(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)

December 16th 2022 sees the return of Piston Damp with not just one single, but TWO singles!!!

This is what happens when creativity takes hold and goes into overdrive. Truls Sønsterud and Jonas Groth have been on fire since the great reception of their debut album, ‘Making The World Great Again’, and the three consecutive singles, ‘Something In Me’, ‘Loose Ends’ and ‘Runaway’, as well as the ‘Making The World Great Again E.P.’ that was the final chapter in the MTWGA story.

After playing gigs and festivals in Norway, Sweden and Germany in 2022, we will also see them return to both Sweden and Germany for gigs and festivals in 2023, including a gig in Helsingborg, Sweden together with Octolab and Train To Spain on March 4th., as well as a performance at the E-Only Festival in Leipzig, Germany on the 17th. February. More live dates TBC!

Their two new singles, ‘Sacrifice’ and ‘All the edges I can fall’ are as diverse and catchy as you would expect from these guys, and they are both exploring the darker and deeper vaults of electronic music, as well as the higher mountain tops of catchy sing-a-long synthpop.
An intricate and well thought through production, carefully mixed by Magne Johansen and skillfully mastered by Ole-Espen Kristiansen, makes the songs eligible for both the dancefloor and for your party playlist.

Without a doubt, these singles will become fan favorites, and the guys are really looking forward to performing them live on the coming gigs.
Both singles are written by Jonas Groth and are topped with his skillful vocals and vocal production, and the instrumentation, drum programming and f/x from Truls Sønsterud are all worked through in a way that makes you understand that not a single sound is there by chance. Additional vocals on «Sacrifice» from Truls Kristian Nygaard, known from Norwegian electro-pop sensation SWEEP.

The singles also comes with an extended remix made by the band themselves, further leaning into the old 80’s tradition of the 12″ Extended Mixes that we all loved and adored.‍

Both singles released digitally on December 16th 2022 through Sub Culture Records on all platforms and streaming services, including Bandcamp.

Listen here!

Other sources:

“Sacrifice” – Spotify
“Sacrifice” – Deezer
“Sacrifice” – Apple Music

“All The Edges I Can Fall” – Spotify
“All The Edges I Can Fall” – Deezer
“All The Edges I Can Fall” – Apple Music

jrstange

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… 😉

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

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Mario Monk aka Ego Bliss strikes back with the “Future” EP featuring four new cuts plus eight remixes getting us back to songs from the debut album “What The Future Holds”.

Content: The new songs sound a bit harder than the debut album. The composition is empowered by EBM elements while holding on to the Electro-Pop touch. Both debut songs remind me a bit of Neuroactive -and also in the production of the vocals. The remixes are bringing us back to the debut album and have been accomplished by C-Lekktor, FCH, DMT Berzerk, Elektrovot, JP90, Art Deko and Vyrtual Zociety while the first remix has been done by Ego Bliss and is featuring Marian G.

+ + + : The new songs reveal an interesting evolution for being harder and more personal. The songs are well-crafted and create a perfect sonic bridge between Electro-Pop and EBM. There’re several cool remixes featured which are adding diversity. I especially recommend the hard and Dark-Electro remix by C-Lekktor and the refreshing remix by FCH.

– – – : I get the feeling Ego Bliss still has more potential than what came out at this EP. I regret there are no remixes from “The Saviour” which was my favorite track from the album.

Conclusion: Ego Bliss remains a band to keep an eye on; this is alluring Electro/Body-Pop.

Best songs: “Elysium”, “Suicidal” + “Asylum – C-Lekktor Remix”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/monk1981

Labels: www.subculture.no / www.facebook.com/norwegiansubculture

www.sector-industrial.com / www.facebook.com/sector.industrial.producciones

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

Piston Damp, the project of Jonas Groth (Apoptygma Berzerk) and Truls Sønsterud (Tröll) is ready to release a debut album after their 3 singles “Something In Me”, “Loose Ends” and “Runaway” which were released the last 8 months. Their debut album “Making The World Great Again” will be out via Sub Culture Records on June 10th.

The album has been produced by the Danish/Norwegian duo themselves and mixed with their good friend Magne Johansen. It was mastered for digital platforms by Ole-Espen Kristiansen, and for CD and vinyl by Morten Lund. Stephan Groth (Apoptygma Berzerk) contributes on vocoder on one of the songs.

