Coventry’s industrial and cinematic darkwave band, Attrition, led by founder Martin Bowes, is gearing up for its first-ever tour of Australia and a return to New Zealand in October and November 2024. This tour follows the release of their album “The Black Maria” which dropped earlier this year via Two Gods Records.

Joining Attrition on the Australian leg of the tour is New South Wales’ industrial synth crust outfit Schkeuditzer Kreuz. Canadian ritual-ambient artist Subterranea (also known as Alia Synesthesia of Attrition) will accompany them for all Australian and New Zealand shows, except the Melbourne date. The tour will also feature a rotating lineup of special guests from the local underground music scene, including Life Cult, The Cold Field, DevilMonkey, Mankind, and more.

The 11-date tour kicks off in Perth on October 24th, with subsequent shows in Adelaide, Frankston, Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Nambour. Attrition and Subterranea will then travel to New Zealand, where they will perform in Christchurch for the first time, followed by shows in Wellington and Auckland.

Check Attrition’s website for ticketing details.

Attrition on tour

• 24 October: Perth, four5nine, Rosemount Hotel, with Schkeuditzer Kreuz, Life Cult, and Subterranea.
• 25 October: Adelaide, Hotel Metro, with Schkeuditzer Kreuz, The Cold Field, Subterranea + DJ Empusa.
• 26 October: Frankston, Singing Bird Studio, with Schkeuditzer Kreuz, DevilMonkey, Subterranea + DJ Varunia Khan.
• 27 October: Hobart, Altar, with Schkeuditzer Kreuz, Mankind, and Subterranea + DJ Black Paul.
• 31 October: Melbourne, The Gasometer (Halloween), with Schkeuditzer Kreuz, Death of Art, Palliative + DJ Crowley.
• 1 November: Sydney, Darling Nikki’s, with Schkeuditzer Kreuz, Sounds Like Winter, Subterranea + DJs Xerstorkitte & Action Ant.
• 2 November: Brisbane, The Cave Inn, with Schkeuditzer Kreuz, Chiffon Magnifique, Subterranea + DJs Richard & Josh.
• 3 November: Nambour, Black Box Theatre, with Schkeuditzer Kreuz, Chiffon Magnifique, and Subterranea.
• 7 November: Christchurch, The Embankment Tavern, with Acclimate, Placenta Cookbook, and Subterranea.
• 8 November: Wellington, Valhalla, with special guests.
• 9 November: Auckland, Whammy Bar, with special guests.

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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Martin Bowes and his main music project Attrition have been part of the collective memory of many Electro fans since the 80s. This year, Attrition released their first new studio-album in years. “The Black Maria” sounds on the one hand like a ‘classic’ Electro-Wave-Pop album but on the other hand also as a refreshing and sensual production with some Cinematic parts. The work became a truly collective production with the contribution of female singers Emke (Black Nail Cabaret), Yvette (Vaselyne), Joanne Wolf and the return of the original Attrition-singer Julia Niblock Waller. Guest musicians Alia Miroshichenko, Annie Hogan, Vancorvid and Marietta Fox, Ian Arkley, Steve Clarke and Kris Force joined forces together with Attrition. I asked Martin Bowes some questions about this new and fantastic work released on Two Gods. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Attrition has now been active for over 40 years. Can you draw up a preliminary and concise overview of this exceptional career with the highs and lows that spontaneously come to mind? And how do you feel Attrition and its work has influenced the music scene over the years?

Martin: I started out in music inspired by Punk… first running a local music fanzine here in Coventry, between 1979-81 (Alternative Sounds ran for 18 issues). I knew that I had to make my own music so started Attrition in 1980 with Julia Waller, and her brother Ashley. We were totally influenced by Electronics and Post-Punk by then. It wasn’t easy to get gigs for music like this in the early 80’s, at least not around here… it would take a while for the music to take hold… and Industrial, Dark-Wave, whatever you may call it gradually became a lot bigger; lot was so good to be there at the beginning.

We have gone through many record labels, booking agents and even band members since those early days. It’s never been an easy road but it has taken us all over the world and we have released a lot of albums… and scored some film soundtracks along the way.

I hear that Attrition has influenced bands and the scene… I remember Skinny Puppy writing to us back in the mid-eighties… which is a wonderful thing to know.

Q: “The Black Maria” is your first new studio album in quite a long time. Why did this take so long and what sparked the new work?

Martin: The last full studio album was the “Millions Of The Mouthless Dead” album of First World war poetry and sounds I recorded as Attrition with Anni Hogan (of Marc And The Mambas amongst many projects she has done over the years). Since then we have toured a lot and released various singles and live recordings, and I have put out a side project… The Engram-album of 2018, and the DPM improvisational collective I was a part of in more recent years.

Recordings were slowed by covid, and the tragedy of my ex-wife, and Attrition collaborator Kerri Bowes untimely death in 2022. And also by increasing production and mastering work for other bands here in my studio The Cage. So yes it was high time for another Attrition album!

Q: I think I can say that it became a collaborative album. Tell us more about the choice of singers and other musicians? How did this collaboration go and did you discover new facets of yourself as a musician and producer?

Martin: I have been the main person in Attrition for many years, and with knowing so many musicians after all this time, and the ease of recording remotely these days, I found myself working with guest musicians more and more. Since our original singer Julia dropped out of the music scene 20 years ago I have recorded with a succession of guest female vocalists…  I think “The Black Maria” is the peak of that phase… as Julia… and her brother Ashley… after decades… have rejoined the band! They came back recently and have been playing live again with me and Julia sang on 2 songs on the new album… so Attrition is now the original line up, augmented by more musicians… a good place to be.

Q: “The Black Maria” is an interesting title with a whole background and meaning. What exactly inspired you and what did you try to express with this title and entire album?

Martin: “The Black Maria” was the name for a mythical figure that would come to take away ‘wrongdoers and miscreants’. Later it was used for the name of the  UK Police vans in the 1970’s… Kerri and I had a clash with our local corrupt Police a few years ago… hence the inspiration for the title… The album is, like all our albums, very personal… like an audio photo album of the time if you like. And it also looks at issues of state and religious corruption and control. Nothing really changes…

Q: What comes next after this album and what dreams or expectations do you have for the coming years?

