Wool-E Discs &#8211; SIDE-LINE

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.

Zool. – The Time Remaining (Album – Belgian NeuMusik / Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sun, 20 Feb 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Ambient, Cinematic.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/info: behind Zool. is hiding a legendary Belgian musician. Gerry Vergult aka ‘Fred Angst’ received some fame with the Belgian Post-Punk formation Aroma Di Amore, but is also active for numerous years now under the Zool. moniker. His new work released by the end of 2021 is ‘chapter 40’ in the Belgian Neumusik series.

Content: The fifth full length by Zool. is a personal interpretation of ambient music. The work reminds us that there’s not just one Ambient style, but every single artist simply gives his own interpretation of Ambient. Gerry Vergult plays the guitar creating a dreamy, but also dark and mysterious universe. The songs have been achieved with electronic treatments and piano while you now and then will notice downtempo rhythms.

+ + + : The guitar playing is an essential element in the composition of this album. It injects a true spirit to the composition, switching from dark reverie into psychedelia. It feels like an invitation to close your eyes and embark for an imaginary trip created by Zool. The atmosphere sometimes becomes a bit hostile and yet it remains relaxing. “Melocoton” is a brilliant exposure to this work. I also must mention “Black Trap”, which is slowly evolving into another cold trip. The last cut “Wasteland” sounds as a mysterious final to this great production.

– – – : I definitely prefer the darker side of the work, which is also walking on a few sweet and dreamy paths.

Conclusion: The main strength of this Belgian Neumusik series is to make us familiar with the rather unknown, but talented Belgian Ambient composers. Zool. definitely is one of the artists you’ve to discover.

Best songs: “Melocoton”, “Black Trap”, “Hampstead”, “The Time Remaining”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.zool.be / www.facebook.com/zool.be

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

Oubys – End Space (Album – Belgian Neumusik / Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Genre/influences: Electro-Ambient.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/info: Belgian artist Wannes Kolf is already active under the Oubys moniker for more than ten years. He released an impressive number of productions and last year joined hands together with Belgian Neumusik to release ‘chapter 32’ in this series devoted to Belgian Ambient music.

Content: This album features 4 tracks leading the listener into an icy, abyssal sound universe. The work however takes off with bombastic drum layers, which are rapidly joined by icy sound signals. This ultra-cold approach is the common thread between all tracks. It creates a dark universe of repetitive loops, which are achieved with extra sound layers. The last track is the most elaborated one and evolves into a Psychedelic exposure.

+ + + : This album is without a shadow of a doubt one of my favorites in this Belgian Neumusik series. Ambient-Electro has been transposed into an extremely icy atmosphere created by outstanding sound treatments. The low sound waves are accentuating the dark side of the work. There’s no real track to throw away, but the last one (cf. “Fantom”) is the most sophisticated one while I really enjoy the frosty sound treatments of “Dimensional” and “Prospect”.

– – – : No real minus points to mention.

Conclusion: Oubys is the kind of project deserving more attention and recognition; this album reveals a great approach and outstanding tracks!

Best songs: “Dimensional”, “Fantom”, “Prospect”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/deepspatialsonicexperience

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

Hydrom Line – Hydrom Line Edition 2021 (Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Genre/influences: Dark-EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/info: Hydrom Line was a side-project set up by Belgian musicians Peter Van Bogaert (Liquid G) and Bart Verlent (Kandinsky) while a few songs were featuring female vocals by Sandra B. (who also did some vocals for Subsection 1!). Two tapes were released in 1991 and 1992. Thirty years later the duo got some of their early songs re-released on cd format by Wool-E Discs.

Content: Hydrom Line sounds like good-old Belgian Electro; a dark sound reminding me of bands like Vomito Negro and Liquid G. Haunting atmospheres joined by EBM bass lines and guitar playing by Bart Verlent. The vocals have something ghost-like while the songs featuring Sandra B. have something desolate and cold.

+ + + : This album is a great way to (re)discover Hydrom Line. The songs don’t really suffer from any weight of time and will appeal for lovers of early Vomito Negro. This is Belgian Dark-Electro power at its best and it’s even a pity this band didn’t get that much recognition. There are several cool songs featured, but I especially recommend listening to “Crash & Burn”, “Don’t Look”, “White Lake” and “Realities”.

– – – : Why did some bands become more famous and recognized than others? Even if some songs are a bit rudimentary, Hydrom Line deserved more recognition.

Conclusion: If you like the early Belgian EBM school, this album is one to put your finger on.

Best songs: “Crash & Burn”, “Don’t Look”, “White Lake”, “Realities”, “Reflections”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/hydromline

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

HerrNia – Takkewereld (Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Genre/influences: Electro-Wave, EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/info: Jonas Cornelissen is a Belgian drummer who got interested in Electronic music and progressively started to compose Electro songs. He released several albums on cassette format and finally came to select twelve songs for his CD-debut “Takkewereld” released by the end of 2021 by Wool-E Discs.

Content: HerrNia deals with an Electronic sound remixing formations from the 80s like the Human League, but also Belgian formations like Aroma Di Amore (for the Dutch singing) and even Arbeid Adelt. Vintage Electro-Wave sound treatments have been intermixed with harder EBM influences.

+ + + : HerrNia is a true discovery. It’s a band with a unique approach, mixing retro-Electro with a strong 80s exposure together with a personal touch mainly emerging from the songs with Dutch vocals. The
Electro-Wave – EBM fusion is working and resulting in attention grabbers like “My Dear Dark Cloud”, “Moeilijk”, “Above The Water” and “Niet Echt”. Herrnia doesn’t reinvent any style, but injects modernism into the good-old Electro-Wave style.

– – – : A few aspects of the production maybe need some extra elaboration and/or production, but globally speaking “Takkewereld” is a nice surprise.

Conclusion: HerrNia stands for the Belgian resurrection of Electro-Wave; an interesting album deserving more recognition.

Best songs: “My Dear Dark Cloud”, “Moeilijk”, “Above The Water”, “Niet Echt”, “Love”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/herrnia1982

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

Dreuhnigheit – Rheutels (Album – Belgian Neumusik / Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Genre/influences: Ambient-Electro, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/info: This work resulted from the collaborative efforts between Belgian musicians Joost Carpentier (Dreun) and Peter Moorkens (Onsturicheit). The work features six tracks.

Content: This album is pure Experimentalism recovered with good-old Ambient-Electro. Sometimes Psychedelic, but definitely into a kind of total improvisation, the tracks are clearly revealing the unique sound treatments and -waves of modular synths. This experimental basis has been supported by multiple and for some tracks totally unexpected influences. You don’t exactly expect to hear a Technoid touch running through one of the cuts. The songs also feature totally weird spoken vocals produced with an effect on top.

+ + + : Call it modular anarchy or simply improvisation. Both protagonists have achieved a work reminding me of early Experimental music, which can be linked to ‘musique concrète’. Field recordings are accentuating the Experimental approach of the work. The vocals in Dutch language are enigmatic. What is it all about? Pure improv as well? The vocalist reading a book? A kind of imaginary intellectual story? It’s just weird, but intriguing. “Shoxstrot” is the most accessible cut of the work for its Technoid part.

– – – : I personally prefer the work of both protagonists separately, this collaborative production gets lost in total experimentalism.

Conclusion: Pushing boundaries of Ambient- and Experimental music, “Rheutels” sounds first of all as the symbiosis between both genres.

Best songs: “Shoxstrot”.

Rate: 6.

Artist: www.facebook.com/joost.carpentier / www.facebook.com/onsturicheit

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

The Ultimate Dreamers – Live Happily While Waiting For Death (Album –Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Cold-Wave, Post-Punk.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Belgian formation The Ultimate Dreamers were active between 1986 and 1990. After having released their work on cassettes they finally disappeared from the music radar to resurrect during the pandemic. The band is back alive with a new line-up. Old songs have been reworked and got a new mastering. This album features eleven tracks although the CD format has ten bonus tracks.

Content: I never heard from this Belgian formation before. That’s maybe because they’re from the Southern part of the country, which was not as into underground music than the Northern part. The songs are getting us back to the true spirit of the 80s; dark music composed with synths, guitar, bass and drums. The vocals have a sterile quality and are hard to understand,; this way adding a ghost-like touch to the work.

+ + + : I’m not going to compare this band with another one, but I would be not surprised to see Trisomie 21 fans enjoying this work. The songs are into pure Cold-Wave, but there’s something more accessible like melody lines on top. I also noticed some organ sounds, but globally speaking I prefer the few songs with more explicit guitar playing like “A Long Time Ago”. The production of the vocals has something mysterious; not easily understandable and therefore somewhat foggy-like.

– – – : I think there were much better bands in the 80s and that’s probably why The Ultimate Dreamers never reached a higher status, but I have to admit their typical 80s sound has something magic today!

Conclusion: This is one more forgotten 80s band, which has been recovered from dust for the greatest joy of Post-Punk lovers.

Best songs: “A Long Time Ago”, “Laughing Furniture”, “Female Zone”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.the-ultimate-dreamers.com / www.facebook.com/theultimatedreamers

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

Embers / Dear Deer – Split (Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 20:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Post-Punk, Cold-Wave.

Format: Digital, Vinyl.

Background/Info: This album is a split release between two bands; Dear Deer from France and Embers from Belgium. They each released four songs for this work.

Content: Dear Deer moves on composing their Post-Punk inspired music. The opening touch has a little Funky touch on top, but globally speaking the songs smell like good-old 80s Post-Punk and Cold-Wave productions. Deep bass lines and guitar playing to empower the choruses while the vocals are mixing male- and female vocals. You’ll also notice some electronic arrangements on top.

Embers is a duo I didn’t know and which have already released a few EP’s some years ago now. The main characteristic emerges from the vocals, which have been sung in a kind of local Dutch dialect. Sound-wise the songs are mixing bombastic atmospheres together Post-Punk, but still a kind of Flamenco-guitar on “Bic”.

+ + + : The album reveals two interesting bands; Dear Deer confirms its strong potential composing well-crafted Post-Punk. It sounds pretty retro-like and yet it sounds refreshing. The last song “Life In Rewind” is the apotheosis to this work. The main strength of Embers definitely appears to be their original concept of singing in dialect, which creates a somewhat exotic touch. It’s fun, which is also noticeable in the composition and especially at “Bic” featuring a kind of Flamenco guitar playing.

– – – : The last song of Embers is poorly inspired and a rather disappointing final. I personally would have preferred to discover each band releasing a separate album instead of a split-album.

Conclusion: Great Post-Punk from France and funny Flemish music from Belgium.

Best songs: Dear Deer: “Life In Rewind”, “Jjr” + Embers: “Bic”.

Rate: (7).

Artists: www.facebook.com/embersburn / www.facebook.com/deardeerfr

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

Penterakt – Conquest Of The Moon (Album – Belgian NeuMusik / Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 18:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Ambient-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Penterakt is a new project driven byBelgian artist Tom Coppens and the English artist Andy Bloyce. They’re mates and still part of the trio Kubusschnitt, which is already active for years now. “Conquest Of The Moon” has been released during the very last days of 2020 and features four tracks.

Content: This album is a new chapter of the Belgian NeuMusik series and brings a new exploration of Ambient-Electro music. Penterakt brings us back in time, not only for the style and influences, but also for the use of only analogue equipment. The album sounds like a reincarnation of ‘Berliner School’-music reminding me of Tangerine Dream and co. The tracks have been progressively built up, revealing elaborated structures. It’s a sonic trip through space carried by some Psychedelic synth leads and down tempo rhythms.

+ + + : This is music for all lovers of good-old Ambient-Electro, but I was especially impressed by the sophisticated and elaborated song structures. The magic of the analogue synths create an overwhelming sensation, which comes directly through at the opening track. The compositions have been meticulously created and progressively evolving; sometimes from a rather chaotic beginning till dreamy and rhythmic passages. “Life On The Moon” not only is the last cut from the album, but also a great apotheosis of a great work.

– – – : The only possible negative point about this work is that Penterakt doesn’t reinvent anything; this kind of music no longer has secrets… but who cares when you discover an amazing results.

Conclusion: Penterakt is a highly recommended project in the Belgian NeuMusik concept.

Best songs: “Life On The Moon”, “Preflight Introspection”, “Meteor Strikes Again”.

Rate: (8½).

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

Causenation – Promises Of Hope And Fear (Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 20:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Dark-Wave, Electro-Wave.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Causenation is a Belgian formation, which has already been active for a couple of years now. They self-released a few singles and EP’s –and didn’t spare any effort, asking Claus Larsen (Leather Strip) to mix and master some songs. They now joined hands together with Wool-E Discs unleashing this work featuring eight songs. This (mini)-album has been mixed and mastered by Gazdag István (First Aid 4 Souls) who previously remixed one of their songs.

Content: The main sources of inspiration are clearly revealing 80s Electro-Wave music. The first part of the album stands for good-old Electro, but also for the Belgian Electro; dark and somewhat tormented. Some of the songs have been achieved with guitar sounds. The vocals are somewhat tenebrous reinforcing the dark expression of the production. Previously released songs like “Things You Promise” and “Black Lust” have been featured as well.

+ + + : The first part of the album sounds very promising; I like the dark sphere supporting the production, which also creates a perfect balance with the way of singing. Nothing really new, but accomplished songs with “Fear The Future” and “Demons Of The Night” are the absolute highlights.

