Throughout the 1980s, Xmal Deutschland distinguished themselves with a voracious and unwavering approach to their art. Their distinctive aesthetic, characterized by bold hairstyles and intense, kohl-rimmed eyes, mirrored the complex nature of their music, which combined relentless energy with a nuanced finesse. This blend allowed them to break free from the confines of the “Neue Deutsche Welle” movement, differentiating them from peers like DAF and Einstürzende Neubauten.

Xmal Deutschland embraced punk’s bold break from traditional norms, finding solace in its anti-establishment ethos—a stark contrast to the rigid conventions of the past. Their recording debut, the single Schwarze Welt, was characterized by an unforeseen turn of events: Rita Simon, the intended lead vocalist, was unexpectedly absent on the day of recording. This twist of fate thrust Anja Huwe, initially the bassist, into the spotlight as the lead singer. Despite her initial hesitations, she stepped into the role, marking a significant shift in the band’s trajectory.

“The only condition from my side [was that] I will never perform onstage,” she reflects. “Two months later, they made me without ever telling me up front. I had no choice.”Their breakthrough came with the release of Incubus Succubus in 1982, a pivotal moment that was further amplified by a landmark performance in London the same year, where they opened for the Cocteau Twins. This event propelled them into the spotlight, attracting an avant-garde audience characterized by torn fishnets and a penchant for the unconventional.

Listen to the original version of the single “Incubus Succubus” below:

 Schwarze Welt was released on the local punk label, ZickZack, in 1981 and introduced the band as an unsettling swarm of intensity. The characterization of Xmal Deutschland primarily as a female ensemble—a notion later playfully amended with the inclusion of Wolfgang Ellerbrock, who became the group’s lone male counterpart—gained momentum within the circles of media, a fascination propelled as much by their visual appeal as by their musical prowess. “We were like paradise birds,” Huwe wryly remembers. “We as girls, especially being creative in many ways, ignored facts like: be nice, be polite, take good care about your looks. Of course, we wanted to look good but in a different and unconventional way. We were enough for ourselves.”

Following Xmal Deutschland’s distinguished run, marked by four albums released under esteemed labels like 4AD, Anja Huwe shifted her creative focus, leaving the musical stage to delve into the realm of visual arts. However, this transition did not mean an effortless departure from her musical legacy; the echoes of her past endeavors lingered.

“Since the split in the early 1990s, I have been haunted by the ‘Legend of Xmal Deutschland’ and never-ending requests from all over the world, all of which I always turned down,” she says.

Early Singles (1981-1982) is a map of their foundational movements, just seconds before takeoff. The band’s pursuit of something greater is palpable with this release, a reflection of a time that introduced accessibility to new means of making music following the onset of punk. This reissue includes two bonus tracks; Kaelbermarsch (originally from the compilation Lieber Zuviel Als Zuwenig) and a gritty live version of Allein (originally from the compilation Nosferatu Festival), which is shared online today along with a video montage of footage from this era of the band’s career.

Pre-order ‘Early Singles (1981-1982) here.

Pariah is the second offering from the debut solo release from Anja Huwe. Invited by her long-time friend Mona Mur, Huwe reconsidered her decades-long hiatus from music and decided to join Mur in her studio in Berlin. Together, they worked for a year and a half, composing, performing and producing the tracks from scratch which eventually became the album Codes.

The razor-sharp new single shows the intentional interchange between languages on the record: “Since I sing multilingually, and often work with metaphors, I hope that the listener can grasp the moods without understanding them literally. I believe that voice, expression, and sound can achieve an overall atmosphere. Sometimes melancholic and blue, but also uplifting, vibrant, or subliminally aggressive.”

Listen to “Pariah” below:

Initially inspired by the diary entries of Moshe Shnitzki, who, at the age of 17, left his home in 1942 to live in the cavernous White Russian forests as a partisan, Codes is about the human experience and what extremes can do to an individual. “The result is a poetic, musical cosmos that encompasses the following themes: forest, fear, pain, loss, violence, and loneliness but also beauty, longing, hope and the will to survive,” Huwe explains.

The thematic extremities cause an erraticism to Codes—a passing thunderstorm, a cyclonic burst of nature’s force—but one that exudes anticipation amidst the chill. With elegant production by Mur and Huwe and mixing and mastering by Jon Caffery (Joy Division, Gary Numan, Einstürzende Neubauten) epic builds crash and disseminate, the sleek synthesised drones of sound even feel claustrophobic at times.

Pre-order Codes here. 

Follow Anja Huwe:

• Website
• Instagram

The post Anja Huwe Debuts New Solo Track “Pariah” — Plus Listen to the Original Version of Xmal Deutschland’s “Incubus Succubus” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

“Curating Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX was a big puzzle,” explains Curses. “Figuring out how to fit all these tracks across 6 different 12″s required a lot of calculations and, to be quite frank, I was never that great at maths. Unfortunately, this meant we had to cut some real heaters off of DEUX. But Eskimo and I decided that we couldn’t let these gems go to dust. I’ve been DJing them loads in my sets, so it was only fair to share them with y’all to DJ and rage to yourselves. So, here it is… the final blast of bonus tracks for Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX: Secret Cuts.”

Secret Cuts is jammed with names both familar and new: the revivalist EBM of Chrome Corps, Ghost Cop‘s sultry horror disco, and the spindly industrial beats of Notausgang are all primed for the DJ’s secret weapon folder. Out on February 7th, the entire release will be available via Bandcamp but, for now, three tracks are available.

Nuovo Testamento – “In My Dreams (Powerhouse Mix)” is an Italo-house stomper. Complete with lead piano, the remix is pure energy.

Unconscious feat. Carnuntum – “Carnivora (LivEvil Version)” seethes in the refined EBM the Italian artist, Unconscious, is known for with a rumbling bassline and mysterious vocals by Carnuntum.

Curses – “The Deep End (Redux)” is a Carpenter-esque gem that would fit nicely with the theme to Christine. Its disco-inspired beat carries the somber guitar and haunting synth pads as they swell and disseminate.

Pre-order here.

The post Curses Announces a Secret Stash of Dance Floor Heaters with “Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX – Secret Cuts” LP Including a Nuovo Testamento Remix appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Etheric engineers

Alphabets of twisted letters

Thermonuclear

In the fervent underbelly of Hungary’s industrial music scene, there’s an ethos of self-transformation that’s almost surgical in its precision. The artists within this realm are not averse to introspection, often recalibrating their approach to blur and transcend genre confines, or to engage in a dialectic of deconstruction and creation within their sonic environment.

