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We here at Onyx, decided that since Brisbane band, Daylight Ghosts, have released their first length album, Urban Umbra, that if might be prudent to talk to Karl O’Shea and Adam Dawe about the album and things that have brought them to this moment. No vorpal bunnies were hurt in the asking of any questions.

Welcome to the dark side of Onyx, which may or may not be as dark as my soul.

Karl O’Shea: Not my first dalliance with the dark side, I can assure you of that.

Adam Dawe:  Hello darkness my old friend…

The new album, Urban Umbra, is your debut full release and before that, you had brought out 5 singles, two remixes by the talented Matt Dodds and a live recording. Was it a natural progression to bring out the album? What impact has COVID had on all this?

Karl O’Shea: I annoyingly kept changing my mind on how we were going to do this. The original idea was to release all the songs as singles and compile them as a playlist but then decided that was probably not super smart for a very small band so we decided to make this group of songs an album instead. COVID has definitely slowed things down but it did afford me a lot of time to work on the rough demo arrangements. The main impact for us was we didn’t end up doing a live “in person” gig until the tail end of 2020 and a few postponements and cancellations in 2021. That being said, that lovely folk at Live On Mars helped facilitate our first performance as a livestream. To help with the nerves, we had a few friends (COVID-distanced of course) in my living room to help it feel a little bit more “normal”. And it was pretty nerve-wracking for me as that was the first time I had played guitar live! I think I did okay.

What is the meaning behind calling the album Urban Umbra, as an umbra is a shadow or darkness?

Karl O’Shea: Put simply – moody, melancholic music made from the perspective of people who live in cities and have experienced the darker side of city living (as well as the good). Where you live definitely has an influence on the art you create, whether that’s overt or subtle. The acoustic elements mixed with the synthetic and electronic in our music are a vague reflection of the cultural melting pot that is city living.

Adam Dawe: And we also thought it would be really hard for people to say the phrase “album Urban Umbra” quickly without falling over their words.  

I particularly like Before The Fall. What is the significance of this song as I am intrigued by the last line about going back into the sea where you left her buried?

Adam Dawe: Thank you. That song is a personal favourite of mine and seems to be one that a lot of people are taking a liking to, which is great. I don’t really want to go into the lyrics too much due to the personal nature of them, but I will say the “buried” part is more metaphorical than literal. I haven’t buried any women at any beaches yet. It’s really about how certain places can invoke certain memories of certain people, and I chose the sea because of its metaphorical relation to emotions and wild, untamed spirit. A powerful force of nature under the right circumstances, or also a quiet, contemplative place of tranquility and peace.  

Both of you are in or have been in a number of bands in the Brisbane scene. Adam in Lunar Seasons & Novus Wild and Karl in Balloons Kill Babies, inovo, Sarah Stockholm & Ghostwoods. How did you both end up playing together?

Karl O’Shea: Nothing too exciting to be honest. I posted an ad on a Facebook music group looking for a vocalist/collaborator for a little dark-folk project I was working on and Adam was the only person that I felt projected fragility and melancholy with his voice and actually got the brief. The dude’s got a great work ethic and is up for anything which are excellent qualities in a collaborator. Plus, he’s a really lovely guy and that’s an especially important quality in a human being, creative or not.

Adam Dawe: After the initial contact on Facebook, Karl sent me 4 or 5 of his song ideas. Once I heard the caliber of the music Karl was coming up with, I was hooked. I’d been wanting to create music in this style for a very long time and felt like I had something I could add to these songs. When we met up in real life, we bonded over shared musical tastes and a love of all things that take a turn off the beaten path.  It also doesn’t hurt that Karl is an absolute champion of a person too.

The other bands you are involved in are a lot heavier or noisier for want of a better word, whilst Daylight Ghosts is far more organic and folky in feel. Was this the sound you were striving for or is this how the project has evolved naturally?

Karl O’Shea: My original vision for Daylight Ghosts was to create more intimate dark-folk in the vein of artists like Death In June, Chelsea Wolfe, King Dude among others. It was only when we started work on After The Flood with Matt and introduced drum loops and more synthetic sounds that I was inspired to push the music in a more “dark-folktronica” direction and incorporate other styles like indie music, post-punk, goth, hip-hop and electronica. We’ve basically been working this out as we go along and honestly, it’s much more exciting to me to try and blend a lot of these styles together than just ape the artists that originally inspired the project.

Adam Dawe:  As Karl said, the original idea was simply an acoustic duo. But once we started introducing other instruments in our recordings the project evolved into what it is now. Which I think is something even more interesting.   

Both of you are involved in the writing of songs, so who comes up with what?

Karl O’Shea: I generally compose and arrange the musical side of things. The process normally is: I write a really basic structure on acoustic guitar, send a demo to Adam, then slowly come up with an arrangement, go back and forth with Adam to refine the structure and arrangement and then work with Matt to record and get the right sounds.

Adam Dawe: I’m the lyrics guy and it’s my job to translate the mood of the music into stories. The only standard I set for myself is that the lyrics and vocal parts need to complement and potentially elevate the music.  

A lot of the imagery for Daylight Ghost has to do with nature, even the original images you sent with your singles In The Glow and Golden Hour could be you but all filmy and light distorted outside. What influences your artwork for the band?

Karl O’Shea: This isn’t a very artistic answer. I have, over the course of the last 5 or so years, taken various “artistic” (or pretentious) photos on my iPhone and messed around with them with never much of a plan for using them. I’ve always wanted Daylight Ghosts to be as DIY as possible and when we started to require imagery for releases, I decided to go through these images and there was a decent handful that I felt matched the vibe of the music. Even though a lot of these images are from nature, the images are distorted and doctored which kinda works with our whole “acoustic-mixed-with-electronic” style.

