(Photo by Lina Gabrielli) The Swedish electropop trio Me The Tiger are to launch a second single, “I want it back”, taken from the upcoming album “Envy” expected to be released in Spring 2024. Earlier they released “Post Denial War”. The new single is also out via Progress Productions.

Below is already the cover artwork.

Me The Tiger (Gabriella Åström, Jonas Martinsson, and Tobias Andersson) was formed in Falun in the Spring of 2012 and has since released three full-length albums, a series of singles, and performed at festivals like M’era Luna (Germany), W-fest (Belgium), Eine Nacht im Bergwerk (Switzerland), Infest (England), E-Only (Germany), electriXmas (Sweden), and shared stages with Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yazoo), Front 242, Kite, and Emmon.

In 2024, they will tour in Europe, including a performance at Solitary Experiments’ 30th-anniversary festival in Berlin and their festival debut in Poland.

The message the band wants to spread via their material is the following: “In a time where individualism thrives, the trio aims to highlight values of solidarity and contribute to a fairer and warmer society. We live together and have a collective responsibility to care for one another, regardless of class, ethnicity, or gender.”

Here’s their previous single “Post Denial War”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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Korinthians is a Belgian formation from Ghent. The band name refers to the Corinthian people in antiquity. The band comments: ‘They were called barbarians by the Athenian elite, but actually they had a very egalitarian society. They tossed out their kings and ruled as a group. They gave women a prominent role in decision-making. And then you have the Letter to the Corinthians in the Bible, which many know as an ode to love. But it also contains a series of guidelines to the women in Corinth. That they should wear a veil, and pray, and are not allowed to speak up. Isn’t that ironic?’ In that case, Korinthians prefer to be barbarians of Corinth. After having released a promising debut album “Chaos Control” in 2020 they this year stroke back unleashing “A Major Walk”. This self-released new opus sounds as an offspring between different music genres like Post-Punk, Electronics, Indie-Pop/Rock, Cold-Wave… but as Mattias (vocals & guitar) and Kenny (drums) say:

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Who’s hiding behind Korinthians and what’s your musical background and eventually references when it comes to song writing?

Kenny: I was always a rock drummer. I had no background in the genre whatsoever. To not mess things up, I try to play as little as possible, which is always a good thing in the end. Plus, when I’m with other drummers discussing their gear and chops and shit, I honestly think I’m not a real drummer. When you add those things up, I get something that seems to work just fine for the band. When it comes to songwriting, I stay away from the lyrics as far as a can, but do my part when it comes to the arrangements. I know a good synth hook when I hear or play it, and I’ve been known for throwing out a verse or two to keep the song short and sweet, or, in case of the previous record, making Mattias play five-minute guitar solos.

Mattias: I suppose I am the songwriter of the band. As all four of us, I wasn’t ‘born’ into 80s music. I think we’re all kids of the 90s, really, which meant that we grew up with the sound of overdriven guitars, rather than analogue synths. I got into the music much later, when I discovered bands like The Soft Moon, Agent Side Grinder, Linea Aspera And Boy Harsher. Also acts outside of the genre are an inspiration, such as Mogwai, Goose, Kite and M83. In terms of song writing, I went from doing straightforward hardcore riffs in the 90s, to being in awe of compositions with many layers –Electric Light Orchestra, was an example for some time.

Q: Interesting to read you claim to be ‘children of the 90s’ as your music still sounds 80s Post-Punk-like with a catchy Electronic touch on top. What is it really all about?

Mattias: We definitely do not confine ourselves to the genres of Wave or Post-Punk. I spoke to a music journalist recently who declared himself a ‘fake goth’, since he liked so much music outside of the genre. To some extent, I identify with that term. Personally, I’ve never liked being put in one category. And I think that for the Post-Punk and Goth scene, which distances itself from the dominant Pop culture, it really makes no sense to put people in boxes.

Q: What’s the usual procedure to write a song?

Kenny:In terms of songwriting, the procedure has changed dramatically during the pandemic. Nowadays, Mattias brings his Ableton creations to the rehearsal, and then there’s three scenarios. One, we think it’s crap, don’t say it out loud, but waste a rehearsal to let Mattias notice for himself. Two, the composition is totally perfect and we have a new song within minutes. Three, I or someone else ends up re-arranging the song in Cubase or something, and Mattias approves, or not. Then of course, when we play through the song during rehearsals and each band member cleans up their parts. We also try to take the songs to the stage asap, to see how the audience responds.

Q: How do you perceive the evolution from your debut album “Chaos Control” towards “A Major Walk”? Did you want to improve and/or change certain elements of the production? 

Mattias:I think it’s very clear that this is a much more synth-driven album. Contrary to our debut album, on “A Major Walk” the guitar is subservient to the overall sound. Often guitar play is limited to an eerie Post-Rock tune.

Overall, the album also sounds a bit more Electronic, something we’ve trying to do from the start; play music with a classic trio of instruments (acoustic drums, bass, guitar) and then add synths and samples, so it starts to sound more Electronic. I didn’t realize until after the record was finished, but it also contains a lot of straightforward, punchy songs. Dance music, really.

