The Swedish duo Jarmo Ollila and Jouni Ollila, better known as Teleskop, return with their third EP, “In Orbi”t. This release features four tracks that stay true to the classic Swedish Synth-Pop tradition, with one track carrying a slight resemblance to the sound of Mesh. The EP is polished and stylish, with a retro flair that is both nostalgic and refreshing. It’s the kind of music that brings joy, evoking memories of legendary Swedish acts like S.P.O.C.K and Elegant Machinery. The question remains: when will we get a full album? (Rating:7½).

Listen to “Insomnia”:

https://teleskop.bandcamp.com/track/insomnia

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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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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The pioneering Swedish synthpop group, Page, has unveiled their latest album, “En ny våg” which translates to “A New Wave” in English. This new studio album will be released through Energy Rekords on September 29. The album will be available on vinyl with a limited edition of 300 copies, and on CD with 500 copies featuring an extra track titled “Ashes – Cold Connection”.

The album, consisting of 10 tracks, was recorded between 2022 and 2023.

For this album, Eddie Bengtsson and Marina Schiptjenko teamed up with renowned guest musicians such as Chris Payne and Rrussell Bell, notable for their contributions to UK bands Dramatis, Tubeway Army, and their collaboration with Gary Numan in the 1980s.

About Page

Page holds the distinction of being one of the first bands to introduce synthpop music to Sweden. Their musical style and band members, especially Eddie Bengtsson, have played a pivotal role in shaping the Swedish synthpop scene, inspiring acts like Elegant Machinery, S.P.O.C.K, Sista Mannen På Jorden, and KieTheVez.

Established in 1980 by Eddie Bengtsson and Marina Schiptjenko, and later joined by Anders Eliasson, the band rapidly achieved underground cult status, releasing iconic singles such as “Dansande man”, “Som skjuten ur en kanon”, “Blå fötter”, and “Som en vind”. Although much of their influential work came out in the 1980s, their debut album, the eponymous “Page”, only saw its release in 1991.

While Page continued their musical journey throughout the 90s, they took a hiatus in the 2000s. They made a return in 2010 with a new album titled “Nu”. 2013 saw the release of “Hemma” under the Swedish label, Wonderland Records. They later rejoined Energy Rekords for the EPs “Är Det Jag Som Är En Idiot? / Sånt Som Inte Går” and “Lägger av”. The latter was soon followed by the album “Det Är Ingen Vacker Värld Men Det Råkar Vara Så Det Ser Ut” in 2017. Their 2019 offering was the album “Fakta För Alla”.

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 credit Anders Larson) The Swedish industrial band The Below has a new single and video out, “Artificial Lights (Dystopian Haze)” featuring Aaron Sutcliffe. Aaron Sutcliffe is an alias of Johan Malmgren (of S.P.O.C.K) used for recording electronic covers of classic rock songs. The single is out on the 9th of June but we can already present you the video today which was shot in Lviv, Ukraine, in April 2023 by an all-Ukrainian team..

The single explores the theme of fear and the experience of living in bomb shelters after the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This is not the first time that The Below and Aaron Sutcliffe have collaborated on a politically charged single: “Our previous release, ‘No Place is Safe’, explored the violence and destruction of Israel’s assault on Gaza in 2014 and gained a lot of attention, particularly in Palestine.” Regarding the new single The Below says: “I am excited to be collaborating with Aaron Sutcliffe again on this project. The events that took place, and still are taking place in Ukraine are truly horrific, and we hope that this music can help raise awareness of the plight of those affected.”

Kate Tiuri, the director of the video, commented on the production, stating: “War doesn’t stop culture! We continue to stand, to speak, and to create. In this musical piece, I want to grasp that tragedy can go alongside beauty. We demonstrate the beauty of Ukraine through dance – a contemporary duet that embodies the strength, resilience, pain, and indomitability of the Ukrainian people.”

About The Below

The Below is a solo project by Bo Magnusson, the sound engineer/bass player from the Swedish industrial experimentalists Dr. Evil & The Boys From Below (1985-1992). A band that had a strong local following thanks to their spectacular stage performances featuring pig’s skulls, hovering washing machines, a truck load of scrap metal etc. After the band took an indefinite break in 1992 there were no plans to continue producing music.

However, in 2015 things changed and a few saved objects and instruments were dusted off and slowly new noises were created under the moniker The Below. So far, The Below has released five singles: ”Knives and Heights” b/w ”Grind Me Down”, “Unarmed (An American Nightmare)”, “I’d Like to Punch Him In The Face”, “Change is Coming” and “No Place is Safe”.

