Out on May 3rd via Metropolis Records is the release of the 16Volt album”NegativeOnArrivals”.

It holds condensed versions of the two most recent albums are being reissued on 3rd May as the single disc “NegativeOnArrivals”, with Powell stating: “I am excited to get this material out to a larger base through Metropolis! The collection of tracks was created during a hard time in my life and to feel them set free together is a great exorcism, I hope everyone enjoys them as we get warmed up for our new album.”

You can pre-order the album right here. Below is the artwork.

In further news, after a period of inactivity that saw 16Volt unable to tour, Powell began working on new material in his studio and re-signed with Metropolis Records for a brand new album entitled “More Of Less” to be issued later in 2024.

Here’s already the video for “The Last Time” featured on the new album.

About 16Volt

With roots dating back to the early days of the industrial rock genre, 16Volt have been successfully crossing over into multiple related genres for over three decades and retained a healthy worldwide fanbase while doing so.

Group founder, songwriter, lead vocalist, programmer and rhythm guitarist Eric Powell actually signed his first record deal in 1991 while still in his teens and delivered three albums in swift succession – “Wisdom” (1993), “Skin” (1994) and “LetDownCrush” (1996) – that saw him working alongside co-producers such as David Ogilvie (Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy), Keith ‘Fluffy’ Auerbach (Ministry) and Jeff ‘Critter’ Newell (Ministry, Angels & Airwaves, blink-182), as well as guest musicians like William Tucker (Ministry), Marc LaCorte (Schecter Guitars) and Bryan Black (Black Asteroid). Earning both critical praise and pole positions on the US Alternative Chart and at College Radio, the band also built a significant live following as they toured extensively around North America and eventuallly signed a major deal with Mercury Records.

Producer Bill Kennedy (Nine Inch Nails, Megadeth, Sepultura, Mötley Crüe) was hired to help make “SuperCoolNothing” (1998), which featured appearances from film composer Joseph Bishara (Insidious, The Conjuring, Marylin Manson, Danzig), Chris Vrenna (Nine Inch Nails), Mike Peoples (Skrew) and Kraig Tyler (Crazytown), but the group soon found themselves in the middle of a legal battle shortly before album release when their label was bought by Seagram and its funding was cut. However, in a genius move, Powell was able to buy back the rights and made a deal with Sony to feature it within the Playstation game “Primal” as well as a two-disc European release that included both the album and the game with the band skinned in as characters and utilised as in-game bonus material.

The mid-’00s saw 16Volt sign to Metropolis Records and release the albums “FullBlackHabit” (2007), “American Porn Songs” (2009) and “Beating Dead Horses” (2012), which featured guests such as Paul Raven (Ministry, Killing Joke, Prong), Steve White (KMFDM) and Bildeaux (Lance Herbstrong), as well as mix engineer Shaun Thingvold (Strapping Young Lad, Lamb of God).

Meanwhile, an extensive touring schedule was maintained that included stints with KMFDM, Korn, Filter, Chemlab, Orgy, Prong, Stabbing Westward, Revolting Cocks, Fear Factory, Front Line Assembly, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Front 242 and more, as well as multiple successful headlining tours in their own right.

2016 saw the release of “The Negative Space”, produced by Marc Jordan (Velvet Revolver, The Cult, Hyro Da Hero, Die Antwoord), with “Dead On Arrivals” following a year later.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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The iconic Swedish synth-pop band Elegant Machinery is set to re-release their legendary album “A Soft Exchange” in mid-November. Originally launched in 2008, the album will be available on vinyl for the first time. This limited edition will feature just 500 copies on blood-red vinyl and will include a full-colour inner sleeve containing all the song lyrics.

In addition to the original tracks, this vinyl edition will offer two bonus songs not found on the original CD. These include the track “Why” from the long-out-of-print hit single “Move,” as well as the song “Beautiful World” from the equally elusive “Feel The Silence” single.

About Elegant Machinery

Drawing significant inspiration from Depeche Mode, Elegant Machinery is among the few contemporary bands committed to producing traditional synthpop music. Alongside other groups like Page, S.P.O.C.K, Sista Mannen På Jorden, and Kiethevez, they have been instrumental in shaping the Swedish synthpop scene.

The band was initially formed in 1988 by Robert Enforsen, Richard Jomshof, and Leslie Bayne, under the name Pole Position. Robert Enforsen took on the role of lead vocalist in 1989, and it was around this time that they released their first demo and changed their name to Elegant Machinery. The name was inspired by an album from DATA, an ’80s British synthpop group led by Norwegian Georg Kajanus.

Johan Malmgren joined the group as a touring musician in 1992 due to Leslie Bayne’s stage fright and later became a permanent member. The band enjoyed considerable success in Sweden, releasing multiple hit singles and winning various awards. In the rest of Europe, their most significant mainstream breakthrough came with the single “Process.”

Elegant Machinery disbanded in 1999 but temporarily reunited in 2001, making their first-ever appearance in the United States and performing in Mexico. Johan was temporarily replaced by Jarmo Ollila of Daily Planet for this stint. Over the subsequent years, they performed several times across Europe. By the end of 2004, they decided to create new music, with original member Leslie Bayne rejoining Johan, Richard, and Robert.

The band disbanded once more in 2011 but was reformed in 2016 by Robert Enforsen and Leslie Bayne, along with new part-time member Jonas Kröjtz. They released a new EP on 14 October 2016, titled “I.”

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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Pole – aka German electronic artist Stefan Betke – has launched the title track of his new album, “Tempus”, out on Mute on 18 November 2022 on vinyl, CD and digitally. “Tempus” is the follow-up album to 2020’s “Fading”.

You can check out “Tempus” right below.

And here are two more tracks.

The painting on the cover, by Wolfgang Betke titled “Großstadtwanderer”, links into the themes explored on the album. Betke explains: “I found the whole atmosphere in this totally weird confused head with these little shimmery eyes leaking through the colours to totally fit the idea of Tempus.”

