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Halloween brought us the spooky release of the latest Simon Carter & Fabsi EP, Witch But Not Famous. With two new tracks, nine remixes and three guest mixers in the ghoulish countenance of Studio-X, C-Lekktor, Teknovore and Ruinizer, what is there not to love?!

“Omens” is just a smooth techno/ electronic filled track with Fabsi’s vocals meandering through the mix, predicting your doom. There are three remixes of this track but we will turn our attention to the Studio-X mix. You can picture the light show on the dance floor for this reimagining and Studio-X almost literally wind this up to maximum effect, before dropping the explosive techno.

The next new track is “Witch Hit” like an out of control steam train on its way to wild woods where you just know some crazy shit is going to happen. Again there are three remixes and we take the guest artist’s version, C-Lekktor doing the honours. They have taken the wonderful Fabsi’s cackle and used it to perfection in this heavier industrial customisation.

Next we have the track “We Are The Witches“, that was previously released on, The Bitches Potion. So we look to the last two remixes of the three by Teknovore and Ruinizer. Teknovore just has this beautiful symmetry between mesmerising soundscape and glorious danceability. He has stripped back the track and injected a magical night ride. Love the hint of something exotic within while launching into a rhythm infused piece of joy by Ruinizer.

Fabsi brings the Witch vibes with her vocals and lyrics while Carter pulls it all together with his enormous talent for amazing techno industrial music. With that talent also comes some wonderful friendships, and these musicians definitely help showcase that artistry as well as their own. More fun than a naked night dance in the moonlight because we are Witch But Not Famous.

https://simon-carter.bandcamp.com/album/witch-but-not-famous

https://www.facebook.com/FabsiMoon

https://www.facebook.com/HumansCantReboot

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When things go bump in the night, you are sure to get music to remind you not all is known or seen. October 31st or All Hallows Eve, saw the new EP, Avernus, be unleashed by In Tenebris, upon the world while the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. This is the more ambient product of German electronic musician, Sebastian Sünkler, whom is better know for his power noise project, STAHLSCHLAG.

Something unnatural this way comes, in the form of an ancient “Relic“. The synths waver in high pitch warning and the clash of tones signal there is something that feeds on the darkness, an aberration has become unbound. Sinister electronic overtones, coalesce with slow rhythmic beats… a heartbeat from a demonic being, in the cathodic noise, casting a foreboding shadow for this is the “Dynastic Cult“.

The beginning of “Traits” is almost transcendental, though almost immediately drenched in a claustrophobic pall of dank noises. The ringing, instead of being enlightening, joins the overbearing build up of portent. The final track is “Iconoclast” and the beast waits, no longer in torpor, as the music oozes with sharp edges, stalking so that you can almost feel the fetid breath on the back of your neck, though nothing can be seen through the mists. How long do you have?

Avernus strikes a chord somewhere in your brain that stores your animal ability to sense danger. Something dark and threatening lurks within, nothing like us and with evil intent. The music conjures a myriad of feelings and visions, like a good horror movie, never showing you the monster but rather letting your imagination run away with the subtle suggestion simply in the tone or noises within each track. And each listen will reveal more than you previously heard. Sünkler’s famous crunch is bleeding through a little into this EP, giving the ambient tracks a rather delightful texture and most definitely increasing the menace.

Avernus | In Tenebris | STAHLSCHLAG (bandcamp.com)

In Tenebris | Facebook

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Today I added a new tag to my list. Industrial space music.…. I’m pretty chuffed about that. The reason behind the new tag is the debut EP from Perth ambient electronic/industrial project, Open Mirror, called Contact Void, out on Western Australian label, Lightarmour Editions. Grant Slee is the human component of Open Mirror, as they windup for the release of the full length album, Contact Mortis.

The three track EP starts with “Contact Void” with its vast tendrils of sound and synth wavering out into the reaches of unknown universe, amongst the stars, quasars and heavenly bodies. Expansive and glittering. Somewhere in the back of my head, “Oxygene Pt 4” by Jean-Michel Jarre is prickling at my concious, because it reminds me very much of the space sound scapes created by the electronic French genius. The next track is “Contact Void” revisited as the Liminal mix, longer than the original. Brusque, more drawn out, as if this wasn’t the shiny and smooth trip expected. There is hesitation in the music as it plucks up the courage to sail forth. Those brighter synths are there but also an underlying ground swell of harsh noise creeping into the rhythm. Maybe contact with aliens beings, in the transmissions.

Sequentially, the tracks keep getting longer, with “The Dead Hotline“, clocking in at 13 minutes and 40 seconds. This is the Signal Extended mix, a different concept in some ways as it is not space related. There is a sadness in the music and the harsh noise is making its presence felt now, like the static on the radio, unable to find a channel. The music is now a spirit box, a conduit for the voice of the dead. A very Australia voice asks the aether questions, with the hope of a rely.