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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In August The Below featuring Jesper Hanning launched “Knives and Heights” backed with “Grind Me Down” as a two-offer single in August of this year. Following the release of the double track single The Below now shares the Ann Wright and Bästa Kompisar nightmare vision video for the single flip side “Grind Me Down”.

The lyrics of the song describe how we live in a time where people often ‘find the truth’ in filter bubbles, where they lose all common sense. The conclusion is always identical: all others are misled fools who need ‘education’. The filter bubble grinds these people down while simultaneously winding them up. A dangerous combination.

Here’s the video.

And here’s the “Knives and Heights” video.

About The Below and Jesper Hanning

(Photo by LW) The Below is a solo project by Bo Magnusson, the sound engineer/bass player from the Swedish industrial experimentalists Dr. Evil & The Boys From Below (1985-1992). A band that had a strong local following thanks to their stage performances featuring pig’s skulls, hovering washing machines, a truck load of scrap metal etc.. After the band took an indefinite break in 1992 there were no plans to continue producing weird sounds. However, in 2015 things changed and a few saved objects and instruments were dusted off and slowly new noises were created under the moniker The Below. So far, The Below has released four singles: “Unarmed (An American Nightmare)”, “I’d Like to Punch Him In The Face”, “Change is Coming” and “No Place is Safe”.

Vocalist and composer Jesper Hanning (born in 1968), son of jazz musician Claes Hanning, grew up in the south of Sweden and has a storied history of many releases and bands. In 1986, at the age of eighteen, Hanning was approached by Bo Magnusson, musician, musical promoter at Stadt Hamburg and founder of the record label Accelerating Blue Fish (the Swedish label releasing S.P.O.C.K and Page among others during the eighties and early nineties). In 2021, 35 years after their first collaboration, Bosse Magnusson approached Hanning with a few songs. At the present Hanning is composing electronic music for the first time in 30 years.

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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This Friday Swedish electro musician Bo Magnusson has a new single out under the moniker The Below. It’s a two track single featuring Jesper Hanning – the vocalist from Ausgang Verboten who also sang with the gothic/post punk band The Chainsaw Zombies – and will be released via released via Accelerating Blue Fish.

Here’s the video for “Knives and Heights”.

Bo explains the tracks: “The first track on the single “Knives and Heights” evolved from a driving rhythm created by noises from scrap metal, a plastic can, and other found objects. Thereafter layer upon layer of sounds was added to build up a dark and intense soundscape. The equally ominous, and uncanny video was directed, filmed, and edited by Jesper Hanning. Even though both tracks could be described as dark and experimental the addition of Jesper Hanning’s powerful voice has given them a more accessible flair, making them almost catchy.”

Hanning describes the lyrical themes as follows: “”Knives and Heights” is all about the intensity of fear and the traumas it can cause. The verses are just little snapshots of eerie things. The chorus was inspired by something actor Cary Grant’s grandmother once told a reporter about her grandson: “He was a nervous child with two primary fears: knives and heights”. Then we just added one more fear: fluorescent lights.”

The second track “Grind Me Down” uses the same set of tools but is instead a slow, grinding song based on a distorted bass line. Bo says: “”Grind Me Down” is a very straightforward text about how we live in a time where people tend to ‘find the truth’ in filter bubbles where they seem to lose all common sense. The conclusion is always the same: the rest of us are misled fools who need to ‘educate ourselves’. The filter bubble grinds these people down while simultaneously winding them up. A dangerous combination.”

“Knives and Heights b/w Grind Me Down” is the follow up to “No Place Is Safe (feat. Aaron Sutcliffe)” – an anti-war song, with stark criticism of Israeli politics, that was supported on social media in Palestine and by Pro-Palestinian organizations. The video for the track includes authentic images from a war-torn Palestine.

About The Below

The Below is a solo project by Bo Magnusson, the sound engineer/bass player from the infamous Swedish industrial experimentalists Dr. Evil & The Boys From Below (1985-1992). A band that had a strong local following thanks to their spectacular stage performances featuring pig’s skulls, hovering washing machines, a truck load of scrap metal etc. After the band took an indefinite break in 1992 there were no plans to continue producing weird sounds. However, in 2015 things changed and a few saved objects and instruments were dusted off and slowly new noises were created under the moniker The Below. So far, The Below has released four singles: “Unarmed (An American Nightmare)”, “I’d Like to Punch Him In The Face”, “Change is Coming” and “No Place is Safe”.