About Pole

Born in Düsseldorf, Pole took his name from a Waldorf 4-Pole filter, which he accidentally dropped and broke in 1996. Though the filter was perhaps no longer appropriate for DJ work in its damaged state, Betke found the strange hissing and popping noises the filter now made interesting sounds. He then began using the broken filter to create music, launching his musical career.

Betke’s first four albums, titled “1”, “2”, “3”, and “R” (a trilogy of albums, followed by a collection of remixes of Pole’s 1998 debut EP “Raum”), were all based around this filter. In 2003 Betke departed from this style for the album “Pole” (a combination of tracks from two EPs, “45/45” and “90/90”), which utilized more traditionally electronics.

Pole has been distributed on several different labels, including Matador Records and Mute Records.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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(Photo by Ben de Biel) Pole – aka German electronic artist Stefan Betke – has announced details of a new album, “Tempus”, due out November 18 via Mute on vinyl, CD and digital platforms. You can watch the video for “Grauer Sand” by Rainer Kohlberger – the first taste of what to expect from the album – below.

Stefan Betke explains the album as follows: “‘Tempus’ considers the connection between the past, present, and future. It is, a natural development to the last album. One which goes further and is even more complex.”

The painting on the cover, by Wolfgang Betke titled Großstadtwanderer, links into the themes explored on the album. Betke explains: “I found the whole atmosphere in this totally weird, confused head with these little shimmery eyes leaking through the colours to totally fit the idea of Tempus.”

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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Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. During the late 1970s bands such as the Human League, Kraftwerk, and later on Gary Numan, Soft Cell and John Foxx helped pioneer a new synth-pop style that drew more heavily from electronic music and emphasized primary usage of synthesizers. Developed in the late 1970s it has seen several revival periods up until now.

We picked out the best synthpop albums from the past 4 decades (!!!). Here’s our list.

The Human League – ‘Dare’ (1981)

The Human League are ‘oldies’ when it comes to synthpop. Formed in Sheffield in 1977 and initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group attained widespread commercial success with their third album “Dare” in 1981. The album contained four hit singles, including the UK/US number one hit “Don’t You Want Me”. The band’s third studio album, it was recorded between March and September 1981 following the departure of founding members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, and saw the band shift direction from their prior avant-garde electronic style toward a more pop-friendly, commercial sound led by frontman Philip Oakey. A remix album based on “Dare”, “Love and Dancing”, was released in 1982.

Talk Talk – ‘It’s My Life’ (1984)

Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles “Talk Talk” (1982), “It’s My Life”, and “Such a Shame” (both 1984) before moving towards a more experimental approach in the mid-1980s. Not surprisingly that our next pick is “It’s My Life”, the second studio album by Talk Talk, released in 1984. The album enjoyed an enormous succes thanks to the big international success of its singles (notably “Such a Shame”). We have a soft spot for the tracks “Dum Dum Girl”, “Such a Shame”, “Renée”, “It’s My Life” and “It’s You” although the entire album is just extremely enjoyable.

Alphaville – ‘Forever Young’ (1984)

The German synth-pop band Alphaville, which formed in Münster in 1982, achieved chart success with the singles “Forever Young”, “Big in Japan”, “Sounds Like a Melody”. All these were taken from their 1984 debut album “Forever Young” which was produced by Colin Pearson, Wolfgang Loos and Andreas Budde. Despite the success of the album and its singles, the band did not tour as they felt more like ‘studio rats’. It remains the band’s best output to date.

a-ha – ‘Scoundrel Days’ (1986)

The Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha was formed in Oslo in 1982 by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards and guitars), and Morten Harket (vocals). “Scoundrel Days” is the second studio album by the trio and offered a more mature sound compared to their debut “Hunting High and Low” (1985). “Scoundrel Days”, recorded in England in early 1986 and produced by Alan Tarney, sported such singles as “I’ve Been Losing You”, “Cry Wolf” and “Maybe, Maybe” which was released solely in Bolivia. “Manhattan Skyline” was the forth and final single released from the long-player.

Erasure – ‘Wonderland’ (1986)

“Wonderland” is the debut studio album by the English synth-pop duo Erasure and was released in 1986. Although it was not an immediate success, the three singles released from it did become cult tracks overtime: “Who Needs Love Like That”, “Oh L’amour” and “Heavenly Action”. Although “Wonderland” was considered a failure, especially when comparing it to Clarke’s prior successes with Depeche Mode and Yazoo, the album became an all time favourite that laid the fundament of what was to follow in 1987 with the release of “The Circus”. The album was produced by Flood who would become a long-time collaborator.

Pet Shop Boys – ‘Actually’ (1987)

Pet Shop Boys, the English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981, broke all records when they released “Actually”, their second studio album, in 1987. It was pushed forward by such great tracks as “One More Chance”, “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” (with Dusty Springfield), “Shopping”, “Rent”, “It Couldn’t Happen Here”, “It’s a Sin”, “Heart” and the majestic “King’s Cross”. In short an album filled with hits.

New Order – ‘Technique’ (1989)

New Order was formed in 1980 by vocalist and guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. The band formed after the demise of Joy Division, following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis and were joined by Gillian Gilbert on keyboards later that year. Their experience of the early 1980s New York club scene saw them increasingly incorporate dance rhythms and electronic instrumentation into their work which resulted in their 1983 hit “Blue Monday” becoming and absolute monster hit. However, we picked out “Technique”, their fifth studio album. Released in 1989 by Factory Records, the album incorporates Balearic beat and acid house influences into the group’s dance-rock sound. “Technique” was the first New Order album to reach the number one spot on the UK charts and had such excellent singles as “Fine Time”, “Round and Round” and “Run 2”.

Depeche Mode – ‘Violator’ (1990)

“Violator” is the seventh studio album by England’s Depeche Mode. It was first released on 19 March 1990 through Mute Records internationally, and through Sire and Reprise Records in the United States. Preceded by the singles “Personal Jesus” and “Enjoy the Silence” (a top-10 entry in both the United Kingdom and the United States), the album propelled the band into international stardom, and also yielded the singles “Policy of Truth” and “World in My Eyes”. The album is generally considered as their most accomplisched electropop album before they encorporated more rock elements in the next album, “Songs of Faith and Devotion”. The role of Alan Wilder was crucial in “Violator”, you only have to compare the first and final version of “Enjoy The Silence” to notice the huge difference.

