“Useless Boy” is the fourth studio album by the Parisian group Je T’Aime. These French musicians are undoubtedly among the most exciting newcomers in the Dark-Wave/Post-Punk scene in recent years.

With this new release, they pick up where they left off with “Passive” and “Aggressive”, refining their signature sound —a melodic take on Dark-Wave that strikes a perfect balance between guitars and synths. The guitars create a hypnotic and atmospheric quality that has become their trademark, while the synths add an uplifting dimension. On top of that, the vocals, with their distinctive timbre, frequently evoke comparisons to Robert Smith. The Cure remains a clear influence, but fans of Clan Of Xymox will also find plenty to appreciate.

Je T’Aime has always had a captivating presence, and with these ten new songs, they further affirm their immense potential. (Rating:9).

Listen to “Whispers (Lost In The Echoes):

https://jetaime-music.bandcamp.com/track/whispers-lost-in-the-echoes

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 story of the Parisian Dark-Wave/Post-Punk trio Je T’Aime began a few years ago and quickly gained traction with their successful self-titled debut album “Je T’Aime” (2019). During the Covid-19 period, they released the stunning diptych “Passive” and “Aggressive” (2022), which only further confirmed their potential. While the band is likely to resonate with fans of The Cure, Je T’Aime is far from being a mere copycat. They have developed a distinctive sound of their own—something they showcase once again on their new album “Useless Boy”, released this year via Manic Depression Records and Icy Cold Records. The production is powerful yet refined, striking a perfect balance between guitar-driven intensity and synth-driven atmosphere. I had the chance to speak with Crazy Z and Dany Boy about the new release and the evolution of their sound. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q : “Passive” and “Aggressive” formed a kind of diptych created during the pandemic — a time that changed the creative process for many artists. Did any of those working methods carry over into the making of “Useless Boy”? And on a personal level, what does this new album mean to you?

dBoy: Yes, we’ve kept a dual-phase approach that really took shape during the pandemic. First, each of us works separately, laying down ideas, fragments, moods, building foundations alone, in our own chaos. Then comes the second phase: we meet, confront the material, and start connecting the dots. It’s in that collision that Je T’Aime really takes form.

As for what the album means to me personally, it’s probably the most vulnerable I’ve ever felt making music. It’s about the ugliness you don’t want people to see, but you end up singing it anyway. It’s a mirror we didn’t want to look into, but I’m glad we did.

Crazy Z.: Of course the pandemic during the making of “Passive” and “Aggressive” forced us into a kind of isolation. But actually this is always the environment we need to get the best of us, by secluding us in a house far from distractions and friends. Some of those methods carried over into writing “Useless Boy”.

Q : How did “Useless Boy” come together, and what themes lie at the heart of the album — especially with such a striking and provocative title?

dBoy: The title came first, like a punchline. It felt right, like a confession, a provocation, and a joke all at once. The songs followed naturally. They orbit themes of abandonment, imposter syndrome, lost faith, and this overwhelming desire to disappear while screaming for someone to notice you. It’s messy, vulnerable, ironic. Like wearing a crown made of garbage and pretending you’re fine.

Crazy Z.: Our previous “Passive/Aggressive” was a double album, and on top of that, it was a concept. So it was difficult to release because of its ‘out of fashion’ format. So for “Useless Boy”, we chose to NOT do it as a concept album, but still the pieces started orbiting around the same emotional core: failure, ego, and the absurdity of trying to be ‘enough’ in a world that constantly tells you you’re a fraud. Maybe that is why we are putting eyeliner and go dance anyway, right ? The title is both a punchline and a confession. Even our uselessness has its poetry.

Q : When composing this new material, was there a specific focus or something you consciously wanted to do differently compared to your previous releases? Could you walk us through a bit of the production process?

Crazy Z.: We usually trust our instincts and go forward with no look behind. But this time we definitely approached things differently: we moved into a new studio to make a proper recording. This time, we wanted to strip it down a bit. Not necessarily quieter; still direct, but more vulnerable. Less ‘posing in the ruins’, more ‘lying on the floor with a cigarette and a spiral notebook’. Then as usual I took the time in my studio to sharp our sound in the end. What pleased me most was when dBoy told me at the end that we’d turned a corner in the sound of this album.

dBoy: This time, we deliberately broke things. We wanted to destroy the comfort zone we’d built with “Passive/Aggressive”. We wrote faster, with less filtering, sometimes lyrics came before music, sometimes the reverse. A lot was done at night, in a feverish headspace.

Q : The lyrics seem to take center stage on “Useless Boy”. Were there particular people, experiences, or reflections that inspired the writing? And what are you hoping to express with these words in a world that seems increasingly uncertain and bleak?

dBoy: I wrote most of it while going through a period of real exhaustion, physical, emotional, artistic. There was no one muse, just fragments: failed relationships, late-night panic attacks, old wounds reopening. The world outside felt hopeless, and inside wasn’t much better. The lyrics are my way of shouting into the void, but with style. If someone sees themselves in that scream, maybe it feels less lonely.

Q : From the beginning, Je T’Aime quickly gained recognition within the Dark-Wave and Post-Punk scene. How have you handled that success on a personal level? Has it changed the way you approach your music — or added a sense of pressure to what you create?

Crazy Z.:It’s flattering, surreal, and a little weird, in the best way. When we started Je T’Aime, it was just three guys making noise they loved, half-joking, half-bleeding. The fact that people connected with it so quickly in the Dark-Wave and Post-Punk scene is both beautiful and unexpected. But it changed nothing, we still feel like we are in our never ending dark and surreal party,  because if anything, the goal is to stay honest.

dBoy: Success is weird. You work your whole life to be heard, and when it happens, you start questioning everything you do. With Je T’Aime, we’ve always been pretty instinctive. But yes, there’s pressure, mostly internal. We don’t want to repeat ourselves. We don’t want to fake it. The challenge is to stay sincere, especially when you know people are listening. I still don’t fully believe anyone gives a damn, honestly. That disbelief keeps me grounded.

