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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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(By Crypto News) Bitcoin’s entry into the music sphere could be compared to a fresh, rhythmic beat, heralding a new era of financial and creative freedom. It’s more than just a novel mode of payment—it’s about altering the traditional tune of the music industry. This piece delves into the potential resonance between crypto and music, exploring the already visible changes, and the possible harmonious future awaiting ahead.

The major allure of Bitcoin lies in its financial features: minimal transaction fees and the elimination of middlemen. This digital currency facilitates a direct financial rapport between artists and their audience, ensuring a larger share of the revenue lands in the creators’ pockets. Moreover, the ease with which cross-border transactions can be conducted is music to the ears of many musicians, especially those with a global fanbase. They can now effortlessly receive funds from admirers across the globe without being out of tune with currency exchange rates or enduring long waiting periods.

Further, the robust security architecture underpinning Bitcoin transactions, thanks to blockchain technology, acts as a formidable fortress against common financial woes like fraud, ensuring the integrity and safety of the funds involved.

Early birds: music labels embracing Bitcoin

Various music labels and platforms, both big and small, have begun to integrate Bitcoin as a payment method, resonating with the trend of leveraging cryptocurrencies in the music industry. Here are some examples:

1. Indie Rap Label TBT: An indie rap label named TBT (The Best Things) forged a partnership with SoundCloud to accept cryptocurrency payments for their music and merchandise. This move signifies a step towards embracing digital currencies within indie music circles.
2. Kobalt Music: On a larger scale, the British music label Kobalt has disclosed its intentions to include Bitcoin revenues, indicating a growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies even among more established labels.
3. Beatport: Beatport announced in April 2021 that it would start accepting Bitcoin as a new payment option from June 2021 onward. This initiative marked Beatport as one of the early digital music retailers to accept Bitcoin, paving the way for others in the sector.
4. Mastodon (Under Warner Brothers Records): The band Mastodon, under Warner Brothers Records, emerged as the first major label recording artist to accept Bitcoin. This Atlanta-based hard rock group collaborated with BitPay, a Bitcoin payment processor, to facilitate cryptocurrency transactions for their music.
5. Tradebit: Tradebit, a download store, has also opened its doors to Bitcoin payments. This platform provides a secure digital content marketplace for users to buy and sell music, among other digital products, using Bitcoin.

And don’t forget that artists also started embracing NFT. Rammstein singer Till Lindemann sold 10 non-fungible tokens of an unreleased music video for €100,000 including a dinner with him. The industrial/techno acid-house band Lords Of Acid has dropped an NFT on the Cardano Blockchain. And Chris Liebing did first NFT drop, “Another Day”, in 2022 in collaboration with XLR8R.

Bitcoin’s potential and that of other crypto in music

Bitcoin could potentially be the catalyst for a new age of musical entrepreneurship, where artists, unshackled from the traditional financial chains, take the helm of their creative and economic journey. The decentralized ethos of Bitcoin grants artists a higher degree of control over the distribution of their music, making them the true custodians of their art.

Moreover, the immutable and traceable nature of blockchain technology, which powers Bitcoin, provides a robust shield against potential copyright infringements or other industry-related disputes.

The global outreach of Bitcoin also composes a symphony of opportunities for musicians to tap into new markets without the cumbersome paperwork often associated with international financial arrangements. This new rhythm of global accessibility is a boon especially for indie artists, making the world a stage where the music, unhindered by geographical or financial boundaries, truly commands the spotlight.

This amalgam of benefits not only sketches a brighter economic horizon for individuals in the music industry but also heralds a more vibrant, secure, and inclusive global musical arena, resonating with the tunes of fairness, innovation, and unbounded creativity.

