The Belgian electro label Alfa Matrix releases the twelfth volume in its “Matrix+ Downloaded” series to coincide with the label’s 24th anniversary. The digital-only set collects 69 tracks across the label’s current spectrum – EBM, dark elektro/industrial, synth pop – and newer Spleen+ additions spanning post-punk, goth rock and coldwave. The compilation is offered as a free/pay-what-you-want download via the label’s Bandcamp page and also includes a PDF booklet.

On the cover you will recognize Erica Dunham from Unter Null.

Artists included on this free download compilation include: Studio-X (feat. Kyoko Baertsoen), Rector Scanner, Aesthetische, Cut.Rate.Box, Kant Kino, Frontal Boundary, C-Lekktor, Acylum, Diffuzion, Implant, Neikka RPM, First Aid 4 Souls (feat. Aux Animaux), Noemi Aurora, Suicidal Romance, Llumen, Hanging Freud, Lederman/De Meyer, The Ultimate Dreamers, Aiboforcen, Digital Factor, Armageddon Dildos, Helalyn Flowers, Krystal System, The True Union, Freakangel, Totem Obscura, Lovelorn Dolls (feat. Dero Goi), The Breath of Life, The Names, ImJudas, Synapsyche, Miseria Ultima, Unter Null, Alien Vampires (feat. Dani Divine), Venal Flesh, Helle9, To Avoid, Pouppée Fabrikk, Stahlgeist, Nigra Nebula, Aengeldust, Circuito Cerrado, Matthew Creed, Cubic, Metroland, The Psychic Force, Komor Kommando, First Aid Tech, Die Robo Sapiens, ELM, Plastic Noise Experience, AD:Key, Elektroklänge, 808 Dot Pop, Avarice in Audio, Elektrostaub (feat. Echo Image), Cryogenic Echelon, Entrzelle, Neuroactive, Technoir, Mondträume, Star Industry, Stray, Psy’Aviah (feat. Sorrow Stories), Zombie Girl, Darkness on Demand, Circumpolar, Dunkelwerk, and Lights A.M.

A&R manager, Sebastien Dolimont says: “In 2025, Alfa Matrix proudly celebrates 24 years of existence. Nearly a quarter of a century fighting for dark alternative music, discovering new talents, and keeping the underground alive. This anniversary is not just about us and our artists – it’s about you, our fans. Because without your constant support, there would be no label, no releases, no future for the scene we all love.”

And he add: “In a world where indie labels are disappearing, streaming revenues collapse, and risks of signing new talents are higher than ever, we are proud to still stand strong — but we can only do it with you by our side. By downloading this compilation, you are not just enjoying music — you are actively supporting 69 artists and helping keep our scene alive, fresh, and forward-looking. From all of us at Alfa Matrix and Spleen+, and on behalf of all our artists: thank you for 24 years of loyalty, passion, and support. Together, we’ll keep writing the future of the dark underground.”

About Alfa Matrix

Alfa Matrix is a Brussels-based independent label founded in 2001. The catalogue focuses on electronic subgenres including industrial, EBM, dark elektro, and synth pop, later expanding into post-punk/coldwave via the Spleen+ division. The label’s team includes label & artists manager Seba Dolimont, promo manager Bernard Van Isacker, and head of design Benoît Blanchart.

From the early 2000s, Alfa Matrix used series-based releases to build international reach. Notable strands include “Sounds From The Matrix” (label samplers), “Re:Connected” (digital label overview), and the club-oriented “Endzeit Bunkertracks” multi-CD anthologies (first “Act” released 21 March 2005, featuring 60 tracks with 50 exclusives).

In 2023, Alfa Matrix inaugurated Spleen+, a division centred on post-punk and adjacent styles, and followed with multi-artist projects and catalogue building, including the “Resurgence” 7-CD box that assembled 133 contemporary bands from the post-punk family.

The label has since the very start focused on a direct contact with its fans and customers via their online webstore and Bandcamp.

Eldrina Mich

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.

www.side-line.com

After two stylistic, elaborate, and promising albums, Belgian artist Pieter Coussement returns to his beloved Llumen project. The influences remain versatile, sounding like a sonic fusion of EBM, IDM, Electro/Future-Pop, and Ambient. Over the years, Llumen has become more danceable, and this is evident in the new work, which sounds like his most danceable production ever. It is an intelligent production that also dares to experiment with somewhat cheaper Dance leads. “You Can Have It All” is an absolute masterpiece. The album also gets a solid bonus with numerous remixes featuring big names like Grendel, as well as label mates like Implant, Aiboforcen, Aesthetischye, and others. It may not be Llumen’s best work, but it is still a creative and polished production which might appeal for Haujobb-fans. (Rate:8½).

Listen to “You Can Have It All”:

https://alfamatrix.bandcamp.com/track/you-can-have-it-all

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 multi-talented artist Pieter Coussement recently released the 3^rd Llumen album. A very diversified piece of work where emotional intensity merges with poignant melancholic vocals and addictive dark synth melodies. Pieter opened us his door for an open-heart conversation revealing the abyssal depth of “The Breaking Waves”…

You can get the album on Bandcamp, from the Alfa Matrix webstore as a 2CD set and all other platforms.

SL: “The Breaking Waves” explores themes of internal turbulence, health crisis, and introspection. Can you share some personal experiences or inspirations that influenced the creation of this album?

P. For as far as I remember there’s always been an uneasiness within me when dealing with this world. For a long time I thought I handled it well and kept on living my life, but this somehow caught up with me (like these things tend to do) about a decade ago. Since then it’s been a rollercoaster of events and emotions that on many occasions brought me to my knees and that have felt quite a few blows to me. It started with my mother’s passing which shook my whole existence and I never really felt with it in a healthy way. A few years later I had 2 (minor) heart attacks (and heart surgery). As you can imagine this was a huge disruption and completely numbed me. Prior to these heart attacks I was writing music for my second album Polygon Heart but that process suddenly stopped for the better part of two years because I was completely broken.

The song “Lifeline” got me through it in the end and life went on its merry way again. The biggest thing I learned through all of this is that I needed to be true to myself, something that very much inspired my writing process. Where lyrics used to be more fictional almost everything these days comes from within and has a close connection to moments where I deeply felt what I’m singing. Personally I think it has been beneficial both in life as in music to get in touch with your true self. In that respect, The Breaking Waves is a sincere collection of deeply felt emotions that I’ve put to music the best way I could.

SL: Your music draws from old-school EBM, gothic, techno, and future pop. How do you balance these diverse influences to create a cohesive sound in “The Breaking Waves”?

P. I’ve searched long and hard for that particular LLUMEN sound. I often fall back on old-school EBM for its ice cold sequences and driving beats, but also find myself drawn to melody and chord progressions. Because of this, there are a lot of future pop or even trance influences in my music. Above all things, however, I like good songs and meaningful lyrics, most of which have a very deep melancholic layer, which comes from my (early) goth days. I try to tie all of this together using many layers and meticulous mixing. A tedious process I must add.

SL: You’ve mentioned influences from iconic acts like FRONT 242, HAUJOBB, and DIORAMA. How have these artists shaped your musical direction, and how do you incorporate their influence while maintaining your unique sound?

P. I take inspiration from many different things. The bands you mention are just a few out there, but all bands that I have a deep respect for. They say that plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery and I’m very interested in how other bands bring their music to life. But I’m easily distracted and every stylistic exercise that I try eventually fails and becomes a LLUMEN song.

SL: Tracks like “Desire” and “Bring Me Flowers” showcase a range of emotions and musical styles. Can you talk about the creative process behind crafting such varied yet emotionally rich songs?

P. Thank you for mentioning these songs and especially appreciating the variance and emotionality within the songs. In many of my songs, I seek some kind of contradiction between melody or musical theme and the lyrics to accentuate the emotions I want to convey. Often this leads to a complex writing process where I want to set the mood first before bringing in all the different elements. I’ve struggled a lot with Desire because the leading piano melody really pulled at me for a long time into a direction that I didn’t want to go to. It’s only when I started playing with the instrumentation that it fell into place. Bring Me Flowers on the other hand, was a song that almost instantly fell into place. The musical idea was very much to have a typical EBM feel to it and the sentence “she brings me flowers to ease the pain” had been running around my brain for months before (I think I picked it up from a Brendan Perry song). I wrote the chorus and tied it to the music.

SL: The album features collaborations and remixes with various artists such as GRENDEL, AESTHETISCHE, and IMPLANT. How did these collaborations come about, and what do you feel each artist brought to their respective reinterpretations?

P. The collaborations come from some kind of connection with my fellow artists. For starters I need to like what they do musically, if not there is no sense in handing your babies into their skillful hands. Next it helps when there is a good connection on a human level, Len (Implant) has been a good friend throughout the years and I know he’s going to do a stellar job from the get go. When playing Mechanismus in Seattle last year, I had a few long talks with JD from Grendel and I thought we hid it off quite good, so I asked him to remix Die Stille which he did brilliantly. Many of the remixers are friends or become friends throughout the process. It’s one of the things in this scene that always warms me, every fellow musician is very eager to share their insights and knowledge, even if it’s a constructive critique.

SL: “The Breaking Waves” concludes with the track “Harbour,” symbolizing life’s ebb and flow. What message or feeling do you hope listeners take away from this final track?

P. There’s always a push and pull in life, an ebb and flow. The metaphor of the ocean, a harbor and a ship has been used to illuminate how people and feelings change over time. What once was a safe place can become very threatening and violent. At heart, I believe that we as people try to do what is best for each other, fighting the same struggles and living with the same amount of insecurities. At times you can be someone’s harbor, a safe haven for them to rest, but there is always going to be turmoil just beyond the bend. The main feeling people should get from this track is one of hope, everything is possible if you manage to stay afloat. 

SL: Following your previous releases, “The Memory Institute” and “Polygon Heart,” how do you feel your sound and artistic vision have evolved with “The Breaking Waves”?

P. It’s hard to pinpoint any definite aspects that evolved throughout this endeavor, but overall I think what changed is that there the songs now are closer to my heart and less fictional than they were when I started LLUMEN. The songwriting has evolved too, making better use of tonality, chords and melody to convey my thoughts. Polygon Heart was an album where the songs fitted well together and there’s a sense of unity. With The Breaking Waves I thought for a long time that the tracks were a bit harder to fit on one album. In the end I think it has become a diverse album with a broad variety of songs that earn a few listening stints.

SL: Your music is described as a profound exploration of human emotion and desire. What do you hope listeners experience when they immerse themselves in “The Breaking Waves,” and how do you want your music to impact them?

P. I first would be grateful if they truly immersed themselves into this music, on a quest for new elements in the songs with each time they listen. I also hope that the lyrics resonate with people and maybe help them to overcome some of the blows that are dealt throughout life. I certainly experience writing – or better finish writing- songs and lyrics as something cathartic. At the other hand, when listening or singing each of my songs, I’m also torn back into that mindset I had when writing it, which is often a very confronting emotion. For me, it’s a way to keep these memories and visit them from time to time, but also knowing that I can step away from these emotions when realizing I’m in a different mindset today. In this respect, I hope listeners can do the same and visit their memories good and bad from time to time, to become better versions of themselves.

Eldrina Mich

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.

www.side-line.com

“The Breaking Waves” is the title of the new Llumen album which comes as a 2CD set / Bandcamp download and which is available now. The album was already teased in November with the EP “Die Stille Totgeschwiegen”.

