Max Meyer has not picked up a stringed instrument on stage in about ten years. The singer of the German industrial metal band Devil-M will do it twice in one weekend: he joins Italian dark electronic act Kirlian Camera as guitarist at the Fuchsbau in Chemnitz on 25 and 26 September 2026. Both nights are sold out, and the band will play a different setlist on each. Danse Macabre Records, Devil-M’s label, announced the guest appearance on 31 August.

Meyer described the return to guitar as the part that stands out for him: “Nach so langer Zeit wieder mit einem Saiteninstrument auf der Bühne zu stehen, ist definitiv etwas Besonderes. Gleichzeitig ist es eine spannende Herausforderung, bei zwei Konzerten eine Band wie Kirlian Camera zu unterstützen.” In English: standing on stage with a stringed instrument again after so long is definitely something special, and supporting a band like Kirlian Camera across two concerts is an interesting challenge at the same time.

He is known first as a vocalist and frontman of Devil-M, but he has worked as a multi-instrumentalist for years and is credited with drums, synths and arrangement on Devil-M records. The arrangement covers the two Chemnitz nights only. The label states that further shows or projects together are not ruled out.

Kirlian Camera tour dates for 2026 and 2027

Kirlian Camera keep a single canonical calendar on their own site and warn against buying tickets for shows that do not appear on it. Seven dates are confirmed:

• 25 September 2026 – Chemnitz, Germany (Fuchsbau, day 1, doors 20:30, show 21:30, sold out)
• 26 September 2026 – Chemnitz, Germany (Fuchsbau, day 2, doors 20:30, show 21:30, sold out)
• 3 October 2026 – Parma, Italy (Santa Maria della Pace Church, Colonne28, “Gala in Nero – Lode”, on stage 20:30, total black dress code)
• 27 November 2026 – Nuremberg, Germany (Der Cult, headliner)
• 28 November 2026 – Karlsruhe, Germany (Die Stadtmitte, headliner)
• 28 February 2027 – Bruges, Belgium (De Donkerste Beurs, festival headliner)
• 16 May 2027 – Leipzig, Germany (Wave-Gotik-Treffen)

Thirteen further entries appear on the same calendar as deliberate placeholders, with no country given. The band reveal those to their mailing list before announcing them publicly. Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2027 runs from 14 to 17 May, so the Leipzig date falls on the Sunday of the festival.

About Kirlian Camera

Angelo Bergamini founded Kirlian Camera in Parma, Italy, in 1979, and the project became the first Italian act signed to Virgin Records. The line-up changed repeatedly through the 1980s and 1990s across a catalogue that moved between synth-pop, dark electronics, martial and neoclassical material. Elena Alice Fossi joined in 2000 as lead singer and composer, and the Bergamini and Fossi pairing has anchored the band ever since.

The group have released through Dependent Records for the last three albums: “Hologram Moon” in 2018, “Cold Pills (Scarlet Gate of Toxic Daybreak)” in 2021 and the double album “Radio Signals For The Dying” on 23 February 2024. That last record runs to sixteen tracks and features Julian Assange. Side-Line covered its announcement in Julian Assange featured on new Kirlian Camera LP ‘Radio Signals For The Dying’ out in 2024 and the singles that preceded it, including “Il Tempo Profondo” and “Götter, geht weg!”.

Kirlian Camera are not signed to Danse Macabre Records. The label carries the Chemnitz announcement because its own artist is the guest.

About Devil-M

Devil-M started in Germany in 2009 and mix industrial metal with gothic metal, with Max Meyer on vocals. Their fourth album, “Titanomachie”, came out on Danse Macabre Records in late 2025 on digital, CD and vinyl, and takes its subject from Greek myth; Side-Line covered it in Devil-M return with Greek myth album ‘Titanomachie’. Meyer has been credited across the band’s records for lyrics, arrangement, percussion and synths alongside his vocals, which is the background to the Chemnitz appearance: the guitar is not a new instrument for him, only one he has kept off stage for a decade.

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: Dark-Pop, Wave-Pop, Experimental.

Format: Digital, 2CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Angelo Bergamini set up Kirlian Camera more than forty years ago now. He remains the core member and has been assisted now for a while by singer Elena Alice Fossi. The line-up for this work has been completed by Mia W. Wallace, Alessandro Comerio, Thalìa Bellazecca and Terri Harrison. Notice by the way there also is a ‘deluxe’ edit available featuring a third disc. 

Content: There’s the elegant, sensual voice of Elena Alice Fossi and the music by Angelo Bergamini. The work sounds diversified, hard to catch but always connected to an Experimental/Dark-Pop style. There are songs to listen to and simply dream away and others to dance to; songs filled with elegance and refined with acoustic instruments and others leading us towards Experimental fields. There’s a song featuring sampling parts of Julian Assange, another one as a collaboration with Solitary Experiments and there’re cover versions of Depeche Mode and The Sound.

+ + + : I have often had the feeling of repeating myself when evoking Kirlian Camera but more than ever before I believe there’s no other formation like this Italian band. This is music without compromises which makes it authentic and timeless; Bergamini and his friends don’t follow trends and established genres but simply are a genre on their own. The album is diversified and never repeating itself. I prefer the danceable side of the work but more than anything else I think that without Elena Alice Fossi it would be another band and another album.

– – – : All stuff isn’t always easy to catch; sometimes complex and then Experimental and/or Cinematic.

Conclusion: Songs to cherish and dream away or simply to dance.

Best songs: “Götter, Geht Weg!”, “Stella Ominis”, “The Great Unknown”, “C.R.U.D.”

Rate: 7½.  

Artist: www.kirliancamera.com / www.facebook.com/kirliancamera.official

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records Read the news on ‘Radio Signals For The Dying’.

About Kirlian Camera

Kirlian Camera was founded in Parma, Italy, in 1979/1980 by Angelo Bergamini, a pioneering act of the Italian synth-pop scene. The band’s debut vinyl followed at Christmas 1981, and Kirlian Camera became the first Italian group signed to Virgin Records. Singer Elena Alice Fossi has been Bergamini’s core collaborator for years, with the current line-up completed by Mia W. Wallace, Alessandro Comerio, Thalìa Bellazecca and Terri Harrison.

“Radio Signals for the Dying,” reviewed here, was released on Dependent Records on 23 February 2024 as a double CD, with a limited-edition 48-page artbook version including a bonus CD and a gatefold 2LP on transparent red vinyl. The album includes Julian Assange speech excerpts, a cover of Depeche Mode’s “Wrong,” a cover of The Sound’s “Winter,” and the band’s version of “The Great Unknown,” previously released by Solitary Experiments with vocals by Fossi. It followed the 2023 vinyl reissue of the EP “Communicate.”

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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The Italian band Kirlian Camera releases the track “Götter, geht weg!” (translated from German as “Gods, go away!”) as the second single from the forthcoming new double album “Radio Signals for the Dying“. The release date of “Radio Signals for the Dying” has been slated to February 23, 2024.

Kirlian Camera comments: “Gods, go away, as you are not worth being here, if this is what you created, if this is what you do best”, vocalist Elena Alice Fossi declares. “The pitiful caricatures that have been pointed out to us as ‘gods’ are not even worthy of our hatred. Not least because we know much more evolved entities than that rubbish called – precisely – ‘gods’. In the fury of time-that-doesn’t-exist, our spiritual laziness creates god and the gods.”

The video for the track “Götter, geht weg!” can be see below.

“Radio Signals for the Dying” will be available as a limited 48-page artbook including the 2 regular CDs and a bonus CD, as a gatefold 2LP on limited transparent red vinyl, and as a digisleeve 2CD.

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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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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(Photo by Raven) Kirlian Camera have just released the first taste of their forthcoming album “Radio Signals for the Dying” with the single “Il Tempo Profondo (Radio Signal Version)” along with an accompanying video for “Il Tempo Profondo (Dark Psychedelia Vision)”.

Frontwoman Elena Alice Fossi explains: “One could say that ‘deep time’ is the temporal immensity in which humanity is immersed in its relationship with Earth and geological phenomena. Hence, our desire to bring this concept to music, focusing on liberation from the wheel-of-becoming, on which hatred, craving, and delusion are kept alive by the selfish desires of humanity.”

“Il Tempo Profondo” is the first single taken from the forthcoming new double album “Radio Signals for the Dying” which is available for preorder from Dependent Records on CD, limited vinyl and through all streaming and digital platforms with a street date of February 23rd, 2024.

Below is the video.

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 on 23 February 2024 on Dependent Records is the all new Kirlian Camera album “Radio Signals for the Dying”. Included on this album are also Julian Assange speech excerpts. Julian Assange is the Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. Assange has been confined in HM Prison Belmarsh in London since April 2019, as the United States government’s extradition effort is contested in the British courts.

“Radio Signals for the Dying” furthermore includes the band’s interpretation of Depeche Mode’s “Wrong” and the song “Winter” from The Sound. From a collaboration with Solitary Experiment comes Kirlian Camera’s take on “The Great Unknown”, which Solitary Experiment previously released in an own version with vocals contributed by Elena Alice Fossi.

The recording line-up consisted of Elena Alice Fossi and Angelo Bergamini augmented with bass player Mia W. Wallace and cello player Terri Harrison. The band’s current live line-up consists of Elena Alice Fossi, Angelo Bergamini, Mia W. Wallace, Alessandro Comerio and Thalìa Bellazecca.

The release will be a double CD of which you can check out the tracklist below. “Radio Signals for the Dying” will be available as a limited edition 48-page artbook including the 2 regular CDs and a bonus CD, as a gatefold 2LP on limited transparent red vinyl, and as a digisleeve 2CD.

CD1

1. Il Tempo Profondo
2. Stella Ominis
3. Winter (In memory of Adrian Borland)
4. Götter, geht weg!
5. Monarch Architecture
6. Wrong
7. Madre Nera
8. Luminous Shade
9. (incl. Julian Assange’s speech excerpts)

CD2 Read the review of ‘Radio Signals For The Dying’.

1. The Great Unknown
2. C. R. U. D (Corpse Recovery Unit D)
3. Deleted MSG
4. Genocide Litanies
5. Il Tempo Profondo (Radio Signal Version)
6. Esilio
7. We Have To Amputate
8. Homicide Aristocracy

Kirlian Camera on tour

• 09 DEC 2023 Nürnberg (DE) Cult
• 10 DEC 2023 Wien (AT) Replugged
• 12 DEC 2023 Frankfurt (DE) Nachtleben
• 14 DEC 2023 Hannover (DE) Lux
• 15 DEC 2023 Erfurt (DE) Hell
• 16 DEC 2023 Erfurt (DE) Hell
• 28 DEC 2023 Oberhausen (DE) KultTempel, Meet & Greet, Showcase
• 29 DEC 2023 Oberhausen (DE) KultTempel
• 03 FEB 2024 Roma (IT) Orion Rock Arena
• 24 FEB 2024 Berlin (DE) Columbia Theatre
• 20 JUL 2024 Schwarzenberg (DE) Black Mountain Festival
• 28 JUL 2024 Köln (DE) Amphi Festival

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 ZYX now is the Kirlian Camera mini LP “Communicate 40th Anniversary 2023 Remixes” (in orange). This special vinyl re-release of one of the earliest Kirlian Camera classics, was actually released already some months ago, but has not been talked about yet on Side-Line or on many other websites. It’s actually thanks to Sebastian Koch from Audioglobe that we picked this up now.

