IAMX, the solo project of Chris Corner, is running a silent auction of two stage-used items from the 2026 “Recollections” tour: a bass guitar played on stage by touring bassist Gözde Düzer and a rhinestone-covered mask worn by Corner during live shows. Both auctions close on 27 September 2026 at midnight CEST, while the tour is mid-way through a run of Scandinavian dates.

The bass guitar was played on stage by Gözde Düzer, who tours as IAMX’s bassist and also records as Aux Animaux. It is signed by both Düzer and Corner and comes in a hand-stencilled hard case made for the tour. The second item is a handmade mask Corner wore onstage throughout the “Recollections” shows, covered in rhinestones with black fur ears and gold detailing. Both listings are running through the band’s official shop and close at midnight CEST on 27 September 2026.

IAMX tour dates for 2026 and 2027

• 23 September 2026 – Oslo, Norway – John Dee
• 24 September 2026 – Malmö, Sweden – Plan B
• 25 September 2026 – Helsinki, Finland – On The Rocks, with Aux Animaux
• 13 November 2026 – Santiago, Chile – Santiago Gothic Treffen
• 14 November 2026 – São Paulo, Brazil – Madame Club
• 24-25 July 2027 – Cologne, Germany – Amphi Festival
• 31 July – 1 August 2027 – Thale, Germany – Unter dem Himmel

About IAMX

IAMX is the solo project of British musician Chris Corner, who co-founded the trip-hop group Sneaker Pimps in Hartlepool in 1994. After a fourth Sneaker Pimps album went unreleased, Corner kept the songs, moved to London and released them as the debut album “Kiss + Swallow” in 2004. Later albums include “The Alternative” (2006), “Kingdom of Welcome Addiction” (2009), “Volatile Times” (2011), “The Unified Field” (2013), “Metanoia” (2015), “Unfall” (2017), “Alive In New Light” (2018), the acoustic rework album “Echo Echo” (2020) and “Machinate” (2021), followed by “Fault Lines¹” (2023) and “Fault Lines²” (2024).

IAMX opened 2026 with the single “Artificial Innocence” ahead of a European tour, and Corner discussed his songwriting approach in a Side-Line interview in May. Gözde Düzer, who tours with the band on bass and theremin and records on her own as Aux Animaux from Stockholm, spoke to Side-Line in March about joining the IAMX live band and touring with Chris Corner. The “Recollections” tour has since carried the band through Scandinavia this week, with dates in Chile and Brazil to follow in November and festival shows at Amphi Festival and Unter dem Himmel booked for the summer of 2027. This week’s silent auction of stage props from the tour runs alongside that live schedule.

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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IAMX, the solo project of Chris Corner, have announced the Recollections Tour, a European run that mixes darkwave, synthpop and electronic material from across the project’s catalogue with reworks and recent tracks. The tour opens on 31 July at the Unter dem Himmel festival in Thale, Germany, and runs through to a two-night close at UNITY in Berlin on 2-3 October 2026. IAMX Productions describe the Recollections Tour as a “best of” set drawn from more than two decades of the project.

The itinerary pairs festival appearances with a block of headline shows in the Nordic region. Corner takes the IAMX live band to the German festivals Unter dem Himmel, alongside VNV Nation, and M’era Luna in Hildesheim, then on to Extramuralhas in Leiria, Portugal, and a headline slot at Infest in Manchester. Two Turkish dates follow in Izmir and at Istanbul’s Rock’n Park festival, before the band rejoins VNV Nation at the UNITY events in Oberhausen and Berlin. The run builds on the Artificial Innocence Tour, which took the band across Central and Eastern Europe in March and April 2026.

On the Nordic dates, support comes from Aux Animaux, the Stockholm-based solo project of Gözde Düzer, who also plays bass and theremin in the IAMX live band. Side-Line spoke with her earlier this year about that dual role in Gözde Düzer (Aux Animaux) interview on joining IAMX, touring with Chris Corner, and balancing two worlds.

The Stockholm stop carries an extra event. On 18 August, the day before the Kollektivet Livet concert, Corner and Düzer host Intimate Conversations With IAMX at the same venue, a discussion session on mental health, neurodivergence and sexuality interspersed with stripped-down acoustic reworks. The band has also announced a first Brazil appearance later in 2026, at Madame Club in São Paulo through Wave Festival Brasil.

Running parallel to the tour, the “Bernadette” EP collects seven renditions of the IAMX song on vinyl, from reworks and instrumentals to acoustic versions, available to preorder through Boutique IAMX. Tickets for the tour are listed at tickets.iamxmusic.com.

Update (3 August 2026): IAMX has added four new club dates to the run, in Athens, Graz, Paris and Giessen, joining the previously announced European shows.

IAMX tour dates: the Recollections Tour 2026

• 31 July – 1 August 2026 – Thale, DE – Unter dem Himmel
• 9 August 2026 – Hildesheim, DE – M’era Luna
• 18 August 2026 – Stockholm, SE – Intimate Conversations With IAMX, Kollektivet Livet
• 19 August 2026 – Stockholm, SE – Kollektivet Livet
• 21 August 2026 – Leiria, PT – Extramuralhas
• 23 August 2026 – Manchester, UK – Infest
• 11 September 2026 – Izmir, TR – Sold Out Performance Hall
• 12 September 2026 – Istanbul, TR – Rock’n Park
• 13 September 2026 – Athens, GR
• 14 September 2026 – Graz, AT
• 16 September 2026 – Paris, FR
• 17 September 2026 – Giessen, DE
• 18 – 19 September 2026 – Oberhausen, DE – UNITY
• 23 September 2026 – Oslo, NO – John Dee
• 24 September 2026 – Malmö, SE – Plan B
• 25 September 2026 – Helsinki, FI – On The Rocks
• 2 – 3 October 2026 – Berlin, DE – UNITY

About IAMX

IAMX is the solo project of British musician and producer Chris Corner, founded in London in 2004 after his years as a co-founder of the trip-hop group Sneaker Pimps. The name comes from the Sneaker Pimps debut album “Becoming X”. Corner writes, produces and performs the project’s music, which mixes electronic pop, darkwave, synthpop and industrial and experimental textures with cabaret-influenced staging.

Since 2004, Corner has released ten IAMX studio albums, from “Kiss + Swallow” (2004) and “The Alternative” (2006) through “Kingdom of Welcome Addiction” (2009), “The Unified Field” (2013), “Metanoia” (2015), “Alive in New Light” (2018) and, most recently, “Fault Lines²” (2024). He relocated from Berlin to Southern California in the 2010s, building a desert property into a studio and creative base, and has kept a direct line to listeners through recurring reworks, acoustic versions and remixes of the catalogue.

The 2026 tour continues that revisiting of the back catalogue. Its combination of festival sets, Nordic headline shows and the Stockholm conversation event turns the Recollections Tour into both a retrospective and a lead-in to the project’s next chapter.

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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Chris Corner of IAMX on UNMASK, IAMIXED, imperfection, and learning how to frame the future

When Chris Corner speaks, the old binary oppositions that still shape too much music journalism, authenticity versus performance, intimacy versus theatre, vulnerability versus control, begin to look embarrassingly simplistic. Across IAMX, he has spent years proving that a mask can reveal as much as it conceals, that dressing up can be a form of truth, and that unfinishedness is not necessarily failure, but a deeply human condition. That tension felt especially palpable at the Leipzig date of The Artificial Innocence Tour, the opening night of a new chapter and the first live appearance with Gözde in the line up. From the audience, the show felt raw and exacting at once, instinctive but tightly held together, as if volatility itself had been rehearsed into form. Corner, as it turned out, experienced it rather differently: less as a triumphant unveiling than as a highly charged exercise in concentration, adjustment, and trust.

That divergence says a great deal about IAMX. What often reaches the audience as intensity, elegance, and emotional coherence is, on the inside, bound up with doubt, pressure, revision, and a refusal to accept the idea of the fixed work. With UNMASK and IAMIXED, Corner returns to the world orbiting Fault Lines, not to close it down neatly, but to test what survives when songs are reopened, displaced, and handed to other instincts. Our conversation moved from the discomfort of festivals to the cultural fragmentation artists now face, from perfectionism and neurodiversity to the peculiar freedom of theatrical self construction, from remixing as creative release to the question of how an artist survives, aesthetically and materially, in an age of acceleration, categorisation, and artificial intelligence. What emerged was not a promotional conversation around two releases, but something more revealing: a portrait of an artist who is still suspicious of completion, still wary of his own past, and still trying, in his own words, to learn “how to frame the future.”

IAMX interview

Karo: Hi Chris, thank you for taking the time. I saw you at the Leipzig show at E Only Festival, the opening of The Artificial Innocence Tour, and it felt like a very particular moment. There was something raw, but also very controlled about it, and seeing you perform with Gözde for the first time added a different kind of tension and elegance. Before we go deeper into discussing your new work, how did that night feel from your side, as the starting point of this chapter?

Chris: It was interesting because I’m known for hating festivals. It’s always very uncomfortable for me in that situation. I was very preoccupied with making it work. It was the first time I performed with Gözde too, so I think my mind wasn’t really with the audience, which is rare, because I’m usually very connected. I was very much concerned that everything was working. Mentally, I was kind of somewhere else, which is rare because I’m usually quite present. Saying that, I was very relieved and happy to have her integrated in such a cool way, because it was a super cool thing, and I love the space. The sound was great. It was a little stressful setting up and things like that, but what a way to introduce her. Overall, I’d say it was a very special moment, as you’ve said. I’ll probably look back at that at some point and enjoy it more, but at that point I was kind of stressed, to tell you the truth.

Karo: These two releases, UNMASK and IAMIXED, both seem to resist the idea that a body of work ever really ends. One gathers material still emotionally adjacent to Fault Lines, while the other allows that same world to be reinterpreted, even dismantled. Do you experience this moment as a form of closure, or as proof that your work continues to evolve beyond your control?

Chris: That’s a brilliant question. It’s an interesting moment. Privately, culturally, there’s so much going on for artists, and I digest that stuff. It can be quite confusing sometimes. As an artist, you’re constantly not just questioning your own work, but your place in the world. Culture is so fragmented and wild. It’s like a Wild West out there. What do you do? Do you make an album? Do you release a song? Do you release a video? Do you not do a video? Do you do an Instagram post? What do you do? What’s going to help you survive? A lot of the time we’re preoccupied with that more and more these days, as opposed to just having a lot of focus on creation. And in a way, it’s interesting because you take something like IAMIXED and UNMASK, and they are musical orphans. They don’t really exist as part of a bigger piece. I kind of like that, because it reflects what’s happening culturally anyway, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to try something like that that doesn’t necessarily have to be part of an album. To me, it feels okay. It’s like the starting point: do I lean into that? Do I do little fragments of art now? Is that how the world is? Or do I always fall back into this larger piece, the album, the traditional? Is that old fashioned? I don’t know. Or is that just a format that describes a certain time in your life perfectly? Does it have to be like that? Is that just a proven thing? So I guess I’m just trying things out, and IAMX has always been quite a multidimensional project anyway. I’ve never felt that my art is ever complete. I’m always interested in revisiting and trying to improve, and it’s never really done. I’m never fully happy. I know how to complete, and I know how to accept the defeat of that kind of completion and just go with it. This is what I can do at this time. I know there’s something in me that tells me this could be much better, but I cannot achieve that right now. That’s not who I am, or maybe I’ll never be that person. But I can accept it for its flaws and its beauty at the same time. So it’s quite nice for me to come back to things and correct what I felt was missing, or add what I felt was missing. I grew up in the culture of remixing and sampling and all of those things, and it’s just part of the way that I do things. I like to throw things around.

Karo: You’ve often pushed back against the idea of a final version. Listening to these releases, it feels less like a production choice and more like a philosophical stance. Do you resist completion because identity itself remains unstable, or because the finished work risks fixing something that is still in motion?

Chris: Fascinating. There are so many layers there. There’s this idea of perfection in creating something that I’d like to say was a philosophical choice, because that would make me sound like it was intentional. But I don’t think it is. If I’m truly honest, I feel like there are certain things I just can’t achieve, and it’ll never be good enough. That’s just my place in the world. I hear things that I don’t particularly like, but I’m impressed that people can make it so complete. I think it’s just a reflection of my nature. It’s not an intentional philosophy. I think I’m going to be less harsh on myself maybe. I’m aware that that’s okay. And then I’m a bit of both. I do lean in and say, in this world of perfection, and now artificial intelligence and all of these things, where human incompleteness is going to be an attractive thing, maybe that is now what makes it interesting, as opposed to trying to achieve something that is beyond you. I think I’m just starting to accept that there are certain things I’ll never be able to do, and that’s just my place. And that’s okay.

Karo: You mentioned perfectionism, and almost instantly this quotation from your lyrics came to mind: “and I was carrying the weight of the universe, the typical brittle perfectionist.” I think you are kind of accepting that now.

Chris: Yeah, I do. I think I used to place myself in that. What’s ironic about perfectionism is you can’t achieve it. You may perceive yourself to be a perfectionist, but it’s nonsense. You can never perfect anything. But you do hold on to this idea that you can be better, and it’s self flagellation. It’s very much a self destructive attitude. I used to hold on to that a lot. There’s a certain drive, or a certain engine, in that that does keep you going, but with a bit of distance now, and seeing how burnt out that would make me, often I see how, if I look at my body of work and the things that I’ve done, it didn’t help. It didn’t change that much. It was an inner feeling that now that I have much less of, it doesn’t really change my work. It just changed the stress feeling.

Karo: The word UNMASK feels especially loaded in the context of IAMX because your work has never treated masks as simple concealment. They’ve been tools for transformation, survival, seduction. When you use that word now, does it feel like exposure, or more like a shift in how consciously you construct what is seen?

Chris: The unmasking thing is loaded. It’s full of levels. You’ve got the theatrical performance level, the inner authentic, the yearning for authenticity level, and they all play off each other. The odd thing about IAMX, or me, I guess, but let’s say IAMX because I’m a little bit more than IAMX, is that it likes to play with that stuff. Depending on its mood, it can flip between playful theatrical stage performance and very serious mental health issues. What’s so interesting to me is how fluid that is. I feel very comfortable going between those two worlds. If you look at what could appear to be a very false, constructed thing like a stage performance, I don’t see it like that at all. I see it almost like a tribal moment. There’s something very liberating and beautiful about dressing up and escaping the self. I always yearned for that. It confused me why people would think putting on makeup and dressing up is not authentic. You have to be very serious, you have to wear a T shirt, these cultural things that are impressed upon us. I always felt this drive to fight against that and to dress up and to say, I don’t give a fuck, I’m going to look like a girl, I’m going to do these things. I’m not sure why, but I know I’m fighting against something that culturally says that I’m not an authentic artist. So it’s definitely been a battle, but it always felt right, and it always felt like there is nothing saying to me why these things can’t coexist and be completely meaningful at the same time. So the idea of unmasking, it’s not that it feels like ripping the mask off and saying, that was wrong and now this is right. It’s not that at all. It’s a symbolic reference to the idea of just being an authentic thing, whatever. That freedom of expression, of thought, whatever that is, however you want to express yourself, is what’s important, and pressure will come and go and say this is right and that’s wrong. But if the inner feeling is always there, and if the inner feeling is unmasked, I feel like the outer can be anything. It can be dressed up, whatever.

