Gothenburg, Sweden is possibly one of the best named cities if you are in a darkwave band and admittedly the quality of music from this one place is quite extraordinary. From Gothenburg is Angels In Shade and this is the premier of the single “Out of Time,” on the label BLCK_FLWRS.
A driving dancefloor electronics beat out a sense of urgency, before joined by the lo-fi vocals. The synths are like a racing heartbeat, with rivulets of higher chords highlighting the dark. The lyrics are about how we are running short on time.
As humans, we live a finite life span, just as everything in the natural world, though with global warming, and ergo, increasing natural disasters, putting the Earth on a possible deadline. “Out Of Time” is a great darkwave track from Angels In Shade. Sure, they are a bit mysterious, but man they know how to touch us through the music.
Who are Walty & Malik? Some might say they come from LA, California. Others could allude that they might be tad bit gothy. What is definitely provable is the fact that this duo of Walty (vocals, midi instruments, mixing & mastering) and Malik (guitar) have released their debut single called “Restraint, Recognition.”
The track is a bubbling cauldron of musical styles. The start has a grungy feel, that instantly became heavier, with hints of Type O Negative, but that could be Walty’s deep melodious vocals that are unhurried. There is almost definitely the influence of reggae rhythmically, and for me this makes “Restraint, Recognition” a bit unique, as those beats are incorporated with droning guitar of Malik, and those synth lines that add a dark edge. Yes, it is gothy, however more importantly, it feels cultural and alive, like Walty & Malik have added their own essence to the fabric of the music. That is one pretty cool debut.
Do you like a bit of trip hop and acid wave with you dark synth? Then Brisbane’s Mercy ofDawn might be what you have been waiting for. December was the release for ROTM 2.5:Dark Pentecost /// Lux Infernum. Trust me when I say you cannot type that fast without checking. Mercy of Dawn is also the human behind experimental noise project Disfigured Mistress. I could tell you who this is but then I would have to zodiac mind wipe you all.
The album consists of eight tracks and we are going to focus on two that have trippy visualisers. “Neon Babalon /// Lux Mendax” encapsulates trip hop, mixing it with modern pop, along with ambient industrial noise. There is a female vocalist who would not sound strange in a top 10 popular radio single, though the track itself undulates between electronic tranquillity and peeling rhythms that go in and out of syncopation.
The title “The 6th Sun /// Lux In Absentia” is an interesting juxtaposition, where the 6th sun could refer to the Aztec calendar which is about awakening, however the Latin lux means light and absentia means absence. At times, there is almost a taste of the Middle East, exotic and intangible, within the hypnotic beats and repetitive flow that drift and beguile, though there is always something unsettling beneath all of it… something off kilter that gnaws at the back of your mind.
Ambient trip hop? Industrial modern pop? Why be confined to one genre when you can indulge?! I think in the end, only Mercy Of Dawn truly knows the deeper meaning within ROTM 2.5: Dark Pentecost /// Lux Infernum, and it does have a spiritual oddness, but that might just be the thing to scratch that itch.
Hamartia means a fatal flaw in relation to a hero, and flawed heroes are very prominent in Greek mythology. Hamartia – Part One is also the new EP from Teknovore, aka George Klontzas, who also often steeps his techno industrial music in the Greco mythos he grew up with. The EP consists of five tracks and is out on the Infacted Recordings label.
The title track, “Hamartia” kicks this all off, with tribal rhythms that could rattle your teeth and shake a dancefloor, and there are glimmers of acid house synths in the mix, reminiscent of The Shamen and Prodigy. It is a whirlwind of electronics, with occasional female vocals.
The ancient Greeks believed in “Ekyprosis” or the intermittent destruction of the universe by fire, also known as conflagration, and then follows renewal. It hits like a burst of energy and plays a news reel about the dangers of Raves on the teenage mind. Maybe this is the destruction of the world as the parents knew it, when their children found a new reason to be, burning through the rave culture.
