Pop & Rock News

Collaboration between Live At Robert Johnson & Public Possession, both selecting some key label artists to remix “Gingko” a track taken from “Aksel & Aino”s debut Album “Lullabies for Insomniacs”. Including Mixes by Gerd Janson, Lauer, DJ City & Nice Girl ranging from Big Room Balearic Pop to tripped out Techno and classic house.

Collaboration between Live At Robert Johnson & Public Possession, both selecting some key label artists to remix “Gingko” a track taken from “Aksel & Aino”s debut Album “Lullabies for Insomniacs”. Including Mixes by Gerd Janson, Lauer, DJ City & Nice Girl ranging from Big Room Balearic Pop to tripped out Techno and classic house.

As head of Italian (centric) Slow Motion label (and international artist sister imprint, Wrong Era), and through his own productions and remixes, Franz Scala has been pioneering the retro-futuristic aesthetic of club culture weaving together elements of proto-house, wave and Italo for the nuovo contemporary dancefloor long before it’s current vogue. Now alongside Bordello A Parigi, and supported by Sameheads, Slow Motion presents Scala’s Mondo Della Notte.

This is part 1 of the album, which is also available as 2LP bundle.

The debut album of the Greek one-man project HERE-X contains everything we could expect from a leading modern post-punk act. Cold wave ambiances fulfilled with sumptuous guitar riffs and beautiful synth lines surrounded by exuberant vocals. A necessary new record for any collection that includes She Wants Revenge, She Past Away or Actors vinyl records. Presented on deluxe edition, including inner printed sleeve.

„Ich folge dem goldenen Strom.“ So singt es Rosa Anschütz im Titelstück ihres neuen Albums, mit kalter, klarer, entschlossener Stimme. Darunter sirren erst goldene Störgeräusche, dann setzen mächtige Elektrobeats ein, und im Refrain künden Trompetenfanfaren vom Sieg über die Elemente. „Goldener Strom“ ist zweite Album der 24-jährigen Künstlerin, die in Wien und Berlin lebt – ein erstaunliches Werk. Man kann dazu tanzen, man kann es aber auch wie ein Konzeptalbum hören; es ist ebenso voller Beats wie voller Gedanken. Rosa Anschütz spielt Klavier, Trompete und Querflöte, zu Beginn ihrer Karriere hat sie viel mit Modularsynthesizern gearbeitet. Ihr musikalisches Erweckungserlebnis war das Atonal Festival in Berlin, später hat sie auch viel im Berghain getanzt, und der Berghain-DJ Max Kobosil remixte ihren Song „Rigid“. Ihren enorm wandlungsreichen Gesang – der vom flehenden Hauchen bis zur kalten New-Wave-Sprechstimme reicht – unterlegt Rosa Anschütz denn auch mit einem entschlossen voranmarschierenden Four-to-the-Floor-Techno; doch finden sich unter diesem immer wieder polyrhythmische Abweichungen. Es scheppert und zittert, tiefe Bässe wühlen im Boden, während hoch droben schillernde Klangschleier wehen. Rosa Anschütz schließt an die Traditionen von Dark Wave und Postpunk an, aber furcht tiefe Kerben in deren Klangbild und romantische Glätte. „Goldener Strom“ ist ein großartiges Pop-Album, voller Melodien, Sentenzen und Beats, die sich sofort im Ohr verhaken. Zugleich ist es ein Manifest künstlerischer Souveränität – kostbar und klug in unseren Zeiten der stromlinienförmigen Kunst.

For the second output of e s p e r p e n t o, Francesco Baudazzi evokes his enigmatic and esoteric side project Violet Poison after being part of the first Various Artists release as Red Lodge. ESPER002. includes 5 original tracks plus a stomper Remix by the Liber Null founder Unhuman.

Each track recalls the pleasure and disorientation resulted in perceiving the ruthlessness of the sea and its stillness right after. Retro-futuristic and cinematic elements, wistful melodies and mutant beats emerge from the marine environment tied to Violet Poison homeland. It is not without reason that the Ep title is inspired by “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1798), a tale about a sea voyage with no return because of the uncontrollable power of nature and the misfortunes caused by the killing of an Albatros. The poem’s atmosphere too is connected with the eerie depictions and the deforming imagery of e s p e r p e n t o.

Comes with a patch

Savage Grounds return to the never ending warpath with their new EP "Body Weight Compressor". After a one-year break, which was used to collect ideas, machines and material, they are releasing six titles with brooding melodies, sounds from the factory, diystopian texts and authoritative marches. An unnaturally restrained chaos. Being released by Infoline Global it provides a reflection of the city they live in.