Piston Damp was formed in 2000, but remained a hobby project for 20 years until Jonas wrote the song “Something In Me” in 2020. This became their first single and was remixed by acts like The Anix, Pegboards and Technomancer.

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.

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: EBM, Electro-Pop, Gothic.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This sampler features ten bands from the Mexican Electro/Gothic scene. Most of the bands are part of the Sector Industrial Producciones roster, a label run by Dimitri Berzerk. The compilation has been released in collaboration with the Norwegian label Sub Culture Records.

Artists: Infected Sound System, Vyrtual Zociety, Oxomaxoma, Dramatic, Dimitri Berzerk, Modelo De Placer, Fire In Paris, Cibernia, SFX DJ, Die-Go.

Content: This sampler is a new opportunity to get a bit more familiar with the Mexican scene. We always link Mexico to Hocico, Amduscia and C-Lekktor (to name the most famous ones), but there’s much more to discover. From pumping Aggrotech to powerful electro-Pop to Industrial-Wave to EBM to Electro-Pop to Techno-Body music to Acid every single band has something of its own. I also want to mention a bonus track featured in the digital format, which is a mix of 37 minutes. 

+ + + : What I like with such compilations is to discover new or less familiar artists. And I here discovered a great debut song by Infected Sound System, which is driven by an alluring Aggrotech lead. Vyrtual Zociety delivers a solid Electro-Pop song infused with some extra adrenaline and darkness. Modelo De Placer is another interesting discovery for its robotic kind of Electro-Pop. Fire In Paris brings a more classic Electro-Pop format with fragile female vocals on top. Last, but not least I also discovered a great song by Dimitri Berzerk himself; a mix of EBM and catchy Pop.

– – – : The mix and mastering of the compilation could be more professional.

Conclusion: This is a great compilation revealing some talented artists from the Mexican scene.

Best bands: Infected Sound System, Dimitri Berzerk, Vyrtual Zociety, Fire In Paris, Modelo De Placer.

Rate: (7½).

Labels: www.sector-industrial.com / www.facebook.com/sector.industrial.producciones / www.subculture.no / www.facebook.com/norwegiansubculture

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange / Sub Culture Records press release) The Danish/Norwegian duo Piston Damp, currently residing in Sarpsborg, Norway, are releasing their debut single on October 16^th. Have a listen at the first track available at Bandcamp at the bottom here!

The duo consists of Jonas Groth and Truls Sønsterud; Jonas being the singer/songwriter/producer, with more than 20 years’ experience from both stages and studios all over the world, mostly connected to his brother, Stephan’s band, Apoptygma Berzerk. He also has
connections to various other acts like Magenta and The Anix. His production partner is Truls; musical arranger/keyboardist/songwriter, connected to various bands since the late 90’s.

Their new track ‘Something In Me’ was written and recorded this summer, with Stephan Groth serving as pre-production supervisor. It is mixed by Ole-Espen Kristiansen (Elec This!) at STUDIO+/-, and mastered by Carlos Perón (ex-YELLO), at Liquid Gold Mastering.
Something In Me also has a version called Noget I Mig with Danish lyrics, and both versions have several remixes (‘Pegboard Nerds Remix’, ‘The Anix Remix’, ‘Technomancer Remix’, ‘Extended 12”
Remix’, and more…).

Tracklist:

1. Something In Me
2. Noget I Mig
3. Another Pain (Blue Hearts Version)
4. Something In Me (Pegboard Nerds Remix)
5. Noget I Mig (Pegboard Nerds Remix)
6. Something In Me (The Anix Remix)
7. Something In Me (Technomancer Remix)
8. Something In Me (Kleinmelker Remix)
9. 9. Something In Me (Extended Remix)