Martin: Next on the agenda… we are planning shows and tours in The UK, Europe (next is The Castle Party in Poland July 12th – 14th) then The USA (Cold Waves festival Chicago and Dark Arts Festival Salt Lake City and more) then we are looking at Australia/New Zealand and Japan for the end of 2024/start of 2025…  Meanwhile I am releasing a double album of remixes from “The Black Maria”, also on my own label, Two Gods. And have started recording a Dark-Ambient Soundtrack work.

After all these years I can still get that same feeling of excitement with music and of only just beginning… and I love being a part of a wonderful world community.  I never have expectations, but plenty of dreams.

Thank you for the interview! Interested parties please check out our online sites!

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

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Genre/Influences: Electro-Wave, Cinematic, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl, Cassette.

Background/Info: Martin Bowes strikes back with a new album of his sonic brainchild Attrition. Being active since 1980 Attrition can look back at an impressive discography. The new work reveals eight songs and has been accomplished together with multiple guest singers and musicians. Martin Bowes teamed up with female vocalists including Emke (Black Nail Cabaret), Yvette (Vaselyne), Joanne Wolf and the return of the original Attrition singer Julia Niblock Waller. Guest musicians Alia Miroshichenko, Annie Hogan, Vancorvid and Marietta Fox, Ian Arkley, Steve Clarke and Kris Force joined forces together with Attrition. 

Content: Attrition stays true to their recognizable sound mixing Electronic sound treatments and Neo-Classical elements -played with acoustic instruments. There is a Soundtrack atmosphere interspersed with more danceable songs. The female vocalists bring a sensual touch to the work that is reinforced with the slow, sultry, rhythms. Martin’s deeper timbre of voice brings a nice contrast to the singing. 

+ + + : The album and its overall approach to sounds and arrangements remains recognizable. I like this sound DNA where Electro and Neo-Classical are in total harmony. Attrition also remains intriguing for its sensual passages covered in dark atmospheres and Industrial sounds. There is something to say about almost every song, but the well-known “The Switch” (previously released as an EP-title song) remains an absolute delight. Other highlights include “The Zero Hour” and the title track “The Black Maria.” Attrition remains a warrant for an original and very personal sound full of subtlety and other, small details.

– – – : I regret the work only features 8 tracks including an intro.

Conclusion: This is an astonishing and highly artistic work by Attrition; for Electro gourmets.

Best songs: “The Switch”, “The Black Maria”, “The Zero Hour”, “The Pillar II”, “The Great Derailer”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.attrition.co.uk / www.facebook.com/ATTRITIONMUSIC

Label: www.twogods.co.uk / www.facebook.com/TwoGods

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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The new Attrition album, “The Black Maria”, will be released on March 23rd. Pre-orders are now live in all formats (CD / Vinyl / Cassette / Download).

This time founder Martin Bowes has teamed up with female vocalists including Emke from Black Nail Cabaret, Yvette from Vaselyne, Jonna Wolf and most notably the return of original Attrition vocalist Julia. Musically Bowes brings a mix of industrial and gothic songs, plus dark ambient soundscapes. Lyrically he continues his exploration of introspective themes of life, love and death.

The album is dedicated to the memory of Kerri Bowes (1982 – 2022). Kerri Bowes was part of the band between 2012 and 2018. She co-wrote the horror film score “Invocation” and performed it live with Martin in Germany (2013) and Transylvania (2018).

Other guest appearances come from Alia Miroshichenko (Subterranea) Annie Hogan (Marc and the Mambas etc) on Grand Piano, Vancorvid and Marietta Fox on Violins, Ian Arkley (My Silent Wake, Guillotine Dream) on Guitar, Steve Clarke (Futumche/Octogoth) on additional guitar/bass, and Kris Force on Cello.

Also included are remixed/remastered versions of the singles “The Great Derailer” and “The Alibi”.

Attrition will have a bandcamp listening party for the album, from 7pm UK time on Sunday March 24th. You can join Martin to listen to the album and ask questions on this new album and future plans for the band.

Attrition shows for 2024

• March 29th – The Arches, Coventry, UK (Album launch show)
• July 13th – Castle Party, Bolkow, Poland
• July 25th – The Railway Inn, Winchester, UK
• August 22nd – The Peer Hat, Manchester, UK
• More tbc.

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 veteran dark industrial music group, Attrition, which was formed in late 1980, reunited in its original line-up in 2022. The band played festivals and shows in the UK, while also preparing for performances in Europe and the USA to promote their latest album, “The Black Maria”.

In anticipation of the forthcoming tour, the band conducted rehearsals in February 2023. In a very nice surprise for their fans, these sessions were recorded in multitrack and professionally mixed by Martin Bowes at the Cage Studios.

This compilation is now released as a limited edition CD album titled “Live in the Cage. 07.02.23”, featuring what the band refers to as ‘interpretations’ of songs from their three-decade-long journey. The ensemble for these sessions included Martin Bowes, Ashley Niblock, Simon Stansfield, and Julia Waller.

A special limited signed edition of this live album is also available, with only 100 copies produced. Each CD comes in a card wallet with cover photographs taken by Antony Weir.

Tracklist:

1. The Voice of Truth
2. One Horse Rider
3. Dreamcatcher
4. Snakepit
5. The Mercy Machine
6. Invocation
7. Two Gods
8. Narcissist
9. The Great Derailer
10. Dante’s Kitchen
11. The Long Hall

And below is the release on Bandcamp, where you can also order the CD version.

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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Gothic electro-rock trio Dispel presents “Glasya’s Heresy (Acoustic Version)” from their sophomore album “Inferno” out on October 12th. The video for the track was filmed in South Africa. Earlier this year, Dispel also released “Journey Into Limbo”.