We live in the dark. We have nothing to say. We are the void inside you that devours everything.

Thirteen years after his whopping ‘Time and Space’ EP, Chicago 'O.G.' Mark Grusane returns to the Rush Hour imprint with his ‘Dance Intensity’ EP. Combining trademark electro, wave, synth-pop and disco elements into three modern dancefloor cuts.

Amerza's ICON is a 12-minute exploration of krautrock wormholes with saturated percussion and lurid vocal interventions. The B-side is shared by a downtempo "33 1⁄3 rpm-versions' acidic jam and a Rubber Johnny-esque concrète sound piece.

From Nursery to Misery crawl back to Dark Entries with Tree Spirits, the follow up to 2017’s Pixies In The Woods. The project was founded in 1987, when producer and keyboardist Lee Stevens invited identical twins Gina and Tina Fear over to record in his home studio in Basildon, Essex. Four years of prodigious studio experimentation followed, resulting in two full length cassettes (1989’s The Oak Tree and 1990’s Equilibrium), and a split EP with Nostalgie Eternelle in 1990. Stalwarts of the Mail Art scene, they also appeared on over 22 cassette compilations, home-dubbed in true DIY fashion, before splitting in 1991.

The eleven tracks on Tree Spirits display From Nursery to Misery’s signatures: chunky drum machine patterns, playfully eerie synth melodies, and Tina and Gina’s stark, nursery rhyme-esque vocals. The lyrical content ranges from dreary to grim; they explore existential despair, sexual violence, and death through an acerbic, feminist lens. Inspired by the Bladerunner soundtrack and 4AD, Lee’s production is alternatingly warm and icy, like a glacier wrapped in analog tape hiss. Stylistically, the tracks range from charmingly miserable synth pop on “Cry Me”, to the clanging rhythmic industrial of “The Daily Raper”, and even a haunting flute driven instrumental with “A Summer Morning Trip Through The Misty Woods”. From Nursery to Misery are a pure expression of the British DIY aesthetic, which is made all the more captivating by the band’s own confession that they were just trying to make pop music!

All songs on Tree Spirits were remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The cover art by Eloise Leigh features a photograph of the twins posing dramatically in the woods. Included is a 12-page booklet with lyrics, liner notes, and an archival interview with the band, as well as a bonus 1.25” square pin featuring the band’s logo.

Roberto Auser delivering the very first album on Leipzigs Lunatic Records, consisting of 8 uncut gems. This record is a cybernetic machine, reaching down to your core to touch your fears. Dystopian synth-melodies, sharp bass lines and resonant snare hits creating the perfect environment for frankensteinian vocal lines that come cracking through the circuits. Auser gives a versatile selection of his work, spanning from tracks like „Fortress“, a four-to-the-floor bulldozer, to slow-electro smashers like „Insecticide“ which sounds like pure bio-sonic weaponry. Edition of 200 copies, comes in handcrafted screenprint cover.

Debut Solo Album From John Carpenter Musical Collaborator On Very Limited Vinyl.

Daniel Davies Has Announced The Impending Release Of Events Score, An Eight-song Collection Of Otherworldly Instrumentals That Expands On The Musician's Distinct Talent For Wringing Modernistic Soundscapes From Vintage Synths. Perhaps Best Known For His Role As A Collaborator And Co-writer On Horror Auteur John Carpenter's Recent Lost Themes And Anthology Albums (as Well As A Pillar Of His Live Band's Subsequent Tours), Events Score Marks Davies' First Proper Solo Album. To Accompany The Announcement, Davies Has Shared 'shadows Alive,' A Melancholy Theme Built On A Glassy Synth Melody Arpeggio, Bolstered By A Creeping, Expansive Low End.

The Album Began As A Brainstorming Session For A Movie. 'i Was Talking With A Friend About Writing A Sci-fi Film, But I'm Not A Screenwriter So I Wrote An Album,' States Davies. 'i Could Imagine Huge Spaceships Cracking The Sky, Giant Sand-snakes Barreling Through The Desert, Or Someone Drifting Across The Bottom Of The Ocean With Just Barely Enough Light To See The Creatures Beneath. It's The Score To All That...'.

More sonic electro infused speaker decimation from Deadly Avenger in a brand-new follow-up to 2018's I Am Godzilla You Are Japan.

