Universal Music Group (UMG) has completed its acquisition of 100% of the independent music giant [PIAS], a deal met with mixed reactions from the independent sector as you will read below. UMG, the world’s largest music company, first acquired a 49% stake in [PIAS] in 2022, but as of October 15, 2024, it now holds full ownership.

Impala, a representative body for over 6,000 independent music companies across Europe, voiced its unease in a mail sent out earlier today. Helen Smith, Executive Chair of IMPALA, expressed concerns about UMG’s growing market dominance, noting that the acquisition leaves a “huge hole” in the independent sector.

With [PIAS] no longer classified as an independent company, the loss of one of the sector’s key players could limit options for both artists and labels seeking alternatives to the major label system. Smith also pointed out that UMG had previously been restricted from making major acquisitions by the European Commission following its 2012 purchase of EMI, a restriction that has since expired.

Smith expects regulators to investigate the acquisition “and answer the question the industry is asking about how it is possible for UMG to gain more market share after it was already considered too big. We would expect both physical and digital markets to be assessed including for distribution services, as well as the impact on competitors, digital services, artists and fans. A share deal is one thing, this is something else.”

Impala chair Dario Draštata added: “This type of creeping power is an issue across Europe. Apart from strengthening UMG in terms of market share, it eliminates a principal competitor and should be investigated. It also narrows options for artists and labels. It is not a question of an arithmetical increase of market share points by one major, but rather a sea change in the competitive dynamics of the music market, to the severe detriment of competitors and consumers. Sony has been doing the same and we see similar moves in Central and Eastern Europe with Warner Music Group buying stakes in several leading independent music companies across the region. The loss of such big players for the independent sector compounds the competitive impact and the risk is that this trend will continue. We have been signalling the problem of creeping dominance for many years and it’s time for a new competition approach to address this question.”

New strategies and finances for indie sector

Impala also points to ongoing work on innovative solutions on the finance side to provide independents with different options, as well as opportunities to develop new approaches.

Smith adds that Impala want to see more independent companies like [PIAS] not fewer. “We need a revamp of exit strategy options, new solutions to access finance, provide tax incentives and grow our market share. A review of whether competition is fit for purpose in today’s music market is also in order, and proper solutions for issues like the RAAP case. Above all, it’s about a combination of strategies that put diversity at the top of the pyramid. There are plenty of solutions and we urge the whole market to join us on this exercise. It is credit to Michel and Kenny that the [PIAS] example is the springboard to re-opening these discussions.” 

Despite the concerns, some also see potential opportunities. Kenny Gates, co-founder of [PIAS], reassured that while UMG now owns the company, [PIAS] will remain operationally autonomous, maintaining its independent ethos. Gates also referred to UMG’s resources and global reach, saying that the acquisition would help [PIAS] and its artists continue to grow on a global scale, without compromising their core values.

About Impala

Impala was established in 2000 and now represents over 6000 independent music companies in Europe. 99% of Europe’s music companies are small, micro and medium businesses and self-releasing artists who produce more than 80% of all new releases and account for 80% of the sector’s jobs.

Impala’s mission is to grow the independent music sector sustainably, return more value to artists, promote diversity and entrepreneurship, improve political access, inspire change, and increase access to finance.

Impala works on a range of key issues for its members, runs various award schemes and has a programme aimed at businesses who want to develop a strategic relationship with the European independent sector – Friends of IMPALA.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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UPDATE: Impala reached out to us and gave extra input and feedback, this has been added to this article.

Impala, the Independent Music Companies Association, has published the findings of its first survey examining the economic advantages of adopting sustainable practices within the European independent music sector. According to the survey there are multiple benefits for labels that implement sustainability measures, including cost reductions, enhanced innovation, and improved brand perception.

Let’s have a detailed look at what they communicate. You can download the business case right here. But first this…

Danger of Greenwashing

Below you can read what Impala indicated as being ‘sustainable’ practices. But, in some cases you can actually wonder if it’s not about greenwashing, because the cost for instance of producing lightweight vinyl is lower but the prices in retail will often remain the same. So, it could often be a cost element that plays, and not really the sustainable idea.

Impala reacts to us by saying that they strongly refute that assertion: “First, it is important to highlight the goal of the business case itself, which is to promote action among our members and in the supply chain. IMPALA is committed to aligning with climate science and works closely with expert advisors to ensure our approach is appropriate.

Furthermore, the report and IMPALA as an organisation don’t promote making sustainability claims without scientific backing, which is detrimental to both climate action and the organisation’s reputation. Should any companies want to display their commitment to the cause, it’s great to know that there are organisations like B Corp working on providing certified credentials.”

Greenwashing is when companies mislead stakeholders about their environmental practices to appear more sustainable than they are. Greenwashing can undermine genuine efforts, erode trust, and misguide consumers and industry stakeholders.

No Sign of the Famous Unplayed Catalogue Tracks Server Cost

Strangely enough we don’t see any mentioning of the huge cost that comes with unplayed tracks on Spotify. As we reported, Spotify will not be paying royalties for songs with fewer than 1,000 streams in a year.

But the deeper issue is the cost related to tracks that never get played. Nearly 25% of the tracks on streaming services had no streams at all. With the constant growth of the music catalog, unstreamed songs are predicted to reach a whopping 100 million by 2028.

The cost of maintaining these platforms has increased dramatically, from $35 million in 2019 to more than $130 million in 2022. So removing the unplayed tracks from Spotify would be a real sustainable move as it would mean less energy use to keep servers up with unplayed tracks.

In a reaction Impala says this: “Regarding streaming, IMPALA has had a position on the scope of responsibility for a while now, which we included in our ‘standards’ report published early last year. In a nutshell, while we’re working closely with DSPs to encourage greater transparency and support them towards measuring and reducing the impact of streaming, their emissions are excluded from the responsibility of labels, who we represent.

You can find the full report here, and I’ve also included the relevant text below. We’ll also include this in our business case report to avoid future misinterpretation. Thank you for bringing that to our attention.”

This is the relevant text that we were sent by Impala:

Standardising the sector’s approach on streaming is vital. The group reviewed the whole chain and reached a key set of conclusions related to the scope of responsibility concerning digital distribution.

Emissions from downstream digital distribution (the distribution of digital recordings through Digital Service Providers [DSPs] and consumption by fans through streaming services or digital download) are excluded from the responsibility of labels for the following reasons:

• Scope of responsibility – labels do not own or control DSPs which are the responsibility of third parties who are already taking responsibility for the relevant emissions.
• Influence – record companies have no direct control over the distribution of digital files once they have distributed to DSPs, or influence over emission reduction programmes.
• Size – due to a lack of available data, it’s not possible for the recorded sector to estimate with accuracy the size of emissions from digital distribution. The necessary data is controlled by DSPs and their downstream partners. Some DSPs are working towards gathering data from their operations and are establishing emissions calculation methodologies. We refer to this, as availability of data is part of the GHG protocol, but as noted above, scope of responsibility and lack of influence mean that DSP emissions (including subscriber emissions) are not counted as record company emissions. (This is the same as for other downstream areas of activity in the music market, such as physical retail.)

Digital distribution is a vital part of our industry and makes up a significant portion of income for our members. We’re therefore working closely with DSPs to encourage greater transparency and will support towards measuring and reducing the impact of streaming. As part of the Music Climate Pact and our own Climate Charter, we call on DSPs to work collaboratively to share data and knowledge on this issue.

Here is what Impala says in its current version of their business case regarding sustainability.

1. Financial Savings and Environmental Impact Reduction:
   • Companies reported important savings in manufacturing, distribution, energy, and travel costs. For instance, labels like K7! Music have reduced costs by opting for green vinyl (PET), which cuts energy consumption by 70-80% compared to PVC.
2. Internal Innovation:
   • Embracing sustainability has driven internal innovation. For example, some companies have optimized logistics by shifting from air to sea freight and encouraged remote meetings, maximizing staff efficiency​. The introduction of new formats, like 140g vinyl instead of 180g, has proven cost-effective with minimal impact on audio quality.
3. Supply Chain Improvements:
   • Sustainable practices have led to operational efficiencies and cost savings. Local sourcing and just-in-time inventory management have minimized excess stock and lowered storage costs. For instance, labels reported benefits from using lightweight materials, reducing transportation and packaging costs​.
4. Strengthening Supply Chain Relations:
   • Enhanced transparency and collaboration within supply chains foster positive changes. Suppliers publishing their sustainability data and collaborating on certification systems have presented new opportunities for large-scale sector improvements.
5. Competitive Position and Brand Awareness:
   • Sustainability has bolstered companies’ competitive positions. Labels such as Secretly Group and Beggars Group have seen improved brand perception and competitive advantage through their sustainability efforts. For instance, public engagement and recognition as sector leaders have enhanced their visibility and appeal.
6. Regulatory Compliance and Financial Resilience:
   • Proactive sustainability measures help companies stay ahead of regulatory changes. By implementing tools like the Impala Carbon Calculator, companies can prepare for future regulations and tax incentives, ensuring long-term financial resilience.
7. Attracting and Retaining Talent:
   • Sustainability initiatives have positively impacted employee recruitment and retention. Companies noted that a focus on sustainability fosters a purpose-driven work environment, attracting younger generations who value social responsibility.
8. Attracting Artists:
   • Labels with strong sustainability reputations attract more artists. Artists increasingly engage with labels on sustainability practices, contributing to positive public perception and industry leadership.

Survey Methodology

The survey was conducted through ‘qualitative interviews’ with selected Impala member labels from different territories, sizes, and stages of their sustainability journey. Research projects from entities such as Music Declares Emergency, British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and Key Production supported the survey findings, showing that music fans prioritize climate action and are willing to pay more for sustainable products, so Impala claims.

Impala itself offers tools like the Carbon Calculator to help members track and report their carbon footprint. The program aims to halve greenhouse gas emissions before 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions before 2050. It encourages members to take action by measuring their carbon footprint, reducing emissions, and investing in environmental projects.

About Impala

Established in 2000, Impala represents over 6,000 independent music companies across Europe. Known for their innovation and artist discovery, these companies produce more than 80% of all new releases and account for 80% of the sector’s jobs.

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 on Metropolis Records on 19 July 2024 is the brand new album by the post-punk/goth legends The March Violets. The band signed to Metropolis Records in early 2024 and will release a brand new studio album entitled “Crocodile Promises” on 19th July. A single and video is available now, “Hammer The Last Nail”.

Describing the track’s lyrical content, singer Rosie Garland states: “There’s no time like now to break free of gaslighting; no time like now to untangle from toxic people. The March Violets are set to Hammer the Last Nail into damaging relationships that keep us in prison.”

The band will play seven UK dates in late July and early August prior to a US tour. Their schedule includes shows in London and Glasgow, the latter immediately preceded by a slot at Rebellion Festival in Blackpool (2nd August).

Regarding the band’s current line-up, Mat Thorpe (bass, vocals) joined band founders Rosie Garland (vocals) and Tom Ashton (guitar) as a permanent member of The March Violets in early 2024.

About The March Violets

The March Violets are a British post-punk band that emerged from the Leeds music scene in the early 1980s. They are often associated with the gothic rock movement and were contemporaries of bands like The Sisters of Mercy and Bauhaus.

The March Violets were formed in 1981 by Tom Ashton (guitar), Laurence “Loz” Elliott (bass), Simon “Si” Denbigh (vocals), and Rosie Garland (vocals). The band quickly gained a following with their unique sound characterized by a dual vocal approach and a blend of post-punk and gothic rock elements.

Their early singles, released on the independent label Merciful Release, which was also associated with The Sisters of Mercy, included tracks like “Religious as Hell” (1982) and “Grooving in Green” (1983). These releases helped establish the band’s dark and atmospheric style, marked by prominent bass lines, guitar riffs, and haunting vocals.

In 1984, The March Violets signed with a major label, London Records, and released the “Natural History” compilation, which included a mix of their earlier singles and new material.

Despite their early success, The March Violets faced numerous lineup changes and internal conflicts, which affected their stability and output. They released their only full-length album of the original era, “Electric Shades,” in 1985. The band disbanded in the mid-1980s but left a lasting impact on the gothic rock and post-punk scenes.

The March Violets reformed in 2007 and have since performed at various festivals and released new music. They released the album “Made Glorious” in 2013, which was funded through a successful crowdfunding campaign. The band’s recent work has continued to blend their signature gothic rock sound with modern influences.

The March Violets Discography

• Religious as Hell (1982)
• Grooving in Green (1983)
• Natural History (1984)
• Electric Shades (1985)
• Made Glorious (2013)
• Crocodile Promises (2024)

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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David J, known for his work with Bauhaus and Love and Rockets, is set to release a career-spanning triple album titled “Tracks from the Attic” on May 3. This release will be available in digital format, on CD, colored vinyl LP, and as a super deluxe box set art edition.

The album, which was initially released as part of Record Store Day’s RSD Black Friday 2023, comprises home demos recorded between 1984 and 2004. These tracks were personally selected by David J from his archives.

The super deluxe art edition, limited to 70 copies, will include triple colored vinyl and CD box sets, autographed artworks by David J, and original source cassettes. This special edition is exclusive to the Independent Project Records (IPR) store.

To celebrate the album’s release, a west coast tour will kick off on May 3 with an event at the Bodecker Foundation in Portland, OR, titled “Enter the Attic: an Evening with David J.” The evening will feature an interview, Q&A session, live performances, music video screenings, and an art gallery showing. The event will also be available via ticketed live streaming.

The album “Tracks from the Attic” features a variety of songs spanning David J’s career, showcasing his solo work outside of his contributions to Bauhaus and Love and Rockets. The full track listing (see below) includes titles such as “Punishment by Roses,” “The Dream Collector,” and “Oh No! Not Another Songwriter!” among others.

The triple album will be out on Independent Project Records. The label was founded in 1980 by Bruce Licher and is known for its distinctive hand-printed record covers. It has been relaunched to release new and archival content. The label is based in Bishop, California.

Tracklisting

1. Punishment by Roses
2. The Dream Collector
3. Blackmail
4. The Murders in the Rue Morgue
5. My Soul Was Still Shouting, ‘MORE!’
6. I Wish Those Spacemen Would Come
7. Badge of Lead (A Western)
8. Small Death Of a Broken Doll
9. She Calls the Morning Cruel
10. Lady Bureaux
11. Is There Anybody There?
12. The Wolf Knows
13. Castles of Limburg
14. If Muzak Be the Junk Food of Love
15. Homo Sapien Blues
16. This Town
17. Vincent In the Flames
18. They’ve Murdered Christ Again
19. Lucky Dog
20. Old Man in the Rain
21. Conspiracy of Shadows
22. The Long Ride Home
23. Cruel Britannia
24. All the Pilgrims
25. It’s Got to Be the Angels
26. I’ll Put Off Thinking About You for Awhile
27. Or Do I Speak Too Soon?
28. Oh No! Not Another Songwriter!
29. Diamonds, Black Eyes and Valentines Blues
30. The Most Beautiful Girls in the World
31. Before the Positive Was Negative
32. At Paradise
33. New Year’s Day
34. Leaning Towards the Falls
35. Dying Embers (Bonus Track – Digital Only)
36. The Rattler (Bonus Track – Digital Only)
37. The Wrecking Ball is Coming Down (Bonus Track – Digital Only)

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 British electronic rock act Neon Fields, which recently joined the Italian independent label Epictronic, has launched a video for the track “Cage of Lions”.

According to the band “Cage of Lions” is “an unapologetic voice of frustration and inner turmoil born of objection to many political decisions made within the past several years. It speaks to the state of the world and those who have contributed to its downfall while exploring ways to enact vengeance on the individuals responsible. We won’t fight fire with fire. We will be the flood.”

About Neon Fields

Neon Fields was formed in 2020, just before the global pandemic hit. During the resulting lockdowns, the trio from the southwest UK shared music remotely and refined their sound in isolation. Based in Bristol, UK, the band consists of Ed Barrett (vocals), Luke Russe (drums), and Piers Ward (keyboards/guitars). Since the release of their debut singles, Neon Fields has continued to release material.

In 2023, Neon Fields signed with the independent label Epictronic. Neon Fields’ is currently gearing up for the release of their debut album under the new label.

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 on double vinyl via Other Voices on January 5th 2024 is a reissue of the Muslimgauze album “Intifaxa”. This is the first part in a series of 4 double vinyl albums with bonus songs, previously released on CD between 1990 and 1994 on the Australian cult label Extreme Music.

“Intifaxa” is full of heavy percussion mixed with deep tribal grooves, embedded in modulated field recordings. The original tracks were remastered for this first time ever vinyl release. New sleeve designs were created by Oleg Galay, who already did a number of artworks for Muslimgauze reissues.

All 4 album covers will be made from extra heavy cardboard with deluxe spot UV finish and inside print.

About Muslimgauze

Muslimgauze was an influential music project by British musician Bryn Jones, active from 1982 until his untimely death in 1999. Jones first released music in 1982 as E.g Oblique Graph on Kinematograph, his own imprint, and the independent co-op label Recloose, run by Simon Crab. E.g Oblique Graph came from the do-it-yourself (DIY) ethos of the time and was musically composed of electronic/experimental drone with occasional synth-melodic hooks and use of radio broadcast samples. Releases at the time were occasionally on cassette, more often vinyl EPs and LPs.

Muslimgauze was named in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and was primarily inspired by conflicts in the Muslim world, with a particular focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Despite this focus, Jones himself never visited the Middle East, drawing his inspiration from a distance and expressing his political stance through his music.

The sound of the project was characterized by its fusion of traditional Middle Eastern or Islamic music with experimental electronic and ambient music. Jones was known for his prolific output, producing an extensive discography that included over 90 albums. His music often featured layers of ethnic percussion, looping textures, and samples from Middle Eastern sources. The production style was raw and unpolished, contributing to the distinctive and immersive soundscapes that became synonymous with Muslimgauze.

The project gained a cult following for its unflinching political stance and unique sound. However, it remained largely underground, with Jones preferring to release his music on small independent labels and maintaining a low personal profile.

On 30 December 1998, Jones was rushed to A&E in Manchester with a rare fungal infection in his bloodstream, for which he had to be heavily sedated. He contracted pneumonia and died on 14 January 1999. Despite his passing, Muslimgauze’s music continues to be influential in the experimental and electronic music scenes, revered for its pioneering approach to sound and its uncompromising artistic vision.

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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Released November 17 on the independent italian label Trulletto Records, is the new fall album, “Reworked Auttakes”, by the electro-pop artist Autune.

Autune is a musical project conceived by Davi Vale, born in southern Italy and who then moved to Switzerland. In 2022 he released his debut album “Komorebi” through the independent label Trulletto Records. The album was preceeded by the singles “Apple”, “Pedro from the Pillow” (feat. Angelo Rosato Fanelli) and the live version of “Like a Plant in a Greenhouse (Chlorophyll)”.