– – – : The last 3 songs of the album –featuring the previously released “Black Lust” are somewhat ruining the promising debut part. These songs are unaccomplished.

Conclusion: I have mixed feelings listening to this work; a promising debut followed by a disappointing final. But there clearly is potential in this band.

Best songs: “Fear The Future”, “Demons Of The Night”, “The Things You Promise”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/causenation1

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

Ashtoreth & Onsturicheit – Svartur (Album – Belgian NeuMusik / Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 19:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Ambient-Electro, Experimental, Abstract.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This new opus in the Belgian NeuMusik series resulted from the collaborative efforts between Peter Verwimp (Ashtoreth –which already released an impressive number of productions on labels such as Cyclic Law, Winter Light, Unexplained Sounds Group, Consouling Sounds ao) Peter Moorkens (Onsturicheit –who released an endless number of releases in a rather short lapse of time). This album is the meeting between different genres and influences resulting in five tracks.

Content: Onsturicheit is an addict of modular synths while Ashtoreth deals with darker and more Experimental music. We get a sophisticated production revealing the meeting between different influences but mainly related and driven by the Ambient-Electro goal of the Belgian NeuMusik concept. Cinematographic passages have been intermixed with more Experimental- and even Abstract compositions. Field recordings are reinforcing the strange sound universe of the duo. I got the feeling most of the tracks are into pure improvisation, but it doesn’t take away from some parts that have been meticulously built up and accentuated by some deep, buzzing voices and other vocal effects.

+ + + : Ashtoreth and Onsturicheit have accomplished an interesting work, which especially on both last tracks reveal true potential. Both cuts have been progressively built up; the dark and somewhat haunting sphere at “Ljiraq” together with the voice creates an anguishing and intriguing listening. A similar strange sound universe becomes even more explicit at “When Sterility Becomes A Slumbering Thruth And Hidden Wisdom”, but also reveals the cohesion between both artists. There also is a visual strength emerging from this last song.

– – – : Some parts aren’t exactly the most accessible, the Experimental approach becoming more important than the Ambient-influence.

Conclusion: This collaboration between two Belgian work addicts is a noticeable new production in this conceptual series for Ambient lovers.

Best songs: “Ljiraq”, “When Sterility Becomes A Slumbering Thruth And Hidden Wisdom”.

Rate: (7).

Artists: https://ashtorethcult.tumblr.com / www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063497169807 / www.facebook.com/Onsturicheit

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

‘Click Interview’ with RED ZEBRA: ‘Thank You Western World’

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 17:00:00 +0000

RED ZEBRA is part of the Belgian music history. Set up in the late ’70 they rapidly became a successful formation often linked to Punk- and New/Cold-Wave music. Singer and front man Peter Slabbynck doesn’t really care about genres, but the early success song “I Can’t Live In A Living Room” remains forty years later an absolute Punk- and New-Wave hymn. The band last year released the noticeable compilation “Songs And Stripes (1980 – 2020)” on Wool-E Discs, which is the perfect album to rediscover the magic of this formation. I talked about a few things with Peter Slabbynck.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: RED ZEBRA has been set up in 1978! How do you imagine your life without this alter-ego? And what has been the impact of RED ZEBRA on your life and the person you are today?

Peter: Before RED ZEBRA, there was THE BUNGALOWS. But I changed the name at the end of ’79. With the new name people took us more serious. But Punk changed my life; it said to me: ‘don’t wait, do it yourself’! It was perfect for a redhead kid with a big mouth, not afraid to sing and make a fool of himself on stage. So living without RED ZEBRA is difficult to imagine for me. But of course, all of this happened due to the song “I Can’t Live In A Living Room”.

Q: RED ZEBRA has been always linked with Punk and Cold-Wave music, but what remains today? And how did you see yourself evolving throughout the years?

Peter: I don’t like all those categories. What is Punk, what is New-Wave, what is Cold-Wave, what is RED ZEBRA? Sometimes we sounded this way, sometimes another way. I guess today we are mostly a Rock band with Punk and New-Wave roots. But apparently we do have some kind of own sound. That’s also due to my voice and certainly my lyrics and the topics I sing about. That makes me glad.

Q: You often said that the “Bastogne” remains your favorite work. I read that there’re plans to re-release the work this year as a kind of 40-years anniversary, right? What makes “Bastogne” that special and maybe different from other RED ZEBRA productions?

Peter: It’s without a doubt the best record we ever made. Due to many things. The songs first of all, with important role for Chery Derycke, the bass player at that time. It’s like he plays guitar on the bass. And the production by Jean-Marie Aerts of TC MATIC, was great. Everything was just right. Unfortunately Chery left the band short afterwards. So we couldn’t repeat the same level. That makes the album “Maquis” an album with ups and downs. There are indeed plans to re-release “Bastogne” this year for its 40 years anniversary.

Q: You last year released the compilation-album “Songs And Stripes (1980 – 2020)”. I would like to ask you for some comments about a few songs:

-“I Can’t Live In A Living Room” – the B-side, which became your biggest hit ever!

Peter: This song started to lead a life on it’s own. Not our best song, but I can live with the success of it.

-“The Art Of Conversation” – definitely one of your best songs ever?

Peter: One of my personal favorites an strangely enough the lyrics are still very actual, even more than ever.

-“Bastogne” – a great instrumental with a significant title?

Peter: I loved to learn about history at school. I convinced my parents to visit places as Ypres, Verdun, the beaches in Normandy, Bastogne… So that’s why I came up with this title for the song and the album.

-“John Wayne” – if you’d written this song today, would you eventually call it Donald Trump?

Peter: Maybe, but I don’t wanna honor Trump with a song. No way. But the story of Wayne is so unbelievable. He played in those war movies but never was a soldier himself. Quite funny. Or not.

-“My Boss, The Robot” – a new song?

Peter: It’s a song of EX-RZ, the Electronic version of RED ZEBRA I did for a few years with guitarist Frits Standaert, who’s now one the guitarists of RED ZEBRA. Some of my lyrics become true. So maybe it’s a robot writing this answer…

-“Always” – the song I’m missing and which according to me remained underrated?

Peter: Not so sure if this is a good song or not. Nice that you like it, but we never play it live.

Q: The music business -including ‘underground’ genres, has gone through important changes; advanced technology, streaming platforms versus decline physical releases, social media etc… RED ZEBRA always had a very critical perception about our Western World so what do these subjects and evolutions evoke to you?

Peter: What’s underground? If you want your songs to be heard, what most bands or artists want, can you be underground then? I’m only underground when I take the tube, I guess. And concerning the so-called Western World, it gives me plenty of subjects to think or write about. So thank you Western World.

Q: Tell us a bit more about the search for a new drummer and the EBM-side project PESCH? What are the further plans and how do you imagine further life without the ongoing pandemic..?

Peter: A lot of guys want to become the new drummer of RED ZEBRA. That’s good news. So we selected 8 drummers. The bad news? Because of Covid-19 we’re not allowed to do auditions. So RED ZEBRA is taking a nap, that’s why I started PESCH.

It was already a longtime my ambition to start an EBM band an do this with Chesko of DER KLINKE. But 2 is a bit lonely so we adopted Sam Claeys, who’s part of RED ZEBRA and DER KLINKE. It’s really great fun. For the moment it’s my main project. We are releasing a maxi with four songs in April, called “Melba”. Those silly jokes are part of PESCH. And for the rest, no idea what the future brings. But no future? I don’t think so.

Enzo Kreft – Different World (Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 13 Mar 2021 20:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro-Wave, EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Enzo Kreft (real name Eric Vandamme) is a prolific artist since the resurrection of his project. The Belgian musician who was active during the 80s and early 90s brought his project back to life after years of silence. “Different World” is Enzo Kreft’s fourth full length album since 2016 –while he also released a compilation album with early stuff. “Different World” is inspired by the ongoing pandemic.

Content: The main source of inspiration can be noticed in some titles of the tracklist and of course in the lyrics. Enzo Kreft feels concerned about the world we’re living in and Mother Nature. The pandemic is a logical, but sad evolution of human’s behavior and that’s what he clearly tries to explain. Sound-wise he holds on to his taste for vintage electronics, mixing Minimalism together with the 80s Electro-Wave we’re used to hearing. There also is a solid EBM piece (cf. “Viral Paranoia”), which sounds as a wink to DAF and the somewhat Kraftwerk-pop driven “Ostrich Politics”.

+ + + : “Different World” once more confirms the talent and skills of this Belgian artist. His work remains a fascinating mix between Electro-Wave with synth lines reminiscent of Gary Numan and some harder and other darker pieces. The EBM-driven “Viral Paranoia” is a cool song in its genre. The darker sounding “It’s Going On And On” is totally appropriated with the lyrics revealing a dystopian perception of our world. Enzo Kreft is the living testimony of the 80s; desolated themes put on dark, melodic sequences and sometimes empowered by harder EBM vibes. This album also reveals an engaged artist who feels clearly concerned about our planet and the failure of the Western World…

– – – : I know it’s pretty 80s like, but I’ve never been a huge fan of songs ending with a fade out.

Conclusion: Enzo Kreft already composes an accomplished retro-like Electro work. This artist definitely deserves more recognition and especially from abroad!

Best songs: “Viral Paranoia”, “Woke Up This Morning”, “It’s Going On and On”, “Ostrich Politics”, “Nature Isn’t Bound By Borders”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/enzo.kreft

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

www.facebook.com/woolediscs / www.antennafestival.be

Resonant Lines – Quantum Call (Album – Littl’Antenna Records / Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 13 Mar 2021 19:30:00 +0000

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

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Claude Celli was born in Luxemburg, but lives in Belgium. He’s an artist involved with different forms of arts; paintings, graphism and of course music. This album is a new chapter in the live series set up by Littl’Antenna in collaboration with Belgian NeuMusik (Wool-E Discs). We get a selection of eight tracks that were originally performed at two different events. It also is the debut album of Resonant Lines.

Content: This work is for sure the most eclectic one I’ve been invited to discover in this series. The main source of inspiration is clearly ambient-driven, but there are a few unexpected surprises. Parts of the work are moving into Industrial fields driven by a kind shamanic vibes. And there’s even a Techno passage mixing danceable beats together with pure astral atmospheres.

+ + + : I like this album for some of its most creative passages; merging Techno elements together with dense Ambient layers sounds a bit as a challenge, but “Glitchy Times” has been masterly accomplished. I also recommend listening to “Spirit Encounters I”, which is bringing this Industrial side together with a transcendental touch. “Spirit Encounters II” moves on the same approach. And if you’re more into pure Electro-Experimental work, you’re for sure are going to like the title track.

– – – : Resonant Lines doesn’t really are about established standards and is mixing different and sometimes opposite influences together. That might be a problem for ‘purists’, but I think it mainly reflects a creative taste.

Conclusion: “Quantum Call” is an accomplished and fascinating debut revealing a true potential.

Best songs: “Spirit Encounters I”, “Spirit Encounters II”, “Glitchy Times”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.claudecelli.com / www.facebook.com/ResonL-555524131624316

Labels: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

www.facebook.com/woolediscs / www.antennafestival.be

Music For Installations – Stamp & Deliver (Album – Littl’Antenna Records / Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 21:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Ambient-Electro, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Pieter Gyselinck active under the Music For Installations moniker already released an album on Wool-E Discs’ ‘Belgian NeuMusik’-series and now contributed with this recording to the Littl’Antenna roster featuring the fifth release in this series of Ambient live recordings.

Content: The work features 10 songs holding on the main ingredients of the “Fractions Of Unity” album. The compositions remain a mishmash of Ambient-Electro, Experimental music and some soundtrack passages. It all sounds like the artist used –or mixed some field recordings in his work, sometimes moving on the edge of Dark-Ambient (cf. “Synesthesia 5”). But the main part of the work clearly sounds as an exploration of ambient territories, which can be interrupted by deep, blasting sound treatments (cf. “Hirsilä (Reflection)”). The work ends with a rather astral sounding atmosphere.

+ + + : The album features a great diversity, which holds on the attraction and creates a surprising effect –especially when exploring darker sound fields. The production reveals some exceptional sound treatments, which are mainly emerging at “Hirsilä (Reflection)” and “Synesthesia 5”. The Experimental touch of the work makes the difference with most familiar projects from these Ambient-Electro releases.

– – – : There’re a few cool cuts featured at the album, but none of them reach a total climax.

Conclusion: Music For Installations reveals a rather open-minded Ambient-Elector spectrum.

Best songs: “Hirsilä (Reflection)”, “Synesthesia 5”, “Melancholia”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.musicforinstallations.com / www.facebook.com/musicforinstallations

Labels: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

www.facebook.com/woolediscs / www.antennafestival.be

Ghosts In Mirrors – Cold Dust (Album – Littl’Antenna Records / Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 20:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Cinematographic, Ambient-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Ghosts In Mirrors is a solo-project driven by Koen Buytaert. This Belgian musician together with his brother is also involved with The Roswell Incident. This album is a live recording and the fourth chapter in the Littl’Antenna series.