This latest offering, New Horizion: A Hungarian Electro-Industrial Compilation, comprises seventeen tracks that are emblematic of the genre’s robust and unyielding nature. The music delivers with an industrial precision, each track shaped with a more refined finish, yielding an auditory experience that is stark and unrelenting—setting a new benchmark for the country’s vibrant but often distorted cultural legacy.

The lyrics to Planetdamage’s EXOCOMM depict a futuristic scenario where advanced technology intertwines with human experience, symbolized by “EXOCOMM.” Born from a statistically improbable marriage of Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles and a long discussion with an AI about the most probable characteristics of both extraterrestrial and AI languages, this song is about what happens when a language not of this Earth gains sentience and moves hosts through cities to infest more minds. A pervasive “virus” spreads through language, altering perception and reality. This virus, a metaphor for influential ideas or tech, is part of the narrator’s design, suggesting intentional dissemination. Communication evolves beyond current understanding, driven by “somatic” and “neural engineers,” hinting at a blend of the organic and the artificial. The song is delivered via spooky robotic-sounding vocoder, making its message all the more alarming.

“Would have said cyberpunk earlier, but we’ve been living it for a time now, so let’s just stick with “disgruntled electro- industrial about the unevenly distributed future…now with 25% more psytrance and breakbeat, quip Planetdamage.

In the realm of industrial rhythm, Stahlgeist marks its territory with the kind of beat that propels bodies into motion, reminiscent of the pulse found in classic tracks from pioneers like Skinny Puppy and Nitzer Ebb. Crafted by István Gazdag and Tamás Bank, veterans of the EBM scene, the project is a distillation of a thirty-year friendship steeped in the genre’s austere traditions. The duo, drawing inspiration from a theatrical piece by Simon Stockhausen, invokes with their music a collective potency—a celebration of the industrial narrative: the sinew and the labor, the nocturnal toil, and the catharsis found in the collective dance. This is not just sound but a physical manifesto, a rally to the rhythm of industry itself.

Reinfection’s Collapse offers an instrumental homage to the titans of industrial sound, integrating the spectral distortion and complex percussion that evokes the genre’s golden age. With a nod to the likes of Fad Gadget and Skinny Puppy, the album interlaces the ethereal with the otherworldly through its synth work. Samples from news broadcasts lend a disquieting realism, creating a soundscape that is both cryptic and disconcerting.

“This song was inspired by the economic, social, and war events taking place in the world,” the band explains. “We are moving closer and
closer towards some kind of moral collapse, with a burning match next to the fuse.”

The lyrics to Japanese Phoenix by Tenno Pop explore a tension between a longing for freedom and a sense of entrapment within a ‘monstrous fantasy.’ The juxtaposition of vivid spring imagery with the desire to remember and generate love suggests a struggle between hope and reality. The repeated questioning of life and freedom underlines a yearning for liberation.

Kristof Selmeci and Balazs Bence established Tenno Pop in 2010 as a genre-defying collective, deeply entrenched in the underground music scene. Their explorations delve into the origins, collective consciousness, and the very essence of what constitutes the universal language of music.

“We started working on the track back in 2011, inspired by the events in Fukushima,” says the band. “The concept was to try to organically mix various traditional Japanese instruments with modern electronics and an industrial sound. All of this was enhanced with special sound effects from Noh and Kabuki theater, and we added a couple of sacred festival and ceremonial song motifs. The texts are recorded by Bence and Basho Matsuo (1644-1694).”

“Neither the ‘present’ nor the passage of time can be defined as a property. These can only be expressed by the meaning of words. Only the meaning can be used to refer to the volatility of the present and the inexorable passage of time,” says GRIP about their frenetic EBM single Számolj!. “However, it can be defined as a relation. Existence is the question. Existence is at stake in this case as well. An earlier event can affect a later one. In other words, only one domain of the past can affect one domain of the future. But if this is so, then both the past and the future exists, since if there is something in the past that affects, and there is something in the future that is being affected, then both the past and the future exists. This is the very thing we have to experience in our everyday lives.”

Zsolt Gyarmathy (CyberBob) and vocalist Simon Tibor, who hail from the Viharsarok region, are versatile veteran musicians often teaming up, such as in the synthpop band Syntax Error and now in the post-punk revival band kékmandarin.

Invoking the disquieting spirit of industrial forebears like Skinny Puppy, the track Forint by Empelde x Planetdamage sets to music the harsh realities of schoolyard bullying, allegorically mapping this to the tribulations of Hungary’s currency. In this narrative, the forint becomes a beleaguered character, beleaguered by external pressures and internal failings, ensnared in an economic maelstrom of speculation and devaluation. The song emerges against a backdrop of opaque financial machinations and the mercurial nature of media narratives surrounding fiscal policy, inflation, and fluctuating exchange rates. The tone of the track captures a collective frustration and sympathy, recognizing the pervasive impact of the forint’s volatility on the everyday lives of citizens, not just those with wanderlust.

Next, 3.N.D. comes through with the powerful, blistering Victims of Ourselves, which angrily rails against greed at the expense of quality of life. Channeling Front Line Assembly and Fad Gadget, this critique is best blared at full volume during the hangry hour of your work day.

“The song focuses on the city, moving to its inhabitants to take you where you don’t want to be: wallowing in the swamp of loneliness, greed,
indifference and hatred, from which there is no way out, because there are no conclusions, let alone self-reflection, only the unpleasant but at least familiar embrace of the familiar overall crap,” says the band.  “We tried to collect in 4×4 rows why we are the victims of courselves who expect someone’s gonna solve our problems, their problems, for ourselves. Which evidently gave way to the second chorus twisted into a question: “will the problems be solved by someone else?”

There are minimal lyrics in the following EBM track from MAN+MACHINE, Kill Me Though, but they pack an emotional wallop.

“I wanted to evoke a moment like a bitter, yet hopeful morning when I find myself at a factory site on the outskirts of the city,” says the artist. “And in the background of this moment, not only as music, but also as an aesthetic, the industrial techno sound is intertwined with EBM elements and some bluesy things, which I hope together create the atmosphere that I wanted to bring to this song.”

There is a strong anti-war sentiment coming through in Worker’s Ordits!. Disgust for suffering transcends language, as the clanging military beat emulates marching soldiers. The inspiration came from the 1976 film Network, as Howard Beale ranted on-air “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” It’s a song about finding the strength to take initiative to make change, and to encourage others to follow suit.