“Reworked Auttakes” was created with the intention of reviving all the outtakes from his “Komorebi” album. The new album was produced and revisited by Autune with the collaboration of artists and producers from different musical backgrounds: jazz, hip-hop lo fi, folk, classical music and blues, mixed with jungle, liquid drum & bass, ambient and acid bases. Also on board were composer Flavio Calaon (Shindo, Sofsky), producer Yaree, guitarist Fëel, musician and producer Sebastiano Lillo (founder of the italian label Trulletto Records) and trumpeter Niccolò Monté Rizzi (Low Five).

New Autune album available on Bandcamp

You can check the album on Bandcamp.

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

The independent record label Massacre Records, known for its focus on heavier metal genres, is set to launch a cover album titled “New Wave Gone Metal” by James Rivera’s Metal Wave in late August. This venture marks a new direction for the Germany-based label, introducing the concept of ‘metal wave’.

James Rivera, an American vocalist known for his role as the lead singer of the heavy metal band Helstar, is the brain behind this project. Rivera, who also lent his voice to Seven Witches from 2002 to 2005, has been part of numerous tribute bands throughout his career, which provides some context for this latest album.

Rivera, who has also been associated with bands like Helstar, Killing Machine, Seven Witches, and formerly Flotsam and Jetsam, shares, “I have always loved each of these songs in their original versions, but after reimagining them in our unique metal style, it’s challenging for me to listen to them as they once were. I believe that once these new wave classics grab hold of you in their metal wave form, you’ll never hear them the same way again!”

The album will feature ‘metal wave’ renditions of songs from bands such as Depeche Mode, The Cure, Tears for Fears, Echo & the Bunnymen, Bauhaus, The Sisters of Mercy, The Psychedelic Furs, Peter Gabriel, Ramones, and The Cult.

Here’s the video for the project’s ‘metal wave’ interpretation of Depeche Mode’s “Black Celebration”. The video was directed and edited by Larry Barragán for Hombre Malo Studios.

The release will be available in 3 formats, a black and red vinyl (250 copies) and on CD.

Tracks:

1. Black Celebration (Depeche Mode)
2. Love My Way (The Psychedelic Furs)
3. Lovesong (The Cure)
4. Shock The Monkey (Peter Gabriel)
5. Black Planet (The Sisters Of Mercy)
6. Everybody wants to rule the World (Tears For Fears)
7. Bela Lugosi’s Dead (Bauhaus)
8. The Killing Moon (Echo & The Bunnymen)
9. Pet Sematary (Ramones)
10. Rain (The Cult)

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

White Rabbit, a UK-based music book imprint, will release a book titled “Curepedia: An A-Z of The Cure” on November 9th. The book is a comprehensive biography of The Cure, written by music writer Simon Price, with a foreword by Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai and illustrations by Andy Vella, the designer behind The Cure’s visual identity for the past three decades.

The Curepedia offers an extensive portrayal of their legacy, politics, image, and cultural influences. These influences range from existentialist writers like Albert Camus to Mervyn Peake’s decaying Gothic castle in the Gormenghast series, as well as exploring the profound literary, musical, and cinematic connotations behind their single “A Forest.”

Curepedia provides a complete overview of The Cure’s body of work, delving into miscellaneous trivia, detailed analysis of their discography, films, concerts, and appearances, as well as biographies of both current and former band members.

Presented in an A-to-Z format, Curepedia covers everything from the band’s albums like “Pornography,” “Disintegration”, and “Wish”, to lesser-known releases like “Blue Sunshine” by Robert Smith and “Glove”, the group featuring Steve Severin of Siouxsie and The Banshees.

Simon Price is a British music journalist known for his work at Melody Maker and the Independent on Sunday. He expresses his admiration for The Cure, stating, “The Cure are the biggest alternative rock band on the planet, and their magnificent body of work continues to inspire successive generations of musicians and music lovers. Writing a book about them is an honor.”

Foreign rights for Curepedia have already been sold to Dey Street Books (USA), Sexto Piso (Spain), and Heyne Hardcore (Germany).

The book will be available in different editions, including a hardback, a paperback, and audio. A special deluxe edition limited to one thousand copies will feature alternative cover artwork, a bespoke slipcase, ribbon marker, and integrated full-color A-to-Z chapter headings. This edition also includes additional prints and a signed bookplate insert.

You can expect this:

• Alternative original cover artwork
• Housed in a bespoke slipcase
• With a ribbon marker and 26 integrated full colour A-Z chapter headings
• Complete with interior pages printed in red and black ink and bespoke C-U-R-E lettered endpapers
• This edition also comes with four additional prints (C-U-R-E) from original mixed media print in an envelope
• Plus a bookplate insert signed by Simon Price and Andy Vella
• All artwork, design and packaging is by Andy Vella, celebrated artist and longtime Cure collaborator (as part of Parched Art)

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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Don’t Get Lemon, a danceable pop trio based in Austin and Houston, Texas is back with an all new single, “Blow-Up”.

Sharing a name with Michaelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 swinging London film, Don’t Get Lemon’s “Blow-Up” has lyrics that are partially pieced together borrowing from William Burroughs cut-up technique and images inspired by David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet”.

The trio describes their sound as ‘heatwave’ and their debut album “Hyper Hollow Heaven” was released in March via the independent label à La Carte Records. Don’t Get Lemon consists of vocalist Austin Curtis, synth/guitar/drum programmer Nick Ross and bass player / percussionist Bryan Walters.

Don’t Get Lemon was also featured on our recent “Post​-​Punk (Genesis)” compilation with the excellent track “Working Man’s Ballet”.

But here’s the brand new single, “Blow-Up”.

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 market share of the four major record companies on Spotify continued to decline in 2022, due to the increasing number of independent tracks being added to the platform. The three major companies, Universal Music, Sony Music, and Warner Music, as well as the independent collective Merlin, have collectively lost 12% of their market share on Spotify in the past five years. According to Spotify’s annual investor report, 75% of music tracks played on the platform last year were distributed by the major companies or Merlin members, with the remaining 25% being unaffiliated with either. These unaffiliated companies include TuneCore, Believe, UnitedMasters, and several other independent artist distribution platforms.

Merlin represents indie labels and distributors, including Beggars Group, Cinq Music Group, [PIAS], Mushroom, and DistroKid, and claims to represent around 15% of the global music market. The market share of the major companies plus Merlin was as high as 87% in 2017, as per previous Spotify fiscal reports. However, this figure has been gradually declining since then.

The increase in the number of releases on streaming services, with over 100,000 new tracks being uploaded to Spotify every 24 hours, has contributed to the dilution of market share for major record companies. This trend has impacted their share of revenue earned from the service, as Spotify and other streaming platforms have adopted the dominant “pro-rata” model of royalty payouts. The majors are aware of this trend and are eager to reverse its impact on their business.

Low quality ‘functional’ music

In 2022, Sony Music Group’s Chairman, Rob Stringer, discussed his company’s strategy to reduce the dilution of its distribution market share caused by the sheer volume of tracks released every day via DIY distribution companies. Stringer talked about Sony’s plan to bring a larger volume of independent music into its system via indie-facing operations like The Orchard and AWAL. He also criticised the low-quality “functional” music and 31-second tracks designed to game the pro-rata royalty model on Spotify and other services.

Similarly, Universal Music Group’s CEO and Chairman, Sir Lucian Grainge, announced last month that Universal had concluded that the current royalty model on services like Spotify was not providing equitable value to premium-level artists. Grainge noted that UMG was working on new royalty models on services like Spotify as a matter of global priority, objecting to streaming services promoting “lower-quality functional content” that, in some cases, “can barely pass for ‘music'”. Grainge specifically called out playlists on streaming services that are filled with 31-second tracks of ‘functional music’ whose brevity is deliberately designed to trigger a streaming royalty payment as many times in a row as possible.

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 Belgian shoegazers Slow Crush have debuted a new 2-track single featuring the “Hush” album track “Blue” and the all new song “Billow” ahead of their North American tour kicking off on April 8th at Brooklyn’s The Knitting Factory. The band’s sophomore album “Hush” is out now via the Quiet Panic label.

Frontwoman Isa Holliday explains: “Billow was recorded during the sessions for our new album ‘Hush’. It didn’t make the cut because it didn’t fit the flow of the album as a whole anymore since we try to tell a story on an album. Every song has its spot and ‘Hush’ wouldn’t work for us in any other progression or order of songs. ‘Billow’ was supposed to be the song right after ‘Blue’ so it made sense to release them together as a single because they still work and fit side by side. It’s a song stark with contrast, uptempo but collapsing down every few measures. It’s this exact contrast that helped to shape the lyrics to the song or visa versa. Finding your own path and the struggle through hardships of life however big or small they might be.”

Slow Crush is: Isa Holliday, Jelle Harde, Jeroen Jullet and Frederik Meeuwis.

You can stream “Blue” right below.

North American tour 2022

Here are the dates for the band’s North American tour with special guests Cathedral Bells, Deserta & SOM.

• APR 08 Knitting Factory BROOKLYN, NY
• APR 09 Sonia CAMBRIDGE, MA
• APR 10 Songbyrd WASHINGTON, DC
• APR 12 Canal Club RICHMOND, VA
• APR 13 Local 506 CHAPEL HILL, NC
• APR 14 New Brookland Tavern COLUMBIA, SC
• APR 15 Vinyl ATLANTA, GA
• APR 16 Archetype JACKSONVILLE, FL
• APR 18 Henao Center ORLANDO, FL
• APR 20 House of Blues NEW ORLEANS, LA
• APR 22 Secret Group HOUSTON, TX
• APR 23 Meanwhile AUSTIN, TX
• APR 24 Three Links DALLAS, TX
• APR 26 Rebel Lounge PHOENIX, AZ
• APR 28 Soda Bar SAN DIEGO, CA
• APR 29 Lodge Room LOS ANGELES, CA
• APR 30 Constellation Room SANTA ANA, CA
• MAY 01 The Independent SAN FRANCISCO, CA
• MAY 05 Fox Cabaret VANCOUVER, BC
• MAY 06 Funhouse SEATTLE, WA
• MAY 07 Hawthorne lounge PORTLAND, OR
• MAY 09 Kilby Court SALT LAKE CITY, UT
• MAY 10 Hi-dive DENVER, CO
• MAY 12 7th Street Entry MINNEAPOLIS, MN
• MAY 13 Cobra Lounge CHICAGO, IL
• MAY 14 Hoosier Dome INDIANAPOLIS, IN
• MAY 15 The Loving Touch FERNDALE, MI
• MAY 17 Big Room Bar COLUMBUS, OH
• MAY 18 Mahall’s LAKEWOOD, OH
• MAY 20 Monarch tavern TORONTO, ON
• MAY 21 Club Saw OTTAWA, ON
• MAY 22 Bar Le Ritz MONTREAL, QC
• MAY 24 Foundry @ The Fillmore PHILADELPHIA, PA

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 Texas-based post-punk / electronic music trio, who prefer being described as a ‘heatwave’ act instead of a post-punk or coldwave act actually, are set to release their debut album “Hyper Hollow Heaven” today on March 26, 2022, via the independent label à La Carte Records. For those who wouldn’t know, Don’t Get Lemon was also featured on our recent “Post​-​Punk (Genesis)” compilation with the excellent track “Working Man’s Ballet”, their most recent single.

Don’t Get Lemon consists of vocalist Austin Curtis, synth/guitar/drum programmer Nick Ross and bass player / percussionist Bryan Walters. The new album which also includes the recent single “Working Man’s Ballet“, an ode to legendary English footballer Alan Hudson, is the follow up to the band’s pair of EPs, 2020’s “Forward Not Forgetting” and 2019’s “Grey Beach“, as well as the New Order tribute single with à La Carte labelmates “True Faith” that arrived earlier this year.

3 singles to follow

The LP is led by a string of singles to be released now and in 2022: Boxing Day’s kaleidoscopic “Industrial (Amusement) Park (Revolution)”; February’s glossy synth ballad “D.I.E.I.N.T.H.E.U.S.A.” and mid-March’s “Purple Hour Kingdom” featuring guest vocals from Renay of Monochrome Lover.

So, the recapitulate, here’s what is coming up:

• Single 1: “Industrial (Amusement) Park (Revolution)”, set for a December 26 release
• Single 2: “D.I.E.I.N.T.H.E.U.S.A.”, set for a February 08 2022 release
• Single 3: “Purple Hour Kingdom”, set for a March 15 2022 release

Here’s already the video for “Industrial (Amusement) Park (Revolution)”. The single is available here on Spotify and right here on Bandcamp.

“Change can only come through collective action”

The 8 tracks on the album echo the fear, panic, and anxiety “we’re forced to live with on a daily basis as our future grows inherently darker (…) to borrow a line from Adam Curtis’ 2016 BBC docu-film ‘HyperNormalisation’, regarding Patti Smith and how she experienced New York City in the ‘70s, the eight-song ‘Hyper Hollow Heaven’ is best experienced with a slight cool detachment.”

And they add: “Thinking about the reality (…) change can only come through collective action, which is tough to commit to because it’s a form of self-sacrifice, and goes against our own self-preservation. Which is ironically what we need to survive on this planet. Some of the images created can be dark and surreal but there is also tongue-in-cheek black comedy and humor to the absurdity of it all and that in a twisted way there’s a seduction in seeing the end. The lyrics are conscious of the futility of art in saving us. That’s not to say art isn’t a reason for living or isn’t beautiful, but it in and of itself cannot bring wide-spread change.”

LP, cassette… and VHS

The LP will be issued on vinyl, cassette, and VHS tape, mirroring Adam Curtis’ use of archival footage to help visualize the narrative.

The band explained us the choice for a VHS: “The VHS is the definitive ‘Hyper Hollow Heaven’ experience because we expand upon the lyrical content and provide visuals to reinforce the album’s motifs,” the band says. “Listening to albums can at times be passive, and you may detach yourself from the lyrics, but with an unrelenting visual you are forced to sit and digest what you are hearing and seeing.”

Back catalogue

These are the previous releases.

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 UK DCMS Committee has released its report on the economics of streaming, with the headline conclusion that “reform is needed in order to make the market fairer”. There is one point in the report however that needs some extra explanation and it’s the UK DCMS Committee’s view that ‘equitable remuneration’ is part of the solution. IMPALA, the European organisation for independent music companies and national associations, argues it is not part of the solution.

The equitable remuneration is a compulsory license that must be paid when recorded music is played on a publicly accessible location. It is a remuneration intended for the public use of the music repertoire of performing artists and music producers. The question of equitable remuneration has already been rejected during the European copyright directive negotiations, with the independent sector backing a range of other reforms in agreement with the artist community. The argument is that equitable remuneration is not a solution as it would not fundamentally shift the needle in a meaningful way and would be damaging for emerging artists.

From IMPALA’s point of view, all artists (and this means indie artists as well) should receive a proper royalty rate along with differentiation by streaming services to reallocate revenues. It’s in this respect crucial to know that independent music companies account for over 80% (!!) of all new releases and this also includes a substantial investment.

You can check IMPALA’s 10-point plan to make streaming fairer below.

1. End safe harbours effectively – no new loopholes.
2. Pay artists a fair contemporary digital royalty rate.
3. Reform allocation of streaming revenue. Different services may wish to explore any or all of the following proposals:
   1. Differentiation of rates:
      1. Pro Rata Temporis Model – To deal with the value imbalance for long-form music content, for example by having a rate for the first 30 seconds to 5 minutes of a song, then further payments triggered at 5 minute intervals until 15m 30s.
      2. Active Engagement Model – Encourage artists to stimulate active fan engagement by attaching a premium value to tracks which the listener has sought out or reached by artist, track or album name, or where she has saved, “liked”, or pre-ordered an album or track, for example.
      3. Artist Growth Model – Enabling artists to accelerate revenues to a sustainable level thereby supporting a broader diversity of emerging, and credible niche talent. The top tier streams would generate a bit less and bottom ones a bit more to help emerging and niche artists.
      4. User Choice Model – Facilitate spaces within services for rightsholders to develop incremental revenues through direct relationships with fans, eg by offering access to extra tracks, better audio, and features.
   2. No threshold for a song to start generating revenue from streaming.
4. Assure there will be no reductions in royalties in exchange for enhanced plays, or privileged treatment in algorithms, or other features that recreate elements of payola.
5. Agree and enable revenue enhancement mechanisms in markets where the services are failing to convert users to paid models.
6. More vigilance by music services on unlawful activity that removes value from creators, including streaming manipulation, ad-blocking and stream-ripping software.
7. Enable search by labels / performers / producers / composers / musicians / authors / publishers.
8. Boost local repertoire and languages by better profiling in playlisting and other features, as well as having track titles in more than one language or specific, and ringfenced funding mechanisms allocated to investment in new, local recordings.
9. Work collaboratively with a spectrum of labels, across all markets (e.g. through Merlin for independents) to ensure editorial algorithm developments don’t negatively affect diversity, local repertoire and opportunities for artist discovery.
10. Work with the recorded music sector to help assess and reduce the carbon footprint of digital music.

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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(Picture by Renee Parkhurst ) Let’s hope this article doesn’t get flagged by Google, Facebook and related because the follow-up of words in the title is rather worrysome (joke aside).

Adult has launched a remix of the Bestial Mouths song “Unshivered”. A video was equally made and can be seen below. The song is included in Bestial Mouths’ remix album “Thousandneedles” that features collaborations with SRSQ, Ash Code, Void Vision, Light Asylum, and more and which dropped earlier this month.

“Thousandneedles” will be available on vinyl and cassette versions this August via Fill-Lex Records and Soil Records.

In a reaction Adult says: “We got this remix request in the summer from Bestial Mouths and it was just the thing we needed to get us back in the studio again. It wasn’t like looking at a blank canvas and it felt more like collaboration in a way, which was much needed during such an isolating time.”

The track’s visual counterpart offers a psychological portrait of a person clawing their way to meaning. Director Jamie Parkhurst, who has previously worked with Los Angeles post-punk outfit, Death Bells, and experimental electronic artist Trevor powers, was helped by producer Yelena Akopian, stylists and designers Bradley Soileau and Elliott Evan, photographer Renee Parkhurst, DP Connor Ellman, and camera operator Alex Van Putten. The video was edited by editing is by Alex Nicolaou (Drab Majesty).

Here is the video.

