After more than 30 years and countless released productions, the magical Italian Ataraxia is far from over. Under the masterful leadership of Francesca Nicoli who makes the emotions flare up with her fragile voice, her companions Vittoria Vandelli and Giovanni Pagliari accompany her on a new, dreamy and Ethereal sounding trip. The work exudes simplicity combined with grace leading to an artistic masterpiece. Everything feels like a caress although some passages sound somewhat darker and into melancholia. Poetry and especially guitar shine like the reflection of water in the moonlight. On several numbers Francesca is accompanied by the male voices which ultimately results in a sacred experience. Refined arrangements make way for a more bombastic finish here and there but everything remains dreamy and full of emotions. (Rate:8).

Listen to “Ignis Pater”:

Read the news on ‘Centaurea’.

About Ataraxia

Ataraxia is an Italian neoclassical dark wave project founded in November 1990 by Francesca Nicoli and Michele Urbano, blending sacred and profane, ethereal and neo-classical, and contemporary and early-music elements around Nicoli’s vocals and archaic instrumentation. “Centaurea”, released via The Circle Music, is the band’s 29th album. The group went on to release its 30th album, “Sylfaera the Fair”, and Side-Line covered its 2026 announcement and title-track video.

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

Following the release of the post-punk/dark-wave album “Danse Danse” by Mekong on the 3rd of May 2024, the third single, also titled “Danse Danse”, is now live.

The track comes accompanied by a music video directed by Pedro Viernes which stars Liudmyla Radyk continuing her role from the previous two singles’ videos “Going Numb” and “Ice Cold”. The track is now streaming on all major platforms and the video is available below.

Mekong is a Kraków, Poland-based act which crosses post-punk with a glimpse of 80’s goth culture.

You can download the album 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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Andy Bell, the frontman of Erasure, is featured on the remix of the U2 classic “Pride (In The Name Of Love)” by Dave Audé. Andy Bell is featured along other guest vocalists such as Crystal Waters, Sarah Potenza, Wyn Starks, Plumb, and Zee Machine.

In the UK, the single is currently sitting at number seven on the Music Week Commercial Pop Chart, and down under in Australia, the track is maintaining the number one position on the Hot 30 Chart for five consecutive weeks. The DJ Tracy Young remix of the track is also doing well in Scandinavia, holding the sixth spot on the iTunes Dance Chart in Denmark and ranking 41st on Denmark’s overall iTunes chart.

The remix was released under Audacious Records on August 23 and is available across all major platforms, including Apple Music and Beatport, with various remixes by DJs made available.

Check for yourself.

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

Belgian studio project Aiboforcen has been a fixture in the music scene for over 30 years. However, its operator, Benoit Blanchart, has taken a more relaxed approach to releasing new albums. Their latest, the 7th studio album, arrives after a six-year hiatus and features an impressive 22 tracks. Longtime collaborator Patrice Synthea (Regenerator) continues to contribute as a vocalist, appearing on several tracks. Blanchart also enlisted a wide array of guest artists, including Jan Dieckmann (Norderney), who shines on multiple tracks, Mari Kattman (Helix), Noemi Aurora (Helalyn Flowers), Emke (Black Nail Cabaret), Sorrow Stories, and even Patrick Codenys (Front 242), Implant & Pouppéé Fabrikk (singing together), and Numb.

The album primarily consists of original compositions, but it also features a few alternative versions, a remix by Patrick Codenys, and a cover of a Death In June-song. The sound remains unmistakably Aiboforcen—a blend of Electro influences that lies somewhere between EBM, Future-Pop, and their unique, freeform style. The music is intricate and sophisticated, offering a compelling mix of tracks that are both listenable and danceable.

Jan Dieckmann’s vocal performance left a lasting impression, his voice evoking shades of Ronan Harris but with a subtler, more sensual delivery. His duet with Noemi Aurora—unquestionably one of the finest vocalists in the scene—creates a truly euphoric moment. While I’m unsure if this is my all-time favorite Aiboforcen album, it certainly showcases some of the project’s best work to date. (Rating: 8½).

Listen to “Heaven Knows”:

About Aiboforcen

Aiboforcen is a Belgian electronic band founded in 1993 in Charleroi by Benoit Blanchart and Séba Dolimont. The project blends elements of electronic body music (EBM), industrial, and synthpop. Blanchart handled music, synths, and sampling, while Dolimont provided vocals, lyrics, and additional sampling. Their earliest work, the demo “Black Slang”, appeared in 1993 in fewer than 100 copies, released via Side-Line’s former tape label.

In 1995, Aiboforcen released their debut album “Elixir Lytique” through Khazad-Dûm, a sublabel of Celtic Circle Productions. Their second album, “Face (of) Death”, followed in 1996. After a period of inactivity, both members co-founded the Belgian label Alfa Matrix in 2001, the same year Aiboforcen returned with “Sons Palliatifs”, concluding the trilogy begun with “Elixir Lytique” and “Face (of) Death”. “Kafarnaüm” followed in 2004, then “Dédale” in 2011 and “Sense & Nonsense” in 2018.

“Between Noise & Silence” is Aiboforcen’s seventh studio album, arriving in 2024 to mark the project’s 25th anniversary. It features collaborations with Patrick Codenys (Front 242), Henrik Bjørkk (Pouppée Fabrikk), and Don Gordon (Numb), alongside vocal appearances from Mari Kattman, Noemi Aurora, Emke, and Sorrow Stories.

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

Data Void emerged from the collaborative efforts of Don Gordon (Numb, Halo_Gen) and James Mendez (Jihad ao). This year, they released their debut album, “Strategies Of Dissent,” on Metropolis Records. The songs feature a Dark-Electro and EBM sound, yet there’s an overwhelming Cinematic vibe running through the work. It is a remarkable opus, and I had the opportunity to connect with Don and James, who revealed many details about their work and album. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: The two of you have been in the music industry for a long time, but what has brought you together, and what has led to the origins of Data Void?”?

JM: The very beginnings of the project initially began back in June of 2020, where I initiated the idea of collaborating on a song to see how things would progress. In response, Don shared some early ideas that which evolved into the track “Seven Seconds”. The idea of collaborating on music together was something that came up after many different discussions we had (both music / non-music related) throughout the approximate year and half we remained in contact since meeting up in Southeast Asia where I met Don for dinner in Ho Chi Minh City where he was living at that time. From there, it wasn’t something we both knew we were going to pursue and continued working on more ideas/material which sort of played out organically throughout the entire process up to what you hear on the finished album.

DG: While there wasn’t an initial plan to release anything we realized quite quickly that there was something quite unique coming together out of the experiments. This led to discussion about possibly releasing some of the material as an EP which over time expanded into an album. The conceptual framework for the album emerged after the first couple of songs were finished. The name of the project was suggested by the alignment between themes we were exploring lyrically and articles that I was reading concerned with information data voids and misinformation/propaganda.

Q: I can imagine that such a new project must be very exciting. Did it feel that way for you throughout the entire writing and production process? How did the songs on the album come together?

DG: The album was developed through the online exchange of audio and MIDI files and lots of discussion. This meant that there wasn’t a lot of real-time interaction during the writing phase. The process would start with one of us sending a sketch of a groove or harmonic progression to the other person who would use this as a creative jumping off point. The first couple of exchanges usually led to quite marked departures and evolutions from the original source idea. This iterative back and forth allowed for unexpected ideas to be introduced and a more reflective approach to development of ideas. After structuring the primary instrumental components of a song, I would write lyrics and record a version of the vocals. These were forwarded to James who would then record an alternate variation. The most interesting elements from these different versions were then used as the basis for a song’s vocals. This resulted in some songs in which the main vocal part would alternate between James and myself in the verses and chorus (i.e. “Crash, Burn & Resurrect”), other songs where both vocal approaches were integrated throughout, and in some there would only be a single vocalist (i.e. “A Failure Of Language”, “This Night Goes On Forever”). While I executed the final mixes, these too would undergo revision based on discussion.

JM: I was really exciting to see how the ideas we started out with would evolve as they developed into full-length songs, and in turn how this would lead to a complete album. It was quite interesting to see how we both approached the song writing process, along with all technical aspects (i.e., sounds, textures, percussion, mixing elements, etc.).

Regarding how the songs came about on the album; one of us would start out by sending the other a short clip (~45s – 1m) that would entail several different sequences  that represented the beginnings of an idea where the other would then add additional parts to compliment where the other left off. Going back and forth in this fashion until we completed the outline of what felt like the song should be. We would complete a rough draft of each song and then repeat the process again, starting out with more ideas until we eventually completed the next song and so on. As we continued working on each song, we would also discuss all of the details via email, chats, and video calls when things became a bit more complex, as this would save a lot of time in conveying our thought process.

We both use different DAWs (Logic Pro and Ableton Live) when writing music but also use several of the same virtual instruments / effects which helped make things a little easier when sharing files back and forth. We would share a combination of audio files, MIDI, VST patches, screenshots, configuration files, etc. so we could essentially mirror all of the individual sequenced tracks and song structures on both of our DAWs respectively as we continued to complete each song.

After we finished each song, Don would write lyrics and share them along with a rough sketch as to how they may be structured. The vocal structure would also undergo the same iterative approach going back and forth until we were content with the final outcome. After finishing three songs, we both reevaluated what we were going to do as far as a release was concerned and decided to continue working on more music until we felt we had enough songs to complete an entire album.

Q: The title of the album, “Strategies Of Dissent”, sounds intriguing and particularly relevant in the context of world politics. What is the album all about, and what inspired the lyrics?

DG: Lyrically and conceptually the album explores the themes of power, control and resistance to it, and the attraction for many to ‘lost causes’. Each song takes a different perspective, a different strategy if you will, to engaging with these themes. Not surprisingly, information spaces, misinformation, conspiracies, and technology figure into this with most of the songs having their basis in contemporary events and social/political currents. That being said, the lyrics were constructed so as not to come across as didactic, but instead to present these ideas at a more personal level.

“Nothing Changes” is intended as a ‘call to arms’ in response to the deception and erosion of individual control being exercised by big tech, corporations/banks and governments. The dilemma is that this is not some unified grand conspiracy but rather the outcome of a number of overlapping and competing self-motivated agendas.
“A Failure Of Language” and to a degree “What’s Left Unsaid” question the current collapse of language, the appeal of conspiracy theories and skepticism, and the increasing failure of our ability to communicate meaningfully and where this leads. A new Babel?

“Echoes Of Ritualised Performance”, while an instrumental track, was inspired by our need to repeat inherently negative social behaviors/tropes of the past and a seeming inability to learn from these… each echo a further degraded/distorted version of an initializing event from the past.

“This Night Goes On Forever” was conceived of as a reflection on the individual consequences for those who found themselves supporting and surviving a major conflict started for the wrong reasons, and the resultant aftermath of physical, psychological traumas and guilt that extend far past the event.

The 2020 Hong Kong protests and the 2021 coup in Myanmar resonated strongly with me after having lived in Southeast Asia for 20 years. So “Alien” was inspired by photos, reportage and interviews about these events and was an attempt to try and put yourself into the head of a person who has found their world suddenly and radically changed and themselves unexpectedly at the center of violence and/or as a symbol of resistance.
“The Goal Of Seven Seconds” was to evoke an anthemic quality while presenting a scathing critique of those who ‘sell dogma and deceit’ in order to incite an ill-conceived end of days for their own personal gain.

The tracks “Crash, Burn And Resurrect” and “Control” were written as a comment on the rise of extremist rhetoric and behavior.

Q: You’ve explained how this collaboration took shape, but can you tell us more about the chemistry between you?

DG: My sense is that the chemistry comes from our overlapping but distinct musical reference points and different approaches to our creative processes. It was the embrace of these differences that provided the creative dynamic that led to many of the interesting ideas as we developed over album.

JM: It was quite interesting for me to reconnect with Don 22 years after first meeting him in 1996 Austin, TX when Numb was on tour with FLA and Die Krupps. It became clear that we share some common perspectives and ideas about different things, which also happens to carry over into music. And because of our similar yet different musical preferences and approaches in our writing styles, this played a significant part into how the album turned out. As part of the musical journey when collaborating on the album, one thing I can appreciate is being challenged in a way that I would constantly be conscious of the writing style and mood I would contribute, to deliberately not write in the same fashion I am typically accustomed to and comfortable with. It certainly helped me take a different approach to writing for this project and in general.

Q: “As experienced musicians, do you still have certain influences or references when making and finishing a song? Also, how would you describe the album “Strategies Of Dissent”?

DG: In many ways you never outgrow your early influences as they are a baseline to which you add, refine and push-back against over the years. While I’m always listening to new artists and across genres, I find those early influences still subtly find their way into my more recent work.

“Strategies Of Dissent” is an album in the ‘old-school’ sense, a series of thematically connected songs that have been ordered in a manner so as to present the listener with a loosely structured narrative rather than just a collection of songs. I feel this provides a more interesting experience for the listener and allows them to get a better sense of where the project is coming from.

JM: Having been exposed to so many different kinds of music styles, genres, and artists over the years (to include the discovery of new bands regularly), there are many references I feel that have made their way (subconsciously) into music I’ve written years ago including some of the more recent work I’ve done. I think it’s inevitable.

With “Strategies Of Dissent” we set out to capture the intensity of early Electro-Industrial and integrate this into more contemporary Electronic music sound. The album as a whole, in my opinion, is homogeneous in that each song works well independently and thematically throughout the entire album.

Q: What does the future hold after this album? Do you have any concrete plans at the moment?

DG: We’ve been thinking about a follow-up release (EP?) with a combination of new material and dub versions of some tracks from “Strategies Of Dissent”. We’re also exploring the possibility for a version of Data Void to do some live European shows.

JM: We have discussed in passing the idea of working on some new material, whether that would be a new single/EP or possibly a new album at some point to also include some alternate versions of existing tracks. We’re also considering live alternate versions of the songs for some shows in Europe later this year and next.

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 iconic Belgian dark electro/future pop act Aiboforcen recently returned with their 7th studio album, “Between Noise & Silence”. Led by Benoit Blanchart and featuring the enigmatic Patrice Synthea (REGENERATOR), this album merges melancholic dark synth/EBM anthems with thrilling collaborations! Notable appearances include EBM/industrial legends like Patrick Codenys of FRONT 242, POUPPEE FABRIKK & IMPLANT (in a duet), and NUMB. The album also features outstanding female vocalists from the pop wave scene, such as Mari Kattman (HELIX), Noemi Aurora (HELALYN FLOWERS), Emke (BLACK NAIL CABARET), and SORROW STORIES… Without forgetting the splendid collaboration with Jan Dieckmann of NORDERNEY who sings on several songs and strongly contributes to crafting the album’s magic through moving lyrics, catchy dark pop melodies, and upbeat EBM sequences that often evoke the melodic and emotional depth of VNV NATION!  Benoit gave us more insights on his new album… 

You can order the new album now on Bandcamp as download and on 2CD via the Alfa Matrix webstore. Note that the 3CD version was sold out immediately.

S. “Between Noise & Silence” is your 7th studio album and features an impressive 22 tracks. Can you share the journey of creating such a substantial body of work, and what inspired the album’s title?

B. I started working slowly on what would become this new album during the covid period.  Like many bands, those very special times allowed me to concentrate and spend much mor time in the studio creating new sequences and sounds.  After a few months, what was started with no clear objective became to take shape and I started gathering several demo tracks thinking I could use them for an EP or album.  It was a very creative period and also (hopefully for me) the opportunity to learn/improve a bit more the mixing and production side of the aïboforcen sound…  I thus also started thinking about the right vocalist for each track.  The title track “between noise & silence” is actually a sentence coming from a demo track that Tina from SORROW STORIES was working on for me…  it became the title for the track but also for the album.  It’s a bit of a special track (a bit more complex) that I really wanted to be on the album but couldn’t find the right vocalist for it…   Then Tina did a test and she nailed it down!! 😊  It also has a double meaning because since I’m not considering myself as a musician what I create in a studio probably lies in the grey area between noise and silence! 😉

S. On this album it seems that Patrice Synthea and Jan D. play a key role as vocalists? Tell us more about these collaborations?

B. Well, Patrice (REGENERATOR) has been the main vocalist with aïboforcen for quite a long time now and she helped creating some kind of a trademark for us.  But I’m always interested in working for certain tracks with other vocalists, either male or female.  Of course it can break a bit the cohesion of the album but for me it’s more like trying to avoid the monotony of the album. I see/hear the different voices as new instruments I can play with, and it can totally change the result of the tracks.  I also appreciate the fact that I can offer a broader pallet of sounds and emotions. I was introduced to Jan while working on a remix for our label mates of ELEKTROSTAUB.  I knew a bit of his project NORDERNEY that I also appreciated a lot and I thought he would be the right vocalist for a track I was working on at the time.  I sent him a demo and after a few days he came up with something really brilliant for me. I was so pleased with the result that I asked him to do a second track and the result turned out to be even better…  He has such an emotional voice that it really adds another dimension to the song and brings them to a next level.  After a while we started swapping ideas but also sequences and sounds and he eventually became more and more involved in the whole process.  He helped me a lot giving advises and also programmed several synth lines, what was totally new and unusual for me… it was surprising, challenging and it contributed in creating a more mature and developed sound.  In the end he helped for a great bunch of the album in various forms…  Therefore the album is also much more balanced between male and female vocals.  He also made a duet with Patrice on the track “everything” and I’m pretty sure that it’s something we should try again in the future…

S. The album indeed boasts collaborations with a variety of other artists too, from EBM/industrial legends to outstanding female vocalists. How did these collaborations come about, and what unique contributions did each guest artist bring to the album specifically?  

