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Pete Crane might be a familiar name to some, as half of Australian band Shiv-r. March heralds the album that will be the premier solo release for Crane, called That Annihilated Place, on German label, Infacted Recordings.

But before that, he has released a taster to tease our palates before the album in the form of (pre) single, “You Are Not Your Body“.

There is an instantly a bass synth heavy start to “You Are Not Your Body” and you find yourself starting to move in time to the rhythm… It combines a techno savvy rhythm with precision synth and electronics, that is delivered with industrial sledgehammer.

PETE CRANE

The second track, “Norilsk” is just full on joy. Bouncy and heavy all at the same time. If this doesn’t make you want to dance, then not even the devil could tempt you.

The Xotox remix of “You Are Not Your Body” is a heavy industrial rhythmic version that starts to drill into your brain almost literally as well as figuratively.

Moris Blak does remixes that smack you up the side of the head and his interpretation is also of title track. It winds up to the spoken word and it is a sexy beast indeed.

Dkag remix off the album a track called “Messed Up” which has an awesome amount of high energy, which you kind of expect from guys who are club DJs, because they just want people to hit the floor.

Crane has on board some impressive talent so far to remix his music and the statement is “That Annihilated Place” is a club album. So far this offering doesn’t disappoint and currently the way this music for “You Are Not Your Body” is definitely having an effect on mine. Get your groove on and wiggle to this in anticipation of more to come.

https://infactedrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/you-are-not-your-body

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January the third was the release date of the album, Le Désert Rouge, which is a combined effort from experimental, ambient, electronic musicans, Poetry Of Thorns of Mexico and I, Eternal of France.

There are four tracks on the album with the first three composed by Poetry Of Thorns using sounds given to them by I, Eternal and vice versa for the last number.

“La Porte de Sortie” translates the The Exit Gate. This short piece is metallic and almost oppressive as it reveberates with its own self made rhythm. It is eerie in the insistence as if the Gate leads to some eternal doom.

“Ces pensėes pyromanes” literally is These Arsonist Pens and again there is that hollow presence of ghostly design. This is delicate and almost other worldy with a french girl speaking a little in the back ground. Maybe the title eludes to how words can inflame hearts and minds.

“Echos intersections et Aubes” or Echoes intersections and Dawns reminds me of a radio trying to find the channel but not quite catching the signal. Dawn with seagulls wheeling in the grey early morning skies as they mournfully cry to each other, dropping from one wind draft only to be lifted by another, in the meeting of stale dark and new light.

This blood-colored desert or “Ce dėsert couleur de sang” is the fourth and final track. This is noise building on noise but slowly and purposely, as you hear from within the distant storm odd snippets and echos. Like a sand filled, unbearably hot desert, it is relentless and has a life of its own and a near audible heartbeat. This experimental piece goes for a whopping twenty five minutes and twenty six seconds and has an almost trance like quality.

Poetry Of Thorns‘ last album was produced by none other than goth – industrial legend, Martin Bowes of Attrition, which means they have quite a bit street credability. Both these acts really seem to enjoy the collaboration and have a great respect for the other, it shows or rather it can be heard in the care they have taken.

This is what experimental music is all about, pushing boundries and artists encouraging each other to go one better. If noise and experimental industrial music on an ambient plane is your thing or whets your curiosity, please check out Poetry Of Thorns/I, Eternal with Le Désert Rouge.

https://poetryofthorns.bandcamp.com/album/le-d-sert-rouge

https://ieternal1.bandcamp.com/album/le-d-sert-rouge

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When you talk about industrial electronic noise acts like Coil, Throbbing Gristle and In The Nursery, you have to add Coventry band, Attrition. January saw the release of a new single, “The Great Derailer” from the album, The Black Maria, which is due out in the coming months.

Martin Bowes is the one member who has been continuously part of the group from the beginning in 1980 and has always steered Attrition to being a much lauded and still viable act now, even in 2020.

Martin Bowes

Of course the title song is first, “The Great Derailer” which is exactly five minutes long and begins with the jangling of guitars, juxtaposted with female vocals. Bowes‘ gutteral tones gravel along with Emese Arvai-Illes as the female lead, almost floating above Bowes. Who is “The Great Derailer“? There is a sound bite that seems awfully like one U.S. president called Trump. The violins are discordant and almost manically high pitched with fervour, off-set by the mellow tones of the cello, all heightened by the soprano wailing, rising and falling. Whoever this Great Derailer is, they revel in the turmoil created by the direputable and unruly.

The B-side is “The Pillar (For Ossington)“. Ossington Subway Station is located in Toronto, Canada and also the place that Martin made field recordings of the trains as they pass by and stop. This is a much more sublime piece, almost clasical in nature, with female vocals like the calling of the sirens to lure you into their world within a hurtling steel carriage.

There are a bonus four remixes of “The Great Derailer” on the digital format. There is “The Great Derailer” by Planetdamage remix, “Entertain You” Dead Happy remix, “The Great Derailer” Mr Toma Vs Noirmagnetik remix and Khost‘s remix “Derail“. Each is diverse and a new surprise from Planetdamage’s laid back dismantling to Khost’s reimagination in industrial power noise.

