Ad Inferna - Trance 'n Dance (Soulfood)

An album packed with danceable dark electro worth vetting the appetite of any dancefloor bum around, but also an exciting listen for the rest of us willing to enjoy music from the comfort of our living rooms. Sexy bouncy tunes made of fast beats and fully bodied electronics and melodic synths, substantiated by rhythmic guitars and attractive vocal plays, with male and female vocals alternating to maximize appeal to full effect. An intelligent mix of French and English, with some German thrown in for good measure does the rest. Taste for captivating melodies is at the forefront, re-juvanating the dance/electro scene with an injection of purely positive energy. Think early Projekt Pitchfork or other similar outfits rich in melodic content, while keeping their beats focused and the listener on the edge. But Ad Inferna do translate very well to the new century and there's no doubt their dark electro isn't a revival or a voyage de nostalgie, but is very well established indeed within the modern standards of electronics and you would find it very hard to pin them down as heirs of some band or another. There is also a healthy share of remixes on the album, four out twelve tracks to be precise, and although this opens a few windows of opportunities for exploiting the band rhythmic and melodic wonders in different keys, I struggle to see any improvement over the originals. Either way you like it, keep your body moving, Ad Inferna rule your nights. www.adinferna.com

Gianfri

Alae Noctis - Alae Noctis (Mutant-e Records)

Alae Noctis are a fine example of how post-punk and gothic rock are at their best when in its most raw state, whereby the energy of the band performance is not watered down by a massive work of studio production, but it's left in its original state to speak for itself. Alae Noctis are a 'new century' band, that is, they came about when goth rock as a fashion had expired by some margin already, leaving those few bands having the right feel for it to carry on and get a chance to be heard in the right light. This album is a case in point, showcasing the Spanish 4-piece ability in creating works that transpire energy, and not only due to their essentially lo-fi sound quality. Moving freely across the wide range of facets of the genre, Alae Noctis, show they are at home on the post-punk arena, can shake hands with darkwave, know all well how to maneuver guitars and synths (and guitar synths indeed!) with raw finesse, work equally effortlessly in low to high tempos and have generally produced a very palatable work for all in the scene who look at novelties, new names, new faces. In all truth, even a few steps up in the sound fidelity would not make much to harm the band appeal, I guess, although the low-fi sheen does add a bit to the fascination. www.mutant-e.es

Gianfri

Allseits - Hel (Cyclic Law)

A work of droning and low pulsing ambient purposed to narrate a Norse mythological tale of a descent to the underworld, or "Hel", inevitably protected by a Goddess of the same name. Droning dark ambient is invariably either 'hellish' or 'cosmic', or a combination of the two as in this case and I think that part of the fascination of it is that cavernous soundscapes and underworld currents or skyward spaces and solar winds are not something that we as humans can experience first hand, so every infinitesimal variation of the artistic proposition of either is still fascinating to many. Allseits, Nina Kernicke in real life offer a pretty competent take on it and it is safe to say that the relative 'journey' is fulfilled within the 45 minutes of runtime of this work. I, for one, can do with as much droning and death ambient that can be thrown at me, bearing in mind there are times and frames of minds upon which I love to be surrounded by inexplicable ambiences, which is probably true for many fans of the genre. www.cycliclaw.com

Gianfri

Àrnica - Viejo Mundo (Percht)

"Pyrenne" folk is not something one comes across everyday, so it's with extreme interest that I discover Àrnica, a trio based in Barcelona, who pay homage to the traditional roots of their homeland with an enchanting work of pure, un-adultured folk. Amidst bagpipes, tribal percussion, assorted acoustic instrumentation as guitar, accordion and flute, and raw ambient noises, a full surreal world unfolds to the listener. We are miles away from high-spec, hi-tech recordings and productions here, while the momentum comes from the implacable minimalism of the arrangements and the quasi-theatrical contents, the latter not all too easy to digest as lyrics and texts are in Spanish and Catalan as one would expect. There's a marked ritualistic content to most of the tracks, evoking the obscure traditions of a region that's charming and mysterious at once. The closest we've heard from well established artists in this genre, are a few moments of Allerseelen, but I wouldn't want to mislead here: with Àrnica we are taken on a mountain landscape journey, and all the raw spikiness of the cut-to-the-bone performance does full justice to that. www.myspace.com/arnicaband - www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri

Aspectee - Morben (First Fallen Star)

A newcomer to the dark ambient scene, Aspectee's debut album Morben offers a stab on that kind of abstract soundscapes that float above one's mind, depicting ever evolving shapes which fade in and out of focus and morph into one another with fervid imagination. Not shying away from good old experimentation, the album progresses track after track as it it were one long movement, floating in and out of darkness and moving from celestial to supernatural and all the way back to what resemble noises borrowed from nature, with hints to the mystic and touches of industrial noise. As the soundscapes are ever evolving, this isn't the type of ambient that conjures up neither trance states nor sense of despair or oppression, and from this point of view Morben is perhaps more accessible that the bulk of dark ambient out there, but certainly only up to a point. With Aspectee we are swimming in unknown waters. There's a lot of appeal across the nine tracks that make up the album, a very intense listening experience, one that would gain even extra impact if mixed in surround. www.firstfallenstar.com

Gianfri

Attrition - Across The Divide Live in Holland 1984 (Two Gods Recording)

A priceless document of Attrition's early day live performances comes in the form of Across The Divide, which covers the band first over the channel tour back in 1984 along The Legendary Pink Dots, seeing them performing across Holland and Switzerland. Captured as a stereo feed directly off the mixing desk, it features primordial infecting electronics, with Julia Waller's vocal work dominating the scene set of brutally minimal electronic euphoria showing an early Martin Bowes riding the wave of innovation in the electronic wave arena. Intricate percussion, nervous basslines and a plethora of quirky synths, fast moving arrangements. Edgy and unpolished, Attrition set themselves to pioneer the British electronic movement, and, over a quarter of century on, their legacy is still there to remain. Hell, they are there to remain! www.attrition.co.uk - www.twogods.co.uk

Gianfri

Attrition - A Tricky Business (Two Gods Recording)

This is a über classic work by Attrition, which marked the first decade of activity by the band in their original classic line-up of Martin Bowes and Julia Waller. Martin's dark electronica has outlived over two decades of technological advancements and his gritty minimalism has surged to the status of trademark over the years. The genial combination of quasi-operatic vocals by Julia and raucous whispers by the man himself is a one-of-a-kind invention that has always identified Attrition, and this album marks the triumph of it, amidst the funky electronic basslines and the varied plucked electronics and synth orchestrations that make the unique world of Attrition. And that one track that has forever made the band immortal, A Girl Called Harmony, is the highlight of this album, a pure jewel of dark electronic wave. Once more re-mastered for a better sound and adding an extra track, this is a release you will need to long to if you're catching up with Attrition spectacular career. www.attrition.co.uk - www.twogods.co.uk

Gianfri

Attrition - Heretic Angels (Two Gods Recording)

Fifteen years from the live experience captured in Across The Divide, it's 1999, and we get another outstanding document of Attrition live sound, this time recorded during their third North American tour supporting the release of The Jeopardy Maze. I think these are the first dates for Christine Reid as a vocalist and she surely shows straight away she is in the right place with Attrition. Her backing vocals in the form of wailings are extraordinarily suited to the magic of the band electronic minimalism, so are a plethora of quirky synth effects that litter the performance, with the steady beats and basslines offer the foundation and Mark semi whispered vocals do the rest. The tracklist offers classics of the calibre of The Mercy Machine, Lip Synch, Acid Tongue and A Girl Called Harmony. All prepended with a 3-minute long prologue featuring a viola solo that sets a sort of gothic horror atmosphere that is eventually wiped away by the liberating onset of the electronic beats. Very effective in building up suspense prior to the performance. This album is a reminder as to why it is mandatory to go and see Attrition next time they come to a town near you! Aside from that, enjoying the commodity of listening  back home to some of their best tracks in these genuine live versions is something not to pass on either. www.attrition.co.uk - www.twogods.co.uk

Gianfri

Attrition - The Hand that Feeds - the remixes (Two Gods Recording)

