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Those who like their industrial, dance music, will be familiar with the name Simon Carter for his solo work and also his collaborations with Studio X. He has since left the label, Alfa Matrix and joined forces with German chanteuse, Fabsi, to create Simon Carter and Fabsi. Their first album, The Bitches Potion, was self released on March 20th, 2022.

This album has everything going for it. The single “Hex Hex (Wir Sind Die Hexen)” is dance floor candy, even at seven minutes long. In fact, most of the tracks average out at six minutes each. The single, “Beautiful Destruction” is a great track and “Pink Queen” is absolutely bombastic with its deep, pulsing techno rhythm. The amazing and creepy, “Nanobots (Are You My Mummy?)” is a little gem of industrial techno, only to followed up by the thumping “This Is Only A Test“. That is only a selection of the eleven original tracks and all could be played at a club easily.

As a lucky bonus, you get seven remixes, including the likes of Matt Hart, Moaan Exis, Teknovore and Ruinizer (Jay Ruin). The Teknovore remix of “Hex Hex (Wir Sind Die Hexen)” is brilliantly smooth and menacing at the same time, while the Moaan Exis remix of “The Witching Hour” has a wonderful, crunchy texture to it. “We Are The Witches” is given a nice helping of heavy electronics by Matt Hart, who touches them up in all the right ways and the Ruinizer version of “Pink Queen” feels like a free fall of deranged rhythmic delights. The other mixes are done by Carter, under the guise of his other projects and they are just as note worthy as the guests. For goodness sake, checkout the Narconic version of “Hex Hex” as you really need to hear it

The Bitch’s Potion will beguile you as it traverses and incorporates so many styles of dance music. Techno, industrial, rhythmic noise and trance, whilst the vocals of Fabsi entrance you. This is one magical elixir that one must imbibe to get the full heady and intoxicating taste. Talking of mystical things, Simon and Fabsi were generous in giving us some of their time to talk to us about their supernatural musical powers!

Welcome to the darkside of Onyx. where we have a no gremlins past the front door policy. So please empty your pockets of all little munchkins but feline familiars are most welcome and will get complimentary tickles.

How did Simon and Fabsi meet and become the fabulous Simon Carter & Fabsi?

Simon: It was during the beginning of Corona and we met in a few Twitch streams, we found our music tastes had a lot in common. The very first collaboration came about when Fabsi left me a rude late night voice mail and I used that as a sample at the end of a joke/comedy track called “Oh Yeah”. It wasn’t long before we thought we should try and do something a bit more serious together! The ‘Simon Carter’ bandcamp page was never meant to be serious, it was my playground for silly tracks and deliberately horrible artwork! Whilst I’d never take myself too seriously… Since (and including) the “Beautiful Destruction” EP I am taking the tracks with Fabsi more seriously and hopefully that shines through in the quality of the music and can also be heard in the later releases on that bandcamp page.

Fabsi: We played some online games together and he kept recording bits of me and made silly little songs. So we thought let’s do something proper and I recorded the vocal for “Beautiful Destruction” with my iPhone and he challenged himself to make as many different versions as possible with spawned the “Beautiful Destruction” EP. That worked out so well that I bought a proper mic and we decided to try and make a full Album together.

Congrats are in order. The album is pretty mammoth, so how long did it take to create?

Simon: I think it took around 12 months to complete, the lockdowns due to Covid allowed me a lot more studio time than I’m used to and as is often the case when a project is new and exciting I had a lot of motivation and inspiration for it from the get-go.

Fabsi: We started straight after releasing the “Beautiful Destruction” EP, which was released exactly 1 year (to the day!) before the “Bitches Potion”.

Has covid interrupted your ability to play and record or did it allow you more time to do things?

Simon: I think we can say that Covid helped launch this project! A glimmer of something good in an otherwise sad and unfortunate time for the world.

Fabsi: Was not a problem from my side as I was recording from Germany. I had time for a new project because I couldn’t go out much here due to the restrictions.