Includes 3D artwork and glasses, Insert, and download card. Artwork by Luke Insect

Harglow is a musical project composed of Colin Nance and Eric Gorman. After bonding over a mutual love of horror and working in several music projects together, the pair embarked on an experiment to combine their love of horror and music. Harglow was the result. Originally based out out OKC, the record started as a series of stand alone sessions. After Colin relocated to Austin, the process evolved and became a satellite project, leading to the remainder of the record being completed over several months of file sharing. This is their debut record.

Record concept:
The songs contained on this record were originally discovered on two 1/4' tape reels with a single word written on them; "Harglow". The tapes were initially discovered during the estate liquidation of a well afflunced, yet eccentric, gentleman believed to be highly involved in the occult.

Based on additional material found along with the tapes, the sounds collected on this record appear to have been used as a soundtrack for the man's grotesque rituals, and the original creators are unknown. Notebooks and additional articles were also found that could point to connections to a larger occult involvement. This has yet to be confirmed.

Eyes Down takes its name from the period in 1991 where subway riders in New York City were told to keep their eyes down for fear of upsetting someone and provoking them into a stabbing or similar. It was the mostly deadly time in the city for murders per capita and there is certainly an unsettling, paranoid air to the gritty synth sounds of Mr Eff's latest album. The automation of the trains, the darkness of the tunnels and the daydreaming mindstate of riding late at night also feature across its 10 cinematic and evocative tracks

It’s a dark, moody affair, populated by 17 nuanced neon-noir synth score cues for a film not yet made. There are moments when this album flows like the Cliff Martinez-Makeup and Vanity Set collaboration that never was, and others when ’80s Vangelis shines through. There are other instances that tend to sound like something released on Burning Witches Records or, yes, like the work of John Carpenter. But it’s never derivative of any of those composers, instead somehow blending all their better angels into something rich and rewarding for the listener.

The entire world of Darkly Dreaming – disturbances that shift about like cold specters at night and which sit uncomfortably on our chests like anthropomorphised anxiety - manifests intensely through each haunting synth run, shuddering rhythm, and reverberated guitar part on the album’s 17 engaging, unsettling, and slightly hopeful tracks.

After releasing her sophomore album Inner Song in the midst of the pandemic, Kelly Lee Owens was faced with the sudden realisation that her world tour could no longer go ahead. Keen to make use of this untapped creative energy, she made the spontaneous decision to go to Oslo instead. There was no overarching plan, it was simply a change of scenery and a chance for some undisturbed studio time. It just so happened that her flight from London was the last before borders were closed once again. The blank page project was underway.

Arriving to snowglobe conditions and sub-zero temperatures, she began spending time in the studio with Lasse Marhaug. An esteemed avant-noise artist, Marhaug envisioned making music that would fall loosely in line with Throbbing Gristle. Kelly, on the other hand, had planned to create something inspired by Enya, an artist who has had an enduring impact on her creative being. They met each other halfway, pairing tough, industrial sounds with ethereal Celtic mysticism, and creating music that ebbs and flows between tension and release.

One month later, Kelly called her label to tell them she had created something of an outlier, her ‘eighth album’.

After releasing her sophomore album Inner Song in the midst of the pandemic, Kelly Lee Owens was faced with the sudden realisation that her world tour could no longer go ahead. Keen to make use of this untapped creative energy, she made the spontaneous decision to go to Oslo instead. There was no overarching plan, it was simply a change of scenery and a chance for some undisturbed studio time. It just so happened that her flight from London was the last before borders were closed once again. The blank page project was underway.

Arriving to snowglobe conditions and sub-zero temperatures, she began spending time in the studio with Lasse Marhaug. An esteemed avant-noise artist, Marhaug envisioned making music that would fall loosely in line with Throbbing Gristle. Kelly, on the other hand, had planned to create something inspired by Enya, an artist who has had an enduring impact on her creative being. They met each other halfway, pairing tough, industrial sounds with ethereal Celtic mysticism, and creating music that ebbs and flows between tension and release.

One month later, Kelly called her label to tell them she had created something of an outlier, her ‘eighth album’.

Unknown Pleasures Records, Industrial Complexx and Oráculo records co- release a tribute to one of the most legendary band of the all time darkwave-goth scene. New versions running away from the obvious classics by an amazing palette of brilliant acts such as Kill Shelter, A Wedding Anniversary, Swesor Bhrater, Years Of Denial or Chris Shape among others. This is expected to be an ultra searched vinyl collectible item.

The Qualitons are one of the few internationally known and critically acclaimed bands Hungary has had to offer in recent years.

They played at numerous festivals across Europe and the USA, performed a live session at legendary indie station KEXP and have released a total of four albums.