Karo: IAMIXED also suggests a kind of surrender of authorship, not polite remixing, but real reinterpretation. When you hear your songs filtered through somebody else’s instincts, do you recognise yourself in them, or do they reveal something you didn’t know was already there?

Chris: I don’t know. Because I’m a producer too, I kind of start as a producer. I recognise decision making in them. There are things that I hear and I think, oh yeah, I get that, I see why they’ve done that. So it’s not like I’m coming from an unknowing, raw point of view. I’m aware. But it’s still a nice moment. I wouldn’t say I’m massively surprised by things, but I still love it. If somebody does some kind of nasty, weird, distorted techno version of an IAMX song, I love that. I like anything that’s good.

IAMX’s genre bending has always been like that. I don’t really care where it fits. If it fits there today, great. If it’s there tomorrow. That’s gotten me into trouble because people like to label things. The world likes to put things in boxes. It makes things easier for people. It probably would have had a lot more commercial success had I done certain things, but it’s not interesting to me. It’s not a choice anyway. It’s just what I am. So this idea that all of those things can coexist, again, a little bit like the theatrical and the serious, different kinds of genres, different musical interpretations, are very natural to me. So I do like it. It’s the kind of thing I would do myself. I wouldn’t do exactly what they do because that’s them and I want them. But it is really nice. I’ve always liked it. I do like to hear myself mixed up, mashed up. And I do like it when I can hand things to somebody else because it can be quite isolating and exhausting, constantly doing you again and again in one room by yourself. So it is nice to hand it away.

Karo: Were you searching for artists who would understand the songs, or rather disturb them in an interesting way, challenge you in a way?

Chris: I prefer that. I prefer when it’s very, very different to what I would do. I do like that. That’s often what I’ve chosen if I’ve done collaborations or things in the past. I’ve had managers who say, well, you’ve got to do this with this artist and you’ve got to go on support with that artist because we can get their crowd. Every time somebody tells me that, it just makes me want to do the opposite. Maybe that hasn’t helped, but it’s definitely interesting when unexpected things happen. It brings me joy, I guess, when it’s outside of what I would do myself.

Karo: Your work often moves through intense psychological states like compulsion, shame, fragmentation, at least this is how I understand it, but it rarely feels like raw confession just for confession’s sake. It feels processed and shaped. How do you recognise the moment when personal experience becomes something that you can communicate rather than simply expose? For me, you have always been a translator of emotions into words. States like these are very difficult to communicate, and you have always done that perfectly. How do you do that?

Chris: Thank you. That’s very kind. It’s an interesting thing because there is this feeling where it’s almost like trying to tame this wildness, this overwhelm. I think a lot of it comes down to trying to understand myself. I’m pretty neurodiverse. I’m pretty on the spectrum of autism. I deal with a lot of overwhelming emotions, with lots of ups and downs in terms of my reaction to the external world and people. I’m constantly trying to figure out what’s right and wrong, how do I need to edit myself to make things right, or why did that happen. Trying to form a theory of mind of others is often like a life goal, and through the work I feel like I’ve been able to process certain things and to understand people, or at least to describe them fully to myself. It becomes a real challenge because it takes a lot of time, the lyrical content takes time to process, to be able to start with something, to understand what it is I want to be talking about, then to understand how to correctly talk about it without sounding too intellectual. It’s an interesting form, a song, particularly for me, because I do feel like I want to go very deep, but I also need to keep it at a certain level that’s understandable for people to consume as a song. So there is a certain framework in songwriting that is quite nice for me, because I need to simplify it to a certain degree, but also have a little bit of depth. So it’s a challenge. Emotions are so much a part of our daily lives, and we have so much reactivity to things, that when I nail something with a few words, it elevates me, and I think it allows me to understand the world. It brings me peace, I guess, and to be able to offer that doorway into something to others feels like it gives me purpose too. That’s the meaning of my life, in a way, to give people access and understanding through my words, through my music. It’s not always necessarily about the words too, and trying to put that into music is a challenge. But I think you’re right. There’s something about the lyrical side of things that I often forget that I’m doing. I don’t think about it until I’m in it, and then I realise how much work it is. Because I can’t just do that “hey baby” thing. It’s not an option for me unless that’s relevant to a certain emotion in the track.

Karo: For me, this music helps to understand human behavior, but you also give it a language. I think it’s both. And I think one reason your music stays with people is because it avoids the simple narrative. Desire, cruelty, tenderness, self destruction, they coexist without resolution. When you write now, are you still trying to understand those contradictions, or have you accepted them as something that can’t be resolved?

Chris: I think if I get to that level of acceptance, I don’t know if I’ll feel like writing so much. That’s a bit of a cynical view of myself. I’m being hard on myself there, which is a natural place for me to go. But I feel like the overwhelming feeling of depth comes to me often just in daily life. It’s not when I’m writing necessarily. It can be amplified when I’m writing and it can be resolved. This emotion can be resolved when I’m doing something and I don’t need to intellectualise it. It just comes out and permeates my being, and then it feels like it’s resolved a little bit, like sex with stress or something. Without words it can be resolved. There’s a lot of that going on. But when I’m out in the world doing life, there’s a lot of things that, if I’m not careful, I can often just be overwhelmed by the depth of things, or the seeming depth of things. That could be anything. I can be caught by a cactus or a little animal or something. It can drag me in very quickly if I’m not careful. So I don’t think I’ll have a problem with material. I think that feeling isn’t going to go away. It changes. I think it transforms. Maybe what I direct it on might be different. I don’t know if it’ll always be directed at other people, but I think that’s the duty of an artist, to access that depth in whatever it is. I feel like it’s everywhere. I don’t feel like it’s just in other humans. It’s a special kind of depth in humans, but I think it’s everywhere.

It would be interesting to see where you can take it. Are we all just so preoccupied with relationships and emotional interaction that anything else might not be that interesting in pop music? I probably will always settle on the idea of interpersonal relationships. It’s such a concern for the human condition that I don’t think that will ever go away. But I do feel a little bit, I’m coming out of quite a turbulent private time in terms of relationships. I’m going through a divorce, all these kinds of things. I feel like an era is coming where my focus is going to be a bit different. I can’t fully promise that, but I’m interested to know because I’m not fully in control of myself. I’ll be interested to know where I’m going with all this on the next round.

Karo: Looking back at earlier phases, like The Unified Field or Metanoia, identity always felt fluid, unstable, but urgent. Does that fluidity feel different to you now? More grounded, or more deliberate?

Chris: No. It doesn’t. I’d like to say that there’s a certain sort of wisdom that’s come with getting older, and I think it just changes. There are certain things that get in the way more. Priorities change a little bit. Life stuff happens, and you get a bit distracted by that. But I think the essence is the same, definitely. You mentioned the word urgency. Fluidity and urgency. Urgency has been a thing from as long as I can remember, and that need to express how short life is to the world, and how we need to grasp the beauty of things all the time, and not necessarily try and hold on to things, but at least recognise those things, and even recognise the impermanence of things. Even if you have access to that way of thinking, which I do constantly, I don’t think that’s going to change. I still feel as urgent about life as ever, maybe more. With age, you start to understand you’re getting on the other side, so maybe the priorities might change a little bit. Do I want to keep doing this thing specifically, or would I like to tweak it? For years I’ve been interested in mental health gatherings and expanding IAMX into different ways of doing things, possibly because there’s lots of different layers to IAMX, and maybe going into installation art. I would like to experiment a bit more with the format. But time, it’s all about time. Where is the time gonna come from?

Karo: Last question. We’ll be wrapping up, although I would probably like to keep you a bit longer. But we’ve got a scheduled time, so my last question will be kind of rounding up. If UNMASK and IAMIXED both deal, in a way, with reframing of material, of authorship, of perspective, what are you currently reframing within yourself? Not what you are releasing, but how you think, create, how you relate to your own work.

Chris: I’ve always had a slightly schizophrenic relationship to my work. I’m scared of it in a way. I don’t listen to old stuff very often unless I have to focus on it, like live music or remix or rework or whatever. I’m a bit scared of the past. I don’t like nostalgia. I don’t really focus on it because I feel like I’m going to criticise myself. It’s my go to feeling, and I don’t like that, so I do avoid my work. But then again, sometimes, as I said, it’s a bit of a schizophrenic feeling, because sometimes I’ll hear something accidentally and I’ll be really pleasantly surprised that I was able to do that thing. And it’s like, oh my God, that’s me. That thing’s actually quite good. How did I do that? It’s an odd feeling. So it’s a bit of an engine. This engine is to correct, to be better, to think I can do this better, and I don’t want to hear that shit because if I hear it, I’ll just be like, oh fuck, I fucked that up. But I’m okay with it. I don’t feel like I’m suffering necessarily from that. I just have to be careful how I filter my world and how I view myself. I’m always more preoccupied with doing something new because I think there’s a comfort in that, there’s a joy in that, there’s a sort of safety in being able to put something in the world as opposed to analyse what’s already there. So it’s not a healthy relationship that I have with my work. I’d like it to be healthier, but we’d like all sorts of things, right? We just have to make peace with a certain way of being. And that’s just how I am.

I do think a lot about how to go forward. I’ve always been like that. What is my place? How do I survive as an independent artist? It’s not easy necessarily, trying to find income and ways to survive and balance life with work. There’s a lot of that going on. There’s a lot of thinking about the future of what format music is going to be. Artificial intelligence, what do we do with that? Can it help? Is it going to take things away? There’s a lot of turbulence going on. It’s not much different. But I think if you bring something like that culturally into the mix, where it’s actually quite a big, obviously toxic subject for many people, for me it’s more like, what does that really mean to me? Is it something I want to get involved in or have to get involved in? Am I going to be forced into this, to use this? Or do I fight against it? Do I make the human frailty attractive? Do I lean into that? Or do I say, well, everybody else is making their lives easier, why do I have to suffer and watch all these people do this thing and nobody cares anyway? What do people care about? How do I fit in that?

A lot of the time I’m thinking about those things because I want to be efficient, I want to be effective, I still want to get to people and I want to produce things that people can connect with and all of those things. So I guess I’m working on how to frame the future right now.

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.

IAMX releases the new digital single “Artificial Innocence” today 20 February 2026, ahead of the European “Artificial Innocence Tour” that starts in March and runs through early April across multiple cities and festivals.

The track appears in studio form on the limited “Unmask EP,” issued in 2025 on Unfall Productions as a four-track CD and 12″ vinyl set, with “Artificial Innocence” being the second track between “Grass Before The Scythe (Art Bleeds Money Rework)” and “Radical Self Love.”

A new music video for “Artificial Innocence” will be launched on 20 February.

IAMX ‘Artificial Innocence European’ tour 2026

The Artificial Innocence tour begins on 14 March 2026 with a top-billed IAMX performance at the EoNLY Festival in Leipzig, Germany, then continues with thirteen club dates across Central and Eastern Europe in cities where IAMX has not appeared for several years. Swedish hauntwave artist aux animaux joins the run as opening act.

The current tour schedule is:

• 14 March 2026 – Leipzig, DE – EoNLY Festival
• 16 March 2026 – Gdańsk, PL – Parlament
• 18 March 2026 – Budapest, HU – Dürer Kert
• 20 March 2026 – Bucharest, RO – Control Club
• 21 March 2026 – Belgrade, RS – Dorćol Platz
• 22 March 2026 – Zagreb, HR – Močvara
• 24 March 2026 – Ljubljana, SI – Orto Bar
• 25 March 2026 – Milan, IT – Legend Club
• 27 March 2026 – Bratislava, SK – Trnko
• 28 March 2026 – Krems, AT – Stadtsaal
• 31 March 2026 – Eindhoven, NL – Effenaar
• 1 April 2026 – Cologne, DE – Die Kantine
• 3 April 2026 – Zurich, CH – Der Schwarze Ball
• 4 April 2026 – Mannheim, DE – MS Connexion

Later in 2026, IAMX appears at M’era Luna in Hildesheim (8–9 August) and headlines Infest in Manchester (21–23 August). In autumn, the project returns to Germany for UNITY 2026 in Oberhausen (18–19 September) and Berlin (2–3 October), sharing the bill with VNV Nation, Zeromancer and other acts.

About IAMX

IAMX is the solo project of musician and producer Chris Corner, launched in London, England in 2002 after the hiatus of his former band Sneaker Pimps. From the outset, the project combined synthpop, dark cabaret, industrial and experimental music with a strong visual and performance-art focus.

The first IAMX studio album “Kiss + Swallow” appeared in 2004 on a combination of smaller labels, followed by “The Alternative” in 2006, “Kingdom of Welcome Addiction” in 2009 and “Volatile Times” in 2011. During this period, Corner shifted base to Berlin (2006–2014).

In 2013 IAMX released “The Unified Field,” followed by the more synth-driven “Metanoia” in 2015 and the instrumental-leaning “Unfall” in 2017, before returning with the full-length “Alive In New Light” in 2018 and the acoustic reinterpretation album “Echo Echo” in 2020. Across these releases, the project has worked with labels including 61seconds, Major Records, Orphic and Corner’s own imprint Unfall Productions.

“Fault Lines¹” followed in 2023 and “Fault Lines²” in 2024.

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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IAMX was founded by Chris Corner in 2002 after the breakup of his former band, Sneaker Pimps. More than 20 years later, IAMX has achieved remarkable success, releasing acclaimed full-length albums and earning a reputation for powerful live performances. Following a recent and highly successful European tour, IAMX is now preparing to embark on a North American tour.

Touring is never easy. It can be both brutal and beautiful, and carrying that contrast is often a heavy task. Yet after years of wrestling with the ups and downs, Chris Corner has found a way to ground himself. Fresh from this exceptional European run, he speaks of music as a safe space, a spiritual practice, and a means of connection beyond words. In a world where the music industry can often feel disheartening and contradictory, IAMX live shows remain a sanctuary of tribal togetherness — where emotion, love, and energy flow freely.

