Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, EBM.

Background/Info: Dimitri (DMT) Berzerk is a Mexican DJ and producer you for sure already discovered by one of his endless remixes he made for other artists. He started assembling these remixes on albums and has unleashed the second volume in the “Remixes Collection”. The CD format is strictly limited to 200 copies and has been released on his very own label.

Content: This second edition features remixes Dimitri Berzerk made for Future Perfect, Reflection, Sinestar, Vox Humana, Cid Project, Want/ed, Devilsight, Dead Man Recovering, Zoon Politicon, Wumpscut, Data and Kromak. It’s an interesting selection of bands dealing with different kinds of electronic music; from electro-pop to EBM to dark-electronics.

DMT Berzerk seriously reworked the songs into mainly electro-pop driven edits, but he also added or hold on EBM influences on other cuts.

+ + + : Making remixes is a long-time habit in different music genres, but the interesting element about this artist is he has some particular skills to do the job. It’s not just a remix that has been made in a hurry, but you can feel a real sound approach and I dare to say ‘sound philosophy’ behind the remixes. Even if most of the songs have been restyled into danceable and sometimes clubby electro-pop, I also noticed a few surprising songs such as the minimal remix of Wumpscut’s “Wreath Of Barbs” and the trance vibes that have been held on at Kromak’s (side-project C-Lekktor) “Dying 4 U”. There’s a great diversity, which sometimes moves at the edge of electro-ambient and then becomes pretty vintage-like, but globally speaking there’s a real coherence between all remixes.

– – – : This is a fully enjoyable and entertaining album, but maybe without absolute hits although multiple tracks for DJ’s.

Conclusion: I’ve never fond of remixes, but this kind of concept is different. I think it’s a damned good idea to get the remixes Dimitri Berzerk made for others on one disc.

Best songs: Kromak: “Dying 4 U feat. Manriquez”, Sinestar: “Fortunes Faded”, Wumpscut: “Wreath Of Barbs”, Zoon Politicon: “Dreamer”, Devilsight: “This Is The Feeling Of My Hate”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.dmtberzerk.mx / www.facebook.com/dimitri.berzerk

Label: www.sector–industrial.com / www.facebook.com/sector.industrial.producciones

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

C-Lekktor progressively became one of the leading formations at the wider fields of dark-electronics. Master mind Marco Antonio Barrientos (Markko) has been busy experimenting and releasing music for his side-projects Circuito Cerrado and Kromak, but now strikes back unleashing the fourth official full length of C-Lekktor. “Out Of My Way” also is the first album released on DWA (Digital World Audio) and will ravish all electro heads and fans of the band. This album will only increase the status of the band. I got in touch with the always friendly and accessible front man to answer a few questions.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: After the previous C-Lekktor-album (cf. “Final Alternativo”) you were busy releasing material for Circuito Cerrado and Kromak. How does it feel to strike back with your ‘main’ project and the new album?

Markko: I really needed getting back to C-LEKKTOR, which really reflects a lot of very different feelings and thoughts from my daily life. This new album stands for the accumulated energy that was inside me. I feel alive!

Q: Can you tell us a bit more about that and are there some new music elements you tried to incorporate in the production?

Markko: Actually when Jorge and I started working on this new album, we talked about the idea to return to the old structure of the songs we like from the first albums, but we wanted to experiment with some fresh sounds. So this is the result of the ideas we got in mind. We wanted to please our fans all over the world who were missing the ‘old’ sound, but on the other hand we also tried to please the people who liked the sound of “X-Tension In Progress”. So I think we are somewhere in the midst (laugh)

Q: I experienced “Out Of My Way” as your most diversified work; moving from EBM to dark-electronics to industrial-trance. What have been the main sources of inspiration to compose this new work?

Markko: Thanx for the words, that’s really appreciated. The main basis for this new album definitely was our first two albums.. We somewhere changed ideas and technical skills on the latest album so we wanted to recover our old sound formula, but we love music and we enjoy listening to it; new and old music. So I guess we used different ingredients to get and different flavor on this new album (laugh)

Q: Next to the ‘regular’ edit, the album has been also released as a so-called ‘audio-book’ featuring a bonus disc. Tell us a bit more about this concept, the artwork and the bonus disc featuring hard-hitting songs?

