Out on March 22 is the new album from the electropop act Kraftman, “Chernobyl”. The physical edition is limited to 300 hand-numbered copies and comes in a jewel case holding an 8-pages booklet.

Based in Manchester, UK, this is the music project of Gary Hunter who now offers his 3rd studio album, the follow-up to “Giro d’Italia” (2022) and the debut “Electrique Fabrique” (2021). Musically this should appeal to fans of Metroland, 808 Dot Pop or Kraftwerk.

This time Gary produced an album centered around the Chernobyl disaster, that occured in 1986. The album touches on subjects such as “Radiation”, “Anatoly Dyatlov” (Chief Engineer on duty in Reactor 4, on the night of the incident), “Uranium-235”, “Acute Radiation Syndrome” and more.

The CD edition not only includes the 10 main tracks, recorded for the project, it also includes a special 39 minute “Concept Version” of the album, that features all the main CD tracks, with additional recorded elements, so the listener, can immerse himself into the events that occurred at Chernobyl on that fateful night, as well as, the aftermath and consequences of the disaster.

Check out the album teaser below.

And this is the videoclip for “AZ-5”.

To get an idea what to expect you might also want to check out the “Meltdown To The Core” EP relased in November last 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. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop.

Format: CD. 

Background/Info: Belgian ‘Passenger S’ has been very prolific the past few months. Next to a new Metroland-album plus different EP’s he also released a new album of his 808 Dot Pop project. The album is a kind of trilogy dealing about crystal radio and related themes. The album got the contribution from Kraftman and guest vocals by Lis Van Den Akker on a few songs. 

Content: The format and approach remains the same. The songs are mixed like a broadcasting revealing the light and melodic, robotic, pop style of this artist. You’ll find similar songs with a few little nuances at the ‘AM frequency’ as on the previous ‘FM frequency’ but there’re also different songs. This work sounds a tiny darker but is perfectly recognizable and complementary to the previous opus. 

+ + + : I refer to the “FM 88.2” album, the songs being similar although a bit darker -especially for the bass lines. I like the sound treatments but also the great writing skills of the artist. I got impressed by the elaboration and intelligence of “Sinpo” which is maybe one of the most sophisticated songs ever written by the 

artist although Gary Hunter (Kraftman) contributed to the song. I personally prefer this album to the “FM-88.2” the ‘new’ songs being also the best ones. 

– – – : Just as for the first album I’m not entirely convince by Lis Van Den Akker singing on 808 Dot Pop. I would have prefered another singer like Noemi Aurora who sung on the first album “The Colour Temperature”. 

Conclusion: A different frequency but similar music which became a bit darker although still pretty retro-pop like.   

Best songs: “Sinpo”, “Radio Waves”, “AM/FM”, “Jan Moedwil – Radio Belgie”, “Germanium”. 

Rate: 8½.

Artist: https://808dotpop.com / www.facebook.com/808dotpop 

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

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Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop.

Format: CD. 

Background/Info: Nearly three years after the promising debut album “The Colour Temperature”, Metroland’s ‘Passenger S” strikes back with a new album of his solo-project 808 Dot Pop. It’s a conceptual work devoted to the magic of crystal radio and related themes. But there’s a kind of concept behind the concept as three album have been released; two on CD format and one as digital work. Each album is related to a frequency, FM, AM and MW.A few songs have been written together with Gary Hunter (Kraftman). 

Content: 808 Dot Pop remains driven by the retro robotic style of Metroland although this project  sounds ‘poppier’ and more accessible. The songs are carried by low, dark, bass lines mixed with melodic tunes and the unavoidable computer voices dealing with the concept. All songs have been mixed like a true radio broadcasting. Two songs are featuring real vocals by Lis Van Den Akker -who already contributed to the single “Suncatcher”.

+ + + : The concept is great and I salute the intelligence it has been transposed into this album. The booklet gives us brief, but essential information about topics related to the concept. It has a strong retro-like feeling which also comes back in the sound treatments. The robotic music becomes pretty accessible by its melodic side and danceable rhythms. I personally prefer 808 Dot Pop to the latest Metroland’s releases for being more polished, poppy and globally more accessible. 