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Dispel is a trio made up of Ravensea, Sean Gallows and Scott Dispel, a founding member of the old- school hardcore band Face Value and former drummer for Textbeak. Produced by Dispel, the new album was mastered at The Cage Studios in Coventry, UK by Martin Bowes of Attrition.

“Glasya’s Heresy (Acoustic Version)” and “Journey Into Limbo” are out now, available across online music platforms.

Here’s the video.

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 now is “Live at projektfest. Chicago. 1996”, the live recording of the first ever Attrition show in the USA, at the Projekt festival at the Vic Theatre in Chicago on June 26th 1996. Recently unearthed by Sam Rosenthal, the material has now been mastered by Martin Bowes at The Cage and released for the first time.

Next to a download, the release is also available as a CDR on Bandcamp. The CDR is burnt on pro equipment on special vinyl style CD’s, with printed PDF cover on art paper and signed by Martin if you would like.

The live line-up consisted of Martin Bowes, Julia Waller and John Waller.

Check the release 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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The first single from the debut full length album “Midnight Wire” by A Perfect Error is out now on Re:Mission Entertainment: “Straightline”. The excellent single “Straightline” goes hand in hand with a video which we can premiere today!

For this project Toronto based songwriter Cory Gorski (Volt 9000, VHS Nightmares) shifts gear into the world of dark pop. You can check the new single below!

The “Midnight Wire” album – mastered by Martin Bowes – will be out on May 27th as a download, but also on CD digipak (100 copies) and as a very limited cassette release (also 100 copies). You can order your copy right now 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 UK electro act Attrition has compiled the period 1986 – 2004 on the “A Great Desire (1986 – 2004)” on vinyl.

The vinyl holds 10 tracks, most never before released on vinyl. All songs were recorded at various locations in London, Brussels and Coventry, UK between 1986 and 2004. The material was remastered from the original DAT tapes by Martin Bowes at The Cage in 2021. The album includes 2 free posters of Martin and Kerri Bowes.

RIP Kerri Bowes

The band also informed us of the sad passing of Kerri Bowes (1982 – 2022) who was part of the band between 2012 and 2018. She co-wrote the horror film score “Invocation” and performed it live with Martin in Germany (2013) and Transylvania (2018).

Attrition will perform a live version of the score at The Tin on February 26th, in her memory, as special guests of their friends in Fütumche! who will play Coventry for a special event showcasing the release of their second album “A Healthy Dose of Fear”.

Here’s the score Kerri worked on.

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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After nearly 40 years the original Attrition line up, that recorded “This Death House” over 2 afternoons in 1982, reunited with the addition of new member Simon Stansfield, to perform “Death House Variations”, a first ever live performance, based on the original “This Death House” recordings, with additional Attrition material and new variations.

This is an extract from the first show, peformed at The Tin Music and Arts in their hometown of Coventry, England, as part of the 2021 UK City of Culture year. The line-up consisted of Martin Bowes, Richard Woodfield, Ashley Niblock and Simon Stansfield.

The material was mixed and mastered from the multitrack recording by Martin Bowes. There will be more performances and an all new follow up album to the original, which was remastered and reissued earlier this year.

You can check out the recording 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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“The Alibi” is the new single from the upcoming Attrition album “The Black Maria”. The single is being released with an accompanying video and remixes from Bellhead, Vaselyne, Steckdose and Follynator. The track was produced, mixed and mastered by Martin Bowes at The Cage Studios, Coventry (England).

The official video is up now on YouTube.

And the single is available here on 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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Altar De Fey originated in San Francisco in the early eighties as part of the emerging musical form that would come to be known as deathrock. Out of the Zeitgeist flash of 70’s Punk Rock the new sound took the darkest elements of the counter culture into ever deeper, gloomier and more mature territory. If you are into classic Christian Death, 45 Grave, Kommunity FK, Burning Image and son, then Altar De Fey was and probably still is your thing.

The original incarnation of the band passed through a rotating cast of characters centered strongly by the vision and experimental guitar of founding member Kent Cates. Add to that the tribal drumming of Aleph Kali and Butch Mason’s vocals.

Though the band had a strong base of support, no original recordings were ever released and the young members carried on into new musical endeavors. By 1988 Altar De Fey disbanded.

Out now on vinyl via Other Voices Records is “Original Sin – An Anthology of the early Years”, a compilation offering you 11 original Altar De Fey songs recorded between 1984 and 1986. Included are demos, rehearsal records and concert recordings. The material was already released in 2015 via the Russian label Wondervogel Records on cassette in 2015, and on CD via that other Russian label Other Voices Records in 2019. It was however never before released on vinyl until now. Note that a new mastering was applied for this vinyl release, by Martin Bowes in 2019.

The rehearsal songs on this vinyl were recorded at House of De Fey, while the demos were recorded on December 11th 1985 at Dragon Studios, Pacifica in California.

The vinyl set is limited to 250 copies.

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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In 1982 the UK electronic outfit Attrition released “This Death House”, a dark ambient soundtrack, spread over two long tracks: “Crawling” (23:22) and “Dead Of Night” (22:49). This iconic album now gets a re-release on vinyl and download to celebrate it’s 40th anniversary year. Included with the vinyl is a free poster.

Released on the Russian label Other Voices “This Death House” will also be available on all streaming services from April 30th on.

The line-up for this released consisted of Martin Bowes (Electronic drums/Synthesizer & production), Ashley Niblock (Synthesizer and Keyboards) and Richard Woodfield (Synthesizers). The whole was remastered by Martin Bowes at the Cage, Coventry, England last year. The artwork for this re-issue was executed by Oleg Galay.

You can check out the album below.

Also out soon in May is a new single and video, “The Alibi” taken from the all new album for this year, “The Black Maria”. More on that when it happens.

About Attrition

In 1979, Martin Bowes started a xeroxed fanzine called Alternative Sounds to document the Coventry music scene (including such notables as The Specials and Furious Apples). The fanzine ran for 18 issues until 1981, and culminated in a vinyl compilation, “Sent from Coventry” (on Cherry Red) and a brief appearance on the BBC’s Something Else programme. During this time, Martin met Julia at a local gig and, with the addition of Martin’s brother Chris on guitar, Attrition was formed. In 1980 Chris was replaced by Julia’s brother Ashley Niblock on synthesizer, and a short time later they replaced their live drummer with a drum machine

Musically the band emerged from the experimental post-punk scene of the early 1980s and, along with other groups such as Throbbing Gristle, Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten, and In the Nursery, greatly contributed to the development of industrial music in the UK.

