Norwegian future pop artist ETH has re-released his first solo album, “Somewhere But Here”. Originally launched on CD in 2020, it’s now available on streaming services and Bandcamp.

About ETH

ETH is Egil Thomas Hansen from Supercraft. After nearly two decades in the progressive rock scene with bands like Texaco Stovner, Suspicious Minds, and Fjelltaake, Thomas co-founded the Norwegian future pop band Supercraft in 2007. Since 2009, Supercraft has released three albums, multiple EPs, and numerous singles.

In 2020, ETH debuted with “Somewhere But Here”. Since then, he has released a few singles and an EP. As 2024 unfolds, new ETH material is nearly finished, but the re-release of his 2020 album comes first.

The latest release from ETH is the three-track single “Cover Me,” featuring future pop versions of Depeche Mode classics “Puppets” and “Behind The Wheel,” and a piano rendition of “The Sun And The Rainfall”.

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 Danish record label Town And Towers Records announce the re-release of the Supercraft album “Select & Operate”. The album was originally released on CD back in 2018 and is now available on all major streaming services.

“Select & Operate” was the third album from the Norwegian Future pop act Supercraft and their first full length since “Nation47” from 2012. It took the band 5 years to complete the album. You can still buy the original CD, signed, from Supercraft’s Bandcamp site.

Supercraft was founded in 2007 by childhood friends Egil Thomas Hansen and Geir Arne Johansen. In December 2023 they were joined by Kim Lunner.

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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On August 8th the German conzoom Records label will celebrate its 15th anniversary. Especially for the occasion two new “electropop.” compilations will be released on that same date: “electropop.25” and “electropop.depeche mode”. Both can be ordered via Conzoom Records.

Side-Line hereby send its congratulations to both Ingo Möller and Annet Möller for their work in the past 15 years!

“electropop.25” will again carry 13 tracks by 13 artists who have not yet appeared on an official compilation. As usual, there will also be a strictly limited “electropop.25 (Super Deluxe Fan Bundle)” with 4 promotional bonus CD-Rs.

“electropop.depeche mode” holds cover versions of Depeche Mode tracks by new bands from the electropop field. The three promotional bonus CD-Rs of the “electropop. depeche mode (Super Deluxe Fan Bundle)” include a remix collection of the latest “Nature Of Wire Remixes Volume 5”, a ten-song retrospective of the work of the Swedish synthpop band Climate Zombies and an exclusive remix album by Birmingham Electric with previously unpublished tracks.

Tracklisting of “electropop.25”:

1. Aeon Rings – Slow Choke (Full Length Version)
2. Blackcarburning – All About You (Olaf Wollschläger Remix)
3. Code 64 – Soundwave (Extended)
4. Eckotrigger – Collide (Extended)
5. Helalyn Flowers – Halos (People Theatre’s Fireball Mix)
6. Jetlag Junction – Hope & Bravery (Dance Remix)
7. Main – End This Game (Full Length Version)
8. Mari Kattman – Is It Really That Bad (Neuroticfish Remix)
9. Neon Space Men – Twisted Mind (Rob #Dust Remix)
10. Rohn-Lederman – We Need A Plan (Mark Hockings Remix)
11. The Grab Society – Outsider (Oren Amram Remix Edit)
12. The Nordic Act – Give Me The Power (Remix 2022)
13. Voltron2 – Catwalk Madness (Extended Mix)

Tracklisting of “electropop.depeche mode”

1. Alphamay – Everything Counts
2. Bt47 – Master & Servant
3. Demokratie – And Then
4. Egoamp – New Dress (Edit)
5. Engraved Garden – Lie To Me (Extended)
6. Kellertechnik Feat. Shelter – Now This Is Fun
7. Maschinengeist – Wrong
8. Neon Space Men – Leave In Silence (Extended)
9. Parralox – Ghosts Again (Extended)
10. Platronic – The Things You Said
11. Royal Visionaries – The Sun And The Rainfall
12. Split Vision – A Photograph Of You
13. Supercraft – My Secret Garden
14. Tycho Brahe – Suffer Well
15. Vainerz – Two Minute Warning (Extended)

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, Future-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Kim Lunner is a Norwegian Electro artist who’s already been busy for more than ten years. “This Is Me” is his first album for which he got the help of Thomas Hansen (Supercraft) and Richard Bjorklund. They assisted Kim Lunner in the production of the work.

Content: “This Is Me” will appeal for all lovers of Electro/Future-Pop music. The songs are somewhere in between, switching from sweet parts to more danceable cuts. The work is supported with a dense melancholic layer.