With that spirit, the journey now continues across North America, reaching new places and new souls hungry for an alternative. And there’s more: a very special IAMX release will be available exclusively on this tour. “IAMIXED”, a reworking of the “Fault Lines” albums 1 and 2, will be released in both CD and vinyl formats during the 2025 “Fault Lines² North American Tour”. This exclusive edition includes two new reworks by IAMX, alongside reinterpretations from Mimetic Hexes, Holy Braille, Careellee, Clubdrugs, and two fan contributions.

I spoke with Chris Corner about all this — and more — as he generously shared insight into his inner world and the ever-evolving universe of IAMX. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

IAMX on Spotify

Q: After the impressive IAMX “Fault Lines” tour through Europe, this fall marks your longest American tour to date. How do you look back on the European leg, and how are you preparing for the U.S. shows with your live band?

Chris: Any musician struggles with touring on some level. It can be both brutal and beautiful in equal measure, and this extreme contrast can sometimes be intense to bear. So generally, I have deep respect for my fellow soldiers out there fighting the good fight, spreading art and providing depth and pleasure to people’s lives.

After a career of wrestling with it, I have it locked in a good place now. I say this after a European tour that was exceptional. I do this to connect. To feel and give love. To understand and know others without words. Through the music—the safe space I’ve created to be one with my world. It’s become a spiritual practice, where I find value.

The music industry is fucking gross—always has been—and you have to dig deep to find meaning in what you do, ’cause you’re constantly bombarded with contradiction. Art bleeds money. Emotion, sexual tension, communal dance… live shows are tribal togetherness. And I adore my tribe.

The success of that last tour made me want to lean-in full force in North America, so we added more dates in places we don’t normally go. I live in the U.S., and I absolutely love it despite its political insanity. I love to go and feel fuck-land. I want to get to those souls hungry for it. For an alternative.

Q: Have you noticed any major differences in live IAMX performances between the countries you’ve visited—and perhaps between continents? Do you have a favorite venue, festival, or audience?

Chris: I used to focus a lot on the differences, and the numbers, and the energy of places. There are certainly contrasts. I don’t put it down to the attitude of people. Often it’s situational or luck. Sometimes the last train leaves early, the weather is shit, the politics are shit. There are so many factors controlling the energy in a venue.

A few years back, we spent a lot of time in Russia playing massive venues to thousands of beautiful, tortured people. All dressed up, expressing themselves openly in that safe space. Cross-dressing, gender-bending, screaming, crying. Free.

It’s tragic to think of those poor souls left behind by their politics. Re-oppressed. On the other side of that, we were one of very few bands to go into Ukraine and play for the other side. We had to drive across the border in a small van under the radar. In the IAMX shows, there is no difference. They are bonded by the experience and the music. My audience are all my babies—I love them equally.

Q: What elements make an IAMX performance successful in your eyes? And how demanding are you of yourself, your bandmates, and your crew while on tour?

Chris: I’m pretty demanding. Of myself and of others. The IAMX band calls me ‘Bossman’, which says it all, I guess. An IAMX show can be wild and Punk, as well as very contained and emotional. There’s a lot of work behind the chaos to balance these dynamics. To make it all coherent.

I spend a stupid amount of time flipping between all aspects of the show. Bouncing between electronics, band performance, stage visuals, lights. I try to keep everything as ‘in house’ and on stage as possible. This way, it’s a micro full production which can translate from venue to venue.

There are a few stages to rehearsals. A few days prepping the audio and live mixing of the sequences and electronic sounds, one to two weeks of integrating the live IAMX band into the sonic mix, five days of live visual programming and stage lighting. This setup is mainly for a club tour. Festivals, large venue shows, and one-offs are a little different.

Q: Does it feel different to perform as IAMX in the U.S. under the current political climate compared to previous administrations? Given the themes in the IAMX lyrics and your visual identity, I imagine you’re quite affected by what’s happening socially and politically. How do you process that?

Chris: It’s a poignant question. I put everything into the art and into my niche. Reach what I can reach, but don’t waste energy on what I can’t control. I’ve learned to compartmentalize.

There’s a disgusting amount of noise out there, and you have to be ruthless with your time and energy. As a hyper-sensitive, open-minded, gender-bending libertarian, navigating any heteronormative society has been a challenge. The world always feels like it’s closing in, collapsing, 24/7 full catastrophe. But I’m still alive, and I love being alive.

I’ve molded my life to focus on a smaller world. I live in nature, with animals, filter the digital world extremely harshly, and spend time on my acuity and mental health. Surround myself with chosen good people and make the art I want to make. I’m fucking lucky—but I worked for it.

Q: How do you maintain both your physical and mental well-being during an intense IAMX tour like this? And what do your days look like between shows?

Chris: Everything goes into a IAMX show. I do zero in between them, really. It’s a puzzle of energy management. I’m late-diagnosed, fully-fledged, mind-blowingly autistic. Always battled with the triggers and stimuli of touring. And I’m astounded that I’m still doing it—not just still doing it, but needing it.

I have hardcore daily systems in place that make it all possible. Hardcore vegan food, hardcore noise-cancelling headphones, hardcore good people around me. All neuro-spicy, all smart, all humble.

Building the right way to tour has been a valuable skill I’ve acquired only through making a lot of mistakes.

Q: Chris, perhaps I’m projecting, but you strike me as a bit of a perfectionist. How does it feel to hand over your songs to others for remixing? Is it a process of letting go—or do you sometimes discover new perspectives on your own work through how others reinterpret it?

Chris: 🫶 😬😵‍💫 Yeah, that’s been a drug for me. The over-work and perfectionism. Until I burnt out—multiple times. It’s softened these days. Well, maybe more that I have found a way to accommodate my obsessive nature better.

I make sure I have more time to let it be what it is. It’s part of my process to fixate on things. Listening to loops thousands of times, recording hundreds of takes, finding the perfect sound. It’s just what it is.

I don’t beat myself up about it anymore, so at least there’s that.

Q: Many IAMX fans know about the emotional and psychological weight your music often carries—and how therapeutic the creative process is for you. Beyond the music itself, what else in your creativity or expression plays a key role in your healing process?

Chris: Being creative has kept me alive—along with an obsession with psychology and mental health. It’s all one thing anyway. Creation, growth, progress, expression, purpose.

It’s been bumpy, this art life, but the rewards and connections it brings are worth the pain.

Q: As a healthcare professional, psychiatry has become an essential part of my life. I believe it’s vital to raise awareness so people better understand what it’s like to live with mental health challenges. Your Headnoise project plays an important role in that regard. Can you tell us more about what Headnoise entails and what your experiences have been with it so far?

Chris: If I am truthful, I started headnoise more out of my own desperation to connect. There was an intention to advocate for mental health awareness, yes—but it was a selfish drive initially. I was still healing, and learning, and yearning for more stories, and to find a safe way to be with ‘the other.’

It was a therapy step, I guess. And I suspect most people in the realm of mental health have some experience themselves with deep suffering.

I’ve struggled to socialize and connect in ‘normal’ ways my whole life. Reaching out through Headnoise allows me to feel the lovers of my work, learn about their lives, and self-reflect. I often have epiphanies about myself in the podcasts.

Q: In your view, what aspects of mental healthcare still need improvement? And do you agree that creativity is often overlooked as a therapeutic outlet?

Chris: It’s an amazing question. Although I am very creative, I am also healthily skeptical of vagueness and respectful of the scientific method. But there’s this cloudy area between science and art that absolutely needs to be bridged.

If someone believes something is helping, is that enough? Is belief in something as valid as true fact? Is it a true fact? What is the truth?

I’m not sure how we integrate science with art—or if we even have to. Perhaps they can be complementary therapies. I think in the end there has to be value in both.

For many, art and music are essential to get them through life. In that sense, music is already therapy. But putting it into the medical world worries me because it’s so subjective and would have to be incredibly individualized. How do you choose what kind of creativity is going to help someone?

It’s a massive unexplored realm, and it’s always drifted into the eye-rolling areas of crystals and astrology. I’d love to see someone reel it all in and find something more science-driven.

When I create—when I am in flow—I have a great sense of peace in the loops of my music. Small sections looped thousands of times. Could just be autistic stimming, but this deep peace I find is unique. Maybe there should be Steve Reich therapy—slowly evolving minimalist loops.

Q: A few years ago, I saw a documentary about a French man with psychosis who described his condition as a source of creativity. He said he had come to see his illness as a gift, because it enabled him to express himself in ways he otherwise never could. Do you relate to that in any way—and how does that idea resonate with you?

Chris: It’s lazy and dangerous to say this. This stupid, perpetuated myth of the tortured artist. There are millions of incredible artists not in the depths of despair doing amazing work. I think that’s the way he had to explain it to himself—to give his suffering some purpose.

I would love society to move on from this. It just feeds into the self-doubt of artists—that they are not good enough without tremendous suffering.

I have been there. Not to say deep suffering can’t lead to great art, but it’s also just not necessary at all. It can inform future endeavors—but that’s if you make it through the depression. I celebrate all the unknown artists and humans that stay alive and find a way to wield life.

In my blackest burnt-out moments of self-disgust and doubt, I wasn’t creative. I wasn’t able to do anything apart from think about death and existential despair. This state is not a creative state. I hated my music. I thought my music was the problem.

I believe my best work came when I was mentally acute, in a beautiful natural environment, and the world and my life felt valuable. This doesn’t mean I couldn’t access the darkest thoughts possible. So I’d say the best state is being mentally well, but with good access to the infinite well of emotion we all have inside us.

Q: IAMX has been active for over 20 years now, with an impressive discography to show for it. How do you view the younger Chris Corner today, and what advice would you give him knowing what you do now?

Chris: There are three huge differences between me and him.

One is the awareness of mental health issues, having come out the other side of them. I would want to educate him so he would have a chance to define and separate fact and fiction in his ruminating.

Two would be awareness of his autism. Being late-diagnosed has been mind-blowing. Again, this would help him navigate all the triggers and threats of the heteronormative world much better—and teach him to be easier on himself.

Three would be to accept his identity as a relationship anarchist and to make personal life decisions with that in mind.

Q: The visual component has always been central to the IAMX experience—and the most recent tour reinforces that. What does the visual aspect and overall image mean to you on a more existential level?

Chris: Music is my craft, my natural unthinking flow state. But I do adore the visual world too. I love to combine the music with imagery—video, stills, stage design. Expanding the message with a broader palette. I love it all—how one thing can amplify the other, how the meaning transforms or intensifies.

Q: If someone unfamiliar with IAMX asked you to play just one song to introduce them to your work, which one would you choose—and why?

Chris: “Look Outside.” Not a track that shows fully what IAMX is, but a track that is close to my heart.

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, Future-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Swedish trio Presence Of Mind strikes back with their first new album in eleven years. It also is the first work ever released by Infacted Recordings. The Swedish formation is driven by Christoffer Lundström, Hannes Ambros and Anders Wallroth and has been active for a while now.

Content: The band has been already inspired by Electro-Pop standards. The influences are easily recognizable at this new opus which is mixing Electro-Pop, Future-Pop and even Indie-Pop. Most of the tracks are very powerful but I also noticed a few minimal-driven passages with a Cinematic appeal. I think the best way to describe Presence Of Mind should be an imaginary hybrid between IAMX, Mesh, and Psyche.

+ + + : This production caught my attention for several reasons. First it’s powerful and dynamic production which sounds a bit different from average Electro-Pop productions. Next there’s the impressive elaboration and achievement of the songs revealing cool sound treatments. Last but not least the band is also driven by a talented singer. “Lonely Like Me” sounds like the ultimate song to illustrate the potential of “Humans”.

– – – : The debut part is cool but maybe a little bit hesitant compared to the second part of the album featuring the best cuts.

Conclusion: This album has the potential to put Presence Of Mind back on the map of Electro-Pop. 

Best songs: “Lonely Like Me”, “Hunting Light”, “Evolve”, “Leave Me Your Weapon”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/PresenceOfMindSweden

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

About Presence Of Mind

Presence Of Mind is a Swedish electro-pop trio made up of Christoffer Lundström, Hannes Ambros and Anders Wallroth. “Humans” marked the band’s first new album in eleven years and was also the first release ever issued by Infacted Recordings, mixing electro-pop, future-pop and indie-pop across ten tracks.

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: Minimal-Electro, Electro-Pop, EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Swedish duo Rickard Rosendahl – Paula Lé Boss have already self-released a few singles. “Unleashed” is an EP featuring three songs plus three remixes.

Content: The sound universe of Kunt is mixing different, related, electronic genres. There’s a strong Electro-Pop basis which has been empowered by EBM elements but still a minimal touch. The space-like, female, vocals inject an extra dimension to the songs while you’ll also notice male vocals. Remixes from previous singles have been accomplished by My Love Kills, Tukt and Cryo.

+ + + : The female vocals stand for rage and passion creating a cool addition to the open-minded electronic composition. Minimalism, Experimental, EBM and Electro-Pop have been mixed together. The band this way created an interesting work featuring late 90s sound treatments. “This Blood” is a really great song but I also have to mention a powerful and more EBM-driven remix of “Fcks Given” by My Love Kills and another Indie-Pop driven remix of “Sneaky Sins” by Tukt. The Tukt remix might appeal to fans of IAMX.

– – – : I don’t have real minus points to mention but I’m sure this band is even able to do better.

Conclusion: Kunt sounds as a refreshing and powerful Electronic formation we better can keep an eye on.

Best songs: “This Blood”, “With Craft”, “Fcks Given – Hypnotic Remix by My Love Kills”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: https://kunt.band / www.facebook.com/KUNT.MUSIK

About Kunt

Kunt is a southern Swedish duo of Rickard Rosendahl and Paula Le Boss. According to the band’s own Bandcamp profile, Kunt “creates an alternative hybrid of melodic Electropop, pulse-raising EBM and Punk attitude” and has “quickly become a well-known band within Scandinavia’s alternative electronic scene.” The “Unleashed” EP follows a run of self-released singles and gathers three original songs with three remixes from My Love Kills, Tukt and Cryo.

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

(Photo by Theo Gladkova) IAMX have announced a special added tour date in Lviv, Ukraine on November 1st.

After finishing their six week Fault Lines1 Europe Tour, Chris Corner, his band mate Janine Gezang and the IAMX touring crew will make their way to Lviv to show support for the Ukrainian people “who have given IAMX so much love over the years” so the band precies.

Their live set will feature both new and classic IAMX songs. The last time the band played the war-stricken country was in 2018.

The European leg of the Fault Lines1 Tour begins next week. See all dates below.