Markko: Jamie from DWA is always putting great efforts and passion in everything he is doing. We didn’t only notice his interest in our music, but still a real friendship and total support in the products he is realizing. We already noticed it with the 7″ vinyl of  “Radioakktivity” and now with this gorgeous version of the album on digibook. We feel so proud of it; the artwork was done again by DJ/VJ Psyklon and I can tell you this time it was not a deception at all. He immediately caught the idea and concept we were looking for and ‘bang’ there it was.

About the extra songs on the bonus disc the answer is quite easy. We had too much songs so they couldn’t all be released on one disc and decided to put the songs on a bonus disc.

Q: You in 2015 did a noticeable cover version of Kraftwerk’s “Radioactivity”, which I think is a real great dark-electro version of this legendary song. How did it feel to cover such a great band and do you’ve other songs in mind you would like to cover?

Markko: I can’t say if it is a good cover version or not, but I just wanted to pay tribute to one of the bands that changed my life and turned my way into the right music. I didn’t only make covers of Kraftwerk, but still a few more from bands like Depeche Mode, Suicide Commando, Front 242, Hocico and a few more… cause all these bands are in my mind and my ears… and now that you say it, I feel so honored that you like it… It means that not everything I’m doing is shitty (laugh).

Q: Together with Hocico and Amduscia, C-Lekktor is without a shadow of a doubt one of the leading dark-electro bands from Mexico. How does it feel to have reached this status and what’s the relationship with other Mexican artists?

Markko: Well to be honest, I’ve never thought about this, but thank you for this great compliment. I think every band or project has its own place and I don’t compose music for a competition or so, it was never my intention to get a place or number on anything… I’m actually not looking for fame, I’m just a guy trying to share the sounds that are living in my head and my heart. I’ve a lot of respect and admiration for each of my country mate musicians, but also for all the other artists all over the world.

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.

Background/Info: Marco Barientos is a busy artist. After releases with his side-projects (Circuido Cerrato and Kromak) he now strikes back with a new opus of his master project C-Lekktor. It’s the first album since “Final Alternativo” (2014) and the first album released on Digital World Audio. The ‘limited’ edition has been released as a so-called digi-book and features an extra disc of 4 tracks.

Content: “Out Of My Way” is an album that first of all moves on there where previous C-Lekktor work stopped. It remains a powerful and dark/hard-electro inspired work joined by the harsh screaming vocals of Marco Barientos. But the album also moves into other ‘dark’ directions, carried by EBM bass lines reminding me of a more dark-electro/techno style, which is more comparable to Noisuf-X. The work also reveals a few more evasive cuts.

The bonus disc brings us back to the ‘classical’ C-Lekktor format, which stands for sonic violence and pure dark club music.

+ + + : C-Lekktor confirms their leading status of Mexican dark-electro bands, but the band already reached a word-wide recognition in their music genre. This is the kind of work that will appeal for fans of Suicide Commando and Hocico (for the ‘classical’ pieces), but still for more electro-industrial & rave freaks à la Noisuf-X. “Out Of My Way” appears to be the most versatile album of the band, but that’s an evolution I like as it opens new horizons. The music is not only powerful, but accomplished with great sound treatments, icy sequences and pumping bass drums. The harsh and distorted vocals totally match with this haunting atmosphere and sonic violence. I also enjoyed the more evasive cut (cf. “Mundo Adverso”) featuring delicious female backing vocals. It’s a mature and professional production.

– – – : The versatile aspect of the work maybe makes this album a little less unique. I expected more (h)el(l)ectronics, but C-Lekktor took my by surprise by experimenting more technoid and industrial-rave paths.

Conclusion: This is without a shadow of a doubt an album numerous dark-electro lovers were waiting for and I think they’ll not be disappointed discovering the violence of the sound and the efficiency of the songs!

Best songs: “Tonight You’re Mine”, “Don’t Mess With Me”, “Move On”, “King Of The Underworld”, “Mundo Adverso” + “Answers”, “Ser Interior”.

Rate: (8½).