Llumen is the project by Belgian artist Pieter Coussement who brings a very updated EBM blending it with influences from old-school EBM, techno, and future pop. Influenced by acts like Front 242, Haujobb, Diorama, Assemblage 23, Suicide Commando or yet Covenant, Pieter has been able to develop an own mature sound.

Following the 2017 debut album “The Memory Institute” and the 2021 release “Polygon Heart”, “The Breaking Waves” is his 3rd album to date.

The accompanying CD holds remixes, edits, reinterpretations plus collaborations with Grendel, Aesthetische, Aiboforcen, Neuroactive, Implant, Mind.Divided, Dimethoxy, J Wølf, Nacht Nackt and The Saint Paul.

You can check out the full album below. Recommended!

Eldrina Mich

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.

www.side-line.com

After the chart-hitting “The Unknown Path” EP which was released last year, the Spanish electropop act Mondträume is back with an all new 6-track EP, “Heart Machine” on Alfa Matrix. For this occasion founding member Pikotto (aka Jose Ignacio Castaño Marquinez) teamed up with German singer Nicky from the synth pop act N-Frequency.

A first teaser of this collaboration was already available with the track “Pictures Of You” released last Summer by Alfa Matrix on a compilation. Today with “Heart Machine” the ‘new’ Mondträume duo reveals a second song. Also added are 4 new exclusive remixes by Neon Space Men, District 13, Llumen and Elektrostaub of the track “Pictures Of You”.

This evening, 2023, at 8:00 pm (CET) Mondträume will present the exclusive YouTube premiere of “Heart Machine” incl. chat session etc.. You can dowload the full EP from Bandcamp now.

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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Belgium’s electro act Llumen returns with a 9-track EP bridging the previous “Polygon Heart” album and the forthcoming album “The Breaking Waves” announced for Spring 2024 on Alfa Matrix.

“Die Stille Totgeschwiegen” is the first Llumen song mixing English and German lyrics, and is the first new song revealed from the forthcoming album “The Breaking Waves”. The track got remixed by Grendel, Elektrostaub and First Aid 4 Souls. Included as well are remixed versions of “Like My Pain” by Aiboforcen, Pre:Emptive Strike 0.1, Ah Cama-Sotz and Promenade Cinema.

You can download the new EP right here from Bandcamp.

About Llumen

Llumen emerged around 2010, marking a new phase in Pieter Coussement’s musical career. Before Llumen, Coussement was part of various projects, but with Llumen, he found a way to merge a more structured musical style with the experimental work he did at the Institute of Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music. As the years passed, Llumen developed its unique sound, leading to the release of its first digital EP in 2016 through Alfa-Matrix. 2017 saw the debut of Llumen’s album, “The Memory Institute,” which blends elements of EBM, futurepop, and gothic.

Eldrina Mich

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.

www.side-line.com

Out now via Bandcamp as a free download is DJ Shane Aungst’s “Electronic Bodies – Nightside Sessions” mega-mix. The Seattle (United States) based DJ produced this 2-part megamix including 23 tracks (and 2 intros) from “Electronic Bodies” during long evening sessions in October 2023. Note that the intros were created by Viscera Drip.

As you will know the original “Electronic Bodies” compilation (available here on Bandcamp) focused on EBM and its offspring. The proceedings of this mega-mix will equally go to charity.

Shane’s mixes mainly deal in the EBM/Aggrotech/Industrial genres, and come with heavy layers of sampling and edits. He has been doing studio work, working on sampling, mixes, edits, remixes, as well as putting together some original material. We will soon also publish an interview with Shane on his current and future work. Check his Instagram page for more info.

The tracklist is as follows:

Part 1

1. Night side sessions – Intro 00:00
2. Diffuzion – Ain’t Gonna Fuck With My Brain 00:49
3. Rabbits Wear Boots – Cyborg 04:54
4. Him+He – Dr Jones (Ocult Mix) 09:42
5. ELM – Vessel Of Violence (Weaponized Cardio Mix) 14:06
6. Ars – Thanatophobia 17:18
7. UCNX – Burning Slowly Down 21:54
8. Llumen – You Can Have It All (Matrix Edit) 25:41
9. The Psychic Force – Lockdown Lovers 29:50
10. Kant Kino – Frontline (Edit) 34:22
11. Raudadler – Sexual Deviants 37:15
12. First Aid 4 Souls – Anger 41:58
13. Miseria Ultima – Yet Shivering Profound 46:30

Part 2

1. Viscera Drip – Night side sessions Intro 00:00
2. Human Vault – Flesh And Bone (Void You Are Edit By Nadragea – Side-Line Cut) 00:52
3. Digital Factor – What 05:18
4. Aiboforcen – Cycle Of Life (Short Edit) 08:35
5. Aesthetische – Boiling Over (Celsius Version) 12:30
6. Diverje – Numb (EBM Remix By Psychosomatik) 16:50
7. Venus In Disgrace – Generation Commodore 20:25
8. Kreign – Don’t Force The Hand 23:13
9. Fuckware – Combat 27:22
10. Stahlgeist – Infected Colony (Alternate Version) 31:10
11. Sinthetik Messiah – Know Your Enemy 35:39
12. Töt – Mon Nom Est Personne 39:14

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

Alfa Matrix, the renowned Belgian label, commemorates its 22nd anniversary with yet another mastodont compilation on Bandcamp. The latest installment in the acclaimed “Matrix Downloaded” series, titled “Matrix+ Downloaded 011”, is now available as a free download on their Bandcamp page. Packed with 60 tracks, including new signings and a preview of the upcoming Spleen+ label releases, this compilation showcases Alfa Matrix’s diverse music repertoire.

“Matrix+ Downloaded 011” soared to the top of the industrial Bandcamp charts within hours of its release, claiming the coveted number 1 position.

The collection holds 60 tracks in total including several new signings. These are the bands present on this brand new free download compilation: Hanging Freud, The Ultimate Dreamers, The Breath Of Life, Psy’Aviah Feat. Sorrow Stories, ImJudas, Star Industry, Halo In Reverse, Lovelorn Dolls, The True Union, Freakangel, Avarice In Audio, Siva Six, Alien Vampires, Synapsyche, Helalyn Flowers, Neuroactive, Elektrostaub Feat. Stefan Netschio, Technoir, Entrzelle, Llumen, Noemi Aurora, Aiboforcen Feat. Jan D., Reichsfeind, Mondträume Feat. N-Frequency, The Psychic Force, Digital Factor, Implant, Darkness On Demand, Aesthetische, Komor Kommando Vs. The True Union, Matthew Creed, C-Lekktor, First Aid Tech, Pouppee Fabrikk, ELM, Die Robo Sapiens, Plastic Noise Experience, Armageddon Dildos, Stahlgeist, AD:keY, Kant Kino, Suicidal Romance, Miseria Ultima, First Aid 4 Souls, Neikka RPM, Circumpolar, Venal Flesh, Helle9, Diffuzion, Acylum, Circuito Cerrado, Aengeldust, Studio-X, 808 Dot Pop, Cubic, Metroland, Rector Scanner, Elektroklänge, Cosmic Armchair, Lights A.M.

You can download “Matrix+ Downloaded 011” for free via Bandcamp.

Eldrina Mich

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro, EBM.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: After three self-released and four official albums C-Lekktor breaks the silence after a hiatus of five years. Mexican Dark-Electro head Marco Barientos aka ‘Markko B’ signed to Alfa Matrix. He’s already familiar with the Belgian label having released music from his side project Circuito Cerrado. The last album of this side-project “Furious Basslines” might have inspired him for the slogan of this new C-Lekktor work ‘Are You Ready For The Bass?’

Content: The album stands for pure C-Lekktor Electro-terror and yet I noticed a little evolution in sound. The mix between Dark-Electro and EBM has never been so perfect. The songs are driven by hopping rhythms and sequences while carrying leads are pushing the songs to a higher dimension. Markko B is singing like a possessed creature.

The bonus disc features remixes by Xperiment, Centhron, ESA, Nevel, Llumen, The Psychic Force, Skynthattack, Venal Flesh, Neikka RPM, Chamaeleon, Nano Infect, FabrikC, Third Realm, Aesthetische, Miseria Ultima and Circuito Cerrado.

+ + + : C-Lekktor stands for power and terror; a violent Dark-Electro experience which became the trademark of this artist. C-Lekktor definitely belongs with projects like Hocico and Amduscia to the best Mexican bands in the genre. Markko B knows how to compose pure dance-terror. I like the way he created a perfect symbiosis between Dark-Electro and EBM resulting in great songs like “God Killer”, “Me”, “Death Dealer” and “Are You Ready For The Bass?”. Among the remixes featuring great names I especially like the job done by Neikka RPM industrializing “Obsession” in a true masterpiece with female backing vocals by Dominique. Other essential remixes are these by The Psychic Force and Chamaeleon.

– – – : The first part of the album sounds okay but the best cuts are definitely featured on the second part. I however have already heard better stuff from C-Lekktor.

Conclusion: ‘Are you ready for the bass?’ No doubt about it C-Lekktor will take dancefloors by force!

Best songs: “Me”, “Are You Ready For The Bass?”, “God Killer”, “Dearth Dealer” + “Obsession – Neikka RPM Remix”, “House Of Pain – The Psychic Force Remix”. 

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/Clekktor

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

C-Lekktor expands, the duo consisting of Markko and Jamie, welcome a 3rd member to their line-up: Dj/Producer Dimitri Berzerk aka d·b. The news was announced on Facebook last night as you can see below.

C-Lekktor has a new album out since last week, the 2CD “New World Disorder” which is also available as download via Bandcamp and all other services. With “New World Disorder”, the band breaks 5 years of extended silence. The release offers a fusion of classic dark hellektro with upbeat industrial EBM.

Note that this 2CD is a limited edition first pressing including a 16-track bonus disc featuring remixes by ESA, Centhron, Xperiment, The Psychic Force, Fabrikc, Aesthetische, Neikka RPM, Venal Flesh, Nano Infect, Circuito Cerrado, Llumen, Nevel, Synthattack, Chamaeleon, Miseria Ultima and Third Realm.

Below is the Facebook announcement.

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

One of the leading bands from the Mexican dark elektro scene, C-Lekktor, has landed a record deal with the Belgian electro label Alfa Matrix. After having been focused on some side-project activities (for instance the excellent Circuito Cerrado) and other collaborations over the last years, Markko B. has concentrated his attention back on C-Lekktor.

Alfa Matrix announced today that they will release the new C-Lekktor album “New World Disorder” later in October. With this new release C-Lekktor breaks 5 years of extended silence (and pandemic struggle).

The first pressing of this “New World Disorder” album comes out as double-CD digipak limited edition with extended artwork and a 16-track bonus disc featuring remixes by Esa, Centhron, Xperiment, The Psychic Force, Fabrikc, Aesthetische, Neikka Rpm, Venal Flesh, Nano Infect, Circuito Cerrado, Llumen, Nevel, Synthattack, Chamaeleon, Miseria Ultima and Third Realm.

You can already check two tracks on Bandcamp (they are yours for immediate download if you pre-order the download release). The 2CD limited edition can be pre-ordered now from the Alfa Matrix webshop.

The project debuted in 2004 with the self-released album “Re-A-Gression”. It was followed by “Cloned And Mutated” in 2007, again self-released. The same year the project offered “Refusing The Paradise” after which they got picked up by COP International. On that label they released 3 albums, “The Silence Procession” (2008), “X-Tension In Progress” (2012) and “Final Alternativo” (2014). The band’s last album was the 2017 release “Out Of My Way” re-released in an anniversary edition in 2019.