Bo discusses his musical inspirations: “I have always listened to lots of different music, but if I must pick one band that has been influential it has to be Sprung aus den Wolken. They were a huge inspiration for me to start playing in a band. Not only for their music but also for their attitude. They didn’t follow any established musical rules and proved that you could create innovative music without being a virtuoso. There are of course numerous other bands and artists in several different genres that I love and respect. Far too many to mention, but here’s a few that feel relevant: Test Dept, Algiers, This Heat, Tanya Tagaq, The Pop Group and Anna Von Hausswolff. The common denominator of these bands/artists are their forward-looking, intense and critical voices combined to create socially relevant and exciting music.”

Vocalist and composer Jesper Hanning (born in 1968) is the son of jazz musician Claes Hanning and grew up in the south of Sweden. As a teenager Hanning was drawn to electronic music and the live scene in the city of Malmö. At Stadt, Hamburg Hanning found musical peers and in 1984 Ausgang Verboten (a.k.a. Random Toxy), a Kraftwerk influenced band, was formed. The group only recorded a few songs and released a demo in 1985 (later re-released as the vinyl LP “Entertainment” by German label Genetic Music) and contributed with a few tracks to a compilation of electronic music in 1988 (Synthetic Sounds from Accelerating Blue Fish).

In 1986, at the age of eighteen, Hanning was approached by Bo Magnusson, musician, musical promoter at Stadt Hamburg and founder of the record label Accelerating Blue Fish. Magnusson had taken an interest in the intense young vocalist and introduced Hanning to Eddie Wingeståhl, Mikael Forth and Charlotte Rönnström. Soon The Chainsaw Zombies, a slow-motion-psychedelia band, was formed. The group released two albums and an EP between 1987 and 1990.

Hanning played in several bands In the early 90´s: Dave the Butcher with Håkan Lidbo, Tabla Motors with Martin Axén (The Ark) and Sgt Pepsy’s Divine Quartet with Joakim Täck (producer/musician Funhouse/The Saints) and Christer Hermodsson (Biomekkanik/S.P.O.C.K). In the mid 90’s Hanning’s musical focus shifted from the dark and gritty to a sound echoing the 70’s; 10cc, Electric Light Orchestra and Sparks. Together with Eddie Wingeståhl, guitarist from The Chainsaw Zombies, Hanning formed Bradbury, a predominant live act playing music festivals like Hultsfred, Emmaboda, Arvika and Kalas.

Hanning basically retired from the musical scene around 2010. In 2014, Hanning’s wife Yessica passed away at the age of 44, and his sole priority was raising his daughter, only making a few performances in the years to come (e.g. annual concerts with the music from “Nightmare Before Christmas” or performing klezmer-versions of Joy Division/New Order songs). In 2020 Hanning and former Ausgang Verboten comrade Jörgen Abrahamsson started cooperating in Pursued by Furies and released the song “Daedalus Maze”. More songs will follow.

In 2021, 35 years after their first collaboration, Bosse Magnusson approached Hanning with a few songs. At the present Hanning is composing electronic music for the first time in 30 years. It sounds nothing like 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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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” showcase 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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Accelerating Blue Fish was a Swedish label releasing S.P.O.C.K and Page among others during the eighties and early nineties. In 1988 it released the by now classic vinyl compilation “Synthetic Sounds From Accelerating Blue Fish”. 33 years later that compilation finally gets a digital release.

“Synthetic Sounds From Accelerating Blue Fish” will land on all digital platforms on December 3. In addition to Page the compilation also features, among others, Sista Mannen På Jorden, Random Toxy (which was actually Ausgang Verboten who are also featured on this compilation) and Håkan Lidbo (under the name Libido).

Regarding Ausgang Verboten, they were a band from Malmö, Sweden, which was heavily influenced by Kraftwerk. The Band was formed by 16 year old Patrik Book in 1983, and later joined by Jesper Hanning.

In short it’s a real who is who in the early Swedish electronic pop scene.

