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

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

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

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

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

About Alfa Matrix

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

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

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

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

Eldrina Mich

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro, EBM.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: Released by the end of 2023 this is the third full length album of German solo-project Synaptic Defect. Driven by Marc Tater (previously involved with Evil Sermon this is the first new album since 2008.

Content: This work takes us back in time awakening somewhere in the midst of the 90s. This is old-school EBM appealing for fans of bands like Skinny Puppy, Mortal Constraint and even Cat Rapes Dog. The songs are well-crafted, sometimes moving into a minimalistic approach. The second features a few more songs in the same vein plus remixes by Second Disease, Sleepwalk, Plastic Noise Experience, Serpents, T.A.N.K., Terminal State, R010r, Trilogy, tEaR!doWn and 2 remixes by Pyrroline (which co-produced and mastered the album).

+ + + : Synaptic Defect isn’t maybe the most renowned project although it deals with good-old EBM built up with elegance and knowledge. This project is part of an imaginary ‘Skinny Puppy’-academy and will please the fans of haunting Electronics. The bonus disc features cool songs as well plus a great selection of artists for the remixes. I especially recommend the remixes of Sleepwalk and Plastic Noise Experience.

– – – : The album is maybe missing a real ‘potential’ hit.

Conclusion: This album stands for an appreciable come-back and will be pleased by old-school EBM supporters.

Best songs: “Morphine”, “Sniper”, “Killing Tides” + “Man Is Machine”, “Tacky Games – Sleepwalk Remix”, “Combat War – Plastic Noise Experience Remix”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/marc.tater.14

Label: www.electroaggressionrecords.com /  www.facebook.com/ElectroAggressionRecords

About Synaptic Defect

Synaptic Defect is the solo project of German musician Marc Tater, founded in 1996. Tater started out in 1994 with the dark EBM duo Evil Sermon, which released a split tape, “Godfeeler / Psychological Warfare”, with LPF12 before splitting up in late 1997. He then began releasing solo material as Synaptic Defect, issuing “Mechanical Oppression” (BLC Productions, 2004) and “World-Wide Life & Death” (Advoxya Records, 2008). The project went quiet until 2020, when Tater started recording new songs, a process that led to “Initializing Insanity”, released through Electro Aggression Records at the end of 2023.

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.

Format: Digital, 3CD.

Background/Info: German Serpents were set up in 1988 featuring Kazim Sarikaya, Stefan Kuboteit, Frank Heiner and Nicole Altmann. After a few demo tapes they released their debut album “Terminal Breath” at the legendary Gothic Arts Records. Despite different line-up changes the band moved on releasing new works on an irregular basis. This album is a fine selection -kind of ‘best of’ from tracks that have been featured on their different releases. Both bonus discs feature remastered songs from early demos. The title of the album also was the title of their last demo (cassette) released in 1992.

Content: The main disc brings a fine selection of Serpents-songs getting us back to the early sound revealing a sophisticated and robotic EBM. There has always been a connection between Serpents and Plastic Noise Experience and that’s an element which is clearly noticeable in the global production process. There also is one previously unreleased (new)-song entitled “In Your Mind”. Two remixes have been accomplished by label mates Synaptic Defect and R01t0r. The remastered demo songs are an opportunity to (re)discover the very first steps of the band.

+ + + : Serpents remains a band which I think should have deserved a wider recognition although 90s EBM fans for sure known most of the prominent songs they’ve ever written. Serpents had their own elaborated and styled Electro sound. Another main characteristic is the typical 90s EBM sound. This work will bring you back to songs like “Kill What Kills You”, “Cyberspace”, “Gib Mir Alles”, “Resistance”, “Violence” ao. Both bonus discs let us discover the way this band has accomplished over the years. It’s definitely stuff for the band’s die-hard fans but also for retro-EBM lovers.

– – – : The single ‘new’ song is not exactly the best one ever composed by Serpents. The remastered demo songs are a nice gift for the fans but quite long to endure if you’re not a die-hard.I also salute the booklet featuring essential information about the band’s history but it’s a pity it’s only written in German.

Conclusion: This is a real cool ode to a prominent EBM formation which got mainly success during the 90s;

Best songs: “Kill What Kills You”, “Resistence”, “Protection”, “Das Zweite Leben”, “Violence”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/serpents.de

Label: www.electroaggressionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/ElectroAggressionRecords

About Serpents

Serpents is a German EBM act founded in March 1988 by Kazim Sarikaya and Stefan Kuboteit; Frank Heiner and Nicole Altmann joined a few months later. The band self-released the tapes “The Clock Strikes the Midnight” (1989), “Until Eternity” (1990) and “L’Âge D’Or” (1992) before signing to Gothic Arts Records for the debut album “Terminal Breath” (1993), followed by the “Have Fun” mini-CD (1995). Out of Line released “What’s Fear?” in 1999, and the digital-only “Immer Voran!” followed in 2010. Electro Aggression Records issued the fourth album, “State Of War”, in 2015 alongside a revised edition of “Immer Voran!”. The label’s 2024 3CD “L’Âge D’Or” reuses the title of that 1992 demo tape for a compilation of reworked tracks, the new song “In Your Mind”, and remastered early tapes alongside “Terminal Breath” and “Have Fun”.

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 via the Belgina Whispered label is a cover of the Plastic Noise Experience track “Memory Flow” by the Belgian electronic act La Nuit Electrique. This is also the debut single for La Nuit Electrique.

In a reaction Stephane K Vandezande says: “I’ve always loved this PNE piece, and it was inevitable that one day or another I’d do a cover of this EBM classic and its instantly recognisable synth riff.”

You can watch the video below.

Or you can download it via 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!

side-line.com

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

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

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

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

Eldrina Mich

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Four years after their impressive debut EP Die Robo Sapiens are back with their debut album. The German side-project of Die Krupps featuring Jürgen Engler, Ralf Dörper and Marcel Zürcher brings us an album of ten songs plus an extra disc (available on CD and digital edits) featuring ten extra songs.

Content: Die Robo Sapiens stands for pure EBM. Good-old and elaborated songs from Düsseldorf which sometimes to me sound like a homage to legendary town mates Kraftwerk and DAF. Pure Electronic music mixing the robotic side and atmospheres of Kraftwerk together with the power of DAF. Engler’s captivating and alluring vocals on top will bring you to dance.

The extra disc features remixes by Seb Komor, Aiborforcen, Orange Sector, AD:key, Implant, Aesthetische, Cubic, Kant Kino, Metroland and Plastic Noise Experience.

+ + + : The already familiar songs “Teufelskreis” and “Tanz Mit Dem Roboter” both remain alluring cuts but I also have to mention “Transrapid Rapid”,  “Robotimierung”, “Robo Normativ”, “Niemals Stillstehen” and  “Automatenland” which all are outstanding pieces. It feels like Die Robo Sapiens moved on there where Die Krupps decided to experiment with guitar and Metal/Industrial music. You can feel the guys had some fun composing this album while the ‘Düsseldorfer’-sound reminding Kraftwerk but also DAF is a pretty cool wink. The bonus disc brings an impressive selection of great remixes in different genres; from EBM and sophisticated EBM to Minimal-Electro it’s nearly impossible to say which one sounds the best.

– – – : No minus points to mention.

Conclusion: When ‘veterans’ are teaching EBM artists how to compose great stuff!

Best songs: “Transrapid Rapid”, “Teufelskreis”, “Robotimierung”, “Tanz Mit Dem Roboter feat. JG. & The Robots”, “Robo Normativ”, “Niemals Stillstehen”,  “Automatenland” + “Teufelskreis – Sebastian Komor Rmx”, “Robotimierung – Orange Sector Rmx, “Transrapid Rapid – Aiboforcen Rmx”, “Niemals Stillstehen – Kant Kino Rmx”.

Rate: 9.

Artist: www.facebook.com/DieRoboSapiens

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix Read the news on ‘Robo Sapien Race’.

About Die Robo Sapiens

Die Robo Sapiens is a German side-project of Die Krupps, formed by Jürgen Engler, Ralf Dörper and Marcel Zürcher. The project debuted in 2018 with the single “Teufelskreis – Tanz Mit Dem Roboter” before releasing its debut album, “Robo Sapien Race”, through Alfa-Matrix in 2022 on digital, CD and vinyl formats, accompanied by a bonus disc of remixes. Side-Line spoke with the band about the project’s Düsseldorf-rooted EBM approach in a 2023 Click Interview.