Q: The lyrical content of your work clearly reflects a darker side and/or -perception of our society. Where does it come from and what did you try to express and maybe exorcize? 

Mattias:I don’t necessarily intend to write dark and brooding lyrics. I guess that is what happens spontaneously when I write. What I usually do is writing one specific scene and develop lyrics from that. For instance, for a new song we’re working on, I use a snippet of a newspaper article I found a while back, talking of a newborn baby found dead in the dunes of the Belgian coast. I imagine what it must be like to give birth to a baby, all alone, crying, bleeding. And leave it behind. In “No Future”, our latest single, I describe the scene of a guy sitting in his house, smoking cigarette after cigarette, watching the news, while the ground floor is on fire. And he stays where he is. Sometimes I write something which comments on broader social issues, but usually it’s just about a compelling story.

Q: How would you define Korinthians as a live band and how do you transpose the songs from the studio to the stage? 

Kenny:I would certainly define Korinthians as a live band. The songs are created during rehearsal with the instruments we have, and all of the songs have been played live many, many times before we end up recording them. And during recording, we try not to go overboard with overdubs and stuff. Firstly, because we cannot afford to go overboard with anything during expensive studio time, and secondly, we also can’t afford to hire additional musicians.

Q: Korinthians clearly seem to be a ‘Do It Yourself’ band. Is it a deliberate choice you made or just because there has been no interesting label deal so far? How do you manage all different aspects of being ‘independent’?

Mattias:Well, it’s not that we oppose the idea of having a label. But I’ve come to realize that I like to control as much as I can the artistic and commercial process. That means, indeed, that you’re keeping a lot of balls in the air. You write songs, you record them, you make art work, you make music videos, you launch online promotion campaigns, you release albums and singles, you write press sheets and send them to journalists, online magazines, labels and whatnot, you reach out to other bands, venues and promoters, you make dedicated merchandise and offer it to your audience, you send parcels all over the world from sales on the band website.

Running a band is hard work. On the other hand, it’s wonderful to have gathered around us a group of people who believe in us; our sound guys Björn and Bart, William at Sonic Rendezvous, our distributor, Malcolm Nix our booker and tour manager, Klaas at RUZD who has been doing a lot of our artwork and design lately. We couldn’t do what we do without their quality work and their dedication.

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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Vogon Poetry consists of three guys from the southern parts of Sweden although they all live in Gothenburg now. It all started out as a competition at an office party 2012 where Roger and Daniel worked. The idea was to create something that could be performed live with only an Ipad to work with. As it happened Roger and Daniel ended up in the same team and wrote the first song for what later would become Vogon Poetry. They didn’t have a singer though but new that there was this guy at the gym where they were training who had this amazing voice, John was asked to join forces on the evening of the competition. They found this collaboration so inspiring and fun that they  wanted to try out another few songs and when they were at it they set up a vote on Facebook for a band name where they had a few different choices but where Vogon Poetry by far was the most popular alternative.  This year Vogon Poetry unleashed their fifth full length album which sounds as pure good-old Synth-Pop. I asked a few questions to the band.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

 Q: Vogon Poetry is already active for a while and has released multiple albums and singles. How did you see the band evolving and what remains from the early songs and years?

VP: I think the idea of writing catchy songs is definitely still there. Also our lyrics twist and turn around science fiction as well as ordinary questions about life and existence so that part is the same. It has however definitely been a process where we have matured as a band with each album we have released and where the soundscapes have become more complex compared to where we started. That said we don’t aim for a specific direction or change of expression but grow and progress organically from experiences collected. We still enjoy some of the early works and both “In Darkness Lost Again” and “The Diceman” from our first album are frequently performed live.

Q: You in the past worked together with the Russian label ScentAir Records although you also self-released multiple works. What have been your experiences working with a label at one side and the D.I.Y. (‘do it yourself’) approach at the other side?

VP: A record label can definitely support a bands journey if they have the muscles for it but today with all possibilities to distribute music both digitally and physically yourself the gain is not as huge as it previously was.

We decided after releasing “The Prefect Stories” together with ScentAir that we as a band actually lost some of the connections with our fans and didn’t make any profit from working with the record label so we decided to continue on our own label Audite Records instead.
 
Q: Let’s talk about your new album “The Guide”. What is this opus all about and how did it come through?

VP: From the beginning we were not sure we wanted to release yet another album. Therefore we released a couple of singles and EPs instead of holding on to new material. After a while we felt though that we do like the album format and that we were getting close to filling an album. The main reason for releasing an album was to have all the songs collected on a physical CD. Since we started out releasing separate tracks we didn’t have a real process of building the album and there is no story flowing through the album although the soundscapes of all the songs do connect well to each other. At least we feel that it is a coherent album sound-wise. Lyrics has always been quite diverse for us so we mix adventures under atomic skies with love stories and we have always done that. As with all our albums the title “The Guide” is taken from Douglas Adams Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.
 
Q: So I guess you didn’t get something like a plan and/or specific influences and/or references you wanted to accomplish for this album? How did the writing and production happened and what’s the usual procedure of working together?

VP: We didn’t really have a plan for the album. It rather consists of 9 building blocks which we wrote separately but felt worked well together. The initial track “Rocinante” was the last one to be written and was intended as an introduction to the album and is also being used as opener to our live shows.

