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Gold Coast based, Jed A Walters, dissolved his previous project, Tesla Coils, which was well loved in the Brisbane scene and began something new in Chiffon Magnifique. This latest incarnation is a lot more serious in manner with lashings of electronic/darkwave/post-punk creamy bits and the newest single “Cyanide” is a perfect example of this. Not only have we been able to listen to the latest single but Chiffon Magnifique have been doing a few live gigs for the release, which I was lucky enough to attend one of these.

It is a breezy, winter evening in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane and I rock up the the pirate bar, O’Skulligan’s. It is dark inside and I spot a few of the regulars of the scene, from there it is not long until Chiffon Magnifique are on stage, bathed in red lighting. Everyone moves towards the stage and before we know it, Walters with his friend, Lindsay Bright-Mync, helping out on bass and synths, start up the show. Every track has a different feel or texture to it and when they strike up the debut single “Abomination“, there are squeals and cheers from the masses as they dance.

Of course, the song of the show is “Cyanide” and from the start of the drum sequence and those spooky guitar notes, you won’t be able to stop yourself from dancing like Saint Vitus’ Dance has you under it’s spell. Lurking under all, are those deep bass lines, as you drift off to the land of dead, in a whirlwind of guitars and synths.

Walters really has a knack for writing great, solid minimal wave with danceable rhythms and catchy hooks, in the vein of an outsider looking in, whom feels far more at home in the shadows. Also, a consummate professional and showman on the stage, if you get the chance to catch Chiffon Magnifique live….do it! Added bonus is the fact he is a really lovely fellow. You will not be disappointment in the live experience and neither will you in giving “Cyanide” a listen or ten. Warms the cockles of my small dark heart.

Cyanide | Chiffon Magnifique (bandcamp.com)

Chiffon Magnifique | Facebook

Chiffon Magnifique

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About eight months ago, German EBM giants, Tyske Ludder released the single “Peststufen” but now you can get another bite of the cherry with Infacted Recordings‘, J:dead remixing and bringing his own vocals, in English, for this bi-lingual track. UK based, J:dead is Jay Taylor, who incidentally is also the live drummer for one Tyske Ludder.

The J:dead remix is a very polished affair, smooth and flawless synths in complete opposition to the growled out lyrics in German, with Jay Taylor’s dulcet vocals silkily sliding through. There are so great changes in tempo all building to a wondrous vortex in this dance friendly track. “Peststufen” has gone from a great, raw industrial track, to a great, sinuous and elegant remix….. and you can’t get much better than that.

Peststufen | Tyske Ludder & J:dead | Infacted Recordings (bandcamp.com)

J:dead | Facebook

Tyske Ludder | Facebook

Infacted Recordings | Facebook

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Mmmm, okay. A new single from a project called omyügen which is titled “come with me” (yes this is all in lower case). Where does he come from and where is he going? Yeah, I have no idea because he is not on Facebook nor Bandcamp and don’t feel like playing stalky stalker currently but I will tell you that his music is of the post-punk and darkwave persuasion, with production by slxxshy.

The vocals are pretty trippy, like tape that is being eaten by a tape-recorder making it both interesting and creepy. A mantra to how the world in general is screwed up and that omyügen will show you the light. There is a constant hypnotic tune on guitar, playing in the background, lulling your senses into a false sense of security while the vocals invade your brain. The synths are there as well, adding to the wonderfully happy lunatic asylum feel that everything is burning….and that is completely okay.

https://www.instagram.com/omyugen

https://www.instagram.com/slxxshy1

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The London based band, History Of Guns, has us “Running In Circles” for the newest single off the soon to be released album, Forever Dying In Your Eyes. The trio of Del Alien (vocals), Jamu Knight (guitars) and Max Rael (synths, programming) are giving you a slice of their punk inspired gothic/industrial world.

In true punk modus operandi, the vocals of Alien are so at odds to the music, a wail of disconcerting gravity amidst the sea of the throbbing drum machine and scintillating futuristic synths of Rael. Into this mixture, Knight’s guitar work stokes the fire that makes this track of doubt and questioning burn.

“The story of our lives never goes in a straight line from birth to death. Sometimes we get stuck, and it feels like we’re not moving at all; or worse, just endlessly running in circles, like dogs chasing their tails, and you feel like you’d do almost anything to break out of it.” – Max Rael

The video for this track looks pretty slick, with the guys transposed into the everyday world. “Running In Circles” is like looking at two sides of a coin at the same time, the dark with the light in perfect harmony and Alien’s singing like oil drifting across water, not mixing so much, as colouring the music.

Forever Dying in Your Eyes | History Of Guns (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/HistoryOfGuns

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2009 is when Australia’s goth rockers, IKON, released the album, Love, Hate And Sorrow, and last year was the band’s 30th anniversary. Elenor Rayner is Robots In Love, ex-Aussie now based in New Zealand and she has taken the fourth single that was taken off that album, “Torn Apart” giving it an electronic makeover in the form of a remix, that came out on the July the 11th.

The beginning bell like notes herald something a bit special and those tones pepper through the track, giving it a mystical effect, in stark contrast to the electronically altered vocals, metallic and slightly cold. The bass heavy beats kick in, drowing in sorrow, while the vocals come clean, giving the song an ever more keenly felt expression of sadness.

When I compared the original to the remix, it was surprising how much more emotion Rayner pulls out the track, as well as making it sound almost like a different song. IKON have always made amazing music and Robots In Love has really capitalised on this talent for songwriting, polishing “Torn Apart” with an electronic pearl essence shimmer.