B. As I said, when a demo is finished I try to think about what would be the right vocalist and what it would add to the sound of it.  Of course there are some people/singer I would dream of having on the album but sometimes I have to stick to reality.  My choice is influenced by the music I listen to, people I met through remixing, bands I know and so on… I’ve been blessed in the past working with great artists such as Jean-Luc from FRONT 242 and this album also gathers some legend from the scene such as Henrikk from POUPPEE FABRIKK or yet Don Gordon from NUMB who both helped me deliver the most aggressive cuts from the album.  Tina from SORROW STORIES was also really involved in the process, contributing to several tracks that we can find both on the EP and the album but also on the special 8cm cd available with the limited edition.  I had met her through a remix I had done for PSY’AVIAH actually and I had been mesmerized by her rather delicate and otherworldly vocals. She is also a very passionate and nice person, and meeting and exchanging  with people is another aspect of collaborating on tracks.  Then there is also Noemi Aurora who helped us with her very characteristic and powerful voice and it helped adding the extra touch to “cycle of life” and “heaven knows” you can find on the album.  It was a pleasure working with her and she’s a professional and also involved and more than passionate with music…  Also doing a track with Emese from BLACK NAIL CABARET was really an honor for me.  She has one of the most distinctive voice from the scene at the moment and the result is a very captivating cut with upbeat sequences.  I really hope listeners will like this track as much as I do…

Mari Kattman also lends her voice on the opening track as well as on a remix of “In My Arms” (a track from the previous album) and she also has a very distinctive and beautiful voice. Last but not least I also worked with Len from Implant since he is a long time friend of us and I was glad to have him back in one form or another.  With the lyrics of the track he did evoke, it’s like a celebration of a long-time relationship between us (including also Seba, Bernard, Stephan) and how it was when we started this all as students (the magazine, the label, the bands, the gigs).

S. Your sound is often compared to iconic acts like VNV NATION, FRONT 242 or yet COVENANT. How do you approach honoring these influences while still maintaining your own distinct identity as AIBOFORCEN? “Between Noise & Silence” seamlessly weaves between oppressive industrial assaults and catchy synth-pop tunes. Can you discuss the creative process behind balancing these contrasting elements to create a cohesive listening experience?

B. Well, it’s sure that I’ve been listening to those bands a lot (one of my first vinyl was 242’s politics of pressure, along with Kraftwerk radioactivity’s 7”) but I am also influenced by other acts from inside and outside the scene.  I listen to a lot of music from the EBM but also to darkwave, gothic, experimental, industrial or yet metal…  All this is ingested and some parts/influences appear here and there in my music.  Also I hope that with time I manage to create a bit of my own distinctive sound and style. 

As far as VNV NATION is concerned, I have to admit that Ronan has a deep sense for great melodies and a very emotional voice and is an example of what soulful music is. So if we sound a bit like this it’s a good point for us! 😊  Remember he remixed one of our track at our respective very beginning!  But I always try to balance catchier tracks/tunes with a rougher sound and more complex structures or experimentations.  For me it’s kind of logical and it can create a cohesion because some sounds, fx, way of treating things are the same and reflects the different side of one same “machine”.  Also  I tend to focus on recording an album with highs and lows rather than a succession of single tracks…  so this new album (especially the first disc) needs to be explored and listened as a whole, with the tracks kind of merging one into another.  I spent hours / days / months working on sometimes very little details of mixing, samples, eq’s to find the best result I could.  I like it when it takes several listening to really get all the details included in the tracks and hopefully surprise the listeners…

S. One of the tracks on the album is a cover of DEATH IN JUNE’s “Break The Black Ice.” What drew you to reinterpret this particular song, and how did you make it your own while staying true to the original?

B. We’ve always tried to include at least one cover song on any of our releases, either for fun or to show where our roots are…  I was introduced to DEATH IN JUNE’s music more than thirty years ago and the album “The World That Summer” from 1986 has always been a favorite of mine.  “Break the black ice” was an obvious choice because it is a rather simple, dark but catchy song, kind of desperate also and I really liked the version sung by Rose McDowall which is a fragile and delicate dark cut.  I thought that Patrice could do it as well and recorded a demo.  The first version was really slower and darker than the one on the album. We will feature it on a compilation from our label later this year actually.  The final version has a stronger beat and an aggressive lead sound while the original one is softer.  Both Patrice and I liked the version very much and what was a the beginning more like a “b-side” became one of the main important track from the album…  I hope fans of DEATH IN JUNE and AIBOFORCEN will be pleased by this tribute…  the structure is rather close to the original version from DEATH IN JUNE but of course it’s 100% electronics and there are some distortions here and there… 😊

S. The album is described as a high-tension dark elektro masterpiece. How did you approach crafting the sound production to achieve this level of intensity and maturity?

B. I always spend a long time editing, changing, mixing, adding details and I hope it can be reflected in the overall sound of the album.  I never intend to choose the easiest way while producing the music and I hope I raised the level a bit more on this new release.  I spent much more time on the vocals (cutting, eq’s , volumes, …) than on any other previous releases; there are lot of movie samples (hidden or not), lots of different synths and fx…  I can sometimes leave a track for one month and then come back with new ideas and Jan also helped me developing as much as possible this new sound which is probably more focused than before.  It still goes into any directions but with a common thread and overall atmosphere throughout the numerous tracks.  It was exhausting (especially at the end) but it was worth (at least personally) and I really hope our fans will like it… 

S. How important is the visual aspect of your music, and what role does it play in enhancing the overall experience for listeners?

B. It is important, not as much as the music, but it sets the tone for the whole album.  We always tried to have eye-catching sleeve or at least mysterious ones that will give the envy to enter into the universe of aïboforcen…  When I was a kid, I used to go to a place where you could rent vinyls and I would sometimes rent releases just because the sleeve would attract me in a way or another.  On this release we obviously used AI to create the graphics but it was intended and assumed. It was our easiest way to express and get the closest to the images we had in mind while creating the music.  And since our music relies on techniques, processors, synthetic soundscapes, it makes sense…

S. Lastly, the first 50 orders from the official Alfa Matrix e-shop received a signed version with an exclusive bonus mini-CD. Can you tell us more about the significance of this bonus content and what fans can expect from these exclusive tracks?

B. When the album was completed and sent to the mastering, I noticed that there were a few tracks left without vocals that couldn’t make it on the album but were a good insight of what it’s like being in the studio and working on new tracks.  It is more like demo’s but also I had the feeling that they could stand on their own and give another view on our music.  The first of those 4 tracks is called “eliza effect” and is a brand new one that maybe will give some infos of how the future sound of aïboforcen will be (or not).  The track “pulsions” (with vocals by Tina from SORROW STORIES) arrived too late in the process of the album but was good enough as well. In the end it gives the opportunity to the die-hard fans to have some extra tracks (unreleased) and have a bit more “intimacy” with the band…

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

(Interview by Janos Janurik) Ever since I got into online music journalism, I’ve always been interested in the background characters around my favourite musicians’ releases that add something important to the product we, the fans end up with.

With this in mind, over the years I have interviewed personalities such as Anton Corbijn (photographer of Depeche Mode and many other music greats), Gareth Jones and Mark Saunders (producers and mixmasters of Depeche Mode and Erasure amongst others).

About eight years ago I had the honour of helping to promote Vince Clarke’s then newly founded mini-record label (VeryRecords) and his releases. In addition to the artists whose albums have been released there in recent years, I also got in contact with Mat Smith, who, like me, is a freelancer – readers of Electronic Sound and Clash know him well – and works as a publicist for VeryRecords as well as being commissioned by Erasure and Mute for a number of press pieces. He also wrote the sleevenotes in the booklet of the new “Cowboy” Deluxe-Edition.

In addition to his journalistic work, he also has his own project “Mortality Tables”, which has just released a new mini-album on cassette and as a digital download. Last November, at the premiere of Vince Clarke’s solo album in London, I had the pleasure of meeting Mat in person and we had a lively chat about our shared passion for music. Knowing how important this project is to him, I approached him and asked him a few questions about it. 

But then life, or rather death, intervened. I didn’t mean this as a cheap shot, but it was indeed a sad event that forced me to make changes to the interview I had with my friend and colleague almost three weeks ago. Now that the aforementioned label is going on holiday, and before I do the same, I would like to bring this exciting musical venture (“The Engineer”) to your attention – and this interview with the man behind it.

SL: Tell us briefly about how you became interested in music. Have you had any musical training, have you learnt to play any instruments? Do you remember the first record you bought?

I grew up in a house where music seemed to always be playing, either on the radio or on my parent’s stereo. My mother listened to a lot of ABBA. Nothing about that was exceptional, particularly. When I used to go to friends’ houses, they always seemed to have the TV switched on, which felt strange to me. My family chose music, and I’ve surrounded myself with it ever since. 

I tried to play the recorder, which was the instrument that most of us learned as kids. My parents gave me a blue one for Christmas one year. I couldn’t play a single note. I briefly learned the basics of notation at school but very quickly forgot all of it. In early high school music classes I was more interested in recording real-life sounds into the Casio keyboard and using those to make compositions. Not long after that, I started making sample-based electronic music on my Amiga 500.

The first album I owned was Nik Kershaw’s ‘Human Racing’. I was given for my birthday the year it was released, along with a Sanyo portable cassette player. I played that album constantly. I wore out the cassette player after two weeks but I still have the ‘Human Racing’ tape and it still sounds incredible to me. 

SL: When did you discover electronic music? And who was the first electronic artist who introduced you to the world of electronic music?

My father is responsible for switching me on to electronic music. There were three pivotal events, and they all relate to times I was with my father.

The first was one evening when my mother was at her restaurant job, and my father was looking after me. I was playing with Lego in the lounge and Gary Numan was performing ‘Cars’ on TV. That performance completely captivated me.

The next was driving around in my father’s car while he did his second job as a debt collector. A friend at work had recorded two tracks from OMD’s ‘Architecture & Morality’ album onto a cassette for him. The songs were ‘Joan Of Arc’ and ‘Maid Of Orleans’, and we’d listen to them over and over.

The third was Soft Cell’s ‘Non-Stop Erotic Videotape’, which he brought home from work one day. That was pretty mind-blowing for a five-year old, and I can only imagine he didn’t realise what it was. It was definitely not suitable for a kid of my age, but, looking back, I don’t remember the imagery – I only recall the music. 

So I owe my father a huge debt for how he shaped my music tastes at a very early age. He was also the one who brought home a cassette copy of ‘The Innocents’ by Erasure and gave it to me. He had no idea quite what he started that day. 

SL: When did you start writing journalistic texts for Mute Records and its artists? What was your first article for Mute and about which artist, which release?

I began a blog called Documentary Evidence in 2003, which was focused on my personal Mute Records collection. I’d just write about the releases from a mostly non-musical perspective, explaining how they made me feel. I still write reviews like that today for Electronic Sound. I also got really interested in telling the stories of specific releases or artists, and that led me to interview people who released music through Mute, or were somehow connected to the label. I have a natural curiosity and inquisitiveness, and that seems to mean people like talking to me and opening up. 

From there I started writing for Clash, and then Electronic Sound and some other places. In 2017 I got asked to chair a panel discussion with Anton Corbijn, Daniel Miller, Paul A. Taylor and Steve Claydon (Add N To (X)) at Rough Trade East in London, about the visual identity of Mute. The first written Mute commission I got was to write a press biography for Chris Carter’s ‘Chemistry Lessons Vol. 1’. I couldn’t believe they asked me to do that, and I couldn’t believe I was being paid to write for the label I loved so much. The team at Mute liked what I did and I’ve been given a few more things to do since then, as well as with the team at BMG who look after the Erasure reissue programme, and Erasure themselves. 

SL: Did Vince Clarke’s VeryRecords label and the associated promotion give you any impetus for your own project, which you called “Mortality Tables”?

Indirectly, yes, but perhaps not in the way you might expect.

My task with VeryRecords was to assemble the press releases. It was the first time I’d worked behind the scenes of a release, where I’d often get involved before the album was even mastered, or before the artwork had even been considered. So I’d be talking to the artists – Reed & Caroline, Alka and Brook – at a very early stage, generally when Vince felt that the album was finished enough for me to listen and for me to start engaging the artists.

It took a while for me to realise this, but the process of working with the artists to write a press release became a collaboration – between all of us, and between my words and their music. I wasn’t just a writer but part of the collective effort to put this music out into the world. I did the same with Nick Hook’s Calm + Collect label, working on releases by Gareth Jones, Spiritual Friendship and others.

In 2019, when I began forming Mortality Tables, I envisaged it as a creative community of collaborators. You can definitely draw a line between that and the ideas that began to form as I worked with VeryRecords and its artists. I also took a lot of inspiration from Vince, who didn’t feel that he needed to only focus on the music that people would expect him to release. That sense of freedom, which Daniel Miller also brought to Mute, directly fed into what Mortality Tables has become. I wanted something where I could work with people making sound art as well as people making images. It had to have artistic breadth. 

I wanted Mortality Tables to be like a gallery, with a portfolio of artists in vastly different disciplines. That’s why Neil Coe deigned the first sleeve image to look like the description of an artwork on the wall of a gallery.

SL: The name of the project refers to the work of actuaries who measure the statistical probability of life insurance payouts. You do something like this in your everyday working life, don’t you?

That’s right. I work with insurance companies all around the world, and have done for over twenty years. I find lots of parallels between the worlds of insurance and electronic music, and the kinds of people I engage with in both of my jobs.

The story goes that I was meeting a friend in a café in Bloomsbury in London one morning. He runs a record label, which is another big inspiration for Mortality Tables. He wishes to remain anonymous, but he is actively involved, in the sense that he must approve anything we decide to do. I call him the Creative Consultant.

So I was meeting him and he had an LP of one of his releases to give me. He asked me if I had a bag to put it in, and I reached into rucksack and retrieved a tote bag. It was from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and had been given to me by an actuary a few years before. The Creative Consultant saw the bag with its logo and Latin inscription (‘e peritia ratio’ – ‘reason from experience’) and asked what it meant. I replied, “It’s all mortality tables and shit like that.” The name stuck.

We created our first Mortality Tables Product that morning. It’s called FORKTALK and is a conversation between two friends. We do not publish the details of our conversations. Its entry in the Mortality Tables Catalogue is MTP0.

SL: Dave Clarkson, who is mostly active in electronic and experimental music and Wonderful Beasts, a sound art/electronic music duo consisting of the anonymous Xqui and Carl Knott (boycalledcrow, Spacelab) were your first artists, right? How did you get in touch with them?

The release that moved Mortality Tables from something conceptual to something ‘real’ was ‘Two Meditations For Freya’ by Goodparley (whose name has now changed to Please Close Your Eyes). That was in 2022. It signalled what I wanted Mortality Tables to be: I would come up with ideas and hand them to someone to ‘respond’ to.

That concept has stayed consistent through the first two years of Mortality Tables. I’ll come up with an idea and pick someone to get involved. At the last count, there are at least fifty people who are collaborators. And it isn’t just sound projects – Mortality Tables encompasses sound, art, and words. And insurance. 

However, all rules in creativity are there to be broken, and I broke my own rules in 2023 with the release of Dave Clarkson’s ‘Ghosts Of Christmas Past (Music From Vintage Toys)’. I had nothing to do with the concept of that album, so I guess that’s a bit like Mortality Tables acting like a traditional record label, which is a description I never want to use. The same is true of Andrew Brenza and Alka’s ‘pod’ and boycalledcrow’s ‘Kullu’. However, all these releases only existed because of an earlier collaboration, and that’s how I got myself comfortable with releasing these projects. You’ll see a few more of those types of projects from Mortality Tables over the next few years. 

In answer to your question about how I find artist, it’s actually really straightforward. Anyone involved with Mortality Tables is someone whose music I’ve written about. As for how I choose an artist for a particular project, that’s mostly a case of matching a collaborator to an idea that feels aligned to what they would usually do. However, some of the most enjoyable projects are where the artist is working a long way outside of what they might normally do.

SL: After artists like Andrew Spackman, Rupert Lally, Simon Fisher Turner and Veryan, two years ago you released a strange and experimental piece called “On Mortality, Immortality & Charles Ives”. The piece is a spoken word piece in which you read out the Mortality Tables’ manifesto: “In life, our one true certainty is death.” This narration, recorded by Gareth Jones, was then sent to Vince Clarke who recorded a musical response to the text, which forms the soundtrack to the release. How did you come up with this, somewhat absurd, idea?

I had bought a copy of a book by Alex Danchev called ‘100 Artists’ Manifestos – From The Futurists To The Stuckists’ at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 2021. I read each of the manifestos from groups like the Surrealists, Dadaists and Situationists as if they were short stories, and it became a really profound experience. On the back of ‘Two Meditations For Freya’, people had started to ask me what Mortality Tables was all about, so it seemed completely natural (and not absurd at all) to write a manifesto.

Mostly it was designed to help me understand why I was doing this, and then I decided to explain it to everyone else. That’s when I asked Gareth to record my narration. At the same time I approached Vince and an anonymous sound artist called venoztks to create sound pieces to accompany it.

The listener can judge whether it successfully explains what this is all about, or not. It does explain why the composer and actuary Charles Ives is so critical to the evolution of Mortality Tables. In fact, the second Mortality Tables Product to be made available was a postcard containing an illustration of Ives in front of a mortality table from 1874, the year of Ives’s birth. That piece was a collaboration with Savage Pencil who had illustrated a lot of the Blast First sleeves.

SL: Released on June 16th, the 40-copy limited edition cassette “The Engineer” is a charity project for Alzheimer’s disease featuring Vince Clarke, Penelope Trappes, Chris Illingworth, Barney Ashton-Bullock, Lara Jones, Simon Fisher Turner, Hattie Cooke, Gareth Jones, Veryan and others. The title character is your father, isn’t he? Is that why you chose Father’s Day as the release date? Tell us a bit about this project!

The title character, the engineer, is based on my father. This project dates back ten years, probably longer, a long time before Mortality Tables was an idea.

I wrote a short story that tried to deal with my feelings about my father as he approached retirement. He lived for work, had no hobbies or friends, and I envisaged him struggling to cope with the concept of stopping work. I was angry when I wrote it, but I was also scared for him. It’s fiction, but it’s rooted in his reality. His actual retirement was very different to what happens in the story. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2018, and that’s why we’ll donate all profits from ‘The Engineer’ to the Alzheimer’s Society. Sadly he passed away shortly after ‘The Engineer’ was released. 

When I published the story on my blog, an electronic musician called Laica (Dave Fleet) offered to create some music inspired by the story. He composed a beautiful piece but the project never got completed. A few years later, I came up with a different idea, which involved someone narrating the story with a piece of music behind it. That version also never got off the ground at all, but I liked the idea of asking someone to narrate the story. That’s when I asked Barney Ashton-Bullock if he would do it. He has a brilliant speaking voice, and it was perfect for this story.