Music and lyrics are usually written by Roger. Almost always with the lyrics as a last piece and mainly during vacations in the sun chair where the imagination and inspiration flows. When we record our vocals we work together on polishing melodies and putting down choir vocals and such.

We also collaborated with the Swedish band Social Ambitions on the two tracks “Time” and “Jag Vill” which was a fantastic experience and great fun.

It was also the first time we brought in an external person to produce and master our songs instead of doing it ourselves and it really brought the songs to a new level of soundscaping and we are incredibly happy with the result.

Q: The sound of Vogon Poetry is clearly evoking good-old 80s Synth-Pop influences and yet there also is a more contemporary and personal touch on top. Tell us a bit more about your ‘sound’ and ‘production’ and how important is the 80s influence in your music?

VP: I think that the 80s never leave your head when you have lived through it. It’s not something we think about when writing music but it’s still there and obviously influence our work.

All that is mixed up with music you are being exposed to today and for Roger, who writes the music, artists such as for example  IAMX and Kite inspire to create something more than just ripping of the 80s.
 
Q: What are the further plans for this year considering singles/EP’s, videos, live performances, eventually new songs etc..?

VP: We are currently working on new material and also an exciting collaboration with another band which hopefully will be released early autumn. Life in general for all of us currently takes a lot of time and therefore we have unfortunately had to turn down a few live performances but we do love to perform live and hope that we can get our schedules together and also that people want to see us perform. It’s a fantastic feeling to connect and bond with the audience and share the music and moment with everyone.

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 Jon Bordon) Next Tuesday, April 4th, the UCR label will be releasing the first single by Dead Satellites, “Be Gone”. The Swedish electronic scene never fails to amaze. Bands like Agent Side Grinder, Kite, and Emmon are breaking records, and the latest newcomer Dead Satellites will try to position itself in between those bands as well.

This first single was recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, in collaboration with Jon Bordon, who has produced for Nicole Sabouné and Agent Side Grinder, among others. The recording features electro artist/producer Kris Sweden, who contributed backing vocals. A few years ago, she had a big hit with Niklas Stememo (Kite) and The Mo in the duet “Nostalgia Locomotive.”

With their music Dead Satellites tries to fill the void left by major bands from the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s. The band comments: “This gap is bridged with an electronic foundation and beat, combined with impeccably arranged guitars in a retrospective soundscape updated for 2023.”

The members of Dead Satellites were one of the pioneers of the new wave of Scandinavian post-punk with the band The Exploding Boy. With that project they released several albums and toured Europe and North America.

Here’s a snippet the band released on Facebook from their debut single.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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Progress Productions is a Swedish label set up in 2004 by Torny Gottberg. Torny already had some label-experience as he worked before for the legendary Energy Rekords. We still know him from his involvement with bands such as Project-X, Cryo ao. Progress Productions is the home of EBM, Dark-Electro and Electro-Pop bands such as Agent Side Grinder, Cryo, Henric De La Cour, Spark!, Necro Facility, Dupont, Code 64, Kite, Wulfband, Sturm Café, System and many more.

(Stéphane Froidcoeur / Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Was there a kind of ‘philosophy’ when you set up your label and did it evolve over the years? How would you define your label activities today?

Torny: Progress Productions started in 2004, but already before that, I had ideas of starting something of my own as I was not really happy with the way that Energy Rekords where I worked was going. I have always been more interested in building something from the very beginning and to evolve with bands while Energy Rekords in the end I felt was more about licensing stuff for the Scandinavian market.

But April 20^th, 2004 I finally took the step to form Progress Productions. I always loved the way labels like Cold Meat Industry and Ant-Zen were setup. That many bands together build sort of a family and that we grow together reaching small goals that we setup. To be honest it´s really the same way I work with the bands we have today. We never thought of ourselves as a label vs. band thing. It´s really a collaboration between label and bands. And the great thing is that so many bands have become friends over the years as we have no internal competition and that’s the way we really wanted it. The funny thing is that when I started Progress I did reach out the other labels we had in Sweden back then as the scene is so small and I had the idea that we all could maybe work together to make the scene a little bit bigger and everyone told me more or less ‘You will not have a chance, you will not last a year’ etc. Well, here we are 17 years later…

But the idea and philosophy behind the label is still exactly the same. Finding new interesting bands, working together and building slowly. I do believe in the ‘quality over quantity’ thinking. Something I think a lot of people should really think about. For me every release is of equal importance and it does not matter if it´s a newcomer no one knows about or one of our more established artists. If I have decided to work with something, it deserves my full attention, and that’s also a reason why we NEVER release more than one record at a time, so nothing drowns or disappear.

Of course, it means that we don’t have several hundred releases in our catalogue, but at least I know that every single one of the releases we have made have been given the time it deserves. So, in that way we have maybe not evolved since the start, but of course one has learned and adapted a lot since 2004, but we are 17 years in more active than ever I would say.

Q: I can imagine you must have specific and explicit criteria to sign an artist/band. Can you give us more details about this aspect and how important is it for you to know the person(s) hiding behind the ‘artist(s)’?