Content: The live recording happened in 2018 and features 2 long duration pieces. The songs have been progressively built up, clearly evoking a Cinematographic composition. The second song sounds a little bit darker while still featuring a somewhat Ritual-like atmosphere. There’s a part of mystery in the atmospheres hanging over the work.

+ + + : This project sounds different to The Roswell Incident. There’s no explicit link with the Berlin School, but a more pronounced and elaborated Soundtrack appeal. I especially like the dark sphere recovering both cuts, but especially “The Thought Was Missing”. This song is progressively evolving till reaching a kind of anguishing Ritual passage being the apotheosis of the work. And there’s a certain climax at the opening piece, which comes to an end with a fascinating flute-like noise.

– – – : I just regret both climaxes at the end of each track are pretty short.

Conclusion: “Cold Dust” definitely appears to be a fascinating experience in the Ambient-Electro genre, which goes a step further than most projects in the genre. This is more personal and creative!

Best songs: “The Thought Was Missing”, “Why Is Irrelevant”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/koen.buytaert

Labels: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

www.facebook.com/woolediscs / www.antennafestival.be

Rhea – Close To Moving Ice (Album – Littl’Antenna Records / Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 19:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Ambient-Electro, Cinematographic.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Rhea is a Belgian solo-project driven by Mark De Wit. This artist also released Ambient-Electro under the Purfoze moniker. “Close To Moving Ice” is meant as a tribute to the massive eternal ice of Greenland. The album features one single live track played during a Littl’Antenna happening. It’s the third production in this series set up by Littl’Antenna and Belgian NeuMusik (Wool-E Discs).

Content: The sound universe of this artist is clearly reminiscent of the early Ambient experiments from the Berlin School. The composition has been slowly built up, creating a dreamy, abyssal universe where a few voices are emerging at the surface. The track creates a compact production, which sounds like belonging to a greater concept devoted to the beauty of Greenland.

+ + + : The composition has a very intimate and personal feeling. It feels a bit like the artist sounds in perfect harmony with the theme of his concept. It clearly has a visual appeal and I can imagine this work being accompanied by a visual production. Rhea doesn’t deliver any surprising effect, but brings Ambient-Electro how it has to sound: pure vintage sound treatments leading the listener into dream and evasion.

– – – : This is an easy and entertaining listening, but I’m missing just a climax. Everything remains sterile as the images we all have in mind from eternal ice masses.

Conclusion: This album is the perfect way to forget the daily routine and stress; a relaxing experience!

Best songs: “Close To Moving Ice”.

Rate: (7).

Labels: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

www.facebook.com/woolediscs / www.antennafestival.be

Onsturicheit – Live At The PostX (Album – Littl’Antenna Records / Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 20:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Ambient-Electro, Experimental, Minimal-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This album is the second live session that has been released as a record by Littl’Antenna and Belgian NeuMusik (Wool-E Discs). Peter Moorkens has released an endless number of productions over the past few years. He now accomplished this live work featuring a single track of nearly one hour.

Content: The album features one cut, but you clearly will recognize multiple passages. The work moves from pure Experimental parts towards Minimal-Electro. Sometimes pretty close to Cinematographic music and sometimes into a kind of Ritual atmosphere, Onsturicheit covers an impressive number of influences. Vocals have been reversed and used as a spooky effect, which is just an extra source of sound/noise. Quite progressively the performance touches ground with Dark-Ambient to finally reach a Minimal-electro final.

+ + + : This album will appeal for lovers of Electro-Minimalism, but especially to fans of improvisation. I can imagine the artist took off with a basis of ideas and noises, but I can’t imagine he knew where it would end. It explains the album’s diversity. I’m still fascinated by the magic of analogue effects and noises, but still for its minimalism. There are also cool guitar effects on top of the Electronic layers. The passage right in the midst of the performance is absolutely great and I especially like the Ritual touch created by the vocals’ effects.

– – – : Improvisation isn’t always the most accessible format to gain a wider audience. I however think that’s not exactly the main goal of this project.

Conclusion: Onsturicheit remains unpredictable, but fascinating; the perfect mix between Ambient and Experimental music.

Best songs: “Neurotisch Verslapte Aandacht”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Onsturicheit

Labels: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

www.facebook.com/woolediscs / www.antennafestival.be

Hyperkube – Remnants (Album – Littl’Antenna Records / Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 19:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Ambient-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Hyperkube is a Belgian solo-project driven by Tom Coppens who’s also involved with Kubusschnitt. “Remnants” is a collaborative work between festival organization Littl’Antenna and Wool-E Discs subdivision ‘Belgian NeuMusik’.

Content: From the very first seconds and notes, this work clearly reminds the famous ‘Berlin School’. Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream aren’t far away and clearly appears to be important sources of inspiration. The work features 5 songs, which have been progressively built up featuring low bass resonations, analogue sound effects and multiple bleeps and sweeps.

+ + + : This is not an album you’re going to buy for its originality, but simply because you like Ambient-Electro and more especially the famous ‘Berlin School’. The songs have been well-crafted, elaborated mixing dreamy and more mysterious passages. The last song “In Fine Principium” appears to be a true apotheosis due to some overwhelming sound blasts right at the end of the song. “Remnants” appears to be a sonic puzzle featuring an endless number of little sonic noises and effects.

– – – : I think it’s just a pity there’s no more innovation in the global approach of this work. It remains an emulation of some famous pioneers… although a well-crafted work!

Conclusion: “Remnants” is the debut release in this Littl’Antenna Live Session, which clearly confirms Belgium is a prolific ground for talented artists in the Ambient-Electro genre.

Best songs: “In Fine Principium”, “Calling From Beyond”, “Remnants”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/tom.coppens.52

Labels: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

Jean-Marc Lederman – Music for Dinosaurs (Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 21:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Cinematographic, Minimal-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: 2020 has been an inspiring and prolific year for Jean-Marc Lederman. Next to his brilliant opus “Letters To Gods (And Fallen Angels)” and the imaginary Soundtrack “The Helpless Voyage Of The Titanic” he also released another ambient work for the “Belgian NeuMusik”-series about Dinosaurs. The album is meant as ‘an homage to fascinating animals with proven social behavior’.

Content: The Soundtrack approach of Jean-Marc Lederman became a familiar thing, but each time again he tries to accomplish something apart and different from previous works. We here get a pretty Minimal-Electro sound, which sounds vintage-minded. Some tracks remind me of old computer games while other passages sound like imaginary lullabies. Other parts are more danceable and even a bit transcendental. The songs aren’t dark, but feature a refreshing and diversified mix of Ambient- and Minimal-Electro.

+ + + : The lock-down due to the pandemic seems to have stimulated the endless imagination of the artist. This work is probably the most surprising one from the past months –and even if I don’t immediately see the connection between concept and music, he accomplished a great piece of vintage-Electro driven music. I like the album’s versatility, having a preference for the brilliant “The Narcissist Megasaurus”. This track has something pretty Trance-like, but also reveals a great canvas of sound treatments. Another attention grabber is “Archaeopteryx, The Mother Of All Headbangers”. “Do T-Rex Dream Of Prosthetic Arms?” is another cool and especially elaborated cut. The work is also characterized by an impressive number of effects and little bleeps. Last, but not least you can feel Jean-Marc Lederman got some fun composing this work; just have a look at song titles like “My Name Is Diplo, James Diplo”, “Nessie Goes Yoga”, “Dino Pimp Strolls Down Jurassic Avenue”, “Archaeopteryx, The Mother Of All Headbangers”…

– – – : I didn’t hear the link between the dinosaurs theme and the music. The album isn’t the most representative one in the “Belgian NeuMusik”-concept mainly devoted to Ambient, but maybe more accessible than most of these productions.

Conclusion: “Music For Dinosaurs” sounds refreshing and definitely appealing for lovers of Minimal-Electronic experiences.

Best songs: “The Narcissist Megasaurus”, “Archaeopteryx, The Mother Of All Headbangers”, “Do T-Rex Dream Of Prosthetic Arms?”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.jmlederman.com / www.facebook.com/jeanmarc.lederman

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

Anantakara – Amor Mundi / Life As An Infinite Flow (Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 20:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Cinematographic, Electro-Ambient, Experimental, Minimal.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Anantakara is a Belgian solo-project driven by Philippe Wauman. Last year he released his second album in the “Belgian NeuMusik”-series, this album being released one year after “Momentum Lapses – Spots Of Suspended Time”. The new work is inspired by the philosopher Spinoza and ‘the notion of the Infinite and how nature is seen as a power of expression of this Infinity’.

Content: This album sounds like an invitation to travel. I’m not sure it clearly reflects the notion of Infinite, but it clearly sounds like an Electronic voyage; now into cinematographic passages, next into a kind of Jazzy Film-Noir and later on into some dark, Electro-Minimalism.

+ + + : Anantakara achieved a mysterious piece of music, which is mainly devoted to Ambient, but also features multiple influences. I didn’t exactly expect the somewhat Jazzy inspired “Amo Ergo Sum”. But I prefer the Minimal/Experimental “Riding The Flickering Crests” and also recommend listening to the delicate sound treatments emerging at “A Secret Might”. The work covers a wide spectrum of influences and that’s precisely what makes this opus accessible.

– – – : When an album becomes too diversify it sometimes leads to confusion; the feeling you’re listening to a compilation instead of an album from one artist.

Conclusion: This album needs a few listening, but it clearly has something intriguing and probably less rational than its source of inspiration…

Best songs: “Riding The Flickering Crests”, “Amo Ergo Sum”, “Sister Moon”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.anantakara.com / www.facebook.com/Anantakara

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

Such Beautiful Flowers – Neon Gloom (EP – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 19:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro-Wave, Electro-Pop, Indie-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD, Cassette.

Background/Info: Such Beautiful Flowers is a Belgian solo-project driven by Donny Woestenborghs. He was previously involved with a Hard-Core formation and reconverted himself into Electronic music. This debut EP features four songs that were released a while ago now (at the end of 2019).

Content: The opening song reveals a kind of Indie-Pop approach featuring an extra poppy chorus. The title song is somewhat harder and darker, but still melodic and danceable. The vocals are getting a bit harder as well. Both songs left feel a bit like the B-side of this work. They sound softer although “Purest Light/Blackest Curse” is driven by a menacing bass line.

+ + + : Four songs are not that much to get a real idea about this band’s potential. But we get 4 songs, which I always prefer instead of a title track, numerous remixes and a poorly inspired B-side cut. The title song reveals a strong potential; a refreshing Electro-Wave cut with some Indie touch on top. I like this harder and rougher exposure, which also comes through in the production of the vocals.

– – – : Both last songs are less inspired and reveal some aspects to improve.

Conclusion: Such A Beautiful Flowers has realized an honest debut-work. You can hear there’s potential hiding inside this artist so let’s wait for the next step(s).

Best songs: “Neon Gloom”, “In The Wake Of Life”.

Rate: (6½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/suchbeautifulflowers

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

Sebastopol – Moondust And Black Stars (album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 21:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro-Ambient, Cinematographic.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This new work by Belgian project Sebastopol (aka Marc Debroey) is Chapter 27 in the “Belgian NeuMusik”-series. “Moondust And Black Stars” was already released a while ago (by the end of 2019) and is meant as an homage to pioneers of Electronic music.

Content: This album moves on in the line of its predecessor “The Landing, 11”. We’re moving back to the origins of Electronic music or at least time when Electronic music started to get known. The tracks are supported with some sonic reminiscences of the 70s, times of pure Electro-Ambient experiments. The album sounds pretty vintage-like, but more dreamy than its predecessor. Some passages are even into the pure Cinematographic format.

+ + + : The main strength of Sebastopol remains the strong visual strength of the music. It’s accentuated by a more explicit Cinematographic approach, creating a world of reverie and abyssal experience. The tracks have been progressively built up and I mainly recommend listening to “A Long Way” and “Claire De Lune”. The last piece “Number Two” also is an enjoyable sound experience filled with serenity.

– – – : I experienced this work as being a bit more ‘personal’ than “The Landing, 11”, but it’s still missing something ‘unique’ and innovative. I however think it’s not exactly the goal of this musician who simply composes the music he likes.

Conclusion: Sebastopol sounds a bit as a time capsule getting us back to the early days of Electronic music and some legendary pioneers.

Best songs: “ A Long Way”, “Claire De Lune”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/sebastopolmusic.be

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

The Roswell Incident – Trapped Part One (Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 20:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro-Ambient, Cinematographic, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: The Roswell Incident is a Belgian project set up and driven by the brothers Koen and Jan Buytaert. They claim to be inspired by the legendary ‘Berlin School’. They’re now busy for more than ten years and previously self-released four albums. “Trapped Part One” is their fifth full length album released in 2019 for the “Belgian NeuMusik”-series set up by Wool-E Discs.

Content: This album clearly reflects the Ambient influences from the so-called Berlin School. Impossible here to not remind me of the genius of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. The work features only 2 tracks, which are pretty elaborated. You feel like you are embarking on an Ambient trip on which stars have been transposed into bleeps. Both tracks have been progressively built up, featuring different passages. You now and then will notice some piano arrangements, but the main characteristic remains the astral dimension of the work. Deep, vibrating bass tones are accentuating the progression of the tracks, which both are ending into pure climax.

