Following the release of the post-punk/dark-wave album “Danse Danse” by Mekong on the 3rd of May 2024, the third single, also titled “Danse Danse”, is now live.

The track comes accompanied by a music video directed by Pedro Viernes which stars Liudmyla Radyk continuing her role from the previous two singles’ videos “Going Numb” and “Ice Cold”. The track is now streaming on all major platforms and the video is available below.

Mekong is a Kraków, Poland-based act which crosses post-punk with a glimpse of 80’s goth culture.

You can download the album 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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Data Void emerged from the collaborative efforts of Don Gordon (Numb, Halo_Gen) and James Mendez (Jihad ao). This year, they released their debut album, “Strategies Of Dissent,” on Metropolis Records. The songs feature a Dark-Electro and EBM sound, yet there’s an overwhelming Cinematic vibe running through the work. It is a remarkable opus, and I had the opportunity to connect with Don and James, who revealed many details about their work and album. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: The two of you have been in the music industry for a long time, but what has brought you together, and what has led to the origins of Data Void?”?

JM: The very beginnings of the project initially began back in June of 2020, where I initiated the idea of collaborating on a song to see how things would progress. In response, Don shared some early ideas that which evolved into the track “Seven Seconds”. The idea of collaborating on music together was something that came up after many different discussions we had (both music / non-music related) throughout the approximate year and half we remained in contact since meeting up in Southeast Asia where I met Don for dinner in Ho Chi Minh City where he was living at that time. From there, it wasn’t something we both knew we were going to pursue and continued working on more ideas/material which sort of played out organically throughout the entire process up to what you hear on the finished album.

DG: While there wasn’t an initial plan to release anything we realized quite quickly that there was something quite unique coming together out of the experiments. This led to discussion about possibly releasing some of the material as an EP which over time expanded into an album. The conceptual framework for the album emerged after the first couple of songs were finished. The name of the project was suggested by the alignment between themes we were exploring lyrically and articles that I was reading concerned with information data voids and misinformation/propaganda.

Q: I can imagine that such a new project must be very exciting. Did it feel that way for you throughout the entire writing and production process? How did the songs on the album come together?

DG: The album was developed through the online exchange of audio and MIDI files and lots of discussion. This meant that there wasn’t a lot of real-time interaction during the writing phase. The process would start with one of us sending a sketch of a groove or harmonic progression to the other person who would use this as a creative jumping off point. The first couple of exchanges usually led to quite marked departures and evolutions from the original source idea. This iterative back and forth allowed for unexpected ideas to be introduced and a more reflective approach to development of ideas. After structuring the primary instrumental components of a song, I would write lyrics and record a version of the vocals. These were forwarded to James who would then record an alternate variation. The most interesting elements from these different versions were then used as the basis for a song’s vocals. This resulted in some songs in which the main vocal part would alternate between James and myself in the verses and chorus (i.e. “Crash, Burn & Resurrect”), other songs where both vocal approaches were integrated throughout, and in some there would only be a single vocalist (i.e. “A Failure Of Language”, “This Night Goes On Forever”). While I executed the final mixes, these too would undergo revision based on discussion.

JM: I was really exciting to see how the ideas we started out with would evolve as they developed into full-length songs, and in turn how this would lead to a complete album. It was quite interesting to see how we both approached the song writing process, along with all technical aspects (i.e., sounds, textures, percussion, mixing elements, etc.).

Regarding how the songs came about on the album; one of us would start out by sending the other a short clip (~45s – 1m) that would entail several different sequences  that represented the beginnings of an idea where the other would then add additional parts to compliment where the other left off. Going back and forth in this fashion until we completed the outline of what felt like the song should be. We would complete a rough draft of each song and then repeat the process again, starting out with more ideas until we eventually completed the next song and so on. As we continued working on each song, we would also discuss all of the details via email, chats, and video calls when things became a bit more complex, as this would save a lot of time in conveying our thought process.

We both use different DAWs (Logic Pro and Ableton Live) when writing music but also use several of the same virtual instruments / effects which helped make things a little easier when sharing files back and forth. We would share a combination of audio files, MIDI, VST patches, screenshots, configuration files, etc. so we could essentially mirror all of the individual sequenced tracks and song structures on both of our DAWs respectively as we continued to complete each song.

After we finished each song, Don would write lyrics and share them along with a rough sketch as to how they may be structured. The vocal structure would also undergo the same iterative approach going back and forth until we were content with the final outcome. After finishing three songs, we both reevaluated what we were going to do as far as a release was concerned and decided to continue working on more music until we felt we had enough songs to complete an entire album.

Q: The title of the album, “Strategies Of Dissent”, sounds intriguing and particularly relevant in the context of world politics. What is the album all about, and what inspired the lyrics?

DG: Lyrically and conceptually the album explores the themes of power, control and resistance to it, and the attraction for many to ‘lost causes’. Each song takes a different perspective, a different strategy if you will, to engaging with these themes. Not surprisingly, information spaces, misinformation, conspiracies, and technology figure into this with most of the songs having their basis in contemporary events and social/political currents. That being said, the lyrics were constructed so as not to come across as didactic, but instead to present these ideas at a more personal level.

“Nothing Changes” is intended as a ‘call to arms’ in response to the deception and erosion of individual control being exercised by big tech, corporations/banks and governments. The dilemma is that this is not some unified grand conspiracy but rather the outcome of a number of overlapping and competing self-motivated agendas.
“A Failure Of Language” and to a degree “What’s Left Unsaid” question the current collapse of language, the appeal of conspiracy theories and skepticism, and the increasing failure of our ability to communicate meaningfully and where this leads. A new Babel?

“Echoes Of Ritualised Performance”, while an instrumental track, was inspired by our need to repeat inherently negative social behaviors/tropes of the past and a seeming inability to learn from these… each echo a further degraded/distorted version of an initializing event from the past.

“This Night Goes On Forever” was conceived of as a reflection on the individual consequences for those who found themselves supporting and surviving a major conflict started for the wrong reasons, and the resultant aftermath of physical, psychological traumas and guilt that extend far past the event.

The 2020 Hong Kong protests and the 2021 coup in Myanmar resonated strongly with me after having lived in Southeast Asia for 20 years. So “Alien” was inspired by photos, reportage and interviews about these events and was an attempt to try and put yourself into the head of a person who has found their world suddenly and radically changed and themselves unexpectedly at the center of violence and/or as a symbol of resistance.
“The Goal Of Seven Seconds” was to evoke an anthemic quality while presenting a scathing critique of those who ‘sell dogma and deceit’ in order to incite an ill-conceived end of days for their own personal gain.

The tracks “Crash, Burn And Resurrect” and “Control” were written as a comment on the rise of extremist rhetoric and behavior.

Q: You’ve explained how this collaboration took shape, but can you tell us more about the chemistry between you?

DG: My sense is that the chemistry comes from our overlapping but distinct musical reference points and different approaches to our creative processes. It was the embrace of these differences that provided the creative dynamic that led to many of the interesting ideas as we developed over album.

