Scenius are a dark synthpop duo, hailing from Leeds in the UK. Composed of UK producer SteveWhitfield (The Cure, TheMission) and French singer FabriceNau, they released their album LifeIs A Thing, back in May but we are going to touch upon the single off the album, “ChineseRoom.”
There is a simplicity to the track that makes it entrancing, almost dream like. The sound of electronics harken back to late 70s and early 80s acts like JohnFoxx, GaryNuman and German pioneers, Kaftwerk. Nau’s vocals are seductive and unhurried, with that French accent only enhancing the cool of track.
Together with the video for the single, I do feel “ChineseRoom” is a reference to heroin. The video is a party slowed down, where those participating in the drug use are only existing in the moment and Chinese rock is a euphemism for heroin, a la the Ramones single “ChineseRock.” I do love the throwback nod to past electronica heroes, but they have a distinct modern touch all over this track. You should listen to the “ChineseRoom,” but be warned, you may become addicted to Scenius.
It has been two years since a project called Voidant took flight, with the release of their self titled album. A deep love of music and experimentation, as well as a friendship across an ocean, brought about an electronic gem. UK based David ‘Wolfie‘ Wolfenden, guitarist of the iconic RedLorry,YellowLorry and CarolineBlind, from the USA, solo artist and lead singer of SunshineBlind, are celebrating their debut album with a remix EP, featuring other extraordinary musicians, fiddling with those delicate stems.
Kicking off with “Vortex,” this is ElenorRayner, front woman of New Zealand’s RobotsInLove, who has a knack of drawing beautiful, dark sweetness out of her remix projects and she does not fail to cause a quickening of your heart, as the barbed tendrils hook into your skin. CWHK is from SunshineBlind, and he has taken on the ephemeral “Ghosted” with the Brave or Silent Remix, upping the tempo and adding a very exotic feel to the track. The one cover on the EP is Love’s “7 and 7 is” and has been given the treatment by DannyC from 2Forks, a member of yet another famous US goth rock band, TheWake. The remix rocks harder than ever and yet has developed this disco/dance orientation.
I cannot think of a better bunch than the UK’s DecommissionedForests, who have taken the shamanistic “LaLoba,” into a cosmic realm, swirling and mystical, centred around Blind’s vocals. MaxRael of DecommissionedForests and HistoryOfGuns, has truly put the funk into “SGTruth,” and it is nearly trance inducing. The original “PhantomEx” was a very free form piece, that Wolfie has taken, creating the Birchremix, adding more guitar and rhythm, giving the bass filled track a heavier air.
“Writing these lyrics and vocal melodies was a cathartic practice of embracing sadness and grief. It’s all in there. There was no return. It’s terminal. There are no hopeful bits, it’s all goodbye. The vocals stand on their own, and those who have remixed the songs have understood that, in perfect alignment. That’s why I called it ‘Abandon Hope’, from Dante’s Divine Comedy: “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here” Give up and give in. Join with the heedless infinite.” – Caroline Blind
AbandonHope is a wonderful way to relive some great tracks, or if you are new to the music of Voidant, then submerge your ears in the myriad of styles and talented artists which could lead you to finding even more favourites.
We have been following the catastrophic tale of humans versus alien machines, unfolding in the musical exploits by MATTHART. The London based industrial musician and DJ, has released his latest single “DEEPDOWNCITY.”
Imagine living 6000 levels below the surface of the planet, a new shadowy world where humans have finally settled from the reach of the machines, trying to recreate what they had above ground. The guitar is there, building the tension, but the synths are the smooth heroes of this track, however the big surprise is the vocals. Not only do we have HART’s growls, but we get to hear the man actually sing, letting us hear his dulcet tones.
“DEEPDOWNCITY” is a something a little different from MATTHART, with its mingling of harsher industrial and retro synthwave, creating a wonderfully pulsating dynamic. The track portrays a cyberpunk styled domain where life is lived in the constant gloom, that is only broken up by the need for sleep and entertainment. One wonders what the aliens are up to on the surface and I am guessing we might find out soon.
September was a big month for some really good electronic music and Sweden’s Hatif, most certainly delivers some quality releases, which leads us to the new single “Heredity.” Under license to the label Town&TowersRecords, the duo of MarkusMajdalani and JohanEckerström, seems to not currently have an album attached to this new track.
Photo by Daniel Kwon
The electronic clicks take up a flamenco style rhythm and Majdalani‘s singing is smooth and entrancing, then it kicks up an extra notch of cool with the harmonising. The synths move from light to dramatic keeping you on the edge of your seat, while the programming spasmodically still clicks and whirrs.
I’m going to be a bit cheeky and say Hatif could be channelling the spirit of another classic Swedish band Covenant, and that is not a bad thing with the harmonies and building electronic textures. Hatif have said their music is easy to listen to, and I have to say I completely agree with them. “Heredity” is part of the growing legacy that Hatif are putting down.