+ + + : “This Is Me” sounds like a mature production. The songs are well-crafted and especially the more danceable cuts are worthy of examination. “Just For A Second” is a beautiful song, which progressively moves into danceable rhythms while there also is a cold, mysterious and yet sensual mood supporting the track. Another attention grabber is the instrumental “Inferno” on, which Kim Lunner reveals a Future-Pop approach. The true melancholia emerges at “Another Day” and “Alone”, which both reveal the writing skills of this artist.

– – – : “This Is Me” features 10 songs, but the last one unfortunately sounds as an antithesis to the rest of the album.

Conclusion: I can’t say that this band is setting the world alight, but “This Is Me” is a fully entertaining and accomplished production.

Best songs: “Alone”, “Another Day”, “Just For A Second”, “Inferno”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/kim.lunner

Label: www.scent-air.com / www.facebook.com/ScentairRecords

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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Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: ETH aka Egil Thomas Hansen is a Norwegian project and a side-project from one of the Supercraft members. “Somewhere But Here” is the artist’s solo-debut featuring eight songs.

Content: The opening cut is driven by a dark and heavy, bouncing EBM touch while the vocals are rather Pop-like. This opening song is not totally representative of the album, which is progressively getting ‘sweeter’ and definitely Electro-Pop like. But the deep, vibrating sensation remains a red line throughout the work. The work reveals melodic parts while some classical retro passages might remind to Erasure (cf. “Smallest Little Things”). But I also noticed a moiré danceable song (cf. “Without You”), which is carried by a solid Dance/Trance lead. There also is the more sensual-like “The Memoir”.

+ + + : ETH has a talent to write cool melody lines and that’s for sure one of the main strengths of this production. One of the best songs also is one of the most cliché ones; I refer to the somewhat Erasure-like “Smallest Little Things”. “For All The Wrong Intentions” is another efficient track when it comes to the melody lines.

– – – : It’s probably intentional, but the production has something rough and unpolished, which is mainly accentuated by the low vibrating sounds. It creates a demo effect, which can’t convince me when listening to Electro-Pop. The production of the vocals can’t convince me. Last, but not least the final song is a poorly inspired end for an album, which only features 8 songs.

Conclusion: I expected a bit more from this artist who’s already involved with music for several years now. The global production has to be improved.

Best songs: “Smallest Little Things”, “For All The Wrong Intentions”.

Rate: (5).

Artist: www.facebook.com/egilthomashansen

Label: www.scent-air.com / www.facebook.com/ScentairRecords

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: The Norwegian Supercraft duo is back on track. They previously released two albums: “Things We Do” (2009) on Codeline Records and “Nation 47” (2012) on Wtl Records. “Select & Operate” stands for the ‘return’ of the band, which now joined hands with ScentAir Records.

Content: I have to admit I wasn’t familiar with Supercraft. This album is clearly driven by electro-pop and future-pop influences. The songs are melodic and catchy while still featuring familiar melancholic passages. Some of the leads are pretty dance-like, but it clearly fits with the global approach of this band.

+ + + : “Select & Operate” stands for a mature production. The songs are well-crafted and constructed with alluring sound treatments, carrying leads and danceable rhythms. Songs like “Lighthouse”, “Select & Operate” and the more into future-pop like “Loosing You” are perfect electro-pop songs to party.

– – – : The work is enjoyable, but without real surprises. It sounds like ‘classical’ electro-pop music with some clichés.

Conclusion: I can’t say this is a groundbreaking piece of music, but for sure a good and accomplished album. If you’re into electro/future-pop you gone like it!

Best songs: “Lighthouse”, “Select & Operate”, “Losing You”, “Asleep”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/supercraft

Label: www.scent-air.com / www.facebook.com/ScentairRecords

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 is a brand new free download compilation compiled by Synth Radio: the Camouflage tribute compilation “The Great Compliment”. “The Great Compliment” holds 20 tracks in total and you can preview it below, and download it right here.

The 20 bands included are Substaat, Intent Outtake, Sad January, Parralox, WANTed, Edenfeld, Spreading Point, Machinista, Модуль, Vaylon, deZeption, 56 Degrees North, Supercraft, Rayphonic, Equatronic, Fate Creator, Last Phase, TourDeForce, Radiomun, Halovox.

These acts have been covering the following songs: “Love Is a Shield”, “Sooner Than We Think”, “Helpless”, “Stranger’s Thoughts”, “Me and You”, “Where Has the Childhood Gone”, “They Catch Secrets”, “I Can’t Feel You”, “Spice Crackers”, “That Smiling Face”, “The Great Commandment”, “Here She Comes”, “Feeling Down”, “Crime”, “One Fine Day”, “Motif Sky”, “Conversation”, “X-Ray”, “Suspicious Love”, “Together”.

Here’s a preview of the compilation:

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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