McAllistron

2016 Music Recommendations

circuit-music:

Ah yes, 2016- a horrible twelve months most would rather just as soon forget.

When I first started to jot down my thoughts they instantly went as negative as the last twelve months. I had to pause and re-assess for a moment. We just went through 365 days of hell, and there I was being hyper critical of music. Music - a thing that brings joy to people, unites, speaks words that can’t be said, eases our pain, helps us forget or remember, provides the soundtracks to our lives, and so many other things.

So I hit delete on those lengthy paragraphs (they were funny and fair, yet a bit harsh), and chose instead to just provide a lengthy list of music I did enjoy this year.

This isn’t a top 10, top 25 or even a top 100.  It’s impossible to put a record like King Dude “Sex” next to Body of Light’s “Let Me Go”. You can’t evaluate those records with the same tools, as they’re both so stylistically different but equally as good. Instead, it’s a recommendation list or better yet your shopping list. I’ve broken things down by genre categories, (Listed alphabetically, then artist alphabetically), but I wouldn’t go too closely off those as plenty of releases break the genre barriers in their explorations of sound.

Couple of things differently this year than in years past;

I haven’t provided numerous links or a Spotify playlist/mix for listening. YOU CAN DO THE WORK THIS YEAR (and you should). Plenty of places to find these releases. Google is your friend. Check Discogs.com for information and label, band and other links. Spotify is a tremedous resource and one of the best streaming services out there. Plenty of these releases can be found there. YouTube will often have a video. Keep your eyes on sites like ReadyMade Distribution, HardWax, Mount Analog, ArtOfFact and more online sales sites. Most of these acts/labels have Facebook of course. Online news sites like Resident Advisor, Boomkat, The Brutalist, Post-Punk.com, futurismi.it, I Die : You Die, The Quietess, and plenty more are always discussing music. BandCamp, BandCamp, BandCamp - check there as a TON of these releases can be found and purchased at that site. Not to be forgotten, you can GO OUT and GO TO events and hear this material. In Detroit we have Something Cold, Mobius Strip and (my own) Produkt 313 - all nights that are playing a lot of this music, with DJ’s who are super knowledgable and can most certainly inform you. You have to get out there and be inquisitive and curious if you want the good music ;)

Next - No indepth “State of The Scene” words or critical “musical” analysis on 2016. On one hand it seemed like we were retreating backwards (even without the re-issues, Information Society covers and nonessential Pigface buffoonery) and on the other there were releases so future-forward in thought and sound you claimed “DAMN!!!”. Quite a juxtaposition. It is what it is. People like what they like for whatever reason. There’s a ton of new pioneering music out there for sure waiting to be discovered and it’s the “what’s next” that keeps me a motivated music fan. There’s never a dull moment in speaking, writing, DJ'ing or promoting new music, so I’ll keep doing it and hopefully be a guide for you all ;)

I’ve really moved away from the industrial-club-dance music I listened to 5 years ago. A lot of things don’t interest me as they once did. As in years past I’m sure I missed a few things, ignored the hype on certain releases or just plain forgotten something. If it needs mention and I overlooked it - I may do an addendum next week. 

And one last item: This was the first year in many that I can recall where my list included multiple formats. Not just predominantly vinyl this year, my recomendations also include physical releases available on cassette and CD. Few digital releases in there as well. Vinyl remains my favorite listening medium, but if there’s a great interesting release I’m going to try to get it no matter what format.

Anyways, got your snacks, pen and paper, eye drops and plenty of beverages? Onwards with the list!!! :D

-Marc

::: ACID, NEW BEAT :::


Black Merlin - “Issue n. Fourteen” 12" Jealous God
Donwtempo, atmospheric and post industrial… depending on the tunes…

Dax J - “Illusion of Power” LP Electirc Deluxe
Illusions of Power is about political corruption, the collapse and seizure of control, sparring nations, war, drugs, gangs and the fraudulent, media systems that spin it all into rolling, fear-mongering 24 hour loops. Written with an arsenal of hardware gear from the Londoner’s studio in Berlin, Dax J’s Electric Deluxe debut is a militant, yet atmospherical dancefloor assault.Dax J’s productions are typically mercurial, informed by the past and fortified with a wide range of influences from acid and ambient, to jungle and drum & bass. His EPs are rich, kaleidoscopic ventures involving an array of tempos and moods, and Illusions of Power is no different.

Lucindo - “Alien Rebellion” 12" 3TH Records
Fantastic, hard banging & distorted acid injected Techno in early 1990s reminiscence mode

Zarkoff & Ikonal - “Toxicology” - 12" Gooiland Elektro
Zarkoff returns to Gooiland Elektro… this time not as FFFC (Florence Foster Fan Club) but together with Ikonal… a partner in crime when it comes to producing spacey and trippy acid tracks… these three tracks are from one of the infamous synth jams Zarkoff is organizing in an empty factory near Sisak in Croatia… the acid tracks featured on this EP have a throbbing beat with a clear hint to EBM… and the acid lines are both psychedelic and dark… in short dark acid for late night parties!




::: AMBIENT, DARK AMBIENT, IDM :::


Ah Cama-Sotz – “Exorcise –Murder Themes III” CD Hands Productions
further explorations in industrial/ritual/tribal/techno/dark ambient & soundtrack material from this long standing solo act. After the sensual downbeat fantasy “State of Mind”, Ah Cama-Sotz releases a full dark ambient album that’s widely devoid of rhythm: A meticulously crafted hour of music that may well serve as an exorcism. Electronic sounds and synthetic strings paint a sonorous background, cryptic samples and angelic choirs conjure up the enigmatic. For the dark-minded, this promises highly cinematic entertainment, purification in eleven movements. The eviction of a demon, the resurrection of the possessed is a mythical subject of almost all cultures. References to religious fanaticism have been the source of inspiration for many of Ah Cama-Sotz’s dark ambient works, of which the Murder Themes series is an ongoing example. Nevertheless this is quite different from the 2013-released 2nd part, as “Exorcise” only makes rather subtle use of industrial sounds, and the topics dealt with are very ambiguous; this style of dark ambient is composed in the classical sense, and as such relates to a tradition of electronic avant-garde music that predates the industrial genre. Soundtrack-like in the best sense, “Exorcise” leads the listener from the unsettling bleakness of the opener “Absterge” through the lighter tones of “Burnside” and understated rhythmic structures of “Diaspore” or “Cicatrix” to the discordant organ sounds of “Epsomite”; en route we are exposed to a continuous contrast of the intangible and the mundane. Whatever you make of it, you can’t deny the overwhelming effect of “Exorcise”, a masterful depiction of a dim place where Ah Cama-Sotz obviously operates in a class of his own.

Blush Response - “Rebirthed in the Sprawl” 2xCS Total Black
Two thirty-minute dark ambient movements from Joey Blush. A departure from the onsalught of beat-heavy techno-ebm, this material is much darker and slow moving. Edition of 66 




::: CLASSIC EBM, CLASSIC INDUSTRIAL, INDUSTRIAL DANCE :::

Alvar - “Guilt Kollektion” CD Daft Records
Swedish duo Alvar is comprised of married couple Jonas and Johanna making music inspired by deserted places, forgotten houses and old legends from Öland. Their music is a clash between techno, old school Cold Meat Industry records and hard beating electronic body music.  An incredibly impressive array of tracks that shatter genre constraints and take us on fascinating journey through dark electronics. You know when Dirk Ivens (Klinik, Dive, Sonar and head of Daft Records) signs an act it’s goign to be good.

Caffetine - “Yole” Digital Body Music Records
A project from New Orleans of my buddy Scott Fryoux (along with Mark Taranto) signed to the newish Body Music Records - a label run by Claus Larsen of Leaether Strip and Freund 424 of Transponder / Rhesus Factor. Yes, this is pure 90’s influenced Electronic Body Music. Nothing really remarkably new or ground breaking musically, but I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this release because it transported me back to a time when Wax Trax, Zoth, Antler Subway, Play it Again Sam, KK and labeles of that ilk ruled the day and playlist. For fans of Meat Beat Manifesto (99% era), Gruesome Twosome, Contagion PCB, Crunch-O-Matic, Kode IV…

Covenant - “Sound Mirrors” 12” Dependent Records
Covenant - “The Blinding Dark” LP Dependent Records
Covenant still craft songs with a sense of experimentation and huge amnounts of sophistcation. Theirs an elegance and refinement to the band that keeps me coming back to checking them out album after album. I always get the sense that some Covenant tracks never come to full-realization, but that’s not the case on the first single “Sound Mirrors”. It moves, it builds, it subsides then rises again in classic Covenant style. “The Blinding Dark” doesn’t sound as cohesive however, rather a collection of ideas broken up by interludes. Not necessarily a dance record ethier, which is where Covenants strengths really lie quite truthfully. There’s some moments here sure, but what direction are we going in remains a constant question throughout the listen.

Decoded Feedback - “Dark Passenger” CD Metropolis Records
Dark Passenger, the ninth album from electro-industrial duo Decoded Feedback, explores the darkest secrets buried deep inside us all. It is a grim shadow that follows us throughout our lives and we reveal it only to those we truly trust. Dark Passenger takes us on a shadowy and euphoric journey of pulsating beats and ambient melodies. Oh and I’m thanked in the liner notes ;)

Flash Zero - “Conspiracy” LP Mecanica Records (RE)
Repress of the second album by this Spanish act originally released in 1989. After their debut “1988” the band experienced some changes in their name, line-up, language and tendencies. Flash Zero moved from techno-pop to Electronic Body Music influenced by Front 242 and the Belgian music explosion of the late 80s.

Juggernauts - “The Juggernauts are Coming” CD Out of Line
Belgian band The Juggernauts (and half of THE KLINIK) is the most important rejuvenators of the classic Electronic Body Music sound. The debut album “The Juggernauts are coming” features club-compatible tunes built on a minimalist foundation of beats, sequencer and shouts.  Like the name-inspiring symbol for an unstoppable destructive force, the music of The Juggernauts blasts out of the speakers like an energetic stronghold of beats, bass and wrath. Few contemporary bands manage to channel the spirit of early EBM as brutally effective as the Belgian duo on its debut. Thudding drum machines and rumbling low frequencies accompany front man Borg while he shouts all the anger, cynicism and social criticism out of his system. While The Juggernauts share the spirit of bands like the early Front 242 or Nitzer Ebb, they never fall into the retro-trap, providing the prime father of underground dance music with a refreshingly harsh and modern approach.

KNK - “Dead Body Music 1 + 2” CD Daft Records
KNK, a Belgian newcomer act that presents their very own sonic creation: DBM (Dead Body Music)!!!  KNK is composed by the two members K1 (Deejee Koën - vocals, lyrics) and K2 (Koen Vanderstappen - music, backing vocals) and is active since February 2015 only. The project self-released two CDrs (in fact ‘Dead Body Music I’ and ‘II’), that were printed in a very small edition and sold out immediately. Dirk Ivens now re-releases both mini-albums on this CD and two exclusive bonus-tracks have been added. KNK takes you on a dark electronic EBM / DBM journey with a macabre twist. Along with Alvar, a favorite discovery of this year.

Memmaker - “Let there be Lasers” Digital Braincorp Records
Came as a surprise as I thought the project may be defunct, yet alas. A collaboration between Iszoloscope’s Yann Faussurier and Guillaume Nadon, Memmaker is all about fun, high-bpm clubbable bangers and off-kilter Sci-fi fueled humor.Plenty of samplesand silliness (Sex with a Robot(Are You Going to Do It!).

Ministry - “Trax Rarities” LP Cleopatra
Special limited edition double clear vinyl LP pressing with printed inner sleeve. Trax! Rarities is a collection of early tracks and versions from Al Jourgensen’s Ministry and various side projects. Includes the super rare RevCo track “Drums Along The Carbide.” and the first ever vinyl appearance of the essential PTP track “Show Me Your Spine that appeared int he Robocop movie.

Orange Sector - “Farben” CD Infacted Records
The third and FINAL part of the Orange Sector EP trilogy. The title song is a massive pumping club tune to make you dance! “Götter” (Gods) is an old school EBM stomper, re-made for live shows and stronger than ever. “Ich sehe dich sterben” (“I see you dying”) is a tribute to all people who recently lost their lives. As a bonus the EP features great remixes by AD.keY, Zoon Politicon and Blitzmaschine.

Orange Sector - “Stahlwerk” CD Infacted Records
After the success with their ‘Monoton EP’, Orange Sector return with the 2nd part of their trilogy. Another real EBM smash! Hard hitting electronic beats with the outstanding vocals by singer Martin Bodewell. “Stahlwerk EP” is a true must have for all EBM addicts. ‘Im Stahlwerk,’ 'Terroristen,’ 'Der Clown und das kleine Mädchen’ or 'Tanz in den Frieden’ are true Orange Sector hymns! The 8 song EP features outstanding remix versions by Martin Bodewell and NORDARR as well as a pulsating 'Clubstahl mix’ of 'Im Stahlwerk’ and an uptempo version of 'Der Clown…’ EBM as EBM can be!