All tracks written by Jonas Groth
Recorded, arranged, produced and programmed by Piston Damp at Brakka Studio, Tveter
All vocals arranged and recorded by Jonas Groth at Love Studio, Greåker
Snare drum on Another Pain by Truls Sønsterud
Tracks 1-3 and 6-9 mastered by Carlos Perón at Liquid Gold Mastering
Tracks 4 and 5 mixed and mastered by Alex “O” at PBN Headquarters, Hamar
Tracks 1-3, 7 & 9 mixed and engineered by Ole-Espen Kristiansen at STUDIO +/-
Track 6 recorded and mixed by The Anix
Track 7 recorded and mixed by Technomancer at The Technomantic Zone
Track 8 recorded and mixed by Kleinmelker
Track 9 remixed by Jonas Groth at Love Studio, Greåker
Final compiling and editing by Tomas Siqveland at Lydmuren. Greåker
Logo and design; Espenoo
Pre-production supervisor; Stephan L. Groth
Production office; Per Aksel Lundgreen
Worldwide digital distribution by Sub Culture Records – “Making everything great again”

UPDATED October 15th: Check their music video!

jrstange

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

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange)
June 10th saw the release of yet another release from the ‘Der Eisenberg Sampler’ compilation series, this time the 10th edition! It’s a joint collaboration between Carlos Perón and the Norwegian label Sub Culture Records led by Per Aksel Lundgreen, whom I had a chat with to find out how this came together.

Per Aksel: Carlos started the record company Eisenberg at the end of the 80’s, and the first ‘Der Eisenberg Sampler’ was released on CD in 1992. When Carlos and Sub Culture Records started collaborating on digital distribution in 2013 these compilations where among our first releases. Carlos then wanted to continue releasing this series of compilations digitally, and now we’re at the 10th edition!
We’ve both chosen the tracks, and Carlos have mastered/remastered all the tracks. The Zone Tripper track is brand new and exclusive for this compilation for the time being, and the same goes for the Substaat track ‘Captivate’ featuring Psyokosister (aka. Hanne Haugsand).

S-L: Many will recognize Carlos Perón from other projects too?
P-A: Yep, he was a founding member of the legendary Swiss electronic band Yello and participated on their three first albums. His solo career spans an amazing number of albums, about 40 (!!!), including movie soundtracks. Most known would be ‘La Salle Blanche’, ‘A Dirty Song’, ‘Motorman’, ‘A Hit Song’, ‘Der Komtur’ og ‘Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted’.
He’s known from the New Beat scene too, where he broke ground with A Split Second and was one of those shaping things to come.

PS! Just as I was gathering info for this article, a MixCloud session with Yello tracks was forwarded to me from a friend, and who else than Carlos Perón made the introduction there!?

Check out the sampler yourself at Bandcamp or Spotify.

jrstange

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

Jonas Rasmusson and Helena Wigeborn are Train To Spain. The name of their band is inspired by a song from the Human League. That brings us directly to 80s electro-pop and new-wave music, which is one of the band’s main sources of inspiration. The Swedish duo this year released their second album entitled “The Journey” on Sub Culture Records. It’s without a shadow of a doubt their most  accomplished and successful work. The songs are driven by catchy sequences, great melodies and danceable vibes. I’d a chat with Jonas and Helena.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: The band name is inspired from a Human League song “The Things That Dreams Are Made Of”. What did really inspired you in this lyrical extract from the song and how do you recognize yourself in this band name?

Jonas: I used to live and work in Spain and I love the country and I’ve always liked and been fascinated by trains. Growing up close to railroad tracks I trainspotted a lot. When listening to Human League the sentence ‘train to Spain’ just hit me in my face! Human league is a nice band, but not one of my favorites. So to name our band ’Like A Halo In Reverse’ would be too obvious. From a band that I like more.

Q: You both met a few years ago and found certain chemistry between the music written by Jonas and vocals sung by Helena. What makes this chemistry and how do you transpose it into songs and lyrics?

Helena: The chemistry mainly goes down to the fact that we both have a love for electronic music from the 80’s and 90’s. Jonas grow up in the 80’s and got into the music then and I was born in the late 80’s and got my influences from the 90’s. With a lot of creativity and different experiences in life we manage to merge the best of us, and that is what we think makes that specific sound of Train To Spain.

Jonas: In the beginning and during the first album I felt like it was just my instrumental songs that Helena liked and put lyrics on. Nowadays we try to work a different way. I now know what Helena likes in songs and I adapt to that. When making our second album we’ve started to make songs that Helena arranges on an acoustic guitar. I then make them electronic.