Q : You’ve already wrapped a live tour for “Useless Boy”. What stood out most from those recent performances? And looking ahead — what’s on the horizon in terms of summer festivals, future shows, or other upcoming projects?

dBoy: The last tour was intense. We played hard, we bled a little, and the audience bled back. Seeing people scream lyrics from “Useless Boy”, songs we wrote alone in a dark room, that’s surreal. What stood out? Probably the vulnerability. These new songs demand more honesty on stage. At the moment we’re not on the bill of many festivals, so that’s certainly something to work on. But of course, there’s already another project brewing. Can’t help it. The void keeps whispering.

Crazy Z.: The “Useless Boy” tour was intense, in the best way. What stood out most was the connection. These new songs, which were born from such personal chaos, suddenly became communal. Hearing people sing back the lyrics, watching strangers dance in every city in the old Europe, it reminded us why we do this.

As for what’s next? Castle Party in Poland, of course, Dark Mass in Witten, and Le Ferrailleur in Nantes. These are the very last and exclusive gigs of the tour, so these will beautiful messes. That’s how we like it.

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 Brussels-based Spleen+ label (a division of Alfa Matrix) has prepared a deluxe 7CD collector’s edition – “Resurgence” – which brings together 133 active bands from across the globe, spanning the diverse sub-genres born from post-punk’s iconic roots. You can order it now from the Alfa Matrix webstore and in digital download format from Bandcamp.

The release comes housed in a luxurious vinyl-sized box, and comes accompanied by a 28-page book. The book holds interviews from renowned producers like John Fryer and Jean-Marc Lederman, label managers, journalists, and iconic artists (including Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, William Faith, No More, Skeletal Family, Mona Mur, KaS Product, And Also The Trees, Clan Of Xymox, Attrition, Das Ich, Merciful Nuns, The Names, The Breath Of Life, etc).

Spanning 23 different nationalities, the music included is a genre-spanning mix of post-punk, cold wave, dark synth, ethereal, and minimal EBM with such bands like Boy Harsher, A Cloud Of Ravens, No More, Skeletal Family, Collection D’Arnell Andrea, Underviewer, Attrition, Merciful Nuns, Lederman/De Meyer, Local Suicide & Sekelesys, Star Industry, Ataraxia, Czarina, Helalyn Flowers, Ascii.Disko, Je T’Aime, The Ultimate Dreamers, Lycia, Opera Multi Steel, The Breath Of Life, Auger, The Names, Whispers In The Shadow, Lovelorn Dolls, Astari Nite, Chiasm, Saigon Blue Rain, Omnimar, Still Patient, Creux Lies, Golden Apes, and many more.

You can already check out a few tracks here.

Apart from the 7CD vinyl size deluxe carton box format, “Resurgence” will not be available on mainstream digital platforms, except exclusively via the label’s Bandcamp page.

There is also a special combi pack including the 7CD set plus Darkness On Demand’s “Panic In Reserve” CD and To Avoid’s “All Gods Are Gone” 2CD.

“Resurgence” Tracklist

Cd 1

1. Bestial Mouths . Hex (The Spell)
2. A Cloud Of Ravens . Parable
3. Boy Harsher . Give Me A Reason
4. Czarina . Wonderland
5. Collection D’arnell Andrea . Waiting For Meaulnes
6. Krystal System . La Lame Dans Ta Main
7. Je T’aime . Out Of Sight
8. Aeon Rings . Fully Operational
9. The Ultimate Dreamers . Polarized
10. Partikul . Nothing Good In Me
11. Cosmobrigade . Spacepit
12. Aeon Sable . From Witchcraft To Deviltry
13. Stereoskop . Deep Down
14. The Breath Of Life . Slowly Crushing
15. Faust Project . Rats Lullaby
16. Al . Mistake
17. N.E.L. & J.P . Desinteresse
18. Zeitgeist Zero . Scream
19. Voyna . Moulding Heart

Cd 2

1. Blackbook . You Are Strange
2. Auger . My Heart Is Glass
3. Dekad . A Deadly Show (Video Edit)
4. Love In Cage . A Logical Secret Collection
5. Helalyn Flowers . Halos
6. Soft Scent . No Wounds
7. Sweet Ermengarde . Sweet Sacrifice
8. Martin Dupont . Bent At The Window (2023)
9. The Names . Far From The Factories
10. Boxes Of Blow . Melting Faces
11. Mirror Of Haze Feat. Primitive Heart . Reckless
12. A Slice Of Life . Seven Days
13. Then Comes Silence . Pretty Creatures
14. Nite . Inside Of My Head
15. Astari Nite . Bowie In Daydreams
16. Korus . Złote Światło Pierwszego Zachodu
17. Lovelorn Dolls . A Heart Cries
18. Whispers In The Shadow . Revenants
19. Merciful Nuns . Oneironauts

Cd 3

1. Lederman – De Meyer . Heartbeat
2. Local Suicide & Skelesys . Surface Of The Sun (Radio Edit)
3. Punx Soundcheck Feat. Ascii.Disko & Princess Superstar . Gasoline
4. No More . Sleepers And Trains
5. Mitra Mitra . Memories For Company
6. A Copy For Collapse Feat. Simona Pietrucci . Faded
7. Alien Skin . Depress Me
8. White Mansion . Cancel The Sky
9. Apnoie . Splash Your Bile
10. Celluloide . Compte Les Ombres
11. Risk Risk . Streetwalk
12. Total Chroma . Northern Lights
13. Opera Multi Steel . À Nos Moments Perdus
14. Lycia . Simpler Times
15. Noemi Aurora . Blood As Lipstick
16. Novus . Ess
17. I Ya Toyah . Death’s Kiss
18. Katcross . Rest
19. Winter Severity Index . Speak To Me

