Genre/Influences:

Format: Digital, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Hugues Villette and Phil Von are companions knowing each other from their involvement with Von Magnet. But they’re now getting back to Meta Meat unleashing four new tracks.

Content: The work reveals 4 short, but heavy cuts driven by a sonic fusion between Industrial and Tribal. I also noticed a few Ritual chants, samplings and manipulated vocal effects.

+ + + : I was always into Tribal/Industrial music and there are not enough artists dealing with this kind of music. Meta Meat perfectly knows how to create a hard-terrorizing sound mixing different influences together. I especially recommend listening to “Acute” for its harder rhythm but also for featuring efficient Ritual chants on top.

– – – : By the exception of the last song the tracks are definitely too short.

Conclusion: Meta Meat will catch the attention of Industrial-Tribal fans and they are going to like it!

Best songs: “Acute”, “Worth”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/somevon

Label: www.ant-zen.com / www.facebook.com/antzen.official

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Cinematic, Industrial, Minimal-Electro.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Last year French 2Kilos &More celebrated their nineteenth anniversary with the release of this ‘new’ work. The production is available in different formats featuring unreleased material, collaborations and remixes plus tracks originally released at compilations. “19.2” doesn’t feature remixes nor collaboration, only rare or unreleased tracks.

Content: The tracks seem to have been originally written over a wider lapse of time which is maybe noticeable in the diversity of the tracklist. This project -also involved with Von Magnet, remains a very unique for their mix of Industrial sound treatments with total Electro-Minimalism while there also is a strong Cinematic sphere hanging over the songs.

+ + + : I’ve always supported this band for its creative approach. 2Kilos &More never copies any other formation but brings different influences together to create a kind of recycled Industrial/Electro work. The sound intelligence is obviously running throughout the entire work. I like the diversity of “19.2” which is moving from slow, driven rhythms with Cinematic structures on top to pure minimal compositions. All tracks are connected by great sound treatments.

– – – : 2Kilos &More sounds out of the box; it’s for sure one of their main strengths but maybe also the main reason why it’s not the most accessible -and recognizable, sound.

Conclusion: Forgotten and unknown sonic treasures as a great celebration of this French project.

Best songs: “Måløy”, “Tp.da-lp-fg-in-tb-l1”, “One In The Other (EA Edit)”, “Under Any Assumed Name”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.2kilosandmore.com / www.facebook.com/2kilosMore

Label: www.ant-zen.com / www.facebook.com/antzen.official

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 Avignon, France based label Unknown Pleasures Records announces that Phil Von will release his all new album “Von Magnet” on September 1st via its imprint. A rather bold choice since Phil Von is part of the Von Magnet collective.

This is his 7th solo album. His first was “L’Autre Nuit” (2001) with Gnawa music and the musicians of Fès (Prikosnovénie records), followed by the “Deadline Now” (2006) soundtrack of performance for the Portuguese company Persona (Thisco records) and in 2015 the more intimate “Blind Ballet” on Ant-Zen Records. A selection of his best soundtracks written for the street theatre company Underclouds, entitled “Made Underclouds”, was released in February 2019 on Zona Music (LT) and Ant-Zen. In 2019 Phil Von self-released the album “Imagerie”. The album holds a selection of experimental & abstract soundscapes written for art projects and visual environments. His concert collaboration “Eiti Ramyben” with classical piano musician Rokas Zubovas revisiting electronically some piano works of famous Lithuanian composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis was released on vinyl in 2021 on Zona Music.

With his latest solo album “Von Magnet”, a way of closing this artistic life chapter as well as giving another token of his love for intertwined flamenco and electronic music, he again combines electronics with Arabo-Andalusian music. On the album we find contributions from such musicians as Hugues Villette, Tit’o, Flore Magnet, Def, Hugues Vincent, Dani Barba, Yana Maizel and Algirdas Klova. The mastering was executed by Norscq while Svetlana Batura covered the photo work. The design was in the hands of Karim Gabou.

You can already check a few tracks below.