Tracklist “Thousandneedles”

1. Grendel – Ruins Remix
2. Adult – Unshivered (If I Could Feel Mix)
3. Rodney Anonymous Or 7th Victim (Of Dead Milkmen) – Withiin Remix
4. Plackblague – Heavy Coil Mix (Industrial Waste Remix)
5. Ash Code -The Bleed Remix (Mixed/Mastered By Doruk Ozturkcan From She Past Away)
6. Nnhmn – The Loss Remix
7. Statiqbloom – The Falls Remix
8. Buzzkull – Lain To Rust Remix
9. Srsq – Reimagination (Souls Take Remix)
10. Shannon F /Light Asylum – Industrial Waste Remix
11. Kontravoid – Dry As Dust Remix
12. Void Vision- (A) Siren Calls Remix
13. Crowhurst – 23 Hours Before Resurrection Bestial Mouths Remix
14. Melania – Inshroudss

About Bestial Mouths

From their inception in 2009, the core root of Bestial Mouths has combined Lynette Cerezo’s voice with several genre influences across the spectrum of goth, industrial, post-punk, new wave, noise, metal, and other underground sounds using live acoustic and electronic drums and analog synthesizers. Since 2018, Bestial Mouths has been the sole project of Cerezo.

2019’s “Inshroudss” EP was the first Bestial Mouths release entirely written and conceived by Cerezo. The EP was released on the independent label RuneE & Ruin, which Cerezo formed together with friend and frequent collaborator Alison Lewis (Linea Aspera / Zanias / Fleisch Records).

In their decade-plus existence, Bestial Mouths have worked with a long list of producers and artists. Zola Jesus, Mick Harvey, Egyptrixx, Boy Harsher, Die Krupps, Mater Suspiria Vision, Zanias, The Horrorist, and Ludovico Technique are just a few collaborators, while they’ve shared the stage with the likes of Psychic TV, Austra, Chelsea Wolfe, DAF, 3 Teeth, OAKE, Front Line Assembly, White Ring, Suicide Commando, David J, King Dude, Youth Code, Cut Hands and Light Asylum.

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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Progress Productions is a Swedish label set up in 2004 by Torny Gottberg. Torny already had some label-experience as he worked before for the legendary Energy Rekords. We still know him from his involvement with bands such as Project-X, Cryo ao. Progress Productions is the home of EBM, Dark-Electro and Electro-Pop bands such as Agent Side Grinder, Cryo, Henric De La Cour, Spark!, Necro Facility, Dupont, Code 64, Kite, Wulfband, Sturm Café, System and many more.

(Stéphane Froidcoeur / Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Was there a kind of ‘philosophy’ when you set up your label and did it evolve over the years? How would you define your label activities today?

Torny: Progress Productions started in 2004, but already before that, I had ideas of starting something of my own as I was not really happy with the way that Energy Rekords where I worked was going. I have always been more interested in building something from the very beginning and to evolve with bands while Energy Rekords in the end I felt was more about licensing stuff for the Scandinavian market.

But April 20^th, 2004 I finally took the step to form Progress Productions. I always loved the way labels like Cold Meat Industry and Ant-Zen were setup. That many bands together build sort of a family and that we grow together reaching small goals that we setup. To be honest it´s really the same way I work with the bands we have today. We never thought of ourselves as a label vs. band thing. It´s really a collaboration between label and bands. And the great thing is that so many bands have become friends over the years as we have no internal competition and that’s the way we really wanted it. The funny thing is that when I started Progress I did reach out the other labels we had in Sweden back then as the scene is so small and I had the idea that we all could maybe work together to make the scene a little bit bigger and everyone told me more or less ‘You will not have a chance, you will not last a year’ etc. Well, here we are 17 years later…

But the idea and philosophy behind the label is still exactly the same. Finding new interesting bands, working together and building slowly. I do believe in the ‘quality over quantity’ thinking. Something I think a lot of people should really think about. For me every release is of equal importance and it does not matter if it´s a newcomer no one knows about or one of our more established artists. If I have decided to work with something, it deserves my full attention, and that’s also a reason why we NEVER release more than one record at a time, so nothing drowns or disappear.

Of course, it means that we don’t have several hundred releases in our catalogue, but at least I know that every single one of the releases we have made have been given the time it deserves. So, in that way we have maybe not evolved since the start, but of course one has learned and adapted a lot since 2004, but we are 17 years in more active than ever I would say.

Q: I can imagine you must have specific and explicit criteria to sign an artist/band. Can you give us more details about this aspect and how important is it for you to know the person(s) hiding behind the ‘artist(s)’?

Torny:  Well, for me it has always been really important that I like what I hear. It´s hard to explain, but there is something special I feel every time I find a new act that I want to work with. Something just clicks. After this I normally have a meeting with the band several times to get a feel for the persons behind it if it´s not someone I know since before. Just so we know where we both have each other and that we feel that we are both interested in working toward the same goal. Even though we intend to have a lot of fun together it is always mutual work to reach the goals that we set up together.

I think talent and attitude are of equal importance for me. There are several bands that I really like, but I have felt that it simply will not work out in the end and in those cases I would rather see that someone else can release it and I will support and buy it rather than to release it via Progress. Earlier I always asked the other already signed acts what they thought about something when I found something that I felt was interesting. I still do this from time to time. Of course, I will have the final word in what to do/not to do but it feels important that a new band also fits in well with the other acts and I really respect and value their opinion.

But I don’t really look to, and I really don’t give shit about how many followers a band has on Facebook or Instagram or something. This is something that we build together as we go along. Good music and great attitude gets you there… not followers on Instagram. Or at least it´s what I want to believe. That good music is the foundation for something.

Q: You are already active for numerous years now so you must have seen a lot of things changing and evolving; think about social media, streaming platforms, Youtube channels… but also economic crisis etc. What are the pros and cons of these changes/evolutions and in, which way did you had to adapt/change your strategy and activities?

Torny: Well I don’t know how many that knows this; but I also work a fulltime job within digital distribution in Sweden as a senior label manager/marketing besides Progress. I also founded Border Music’s digital distribution and at the moment we are building a brand-new independent platform for labels. So, I’m very aware of anything new that’s happening. Also, one should have in mind Spotify is a Swedish player, so I have more or less at least weekly contact with them on what’s going on etc. So, in this aspect we are of course very up-to-date on what is happening.

However, I think streaming is something that both has brought good and bad with it (like many other things) as I always have considered labels to be sort of a quality filter for music and nowadays anything can be added to these platforms and the listeners can more or less drown in material. It´s really a double-edged sword. On one hand I like it as anyone has the potential to reach people quickly and that you more or less, at least compete on similar terms. But like I said, on the other hand the scene has been overflooded with material which I think is not ready to be released yet. No quality filter, just straight out.

Of course, the whole marketing strategy has moved a lot as well. From in the early days; placing adverts in magazines (which we still do though) to doing more digital promotion. A big pro is of course that this is a cheaper and much, much, quicker way to reach people, but on the other hand it´s harder to get people’s attention nowadays than before as we are simply pumped with information. I think it´s in the movie “Seven” they say: ‘To get people’s attention nowadays you can’t just tap them on the shoulder, you need to hit them with a sledgehammer’ and in a way this is true. As record labels we also have a lot of new things that compete for consumer spending. People spend more money on other stuff than buying records. So, we as smaller independent labels are of course always struggling. But on the other hand, it´s also an interesting challenge for us. We can’t sit on our ass doing nothing we need to follow / learning / evolve with technology which I think is interesting and good.

But I still try to keep maybe not a whole foot but at least a few toes in the old-school promotional way of working, sending out physical promos etc. I think they key is ‘Don´t be afraid of changes, embrace them’. I mean look what happened with Napster. If the major labels would have understood it´s true potential directly instead of fighting them for years we would never have had any piracy. Thankfully Spotify and other services have more or less eliminated that scene. But I was never afraid of piracy and really never cared if people illegally shared files/music. You just needed to make sure that you released stuff that was WORTH buying. Not having 2-3 good songs and 10 fillers on an album. I know this might sound a little controversial, but the major labels really created this problem themselves and the independents as usual had to pay for their mistakes. And today an average person spends 110 Euro / year on a Spotify account and that’s far more money spent per person than the music scene has had for a long time. And I do believe that people that are still interestedin buying music will continue to do this. Physical sales will never disappear. I mean just look at all the vinyl selling on re-released material. Once again…. don’t be afraid…. Embrace!

Q: The ongoing pandemic has affected all artistic life and activities so what’s the true impact on your label activities and do you think it will also affect your long term objectives?

Torny: Well, a lot of things that were planned did not happen, that´s for sure. We were about to have loads of parties all over the world for our PROCD100-celebration. All of course, got cancelled. But who I really feel the most for during this pandemic are all the venues, tour personal etc. Thankfully Sweden has been pretty generous in supporting people/venues etc. with money and even though it´s not enough it´s still something but I can’t even understand how hard it must have been on them. And I really hope, to be honest that when venues are opening up, that people are not cheap asses asking for guestlists etc. A ticket is not so expensive so do support them when we all get there.

But for Progress I pretty quickly made the decision not to let Covid-19 have any effect on at least the release schedule. I think maybe now it’s more important than ever and that people need new music. Touring and the promotion will have to come later. So, no I don´t see it affecting us in the long run. We more tried our best to do something during these weird times. I created something called “One Hour With”… which is an hour where we invite fans/listeners from all over the world to join their favorite artist/band for an hour to hang out with them, ask questions etc. This has really been a huge success and people have really enjoyed it. But of course, all the bands are missing playing live a lot. But we really just need to hang in there, things will turn for the better and then we will all be back. But like I said what I really find somewhat devastating is record shops, venues, concert agencies, tour/crew personal etc. I really hope we all get the vaccine during the Summer so we can all meet and party in Autumn. However, this is still wishful thinking on my part, but I hope… I really do. Culture is important and we all need it.

Q: Do you think media (magazines, online platforms etc…) still have an impact and a role to play today? What’s your relationship with ‘journalists’ and how important is their work?

Torny:I still think this is really important. At least personally. We are operating on such a small scene so I think we as labels should be extremely grateful for ALL support that we can get. And 99% of people that work for smaller online zines/blogs etc. don’t get payed at all and most work is done on pure passion. This is something I highly respect and also a reason why I still do send physical records to quite a lot of people, at least it´s a small appreciation and something for their hard work. I’m sorry, but I can’t do it for everyone even if I wished I could so don’t feel bad if I sometimes just send you a download link. It´s very expensive for us to send stuff out. Funny enough it’s the postage costs which are the worst in this case.

With this said I don’t know what kind of impact it does have today as so many can listen on Spotify/YouTube or other streaming sites so easy, but for me (40+ year old dinosaur) I still read/check and discover things through these platforms. I try to treat all journalists fairly and nice as I know (I used to run a physical magazine myself) how much work it is behind it. Even though it´s online it´s still a shitload of work behind it. And like I said a BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST even ENORMOUS hat off to all of you people keeping the scene alive with magazine, fanzines, blogs or podcasts etc. You are worth your weight in gold in my book. Keep up the excellent work and I promise I will try to do my part of delivering music your way.

Q: What do you consider as your biggest accomplishment(s)? Do you have specific goals/dreams you want to achieve and how do you prepare and see the future of the label(s)? And what are your biggest regret(s)?

Torny: Well, this will sound cliché like hell. But I do think every time we reach a small goal we set up and when we reach it it´s a big accomplishment. And honestly I’m always extremely humble every time someone gives me the chance to work with their art. I think this is way a record label should think. You should be grateful that people give you this chance. Even though it´s a lot of co-work they still have chosen YOU as a label to work with something they might have spent YEARS doing.

My biggest dream was however to build up a label that has a friendly attitude where we all respect each other within the label. And I could not have wished for better people to have with me on this journey. I really love all the people that are in the bands on the label. But we of course always aim to reach more people / new people and constantly develop together with the music market. But my objectives from start I think we have nailed and I’m really so grateful for this. In regard to the future of labels, I think we will see more labels like Progress in the future where you simply are not just a person that releases the music, but work with setting strategic goals/aims together with the artists. I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty doing merchandise on festivals, being a stagehand, booking agency. The 1980/90s ‘label bosses’ I think/hope will go away and never come back.

Regrets….. hrrmmmm…. I don’t know. Maybe I could say it would have been smart doing Progress earlier in my life, but then again life is too short for regrets and you need to see the result that has come out of what/when you actually did something. It´s always better to look 1 day in the future rather than look back 1 day as we all learn as we go. If you stop feeling that you learn or loose your drive, then I see no purpose in doing this. As it´s for sure not the money that drives or motivates me running Progress Productions. 

Last words: I really hope you all stay safe out there, and that we soon can catch up and enjoy together what we love the most: MUSIC. Meanwhile don’t forget to support the independent music scene. Buy something without pre-listening…. Take a chance… who knows….. it might be the BEST thing you have done. Or if you have a specific release you like…. Surprise a friend with a gift which lasts longer than a coffee or an expensive IPA….

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

Back in 1991 I started writing my first reviews for Side-Line magazine. I would have never thought to go on writing reviews and making interviews non-stop for 30 years. So 2021 is a special year to me, a kind of ‘celebration year’. I got the idea to celebrate this special event by interviewing people from the scene who all have a special meaning to me. ‘Journalists’ have to remain neutral, but it doesn’t take a way we all have our own favorite artists. Juno Reactor is one of my all-time favorites. Instigator Ben Watkins is an artist who each time again takes me by surprise. His work is mixing influences like Psy-Trance, Tribal and Cinematographic music. The Juno Reactor sound has something special featuring elements you directly recognize; a true sound-DNA. I already got the opportunity to interview Ben Watkins before, but I’ve been deeply touched he accepted to answer questions for this special interview. Great artists aren’t only composing great music; they’re still accessible and humble persons. I’d an endless number of questions to ask. Ben took his time to answer and it finally resulted in one of the most informative and complete Juno Reactor interviews ever. Thanks Ben and respect!

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

‘I Was Smitten By Girls And Rock’

Q: What have been your first experiments as a musician? What have been the triggers and, which were your favorite bands as a teenager? 

Ben: I was born into a family of five kids, I was the second, my parents had both been actor’s. When I was between 5 and 6 years old I would wait for my brother in my classroom to finish his school -I would have about an hour, so about 10 of us kids and a teacher would do drawing, games etc. One day I suggested we do a “Top Of The Pops” (a popular TV show); I formed a band with air-minus-everything, sat my mate Jason down on drums as he had the biggest nose like Ringo Star, can’t remember the others; we would make what surely was a cacophony of made-up words and stamping to the beat. “She Loves You Yeah Yeah Yeah” must have rung out beyond the classroom as the headmaster, a demonstrative man, with a liking for beating kids with his sports shoe would appear at the window looking very irritated. As it was not the first time I had had the unwarranted shoe across my backside, a shiver would go down my back as his eyes and Hitler moustache bobbed above the door partition. 

These pleasant heady afternoons were soon banned due to the repetition of “She Loves You Yeah Yeah Yeah”. I noticed the rather large female teacher was pretty good at the piano, So I asked if I could have lessons, even her non-stop smoking didn’t not put me off. 

The headmaster had too much of a liking for giving me a sore ass, so I asked my parents if I could move school. I had joined the parish choir, the choirmaster was a man named Roy Massey. Roy Massey was cool and pushed me as he liked my voice. He suggested I go to a Cathedral Choir school and apply for a scholarship. 

First I went to audition at St Pauls Cathedral in London. It was a bleak audition, I didn’t prepare enough, and glad I escaped what reminded me of a Charles Dickens movie. Next was Chichester. I could breathe in this atmosphere, I passed the audition of 200 kids for one place and felt very puffed up with myself, knowing my parents didn’t have to pay for my education. 

Violin followed, along with daily practise -7 am wake up, 30 minutes piano or violin practise. 8 am breakfast, 8:30 practise piano violin, 9 am going to the classroom, 12:00 choir practise, lunch then school, sports, choir practise, choir service, dinner, do homework, play free games, practise then bed. This went on for 4 years along with a new disciplinary teacher who equally enjoyed punishment -this time a cane, up the wide massive stairs of the bishops palace, down a long dark corridor, knock, explain my crime, ‘Ben-d over Watkins’, a leather chair which when bent over lifted my behind into the perfect position. 6 whacks later, my hands firmly on my butt, dark bruises would appear later in the night. I had been born again to the boy I should have been in the first place. 

Music school and punishment always seemed interlinked. Even now it annoys me that the first headmaster refused to put my name on the scholarship board, what a cunt. His name was Mr. Sandford.

 I survived Chichester, I became the head of House, by this time I was no longer beaten, and had a champion in Mr. Ross, the disciplinary teacher, sports freak alto in the choir with a certain eye for pubescent males. I was good at winning in Rugby, as we had the biggest 13-year-old god or whoever made him, like a superhero he would destroy other schools and me riding on his coattails basked in his glory. Mr. Ross showed me how to take down a man, so we did with as much aggression as possible when he joined in. 

I left Chichester, a remnant from the stone age of how not to teach a dyslexic kid like me through corporal punishment on how to learn -I didn’t. My choirmaster at Chichester I must say was equally odd, looking like Eric Malcombe (a British comedian). He again had a draconian delight in making sure the boys of the choir feared him, his eyes would hover over you like the follow spots of a prison camp from high above us in the organ loft. He had two mirrors focused on us, and if you looked up, the Vampire of Bela Lugosi would be there. I can’t say I cried when he died a few years ago, as I still hold a dagger that was thrown too many times my way. 

So Wells Cathedral school was next, my introduction to the female sex… well, bye bye learning, OK practise the violin, do all the rest, then focus on bands, Led Zep, David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Alice Cooper, Queen, glam rock. I was smitten by girls and rock. My mate Simon Baggs was older and had a car, we would venture out of the school across to Glastonbury plateaus, a labyrinthian set of roads through old mash lands, country pubs to drink cider, smoke John Players Special fags, and listen to his 8 tracks (?) as the beams of his car entered the mists of the backcountry lanes. Alice Cooper’s “Love It To Death” album never sounded so sweet. I continued exploring musical possibilities by experimenting with my first band Spiritual Sky, influenced by David Bowie, whose concerts was the first I went to, the Aladdin Sane tour at the Earls Court Stadium.

‘I Was Listening To D.A.F. And I Realised This Is The Future’

Q: Hailing from London (UK) I can imagine the late 70s and 80s have been fascinating years when it comes to music and the (r)evolution of Electronic music. What did these years mean to you and do you still feel an impact today? 