Eldrina Mich

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences:  Electro-Pop, Dance-Pop, Indie-Electro-Pop.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: “Bittersweet” is the final part of a trilogy which started with the album “Lightflare” (2018) followed by “Soul Searching” (2019). But the work is also meant to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Belgian project. There’s a bonus disc featuring fifteen surprising songs while the digital version  reveals fourteen extra tracks.

Content: The working formula of Psy’Aviah hasn’t really changed. Yves Schelpe composes the music while working with an impressive list of guest singers. The opening piece again features cavernous, spoken vocals by Dutch psychiatrist Dirk De Wachter. It’s a dark, dreamy intro followed by twelve, mainly, danceable cuts. The songs are meticulously elaborated and mainly Dance-driven, sometimes reminding me of the magic of Delerium. Olivya Nicole, Mari Kattman, Saydi Driggers, Lumi, Huong Su, Maysa, Marieke Lightband, Tina Forlorn, Eli Rho (2 songs), Rebecca Schneider and Addie Nicole contributed guest vocals while there also guest artists featured playing violin and cello. Notice by the way the tracklist features 2 ‘older’ reworked songs.

The bonus disc features Psy’Aviah songs taken from the wide discography of the band which have been all reworked -and in a way covered by an impressive list of artists. Madil Hardis, The Breath Of Life, Clairval, Your Life On Hold, IC434 (2 songs), Digital Factor, Aesthetische, KC Woong, Implant and Leather Strip contributed to this celebration while you’ll also hear collaborative tracks with Implant, Cat Hall and Bow Ever Down.

The digital format reveals extra songs featuring 808 Dot.Pop, Impulse Control Disorder, Fakzillity, Llumen, Miseram Mortem, Designer Violence, Hartung & Schleinitz, Y-Luk-O, Cosmic Armchair, Huilende Wolf, The Breath Of Life and Leather Strip plus 2 collaborative cuts together with Leather Strip and Implant.

+ + + : The main strength of “Bitter Sweet” is its ‘easy listening’ format. Psy’Aviah is nearly impossible to label -although hardly driven by a very personal approach of Dance music, but simply following its path. The project has seriously evolved throughout the years and the sound often appears a true challenge. The composition is well-crafted, styled, sensual for the slow rhythms and here again reveals an interesting and diversified list of talented singers. “Can we Make It Rhyme ” featuring Mari Kattman is a great piece of music reminding me a bit of Delerium. And I also want to mention “Tired” which is an older song that has been reworked and features passionate vocals by Addie Nicole (Hallocene).

I also have to salute the original concept of the bonus disc (and bonus songs for the digital edit) where the artists totally reworked the older Psy’Aviah songs while putting their own voice on it. The result is diversified but I especially recommend both cuts by IC434 and the one by Your Life On Hold.

– – – : The main strength of Psy’Aviah also appears to be its biggest weakness; hard to label and sometimes dangerously moving to the edge of pure ‘commercial’ Dance music. That’s why I often wonder if this is the right scene and label for this project? The bonus songs are a pretty cool commemoration although I’m missing Emélie Nicolaï who was the singer of the band during the first decade.

Conclusion: Psy’Aviah remains a true challenge although we can’t be unmoved by the creativity, ideas, concept and sound intelligence of this artist.

Best songs: “Can we Make It Rhyme”, “Tired – Rediscovered”, “Cold Summer Nights”, “The Wildness In Me” + “Broken Child” (IC 434), “Anger Management” (IC 434), “Our Common End” (Your Life On Hold), “The Worst In Me” (Leather Strip), “Wild Ride” (Llumen).

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.psyaviah.com / www.facebook.com/psyaviah

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

(Photo by GNY) Out on April 1st – but already available in pre-order via the Alfa Matrix label’s webshop – is the all new album from the Belgian dark trip electro pop act Psy’Aviah. “Bittersweet” is the last album in the introspective trilogy that started with the previous 2 albums “Lightflare” and “Soul Searching”.

The first disc of this 2CD set offers 13 new songs featuring several collaborators including Irina Markevich on violin and Polina Faustova on cello, and the vocalists Addie Nicole, Mari Kattman, Marieke Lightband, Saydi Drigger, Huong Su, Lumí, Tina Forlorn, Eli Rho,  Rebecca Schneider or yet the famous Belgian professor Dr. Dirk De Wachter. Next to the new songs the first disc also offers revamped versions of the classic Psy’Aviah songs “Tired” and the mega hit “OK”.

To celebrate the band’s 20th anniversary, this first edition of the album comes as a limited double-CD digipak holding the exclusive 15-track CD “Rediscovered (20th Anniversary)” plus a download link to 14 extra additional songs. These 29 tracks (!!) hold cover version of Psy’Aviah tracks by a long list of other bands including The Breath Of Life, Implant, Aesthetische, 808.DOT.POP, Leaether Strip, Your Life On Hold, Digital Factor, IC 434, Llumen, Madil Hardis and many more.

The 2CD (and the additional 12 download tracks) can be pre-ordered via the Alfa Matrix webstore, while you can get the full 42 tracks in one bundle right here from Bandcamp.

Below you can already listen to 4 tracks.

Eldrina Mich

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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Genre/Influences: Minimal-Electro, Future-Pop, IDM, Cinematographic-EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Four years after the successful debut album “The Memory Institute”, Pieter Coussement strikes back with a new opus. The Belgian solo-artist released this work after some serious health problems and introduced the new work by the EP “The Dark In Her Eyes”.

Content: “Polygon Heart” features 10 songs, which are mixing different influences. It’s hard to define the sound of the new Llumen-album as it rapidly appears to be a dense osmosis between different influences. I experienced the album as an offspring between Haujobb (for the great sphere hanging over the work), Apoptygma Berzerk (for the mix of Electro-Pop and EBM elements) and Diorama (for the mood and the structure of some choruses). In the end Llumen brings something you can’t really compare to.

+ + + : The songs have been meticulously built up, and reveal a more accessible approach. The songs are more danceable and in a way more ‘Pop’-driven. The work has been achieved with subtle arrangements and you clearly can hear Coussement has a nose for details and unique sound treatments. It might reveal some perfectionism, which comes through in nearly every single song. The second part of the work features several sonic climaxes, but the first part also reveals a few cool surprises. There’s the already familiar “The Dark In Her Eyes”, but also the opening song and the more EBM-like “Lifeline”. A last and essential element I want to mention is that Pieter Coussement sounds more comfortable with the vocals.

– – – : I can’t say that this work has any minus points although I’m not that fond of the somewhat cheaper Trance-Techno lead running through “The Path That Leads Me Home” (also known from the previous EP).

Conclusion: “Polygon Heart” confirms the strong potential of this Belgian artist, who definitely belongs to a restricted number of visionary and intelligent Electro composers.

Best songs: “The Dark In Her Eyes”, “Like My Pain”, “My Heart Inside Your Hands”, “The Scars I Made”, “Lifeline”, “All things Broken”, “That Path Leads Me Home”.

Rate: 9.

Artist: www.facebook.com/Llumen-official-192854384064057

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

Genre/Influences: IDM, Electro-Ambient, Experimental.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Four years after the debut album “The Memory Institute” Belgian solo-project Llumen –driven by Pieter Coussement, strikes back with this EP announcing the new full length “Polygon Heart”. The EP reveals two new songs plus remixed versions, which seem to exorcise personal demons.

Content: Llumen strikes back with a high-tech title track, which reminds me once again of the sound intelligence of Haujobb. A perfect mix between Ambient-like atmospheres with an astral dimension and slow, danceable rhythms with clear, powerful vocals on top. “The Path That Leads Me Home” sounds rather similar, but with an extra ‘dance’-led on top while hopping sequences inject some extra dynamic into the song.

The title song has been remixed by Implant, Entrzelle and Auger while the Antibody made a remix of the other track.

+ + + : I personally consider Llumen together with Circumpolar as two of the most ‘intelligent’ Electro acts from the Alfra Matrix roster. Llumen has its own sound and style, which is a sonic fusion between different influences. Definitely into electronic music, but also Ambient-like while refined with Electro-Pop and even Dance-elements it resulted into sophisticated and accessible music. It might appeal to Haujobb lovers, but I personally prefer Coussement’s vocals instead of Daniel Myer. “The Dark In Her Eyes” is a well-crafted and accomplished piece. It also inspired Implant, but especially Entrzelle to achieve great remixes. Entrzelle’s remix is even more sophisticated than the original version.

– – – : The B-side cut “The Path That Leads Me Home” reveals great ideas, but the lead is somewhat ordinary and too Dance-driven.

Conclusion: “Llumen is back on track and that’s great news for all Electro fine tasters.

Best songs: “The Dark In Her Eyes – Entrzelle Mix”, “The Dark In Her Eyes”, “The Dark In Her Eyes – Implant Mix”.

Rate: (7 ½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Llumen-official-192854384064057

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

Llumen, the intelligent dark electro act from Ghent based musician Pieter Coussement, is back with an all new album on the Belgian electronic music label Alfa Matrix. For this new album Coussement dove right into his personal life as he has been going through a serious health crisis the past year.

Pieter explains: “I was Constantly struggling against the deep emotional turmoil of progressively recovering my health. As such I realized abruptly that life could be finite. It opened an introspective catharsis leading to eventually rediscovering myself and growing new roots and finally being able to move forward again.”

The album holds dark introspective tracks like the bombastically hitting “Desert Land” or “The Scars I Made” to the love song “The Path That Leads Me Home”. The whole is mixed with catchy upbeat danceable arrangements, accompanied by melodic vocals and dark melodies. Good examples of this are the tracks “The Dark In Her Eyes” and “Polygon Heart”. Musically you may expect steady beats, a pulsing bass, multi-layered modern electronics, emotional vocals, a future pop touch and old school EBM elements.

The new album is out on CD and as download and streaming. For now head to the official Alfa Matrix web store and to Bandcamp to order this very fine release. Warmly recommended!

Below are already two tracks to check out.

And here are the other releases from Llumen.

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: Industrial-Pop, Experimental.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Five years have passed since Entrzelle last album “Total Progressive Collapse”. Preparing the third full length album “Dust On A Razorblade” David Chamberlin delivers this EP as an appetizer.

Content: The title song is a well-crafted piece of intelligent Electronics, which once again reminds me of Haujobb. The “Club Edit” sounds as the title indicates; pure dancefloor driven Electro. Remixes have been accomplished by label mates Aesthetische and Neikka RPM. We also get another new song (cf. Tax On Modern Life”) and another new one (cf. “Let Me Be A Memory”) remixed by another label mate, Llumen.

+ + + : I have to admit Entrzelle is a project I lost touch with, but this EP is a stunning comeback. The title song is a great piece of music, revealing the intelligent approach in sound. It’s hard to define, but accomplished with cool sound treatments and a great atmosphere supporting the song. There’s also something to say about the rather clear production of the vocals. The “Club Edit” is a true attention grabber. Among the remixes I like the familiar bombastic drums created by Neikka RPM.

– – – : I was less convinced by “Tax On Modern Life” and Llumen’s remix, “Feeling Heavy These Days” being the true title song from the EP.

Conclusion: This EP stands for a great comeback of Entrzelle and I’m really wondering how the new album will sound like.