There is a witch house and witch theme throughout, why did you go with beings of the magical arts?

Simon: We can blame Fabsi for that theme, I’m fairly certain she is a witch… but it’s a great theme and a fantastic concept which I’ve really enjoyed embracing, her witchyness is a huge part of this project.

Fabsi: The witchy idea came from me. I get a monthly witchy subscription box and I was so inspired by that and I still am. So there is more to come. We both love watching series and my favorites are those with magical or supernatural backgrounds/topic. I’m also a big Harry Potter fan!

The single Hex Hex (Wir Sind Die Hexen) is this huge, trance.techno track that feels like it is looping over and over again, with Fabsi’s vocals in German over the top. Is it about spells and you must be pretty pleased the way it turned out?

Simon: I’m super pleased with this track, it was one of the first to be finished and I knew we had something special, I knew it was a bit of a banger and I think Fabsi sounds best in her native German. Even though it’s a long track, I just knew this is the one for the music video. It’s interesting you should mention Trance as I do have a bit of a background in that scene from my Narconic project but this new techno sound is something I’ve only recently started to explore.

Fabsi: It’s mostly a translation from another track on this album “We Are The Witches” and as German is my native language It was a lot easier for me to record that vocal than some of the others.

Where did you film the video as it looks like it is in the middle of nowhere?

Fabsi: The video is filmed near Frankfurt (Germany) next to a forest. It’s a 2 hour drive away from where I live.

Is someone a big Dr Who nerd? Nano Bots (Are You My Mummy) has to about the episodes where it is WW2 and there is a child walking around in a gas mask asking Are you my mummy. (And now he’s stuck in my brain again)

Fabsi: Maybe it’s me. That’s my favourite Dr. Who episode, with captain Jack Harkness and Rose, they are a perfect combo. During corona, I was reminded of those children with the gasmasks.

Simon: When Fabsi shared this idea and I hunted the sample down (in fact we watched the episode together!) I initially thought there’s no way this will work in a track, no matter what genre I try. I’m pleased to say my initial thoughts were wrong and it’s turned out to be one of the most popular tracks on the album.

Time to fess up. Three of the remixes are done by Simon projects aren’t they?

Simon: Aha yes! I think you’re the first person to realise this! Sometimes I want a break from the hard pounding techno beats and rhythms so I mess about with the vocals and often produce something entirely different, when that happens (and we deem it good enough!) I put one of my other projects down as the remixer.

The other four remixes have been done by other great musicians Matt Hatt, Tecknovore, Ruinizer and Moaan Exis. How did you get these guys onboard?

Simon: Myself and George (Teknovore) go waaaay back so that was a no brainer for me. Since he departed PES0.1 and started Teknovore I knew he was developing a really unique and special sound and I wanted him and only him to remix what I believed to be the best track on the album Hex Hex (Wir Sind Die Hexen). Matt Hart & Ruinizer are fellow Brits who were returning remix favours for me, whilst Moaan Exis was someone I approached after hearing some of their tracks and thinking they could come up with something juicy for us.

I have been watching a lot of the European and British electro/industrial scene people and you guys are so supportive of each other both in terms of helping each other out and morally there for each other. Does if feel that way to you?

Simon: We do like to put on a united front! The world has changed so drastically since Corona and that has affected the scene greatly too. Surprisingly my biggest support still comes from Australia, Canada, the US and Mexico but since this release I have been receiving a bit more interest from Europe including my homeland, the UK. It’s a small scene and I’m very much inclined to support and help out as much as possible where I can.

Fabsi: We both have our qualities and they match perfectly together. We can help each other out and support each other where necessary. It’s crazy that other people can see that and mention that about us. You really need someone you can trust 100% that has your back for doing such a project.

Simon, you are well known for your musical creations with Australians, Studio X and you were both on Alfa Matrix but recently you seem to have struck out on your own, so can you tell us a little about this?