The latest single from RobotsInLove is here, with a video included, for the track “GossipInYourHead.” Ex-pat Aussie, ElenorRaynor, who is based in Ōtepoti (Dunedin), is the driving force behind the project, and the other current members are Alex Burchell on drums, guitarist Pierre Higbee and bassist Tony Lumsden.
“This year, friends The Sound Key played me some of their music and I was particularly enthralled by a song called ‘Gossip in Your Head’, and so it was recorded in the Robots In Love studio with Pierre Higbee on guitars and Alex Burchell on drums. Alex then produced a remix which was even more atmospheric than the original recording, emphasising the haunting vocal harmonies. The depth of emotion in the remix captivated everyone who heard it, and so it became the A-side of the single release: a masterpiece of beautiful dark pop.” – ElenorRayner
The gossamer tendrils of this song are hauntingly beautiful and are only enhanced by Rayner’s delicately phenomenal vocals. The words are weighted by melancholy, as the speaker seems to have an internal discussion, torn by the voices that feed self doubt, plucking at mental health. I love there is such a simplicity to the music that showcases the play between the vocals and guitars. Robots In Love have most definitely brought out the darkness in “Gossip In Your Head,” and it is a jewel of a track.
SEVREN NI-ARB (synthesizers, computers, programming, vocals) and ESTEFANÍA (vocals) are X MARKS THE PEDWALK, and the Munster electronic aficionados have dropped the first video “FadingWaves,” that heralds the coming of their latest album, Superstition, which is due out in November on the label MeshworkMusic.
Paramedics race to save the life of a young man, laying on the ground. The music’s rhythm heightens the ambulance crew’s attempt to restart his heart, as it fades away and flatlines. The casualty joins the multitudes that these courageous first responders cannot always save. There is something sublime about the play of synths and vocals, beautifully tinged with thoughtful sadness. XMARKSTHEPEDWALK, as always, are masters of the synthpop genre and “FadingAway” is aimed straight for your heart.
The goth-synthpop princess, MissFD launched the single “Distractions” in August, out on the label QuantumReleaseRecords. Not only does MissFD compose, sing and produce, but she always has something interesting to impart through her music.
Synths wail like sirens, for there is an emergency at hand. The urgency is free flowing and MissFD’s vocals leave you with no uncertainty that you proceed at your own peril. There is a gruffness, wanting to draw your attention as the driving rhythm gives you focus from the distractions of the everyday.
A cry out to humanity, for the sake of the planet to recognise the fact people are causing mass effect destruction, that will take themselves out and a good chunk of the creatures we share the planet with. MissFD is channelling the voice of the Earth, because it cannot, but you can be sucked into her “Distractions“.
For those getting into the dirtier industrial metal of the 2000s, Sweden’s Deathstars has to come to mind. “Blitzkrieg” was a single off their second album, Termination Bliss. Fellow countryman, Fredrik Croona, aka Against I, has covered “Blitzkrieg,” released on September the first.
August also saw the release of AgainstI’s first album, Carnival of Excess, however, “Blitzkrieg” is not one of the tracks and appears to have been recorded on a whim by Croona. Whatever, it is a harsher, more stripped to the bones version…. or is it? It carries the same intensity, but there is a heavy electronic pall pervading and the vocals are screamed over all, because in the end this is AgainstI with “Blitzkrieg,” which overwhelms the enemy in a singular swift strike, taking you by storm.
In January of 2023, electronic musicians, R. Missing (USA) and Levingtquatre (Belgium), released the single “DeathInAConstellation“, but August has seen the track given a second breath of life via a remix, from the Norwegian Antipole, aka KarlMortenDahl.
That delicate guitar work, so prevalent in Antipole, trickles over your senses, invading that space under your skin that raises goosebumps. R. Missing’s vocals are sweet and light as air, lulling you into an intoxicated stupor, and the electronics are never far from the surface.
The original version is definitely a more electronic affair, whilst the remix has a far more warm quality, and I think this gives it a very intimate feel. Also, it is produced by Pedro Code, of the equally wonderful IAMTHESHADOW, and that darkwave touch shines through. There is a simplicity to the whole track, which is just divine to listen to, echoing in the depths of a star cluster… a dark shoegaze dream that is “Death In A Constellation,” the Antipole remix..
21st of July saw the release of the single “Burial” by Milwaukee based ChokeChain, the project for MarkTrueman. Written and produced by Trueman, while the mastering is by EricOehler, at SubmersibleStudios. Excitingly, this single heralds the new album Mortality, which will be out in September the 22nd, on PhageTapes.
You can almost taste the anguish in Trueman’s vocals, raw and reproaching. The rhythms are unrelenting in their pounding, while the wailing in the background is like klaxons going off, creating an atmosphere of cloying terror that you still must find yourself moving to. Propelled by claustrophobia, each throbbing note is driving your heartbeats. They say death is cold, but the industrial aggression of “Burial” by ChokeChain is smoking hot.
Onyx Music Reviews 