Best songs: “Feeling Heavy These Days – Club Edit”, “Feeling Heavy These Days”, “Feeling Heavy These Days – Neikka RPM Remix”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.entrzelle.com / www.facebook.com/entrzelle

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

Belgian dance electronica act Llumen finally returns with a new 6-track EP, “The Dark In Her Eyes”, announcing a more than promising new full length CD “The Polygon Heart” for this Summer. Llumen is the project by the versatile Belgian artist Pieter Coussement who used the EP as a therapy to talk about some serious health crisis moments he went through the last few years.

With this new EP, you get two new songs, the super catchy dark beat driven “The Dark In Her Eyes” (one of the best electronica tracks from the year so far as far as we are concerned) and “The Path That Leads Me Home” which offers a more uplifting melody. These two tracks surely raise the bar in electro land and make us look forward to what the full album will bring. For Mesh, Covenant or yet Assemblage 23 fans this release is mandatory.

The EP also features an effective club remix by Implant of “The Dark In Her Eyes”, and a an electropop take of that same track by the USA based act Entrzelle. We were also very impressed by the Auger mix with a very stripped down take on the title track. Antibody from their side took the B-side “The Path That Leads Me Home” into a more trance direction.

All in all a very enjoyable 6-track EP that shows why Llumen is a band to look out for. The release is for now exclusively available via Bandcamp for immediate download.

Previous releases

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

The US based cinematic synth industrial project Entrzelle is back with an all new EP, “Feeling Heavy These Days”. With this new release Entrzelle aka David Chamberlin breaks the silence also announcing a first teaser for the upcoming album, “Dust On A Razorblade”.

The EP is available for immediate download via Bandcamp with other platforms to follow.

The EP features the single “Feeling Heavy These Days”, complete with an alternate club version and remixes by Aesthetische and Neikka RPM. Next to this the EP also reveals two more new songs “Let Me Be A Memory” in a remix by Llumen, and an original remix of “Tax On Modern Life”.

The EP also introduces a stylistic evolution for Entrzelle. In contrast to the complex, experimental, and IDM-inspired sound of previous albums, the new material holds a more straightforward approach. Expect upbeat electro sequences and noisy disturbing synth pop melodies.

You can check out the full EP below.

Previous releases

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

It has been a hectic year, also for Alfa Matrix, but luckily their bands took the time to work in their studio to record new material. Out now via the Alfa Matrix Bandcamp page is the label’s 10th edition in the “Matrix Downloaded” compilation series, again offering you a – free – insight in what the Belgian label is all about. You can discover 64 tracks right here on Bandcamp.

The download holds tracks from Cubic, Psy’Aviah, Aesthetische, Digital Factor, Reichsfeind, Llumen, Zombie Girl, Diffuzion, Matthew Creed, Circuito Cerrado, Circumpolar, Venal Flesh, Mentallo & The Fixer, Freakangel, Alien Vampires, I:Scintilla, Schwarzblut, Totem Obscura, Reactor7X, First Aid 4 Souls, Lederman / De Meyer, Implant, AD:keY, Kant Kino, Die Robo Sapiens, ELM, Pouppee Fabrikk, Armageddon Dildos, Plastic Noise Experience, Synapsyche, Avarice In Audio, Elektrostaub, Junksista, First Aid 4 Souls, Benestrophe, Mental Exile, Star Industry, Halo In Reverse, Lovelorn Dolls, Helalyn Flowers, Essence Of Mind, Rector Scanner, Elektroklänge, Metroland, Lights A.M, Cosmic Armchair, Aiboforcen, H.O.W., 808 DOT POP, Suicidal Romance, Entrzelle, Technoir, Neuroactive, Mondträume, The Psychic Force, Studio-X, Studio-X Vs Simon Carter, Neikka RPM, Komor Kommando, Siva Six, Aengeldust, Acylum, Dunkelwerk and Növö.

Exclusive face masks

Next to that you can also get the download together with a face mask, out in a very limited series. You can either buy them separately or get all 3 in one. Check the set of 3 Face Masks (Blue Matrix + Endzeit + Red EBM Alert) or the separate masks.

Note that EVERY face mask order comes with a free compilation CD on top: “Sounds from the matrix 022” with 20 extra tracks.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Last year Crete formation PreEmptive Strike 0.1 released their seventh full length “Progeny Of The Technovore”, which in my opinion was the band’s most accomplished work to date, kind of opus magnum! A lot of things happened in the meantime, but especially the departure of core memberGeorge Klontzas has been a main fact. Jim The Blaster and Yiannis Chatzakis (also involved with Degenerated Sequences) moved on and now released their first work together. The EP is a kind of mini-album featuring four new songs plus four remixes.

Content: Both debut songs are quite representative for the sound of the band; a perfect mix between elements of EBM and dark-electronics. The stumping kicks, carrying melody lines and spoken samplings are once more joined by the harsh vocals of front man Jim The Blaster. We next get 2 softer songs, where the power has been replaced by dark atmospheres.

There are 4 remixes by Belgian artists. Llumen, Implant, The Juggernauts and IC 434 remixes each one from the 4 original songs.

+ + + : PreEmptive Strike 0.1 is back and that’s an important thing especially after the departure of their sound operator. It’s not an easy thing and even a challenge striking back after the great last album, but both debut songs reveal an interesting potential. The original sound and global approach of the band remain intact. The spirit of the band is still alive; it stands for danceable, melodic and powerful music with enraged vocals. Another interesting aspect is the Belgian connotation of this work! That’s maybe easy to explain as the last live performance of the band happened in Belgium and was organized by one of the band’s greatest fans. PreEmptive Strike 0.1 seems to have real good souvenirs from this show and that’s what probably explains the choice of the remixes. I heard a very good job done by Llumen remixing “Evolution/Retribution”. Implant and IC 434 both give a little boost to the least convincing songs from the EP. Last, but not least I also have to say a word about the great sci-fi artwork of the digipak, which fits with the concept of the work.

– – – : The opening song “Evolution/Retribution” sounds a bit compressed, creating a muffed effect. I think the new work can’t totally compete with the last album of the band, but if this is a kind of new beginning, I’m definitely faithful the best is yet to come!

Conclusion: PreEmptive Strike 0.1 gives us a solid exposure from the potential of the new line-up, kind of PreEmptive Strike 0.1 – V.2!

Best songs: “Wormfaced Cadavers”, “Evolution/Retribution”, “Evolution/Retribution – Llumen Remix”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.preemptivestrike01.com / www.facebook.com/Pre-Emptive-Strike-01-100462328053194

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

Alfa Matrix continues the ‘Matrix:Reb00ted’ series, this time with 2 remix albums by Belgian artist Psy’Aviah displaying his electro dance trip pop remixes cruising through the Alfa Matrix band catalogue. The releases are first released via Bandcamp and will follow on all other platforms in the next weeks.

Here’s what is available on both volumes plus also a preview of what to expect.

Matrix:Reb00ted – The Psy’Aviah Guerrilla – Zion [Electro Dance] Warfare [07]

This volume holds 15 songs from Alfa Matrix’s massive music repertoire remixed by Psy’Aviah. Offering the electro dance side of the Belgian band you can expect a harder selection of modern dancefloor assaults with these bands: Ayria, Suicidal Romance, Zombie Girl, Junksista, Leaether Strip, Essence Of Mind, Nebula-H, Diffuzion, Schwarzblut, Diskonnekted, Krystal System and Psy’Aviah. You can check all the songs below and download it from Bandcamp directly.

Matrix:Reb00ted – The Psy’Aviah Guerrilla – Zion [Trip Pop Electro] Warfare [06]

This volume also holds 15 songs from Alfa Matrix’s massive music repertoire remixed by Psy’Aviah. The “trip pop electro” edition reveals a selection of more moody and catchy synth electro songs thanks to bands like Mondträume, Metroland, Aiboforcen, Helalyn Flowers, Acylum, Junksista, Entrzelle, Llumen, Virgins O.R Pigeons, Halo In Reverse, Schwarzblut, Mildreda, Totem Obscura and Psy’Aviah, also including guest vocals by Kyoko Baertsoen, Mari Kattman and Fallon Nieves. You can check all the songs below and download it from Bandcamp directly.

Previous volumes

Here’s a list of the 5 previous volumes which Alfa Matrix released in the past with remixes executed by Kant Kino, Simon Carter, Acylum and Aesthetische !

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

Available now for free (or pay-what-you-want) via Bandcamp is the 9th volume in the “Matrix Downloaded” compilation download series by the Belgian electro label Alfa Matrix. In the past these compilations have been downloaded by ten thousands of fans around the world and we don’t expect it will be different this year.

The label also announces that it will invest all donations in nurturing new bands and getting their careers launched.

Here’s what Seba Dolimont, A&R at Alfa Matrix, has to say about it: “The music market has shifted a lot over the years and in many ways losing its solid footing. CDs sales are collapsing entirely and the shift from downloads to streaming has not yet shown a revenue that is replacing what has been lost. (…) This evolution has created an environment where many labels have almost stopped playing their key-role of talent scouting, no longer daring to invest in new talents who deserve to be heard by you! Alfa Matrix is one of the very few record companies in this scene who try to keep the right balance between releasing renowned artists and supporting younger bands who still need to catch the attention and reach your ears.”

61 bands and tracks

The compilation holds the work by 61 label bands who joined hands to deliver you 61 songs representing the label’s most recent singles and albums while giving a preview of some promising forthcoming 2020 productions including announced new releases by POUPPEEE FABRIKK, NEUROACTIVE, ALIEN VAMPIRES, HELALYN FLOWERS, DIE ROBO SAPIENS, IMJUDAS, 808 DOT POP, ACYLUM, ARMAGEDDON DILDOS, PSY’AVIAH, AVARICE IN AUDIO, SIVA SIX, NEIKKA RPM, AESTHETISCHE, KANT KINO, KOMOR KOMMANDO, AD:KEY, H.O.W., CIRCUMPOLAR, SYNAPSYCHE, LLUMEN, ENTRZELLE, LIGHTS A.M, REACTOR7X, FIRST AID 4 SOULS, etc.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Out now is the brand new single/EP by the electro metal / rock act Helalyn Flowers!

With “Suicidal Birds”, the band offers the first material from their forthcoming album announced for Spring 2020: “Àiresis”. On the EP you can expect Noemi Aurora’s unique vocal dimension mixed with solid electro sequencing intermingled with edgy guitars.You’ll discover a mix of the band’s roots and background references including early electro wave, 90’s nu-synth era and 21st century industrial pop.

On the EP the Italian duo collaborates with 3 bands offering radically different versions of the title song “Suicidal Birds”. 808 DOT POP offers a mix with old-school EBM patterns and pumping basslines while Llumen opted for a more orchestral rendition of “Suicidal Birds”. The 3rd collaboration is with the pop electro from ImJudas.

You can download this single / EP as a HQ audio from Bandcamp or stream it right here on Spotify (and of course also on other platforms)

Check the official lyrics video for the title track on YouTube.

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

After 2 highly successful Depeche Mode tributes (you can find more details here), the Belgian label Alfa Matrix is now back with a 3rd volume. Titled “Alfa Matrix Re​:​covered Vol​.​3 – A Tribute To Depeche Mode”, the tribute is a 2CD with 32 brand new cover versions reinterpreted by Alfa Matrix artists.

Since the label has since added a lot of new names (Mental Exile, Imjudas, Synapsyche, Llumen, H.O.W., …), you can enjoy renditions of your favourite Depeche Mode tracks in a total new sound pallet.

The tracks have been covered in different ways: from electro pop to dark elektro, from pop wave to goth metal, from industrial to techno pop. Below is the total tracklist of this brand new tribute which can be ordered as a 2CD via the label’s webstore, and as download via Bandcamp).