+ + + : The Roswell Incident doesn’t innovate, but sounds as an intelligent and successful emulation of the ambient music those brothers like. They accomplished both tracks with passion and patience; finally reaching the ultimate point of each song, which is comparable to a sonic orgasm. I like the low, vibrating bass lines and the subtle little bleeps, which are even more efficient when listening to the work using headphones. But this is also music to play loud at a cold winter evening. The sound production is absolutely phenomenal; it has something pretty vintage-like and yet it has been composed with digital equipment.

– – – : The only reproach you can make to this band is they avoid any kind of innovation, but simply emulate the music they like.

Conclusion: The Roswell Incident took me by surprise; this album being without a shadow of a doubt the most accomplished one in the “Belgian NeuMusik”-series. This is an absolute must-have!

Best songs: “Trying To Escape The Möbius Timeshift”, “Folded Spaces”.

Rate: (9).

Artist: www.the-roswell-incident.com / www.facebook.com/The-Roswell-Incident-Electronic-music-176312299051915

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

Music For Installations – Fractions Of Unity (Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 19:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro-Ambient, Cinematographic, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Music For Installations is a band name, which reminds me of the legendary ambient artist Brian Eno, and is a Belgian solo-project driven by Pieter Gyselinck. After a few previous works, he joined hands together with Wool-E Discs releasing the thirtieth part of the Ambient-series “Belgian NeuMusik”.

Content: There’s an interesting evolution in the tracklist of this work. The album takes off in a pretty Ambient way and I even dare to say ‘classical Electro-Ambient’. Quite progressively you’ll notice Experimental sound arrangements and darker tones emerging at the surface. The more you enter the universe of the artist the darker it becomes. The second part is driven by icy, sonar-like noises, the hoot of an owl and mysterious, frightening sound atmospheres.

+ + + : Pieter Gyselinck is clearly mixing different although related influences together. It’s not pure Ambient and not entirely Experimental. Some passages are clearly into a Soundtrack approach while the second part of the work –which is definitely the best one, becomes extremely dark and mysterious. This artist conceives a sonic canvas with different atmospheres, but found his most creative side in the darker side of his brain. “Fractal 6” is worthy of examination, but I also have to mention “Fractal 7” and “Fractal 9”. There’s something David Lynch-like in the sound of this work…

– – – : I already mentioned the great second half of this opus, which unfortunately comes to end with a poorly inspired last track.

Conclusion: Ambient music is not only meant as a dreamy moment, but it can be also a way of self-reflection, which in a way is the feeling I got when listening to “Fractions Of Unity”.

Best songs: “Fractal 7”, “Fractal 9”, “Fractal 6”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.musicforinstallations.com / www.facebook.com/musicforinstallations

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.belgianneumusik.be /

Korinthians – Chaos Control (Album – Korinthians / Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 20:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Indie Rock-Pop, Wave-Pop, Post-Punk.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Korinthians is a new Belgian band I discovered by this debut album featuring ten songs.

Content: From the very first notes and songs Korinthians remind me of the imaginary hybrid between The Editors, Placebo and Depeche Mode. But this band is not an emulation of any of the aforementioned bands, but I just give some references they make me think about. The songs are carried by powerful and elevating guitar playing while accomplished with melodic Electro arrangements. The charismatic vocals create a perfect match with the music. There’s something to say about nearly every single song –and even the cover version of Joy Division’s “A Means To An End” has been masterfully accomplished.

+ + + : It’s a pleasure discovering new talents and Korinthians have something extra. This band has the potential to become the ‘Belgian next big thing’ after Whispering Sons. Both aren’t comparable in style and approach, but they simply distinguish themselves from the rest. Every single detail sounds right and at the right place. “Icarus Airlines” is the absolute ‘hit’ of the work; a catchy, powerful song with some lyrical content as a reflection about the world we’re living in. But I can also mention “You And Island” for its progression and sensitive side or “Aura H671” for the empowering guitar playing. The aforementioned cover of “A Means To An End” is easily recognizable, but I especially like the way Korinthians transposed the original song into their own style. This album sounds mature and totally accomplished! Respect guys!

– – – : My only little regret –if there’s one to mention, is the rather poorly inspired last song… which also is the title song of the album; strange!

Conclusion: Korinthians” is a band to keep in mind while “Chaos Control” is a true earworm!

Best songs: “Icarus Airlines”, “You And Island”, “Aura H671”, “A Way With Words”, “A Means To An End”; “Beat”.

Rate: (9).

Artist: www.facebook.com/korinthians

Distributor: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

www.facebook.com/TBOL.official

The Breath Of Life – Sparks Around Us (Album – Wool-E Discs / Manic Language Records)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 19:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Gothic, Post-Punk, Dark-Wave, Dream-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Three years after the brilliant album “Under The Falling Stars” (2017) Belgian gothic proud The Breath Of Life strikes back with this new opus. This must be the band’s tenth studio album since 1985. Isabelle Dekeyser (vocals), Didier Czepczyk (bass guitar), Giovanni Bortolin (keys and violin) and Philippe Mauroy (guitar, drums & loops programming) bring us eleven new songs.

Content: I can’t say this album sounds like one of the band’s most versatile ones, but there clearly is a mix between different 80s related influences emerging at the surface. The songs are moving in the typical Dark-Wave and Post-Punk vein, but there also is a more explicit and fragile aspect, which comes closer to Dream-Pop. Most of the songs are driven by a melancholic sound, which has something dreamy-minded while the guitar playing has this elevating effect. Isabelle Dekeyser has this impact of a Goddess by her now fragile and then mature and passionate timbre of voice.

+ + + : The Breath Of Life is one of these bands, which no longer has anything to prove. They simply compose the music they like and each album again they’re pleasing their fans. The main strength of this work comes through in the sensitive and melancholic approach of the song writing. The guitar accentuates the emotional side on songs like “She’s Not Real” and “Her Dream Cloud”, but also shows pretty refined playing on “In Her Darkness” –this song being the absolute highlight from the album. I get the feeling this album is a bit more into Dream-Pop influences, which here and then again remind me of The Cocteau Twins, but this band first of all remains a formation with a very own sound identity.

– – – : I think this album can’t compete with its predecessor although it’s an accomplished and fascinating work. I’m just missing a few more songs with some climax!

Conclusion: The Breath Of Life each time again sounds a bit different from their previous full length although you always recognize little details making the essence of their sound.

Best songs: “In Her Darkness”, “Her Dream Cloud”, “She’s Not Real”, “The Girl In A Box”, “She Wore A Crown”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.the-breath-of-life.com /

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

Winterstille – Puin Van Dromen (Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 19:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Chanson, Folk, Poetry.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Winterstille is a Belgian duo driven by Xavier KruthandGerry Croon. They both know each other from their involvement with the Belgian magazine Dark Entries. They both also compose music and are involved with other projects. “Puin Van Dromen” is Winterstille’s debut album featuring ten songs.

Content: This album is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most surprising works I’ve been invited to listen to in quite a long time. The songs sound like pure Chanson, kind of ballads you can hear in pubs while accomplished with wind orchestrations. Xavier Kruth seems to be the main composer, playing most of the songs on acoustic guitar while singing in different languages (most songs in Dutch, but also French, German and English). Gerry Croon took care of the Fanfare arrangements by wind instruments. The lyrics clearly are another essential part of this composition; mixing poetry and engaged lyrics.

+ + + : This is music to listen and dream to, but also to spread an ear about the lyrical content. Winterstille sounds a little less dark and melancholic and yet it gives you a feel-good sensation. It’s a very personal approach of Folk and Chanson with these surprising Fanfare arrangements on top. Some will call it weird; I think it’s an original and creative work defying the borders of established music genres and narrow-minded ‘artists’. I like the pure Folk-driven “The Shores Of Normandy”, the somewhat Goethes Erben reminding “Und Sie Tanzten” and the Fanfare-inspired “Vrij Zinnig Lied”.

– – – : This work is a true challenge and that’s always difficult to grasp the attention of music lovers.

Conclusion: I was positively surprised by this intimate and dreamy-like “Puin Van Dromen”.

Best songs: “The Shores Of Normandy”, “Und Sie Tanzten”, “Vrij Zinnig Lied”, “Drink Nog Een Glas”, “Boze Wolven”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.winterstille.be / www.facebook.com/Winterstille-101127277967529

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

Red Zebra – Songs And Stripes 1980 – 2020 (Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 20:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Cold-Wave, Post-Punk, Wave-Rock.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: No need to introduce Red Zebra to the Belgian 80s fans while I still don’t understand why this band never gained a wider international recognition. As the title of the album indicates, this is a compilation work featuring some of the band’s main songs composed between 1980 and 2020. This new compilation features one ‘new’ song, which also is the first one in years.

Content: Red Zebra’s sound was characterized by the typical ‘dark’ and ‘cold’ sphere from the 80s; a pure mix between Cold-Wave and Post-Punk exposed in some legendary songs such as “I Can’t Live In A Living Room”, “Bastogne”, “The Ultimate Stranger”, “The Art Of Conversation”, “Man Comes From Ape” and “Polar Club”. Later songs such as “Spit On The City”, “Beirut By Night” and “Don’t Put Your Head In A Bucket” revealed a somewhat more pronounced Rock approach. The album also features 3 live songs performed in the band’s hometown, Bruges, in 2019 plus a new song “My Boss The Robot”.

+ + + : Red Zebra is Belgian history, but still one of our most prominent and successful bands in the genre. A band with hits, which still 40 years later bring people to dance. Red Zebra is part of my teen years, but also remains one of the bands that made me like this kind of music. A dark and critical perception of society with a touch of humor on top and performed by a great front man, Peter Slabbynck. Powerful drums, low bass lines, menacing and dark guitar play and charismatic vocals are the essence of this group! The new song “My Boss, The Robot” has a rather catchy touch, but still holding on the ‘punk’ spirit of the band!

– – – : If there’s one personal regret I can think of, I should say I’m missing my all-time favorite Red Zebra song, “Always”!

Conclusion: This new Red Zebra compilation is for sure the ultimate homage to a piece of Belgian music culture!

Best songs: “The Art Of Conversation”, “I Can’t Live In A Living Room”, “Polar Club”, “The Ultimate Stranger”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Red-Zebra-1751462495171534

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

The Mars Model – FrancoBelge (EP – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 19:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Dark-Rock, Cold-Wave, Post-Punk.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl, Cassette.

Background/Info: The Mars Model is a Franco-Belgian formation, which explains the title of their debut EP “FrancoBelge”. The work features four songs, which are available on different formats. The cassette has been released on Kick Out The Jams while other formats are released on Wool-E Discs.

Content: “FrancoBelge” is not exactly the most accessible work and yet it clearly refers to some Post-Punk and Cold-Wave influences. The songs are ‘hard’ and supported with a dark touch. There’s a hint of Killing Joke running through their songs, which mainly comes through in the solid guitar play. On top of the composition you’ll notice Electronic arrangements.

+ + + : The work will definitely appeal for lovers of harder Roc/Wave & Post-Punk music. There’s a noticeable 80s touch, but adapted into a very personal interpretation. I especially like the songs “My Beautiful Amazon” and “Lifewire”, which both have something extra in the chorus. The guitar playing appears to be the main strength of this band, like building up an imaginary, dense wall of sound.

– – – : Unfortunately the tracklist of the EP has been inverted, which I think is a pity for a debuting band. The last song is the first one etc.

Conclusion: “FrancoBelge” is an interesting debut for The Mars Model.

Best songs: “My Beautiful Amazon”, “Lifewire”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/themarsmodel.official

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

Jean-Marc Lederman – The Helpless Voyage Of The Titanic (Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 20:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Soundtrack, Electronic, ambient.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: During the past few years Belgian electro pioneer Jean-Marc Lederman is mainly focalizing his music upon imaginary Soundtrack compositions. This work is a fascinating concept about the drama of The Titanic sinking in 1912, but remains an inspiring theme for film directors, musicians, conspiracy theories, divers, treasure hunters ao. Jean-Marc Lederman worked around the mythic Titanic composing thirteen tracks, which were released one year ago.

Content: Jean-Marc Lederman’s concept started with the early beginning, the departure of the Titanic in Southampton (UK) on April, 10^th, 1912. Samplings from that event are accentuating this beginning, which will have a fatale issue. Quite progressively he invites us to visit the different parts of the ‘indestructible’ ship from White Star Line. From the boiler room to the dancehall and the Captain’s quarter the sphere is progressively evolving till the crash with the iceberg. The music becomes more bombastic while you can hear S.O.S. Morse codes in the background. Industrial sound treatments have been injected to express the collision. And quite progressively while the Titanic is sinking the musician created new impressions from the lifeboats till the piano room. The album ends with an adaptation of the familiar folk song “Nearer My God To Thee”.

+ + + : Lederman is once again taking me by surprise, creating original concepts while transposing images into sound. This work is a pure soundtrack, which could be perfectly matched with original pictures and/or black & white reports from that time. He perfectly reproduces the atmosphere you can imagine on board of the Titanic till the very last moments. The work has something minimal and masterly reinforced by epic arrangements at the most important parts of the work. There also is an interesting and essential introduction in the booklet by Brooke R. Calder making a connection between this tragic accident and our world of today.

