Out now is a brand new Fatal Casualties new track, “Monomania“, which holds guest vocals by Gin Devo (Vomito Negro).

“Monomania” is the first track taken from the coming “Guest EP II” (release date to be announced). You can check out the track below.

Fatal Casualties will release 3 “Guest EP´s” in 2024 via the German label Minimalkombinat. The contributing guests on the first “Guest EP I” were: Dean Piavani (Portion Control), Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire), Émelie Huard (Prosymna), Pelle Ossler and Mick Clarke.

3 of the songs from “Guest EP I” has been released earlier as videos:

About Fatal Casualties

Fatal Casualties is a Swedish experimental electronica band formed in Stockholm in 1986 by Stefan Ljungdahl and Ivan Hirvonen. Initially active from 1987 to 1991, they went on a long hiatus before reuniting in 2010. The band’s first official release was the EP “Paria” in 2012, following years of releasing demos and live performances.

The band’s music blends various electronic styles, often characterized by dark, cinematic atmospheres and experimental sounds. Their third album, “Filter”, released by Seja Records, exemplifies their evolution, incorporating ambient and slow rhythmic elements with an experimental edge.

Fatal Casualties have regularly collaborated with other artists, such as their work with Stephen Mallinder of Cabaret Voltaire and Dean Piavani of Portion Control. These collaborations feature prominently in their trilogy of EPs titled “Guest”, exploring themes of resilience and introspection.

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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Dark-Electro heads know Gino Devos aka ‘Gin Devo’ as core member of Vomito Negro. The Belgian musician also started to compose music under his own name and released a few noticeable productions. Gin Devo sounds more ‘free-styled’ and as Gino explains in the interview this project gives him more ‘freedom’. The newest album “The Garden Of Evil” released last year on Scanner / Dark Dimensions features extremely dark and tormented atmospheres with great Minimal-Electro compositions.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You don’t exactly release new work at regular basis as Gin Devo but what means this solo-project to you and especially in comparison with Vomito Negro?

Gin: The musical direction from Vomito Negro over the years almost never changed. Vomito Negro’s style  is still the same as in the 80s; it is impossible to change a musical direction from a band who is busy so long time.

Vomito Negro took another approach in the past with “Fireball” and this turned out very bad for the band.

With Gin Devo I have more freedom, every solo album takes a different starting point or style, for me this is very important because I like to experiment and start again where other bands stopped in the 80s or 90s.

Q: What are the main differences between both projects when it comes to influences, sound approach & -research, production, concept?

Gin: With Gin Devo and “The Garden of Evil” I started to work the way we did in the early 90s. The early 90s where very bad for our style of Electronic music because House music started to dominate the scene, so lots of Electro bands quit or started to make Dance music, what sounded pathetic.

So for me the 90s are musically incomplete, and this is a gift for me because I own the know-how and instruments to complete that decade.

Q: Tell us a bit more about “The Garden Of Evil”? What have been the triggers and influences to compose this work and what does the title refer to?

Gin: Years ago I was listening to Clock DVA’s “Buried Dreams”, and asked myself why isn’t there a successor for that album or musical style, and I came with the same answer… the scene was dying.

So this triggered me to start with “The Garden Of Evil”.

No musician is working in that 90s style anymore, so I’m the only one who dares to pick up the thread again.

So I produced this album completely in the way we did in the early 90s.

Q: Listening to productions of Vomito Negro and Gin Devo I’m always fascinated by the overwhelming darkness running through your work. Where does this dark side comes from and in which way is it a mirror to your soul?

Gin: I grew up in the 80s, that was not a very happy period, we listened a lot to dark music styles and started to compose music ourselves. The 80s were very grey, buildings where dirty from exhaust gasses, there was a lot of un-employment.

There are people who fight against darkness, and there are others who use the darkness to create stuff… music, art etc… that’s me.

Q: You’re definitely fascinated by good-old analogue and modular equipment which is a totally different way of working than composing music with digital- and software synths. Tell us a bit more about your studio equipment, favorite tools and your perception of ‘artists’ working with software synths?