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

After a couple of teasing EP and video clip releases, the Belgian Alfa Matrix label releases today the full length debut album by Die Robo Sapiens, the ultimate EBM project by the members of Die Krupps. “Robo Sapien Race”. The release is available now on a fan edition Vinyl (with lots of extras such as a DJ Turntable slipmat) and as a limited 2CD box set pressing next to download.

Behind Die Robo Sapiens we find the Die Krupps members Jürgen Engler plus Ralf Dörper and Marcel Zürcher.

The 10-track “Robo Sapien Race” album offers a blend of minimal, vintage and powerful synth music with harder, stronger and angrier EBM assaults made of fat and ripping basslines, powerful German vocals and upbeat synth sequences. The artwork was rendered by the talented Japanese designer Tomoki Hayasaki.

Jürgen Engler: “The idea for us was to have an outlet for songs that couldn’t be used in a Die Krupps context. The use of guitars in Die Robo Sapiens music being taboo In a way, it’s a return to our electro roots, but with a twist. Imagine the Duesseldorf sound of Kraftwerk mixed with hard Die Krupps EBM. This combination of styles has been spooking around my brain for a while, and it was time to put it into action.”

The album’s first pressing comes out as a limited deluxe double-CD Digipak holding a bonus disc featuring each album song remixed by an impressive list of electro artists in the likes of Sebastian Komor, Orange Sector, Plastic Noise Experience, Metroland, Aiboforcen, Ad:Key, Implant, Aesthetische, Kant Kino and Cubic.

The album also gets released on vinyl format as a fan edition pack limited to 333 units worldwide including the 10-track album on black vinyl in a deluxe gatefold packaging (with full lyrics) with a bonus DJ turntable slipmat, a page marker and a numbered postcard, plus the new 20-track “Sounds From The Matrix 023” label CD compilation which for now is exclusive to this release.

You can check the tracks right below. Read the review of ‘Robo Sapien Race’.

Videos

Eldrina Mich

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

www.side-line.com

DI*ove is a Belgian EBM project set up and driven by Eric Manchiniste. He’s a great fan of Electronic music and  started composing music at the age of 12 by tinkering with his mother’s appliances. Later on he dreamed of having a synth rather than a moped like most of his friends. After his first fee as a singer in a Rock band he bought a drum machine and the adventure began… The band DI*ove is the inversion of E-void, a more Experimental project from the early 2000s. DI*ove’s first album “DI*ode” got released in 2013 by EK Product. Later on Eric started to self-release his works. The second album “DI*vided” was released in 2016 while several EP’s got released as well. The newest EP “DI*version/Phase I” is a great piece of music mixing traditional EBM influences together with Electroclash and Minimal-Electro. An introduction to DI*ove.(Picture credits by Valsdarkroom / Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: DI*ove is already active for numerous years but don’t release new work at regular basis. How did it all started and what have been the main changes and evolutions throughout the years?

Eric: I thought DI*ove was releasing an album/EP on a regular basis (lol). For the past 13 years, the project has been releasing a record every 3/4 years except lately because of the pandemic.

In 2008, I had some instrumental recordings to work on. That’s when I met Lukk. As he had enjoyed a few tracks, I proposed him to add his voice. The result was very convincing. From there on was born the first EP released on Knovel Records.

Over the years I have enjoyed collaborating with other singers (Sacha, Nina) and from time to time I also stick to the exercise of placing my voice -a bit like Martin Gore on Depeche Mode albums (lol).

Q: I always experienced your sound as driven by good-old EBM influences but what are your sources of inspiration and possible bands/artists you see as true references? What does DI*ove stands for?

Eric: I grow up with the sound of the 80’s. Going from New-Romantic to New-Wave to EBM/Indus. In the 90’s, I also flirted with post New-Beat, House-Tech… I’m still interested in what’s currently being done musically. That’s why today I pick a little bit from everywhere. It is clear that the music of DI*ove is mainly driven by Dark-Electronic music like EBM but I also like to inject more contemporary sounds; not to remain only in the codes of the past.

Q: Your debut album “DI*ode” (2013) was released on EK Product while all productions after that debut were self-released. For most artists it all happens the other way round so what does this ‘do it yourself’ approach mean to you? And how do you manage all different aspects next to music, like promotion, distribution, management etc?

Eric: Let’s say that with age the desire for artistic freedom becomes greater. Then it happens that there is a big difference between what is written on a contract and the reality. Let’s add that ‘do it yourself’ is in fashion. Besides that, I’m the kind of artist who doesn’t fancy businessman’s tasks, but still has to achieve them. I’m used to manage the functions related to promotion, distribution, artwork, concert canvassing… But I must admit that my door remains open for external help. The call is launched.

Q: Tell us a bit more about your newest work “DI*version / Phase 1”. How did this EP –or is it a mini-album (?) saw the daylight? What did you try to express and what have been the main focus in the song writing?

Eric: “Di*version” was composed right after the lockdown. I was quite happy to see people again, to party again and especially to have perspectives like releasing an EP. Nina and I had gotten into the habit of having a drink on Friday nights while listening to vinyl records. One night she said to me: ‘what if we made music together?’ The next day I plugged in my machines again and took my pen.

We rethought all the Friday night conversation topics and put the most important ones back in writing. From the living room on Friday night, we moved to the home studio to record “DI*version”.

Q: You clearly seem to like working with guest artists/singers and you already collaborated with famous names like Claus Larsen, Plastic Noise Experience ao. How comes and what are the main criteria you use to work with other artists? How do these collaborations happened; I mean what’s the real impact and input of the guest artists/singers?

Eric: Indeed, I like to collaborate with other people. On the one hand it’s an opportunity to meet interesting people and on the other hand, a different approach to work. A formula that works very well for me.

I met Claus Kruse from PNE at the beginning of the Facebook era. He had liked our 2nd EP and especially a track he wanted to remix. I didn’t hesitate for a second, knowing Claus’ work. I accepted and agreed to propose the track for the compilation “Face The Beat Vol 1”. Then he sang on “Addictions” a track from our first album.

The other Claus Larsen from Leather Strip was pure luck. We were spending our vacations in the same city and we met in a bar that we used to visit for its special food (private joke!).

We talked about music, collaboration and insisted on keeping in touch after the vacations. That was it! I had a track ready and I sent it to him. Claus recorded the vocals to finalize the track “Fly Naked”.

I feel honored to have collaborated with these artists who are part of my musical library. The impact is also felt for DI*ove in terms of credibility and visibility. On a personal level, these meetings boost my satisfaction and my work in the future.

Q: Belgium remains a prolific ground for talented EBM artists, but it also is a country with a small scene for this music genre. How do you as an independent artist manage this important aspect and what brings the nearly future for DI*ove?

Eric: Belgium has very good press abroad. The actors of the scene are very enthusiastic when it comes to spreading our music. I also appreciate the complicity and the work of the people who still believe in this kind of music by putting it forward. I would like to mention JL Marchal (Synthpop80.com), Greg and Walter for their radio show “Sampler Et Sans Reproches”. Recently, I still thought that the language barrier in Belgium was a problem. None or few traces of our music in Flanders until I met the “Luminous Dash”-team.

DI*ove is actually finalizing “DI*version Phase 2” and is thinking more and more about getting back on stage.

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: Belgian EBM duo Wülf7 has had little success in their homeland. They strike back with four new songs plus seven bonus cuts.

Content: The songs are driven by solid- and typical EBM bass lines. The global sound atmosphere is dark and accentuated by synth lines and deep, resonating, vocals. Among the other songs left we get two collaborative pieces -one with Tankt and the other together with TC75. Remixes have been accomplished by First Aid 4 Souls, Sleepwalk, Astma, Plastic Noise Experience and To Avoid.

+ + + : The main strength of the duo is that they’re mixing a pure, old-school, EBM style together with an atypical approach, which sounds more sophisticated while recovered with strings. The title song is a cool cut, but I also have to mention “EBM Nation”. Among the remixes I noticed a great job done by First Aid 4 Souls -especially for the sound production and Astma which also boosted the original edit by a professional sound production.

– – – : The only point Wülf7 has to be reconsider is the mix of their work. It has a dirty sound, which is clearly reminding me of retro-productions from the 90s, but it’s suffering from a lack of professionalism.