Bel Canto – ‘Birds of Passage’ (1990)

Bel Canto is a Norwegian music duo, originally a trio, fronted by vocalist Anneli Drecker and musically powered by Geir Jenssen and Nils Johansen. Signed originally to Crammed Discs, their second album “Birds of Passage” is considered as an absolute pearl holding an excellent production (aided by Giles Martin) and a long list of guest musicians who added acoustic elements to the cold nordic synths Jenssen and multi-instrumentalist Johansen. It was also the last album featuring Geir Jenssen. It holds the hits “Intravenous”, “Birds of Passage”, “A Shoulder to the Wheel”, “Time Without End”, “Continuum” and “The Suffering”. The band remains an often well-hidden pearl in electropopland.

De/Vision – ‘Fairyland?’ (1996)

De/Vision, a German synthpop act formed in 1988, was at the peak of its electropop stardom around the mid-nineties culiminating in the outstanding “Fairyland?” album which had such great tracks as “I Regret”, “Sweet Life”, “Today’s Life” or “Bleed Me White”. The band was fronting a new wave of electropop bands in Germany but was generally considered to be the most consistent one as far as quality and output. Sadly enough the release, and also the band’s earlier material, are no longer available on Spotify.

Wolfsheim – ‘Spectators’ (1999)

Wolfsheim was a synthpop duo from Hamburg, Germany, that consisted of Markus Reinhardt and Peter Heppner. Their fourth studio album was “Spectators” (1999) preceeded by two ‘pre-release’ singles from the album. “Once in a Lifetime” was released on October 16, 1998 and “It’s Hurting For The First Time” followed on November 30th. The LP was produced by Wolfsheim and José Alvarez-Brill and held 11 new songs. To this day, “Spectators” is the best-selling album by Wolfsheim with over 250,000 copies sold. The third single, “Künstliche Welten”, was released in 1999.

Iris – ‘Disconnect’ (2000)

“Disconnect” is the debut album by the electropop group Iris. Released in 2000 via the US label A Different Drum, the synthpop label by excellence, its success was guaranteed by the now cult synthpop jewels “Annie, Would I Lie to You?”, “Lose In Wanting” and “Danger Is The Shame”. Originally formed by Reagan Jones and Mat Morris in 1993, after the release of their first album “Disconnect”, Matthew Morris was replaced with Andrew Sega, who pushed the band’s sound in a more experimental electronic direction. Sadly enough the release, and also the band’s earlier material, are no longer available on Spotify.

Elegant Machinery – ‘A Soft Exchange’ (2008)

The Swedish synthpop band Elegant Machinery defined the Swedish synthpop movement along with such bands as Page, S.P.O.C.K, Sista Mannen På Jorden and Kiethevez. Heavily influenced by acts like Yazoo, The Human League, Depeche Mode and Rational Youth, the trio Robert Enforsen, Richard Jomshof and Leslie Bayne started the band in 1988 under the name Pole Position. The band was very successful in Sweden, with a number of successful singles and various awards. But it is their 2008 album “A Soft Exchange” that earned them a place in our list. The album was extremely mature yet very melodic and features such pearls a “With Grace”, “Do You Know”, “Feel The Silence”, “Bleeding Words” and “Is This The Way”.

Electro Spectre – ‘Dangerous Game’ (2012)

The Norwegian electronic music duo Electro Spectre fronts the 3rd electropop wave. Isak Rypdal (writer-producer) and Alexander Björneboe (writer-singer) debuted in 2009 with the album “Watch It All Turn” (which was later reproduced and re-released in 2010). The duo has secured us from a steady and consistent output ever since. In our list we picked the band’s 2012 release, which is their second studio album entitled “Dangerous Game”. Included are such pearls as “Love Thief”, “Dancing Girl”, “World Keeps Turning” and “Tokyo Shuffle”.

Mondträume – ‘Empty’ (2014)

Mondträume is the creative outlet of 2 Spanish talented artists Pikotto Vond Mond and Damasius Venys. In only a few years, the duo rapidly caught the attention of concert organizers, released several songs on compilations, and secured a label contract with Belgium’s electronic label Alfa Matrix where they debuted with the album “Empty”. The hits “Life Is Short”, “Parasite” and especially the synth pop pearl “Far From Pain” show why this band became one of the strongholders in the 3rd electropop wave together with such bands as Electro Spectre, and more.

Eldrina Mich

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

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(Photo by Ben de Biel) Pole (aka Stefan Betke) has shared “Rost”, a brand new track and the first to be shared from “Tanzboden”, a 2-track 12” due out on Mute on 13 August 2021 on vinyl and digitally.

The new track originates from a series of loops created during the recording sessions for his first new album for Mute in over 15 years, “Fading”, which was released in November 2020. Fading was about loss of memory and how memory disappears over the years as we grow older, and these loops were discovered when Betke had returned to the original recordings.

He explains: “I began working in my Berlin Studio, doing research and listening to the single recording sessions of Fading to remember what I did exactly and to find out what I think about the recording months after finishing it. Tanzboden is an old fashioned word for a dancefloor constructed during the harvest time, mostly outdoors, and Rost is the German word for rust which is an interesting connection to Tanzboden. If the dancefloor is not really used for a long time anymore it starts to rust, and as the screws and metal plates which are holding the wooden parts together disappear slowly over the years, so does the Tanzboden itself.”

You can listen to the track below.

About Pole

Pole is the artistic name of Stefan Betke, a German electronic music artist commonly associated with the glitch genre as well as dubtronica. Born in Düsseldorf, Pole took his name from a Waldorf 4-Pole filter, which he accidentally dropped and broke in 1996. Betke found the strange hissing and popping noises the filter now made interesting sounds. He then began using the broken filter to create music, launching his musical career.

Betke’s first four albums, titled “1”, “2”, “3”, and “R” (an intentional trilogy of albums, followed by a collection of remixes of Pole’s 1998 debut EP “Raum”), were all based around this filter, with songs usually taking the form of dub bass-lines and rhythms with percussion provided by the eponymous filter.