Gin: I bought lots of vintage analog gear 20 years ago, nobody wanted those dinosaurs anymore, so they were very cheap. The same with the early 90s digital synths, they collected dust and people sold them for peanuts. So I own lots of them, my studio is packed with gear from the 70s 80s 90s. Those old instruments have a distinctive sound and beautiful control boards, they invite you to explore them and create sounds and music.

Maybe plug-ins work good too, but who wants to create music in front of a computer screen? It’s boring and contra-artistic, you have to touch your instruments, feel them… not only hear them.

Q: You’ve been involved with music since the early 80s so how do you see the evolution of Electronic music generally speaking and how do you expect things evolving the next years? And how would be your life without music?

Gin: With modern Electro I think they sometimes  make it too complex or too distorted. So I’m very selective in the albums I listen to. I think small electro bands are always better to innovate, and larger bands steal from them.

I couldn’t imagine a life without music, I hope my ears, brain and hands keep working for a long time.

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: Dark-Electro, Minimal-Electro, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Vomito Negro core member Gino De Vos aka ‘Gin Devo’ started releasing solo-production in 2012 (cf. “Errata” and “Surface”). His new work (cf. “Electroteque”) was released in 2017. This new opus is the fourth full length by the Belgian legend of underground Electronics.

Content: Gin Devo remains faithful to his ultra-dark sound treatments and -atmospheres. The work sounds pretty retro-like, the global atmosphere emerging of the tracks being more important than power. The songs are carried by repetitive loops and accentuated by obscure bass lines, strings, spoken samplings and Gino’s ghost-like vocals on top.

+ + + : I’ve always liked the sound universe of Gin Devo. You really get the illusion entering into an evil, dark, cave so the title of the work totally fits with the sound atmosphere. This is an extreme format of darkness but it also is a captivating production for its minimalism. The songs have been composed with vintage gear injecting an ‘authentic’ touch to the production while Gin Devo remains for sure a little genius when it comes to icy sound treatments. The work features multiple cool songs but I want to mention “Bitter Tears” for its sound intelligence reminding me of the Clock DVA universe. The opening piece “Dark Frequencies” is another essential track.

– – – : The very last song “Son Of Sam” sounds like pure Experimentalism and a rather anticlimax compared to the rest of the tracklist.

Conclusion: The work reflects an endless state of darkness which could be a perfect sonic metaphor to the work we’re living in.

Best songs: “Bitter Tears”, “Dark Frequencies”, “Amend”, “Only For Moments”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/Gindevo

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206

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: Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Vomito Negro stroke back before summer with the new album “Entitled”. The work features older-, but previously unreleased tracks, which were originally written in the 80s and now reworked and re-recorded. Eight pieces have been recovered from dust and resurrected.Notice by the way the vinyl edit was released by Mecanica (Poland).

Content: These songs sound like ‘old’ Vomito Negro; a dark and tormented sound, which made the Belgian band that famous. Coldness sounds like they are emerging from any single note and arrangement while the ghost-like vocals by Gin Devo are only reinforcing the nightmarish approach. “In Strikt Tempo” is a familiar, old track, but this version is totally different from both versions originally released at “Human” (1990).

+ + + : “Entitled” clearly consists of untitled, forgotten and previously unreleased songs by this great Belgian formation. It brings us back to the glorious days of the band although Gin Devo is now the single core member on board. This work has the smell of the late 80s and early 90s. The first half of “Entitled” is absolutely phenomenal; a mysterious, cold track with samples about LSD to take off followed by the elaborated and ghost-like “In Strikt Tempo”. “Something Must Break” coming next creates a transcendental sensation by the repetitive sequences, but it’s another cool cut. Both last tracks are also worthy of examination; a bit harder again and brining us back to dark, terror-like atmospheres.

– – – : I only noticed 2 songs (cf. “Blood Fever” and “Weak”), which can’t totally convince me.