Conclusion: The only -but essential thing, Wülf7 has to improve is the technical part of their work, but this band has a true potential.

Best songs: “I Don’t Want (Anymore)”, “EBM Nation” + “I Don’t Want (Anymore) – Remix by First Aid 4 Souls”, “Morbide – Remix by Astma”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.facebook.com/Wulfe7

About Wülf7

Wülf7 is a Belgian duo, made up of members Bwulf and CyrbVII, describing their sound as a “Dark Electro Body Melancholic” mix of EBM influences. The project debuted with the 2019 singles “WÜLF7” and “The Nights Of The Wolves”, followed by the album “Dark Hate” (2020), the “Flesh / Electro” EP (2020) and the remix EP “Dark Hate – The Last Philosophy” (2021). “I Don’t Want (Anymore)” followed in 2022, adding seven bonus tracks and remixes by First Aid 4 Souls, Sleepwalk, Astma, Plastic Noise Experience and To Avoid.

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 via the Köthel (GER) based label NoCut on December 3rd is the 2CD Depeche Mode tribute album “Music for Constructions”. NoCut invited 31 bands, including MONO INC, AD:keY, MajorVoice, Crematory, Heimataerde, Psyche, Plastic Noise Experience, Beyond Obsession, DMK, Evo-Lution and many more for this tribute release.

All bands submitted rare tracks, most of them specially recorded for this compilation.

The tracklist:

CD1

1. MONO INC. – I feel You
2. MajorVoice – It’s no Good
3. Crematory – Black Celebration
4. Beyond Obsession – The Bottom Line
5. Vainerz – Insight
6. Blind Passenger 80s Express feat. Nigel Wheeler – Photographic
7. Love? – In your Memory
8. Darkness on Demand – Behind the Wheel
9. Evo-Lution – Stripped
10. Julian Shah Taylor – In your Room
11. Psyche – Lie to Me
12. Any Second feat. Iggi – To have and to hold
13. Scheuber & Wollank – Heaven
14. Electronic Frequency – Ice Machine
15. Strangelove The Depeche Mode Experience – Sister of Night

CD2

1. Heimataerde – Ice Machine
2. Plastic Noise Experience – Get the Balance right
3. ADkeY – Nodisco
4. The Promise – But not Tonight
5. The Psychic Force – Blasphemous Rumors
6. DMK – Black Celebration (2021 Poly Gore Remix)
7. Mauricio Tamblay – Rush
8. Superikone feat. Puppekopp – The Things you said
9. Monsmeg – Where’s the Revolution
10. Blue Forge – Waiting for the Night
11. Stage Of Theed – My Secret Garden
12. White Noise TV – World in My Eyes
13. Ha[a]rp – The Sun and the Rainfall
14. District 13 – The Bottom Line
15. Twilight-Images – Fly on the Windscreen
16. Diarblack – But not Tonight

Side-Line also covered Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy The Silence’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Alfa Matrix has been set up in 2001 by three friends. Séba Dolimont, Benoît Blanchart and Bernard Van Isacker were all involved with Side-Line magazine, but decided to start an Electronic label. The label became a home for artists dealing with EBM, Dark-Electro and Electro-Pop, but throughout the years the label welcomed other genres like Gothic, Ambient and Industrial. Front 242, Ayria, Pouppée Fabrikk, Plastic Noise Experience, Armageddon Dildos, Unter Null, Acylum, Implant, Metroland,  Zombie Girl, Helalyn Flowers, I:Scintilla, Mentallo And The Fixer, Leather Strip, Star Industry, Alien Vampires and many others joined the ‘matrix’. And I nearly forget to mention Aiboforcen which was set up by Benoît Blanchart and Séba Dolimont.

(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?

Seba. Alfa Matrix was created in 2001 with 2 key values: running the label from an artist perspective in our collaboration approach, and focusing on a direct servicing of our customers. All this with the aim to support and market underground Electronic music with attitude with an eclectic approach. Twenty years later, and although the music market situation has drastically changed, we are still active on the same Indie music scene, we still dare signing newcomers and our repertoire confirms our quite open-minded sound range of interest. We do run the label in mutual respect and care with our roster of artists and developed a quite strong direct sales approach for both digital and physical releases.

So we quite sticked to our original mission and simply adapted our operational mode to the constantly evolving music consumption habits and we keep anticipating new trends in order to stay relevant and future proof.

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)’?

Seba: Through the years, it has become harder and harder to open the gate of the ‘matrix’ simply because we want to stick to a certain maximum number of bands, but also because any new signing to the label should bring something new to the label family, add a new color to our sound/artistic palette. Also important for us is that any new addition to the label must get the green light form the 3 members of the label management team.

The art must touch us for sure, but personally, in my role of artists manager, I pay a lot of attention to the personalities of the artists, probably more today than 20 years ago! Simply because we believe in long term collaborations and to achieve such goal we better construct our relationship on solid foundations and values. So that personal click is also something I need to give my vote…

Bernard: Nowadays it takes time to launch a new unknown artist, and we work slowly, but steadily to get their music heard to the public. There is no magic formula to create instant success, it’s continuous work both by the label and the band. The first has to use the best channels to create the best value for the band while the bands have to work on social presence, and the interaction with fans on several platforms. It’s also why we have started releasing lots of singles, so bit by bit we reach a bigger audience this way via all platforms.

When we started the music market was already in decline so we had to start early on with a new model to get the word out. Know that there are many bands out there and if you actually look at it, too few labels to manage all those great talents.

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?

Seba: As owners of a company several dozens of artists gave their trust to, the least we can do is running this company professionally through a strong overall financial management and anticipating business and market evolutions to remain future proof. This is why Alfa Matrix was one of the first labels from our scene to be on digital platforms, and I even remember some were laughing about us, especially when we decided to invest a lot in streaming that is still seen as a danger by some today. Like other labels we also went through some tough economic challenges when we faced several bankruptcies from big CD distributors in Germany or in America. But with our strategy of focusing on an international market rather than putting all eggs in one or two baskets, it was easier for us going through all this, and especially with the unmatchable force of having a strong fanbase buying in direct from our e-shops and giving us more financial independence.  So the decisions we make are more guided to the way we adapt our ‘go to market’ strategy: changing distribution channels, deciding how we spread our budgets and investments, etc…

Bernard: In respect to that, we have been continuously checking out new platforms to vet if they were adding value to our media mix or not. For instance Facebook was quickly used by us, but we also knew that this free ride would not continue and that at some point Facebook would close the open gates and restrict the organic reach from their pages. That happened, a bit later than we anticipated, but it did happen. The same for Instagram for example. The free rides are over and done and you can no longer count on getting free unpaid reach for every communication you do. During that process we continued to work on a direct relation with customers. So while some bands and labels have gone that far to only have Facebook as their window we never neglected the own properties we can manage for the full 100%: an own e-shop, a very active Bandcamp page which both have given that what we are looking for, namely a direct link with the fans. So, suppose that Facebook or any other social media platforms stops their activities, we won’t feel any impact as we have a direct link with customers. This under the hood approach has been working very well for us and is something we will continue to do. Social media for us are a nice extra, but nothing more than that, the real value lays elsewhere for us.

I also strongly believe in the streaming market for the future, it’s how most of the music will be digested by music fans alongside HQ audio which people will find on Bandcamp and via physical products. As far as YouTube is concerned, I share the same comment and idea which Dave Heckman made earlier this week to you. This Google moloch pays really peanuts, 10 times less than Spotify, it also offers poor audio, but surprise surprise… everybody wants to be on it. It’s maybe good for the image but not so good for your wallet in the end if you consider the production cost of a video versus the extremely low return you get from it. It doesn’t mean we don’t have to be present there, but I seriously doubt that a lot of money should be thrown at it, it’s not our preferred medium.

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?

Seba: First of all the pandemic affected every person behind our Alfa Matrix bands and the label staff itself, most probably first on a personal level, cos they themselves struggled against Covid-19 or lost loved ones around them. What obviously hurts the most is the recurrent cancellation of tours, festivals, shows… this is hard for all bands. The stage remains the ultimate place of communion between artist and fans. The duration of the pandemic crisis also makes it more and more complex for artists releasing new albums and not being able to perform the new songs live.

