Genre/Influences: Industrial-Pop, Electro, Experimental.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: Belgian Implant duo is back on track, unleashing their eleventh album in history. Len Lemaire and Jan D’Hooghe have been inspired by the ongoing pandemic and the impact on humans. It resulted in a double disc featuring numerous remixes on the second disc. Noemi Aurora (Helalyn Flowers) contributed to some songs of the album.

Content: Implant already revealed a different approach in sound on the previous –and great, album “Oxynoxe-X” while the last year released EP “Phantom Pain” confirmed this evolution although getting more into Electro-Pop fields. It’s quite significant for this new opus, which is bringing elements such as Minimal-Electro and a kind of Industrial-Pop together. The ‘Trance’ roots of the band are far away, but still present on a few cuts. The main evolution of the sound is due to the use of analogue gear, which becomes pretty explicit at a few shorter, instrumental pieces. Noemi Aurora is singing on 3 songs, creating a weird, but cool match with the growls of Len Lemaire.

The work features remixes by Suicide Commando, Signal Aout 42, Aiboforcen, Q’Pnz, 808 Dot.Pop, Növö, Armageddon Dildos, AD:Key, Neuroactive and Helalyn Flowers. The second disc also features a few extra songs by Implant. Last, but not least The Breath Of Life simply covered one of the songs instead of making a remix.

+ + + : I truly respect the global evolution in sound Implant has made during the past years. It still sounds Implant-like, but the Belgians seem to have found new sonic paths to explore. The analogue sound treatments create this minimalism, but also very original sequences emerging at the shorter ‘intermezzo’ cuts. Noemi Aurora remains to me one of the most talented singers in this scene and she adds a graceful-, sensual- and artistic touch on top of the songs. “Phantom Pain” remains a cool track, but she also sings on “The Last Record”, which clearly appears to be a potential hit –and has been remixed by several artists. One of my favorite songs however is “The Room” for its extra robotic dimension plus deep, resonating bass line and “Nutshell” for its minimalism. The opening song “I Don’t Trust The Machine” is another attention grabber with a strong dance/club appeal and driven by an amazing lead.

The list of remixers is also a noticeable aspect of the album. I here want to mention the work by Suicide Commando and Trance-driven remix by the Belgian producer Q’Pnz. The Breath Of Life did a great job covering “The Last Record”; this is a beautiful and sensitive version. Last, but not least Implant put 2 more great pieces on this disc (cf. “Censorship Through Noise Part III” and “Lied 13”.

– – – : I regret some short, instrumental cuts from the main disc haven’t been more worked out; “Nutshell” is not only one of the best tracks, but unfortunately it’s just a kind of break. Despite the impressive list of remixers, I definitely expected a bit more.

Conclusion: Implant is now active for nearly 30 years and has already found new new horizons to explore.

Best songs: “The Room”, “I Don’t Trust The Machine”, “Nutshell”, “The Devil Made Me Do It”, “The Last Record”, + “The Last Record – Cover by The Breath Of Life”, “Run To The Lights – One Messed Up Mix by Suicide Commando”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.implant-music.be / www.facebook.com/Implantmusic

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

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

The French label Unknown Pleasures Records, run by Pedro Peñas y Roble aka HIV+, stops its activities this summer. They are currently emptying their last stocks before closing for good. The label which started in 2013 was based in the south of France was dedicated to the production of material from the post-punk, minimal wave and EBM scene. Their final release is a Tribute to Death In June.

In the past the label has released albums of bands like Norma Loy, David Carretta, Blind Delon, Adan & Ilse, Hausfrau, Black Egg, European Ghost, Ono Scream, Antipole, Kill Shelter, Vogue Noir, Ohota, Wendy Bevan, Alek Drive, Art Kinder Industrie, Baroque, Maman Küsters, Japan Suicide, Follow Me Not, Der Himmel über Berlin, Dave Inox, Mr Nô, None, Velvet Kills, Selfishadows, Container 47, The Shyness Of Strangers, Secret Sight, La Main, Fluxus, Grand((Ø))Signal, Neon Electronics, Hardlab, Judith Juillerat, Monolog and Love In Prague.