It was Gareth Jones who suggested the idea of having different artists respond to different sections of narration. He said it was a bit like the Surrealist game ‘Exquisite Corpse’. I think of Gareth as my spiritual guru. He has a way of unlocking ideas, and freeing you from obstacles that are only there because you’ve put them there. ‘The Engineer’ wouldn’t exist in this form if it wasn’t for Gareth. 

From there, it was a case of picking the collaborators and asking them to respond to a specific 30-second section of narration. No one heard the full story, and no one asked to hear the whole thing. The order the artists agreed to say yes determined which section they got. The only rule I gave them was that their sound response needed to last exactly thirty seconds. 

There are two editions of ‘The Engineer’. One is a digital file that combines the narration and sound responses. The other is a cassette that splits the narration and responses apart. That means the only place you can hear Vince Clarke’s sound response without Barney’s narration is on the cassette, which has now sold out. 

SL: Barney Ashton-Bullock (the creator of Andy Bell’s “Torsten” projects), Vince Clarke, as well as Reed Hays, Alka and Gareth Jones will be familiar to most of our readers, but who are the other contributors? 

Again, everyone involved is someone I’ve written about. When I came up with my collaborator list for this, it was important to me to achieve some sort of diversity. So a lot of the artists here are electronic, but you have artists covering everything from pop to sound art. That was deliberate.

I also wanted diversity of textures. That’s why I included Charlotte Keeffe, Chris Illingworth from GoGo Penguin and Luce Mawdsley. When you put all 29 sound responses together as a single piece, it sounds like a right fucking mess. As the responses were coming in over a 30-month period, I realised that the sprawling, messy quality was a lot like my father’s Alzheimer’s – ideas form, are quickly forgotten before they develop, and are then replaced by something else. That wasn’t planned, at all, but now I can see it was a subconscious idea that must have been there from the moment that Gareth suggested involving lots of artists. 

SL: What plans and ideas are currently circulating in your head? Will it be something journalistic or another Mortality Tables release?

I’m always writing, and I’ve got a few big things underway right now, including something for a label I’ve done a few pieces for before.

In terms of Mortality Tables, now that ‘The Engineer’ has been released, all activities will he paused until later in the summer. We’ve released a huge number of Products in just over two years and I need a break. We’ll return later in the summer with Season 03 of LIFEFILES, which is an ongoing project where artists respond to my really basic field recordings.

We’ll also release a single from Please Close Your Eyes, an album from Andrew Spackman and the full version of Andrew Brenza and Alka’s ‘pod’ collaboration. I’ve been working on one of several projects inspired by Charles Ives, ‘Central Park: A Picture-In-Sounds’, which will be issued as a ‘score’ in October, along with some additional performances of the piece. We’ll begin work on another large-scale collaboration called ‘The Impermanence Project’.

Other things will happen. Other things will not.

More information on Mortality Tables releases.

Use code janos for a 10% discount off anything in the Mortality Tables Catalogue. 

I would like to end this article with a personal message from Mat Smith, who asks the readers and the music listeners to support, if they can, the Alzheimer’s Society, which has received the proceeds of the tape release mentioned in the interview. If you feel able to, please donate to alzheimers.org.uk directly.

János Janurik

I began my career in online music journalism in 2001, writing about artists I had followed since the late ’80s and early ’90s, including Depeche Mode, Erasure and The Cure. I later edited the Hungarian Mute microsite for EMI Music Hungary. This led to interviews with Erasure, Nitzer Ebb and Alan Wilder, and some of those collaborations developed into lasting friendships. Since 2014, I have been part of the editorial team of depechemode.de. I also contribute interviews to Reflections of Darkness, Peek-A-Boo Magazine and Kaput Mag. I maintain a close connection to Mute Records artists and have also supported releases on Very Records. I am proud to collaborate with Side-Line Magazine, where I regularly publish interviews and features.

Neue Deutsche Härte act Stahlmann releases its last single “Asche zu Asche” before dropping the new album “Phosphor”, out on August 09th. The band uses German lyrics and bring a mix of alternative metal, industrial, new wave, and techno.

“Phosphor” is available on jewelcase CD and comes with a brand new Phosphor t-shirt design. The exclusive, strictly limited fan box contains the CD, a Stahlmann patch and sticker, a key chain, a handwritten, numbered certificate, and a high-quality lighter with a Stahlmann design.

Stahlmann, translating to “Steel Man,” is a German band formed in 2008 in Göttingen. Founders Martin Soer and Alexander Scharfe met in the same year and began writing songs, later joined by Tobi Berkefeld. Their debut EP, “Herzschlag”, was released in 2009.

Over the years, Stahlmann has seen several line-up changes. Original member Alexander Scharfe left the band for personal reasons but occasionally performs live. Other past members include Oliver “O-Lee” Schmidt, Dirk “Fire-Abend” Feierabend, and Ablaz. Current members include Martin “Mart” Soer on vocals and programming, Mario “Stahlmann” Sobotka on guitar, Dimitrios “Tacki” Gatsios on drums, and Eugen on bass​.

Stahlmann tour

• 29.11.24 Nürnberg/Cult
• 30.11.24 Affalter/zur Linde
• 05.12.24 Lübeck/Riders
• 06.12.24 Wuppertal/LCB
• 07.12.24 Hude/HS-Club
• 13.12.24 Dresden/Puschkin
• 14.12.24 Göttingen/Exil
• 19.12.24 Herford /Kulturwerk
• 20.12.24 Kaiserslautern/Kammgarn

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

(Photo via London Records) London Records will mark the 40th anniversary of the iconic Bronski Beat debut album, “The Age of Consent”, with a series of deluxe reissues available on October 18, 2024. Fans can pre-order these reissues at bronskibeat.tmstor.es.

In conjunction with the reissue, London Records has released a new remix of “Smalltown Boy”’” by Planningtorock. This artist, known for queering sound and visual art, has previously collaborated with Lady Gaga, Robyn, and Christine and The Queens. The remix can be listened to below.

Jimmy Somerville, reflecting on the album, said, “When there is something we do in our life that can have such an impact on other peoples’ lives, and to be told this by others, it’s humbling. ‘The Age of Consent’ is, and always will be, such a special part of my life.”

Planningtorock shared their thoughts on the remix as well: “I first saw ‘Smalltown Boy’ on telly back in 1984 when I was twelve. I remember it having a big impact on me even then. Just loved how it told the story so directly like a mini documentary but as a music clip sharing a gay experience that was sad to watch but at the same time so empowering. Those early years as a queer trans kid were so lonely for me and Bronski Beat made me feel less alone showing me how music can help you translate a painful experience into something liberating.”

Released in 1984, “The Age of Consent” was a pioneering album addressing LGBTQ+ rights and struggles. The album remains relevant today, reflecting ongoing issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community. Its original release included a listing of ages of consent worldwide, symbolizing both the progress made and the challenges still ahead.

The 40th-anniversary reissue will be available in various formats, including a 5-Disc Deluxe Edition (4CD+DVD), a 2CD set with new reworks, a 2LP set, a yellow 1LP edition, and a Super Deluxe Edition exclusive Blu-Ray. The deluxe edition features essays, remixes, rarities, and restored promo videos.

Tracklisting for the 4CD+DVD Deluxe Edition

Disc One: The Age of Consent – The Album Plus

1. Why?
2. It Ain’t Necessarily So
3. Screaming
4. No More War
5. Love and Money
6. Smalltown Boy
7. Heatwave
8. Junk
9. Need a Man Blues
10. I Feel Love / Johnny Remember Me
11. Smalltown Boy (DJ 7” Edit) – Bonus track
12. Why? (Remix) – Bonus track
13. It Ain’t Necessarily So (7” Version) – Bonus track
14. I Feel Love (7” Version) with Marc Almond – Bonus track
15. Run from Love (Radio Version) – Bonus track
16. Hard Rain (NME 7” Version) – Bonus track

Disc Two: Hundreds & Thousands – The Remix Plus

1. Heatwave (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
2. Why (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
3. Run from Love (Dominic Maita Remix)
4. Hard Rain (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
5. Smalltown Boy (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
6. Junk (Harvey Goldberg Remix)
7. Love and Money (Hundreds & Thousands Remix) – Bonus track
8. Infatuation / Memories – Bonus track
9. Close to the Edge – Bonus track
10. I Feel Love (Cake Mix) with Marc Almond – Bonus track
11. Cadillac Car (Extended) – Bonus track

Disc Three: Consent Extended – The 12 Inches Plus

1. Smalltown Boy (12” Version)
2. Why? (12” Version)
3. It Ain’t Necessarily So (12” Version)
4. I Feel Love (12” Version) with Marc Almond
5. Run from Love (US Club Remix ‘85) – Bonus track
6. Smalltown Boy (US Club Remix ‘84) – Bonus track
7. Red Dance
8. The Potato Fields
9. Puit D’Amour
10. Signs (And Wonders)
11. I Feel Love (Fruit Mix)

Disc Four: Ignore at Your Peril – The Rarities Plus

1. Smalltown Boy (Capital Radio Session, May ‘84) – Bonus track
2. Heatwave (Capital Radio Session, May ‘84) – Bonus track
3. Hard Rain (Capital Radio Session, May ‘84) – Bonus track
4. Why? (Early Version, March ‘84) – Bonus track
5. Crazy Maraquitta (Studio Session) – Bonus track
6. It Ain’t Necessarily So (Early Version) – Bonus track
7. Upside Down (Studio Session) – Bonus track
8. Screaming (Early Version, March ‘84) – Bonus track
9. The Power of the Gold (Studio Session) – Bonus track
10. Love and Money (Early Version) – Bonus track
11. First Church (Feel Love) (Studio Session) – Bonus track
12. Junk (Early Version 2) – Bonus track
13. Walking (Studio Session) – Bonus track
14. No More War (Early Version) – Bonus track
15. Go (You & Me) (Studio Session) – Bonus track
16. Close to the Edge (Early Alternate Extended Mix) – Bonus track
17. Heatwave (Early Version) – Bonus track
18. The Other Side of the Tracks (Studio Session) – Bonus track
19. Smalltown Boy (Early Version, March ‘84) – Bonus track

Disc Five: The First Chapter – The Videos Plus [DVD]

1. Official Music Videos
   • Smalltown Boy (Restored Promo)
   • Why? (Restored Promo)
   • It Ain’t Necessarily So (Restored Promo)
   • I Feel Love (Restored Promo) with Marc Almond
2. Top of the Pops Performances
   • Smalltown Boy (BBC ‘Top of the Pops’, June ‘84)
   • Why? (BBC ‘Top of the Pops’, September ‘84)
   • It Ain’t Necessarily So (BBC ‘Top of the Pops’, December ‘84)
   • I Feel Love (BBC ‘Top of the Pops’, April ‘85) with Marc Almond
3. Original TV Adverts
   • The Age of Consent – TV Advert #1 (December ‘84) – Bonus track
   • The Age of Consent – TV Advert #2 (January ‘85) – Bonus track

About Bronski Beat

Formed in 1983 in London, Bronski Beat was an influential British synthpop trio known for their groundbreaking music and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights. The original lineup included Steve Bronski (keyboards, percussion), Larry Steinbachek (keyboards, percussion), and Jimmy Somerville (vocals).

Their debut single, “Smalltown Boy”, released in 1984, became an instant hit. The song’s poignant narrative about a young gay man facing homophobia and isolation resonated deeply with listeners. It climbed the charts, reaching number three in the UK. Later in 1984, Bronski Beat released their debut album, “The Age of Consent”. The inner sleeve listed the ages of consent for homosexual acts worldwide. The album produced other hits like “Why?” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So”.

In 1985, lead vocalist Jimmy Somerville left Bronski Beat to form The Communards with Richard Coles. Despite his departure, Bronski Beat continued, recruiting John Foster (also known as Jon Jon) as their new lead singer. The band released the album “Truthdare Doubledare” in 1986, which included the hit single “Hit That Perfect Beat”.

Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Bronski Beat underwent several lineup changes, with the late Steve Bronski remaining the constant member. They continued to release music, though with less commercial success than their early years. In the 2010s, Steve Bronski reformed the band with new members and continued to perform and release new music.

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

Fresh news from In The Nursery as they have delivered a score for Basil Copper’s 1950s film adaptation of “The Fall of the House of Usher” (from the story by Edgar Allan Poe).

Basil Copper was a prolific writer, best known for his horror and detective fiction. His film adaptation of “The Fall of the House of Usher” was created in the 1950s and was a passion project. But it remained a personal project, unseen by the public until its discovery in a film can in Basil’s study following his death in 2013.

This version has now been professionally transferred to digital format and features a music score by In the Nursery (ITN), as originally intended by Copper. The edited version on this DVD runs for around twenty-six minutes.

ITN adapted their score for Copper’s alternative film version of the classic story noting the similarities in pace and style between Copper’s film and Jean Epstein’s 1928 adaptation, attributing this to the influence of Edgar Allan Poe’s storytelling.

The DVD, featuring ITN’s adapted score, will be included in a slipcased hardcover collection limited to 100 numbered and signed copies. ITN will also have a limited number of DVDs for sale upon release in August.

As for the hardcover book itself, after Basil Copper’s death in 2013, additional papers and manuscripts were discovered. This newly found material has been incorporated into the revised edition. The book now includes the most comprehensive working bibliography of Copper’s work, rare articles on subjects ranging from Arkham House creator August Derleth to a brief history of Count Dracula, numerous short story fragments and ideas, and a complete television script based on M.R. James’ classic horror story “Count Magnus”.

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 on August 9th via Out of Line is the all new album from Swedish electro/synth-pop act Ashbury Heights, “Ghost House Sessions – Vol. 1”. “Ghost House Sessions – Vol. 1” is the band’s first new album since 2018’s “The Victorian Wallflowers”.

The new longplayer contains 25 tracks of which 15 will be also available on a limited edition ‘glow in the dark’ double vinyl and 25 on a double CD including 10 bonus tracks which are previously released digital only singles.

The album also contains a number of collaborations with singers and projects such as Massive Ego, Ulrike Goldmann (Blutengel), Corlyx, Madil Hardis, Alia Synesthesia and others.

“The past years have been incredibly inspiring. There have been incredible highs and devastating lows. That roller coaster is now being shaped into music”, says the band’s founder Anders Hagström.

Check out the video for “Ghosts Electric” below, followed by “Wild Eyes“.

About Ashbury Heights

Ashbury Heights is a Swedish electronic music duo from Sundsvall, Medelpad, and formed in 2005. The original lineup consisted of Anders Hagström (vocals, songwriting, music, and programming) and Yasmine Uhlin (vocals). Uhlin left after their EP “Morning Star in a Black Car” and was replaced by Kari Berg, who featured on their album “Take Cair Paramour” in 2010. The band faced a temporary disbandment due to disputes with their label, Out of Line, but reformed in 2011 with Hagström and a new vocalist, Tea F. Thimé.

Ashbury Heights’ sound is characterized by a mix of synthpop, futurepop, and electropop. Their discography includes several studio albums, such as “Three Cheers for the Newlydeads” (2007), “The Looking Glass Society” (2015), and “The Victorian Wallflowers” (2018).

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 27 September 2024 via Downwards Records is the all new album by the post-punk outfit The Wolfgang Press titled “A 2nd Shape” (check this preview). It’s the band’s first studio album in nearly 30 years.

The new album features core members Michael Allen and Andrew Gray, joined by Stephen Gray, Andrew’s brother.

Talking about the new album, The Wolfgang Press explain, “This album arrived naturally and organically. The tracks came about from a measured process, and we feel A 2nd Shape is timely and essential. We also feel Downwards Records has fitted in perfectly with this process, their enthusiasm for this project has been tangible and encouraging.”

Talking about the recording process, they go on to say “For this project we wanted the record to be made without the use of computers. It was important for us that the tracks were recorded on tape and played live as a band, with very little tampering/overdubbing. We purposely limited ourselves in the number of tracks we could record by using an old ADAT 8-track machine and the result of how well this worked surprised us all.”

About The Wolfgang Press

Musically active since the late ‘70s, Allen and Gray were originally in bands that formed the cornerstones of the early 4AD universe, with Gray in In Camera and Allen in Rema-Rema and Mass.

The Wolfgang Press – Michael Allen (vocals, bass), Mark Cox (keyboards), and Andrew Gray (guitar) – debuted with the LP “The Burden Of Mules” in 1983, followed by 1986’s “Standing Up Straight”, which featured Elizabeth Fraser on “I Am The Crime”. 1988’s “Bird Wood Cage” included “Kansas”. 1991’s “Queer” included influence of sample-based hip-hop.

The band’s final album as a trio, 1995’s “Funky Little Demons”, was their last studio album. In 2020, “Unremembered Remembered”, a collection of unreleased recordings by Allen and Gray was released.

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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(Photo by Eiril Osen Waerdahl) To be released on 4th July is the newest single by the Nordic-British post-punk quartet Permafrost. “Wrong Heart” is the lead single for the band’s brand new album, “The Light Coming Through”, the follow-up to the “Come Back To Surprise” EP, and expected to be released in October.

In addition to the single, Mental Overdrive (aka Per Martinsen) has remixed the single, which will also be available on 4th July.

Out already is the music video for “Wrong Heart”. The video follows four young girls as they set out to create a music video. Of the video they said: “In another dimension Permafrost could be a girl band. In this reality they are planning to create a music video. They have to drag their equipment into the forest to get to the preferred spot, making it into a road movie with a lot of obstacles on the way – like grazing sheep and deer in the blossoming Norwegian nature. When they finally arrive at the spot and want to start playing, the song finishes. All that work for nothing.”

About Permafrost

Formed originally in Molde, Norway in 1982 by school friends Frode Heggdal Larsen and Kåre Steinsbu, Permafrost has undergone numerous transformations over the years. Now joined by fellow Norwegian Robert Heggdal and Daryl Bamonte from the UK (who worked very closely with Depeche Mode and The Cure for several years), they deliver post-punk of the early ’80s.