Simon: That’s right, myself and Studio-X released 3 albums, 6 EP’s and 1 single, all on the Belgian record label Alfa Matrix and we both had respective solo projects on that label too. Those were crazy days when I think we both had more time and the creativity was just flowing like a river. We’re still good friends and who knows if they’ll be more in that direction in the future, I am certainly one to never say never. The record label discussion is an interesting one. Since releasing this album a few offers have come in for this project. I’ve never touted this, Narconic or my Humans Can’t Reboot projects to a record label. I know a record label would give us greater exposure but the world is a very different, constantly evolving place these days and I feel happy in the knowledge that I have 100% control in regards to every specific aspect of these projects, their distribution and their futures.

Have you played live yet under the guise of this project or is this going to be something you consider taking live, into the future?

Simon: We have definitely spoken about this, I think it’s fair to say I am more keen on this idea than Fabsi! I’m currently in the process of re-decorating and moving but once that’s done then who knows.

Fabsi: We haven’t played live yet or planned any concerts. But you never know what the future brings.

What music got you into the scene?

Simon: I’ve always had such an eclectic taste in music but I do recall how I first came to find out about the scene. As a youngster I was really into my cheesy harder dance music and especially the vocal tracks. I’d often go to school with my walkman playing such tracks. I heard some tracks from Force & Styles with a male vocalist (MC Junior) and it blew me away. I’d literally only ever heard female vocalists in electronic music prior to that so I did my research and I found bands like VNV Nation, Neuroticfish, Covenant etc. Ok the music was considerably slower but it was amazing to hear electronic dance music with male vocals and passion! I was hooked form then on and dived deeper and deeper into the scene and all the different offshoot genres the scene has to offer.

Fabsi: In My Teenage years I was listening to a lot of Emo and Metal, but my first gothic or industrial song was “Combichrist – Electrohead“ in about 2008 and from then on I was dragged further into the gothic music and style. I’m always open to other genres too, like Hardstyle or Trance.

Who or what do you listen to now?

Simon: A lot of scene music and I like to see what’s hot, what’s the current flavour of the month and lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Sierra, Minuit Machine, Mark Dekoda and Tecknovore to get my techno fix and then I’ll mix it up with something like a bit of Empathy Test because Isaac’s voice is fantastic and they make some really nice synthpop.

Fabsi: My favourite band is “The Birthday Massacre” and I could listen 24/7 to their music. But of course I do not, so the rest of the time I listen a lot to Simon’s music and I like to listen to female voices in the gothic scene. My favourite Podcast I listen weekly to is “Communion After Dark”.

We are trying to decide if you are a witch or a normal person by throwing you in the lake because witches float but someone says ducks also float. What do you do?

Simon: Entirely depends on if I’m wearing my armbands (water-wings) or not!

Fabsi: So no-one would think I am a witch I would turn myself into a duck!

When you look into the magic looking glass, what do you see for the future of Simon Carter & Fabsi?

Simon: a big black void of witchy goodness! I’ve really enjoyed this theme and project and would definitely like to continue with this sound in the future.

Fabsi: I see Simon and me doing a stream together on twitch, when I can visit the UK and hopefully a lot more magical tunes to create and release.

Thank you for joining our timey whimmey magical mystery tour and that enchanting things await you. Not cave fairies though as they little terrors.

The Bitches Potion | Simon Carter and Fabsi | Simon Carter (bandcamp.com)

Simon Carter / Humans Can’t Reboot / Narconic / SD-Krtr | Facebook

Fabsi | Facebook

MATT HART | Facebook Music | MATT HART (bandcamp.com)

Ruinizer | Facebook Music | RUINIZER (bandcamp.com)

MOAAN EXIS | Facebook Music | MOAAN EXIS (bandcamp.com)

Teknovore | Facebook The Theseus Paradox | Teknovore | Infacted Recordings (bandcamp.com)

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March might be the month for the elfin kind and the 30th saw the release of the single, “Elfenarzt“, by a French, gothic/industrial project, Eleventh Fear. Ludovic Dhenry is the man behind Eleventh Fear and is also responsible for the acts Résonance Magnétique, Exponentia and Zauber, which may explain why the last release for this project was an album called Spirit, out in 2010. Though we are in luck as a second album has been toted as coming our way this year!