Though one is Earth bound and the other about space, there is a common theme… discovering what is it, there in the dark, or rather who. Well played Open Mirror because not only is this EP thought provoking, it’s genuinely both fascinating to listen to and very enjoyable. So how will you Contact Void?

https://lightarmoureditions.bandcamp.com/album/contact-void

https://sptfy.com/M2mQ

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French duo, The Shadow’s Gone Out, are sounding the Final Alarm, an EP released on the 23rd of September. From Tours, Nourtier Julien (drum, samples) and Enault Anthony (bass, samples) are bringing the instrumental industrial to you.

Sped up ragtime frivolity, followed by industrial tribal rhythms introduce you to the single ”Pills“. It is angry and voluminous, see-sawing with bridled near contempt. Welcome to the crazed circus of “Sous La Pluie” which means in the rain, as it climbs from peak to peak, gathering strength with the military cuts pervading the rising pressure. “Final Alarm” is the last track, full of foreboding and the promise of annihilation, klaxons calling out and military chatter join the ferocious drumming and underlying bass.

Always nice to hear a real drummer in the industrial scene, as it adds a richer tone to the music, especially when joined with heavy bass. There is a strong military feel induced by the samples as The Shadow’s Gone Out seems to be issuing an ominous warning. So beware the Final Alarm.

Final Alarm | The Shadow’s Gone Out (bandcamp.com)

The Shadow’s Gone Out | Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/tsgo_officiel/

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Melbourne’s Snog, with David Thrussell firmly at the helm, stole a place in our industrial hearts, from the first time we heard “Corporate Slave” back in the early 90s. Now in 2022, a new EP, Jaded has been released on the Australian label, Lightarmour Editions, in both digital and limited coloured vinyl. The track “Jaded“, was previously released on the album Eight Offerings For The Undead, but now you get to hear it remixed, with others, rounding the EP to six tracks.

“Jaded” is a bit like rant poetry but with an electronic twist. Thrussell airs his grievances about a world that had left him more than a little dusty. Hushed tones creepily balance over the music. Brisbane based, Nam Shub Of Enki remixes “Jaded“, with his style described as grimecore, though I like to think mad man let loose and having a damn good time. Nam Shub lays it down with his signature tones and enthusiastic rhythms. One last remix by Sir Real, of “Jaded“, gives us an almost darkwave feel with those synths mixed with a modern tribal beat, lulling you into a trance.

Oh my, it’s the “Spaetzle Machine” the DiscoMachine RMX!. As expected, one machine mixing another is going to result in a robotic love fest. The Morpho RMX of “The Sweet, Sweet Treacle (Of Surrender)” trickles through your senses, the electronics burying into your brain. Last track has a near magical aspect to it. The Theme to “The Great Reset” has never been released. Brooding and languid, it runs at its own pace, which highlight the brighter synths that meander. It reminds me very much of work the late Vangellis.

I might be a bit biased as Snog gave the Australian electronic and industrial scene a good kick, back in the 90s, showing that world leading quality music was not something just from Europe and the USA. Thrussell has been at the forefront of some pretty kick arse albums since then and this special edition EP proves he’s still forging ahead with some powerful allies.

Jaded E.P. | Snog | Lightarmour Editions (bandcamp.com)

Snog | Facebook

Lightarmour Editions | Facebook

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Chicago based BOUNTE released on September the 1st, the decidedly strangely named EP, THE GRAUPNER DICOTOMY. Now, you might say…hmmm, not the Brian Graupner of legendary Gothsicles and Gasoline Invertebrate fame, who also runs Tigersquawk Records? To which we would say, indeed tis the very same Graupner of those very bands and on this very label….. and low there was much rejoicing for this union of BOUNTE’s Dean Dunakin and Brian of the Graupner.

Straight off the serial killer’s bat, we have “Acid Bath” featuring Gasoline Invertebrate, with the creepy whispered vocals of Graupner backed up by grooving guitar that somewhat invoke the ghost of early Rage Against The Machine and some rather delightful electronics. In complete contrast is the second track “Tear It Up” with its 8bit, industrial, glitching computer game feel but even better, Graupner’s far more glorious Gothsicles vocal persona (which is always amazing) and Dunakin’s deeper tones.

Tigersquawk Records is a acid trip of a label, with bands that are both eclectic and super fun, including the ultra busy captain at the helm of this spaceship, with especially comfy couches. These tracks are a credit to the musicians involved, BOUNTE utterly deserving a place in the galactic ark. And really after all this, what else is there to say but YEEEAAAHHHH!!!

The Graupner Dichotomy | Bounte (bandcamp.com)

Bounte | Facebook

Bounte – moving indietronica

The Gothsicles

Tigersquawk Digital – Tigersquawk Records

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MissSuicide is a one person project from Cologne of the dark electro/industrial persuasion. Demian’s (MissSuicide) latest EP is Herbivor, set free as of the 1st of October with guest artists. STAHLSCHLAG and GRENDEL.