The label has also worked and collaborated with several musicians such as Alan Vega, Gabi Delgado, Dirk Da Davo, Eric Van Wonterghem, Jurgen Engler, Richard 23, Patrick Codenys, Marc Hurtado, Arturo Lanz, The Hacker, Dirk Ivens, The Horrorist, Haujobb, Position Parallèle, John Lord Fonda, Dominique Nicolas, Marc Collin, Michaël Theis, Radical G, Növö, Millimetric, In Death It Ends, In Aeternam Vale, Sonic Area, Adriano Canzian, Alice Botte, Versari and many more.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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“Groupe 8​/​2 – Vertical” is the new download single (out now via Bandcamp) by the veteran electronic music artist Laurent Boudic aka Növö. The 7-track (!) download single is the follow-up to the already impressive 5th full length album “The Shortwaves”.

Next to the LP version of the title track, we get a remix by Flood Veyor, a rework by Commuter and Black Egg (Norma Loy) plus an extended remix executed by Növö. The whole is topped with an extended version of “Whisky Tango Romeo” and the exclusive non-album track entitled “115”.

Judge for yourself!

A trailer for the EP is also available:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

It was Record Store Day this past weekend and for the occasion the Belgian label launched a special 30% discount code ( RSD2017 ) which is available to use until the end of this week. You can apply the code in the label’s webshop or on the label’s Bandcamp page. You will get 30% off on everything that is added in your basket (except on the forthcoming Metroland and Alien Vampires box sets).

Happy hunting!

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

And in order to save on shipping costs, it’s recommended to combine this with the label’s 2 newest releases although they are not discounted.

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 51st track on our free download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 4” (featuring 92 tracks) is by the Belgian electronic music project Növö, characterised by a sonic closeness to early-Front 242, Kraftwerk, Telex and other pioneering electro bands.

The man behind the Növö project is the electronic music pioneer Laurent Boudic who you might know from his other projects x2Proton, CrashVox and Genetik System which were launched in the late 80s. Boudic started his career in a synthetic Punk band before evolving to a more structured electronic sound. And between 1986 1990, he was an active part of the so-called “Electronic Body Music” movement working on several collaborations under different nicknames.

So far Növö has released 5 albums: “The Shortwaves” in 2016 (Alfa Matrix), “Zeitgeist” in 2014 (Alfa Matrix), “Architecture & Severity” & “Konztruktivizm 09 – The remixes”, both in 2009 (Alfa Matrix/GenComProdukts international/BlackMontanas) and “Konztruktivizm” in 2003 (PSI49NET). He also collaborated with other electronic artists such as Metroland, Black egg & many more. You can find more info on the band right here on Facebook.

Listen to “The Shortwaves” below and download it right here.

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

“Today he has no means He’s alone and anonymous, but written in his cells he’s got the marks of a genius”, with these Front 242 lyrics (“Headhunter”) the Belgian electro label Alfa Matrix has launched quite an impressive EBM day action offering no less than a 30% discount on all of it’s physical (and download releases) including the much wanted Front 242 vinyls sets.

All you need to do is use the code ebmday242 to get 30% off on all of the labels releases (ltd editions, boxsets, t-shirts, vinyls, …) purchased via the Alfa Matrix webstore and the official Alfa Matrix Bandcamp page.

The code ebmday242 is only valid today and this weekend and will be applied on all products you have added in your basket.

And that’s not all! the label has also added a huge list of VERY low priced compilations right here.

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rate: (7½).

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

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

We enter the final few hours to enjoy a 50% reduction on all of your purchases via the Alfa Matrix Bandcamp page. You get a discount of 50% when using the discount code january50432. Just enter it when checking out. The code is valid on ALL of the releases on the label’s Bandcamp page.

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

The discount code only lasts till January 31st midnight, so make sure to use it asap!

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: Minimal-EBM, experimental.

Background/Info: Laurent Boudic earlier this year unleashed his new opus “The Shortwaves” featuring 11 pieces of electro analogue complexity and entirely dedicated to shortwave radio. I always have liked this artist for his creative writing, which often sounds as an antidote to contemporary electro clones emulating themselves.

This EP is meant as a kind of continuation to the album tracks. There are several remixes of the title track plus two new cuts as well.