Conclusion: I’m always a bit skeptical when famous bands release old and unreleased material, but this album will ravish the ‘old’ Vomito Negro fans… even if the band’s legendary singer is no longer involved, this album sounds great!

Best songs: “Something Must Break”, “In Strict Tempo”, “Murk”, “Ongoing Patterns”, “23 Days”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.vomitonegro.com / www.facebook.com/vomitonegro

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206

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 + download card.

Background/Info: Three years after the successful debut album “Ultranoia” , the international collective Damage Control strikes back with an album featuring ten remixes. Nine songs from “Ultranoia” have been remixed by different artists. Chris Peterson has been again in charge of the mixing and mastering. The download card features one extra remix.

Content: The different remixes and collaborations resulted in a varied work, which remains driven by sophisticated EBM reminding me of FLA, Skinny Puppy and related bands. Remixes were accomplished by Craig Saunders, Phil Western, Gin Devo, Tom Slug, Slighter, Manufacture, Ehsan Gelsi, Sirus and Markus App (2 remixes). Some edits are pure remixes while others have been made together with Damage Control.

+ + + : “Hypernoia” is a cool addition to “Ultranoia”. I definitely prefer the ‘regular’ album, which remains a true masterpiece, but this album reveals a great remix of “Reasons” Phil Western, transposing the original song into a Trance-Body cut. I also like the “Trauma”-remix in collaboration with Markus App, which stands for intelligent EBM. “Hell’s Gate” has been also remixed in a cool and surprising Ambient edit by Ehsan Gelsi. And I also have to mention the dubby “Sirus Remix” of “Hate Crime”.

– – – : Remixes are a cool bonus to the “Ultranoia”-album, but the original songs definitely remain the best ones!

Conclusion: If you don’t know Damage Control, you better first listen to “Ultranoia” and then “Hypernoia”.

Best songs: “Reasons – Phil Western Remix”, “Trauma – Damage Control vs. Markus App Remix”, “Hell’s Gate – Ehsan Gelsi Remix”.  

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.damagecontrolofficial.com / www.facebook.com/damagecontrol

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

Out later next month via Mecanica, and limited to 500 copies, is the Vomito Negro album “Entitled”. This album was created with entirely unreleased tracks from the early 80’s. All songs were re-arranged and re-recorded by Gin Devo at his own studio, The Lab, with the use of original vintage hardware synthesizers, sequencers and drum machines.

Tracks:

1. Ongoing Patterns
2. In Strikt Tempo
3. Something Must Break
4. Black Point
5. Blood Fever
6. Weak
7. Murk
8. 23 Days

About Vomito Negro

Vomito Negro is a Belgian electronic band formed in 1983. The name is Spanish and Portuguese for “black vomit”, a phenomenon that arises in the last stage of the disease yellow fever.

After numerous successful releases like “Shock”, “Human” and “The New Drug” Gin Devo was discontent with the result of their last studio album “Fireball” released in 2002. As a result he started a new project called Pressure Control and released the debut album “Vamp”. In 2008 Gin Devo decided to bring back Vomito Negro and also released “Skull & Bones”. In January 2013, the band released the album “Fall of an Empire” followed by “Death Sun” (2014) and “Black Plague” (2017).

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, Dark-Electro, Electro-Pop, Body-Pop, Electro-Wave.

Format: Digital, 2 CD.

Background/Info: Scanner is a subdivision of Dark Dimensions, which this year celebrates its twentieth anniversary. Set up by Francesco D’Angelo, Scanner has been always and mainly devoted to Electronic genres like EBM, Dark-Electro and Electro-Pop. The compilation features twenty six artists and songs reminding us of the great artists from this label.

Artists: Gin Devo, BhamBhamHara, Autodafeh, Kreign, DSTR, Fractal Age, Destin Fragile, Blue Images, Twins In Fear, Cyan Inc, Vomito Negro, [:SITD:], Eden Synthetic Corps, Mechanical Moth, Centhron, Intent:Outtake, Disorder:Mankind, Das Werk, X-Fusion, Spetsnaz, Grausame Töchter, Epinephrin, Black Heaven, A Spell Inside, Absurd Minds, Straftanz. 