Paranoid - “Never too Late” CD Infacted Records Classixx
Second Paranoid“ classics release in the Infacted Recordings classics series. After “I still dominate you“ the second Paranoid release is named "Never too late“ and brings us another 17 (!) Paranoid songs in digital remastered format including rare and unreleased songs. A real documatary for all fans of the former Machinery/SPV EBM artist!

Plastic Noise Experience -"Push and Punish” LP Alfa Matrix
old-school EBM veteran Claus Kruse made exclusive “vinyl remixes” of 11 songs taken from his sophomore “Therapy” album, giving them a real “12” extended version” feel, just like in the good old days. Titled after the band’s latest club hit, “Push and Punish” displays the German cult-act’s ultimate aggressive sonic assault made of ripping basslines, hammering beats, fast dark electro sequences, powerful angry male vocals and carrying electronic melodies. Opening track “Control” is one that you can’t sit still for.

Rein - “Rein” CD EP Playground Music Scandanvia
Was pretty excited for this as when it debuted it was a welcome entry of female-powered EBM in what is usually a boys-noise genre. The debut here has that raw edge and angsty vocal delivery drawing comparisons to Sarah Taylor of Youth Code or Erica Dunham from Unternull. Music was rapid paced EBM not unlike that of Spetsnaz. Pretty exciting. Unfortunately there was a follow up single “I Don’t Get Anything But Shit from You”, which just sounds like a bad anthem of teenage angst.

Robotiko Rejekto - “Control Your Robot” CD EP Tone'bient
Robotiko Rejekto was founded in 1987 by RaHen (Ralf Henrich) and Talla 2XLC (Andreas Tomalla). RaHen and Talla worked together in the early 1980s on projects such as Axodry , Moskwa TV and other formations around the Sound of Frankfurt scene. Robotiko Rejekto represented the early Technosound from the Rhine-Main area and was also successful in other European countries. The music style of Robotiko Rejekto was assigned to Aggrepo or Electronic Body Music (EBM) during this time. This new material obviously sounds more modern than those 90’s days. Talla is long gone and working in the areas of trance. “Control Your Robot” still packs a punch with the synths, bass lines, and drums all built to bring out the dancing monster in you. Fun stuff from legends.

[:SITD:] - “Brother Death” CD Scanner
Pretty much moved on from a lot of the club industrial these days, but there’s still a few acts that draw my attention like S.I.T.D. Celebrating 20 years now since the release of their first demo tape these guys from Germany’s Ruhr area remain CONSISTENTLY GOOD!!! The EP contains 10 previously unreleased tracks, including the new club smashers “Brother Death”, “Mundlos” and “Incendium”, the atmospheric instrumentals “Porclean” and “Burial”, plus massive remixes by SOLAR FAKE, SOLITARY EXPERIMENTS, KLANGSTABIL, AUTODAFEH and ES23. Almost 50 minutes of harsh electronic music in their usual lineage!Discovered by VNV Nation, these guys are just a bit harder than VNV and a bit more sinsister to boot. Think X-Marks too before they went all-pop. Masters of the syncopated-arpegiation and the deepest punch of a kick drum. A substantial foretaste of the upcoming long-player, which is planned to be released via Scanner / Dark Dimensions in the spring of 2017.

The Opposer Divine - “Reverse/Human” CD Aliens Production
The Opposer Divine - “Reverse/remixes” digital Aliens Production
Released just over a year after debut album, 'Barb Wire Around Your Neck’, 'Reverse//Human’ reflects the project moving in new musical directions. Sole member Minor (Boris Mutina), live and support keyboardist of Slovakian act TERMINAL STATE, here presents a more focused vision. With less experimentation the project more closely fits in a dark electro framework, while continuing to dabble in other electronic genres such as ambient or IDM. This is complex dark electro at its very best - beautiful, punishing and uncompromising. Every song is compelling, including the instrumental track 'Ice Planet’, built around samples from Charles Manson’s court testimony. great disc that reminded me of Yelworcs, AmGod, Puppy, Mentallo’s best work. The additional disc of remixes features some different interpretations on the dark themes.

Venon Vampires - “Super Science & Sorcery” Digital Body Music Records
Horrible band name but surprisingly NOT horrible music. Another discovery like Caffetine on Body Music Records. A recent band, but there sound will instantly transport you back to the hey day of KK records or Antler-Subway. Listeners will definitely pick up a strong Vomito Negro, In Sotto Voce or Boris Mikulic vibe.They cite Klinik, X Marks The Pedwalk, Vomito Negro, borghesia, Bigod 20, Front 242, John Foxx, The Neon Judgement and Snowy Red amongst their influences. These guys might be some of the best at capturing that pioneering EBM sound.




::: MINIMAL WAVE, MINIMAL SYNTH :::

Absolute Body Control - “Forbidden Games” LP Compilation Turntable Sounds
Limited to 500 hand numbered copies for Record Store Day 2016! This beautiful picture disc album presents a collection of rare and unreleased tracks from the band. we hear Absolute Body Control in different styles. “Heartbeat” is a real ode to Suicide, with the same beats the late Alan Vega had a patent on. But there is also the club killer “Into The Light”, presented here in the (Beat & Bass Version, remix). Much more danceable. You also hear a very subdued version of “A Broken Dream” which can’t be more melancholic. “Automatic “4 with its addictive dance beats, floats between EBM and discoThe strangest song is the repetitive Tanzmuzik that doesn’t seem to stop. ESSENTIAL!!!

Absolute Body Control - "Wind (RE) Wind” 2xLP Collection Mecanica Records
Absolute Body Control was formed by Dirk Ivens in 1980 and joined by Eric Van Wonterghem just after releasing their first single “Is There An Exit?”. Achieving an underground cult following, the band took their influence from bands such as Suicide, D.A.F, and the UK electronic scene. After a few years, the band members all went their separate ways finding success in other influential acts such as The Klinik, Dive, Sonar, Monolith and Insekt. In 2007 Absolute Body Control re-formed and released “Wind[Re]Wind” on a very limited picture disc LP and later on CD including updated & re-recorded versions of their best tracks. Modern sound recording techniques blend seamlessly with the classic roots of low-fi electro. Now, almost a decade after the first pressing, “Wind[Re]Wind” is relunched including all the 13 tracks from the CD plus two new versions (“Waving Hands” and “The Man I Wanna Be”) and a live recording from WGT 2007 (previously available only on a limited CD). The red vinyl version is long since sold out but black vinyl version can still be found. ESSENTIAL!!!

Beta Evers - “Delusion” Vinyl BodyVolts Records | CD Daft Records
After some EPs this is the first Beta Evers album. The vinyl release (Bodyvolt Records, Germany) comes with 8 tracks, the CD release (Daft Records, Belgium) with 10 tracks. Track 1-8 recorded between 2006-2016. Bonus tracks (9,10) are unreleased tracks from the Kommando 6 period. Finally, Brigitte Enzler presents her first ever full length album. It is filled with brand new minimal and experimental electronic music with an 80s’ touch. Her memorable vocals add a sultry and mysterious touch to her music.

Equinixious - “Cosmódromo" CD Sleepless Records Berlin
Equinoxious, a minimal wave project of Rogelio Serrano, Mexico City, started at an early age his musical education studying piano, quickly discovered synth and rhythm machines and start working and composing primarily with analog synthesizers, influenced by late 70 and 80 ´s synthesizer bands and inspired by artistic movements such as futurism and science fiction, "Cosmódromo” is the result of extensive work carried out between june and august 2014.

Luminance – “The Cold Rush” LP Eins:Zwei:Acht
the rising star of the new Belgian Angst Wave. “The Cold Rush” brings together on wax two outstanding previous recordings, and well deserving of the vinyl format: Luminance’s half of the split cassette with Acapulco Hunters released in 2014 on Wool E-Tapes, and “Wait”, a digital three-tracker from 2015,
featuring Agent Side Grinder’s Kristoffer Grip on guest vocals. Both have been revised and remixed into a coherent album in its own right, deep and gripping, with two completely new tracks, including the mind-blowing dance floor killer “Martyr”.

No More - “Touchlight Buddhas” LP Daft Records
After 22 years of non activity, No More (most known for their culthit “Suicide Commando”) decided to re-start in 2008. This LP (including free cd) contains selected tracks curated by Dirk Ivens from their 3 latest albums, all in reworked versions, plus unreleased material.

Otrotasce - “Monument of Existence” 2xLP Disko Obscura
Over a year in the making, this double LP is a compilation of Nic Hamersly’s best work from his online releases W E S T and Monument Of Existence, along with a handful of brilliant new tracks never heard before. Ltd. 250. 16 tracks of minimal cold wave synth bliss, dizzying sequences and spectral vocals.

Pure Ground - “Giftgarten” Special edition LP + 7” Chondritic Sound
The guys over at I Die : You Die summed this one up better than I ever could so http://www.idieyoudie.com/2016/11/pure-ground-giftgarten/

S/HE - “ Who Do You Love?” CD Sleepless Records Berlin
S/HE is the project of NORA BELOW and DIRK IVENS. Nora Below known from her solowork released on the Berlin based Bpitch Control label and projects like Stop Disco Mafia and Syn but also for her performances, paintings and comic magazines teamed up with Dirk Ivens who is already active for almost 4 decades in bands like Dive / Absolute Body Control / The Klinik / Sonar and together they bring you a mix of minimal trash electronics containing an outstanding version of the all time classic “Who do you love”. It took me a while to warm up to this. It’s nearly a very distorted electroclash offering and not your typical Ivens related project. After several listens it grows on you and you feel the near spontaneous and primal energy.

Valis - “Cold Hands” EP Oráculo Records
From Chicago, VALIS are considered the true kings of the “EBM funky” sound. This record presents 4 of their most acclaimed tracks and it’s even more special because the band has been dissolved due to internal discrepancies of the members and is practically sure that this release will be their second and last vinyl. The fresh mix of EBM, electro and funk and Jeremiah Meece’s screams on top it will explode any dancefloor on earth, a truly classic for the very near future!. All tracks have been analogically remastered specially for this vinyl version. Limited to 300 copies on yellow vinyl. Including “Cold Hands”, “The Cant”, “Cold World Melts (Valis Remix)” and Black Carbon.




::: NEOFOLK, GOTH, DARK WAVE, DARK ALTERNATIVE :::

All Your Sisters - “Uncomfortable Skin” LP Flenser Records
Dark and brooding post-punk/goth from this San Francisco duo not affraid to blend into other genres like noise and dark ambient as well. Fierce stuff.

Cold Cave - “The Idea of Love” 7” Heartworm Press
Raspy, intense, and spartan-like. Plenty different than the pop-like sensibilities of 2011’s “Cherish the Light Years”. Much more raw and edgy.

Cold Cave - “Nothing is True But You" 7” flexi Heartworm Press
A valentines day gift from the band. A pulsating dark pop creeper of a track.

Death In Rome - “Hitparade” CD Hau Ruck! SPQR
Fun neo-folk covers done incredibly well of pop songs like Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball”, “Careless Whisper" by George Michael and more that take the piss out of the cold sober post-industrial genre. Essential.

Hante. - "No Hard Feelings” 12” Synth Religion
Hante. - “This Fog that Never Ends” LP Synth Religion
More material from Hélène de Thoury formerly of the brilliant and sadly short-lived Minuit Machine. Both of these carry on in musch the same veina s that past project creating a cold and synthetic music mixing nagging cold wave and striking electronics. Synth music somewhere between dark melancholia and bright hope.

King Dude – “Sex” LP Van
When rock and roll goes to Hell. Sad and gloomy in parts, heavy riffs in others. A record that paints vivid pictures of shadowy places, emotions, hedonism and nihilism.Perhaps my favorite record of the year and spent a lot of time on the turntable.

King Dude/Drab Majesty - “Who Taught You How To Love This Way?” split 7” Dais Records
“Who Taught You How To Love” marks the first lyrical/musical split task collaboration between the vocals of TJ Cowgill (King Dude) and the instrumental composition of Deb Demure (Drab Majesty). Track can also be found on the full-length King Dude “Sex” LP. The B-side “Only A Mime”, an acoustic song written by Deb Demure (Drab Majesty) assumes the identity of a lover’s critical gaze cast upon Demure.  The metaphor of the mime is used to call into question the validity of ones words (or lack thereof) versus physical actions.  On this track, Deb is backed by Cowgill’s signature guttural vocal styling on the chorus refrains.

Pleasure Symbols - “Pleasure Symbols” 12” Avant!
Pleasure Symbols from Brisbane, Australia is the post punk/synth duo project of Phoebe Paradise and Jasmine Dunn.Desolate but not devoid, Pleasure Symbols engulf honest pop music under a sea of slowed, cold synth and bass. Ritualistic vocals perpetually conveying a sense of desperation, but not without fortitude, the bands unembellished restraint continually on show.

Ritual Howls - “Into the Water” LP Felte
The third record from these Detroiters (and friends) continues the bands evolution of showcasing sulky and downcast tunes. Thevy’ve further honed their haunting sound on this record that often draws comparisons to Nick Cave meeting with cEvin Key (Skinny Puppy) in a dark alley.