Originally released on Memory Records in 1983, “Communicate” was the first ever single by Kirlian Camera. At that time, Kirlian Camera had already 2 albums, and “Communicate” was the opening track of their second album “It doesn’t matter, now”. Angelo Bergamini’s project was a mixture of darkwave and Italo Disco in those days. The original 12″ was followed shortly after by a 12″ of another project, that involved Angelo Bergamini: Hipnosis with the now legendary “Pulsar” 12” (a track originally by Vangelis), which turned out to be a world-wide megahit.

Kirlian Camera revisits Italo Disco roots

This new edition features both original extended versions of the track, plus two brand new remixes by two main players of the so called Italo-Disco-scene: Flemming Dalum (a Danish artist, DJ, musician and producer) and Vanzetti & Sacco DJ (a Dutch Duo).

Below is an outtake from the release.

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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It took four years to Solitary Experiments  to release a new studio album. The German formation lead by core members Dennis Schober (vocals) and Michael Thielemann (music) strike back with their most surprising album to date. “Transcendent” released by Out Of Line is featuring songs with famous guest singers like Dirk Ivens, Alice Elena Fossi, Patrik Hansson ao. It’s once again a totally achieved production mixing elements of Future-Pop and Dark-Electro. I asked a few questions to Dennis.

(Picture credits by Chris Ruiz / Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Since your previous studio album “Future Tense” (2018) the world has been affected by Covid-19 which had a serious impact on most artistic activities. How did you experience this drama as citizen and artist?

Dennis: A very specific question. As a citizen, of course, I experienced everything just like everyone else. The only difference is that my day job in retail was not affected, i.e. I worked through the entire pandemic. Logically, I’m vaccinated and yes, I’ve also contracted Covid. As an artist, it was worse because so many events and concerts were canceled and that was really bad. You only realize how important it is when something is missing.

Q: Your new album “Transcendent” must have been written during the pandemic. I noticed you see this album as different from your previous works so how comes and what makes the difference -except the fact you worked with a few guest singers?

Dennis: Sounds strange, but exactly this collaboration was different from all the work before, because it was new for all of us. Of course, “Transcendent” doesn’t sound like “Future Tense” either, but that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the pandemic period. We only had a lot more time to make music because all other dates were cancelled. It’s actually the first time that we’ve gotten so much material together.

Q: How did you get the idea working with guest singers? Did you handle specific criteria to work with them and how did these songs took shape?

Dennis: Since we created so much new and different material, I came up with the idea of simply giving someone else to sing the things that I don’t like vocally. Of course, I deliberately chose my partners based on which voice would go with which song. And of course I reached very high when choosing the artists. It wasn’t easy to get everyone enthusiastic about the project at first, and it took some time to get everyone’s approval and results. In the end, however, there was no rejection and I am very proud of what we have created together.

Q: The song “The Great Unknown” featuring Elena Alice Fossi sounds to me as one of your most surprising songs ever and yet I think it also is one of the best tracks from the album; kind of mix between Delerium and Push. Tell us a bit more about this song, its influences and the way it has been produced?

Dennis: I can’t say much about the production, because I always get the finished songs from Michael without a say, so to speak. But I like it when the songs are not always produced in the Future-Pop sector. He sometimes gives me a real surprise, like with “The Great Unknown”. I love it when the song is dark and has a light Trance note. I had a vocal line in mind from the start and I knew straight away that this number had to be sung by and with Elena Fossi. I wrote the lyrics and presented both to the band Kirlian Camera, which I’ve adored for years. The rest took care of itself…

Q: Next to “Transcendent” you also released a digital album called “La Voix De La Femme” featuring only female artists singing on ‘older’ songs. How did you get the idea of this album and how did the ‘selection’ of the singers happened? Don’t you think there’re not enough female artists active in this scene dominated by men? How comes?

Dennis: One thing led to another and the idea of guest vocals grew in me more and more. Instead of remixing, I imagined what it might sound like if someone else sang our songs. To top it off, I came up with the idea of only asking for female voices to achieve an even greater contrast. This has nothing to do with the current situation within the scene. I even think there are many female voices, you just have to deal with that. I knew some of the ladies personally, others had already sung something for friends of mine and some I discovered through research or we had already played somewhere together. Anyway, everyone made an impression on me. I provided a number of possible songs to choose from and each chose the appropriate one. Later on I came up with the title that fits perfectly with the said bonus EP. Did I already mention that the whole project is also international?

Q: You were touring in November together with Vanguard and Mental Exile. How do you look back at the tour and how did you see Solitary Experiments as live act evolving throughout the years? 

Dennis: Of course, that’s something you’d rather have to ask the viewers. First of all I would like to say that we are extremely satisfied with the shows so far. On the one hand, the audience is visibly grateful that concerts can finally take place as club shows again and the people are really in the mood. On the other hand, I would like to say a big thank you to our special guests. It fits together so well musically and personally that we will continue this year in exactly the same constellation. We grow with our tasks and a two-man band has now become a five-piece live formation with additional drums and a lot of light and show effects. Convince yourself of 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

Out on January 27th is a brand new vinyl reissue from Kirlian Camera in black and clear vinyl versions.

“The Desert Inside / Drifting” is being reissued on clear and black double vinyl in a limited edition of 400 copies each with all new artwork. Included are the EPs “The Desert Inside” (Triton, 1997) and “Drifting” (Solar Plexus, 1998).

Both EPs were following the album “Pictures from Eternity” (Discordia, 1996). “Drifting” is actually being made available for the first time ever on vinyl. A very limited picture vinyl edition of “The Desert Inside” was only available on the band’s own label Uranium Studio in 1997.

Both EPs still feature the vocals of previous Kirlian Camera singers Barbara Boffelli and Emilia Lo Jacono.

About Kirlian Camera

Kirlian Camera is an Italian band formed in 1979 in Bologna, Italy. The band was founded by Angelo Bergamini and Francesca Nicoli, and is named after a type of photography that captures the “aura” surrounding living things. The band’s early music was a blend of electronic, experimental, and post-punk influences, and was characterized by eerie, atmospheric soundscapes and evocative lyrics.

In 1980, Kirlian Camera released their debut album, “Kirlian Camera”, which featured the hit single “Eclipse”. The album was well-received by critics and fans alike, and established the band as one of the leading figures in the Italian electronic music scene. The band’s second album, “Uno”, was released in 1981 and featured the hit single “Chaostar”.

Throughout the 1980s, Kirlian Camera continued to release critically-acclaimed albums and tour extensively, earning a dedicated fanbase in Europe and beyond. In 1985, the band released “Corona Obscura”, which featured the hit single “Blue Room”. The album cemented the band’s reputation as one of the pioneering groups in the emerging dark wave and gothic rock genres.

In the 1990s, Kirlian Camera began to incorporate more industrial and electronic influences into their music, and released several albums that showcased their evolving sound. In 1995, the band released “Norderney”, which featured guest appearances from artists such as Jürgen Engler of Die Krupps and Jörg Schaaf of L’âme Immortelle. The album was well-received by fans and critics, and marked a new direction for the band.

Kirlian Camera continues to perform and record music to this day, and remains one of the leading names in the Italian electronic music scene.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Future-Pop, Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, DCD & 3CD.

Background/Info: “Transcendent” is the eighth studio album by Berliner group Solitary Experiments. The album features an extra disc with remixes and guest singers while there’s also an extra disc available -which is an audio book.

Content: The main disc features 10 songs in the purest and unique tradition of the band. The Electro sound remains always catchy and danceable but still featuring ‘evil’ or call it darker parts. So there’s a song featuring Dirk Ivens (Dive, The Klinik,  Absolute Body Control). But there’s also a totally evasive song featuring Elena Alice fossi (Kirlian Camera, Spectra*Paris) reminding me of an imaginary mix between Delerium and Push.

The bonus disc features a few more guest singers. Among others you’ll discover songs with Patrik Hansson (Vanguard, Uncreated), Gabriella Aström (Me The Tiger) and Nina De Lianin (In Strict Confidence) while remixes have been accomplished by Supreme Court, Rob Dust, Grendel, MC1R, Run Level Zero, Controlled Fusion and Massiv In Mensch.

+ + + : Solitary Experiments remains an established name in Germany and according to me is still recognized enough abroad. The band however remains a great project when it comes to combining danceable vibes, melodies, darkness and Pop singing. The addition of Dirk Ivens and Elena Alice Fossi as guest singers accentuates the diversity of the album. I’ve been impressed by the somewhat Dance/Trance “The Great Unknown” featuring Elena Alice Fossi. Another great piece is “Self-Fulfilling Prophecy” which clearly sounds as a potential hit. Other noticeable cuts are “Wonderland” and “Heart Of Stone” but also the menacing sphere running through “Zeitgeist” featuring Dirk Ivens. The bonus disc brings a nice extra with more guest singers and a great selection of  remixers.

– – – : You can’t really blame Solitary Experiments for holding onto their sound which hasn’t changed throughout the years however the initial magic is a bit gone.

Conclusion: Solitary Experiments stands as an established value; you’ll be never disappointed as they’ve an imaginary qualitative label!

Best songs: “The Great Unknown”, “Self-Fulfilling Prophecy”, “Wonderland”, “Heart Of Stone”, “Zeitgeist”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.solitaryexperiments.de / www.facebook.com/solitaryexperiments 

Label: www.outofline.de  / www.facebook.com/outoflinelabel Read the news on ‘Transcendent’.

About Solitary Experiments

Solitary Experiments formed in 1994 in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, and later settled in Berlin-Friedrichshain. Founders Michael Thielemann and Dennis Schober initially recorded under the name Plague before adopting the Solitary Experiments name. Vocalist Dana Apitz featured on the band’s first two demo tapes, “Risque De Choc Electrique” (1996) and “Death in Small Doses” (1998), before Steve Graeber joined on keyboards; Frank Glassl serves as live e-drummer.

The band signed to Maschinenwelt Records in 1999 and released its debut album, “Final Approach”, the same year. It was followed by “Paradox” (2000), “Advance Into Unknown” (2003), and “Mind Over Matter” (2005).

Solitary Experiments released its eighth studio album, “Transcendent”, via Out Of Line in 2022, featuring guest vocalists Dirk Ivens and Elena Alice Fossi alongside additional singers and remixers.