Economically, so far we have been working hard and increased our promotional efforts to support the bands. As a result we actually managed increasing our label turnover between 2019 and 2020 with over 15% although the lockdown hit us all heavily. It was a combination of efforts: we continued to deliver CD’s to shops in direct -when some of our distributors were obliged to keep doors closed for example, but also from our bands who released more digital music to also bring some nice entertaining moments to their fans in these difficult moments, but also from our fans who continued supporting us massively.

Now unfortunately we all know that the economic crisis that will follow will hurt at all levels, but we will only start experiencing the real impacts in the second half of this year. It’s then that more and more people will continue loosing their jobs, loosing a portion of budgets they usually put into art and leisure. I also hope that this sanitary crisis will lead more people to pay more attention to their health in general. So yes, the world will change for sure, and we will all need to adopt and adapt at some point.

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?

Seba: Media changed a lot in 20 years indeed! Print magazines have been going through tough times. The major challenge is remaining relevant as a print magazine coming out monthly while online news get published instantly and spread a few clicks further. Combining digital with print is not easy. Integrating social medias, streaming platforms, etc… in the overall journalistic equation is tricky.

It’s just like for music, the new generations tend to consider that art and information should be free of access. As a label, of course journalists still play an important role for a certain portion of music fans who still enjoy turning pages while reading and enjoying the pleasure of holding a magazine or a book in your hands. They then also reach out to the digital audience via their blogs and other websites. But the readers tend to identify themselves less than before to some specialized journalists, but will rather trust and follow the advise of some friends posting on social medias, other buyers leaving comments on webstores or other influencers. They also tend to trust themselves more and more and believe in algorithms recommending them the next music to play on their own music radar.

Bernard: Many online magazines do not publish news daily or even regularly which makes it difficult for them to stay relevant in these days of social media. In the past we were able to work with a lot of great web magazines, but these days we have to work with hundreds and most really have a very very small readership, while others have been smart enough to evolve, develop, stay relevant. Those online magazines from the past who did not evolve have seen their visitors go to Facebook and never have seen them back. Most also ceased all activity. It shows clearly that Facebook for instance is not the booster that most had hoped, on the contrary, and it also explains why many magazines are increasingly negative towards Facebook because they have now largely decided what you get to see, what you discuss about etc..  

As a label we must combine all these elements to reach out to our customers/fans and make choices based on gathered experience and acquired know-how, while exploring new grounds… 

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)?

Seba: I think our biggest accomplishment is to be talking with you today and celebrating 20 years of Alfa Matrix, each release from our music repertoire between 2001 and now each contributed to this success, from newcomer acts to living legends from our beloved music scene.

The only regrets I might have are first of all not to have 10 days in a week to do all I’d like to do, and maybe having put a couple of friendships in danger by starting a label collaboration with friends without having been enough aligned and synched together on strategic elements. As far as the future, I hope we will still be able supporting talents as long as possible and having the chance to release the great work from our artists, and working with experienced music supporters like you…

Bernard: I personally never expected that this story that started as an idea amongst friends would turn out to be that successful and long-lasting. Seba had the basic idea and then pitched it to Benoit and me. Since I knew Seba as a very trustworthy guy (you introduced him to me remember!) it didn’t take long for me to decide to get on board and invest in it.

As far as the future for the label, or any label, I guess that the love for what we and the bands do will be the biggest power behind it all. I still discover great music in this scene so we are not in desert modus. The biggest challenge will be to keep on making new people warm for this scene’s music. Not a simple task, but we’ll manage alright I think.

My biggest regret… we all know it’s very time consuming and it’s not always easy to find a good balance between family life and work. As far as my two colleagues is concerned, I know how to separate my private life from work, so even if we have some catfights about certain things (we have to agree all 3 on something or it doesn’t happen), we remain loyal friends above all. And as far as how we function together, you can say that the structured thinking of Seba combined with the fuzzy logic style of thinking of Benoit and myself is an ideal breeding platform for great adventures!

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

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

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

Exclusive face masks

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

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Electro-Metal.

Format: Digital, 6 CD Box.

Background/Info: Swedish cult EBM formation Pouppée Fabrikk struck back earlier this year by the phenomenal and dynamic EBM album “Airmen”. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic the band couldn’t play live again and released this massive Box instead. EKM stands for ‘Electronics Kroppsmusik’, which is the name they used to define their music. Anthology refers to thirty years of Pouppée Fabrikk; songs that were originally composed in between 1989 and 2019. This impressive anthology features 94 songs; taken from their albums, EP’s, but still some exclusive remixes, live tracks, rehearsal edits and demo cuts. The fans get 42 exclusive songs!

Content: Pouppée Fabrikk can be easily defined as an EBM master; a band that left a trademark in EBM history. Often compared with bands like Nitzer Ebb and DAF for the straight forward and merciless EBM they later on injected guitar playing and Metal influences getting them closer to Die Krupps. But this anthology first of all reveals that Pouppée Fabrikk still has a very own sound DNA, the kind of band that you instantly recognize for their solid bass lines, dark and disturbing sphere, heavy rhythmic and deep growls. But Pouppée Fabrikk also had something pretty Punk-like.

This Box is a way to get back to early and essential albums “Rage” and “Portent” plus the first EP’s “Summoning” and “Betrayal”, pure and unpolished, raw EBM with a Punk attitude. The next releases “We Have Come To Drop Bombs”, “Djävulen” and “Your Pain – Our Gain” revealed a sound in evolution; EBM getting mixed with furious guitar riffs becoming more Metal-like. The album “The Dirt” released in 2013 was a kind of move back to the roots.

Songs from later EP’s like “I Want Candy”, “Elite Electronics”, “Bring Back The Ways Of Old” and “H8 U” have been featured as well. Most of the exclusive songs are demo edits from some of their most famous tracks, but also exclusive remixes by Plastic Noise Experience, Nexus Kenosis and Angst, next to other remixes by Spetsnaz, Blush Response, Kant Kino, Aesthetische, Autodafeh and Polyfuse. And you’ll discover some live recordings from the early years; from 1989, 1991 and 1994.

+ + + : No need to say this Box is an absolute must have for the Pouppée Fabrikk fans. It’s a complete anthology getting us back to the band’s greatest hits, but still an opportunity to discover numerous exclusive songs. This legendary band deserves such an artistic box. The work also is an opportunity to see how the band evolved throughout the years; from the brute and unpolished “Rage” to the more accomplished “Portent” to the Punkish “We Have Come to Drop Bombs” to the Metal-orientated “Djavülen” and “Your Pain Our Gain” to the move back to EBM “The Dirt” while reminding us of essential EP’s like “Summoning”, “Betrayal” and “I Want Candy”. Pouppée Fabrikk is not just EBM, it’s a band with a very own and easy recognizable sound. Probably one of the darkest and hardest retro-EBM bands. 2020 has been the year of Pouppée Fabrikk! We first get this great new album “Armén” featuring core members Henrik Nordvargr Björkk, Leif Holm and Jouni Ollila working back together, but now there’s this great retrospective. It’s also interesting to know your favorite Pouppée Fabrikk song; mine will always be “Die Jugend” from the EP “Summoning”. Among the multiple remixes, I’ll mention the great job done by Autodafeh remixing “Bring Back The Ways Of Old”, originally released on the same-titled EP. 

– – – : The less convincing part of the work is the live recordings; the songs were previously unreleased, but unfortunately suffering from a poor sound quality.

Conclusion: There’s no better way resuming this album –and the entire work of Pouppée Fabrikk, than the title of their debut album: Rage!

Best songs: “Die Jugend”, “Retrospect”, “T.O.D.N.”, “Keine Zukunft”, “Summon The Spirits”, “Where Are You?”, “Bring Back The Ways Of Old – Autodafeh Remix”.

Rate: (9).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Pouppée-Fabrikk-100329766260

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

About Pouppée Fabrikk

Pouppée Fabrikk is a Swedish electronic body music act formed in 1987, describing its sound as EKM (Elektronisk Kroppsmusik). Core members Henrik “Nordvargr” Björkk, Leif Holm and Jouni Ollila built a catalogue moving from the raw, DAF- and Nitzer Ebb-indebted EBM of the early albums “Rage” and “Portent” towards guitar-driven, Die Krupps-adjacent material on releases such as “We Have Come To Drop Bombs” and “Your Pain – Our Gain”, before returning to EBM roots on “The Dirt” and the 2020 album “Armén”.