Content: Among both new tracks I can be very clear and short. The cuts are in the purest tradition of Növö and the continuation of the last album. I especially recommend the song “Zero Zero” for the great sound treatments, which might appeal to the early ‘242’-fans.

The title song has been remixed as a “7” Edit” plus exposed to the remixing skills of Black Egg, Flood Veyor, Commuter and Amorphous.

+ + + : Növö remains a great experience in genre. I think it’s no longer necessary to confirm that analog equipment has much more of a magical impact on the listener simply because of the unique sound DNA. Laurent Boudic is one of the faithful adepts of this sound formula, but also invited artists sharing similar sound ‘values’ to remix the title track of this EP. I was impressed by the great and totally vintage sounding remix of Commuter, but also the more groovy transformation by Amorphous. Last, but not least I can also recommend one of both new cuts (cf. “Zero Zero”).

– – – : I expected a bit more out of some other remixes while the new song “Interfearence” is nothing less than a cool B-side track.

Conclusion: This EP sounds as a cool bonus to the full length album revealing a few noticeable cuts.

Best songs: “The Shortwaves – 7” Edit”, “The Shortwaves – Commuter Remix”, “Zero Zero”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.gencomprodukts.com / www.facebook.com/novomusik

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

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

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

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

You can preview the tracks right below:

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

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

The label webs tore can be accessed right here.

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

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Out now is the video for “The Shortwaves”, the leading track for the recently released album by Növö with the same title and also the leading track for an upcoming new EP, titled “The Shortwaves – Parallel” EP. “The Shortwaves” is Növö’s 5th full length album. On this album veteran electronic music artist Laurent Boudic dedicates 11 tracks of modern electronic music to shortwave radio.

You can view the video below:

You can listen to the album below and download it on Bandcamp or get the CD via Alfa Matrix.

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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Laurent Boudic is a kind of pioneer in electronic music although he’s not the most famous and recognized artist at the wider fields of EBM. While he was mainly dealing with different forms of techno music Növö definitely sounds more into good-old vintage EBM. It still sounds quite minimal and accomplished with a technoid flavor on top. I discovered this artist by some productions released on the American digital label Black Montanas. Növö finally joined the established Alfa Matrix to releases the latest albums. The newest brainchild is the album “The Shortwaves”, which will definitely appeal for lovers of analogue gear and the magic of old-styled electronics.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Can you briefly remind us the main facts from your artistic background and how did you get contaminated by the electronic-music virus?

Laurent: I started in the early 80’s by experimenting industrial electronic & concrete music, first in Belgium & then in France under different nicknames & collaborations. During the whole 90’s I got into intelligent techno & ambient music with projects such as Genetik System & x2Proton. Since year 2000 I’m essentially working on Növö.

I’ve been contaminated to the avant-garde electronic & industrial music essentially with bands such as Severed Heads, Throbbing Gristle, SPK or Suicide.

Q: You’re one of those artists with a real passion for analogue equipment. Where does this fascination comes from and what makes the magic of analogue equipment?

Laurent: From my childhood. In the 70’s, electronic music was already almost everywhere. On TV advertising, news & documentaries, movie soundtracks etc. This analogue sound really fascinated me forever.

But it’s not only the way how it sounds, it is also how do you interact with it. Working with vintage analogue equipment and its limitations is something that definitely opens the creativity.

There’s also something of magic in that sound. It is alive, warm and organic, the total opposite of the digital sound which is interesting in terms of sound synthesis but very cold and clinical in sound.

Q: What’s your opinion about the huge mass of bands using software and composing nearly all the same sound?

Laurent: To be frank I find it pretty sterile & boring. The same beats, almost the same sounds everywhere & the same way to create. I personally can’t conceive to create a musical piece with a mouse and a controller. I’m a musician so I must feel and play with the instrument, the equipment.

The music & creativity from today is pretty poor in general but it’s not necessary due to the technology, you know it’s just a tool. The main factor is the lack of audacity from these artists even though they doesn’t bear the entire responsibility. Indeed, the narrow-minded people buying the same records again & again without other interests are also responsible.