JM: It was quite interesting for me to reconnect with Don 22 years after first meeting him in 1996 Austin, TX when Numb was on tour with FLA and Die Krupps. It became clear that we share some common perspectives and ideas about different things, which also happens to carry over into music. And because of our similar yet different musical preferences and approaches in our writing styles, this played a significant part into how the album turned out. As part of the musical journey when collaborating on the album, one thing I can appreciate is being challenged in a way that I would constantly be conscious of the writing style and mood I would contribute, to deliberately not write in the same fashion I am typically accustomed to and comfortable with. It certainly helped me take a different approach to writing for this project and in general.

Q: “As experienced musicians, do you still have certain influences or references when making and finishing a song? Also, how would you describe the album “Strategies Of Dissent”?

DG: In many ways you never outgrow your early influences as they are a baseline to which you add, refine and push-back against over the years. While I’m always listening to new artists and across genres, I find those early influences still subtly find their way into my more recent work.

“Strategies Of Dissent” is an album in the ‘old-school’ sense, a series of thematically connected songs that have been ordered in a manner so as to present the listener with a loosely structured narrative rather than just a collection of songs. I feel this provides a more interesting experience for the listener and allows them to get a better sense of where the project is coming from.

JM: Having been exposed to so many different kinds of music styles, genres, and artists over the years (to include the discovery of new bands regularly), there are many references I feel that have made their way (subconsciously) into music I’ve written years ago including some of the more recent work I’ve done. I think it’s inevitable.

With “Strategies Of Dissent” we set out to capture the intensity of early Electro-Industrial and integrate this into more contemporary Electronic music sound. The album as a whole, in my opinion, is homogeneous in that each song works well independently and thematically throughout the entire album.

Q: What does the future hold after this album? Do you have any concrete plans at the moment?

DG: We’ve been thinking about a follow-up release (EP?) with a combination of new material and dub versions of some tracks from “Strategies Of Dissent”. We’re also exploring the possibility for a version of Data Void to do some live European shows.

JM: We have discussed in passing the idea of working on some new material, whether that would be a new single/EP or possibly a new album at some point to also include some alternate versions of existing tracks. We’re also considering live alternate versions of the songs for some shows in Europe later this year and next.

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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Norwegian ambient/experimental artist Karsten Hamre, now based in Sofia, Bulgaria, is back with two releases. The first one is under the Defraktor moniker with the album “From the Netherworld” for which he has started to perform live with a forthcoming live appearance on the 13th of May in Sofia Bulgaria. The next that was just put up on Bandcamp is Karsten Hamre’s new instalment in the ‘Through Alien Eyes’ series: “The Veil Between Worlds: Echoes of The Past”.

You can order both releases below. The first is Karsten Hamre’s new instalment in the ‘Through Alien Eyes’ series: “The Veil Between Worlds: Echoes of The Past”.

And this is Defraktor’s “From the Netherworld”.

About Karsten Hamre

Hamre has created music across various genres such as dark ambient, drone, neoclassical, and experimental electronic music. With more than 25 years of experience in the music industry, Hamre has established himself as one of the most innovative and influential artists in Norway. He is also a visual artist and has created a number of striking album covers and artwork.

Hamre’s musical journey started in the early 1990s when he formed the experimental music project, Penitent, which released the debut album “Melancholia” on the legendary Cold Meat Industry label. With Penitent, Hamre explored the darker and more atmospheric side of music, incorporating elements of industrial, neoclassical, and dark ambient music to create a unique sound that would later become his trademark.

Count to that his work under aliases and in groups such as Arcane Art, Beastus Rex, Defraktor, Dense Vision Shrine, Veiled Allusions, Museum Of Transient Lights and The Flux Komplex.

Here’s part of his large discography:

• “The Beauty of Pain” by Penitent (1997) – Released by Draenor Productions.
• “As Life Fades Away” by Penitent (1998) – Released by Draenor Productions.
• “Roses By Chaos Spawned” by Penitent (1999) – Released by Memento Mori.
• “Through The Corridors Of Time” by Veiled Allusions (2000) – Released by L.S.D. Organisation.
• “The Cursed Artist” by Arcane Art (2000) – Released by Memento Mori.
• “A Curious Dimension” by Veiled Allusions (2000) – Released by Bestial Records.
• “Visions Of The World” by Veiled Allusions (2001) – Released by Counter Attack Productions.
• “Reflections Of Past Memories” by Penitent (2001) – Released by Counter Attack Productions.
• “Songs Of Despair” by Penitent (2002) – Released by Beyond Productions.
• “Split” by Vinterriket/Veiled Allusions (2002) – Released by Neodawn Productions and Regimental Records.
• “Rosenkranz” by Veiled Allusions (2002) – Released by Dragon Flight Recordings LLS.
• “Litanies Of Desire” by Dense Vision Shrine (2003) – Released by Beauty And Pain.
• “Dream A Little Dream” by Museum Of Transient Lights (2004) – Released by Trinity Records Hong Kong.
• “A Shapeless Beauty” by Penitent (2004) – Released by Trinity Records Hong Kong.
• “Themes For The Lunatic” by Defraktor (2004) – Released by Trinity Records Hong Kong.
• “Lost Illusions” by The Flux Komplex (2004) – Released by Trinity Records Hong Kong.
• “Deserted Dreams” by Penitent (2004) – Released by Beyond Productions.
• “Nightly Terrors” by Arcane Art (2004) – Released by Trinity Records Hong Kong.
• “Die My Illusion” by Dense Vision Shrine (2005) – Released by Einzeleinheit.
• “Broken Whispers” by Karsten Hamre (2005) – Released by Flood The Earth.
• “A Voyage Of Imagination” by Dense Vision Shrine (2006) – Released by Epidemie Records.
• “Unwinding The Inside” by Dense Vision Shrine (2007) – Released by Rape Art Productions.
• “Placenta World” by Karsten Hamre vs. Kenji Siratori (2007) – Released by Hypermodern.
• “Among The Sleepless” by Penitent (2007) – Released by Hydra.
• “A Hole In The Void Of Time (Part 1 & Part 2)” by Defraktor (2007) – Released by Lona Records.
• “Time Lost In Oblivion” by Dense Vision Shrine (2009) – Released by First Fallen Star.
• “Magic & Mystery” by Dense Vision Shrine (2012) – Released by NeoKunst.
• “When The Gods Die” by Arcane Art (2012) – Released by NeoKunst.
• “Compendium II” by Karsten Hamre (2014) – Released by Black Mask Media.
• “When Darkness Descends (Defraktor Remix Session)” by Veiled Allusions (2014) – Released by Black Mask Media.
• “Through Alien Eyes Volume I” by Karsten Hamre (2017) – Released by Wounded Hearts Productions.

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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The Dutch act Kong is back with an all new album, “Traders Of Truth”, their first full album since “Stern” released in 2014.

The album contains 11 (almost entirely) instrumental tracks featuring Kong’s signature mix of metal, prog, dance, industrial and ambient ingredients. The material for this release has been recorded over a period of two years in a basement and two attics in Amsterdam and a former cloister in Amersfoort. Dag Erik Nygaard (Abbath, The Gathering, Ribozyme) mixed the album in Bergen, Norway.

Here’s the new album.

About Kong

Kong is an Amsterdam-based band whose music is nearly all instrumental, with the only vocals being an eclectic blend of sampling. The band takes a quadrophonic approach to their shows with live performances being played in a quadraphonic setup, with each band member having his/her own independent stage and PA system. If you have seen them live, it’s for sure a special experience.