About Phil Von

Parallel to his work with Von Magnet Phil Von is composing as well as performing for different dance-theatre and street-theatre companies. He worked together with Norscq on the “Atlas Project”, wrote the piece “Compass” for Art Zoyd and the Musiques Nouvelles Ensemble of Jean Paul Dessy which was performed in Brussels. With Mimetic he created “Groundspace” for the GRM (Group of Musical Research) and the Radio France festival.

He was also a musician and performer with the Russian/German company Do Theatre (Anatomy of Fantasy), French performance company Materia Prima (Body Without Wings, Insomnia, Eternal, Batailles, Choir, Cabaret Rouge), Street Theatre companies Entre Terre et Ciel (Neige de Feu, Physalis, Alma, Envol) and Underclouds (Funambus, Petites Histoires sans Gravité, VerSant) & U-Structure Nouvelle (Strip-Tease Forain, Melankholia).

In 2016. together with Somekilos from 2 kilos & More, he created the tribal electro project Meta Meat and released the album “Metameat” on Ant-Zen and Audiotrauma.

In 2017/18 he wrote and performed the music of the theatre play Medea written with rage in London for François Testory (DV8 Physical theatre, Gecko, etc.) which they toured in Great Britain. He worked with butoh choreographer Sakurako in Paris for her company Re-United Now-Here (Banzaï 2.0, Corsonor, Not a Love Story) and in Lithuania he was composing for Sakurako and her new Baltic butoh dance-theatre company Okarukas (Now-Here, Voyager, Dolls, Spells, Here-After, Birds).

In 2019, he created in Lithuania his first solo dance-music performance “Human, Lost and Found” which was performed in MO Museum Vilnius, Post Gallery Kaunas and Menu Spaustuvè Vilnius. In 2020, he produced the solo album of Lithuanian folk musician Algirdas Klova.

About Von Magnet

Von Magnet is a theatre music band originated from the post-industrial musical current from the 1980s. Founded in 1985 in London, the group gathered around Flore Magnet (stage direction, actions, vocals) and Phil Von (composition, feet percussion, vocals) initiating a style of their own which they named “Electroflamenco”. Becoming rapidly well known in the underground because of their new approach to electronic music, firstly by incorporating the bases of flamenco (rhythms, dances and melodies) then later adding influences of Middle Eastern music.

Their compositions, either instrumental or vocal melodramas, poetic, lyrical, cabaret crooning are sung or spoken in different languages; English, Spanish, French, and also in Arabic, German, Turkish or Russian. Since 1985, even before the “Computer music” era, they experimented within the likes of the post-industrial musical movement (Greater Than One, Cabaret Voltaire, SPK, Coil…) using intensive sound collage and sampling techniques. This work would give birth to their motto: “Sample us as we have already sampled you”.

After a collaboration with Robert Rental with whom they prepared their first demo tapes, Von Magnet, helped by Hugh Griffiths at the Remaximum studios, composed their first auto-produced E.P : “I”.

The band’s last release was the 2012 album “Archipielagos”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Tribal, Trance, Industrial.

Format: Digital, Vinyl.

Background/Info: This is the second album by the french duo Hugues Villette (2Kilos & More) and Phil Von (Von Magnet). The album has been released by Ant-Zen together with Le Label Beige. “Infra Supra” comes five years after the self-titled opus.  

Content: Both musicians are used to mixing electronic gear and real percussion. It creates this heavy and explicit Tribal sound, which sounds as the guiding line through the work. The percussion is progressively built up in a way it now and then creates a transcendental feeling. Some songs have been accomplished with a kind of Neo-Classic touch adding a Cinematographic feeling to the work. 

+ + + : Meta Meat is a fusion between 2 French artists I like for the global approach in sound and making music; a different and original approach, which comes through I this new collaborative opus. The songs are elaborated and especially the dynamic, Tribal rhythms are simply great. The opening song is a kind of intro, which clearly reveals the direction of the album, which on “Resurgent” is directly reaching a first climax. “Dichotomy” and “Trampled” both are other attention grabbers. The songs are meticulously built up with powerful and frenetic rhythms. But the album is more than simply great percussion and also features alluring Electronic atmospheres covering the songs with darkness and mystery. 