It’s becoming very hard to find artists that breaks the rules nowadays. Fortunately, there’s still some interesting people with interesting minds but not too many.

Q: You recently released your new album “The Shortwaves”. I experienced this album as more experimental than some of your previous work. What kind of album did you’ve in mind and how do we have to understand the result?

Laurent: You definitely right, “The Shortwaves” is more experimental, dark & lo-fi than the previous ones, except maybe for “Architecture & Severity”. I have to thanks Alfa-Matrix for taking risks. It’s definitely not a commercial album nor for people looking for standard electronic music even though some songs are more affordable (“Radio Peking”, “Operator”) & catchy (“Whisky Tango Romeo”, “The News” & “Groupe 8/2”).

I didn’t have and never had an album in mind during the process, it’s not the way I conceive creativity but rather a concept: to create a whole musical album entirely devoted to shortwave radio and spy numbers stations.

With “The Shortwaves”, the aim was not to use conventional structures but rather to break the rules & explore something else, something that first reflect the main concept, vocals included since they are used & treated as samples, then to form a kind of ‘musique concrete style’-soundscape all the way.

Q: The Alfa Matrix releases usually feature next to the regular album a limited edition (box) with an extra album. Why is it “The Shortwaves”-album has been only released as a ‘regular’ disc?

Laurent: Well, you have to know that the process was a bit long and painful. Two full years of very hard work, first by selecting and treating the huge material (AM Radio/noises/interferences samples) and then by creating the structures & sequences. After these 2 years I was very tired by the process and I couldn’t create anymore. As a result there was not enough material to fill a limited edition box. But now and after some rest I recently did some new tracks for the forthcoming EP’s…

Q: So you already have new plans and music in mind? What brings the future?

Laurent: For the moment I’m working exclusively on the videos & single EP’s. For a solo-project it’s a hard work as you guess, then I will see what the future brings to Növö.

You’ll get more news at http://www.gencomprodukts.com

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, minimal-electronics, experimental.

Background/Info: Laurent Boudic aka Növö is back on track unleashing his second full length on Alfa Matrix while having released a few more albums before. Laurent Boudic is one of those musicians passionate by the magic of analogue equipment, which clearly reveals this typical 80s-like sound spirit.

Content: “The Shortwaves” features 11 songs, which are more sound creations accomplished by the magic of analogue gear. Some passages and sounds will clearly evoke the early Front 242 period from “Geography”, but globally speaking, this new opus sounds more experimental.

“The Shortwaves” is a complex piece of work revealing total minimalism in the writing and pure experimentalism in sound research. The musician transposed himself into a sound scientist active in a laboratory of noises. Boudic gives you the impression of catching noises he next manipulates by turning on the knobs of his machines to get a unique sound. It creates this typical analogue sound creation, which for this new work become more experimental and less danceable.

“The Shortwaves” however reveals a few cool and fully danceable cuts. There also is a constant darkness hanging over the work, which together with some sequences are also reminding me of early The Klinik.

A last and essential element consists of the vocals. Not all of the songs feature vocals, but here again they have been adapted into pure experimentalism. It sounds fragmented and often like a sampling. Spoken samplings have been used as well and here again Laurent Boudic uses the same tricks. The samplings are quite fragmented as well  and often mixed in the background creating reinforcing the dark and somewhat spooky element of the work.

+ + + : “The Shortwaves” is a complex, but well-crafted and intelligent piece of music. The minimalism reveals irresistible analogue sound creation and you can hear the maturity of this composer who perfectly knows and controls his gear. I like some of the most aggressive sequences, the typical dry and deep bass lines and the global icy atmosphere hanging over this work. The most danceable tracks however remain the best ones.  

– – – : The minimalism of the work will for sure keep some EBM purists away. This is not exactly an album make to set dance floors on fire rather than conceived from the passion of sound creation. It makes some parts of the album more complex and therefore less accessible for a wider audience.

Conclusion: “The Shortwaves” is what I would call a ‘difficult’ album, but definitely a brilliant and artistic piece of music when you like sound creation. It’s quite weird to see how vintage electro gear can be that avant-garde like and visionary-minded.