Permafrost debuted with the “Godtment” EP in 1983, released on a limited edition of 50 numbered cassettes. In 2019, they followed up with the “Permafrost” EP on vinyl, later making it available digitally in 2021. Throughout 2021, the band dropped three singles. : “Femme Fatale”, “Closed Eyes” and “Restore Us”.

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 via Bureau B in October is the brand new Propaganda album, simply titled “Propaganda”. The new album will hold 8 tracks and will be out in 3 formats.

This self-titled set was co-written by Ralf Dörper and Michael Mertens. Recorded entirely in their native Düsseldorf it features guest appearances from Hauschka and Thunder Bae.

The album will be out on vinyl, CD and as a limited expanded digipak 2CD in a hand numbered edition of 1000 copies worldwide. The expanded version holds 5 exclusive bonus-tracks, namely “Not good for You”, “Solace in Sin”, “World out of Joint”, “I feel mysterious” and “The Calling”.

There will also be a double-vinyl edition. A first version on orange vinyl was already sold out on pre-order.

Below is the track “Purveyor of Pleasure“, the first of two single released already next to “They Call Me Nocebo“.

About Propaganda

Propaganda was formed by Ralf Dörper, former synthesist with electro-punks Die Krupps, and Andreas Thein in 1982, but it wasn’t until the addition of Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra percussionist Michael Mertens that the outfit emerged as the dark synth-pop powerhouse which would see chart success as part of the ZTT machine.

Upon signing with Trevor Horn’s imprint in 1983, Propaganda, now comprised of vocalists Claudia Bruecken and Susanne Freytag alongside Dörper and Mertens, delivered their classic debut LP “A Secret Wish” and a string of international hit singles, such as “Dr Mabuse”, “Duel” and “P Machinery”.

After a late 80s hiatus spent escaping their unfavourable contracts, during which the singers went their separate ways, the project returned on Virgin in 1990, with a new line-up, including Betsi Miller on vocals and former Simple Minds rhythm section Derek Forbes and Brian McGee. Working alongside producers Ian Stanley and Chris Hughes, the ensemble delivered “1234”, featuring collaborations with Howard Jones and David Gilmour.

After this album, Dörper resurrected Die Krupps and Mertens moved into TV and Film composition and provided a conduit for Düsseldorf’s experimental electronic scene via his Amontillado Music label.

It was a 2015 remix request from Zang Tumb Tuum chum and former Frankie Goes To Hollywood frontman Holly Johnson which finally prompted the pair to revamp the band. Still, it would take them another 9 years to announce a new studio album, their third.

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: Ritual, Dark-Ambient, Experimental.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: Chris Undirheimar has released an impressive number of productions over the past few years. He now moves back to Cyclic Law unleashing “Ginnngagaldr” which resulted from very personal experiences.

Content: The first disc features 7 cuts leading the listener into an obscure sound universe featuring Ritual elements mixed with a dense, Dark-Ambient music style. Heavy droning percussion empower the impact of the work while throat singing accentuates the Ritual side. The second disc features a single cut which is the title track. Sound-wise the influences remain exactly the same.

+ + + : I remain fascinated by the technique of throat singers. It has something intriguing, definitely Ritual but still magic. It injects a true bonus to the composition which is totally fitting with the obscure sound treatments. The heavy percussion drones inject some diversity. It’s interesting using headphones to discover the sonic welfare of this production.

– – – : A few passages sound a bit monotonous and missing substance. The title track is cool and definitely interesting to accentuate visual art but also a bit monotonous after a while.

Conclusion: “Ginnungagaldr” appears to be a true offspring between Ritual- and Dark-Ambient music.

Best songs: “Gandreiðarstafur”, “Þursaseiðr”, “Uphafsdauðsþjòt”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.facebook.com/ThursianRitualArt

Label: www.cycliclaw.com / www.facebook.com/cycliclaw

About Undirheimar

Undirheimar is the solo Ritual and Dark-Ambient project of Chris Undirheimar, a prolific producer with a steady stream of releases over recent years. “Ginnungagaldr” marks a return to Cyclic Law for the project, drawing on throat singing and dense droning percussion to build on the obscure sound world of its earlier work.

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: Dark-Electro, Cinematic, EBM.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: “Strategies Of Dissent” is the debut album by Data Void; a project driven by Don Gordon (Numb, Halo Gen) and James Mendez (Jihad, Trial By Fire). The debut-album features ten songs.

Content: Data Void brings an open-minded and wide-spectrum driven Electronic sound. The sphere supporting the work is extremely dark and sometimes empowered by epic strings. It also creates a pure Cinematic sound which is however alternated by heavier cuts carried by powerful -and sometimes Breakcore, rhythms. The solid EBM lines inject an extra boost to these songs. The harsh vocals are totally fitting to the demonic sound created by the duo.

+ + + : It’s great to see veteran Don Gordon getting back with new stuff and a new project. And the least I can say is there’s a true chemistry between both members. This is a great and accomplished opus taking off with the hard and icy sounding “Nothing Changes”. I prefer the ‘harder’ cuts from the opus and especially those carried by great, EBM bass lines like “So Alien” and “Crash, Burn And Resurrect”. You’ll also notice complex but efficient passages (cf. “What’s Left Unsaid”)while the last part of the work is dominated by extremely dark atmospheres and epic sound arrangements. Data Void don’t exactly innovate but the way they’ve brought different influences together to create a diversified work is however refreshing. 

– – – : I’m less into the Cinematic passages of the work although it brings a kind of break.

Rate: 8½.

Conclusion: “Strategies Of Dissent” is a great and fully achieved piece of Dark-Electronics.

Best songs: “Nothing Changes”, “What’s Left Unsaid”,“So Alien” and “Crash, Burn And Resurrect”, “A Failure Of Language”.

Artist: www.facebook.com/officialdatavoid

Label: www.metropolis-records.com / www.facebook.com/MetropolisRecords Read the news on ‘Strategies Of Dissent’.

About Data Void

Data Void is the collaborative project of Don Gordon (Numb, Halo Gen) and James Mendez (Jihad), who began exchanging demo ideas in June 2020 after meeting in Ho Chi Minh City; the first result was the track “Seven Seconds”. Sketches, harmonic progressions and vocal takes were traded online between the two, with lead vocals sometimes alternating between them within the same song, as on “Crash, Burn And Resurrect”. The exchange grew into the debut album “Strategies Of Dissent”, released in 2024 on Metropolis Records.

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

Data Void is the new project by Don Gordon (Numb, Halo_Gen) and James Mendez (Jihad, Trial by Fire) who both have long histories in the industrial, dark electronic music scene.

On this, their first release, “Strategies of Dissent”, they integrate elements drawn from a diverse range of contemporary electronic music influences – industrial, drum & bass, dark ambient, post-punk, experimental, EDM, dub and psychedelia.

The “Strategies of Dissent”, album was released today by Metropolis Records on all digital and streaming formats along with a CD version. Read the review of ‘Strategies Of Dissent’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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The Belgian cult dark electro/future pop act Aiboforcen has announced its 7th studio album, titled “Between Noise & Silence”. The new release will be out via the Belgian label Alfa Matrix at the end of May, but can already be pre-ordered.

The 22-track album again shows a blend of electro pop, future pop and dark pop but also includes a cover of Death in June’s “Break The Black Ice”. The album is available as a double-CD digipak with a 16-page booklet and as a download via Bandcamp.

ATTENTION: The first 50 orders (!!) from the Alfa Matrix e-shop include a signed version with a bonus mini-CD “Eliza Effect” featuring four exclusive tracks.

Benoit Blanchart this time worked with Patrice Synthea from Regenerator, Patrick Codenys of Front 242, Poupee Fabrikk, Implant, Numb, and female vocalists Mari Kattman, Noemi Aurora, Emke, and Sorrow Stories. Also Jan Dieckmann of Norderney joined in.

This new album was teased earlier with the 7-track EP “Cycle Of Life” featuring collaborations with artists such as Jan of Norderney and Noemi Aurora. The EP included a mix of new songs and exclusive non-album tracks, and it’s still available on Bandcamp with a digital booklet containing lyrics and artwork.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

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“Going numb” is the first single out of Mekong’s upcoming album “Danse Danse”. Mekong is a post-punk project from Kraków, Poland which is signed to the French record label Icy Cold Records.

“Going Numb” is about a girl’s last night out, where the dance floor becomes her sanctuary one final time. The video for the track was directed by Pedro Viernes and features Liudmyla Radyk as the main character.

You can watch the official video clip for “Going numb” right below.

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

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

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

The tracklist is as follows:

Part 1

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

Part 2

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Out via the German label Out Of Line Music is the new Corlyx single and video, “Wasted And Alone”. The video was directed and edited by the duo’s Caitlin Stokes who recently also shot the Lord Of The Lost video “Dead End”.

Caitlin Stokes of Corlyx shares her inspiration for “Wasted And Alone”: “You ever have the worst night out because you’re too stupid to handle your liquor? This is the story of that time for me; I think many of us can relate. Ultimately, I think this behavior is entwined with self-sabotage. We take these risks, we hurt ourselves in the name of fun, it is so isolating and bleak…but we often go back for more, a cycle we can only break once we heal the wounds that drive us to these vices.”

And she adds: “‘Wasted & Alone’ is a trip back to our destructive self-sabotage past. Both Brandon and I were teenage druggies; we had a lot of trauma to unpack before we were capable of taking better care of ourselves. This song doesn’t glorify substance abuse. It’s the acknowledgment of our very real and human coping mechanisms. We party, we isolate, we numb, we were all young and sad once.”

Watch it 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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Berlin based producer and DJ Valya Kan releases a new EP, “Pink”, on 23 December 2022 on the Wild Nation label.

Valya Kan: “All tracks are not fully polished and finished as a bag with the laptop with all the work was stolen. All that is left is just WAV files. It’s basically a released demo, which I still decided to put out, because they are bringing me back to the moments of my life.”

All tracks except “Numb” were written in 2021, “Numb” was written in Spring 2022. An EP to check out for sure!

Berlin based producer and DJ Valya Kan began her interest in electronic music around 2007 when she connected with the deep atmospheric grooves and minimal beats that soundtrack the German capital. She began taking music seriously in 2013, and by the following year she’d compiled a collection of demos. One of the first people to bite, in 2017, was British artist Spencer Parker, who rolled some of Kan’s sketches into “Dust And Haze”, her debut album on Work Them Records. With “Remember”, released in October 2020, she delivered four more tracks of deep and sophisticated house and techno—minimal.

That release was significant because it launched Twist, her own label. After releasing “Ice Birds”, available on a compilation compiled by Seb Wildblood, and her first live set, she’s shared “Heartbeats”, which features two tracks recorded in isolation and one recorded in 2018.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Genre/Influences: Industrial, Metal, Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Two years after the great “The Antinomian”-album Dawn Of Ashes strikes back with a new opus. “Scars Of The Broken” has been introduced by Kristof Bathory as his most personal work dealing with mental issues.

Content: Sound-wise Dawn Of Ashes moves on the path from previous releases. There’s a constant sonic merge between Metal-, Industrial- and Dark-Electronic music. The songs have been empowered by epic arrangements and the  familiar, tenebrous shouts of Bathory. Together with the dark strings hanging over the work it creates a true apocalyptic vision.

+ + + : Dawn Of Ashes already took me by surprise and especially the first half of the album is driven by apocalyptic power. This is an ultra-professional production featuring a perfect balance between guitar and electronics. The production of the vocals injects an extra haunting effect to the work. The sphere supporting the album has something tormenting which totally fits with the inspiring theme of the work. It’s also accentuated by the titles and themes of songs like “Emdr”, “Limbo (Numb)” and of course the title track itself. “It Comes In Waves” and “Bane Of Your Existence” both are masterpieces for the elevating guitar sensation and impressive, orchestral arrangements. But there are more outstanding cuts featured.

– – – : As I already mentioned the first half of the album is amazing while the second half sounds cool as well but without similar highlights.

Conclusion: This album is already a great and accomplished production by Dawn Of Ashes which I consider as one of the real references in its music genre.

Best songs: “It Comes In Waves”, “Bane Of Your Existence”, “Emdr”, “The Despondent Hole”, “Love Is Asphyxiation”, “The Antidote”.

Rate: 9.

Artist: http://dawnofashesband.com / www.facebook.com/dawnofashes

Label: www.artoffact.com / www.facebook.com/artoffact Read the news on ‘Scars Of The Broken’.

Artoffact Records released “Scars Of The Broken” on 18 March 2022, digitally and on CD. The twelve tracks are “(Descending) Torn Inside”, “Love is Asphyxiation”, “The Despondent Hole”, “EMDR”, “Bane of Your Existence”, “(Limbo) Numb”, “It Comes in Waves”, “Heart Beats Cold”, “Turn It Shallow”, “Scars of the Broken”, “The Antidote” and “(Ascending) Catharsis”.

Listen to “Scars Of The Broken”:

About Dawn Of Ashes

Dawn Of Ashes is the American project led by vocalist Kristof Bathory. It started in 2005 with “Sacred Fever”, followed by “In The Acts Of Violence” in 2006, “The Crypt Injection” in 2007 and “Genocide Chapters” in 2010. The band moved towards black and industrial metal on the “Farewell To The Flesh” EP for Metal Blade Records in 2012, “Anathema” in 2013, “Theophany” in 2016 and “Daemonolatry Gnosis” in 2017.

“The Crypt Injection II (Non Serviam)” and “Origin Of The Ashes” both appeared in 2019, followed by “The Antinomian” in 2020 and the “Blood Of The Titans” EP on Artoffact Records in 2021. “Scars Of The Broken” followed in March 2022.

Bathory continued the sequence with “Reopening The Scars” in April 2024, after announcing a return to Metropolis Records in November 2023. “Infecting The Scars” arrived in 2025 and the remix set “Reinfecting The Scars” later the same year. The project recorded the single “Penumbra” with Suicide Commando ahead of the 2026 album “Anatomy Of Suffering”.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Ambient, Cinematographic.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This is the sixth album by God Body Disconnect. Nine songs where Bruce Moallem invites the listeners to embark for a new sonic journey throughout the inner self.

Content: It’s not pure Cinematographic and/or Dark-Ambient music, but definitely a related style. The composer is mixing dark Electronic atmospheres together with field recordings and narrating voices. The tracks have been progressively built up, the field recordings accentuating the visual strength of the work till the last track revealing piano playing bringing the work to a higher dimension.

+ + + : The previous work of God Body Disconnect couldn’t totally convince me while this new opus brings us back to the essence of the project. I like the desperate sphere emerging at the surface. It all reflects a state of mental illness… solitude for sure, sometimes becoming a paranoid experience accentuated by the ghost-like storytelling. I also have to say a word about great field recordings accentuating the visual aspect.

– – – : This is definitely one of my favorite God Body Disconnect releases, which is just missing a few little details to speak about a true masterpiece.

Conclusion: “Dormancy” is an intriguing title and state of being masterly adapted into an inhibited, but poignant music piece.

Best songs: “Numb Rooms”, “The Dormancy”, “The Difference”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/godbodydisconnect

Label: www.cryochamberlabel.com /  www.facebook.com/CryoChamber

About God Body Disconnect

God Body Disconnect is the dark ambient project of Bruce Moallem, based in New Jersey in the United States. The project builds its pieces from electronic atmospheres, field recordings and spoken passages.

The album chronology starts with “Dredge Portals” in 2016 and continues with “Sleeper’s Fate” in 2017, “Miles To Midnight” in 2018, “The Mist Between Mirrors” in 2019, “The Depths Of Finality” in 2020 and “The Wanderer’s Dream” in 2021. Cryo Chamber released “The Dormancy” in 2021 on CD and in digital formats.

Moallem has kept the project running since, with “Spiral Of Grief” in 2022, “The Weight Of Regression” in 2023, “Dreams To Be Buried In” in 2024 and “Lost Within Loss” and “Detune The Tragic Light” in 2025. He described the project in Click Interview with God Body Disconnect: ‘The Project Can Be Viewed As A Blueprint To My Life’.

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

Polish musician Kuba Włodarski set up Egoist around 2002/2003 as a solo Electro-Industrial music project. A self-released demo CD came to light in 2004, and was followed by live gigs. In 2008 Kuba had the pleasure to collaborate with ‘Jan Siuta Art Gallery’ in Krakow, which resulted in the “Phazes”-album; Industrial-Ambient music to accompany cycle of exhibitions: “Ritual, Rhythm, Harmony”. In 2020 the digital version of the album “Breaking Moment” got released by Slovak label Aliens Production and followed by a limited physical release in 2021. The album is clearly appealing for lovers of Canadian EBM reminding Front Line Assembly. The album is a well-crafted and sophisticated work. Recently the digital remix album “Phantoms” has been released on Aliens Production as well.  

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Egoist is an ‘older’ project, which has been reactivated, right? Can you tell us how you got involved with music and what kind of music/sound did you wanted to create with Egoist?

Kuba: Egoist is an old project indeed, but it was rather hibernated than abandoned… I was always involved in doing music, but even when I was working in some cooperative projects covering slightly different musical stylistics, I was always keeping Egoist in back of my mind, and was composing ‘Egoist’ songs –slowly but surely…

Q: Your sound is clearly driven by EBM influences reminding Front Line Assembly. What’s your perception of EBM and what’s the impact of Frontline Assembly and other sources of inspiration on your own music? How do you transpose these influences into an own sound?

Kuba: I always had a soft spot for Canadian Electro-Industrial music. Skinny Puppy, Numb, early Psyche and of course Front Line Assembly. What kept me interested, especially in Skinny Puppy and FLA, was the complexity of their sound, attention to almost every detail that emerges in the background, helping to create rich, evolving sonic atmospheres. As to the FLA –in my early stuff I might have been under too much influence regarding song structures, etc., it seems, however, that I managed to broke off that convention as you may hear in more recent songs.

I really appreciated, but was never too carried away by classic European EBM bands such as Front 242, DAF or Nitzer Ebb. I was always intrigued in more complex alternative ‘body’ music – like Haujobb, Gridlock as well as classic industrial acts.

Q: Tell us a bit more about the re-release of “Breaking Moment”, which was originally (self)-released in 2004 as an EP. And what can say about the extra songs?