A challenging exercise in its own right, re-mixing Attrition, is definitely bound to open up new horizons, and this 14-track collection of re-mixes is the tangible proof of it. Originally a "millennium" release, this has been re-released on Martin Bowe's own label, just like all the other releases we are dealing with. Take a genius, filter his output through the skills of an equally gifted array of carefully selected acts and the final result can only be a glorious album of compelling electronic extravaganza that is a capital sin to miss out on. I think one of the messages we get from The Hand that Feeds is that Attrition are highly re-mixable. Part of the reason is the unique combination of vocal plays, which survives in some form on some of the re-mixes, but as Martin Bowes has always had a primordial approach to electronics, but he has also mixed in many elements from other genres, from gothic to neo-classical to ambient, I think the general feel is that Attrition on the whole are eclectic enough to pass with flying colors the re-mix test. And, being not a re-mix fan myself, this is quite a statement. I will not go as far as saying get this in place of a band's best-of, but with such a range of re-mixers from Regenerator to In The Nursery, passing through Stromkern, Morbus Kitahara or Chris n Cosey, get this in addition to the band best-of as it's really a winner. Just a word of warning: no dull dance beats, juvenile trance presets or pre-packaged re-mix recipes to be found therein. You've been warned. www.attrition.co.uk - www.twogods.co.uk

Gianfri

Barry Schrader - Beyond (Innova)

Beyond is a work of subtle electro-acoustic compositions that comprises efforts dated between 1992 and 2004. Barry Schrader wanders through the meanders of life and death, exploring the sonic significance of the first spring experienced by a new-born sparrow, which will be remembered on the moments of its death, and then going on to investigate in great detail death, in a trilogy spelling its before, into and after phases. Cheerful, uhu? As it's customary for the author, the arrangements are pretty dynamic, with fragile and mysterious ambient moments scattered across xylophone feasts and blooming electronic sounds. But once into the 'death' theme, which constitutes the second half of the album, matters turn gloomy indeed and we are treated to some exquisite dark ambient finesse that won't fail to impress genre buffs. There isn't an easy way into Barry Schrader's art, as there's nothing obvious or granted about his works. His free-style ambient of Beyond puts him across as a great free-thinker in the world of experimental music. www.barryschrader.com

Gianfri

Barry Schrader - Fallen Sparrow (Innova)

With Fallen Sparrow, Barry Schrader ventures into neoclassical wanderings and, most importantly, this work also sees additional performers joining in to augment the organic feel of the compositions, contributing operatic vocals, violin parts, clarinet and delightful piano passages. All blended in the imaginary and distinctively avant-garde electronic arrangements by the composer. There is some atmospheric grandeur in some passages of the title track, dedicated to a sparrow victim of the implacable cold and the reading of the liner notes is even more touching than the music itself, which reaches peaks of dramatic tension at the hands of Mark Menzies' violin. The untypical soundtrack-like mélange of classical and avant-garde elements make this work extraordinarily intriguing and highly entertaining. www.barryschrader.com

Gianfri

Blind Before Dawn - Demo CD 2009 (Self-released)

Three tracks betraying the typical Brit way of pumping up electro-pop to make it a more pill-suitable exercise to those who still need such a thing. Trite, yet competent, synth riffs, guitar stabs, higher-than-suitable BPM and non-stop lyrics. Been there, heard that. In all honesty there's not much else to read into this 12-minute exercise. www.myspace.com/blindbeforedawnuk

Gianfri

Blood - Seppuku (Visual Sonora / Mutant-e Records)

Acts such as Oomph! and Rammstein are said to have been of inspiration to Blood, and indeed they seem to act as a sort of Spanish counterpart to such high-profile bands. Their music is based on solid hard guitar stabs and a suitably "evil" vocal work, but there's a marked melodic touch to it, with well conceived synth lines to mellow the evilness out of the predictable vocal/guitar work. Less predictable is the use of Spanish for lyrics, which takes a bit getting used to, but adds an "exotic" touch to the work. I can't say I'm the biggest fan of the genre, but Blood make an excellent work at making it palatable enough to make us forget this is supposedly a sort of metal. Four out of the twelve tracks are actually remixes, so effectively, we are looking at a sort of mini-album extended with remixes, rather than a full album. There's also a video included, which I actually an animated cartoon of the band playing. Original, but not the most interesting of videos. www.bloodblood.es - www.mutant-e.es

Gianfri

Corazzata Valdemone - Corazzata Valdemone ha sempre ragione! (Marks of Deceased prod)

Tapping into that sort of structured harsh noise with totalitarian connotations that is a sparkling delight to the trained ears, Corazzata Valdemone put out this opus that is an homage to futurism and its many ramifications. They go as far as offering a tumultuous rendition of Marinetti's Futurist Manifesto that is sumptuous and biting in its screeching tailings, but then they step much further into power noise wanderings with the approach of those who have the guts to go way beyond the trodden path, mixing in period samples of recordings and forward looking noise sculptures. Re-creating war waging imagery and totalitarian historical (sur)realism, and offering the semi-chaotic mélange of ear-ripping noise and quasi ordered rhythmic structures, Corazzata Valdemone come across as a refreshing storm into the power noise scene, offering an element of creative and disconcerting order-disorder that won't fail to intrigue and entertain. marksofdeceased.blogbus.com

Gianfri

Daniele Brusaschetto - Blasé (Bosco Rec)

A little precious document covering a decade of Daniele Brusaschetto's activity, in the form of a seven-title selection hand-picked from his discography, augmented by two net tracks that aptly open and close the album. All is packaged in a hand-crafted cardboard cover, minimalist as ever: a single scribble tracing a spiral-like movement, individually drawn on each of the 77 copies of this ultra-limited edition, is the worth face of a cryptic work. The album is pressed on a white-label CD-R, and no titles on sight. In Blasé the arrangements are equally minimal, voice guitar and little more, intimacy at hand, a sense of fragility and emotion sometimes transpires from the vocal work, giving yet one more minimal twist to the recent course of his works. Daniele's cryptic poetry takes centre stage in this context, amplifying the surrealism of his messages, but also giving more scope to read between the lines and catch meanings in a more legible way. There's still room for wordless passages that betray, albeit very gently, the noise elements rooted deep inside the author's musical mind. The only reserve I might have about it is the choice of an extra-limited format, which inevitably leaves many fans out of the picture and could be possibly read as a sort of present to a solid core of admirers. At least, we like to think that, as we are the lucky recipients of a review copy of this treasured word. www.danielebrusaschetto.com

Gianfri

Dawn & Dusk Entwined - Cathedrales De Brume (Aube & Crépuscule)

Dawn & Dusk Entwined move over to the pure soundtrack format with Cathedrales De Brume, a work meant to accompany and illustrate the eponymous sci-fi novel by two emerging French authors (at least, emerging in such a combination), Oksana et Gil. Stylistically, the focus is on dark atmospheres, ranging from ambient to more orchestral and epic as one would expect, while the tack format is kept very fragmented, with many themes developed shortly, only to drift over to the next paragraph soon after. Twenty-seven tracks are fitted to max out a 73-minute CD format. There's no lack of variation across the album, and, in fact, there's just a bit too much of it, as the pace of change is frenetic and without a matching visual message, the listening alone proves a bit fatiguing in the long run. A previous knowledge of the novel plot might prove instrumental in aiding the process of absorbing the musical messages optimally. Having said that, the epic sparkle and misty orchestrations featured, are a treat to the ears if you manage to keep the needed concentration to them, as a myriad of scattered details and textures enhance their richness to bursting point. A hint of industrial also does not go amiss, completing the picture of a very ambitious work that sees a special chapter in David Sabre's career. dawnduskentwined.blog.com

Gianfri

Deadcell - State of Fear (Urgence Disk)

This is the second out of three albums released by this Dutch combo, more like a mini-album in fact, running at just over 30 minutes. State of Fear is a neat example of rock/electro crossover, bodied by full guitar work that is mostly leaning on the hard side of the spectrum. The 8 tracks sport well measured keyboard and synth work and the balance with guitars is struck just about right to avoid falling into the classification as either metal rock or electro. Tempos are overall well measured as well and, while some tracks speed up and add edge to the guitar riffs, other slow appreciably into a blend of rock and darkwave, but one of the elements permeating the work are the melody lines mostly penned by synths but also by catchy guitar parts. Towards the end we find the two more extreme moments, in the form of one number (the title track) going up-speed into metal territory, followed by the closing track (Million Men March) which wanders into mellow lands, still not quite darkwave but a step closer to it than anything else on the disk. There's not exactly a musical revolution forthcoming with Deadcell but a pleasurable listening is guaranteed for some of those quite balanced moments. www.deadcell.nl - www.darksite.ch/urgences