Full track list:

1. Page – “Vad Ska Jag Hitta På”
2. Libido – “=⎹ _ – /⎹⎹ -⎿ _ / -“
3. Random Toxy – “Stanley Wop”
4. Libido & The Thin Male Nude – “Fingerprints”
5. Page – “Het Raket”
6. Ausgang Verboten – “Estética”
7. Libido & The Thin Male Nude – “B4ICOunt23”
8. Sista Mannen På Jorden – “Egen Rymddräkt Finnes”
9. Random Toxy – “Wierd World”

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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Good news for fans of the Swedish cult synthpop act Page. Their since long out of print eighties singles on Accelerating Blue Fish will finally get their digital releases via SSC (Subspace Communications). First out is the four track EP “Som en vind” to be released on October 22, followed by “Blå fötter”/”Sorg Flyg bort” (the latter by XL which was Eddie Bengtsson and Katarina Larke) out on November 5, and “Som skjuten ur en kanon” out on November 19.

Below is the cover artwork you can expect.

About Page

Page is a Swedish synthpop band and were basically the first band to bring synthpop music to Sweden. Their music and band members (particularly Eddie Bengtsson) influenced many subsequent Swedish synthpop acts, including Elegant Machinery, S.P.O.C.K, Sista Mannen På Jorden and KieTheVez.

Formed in 1980 by Eddie Bengtsson and Marina Schiptjenko, soon joined by Anders Eliasson, the band quickly gained underground cult-status releasing many singles such as “Dansande man”, “Som skjuten ur en kanon”, “Blå fötter” and “Som en vind”. Though most of their important influential work was released in the 1980s their first album, the self-titled “Page”, was released in 1991.

A compilation covering their two decades of work was released in 2000. After a decade of silence, in 2010 Page released an album of newly recorded material called “Nu”. In 2013, Page released “Hemma” on the Swedish label, Wonderland Records. In 2018, Page released the “Adapted” EP followed a year later by a live recording of the band’s performance in Gothenburg, Sweden, in October 2019. The release was released by the online magazine Cold War Night Life (a magazine powered by our nice colleague Simon Helm) as “Fakta för alla Göteborg”, available here.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Out next month, June 14th, is the newest album, their 3rd one already, by the German synthpop / electropop act X-O-Planet. The 10-track album comes 3 years after the release of the second album, “Voyagers”.

Thematically (and visually) Manja and Rafael Kaletka have found their home in the field of Science Fiction paired with scientific findings from research right from the start packed within an electronic pop sound. As such they are quite comparable to that other outer space act S.P.O.C.K..

The band debuted in 2017 with the album “Passengers”.

A first single from the new album landed earlier this year, ¨Voller Schub”. You can listen to it below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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The pioneers in Swedish electronic pop, Page (aka Eddie Bengtsson and Marina Schiptjenko) are back with a (strictly 500) limited new EPCD consisting of 6 brand new tracks + 4 bonustracks. The 4 bonus tracks are reduxes from Datapop and Social Amibitions and a coverversion of “Under mitt Skinn” made by classic Swedish punk pioneers Attentat.

Besides the EPCD version, there is also a vinyl, titled “Aska Under mitt Skinn” which is equally issued as a limited edition (300 copies). It combines the tracks from the recent sold out “Under mitt Skinn” EP with the new tracks of the “Aska” EPCD resulting in a full length 11-track vinyl album.

About Page

Page is often credited with being the first band to bring synthpop music to Sweden. Their music and band members (particularly Eddie Bengtsson) influenced many subsequent Swedish synthpop acts, including Elegant Machinery, S.P.O.C.K, Sista Mannen På Jorden and KieTheVez.

Formed in 1980 by Eddie Bengtsson and Marina Schiptjenko, and soon joined by Anders Eliasson, the band quickly gained underground cult-status releasing many singles such as the cult tracks “Dansande man”, “Som skjuten ur en kanon”, “Blå fötter” and “Som en vind”. Though most of their important influential work was released in the 1980s their first album, the self-titled “Page”, was only released in 1991.

Page continued releasing music throughout the 90’s but after a decade of silence, Page resurrected in 2010 releasing an album of newly recorded material called “Nu”. In 2013, Page released “Hemma” on the Swedish label, Wonderland Records. But they would return back to Energy Rekords to release the EPs “Är Det Jag Som Är En Idiot? / Sånt Som Inte Går” and “Lägger av”. The latter was released followed by the album “Det Är Ingen Vacker Värld Men Det Råkar Vara Så Det Ser Ut” in 2017. In 2019 the album “Fakta För Alla” was released.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Swedish industrial project The Below and vocalist Aaron Sutcliffe have teamed up for an anti-war song, “No Place is Safe”, to be released on January 15, that’s today. Originally written in the midst of the 2014 Gaza conflict, it was not finalised until now.