Q: So you clearly went through an evolution in the song writing, but can you give us more details and especially about the new album “A Journey”?

Helena:  After our first album was released we started working with a new producer, Patrik Hansson, best known as the vocalist from the band Vanguard. We agreed on wanting a ‘heavier’ sound and Patrik helped us out with that. Also, what is new with “A Journey” compared to our first album is that I’ve written four songs of the album, which I think brings a modern pop sound and gives the album a good mix of that and Jonas classic 80’s production.

Jonas: I feel it’s a very big different. Helena is much more confident when she sings and on this album our producer really liked the songs from the start and has put his touch on it. I also changed the gear from 80% software gear to 99% hardware gear. I think we still have our ‘Train To Spain-sound’; the sound that makes us special. Since we released the first album we have been playing in both England (London) and Germany, which have made us more confident and featuring a stronger stage act.

Q: Your music is catchy, melodic and has something ‘happy-sounding’ while the lyrics reflect darker and more serious themes. That’s an interesting contradiction, don’t you think?

Helena & Jonas: A contradiction for sure, but also something that makes the music more interesting to listen to. Life isn’t just happy or sad, it’s a mix of both and the lyrics that come out from Helena are what she experiences or a theme she has in mind at that specific time.

Q: “A Journey” is clearly inspired by 80s electro/wave-pop and that’s a source of inspiration you don’t hide at all. Why are all these bands still going back to the 80s and the origin of electro-pop and what personal touch did you add to your sound?

Helena: What we listen to in our teens really influence us for the rest of our lives. I mean, do you know people discovering new favorite genres when they are in their 30’s or 40’s? That’s why I think people can’t let go the music they listened to in their teens because that is what developed and characterized their identity, and we are not different. What we added is what comes from inside of us, our own creativity and experiences, and that’s something I think you can’t copy from other people.

Jonas: Well I think the 80’s is a very important era in the music history. The technology made a huge leap and that made the experimental/electronic music much easier to make! And there also is the mix between old and new technology; it’s a foundation! I can’t deny that my inspiration comes from the 80’s and 90’s music, but when I compose the music I just chose sounds that I like at the moment for that specific song. I guess that’s what makes our sound.

Q: Artists and labels often complain about decreasing CD-sales while more and more people are using streaming platforms and/or Youtube. You for sure feel concerned about this evolution, but is there any strategy to make things change? What’s the importance of promotion, live performances, getting reviews and interviews etc…?  

Helena: As you describe in your question it is very important to be part of various and different platforms. What we are trying to do is developing good networks with radio presenters, club organizers and be as active as we can on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, our own website etc. We are very happy and thankful for all the attention and good feedback that we get all around the world. It makes us want to do what we do even more.

Jonas: If we didn’t have all the platforms I don’t think that anyone would know about Train To Spain. So I think all the platforms are just great. I don’t think there are any ways to increase the CD/vinyl sales, unfortunately. The few people in the world (I call them enthusiasts) will still be buying CD’s and vinyl, but streaming is there to stay.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: Set up in 2011 by Jonas Rasmusson, Train To Spain saw Helena Wigeborn joining in as the singer in 2013. The Swedish band started to release several EP’s and the debut album “What It’s All about” (2015). They now strike back –again on Sub Culture Records, to unleash their second opus.

Content: The band remains clearly inspired by the golden years of electro-pop. Train To Spain stands for classical electro-pop music, featuring 80s influences with something more dance-pop like. The songs are catchy and carried by melodic choruses. On several songs you can feel the influence of Vince Clark and especially from the Yazoo-period.

The album features 10 songs plus 2 bonus cuts, which were the title songs of previously released EP’s (cf. “Believe In Love” and “Dominant One”).

+ + + : Train To Spain is a great and efficient electro- & retro-pop formation. They don’t innovate at any single moment, but perfectly know the secret to compose efficient and achieved electro-pop. The songs have been accomplished with catchy parts and melodic choruses, but still features right dance vibes. A good electro-pop band also needs a talented singer and that’s precisely what Helena Wigeborn stands for. My personal favorite song is the outstanding and somewhat more melancholic sounding “Pretend We Won”.