Torn Apart (Robots In Love remix) | Robots In Love (bandcamp.com)

IKON Band Australia | Facebook

Robots In Love | Facebook

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Onyx is proud to bring you the world premiere of Australian/US collaboration, Sequential Zero’s latest single, “Fourth Sequence“. Freshly minted from the Mantravision secret lair….somewhere in the remote barren lands of Sydney. This is the, strangely, fourth single from the group made up of Aussies Ant Banister (Sounds Like Winter, Sea Lungs, Luna Module, Heatwave and DeF FX) and Colin Gallagher (Burnt Souls) with Bruce Nullify (Orcus Nullify) who is based in South Carolina. Due to distance, when the guys play live, Adrian Leppard (Xerox, 1978) steps in for Nullify.

There are two tracks on “Fourth Sequence” with the first being, “The Last One To Fall“. Such a nice build up up to the vocals by Banister with that wandering synth and noticeably there is a heavier guitar sound through this track. Definitely has an early Bauhaus sound with more electronics. Second track “Endless Night And Day” is the far more electronic piece bordering Gary Numan mixed with new wave Duran Duran and good helping of gothic noir, while Nullify’s guitar breaks into the music like a chainsaw, giving you a see-saw effect. This is also the first time you hear Gallagher singing in the chorus.

SATO AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS is an ancient prayer to the universe to save the world, invoked in “Endless Night And Day“, while “The Last One To Fall” refers to the sweeping emotion of loneliness in the modern era, even though we are more connected through electronic devices than ever before, but find it hard to connect to actual humans. Both tracks are brilliantly executed, however for me, they work on a deeper level of memories and music that I have always loved. Beautiful post-punk tracks, drenched in synths and guitars, that I dearly want people to hear.

Fourth Sequence | Sequential Zero (bandcamp.com)

Sequential Zero | Facebook

Mantravision Productions | Facebook

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It is good to see more women creating music for themselves in the electro-industrial scene and Nuda is no exception. Seattle based, she has previously been a guitarist for Possessed Tranquility and started Nuda in the beginning of 2019, so far with 2 albums under this moniker. June 23rd, saw the latest single, “Trigger“, drop from the soon to be released third album, Stranger.

“Trigger” starts with all those nice reverbing, cycling electronics, before kicking off. There is electric guitar in there but it blends so well with synthesizers. There are wallowing lulls, followed by frenetic movement.

You can hear the old school industrial creeping through but still this is kept in check, throughout this instrumental track. Nuda bends the music to her will giving it a cleaner sound. “Trigger” and the album Stranger, are based in the topic of mental health/illness, stress and rauma.

Trigger | Nuda (bandcamp.com)

Nuda | Solo Darkwave/Industrial Artist | Seattle (nuda-official.com)

Nuda | Facebook

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Lunar Paths is a collaboration between two musicians who were originally involved in the UK gothic scene in the 80s. Both Diane duBois and Kevin Hunter were in the band Cold Dance, and Hunter in Skeletal Family until they broke up in 1986. After losing contact and ending up in different time zones, they rediscovered their friendship and so started a new musical project.

There are loops and subverted sounds in the electronic aether, which take on an almost Middle Eastern atmosphere, The vocals sigh and take you on the journey to another exotic realm, while duBois’s sensuous singing beguiles your senses. The duo’s experimentation with recordings and synths has become this wonderful amalgamation of styles and Lunar Paths’ music definitely tickles those dark sweet spots in your mind.

https://www.facebook.com/LunarPathsMusic

Alternative Experimental Music | Lunar Paths

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From the British hotbed, of goth music, Leeds, Skeletal Family broke out in 1981 with the single “Trees“. There has been a lot of water under the bridge and the band has become one of the lynch pins of the gothic sound. With a wealth of musical experience behind them, Skeletal Family are gearing up to release a new album and they have dropped the new single “My Own Redemption” with video.

The new vocalist is Anneka Faye and she compliments the Skeletal Family sound so very well, sultry and commanding. The guitar work is haunting in shadowy echos, while the keyboard picks out the tune, adding an extra layer of lilting grimness. The video, directed by Danny Hardaker, is shot in a black & white noir style, with thuggish heavy men and a sleazy underground promise.

So, this is the first call to arms for the faithful and the soon to be inducted, with Skeletal Family’s sixth studio album and “My Own Redemption” is a wonderful introduction to an eagerly awaited release. There is the pervasive Family sound but I like the fact they don’t try to stick to a formula either, just making a beautiful post-punk music with a soul.

My Own Redemption | Skeletal Family (bandcamp.com)

Skeletal Family | Facebook

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We like a bit of the voodoo music, so when I crossed paths with Voodoo Drummer, I thought….ooohhhh. There is the new single “Set The Controls (Pink Floyd in 7/8 Greek Rhythm)” and yes this is a kind of cover version of the Pink Floyd classic, “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun“, off their 1968 album, A Saucerful Of Secrets. Now I do say kind off because they have recorded it in a tradition Greek rhythm of 7/8, instead of 4/4 and at the end you get to hear the “Milo mou kokkino” from which the tempo comes. Within all this, they have mixed in John Coltrane’s track, “A Love Supreme”, which is from the album of the same name and possibly one of the most influential and important jazz releases ever.

BUT WAIT! There is the added bonus of not only a Voodoo Drummer playing drums, tubular bells & percussion but also Stavros Parginos on cello, Tasos Papapanos on bass and it features Adrian Stout, of The Tiger Lillies, on musical saw. Yes you read it. MUSICAL SAW. Life is good! The saw makes those wonderful eerily haunting sounds, cello and bass give a hefty weight, pinning the saw down so it doesn’t fly away. The drums and percussion guide you through and it amazing to listen to such a fascinating version. There seems to be only the YouTube version to listen to this project but if you like quirky covers with strong musicianship, then I highly recommend you check out Voodoo Drummer.

Voodoo Drummer | Facebook

http://www.instagram.com/voodoo_drummer/