Cd 4

1. Systeme Paradoxe . Comme Le Sable En Hiver
2. Aiboforcen . Break The Black Ice (Original Mix)
3. Chiasm . Cut Right Through (Emileigh Rohn Edit)
4. Saigon Blue Rain . Dolls Dresses
5. Her Own World . Mistrust
6. Still Patient Feat. Minu-Schirin Samimi . Blind Vision
7. Creux Lies . Playtime
8. Der Klinke . Curtains (Your Life On Hold Remix)
9. On The Floor . Crying On The Dancefloor
10. Numa Echos Feat. Red Zebra . Waisted Items
11. Factheory . The Day (Ok Lion! Mix – Short Version)
12. Antiflvx . Crystal
13. Flor Concreta . She’s Closer
14. Golden Apes . Ash Trees
15. Glis . Blue Sky Night
16. Ataraxia . The Source
17. Hanging Freud . Grooming
18. Ok Lion! . Get Away
19. Yuzna . Queen Of The Eels

Cd 5

1. The Breath Of Life Feat. Implant . The Last Record
2. The Halo Trees . Happy Man
3. Palm Ghosts . Tilt
4. Your Life On Hold . Imprisoned (Merciless Radio Edit)
5. Götterdämmerung . Common Existence
6. Jenni Sex . Sin Chimes
7. Denner . She Radiates Darkness
8. Imjudas . I Love You
9. Black Needle Noise . Dollhouse On Fire
10. Dead Souls Rising . Dysmorphobia
11. The Waning Moon . Annabel
12. Korinthians . Leader Of The Night
13. Elektrostaub Feat. Stefan Netschio . Mantis (Auger Remix)
14. Omnimar . The Matrix
15. Synapsyche Feat. Chris Harms (Lord Of The Lost) . The Last Dying Flame
16. Dance My Darling . Criminal
17. First Aid 4 Souls Feat. Emke Of Black Nail Cabaret . Das Messer
18. Supernova 1006 . Tell Your Name (Mix)
19. Suicidal Romance . Runaways

Cd 6

1. Ascii.Disko . Loslassen
2. Vioflesh . Emotions
3. Dina Summer . Who Am I (Club Version)
4. Pleasure Victim . Rascheln
5. Pink Opake . Pronta
6. Thewalkingicon . The Trail (Radio Edit)
7. Psy’aviah Feat. Sorrow Stories . Healing
8. Seasurfer . Collapsing
9. Lakeside X . Fire In The Sky (Radio Version)
10. Darkness On Demand . Hang On (Winterhart Remix)
11. Star Industry . Selling Icons (The Dreamside Remix)
12. Alphavox . Dark Satellite
13. Yama Uba . Shapes
14. Lifeless Past . Anxiety
15. Pink Turns Blue . Not Gonna Take It
16. Social Union . Waiting For Red
17. Sine . Until (Clan Of Xymox Remix)
18. Sorry, Heels . She Burns (We Burn) Version
19. Lights A.M . Clouds

Cd 7

1. Useless/You . Echo
2. Attrition . The Great Derailer
3. Children Of Zeal . Taking Over
4. Octolab . Friend Or Foe
5. Vague Phonique . The Last Man
6. Midnight Poetry . Black Hole
7. The Overlookers . Undercover (Edit)
8. La Machine . Vamos A La Playa (Radiomix)
9. Die Sexual . House Of God
10. Carrellee . Morning Sun
11. Underviewer . Was Soll Ich Tun (Aiboforcen Remix)
12. Night In Athens . Words Unspoken
13. Neila Invo . Alienation
14. Skeletal Family . My Own Redemption
15. The Murder Mystery . A Girl Named Red
16. Princess Ugly . For A Moment I Forgot The Desolation
17. Instant Lake . Ivory Dreams
18. Vision Video . Balaclava Kiss
19. La Scaltra . Dancing On Debris

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

Celebrating its 30th year, Audioglobe, the most important distributor in the darkwave scene, just shared a statistical review, revealing the shifts and trends in the darkwave (and related) music genre.

Our readers will surely remember that we have reported on these stats for years, until 2018, the first year that Audioglobe didn’t communicate these stats. Sebastian Koch from Audioglobe explains: “Some customers never really cared that much about these, as they have better things to do than reading boring mails from the undersigned. But… Surprisingly there are quite a high number of customers, that sort of ‘complained’ about the fact, that no stats were being done any longer… The reason is: I was simply always far too busy in past years. Anyway: Here we go with the first new stats since 2017!”

So here are some export facts.

Top 10 Bestselling Labels of 2023 (export)

1. FABRIKA/DEAD SCARLET
   • She Past Away, Lebanon Hanover, Selofan, Kaelan Mikla, M!R!M, Doric…
2. METROPOLIS
   • Birthday Massacre, Delerium, Front Line Assembly, A Projection, KMFDM, Legendary P.D…
3. ICY COLD/MANIC DEPR.
   • Twin Tribes, Je T’aime, Traitrs, Kill Shelter, Closed Mouth, Talk to Her, Schonwald…
4. ALFA MATRIX
   • Alien Vampires, Front 242, Metroland, Die Robo Sapiens, Elm, 808 Dot Pop, Helalyn Flowers…
5. RUSTBLADE
   • Claudio Simonetti, Ennio Morricone, Lycia Lunch, Spiritual Front, Ketvector, Legendary Pink D…
6. OUT OF LINE
   • Blutengel, Hocico, Solitary Experiments, Suicide Commando, Signal Aout42, Erdling…
7. TRISOL
   • Sopor Aeternus, Rome, Clan of Xymox, Asp, Ostara, Skinflicks, Nachtmahr, Mantus, Soman…
8. DEPENDENT
   • Kirlian Camera, Girls Under Glass, Spectra*Paris, Mildreda, Black Nail Cabaret, Beborn Beton…
9. ARTOFFACT
   • Actors, Noise Unit, cEvin Key, Kaelan Mikla, Ploho, Sacred Skin, Kauan, Ken Mode, Spectres…
10. AUERBACH
    • Spiritual Front, Sol Invictus, Tenhi, Moon and the Night Spirit, Haavard, Hekate, Orplid…