You can also grab the track from Bandcamp.

About Aaron Sutcliffe

Aaron Sutcliffe is an alias of Johan Malmgren (of S.P.O.C.K) used for recording electronic covers of classic rock songs. Aaron Sutcliffe is presented as an entirely separate person from Johan, with a fictional backstory claiming he was the frontman for an American rock band called The Rebel Trousers in the 1980s.

The first Aaron Sutcliffe album focused on covers of Elvis Presley songs and was produced by Eskil Simonsson (of Covenant), while his second album featured covers of The Beatles and was produced by Andreas Tilliander.

About The Below

The Below is a solo project from the bass player of the infamous industrial ensemble Dr. Evil & The Boys From Below (active between 1985 and 1992). After the group disbanded there were no plans to continue playing and all instruments were either trashed or stored away.

But a couple of years ago bad health struck the musician with part-time / long-term sick leave as a result. To fill the time The Below was born. Some old instruments were dusted off, and the possibilities of the iPad were explored. Since then a couple of singles have been released sporadically. The previous single “Change is Coming (feat. Felix Lidforsen)”, a tribute to Greta Thunberg, turned out to be a bit controversial. Check the video below.

A lot of new material has been written and we might see a couple more songs, and maybe a complete album, released during 2021.

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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When in 1991 the Depeche Mode tribute album “I Sometimes Wish I Was Famous: A Swedish Tribute to Depeche Mode”, the very first Depeche Mode tribute album ever, was released via the Swedish label Energy Rekords, many non-Scandinavian electronic music fans suddenly got acces to a series of good Swedish bands they had never heard of before, except for Cat Rapes Dog who were by then already distributed by the now defunct KK Records. Bands like S.P.O.C.K., Scapa Flow, Elegant Machinery, Page, Pouppée Fabrikk, Inside Treatment, etc. had gotten quite a big platform (the compilation sold over 70.000 copies if memory serves us right) to represent their sound.

Another band was also present on that compilation, the Uppsala-based duo Cultivated Bimbo with their cover of “New Life”. The band debuted with their 12″ “Configuration 1” on the classic label Electronic Beat Association which later became part of Energy Rekords. Cultivated Bimbo alwasy has been quite an unpredictable band with a sounds constantly changing: they started out as a synthpop / industrial duo but switched to hip hop, rap and even metal and hardcore. The first EPs “Configuration 1 + 2” (1991) were typical synthpop / EBM while the first album “Tunes From A High Wire” (1991) was more industrial. But one year later when the EP “Blasting In Progress” (1992) was released they had switched to hip-hop a direction continued on the full length “Your Useful Guide To Life” (1993). From “98.66” (1994) on they went for a metal sound and on their last album “Album. 1995.” (1995) we got a mix of straight rock / hardcore / rap.

Unpredictable, we told you. And there’s more, on the above picture you see Joacim Thenander (Wallin at the time) and Heidi Martens. Heidi sang on the 2 Depeche Mode covers the band recorded (“New Life” and “Something To Do”). She was however never a member of the band. Ö-dahl simply couldn’t join the photo session, so Heidi was dressed in toilet paper to cover her up.

The past revisited on new album

But the band is back now with the album “Prequel” (limited to 500 copies). For the occasion Joacim Thenander (who is nowadays also the band Maschine Brennt) has taken 12 classic tracks and totally remade and reshaped them to fit into a more of a 2020 standard.

Included on the this release you’ll find new versions of “Impulzus”, “Slaugher House”, “Brutalize”, “Walking on Acid”, “Pain”, “Corruption”, “Horst”, “Brain Diggers”, “Assassin”, “Take No.5”, “Fascisma” and “Mr Rubber”.

Here’s a teaser for the album:

And here’s the track “Corruption” in its original version as the older readers will remember.

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 our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)
Swedish electropop band Page releases their EP “Start” June 29th (July 6th in Sweden), consisting of three new songs and a remix of “Krasch” by Norwegian colleague Stephan Groth of Apoptygma Berzerk. The long-time Side-Line friend Per Aksel Lundgreen tipped me about this release, and after doing a parallel e-mail interview with both Eddie Bengtsson of Page and Stephan the result show a collaboration of mutual admiration and respect across the Norwegian-Swedish border, and maybe also something else down the road…
Check out the teaser video of the EP after the interview.