The band was formed in 1988 by guitarist/synth programmer Dirk de Vries, guitarist Aldo Sprenger, bassist/synth programmer Mark Drillich, and drummer Rob Smits. The band released their debut album “Mute Poet Vocalizer” in 1990 and started touring across Europe. Kong’s second album “Phlegm” was released in 1992 and contains the band’s best-known song “Stockhouse”.

The band released the follow-up to “Phlegm”, “Push Comes To Shove”, in 1995. Shortly after the release, founding members Sprenger and Smits left the band and were replaced by guitarist Marieke Verdonk and drummer Rob Snijders. With this lineup, Kong recorded the album “Earmined”; their first album to be released by Roadrunner Records. Snijders left in 1998, and drumming duties for 1999’s “Freakcontrol” album were split between new drummer Klaas Broekema and former member Rob Smits.

After touring in support of “Freakcontrol”, the band decided to take an “open-ended sabbatical” and virtually disbanded.

Seven years later the band was revived by Drillich, and completed by guitarist Tijs Keverkamp, guitarist/synth operator David Kox, and drummer Mandy Hopman. In 2009 the album “What It Seems Is What You Get” was released by the band’s own label Kongenial. The year after the album “Merchants Of Air” was released (2012) Hopman left Kong and was succeeded by Oscar Alblas. 2014 saw Kong’s third album since their revival, being released, entitled “Stern”. An EP with rerecorded songs from 1992’s “Phlegm” was released in 2020, titled “Phlegmatism”.

Kong’s albums from the 1990s and early 2000s have long been out of print, but are available digitally from the band’s Bandcamp page.

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: Techno, Minimal-Electro, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: SwedishSHXCXCHCXSH is back on track and joined hands again with avian to unleash their new album.

Content: “Kongestion” covers a wide range of electronic grounds. That’s maybe why this duo is sometimes defined as ‘Abstract-Techno’, but they move from Minimal-Electronics accentuated by heavy sound blasts to a mix of Techno and Power-Noise to ‘softer’, dreamy passages.

+ + + : “Kongestion” is maybe one of the band’s most accessible projects. I especially enjoyed the minimalism of the work achieved with noticeable sound treatments. The opening cut “Kong” is a great cut, but I mainly recommend the final one “Tion”. It all sounds simple, but the power is emerging from the sound treatments. I also recommend listening to the colder and wafting “Stio”. 

– – – : It’s not an easy thing to catch the work of this project; it all sounds a bit anarchistic so you need a few listens to get into it. 

Conclusion: SHXCXCHCXSH remains a sonic enigma, but those Swedes clearly try to do things a different way.

Best songs: “Tion”, “Kong”, “Stio”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/shxcxchcxsh

Label: www.a-v-n.com / www.facebook.com/AvianUK

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 today is a brand new video from Australia’s Dandelion Wine for the single “Too Late She Cried”. The video was directed by Naomi Edwards (the associate director of “Harry Potter & The Cursed Child”) and features the same LED Volume technology made famous by the Mandalorian series.

“Too Late She Cried” is from the band’s album “Le Cœur” that received the excellent score of 9 in Side-Line last October, it also featured in our Top 25 albums of 2020. “Too Late She Cried” is the third video from Dandelion Wine’s “Le Cœur” album.

Here’s what the band says about the song itself: “It’s a song about anxiety, panic, strength and overcoming fear, featuring bell cittern (medieval string instrument), drop tuned cello, recorder with analogue synths, electronic beats and Greek percussion rhythms.”

You can watch this rather amazing video below. Warmly recommended!

On “Le Cœur” the band for the first time worked together with cellist Francesca Mountfort. The album also features guest appearances by percussionist Rüdiger Maul (Faun), bassist Denni Meredith (Brillig), frame drummer Phil Coyle (Deep Water Orchestra, Trappist Afterland), Hong Kong based erhu player HakGwai Lau and bass/Fender VI player Pete McKeown.

About Dandelion Wine

Dandelion Wine are an ethereal electro-medieval band from Melbourne, Australia who combine folk/medieval instruments and female vocals with electronic beats and textured guitars. They have toured Europe, Asia and Australia numerous times and have played festivals, clubs and castles from Tokyo to London, Lisbon to Bucharest.

Following the release of their 2002 EP “Light Streaming Down”, Dandelion Wine embarked on their first European tour which continued in 2003. Since then, they released three albums on the German label Ars Musica Diffundére/Black Rain Media Group. Live the band often played as a duo or with special guests such as bassist Steve Wheeler (Heligoland, Robin Guthrie) and multi-instrumentalist Kirstin Honey (Seascapes Of The Interior, Made Of Steam). After a brief guest appearance at a concert at Rakvere Castle in Estonia the band officially expanded to a trio with New Zealand born cellist Francesca Mountfort.

As of that date the band consists of: Naomi Henderson (vocals, flute, recorder, percussion, HandSonic, guitar, electronics), Nicholas Albanis (guitars, lute, hammered dulcimer, Appalachian dulcimer, bell cittern, electronics, vocals) and Francesca Mountfort (cello, bowed psaltery, hammered dulcimer, glockenspiel, vocals).

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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The last few months Daniel Bressanutti aka Daniel B. (Front 242, Morf, Prothèse) has joined the Acronym project. The project has now partnered with the Republic of Gamers to launch skyanycolour.com, an online group exhibition featuring over 50 artists and designers.

Daniel B.: “The project’s purpose is to explore humanity’s increasingly complex relationship with the future, a topic that has become even more relevant given the events of this year.”

Here’s the trailer for the project.

Over 50 artists and designers were introduced to form smaller breakout teams, each choosing their own formats. Initial works were showcased inside the recently-released Acronym X ROG ZEPHYRUS G14–ACRNM®, limited edition laptop, and form basis for the Sky Any Colour program launch. The ongoing exhibition, with new film, animation, music, graphic and photographic works will continue to be released on skyanycolour.com into the first quarter of 2021. Acronym also partnered with the incubator accelerator Hxouse, co-founded by artist, The Weeknd, creative director, La Mar Taylor and global innovator, Ahmed Ismail.

The participants in this multi-disciplinary project include Daniel Bressanutti, Ruben Fro, Sebeyu, Laura Dubuk, Aaron Beck, Evian Christ, Bisi Ezerioha, Phil Saunders, Kat Zhang, Steve Teeple, Khyzyl Saleem, Monika Bielskyte, Chris Bjerre, NOKENTY, Errolson Hugh, Stephen Platt, Rod Chong, Nicolas Kadima, David Rudnick, Ornamental Conifer, Ryan Davis, Look Mister, Michael Tello, Nathan Qi, Clouds, Ian Wang, Hans Olo, Reuben Wu, Kim Jung Gi, Corin Roddick (Purity Ring), Spencer Canon, Laith Safa (Hxouse), Whyishnave Suthagar (Hxouse), Alim Sabir (Hxouse), Eric Cheung, Sebastian Palencia, Rayul (Hxouse), Trish Roque (Hxouse), Joshua Schachter, Ben Dosage, Glare, Mike Sunday, Joyce Mao, Evian Christ, Daniel Swan, Malte Müller, Kazuhiro Aihara, Sam Madhu, Raf Rennie, Pussy Riot, Asad Malik (Jadu Hologram), Kristopher Ho, Harlan Hugh, Ed Palumbo, Liam Wong, Dobu Supply, Gat Kong and Jennifer Bin.

