Janosch Moldau has been a familiar figure in the synth-pop scene for nearly 20 years. Although this mini-album was released last year, it reached us much later. The work features six tracks, all showcasing the signature sound of the German artist. The music blends soft, Electro-Pop melodies with a melancholic atmosphere, creating a rich emotional layer. Moldau’s distinct, androgynous vocals add to the uniqueness of the project. The songs maintain a calm yet danceable rhythm, with “Karma” standing out as one of the most polished and refined tracks I’ve heard from Moldau’s work. (Rate:7).

Listen to “Karma”:

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: German artist Janosch Moldau has been active for numerous years and has covered an impressive number of productions. The title of this album clearly indicates what you might expect. Nineteen songs have been selected and remastered.

Content: The selected singles have been featured in chronological release order. It’s an opportunity to (re)discover the evolution of this Electro-Pop formation characterized by a deep, melancholic taste. The songs of this artist aren’t into explicit melodies, but in the created atmosphere of sadness. It’s a sweet voyage accompanied by the fragile timbre of voice of Janosch Moldau. It also is a sensitive and dreamy trip with only a few cuts featuring a harder and more danceable kick.

+ + + : I’ve never been a real huge fan of the early releases of the artist although the global approach has never changed all over the years. But I finally got used to discovering the melancholic moods, which together with a more accomplished song writing finally resulted in more alluring songs during the past few years. So the second part of the album definitely is my favorite one. Songs like “Broken Shoulder”, “In Another World” and “Lovestar” have something atypical, but pleasant to listen to. And even if the music sounds sweet, most of the tracks are accomplished with rougher and even somewhat Industrial-like sound treatments.

– – – : It never has been Janosch Moldau’s approach to inject an extra boosting element in the songs and that’s a pity. It could create a more danceable touch and especially diversity to the work. Some of the songs have a soporific effect, but I definitely respect this artist for having held on its initial approach all over the years.

Conclusion: Dreamy Electro-Pop ballads filled with melancholia and sadness, which you better, can avoid listening to when you’re in a dark mood.

Best songs: “Broken Shoulder”, “In Another World”,  “Lovestar”, “Second Best”.

Rate: (7).

Artist & Label: www.janoschmoldau.com / www.facebook.com/janoschmoldauofficial

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: “Sense For God” is a song taken from the last album “Host” by Janosch Moldau. This German Electro-Pop project has been busy for years now and is progressively getting a larger fanbase while this song entered the famous DAC.

Content: “Sense for God” was not directly my favorite song from “Host”, but the “Single”-edit however reminds us what this project stands for; Janosch Moldau is composing a deeply, melancholic Electro-Pop music. Forget any kind of ‘feel-good’ sensation as the music is driven by a lazy cadence and sad sounding, linear structures. The delicate timbre of voice accentuates the fragility of the work. The “Single”-version is followed by four remixes/edits featuring some clubby versions and even a rough kind of lounge edit.  

+ + + : I’m often missing some power boost in the work of this artist. But an EP often is a perfect opportunity to experiment with other elements and that’s why I like both club-minded mixes (cf. “Adriatic Club Mix” and “No Yoga Mix”). It however remains a deeply melancholic and even depressed experience in Electro-Pop. This kind of music will not get you into a happy mood, but I can understand this project is getting more and more positive response to its sad resonating Electro-Pop.

– – – : I’m still not a huge fan of the title track, considering there are much better songs featured on “Host”.

Conclusion: Like it or not, but Janosch Moldau definitely has established a very own Electro-Pop sound.

Best songs: “Sense For God – Adriatic Club Mix”, “Sense For God – No Yoga Mix”, “Sense For God – Single”.

Rate: (7).

Artist & Label: www.janoschmoldau.com / www.facebook.com/janoschmoldauofficial

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: German synht-pop artist Janosch Moldau strikes back by releasing this EP filled with remixes from songs featured on the last full length album “Host”.

Content: We first get 4 remixes from the song “Broken Shoulder”. The different edits are holding on the evasive and melancholic approach of the original song. You however will notice some little details differentiating from song to song. From the “It’s Not Over Mix”, which comes pretty close to the original edit to the extended “No Virgins In Paradise Mix” to the more bombastic “Nomad Mix” to the somewhat experimental “Sleeper Mix”, which also accentuates the vocals, you definitely get a different perception of this song.

We next get remixes of “Embrace Me” and “Sense For God”. The first one is an instrumental cut while the last song sounds a bit more boosted with rhythm.

+ + + : I have to admit “Broken Shoulder” was not exactly my favorite song from “Host”, but the different versions, each accentuating different aspects of the song, have something sensible. “Broken Shoulder” is a beautiful although melancholic track. The melancholia emerges at the surface of “Embrace Me”, which also stands for a dreamy composition.

– – – : All this EP is missing is a ‘club mix’!

Conclusion: “Broken Pieces” is a nice addition to the “Host”-album and I’m sure it will ravish the Janosch Moldau fan basis.

Best songs: “Broken Shoulder – It’s Not Over Mix”, “Embrace Me – Forever Mix”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.janoschmoldau.com / www.facebook.com/moldaujanosch

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: German electro-pop project Janosch Moldau has already been active for numerous years now. Most productions were self-released, but two albums were also released by Motor. “Host” is the newest full length by the artist featuring ten songs.