Torny:  Well, for me it has always been really important that I like what I hear. It´s hard to explain, but there is something special I feel every time I find a new act that I want to work with. Something just clicks. After this I normally have a meeting with the band several times to get a feel for the persons behind it if it´s not someone I know since before. Just so we know where we both have each other and that we feel that we are both interested in working toward the same goal. Even though we intend to have a lot of fun together it is always mutual work to reach the goals that we set up together.

I think talent and attitude are of equal importance for me. There are several bands that I really like, but I have felt that it simply will not work out in the end and in those cases I would rather see that someone else can release it and I will support and buy it rather than to release it via Progress. Earlier I always asked the other already signed acts what they thought about something when I found something that I felt was interesting. I still do this from time to time. Of course, I will have the final word in what to do/not to do but it feels important that a new band also fits in well with the other acts and I really respect and value their opinion.

But I don’t really look to, and I really don’t give shit about how many followers a band has on Facebook or Instagram or something. This is something that we build together as we go along. Good music and great attitude gets you there… not followers on Instagram. Or at least it´s what I want to believe. That good music is the foundation for something.

Q: You are already active for numerous years now so you must have seen a lot of things changing and evolving; think about social media, streaming platforms, Youtube channels… but also economic crisis etc. What are the pros and cons of these changes/evolutions and in, which way did you had to adapt/change your strategy and activities?

Torny: Well I don’t know how many that knows this; but I also work a fulltime job within digital distribution in Sweden as a senior label manager/marketing besides Progress. I also founded Border Music’s digital distribution and at the moment we are building a brand-new independent platform for labels. So, I’m very aware of anything new that’s happening. Also, one should have in mind Spotify is a Swedish player, so I have more or less at least weekly contact with them on what’s going on etc. So, in this aspect we are of course very up-to-date on what is happening.

However, I think streaming is something that both has brought good and bad with it (like many other things) as I always have considered labels to be sort of a quality filter for music and nowadays anything can be added to these platforms and the listeners can more or less drown in material. It´s really a double-edged sword. On one hand I like it as anyone has the potential to reach people quickly and that you more or less, at least compete on similar terms. But like I said, on the other hand the scene has been overflooded with material which I think is not ready to be released yet. No quality filter, just straight out.

Of course, the whole marketing strategy has moved a lot as well. From in the early days; placing adverts in magazines (which we still do though) to doing more digital promotion. A big pro is of course that this is a cheaper and much, much, quicker way to reach people, but on the other hand it´s harder to get people’s attention nowadays than before as we are simply pumped with information. I think it´s in the movie “Seven” they say: ‘To get people’s attention nowadays you can’t just tap them on the shoulder, you need to hit them with a sledgehammer’ and in a way this is true. As record labels we also have a lot of new things that compete for consumer spending. People spend more money on other stuff than buying records. So, we as smaller independent labels are of course always struggling. But on the other hand, it´s also an interesting challenge for us. We can’t sit on our ass doing nothing we need to follow / learning / evolve with technology which I think is interesting and good.

But I still try to keep maybe not a whole foot but at least a few toes in the old-school promotional way of working, sending out physical promos etc. I think they key is ‘Don´t be afraid of changes, embrace them’. I mean look what happened with Napster. If the major labels would have understood it´s true potential directly instead of fighting them for years we would never have had any piracy. Thankfully Spotify and other services have more or less eliminated that scene. But I was never afraid of piracy and really never cared if people illegally shared files/music. You just needed to make sure that you released stuff that was WORTH buying. Not having 2-3 good songs and 10 fillers on an album. I know this might sound a little controversial, but the major labels really created this problem themselves and the independents as usual had to pay for their mistakes. And today an average person spends 110 Euro / year on a Spotify account and that’s far more money spent per person than the music scene has had for a long time. And I do believe that people that are still interestedin buying music will continue to do this. Physical sales will never disappear. I mean just look at all the vinyl selling on re-released material. Once again…. don’t be afraid…. Embrace!

Q: The ongoing pandemic has affected all artistic life and activities so what’s the true impact on your label activities and do you think it will also affect your long term objectives?

Torny: Well, a lot of things that were planned did not happen, that´s for sure. We were about to have loads of parties all over the world for our PROCD100-celebration. All of course, got cancelled. But who I really feel the most for during this pandemic are all the venues, tour personal etc. Thankfully Sweden has been pretty generous in supporting people/venues etc. with money and even though it´s not enough it´s still something but I can’t even understand how hard it must have been on them. And I really hope, to be honest that when venues are opening up, that people are not cheap asses asking for guestlists etc. A ticket is not so expensive so do support them when we all get there.

But for Progress I pretty quickly made the decision not to let Covid-19 have any effect on at least the release schedule. I think maybe now it’s more important than ever and that people need new music. Touring and the promotion will have to come later. So, no I don´t see it affecting us in the long run. We more tried our best to do something during these weird times. I created something called “One Hour With”… which is an hour where we invite fans/listeners from all over the world to join their favorite artist/band for an hour to hang out with them, ask questions etc. This has really been a huge success and people have really enjoyed it. But of course, all the bands are missing playing live a lot. But we really just need to hang in there, things will turn for the better and then we will all be back. But like I said what I really find somewhat devastating is record shops, venues, concert agencies, tour/crew personal etc. I really hope we all get the vaccine during the Summer so we can all meet and party in Autumn. However, this is still wishful thinking on my part, but I hope… I really do. Culture is important and we all need it.