– – – : I don’t have real minus points, but I think this duo even has the potential to do better. 

Conclusion: “Infra Supra” is a noticeable album in a genre wherein less bands are active so I can only encourage Meta Meat to pursue their collaboration. We need more music like this. 

Best songs: “Resurgent”, “Dichotomy”, “Trampled”, “Animal”. 

Rate: 8.

Artists: www.facebook.com/phil.von.3 / www.facebook.com/2kilosMore 

Labels: www.ant-zen.com / www.facebook.com/antzen.official / www.facebook.com/lelabel.beige 

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial, Industrial-Ambient, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl, Cassette.

Background/Info: Pedro Peñas y Robles became a renowned artist throughout the years. We of course know him from multiple music projects, but also as label owner, DJ, performer and author. HIV+ is a music project he set up more than twenty years ago now. During the past few years he mainly released works in collaboration with other artists. This new opus is a conceptual album meant as a tribute to the famous French poet, novelist and actor Antonin Artaud –who belonged to the famous French surrealist movement.

Content: The album features multiple guests and contributions from artists like Marc Hurtado (Etant Donnés), Barkosina Hanusova (Years Of Denial), Phil Von (Von Magnet), Marc Caro, Alice Botté and Emmanuel Hubaut. I’ve always connected HIV+ with Industrial music and this influence is clearly coming through although transposed into a more Minimal and Ambient approach. I get the sensation listening to an Industrial soundtrack featuring dark and even horror-like passages. Most of the vocals are spoken-like and reveal  a true ghost-like effect.

+ + + : First we have to salute the great concept behind this work; an ode to genius Antonin Artaud by HIV+ and a fine list of contributors. Next there’s the sound approach revealing a somewhat Experimental, but fascinating exploration of Industrial sound treatments transposed into an imaginary soundtrack devoted to the work of Artaud. I like the minimalism of the Electro-Industrial sounds mixed with French samplings and mainly ghost-like vocals. “Extase” featuring Phil Von is pure drama, which is a quite recognizable approach in the theatrical universe of Von Magnet. Two tracks are featuring Marc Hurtado and especially the opening piece (cf. “Amour”) is a brilliant and tenebrous-sounding song. Two other cuts are featuring Marc Caro and I especially recommend listening to “Injection”, which sounds a bit heavier. “Limbes” is the other track with Marc Caro, which is another attention grabber for its global progression.

– – – : Some passages are a little bit too Experimental to my taste, this way missing an apotheosis.

Conclusion: A great concept adapted in a fascinating Industrial Soundtrack approach.

Best songs: “Extase”, “Amour”, “Injection”, “Limbes”, “Amour Sans Trêves”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/havoc2027

Label: www.unknown-pleasures-records.com /  www.facebook.com/Unknown-Pleasures-Records-566180440115465

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: IDM, cinematographic.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: French project t 2Kilos &More is already active since the early millennium years. While they’re still active with the famous Von Magnet collective, they now get back to 2Kilos & More unleashing their first new opus since “Lieux-Dits” (2015). Notice by the way the album has been released by the recently defunct Audiotrauma in the vinyl format while the CD version has been released by Le Label Beige. I got the digital version released by Ant-Zen.

Content: “Exempt” is maybe the most unusual release by 2Kilos &More. I notice a kind of fascination for minimal electronic treatments, but there also is a psychedelic flavor created by guitar playing. The tracks are somewhat versatile, moving from IDM and even experimental passages towards pure psychedelic- and cinematic impressions.

+ + + : “Exempt” is an album with its very own style and approach and that’s definitely what I like in music! This project strives for creativity. I like the electronic treatments revealed at “Circular” and “Trilogie I”, but I’m also fascinated by the cinematic experience at “Decibels” (feat. Black Sifichi). This song makes me think of a ‘film noir’ experience. The song is accomplished with great effects, guitar and a slow tempo. The low cadence is another essential aspect of the work.