Ben: I left school when I was 16/17 with the intent of going to a music college. At that time I played classical guitar, and would practise 8 hours a day, and got quite OK on it. I flunked the first audition as I didn’t present a second instrument. This depressing point changed the course of my life, I was so annoyed by myself, I stopped playing classical guitar and got more into songs of Dylan and people like John Martin. Smoked a ton of dope, started busking, went off to Paris with a semi pyscho guy called Lynn, a man with an addiction to Valium and a crushing right hand as a rhythm guitarist, and spent the summer playing on the streets of Saint Michelle and the Champs Elysée. After months of being arrested (and sometimes put into prison -the police were quite nice and would give me beers to play) I had had enough. I wanted to form a band! Due to my parents lengthily separation and all the conflicts attached to it, starting since I was 9, and final divorce shortly after my return home from Paris, life diverted and I ended up establishing a rehearsal room in the now deserted parental house, where I and my older brother would continue living alone, experiencing the newly found peace and evolving musical projects while rehearsing with my first band Panther. I started gigging, Punk-Rock was kicking off! I was playing, now with my band Rainstorm, the same pubs as the Sex Pistols, Japan, The Stranglers amongst others, we did a tour withThe Frankie Miller Band. A Glasgow singer that should have been born in Memphis -a great singer, wild and very much a Glaswegian. Back then I was booking shows from a red phone box -coins every 30 seconds. Rainstorm turning into I.O.U., we played pretty much every music pub in the country. I really wish I’d kept my bass player from I.O.U. for my next musical project, a guy named Ian Taylor, who I had a natural affinity with.

I was bored of being skint and driving up and down the country for 2 years in our Box Transit with 6 aircraft seats, a PA we had on HP (higher purchase/credit) and going nowhere, fun but nowhere. One time we had to be rescued by the police near Shropshire in Winter, heavy snow blocked the roads at midnight, and the Transit was stranded and being snowed in, the guitarist, also called Ben, had icicles forming on his moustache. I remember crossing fields alone to find a house, first one wouldn’t help us, onto another who did ring the rescue, six of us stuff into a police car -never felt so good.

I partnered up with some musicians an A&R man from CBS suggested. The A&R man was a guy called Chas de Whalley, the brother of a friend of mine from back in the days of the headmaster with a penchant for corporal punishment. We, The Hitmen, went on to be signed to CBS after a year of rehearsals and songs that sounded like a primitive AI had made for a pop audience. Much to the chagrin of CBS, the management and the band, we were incredibly unsuccessful despite all the money and machinery CBS provide. I hated it, the mentality of playing the same notes, in-jokes and seriously underwhelming emotions. I had to leave as I couldn’t stomach The Hitmen any more, the characters in the band were the antithesis of my mental state or desire. Luckily the second album decided to shoot itself in the head, due to too much fighting, no focus and CBS’s realisation The Hitmen were doomed.  

Phil Manzanero’s studio (the guitarist of Roxy Music) was a white circular house -I had never seen anything like it! The engineer was a guy called Ian Little. We had made the last Hitmen record there, and I got on with him well. We talked nearly the same language, as opposed to the disconnect with the band. He wanted to make an avant-garde album, free of doctrine -just do what you want. So for a few tracks I threw away all concern and I was to be David Bowie, imagining myself on an alternative “Lodger”-album. Nothing was written, all just improvised. The band was called New Asia… This set my brain off into new ways of writing, like Brian Eno, as studios were expensive and this gave me a chance to experiment. 

So in the ’70s and ’80s it felt like I was always playing catch up with what other people were doing. I had had the band signed to CBS – it sounded like another band (Elvis Costello mix), or my previous bands -we didn’t sound particularly individual. It was only when I was sick enough of all the ego’s, bullshit or the hatred that you got from possibly jealous band members, that when I got introduced to a drum machine and a sequencer I realised I could get rid of half the band. I was listening to D.A.F. -it was a two-piece and I realised this is the future.

I met Youth (the bass player of Killing Joke) in ’82, around the time when he had just left Killing Joke and was looking to start a new band, which became Brilliant. I was the only guy he knew with a sequencer so for a short time I joined. Toured UK and Spain. We went on to record under the Name The Youth & Ben Watkins on the “The Empty Quarter”-album and “The Empty Quarter” on the “Delirium” album. Both albums were extremely quick in making;  first album -the official soundtrack to Jonathan Moore’s stage play “Street Captives” -2 days. Written, recorded and mixed with predominantly pulsating bass lines, drums, early Greengate samplers and synthesizers. Second album -5 days. We recorded “Delirium”, focusing more on rhythms and Electronic elements with still some instrumental aspect, ranging from Tribal to Industrial to Gothic-Funk. So many funny stories with Youth -the time in Spain on the evacuation of the tour, as it all fell apart after Barcelona; we took all our equipment back on the train, decided to eat all of our dope before the French border. By the time we arrived at midnight, the French border police wanted to play games with this group of English stoners. ‘Who is this woman’ they said, referring to a passport. We all looked and couldn’t identify her? ‘Go find her…’ so we all went looking on the train platform, bewildered and laughing, about an hour later we returned to their pigeon hole and asked to look again, as no way was she still on the platform. Upon second look we realised it was me they were referring to… Ha. Ha.

I heard DAF and Suicide around this time, I was saved! This music spoke to me. My grandmother died and left me 200£ which I immediately spent on a Roland MC 202, a sequencer with one monophonic synth. On HP I bought a cheap drum machine and a Moog Rogue. I formed The Flowerpot Men with Adam Peters, a classical cellist, who later became Echo And The Bunnymen’s orchestrator. 

 Our first single sold well for an underground track. We toured with Dead Or Alive and Siouxsie And The Banshees. Steven Severin of the Banshee’s produced the first “Single Joe’s So Mean to Josephine”, a dark murderous story I had read in the papers. The police knew who had killed the woman in bed, but couldn’t work out how Joe had managed to tie himself up. For the track I expanded on the story a bit. The 202 was driving this with the added influences of T.Rex, sort of a suicide inspired track. It charted in the indie charts and you could hear it being played by John Peel on BBC Radio 1 and loads of underground Gothic Dj’s. “Jo’s So Mean (to Josephine)” was also on our own independent record label, Compost Records.

In 1985 we recorded a cover of Dr Johns “Walk On Gilded Splinters” with Dr John on guest vocals, at Run DMC’s Studio In Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn NY. The B side featured a track called “Melting Down On Motor Angel” which was an elongation of the new drug MDMA, which we sampled on a roof garden on 8th Street watching a shoot-out down below. “Melting Down On Motor Angel” was also the album title to Sunsonic’s only album.

Around this time also, Sigue Sigue Sputnik started turning up to our gigs in full dress, noting down all we were doing, later to make their own version of our madness. A single a year, then along came Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in 1986 completely out of the blue.

Another EP “Alligator Bait”, four songs inspired again by the time in New York… what wasn’t great about New York at that time? So much vibe, parties, gigs, the Danceteria, hanging out with artists, musicians, actors, painters, just walking down the street was like being in a Kojak episode, I loved it!

We were building a nice audience when Adam decided to go produce a Punk band in Denmark instead of headlining the Temple of Gothic achievement -the Camden Palace. The Flowerpot Men were no more.

 Yello had come into my life with the “80 – 85”-remix album, it never left the record player, Sonic Youth, Front 242, most of the Mute Records catalogue, Beggars Banquet label, ZTT were making records I could only dream of creating…

So rethink time, 9 months of thinking, writing; rave music came in 86/87, early parties hanging out with KLF in their squat. Sometimes engineering their remixes, or going on the highland adventures with the KLF, making a copy of “The Wicker Man” for all KLF’s licencees, flown onto a small island on the Western Isles (the same place they burnt a million pounds in the name of art and cocaine), so like a twat, as again I was skint I did the opposite of good, and tried and succeed in going and signing with another major label, this time Polydor Records and with my Flowerpot partner, I started Sunsonic. Part of the deal was they build us a studio to save on costs, so what seemed a cool idea -and was in some ways -was us investing into learning how (and not) to become an engineer, an album that should have taken a few months turned into two years and sounded like it: over thought under inspired.

I worked with Alex Paterson (The Orb) again and formed a short-lived band called Peace In The Middle East, same name as the track we created, a sort of goodwill floppy dance sounding workout, nothing special.

 When there was so much great quick music being made we were in creative limbo. So the impact changed. Find a new way to present a band, no longer did I want the ego of one partner, I wanted a collective or collaborators and keep the vibe and atmosphere good and exciting. 

Adam left for the USA, I stayed and started Juno Reactor.

‘Juno Reactor Was Set Up As An Art Collective’

Q: I think Juno Reactor was originally set up as an art collective/gallery, right? Who was involved? What was it all about and how did it finally become a music collective centred around you? 

Ben:  Juno Reactor was set up as an art collective, with writers, installation artists, filmmakers, etc. Norma Fetcher, my girlfriend, took a surface to air missile and we drove it around London down past Parliament Square, Big Ben, Whitehall on a flatbed truck, with armoured personal carriers front and back whilst dressed as Arabs -an anti Gulf War protest, and installed it into an art Gallery, the Diorama, that was owned by the Queen and had a perfect silo shape in the middle where the rocket was newly erected. For this, I wrote “Luciana” -really Juno Reactor’s first album, which was also a suggestion of Jimmy Cauty (KLF) that I should do an hour mix as he had just done, as an experiment. The trouble with art was funding and much easier for me to get musical backing so it folded as soon as it began. Although R&S Records did sponsor that show as I had released a track called “I Love You” under the name of Electrotete with future JR musician Stephan Holweck (who later became Total Eclipse), a crazy French guy and brilliant bass player who also lived in the Benio squat with Jimmy.

The main people in the first two Juno Reactor albums were: Mike Maquire, a great guy I met at the distribution company Greyhound, when releasing a self-released title “Pycho SlapHead”, a brutal rave track with a sense of murderous humour. Mike was great, he had been in India many times and loved the early scene where DJ’s were already playing my tracks. I had to find out more, so we went into my studio in Bowl Court and Mike turned me on to the current sound of India. As it was so close to my Electronic sound it was an easy hop onto a train – Sci-Fi Landscapes, my 202 still purring like a train, we made the track “High Energy Protons”. Mike took it to India and immediately it became a big track there and abroad: Japan, Greece, France, Germany and UK. Tracks kept on hoping out in two or three days, with Stephan Holweck and Mike and soon we had about nine or ten tracks, so I took them up to Mute Records, intending to only perhaps sell one track. They loved it and wanted the album!

No one knew what this music was, so they called it intelligent Techno, albums were selling, gigs were happening, I was feeling more comfortable about the debts of Sunsonic being paid off. 

‘For Me It Was A Sci-Fi Scene For Acid Party People’

Q: The singles “Laughing Gas” and “High Energy Protons” plus the debut album “Transmissions” (1993) were into Goa-Trance. Back in time this genre was something totally new and often introduced as ‘Electronics for hippies’. What did you keep in mind from this album and how did you see the Goa-Trance movement evolving? 

Ben: Well, I never saw it as music for hippies -for me it was a Sci-fi scene for acid party people, hippies were still listening to Dylan in my mind. I had come from the Industrial-Rock routes, with heavy sense or brutal Electronica, which was also being played out in India, so for me, it was not much of a diversion, more like an extension of what I had already been doing. So I hooked up with Mike and Johann Bley, a great writer and drummer, who lived in Goa for 6 months of the year whilst I stayed in the UK and carried on writing tracks. Youth by this time was also indulging in holidays out there. It was a great way to write with no commercial interest, and just get what was great feedback from India and the parties. Essentially it was a very positive way of producing after what was a rather grim time whilst with Sunsonic. 

“Transmissions” was the first real beginning of something special, Mike Maguire – Stephan Holweck – Johann Bley even Turnip the Swede Jens Walderbeck, had an important part to play in the new playground. Mike and Johann would go to Goa and live there for 6 months of the year, send feedback on tracks, that even in these days of fire hilltop communication, managed to pass on the vibe of the parties, as I worked on new tracks to send out, or wait for their return. I had no idea of the lazy days on the beaches, rented houses year round, with cleaners and cooks, small or large jungle parties where monkeys would be interactive with the monkeys our tracks (“Jungle High”) -I have sampled a lot of monkey sounds.

These new Cyber-Punks would network in the blessed out Goa sun, to return to their homelands, far away from paradise and the free love of this un-celebrated underground unknown music, their generation accepting of all ages, colours race. Would telegraph their passion, create parties in on hidden mountains in Japan, sex clubs in L.A, warehouse London, gymnasiums in Paris, disused airports in Germany, Outback volcanos in Australia. We were invisible to the industry of wannabe stars and bankrupt music.

This kinetic energy of knowing you were onto something new was the drug, like a secret society that anyone could join, if you had digested the shared psychedelic values.

Our new world was fresh, driven, invited around the world, “Transmissions” was transmitting on a global level, that music magazines and house DJs couldn’t fathom.

 The studio building was from the time of Jack the Ripper, a 3 story warehouse used for  god knows what, the atmosphere had not left it, along with some of the rather back street people you might expect in that area of London. Prostitutes would use the car park at the back, working their trade. Sometime city guys in suits would be aggressive and attack the women, so we kept a baseball bat by the door and if we heard their screams we would run out in the name of protection.

Q: Your next album “Luciana” (1994) was something totally different and not exactly the most familiar album from your discography. But I think there’re a few interesting things to say about this work; it revealed your interest in Soundtracks while it got released on Alex Paterson’s (The Orb) own label Inter-Modo. What brought you to write this album and how did you get in touch with Alex Paterson? 

Ben: This goes back to the Missile Project and the involvement in installation art. Alex (THE ORB) heard the album and loved it, he said ‘Can I release it?’, why not I thought, so I spent an afternoon with Alex in the studio, he added some elements over the stereo track and that became the album. I met Alex in 1986, as he is Youth oldest and best friend, an ex roadie of Killing Joke with an amazing record collection, a massive ability to smoke more than London can produce and speak in a way you need a hearing aid to listen. 

Q: I’ve always linked Juno Reactor with solid bass lines and transcendental drums. “Beyond The Infinite” (1995) perfectly symbolizes these elements, but also your interest to explore new ideas like Tribal drums. What did this work say about your perception of ‘sound’ and eventually your passion for drums? 

Ben: “Beyond The Infinite”, by this time Mute and cool London were not fans of Goa or Trance anymore, and decided to call it ‘Tarquin Techno’ in the media, because of the image that rich kids were behind the scene, which -looking at myself, was obviously bollocks, but in Goa there certainly were a few, and maybe the other scenes sensing danger, ridiculed it. They were about to steal the name of trance. Paul Oakenfold(like ‘Sique Sique Sputnick’) was hanging out at parties, listening, collecting ideas and tracks, the house was moving to Trance. Clever, to take this and add all the crap vocals and sell it off to the sheep… Their power and media savvy then became ‘Trance’. Not sure what our scene was, Psychedelic-Trance? Along come all these pigeon holes. Name it, sell it. We didn’t give a shit and stayed as far away from the cliché as possible. Mike was so great at this time, he had the best tunes of anyone, and was in great demand as an international DJ, from the USA to Japan and sometimes we would join him as a live three-piece. Brilliant days, we were a family. 

Q: I think you’re an artist with a very unique sound DNA! What I’m trying to say is that I instantly can recognize your work by the bass lines, the orchestral arrangements, the hypnotic drum sections… What makes this DNA and where does it come from? 

Ben: I have no idea. Like all musicians, I have collected and been inspired by what I needed and wanted. I love all types of music, still do, these DNA strands are unique, the hard part is how to lay them out for others to share and enjoy. I wanted to be a photographer when very young, my dad said it was too expensive, so film, TV, pictures, music all collided and formed whatever I am in my tastes for music.

‘I Decided To Become More Grounded In Earthly Sounds From The Percussion’

Q: It’s impossible not evoking “Bible Of Dreams” (1997), which revealed new ideas and collaborations. I consider this work as your magnum opus, which even today hasn’t lost its original magic. How do you look back at this work 24 years later and are there some aspects of the production you would do differently? 

Ben:  So the time of “Bible Of Dreams” came along. Robert Trunz, CEO of MELT2000 -the umbrella company which ran Blue Room, and Simon Ghahary, the managing director of Blue Room -a sub-label based in the UK specialising in Electronic music, had signed Juno Reactor to Blue Room/Melt 2000 for “Beyond The Infinite”, as Mute didn’t want it. Robert was a jazz freak, and he got me involved in his great love for African music. Robert and Simon were different, business was easy, as Robert was pretty loaded and loved to invest in his artists. He took over my shabby warehouse studio, put in a massive Raindurk Symphony Desk, massive monitors that would be anyone’s wet dream, 9 bass drivers aside, they blew the roof off. He took over landlord costs, God I was free of all these costs, and could make music without the fear of losing it all.  

I had been introduced to the African musicians on Melt 2000. All the scene was doing was still making chemical noises, and stick in an alien landscape for the acid heads. Although this is enjoyable, it became very repetitive. So I decided to become more grounded in earthly sounds from the percussion. The only percussionists I had been introduced to before Amampondo were generally white guys, flipping away on drums in a sloppy-sloppy fashion, or German-style timpani military way which I had found pretty useless and saw no advantage in it on a track. So my mind was blown away by Mabi -power, rhythmic complexity, fun, tradition, amazing rhythms that propelled the track! My eyes were opened and I felt stupid I had not seen what so many others had -say for example my favourite drummer Ginger Baker -why hadn’t I noticed African drumming that years before? Anyway, I was now awake to its potential in my world of cross over, not interested in world music in its pure form and wanted to create a fusion with electronic music and see what comes out. 

Working with Mabi was so instinctive, we both saw tracks in the same way as pictures and thoughts, I literally fell over him in a music studio corridor where he was asleep on the floor when I was producing a Zulu Band for Melt 2000 in South Africa. We got talking and I invited him and Amampondo to play all the percussion, so in a way, our future was laid out there.

I felt I knew what I was doing, none of my UK band wanted to tour the USA with Moby for just 30 minutes a night, so I called Mabi and Amampondo , did a few rehearsals and off on tour! This moment diverted the future of the project for the next 12 years where I would tour with Amampondo.

 “God Is God” could finally be added to a Juno Reactor album, as now JUNO RREACTOR was more interested in the earth sounds, leaving sci-fi behind. “God Is God” was written around the end of “Transmissions”, needed a better mix, but was ready. The album fell into place so easily. 

I wouldn’t touch “Bible Of Dreams” as it is a record of where I was musically at the time. I firmly believe people walk on our path for a reason, be it for a short or long period. How we interact with them is up to us. Some people unexpectedly turn out to be far more important than you could ever have imagined. Some you will love until you die, while other return to the mist of being.

Q: I read somewhere that after “Bible Of Dreams” you got the feeling to be done with Electronic music. What was it all about? Was it a kind of exhaustion or blank page syndrome?

Ben: It happens a lot to me, especially with Electronic music. Far too many people seem to be happy to create a platform. Be it Trance, Techno, Ambient, Drum’n’Bass, Bass music, whatever. It gets like an L.A motorway full of polluting gases all sounding the same. So I go left, maybe my mistake there, but as I am totally useless at being commercial, I prefer my way. And hope others enjoy it.