Content: This sampler is a perfect way to (re)discover the Scanner label roaster, which features some great EBM names such as Autodafeh and Spetsnaz while other names such as [:SITD:], Vomito Negro + Gin Devo, Eden Synthetic Corps and Absurd Minds were more active in a darker EBM format, getting pretty close with pure Dark-Electro. Centhron and X-Fusion are for sure Dark-Electro! Other bands like BhamBhamHara and Straftanz are more representative of the progressive (Techno)-EBM format. A Spell Inside remains one of the ‘oldest’ bands from the roster and still one of the few to deal with Electro-Pop. And then there’s Grausame Töchter, which remains a very unique experience in sound. The compilation also features a few bands we’ve a bit forgotten like Fractal Age, Destin Fragile, Epinephrin. It’s also a while ago we’ve heard something from Cyan Inc. And there’re new signatures like the promising EBM formation Kreign and the Experimental-Electro Twins In Fear plus a few totally unknown names like Das Werk and Disorder:Mankind.

+ + + : When you take a brief look at the names featured at this compilation you can only, but agree Scanner has been for numerous years one of the leading labels from the Dark-Electro scene. But this compilation becomes really interesting when you’ll know that nearly all of the tracks are exclusive ones and/or rare edits. Frank D’Angelo always has had a nose to sign great artists, Kreign being the new sensation! My favorite cuts from the album are the ones by X-Fusion and Grausame Töchter remixed by And One.

– – – : This compilation doesn’t cover the entire Scanner roster, which says something about the Electronic welfare from the label. Some artists that haven’t been featured (because they’re no longer part of the label) are Amnistia, Stromkern, Distorted Reality, Sleepwalk, Page 12, The Eternal Afflict, Cycloon, Sara Noxx, Re:Work, Spiritual Reality, Inside, Das Präparat.. More than enough to fill an extra disc and they all are still part of this great label’s history.

Conclusion: This compilation is a part of history; 20 years of great underground music by Scanner!

Best bands: X-Fusion, Grausame Töchter, Autodafeh, Straftanz, BhamBhamHara, [:SITD:].

Rate: (8½).

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Dimensions-Label-Group/486014725206

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: Dark-electro, EBM.

Background/Info: Vomito Negro is back on track. Still driven by original founder Gin Devo and assisted (mainly live on drums) by Sven Kadanza. “Black Plague” is the tenth (new) studio album in history of this Belgian pioneer of dark-electronics and EBM.

Content: The sound of Vomito Negro remains something special and timeless, but different from most of the contemporary artists in the genre. The reason is quite simple and consists of Gin Devo’s way of composing music. I think it’s more about a kind of ‘sound philosophy’ of an artist who still prefers to use his old, analog gear with this very special sound instead of cheap and trendy software synths and programs. But Vomito Negro also remains driven by this eternal darkness supporting the entire album with haunting and tormenting atmospheres. The spooky vocals are a perfect accomplishment to this obscure opus.

+ + + : You already have understood I’m fascinated by the sound manipulations and tormenting atmospheres this album is made of. It’s pure ‘old-styled’ Vomito Negro, which moves back to the early years of the band. Everything sounds so dark and desperate, like an artist who’s maybe chasing his demons by an exorcism called ‘music’. The work reveals oppressive atmospheres, aggressive EBM bass lines and evil vocals sung by Gin Devo.

– – – : The album only features 9 songs, which is maybe a pity, but here again Gin Devo is ‘old-styled’. No reason to put extra songs without interest, but I have to admit it would have been cool to get a few extra cuts. Globally speaking I like this work expect a few more experimental tracks such as the instrumental “Pagan Epitaphs”.

Conclusion: In times where dark-electronic formations are sounding pretty similar or are just an emulation of a bigger name, Vomito Negro sounds as a real relief. This band hasn’t lost its initial magic and oppressive darkness.