Available formats for this new Depeche Mode tribute:

• V/A – Alfa Matrix Re​:​covered Vol​.​3 – A Tribute To Depeche Mode (Bandcamp download)
• V/A – Alfa Matrix Re​:​covered Vol​.​3 – A Tribute To Depeche Mode 2CD

The 2 previous compilations can be found here:

• Alfa Matrix Re​:​covered – A Tribute To Depeche Mode (Bonus Tracks Version)
• Alfa Matrix Re​:​covered – A Tribute To Depeche Mode – Vol. 2 (Bonus Tracks Version – 2013 edit)

Here’s a preview of the complete album!

Different title on other platforms

Note that the release has a completely other name on other digital platforms where it comes as “Alfa Matrix Re:Covered (Vol. 3)”.

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

After 2 highly succesful Depeche Mode tributes (you can find more details here), the Belgian label Alfa Matrix is now back with a 3rd volume. Titled “Alfa Matrix Re​:​covered Vol​.​3 – A Tribute To Depeche Mode”, the tribute is a 2CD with 32 brand new cover versions reinterpreted by Alfa Matrix artists.

Since the label has since added a lot of new names (Mental Exile, Imjudas, Synapsyche, Llumen, H.O.W., …), you can enjoy renditions of your favourite Depeche Mode tracks in a total new sound pallet.

The tracks have been covered in different ways: from electro pop to dark elektro, from pop wave to goth metal, from industrial to techno pop. Below is the total tracklist of this brand new tribuet which will be out later in March but which can be pre-ordered already (as a 2CD via the label’s webstore, and as download via Bandcamp).

Available formats:

V/A – Alfa Matrix Re​:​covered Vol​.​3 – A Tribute To Depeche Mode (Bandcamp download)

V/A – Alfa Matrix Re​:​covered Vol​.​3 – A Tribute To Depeche Mode 2CD

The 2 previous compilations can be found here:

Alfa Matrix Re​:​covered – A Tribute To Depeche Mode (Bonus Tracks Version)

Alfa Matrix Re​:​covered – A Tribute To Depeche Mode – Vol. 2 (Bonus Tracks Version – 2013 edit)

Here’s a preview of 2 tracks already!

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

Those familiar with ordering directly with the Belgian label Alfa Matrix know they will always get a free CD sampler from the “Sounds From The Matrix” series with each purchase. With the 20th

With the 20th volume of the “Sounds From The Matrix” label compilation series, being made available for their online CD store customers, the label has now also launched the release as a standalone download via Bandcamp (with other stores to follow).

On this 20th volume Alfa Matrix highlights its current hot releases (from Alien Vampires to Helalyn Flowers and I:Scintilla through Metroland and other Circuito Cerrado, Implant or yet Psy’Aviah) and gives us an insight on what 2019 will sound like.

Alfa Matrix also reveals recent signings like Synapsyche, Reactor7X, Mental Exile or yet the very promising newcomer H.O.W.; and also letting us discover first songs from forthcoming releases by bands like Aesthetische, Dunkelwerk, Llumen, Junksista, Kant Kino, Ad:key, Avarice In Audio, Imjudas, etc..

This new download counts 19 fresh electronic tracks.

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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With the 8th edition of their now classic free “Matrix Downloaded” label digital compilation, Belgium’s Alfa Matrix label presents a selection of 55 songs via Bandcamp.

The 55 songs represent the label’s most recent singles and albums while giving a preview of some promising forthcoming 2019 productions including announced new releases by Helalyn Flowers, Synapsyche, Avarice In Audio, H.O.W., Llumen, Mental Exile, SD-KRTR, Diffuzion, Reactor7X, Aesthetische, Armageddon Dildos, Die Robo Sapiens, Junksista, Imjudas, Alien Vampires, Mondträume, Aiboforcen, Dunkelwerk, Komor Kommando, Neikka RPM, Acylum, etc.

You can download it for free or as a what-you-want-to-pay from Bandcamp.

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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The Belgian label Alfa Matrix has launched 2 brand download releases in the low-priced ‘Matrix:Rebooted’ series containing no less than 30 remixes by the Brazilian dance electro act Aesthetische. If you know Aesthetische, you know you can expect highly danceable clubfood which would do well in NJ Online Casinos as well.

The releases are now available via Bandcamp.

The two releases include remixes of tracks originally recorded by Diffuzion, Ayria, Junksista, SD:KRTR, Aiboforcen, Halo In Reverse, Aline Vampires, Virgins O.R Pigeons, Bruderschaft, Mondträume, Studio-X, Implant, Helalyn Flowers, Llumen, Schwarzblut, Pouppée Fabrikk, Star Industry, Kant Kino, Zombie Girl, Lovelorn Dolls and Aesthetische themselves.

The 2 previous editions included remixes by Kant Kino and Acylum. You can check them out below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. 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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Four years after “The Productive Citizen” album, Implant returns with a brand new single, “The phone call”, which is a teaser for the band’s new full length release “Oxynoxe-X”, out later this year. You can download it right now from Bandcamp, before it hits the other streaming and download platforms in September.

The title track “The Phone Call” turns out to be a medium tempo dance track mixing classic EBM with fresh electro à la Dewaele Brothers. Good to know – especially for the technical freaks – the track was integrally composed on a Doepfer A100 modular synthesizer.

Next to the single edit “The Phone Call” EP features 6 additional remixes by Radical G, Noseda, True Zebra, Llumen, Jean-Marc Lederman and Implant themselves. You might have noticed that all these remixes are “made in Belgium”, letting this release bring its own contribution to the already rich “Sound of Belgium” history as the band’s label Alfa Matrix points out.

As bonus-track, the EP also features the exclusive cut “El Pastor”, the opening live track of Implant’s recent live shows which appears here for the first time in studio version.

You can check out the 8-track single below:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Out of the blue the belgian Alfa Matrix label releases the 2nd volume in their massive ‘Electronic Body Matrix‘ series. The first volume of this compilation series (check the release here) got qualified by many as the ultimate anthology of the EBM / electro-industrial scene. The 2nd edition of the “Electronic Body Matrix” compilation box once again manages featuring a real “who is who” artist selection bringing all new, exclusive or rare tracks.

This 2nd edition presents some 76 bands across 4 CD’s plus an exclusive download link giving you access to another 40 additional bands for a total music play of 116 songs (over 70% rare or previously unreleased tracks), an astounding 10 hour sonic journey! Marketed as a deluxe carton box with an extensive 28-page booklet with band pictures and credits.

All together on one same compilation, the leaders of the electronic scene of yesterday and tomorrow come together and include: FRONT 242 (exclusive mix), NITZER EBB (exclusive mix), FIXMER/MC CARTHY, RHYS FULBER, DANIEL B. PROTHESE, DIVE, BRUDERSCHAFT, POUPPEE FABRIKK, ARMAGEDDON DILDOS, KOMOR KOMMANDO, ELEGANT MACHINERY, AYRIA, FUNKER VOGT, PLASTIC NOISE EXPERIENCE, NOISUF-X, NEUROTICFISH, AESTHETISCHE, THE PSYCHIC FORCE, IMPLANT, [SITD], ALIEN VAMPIRES, HOCICO, ORPHX, NÖVÖ, METROLAND, PITCH YAR OF MATTER, MONDTRÄUME, CULTURE KÜLTUR, TOLCHOK, DEUTSCHE BANK, AVARICE IN AUDIO, THE SEXORCIST, PSY’AVIAH, AIBOFORCEN, ELEKTROKLÄNGE, R.I.P. (ROPPONGI INC PROJECT), ENTRZELLE, and many more, without forgetting the impressive remix work contributions of bands like EISFABRIK, FADERHEAD, ORANGE SECTOR, NZ, ELM, etc.

Add to this all hardcore ambassadors of today’s pure EBM league in the likes of SPETSNAZ, ELM, NZ, AD:KEY, AUTODAFEH, AGREZZIOR, ORANGE SECTOR,KANT KINO, CELLULOIDE, LIGHTS OF EUPHORIA, DIFFUZION, PATENBRIGADE: WOLFF, ACCESSORY, CEPHALGY, AMORPHOUS, VENAL FLESH, PROTECTORATE, STOPPENBERG, CENTHRON, LLUMEN, CARDINAL NOIRE, MILDREDA, CRYTEK, KONER, etc.

The exclusive bonus download link included in this 4CD box also gives you access to some 40 additional songs from artists like MENTALLO & THE FIXER, ACYLUM, SERPENTS, ZOMBIE GIRL, AENGELDUST, EQUITANT, NETZ, STUDIO-X, SIVA SIX, NEIKKA RPM, ESSENCE OF MIND, DEKAD, INTERFACE, NEUTRAL LIES, CIRCUITO CERRADO, TRAGIC IMPULSE, WANT/ED, HELALYN FLOWERS, DIVERJE, SCHWARZBLUT, TOTEM OBSCURA, DIGITAL GEIST, KILMARTH, SIGNAL OPERATOR, ELECTRO SYNTHETIC REBELLION, DIGITAL GEIST, TECHNOID, DEN C.T. BUG, and many more!

The full track listing can be checked right here.

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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LLUMEN is the newest Belgian formation that joined the Alfa Matrix stable. It all started as a real band featuring several members, but throughout the years Pieter Coussement remained the single member on board. His debut album “The Memory Institute” took me by surprise for its complexity in sound writing, maturity in the global production process and efficiency when it comes to club-friendly music. It’s hard to define the style LLUMEN is dealing with, but you for sure will recognize elements of EBM, future-pop, IDM. According to me LLUMEN is one of the hottest newcomers from the moment so I wanted to know a bit more about this project.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: How did you get contaminated by the electronic-music virus and tell us a bit more about the set up of Llumen?

Pieter: I guess it must be somewhere around 1985. Back then my older brother was a DJ playing a lot of punk and new-wave. A lot of Cure, Sisters Of Mercy, The Smiths and so on. I remember hearing Fad Gadget’s “Back To Nature” on one of those parties and I was instantly hooked. While my high school friends were really into Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream, Deep Purple, the Rolling Stones and so one, I was the oddball out and spent every waking hour getting infected by electronic music.

I played in a few rock bands in my teens and even then I explored the possibilities of electronic instruments. Finally one of those bands grew out to be my first electronic project. Life caught up to it, as the other members had found new priorities. I however kept involved with electronic music and sound art throughout my studies and early professional career.  In the end, LLUMEN became the more mainstream outlet of what I was doing, since everything else was (and is) very experimental, even though I can’t seem to stop experimenting even when making music for LLUMEN.

Q: “The Memory Institute” is your official debut album, so what does it mean to you and what is the album all about?

Pieter: Because of my previous job “The Memory Institute” has become the result of a very lengthy process, even if I hoped to get everything finished way sooner. In that respect, I think every debut album is a reflection of a search for a certain (musical) identity, and all songs represent part of that search. The release is a moment in time where I can reflect upon the path that I took and look forward to where it can lead.

“The Memory Institute” touches a variety of themes or better points of view but all are orbiting a central theme. While many would agree that my music is rather dark, the songs are almost always love songs. The different points of view towards love, for me, blur the autobiographic or fictional aspects of what I’m writing about.

Q: I think there clearly is a link between your daily job and the music you’re composing. What is it all about?

Pieter: Today I work at the faculty of Architecture in Ghent. You probably refer to my job at IPEM. I finished my PhD research at The Institute of Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music some years ago. Early on in the inception of LLUMEN, when I was still working for IPEM, I was constantly surrounded by technology you can normally only dream about and way better musicians than me. Two of them became very good friends and keep on pushing me in bettering the music I make.

My PhD was about interactivity and music and I’ve been making a lot of Interactive and Responsive sound installations, experimenting with generative music, virtual reality elaborate surround systems, sensors and 3D tracking systems. I even wrote a synthesizer for deaf people at one point. Having the luxury to experiment daily with what you love is great, but it does slow other things down a bit too.  I hold my time at IPEM very dear and the experimental part of it can still be found in the way I work on LLUMEN songs and how to visually represent my music.

Q: It’s clear that you really share a passion for ‘sounds’ this way creating a kind of very own sound-DNA. How do you work on the compositions and do you have some referential artists?

Pieter: Thank you for this, I regard this as a big compliment! I’m massively interested in creating sound pallet with which I can paint my musical ideas and obviously spend too much time on it.  When I go clubbing, I often find myself standing still on the dance floor mid song trying to figure out how a certain sound has been made or incorporated in a song. Artists that trigger me in that aspect can always count on my respect, even when their music doesn’t always find a one-to-one translation in my music. Apart from the obvious like Klinik, Suicide Commando, F242, Covenant and basically everything Daniel Meyer does, there are many things that very much influence me. A lot of martial music like The Protagonist or In Slaughter Natives, but also bands like Ordo Equilibrio or Rome. Completely out of the scope of EBM or industrial I find a lot of the Raster Noton  projects sonically and visually very intriguing. People should really check out Kangding Ray, Emptyset, Atom TM and Ryoji Ikeda for 21^st century way out there electronic music.

Q: You just mentioned Daniel Meyer (Haujobb) and I’ve to say your album makes me think to a kind of sonic hybrid between Haujobb and Covenant! I would say not that bad, but what are the elements in their sound you recognize in Llumen?

Pieter: As said, I have a profound respect for what Daniel Meyer does, even if it took me until the release of Haujobb’s “Ninetynine” to become a complete fanboy. With Covenant it is probably the other way around, “Dreams Of A Cryotank” and “Sequencer” instantly became two of my favorite albums. Because of this, I can’t argue with calling LLUMEN a hybrid between two of my all-time favorite bands, even if I never intended it. I do recognize some of their elements in my music, like their attention to detail, but I strive to make LLUMEN very much my own.

Q: The live performances reveal an important visual aspect, which in a way is another aspect of your work. What do you try to express on stage?

Pieter: I think there is a lot you can do on stage with visuals and light. I’m a big fan of the audiovisual performances that seem all the rage these days and I am a firm advocate of the synergy this can create. In a side-project we work with audiovisual synths, where the visuals generate the sound and visa versa. We are currently working on some new stuff to tell the LLUMEN story better that incorporates ideas from the audiovisual world even more. As such, we work with a lot of responsive visuals, stuff that we program from scratch and we always try to find new ways of controlling those visuals. We are however a bit dependent from the venues where we play, but plan to expand the visual show with DMX controlled lights so we can get some extra atmosphere that does not rely on the quality of the venues projection capabilities. I believe that working this way, rather then having someone faking on a keyboard can work way better. This is why you always see my brother completely stressed out on stage.

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: Cinematographic-EBM, ambient-EBM.

Background/Info: Llumen is a Belgian solo-project driven by the creative spirit of Pieter Coussement. The band ever started as a 3 member formation, but since 2009 Coussement remained the only member on board. An interesting facet of this musician is the fact he works as a researcher at the ‘Institute of Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music of the University of Ghent (Belgium)’ where he develops new user interfaces and instruments for electronic music. This essential aspect of his daily job is of course transposed into his music activities and has an impact on the Llumen sound.

Content: The previously released EP “Cold In December” was a solid teaser to welcome this debut album. And Llumen took me by surprise unleashing a mature and sophisticated production mixing different electronic genres. I often got the impression to hear a hybrid between Haujobb -for the more atmospheric and complex side, and Covenant -for the danceable and intelligent EBM/future-pop approach.

Llumen is not reinventing any single electro-underground genre, but clearly deals with an elaborate and bright side of electronics. The songs are diverse, moving from cinematographic passages with orchestral arrangements towards refined constructions and other great sound manipulation sometimes evoking Seb Komor.

The limited edition will give you the opportunity to discover remixes by Vudovox, Diffuzion, Mildreda, Sinfusion, Venal Flesh, Psy’Aviah, Totem Obscura vs. Acylum, Benjamin’s Plague, Noire Antidote, Antibody, Diskonnekted and Simon Carter.

+ + + : I was especially flabbergasted by the intelligence of the writing and maturity of the production. “The Memory Institute” doesn’t sound at all as a debut album. The already familiar songs from the EP remain some of the main attention grabber, but I can also mention “Silicon Cinema” and “Where We Collide”. There’s this sweet harmony between evasive atmospheres perfectly matching with the rather clear and controlled way of singing on one side and some harder and more kicking passages on the other.

Most of the remixes bring a cool alternative version to the original versions of the songs. I here get a little preference for the work of Psy’Aviah, Venal Flesh, Diskonnekted and Vudovox.

– – – : You have to be a little bit patient when listening to this work. Llumen is not exactly the kind of sound that will immediately move you into dance. You have to let it grow on you to really catch the impressive strength of the production.

Conclusion: Llumen walks on a sonic path, which is less visited by other artists. It’s not the easiest and accessible sound, but I’m sure it will be loved by fine tasters.

Best songs: “Lux Aeterna”, “Where We Collide”, “Silicon Cinema”, “Force Of Nurture”, “The Memory Institute” + “Cold In December – Psy’Aviah”, “Lux Aeterna – Venal Flesh”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.llumen.be / www.facebook.com/Llumen–official-192854384064057

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

The 44th track on our free download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 4” (featuring 92 tracks) is by the Belgian intelligent electro act Llumen.

Llumen was formed somewhere in the first decade of the 21st century. Originally a 3-an project it was brought back to a 1-man project in 2009. Llumen is the more structured part of Pieter Coussement’s artistic output, who works as an artistic researcher at the Institute of Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music of the University of Ghent. In his daytime job he develops new user interfaces and instruments for electronic music, probably the wet dream of every electronic music musician. You can check out the band right here on Facebook.

The band released it’s first official album “The Memory Institute” in 2016 on Alfa Matrix preceded by the single “Cold In December”. And the track we present today comes from that EP in a remixed version by Simon Carter.

Listen to “Lux Aeterna (Simon Carter’s Breaks Remix)” 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

Genre/Influences: EBM, dark-electro, electro-pop, gothic.

Background/Info: 2016 has been a particular year for the Belgian label Alfa Matrix. They celebrated their 15^th anniversary and the 35^th anniversary of the Godfathers of EBM: Front 242. Next to astonishing and luxurious Front 242 –re-releases the label closed 2016 by a surprising ‘celebration’ album featuring 32 bands of the label covering Front 242.

Bands: Metroland, Komor Kmmando, Ad:Key, Plastic Noise Experience, Imjudas, Sin.sin, Neikka RPM, Cosmic Armchair, Alien Vampires, Ayria, Implant, Avarice In Audio, Acylum, Schwarzblut, Star Industry, Regenerator, Elektroklänge, Elm, Kant Kino, Technoir, Diffuzion, Aesthetische, Circuito Cerrado vs. C-Lekktor, Növö, Totem Obscura, Venal Flesh feat. Chase Dobson, Llumen, The Psychic Force, Helalyn Flowers, Essence Of Mind, Armageddon Dildos, Xmh.

Content: I was honestly a bit afraid to discover this massive cover-tribute to the greatest EBM band in history. I’m still convinced there are some bands –like Front 242, you’d better avoid covering, but on the other side I think it also is quite exciting to hear non-EBM bands re-interpreting some of the most famous and legendary ‘242’-hits.

Most of the chosen songs belong to the glorious 80s period of the band. Songs like “U-Men”, “Kampbereit”, “Operating Tracks”, “gvdt”, “Body To Body” “Lovely Day”, “Don’t Crash”, “Lovely Day”, “No Shuffle”, “Commando Mix”, “Moldavia”, “Never Stop”, “Headhunter”, “Welcome To Paradise”, “Tragedy For You” and many, many others have been selected.

The result is quite diverse and of course not always that EBM-like, but clearly accomplished with a real devotion and I dare to say respect for this unique band in history.

+ + + : One of the first highlights is the modern adaptation of “Moldavia” into the pure Komor Kommando style. “Body To Body” has never been so sexy thanks to Neikka RPM. Ayria probably covered the biggest hit (cf. “Headhunter”) into a fully enjoyable body-pop style. Avarice In Audio transposed “Welcome To Paradise” into a technoid inspired cut. Acylum remained dark-electro inspired, covering “Serial Killers Don’t Kill Their Girlfriend” into their unique style. Regenerator (which has been produced by Daniel B) did a fantastic job covering “Religion”.

Elektroklänge (one of the new label signings) reworked “Funkahdafi” into a sterile, but cool robotic version. In the purest EBM vein I noticed great contributions from Elm (cf. “Operating Tracks”) and Kant Kino (cf. “No Shuffle”). Circuito Cerrado vs. C-Lekktor is another great dark-electro artist injecting a dark-electro boost into “Moldavia/Neurobashing”. Növö probably is one of the bands, which is the most close to the early analogue experiments of Front 242 and logically covered one of the early songs (cf. “Kinetics”). I also noticed a surprising and high-tech cover of U-Men” by Llumen.

– – – : There’s only one Front 242 and that’s precisely what this sampler confirms! I heard many cool cover versions, but none is better than the original version, that’s for sure.

Conclusion: Some will call it a blasphemy, but others (young fans) will maybe discover Front 242 thanks to this kind of compilation. I heard an entertaining album!

Best bands: Komor Kommando, Regenerator, Circuito Cerrado vs. C-Lekktor, Növö, Llumen, Kant Kino.

Rate: (7½).

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

Belgium still produces some high quality EBM, and one of those great new acts certainly is Llumen, the solo project by
Ghent based audio-visual artist Pieter Coussement. After a first download EP “Cold In December”, Llumen also appeared on the delicious (and extremely limited) “The B52 remixes (Mildreda – Psy’Aviah – Llumen)” EP.

But Llumen fans have mostly awaited the band’s debut album, and that is now finally reality as “The Memory Institute” has officially been released. The album can be purchased straight from the band’s label on CD and 2CD and right here as a high quality download.

So what can you expect? Coussement succeeded in finding a perfect balance between old school EBM elements and more contemporary modern electronics. Add to that strong male vocals and you have all the ingredients for a perfect sound. If we have to take a reference then we’d have to say it reminds us of the best material Assemblage 23 released.

The album is also available as a limited box edition with a bonus disc featuring contributions with a wide range of artists including Diffuzion, Mildreda, Venal Flesh and so on.

Here’s a trailer for the album.

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

For its 15th anniversary, the Belgian record label Alfa Matrix also celebrated the 35 years of existence of Front 242 and this with the Front 242 tribute album “Recovery >for you<” uniting 32 fellow label bands who have each covered one song from Front 242’s music repertoire.

The release is available on the Alfa Matrix webstore as a 2CD plus also on their Bandcamp page as a download.

You can preview the tracks right below:

The bands who collaborated to “Recovery >for you<” include Metroland, Komor Kommando, Ad:Key, Plastic Noise Experience, Imjudas, Sin.Sin, Cosmic Armchair, Neikka Rpm, Alien Vampires, Ayria, Implant, Avarice In Audio, Acylum, Schwarzblut, Star Industry, Regenerator, Elektroklänge, Elm, Kant Kino, Technoir, Diffuzion, Aesthetische, Circuito Cerrado Vs. C-Lekktor, Növö, Totem Obscura, Venal Flesh Feat. Chase Dobson, Llumen, The Psychic Force, Helalyn Flowers, Essence Of Mind, Armageddon Dildos and Xmh.

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

This morning IKEA Ghent (Belgium) was the place to be for bands wanting to know something more on the future of the music business and how to make the best of it. More precisely, the Belgian electronic music label Alfa Matrix was presenting a workshop at IKEA to the musicians behind the bands Llumen, ELM, Psy’Aviah and Mildreda (Diskonnekted), respectively Pieter Coussement, Peter Elm, Yves Schelpe and Jan Dewulf. For the label it’s the first time it has organised a joined workshop with other bands inside Belgium, but it surely won’t be the last.

Side-Line talked with Alfa Matrix’s promo manager Bernard Van Isacker who gave the workshop.

SL: First of all, you also work as an online marketeer during your daytime job?

B: Yes, I’m the online marketeer for a major seed company (number 5 in the world) for whom I develop the social media strategy, and in that role I have been giving several trainings regarding social media tricks in Belgium and in the Netherlands, but also regarding CRM since one doesn’t go without the other. For those who don’t know, CRM stands for customer relationship management and is an approach to managing a company’s interaction with current and potential future customers. We then analyse this data to improve business relationships with customers. But that’s another story.

SL: Why did Alfa Matrix decide to do this workshop?

B: This is not the first time we do this, in the past I have organised a couple of such workshops with Alfa Matrix bands but then more face to face, so one band at the time. I did several in Belgium, in Scandinavia and in Greece (where I had sessions with Siva Six and Virgins O.R. Pigeons).

But the idea to get a few bands together only started a year or 2 ago when I had a very interesting networking diner in Oslo (Norway) where several of the Alfa Matrix bands were joined by such people as John Fryer, Paul Kendall and the Electro Spectre duo. You immediately could sense there was an energy that you don’t often see.

I also know that there is a need for bands to discuss about the topics we talked about today such as marketing, communication and an insight on how the algorithms work for such companies as Spotify, Apple Music and so on.

Anyhow, when I was at an intimate event at the Club 52 here in Belgium a few weeks ago, I talked with the people behind Llumen, Psy’Aviah and Mildreda who were playing there and suggested them a joined workshop in the near future. They all agreed, so a few days later we decided upon a precise date, a location and I prepped the workshop itself. In the meantime I had invited a few other bands over too, so that’s how Peter (ELM) also joined us, the others will be joining me during a future workshop that fits their agenda.

I also plan a few of these workshops outside Belgium with the next one being in Oslo where Kant Kino, Essence Of Mind and a few other acts will be joining.

SL: What was the purpose of this meeting?

B: It’s always good to meet the artists from time to time, so that is already a good plus. But the main purpose of the workshop is to help the participating bands with their communication, their online presence, and explain them a few things which the general public and most bands are not aware of (because often their label doesn’t know either). Today for instance I presented them my future vision on the (online) press and club scene.

SL: And that is?

B: That’s classified, but it’s safe to say that my vision is quite radical. Back in the days (let’s say 10 years ago) people told me I was mad to start investing in digital distribution at such a fast pace. 10 years late I’m not so mad anymore so it seems, at least what that aspect is considered :). You have to know that I talk a lot with people from inside the business (digital distributors, major promo companies, …) to know the ins and outs of what happens and what is going to happen. I also have a few trusted people from within the scene (distributors, musicians such as Yves Schelpe, other label owners) with whom I discuss quite often about what directions the music industry might take. From that input and my own knowledge and intuition I distill a vision for Alfa Matrix which I then share with my 2 other colleagues in the label.

SL: How did you come up with the idea to do this workshop at IKEA?

B: I’m an IKEA addict basically… :). Ghent is in the centre of the Belgian cities where our bands come from, so it was kinda logical to choose this city as the central place. And since it isn’t the first time I do meetings at IKEA, it kinda was logical to keep it here. Plenty of coffee and plenty of space, I only asked the bands to be here at 10 AM so we were sure to have the space we wanted.

SL: What came out of this workshop?

B: Well, besides the content of my presentation which gave these bands a nice insight in how the business works these days, there were also a few new and exiting things that have come out of our interaction, which we hope to materialise soon. Add to this that a few really nice surprises appeared which opened opportunities. I personally strongly believe in the 1+1=3 setting if you have people sit together who are all very driven by the desire to learn. That was the case here.

SL: Do you plan to publish this guide on the net?

B: No, nice try though! This presentation and its explanation is strictly restricted to the bands signed to Alfa Matrix and is not for external distribution. In the past I have worked for labels on consultancy basis giving them ‘intel’ on a few things, but that’s only because they contracted me for this. Since I’m now only busy with Alfa Matrix, it will remain for the Alfa Matrix eyes only :).

SL: Can we expect some more of these workshops taking place in Belgium?

B: Sure, we plan one in Brussels as well in the near future, probably at IKEA Zaventem :). Next we also plan one in the Netherlands and in Mexico where we also have a few bands under contract.

Eldrina Mich

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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For the occasion of a special very small Alfa Matrix event which took place at the B52 music club in Eernegem (Belgium) 1 week ago, 3 Belgian acts from the label (Mildreda, Psy’Aviah and Llumen) released an exclusive split-album compilation on just 100 copies. The release was offered to all attendees for free and the rest of the copies are now being offered for sale via the Alfa Matrix webstore.

This 9-track CDEP (also available as a download) features the exclusive result of a remix war organised by the 3 bands plus 3 bonus songs taken from each artist’s new album. The result is a mix of frozen harsh dark elektro assaults, edgy noir dance pop and moody EBM. Only 100 copies were made, so be quick.

Highly recommended and an absolute must-have sample for some of the best Belgian electronic bands available in the current dark scene! And for those who want to see some live footage from the small event, head straight to our Instagram account where we posted some video material (just scroll down until November 28).

Here’s the EP as it popped up on Spotify:

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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The Belgian electro label Alfa Matrix has launched a mega pre-Christmas sale action via its online CD/vinyl web store. Just use the discount code DECSALE16 when completing your purchase and you will get 30% off on all physical releases (CD, DVD, Vinyl) which came out before mid-June 2016 (so in short you get a discount on most of the label’s huge catalogue).

The label webs tore can be accessed right here.

Included in this massive discount action are releases by 32CRASH, Acylum, Aengeldust, Aesthetische, Agonised By Love, Aiboforcen, Alien Vampires, Ambassador21, amGod, Armageddon Dildos, Avarice In Audio, Ayria, Bruderschaft, Cosmic Armchair, Crisk, Cynical Existence, Depeche Mode (the tribute releases), Diffuzion, Diskonnekted, Dive, Dream Recall, Dunkelwerk, Elektroklänge, ELM, Entrzelle, Epsilon Minus, Essence Of Mind, Freakangel, Front 242, Gaytron, Glis, Halo In Reverse, HausHetaere, Headscan, Helalyn Flowers, Hungry Lucy, I:scintilla, Implant, Internal, Inure, Junksista, Kant Kino, Klutæ, Komor Kommando, Krystal System, Leaether Strip, Lovelorn Dolls, Malakwa, Male Or Female, Mari Chrome, Mentallo and the Fixer, Metroland, Mind:State, Mnemonic, Mondträume, Monolith, Nebula-H, Neikka RPM, Nitzer Ebb, Növö, O.V.N.I., Plastic Noise Experience, Pouppee Fabrikk, Prozium, Psy’Aviah, Razorfade, Recoil, Regenerator, Saeldes Sanc, Schwarzblut, Sebastian Komor, Seize, Sero.Overdose, Shaun F, Simon Carter, Siva Six, Star Industry, Stray, Studio-X, Suicide Inside, Tamtrum, Technoir, The Cure (tribute), The Psychic Force, Totem Obscura, Trisomie 21, Unter Null, Venal Flesh, Virgins O.R Pigeons, Virtual Embrace, XMH, Zombie Girl, … plus a long list of compilations.

And in order to save on shipping costs, it’s recommended to combine this with the label’s newest releases although they are not discounted. The newest releases from the label come from the bands Underviewer, Front 242, Mondträume, The Psychic Force, Llumen, Kant Kino, Daniel B. Prothesesèse and many many more!

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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With the 6th edition of the now classic free “Matrix Downloaded” label digital compilation, Belgium’s Alfa Matrix label prepared the perfect industrial / electro soundtrack for your end of year season holiday. If you like what you hear, then don’t hesitate to support the label with a few euros.

“Matrix Downloaded 006” represents the label’s most recent singles and albums while giving a preview of some promising forthcoming 2017 productions including new releases by Alien Vampires, Pouppée Fabrikk, Metroland, The Psychic Force, Kant Kino, Mondträume, Neikka RPM, Aiboforcen, Sin.Sin, Elektroklänge, Llumen, Diffuzion, Cosmic Armchair, etc. as well as from the label’s recent recruits: the German EBM duo Ad:Key and Imjudas (the new synthwave pop-rock project of Helalyn Flowers’ Maxx).

This free (or pay as you wish) compilation is once again downloadable in mp3/flac quality via the label’s extremely successful Bandcamp page where you can also still find the 5 previous editions in case you were trapped in another universe for the last few years and did not catch these yet: “Matrix Downloaded 001” / “Matrix Downloaded 002” / “Matrix Downloaded 003” / “Matrix Downloaded 004” / “Matrix Downloaded 005“.

Check and download below:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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With “Recovery >for you<”, the Alfa Matrix label is closing this double-celebration year 2016 in beauty. For its 15th anniversary, the Belgian record label also celebrated in many ways the 35 years of existence of Front 242. Therefor the Alfa Matrix label family decided to pay homage to the band.

32 fellow label bands have each covered one song from Front 242’s music repertoire, picking songs from the full discography of the band, from “Geography” to “Pulse”. The release is already up for pre-order on the Alfa Matrix webstore plus also on their Bandcamp page.

“Recovery >for you<” resulted in a collection of 32 songs reflecting the Alfa Matrix band roster’s high diversity by bands such as Metroland, Komor Kommando, Ad:Key, Plastic Noise Experience, Imjudas, Sin.Sin, Cosmic Armchair, Neikka Rpm, Alien Vampires, Ayria, Implant, Avarice In Audio, Acylum, Schwarzblut, Star Industry, Regenerator, Elektroklänge, Elm, Kant Kino, Technoir, Diffuzion, Aesthetische, Circuito Cerrado Vs. C-Lekktor, Növö, Totem Obscura, Venal Flesh Feat. Chase Dobson, Llumen, The Psychic Force, Helalyn Flowers, Essence Of Mind, Armageddon Dildos and Xmh.

Classic Front 242 tunes covered include amongst others “Headhunter”, “Happiness”, “Lovely Day”, “U-men”, “Commando Mix”, “Masterhit”, “No Shuffle”, “Tragedy for You”, “Take One”, “Funkhadafi”, “Moldavia”, “Operating Tracks”, “Don’t Crash”, “Body To Body”, “Welcome To Paradise”, and many more. The full tracklist can be viewed here.

Below is a first exclusive preview which Front 242 have posted on their Instagram account earlier this evening.