Kuba: The self-released demo consisted of 5 original tracks and a remix of a Controlled Collapse song. It was received rather well by the audience and gave me opportunity for live shows. In 2005 I did a gig in Bratislava, during ‘Apocalyptic Visions’-festival, organized by Ryby (Peter Rybar) of Disharmony and Aliens Production label. During full European lockdown AD 2020 Peter contacted me and proposed releasing a full LP with tracks from my demo plus previously unpublished material. I collected songs that I thought were good enough to be released, Ryby took care of mastering and production side of things, and released it as both digital download and 13 track physical CD. I believe the extra songs are more mature, complex and showing an evolution in music I make.

Q: How do you see yourself as musician/producer? Do you’ve a specific way of working and are there specific references/criteria in the production work?

Kuba: I do not have a proper modus operandi when it comes to creating music. I try to combine the most convenient benefits of hardware synths, drum machines, samplers, whatnot and the overwhelming power of computer equipment used for musical purposes nowadays. I’m certainly not a big fan of mixing and music production in general, as I find it much less interesting than the creative process, such as sound sculpting, arranging, etc.

If you ask about the compositional process -it varies, sometimes I have a general outline of the main theme and structure of the piece or just fragments of the melody lines around which I arrange the whole song. Sometimes interesting ideas emerge during jam sessions to be developed later during work in D(igital)A(udio)W(orkstation).

Q: There’s a new album (or EP) out now featuring two new songs and an impressive list of remixes. Tell us a bit more about the writing of the title song “Phantoms”? What do you think about the remixes? Any favorite ones?

Kuba: Remixes are intentionally of different, bar electronic, stylistics, as it shows how much one can make with the same source track. It is a very interesting experience to find out what parts of the original song were most appealing to remixers, and how they transformed it, picking up different ‘start points’ and approaches.

If I had to choose my favorite remix –I think it would be Tomtylor’s one or a dancefloor killer by Procesor Plus.

Q: What are your further plans about new productions, live shows, remixes and eventually side-activities?    

Kuba: I did remixes for well known Polish alternative artists, i.e.: Agressiva 69 and Clicks. Right now I am finishing a thing for legendary polish Post-Punk formation 1984. I am also preparing EGOIST live shows, which will start at the end of 2021 at ‘Energia Dzwieku’-festival in Wroclaw, alongside Frett, Liebknecht and Haujobb, as well as trying to find time and energy to finish an EP of my side-project Brud.

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

Ludovico Technique release a brand new single and video today, “Noise Is Gone”.

The New York City based act originally drew inspiration from goth industrial acts such as Skinny Puppy and The Sisters of Mercy, yet now, Ludovico Technique have added glimpses of Type O Negative, Rammstein, and Rob Zombie to their own take on gothic music.

Here’s the video for “Noise Is Gone”.

About Ludovico Technique

Named after the drug-assisted aversion therapy found in the novel and film “A Clockwork Orange”, Ludovico Technique launched their self titled debut EP in 2010 followed by their debut album “Some Things Are Beyond Therapy” in 2012 and the follow up “We Came to Wreck Everything” in 2013, both released by Metropolis Records worldwide.

After 2 singles, “Absence” (2010, also their last release via Metropolis) and “Live As Myself” (2020), the band has started 2021 with a string of singles: “Up To The Flames”, “I Was”, “Becoming Numb”, “Burn Everything”, “Poisoned”, “Embrace” and now “Noise Is Gone”.

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.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Eclipsed has already been active for several years and have previously released an album on Vendetta Music (2008) and another one on Aliens Productions (2018). The project is collaboration between Last Influence Of Brain (still involved with Samhain) and Kneel In Front Of The Executioner. “Holyiens” was released by Electrofrequent. The four (!) members also invited Don Gordon (Numb) who’s featured on the first song.

Content: The first song featuring Don Gordon is an overwhelming piece of music, which has something Industrial-like and still a bit epic. I can’t say it’s an intro, but it clearly sounds different from the other songs, which are definitely driven by the ghost of Frontline Assembly. The songs are sophisticated, elaborated and mainly instrumental edits although featuring spoken samplings. There are a few passages with vocals, but it clearly isn’t the main focus of the band. One of the most noticeable cuts (cf. “Infinite Slavery”) reveals an intelligent approach, which is more into a fusion of EBM and IDM, appearing the imaginary hybrid between FLA and Clock DVA. Last, but not least the work also features a surprising cover version of Gaping Chasm.

+ + + : This album is just great, featuring a few outstanding pieces. I especially recommend listening to “Infinite Slavery”, which is a sonic diamond. “Anal Probe Installation” is another is another great piece of music mixing power and intelligence. “Apollo Space Program” sounds like it was touched by the hand of FLA and is just another attention grabber driven by a solid, deep resonating bass line. The cover version of Gaping Chams’s “Angels” is also worthy of examination while the last track –being one of the single cuts with vocals, is a cool song. The great, analogue sound treatments inject some magic to this opus, which stands for high tech sound production.

– – – : Even if I’m not missing vocals on this work, a few more vocals would be a true bonus.

Conclusion: If you don’t know Eclipsed, I can only but highly recommend this formation to you, “Holyiens” is a great piece of space-inspired EBM!

Best songs: “Infinite Slavery”, “Anal Probe Installation”, “Angels”, “Holyiens”, “Cursed Sharpened Needles”.

Rate: 9.

Artist: www.facebook.com/solobobblazenakhead

Label: www.electrofrequent.com / www.facebook.com/Electrofrequent-102179464888936

About Eclipsed

Eclipsed is a Slovak project that Discogs describes as an analogue electronics side project drawing on members of Kneel In Front Of The Executioner and of Last Influence Of Brain and Samhain. The four musicians are credited on Discogs as Solo, Bob, Blazena and k-head.

Kneel In Front Of The Executioner, abbreviated K.I.F.O.T.H., started in Trnava in the spring of 1993. Last Influence Of Brain is an EBM band from Hlohovec, and Samhain was set up in 1996 by Solo, Blazen and Peter Blazko. Side-Line published a Click Interview with K.I.F.O.T.H. in May 2017.

Under the Eclipsed name the group issued “Clone Me” through Vendetta Music in 2008 and “The Probabilistic Mind” in 2018. “Holyiens” followed on 1 June 2021 as an eleven-track CDr on Electrofrequent, mixed by Bob, mastered by Mikuláš Bernáth, with paint art by SÁRA and cover and design by Vlado Filipko.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro, Industrial.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Mildreda is the Dark-Electro/Industrial project of Jan Dewulf. While he was already active with this project during the 90s he mainly got recognition with the Electro-Pop project Diskonnekted while he, in the past few years, was more active with the Goth/Wave formation Your Life On Hold. He now strikes back with the fourth full length of Mildreda, which also is the first one released on CD format.

Content: Jan Dewulf reveals a rather diversified piece of work, which is however dominated by Dark-Electro sound sculptures. Some songs are supported by dark, melodic strings while other pieces are more into Industrial elements. I also noticed a few cuts mixing Dark-Electro and Industrial together with overwhelming epic arrangements. Notice by the way you’ll hear Dirk Ivens (Jan composed the music for the last Dive album) and Cyan (The Eternal Afflict) singing on two songs while Don Gordon (Numb) contributed to the production of one cut.

+ + + : The album reveals different influences, but Mildreda took me by surprise with “Liaisons Dangereuses” (there also is a great clip of this song) and “Erased” featuring Don Gordon. The epic/orchestral arrangements running through both cuts are absolutely impressive, creating a kind of new Dark-Electro dimension. It’s an imaginary hybrid between Yelworc and In Slaughter Natives. I also have to mention the Industrial-driven “Echoes” featuring Dirk Ivens, which sounds like a more elaborated Dive-song. The last part of the album also reveals 3 brilliant songs. “Blame It On The Moon” features the charismatic voice of Cyan. “Opposite Choice” is accomplished with a Techno touch and “Dream Machine” sounds like a great final track. Last, but not least I also have to say a word about the great ghost-like vocals’ production of Jan Dewulf, which matches this sound.

– – – : The album has something versatile and I regret there are no more Orchestral/Epic driven songs. Both debut cuts are a little bit hesitant, but quite progressively this album reveals great surprises.

Conclusion: Jan Dewulf has already done promising things in his career, but this Mildreda album might be his best work ever!

Best songs: “Liaisons Dangereuses”, “Opposite Choice”, “Erased”, “Dream Machine”, “Blame It On The Moon”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.mildreda.com / www.facebook.com/officialmildreda

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records

About Mildreda

Mildreda is the Belgian dark electro project of producer, vocalist and songwriter Jan Dewulf from Ostend. It started in the mid-1990s, when Dewulf, influenced by Belgian acts such as The Klinik, began working with synthesizers and home-recording equipment. The self-released cassette “II Castrato” appeared in 1995, followed by “De Laffe Denker” in 1996. Dewulf later put the project on hold and concentrated on Diskonnekted, and from 2017 on the gothic rock band Your Life On Hold, whose album Echoes From The Bardo Side-Line reviewed in April 2021.

Mildreda returned in 2016 with the digital compilation “Coward Philosophy” on Alfa Matrix. After signing with Dependent Records, the project released “I Was Never Really There” on 20 August 2021 on CD and as a download, its first physical album. The eleven tracks include “Echoes” with Dirk Ivens, “Blame It On The Moon” with Cyan of The Eternal Afflict and “Erased” with Don Gordon of Numb; Claus Larsen of Leaether Strip mastered the album. “Reinvention Of Pain”, “Liaisons Dangereuses” and “Inner Judgement” were issued as singles the same year.

The concept album Blue-Devilled followed in December 2023, and the double album “Realities” on 28 August 2026, again on Dependent; Dewulf discussed it in the Mildreda interview published by Side-Line. The live line-up consists of Jan Dewulf and Christophe “Salva” Salvatore. “I Was Never Really There” is the album that started the Dependent period.

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: Metal-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: The Hungarian band Gunmaker has been active for a few years and released their third opus at the end of 2020. This new work features eight songs plus nine remixes. The album has been again produced by Rob Dust.

Content: The least I can say is that Gunmaker never repeats itself. From a rather Metal-driven debut album towards a more Electro/Indie-Pop next album they now strike back with a kind of Metal-Pop offspring. The songs have something Electro-Pop/Wave driven while being empowered by guitar riffs. Some of the most refined cuts remind me a bit of Apoptygma Berzerk.

Remixes have been made by Numb Haze, Rob Dust, Monolith, Human Vault, Dark Control Operation, Implant, Southern Pines, Cyberbob, Jihad, Angst Pop & Technomancer and Linda Daemon. The last song is an alternative mix of an album song by the band themselves.

+ + + : I can’t say that Gunmaker is constantly reinventing their sound, but at least they don’t get stuck in one specific sound formula. The mix of Metal driven riffs and Electro-Pop works pretty well, but I have a preference for one of the most Pop-driven cuts (cf. “Dreams And Desires”). Among the remixes I noticed a brilliant remix of “Wherever You Go” by French formation Dark Control Operation. I especially like the Gary Numan spirit emerging from the strings. Another cool remix is the one by Monolith.

– – – : I still think the production of the vocals could be better. It remains the main point of the band to improve.

Conclusion: Gunmaker moves on composing a very personal interpretation of different, but related music genres.

Best songs: “Dreams And Desires”, “Wherever You Go”, “Wherever You Go – Dark Control Operation Remix”, “Wherever You Go – Monolith Remix”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Gunmaker-474227946012195  

Label: www.advoxya-records.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Advoxya-Records/265765706059

About Gunmaker

Gunmaker is a Budapest-based duo of János “Headfield” Erdei (vocals, guitar) and Andrew “Gunhead” Maker (synths), according to Discogs and the band’s Bandcamp credits. Gunhead had previously been involved in Impact Pulse and Nothing Nada. The debut album Headmaker (Advoxya Records, 2015), recorded with a female singer, was reviewed on Side-Line in March 2016, and the successor Daymaker (2017), produced by Rob Dust with Erdei on vocals, in June 2018. The band also appeared on the Advoxya compilation Hungarian Allstars Synthpop Compilation Volume 1 (2020).

“The Third” was released by Advoxya Records on 28 October 2020 on CD and as a download, with a limited double-CD edition in a carton jacket that adds a 3-inch maxi-single titled “B-side”. The eight songs are “I Wanna Feel”, “Wherever You Go”, “Your Own Star”, “Dreams And Desires”, “Give Me Your Life”, “Last Song”, “A Book” and “Take Me Into The Dark Night”, followed by nine remixes by Numb Haze, Rob Dust, Monolith, Human Vault, Dark Control Operation, Implant, Southern Pines, CyberBob and Jihad. Gunmaker wrote the words and music, Rob Dust produced, mixed and mastered the album and The Borg made the artwork.

Gunmaker has also remixed other Advoxya acts, including Stupre on You Are Made For Me and The Quinsy on To Feed Your Fever. “The Third” is the band’s third album and third Side-Line review.

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

Waterloo, Iowa based electro-Industrial band Microwaved has just unleashed their new EP, “Save Me”. The video for the title track featuring Kimberley of Bow Ever Down can be seen below.

The EP contains 16 tracks, 14 of which will be available on streaming platforms June 12th. The Bandcamp release – which you can check out right below – will contain two bonus tracks: a collaboration with Liebchen on a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” and an additional remix from the remix artist Steven Olaf.

The Ep sees the band collaborating with Kimberley of Bow Ever Down as we said earlier but also with Nathan of Milkfixer and Mitch of Doomslayer. Save Me also has many different remixes from varying artists starting with PilgrimOmega (keyboard player for Monster Voodoo Machine) to I Ya Toyah and SpankTheNun plus many of the friends that founder Gabe Wilkinson has made through the years.

“Save Me” refers to the album’s theme of loss. Gabe Wilkinson, the founder of Microwaved says: “All of my songs seem to be about loss, addiction or monsters. These songs fall into the loss of love category. This record for me is also about taking these songs and expanding my musical vocabulary. It’s about stretching some mental muscles and playing with ideas I may not have been very comfortable with.”

Here’s the video for “Save Me”.

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

Camecrude is a French solo-project set up in 2017 by Valentin Laborde. One of the main particularities of this project is the use of a hurdy-gurdy together with other instruments. The second album “Enclave II-II” was released by the end of 2020 as a double disc on Cioran Records. The work is inspired by ‘pessimist writers’ and reveals an extremely dark and tormented sound, mixing different genres like Ritual-, Trance- and Dark-Ambient music. I got in touch with Valentin Laborde to get more info about his sonic brainchild.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: What can you tell us about the origin of Camecrude. How did the project saw the daylight? What kind of music did you’d in mind and what is the band name all about.

Valentin: This project is the fruit of restless nights of radical insomnia. I was crushed by a personal ordeal, a total collapse. And there was this strange moment, at the beginning of this very dark time in my life, when I felt like I was burning and spiraling at the same time. I took my hurdy gurdy, I turned up the volume on my amp, I got so close to it that it caused distortion, and I just started playing without even thinking. What I was playing didn’t matter, I was just trying to create the sound equivalent of a high-pressure hosing down. I needed to be punched through and through by the shape of the sound. I don’t know what happened, but for a while, I was numb.

But evil crept in, restless nights too, and much like a self-inflicted exorcism, I started composing music for Camecrude (‘raw leg’ in Occitan, it refers to a legendary creature from the Pyrenees, a leg with an eye that creeps through the night and that eats anybody that crosses its path; I thought it was a great image for what I was living). When that happened, there was no single musical influence, but little by little I borrowed from Rosa Crux, Artus, Throbbing Gristle.

Q: You’re a hurdy-gurdy player so how did you come to use this traditional instrument for this darker Ambient/Ritual/Noise composition and what’s the way of working?

Valentin: The instrument is a tool to make music. I’ve been playing the hurdy gurdy for 15 years, it’s my tool. It’s as simple as that. My Camecrude albums aren’t about the hurdy gurdy, about showing off the instrument or anything like that. It’s music made with the hurdy gurdy, but also the Lyra-8 (a Russian analog synth that creates an infinity of noises and buzzing). It usually starts with improvisation on the lyra or the hurdy gurdy that I record. Then, I listen to it and it gives me ideas to add. It never really sounds like what I had in mind but each surge creates another surge, and I can’t really control it. It’s hard for me to explain my craft. It’s not a discipline, I don’t comply with musical theories, it’s only about the surge, about uncertainty as a necessity, to escape my mental labyrinth.

Q: Camecrude is much more than just music. It all looks like there’s a real concept behind featuring elements of philosophy, rites & symbols, cultural aspects… Can you give us more details about it?

Valentin: Rites and symbols that surround me create a framed space for me to evolve in. But that’s a vast subject, we all have our own rites, we all live surrounded by symbols, whether we are aware of it or not. I like to play with elders because they create a strong and thick atmosphere in which I feel like I’m possessed by them. When I’m playing I try to invoke a particular atmosphere, I use dangerous spells and in the end, my creation controls me like a puppet.

The cultural side of my work is also used as a material. I don’t need to use hobbits, Vikings, etc. I already have everything here, we all do. I feel connected to this environment, I don’t see a point in talking about the desert if I don’t know what it’s like to cross the desert for years. There are too many bands like Wardruna that create Disney-like music, smooth and clean, about a dream culture, it’s spiritual tourism. So the question of the cultural part of Camecrude is not really realistic, there isn’t any faithful representation or a twisted transformation of a culture, it’s simply a material, not a goal. For instance, using intonation with incantations, with repeated spells, are things that I like. Pronounced repetition create frenzy. We aren’t machines, thus every sentence that I repeat contains micro variations that are always different and create a strange feeling. I like that.

Q: Your work is inspired by so-called ‘pessimist literature’, which I think is reflected through the sound color of your music. How do you transpose these ideas and especially literature into sounds, songs and albums?

Valentin: I am not a philosopher and I’d rather not try to explain the world, our living conditions, life, etc. Camecrude isn’t preaching anything, but inevitably I’m hit by Émil Cioran’s, Albert Caraco’s or Ladislav Klima’s lucidity. That speak to me, I use them. In fact, it’s the other way around.