Best songs: “Bone Cutter”, “Inside Your Brain”, “Unleash My Demons”, “Black Plague”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.vomitonegro.com / www.facebook.com/vomitonegro

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark–Dimensions–Label–Group/486014725206

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

Things don’t always go as expected, and that’s exactly what happened to Gin Devo and Sven Kadanza when they announced a new album to be released by the end of 2016. Nothing happened.

Released one year later than expected, it’s almost there, the new Vomito Negro album “Black Plague”. The limited first edition comes in a digipak and can be ordered right here.

For now enjoy the video for “Black Plague”.

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: Minimal-electro, cinematographic.

Background/Info: Gin Devo will always be linked to Vomito Negro, which remains one of the essential dark-electro/EBM formations from the early 90s. Next to Vomito Negro, Gin Devo also released music under his own artist name and I especially remember his minimal-EBM album “Errata” (2012) released on EK Product. He also released the “Surface”-album, which was something different and more experimental. A new album has already been announced and Gin Devo even revealed to be inspired by Clock DVA.

Content: “Electrotheque” has not that much in common with Clock DVA. It quickly appears to be a different work composed by an impressive arsenal of analogue gear. The front cover clearly indicates where the Belgian master got his influences from. “Electrotheque” is an old-school electro album revealing the magic of good-old (modular) synthesizers.

The songs remain instrumentals. They’re pretty minimal-like and often carried by deep, dry bass lines and beautiful, reverie synth passages. It sounds a bit soundtrack-minded, but also hides a few little surprises like the nu-disco driven “In This Heat”.

+ + + : I expected a totally different work from this new album although I have to admit that the sound of pure vintage/modular/analogue synths is something magic and incomparable. Gin Devo is a trained and talented operator who clearly knows his machines. He also confirms to have a wider arsenal of influences than only composing EBM-driven songs. The sound remains pretty dark although there are a few little surprises like the nu-disco sounding “In This Heat” featuring sequences à la Donna Summer. I’m more into the minimalism of songs such as “Adhesive” and “Echo Path”.

– – – : From time to time Gin Devo likes to take his fans by surprise revealing another side of his talent. This work has less in common with Vomito Negro although it has been composed with the same gear. The cinematographic and somewhat experimental approach is not that accessible and I’m especially missing a few vocal parts.

Conclusion: “Electrotheque” is an appropriated title, which sounds a bit like an artist who’s promoting his studio. It’s a surprising and yet well-crafted opus although not my favorite.

Best songs: “Adhesive”, “Echo Path”, “Tilted Glass”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.facebook.com/Gindevo

Label: www.darkdimensions.de /  www.facebook.com/pages/Dark–Dimensions–Label–Group/486014725206

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: IDM, dark & minimal electronics, experimental.

Content: Dejan Samardzic (music) and Daniel Myer (music & vocals) aren’t exactly releasing Haujobb releases on regular basis so each new studio album remains a cool surprise. The legendary German formation, which invented their very own sound and style is back on track unleashing a new opus of 11 songs.

The fans of the band will for sure have discovered one of the songs (cf. “Input Error“) on the same-titled EP. This song is a real good reference to get an idea about the new stuff. Haujobb remains a very unique band in the genre dealing with a minimal format of electronics, which appears to be in between dark-electronics and IDM. The sounds are sophisticated while the structures remain complex. It all results in a brilliant and intelligent piece of modern electronics. This band hasn’t lost its initial spirit to innovate and take their audience by surprise.

It’s hard to say if “Blendwerk” is one of the best releases ever. I suppose most of the die-hard fans will look back to their early work (cf. “Eye Over You” and “Frames”), but I consider this work as one of their strongest releases of the last decade. There still is this sterile kind of astral electronic sound, which is composed by alluring vintage sound sculptures, but I especially enjoy the more danceable and harder aspect of this release.