Do you sometimes feel like ghosts that walk in the daylight hours?

Karl O’Shea: Not really a proper answer to your question but the inspiration for the band name comes from the book “Junky” by William S. Burroughs. The line is talking about drug addicts who had metaphorically withdrawn from the world but still walked around in daylight as a former shadow of themselves. Without going into my history too much, I do have a past with substance abuse, bad relationships and have generally struggled to feel like I fit in with most groups of people. Something about that line resonated with me and I felt it fit the band.

Adam Dawe: I’m a night person by nature, so any time I’m awake during the day I feel a bit ghost-like.  Or maybe more zombie-like? Daylight Zombies doesn’t quite have the same ring to it though.  

There seems to be a certain amount of darkness in the lyrics and music. Which one of you is this coming from?

Karl O’Shea: I think we’re both responsible for the darkness. I bring it to the music and Adam brings it to the lyrics. I’m not especially interested in writing happy music and if I did, it wouldn’t be genuine.

Adam Dawe: The lyrics are 9 times out of 10 a reflection of what I’m getting from the music.  So we’re definitely both responsible for it.  

Will there be live shows to support the album, especially with venues being allowed to open to full capacity again?

Karl O’Shea: We are planning a launch at It’s Still A Secret on the 6th of May with Reverb Springs (more details to be announced). This will also be the first show where we FINALLY incorporate the rest of the sounds that you hear on the recordings. Outside of that, we’re just going to see what happens. I’m a big believer in doing a handful of decent shows instead of plenty of middling ones and I’m personally not too interested in wasting thousands of dollars on touring. If something decent comes along in another city, I’ll definitely make the time and effort to travel. But touring up and down the coast off our own backs with such a small fanbase to possibly play to 5-10 people a night? There are much easier ways to waste money and a lot of them are more fun too.

Adam Dawe:  There certainly will, and it will be our first show in nearly six months and with our new instrumentation set up. Previously we’ve played only as an acoustic duo so it will be great to play the songs in a manner much closer to their recorded counterparts.  

What bands and music did you grow up with that influenced your tastes?

Karl O’Shea: There’s quite a lot of music I love but I would say that bands that most influenced my current tastes whilst growing up were Something For Kate, The Cure, Joy Division, New Order, Nine Inch Nails, Porcupine Tree, David Bowie, Radiohead, Helmet….the list keeps going.

Adam Dawe:  Definitely David Bowie, The Cure, Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails for me as well.  Then also singer/songwriters like Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Nick Cave.  

Who or what do you listen to now?

Karl O’Shea: I’m always all over the place but the artists I’m currently listening to the most are GGGOLDDD, Nilüfer Yanya, The Body, Ethel Cain, Bring Me The Horizon, Enter Shikari, Julia Jacklin, Soccer Mommy, Einstürzende Neubauten and probably dozens more. I’m also currently obsessed with a couple of podcasts which are Not Another D&D Podcast and Tanis.

Adam Dawe: I’ve been getting into Jack Ladder and the Dreamlanders and Beth Hart of late. And a lot of the Rolling Stones. On the heavier end of the spectrum, Zeal and Ardor and The Ocean Collective are getting a pretty solid spin too.  

As the reincarnation of Wizard Tim, I will ask what is your quest, favourite colour and what will be happening in the future with Daylight Ghosts?

Karl O’Shea: I’ll go for the basic goth answer and say black is my favourite colour though I’m quite partial to grey, red and blue. As for the future of Daylight Ghosts? Simple – keep creating and releasing music. We’ll figure out the rest as we go along.

Adam Dawe: I seek the holy grail. My favourite colour is blue. And I hope Daylight Ghosts continues to soar with the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow!

Thanks heaps for playing and congratulations on the album Urban Umbra!

Karl O’Shea: Why, thank you very much!

Adam Dawe: Thank you!

Music | Daylight Ghosts (bandcamp.com)

Daylight Ghosts | Facebook

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The post-punk/goth single, “Heartvine” was released in March 2022 by the New Mexico project, Blood Relations. E. K. Wimmer is the man behind Blood Relations, as he plays all the instruments, vocals and even created the video for the single.

Between the gentle guitar and the delicate synths, there is a light touch here. The vocals are actually a slight surprise as Wimmer’s voice is melodic and graceful as it sits above the music. Plaintive and sorrowful without being suffocatingly heavy.

The track is name your price on Bandcamp but I digress. This is a song of what is meant to be love eternal, though death will eventually slow and stop all hearts. Sweet and darkwave candy. April sees the release of the second single, so it will be really interesting to see how this sound develops for Blood Relations.

Heartvine | Blood Relations (bandcamp.com)

Blood Relations – The Art of E.K. Wimmer (ekwimmer.com)

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Faux is French for false or fake and so we have the band, Faux Fear. They are based in Reading, PA, they have a double single called “Uncharted“/”Legacy” released on the 26th of March and they seem really cool….. yep that’s it. I have nothing else about them, so I guess we have to wait for them to give us clues. Oh and it is out on Death March Records!!

From the beginning of “Uncharted“, there is someone playing bass that sounds like it comes straight off the original Duran Duran album, circa 1981, which may I say was a very good year. There is the scratchy slide guitar sound which was a hallmark in Bauhaus tracks as Faux Fear lead us down this post-punk path. The female vocals hold you in a trance. “Legacy” is a far more fast paced track and there is something very bouncy about the chorus which would be very fun to dance to or yell out I didn’t need us at a live gig.