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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On May 26th, 2022 Andrew Fletcher, founding member of Depeche Mode, died, aged 60. Out via Timezone on November 25th is the Depeche Mode tribute compilation “6122 (To Andrew Fletcher of Depeche Mode)”. The compilation’s title contains the year Andrew Fletcher was born and the year he died.

The aim was to bring together different artists from different decades, old musical companions of “Fletch” as well as known artists across different genres and promising new bands who were influenced by Depeche Mode’s sound.

The 2CD set features artists from all kind of musical genres and 50% of all profits will be donated to a charity organisation for children in UK, and the Children’s Cancer Trust in Germany, who officially partners to the project. Behind this project we find Daniel Gierke of the act The Brute.

Here’s an idea what to get.

Here’s is the complete tracklist:

CD1

1. A Question of Time – The Brute :
2. Never Let Me Down Again – Watershed
3. In Your Room – Nightnight
4. Ice Machine – Renard feat. Mary Ann
5. Broken – Redeem
6. Stripped – Starlights Live
7. Little 15 – Atlantic Popes
8. The Sun And The Rainfall – Apsürde feat. Manoya
9. My Secret Garden – Cold Connection
10. It’s No Good – Oxic Inc. feat. De La Morte
11. Dream On – Roy Jones & Red Beat
12. Should Be Higher – The Rude Awakening
13. Somebody – Toal, The Brute, People Theatre
14. In Sympathy – Bon Harris
15. Heaven – Zentrum Ost 71

CD2

1. Enjoy The Silence – LeBen
2. Personal Jesus – Polly Scattergood
3. Wrong – Kirlian Camera
4. Policy of Truth – Rohn-Lederman
5. To Have and to Hold – Page Of Quire
6. Angel – Tom Meeloo
7. Somebody – Peter Rainman
8. The Sun And The Rainfall – Northern Kind
9. Photographic – Shelter
10. A Barrel of a Gun (El Presidente Peron Yeah John) – Carlos Peron
11. I Feel You – Tin Gun
12. I Feel Loved – Daniel Hall feat. Stephen Newton
13. Oberkorn (It’s a Small Town) – Electrogenetic by Gareth Jones
14. Clean – Neocoma
15. Breathe – The Brute feat. Rachel Delgado

For more on Depeche Mode, see Sonic Seducer goes Depeche Mode in two dedicated issues of the magazine on Side-Line.

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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Coming up is the third single of the upcoming album “Transcendent” by the future pop act Solitary Experiments. “The Great Unknown” features Elena Alice Fossi, the Italian singer of Kirlian Camera / Spectra*Paris.

Regarding the upcoming album “Transcendent”, for the first time in the almost 30-year band history, frontman Dennis Schober welcomes guest singers for a Solitary Experiments album.

On the band’s 8th album Dennis Schober invited Kirlian Camera singer Elena Alice Fossil and Dirk Ivens. On the bonus disc we find four new songs with four guests (In Strict Confidence’s Nina De Lianin, Vanguard’s Patrik Hansson, Me the Tiger’s Gabriella Åström and Beyond Obsession’s Nils Upahl). It also holds 5 additional remixes of album tracks plus 3 more remixes of earlier tracks.

Also to be released is deluxe set holding and exclusive bonus CD with further collaborations. We checked the tracklist and found the following guys singers: Helix, Julia Beyer, Adam is a Girl, Schmoun, Omnimar, Foretaste and Distorted Reality.

The new album will be out on October 28th.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Out on October 28th is the all new Solitary Experiments album “Transcendent”, their 8th so far. The first print of the album comes as 2CD digibook edition. On the album frontman Dennis Schober invited two guest singers, Kirlian Camera singer Elena Alice Fossil and Dirk Ivens.

On the bonus disc we find four new songs with four guests (In Strict Confidence’s Nina De Lianin, Vanguard’s Patrik Hansson, Me the Tiger’s Gabriella Åström and Beyond Obsession’s Nils Upahl). It also holds 5 additional remixes of album tracks plus 3 more remixes of earlier tracks.

Also to be released is deluxe set holding and exclusive bonus CD with further collaborations. We checked the tracklist and found the following guys singers: Helix, Julia Beyer, Adam is a Girl, Schmoun, Omnimar, Foretaste and Distorted Reality.

Check out the video for the album track “Wonderland”. Read the review of ‘Transcendent’.

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

Italian singer Elena Alice Fossi has released a new single, “Poison Fresh”, which is taken from the forthcoming new full-length of her dark electro project SPECTRA*Paris. The fifth album of that band is entitled “Modernism” and will be released on August 26.

The “Poison Fresh” video can be viewed right below.

Elena Alice Fossi says this about the single: “It is a journey to unknown shores, where you learn how to free yourself from reptilian and poisonous empires. Getting on that spaceship has a price and takes you away from the known side of the world. But the dream is well worth living. ‘Plant your stigma on all dogma’!”

The new album “Modernism ” will have the following guest musicians on board: Angelo Bergamini (Kirlian Camera), John Fryer (This Mortal Coil), Fakeba, Project Pitchfork, Seasurfer, Alison Bergamini (Fleurida Videogame Music), Michael Ciravolo (Beauty In Chaos) And John Rox & Oxydion.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop, Wave-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Kirlian Camera singer Elena Alice Fossi strikes back with the fifth album of her SPECTRA*paris sonic alter ego. Her partner in crime Angelo Bergamini contributed to the work while other famous names like Project Pitchfork, John Fryer and Seasurfer ao contributed as well.

Content: The sound universe of SPECTRA*paris is clearly driven by Electro-Pop elements but also feature other sources of inspiration. Retro passages have been alternated with heavier, dramatic, parts while there’s also space for evasive, Cinematic, tracks and last, but not least a great club-driven cut with sensual, Eastern, atmospheres on top.

+ + + : The main strength of the album is its diversity. But I also salute the way this artist -and her guests, achieved a reinterpretation of Electro-Pop music. On top of it all you get Elena’s magic, sensual, fragile timbre of voice. “MoRoDERN” clearly sounds as a potential hit; it sounds clubby and driven by a hot, Eastern sound atmosphere. Another noticeable cut is the “Doctor Phibes Mix” of “Poison Fresh” which sounds much more club-driven than the original, drama-sounding, edit.

– – – : I was less convinced by the softer, Cinematic passages of the album.

Conclusion: SPECTRA*paris remains a very unique formation and definitely more than simply a side-project. It sounds like the ‘sonic boudoir’ of Elena Alice Fossi.

Best songs: “MoRoDERN”, “Poison Fresh – Doctor Phibes Mix”, “Graphic Music 1.0”, “Moondrops”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/spectraparis.official

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records Read the news on ‘Modernism’.

About SPECTRA*paris

Spectra*Paris is the electronic rock project led by Italian singer, composer and producer Elena Alice Fossi, who also fronts Kirlian Camera. Discogs describes the project as having grown out of Fossi’s earlier Siderartica work. Kirlian Camera’s Angelo Bergamini contributed to “Modernism”.

The first album, “Dead Models Society (Young Ladies Homicide Club)”, came out on Trisol in 2007. “Christmas Ghouls” and “License To Kill” followed on Out Of Line in 2010, and “Retromachine Betty” appeared on Dependent Records in 2017. “Modernism” is the fifth album and the project’s second for that label.

The album was preceded by a second single, “Poison Fresh”. Fossi has also recorded outside the project with Beauty In Chaos and with Solitary Experiments.

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

Out now is “Behind The Veil” by Beauty In Chaos, the brainchild of and curated by guitarist Michael Ciravolo, which features an all-female cast of vocalists. Earlier the band previewed two singles featuring Whitney Tai and Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera, SPECTRA*paris).

The 13 tracks also involve vocalists Cinthya Hussey, Tish Ciravolo, Pinky Turzo and Caterwall’s Betsy Martin, the last one is also presented in Beauty In Chaos’s newest video “Grasp the stars” which you can see below. The video is a “homage to the ’87-’88 Scream scene in Los Angeles” so Ciravolo says.

The 6 original tracks are also re-envisioned by the following producers: Tim Palmer and John Fryer, as well as MGT, Julian Shah-Tayler, Statik, Tommy Hatz and Michael Rozon.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop, Cinematographic, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Jean-Marc Lederman has achieved a new work featuring guest singers. In the past few months he released similar albums like “13 Ghost Stories” and “Letters To Gods And Fallen Angels”, and also “Venus Chariot” as a collaboration between him and Emileigh Rohn. “The Raven” is driven by a new concept where Lederman asked his guests to work on old texts from poets like (Byron, Poe, Plato, Shelley, de Froidmont ao.

Content: The guest singers for this album areMari Kattman (Helix, Mari & The Ghost), Christopher Hall (Stabbing Westward), Mark Hockings (Mesh), Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera, Spectra*Paris), Azam Ali (Niyaz), Dr. Strangefryer (aka John Fryer), Jim Semonik (Red Locust), Lis Van Den Akker (Misery, Psy’Aviah), Ken Mageman, Jean-Luc De Meyer (Front 242, 32Crash), Stefan Netschio (Beborn Beton), Emileigh Rohn (Chiasm), Christina Z.

Sound-wise the work is pretty eclectic, moving in between a free interpretation of Electro-Pop compositions and more pronounced Cinematographic music. The songs feature numerous, typical Cinema music arrangements, which are sometimes bombastic, but also pretty evasive. I also noticed very Minimal-Electro driven pieces. The songs have been sung/performed in English, French and Italian.

+ + + :Each time,  Jean-Marc Lederman Experience again sounds like a new and fascinating journey. First there is always an interesting concept and I like this one for mixing old poems together with music, which as an imaginary Soundtrack has been performed by the artist. There’s once again a true symbiosis between music and vocals, seeing Jean-Marc transforming himself into a sonic chameleon. Music and performer are totally complementary, now resulting in a sensual composition like the one with Mari Kattman, then into a kind of Lounge approach with Mark Hockings, becoming totally minimal with Dr. Strangefryer, getting us into a dreamy part with Lis Van Den Akker. But the most surprising- and poignant track is the one with Jean-Luc De Meyer inspired on a poem of Hélinand de Froidmont. It’s an old and tenebrous poem, which has been masterly interpreted by the Front 242 lead singer and adapted into a horror-like music composition. There are several noticeable cuts on this album, which is more an album to listen to instead of dancing.

– – – : The album once more creates the illusion listening to a compilation instead of an album composed by one artist. That’s part of this concept and I’m sure Jean-Marc Lederman still has enough ideas and creativity to move on with it.

Conclusion: Jean-Marc Lederman Experience and his guest singers stand for a true sonic intercourse. This is a new brilliant piece of music and the perfect successor to “Letters To Gods And Fallen Angels”.