For a French project, the lyrics are in German and hissed at you, all the while the heavenly electronics waver above. There are beats within rhythms and a brilliant use of noise to build up the atmosphere, Sadly, there is no Youtube video for us to put up, as this is a cracking tune. Dark and foreboding and yet so club friendly, so in other words, watch this space, for Eleventh Fear are threatening us with a rather good time, me thinks if “Elfenarzt” is anything to go by.

Elfenarzt | Eleventh Fear (bandcamp.com)

Eleventh Fear | Facebook

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Howard Gardner, Max Rael and Daniel Vincent are some very British men who are also in Decommissioned Forests and their mission is to create interesting and inventive industrial music. To this end, April the 1st is the release date for the new album, Industry, a curiously befitting title, as the previous debut was called Forestry.

From the first time you listen to any Decommissioned Forest track, you get the sense that this is definitely part of something bigger than just the music. It is electronica painting pictures, with Rael’s vocals and lyrics breathing life into them, in spoken word. The single “Ants Part 1 – Our Last Summer” is, and to quote myself, like dissonant journey that seems pleasant, yet the lyrics are the disembodied oddities of strange and disturbing sequences. Though this is not as dark as “Triggers” that drones and eats at your frailty. without a by your leave, while “Ants Part 2 – Every Trauma Ever After” is a slower refrain in a twilight, that is dimming quickly as life seemingly slips away from us. The organ style music as if is a church of pointless sadness.

Quite frankly, I love the name and concept of “Spectral Kleptomania” as it amazing to think that a spirit can be blamed for nicking everything you can’t find or seems to be missing. Another single, “Drop Brick” could be a mantra to an old Frankenstein movie, with the disturbing and repeating synths while the monster seethes from being unable to be accepted into the world. There is the space and time warping, “Dust Ashes And Other Unimportant Ephemera” as it slowly engulfs your being. When these guys created a short movie, “A Comforting Uncertainty” was the track used. A slow realisation that nothing ever turns out exactly as thought out and you feel disappointment trying to stalk the inevitable misfortune. The final track is “Ants Part 3 – The Universe Is Unaware” and the ants are feigning indifference.

We will keep coming back to the whole Coil thing as it is uncanny how much Max Rael sounds like John Balance. Howard and Vincent have created musical scores that pay homage to an older style of British industrial music, while experimenting to see how they can keep pushing this avant garde genre. Industry is like looking at a polished stone but inside you can see all the jagged, geometric structures within, that contain their own beauty. forged by immense primal forces.

Industry | Decommissioned Forests (bandcamp.com)

Decommissioned Forests | Facebook

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нашим друзям (For Our Friends) based in Hamburg, Germany, have putting together compilations to raise awareness and funds for the people of Ukraine. So far three compilations have been put together by them and we would like to draw your attention to the latest which is For Our Friends Vol III, There are 42 artists in this edition who all fall under the electro/industrial theme.

Of course with 42 acts on one compilation, so I am not going to review every song but I am proud to say I know some of the people that have donated tracks. From my hometown of Brisbane, the wonderful Dirt Factory with their nihilistic cyber industrial track, “Violence” and Roger Menso’s Nyteshayde, whom I have known since I was about 19 with his slow burn, borne of war trauma number, “Whispers And Shouting“.

There is also Dogmachine, who I knew in the 90s, with their fantastic, angst ridden “Headwound” which was often heard at nightclubs, with Kraig Durden as the lead singer, who went onto create Replikant and his track “Anaesthetic” appears, full of wandering synths as if in an induced dream.