Band: www.facebook.com/Clekktor

Label: www.digitalworld.audio /   www.facebook.com/DigitalWorldAudio

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

Suicide Commando is a long-time leading formation from the dark-electronic scene. The band is an important source of inspiration for numerous new bands. So I got the idea asking a question to artists who are or have been related to Johan Van Roy. What do they think about his music, about the man hiding behind the artist…

I got in touch with Torben Schmidt, Dirk Ivens, Jean-Luc De Meyer, Jan L., Nero Bellum, Markko Barientos and Sakis (aka SynthetiC).

Speaking for myself I got the opportunity to work with Johan on a common project called Toxic Shock Syndrome. That was quite a long time ago now, but all over the years Johan remained the same kind and accessible guy for which I can only express my admiration for the talented artist he is and my respect for the great person hiding behind the artist. There where some artists are ‘struggling’ with their egos, he simply remains himself…

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Torben Schmidt is the owner of Infacted Recordings, member of Lights Of Euphoria and Binnary Park plus long-time live member of Suicide Commando.

Q: We all know Johan Van Roy as an ‘artist’ and ‘performer’, but what kind of man is he behind the scenes?

Torben: I know Johan since more then 20 years now and I have to say that he is one of the most loyal and kind guys I ever met. In fact he turned from an artist I respect into a real friend. We experienced so many cool things in the last 17 years being a part of his band which really made us friends. I’m really happy that I got to know him and that we had the chance to expand our friendship.

Dirk Ivens is a living legend of the electronic underground scene, front man of The Klinik, but still involved with Dive, Sonar, Absolute Body Control… he also was a source of inspiration for Suicide Commando.

Q: The Klinik definitely was one of the main sources of inspiration for Suicide Commando. How much of The Klinik do you recognize in Suicide Commando?

Dirk: It looks like more than 30 years after the release of the first album of The Klinik that these songs are still very much alive and were a big inspiration for a lot of bands during the years.. including Suicide Commando. Johan was one of them and especially his early work before he developed and finally found his own musical touch.

Jean-Luc De Meyer is the singer of the pioneers of EBM, the one and only Front 242! He’s also involved with 32 Crash, Underviewer and Modern Cubism. Jean-Luc De Meyer did some guest vocals on the song “The Pain That You Liked”, which was originally released as EP and featured on the newest Suicide Commando album as well.

Q: Jean-Luc, you already sung in multiple projects and did multiple guest vocals, but I never expected you singing on a song of Suicide Commando. What kind of experience was it for you and what’s your perception of the Suicide Commando sound?  

Jean-Luc: I’m not that sociable you know so I lately met Johan, maybe 3 or 4 years ago now. But I’d seen numerous concerts of Suicide Commando before. Singing on “The Pain That You Like” was a rather easy job because music and lyrics both were already written and I only had to interpret the song. It was quite simple and a bit of an evidence for me as I felt like a fish in the water singing on this kind of music…

Jan L is for sure another leading artist from the electronic underground scene. From Noisuf-X to X-Fusion to Stoppenberg he ever ever set up Kombat Unit together with Johan Van Roy.

Q: You ever set up Kombat Unit together with Johan Van Roy. What did you keep in mind from this experience and what’s your perception of Johan Van Roy as an artist/performer?

Jan L: Yes, we started Kombat Unit some time ago.. and we had a lot of fun making music together. We both have very different ways of working.. but it worked very well in the end, even if we only finished 2 songs. Our problem was only our lack of time. That´s why we stopped with Kombat Unit.

You maybe know that we both know each other since a very long time and we are close friends. I respect Johan as a very nice person and as a great artist. I also love to work with him, when it comes to mixing/mastering his Suicide Commando stuff. His music inspired countless bands since a very long time and he is a very important person in our scene. Without him our scene would be very different.

Nero Bellum is the front man of Psyclon Nine and get featured on the opening song of the new album.

Q: How did you get in touch with Johan Van Roy and what kind of experience was it for you contributing to the opening song (cf. “The Gates Of Oblivion”) of the new album?

Nero: I believe that my first correspondence with Johan took place just as “Mindstrip” was being released. I had just formed my band Psyclon Nine and had just begun work on our first album. Suicide Commando was one of my biggest influences at the time and Johan was happy to give me advice.