In 2003 Betke departed from this style for the album “Pole” (a combination of tracks from two EPs, “45/45” and “90/90”), which utilized more traditionally electronics.

Pole has been distributed on several different labels, including Matador Records and Mute Records, and in 1999 Betke co-founded (with Barbara Preisinger) the label ~scape, also known for publishing Jan Jelinek. On September 1, 2011, Betke founded a new artist label named Pole.

For the synthpoppers out there, Betke oversaw the 2021 re-master of Alphaville’s 1989 album “The Breathtaking Blue” alongside Bernhard Lloyd.

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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Fort Lauderdale, FL based dark electro pop artist Miss FD has released a new 3-song EP, “Adore”. As the cover already reveals the tracks on this new “Adore” EP are themed for flow movement and dance all blended with dark electronics.

Miss FD: “Inspired by fitness training and pole dance choreography, I created this EP as background flow during flexibility training sessions, which have been incredibly motivating for me during periods of lockdown.”

You may expect a fusion of dark electro, cyberpunk, and industrial in the sonic mix for the songs on the Adore EP.

The EP is out now through Quantum Release records, and available worldwide on all major streaming outlets and of course also on Bandcamp as you can see below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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(Photo by Ben de Biel) Earlier this year, Pole (aka Stefan Betke) returned to Mute for the remastered reissue of his groundbreaking trilogy, “1”, “2”, “3” as we reported a while back.

Pole is now back with his first album release since 2015’s “Wald”. “Fading” will be out on Mute on 6 November 2020. Earlier in August you could already enjoy the track “Röschen” and now Pole has shared “Nebelkrähe”.

Listen to the new track below.

A broken Waldorf 4-Pole filter

Stefan Betke is a German electronic music artist commonly associated with the glitch genre as well as dubtronica. Born in Düsseldorf, Pole took his name from a Waldorf 4-Pole filter, which he accidentally dropped and broke in 1996. Though the filter was perhaps no longer appropriate for DJ work in its damaged state, Betke found the strange hissing and popping noises the filter now made interesting sounds. He then began using the broken filter to create music, launching his musical career.

Betke’s first four albums were all based around this filter, with songs usually taking the form of dub basslines and rhythms with percussion provided by the eponymous filter. In 2003 Betke departed from this style for the album “Pole” (a combination of tracks from two EPs, “45/45” and “90/90”), which utilized a more traditionally electronic production.

Pole has been distributed on several different labels, including Matador Records and Mute Records, and in 1999 Betke cofounded (with Barbara Preisinger) the label ~scape, also known for publishing Jan Jelinek. On September 1, 2011, Betke founded a new artist label named Pole.

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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Behind the French solo-project SIGNAL~BRUIT is hiding the enigmatic ‘Member U-0176’. Electro-pop lovers for sure know the man from his involvement with Cellloïde and Thee Hyphen while he’s still running the label BOREDOMproduct and the sub-division productB. Four years ago now he unleashed the debut-album “Planisphère(s)” on Sevren Ni-Arb (X-Mark The Pedwalk) label Meshwork. The work clearly revealed a retro-electro approach reminding pioneers in the genre, but still a space-minded ambient/soundtrack style. The new album “Hyperborée” has been released on productionB and moves a step further, revealing a new concept and a more elaborated and intelligent sound creation. “Hyperborée” is a truly masterpiece I can only recommend.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You this year released the second album of Signal~Bruit, but can you tell us how this project saw the daylight?

U-0176: In between two albums of Celluloide, I’m always searching for ideas, experimenting sequences and creating sounds, testing new settings with synthesizers… which we keep in store for incorporating into Celluloide’s pop format later.

Sometimes I decide to record my improvisations when I feel it has an interesting mood, though it isn’t obviously made for Celluloide.

I was reading the book “Flatland” and I had the kind of feeling that the book left a mark on the ‘atmosphere’ of what I was creating when turning knobs and improvising notes and sequences. 

So I had the idea to keep these tracks to illustrate important parts of the book with sound atmospheres and melodies… like a soundtrack for a book.

Q: You’ve been –and still are, involved with different projects such as Thee Hyphen and of course Celluloïde so what brings this new project and music experience in your artistic career? Is there a kind of specific sonic identity or quest behind this new work?

U-0176: I think it’s very difficult to write songs… so it takes a lot of energy and time to write new songs for Celluloide or Thee Hyphen… maybe it’s too much demanding for me now.

So experimenting sounds, effects, patches is more like a recreational time for me. I have no other objective than ‘feel’ the sound change when I turn the knobs.

Then organizing all these experiments into something that makes a consistent piece is a completely different work than writing a song, and I like this a lot.

Q: Signal~Bruit clearly sounds as a wink to some electronic pioneers; the creation of sounds and especially atmospheres appear to be some essential elements in the process. Can you give us a bit more details about it all and also about the way of creating this music (and sounds)?

U-0176: Yes, I have always been influenced by lots of different electronic music and of course pioneers like Tangerine Dreams. I’ve always been fascinated by their albums of the Froese/Franke/Baumann era, and the solo works of Froese of the same period… But I’m also a huge fan of Lassigue Bendthaus or Clock DVA, and I like very much the experiments of Autechre… I just want to do something similar… not similar in sound but, trying to test new things, new ways.

Creation of sounds and effects is essential because it’s where it starts, when I have an interesting texture, I play with it and try to find the notes that work best with it. Tracks are constructed bit by bit until I get to something. It can be very long and requires a lot of post-recording rework…

Q: I noticed an important evolution in sound and production from the debut album “Planisphère(s)” and “Hyperborée”? How do you perceive this evolution and what have been the main changes/evolutions from the first album till “Hyperborée”?

U-0176: Evolution in sound is simply led by the story I’m trying to illustrate… These two albums illustrate very different stories, so they sound different.

So that’s the story beneath that influences the result. You cannot make a soundtrack for a Western film sound the same as a sci-fi movie, that’s just it.