“EKM – Anthology 1989-2019” was released on Alfa Matrix on 4 December 2020 as a 6 CD box limited to 500 copies, gathering 94 tracks and over six hours of music spanning the band’s first three decades, including remastered pre-Alfa Matrix material, 42 exclusive tracks, three new remixes and a live bootleg recorded between 1989 and 1994. No further Side-Line coverage of Pouppée Fabrikk beyond the label’s own 2025 anniversary sampler 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

“EKM – Anthology 1989​-​2019” is the title of a brand new Pouppée Fabrikk 6CD BOX set (available via the Alfa Matrix webstore) and download (available here via Bandcamp). The term ‘EKM’ in the title refers to ‘Elektronisk Kroppsmusik’ which the cult Swedish elektro punk band launched years ago.

The 6 CDs gather 94 tracks totaling over 6 hours and retracing the band’s first 30 years of activities between 1989 and 2019, and including some 42 exclusive tracks (rare versions, mixes or previously unreleased on CD).

The 6CD boxset is strictly limited to 500 units worldwide and holds the fully remastered versions of the band’s entire pre- and Alfa Matrix discography (except for the 2020 album “Armén” which is available here on vinyl and CD) including their long deleted classic “Rage” and “Die Jugend” debut releases, but also all of the following albums and EPs in the likes of “Portent”, “Summoning”, “We Have Come To Drop Bombs”, “Betrayal”, “Your Pain Our Gain” and “Elite Electronics”.

Hardcore fans of the band will surely appreciate getting all previously digital-only releases finally made available on CD format for the very first time (“Bring Back The Ways Of Old EP”, “H8 U EP”, “Watch Your Sex 2017 EP”, “Only Control” EP).

Also added is the live bootleg album “One Leg In The Grave” featuring 13 live tracks recorded between 1989 and 1994 in Växjö, Sala, Köping, Örebro and Stockholm. You also get 9 rehearsal recordings made between 2014 and 2016 and 6 other very rare tracks/versions and early demos, plus 3 exclusive remixes by Plastic Noise Experience, Nexus Kenosis and Angst.

The band also included 2 skull-tagged “Watch Your Sex” condoms in the box. Use it or keep it, the choice is yours.

About Pouppée Fabrikk

Pouppée Fabrikk was formed in 1987-1988 by Henrik Björkk and Leif Holm, who both hail from Karlskoga.

Initially, the music of Pouppée Fabrikk (PF) borrowed heavily from minimalistic electronic acts such as Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft and Nitzer Ebb, but with the addition of Jouni Olilla and Jonas Aneheim on guitar the band moved towards a more Die Krupps-style electronic/metal mix.

The “Your Pain – Our Gain” CD was meant to be released in 1996, but due to differences in opinion between the band and the record company (Energy Rekords) it was delayed until 1999. In 1996 the band decided to take a break and Pouppée Fabrikk was put on hold and the band members worked on various solo projects.

In 2000 the band re-united for a gig at the Tinitus Electronic Festival and announced that they were making a comeback and returning to their roots. They released a four track mini CD entitled “Elite Electronics”. A year later though, both Jouni and Henrik left the band to concentrate on their respective solo careers. Pouppée Fabrikk disbanded shortly afterwards.

After seven years of absence from the scene the band re-united in 2009, Christian R filling the place of former member Jouni Ollila. In October 2010, they once again re-united for a gig; this time at Bodyfest in Fryshuset.

In 2019, the band announced the production of a new album, “Armén”, the first full length album since 1994. “Armén” was released in 2020 via Alfa Matrix in vinyl and CD and is available via Alfa Matrix. Alfa Matrix has also been releasing the band’s other output from recent years.

Available formats:

• “EKM – Anthology 1989​-​2019” (Bandcamp download)
• “EKM – Anthology 1989​-​2019” 6CD BOX
• “Armén” vinyl / CD

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Did you ever heard of Zwaremachine before? Based in Minneapolis (USA), ‘Mach Fox’ released different productions on German-, Italian-, French- and Russian net labels. In about 2012 he wrote and released a song titled “The Zwaremachine”, which also became the band name because the song could represent a back story for the band that Mach Fox could build a world of music and images around. He liked that idea of creating a visual style music and love the horror/sci-fi genres in relation to live performance, artwork and sounds. There was also a heavy inspiration from the artwork of Paul Gerrard. The official debut album “Be A Light” released on Phage Tapes, revealed an intelligent EBM-inspired format. Time now to discover an interesting new name active at the wider fields of EBM and dark-electronics.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: I’m sure Zwaremachine is a new name for electro lovers so can you briefly introduce us and give us some background information?

Mach Fox: Thank you for this opportunity to introduce myself and band to your readers. I am a musician and VJ/visual artist from Mpls.Mn.USA and perform as ‘Mach Fox’ and also with my band Zwaremachine.

Horror/sci-fi and theatrics are always something I have been drawn to in live performance and try to bring to my projects over the years. Hearing songs like “Cars” by Gary Numan and “Collapsing New People” by Fad Gadget gave me an early interest in electronic music while I was still into rock and punk music. I didn’t comprehend how those songs were made, but was instantly and very deeply drawn to that music and those other-wordly sounds. I was primarily a guitar player and come from a punk DIY background.

Zwaremachine is a solo-project much like I had done with my prior band Mach Fox. I tend to write and record most of the music myself and bring in other musicians for the studio and live performance once the direction and mood is established.

Q: You claim to be inspired by some famous EBM artists. What do you especially like in this music style and what are the main characteristics of your own sound?

Mach Fox: For EBM in particular it is the drums and basslines that I find very exciting because of the visceral and urgent feelings they produce. It can be hard and menacing or groovy and sexy with simple well-placed elements to create those emotions.

I describe Zwaremachine music as ‘Minimal Hypnotic Industrial Body Music’. I wanted to blend elements from many electronic genres and also incorporate some of my other influences in the arrangements and production.

I love working with sequencers, drum machines and synthesizers as my band member and find that composing these tracks as solo artist makes it easier to follow a sound and idea through to the end without any compromise. With the songs on “Be A Light” I chose a particular sound set that I really connected with and took those sounds into the songwriting process to inform the moods and arrangements on the album. Those sounds and much of the equipment I used were most noted in electronic music associated with some great artists from the 80s and 90s.

The mixing and mastering was done with a bit more modern approach, but I fiercely fought to keep those characteristics that made the basis of the sound.

Q: You just mentioned the album “Be Alight”, which got released earlier this year. What is the album all about and what are you favorite elements/parts of the work?

Mach Fox: The final songs for the album were chosen from several I had written and began performing live in the Spring of 2017. Some were written and performed in earlier versions of Zwaremachine, but I chose new sounds as well as new arrangements. As the live sets progressed over the Summer and into the Fall  I was able to pick out a body of work that was focused on a style and attitude that would become the core of the album and future of the band. That was a very important period for me and I wanted to retain the earlier electro-industrial style and bring a more personal influence on the new music I would release.

I have to also mention Paul Gerrard again because the influence of his amazing artwork is a part of the lyrics on many of these songs and probably my favorite element since it perfectly fits the world this music lives in. I consider him as part of the band as well. Themes of horror, cyber futuristic worlds and science fiction are all over this album.

Q: The album features 7 songs plus 7 remixes. You don’t exactly chose famous and familiar artists. How comes and what do you like about remixes?

Mach Fox: I have many artist and musician friends that have contributed great amounts to help me with different projects throughout the years and I’m very loyal and grateful for that. All of these remixers I contacted are either close friends, former band members and they do great work themselves.

I wanted some very original approaches to the remixes that would show their strengths and not the typical agro-dance remix approach (though some did that very well!) that is in the club/industrial scene. I could probably provide a great story behind my relationship with each of the remixers, but that can be another time.

This was a personal work and I felt it best to keep it close and promote some friends who have helped and inspired me so much over the years.

Q: I’ve been impressed by the sophisticated production, which reminds me to early Skinny Puppy mixed with the elegance of Plastic Noise Experience. Do you recognize yourself in this description and what are your personal criteria/ and references when composing?

Mach Fox: Yes. and thank you. As mentioned above I specifically chose those sounds and that production because it created that mood and emotion I was looking for in these songs. This style also promotes an energy that I can bring into the live performance. I understand those references and I did not set out to be compared to those bands, but while using the same hardware and approaches of the bands I admire I guess that would happen.

Q: The album has been released on Phage Tapes, which is a label based in your hometown Minneapolis and, which I think is more focalized on ‘noise’ and ‘industrial’ music. Do you feel related with other label mates and what do you expect from a label in times labels are complaining about sales?