– – – : I just regret the most dramatic passage of the work remains pretty short. It could have been a little bit more extended and empowered with extra Industrial sounds and/or crashes. That’s probably my fantasy and personal interpretation of the facts…

Conclusion: Jean-Marc Lederman created a fascinating sonic voyage getting us back to the tragedy of The Titanic.

Best songs: “Newfoundland, April 14 1912”, “Save Our Souls”, “The Captain’s Quarter”, “Nearer My God To Thee”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.jmlederman.com / www.facebook.com/jeanmarc.lederman

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

True Zebra – Idiorhythmic (Album – True Zebra)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sun, 15 Nov 2020 19:30:41 +0000

Genre/Influences: EBM, Electro-Wave, Experimental.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Belgian artist Kevin Strauwen –who’s also involved with The Juggernauts, has already released a few works under the True Zebra moniker. The last released album “123” was a kind of ‘best of’ released on Wool-E Discs. The new work deals with ‘the collapse of the self and the resulting disconnect with love’ and has been exposed throughout seven songs.

Content: “Idiorhythmic” looks more like a mini-album, but is quite diversified. True Zebra covers different ideas, but all songs have been built up around an Electornic basis. From Electro-Wave mixed with EBM (especially the bass lines) to rather Minimal- and even Experimental passages this work sounds definitely more consistent than what I’ve heard before. The song “Move” is a real good example of the growing experience of the project.

+ + + : True Zebra takes care to mix an EBM influenced work together with dark atmospheric treatments. From solid and menacing bass lines to minimal sequences to haunting atmospheres, this album features a few noticeable songs such as “Logistica And Thelemia” and “Move”. This project has a real interesting potential to create a very personal EBM.

– – – : It’s a pity there are only 7 songs featured. The last song is more a kind of outro with an experimental appeal, but driven by a retro touch.

Conclusion: True Zebra has focalized on a more explicit Electro/EBM production and this new work reveals a bright future for this project!

Best songs: “Logistica And Thelemia”, “Move”, “Connection Is Addiction”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/truezebra

G.U – Volume 2 (Album – Art For Ears)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 18:30:09 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro-ambient, experimental, dark-ambient.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Galactic Unground (G.U) is a Belgian project driven by the creative spirit of Johan Geens aka ‘Venja’ assisted by some guests. He two years ago now released the excellent debut work “Galactic Underground” on Wool-E Discs while this second opus has been released on the artist’s own label.

Content: “Volume 2” moves on where the debut album stopped or you can also see –as the title indicates, as the continuation of the astral voyage of the artist. indeed moves back to the pure ambient and cosmic exploration of electronic music, reminding the early years of well-known pioneers. The music has something totally vintage-like. Some songs are featuring spoken vocals in different languages like Japanese, Russian and of course English. There also is a pretty surprising dark-ambient cut hiding inside the tracklist (cf. “Crossing Icy Moons” featuring Michael Stearns.

+ + + : The work has something mysterious and yet pretty relaxing. It’s an invitation to close your eyes and dream away. Cosmos has always fascinated humankind, but still electronic musicians creating the illusion of an astral voyage. I experienced this work as more sophisticated than its predecessor and still definitely soundtrack-like. Last, but not least the aforementioned dark-ambient cut is a great and overwhelming piece of music and who knows, maybe a new sonic path for this artist.

– – – : This type of music is pretty accessible and yet not the kind of production catching the attention of a wider audience. It also sounds a bit more experimental than its predecessor –or at least more cinematographic.

Conclusion:

Best songs: “Annihilation”, “The Stars Are Better Off Without Us”, “Crossing Icy Moons”, “Daikanyama Part 1”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.venja.com / www.facebook.com/galacticunderground1

Label: www.artforears.com

Jean-Marc Lederman Experience – Letters To Gods [And Fallen Angels] (Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 19:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Cinematographic, electro, wave-pop, experimental.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: After his last year released album “13 Ghost Stories” Jean-Marc Lederman strikes back with a somewhat similar concept album. He asked an impressive number of guest singers to write lyrics about the theme ‘letters to gods and fallen angels’. The ‘old’ Weathermen protagonist took care of the music composition and he also wrote a few lyrical parts. The double CD features twenty four songs while twenty two singers contributed to the album plus Jo Quail playing cello on one song.

Content: This album is quite diversified, mixing very different genres. Jean-Marc Lederman transforms himself into a sonic chameleon who now moved back to the 80s and next experimenting pure soundtrack music. But I also noticed a song with a jazzy-like atmosphere while others are more into a kind of dreamy pop music. I also noticed some electronic minimalism and even a very personal cover version of Nick Cave’s “Into My Arms”.

The real tour de force is the impressive list of singers featuring names such as Tom Shear, Mark Hockings, Rodney Orpheus, Elena Alice Fossi, Frank M. Spinath, Stefan Netschio, Claus Larsen, Mari Kattman ao. Most of the singers also wrote the lyrics for their song.

+ + + : I like conceptual albums, but I have to admit, this one by Jean-Marc Lederman is a true original idea. He once again brought an impressive number of great names together, and also a few unknown names. The album sounds as a compilation, but it first of all reveals a musician who feels comfortable dealing with very different music genres. I noticed several jazzy-driven cuts, but also cool ‘film-noir’ compositions. It’s hard to give a favorite song, but I’ll go for “Heaven” featuring Scottish artist Lucia Fairfull on vocals. It’s also quite surprising to hear Tom Shear (Assemblage 23) singing on “Answer Me” in a different way we’re used to hearing from this artist. By the way, this song could be the perfect EP-title track. The very personal interpretation of Nick Cave’s “Into My Arms” sung by American singer Jenna Fearon is also worthy of examination for its intimate mood.

– – – : If there’s one single point you can discuss about is the feeling you might be listening to a compilation.

Conclusion: This album even touches me deeper than “13 Ghost Stories”; it’s not an album with ‘hits’, but simply a genius concept featuring a great and renowned musician joined by a great selection of singers. Respect for this work Mr. Lederman!

Best songs: “Letter from Lucia Fairfull: Heaven”, “Letter from Tom Shear: Answer Me”, “Letter From Mark Hockings: Don’t Collect Me”, “Letter from Emma Barson: Under A Glass Sky”, “Letter from Rodney Orpheus: Sophisiticated Evening”.

Rate: (9).

Artist: www.facebook.com/jeanmarc.lederman

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

WED075/BNM029 – The Helpless Voyage Of The Titanic [Instrumental/Soundtrack] by Jean-Marc Lederman

Jean-Marc Lederman explains his latest album ‘The Helpless Voyage Of The Titanic’ – a comparison with the current Coronavirus crisis is not far away…

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 20:25:15 +0000

Jean-Marc Lederman has a brand new release out as download and on CD on Wool-E Discs: “The Helpless Voyage Of The Titanic”. The record describes how over a century after the disaster, White Star Line’s sunken jewel continues to spark maritime as well as political debates.

Jean-Marc: “Like the ship, our planet has reached a tipping point: the hole that we tore in the sky is still wider than the gash on the starboard hull; greenhouse emissions are melting the pole that spawned the ill-fated iceberg and sea levels are swiftly rising. Once again, too many politicians and the shamefully rich are standing around in their finery, ceaselessly chattering as Venice sinks. On this current trajectory, history will repeat itself. With a world population approaching 8 billion, there won’t be enough lifeboats.”

A message that sounds rather apocalyptic but which in times of Coronavirus also sounds quite familiar. We decided to phone Jean-Marc to ask him some questions regarding this release.

SL. How did this album start?

JML. It started cos a friend from Minneapolis (South-African born Brooke R Calder from the band The Red Hour) told me about the story of the Titanic as she’s passionate about it and I thought it would be a nice story to tell: from the docks in Southampton to the, unfortunately, bottom of the Ocean. So, I started looking at facts about the boat, saw a plan of it and there’s a place called “The Boiling Room” (la salle des machines) on it and every techno buff knows it’s also a kind of event where the crowd behind the DJ, in the same spot, no stages, no cabin, nothing…And I thought that it would be fun to do an album going thru all the places in the boat…So, I did one track, then another one and a few weeks later, it’s all there and it made total sense.

SL. Can you describe what listeners can expect from it?

JML. It’s a real sonic voyage where you are taken through the different places aboard the Titanic: the Captain’s quarter, the dancehall for the very rich, the boiler room with the machines but also the below deck, at the bottom of the boat where the immigrants were located. At the time, immigrants were flowing to the US and as there weren’t commercial airlines yet, boats were like busses, starting from different european haven everyday. So, same boat, but 30 meters were separating the very rich to the poor…There’s of course the crash, the boat going down, the rescue boats…We all know it doesn’t end well but it can be musically painted in ways that aren’t all dark and somber.

SL. What sound were you looking for?

JML. As usual a variety of sounds as to not bore the listener. So, I used many different sources, some real electronic sounds but also some samples.

SL. The title of the album, “The Helpless Voyage Of The Titanic”, could easily be interpreted today as what we are going through with the Coronavirus crisis these days… any remark?

I’ve been told that, yes… I know that, and Brooke points it out in her sleeve notes on the CD, the story of the Titanic is very close to what we experiment in today’s world: everything is made for the rich and little care is given to the people with little or no wealth. And for money, as today. An example: there were only 20 rescue boats on the ship, which was legal, but factually they could not fit about a thousand of the passengers if something went wrong, which did happen as we know. The company didn’t want to put more boats for sparing money. At the same time, they did build a fourth chimney which is for prestige only as the boat didn’t need it but it made the boat look more majestic. So, money was spared for essential but given for showing off…And the sailors weren’t even drilled on how to use the rescue boats…But, to be fair, it’s a legend that the lower deck passengers weren’t allowed to go to the above decks when the catastrophe happened: the truth is that the crew didn’t instruct them at all and cared more for the higher decks, with the richer/very rich passengers.

SL. How do you spend your days now? Working from home for your daytime job which seems very important these days?

JML. Yes, I telework now. My job, in e-health, can be done from home and that’s what I do for now. I also get first hand (wash it !) informations about Coronavirus so I tell around me to not panic but to follow confinement and safety measures (social distancing and cleaning hands) with total obedience. This is not a drill!

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

‘Click Interview’ with Nevel: ‘I Wanted To Create My Own Orb Track’

Inferno Sound Diaries — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 17:00:59 +0000

Bart Van Meulebroeck is already active for years now in the Belgian electro fields. He got involved with very different projects such as the electro-pop duo Propulsion, released one album together with the body/tech/trance formation Nebula-H, experimented with dark-electronics as Ex.Es, got also involved with an 80s cover project ao. But the latest experiment is driven by ambient influences and called Nevel. The first official (double)-album “The Hageland” released by Wool-E Discs is a conceptual release inspired by the Hageland, which is a Flemish region in Belgium where the artist is living. Bart Van Meulebroeck give me more details about his work.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: You’ve been involved with numerous projects and different music styles so how did you get the idea to start Nevel, which is mixing electro-ambient and more danceable stuff?

Bart: With the NEVEL project I keep on collaborating with other artists and as I have just started my own digital label ARTIFICIAL NIGHT, I am able to release new tracks whenever I want to. These tracks will be available as streams or downloads via various digital platforms. Also I am glad to deliver an EX.ES (dark electro) track/remix every now and then. Various labels such as Alfa Matrix, Infacted Recordings, Körperschall records and UpScene have released either tracks or remixes. PROPULSION (synth-pop) has been on hold for a few years now and we (Ben, who initially started PROPULSION) stopped performing live with our electronic 80s cover band MEN VERSUS MACHINE. Regarding NEBULA-H (EBM), there are no future plans.

Meanwhile I started an electro pop project with a female singer mainly focusing on indie/danceable tracks. So far we are still working behind the scenes, a full album in the future is our goal though. But let’s get back to NEVEL. The general idea was to stop making music for a while, to focus on other things. As I became a father of two children there was less time to be creative in my home studio. But blood is thicker than water. During walks with my kids I started recording environmental sounds with a small field recorder. As I got inspired by these captures I came up with the idea to produce some ambient tracks. I didn’t aim to release this material at all. At a certain moment I got triggered by an advert of a local exhibition inviting regional artists to expose and perform. My application was approved and a few months later I performed a few of my tracks live during this exhibition

I accompanied these ambient tracks with a slide show of pictures I took during my nature walks. I was surprised to get more bookings and performed live a few more times. I uploaded my tracks to Soundcloud because some people asked for it. I got a reaction from Dimitri Idunno (Wool-E Discs) and we kept in touch during the years. In 2019 a record deal was settled.

Q: Your album “The Hageland” is a kind of conceptual work. What is the concept all about and how did you finally proceed to compose the songs?

Bart: The Hageland is a real existing region situated between the Belgian cities of Leuven and Diest. It’s a particularly attractive hilly landscape. Hiking in this region will surprise you with many varied landscapes, such as plains, hills and lush forests. All tracks are named after streets and places in The Hageland. As stated before, I started composing ambient tracks, but as I am a big The Orb fan, I wanted to create my own Orb track, without being a clone of course. The result was the track “Schoonbergen”. In the end not really an Orby-track. During the process of composing this track I imported the captured field recordings into various samplers and synthesizers (Padshop Pro from Steinberg is one my favorites) and I discovered I could use these nature sounds as pads and leads to create melodies.

During the years I collected a whole library of field recordings which I used in every track. Most of the time you can’t even recognize the original sounds, the real power of sampling at its best.

