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!

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Out via Rustblade on November 3rd is the Ketvector album “Emergent Properties” in a limited edition of 300 copies on white vinyl. Ketvector is the brainchild of drummer and producer Justin Bennett (Skinny Puppy, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Banhtier, Askew) and offers a mix of psychedelic electronica, acid jazz, ambient soundtracks, theoretical cosmology and much more.

Accompanying Justin are his long time musical partners Stefano Rossello and Filippo Corradin (Bahntier, Motion Kapture).

The release also comes in a special limited Edition of 99 copies hand-painted box (each copy is unique) by the artist Matilde Giudicelli. This box-edition includes the regular album on exclusive purple marbled vinyl plus the exclusive bonus-CD “Input/Output”, featuring a medley [approx. 25 minutes] of 4 unreleased b-sides. The box also contains a big sized booklet with informations and images about the concept of this album.

Check the first tracks already right below.

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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Out this Friday is a special steel box version of the Rustblade released tribute album to John Carpenter, “The Way Of Darkness”. This special Halloween release comes in a heavy steel deluxe box limited to just 33 copies only. It contains a special transparent marble orange vinyl, a silver poster of The Thing, Halloween silkscreen poster and a John Carpenter silkscreen poster.

This musical tribute combines some of Carpenter’s best musical atmospheres executed by Claudio Simonetti (Goblin), Leather Strip, Motion Kapture, Ketvector, as well as artists of the new retro wave scene such as Code Elektro, Tibia, Simulakrum Lab, Mythical Vigilante and Keith Mccoy.

Tracks covered include “Halloween”, “Matthew Ghost Story”, “Christine”, “Night”, “Laurie’s Theme”, “Assault On Precinct 13”, “The Fog”, “Chariots Of Pumpkins”, “The Thing” and “1997 Escape From New York”.

About John Carpenter

John Howard Carpenter is an American filmmaker, actor and composer. Although Carpenter has worked with various film genres, he is associated most commonly with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. Carpenter is generally recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre.

Most films of Carpenter’s career were initially commercial and critical failures, with the notable exceptions of “Halloween” (1978), “The Fog” (1980), “Escape from New York” (1981), and “Starman” (1984). However, many of Carpenter’s films from the 1970s and the 1980s have come to be considered as cult classics, and he has been acknowledged as an influential filmmaker.

The cult classics that Carpenter has directed include “Dark Star” (1974), “Assault on Precinct 13” (1976), our absolute favourite “The Thing” (1982), “Christine” (1983), “Big Trouble in Little China” (1986), “Prince of Darkness” (1987), “They Live” (1988), and “In the Mouth of Madness” (1995). He returned to the Halloween franchise as both composer and executive producer for the horror sequel “Halloween” (2018).

Carpenter composed or co-composed most of his films’ music. Carpenter has released four studio albums, titled “Lost Themes” (2015), “Lost Themes II” (2016), “Anthology: Movie Themes 1974–1998” (2017) and “Lost Themes III: Alive After Death” (2021).

Check the below trailer of “The Thing”.

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: Cinematographic, Ambient-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Rustblade Records pays tribute to John Carpenter, the legendary film director and composer. “Christine”, “Halloween” and “The Thing” are just some films from his impressive career as film director and composer. Ten artists contributed to this compilation.

Artists: Claudio Simonetti, Leather Strip, Simulacrum Lab, Mythical Vigilante, Ketvector, Code Elektro, Motion Kapture, Keith McCoy.

Content: Some tunes became as popular as the movies and that’s perfectly transposed in the edits by the artists featured at this compilation. Most tracks hold on to the original tune and atmosphere of the composition while some extra –and more personal, elements can be heard on top. This is a modern Soundtrack for horror music.

+ + + : I like the concept and the idea to see varied artists creating their sonic interpretation of legendary tunes like “Christine”, “Halloween”, “Assault On Precinct 13”, “1997 Escape From new York”, “The Thing” ao.  Danish project Code Elektro did a great job on “Assault On Precinct 13”. I especially like the deep bass line running through the song. Another attention grabber is the opening song by Claudio Simonetti reinterpreting “Halloween”. Leather Strip put some extra bombast in “Matthew Ghost Story” while Ketvector’s “Laurie’s Theme” is another noticeable cut.

– – – : This compilation is more for the Carpenter fans and lovers of soundtrack music.