About Acronym, Republic of Gamers (ROG) and Hxouse

Acronym itself was founded in 1994 by Michaela Sachenbacher and Errolson Hugh as an independent design agency with a focus on the unification of style and technology in apparel. Through its eponymous brand, as well as its numerous contract design projects, Acronym has been instrumental in the emergence of a new generation of technical apparel products and users.

Republic of Gamers (ROG) is an ASUS sub-brand dedicated to creating the world’s best gaming hardware and software. Formed in 2006, ROG offers a complete line of innovative products known for performance and quality, including motherboards, graphics cards, laptops, desktops, monitors, audio equipment, routers and peripherals. ROG participates in and sponsors major international gaming events and ROG gear has been used to set hundreds of overclocking records and continues to be the preferred choice of gamers and enthusiasts around the world.

Hxouse is a next-generation incubator and accelerator that is at the forefront of fostering innovation and opportunity for creative entrepreneurs. It facilitates connections between talent and industry to build mutually-beneficial relationships between future talent and current industry titans. A not-for-profit venture co-founded by multi-platinum artist The Weeknd, creative director La Mar Taylor, and global innovator Ahmed Ismail.

Work for RMT01 gaming laptop

Daniel B. also did music and sounds for the launch of the RMT01, the world’s most powerful 14 inch gaming laptop. The machine has been radically retooled by Acronym and designed David Rudnick using magnesium and aluminum alloys, custom machining, precision etchings, specially developed paints, and two completely original typefaces.

With an 8-core AMD® Ryzen™ 9 CPU and RTX graphics, RMT01 is not only built for the most dedicated gamers, but uniquely tailored to the specs of the next generation of creative professionals. It is also equipped with eight custom-designed animations exclusive to RMT01.

Full info can be found on this website.

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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Australian formation DANDELION WINE is now active for more than twenty years. The Ethereal-Folk formation based in Melbourne released several successful albums during the early Millennium years, but nothing really new got released since 2010. The newest opus “Le Coeur” was originally released as a limited CD edition in 2018 on the Lithuanian label Dangus. Since this year the work is available in a digital format featuring nine songs mixing Ethereal, Folk and Electronic influences. The current line-up of the band consists of core members Naomi Henderson (voice, wind, electronics) and Nicholas Albanis (strings and electronics) plus Francesca Mountfort (cello and voice) while “Le Coeur” also featured a fine selection of guest musicians.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: DANDELION WINE has been set up more than twenty years ago now and yet, it seems that less happened since your previous album “All Becompassed By Stars” (2010). Can we speak about a ‘resurrection’ or a ‘second life’? What does the band stands for today (I also refer to the new line-up)?

Nicholas: It really was a longer gap than we had anticipated! Between 2006 and 2010 we were really busy writing, recording and touring -we released three albums on the German label Ars Musica Diffundére / Black Rain and were going back and forth between Australia, Japan and Europe so often that we ended up moving to Germany. It was all quite manic (and incredible!), but in 2010 we moved back to Australia and set to work on a new album. Along the way a bunch of other things happened with children being born and stuff like that.

We weren’t completely inactive and we still managed to do a couple of European tours and play at some festivals in that time, but it was a much slower pace. We ended up throwing out about 80% of what we had recorded and starting again, which is not something we had ever done before, but was the best thing we could have done.

The other big important change was that we went from a duo to a trio -cellist Francesca Mountfort did a guest spot with us at a concert at a castle in Estonia and it went so well she ended up joining the band. The addition of Francesca has really been incredible both in the studio and live. Naomi often layers multiple vocal parts in the studio and Francesca also sings those parts live, as well playing hammered dulcimer. She also takes quite an electronic approach to her cello with various effects and loopers, which is perfect for Dandelion Wine.

Q: Your new album “Le Coeur” was originally released in 2018 as CD format on the Lithuanian label Dangus while you now re-released it as digital album. Tell us a bit more about the original release and the re-edition?

Nicholas: Well we actually anticipated that the digital release would happen soon after the Dangus CD-edition, but it didn’t quite work out that way. It was anticipated that the digital release would happen in late 2018, but we wanted to have a CD edition for our 2018 European tour so people at our shows could buy it before anyone else.

We were going to have it manufactured in Europe, but the people from Dangus offered to handle the release for us -we have known them for many years from the festivals Menuo Juodaragis and Kunigunda Lunaria and we have become friends over the years so we thought it would be a great idea. Dangus have released some really interesting bands such as Spanxti and Undan too. The Dangus edition had a slightly different track listing -it featured a folkier song called “Prelude To Sleep” which was a rare track that was originally on a French Prikosnovenie compilation, but the full digital edition includes “Persistence Of Vision”, a cover of the Australian band Clowns Smiling Backwards, which was always intended to be on the album.

Q: What does the album “Le Coeur” stand for? What kind of album did you want to achieve and how did the collaborations with the numerous guest musicians took shape?

Nicholas: We had always intended that this album would be quieter and darker than previous albums. When we wrote and recorded “Selected Anachronism” and “All Becompassed By Stars” we were touring a lot, playing at outdoor festivals and noisy clubs and very much in the mindset of our live show. Sure there were more ambient pieces and acoustic songs on those albums, but there was more of a focus on what we were playing live.

With this one we wanted to slow things down a bit, have some space, focus on the atmospheres even more and also to be a bit more focused and consistent. Rather than mixing big danceable tracks with more introspective elements, we wanted to keep the mood a bit more consistent.

Having the guest musicians was great and was really about trying to make each track the best it could be. Sure, I can play bass but I’d much prefer to have Denni from Brillig or Pete McKeown add their genius to it instead. It’s funny, Denni actually came around to meet up and have some beers in the backyard when we said ‘so we’ve got this song that needs a bassline…’ Haha! On “Hall Of Leaves” we kept thinking that end would be great with Rüdiger Maul playing percussion on it so we just asked him -we’d met when we’ve played with Faun and had a great time together at Festival Mediaval and luckily he was up for it. I used to play with Phil Coyle in a Psych-Folk band called Trappist Afterland and we knew his frame drum style would be ideal for “Pilgrimage”. Having HakGwai from Hong Kong play erhu (two string Chinese fiddle) was more experimental -he’s a good friend and we loved his playing so we actually got him to improvise over “One Of My Friendly Days” without really knowing where it was going to lead and the result was incredible.

Q: A word about the great, artistic artwork of “Le Coeur” and especially its front cover. What do the pregnant women stand for and what’s the link between the artwork and the lyrical themes of the album?

Naomi: We were so happy with how the artwork photographs turned out! The original idea began with Salvadore Dali’s “In Voluptas Mors” or “Desirable Death”. It’s a photograph of several naked women forming the shape of a skull with Dali in the foreground. I was pregnant at the time, so the idea of life and death was quite apparent and I thought what if you could do this with pregnant women? How strong would the idea’s of life and death be if we created a skull (a symbol of death) out of women about to give birth (a symbol of new life)? Of course that’s not exactly what we ended up with, apart from the fact that I could only find two other pregnant women to model with me, I wasn’t sure we could have formed a skull anyway… I mean, you’re not exactly the world best contortionist when you’re pregnant! So we had envisaged creating shapes to collage into a skull or maybe a heart, still with the life and death theme, but the images Colin Page produced were so beautiful and stunning in their own right, that we went with that for the “Le Cœur” cover art.