Best Export Territories of 2023

If we look at the Audioglobe stats, we notice that Germany and Greece remain the company’s strongest markets, continuing a trend that has been consistent for ages. However, the 2023 statistics reveal some notable shifts.

Canada, once a prominent market for Audioglobe, has surprisingly disappeared from the export landscape. In contrast, the United States and the United Kingdom have re-emerged as significant territories, marking their return to prominence in the darkwave music scene after several years.

The most unexpected development in 2023 is the rise of Australia as a key market. This growth stands in stark contrast to Switzerland, which, despite its affluence, has seen a sharp decline in sales. Sebastian Koch adds: “The (by far!) lowest sales of all countries where we export to, was to Switzerland… The rich Swiss don’t buy records! Since I left the country (1990), something is wrong back home!”

Here is the top 10 list of export territories:

1. Germany
2. Greece
3. Netherlands
4. Portugal
5. USA
6. United Kingdom
7. Australia
8. Spain
9. Russia
10. Poland

Not in the top 10, but France, Japan, Malta, Brazil, Sweden, Mexico, and Perù are also good export territories for Audioglobe.

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

French Dark-Wave / Post-Punk trio Je T’aime became a recognized formation in a rather short lapse of time. Dany Boy (programming, synth, bass, guitar & vocal), Tall Bastard (bass & guitar) and Crazy Z (guitar) last year accomplished two great new albums “Passive” and “Aggressive”. The albums reveal a passionate work mixing carrying, dark and powerful, guitar play together with elevating electronic parts. Albums were released on Manic Depression Records and Icy Cold Records (France) and will appeal for fans of The Cure, The Smiths ao. This band has an impressive potential and I would be not surprised to see them gaining a word-wide recognition in their music style. I’d a chat with the band.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: I don’t exactly expect a Post-Punk / Dark-Wave band called Je T’aime. Where does this name come from and tell us a bit more about the set up and influences of the band?

Crazy Z: In the end, the name probably has nothing to do with the style of music we make, and everything to do with the romance we embody.

We want to reintroduce this French romanticism, after all anyone knows the meaning of the words “Je T’aime” around the world, and all the Parisian Love they suggest immediately explodes in your mind.

Tall Bastard:After spending the all night writing and recording our first song “The Sound”, being very tired and very drunk, we were so happy to have done it that we kept on saying : ‘I love you man, I love you’ so it stayed.

dBoy:The truth is that I don’t agree with your starting point. On the contrary, when I listen to Post-Punk, and even more so to Dark-Wave, I very often hear the singer talking about his love affairs. What I find strange is that this band name did not exist before we chose it. Je T’aime is such a perfect band name.

Q: Things went really fast for Je T’aime. In a rather short lapse of time you released three studio albums plus a live one. How do you look back on this fast evolution and what’s the input of each member in the writing process?

Crazy Z:In fact, we didn’t realize that. The self-titled debut album was released in 2019, and while we were enjoying it on the road, we were suddenly put on a forced hiatus by the pandemic.

Then the situation gave us plenty of time to write, compose, produce, and polish this new double album “Passive/Aggressive”. Moreover we cheated a little bit, as you might think we’ve released a lot of albums this year, but it’s really two parts of a double album. In any case, we didn’t feel like we were forcing the pace, we just go at our own pace.

dBoy:We are still a long way from artists like Saez who are able to release nine albums in a single year.

Tall Bastard: And now begins what this band was really build for: going on stage and meeting our audience  hitting the road.

Q: You last year released a kind of twins albums; first “Passive” and later on the year “Aggressive”. Each opus features ten songs while the artwork also is a noticeable element. What are these albums all about and what is it about the ‘Peter Pan Syndrome’?

dBoy:‘Passive-aggressive’ behavior is a set of so-called passive attitudes that indirectly express a hidden hostility that is not openly assumed or remains unconscious to the subject. The eponymous first album as well as this double album tells the story of a man who is a very bad lover, husband and father. His life is entirely defined by his fear of growing up, the famous Peter Pan complex. The passive-aggressive attitude is that of his daughter, who eventually hates him.

Q: What have been the different stages in the writing, recording and production of both albums? What have been the main challenges and difficulties you encountered?

Crazy Z:Generally, we take the equipment of our Parisian studios, we load it in a truck, and we leave on the Brittany coast, where we lock ourselves in a big house near the sea. Behind those closed doors, anything can happen. Lots of discussions, about music or not, big parties just between the 3 of us, and of course, lots of work. This is where the ideas for our lyrics, music, and album concepts are born. The hardest thing to manage?  I can think of two things. The fatigue because we chain the days and the nights without counting them. And the second one is the hysterical rhythm of dBoy which is unwavering when he has an idea in mind. We have just released a small documentary of 10 minutes relating all this on our Youtube channel. Go check it out!

dBoy:The biggest difficulty I see when composing is when Tall Bastard doesn’t have enough to make us Pina Coladas.

Q: You last year also released several video clips. What did you try to express by the clips and why are clips that important?