Spahn Ranch - “Back to the Wood” LP Dais Records
Blending the moody goth minimalism of their art-punk predecessors with the unique lo-fi drone intuition that had forsaken most hardcore punk audiences, Spahn Ranch became a staple curiosity in Detroit. Short-lived and criminally overlooked, Spahn Ranch were among the first to join art-punk's angular paradigms and drone’s sublime chill in unholy, chaotic matrimony (and frequently get mixed up with the L.A. industrial band of the same name). This collection shows an American band heavily influenced by British post-punk, but adding their own unique spin on the genre. The band had a knack for melding a minimal post-punk sound with tribal drumming and a vaguely Middle Eastern guitar sound. Add some somewhat ethereal vocals on top, and you’ve got a band that should have made it onto many a ’80s “bedroom mix,” next to Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance.

Veil of Light - “Unsprung” LP aufnahme + wiedergabe
 Veil Of Light is the synth/postpunk solo project of a mystery man from Zurich known to the wider World only as “M”. The project was born in 2012 when all the tracks for the Veil Of Light eponymous 2013 EP released on BELATEN were recorded by M in a bunker near Zurich. That last fact incidentally is a good way to describe the music released under this project’s name much like the mental image of a bunker it is cold dark and forces one into a contemplative resigned state. The influences that immediately come to mind listening to Veil Of Light are 1980s wave music post punk industrial and dark ambient all weaved together by an overarching depressive yet dreamy atmosphere. It has been called gothgaze and the description seems apt.




::: NEU-EBM, TECHNO-INDUSTRIAL :::

Adam X + Perc - “Mutiny” 12‎” Ampere&Ohm
For Mutiny & Disorder, Adam X joined forces again with fellow techno veteran Alistair “Perc” Wells. The duo begin in typically retro-futurist fashion on “Mutiny”, whose rising and falling synth lines, dense beats and clanking hits recall the early days of Roman techno. The “back-to-the-future” feel continues with the warped riffs, spacey electronics, apocalyptic textures, surging sub-bass and thunderous rhythms of flipside workout “Disorder”.

Alessandro Adriani - “Crow (Mick Wills Cut) / White Swan” 12” Mannequin
The new Mannequin Records serie “Death Of The Machines” is launched with their own Alessandro Adriania first up. It features a banging Mick Wills remix of the unreleased 'Crow’ backed by White Swan’, hypnotsing, and truly psychedelic electro tune .

Amato - “Le Desordre Et La Nuit” 12” Cititrax
A four song debut EP by The Hacker’s new project called Amato. Influenced by early EBM, German techno and new wave. Amato integrates his love of the new wave to form four ebm tinged techno funk hits. Very dancefloor friendly, these tracks take pop elements reminiscent of Belgian body music and bring them to the present day.

Ansome - “Coffin Dodge” EP THEM
No-holds-barred, menacing, stepping & punching Techno bangers from one of the most interesting names working in the area of techno-industrial today.

Ansome - “Stowaway” LP Perc Trax
“Stowaway”, the debut album from Ansome. A ten track collection of brutal UK electronics which marks the next significant step in a rapid rise. Ansome was the hot name this year. “Stowaway” is relentless and dark and very effective. In fact, very rarely does a techno album maintain a level of intensity and interest from start to finish like this one. Based in a heavy, galloping warehouse aesthetic, strong elements of glitch, acid, and a deft hand at sound design are very much evident, but the subtleties, undertones, and thoughtful flourishes and thematic progressions are what elevates the album from good, functional techno to a truly artistic work.

Blac Kolor - “Born In Ruins” CD Basic Unit Productions
Prepare yourself to be transported into a dystopian soundscape which is intensely rhythmic, experimental and hypnotic at the same time, providing the project with entirely new dynamics. The massive bass drums and lashing whip-like sounds combined with slowly floating synth sounds create a permanent game of contrasts. Totally different from the dark techno sounds of the first album 'Wide Noise’, this follow-up is a haunting memorandum of sorts. An equally disturbing and deeply engaging retrospective journey from dark ruins, where the only light is faint and distant.

Blac Kolor - “Stormfly” 12” Basic Unit Productions
A whole different affair than the album 'Born In Ruins’, this jewel sparkles with its own deep dark techno tones. Schwefelgelb unfolds a remix of 'Skeleton’ in the end, which wraps this release up with finesse, pulling once again at the heartstrings of any techno lover. Listen once, and one will fall easily into the abyss that is Blac Kolor.

Blush Response - “Body Architect” 12” aufnahme+wiedergabe
Distorted, acidic, superb hard Techno EP w/EBM inspiration.

Broken English Club - “Myths Of Steel And Concrete” - 7" Death & Leisure
Oliver Ho has now launched his own imprint, Death & Leisure, and its inaugural 7-inch is a razor-sharp introduction to his current sound. “Myths Of Steel And Concrete” is one of the decaying techno hybrids Ho does so well. The kicks are rotted and relentless, and the synths squeal and yammer erratically, needling at the eardrums from several directions. It’s all shrouded in echo as if we’re hearing a solitary worker in an abandoned factory, drilling away until the building collapses around her. On the B-side, “Our History In Bones” strips the beat away to focus on Ho’s voice. He’s spent a while perfecting a Suicide-style deadpan and it’s in fine form here. His apparent boredom makes the synths’ pained yowling all the more distressing. Ho has described his new label as a place where “absurdist melodrama meets vile electronics,” and while this debut doesn’t offer anything new, it certainly delivers on that promise.

Broken English Club - “Suburban Hunting” LP Cititrax
Oliver Ho fearlessly exposes a range of emotion through varying sound, texture and song structure. The result is a manifestation of his influences (post punk, noise, techno, grindcore) melded into his own unique vision and culminating in an album that sounds absolutely massive, both on and off the dance floor. About Broken English Club, in Oliver’s own words: “It’s not about some idea of the future, it’s about a grubbier seedier world. Theres no superior technology here, there’s a romance to damp concrete buildings and abandoned reservoirs.I like music with a sense of dread, there’s drama or suspense in that feeling somewhere. I am fueled by the energy and noise”. Giver a listen to the ttrack “Scum” - a tribute to the Napalm Death song of the same name.

Celldod - “KESS03” EP Kess Kill
KESS03 is a collection of new work by Celldöd, real name Anders Karlsson, although the sound is thoroughly vintage. From the crusty-sounding gear to the snotty vocals (from Annie Gylling on “Falska Gudar”), these tracks come across like a throwback where proto-EBM and industrial bands like Liaisons Dangereuses left off.. Raw, gritty and squealing, the music is very punk, channeling Karlsson’s earliest band, The Pain Machinery, into a one-man setup with just as much rancour. But most importantly, all three tracks speak to contemporary dance floors. In the vein of Broken English Club, Silent Servant and Terrence Fixmer, Karlsson finds fertile ground in the past. He knows the club is as good a place as any for post-punk, industrial and EBM’s ragged creativity.

Codex Empire - “Cutpurse” 12” aufnahme+wiedergabe
Hard hitting, EBM leaning, classy Techno banger

Domenico Crisci - “Issue n. 12” Jealous God
Domenico Crisci’s new effort blends in perfectly into the high-quality releases of the label, oscillating between Techno, EBM, Power Electronics and Minimal Synth. The tracks don’t even bother to annoy or tease with any kind of intro—instead, a raging kick drum and mangled and distorted synth arpeggios kick your balls until they glow. Barely leaving room to breathe, it evokes the spirit of Industrial Techno as it was forged in the late 90s in the UK, masterfully demonstrated on the excellent closer “Alte Tanz”. The analogue roughness of “Seagulls Scream” certainly Silent Servant’s influence on Techno, integrating a jumping bassline, as if it was created by Vince Clarke on bad drugs after an arse-kicking Nitzer Ebb gig—forcibly making its way to the dancefloor, oscillating pads overlay the track every once in a while, and “Unknown Body” follows the paths of the EBM-fueled relentlessness defining Jealous God’s sound from the very beginning. It’s a true festival of Rage—"Black Birds Over Naples" evokes the atmosphere of impending doom, with accented hi-hats ticking along and barely working as a corset for a pounding rhytmic foundation, enriched by resonating filter sounds, teasing a big bang to come. Upswelling and decaying detuned synths leave an uneasy feeling, stimulating the nerves in a very twisted way. No prisoners taken. Domenico Crisci’s fourth release keeps up the high standarts of Jealous God releases, and beats his best work so far, the excellent Ceremony EP, easily. An addictive record indeed, and a must-have if you enjoyed Jealous God’s output so far.

Dust - “Agony Planet” 2xLP 2mr
A nightmarish, alien horror narrative. Thirteen tracks, spanning in genre from digital hardcore, dungeon techno, and celestial ambience, are all held together by a theme of extravagant extraterrestrial warfare. Club-savvy techno engineering accompanied by frontwoman Greem Jellyfish’s bizarre monologues and warped screams beckon listeners on a journey through the occult mysticism of the nightmarish and torturous deep ocean of an alien hell. Agony Planet is an unrelenting and bold debut from a trio not afraid to explore the dark caverns of the underground.

Eschaton - “Eschaton II” LP Token
Ancient Methods and Orphx pair up again here. The four-track Eschaton II sees the German-Canadian production unit offer up a more varied approach together without losing any of the industrial menace that made their debut offering such a compelling proposition. Big drums are the marauding, dominating element on opener “Deus Irae”, whilst “Those Who Obey” pulls you through the abstracted, industrial mire. “Answer My Prayer” sounds primed to soundtrack a clubscene whilst the appropriately-named closer “No Other Gods Before Me” is an invitation to wander through the sonic equivalent of Dante’s Inferno.

Factory Floor - “25 25” 2xLP DFA
Since the departure of Dominic Butler, Factory Floor’s Gabriel Gurnsy and Nik Colk Void has consciously moved away from the Throbbing Gristle/Cabaret Voltaire inspired sound with which they made their name. On 25 25, their third full length, they continue this voyage. While there are occasional reminders of their industrial roots dotted throughout the album, the most obvious influences this time round are acid house and no-nonsense European techno. Their tracks have always been subtly shifting, full-throttle, groove-based affairs, of course, but this time round they seem more intent on sound-tracking breathless, 4am dancefloor moments, rather than showcasing their arty, experimental roots. That all of the eight tracks bang hard is a given.

FUTURE9192 - “FUTURE9192” 12" Continuum Series 1991-1998 
FUTURE9192 offer the hysteria of rave culture in it’s rawest form, taking us from violently distorted 303s and uplifting pads in “Plutronick”, industrial soundscapes and pulsating synths in “House Of Snax”, to “Rhythm Of Slime”’s raging ebm-chords and stomping kicks (which isa 'cover’ of Front 242’s “Rhythm of Time” in disguise), only to close with the epic “Murder Someone”, a hypnotic, bell-driven monster utilizing a droning “amen”-break as percussion.

Headless Horseman - “EGR45-00005” 12” Elektron Grammofon
The dark knight of eerily appealing techno — Headless Horseman — is back with a vengeance. This time, he has chosen to recruit the Elektron Octatrack, Analog Rytm, Overbridge and Machinedrum UW in order to pursue his modern-day arcane craft.

Heckmann - “Fist Up High” EP 12” Afu Limited
Heckmann returns with his trademark hard-beat-strong-sequence EBM-Industrial-Techno style and gets a very strong support by VSK remixing one of his tracks “Speak Silent To Me!” In these troubled times we need some hard beats to release our tension and anger on the dance floor and don’t need aggression against each other! If you misss those stompy Nitzer Ebb classics, Heckmann is the logical successor to the Violent Playground.

Heckmann - “Reality Lost / In Your Face” 12” Afu Limited
Keyfigure of early and contemporary german Techno, EBM-Techno and Acid, Thomas P. Heckmann has shaped the landscape of electronic music since the very beginning ! Two raw and relentless tracks to kick ass and bring the noise back to the floors ! Energy loaded analogue madness…enjoy !

Hide - “Flesh for the Living” 12” Midwich Productions
Following a series of self-released cassettes, Flesh For the Living is HIDE’s vinyl debut. This 3-track EP contains 3 soon-to-be anthems. Showcasing top-notch production values, these tracks have a physicality that matches their live show. The title track provides a bracing adrenaline rush that will have listeners on their feet, fists in the air. The remix of that track by WATTS (for American Primitive)slows the pace, evoking a cinematic, dreamlike atmosphere. “Limb From Limb” is a sinister side-long stomper that menaces with ethereal vocals, ghostlike percussion and a gut-wrenching low-end hook.

High-Functioning Flesh - “Human Remains” 7’’ Dais Records
“Human Remains” signifies the band’s movement from aggressive industrial structure to shining dance floor anthems, all while making sure their audience never strays in thought of who their musical architect is playing overhead. Coupled with the B-side “Heightened State”, HFF passes through the speakers at more progressive, minimal electronic pace. Keeping up the rhythm and nature of their familiar signature, HFF matures into complex, infectious cadence married with voltaic synthesized sound.

