London-based musician and composer Ian Williams has released his latest work, “Le Mystère Lucie (Dossier Secret)”, today, July 25. You can download it from Bandcamp.

This album serves as a companion piece to the soundtrack for the 2023 French documentary “Le Mystère Lucie (Des Espions Contre Le Nazisme)” / “Codename Lucy (Spies Against Nazism)”.

“Le Mystère Lucie (Dossier Secret)” features compositions originally intended for the documentary but not included in the final 52-minute TV broadcast, which was initially conceived as a 75-minute film.

The documentary, directed by Éric Michel and Jacques Matthey, explores the pivotal role of a Swiss-based spy network in the Allied victory during World War II. A spy network led by the Swiss-based Jewish communist Sándor Radó was instrumental in precipitating the victory of the Allies during the Second World War.

Radó received confidential strategic information from the highest levels of the Nazi state and in particular from the HQ of the German army via Rudolf Roessler, a deeply anti-Nazi Christian who he never actually met. Roessler, codenamed Lucie because he was based in Lucerne, received his information from German supporters of the resistance, aided by notable members of certain industrial circles.

Here’s “Le Mystère Lucie (Des Espions Contre Le Nazisme)” as available on Bandcamp.

About Ian Williams

Ian Williams began his music career in Edinburgh in the mid-1980s as a founder of Beautiful Pea Green Boat. He later collaborated with Lebanese choreographer Joumana Mourad and her contemporary dance company Ijad, blending Arabic, classical, techno, and ambient styles. Williams has also worked with singer Claudia Barton in the duo Gamine, producing two albums of dark, piano-led torch songs and lullabies.

His solo releases include:

• “The Dream Extortionists” (2019): A debut album of dark piano and electronics.
• “Les Blessures Invisibles” (2019): An eclectic electronic soundtrack for another documentary by Eric Michel.
• “All Becomes Desert” (2021): An album of minimalist ambiences and warm analogue soundscapes.
• “Slow-Motion Apocalypse” (2023*: Described by Electronic Sound magazine as “designed to sound as if it’s on the edge of orgasm or violence,” likened to works by Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, and Jean-Michel Jarre.

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

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Genre/Influences: EBM. 

Background/Info: Xtort rose up from the ashes of the Dutsh industrial-metal formation Hoer. Xtort is an electronic project unleashing its second full length album. 

Content: The album takes off with an intro, which brings us next to a dark EBM format reminding forgotten times. Xtort indeed is inspired by ‘early’ EBM sounds, which they composed with vintage gear. The songs are recovered with good-old synth lines and melodic passages. Most of the vocals are sung in English, but you’ll also discover a few German sung vocals. The last song is something totally different. It’s a kind of outro featuring an acoustic song. 

+ + + : The vintage and mainly 90s inspiration brings good-old memories alive. I especially like the synth lines hanging over the songs. I have a little preference for the somewhat harder-like title song and the more elaborated “Like A Knife”. 

– – – : Despite of this project’s good intentions and interesting retro approach I experienced the production as being the reflection of the poorly inspired artwork from the front cover. It’s a rudimentary work, which needs to be elaborated. 

Conclusion: This album couldn’t convince me although I like the band’s vintage approach. This band can do much better!

Best songs: “Nothing Is Real”, “Like a Knife”. 

Rate: (5½). 

Artist: www.xtort.info / www.facebook.com/xtort   

About Xtort

Xtort was formed around 2011 by Piet Snijders, also known as DJ Kaos, out of the Dutch industrial-metal band Hoer. The project moved from Hoer’s metal-oriented sound toward electronically driven industrial music, with a lineup that has changed over the years. “Nothing Is Real” is the project’s second full-length album, released through DA Records.

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

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Genre/Influences: Industrial, dark-electro.

Background/Info: The name of this formation from The Netherlands will probably remind you to the “Xtort”-album released by KMFDM in 1996. I’m not sure the band has been inspired by KMFDM, but it consists of a project that has been set up by members of the industrial-metal minded HOER. Xtort wanted to move on industrial paths, but with some extra new-wave elements instead of metal music. After 3 EP’s they now have unleashed their debut full length revealing 10 songs.

Content: We clearly can’t affirm Xtort is a pure industrial formation. They’re just using industrial sounds like distorted drums and some rough noises, which they’ve mixed with elements from dark-electro music and even pure vintage electro-ambient elements reminding to J.M. Jarre.

The vintage aspect of multiple sounds and global arrangements is a quite noticeable element. The work is pretty diversified and even into rather classical dark-electro music featuring vocals à la Claus Larsen (cf. “Seele”).

+ + + : I like the approach of Xtort of composing a dark-electro inspired sound with some harsher industrial elements on top. The retro-approach is quite exciting.

– – – : The global production sounds rough and unpolished, which might be voluntary, but it not exactly sound professional. Some of the vocal parts are not that passionate and powerful enough although a few tracks clearly reveal more rage and passion.

Conclusion: There’re a few good elements running through this work although I expected much more from this band, which already has a lot of experience.

Best songs: “Space”, “Isolation”.

Rate: (6).

Band: www.facebook.com/xtort

Inferno Sound Diaries

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

www.side-line.com