Q: Do you think media (magazines, online platforms etc…) still have an impact and a role to play today? What’s your relationship with ‘journalists’ and how important is their work?

Torny:I still think this is really important. At least personally. We are operating on such a small scene so I think we as labels should be extremely grateful for ALL support that we can get. And 99% of people that work for smaller online zines/blogs etc. don’t get payed at all and most work is done on pure passion. This is something I highly respect and also a reason why I still do send physical records to quite a lot of people, at least it´s a small appreciation and something for their hard work. I’m sorry, but I can’t do it for everyone even if I wished I could so don’t feel bad if I sometimes just send you a download link. It´s very expensive for us to send stuff out. Funny enough it’s the postage costs which are the worst in this case.

With this said I don’t know what kind of impact it does have today as so many can listen on Spotify/YouTube or other streaming sites so easy, but for me (40+ year old dinosaur) I still read/check and discover things through these platforms. I try to treat all journalists fairly and nice as I know (I used to run a physical magazine myself) how much work it is behind it. Even though it´s online it´s still a shitload of work behind it. And like I said a BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST even ENORMOUS hat off to all of you people keeping the scene alive with magazine, fanzines, blogs or podcasts etc. You are worth your weight in gold in my book. Keep up the excellent work and I promise I will try to do my part of delivering music your way.

Q: What do you consider as your biggest accomplishment(s)? Do you have specific goals/dreams you want to achieve and how do you prepare and see the future of the label(s)? And what are your biggest regret(s)?

Torny: Well, this will sound cliché like hell. But I do think every time we reach a small goal we set up and when we reach it it´s a big accomplishment. And honestly I’m always extremely humble every time someone gives me the chance to work with their art. I think this is way a record label should think. You should be grateful that people give you this chance. Even though it´s a lot of co-work they still have chosen YOU as a label to work with something they might have spent YEARS doing.

My biggest dream was however to build up a label that has a friendly attitude where we all respect each other within the label. And I could not have wished for better people to have with me on this journey. I really love all the people that are in the bands on the label. But we of course always aim to reach more people / new people and constantly develop together with the music market. But my objectives from start I think we have nailed and I’m really so grateful for this. In regard to the future of labels, I think we will see more labels like Progress in the future where you simply are not just a person that releases the music, but work with setting strategic goals/aims together with the artists. I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty doing merchandise on festivals, being a stagehand, booking agency. The 1980/90s ‘label bosses’ I think/hope will go away and never come back.

Regrets….. hrrmmmm…. I don’t know. Maybe I could say it would have been smart doing Progress earlier in my life, but then again life is too short for regrets and you need to see the result that has come out of what/when you actually did something. It´s always better to look 1 day in the future rather than look back 1 day as we all learn as we go. If you stop feeling that you learn or loose your drive, then I see no purpose in doing this. As it´s for sure not the money that drives or motivates me running Progress Productions. 

Last words: I really hope you all stay safe out there, and that we soon can catch up and enjoy together what we love the most: MUSIC. Meanwhile don’t forget to support the independent music scene. Buy something without pre-listening…. Take a chance… who knows….. it might be the BEST thing you have done. Or if you have a specific release you like…. Surprise a friend with a gift which lasts longer than a coffee or an expensive IPA….

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

The Swedish electronic duo Kite have again worked together with producer Blanck Mass (Benjamin John Power from F-Buttons) after their most recent single “Teenage Bliss”. Their newest single “Bowie ‘95” which is out now.

Singer Nicklas Stenemo and keyboard player Christian Berg tell us that “the lyrics address both the feeling of guilt of not being more part of making the real world much better, but also the acceptance that music and escapism have an important role to play in people’s lives.”

As to why they again worked with Benjamin John Power they say: “When we started Kite the band F-Buttons were a big source of inspiration to us. Since then we have been following Benjamin John Powers brilliant music as Blanck Mass. We are now extremely excited to announce that we are working on the production of two new Kite tracks with him.”

You can check the singles 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.

side-line.com

The Swedish indie-electro duo Kite has launched a brand new track ‘Tranås/Stenslanda’ which you can listen to below. The single comes backed by the track “Hopelessly Unholy (Orchestral Version)”.

The track is accompanied by a video directed by Marcus Malmström who says this about the video: “Having grown up in a small, rural place myself, I wanted to capture that decade-long wait to get away and start a life for yourself. Those drifting, longing thoughts that become rarer as you get older and in hindsight shaped the person you are today.”

Synth indie from Stockholm

Based in Stockholm, the duo is composed by singer Nicklas Stenemo, who grew up in the small town of Stenslanda and keyboard player Christian Berg who came from the even smaller town Tranås. After performing with various synth/indie outfits separately, they finally joined forces and started Kite. The opening track of their first EP, “Ways to Dance”, was an instant club hit in Sweden.