Best songs: “The Worms Of Death”, “Invocation”, Frankenstein”, “Smouldering Corpse In The Morning Sun”, “The Cold Heart Slept Below”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.jmlederman.com / www.facebook.com/Music-composer-Jean-Marc-Lederman-1585277635023000 / www.facebook.com/jeanmarc.lederman

Label: www.facebook.com/copint

About Jean-Marc Lederman Experience

Jean-Marc Lederman is a Brussels-based Belgian keyboard player, composer and producer. Active since the late 1970s, he worked with Fad Gadget, The The, Gene Loves Jezebel and Front 242, and co-founded projects including The Weathermen, Kid Montana, Jules et Jim with Julianne Regan, Ghost & Writer with Frank Spinath, Lederman / De Meyer with Jean-Luc De Meyer, and the Jean-Marc Lederman Experience. He also composes for film and videogames.

The Jean-Marc Lederman Experience is built around invited vocalists. “13 Ghost Stories” appeared in 2019 on Dependent and “Letters To Gods (And Fallen Angels)” in 2020 on Wool-E Discs, both with a large cast of guest singers. “Venus Chariot”, his 2021 duo album with Emileigh Rohn of Chiasm, came out on COP International, the same label releasing “The Raven”.

Lederman’s later solo work includes “The Bad-Tempered Synthesizer” in 2021, “Night Music for Seahorses and Manatees” in 2022, “Soul Music For Zombies” in 2023, “Sci-Fi Revisited” in 2024 and “Electronic Slipper Music” in 2025. The Rohn-Lederman duo continued with “RAGE!” in 2022, “Black And Bleu” in 2024 and “Forbidden Planet” in 2025. “The Raven” sits in that sequence as the third Jean-Marc Lederman Experience album built on guest performances.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

(Photo by Vincente Cordero and Francesco Licata) Out now is “The Kiss of the World” by the Los Angeles-based alt post-punk collective Beauty In Chaos featuring Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera, Spectra*Paris).

This is the second single from the forthcoming Beauty In Chaos album “Behind the Veil” and follows the single “Orion” featuring Whitney Tai which was released in Autumn. “Behind the Veil” is featuring all female vocalists and is scheduled for release on February 22 Los Angeles’ 33.3 Music Collective.

Here’s the video for “The Kiss of the World”. The video was shot by Vicente Cordero’s Industrialism Films.

Both Michael Ciravolo and Elena Alice Fossi gave feedback on their collaboration and the video.

As for the collaboration with Elena Alice Fossi, Ciravolo explains: “What drew me to Elena, besides her incredible voice, was that her lyrics are deep, intelligent and interpretive. It was her stage persona and a couple of interviews I had seen of her that sparked the ‘1984-big brother / V is for Vendetta’ concept. Vicente’s team did a great job of pulling these elements together … marrying Elena’s footage (filmed in Italy by famed photographer Francesco Licata) with our sets.”

Elena Alice Fossi from here side has this to say about the video: “This story’s plot is enclosed in the domination and deception that, perpetrated over time, have generated a zombified society, where the living dead obey an authority which in turn is the servant of stronger occult powers. And it’s these powers that pull the strings of a comedy in which consumerism, betrayal and manipulation are the masters.”

About Beauty in Chaos

Beauty in Chaos is the brainchild of guitarist Michael Ciravolo. The LA-based New Orleans native is also President of Schecter Guitar Research and until launching BIC, Ciravolo was guitarist in Human Drama for 30 years and had also played live and recorded with Michael Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel since 1998.

In 2020, Beauty In Chaos released “The Storm Before The Calm” and the remix-based “Out Of Chaos Comes…” albums.

Recorded at Ciravolo’s SAINTinLA Studio, this new LP was produced by Michael Rozon, known for his work with Ministry.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Pop, Electro-Pop.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Last year Hungarian duo Emese Arvai-Illes (vocals) – Krisztian Arvai (music) released their fifth full length album, which also was the first one released on Dependent Records. “Maelstrom” definitely was one of the absolute highlights from the album and now was released as the EP title track. The song is available in 3 different edits while there also is an extra track featured.

Content: The “Single Edit” of “Maelstrom” is easily recognizable by its Dark-Electro-Pop style featuring the cold and charismatic singing by Emese. It’s a dreamy, heavenly and somewhat elevating track. We next get the “Fixation Mix”, which sounds more into minimalism and a little Experimental-driven. This version might appeal for Kirlian Camera lovers. Next comes a remix by Man+Machine, which is more clubby-driven by its pumping kick.

The song “You Lessen I Die” is a kind of B-side track and sounds as an Industrial ballad.

+ + + : “Maelstrom” deserved to get released as the title song for an EP; it’s a perfect track revealing what Black Nail Cabaret stands for; a very unique Electro-Pop formation, which is hardly comparable to any other band. I’m a long time addicted to the sterile although wafting and danceable Dark-Pop of the Hungarians. “Maelstrom” is a graceful song, which inspired Man+Machine to accomplish a cool, dancefloor driven remix.

– – – : “You Lessen I Die” confirms this band’s original sound approach, but it’s not exactly the song that will catch your attention and reveal any kind of passion for the band.

Conclusion: “Maelstrom” is a cool EP for its different edits and approaches; great Dark-Pop music.

Best songs: “Maelstrom – Single Edit”, “Maelstrom – Man+Machine Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.blacknailcabaret.com / www.facebook.com/bncband

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records Read the news on ‘Maelstrom’.

About Black Nail Cabaret

Black Nail Cabaret is the Hungarian duo of singer Emese Árvai-Illés and musician Krisztián Árvai, based in Tatabánya. The project released “Harry Me Marry Me Bury Me Bite Me” in 2015 through Negative Gain Productions, followed by the “We Like To Suffer” EP (2017, Basic Unit Productions) and the album “Dichromat” (2018, Basic Unit Productions). Side-Line covered the 2019 album “Pseudopop” on Dichronaut Records and spoke to the duo for a Click Interview the same year. The duo’s fifth album, “Gods Verging On Sanity”, followed in 2020 as their first release for Dependent Records. “Maelstrom”, the title track from that album, was reissued in 2021 as a stand-alone EP with three additional edits and the extra track “You Lessen I Die”.

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: Dark-Wave, Electro, Experimental-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Active under the Kirlian Camera moniker since 1980, the Italian formation driven by the creative spirit of Angelo Bergamini and the bewitching vocals of Elena Alice Fossi no longer has anything to prove. They now release albums on an irregular basis, but each new production reveals little surprises. This album has been released as a double album, but there also is a box for the fans featuring an extra disc with songs. Notice by the way the album is also available through Metropolis in the US.

Content: The first disc features 8 songs, which are mainly driven by dark electronic moods mixing a kind of ballad style together with Experimental/Wave-Pop. The angelic and sensual vocals are now driven by a psychedelic lead, but then by a more menacing, dark sphere with male backings. In the background. I also noticed the pretty Kraftwerk-ian debut of “Not True”.

The second disc reveals 8 more songs and similar influences, but sounds more into a kind of dreamy and beautiful Electro-Pop interpretation. I also noticed more Cinematographic passages. The song “Apophenia” features Blank and that’s interesting as Blank also released this song last year on its own album “Drifting Slowly”.

+ + + : Kirlian Camera is a band I’ve always linked to a kind of ‘freestyle’; disconnected from established genres and trends. A pure creative process resulting in a sound, which is hard to label, but definitely related with Dark-Wave and Electro-Pop. The first disc sounds softer and also more space-like accentuated with some Psychedelic touches. You however can feel a dark sphere hanging over the songs, which is more accentuated on the second disc. And I personally prefer this second album. Especially the second part of the disc is absolutely magic. The songs are refined and blessed by a dark, artistic touch creating an ultimate match between music and vocals. The song “Apophenia” featuring Blank is a little sonic jewel, but I also have to mention “LSDay” and “Dusk Religion”.

– – – : The first disc is an easy listening experience, but not exactly the kind of music getting me wild. It has a relaxing effect, but with a soporific touch on top while the second disc has a similar relaxing, but elevating effect.

Conclusion: Kirlian Camera remains a unique experience in sound, a kind of sonic poetry with dark notes and sexy vocals.

Best songs: “Apophenia”, “LSDay”, “Dusk Religion”, “Dreamlex”, “Not True”, “I Became Alice”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.kirliancamera.com / www.facebook.com/kirliancamera.official

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records

About Kirlian Camera

Kirlian Camera was formed in Italy in 1980 by Angelo Bergamini, with Elena Alice Fossi joining as vocalist in the 2000s. Side-Line covered the band’s “Sky Collapse” EP in 2017 and the album “Hologram Moon” in 2018, followed in 2019 by the “Base Box” boxset. “Cold Pills (Scarlet Gate of Toxic Daybreak)”, released on Dependent Records on May 14, 2021, arrived as the band celebrated 40 years of activity, issued as a double album with a separate box edition adding a third disc of extra material and distributed in the US through Metropolis.

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

Seasurfer is a band driven by Hamburger (Germany) based musician Dirk Ritter. He worked together with different female singers and musicians. Two noticeable albums were released on Saint-Marie Records. This label has a nose for talented artists dealing with  Shoegaze and Dream-Pop, both genres being SEASURFER’s main sources of inspiration. By the end of 2020 Seasurfer stroke back with the third album entitled “Zombies” released on Reptile Music. It’s a great piece of music released as double album. The bonus disc features guest vocals by Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera, Spectra Paris). The new work got produced by Robin Guthrie (The Cocteau Twins). No doubt about it, “Zombies” is one of the best productions in the Shoegeaze/Dream-Pop genre so I got in touch with Dirk.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: What kind of band did you want to set up with Seasurfer and how do you look back on the evolution of the band, the different albums and line-up changes?

Dirk: For many years I really worked as a band with my Dream-Pop band Dark Orange, each band member had something to say. With Seasurfer I wanted to build my own sound without compromises so it’s not easy for fellow musicians. After a while you notice whether it fits and is accepted or not. In arts, communities are often fragile. Most of the changes happened because for some reason it just didn’t fit anymore. It makes a difference whether you play in a democratic Punk band at the age of 18 or later when having your sound in your head and absolutely want to implement it.

Q: You worked with different singers, first Dorian E, then Julia Beyer and later on Apolonia. A singer often is the ‘image’ and ‘frontman (-woman)’ of the band. What has been the impact of each singer on the music and your work as musician? What makes the chemistry between musicians and singers?

Dirk:  A singer has to inspire me; there has to be a spirit and an atmosphere of its own. All three singers did that and I’m still grateful for it. After the intensive work on an album, you often fall into a hole and wonder what can come after that, how it will go on. If then you aren’t convinced, then you should better leave it.

With Apolonia everything is easier now, she lives around the corner and we meet up with our art community regularly to talk and to drink. She’s more than a singer to me, she’s also a very good friend.

Q: I noticed you consider Robin Guthrie as one of your mentors. What makes the magic of this artist and what exactly makes him a mentor?