Crazy Z: Besides being the most used support by the public to discover and be interested in a new music band, we are also personally very interested in the power of the films, and in how to film something. So we take a lot of pleasure in imagining what we will produce as the next video material. As much pleasure as when we build a new album. There is no more music on one side, and video on the other. Both are expressions of our art and our stories, one like the other.

dBoy:We are lucky to be very well surrounded, especially by the team that Anaïs Novembre and Jean-François Verganti form within their video production company Albert & Marion, or the photographer and video maker Quentin Caffier.

Q: Je T’aime definitely appears to be a live band and I was really impressed you already played in different countries in such a short lapse of time. What means live shows to the band and what did you try to express on stage?

Crazy Z: So we were right to choose such a universal name from the start! (laughs). Simply, that was the very first and only rule of the band before we started anything in 2018: to make dance all the dark scenes all over Europe. And to make them dance, you have to gather them in one place. So in the end, live is what Je T’aime is all about.

Tall Bastard:Yeah, make our audience dance and smile listening to those old sounds we all like! We travel light to be able to go everywhere and play in almost any conditions!

dBoy:I always liked to compare the stage as a big pirate ship. It always pitches very dangerously in the face of the storm but must never, ever sink. If I had been a pirate captain I would have played very dangerously with my crew because I am an adrenaline fanatic, I always need more.

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, Post-Punk.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Early 2022 Parisian (France) formation Je T’Aime released their second studio album “Passive”. By the end of the year they released this other ten-track opus entitled “Aggressive”.

Content: The sound moves in the same vein as “Passive”. This is the perfect mix between Cold-Wave influences reminding me of The Cure  and a heavier Post-Punk input. Ten powerful songs moving from rage to melancholia.

+ + + : “Passive” and “Aggressive” appear to be a kind of twins. Both albums are featuring the same number of songs while both front covers are identically the same but with a different color. The content remains interesting and bringing good-old 80s influences alive. You can feel passion and drama coming through vocals and music. The opening cut “Out Of Sight” is carried by an elevating chorus. Another major song is “Elbow Beach” for its perfect balance between electronics and guitar while reminding me of The Cure.

– – – : From a very personal point of view I have a little preference for the “Passive”-album although both works can’t live without each other.

Conclusion: Je T’Aime is a band you definitely have to discover for their great and personal interpretation of Cold-Wave and Post-Punk.

Best songs: “Out Of Sight”, “Elbow Beach”, Kiss The Boys (And Make Them Die)”, “Winter Lake”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.jetaime-musique.com / www.facebook.com/jetaimethemusic

Labels: www.manicdepressionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/manicdepressionrecords / www.facebook.com/icycoldrecords

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 Paris based post-punk / coldwave trio Je T’aime has a brand new video available, “Blood on fire”. The track is taken from the double album “Passive/Agressive”. The first part “Passive” was released on Valentine’s day February 14th, 2022, while the second part “Agressive” will follow next October.

Frontman dBoy says this about the all new double album: “Our new double album ‘Passive / Agressive’, as well as the first album, talks about the Peter Pan syndrome and the difficulty of growing up. Our main character is constantly caught up in the past, repeats the same mistakes over and over again and ends up not being able to move forward in his life. It is no mystery that the band’s music constantly looks for influences in the past 80’s for that reason. This double album forced us to think a lot more about the musical direction to follow, as the three of us have very different influences. So, on this record, we felt the need to find how to mix our 3 personnalities but keeping it coherent. That gives a more complex sound, but still catchy, dark and open at the same time, to bring life to the lyrics based on our own stories.”

Here’s the video for “Blood on fire”.

About Je t’Aime

Je t’Aime consists of dBoy, Tall Bastard and Crazy Z. Merging electro-clash, new-wave, and post-punk, they founded Je t’Aime in 2018 and released a first eponymous album via both Icy Cold Records and Manic Depression Records. A live album called “Live At Gibus”, recorded in Paris, followed immediately.

In 2021, the silence of the three men reached a point where their labels began to wonder whether they were a real band and musicians capable of writing other records, or another one-hit wonder talent. But it appeared they had secluded themselves on the Brittany coast recording “Passive/Agressive”, a double-album. The first part “Passive” was released on Valentine’s day February 14th, 2022, while the second part “Agressive” will follow next October.

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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Set up in Paris (France) Je T’Aime released their debut single “The Sound” in 2018. This song also was the opening track of their self-titled debut album released in 2019 by Manic Depression Records and Icy Cold Records. It was a successful work featuring explicit 80s Cold-Wave elements. Early this year the band released the new album “Passive” again by the same French labels. Dany Boy, Tall Bastard and Crazy Z confirmed their strong potential achieving a work which will appeal for lovers of 80s icons such as The Cure and The Smiths.

(Picture credits by Anaïs Novembre / Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Let’s take off by the origins of Je T’Aime. How did you guys meet and what brought you to set up JE T’Aime? And why this band name?

dBoy: With Tall Bastard we met in 2014 when he was the bassist for the band Saigon Blue Rain. I was doing their live sound (among other joys). The plan to make the Goths of Europe dance came after a dinner together. After a few glasses of red wine, we went to my studio to have some fun and that’s how “The Sound” came to be, in the early morning. We kept telling each other: I love you man! That’s why we’re called JE T’Aime.

Tall Bastard: The song was written in emergency and fun. We’ve always tried to keep this spirit for the next sessions.

Q: Your sound is clearly evoking good-old 80s Dark-Wave bands. Tell us a bit more about your sources of inspiration and what made the 80s that special to you?

dBoy: The 80’s remind me of my childhood so it’s quite natural for me to go back to it. Having lived in Atlanta (USA) as a child from 1984 onwards I was overwhelmed by this New-Wave culture. It was a given that I would end up singing this genre of music at some point.