The next track takes a strong detour to the seedy world of sexual domination in Celina’s steamy Hurt You More. In this track, a commanding female presence takes center stage, her allure framed by the clandestine and the forbidden. Behind closed doors, she embodies the seductive force that draws you in. The sounds are rich with deep bass and raw electronic strokes, encapsulating the essence of temptation turned to sin. There’s an invigorating beat that compels movement, inviting the listener on a transgressive journey. Here, the listener submits to a guiding mistress, who navigates a landscape of pleasure and discomfort with a deft hand. Celina, known in the circuits as Cyberqueen, encapsulates what the pulse of electronic punk aspires to be. Her toolkit—a synthesis of raw synthesizers and the grandeur of science fiction—transforms her tracks into odysseys, inviting listeners to embark on aural voyages that stretch beyond the customary frontiers of music.

Returning to the firm ground of industrial rhythm, RTFXX’s Wretched Sorry State serves as a sonic rally against authoritarianism. This offshoot of Planetdamage brandishes a lexicon of rebellion, crafting an indelible narrative of defiance. The urgency of escape and the shadow of surveillance are at the fore, echoing a modern cyberpunk sensibility. The track’s pulse is a digital heartbeat, its inspiration drawn from the omnipresence of artificial intelligence in our lives.

A kérdés by CMC narrates the solemn journey of a Wanderer who understands the fate of a dying city. As he stands on a mountain, he observes the remnants of humanity fading in a radioactive wasteland. The final chorus shatters against the rocks as silence screams, and the world ends not with a bang, but with a whimper under the quiet storm clouds of judgement. Formed by György Szász, Vince Kósa and the late Zoltán Szántó,
CMC (Cro-Magnon’s Coke) is a legendary industrial band of the 80’s, revived in 2019 with new members Csaba Gáspár and Barnabás Horváth.

In its latest incarnation, Vacuum(x), István Gazdag’s solo venture, remains true to the incendiary essence that marked its inception alongside István Drimál. This embodiment revives the stark, unyielding ethos of early electronic body music, channeling the raw, unapologetic spirit of the ’80s…and George Orwell.

“The masses never revolt of their own accord, and they never revolt merely because they are oppressed. Indeed, so long as they are not permitted to have standards of comparison, they never even become aware that they are oppressed.” (George Orwell)

Lázadj! (EBM verzió) serves as a clarion call to those hemmed in by unseen shackles, urging a defiant uprising. Through the metaphor of a beleaguered butterfly, it summons a collective awakening to the imperative of liberation, championing the fight for autonomy and the dire need to reclaim one’s place in the world before the window of opportunity slams shut.

TieF Lärm, the nom de guerre of Tibor Feldmann, operates as a one-man electronic bastion, blending EBM with industrial flare. His track “Portrészobor” presents a stark tableau of creation—bass lines both peculiar and abrasive lay the groundwork for dark melodic constructions. It’s a narrative of endurance, of becoming a spectacle frozen in strain, a faceless visage sculpted from clay, defined by raw and purposeful etchings. This process, a meditative unfolding on the workbench, suggests a bust emerging amidst contemporary terror. A face takes shape—less a face than a grimace—hands working, smearing what might be taken for charm into the clay, only for the finished work to be imprisoned behind glass, its tension forever caught in stasis.

LivingTotem is next with their pounding instrumental number, Clear Dynamics. “This was previously unreleased song that I took and geometrically reworked live to give you another gloriously faster and shorter version,” says the artist. “A post-apocalyptic raging ecstasy with a cleansing force.” LivingTotem presents an improvisational foray into the realm of music, one that disregards the usual formalities and linguistic limits. It is an exploration—a chiaroscuro blend of primal cadences and the relentless pulse of industrial vibrations.

Following this is CALM T’s expansive anti-industrial anthem, In Symbiosis With Evil. The song reflects the struggle of living in a toxic environment, both literal and metaphorical, where industrial decay and societal corruption are suffocating. It speaks to the resignation and resilience required to endure in a world that is indifferent to suffering, where survival means coexisting with the very elements that oppress and attempt to crush the spirit.

“We know at times that we could do more but we have to live in symbiosis with evil, as sometimes that little must be done to take us forward and maybe strengthen us, because this is just how the world is,” the band concludes.

Last…but certainly not least, is the minimalist instrumental composition evoking Fad Gadget once again, the brain-busting, robotic DATA1 by ARAS FOCUM. The band describes the sound as “Always against the flow, capturing and layering energy without the intention of owning the vibrations. Sound sensation of vibrations spreading as mechanical waves.”

Follow Planetdamage:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Bandcamp
• Spotify

Follow Stahlgeist:

• Facebook
• Spotify

Follow GRIP:

• Facebook
• Bandcamp

Follow Empelde:

• Bandcamp

Follow 3.N.D.:

• Facebook
• Instagram

Follow MAN+MACHINE:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Soundcloud
• Spotify

Follow Celina:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Bandcamp
• Soundcloud
• Spotify

Follow RTFXX:

• Instagram

Follow Vacuum(x)

• Bandcamp

Follow LivingTotem:

• Facebook
• Soundcloud
• Spotify

Follow CALM T:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Bandcamp
• Spotify

Follow ARAS FOCUM:

Soundcloud

The post Listen to the Amazing “New Horizon — A Hungarian Electro-Industrial Compilation” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

This vintage delight will hit the stores on December 8, 2023. For the enthusiasts waiting with bated breath, you can pre-order it now.

A Look into the Past with a Modern Lens

Dais Records, the bastion of sonic innovation and visual prowess, has always celebrated the rich tapestry of music’s past while pushing its boundaries. It’s no wonder, then that this collaboration with Retrospekt feels so apt. With Retrospekt’s mission of “Reviving retro tech for a new generation,” the two giants seem to be in harmony.

Dais co-founders Gibby Miller and Ryan Martin wax poetic about the days when the tactile pleasure of cassettes reigned supreme. For them, the cassette isn’t a relic but a timeless piece.

Martin is adamant about the format’s enduring potency:

“Cassettes aren’t nostalgic, they’re relevant. Making a mix tape for a friend or love interest is a talismanic offering. It’s a reaching out, a sharing of discovery.”

For Miller, too, cassette culture was seismic; he continues to see singular strengths in the limitations of older technologies:

“Having a device solely dedicated to music may seem unique to a person today, but there’s also a purity in it. The ritual of hitting play. Feeling the hum of the machine. Flipping at the end of the side. Tapes changed everything for me.”

Retrospekt’s journey, spearheaded by Adam and Kori Fuerst, echoes this sentiment. Starting with refurbishing vintage cameras, they expanded their offerings to include tape players, Game Boys, and other nostalgic tech wonders.

 “These vintage machines aren’t obsolete – they still provide pleasure and enjoyment,” says Adam. “More and more people today realize this, and they want to have an organic, intentional experience without their metadata being tracked by some corporation.”