But there are bands from all over the world such as the German maestro of crunchy rhythmic power noise, Sebastian Sünkler’s STAHLSCHLAG, with “Shunde Null” along with another big, rhythmic noise act KiEw with “Mariupol, Ukraine“. In other words there are all sorts of goodies here. Transponder featuring Leæther Strip, Sven Phalanx with Miss Kitty and I could go on.

If this was put together as a regular compilation, it would be well worth buying, however what it stands for makes it much more valuable. Not only are you getting music you are going to enjoy and find new artists you never knew about but you are supporting a cause, helping those who, currently, are in dire straits, in the middle of a illogical and terrible war. Remember this is For Our Friends.

For Our Friends, Vol. III: Electro Edition | нашим друзям (bandcamp.com)

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In a very short amount of time, George Klontzas’ solo project, Teknovore has come a long way. George has been a part of industrial acts such as Croona, the new Neon Decay and Cynical Existence which means he has a wealth of experience behind him, not to mention a tonne of talent and an ear for the good stuff. Seeing as the new album, The Theseus Paradox was out, we spoke to George about ancient history, mythical heroes and music.

Welcome George Klontzas to the ancient darkness that is Onyx. We have the Moirai in a corner doing their thing and we can just shoot the breeze like the Oracles of Delphi.

How did you originally get into the electro scene?

In my teens I was mainly into Metal but I was also interested in electronic music to a lesser degree. Eurodance was huge at that time, and that was obviously a major influence on the Aggrotech sound. In fact one of the first albums I bought was 2 Unlimited’s No Limits. The real gateway albums for me though have to be the Mortal Kombat soundtrack which introduced me to Fear Factory, KMFDM, Juno Reactor, and the Quake soundtrack which introduced me to NIN. Of course, living on a Greek island before the advent of the Internet not much was available to me and I was just skimming the surface. It was as a student living in Edinburgh, attending Goth and Industrial club nights that I really got into the scene.

There are a lot of goth/industrial/metal acts from Greece, so what is the scene like there in Athens especially and has it changed over the years?

I’m still living on an island (Crete) literally and I suppose metaphorically too in a sense. Sometimes I feel a bit removed from the Greek scene, looking in, so I don’t really feel like an authority that can speak on it. What I can say with confidence is that we are surely blessed to have many talented and multi-faceted artist s and bands here in Greece. Just off the top of my head I need to mention Siva Six whose latest album is excellent as always. I was happy to see recently that Cygnosic are back recording new stuff. Technolorgy are releasing something in April I believe. I’ve been listening to ΦΩΝΟΠΤΙΚΟΝ a lot recently too and a young artist that I think deserves more attention is Saint – I encourage you to check out their album Erga Omnes. Again though, I feel bad because there are so many others I could and should mention and I have to give you props for reviewing and shining a spotlight on many Greek artists recently!

You have been in a few fairly big name industrial acts What prompted you to start Teknovore?

Mostly it was a desire to try my hand at various different styles that I love like Goa and Psytrance, Techno and the EBSM sound that’s emerged out of France in recent years. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to make an album when I started. I was just making all these tracks in different styles, seeing what I could do with them, what worked for me and what didn’t. After I had made the decision that I was indeed making an album I started the process of reworking the tracks so they could have some cohesion as a whole. Many of the tracks on the album are the 3rd or 4th vastly different versions of what I had originally made. Teknovore basically became about not playing it safe and in the end what I found is that the tracks that caused me the most frustration in making are my favorites on the album.

How different has it been for you doing a solo project from being in a collective?

It’s given me a lot of freedom creatively. No rules to follow or guidelines to adhere to other than those I set for myself. Especially not having a singer has allowed me to be much more creative with song structures. Many of the genres I love are instrumental and it makes a lot of sense to me to work with guest vocalists when needed, at least from an artistic point of view. However, from a commercial viewpoint, vocals and lyrics can help the music connect with an audience so bringing in someone on a more permanent basis or even doing taking on that role myself is something I may consider. I’m not leaning in the direction currently but you never know.