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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Not My God is a project set up by Tim Skold (Marilyn Manson, Kmfdm, Motionless In White, Shotgun Messiah…) and Nero Bellum (Psyclon Nine). They last year released their self-titled debut-album on Cleopatra Records and this year joined hands together with Metropolis to unleash ten new songs. “Simulacra” is hard to label, but clearly revealing a mix of influences; the work sounds Electronic and has been achieved with numerous Industrial sound treatments while the result has something pretty Cinematographic-like with Tim Skold’s passionate vocals on top. I’d a chat with both members.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You guys know each other from playing together in your respective bands, but how did you finally come to set up a new music project together? What do you like in each other’s approach of producing music?

Tim: Our differences makes us similar. I know that might sounds a little strange but we are very alike in some of the ways we are different. As humans we do not only exist in a physical sense but also on many other levels and it is in some of those spaces we come together, almost subconsciously, to complement each other. Art is magic, much like a DC Marvel Superhero Universe.

Nero: I think that our individual projects are precious to us so when the prospect of working together came up, a new project was the way to go. An open playground to explore new ideas with no expectations. It almost immediately transitioned from work to ritual.

Q: The sound of Not My God is not easy to define, maybe a mix between Industrial- and Cinematographic music. It however reveals something ‘different’ and maybe ‘visionary’ when compared to other Industrial projects. What can you say about it? Did you have specific references and influences -also lyrical wise?

Tim: We have both done extensive ‘studies’ in the fields you describe above and thought it was time to explore uncharted territory.

Nero: I’m happy to live in an undefined space. To social distance our art from the unexceptional. The further we can step away from convention, the better.

Q: “Simulacra” is an interesting title –and especially considering your sound, as it might stand for ‘the representation or imitation of a person or thing’. What did you try to express by this title? And what do you think about bands, which are just trying to copy others?

Tim: Yes, exactly that and countless other interpretations. It is an ambitious title for a very ambitious collection of music.

Nero: The dead imitate the living. It’s an error in the facsimile. The second coming.

I don’t think about other bands enough to answer the latter half of your question.

Q: How do you manage working together? Is there any specific format and did you notice an evolution from your debut album towards “Simulacra?”

Tim: No! When we start it is a completely open field and it is only when we are on the way we realize what works and what doesn’t. No predefined rules or regulations will be allowed to stunt this development.

Nero: While there is no established format, Not My God has always been about experimentation. There is a subconscious push to do things differently. A song may begin as a patch on my modular system, I might plug a toy piano into a series of guitar pedals and improvise a motif or bow a broken violin through a granular processor. Always recording in the background. What works stays.

Q: What have been the different stages you’d to go through to achieve “Simulacra?” Did you encounter major difficulties and/or challenges?

Tm: Yes, there are many challenges and difficulties on the high road of true art. There is very deep darkness in the unexplored territories of this music.

Nero: The end result is multiple personality disorder. When composing for a specific project I can’t help, but to become the character that lives in that ‘world’, taking on the burdens that character may feel. It can be empowering and it can be devastating.

Q: I can’t get away from the idea your music could be used for a movie soundtrack, which is only accentuated by the different clips you made. Do you’ve specific plans in that direction and tell us a bit more about the clips? Are there new clips in the make for the new album?

Tim: Yes, I think I speak for both of us when I say we completely agree with this. I’d would even say that we know we have created music that will undoubtedly inspire other art including film and that this material will also push the format further and further. We would not mind making clips for every song, but that is of course fiscally impossible for us to do, but we look forward to see what film makers and others do incorporating or at least inspired by our works in the future.

Nero: With film and with music, we both aim to tell a story. It’s a natural marriage. What stories may emerge as an amalgam I’ll leave to the prophets and oracles.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

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It has been 10 years since facebook page Swedish Electro Scene was started. To celebrate those 10 years on March 21st, the Swedish Electro Scene Facebook page released a free 67 track compilation titled “2011-2021 Swedish Electro Scene the compilation”.

You’ll find 67 tracks by bands and artists such as Page, Octolab, Vogon Poetry, Tolchock, Lizette Lizette, Dpoint, Neurobash, Normoria, Processor, Datapop, Asfalt, Syntet, Train To Spain and many more available for free.