Dirk: I grew up with bands like The Cocteau Twins and for me Robin Guthrie created one of the most beautiful guitar sounds ever. I also find his instrumental songs very inspiring. When he remixed and mastered something for me and I was allowed speaking to him, those were nice moments. A very friendly person… only his Scottish accent was sometimes hard for me 😉

Q: You last year released the album “Zombies”. How did the writing and production of the album happened and what do you try to reflect with the album title?

Dirk: I played all the instruments by myself and mixed everything alone. That was a challenge because you don’t get that much feedback and sometimes you don’t know whether something is good or crap. And I wanted to develop myself further, using more electronics. When the rather gloomy mood of the first Corona wave came during the final mixing, the sounds of the album developed by itself. “Zombies” represents how we all felt during this time.

Q: The bonus disc of “Zombies” is featuring Elena Alice Fossi as guest singer. How did this collaboration happened –especially in times of Covid-19?

Dirk: A very good friend, the photographer Christian Klepp, is a huge Kirlian Camera fan. He kept saying, ‘hey, do something with her, it will be cool’. The contact was made via Stefan Herwig from the record company Dependent and then it started. Elena Alice is a lovely woman and she was delightfully easy to work with. The songs were done before Corona and are therefore not as dark as the ones from the “Zombies”-album. The bonus-album is called “The Dreampop Day” by the way.

Q: You’re based in Hamburg, which always had a very important alternative scene although Seasurfer sounds more like a British Shoegaze and Dream-Pop band. What do you like in the ‘British’ sound and do you feel any kind of influence from the scene where you live? What brings the future?

Dirk: I was never at home in the German or Hamburg music scene. In Hamburg, many looked to England in the 80s. Guitar music from England was just cooler than German stuff. The Cure, The Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine…all right? If you grow up with it, then it shapes and you develop your own sound with these genes. Unfortunately all concerts have been canceled and it won’t start again until next year. I’m doing a real Dream-Punk EP with Apolonia this year, no song allowed to be slower than 180 bpm. And with the wonderful Gloria de Oliveira, she is also on our label, I work out Electronic songs at the moment that tend to go into the witch-house corner.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

(Photo by Gunnar Sauermann – SPKR) The Italian act Kirlian Camera have released the title track of their forthcoming double album “Cold Pills (Scarlet Gate of Toxic Daybreak)”, which is scheduled for release on May 14, 2021.

The current incarnation of the band with its dark rock undertones means a return to his roots for the band’s founder, multi-instrumentalist Angelo Bergamini, who took his first musical steps closely linked to Hawkwind during their “Lemmy Kilmister period” and has worked with Yes-guitarist Trevor Rubin back in the days.

And that’s not all. The Italian’s new bass player Mia Wallace comes with strong ties to the realm of metal through her involvement with Abbath and Nervosa among others and guitarist Alessandro Comerio also plays drums in Tom Gabriel Fischer’s Triump Of Death and is the bassplayer for Forgotten Tomb.

The recording line-up consisted of Elena Alice Fossi, Angelo Bergamini, Mia W. Wallace, Alessandro Comerio and Andrea Fossi. Guest musicians included Davide Mazza and Alison Bergamini.

Check “Cold Pills” 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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Genre/Influences: Shoegaze, Dream-Pop.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: After having released two noticeable studio-albums on Saint-Marie Records the German duo Seasurfer (Dirk Knight and singer Apolonia) signed to Reptile Music to unleash their third album at the end of 2020. “Zombies” features an extra disc, which is a kind of mini-album of eight songs featuring Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera, Spectra Paris).

Content: The main disc features 16 songs and reveals a rather classical mix between Shoegaze and Dream-Pop. The tracks have been accomplished with Electronic arrangements often injecting an extra melodic touch. Some tracks have something dual for the mix of melodies and raw sound treatments. Most of the songs have been sung by Apolonia, but you’ll also hear Dirk Knight singing.

The second disc features Elena Alice Fossi and brings 6 extra songs plus two noticeable remixes by John Fryer (the legendary producer of bands like Depeche Mode, Cocteau Twins, NIN ao). The sound isn’t that different compared to the main disc, but is maybe more accentuated around the Dream-Pop style.

+ + + : “Zombies” is a brilliant, creative exposure of modern Shoegaze and Dream-Pop music. It also is the magnum opus from this band. The album took me by surprise for its extended tracklist of 16 (!) songs (some cuts have been previously released as single), but also for the constant, high qualitative level of the production. I can’t say there’s one single track to throw away while there are several potential hits featured. The production sounds pretty 80s like, but with this extra, contemporary production on top. This album is dark and sensual, revealing a great fusion between guitar play and Electronic arrangements. There also is a fascinating sphere recovering the album, but which will maybe remind you of the famous “Twin Peaks”-tune at “Love Me… Dead!”. I however prefer the songs like “Tears & Happiness”, “Zombies”, “Venusberg”, “Time After Time”, Heaven”, “Dead In The Garden”.

The bonus disc is more than a little extra. Getting Elena Alice Fossi on board while getting two remixes by John Fryer makes this mini-album interesting. Dream-Pop cuts like “Fairies In Twilight” and “Blue Days” both are pretty cool songs.

– – – : Elena Alice Fossi is a great and sensual singer, but I prefer the original singer of the band: Apolonia. Her timbre of voice and especially the way of singing is more appropriated to this kind of production. I also expected a bit more from the John Fryer remixes.

Conclusion: If you like Shoegaze and Dream-Pop and you think there’s much more to find beyond Jesus And Mary Chain and The Cocteau Twins, “Zombies” is definitely an album to purchase!

Best songs: “Tears & Happiness”, “Zombies”, “Venusberg”, “Time After Time”, Heaven”, “Dead In The Garden” + “Fairies In Twilight”, “Blue Days”.

Rate: (9).

Artist: www.seasurfermusic.com / www.facebook.com/seasurfer

Label: www.reptile-music.net / www.facebook.com/reptile.music

About Seasurfer

Seasurfer is a Shoegaze and Dream-Pop project led by Hamburg, Germany-based musician Dirk Ritter. Two earlier Seasurfer albums were released on Saint-Marie Records before the band signed to Reptile Music for “Zombies,” issued in digital and 2CD formats at the end of 2020. Vocalists on past Seasurfer releases have included Dorian E and Julia Beyer, with Apolonia singing on “Zombies.” The album was mixed with input from Robin Guthrie of The Cocteau Twins, and its bonus disc, titled “The Dreampop Day,” features guest vocals from Elena Alice Fossi plus two remixes by John Fryer. In a Click Interview with Seasurfer, Ritter said the gloomy mood of the first Covid-19 wave shaped the sound of the album during final mixing. “Zombies” is Seasurfer’s third full-length and the release under review here.

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: Dark-Pop, Wave-Pop.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: German formation Toal released a debut-EP entitled “Timeless”-EP in 2019 and last year struck back with their debut full-length album. The work features ten songs plus seven remixes.

Content: Toal deals with a sound, which is not that easy to define. It however clearly sounds inspired by a dark approach in Electro-Pop. The songs have something evasive, sometimes moving into Cinematographic passages and even touching ground with a kind of ‘Cabaret-Noir’-style. The female vocals are sometimes reminding me of a mix between L’Âme Immortelle and Kirlian Camera while the production might appeal for lovers of Blutengel.

Remixes have been accomplished by [:SITD:], L’Âme Immortelle, Chrom, ES23, Mental Exile and HzweiG. There’s also one remix featuring SynthAttack.

+ + + : I like the mix between the different influences, but globally speaking Toal deals with a rather personal Dark-Electro-Pop approach. This band is not a new emulation of an idol, but tries to bring something different merging different influences with each other. The now sensual and then dreamy-like vocal parts create a delicious match with the music. The album is missing an ‘absolute’ hit, but features multiple cool songs instead. I also have to say a word about the impressive list of remixers. L’Âme Immortelle, Chrom and ES23 did a really great job.

– – – : I think this band has more potential than what came out at this work.

Conclusion: “Ritus Ex Silenti” is a very promising debut album resulting from a creative process. 

Best songs: “Ritual”, “Unreal World”, “Trapped Heart” + “Trapped Heart – Remix by Tom Chrom”, “Unreal World – L’Âme Immortelle Remix”, “Unreal World – ES23 Remix”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/toal.band

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

About Toal

Toal is a German quartet from Braunschweig and Herford, formed in autumn 2017. Frontwoman Luzi Lacole entered the electronic music scene in 2017 as keyboardist, dancer and singer of SynthAttack, and is joined in Toal by Rob Gee, Oak and Tian. The band released the “Timeless” EP in 2019, followed by the “Trapped Heart” single in 2020 and the debut album “Ritus Ex Silenti” on darkTunes Music Group.

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

Kirlian Camera are to release a first single taken from their forthcoming double album “Cold Pills (Scarlet Gate of Toxic Daybreak)”, which is scheduled for release on May 14, 2021 which is the follow-up album to “Hologram Moon”.

The forerunner single “The 8th President” will hit the stores on March 26, 2021 but a video has already been posted as you can see below.

The single will hold 3 tracks: “The 8th President”, “Phoenix Aliena (Italian Version)” and “Golden Carousel”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop, Wave-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Set up in 2007 by singer Katia Figueroa Letelier and composer Voz y Líricas
Cristián Soto Vanell, Die Braut clearly is one of the most familiar Electro-underground bands from Chile. They released their stuff on very different labels such as Danse Macabre, Orion, NoiTekk and Advoxya Records while this new opus (the first ‘new’ album since 2011) has been released on Russian label ScentAir.

Content: Die Braut already has experience with varied Electronic influences, but they’ve always been connected with some Pop influences. The new work is clearly moving in between Electro-Pop and retro-like Wave-Pop music. They’ve reached a very own sound, which is hard to compare and yet some songs remind me a bit of the spirit of Kirlian Camera. Die Braut definitely sounds more melodic and Pop driven, but the production is  supported with a colder atmosphere. Most of the songs are danceable and masterly driven by the female vocals of Katia Figueroa Letelier.

+ + + : Die Braut probably accomplished their most elaborated and mature work to date. I can’t say that they are innovating, but they are simply good in what they do! This is an electro-Pop format with attitude! The songs are boosted by danceable kicks while the melodic choruses create an elevating effect. I also like the production of the vocals creating a perfect balance with the sound.

– – – : This album is maybe missing ‘the’ hit that would convince all Electro lovers of this band’s true potential.

Conclusion: Die Braut strikes back with style unleashing a well-crafted and efficient album.

Best songs: “Words In An Empty Space”, “Virtual Communication”, “Without Time”, “Dissonance”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/diebrautmusic

Label: www.scent-air.com / www.facebook.com/ScentairRecords

About Die Braut

Die Braut was set up in 2007 in Chile by singer Katia Figueroa Letelier and composer Cristán Soto Vanell. The duo has released material on Danse Macabre, Orion, NoiTekk and Advoxya Records, and performed at Wave-Götik-Treffen in 2011 and Orkus Fest in 2016. “Virtual Communication”, issued on ScentAir Records, is the duo’s first new album since “Psychotherapy” (2011). In a Click Interview, Die Braut described the band’s approach as evolving through “dedication, study” and staying “clear about concepts” across more than a decade of releases.