– – – : The psychedelic element of the album is not what I like the most, but it for sure injects something special.

Conclusion: 2Kilos &More remain a sonic chemistry mixing different elements to get a very personal result! It however is not their best work to date.

Best songs: “Decibels”, “Circular”, “Trilogie I”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.2kilosandmore.com / www.facebook.com/2kilosMore

Label: www.ant–zen.com / www.facebook.com/antzen.official

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient, IDM, industrial, cinematographic.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: If you’re familiar with Von Magnet, the name DEF will definitely ring a bell.  This French artist is more than only a musician, but also a composer, sound director and live sound engineer. He worked with an impressive number of famous artists and projects and now strikes back with a new album of eleven tracks.

Content: The sound universe of DEF sounds like a true exorcism of ideas. It’s nearly impossible to label this album as one explicit music genre. It feels a bit like it has been composed as a soundtrack or the music for a performance. The songs are moving from industrial hip-hop to industrial/tribal music while other cuts are definitely into dark-ambient and cinematic experiences. The rhythm is quite important, but alternating hard tribal rhythms and slower passages carrying cinematic songs.

+ + + : The main thing with this album is that you for sure will find a few cool tracks. But DEF is not there to please the masses; it first of all remains a deeply minimal and artistic creation. I prefer the harder, rhythm cuts mixing industrial- and tribal exponents. “Vanished, Re Appear Demagnetised, MK III.” Is one of these tracks, which even reminds me a bit of This Morn’Omina. But I also have to mention “Float Like A Bee, Sting Like A Butterfly, Electro Angel Bite.” revealing a kind of ritual approach. In the dark-ambient & cinematic style I highly recommend “Sweet Marie” and “Emptied Spaces”. The sound intelligence of DEF finally emerges on one of the last cuts (cf. “Skin Flowered”), which also confirms this artist feels comfortable experimenting with different –although related genres.

– – – : The diversity of the work creates the illusion listening to a compilation.

Conclusion: This work is truly a sonic exorcism of music influences related to the wider fields of industrial- and ambient music.

Best songs: “Vanished, Re Appear Demagnetised, MK III.”, “Float Like A Bee, Sting Like A Butterfly, Electro Angel Bite.”, “Sweet Marie”, “Emptied Spaces”.

Rate: (7½). 

Artist:

Label: www.ant–zen.com / www.facebook.com/antzen.official

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

Jérôme Soudan is one of those artists I personally consider as a ‘visionary’ artist. His Mimetic project is the best exposure to realize the constant avant-garde approach he tries to inject in his work. He belongs to the ‘pioneers’ who incorporated techno music in the industrial scene, but he later on moved on with elements of IDM. Mimetic is a kind of reference, but still a project that has the power to entertain different scenes: techno and industrial! He this year released the compilation-album “RVSTD1:1998-2019” on Les Arts Minis, which is an opportunity to seize the evolution of the artist and his strong connection with techno music. Jérôme Soudan is a fascinating man, but still an essential artist from the electronic-underground scene.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You this year released the compilation-album “RVSTD1:1998-2019”, which covers more than 20 years of Mimetic, but especially the ‘techno-driven’ tracks. How do you look back at more than 20 years of Mimetic and tell us a bit more about the main purpose of this album?

Jérôme: At the beginning I wanted to create a solo-project as I was involved in a lot of diverse collectives such as Von Magnet for instance, but after a few years I knew I wanted to keep that project alive no matter what direction I’ll take. During these 20 years I guess I was an alien on many different scenes. Right now I’m more into the techno scene as a DJ, but even here I’m not a typical one since I’m not that young DJ still at school, but more like a veteran who’s using his background in every set. I got a classical music education, but quite rapidly during my studies I got more interested into the experimental-, electro-acoustic- and at the same time rock- scene…