Following last year’s performance at Way Out West Festival and two sold-out shows at The Royal Opera in Stockholm, alongside a 16-piece orchestra, Kite are currently working on new music and gearing up for more live shows later on in the year.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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

Background/Info: Sweat Boys is a new name hailing from Wisconsin (USA), which joined hands together with Gave/Take to unleash this debut vinyl featuring five songs. The songs are a ‘about love, redemption, and partying.’

Content: Sweat Boys are clearly inspired by different electro-pop standards. Some passages are taking us back to the 80s while other ones are more into an indie style. From melodic parts towards refined parts, this work is quite diversified, but never into ‘classical’ electro-pop music. They invited Niklas Stenemo from the Swedish electro-pop band Kite to sing on one of the tracks.

+ + + : I can’t really say there’s a main song featured at this maxi as we get 5 different cuts. That’s a very good way to get a better idea about the bands potential. I prefer the more melodic and electro-pop driven “You’re Gone”. “Endlessly” featuring Niklas Stenemo is also worthy of examination.

– – – : This EP is missing a real title song.

Conclusion: I can’t say that I was totally convinced by this debut, but I’ll wait for more to get a better idea about their potential.

Best songs: “You’re Gone”, “Endlessly feat. Niklas Stenemo”.

Rate: (6).

Artist: www.facebook.com/SweatBoysBand

Label: https://www.givetake.life / www.facebook.com/givetakelife

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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Black Needle Noise, featuring legendary producer John Fryer (Cocteau Twins, Depeche Mode, This Mortal Coil), has teamed up with PIG for the download track “Seed Of Evil”. “Seed of Evil” features PIG vocalist Raymond Watts.

Watts explains how the collaboration started: “When John Fryer called, it was like cream was fed to my poison crop. I was thrilled to lend Satan’s little helping hand to Black Needle Noise,” says Watts of the devilish collaboration. “The result from this marriage made in hell was appropriately called ‘Seed of Evil’ … it pours out of me into the night, where the devil ties it nice and tight.”

Fryer meanwhile states: “After many a moon passing we finally get to work together again. I had to find the right song for Raymond but I think we have a great noise-pop hit on our hands. It’s been a real pleasure working with Raymond on this and I can’t wait to hear it in the clubs.”

Black Needle Noise has previously released music featururing a diverse who’s who of alternative vocalists such as Mimi Page (Delirium), Jennie Vee (bassist, Hole), Ana Breton (Dead Leaf Echo), Omniflux (Puscifer), Kendra Frost (Kite Base), Andrea Kerr (Colt), Sivert Hoyem, Antic Clay, and ZiaLand, among others.

“Seed Of Evil” is now available on Bandcamp, and you can check it out 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.

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Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, experimental.

Background/Info: Black Needle Noise has been introduced as ‘music for the movies you haven’t dream of yet…’ It first of all is the music project set up by John Fryer who gained an international reputation as producer for legendary artists such as Fad Gadget, Depeche Mode, Clan Of Xymox, NIN, Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil ao. From time to time John Fryer also like to compose his own songs under the Black Needle Noise moniker.

Content: For “Lost In reflections” the legendary British producer invited some great artists to sing on his compositions. Bill Leeb (FLA, Delirium), Mimi Page (Delirium), Jennie Vee (Hole), Ana Breton (Dead Leaf Echo), Omniflux (Puscifer), Kendra Frost (Kite Base), Andrea Kerr (Colt), Sivert Hoyem, ZiaLand and Dr. Strangefryer joined hands with John Fryer.

The sonic universe of Fryer is clearly reflecting his passion for electronic sound creation. It sounds pretty pop-minded with a sensual touch on top because of the great singers. But the artists also like to create- and manipulate sounds and noises. It injects an experimental element to the songs, but also sounds minimal-like.
+ + + : What you expect from a sound producer is that he deals with a very own vision in sound and that’s precisely what comes through when discovering this album. John Fryer deals with pop, but composes his songs with industrial-like sounds. It creates a delicious contrast with the mainly female and sensual vocals. But the song featuring Bill Leeb (still released as EP title track) is also worthy of examination as it’s pretty hard to recognize Leeb singing in a different and still a bit sensual way as well. The singers have been chosen for their exceptional skills. Singers and music together create a styled sonic osmosis resulting in a few outstanding pieces such as “Teeth To Grey” featuring Omniflux, “Warning Sign” featuring Kendra Frost, “She Stands On A Storm” featuring Andrea Kerr and “Breathless Speechless” featuring Sivert Hoyem (reminding me of Nick Cave).

– – – : It’s not that easy to define the music of John Fryer. Even if I think that’s rather positive it’s not the most accessible pop releases and not the kind of songs you’ll directly keep in mind and sing along.

Conclusion: John Fryer accomplished an album filled with reverie, which also is an intimate composition featuring talented vocalists. But it mainly reveals a creative electro-pop process from one of the cult producers from the 4AD label roster.

Best songs: “Teeth To Grey”, “Warning Sign”, “She Stands On A Storm”, “Breathless Speechless”, “A Shiver Of Want”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/BlackNeedleNoise

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

Tragic Impulse is a rather new EBM-minded solo-project set up and driven by Paul M. Graham. The second album “Devil On Your Shoulder” released on Distortion Productions will be for sure an opportunity to discover this American artist dealing with a dark EBM format.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Tell us a bit more about your artistic background and activities, which finally brought you to set up Tragic Impulse?