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

Italian duo BLANK saw the daylight in 2000. Driven by Davide Massa and Riccardo Mattioli they got rapidly signed to the Canadian label Artoffact Records. The albums “Artificial Breathing” (2004), “Impact Zone” (2008) and “Dark Retreat” revealed a modern and accomplished EBM sound. The songs feature multiple influences, which are also easy noticeable in the new- and self-released album “Drifting Slowly”. Davide Massa is not just composing EBM; it’s a sonic fusion between different-, but related genres. The mix between EBM, Techno, IDM, Industrial and Pop resulting in brilliant songs. “Drifting Slowly” also marks the return of BLANK after a hiatus of seven years! Enough reasons to ask Davide Massa for more details.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: It’s already twenty years ago now you released your first demo as BLANK. How do you look back at the BLANK’s history and discography so far. What have been the best and worst facts and memories?

Dave: It’s been an interesting journey although we haven’t been very prolific during the years. With a little more consistency maybe we could have played more gigs and reached more people, that’s something I’d definitely try to do better if I could go back. Other than that, I feel we’ve created the music we wanted to create, with no other boundaries than our own creativity and technical ability, and I love all of our releases, and how our music has evolved and improved in time. Also, we witnessed enormous changes in the music business and technology. Some good, some bad, but overall it’s been exciting.

Best memories? Every time we wrapped up an album I felt such an enormous pride, and I will never forget those feelings! But also the amazing response to our first demo… that brought us to being signed, or that time we’ve had Black-Metal bands attending our gig because they had come to the wrong venue… ? That was really fun. Worst facts? I tend to focus on the positive so I cann’t really list bad experiences, but I guess the networking/marketing part has always been stressful for me and the less enjoyable aspect of what we do… I am very shy and don’t play well in that field.

Q: You this year strike back with a new album, which is the first one since “Dark Retreat” (2013). Why did it take you that long to strike back and is the new album also a new beginning?

Dave: Well, I moved to a new house and rebuilt my studio changing my setup completely, and had to dedicate some time learning new instruments and do other non-music related things; then I wrote music for a theatre play I was involved with and that kept me busy for the good part of a year, and then I got a call from Kirlian Camera to join their line-up so I had (and still have) to work with them when preparing gigs and/or collaborations and remixes. These are just a few of the things that prevented me to focus on a proper release for a while… They’re valid enough reasons, but I know they cannot really explain a seven years wait -so let’s add that I didn’t feel like I had the right material yet, and the more I waited, the more I expected from myself. It took me some time to get where I wanted to be and now that I have found an efficient setup, I hope it really is a new beginning, with good music coming out more frequently!

Q: Tell us a bit more about “Drifting Slowly”? What have been the main ideas –sound- and lyrical wise, to compose this new work and is there a kind of established procedure and/or structure you follow when composing an album?

Dave: I don’t have a standard procedure -when I write a song it usually happens in one of two ways: I look for a certain atmosphere and I pursue it, until I reach a point where the song flows naturally and tells me where to go; or, I play around with synthesizers and when I find a sound or a sequence that intrigues me, I build from there. Once I had a few demos that were convincing enough, I started thinking about lyrics and themes.

Since my lyrics have always been quite introspective, I wanted this album to be a little more attentive to the external world -and I didn’t like what I saw, so the main theme ended up being, well, watching our world rapidly becoming an ugly mess. For people who enjoy digging deeper, trying to connect a song title with its lyrics might reveal hidden meanings and references you might not had thought about.

Musically, I wanted “Drifting Slowly” to be a great listening experience, mixing all kind of influences that I love, many different sounds and alternating between aggression and sweetness… of course while having fun with synths and samples. I also wanted to do everything by myself, as a personal challenge… and it turned out pretty good, I think.

Q: The album reveals an interesting duality between more danceable cuts at one side and dreamy songs at the other side. Tell us a bit more about both sides and the choice of the song “Thanatosis” as EP title-track plus the song composed together with Elena Alice Fossi?

Dave: I suppose it’s a bit the way I am. I enjoy hard-hitting EBM as well as Shoegazing or Trip-Hop, I like good pop melodies but also noises and stuff made in unconventional ways. So to find a nice balance of different paces and styles was my intention from the very beginning. As I enjoy diversity and get easily bored by sameness, it’s the kind of album that I’d personally buy.

“Thanatosis” was one of the first songs I completed, it sits right in the middle between the danceable tracks and the atmospheric ones, and it’s a song that doesn’t exactly belong to a specific genre, so I decided to use it as the first single. It’s been appreciated by many who are not into electronic music, so it’s been an interesting experiment to me.

Regarding “Apophenia”, as a long-time friend of Kirlian Camera, I asked Elena Alice if she was interested in singing one song, as she already did in my previous album. I had this kind of Trip-Hop song that I already wrote with a female voice in mind, and I decided to ‘mangle’ it a little, adding a distorted bass and an unusual, odd ⅞ time signature, a trick that gives it a weird ‘slowed-down industrial’ vibe. I sent it to Elena and she got back to me very quickly with vocal parts and harmonies that left me speechless: I think she got the song perfectly and we make a hell of a team! It’s art, it’s unusual, it sounds great… it made me happy and that’s exactly what I enjoy creating.

Q: Previous albums were released on Artoffact Records while you now self-released the new work. How did this evolution happened and what does it mean to have this self-control?

Dave: When we got signed, in 2003, the whole music business was completely different, digital had just appeared, streaming did not exist, CDs still sold well. We’ll be forever grateful to Artoffact for taking a chance with us and releasing three albums that didn’t follow any trend and ended up being well received even though not too commercially successful. Now it makes sense that they focus on different (and newer!) projects, while we can self-release using these amazing resources that didn’t exist in the past, like Bandcamp and other digital distributors. Being 100% independent is great, although it’s a lot of work since you cannot delegate anything anymore. Also it’s harder getting noticed if you’re not that good at social networking and self-promoting! But it sure feels more rewarding.

Q: Italy has been badly touched by the Covid-19 pandemic, which also had an impact on all artistic life and activities. What does it evoke to you and how do you as artists try to fight back?

Dave: It’s been a weird, surreal and frightening time. Late and at times unclear responses from the government have caused lots of deaths and called for extreme measures. We’ve lived almost three months of lockdown, every activity stopped, and now we’re struggling to get back to normal -if it’s even possible. The art/music category has been terribly affected and still is, lots of music tech have lost jobs, tours and concerts have been canceled, clubs have closed, artists have had no source of income for a long time.

My hope is that the current situation will somehow awaken the will to fight back and collaborate more, leading to more solid and concrete opportunities for everyone. But in a country where culture is not considered a priority, I believe it will take a lot of work to get there. At the moment, as we can attend events only with social distancing, we will have to re-think performances, possibly focusing more onto visual/mind experiences rather than physical ones. And yeah, live-streaming will probably become a regular thing, and we’ll have to find other new ways to engage fans… It’s going to be tough, but creative people like challenges, so I look forward to future exciting times.

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: EBM, techno-body, electro-pop, IDM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: After nearly seven years of silence, the recently self-released “Thanatosis”-EP put Blank back on the EBM map. Mastermind Davide Mazza accomplished the fourth full length album of the project resulting in eleven songs featuring a very special collaboration on one of the songs.

Content: “Thanatosis” revealed a mix of harder, danceable cuts and softer, elaborated cuts. The album moves on a similar formula featuring intelligent electronics mixing elements of EBM, techno, pop and even IDM. Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera) contributed here with a very unique and sensual way of singing to one of the –softer, cuts. This album has the power to make you dance, but still enough passages driven by down tempo rhythms to cool down. I don’t want to compare Blank and this new opus to another formation, but I’m sure it will appeal for fans of Rotersand and Mind.In.A.Box.

+ + + : “Thanatosis”-EP revealed a few great passages, but some didn’t totally convince me. “Drifting Slowly” left me breathless! This album stands for a sophisticated writing featuring intelligent sound treatments, danceable club-songs and softer breaks. I was impressed by the polished sound production and dance energy from the harder cuts such as “Hypnonaut”, “Nouronihar”, “Axiomatic” and “Struggle between Death And Night”. Davide Mazza is not only putting Blank again on the map of great electro productions, but he reveals himself as a brilliant sound architect. This album stands for an impressive sonic welfare. From space-like sounds to solid bass lines to meticulous sound arrangements and a somewhat spooky way of singing this work has a lot to offer.

– – – : Just as for “Thanatosis” I’m not a huge fan of the softer cuts and the EP-title song is one of the few songs that can’t totally convince me.

Conclusion: Blank strikes back with a bang! This Italian project already caught my attention in the past, but this album simply reveals the true potential of the band! The song with Elena Alice Fossi is cool, but unfortunately not a high light!

Best songs: “Axiomatic”, “Struggle Between Death And Night”, Hypnonaut”, “Nouronihar”, Faultlines”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/blankinyourmind

About Blank

Blank is an Italian project formed in 2000 by Davide Massa together with Riccardo Mattioli, who signed early on to the Canadian label Artoffact Records. The albums “Artificial Breathing” (2004), “Impact Zone” (2008) and “Dark Retreat” built a modern EBM sound that folded in techno, pop and IDM elements. After the 2020 comeback EP “Thanatosis”, “Drifting Slowly” marked Blank’s return following a seven-year hiatus, featuring a guest vocal from Elena Alice Fossi of Kirlian Camera.

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

Jean-Marc Lederman (The Weathermen, Fad Gadget, The The, Ghost & Writer, Lederman-Demeyer) has released a new release under the Jean-Marc Lederman Experience moniker. With this project he calls up singers from different niches and countries to write lyrics and sing them on a common theme. The end result is then being packaged in a 2CD 36 pages hardcover art book with artwork and pictures by Erica Hinyot.

2019 saw the release of “13 Ghost Stories”, and now he offers “Letters To Gods (and fallen angels)” including performances from 21 different singers, from the USA to Italy, Mexico or Wales. The concept this time is very topical in this strange reset time: “You can write a letter to a God, or a fallen angel. What do you say?”

