Lurking in Sydney, Australia, is a man of musical integrity and intrigues, only known by the moniker, INfest8. He is a producer and mix master of music but also a member of other bands such as ZCluster and international act, Konqistador. However, this month he has released a solo single called, “Under“.
So new, in fact, there is no YouTube video to accompany it. “Under” is dark and foreboding in its heaviness, given weight by the purposeful industrial beat and raw crunchiness. The squealing electronics and grinding guitar in stark contrast to the laid back vocals with light synth lines.
Currently, INfest8 is working on new material for both ZCluster and Konqistador but it is really good to hear some of his independent work. Not only is “Under” a great single but it’s also free to download from Bandcamp. So what are you waiting for?
Mach Fox for the last decade, has been the man behind Zwaremachine, however Conquest 3000 is the first album where the act has become a three piece. Fox (vocals, synths, programming), based in the United States, joined by D-Bot (bass guitar, vocals) whom is also based in Minnesota and DeinOffizier (drums, percussion), who hails from Europe. D-Bot had played previously with the Mach Fox band and for a number of years playing live with Zwaremachine.
Conquest 3000 is a mixture of re-recorded tracks that have appeared on previous EPs and singles, as well as four new tracks. The tracks like ‘International Hero“, that appeared originally on the Ripping At The Fabric EP, have had subtle changes to the sound. My focus however is on the four brand spanking new numbers.
ZWAREMACHINE
The cybernetic track, “Toymaker“, flows with hypnotic synth lines and gritty vocals. About, not only enhancing human bodies but also replacing everything that no longer works, creating a human like doll.
For my money, “Parasol” is the best of the new songs. It has this late 70s, early 80s inspired funk sound, mixed with with the more modern vision of Zwaremachine. It is a seamless dance number about a world, where the atmosphere has been destroyed and the population is protected by an umbrella. Science fiction or a portent of science fact?
A serious Suicide Commando vibe with “ZeroContainment“. There is great energy and hooky synth lines that sparkle and drag you in. A song about one fire that can’t be stopped and it could be about the burning up the dance floor with this track.
There is one place that authority and corporations cannot control us.. our dreams. The last of these new tracks is “Until Tomorrow” and it is about the sovereignty of the mind. Love the chimes that ring out in this angry and punchy number.
Already, you can see the influence of the newest members in Zwaremachine, which are only going to push these guys into good places if the latest tracks are anything to go by. Zwaremachine was already a cutting edge, industrial act, experimenting in their sound. Would highly recommend listening to the new tracks from Conquest 3000, to get a taste of things to come!
If someone was to ask me if we need a deep fake song with 80s electronic musician ThomasDolby, the unequivocal answer would be yes. J.G. And The Robots released the single “I’m Thomas Dolby (featuring Thomas Dolby)”, in July on the label eMERGENCYheARTS.
The electronic mind behind this project is J.G. or Jay Gillian, who, before he became a Robosapien cyborg, was an early proponent of electronic music in Austin, Texas, with the synthpop group T-4-2, in the 80s.
The computer generated voice of Dolby goes between sounding highly electronic and human. In the electronic vein of Daft Punk, J.G. And The Robots have picked up the mantel with not only their sound but also the incredible visuals that accompany the singles, especially with the beautiful deep fake Dolby. This is such a likeable track, very easy on the ears and worth having a small chuckle at the fate of computer generated Mr Dolby.
if you are a fan of Matt Hart and his apocalypse inspired, industrial style, then you would be well aware that he has been releasing songs throughout the last year, remixed by friends and acquaintances. July was the release of Tales OfTerror And Chaos Retold, a culmination of these remixes that includes three extra and new mixes by Antibody, Spankthenun and Simon Cater.
MATT HART
The first of the new mixes is “Outlaws” by Antibody. It’s dirty and dirge like with the sonar like echoing off beat and that wonderful electronic heaviness.
“Killoreality” for me has hints of Elecric Hellfire Club with the metallic menaces of the story enhanced by Spankthenun. It definitely has this band’s fingerprints all over it. It has a distinct harkening back to the early 90s that mixes well with Hart’s harsher dance style.
The Simon Carter mix of “Triolith” is almost hypnotic with a near constant beat and a slight undertone of dread just below the surface. It’s a great trance dance version.
in a way this compilation has everything from old school style to break core. Acts like Witch Of The Vale brings a heavy, verbose beauty and the ESA mix is a thunderous earworm that makes you want to move. MattHart’sTales Of Terror And Chaos Retold is definitely worth a listen because you don’t just get Matt Hart but all those other amazing artists with their interpretations. Put a smile on your dial.
in 1996, I met a couple, Georgina Emery and Ken Evans, as they were looking to get their band into live gigs. Tycho Brahe were signed to the now iconic, Brisbane based and independent electronic label, Trans:Com. I have a feeling their first show may have been at the club I ran back then. They played a very catchy number called “Dreams Of Dying” that became a crowd favourite. That was 25 years ago and to mark this anniversary, