The Italian neoclassical and darkwave veterans Ataraxia will release their 29th studio album “Centaurea” on 22 May 2024 via The Circle Music. The album will contain eight original compositions and two previously unreleased bonus tracks (CD version only). You can place your pre-orders already right here from The Circle Music.

A music video to the first of the bonus tracks “The Source”, which will comprise part of the CD version, is available to watch now. “The Source” introduces uilleann pipes (played by Gregorio Bellodi) to Ataraxia’s music for the very first time.

Ataraxia explains the meaning behind the lyrics and the music video: ““The Source” is the origin from which everything flows, the focal point of the island of Centaurea, the energetic centre of that dimension. That place can only be accessed through a dimensional portal protected by three guardians of the threshold, three Priestesses who sway among the ice and snow-covered plants, looking into your eyes to understand if you are ready. “Viator – inquam – dignabere?” “Traveler – I say – are you worthy?”. Beyond the ice and snow, opens up the space of the sea in which everything turns purple and gold, dawn and dusk and the Mediterranean climate welcomes us, taking us on a white boat, in silence, to the sacred shores. As we access the dimensional spiral of the portal, the three Goddesses look at us with ineffable faces.”

About the “Centaurea” album

“Centaurea” is the 29th album from Ataraxia and is part of a trilogy which began with the previous album “Pomegranate”, a hymn to the elemental spirits, and which will end with a work inspired by the Elysian Fields passing through the Golden Age brought to light by “Centaurea”.

The lyrics of the songs are sung in several ancient and modern languages and are poems by Francesca Nicoli and Mara Paltrinieri who had already collaborated on the lyrics of the band’s first albums.

Totem Bara will also once again contribute to Ataraxia’s sound with his cello on three songs.

Each album format will have a different layout done by Nicolas Ramain. They each have their own imaginative history, therefore, the vinyl artbook contained in the limited box and the CD graphics are unique, original and not the same. Insetti Xilografi designed the Sacred Oak represented on the box and on the hoodie and Mary Vareli created the hieratic priestess present on the T-shirt.

The luxurious box embossed in gold is limited to 200 copies, the gold vinyl is limited to 500 copies, and the A5 digipak CD is limited to 1.000 copies.

The album will be preceded by three singles with three related videos portraying places and rituals of “Centaurea”.

Francesca Nicoli of Ataraxia explained the background behind the album: “On a Greek island of impressive neoclassical beauty, I lived and wrote the concept of the new Ataraxia album “Centaurea”. “Centaurea” is an island beyond the columns of time, still immersed in a golden age, it is a new Mediterranean Avalon whose name is a hundred times brighter than gold and that can only be accessed by dreaming and from which one leaves just sleeping.

Crossing the dimensional waters that lead to this magical circle, always immersed in the gold of the light of twilight and the flaming magenta of the dawn, we reach a dimension in which the principles of the Sacred Feminine and Masculine are embodied by heroes and maidens, priestesses and bards. The qualities of Courage, Audacity, Hospitality, Trust, Grace, intense spiritual values and the earthly representation of Beauty become flesh and accompany us while listening to the songs.

We participate in nocturnal rituals, dances at dawn, races across prairies and woads, flights overlooking the sea, celebrations of the primeval Sun, we meet wolves and Goddesses, we speak lunar alphabets, we cross woods of wild loves, enchanted bays where sweet scents are released, we sail wild blues and listen to the myths of the Oak. The beings who animate these places live destinies on a strand of splendour.”

About Ataraxia

Ataraxia is an Italian neoclassical dark wave band founded in 1985. Fronted by vocalist Francesca Nicoli, it combines modern technology with archaic instrumentation. Its lyrical themes are frequently drawn from nature and ancient cultures.

The band was founded by Francesca Nicoli and Michele Urbano in November 1985. In the first five years there were many musicians in the band, until finally Francesca Nicoli, Vittorio Vandelli, and Giovanni Pagliari became the basic line-up until today.

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: Cold-Wave, Shoegaze.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Hailing from the Isles of Scilly (England) West Wickhans are now active for a few years. They last year released two EP’s featuring “Magenta”.

Content: Five songs bring us back to the 80s Cold-Wave and shoegaze music styles. The songs remind me of an imaginary, crazy, offspring between The Housemartins, Joy Division and The Cure.

+ + + : I like the personal interpretation of retro 80s style. Especially both debut tracks are noticeable cuts driven by cool guitar play.

– – – : I regret the songs are a little too short.

Conclusion: Nothing groundbreaking but I like this dark 80s melting pot.

Best songs: “This Is Hang Up”, “Swear Above Suspicion”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.facebook.com/westwickhams

Label: https://linktr.ee/goldenbelieversrecords / www.facebook.com/GoldenBelieversRecords

Listen to “Magenta”:

About West Wickhams

West Wickhams is a duo of Jon Othello and Elle Flores, originally from Tresco on the Isles of Scilly and later based in Richmond, Surrey. The band released the “Consider Her Way” EP in 2022, followed the same year by the “Magenta” EP on Golden Believers Records, a limited-edition CD release with a five-track lineup including “Swear Above Suspicion” and “This Is A Hang Up”.

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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“Chemical” is the new album by Death Loves Veronica, whose new album results to be heavily saturated with post-industrial and gothic influences and recorded with analog synths and minimal guitar work.

Veronica recorded the framework of this album within a two-week time period while in recovery from an intensive health-related surgery. With limited use of her arms, she dove into the more technical capabilities of her favorite synthesizers, keeping her distance from the use of MIDI.

The release comes in 2 formats, a limited edition of 200 copies on transparent magenta white marbled vinyl and in a 6-panel digipak.

The project debuted in 2018 with the demo album, “Vampiros Electric” bringing a cold wave-minimalist sound created with a variety of synth work and distinctly clean vocals. A collection of her works has been released on European label Swiss Dark Nights entitled, “Three Acts”, shortly after followed by last year’s album “Lucid Dreams”.

Check out the Video for “Lies” below. Read the review of ‘Chemical’.

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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(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange / Piston Damp press release)
The Danish/Norwegian duo Piston Damp releases ‘Runaway’, their third single in six months, following their smash debut ‘Something In Me’ and the critically acclaimed ‘Loose Ends’. This time they’ve joined forces with remixers such as Die Krupps, Mesh and Substaat.

The duo consists of Jonas Groth and Truls Sønsterud, Jonas being the singer/songwriter/producer, with more than 20 years experience from both stages and studios all over the world, mostly connected to his brother Stephan’s band, Apoptygma Berzerk, and has also collaborated with various other acts like Magenta, The Anix and The Dandy Warhols.
Truls is the musical arranger/keyboardist/songwriter, connected to various bands since the late 90’s, and has worked under the alias Tröll when remixing both Piston Damp and other electronic acts.

‘Runaway’ was written and recorded in demo form in 2001 when Jonas lived with his brother in Frxta, Norway. This demo was eventually discovered by national radio station NRK P3 and voted “Song of the month” in January of 2005 and has since lived its life on its own in the electronic underground scene.
Now, in 2021, the song has been re-sung with new lyrics and totally re-recorded. The single release will include a Single Version, the what-has-become-obligatory Extended Version, and an instrumental piano version.
Runaway has also been remixed by three legendary acts; Die Krupps, Mesh and Substaat, in three very varied remixes, which will assure activity on the various dance scenes when those days return.

The B-side track ‘Re-Shaper’ is a newly written song about how Jonas sees the many riots and demonstrations in the western world the last few years, as people tend to be extreme in their ways from the get-go and have a zero-tolerance for any other view than their own. The song uses multiple layers of vocal, which has become Jonas’ trademark, inspired by his many years of arranging and vocal producing for other artists (both Apoptygma Berzerk and Take That singer Gary Barlow have recently used his voice and arrangements).

Piston Damp have also worked hard over the last few months to record songs for a full-length album, planned to be released during the first half of 2021.

Buy/listen to the single at Bandcamp, Apple Music and Spotify.

Jan Ronald Stange

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

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(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange / Sub Culture Records press release) The Danish/Norwegian duo Piston Damp, currently residing in Sarpsborg, Norway, are releasing their debut single on October 16^th. Have a listen at the first track available at Bandcamp at the bottom here!

The duo consists of Jonas Groth and Truls Sønsterud; Jonas being the singer/songwriter/producer, with more than 20 years’ experience from both stages and studios all over the world, mostly connected to his brother, Stephan’s band, Apoptygma Berzerk. He also has
connections to various other acts like Magenta and The Anix. His production partner is Truls; musical arranger/keyboardist/songwriter, connected to various bands since the late 90’s.

Their new track ‘Something In Me’ was written and recorded this summer, with Stephan Groth serving as pre-production supervisor. It is mixed by Ole-Espen Kristiansen (Elec This!) at STUDIO+/-, and mastered by Carlos Perón (ex-YELLO), at Liquid Gold Mastering.
Something In Me also has a version called Noget I Mig with Danish lyrics, and both versions have several remixes (‘Pegboard Nerds Remix’, ‘The Anix Remix’, ‘Technomancer Remix’, ‘Extended 12”
Remix’, and more…).

Tracklist:

1. Something In Me
2. Noget I Mig
3. Another Pain (Blue Hearts Version)
4. Something In Me (Pegboard Nerds Remix)
5. Noget I Mig (Pegboard Nerds Remix)
6. Something In Me (The Anix Remix)
7. Something In Me (Technomancer Remix)
8. Something In Me (Kleinmelker Remix)
9. 9. Something In Me (Extended Remix)

All tracks written by Jonas Groth
Recorded, arranged, produced and programmed by Piston Damp at Brakka Studio, Tveter
All vocals arranged and recorded by Jonas Groth at Love Studio, Greåker
Snare drum on Another Pain by Truls Sønsterud
Tracks 1-3 and 6-9 mastered by Carlos Perón at Liquid Gold Mastering
Tracks 4 and 5 mixed and mastered by Alex “O” at PBN Headquarters, Hamar
Tracks 1-3, 7 & 9 mixed and engineered by Ole-Espen Kristiansen at STUDIO +/-
Track 6 recorded and mixed by The Anix
Track 7 recorded and mixed by Technomancer at The Technomantic Zone
Track 8 recorded and mixed by Kleinmelker
Track 9 remixed by Jonas Groth at Love Studio, Greåker
Final compiling and editing by Tomas Siqveland at Lydmuren. Greåker
Logo and design; Espenoo
Pre-production supervisor; Stephan L. Groth
Production office; Per Aksel Lundgreen
Worldwide digital distribution by Sub Culture Records – “Making everything great again”

UPDATED October 15th: Check their music video!

Jan Ronald Stange

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

www.facebook.com/jrstange

If it were up to Tim Sköld, you would have seen his new Skold album “The Undoing” released a while back already, but that fell apart when self-releasing didn’t work out. Our correspondent Evan South went talking with Tim, the Swedish multi-instrumentalist who, in addition to producing solo work, has also collaborated with multiple musical groups including Shotgun Messiah, KMFDM, Marilyn Manson and Motionless in White. It turned out to be a very interesting talk and probably the most complete interview ever done with the musician.

For easier lecture, we have spread it over 3 pages.

You can order “The Undoing” right here, it ships immediately!

SL: The new album “The Undoing” is already technically 2 years old. What was the reason for the delay? Were you trying to do a self-release and it fell apart?

Skold: Yeah, that’s what I did. I listened to some people that had some advice, and as we pursued those avenues I came to realize that it was not the way I wanted to go, and many moons later I am very fortunate and happy to be back with Metropolis. The 2 year thing, and I understand that, especially to young people, seems like a very long time, and it can be. I made records for a few different scenarios and setups, and working with major labels, there is no way you deliver a record and it’s going to come out within 6 or 9 months, that’s a minimum setup time for any of those labels. So it’s not unusual at all for them to take a year, or a year and a half, maybe 2 years, it’s not really that strange. Today, with the internet, it seems bizarre, but it’s kind of cool, too. At some point I decided this record was done and I’ve been hanging on to that ever since. It would have been really easy to start poking around, do little tweaks. As time goes along you hear things differently and you figure out different ways to do things but I swore a sacred oath to myself not to do so. The problem with the rabbit hole, once you start doing that, it will never be done again, and you have a Chinese Democracy scenario. I’m kind of proud of that.

SL: You were disciplined enough to not touch the record and leave it alone for the most part?

Skold: Disciplined or pig-headed? There’s a fine line. I was doing other music and working on other things, Motionless in White being one of those things. To me, the piece, it’s like a painting, it’s dried, it’s cured, why should I mess with it? I went back with an inner dialogue debating this a few times, but I decided just to stick to it.

SL: In that time frame, were you able to start on another album?

Skold: No. I was able to work on other music and in other concepts and different formats. I’ve been more or less writing, but I haven’t started work on a follow up or sequel. This record feels very pivotal for me on a personal level, whether this is something I should really be doing. It sounds funny, but I’m pretty serious. I’m not necessarily a youngster. I’ve done it a few times, the weird part about it is it’s still magic to me, it’s still really cool, I really like making and working with music. I understand that’s just fantastic, it’s a blessing! It’s all of those; I don’t even have words for it. To still be able to do that, and I think that’s because I try to treat the whole process with the respect to make it special and keep it special and not go down certain roads that are quick and easy and streamlined and sold or presented to you. I try to avoid all that stuff and go my own little side path down the maze.

SL: All of a sudden with this album you have a tour. How did you come to the conclusion that not only were you going to put this album out but you were going to tour with this?

Skold: I started toying with the idea, and thinking that this actually could translate… I even did so previously with the Anomie album in 2010, thinking that the music I make should work in a live setting. The music I make as Skold should work, at least theoretically in a live setting, and I’ve messed around, I’ve been with people in rehearsal rooms trying out things, and when it really came together was with Tiffany Lowe and Eli James. And we said “We’re going to have to do this!” Do I, at my age, a man of my stature… I’m not here to compete with 21 year olds, I can’t do that, I’m not going to pretend that I can either, I do something else, and I have a bunch of catalog that I hope a bunch of people might want to hear presented again and in a different way but still true to the originals. I have a curious little set I hope people will get off on and I have fun playing the music, and that’s what it comes down to at the end of the whole debate and analytic dissection of the proposal… It is fun to play music!

SL: You mentioned wanting to tour for Anomie, but you did not actually tour for that album, correct?

Skold: Correct.

SL: I had read a lot of interviews around that time that you were really excited to tour. Was it just not the right time, the right album, the right lineup?

Skold: Yeah, not the right people.

SL: That’s a big reason.

Skold: And I know I take ridiculous liberties with these things. I’m in a luxurious position when I can do that. I mean who the fuck can entertain the notion of sitting on a record for two years? So I’m going to do that. It’s not a guilt thing, I owe that to having been given that success, I kind of owe it to the art itself, to treat it with that respect. That it was enough to turn my back on it, and sell-out, so to speak.

SL: How did you come to work with Tiffany Lowe (keyboards) and Eli James (drums)?

Skold: I knew Tiffany socially for some time, we were introduced by mutual friends, and we started talking about it. She provided a lot of fuel for that fire, spurring me on and bringing an enthusiasm. Together we started looking for drummers, and I think she came up with Eli. She told me to check him out. We talked to a few different drummers, then we talked to Eli, and then we stopped talking to other drummers. I make it sound like it’s all complicated and convoluted, and some of it is, at the same time it’s really not. I’m fairly pure when it comes to that stuff. Some people you want to work with and some people you don’t.

SL: How did you determine the band was going to be 3 people, and not your typical 4 or 5?

Skold: I really like to play guitar, and I really like to try to sing… I have a hard time calling myself a singer. I’ve worked with Peter Murphy, what gives me the fucking right to say I’m a singer? I wanted to see if I could do that, if I could play and sing at the same time. And going back to the competing with the 21 year olds, doing things in a different way, what do I have to offer in this big picture? What could I possibly be bringing to the table? And maybe that is some of the chops that you’ve earned over a longer period of time… It also makes the song sound a little different then if you sit down and just play the guitar take, and get that done, and then you stand over there and record the vocal, sometimes it’s a little disconnected, sometimes the disconnection is a really good thing, but sometimes it’s rad to have it feel like it’s connected. There are some fantastic people that have done that stuff very, very well in the past. Jimi Hendrix hated singing, but can you fathom Jimi recording without singing? Sometimes things make sense even though you can’t justify them on a technical level. So that’s my excuse, Jimi fuckin’ Hendrix!

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, industrial-trance, rhythmic electro-industrial.

Content: It seems that Jamie Blacker considered this new album as the most accomplished work to date. The least I can say is that the 3rd part of “Themes Of Carnal Empowerment” left me rather breathless. I’ve known of Electronic Substance Abuse since their early work and I remember this band for its solid electro-industrial approach.

“Penance” features 10 songs, which are built up in a real progressive way, but always reaching a kind of sonic climax created by a twist of heavy, trance-industrial rhythms and dark electro-industrial arrangements. ESA has never been that hard-hitting and merciless, however the work is still elaborate and professional when it comes to speaking about the global production process. ESA is not exactly the kind of band you can compare with another, but I’m sure it will appeal to fans of This Morn’Omina and iVardensphere.

Most of the songs are quite elaborate and show a terrific progression in sound and cadence. The opening song is a good representation for the rest of the work. It takes off in a rather mysterious and somewhat ambient way, but slowly reaches a pure sonic outburst where it all becomes quite trance. “Be Still And I Shall Tell You Why” and “Master, No Servant” both are brilliant exposures of the shamanic industrial work of “Penance”. Blacker has accomplished an opus magnum where he excels in intelligent sound treatments and great artistic creation. Right at the point where you think he has reached the ultimate point he simply moves injecting some extra dynamic into his work.

The 2nd part reveals a few ‘softer’ tracks on which he collaborated with a few guest singers. Most of the songs remain instrumentals where you can only hear the addition of a few sampled words. The vocals and samplings are mainly used in a way to create an extra sound effect. It sometimes pretty bewitching (cf. “Threnody For You”). “My Church” features a nice twist between male growling passages and spoken female words.

The title song featuring Magenta S. is different and probably the single cut where we can speak about ‘classical’ vocals. The song however remains pretty industrial, but more into a dark atmospheric creation.

A last element I have to mention about this work, is ESA’s move from Tympanik Audio to WTII Records.

Conclusion: This album definitely is one of the most poignant releases of the year in the wider fields of industrial music. This is a fully accomplished and genius creation.

Best songs: “Master, No Servant”, “Be Still And I Shall Tell You Why”, “My Church”, “Men Will Only Break Themselves”, “Penance”.

Rate: (DP:8½)DP.

Band: www.electronicsubstanceabuse.com / www.facebook.com/ElectronicSubstanceAbuse

Label: www.wtiirecords.com / www.facebook.com/WTIIRecords

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