When trying to come up with a name for the album we realised that we already had a heart theme within the collection of songs. We’d used a heart image for the cover of the album’s first single “One Of My Friendly Days”which had already been released, we had used in-utero heart beat recordings for two of the tracks, our dear friend Robert ‘Bo’ Bohem had passed away from heart issues and we have a cover of one of his songs on the album (“Persistence Of Vision”), and much of the lyrical content was around affairs of the heart- the heart fearing or craving something, be it loss or fear of loss, missing people or yearning for something/someone that you haven’t meet yet. And it fitted beautifully with the artwork photos where each body has not one, but two hearts beating inside it! The heart being one of the main things that separates us from life and death. So we chose to name thealbum “Le Cœur” (the heart).

Q: An important aspect in your composition is the use of acoustic/traditional instruments. I get the feeling it reminds us what is a ‘musician’ while today more and more so-called ‘artists’ are losing this aspect, composing their music only with computers and software. I would like to get your perception about this difference?  

Nicholas: We’ve always loved acoustic, electric and electronic music and have been influenced by all of them, but the combination of the three is really what excites us the most. I guess that the three of us would consider ourselves instrumentalists first and electronic artists second. I think there is something really special about the relationship between a musician and their instrument… I would put it this way – I enjoying working with synths, samplers and computers but I really NEED to play guitar, lute, dulcimer etc. I really start to lose my mind if I don’t. I often find that the electronic musicians that speak to me the most also have a background in playing more traditional instruments -quite often I find that someone who creates great purely electronic music is also a guitarist, drummer, classical pianist or something and it really shows.

For us it has always been a matter of going with what works sonically, emotionally and in terms of atmosphere -usually the initial idea from a song will spring from a particular instrument or a particular beat. From there, it’s a matter of going through and adding different textures to achieve the atmosphere and emotion we’re trying to convey. For example, a renaissance lute says very a different thing to a distorted analogue synth, but sometimes the marriage of the two of them is absolutely what is needed.

Q: Like all artists you must be frustrated and impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. How do you experience this situation when you’ve a new album out and live performances are no longer possible? How do you see things evolving and what comes next for DANDELION WINE?

Naomi: Yes it’s been a completely weird and strange time to be an artist! We had an Australian tour booked which had to be cancelled, which was disappointing and a European festival postponed to 2022, we stopped planning for our 2021 European tour. We initially delayed the release when Covid-19 broke out, I think we kind of hoped it would blow over! But I went for a walk one day (in my allowed one hour of exercise during lockdown) and listened to the album. I realised that so many of the themes were quite relevant to the situation – “Persistence of Vision” is all about the things you should have already done but haven’t, “Pilgrimage” is about isolation and making a journey to be with the ones you love, “Too Late She Cried” is about missing opportunities and so on. So we decided perhaps it was actually quite timely to release it during the pandemic. And in a way it was a very positive thing to do for us personally, it gave us purpose and aim to be doing the publicity and making a little iso film clip and a live (no audience) video while we couldn’t play proper concerts and the world had gone topsy turvy!

So in Australia we hope to re-book a national tour, our city has had zero cases quite a few times in the last few weeks and most of Australia have had no cases for quite a while, so we expect that things will open up here again in the near future. But we have been entertaining the idea of writing/recording our next release by sending files back and forth to each other. And I think we (along with everyone one else) are crossing our fingers for a good vaccine to get back to Europe in late 2022!

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-electro, EBM.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: While we’re waiting for a new full length album of Australian duo Shiv-R, Pete Crane (aka ‘Virul3nt’) and Lee Bulig (aka ‘Kong’) are back on track with two new songs. Both songs have been remixes as well.

Content: Even if “Interlace” is the title song, I think the other new cut (cf. “Annihilation”) could have been a title song as well. “Annihilation” sounds even harder, but both cuts feature the familiar energy and electronic rage we’re used to hearing from Shiv-R. It’s a rough production, which is refined by melodic passages.

Both songs have been remixed. Moris Blak remixes the title track while sHiFt remixed “Annihilation”.

+ + + : This is a tough production, which will fully satisfy all dark-electro and EBM lovers. I like the title track for its hard kick and melodic tune while the production of the vocals featuring some robotic parts is quite cool as well. “Annihilation” sounds more aggressive and powerful; it’s less refined, but perfectly complementary to “Interlace”. Among the remixes I especially enjoyed the one made by sHiFt.

– – – : I don’t see any real minor points to make about this production, which is the perfect appetizer to announce a new full length album.

Conclusion: Shiv-R are just doing what they’re good at; producing merciless electronics driven by furious beats and carrying melody lines!

Best songs: “Annihilation”, “Interlace”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.shiv–r.com / www.facebook.com/shiverindustrial

Label: www.infacted–recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted–Recordings/124099254321690

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

Belgian Herman Klapholz is mainly known and recognized for his involvement with Ah Cama-Sotz. He released an impressive number of productions and the less we can say is that Ah Cama-Sotz is constantly innovating and experimenting with new ideas. From dark-ambient and pure soundscapes to explicit industrial music to dub to techno, nothing seems impossible to Herman Klapholz. His newest opus “I Believe – “Allerheiligenvloed – Het Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe” (released on Hands) is the perfect exposure of this eclecticism. The first album is mixing industrial-, tribal- and techno music while the second one reveals an ambient/soundscape creation. Both albums are worthy of examination and simply confirming the endless creativity of this visionary artist.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: What can you tell us about the writing of your new album “I Believe”, its influences –which feel a bit like Ah Cama-Sotz mixed with Gatto Nero, and what are you believing in?

Herman: “I Believe” and “Allerheiligenvloed”  has been written in nearly 2 years, a time where my life was not easy. There were weeks I was busy with lots of thinking and thoughts, and it was quite difficult to produce new Ah Cama-Sotz music and themes. There must be a constant flow when composing, but I had gaps when it came to thinking in a rational way. In 2 years I had lots of material, but when working 25 years onto the same project, (now in February 26 years) you become harder for yourself. Believing in yourself is a must. Most of the material was good enough for this project “I Believe”, BUT I wanted to transpose my Ah Cama-Sotz 2018 project to a higher level. In the end I had so much good material that it all came together: one CD with dark-ambient soundscape moods and one CD nearly full of danceable beats. My label HANDS agreed with this project, as it should be a 25 years Ah Cama-Sotz celebration. The beat tracks on “I BELIEVE” have some ritual-tribal feeling, be it not so hard as you can find  these on GATTO NERO, my techno project.

Q: You already mentioned the new album has been also featured as a double album featuring the extra disc/album “Allerheiligenvloed – Het Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe”, revealing a meaningful and conceptual work about history. Tell us a bit more about the concept and the way you try to transpose it into sounds and songs?