Their latest (and last) LP called Kexek is a beautiful and respectful tribute to the music of KEX, one of the most legendary, interesting, and tragic bands of Hungarian music history.
Their avant-garde performances were ahead of their time (especially in communist Hungary) and resulted in brutal repression from the authorities.

They could release only one official single before they were literally smashed by the police, to save his life, key figure Janos Baksa-Soos even had to flee the country.

The concept of the Kexek album was simple: each member of The Qualitons picked one KEX song which they had full creative control over, they re-arranged, mixed them individually and then recorded the tracks together.
What came out of this process is a unique, yet consistent mix of folk, psychedelic, and progressive funk-rock that gets more exciting with each listen.

The LP is limited to 500 copies worldwide.

ECHØ LET US WORK HER SOUND PREVIOUS TO ITS ORIGINAL RELEASE EP, LYRICS AND SOUNDS HAS BEEN REMIXED BY YEARS OF DENIAL AND SLAUGHTERED SAINT.

Ex RSD LP on transparent red vinyl, gatefold sleeve with lyric inner sleeve and DL card. Final copies now reduced to £7.99. The tracks on this album have never been officially released before now. The eight songs on this album were recorded in 1978 on a 2-track stereo Revox A77 tape recorder. The recordings are unashamedly analogue, using one microphone and guitars plugged directly into the tape recorder. Bouncing down tracks irreversibly as they went on, forced to make creative decisions that could not be undone. Some hard choices had to be made with the mix, but with no record company meant no record company agenda. TV Smith & Richard Strange could write and record whatever they wanted – and did! It has been an enormous pleasure to rediscover these recordings, the result of a friendship of two artists emerging from broken bands and each about to embark on a lifelong adventure in words and music. TV SMITH - I wasn’t having a lot of fun in 1978 when Richard asked me to collaborate on a song he was writing called “Summer Fun.” I was in the final stages of songwriting for the second Adverts album “Cast Of Thousands,” a project that already seemed doomed to failure given an unenthusiastic record company, a band in the throes of falling apart, and a dwindling audience - but my creative juices were in full flow and I was ready for something different. I already knew Richard, of course, from the Doctors Of Madness, who I’d followed in the years before punk when I was still living in Devon and they were one of the few bands to come and play in the area. I considered them a warped poetic glam band with gothic leanings, and was slightly surprised when the song I’d been invited to work on turned out to be a kind of California surf pastiche. But I was game to get involved, and after we’d finished it and ventured forward with regular writing and recording sessions over the following weeks it soon became clear that “Summer Fun” was just a gateway drug, and the songs that were emerging from our combined forces were going to quickly become much deeper and much darker // RICHARD STRANGE - Watching the remnants of a musical dream being swept away by the juggernaut of corporate punk rock in 1976, I felt a combination of jealousy and resentment towards many of the key players who had been responsible for our demise. The Sex Pistols had supported my band Doctors of Madness early in their career and nicked not only our future but £12.00 from a pair of trousers in our dressing room in Middlesbrough Town Hall! The Jam, who supported us over four shows at London’s fabled Marquee Club, were how I imagined The Who would be if they’d joined the Young Conservatives. Warsaw, our go-to support band in Manchester, had just changed their name to Joy Division, and Johnny and the Self-Abusers, our Scottish flag wavers, had become Simple Minds. All were being feted by the all-powerful music press, while we were being buried. But there was one punk band for whom I never had anything but the greatest affection…The Adverts.

Debut album from Alex Ho out of Los Angeles.

In his foundational essay on Los Angeles, L.A. Glows, the essayist Lawrence Weschler speaks on the city's uncanny, immediately recognizable light; "The late-afternoon light of Los Angeles—golden pink off the bay through the smog and onto the palm fronds." Weschler traces the city's mysterious refracted light from the iconic paintings of David Hockney through the city's frequent portrayal on film and TV, noting its ability to put residents into a state of "egoless bliss."

Similarly, Alex Ho's new album for Music From Memory, 'Move Through It', radiates with the unmistakable LA glow. While the Pasadena native's studio work is just now coming to light, Ho has long been a fixture in the Los Angeles dance music scene, throwing what are perhaps the city's most musically expansive warehouse events and carving out a singular voice as a DJ, as heard on his brilliant Moony Habits show for NTS. The eight-track record, however, lands in a more contemplative zone, better suited for a golden hour drive than a night out.