“The Gates Of Oblivion” gave us an opportunity to collaborate in a much deeper way. While Johan had most of the music written when he approached me, I was able to bring live, modular synthesis into the picture as well as my lyrical contributions. Performing the track at ‘Wave Gotik Treffen’ 10 minutes before my shuttle arrived was something that I won’t soon forget.

Markko Barientos is without a shadow of a doubt one of the leading artists from the Mexican dark-electro scene, but he in the meantime became a word-wide recognized artist involved with C-Lekktor, Circuito Cerrado and Kromak.

Q: Do you remember the first time you’ve heard Suicide Commando and what did you think? What means this band to you?

Markko: Yeah I still remember that day, the first time I heard Suicide Commando here in Mexico city we have a ‘Music Market’ named “El  Chopo” and I got the “Critical Stage” CD by luck. At that time there wasn’t internet and to find original CDs was something that became a real pain in the ass, but fortunately I found it and it was so blasting that it changed my own panorama from what I was listening to those days. ‘COLD-VIOLENT AND CATCHY’ are my favorite 3 words when it comes to dark electronic music. I just wanted to get more and more from Suicide Commando.

Suicide Commando had already released the “Stored Images”-album around that time I found the “Critical Stage”-album (so you can see how hard it was to find music in Mexico during that time?) From that day I always knew that I was so engaged with his sound and after all these years I still consider it as one of my biggest pleasures and influences in my music. For me “Construct-Destruct” is and will be always one of the best albums. To keep it short, ‘I’M A SUICIDE COMMANDO ADDICT, aren’t you?

Sakis aka SynthetiC from Nano Infect is a Greek artist who definitely found his inspiration in the cold electro sound of Suicide Commando. Johan Van Roy was guest singer on the Nano Infect’s song “Lifeless”.

Q: Suicide Commando clearly sounds like a source of inspiration for numerous dark-electronic bands. What makes the sound of Suicide Commando that special and what specific elements in this sound do you like?

Sakis: What makes Suicide Commando so special to a point that, at least to me, literally everybody is inspired, is the man behind the project; Johan Van Roy himself. He’s a loyal and simple guy while his sound features a straight forward structure plus a melody that gets stuck in your head from the very first moment. Needless to mention the groovy bass lines and that super fat sounding signature snare!
As for the lyrics, you get to see that Johan Van Roy is an everyday normal guy with thoughts like yours and mine… Songs about depression, death, the way the mind works… simple thoughts of a man who feels he has to express them…

It has been an honor to know him and I would like to thank him in public again for everything.

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

The 43rd track on our free download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 4” (featuring 92 tracks) is by the Mexico City based trance electro act Kromak which is actually a C-Lekktor side-project.

Markko B., well-known for his C-Lekktor project, also launched a trance inspired electro project which sees its material released via SkyQode. Via Kromak (formed in 2013) Markko explores the vast realms of trance music, something he has never done before with his other projects.

The track we offer here comes from the 2015 album “Trance It”. You can learn more on this project right here on Facebook.

Listen to “Sagittarius” below and download it right here.

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

C-Lekktor became the big next Mexican dark-electro sensation after Hocico while Circuito Cerrado is rapidly growing towards the top of electro-industrial music. What do both bands have in common with the trance-minded Kromak? All of these bands are driven by the creative spirit and passion for music of Markko Barrientos Sanchez. This guy is not only a talented artist, but also a real nice and accessible person. I’m keeping an eye on his work since his early debut and he never stopped to impress me by improving the global aspects of his work.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: What incited you to make music and tell us a bit more about your musical background?

Markko: The passion for the music I like! I’ve been listening to this kind of ‘underground music’ for such a long time now (28 years). All over the years I’ve learned that music is one important fact in my life.

About my background as musician, I can tell you that I never went to music academy or something like that. I guess it is something running through my blood…

Q: Hocico definitely is the most famous Mexican formation dealing with dark-electronic music. What has been their impact on you as an artist and the Mexican scene generally speaking?

Markko: Yeah Hocico has an important status in the world-wide dark-electronic scene and thanks to them people are keeping an eye on the Mexican bands. That’s why I really admire them and I consider myself a Hocico-fan.

As a musician they represent everything that any band wants to achieve. Since the first time I saw them live I knew that I wanted to compose music myself.

Q: What do you keep in mind from more than 10 years of involvement in C-Lekktor and what brings the future?