‘The Track Was Built Around My Love For Tarantino And Westerns, Clint Eastwood And “Once Upon A Time In The West”’

Q: The opening song “Pistolero” from the “Shango”-album (2000) probably became your biggest hit ever. It sounds differently because of this guitar play and yet it remains 100% Juno Reactor! I remember my reaction when I heard it for the very first time: ‘this guy is crazy’! Was this song a kind of antithesis to all what you’ve done before? And how did you imagine the future of the project right at the new millennium? 

Ben: On tour I met up with Steve Stevens. After speaking with him on the phone about the recent Traci Lords album that I produced, I invited him to play on a show in L.A, a great venue, like an old-fashioned sports hall with a running track above. Now, I think how freaked out he must have been, as I patched him into my desk, he would play, and I would cut him off at random, he kept on looking over as if to say ‘WHAT THE FUCK?!’, he must have thought I was crazy, he didn’t complain but you don’t do this to a Rock Legend. Anyway, we got on, he asked me to produce a track for his album – yep, “Pistolero”.

Steve wasn’t used to my regime of endless hours in the studio and I think after six days his eyes were somewhere down near his guitar swaying hips, exhausted he returned to the USA. He wasn’t that impressed, so I agreed to pay his costs, and I would release it. I worked on it a ton more, and out popped the track we know.

The track was built around my love for Tarantino and Westerns, Clint Eastwood and “Once Upon A Time In The West”. When it was released I named it the “Tarantino Radio Edit”. Quentin loved it and Robert Rodriguez and Tarantino then wrote “Once Upon A Time In Mexico” after being inspired by my “Pistolero” track, which they credited in the CD booklet.

Currently, I’m working on the new album, Steve Stevens, Sugizo and Amir Haddad will hopefully all on the same track.

Working with Amampondo was a dream, we never argued, just laughed a lot, after having lived in each other’s pockets on tour we got on well. I learnt more from them than they did of me. Their sense of rhythm, spontaneity, improvisation, the humour of dance, the humour of anything. We would do shows, stop the machines and go into full-on Tribal rhythms, songs of the Pondo’s. Every night was different. Mandla and Simpewe would perform acrobatics when we played “Feel The Universe”, crowds loved this, even though injuries happened, the next night they would do it again. I carried on working with them for 12 years until it became impossible to bring them from South Africa due to rising costs and falling promoters budgets. 

I should add that Traci Lords was also very cool to work with, and had several enjoyable sessions with her, which led to a top 5 USA billboard track titled “Control” and a number of movie syncs from these sessions.

‘“Matrix” Was Like Being Shot And Landing In Heaven With A Ticket Back To Earth’

Q: Your songs got more and more featured in movies and you wrote different songs for Soundtracks. I can imagine the “Matrix”-experiences must have been a kind of ultimate dream and accomplishment? But what has been the impact of all these experiences –and more especially “The Matrix”, on your career?

Ben: I love films, first of all, so for it to combine with my music is a dream job no matter what the film is. I will score a bug on a wall, and still enjoy it. “Matrix” was like being shot and landing in heaven with a ticket back to earth. After the initial meeting with the Wachowski’s I had to smash nails into my boots to keep me from flying off to the stars. Reality hit in a good way and was the toughest discipline mixed with the excitement of being able to please the directors and myself. What do I take away from it? A sense of achievement that I did something very special. I still get composers coming up to me and saying it is a landmark film for integration of Electronics and orchestra which is what the Wachowski’s wanted. It helped me believe in my writing al lot more, although confidence is like the wind, some days you have it others not.

The daily routine of waking up in heaven is not always as easy as it sounds, as even in my camp I would experience jealousy, I had brought with me a programmer (Stephan Holweck) an engineer (Greg Hunter) Singer (Taz) Stephan more turned into a cook and this frustrated his, as he wanted to be more involved, but the way out worked out there was no real room for him. Greg brought in his friend, which added to the annoyance of Greg; Greg would come in and say as I was working on “The Burly Brawl”, ‘that is a load of crap’ in-front of his friend as a light heated joke, which they all found very funny, I took Greg outside and suggested he return back to London as he wasn’t on my team, either buck up or go home. I should have sacked Greg as he would do things like after a mix was finished, he wanted to polish it more, so first time I agreed and I went back to the Paramore to sleep. I got a call from the dub stage early in the morning saying ‘what is this mix, it is horrible!!!’ I asked what time it was made they said 8 am, I replied please listen to mix from 1:00 am . They did and said thank you this is great.

Greg Hunter had in the hours between, added noises, effects I knew would be unwanted, and a rebalance uncalled for. He had become a liability to me, as now Warner were clocking his over times. I could not get rid of him as I didn’t know another great engineer in L.A. I would never use him again. These unexpected invasions add a colour I would have preferred had not happened, as these were not the only times he tried to unravel the job.

 Zig Gron (my Music Editor)  on the other hand, a man I did not know previously was my guardian angel. He walked me through all of the landmines, I asked him to teach me all he could, and I was in a 100 milesper hour world on information upload. Zig was funny, informative and such a bloody relief to have near me. God save Zig Gron and all who sail around him.

Q: The Soundtrack you composed for the “Brave Story”-animation film (2006) must have been something really special. For the very first time you composed the entire Soundtrack and here again I discovered some new aspects like the song “Juno Waltz”. How did you prepare and finally composed this work? 

Ben: This was composed under my name Ben Watkins rather than Juno Reactor. I had done another one, like “Beowulf”. I asked them why they wanted me to write for mainly orchestra, and they said we would like to hear how it sounds. So I sort of did my impression of ‘a man who knew what he was doing and what they were talking about’. There were a few production problems re-budget, as it wasn’t cheap for an Anime film. Once that was over, it was surprisingly easy, maybe a lot easier than writing for pure Electronics as the orchestra tone is defined by what you want, and once set, you have your pallet of sounds more or less. “Juno Waltz”, funny you mention that one, as it was the one I most feared to write, as again it has been so defined by other writers. I wrote it last, and it just popped out, it was also the one I felt the orchestra liked the most as they would tap their music stands like clapping. 

We recorded the Orchestra and choir in Bratislava, The Bratislavian Symphony Orchestra and a Vienna choir. I remember on the way to the massive radio sound stage all the older ladies at the bus stops had bright blue/purple hair. A hangover from communist times maybe, thought it looked great and definitely a way I wouldn’t mind my hair, like Quintan Crisp on acid.

Q: You also composed music for animation games. Does it need a different approach than for soundtracks? Any preference and/or favorite? 

Ben: “The Mark Of Kri” was a sort of nightmare, in as far as I had to create on each level two hours of non repeating music, on 0.5 MB, which now sounds insane huh. So you have an excitement engine, 0 – 100, fight mode is 50 plus. I had to build the macros to enable this. So deep learning curve, endless nights on the phone to Scott in San Francisco. This is a bit like the early beginning maybe of programs like WWise.com -which is a sampler on Crack, and hold so many possibilities for AI and VR, which makes me really excited for the future of music and sonic displacement for composers. My preference for games is really to write and hand over in stereo or 5.1. 

“PS4 Gran Turismo” -I made special mixes of tracks from the not so soon to be released album “The Mutant Theatre”, I didn’t have much involvement on this as they loved the tracks I presented and it was done.

Thanks of the Galaxy was a scored mobile game. Despite it being for mobile-only, I really enjoyed working with the team in Finland, in which I presented a Sci-fi industrial orchestral score made from orchestra libraries by George Strezov well worth checking out.

www.strezov.net  www.strezov-sampling.com

‘“Navras” Is The Biggest Track I Have Written’

Q: “Labyrinth” (2004), “Gods & Monsters” (2008), “Inside The Reactor” (2011), “The Golden Sun Of The Great East” (2013) and “The Mutant Theatre” (2018) are the studio-albums released after 2000. How would you analyze the evolution of these productions considering items like influences, technology vs. production and new collaborations? 

Ben: “Labyrinth” is “The Matrix”-album, and after the experience of the last track for “The Matrix Revolutions”, “Navras”, I couldn’t write a thing. “Navras” is the biggest track I have written, or been involved in with 120-piece orchestra, 80-piece choir, soloists, percussionists… So for three months after that I was bashing my head against a wall back in the UK. I think mainly as I was still missing the vibe of L.A, the people always around, the buzz. Until “Conquistador” Parts 1 & 2 came to save me along with guitarist Eduardo Niebla. I was mainly working very analogue, real drums, humans playing, and I still do, but now I am 75% out of the box and 25% in the box. Loads of new software have enabled me to make it more expansive. 

“Gods & Monsters”-I wanted it less epic than “Labyrinth”, write some songs that spoke to me at the time, and try a sort of Jazzy feel to some of it. Not very popular with the Juno Reactor dance crowd at the time, I still love certain tracks. A lot of artists musicians feel constrained by the genre they are in, main thing to me is to stand by what you write, and try it, it ain’t going to kill you. 

One track for example, “Tanta Pena” from “Gods & Monsters” -I was driving to the studio at Ridge Farm when a voice came on the BBC world music show, I had to stop and listen. A cross between a butterfly and a thunderstorm, it took the wind out of my lungs. As soon as the song was over I rang the station and asked who it was. Yasmin Levy! I contacted her husband who was also her agent/manager and asked if she would be interested in recording with me. 

Yasmin and the manager arrived on a beautiful Summer’s day. Ridge Farm is in the Surrey countryside, an Elizabethan Estate with grounds, a swimming pool, beautifully landscaped gardens, all made possible by Frank Andrews never-ending building work on his estate. 

I had moved into Ridge Farm after “The Matrix” films when I heard the studio on the estate was laying bare. I was able to bring my equipment and use one of Englands classic studio’s. Muse, Queen, Ozzie Osbourne and so many more had recorded here… 

Yasmin was shy, and maybe only 20yrs old when she visited the farm. I played her my idea’s, talked a little, not much really and went into record! With one take it was done on both tracks, no need to do any more, she had nailed it! It is quite amazing when this happens, like Lakshmi Shankar on “Navras”. 

I carried on working the track to bring it to her level, with an amazing Zook player from Arminia, Tigran Aleksanyan with the merciless drumming of Greg Ellis, who, when I started working with him in the studio, sounded a bit like a session player. His appearance was that of a typical tattoed L.A drummer, calm, spiritually balanced in appearance -and a very amiable personality.

I asked Greg to let his rage out for this track, really hit those fuckers! I unleashed a beast, a monster, his whole countenance changed, Fire and brimstone drumming, an apocalypse of anger and frustration came out! Drum skins didn’t last long, an inverted blister would appear on the snare within one take! Greg loved this approach, which you can also hear on “The Immaculate Crucifixion”. After this, “Tanta Pena” was complete. 

The original song dates back to the time when the Spanish ejected the Jewish population or made them convert to Christianity around 1492. It is sung in Ladino by Yasmin Levy whose father was a famous archivist of Ladino music, “No More Blood” –“Tanta Pena”.

 “Golden Sun Of The Great East” -I went to India to record a lot of the soloists, and this opened up my world to new horizons, as I found Bombay very “Blade Runner”-ish, ancient and modern all running parallel, crazy, mad, tragic and beautiful. 

Magical things happen, even when you are not looking, I was on a day trip around the studio’s of Mumbai with a potential agent for me in India. We entered a black and gold studio, very camp, I would expect Freddie Mercury of Queen to pop out and say ‘Hello darlings, welcome to my fuck fest!’ instead it was a wonderful Panjabi singer being recorded for a film. Our next appointment was with the Mozart of Indian film music, A R Rahmen. Excited I jumped in the taxi, horns blaring, rain falling, a bright night journey. Next to me in the taxi was the Panjabi singer, ‘Hey can you sing me a song into my zoom recorder, as we wait for my agent to say his goodbyes’. 4 minutes later, a song that never varied off its pitch, was in my data control. Leaving out the A R Rahmen meeting as it was nice, but nothing special, I returned to the hotel where eagles would fly high above in the morning light, I listened back, to the Mumbai traffic and the voice of a celestial being. I started writing “Invisible”, the second track on the album.

“The Mutant Theatre” was written for the show -a Sci-Fi extravaganza where choreographed performance really took over the direction. 

For me, the last two albums speak to me how I want to hear them, and possibly my favourite albums.

“The Mutant Theatre” was designed as a show album. In 2015 I was asked by the Ozora Festival to come back the next year with a new show, I had thought of a show to be called “The Mutant Theatre” 5 years before when in Russia and working with two amazing Performance groups, Agnivo, from Moscow, and Stigma Show from St.Petersburg. I presented this idea in pictures to Ozora, which they loved. It was expensive as it involved around 18 people.

Eyal Yankovich had been my agent for 5 years or so, also the head of Hommega Records. He was an OK agent, getting me the occasional gig or tour, what he was really good at was igniting my imagination with tunes, and suggest I listen to many great tracks, ‘How about a new “Pistolero” Ben?’

Eyal Hung himself before he could listen to the final “Return Of The Pistolero”-version or the album, which still a saddens me.

 Sanja Music, our tour manager, started to really help me, not only from a business perspective, but also from a listening view point. Despite being unable to discuss in a musical language, she would always hit it on the head, find a way to describe the best versions, enthusiasm, insights, referenced insights how fans can view it, how it might work on stage. Spend hours discussing and evolving ideas. I met Sanja many years before in Slovenia when we were playing with Laibach. A tall shiny girl in Japanese fashion appeared solo waiting for the doors to open, a Sugizo fan I believed. We stayed in contact through Myspace and later meeting up in Japan when I was having tours there. She came to the 2015 Ozora Festival and I’ve asked her to photograph Juno Reactor. After we went to Budapest to sight see the city, when I realised what a great addition she would me to Juno Reactor, little did I know how central to my thinking and the project she would become.

‘I Want To Give Something To The Audience That They Might Not Have Seen Before’

Q: You’ve always worked and composed your albums with guest musicians and –singers while going on tour with dance companies, drummers ao. It all feels a bit like the initial goal of creating a ‘collective’ has never changed. What did you learn from all these meetings, collaborations and exchanges? 

Ben: I want to give something to the audience that they might not have seen before. Maybe this goes back to my days of loving David Bowie, and his great performances, always looking for a new way. I feel a sense of family when we are on the road, not always possible with some people, but when it is good it is great. I am still learning how best to be, and how to navigate the waters of human interaction. I feel most comfortable in my studio along with all the other me’s talking.

Q: Your brother Simon Watkins has been often involved in the artwork of Juno Reactor. It all looks like arts is a family thing. Where does it come from and is there a next Watkins generation to hold on this artistic fire? 

Ben: Simon, my brother, helped me focus on art and how to look at it. He always had an unusual taste, a black comedy in his work that I loved. My parents were actors, and despite we were a family of 5 kids, and totally squint, I have no clue why our blood directs us to the arts, as it would be much simpler if we had just wanted a normal life. My parents gave up on their careers too early I always felt, and so I have to live with the musical sword in my hand.

Django, my younger son, is at film university learning the art of script writing and direction, Tim, my older son, is a great musician and records tracks I love. Scarlet and her friend wrote a track for a Japanese singer that was pretty successful. Scarlet at one time wanted to take over Juno Reactor, maybe she still does who knows, but she has chose marine photography for now.

‘AI, VR & AR Have So Much Potential For Young Musicians To Escape The Old Models Of Creation And Start A New Chapter In Music’

Q: A lot of things have changed/evolved since the early Juno Reactor years; think about technology, new equipment & music programs, streaming, social media etc… What have been the pros and cons? 

Ben: I started out on an MC 202 and now I have a museum, a laboratory, loads of instruments that I play. I miss the hangouts in the studio, as everyone has a studio, so we became moles. I love the independence of starting a Juno Reactor label, which I and Sanja Karin Music, who is my manager and for a number of years has also collaborated on artwork, future NFTs on knownorigin.io and other platforms, and a variety of creative projects and activities, which we will be rolling out in the coming year.

The new possibilities of NFT’s and blockchain, which might well help the independent musician into a new economic model. AI, VR & AR have so much potential for young musicians to escape the old models of creation and start a new chapter in music, independent from middlemen and greedy manipulators from the dark alleys of the old music industry. A new world awaits in the decade to come, and I am excited by it, and what it will become. This doesn’t in any way exclude the old ways, or purity of the orchestra, classical musicians, just a new voice in the galaxy.

Q: Covid-19 has seriously affected artistic activities all over the world. How did you keep yourself busy and what are you actually working on? 

Ben: I am learning the Viola, this has kept me in focus at times, writing new tracks with this has been very enjoyable, as well as testing, as I am still learning, and it will take me a long time to play the way I would like. I swim in the sea, this I love when I can afford the time -a sea swim now takes me about 2:30 hours compared to the pool of 1 hour. It blows all the cobwebs and bad thoughts away -of which there have been many through the past year, no question. I think a lot of artists had a very hard time, a lot of artists might have been forced to stop doing what they love, which is very sad. Like many others as well, I have been forced to look into the paperwork side of the project and face all the different misdemeanours and manipulations from a number of people I preferred not to face while gigs were still bringing in enough money to keep going.

‘Sooner Or Later An Autobiography Could Certainly Happen’

Q: I read in a post you got the idea to write an autobiography, which I think is a real interesting idea. Is it something concrete and are there some next ‘big’ dreams you want to accomplish?  

Ben: Well, it is odd, as I have lived long enough to tell stories other people find interesting, or so they say. Sometimes I get caught up in them, and it reminds me of talking to family members before they died. As you can ask them a historic question of how life was, and you can see their eyes glaze over as they reminisce as if they are walking the streets and cafes they used to. It is beautiful to see and hear. I don’t want to become a broken record and recite story after story, so maybe one time if I can write it OK, it might be interesting. My manager Sanja has been pushing me to write down or talk about times in my life and slowly collect all these to be turned into an entity at some point, so sooner or later an autobiography could certainly happen. It might have been silly of me to suggest I’m writing it on a simple social media travel picture that looked to me like a book cover, but perhaps having the public know and expect it will give me an extra boost to keep working on it, with my managers help, as an dyslexic person I was surprised to find that I’m really enjoying this process.

‘The Older I Get The More I Want To Do Music, Scuba, Swim, And Exploring New Horizons’

Q: An interesting item for the autobiography could be to know what you would have done in life without music? And do you have specific hobbies/passions next to music? 

Ben: I remember one day my father said ‘If you pass this exam, I will buy you a pony’. I tried my best, but still failed, and thus had to grow up pony-less. I wonder what would have happened had I passed the exam. Would I really have gotten a pony? Would I perhaps be in a completely different profession today? I should ring up my dad and ask if he actually planned to get that pony …

A lot of people through-out my life have mistook my dreamy exterior to think I am lazy, when in fact my brain has never stopped talking, the conversations I have in my mind seem to me to be more interesting than the ones outside, so I can be non responsive, come over as aloof. The reality is I have drifted off into my own world again. Where I might think I have answered a question asked by someone, just to realise it was only answered in my head. Dyslexia has strange traits, and for me it is this, I am word blinded sometimes that also raises my pulse to a train, panic. I envy people who can be logical, and competent in social exchanges. Stage is my way out, a sort of nether world between reality and dreams where I feel confident of its power.