First Eddie starts with how this came about:

Eddie: This summer Page is going to release a new EP, and on that release there is a very nice redux made by Stephen Groth. Its an redux of the Page song “Krasch”.

Side-Line: What’s your relation to each other prior to this collaboration? Just heard the music, been at live shows, been touring/played together or something else?

Eddie: I have always known what and who Apoptygma Berzerk was, but I was never interested in their music. The first time I heard them it sounded EBM to me, and that was it, I never listened again.
I understand now that Apop has done many different things, ranging from EBM to electronic pop to indietronica, and some of that are really, really good.
Last spring I got Apoptygma’s new album from Per Aksel Lundgreen. It was a gift and I said “thank you very much”, and at the same time I thought “I’m never going to listen to this”.
This was during Electronic Summer in Gothenburg, and on the way home I thought “what the heck”, and put the CD in my car CD-player…

The first seconds of the first song made me think “Ah, now they have gone Industrial Noise”. And then, “Oh My God!”
Here came the most wonderful retro vintage electronica I have (almost) ever heard. Fantastic! It brought tears to my eyes, and I’m not kidding about that.
That someone can make electronic music like that these days, I just didn’t believe. It was the best electronic (and any) album that I heard 2017. And one of the sweetest electronica album I have ever heard, and that says a lot. Just wonderful.
It made me believe in modern electronic music again, in a time when most of it is junk. It also made me think that synthesizers still CAN be cool in a time when its mostly not.

Stephan: I grew up in Denmark, and moved to Norway in 1987, so I never heard of PAGE living in DK. It was not until I heard their self-titled compilation “PAGE” that came out in 1992 on Energy Rekords that I really discovered them. I was working in a record shop at the time and immediately bought a copy of it on LP. I still have it in my collection and I also frequently give it a spin, as it’s classic synthpop at it’s best!

S-L: Per Aksel mentioned something about «Swedisch Norwegische Freundschaft» – a label, project name or what??

Stp: This was just a joke, but it’s cool to cooperate with Swedish musicians, as they have a completely different approach and tradition when it comes to electronic music compared to Norway and Denmark. Also, there’s always been close connections between the synth scene in Sweden and the one in Østfold. We had Pouppee Fabrikk, Elegant Machinery, S.P.O.C.K, Inside Treatment, COMP C3 and Political Assasination over here in Fredrikstad already in the early 1990’s, and the 3 first Apoptygma Berzerk shows was together with Swedish bands.

Eddie: I think that he said that as a joke. But at the same time, it could be something that could be reality in the future.

S-L: Stephan, whats your role in this release?

Stp: I was asked to do a remix for Page, and Eddie sent me the track “Krasch”. I’ve have added an APOP-touch to the track in the remix, as I felt there was no point in making an “early 80’s type mix”, because Eddie’s already the master of this. So I pushed it more in the direction of a sound that appeared later that decade.

S-L: Plans for more? Releases of this kind, other collaborations etc.?

Eddie: I’m open for that, yes.

Stp: I would love to do more musical collaboration with Eddie, and hopefully even gigs together! We’ve been talking about doing a gig together in Norway, bringing Page over here for the first time, and we’d of course love to come and play with them in Sweden too!

S-L: Other events/plans for Page and/or yourself this year?

Eddie: No, not really. We are planning to go to London for a show, and it would be nice to play in Norway too – long time since last time! Maybe together with Apop?

Stp: Currently I’m working on a new APOP studio-album that I hope to finish this year, where I go and explore my electronic pop roots. Also, a couple of gigs are booked for this summer in Poland (Castle Party) and in Germany (M’era Luna). There’s also a couple of other gigs currently in the making, but not 100% confirmed yet.
When you’re reading this, we’re also launching an official APOP web-store in the US.
On top of this, our debut album, “Soli Deo Gloria” has it’s 25th Anniversary this year, so we’ve got some ideas and thoughts on how to celebrate this, but maybe we can discuss this at a later stage? 😉

“Start” @ Spotify:

Teaser video for “Start” EP:

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

Here’s an interesting collaboration. The Swedish act My God Damn Territory, a duo (Kajsa Olofsson and Mark Kjahart Pettersson) from Stockholm which started out as a lo-fi indie band, has joined up with Swedish electronic pop pioneer Eddie Bengtsson (S.P.O.C.K, Page, Sista mannen på jorden). Bengtsson transformed 10 My God Damn Territory songs into indietronica versions and these have ended up on the “Kasjer und Marit” album, an album which has gotten a vinyl release only – you can order your copy right here.