Horrorist  - “Here Comes the Whip” 7” Teenage Menopause Records
“Here Comes The Whip” is the first song from his upcoming album Separate Dimension. The new album will be released on Things to Come Records along with 3 more singles, however this first track is on the French Teenage Menopause label with the B-side of the EP featuring the off-the-wall “The Darkness That Was Mean to Be” from Fire Funmania. “The Whip” is a straight-forward track that sounds somewhere in between electronic body music and regular hard-techno. Arpeggiated rhythms are paired with stone-hard beats that punch down into the ground.It’s minimal but effective. Think a harsher version of ADULT. The b-side track “The Darkness That Was Meant To Be” is some bizarre low-fi gothic serenade that churns out the same lyrical content over and over again. Laid upon a foundation of distortion, this melodramatic but calmly performed song is something else than the first side of this release.

Huren - “Kozmodroma” CS AMOK Tapes
The first product of techno-busy man David Fosters time in Berlin. A very Industrial-infused affair, haunting and mechanized, with distant echoes of the early, low-key baby steps of Techno.The atmosphere is reminiscent of a haunted warehouse, and the songs take their time to buid up, teasing the infamous “boom” to come—tracks like “Rarebell-Changing Face” and “Kotimikro” provide subtle morphings of detuned drone layers, underlined by only the absolutely necessary drum patterns. Even the more beat-driven tracks—"Mimezitar", “Katakomben” and the closing track “Kinoapparatom”, rely more on atmospheres—evoking the image of a distorted live transmission from a post-nuclear war future.

Impulse Controls – “Devour” 12” Instruments Of Discipline
Two of the hottest names in the Industrial and Techno scene are out to kick some arse with a beat inferno—The Berlin-based modular synth wiz Joey Blush (Blush Response) and the Serbian Industrial/Techno duo Ontal, team up as Impulse Controls. Their debut release “Devour” is full of reverb-laden kicks, metallic percussions and noise defining the three-track release. Making themselves excellent names in the highly interesting Techno/Industrial blend, the collaboration raises some serious expectations, which they easily live up to. The three tracks offer hard-hitting and pushing Industrial-infused Techno cuts. Great stuff and a go-to record in my DJ sets. MORE PLEASE!!!

In The Mouth Of The Wolf  - “In The Mouth Of The Wolf” 12" Diagonal
Two of industrial music’s most insatiable operators, Ancient Methods & Cindytalk, pay homage to the White Rose figurehead, Sophie Scholl - remembered for her role in the passive resistance to the Nazis during WWII - with a passionate and unflinching trio of noise/techno girders for Diagonal. For those aware of Cindytalk’s illustrious industrial heritage - she has collaborated with everyone from Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil to Revolting Cocks’ Chris Connolly and DJ Scud; this is nothing short of a momentous meeting of epochs, styles and mutual intent. “Need of Angels” barrels across the A-side, pinned to the 'floor by riveting percussion and charging the spirits with thee harshest noise coming on in waves of absolute terror and catharsis.Flipside, “Sleight of Hand” disperses that lactic build-up by loosening up and allowing some prime, late '80s EBM swing into the mix, resolved against a blizzard of head-long, atonal ferocity. A Search for New Realities shifts their attention again, arching up with a pensive white noise wash pierced by pinging coin drops before unleashing a thunderous torrent of breakbeat techno hearkening back to AM’s finest Ugandan Methods and Cindy’s work for Praxis, but with a thoroughly modern aesthetic.

JASSS - “Mother” 12’’ Mannequin 
Berlin based emerging acid queen Jasss returns on Mannequin. The “Mother” EP starts out with the shocking noir EBM of “Minotauro” that will appeal to fans of Silent Servant or December, before she presents the stripped and tunnelling techno of “Gates To Nowhere” which is absolutely fierce. Then comes the total curveball on the flip: the gloomy synth pop of “Mother”.

Konkurs - “Burning Images” - 12" Veleno Viola
Cold War Body Techno! KONKURS is a project constructed from minds of two of the most prolific electronic producers currently around. Joey Blush of Blush_Response and Emad Dabiri of SΛRIN deliver us an EP of industrialized techno EBM of the highest calibre. Its dark, its heavy, its unrelenting. First up is “Face The Target”, possibly the most EBM-centric song on the EP, it’s a huge beast of a track. Like the rest of this EP, it seems the goal here is to crush all that steps in the path of KONKURS. Hearing Blush_Responses’s cyberpunk experimental sounds mesh with SΛRIN’s sample focused grooves is fantastic, everything syncs so well – it really sounds like a match made in heaven. Next up, “Scarab” may or may not be a reference to my favourite video-game, Halo, but its a punishing track nonetheless. The trend continues with “Burning Images” and “Body Harder” both set to annihilate dancefloors. Notably, despite the rhythmic insistence of this EP, there is a huge amount of detail and nuances to be enjoyed with a good pair of headphones. Not only does the immaculate production come into focus, but those aforementioned details elevate this EP into new territory. This is both club and headphone music.

Konsumer - “Crybully” EP Nachtstrom Schallplatten
4 Tracks of dark, banging Industrial Techno. Limited Edition, Yellow Marbled Color Vinyl. The Codex Empire mix is insane!!!

Marie Davidson - “Adieux De Dancefloor” LP Cititrax
Marie Davidson has emerged as one of the foremost electronic artists working in contemporary pop today. As a long-time member of Essaie Pas (DFA Records), Davidson has had the opportunity to hone her many talents.With Adieux Au Dancefloor, Marie makes a slight departure from her last two releases, via Holodeck (2015) and Weyrd Son (2014), by creating her first fully dancefloor oriented piece of work. Through the 45 minutes of music that comprises the album, she experiments with pop structures, defines her voice, and layers rhythms to make complex and beautiful techno tracks. She closes the album with the title track in classic Chanson style.

Monolith - “Time Running Out” EP Sonic Groove
New material from Eric Van Wonterghem, one of the most important figures to come out of Belgium’s electronic music scene who has had involvement with Absolute Body Control, The Klinik, and Insekt. Monolith has been going quite some time as well. “Time Running Out” is cutting edge, post contemporary industrial-techno music with highly percussive drum programming and infectious sound design set to overrun dance floors. On Adam-X’s Sonic Groove label.

MRTVI - “Tijerazo Mortal” 12” Jezgro 
FIRECE RECORD ALERT!!!! MRTVI is the new moniker of Huren. The first track 'IVUKTON’ is a heavy atmospheric drone track, perfectly suited for the mornings after completely exhausting night, that will give you an inner balance. The second track 'IBUKRON’ is actually the track that was played the night before at a party that exhausted the shit out of you with it’s sci-fi sounds and thrilling pumping kicks, so is the third 'TIJERAZO MORTAL’, the punchy noise track that slowly faded away in the dark corner of unrest. The forth track is the remix by Violet Poison of 'TIJERAZO MORTAL’ heavy armored mixture of EBM and industrial nuanced perfectly with distorted, screaming vocals.

NGLY - “Cities of Illusion” - 2xLP L.I.E.S.
After an earlier white label single in 2014, The debut eight track lp, “Cities of Illusion”, is a record that walks a fine line between many of the original strains of the electronic realm. The elements are all there to be picked apart, to be used, to be abused, thrown against the wall smashed to bits…played in the club or on the late night mix shows, it’s magic you heard in the past and crave in the present. To say the music on the lp is one thing or another is an injustice…it pays reverence while at the same time turns a corner; held together by a loose yet cohesive thread. It is a full presentation that is unafraid to challenge or confuse, with no concern for genre imposed limitations.

Ontal - “Simulacron” CS AMOK Tapes
Ontal is a collaborative project which consists of Boris Brenecki and Darko Kolar, both hailing from Serbia. They focus on the bleakest, blackest apocalyptic techno and grinding mechanoid rhythms. Formed in November 2011 and influenced by numerous music genres, their sound can be described as an uncompromising, hard and intense assault. Breathing new life in the industrial strains of techno and the darker realms of the dancefloor and mind. “Simulacron” is an extreme exercise in analog synth arpeggios and industrial drumming. In addition, the cassette comes with two exclusive sequences.

Phara - “Next Of Kin” - 2x12 Black Sun Records
Phara is a young talented and vitually unknown techno producer from Belgium. But not for long. For his debut he attracted the attention of the renowned British label Black Sun Records. That label was formerly a springboard for heavy-hitters like AnD and Sunil Sharpe. A listen to “Next of Kin” will justify why the label picked him up. The eight songs on Next of Kin fit with the dark, techno machine of the label “Next of Kin” is a varied, banging, strong-willed techno album. Phara may be young and a newcomer, but listen after lisrten of this album will convince you he’s well on his way to becoming another of the big names in the genre.

Phase Fatale -“Issue N° Ten” - 12" Jealous God
Phase Fatale - “Issue N° Fifteen” - 12" Jealous God
Phase Fatale is the techno project of Berlin-based DJ and producer Hayden Payne from New York. Coming from a background playing in post-punk bands over the past years, Phase Fatale is an artistic endeavor that serves as an outlet for his own interpretation of darker, harder and industrial-influenced techno. Brutal productions confronted by sinister atmospheres create a sound imprint that has mutated into a new electronic identity. Rigid drumming, cold synths and bleak samples - the image of future war. Both these releases are ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. Payne is one of the most interesting of the neu-techno-ebm group, fully blurring the lines between Industrial, EBM and Techno closely. He ups his game with every releas. “Ten” just ignited dancefloors when I played it and “Fifteen” is still so fresh, it’s release was just a few weeks ago, that I haven’t had a chance to unleash it on unsuspecting crowds.

Powell - “Sport” LP XL Recordings
In 2016, Powell found a home on the legendary rave outpost XL - a label that’s brought us The Prodigy amongst others. “Sport” is an LP that sounds like the perfect snapshot of his eclectic DJ sets and live gigs. “Sport” is an eclectic/electric mix of late night, out and about snatches of pub chatter, fizzzzzy synth textures, flocks of angry bees stuck in a rack of Wasp synths and downtown NY, uptown Hackney out on the pi*s swagger. Powell’s sense of fun really comes to the forefront of the session with tongue in cheek track titles like “Fuck You, Oscar” and “Gone A Bit Bendy [NTS Chatroom Version]”. Using the longer format to enlist the help of his gang, there are guest spots on the dials from Loke Rahbek of Posh Isolation who turns in a swampy number that sounds like TG going disco, rippin’ guitar fuzz on “Frankie” [feat Frankie] and Entr'acte’s Dale Cornish whose production talents adorn the chopped out vocal lines that take center stage on “Do You Rotate?” Each track’s a variation on the Powell sound, squelchy acid stabs, bone-dry tech-step drums and a wealth of off the hook samples. All stuck together with cellotape and glue to make one of the most entertaining and uniquely original 'dance music’ records you are likely to hear this year,

S. English - “General Dimensions” 12" L.I.E.S.
American experimental musican Shane English continues in a long tradition of outsider electronics as he’s been humbly prolific in his output though the years involving himself in numerous recording projects. Collaborating with Jonah Lange in their group Corporate Park as well as an ongoing collab with Beau Wanzer (seeing a release last year under the CP/BW name), English now commits his second full length solo offering to vinyl in the form of the General Dimensions lp. Sparse machine driven electronics dominate the recording providing a back drop for the occasional pulsating rhythm, metallic clank or floating obscured vocal. While it is a dark and sparse affair there is a quiet downtrodden beauty throughout giving the recording a sense of uncertain serenity in an almost shoegazey way.

SAWF - “VNL004” 12” Vanilla
SAWF - “Nihil Est” EP Code is Law
SAWF - “Ms. Roxanne” 12” Kafta
Busy year for SAWF. Sawf makes some of the hardest techno around. The Greek producer is able to nail a raw aesthetic so consistently, due an ear for crafty samples, hard-hitting percussion and steady grooves. Sawf productions are spacious and funky, but also menacing and dark—few producers are able to combine these characteristics so effectively and output so much without it becoming formulaic or predictable.

Schwefelgelb - “Wie Die Finger Durch Den Nebel” EP Fleisch
Schwefelgelb is the electronic music project of Sid & Eddy. Having carefully straddled the boundaries between Techno, EBM and Electro, the duo entered 2016 with a 12" release on the new label incarnation of the Berlin based Fleisch collective. Fleisch consists of a group of miscreants known for throwing some of the best curated dark underground dance parties in Berlin, with a focus on sounds ranging from E.B.M., new beat, acid to techno. The metamorphosis of Fleisch into a label could not demand a more fitting debut than Schwefelgelb’s newest sonic discharge. Tight programming, catchy analog synth-bass coupled with well utilized & frenetic shouted vocals echo the golden age of Electronic Body Music. A refreshing progression of sounds moves the style forward without being afflicted with the formulaic and hollow tendencies befallen similar attempts by others acts over the years.

Silent Servant - “EGR45-00003” 12” Elektron Grammofon
The 12-inch is the third in Elektron Grammofon’s vinyl series, which is dedicated to artists who use the company’s gear (with proceeds going to an unspecified charity). LA producer Juan Mendez offers a three-tracker that uses Elektron machines “liberally"—two studio cuts along with a lengthy excerpt from a live set Mendez performed at Complex in Glendale, California.