You can find the compilation on Bandcamp right 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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UPDATE: Kraftwerk co-founder Ralf Hütter has confirmed the sad news.

(Photo by Daniele Dalledonne, Trento, Italy) According to various reports Florian Schneider, known as one of the founding members of the electronic music group Kraftwerk, is no more. The musician who was part of the band until his departure in November 2008 would have died a few days ago at the age of 73 after losing his battle against cancer. The news was first spread by producer Mark Reeder and DAF-member Robert Görl and according to Ouest France confirmed by Schneider’s family.

A bicycle pump meant the end of his membership of Kraftwerk

Florian Schneider-Esleben founded Kraftwerk with Ralf Hütter in 1970 after meeting in 1968 while studying at the Academy of Arts in Remscheid. They played improvisational music together in the ensemble Organisation. Before meeting Hütter, Schneider had played with Eberhard Kranemann in the group Pissoff from 1967 to 1968. From 1968 to 1969, Schneider played flute, with Ralf Hütter on Hammond organ, Eberhard Kranemann on bass and Paul Lovens on drums.

To know how the band sounded like this, make sure to check this Kraftwerk gig from 1970 which landed on YouTube.

Originally Schneider’s main instrument was the flute, which he would treat using electronic effects, including tape echo, ring modulation, use of pitch-to-voltage converter, fuzz and wah-wah, allowing him to use his flute as a bass instrument. He also played violin (similarly treated), electric guitar (including slide guitar), and made use of synthesizers (both as a melodic instrument and as a sound processor). Later he also created his own electronic flute instrument. After the release of their 1974 album, “Autobahn”, his use of acoustic instruments diminished.

Schneider did not perform on any of the dates of the Kraftwerk 2008 world tour (his last performance with the band was November 2006 in Spain). His position onstage was filled by Stefan Pfaffe, an associate working for the band as a video technician. According to a close associate of the group, Schneider left Kraftwerk on 21 November 2008, due to a dispute… over a bicycle pump.

In 2015 Schneider and Dan Lacksman with help of Uwe Schmidt released an electronic ode, “Stop Plastic Pollution”, for ocean environment conservation as part of a campaign “Parley for the Oceans”.

Some more rare live recordings from the early years of Kraftwerk

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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Giuseppe Verticchio is an Italian artist, which is mainly active under the Nimh moniker since 2001. He released numerous works and collaborative productions on different recognized labels. His work is mainly dealing with darker music influences such as ambient, industrial, ritual and related genres. Quite recently Winter-Light Records has re-released the CD-album “Beyond This Crying Era”, which was originally released in 2012 on vinyl format by Synästhesie Schallplatten. “Beyond The Crying Era” features the six original tracks from “This Crying Era” (original title of the album) plus four extra songs.  The work is a fascinating sonic voyage throughout dark sonic realms, which incited me to get in touch with the protagonist of this great work.  

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Giuseppe, you’re now involved with music for numerous years and have released an impressive number of productions while experimented with multiple music genres. What have been the main facts and releases from this prolific career and where does this eclecticism comes from?

Giuseppe: For me it’s quite difficult to identify specific ‘main’ events and/or releases in my career, because in some peculiar way each of them is a sort of ‘building block’ in my ever-growing ‘wall’ of musical activities/productions.

Anyway, thinking about it a little more deeply, I can mention something… My first two ‘real’ glass mastered CDs released by Amplexus in 2004 (“The Impossible Days” and “Whispers From The Ashes” with Nefelheim); the extremely gratifying collaborations with Maurizio Bianchi/M.B. in 2005 (“Together’s Symphony”, a 4 CDs box set) and with Pierpaolo Zoppo/Mauthausen Orchestra in 2009 (“From Unhealthy Places”); the first meeting with Andrea Marutti/Amon in 2003 (nowadays he is still a very good friend of mine) and the subsequent collaborative CDs published as “Hall Of Mirrors” (“Reflections On Black”, “Forgotten Realm”, “Altered Nights” and the recent “When Only Shades Remain”); my many travels in Thailand (since 1987) and the resulting love for Oriental music/instruments/culture that has ‘marked’ a large part of my musical production and CDs (“Travel Diary”, “The Missing Tapes”, “Krungthep Archives”, “Circles Of The Vain Prayers”…); my first (and still only one) LP “This Crying Era” published as a vinyl release in 2012 by Synästhesie Schallplatten, that was recently re-released on CD (thanks to Mark O’Shea of the Winter Light label) in a new enriched and remastered version.