Herman: “Allerheiligenvloed” was an idea I had since longer time, but I needed the time to think about it. This project fitted perfectly in a DCD project. I was looking on the web for more music around “Allerheiligenvloed”, but couldn’t find any. Strange as a lot of people are walking in this region of The Netherlands, near Belgium.

With the history about the “All Saints’ Flood” I imagined a soundtrack coming to life. Just imagine the movie.

Q: “Allerheiligenvloed – Het Verdronken Land Van Saeftinghe” features multiple classical music passages –and I especially refer to the transcendental acapella choirs. It’s an essential element from the work while I think it also reveals some sensibility for classical- and liturgical music, right? Tell us a bit more about this aspect and do you see possible links between classical music and contemporary underground formats such as industrial, ambient etc?

Herman: Well I’ve always been interested in Gothic and Middle-Age acapella choirs and chanting.  It has some darkness all around. It fits so well with dark-ambient music and soundscapes. It’s just a question of feeling. I agree than classical contemporary audience don’t understand the mix and the moods. We’re still talking about the underground as we know, why bother? Lol. It’s our underground ….

Q: I noticed you last year self-released the album “In Underground We Trust. Ah Cama-Sotz Compilation. Volume 01”, which is a selection of ‘old’ songs you have remastered. Remastering is a pure technical procedure, but definitely one of the most important aspects from a release. What importance does it have for you and what do you try to improve/change in the remastered versions?

Herman: Yes, BandCamp is the way to go, so it seems, a good promotional musical platform. It doesn’t cost a penny and the idea is uploading tracks, newer and older ones. It’s a pity that less people are buying full length cd’s as today’s society is changing so quickly. Youth of today doesn’t bother about buying physical music and  starting a collection! From all different point of views, I’m taking my own perspective.

It’s quite interesting talking about the technical side of master/remastering as an artist wants the best for its music; how the get the biggest and best possible sound, but at the other hand not all people are listening to their music on hi-fidelity !

Q: Back to “I Believe” and the clip from “Lords Of Evil”. The images of the clip are clearly reinforcing the title of the song, but what does it say about your vision about the world –and its political/social situation of today? And do you think music and arts generally speaking has the power to change things?

Herman: We are living in a complex world, needless to say that since many centuries and millennia it has always been the same situation with humans and civilizations. A fact is that the world is crowded, even more than before. They are still wars and sicknesses… Well today f.i. HIV is under control, and diseases like the black plague have been nearly eradicated.  In a certain way we have a problem. When coping with billions of people on this planet we will have to build our houses in a vertical way. I’ve seen that in Hong Kong, N.Y… Quite interesting, people live quite small, but this will be the impact for all of us.

Q: Industrial artists are more and more mixing ‘techno’-related influences in their music, which I think is great, but I’m often missing the truly industrial spirit from the 80s where artists were crafting their own gear/instruments with all kinds of metal objects etc… It makes me say that industrial music probably is one of the underground genres that has evolved the most radical way! What do you think?

Herman: All music has mostly been influenced by diverse underground artists/genres and looking for external accents and moods, experimenting with sounds, scapes, and beats. Techno as evolved since mid-80s, and techno has taken over lots of influences. It’s not strange that nowadays techno has strong industrial accents (f.i. Drumcode label, etc….); society is much more brutal, and lots of underground DJ’s like our stuff, our mixes, our way of producing, etc …. . It’s a pity that today you encounter less vibes like Detroit-techno and acid as we knew it in the 90s. It’s quite simple to play always the same vibe during 1 or 2 hours. Well that is my opinion. Come and see me on stage, it’s better than putting this into words; lol.

Thank you for the interview.

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: Industrial trip-hop, experimental.

Background/Info: Deer is a Mexican male-female duo based in Hong Kong. “Portraits” is the debut-EP featuring 4 songs. The title reflects imaginary stories inspired by the artists’ stay in Hong Kong.

Content: “Portraits” is a weird, but interesting mix between different influences. The songs merge rock-wave together with industrial sound treatments and bombastic trip-hop rhythms. The songs feature female vocal parts.

+ + + : I like Adriana Falcón’s timbre of voice, which sometimes reminds me a bit to the magic of Siouxsie Sioux. She brings something passionate to the production. The vocals are matching with the somewhat raw and industrial-inspired production. I like the mix between the different influences, revealing certain creativity of this duo. I already mentioned most of their influences, but I also like the more psychedelic touch running through the opening cut.

– – – : I regret this EP only features 4 songs so I’m really looking forward to hear more Deer –and hopefully an album. The only single, but important element thing is that this EP is missing a ‘hit’.

Conclusion: “Portraits” is mixing a rough and dirty sound inspired by different music styles together with passionate vocals and sensual beats.

Best songs: “Alive”, “Wild Eyes”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.deermx.com / www.facebook.com/Deer.Mx

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

I recently made an interview about the Iranian industrial- & ambient scene, which I think was an interesting and informative read. It give me the idea to get in touch with Cedrik Fermont who I had the opportunity to meet years ago now in Belgium. I’ve been fascinated by this artist’s quest and efforts to discover unknown underground scenes in the most unexpected countries on earth. This is a real informative and fascinating read, which I highly recommend… and don’t hesitate to share with other music lovers.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: For all of those who are not familiar with you, can you please briefly introduce yourself by evoking the main facts of your career and projects you’ve been involved with?

C-drik: I’m a composer, musician, label manager, radio host, author, concert organiser from the DR Congo who mostly grew up in Belgium, now based in Berlin. I’ve been involved in the noise, industrial and alternative electronic scene since 1989 with projects like Crno Klank, Axiome, Ambre, Tetra Plok, Tasjiil Moujahed, Moonsanto to name a few. Labels such as Ant-Zen, Ad Noiseam, Hushush to speak about the main ones have published some of my records.

I run Syrphe which is not only a label but what I call a platform that publishes mostly CD’s and that I use to host a radio show, organise concerts and sometimes music documentary films screenings and now and then publish news on a blog/magazine. Syrphe’s main but not exclusive focus is to promote artists from Asia and Africa and at a lower extend from Latin America who compose so-called experimental music, electronica, noise, ambient, free improv, industrial and so on.

Q: Years ago now you got interested in electro/industrial/noise music from ‘other’ countries and places on earth. How did you get in touch with these scenes and what are the main differences with the familiar European- and American scenes?

C-drik: It started in the late 1980s. I took part of the DIY tape network and could not believe there were only artists in Western Europe, North America and Australia involved in this scene. So while swapping tapes, I started to print and spread some flyers explaining I was looking for electronic, noise, industrial and experimental artists all over the planet. I slowly got in touch with people in Brazil (Cri Du Chat Disques, Simbolo), in South Africa (Network 77, Sphinx), in Japan (K2, Yximalloo, etc.) and also discovered more from the Polish, Czechoslovak, East German, Yugoslavian and Soviet scenes that were also a bit out of the usual circuit due to the political problems between the so-called East and West and in many of those countries, repression and censorship too.

I then published a cassette in 1996 that included various artists from South Africa, Chile, Brazil, Malta, Japan, Lithuania, Poland, Belgium, Australia, and so on – 25 countries in total. That was quite an achievement for me back then without the internet. Nevertheless many people were still convinced that I would find nothing in many Asian and African countries so as soon as I got the opportunity, I started to travel and contact local people to perform.