The Craft Behind the Cassette Player

Nathaniel Young, Dais’ in-house creative maven, has meticulously redesigned the CP-81, ensuring that both the player and packaging exude a touch of minimalist elegance. This edition is bundled with Dais headphones, ensuring that listeners experience the compilation tape, C23, in all its glory.

Features: Play, Fast-Forward, Rewind, Record, Microphone Jack, Headphone Jack, USB Power Supply (Type-C), Battery Operable. Contents: Cassette Player, 223 Cassette, 2x AA Batteries, Dais Headphones, User Guide.

The C23 compilation pays homage to the legendary UK indie tape collection C86, and boasts unreleased tracks from artists such as High Vis, RIKI, and Drew McDowall.

Listen to the first three released tracks below:

For the digitally inclined, the compilation will be accessible on streaming platforms from December 8 – you can pre-save it here.

Track List

SIDE A:

High Vis – Forgot To Grow
High-Functioning Flesh – Down To Sense
Riki – SAS (For Those Who Speak And Spake)
Private World – Through The Distance
Body of Light – Out of Season (Demo Instrumental)
Helm – Evil Ceramics
Choir Boy – Happy to Be Bad With You (Demo)
Tor Lundvall – Black Fly Day
CoH – Vow a Vow
SPICE – I Don’t Want To Die In NY (Remix)

SIDE B:

VR SEX – Runway Runaway (Demo)
Xeno & Oaklander – Hoplite (Demo)
Tempers – Camino Del Sol (Antena Cover)
Cold Showers – Sliver (Inner City Remix)
AURAGRAPH – No Control
ADULT. – Few Warnings Are Important (2003)
Drew McDowall – Animals Will Sing
SRSQ – Phantasmata
Cold Gawd – Gin (At The Mountain)

About Dais Records: From its inception in 2007, Dais Records has been a beacon for pioneering sounds ranging from darkwave and post-punk to ambient and industrial. Its 16-year journey showcases a fusion of old-school sensibilities with the cutting edge.

About Retrospekt: Hailing from Milwaukee, Retrospekt has been the go-to hub for analog aficionados. From vintage cameras to classic gaming consoles, they’ve rekindled the joys of yesteryears with a modern twist.

Follow Dais Records:

Dais Records | Instagram | Twitter

Follow Retrospekt:

Retrospekt | Instagram

The post Dais Records To Release Retrospekt Walkman and 223 Cassette Compilation — Listen to New Songs from High Vis, RIKI, and Drew McDowall appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX is a mining of music meant for dance spaces, an archival of electronic music from its very birth to the current wave. It takes the listener on a journey from industrial and EBM innovators, Throbbing Gristle, Absolute Body Control, Nitzer Ebb and Cabaret Voltaire, to the underground royalty of The KVB, The Hacker and Essaie Pas, to today’s most revered artists such as Boy Harsher and Zanias. From the post-punk emotional volatility of Sad Lovers & Giants‘ classic “Things We Never Did” up through the goth-doused mechanical dance of Buzz Kull, the release introduces and reconnects old loves with new.

Venezia’s romance with the nightlife shines through on DEUX:

“DEUX is a celebration of that music let loose on the world, the thrill of music performed live, the smoke and strobe filled clubs you’ll hear it in and the artists you’ll find on those stages,” says Venezia. “I wanted to celebrate those bands and artists, past and present who, to me, represent that spirit. Both full live bands and makeshift electronic duos alike, the kind of acts that you might have found wedged between DJs back in the day at The Hacienda in the 80s, Trash in the 00s or today at nights like Berlin’s MILK ME, EXBTN in Paris, Night Terrors + SC&P in London, New York City’s Synthicide or Ukraine’s Worn Pop.”

While part one Next Wave Acid Punx was more of a personal journey through his music discovery during the pandemic, DEUX is the reflection of his immersion into physical aspects of music: the strobe lights, the fog, the sweat on the dance floor. And if you’ve kept up with Curses’ DJ sets, he’s been teasing some of his edits that appear on the compilation (including the EBM gem, “Body On Body” by J.W.B. Hits the Beat). But his reinterpretation of Nuovo Testamento’s “Hearbeat” from the trio’s incredible 2023 LP, Love Lines, is a club-ready anthem. Listen below:

If you’re ready for it, check out the DEUX tracklisting and album art from all three volumes below (the 26 tracks with a * are previously unreleased):

Chapter 1

1. Throbbing Gristle – Distant Dreams, Pt. 2
2. Mary Möör – Pretty Day
3. Sad Lovers & Giants – Things We Never Did
4. Malcolm McLaren – Madam Butterfly (Un Bel Di Vedremo)
5. Big Audio Dynamite – The Big V
6. Cabaret Voltaire – Blue Heat
7. Nitzer Ebb – Hearts and Minds (Mix Hypersonic)
8. Clan Of Xymox – Obsession
9. In Sotto Voce – In Sotto Voce
10. Psyche – Prisoner To Desire (Single Mix)
11. Propaganda – The Murder Of Love
12. DAF – Brothers (Gabi Mix)
13. Vicious Pink – Cccan’t You See
14. Book Of Love – Modigliani (Lost In Your Eyes) (I Dream Of Jeanne Mix)
15. Absolute Body Control – Total Control

Chapter 2

1. Boytronic – Voloczny *
2. The KVB – Still Warm (2023 version)
3. Cardinal & Nun – Freak And Weak *
4. Jennifer Touch – Altars *
5. Matrixxman – Assembly Line *
6. Years Of Denial – It Sucks *
7. Silver Tears – Always Shine (Wait For The Rain) *
8. Essaie Pas – Retox
9. Aili x Transistorcake – Dansu
10. Dina Summer – Darkness *
11. Patriarchy – Suffer
12. Maelstrom & Louisahhh – Hate Machine *
13. Dame Area – Buon Cittadino *
14. Kris Baha – Into The Dark
15. Desire – Love Races On *
16. Blind Delon feat. I Hate Models – Flashback *
17. Poison Point – Altered Beats *
18. Roe Deers – Muscles *

Chapter 3

1. Boy Harsher – Machina (feat. Mariana Saldaña) (Dark Remix) *
2. Silent Servant – Non Fiction *
3. J.W.B. Hits The Beat – Body On Body (Curses Revamp) *
4. Hungry Boys – Toi *
5. Autumns – Repeat Prescription *
6. Nuovo Testamento – Heartbeat (Curses Remix – Edit) *
7. Buzz Kull – A Place (That’s Meant To Be) *
8. Soft Crash – Dolce Morte *
9. Dame Bonnet & Mufti – Pleasure Dreams *
10. Ultra Sunn – Night Is Mine
11. Neu-Romancer – Burning Eyes *
12. EVA – Industrial Hope *
13. Andi vs Randolph & Mortimer – Formidable Truths *
14. Zanias – Tryptamine Palace *
15. The Hacker – Monopoly *
16. Paradox Obscur – Evo-Devo

Buy DEUX here and the DJ sampler here.