Gianfri

Défilé Des Âmes - Lust 'n' Stone (Ahnstern)

Défilé Des Âmes hail from Greece and offer a wider take on neofolk, breaking down the barrier of acoustic guitar cum martial drumming to insert a wide range of classical instruments, all very sparingly used throughout, but each one opening a new subtle sonic door that adds to the multi-dimensionality of the band's take on the genre. While there are tracks that come close to the more formulaic traits of neofolk, like My Middle Name or Under The Spell, they are not afraid to trash guitar and drums in a style closer to punk than anything else in numbers such as Liar...! which incidentally features a violin contribution by Matt Howden. From that to fall on a gloomy neoclassical ballad, Eilem A Est Morte, where a sweet mandolin takes the lead and the mood turns grey. The creative richness of the arrangements is stunning from track to track, with instruments coming in, playing their sweet, then walking out quietly to leave place to something else. Lust 'n' Stone, which is effectively the debut album for this formation, who have made themselves known with their live performances, has an appeal ranging from neofolk to neoclassical, although effectively, it does transcend both and has quite a few more to offer to satisfy those not necessarily tied to typified genres and more open to a bit of a progressive approach. www.defiledesames.com - www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri

Dense Vision Shrine - Time Lost in Oblivion (First Fallen Star)

One of the many outlets for Karsten Hamre artistic productivity, Dense Vision Shrine is back with another work of menacing dark ambient that will wet the appetite of those who love obscurity in all forms. We often like to think of dark ambient works as soundscape journeys and this particular one is no exception, with soothing ambiences guiding the senses through various state of imagination. Even more so if experiencing the work through the bonus DVD included in the first half of the 1000 copies of the album pressing. This includes a collection of images that reflect those used in live performances by the artist. The inclusion of a few tracks evolving around a slow, funerary beat and other elements of percussion provides a slightly more organic element to the skillful sample manipulation and sound research that is at the ground of most of his works. The album clocks at under 55 minutes, with a fair mix of short and much longer tracks, but it's really fair to say that it's very easy to sink in the work so deeply while listening that it simply feels like a single long, rewarding journey. www.khamre.net/dvs - www.firstfallenstar.com

Gianfri

Dicepeople - Time to Play (Self-released)

Dicepeople is one Matt Brock, who has recently brought back to the forefront his 90s project, after a prolonged spell of activity in various industrial acts.  Time to Play is his actual first release, entirely self-managed and marketed and sees a crop of dark ambient electronica that is delicious both to the ears and the soul. There's a cinematic sense to his freely flowing synth movements and detailed electronic arrangements. The mostly mid-tempo compositions are quite complex but listening is not fatiguing, on the contrary, the nine tracks featured make for a full fifty minutes of soft and warm brain massaging, bringing about a sense of intriguing relax, sitting narrowly on the darker side of the of the spectrum. And it's when, late in the album, even vocals make their appearance, that one fully realises that ever slightly breaking from schemes works well even within a work that's very focused within a genre, although is far from formulaic as such. Hell, there are guitars cropping up occasionally and it's Matt's art and craft to integrate other instruments within his master electronic canvas. I'm loving every moment on this album, the best cure to post-commuting stress disorder. And much more than that, in fact. www.dicepeople.org

Gianfri

Die Rostigen Löffel - Artificial Stupidity (Krautnoise)

Stefan Banas takes a further step into cabaret electro unpredictability with Artificial Stupidity, which, if I have been keeping tabs correctly, is his third album. A mini-album, in fact, running at under 25 minutes, which is about right for impact, before risking loosing interest for the weird content. From the 80's electro-beats of G Schroeder or I get F***** up to the demented no-pop of My Mother Is a Computer, Die Rostigen Löffel show creativity hasn't faded in the German scene, while all have been busy playing with the latest technological progress driving our beloved modern electronic music. In fact, Artificial Stupidity sounds so remarkably retro-fashioned, it might be genuine after all. A man with ideas, a welcome entry in the arena. www.krautnoise.com

Gianfri

Dolls of Pain - Cybersex (Urgence Disk)

Dolls of pain follow up to their debut dancefloor feast Dec[a]dance has been with us for a while now. It is another club-friendly effort pairing solid beats to catchy synth riffs designed for the sweaty joy of club punters. Despite the ever-present bite of their electronic body music, it sounds a bit flat and faded if set against their previous sparkly and bouncy album. A bit like the punch of their bits has been taken away in favor of a more formulaic approach to dark electronics. Don't get me wrong, there's enough in Cybersex to satisfy the demanding all-night dance buff, but not quite as much for those willing to enjoy it from the commodity of their sofas, or the discomfort of their commuting runs. The "by-the-book" approach to the production takes away that extra edge needed to come through as another winner in the same way Dec[a]dance did. www.dollsofpain.com - www.darksite.ch/urgences

Gianfri

Dunkelwerk - Höllenbrut (Alfa Matrix)

Dunkelwerk returns with a follow-up to the debut Troops, giving a clear indication of substantial growth, focusing on moods and leaving behind some of the uncertainties that had characterized his debut. Dark moods and atmospheres, low tempos and perky electronics, atmospheric synths and even measured orchestral stabs, the occasional guitar touch and a strong rhythmic support by diminutive electronic beats that craft their backbone magic while sitting perfectly in the shadow of the synths and the vocals. These have also evolved from the flat monotony of Troops and have gained an extra touch of drama, which fits like a glove the bleak theme of the album. Höllenbrut is permeated by a veiled gothic atmosphere and is atypical in that it does offer one single track possibly suitable for the dark dancefloor, and places it close to the end of the album! Your Love is a nifty little electronic ballad that is slightly reminiscent of the quietest and grooviest In Strict Confidence. I like the way it is defocused from centre stage, leaving the whole work to unfold before appearing sneakingly, then leave room to a slightly upbeat couple of tracks. There's a lot of the tradition of the Teutonic school of electro in Dunkelwerk and those who have loved this genre in its golden years of the late nineties, will likely be intrigued by this album. www.dunkelwerk.de - www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

Electro-evo - Electro[evo]lutive4 (Urgence Disk)

Electr-evo live on subtly psychedelic atmospheres, which give their downtempo trip-hop a delightful character of near-melancholic abandon. They play well their cards on minimalism, building the vibe on essential yet measured guitar or monophonic synth lines and dry industrial beats, although they are not afraid to divert into repetitiveness to build up thinly trancey moments from time to time. The lo-fi sonic signature contributes to create a unique mood that is very intriguing and puts Electro-evo into their own field. Instrumental in doing so are also the vocals, which are mostly akin to narration (in French) but not only, stuck up front au-pair with the beats and providing the guiding force of many of the tracks, while a vaguely progressive layer added to the lot ensures this album squarely defies genre-pinning. Electro[evo]lutive4 is a positive step into a blend of genres whose result is very different from the sum of their ingredients. www.electro-evo.com - www.darksite.ch/urgences

Gianfri

Erben der Schöpfung - Nerben der Zeit (M.O.S.)