Best songs: “Whisky Tango Romeo”, “Radio Japan”, “The News”, “Radio Moscow (Part I & II)”, “The Shortwaves”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.gencomprodukts.com / www.facebook.com/novomusik

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

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Back in April we reported about the debut of the Swedish minimalistic electro pop act Elektroklänge on the Belgian electro label Alfa Matrix. The Stockholm based act offered the track “Approach To Tokyo” on “Sounds Of The Matrix 017” in the Straight Connection Mix version.

Out now, first via Bandcamp, is “Mechanische Tänze Nos. 1​-​4”, a 7-track release (available here). Here’s a promo video trailer:

While remaining true to the so-called ‘Düsseldorf sound’, Elektroklänge still adds it’s own identity to the mix occasionally using the piano to bring a more emotionally-charged version of Kraftwerk. The “Mechanische Tänze Nos. 1-4” EP is the band’s first release on the Belgian Alfa Matrix label who already brought us bands active in a similar electronic register like Metroland, Növö or yet the very early Front 242 material.

The EP opens with a homage to the Hungarian painter/designer Vilmos Huszár (one of the founders of the art movement De Stijl) who directly influenced the cover-art of this release. What follows are 4 “Tanz” tracks which are sung in 4 different languages: German, English, French & Japanese. Next to that you get an extended Trudering Klang mix of “Mekanischer Tanz”, preceded by the Straight Connection mix of “Approach To Tokyo” which was originally written to celebrate the Shinkansen’s 50th anniversary (Japan’s famous high-speed railway network).

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

Back in April we reported about the debut of the Swedish minimalistic electro pop act Elektroklänge on the Belgian electro label Alfa Matrix. The Stockholm based act offered the track “Approach To Tokyo” on “Sounds Of The Matrix 017” in the Straight Connection Mix version.

Out now, first via Bandcamp, is “Mechanische Tänze Nos. 1​-​4”, a 7-track release (available here). While remaining true to the so-called ‘Düsseldorf sound’, Elektroklänge still adds it’s own identity to the mix occasionally using the piano to bring a more emotionally-charged version of Kraftwerk. The “Mechanische Tänze Nos. 1-4” EP is the band’s first release on the Belgian Alfa Matrix label who already brought us bands active in a similar electronic register like Metroland, Növö or yet the very early Front 242 material.

The EP opens with a homage to the Hungarian painter/designer Vilmos Huszár (one of the founders of the art movement De Stijl) who directly influenced the cover-art of this release. What follows are 4 “Tanz” tracks which are sung in 4 different languages: German, English, French & Japanese. Next to that you get an extended Trudering Klang mix of “Mekanischer Tanz”, preceded by the Straight Connection mix of “Approach To Tokyo” which was originally written to celebrate the Shinkansen’s 50th anniversary (Japan’s famous high-speed railway network).

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

Here’s something which will please many Metroland, Kraftwerk and even Duet Emmo and The Normal fans. Veteran electronic music artist Laurent Boudic strikes back with his 5th album under the Növö moniker. On the 11-track release “The Shortwaves” Laurent Boudic returned to the project’s darker roots, with a conceptual theme based around skywave propagation.

(Editor’s note: In radio communication, skywave or skip refers to the propagation of radio waves reflected or refracted back toward Earth from the ionosphere, an electrically charged layer of the upper atmosphere.)

The album will be available on CD (pre-orders are accepted here) and as high quality download via Bandcamp (you already get 2 tracks when pre-ordering the download right here).

You may expect Növö’s characteristic vintage analogue synths mixed with minimal melodies upgraded with viral distorted radio noises and echoing samples which were manipulated and morphed into beats or other repetitive melodic lines. Here’s a preview of the first 2 tracks.

Check the album trailer below to get an idea.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

The Belgian electronic act NÖVÖ – famous for bringing work that recalls early Front 242 – is preparing a brand new album for the Alfa Matrix label. “The shortwaves” album is now in its finale stage and it took Laurent Boudic 2 years to complete it. A released date is scheduled for June with videos to be launched as well to coincide with the album release.

This 5th NÖVÖ album will be the follow-up to the 2014 released “Zeitgeist” album, which you can stream below.

In further news, NÖVÖ finally has hit Facebook, you can find the electronic act right here.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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