Mach Fox: Working with Sam and Phage Tapes has been an absolute pleasure. It’s really great to be a part of that label and appreciate the work he does with all the releases and especially Zwaremachine.

I didn’t know much about the label when he had offered to release a CD/cassette after I announced there would be new recordings. He had already seen the band several times and said he had interest to expand the label and include some industrial and other electronic acts. As I researched the label I realized some respected friends in the electronic/noise scene had released thru the label and was interested in his offer.

Once the recording process started I was sending demos out to other labels I had been influenced by or thought we could benefit from releasing together and the response was slow or no interest. It made sense to release through Phage Tapes since I began to admire and learn about the label and I felt there was genuine enthusiasm about working together and the communication was clear. …and he could release as soon as the mastered recordings were available instead of waiting in a line of other releases and the recording not coming out for months.

Some of other artists on Phage Tapes released at the same time as our album like Spit Mask, STCLVR, Synaptic Memories all have very strong releases and I don’t think Phage is going to stop finding great albums to put out anytime soon. I know that Phage is releasing music to streaming services and just recently made more releases available through Cold Spring Records store in the UK as a way to avoid high shipping costs from the U.S. to places around the world. I feel like a part of the label and other bands and will continue to promote the label’s other artists as well as my own release because it’s really great stuff coming out.

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

Background/Info:

About Zwaremachine

Zwaremachine is the project of Minneapolis-based musician and VJ Mach Fox, who took the name from a song he wrote around 2012, building a visual world around it influenced by the artwork of Paul Gerrard. “Be A Light” was his debut album for Phage Tapes. In a Click Interview published days after this review, Mach Fox noted that Phage Tapes was releasing strong records at the same time by labelmates Spit Mask, STCLVR and Synaptic Memories.

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.

Background/Info: Set up in 1990 Armageddon Dildos definitely became one of the major EBM bands from the 90s. They released several groundbreaking albums and numerous EBM hits. After the band’s split singer Uwe Kanka struck back during the early millennium years. New work got released on irregular basis, but this EP is the first new work since the rather disappointing “Untergrund”-album (2011). “Herbstzeitlose” is meant as a solid teaser to the upcoming full length.

Content: The EP features 4 new songs plus 7 remixes. The sound remains pure EBM-like, but once again less comparable with the early successful releases of the band. Since Uwe Kanka is the single member on board the ‘Dildos’ have found a different EBM direction. The new songs are more elaborated revealing multiple effects and even sophisticated arrangements. The vocals no longer express the rage Uwe sung with during the 90s.

The most noticeable song definitely is “Resist (2.0)”, which remains one of the biggest hits of the band, but which has been reworked in a total new and different song only holding on the famous lyrics from the original chorus.

Remixes have been made by Plastic Noise Experience, Kant Kino, Tolchock, Hell:Sector, The Psychic Force, Venal Flesh and Technoir.

+ + + : I first of all have to say that the new songs are more convincing than the last album of the band. Uwe Kanka hasn’t reconsidered his sound and influences, but simply became a better musician. Some of the songs maybe became too elaborate, but you don’t hear me to complain. The ‘new’ and totally different version of “Resist” is a great cut. Among the remixes I especially like the job done by Plastic Noise Experience and Kant Kino both empowering the EBM basis of the original songs. I also have to mention Hell:Sector for the guitar riffs injecting some metal-touch to “Resist”.

– – – : It’s probably because Armageddon Dildos remains to me one of the ‘best’ EBM acts from the 90s, but I still expect a bit more from this band! Don’t get me wrong, this EP reveals interesting ideas, but no real mega-hit! It could maybe interesting to see Uwe Kanka working with an extra EBM member to bring the ‘old’ power of the band back alive!

Conclusion: Armageddon Dildos is back and I can only hope the new full length will surpass all expectations. This EP is honest, but not ‘hot’!

Best songs: “Resist (2.0)”, “Mandy Crash”, “Resist – Old School Mix By Plastic Noise Experience”, “Resist – Hell:Sector Mix”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.armageddondildos.info / www.facebook.com/armageddondildos

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

Read the news on ‘Herbstzeitlose’.

About Armageddon Dildos

Armageddon Dildos is a German EBM duo founded in 1990 in Kassel around singer Uwe Kanka. The band released a run of albums and singles through the 1990s before splitting; Kanka revived the project in the following decade, releasing “Untergrund” in 2011. This EP, “Herbstzeitlose”, served as the teaser to the album that followed, “Dystopia”, released on Alfa Matrix in 2020.

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

It took almost 6 years for C. Moltisanti and C. Dupont aka NordarR to complete the album “Alles Auf Null”, the follow-up to “Hass”, but the album is now ready to order via Emmo Biz Records, as anormal CD but also as a 2CD set including a bonus MCD (“Ein Mann mehr”) with no less than 9 bonus tracks.

The MCD included in the exclusive 2CD digipack holds the following tracks: “People”, “Ein Mann Mehr”, “Buanas Tardes Amigo (Ween Cover)”, “Loyalty”, “Ich Bin (Orange Sector Remix)”, “Ein Mann Mehr (SPARK! Remix)”, “Ein Mann Mehr (Plastic Noise Experience Remix)”, “Ein Mann Mehr (Liebknecht Remix)” and “Warnung (’97 Early Edit)”.

For the duo “Alles auf Null” is a ‘necessary new beginning’ as they call it: “But we do not just want to preach, a fat bass is also danceable. “Alles Auf Null” is more brutal, more direct and more constructive than all the releases released so far.”

Formed in 2010 by André Schitteck and Christoph Lemke (aka Chris Dupont) the band debuted at the Wave Gotik Treffen 2011. Since then the band released various albums and EPs.

You can order the CD here, the 2CD set 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: EBM, body-pop.

Background/Info: Nico (drums) and Timo T. (vocals) are brothers based in Augsburg (Germany). Projekt 26 was set up in 2013 and now has signed a deal with the Italian EBM label EK Product to unleash their official debut album.

Content: The work is clearly inspired and devoted to good-old EBM. The retro-style is a quite familiar, but still efficient EBM receipt both brothers are practicing with knowledge and efficiency. But even if the basis of all songs is EBM-minded they also seem to be influenced by electro-pop elements. It comes especially through in some choruses, which have been accomplished by melodic strings. The vocals (mainly in English language) are moving from a rather clear way of singing into harder passages.

Notice by the way Projekt 26 invited Pantser Fabriek (they already released a split album together) and Plastic Noise Experience to each join in on one song. Last, but not least you get remixes by Oldschool Union, SadoSato and Loewenhertz.

+ + + : This is an interesting and successful debut by Projekt 26. The EBM style they’re dealing with is absolutely not innovating, but the mix with carrying strings and body-pop elements is quite efficient. It resulted in a more accomplished and diversified work, which also makes the difference with the typical retro-like EBM formations. The work stands for great, dry bass lines, efficient strings, diversified vocals, danceable kicks and a great remix by Oldschool Union.

– – – : The body-pop element will maybe not convince all EBM die-hard freaks, but I rather see it as a unique touch of sound. I’m maybe missing a real hit although the title song has the potential to become a DJ’s favorite one.

Conclusion: EK Product has a nose to discover new talented formations dealing with EBM and Projekt 26 definitely is a band that will conquer new souls devoted to this genre! This is a successful debut!

Best songs: “Violets And Violence”, “Stars And The Moon”, “Satellite 2017”, “God Dag”, “Blood For Blood – Oldschool Union Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.facebook.com/p26augsburg

Label: www.ekproduct.com / www.facebook.com/EKProduct

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 EBM.

Background/Info: Pyrroline has released their second official album. Four years after “Ruins Outlast”, Arnte & Schmoun are back on track with a kind of conceptual album dealing about the war in Croatia during the 90s.

Content: “In The Dawn Of Freedom” is a kind of sophisticated EBM sound. The main focus clearly is not to composer hard and powerful songs, but a more elaborated and complex writing, which might remind you of Mentallo & The Fixer and even Skinny Puppy. The songs have been constructed with multiple bleeps and crystalline sequences mixed with harsher and somewhat bombastic rhythms. The vocals are quite spooky, which fits with the atmospheric side of the work.

Some (instrumental) cuts are even moving on the edge of cinematographic music and I here would make a comparison with Benestrophe. But Pyrroline is a band with many ‘faces’ and also deals with a few more ‘traditional’ EBM cuts.