Silent Servant - “Hypnosis in the Modern Age, vol 2” 12” L.I.E.S.
Known for his previous work with techno outfit Sandwell District, Juan Mendez, since the dissolve of the group has tapped into his formative new wave/post punk and early electronic influences effectively applying them to his recent productions to create an engaging amalgamation of modern dance music. Across this ep the sounds of Bleep, EBM, and even Minimal Synth are all present…from deep floor movers to jagged edged 150 bpm skankers, Mendez through these last years has been responsible for opening up minds on the floor and this ep proves to be a testament of such.

Soft Moon - “Deeper remixed Vol. 1 + 2” LP aufnahme + wiedergabe/Captured Tracks
Following the release of his third studio album 'Deeper’ earlier this year via Captured Tracks, Luis Vasquez aka The Soft Moon dropped 'Deeper Remixed VOL. 1’ and 'Deeper Remixed VOL. 2’. Both 12″s are co-released by Captured Tracks and the Berlin-based record label aufnahme + wiedergabe. Standout remix for me was “Desertion” by the Berlin-based Phase Fatale. Phase Fatale takes the already dark, industrial tones of The Soft Moon to a new level with his fierce, piercing techno and pounding synth sounds.The mixes from Ancient Methods, Blush response, and Codex Empire all to be found on Volume 1 hit the EBM & Synth-Wave spectrum and certainly don’t miss the mark either. Part II takles another wicked industrial/EBM beating from a ravenous horde, inc remixes from Trentemøller, Dave Clark and Ninos Du Brasil. Bothe great remix records.

SØS Gunver Ryberg - “AFTRYK” 12” Contort
A contemporary composer and sound artist, SØS Gunver Ryberg’s debut EP 'AFTRYK’ delivers an astonishing sonic storm. Somewhere along the intersection between electronic music and sound art, her characteristic style is recognised for challenging your state of consciousness by transformative musical experiences with insistent rhythms, combined with a meticulous exploration of textures and timbres. Raw sounds created from synthesis and processed field recordings are framed by symphonic forms and create a unique expressivity.

SΛRIN - “Current Conflict”12” aufnahme + wiedergabe
One of the most evil projects currently emerging from the electronic underground, SΛRIN combines terrorizing industrial with menacing EBM and black shades of techno, wave and more. Built on rhythm, the music of SΛRIN centers around big bass-lines and very subtle melody lines. With an absence of vocals, the listener’s focus is directed towards that rhythm and also the feel/texture of each track. It’s a skill that SΛRIN has nailed quite efficiently. Right from the get go, we hear SΛRIN’s sampling skills in full flow – “Spine” is a beat heavy track with an addictive bassline that’ll surely go down well in the clubs. There is a consistent rhythmic attack throughout Current Conflict, perhaps only diminishing on closer “Threshold”, where the BPM dips and we’re exposed to some of SΛRIN’s more intricate programming.

Swarm Intelligence - “The Lighthouse” 12” Voitax
The fifth release on VOITAX takes you on a journey into a field of distorted beats, rhythmic noise sounds and industrial and ambient influenced elements. Fasten the seat belt.

Theologian / Ancient Methods - “La Saignée” Split-12" Metaphysik
metaphysik brings Ancient Methods and Theologian together into one sphere, with the intention to juxtapose their energy and aesthetic elements alike. As both commenced as strangers and worked separately, the split has developed, gravitating naturally towards the themes of love and death. “Death Elemental” by Theologian is a relentless and compelling journey featuring wistful cello by Gretchen Heinel and synth by Daniel Suffering. Very drone and beat-less.
B-side is the wimmer - “A German Love” by Ancient Methods delivers a pounding pace creating an unforgiving wall of sound, while “Built on Scars” is supported by a pulse heavy rhythm.That opening sample in a German love and the rest of the story is kind of creepy but makes for a wonderful break in dj seats that are often ebm-techno-beat-heavy.

Traversable Wormhole - “Sublight Velocities / Semiclassical Gravity” 12" Hospital Productions / TRAVERSABLE WORMHOLE
“Sublight Velocitie"s is Adam X Mitchell’s first original Traversable Wormhole music since 2012, and the first 12-inch outside of his ten-volume, self-titled series. It’s also released by Dominick Fernow’s Hospital Productions, rather than Mitchell’s own label or CLR. But that says more of Hospital’s move towards techno than any abrasive makeover for Traversable Wormhole—Sublight Velocities isn’t a departure for the project. Both tracks balance the rigidity of brutalist techno with a broken beat swing. “Sublight Velocities” has a great kick pattern to begin with, so the metallic hammering that doubles its rhythm only makes it more hypnotic, while bright, bleepy FX add a sci-fi edge. “Semiclassical Gravity” is more patient and restrained, tapping into the moodiness of Mitchell’s work as ADMX-71 as it keeps Traversable Wormhole’s core elements—such as chords that sound like someone banging on a toolshed—intact. Thankfully, this record captures what made Mitchell’s project so riveting the first time around.

Unhuman - “Unhuman” CS AMOK Tapes
After 3 years of silence and experimentation, noise project Unhuman has evolved with its eponymous C22 cassette traveling between the boundaries of techno, post-punk, industrial and electronic body music with 4 alienesque tracks. Definitely on the aggressive and distorted side of the Berlin vibe and definitely one of my favorite cassette releases this year!

Vittorio Di Mango - “Wrong Definition” CS AMOK Tapes
Wrong Definition is the debut EP of Italy’s Vittorio Di Mango fusing his own take on Electronic Body Music and post-apocalyptic techno. Not to be ignored.

Wolfsheim - “Sparrows and Nightingales (Ancient Methods remix)” 12” Dark Entires
Wait! Wolfsheim made it into Marc’s year-end recommendations list?There must be something wrong. Nope same Wolfsheim and same annoying track that has haunted goth clubs forever. What direction Ancient Methods takes this remix in is just incredible. Long gone are the 80’s New Romantic, new wave, synthpop, and darkwave touches of the orriginal and they’ve been replaced by a driving, EBM-leaning, amphetamine-laced club ready cut. The vocals are cut up and replaced and are nearly indistinguishable. Fans will barely recognize the new version. I love this because it take everry annoying thing about Wolfsheim and mangles the fuck out of it into a much more unique and enjoyable offering.

Youth Code - “Commitment to Complications” LP Dais Records
Commitment to Complications reflects Youth Code’s time spent with various electronic alumni and scales up the aggressive notch left behind in their previous releases. Youth Code’s introduction of the album starts on a reflective note but quickly changes gears into hyper drive BPM pacing with rhythmic complexity driven in with the track “Transitions” that can only be referenced as maniacal. Songs like “Doghead” and “Shift of Dismay” show the band as a frontrunner of definitive industrial anthems and critical songwriting skill. Another harbinger of Youth Code’s dire shift into more strident terrain would be evident in the inclusion of Ben Falgoust (Goatwhore) and Todd Jones (Nails) as guest performers. The band’s cohesive collaboration with producer Rhys Fulber (Front Line Assembly, Fear Factory, Delerium. Conjure One) is in full display, driving the band’s aural trajectory into consuming and contentious industrial electronics.

Zanias - “To the Core” 12” Noiztank
Zoe Zanias, currently based in Berlin, is known as the voice of darkwave bands Linea Aspera and Keluar, and now performs solo under the name Zanias. Born in Australia, raised in South-East Asia and educated in archaeology in London, Zanias channels her unusual life history and interests into music that acts as her own personal experimental analysis of the mind, and provides the perfect method of sharing the fundamental struggle of being born sentient, self-aware, and imperfect products of biological evolution. “To the Core” is the first solo EP by Zanias after her Keluar and Linea Aspera projects. Written and produced by Alison Lewis and Alex Akesr (of the brilliant Force) in Australia at the beginning of 201, this evolution culminates in a mature but radical project. An awesome gloomy, 1980’s synth pop leaning new wave EP with a slight ebm nod. VERY much looking forward to more material from Zanias.

Zex Model - “Dead Body” 12” aufnahme + wiedergabe
“Dead Body” is a fantastic piece of dark industrial music, but unfortunately the last from Zex Model’s Paul Von Aphid, whose sudden death came in 2016. Opener “Crush” is built around a repetitive drum loop and a subtle background synth melody, all smothered in a wall of heavy sampling and noise. It’s heavy as hell and equally dark. It’s this darkness of the whole EP that really permeates through the listeners’ ears. This is ominously bleak music with absolutely no light in sight. Perhaps an omen as to what the future would hold for Paul. Perhaps an indication as to where his head was.“Threat” starts with a metal guitar lick before the old school industrial beats start hitting hard. The vocals are low in the mix, hugely processed and will sufficiently scare the neighbours so as to ensure no one will ever talk to you again. Perfect so. An amazing track again. “Dead City Central”, with its 4/4 beat, is probably the most club friendly track here, but in all honesty this EP was not made for the clubs. Featuring some guitar sounds in the mix, as well as the trademark processed vocals and heavy sampling, this is Zex Model on fire, in the pits of hell, ready to slay. Closer “Rule” continues the ominous trend. A little more synth heavy than the preceding tracks, almost portraying itself as a climatic ending to a riotous affair.




::: OTHER :::

Mint Julep - “Broken Devotion” CD Unseen Music
Husband and wife shoegaze duo. Beautiful album that includes a stunning, must-hear cover of When in Rome’s “The Promise”

Tiger Army - “V” LP Rise Records
Fifth studio album from the California based band and the first new music in 9 years. Front man Nick 13 is at his best with songs displaying his skills as a singer/songwriter who can write rockabilly, Americana, psychobilly and roots rock.




::: RE-ISSUES :::

Autechre - “Tri Repetae” LP Warp Records (RE)
Tri Repetae, the third album from Autechre finally made available again on vinyl, having been out of print on vinyl since 2001. On reflection, Tri Repeate stands tall as one of the most out-there and boundary-pushing releases from Ae ever. Going back to the group’s roots as b-boy’s, Tri… features ten variations on street sounds from hip-hop and techno to industrial and jungle. Released at a time when producers were ripe with ideas for cosmic breakbeat experimentation, Tri… mixed the glitchy twisted dynamics of EPs and sculpted a long player that resembles some of the most 'floor friendly’ Ae to ever grace a packed nightclub soundsystem. The ten tracks pulled influence from previous outings, from the glacial Amber chug of Overand to the Incunabula acid of Leterel. But the overall sound is one of mixing influence from the avant-garde with the mid 90’s post-hardcore sound of jungle.For anyone looking to get to grips with Ae but wanting something that bridges the gap between the early analogue escapism and the latter deconstructionist stance of elseq, Tri Repetae is the perfect point to dive into. Mixing elements of groups such as Coil at their most industrial, the austere techno of the Downwards crew and the cold yet funky electro of Man Parrish, they composed an album that still, twenty one years since its release, has one of the most singular sounds for anything resembling electro techno.

Axodry - “You” 12" Dark Entries (RE)
Axodry was the duo of Andreas “Talla 2XLC” Tomalla and Ralf “Ra/Hen” Henrich formed in Frankfurt, Germany in 1982. The two met at City Music record store where Talla 2XLC worked and supplied the local DJ scene with dance 12"s. From 1984 to 1991 they released six maxi 12" singles. Both members were leading figures in the European electronic scene during the 80’s and 90’s, forming bands like Bigod 20, Tribantura, Micro Chip League, Moskwa TV, Pluuto and Robotiko Reject. In 1988 they released the maxi 12" single “You” on ZYX Records/Combeat. Influenced by Depeche Mode, Gary Numan and John Foxx, the duo crafted their own brand of Industrial, Synth Pop and Electronic Body Music. Their basic set up for recording songs at RaHen’s home studio was a Moog Rouge, Roland SH-101, Teisco synthesizer, Linn Drum and Fricke sequencer. Ra/Hen tackles vocal duties and sings about longing for a lost love. Included on this reissue are the Beauty & The Beat Mix and Beasty Dub Mix from the 1988 single. On the flip is the slightly sped up Razormaid Remix, performed by Art Maharg and Joseph Watt, that originally appeared on the “Welcome To The Technodrome” compilation in 1989. Also included is “Mechanic”, originally released in 1991 as the B-side for their final single “Losing You”. All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record comes in a sleeve featuring the original black and blue cover art with hand-painted typography by Dr. Draw, The Gruesome Grapholoic. Each copy includes a postcard with with notes.