Sound and productions are quite similar, but I probably used more digital synthesizers on “Hyperborée”, and a lot more effects, so it could have made a significant change.

Q: “Hyperborée” seems to be a conceptual album so can you tell us a bit more about it? Did this conceptual work need some kind of preparation and how did you finally achieve it?

U-0176: “Hyperborée” follows the journey of Pythéas from Massalia to the North Pole in 300 BC. This is a true story, but we lost the details from this expedition. We only know that he discovered the Northern seas, territories and people while he was trying to prove the earth is a sphere. I read several books on his story, and we’re not sure how he made it, but he did.

So I tried to imagine a possible path for this antic adventure that I see as thrilling as discovering space in the modern age.

Q: To me Signal~Bruit stands for intelligent electronic music, but unfortunately there’re less people interested in ‘intelligent’ music. What does it evoke to you and how do you as label owner look at bands with intelligent and sophisticated compositions?

U-0176: Yes, releasing albums for Signal~Bruit or Novocibirsk as we did with productionB is quite risky, but we’re not doing it for success.

I hope that we’ll find enough people to buy our records so that we can keep up the flag high as long as possible, that’s our objective.

As you can see, we stated it right from the start when launching productionB

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

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)
The Norwegian alt-rock band Friksjon (“friction”) have compiled their first two single releases and two new tracks into an EP, released by Fucking North Pole Records on several platforms September 4th.

Friksjon is Torstein Eriksen’s musical habitat for music outside the constraints of Norsk Råkk and Freedumb, and loose threads gathered from projects that never saw the light of day. It’s musically miles away from previous efforts, and can be defined as alternative pop rock, with a musical backdrop of razor sharp guitars, psychedelic synthesizers, and doomsday drums. The lyrics are from a direct, personal, and brutally honest perspective. The members of the band hails from bands like Norsk Råkk, Freedumb, CC Cowboys, Heyday, Konstant Anfall, The Cornflakes, Kings and Deadweight and Hate This.

They’ll be touring the south-east of Norway from September until mid-November – check their Facebook page for more info.

Friksjon EP playlist:

Jan Ronald Stange

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

www.facebook.com/jrstange

(Photo by Ben de Biel) Berlin based artist Pole (aka Stefan Betke) has announced more details of a new album called “Fading”. A first track, “Röschen”, is available now.

“Fading” is set for release on Mute on 6 November 2020. Available on vinyl, CD and digitally, the new album follows Mute’s remastered reissues of his groundbreaking trilogy – “1”, “2”, “3” – at the beginning of the year.

Betke: “The album was mostly inspired by the idea of memory loss, my mum had dementia and I saw her losing all the memory that she had accumulated over her 91 long years. When losing that memory it turned into what she was probably like in the beginning of her life when she was born – like an empty box.”

Check out “Röschen”.

A broken Waldorf 4-Pole filter

Stefan Betke is a German electronic music artist commonly associated with the glitch genre as well as dubtronica. Born in Düsseldorf, Pole took his name from a Waldorf 4-Pole filter, which he accidentally dropped and broke in 1996. Though the filter was perhaps no longer appropriate for DJ work in its damaged state, Betke found the strange hissing and popping noises the filter now made interesting sounds. He then began using the broken filter to create music, launching his musical career.

Betke’s first four albums were all based around this filter, with songs usually taking the form of dub basslines and rhythms with percussion provided by the eponymous filter. In 2003 Betke departed from this style for the album “Pole” (a combination of tracks from two EPs, “45/45” and “90/90”), which utilized a more traditionally electronic production.

Pole has been distributed on several different labels, including Matador Records and Mute Records, and in 1999 Betke cofounded (with Barbara Preisinger) the label ~scape, also known for publishing Jan Jelinek. On September 1, 2011, Betke founded a new artist label named Pole.

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

Circumpolar is a Swedish duo driven by Jonas Mattson and Patrik Wallin. They last year self-released their debut-EP “Until The End Of Time” and next got signed on Alfa Matrix, which re-released this work. The second EP “We Will Remain” was released nearly at the same time and revealed a more sophisticated sound approach. The intelligent sound treatments remind me a bit of bands such as Clock DVA, Haujobb and related formations. Circumpolar might be the next new sensation for all of those who like intelligent electronics!

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Circumpolar is a rather unknown name at the wider fields of electro-underground music so can you briefly introduce the band, the way you get contaminated by the ‘electronic virus’ and what were the original purposes when setting up Circumpolar?

Circumpolar: Circumpolar is a new Swedish dark-electro/wave act that consists of Jonas Mattsson and Patrik Wallin. We are old friends since way back in time. We started to make music together when we were about 18 years old, and then played in different bands for some years in the Northern part of Sweden. However, we never released any of that material on record. For years now we have been talking about getting back together again, and about two years ago we decided trying to make electronic music together again.

The purpose behind Circumpolar is to create interesting electronic music within our own conceptual format and sound, which hopefully will be enjoyed by people all over the world.

Q: The name of your band refers to astrology, but can you tell us a bit more about this name and the possible links with lyrical content and music style?

Patrik: The stars that circle around the celestial pole and never set below the horizon are called ‘circumpolarstars’. In ancient Egypt, the circumpolar stars in the Northern sky were called ‘jhmw-sk’, ‘the ones not knowing destruction’. The astronomical characteristics of these specific stars were used in numerous religious texts to express immortality and eternity, for example:

‘O uplifted one (i.e. the Pharaoh), being great among the circumpolar stars. You have not perished, you star of eternity’ (a citation from the so-called Pyramid Texts, 2300 BC)

I studied a lot of ancient history at university, and I have a PhD degree in Egyptology. Sometimes I use the imagery and concepts of life/death and space/time from ancient Egyptian religion in my lyrics.   

Q: Referring to the music style and/or the ‘sound’ properly speaking, I experienced your work as a fusion between different genres and influences; EBM, IDM, ambient, dark-electro… How do you perceive your own sound? Can you tell us a bit more about potential sources of inspiration? References? And how did the song writing happened?