Paul: I started experimenting with electronic music in the early-mid 2000’s and to be honest, I was pretty bad at. I remember getting a remix kit for one of Informatik’s songs and I gave up on it pretty quickly because I just didn’t have the skills to pull it off. I kept working at it though and in 2012 I submitted the song “Apocalyptic Visions” to the “Electronic Saviors 2”-compilation under the project name Eisengeist. The song had no lyrics/vocals and it was pretty raw from a production standpoint, but it got accepted and appeared on the bonus track section of the compilation.

Gaining confidence from the Eisengeist track, I decided to put more time and energy into making electronic music. However, I wanted to go in a different direction musically so Tragic Impulse was born.

Q: I guess you must notice a serious move in sound, writing and global production from “Machine Parts” (debut album released in 2014) towards the new work “Devil On Your Shoulder”?

Paul: I do feel that “Devil On Your Shoulder” represents a degree of maturation in my overall sound, writing and production. When I was working on “Devil On Your Shoulder”, I remember being very critical of the production value on “Machine Parts” because it felt so inferior to me at the time (still does). I think the biggest reason for this is that between albums I continue to get better at translating my ideas into finished and more refined products. New synthesizers, studio gear, and equipment upgrades always has some impact on this as well. I’ve already started working on the next album and feel that the sound, writing, and production is superior to “Devil On Your Shoulder” as well. I’m excited about it! I see all this as growth so it’s a good thing.

As far as sound goes, I dabbled with things like pitch-shifted vocals on “Machine Parts” (cf. “I’ll Be Your God” & “I Hear Footsteps”) but none of that appears on “Devil On Your Shoulder”. That’s something I probably won’t go back to but you never know. “Devil On Your Shoulder” is more representative of the vocal style/feel I’ll be using going forward. I do love a good vocoder though so that’s not going anywhere LOL.

Q: Tell us a bit more about the new work and especially the kind of album you’d in mind?

Paul: I originally considered making “Devil On Your Shoulder” a concept-album but it never really materialized. Although not electronic, I always loved Queensryche’s concept-album “Operation Mindcrime” and wanted to do something in that vein lyrically (I still might).

Beyond that, I really just wanted to make an album that had good dancefloor appeal. I love knocking back a pint or two at the local goth club to loud stompy music and Tragic Impulse I think reflects that. Otherwise, I tend to mix things up from song to song thematically.

Q: What’s the deeper meaning of the title “Devil On Your Shoulder” and what’s the importance of the lyrical content of your songs?

Paul: The song “Devil On Your Shoulder” is largely about temptation and schadenfreude. People do some horrible things at the expense of their fellow humans and the song explores that metaphorically. As for the title, I like albums with a title/track relationship and I thought “Devil On Your Shoulder” stood out so I went with it.

The rest of the album covers a lot of ground lyrically and thematically. “Flesh And Blood” is about how being different is OK. “Evolution Revolution” is about reinventing yourself  and “Lightstpeed” is about the vastness and wonderment of our universe. Ultimately though, the songs are about whatever the listener wants them to be and I have to say nothing feels better than when a fan tells you a song resonated with them on a personal level. That’s happened more than I expected on this album and it’s always a delight to hear.

Q: Do you have some referential musicians, bands, producers… and what make them ‘special’ to you?

Paul: There’s so many artists and people who have influenced me that it’s a hard question to answer in this limited space. To pick a few though, I would say that Project Pitchfork – particularly their early works – has had a big influence on me. From the music to the lyrics to their live shows, everything that band does just resonates with me. I also love the way Daniel Graves (Aesthetic Perfection) works a stage. I’ve seen him play to both small and large crowds and he brings the same amazing energy and intensity each time. Claus Larsen is also a big influence. One of the highlights of my burgeoning musical career has been sharing a stage with him. He’s an incredible artist and an even better person.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Jim Semonik (Distortion Productions/Red Lokust) as a big influence as well. I don’t think I’ve met a person with as much perseverance, passion, and dedication to the EBM/Industrial scene as him. I feel pretty lucky to have him as a friend as well.

Q: Referring to live performances, Tragic Impulse doesn’t have a real live experience so far. How comes and what kind of show might the audience expect during the next months? How do you transpose the studio work on stage and will you get some help from extra members?

Paul: Although it’s taken a while to get going, the live show is actually up and running. Over the last year I’ve shared the stage with Leaether Strip, Ludovico Technique, and Kite to name a few. The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive and future live performances, such as a “Distortion Prod”-tour in Summer and “Danse Macabre 2” in Pittsburgh around Halloween, are being planned.

The big reason the live show took a while to get going is that I wanted finished music I could put into the hands of people who wanted it after a live performance. I know a lot of bands get started doing live music before moving on to recording but I’ve always found this counter-intuitive. I’ve had people buy my music after every gig I’ve done so I think the strategy works. Another reason the live show took a while to get going was just translating the studio work to the stage. I had to invest in new portable gear and this took some time and money to sort out. It was time well spent however and I’m pretty happy with the results.