I don’t translate philosophy into sound. Sound is detached from words, it is linked to internal life. I don’t transpose anything there. I use what makes me, and that’s the result. And it leads to an obvious correlation with these literatures. On the first “Enclave”, I used words by Émil Cioran because he knew how to say things that resonated with me far better than I could.

Q: Tell us a bit more about the writing of your newest album “Enclave II-II”? How did the writing and recording process happened and what did you try to express and achieve?

Valentin: “Enclave I” is linked to the notion of collapse. The collapse of a before and the despair of a painful now that must be exorcised. “Enclave II-II” is as if after having collapsed there, we start getting comfortable and rearranging our environment. It’s not about exorcism anymore, but it’s a pact. It’s also a confession of a failure, the use of duplicity through witchcraft. Witchcraft as it is seen and practiced is a sort of differed suicide: using it is cheating, but also a self-sacrifice. And at that moment, I was there, so I went to talk to old healers nearby that work their craft the way their grandmothers taught them, from generation to generation. It’s about caring, knowing plants, constraining rituals, magnetism, etc. I went to see them, they gave me spells, they taught me things. I used these meetings.

For “Enclave II” I used three photographs. One of them (the evil) was a Russian photograph of a cannibalistic family going through starvation. The other picture (the spells) depicts an old woman on roller skates wearing ghosts’ veils. The last picture (death) is a photograph of a decaying corpse. I played my music staring at these pictures.

I recorded “Enclave III” before, but once finished, I hated it. I hadn’t gone through the right process, it wasn’t improvised as much, too disciplined. But afterwards, thanks to Cioran Records, we decided it could be added to II to make it a double album.

Q: The festival “L’Homme Sauvage” has been very important to you, right? It looks like live performances are an essential aspect of Camecrude. What is the live thing all about and what do you expect/plan once live concerts will be possible again?

Valentin: Yes, “L’Homme Sauvage“ was important to me. It’s exactly what I’m fighting for as an artist. Yan Arexis, Patrick Lafforgue from La Breiche, Stille Volk, etc. invited me for the first edition. At that time, Camecrude wasn’t really a thing. I improvised on the hurdy gurdy and with my voice on a popular gascon song I had modified and put together a few days before. It is at this occasion that I met Viqtor Turnngaq from Cioran Records and that night, Camecrude came to be.

On the third edition of the festival, we came back with a real performance. The two presences “the cursed anemia” we had tried on the Dark Ritual Nights performed their rites while I was playing, together with Lauren and Clément from Ginkgotuk, two drummers that play with me during concerts and on my last album. We get each other, what we create is strong and instinctive. Also, there was the National Orchestra of the Pays du Mat (a wizard state) that performed with us (drums and chaotic screams among the audience.

It’s hard for me to predict what is going to happen, I like the fact that each concert is unique. Things happen a few days before the event, depending on who’s available, what I want to do… We set everything up with Cioran Records so that something happens visually in addition to the simple concert.

There have been guests, like the great Berzerk from Sektarism Aux Feux De Bel. We exchanged ideas, told each other where we wanted to finish, he was free to do what he wanted, and we all adapted to what was going on in the moment. So it’s always done a few days in advance so that we don’t lose in spontaneity. Camecrude is my refuge where I can give up on interpretation and recitation, and I can be spontaneous. That’s what matters. Each time I must play as if it was something new that will never happen again. That’s what makes it more intense.

Our last gig was done on streamlive and is available here:

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

Metropolis Records was set up in 1994 by Dave Heckman. In no time the American label became a truly reference when it comes to Electronic and Industrial music. The label licensed –and still does, European productions, but also signed new artists. Among the Metropolis roster you’ll find bands as VNV Nation, Front 242, Front Line Assembly, Wumpsuct, Project Pitchfork, Juno Reactor, Assemblage 23, The Birthday Massacre, KMFDM, Numb, Haujobb, Leather Strip, Apoptygma Berzerk, Velvet Acid Christ, God Module, Covenant, Informatik and many, many more

(Stéphane Froidcoeur / Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Was there a kind of ‘philosophy’ when you set up your label and did it evolve over the years? How would you define your label activities today?

Dave: No philosophy per se. It was just something I wanted to do for a living, so I needed to go about things in a very professional manner and always stay focused on that goal.

I am going to presume you mean label activities as compared to my activities at the label, although I will go into both.

The first step is to find the talent and that has always been my job. I am the owner and the A&R guy. Then, of course, a deal needs to be worked out and again that has always been my job too.

After a deal is done, we have to assemble the assets for the release such as artwork, photos, masters, videos, and publishing information. This is all needed to setup the releases with our worldwide distributors and to manufacture the albums themselves.

Then comes promotion. Retail, club, radio, video, press, touring, social media, etc. A lot of this is done internally, but sometimes we hire outside companies, particularly for video, radio, press, and booking tours.

Finally, the royalty statements need to be processed and payments made. A tedious and important part of the business.

So, believe it or not, as much as the industry has changed, the setup and promotion is really quite similar to what it was years ago. The revenue just comes from different sources.

Q: I can imagine you must have specific and explicit criteria to sign an artist/band. Can you give us more details about this aspect and how important is it for you to know the person(s) hiding behind the ‘artist(s)’?

Dave: Not really. In general, I sign bands I like and there is no particular sound I am looking for. I cannot really tell you why I liked Numb or Project Pitchfork, I just did. When it comes to art, whether music, film, or paintings I cannot tell you why I like what I do. In some way it has to move me.

That said, I do have a tendency to like or lean towards things dark, edgy, and innovative. Some of the bands that I was interested in were never signed, because we could not come to an agreement. Sometimes the bands had higher expectations than I did and the advance they wanted was too large or we had different ideas on promotional aspects of a campaign.

Metropolis has released over 1200 albums with over 200 different artists, so I did not get to meet and know everyone. In the beginning I just licensed from a few European labels like Zoth Ommog, KK Records and Hyperium. So, my relationships were with my licensing partners. However, as things progressed and we brought the bands over to tour and I went overseas to festivals and conferences and finally met these artists, my relationships with them developed. Always liked to travel and visit the artists where they lived and liked hanging out with them during and after shows. As we got to know each other better it just made everything smoother.

Q: You are already active for numerous years now so you must have seen a lot of things changing and evolving; think about social media, streaming platforms, Youtube channels… but also economic crisis etc. What are the pros and cons of these changes/evolutions and in, which way did you had to adapt/change your strategy and activities?

Dave: The biggest change was the death of retail record stores. That was how I started consuming music as a 10 year old kid. I mean I just did not go there to buy music, but to discover it. The cool stores played cool music and I also would just go through the record bins to find something new that caught my eye. Retail was still a force in music in the 90’s, but went really downhill after 2002 or so. As I mentioned above, retail promotion was important, but now it is almost gone.

So, of course digital comes along and I knew tons of artists and labels that were vehemently opposed to the format. Don’t get me wrong I thought 128 bit rate MP3 played on a computer sucked compared to a Compact Disc on a good stereo system. However, that is the way people wanted to consume, so we sold digital downloads.

At present, hardly anyone buys downloads and streaming revenue is going through the roof. Of course, I have artists complaining about this. More arguments / discussions with artists about streaming than any other industry issue, but it has saved the industry not destroyed it. Illegal downloads and CD burning where the real culprits.

Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Prime, Deezer, Pandora are great platforms. However, YouTube sucks. They pay a fraction of what everyone else does, but people are complaining about Spotify instead of them. That I do not understand.

The bottom line is to adapt fast to a changing industry.

The benefit of the digital world is the massive savings on manufacturing, storage, and shipping, which of course is also good for the environment.

As far as the economic downturn, we go through these all the time and readjust.

Q: The ongoing pandemic has affected all artistic life and activities so what’s the true impact on your label activities and do you think it will also affect your long term objectives?

Dave: The pandemic has hurt the industry considerably. We had a dozen tours lined up for last spring including Lords Of Acid, Clan Of Xymox, KMFDM, Front Line Assembly, The Birthday Massacre, and many more. All cancelled and the bands lost money to varying degrees. However, the recorded music industry saw their revenue grow since almost everything is digital or online even including physical sales. In the long run and this intermediate period, nothing will change much, people will go back to their old habits for the most part.

Q: Do you think media (magazines, online platforms etc…) still have an impact and a role to play today? What’s your relationship with ‘journalists’ and how important is their work?

Dave: Yes, that medium is still important. All promotional activity counts. You have to spread the word around wherever you can. However, I really cannot comment on my relationship with the journalists as I never really had one. I am talking about me, not the label. Publicity and press is one of the few things I have always delegated to someone else.

Q: What do you consider as your biggest accomplishment(s)? Do you have specific goals/dreams you want to achieve and how do you prepare and see the future of the label(s)? And what are your biggest regret(s)?

Dave: Even though I eventually worked with some big names in the industry what I liked most was taking bands that were once small and introduce them to the scene, promoting them and then selling reasonable amounts of records for them. Covenant, Haujobb, Velvet Acid Christ, Wumpscut, Combichrist, Apoptygma Berzerk, And One, Assemblage 23 were all selling just a couple thousand copies and eventually sold 20,000 to 50,000 albums in North America alone. These are good numbers for alternative music. VNV Nation sold even much more than that. Just to put it in perspective only one in a hundred artists sold over 10,000 copies back then no matter what the genre.

I have met my goals. As I mentioned I wanted to do this for a living and I did. Also, Metropolis has a good brand name and I got to meet a lot of great artists who are now my friends. I wish I could have pushed the boundaries more and could have done more outside the Goth / Industrial genre. However, that did not work out that well except with the a few bands like Mindless Self Indulgence and Electric Six.

I am content with the label’s accomplishments. The label is 27 years old and I was well into my thirties when I started in the music business. So, we will continue to do what we do and improve where we can, remembering that adopting to change is important.

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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Gothic/industrial metal artists Ludovico Technique have released their newest single and music video “Becoming Numb”. This is the fourth single released from their forthcoming full-length album “Haunted People”.

About Ludovico Technique

The name for the band itself stems from the drug-assisted aversion therapy found in the novel and film “A Clockwork Orange”, in which the patient is forced to view violent imagery while injected with experimental medication in an attempt to condition the subjects behavior.

The band released their self titled debut EP in 2010 and offered their debut album “Some Things Are Beyond Therapy” in 2012. Both this album and the follow-up “We Came to Wreck Everything” in 2013 were released by Metropolis Records worldwide. This was followed by the single “Absence”.

After a long hiatus the band resurfaced in 2020 releasing “Live As Myself”, the first of 4 singles from their newest album.

Here’s the band’s newest 4th single, “Becoming Numb”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Genre/Influences: Industrial, Experimental, Abstract.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: UrZon is a Belgian project based in Antwerp and driven by Kolja Aasgier. This self-released new work has been introduced as the artist’s ‘love for industrial EBM like Numb, Skinny Puppy, FLA, CLock DVA, CV and Dive/Klinik’.

Content: Regarding the aforementioned bands and sources of inspiration I expected an album driven by EBM and Dark-Electro. I discovered a more Abstract and hardly Industrial-inspired sound instead. The overture has something chaotic while the next track is driven by Industrial elements with vocals on top. The tracklist also reveals some Tribal passages, but the Industrial- and Experimental approach both remain the main styles to define the sound of UrZon. 

+ + + : What I especially like in UrZon’s album is the rather personal style and approach. It’s an industrial-driven composition, now personalized with Tribal passages and next with Minimalism. “Down” is one of the most noticeable cuts featuring this Minimal touch. The last track “Win The Day” is another noticeable cut driven by broken, crashing beats and repetitive sequences.

– – – : I can’t get away from the feeling this album has been accomplished with not a lot of equipment. There’s nothing wrong with that, but globally speaking the production suffers from a lack of elaboration. Despite the personal approach I’m not sure to completely seize the essence of this work and its sound.

Conclusion: I probably expected much more from this album because of the revealed sources of inspiration. I think there’s still a way to go to reach a similar level.

Best songs: “Down”, “Win The Day”, “Werewolf Moshpit”.

Rate: (6).

Artist: www.facebook.com/UrZon93

About UrZon

UrZon is the self-released project of Kolja Aasgier, based in Antwerp, Belgium. “Gone Native” was mastered by Youri Van Uffelen at Oktaver Studio, Antwerp, and released 25 November 2020, according to the album’s Bandcamp credits. No consolidated discography or prior Side-Line coverage of the project has been found.

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.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Slovakian EBM combo Last Influence Of Brain struck back last year with the great album “Insomnicons”. This new work features six new tracks plus six remixes.

Content: “Insomnicore” is a kind of extension to the “Insomnicons”-album. The Slovakian formation moves on composing powerful and well-crafted EBM, which is once more reminiscent of Frontline assembly. The tracks are sophisticated and passages have been reinforced by guitar play. The remixes have been made from songs that originally appeared at “Insomnicons” plus one from this work. The job has been accomplished by Numb, Fullcontact 69, Khead (aka Peter Hrčka known from Kneel In front Of The Executioner), Mulphia, Object and Terminal State.

+ + + : The new songs are from the same level as “Insomnicons”; sophisticated, powerful, but accessible EBM. Even if the shadow of Frontline Assembly clearly recovers the work of this band, they however compose great music. Both opening pieces stand for an astonishing debut, but “Sheet Of Artificial Skin” and “Orthotoxic” are worthy of examination as well. The ghost-like vocal production totally fits with the genre and atmosphere of this album. Among the remixes I heard great contributions from Khead and Mulphia.

– – – : I still prefer the “Insomnicons”-album, but as I said you have to see this work as an extension to this album.

Conclusion: Last Influence Of Brain is not reinventing EBM, but simply dealing with great, artistic retro-EBM.

Best songs: “Idolatry – SVK Version”, “Reverse Osmosis”, “Sheet Of Artificial Skin”, “Orthotoxic”, “Idolatry – Crash Mix By mulpHia”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/lastinfluenceof

Label: www.electrofrequent.sk / www.facebook.com/Electrofrequent-102179464888936

About Last Influence Of Brain

Last Influence Of Brain is an EBM band from Hlohovec, Slovakia, with members known as Blazena, Bob and Solo. The project released its debut album, “Inner Wars,” in 2007, followed by “Two Faces” in 2009, according to Discogs. After a break, the band returned with “Insomnicons” in 2020, an album this review’s Background/Info section calls “great.” “Insomnicore” gathers six new tracks alongside six remixes of “Insomnicons” material handled by Numb, Fullcontact 69, Khead, Mulphia, Object and Terminal State, extending that 2020 release rather than opening a new chapter for the band.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop, Wave-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: “Numb” is the fourth full length for the keyboarder of Project Pitchfork. Dirk Scheuber took off with the excellent “The Me I See” in 2016 and moved on releasing “Changes” (2017) and “Shades” (2019).

Content: The global approach on “Numb” is quite comparable to previous releases. Scheuber is mixing different elements related to Electro/Wave-pop music. The opening song “Mindflux” even has something Future-Pop driven. The songs are again accomplished with carrying choruses. Most of the tracks are danceable, but “Numb” also reveals a few calmer passages revealing a sensible and somewhat melancholic side of the musician.

+ + + : If Scheuber’s debut album was a great surprise, both following works never reached a similar level. “Numb” remains easily recognizable through its danceable and melodic approach, but I prefer this work to both predecessors. First there’s a real great opening song “Mindflux”, which clearly sounds for the dancefloor. Next there’s a perfect twist between danceable beats and sensitive passages revealing subtle piano arrangements and melancholic Electro atmospheres. “Tempting Fate” perfectly illustrates this approach, but I also have to mention “Chrystal Eyes” for its impressive progression. Last, but not least Dirk Scheuber once again proves he’s a real captivating vocalist.

– – – : Scheuber’s sound formula hasn’t that changed since the first album. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it sometimes becomes a bit predictable.

Conclusion: Scheuber clearly is much more than the Project Pitchfork keyboardist; he’s an artist with a very own sound who has already released four albums featuring a couple of great songs!

Best songs: “Mindflux”, “Tempting Fate”, “Chrystal Eyes”, “Prediction”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/scu.bar.10

Label: www.trisol.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Trisol-Music-Group/104166526285471

About Scheuber

Scheuber is the solo name of German musician Dirk Scheuber, born 24 October 1969 in the GDR. Per his Discogs profile, he met Peter Spilles at a Girls Under Glass concert in late 1988 and co-founded Project Pitchfork with him the following year, with his main contributions to the band’s work beginning in the mid-1990s. He also ran a side project called “Blackhead” from 2003 and shifted toward solo work in the mid-2010s.

Scheuber’s solo discography on Trisol runs from “The Me I See” (2016) through the “Bliss” single (2017), “Changes” (2017) and “Shades” (2019) to “Numb” (2021), his fourth full length. Machinista featured Scheuber on guest vocals for a 2017 single, per Side-Line’s report at the time. Scheuber left Project Pitchfork in February 2021, shortly after “Numb”’s release, as Side-Line reported.

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: Industrial, Electro-Industrial, Industrial-Ambient.

Format: Digital, CD, Box (CD, Vinyl, Vinyl 7”)

Background/Info: Dirk Ivens (The Klinik, Absolute Body Control, Sonar, Motor!k) is back on track unleashing a new album of his sonic alter-ego Dive! Throughout the years he collaborated with soul mates Eric Van Wonterghem (The Klinik, Absolute Body Control, Sonar, Monolith, Detune-X) and Ivan Iusco (Nightmare Lodge). There also was an album in collaboration with Sigillum S while the previous full length (cf. “Underneath”) also featured Rafael M. Espinosa (Geistform). Dirk this time joined hands together with Jan Dewulf (Your Life On Hold, Diskonnekted, Mildreda). It’s not their first collaboration as Diskonnekted in 2006 released the “Frozen”-EP featuring Dirk Ivens.  

Content: It doesn’t really matter with who Dive collaborates with; Dive remains Dive! Driven by an Electro-Industrial sound and the spooky vocals of the artist, this new work is directly linked to the particular ‘dark’ and ‘industrial’ sound of the Belgian sound terrorist. I however have to say that this work is probably the darkest Dive-album ever; you simply can hear it the tormented atmospheres, which became pretty explicit at some more Ambient-driven songs in the midst of the work.