Both last cuts are remixes by One Eye Wanders and kFactor.

+ + + : The diversity of the songs definitely is one of the main characteristics of the album, but it also reveals that Pyrroline is open to different influences. I personally prefer the main part of the album revealing sophisticated and elaborated cuts. The ambient side hanging over the songs is more important than power. You should (re)listen to these songs with headphones to fully distinguish the little bleeps and icy sequences. I also discovered another side of Pyrroline, which sounds somewhat harder and into ‘classical’ EBM fields. “Succeed” is a great piece in the genre, reminding me of Plastic Noise Experience.

– – – : Despite of the diversity and the well-crafted songs, Pyrroline doesn’t really add anything new in the wider fields of EBM. I rapidly got a ‘déjà-vu’ effect although you don’t hear me complaining. Both remixes aren’t exactly adding a bonus to the album!

Conclusion: Pyrroline transforms EBM into a moody, ghost-like creation. It’s an intelligent composition although I’m missing some innovative elements.

Best songs: “Succeed”, “Nothing To Lose”, “Fellow Passenger”, “Vukovar”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www.facebook.com/Pyrroline-168370663180474

Label: www.electroaggressionrecords.com /  www.facebook.com/ElectroAggressionRecords

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

Background/Info:

Read the news on ‘Confront’.

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 via the Rotterdam based label Electronic Emergencies is the Various Queer Artists compilation “The Closet Tapes”. Out on 2xLP / digital / cassette, the compilation shows an unorthodox and fierce combination of queer legends, contemporary queer heroes and future queer stars.

“The Closet Tapes” is a compilation of queer electronic music compiled by Spacemaker and Leather E. Included is also Gaytron, the project by Plastic Noise Experience’s Claus Kruse, who informed us about this release in the first place.

The Closet Tapes is released on pink double vinyl in an edition of 500 hand-numbered copies and in a special, very limited edition on pink cassette (50 copies) including alternative bonus versions of three of the tracks.

Here’s the total tracklisting:

• A1. Bézier (US, Honey Soundsystem) – Anathema
• A2. Andy Butler (US, Hercules & Love Affair) – Vlaamsekat!
• A3. Adriano Canzian (IT) – Kiss Me So More
• B1. Hard Ton (IT) ft. Posminonova (CRO) – Dark Star Crashes
• B2. Eddy De Clercq (NL) & Friends – Sea Sex & Sun (Laurent & Lewis Electro Club Remix)
• C1. This Cold Night (US) – Gay Goth Dance Machine
• C2. Jean Petitjean (NL) – Doom Alarm (Rude 66 Edit)
• C3. Gaytron (DE, Plastic Noise Experience) – Männerliebe 2017
• D1. Venderstrooik (NL) – Poisoned Apple
• D2. Skeleton Head (US) – Beaten, Bloody, Bruised (Pink Mix)
• D3. Jorge Socarras & Pierre Klein (US, Ceci N’est Pas) – Story Ends (Rude 66 Mix)

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

(This interview is a collaboration between Alfa Matrix – Side Line Music Magazine & Inferno Sound Diaries)

Officially out tomorrow, but already available now for free is the 4-track “50 Shades of Gay” download EP by Junksista. The EP is being released via Bandcamp to celebrate the international day against homophobia and transphobia. We interviewed a long range of artists involved on this free EP.

For the EP they collaborated with Valkyrie Beestings (The Priscillas,Lene Lovich Band), who you might remember from the Junksista track “Likeyourshoes”. And that’s not all,  2 other legendary figures from the electronic scene also joined the cause: Claus Larsen of Leaether Strip and Claus Kruse of Gaytron/Plastic Noise Experience. Both gay musicians delivered their very own, dancefloor-compatible versions of „50 Shades Of Gay“.

Also included is a collaboration with the American dancer Gezelle Za Belle (see picture above) who is featured in a smashing (probably NSFW) video for the track which you can view below.

And here is the video!

We decided to also interview the involved artists in this great collaboration project: Junksista, Claus Larsen, Seba Dolimont, Claus Kruse, and more!

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

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

Happy hunting!

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

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

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

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

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

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

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

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

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

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

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

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

You can preview the tracks right below:

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Background/Info:

Read the news on ‘Push And Punish’.

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

Read the review of ‘Push And Punish’.

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

UPDATE: The ‘blue version’ was sold out, but our mail-order partner succeeded in securing 25 more copies, order it right here if you want one.

While Front 242 is reigning the Bandcamp charts with their free EP “Detix Static” a small German label has announced the release of a 3CD tribute to Front 242. The first edition comes in a blue design and is limited to just 242 copies (you can order it right here).

The 3CDs feature 16 bands on each CD for a total of 48 bands (you’ll recognise various more well known bands such as Leather Strip, PNE, Kant Kino, Machinista, etc). In total you get 48 covers of Front 242 classics. The brain behind this project is Stefan Rukavina whom you might know from the German Radio Body Music, a label and radio station entirely dedicated to the genres EBM, Anhalt EBM, dark electro, synthpop, futurepop, N.D.W., electronic 80s, industrial and experimental music.

You can order this limited edition set right here.

Artists/ Tracks CD2:

01 OVERGAMENT–Body to Body
02 MECHATRONIC–Operating Tracks
03 THE PAIN MACHINERY – U-Men
04 MRDTC-Least Inkling
05 D-F-O-W–He runs too fast for us
06 LEAETHER STRIP – Don’t crash
07 KANT KINO–Lovely Day
08 EUFORIC EXISTENCE–No Shuffle
09 HUMAN NIHIL – Quite unusual
10 SUBSTAAT-Circling overland
11 RHESUS FACTOR & RIO BLACK-Headhunter
12 VAINERZ-Sacrifice
13 NEOTEK feat. MACHINE SOLDIER-Moldavia
14 BICHROM-Gripped by Fear
15 POST MACHINERY ENVIRONMENT-Tragedy for You
16 GIMME SHELTER–Soulmanager

Artists/ Tracks CD2:

01 TOLCHOCK-U-Men
02 KAPITAL-Kinetics
03 SHARON NEXT-GVDT
04 PLASTIC NOISE EXPERIENCE-Operating Tracks
05 SYSTEM 84-No Shuffle
06 56 DEGREES NORTH-Don’t crash
07 EVO-LUTION-Controversy between
08 VAYLON feat. LEAETHER STRIP-Quite unusual
09 747 FEDERALES-Circling overland
10 TRILOGY-Im Rhythmus bleiben
11 AD:KEY-Work 242
12 WERKSFRONT-Never stop
13 IN GOOD FAITH-Masterhit
14 VUDUVOX-Headhunter
15 STERIL-Animal
16 PATENBRIGADE: WOLFF-Mutilate

Artists/ Tracks CD3:

01 LES BERRTAS-U-Men
02 reADJUST-Take One
03 MACHINISTA-No Shuffle
04 26Z-Until Death (us do Part)
05 NINE CIRCLES-U-Men
06 THE FORCE DIMENSION-No Shuffle
07 MORTAL MEMORIES-Quite unusual
08 R.B.M.K.-Punish Your Machine
09 SCHRAMM-Headhunter
10 NAKED TEARS-Moldavia
11 DKDENT-No Shuffle (Electone Mix)
12 K-BEREIT-Together
13 DPOINT-U-Men
14 AUDIOTHERAPIE-No Shuffle
15 LASTRAX-Circling overland
16 DROID SECTOR DECAY-Neurobashingc

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Genre/Influences: EBM.

Background/Info: SadoSato is an EBM combo based in Graz (Austria), which has already released a few number of productions. They strike back with this funny-titled EP featuring the title song “Fifiteen Shades Of Anti-Hipster” plus 14 remixes by other artists.

Content: The title song reflects a pure and somewhat old-styled EBM in the purest tradition of the genre. The song has been clearly inspired by a band like DAF and is a well-crafted raw piece of retro body music. One of the main characteristics is the somewhat atypical and punkish way of singing.

We next get a kind of remix ‘gang bang’ revealing 14 bands. The title song has been exposed to the body skills of a few famous formations like Plastic Noise Experience and Ad:Key while most of remixes have been accomplished by less familiar names. We already have heard of bands like Invasion Of Female Logic, Frontal and the excellent Akalotz or even the Russian Synthetisch Lebensform, but bands like Elektro Ferret, Muscles On The Move, Werksfront ao are not exactly established names.