I’m definitely looking to add more people for live performances. At a minimum, I’d like to have someone on keys and maybe add a drummer for bigger gigs. I’ve talked to a few people about that so we’ll see how it goes. Other than that, I’d love to catch on with a festival or two as well. I went to WGT in Germany for the first time last year and all I could think about – other than Schwarzbier and bratwurst (yum!) – was how awesome it would be to perform there.

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

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

Yesterday we got a message via Instagram in from the Swedish artist Lizette Lizette announcing a new single, “Rest”. “Rest” features a duet with Nicklas Stenemo and it’s a real hit in the making, of course we added it immediately to our Spotify playlist.

”Rest” is the first single from the upcoming debut album, ”Queerbody”, which has been co-produced by Nicklas Stenemo (Kite, Nicole Sabouné). In this song, Stenemo also contributes some vocals. The band’s sound is clearly inspired by old New Beat-acts from Belgium like In-D and Split Second. That new sound is defined as being ‘queerbody’.

The sound has its roots in the synth-genre but it is at the same time a statement by Lizette Lizette against it, “criticizing the traditional synth-genre for being conservative and male-dominated”. The debut album will be released the 18th of January and the release party takes place at Taverna Brillo in Stockholm.

Here’s the video for the track:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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“Warning Sign” is a brand new track by the John Fryer powered project Black Needle Noise with Kendra Frost on vocals. The track notably features some of Fryers trademark Cocteau Twins guitars in it underlining some of Frost’s best vocal performances.

You can listen/download the track for free (or pay-what-you-want) below:

We had a small chat with Fryer regarding the recording process for this particular song: “Like all the songs for this project the music was recorded here in Oslo. As usual I was looking for a singer who I think would be awesome on it. I asked Kendra and sent her the song. She sang her own words and melodies so it became ‘our’ song, not just just her singing on a John Fryer song. Once I had the vocals back and mixed it, I played it to her and made sure she was happy too. Note that the middle part of the song was inspired by “Madame Butterfly” from Malcolm Mclaren.”

Kendra Frost has her own Band, Kite Base with the bass player from Savages, Ayse Hassan.

For those wondering what track Fryer is referring too, here it is:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

side-line.com

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) Silent Wave are back with a new single, “Dancing Away From You”, in a limited edition of 100 copies.

Darker, harder and more beautiful than ever, the black lyrics and enchanting melodies by Tildeh Hjelm are backed by a more massive sound than before. The jazz-drummer Martin Öhman (Klabbes Bank, The Moth) adds organic groove and the mix by Hans Olsson Brookes (Nicole Sabouné, I Break Horses, Kite) completes the track.

Hans about release details and what’s next:
Silent Wave does it all themselves, DIY in it’s most pure and brilliant form. “Dancing Away From You” will also be released digitally on November 20th on Sony (Spotify player below), and “War”, the other 7″ track, will be the next digital release early 2016. 

Get this gem right here.

jrstange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

www.facebook.com/jrstange

Genre/Influences: Synth-pop.

Content: Nicklas Stenemo and Christian Berg better known as Kite are back on track delivering their 6th (cf. “VI”)-EP to date. The duo has always been a real particular formation for its global concept, avoiding to be considered as an ‘average’ synth-pop formation, and for their sound.

Kite appears to be a kind of antidote to established synth-pop formations trying to emulate a bigger band in the genre. Kite has never released a full length album and it all looks like it’s not really their cup of tea. Quite progressively the band is getting more and more recognition and this new EP will possibly become the work that will really push them into the spotlight.

“VI” is a little jewel revealing unique sound treatments, mainly based on vintage electro sounds and the golden 80s electronics. The somewhat androgenic timbre of voice of the singer always has been one of the main characteristics of Kite and it’s not that different on “VI”. The least I can say is that this EP reveals a magic twist between passionate and captivating vocals and refreshing electronics.

“Up for Life” appears to be a sweet, and enjoyable opener till the final part of the song, which is absolutely magnificent. The progression of this composition moves from an elevating chorus towards an apotheosis featuring children choir and pure old-styled electro treatments. This song will entertain you for more than 8 minutes reaching an absolute climax.

The next two songs are carried by dynamic rhythm patterns and an increased old-school electro approach composed with beautiful sound sculptures. Kite is not exactly reinventing synth-pop music, but their sound is based on old standards mixed with a very own and contemporary touch. And that’s precisely what makes this band unique because there’s only one Kite active in this scene. I was amazed by the great evolution in the global production of their work. “True Colours” simply confirms this great move forward. The song is somewhat moodier, but again accomplished by divine sound treatments. The vocals were produced in a real passionate way here.

“Nocturne” is the ultimate song and appears to be the perfect ‘outro’ cut because of its somewhat evasive and instrumental format.

Conclusion: Kite has progressively, but surely gain a real high level of synth-pop music, which is merging creativity and professionalism. This is a brilliant exposure of Kite’s growing talent.

Best songs: “True Colours”, “Up For Life”, “Count The Days”, “It’s Ours”.

Rate: (Elise Din:9)Elise Din.

Band: www.facebook.com/KiteHQ

Label: www.progress-productions.com / www.facebook.com/progresspro

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