Let’s talk about The Theseus Paradox album. The paradox is that if you replace everything is it the same object/human when you first started. Is there a particular significance in the title for you?

I certainly saw the parallels in my own life. I went through a period of introspection a couple of years ago when I decided to leave some parts of my life behind. I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago and yet I am. Would my younger self recognize me now and vice versa? This was also reflected in how I felt about the music I was making. What expectations, if any, would there be based on what I had done in the past? How much should I hold on to and how much should I reject or replace? This whole thought process took over in the early stages of making The Theseus Paradox and became the main concept behind the album.

The album is amazing. Where did you even start in creating this debut monster?

Thank you for saying so! I guess I’ve already inadvertently answered this question. I’ll also mention that I invested in a brand new setup before getting started and much of the experimentation in the early stages came from learning the new plugins. That’s also how the cover of Dark Soho’s Save Me God was born which was on the Anachronist single with vocals by Z from Siva Six. A made a couple of covers as a training exercise when I started. There’s a cover of FLA’s Plasticity sitting on my hard drive somewhere. I focused a lot on some aspects that I felt I was weak at in the past like sound design. The right or wrong sounds will make or break a track.

You are on Infacted Recordings with j:dead and you have mixed tracks for Jay Taylor plus he appears on two of your tracks. So when did you ask Jay to do vocals?

Funnily enough the first track Jay and I worked on together, Tearing Me Apart, was originally supposed to be a track for Croona. Fredrik and I then decided to put Croona on ice so it became the J:dead vs Teknovore single you may have heard and the collaborations on my album happened as a result of that. Really I have Fredrik to thank for putting me in touch with Jay as he is a great guy and I really enjoyed working with him. Hopefully there’ll be more Teknovore x J:dead stuff happening in the future.

Jay Ruin or RNZR also does an amazing job as well as Neon Decay which is another non de plume for Fredrik Croona. How fortunate do you feel having all these amazing vocalists contribute to your album?

Very fortunate indeed. Fredrik and I have worked on various projects together over the last decade and he’s a great friend. Neon Decay is a new project we’ve been working on that’s a continuation of what we did with Croona mixed with synthwave… so nothing like the track we made together on my album!

I’ve been following Jay’s work since he was CeDigest, you know, the glory days of Noitekk! I agree he did an amazing job and he’s also just released a new RNZR single called Chaotic Erotica. Check it out, it’s gloriously filthy!

The artwork is stunning for the cover. Nikos Stavridakis is the man that created it. Are you still amazed by it?

Nikos and I go back a long way. He’s one of the first people to support me as a musician. When I started putting together The Theseus Paradox it was important to me that I work with people I can trust. When I explained the concept he loved it and was really excited to work on it and that is reflected in the end result. It’s such a powerful and striking image. Just perfect.

What gets your blood pumping now?

Other than making and listening to music, I watch A LOT of movies. Talk to me about horror movies – I can go all day! And I love re-watching my favorite movies with my daughter and introducing her to them so I can hear her comments. It’s like seeing them again with fresh eyes. That’s one of my favourite aspects of parenting – re-experiencing things through her. I’m into gaming too, though I kind of gave it up over the last year so I could focus on music. If The Theseus Paradox sells well I’ll reward myself with a PS5!

If you could be a mythical Greek Hero for a day, who would you be?

This feels like a trick question because almost all of them had tragic ends…but if it’s just for a day I suppose I’d avoid those. I won’t say Theseus as it is too obvious and I’m tempted to say Orpheus because of his legendary musical ability. I’m going to go with an out-of-the-box answer though and say Diomedes, one of the main characters in the Iliad. He is the most valiant hero of the Trojan War who while possessing great fighting ability also displays great wisdom. He fights and injures both Ares and Aphrodite in a single day yet shows humility thus avoiding committing hubris.