• 26 September – Bratislava, SK – Majestic Music Club
• 27 September – Prague, CZ – Lucerna
• 29 September – Budapest, HU – A38
• 30 September – Graz, AT – PPC
• 01 October – Vienna, AT – SIMM City
• 03 October – Sankt Gallen, CH – bruchteil grabenhalle
• 04 October – Munich, DE – Ampere
• 06 October – Barcelona, ES – Apollo 2
• 07 October – Madrid, ES – Sala Mon
• 09 October – Brussels, BE – Ancienne Belgique
• 10 October – Paris, FR – Trabendo
• 11 October – Cologne, DE – Live Music Hall
• 13 October – Leipzig, DE – Täubchenthal
• 14 October – Hamburg, DE – Markthalle
• 15 October – Copenhagen, DK – Amager Bio
• 17 October – Utrecht, NL – Tivoli De Helling
• 18 October – Frankfurt, DE – Zoom
• 21 October – Berlin, DE – Columbia Theater
• 22 October – Warsaw, PL – Progresja
• 24 October – Wroclaw, PL – Zaklete Rewiry
• 25 October – Brno, CZ – Fleda
• 27 October – Stockholm, SE – Slaktkyrkan
• 28 October – Gothenburg, SE – Trädgårn
• 30 October – London, UK – O2 Academy Islington – SOLD OUT
• 01 November – Lviv, UA – FESTrepublic

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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On October 3rd Elsiane will release their 5th studio album, simply titled album “Elsiane”. The new album was again produced by David Bottrill. David Bottrill is a Canadian recordproducer who formerly owned the Rattlebox Studios in Toronto, Ontario with producer Brian Moncarz. Bottrill’s credits include production work for Peter Gabriel, David Sylvian & Robert Fripp, Muse, Placebo, The Smashing Pumpkins, IAMX, etc.. In 2020 he also produced Elsiane’s “Sinai” album.

The new album will be out on vinyl (200 copies) and as download/streaming.

Elsiane is a Canadian band composed of Elsieanne Caplette and Stephane Sotto. Elsieanne grew up in Peru, became a singer in a group in Peru and then moved to Montreal in 1999, where she met Stephane Sotto. When Sotto, a self-taught musician, met Elsieanne, they decided to form the band Elsiane whose name is formed from the first four letters of the first name of the singer and the last three letters of the musician’s first name.

The duo began their collaboration in 2000 and published their first (excellent!) album entitled “Hybrid” on May 1. The album was released a little over a year later in the United States under the label Nettwerk. During the summer of 2011, Elsiane announced the release of a second album preceded by the first single “Underhelped”. The album “Mechanics of Emotion” was released on April 10, 2012. Because they were struggling with the music industry, their third album “Death of the Artist” was released independently. “Rin, Tongue and Dorner” followed in 2018, and was self-released, in collaboration with Rich ShaperoThey.

More on the new album and pre-order info on this website.

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

Vogon Poetry consists of three guys from the southern parts of Sweden although they all live in Gothenburg now. It all started out as a competition at an office party 2012 where Roger and Daniel worked. The idea was to create something that could be performed live with only an Ipad to work with. As it happened Roger and Daniel ended up in the same team and wrote the first song for what later would become Vogon Poetry. They didn’t have a singer though but new that there was this guy at the gym where they were training who had this amazing voice, John was asked to join forces on the evening of the competition. They found this collaboration so inspiring and fun that they  wanted to try out another few songs and when they were at it they set up a vote on Facebook for a band name where they had a few different choices but where Vogon Poetry by far was the most popular alternative.  This year Vogon Poetry unleashed their fifth full length album which sounds as pure good-old Synth-Pop. I asked a few questions to the band.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

 Q: Vogon Poetry is already active for a while and has released multiple albums and singles. How did you see the band evolving and what remains from the early songs and years?

VP: I think the idea of writing catchy songs is definitely still there. Also our lyrics twist and turn around science fiction as well as ordinary questions about life and existence so that part is the same. It has however definitely been a process where we have matured as a band with each album we have released and where the soundscapes have become more complex compared to where we started. That said we don’t aim for a specific direction or change of expression but grow and progress organically from experiences collected. We still enjoy some of the early works and both “In Darkness Lost Again” and “The Diceman” from our first album are frequently performed live.

Q: You in the past worked together with the Russian label ScentAir Records although you also self-released multiple works. What have been your experiences working with a label at one side and the D.I.Y. (‘do it yourself’) approach at the other side?

VP: A record label can definitely support a bands journey if they have the muscles for it but today with all possibilities to distribute music both digitally and physically yourself the gain is not as huge as it previously was.

We decided after releasing “The Prefect Stories” together with ScentAir that we as a band actually lost some of the connections with our fans and didn’t make any profit from working with the record label so we decided to continue on our own label Audite Records instead.
 
Q: Let’s talk about your new album “The Guide”. What is this opus all about and how did it come through?

VP: From the beginning we were not sure we wanted to release yet another album. Therefore we released a couple of singles and EPs instead of holding on to new material. After a while we felt though that we do like the album format and that we were getting close to filling an album. The main reason for releasing an album was to have all the songs collected on a physical CD. Since we started out releasing separate tracks we didn’t have a real process of building the album and there is no story flowing through the album although the soundscapes of all the songs do connect well to each other. At least we feel that it is a coherent album sound-wise. Lyrics has always been quite diverse for us so we mix adventures under atomic skies with love stories and we have always done that. As with all our albums the title “The Guide” is taken from Douglas Adams Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.
 
Q: So I guess you didn’t get something like a plan and/or specific influences and/or references you wanted to accomplish for this album? How did the writing and production happened and what’s the usual procedure of working together?

VP: We didn’t really have a plan for the album. It rather consists of 9 building blocks which we wrote separately but felt worked well together. The initial track “Rocinante” was the last one to be written and was intended as an introduction to the album and is also being used as opener to our live shows.

Music and lyrics are usually written by Roger. Almost always with the lyrics as a last piece and mainly during vacations in the sun chair where the imagination and inspiration flows. When we record our vocals we work together on polishing melodies and putting down choir vocals and such.

We also collaborated with the Swedish band Social Ambitions on the two tracks “Time” and “Jag Vill” which was a fantastic experience and great fun.

It was also the first time we brought in an external person to produce and master our songs instead of doing it ourselves and it really brought the songs to a new level of soundscaping and we are incredibly happy with the result.

Q: The sound of Vogon Poetry is clearly evoking good-old 80s Synth-Pop influences and yet there also is a more contemporary and personal touch on top. Tell us a bit more about your ‘sound’ and ‘production’ and how important is the 80s influence in your music?

VP: I think that the 80s never leave your head when you have lived through it. It’s not something we think about when writing music but it’s still there and obviously influence our work.

All that is mixed up with music you are being exposed to today and for Roger, who writes the music, artists such as for example  IAMX and Kite inspire to create something more than just ripping of the 80s.
 
Q: What are the further plans for this year considering singles/EP’s, videos, live performances, eventually new songs etc..?

VP: We are currently working on new material and also an exciting collaboration with another band which hopefully will be released early autumn. Life in general for all of us currently takes a lot of time and therefore we have unfortunately had to turn down a few live performances but we do love to perform live and hope that we can get our schedules together and also that people want to see us perform. It’s a fantastic feeling to connect and bond with the audience and share the music and moment with everyone.

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, Indie-Pop, Wave-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Chris Corner started IAMX as a solo-project in 2002. More than twenty years later the ex-Sneaker Pimps front man can look back at an impressive and successful discography featuring numerous hits.  “Fault Lines¹” explores the rifts and fractures of our lives’  seen through the eyes of an artist with an autism spectrum.

Content: The work features 8 tracks taking off with a hard and dark opener driven by a menacing bass line and Corner’s unique- and androgenic timbre of voice. The work is moving from harder cuts to softer, melancholic pieces with the title song as best exposure. IAMX sounds dark and yet pretty sexy through its rhythmic, carrying choruses and Corner singing on top. A few cuts feature female backing vocals.

+ + + : IAMX is a band that from the very first album (cf. “Kiss + Swallow”) made a great impression on me. The early magic is maybe a bit gone but there are still songs getting this flame back alive. I prefer the ‘harder’ cuts like “Disciple” and “Thanatos” but also the impressive, sensual and yet dark “The X ID”. Let’s not forget the softer and deeply melancholic “Fault Lines’ “ featuring delicate piano arrangements. The work is accomplished with refinement although featuring multiple rough and raw sound treatments. IAMX always has this rough touch while it remains sexy. On top there’s this unique voice of Chris Corner who more than ever before plays and manipulates his voice as an instrument.

– – – : Eight songs isn’t that much for an album but you’ll not hear me complaining. The last two songs aren’t my favorites and rather sound as an antithesis to a new, great, work.

Conclusion: IAMX remains a very creative and sexy Pop project with an unique sound DNA.

Best songs: “The X ID”, “Disciple”, “Thanatos”, “Fault Lines”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist & Label: www.iamxmusic.com / www.facebook.com/IAMXOFFICIAL Read the news on ‘Fault Lines1’.

About IAMX

IAMX is the solo project of Chris Corner, founded in 2002 in London after the hiatus of his band Sneaker Pimps. The debut album “Kiss + Swallow” followed in 2004, written, performed and produced by Corner himself. Later albums include “The Alternative” (2006), “Kingdom of Welcome Addiction” (2009), the remix set “Dogmatic Infidel Comedown OK” (2010), “Volatile Times” (2011), “The Unified Field” (2013, co-produced with Jim Abbiss), “Metanoia” (2015), the mini album “Everything Is Burning” (2016), the experimental album “Unfall” (2017), “Alive In New Light” (2018) and the acoustic rework album “Echo Echo” (2020). Corner launched his own UNFALL Productions imprint for “Machinate” (2021) and continued the label for “Fault Lines”, released 12 May 2023, preceded by the single “Fault Lines” and the video single “The X ID”.

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

(Photo by Gretchen Lanham) IAMX’s latest single “Fault Lines” is out today. The eponymous song is the title track of IAMX’s upcoming new full-length album “Fault Lines I”.

Chris Corner, IAMX, explains the track: “The song ‘Fault Lines’ explores the impact of societal fractures on the human psyche, on a personal and global level. It is an exploration of the consequences of fanaticism, manipulation, and self-destruction, and how we can find solace in the healing power of nature.”

The single releases alongside three upbeat remixes executed by IAMX, by A Calmer Collision (Ryan McCambridge) and by The Royal Ritual (David Lawrie).

The single is accompanied by a lyric video, shot and edited by Corner, reminding us of the balance of the artificial and natural and confronts us with how we have contorted ourselves to fit into the strange world we have created.

“Fault Lines1” live dates

NORTH AMERICA

• 27 May – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
• 28 May – Phoenix, AZ – Nile Theater
• 30 May – El Paso, TX – Rock House
• 1 June – Austin, TX – Elysium
• 2 June – San Antonio, TX – Sam’s
• 3 June – Houston, TX – Numbers
• 6 June – Tampa, FL -Orpheum
• 7 June – Atlanta, GA – Aisle 5
• 9 June – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery
• 10 June – Philadelphia, PA – Warehouse on Watts
• 11 June – New York City, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
• 14 June – Rochester, NY – Photo City
• 15 June – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
• 16 June – Detroit, MI – The Magic Bag
• 18 June – Madison, WI – Crucible
• 19 June – Kansas City, KS – Record Bar
• 21 June – Denver, CO – The Oriental Theater
• 22 June – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
• 24 June – Seattle, WA – El Corazon
• 25 June – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater
• 27 June – Sacramento, CA – Harlows
• 28 June – San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge
• 29 June – Los Angeles, CA – Mayan Theater*
• 22 September – Chicago, IL – Cold Waves Festival^

All shows with I Speak Machine
*with cEvin Key
^Festival performance

​EUROPE

• 26 September – Bratislava, SK – Majestic Music Club
• 28 September – Prague, CZ – Lucerna
• 29 September – Budapest, HU – A38
• 30 September – Graz, A – PPC
• 01 October – Vienna, A – SIMM City
• 03 October – Sankt Gallen, CH – bruchteil grabenhalle
• 04 October – Munich, D – Ampere
• 06 October – Barcelona, E – Apollo 2
• 07 October – Madrid, E – Sala Mon
• 09 October – Brussels, B – Ancienne Belgique
• 10 October – Paris, F – Trabendo
• 11 October – Cologne, D – Live Music Hall
• 13 October – Leipzig, D – Täubchenthal
• 14 October – Hamburg, D – Markthalle
• 15 October – Copenhagen, DK – Amager Bio
• 17 October – Utrecht, NL – Tivoli De Helling
• 18 October – Frankfurt, D – Zoom
• 21 October – Berlin, D – Columbia Theater
• 22 October – Warsaw, PL – Progresja
• 24 October – Wroclaw, PL – Zaklete Rewiry
• 25 October – Brno, CZ – Fleda
• 27 October – Stockholm, S – Slaktkyrkan
• 28 October – Gothenburg, S – Trädgår’n
• 30 October – London, UK – O2 Academy Islington

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

(Photo by Gretchen Lanham) IAMX’s new single “The X ID” is out now ahead of the new album “Fault Lines1”, due out May 12th. The song is the first new lyrical material from the project since 2018’s “Alive In New Light” and builds on the modular sounds of 2021’s “Machinate”.

The first of two albums across the next year, the “Fault Lines” project explores “the rifts and fractures of our lives, both psychologically and within the tangible world” so Chris Corner says. And he adds: “I am humbled that, here at IAMX HQ everyone is fully present, dedicated and invested in serving this art and authentically living an alternative life in mental and physical freedom. This video is a document of that freedom. The X ID is and has always been a major part of my personality. It is my brutal, provocative gender bending screaming inner demon, my magnetic swaggering hedonistic ego, the deepest darkest beautiful me which I am able to live out through this music. On stage, in videos, through my community. Over time I have learnt to embrace, inhabit and wield this X ID. Without hesitation or guilt. And I see it as my duty to encourage others to embody and express who they are.”
​
The video for “The X ID” plays with themes of gender, S&M and unreality. In the video you can watch how Corner guides you through a sensory overload of nature.

Tour

IAMX will bring the full band production back to the stage for a North America tour beginning next month and a European tour in the fall.

Chris Corner and longtime live collaborators Janine Gezang (vocals, keys, bass) and Jon Siren (drums), will interpret classics and favorites from throughout the expansive IAMX catalog alongside the new material of “Fault Lines1”.

In North America, IAMX will be joined by the dark electronic project I Speak Machine who recently opened for Gary Numan, and will end the tour in Los Angeles with an explosive opening act from Skinny Puppy co-founder cEvin Key. See below for a full list of live dates.