Thanks to the internet it became easier, in particular thanks to some forums, newsgroups and peer-to-peer networks like Soulseek, some of those internet platforms’ members were from China or Thailand for example. In 2003, I played in Istanbul and met some artists there and came back with a few tapes and CDr’s. In 2004, I performed in Bangkok and in January 2005 I started a six months tour in Laos, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, I performed at all sorts of events from harsh noise to breakcore parties, industrial, crust punk, grindcore and came back with about 70 CD’s, cassettes and vinyls, I had a definitive proof that there where things happening there; I then continued to tour in many other countries like Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Macau, Myanmar, India and so on to perform, archive, meet local artists and organisers and since 2007 I published various compilations that include artists from those countries, the last one coming along with our book “Not Your World Music: Noise In South East Asia”.

I think that there are more similarities than differences to be found, nonetheless in the case of Indonesia for example, people are not afraid to mix various scenes at an event: you may easily find some industrial, breakcore, punk, harsh noise and indie rock bands all performing one night at the same venue, it used to be so in Singapore and Malaysia too in the past. Another example that I find interesting is the case of China where more than once it happen that some people came to me to tell that they had never heard such music before, they came out of curiosity seeing a foreigner was playing and they usually didn’t run away, they tried to understand what I did and maybe why I did it, they are not jaded or totally closed-minded such as too many people can be in some other parts of the world.

Another difference is that while some scenes can be incredibly active, like the noise scene in Indonesia, some other scenes are almost non-existent: EBM and electro (I speak about the Detroit techno style) have never been widespread outside of Europe, the Americas and Australia. You can or could only find a handful of them in Japan, South Africa, China and Israel, even though it’s not totally unknown to other parts of Asia above all, culturally speaking, EBM and electro seem to really belong to a certain ‘Western’ identity, I can’t explain why.
In South East Asia, besides noise music, punk, grindcore, noisegrind and metal are incredibly active scenes too, I really think and I’m not the only one, that the most vivid punk and related genres scene on Earth is in Indonesia.

Q: I knew there was an underground scene in some Asian countries, but what about Africa?

C-drik: For Africa, I often see it divided in two very distinct parts: the North African scene in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and in a much smaller scale Algeria which are all interconnected countries, also together with Asian neighbours like Palestine, Lebanon and a few other Middle Eastern countries due to their common roots (languages and culture, religion). And the second part, the Sub-Saharan one which is not a especially a united part due to the size of the continent, variety of cultures and scarcity of musicians and composers in the field of underground electronic and experimental music.

So you can find artists in major cities like Casablanca, Rabat, Tunis, Alexandria, Cairo, Algiers I the North. The proximity of Europe, the continuous contact with the ex-colonisers and as previously mentioned, the contact with other Arab countries and the slightly better living standard level makes it easier for a scene to emerge. As for the rest of Africa, there are only few artists, often from the middle or upper class who are active with the exception of South Africa that has a very different context, partly due to the past apartheid time. That doesn’t mean that electronic music doesn’t exist at a large scale in Africa but it’s often more mainstream or closer to a certain tradition and then mostly not connected to experimental or industrial for example.

You can of course find many genres such as kuduro, kwaito, hip hop, shangaan electro, psy trance, etc. And as early as the 1970’s artists like Francis Bebey in Cameroon, William Onyeabor in Nigeria, Mammane Sanni Abdoulaye in Niger already performed some amazing electronic music, afro-beat for one; electro-funk, disco for another, minimal electronic for the latest, you can find a small goth/EBM scene in South Africa, there was ten years ago Syndrome-Corps, a dark-wave band in Senegal, in Cameroon today, Elsa M’bala also composes ambient, electronica mixed with field recordings, Kwerk in Mauritius composes some nice electronica too and a few artists from the Réunion island do play dark-wave or avant-garde/collage – some leave abroad by now as their future is not always very bright over there.

It has to be said that one of the pioneers of experimental and electro-acoustic music comes from Egypt: Halim El-Dabh composed his first piece already in 1944, four years before Pierre Schaeffer’s musique concrète.

Q: When we are talking about a ‘scene’ I’m still thinking of labels, magazines, radio broadcastings, festivals, clubs, promoters etc… Is it a common element everywhere?

C-drik: When there is a scene, yes of course, but in some cities or countries there are just a handle of people here and there like in Cameroon, Nigeria, Angola, Algeria, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, Iraq, etc., so I would not call it a scene. In countries like China, Indonesia, Lebanon (in Beirut, mostly), Vietnam, the Philippines, Hong Kong or Egypt for example, we can speak about a scene. In those places, you’ll find one or more festivals dedicated to sound art, noise, free improv, audio-visual art and so on, regular promoters, some (or a lot) of venues, sometimes radio stations, fanzines, workshops, labels. Public (sometimes private) school, academies or universities also provide electro-acoustic, electronic and experimental music courses in China, South Korea, Japan, South Africa, Malaysia, Taiwan (…).

Sometimes the scene can be international, this is the case of Border Movement, a network that interconnect artists from the local independent scenes in Dhaka, Kabul, Lahore, Karachi, Pune, Colombo, New Delhi and so on from hip hop to electronica, techno, ambient and even experimental music.

Q: I can imagine there’s a link between underground music and the political regime of a country; I mean that some artists living in a totalitarian-minded regime are taking serious risks by dealing with this kind of music. What is it all about and what about censorship in some countries?

C-drik: Indeed this kind of music and other genres such as hip hop, punk, metal, oi or grindcore may be restricted, put under scrutiny or simply forbidden in some places but no need to go so far, not so long ago did England forbid parties (hear: raves) with repetitive beat (The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) for example and mainstream media in the West who are promoting only commercial idiotic music are somehow censoring other artists too.

It is obvious that during the Taliban regime in Afghanistan for example, any musician could be jailed, beaten up or killed, religious extremists in some countries do their best to ban alternative music events, Myanmar (Burma) until a few years ago banned music containing western influences, hence some musicians especially in the field of punk and hip hop as they can be political have been jailed, the same apply with Iran, Vietnam is still very suspicious regarding ‘modern’ music and art in general but in those last three countries, the situation has very well improved now, Nepal has during a long time also forbidden Western-influenced music.

Nevertheless, the list is very long, including censorship in the Western world, I would invite you to visit http://freemuse.org/ to get a better idea.

Q: I’ve in mind there’s no real trace of underground music in extremely poor countries like Burundi, Burkina Faso, Liberia… or is it maybe for a very restricted number of people like the elite?

C-drik: In some countries, not only those you mention, it is obviously an elite (upper class or middle class people when there is a middle class), in Burkina Faso, you can find the Afro-electro-pop band Burkina Electric, in Nigeria apart of aforementioned William Onyeabor who composed in the 1970s and 1980s, you can currently find audio-visual and sound artist Emeka Ogboh, in Angola, Victor Gama (who moved to Europe).

In extremely poor countries, people’s priority is obviously not often to try to experiment with sound (let’s put aside the technological aspect as one needs above all imagination, not technology to create experimental or new music) but I suspect that we are finding a small amount  of them because it is not well documented in most parts of Africa. Some friends who travelled a lot in Africa or lived in some western African countries heard some people experimenting in the street with tape for example but if nothing is archived and spread, only those who bump, sometimes by accident, on those artists can speak about them. A lot of work has still to be done to discover more from Africa.