What is next for you and Teknovore?

I’ve just finished working on the Neon Decay album so now I can turn my focus back to Teknovore. I’ve got a few ideas about where I’m going with the next release but nothing solid yet. I’d like to get an EP and single ready to release by the end of 2022. Finally, I’ve had some initial discussions regarding some live shows. We’ll see what happens!

Thank you George for running this gauntlet…luckily no sirens were hurt in the asking of these questions!

Thank you for having me and keep up the good work! Calling back to your mention of the Oracle of Delphi earlier I’ll leave you with some Ancient Greek wisdom in the form of the three maxims inscribed outside the temple of Delphi: Know thyself; Nothing to excess; Surety brings ruin

I think there is a lesson in that for all of us……..

The Theseus Paradox | Teknovore | Infacted Recordings (bandcamp.com)

Teknovore | Facebook

Infacted Recordings | Facebook

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We are going to get a bit serious here. For Peace. Against War. Who Is Not? A Compilation For The People Of Ukraine was released this month by the label Component Recordings. A whopping 199 artists have donated a track each and all money raised will go to Ukrainian Red Cross and VOSTOK SOS to help the people who are suffering. I could say it was generous of the bands on this compilation but I think every single one would say they felt it was right and the decent thing to do.

I only know a few of the acts on this release but they come from around the world and all are from the electro, synth, industrial, experimental scene. It was our friend Tim Tigersblood Vester of the band Warm Gadget that brought it to our attention and I noted Decommissioned Forests. There seems to be a lot of great music and it really is not a lot to pay for 199 tracks which includes Wolfgang Flür (Kraftwerk), Steven Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire) and Jack Dangers (Beat Meat Manifesto)

Music in history has been used to create war fervor and march armies into battles but since the 1960s, especially, it has been a focal point to show injustice and discourage war mongering. Music can feed the hungry, call for justice and inspire people to embrace each other, creating common bonds. So please check out the Bandcamp page and consider buying this……. humanity starts with us.

For Peace. Against War. Who Is Not? A Compilation For The People Of Ukraine | Various Artists | Component Recordings (bandcamp.com)

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George Klontzas has been in some very significant projects but the most awe inspiring, has to be his own act, Teknovore. The Greek Klontzas has been a member of Pre-Emptive Strike 0.1, Croona and Cynical Existence, but now over the last couple of years has been focusing on his solo material and remixes under the Teknovore name. The culmination has been the release of the debut album The Theseus Paradox on Infacted Recordings thia month.

Feel that base drop in “Take Me Away” which features fellow Infacted Recordings stablemate j:dead. It is utterly delicious as a starting track with the soaring vocals and cyber injections of sound. The heavenly spiral of techno beats wends its way through “Apotheosis” delightfully heavy on the rhythm and spectacularly light on the dancing synths. With a verbal warning (maybe in Greek as it is hard to tell), “The Seal Becomes The Fate” definitely feels like impending doom with the ticking of the clock while “Vox Machina” is so intense, like being over-wound and on a ride you can’t get off. In the end you don’t want to.

“Relinquish Your Flesh” features Neon Decay, almost has tendrils of traditional Greek music in the beginning but that all dissolves with the vocals. Neon Decay gives this track a sludgy and dirty feel, dragging you under the mire. We are back to the techno maelstrom again with “Make Us Whole” which gives you these perfect keyboard refrains. There is such purpose behind this track, as if on a mission. A single released before the album, “Anachronist” featuring RNZR is, of course, amazing as it pummels your senses with its cyber-tribal style whirlpool of emotion and rhythms. The calm before the storm is the perception with “Split The Sky“. Far more slow moving though no less intense, an electronic dream.

J:dead brings on the angst to wake you, with “Every Broken Bone“. All the bass with screaming vocals, only to be smashed with a wall of synth.”Olethros” in Greek mythology is a personification of destruction that will bring on renewal. It flies on the wings of the ancestors in a modern era. A bit of drum and bass mixed with piano and electronics gives you the last track “Continuity“. Deep and dark with foreboding is an excellent way to end an album like this.