Tall Bastard: The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Sisters Of Mercy, And Also The Trees and Joy Division are the bands I used to listen when I was a teenager. I’ve learned playing music with their songs. I was playing in the Cold-Wave band Saigon Blue Rain before forming JE T’Aime. New-Wave is definitely in my DNA.

Q: How did the transition happened from your self-titled debut album towards “Passive”? Did you try to improve and/or change specific elements of the production and how did the album come true?

dBoy: First of all, we selected everything we liked in the first album, we wanted to keep certain sounds to find a certain artistic coherence. With Crazy Z. we really like a lot of different musical styles, it’s impossible for us to restrict ourselves to one musical style. So, the idea was to modernize our sound without betraying the first album and its musical purpose. I also wrote the first lyrics very quickly, which told the story of the adventures of this guy who is completely lost in life, whom we meet on the first album. So, it quickly became clear to us that we wanted to write a sequel to this first album.

Tall Bastard: For the first album, we were creating our sound. So in fact there were not so much questions. The songs were coming naturally. For “Passive” almost each song came with a question mark : Is this where we want to go? Is it not too close to what we’ve already done? …

Q: Tell us a bit more about the writing process of “Passive”? What’s the input of each member and how was it working composing an album in times of lockdown and this ongoing pandemic?

dBoy: As for the first album, we went to write this double album in Brittany, in Tall Bastard’s holiday home. It’s a very nice place, quiet, and far from the noise and fury of the city. It helps us to stay focused. The first album was written together with Tall and me. On this double album “Passive/Aggressive”, Crazy Z. was part of the writing process, so it took a bit of time to get everyone to understand each other and move in the same direction. But in reality, it went very fast. The songs went together very quickly. We usually write and record two or three songs a day, music and lyrics.

Tall Bastard: Most of the time, we start a new song by defining the mood and the rhythm.  As soon as we have the drum and the bass, everything is going nice and easy. We often have to make a choice between all the ideas that we can have.

Q: What does the title of the album refers to and what are your main sources of inspiration for the lyrical content of “Passive”?

dBoy: Passive-aggressive behavior is a set of so-called passive attitudes that indirectly express a hidden hostility that is not openly assumed or remains unconscious to the subject.

This double album tells the continuation of the adventures of the hero of the first album. A lost guy, suffering from Peter Pan syndrome, separated from his wife and father of a young girl who hates him. Our music is full of ‘joie de vivre’.

Q: In between both studio albums you also self-released a live album which makes me say live shows are very important for JE T’Aime. What are your favorite aspects in live shows and what might we expect to see when JE T’Aime is on stage?

dBoy: Oh yes, for me the stage is a bit like a big pirate ship. It goes through a thousand storms and never has to sink. It must always be cherished and cared for. The stage is an exciting thing, it’s a place to let off steam but also a place full of philosophy and even science. The science of movement, the science of communication, the science of sound and light. In 2005, I had the chance to work with the French scenographer Philippe Albaret, a well of science on the subject of concerts and the attitude to have on stage. It was a real shock in my head. The world of the Music Hall hides thousands of little secrets to be beautiful on stage. A real magic that takes years to master.

Tall Bastard: Our first purpose was to play live as much as we can and meet our audience. So we give everything we have at each concert. We just love it. And those night when the audience is giving us back this energy, for me this is pure joy. I feel completely empty and full at the same time. Intense.

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: Dark-Wave, Post-Punk.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Parisian (France) formation Je T’Aime strikes back with their second studio album. They in the meantime also released a live album “Live At Gibus”.

Content: The sound formula and influences featured on “Passive” are totally comparable to the self-titled debut album. This is pure Dark-Wave music carried with typical 80s guitar play and accomplished with electronic arrangements. The influence and especially the way of singing comes closer to The Cure -while the debut album was more reminding me of The Smiths.

+ + + : Je T’Aime avoids any element of innovation but has seriously improved the global production process. The guitar parts and vocals are definitely The Cure-like. But I like the passion of the vocals which together with the guitar creates a true emotional feeling. The electro arrangements have something refined and even elevating. There are several cool songs but I especially recommend “Dirty Tricks” and “Unleashed”.

– – – : I regret the album is only featuring 10 songs but it also reminds me of the 80s album. The song “On The Phone” sounds a bit weird, revealing a more Ska-driven guitar playing.

Conclusion: Je T’Aime has accomplished a great, mature and passionate album. When listening to this album I can only but recognize there’s still great Cold-Wave music today!

Best songs: “Dirty Tricks”, “Unleashed”, “Give Me More Kohl”, “Another Day In Hell”, “Lonely Days”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.jetaime-musique.com / www.facebook.com/jetaimethemusic

Labels: www.manicdepressionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/manicdepressionrecords / www.facebook.com/icycoldrecords

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

Just like the Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio fans I was stupefied reading Tomas Pettersson announced after the release of his newest album “Let’s Play”, it possibly could be the last album! The Swedish masters of ‘apocalyptic-pop’ are now active since 1993 and moved throughout different periods of artistic creation. While their earlier work was characterized by a neo-folk approach they progressively experimented with other influences, which brought them to label their music as ‘apocalyptic-pop’. “Let’s Play” again released by Out Of Line took them nearly ten years to get accomplished, but the result is their most refined and artistic creation ever. It’s a poignant and deeply artistic exposure, which might become a kind of legacy for all lovers of this music genre. I got in touch with Tomas who had a lot to say about this major work.

(Picture credits by Post-Mortem / Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: I first of all have to say thank you for this new and beautiful album “Let’s Play [Two Girls & A Goat]”. I’ve been touched by the artistic grace of the writing and global production, which according to me stands for the most accomplished work you have ever released! It took you seven years to achieve this album, which you also have introduced as possibly the final album of Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio. Can you give us a bit more details about it all?