“Underneath” was the most sophisticated Dive work so far, but some tracks from this opus are even moving a step further. The drum patterns from some tracks have never been that complex; even featuring a kind of slow Industrial breakbeats at “Black Star”. This work is filled with anguishing spheres, little sonar bleeps and ‘Klinik’-al’ sequences. Notice by the way, the title song is also an early Suicide Commando track on, which Dirk sung while “Inside Your Head” is an original Monolith-song featuring Dirk as guest singer.

The EP featured at the ‘Box’-edition reveals “EP Versions” of the songs “Inside Your Head” and “Black Star” plus remixes by Numb and Suicide Commando.

+ + + : The “Frozen”-EP from Diskonnekted already was a song that could have been released as Dive, but “Where Do We Go From Here?” confirms there’s a real connection and chemistry between both artists. Jan Dewulf injected a refreshing –although tormented, touch to the Dive sound. It’s the darkest and most disturbing work to date, which is accentuated by 3 more ‘ambient’-driven pieces on, which some background drones are empowering the darkness mixed with Ivens’ spooky vocals. But the best passages clearly are the most danceable cuts like the brilliant opening song “Inside Your Head”, but also “Black Star” driven by an Industrial –although breakbeat inspired, cadence. The minimalism running through “Invisible” is another remarkable cut while the title-song –as the last track, reminds me of good-old Klinik. On top of the production you still will notice the charismatic vocal performance of Dirk Ivens. From the EP-tracks I especially recommend the elaborated remix of “Death Machine” (one of the so-called ‘Ambient’-cuts) by Don Gordon (Numb).

– – – : I’m not as convinced by the softer, Ambient-driven songs. The production of Ivens’ vocals remains absolutely great, but I now and then miss the more enraged, shouting way of singing from the early years. The Suicide Commando–remix from “Leave Me Be” couldn’t convince me; the tune being a bit simplistic and not adding a bonus to the song.

Conclusion: The first self-named Dive album was released in 1990 (!), but 30 years later the Belgian Industrial ‘dino’ is still kicking ass. The collaboration between Ivens and Dewulf opens perspectives for the future!

Best songs: “Inside Your Head”, “Black Star”, “Where Do We Go From Here”, “Invisible”, “Leave Me Be”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.dirkivens.com / www.facebook.com/TheKlinikDiveSonarAbsoluteBodyControl

Label: www.outofline.de  / www.facebook.com/outoflinelabel

About Dive

Dive is the solo alter-ego of Belgian artist Dirk Ivens, also known from The Klinik, Absolute Body Control, Sonar and Motor!k. Past Dive collaborators include Eric Van Wonterghem, Ivan Iusco and Sigillum S, with Rafael M. Espinosa featured on the previous album “Underneath”.

“Where Do We Go From Here?” pairs Ivens with Jan Dewulf, known from Your Life On Hold, Diskonnekted and Mildreda. The two had already worked together on Diskonnekted’s 2006 EP “Frozen”, which featured Ivens as a guest. The album was released in December 2020 on Out Of Line in digital, CD and a limited box edition combining CD and vinyl formats.

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, Cinematic-Body-Music, Industrial.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Shiv-R frontman Pete Crane released his debut-album earlier this year with the album “That Annihilated Place”. He also released the EP “You Are Not Your Body” and now strikes back with a new EP featuring four new tracks plus two remixes.

Content: The sound is somewhat comparable to Shiv-R, which is not that surprising, but the instrumental cuts create a different sensation. Pete Crane is mixing Industrial together with harsh EBM sounds resulting in a pure, dynamic Cinematographic style. The compositions are elaborated and sometimes driven by menacing bass lines and dark atmospheres with some extra Technoid elements on top.

Both remixes by Les Berrtas and Tragic Impulse are songs originally released on the album.

+ + + : If you don’t know this work has been composed by Pete Crane you would think it’s an instrumental album composed by Shiv-R. There for sure are common elements in the sound treatments and the sophisticated writing, but the instrumental edit creates a pure cinematographic style. And this composition is original as it creates a kind of Cinematic-EBM dimension. I like the filtered bleeping sequences running through “Total Annihilation” and the solid bass line –reminding Front 242, at “Numb”. Les Berrtas made a cool remix of “Fear”, but I prefer the powerful remix of “You Are Not Your Body” by Tragic Impulse. This EP is featuring 4 new cuts and that’s also a good reason to discover this work.

– – – : I’m sometimes expecting some vocals; just a few parts here and there, but that’s not the concept of this solo-work!

Conclusion: Pete Crane moves on composing well-crafted and modern electronic music; this is a unique, but cool imaginary Soundtrack for EBM freaks.

Best songs: “Total Annihilation”, “Numb”, “You Are Not Your Body – Tragic Impulse Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/pete.crane

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

About Pete Crane

Pete Crane is one half of the Australian electro-industrial duo Shiv-R, alongside Ben Bulge, active since 2010. In February 2020, Crane released “That Annihilated Place” as a solo artist, followed by the EP “You Are Not Your Body”. “XV” is his latest EP, featuring four new tracks and remixes by Les Berrtas and Tragic Impulse.

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

Numb is a Canadian electronic formation that saw the daylight in 1986. The band was driven by Don Gordon, David Hall and Sean Stubbs. Singer David Collins joined the band in 1995. Numb started as an electronic formation, but the sound progressively evolved towards a harsh and merciless industrial sound. Numb on stage was a bit like facing a merciless noise wall. They released several successful albums on major companies such as KK Records and Zoth Ommog. The band splitted in 1998 and instigator Don Gordon moved to Vietnam. Twenty one years after the last album “Language Of Silence” released by the long-time defunct Zoth Ommog, Numb strikes back with a noticeable electro-driven opus “Mortal Geometry”. The work got released on Metropolis Records and reveals a somewhat old-school, fascinating electronic creation. It talked about it with Don Gordon.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: “Mortal Geometry” stands for the return of Numb, but also the return of Don Gordon as musician/composer. How do you look back at the past years, the feeling to be no longer releasing new music and what incited you to strike back and writing this new work?

Don: After completing “Language Of Silence” and “Halo_Gen” in 1999/2000 I had intended on taking a break from Numb. However, this break extended for longer than originally planned due to a number of opportunities that I was able to pursue when I arrived in Vietnam. That being said, the limited amount of Numb material released over the last 20 years (ie. remixes for other artists and some compilations/re-issues) doesn’t reflect a lack of activity on my part in other areas of music/sound production. After moving to Vietnam I focused more on commissions, commercial sound design and production rather than Numb. A couple of highlights from the commissions included writing and performing the music for “Missed Connections”, a video installation work by artist Richard Streitmatter-Tran that is now part of the Singapore Art Museum permanent collection. The track “The Waiting Room”, which is included on “Mortal Geometry”, had its origins as a short 30-second soundtrack for a YouTube promotional clip to the novella of the same name by the literary erotica author Remittance Girl. 

I was also engaged in audio production work in advertising and teaching music/sound production at a university in Vietnam.

About 3 years ago, I started writing material as a personal response to the social/political changes I was seeing and Numb felt like the relevant instrument through which to comment… “Mortal Geometry” is the outcome of this.

Q: You are a kind of veteran, who has seen it all; you have been involved with music since the 80s, you released multiple successful albums with different projects, you played live all over the world, worked with prominent record companies etc. How do you look back at it all and what have been the main changes/evolutions throughout the years?

Don: A complete answer to this could probably fill a book but to summarize a few observations:

-The evolution of music technologies from the 80’s through to the present day has completely transformed the way in which I write, record and produce music. The creative/technical potential that I have to work with in my home studio was unimaginable not so many years ago.

-The mass adoption of digital media technologies has radically changed how music is consumed and used by audiences as well as redefining the relationship between artists and their fans.

-The music databases at Spotify, Apple etc have created this interesting scenario in which they both provide an incredible resource for music fans and musicians while at the same time creating a situation in which new artists are now competing for attention with the whole history of recorded music

Q: “Mortal Geometry” sounds a bit like ‘going back to the roots’, but what kind of album did you want to compose and what means this album to you compared to previous Numb-productions?

Don: From the outset I intended for “Mortal Geometry” feel contemporary, but recognized that at the same time it also needed to evoke a sense of continuity with previous Numb releases. One of the ways this was accomplished was to consciously reference elements of earlier Numb to act as a bridge… a bit like picking up on a lapsed conversation with an old friend you haven’t seen in a long time through the introduction of some familiar ideas and then to build on these as the foundation for new explorations.

The actual approach to production for “Mortal Geometry” was quite different from previous releases reflecting both changes in technology and in the fact that as a solo production I was able to bring the vocals into the process earlier on. This allowed for a more tightly integrated link between the music, lyrics and vocal delivery.

Q: Next to the harder songs I also noticed cinematic/ambient passages running through “Mortal Geometry”. Where do they come from and do you’ve references and/or favorite artists when it comes to this specific music genre?

Don: Numb-releases have always included aggressive industrial/EDM tracks along with abstract/cinematic tracks. On “Mortal Geometry” this is more pronounced as there are several instances in which both aggressive and cinematic elements are combined within a single track.

I still think of an album as an integrated whole through which the listener navigates, rather than as a collection individual tracks.

My interest in cinematic/abstract music goes way back to my first hearing of releases like side 2 of Bowie’s “Low”-album, early Berlin period Tangerine Dream and composers like Edgard Varese. My exposure to traditional Asian musical forms over the last 20 years, in particular Gamelan and Smot, has furthered this interest. There is an abstract trance-like quality to this music that is particularly strong when experienced live.

Q: You said you started to write new songs ‘as a personal response to the social/political changes’ so what did you try to express with the album title and the lyrical content of the album?

Don: The title and artwork reflect a convergence of different themes that are explored on the album. Living in Asia for the last 20 years has had a massive influence on me so it was important that the cover art visually capture an element of this experience.  The visual core of the artwork is a series of images by Andrew Stiff who produces ‘extrusion photographs’ as a part of his PhD research. In particular he is looking at the application of Tschumi’s architectural theories of space, event, and movement in the context of the (destructive) urbanization in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. This approach to representation easily extends to include how digital technologies are mapping/recording our lives as data points within spatial geometries over time… in essence, surveillance to predict and control. In parallel to this there is the impact of digital disruption on communications/media that corrupt and erode meaning by intent (editing/redaction/hacking), error (glitch), spectacle and apathy… and through this, a death of social rationality. So “Mortal Geometry” is a kind of metaphor for this convergence visualized through an Asian lens.

Lyrically the album presents a number of themes that reappear across the different tracks. The challenge was to present these in a manner that draws a listener in rather than coming across as didactic… to seduce and entertain rather than having the listener feel that they are being lectured to. I think that Mortal Geometry has been successful in this.

“Redact” is very much a reaction to the corruption of language and meaning in the media-sphere to ultimately redefine a new compliant ‘reality’ that aligns with the narrative of those wanting power and control. It contextualizes ideas presented in the novel “1984” within the modern media environment of social media, commercialized news, contemporary technologies and the rise of authoritarianism. “When Gravity Fails” reflects some of the same issues but presents this more from the perspective society becoming increasing divided and falling apart.

“Hush”, suggests that rather than the dystopian cyber-punk futures, or a technological utopian futures suggested by some… these have been replaced by a ‘future’ that looks suspiciously like the past and which in turn looks like the present… a kind of ‘forever now’ loop. Mark Fisher and others have written about this sense of ‘haunted by lost futures’, the ‘persistent recycling of the past’ and an ‘inability to escape old social forms’.

“Complicit Silence” builds further on some of these themes while at the same time rejecting a simplistic, homogenous view of society. Silence is about so much more than just an absence of sound. Its power comes from what it reveals or makes you confront… the objects, events and ideas that are normally masked or unspoken and as a result gain an acceptance just through their being. Noise, on the other hand, is about immersion in complexity, diversity and change…qualities that I see as desirable. So the line ‘resurrect the worlds of noise’ is a call to embrace this.

“How It Ends” is about lost opportunities, a society contracting on itself, a focus on spectacle over the real and the rise of the sense of ‘the other’ through the distancing of human interaction.

Instrumental tracks like “The Waiting Room”, “Shadow Play” and “Mortal Geometry” reflect aspects of my time living in Asia while the ‘morality of altitude’ theme from the first Numb-album finds a new expression on “Mortal Geometry” in the track “Summer Lawns”.

Q: I think too much bands are sharing a similar sound today while “Mortal Geometry” sounds as a truly antidote! I can’t understand the more equipment and facilities so-called ‘artists’ have the less creative they become! What makes “Mortal Geometry” different from the rest and what means ‘creativity’ to you?

Don: For me creativity is a process in which an initial core idea gets translated into a final form which successfully communicates its intended ideas and emotional context. The challenge in this is in developing the core idea into the larger form that both amplifies and reinforces the initial inspiration without losing its essence. This can be harder than it might seem and for me is where most of the effort is applied. Interesting core ideas often come out of improvisations or  ‘planned accidents’ which help you get beyond your own habits and the strictures of hardware/software interfaces that try to force you into a particular way of interacting with them.

“Mortal Geometry” succeeds at a number of levels. It is a very personal statement that incorporates a diverse range of experiences and influences; it challenges the listener with new ideas while still retaining a sense of familiarity.

The ‘early’ decades of electronic music coincided with quantum leaps in music technologies… the introduction of drum machines, analog/FM/wavetable/digital synths, samplers, etcetera. This meant that musicians, both through intent and chance, were creating new timbres, forms and genres that had never been heard before almost by default. While music technology is still evolving today these changes are much more incremental so the seeming quantum leaps in creativity appear to be fewer. Also, electronic music has been with us for at least 40+ years and as a result has developed a canon in much the same way that rock or classical music has. One outcome of this is that new electronic music tends to be viewed and contextualized against this framework by audiences and artists.

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, dark-electro, industrial.

Background/Info: Set up in the late 80s by Canadian musician Don Gordon, Numb became an influential band and especially during the 90s. The sound became progressively harder, reaching a kind of hard-core industrial style. Twenty one years after the last album (cf. “Language Of Silence” released on the legendary Zoth Ommog label), Numb is back!

Content: Forget about the albums released in the 90s, “Mortal Geometry” sounds as the ‘new’ Numb or should I say a return to the sources. The songs are moving in between sophisticated EBM and dark/minimal electronics with an industrial flavor on top. The songs are carried by solid bass lines, industrial sound treatments and a few trance passages. I also noticed a few more cinematic-inspired cuts. There are several instrumental tracks featured while most of the vocal parts feel a bit like an extra effect.

+ + + : This album has nothing to do with the Numb-releases we’ve heard in the 90s. The electronic compositions have this Canadian sophisticated sound, which might remind a few other compatriots. But Numb has been never a copyist and strives for a personal sound. It feels like ‘updated retro-electronics’ based upon great sound manipulations and a high tech production process. There are not a lot of vocals, but the way they’ve been produced is deadly efficient. There are several great songs featured at this opus. 

– – – : Each album always has a few forgettable cuts. I’m not a huge fan of “How It Ends”, which according to me doesn’t really deserves its place among the great tracklist.

Conclusion: Numb strikes back with style and an incomparable sound intelligence. It’s amazing to see how veterans from this scene still have more creative input than young and so-called ‘talented’ artists. This is a great album!

Best songs: “When Gravity Fails”, “The Waiting Room”, “Complicit Silence”, “Summer Lawns”, “Redact”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: https://mortalgeometry.com / www.facebook.com/groups/227641055342

Label: www.metropolis–records.com / www.facebook.com/MetropolisRecords Read the news on ‘Mortal Geometry’.

About Numb

Numb is the Vancouver, Canada project of Don Gordon, founded in 1986. Early lineups included vocalist and drummer Sean Stubbs and keyboardist David Hall, with Blair Dobson, Conan Hunter, Richard Hanley and David Collings passing through on vocals and drums over the following decade.

The band built its catalogue through the 1990s with albums including “Fixate” (1993), “Wasted Sky” (1994), “Blood Meridian” (1997) and “Language Of Silence” (1998), before Gordon disbanded Numb and moved to Vietnam. “Mortal Geometry” marks Numb’s first album in the twenty-one years since, released on Metropolis Records, whose roster has also included Velvet Acid Christ and God Module.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Out later this Summer is the all new album by the legendary electro act Numb. Numb’s Don Gordon will offer electro with trance elements, ambient interludes & dark EBM on his newest studio effort “Mortal Geometry”.

The new album will be available on CD and vinyl.

For the newbies, Numb was founded by Don Gordon, David Hall and Sean Stubbs in 1986 and is originally a Canadian electro-industrial band that is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Since starting in 1986 the project has been releasing material via various labels including Metropolis Records, Zoth Ommog, Re-Constriction Records, Kk Records, Lively Art, Edge Records and Burning Records. Read the review of ‘Mortal Geometry’.

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 soon is the “Base Box” boxset by the Italian dark wave act Kirlian Camera. Be fast to order this set as it will be sold out soon. You can order it right here on Bandcamp.

The boxset holds the DVD “Memorabilia” (incl. official videoclips, TV-appearances, live-recordings, interviews, and much more). The DVD comes in PAL, Region Code 0 and has a duration of a lovely 150’ 30″, that is 2 hours, 30 mins., 30 seconds.

Next there the exclusive “Odyssey Europa” 7” featuring the tracks “Odyssey Europe” and a special version of “Coroner’s Sun” by Lux Anodyca. You also get some extra’s such as a ‘Base MMXVI’-Card with metallic letterings and hand-signed by Angelo Bergamini & Elena Alice Fossi, next to the triangular badge with the old logo of the band next to a ‘Gladiators of Light’ t-shirt.