Okay I like these a lot and especially “Uncharted“. It is charmingly retro in some ways but still modern in flavour and it tastes like something a little forbidden and a secret to be hidden from those who won’t understand. Alright Faux Fear, keep your mysteries for now but I am sure we will see more from you soon!

Uncharted <<<>>> Legacy Single | FAUX FEAR (bandcamp.com)

https://fauxfear.xyz/

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A Cloud Of Ravens have released the single “The Call Up” and all sales are going to International Rescue Committee who will disperse to organisations in support of the people in Ukraine. “The Call Up” was originally released by The Clash in 1980, off their fourth album Sandinista!. The single was written as a voice against the institution of conscription for the purpose of war and that no one wins in a war, the last at that time being in Vietnam.

Well this is a much different version. Performed only with electronics changes it completely. The vocals are subdued and compassionate while the synths make the song feel much more fragile, glass like reflecting the words at you. It is strange to hear the drum machine in this but it then it fits in perfectly with the rest of the track.

Okay, it was strange listening to The Clash go electronic and yet it was delightfully enjoyable all at the same time. The Clash wrote damn strong songs which is why they became classics and you can feel this in A Cloud Of Ravens version. Those four British punks wrote that song because they believed that it could make a difference and now we seem to need their essence with today’s music. Though never out of vogue, A Cloud Of Ravens has re-freshened the track and given it new purpose. Check it out this classic song, buy it and feel good about getting a great song and supporting others.

The Call Up | A Cloud of Ravens (bandcamp.com)

A Cloud of Ravens | Facebook

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JE T’AIME have made a big impact since they released their first single “The Sound” and their self titled album in 2019. With their guitar fused with synth led style of gothic rock, they dropped the second album PASSIVE in February of 2022. My official word is get it because it is good. There is dboy on vocals/programming/synths/bass/guitar/ bass with Crazy Z. programming/synths/bass/guitar and Tall Bastard on guitar/bass. Sooo, we thought it might be time to get to know these Parisians a little better and what better way than to ask a few questions.

And for the record, Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells is dangerous and alluring Tall Bastard. Take all due care and precaution and immerse yourself in the sexy juggernaut beast that is JE T’AIME.

Welcome JE T’AIME down the rabbit hole, into our boudoir, all black and velvety! Just ignore the cobwebs….

You are based in Paris, so how did JE T’AIME come into being?

dBoy: The idea of forming a band came to us during a party, while drinking an excellent French red wine. We had been talking about music for hours when we thought that instead of talking about it we should make it. The main idea was to make the gothic audience in Europe dance. “The sound” was the first song written by the band

Why the name JE T’AIME? Is it a bit weird having people tell you they love you all the time?

dBoy: It was at this same party that we came up with the name of the band. In the early hours of the morning, after finishing The Sound, we were so happy, and drunk, that we couldn’t stop saying: I love you, mate.

Crazy Z. : and the funny thing is that people can’t stop to say “I love JE T’AIME !”. Is not it meta ?

Many people outside of France will say they don’t know any French gothic/darkwave/coldwave bands until you start listing acts like Corpus Delecti, Brotherhood Of Pagan, Asylum, Cemetery Girls etc. Can you tell us about the alternative scene in Paris?

dBoy: Today the French scene is full of great bands. I’m thinking of Blind Delon, Vox Low, Team Ghost, Jessica93 or Rendez-vous for example. But this was not the case a few years ago, the French rock scene was really bad, except for a few rare exceptions. It seems like we’ve learned to finally play music properly, or at least copy the English a bit better.

Crazy Z.: I think France is more open to alternative music and alternative underworld since recently. We had great bands before, you mentioned them, but they just were under the radar. Large platforms like Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music have their disadvantages, but also they help in sharing more easily music between countries.

You gained a very strong fan base after the first album, which was self titled in 2019. What was it like for you to have that sort of reception and did it put pressure on the band to follow up with an equally impressive album?

dBoy: It’s true that we were lucky to receive a good reception with our first record, and so much the better. I don’t think we were under that much pressure to write the next record. We had a lot more time because of the pandemic, which is why we decided to release a double album. We wrote so many songs that we liked that it was too hard to choose which ones to put on the record and which ones to throw away. But to be quite honest with you, yes, the second album is a rather difficult exercise.

Tall Bastard: The pressure didn’t come so much from our audience but more from us. To deliver the same sound without repeating ourselves. But also to make sure that everyone of us are happy about the songs, hopping that they are good enough so that we don’t have to compromise.

Crazy Z. : To be honest I can’t imagine that each new album will not come with some kind of pressure. I often hear guys with some bullshit theories saying “you will see, the second one is the hardest” or “the third one is the one which confirm or destroy a band !”. Come on man. Each album, from the very first one to the true last is a new adventure, and we have to put more and more efforts each time in it.

2022 has seen the release of this much vaunted second album, PASSIVE and it really is a gem you should be proud of. Why was there a three year break between these two albums?

dBoy: Oh, thanks you. We wanted to take our time, everything goes so fast these days, it’s also good to leave a little time for the audience, isn’t it? It’s good to give the audience time to get into the songs. And then there was this damn pandemic that slowed down the whole world. No more concerts, no more meeting the public, no more parties where we all danced together. The only thing left to do was to write music, so we kept on writing, hoping to be able to release this record in a better time.

Crazy Z. : It really was no break for us, as we spent the 3 whole years in working on it. It is just the time we need to create, record, produce, prepare it. Moreover it is a double album, the first part is PASSIVE, and the second part AGRESSIVE is foreseen in October.