This time, the artists are:

• Agi Taralas (Our Banshee, Greece)
• Emma Barson (Promenade Cinema, UK)
• Ghost & Writer with cello by Jo Quail (Germany/Belgium UK)
• Mari Kattman (Helix, USA)
• JP Aston with backing vocals by Julianne Regan (Gene Loves Jezebel/Wales All About Eve/UK
• Coline Wauters (Atome, Belgium)
• Christina Z (comics Witchblade writer, Magnesium Burn/USA)
• Das Vintage (Mexico)
• Lucia Fairfull (Lusca And The Best Boys/ Scotland)
• Stefan Netschio (Beborn Beton/Germany)
• Hunter S. Thompson (Writer, USA)
• Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera/Stalingrad Valkyrie Italy)
• Tom Shear (Assemblage 23/ Helix USA)
• Mark Hockings (MESH/ UK)
• Jenna Fearon (USA)
• Emileigh Rohn (Chiasm/USA)
• Miriam Christina (The Other Side Of Who, 580 Miles/ Germany)
• Haydn Park-Patterson (The Ninth Wave/ Scotland)
• Rodney Orpheus (The Cassandra Complex/ EU)
• Louise Fraser (USA)
• Lis van den Akker (Holland)
• Claus Larsen (Leaether Strip/ Denmark)
• Friedrich Nietzsche (Patrimonia Universal de la Humanidad)
• With 3 novels by:
• Christina Z. (comics Witchblade writer, Magnesium Burn/USA)
• Ceratomia (USA)
• Philippe Genion (à;GRUMH /Belgium)

Check the previews below. Read the review of ‘Letters To Gods [And Fallen Angels]’.

For more on Jean-Marc Lederman, see COP International has announced the signing to their artist roster of… on Side-Line.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

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

Background/Info: One year after their last album (cf. “Hologram Moon”) the Italian duo Kirlian Camera already has a new full length (cf. “Pills”) in the pipeline. “Hellfire” is a sonic bridge between both albums featuring new songs plus a few remixes. Notice by the way “Hellfire” is also available as vinyl edit.

Content: Kirlian Camera is fascinated by science fiction, which might explain the choice of the title song, which is a cover version of a song from the “Lucifer” TV-series. It sounds as electro-pop made with industrial sound treatments. It has something experimental-like, which is an aspect that also comes back at a few other new songs. Another new song entitled “V2K” sounds as the most danceable cut from the EP confirming the ‘dance’ skills of Angelo Bergamini and Elena Alice Fossi.

There also is a remix from their compatriots of Blank, which takes us back to the previous album and the song “Polar-IHS”. 

+ + + : Kirlian Camera is a formation that has progressively evolved over the years, experimenting with different influences, but always had a nose to compose alluring (hit)songs. This new EP –which rather appears to be a mini-album, confirms this approach and the band’s move towards electro-pop driven music. The title song is an original cover song, but I personally prefer the dance vibes emerging from “V2K”. This work stands for diversity, alternating catchy passages and experimentalism. Kirlian Camera also remains characterized by the sensual voice of Elena Alice Fossi. Blank also did a great job remixing “Polar-IHS”.

– – – : The title song is an original idea, but not exactly my favorite song from the EP.

Conclusion: While fans are probably still under the influence of their last year released full length, Kirlian Camera seems to have already announced a great new work. There’s no better teaser than “Hellfire”.

Best songs: “V2K”, “Metaluna – Milano Mix”, “Polar-HIS – Rmx by Blank”, “Hellfire”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/kirliancamera.official

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records

About Kirlian Camera

Kirlian Camera is the Italian electro-pop duo of Angelo Bergamini and Elena Alice Fossi. The album preceding this EP, “Hologram Moon”, appeared on Dependent in 2018; “Hellfire” bridges it with the duo’s next full length. Kirlian Camera went on to release the double album “Cold Pills / Scarlet Gate Of Toxic Daybreak” on Dependent in 2021.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electronic, cinematographic, down-tempo.

Background/Info: If I say Jean-Marc Lederman you quite spontaneously will think about bands such as The Weathermen, Polyphonic Size, Fad Gadget, Ghost & Writer and more recently Lederman / De Meyer. And there were much more bands and projects this Belgian electro pioneer has been involved with. One of his latest projects took me by surprise, revealing a more ambient and experimental sound he released under his own name on Wool-E-Discs. I expected this new work in the continuation of this experimental exploration, but it already became something different. The artist started from the question what would you do if you came back to earth one day as ghost.

Content: This surreal project/question has been answered by guest singers and a real impressive list of great artists contributed to the work. In order of appearance you’ll recognize Christer Hermodsson (Biomekkanik, SPOCK..), Louise Fraser, Stefan Netschio (Beborn Beton), Juliette Bosse (Arther, Rive), Jenna Fearon, Agi Taralas, Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera, Spectra*Paris), The Acapella Robotic Association, Yvette Winkler, Mark Hockings (Mesh), Natasha A Twentyone (Ambassador 21, Suicide Inside), Alice Gift (Liste Noire, Velvet Condom) and Christa Jérôme.

Jean-Marc Lederman has accomplished a surprising work, which are miles away from what we’re used to hearing from him. There’s a mix between down-tempo and sometimes trip-pop driven influences, but also a cinematographic approach with refined arrangements and other evasive sound atmospheres. There’s a heavenly fusion between at one side the composer who gives us the impression to have written each song for one specific singer and at the other side the vocalists who’re really into the project of the ‘ghost stories’.   

+ + + : Concepts are a quite familiar thing in music. At first sight this one is not that different from the others and yet, when you carefully pay attention you’ll notice the symbiosis between the musician and his singers. It has something fragile and poignant, refined and subtle, dreamy and sometimes funny. Jean-Marc Lederman also appears to be a real chameleon. It’s unbelievable to see him in less than two years moving back to the roots of EBM with Lederman / De Meyer, experimenting with sounds and noises on both Wool-E-Discs productions and now unleashing this “13 Ghost Stories”. I also have to say a word about some great vocals’ performances like the charismatic appearance of Christer Hermodsson, the angelic voice of Louise Fraser, the fragility shown by Juliette Bosse, the bewitching performance by Christa Jérôme and of course the excellence emerging from Mark Hockings.

Notice by the way the album is also available as double disc featuring extra singers Rascal (Rotersand), Julianne Regan (All about Eve), Darrin Huss (Psyche), Rexx Arkana, JP Aston (Gene Loves Jezebel), Louise Love (Parralox) and Nicola Testa.

– – – : This is of course more of an album for listening instead of dancing!

Conclusion: What I like in the work and career of Jean-Marc Lederman is that he never avoids any new –and sometimes crazy, challenge. If there’s one artist who never repeats himself, it for sure is Jean-Marc Lederman! On “13 Ghost Stories he has maybe accomplished one of his greatest productions in history!

Best songs: “Watch Them Dance”, “Nuages A L’Envers”, “The Dead Still Scream”, “Maybe”, “Ball And Chain”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: http://www.jmlederman.com /

www.facebook.com/jeanmarc.kollector

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records Read the news on ‘13 Ghost Stories’.

About Jean-Marc Lederman

Jean-Marc Lederman is a Belgian electronic musician whose discography spans close to twenty albums across numerous projects, among them Kid Montana, eight albums with The Weathermen, Ether (with DJ Moens of La Muerte and Luc Dufourmont), Jules & Jim (with Julianne Regan of All About Eve), the ambient Man-Dello project, two albums with Seabound‘s Frank Spinath as Ghost & Writer, La Femme Verte and Leatherman. He launched the Jean-Marc Lederman Experience in 2015 with “The Last Broadcast On Earth”, an album featuring 13 singers from 8 countries in 4 languages. “13 Ghost Stories”, reviewed here, is the second Jean-Marc Lederman Experience album, released on Dependent in 2019 following the demise of Ghost & Writer in 2017.

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

Out soon is the “Base Box” boxset by the Italian dark wave act Kirlian Camera. Be fast to order this set as it will be sold out soon. You can order it right here on Bandcamp.

The boxset holds the DVD “Memorabilia” (incl. official videoclips, TV-appearances, live-recordings, interviews, and much more). The DVD comes in PAL, Region Code 0 and has a duration of a lovely 150’ 30″, that is 2 hours, 30 mins., 30 seconds.

Next there the exclusive “Odyssey Europa” 7” featuring the tracks “Odyssey Europe” and a special version of “Coroner’s Sun” by Lux Anodyca. You also get some extra’s such as a ‘Base MMXVI’-Card with metallic letterings and hand-signed by Angelo Bergamini & Elena Alice Fossi, next to the triangular badge with the old logo of the band next to a ‘Gladiators of Light’ t-shirt.

The tracklist of the DVD is as follows:

• HYPNOSIS – Aegonauts (1983) Communicate (1984)
• Blue Room (1995 Official Video)
• Blue Room (1995) Ocean (1986)
• Ocean (1986) Ocean (1986)
• Ocean (1987) Heldenplatz (1987)
• Heldenplatz (1987 Festivalbar Bergamo)
• Heldenplatz (1987 Festivalbar Padova)
• Kirlian Camera Special at “Video-Music” (1994) Ragazze della Notte (1995 – extract from Documentary Film, Swiss National TV)
• SPECTRAparis/SIDERARTICA – Antland (2009 Rudolstadt, Germany)
• SPECTRAparis – Spectra Muder Show (2010)
• SPECTRAparis – Carrie Satan (2010 Official Video)
• SPECTRAparis – Behind the Scenes and Beyond Infinity (2010 Official Outtake Video)
• Nightglory (2010 Official Video)
• Edges (2013 Markthalle Hamburg)
• Blue Room (**2013 Markthalle Hamburg) 21 Materia Oscura (2013, Lyrics Video)
• BLANK feat. KIRLIAN CAMERA – Lost Simmetry (2013 – Official Video)
• Black August (2013 – Official Video) 24 The Fountain of Clouds (2013 – Official Video)
• ELENA ALICE FOSSI – Mini-Interview (2014 – Promovideo for ‘Benefiz for Kids Festival)

FAN-MADE Live Videos (Unknown Videomakers)

• Comfortably Numb (2013 M’Era Luna Hildesheim, Germany)
• E.D.O. (2009 Lübeck, Germany)
• Eclipse (2013 M’Era Luna Hildesheim)
• Ascension (2015 WGT Leipzig)

The next tracks were all are recorded during the 2014 Runes and Men Festival in Leipzig.

• K-Pax
• Neither Honour nor Glory
• Black August
• Erinnerung

Last track

• Nightglory (**2014 Dresden)

(*) Italian TV Showcase
(**) Live Showcase

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: Elena Alice Fossi and Angelo Bergamini truly are veterans of the electronic underground scene. Active since the early 80s Kirlian Camera never stopped taking their fans by surprise. Mixing genres and hardly to define this new opus is the first new studio album in 5 years time! The band made a remarkable comeback by the EP “Sky Collapse” featuring Covenant’s front man Eskil Simonsson.

Content: “Hologram Moon” is still dominated by the danceable “Sky Collapse”, which remains one of the best songs of the Italian duo in history. It also sounds pretty Covenant-like and not only because of Eskil’s vocals. If you expect an entire album in this genre you for sure going to be disappointed, but there are more danceable cuts featured. Eskil Simonsson got however featured at another song.

The work mixes evasive electro-pop music together with more danceable pieces and the unavoidable experimental flavor on top of the production. I was also surprised by the track “I Don’t Sing” featuring Angelo Bergamini on vocals and dealing with funny lyrics as a declaration to Elena Fossi. Notice by the way John Fryer has produced this work.