Tomas:Thank you. It pleases me to hear that you are able to perceive what I see too, and what I thought I saw already years ago when the process commenced.

My work with “Let’s Play” began already back in 2010/2011 when I completed “Songs 4 Hate & Devotion”. This has always been the situation for me, to initiate the work on another album just as I complete the first. But as I started to finish my work on “Let’s Play” in 2013, after all plans had been made, video recorded, 4Play released and Out Of Line had been informed, something unexpected occurred; we got pregnant with our second child and all I had planned was more or less obliterated. We were facing two options, either we released the album despite the pregnancy (without promotional material and concerts etc…) and just hoped it wouldn’t disappear in a void of social and medial emptiness, or we looked behind door number 2 and assumed that the potential that we felt the album had, would withstand the test of time, and that we simply postponed the release till another days when the stars were aligned.

So we went with option number 2, which led to the birth of “Vision:Libertine” as a result of frustration, disappointment and personal hardship.

Whether or not “Let’s Play” will be our final album or not remains to be seen, but I doubt it. What I meant was more willingly that “Let’s Play” as I see it, is the final form of apocalyptic-pop. I can’t see how we would be able to progress further without imitating ourselves. So from this point on I feel the need to reinvent myself and Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio to prevent what we have created from becoming a caricature of itself.

Q: That being said, what have been the main difficulties you encountered in the global production process and what are the aspects making you proud?

Tomas: When I ultimately came to the conclusion that “Let’s Play” had to be put on hold, it felt a little overwhelming. To feel and accept that the best songs you had ever made were not going to be heard by anyone for years to come. I played them incessantly until I couldn’t bear to hear them anymore. But after the release of “Vision:Libertine” in 2016, I also realized that I had become a better, more competent producer, a better vocalist, and that the material I once felt was so incredibly good, didn’t live up to this ‘new’ standard. So I consequently decided to deconstruct “Let’s Play”; remix it, re-sing it and reproduce it to meet with these new and improved standards. And in retrospective it’s easy to see that this was a very time consuming endeavor, and which led to a process of successive completion which altogether took 6-8 years.

Q: The lyrical content remains very explicit although using metaphors and enigmatic titles. I get the impression the lyrics are very intimate and yet meant to tickle the listeners, but what did you really want to accomplish?

Tomas: I write texts that serve a personal purpose, texts that manifest a feeling, a vision and/or an idea; let it be sexual, philosophical, spiritual or ideological. I desire to write texts that paint the vision I see when I close my eyes; and if I am able to tickle and provoke, then my work is done. That is what I seek to accomplish.

Q: ‘Sex’ in a wider perception has been always one of your fetish themes and still very present in the imagery and performances of Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio. While it clearly concerns artistic freedom… and maybe a little bit of provocation, I can easily imagine you (at least some images, maybe clips) must have been censored. I especially think about some social media. What’s your personal experience about it and what does it say about the Century we’re living in versus artistic freedom?

Tomas: Sexuality defines us. We are our sexuality. Our preferences and provocations are directly and intimately linked to who we consider ourselves to be. I like to use sexuality and ‘explicit’ imageries as a catalyst for greater motives, to raise other questions and ideas that otherwise would be disregarded and/or shunned.

Social media is a phenomenon. An interactive judgment tool by which you are forever judged for the things you do and don’t. Years ago your accomplishments were judged and deemed worthy or worthless by alleged ‘professionals’ in ‘established’ magazines, but nowadays you are judged every day, every hour, every minute by people with an opinion. Nameless, faceless writers who seek nothing more than to slander you without reprieve and consequence. The magazines have been replaced by social forums that dictate under what conditions and censorship you are allowed to operate. I’m no longer the sole dictator of what imagery and intellectual message our ‘art’ will convey, but the social forums and even my visitors are ultimately in charge, deciding what they ‘allow’.

There has been occasional censorship, but not as much as you probably imagine. “Menage A Trois” was naturally removed by Facebook after 16 hours, which however was a lot longer than anyone thought it would be up. We were banned from performing in Berlin years ago, as I was accused of being a satanic fascist by the organizer’s friend’s fiancé. But for me, the strangest and most abstract act of censorship was posed by Facebook some 6 years ago when they closed the official Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio channel based on my publication of the “Make Love & War” cover (Rose having the gun in her mouth). For that reason only they choose to close down the page and made me start over completely.

Q: New clips have been made and especially “Ménage A Trois” is a deeply, artistic exposure, but still a huge success regarding the number of views. Tell us a bit more about the song and the link with the clip plus the accomplishment of the clip?