Mimetic is actually born in Berlin, but not from the techno scene. I was more into industrial-experimental. I was one of the members from the Berliner act Column One. But from the first Mimetic-album on I already incorporated some techno sounds or rhythms. Other productions were more into electronica or IDM, but still featuring techno-industrial elements. What I see nowadays is a lot of good techno-industrial acts such as Perc for instance or even Paula Temple who are directly influenced by those indus-techno sound we used to do in the beginning of the 2000’s…

The main purpose of this album was to show to the young generation what Mimetic was doing in the past, a  kind of hybrid techno that they don’t know since some of the releases were not available in digital format. And it was also important to me to release it with a common thread so everybody can feel the links between the years.

Q: Speaking about all these influences, I however noticed an evolution in sound/influences throughout the ‘Mimetic-years’. Right in the beginning your music was more into industrial/experimental and ambient music, but quite progressively techno- & IDM elements joined in. How do you analyze this evolution and the impact of techno music globally speaking?

Jérôme: Actually the German post-industrial movement leading by labels such as Ant-Zen, Hymen or Hands has a strong influence in the techno scene, but it’s a bit involuntarily unfortunately. Most of the strong techno artists of today never heard of “Maschinenfest” while actually when I play in a techno event I can play exactly the same sound than if I was in the merche area of “Maschinenfest”…. There are some people from that industrial scene who say to me that they have the feeling I get lost from their scene. I don’t think so, I actually think every movement has got their artists who tend to repeat their formulas while actually the style is moving quicker than artists who are representing that style…. Techno is like other styles, stealing from others. And besides, techno is not all the time a hype style… Every decade it’s coming back, with a young generation seeking to know more, but I remember times where only house-music was the hype, and techno was considered as a non-respectable genre.

I consider techno as really dynamic and a strong music style; a kind of political atmosphere close to punk-music. I know that Iggy Pop hates techno music. But I think he was never in a rave party so far, because he could have seen the same energy. For me DAF was more important than others in that way, they played basically on the punk scene for years while actually their sound is still really present in nowadays techno, in that sense, industrial-punk was maybe more involved in the future than they pretend to be! I’m not surprised to see DAF playing in a lot of techno festivals since 10 years now.

Q: You were one of the ‘pioneers’ to mix industrial- and techno music while today most of the industrial artists are adding techno music to their compositions. This evolution is quite interesting while at the other hand the ‘real’ industrial sound and spirit have been a bit lost. What makes the link between industrial- and techno music and what do you expect for the coming years?

Jérôme: Right at the beginning industrial-music was a music for and coming from the cities (‘industrial music for industrial people’). This movement was born with artists such as Throbbing Grristle in the UK and Einstürzende Neubauten in Germany, and it was during the same years of punk-music, because the attitude was punk, not the music of course. But those artists were using electronic sounds in a very creative way while in parallel in Detroit (USA) a few artists started to use electronic music, but more in a rhythmical way. If you take the song “Yü Gung Fütter Mein Ego” there is the techno energy in it, it is repetitive and strong as hell.

For me there is the link between industrial to techno; it’s definitely the city, the sounds of the city, the power and the violence of the city. The ‘real’ industrial sound and spirit, like you say, is still here, but actually more into a scene of ‘niche’. This is something you can maybe relate to contemporary art, there is a language you have to understand in order to feel that music and it’s actually not easy for everybody. Since life is becoming more and more an everyday fight, people feel more attract by a music which is talking directly to their body, with a strong bass and a strong repetitive rhythm. Instead of what people are usually thinking, techno is a cathartic music for every-day hard-worker, and not simple party music. It’s definitely not a surprise to me to see that techno music is going stronger and stronger in South-America or Asia as well. It’s very important for me to keep an urgency in the music, something that stays strong, powerful and alive. You can listen to Stravinsky’s “Le Sacre Du Printemps” or The Young Gods’  “Skinflower” or “Surgeon” and feel the same power!

Q: Over now to the writing of your songs. Can you give us a bit more details about the different stages you’ve to go through to compose a song/album and do you’ve special criteria/references when speaking about the global production process?