Markko: I think it’s my conviction about keep creating something that can be considered as ‘art’. I have nothing to prove to anyone else because I’m not looking for fame, but for me the most important item is a constant evolution of the creation process. I’m always trying to improve all different aspects so future is quite clear to me… ‘I SEE THE MUSIC’.

Q: Circuito Cerrado recently released its second album “Arrhythmia”. What can you say about the composition of this new work and do you see an evolution compared to the “Distortment”-debut album?

Markko: Definitely yes, there’s an evolution; this time I tried to follow a line about the composition of the songs, but at the same time I kept some elements from the “Distortment”-album. I think I’m reaching the sound that I’d in mind, but my curiosity on this project is not finished and I think on the next release you will find different elements that I have to experiment with…

Q: Kromak definitely is your most surprising project for being totally different in sound and influences. Tell us a bit more about this project and what’s your perception on ‘techno’-music?

Markko: As I told you, I’m an old-school person so techno-music had an important impact on me. I’ve been influenced by trance-music, which proves I’m not a closed-minded person who just listen to the same music or bands or even genre all the time. I love a lot of electronic music styles, HARD AND SOFT and trance music has a different feeling filling my melancholic and energetic side. For me  Kromak is music without limits…

Q: You’re involved in different bands so is there a kind of hierarchy, one band being more important than another one?

Markko: I respect and of course love all of the bands I had the chance to work with and for me it’s not about HOW BIG OR FAMOUS THEY ARE. The point is  about ‘possibilities’ of creation and co-respect. I can’t measure the work of every artist, but when I have the chance to work with any of them in any possible way,, believe me that sounds like music to my ears…

Q: Your work has been released on different labels like COP International, Infacted Recordings, SkyQode, Digital World Audio and now Alfa Matrix. What’s your experience with labels generally speaking and what do you expect as an artist from a label?

Markko: Gratitude is what I have for all of them. They believed in me, so that’s why I’m trying to do my best and that’s the least I can do. It all feels like a mutual hard work and without them nothing could be possible. I respect them all!

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-industrial, industrial-rave.

Background/Info: Markko B(arrientos) is a renowned artist as leader of the Mexican dark-electro project C-Lekktor. Two years ago now he took his fans by surprise launching a new project dealing with a hard electro-industrial sound. The album “Distortment” got released on Infacted Recordings. Later on Markko B set up another project called Kromak, which is more into techno-trance. He’s now already back on track unleashing the second full length of Circuito Cerrado, which has been released on Alfa Matrix.

Content: Circuito Cerrado is not the typical type of electro-industrial music. You can easily notice Markko is still inspired by hard techno formats and dark-electronics. “Arrhythmia” is driven by hard and impressive industrial treatments, which you’ll easily notice when discovering the distorted drum sections and the tortured electro sounds. The work has been accomplished by an impressive arsenal of noises and manipulations.

Next to the industrial content the work also reveals technoid elements, spoken samplings (which sometimes might remind you of Noisuf-X), dark-electronic leads and even a few acid treatments. Some passages on the debut album were clearly inspired by the industrial-rave sound of Noisuf-X. This input is less present now although it clearly remains a sonic reference in the work of Circuito Cerrado. Notice by the way that Jan L did the mastering of this album.

The regular album features 17 songs of power and sonic torture. The extra disc features 13 remixes by an impressive list of bands featuring Noisuf-X, Chainreactor, Iszoloscope, FabrikC, Xotox, Acylum, Alien Vampires, Noisex, Alien Vampires, Noiz-Zilenth, Antythesys, Avarice In Audio, Aengeldust, Chaotic Rave System and SFX DJ.

+ + + : Circuito Cerrado deals with an elaborate industrial composition, which is more sophisticated than the average power-noise formation. This industrial sound is more accessible through the input of different extra elements while the technoid elements get it more danceable. The song “Training Day” featuring “Full Metal Jacket”-samplings is not the most original song yet a real potential hit. Noisuf-X fans will be pleased by “Stress Generator”, which is a damned pumping song in the industrial-rave style.

Among the remixes I highly recommend Chainreactor and Antythesys. Both remixing a song that was originally released on the debut album of the band.