Tomas:The genesis of “Ménage A Trois” requires quite a history lesson, so here it goes. After years and years of declining all requests from Russia, I finally decide to accept an invitation from Alexey Kluyev and Arcto Poomo in 2011. We prepare, we get all the tickets and documents, and finally when we are set to depart for Moscow, everything starts to crumble. Considering the amount of money and organization that have already been invested to bring Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio to Russia, I feel obliged to go, but Rose is however forced to stay home because Julius, or oldest son, bursts out in chickenpox the night before departure, and simultaneously, Fredrik (the bass player) is also forced to stay home due to various family emergencies; so ultimately it only our former guitarist and me who depart for Russia and destination unknown. Finally in Russia we are picked up at the airport by Alexey and his sketchy taxi-driver Dragan dressed in a white suite that someone else must have stopped wearing in the 80’s and white loafers. Alexey takes us to our base camp outside of central Moscow at “Rob’s House” where we are supposed to stay with Rob and his mother between concerts. Next morning we travel 4 hours by airplane to Yekaterinburg where we are set to do our first show. An utterly bizarre experience where we are observed as mythological creatures and where female fans start to tremble and burst out in tears simply from confronting us, and finally, the rented guitar appears to be 6 metal strings connected to two assembled pieces of plywood, rather than an actual guitar. After Yekaterinburg we fly back to Moscow and are picked up again by Alexey and Dragan. We are brought back to Rob’s house and start to get ready for our second show in Moscow. At this show we have a support act; an avant-garde black-metal opera-noise act featuring renowned Russian actor Vladimir Epifantsev. Supposedly he’s a big fan of Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, but during the show, Vladimir only comes to the club 5 minutes before the show, and leaves immediately after, so our meeting is brief, but we are also informed that after we return from Rostov-on-don, Vladimir wants to meet for dinner. So after Moscow we travel south to Rostov-on-don (the hometown of Andrei Chikatilo). We meet old friends for the very first time, have a magnificent barbeque in our host’s backyard, make new friends and play another bizarre show for just a handful of people. Thereafter we return to basecamp in Moscow and later that same day we meet the famous Vladimir in central Moscow and go to one of his favorite pizza restaurants. We eat luxury pizzas and drink imported beer, and that’s when Vladimir says to Alexey that he wants to make a video for Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio.  A dialogue follows where I decline his offer to make a video for “S4H&D” (because its already out) and I suggest that its better if we make a video for the upcoming album “Let’s Play”. Alexey thinks this is very funny as says in English with a heavy Russian accent ‘Hahahahaha Tomas, you are just as much businessman as you are artist’. And it is decided, we will come back one year later for two concerts and the making of a video for a song of Vladimir’s choice.

So we go back home, work on “Let’s Play”, send the songs to Vladimir who makes his ‘surprising’ choice, and we go back again in 2012 for a four day visit to Moscow. We performed twice over two days in Moscow, and on the third and fourth day we filmed the video with Vladimir and his crew. On the first day we filmed an entire day at Vladimir’s big summerhouse outside of Moscow. Everything was arranged by Vladimir and there were several other actors from his day job (as a soup opera actor on a daytime drama series) joining us to fulfill the script. There were exploding vegetables, AK47s, Spetsnaz soldiers, blood, the drowning of his wife, Fredrik almost losing his hearing after an AK47 goes off next to his ear, me walking around all day dressed as a pantomime, Rose throwing confetti from the balcony and all this madness came to an end in a huge organized barbeque. Next day was spent in central Moscow at Vladimir’s studio apartment filming close-ups and vocal scenes, still dressed as a pantomime. After day four we returned to Sweden. I was informed by Alexey that Vladimir will begin editing and that we will receive the finished video in due time. We waited and waited. After six months I contacted Alexey and asked what’s going on, I am informed ‘Vladimir is an artist, you need to wait’. So we waited, and waited some more.

After a year I contacted Alexey again to hear what’s happening; same answer ‘Vladimir is an artist we need to wait inspiration’. So we waited some more, and some more. But suddenly, one random night in winter after three years of waiting, an email unexpectedly appears in my mailbox, moscow.mp4. It’s there, finally. I called out to Rose ‘It’s here!’ She said, ‘What’s here?’ I said ‘The Russian video. It’s here! Should we watch it?’ Rose said ‘No let’s wait’. So we waited another few weeks before we out it on. But once we did, our jaws just drop (all the way to the floor). The video was not what we recorded in Moscow those two days in 2012. It’s something completely different. ‘An artist’s personal vision’ perhaps, but not what we paid for and not what he expected. But over time we accepted it and learned to love it. It’s a fantastic video, the first of several videos we will make with Vladimir, and after all these years it is finally out, and now, another 1.4M more people have watched it too.

Q: I noticed some interesting names among your list of favorite artists, but I especially want to mention Brigitte Bardot and Serge Gainsbourg (who did some real great things together and not only “Je T’Aime Moi Non Plus”), but also Nancy Sinatra, Johnny Cash and Lee Hazelwood! What do you like in their work and what makes them special?

Tomas:I like the way the way their music make me feel. I like the musical orchestrations, especially from Lee Hazelwood. The simplicity; the complexity. They represent an interesting and aesthetically fascinating era in history. Perverted, yet sophisticated. Seemingly stupid(?) yet intellectually provoking.

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, post-punk.

Background/Info: Je T’Aime is a new name active in the cold-wave/post-punk fields. Hailing from Paris the band seems to be inspired by The Smiths –which is an aspect you’ll always find back in the front picture of the album. They last year released the single “The Sound” and have now unleashed their self-titled debut album. Notice by the way the album is also available on vinyl, which has been released by Icy Cold Records.

Content: “Je T’Aime” clearly has this typical 80s flavor, which sounds dark and into melancholia. The tracks are driven by guitar and achieved with electronic arrangements. The sound indeed reflects some elements of The Smiths, but I also have to mention The Cure as possible source of inspiration. Some passages are featuring female backing vocals.

+ + + : One of the most noticeable aspects of the production reminding me to Morrisey (singer of The Smiths) is the vocals. This album brings the 80s back to life, which is not exactly the most original element of the work, but it has been accomplished with passion and devotion. The guitar play is quite important in the global sphere hanging over the opus. There are multiple cool songs featured here, but I’ll tip “Satan’s Bitch” and “Dance”.

– – – : “Je T’Aime” is not exactly an album you gone buy for its originality, but it’s a must have if you’re into 80s cold-wave.

Conclusion: Je T’Aime is a promising newcomer bringing some good-old 80s influences back to life.

Best songs: “Satan’s Bitch”, “Dance”, “The Sound”, “Marry-Go-Round”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.jetaime–music.com / www.facebook.com/jetaimetheband

Label: www.manicdepressionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/manicdepressionrecords

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