Jérôme: First there’s a long process of  prospection; listening to sounds, travelling, walking in a city, recording maybe etc… Next comes a long process again; working on a few sounds for days, experimenting, transforming the sounds etc.. Then, I’ve to build a track, a kind of montage like a film, with a ‘scenario’. Then I move on adding effects and giving a ‘heart’ to the whole track and doing a kind of pre-mixing. Then comes the mixing, which can be quite long. A track is never finished! And then I let it to the mastering experts. For me the global production has to include a good balance between frequencies, this is the only way. I love when you hear every details, for instance if you listen to a Max Cooper track, which is amazing…

Q: You also did an impressive number of remixes for other artists and among them Björk. What do you try to achieve when working on a remix and are there some remixes (maybe like the one for Björk) you kept in mind?

Jérôme: Well a remix is usually a very interesting operation, because you have to dive into somebody else’s universe and make it your own track without altering the original sense of the track. But sometimes it’s delicate to do, because you cannot adapt yourself to every style, so now I’m really choosing the artists with who I work on that remixing aspect. I usually keep only half of the sounds the artist gives me and re-write a few lines and create new sounds, and I basically change the structure too. At the beginning I listen and listen to the original track, trying to find in which direction I would have been if I was the composer and when I find my own focus then I can go on and re-create a new structure.

Q: I think to remember you lived a few years in Berlin, which is often considered as the ‘place to be’ when it comes to techno music. What has been the impact of your ‘Berliner years’ on your creation and your evolution as musician/producer and are there other places/people which/who had an important impact?

Jérôme: Yes Berlin was important, especially because it was right after the end of the Wall. I left berlin in 2000, and before that it was such a field of experimentation, it was a great time there, not only for techno-music, but also for experimental-music, architecture etc. There were so many unofficial clubs and parties, bars, events in some destroyed buildings… I was usually going out in Tresor Club and in E-Werk which was a few meters beside. But I was playing in the same time in Komische Oper and some experimental places such Podewill, NBI or Grüne Salon (VolksBühne).

Another aspect that was really important to me, is that I met a lot of people from East-Germany. They usually didn’t speak English very well, but they had another way to create and it was really interesting. Nowadays those artists usually left Berlin as it became after a while too hype and too expensive for them. A lot of those artists are now living in Poland or Praha or even Baltic Countries… Today I think Berlin is still interesting for techno-music, especially because there’re hundreds of clubs and it’s a good thing for music, but if you look for some good emergent artists and scenes, I think Europe has to check a bit more outside. Africa is bringing now some good electronic music, Asia and South-America are becoming strong. There are still wonderful events in Europe, especially in the Eastern countries, but the business is coming quick and even the underground events in countries such as Croatia are little by little leaded by West-European business men. Speaking about West-Europe, an important impact I don’t have to forget is the venue itself, and especially the ephemeral squats which are given an important place to experimentation. In the 90’s there were still a lot of squats in Europe and I knew a lot especially in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. Those places are more and more rare of course and it’s a pity as they were a teaming with great emergent artists….

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial, industrial-techno, IDM.

Background/Info: Operating from Geneva (Switzerland) Jérome Soudan will always be remembered as one of the members (drummer) active in Von Magnet. Later on he became involved with different projects while gaining recognition as the instigator of Mimetic. This album is a fine selection of 21 songs he wrote over the past 21 years.

Content: 21 songs for a  21 career! Mimetic rapidly became a kind of visionary artist who was mixing industrial-, tribal- and experimental music with his growing interest in techno music. This overview is an opportunity to get back to some of his finest compositions. The sound intelligence mixed with danceable rhythms brings Mimetic to restricted area of renowned IDM artists. From pure industrial sound treatments to alluring, but minimal EBM to experimental passages to pure techno this work is a fine selection of Mimetic’s work. Notice one of the songs (cf. “Dust Reality”) is a song by Spies that has been remixed by Mimetic.