I also have to mention the long-time friendship with Davide Del Col/Antikatechon and his inspiring collaboration (“Out Hunting For Teeth” and “Nothing Is As It Seems” as “We Promise To Betray”) and with Philippe Blache/Day Before Us (“Under Mournful Horizons”).

Last but not least I’d like to mention the nice experience of the two CDs published as “Twist Of Fate” with my wife Daniela Gherardi (“Tales From A Parallel Universe” and “September Winds”)… She has always been by my side since 1982, but the idea of trying to ’seriously’ compose, play and record some music together didn’t struck us until 2014.

Probably my ‘eclecticism’ simply comes from the influence that all the music I listened and loved has had on me in 54 years, and also from my ‘natural disposition’ to always search for something ‘special’, both in the music that I listen and in the music that I personally create.

Q: I think to might affirm Nimh remained your main project. What makes it different from your other projects and how do you see the evolution of Nimh over the years, which is probably linked to your own evolution as artist?

Giuseppe: Yes, Nimh is my main project, although during the recent years I often focused my activity on more ‘musical’-and less ‘dark/experimental’ sounds and atmospheres, giving birth to the aforementioned new collaborative projects “Twist Of Fate” and “We Promise To Betray”.

Probably in the future some specific Nimh releases will also become more ‘musical’ and less ‘dark/experimental’, but for the time being this is still the main difference between my main project and the others.

The evolution of Nimh over the years is strictly linked with my everyday life, and with the many changes in everything that happened around me… I began to make and record electronic music with a Desktop PC equipped with a 80386 processor and a MS DOS 4.1 Operating System. It featured only midi facilities… no Hard Disk recording… no MP3 files… no Internet…  no samples… no Amazon or any other online shop to buy stuff (acoustic, electronic and ethnic instruments, or other equipment), neither YouTube to find/see/listen/evaluate/download almost anything… It was definitely another era, another world… and my music still changes with the changing of times.

Q: Winter-Light has just released the CD-album “Beyond The Crying Era”, which is an extended version of the album “The Crying Era” originally released on vinyl by Synästhesie Schallplatten. The album features a fine selection of songs that got originally released on collaborative albums and compilations. How did this new edition saw the daylight and what do the selected songs mean to you?

Giuseppe: When in 2012 Matèo Montero (the guy behind Synästhesie Schallplatten) proposed to me a vinyl release, I decided to put together and publish some old (and good, in my opinion) tracks that, for different reasons, were left ‘scattered’ among compilations, net releases and split CDs, and still not gathered in an ‘organic’ and ‘physical’ way. But a vinyl record can’t hold the same amount of music as a CD, so I was ‘forced’ to leave out or shorten some of the tracks. I also have to note that the LP was pressed in a limited edition of 100 copies only, and that – to be completely honest – I’m not the greatest ‘lover’ of music on vinyl: when I was younger I used to ‘suffer’ quite a lot listening to records full of tedious noises, ‘clicks’ and crackles… So, after some years, I decided to rework the album for the CD format using solely the original full-length versions, adding some missing tracks, making additional edits and completely remastering the album to get the best possible result.

The ten tracks included in this new CD edition, released as “Beyond The Crying Era”, are a meaningful ‘journey’ through more than ten years of musical activity and research in dark/experimental ‘territories’, and I’m very grateful to Mark for having accepted to publish it with incomparable enthusiasm.