Circumpolar: Bands like Skinny Puppy, Front 242, The Klinik, Twice A Man, Kraftwerk, The Neon Judgement and Portion Control have always been sources of inspiration to us. Further, The Fields Of The Nephilim, The Sisters Of Mercy, Swans, The Cure, Joy Division, Rome and Dead Can Dance are bands that we both like a lot.

Both of us are still buying lots of records and we constantly discover new electronic and dark-electro artists. There is so much great new music within our genre yet to discover.

We like to think that we somehow have created mix between EBM, dark-electro and dark wave/goth. However, this was not the intention when we started the band, it just happened.

The process of creating new songs usually starts with an instrumental loop or just single sample, which we successively develop into a song.

Q: You last year self-released the debut EP “Until The End Of Times” -which got next re-released on Alfa Matrix, plus another EP “We Will Remain”. Can you briefly analyze both EP’s? Was there a particular focus in writing and production? And how did you get the deal with Alfa Matrix?

Circumpolar: The first song we recorded as Circumpolar was “The Rain Will Burn” from the first EP, and then we realized that we had created a musical concept and sound that we really liked. After that moment, it was very easy to continuing writing new songs. 

On the “Until The End Of Time”-EP the foundation of our sound was built, whereas on the “We Will Remain”-EP the sound and concept evolved into something that will be even more present on our future releases.

We sent the songs from our first EP along with the songs to the “We Will Remain”-EP to about 15 different record labels. We got some offers, but when we got a positive response from Alfa Matrix we were overwhelmed.  

Q: I think there’s an interesting evolution in writing and production between both EP’s; “We Will Remain” being definitely more elaborated and subtle, reminding me to bands such as Haujobb, Mentallo & The Fixer and Clock DVA. What does it say about your approach, studio equipment and your own evolution as musicians?

Circumpolar: On the second EP we have worked more with the vocals, and experimented a bit more with reverb, delay and other effects, trying to create a more dynamic and atmospheric experience. The structures of the songs are also a bit different compared to the first EP. Further, we spent much more time on mixing and mastering.

We have bought a lot of new gear since we recorded the first EP, for example a Korg Minilouge XD, the fantastic Strymon Big Sky Reverb, and some Roland drum machines.

Q: I think you’re back again in studio, so I can imagine there’s an album in the pipeline? What brings the future and what might we expect regarding topics such as image, social media activity and live performances?

Circumpolar: For the moment, we are recording new songs for a forthcoming album release. We are constantly producing loads of loops and outtakes, but now we have selected about nine songs out of that material to be finalized for an album.  

It is quite possible that there will be some social media activities prior to our next releases, perhaps some live performances from the studio…

Yes, we will definitely play live in the future.  

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

Jean-Marc Lederman has a brand new release out as download and on CD on Wool-E Discs: “The Helpless Voyage Of The Titanic”. The record describes how over a century after the disaster, White Star Line’s sunken jewel continues to spark maritime as well as political debates.

Jean-Marc: “Like the ship, our planet has reached a tipping point: the hole that we tore in the sky is still wider than the gash on the starboard hull; greenhouse emissions are melting the pole that spawned the ill-fated iceberg and sea levels are swiftly rising. Once again, too many politicians and the shamefully rich are standing around in their finery, ceaselessly chattering as Venice sinks. On this current trajectory, history will repeat itself. With a world population approaching 8 billion, there won’t be enough lifeboats.”

A message that sounds rather apocalyptic but which in times of Coronavirus also sounds quite familiar. We decided to phone Jean-Marc to ask him some questions regarding this release.

SL. How did this album start?

JML. It started cos a friend from Minneapolis (South-African born Brooke R Calder from the band The Red Hour) told me about the story of the Titanic as she’s passionate about it and I thought it would be a nice story to tell: from the docks in Southampton to the, unfortunately, bottom of the Ocean. So, I started looking at facts about the boat, saw a plan of it and there’s a place called “The Boiling Room” (la salle des machines) on it and every techno buff knows it’s also a kind of event where the crowd behind the DJ, in the same spot, no stages, no cabin, nothing…And I thought that it would be fun to do an album going thru all the places in the boat…So, I did one track, then another one and a few weeks later, it’s all there and it made total sense.

SL. Can you describe what listeners can expect from it?

JML. It’s a real sonic voyage where you are taken through the different places aboard the Titanic: the Captain’s quarter, the dancehall for the very rich, the boiler room with the machines but also the below deck, at the bottom of the boat where the immigrants were located. At the time, immigrants were flowing to the US and as there weren’t commercial airlines yet, boats were like busses, starting from different european haven everyday. So, same boat, but 30 meters were separating the very rich to the poor…There’s of course the crash, the boat going down, the rescue boats…We all know it doesn’t end well but it can be musically painted in ways that aren’t all dark and somber.

SL. What sound were you looking for?

JML. As usual a variety of sounds as to not bore the listener. So, I used many different sources, some real electronic sounds but also some samples.

SL. The title of the album, “The Helpless Voyage Of The Titanic”, could easily be interpreted today as what we are going through with the Coronavirus crisis these days… any remark?

I’ve been told that, yes… I know that, and Brooke points it out in her sleeve notes on the CD, the story of the Titanic is very close to what we experiment in today’s world: everything is made for the rich and little care is given to the people with little or no wealth. And for money, as today. An example: there were only 20 rescue boats on the ship, which was legal, but factually they could not fit about a thousand of the passengers if something went wrong, which did happen as we know. The company didn’t want to put more boats for sparing money. At the same time, they did build a fourth chimney which is for prestige only as the boat didn’t need it but it made the boat look more majestic. So, money was spared for essential but given for showing off…And the sailors weren’t even drilled on how to use the rescue boats…But, to be fair, it’s a legend that the lower deck passengers weren’t allowed to go to the above decks when the catastrophe happened: the truth is that the crew didn’t instruct them at all and cared more for the higher decks, with the richer/very rich passengers.

SL. How do you spend your days now? Working from home for your daytime job which seems very important these days?