Drones and tape manipulations released under the title “Death House” prefigured dark ambient by almost 10 years, while the group’s first two proper albums, “The Attrition of Reason” and “Smiling at the Hypogonder Club” set the tone for the style now known as darkwave.

A band which has never ceased to produce new material and as such one of the few still active today along The Cure and related bands who all coloured the early days of the post-punk movement pitch black.

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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US pioneers Lycia have been a landmark for the whole darkwave and gothic scene since their inception in 1988 and releasing such cult albums like “A Day in the Stark Corner” (1993), “Cold” (1996) and many more.

And this year the band is re-releasing their first studio album, “Ionia”, celebrating its thirtieth birthday in 2021, on vinyl. Originally released on September 3rd 1991 on Projekt Records, “Ionia” has been out of print for almost a quarter of a century, until a CD re-release appeared in 2017 (current deleted, but soon available again on Projekt).

The album will now be released for the first time on double vinyl in two different colored versions. Recorded from February to June 1991 on 4 track cassette, this vinyl reissue will come to wax in a completely remastered version (courtesy Martin Bowes/Attrition), specifically thought for this 2LP edition.

The two versions will be a red & black 2LP (250 copies) and a 3-coloured red, black & white splattered vinyl (250 copies).

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: Dark-electro, dark-pop.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: “Damage Over Time” is the second official full length album by Gasoline Invertebrate. After the “Freak Drive”-album released three years ago, we get ten new songs by Brian Graupner who’s mainly known for his involvement with The Gothsicles. Notice by the way and that’s a real important aspect of this record, nearly all songs have been produced by a different producer!

Content: “Damage Over Time” is mainly driven by dark-electronics, but most of the songs are polished with electro-pop elements. The melodic side of the work is immediately noticeable and especially the song featuring Chris Connelly (cf. “Scarlet Slip”) has something pretty dance-like. Behind this ‘dark’ fusion between the music styles you’ll also notice multiple sound effects symbolizing the elaborated format of this work. The tracklist is progressively evolving towards harder and harsher cuts.

+ + + : “Damage Over Time” is an interesting work for different reasons; it’s not only a danceable and well-crafted composition, but there’s a great fusion between darker, powerful electro and pop-like melodies. It creates something apart from all other bands repeating the same old dark-electro sound formula. Chris Connelly is a noticeable guest on this album and that’s also a good reason to discover this work… although “Scarlet Slip” is not my favorite cut. I think if there’s a potential hit featured on the album it must be “Feast”, which is not only powerful and danceable, but still has a great retro-like melody line. Among the producers you’ll find artists such as Martin Bowes (Attrition), Vasi Vallis (Reaper, Frozen Plasma), Kolja Trelle (Soman), Brant Showers (Aaimon), Steven Archer (Stoneburner, Ego Likeness) ao.

– – – : I know it must be surprising to say that the song featuring Chris Connelly is the single one that can’t totally convince me. It has something more ‘commercial’ and ‘danceable’-like, which doesn’t really fit to the rest of the tracklist.

Conclusion: “Damage Over Time” is a noticeable and alluring second album for Gasoline Invertebrate.

Best songs: “Feast”, “Headschatten”, “Let The Demon Out”, “Boston”, “Rejected Organ Transplant”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/gasolineinvertebrate

Label: www.facebook.com/tigersquawkrecords

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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With “Tim, where are you now?” Projekt Records releases a tribute album to Timothy Leary who was born 100 years ago on October 22nd.

The album’s 13 tracks contain 4 spoken word trips with text excerpted and cut-up from Tim’s first LSD and DMT experiences chronicled in his 1968 book “High Priest”. The album features the music of: Sam Rosenthal, Steve Roach, Erik Wøllo, Mark Seelig, Forrest Fang, Byron Metcalf, Henrik Meierkord, Brian Parnham, theAdelaidean, Ryan Lum & Anji Bee (Love Spirals), Brian Viglione (The Dresden Dolls), Martin Bowes (Attrition), Jarguna, Nathan Youngblood and Mike VanPortfeet (Lycia).

The tracks:

Timothy… Who?

Most readers probably don’t have a clue who Timothy Leary was. So here’s a small round-up of his career.

Timothy Leary was an American psychologist and writer known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. As a clinical psychologist at Harvard University, Leary worked on the Harvard Psilocybin Project from 1960–62 (LSD and psilocybin were still legal in the United States at the time), resulting in the Concord Prison Experiment and the Marsh Chapel Experiment.

Leary believed that LSD showed potential for therapeutic use in psychiatry. He used LSD himself and developed a philosophy of mind expansion and personal truth through LSD.

The scientific legitimacy and ethics of his research were questioned by other Harvard faculties because he took psychedelics along with research subjects and pressured students to join in. As a result Leary and his colleague, Richard Alpert (who later became known as Ram Dass), were fired from Harvard University in May 1963.

After leaving Harvard, he continued to publicly promote the use of psychedelic drugs and became a well-known figure of the counterculture of the 1960s. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was arrested often enough to see the inside of 36 prisons worldwide. Nevertheless he was embraced by people from the music scene and worked with several artists including German Krautrock act Ash Ra Tempel, and so on.

Leary continued to take drugs frequently in private, but stayed away from proselytizing psychedelics. Instead, he preached about space colonization and extension of the human lifespan. He died in May 1996.

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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Coil, the experimental music group, founded in 1982 in London, England and concluded in 2005, keeps on giving us sonic beauty. It shows that the work by founder John Balance and his partner Peter Christopherson was nothing else but brilliant.