+ + + : I’ve always considered Jérome Soudan as visionary artist who dare to break the codes. He has been one of the firsts to experiment with techno music merged with darker styles such as industrial- and tribal music. This work is an interesting summary of the man’s genius. From the pure minimal- and 80s like “The Ethnical Years (Live)” to IDM driven “The Half Way” to the dark and definitely underground sounding “Blast Off” to the ultra-technoid “Deepfakes” (2019) this work also reveals Mimetic’s great eclecticism. I like this work for its minimalism, the sound treatments featuring alluring bass lines and the danceable vibes.

– – – : I think it’s rather normal when listening to a song featuring 21 songs some pieces are less convincing. “Sparking Love” (2019) is the only song I would not have selected for this work.

Conclusion: If you’re not familiar with Mimetic this album is a great way to discover a unique artist! I think it could be time to release a new full length…

Best songs: “The Ethnical Years (Live)”, “The Half Way”, “Blast Off”, “Deepfakes”, “Maidenhead”, “Gone”, “Autre Vision”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/mimeticofficial

Label: www.facebook.com/lesartsminis

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-techno, IDM.

Background/Info: Once he was involved with Von Magnet, but Jérôme Soudan mainly gained his recognition as Mimetic. For more than 20 years he’s unleashing his work under this moniker. “Deepfakes” is his latest exposure released earlier this year and featuring three songs.

Content: The title song takes off with a dark-techno sound. The track features multiple effects and a dark canvas of noises. We next get another new song entitled “When We Were YπY” featuring Ah-Cama Sotz. This is another technoid-driven cut characterized by a hard kick, a dry snare and a flat bass line. The last song “Gone” gets us back to the EP “Maidenhead” and has been remixed by ManuHeme (who’s a name which doesn’t ring a bell).

+ + + : Jérôme Soudan remains a real reference when it comes to sophisticated electronic music. Throughout the years his creation became more techno-inspired, and also touched by true sound intelligence. The title song is a cool illustration of the artist’s evolution in sound. I especially like the dark technoid approach. The song featuring Ah-Cama Sotz is another cool exposure and it’s an interesting collaboration between two industrial veterans who moved on techno territories.

– – – : Speaking for myself Mimetic is maybe and progressively becoming a little bit too techno-driven.

Conclusion: This EP is not the best work I’ve heard from this inspiring artist, but it remains a fascinating experience.

Best songs: “Deepfakes”, “When We Were YπY featuring Ah-Cama Sotz”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/mimeticofficial

Label: www.facebook.com/lesartsminis

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro, experimental, krautrock.

Background/Info: Feverdreamt is one of the numerous projects set up by Alexander Leonard Donat. He’s mainly recognized for his work under the Vlimmer moniker, but he’s also running the label Blackjack Illuminist. “Melantant” is the second album from Feverdreamt and has been inspired by a pure dystopian concept.

Content: The album is totally unique. It’s not really possible to define the style of music, but it clearly brings different influences together with on top a rather theatrical way of singing. It sometimes makes me think of the male version of Nina Hagen singing.  Music-wise the tracks are driven by slow cadences or broken rhythms, the work have something minimal featuring cold electronic treatments.  But I also noticed a kind of cabaret-approach and even a few songs in the final part reminding me of Von Magnet.

+ + + : The least I can say is that this is for sure the most original project and record I’ve been invited to hear by Alexander Leonard Donat. The global sound approach is worthy of examination and pretty original as well. I prefer some of the tracks in the last part of the work and especially refer to “Badj Zachfan”, “Fon Teyn La” and “A Yun”. The particular way of singing really matches with the creative sound approach.

– – – : I noticed a few cuts, which are a bit too experimental-minded for my taste (like “Saeuk”).

Conclusion: Feverdreamt resulted from a real creative process and makes me think of music, which would be perfectly fitting to some special live performances.

Best songs: to “Badj Zachfan”, “Fon Teyn La”, “A Yun”, “Parsque”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/feverdreamt

Label: www.facebook.com/Blackjack.Illuminist

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