The tracklist of the DVD is as follows:

• HYPNOSIS – Aegonauts (1983) Communicate (1984)
• Blue Room (1995 Official Video)
• Blue Room (1995) Ocean (1986)
• Ocean (1986) Ocean (1986)
• Ocean (1987) Heldenplatz (1987)
• Heldenplatz (1987 Festivalbar Bergamo)
• Heldenplatz (1987 Festivalbar Padova)
• Kirlian Camera Special at “Video-Music” (1994) Ragazze della Notte (1995 – extract from Documentary Film, Swiss National TV)
• SPECTRAparis/SIDERARTICA – Antland (2009 Rudolstadt, Germany)
• SPECTRAparis – Spectra Muder Show (2010)
• SPECTRAparis – Carrie Satan (2010 Official Video)
• SPECTRAparis – Behind the Scenes and Beyond Infinity (2010 Official Outtake Video)
• Nightglory (2010 Official Video)
• Edges (2013 Markthalle Hamburg)
• Blue Room (**2013 Markthalle Hamburg) 21 Materia Oscura (2013, Lyrics Video)
• BLANK feat. KIRLIAN CAMERA – Lost Simmetry (2013 – Official Video)
• Black August (2013 – Official Video) 24 The Fountain of Clouds (2013 – Official Video)
• ELENA ALICE FOSSI – Mini-Interview (2014 – Promovideo for ‘Benefiz for Kids Festival)

FAN-MADE Live Videos (Unknown Videomakers)

• Comfortably Numb (2013 M’Era Luna Hildesheim, Germany)
• E.D.O. (2009 Lübeck, Germany)
• Eclipse (2013 M’Era Luna Hildesheim)
• Ascension (2015 WGT Leipzig)

The next tracks were all are recorded during the 2014 Runes and Men Festival in Leipzig.

• K-Pax
• Neither Honour nor Glory
• Black August
• Erinnerung

Last track

• Nightglory (**2014 Dresden)

(*) Italian TV Showcase
(**) Live Showcase

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

Set up in 2011 by Xavier Morales, Ruined Conflict got rapidly signed to Infacted Recordings. The electro/future-pop style directly reminded to VNV Nation, but aside of any further comparison, Ruined Conflict also revealed great composition skills. Early 2019 saw Ruined Conflict releasing its fifth full length album entitled “Valediction”. The work remains faithful to the band’s usual sound formula, but also appears to be the most intimate and definitely most accomplished album of Xavier Morales to date. I’ve been in touch with Xavier who revealed some surprising details about this work.  

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: The story of Ruined Conflict started in 2011 and now, early 2019, you’ve released your fifth full length album. What have been according to you the main changes, evolutions and accomplishments over these years and the different releases?

Xavier: The music development has always been to push myself to a higher limit on each album no matter the outcome, whether good or bad. As a composer my goals have always been to reflect on my thoughts whether in Politics, Religion or Humanity. I try my hardest to write honestly and create the music to follow the message.

I think the music has come a long way especially in production. From the first album “ARMOR” the music and lyrics in my opinion where armature and production could of been throughout more during the final stages, but that album along with “Revolutionary Mayhem” had a lot of soul and stuck out to get attention from labels. The new album was supposed to be my last work in this scene and I planned on moving on and quitting at a going through a difficult time. I knew I had much to say and wanted to make my peace before leaving, but I had no idea the outcome would of been overwhelmingly positive.

I never held any regret on my work, but felt reaching above the level I remained in during the past years that it would seem unlikely to reach the top or success. See I became this product and lost my way trying to become someone I was not. The new album helped me realize being myself and reaching back to my roots gave me a chance to overcome the emptiness I had gained and the people around me given me a new look on what it means to be a musician and the point of why I became a musician in the first place. Ruined Conflict will continue on and I plan on developing further from where the “Valediction” album left off.

Q: Your new album “Valediction” has been preceded by the EP’s “Farewell” and “Sequencer”. I experienced “Sequencer” as your ‘hardest’ EP ever on, which you also experienced with other influences. Tell us a bit more about it?

Xavier: I use mainly Modular Synthesizers to create sound and sequences in the new music. Growing up I was a huge fan of Kraftwerk and admired everything they did. They are the reason I became such a big fan of electronic music. I wanted to add more of that classic sound in the music. The album “Triumphant” was the beginning of the analog sounds that would lead way to all the new music that we have done since then. “Sequencer” was created with a Emw Modular synth that I had accidentally patched the settings and ended up patching the LFO to a sample and hold and with the sequencer applied it made that sound that you hear in the beginning. After that the ideas basically just came along to how I would make the EP “Sequencer” onto the making of the album “Valediction”.

Q: Over now to “Valediction”. What means this fifth opus to you? What have been the main ideas you would like to accomplish (lyrical- and song wise), and what have been the main challenges of this work?

Xavier: “Valediction” is probably the most well throughout album I have made lyrically and musically. The writing of this album allowed me to release everything that was on my mind, from my path of lies to how criticism hit me hard to the point I wanted nothing to do with music or the project anymore. Once you step into the mentality that it was all about to be over you start to feel the weight lifted as you move on. This was extremely challenging for me since at the time I thought this was going to be it and I was simply going to walk away after it was over.

Emotionally this was difficult, once the song “Goodbye” was written it was that moment I just felt numb and just cold. I didn’t really know how to feel, just that I had finished and it was time to shut the studio down. I have received a second wind as our label, friends and fans reached out to this idea of leaving. I never really thought about how people would be affected or how it would affect me if I would of simply walked away. I talk a lot about achieving personal goals and never holding back on anything in our music. I felt like I needed to listen to my own lyrics and not just settle with failure or who I had become

Q: I know for a lot of artists writing and recording an album always is a very busy and stressful job so holding the album in your hands must feel like a relief. What’s your personal experience about it and can you briefly resume the different stages and difficulties you’d to gone through?

Xavier: Writing an album for any musician is challenging and a long process. I normally begin with writing lyrics and then singing the melody in my head and thinking of what sounds I would need to create to fit the lyrics. Many have different ways of creating music this is just how I create it.

The mood of the music is the second thing that is challenging when creating any album. We all want it to perfect even though a lot of time the music can swing into something else, at that point is when making the album gets frustrating and I start the changing process. The album the music varies in different styles of music, but somehow I feel that I all still sat well during the last stages.

I think most musician can tell you the worst part is not really making the tracks, but mixing and mastering to make the album whole and sit well from beginning to end. I have adapted well after years of developing the proper skills for mixing and mastering but even then it still become a challenge.

Q: You last year got featured at the “Funeral Of Love”-EP by German artist Elektrostaub. How do you look back at this experience and is it something you maybe would like to accomplish for Ruined Conflict?

Xavier: I work with as many musicians as I can whether well-known or local to me it is very enjoyable to do any separate project outside of my own. I have a large number of remixes and features, but this “Funeral Of Love” was different of my ordinary work, which is why I enjoyed it. Plus a lot of bands were involved and that to me is the most important thing there is. The more musicians that work together the more the scene grows and excitement happens. Eventually I would like to do something similar with Ruined Conflict and I think that time will come.

Q: I noticed most critics always link your music and  your timbre of voice to VNV Nation. Ronan Harris is a real reference to get compared with, but at the other side it also must be a bit boring for you, right? What’s your real feeling about it and where do you place Ruined Conflict when it comes to music genre and other bands sharing similar influences?

Xavier: At first I didn’t really care or mind it since I was new and I knew criticism comes with the territory of music. After a while it just seem like no matter what I did the name just remained like a cloud over my head. I guess now more and more people realize this is just how I sound and know I’m not trying to sound or imitate anyone. I think as long as I remain Ruined Conflict we will always be linked to VNV Nation. I mean it could be worst I could of been compared to NickelBack. Ronan is a highly respected figure in this scene, and I am sure he knows I am my own person and I will always be myself no matter what gets said about me. This is just part of the job being in the music industry.

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

Artoffact Records has announced the first in a series of Images in Vogue reissues. Images in Vogue was a Vancouver-based new wave group formed in 1981 which released several singles and EPs before signing with Warner for their debut full-length “In the House”. They produced a second album, “The Spell”, before disbanding in 1991. The band consisted of Dale Martindale, Joe Vizvary, Glen Nelson, Gary Smith, Kevin Crompton (Cevin Key of Skinny Puppy), and Don Gordon (of Numb).

3 vinyl albums in different colours

The first album to be released (in various vinyl colours) is “Incipience 1: Studio Tracks 1981-1982”. The album collects some of Images in Vogue’s earliest recordings. The set includes the band’s long-lost first unreleased album and unreleased demos. This vinyl is available in red and black vinyl.

The next vinyl is “Incipience 2: Prerelease – Educated Man”. This record collects “Pre-Release” (June 1982, 500 copies) and “Educated Man” (October 1982, 1,000 copies). This vinyl is available in white and black vinyl.

The 3rd vinyl is “Incipience 3: Extended Play Redux”. This was Images in Vogue’s first major label release, originally available in October, 1983. The self-titled record features the top 30 single “Lust For Love”, and this Artoffact Records re-release includes remixes and b-sides from the “Lust For Love” and “Just Like You” 7” singles. The recordings were produced by Joe Vizvary and Lindsay Kidd, with assistance by Dave Ogilvie at the famous Mushroom and Little Mountain Studios. This vinyl is available in green and black vinyl.

You can find all the various versions right here in a 4LP vinyl boxset which includes a test pressing of all the new Images in Vogue vinyl, plus a free copy of the “LuvAFair” live CD, and the 4LP vinyl boxset of course.

Live album out on vinyl and CD (with bonus tracks)

Also out soon, and available in pre-order, is the live album “Live at Luvafair October 6th, 1982”. Recorded live in 1982 on October 6th, this is an unreleased recording of Images in Vogue’s 12th live performance. The concert was the premiere performance of the band’s massive hit, “Lust For Love”, as well as the live debut of then-new member Glen Nelson (e, Mobile Clones, The Glen and Joe Show). Live personnel included Joe Vizvary, Gary Blair Smith, Dale Martindale, Don Gordon (Numb), and Cevin Key (Skinny Puppy). Mastered for vinyl, this vinyl album is also out on CD which includes extra bonus live tracks.

Below is the video for “Lust For Love” as directed by Doug Bennett. It was shot at the old Vancouver Coroners Court and morgue. Now the Police Museum. The tarantula was the pet of Steve Bosley, bass player for Doug and the Slugs.

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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Numb’s classic album “Wasted Sky” sees a re-release on vinyl in a very limited edition. Originally released in the mid 90’s, the album was a landmark for industrial music mixing guitars with strong beats and harsh vocals.

Released on KK records, and arranged / produced by Hiwatt Marshall and Numb the material was mostly recorded and mixed at the band’s Mushroom Studios in Vancouver. You can exclusively pre-order a copy of this limited edition right here.

The Canadian electro-industrial act was founded by Don Gordon, David Hall and Sean Stubbs in 1986. “Wasted Sky” was released in 1994 following up on “Death on the Installment Plan” released the year before.

Following the “Suspended” single, Gordon retired the project and moved to Vietnam to live with his wife.

Here’s how the title track sounds:

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

Atrium Carceri’s “Cellblock” album (originally released in 2003) is finally available again on CD. This cult classic, which spawned a new style of dark ambient, had been sold out for a number of years already, so the reissue is more than welcome.

The reissue comes packaged in a 6-panel digipak and also included a new liner text. “Cellblock” was previously the only albums in the Atrium Carceri series that did’t have an introduction to ‘the storyline and mythos’ as the label, Cryo Chamber that is, calls it.

The reissue is available straight from the label’s Bandcamp page where you can also get hold of the download version of this 12-track album. You can listen to it 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!

side-line.com

Bruderschaft’s very own Rexx Arkana has now himself been diagnosed with cancer, the disease of which his father died of and which pushed him to launch the famous Bruderschaft project. The bad news came while preparing for unrelated surgeries approximately 2 months ago. Incidental testing confirmed that he had cancer.

Rex has recently undergone surgery, and is in the process of going through a substantial recovery program which of course has weakened him a lot. These treatments are on top very costly, which is why a fundraiser has been raised in order to help him while he gets back on his feet.

And we want to help him with that! Let us all help Rexx staying out of money worries while he works on his speedy recovery. And this fundraiser offers the best perk there is: Knowing that you have made life a lot less worrisome for one of the best and sweetest guys around in the electro / ebm scene (we still remember he couch-surfed in the Side-Line offices 10 years ago, and it was a true pleasure having Rexx ‘Nuke them all’ Arkana in the house for a couple of days).

The fundraiser can be found here, leave a message too if you want to send kudos to Rexx.

New York City-based DJ Rexx is worldwide known for backing the Bruderschaft project (besides his own aggro tech project FGFC820), an electronic music artist’s collective which was conceived as a charity project focused on cancer research and treatment in the wake of Arkana’s father’s death from the disease. Bruderschaft brought together a large number of artists from the underground electronic music scene for the production of the band’s first single, “Forever”. The collaboration included Rexx Arkana (lyrics), Ronan Harris (VNV Nation – vocals), Sebastian Komor (Icon of Coil – programming/production), Joakim Montelius (Covenant – samples/loops) and Stephan Groth (Apoptygma Berzerk – backing vocals). Released by RazorBurn Records, in European partnership with Alfa-Matrix in 2003, the “Forever” EP featured a large list of remixers, including Front 242, Camouflage, Feindflug, Melotron, The Retrosic, Negative Format, Angels & Agony, Colony 5, Lights of Euphoria, Davantage, Grendel, Punto Omega, [:SITD:]. In 2013, Bruderschaft returned with the single “Falling,” featuring Daniel Myer of Haujobb on vocals. The EP was released through the Alfa Matrix label later that year.

In short, this is THE man which has made a lot of things happening for a lot of people. Now let us all make it happen for him too!

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

Vancouver-based Mobile Clones’ 1980 release “Abrasive Air” gets a new life as an expanded re-issue. The news was confirmed just a few minutes ago by Artoffact Records where you can also order this gem. “Abrasive Air” was the only release by the Mobile Clones trio.

Glen Nelson (later of Images in Vogue), along with drummer Paul de Bourcier and vocalist-bassist Greg Potter (both later of Lost Durangos) formed Mobiles Clones in the Vancouver summer of 1978, at a time when everyone was making punk rock and almost no one was doing synthesizer-based song structures. The only scene in which they could play however was that punk scene, so as a result Mobile Clones opened for both The Subhumans and D.O.A. in 1979. It would be the band’s only two non-highschool shows before the project was put to rest in 1980.

Just before the end of Mobile Clones, the band released a limited-to-200 units 7″ vinyl, which came in a paper sleeve and (for the most part anyway) was given or sold to friends. Nowadays, that same record fetches up to US$200 in mint condition. Although the band would break up in 1980, the fundaments were laid for other synth based acts that would emerge from Vancouver: Images in Vogue, Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly and Numb.

The 10″ vinyl reissue holds 6 tracks including two previously unpublished tracks (“Distorted Images” and “Armchair Generals”), a replica sleeve, and a printed inner sleeve with rare photos, posters, lyric sheets, and even a tour budget. It also includes a Mobile Clones biography written by Greg Potter.

You can order your copy right here.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial body-pop, EBM.

Content: The Cyferdyne trio reactivates their “Keep Your Silence”-album with this “Break Your Silence”-album. The 2nd full length by the UK band got a successful response from its original release in 2014. Digital Audio World has now re-released the original album together with an extra disc filled with remixes. This extra disc is also available as digital album revealing 3 extra remixes (which have been added to the main disc of the CD release as well).

“Break Your Silence” reveals 9 previously unreleased remixes by bands like C-Lekktor, Die Sektor, Ginger Snap5, Terrolokauts ao. The bonus remixes at the digital format have been accomplished by Assemblage 23, Aesthetic Perfection and Phosgore.

The first part reveals a few interesting cuts, but no real potential hits. Panic Lift did an interesting rough pop inspired job at the remix of “Fracture” while “Visions” has been remixed by Terrolokaust in a kind of rock-pop style. The guitar riffs inject this rock-minded input.

Aesthetic Perfection remains a real genius formation and without a shadow of a doubt one of the growing sensations in the scene. Their techno-body remix of “Numb” is an absolute masterpiece.

Referring to masterpieces, the second part of the work reveals a few more outstanding remixes. Cygnosic, Ginger Snap5 and of course the powerful ‘rave’ minded remix of “Numb” by Noisuf-X are pure lust for the dancefloors, but the best is yet to come.

Assemblage 23 definitely deserves to get an award for the most inspiriting remix, transposing “Jigsaw” in to a great vintage-minded version while remaining totally dancefloor minded. This is one of the best Assemblage 23-remixes in history!

I also have to mention the great remixing skills of Phosgore, which again confirms to be one of the most talented artists from the Noisuf-X class. “Cables And Codes” sounds now like a pumping industrial rave-pop song. Last, but not least, C-Lekktor also confirms his growing talent remixing “Disease” into a heavy, haunting dark-electro version.

Conclusion: There’s a great electro diversity running throughout the remixes, but it especially must be a real pleasure for Cyferdyne to get such inspiring remixes from most of the bands.

Best songs: “Jigsaw – Assemblage 23 Remix”, “Cables And Codes – Phosgore Remix”, “Numb – Aesthetic Perfection Remix”, “Disease – C-Lekktor Remix”, “Numb – Noisuf-X Remix”.

Rate: (DP:8½)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/CYFERDYNE

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

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Available now on vinyl is a selection of rare and unreleased material by such famous 80s electro bands as Click Click, Die Form, Numb, Borghesia, Front Line Assembly, Twice a Man, T21, etc. 10 tracks in total.

This vinyl collectors limited edition has been pressed on 500 hand-numbered copies, 180 gram vinyl, with no re-press scheduled. So better place your order now as these items are going fast.

The complete track list:

A1 Click Click – Nube (Remastered 2001)
A2 Die Form – Tecknoslaves (Unreleased Demo 1989)
A3 Crash Course In Sience – In Your Own Backyard (Unreleased Demo 1981)
A4 Numb – Push It (Rare Track From: VA-Operation Beatbox – 1996)
A5 Borghesia – Secret Affair No.4 (Unreleased 1984)

B1 Front Line Assembly – Resuraction (Ultra Rare Track From: VA-Electronic – 1985)
B2 Twice A Man – Cloud Sky Damage Version One (Unreleased Demo For “Driftwood” Album 1987)
B3 Die Krupps – Tod & Teufel (Live In Amsterdam 20 Feb 1982)
B4 Carlos Perón – A Dirty Song – Long Version (Unreleased 1988)
B5 Trisomie 21 – Youth Called To Edge Remix (Unreleased Version 1990)

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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