If you are unaware, the title to the album refers to the ship of the mythological hero Theseus. The Athenians cared for the ship and whenever a piece was rotting, they replaced it…until there was nothing left of the original. Therefor, is it still the same ship? For the record, Klontzas is a master at this style of music. An ability wind up the music, drop and do it all over again, creating anticipation and instant gratification when the rhythms bear you away on an inspired electronic journey. There is everything from techno to harsh EBM and the choices of guest vocalists are perfect. The old tale says beware of Greeks bearing gifts but in this case let the Teknovore in.

The Theseus Paradox | Teknovore | Infacted Recordings (bandcamp.com)

Teknovore | Facebook

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Well….apart from some stellar remixes, we haven’t heard anything new from HOSTILE ARCHITECT since the debut album and what a debut it was. After speaking to Mitch Kenny (he whom is hostile), I have been told that the new single. “POWER OVERWHELMING (ALPHA MIX)“, is heralding the soon to be launched EP. You can find the single on the Bandcamp page of Brutal Resonance as it was released on March 18th, 2022.

Yep those dance beats just get to you and the wonderful thing is that Kenny always keeps certain tones and sounds consistently in his tracks, like a fingerprint. Oh yes, the ARCHITECT is all about the destruction with the idea that destruction and eradication causes two of whatever to become one. Intense and amazing.

It is a great dance floor single and if this is any inkling of what is to come, well then, damn it the EP is going to be stonkingly good. What also is really cool about this release is that Brutal Resonance in their wisdom, give you the opportunity to purchase this single on postcard vinyl. When I was a kid, you could get magazines with a floppy freebie and this is pretty much the same idea, as it can be sent to you via the post for free rather than a tape, CD or full vinyl, which is really neat and a bit of a collectors item. Sure the quality might be a little lo-fi but that’s half the fun and you still get to download it as well.

POWER OVERWHELMING (ALPHA MIX) | HOSTILE ARCHITECT | Brutal Resonance Records (bandcamp.com)

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Most people have a fairly good grasp of what OMG stands for in social media, however the EP title of Fredrik Croona’s new project, Against I, it stands for Obscene Morbid Gore. Many would be familiar with the Swedish Croona’s other bands, Menschdefekt, Croona and Cynical Existence. The EP hit us on March the 11th, 2022 and it is out on Insane Records.

Title track straight up. “O.M.G.” As soon as you hear those harmonic synths, you know you are about to hear something big and it doesn’t disappoint. The hoarse aggro vocals with the backing speeding guitars and fuzzing tech. The anguish about a society that will watch on while others suffer, no matter how bad it gets. I always shake my head in wonder how this style of music has such harsh vocals and yet there is this wondrous techno-cyber light keyboard refrains backing up all of it. The “Other Half” is a perfect example of those keyboards while Croona screeches out the lament of the loss of humanity due to people no longer finding connection to others.

“Disgust” is a really bouncy maelstrom of discontent over overtly judgmental types. It has such good momentum, The single is “Scum” which swirls and picks up pace. Croona invites you to call him scum if you want to though I feel this is a mirror reflecting the actions of other. You know the Tecknovore remix of “Scum” is going to kick arse and it just pops! Klontzas has cut back on the guitars and just gone for full on electronic immersion. “Scum” by Death Verified is a glitch tech fest, again the guitars have been dropped in favour of synths but there is no loss of veracity.

It is very angry but that is what Croona does very well. That miasma of pained, screaming vocals, guitar distortion, those fabulous synths and techno beats that underpin it all. Most of this would easily make it onto club floors and dance mixes. But when you have the time, listen a little more closely to messages as there is something in that as well.

O.M.G | Against I | Insane Records (bandcamp.com)

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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)

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