My first real introduction to Attrition was in the early 90’s with the compilation Recollections ’84 – ’89, put out by the label Projekt, who are well known for their electro ambient releases, even though I had heard the odd song here and there. As leaders in their field, they have released some powerful albums full of creativity and dark beauty.

Now in 2020, on the Two Gods label, Attrition is about to grace our ears again. Martin Bowes is threatening us with another single and new album….. and I for one can’t wait to hear what comes next.

https://attritionuk.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-derailer

https://www.facebook.com/ATTRITIONMUSIC/

http://www.attrition.co.uk/

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What do you get if you cross Australian and Russian industrial music? Nova State Machine and they are going to be releasing their back catalogue in the form of EPs, as spanking new remixes.

Nova State Machine is the collaborative brainchild of Sydney sider Craig Saunders who is also know as SiK from the band Novakill and moscovite Dima Ilyn who is best known for his band, Ultimate Soldier.

The first EP to get the treatment is TCZ RMXs 001: Harsh Reality, which is made up of four songs off the Total Control Zone album, from 2019 on the lads own label, Shoknova.

Teaser for Harsh Reality

“Harsh Reality” Shokhammer remix by Novakill is a fantastic number to start off with. Who doesn’t like hard and fast tempo straight up to get the blood pumping. Novakill is Saunders main project and sometimes it’s a worry having the band do their own remixes but not here.

Making themselves a “Hard Target – insurgent mix” by giving a pounding industrial electro upgrade to this piece of hardware. This is a nice body rocking piece and no body armour required.

The cry to war in “Never More” is the Ultimate Soldier RMX. Using sound clips of news based around the Kurds and the war against the Taliban, this is less doof power and more thinking man’s electro synth. Not to say there isn’t still a driving purpose but this is has a certain amount of finesse. Ultimate Soldier is the Russian project for Dima Ilyn.

“The Future” has the Uncertainty mix by Holon gracing it. This is a slow build up, spiraling and growing. Beautiful synth chords that seem to go on towards….. well we don’t know yet because it’s the future. For those those who are unaware, Holon is an electro ambient group.

This is a rather cleverly put together EP when you think about it. “Harsh Reality” is the current view, “Hard Target” is what is required to survive, “Never More” is what is desired and “The Future” is the unknown.

TCZ RMXs 001: Harsh Reality has an impressively good quality production and worthwhile supporting to hear what other exciting remixes will follow and who will be involved in this endeavour. Nova State Machine has given us an impressive example how industrial music is ever evolving. Get some in your ears and the best bit is that you can name your price on bandcamp. Ace!

https://novastatemachine.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/NovaStateMachine/

https://shoknova.bandcamp.com

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December, 2019 was the release of Cellmod’s latest album, The Dissident, on the label Mekanick.

The man behind this EDM/ industrial/electronic juggernaut is Juan Espinosa of Florida.

This latest album consists of new pieces but also remastered versions of the singles “Praying Mantis” and “The Machine” which were both first released in 2017.

Juan Espinosa of Cellmod

It would be an injustice to pull this album apart but rather just give you a glimpse of this pure electronic offering.

There is always a driving beat throughout each piece of music. Each is seamlessly put together and flows in a hypnotic fashion.

A fusion of EDM, techno, industrial, wrapped up in a synthesized dream. This is technically diverse, as Espinosa mixes it up, keeping the tracks fresh with an almost agrotech taint creeping in.

Every track is very much a DJ’s dream of high paced rhythm. I suspect “Fire Storm” may be paying homage to the Prodigy’s “Fire Starter” but then maybe a nod to Studio X as well.

That is the beauty of this style of music, as it can and does borrow from others and builds on it.

For me the feature tracks are “Harder Serum“, with a special hats off to the featured Giant Monsters On The Horizon on the remixed version and “Ransacked” with its high energy.

The Dissident is a highly danceable album with a superb production. Cellmod has made a brilliant, futuristic masterpiece that deserves your attention if you like any of these genre.

https://cellmod.bandcamp.com/album/the-dissident

https://www.facebook.com/Cellmod/

https://www.facebook.com/infactedworld/

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Sleepless Droids is an electro industrial group from Sydney, who have been on a slight hiatus, however January has seen the release of a new single, “Dust“.

They first started in 2011 and the member lineup is as follows – Aaron Potter on vocals, Shaun Allen on drums and Derek Dimitri playing synth.

Okay, yep. Love the first opening cords. They somehow speak to my soul. I am a sucker for a jangly guitar but I’m gathering this is a synth and not a guitar… hell who cares!! The mix of electronics is just another level. Beautifully heavy bass and drums fleshes this out as the synths compliment perfectly.

The vocals are bloody good as well. Potter can go from pained whispers to open hearted singing. It just comes down to have good technique and an excellent set of pipes.

The ‘b’ side is “Believe“, a quirky piece of drum inspired number. The intermittent bleeps and bloops that gets heavier throughout, is a just over three minutes piece of ear candy.

The third song is a remix of “Dust” called Substance. It is almost hard to believe it is the same song. Up tempo, faster beat and layers of synths change this song completely.

They might have been on a break but it looks like Sleepless Droids are back and bringing the good s and hopefully there is a new album in the works because of this single is anything to go by…. it’s going to be brilliant.

https://sleeplessdroids.bandcamp.com/album/dust

https://www.facebook.com/sleeplessdroidsofficial