Infinite Frog Production is now about to release a complete version of “Sara Dale’s Sensual Massage” OST with 8 exclusive and unheard tracks. “Sara Dale’s Sensual Massage” was originally an erotic video with a mystic soundtrack by Coil. While the first part is not so far away from Coil, the second part of the album explores more rhythmic structures that remind the “Gay Man’s Guide…” soundtrack.

Besides the OST recordings, this new vinyl edition includes bonus tracks from the “Basilisk prod.’s” era: “Theme From Blue”, “The Hills Are Alive”, etc.. The whole has been mastered by Martin Bowes.

Out by mid-September.

Tracks:

• A1 Sara Dale’s Sensual Massage I
• A2 Sara Dale’s Sensual Massage II
• A3 Sara Dale’s Sensual Massage III
• A4 Sara Dale’s Sensual Massage IV
• A5 Sara Dale’s Sensual Massage V

• B1 Sara Dale’s Sensual Massage VI
• B2 Sara Dale’s Sensual Massage VII
• B3 Sara Dale’s Sensual Massage VIII
• B4 Sara Dale’s Happy End
• B5 Sara Dale’s Bombers
• B6 Medieval Flange

• C1 Plinkerton
• C2 Volcanozo
• C3 Aftertouch
• C4 Gamatalo
• C5 Theme From Blue I
• C6 Theme From Blue II

• D1 Theme From Blue II
• D2 (silence)
• D3 The Hills are alive

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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“Pathways and Dawns”, the debut solo album from Peter Ulrich sees a re-release on vinyl via Infinite Fog. It’s the first vinyl edition of Peter Ulrich’s debut. Widely known for his past work as drummer/percussionist with legendary Dead Can Dance and contributor to 4AD’s This Mortal Coil, Ulrich here offered driving rhythms and meditative ritual patterns of percussion.

Also included was guitar-work, arrangement and production from Dead Can Dance mastermind Brendan Perry.

The album was recorded in two parts, the first in England in 1990, and the second after a long time break in 1996-97, by Brendan Perry at Dead Can Dance’s Quivvy Church studio in Ireland. The album was released on CD in 1999 on Projekt.

For this vinyl edition the tracks were mastered from the original master takes by Martin Bowes (Attrition).

When it was first released, Side-Line’s reviewer Deranged Psyche wrote this about it: “His first album is a remarkable piece moving on the edge between ethnic and medieval art pop music.”

For those wanting to listen to it on Spotify, the album is not available there.

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: Experimental, electro, industrial.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This album is a re-release and for the very first time on CD format of a split album between Attrition (UK) and Alu (Germany). The work was originally released in 1983 on cassette format by IRRE Tapes. For both of the projects this split work was one of their first releases.

Content: This work features 6 songs by Attrition and 5 songs by Alu. It’s an opportunity to (re)discover the first steps and especially experiments of Martin Bowes, but still a somewhat forgotten –or rather unknown project like Alu. You’ve to imagine this work in the context of the early 80s when artists such as Throbbing Gristle, SPK, Monte Cazzazza, Nocturnal Emissions ao revealed their first experiments to the world. It’s a mix of industrial- and experimental music. It’s hard to hear what’s improvised and what not. Creating and manipulating noises appeared to be more interesting than composing ‘songs’. It was a period of ‘anti-music’. 

+ + + : It’s just great to get back to this forgotten record and especially (re)discovering the work of Attrition. This composition has nothing in common with the later electro style of Martin Bowes. No, this is total experiment and improvisation although resulting in a few little jewels like “Day I Was Born” –which might be considered with a little bit of imagination as the basis for the later sound of the project while “You Will Remember Nothing” is pure Throbbing Gristle-music. Alu is comparable to the work of Attrition and yet it sounds more diversified. Sometimes industrial with a funky touch on top and next total improvisation. The fans of Throbbing Gristle will like these songs as well.

– – – : The extremely experimental approach and impro style both made it hardly accessible for a wider audience.

Conclusion: This album belongs to the history of industrial/experimental music and it’s really great it has been recovered from dust to get now released on CD format. 

Best songs: Attrition: “You Will Remember Nothing”, “Day I Was Born”, “Onslaught” + Alu: “Vendetta”, “Unaba”.

Rate: (7).

Artists: www.attrition.co.uk / www.facebook.com/ATTRITIONMUSIC /  www.alugenerator.de

Label: www.peripheralminimal.com / www.facebook.com/PeripheralMinimal

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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Out on March 23 is a massive deluxe boxset of Zero Kama. The set (limited to 500 copies) includes the entire existing recordings of Zero Kama on 3 individual vinyls. More info on these recordings can be found below. The recordings were transferred from original tapes, and were mastered by Martin Bowes at the Cage Studios and Micro Majong at Micro Majong Studio.

Instruments made from human bones and skulls

Zero Kama was an experimental music project founded by Zoe DeWitt in 1983. The first release of Zero Kama was the title “V.V.V.V.V.”, recorded for the Nekrophile Rekords cassette compilation “The Beast 666”. In 1984 followed the cassette release of the album “The Secret Eye of L.A.Y.L.A.H.”, which is commonly regarded as one of the key albums of the ritual industrial subgenre. All instruments used for this recording were actually exclusively made from human bones and skulls…

Here’s an idea how that sounds:

Following an invitation of the NL-Centrum Amsterdam, Zero Kama played two live concerts in the Netherlands in 1985, and – after two more releases on the Nekrophile compilation “The Archangels of Sex Rule the Destruction of the Regime” – completely withdrew from the public.

The later live performances were realized with befriended musicians such as Didi Neidhart and Muki Pakesch, whom Zoe DeWitt knew from the Austrian music underground of the 1980s. Since that time there have been a couple of re-releases of Zero Kama recordings, amongst others the 1988 vinyl version by the French label Permis de Construire, followed by the CD release in 1991.

In 2001 the French label Athanor published “The Goatherd and the Beast”, a 10″ vinyl containing tracks from various compilations that were recorded besides “The Secret Eye of L.A.Y.L.A.H.”. This collection was also included as a bonus CD in the “Live in Armhem” double CD release by Athanor in 2008.