DEUX parties:

Thu 26/10/2023 | Curses Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX listening party @ DreamBabyDream, Berlin, DE
Sat 28/10/2023 | Curses Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX release party @ Fuse, Brussels, BE

Follow Curses on IG and FB.
Follow Eskimo Recordings on IG and FB.

The post Listen to Curses’ Club-Primed Remix of Nuovo Testamento’s “Heartbeat” + the “Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX” Compilation Tracklist appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

There were disparate tribes in London that I think the Batcave brought together, because there would be the punky types, the Gothy types, there were also the rockabillys, skinheads… there was a definite tribal thing.

Every decent goth knows the wonderous lure of the Batcave. Hell, even those who merely dabble into the darker aspects of the 1980s know the legend of the Gargoyle Club on 69 Dean Street in London. It’s the birthplace of goth as we know it, a catatonic blend of styles and sounds, looks that were glamorous yet camp, and props that would be just as cozy in a haunted house. But the real story—the in depth story with all the raunchy details—has never been revealed until now.

‘Young Limbs Rise Again’, the story of The Batcave Nightclub 1982-1985 is a collection that maps out the history of the goth subculture one song and story at a time. With over 90 tracks on the CD release, 62 on the 6 LP set and 20 on the 2 LP release, Young Limbs Rise Again is the comprehensive Batcave guide.

The choice of music by Hamish was fantastic. I remember a lot of Cramps, Bauhaus, Bowie, Iggy, Siouxsie & the Banshees. Nights at the Batcave were hot, lots of drinks and other goodies, beautiful youth, incestuous fun, lots of noise and adrenalin, laughing and bickering also… It was a great buzz, innovative and daring.

Hamish Macdonald, the Batcave DJ and frontman of Sexbeat, set the mood within the walls of the foggy (and strawberry-scented) club. The Young Limbs Rise Again boxsets disclose all of Hamish’s favorite and essential tracks—”We had this rule: no soul, funk or disco”—that include songs by goth staples such as The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, Virgin Prunes, and Killing Joke. But there’s also proto-goth and glammy tracks from artists such as New York Dolls, Roxy Music, Suicide and Mick Ronson.

The Batcave’s live performances were paramount as well: the club hosted legendary artists such as Christian Death and Marc and the Mambas, while it ricocheted bands like Alien Sex Fiend and Specimen into the vast expanses of the subculture’s history. Stories about the popularity and importance of the club is divulged via the accompanying 80-page hardback book—which is just as crucial as the compilation. From unseen photos of club go-ers, to an extensive breakdown of artwork and flyers, as well as information about the Batcave at NYC’s own Danceteria, the book is a goldmine of art, inspiration and history.

Out on February 24th. Pre-order here: https://batcave.lnk.to/younglimbs

The post “Young Limbs Rise Again, The Story of The Batcave Nightclub 1982-1985” Compilation and Book Zeroes in on Goth’s Formative Lair, The Batcave appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Formed in Oldham in 1980, the band’s most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, late drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist Martyn Walsh and keyboardist Clint Boon. Inspiral Carpets embraced Doors and Animals-style organs, mixing them with distorted guitar sound of psychedelic rock. Over the past decade, despite member losses and departures, the Inspiral Carpets have persisted and kept the party going.

Now, Inspiral Carpets and Mute Records announce the release of The Complete Singles, a brand new album compiling all of the Manchester band’s twenty-four singles to date. The album will be available on double vinyl, and as a 3CD set with an exclusive remix bonus disc, via Mute/BMG on 17 March 2023. This stunning run of remastered singles spans decades, including the hits

“She Comes In The Fall‘Joe”, “This Is How It Feels”, “Two Worlds Collide”, “Move”, “Saturn 5″, “I Want You” (featuring Mark E Smith) and more recent singles “Spitfire” and “Let You Down”.

The CD set comes with a bonus disc of classic and new remixes by Fortran 5, Justin Robinson, Paul Van Dyk, Mike Pickering, and more.

The Complete Singles coincides with the start of a major UK tour, including festivals and performances at Manchester’s Albert Hall and London’s Shepherds Bush Empire.

The band released a new remix from The Go! Team today of their classic “This Is How It Feels”.  “This is one of my favourite Inspirals remixes,” keyboardist Clint Boon told Brooklyn Vegan. “Relatively faithful to the original but with lashings of all the magical elements we love about The Go! Team. I reckon the spirit of Joe Meek was in the studio when The Go! Team did this remix!”

Below are track listings and tour dates.

THE COMPLETE SINGLES – VINYL TRACKLISTING

• Keep The Circle Around
• Butterfly
• Joe
• Find Out Why
• Move
• This Is How It Feels
• She Comes In The Fall
• Biggest Mountain
• Weakness
• Caravan
• Please Be Cruel
• Dragging Me Down
• Two Worlds Collide
• Generations
• Bitches Brew
• How It Should Be
• Saturn 5
• I Want You ft Mark E Smith
• Uniform
• Come Back Tomorrow
• You’re So Good For Me
• Fix Your Smile
• Spitfire
• Let You Down – Edit – ft John Cooper Clarke

THE COMPLETE SINGLES – CD TRACKLISTING
CD1

• Keep The Circle Around
• Butterfly
• Joe
• Find Out Why
• Move
• This Is How It Feels
• She Comes In The Fall
• Biggest Mountain
• Weakness
• Caravan
• Please Be Cruel
• Dragging Me Down

CD2

• Two Worlds Collide
• Generations
• Bitches Brew
• How It Should Be
• Saturn 5
• I Want You ft Mark E Smith
• Uniform
• Come Back Tomorrow
• You’re So Good For Me
• Fix Your Smile
• Spitfire
• Let You Down – Edit – ft John Cooper Clarke

CD3

• Dragging Me Down – Jon Dasilva Remix
• This Is How It Feels – The Go! Team Remix*
• Caravan – No Windscreen Mix (Justin Robertson)
• Generations – Denmark 2 Germany 0 mix (Fortran 5)
• Commercial Reign – Rub-A-Dub Mix (Forgemasters)
• You’re So Good For Me – Like A Tonic Remix (Mark Reeder & Micha Adam)
• Dubville – (Chris Nagle)
• Two Worlds Collide – The Twelve Inch Mix (Mike Pickering & Paul Heard / M People)
• Saturn 5 – High Energy Mix (Paul Van Dyk)
• This Is How It Feels – Robbery Mix (PK & Dashboard)
• Skidoo – Possession Mix (Justin Robertson)
• Bitches Brew – Horse (Fortran 5)
• Changes – Martyn Walsh & Simon Lyon Remix*
• Uniform – Scripka Mix (featuring The Balanescu Quartet)