French duo Moaan Exis, feature on “Disclose,” giving the track a far more heavier and harsher industrial sound, as it throbs and bounces between revelation and gritty repulsion. The vocals want to reel you in with emotional attachment and then in the next moment revile you.
There is deception at hand with “Coercion” as it leads you down the dance path, towards…. what? The music is techno brilliance, that builds and swells, with an intermittent female vocalist, who stays perfectly in rhythm, hinting at the murky company being kept.
Last track is the entrancing “Autonomy,” featuring Marie L. Dragontown, better known for her project name Grabyourface, Dragontown lends her smouldering spoken words to the heavily techno orientated music, with a serious and very current underlaying message about targeting people for their nationality, faith and sexual preferences. When the personal becomes completely impersonal.
There is nothing flawed about this EP, and especially not the hero of our story, Klontzas. Hamartia is rich in electronic sounds that vary from techno and rave, through to cyber industrial and EBM. The beauty is that this is Part 1, so technically there is more Teknovore waiting in the wings to take us on another epic odyssey.
How can you turn down listening to a track called ‘An Industrial Disco Revenge Hymn‘? That line of words is like catnip and connected to the new single “Dead To You” by Brisbane project ÚMBRIEL. James Halloran is ÚMBRIEL and “Dead To You” is the second single off soon to be released debut album The Signs.
PHOTO BY MORGAN ROBERTSc
Halloran and a piano, is the introduction, like a cabaret performer, breathing life into a story in a darkened club, and it sounds like a tragedy with the crooned out lyrics ‘now she’s just a headline on the news..’ Rhythmic staccato style stutters that are instantly attention catching. Layers of harmonising vocals immerse your senses, while the music builds in sound between the electronic beats and inorganic stardust of the synths.
The vocals are perfection and I suspect Halloran has had training in stage singing, and if not, throw them a bouquet of roses anyway. This is a song crafted around the memory of a female friend, gone too soon, both emotional and yet, it feels like a celebration of this life that deserves to never to be forgotten. “Dead To You” is an ode to a being who lives in treasured memories, and do you truly fade away if never forgotten? ÚMBRIEL burns bright and fabulous in the genius “Dead To You.”
Steve Vil is Elektrikill, and March saw the release of the My Salvation mixes. Elektrikill is a dark electronic project hailing from New Jersey and “My Salvation” is off the not yet released album Küntzpiracy, though the EVOL Music Group.
PHOTO BY JAIME BENTON
Come hither ye seeming heretics of the faith, as your sins shall feed his salvation, as per the lyrics spouting perversion as an ideal, and really, what a way to go… The synths and rhythms hold a dark urgency, selling the narrative in a swirling push towards the edge of the dancefloor. Vil is the voice of devil sitting on your shoulder luring you into sin.
There is a very stylish video, mostly set in a beautiful curated gothic home and it is just the warm up for the extended remix of the single, which is just as infectious, and the added extra of the previously unreleased track “Unspeakable.” Music is “My Salvation” so get down and dirty with Elektrikill.
Dave McAnally’sSys Machine is back with his third album dropping in April, called Parts Unknown. Sys Machine has found a home with Glitch Mode Recordings, which has the extra benefit of drawing on the expertise of fellow Glitchers Sean Payne and Brad Huston for programming, mixing & production, while the artwork over the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland is by Jim Marcus.
Kimberly Kornmeier (Bow Ever Down) is the guest vocalist for two tracks, with one of them being the single “Fading.” Her voice is very recognisable and plaintive in the track, which is a slow burn with a emotional depth in the synths, reflecting back the lyrics.
The latest single “Shallow” is anything but, with a southern flavour of the lone cowboy in an electronic modern world, and there is a powerful message to be had. Do you believe what you are told to believe or do you trust your own eyes? This is a sentiment Orwell pushed and it still rings so true today.