PASSIVE will be followed up by the next album already titled AGGRESSIVE. Can you tell us about this next album and how is relates to PASSIVE?

dBoy: Passive-aggressive behaviour is a set of so-called passive attitudes that indirectly express a hidden hostility that is not openly assumed or remains unconscious to the subject. Each disc contains ten songs about our hero from the first album. He has grown up but is still as stupid as ever. This whole story, this trilogy, is about the Peter Pan complex and the difficulty of being a good lover, a good husband and a good father. The strangest thing about it is that none of the three of us are fathers. But… we do have great sex, apparently.

Tall Bastard: For me this is one album. The songs were written during the same period . We put out two albums cause there was not enough space in one record for 20 songs.

The tentative release date for AGGRESSIVE is around October, so is this album mostly finished?

dBoy: Yes, this double album has been completely finished for six months now.

Crazy Z. : How frustrating is it to have it since months and to not release it! But yes. Both have been pro-cessed and finished in the studio together.

Photo Marion Parfait

If you had to pick a song off the latest album that you felt epitomized JE T’AIME or is a favourite, which one would it be?

dBoy: I love them all, really. I’m not saying that to sound pretentious, it’s just the pure truth. As far as the sound of the band goes, I think of Lonely Days because this song is the sound of JE T’AIME.

Tall Bastard: recording and playing a song that feels like a pornography song was an old dream of mine so i will say Another day in hell.

Crazy Z. : Well, I probably have a special feeling for Stupid Songs. That makes us a real Trinity with different minds, and that is our strength.

What bands or acts first got you into the scene?

dBoy: Michael Jackson was my first crush, I was living with my parents in Atlanta (Georgia) when he released his album Thriller, what madness. As far as wanting to perform with a band, it’s definitely Gun’s N Roses. Duff Mac Kagan, my god. I immediately wanted to play on a huge stage so I could run around on it with my bass on my lap.

Tall Bastard: I’m not sure I want to talk about my first crushes because they are honestly terrible. But everything changed when I heard Shake The Disease from DM. My first musical shock. The Cure came two or three years later with Holy Hour and its bass line. The song that make me want to play music. I then learn to play Boys Don’t Cry and Where Is My Mind from The Pixies and i considered myself a mu-sician haha! Crazy Z. : I’m a little younger than those two old geezers. My slaps in the face were Marilyn Manson and Smashing Pumpkins. It makes me learn the guitar too. And it makes me learn it so badly..

https://youtu.be/eMkxL7sQL4w

Who or what are you listening to now?

dBoy: Our album PASSIVE, on repeat, to learn the lyrics. I’m getting tired of it. And I really liked Anila’s latest album “The Loom”, and Vlure’s latest EP “Euphoria”.

Tall Bastard: Mike Oldfield! Is that dangerous?

Crazy Z. : I am discovering MXMS. Their song Gravedigger is turning me mad.

Going forward, what does the future hold for JE T’AIME such as recording, tours etc?

dBoy: We are hoping for as many concerts as possible, even if the situation in Europe becomes somewhat unstable. We are also preparing the release of our fourth video clip of the album, the song “Dirty Tricks”, directed by Quentin Caffier.

Crazy Z. : We have around 20 gigs to comes, from France, Belgium, Switzerland to Germany, Austria. You can check all of them on our website jetaime-music.com. And we are on the highway to the second part, AGGRESSIVE. But keep listening in PASSIVE until then, they are strongly linked.

Thank you for talking with Onyx and we can’t wait for AGGRESSIVE.

Crazy Z. Thank you mate!

https://jetaime-music.bandcamp.com/album/passive

https://www.facebook.com/jetaimethemusic

https://www.jetaime-music.com/

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Once there was an EP that was recorded and then it was unable to be finshed for reasons. Many years later, the siren whom created the EP, Justine Ó Gadhra-Sharp, was given the opportunity to complete it. This is very much our luck as well, as Sidhe is a wonderful eclectic mix of cabaret, sexiness and sprinklings of darkness. Justine has been a part of the New Zealand dark alternative scene since the 90s but this EP marks the lady being independent of a band, so we spoke to her about the EP, what she has been up to and find out a little about the Kiwi music scene!

Welcome/kia ora Justine, down in the Onyx burrow where we currently have an infestation of fairy folk… do be careful as they occasionally bite.

You have been involved with the New Zealand music scene since the 90s, with acts including The Gael, Flinch, Pulchritude, DiS and Artemisia. Most of these bands were involved in experimental, dark ambient styles. How did you get into this scene?

I socialised with many of these people in the 90s and we all had a similar desire for the darker and more experimental. We listened to much of the same kinda music. I have always been fairly confident socially, you could say, so I showed what I could do and it unfolded from there.

Justine Album Shoot

What was the gothic/industrial/darkwave scene in New Zealand in the 90s and 2000s? Is it similar today or have things changed?

Vastly different nowadays. Back then we were the stragglers of the 80s: the children of boomers, where we were not really acknowledged and kinda felt raised by radio and tv. So the music in the alternative scene (not limited to goth etc.) was a kinda purging of what was repressed in us. It made for some very interesting material; very raw in many ways. Nowadays I am not seeing much of this from the younger lot… I guess they have their own voice. Social media has changed things a lot. And the days of the old 4-track and analogue reel-to-reel that were always highly coveted now sit collecting dust in forgotten corners, holding memories and unfulfilled dreams. I quite liked the 90s “misfits” that wandered about looking for gigs to go to it felt quite supportive, and felt like we were kinda healing or medicating each other with music and booze: very much dysfunctional, but at the time was fun. There was however the shadow side that era came with, which was quite vampiric and deeply unhealthy. I needed to extract myself from that, so I left

The EP, Sidhe, was recorded in the early 2000s but then it was kind of forgotten about? How did Sidhe get resurrected and who was involved?