INSPIRAL CARPETS 2023 TOUR

• 23 March – Northampton, Roadmender
• 24 March – Newcastle, Boiler Shop
• 25 March – Oxford, 02 Academy
• 26 March – Brighton, Concorde 2
• 31 March – Cambridge, Junction
• 1 April – Manchester, Albert Hall
• 2 April – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
• 8 April – Leeds, 02 Academy
• 13 April – Glasgow, SWG3 Galvanizers
• 14 April – Sheffield, Leadmill
• 15 April – London, 02 Shepherds Bush Empire
• 21 April – Coventry, HMV Empire
• 22 April – Frome, Cheese & Grain
• 25 May – Holmfirth
• 26 May – Hull, Welly
• 27 May – Neighbourhood Festival
• 15 June – Buckley, Tivoli
• 16 June – Cardiff, Tramshed
• 17 June – Sign of the Times Festival
• 20 July – Dunfermline, PJ Molloys
• 21 July – Edinburgh, Liquid Rooms
• 22 July – Kubix Festival
• 24 August – Derby, Hairy Dog
• 25 August – Norwich, Epic Studios
• 26 August – Victorious Festival

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Taking their cue from early Human League and Tangerine Dream releases, Twice a Man began their tenure as Cosmic Overdose, a more synthpunk and experimental outfit that grew from initial members Dan Söderqvist and Karl Gasleben into a full-fledged quintet.  Cosmic Overdose released two full-length albums and a series of singles, stripping back to the initial core duo of Söderqvist and Gasleben and changing their name to Twice a Man after the release of 1981’s 4688. Both environmentalists, Gasleben and Söderqvist would incorporate a world-centric view into their music, using found sounds (including whale calls) and penning lyrics that touch on environmental matters. While their first few records are rooted in darker new wave and minimal synth sounds, the band’s sonic palate would expand to occasionally include ambient passages and eventually, purely instrumental records, with their latest release, the excellent On the Other Side of the Mirror, appearing in 2020. Additional members, including Lars Falk and Caspar Evensen, have come and gone, and at the present moment, Twice a Man exists as a trio, with Dan’s brother Jocke Söderqvist rounding out the lineup.

Songs of Future Memories, which also features a 72-page art book, encapsulates the band’s entire 40 year career, focusing solely on their vocal works. Early moody barn burners such as “Decay,” “Girl,” “Fear,” and “Observations From a Borderline” sit alongside modern classics such as “Modern World” and “High in the Clouds.” Two new tracks round out the compilation, offering a taste of what’s to come as the band pushes into their 41st year.

Check below for the full track listing and album artwork for Songs of Future Memories, and pre-order a copy here.

Twice a Man – Songs of Future Memories 1982-2022

CD 1
01. Move
02. Russian Tractors
03. Decay
04. Goat II
05. Balloons
06. Talking to the Wall
07. Observations From a Borderland
08. Fear
09. Across the Ocean
10. Distant Calls
11. Still in the Air
12. Divided Light
13. Tribal Ways

CD 2
01. Back on Venus
02. Girl
03. Driftwood
04. Yellow Flowers
05. Crane Dance
06. Speed
07. Reality Built For Two
08. Shivanayama
09. Somebody Sang Your Name
10. Skylark
11. Shoe
12. Tranquil Moonlit Lake
13. Where Are You Now

CD 3
01. Black
02. Presence
03. High in the Clouds
04. Cocoon 7
05. Fireflies
06. Modern World
07. Lotus
08. Dahlia

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For those unfamiliar with the genre, dream pop was a term originally a coined by A.R. Kane to describe their early releases, which combined drum machines, reverb-drenched guitars, dub rhythms, and ethereal vocals into an otherworldly mix of sound. As it progressed, it often was used as a catch-all term to describe atmospheric indie rock and ethereal/gothic wave, sometimes being lumped together with the budding shoegaze movement in the early 90s. While the genre’s roots are a bit hazy, early influences include The Beach Boys, Phil Spector’s wall-of-sound production style, Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra, and of course, The Velvet Underground. 4AD and Creation Records were at the forefront of the movement, with labels such as Projekt, C’est La Morte, and Independent Project Records following suit.

With all of this in mind, Cherry Stars Collide aims to trace the genre’s most fruitful period, starting with A.R. Kane and ending in the mid-90s, when the musical climate evolved to include shades of Britpop, alternative rock, electronica, and radio-friendly pop. Many of the key genre names appear here, including Bel Canto, Julee Cruise, and of course, Cocteau Twins, with several deep cuts and unexpected names rounding out the collection.

Check out the artwork and full track listing for the box set below, and visit the Cherry Red website to purchase a copy! For more on the genre, you can also re-visit our 100 essential dream pop albums post.

Cherry Stars Collide – Dream Pop, Shoegaze & Ethereal Rock 1986-1995

DISC ONE
1. A.R. Kane – Lollita
2. Frazier Chorus – Sloppy Heart
3. Area – With Louise
4. Louis Phillipe – When I’m An Astronaut
5. The Chameleons – I’ll Remember
6. Dead Can Dance – In The Kingdom Of The Blind The One-Eyed Are Kings
7. 14 Iced Bears – Hay Fever
8. Talk Talk – Eden (Edit)
9. Shelleyan Orphan – Tar Baby
10. Ultra Vivid Scene – A Dream Of Love
11. This Mortal Coil – Drugs
12. David Sylvian – Pop Song
13. Julee Cruise – Falling
14. Cocteau Twins – Iceblink Luck
15. Eternal – Sleep
16. The Dream Academy – Love

DISC TWO
1. Lush – Breeze
2. The Wake – English Rain
3. Blow-Up – Heaven Tonight
4. His Name Is Alive – As We Could Ever
5. Penelope’s Web – Lowsun
6. Cranes – Tomorrow’s Tears
7. The Heart Throbs – Kiss Me When I’m Starving
8. Breathless – Over and Over
9. Kitchens Of Distinction – Hypnogogic
10. The Innocence Mission – Evensong
11. The Telescopes – Celeste
12. Secret Shine – Grey Skies
13. The Charlottes – Prayer Song
14. Spirea X – Signed D.C.
15. The Cranberries – Them
16. Drop – Within And Beyond