The follow-up times to Erben der Schöpfung haven't been all roses so to speak, as affairs turned nasty between band members, so it was no surprise it took mastermind Oliver Falk the best part of a decade to put the project back on its intended feet and come back, new and improved with an album that moves starkly in the goth-electro-metal crossover direction. Nerben der Zeit works well by some magic combination of hard guitars, punchy electronics and a rich rhythmic section, including occasional metal-style drumming. Not too often, thankfully! Not least, big credit is due to Dina Falk singing, adding a welcome sexy layer to this EdS re-incarnation. Most of the titles in here do work well to some extent on the dark dancefloor and the arrangements are well articulated. To me this is a vast improvement on the debut album Twilight. And you don't need to be a metal buff to like it. www.erben.li - www.mos.li

Gianfri

Falkenstein - Kraftort (Heimatvolk)

Kraftort is the third effort by Falkenstein, the brainchild of Thomas Franke, who has made a name for himself with a clean and traditional interpretation of pagan folk, centered around his warm vocals, acoustic guitar and some gentle arrangements build around this, where instruments like flute have a central role as you would expect. Within the ten tracks that make up the album, there is some room for some moderately adventurous passages, if compared to the previous album Urdärbrunnen, and the exquisite guitar work is where some of the surprised lie. This is not limited to one-dimensional folk strumming, but Thomas takes his playing into several directions, although the delicate nature of the arrangements tends to mask this a bit, with passages being almost whispered in some tracks. Similarly, the vocal work moves in different playgrounds, still very subtly, and here again, whispered lines contribute to the generally peaceful tone of the album. Occasionally a female voice joins in, adding a bit of extra variety, something it's not very usual in pure neofolk works. Don't look for martial drumming action and apocalypse-come-now as this is not Falkenstein's playing field, more finely crafted soothing tunes and a taste for subtleness. There's a well established tradition for the genre in Germany, and Falkenstein align very well to it, showing how it is still possible to be creative even within the pretty stringent boundaries of it. www.falkenstein-musik.de - www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri

Florence Foster Fan Club - Everyday Theatre (Wave Records)

On a short roundtrip to eighties nostalgia furore, we meet Florence Foster Fan Club, a duo from Croatia who gravitate around the dark electrowave area, spicing it up with a neat pop sensibility and a lightweight touch of minimalist EBM here and there, lurking about but never becoming overtly evident. Being their debut album, Everyday Theatre is quite an accomplished work, opening once more the door on the best side of a bygone era, without specifically re-evoking a specific act or band, more the spirit characterising the electronic wave and its follow up in the form of synthpop, this time even graced by warm bodied male vocals, a quality that has quite often has been missing from many acts of that era and scene, specially in non German or English acts. Everyday Theatre is not a riot for the dancefloor, which if frankly one of its strength as it doesn't end up trapped in the short-sighted world of beats for the sake of it, or over-produced post-production processing (or re-building) that is the norm in music strictly made to impress the local DJs and their blind followers. I like the way FFFC throw their rough edges around to contaminate their pop-wave and make no apology for it. Having said that, there are a few tracks that work well on the dancefloor, and although it is through there are not clear cut stand-out movements in here, it is also true that the sincere honesty of their dark electro is of high level through out, peaking on tracks like Nightshift or the opener Digital Beauty whose arrangements are far from banal and appeal potentially wide. www.waverecordsmusic.com

Gianfri

Gerostenkorp - Terre Brulée (OPN)

Of the French arty approach to all from ambient to electronica to experimentalism, IDM, darkwave and so on, we have had ample evidence over the years and with Gerostenkorp we welcome another entry in the scope of the thread. Daniel Larose goes the extra mile to co-operate with such revered names as Phil Von and also acts like Terroritmo and a few more vocalists, drummers and a guitar player to add exotic, tribal and mysterious textures to Terre Brulée. We are crossing hovering over ambient and dark electronica, with subdued industrialism, ghastly sound design, tribal rhythmic sections and even a veiled taste of dreamy darkwave to square it off. All extremely well melted into a great work that succeeds in being still well original with respect to the sum of the elements that are thrown into it. Terre Brulée is a very fascinating and impervious wandering into dark and dreamy cut outs of the author mind, swollen with mystery in that unique French way. www.gerostenkorp.org - www.opn.fr

Gianfri

Gerostenkorp & Neonrain - Io non Ho Paura (OPN)

An intriguing tribute to the 'Master of Horror', Mr Dario Argento and his school of Giallo flicks that has marked a couple of generations of film-makers and audiences alike, Io non Ho Paura draws inspiration from the memorable soundtracks to Argento's films. The concept is of a split album, each 'side' being a single long track and Gerostenkorp perform the first half, Velluto Grigio or Grey Velvet, as in Four Flies on Grey Velvet, the third thriller penned by Dario Argento in his career, back in 1972. The track offers mysterious synth excursions, moving from quasi-static horror-like phrases to rhythmic passages that loosely carry the legacy of Goblin, who have penned more than one soundtrack to Argento's movies. They weren't yet in the director's cast at the time of Four Flies on Grey Velvet, bur in fact, there's no attempt by Gerostenkorp to emulate, the references being purely homage to the 'maestro' and his outstanding contribution to the thriller/slasher genre. Despite being in the form of a single track, Grey Velvet goes through different movements conveying different levels of thrill to great effect. The analogue synth is the main actor of this suite, which unfolds, never tiring, for the delight of suspense seeking audiences. Neonrain's Profondo Giallo, a word play between Profondo Rosso (Deep Red), Argento's highly acclaimed 1975 masterpiece, and Giallo (yellow), the genre name for thrillers in Italy, derived from the colour of the cover of police mystery books marketed in the country. Neonrain offer a palatable ambient suite that drips suspense and mystery, as one would expect. Profondo Giallo levitates halfway between dream and reality, imagination and nightmare, all key ingredients of all Argento's films. even stripped of all references to horror, this is a piece of ghoulish ambient capable of titillate the palate of the most demanding followers of the genre. A most intriguing album with a most intriguing theme indeed. www.gerostenkorp.org - www.neonrain.org - www.opn.fr

Gianfri

Hadewych - Hadewych (Tuchtunie)

Hadewych is the brainchild of Peter Johan Nijland and the eponymous album in question has had a earlier first promotional release a couple of years back and a new push with an official CD release in 2009. What we have is a work of complex connotations, where a number of influences meet and cross each other. I like the irony of listing 'shoegaze' under the 'file under' field of the press release as this work could not be further than that on all counts. The only gazing I can perceive is aimed at the upper half of our vision field, starkly above the horizon line, albeit perhaps obscured by trees as it happens ever so often. Ambient, but not a banal flavor of. Mystery and horror. I still feel that Dario Argento's soundtrack hints that send shivering signals down the spine. And then industrial movements, some neofolk contaminations and a progressive approach overall, soothing rhythms and chill out synths, but also nicely tamed distorted guitar rhythmic that blend in without making an unwelcome statement. Hadewych do not fit any of the modern schemes and go down the route of telling their own story in a boundless fashion, crossing back and forth through genres and paradigms. As a result, this if far from an easy listening, Hadewych demand some attention, and some that is well rewarded indeed, specially if you feel pleased when being driven around and outside the schemes. To others this may feel directionless, but then again, experimentation is subject to be called that way any day. It's a fine line, that Hadewych walk bravely. www.hadewych.net - www.tuchtunie.nl

Gianfri

Hrossharsgrani - Pro Liberate Dimicandum Est (Steinklang)

If you're on the look for dramatic epic industrial, there's something going on for you on this album by Hrossharsgrani. Pro Liberate Dimicandum Est does not reach the finesse of some Cold Meat artists, is more crude in content, mainly due to raucous guitar chords underpinning many of the tracks, as opposed to epic synth orchestrations as it were. Raw martial beats feature heavily as well, which is a must of the genre, and there's also a noise added value that adds to the gritty and apocalyptic overall feel of the work. There's not really a sonic revolution going on across the ten tracks of Pro Liberate Dimicandum Est, not because this is mainstream, well far from it indeed. But the epic/martial-meet-noise/distortion approach only works up to a point here. www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri

Ignis Vrbis Mithrae - Sacrae Romanae Origines (Wolf Age Records)

A remarkable work inspired by pagan legends surrounding the origins of Rome, Sacre Romanae Origines is surrounded by an aura of sacred, which the two composers conjure up with brilliance. The epic style, enriched by liturgical chanting, martial percussion and touches of neoclassicism, creates a marked ritual atmosphere, solemn and mysterious, mystic, in fact, that will not fail to titillate the appetite of fans of formations such as Ain Soph or Camerata Mediolanense, whose percussionist is in fact the half of IVM. There are vibrant moments on this album, and above all of them is Rvit Ora! , a slow moving ritual whose evocative power is sublime. The stylish packaging, a tasteful digipack with a booklet richly illustrated with artworks related to the theme, is another nice touch, specially in this era of disposable/downloadable music. This is clearly one of such albums I would die to own on vinyl, and is highly recommended in the genre. In fact, and it's hard to notice unless listening on headphones, the album opens and closes with the subtle crackle of vinyl! www.myspace.com/wolfagerecords