In 2014 Athanor finally published a remastered version of “The Secret Eye of L.A.Y.L.A.H.” both on vinyl and CD.

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 now is the brand new Attrition video “The Great Derailer” for the single which was already released on January 31. The video was directed and edited by Antony Weir and camerman Tom Laxton and filmed on location in Coventry, England with additional footage of Emke.

Attrition are currently setting up shows in support of “The Great Derailer”, so far confirmed are:

• April 3rd- The Tin, Coventry, UK
• June 13th: Woodgothic Festival, Sao Thome Das Letras, Brazil
• June 17th – Gothic Ba, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• June 19th – Producciones Mortem Collections, Santiago de Chile
• June 20th – Tumbas Eternas Producciones, Lima, Peru
• July – Manchester – tbc
• August 20th– Feketa Zaj festival, Hungary
• August 30th – Infest festival, UK
• November 28th: Winter Ghosts Symposium, Whitby, UK
• December 5th – Face Bar, Reading, UK

You can watch the video below.

Attrition are an electronic music band, formed in Coventry, England in 1980 by Martin Bowes and Julia Niblock. The band emerged from the experimental post-punk scene of the early 1980s and, along with other groups such as Throbbing Gristle, Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten, and In the Nursery, greatly contributed to the development of industrial music in the UK.

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 now is “Wish No Harm”, the first new Audra song released in 10 years, and also the first single from the upcoming fourth album “Dear Tired Friends”.

“Dear Tired Friends” will feature 10 songs with a guest appearance by Mike VanPortfleet of Lycia on the song “Planet of Me”. The album was recorded and mixed by Joshua Rozenboom and mastered at The Cage Studios in Coventry, England by Martin Bowes of the band Attrition.

The tentative release date for Audra’s newest studio album is August 23, 2019 and will be available in the following formats: Black Vinyl, Clear Vinyl, CD and digitally.

Here’s the first single: “Wish No Harm “.

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: EBM, dark-electro.

Background/Info: American duo Jourdan Turner – Rick Mitchell aka Contaminated Intelligence are back on track unleashing a CD with seven songs. It rather looks as a mini-album instead of a real full length. I discovered this formation by their previous works released on Two Gods (label of Martin Bowes) Attrition).

Content: The album takes off with an intro followed by 6 new songs. Contaminated Intelligence clearly focused on the EBM style, which rapidly reminds me of early Frontline Assembly. It’s an elaborated composition featuring dark atmospheres and spooky vocals.

+ + + : The FLA style remains a true reference when composing EBM. Contaminated Intelligence has found the ‘intelligence’ to accomplish a sophisticated production mixing danceable cuts with overwhelming atmospheres. The ghost-like vocals only accentuate the darker side of the work.

– – – : The main point that hurts is the global mixing and mastering of the album. It doesn’t sound that professional, which is maybe intentional to get this typical retro-feeling. I think it ruins a part of the efforts both members have put in this composition.

Conclusion: Contaminated Intelligence are great composers, but they now need to improve their skills as producers. This album needs a talented producer and I’m sure the result will be different. 

Best songs: “I Want You”, “Distress”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/ContamInatedIntelligence 

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

Coil fans, attention, you will not want to miss out on this one! Out in a few weeks (closer to June) but already available for pre-order via Bandcamp, is the “Swanyard” 3LP Vinyl (available here) and 2CD set (available here).

This new release holds – hold tight – nearly 150 (!!) minutes of previously unreleased Coil recordings. The material was all written and recorded between 1993 to 1996 and was selected and assembled by Danny Hyde (Electric Sewer Age, ex-Coil, ex-Psychic TV, ex-Black Light District) from the studio archives.

The artwork for the release was delivered by Steven Stapleton, from a recalled dream by Jhon Balance. The mastering was executed by Martin Bowes (Attrition) in a Cage Studio.

Tracks:

• Spastiche (5:42)
• Heaven’s 98 Horror mst (11:52)
• Siminon Master Backwards (Swanyard demo) (6:28)
• Jhon’s House Tune from GM Guide – Protection (5:36)
• Spastiche (basic) (6:46)
• AYOR Master (It’s in my Blood) (6:40)
• Original Amber Rain (demo) (4:51)
• Wur CLK Wir 1993 (2:05)
• Crumb Tune (master) (6:00)
• The March of Time (extra version) (8:56)
• Spastiche – The Night’s alive (master) (5:34)
• Kusnir Jazz (2:39)
• Heavens Blade (John Balance vox demo) (7:25)
• Wur CLK Wir 1998 mst vox (18:35)
• The Test early mst (2:17)
• AYOR (extra version) (4:29)
• Elves (master) (6:35)
• Heaven’s Blade (Inst) 1993 (8:24)
• Melotron Song (amber rain demo) (2:51)
• March of more Time (master) 1993 (6:27)
• Crumb Tune (4:20)
• Simon (extra long) (6:10)
• Egyptian Basses 1993 (7:18)

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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To celebrate the imminent Attrition show in Transylvania, performing their horror film score “Invocation” (released in October 2012), the UK act is giving away the soundtrack as a free download (the CD version will be half price) for the month of August only.

The album came 30 years since their dark ambient album “This Death House”. For the occasion Martin Bowes has combined forces with his wife Kerri on this full length movie score, written for the film “G.H.O.S.T” from cult U.S. horror film company Mutantville.

You can download it right here:

Attrition was formed in Coventry, England in 1980 by Martin Bowes and Julia Niblock. The band emerged from the experimental post-punk scene of the early 1980s and, along with other groups such as Throbbing Gristle, Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten, and In the Nursery, greatly contributed to the development of industrial music in the UK.

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: Minimal-electro, EBM, experimental.

Background/Info: Bari Máriusz is a Hungarian artist active as Planet://Damage. After a few released EP’s he now unleashed his debut CD-album on Two Gods (label of Martin Bowes from Attrition). This is a kind of compilation featuring 2 previously released EP’s.