Content: The album takes off with the single “Broken Shoulder”, which stands for sweet melancholia. It’s fully representative for the style and sound of this work. Some passages are into ballad style, others feel a bit like complaining, but the album first of all reflects a deeply emotional touch. The songs have been sometimes accomplished by surprising and somewhat experimental sound treatments. I also noticed a few ‘harder’ cuts, which have something danceable (cf. “Simon Of Cyrenne” and “Emotionally”). 

+ + + : I’ve never been that impressed by the sound and work of Janosch Moldau, but I have to admit this album took me by surprise. It’s maybe not that different from previous works, but it sounds more mature and especially intimate. Some sound treatments took me by surprise for their experimental and somewhat raw format. The last song “Abel”, which is not my favorite, however reveals this experimental touch. Last, but not least, I also enjoyed the deeply emotional vocals of Janosch Moldau. It vocals’ production accentuate the melancholia this artist has been inspired by.

– – – : This is not exactly the kind of electro-pop music to dance to, but mainly to listen to. It remains a challenge.

Conclusion: “Host” stands for melancholia, intimacy and a touch of experimentalism!

Best songs: “Simon Of Cyrenne”, “Emotionally”, “Angel Of Hope”, “Sacred Love”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.janoschmoldau.com / www.facebook.com/moldaujanosch

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: Last year Janosch Moldau released his fourth full length album “Minor”. The Bavarian (Germany) based artist remixed nearly all of the songs from the album for this EP. The songs have been produced together with Gerhard Potuznik who already produced albums from bands like Chicks On Speed, Electronicat, Mediengruppe Telekommander ao.

Content: You’ll easily recognize most of the songs originally featured on “Minor”. “Ghost Tracks” invites the listener to embark for a new melancholic ride in the personal electro-pop universe of Janosch Moldau. It’s a dreamy universe although filled with sorrow and revisiting some of the most essential songs of the “Minor”-album.

I can’t say that the songs became more danceable, but some of them definitely more artistic and accomplished. Especially the remixes of “Jesus Denies” and “Done wrong” are noticeable cuts.

+ + + : “Ghost Tracks” was released one year after the release of “Minor” and that was an excellent and creative way to bring the album back to life in a somewhat alternative and improved way. This is a creative process revealing some perfectionism, but mainly the particular pop approach of Janosch Moldau. He mixes raw sound treatments with evasive electronics and delicate arrangements.

– – – : “Ghost Tracks” is a nice extinction to the “Minor”-album although it’s not what I would call a revolutionary process. The songs and global atmospheres hanging over this album aren’t that different from the original versions. I think this release is more like a must have for the fans of the artist.

Conclusion: “Ghost Tracks” doesn’t add that much new to the original work except sometimes a more sophisticated and different approach. It however appears to be an interesting challenge to revisit an album one year later.

Best songs: “Precious Life – Ghost”, “Done Wrong – Valceresio Ghost”, “Shiner – Ghost”, “Done Wrong – Ghost”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.janoschmoldau.com / www.facebook.com/janoschmoldauofficial

Label: http://motor.de / www.facebook.com/motor.de

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: Janosch Moldau is a German artist who’s already been busy for more than 10 years. “Minor” is the fourth full length by the artist that was released during 2015. Janosch Moldau is progressively getting more recognition and name although it’s not exactly one of the leading electro-pop names. I think “Minor” deserves some extra exposure and that’s why I made this review.

Content: Janosch Moldau has always stood for electro-pop with a huge load of melancholia. “Minor” doesn’t sound that different although I noticed a global evolution in songwriting and production.

The songs are evasive and mainly carried by solid and melodic leads. The cadence remains pretty slow, but sometimes danceable. The sensitive touch of the work is also reinforced by some piano arrangements injecting an extra melancholic flavor. It totally fits with the somewhat lamenting way of singing.

+ + + : I remember some early work of Janosch Moldau, which left me totally unmoved and even a bit skeptical about the potential of this band. “Minor” reveals a mature production composed by an artist who improved most of the aspects of his production. Janosch Moldau even creates a unique pop-style, which is dominated by melancholia. It’s not exactly the kind of electro-pop that will make you happy although it’s an evasive sensation on, which you can dream away. There are a few sublime songs featured on “Minor” and I especially recommend “Jesus Denies” and “State Of Hurt”.

– – – : Janosch Moldau will never become a catchy electro-pop formation. There’s no real space for happy tunes and easily remembered choruses and that’s maybe one of the single points I’m missing. Janosch Moldau invites the listener to join in and wave on a dense sonic ocean of sorrow where all the songs sound a bit similar.

Conclusion: If you like electro-pop with ‘pathos’ you definitely will love “Minor”, which is driven by a flow of melancholia.

Best songs: “Jesus Denies”, “State Of Hurt”, “We Both Feel Minor”, Minor”, “Done Wrong”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.janoschmoldau.com / www.facebook.com/janoschmoldauofficial

Label: http://motor.de / www.facebook.com/motor.de

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