Q: “The Hageland” features a selection of previously self-released songs, which have been reworked and remastered. Tell us a bit more about the origin of these songs and the release of a double disc?

Bart:The self-released tracks were only available during the live performances. A very limited CD-R edition though. As a matter of fact I started this project in 2011. Most of the tracks were produced on an old pc, using Cubase SX. “Dunberg”, “Tafelbos” and “Stort” are the most recent tracks. I realized if I really wanted to reach that higher level of producing I had to improve my recording and producing skills. As I watched and read a lot of tutorials online I got confused several times because of conflicting explanations. Finally I decided to update my studio. I bought a new PC, new software and I registered for a training course ‘mixing and mastering’ in Leuven. This lead into mixing and mastering my DCD “The Hageland”.

As I met Dimitri a few times during concerts he asked me to compile a CD with my best tracks. I forwarded him two CD’s instead of one: a more up tempo, 4/4 kick driven CD and the ambient/experimental oriented one, stating I couldn’t choose which CD was the most interesting one to release. I was totally flabbergasted when Dimitri told me he wanted to release a double CD. I am even more startled about the fact a few artists got in touch with me to mix and master their album as well, which is a nice bonus of course.

Q: “The Hageland” indeed features two different parts. I must say that the first disc entitled “The Hike” is not totally fitting with the conceptual series of Wool-E Discs (cf. “Belgian NeuMusik”) which is mainly focalized on ‘ambient’ music. Can you give us more details about it?

Bart: I’ve never made music to fit into the “Belgian NeuMusik”-series, this was Dimitri’s choice. Actually I think I do fit with this series because of my ambient CD “The Cooldown”, but also because of the Kraut and experimental elements in the uptempo CD “The Hike”. On top of that, every track holds field recordings, natural sounds which have surrounded me during the years. And without wanting to be a critic, the word ‘ambient’ is derived from the Latin ‘ambire’, which means ‘surround’, ‘circulate’… So, yeah, I am really pleased to be part of the “Belgian NeuMusik”-series.

Q: I’m fascinated by such a concept, but I’m wondering how people living in the Hageland might recognize the streets, places and hills you’ve been inspired with? What’s the importance/impact of the visual artwork to fully understand the concept and goal of the work?

Bart: Just listening to the music, people won’t recognize the streets and places at all. During live performances I tell the audience about the origins of the tracks while projecting pictures. I also talk about the way I create my own sounds by using field recordings. I also sample and manipulate found objects (such as stones, branches and leaves) which I use as live instruments during these gigs. The combination of all these elements make the NEVEL concept quite clear. Some locals even consider my music as ‘road music’ because they like listening to it while cruising in our region. For the artwork of the album I worked together with a local photographer called Rudi Wuyts. I am really happy with this collaboration. Rudi succeeded in collecting together all the NEVEL elements in one, naturally manipulated picture: of course the trees and mist. Above that, this picture captures the whole mood of the album which is slightly dark, melancholic and mysterious. As a bonus, inside the CD, you can discover a few more pictures which beautifully illustrate the charm of the region where I live.

Q: The visual aspect of the work brings me to the live performances of Nevel, which I think are in constant evolution. How do you look back at your live experiences so far and what might we expect from further live performances and new songs?

Bart: So far I have performed in totally dark settings to let the visuals reach their full benefit. I have worked together with a guitarist. All these gigs were quite ambient oriented. Now I am ready to hit the road with a total electronic, both ambient and danceable live set up, using ABLETON LIVE, a live controller and synths, supported by new visuals. The visuals will be a combination of pictures illustrating the Hageland surroundings combined with trippy and hypnotizing effects. The first upcoming performance will be 31^st October 2019, somewhere in The Hageland. It will be a Halloween night totally hosted by NEVEL: a live performance and a DJ set afterwards. A rather small, but very cozy venue booked me.

There is already some interest from a Scandinavian promoter to book me for another gig. More info if I will get a final confirmation of course. Hopefully some other promoters will show some interest too now. NEVEL’s music is constantly evolving. At the moment I am producing some very melancholic, danceable, organic deep house tunes. A couple tracks from my album are being remixed by some interesting Belgian artists (upcoming release later this year) and a NEVEL tech-house remix of “Holleweg” will be released digitally somewhere in October.

Motor!k – Motor!k (CD Album – Out Of Line)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sun, 01 Sep 2019 18:30:25 +0000

Genre/Influences: Krautrock, psychedelic-rock, experimental.

Background/Info: Motor!k is one of the newest signings from Out Of Line and definitely one of the most surprising ones. We all know Out Of Line is no longer a ‘pure’ electronic underground label, but has opened its sonic horizon during the past few years. Motor!k is a Belgian trio featuring Joeri Dobbeleir (guitar and synths), Dries D’Hollander (drums) and last, but not least Dirk Ivens (guitar and effects). Dirk Ivens (Dive, The Klinik, Absolute Body Control, Sonbar ao) indeed is going back to his early ‘love’ to play guitar while this band is inspired by 70s krautock! This album has been released on cassette format by Wool-E Discs while Out Of Line took care for the CD and vinyl formats.

Content: The work features 6 cuts so in the end it’s more like a mini-album. All songs are instrumentals revealing certain harmony between guitars, electronics and drums. The sound is rather dark and often moves into psychedelic passages.

+ + + : This work is something like a challenge, but krautrock seems to become ‘hot’ again. After Daniel B. who’s fully experimenting with the genre and other less familiar artists, it’s now up to Dirk Ivens together with a completely new formation to start the experiment. I especially enjoyed the opening song “Static”, which is progressively evolving towards a truly apotheosis of guitars and electronic effects. It’s quite interesting to see this move back to krautrock as in a way it sounds refreshing although very old-school like. The guitar playing and especially the sensation it creates is really important for this kind of music and that’s precisely one of this band’s main strengths.

– – – : The opening track is great, but all other cuts left can’t really give me a similar feeling.

Conclusion: You sometimes have to get back to somewhat forgotten music genres to create a refreshing effect. I’m not saying krautrock is totally back, but it all looks like the genre is starting a second life.

Best songs: “Static”, “Stellar”, “Colder”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www .facebook .com /MOTORIKBELGIUM

Label: www .outofline .de / www .facebook .com /outoflinelabel

‘Click Interview’ with Onsturicheit: ‘It’s Like A Splinter In Our Soul Cause What Kind Of Future Do We Give To Our Children’

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sun, 01 Sep 2019 17:00:09 +0000

Peter Moorkens is a Belgian artist born in 1965. He started playing acoustic guitar and got later on interested by modular synthesizers. He became involved with different projects dealing with different kinds of music. Onsturicheit is a solo-project, which is mainly driven by the magic of modular synths. Wool-E Discs recently released five albums of Onsturicheit, which are available as a boxset and separately. The work will appeal lovers of ‘krautrock’ and the so-called ‘Berliner school’.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Peter, you seem to be involved with very different music projects for years now. Can you briefly give us a summary and how do you explain this eclecticism?

Peter: I’ve been collecting music since I was 10 years old. Mostly Beatles, Pink Floyd and Hawkwind. Then Idiscovered Klaus Schulze and my dream was to do that sort of music. My mother had an organ and my sister played piano, so I exorcised my ideas on those tools, but nothing seriously. Then my mom bought a Roland JX-3P, but she couldn’t handle it so she gave it to me. I was moving into other areas at that time. I became a singer in a band called Smeurebreud (demo here: https://soundcloud.com/electric-loopstation/my-doggys-gone-111984) which was into folk stuff with English and Dutch lyrics. We had a lot of fun, did a lot of jamming and improvising.

Moving from Antwerp to Ghent changed a lot of thing. I joined hands together with Jeroen Saegeman to set The Moonfolks, which was a vehicle for experimental rock were you could play any instrument you wanted. I sang, learned to play guitar, tenor sax, synthesizer, harp, etc. At some point I bought a 4-track cassette recorder and set up Electric Loopstation. It was a solo-project with special guests, very cinematic music and definitely spacy (music here: https://archive.org/search.php?query=electric%20loopstation Jeroen from The Moonfolks moved on with Groom (Dublin psychedelic band) and his own Walpurgis Family and I became the singer of Daisy And The Diving Duck; a psychedelic blues band who jammed like hell. I sang and played sax and occasionally some synths. The two splendid guitarists started their own projects, now leading Mother T And The Chicks and The Golden Showers.

Electric Loopstation still exists, but actually there’s nothing new in the pipeline. So to make it short, I jammed a lot with bands and I jammed on my own; it was all the same. You record a jam, you overdub a jam and in the end you got a track or a song. Sometimes everything was live, using loops etc.

Q: How did you finally come to set up Onsturicheit and what have been the initial purpose(s) to experiment with this solo-project?

Peter: At some point I wasn’t playing in any band, but I wanted to be able to play live on my own. I gathered so much gear that I used for Electric Loopstation and was progressively moving towards more and more electronic music with less guitar and no vocals. I slimmed things down and made a practical setup that I could take on the road to play live on my own. Onsturicheit was born.

Q: Tell us a bit more about your way of composing and the sound properly speaking, which is mainly driven by modular synthesizers?

Peter: Modular synthesizers perfectly fit to the name Onsturicheit because in medieval Dutch it means something that is untamable, something with a will of his own, something wild and that’s exactly what it is. For every gig I reconstruct my modular system. This way I have to rethink which voices I will be using, how to modulate them, etc. I make patches, see how the voices fit -or not fit together. Then a week or so before the gig I try out new melodies, record samples, etc. I write the ideas in a little book. Those ideas turn into scenes. A scene is mostly an introduction (soundscapes you make live or samples) followed by 2 or 3 sequences that will be the key melody. Then I program some Korg Volca’s. I use Kick and two Samples (you can have up to 8 different preprogrammed drumloops). I write down suggestions for building up the soundscapes using samples, the key it is in, the beats per minute, which programs on the Volca’s that fit in, some tricks, etc. At some point I play and recorded the live set at home. I listen to it the day after and change some bits here and there. Sometimes I decide the evening before the gig to bring in a guitar or something completely different (https://soundcloud.com/littlantenna/postx250519-onsturicheit) and hope that everything works out fine. It never is, but that’s modular and some experience to take different roads or just jam when you’ve ran out of scene’s you have prepared.

Q: You last year (re)-released five (!) albums on Wool-E Discs, which are available as limited box format! Can we speak about a conceptual work? Can you give us a bit more details about the concept, composition and recording of the works?

Peter: Dimitri from Wool-E-Discs is a sort of Maecenas for us creative people. When he hears something he likes, he will give it a physical release. In my case a cassette called “Waan”. It was a very limited edition, but enough to get some attention from the underground press. I was lucky to get a very good review from Gonzo Circus. So a second cassette was released and I again got good reviews. I also moved on recording every jam prior to gigs. So I had plenty of material. Dimitri came with the idea to release the two tapes plus 3 new discs in a CD box. The CD’s are also available without the box.

“Waan” was a jam of 53 minutes with 6 Korg Volca’s. I didn’t like it a lot, but something special was hidden. I left it alone for a year before I heard it again. I liked the vocal samples a lot. I used them in the Volca Sample, a drum sequencer. I reworked the original piece. Extra synthesizers, some guitar, more samples, etc were added. The result is still the best thing I ever did.

After that there was “Angstzweet”. The second album is always a difficult one. It can’t be the same and it must be better. Hence the title. It was more dark in a way, more unsure and the beginning of the my modular adventure. Angst is a bit a tribute to Suzanne Ciani. You can hear sounds that come close the Buchla Synth she uses. These tracks were all live jams. The track “Rilling” was recorded for my Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qEJrkG9Yzo). “Zweet” is back to the Korg Volca’s and the microbrute. This track was a live preparation for a gig at the annual BBQ of The Blue Room (gathering of artists and record shop holders, etc.). In fact thanks to the platform the Blue Room gave me things started to happen outside the living room.

On Record Store Day 2017, Wool_E-Shop invited me to play a short live set. I recorded it and named it “Denkbeeldig Tentenkamp” because I played under something resembling a tent and in Brussels there were tents full of refugees. Also the words ‘denkbeeldig’, ‘illusie’ and ‘hondsdol’ were used in my Volca sampler. The music I played was a mix of both cassette releases. I already had the melodies and improvised around them. The other tracks on the album are from Joost Carpentier, a Blue Room visitor and artist (see DREUN box https://belgianneumusik.be/album/wed022-bnm007-10111-ambient-darkambient-drone-soundscapes) who also did the mastering. I asked him to vivisect and reconstruct the live track and make them his own. Something different and beautiful came out. More from us will come in the future. Hence the title Impressions.

The fourth album ‘In De Nevelen’ was a result of a collaboration with Glenn Dick (Find Hope In Darkness). We recorded some jam sessions, sort of modular against guitar loops. At a certain point I took my baritone guitar and we played a track of 50 minutes with just guitars and some samples. Unfortunately the guitar parts of Glenn were not recorded. When I listened to the recording I found it very calm and spacy so I added some minimal drums and modular synths. I like the end result enough to present it at Dimitri. There are also some hints to the other albums in the samples I used.