#Front242 #tribute “Recovery>for you<” now available via www.alfa-matrix-store.com 32 tracks, this is an exclusive preview! @alfamatrix #alfamatrix

A video posted by Front 242 – Official (@front242official) on Nov 2, 2016 at 11:49am PDT

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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The Antwerp based singer Marieke Lightband is the freshest addition to the live line-up of the electro trip pop act Psy’Aviah. She will be performing live with the band in the upcoming months and so far 2 concerts have already been confirmed. During the live show the band will be presenting the most recent Psy’Aviah album “Seven Sorrows, Seven Stars”.

You can see the band live (together with Mildreda and Llumen) at the B52 music club on November 25th 2016. The first 100 visitors will also get a free ‎exclusive remix album including 6 tracks where each band remixes each other. The release is aptly called “#‎B52Remixes”. Check the event page right here.

The other live show take place at the Muziekcentrum Kinky Star in Ghent on September 9th. Playing that night as well is Karl Hefner & Hugh Lagerfeld. This show has free attendance! You can register right here for the event!

So far Psy’Aviah’s most recent studio album “Seven Sorrows, Seven Stars” has been getting stellar reviews, Side-Line gave it a fat 8/10 for instance. You can listen to it below or order the CD/2CDbox right here.

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: IDM, EBM.

Background/Info: Llumen is the newest Belgian signing on Alfa Matrix. The band has already been active for a couple of years, becoming a solo-project driven by the creative spirit of Pieter Coussement. He works as an artistic researcher at the Institute of Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music of the University of Ghent (Belgium) developing new user interfaces and instruments for electronic music. Pieter Coussement transposed a part of this knowledge into his sonic creation called Llumen unleashing his official debut EP “Cold In December”.

Content: I discovered this artist on the latest edition of “Endzeit Bunkertracks”. This EP features 2 songs plus 8 remixes. Llumen deals with a styled and intelligent electronic format, which sounds like filling the gap between EBM and IDM. I instantly got the sensation of hearing a Belgian Haujobb. There’s a similar fascination for great sound sculptures made of little bleeps and great –and somewhat, space effects. The rhythm remains rather slow, but perfectly danceable. Coussement’s voice is quite captivating as well. He sings a rather clear way, but it’s still a bit whispering this way injecting a spooky touch to the work.

Six of the eight remixes have been made by label mates like Diskonnekted, Psy’Aviah and Implant for the Belgian colony and Aesthetische, Avarice In Audio and Simon Carter for the international guests. Propulsion and Super Dragon Punch! both Belgian formations as well have made a remix as well. I have a preference for the remix of “Lux Aeterna” by Aesthetische.

+ + + : Intelligent and danceable music revealing great sound treatments and overwhelming astral atmospheres. I like most of the remixes, which add diversity and danceable vibes as well.

– – – : It’s a real pity such a great EP is only available in a digital platform. This is the kind of production that deserves to be released on CD format as well.

Conclusion: Belgian has discovered a new sound alchemist called Llumen. This EP is a real strong teaser to await the debut full length.

Best songs: “Cold In December”, “Lux Aeterna”, “Lux Aeterna – Aesthetische Cold Rework”, “Cold In December – Diskonnekted Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.llumen.be / www.facebook.com/Llumen–official-192854384064057

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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In June last year we featured a short interview with the Belgian electro act Llumen who got featured on the 7th volume of “Endzeit Bunkertracks”, a deluxe 4CD carton box featuring 68 songs mixing dark-electronics, EBM, dark-electro-pop and related genres. Llumen was back then considered to be among the ‘promising discoveries’ on that compilation. And behold, just a bit more than a half year later the band is not only signed to Belgium’s Alfa Matrix label, but the one-man project around audiovisual artist Pieter Coussement also releases his very first download EP fro the label: “Cold In December”.

The 10-track EP is available right now via Bandcamp and other download stores and will be especially interesting to those who like old school electro with a modern touch.

Llumen isn’t the first project Coussement is involved in. His first project, together with some friends, was SAD CBA, which was similar to Llumen, but more basic. He also has a psycho-acoustic project IichTraum together with Peter De Koning. Besides that Peter makes experimental art installations that always include sound.

Besides the songs “Cold In December” and “Lux Aeterna” the EP holds 8 remixes, each focusing on other aspects of the music. “Cold In December” is incarnated through 5 different versions by Implant, Propulsion (see also the article we did on them regarding their participation in our free “Face The Beat: Session 3” download compilation), Super Dragon Punch!!, Disconnekted and Psy’Aviah. “Lux Aeterna” gets presented in 3 additional versions by Simon Carter, Avarice In Audio and Aesthetische, the latter delivered a very danceable version of said track.

Advised for those who like a mixing of solid EBM, melodic wave and modern electronic trends!

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, electro-industrial.

Content: This newest EP by Acylum has been released nearly at the same time of the “Venom”-EP. “Venom” revealed a completely new song plus an extra exclusive track while “Hate” brings you back to the dark inferno of the “Pest”-full length.

The main song “Born To Be Hated” was reconstructed into a so-called “Shot Two”, which remains pretty faithful to the raw electro-industrial Acylum sound. It all sounds brutal and harsh, which is an element you once again will discover in the production of the vocals. It’s an overwhelming dark-electro style, which is highly danceable, but still influenced by a sort of tormented layer. Acylum is the kind of band that can’t leave you unmoved.

“Born To B Hated” was remixed on this EP by 4 different formations, which each have tried to inject their own touch to the song. Xentrifuge and First Black Pope both did it a rather familiar dark-electro and industrial way, and both of the remixes are pretty well-crafted.

The biggest surprises were accomplished by a more clubby-danceable remix of Simon Carter and totally transformed and impressive work of Venal Flesh. The remix of Venal Flesh really deserves a special mention for their creative work.

The few remixes left are also songs that were originally released on the last album. The “Pest” song was remixed by two bands, but I here especially noticed the amazing work by Llumen. This new-signed Alfa-Matrix band transformed the original song into a modern dark cut with vague technoid elements and a kind of avant-garde approach.

“My Knife” was remixes by two different bands as well and I here especially recommended the brilliant and somewhat body-minded remix by VV303.

Conclusion: “Hate” reveals not as many surprises compared to “Venom”, but a few remixes transposing the original songs into a new approach and sound dimension are worthy of examination.

Best songs: “Born To Be Hated – Shot Two”, “Pest – Llumen Remix”, “The Knife – VV303 Bunker Remix”, “Born To Be Hated – Venal Flesh Remix”.

Rate: (DP:8)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/Acylum.Music

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

Bestselling electro artist Zombie Girl returns with a brand new studio album on the Belgian Alfa Matrix label, “Killer Queen”, and this in various formats.

The album was produced & engineered by none other than the team consisting of Kurt Maas & Dave Rave Ogilvie, mastering was done by Lawrie Bayldon from Studio-X fame. You can again expect fat beats, dirty female vocals and also 2 covers, Berlin’s “Pleasure Victim” and The Cure’s “Fascination Street” (which also appeared on the The Cure tribute compilation “A Strange Play”).

The album is also available in a deluxe 2CD carton box edition with a bonus disc including an exclusive collaboration with Helalyn Flowers (and guest backing vocals by n0emi) and other remix work by artists in the like of Psy’aviah, Acylum, Simon Carter, Venal Flesh, Llumen, Pax Sono, Avarice In Audio, Eexxee, Cardinal Noire, Black Nail Cabaret, Shades:Of:Hell, Complex Mind, Diffuzion and so on.

A 28-track counting download is also available from Bandcamp, with an immediate download of 4 tracks.

And there’s more, in a mail to its clients Alfa Matrix offers a coupon code to get 25% discount on the complete Zombie Girl back catalogue in the label’s CD/DVD webstore at www.alfa-matrix-store.com . The coupon code is 41654, just insert it when checking out and you’ll get 25% reduction on the Zombie Girl back catalogue material, both normal and 2CD sets. The offer is only valid until the release date of the album, that is October 31st, so make sure to use it before that!

For those who prefer the digital download, use the discount code september5236584 to get 25% off the normal price on Alfa Matrix’ Bandcamp page. The code can be used on as many items as you want and expires at the end of September.

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

Interview of Llumen: a new Belgian revelation?

The new volume of “Endzeit Bunkertracks”  (the 7th already, available right here) will be released once again as a deluxe 4CD carton box featuring 68 songs mixing dark-electronics, EBM, dark-electro-pop and related genres. The box also contains an extended 32 page booklet masterfully designed by Japanese designer Tomoki Hayasaka. Next to the 4CD there also is a bonus download card giving you access to some 50 additional songs! Side-Line once again has been asked by Alfa-Matrix to recommend some interesting artists.  That’s why we decided to power this new volume by featuring 10 short interviews of bands that you’ll discover on this new volume plus an extra interview by the “Endzeit Bunkertracks” instigator Séba Dolimont.

(by Stéphane Froidcoeur aka DP)

SL: You’ve been introduced by Alfa-Matrix as being one of the new ‘promising discoveries’ so what does it mean to you to get featured at this compilation? 

Llumen: Being among the ‘promising discoveries’ on this compilation truly is an honour. Even though there’s a vast amount of music to discover these days through the internet, I sometimes think it’s far more difficult to stand out as a band. It often seems like there’s an assumption of quality by the amount of likes your Facebook profile gets rather than the music you make. While the general public is of course the most important audience to reach, being recognized by those involved in the industry for many years is an important milestone too.

SL: Tell us a bit more about your band and the main purposes behind Llumen? 

Llumen: I started Llumen many years ago after the hiatus that followed the slow death of my previous project. I was a bit bored with the electro industrial scene back then and wanted to experiment more with sound and installations. However, I found myself divided between two worlds; at the one hand doing the very experimental stuff is great but I missed making songs too.  So this is when I started Llumen as a hybrid of many styles but true to my mentors. So in my music there’s a lot of Suicide Commando meets Haujobb meets FLA and Skinny Puppy (among others). I try to stay current, but I guess there will be an recognizable old-school quality too.

SL: I think you’ve been already involved in other projects before Llumen so what was it all about and how do you look back at these years? 

Llumen: My first project, together with some friends, was SAD CBA, it was similar to Llumen, but more basic as we had to do with hardware samplers and synths and didn’t have all these plugins back then. We had some success and played on Eurorock and opening for Project Pitchfork on their “Dominion”-tour in Ghent. I’ve got a psycho-acoustic project IichTraum with Peter De Koning where we experiment a lot that really needs to get out of hibernation, and I make art installations that always include sound in a profound way. The experimental stuff makes that I don’t feel the urge that much to experiment with Llumen and can concentrate on making good songs, although experiments in sound design, interactive visualizations etc do blend in from time to time especially when Llumen plays live.

SL: In, which way can a famous sampler series like “Endzeit Bunkertracks” help you to get a wider recognition and a push to your career?

Llumen: As already mentioned before, I think it’s important to have your music heard and compilations help tremendously. When I was young, we bought CD’s because they were in the same category as let’s say The Klinik or Nitzer Ebb and had cool artwork. You didn’t know the bands and had a quick listen in the store, you bought the CD with the firm believe that you were the first to make this great discovery! Nowadays this process is less mythical with auto suggestions on spotify, band camp, itunes etc. But great compilations still remain a gateway for many to get introduced to new bands. Being on a compilation with such a history speaks for itself, especially if you’re that old to remember the history of the people behind EB ( for example: I was introduced to Mildreda, now a close friend, by a compilation I got from you on my 16 or 17th birthday at a Fuze Box Machine concert). With the response to my previous compilation contribution on Alfa-Matrix in mind, I’m very eager for this release!!

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