A gypsy violin, ominous synths and a sound clip from Breaking Bad start the odyssey of “Persona Non Grata“. Dance beats enhanced by spinning synths. Like a tape in reverse, we are hit by the title track,”Herbivor“. There are dueling synths and the rhythmic signature feels like it is in constant flux, itching to fly free. “Präzisionsarbeit“, featuring STAHLSCHLAG, the maker of the rhythmic crunchy noises, just leaps out at you. Those static oscillations, tweaks and synths are great but the banging beats get the heart working.

“Ocelotte” is mentioned as a part of a video game sample and the track itself is dark and sharp. The GRENDEL remix “Herbivor” is most definitely geared towards the dance floor, with JD Tucker, tightening the synths and condensing to an almost science fiction flavour of sound. Sebastian Lohse (ex- Letzte Instanz, Die Feine Gesellschaft) does guest vocals on “De Profundis” which has been given the STAHLSCHLAG treatment. The remix has those tell tale sounds of Sünkler tweaking the track with his crunchy static, while Lohse’s singing is just the icing on the cake.

There are tracks on here that are going to to be club floor fillers but also, others that will truly tickle the taste buds of industrial connoisseurs. The mixture of styles between Demian and Sünkler, as well as Tucker, makes for very enjoyable listening. Be the Herbivor in the MissSuicide buffet.

▶︎ Persona Non Grata | MissSuicide (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/misssuicideofficial/

http://www.misssuicide.de/

https://www.instagram.com/misssuicideofficial/

Music | STAHLSCHLAG (bandcamp.com)

Music | Grendel (bandcamp.com)

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This year saw Belgium project, Psy’Aviah, celebrate twenty years of music, with the label Alfa Matrix releasing a huge best of, called Bittersweet, that had been re-recorded with guest vocalists. On September the 22nd, Yves Schelpe, founder of Psy’Aviah, is asking “Is Everything Going OK?“, a maxi single/EP of the highly successful single “Ok“.

Huong Su takes on the vocal duties for “Ok” (rediscovered), so very sweet and sentimental, with classical instrumentation. After this version, the gloves come off, so to speak, as the HeiG trance mix takes hold, onwards and upwards, followed by the magical Miss Suicide mix, which is also guaranteed to hold a crowd on the dancefloor. There is the beautiful trance mix by LLM, Digital Factor with their slow burn electronic mix and the After Dark remix from Am Tierpark that builds a world of lightness encased in darkness plus some stellar synths. But wait there is more….. Pulse Mandala remixes into an ethereal glow, the trippy Nethermere breakbeat remix before the ALUCVRD breakbeat mix that glitches and lunges with a Middle Eastern soul and then there is the stripped back version with Huong Su and violinist Irina Markevich.

I am not even going to get into the 12 inch remixes, of which there three. Yes, you are going to get bang for your buck on this single/EP. “Ok” has been lovingly handled by each musician, shaped into tracks to ignite the soul from heartbreaking sensuality to dance floor fillers and it started with a song from Schelpe’s Psy’Aviah. Good music does not age and this is a corker of a release.

Is Everything Going OK? EP | PSY’AVIAH | Alfa Matrix (bandcamp.com)

Psy’Aviah | Facebook

Alfa Matrix Records (alfa-matrix-store.com)

Alfa Matrix | Facebook

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Looking for a bit of retro in your electronic music? The look no further than the newly released EP, EP.01 from RetCon. Jason Hollis fully admits to being kind of stuck in 1988 and we say that is kind of cool.

The sound for the single “New Day“, is definitely rooted in the 80’s, with analogue synths that chirp along and the vocals of Jason Hollis, floating in the electronic aether. The threat of nuclear weapons is the highest it has been since the Cold War and the pulsating “Blink” is about this imminent demise of the human race by its own hand, while “First Light” is cool and trance like, urging the oppressed not to give against the might of crushing enemies. Last track, “Xcommunication” is eerie in its stalker like persistence and whispered vocals.

Musically, there is something that tells me that Hollis was very influenced by Front 242. Me thinks there is a corelation to the cool beats and unhurried electronics. There is a lot of care put into this EP and a love of certain era but also within, is a message that in these times of global instability, one should not become complacent.

EP.01 | RetCon (bandcamp.com)

RetCon | Facebook

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Portland duo Lore City, released their new EP on the 6th of October. Named “Under Way” and consisting of two tracks, Laura Mariposa Williams and Eric Angelo Bessel are the masterminds behind Lore City.

“Animate” has an ocean deep sound, depths of emotion mixed with tribal styled drums and echoing beauty. Laura’s vials delicate and angelic in hushed tones. Second track, “Very Body“, is a sonically engrossing instrumental, wavering electronics like heat off a desert, growing like a phantasm on the horizon, never within reach.

There is a hint of Dead Can Dance, especially vocally, in the first song but also a certain amount of experimentation in both tracks. Weaving sounds to both evoke memories and invoke sparks within dormant ancient genetics. Lore City are handing you something of themselves in “Under Way*

Under Way | Lore City (bandcamp.com)

Lore City Music / Lore City