Without music, I would be a shadow, maybe worked in a stable or farm all my life, something that didn’t need a searching brain. The older I get the more I want to do music, scuba, swim, and exploring new horizons.

Q: “Pistolero” is the Juno Reactor-song I make people listen to, who aren’t familiar with your work. Which one would you choose? 

Ben: At the moment, Ummm my latest one: “Coyote You Me And The Stars”. As it was written for a very special moment and one I will forever remember. I bought an amazing keyboard at the beginning of the crisis, which has been my main frame and primary sound source, the Quantum keyboard by Waldorf, it is such an unusual instrument. It is possible to create sonic textures I haven’t heard before, a 3D motion I have been looking for, this along with the viola.

I am more interested in how I can hold the sound in the stereo field to give depth and spatial pleasures. Political events don’t usually invade my thoughts yet this has been unavoidable.

Witten by: Ben Watkins

Co-editor: Sanja Karin Music (management & shrink services)

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

The very first Die Krupps live show from 1981, recorded on June 6 at the Krefeld Haus Blumenthal (Germany), will be released as “The Big Industrial Bang” on CD and DVD and this to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the show. The release date will of course be June 6th as well.

In the artwork you will notice ‘The Yuzuru Agi Tapes’ and this refers to the late Yuzuru Agi, a Japanese singer, editor, publisher, producer and music critic. He worked as a DJ on KBS radio, before becoming editor of “Rock Magazine”. He also established the independent Vanity Records label in 1978. In the 2000s he worked as an electronic music producer.

It is in the capacity of label owner, publisher and engineer that we found him back in Die Krupp’s history as a band. More specifically he worked as an engineer on the 1981 promo single “6 Jun 1981 At Krefeld Haus Blumenthal” which was released as a flexi via his Vanity Records and served as promotional supplement for his “Rock Magazine”. The live track featured was “Stahlwerksinfonie”.

The release itself will be launched via the Japanese label Suezan Studio which was founded in 2011 by Kaoru Koyanagi. The label prouds itself that it releases “unique titles carefully selected from our own perspective”. In addition, the label will also develop the industry’s first “on-demand” release.

More info soon on http://suezan.com.

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

Fire + Ice have signed a comprehensive deal including their full catalogue with Auerbach Tonträger. The project formed by British neofolk veteran Ian Read, who is also well known for his work with Death In June, Sol Invictus, and Current 93 will announce further news in due time.

As a first step in this collaboration, original Fire + Ice pressings as well as associated releases from Ian Read’s own imprint Fremdheit can now be obtained via Auerbach.

About Fire + Ice

Fire + Ice were created by Ian Read in 1992. Ian Read was a major contributor to the development of the neofolk genre. He performed on several of the scene’s formative albums such as Death In June’s “Brown Book” (1987), Current 93’s “Swastikas for Noddy” (1988), and Sol Invictus’ “Against The Modern World” (1987). Sol Invictus he had even co-founded with Tony Wakeford in 1987, who continued the band after Ian Read left to start his own project Fire + Ice.

With his own creative outlet, Read has ever since explored themes surrounding magic, myth, and mysteries, which are often associated with Germanic or Northern mythology, Odin, runes, and English history. Fire + Ice consider themselves as a genuine continuation of the Britsh Folk music and represent an original poetic expression of its traditions based on Ian Read’s own mystical vision and deep immersion in occult lore.

About Auerbach Tonträger

Auerbach Tonträger are an international label that was founded by its owner Martin Koller to offer a dedicated home and long-term collaborations to bands from the neofolk spectrum in the year 2003. Prominent singings include Sol Invictus, Orplid, and Spiritual Front.

Auerbach Tonträger are part of the Prophecy Productions label family under the umbrella of the independent media group SPKR.

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

André Matthes and Thomas Niedballa started their music activities in 2001. A few years later they singed to HANDS and started to release heavy Industrial & Experimental productions under the HEIMSTATT YIPOTASH moniker. The new work “Brankmanship” is their first new album in six years, but also a work revealing a more sophisticated sound mixing Industrial, Rhythmic-Noise, Experimental and Industrial-Techno. I experienced the work as the fusion between power, melody and intelligence. Both artists had a lot to say about their work.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: “Brinkmanship” is your first new album in six years! How does it feel to have released this new work after such a long time and why did it take that long?

André: I’m surprised myself that there’s such a long time  between the two albums. The selective sense of time is sometimes very relative, I don’t feel that the time span since our last release “Mecanismos De Control” is that long. Nevertheless, six years is of course a long time in which a lot has happened, both in the small private sphere and on a global scale.

After “Mecanismos De Control”, which dealt in the broadest sense with the financial crisis in 2008 and the actions of the responsible actors behind it, we worked together with Mike Erkau (The_Empath) on our joint project Trackologists. The work on Trackologists’ debut album “No Surrender, No Retreat” proved to be very fruitful, inspiring but also time-consuming, so there was space for new HEIMSTATT YIPOTASH ideas during this time. It then took some time until we had enough material for new songs, and above all a unifying idea on the theme, a guide that should connect the tracks on the album.

We like to give our albums a story in which the songs are embedded and refer to each other. Storytelling is already important in our way of working, perhaps it also explains the longer intervals between our releases. In the early summer of last year we had all the songs ready, the tracklist was fixed and an intensive phase of fine-tuning followed. I listened to every song and the album almost every day for eight weeks and made some changes. It is really difficult for me to accept the track as finished and release it for mastering. That’s when the control freak in me comes through. Terrible 😉 Thomas does it a more Punk-style. Boarded up and good. Then I come and start to make some changes. But that’s only good up to a certain point, because at some point it gets smoother and more pleasing but not really better.

HEIMSTATT YIPOTASH has always stood for a certain amount of unspoken joy in experimentation, and of course I don’t want to and should not optimize it to the max. At the end of 2019 the master was finished and we were very proud to be part of it, I think I can speak for both of us. The album shows so many different facets and yet, in my opinion, never loses the red thread. It is an astonishing further development to its six years older predecessor, especially when you listen to both of them one after the other. Now, a good year after the completion of our songs, I can say for myself that I can still get excited about the titles, despite listening to them umpteen times. 🙂

Thomas: I feel like André: the previous album “Mecanismos De Control” is somehow still present and doesn’t seem so far away. However, after that album there was a bit of ‘air out’ and we concentrated on the joint project Trackologists with Mike. During this joint work we were able to benefit from Mike’s knowledge for our own composition and production process. Thanks to this input, we then invested much more time than before in the current album “Brinkmanship” to compose and produce the tracks as cleanly as possible without losing sight of the worn edges.

Q: That’s maybe why I experienced this new album as your most diversified production ever; a true mix between different influences. How do you explain the evolution from the early, rough Industrial productions till “Brinkmanship”?

André: I think the driving force behind our work is experimenting with our possibilities. Personally I was inspired by Rhythm Noise and related styles. Especially by the fact that you suddenly got the chance to become creative yourself. That was in the mid-nineties. Until then I was rather an enthusiastic consumer. Records and concerts -I took everything that excited me, and that was always very comprehensive. Whether AlternativRock, Grunge, Punk or Avant-Garde, EBM, DarWave, Rhythm Noise -I could and still can get enthusiastic about many styles.

That was my input, and has remained so to this day, with some small cutbacks. For every time and for every situation there is the right music for me. So at some point I started to become creative myself, using pickups and microphones to shape and record noises and soundscapes. In addition, I had the possibility to merge the whole thing together using simple PC tracker programs and thus record my first (mostly very repetitive) songs. In this phase I found a like-minded person in Thomas and from then on we complemented each other in initially still separate projects. In the following time we self-released some CDRs, which we mostly distributed to friends and acquaintances and played a handful of concerts in small clubs. Our equipment at that time consisted of two PCs including tube monitors, pickups and lots of stuff. At some point we were actually allowed to play at the “Maschinenfest 2004”, and so we joined the HANDS label there.

Label boss Udo Wiessmann offered us to release an album on HANDS. It was a huge thing for us, it was incredibly inspiring and expanded our possibilities enormously. From this time on we officially called ourselves Heimstatt Yipotash, in reference to the previous solo-projects. With the years and every further release the learning curve in what we did and how we made music increased. In addition to the initially dominant intuition and joy of experimenting, we also gained a growing understanding of songwriting. In principle, we taught ourselves to make music over time, we are the absolute autodidacts 🙂 And -as mentioned at the beginning, we experiment with the respective possibilities we have.

Thomas: Since the beginning of our musical journey together, we have loved jumping between drawers and playing with listeners’ expectations. We actually always do what we want to do and do not look for disco suitability or the satisfaction of listening habits or expectations. But at the same time we don’t turn a song around until it absolutely sounds “especially creative and different”. We are insanely happy that Udo has always allowed us this creative freedom and that we can release our albums on the HANDS label without ‘censorship’ or ‘creative guidelines’.

The songs of the first albums sound for us now, with the distance of the years, both from the composition rather ‘simple’ and low-fi. Also some of our own musical preferences are shifting, which is reflected in the current songs. You find  more influences from IDM and other ‘song based’-styles than the more dominant Rhythm Noise of the earlier years. More stringency in sound and less jumping between genres could possibly be helpful to be more successful. But that has never been our motivation to make music. We want to entertain, but at the same time we want to encourage people to think, do research and also to exchange ideas. All the albums we have recorded so far reflect our view of society, the world and our environment at the time.

Q: Can you tell us a bit more about the writing and production process of the new songs? And what makes the chemistry between you both?

André: The driving force for each of our albums is usually to tell a story. The narrative element is already strongly pronounced. In the case of the debut “Storegga Effect”, for example, it was the cyclical sequence of major natural events with mass extinctions and the subsequent renewal or regeneration of the biosphere. The most narratively dense work to date, “Urban Night Motifs”, was a dystopian plunge through a dark, dirty and violent metropolis at night. We wanted to achieve a similarly dense atmosphere again on our current album, because I still like the soundtrack-like gloomy atmosphere very much.

The content of our songs is always close to the problems of the world and we have often addressed them. Also this time we created many songs that take a stand on global problems, so like new catchwords like genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, data surveillance or old scourges like war, corruption and abuse of power. Originally the album should be called “Tribunal” and it should be a kind of condemnation of the conditions. From today’s point of view, it seems to me to be richly bold and naively superficial. We had already taken this direction somewhat with “Mecanismos De Control” and we didn’t really want to go on further like this. We changed the context and formed the songs into a kind of taking status of the world today (“Artificial Ego”, “Fix, Find, Finish”, “Belt To Blender”). We contrasted this with our personal feelings, anger and powerlessness (“Progress”, “At the Edge Of Words”) and the desire to escape this mad world (“Step Into The Void”, “Separation”, “Trigger”).

Seen in this light, the current album is less combative than the previous one, but rather pessimistically resigned. Perhaps it results from the realization that no matter what happens, no matter how bad the disasters and wars will be, people still rarely learn from mistakes, and that in the end the predator prevails. Our way of working is usually to sit together (usually in Thomas’ arbor), connect our equipment and just jam away. Sometimes the first ideas come up, sometimes we just do sound exploration and fill our sample memory. The resulting song sketches are then moved back and forth a couple of times, and at some point the individual track develops its own character, which is then worked out. It’s not that we set ourselves a concept and then work it out, it all starts intuitively, almost like jazz from the gut. 🙂 If the track comes to life, it gets a name and is then shaped in the desired direction. When you finally compare the sketches and the finished track, you are amazed and get the impression that the song has a life of its own and we are just the obstetricians. It has always been like that, and I think that’s what makes up the way we work.

Thomas: Instead of the rehearsals and jam sessions that are usual with ‘classic’ bands, we have now established a well-functioning ping-pong method for us: if not out of jam sessions together, relatively many sketches are first created at my place. These are partly loops of only 10 seconds, but can also be rough song structures of three minutes. André takes over these beginnings and works on them with his own preferences and moods. This gives the sketches a completely new dynamic and complexity, which you often can’t even think of when you tinker with them alone. The nice thing about our joint work on songs is that nobody has a special role as ‘songwriter’ or ‘drummer’ or similar, but the songs can always develop without ‘selfish’ wishes or preferences. Neither of us has the claim to put more songs than the other on an album or to always have to listen to our own samples in the finished song. There are tracks that completely change their sound several times during their creation.

The possibilities of working with, in our case, Ableton Live are simply indescribably beneficial here. For us, it is amazing how the songs on the albums ultimately come together to form a harmonious product, without us planning it that way from the beginning. All our albums had a common thread, which we often only found during the ongoing creation process, without having to ‘bend’ the songs.

On “Storegga Effect” the mutual influences of environment and human beings on each other were the main theme. “Perpetual Beta” focused more on the mechanization of the world and the anonymization of the individual in society, but also on the simultaneous (self-zchosen) revelation of very private things, for example on the internet. “Urban Night Motifs” highlighted a modern and realistic, but also dystopian metropolis in the current time: psychological problems, pressure to perform, pollution of the environment, social injustice and increasing loneliness of people were the topics. “Mecanismos De Control” extracted this view on a political / social level, whereby we chose the situation in Argentina in 2001 as the main theme. “Brinkmanship” could now be interpreted as a once again ‘zoomed up’ view of the whole world politics and its influence on each and every one of us.

Q: “Brinkmanship” indeed appears to be a critical reflection about the world we’re living in. What’s your perception about the latest news events like the Covid-19 pandemic, the presidential election in the USA ao?

André: “Brinkmanship” is indeed a critical examination of the state of the world. The term means as much as the politics of absolute risk, the planning of one’s own destruction, the play with fire. There are many political examples, the policy of nuclear deterrence during the Cold War is only one of them. Even today, the term can be applied to many aspects. We have tried to cover some of the topics on the album, even if many things are missing (climate change, environmental destruction, etc.) There are many questions that most people are reluctant to ask, because the answers might question their way of living. Will artificial intelligence dominate us one day? Will we become slaves of omniscient networks and algorithms? How dangerous is genetic engineering? And is it ethically acceptable? What do animal experiments and factory farming and the perversities associated with them say about our humanity? These and countless other questions, some of them more or less philosophical, occupy our minds and are a recurring theme in our songs.

Much of this can be discussed controversially, and I too have no productive answers to many of them. Nevertheless it is important to ask these questions and to deal with them. Because if you don’t face it, you are much more receptive to ‘strong men with simple solutions’, which brings us back to the actual topic. The multitude of questions seems to overwhelm a large part of the people intellectually, there is no other way to explain, for example, a President Trump, Erdogan or Putin. In my view, Trump is one of the most stupid and incompetent people you can imagine at the head of such an influential superpower. But Trump is for me not the cause, but rather the symptom of a certain social and societal degeneration that can be observed throughout the Western world.

The most pressing current issue is the Covid-19 pandemic. The exceptional situation in which we are currently living is magnifying the acute social upheavals like under a burning glass and is a test of character for each individual. Whether and how measures to contain the infection will be effective will only be known when it is history, because much of it cannot yet be assessed. It is therefore easy to condemn decisions in retrospect and to know everything better. As a realist, I see the situation, recognize possible risks and try to avoid them without hysteria. In my opinion, it would sometimes be helpful for many people if they could look at things more soberly, abstractly and then stick to the facts. That way, prophets and conspiracy theorists of all colors would have less of an audience.

Q: Because of Covid-19 artists can’t no longer play live, which must be frustrating when you’ve a new album out. How do you try to face the situation and what do you expect from artistic activities during the next few months?

André: Of course this is extremely frustrating for us! Originally “Brinkmanship” was supposed to be presented at the “Elektroanschlag” festival or at the “Forms of Hands” and we had prepared some limited bundles with iron-on patches and stickers for the record release. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions, all this became obsolete. The release date was postponed to August, and unfortunately we had no chance to present the album live until now. And it’s through concerts that you can reach a larger audience. As far as that is concerned, we really fell victim to a bad time.

But it’s not just us! Much worse affected are artists who have to live from their art, who depend on the income. As far as that is concerned, we are well off as ‘amateurs’ and too much complaining would be somehow indecent. Well, what the future will bring, we will see. Maybe we will try ourselves as street musicians 😉 At the moment, it’s mid-October, the infection numbers are rising again and I don’t believe in a return of the festivals soon. What this means for the whole music industry, promoters and labels cannot yet be estimated, but the coming period will certainly not be easy. Many are acutely threatened in their existence. That is something you should bear in mind! Therefore: ‘Support your artists! Support your label!’

Thomas: Yes, it makes us sad not to be able to present the new material live and experience the feedback of the audience. But in the current situation we have the big advantage over musicians who have to earn their living by performing, that we both have regular jobs and therefore the band has been a pure hobby project from the beginning and doesn’t have to feed families. So we see the situation as very uncomfortable for us, but for the whole music industry, especially the independent labels and concert operators, with far greater concern and fear for the future of the many employees and enthusiasts.

We house label HANDS are also severely affected by cancelled concerts and closed clubs. This is the best way for each of us to help: Buy CDs and merchandise directly from the small, fine labels!

Q: Next to HEIMSTATT YIPOTASH you’ve been also involved with other projects. What can you express and maybe exorcize in these other projects –like TRACKOLOGISTS, and do you plan new releases?

André: I am cautiously optimistic when I say that there will be a sign of life from TRACKOLOGISTS in the near future. Optimistic, because all three of us have a great desire for it and already have concrete ideas for a release; cautious, because all three of us are involved in other projects and therefore many things simply go slower and need more time. It will probably be like with the first and so far unfortunately only TRACKOLOGISTS album: we will set ourselves a lot of goals, we will meet several deadlines and still get it finished. 🙂

Thomas: I think the chances of an upcoming release of the TRACKOLOGISTS are good. We love the project and the slightly different development process than at HYMSTATT YIPOTASH. TRACKOLOGISTS songs are much closer to the EBM and IDM than our own tracks, but working with Mike enriches our own way of working immensely as we benefit from his knowledge and set the bar high ourselves. Whether there will be another masterpiece of “No Go!” depends mainly on the simultaneous availability of (too) much time, extremely obscure sample collections and large amounts of alcoholic beverages…

André: Thanks for your questions and hopefully see you soon live!

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

(Photo by Sandy Holmes) Bestial Mouths has a new video to be released for their single “Dry as Dust” taken of their album “Resurrectedinblack” that was released earlier this year and which comes out on vinyl on October 31, via Rune & Ruin Records.

The video for “Dry as Dust” comes just in time for Halloween and lay bare a barren post-apocalyptic universe dreamt up by director Vicente Cordero in which we have come to reside.