JML. Yes, I telework now. My job, in e-health, can be done from home and that’s what I do for now. I also get first hand (wash it !) informations about Coronavirus so I tell around me to not panic but to follow confinement and safety measures (social distancing and cleaning hands) with total obedience. This is not a drill! Read the review of ‘The Helpless Voyage Of The Titanic’.

Side-Line also covered Jean-Marc Lederman’s ‘Letters To Gods (and fallen angels)’.

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

Earlier this year, in January to be precise, we posted this article “When an April Fools prank becomes reality: ‘STUMM433’ (feat. Laibach, Depeche Mode, …)” describing how Mute would release a box set featuring 50 Mute artists giving their interpretation of John Cage’s silent track “4’33”.

Today, The Normal aka Daniel Miller, has shared his tribute to John Cage’s “4’33””. It will be the first ‘music’ released by The Normal on Mute since the debut 7”. On Mute that is indeed because “Live at West Runton Pavilion”, The Normal’s second release, done with another Mute Records act Robert Rental, was released on Marat Records in Germany as Daniel Miller Robert Rental Live, with a black and white picture sleeve.

But back to 2019. Miller recorded his piece at a site in North London that will be familiar to fans of the label as the site of its foundation: 16 Decoy Avenue. Listen to The Normal’s take on “4’33”” right below.

Daniel Miller: “John Cage’s 4’33” has been present in my musical life for as long as I can remember as an important and inspiring composition. When the idea of every Mute artist doing their own interpretation of the piece came up during a conversation with Simon Fisher Turner, I immediately thought this was the perfect way to mark the label’s MUTE 4.0 (1978 > TOMORROW) series.”

Ironically, last year we had the idea to create an April Fools prank with a fake compilation with a lot of famous musicians covering John Cage 4’33 silent track. We decided not to do it, not sure if most of you would grab the irony.

Which Mute artists are featured in the boxset?

The boxset will feature over 50 Mute artists including A Certain Ratio, A.C. Marias, ADULT., The Afghan Whigs, Alexander Balanescu, Barry Adamson, Ben Frost, Bruce Gilbert, Cabaret Voltaire, Carter Tutti Void, Chris Carter, Chris Liebing, Cold Specks, Daniel Blumberg, Danny Briottet, Depeche Mode, Duet Emmo, Echoboy, Einstürzende Neubauten, Erasure, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, He Said, Irmin Schmidt, Josh T. Pearson, K Á R Y Y N, Komputer, Laibach, Land Observations, Lee Ranaldo, Liars, Looper, Lost Under Heaven, Maps, Mark Stewart / Sonskrif / The New Banalist Orchestra, Michael Gira, Mick Harvey, Miranda Sex Garden, Moby, Modey Lemon, Mountaineers, New Order, Nitzer Ebb, NON / Boyd Rice, Nonpareils, The Normal, onDeadWaves, Phew, Pink Grease, Pole, Polly Scattergood, Richard Hawley, ShadowParty, Silicon Teens, Simon Fisher Turner and Edmund de Waal, The Warlocks, Wire, Yann Tiersen and Gareth Jones.

The designers behind the visuals

Contributing designers include Simone Grant who worked with Miller on a lot of the early Mute artwork (The Normal, Fad Gadget and Depeche Mode); Steve Claydon, a member of Add N To (X) who designed for Goldfrapp; Slim Smith, who worked with Mute through the 1980s and 1990s; Malcolm Garrett, who designed the “House of Illustrious” box set for Vince Clarke and Martyn Ware; Tom Hingston, who has worked with Erasure and created the majority of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Grinderman artwork since the early 2000s; and Anton Corbjin, who has worked closely with Mute on many campaigns since the early 1980s, including those of Depeche Mode, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Fad Gadget.

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

Last year we had the idea to create an April Fools prank with a fake compilation with a lot of famous musicians covering John Cage 4’33 silent track. We decided not to do it, not sure if most of you would grab the irony. You can imagine our surprise when Mute announced a box set this morning featuring 50 Mute artists giving their interpretation of… yes, 4’33.

From the artist that started Mute, The Normal, to the label’s newest signing, K Á R Y Y N, “STUMM433” will feature over 50 Mute artists – including Depeche Mode, Yann Tiersen, Liars, Silicon Teens, Irmin Schmidt – presenting their own interpretation of one piece of music: John Cage’s 4’33”.

Fortunately you’ll get a visual to accompany each ‘performance’ of 4’33”. The box set launches with a video from Laibach which you can see below.

Net profits from the release of STUMM433 will be split between the British Tinnitus Association and Music Minds Matter. These charities were chosen to honor Inspiral Carpets’ founding member Craig Gill who suffered from anxiety and depression as a result of his tinnitus in the years up to his untimely death. The box set will be released in May 2019.

Artists featured include: A Certain Ratio, A.C. Marias, ADULT., The Afghan Whigs, Alexander Balanescu, Barry Adamson, Ben Frost, Bruce Gilbert, Cabaret Voltaire, Carter Tutti Void, Chris Carter, Chris Liebing, Cold Specks, Daniel Blumberg, Depeche Mode, Duet Emmo, Echoboy, Einstürzende Neubauten, Erasure, Fad Gadget (tribute), Goldfrapp, He Said, Irmin Schmidt, Josh T. Pearson, K Á R Y Y N, Komputer, Laibach, Land Observations, Lee Ranaldo, Liars, Looper, Lost Under Heaven, Maps, Mark Stewart, Michael Gira, Mick Harvey, Miranda Sex Garden, Moby, Modey Lemon, Mountaineers, New Order, Nitzer Ebb, NON, Nonpareils, The Normal, onDeadWaves, Phew, Pink Grease, Pole, Polly Scattergood, Renegade Soundwave, Richard Hawley, ShadowParty, Silicon Teens, Simon Fisher Turner, The Warlocks, Wire, Yann Tiersen.

Side-Line also covered Laibach’s ‘Click Interview’.

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: IDM, cinematographic.

Background/Info: Sascha Lemon and his LPF12 sonic brainchild are already back on track. This is the fifth release in the “Whiteout”-series, which has been introduced as ‘a fictional walk to the South Pole, man against nature. A sonic trip through the Antarctic continent’.