– – – : I personally have a little preference for the previous album, which was closer to Noisuf-X. It just proves that an album doesn’t always have to be original in sound to be successful. Don’t get me wrong, this new opus is a remarkable composition, but maybe with not as many potential hits.

Conclusion: Circuito Cerrado probably is one of the hardest and most industrial bands signed at Alfa Matrix. This formation might open a door for more talented industrial-minded formations on the Belgian label. “Arrhythmia” also confirms the extraordinary talent of Markko B who’s definitely becoming one of the hottest artists of his generation.

Best songs: “Training Day”, “Stress Generator”, “Macabre Dance”, “Blastyle”, “Let The Bass Fuck You Up” + Liebe Macht Blind – Chainreactor Remix”, “Liebe Macht Blind – Antythesys Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.facebook.com/Circuito–Cerrado-241195842721352

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

Out now via SkyQode (Bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify) is the 5-track EP “In the Voice of Others” by Kromak, a side-project of Markko B., who is better known as the mastermind behind C-Lekktor and Circuito Cerrado.

With Kromak, Marrko explores the vast territories of trance music. The EP follows up Kromak’s excellent debut album “Trance It” which was released in October 2015. For the occasion Markko has teamed up with several vocalists. If you missed this album, you can get it via Bandcamp, iTunes or Spotify.

The EP contains an extra surprise for all Depeche Mode fans as Kromak offers a rendition of “Sister Of Night” in two different versions, one featuring Xavier Morales (Ruined Conflict) and the other a duo of Alexander Gladky (Unity One) and Suede Flores (Carved Souls).

Apart from that, there are two original tracks with the voices of Pao Manriquez (Dying 4 U) and Alla Reizenfeldt (Spread your wings) and a remix done by the Mexican DJ / producer DMT Berzerk. Like the debut album, “In the Voice of Others” was mastered by Jan L of X-Fusion Music Production.

The tracklist:

1. Sister Of Night (Feat. Ruined Conflict)
2. Dying 4 U (Feat. Pao Manriquez)
3. Spread Your Wings (Feat. Alla Reizenfeldt)
4. Sister Of Night (Feat. Unity One & Carved Souls) (Uplifting Version)
5. Dying 4 U (Feat. Pao Manriquez) (DMT Berzerk Remix)

Here is another preview:

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: Techno-trance.

Content: Behind this new project is hiding a rather surprising name. I could never have imagined the front-man of C-Lekktor (Markko B) setting up a techno-trance project. We already discovered the electro-industrial side-project Circuito Cerrado, which sounds more related to C-Lekktor, but Kromak is something totally different.

I don’t know if Markko did it just for fun, but I suspect this Mexican genius really likes trance music. Kromak sounds like the right sonic canvas to exorcise different techno-inspired ideas. I personally prefer the more psy-trance orientated cuts, which are more elaborated and intelligent wise. “Trance It” is a great title track with a goa-driven kick and astral electronic effects. It becomes clear on this song that Markko must have listened to psy-trance productions.
Other tracks mix elements of trance and dance music while I also noticed elements of hard-trance. “Beating” even reveals an exploration of dance music. The production is well-crafted and I here have to recognize the professionalism of this artist although some of the ‘dance-minded tracks are sometimes a bit ‘cheap’ when it comes to their melody line.

I definitely prefer the harder passages, which come through on “Tempus Fugit”, “Synthphonia (In F Minor)” and the pumping “Sagittarius”. All these cuts are pretty hard-beating and sometimes a bit into dark-trance. It’s the total opposite of a more happy-sounding track like “Fading Memories”. There’s not exactly what I should call coherence between all cuts and that’s one of the only regrets about this work. Kromak is a quite well-crafted and mature production (mastered by Jan L) revealing the diversity and creativity of Markko B.

Conclusion: If you like techno and trance-driven electronics you for sure will find interesting cuts at this debut work of Kromak. “Trance It” clearly sounds as an antidote for the heavy dark and doom electronics of C-Lekktor and Circuito Cerrado. I like artists with different sources of inspiration, which ultimately result in different projects.

Best songs: “Trance It”, “Tempus Fugit”, “Synthphonia (In F Minor)”, “Sagittarius”.

Rate: (DP:7)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/KROMAKsideproject

Label: http://skyqode.com / www.facebook.com/skyqode

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