NORTH AMERICA

• 27 May – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
• 28 May – Phoenix, AZ – Nile Theater
• 30 May – El Paso, TX – Rock House
• 1 June – Austin, TX – Elysium
• 2 June – San Antonio, TX – Sam’s
• 3 June – Houston, TX – Numbers
• 6 June – Tampa, FL -Orpheum
• 7 June – Atlanta, GA – Aisle 5
• 9 June – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery
• 10 June – Philadelphia, PA – Warehouse on Watts
• 11 June – New York City, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
• 14 June – Rochester, NY – Photo City
• 15 June – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
• 16 June – Detroit, MI – The Magic Bag
• 18 June – Madison, WI – Crucible
• 19 June – Kansas City, KS – Record Bar
• 21 June – Denver, CO – The Oriental Theater
• 22 June – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
• 24 June – Seattle, WA – El Corazon
• 25 June – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater
• 27 June – Sacramento, CA – Harlows
• 28 June – San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge
• 29 June – Los Angeles, CA – Mayan Theater*

All shows with I Speak Machine
*with cEvin Key

​EUROPE Read the review of ‘Fault Lines1’.

• 26 September – Bratislava, SK – Majestic Music Club
• 28 September – Prague, CZ – Lucerna
• 29 September – Budapest, HU – A38
• 30 September – Graz, A – PPC
• 01 October – Vienna, A – SIMM City
• 03 October – Sankt Gallen, CH – bruchteil grabenhalle
• 04 October – Munich, D – Ampere
• 06 October – Barcelona, E – Apollo 2
• 07 October – Madrid, E – Sala Mon
• 09 October – Brussels, B – Ancienne Belgique
• 10 October – Paris, F – Trabendo
• 11 October – Cologne, D – Live Music Hall
• 13 October – Leipzig, D – Täubchenthal
• 14 October – Hamburg, D – Markthalle
• 15 October – Copenhagen, DK – Amager Bio
• 17 October – Utrecht, NL – Tivoli De Helling
• 18 October – Frankfurt, D – Zoom
• 21 October – Berlin, D – Columbia Theater
• 22 October – Warsaw, PL – Progresja
• 24 October – Wroclaw, PL – Zaklete Rewiry
• 25 October – Brno, CZ – Fleda
• 27 October – Stockholm, S – Slaktkyrkan
• 28 October – Gothenburg, S – Trädgår’n
• 30 October – London, UK – O2 Academy Islington

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, Minimal-Electro, Indie-Pop.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Laborant is a solo-project driven by Árvai Krisztián who’s known from his involvement with Black Nail Cabaret. “Visions” features seven songs with Hungarian guest singers.

Content: Árvai Krisztián is inspired by different influences while the singers also inject their very own touch and style. “Visions” is moving from Electro-Pop to pure Minimal- and even Experimental Electro to harder passages carried by EBM bass lines to Indie-Pop. Among the guest singers you for sure know Josef Stapel (Ultranoire) and Emke (Black Nail Cabaret).

+ + + : The album sounds a bit like a compilation but it’s a fascinating and diversified achievement. There’s a true harmony and even symbiosis between the musician and his singers. Árvai Krisztián reveals to be a talented and even visionary artist. From this work I recommend the somewhat harder, dark and yet sensual “D.I.M.S.” featuring Manoya and the brilliant last cut “Blindside” featuring Tam​á​s ‘Tonyo’ Szab​ó. This song will appeal to IAMX fans. “Fixation” featuring Emke is another cool and minimal-like track.

– – – : There’s only one single track (cf. “Runaway” featuring Kaiko) which is forgettable.

Conclusion: Laborant is an exciting side-project from the Black Nail Cabaret machinist.

Best songs: “Blindside”, “D.I.M.S.”, “Fixation”, “Craving Blood”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/krisztian.arvai

About Laborant

Laborant is a solo-project of Krisztián “Devon” Árvai, producer and songwriter of Black Nail Cabaret. “Visions” was released on August 16, 2022, featuring seven songs with Hungarian guest vocalists including Josef Stapel (Ultranoire), Emke (Black Nail Cabaret), Manoya, Tamás “Tonyo” Szabó and Kaiko, moving between electro-pop, minimal electro and indie-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

Genre/Influences: Cold-Wave, Dark-Wave.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Letten 94 is a Swiss duo driven by Dolorès and Freddy Van Ballast. The “Empty Landscapes”-EP was released by the end of 2021 and features four tracks.

Content: Letten 94 takes us back to the minimalism of Cold/Dark-Wave. It sounds pretty 80s like, the songs being composed with electronics and guitar while the sound of a good-old rhythm-box only accentuates the retro-feeling.

+ + + : This EP will appeal for lovers of bands like Selofan, Linea Aspera ao. The icy sound treatments have something magic. It also comes through by the production of the vocals revealing sexy, cold, female vocals and passionate male vocals reminding me of Chris Corner (IAMX). The title song is a great opener but I personally prefer “Where No One Goes” and the excellent “Red Lights Soft Skins” which is pure passion. It’s also cool to get an EP featuring 4 different songs from a high quality level.

– – – : I regret this is an EP and not an album; I want more stuff like this.

Conclusion: Letten 94 took me by surprise; this is a great debut release revealing efficient vintage Electro-Wave music.

Best songs: “Red Lights Soft Skins”, “Where No One Goes”, “Empty Landscapes”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/letten94

Label: www.coldtransmission.com / www.facebook.com/coldtransmissionmusic

About Letten 94

Letten 94 is a Swiss cold-wave duo made up of Dolorès and Freddy Van Ballast. On the project’s Bandcamp credits Dolorès handles lead vocals and guitar, while Van Ballast plays synths and sings backing vocals.

The duo opened its discography with the single “Empty Landscapes” on 23 July 2021. Letten 94 produced that track with Remove, who also mixed and mastered it, and it was recorded at Collectif Glaucal. The four-track “Empty Landscapes” EP reviewed here followed in November 2021 on Cold Transmission Music. The album “Not Enough” arrived in April 2026.

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 2022 edition of the Sinner’s Day Summer Festival will take place from 24th until 26th June 2022 at the Maria-Hendrika Park in Oostende, Belgium. About 28 new wave, EBM, industrial, post-punk, synth-pop and eighties bands are featured on 2 stages.

This year the line-up includes: Front 242, IAMX, The Mission, Nitzer Ebb, Diary Of Dreams, VNV Nation, Public Image Limited, Aesthetic Perfection, Dive, Merciful Nuns, Nosferatu, Stabbing Westward, The Danse Society, The Stranglers, Aroma Di Amore, Trans-X, Torul, Ultra Sunn, Saint Agnes, Boytronic, Test Department, Tyske Ludder and more!

There is also The Batcave, the dance-area where you can party while DJ’s spin their finest tracks. A camping area is available if you want to stay next to the festival area at night!

Tickets can be ordered here

Photo: picture alliance/dpa, Alexander Prautzsch

After a two years break, due to Covid-19, the annual Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2022 (29th edition) will take place from 3rd-6th June in the Agra-Halle and surrounded area of Leipzig, Germany.

WGT focuses especially on the gothic, (steam)punk, new wave, electro, EBM, industrial and medieval music and (sub)culture. It is a total-concept world festival including concerts, renaissance fairs, viking and pagan markets, exhibitions, CD/DVD and film premieres, lectures, artist signing events, fetish events, and (late-night) parties.

Approximately 200 artists are on the list, spread over more than 50 locations and the festival has about 20.000 visitors. As usual a lot of names out of the dark scene will play WGT: Lacrimosa, IAMX, Clan of Xymox, Combichrist, Rabia Sorda, Corvus Corax, VNV Nation, Orange Sector, Tanzwut, Xotox, Eisfabrik, Unzucht, Nachtblut, NNHMN, Linea Aspera, Minuit Machine, Dark, Fïx8:Sëd8, Letzte Instanz, Nosferatu, …

Tickets for WGT soon can be ordered here (entrance tickets purchased in the years 2020 or 2021 remain valid for the WGT 2022).

Genre/Influences: Indie-Wave, Shoegaze, Dark-Wave.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: The Funeral Warehouse is a French trio which already released a few productions. “Hours & Days” was written and recorded over several years resulting in ten songs.

Content: The first half of the work is a powerful mix between Dark-Wave and Indie. The songs are well-crafted and moving crescendo till an apotheosis. The second part of the album is more evasive and inspired by Shoegaze. The powerful guitar play has been mixed with electronic arrangements.

+ + + : The first part of “Hours & Days” sounds astonishing. This is a powerful production, which has been progressively built up and reaching a total climax. The impressive guitar playing injects a true spirit in the album. “It’s a Black-Black Miracle” is an overwhelming opener, but I also recommend listening to “Miles Away” which sounds like a furious, Rock driven version of Depeche Mode. “Put It (For Indecisions)” coming next is another masterpiece. And I also have to say a word about “Long Way Out”, which sounds like the offspring between David Bowie and IAMX.

– – – : The last part of the work is more into Shoegaze and even if the songs are easy listening pieces they never emulate the power and passion of the debut tracks.

Conclusion: The Funeral warehouse took me by surprise by this very accessible dark Indie work.

Best songs: “Miles Away”, “It’s a Black-Black Miracle”, “Put It (For Indecisions)”, “Long Way Out”, “Absinthe”.

Rate: 8.

Listen to “Hours & Days”:

Artist: www.facebook.com/thefuneralwarehouse

Label: www.facebook.com/icycoldrecords

About The Funeral Warehouse

The Funeral Warehouse was founded in France in 2010 by Sébastyén D. on vocals, guitars and keys, Aurélien Jobard on bass and Rodolphe Goujet on drums. The trio plays indie post-punk and released its first records through Seventh Crow Records: “Hourglass & Waterlilies” in 2010, “Behind The Wall” in 2011 and “Along With The Madcap” in 2012. The band also took part in the Joy Division tribute “Touching From A Distance” in 2015.

Icy Cold Records released “Hours & Days” on 12 November 2021 in digital form, with CD and vinyl editions following. The ten tracks are “It’s A Black-Black Miracle”, “Stop”, “Miles Away”, “Put In (For Indecisions)”, “Absinthe”, “Long Way Out”, “Can’t See Why”, “Almost There”, “The Wretched” and “In Love”.

The band talked about that album with Side-Line a few weeks after this review, in the Click Interview with The Funeral Warehouse published in 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

Genre/Influences: Indie-Pop, Electro-Pop, Pop-Rock.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Station echo is a French formation active since 2013. This year they signed to Infected Recordings unleashing the successful EP”Say you’re Sorry” followed by the official debut album “Control Voltage”.

Content: Station Echo deals with a well-crafted mix of Electronics and guitar. The sound comes closer to Electro-Pop and pure Indie-Pop, reminding me of formations like IAMX and Placebo. The album takes off with the familiar EP-title song and moves on with 10 more songs featuring other potential EP-title tracks. There are a few softer passages while the last part of the album features 1 song in 3 chapters.

+ + +: Station Echo took me by surprise unleashing a mature and accomplished production. Even if the sound isn’t completely new and you sometimes recognize a clear link with IAMX and even Placebo, this work reveals a few outstanding cuts. Next to the already mentioned “Say You’re Sorry” the biggest potential hit is “You’re Wrong”. This song is driven by a terrific bass line and an irresistible lead, but it also reveals a great balance between guitar and synths. Another noticeable cut is the somewhat harder and guitar driven “Guilty” featuring an elevating chorus.

– – – : The final part of the work features the song “The Magic Place”, which is composed of 3 parts/tracks. It’s not that bad, but rather sounds like an anticlimax compared to the global album.

Conclusion: “Control Voltage” is a surprising album revealing a band with a huge potential. Station Echo seems to be a great French hidden secret that has been now revealed thanks to “Control Voltage”.

Best songs: “You’re Wrong”, “Say You’re Sorry”, “Guilty”, “Spasmodic”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.stationecho.com / www.facebook.com/stationecho

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

About Station Echo

Station Echo is a French electronic band formed in Lyon in 2013. Discogs lists two releases under the name, both from 2021: the EP "Say You’re Sorry" and the album "Control Voltage", issued by the German label Infacted Recordings on CD and in digital formats. No earlier commercial release is documented under the Station Echo name.

Bandcamp carries the record on the Infacted Recordings page as "Control Voltage (Special Edition)". Side-Line has not covered the band outside this review, so the album discussed above stands as their first documented full-length.

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: Pop-Rock, Indie-Rock.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: “Bye-Bye Borderline” released in 2013 saw Norwegian band, Zeromancer at its best. Eight years have passed to unleash a new studio album and here comes “Orchestra Of Knives”, the band’s seventh full length, which has been introduced as different from previous works.

Content: Some songs might sound different, but globally speaking the fans will easily recognize the main ingredients of the band. Powerful guitar riffs –sometimes on the edge of Metal, have been meticulously merged together with melodic Electro, which is mainly emerging at the choruses. Zeromancer is a band I don’t want to compare, but I’m sure “Orchestra Of Knives” will appeal to lovers of IAMX.

+ + + : Zeromancer strikes back with a bang! The band hasn’t lost its initial magic and natural talent to compose powerful Electro-Rock music. It has a strong Indie connotation, but also a rough and naughty sound –especially when empowered by heavier guitar playing. The songs are driven by impressive choruses, which at several songs really have an elevating effect. “Testimonial” is a brilliant song to take off, directly getting the listener into the sound universe of this opus. I also have to mention “Birthday”, which is another cool exposure of power and melody. Same for the already familiar single “Terminal Love” while I also enjoyed the last track “San Zero”, this is a pure apotheosis to a stunning comeback! Last, but not least, a great band also needs a great singer, Alex Møklebust confirming his charisma.

– – – : A few singles have been already released, which aren’t my favorite songs. It also says something about the potential of this work.

Conclusion: Zeromancer is back and the world gonna know it!

Best songs: “Testimonial”, “Birthday”, “Terminal Love”,  “San Zero”, “Transparency”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.zeromancer.com / www.facebook.com/zeromancerzentral

Label: www.trisol.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Trisol-Music-Group/104166526285471 Read the news on ‘Orchestra Of Knives’.

The album’s third single “Terminal Love” was released with a video ahead of the album.

About Zeromancer

Zeromancer is a Norwegian industrial rock band formed in 1999 by members of Seigmen. The line-up around “Orchestra Of Knives” was Alex Møklebust on vocals, Kim Ljung on bass and backing vocals, Noralf Ronthi on drums, Lorry Kristiansen on programming and Per-Olav Wiik on lead guitar.

The band’s sixth album “Bye-Bye Borderline” was released on January 25, 2013, followed by the single “Underground” and the best-of set “Something For The Pain” on November 1, 2013. A remix for L’Âme Immortelle appeared in early 2018 and the single “Damned Le Monde” closed that year.