For those unfamiliar with Eddie Bengtsson, he is THE electropop pioneer from Sweden. He formed Sweden’s influential electropop act Page in 1980 together with Marina Schiptjenko with whom he quickly gained underground cult-status releasing many singles such as “Dansande man”, “Som skjuten ur en kanon”, “Blå fötter” and “Som en vind”. Page influenced many subsequent Swedish synthpop acts, including Elegant Machinery, KieTheVez and of course the acts S.P.O.C.K and Sista Mannen På Jorden in which Bengtsson played an import role as co-founder.

The album ”Kajser und Marit” is exclusively available on vinyl right here. Here are 2 tracks to show you how that collaboration exactly sounds like:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: The album “A Worthy Compensation” was released last year and it was the first new album in 15 years for German electro-pop formation Beborn Beton. The opus sounds as a pretty cool comeback although it was not my favorite Beborn Beton album in history. “She Cried” is the second song (after “Daisy Cutter”) taken from that album to be released as the EP title-track and according to me it is the best cut from “A Worthy Compensation”.

Content: The title song remains a great piece of electro-pop music and for sure a reference in the band’s wide discography. It’s a catchy and danceable song reminding me of the early days of the band with this extra contemporary touch on top. Among the remixes of this song I noticed a great contribution from their producer Olaf Wollschläger and another cool remix by Zynic.

Among the other cuts left there’s a real cool and evasive-pop minded cover version of Human League’s “The Black Hit Of Space” and 2 remixes from album songs by Daniel Myer and Val Solo Of S.P.O.C.K.

+ + + : “She Cried” definitely remains the best song from their last album so it definitely is the best choice to be released as the EP-title song. This is alluring synth-pop revealing the chemistry between the sound and the brilliant vocals of Stefan Netschio. The club-minded and extended remix by Olaf Wollschläger is another brilliant piece of music. The remix of Human League is something special, and a real nice bonus as well. I was impressed by the monstrous sound blasts emerging from this cut.

– – – : I didn’t exactly expect an EP featuring a title song from an album that has been already released one year ago now. It’s a bit strange, but you don’t really hear me complaining. The only regret about this EP maybe are some of the remixes (except the one by Olaf Wollschläger), which didn’t really add anything extra.

Conclusion: “She Cried” is an exciting song to get back to the album “A Worthy Compensation”. It reveals Beborn Beton at their best reminding us of the genius of these German pop veterans.

Best songs: “She Cried – Extended Club Mix by Olaf Wollschläger”, “She Cried”, “The Black Hit Of Space – Version”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.bebornbeton.de / www.facebook.com/bebornbeton

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

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

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It took Beborn Beton 9 years to complete their best album to date, “A Worthy Compensation”, which was released in late 2015. They now come up with a follow-up remix mini album, which features “She Cried”, one of the centre pieces of the album in various remixes, plus an assortment of remixes from various tracks of their comeback album.

Included are “24/7 mystery” remixed by Val Solo of S.P.O.C.K., a Daniel Myer (Haujobb, Covenant) remix of “Who Watches The Watchmen?”, and a cover version of Human League’s “The Black Hit Of Space”. Also featured is Beborn Beton producer Olaf Wollschläger who also produced the club version of “She Cried”.

You can order the vinyl EP right here, or the CD version right here.

Full track list:

1. She Cried (Single Edit)

2. The Black Hit Of Space

3. She Cried (Extended Club Remix)

4. 24/7 Mystery (Remix by Val Solo of S.P.O.C.K.)

5. She Cried (Zynic Remix)

6. Who Watches The Watchmen (Daniel Myer Remix)

7. She Cried (babyMax Remix)

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Today the fine people at Storming The Base start a World Goth Day Sale action. The sale will go all weekend and will be ending on Sunday.

We checked out what they have on offer for you. One thing is sure, it isn’t dustbin material at all! On our wishlist we added material by Agent Side Grinder, Rational Youth, Ohm, IAMX, 3TEETH, Mlada Fronta, Chrysalide, The Horrorist, S.P.O.C.K., Chandeen, Necro Facility, the very rare Headscan + Implant split EP, Xandria, Isis Signum and much much much more.

If you want to have some great music at a low price, then go and head for this special sale page at Storming The Base!

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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