Conclusion: This is a cool homage to one of the true Masters of Horror music/movies.

Best bands: Code Elektro, Leather Strip, Ketvector, Claudio Simonetti.

Rate: 7.

Label: www.rustblade.com / www.facebook.com/rustbladerecords

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, minimal-pop.

Background/Info: CrackDown is a Danish electro-pop duo driven by Lasse Mønsted and Kim Holm. They both were still involved with Snow In April while Kim Holm was also a member of the minimal duo Holm/Mirland.

Content: They already released a few productions are now striking back with this EP featuring 3 new cuts plus 3 remixes. The songs are clearly driven by electro-pop music, which has something atypical and even a bit solemn (especially the debut song). There also is a strong atmospheric layer recovering the songs.

The remixes of the title song have been accomplished by Portion Control, kETvEctor (Justin Bennett also did the mastering) and The Eldridge Experience).

+ + + : The most noticeable aspect of the production is the high-tech sound production. The sound reflects impressive technological skills, which are mainly coming through at “LSDevil” and the title song. It’s not easy to describe this band, but there clearly is a very personal electro-pop approach. The remixes are absolutely amazing; Portion Control injected extra power, kETvEctor transposed the title song into darkness and bombast while The Eldridge Experience accomplished the most danceable and still most minimal-like remix.

– – – : The title song is not my favorite cut from the EP and I definitely prefer the remixes.

Conclusion: CrackDown brings us pop from another dimension. I can’t say that “Time” is a masterpiece, but it’s a technological tour de force!

Best songs: “LSDevil”, “Time – Robotic Stalker Mix by The Eldridge Experience”, “Time – Golden Golum Mix by Portion Control”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/CrackDown.dk

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, cinematographic.

Background/Info: “Fig. 23” is the return after a long hibernation of kETvECTOR. Set up and driven by Justin Bennett (Skinny Puppy, Askew, Bahntier ao) and Stefano Rossello (Bahntier, Detune-X), it took nine years for this duo to achieve a new album. It clearly appears to be a ‘tour de force’ as they invited an impressive list of guests and -singers like Edward Ka-Spel, Nivek Ogre, Buzz McCoy ao.

Content: “Fig. 23” sounds definitely experimental and into soundtrack experiments. The songs are pretty diversified although carried by a solid cinematographic basis. Some passages are pretty evasive while other cuts are into bombast carried by sensual rhythms. It now sounds very electronic and then more into psychedelic experiments.

There’s a similar diversity in the vocals, which have been sung by different singers. From the half spoken style of Edward Ka-Spel to the sensuality of Suz you directly notice a different approach.

+ + + : “Fig. 23” is an unusual release and that’s an aspect always have liked and supported when listening to music. You clearly feel a kind of reflection behind the composition and the choice of the guest musicians/singers. That makes this work pretty unique and definitely experimental… even a bit avant-garde. It’s the kind of work that needs a few listenings before you really can seize a part of it. The selection of the guests definitely is a real good reason to pay attention to this work.

– – – : I can’t say that there’s a real strong coherence between all tracks. It sounds a bit fragmented, like a sonic puzzle. There’s no real climax running through this work, which more appears to be a part of a wider artistic concept.

Conclusion: The main characteristic of what we commonly call ‘visionary’ and/or ‘avant-garde’ music is that it always takes time before people might realize the real strength and beauty of the work. I’m not that convinced for the moment, but the least I can say is that kETvECTOR has released a very personal work.

Best songs: “Forgotten Time”, “Nuova Epoca”.

Rate: (6½).

Band: www.facebook.com/ketvector

Label: www.rustblade.com / www.facebook.com/rustbladerecords

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

Ketvector, created by Justin Bennett (Skinny Puppy / Askew) and Stefano Rossello (Banter / Detune-X), is back with the follow-up to it’s 2008 debut “The Infinite Regress”. The new album “Fig. 23” is described as being a conceptual voyage through jazzy electro noir, trip-hop inspired psychedelia, and experimental noise sculptures.

Unlike the first release, this new offering features vocal and musical collaborations by other artists such as Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy, Edward Ka-Spel of The Legendary Pink Dots, Groovie Mann and Buzz McCoy of My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Ryan Wildstar and Doriandra Smith of EXP, and many more.

This very limited set is available right here on vinyl (with an attached CD holding 4 bonus tracks).

Below is a track from this album:

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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