– – – : I’ve never been a huge fan of songs ending with a fade-out and that’s precisely the way the first song ends. But that’s just a little element, which doesn’t affect the global production of this work.

Conclusion: Train To Spain brings nothing new, but has the skills to compose efficient and traditional electro-pop music. That’s why I like this album.

Best songs: “Pretend We Won”, “80s Drum Machine”, “Dominant One”, “Saviour”, “Monsters”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.traintospain.se / www.facebook.com/train2spain

Label: www.subculture.no / www.facebook.com/norwegiansubculture

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Out now via Bandcamp is the download EP “Alternate States : chapter 1” by Naked Lunch. Naked Lunch should ring a bell with many amongst you as the band was featured on the now legendary “Some Bizzare Album” with other acts such as Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, etc.. Not all that surprising since Tony Mayo, the lead singer, had close connections with Stevo Pearce and aided with pulling the artists for this album together.

The cult track “La Femme” from that “Some Bizzare Album” was re-recorded for this new EP with extra vocals by Jet Noir. Jet Noir joined up with Naked Lunch in 2013 when the recording of their “Beyond Planets” album was underway. The tracks on “Alternate States : chapter 1” were then mixed by Dean Baker (Galahad) and mastered by Martin Bowes of Attrition. 4 extra tracks complete the EP which is out now and can be downloaded now.

Interesting detail about “La Femme” is that the song was originally called “Le Femme” but Phonogram to who the “Some Bizzare Album” album was licensed to changed it to grammatically correct French, missing the point of the androgyny of the electronic music scene (and that the song was about that).

Naked Lunch are one of the one of the first synth based groups and was formed in 1979 by Tony Mayo. Mick Clarke was an early addition shortly followed by Cliff Chapman and Paul N. Davies and then, in 1981, by Mark Irving. Although they called it a day in 1985, 2010 saw Tony Mayo link up again with early member Paul Davies to write new material. Mick Clark and Cliff Chapman joined in 2011, Mark Irving in early 2012. The band released the album “Beyond Planets” in 2014 after signing with Sub Culture Records for digital distribution. In 2014 Naked Lunch toured the UK with Combichrist and in 2015 with Covenant.

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.

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Synth-pop.

Content: The self-released EP “The Perfect Match” was a rather promising beginning for the Swedish duo Train To Spain. They now joined Sub Culture Records on, which they already released the digital EP “Keep On Running”.

The debut album “What It’s All About” features 11 songs. Six tracks were taken from “The Perfect Match” while we also get 5 new songs. Train To Spain finds their influences in the magic of the 80s electronic music. The band name was directly taken from a Human League song. That’s also an indication about inspiring bands. The typical vintage touch throughout the songs makes the essence of this album.

There’s nothing really innovative, but you can feel a real passion for electronic music. It comes through in the well-crafted and carrying melody lines and the global catchy aspect of the songs. The majority of the bass lines are quite alluring and that typical again for the 80s electro-pop formula. But the sound also reveals a modern approach by some cool filtered sound treatments. One of the new tracks (cf. “Pressure”) is a very efficient cut in the genre.

But the most promising tracks are two other new cuts. “Remind Myself” is somewhat evasive, but still driven by familiar pop vibes. “Martin David And Fletch” is the other attention grabber. It’s a great and danceable electro-wave composition featuring the fragile and sterile vocals of Helena Wigeborn. The song and the vocals remind me a bit of Sara Noxx.

Among the ‘familiar’ songs I can highly recommend the opening piece “Blipblop” (which was released as the title song of a digital EP by Juggernaut Music as well) for its global elaboration and the sweet female vocals. “Screw It Up” remains another attention grabber. It’s a fully danceable, but well-crafted piece of pop. A last song I want to mention is “Passion” for the more into ‘made in Sweden’ label reminding me of a band like Spock.

Conclusion: Train To Spain hasn’t missed with their debut album and reveals one more talented formation from Sweden.

Best songs: “Martin David And Fletch”, “Remind Myself”, “Blipblop”, “Screw It Up”, “Passion”.

Rate: (DP:8)DP.

Band: www.traintospain.se / www.facebook.com/pages/Train-To-Spain/252355014792419

Label: www.subculture.no / www.facebook.com/norwegiansubculture

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