The Italian musician Christian Ryder from TourdeForce and the Swedish artist Johan Hansson, protagonist of the projects We The North and Unitary, have joined up for a new project. “Split” is the title of a first EP from We The North / TourdeForce. The project mixes classic electro-synthpop with electro-wave on the 7 tracks you can find on this EP.

Here’s the video for the track “The Last Song”. The EP itself will be out via Space Race Records later in December.

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.

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

Background/Info: Richard Abdeni and Anthony Stuart set up Les Anges De La Nuit in 2003. This American duo got some recognition being directly signed to Infacted Recordings where they released two albums. After a hiatus of 9 years they struck back in 2015 self-releasing “Vanity Will Perish”. It’s now time for the fourth album of the band.

Content: The sound and influences of the band haven’t changed that much. Les Anges De La Nuit is inspired by a dark electro-pop format mixed with some future-pop elements. The main characteristic of the work are the lyrics sung now French and then in English.

The work is carried by strong melodic sequences. The last song of the album is a cool clubby-track. But there also is another song that will catch the attention for featuring Johan Hansson (We The North, Cyanide, Unitary).

+ + + : Les Anges De La Nuit aren’t reinventing the electro-pop standards, but I have to admit they’ve constructed a very own and recognizable sound. You rapidly recognize the melodic sequences and cool tunes. Some of the songs are driven by hard, pumping kicks, getting the work pretty danceable. Especially the last song, which is a remix of “Cette Jolie Brune” is a great apotheosis, but only available on the digital format of the album (and not on this CD). The French lyrics inject something special to the work, which you don’t exactly expect from an American formation.

– – – : My single point of discussion is the similarity between all songs. Once you’ve heard the first track of the work, you rapidly get the impression all songs are made from the same mold.

Conclusion: I belief that Les Anges De La Nuit is a band deserving more recognition. They maybe haven’t composed the ultimate ‘hit’ thus far although their work remains entertaining and different from the average electro-pop standards.

Best songs: “Cette Jolie Brune – Radio Edit Digital Bonus Track”, “Ma Folie, L’Infini”, “Vanity Fin (2017)”, “Cette Jolie Brune”, “Break Us Apart”.

Rate: (7).

Band & Label: http://lesangesdelanuit.net/index.php / www.facebook.com/LADLNband

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: Electro-pop, body-pop.

Background/Info: Behind We The North is hiding a solo-project set up and driven by Johan Hansson who you should know from his involvement in Unitary (signed on Infacted) and Cyanide (mainly active during the early millennium years). After the promising debut EP “Endemic” we now welcome the official debut album. Hansson defines his sound as ‘Nordic Noir’, which is an interesting vision.

Content: “Dayblind” features 10 songs plus one remix by Mr. Kitty. The EP already give us a good idea about the sources of inspiration, which have been only confirmed on the album. Next to the 4 familiar EP-tracks we can discover a styled electro-pop sound mixed with some EBM elements like menacing bass lines. The space-bleeps and other evasive passages support the album with an ambient touch.

+ + + : “Dayblind” is a kind of catchy space-pop work filling the gap between EBM and classical synth-pop music. I don’t exactly experience the work as ‘noir’ (back/dark), but just mysterious and mainly evasive. The familiar songs from the EP remain the main attention grabbers and especially “Understand Me” and “Lost Inside” both are great and carrying body-pop pieces. One of the ‘new’ cuts entitled “Ælone” is another attention grabber carried by a Solid bass line.

– – – : “Dayblind” is a successful work, but it’s just a pity we already discovered nearly the half of the tracks on the previously released EP. These songs also remain the best cuts from “Dayblind” so in the end the opus doesn’t deliver many surprises.

Conclusion: We The North invites you to embark for a wistful travel throughout enjoyable body-pop fields and catchy space-electronics. This band is a promising addition to the Space Race Records roster.  

Best songs: “Understand Me”, “Lost Inside”, “Ælone”, “Endemic”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.facebook.com/wethenorthofficial

Label: www.spaceracerecords.com / www.facebook.com/SpaceRaceRecords

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

Following up on their Space Race Records released “Endemic” EP, the Swedish solo act We The North (aka Johan Hansson from Unitary and Cyanide fame) returns with a first full length album: “Dayblind”. The 11-track strong album can now be ordered right here and offers what Hansson calls Nordic Noire electro pop.

Note that it also holds a remix by Mr. Kitty for the track “Endemic”. Below is the video for “Understand Me”.

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.

side-line.com

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

Background/Info: Space Race Records again seems to have found a new promising band active in the wider electro-pop fields. Hailing from Scandinavia and set up as a solo-project by Johan Hansson, the artist describes his music as ‘Nordic Noir’. “Endemic” is the first official release featuring 4 songs and 4 remixes.

Content: The sound clearly mixes electro-pop elements and a few harder body-inspired influences. The music is well-crafted and doesn’t sound at all as a first recording. You’ll notice deep, alluring bass lines and some melodic loops while Hansson vocals are clear and powerful. A few melancholic atmospheres can be heard as well.

Among the 4 remixes I especially noticed great contributions from ES23 and especially Mika Rossi (Autodafeh).

+ + + : “Endemic” is a successful debut revealing 2 great songs (cf. “Lost Inside” and “Understand Me”), which are quite elaborated and masterly produced. There’s a perfect match between the music and the vocals. The remix of “Lost Inside” by Mika Rossi is a great piece of minimal electro-pop.

– – – : I can’t say to have heard a real potential hit and that’s a pity. We The North clearly reveals a solid potential carried by a mature production, but I’m missing an extra catchy touch.

Conclusion: “Endemic” features several enjoyable songs and cool remixes as well. I’m looking forward to the debut full length to get a better idea about the real potential of the band.

Best songs: “Lost Inside”, “Understand Me”, “Understand Me – Mika Rossi Remix”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.facebook.com/wethenorthofficial

Label: www.spaceracerecords.com / www.facebook.com/SpaceRaceRecords

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