No, never forgotten about I assure you. Its state of incompletion haunted me. I would see that hard drive that was biffed in a box every time I would go looking for something and it would tug at my conscience – my obsession with tying up loose ends – I don’t like unfinished business. Then one day like an answered prayer, Josh Wood contacted me out of the blue, asking if I would be interested in doing some vocals on his EP. I was chuffed because I liked his work back in the day and was only too pleased to help. In return, he offered to help me with my EP when I was ready. He understood the bullshit that surrounded the temporary cessation of my project, and wanted to see it done. Very good guy: straight up and ridiculously talented. Another talented friend, Bryan Tabuteau in Wellington, also offered to assist. I gratefully accepted their help, and so here we are.

The style in Sidhe is different from what you were performing with other bands. Was this because you had more autonomy creating with long time friend Iva Treskon or were trying out something different?

Yea, so I was getting bored with the randomness of the other projects. Although I enjoyed these projects at the time, I suddenly started to feel like I was a bit of a puppet and wasn’t given much license to do what I wanted. I always wanted some structure and a degree of slickness – not too slick, mind you. Iva and I moved to Auckland in 2000 from Christchurch to carve out a new life together, and he is a very good drummer. I mean, the dude is crazy talented at a lot of things and drumming is just one of his natural abilities. He liked my singing and we would jam regularly in our tree house in Tītīrangi with the tūīs surrounded by native bush. His drum n bass break beat style with my drones, loops and vocal style created a lovely kind of landscape that had a nice balance of structure and experimentation. It was fun, and it happened very organically. We were highly motivated creative beings and we got a lot of creativity out back then collectively. We inspired each other. In fact his art still inspires me some 20 plus years later.

The single Red Room has been picked up by radio and streamers. You also had fellow New Zealanders, The Mercy Cage do a fantastic remix and in 2017, you recorded the single, Walking Ghost Phase with them. How did you make their acquaintance?

I met Josh Wood briefly in Auckland at some Goth gig in the early 2000s. I think he was based in Tauranga back then. I am not sure we even spoke to each other; just acknowledged each other in our introverted way. I was super impressed by The Mercy Cage and I guess my voice made a positive impression on him.

He did a huge amount of work on my EP and I asked him if he would like to do a remix of one of the songs with complete creative license. He chose Red Room and yes, he did a fantastic remix.

Justine Album Shoot

My favourite track is the wonderful Stanley’s Only Hope, a duet with Michel Rowland of Disjecta Membra. Your vocals complimented each other so well. Michel mentioned he had re-recorded the vocals after many years, so can you tell us about this song, your friendship with the delightful Rowland and is it inspired a little by Nick Cave?

I met Michel years ago, playing some shows together between 97 and 98. I was in Flinch then, and he was in Disjecta Membra, and we have been friends ever since. His voice blew me away when I first heard him sing, I was astonished. I love it. Deep and rich… I like how he seems to masticate words when he sings, and they come out kinda different, his own and yet otherworldly… hard to describe.

As for Nick – we both really enjoy Nick Cave and I think for me it’s almost impossible not to have Nick influence me creatively on some level. I wrote that song deliberately to be sung as a duet and for me there was only ever one person who could sing Stanley’s part and that was Michel. I am glad he agreed to it. Our voices do go well together. I think that’s a lot to do with getting where each other is coming from. Quite intuitive… instinctive.

You seemed to have a break from the music scene, so was this intentional?

Yes and no… Life and its twists took me down the path of motherhood, among many other distractions, both unwelcomed and welcomed.

In 2015 saw you starting to appear on recordings again. Was this the start of a return to singing for you?

Yes, dipping my toes back in, gently. Curious to see if I could still sing… seems I could.

What music or bands brought you into the fold in your youth?

As a child, early Simple Minds, early U2, Bowie, Clannad… then from 14-ish Nick Cave, The Church, Bauhaus, New Order… then latter teen years came Diamanda Galas, Swans, Skin, Jarboe, Dead Can Dance, PJ Harvey, The Breeders, Bongwater, The Specials… many more, but those are front of mind.

What or who do you listen to now that inspire you?

Still most of the above. I do like Weyes Blood, and Big Black Delta have a couple of decent songs that I return to.

Justine Album Shoot

Are there plans for more music in the pipeline due to the reception of Sidhe?

I hope so. There are some discussions about some collaborative work. For any solo stuff, not sure… I would like to, but perhaps not on my own completely.

We honestly hope to hear more from you and so do the fairies! Thank you/ char for your time!

You’re welcome. Yes, indeed the fae are never far from me… never far from us.

Sláinte! Kia ora!

Sídhe (EP) | Justine Ó Gadhra-Sharp (bandcamp.com)

Justine Ó Gadhra-Sharp | Facebook

𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 Ó 𝐆𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐫𝐚-𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩 (@justinesidhe) • Instagram photos and videos

Alexander Hallag (@themusicistalking) • Instagram photos and videos

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Pure Obsessions And Red Nights are a French band that have been around since 1999. They are soon to drop a new album but before that happens they have released on the 11th of March, 2022, their latest single, “A Vanishing Sight“.