Content: “Angst/Snapshots Of A Surveillance Manifesto” is electronic music exploring minimal sound treatments featuring deep, resonating bass lines, dark atmospheres, raw piano-like arrangements, intelligent bleeping sequences and a real cool vintage touch. The work sometimes reminds me of Attrition and that’s maybe not a coincidence as Martin Bowes did some additional production (while he mixed the album as well).

The vocals don’t have an important place on this work and yet they’re an essential item. From robotic vocal parts to guest vocals, this work is quite diversified in multiple aspects of the production.

There also is an interesting list of remixes featuring Attrition, Black Nail Cabaret, Lhasa Mencur, The Mercy Cage, Haujobb and First Aid 4 Souls (compatriot of Planet://Damage). The last song is a live “ambient” version of “Angst”.

+ + + : I like the sound intelligence of this musician. The songs have been meticulously crafted and achieved with a real great retro approach. It’s an ultra dark production carried by low bass lines and great synth leads. I also noticed an interesting and somewhat psychedelic lead running through “Firewalls”. Another noticeable element is the robotic vocals. Last, but not least there’s an interesting selection of remixers and I here especially enjoyed the work done by Lhasa Mencur and First Aid 4 Souls.

– – – : Intelligent music always remains a kind of challenge.  The minimal approach is far away from the usual electronic standards often driven by dark-electro and EBM cliché formations. So it will be not easy for this project to get more recognition.

Conclusion: This is a real interesting release, which will appeal for all fine-tasters of electronic music. This is a project with an own sound and a personal approach in electro underground music. I hope to hear more from this band!

Best songs: “Firewalls”, “The Mark”, “Firewalls – First Aid 4 Souls Remix”, “The Mark – Lhasa Mencur Remix”, “The Mark – Attrition Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.planetdamage.com / www.facebook.com/planetdamage

Label: www.twogods.co.uk / www.facebook.com/TwoGods

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

In 1996 the album “A Thousand Lights In A Darkened Room” was released by the band Black Light District which was basically a production by Coil. The alias was one of a few assumed by them in the mid-nineties for putting out drone based music (and also a name of a song by Boyd Rice on the compilation cassette “Bethel”).

This album now gets released as being a Coil release with the title “Black Light District” and with an unreleased bonus-track. The team who worked on the material consisted of John Balance, Peter Christopherson, Drew McDowall and Danny Hyde.

You can order the album right here.

The material on this reissue was remastered by Martin Bowes (Attrition) with the bonus track being taken from the “Black Light District” recording session. Also added are Danny Hyde’s comments in the booklet.

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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“Ionia” is the second studio album by the American dark wave band Lycia, and was initially released in 1991 by Projekt Records. The album offers a blending of intense cascading guitar, droning synths and deep, whispered vocals.

The album is now back in print for the first time in a decade, digitally remastered by Martin Bowes (Attrition) and can be ordered right here. The personnel at that time conistsed of Mike VanPortfleet with additional help from Susan Jennings, Sam Rosenthal (mixing) and Will Welch (sampling).

Here’s a preview of the title track, in case this band is all new to you.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, minimal-electronics.

Background/Info: “Synthétique” is a kind of sonic ‘documentary’ featuring 13 French formations dealing and/or inspired by electro-pop. The main particularity of the sampler consists of a truly travel throughout the years. It starts in 1982 and stops in 2016. The sampler starts off with Philippe Laurent and comes to an end with the same artist, but with a song from 2016. In between both tracks you’ll discover 12 artists. All the songs have been remastered (by Martin Bowes) while it also is an opportunity to discover numerous previously unreleased songs from somewhat forgotten –or simply unknown, formations.

Bands: Philippe Laurent, X-Ray Pop, Atom Cristal, Adn’Ckrystall, Love In Cage, Guerre Froide, Mad Masks, No Unauthorized ao.

Content: This is an interesting testimony from the French electro-pop underground scene, mainly revealing minimal electronic tracks composed with good-old analogue gear. It creates this unique sterile- and cold sound color reminding me of the early years of new-wave and electronic music, but it also is a kind of sonic bridge between bands active during different periods.

Next to several familiar names it also is an opportunity to discover forgotten or simply unknown formations.

+ + + : I really like and fully support this kind of ‘conceptual’ compilation revealing forgotten and sometimes unknown sonic treasures from the past mixed with contemporary formations with an intelligent approach in sound. Most of the bands belong to the 80s generation of electronic pioneers, but it also is encouraging to see that contemporary formations are still fascinated to re-produce and experiment with the old standards. This is an exciting and fully recommended sampler featuring numerous great songs. Multiple bands are singing in their Mother tongue (French) giving a particular touch to the release.

– – – : I noticed a little error in the tracklist as 2 bands have been switched with each other. You also will notice some differences in the sound quality from band to band. This is not due to the mastering of Martin Bowes, who for sure did a great job, but you simply can’t transform a poorly and old recorded track into a high tech piece.

Conclusion: I simply like this sampler for its concept and I think it would be great –although a tough job, to release similar compilations featuring other countries. But who knows… that’s maybe an idea… Respect to Peripheral Minimal for this great work!

Best bands: Love In Cage, X-Ray Pop, Guerre Froide, And”Ckrystall.

Rate: (8).

Label: www.peripheralminimal.co.uk / www.facebook.com/PeripheralMinimal

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

Aidan Casserly (Empire State Human & KuBO) has just released an album called “Spoken”, which contains 15 new poems of Aidan’s, spoken by several artists, which Aidan then put to electronic/organic music backing.

Among those featured are Martin Bowes (Attrition), Monica Brito (poet, artist), Jean-Marc Lederman (The Weathermen, Fad Gadget), Maggie K. DeMonde (Scarlet Fantastic), Kriistal Ann (Paradox Obscur), Brian O’Malley (director of “Let Us Prey”, starring Liam Cunningham from “Game of Thrones”), Caesar Gergess (jazz singer and member of Billie Ray Martin’s live band), Clayton Littlewood (writer of “Dirty White Boy” & “Goodbye to Soho”), Ginnie Watson (actor) and Ruby Lorcan (model).