“Orchestra Of Knives” was released on September 24, 2021 through Trisol Music Group, eight years after the previous studio album. The ten-track running order is “Testimonial”, “Damned Le Monde”, “Transparency”, “Mourners”, “Birthday”, “Terminal Love”, “Worth Less Than Deutsche Marks To Me”, “Orchestra Of Knives”, “Stand On Ceremony” and “San Zero”. The singles “Damned Le Monde”, “Mourners” and “Terminal Love” preceded it. Keyboardist Lorry Kristiansen and guitarist Per-Olav Wiik discussed the record in the Zeromancer interview: ‘It has been a long time. And that’s also one of the reasons the album differs from previous albums’.

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.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Three years after the debut album “Defiance + Entropy” Keith Trigwell (The Devout), Mark R Bebb (Shelter) and producer Rob Dust aka Form, strikes back with this new opus. This European formation –hailing from England, Wales and Germany, brings us ten new songs.

Content: The album takes off with a song featuring a kind of introduction and progressively evolving into the Electro-Pop style of Form. The songs are clearly inspired by bands such as Depeche Mode, but I also have to mention IAMX. Some parts are danceable while other cuts are more into a melancholic, dreamy format. There for sure is an emotional touch running through the work, which is accentuated by piano arrangements.

+ + + : There clearly is a harmony between the ‘softer’ pieces at one side and the more ‘danceable’ cuts at the other side. I personally prefer the ‘heavier’ side of the work, illustrated at “Glitter” and “Hazed”. But I also like the way the opening song “You” has been built up and will appeal to Depeche Mode fans. The last track is also worthy of examination for its catchy chorus. I also want to say a word about the mature production of the vocals. Form is clearly taking care of every single detail in sound and vocal production.

– – – : I was less impressed by the softer side of the work illustrated at songs like “Succumb” and “Protector”.

Conclusion: Form stands for ‘classical’ Electro-Pop music with a personal touch on top.

Best songs: “Glitter”, “Hazed”, “You”, “World”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: http://formofficial.com / www.facebook.com/formhq

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

About Form

Form is a European Electro-Pop project uniting Keith Trigwell (also known for The Devout), Mark R Bebb (Shelter) and producer Rob Dust, based respectively in England, Wales and Germany. The band released its debut album, “Defiance + Entropy”, on Infacted Recordings in 2019, followed by “This World Is Ours” on the same label in 2021.

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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(Photo: Michael Mendoza) Skinny Puppy co-founder cEvin Key is releasing his 5th solo album, “Xwayxway”, on February 19th via Artoffact Records. “Xwayxway” (anglicized as “Whoi Whoi”) is an indigenous village located in what is now Stanley Park in Key’s hometwon of Vancouver.

Key: “I was surprised to hear only recently of a 3,000 year old village which stood on the spot of Lumbermen’s Arch, its history erased. This instantly explained the many enigmatic sensations, profound feelings, and visions I’ve had in the park. I am saddened by the story of Xwayxway. I truly believe this is something we should have been taught in schools so people would recognize the park sits on Salish land which to this day has never been ceded. Perhaps that is why no one mentions it, or its secret mysteries contained within. [Skinny Puppy’s 1990 album] ‘Too Dark Park’ refers to this park, and I feel that title to now be an only more appropriate reference, given its dark history. I have an immense love for the forest in the park. It can speak. I could feel this inspiration deeply. I dedicate this album to the spirits of Xwayxway.”

You can stream the new single “Night Flower” from “Xwayxway”, featuring guest vocals by Edward KaSpel of The Legendary Pink Dots (and a longtime collaborator of Key’s in the band The Tear Garden) right below.

Musical guests include Edward KaSpel, IAMX, Traz Damji, Soriah, Otto von Schirach, Dre Robinson, Guilherme Pires, Omar Torres and Eric In Quantum.

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

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: The New Division is the sonic brainchild of John Glenn Kunkel. The band can already look back on a respectable discography, the last productions having been released by Progress Productions. The Swedish label released the CD edit featuring ten songs plus six bonus cuts.

Content: The New Division moves on composing a very personal pop style, which can be the best described as merging different influences. The global work sounds pretty indie-pop like and reminds me now and then to IAMX. Some tracks are a bit more 80s driven -like on their previous album “Gemini” while others have been driven by groovy sequences.

+ + + : “Hidden Memories” is a well-crafted work revealing a diverse tracklist. I prefer the ‘retro’ style of the album, which you can hear on “Broken”,  but the last song from the regular album (cf. “Ride”) for its global elaboration. The bonus cuts are still worthy of examination and I even dare to say that is where you’ll discover the best songs on the album. “Worth It” is a fully appropriated title for one of the most danceable and achieved cuts of this album. I also have to say a word about the singing skills of John Glenn Kunkel who’s a real talented and captivated singer.

– – – : I’m less convinced by the groovy cuts featured at this work. They inject something extra danceable, but this is not the best side of the band.

Conclusion: The New Division deals with a very own pop approach, which clearly takes distance with most of the typical electro/dance-pop bands. This is an interesting experience however I prefer the previous album.

Best songs: “Worth It”, “Enough Is Enough”, “Ride”, “Glass Jaw”, “Over”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist:  www.newdivisionmusic.com /

www.facebook.com/thenewdivision

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

About The New Division

The New Division began in 2005 as a college dorm-room project for songwriter John Kunkel, who had moved from Uruguay to Southern California and started experimenting with synthesizers after hearing Joy Division, New Order and Depeche Mode. By the end of 2007 the project had grown into a four-piece with Michael Janz, Brock Woolsey and Mark Michalski. The band’s discography includes the albums “Gemini” (2015) and “Together We Shine” (2014) before “Hidden Memories” (2020), followed by “System Shock” (2021) and further singles and EPs into the mid-2020s, released through Progress Productions.

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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Genre/Influences: Industrial, pop-rock, indie.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: The sixth album of Grendel, “Ascending The Abyss” was already released several months ago. The previous opus “Age Of The Disposable Body” saw frontman Jos Tucker ‘reinventing’ Grendel. The early dark-electro and aggrotech style got transposed into a new approach featuring guitar riffs.

Content: This new work only confirms the move towards different influences and clearly sounds as a break with the past. The guitar, played by Erik Gustafson, has a prominent role in the writing, reinforcing the industrial/rock approach. But Grendel also remains electro-driven, which is an aspect that comes mainly through in the melodic side of the album. Another important aspect is the production of the vocals. Jos Tucker’s way of singing is now clear and charismatic. Some songs remind me a bit of IAMX, and especially “Cloak & Dagger” brings this indie pop-rock element to life. If you’re more into electro, “Fire & Light” is for sure a song that will catch your attention for its retro-styled electronics.

+ + + : One thing is for sure, this album reveals a great professional job in the global production process. There’s a right balance between heavy guitar play and carrying electronic parts. The songs are accomplished, but still revealing diversity. Some of you are going to like the somewhat more psychedelic-inspired “Brace The Storm” while others will prefer the indie approach at “Cloak & Dagger”. I like the old-school electronic sound treatments at “Fire & Light” while “Purpose” might be considered as the ultimate fusion between heavy guitar play and solid electro sequences while the vocals have been here produced with a robotic effect on top.

– – – : The album features only 10 songs, which is maybe a little regrettable; especially when you consider there’s an intro cut and an instrumental last song. But the main point that hurts me remains Grendel’s move from the dark-electro scene towards this industrial pop & rock style. There’s nothing with that, but it’s no longer the same project so should another band name not have been more appropriated? We all will have an opinion about it…

Conclusion: “Ascending The Abyss” confirms Grendel’s sonic transformation and even if it has nothing in common with the band’s electro-period, it probably is one of the best albums released by the band.

Best songs: “Fire & Light”, “Purpose”, “Bitter Tide”, “Cloak & Dagger”, “Caught In The Middle”.

Rate: (8½ ).

Artist: https://www.grendel–hq.com / www.facebook.com/grendel.music

Label: www.infacted–recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted–Recordings/124099254321690

About Grendel

Grendel is the solo project of Scottish musician Jos Tucker, formed in 2000 and based in Glasgow. Its early albums, including “Inhumane Amusement” (2001), “End Of Ages” (2002), “Prescription: Medicide” (2003), “Soilbleed” (2005), “Harsh Generation” (2007), “Chemicals + Circuitry” (2009) and “Timewave Zero” (2012), established Grendel within the dark-electro and aggrotech scene before “Age Of The Disposable Body” introduced the guitar-driven industrial-rock direction carried through on “Ascending The Abyss”. Grendel has remained active on Infacted Recordings since, releasing the album “The Ranidae” in 2026.

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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IAM has announced the release of an acoustic album “Echo Echo” plus a new tour. A new double single “Surrender” / “Kiss And Swallow” is out today. For the occasion a video edit of the track “Surrender” is out now as well and can be viewed below.

The clip was directed and shot by Chris Corner at Sawtooth Studios, Pioneertown, California Sirens with Janine Gezang and Sammi Doll.

The album’s name is a phrase from the song “Kiss and Swallow”. Says Chris: “It was the first IAMX song, the first IAMX album….the first step into the unknown as a solo artist. Its deeply dear to me and it deserves a special thank you for bringing me here.”

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Detroit based industrial rock artist Josie Pace has released her new music video “Perfect Replacement” featuring Sammi Doll of IAMX and Bullet Height. And it’s a delicious track we must say.

Joise explains how Sammi became involved on “Perfect Replacement”: “We went to see IAMX at The Shelter in Detroit. We stood right in front of Sammi Doll for the whole show. Being inspired by their music and style we thought it would be a perfect fit for Sammi to sing on the track with me. We sent an email to Sammi Doll asking about the collaboration, and were pleasantly surprised with her enthusiasm and willingness to sing on the track with me. She has become a close friend to the whole Josie Pace team and I love being able to work with another female powerhouse performer.”

Behind the production we find Ken Roberts. It was an acoustic performance of Josie on Facebook which triggered musician and producer Ken Roberts to reach out. The two started working together with Josie’s songs as the foundation.

“Perfect Replacement” can be seen below. Warmly recommended!

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: Industrial-pop, EBM, dark-electro.

Background/Info: Daniel Graves and his creative exposure Aesthetic Perfection are back on track unleashing a new album, which the fans were waiting 4-5 years for.

Content: Is there a better way to open your album by featuring one of the Rammstein members? Richard Z. Kruspe has been invited to play guitar on “Gods & Gold”, which is a song also characterized by the charismatic and heavy vocals of Daniel Graves, which have been alternated by clear and softer passages. Aesthetic Perfection always has had something ‘schizophrenic’ in its sound; it’s a mix of different influences, which you can describe as the offspring between industrial-pop, EBM and dark-electro. Another important guest is Krischan Jan-Eric Wesenberg (Rotersand) while 4 songs feature ‘Jinxx’ (real name Jeremy Ferguson).

The songs reflect power and rage; furious and raw electronics with some pop arrangements on top.

+ + + : What I especially like in the work of Aesthetic Perfection is the originality. It’s not exactly about innovation, but a band with a proper sound mixing multiple influences. So in the end it’s nearly impossible to define, but it sounds powerful, enraged and accomplished with great sound treatments. There are some irresistible bass lines running through the album, but also brilliant, rough sequences and overwhelming leads. The guitar parts add some extra power to the work. There are several songs to mention, but I have a preference for “Saint Peter” where the sound treatments are just excelling.

– – – : I noticed a few songs, which couldn’t totally convince, especially the last one “Mourning Doves” with a more prominent guitar part..

Conclusion: If you never heard of Aesthetic Perfection before you might imagine hearing a hybrid between early Combichrist and IAMX. But in the end you’ll have to agree this is just Aesthetic Perfection and nothing else!

Best songs: “Saint Peter”, “Wickedness”, “No Boys Allowed”, “Echoes”.

Rate: (8).

Artist & Label: www.aesthetic–perfection.net / www.facebook.com/aestheticperfection

About Aesthetic Perfection

Aesthetic Perfection is the project of American musician Daniel Graves, who released its debut album “Close To Human” in 2005. Further albums followed with “A Violent Emotion” (2008), “The Devil’s In The Details” (2010), “All Beauty Destroyed” (2011) and “Love Like Lies” (2016).

“Into The Black” (2019) followed three years later. Aesthetic Perfection released the single and video “Villain Era” on August 7, 2026 via Out Of Line Music, previewing the project’s next full-length album.

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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Genre/Influences: Cabaret-gothic, goth-pop.

Background/Info: Behind Richard Von Sabeth is hiding Riccardo Sabetti (Spiral 69). “The King Of Nothing” is the debut album of this Italian artist who has been inspired by horror movies from the 90s and atmospheres from Eastern-Europe.

Content: It’s pretty difficult to really seize what this artist has tried to accomplish. The songs mix elements of cabaret, gothic and pop. It’s an eclectic work supported by deep atmospheres of sorrow. A few songs are much more into ‘classical’-pop and even make me think to IAMX with some lyrical passages reminding  me of Placebo. Both last songs are already different like revealing a more artistic approach.

+ + + : Melancholia seems to have been the muse to this album. Richard Von Sabeth has achieved a very personal and diversified piece of pop music, which has been mixed with different influences. There also is something authentic in the production. I like the songs “Kiss Your Darkness” and “Agony” for reminding me a bit of IAMX while “Death Motel” and “Fall” both are real beautiful and poignant songs.

– – – : I think this album is just missing a few little details to speak about a real masterpiece. There’s maybe a little bit too much diversity between the songs, but globally speaking this work is a nice surprise.

Conclusion: I like artists trying to compose something different from the usual standards. That’s precisely what this album is all about. It’s hard to label although revealing great and beautiful songs.

Best songs: “Kiss Your Darkness”, “Death Motel”, “Agony”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.richardvonsabeth.com / www.facebook.com/riccardo.sabetti

Label: www.facebook.com/rehabrec

About Richard Von Sabeth

Richard Von Sabeth is the solo project of Riccardo Sabetti, born in Naples, Italy, in 1981. Sabetti founded the new wave band Spiral69 in 2007, releasing four albums and an EP and touring across Europe, including a collaboration with drummer Steve Hewitt of Placebo. He began recording under the Richard Von Sabeth name in 2016, playing all the instruments and arranging the orchestral parts himself. “The King Of Nothing”, reviewed here, is his debut album under that name.

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: Experimental-pop, cinematographic.

Background/Info: We Are The Line is a French project that claims to be inspired by artists such as Depeche Mode, NIN, David Bowie, Massive Attack. They previously released a debut single as prelude to this EP featuring 5 tracks.

Content: It’s not that easy to define the sound of this formation, but I somewhere recognize some of the artists they’re inspired by. The songs move from a real intelligent electronic approach carried by slow rhythms and sensual vocals parts towards a more electro-pop work featuring passionate vocals. The last two cuts are experimenting with other influences and become a bit more cinematographic.