+ + + : “Hologram Moon” is a surprising return for Kirlian Camera, which has accomplished one of their most noticeable albums in history. The album is more ‘poppy’ and ‘danceable’ than any other work although it’s much more than only ‘dancefloor’ music. Kirlian Camera fans will recognize the ballad and evasive style of the band accomplished with experimental sounds and arrangements. The work remains carried and blessed by Elena’s sensual and bewitching timbre of voice. But a great singer also needs a talented musician and that’s what Bergamini illustrates. He’s an old-school driven musician who still likes analogue experiments this way creating unique sound treatments.

– – – : There’s a hiatus between the most danceable cuts and the rest of the tracklist. It for sure injects diversity to the work, but it’s not that evident to switch from a danceable track such as “Sky Collapse” into a piece of reverie and later on the electro-ballad sung by Bergamini.

Conclusion: Kirlian Camera remains a particular experience in sound! A band you can’t compare to another, but simply moving on exorcising their own sonic ideas. This is for sure one of their best releases to date.

Best songs: “Sky Collapse”, “Kryostar”, “Haunted River”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/kirliancamera.official

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records

Read the news on ‘Hologram Moon’.

About Kirlian Camera

Kirlian Camera was founded in Parma, Italy, in 1979/1980 by Angelo Bergamini, a pioneering act of the Italian synth-pop scene. The band’s debut vinyl followed at Christmas 1981, and Kirlian Camera became the first Italian group signed to Virgin Records. Singer Elena Alice Fossi has been Bergamini’s core collaborator for years, with the current line-up completed by Mia W. Wallace, Alessandro Comerio, Thalìa Bellazecca and Terri Harrison.

“Hologram Moon” was released on Dependent Records in 2018, following the comeback EP “Sky Collapse,” which featured Covenant singer Eskil Simonsson and was produced, like “Hologram Moon,” by John Fryer.

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, wave-pop.

Background/Info: Set up by Andrew Tomlinson (composer, songwriter, guitar and programming) and joined by female singer Louise Duffy-Howard the duo is back on track with a second full length album.

Content: The sound and influences of 4ourth4loor are clearly inspired by electro-pop standards, which also remind me a bit to new-wave/pop music. The songs are characterized by the sweet and yet charismatic vocals of Louise Duffy-Howard. Her way of singing sometimes reminds me of Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera, Spectra Paris). She definitely adds a sensual touch in the work while the lyrical content of the work clearly deals about love.

+ + + : Even if the band can be easily defined as electro-pop like they clearly deal with a unique format so in the end it’s not that easy to describe the sound of 4ourth4loor. That’s an aspect I rather like! The band definitely has an own style of music characterized by singer’s particular timbre of voice. It’s an easy listening opus featuring a few beautiful songs, but I especially recommend “Velvet Heart”.

– – – : I definitely like the singer although a few songs reveal a more hesitant performance. “Past Lives” is a sweet and gentle, easy listening album on, which I’m missing a climax.

Conclusion: I enjoyed the listening of “Past Lives”, but I’m missing something. The songs are nicely going by, but I’m missing some punchy elements in the global production.

Best songs: “Velvet Heart”, “The Call”, “The River”.

Rate: (6½).

Artist: http://4ourth4loor.com / www.facebook.com/4ourth4looor 

About 4ourth4floor

4ourth4floor is an electro-pop duo led by composer, songwriter and guitarist Andrew Tomlinson, joined by singer Louise Duffy-Howard. “Past Lives,” released in 2018, is the duo’s second full-length album.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

In little more than one week the Belgian Independent Music Festival 2017 edition XVI will kick-off. After last year’s 100% Belgian and 15th anniversary bill, the team behind the fest also went looking abroad again for this year’s line-up.

But you’ll get enough homegrown electro terror served, for instance from IMPLANT (with a brand new album) and cult act PARADE GROUND. Also present are NO MORE (D), THE INVINCIBLE SPIRIT (D) and PSYCHE (CAN) next to the rhythmic and industrial act XOTOX from Germany or the Techno / EBM crossover project of the NYC electro producer and performer Oliver Chesler, THE HORRORIST.

Swedish EBM act ELM and electro industrial noise combo ALVAR are the two opening acts selected by the Dark Demons Night 2017 audience.

Also present will be KIRLIAN CAMERA (IT) and the electro/Industrial pioneers CRASH COURSE IN SCIENCE (US). The main catch of Bimfest 2017 is of course the British Electro combo BLANCMANGE!

Tickets & info.

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

“Hologram Moon” is the first Kirlian Camera album after five years for Elena Alice Fossi and Angelo Bergamini. In October 2017, the duo already returned with the single “Sky Collapse”, the title track of which was sung together with Covenant’s Eskil Simonsson.

The album “Hologram Moon” will be released on 4 different formats: a double (clear) vinyl (available here), a regular double vinyl (available here), a 2CD + book (available here) and a regular CD (available here).

The 2CD + book set holds a bonus disc with the following tracks: “Too many Friends”, “La Caduta del Cielo (Sky Collapse – Italian)”, “Holograms (Radio Version)”, “Equation Echo 2”, “Absentee 2018”, “Turin Obscurity Diary”, “Coming back Home”, “Moonlight Sonata for Holograms” and “Der Mond über Mosul”.

Check out the band’s recent single “Sky Collapse”.

Read the review of ‘Hologram Moon’.

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

Read the news on ‘Sky Collapse’.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Read the review of ‘Sky Collapse’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

The 82nd track on our free download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 4” (featuring 92 tracks) is by the German dark electro / aggrotech project Totem Obscura.

Founded on July 1, 2013, Totem Obscura is the project by Pedro “Acylum” Engel (Music & Vocals) and Nadine “Cooraz” Engel (Lyrics & Vocals) mixing harsh vocals with dark electronics and classical music. The track we offer here is taken from the 2016 album “Blutiges Eisen” and is a perfect ambassador of what this project is all about. Highly advised to fans of Kirlian Camera, Ice Ages or yet Haus Arafna!

You can find the project back on Facebook, make sure to check it out!

Listen to “Eisenman (Short Cut)” below and download it right here.

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Read the news on ‘Retromachine Betty’.

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-wave, minimal-electronics.

Background/Info:  Greek artist Kriistal Ann released “Delirious Skies” on Werkstatt Recordings in 2014. From the very first time I heard the minimal-electro-wave style of this artist with a very particular timbre of voice I get totally seduced by her minimalism in sound. I also discovered great side-projects such as Resistance Of Independent Music, Paradox Obscur and Sine Silex.

“Delirious Skies” has now been re-released on Wave Records featuring the original tracklist plus one bonus song.

Content: Kriistal Ann deals with electronic minimalism and sterile electro-wave music. The song structures are quite simple while composed with less material, but the simplicity remains the main strength of this artist’s work. The vocals are bewitching for the mix of sensuality and coldness. Anna Michailidou’s (real name) timbre of voice is sometimes reminding me of Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera). The bonus song stands for a dreamy final.

+ + + : Kriistal Ann remains an artist I fully support and encourage listeners to discover. She’s animated and inspired by great vintage electronics creating a sterile and yet sexy electronic style. The sweeps and icy leads together with the way of vocals create the magic of the sound. One of the songs (cf. “Remembrance”) reminds me a bit of one of the absolute hits of Belgian formation Bedtime For Bonzo (cf. “The Bloody Violation Of Mickey Mouse’s Virginity On 59th St.”) while “Ashes Of Hope” is another cool song and pretty intriguing because of the Greek lyrics.

– – – : The album “Cultural Bleeding” remains my personal reference from this artist’s discography. You can hear this album has been composed before. There’s not the same impact and elaboration.

Conclusion: This re-release is a good opportunity to get more familiar with Kriistal Ann although if you don’t know her music yet, you’d better discover “Cultural Bleeding” first!

Best songs: “Remembrance”, “Aches Of Hope”, “Punisher”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.facebook.com/kriistalann2

Label: www.waverecordsmusic.com / http://pt–br.facebook.com/pages/Wave–Records/110635789015082

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Read the review of ‘Retromachine Betty’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, dark-pop, wave-pop.

Background/Info: Werkstatt Recordings is a small and independent Greek label active since 2009. Kriistal Ann definitely is the most famous artist of the label, but I also have to mention one of her side-projects Paradox Obscur while the label owner’s own band Beatbox Machinery is another familiar name. This compilation is a perfect opportunity to get a bit more familiar with the independent label. Seven bands have been selected each featuring  two songs.

Bands: Kriistal Ann, Resistance Of Independent Music, Paradox Obscur, Metal Disco, Geometry Combat, Obsidian Radioactive, Dawnrazor.

Content: The featured bands move from EBM elements into dark and minimal pop, to electro-wave and pop. There clearly is a fascination for vintage electronic music, but the common element between all of the bands is their pure underground addiction. We don’t get famous bands with ultra professional productions, but a fascinating underground sound that will appeal to lovers of retro electro sounds.

+ + + : Kriistal Ann and Paradox Obscur both are for sure the most mature and ‘advanced’ formations, which will remind you of late 80s music. Kriistal Ann has a unique timbre of voice, which sometimes reminds me of Kirlian Camera. Another interesting band is Metal Disco, which sounds more inspired by EBM, but adapting the body style into an own approach. Another name to keep in mind is Geometry Combat, which is also inspired by EBM ideas.

– – – : I mostly mainly regret there’s no info available about the bands on this CD version. That’s a pity especially because it consist of lesser known bands. Production-wise the mastering could have been better, but let’s keep in mind it all remains an independent and pure underground work.

Conclusion: If you’re in search of less familiar bands dealing with vintage electronics this sampler can be worthy of examination.

Best bands: Metal Disco, Kriistal Ann, Paradox Obscur.

Rate: (6).

Label: www.facebook.com/werkstattrecordings

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

Kirlian Camera plan a large-scale collaboration with Covenant for their upcoming album after initially having plans for a single only (which never materialised).

It’s not the first time the two acts collaborate. Covenant’s Eskil Simonsson joined Kirlian Camera on stage on Friday 15th April 2016 for instance for the track “We Stand Alone”.

Here’s a fan-made video of that performance.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

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

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

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Death In June have informed that their longstanding percussionist John Murphy passed away, aged 56. He died on October 11. Murphy will be best known as the percussionist of Death in June and he was – as Kirlian Camera’s Maurizio Moscarelli puts it – “for at least the past 35 years, involved in many interesting bands and projects such as ‘9.3’Current’9.3′ SPK, Death In June, N0N, Sword Volcano Complex, Blood Axis, Of The Wand And The Moon, and many more.”

Death In June’s Douglas P. posted a video in remembrance of his former bandmate, namely Scorpion Wind – “The Cruelty Of The Heavens” featuring Death In June, Boyd Rice and John Murphy.

But like many other videos, that one has been pulled offline.

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