The fifth album was a rehearsal for the “Splinter”-sessions at Villa Bota Bruges. I had to make a piece of one hour. I rehearsed it a few times and recorded the jams. The tracks on the album came from two of these sessions. When I played it live, time is relative in my head, so I moved quicker thru all the scene’s that I prepared and doing so reduced the piece to 30 minutes. Since I always make a film to accompany the live music I noticed the movie wasn’t finished so I had to improvise the rest of the set. Patrick Baele filmed the whole set (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyHybA7zYrU&t=1624s). The tracks on the album develop more slowly and give you time to absorb the music.

Q: The title of the box “Wanneer De Herder Doolt, Zo Dolen De Schapen”, but also the different album- and song titles are pretty intriguing. What’s the hidden meaning behind the titles and is there a link between the titles and music you composed for each of them?

Peter: Translated “When The Shepherd Wanders, So The Sheep Will Wander”. The shepherd is Dimitri from Wool-E-Shop and we are the sheeps and the album tells the story of the flock. Onsturicheit is Dutch, so are all the titles. Since they’re all instrumentals it’s the mood of the piece that influences the tittle. I’m also interested in the history of mentalities and especially old pagan rituals from peasant in the medieval and modern times. Lot of these rituals deal with invisible forces and with the changes of the seasons. I’m very sensitive to those and it directly influences the mood of my live jams (which is the only way to record modular synthesizer music). Afterwards I look for a fitting title.

“Waan” was easy. I had the voice samples and I wrote a story to accompany the tracks. “Angstzweet” was conceived in Autumn, I tend to be more dark and melancholic and fear was/is ruling the world at that moment with all the terrorist assaults going on. There are also quotes from the apocalypse in the music.

“In De Nevelen” is a bit like the mists of Avalon. The music was hidden and almost forgotten so it was cloaked in mist. So every title has got ‘nevel’ in it and associations to other albums as well like “Angstzweet” that keeps on repeating in one of the tracks. So yes there is a link with the other albums. It’s all a state of mind.

The “Splinter”-album is off course named after the “Splintersessies”. But the word ‘splinter’ is a fantastic word (shard, fragment). I also use fragments of readings from old Dutch books. “Een Deur Op Een Kier Intrappen” comes from such a fragment. Or “Splinter In De Ziel” (translated “Splinter In The Soul”). Do we have a soul? I have an agnostic approach to live and believe that music is keeping it all together some way. Every molecule vibrates and vibration is sound and sound can be music.

As for musical moods, sometimes it is something I hear on the news like all the unnecessary chopping of trees in Belgium and the climate changes and all the hot summers and no trees to chill out under, we burn ourselves “Verbrande Dode Bomen” (translated “Burned Dead Trees”). It’s like a splinter in our soul cause what kind of future do we give to our children. “De Gespleten Hoef” refers to the Devil, in this case someone making a profit from those illegal cuttings. “Stapsvoets afdalende” (translated “Going Down Step By Step”) to the end of civilisation as it is. A happy tune, aren’t we all happy in this paradise called the Western World. But we still can’t kick open a closed door and were back with “Angstzweet” (cold sweat) when the end of the world is near, which brings back the apocalypse and the insanity.

Do not worry, I’m not depressed, although I know people who are. I also realise we are all living in a bubble. With all the technology of today, our health insurance, money for the unemployed, TV, smartphones, cars, etc. We think it is our right to have all this. But never in history we had a society that was living on this high standard and if there was such a society, it didn’t survive (Romans, Aztecs, ….). Look 50 years back and it was a different planet.

Q: How do you transpose your studio work on stage and what kind of performances do you try to accomplish –where visual input must be important?

Peter: Visuals are always important. I make all the artwork. In every cover there is an old building, even in my digital releases on Modular404. History and the past is important to me. We can still learn from our mistakes, or be happy with what we have achieved. Don’t take everything for granted. Things were harder back then.

For the live acts I always make a film to go along with the set. It’s a mix of different stuff, some of it with me in action. There’re always shadows in the movies. I’m fascinated by the shadows they make on walls. Also road movies filmed in a car or on a train, fauna moving with the wind, old black and white films or pictures of old buildings flashing rapidly on the screen. I also use short movies made by my son Milo which are very humoristic.

My live act or studio recordings are exactly the same. I make sketches of ideas that work. When I’m ready I hit the record button and of we go. In the studio I can do overdubs or cut things out or develop ideas into something new. Live it is more a struggle, a taming of the beast (the modular). It never goes like planned and you have to take alternate routes. Live experience is always something new for me and the public. I can’t repeat the same concert twice. The sounds will always be different. The melodies of the sequences will or could be the same if they work at that moment with the flow I’m in. Mostly I play for one hour, which is very long to keep it interesting. That is also why I use films and I also play with my instruments turned to the public so they rather can see what I’m doing instead of seeing my face and the back of the monstercase.

My last gig at Post X was a very intense. I did not even had the chance to look at the screen. Playing with the guitar thru the modular was a good decision and I use pickup microphones to pick up sounds of things that I can hit and process thru the modular system. At the end of this everyone was applauding and screaming YES. It was a victory for me and the audience. I hope It will be released on Wool-E-Discs.

The next concert will be at AntennA festival 22/02/2020 (https://www.facebook.com/AntennA-Festival-2020-2409448922451521/) but other concerts could cross my way. This time I won’t be making the visuals. I leave them to Patrick Baele, a visual artist from Ghent (Digitale Beeldende Kunst – Medialab – Academie voor Beeldende Kunst Gent). You can find him on the social media.

Also The Moonfolks are back together and we are planning a concert in January 2020. We will perform the soundtrack to a silent movie.

Nevel – The Hageland (DCD Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 18:30:16 +0000

Genre/Influences: Ambient, electro-dub, electro-dance.

Background/Info: Nevel is a solo-project set up by Bart Van Meulebroeck who’s already active for years now in the Belgian electro fields. He got involved with very different projects such as Propulsion, Ex.Es, Nebula-H ao. “The Hageland” is the Flemish region in Belgium where the artist is living and, which has inspired him to compose this work. “The Hageland” is a new chapter in Wool-E Discs series “Belgian NeuMusik” devoted to ambient music.

Content: The first disc entitled “The Hike” is not really ambient at all, but a mix of instrumental dance-piece with groovy sequences and other dubby bass lines and rhythms. There also is something trance running through a few songs. The compositions remain instrumental versions, but sometimes featuring spoken samplings. Notice by the way Propulsion and Traumasutra each collaborated to one song at this disc.

The second disc “The Cooldown” is more into ambient stuff. We’re here discovering a sonic universe made of reverie and featuring relaxing sound treatments although there are a few darker passages as well. Sometimes close to soundscape and later on a bit as a wink to electronic pioneers “The Cooldown” is rather diversified.

+ + + : Bart Van Meulebroeck clearly is a man of many talents. He’s a kind of sonic chameleon, which can deal with very different music genres. There’re a few cool –and especially the dub-inspired cuts at the first disc (cf. “Hermansheuvel”, “Holsbeek”) are noticeable songs. I also enjoyed “Vlooiberg” featuring Propulsion, which is pretty danceable-like and even reminding me to a mix of Snowy Red and Universal Nation. The ambient lovers will be more pleased by the second disc and the colder-like “Gasthuisbos”, which even has something Klinik-al like and the ultra cinematic “Stort”.

– – – : “The Hike” is a cool work, which I even prefer to “The Cooldown”, but it’s not really fitting with the concept of the series. Some of these tracks would even be more efficient by the addition of real vocals.

Conclusion: “The Hageland “is an interesting exposure from an artist in love with the place where he lives and transposing images into sounds!

Best songs: “Vlooiberg feat. Propulsion”, “Hermansheuvel”, “Schoonbergen”, “Holsbeek”, + “Gasthuisbos”, “Stort”, “Doodbroek”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www .vi .be /nevel / www .facebook .com /Nevel -1942252065834243

Label: www .wool –e –discs .be / www .facebook .com /woolediscs

Enzo Kreft – Control (CD Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 19:30:03 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro-wave, minimal-electro.

Background/Info: Belgian musician Eric Vandamme aka ‘Enzo Kreft’ was mainly active during the 80s and early 90s. A few years ago he got back into business unleashing interesting albums such as “Wasteland”. “Control” is the new sonic brainchild of the artist revealing twelve songs.

Content: If you’re already familiar with the work of this artist, you for sure will easily recognize the minimal-electro approach, which clearly sounds inspired by good-old 80s electronics. It’s retro-electro with a contemporary touch. The songs are alternating between danceable minimalism and experimental-atmospheric cuts, which have something cinematographic like. The vocals are somewhat half-spoken like creating a sterile effect fitting with the music.

+ + + : Enzo Kreft is an artist definitely deserving a wider audience! His music brings good-old magic back to life, but is never a copy. The minimal sound treatments mixed with dry snare drums and great synth lines are pretty old-school and yet refreshing. Enzo Kreft is an artist with a proper sound resulting in a few great cuts such as the already familiar “Disobedient”, “Biometrics” featuring robotic vocals passages, “Scanned” and the darker “Connected” and “In My Head”. Next to the cool songs, “Control” is also dealing with an intelligent and clearly dystopian vision about mankind. Last, but not least, I also want to say a word about the sober, but cool digipak.

– – – : I personally would have preferred to get a few more ‘danceable’ cuts instead of the atmospheric ones.

Conclusion: There’s a reference to George Orwell in the album and the only thing I can say is that “1984” was fiction (or prophecy), but “Control” is reality! It’s an intelligent work in the writing and the thematic.

Best songs: “Disobedient”, “Biometrics”, “Scanned”, “In My Head”, “Connected”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: https://enzokreft.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html / www .facebook .com /enzokreft

Label: www .wool –e –discs .be / www .facebook .com /woolediscs

Dole – Live (CD Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 18:30:50 +0000

Genre/Influences: Rock-wave, dark-rock.

Background/Info: Dole is a French formation that was mainly active in between 1979 and 1987. They were signed to the legendary Play It Again Sam on, which they released a few singles and the album “The Speed Of Hope”. During the past few years they’re active again; mainly playing live performances, but a new single seems to be in the pipeline. “Live” brings ten songs of the band back to life. These songs have been recorded during three live shows in 2018.

Content: The album is an opportunity to (re)discover Dole. Even if they weren’t the most famous and successful formation from PIAS, their sound definitely belong to the 80s. Some songs remind me of Echo & The Bunnymen while other, softer cuts evoke the dark-romantic spirit of Lloyd Cole & The Commotions. One of the songs entitled “Johnny Don’t Cry” is a wink to the decade they’ve been active in; it features a passage of New Order’s “Blue Monday”, and also Frankie Goes To Hollywood ao. You’ll also discover a new song.

+ + + : This kind of production is first of all an interesting work to (re)discover an 80s band from the PIAS stable, but it’s also a gift for the fans of the band. They get some of the band’s early ‘hits’/singles. You clearly hear the sound is retro-like, but it still makes sense and it has been played by experienced musicians who clearly had some fun being on stage together. I like the saxophone part running through “Thirds Man”.

– – – : It’s maybe a bit tricky to release a live album after years of silence and I maybe would have preferred to get a ‘best of’ featuring remastered versions, but the fans will be pleased.

Conclusion: Dole is for sure a somewhat forgotten band from the 80s, which has been recovered from dust by “Live”.

Best songs: “A Day”, “The Dream”, “Rumroad”, “Third Man”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www .dolemusic .com / www .facebook .com /doleband

Label: www .wool –e –discs .be / www .facebook .com /woolediscs

Dead High Wire – Pray For Us (CD Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 19:30:35 +0000

Genre/Influences: Post-punk, wave-rock.

Background/Info: Belgian trio Dead High Wire is now active for a couple of years. They describe their sound as ‘an edgy exploration of garage & post-punk, with a sleazy indie feel’. They last year released their official debut album “Pray For Us” featuring nine songs

Content: One thing is for sure, Dead High Wire brings several influences together. There clearly is an 80s touch recovered with post-punk influences and a rock-touch reminding me The Stooges. The guitar takes an important part in the composition while drums, bass guitar and electronic arrangements are achieving their work.

+ + + : I like the fusion between different influences, but the raw and 80s-like production has something entertaining. This is music to play live! The guitar playing injects a truly ‘dark’ spirit reinforced by some solo passages. The album is a powerful and well-crafted production revealing multiple cool songs.

– – – : The single cut that couldn’t convince me is the last one, which sounds like a poorly, inspired ‘outro’.

Conclusion: Dead High Wire appears to be an interesting discovery and I hope this band can progressively reach a wider audience. “Pray For Us” is a noticeable debut album!

Best songs: “Pray For Us”, “Bbgap”, “The Parallel World”, “Worship”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www .deadhighwire .be / www .facebook .com /DeadHighWire

Label: www .wool –e –discs .be / www .facebook .com /woolediscs

E I L A N D – Eiland (CD Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 17 Aug 2019 19:30:55 +0000

Genre/Influences: Ambient, cinematographic.

Background/Info: E I L A N D is the meeting between Marcus Scheibmaier (synthesizers, keyboard & sequencer programming), Steve Slingeneyer (electronic & acoustic percussion, drum loops) and Bruno Coussée (voices, electric bass, all guitar treatments, mellotron, loops & additional percussion). They were asked to ‘explain their vision for a musical poem, a sonic tale of the Universe’. The self-titled work becomes part of wider concept including visual arts.