Also, I realised that in some other parts of the world and this concerns many African countries, living under dictatorship or deep social inequality, the underground tends to be political and musically more accessible to reach a larger audience and gain more support, hence you can find a lot of hip hop, in some countries radical movement may emerge too like political death metal in Angola and Mozambique or a small punk and goth scene in Kenya, punk in South Africa has also always been political, since the 1970’s.

Q: In your recently published book “Not Your World Music / Noise In South-East Asia” you tried to explain what noise-music is all about. I’ve been always interested in the question: ‘is noise really music or is music not the result of noises’ and what do you think about some pioneers in industrial music talking about ‘anti-music’?

C-drik: Noise pleases my ears and emotionally attracts me hence it is music to me and it is intentionally produced to be listened to. Of course, it is hard to stick to one definition. If we stick to a simple definition of music: the art of assembling sounds, then noise music is music and not anti-music, to me, noise doesn’t destroy the concept of music, it is in any case a very subjective concept; in some societies, noises included in the music composition have never been seen as problematic while Western classical music until the late 19th century maybe sounded like a quest for purity and perfection – meanwhile, noises have been included in many compositions from Russolo to Stockhausen for example. I don’t agree with the anti-music concept, I’d rather call it anti-mainstream, above all since noise and industrial music became well established genres. I see the same problematic regarding anti-art, dada and all those who tried to break the rules of art ended up creating an art movement voluntary or not.

Q: I’ve been impressed by your book, which is something unique characterized by an impressive research and knowledge. What’s the background of this book?

C-drik: It is partly the result of a frustration and partly the result of many years of exploration, research, travels and discussions. It is a collaboration and this is an important fact about that book, it would neither exist without the work of Dimitri della Faille, nor would it exist without my part and the one of the people who met and interviewed.

I think that all my researches, travels, explorations, publications and releases about Asian and Africa come from the fact that I am tired to always hear the same non-sense: ‘There’s nothing there’ or ‘We – the West – invented everything before them’ or ‘They just copy music from the West’, etc. It also comes from a questions I often asked myself while I was a teenager and young adult: ‘Why am I one of the few Africans in this scene?’.

Dimitri and I with whom I co-wrote the book thought that we had to write it to finally have a real archive of South East Asian noise and experimental music as very very little has been written about it and nothing at such scale and we think we both had enough knowledge to make it happen and we are among the few persons who explored this region almost entirely, even though we don’t originate from there. It is also made to be a starting point; thanks to this book, we received many comments, mostly positive, not always – the book is not perfect, it is a first step and we hope it will push more local artists and organisers to speak about the scene(s), to write and archive or collaborate with each others as even between some of those countries, communication can be scarce or limited, now there is “Not Your World Music: Noise In South East Asia” and there is a database on Syrphe for many years, two important pillars I think.

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

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: Ambient, synthesizer music, experimental.

Background/Info: Electro-veteran Stephan Kaske is back on track with a new –and logical, opus inspired by the work of Jules Verne. Kaske started making music in the late 60s (!) and belongs to the pioneers of electronic music. It will always remain a mystery why some artists dealing with a similar sound (like Van Gelis, J.M. Jarre ao) got world-wide fame while others like Mythos never reached a similar status.

After the last year released album “Jules Verne Forever” we here get an original sonic journey of 80 minutes inspired by the famous novel of the French author.

Content: The concept is original and pretty simple. Mythos is traveling from one place to another, visiting the different continents of the globe. He transposed images into sound adding some typical cultural accents. The music remains electronic and totally old-school minded. The songs were composed with laser harp, mellotron, vocoder, sequencers and of course synthesizers.

Stephan Kaske is our guide leading us over the Mediterranean Sea to Africa and later on up on the route to Asia to finally reach North America, next crossing the Atlantic Ocean to reach Europe again. The different cultures have been accentuated by typical sound ambiances belonging to these countries. The global atmosphere of Mythos’ work however remains pretty ‘space’-like.

+ + + : The idea is quite simple, but really original. I totally love it and Mythos has transposed the work of Jules Verne into a fascinating and diversified piece of music. I have a preference for the Asian-inspired atmospheres, which has been masterly worked out on “From Calcutta To Hong Kong”. The album is a sonic film composed with sounds and arrangements, which might once more remind you of J.M. Jarre and Van Gelis.

– – – : It’s not exactly a regret, but I think it would have been interesting to get some typical cultural chants on a few cuts, simply to accentuate the global concept of this album.

Conclusion: I haven’t heard the entire discography of Mythos, but I can assure you this new opus is definitely the best one from the past few years. Respect Mr. Kaske, you’ve created an original and fascinating concept resulting in a little sonic treasure.

Best songs: “Across The Mediterranean Sea To Egypt”, “Steamer To Bombay”, “From Calcutta To Hong Kong”, “Phileas Fogg’s Dream”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.mythos–music–berlin.de / www.facebook.com/mythos.music.berlin

Label: www.groove.nl / www.facebook.com/Groove–Unlimited-203872216357149

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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New Order has announced full details for “Tutti Frutti” the latest single to be taken from “Music Complete” out digitally on Mute on December 11, 2015. A 12” will follow on December 18. “Tutti Frutti” features Elly Jackson aka La Roux on guest vocals and will include a host of remixes, alongside an extended 12” mix.

You can view the track list for the 2 different versions of the single below, and listen to the extended 12” mix below.

The brand new New Order album “Music Complete” was released on September 25th on Mute. The album is New Order’s first full studio release since 2005’s “Waiting For The Siren’s Call”, and their debut for the cult label Mute. “Music Complete” also marks the return to the studio for Gillian Gilbert to record her first album with New Order since 2001’s “Get Ready”.

The track list for the various versions of “Tutti Frutti”.

12″

• Side 1 – Tutti Frutti – Extended 12″ mix
• Side 2 – Tutti Frutti – Hot Chip Remix Vinyl Edit

CD / Digital

• Single Version
• 12″ Extended Mix 2
• Hot Chip Remix
• Tom Trago’s Crazy Days Remix
• Richy Ahmed Remix
• Hallo Halo Remix

New Order has announced their first US date in support of “Music Complete” at Houston’s inaugural Day for Night Festival. This will be the band’s only North American performance in 2015.

Other New Order live dates confirmed so far:

• 6 Nov – Brussels, Ancienne Belgique – Hot Vestry / DJ Tintin
• 8 Nov – Stockholm, Annexet – Hot Vestry / DJ Jon Dasilva
• 11 Nov – Berlin, Tempodrom – Jake Evans / DJ Daniel Miller
• 16 Nov – London, Brixton Academy – The Horrors / DJ Tintin
• 17 Nov – London, Brixton Academy – The Horrors / DJ Tintin
• 19 Nov – Glasgow, Academy – Hot Vestry / DJ Tintin
• 21 Nov – Liverpool, Olympia – Jake Evans / DJ Tintin
• 24 Nov – Wolverhampton, Civic Hall – Jake Evans / DJ Tintin
• 29 Nov – Hong Kong, Clockenflap Festival
• 5-6 Dec – Manchester, The Warehouse Project
• 19-20 Dec – Houston, Day for Night 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.

side-line.com