DISC THREE
1. Spiritualized – Feel So Sad (Glides And Chimes)
2. The Ocean Blue – Ballerina Out of Control
3. Lycia – Ionia
4. Chapterhouse – Mesmerise
5. The Sweetest Ache – If I Could Shine
6. Levitation – Rosemary Jones
7. For Against – Today Today
8. Red House Painters – Japanese To English
9. Smashing Orange – Strange Young Girls
10. All About Eve – Some Finer Day
11. The Darling Buds – One Thing Leads To Another
12. Sweet Jesus – Your Baby Loves Me (Original Version)
13. The Sundays – God Made Me
14. Love Spirals Downwards – Stir About The Stars
15. Alison’s Halo – Sunshy
16. Insides – Yes

DISC FOUR
1. Mazzy Star – She’s My Baby
2. Bel Canto – Unicorn
3. Swallow – Cherry Stars Collide
4. The Ecstasy Of Saint Theresa – Fluidum
5. An April March – All The Flowery
6. Slowdive – In Mind
7. Half String – Sun Less Sea
8. Tse Tse Fly – Dog-Eared
9. Saint Etienne – California Snow Story
10. Blind Mr. Jones – Hey
11. Drugstore – Superglider
12. Pale Saints – Fine Friend
13. Low – Stay
14. Dubstar – Just A Girl She Said
15. Mojave 3 – Where Is The Love
16. This Ascension – August Rain
17. The Autumns – Abbey In An Oak Tree

The post Cherry Red Announce “Cherry Stars Collide – Dream Pop, Shoegaze & Ethereal Rock 1986-1995” Box Set appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Throughout their long run from the Reagan Era to the streaming age, ABD had included such luminaries as Robert Smith, Ministry, The Cult, Paul Van Dyk, Loreena McKennitt, Lacuna Coil, Type O Negative, Peter Murphy, Skinny Puppy, Blue Man Group, and even the late, great Sir Christopher Lee. By 2007, the publication called it quits.

Happily, Asleep By Dawn has returned from the netherworld, wielding an impressive 22-track compilation album put out by Philadelphia label Dancing Ferret Discs: From The Vault. Spanning 1985-2005, the collection includes a vast sampling of genres and sounds between the years 1985-2011. Some of these tracks are no longer digitally available (or, in some cases, have never been sold digitally). The main goal of this compilation is to help preserve this material for future generations in loving tribute.

“Some of these songs burned up dance floors and indie charts around the world, while others achieved regional success,” says ABD’s liner notes. “Several songs were originally on major labels; one comes from a self-released demo. It’s time these tracks received a fresh listen by club DJs and music fans alike.”

With this compilation, ABD specifically aimed for a balance of styles, and ordered the tracks with a certain rhythm in mind – they recommend listening to the songs in order. Here’s a track-by-track review.

Tracklisting:

Shriekback – Nemesis (Arch-Deviant Mix)

This 1985 classic has gotten the expansive echo and reverb treatment, whittling the howling track to bombastic essentials with interludes sampled from film. The English band formed in 1981 by Barry Andrews (XTC, League of Gentlemen), Gang of Four’s bassist Dave Allen, Carl Marsh (Out on Blue Six). Martyn Barker joined on drums in 1983. Embracing and evolving from their respective projects, Shriekback were notorious for their “insidiously weird vocals.” Big black nemesis, parthenogenesis…no one move a muscle as the dead come home.

Kite – Ways To Dance

This Swedish synthpop group formed in 2008, signed to Astronaut Recordings, and is comprised of Nicklas Stenemo (The Mo, Melody Club) and Christian Berg (Yvonne, Strip Music, The April Tears).  They have performed in festivals around Denmark and Sweden, as well as Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig. In 2020 they released new music with producer Benjamin John Powers. Their effervescent Ways To Dance channels a real Europop sound that blends the synth stylings o Erasure with the vocal stylings of Lykke Li. It’s a charming, unusual track.

Death Ride 69 – F##ked Up Generation

This tribal industrial garage band formed in Los Angeles by Linda LeSabre (Beatmistress) and guitarist Don Diego. They released two full-length albums, 1988’s Death Ride 69 and Screaming Down the Gravity Well in 1996. Linda’s growl soars over a ferocious crescendo of harsh guitars, distortions, and hammering drums. It’s high energy with a laser focus (and sound effects) squarely on revenge. She doesn’t shy away from violent imagery, but its hypnotic guitar lures you into a proverbial Howl for the Gen X set.

Imperative Reaction – As We Fall

This staticky, cyberpunk-tinged anthem by American electro-industrial band Imperative Reaction has a gothic oeuvre to it – if Robert Smith decided to write progressive electro. Imperative Reaction formed in 1996 by Ted Phelps and David Andrecht, a phoenix rising from the ashes of Digital Neural Assault.

The Merry Thoughts – Boy Sinister

This unabashedly trad-goth number from the German act The Merry Thoughts channels Fields of the Nephilim and Sisters of Mercy with its barking baritone over sweeping guitars and insistent drumming. The Merry Thoughts materialized in 1983 in Neuss, Germany: Marvin Arkham on the synthesizer/vocals; Sonja Jordan on synthesizer and guitar. Although they enjoyed some moderate success during their run, label woes and production problems during the making of their album Psychocult drove them to the edge, and they unfortunately called it quits in 2000.

God’s Girlfriend – Jean, I Think I’m Sinking

This unsettling, plodding dirge is cloaked in both mystery and bizarre, distorted vocals; a voice calling from beyond. Little is known about this band, other than the only member has since passed.

NCC – Seven Steps of Nervousness

This thrilling bit of high-energy techno zips through the airwaves with laser-beam precision, bizarre transmissions from the airwaves, sludgy breakdowns, and stirring space-age strings seemingly plucked from the frequencies of Saturn.

The Echoing Green – She’s Gone Tragic (Catastrophic Mix)

The Echoing Green is a wild card entry with the likes of its album-mates. Named, presumably, for the William Blake poem in Songs of Innocence, this Albuquerque synthpop band (formed in 1992) eschewed label representation for a higher power. Their lyrics are infused with a strong element of faith, Christian mysticism and biblical themes. This mix for She’s Gone Tragic is a shimmering example of showing that the path to ecstasy takes many forms through the power of music; hovering in the vein of OMD, Lightning Seeds, and Paul Van Dyk.

Faith And The Muse – The Silver Circle

Faith and the Muse’s The Silver Circle is straight-up sorcerer music, a summoning force with tribal drums, powerful female vocals, and flamenco-style guitar. Monica Richards and William Faith (The Bellwether Syndicate) blend a myriad of influences, from Celtic folk, to Welsh mythology, to darkwave – weaving a musical tapestry akin to Dead Can Dance., drawing on many sources and influences, notably Dead Can Dance. Welsh and Irish mythology have often served as an inspiration for many of the band’s songs. This one, we imagine, would be a great soundtrack to your coven night, come the next full moon.