+ + + : This new formation took me by surprise. It’s not that easy to seize the sound and real influences of the band, but I like tracks such as “A Cold Place” reminding me to Trauma and the more pop-driven “Restless (In vain)” which might appeal for fans of IAMX. The vocals are now sensual and then harsher and passionate. The final cut “Shining Edge” is another noticeable song for tits global progression and the mix of multiple noises and cracks.

– – – : “Through The Crack” can be considered as a ‘difficult’ release, which hard to label and covering multiple influences.

Conclusion: This EP resulted from a great, creative process, which is pretty exciting, but hard to catch. I hope to hear more work from We Are The Line; this is the kind of newcomer I fully support.

Best songs: “A Cold Place”, “Restless (In Vain)”, “Shining Edge”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.wearetheline.org / www.facebook.com/WeAreTheLineBand

About We Are The Line

We Are The Line is a French project citing Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie and Massive Attack among its influences. “Through The Crack” followed an earlier debut single, gathering five tracks on La Ligne Production(s).

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

German formation Boytronic belong to the German ‘history’ of electro-pop music. Set up in the early 80s they got an instant recognition. The band is now back on track after 11 years releasing the new opus “Jewel” on SPV. Ingo Hauss and Hayo Lewerentz know each other for years and have been involved in numerous common projects (U96 being one of the most famous ones). They’re now getting back to Boytronic and joined hands with British singer James Knights (Scarlet Soho). Scarlet Soho was signed on Hayo’s label Major Records, which explains the link between Boytronic and the new singer. I got in touch with Hayo Lewerentz to talk about the new work.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: “Jewel” is the first new album in more than ten years! Can we speak about a resurrection of Boytronic and what made this new album possible?

Hayo: Well, it was something like a strange coincident really. Ingo and myself were in the studio with James (Knights) to record some new songs that we had written and realized that the result was sounding a bit like Boytronic. We hadn’t really planned to record a new Boytronic album as Holger wasn`t interested in doing new stuff and playing live. So the decision was to record a new Boytronic album with James Knights as a guest singer,  but now we even think that it could last longer than just one album. We simply love his voice and also the way he sings all the old Boytronic tracks live.

Q: All over the years Boytronic went through numerous line-up changes and for the new album we again discover a different line-up. Is there an explanation for all these changes?  

Hayo: Well, the line-up changes came naturally in a way. In the 80s it was the death of Peter Sawatzki that put an end to the first version of Boytronic as Holger decided to record new stuff under the name Kamerata and we went on to record Boytronic albums with UK singer Marc Wade at the time. That was just 2 albums and a few singles because in the meantime (early 90s) we created another project called U96 which became super successful, so we concentrated on that for quite some time.

In 2002 I talked to Holger again and we decided to record a new Boytronic album together called “Autotunes”. As Holger was never interested in playing live really, this also didn’t last very long. In 2006 we agreed on another album that he recorded on his own as I was busy with my label Major Records at the time, where we released bands like IAMX, Ladytron and Nitzer Ebb and also that Boytronic album called “Dependence”. That album was a complete disaster in sales, so it became quiet again. The rest happened as I already explained above.

Q: I think you already started the writing of “Jewel” two years ago. What kind of album did you had in mind and what has been the main focus in the global production?

Hayo: As I said we wrote most of the songs as demos for another project that we planned and it became clearer with the recordings with James that we  make it a new Boytronic album. It was very inspiring for us to work with a great singer like James who also had a lot of live experience. What we had in mind was writing an all electronic album again that doesn`t deny our 80s roots but still is influenced by the sounds of today too.

Q: And do you see an evolution between previous Boytronic work and “Jewel” and what means synth-pop music to you ano 2017?

Hayo: I think as we are all older now the music maybe sounds a bit more mature. We still love to write catchy pop tunes, we always did, but we are much more open to new music too. We listen to all kinds of stuff like techno, electro, dance and synth-pop and that leave traces in our sound today  I guess. We don`t put music into certain corners like ‘synth-pop’. We judge music by what we like and what we don`t like.

Q: A new single has been released as well (cf. “The Universe”), but what’s the impact of a single today and what do you think about the global evolution of music today (considering elements such as social media, streaming, music composed with software etc…)?

Hayo: You still need singles/single tracks that go well with pictures to have some visuals out there too. Regarding the fact that social media is so important these days it makes some visualization of your music  indispensable. People love watching videos, even if they are just lyric or image videos, but it gives a certain feel to the music and helps people to get the vibe. I think all this social media thing and the digitalization of music is a good thing as it gives you a much broader exposure as an artist if you know how to play it. But on the other hand it also takes a lot of your precious time being creative. Regarding the pro’s and con’s I would still say that the pro’s  excel the con’s as the artists keep more control of what happens to their music.

Q: What brings the future considering elements such as live performances, new releases, side-projects ao… ?

Hayo: We are planning a tour for next year and as many festivals as possible to get the new album  out on stage. The dates will be confirmed soon, we only know for sure that we will play the Wave Gothik Treffen in Leipzig on May 20^th, 2018. Also we have been working on new songs with James and we will release more singles and remixes. Apart from that we also finished a new album with our techno project U96 which we will release early next year. That’s just Ingo and me with some guests  like  Wolfgang Flür (ex Kraftwerk), Joachim Witt and techno legend Adamski. We like to be busy (laugh).

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

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: We are Temporary was set in 2013 by Brooklyn – New York based artist Mark Roberts. After a couple of digital releases the band signed with Trisol. The German label is not that really often signing new bands so I think it can be really seen as a consecration for We Are Temporary to have joined Trisol.

Content: I discovered a fine and alluring electro-pop driven work, which sometimes reminds me a bit of a hybrid between IAMX and The Northern Territories. “Crossing Over” sounds delicate and carried by precise melodies and judicious crystalline bleeping sequences. The songs are dreamy-like, but supported with a dark flavor.

The slow rhythms accentuates the emotional content and more especially its melancholic side.

+ + + : We Are Temporary took me by surprise. This is electro-pop music with a different approach although holding on the familiar and faithful melancholic taste of electro-pop music. The main differences come through in the global sound production and the sexy vocals. There’s a delicious sensual taste mixed with darkness and driven by a slow cadence. The already evoked crystalline sound sculptures evoke some fragility, but also a beautiful and delicate element. The album features a few potential hits such as “You Can Now Let Go” and “Remember Our Light”, but also multiple beautiful songs. I’ve to mention “Give Me More”, which is probably the darkest cut, but still “Prism”.

– – – : The mix of the vocals sometimes is a little bit too much at the forefront so you don’t always clearly hear the little details from the music behind. I also regret that some tracks are maybe a little bit too short.

Conclusion: We Are Temporary is a great new coming band and I dare to say a relief among the army of Depeche Mode clones active in the synth-pop scene. This is a band with a unique sound and simply intelligent in its global approach.

Best songs: “You Can Now Let Go”, “Remember Our Light”, “Give Me More”, “Prism”, “Let’s Fall Silent”.

Rate: (7½).

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

Label: www.trisol.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Trisol–Music–Group/104166526285471

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, wave-pop.

Background/Info: After their accomplished debut album “A Smarter Enemy” (2015) Torsten Verlinden (vocals) and Steve Baltes (electronics) are back on track. “When Traces End” was preceded by the EP “Silent Tears”.

Content: The German duo confirms their promising synth-pop skills. This is a mature and accomplished production opening with the cool “Silent Tears” featuring bass guitar played by Torsten Verlinden. The song is somewhat evasive-like, which is one of the main characteristics of Arctic Sunrise.

It’s a sound you can dream away on while always based on synth-pop music. Several guitar parts (played by a guest musician) add a touch of new-wave music and this unavoidable retro feeling from the 80s. The pop sound is melancholic and even moving into real sadness. I again noticed some links with De/Vision, and I also have to mention IAMX on the final song.

+ + + : “Traces End” is a beautiful electro/wave-pop album. The songs sound like a sweet perfume that leads you into a fantasy world among the stars. Crystalline bleeps reinforce this astral dimension of the music while the melancholic tunes will touch you in the deepest of inner self. I also have to mention the great singing of Torsten Verlinden who’s the perfect singer for this kind of music. This is a well-crafted work revealing several cool songs.

– – – : My single regret is that there’s not what I would call an absolute hit song. “Silent Tears”, “The End Of Things” and “Your Eyes” are all irresistible, but not the kind of hit you’ll play again and again.

Conclusion: Arctic Sunrise is one of the upcoming synth-pop formations, which I’m sure has the potential to really break through if they could compose a hit!

Best songs: “Silent Tears”, “The End Of Things”, “Your Eyes”, “Over Me”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.facebook.com/wearearcticsunrise

Label: www.echozone.de / www.facebook.com/EchozoneMusic

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 32nd track on our free download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 4” (featuring 92 tracks) is by the dark wave act Feeding Fingers.

Feeding Fingers was formed in 2006 in the USA by multi-media artist Justin Curfman. Originally Feeding Fingers began life as an indie post-punk trio and evolved into an musical project with intermittent members from the USA, Germany, Austria, and Italy.

Curfman himself refuses to pigeonhole Feeding Fingers and places it in such disparate genres as darkwave, avant-garde, krautrock, electro, world fusion, and almost anything one could name in between. So far the project released five albums in nine years, from “Wound In Wall” (2007) to “Attend” (2016).

Feeding Fingers has toured North America and Europe since 2006 with acts such as IAMX, David J. (Bauhaus, Love & Rockets, etc.), Nitzer Ebb and many others, including two live appearances on NPR (National Public Radio). In short, an act which already has quite some experience. You can connect with Feeding Fingers on Facebook, Twitter or via their own website.

Listen to “Where All of These Towns & Choices End” below and download it right here.

You can also watch a video of the track:

Check our “Face The Beat: Session 4” page on Bandcamp to discover the other 91 bands. All donations will go to charity.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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The 29th track on our free download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 4” (featuring 92 tracks) is by the Norwegian electro-rock act Essence Of Mind whose Erlend Eilertsen also mastered this volume.

Formed in late 2006 by Erlend H. Eilertsen, Christian Paulsen and Hasse Mattsson this Norwegian act offers alternative electro-rock which will certainly please those who are into Apoptygma Berzerk, Zeromancer, IAMX, etc.. Known for a very strong live reputation the band has toured extensively in Germany and Scandinavia. Make sure to catch up with the band on Facebook!

The band’s most recent material was featured on last year’s “After The Break Up” and also included the studio edit of “The Other Side” which got an exclusive rework here.

Listen to “The Other Side (Vigilante Remix)” below and download it right here.

Check our “Face The Beat: Session 4” page on Bandcamp to discover the other 91 bands. All donations will go to charity.

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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Model Depose is a band from The Netherlands, which released their debut full length album “Splitting Light” on Dark Tunes Music Group and Trisol. This opus is a successful mix between good-old new-wave influences and a kind of electro/indie-pop music. I got in touch with guitarist Jobbe Holtes to get some more info about the band and this impressive album.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Who’s hiding behind Model Depose and what kind of band & sound did you had in mind when taking off? 

Jobbe: Jobbe, David, Roeland, Mariët and Tim are Model Depose. We share a great passion for alternative music. Initially our music started as an electro project with new-wave guitars. Eventually, line-up changes and evolving writing skills change the way we compose. Our music became richer than we initially aimed for.

Q: You claim to be ‘the New Romantics of the present time’ so what does that mean and what’s the link with your music? 

Jobbe: We never claimed to be ‘New Romantics of the present time’. The title was given by others just after the release of our EP “Nightwatch”, and  it stuck with us. We feel that it is a beautiful way to define what kind of music influences you can expect.

We don’t necessarily claim that we’re the same or that we even have the same goals in our music, but people feel a lot of similarities with the way these bands sounded and gave way for their musical ideas.

Q: You’re already active for a couple of years now, but why did it take that long to achieve and release this debut album “Splitting Light”? 

Jobbe: To cut a long story short; on the moment we wanted to start writing our debut album, we had some major changes within the band. Finally it all came down to the money; recording and other aspects of the music industry can be very expensive so it took some time before we organized ourselves.

We are very happy with the results we’ve achieved over the years and continue to write new music. We hope to release a new album in 2017.

Q: Let’s talk about “Splitting Light”; how did the writing happened and what are according to you the main strengths of this work? 

Jobbe: We write our music quite intuitively. A song could start just with a great synth sound or riff. We compose a rough track and start to write lyrics. Later on we re-compose the song to match with our vocal ideas.

We think that the explicit vocals from Roeland are a great strength. The crossover between the polished new-wave sound and edgy rock riffs is another one. The variety of our sounds and contrasts within songs is something we’re pretty proud of as well.

Q: The last song of the album (cf. “Nightwatch”) is a look back at your self-released debut EP released three years ago now. Do you see any progress and maybe improvement in sound and production from “Nightwatch” till “Splitting Light”? 

Jobbe: We’re constantly trying to improve our songwriting, the way we orchestrate or how we produce our music. We went from stripping everything to acoustic to full pull productions with many layers and synth textures in the details. From one man productions to group production sessions with collective lyric writing. This way, we learn from every song. But we still love the songs we wrote before, for different reasons obviously.

Q: Your sound clearly reminds me to bands like Depeche Mode, IAMX and Mesh… which I think says something about your potential sources of inspiration. What makes the fascination for some of these bands?

Jobbe: We’re very happy that people mention these great bands and you’ll find music from these bands in our collection although we never try to copy their music. We do what we please music-wise. That’s a quality we’re very proud of.

We think what we have in common with those bands is the interest in emotive music. A bit dramatic, or dark you might say, but furthermore intense.

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

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, electro-rock.

Background/Info: Cygnets is an American trio from Edmonton. After a few self-released albums they joined hands together with Negative Gain Productions releasing their official debut album “Sleepwalkers” in 2014. They now strike back with a new opus featuring 15 songs.

Content: “Alone/Together” sounds like a versatile composition. The album is moving in between electro-pop/new-wave songs on one side and a more rock-electro approach on the other. The pop-influenced songs are quite vintage sounding and might remind you of OMD on a few cuts while the somewhat feminine-like vocals vaguely evoke Chris Corner (IAMX).

The ‘rock’ driven songs are mainly carried by guitar although accomplished with electronic arrangements. It sometimes makes me think of Billy Idol going pop.

+ + + : Some of the vintage sound treatments are absolutely phenomenal and I especially refer to the great lead running throughout the opening song “A Dark Chapter In Our History”. The OMD fans will possibly be convinced by “Callie” while I also have to mention the noticeable final cut “Living In A Coma”. Cygnets also features a talented vocalist with a very personal timbre of voice.  

– – – : Some of the ‘rock’-driven songs can’t really convince me. The main strength of this band definitely appears to be their retro-electro approach, which get a bit lost when it becomes more rock-minded. I would have preferred an album with fewer songs, but only the best ones.

Conclusion: This album is characterized by a few outstanding cuts, but unfortunately still features some forgettable tracks.