Content: LPF12 is getting more and more into soundtrack music experiences, but “Whiteout5” moves back to the sophisticated and IDM-like experiments of the German artist. The work reveals refined astral electro bleeps, which also reveal the minimal side of this work. But you will once more notice the ambient element hanging over the production, and which progressively became the newest influence of LPF12.

+ + + : “Whiteout5” is a well-crafted opus revealing impressive sound treatments. The sound production is pretty vintage-like, but still refined. Even if I’m not always convinced by prolific artists, LPF12 clearly reveals a will to constantly improve different aspects of the production. There for sure is an evolution regarding the influences, but this work features an impressive evolution in the global production process.

– – – : LF12 is a project that has progressively evolved towards an ambient inspiration appealing for a visual content. That’s precisely what this work needs and what you’re missing as a listener.

Conclusion: LPF12 is not reinventing his own sound, but in my humble opinion he achieved one of his most accomplished works to date.

Best songs: “The Missing Horizon”, “Not A Straight Line”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.lpf12.de / www.facebook.com/LPF12SL

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

Helalyn Flowers is lead by the powerful vocals of Nøemi Aurora and the artistic input of studio guru MaXX. The duo released this year their fourth full length album revealing a furious production featuring heavy electronics and menacing, metal-minded guitar riffs. Helalyn Flowers is mixing multiple influences, but always with power and sonic violence. I got in touch with the male pole of the band to get more info about “Sonic Foundation”, which has been released on Alfa Matrix.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: What is your new album “Sonic Foundation” all about and how do you see the evolution in sound from your previous albums towards the new work?

Max: “Sonic Foundation” is Helalyn Flowers as it’s meant to be. It’s a burst of dichotomies, opposites, wildness and passion. When Noemi and I founded Helalyn Flowers we had an album like this in our minds, so I suppose that past three albums represented the necessary way to it. In the past, we intentionally redefined our sound, trying new ways and taking our risks, like the “Stitches Of Eden” album back in 2009, living a sort of uneasiness that sure has darkened our music gradually. We feel to be thankful to all that angst and rage of which “Sonic Foundation” is the proud son. We cling to ourselves exclusively, we have Helalyn Flowers on our minds all the time, we are our own bigger source of inspiration.

Q: I get the impression that you never stop to increase the power of electronics and guitar play, reaching a hard and merciless production, but still a real harmony between sound and vocals? Tell us a bit more about your sound properly speaking and the global production?

Max: I always believed that melody is very important for music in general. It’s able to raise whatever mood you need and makes you sing and drag you to a song. Doesn’t matter how aggressive the music is. In our case, I think that it’s a reflection of what we love to be and act.

The sound production is based upon our approach to the wall of sound. We overlay everything. We oppose the modern way of producing electro-metal and industrial in general. When I listen to many records to me it’s more like a computer screen sliding MIDI tracks than enjoying songs. It’s all clean, dry, so… responsible and ‘correct’. Well, Helalyn Flowers are irresponsible and incorrect, dirty and wet. “Sonic Foundation” has the feeling of an old classic.

When you say ‘hard and merciless’ it’s exactly what there’s in our minds when doing a song. We love big sounds, big ambiences, we feel like a BIG band and everyone must join it. It’s the Ancient Roman way. Not by chance.

Q: I noticed an interesting quote at your site telling that ‘”Sonic Foundation” is an album that uncoils through dangerous and surrealistic figurative worlds, invoking post-primitive scenarios à-la William Burroughs and David Lynch. Can you give us some more details?

Max: The destruction of modern civilization and worshipping the Nature not for what it may seem like might be keys to that quote. We are so bond of the woods we live nearby that when we watch “Twin Peaks”, for example, not only we can recognize how it feels like but also we can understand the most dangerous and terrifying needs within the human nature.

Q: The song “Beware Of Light” previously released as EP-title song and featuring Chris Pohl (Blutengel) is a real master hit. How did you get in touch with Chris Pohl and how did the recording and production of the song happened?

Max: When we were collecting bonus stuff for the album we felt like something big, something going beyond the ‘usual’ remix was missing. Immediately, we thought at Chris Pohl of Blutengel as the one really able to let it happen. So, we asked him and he accepted enthusiastically. It was clear that he had to put his vocals into this version because one of the main reasons why we contacted him is just the huge vocal dimension of Blutengel (besides the ‘bigness’ of the meeting itself!). He re-sampled the song to add his own Blutengel vibe too. He didn’t give himself airs. He is a very passionate guy. Nowadays, younger people in the scene have much more schemed minds and do these kind of things just for money without considering if they actually love what they do.

Q: Do you already have new ideas and inspiration in mind regarding further releases? 

Max: We will start to record the new album next September. Our ideas are so clear about it. Sure we won’t replicate the same album. That doesn’t belong to us. Also, we love to think that “Sonic Foundation” is the ultimate summa of our first decade as well as of the direction we took after our first self-released Mini-CD (“Disconnection”) in 2005. We don’t think that there are parts of “Sonic Foundation” that need to be improved. It’s perfect in its entirety. Contrary, we didn’t feel this way in the past years: when we were about to deliver a new album we felt like we might have done better or that it was not ALL that we wanted to say. So, we catapulted ourselves in massive sessions of studio and song-writing also in reply to that sense of ‘incompleteness’. Now we need to renew our ways, trying different things, because ageing doesn’t suit us. Our blood must remain young forever. Replicants are the meanest suicidal.

Q: Helalyn Flowers stands for a heavy sound, but still a noticeable and explicit image! Where’s the link between sound and image?

Max: The link is within Max and Noemi Aurora, simply as that. The image that you can see in our pictures is the same as the one in our private lives. It’s the way we love to be. We live Rock’n Roll on our flesh.

Many people believe that a noticeable and eye-catching imagery means stupid pop music or brainless esthetic fascists. My opinion is that they are afraid of sex and/or have sexual problems.

Since I was a kid I feel attracted by bands with a great image. That’s what pushes you to listen to their music. It’s like you go in a confectionery: you always want to buy and eat the most beautiful cake!

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com