Though it's his first record, 'Move Through It' is the accomplished work of a fully-formed artist, produced patiently between 2017 and 2020 with help from friends including Baba Stiltz, Phil Cho, Damon Palermo and John Jones. "Mark," the Koanic track conclusion side A, is an arpeggiated slow burn reminiscent of Pino Donaggio's brilliant score for Brian De Palma's 1984 film Body Double. Ho's stunning, pure falsetto soars above gentle melodies. "Miss Suzuki," the piece that originally caught the ear of MFM's Jamie Tiller and Tako, opens the record with a blue, cinematic sway. Ho's facility for poignant melodies—easily conveyed through saxophone, vibes, various keyboards and his own voice—shines on "College Crest Drive," as well as the title track. The lyrical "Move Through It" and the restrained and beautiful closing cut, "TYFC," are abetted by glimmering Kraut guitar figures courtesy of John Jones.

While Ho's rhythms and melodies paint a crystal-clear musical vision, the music's emotional centre is more elusive, indicative of a yearning feeling synonymous with the City Of Angels. Hitting these hazy and subtle notes, Move Through It falls within a canon of sun-addled records spanning from Herb Alpert's "Rotation" to Dam-Funk's Private Life trilogy as Garrett. An immersive and concise statement, Alex Ho's 'Move Through It' is as warm and uncanny as the city that inspired it, a definitive LA album.

Hailing from New York and currently based in Berlin, musician Curses is set to release his sophomore album ‘Incarnadine’ on label Dischi Autunno operated by music pioneer Jennifer Cardini, featuring collaborations with Jennifer Touch and TERR.

Known for blending his Morricone – esque guitar with elements from early 80s music genres like New Wave, Post Punk and New Beat, Curses keeps pushing the boundaries of these references with an emphasis on his own ghostly vocals and guitars on the 2nd album for Dischi Autunno, following his 2018 debut ‘Romantic Fiction’. A resident DJ for Berlin’s infamous Pornceptual party, he also established his own label Ombra INTL in 2016. Further solidifying his love for genre-hopping, Curses runs a monthly Rinse France radio residency where he showcases artists who also share this passion for mixing Wave and the dark and weirder side of Italo Disco.

“The album is a dialogue between the inner self and outer, and romance of eternal and immortal existence. Hence the first single, ‘Miriam’ being a ballad to the Vampiress main character in The Hunger book and film from the 80s. How do we make an emotion timeless?“

Cult classic film The Hunger explores themes of immortality, love and timelessness, the post-modern vampire film contains a dark glamorous atmosphere and stars David Bowie. In a similar way we can see this reference transposed on Curses record. Slick production values and dark grooving melodies push the listener down a path. Opening with cloying nostalgic guitars the track ‘Miriam’ is based on the antagonistic lover from the 80s film. Played by Catherine Deneuve, Miriam is a character trapped in eternal loneliness forever searching for a love that can last the test of time. A battle between her internal desires and external reality. In the same way Curses music is caught in a push and pull between the melancholic beats of the past, contrasted with a contemporary and sophisticated production.

With ‘Boundless feat Jennifer Touch’ Curses turns his references on their heads, going from the dark moody guitar driving tracks akin to Depeche Mode into a more playful goth Siouxsie and the Banshees vibe. With vocals by Touch the melody is fast and dynamic with the lyrics almost holding a teasing quality. ‘Smoke’ continues the playfulness but this time pushing further into dance floor territory with vocal samples weaving in and out of a moody but very smooth rhythm. With ‘Ghost of Arms feat TERR’ Curses explores an ethereal pop atmosphere with the Brazilian artist’s vocals. Throughout the LP you can hear the signature running bass-lines from Dame Bonnet who tours with Curses for his live show. ‘Made In Shade’ closes out the album, paying homage to Curses’ musical roots and the sounds that have shaped him.

After a first reissue, which seduced music lovers nearly 40 years after the group’s disbanding, LeBackstore and On The Roof are rereleasing the works of IKO in double vinyl format. ’83 & Extra Studio Works includes the entirety of the ’83 album, plus four tracks recorded after its original release. These additional pieces reveal an outfit that pushes its own limits, gaining in intensity while straying from the abrasive sound of the early days. The keen desire to experiment that has always been present in the trios artistic approach is definitely there. One only has to listen to “Surrender to the Dream” to take the full measure of the creativity that inhabited Dax, Zao and U-Gen.

With an improved overall sound thanks to high-level mastering, IKO’s music is given new life again, this time by Quebec-based enthusiasts. Born a decade too early, IKO is held today in high regard by many connoisseurs and electronic music junkies. This reissue is a well-de-served rehabilitation for one of the most relevant groups of Montreal music history.

A group worth discovering, if you haven’t already.