From the start this has a really light feel to it. floating on an 80s electronic influenced wave. Full of these wonderful synth lines and lyrics that remind you of of times of being wanted, loved like no other. It is poppy and truly a track that reminds you that not all is doom and gloom in the world. Lead singer, Philippe Deschemin did say that they had recorded on vintage synths and equipment and this all feeds into the ambiance.

Okay, wow. Their sound has changed a lot since the 2009 album, A Decade In Danger And Glitter, which is a far more metal industrial sound, when they were known as the murder rock band by the acronym PORN (I dare you to google that!). I don’t think it is a matter of mellowing but rather a growth in the style to incorporate more of the 80s electronica. It is a really enjoyable track and in times like these, sometimes we need the music that feeds and inflames our hearts.

Pure Obsessions & Red Nights – A vanishing sight | Pure Obsessions & Red Nights (bandcamp.com)

Pure Obsessions & Red Nights | Facebook

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Some people out there are just so talented musically. One of these is Gold Coast based musician Jed A Walters with his newest project, Chiffon Magnifique. We previously looked at his debut under that moniker and it seems a shame to not display the wonders of the second single, “Ice Witch” which was released the 3rd of March, 2022.

Just a few seconds in, you can tell this is going to be good with the cold electronics and the unfaltering drum machine. Walters has said he has started to enjoy playing more guitar and it used to spine tingling effect here. The versus are in German and almost spat out with near poisonous contempt about a woman whose heart was as cold as the tundra she came from. The synths are scintillating as he proclaims in English, you’ve done it now and in an extra twist there is a near manic saxophone towards the end. And for those that have not guessed yet, it is about a relationship gone sour and a bad breakup.

It is really worth watching the video because there is the translation of the German and also you get the pleasure of watching a well made shoe-string budget video of Walters being chased across the Robina parklands by the evil ice witch (which I will tell you is no mean feat in Queensland weather being an ice witch!). Chiffon Magnifique showcases the growing prowess in electronic/post-punk music that I can only see Jed A Walters growing stronger in. Hurry up with the damn album. We need it!

Chiffon Magnifique (bandcamp.com)

Chiffon Magnifique | Facebook

Chiffon Magnifique

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The Neuro Farm have been in existence since 2011 with founders Rebekah Feng (vocals, violin) and Brian S Wolff (vocals, guitar), later joined by DreamrD (drums, percussion) and Tim Phillips (keyboards, textures). This gothic quartet released the concept album Vampyre in 2021, with the tale starting in a grand ancient acclaim with the father of vampires, “Cain“. It follows a woman who is tricked into becoming a creature of the night eternal but struggles with the loss of her humanity and leaving behind the husband she loves. The bloodsucker that sired her, acts as a despot, so she gathers the others like herself to over throw this King of Vampires and then ascends to become Queen. Throughout, there is drama and dark beauty. Feng’s vocals are gorgeous and really give each track such profound grace. You can hear her classical training and “Vampyre” is a perfect track to showcase not only her violin playing but the vocals. Wolff is no slouch with his singing either while Phillips abilities on the synths has enriched their sound and DreamrD is the beating heart that holds it all together. A goth rock odyssey that could only happen when you have a group of talented musicians.

I think the moral of the story is in the end there is a little bit of Cain in each and every vampire that stalks the world from the shadows. So, we decided to have a chat with these ephemeral creatures that make up The Neuro Farm before the break of dawn and find out about this latest offering and what makes their synapses spark…..

Welcome to the psych ward where we conduct aptitude tests looking for Onyx’s new Renfield!

Brian: Thanks for inviting us in. 😉

The name of the band comes from Rebekah being a neuroscientist and Brian’s interest in neuropharmacology. How did the band come together?

Brian: Rebekah and I met in grad school at Georgetown University working on PhDs in neuroscience. We both had solo music projects going, and somehow didn’t know this about each other until a couple years after we first met. But we did eventually find out, and it turned out our projects were fairly similar, so we started a band. It wasn’t very serious at first, just kind of a fun spare time thing, but we got much more serious about it in 2017 when Colin joined and we started working on our Descent album.

Rebekah: I agree, the band was more like a fun side hobby at first, and was nothing like what it is now. In a way, The Neuro Farm only became a real band when we met Colin in 2017. Colin brought our rhythm section to a whole new level. The 3 of us played shows for a few years with quite a few bassists, but we had wanted a synth player for a very long time. Tim is one of the best synth players around. We had wanted to ask him to join our band for the longest time. To our surprise, he said yes! With Tim joining the band last year, we were able to create all these new sounds for Vampyre. We are now the Neuro Farm 2.0! 😀

Neuro Farm is based in Washington DC, so can you tell us what the goth/industrial scene is like in the nation’s capital?

Rebekah: Under the polished suit-wearing facade of Washington, DC, there’s an unexpectedly active underground goth/industrial scene! I bet everyone thinks they have the best goth scene, but I really do believe ours is special. Everyone is genuinely kind and supportive of each other. We have Vanguard and Dark & Stormy, which are both amazing dance parties. If you ever visit DC, you’ll have to come to one of these! Another super cool thing that happened in DC is the emergence of Procession Magazine. It was founded by our pal, Chris Canter, and has grown into a super popular print magazine in the US. So definitely check them out!

Your music is heavily based and influenced by vampire lore. What is it about this genre that inspires your music and creativity?

Rebekah: Vampires are misunderstood. They are often portrayed as monsters to be slayed. But they have memories of humanity and are tortured by eternity. They have loved and lost, and can be a bit jaded as a result. We wanted to tell the vampire’s story from their perspective, and that became the story of the album.