– – – : I like the music and I like the heavenly voice of Lis Van Den Akker but I’m not totally convinced both are matching. I would have liked a more sterile timbre of voice. 

Conclusion: 808 Dot Pop strikes back in style dealing with a fascinating concept and simply good Electro-Pop. 

Best songs: “Heinrich Hertz”, “RCA AR-812”, “Capacitor”, “Österreich 3”. 

Rate: 7½.

Artist: https://808dotpop.com / www.facebook.com/808dotpop 

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

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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Metroland’s Passenger S his first solo album, “The Colour Temperature” (2020), and its companion remix album “The Cubic Temperature”, were extremely well received by the electronic music scene. Three years later 808 Dot Pop returns with three albums in one on Alfa Matrix.

Both “AM 1350” and “FM 88.2” are available only on compact disc while “MW 720” is available as a download only. The two CD albums are complementary conceptual releases and are also produced and mixed like a broadcasting where all songs float into each others to guarantee the ultimate radiophonic experience. The download album has seperate tracks that stand on their own.

The project is driven by his passion for vintage sounds and draws inspiration from renowned acts such as Orbital, Komputer and the pioneers of Kraftwerk. The sound is characterized by warm sequences, melodic synth layers, and robotic vocoders. The entire auditory experience is enhanced with the addition of analog drums, paying homage to a legendary drum machine.

Passenger S: “The idea for a pop radio show initially started when I asked (and also received) permission from OMD’s Andy McCluskey in person to cover their track ‘Radio Waves’. However, since the original was so darn good, the decision was soon taken to drop the cover idea. Still the interest to take a deeper dive into the matter of radio waves remained. A further push by Gary Hunter (Kraftman), who co-wrote on several songs, did finally lead to the birth of a new concept around the 1920’s crystal radio and the inventions of Guglielmo Marconi, who paved way for many things in our modern era.”

Guest singer on the release is Lis van den Akker who you can hear on the titles “Marconi”, “The Detector” and “Distant Voices”.

You can check the download only version of “MW 720” below.

Here’s the official videoclip for “Marconi”.

2 new singles available as well

You can also downbload 2 new singles: “FM 101.4” and “AM 685”. “FM101.4” and “AM 685”.

The 3-track EP “FM 101.4” holds the single version of “Marconi” (aptly entitled ‘on the radio’) backed with the song “The Detector”, which also features the voice of Lis Van Den Akker. The 4-track maxi EP “AM 685” holds two extended versions, a remix with a clear wink to Passenger S and his love for a particular 80s band and his favourite 12inch (one of their 1983 songs was the very start of the entire concept), and an exclusive 3rd song entitled “Voices”, all referencing to the album’s concept.

Check out the singles below. They are available for immediate download via Bandcamp.

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As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

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KRAFTman aka UK based artist Gary Hunter will be releasing the album called “Electrique Fabrique” on August 13th. The album will be out as a digital download and as a limited edition CD via Bandcamp and other services. The CD Edition will feature 5 additional bonus tracks. Good to know, it was Passenger S (Metroland & 808 Dot Pop) who kept on pushing Gary to release an album. Readers will surely know the project as the excellent track “Waiting For The Day” was featured on the Face The Beat 6 compilation, released by Side-Line magazine.

The album features 9 original songs, an english language version of the Kraftwerk track “Electric Café”, as well as, a cover of the 808 Dot Pop track “Gamma Rays”. Needless to say that this project has a very Kraftwerkian influence.

We talked with Gary who has this to say about the new album’s approach: “The album isn’t a concept album in the traditional sense, however, it is a kind of concept album, as a lot of the songs are inspired by the subject matter of Kraftwerk releases over the years, for example, songs about telephone communication, robots, cycling, German motorways, nuclear energy etc, the closing song “Florian”, started this whole process off, and is my tribute to Kraftwerk’s Florian Schneider, the track was written and recorded not long after his passing, a true music hero of mine.”

Notice that in respect to this, “Florian” was also released as a 7 track single which you can download right here.

The album “Electrique Fabrique” is available below via Bandcamp or right here on all other services.

It is an album, that will certainly appeal to Kraftwerk, and electronic music fans.