Q: You just mentioned the songs have been remastered and that’s an interesting item as most of the re-edited albums get remastered. Why is that important and does it mean you were not satisfied with the original mastering? Or do you think a production is never finished and can be always improved?

Giusepeppe: Theoretically (but also as a matter of fact, actually…) even the addition of a single new track in an existing tracklist generates the need to re-evaluate and readjust the entire mastering work. In my opinion, it is mandatory to check again the audio levels, the volume peaks, the compression parameters, the timbric and dynamic uniformity, the pauses between tracks and -in the end, the ‘pleasantness’ of the complete listening experience of the album in its new defined ‘flow’. Having said that, I guess you have a picture of what it means, on the technical side, to insert four new tracks in an old tracklist, also changing the sequence of the existing tracks to obtain the best final result, using only the original ‘uncut’ versions.

The new structure of the album simply turned out to be something completely different from the first incarnation, so a careful remastering work was absolutely necessary. I also have to add that the original master was made for a vinyl edition, with its specific technical needs and intrinsic limitations that are not necessary and binding in a master for CD production.

Q: The influences running through your music are multiple, but globally speaking the music remains ‘dark’-minded. What fascinates you in this dark-artistic exposure and do you have favorite themes and/or sources of inspiration?

Giuseppe: Yes, most of my music is characterized (although in different ways) by ‘dark’ sounds, ‘suggestions’ and atmospheres. But there’s no premeditation in this, it is not intentional and deliberately ‘planned’ or ‘designed’. Probably I’m often instinctively attracted to this kind of sonorities… But sometimes I am intrigued by ‘brighter’ sounds and atmospheres too, and that is clearly perceptible in some CDs/projects (“Twist Of Fate” and “We Promise To Betray” above all). I think it just depends on my mood and different situations. I have no ‘rules’ or a ‘public face’ to ‘build’ and promote. I don’t have well-defined favorite themes or ‘special’ sources of inspiration… Anything in my everyday life can touch and inspire me, thus influencing my musical experiences.

Q: I noticed Nimh has no Facebook-page. What’s your perception about social media, streaming platforms etc and their importance/impact for artists, labels, promoters and music lovers?

Nimh: I am well aware of the importance and usefulness that social media as Facebook and other web platforms have for ‘common’ people, artists, labels, promoters, music lovers, etc. I evaluated the option to open a personal Facebook page many times, mainly to ‘support’ the Nimh project and to promote my music on the web in a better way. To be honest, I don’t have much spare time to spend on ‘social’ activities, and I don’t really like Facebook a lot as a platform (here I speak both as a common ‘potential user’ and as a software developer, which has been my main profession for many years), so I kept putting it off.

I don’t want to speak ill about it, and of course I know that my choice of not having a Facebook account (until now) may be seen as a little bit ‘anachronistic’… Simply, it is not my cup of tea for many reasons (technical matters, the company’s policy, censorship issues, data management…) so for the time being you still won’t find an official Nimh (or Giuseppe Verticchio) page on Facebook.      

Anyway, my personal website is online since more than fifteen years and my e-mail address is public. Anyone wishing to contact me or needing information about my music can easily google my real name and the Nimh monicker to find lots of results… So, I would say that I’m not absolutely ‘disconnected’ from the World Wide Web.   

Talking about streaming platforms as YouTube, Bandcamp and others, generally I’m completely in favor of them: I often use them to discover new music, to check audio previews of CDs that I would like to buy, or to listen to music that is both good and scarce. I don’t believe that streaming platforms and file sharing practices can heavily damage labels and artists that still invest in the production of CDs and other physical releases. I’m quite sure that real music lovers (as I am…) will always purchase an original CD even if -or exactly because,  they already have downloaded, listened and strongly appreciated an album in its digital form. People who occasionally download music or, on the contrary, have an habit of downloading albums in a continuous, almost ‘compulsive’ and ‘pseudo randomic’ way, probably would never spend money to buy a physical release anyway.

Official Nimh/Giuseppe Verticchio Website: http://www.oltreilsuono.com/nimh

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