Gianfri

Implant - Violence EP (Alfa Matrix)

With EPs lasting close to an hour these days, I wonder what the definition of LP has become. Never mind, just mumbling to myself. Implant have a stab at the dubious faster-than-life BPM cum female vocal under-genre and deliver what can be described a rare wrong side-step in their career. I am a big fan of Len Lemiere and his pioneering electronic work, but this display of shallow club tracks penned just for the sake of being pointless club tracks, hurts like one of Implant's lowest moments. Let alone the press release consisting in nothing more than a name dropping exercise to display the vast number of electronic luminaries who have taken part to this regrettable exercise. Those used to the drilling depth of Implant electronics are faced with a poor fare here. There are one or two good moments in Violence. Yes, think a humble two-sided 7-inch. A winner could have been. www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

Innfallen - Three Days of Darkness (First Fallen Star)

A prophecy allegedly advocated by a relevant number of Catholic mystic minds over the years, The Three Days of Darkness tells of a massive wrath action directly from God, when he's had enough of the current state of affairs on earth, and who could blame Him indeed. But let's not digress. The stars, including the sun take a three-day sickie and all the demons from hell are let loose on earth. The net result of the action would be a steep size shrink for the human population, which these days might just result in re-balancing climate change after all. Oops, I'm digressing once more. Apocalyptic fear is the main musical theme here and Innfallen go ahead in suitably droning mode to illustrate the tale, making large use of the best tools in the arsenal of the seasoned death-ambient composers. Doyle Finley and Kevin Scala unleash their terrorizing deep rumblings, drones, dark winds, rattling and clanging noises and do an excellent soundtrack-type job in illustrating the ongoing grief. Matters settle down slightly towards the end, when Epilogue (Scattered Remains) and New Dawn clear the airwaves for the settling hope of new roots to produce better results than we have seen so far. The suggestive soundscapes of New Dawn do indeed suggest the hope that he avenue is finally clear for hopefully bright new developments. There are no groundbreaking passages in this work, but all is executed with high competence and the soundscapes are quite dynamic throughout the hour long sonic adventure, meaning you won't really need to know about the underlying concept to enjoy the end result. www.firstfallenstar.com

Gianfri

Irij - Irij EP (Ahnstern)

A dive into traditional music from the Balkan region is not a daily occurrence, so it is with great interest that we approach Irij's debut self-titled EP. She is primarily a violinist, which features at the core of songs, along with sparse classic guitar and traditional percussion, creating that perfect folk feel that is half liberation and half melancholy. Moods, in fact, traditions, myths, and all obscure coming with it, Irij is a measured journey into that ever escaping ancestral world that is spiritual home to many still, fortunately. I am not sure the challenges of recording and producing purely acoustic instrumentations are fully met in this work and my feel is that a sparkling layer of clarity is missing, which could have augmented the impact of the six tracks showcased. www.myspace.com/irij - www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri

The Joy of Nature - The Empty Circle Part II: Rastos De Sangue E Fragmentos Da Tradição (Ahnstern)

The Joy of Nature hail from Azores Islands and their offering is a pure journey through folk and traditional music, rooted in the traditions of rural Portugal and it is a very charming journey indeed. Featuring both male and female vocals, chants and plenty of sacred references, The Joy of Nature are a treat for those into acoustic music and traditional instruments, unfolding ballads that evoke past epochs and their unrestrainable charm. In a way, there are some few common grounds with acts like Ataraxia, who are known for digging into the cultural heritage of different countries and peoples. There are moments of peaceful reflection, others of liturgical connotations and some of playground action as well; there are few moments even coming closer to darkwave, although some flute, tambourine or acoustic guitar or mandolin would shift that perception promptly, adding that old-day aura that is so vibrant in this work. There's also a veiled progressive attitude and they're not afraid to stir in a subtle electric guitar every now and then, although you won't necessarily notice immediately. The rich percussive work is much instrumental in adding to the charm, opening up ritualistic horizons to the work. Something well worth checking out for those into traditional and heritage music. www.joyofnature.221design.com - www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri

Karsten Hamre - Through The Eyes of a Stranger (First Fallen Star)

One more work of audio-visual finesse for Karsten Hamre, who presents forty-five minutes of basement-cold dark ambient to accompany a somber parade of some of his photographic works. Not surprisingly, Through The Eyes of a Stranger features abundance of funerary references and human presence is conspicuous by its absence, although macabre human remains do feature occasionally. But much of what's depicted is man made in reality, so the focus is more on the legacy of humans as opposed to their contemporary living happenings. Sculptures and general obscure iconography, for example, are a touching backdrop to funerary rhythms evoking solemn rituals in everlasting darkness. Despite the macabre themes featured, there's a sharp focus on high expressions of art, from many decades or centuries long gone by, which goes to show how certain themes have had a central place in the arts for generations over generations, while we can now simply observe, rightly Through The Eyes of a Stranger, with the music being a fitting commentary tagged on to the images to evoke the best fitting atmosphere to witnessing them. Even more macabre, while yet still man-made, are images from concentration camps, not exactly works of art as it were, but a very crude reminder of how man-made doesn't necessarily mean glorious. Quite the opposite in such cases. Through The Eyes of A Stranger is pure bleak ambient in black and white. No sun to shine on here I'm afraid. The additional DVD is only added to the first half of the 1000 copy pressing run. www.khamre.net - www.firstfallenstar.com

Gianfri

Kyron - Union (Black Note Music)

The story behind Union is that of a "live recording of a semi-traditional Jewish wedding ceremony held in Yosemite National Park". But Juan Carlos Mendizabai, going under the artistic moniker of Kyron, has a less than traditional approach to composition. His craft lies in experimenting with sample fragments, using these as sound sources that undergo extensive electronic manipulation before landing onto tracks on the silver disk. Of which we have no less than 28 on Union, for a hour-long playtime. Look at abstract ambient sound collages, made out of subtle looping and extensive use of upfront echoing effects, tap delays and gluing reverbs. Every now and then the abstractions align themselves to propose subtle hints at rhythms, chord structures or even subtler melodies. There's an element of hypnotizing soporific attire to the work, scoring points in the dark ambient league, but with a hinted ritualistic feel permeating it. Overall, it feels a bit let down by the lack of a genius-stroke attitude to creative sound shaping. But subtle music works on many levels, and the listener attitude is half of the play with intriguing works like this. www.blacknotemusic.com

Gianfri

La Mamoynia - Everything Is Fake (Self-released)

La Mamoynia churn along in the underground and show terrifying signs of maturity on this short EP. The release consists of two tracks and adds their live rendition as a bonus. Dry minimal electro-wave pimped up by delightfully disjointed, yet assertive electronic percussion, skeletonic basslines and distinctive vocals which have matured since previous efforts. It's the kind of stuff D.A.F. could have produced as a demo long ago and tell me this is not a compliment! Joy Division in their rehearsal garage? La Mamoynia's dry rawness is their defining factor, no reverb is the rule and that makes for a sound one rarely comes across these days. As they stand, its' niche appeal, and who said this is a bad thing? No rules is the rule for them and I can but sympathize. Obviously, I'll be waiting to see how they measure up to the long-player challenge, and from this short offering, I am very hopeful about that. www.lamamoynia.com

Gianfri

Lia Fail - Restless Eyes CDs (Self-released)

There's a general neo-classical vein underpinning Lia Fail's works, mixed with neo-folk and darkwave elements, bringing a renewed push to the dark spheres of music, slightly neglected in this incarnation since the best part of a decade now. Maybe we're talking nostalgia, in fact, but these weeping violins, acoustic guitars and intelligent mix of male and female vocalists, vaguely Dead Can Dance meet Rose McDowall, are all integral elements of a pure call to nostalgia. The melancholic feel that permeates the title track, shifts to a more Death in June type feel on the flip-side (figurative, as this is a CD-single), Battlefield. This is my fist encounter with this Italian combo, actually a 7-piece sporting three vocalists, acoustic guitars, bass, percussion, violins, flute in addition to a drumset, and what I hear will definitely be of interest to audiences fed on the likes of Lady Morphia or Death in June and even Sol Invictus, although plagiarism doesn't belong here. www.myspace.com/liafailmusic