I heard several noticeable remixes, but I’ll tip the fast and powerful-like remix by Pagan Struck, which is another interesting band to discover.

↑↑↑: SadoSato is a real interesting and somewhat weird EBM act, which is progressively getting more name and fame. There’s an interesting number of unknown EBM remixers.

↓↓↓ : One single song and 14 remixes, in my opinion is a little bit too much.

Conclusion: If you’re into good-old EBM the “Fifteen Shades Of Anti-Hipster” will give you pleasure and joy!

Best songs: “Fifiteen Shades Of Anti-Hipster”, “Fifiteen Shades Of Anti-Hipster – Pagan Struck”, “Fifiteen Shades Of Anti-Hipster – Ad:Key”, “Fifiteen Shades Of Anti-Hipster – Invasion Of Female Logic”.

Rate: (DP:7)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/SadoSato

Label: www.gminor.at / www.facebook.com/gminormusic

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

UPDATE: The ‘blue version’ is almost sold out, 5 copies left, order it right here if you want one.

While we are all waiting for news from the Front 242 front (update: the news is live now, there’s a new free downloadable remix EP) a small German label has announced the release of a 3CD tribute to Front 242. The first edition comes in a blue design and is limited to just 242 copies (you can order it right here).

The 3CDs feature 16 bands on each CD for a total of 48 bands (you’ll recognise various more well known bands such as Leather Strip, PNE, Kant Kino, Machinista, etc). In total you get 48 covers of Front 242 classics. The brain behind this project is Stefan Rukavina whom you might know from the German Radio Body Music, a label and radio station entirely dedicated to the genres EBM, Anhalt EBM, dark electro, synthpop, futurepop, N.D.W., electronic 80s, industrial and experimental music.

You can order this limited edition set right here.

Artists/ Tracks CD2:

01 OVERGAMENT–Body to Body
02 MECHATRONIC–Operating Tracks
03 THE PAIN MACHINERY – U-Men
04 MRDTC-Least Inkling
05 D-F-O-W–He runs too fast for us
06 LEAETHER STRIP – Don’t crash
07 KANT KINO–Lovely Day
08 EUFORIC EXISTENCE–No Shuffle
09 HUMAN NIHIL – Quite unusual
10 SUBSTAAT-Circling overland
11 RHESUS FACTOR & RIO BLACK-Headhunter
12 VAINERZ-Sacrifice
13 NEOTEK feat. MACHINE SOLDIER-Moldavia
14 BICHROM-Gripped by Fear
15 POST MACHINERY ENVIRONMENT-Tragedy for You
16 GIMME SHELTER–Soulmanager

Artists/ Tracks CD2:

01 TOLCHOCK-U-Men
02 KAPITAL-Kinetics
03 SHARON NEXT-GVDT
04 PLASTIC NOISE EXPERIENCE-Operating Tracks
05 SYSTEM 84-No Shuffle
06 56 DEGREES NORTH-Don’t crash
07 EVO-LUTION-Controversy between
08 VAYLON feat. LEAETHER STRIP-Quite unusual
09 747 FEDERALES-Circling overland
10 TRILOGY-Im Rhythmus bleiben
11 AD:KEY-Work 242
12 WERKSFRONT-Never stop
13 IN GOOD FAITH-Masterhit
14 VUDUVOX-Headhunter
15 STERIL-Animal
16 PATENBRIGADE: WOLFF-Mutilate

Artists/ Tracks CD3:

01 LES BERRTAS-U-Men
02 reADJUST-Take One
03 MACHINISTA-No Shuffle
04 26Z-Until Death (us do Part)
05 NINE CIRCLES-U-Men
06 THE FORCE DIMENSION-No Shuffle
07 MORTAL MEMORIES-Quite unusual
08 R.B.M.K.-Punish Your Machine
09 SCHRAMM-Headhunter
10 NAKED TEARS-Moldavia
11 DKDENT-No Shuffle (Electone Mix)
12 K-BEREIT-Together
13 DPOINT-U-Men
14 AUDIOTHERAPIE-No Shuffle
15 LASTRAX-Circling overland
16 DROID SECTOR DECAY-Neurobashing

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

Content:

Read the news on ‘State Of War’.

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.

Content: Astma is a familiar name at the wider fields of EBM. This Swedish formation is not what I would call a leading band in the genre although an interesting combo dealing with hard EBM since 2001, which gained some reputation from their live performances.
Electro Aggression Records gave them the opportunity to release an official full length featuring 23 (!) songs plus an extra disc with some great remixes.

If you’re not familiar with Astma, you can imagine an hybrid between Orange Sector and Pouppée Fabrikk. This is a rather classical ‘hardcore’ version of EBM, which sounds in the purest tradition of the genre. There’s no real innovation, but this kind of EBM definitely appears to be vaccinated against any new element. You better prepare yourself to ‘move your body’ with the 23 (!) songs of the main disc. The tracks are pretty short – in the 2- 3 minute range, but driven by maximum injection of testosterone.

The sound formula is no longer a secret for EBM lovers. You get a fast cadence joined by dry bass lines and some extra metallic percussion plus heavy shouting vocals. It’s as simple as that and it still works. I however can’t say that Astma has the potential to become a new sensation in the genre, but they have the power to make you move. In the end I would say that this is exactly what we expect from this kind of music, isn’t it?

Behind the ‘cliché’ Astma tries to put their own stamp on the EBM sound. It’s not exactly about their sound, but some of their funny lyrical parts, which are more into punk. “Cut It Short” is one of these songs, where they sing about wanting to cut the hair of hippies. One of the hardest cuts is the so-called “New Version” of “A Global Game” featuring a weird chorus about football. Another funny cut is “Body In Japan” for the mishmash of Japanese words. It doesn’t mean that much, but it’s pure fun and it works.

One of my favorite songs is also one of their most elaborate. Astma added a cool, raw lead on “Suffer And Pain”, which adds more elements to the song although it still remains a pretty simple and efficient. I just regret there are no more variations in the songs like on this track.

The 2nd disc will definitely catch your attention if you’re a real EBM freak. Nineteen bands have been asked to make a remix and you’ll discover bands like Signal Aout 42, Armageddon Dildos, The Psychic Force, Plastic Noise Experience, MRDTC, Autodafeh, Invoke The Insult, Cardinal Noire, Serpents, DRP, Brigade Werther, kFactor ao. This is a truly sonic orgy resulting in several great remixes.

In my opinion, one of the best remixes is the one of “Mr. Miller” by Full Contact 69. This is not exactly the most famous name on the list, but maybe the most creative one revealing a minimal EBM touch reminding me a bit of PNE. Other noticeable remixes have been accomplished by Plastic Noise Experience, Autodafeh and Invoke The Insult. The bands injected their own touch to the work, which brings more diversity to this disc.

Conclusion: A stereotypical-, but solid EBM release with an impressive list of remixes.

Best songs: “Suffer And Pain”, “Cut It Short”, “Tune In The ESP”, “Body In Japan”, “A Global Game – New Version” +” Mr. Miller – Full Contact 69 Remix”, “Suffer And Pain – Autodafeh Remix”.

Rate: (DP:7½)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/Astma-164850410224999

Label: www.electroaggressionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/ElectroAggressionRecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Alfa Matrix was the first industrial label to launch free label compilations on Bandcamp and is now back with the 5th edition of their now classic free “Matrix Downloaded” label digital compilation. The release is one of many releases ahead that will celebrate the label’s 15th anniversary in 2016.

This free (or pay as you wish) compilation is downloadable in MP3/FLAC/WAV/… quality via the label’s Bandcamp page where you can also still find the 4 previous editions (“Matrix Downloaded 001“, “Matrix Downloaded 002“, “Matrix Downloaded 003” and “Matrix Downloaded 004“).

The compilation counts 61 tracks including material from Front 242 (with a brand new remix of “Take One”), Suicidal Romance, Venal Flesh, Plastic Noise Experience, Diffuzion, The Psychic Force, Dunkelwerk etc.. Expect previously unreleased mixes or new songs, but also a look into the recent additions to the Alfa Matrix family members with the melodic retro e-pop of Elektroklange, the new hardcore EBM one-man army of ELM, the cult Swedish body pop act Restricted Area and the break pop of Sin.Sin.

A compilation you can download right now on Bandcamp. Warmly recommended!

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