The vintage treatments sometimes remind me to another great musician and lover of analogue material (Gin Devo) although the styles are pretty different. Haujobb is exploring the hidden secrets of IDM while getting back to some industrial treatments as well. Some passages move into pure experimentalism, but that’s an element Haujobb always has liked to explore. So in the end I noticed that this work sounds pretty diversified.

The sound of Haujobb has never been predictable, which once more remains one of their main forces. You now hear a rather bombastic and astral-like electro cut driven by a slow cadence while the next song explores heavier fields carried by a harder kick. The sound of Haujobb remains hard to grasp, but is always fascinating. There’s no compromise, and always a touch of innovation.

I’ve been fully seduced by the “Perfection”-song, which appears to be a prophetic title to define the work of this band. Other noticeable cuts are “Failures”, “Destroy” and “Input Error”.

A last and very personal note is about the vocals’ production. I’ve never been a great fan of Daniel Myer as a vocalist, but this album sounds different. There’s a perfect balance between music and vocals, which is an extra element making this album absolutely essential.

Conclusion: Haujobb confirms their status of creative and innovating electro band. “Blendwerk” is one of the major releases of 2015!

Best songs: “Perfection”, “Failures”, “Destroy”, “Input Error”, “Little Miss Danger”, “Produkt”.

Rate: (DP:9)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/haujobbmusic

Label: www.negativegain.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Negative-Gain/212061438836984

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

Interview of Gin Devo: dark and sophisticated electronics!

The new volume of “Endzeit Bunkertracks”  (the 7th already, available right here) will be released once again as a deluxe 4CD carton box featuring 68 songs mixing dark-electronics, EBM, dark-electro-pop and related genres. The box also contains an extended 32 page booklet masterfully designed by Japanese designer Tomoki Hayasaka. Next to the 4CD there also is a bonus download card giving you access to some 50 additional songs! Side-Line once again has been asked by Alfa-Matrix to recommend some interesting artists.  That’s why we decided to power this new volume by featuring 10 short interviews of bands that you’ll discover on this new volume plus an extra interview by the “Endzeit Bunkertracks” instigator Séba Dolimont.

(by Stéphane Froidcoeur aka DP)

SL: I personally expected a song by Vomito Negro on the new “Endzeit Bunkertracks”, but you took us by surprise with a new song of Gin Devo. Tell us a bit more about the song “Dark Frequencies”?

Gin Devo: Well, at the moment I’m working on “Garden of Evil” this album will be my third solo album,

It’s almost ready, so I thought this is the perfect timing to release some of its tracks on a compilation album, “Dark Frequencies” matched perfect for the “Endzeit Bunkertracks” so here we are, the first song of “Garden of Evil” is out before the album is.

SL: So what kind of album might we expect? 

Gin Devo: The work is very different from Vomito Negro, it sounds more digital, but is not made with computer plug ins, it took me a long time to find the right hardware instruments, to compose the right obscure digital sound, “Garden of Evil” sounds very strange, there is no other band who produces this kind of electro material at the moment.

SL: I can’t get away from the idea that Clock DVA must be one of your biggest sources of inspiration! What does this band evoke to you and what made their sound that special?

Gin Devo: Yes, I admire the fantastic Clock DVA album “Buried Dreams” released in 1989, the album has a very intense claustrophobic atmosphere what I like very much, it sounds dirty and digital, when could say that the instruments used on that album sound haunted, So I wanted to work in that direction, and it worked.

SL: You’re still working the ‘good-old’ way using a lot of (vintage) synths and hardware. What do you think about the new generation of artists mainly using software synths/programs?

Gin Devo: Those plug ins have no ‘belly’ they sound very deep and very crispy, I don’t like that. It’s exactly those plug ins that give 90% of the electro bands the same preset sounds, everything sounds the same, it’s cheap, and why they use presets? Because there is no interaction between the artist and a plug in, it’s different when you use hardware synths, there is a machine you can touch and modulate, it has its own character, it’s like you play a computer game or drive a real sportswear on a race track.

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