Brian: Vampires are also about power. Power is something they crave, something they covet, something that sustains them, but at the same time it’s quite literally a curse, and something that estranges them from those they care about. It’s great symbolism, and fun to explore from a songwriting perspective.

Congratulations on your latest album release, Vampyre, which comes with a story-line. Can you elucidate and give us a bite of what this epic tale is about?

Brian: The album begins with “Cain”, a song about the biblical figure who was cursed by God to wander the earth for eternity as a vampire. The main story is set in modern times, and the heroine of the story is made a vampire by an evil man, an egomaniacal cult leader who is the subject of the song, “Purity”. But as she grows to hate her maker, she lures vampires away from him and makes them loyal to her. Eventually, she slays her former master in the “Midnight Massacre” and declares herself queen. Mastermind ends the album saying the kings and queens aren’t really in charge, asking, who is the real mastermind? Then in a subtle touch I’m probably a little too proud of, you hear the theme from “Cain” start to play, answering the question.

Rebekah: Right before “Midnight Massacre” there’s a pair of songs, “Vampyre” and “Mortal”. Part of the tragedy of becoming a vampire is the inevitable farewell to their mortal loved ones. “Vampyre” portrays the difficult choice of breaking the bond. And of course, “Mortal” is the story told from the mortal lover’s perspective. You sense more of a trace of humanity in “Vampyre” before she abandons her humanity in “Midnight Massacre”.

BRIAN S WOLFF

How important was it for there to be a story-line for this album and who was the one to come up with the idea?

Brian: Rebekah came up with the vampire theme by writing the song, “Vampyre”. We had a few songs already written at that time, but we realized we could easily form a story about that vampire character, so we decided to turn the whole thing into a concept/story album. The song “Cain” was actually originally written about the Norse god Loki, but we adapted it into a song about the world’s first vampire.

Rebekah: It’s more fun when an album reads like a book rather than a collection of loosely-connected songs! We first came up with the song “Vampyre” and built a whole storyline around the vampire. There’s a cult, a love story, a rebellion, and the takeover in the story. We added the origin story of the biblical Cain, the first vampire, because we do everything from start to finish. That’s how we roll! 😀

DreamrD: Fortunately, during the pandemic, we had the time available to devote to the project. Making and releasing albums is a tremendous amount of work under any circumstances, much less a concept-based undertaking that communicates a compelling story. We’re familiar with what effort is involved though, because our 2019 release “The Descent” is also a concept/story based album.

REBEKAH FENG

I believe Vampyre is your fourth studio album. How do you feel your sound has changed since that first release in 2011?

Brian: In 2011 it was really just a side project with Rebekah and me, and pretty amateurish. You can definitely hear us develop with each album, with the songwriting and production improving considerably over time. And we added Colin for “The Descent” (2018), which improved our sound pretty dramatically, and then added Tim for “Vampyre” (2021) which once again gave our sound a huge boost. I feel like we’ve found a really great lineup for the band now where we all contribute a lot to the sound, and we really like working together to make music we’re all proud of.

Rob Early of 11 Grams/Retrogram did a great job mastering Vampyre, so how do you know the fabulous Rob?

Rebekah: Haha! You know Rob too? Isn’t Rob a great guy? A few years back, we played a show at Black Cat in DC with Red This Ever (another great band from our area) and Rob was the synth player at that show. We started chatting then and have been good friends ever since.

Brian: Rob was absolutely fantastic to work with, and just a great guy as well.

DreamrD: Rob also happens to live right down the street from me so we’re neighbors as well, though we only recently discovered this fact. Knowing this, I’ll be dropping by his place often for a spare cup of baking powder or sea salt. 🙂

Rebekah, you are a trained classical violin player. Does this make it easier or harder to integrate into a rock style for you?

Rebekah: Like everyone else, I grew up playing an acoustic violin and didn’t even know about electric violins until later in life. As you know, classical violin training focuses more on techniques rather than artistic expression. I get bored easily, so perfecting my technique or playing sheet music was not as fun. I’ve always been more interested in creating new sounds and coming up with my own music. Fast forward to 2010, I bought my first electric violin and the world of effect pedals opened up to me. The rest is history. 🙂 Now I have so many effects pedals and somehow keep acquiring more. So, to answer your question, integrating violin playing into a rock style actually felt quite natural. It was meant to be! 🙂

TIM PHILLIPS

The whole band comes from a lot of different musical backgrounds. What are the bands that influenced you all in your youth?

Brian: My biggest influence growing up was Pink Floyd, who gave me a deep love for the concept album. And Dave Gilmour was probably the main reason I decided to learn guitar. Otherwise, the way Radiohead writes and arranges their songs has definitely been a big inspiration for my own songwriting over the years. And I love how Portishead had a really cinematic vibe to their music, which is something I’ve always pursued in my own music.

Rebekah: I was actually really into classical music when I was a kid. My first cassette was a piece by Schumann. I got it when I was 6 and I remember being moved by the music. String harmonies still give me goosebumps. Then there’s Bach who made me fall in love with Baroque arpeggiation patterns. Nowadays, I notice that I incorporate these influences when I write music without realizing it. If you listen to the song, Vampyre, you’ll see what I’m talking about. 🙂