Crash Course in Science - “Jump Over Barrels” 12” Dark Entires (RE)
Crash Course In Science is a band whose history you have to piece together. The post-punk trio formed in the late '70s, with an unlikely approach. They replaced traditional instrumentation with toys and household appliances, making post-punk with a bright, sometimes humourous character. (The band’s 1979 debut, Cakes In The Home, is almost cutesy in its own way.) As the years wore on, the Philadelphia band started dabbling in homemade synths, resulting in a spikier, new wave-influenced sound. That music debuted on Signals From Pier Thirteen (reissued by Dark Entries last year) and peaked on Near Marineland, the full-length they recorded in 1981 but never released until Vinyl-On-Demand pressed it as part of a comprehensive 2009 box set. Dark Entries has now scooped up “Jump Over Barrels,” Marineland’s best track, for a 12-inch that pairs it with a brilliant remix from Charles Manier. By the time of Near Marineland, Crash Course In Science had turned darker and more rhythmic. It’s a style better suited for the dance floor, where “Jump Over Barrels” has found a second life. Its jittery energy is infectious, sounding as though whoever programmed the sequencer had drunk too much coffee. From the harsh skronks to the nasal vocals, it’s volatile and a little angry, though not without a sense of humour—why is vocalist Michael Zodorozny so disgruntled about about having to “go out with Carol”? The original is supplemented by a demo version and a rehearsal recording, neither of which are all that revealing. The real attraction is the remix from Charles Manier, an alias of Tadd Mullinix. So far he’s used the project for paranoid electro, and that’s exactly what his craggy and broken version delivers. The jagged ends are more jagged, the vocals are smothered and any lightheartedness is totally blotted out. It’s a different mood than the original, but it’s no less deadly

Final Cut - “Deep Into The Cut” LP We Can Elude Control (RE)
This one really came as quite a surprise re-release. “Deep” is one of the MOST significant industrial AND techno records to come out of Detroit.Most know the bands later day releases on Nettwerk Records (“Consumed”), yet I still feel many don’t know about this criminally overlooked record and it’s importance. It’s a record that pre-dates Underground Resistance, predates the rise of Detroit Techno, before “rave” hit Detroit in 1992,before Jeff Mills went on to interntional DJ stardom, before, well,a LOT of things. In '89 and '90 nightclub denizens who weren’t listening to techno were listening to the rigid sounds of Industrial. Mill stated in a past interview “It was what was happening in Detroit at the time. Techno and Industrial. Front 242, Nitzer Ebb , the more danceable things… at some stage in Detroit they used to mix; the techno crowd and the industrial crowd used to party together… the industrial scene was more suburban, more white. The techno scene was predominantly black.” It was in that Detroit of 1989 that black met white, Jeff Mills met Tony “Asrock” Srock and began the collaboration known as Final Cut. In hindsight, Final Cut is a footnote in Mills’ lofty legacy. His collaboration with Anthony Srock bore a few EPs and one album, “Deep Into The Cut”. First issued on Srock’s Full Effect Records, that LP would be the first—and last—merging of Mills’ raw, agitated techno with Srock’s industrial tendencies. It was significant in its time, but the unprecedented success of “Take Me Away"—Final Cut’s major label club and a massive HOUSE(!!!) hit that just about everyone will have heard—shunted the album into the shadows. For almost 30 years, this nugget of Detroit history “Deep Into the Cut” has been collecting dust (except for maybe a few Detroit and knowledgeable DJ’s playing it out). But now, thanks to We Can Elude Control and the mastering efforts of Rashad Becker, “Deep Into The Cut” is back, oiled up and cranking like new. In its new context, “Deep Into The Cut” neatly aligns with the likes of Diagonal, Jealous God and Perc Trax, labels and artists looking to give old industrial and techno aesthetics a contemporary feel. Tougher tracks like “Burn Baby Burn,” “I Told You Not To Stop,” “The Escape” and “The Prosecuted” wouldn’t sound at odds in a Bleaching Agent or Powell set. “Rotation” 30 years later still has the same machine gun force – a classically Millsian 'functional’ title, that – is probably influenced by the leather-clad pummel of Nitzer Ebb, but spikes the mix with acidic drum madness and overspilling machine code. Sure you can look at “Deep” as a bit of nostalgia, as tracks like the ravey “Now That’s Funky,” “Harmony” and “Celestial V.S.U.” can be enjoyed as the shining examples of pre-golden era techno they are. 'I Told You Not To Stop’ and 'Now That’s Funky’ have the kind of thunderous kickdrums and dramatic synth lines that weren’t quite yet a Detroit trademark, but would later get rinsed by Mills and others in the Underground Resistance crew. 'Celestial VSU’ lands in curiously similar mutated-techno territory to the 'bleep’ scene that was sprouting in northern England at the time, and is Deep Into The Cut’s one moment that clearly favours empathy over punishment. Album closer 'The Escape’ is unusually brief for a techno number at under three minutes, but its abrupt spinbacks and steel-jaw stutter rhythm could have done the biz on any of Mills’ early solo releases, say the Waveform Transmission Vol. 1 album. As Mills continues to delve into film scores, theatre performances, orchestral collaborations and other high-minded endeavors, these songs can be a welcome reminder of his humble, sometimes even crude, beginnings. If, over 25 years on, Deep Into The Cut fascinates largely because of its showcasing of one member’s embryonic brilliance, he wouldn’t command this much influence over Final Cut for much longer. A remake of 'I Told You Not To Stop’, the swansong for the Mills/Srock partnership, is EBM with vocals by Ministry’s Chris Connelly. With a clear divergence in the duo’s ambitions – Mills wanted to push Detroit techno forward and seize it back from the major labels that had got their claws into Inner City; Srock wanted to make, in Mills’ words, “Satanic thrash rock” – they split for good. Final Cut carried on into the 90s with Srock plus various pals and sidemen; Jeff Mills became the greatest techno DJ in the world. It was around this time, though, and under this name, that he was tempted away from an interest in hip-hop production by the spectre of gnarly, ear-scrubbing, raveable electronic rackets. And we should be very thankful to Anthony Srock for his part in that.ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL RECORD!

Front Line Assembly - “State of Mind” LP Cleopatra Records (RE)
The second full-length record from Front Line Assembly, State of Mind was also the second of three albums the group released on a month-by-month basis between December 1987 and February 1988. Recorded with the group’s original line-up of Bill Leeb and Michael Balch (and produced by Dave Ogilvie), the album finds Front Line in an experimental mode typical of its early work. To some it may sound dated compared with recent Front Line Assembly albums, but that doesn’t make it any less. “First Reprisal” is fascinating, “Burnt Soul” is short but has the band showing their talent with a lack of electronic options. The band was just coming into their own, still in embryonic stages and forming their own identity. It’s dark and atmospheric throughout (which Mentallo and the Fixer drawed upon later) with but a few tracks “Consequence” and “Landslide” more rooted in seeking early dancefloor grooves. An important record and history lesson in one of the industrial genre’s biggest and long-standing acts.

Haujobb - “Freeze Frame Reality” 2xLP Artoffact Records (RE)
Out of print on CD and yet considered to be the album that transformed a promising industrial act to what is now one of the most innovative projects of the last 20 years, haujobb’s Freeze Frame Reality was a monumental release when it first surfaced in 1995. It certainly felt like a revolution then. Today the inspired album is overshadowed by the much more successul Solutions for a Small Planet, and yet it still brought us some of the best-loved haujobb songs, “Dream Aid”, “Nezzwerk”, and “World Window” to name a few. And it is on Freeze Frame Reality that the first hallmarks of “the haujobb sound” emerge, namely the mixing of techno and industrial, the sci-fi synths, and–above all–the incredible pacing, the slow emerging-ness of the songs.What this record needed most, though, was a good remastering. So that was the departure point for the Artoffact Records vinyl edition. Haujobb’s own sound-man Manu (owner of LeafAudio) has all but recreated “Freeze Frame Reality”, bringing up elements previously lost, giving muddy sections some breathing room, and taking the album to a new level. Released in a gatefold sleeve with restored cover images. Side D includes bonus remixes by Cevin Key and Mentallo & the Fixer.

Noise Unit - “Agitte/In Vain” Digital Artofofact (RE)
First-ever digital version of the classic Antler-Subway 12”. This incarnation of Noise Unit was Bill Leeb (Front Line Assembly) and Marc Verhaeghen (Klinik), joined by Rhys Fulber and with Luc Van Acker on backing vocals. Basically the dreamteam. The audio is fully remastered.

Noise Unit - “Deceit / Struktur” Digital Artofofact (RE)
First-ever digital version of the classic Antler-Subway / Wax Trax 12". This incarnation of Noise Unit was Bill Leeb (Front Line Assembly) and Marc Verhaeghen (Klinik). The audio is fully remastered.

Noise Unit - “Decoder” 2xLP Artoffact Records (RE)
Bill Leeb (Front Line Assembly, Delerium) started Noise Unit in 1989, originally with Marc Verhaeghen of Belgian act Klinik. The project was envisioned as an outlet for ideas that did not fit into Front Line Assembly and quickly became a favourite amongst Leeb’s fanbase. After one album with Verhaeghen (Grinding Into Emptiness, released on Wax Trax), Rhys Fulber joined the band, and the three members produced Response Frequency in 1990. Following this, Noise Unit became a duo with Leeb and Fulber at the helm. This incarnation created two spellbinding EBM records, Strategy of Violence and Decoder, both released as CD-only albums in the early 90s. The magic of the Leeb-Fulber writing duo is in full force on these records, an incredible knack for pure EBM, Canadian-style: driving basslines, steel-can drums, dystopian vocoded vocals, and spacy synth lines! The second Leeb-Fulber Noise Unit album, Decoder, ventures further into techno territory and explores dystopian soundscapes with minimal, processed vocals reminiscent of Forma Tadre, Haujobb, and Headscan. Now, for the first time ever, Decoder is reissued as an incredible double-LP vinyl. The record is remastered, artwork is restored, and the entire set is housed in a gorgeous gatefold sleeve. What’s more, Bill Leeb dug deep into the archives and found two ridiculously amazing unreleased bonus tracks, which appear only on this Artoffact Records edition.

Noise Unit – “Drill” LP Artoffact Records (RE)
Noise Unit’s Drill appeared 20 years ago on the notorious Off Beat label and featured input from Marc Verhaeghen (Klinik), as well as members of Haujobb. The core duo of Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber were of course still at the helm, and the result was a more future-electro sound that combined the earlier EBM beats with the techno style of Decoder. The album has long been a favourite amongst Front Line Assembly and Noise Unit fans, but has never been properly reissued and a vinyl version never appeared. The Artoffact Records reissue presents Drill as a double-LP vinyl, lovingly remastered and presented in a beautiful gatefold sleeve. The release features music on three sides, and the fourth side will sport an incredible etching, based on the iconic cover art.

Noise Unit – “Grinding into Emptiness” LP +7” Artoffact Records (RE)
Originally released in 1989 on the influential Antler-Subway and Wax Trax! labels, Noise Unit’s debut album, Grinding Into Emptiness, finally gets a proper reissue through Toronto-based Artoffact Records. Featuring the original line-up of Bill Leeb (Front Line Assembly) and Marc Verhaeghen (Klinik), the first Noise Unit is a minimal industrial-EBM hybrid, perhaps best described as a pared-down Front Line Assembly. And yet it has a style and voice all its own, as Belgian cold electronics meet the signature Canadian, Vancouver industrial sound of the mid-80s. From the opening shouts of the original single Deceit, to the cold, low-tech of Dry Lungs or the familiar samples of Ritualistic, up until the incredible ambient closer, The End, Grinding Into Emptiness is magnificent. The Artoffact Records reissue comes on two slabs of vinyl, one 12 “ and one 7”, and is housed in a faithful reproduction of the original sleeve. The artist and title lettering has been redone in gold-foil, giving the final product an elegance it truly deserves. All audio is remastered and fully authorized.

Noise Unit – “Response Frequency” LP Artoffact Records (RE)
1990 saw the release of Response Frequency, the second Noise Unit album. Rhys Fulber (Front Line Assembly, Delerium) also joined the band, and the album features guest appearances by Marc Ickx (A Split Second) and Luc Van Acker (RevCo). Thus, the Belgian-Canadian collaboration is only heightened on Response Frequency, creating a unique sound that is unparalleled on releases from that era.The album spawned a double A-side 12" single, Agitate/In Vain, on which Bill Leeb rocks as a vocalist, with exactly the aggression and feeling found on albums like Caustic Grip (released in the same year). Toronto-based Artoffact Records will reissue Response Frequency on vinyl and CD, including the bonus Agitate/In Vain 12" mixes. The vinyl edition comes on two slabs of vinyl, one 12" and one 7", and is housed in a faithful reproduction of the original sleeve. The artist and title lettering has been redone in gold-foil, giving the final product an elegance it truly deserves. All audio is remastered and fully authorized.

Noise Unit – “Strategy of Violence” 2xLP Artoffact Records (RE)
Now, for the first time ever, Strategy of Violence is reissued as a wonderful double-LP vinyl. The record is remastered, artwork is restored, and the entire set is housed in an incredible gatefold sleeve. What’s more, Bill Leeb dug deep into the archives and found two ridiculously amazing unreleased bonus tracks, which appear only on this Artoffact Records edition. If that was not enough, Side D of the record includes a beautiful etching designed specifically for this re-release.

Suicide Commando - “Bind, Torture, Kill” 2xLP Dependent Records (RE)
The most successful and influential Suicide Commando Album, “Bind, Torture, Kill” surprisingly saw a double vinyl re-issue this year- strictly limited to 500 units.The album, which centres around the deeds of the Infamous “BTK-Killer” serial mass murderer Dennis Rader, who used to literally bind, torture and kill his victims between 1974 and 1991. It also highlights the musical talent of Johan Van Roy, aka Suicide Commando and shows him on the peak of his skills. The wild maelstrom of arpeggiator sequences, whipping, machinelike drums and dark vocals and lyrics turned “Bind, Torture, Kill” into a heritage hit on industrial dancefloors worldwide and inspired literally dozens of industrial copycats throughout the last decade. But the album is not only exceptional due to its sonic achievements, but also due to the quality of its photography and artwork. Shot by renowned fetish photographer Roman Kasperski, the album campaign was accompanied by an extensive photo campaign blending artist shots and album topic together. As a witness to this exceptional artwork, the album saw release in a luxurious gatefold cover accompanied by four rare bonus tracks, available on the last side of the double vinyl release.