The bonus tracks on the CD (limited to just 20 copies) are:

1. Electric Café (English 7 Inch Version)
2. A Face I Knew (7 Inch Version)
3. Bundesautobahn 52 (Radio Edit)
4. Florian (808 Dot Cut)
5. Florian (Maschine Brennt Remix)

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Following on from the release of the KRAFTman single “Florian” (which included remixes by 808 Dot Pop and Maschine Brennt) and the appearance of a brand new track called “Waiting For The Day” on the Face The Beat 6 compilation, released by Side-Line magazine, KRAFTman is set to release a new 4 track EP of music heavily inspired by Kraftwerk: “Electrique Musique EP”.

This new EP will feature 7 Inch versions of 4 tracks featured on the forthcoming KRAFTman album “Electrique Fabrique”.

The “Electrique Musique EP” features the tracks “Bundesautobahn 52”, “A Face I Knew”, “Gamma Rays”, a cover of a recent 808 Dot Pop song, as well as, the KRAFTman take on the Kraftwerk track “Electric Cafe, which is unique, as Kraftwerk never released an English language version of the track.

The album, whilst not a concept as such, has a theme, most of the songs are inspired by subjects Kraftwerk have used in some of their songs, so you can expect songs about German motorways, telephones, cycling, nuclear power etc.

For now do check out “Waiting For The Day” taken from our free download compilation “Face The Beat 6”.

Other KRAFTman releases

The debut single by KRAFTman, “Florian”, was released as a 7-track Digital Download on August 14th 2020, the single featured KRAFTman’s original version (which is featured on the “We Are Machine Pop 6” compilation) and the KRAFTman Matrix 12 Inch Version, in addition the single featured remixes by Metroland and Maschine brennt, a combination mix was also included, which was the song constructed using sections of 3 of the mixes included in the release.

On September 11th 2020, KRAFTman released the single “The Robots (7 Inch Version)”, a cover of the Kraftwerk track,again as a Digital Download, that featured the lead track, as well as, a 7 Inch version of Kraftwerk’s track “Metropolis” and a special Re-Programmed 12 Inch Version of “The Robots”. This was the lead single from the album “The Man Machine (Recreated)”.

The album “The Man Machine (Recreated)” was released on October 30th and features a complete recording of all the tracks featured on the iconic Kraftwerk album, as well as, 12 Inch versions of all 6 tracks, all of which are unique arrangements. The Digital Download is available via Bandcamp below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: After the “Variation” and “Pulsation” edits of “Blackbodies” we now get the “Radiation”-EP from 808 Dot Pop. This is the solo-project from Belgian artist ‘Passenger S’ who’s still involved with Metroland. Noemi Aurora (Helalyn Flowers) has been featured as a guest singer on previous “Blackbodies”-EP’s.

Content: “Radiation” features a new version of “Blackbodies”, which sounds darker and rough while Noemi’s vocals have been ‘computerized’ adding a sterile touch to the work. We next get two songs and especially “RGB (Red To Green)” is an interesting cut for its sophisticated approach. After the experimental debut, this track accentuates the minimal approach of the EP. “Gamma Rays” is the other new song. Both songs have been remixed as well; first one by Cubic and the other one by Kraftman.

+ + + : This is for sure my favorite EP from 808 Dot Pop and the right work to announce the debut album “The Colour Temperature”. While it sounds pretty ‘Kraftwerk-ian’ like and still close to Passenger S’ main project, the new song “RGB” is maybe one of the best songs I’ve heard from this musician. There’s an intelligent sound approach, which is different from what I’ve heard before. It’s minimal and yet pop-like. It sounds more like music to listen to and yet it has something danceable. The computer vocal effects are cool, but here again reminding me of Metroland. Both remixes are cool and especially the beautiful synth lines on top of Kraftman’s remix of “Gamma Rays”.

– – – : Just like Metroland, 808 Dot Pop likes to release several productions around the same song(s). I was a bit skeptical about this new work, but I have to admit it’s my favorite one! Time for the album now!

Conclusion: This EP makes me think 808 Dot Pop is not just an entertaining side-project, but there’s a potential hiding in it. I hope the album will confirm the accomplishment of this work.

Best songs: “RGB (Red To Green)”, “Blackbodies (Radiation)”, “RGB (Green To Blue)”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/808dotpop

Label: www.alfa–matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

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