Star Industry – Nineties

Star Industry brings a hard rock edge to a gothic sensibility. Seemingly schooled at the Andrew Eldritch Academy For Goth Crooning, the Belgian band formed in 1996. This expansive, catchy track, Nineties, ushers in a new era, tapping into that fin-de-siécle zeitgeist. Nineties was Star Industry’s most successful, topping the 1998 Israeli alternative music chart.

Sheep On Drugs – 15 Minutes of Fame

Ready to jack up your morning to some mind-melting rave energy? Sheep on Drugs deliver the seminal Andy Warhol musing in this acid house-tinged, chanting electronic music bonanza, detailing a terrifying, unforgiving modern age hellbent on fame and notoriety. We hear the same energy as The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, and Orbital. Sheep On Drugs are a British techno/industrial outfit, formed by Duncan X (a.k.a. King Duncan) (vocals) and Lee Fraser (a.k.a. Dead Lee) (guitar/keyboards). They are currently composed of Fraser and Johnny Borden (vocals/keyboards).

Sweep – Emptiness, Your Loneliness

Melancholy, minor chord techno is the MO here for this Norwegian synthpop band: zippy arpeggios and soaring guitars are coupled with emotional crooning. We hear references to Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, and even a bit of 90s club music like Haddaway and La Bouche. Sweep was formed in late 1996, aiming to keep the 80s sound alive during the grunge era. They’ve evolved into their own sound, with a decidedly 80s flair over the decades.

kHz – Let It Go

Switching gears entirely, this grungy, aggressive outburst of a track, channels the rage of Alanis Morissette, Bikini Kill, and Hole, with a heavy industrial influence and a little bit of death metal growling for good measure. kHz is Raiana Paige, Will Wood, and Joe Migz: their unique and honest DIY approach won them an award for the best indie American Latino band from AIM TV, and their music has been featured in films like Return of the Living Dead and Drive-thru. Dave Navarro has also highlighted them on his show.

GASR – New Society

This space-age song moves squarely into Krautrock territory with stompy industrial flair, samples from mass media, and ominous lyrics plucked from the playbook of Rammstein. GASR formed as a response to the stagnancy that had been plaguing industrial music. Luis Brito and Gary Suarez wanted to write music that could push EBM to new creative levels and still be something they would ultimately want to listen to themselves. This track lands just this side of dance floor anthem – more like the kind of music you blare on a long drive when you need to blow off some steam. It’s creative, catchy, and at times delightfully peculiar.

1 AM – 1000 Beats

This charming dance track brings to mind the time-bending sonic experiments of Public Service Broadcasting, using samples as launchpads for a techno backbeat and anthemic chorus. It explodes into a trance euphoria, the bright sounds of pulsing electronica bolstered by gorgeous vocals.

Every Move A Picture – Signs Of Life

This fabulous dance track from the era of the Franz Ferdinand/Editors/Interpol/Electric Six brand of post-punk was on heavy rotation in the mid-2000s, a long-buried memory delightfully unearthed with this comp. Highly infectious, with a chorus to slam dance to, Every Move A Picture exploded with Signs of Life. The band initially materialized in early 2004 around childhood friends Brent Messenger, Joey Fredrick, and Dan Aquino. Portland transplant Allen Davis joined after answering a Craigslist ad. EMAP enjoyed a cult following in college towns (certainly in State College, PA!), licensing for TV (One Tree Hill), and opened for the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, Electric Six, and U2. They’re still kicking almost two decades later.

Mentallo & The Fixer – Wicked

Back into the crunching worlds of industrial sound, Mentallo and the Fixer – the project name used by Texan electro-industrial musicians Gary Dassing (Mentallo) and Dwayne Dassing (The Fixer) – bashed through the sound barrier together from 1988 to 1999 (via Metropolis Records). Since then it’s been a solo project for Dassing. The outfit was named after two Marvel Comics characters. Wicked is a thumping cacophony, a pounding soundscape more than a dance number, designed to immerse the listener into a sort of controlled static.

E-Craft – Electrocution

Bringing the energy of DAF and NIN alike, this aggrotech dance floor banger from East Germany clangs, bangs, and hisses with explosive force. Formed in 1996, E-Craft’s brutally forceful sequences, grinding modulation, noise-art and lasting melodies that form a perfect combination and highlight the beauty of synthetic sounds. Founder Guido Henning, Jan Abraham, and Steffen Bennewitz blend their talents together with intensity in their rough, lashing soundscapes.

Neuroactive – Space Divider (Video Edit)

We need a space divider. Yes. Yes we do. This icy, atomic-flavoured EBM track comes from Finland’s Neuroactive, formed in 1991 by Jarkko Tuohimaa (Advanced Art), Ville Brusi, and Vesa Rainne. Their first album, Morphology, was released in 1994 and followed by Phonic Trace in 1997. Shortly thereafter, Brusi and Rainne left the group, and Kimmo Karjalainen came on board to sing for the next two albums, Fiber Optic Rhythm and Transients. Fiber Optic Rhythm also featured Geoff Pickney of The Nine on guest vocals. After the release of Transients, life and family obligations took energy away from Kimmo Karjalainen, who struck out on his own with Huminoida. Six years later, Neuroactive returned: Tuohimaa then brought back former members Karjalainen and Rainne to release a full-length album: Minor Side-Effects Neuroactive has remixed numerous bands over their career including: Aïboforcen, Aghast View, Iris, B! Machine, Neuropa, The Nine, T.O.Y., and Assemblage 23.

Vigilante w/John Bechdel – The New Resistance

We love a song that opens with the infamous quote from the 1976 film Network: “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Ivan Munoz, aka Vigilante, is a powerhouse industrial-metal hybrid act hailing from Chile. This intense track wavers from a staticky soundscape to stirring, anthemic chorus with more Peter Finch samples peppered in the outro.

Alice 2 – Garden Of Life

Germany’s Alice 2 is a dark rock band. Their first (possibly last?) album “Brave New World” was released in 2001. It’s a shame, because Garden of Life is a powerhouse, a fun Sisters of Mercy-adjacent style with a more techno bend. There’s a great chorus moment with rousing guitar work, and impassioned vocals that launch into a delightful shalalala refrain.

XIII. Století – Elizabeth

Finally, last but absolutely not least – we close out this comp with something truly special from XIII. Století (Warner): the spooky song opens with stirring organ music and prayer-like vocals, echoing through a vast chamber in the Czech language…until it breaks out in what is best described as ‘Nosferatu rock.’ We aren’t kidding about the vampires – a quick translation reads:

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