Suicide Commando - “Black Flowers” CD Sleepless Records Berlin (RE)
'Black Flowers’ was self released on the cassette format by Johan van Roy in 1992. After re-releases on iTunes/Bandcamp many requests came to also make the music available as a physical release. This CD comes in a beautiful digipak with as a bonus an ultra rare, 30-minute Suicide Commando industrial soundscape named 'Baustellen’. This is vintage, retro, and minimal electro à la Johan van Roy.A Klinik influence runs throughout. Another historical document in the history of a very enduring band with a fascinating career.

Telefon Tel Aviv - “Fahrenheit Fair Enough” 2xLP Ghostly International (RE)
On the fifteenth anniversary of its release, Ghostly International is reissuing “Fahrenheit Fair Enough” with a vinyl edition and bonus digital material. Josh Eustis and the late Charles Cooper had imagined making a “hard club record,” but instead Fahrenheit came to be seen as a delicate slice of electronica by fans and critics who misconstrued its stylistics roots. This was, perhaps, hardly surprising. Telefon Tel Aviv arrived at a time when there was no roadmap for an American electronic music scene comparable to what the UK had produced in the 1990s. They were the latest artists to find themselves in a strange middle ground between hip-hop and electronic music that had yet to be understood. The sonic sculptures of “Fahrenheit Fair Enough” they spent “thousands of hours” carving have proven resilient. The music sounds all the more relevant in 2016 because the roadmap Eustis and Cooper desired then, exists today. A beautiful moving record that needs to be in your collection.

Wumpscut vs Haujobb - “The Remix Wars Strike 1” LP Artoffact Records (RE)
The famous 1990s Remix Wars series, in which two artists remix each others’ tracks and release them on a split CD, is finally getting much-deserved vinyl reissues through Toronto-based Artoffact Records.
The series first launched in 1996 with the release of Strike 1: :wumpscut: vs. haujobb, and later installments included collaborations between Die Krupps and Front Line Assembly, as well as 16 Volt and Hate Dept. (neither of which was my cup of tea and I passed on those vinyl re-issues this year.). This one however is so crucial in the account of ebm industrial. This release came at a time when both Haujobb and Wumpscut were just achieveing popularity. You had two of the biggest industrial acts from Germany turnign major heads in the then American industrial scene which around 1996 was still very much about Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, KMFDM and anyone else fusing guitars with electronics. Then along comes Wumpscut with it’s blend of Bavarian ebm that borrowed heavily from the influence of Leatherstrip and grabbed elements from the young rhythmic noise scene as well. So many Wumpscut tracks were just savage at the time. Juxtaposed next to this was Haujobb who came at the industrial-ebm genre from a different angle altogether. Much inspired by the techno knob twiddlers like Lassigue Bendthaus, Clock Dva, Aphex Twin, and bands of that ilk. There sound was less punishing and more atmospheric.Then these two bands collided on The Remix Wars. Three Wumpscut tracks “In the Night” (from Gomorra), “Die in Winter” (from Bunkertor 7) and “Mother” (a compilation track from 1994) all got mixed by Haujobb. Haujobb in return offered up 3 tracks from the “Freeze Frame Reality” record -“Consciousness”, “World Window” and “Nezzwerk”. Haujobbs reworkings of Wumpscut tame the anger and take the tracks down a path of twisted ambiance and disjointed dance beats with “Mother” perhaps being the best of the three with it’s slow yet intense build around vocoded effects and awesoem synth pads. Wumpscut provides a little more impact for Haujobb’s dynamics. The fusion remix of “World Window” is full of momentum and certainly one for the dancefloor. Listening to this again on wonderfulyl remastered vinyl reminds me of how groundbreaking both these bands are and continue to be, as well as how this release changed so much of industrial by getting it’s creators to think differently and explore different sounds/influences. Twenty years later this release is still forward-thinking. The perfect blend between complex programming and danceable rythms. Also it’s cool to think what releases for each came after this - Haujobb would release it’s definitive “Solutions for a Small Planet” and Wumpscut would assault with “Embryodead”.

Zwischenfall - “Sandy Eyes” 12” Dark Entires (RE)
Zwischenfall were a short lived Belgian trio comprised of Martin Urban, Michael Sass & Stephan Kraemer and who only had two releases: the Heute EP in 1983 and of course Sandy Eyes (1984) that now gets a re-issue on Josh Cheon’s always reliable Dark Entries. The title track is sweet, disco infused synth-pop (and definitely a spirit of the time) while “Flucht 84” takes it cues from Moroder or Gino Soccio on this fabulous cosmic disco journey. On the flip are two bonus tracks: “Sacred Time” injects a bit more EBM attitude into it while “Polar Magazine” gets more funky and that keyboard brass section is a nice touch.




::: RHYTHMIC NOISE, NOISE, EXPERIMENTAL, BREAK-BEAT :::

Autechre - “elseq 1-5 ” Digital Warp Records
A surprise-release of nearly four hours of music, spanning five volumes. It’s a gigantic listen, almost overkill. Certainly exhausting, if not listened to in parts. Theres the familar and inspiring technical tweaking as only auetechre can coax out of their machines juxtaposed by the quiet and calm. Autechre have always traversed the electronic spectrum creating post-human and next level sounds, the unexpected and unpredictable. “Elseq” shows plenty more of that. Truly one of a kind. Shame no vinyl release planned for this.

Black Kolor – “Spirits” Digital Basic Unit Productions
Teaser single for the album “Born In Ruins”. Less the usual dark techno/EBM crossover sound found on other Blac Kolor releases and more a push for near-ritualistic trance-inducing soundscapes here not too far removed from the influence of Coils “The Snow” (Answers Come in Dreams II)

Blush Response - “Reshaper” CD Ant-Zen
Blush Response had a busy year with techno-ebm releases, an ambient release and “Reshaper” on the legendary Ant-Zen label well known for it’s rhythmic noise. As expected, “Reshapers” material hits a bit harder around the edges with more distorted drums, odd sounds and textures. A fabtastic release that showcases another side of Joey Blush’s musical expertise. “Wearing Thinner” is a choice track.

Bombardier - “Fury:” 2x12" Division 13
8 industrial techno tracks on a double vinyl for the super-talented Jason Snell. Surprisingly this vinyl was offered for FREE, you only had to pay postage(!) Snell sums up the albums as such; “This album represents an new era of my music, an important step away from my old method of blasting everything through a 4-track compressor and creating a mid-range punk sound, to a new, larger sound that has deeper lows and cleaner mids and highs. The vision in this album is dark, otherworldly, and my exploration of new beat structures, shaping and resampling sounds in a way I wasn’t able to do before.
My music has always been my attempt to push myself, push the sounds, and make order from chaos, and each album becomes a marker in my personal evolution as a person and an artist.” Get this one, follow this guys output, because it’s soem of the most enthrallign out there.

Cervello Elettronico - “Logical Fears” CD Hands Productions
LA-based act Cervello Elettronico puts out his second album for HANDS, and it is surely branded by fears – logical or not – pursuing a darker and more aggressive direction than ever before. What remains is the crisp production and remarkable variation in beats and sounds, and yet this appears direct and almost simple, dominated by a tidal wave of bass heavy industrial beats, coming on with the force of a freight train. The brain controls the motor function; the electronic brain dissects that anatomy of movement with “Logical Fears.” Whether for an underground techno or a rhythm-geared industrial set, Cervello Elettronico provides quite some tasty club food! 'Logical Fears’ covers a broad spectrum of sounds and scratches the surface of other electronic genres. There are touches of IDM, but this is sanded down to an abrasive edge, as to keep the album firmly within Industrial territory and the Hands standard of rhythmic noise. A solid and well-structured album.

Craow – “Craow” LP Nostilveo
Neue dark electronic power. Heavy rhythmic industrial with a large dose of synthetic experimentation. Creeping and drenched. At times reminiscent of Dive’s early work, yet a particularly unique record.Give a listen to “LA” which proffers the feeling of EBM evolving on slathered industrial tags. The track approaches weightless and obtuse, and becomes a leaden impulse depicting the city. Label Nostilevo describes it as a “heavy synthesis, dark and moody electronics with a serious dance floor vibe.”

Delien - “User Interface” RMX CS
Some very talented people providing remixes of one of the songs from DI001 / VOID015 - DeLIEN Identity Annex album. The song 'User Interface’ gets interpreted 8 times with various amounts of amazing transformations. From 2step, electronic, abstract, breakcore, broken beat, experimental industrial, minimal synth, noise and techno it’s all here. Remixes by: Redhat, Selector Catalogue, Baseck, Bombardier, Chris Samuels, Various Reasons, Split Horizon and Dishevele. All the mixes are completely unique and despite them all being of the same song there’s no plenty of variety. Chris Samuels mix just might be my favorite here as it sounds like the best of a Key/Goettel (Puppy, Doubting Thomas) track. One of Detroit’s BEST electronic projects!

Iszoloscope - “False Vacuum” CD Ant-Zen
Since the beginning, a distinguishing feature of Iszoloscope has been the addition of intelligent and unexpected details to the basic ingredients that industrial music is known for. This, the project’s seventh full length album 'false vacuum’ raises the already high bar Yann Faussurier set on his previous releases in a most astounding way. Within these nine tracks Iszoloscope is establishing ties between a myriad of different styles ranging from solemn orchestral constructs and rich dark ambient soundscapes to sequenced hard-hitting technoid industrial rhythms and fast remorseless drum and bass beat structures. Mighty pulsating sub basses and loony melodic curls, hypnotic percussion and carefully placed bursts of electronics evoke highly energetic atmospheres of power and tension that resonate inside the listener’s mind. Accompanied by many personal changes it took Iszolocsope nearly four years to complete this opus. Worth the wait!

Kerridge - “Fatal Light Attraction” 2xLP Downwards
Kerridge returned to Downwards in 2016 with the custom-built electronics of “Fatal Light Attraction” following last year’s incursions on his own Contort label.The project premiered at Berlin’s Atonal 2015 edition, featuring Kerridge working alongside Andrej Boleslavsky & Maria Júdová to create an intense, kinetic shadowplay synched as an illusive counterpart to the music and performance. As Kerridge’s 3rd long player, it marks a more fluid, or effluent, refinement of his sound, blurring the boundaries between organic audio sources and custom-constructed synths to flooding the senses with waves of bristling, oxidising industrial tones and coruscating texturhythm seemingly intent on separating flesh from bone. It’s evil stuff, all seven tracks of it, forming a closed feedback system of guttural, choking frequencies and cardiac arrhythymatics.

Monolith - “Domination” CD Hands Productions
Two years after his HANDS debut “Crashed”, Belgian veteran Eric van Wonterghem pushes for “Domination” – his 9th album in total: With all the expertise of over three decades in underground music, the rhythm unit that is Monolith is bound to conquer the industrial techno dance floors of the present age, with a hypnotic and abrasive sound that is as timeless as it has a championship pedigree. Notably rougher than its predecessor, “Domination” is about no-nonsense, sub-130 bpm techno pulses and stumbling beats, with a healthy dose of darkness and some experimental ethnic soundscapes thrown in for the good measure of the full length album. Tested positive to exercise domination on the FORMS OF HANDS 16 audience, this is a good hour of physically palpable electronics at their best. Kicking off with the title track “Domination”, Monolith comes dashing with the tracks “Angel of Death”, “Bridges”, “Oppression” and “Nerve Net” - perfect bangers for a dark techno set, 2016 Berlin style! Enjoy the rush of prime dance floor material with bulging kicks and the unsettling omnipresence of background noise, before the beatless interlude “Countdown” pushes for more experimental territory: “Reconstructed” is heavy with distortion, “Dust of India” and “Baigari” are gritty ethnic fantasies and “Religion of Peace” is the noisy peak of this album. Nevertheless, more fine club tunes are scattered over the rest of the album - submit to the maddening hook of “The Bell Witch” or the sleek electro sounds of the Dmitry Distant remix. Truly this album feels absolutely flawless, with the brisk and the calmer moments in perfect balance

Not Waving – “Animals” 2xLP Diagonal
Diagonal turn out Not Waving’s definitive album opus Animals, following up last year’s brazen 12" battery “Get Serious” with his strongest, POPulist collection of computer acid and New Beta floor fillers.It’s by far the most diverse, expansive record on Diagonal to date, covering a broad spectrum of emotions and club sub-genus between the revving charge of his opening statement Believe, and the come-down synth catharsis of They Cannot Be Replaced; distilling all the deep-raved and giddy thrill of a night on the lash in London with a pulpy, gritty sense of dramaturgy that really makes this his first proper solo album, rather than a compatible collection of tracks.That canny touch comes on in waves, whether creeping up in the spine with banking synth harmonies in Head Body - which could almost be Alessandro Cortini gone EBM - or sparking the bones with his tried-and-tested 24 showpiece, whereas Tomorrow We Will Kill You makes an oblique about-turn into screwed and funereal pop song-writing, before striking for your tender underbelly with acidic clout in I Know I Know I Know, and promptly cutting the lights for Punch’s dark ambient tract.And it’s possibly in the final straight that his moniker’s reference to This Heat (he’s named after a cut from their seminal, eponymous debut LP) really manifests itself, channelling a drummer’s sensibility and studio alchemist touch in a trio of open yet tensile rhythmelodic structures - the percussive polymeter of Gutsy, the nEuro tribalism of Face Attack, and, likewise, a pHizzing nod to his label boss Powell in the stress test of Work Talk.