Content: There are 3 cuts featured on this album, which is more a kind of mini-album. From a very soundtrack/cinematographic debut to the shortest cut (cf. “Into The Realms Of Bodhicitta”), which has something ‘Buddhistic’-like and featuring deep-throat vocal effects to the last piece, which reminds me of early analogue synth experiments, this work is pretty versatile.

+ + + : The last song (cf. “Beyond Mind And Matter: A Spirit Odyssey”) is for sure the project’s masterpiece for the sophisticated approach and impressive sound treatments. I like the deep bass sounds, but the global song makes me think of electronic pioneers. The already mentioned “Into The Realms Of Bodhicitta” is another attention grabber, which recovers the work with a mysterious touch.

– – – : This kind of album is part of a greater arty concept so it’s a pity to not get an idea about the different elements. I regret that there are no more tracks featured.

Conclusion: “Eiland” creates a perfect match with the “Belgian NeuMusik” concept and will ravish numerous lovers of ambient music.

Best songs: “Beyond Mind And Matter: A Spirit Odyssey”, “Into The Realms Of Bodhicitta”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www .facebook .com /eilandmusik

Label: www .wool –e –discs .be / www .facebook .com /woolediscs

Der Klinke – Decade (CD Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 17 Aug 2019 18:30:45 +0000

Genre/Influences: Gothic, cold-wave.

Background/Info: “Decade” is a truly appropriate title to celebrate ten years of the Belgian gothic/cold-wave formation Der Klinke. This work brings a nice selection of original songs, remixes and even a few new cuts.

Content: Sixteen songs have been selected! Remixes have been made by their old town-mate Jan Dewulf under the monikers of John Wolf and Mildreda while Serge Feys did a remix as well. “Decade” is a cool selection of typically cold-wave tracks with guitar playing reminding me of The Sisters Of Mercy and electronic arrangements plus leads adding a nice little extra to the work. Some cuts at the end of the work are more electro-driven, but the most significant ones remain the guitar focused songs.

+ + + : Der Klinke is a band that has made an interesting progression and their last studio album “The Unexpected” (2017) sounded as a real consecration. I have to admit this selection of songs, remixes and one of the new songs (cf. “Curtains”) will show you the potential of this Belgian gothic formation. The songs reveal great guitar parts and accomplished electronic arrangements. The “Original Version” of “The Doll” remains one of the band’s biggest songs in history, but I also have to mention “Our Dance In Darkness” and “Someone Who Smiles”. The album is available as a great, artistic digipak and features 16 (!) songs!

– – – : Some of the most electronic driven cuts aren’t exactly my favorite ones! The guitar playing is too essential to this band!

Conclusion: If you never have heard of Der Klinke before, this album is more than simply an introduction! You’re going to like this formation, which has made a noticeable evolution throughout the years.

Best songs: “The Doll – Original First Version”, “Our Dance In Darkness”, “Someone Who Smiles”, “Curtains”, “My Frozen Heart”, “We Are Here – Mildreda Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www .derklinke .be / www .facebook .com /DER .KLINKE

Label: www .wool –e –discs .be / www .facebook .com /woolediscs

Onsturicheit – In De Nevelen (CD Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 19:30:29 +0000

Genre/Influences: Cinematographic, ambient.

Background/Info: “In De Nevelen” is the temporary last –and fifth album from Onsturicheit released on Wool-E Discs. This is chapter 19 from the “Belgian NeuMusik” concept devoted to Belgian ambient artists.

Content: The work features 4 cuts, taking off with an ultra ambient opener. Quite progressively the tracks are driven by slow rhythms and supported with long string parts. Especially the last aspect creates a truly cinematic impression. “In De Nevelen” (which can be translated as “In The Fog”) also sees Peter Moorkens getting back to guitar, which is mixed with his modular synth work. You’ll also re-discover familiar space-like effects and the sampled and pitched spoken vocals.

+ + + : “Neveldauw” taking off is an efficient piece of reverie and the ultimate ambient track for this kind of series. I also enjoyed “De Nevelkarre Drijven” for the progression of the composition, which has something fascinating and mysterious through the addition of the pitched, spoken words. I think it’s also interesting to hear some slow rhythms joining in now and then, which make the production more accessible for a wider audience.

– – – : The last track “Nevelblauw” remains devoted to the ambient style, but the guitar play makes it rather different from the other Onsturicheit tracks.

Conclusion: It’s always a question of personal taste, but this album is according to me the less convincing one from the five. I’m not saying it’s the worst, but less surprising!

Best songs: “De Nevelkarre Drijven”, “Nevelbeeld Van Waan”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www .facebook .com /Onsturicheit -2000817190200670

Label: www .wool –e –discs .be / www .facebook .com /woolediscs

Onsturicheit – Impressies (CD Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 18:30:20 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro-ambient, experimental.

Background/Info: Peter Moorkens remains in the flow releasing another album for Wool-E Discs’ “Belgian NeuMusik”-series. This is number 18 and already the fourth consecutive work by this Belgian musician.

Content: “Impressies” (translated “Impressions”) is without a shadow of a doubt the most diversified opus from Moorkens. The modular machines bring us back to early pioneer work reminding me of Tangerine Dream. That effect comes especially through at the debut song, which is a live recording from nearly 20 minutes. The 5 tracks left are somewhat different and often spiced with an Eastern sound touch. It injects a part of mystery, which is fitting with the ambient content. I noticed delicate piano sound arrangements and even a passage with a slow, somewhat danceable technoid rhythmic.

+ + + : Onsturicheit is an invitation to travel and that comes perfectly through at the opening –live cut “Denkbeeldig Tentenkamp”. The global progression and production of this track is close to a real masterpiece. But I also enjoyed the other cuts left with this intriguing Eastern sound flavor on top. “Hondsdol: Incubatie” is one of the best tracks I’ve heard from this artist and that’s maybe because of the slow, danceable rhythm. This work also reveals different elements from the previous works.

– – – : Both last cuts from the album can’t convince me in a similar way.

Conclusion: There where the previous work “Splinter” was a little less a repetition of “Angstzweet”, this work is different and again revealing new aspects from Onsturicheit.

Best songs: “Hondsdol: Incubatie”, “Denkbeeldig Tentenkamp”, Hondsdol”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www .facebook .com /Onsturicheit -2000817190200670

Label: www .wool –e –discs .be / www .facebook .com /woolediscs

Onsturicheit – Splinter (CD Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 19:30:54 +0000

Genre/Influences: Experimental, krautrock, ambient.

Background/Info: The creativity of Onsturicheit has no limits. This is album number three for Peter Moorkens and already a new chapter in the “Belgian NeuMusik”-series.

Content: “Splinter” (in English ‘splinter’ or ‘sliver’) sounds in line with its predecessor “Angstzweet”. There’s a same passion for modular sound treatments, which in a way is part of the artist’s project, but it’s also about the global space-like atmosphere hanging over the songs and krautrock elements appearing at the surface now and then. The few sampled vocals also are now quite characteristic elements for the work of Onsturicheit. Some parts are again driven by slow rhythms.

+ + + : Modular synths have something unique in sound and that’s what makes this album –and the project, fascinating. Even if there’s a déjà-vu effect that might appear, it however remains a creative process, which has a greater impact than all these ambient bands simply repeating themselves. But a modular synth is not enough; you also need the creativity of the artist and here again I can confirm Peter Moorkens perfectly knows how to use his equipment, creating an elaborate and arty-crafted music. I also have to say a word about the artwork of the cover revealing cool retro-like pictures from a street view with vintage cars from the seventies.

– – – : If you take the best parts of “Angstzweet” and “Splinter” you for sure will get a brilliant opus, but the fans of this type of music will be pleased getting two albums!

Conclusion: My conclusion is nearly the same as the one for “Angstzweet”, but “Splinter” is even better! Great ambient work composed with retro instruments from this Belgian artist.

Best songs: “Verbrande Dode Bomen”, “Stapvoets Afdalende”, “Gespleten Hoef”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www .facebook .com /Onsturicheit -2000817190200670

Label: www .wool –e –discs .be / www .facebook .com /woolediscs

Onsturicheit – Angstzweet (CD Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 18:30:47 +0000

Genre/Influences: Krautorck, experimental.

Background/Info: “Angstzweet” is the 16th chapter of the “Belgian NeuMusik”-series created by Belgian label Wool-E Discs. It also is the second work by Onsturicheit for this conceptual exposure. “Angstzweet” has been mainly created by modular equipment.

Content: The krautrock approach is definitely more present on this work then on its predecessor “Waan”. The work features 2 long duration cuts plus one shorter track. The songs have been progressively built up and are literally growing until a sonic apotheosis. The last cut has something early Kraftwerk-like, right, when they were more concerned by krautrock themselves.

+ + + : Two albums by Onsturicheit and even if you easily recognize the modular sounds “Angstzweet” sounds different than “Waan”. It’s more electro-like and getting the magic of modular synths back to life. Peter Moorkens reveals to be a truly sound architect who creates impressive sound treatments like space-bleeping sequences, vibrating bass lines and cool spoken, whispering-like samplings. The last cut “Zweet” is an absolute masterpiece.

– – – : The short track (cf. “Rilling”) from the list is not exactly the most convincing one.

Conclusion: “Angstzweet” translated as ‘cold sweat’ will appeal all lovers from early electronic modular synth music. This is krautrock ano 2018/2019 and made in Belgium.

Best songs: “Zweet”, “Angst”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www .facebook .com /Onsturicheit -2000817190200670

Label: www .wool –e –discs .be / www .facebook .com /woolediscs

Onsturicheit – Waan (CD Album – Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 19:30:23 +0000

Genre/Influences: Experimental, ambient, krautrock.

Background/Info: Peter Moorkens is a Belgian artist who is involved with music for numerous years now. He has been (and still is-) member of different bands and projects. Onsturicheit is a solo-project he’s been experimenting with for a couple of years now. He released five (!) albums nearly at the same time on Wool-E Discs, which are all part of the “Belgian NeuMusik”-series devoted to Belgian ambient artists.

Content: Peter Moorkens once started to play guitar and “Waan” brings this element back to life. But the music is also composed with an electronic arsenal and especially a passion for analogue/modular equipment. The guitar is sometimes pretty hypnotic. Some passages have been carried by slow rhythms while the electronic treatments have something space-like. You’ll also notice a few spoken samplings in Dutch.

+ + + : The main characteristic and strength of this work is the brilliant sound treatment procedure. It now and then creates a truly transcendental sensation, which might be reinforced by elevating guitar effects such as on the great “Een Godin Heeft Lippenstift”.

– – – : Some parts of the work are more experimental-like and even reminding me of the Krautrock experiments from the ‘Berliner school’, which has never been my favorite music genre.

Conclusion: “Waan” which can be translated as “Hallucination” has something intriguing and even magic! It’s an interesting introduction to the sonic universe of Onsturicheit.

Best songs: “Een Godin Heeft Lippenstift”, “Somatische Waan”, “Zondewaan”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www .facebook .com /Onsturicheit -2000817190200670

Label: www .wool –e –discs .be / www .facebook .com /woolediscs

Neon Electronics – Apollo (CD Album – DanceDelic-D / Wool-E Discs)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 18:30:05 +0000

Genre/Influences: EBM, electro-wave.

Background/Info: Dirk Da Davo entered into history as one of the Neon Judgement core-members. We also know Dirk for his originally solo-project Neon Electronics, which released its first self-titled album in 1999. The influences have been often pretty technoid-like. For this new opus Dirk Da Davo joined hands again with Glenn Keteleer (Radical G, The Juggernauts) and Pieter-Jan Theunis (bass guitar).

Content: The sound and influences on “Apollo” are pretty different from what I’ve been used to hearing from Neon Electronics. The technoid input has been (voluntary) lost and replaced by an eclectic sound, which is covering electro-wave and EBM influences. Electronics and guitar playing (sometimes a bit psychedelic-like) are in perfect harmony. The most surprising songs are two ‘covers’ from The Neon Judgement, which both were hits (cf. a live version of “TV Treated” and “Schizofrenic Freddy”).

+ + + : The main strength of “Apollo” is its diversity. There clearly is a vintage aspect reminding The Neon Judgement (and not only for the cover versions) but still a kind of wink to one of Liaisons Dangereuses’ hits (cf. “Être Assis Ou Danser”) entitled “Energy X” sung in French. Both Neon Judgement cover versions or adaptations make sense and remain great cuts. I’m still a huge fan of the synth line running to “TV Treated”, which is one of the iciest leads I’ve ever heard.

– – – : Generally speaking I like this work, but it’s a kind of ‘melting pot’ bringing different influences –and even Neon Judgement songs together. This album has less in common with previous works of this project and that’s maybe a pity!

Conclusion: Neon Electronics has never been so close to The Neon Judgement! It will be fine for the fans of Neon Judgement, but where’s the challenge for Neon Electronic lovers?! Don’t get me wrong; “Apollo” is a cool, but a bit unexpected work!

Best songs: “Energy X”, “TV Treated – Live 2018”, “Schizofrenic Freddy”, “Invisible Man”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www .facebook .com /ddd .neon .electronics

Labels: www.dancedelicd.com / www .wool –e –discs .be / www .facebook .com /woolediscs