digital EP ‘Nothing to fear’. This time with the Swedish musicians Tomas Gustafsson and Fredrik Sigeback from Erotik Elk, resulting in two excellent electronic tracks, but surprisingly also two acoustic versions.

Tracklist:
01 Nothing To Fear [Single Version]
02 Nothing To Fear [Erotic Elk Remix]
03 Start To Leave [Acoustic Version]
04 Nothing To Fear [Acoustic Version]

Buy the album at iTunes , or download the EP here (Russian) or here (English).

Jan Ronald Stange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

Genre/Influences: Synth-pop, wave-pop.

Background/Info: State Of The Nation is a new Swedish formation featuring Erotic Elk members Tomas Gustafsson and Fredrik Sigeback plus Johan Siegeback (brother of Fredrik). After some successful Erotic Elk releases I was really wondering about this new formation, which is pop-minded as well. This EP features the title song plus 7 remixes and a B-side cut.

Content: “Departed” is a sweet and enjoyable pop song with vintage elements on top, which mainly remind me of New Order (especially for the bass line).

The remixes are really diversified moving from groovy, dance parts to great 80s inspiration. If you’re more into the ‘original’ song you for sure will notice the vintage touch in remix by Lackan and the one by Val Solo.

The B-side song sounds like a pure cinematographic experience and the kind of song that is the perfect filler for an EP.

+ + + : One single song and a B-side cut are not that enough to get a real idea about this band’s potential although I have to admit that the title song is a well-crafted composition that will appeal for all lovers of New Order, Erasure and related formations. The vocals totally fit to this kind of music.

– – – : I can understand that they tried to put some diversity in the choice of the remixers, but the groovy, technoid cuts are simply forgettable.

Conclusion: State Of The Nation evokes some cool souvenirs getting us back to the early magic of electro-wave and wave-pop music. It sounds fresh and happy-minded.

Best songs: “Departed – Radio Edit”, “Departed – Lackan ‘Mid-Eighties Remix”, “Departed – Val Solo Hybrid Duet Version”.

Rate: (6½).

Band: www.facebook.com/sotnsweden

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: Electro-pop, electro-wave.

Content: This EP by Swedish formation Vogon Poetry is meant as a teaser to introduce their 2nd album “The Prefect Stories”.

“Never Too Late” is a good choice as the title-song although not an absolute smasher. It’s a well-crafted electro-pop-wave cut featuring nice electro bleeps. The only regret I have about this song is the minimal touch that seems to have been lost. I don’t know if it’s fully representative for their new full length album, but it definitely was an essential aspect featured on their debut opus “Don’t Panic”.

The title song has been remixed in 9 different versions. This is an opportunity to discover the creativity of bands like Erotic Elk, Diskodiktator and Restriction 9 plus several less familiar names. The most noticeable remix is the one by Japanese producer Kei Kohara who realized an amazing job. The remix reveals a somewhat experimental/glitch approach mixed with power and technoid arrangements. This is a terrific transposition of the original version into a supersonic dancefloor style.

Two other noticeable remixes were accomplished by established pop formations Erotic Elk and Diskodiktator. I especially liked the minimal reinforced touch emerging from the Diskodiktator remix.

I can’t say that the other remixes left are terribly inspiring, but some experimental-minded remixes are quite interesting. So I’ll make a special mention of Blitflipp. In a totally different approach there also is the rather ‘happy-sounding’ remix by Jooli. Notice by the way that Vogon Poetry accomplished thier own remix as well.

The EP features a few more songs and one of the most noticeable ones is the cover version of the legendary “Only You”-song, which you know from The Flying Pickets, Yazoo ao. This cover sounds a bit melancholy.

Another noticeable song is the remix of “Vectors” (originally released at the EP “More Things To Do In Zero Gravity”). The “Garkbit Edit” is a fascinating exploration of electro fields moving in between EBM and pop-minimalism.

Conclusion: “Never Too Late” is a song that you’ll easily keep in mind because of the formula they used which is to remix the song like hell. The least I can say is that it works for “Never Too Late”.

Best songs: “Never Too Late – Kei Kohara Remix”, “Never Too Late – Diskodiktator Remix”, “Never Too Late”, “Never Too Late – Erotic Elk Remix”.

Rate: (DP:7)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/vogonpoetrymusic

Label: www.scent-air.com / www.facebook.com/ScentairRecords

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: Synth-pop.

Content: It took 3 years for Erotic Elk to achieve their 3rd full length. That’s probably the explanation of the album title “III”. This Swedish duo impressed me with their debut work “Design With Circuitry” (2010) and confirmed their great skills composing synth-pop music on, “Solitary” (2011).

They left Major Records to self-release their new album, which is mainly characterized by the use of mainly analogue gear. It’s an element you can hear in the efficiency and originality of the vintage sound treatments. Most of the bass lines are irresistible, but there also is a solid melodic element throughout the songs. From a pure technical point of view this is for sure their most professional album.

The work reveals catchy elements and globally speaking a kind of ‘happy-sound feeling’. Several songs are pretty danceable, but this work also reflects a softer and evasive side. So in the end I would say that “III” is pretty diversified while the load of remixes and alternative mixes reinforce this variety in sound.

The first part of the album reveals multiple noticeable tracks, but I’ve a little preference for “Other Side Of Love”, which also sounds a bit electro-rock like. That’s maybe not a coincidence as Fredrik Sigeback and Tomas Gustafsson revealed their intention to write some of the songs in a gothic-rock vein, but with synthesizers. It might be also an explanation to the surprising cover version of “Wicked Game.” The original song by Chris Isaak –which remains a real jewel in music history, has been transformed with a genius result. You’ll still recognize the original song, but it all sounds like it has been covered with some Depeche Mode-input.

After the fascinating cover of “Wicked Game” you’ll notice the sublime “Higher”, which according to me is one of the main attention grabbers. It sounds a bit rock-inspired as well, but is mainly carried by terrific sound treatments. “Would” and the already known EP-title song “Burning Down Your House” both are noticeable cuts as well. It all sounds catchy and danceable while once more revealing the experienced production of this band. Notice by the way that Claus Larsen did the mastering of the album.

Next to the 14 songs this limited CD-format features 5 bonus tracks. There’s an “Acoustic Version” of “Dark Winter” and an “Extended Version” of “My My Hey Hey”, but the most promising cuts are the remixes by Denormal and Vaylon. Vogon Poetry made a remix as well.

Conclusion: Song-wise “III” is not my favorite album, but the technical skills and especially the global production process revealed by this album are exceptional. If you don’t know Erotic Elk, you for sure going to love this opus and if you’re already familiar with their work you simply will get the confirmation of their talent.

Best songs: “Higher”, “Burning Down Your House”, “Would”, “Wicked Game”, “Other Side Of Love”.

Rate: (DP:8)DP.

Band: www.eroticelk.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Erotic-Elk/158623404177447

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