Orphx - “Pitch Black Mirror” 2xLP Hands Productions
Pitch Black Mirror is the new full length album from industrial techno veterans Orphx, co-presented by Sonic Groove (2xLP + digital) and Hands (CD). Rich Oddie and Christina Sealey have created a diverse and distinctive body of work over the last 23 years and this album may be their most definitive statement yet. Pitch Black Mirror foregrounds the duo’s unique fusion of techno and industrial but also demonstrates their ability to continually push their sound in new and challenging directions by drawing on elements of electro, post-punk, and EBM. The human voice is a central element here, ranging from subtle layers of samples and location recordings to the more prominent vocals of Rich Oddie and guest vocalist Marie Davidson. The album is also notable for its detailed sound design, courtesy of Sealey’s modular synthesizer systems, Oddie’s percussion and synth work, and software mutations from founding Orphx member Aron West. With its sonic and lyrical imagery of watery depths, lost love, and transmutations, Pitch Black Mirror offers a sonic landscape that is clearly inspired by personal and social turmoil but points towards the possibility of creative transformation.

Puce Mary - “The Spiral” LP Posh Isolation
The Spiral’ is Frederikke Hoffmeiers third solo LP for Posh Isolation under her Puce Mary moniker, and follows where last year’s critically acclaimed 'Persona’ left off. Working more precisely than ever, 'The Spiral’ binds the listener in a tight web of sharp synthesizers, hammering percussion, obscured vocals, field recordings, and blistering noise. Puce Mary manages to at once honour the history of industrial music and noise, as well as transform it. 'The Spiral’ is harsh, but the aggression of the compositions never feels unnecessarily overstated. It is an album that is easy to get dragged into but brutally hard to get out of, disclosing the underhand of control as censurable nurture. 'The Spiral’ goes through an extreme spectre of emotions, trying to be everything, feel everything, at once. The vestige of safety in dominance and submission is antagonised as audience and artist take turns being dealt blows. 'The Spiral’ charts this instability as a perennial tonic in sound. With an already impressive discography and live career, Frederikke Hoffmeier has manifested herself as a key voice in new industrial music. 'The Spiral’ is further proof that she has earned her praise.

Raum-Zeit - “Let a Maniac on Your Modular” CS AMOK Tapes
The British-Dutch duo (including Eindkrak) make their debut together as Raum-Zeit. 5 tracks of raw synthpunk in pure rhythmic industrial form. This very much reminds me of the youthful first recordings of Portion Control. It’s primal and raw and edgy and of course excellent!

Shxcxchcxsh - “SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs” LP Avian
Following on from 2014’s much lauded long player Linear S Decoded, SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs finds the duo pairing trademark stop motion percussion and hyper tensile synthesis with corrosive sound design on a series of warping, maximalist pieces. As a complete article, the work is wedded to the Avian aesthetic : monochromatic & wrought with tension. It’s powerfully dynamic and thoroughly organic in execution - an unbound, rolling matrix of white noise & wrought iron percussion, replete with disembodied choirs that pan uncomfortably in and out of the sonic hinterland. Despite dealing with many of the themes that have come to characterise the output of the label : unease & existential paranoia - a sense of loss & isolation; there’s a cathartic - almost redemptive energy contained in the blistering waves of distortion that either intermittently burst into focus, or sit boldly at the forefront of the mix. At moments it comes tantalisingly close to cacophony - crushed delays feed back in on themselves as tracks build, rolling ominously on towards an as yet unidentified point. With SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs, SHXCXCHCXSH offer some of their most powerfully emotive work yet, heady & burning - that deftly communicates the movement from a position of relative safety to absolute, untethered sonic hyperbole.

Vatican Shadow - “Media in the Service of Terror” LP Hospital Productions
Dominick Fernow laces up his Vatican Shadow boots for the project’s first set of drills since 2014 and one of its finest ever transmissions, trampling in the wake of his fierce new Prurient record “Unknown Rains”, for Hospital Productions.Reflecting on a world much unchanged, even intensified since his last dispatch, “Media In The Service of Terror” works classic VS signatures measured with increased momentum and propulsive energy, divided into seven parts and imbued with that dramatic melodic arrangements that works beyond the club.Stepping farther away from the 'floor, he’s in scowling, contemplative form with “Ziad Jarrah Studied Mathematics” and at his best when working between spheres, as with the industrial reggaeton roil of “Take Vows” in both its versions, and particularly the pensile atmosphere of “Interrogation Mosaic.” Possibly one of the best records from the Vatican Shadow discography.

x0ks - “ FEmale#01” CD Sleepless Records
A weird one here with a weird concept behind it, but if you like noise and rhtymic noise it’s certainly one to check out. x0ks is female and male, the special music mediators for anouk and sneji tigerpaw; they are techno and noize loving cyberskunks from outer space. on their exploration and scanning the galaxies, they stumbled over a tiny solar system with an blue planet called #3742gamma314. they never expected what they found there, skunkionid lifeforms that love their music too. Holy skunk of the ancestors what a wonderful discovery! Sneji and anouk couldnít believe it. Anouk and sneji have spent years on research, and one day they found a matching couple, with right brain-conditions. To establish an uplink to control these lifeforms. After some tests and observing the behaviour of the carrier they started to form a band called x0ks. And now, they are bringing the cyberskunk noize to that little funny blue marble called earth. here are the cyberskunks from outer space!

Years of Denial – “Blood Debts” - LP Death & Leisure
One of the most diverse records of 2016. Blood Debts’ is the compulsive debut album from Years Of Denial, the alter-face of London-based French musician/producer and DJ, Jerome Tcherneyan. Though his formulative Marseille youth was spent exploring the darkest corners of post-punk, New Wave, not to mention Public Enemy and the inspirational Mille Plateaux and Basic Channel labels, Tcherneyan, already an extremely capable drummer, quickly extended his sonic palate toward and beyond the bass-heavy electronic isolationism, insistent beats and drone experimentation that’s still very much prevalent in his work today. One should not either pass over his integral contribution to the much-lauded, though stolidly underground “ghost-rock” unit, Piano Magic, which engineered sublime collaborations with Brendan Perry (Dead Can Dance), Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins/This Mortal Coil) and Alan Sparhawk (Low). Tcherneyan, always prolific, can also lay claim to impressive collusions with Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah (African Head Charge), Damo Suzuki (Can), 70’s psych folk legend, Mark Fry to name but a few. In 2005, Jerome founded and promoted the infamous 'Flesh’ parties; guests including Andy Stott /Claro Intelecto/Edit-Select/James Ruskin/Kirk Degiorgio/Mark Broom/Oliver Ho/Sigha/Steve Bicknell and many more. These nights served as an invaluable education in Techno and Dubmixology; marathon sets played deep into the sunrise. Skip forward a decade and the DJ bug is even deeper embedded, with Tcherneyan sharing the booth with, amongst many others, Orphx/Phase Fatale/Joefarr and London Modular Alliance. Tcherneyan’s muse and foil on 'Blood Debts,’ his first for Oliver Ho’s splendid and already essential new Death & Leisure imprint, is Maya Petrovna, an entrancing London-based vocalist, film composer and performance/physical theatre artist, whose voice perfectly evokes Billie Holliday, Diamanda Galas and all stations between. There’s a black neon heart at the centre of 'Blood Debts,’ a fetishtic ritual of contorted flesh and altered states; a feverish, infectious paradox of primitivism and modernity




::: SYNTH POP :::

Body Of Light - “Let Me Go” LP Dais Records
A fully-realized vision of synth pop sensibility and erotic aesthetics.  Body of Light  has solidified itself in its current mature state as one of the most transcendent dance music mediums today.  Hesitant to define themselves strictly as a “synth-pop” collaboration, the brothers incorporate a wide variety of commodities as they attempt to formulate a direction, unique with decaying, warped tape loops, aging VHS home-movie sound samples from their childhood, primitive waveforms, and processed vocals tinged with harmonic means. 

Handful of Snowdrops - “Live November 85” Digital self-released
4 songs salvaged from a very old and badly warped tape cassette! Of the four tracks featured here, one is a cover of Joy Division’s “Heart and Soul”, and that the remaining three were never recorded or demoed and are unknown to most.

Handful of Snowdrops – “1984 The Remaining” Digital self-released
A sketch pads of ideas the band was trying out while looking for new band members. A sequel to 1984 - Lost Demo Tracks. The material’s all over the place, most of the times embarrassing, but it has it’s surprising moments.

Liquid Newt - “Walk with Scars” CD Dependent Records
The keyboard player for Diskonnekted teams with Seabound vocalist Frank M. Spinath. A beautifully written tragedy that’s a perfect match for the melodic Liquid Newt sound. Fresh and danceable variation of Seabound or Iris, to name but two inspirations. This first release is an exciting start of a great adventure. More please.

Lust for Youth - “Compassion” LP Sacred Bones
Perhaps not as strong as the bands “International” album, but “Compassion” does carry on with the affectionately vicious, and vulnerably sharp sound this bands come to design lately.

Seabound - “Everything” 14xLP Vinyl Box Dependent Records
MASSIVE. “Everything” is the definitive collection of Seabound’s work to date. The deluxe box set contains every Seabound track ever released (incl. rare demo material) spread across fourteen 180g heavyweight vinyl LPs and collected as lossless digital wav files on a DVD. The lavish set contains a 96-page hardcover book including lyrics, photos, artwork, personal notes from the band as well as a foreword by German cult radio host Ecki Stieg. Each box comes with a certificate of authenticity, hand-numbered and signed by Martin and Frank. “Everything” is strictly limited to 500 copies worldwide. Super sophistacated, full-fledged, mature synth pop perfection.




::: VARIOUS ARTIST COMPILATIONS :::

Various Artists - “47006” - 12" 47 Records
techno-ebm compilation with Headless Horseman, Phase Fatale, Stephanie Sykes and Tommy Four Seven

Various Artists - “A Disseminated Darkness On Inner Personality Status” EP Contort Yourself
techno-ebm compilation with Novacom, JK Flesh, Le Syndicat

Various Artists - “Cititrax vol.2” LP Cititrax
techno-ebm compilation with Tzusing, L/F/D/M, Silent Servant, Maelstrom

Various Artists - “Few Tricks For Nervous Dealmakers” EP Controt Yourself
techno-ebm compilation with Volition Immanent, Zombies Under Stress, Mark Forshaw

Various Artists - “Im Rhythmus Bleiben - A Tribute to Front 242” 3xCD KL Dark Records
MUCH MUCH MUCH better tribute to Front 242 than that Alfa-Matrix abortion (Recovery For You (An Alfa Matrix Tribute To Front 242) ). Skip that one by all means and hunt this one down. KL Dark has assembled 3CD’s who pay wonderful homage to the Belgian masters of Body Music. with Force Dimnension, Leaetherstrip, Pain Machinery, Nice Circles and plenty more

Various Artists - “Konfabulation” - CS NEN Records
techno-ebm compilation with SARIN, Unhuman, Violet Poison, Zex Model and more

Various Artists - “New Brutalism III” 2xC40 CS Total Black
techno-ebm compilation with Varg, Blush Response, Kareem and more

Various Artists - “Noblesse Oblige” LP Gooiland Elektro
techno-ebm compilation with Profligate, Future Blondes, Monocorpse and more

Various Artist - “Not So Cold: A Warm Wave Compilation - complete collection” 2xCD Sleepless Records
Minimal wave, electro, industrial, post-punk compialtion with Absolute Body Control, Hante., Volkova, Inhalt, Unidentified Man and plenty more

Various Artists - “So Low Remixes” LP The Vinyl Factory
with The Klinik “Moving Hands” Helena Hauff Remix (a really cool but not autorized by the Klinik, remix of one of their greatest tracks)

Various Artist – “The Sound of Belgium (TSOB) Vol. 3” 10xLP Boxset La Musique Fait La Force
3rd volume in the massive LP box set that centers on new beat and it’s ties with ebm, techno and dance music. with Channel X, Frank De Wulf, Technotronic, Major Problem, 101, Public Relation, Front 242 and More!

Various Artists - “Wiedergaben vol. 1” 12" Aufnahme + Wiedergabe
Cool A-side and B-side LP with Kirlian Camera and Stonith. Check out that Stonith track for it’s familiar sample from “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”.