Aidan Casserly says: “Working in such a unique area and with such a diverse group of friends really brought something fresh to my working method. Having to create, to a voice only, was a wonderful opportunity to serve the words only, as opposed to a vocal melody and chord, song structure. I am deeply passionate about the written word, and discovering ways of making something beautiful with them. I hope I did justice to each amazing artist and friend of mine, who gave of the time, talent and expression. I will be forever in their debt”

You can preview the release right below and order your copy right here on iTunes.

https://soundcloud.com/houseofanalogue/sets/aidan-casserly-friends-spoken

The album was mastered by Martin Bowes at The Cage, with artwork by Monica Brito.

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: Cinematographic, new-wave, electronics, ambient.

Background/Info: This Makes Me… is not a band, but a kind of conceptual release created by Wave Records owner Alex Twin to celebrate the 50^th release of the label. The concept consists of an endless list of artists who contributed together while the profits of the sales will be given away for a charity project helping poor people who need medicine, surgery ao.

Content: It will bring me too far away giving you the entire list of artists who contributed, but you get a real nice cocktail and especially occasionally bands like Chiron together with Auroram, Collection D’Arnell-Andréa and Opera Multi Steel, Cinemascope and Scarlet Leaves, Pitch Yan Of Matter and Bleib Modern, Lost Elegy and Scarlet Leaves, 3 Cold Men and Twilight Ritual, Psyche and Bleib Modern, Haujobb and Data-Bank-A/Dominion.

The result is diverse and absolutely eclectic.

+ + + : The concept is the original and I think the scene really needs more similar ‘occasional’ bands working together for a great goal. I noticed different cool songs and even a few master songs like the dark and mysterious sounding “Departure” from Kriistal Ann and Martin Bowes (Attrition) or “Decent” by Haujobb (on vocals) and Andrew S. Kovats. Another attention grabber is “Falling From Skies” featuring Darrin Huss (Psyche) singing and Bleib Modern. There also is the beautiful song composed by Opera Multi Steel, which will appeal to lovers of heavenly voices.

– – – : I can only, but totally support this kind of great and original concepts. The only thing I would have (maybe) changed is to create a more noticeable cover artwork.

Conclusion: Charity releases are quite common, but the concept of ‘creating’ bands is absolutely genius!

Best songs: “Departure”, “Desolation”, “Javelots Acérés”, “Decent”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.facebook.com/thismakesme

Label: www.waverecordsmusic.com / http://pt–br.facebook.com/pages/Wave–Records/110635789015082

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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The Toronto duo Andrew Hercules and Arthur Yeung aka Depression Era are debuting with the six track EP “Volume 1” offering dark pop as you can hear in the video below.

The mastering of this debut release was executed by Attrition’s Martin Bowes. The 6-track EP can be ordered on CD right here.

Listen to “Good Night Sweet Charlatan” 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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Venus Fly Trap have released a taster track from the new album “Icon” (out later this year). The single, called “Vitesse”, is available now and was mixed by Martin Bowes (Attrition). You can listen to the single below.

Venus Fly Trap are plannning dates later this year including a performance at the “Have Guitars… Will Travel Festival” in June to coincide with the 3rd book of the same title being published. The book covers bands from the region between 1979-1987.

In related news, the band’s Alex Novak also appears on the re-issue of “The Tempest-5 Against The House” album (originally released on Anagram Records in 1984) to be available on limited colour vinyl and CD out soon via Optic Nerve. Alongside this release a best of Religious Overdose is being compiled, called “Strung Out On Heavens High (1980-82)” the CD will be released on Glass Redux.

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

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange) Being both a progressive gothic singer/songwriter, keyboard player and backing vocalist in Naked Lunch (presently on hiatus), and also an alternative model, the multitalented London-based Jet Noir is keeping herself busy by releasing her 4th EP “The Hall Of Ghosts” on December 5th.

The EP contains 4 original tracks and 5 remixes by Jeremiah Saint, Attrition, Dean Baker (of the progressive rock band Galahad), Ruinizer and Technomancer.

It also features Pietro Hoffmann on electric guitar and backing vocals, and he joins her along with Dean Baker on synth and Mark Spencer (of progressive rock band Twelfth Night) on bass guitar for live performances. ‘The Hall of Ghosts’ is mixed by Dean Baker and mastered by Martin Bowes of Attrition.

Out on the 5th of December on CD and via digital outlets iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp.

See the video for ‘Till the Bitter End’ right here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLv3XajBQ0c

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

Out now via Bandcamp is the download EP “Alternate States : chapter 1” by Naked Lunch. Naked Lunch should ring a bell with many amongst you as the band was featured on the now legendary “Some Bizzare Album” with other acts such as Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, etc.. Not all that surprising since Tony Mayo, the lead singer, had close connections with Stevo Pearce and aided with pulling the artists for this album together.

The cult track “La Femme” from that “Some Bizzare Album” was re-recorded for this new EP with extra vocals by Jet Noir. Jet Noir joined up with Naked Lunch in 2013 when the recording of their “Beyond Planets” album was underway. The tracks on “Alternate States : chapter 1” were then mixed by Dean Baker (Galahad) and mastered by Martin Bowes of Attrition. 4 extra tracks complete the EP which is out now and can be downloaded now.

Interesting detail about “La Femme” is that the song was originally called “Le Femme” but Phonogram to who the “Some Bizzare Album” album was licensed to changed it to grammatically correct French, missing the point of the androgyny of the electronic music scene (and that the song was about that).

Naked Lunch are one of the one of the first synth based groups and was formed in 1979 by Tony Mayo. Mick Clarke was an early addition shortly followed by Cliff Chapman and Paul N. Davies and then, in 1981, by Mark Irving. Although they called it a day in 1985, 2010 saw Tony Mayo link up again with early member Paul Davies to write new material. Mick Clark and Cliff Chapman joined in 2011, Mark Irving in early 2012. The band released the album “Beyond Planets” in 2014 after signing with Sub Culture Records for digital distribution. In 2014 Naked Lunch toured the UK with Combichrist and in 2015 with Covenant.

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