Director Vicente Cordero : “What I will say is that it was an honor to work with such an expressionistic artist and I am humbled and flattered to combine visions and create this abstract video, rarely do I get the opportunity to be solely abstract and I feel the video captures the song beautifully.”

Here’s the video.

Since 2018, Bestial Mouths has been the sole project of Cerezo and 2019’s “Inshrouds” EP was the first Bestial Mouths release entirely written and conceived by Cerezo. The EP was released on the independent label Rune & Ruin Records, which Cerezo formed together with friend and frequent collaborator Alison Lewis (Linea Aspera / Zanias / Fleisch Records).

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

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Out now is the track “Man Or Machine (Feat. Megan McDuffee)” by Extra Terra. It’s the 3rd single from the label’s upcoming cyberpunk compilation album “Altered”.

For the occasion the cyberpunk act Extra Terra has combined its forces with synthwave vocalist Megan McDuffee on the new track, “Man or Machine”. “In the future, humans will probably fall in love with sentient machines. And this music is deeply connected to this theme”, says Extra Terra in a statement.

The upcoming cyberpunk synthwave compilation, “FiXT Neon: Altered” was already preceeded by 2 other singles by Signal Void and King Protea’s “Find You” and Deadlife’s “No Longer Human” on the path the album’s full release. “Man or Machine” is available now on all major platforms from the independent synthwave label FiXT Neon.

Here’s the track (backed by an instrumental version):

And here’s the video.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

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

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial-metal, industrial-rock, EBM

Background/Info: The famous Wax Trax! Records label was originally much into new wave and punk music and was founded by Jim Nash and his partner Dannie Flesher in Denver in 1975. In 1978 the independent label moved to Chicago and became the most important record label and store/boutique for industrial music in the US that served as the headquarters of underground electronic and industrial bands in the eighties and nineties. The strong brand Wax Trax! offered record deals to the artists they liked (as fans) and also licensed European artists in America. The very impressive Wax Trax! catalogue featured well-known bands like Ministry, Front 242, Revolting Cocks, KMFDM, Front Line Assembly, Coil, Chris & Cosey and more!

Content: Industrial Accident has contributions of Al Jourgensen (Ministry/Revolting Cocks), Paul Barker (Ministry/Revolting Cocks), Chris Connelly (Ministry/Revolting Cocks), Luc Van Acker (Ministry/Revolting Cocks), Richard23 (Front 242/Revolting Cocks), Patrick Codenys (Front 242), Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), Bill Leeb (Front Line Assembly), Groovie Mann (Thrill Kill Kult), David J. Haskins (Bauhaus), Sascha Konietzko (KMFDM), En Esch (KMFDM), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys), Steve Albini (Big Black), Cosey Fanni Tutti (Throbbing Gristle), Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) and more. It explains the rise and fall of an important musical movement as well as the details and artifacts of this entire Wax Trax! Records history that was nearly lost forever.

A lot of hilarious anecdotes are explained by the contributing artists which makes it fun to watch! Al Jourgensen: “I played in Divine’s band by the way, playing guitar for Divine was … bizarre!”. Luc Van Acker, when speaking about Laibach: “How provocative can you be? It takes intelligent people to understand that! Wax Trax! created a space where we could do whatever we wanted!”. Unfortunately the label without business model (operating on trust, without contracts with their artists) declared bankruptcy in 1992 and Jim and Danny sold it to TVT Records. Jim Nash passed away on October 10, 1995 and Dannie Flesher deceased on January 10th, 2010.

+ + + : This 94 minutes (+ 75 extra minutes bonus material) documentary was directed by Julia Nash (daughter of Jim Nash) and won awards on the Santa Cruz Film Festival and Chicago Underground Film Festival. It is also available on Blu-Ray and as download on AppleTV, Amazon Prime and Google Play/YouTube Streaming.

– – – : Just one minor point: to make the circle complete, maybe an interview with some licensed European bands that were released by Wax Trax! (The Neon Judgement, The Young Gods, A Split Second, Laibach and more) would have been interesting, to hear their point of view.

Conclusion: Although it’s a huge story to tell the complete Wax Trax! history, this documentary gives a pretty good overview of what happened in the old days. Jim and Dannie “accidentally” built up the industrial scene in the US due to their passion and love for this music and bands and will never be forgotten!

Label: www.waxtraxchicago.com / www.facebook.com/WaxTraxRecords.Chicago/

Genre/Influences: Electronic, cinematographic, ambient.

Background/Info: You probably know Manfred Thomaser as the compositor behind !Distain, but he’s also busy with some side-projects. Next to Arsine Tibé, he from time to time also releases instrumental music under the moniker of The Independent Seasons. Three years after the debut album he unleashes this new work featuring four tracks.

Content: This music has nothing in common with the electro-pop of !Distain. It remains an electronic composition, but Manfred Thomaser explores ambient & cinematic fields built up with electronics. The opening track reminds me of Kraftwerk atmospheres and has this typical 80s flavor emerging at the surface. Quite progressively the tracks are taking you away on an imaginary trip. The sound is melodic, atmospheric and definitely dreamy. The last cut –just as the first one, is more elaborate and you here also will notice some guitar sounds.

+ + + : This cinematic experience has something relaxing. It’s the right music to enjoy after a stressful day. The songs don’t have a clear visual appeal, but you feel transposed into a parallel dimension filled with prosperity. I especially like the “The Kindergarten Detectives” for its analogue approach and some links with Krakftwerk.

– – – : This music is a kind of challenge; it’s easy going, but not exactly appealing to a wider audience.

Conclusion: This project makes me think to an intimate composition exorcising some hidden ideas from the musician who’s interested in different music genres and not only in electro-pop.

Best songs: “The Kindergarten Detectives”, “Seyhan II”.

Rate: (6½).

Artist: www.theindependentseaons.com / www.facebook.com/theindependentseasons

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

Michael (Mel) Roeder and Peter Kirchmeyer set up A Spell Inside in 1989! The German electro-pop duo this year celebrates its 30^th anniversary. While ‘Mel’ reveals in this interview how the band will celebrate this event, A Spell Inside recently released their newest full length album “Masterplan”. The work has been again released by Scanner (Dark Dimensions) revealing one of the band’s most accomplished and mature productions to date. I talked about it all with Michael (Mel) Roeder.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q:  I noticed A Spell Inside this year celebrates its 30^th anniversary! What does that evoke to you and what does the band stands for today compared to the early years and releases?

Mel: Indeed, we are actually celebrating our 30th anniversary, while other bands can’t manage to stay alive 10 years at least … haha. But honestly, it fills us with pride that we have been able to stay in the music business for such a long time without being distraught or broken down on other things. On the other hand we are also shocked how fast time has passed since we’ve started in the 90ies. Of course we would have wished for a bigger success in the meantime, but in the end it´s just fine as it is. We are still independent, can make our own music when and how we want it to sound and we do not have to be attached to major events. Thus we live the ideal of an independent band. We can lean back and relax, because we have seen many other bands come and go, but we are still there and hopefully will stay there for quite a while!

Q: I would have expect a ‘best of’-album to celebrate this happening, but A Spell Inside simply strikes back with a new work! Tell us a bit more about the background, ideas, composition of “Masterplan”?

Mel: Everybody would do exactly this, right? That’s the reason why we haven’t. Of course a ‘best of album‘ would have been an option, but with the possibilities that the internet offers today, in our view such releases don’t make much sense anymore. Everybody puts together his own playlists, so that’s why we did not promote this idea. In fact it is true that this year we will come up with a peculiarity that has not existed yet in our looooong history. It’s about time to reveal it now, exclusively for you. There will be a very, very special release with remixes and partly unpublished songs, but furthermore there will be a strictly limited vinyl release on top. For this we let design each front cover by the famous artist Emil Schult, so that each record will become a unique masterpiece of its own. If everything runs well the release is going to happen in December this year.

Q: When did you start the writing of “Masterplan” and was there something like a ‘structure’ or ‘plan’ you followed? What have been the main difficulties you encountered when composing this album?

Mel: It might sound unbelievable, but we start working on a new album immediately after the last one hoping to be faster than every time before. But after each album the batteries are low and need to be refilled with new impressions. We always have a focus on the quality of our work; quantity is not our way of working. But you can say the ‘main’ work on this album started one year before that we had a 12 months production process including the full recordings/mixing not to forget the mastering in the end. 

Q: “Masterplan” is probably not my favorite A Spell Inside-work in history, but at the other side I’ve to admit the songs reflect ‘maturity’ and impressive production skills. Where do you place this album in the band’s discography and do you’ve personal references and/or criteria when it comes to song writing and production?

Mel: How can “Masterplan” not be your favorite album? We love it a lot and think it´s one of our most consistent ones. It seamlessly follows our previous composition while exhausting all of today´s production possibilities. We think it’s some kind of a ‘back to the root’ thing we have done, but in a more skillful and modern way. And we think that English fits a little bit better to A Spell Inside, to get that certain mood, to let the lyrics more flow with the music.

Q: Since the “Vitalizer”-album you don’t really release new work at regular basis. I can imagine you now have other priorities in life and not only just making music, but what are you doing in between two albums and what means music to you today?

Mel: Well, you have already noticed we have been there for a very long time. And it feels like the older you get, the faster time seems to pass. For this reason, even these distances are not so incredibly long for us. But, in fact to stay independent in the way we understand independence we naturally have to make a living from other things which costs much time. We both had to face personal strokes of fate in the meantime, that also costs time and energy. It´s definitely not that we’re running out of ideas. More that we have to handle several things that are also important in our lives.

Q: When it comes to music and the entire ‘business’ around I can imagine you’ve seen a lot of things evolving and/or changing over the years. According to you, what have been the main changes and are there some aspects from the past you’re missing? And how do you see things evolving?

Mel: Of course we think a lot of things have changed in the music business. First it has become much easier to produce and publish stuff because of the affordable computers and software. Not to forget these publishing platforms where you don’t need a record-company neither. According to this the transition from analog to digital has made things a lot easier too; unfortunately we can’t say that thereby necessarily the quality of music generally improved. There is so much crap outside and it’s hard to break through the clutter. That makes it more stressful and also annoying from time to time.

Then the so called ‘independent music scene’ has developed and split into a lot of diverse subgenres. Funny enough, but you still see the same ‘old’ bands (like us) appearing on a flood of festivals over and over again. This is a development we can’t understand. Probably the consequent result of a general advancing commercialization, also in the independent area. But luckily we’ve got our personal ‘Masterplan’ to deal with that…lol

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

Coming up is the Lord Of The Lost best of compilation “Till Death us do part”. The 2CD version of this best of additionally contains a CD with rarities and B-sides (18 tracks in total) incl. guest features of Der Schulz (Unzucht) and Erk Aicrag (Hocico). A double LP is also planned and for the treasure hunter there is a 4CD-digibox-Version that features an exclusive remix CD and (on CD4) a series of demo versions, some of them more than 20 years old and written and recorded long before the band was found.

Lord of the Lost is a German dark rock band from Hamburg created by singer and frontman Chris Harms. Founded in mid-2007 by Chris Harms as a solo project, Harms originally called the project Lord, but changed the name of the band to Lord of the Lost to avoid possible name disputes with Lordi and The Lords. Before Lord of the Lost, Harms was a singer and guitarist of the rock band Philiae (1999-2004), a guitarist and second singer with the Glam-Metal-Band The Pleasures (2004-2007), as well as a musician on various projects like Big Boy or Unterart.

The debut single “Dry The Rain” was released in 2009 and the debut album “Fears” was released in 2010 with the independent label Out of Line. More albums followed: “Antagony” (2011), “Die Tomorrow” (2012), “From the Flame Into the Fire” (2014), “Empyrean” (2016) and “Thornstar” (2018). Next to that the band also released several DVD’s and compilations.

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

Does the name Mark Burghraeve make ring a bell? No doubt about it, ‘older’ electro heads know this Belgian artist born in 1961! Together with Marc Verhaeghen he set up The Klinik and created the band’s original look. Both ‘old’ mates are now back again working on new Klinik-stuff. You might also know him from his work under the Somnambulist moniker and M.Bryo & D.M.T. He also worked with artists and bands such as Niki Mono, Bill Leeb, Insekt, Vomito Negro, For Greater Good, Mike Shelter, Brain Pilot, Dark Poem, Hybryds, Les Boufons Tristes ao. Mark Burghraeve is a man of many talents and next to his music activities he’s also active as a multimedia artist and graphic-, video- & sound-designer and sound & light engineering. But back to music! The French label Nuit Et Brouillard recently released the album “Things I Was Due To Forget 1979 – 2005”. The work has been released on different vinyl formats and is now planned to be released on CD format as well. The music brings us back to the early and original sound of electronic music… to the roots. This interview will give you more background information about this passionate, fascinating and visionary artist.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: The least I can say is that you’re involved with an impressive number of very different artistic projects. Do you’ve some preferences in your artistic creation, what’s the importance of music and do you still have secret dreams in mind?

Mark: My preferred creations are the ones where I could sit at home and work on them in my own tempo and atmosphere, without any unwanted interference from the outside world. The ones where I could set my own deadlines and delegate some of the time consuming work. I like to see myself as a multi-media artist in the broad sense of the word. Music is one of the media I use to evoke or reproduce feelings, visions and dreams, based on my experiences and observations. I jump from one medium to another, sometimes mixing them. And the more I can use in one project, the more satisfying it becomes. The final result grows into a part of a viewer’s or a listener’s precious time. The artist has only this short period to take them on a small journey by exposing himself.

I try to keep my mind and taste open. My dreams are no secret. It would be nice to have my work survive the times, interpreted by others as it has already happened. The best feeling one can have is that his work is appreciated by as many people as possible, I guess. Making an immersive VR experience is on the want-list. Another film score would be nice too. A book maybe? A golden tie?

Q: You’ve been inspired by early electronic pioneers, but you in a way became a pioneer yourself. How do you look back at the early years of electronic music? Was there a kind of particular ‘spirit’, ‘philosophy’, ‘goal’… and do you see common elements with what’s happening today?

Mark: I always felt as a pioneer, out to get a taste of the future. Electronic music was the most futuristic music then. That time,  synthesizers were expensive and not seen as a full instrument yet. They were more like an effect in a classic rock setting, an extra weird toy for the keyboard player, like Pierre Henry did in the sixties with “Psycho-Rock”. Or they were used as sound effect machines for cinema as Bebe and Louis Barron already did in the fifties for the movie “Forbidden Planet”. Apart from “Popcorn” by Anarchic System, full electronic music was not yet popular. There weren’t that many people in Belgium who had a synth and tried to make music that fitted the expectations of a new sci-fi future vision.

After the ‘No Future’-era, we were looking for one. Most of the guys who had synths made ‘cosmic’ music or just collected buttons. Pure electronic music was not regarded as ‘real’ music yet. But there was a kind of spirit of togetherness between the artists of that time in Antwerp, a lot of independent projects and disciplines crossed each other: theater, music, fine arts, fashion, performance. It was a period in time when we revolted more, as a group or as individuals, against anything we were opposed to. We used the new technologies. We walked away from tradition and uniformity. Sometimes we even had ‘goals’. From political- and ecological awareness to shared ethics and aesthetics. We were multicultural anarchists with a rainbow of tastes and opinions. We were the avant-garde. We were the underground.

I don’t see this anymore, it seems culture has been institutionalized, nationalized, censored and belonging to the happy few who get financial support from the government. I see increasing xenophobia and homophobia. I see aggression, racism, poverty and despair in this modern day dystopia. And cell-phones, lots of cell-phones. But then again, I don’t go out that much anymore, so I might miss out on a lot of what is happening today.

Q: One thing is for sure, the late 70s and early 80s were pure ‘underground’-like! I think it had something magic, connecting people a different way than today. Today we’ve the internet, electronic music became much more accessible… everything became that different. What’s your perception about this evolution? The pros and cons?

Mark: The pros are that it all became much more accessible and now more people can create, produce and put their stuff on the internet. One can reach a global audience immediately. A computer is now a household thing and most people have cell-phones. We are all connected by wire or by Wifi and have libraries of virtual synths and plug-ins at the touch of a button or screen, complete with professional production tools and low distribution costs, if any.  Also you can get direct feedback from people all over the world who value your stuff. One can communicate faster. Co-operations over great distances get easier. Tools are easier to find.

The contras are that anybody can make music and put videos on YouTube. But without talent, proper promotion or attention of the media one can get lost in the flood of banal information. Today’s internet has become a marketplace, a big and busy one. You need extra skills if you want to get noticed as an artist. Like for instance opening an e-mail account to get PayPal. It also still leaves a very big and bad ecological footprint. Think of the control knob you ordered on e-bay, transported by trains, planes and diesel trucks.

The search for new music has also dramatically changed, we have robot programs that search for everything we want, telling us what we are supposed to like, based on databases and tags. Before all this, we physically went to the record shop to buy what they were offering. We had magazines with no commercials. No cell-phones, no social media sites, no e-mail, no internet. Just telephone, fax, modems and walkmans. Cassettes were the independent medium of that time. The home-studio was born. Affordable, but still expensive. I was lucky to have Stefan Van Elsen (Trans-4M,  Brain Pilot, …) of Central Tapes who distributed my work. Teac, Tascam & Fostex competed with Revox. There were still U-matic, 12-bit Digital Recording, Commodore & Spectrum, Memorex. All these factories sold physical equipment. Nowadays, big companies sell or even just rent data for the same use.

It has it’s pros and cons. The thing is, it’s here. One has to use it as a tool and avoid distractions. It’s still very new and it already had a very radical impact on all our lives. Writers like Kafka, Orwell or Huxley couldn’t even have dreamt this up. It’s like their warnings became handbooks for the rulers. Are we in the hands of a system we don’t understand, own or even know anymore? Who collects and controls the data? Does all this ‘security’ make us feel safe or does it make us more scared or paranoid? Since the expression ‘Fake News’ has been introduced, nobody trusts the media anymore, from both sides. We have political propaganda and commercials in between the services we paid for. We’ve all seen how YouTube and Google have evolved from data providers to data collectors. Do we lose freedom and privacy and should we protect these values? What’s this thing with wars, money, power and persistent ecological & political unawareness?

We live in glass houses. Too many rats in a cage with an overload of information. Sorry, what was the question again?

Q: Nuit Et Brouillard recently released the double album “Things I Was Due To Forget”; I should say an appropriated title for songs taking us back to your first sonic compositions. How did this release come through and can you tell us something about the origin of the songs?