Gianfri

Nitzer Ebb - Industrial Complex (Alfa Matrix)

So it's taken 15 years to convince Nitzer Ebb to come back to the release arena and were we all missing that so bad? I'll leave the answer to you, as I scroll through the 17 tracks of generic bullish over-the-top electro-pop by the trio. Impressed? Very little indeed. It says Industrial Complex in the title, so this is supposed to be industrial, but it isn't really. There are a few muscular synth riffs, granted, but the banal mellowness of the melodies, the shallow lyrics and the resulting overall feel sound dated to say the least. Not even triggering nostalgia, just dated. There is the obligatory parade of faithful remixers to re-work according to their taste the worst track of the lot, Once You Say, for the Belgian edition in question, but that ends up adding little excitement to the proceedings. Hang on: did you ever find Nitzer Ebb little more than irrelevant? Dunno. Fifteen years later, a Depeche Mode clone stained with Front 242 touches do little to impress. Sometimes, it feels like some ghosts are best left in the closet. The world out there isn't as soft anymore and electronic music has moved gazillions of miles on from this. www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

Omega Lithium - Dreams In Formaline (Artoffact Records)

Omega Lithium from Croatia join in the crowded arena of gothic-metal bands elbowing their way to exposure and mega-stardom. Yes, it is a female-fronted, and, I hear you cry, oh no, we've heard that all before. Truth is, singer Mya Mortensen is another fare, her vocals are robust, very expressive and articulate and sunken just at the right level behind the ponderous guitar riffs and the rich synth orchestrations. Omega Lithium manage to escape the ethereal cum operatic cliché and the fact that male vocal phrases are few and far between breaks the other habit very common in the scene of staging dialogue-like vocal stints. Musically there's something quite refreshing too, fast moving arrangements and synths sharing equally the scene with guitars, adding interest and drama, but also subtle hints of electronics that provide a valuable sheen to the arrangements. The rhythmic session is solid and groovy, but never overdone (hey, no double-kick!), providing a strong support layer to the tracks. The track sequence is quite high-paced and that's perhaps a bit of a weakness as it tends to tire the listener, whereas a few breaks would have been welcome. In truth, most of the tracks are quite articulate on their own, still a few extra moments of tension release would have played well in my opinion. A positive debut all in all, now it remains to be seen how Omeha Lithium will measure up to a well trained and established competition. They seem to have the good numbers to go for it. www.omegalithium.com - www.artoffact.com

Gianfri

Opera Multi Steel - Cathédrale (Infrastition)

This is a throw back to the early days of electronic wave, a quarter of a century ago, when a new French outfit out of the town of Bourges made their debut with a 4-track eponymous EP, closely followed by a full length album, titled Cathédrale. The band full catalogue has been to date fully re-released, but this is a second re-edition of their debut album, which includes as a bonus the EP and four original videos produced back then. Armed with a TR 606, an array of early synths, including Casio tone generators, diminutive percussive gadgets such as woodblock, triangle, full wave hairdos, the trio gave life to a brand of minimalist electronic cold wave that is a full nostalgic dive these days. The male French vocals give that extra romantic touch that love it or hate it is an extra special ingredient in the context. The album itself is an homage to the gothic cathedral of Saint-Etienne that dominates their native town, but you wouldn't find many gothic references in the music at all, there's more a layer of electro-pop permeating the atmosphere, with nicely crafted synth melodies, vocals dominating the mix in pure pop style, fast paced rhythms and nice additions such as the occasional flute giving a bit of a folk undertone, or some oriental touches here and there and the extravagant hand percussion that adds another personal touch to the band. I think a lot of the fascination of the band comes from their minimalism back these days, and the use of sounds that have never fully gone out of fashion really to date. Some will perhaps object to the vocals, too much in your face and truly trademark "wave" in tone, but it was a sign of the times and OMS themselves have moved over from that along their career. Cathédrale is a great example of the French school of electro wave and is a very palatable listen even 25 years down the line. pagesperso-orange.fr/opera.multi.steel - www.infrastition.com

Gianfri

Opera Multi Steel - Parachevement De L´esquisse (Wave Records)

In the mid-nineties, the French minimal synth wave outfit Opera Multi Steel became unexpectedly famous in Brasil, making to the gothic dancefloors and had a best-of type of album released over there, which in turn lead to some gigs, one more album, and the band becoming a household name in the scene. Fifteen years on, the legacy is still intact and another Brasilian label tasked themselves with releasing an Ultimate Anthology of the band output. Rightly on a double CD, Parachevement De L´esquisse features a whopping thirty tracks, handpicked by the band themselves, outlining their musical journey over the course of a full 25 years. The strict cold minimalism of their first EP and album (see above), give progressively more way to a sound very much in line with the French darkwave scene. As the trio gained first one then a second extra member, the sound became slightly fuller, but only by a slight margin, as but the paradigm has remained that of minimalism throughout. And that taste for a pop melody. And what to say of the recurring cheesy retro handclaps? There is a common line with other French wave acts such as Trisomie 21 or Collection D'Arnell Andrea, but Opera Multi Steel are generally less polished, with vocals in your face, well defined dry synth craftwork, the perky percussive work, or veiled oriental feel creeping up every now and then. And their use of the female vocalist is very very sparse, which is a bit if a miss indeed, as it works well when put to task. More arty if you wish, than your average cold/dark-wave act, and harder to digest as a result. Not strictly gothic as such, but I can see them appealing to a gothic audience nevertheless. pagesperso-orange.fr/opera.multi.steel - www.waverecordsmusic.com

Gianfri

Ophiussa - Pathos (Self-released)

A bit seventies progressive in feel, Ophiussa offer ten tracks of mysterious guitar work underlined by minimal synths and not much more. The feel is that of a sort of stripped down horror soundtrack, so stripped down that if ends up giving the impressions half of the tracks are missing from the multi-track session. I'm all for the less is more approach, but here we are down to the skeleton of it all. Good concepts, but hardly the best implementation of it to generate interest. It's a bit sad that the artwork seems to outperform the recording here, so hopefully we'll hear something more purposely produced in the near future to fuel our long for mystery. www.myspace.com/ophiussaofficial

Gianfri

Persona - Ruïnes (Marbre Negre)

Riding the wave of noise, industrial, ambient and experimental, Persona from Barcelona propose a very valid work sitting well in the brown area and pushing them out on the international circuit after a short string of ultra-limited releases. Ruïnes is offered in a luscious digipak with a beautifully designed booklet added and eye catching artwork. Musically, Òscar and Desirée navigate into very stormy waters, with troubled electronics and samples, noisy backdrops, occasional martial and apocalyptic tones, oppressive ambient passages, but also neo-classical elements surfacing in places, creating a lively soundscape unlikely to alienate the listener. Both their voices feature, in many shapes, degrees of treatment and permutations of the above, showing versatility and integrating very well with the wide palette of soundscapes. Occasionally I find myself drawing some parallels with Kirlian Camera of the good old days, the most experimental side of them. Ruïnes is highly recommended to inhabitants of the brown area and those into avant-garde industrial sonorities, apocalyptic soundscapes where the sun will never shine. www.personaband.net - www.marbrenegre.com

Gianfri

Pinknruby - Queen Kale (Proserpina Records)

Pinknruby carry on their idyllic journey traced by the heavenly vocal harmonies offered by Mihaela Repina and the measured acoustic guitar arrangements of Paul Bradbury, both once more supported by a line-up of complementary classical and world instrumentalists completing the sonic palette of this soothing journey through the soft dreamland that Pinknruby world is. Queen Cale is Mihaela's playground, as she carries through her intelligible vocal articulations, caressing the listener ears and heart with careful and slow movements that give life to a celestial landscape that inspires serenity of almost super-human connotations. The underlying orchestrations provide a finely textured backdrop that acts the perfect substrate for the vocal work. Occasionally a violin, or a cello take a more prominent role, providing a subtle shift of moods, yet maintaining intact the general dreamy feel. There's no doubt Pinknruby are out there to soothe and please, aiming at invigorating the most positive traits of the human nature, so opening our souls to them is almost imperative. and they are so good at it, it almost feels effortless. www.pinknruby.com

Gianfri

Realgar - Auriloquio (Autarkeia)