“Doubtless” struck me, though leaning into Depeche Mode stylings, it really made me think of Project Pitchfork both vocally, rhythmically and flirting with the interludes of guitar and piano. I think this is an epic track and sublime in how it seems to make your soul want to take flight.
I know McAnally’s previous albums shed light onto how he sees things in the bigger world, but this album seems far closer to home. The inner struggle so to speak. And the music is not quite the more wham bam style, influenced by 90s industrial rock of yore, as it feels more reflective and synth based. We often fear the unknown when we are younger, and as we age some will run from it, while others will embrace it and welcome the adventure. Unknown Parts is Sys Machine’s growth into something wonderful.
Los Angeles based Siren Section are back with a new album called Separation Team. This independent release is the first for Siren Section’s members, James Cumberland and John Dowling, in eight years, and with nineteen tracks on said album, I am thinking they have been hording music just like dragons horde gold.
The single “Flinch” is straight EBM, all electronics and a droning rhythm to dance to. The vocals are distorted and low in the mix, so the most prominent part of the track are the beats and looping synths. However, in complete opposition is the track “Solidarity,” with clean vocals and dreamy guitar, while it all sits on a drifting cloud of synths. It swells in the chorus and sonically so different to “Flinch.”
There is the trap inspired “Minotaur” that has an off kilter fair ground feel that wavers between near manic and spiritual enlightenment. It sits next to the track “Deer Hunter” that could be at home in a piano bar, for the lost and hopeless, looking for hidden truths.
Not only do you get nineteen fully formed tracks, but there is such interesting blend of styles that keeps everything fresh and interesting. Shoegaze guitars, electro-industrial/industrial rock, post-punk roots…. you get the idea. The myriad of genres pulled on does not make the tracks overly busy, as the experimentation keeps it flowing and holds your attention. Siren Section are back in action with Separation Team.
The end of January had US label, Re:Mission Entertainment, dropping the Stuck EP, a cross pollination between Warm Gadget and Snowbeasts. The EP is three tracks long that is a blending of Warm Gadget’s brusque, 90s styled industrial and Snowbeasts‘ modern EBM.
The title track intro powerfully looms into being before you hear the very recognisable vocals of Tim Vester. The clattering beats and vocals lean into the buzz cut guitar, while above the tempst, there is the ghost like touch of synths and the ethereal singing of Elizabeth Virosa. You can hear the influence of Snowbeasts in the rhythms of “Bodiless.” The electronics screaming is high pitched, and soon are mixing with the twisting female vocals, looping into a hypnotic fever dream, which feels like it might never end.
Last track, “Lost Dub” is going to fool you on first listen. It seems to meander slowly, though suddenly atmosphere becomes heavy as a raucous electronic noise bubbles infect your ears. The rhythms do not change one iota, but you could swear things started moving faster and became more menacing, until we get to the winding down end.
Collaborations when done well will always be entertaining, as you tend to get the best of both worlds, where something new and exciting occurs. And so Stuck gives us an intersection meeting of Warm Gadget’s punchy, slap down, 90s metal industrial, tempered by the electronic gossamer nuances of Snowbeasts’ more modern style. I am all here for this!
Portland…… those crazy kids with the great darkwave music called Human Hollow are back with the latest single “Could You Feel It Again?“
Austin McKee (AKAÂ Nomenclature) and Lucia Luna share the vocal duties, both of them pulling at your heartstrings, with Luna’s singing wisping like tendrils that are ghost like and haunting. The electronics are equally atmospheric, wavering between lightness and black sickness sitting at the base of your soul, while the guitar gives the track extra teeth.
The band has said this is a song about disintegration and I guess it is up to the listener and how they interpreter the lyrics as I think it will mean different things to different people, but the crux of “Could You Feel It Again?” is this song is about devastation of loss of someone that means everything. The vocals are beautiful, but filled with desperation and overwhelming sadness, however it is the music that keeps us grounded. Human Hollow could be dark pop angels.
Onyx Music Reviews 