Mark: Sylvie, co-founder of the French Nuit Et Brouillard-label, once made a compilation tape from records she had borrowed from a friend to play in her car. One of the songs was “The Empty Street” by M.Bryo & D.M.T. from the “No Big Business” compilation. Years later she found me on Facebook on a picture with Marc Verhaeghen (the Klinik) and Bill Leeb (Frontline Assembly), from the time we worked together on Noise Unit. She knew both Marc and Bill, but had never heard of me until she did some investigations. Nuit Et Brouillard invited me to Lille to meet them in person, so I took all my courage, some luggage and a train to France. There I met Stéphane as well. We talked about music and politics and played with the idea of making a release. It was a bit like checking each other out, before we made this idea concrete.

For Nuit Et Brouillard it would certainly have been the most ‘commercial’ record they would have ever made, since they were mainly releasing more experimental and ‘obscure’ music. A bold step. They showed me their beautifully made releases. Some of them had handmade art covers. All their releases were treated as gems, showing a deep involvement and respect for the artist. They were not driven by money, but by passion. Of course I felt very flattered by the offer and I loved the people there in Lille who supported me. I had the chance to do everything from A to Z; music, lyrics, recordings, mastering and artwork. I am very lucky to have had this opportunity and I am proud with the result.

The songs had their origin in the late seventies, the start of punk, affordable synths, drum machines & multi track recorders. Bands like Kraftwerk, Tubeway Army, Ultravox and The Human League had just started and people like Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre, Tomita and Walter Carlos had already opened the door to popular electronic music.

I lived in industrial Hoboken and was a DJ for some time, pretty up to date. By buying the ‘trash’ the record shop couldn’t sell on a Friday, I got a lot of weird unknown stuff. The weirder it was, the more I liked it. Anyway, I had fun in my room with my machines, later got into computers and now I’m still trying to use technology as a medium, not only for making sound.

Q: When it comes to music, I think there’re very different types of artists; classical schooled musicians, composers, producers, self taught artists and experimentalists who clearly break the codes. Where do you place yourself and tell us a bit more about the different aspects of being the musician/artist you are?

Mark: I’m a self-taught mad experimentalist, composer, bad musician, an OK writer and from time to time, if I may say so, a very able producer with neo-classical ambitions, and some more… I cherish my work as a musician as much as I like using other media. If I get bored or stuck with one medium, I jump onto another one. It keeps the creative ball rolling. Sometimes one inspires the other. Bringing as much art forms as possible into one project is the most satisfying, I think. To me, programming is an art form as well. Sometimes a program can be written as elegantly as a poem.

Q: You’ve been involved with different music projects; M.Bryo & DMT, The Somnambulist, The Klinik… and you’ve worked with an impressive list of artists. What did you keep in mind from all these projects and experiences and tell us something more about The House of the Thepaphone?

Mark: So many stories to tell. So many experiences. Every contact has its anecdotes. Sometimes, it seemed as if I lived in a soap opera, complete with the melodrama and the intrigues. But the fun part was the work itself, trying to get the best results with the tools I had. Having my own rock-band KOYT! was great, but what I liked especially were the one-on-ones, like Les Bouffons Tristes with Peter Geysels, whom I knew from For Greater Good or the ones with Sophie from Dark Poem.

With The House of the Thepaphone, I try to create a cosy place for my friends and I on Bandcamp, a popular music site for independent use, with a possibility to get some money for the music. Not big amounts, but since money seems to be a handy thing to have on this planet, any return is always welcome. It’s where I put some of the collaborations with other artists and completed works from my archive. On SoundCloud I put my most recent sketches and portfolios. ReverbNation was one of the first music libraries I used on the web. I forgot MySpace, but who didn’t? I think of building some more websites. They open possibilities for experiment and promotion. Recently, I got on Spotify and iTunes, to keep up with the new tools and platforms. I’m still learning.

The House of the Thepaphone :

Nuit Et Brouillard:

Other Links:

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

Set up in 1982 in Ljubljana (Slovenia) Borghesia became a so-called pioneer in the electronic-underground scene. Early albums such as “No Hope No Fear” and “Escorts” both released on Play It Again Sam became EBM-icons. They next went on releasing noticeable productions such as “Resistance”, “Dreamers In Colours” ao, but the influences progressively evolved. The band finally stopped their activities in 1995, but came back alive in 2009. Core members Dario Seraval and Aldo Ivančić got joined by new members. The band released a new album entitled “And Man Created God” (2014) on Metropolis Records. And now they’re back again with the opus “Proti Kapitulaciji” released in their homeland on the independent label Moonlee Records. The work reveals a very own approach mixing elements of industrial- and rock music. I’d a chat with Aldo Ivančić. For this interview I would like to thank Side-Line and Peek-A-Boo for their interest to each publish this interview as a kind of ‘collaboration’ between both Belgian online platforms.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: How would you introduce Borghesia ano 2019 while reflecting items such as line-up, sound & influences, production and live performances?  

Aldo: The line-up is: Dario Seraval (vocals), Irena Tomažin (vocals), Jelena Rusjan (bass guitar and vocals), Ivo Poderžaj (vocals, bass guitar and guitar), Sašo Benko (guitar), Aldo Ivančić (drums), Lina Rica and Boštjan Čadež (video), Primož Vozelj (sound engineer) and Igor Remeta (lights). So, quite a big project with a lot of people. We like every kind of music and for this project we explored music from the beginning of 20^th century, artists like Luiggi Rusollo, Marinetti, Kurt Weill, Russian constructivists… very interesting stuff 😉 Our new performance is kind of multimedia with prepared computer graphics with live processing and live performance combined with back tapes from computer.

Q: “Proti Kapitulaciji” is your newest full length album. What kind of work did you want to accomplish and how do you look back at the writing and recording plus the multiple contributors (mainly singers) of the work?

Aldo: We worked for 3 years on this project. First we selected 12 poems by Srečko Kosovel and it was very hard to make a decision, because he has a lot of good poems. His poetry is timeless and a lot of people were surprised when they discovered that these lyrics where written 100 year ago. Can you imagine that he wrote 100 years ago: ‘The phone lines are all dead, Oh, but this one is cordless’.

Very visionary. So, the central point of the record are definitely the lyrics and we built the music around them. Most of the people think that W. Burroughs is inventor of cut – up technique, but we think, that Srečko Kosovel had invented it 50 years earlier. He called them ‘Kons’ (Constructions). Our approach was in a way cinematic in editing the lyrics like the film is made of different scenes. That is the reason why we used a lot of different vocals in one song. It is not very often that you can hear it in ‘pop’ songs. Maybe Frank Zappa, but this is another story;)

Q: You just mentioned Srečko Kosovel as main source of inspiration. While he’s a kind of Slovenian icon of poetry, I guess he remained unknown for a lot of readers and people. Tell us a bit more about him, his work and the influence he had on your work as musicians?

Aldo: Srečko Kosovel was a strange bird. He died at the age of 22 and as a radical anarchist he was not popular in his time nor is he today in petit bourgeoisie society. Even today he does not have a single monument in the capital of Slovenia and still after four months, our record was not presented on National Radio and Television. No review at all.

From the song “I Protest”:

Everyone of you, sitting in theatres,

bars and coffee houses

and other haunts of pleasure:

I protest!

In pain,

ruthless struggles,

I curse you,

I,

the fallen nation’s

fallen son.

From “Genealogy”:

Slave.

Slave the Servant.

Slave Servantich the Servant.

Slave Slavetich Servantich the Humble.

Slave II.

Slave Humblich III.

Servantich IV.

Janez the Humble, the Craven, the Grandiose.

(Janez is common name in Slovenia like John in GB)

He was also a strong critic of hypocrisy of politicians and economic elite

From “Destructions”:

Millions are dying,

but Europe is lying.

To destroy, To destroy, To destroy!

From “Kons”:

Civilization lacks a heart.

The heart lacks civilization.

An exhausted struggle.

Evacuation of souls.

The evening burns like fire.

The dead is Europe!

Mercy! Mercy!

Q: So we easily can consider “Proti Kapitulaciji” as an ‘engaged’ work; a reflection about the social-, cultural-, artistic- and political situation of the ‘great’ Europe! What did you try to express?

Aldo: After the fall of the Berlin Wall, we thought that better days were coming for Europe. But we witnessed a war in Yugoslavia in which 140 thousand people were killed, we saw the lies about WMD in Iraq (courtesy of Tony Blair and other bandits), then Libya,  Syria, now we have Brexit, the rise of right wing nationalists in almost every country, xenophobia, hate fake news, egoistic, competitive selfie narcissistic culture, stupid reality shows, uninterested pacific hipster youth promoting stupid values, corporative ‘truth’….

Q: You often have been considered as a ‘controversial’ band because of your imagery and themes, but in the end it was all about artistic freedom. I can imagine it hasn’t been always easy to handle and do you think things have changed today when it comes to artistic freedom and controversy?

Aldo: We think that today is even worse, since Thatcher/ Reagan neo-liberal politics occupied everything, media and political floor. We were always fans of critical artists like Woody Guthrie, sixties music, punk, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Test Department… Today it would be impossible for such artists to reach the wider audience. You just have to compare top charts from the past and today.

Q: The EBM community recently celebrated the international EBM day (-24/2 – February, 24th).. What does EBM mean to you today and what did you keep in mind from the early years of EBM when you were considered as ‘pioneers’?

Aldo: Like every style of music, EBM also had a limited period of duration. First comes the innovative, creative period, then the commercial one, and then the decline, just repetition of itself. We are very proud that we were part of this innovative period, but after so many years we are not the same persons anymore and the world has changed. EBM in some way become EDM and 95% of music today is made on computer. We were one of the first musicians that had an Atari on the stage.;) Today a smart phone is 1.000.000 times more powerful than Atari and now you can make music on a smart phone on the beach and this is very nice. In a very near future there will be Artificial Intelligence composing music to suit your personal taste, Artificial Intelligence will write books to suit your tastes… Most people will be just good consumers controlled by multinational corporations 😉

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

“This Charmless Man: How Morrissey’s Big Mouth Struck Again … And Again”, that’s the title of an Independent opinion piece by Nick Hasted, which wasn’t really well received by Morrissey to say the least. Not surprisingly as the article is describing the singer’s views as “ugly”.

A cheap attack indeed, but one which Morrissey didn’t appreciate as he went online to vent his disagreement in a blog post titled “Why The Independent hates independence”. In the blogpost Morrissey calls the article “an extreme Hate Piece” that is “so loaded with vile bile that it almost choked on its own endless capacity to be appalled”.

Morrissey is assuming that he has attracted The Independent‘s scorn for “saying some things that many people are actually thinking”. Morrissey also suggests a new slogan for the paper: ‘All The Shit That’s Fit To Print’ instead of ‘All the slogans fit to print’.

Loving Brexit?

Responding to suggestions of him “loving Brexit”, Morrissey says: “I believe I have mentioned Brexit twice in my entire life, and neither comment expressed love. I had explained how Brexit had been a strike for democracy because of the disgust that the political elite had shown towards the people who did not vote the way that they were warned to by media bullies.”

And he adds: “I believe England can look after itself. It does not need the EU to police its laws, its thought, its borders or its liberty. It does not take a genius to arrive at this viewpoint.”

Everybody is a racist

And there’s more. Morrissey also writes that some of the media always come up with the racist tag when they have no more answers to give: “When the print media are lost for a reply, they simply change the subject by naming their opponent as ‘racist’, which is the perfect ploy because most people are naturally appalled to be called racist, and they step back in silence, and the debate collapses unresolved. Use of the word often only ever comes from people who themselves are intolerant. (…) British mainstream media is now so politically correct that basic truth is actually impossible, and although it is obsessed with promoting social diversity they will not accept diverse opinion.”

Morrissey covers The Pretenders

In more music related news, Morrissey has covered The Pretenders‘ “Back On The Chain”. The cover version will be released this summer.

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

“Criminal” is the fourth studio album of The Soft Moon, containing 10 tracks, which is released on 2nd of February 2018 and can be ordered here.

Luis Vasquez (originally from Oakland but nowadays based in Berlin) is the multi-instrumentalist and singer behind this post-punk/darkwave project. The new album describes Luis going to war with himself through confession and finds him battling with shame, guilt, his own sanity, self-hatred, insecurity and self-entitlement. He reveals his feelings from his violent childhood which makes “Criminal” a self-reflective album, released to find relief for his own wrongdoings and for those done by others that have affected him.

Tracklist:
01. Burn
02. Choke
03. Give Something
04. Like a Father
05. The Pain
06. It Kills
07. ILL
08. Young
09. Born Into This
10. Criminal

Tourdates:
02 Feb 2018 One of a Million Festival – Baden, Switzerland
03 Feb 2018 C.S. Rivolta (record release party) – Marghera, Italy
06 Feb 2018 Pumpehuset – Copenhagen, Denmark
07 Feb 2018 Pustervik – Gothenburg, Sweden
08 Feb 2018 Slaktkyrkan – Stockholm, Sweden
09 Feb 2018 Bla – Oslo, Norway
10 Feb 2018 Grauzone festival – The Hague, Netherlands
11 Feb 2018 Urban Spree – Berlin, Germany *SOLD OUT*
12 Feb 2018 Urban Spree – Berlin, Germany *SOLD OUT*
13 Feb 2018 Urban Spree – Berlin, Germany *SOLD OUT*
14 Feb 2018 Le Trabendo – Paris, France
15 Feb 2018 Paradiso Noord, Tolhuistuin – Amsterdam, Netherlands
16 Feb 2018 The Dome & Boston Music Room – London, UK *SOLD OUT*
17 Feb 2018 Botanique – Orangerie – Brussels, Belgium *SOLD OUT*
18 Feb 2018 De Gudde Wellen – Luxembourg, Luxembourg *SOLD OUT*
20 Feb 2018 Amalgame Club – Yverdon-Les-Bains, Switzerland
21 Feb 2018 Magnolia – Milan, Italy
22 Feb 2018 Monk – Rome, Italy
23 Feb 2018 Lanificio 25 – Naples, Italy
24 Feb 2018 Covo Club – Bologna, Italy
07 Mar 2018 Feierwerk / Kranhalle – Munich, Germany
08 Mar 2018 UT Connewitz – Leipzig, Germany
09 Mar 2018 Hafenklang – Hamburg, Germany
10 Mar 2018 Gebaude 9 – Cologne, Germany
11 Mar 2018 Kleiner Klub – Saarbrucken, Germany
13 Mar 2018 Doornroosje – Nijmegen, Netherlands
14 Mar 2018 La Condition Publique – Roubaix, France
15 Mar 2018 Stereolux – Nantes, France
16 Mar 2018 L’Epicerie Moderne – Feyzin, France

27 Mar 2018 Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA, US
28 Mar 2018 Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY, US
29 Mar 2018 Théâtre Fairmount – Montreal, QC, Canada
30 Mar 2018 Longboat Hall at The Great Hall – Toronto, ON, Canada
31 Mar 2018 The Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL, US
02 Apr 2018 Turf Club – St. Paul, MN, US
04 Apr 2018 Larimer Lounge – Denver, CO, US
06 Apr 2018 Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR, US
07 Apr 2018 The Crocodile – Seattle, WA, US
08 Apr 2018 Biltmore Cabaret – Vancouver, BC, Canada
11 Apr 2018 The Independent – San Francisco, CA, US
13 Apr 2018 Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA, US
14 Apr 2018 The Casbah – San Diego, CA, US
16 Apr 2018 The Bunkhouse Saloon – Las Vegas, NV, US
17 Apr 2018 Valley Bar – Phoenix, AZ, US
19 Apr 2018 Three Links – Dallas, TX, US
20 Apr 2018 Barracuda – Austin, TX, US
21 Apr 2018 Paper Tiger – San Antonio, TX, US
22 Apr 2018 Gasa Gasa – New Orleans, LA, US
24 Apr 2018 The Wooly – Gainesville, FL, US
25 Apr 2018 Gramps – Miami, FL, US
26 Apr 2018 Crowbar – Ybor City, FL, US
27 Apr 2018 Aisle 5 – Atlanta, GA, US
28 Apr 2018 The Mothlight – Asheville, NC, US
29 Apr 2018 DC9 Nightclub – Washington, DC, US

Genre/Influences: EBM, dark-pop, wave-pop.

Background/Info: Werkstatt Recordings is a small and independent Greek label active since 2009. Kriistal Ann definitely is the most famous artist of the label, but I also have to mention one of her side-projects Paradox Obscur while the label owner’s own band Beatbox Machinery is another familiar name. This compilation is a perfect opportunity to get a bit more familiar with the independent label. Seven bands have been selected each featuring  two songs.

Bands: Kriistal Ann, Resistance Of Independent Music, Paradox Obscur, Metal Disco, Geometry Combat, Obsidian Radioactive, Dawnrazor.

Content: The featured bands move from EBM elements into dark and minimal pop, to electro-wave and pop. There clearly is a fascination for vintage electronic music, but the common element between all of the bands is their pure underground addiction. We don’t get famous bands with ultra professional productions, but a fascinating underground sound that will appeal to lovers of retro electro sounds.

+ + + : Kriistal Ann and Paradox Obscur both are for sure the most mature and ‘advanced’ formations, which will remind you of late 80s music. Kriistal Ann has a unique timbre of voice, which sometimes reminds me of Kirlian Camera. Another interesting band is Metal Disco, which sounds more inspired by EBM, but adapting the body style into an own approach. Another name to keep in mind is Geometry Combat, which is also inspired by EBM ideas.

– – – : I mostly mainly regret there’s no info available about the bands on this CD version. That’s a pity especially because it consist of lesser known bands. Production-wise the mastering could have been better, but let’s keep in mind it all remains an independent and pure underground work.

Conclusion: If you’re in search of less familiar bands dealing with vintage electronics this sampler can be worthy of examination.

Best bands: Metal Disco, Kriistal Ann, Paradox Obscur.

Rate: (6).

Label: www.facebook.com/werkstattrecordings

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

In RobCast, a weekly podcast by Rob Bella, Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore has announced that Depeche Mode will ‘probably’ start recording a new album in April. According to the podcast, which you can listen below, Depeche Mode are planning to have a meeting within the next few weeks to schedule the future plans. The new album , their 14th studio album, would again be holding songs penned by both Martin Gore and frontman Dave Gahan.

Listen to the podcast below (past minute 57):

For the band it will be their first new album since the March 2013 released “Delta Machine” which only had one moderately successful single, “Heaven” (none of the 3 singles from the album reached the UK Top 40 for instance). The album itself was quite poorly received by the press, with both NME and Pitchfork Media giving it an all-time low 5/10 (also Side-Line was not impressed and gave it a 4/10); The Independent rated it 2/5 just like The Observer did.

In short, the band will have to prove that they are able to deliver a good album after a few not so brilliant releases. It’s unclear whether the new album will again be released via by Columbia Records and Mute Records. And it’s also unclear who will be in the production seat (Ben Hillier? Flood? …).

To be continued. In the meantime read what fellow fans expect from the new Depeche Mode album.

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