The idea of combining neoclassical influences with modern electronic arrangements is neither new nor too original by these days, but it is inevitably down to the personal interpretation of the authors that the genre continuously acquires new players and new perspectives. Realgar is a duo, Claudia Florio and Roberto Marino, who started from different backgrounds and converged on the ground of ancient music, each bringing their own unique elements to it. Operatic, soprano vocal performances for Claudia and original electronic arrangements by Roberto. Some parallels are occasionally inevitable, say to acts as Qntal, but Realgar own minimalist take on it and the unusual sonic palette taken to task contribute to carve a place for them to stand tall from even in such a derivative genre. The sounds are pretty raw, either by design or accident, and all the typical smoothness cum punchiness as result of over-production is all but absent from this work. To me, that's a plus. However, they do not entirely stay away from the occasional trite melody or chord progression, and, although this may gain them quick fans in the short term, it's not on such numbers that their real strength lies at all. Having co-operated with acts such as Lupercalia or Argine, is another ingredient that transpires in their openness to variety and innovation, and some experimental traits also emerge that can be loosely traced back to other Italian acts such as Kirlian Camera. Not to mention Claudia versatility in her role as prima donna, interpreting a variety of styles with ease and nonchalance. As said, the fusion of ancient and modern electronic music is neither new nor particularly original, but Realgar seem to have a different say on this assumption! www.myspace.com/realgarmusic

Gianfri

Robert Ziino - An Unusual Day in Montana (Experimental Artists)

Robert Ziino's visionary venture into the marvels of the synth world is well alive and kicking in his latest venture, imaginatively titled An Unusual Day in Montana. Digging deeper into the art of manipulating his electronic machinery, Robert goes off another tangent, mangling his sounds in a twisted tuneful way, with a veritable layer of supporting beats as backdrops to his frequency spectrum massaging exercises that have laid is name squarely into the arena of forward looking experimenters. As rhythms guide his tortuous wanderings through the labyrinth of your neural system, the trademark 5-minute long tracks assume a harder character, one that shifts the focus more towards the rhythmic industrial area, but don't be mis-lead by this statement as Mr Ziino is miles forward with respect to the implied conventionality of that genre. Moving on from previous works, there's more of a focus on primitive structures, as opposed to total absence of boundaries, and his strength largely lies in working boundlessly even within the implied boundaries deriving by the structuring. You can't cage Robert's imagination, that's for sure, and to date we have eight albums of deep-digging experimentation to back this statement. And if this album is anything to go by, we are in for very very interesting developments for the foreseeable future. www.experimentalartists.com

Gianfri

Schwarzblut - Das Mausoleum (Alfa Matrix)

A Netherlands' act credibly impersonating the German stereotype of dark electro-rock, Schwarzblut enter the scene from the front door lading their gig on Alfa Matrix. Those familiar with acts such as Blutengel or Terminal Choice will have something to look forward to, as Schwarzblut are certainly no second rate act in the context. Taste for melodies, tasteful arrangements and a well balanced combination of aggression and sweetness make this album a very positive entry in the arena. Instrumental are the dual-vocal, man-woman, aggro-sweet, but also a well behaved balance of edgy and polished sounds plays a great role. The other good intuition is not to insist on the same formula for too long and Schwarzblut do a good job here, moving focus fairly frequently, and fare quite well on the attempts at a break by slowing down, resulting in nice propositions. The question may rather be: do we really need yet another kraut tanz-rock combo? If you ask Alfa Matrix, it looks like we do indeed! www.schwarzblut.com - www.alfa-matrix.com

Gianfri

Screamingangel - The Inner War EP (Self-Released)

Something atypical for Darklife, Screaamingangel hails from NYC and offers four tracks of angst ridden indie-rock with a punk edge. Little to do with Darklife indeed, but he asked nicely, so we exceptionally went through this. There's competence and vibe although no ground is being broken here, by far. In fact, a bit of toning the screaming down would do Screamingangel some good methinks. For the rest, it's guitar, bass and drums. Little to die for. www.screamingangel.com

Gianfri

Sieben - As They Should Sound (Redroom)

Sieben, Matt Howden's brainchild, is a one-of-a-kind project, incarnating the one-man show in such a natural fashion, it's still hard to believe it's just him and his violin on stage airing those beautiful tunes. And the loop-pedal, of course, by means of which Matt has mastered the technique of building up rhythms, melodies, tunes, songs in front of countless enchanted audiences. This being his seventh album under the moniker, comes perhaps as no surprise to see Matt drawing a summary of 'Sieben so far', before announcing a change of sonic direction for his next album. As They Should Sound is a very un-cryptic title for an album featuring eleven hand-picked songs mainly out of Sieben's live repertoire, and re-recorded while being performed as Matt does on stage. The magic of Sieben mastery of the loop-based live performances channeled straight into your living room in this lovable album. He adds an introductory new track, opening the album to set the pace for the upcoming parade. Those of us who have learned to love Matt's studio and live work, will love this album at first listen, and don't these track trigger lots of fond memories? Looking at the album with the eyes (or better ears) of someone new to Sieben, what must strike first is the minimalism and intimacy of the arrangements, and listening to those quirky violin passages unfold and layer seamlessly to emulate a small chamber orchestra is unlikely to betray the fact that there's just a single performer behind the mics! Although it is essentially neither, I can see this album appealing to a cross section of folk to world music listeners. Sieben is, in fact, an act whose appeal crosses over many so-called 'scenes' of dark and esoteric extraction. There's only to look forward to the next developments that this rich artists is ready to unleash on his unsuspecting audiences. www.matthowden.com

Gianfri

Stahlwerk 9 - RetroMekanik (Steinklang)

When it comes to death industrial and dusty power electronics, Stahlwerk 9 are real veterans, having started to pollute the airwaves back in 1994, broadcasting stark messages not always fully understood in many blind circles. RetroMekanik gathers a number of tracks originally recorded for compilation projects and never eventually published, more early works and a couple of live numbers to boot. Attacking the senses without any signs of brutal aggression, Stahlwerk 9 prefer to bring historical drama and steel cold industrial action to their audience, exploring the lower-fi end of the power noise spectrum, while sinister voices deliver equally sinister messages, which perfectly fit the equation. Stirring in a good dose of worrying ambiences and working with a primordial audio spectrum, they succeed in bringing to life a sense of desolation and ultimately apocalyptic madness. I would seriously advise against overlooking this release if your interest lies in dark and industrial-ambient mechano-spaces. www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri

Svartsinn Elegies for The Dead - 2CD (Cyclic Law)

Jan Roger Pettersen a.k.a. Svartsinn celebrates ten years of wanderings through foggy landscapes with a double album featuring well over 1 and half hour of evocative dark ambient from the cold lands of Norway. The soundscapes are very typical of his grey art and very typical of the Scandinavian dark and death ambient scene, chillingly polluted by industrial elements and glacially conducted with an implacable sense of mystical void. The second CD, extending for about two thirds of the total length of the work, proposes re-creations of Svartinn's works by several fellow artists dwelling in the dark side of the human existence. Musically speaking, at least. Notable are contributions by Triari who add their epic touch and Kammarheit and Letum who reinforce Svartsinn bleakness with touches of additional darkness and forceful drama. More variations to the theme follow, adding a welcome variety of industrial touches, making this album a truly enjoyable package, nicely tailored to take us listeners deep down into a realm of pulsating and macabre darkness. www.cycliclaw.com

Gianfri

Tethrippon - Tethrippon (Ahnstern)

Hymnic rock-folk might sound like a contrived term, but when it comes to Hellas, all that is possible and beyond. Drawing inspiration from ancient Hellenic culture, philosophy, poetry and mythology, Tehrippon have set out to celebrate the achievements of their ancestors, their heroism, their civilization that has been instrumental in shaping very societis in which live today. And seeing, in fact, the contemporary state of affairs it's little wonder that Constantinos and Demetrios have chooses to take a look back for good measure. Crafting their solemn rock martial beats and powerful synth orchestrations, they are not shy of using a few more sounds (synths?) that do add a sense of ancestry, or a touch of folk if you wish. There's no doubt the two are skillful in conjuring anthemic atmospheres, and that aura of mythological epics is augmented by the use of Greek as language for the lyrics, or 'intellectual-Greek' as they define it. The high pace and the focus on the lyrics seem to drag on after a while, though, as the tension is sustained from track to track which ends up taxing the listener a fair bit. Some welcome relief appears in the second half, when a female operatic voice appears, albeit for a short time, to break the pace, and perhaps the duo should think about adding more such elaborations in the future to help keeping the listener in focus for longer. This is a very impressive debut on many counts though and Tethrippn strike me as an act to watch closely for future releases. www.myspace.com/tethrippon - www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri

This Gentle Horror - Chasing The Black Moon (The Fossil Dungeon)

The first thoughts springing to mind while listening to This Gentle Horror by Virginia based This Gentle Horror, are some of unaccomplished rawness. Surely that's intended, but it feels as it doesn't always hit the mark. Only halfway through the eight-track journey taking us for over half an hour worth of an intended dive back into the past glory of gothic rock, This Gentle Horror show their (pointy?) teeth. That's with Dead Sky. Before that, it's a stuttering showcase of indie rock tinted in black, but not much kicking the senses if you're on the lookout for dark emotions, or drama, or power. After that, it does not take off as it should. Some timid winks at the horror soundtrack theme feel more like a dry exercise that an inspired walkabout into darkness. An honest effort for sure, but it tastes of little more than pub rock at this stage. www.thefossildungeon.com

Gianfri

Yumma-re - Eden (My Kingdom Music)

Yumma-re propose a melting pot of styles with Eden, which is in fact their first full length release since 1997 when they first came to release a track on the Arezzo Wave sampler in Italy. They followed up with an EP, a few more sampler releases and a live CD, on the strength of the intensity of their live performances, said to be of great impact. Eden can be lousily summed up as jazzy electronica, with phrases moving unpredictably from scene to scene and that heavy weight of eclecticism that sets an act apart and into the league of non-commercial artsiness. As the 5-piece works lightly through the task at hand, it looks as the main challenge is on the listener, as the soundscape is subject to swift and frequent changes. There is a marked sense of theatrical to the whole proceedings and, being not familiar with the band, I can only guess that visuals are crucial to the sonics here, as there isn't a sonic focus as such on this album. Yumma-re are intricate and fruitful, they blossom and sparkle, they take your senses for a ride. Just how far they will ride is a good measure of how much you will like them. In a way, it sorts of feels like the translation of progressive rock to the modern world of sonic hey-ho. www.mykingdommusic.net

Gianfri

X-periment - First Visions EP (Mutant-e Records)

Fairly straightforward harsh electro from X-periment, a Spanish duo hell-bent on dark electronic body music that lives well in the footsteps of acts such as Hocico, but not neglecting their own twist. Underpinned by solid beats and suitably danceable synths, X-periment add the touch of harshness in the form of aggro-distorted vocals, mashed by a number of evolving effects. True, there's only so much to experiment within this genre and it feels like it's all been done already, but still X-periment come through with a few tricks up their sleeve that make their debut EP not just a simple exercise according to the book. Heavily compressed, squeezed to hell in fact, the arrangements are treated with ingenious combination of effects that give the production a singular fingerprint of its own. There's abundance of experimentation with industrial elements and the arrangements are fast moving end suitably evolving, keeping interest alive and well, and feet moving accordingly. Six tracks form the body of the work, with five more tagged to it, being remixes that live broadly in line with the main vibe of the work and add an extra bit of variety. www.xperimentmusic.com - www.mutant-e.es

Gianfri

Zodiac Project - Morrow (Urgence Disk)

Zodiac Project's laid back electronics work well in some kind of trip-hop-ish way. A groovy rhythmic and percussive work underpins the six tracks of Morrow, kept on the edge by many breaks, while a hammering vocal work on the first half of the mini-album contributes to keeping the vibe quite high, despite the respectably low BPM. The approach is avant-garde in some respects, with no fear with subtle experimentation, well interspersed through the tracks, while the most obvious elements are those of modern electronica, of which there's a palatable variety on here. This is even more obvious on the second half of Morrow, where vocals are set to rest and pure dark electronica takes centre stage and experimentation comes to the fore, providing a seriously rewarding listening experience. www.darksite.ch/urgences

Gianfri

SAMPLERS

(AE)quilibrium - Man Vs Machine - VV.AA. - (Mutant-e Records)

I would have thought that imagery of blood spattered faces and needles were consigned to the shelve of nonsense some time ago already, but it does not appear to be the case here yet. Twenty artists from the Spanish geographical area, plus a few from Chile, Estonia and Holland, paint a picture that ranges from interesting electronic wave, to electronic cum guitar hybrids, all the way to the heavy guitar driven tracks tapping in what the Americans insist in calling "Industrial" music, or even close to 'garage' metal if there was such a thing. Aside from two or three tracks, this sampler offers purely derivative works, most of which are characterized (should I say marred?) by poor production values resulting in a demo-like sound quality. As many of these acts are actually newcomers, much of what is featured is probably demos anyway. Aside from a few names standing out, like Crow's-Nest with some bland Spanish-wave, D.A.F. clones Mekanik Disorder, or club-friendly Invadersfrommars, there is very little here that prompted me further research on the bands involved, the contacts for all of which are duly listed on the CD booklet t help those who wish to pursue them further. The release notes talk about building a "good scene" out of the proposed bands, but this music has all been heard tons of times before and in much better forms, so I don't get the point of building a scene out of music styles that have existed for a long time and have stagnated for nearly as long. Perhaps it's the needles putting me off. Perhaps just not. www.mutant-e.es

Gianfri

Sensitive Data Vol. 1 - VV.AA. - (Zoharum)

For lovers of dark ambient and industrial with a twist or two, the Zoharum collective is a very good port of call. To demonstrate this, they have collected ten tracks from their "friends and relatives" and assembled this hour long little package that show off their best intentions. Acts such as Different State, Bisclaveret, EAR, Ab Intra or Sigill have made waves into the ambient-industrial scene, offering eclectic sonic research, advanced experimentation and the taste for, gosh, a tune or two! In all frankness, there isn't a better way to get introduced to this highly creative artists' collective that grabbing this sampler, and guess what? At no cost either! A cardinal sin to miss out on it if your soul and brain pulse in black and you can't make do simply with "mainstream" soundtrack/horror-like droning ambient anymore. www.zoharum.com

Gianfri

South European Folk Compendium - VV.AA. - (Ahnstern)

Ahnstern present a 3-way split album gathering the talents of Défilé Des Âmes, Svarrogh and Àrnica, who respectively represent Hellenic, Balcan and Catalan traditional culture, an homage to the very rich heritage of these South European lands. Opening with a pounding epic offered by Défilé Des Âmes, a 15-minute cavalcade penned in drama and martial rhythmic, the album sets immediately itself as a compelling listening and emotional experience. The rural mountain themes of Àrnica are alternated with the melodic folk of Svarrogh, achieving a remarkable equilibrium of moods that offer a feeling of peace as common denominator. A second track by Défilé Des Âmes brings back some neo-classical drama and intensity towards the end of the collection, and once more it is remarkable how it all blends so smoothly between tracks and artists, despite the obvious differences in style and content between them, making a great listen for those into folk and traditional music and a great way of sampling these three talented acts in one go. www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri

VINYLS

Birch Book III - A Hand Full of Days (Little Somebody Records / Ahnstern)

Jon Michael Beirth, or B'ee for the friends, is best known for being the singer and composer of In Gowan Ring, composes and performs also under the name Birch Book, bringing hushed guitar and voice under the spotlight and fusing many elements into delicate compositions. His Birch Book works transcend folk by far, melting in sinuous psychedelic touches and airy atmospheres, while his soft voice recites his poetry-akin lyrics and tenuous touches of more exotic instrumentalism enrich the sonic picture with enough subtlety to keep the overall feel quite textured, if very quiet. Birch Book is by no means for casual listening, it demands the listener attention to be very focused, as the whole work is confined within a very limited dynamic spectrum. While widely ranging from poetry reading to country chanson, going through folk and popular expressions, its sustained soothing character appears to be the double-sword that could split the listeners between the ecstatic contemplative and those fatiguing to keep sustained interest in the hour-long recording. www.ingowanring.com - www.steinklang-records.at

Gianfri