DreamrD: Having come up in the 80’s (think “Freaks and Geeks”) a lot of pop music and MTV in particular were inescapable. So all of that rubbed off on my musical interests at the time, and much of which I still enjoy. The Police, Devo, Missing Persons, Duran Duran, Ministry, The Cult, Prince, and The The were all bands that really captivated my youthful ears. I recall much later seeing Cirque du Soleil for the first time and being impacted by the music, but also just the overall performance and theatrics, the creation of distinct show characters, the acrobatic and physical prowess, and the fantasy of it all. It was impressive and stuck with me as an elevated piece of artistry. The Blue Man Group show also made a similar impact from a unique live performance perspective, as did U2’s Zoo TV tour in the 90’s. Amazing productions! Unrelated to musical influences, but with additional personal insight, DreamrD is a nickname that’s been with me in some form (DreamR, Dreamer, Dreamer-D, etc.) since my teens and just never went away. It works in a musical/band/performance setting, however my dearest Mum still calls me Colin. I also answer to “schlagzeuger” for our German followers since we seem to be making inroads there. But maybe Australia is next for The Neuro Farm to really infiltrate? 😉

Tim: I became a fan of Duran Duran in the early 80’s and when I saw a live performance on MTV, I saw Nick Rhodes behind a glorious stack of synths and computers and I knew instantly that I wanted to be him. My tastes expanded when I got into Pink Floyd and early Peter Gabriel solo albums, but hearing The Cure’s ‘The Head on the Door’ was the moment I wanted to compose songs. This also led me down the college and alternative radio path and fell in love with Depeche Mode, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, etc. Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead then enforced the fact that writing and performing music was the path I wanted to follow.

DreamrD

What do you find yourselves listening to now?

Brian: Honestly, a lot of the same stuff I was listening to in my youth. But I’ve definitely had a recent focus on post-punk and industrial stuff like Joy Division and NIN. I like listening to all kinds of different music, though I think pretty much every genre has good stuff in it.

Rebekah: I go through phases with music. There will be weeks when I listen to Chelsea Wolfe nonstop. Then there are other weeks when I listen to a lot of German bands, Rammstein, Eisbrecher, etc. Currently, I’m in a Sigur Rós phase. They are going on tour this year and we all bought tickets to see them, so I’m quite excited about it! The ONE band I always come back to is Radiohead. They are incredibly creative and the music is both beautiful and so interesting!

DreamrD: In the “smaller band” realm, I have been enjoying Ritual Howls who are based in Detroit. They have a dark, mechanical, and minimalist quality to their sound but that is also infused with a Western twang to it. “Turkish Leather” is a good full-album starting point for their music. In the “bigger artist” category, I typically stop whatever I am doing if I hear Johnny Marr’s solo work come on or also Interpol (Antics!). Those sounds just never get old to my ears.

Tim: Other than revisiting all of the music I grew up with, I find myself listening more and more to bands like Deftones, Mew, Sigur Ros, and 65daysofstatic. Even side projects of some of those bands are in my heavy rotation such as Crosses (Deftones) and Apparatjik (Mew).

Due to the pandemic hitting us from 2020 to 2021, how has it affected the band? Did it make some things harder/impossible or other things easier?

DreamrD: The pandemic initially impacted The Neuro Farm by shutting down a planned 2020 tour and obviously separating us physically from gigging and hanging out together, etc. But we made a point of staying active and productive. The time away from performing really cleared the way for the Vampyre album to be our sole focus and brought it to completion without any particular pressure of time or imposed deadlines. It felt good to embrace flexibility and to be able to adapt to the unexpected.

What are the future plans for Neuro Farm?

Rebekah: Venues are opening back up in DC, and we recently began to play local shows somewhat regularly. When we wrote our “Vampyre” album, we had envisioned an almost movie-like storyline which warrants music videos. We are in the process of making them and hope to finish those this year. In April 2020, we were about to go on our first east coast tour, which didn’t happen for obvious reasons. So touring domestically is definitely on our agenda. Also, we’ve been gaining popularity internationally, so touring in Europe and maybe Australia is something we’ve been talking about as well.

If you were a character out of the role playing game Vampire The Masquerade, what clan would you be from and why?

Brian: My real life might most resemble Nosferatu because I’m reclusive and I spend a lot of time in front of a computer. But screw that, I want to be a Toreador because they’re much more attractive, and I want to be attractive, dammit!

Rebekah: I think I am a Tremere because of my day job. I wish I knew magic. But hey, science is like magic, but based on empirical evidence! 😀 Supposedly, Tremeres are hated by many. I hope that’s not the case. 😦

DreamrD: I would probably be part of the Ravnos. I’m often a little restless but also prefer not to fight about things when a smoother, more charmed approach can achieve the same or better result in life. 😉

Tim: I was going to say I’d lean heavily towards Ravnos, but we can’t have TWO charmers in the same band, right? I’d go with Malkavian as I can be a bit of a joker and may be prone to hallucinations when I’m hungry 😛

Thank you for being my willing thralls and giving your time to this experiment.

Brian: We have been enthralled. Get it? Because “Enthralled” is a song on our album. 😀

Mwahaha congratulations Brian, you are the new Renfield.

https://www.theneurofarm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/theneurofarm/
https://theneurofarm.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/theneurofarm/

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Here on Onyx, we love our Australian underground music. To that end, we figured people needed to know about the latest video from post-punk provocateurs, Sounds Like Winter. “No Interest“, off their third album, Fight The Stairs, is a combination of footage from around the time of the original Wall Street Crash and the live online video of the band’s album launch.

We previously said…The tribal beats are unmissable here and maybe a harkening back to Southern Death Cult. “No Interest” is the cold reality that humanity isn’t so humane and will ignore you when you are at your lowest point. As their promoter, UTM Music Group said…..If you’ve been ignoring this band, you’re clearly a fucking idiot. Could not have really said it better myself.

Merch | Sounds Like Winter (bandcamp.com)

Sounds Like Winter (facebook.com)