Best songs: “Living In A Coma”, “Callie”, “A Dark Chapter In Our History”, “I’m Sorry (So Sorry)”.

Rate: (6½).

Band: www.facebook.com/cygnetsnotswans

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

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

Background/Info: Model depose is a band from The Netherlands I discovered a few years ago now when they self-released the EP “Nightwatch”. It was a real promising production, which convinced me that the band would be signed to an open-minded label. And that’s precisely what happened. “Splitting Light” is the official debut-album from the band and features 14 songs. It has been released on Dark Tunes in collaboration with Trisol.

Content: The influences of Model Depose are instantly pretty clear. The opening song sounds quite Depeche Mode-like while other songs might remind you of Mesh (especially for the carrying choruses) and IAMX clearly is another source of inspiration. I can’t say that their work is innovative, but an impressive emulation of established bands with an extra personal touch on top.

Guitar and electronics are in perfect harmony with each other. You clearly get the impression that Model Depose will bring you back to some great 80s music. The pop approach is well-crafted and carried by a talented vocalist. His timbre of voice sometimes reminds me a bit of Chris Corner (IAMX), which only reinforces the link with this formation.

One of the most surprising- and yet successful songs is the cover version of Portishead’s “Sour Times”. The original song has been transposed in an alluring Model Depose edit. It sounds powerful and still quite recognizable.

+ + + : It always is a big challenge to compose music that will be associated with great bands like Depeche Mode, IAMX and even Mesh, but the least I can say is that Model Depose has the talent to succeed. “Splitting Light” is a mature album revealing several cool songs with noticeable writing skills. Some of the choruses have this transcendental power, which will make you forget all your stress. The compositions are elaborate and into alluring pop music with a great vocalist on top. This is a band that will appeal for all lovers of aforementioned bands and pop fans generally speaking.

– – – : The only main minus point about this album is the lack of originality. Model Depose calls themselves ‘the new romantics of the present time’, but they first of all are ‘copyists of famous electro-pop bands’.

Conclusion: “Splitting Light” is an album that confirms what I’ve said for years now: better to be a great copy of established bands than a worse one, but innovative production. Model Depose is one of the best surprises in electro-pop land of the year.

Best songs: “Combat Force Machine Gun”, “Greyscale”, “Papercut”, “Order Is Chaos”, “Nightatch – Album Mix”, “Rise And Fall”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.modeldepose.com / www.facebook.com/modeldepose

Label: www.darktunes.com / www.facebook.com/darkTunesMusic

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

Read the review of ‘Metanoia’.

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: New-wave, rock-pop, chanson, wave-folk, cinematographic.

Background/Info: Justin Curfman is a man of many talents. He wrote and published several books, directed stop-motion / puppet animation films and back in 2006 he set up the band Feeding Fingers. The band went through several line-up changes and has now released the 5^th opus “Attend” featuring 25 songs.

Content: It’s nearly impossible to categorize this album as one established genre. Curfman seems like exorcizing multiple influences on this double disc. There clearly is a darker new-wave and rock-pop influence, which sounds like the offspring between The Cure, Nick Cave, The Sisters Of Mercy and IAMX. It sounds pretty 80s and at the same time still cinematographic and even into cabaret music. It sounds dark and desperate, but still sensitive and refined.

The refined touch of the composition comes through on the 2^nd disc and I here refer to numerous piano arrangements. This is more into ballads and chanson style while still revealing this obscure new-wave influence.

The vocals are a quite noticeable  and essential aspect of the work as well. Justin Curfman is a talented singer who –and here again, might remind you of singers like Robert Smith and Chris Corner. Notice by the way that several guest artists contributed to this work as well.

This album is also available on vinyl format, but strictly limited to 250 copies.

+ + + : There’s a great diversity revealed at this work and that’s also the reason why Feeding Fingers sounds like something totally different from the masses. This band will for sure appeal for a diverse audience, but doesn’t belong to an established genre. That’s precisely what I like and still is one of the band’s main strengths. Musically Feeding Fingers sounds comfortable with every explored influence, but the ‘chanson’ exposure for sure appears to be the most delicate and accomplished one.

– – – : As it’s nearly impossible to label this band it also might be an obstacle to focus on one specific audience. It also is important to fully like the sound to endure 25 songs, which is quite long for a release.

Conclusion: Diversity and creativity both are the main components to describe this beautiful piece of music.

Best songs: “Barbed Wire Threads The Sun”, “Abrasive Remains Lubricate Me”, “And Crayon Toxic Twins”, “The First Born Stands Sedated”, “I Am Erasing Doors”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.feedingfingers.net / www.facebook.com/feedingfingers / www.justincurfman.com

Label: www.tephramedia.com / www.facebook.com/tephramedia

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

On 13th and 14th August 2016 the annual M’era-Luna festival takes place in the area of Hildesheim, Germany. M’era Luna exists since 2000 and is one of the biggest Gothic festivals in the European scene. Gothic, new wave, electro, EBM, industrial and medieval bands are featured on 2 stages. Besides watching concerts you can also visit markets, artist signing events and parties.

The last 3 years the festival was sold out and had about 25.000 visitors. This year some of the confirmed artists are: The Sisters Of Mercy, Fields Of The Nephilim, Within Temptation, VNV Nation, OOMPH!, Eisbrecher, DIE KRUPPS, In Extremo, Combichrist, Diary Of Dreams, Suicide Commando, IAMX, Diorama, Gothminister, Faun, [:SITD:], Apocalyptica, The Lord Of The Lost Ensemble, …

Tickets for M’era Luna can be ordered here.

Today the fine people at Storming The Base start a World Goth Day Sale action. The sale will go all weekend and will be ending on Sunday.

We checked out what they have on offer for you. One thing is sure, it isn’t dustbin material at all! On our wishlist we added material by Agent Side Grinder, Rational Youth, Ohm, IAMX, 3TEETH, Mlada Fronta, Chrysalide, The Horrorist, S.P.O.C.K., Chandeen, Necro Facility, the very rare Headscan + Implant split EP, Xandria, Isis Signum and much much much more.

If you want to have some great music at a low price, then go and head for this special sale page at Storming The Base!

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

IAMX has just released the “North Star” single and video. Featuring remixes by Future Funk Squad and Mr. Kitty the “North Star” 3-track single is out now via Orphic/Caroline/Universal. Below you can already watch the band’s brand new video for this single. The video was filmed on location on a desert expanse in Wonder Valley, right outside of Fresno, California – not coincidentally where the song itself was written.

“North Star” is taken from the band’s 6th studio album “Metanoia” which was released last October 2015. “Metanoia” itself is a journey into Corner’s own personal trials and current struggle with chronic insomnia, which crippled him mentally, emotionally and creatively. Nearly halting the band completely, Corner dealt with the mental illness by leaving his former home of Berlin, Germany and retreating to the warmth and sun of Los Angeles, California.

You can still order “Metanoia” on vinyl too.

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

The Canadian mail-order service Storming The Base has just moved into their brand new office. While unpacking they discovered lots of long-lost CDs, vinyls and even a few items they thought were lost in previous stock moves. The whole is available now at ridiculously low prices which start at around .

We scrolled through the list and found great (even rare) stuff from 808 State, Aaimon, Apoptygma Berzerk, Blutengel, Combichrist, Douglas J McCarthy, Download, Headscan + Implant (the excellent split CD in fact), Hocico, IAMX, In The Nursery, Kirlian Camera, Mesh, Melotron, and lots and lots more.

You can find your selection right here starting with the lowest priced products.

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

(By Stéphane Froidcoeur aka Deranged Psyche) 2015 has been already a prolific year for the section Side-Line Reviews. As head of the Side-Line Reviews section I can only, but be extremely satisfied with the huge amount of promo material we got. Over the 700 (!) releases were selected while nearly 550 (!) have been reviewed thus far. I take the opportunity to express my gratitude to all labels, promoters and bands considering and respecting our work and efforts and this for years now.

But I also have to thank all of our readers because for their interest, support, trust and consideration. It’s a very important source of motivation to keep me moving on trying to support our lovely underground scene the best I can.

A review of course remains always ‘subjective’ and a source of discussion, but keep in mind it will be always the perception of the reviewer, but I can assure you we always try to argue our reviews the best as possible. I noticed multiple great releases during 2015; from EBM to dark-electro to IDM to synth-pop to ethereal, to dark-ambient to industrial to gothic and a few related genres I made a TOP 20 of the best albums of 2015! This selection has been made with the promotional material we got while compilations and EP’s were not selected for this ‘best of’.

Stéphane Froidcoeur (aka Deranged Psyche)

01 Irfan – The Eternal Return (CD Album – Prikosnovénie)
02 Neuroticfish – A Sign Of Life (CD Album – NOR)
03 Acylum – Pest (DCD Album – Alfa Matrix)
04 Eisfabrik – Eisplanet (CD Album & EP – SPV/NoCut)
05 Senking – Closing Eyes (CD Album – Raster-Noton)
06 Ah Cama-Sotz – State Of Mind (CD Album – Hands)
07 Karjalan Sissit – …Want You Dead (CD Album – Cyclic Law)
08 Alien Vampires – Drag You To Hell (DCD Album – Alfa Matrix)
09 Supersimmetria – Kosmogonie (CD Album – Hands)
10 Johan Baeckström – Like Before (CD Album – Progress Productions)
11 Hearts Of Black Science – Signal (CD Album – Progress Productions)
12 Dear Strange – Lonely Heroes (CD Album – Out Of Line)
13 IAMX – Metanoia (CD Album – Caroline International)
14 Legiac – The Faex Had Decimated (CD Album – Tympanik Audio)
15 Grand((Ø))Signal – Aktivation (Digital Album – Grand((Ø))Signal)
16 Encephalon – Psychogenesis (CD Album – Dependent)
17 Noisuf-X – 10 Years Of Riot (DCD Album – ProNoize)
18 Star Industry – The Renegade (DCD Album – Alfa Matrix)
19 Chainreactor – Dirt (CD Album – ProNoize)
20 Frozen Plasma – Dekadenz (CD Album – Infacted Recordings)

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

Out now is the debut EP for People Theatre, the project by Peter Rainman you might know from other projects like Waiting for Words / Kick Burst. The People Theatre EP “Acte 1 : Dare At Dawn” holds 8 tracks including “Again” featuring additional vocals by Soe V from Waiting For Words.

The EP comes after hundreds of remixes and production work for bands such as IAMX, Nitzer Ebb, Namnambulu, Apoptygma Berzerk,…. The EP holds tracks that cover various styles, from synthpop to futurepop music, with an 80s touch.

2 more People Theatre EPs are on the way for 2016, with a lot of collaborations so the band says. You can buy the EPCD / download the EP on Bandcamp.

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

Content:

Read the news on ‘Metanoia’.

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: The last year debut full length (cf. “Don’t Panic”) by Vogon Poetry showed an interesting and somewhat minimal approach in electro-pop. I enjoyed this work for its personal approach and so I was wondering what the new songs would sound like.

No doubt about it, the minimal touch still hangs over the album. Vogon Poetry doesn’t satisfy themselves emulating good-old electro-pop standards, but tries to inject its own stamp to this genre. It directly comes through on the opening song, which merges synth-pop aspects together with dark and minimal electro-wave ingredients. There’s a solid bass line running through the song while the vocals have an exciting androgenic touch.

“Never Too Late” was released as the EP-title song, which is a rather logical choice. This is a pretty cool song and totally adapted to rather common electro-pop standards. “Spit It Out” coming up next is a rather surprising cover version and is one of my personal IAMX-songs. You’ll recognize the original version, which has been empowered by an EBM-minded kick. Vogon Poetry didn’t try to emulate the song, but reworked it in thier unique style. It’s a quite exciting version, but maybe the kind of song that better fits to a live performance.

The next few songs get back to some 80s influences reminding me of Erasure and even Depeche Mode, but always accomplished with this typical minimal –and somewhat experimental approach.

“Hyperspace Bypass” is a noticeable cut in the genre.
The most noticeable song appears at the final part of the work. “Afraid” probably stands for the best song of the Swedish formation. They pumped up the composition by a harder dance kick, but it’s the trance-pop approach which mainly caught my attention. There’s a cool progression running through the song, which is made by cool sequences and fine bleeps moving crescendo towards a great finale. This song mixes power and delicacy. The refined bleeps come through once more on the last song “Virtues”.

Conclusion: “The Prefect Stories” is an interesting piece of electro-pop, which sounds like an imaginary bridge between early electro-pop influences and more contemporary, minimal elements.

Best songs: “Afraid”, “Never Too Late”, “Ready Player One”, “Hyperspace Bypass”.

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

Mr.Kitty (aka Forrest Avery Carney) is not exactly the most famous name active at the wider fields of electro-pop yet it became one of our personal favorites in a rather short lapse of time. The secret of this artist can be found in the simplicity and efficiency of the work plus a fragile and sexy timbre of voice. The new album “Fragmants” has been just released by Negative Gain Productions inspiring us to get in touch with the band.

SL: While you became a kind of Side-Line ‘favorite’ I’m not sure all of our readers are familiar with your music. What can you tell us about main background information and the kind of sound you’d in mind when
setting up Mr.Kitty?

Mr.Kitty: I wanted to have of a sincere but over romanticized vibe to it. I wanted icy synths, pulsating drums with etherial vocals. Overall I just wanted it to be sincere and straight forward and I look at it this as my dramatic
alter ego.

SL: You’ve released an impressive number of productions in a rather short lapse of time so how would you perceive your evolution as a musician from the early work till the new album “Fragments”?

Mr.Kitty: I feel with the older material I was drawing influences from bands that I liked while not staying true to what I wanted to do. I have discovered that I want to be my own person. Its evolving more to see me for who I
am and not sounding like a bunch of influences thrown together. It’s important to stay true to myself.

SL: What kind of album did you’d in mind when starting the writing of “Fragments” and how do you feel right now about the result?

Mr.Kitty: At first I wanted to make a b-sides album, but it didn’t fit within the story line of the previous albums. A lot has happened in my life while I was writing “Life” and “Time” and “Fragments” is the end result of it all. When I look back it now, I feel that I have more of a connection with “Life” and “Fragments” than any other of my previous albums. I am very satisfied with the way the album turned out especially being finished in such a short amount of time.

SL: You’re actually on tour in North-America as support of IAMX, which is a great opportunity to reach a wider audience, but what might people expect from Mr.Kitty on stage?

Mr.Kitty: What I want with Mr.Kitty live is pure chaos. Non stop anxious energy. Performing live is my way of getting out the feelings and thoughts in my head. It allows me to be an alternate being. When you hear my
recordings and then when you see my music performed live you will be able to see the different contrasts and together, that is Mr.Kitty.

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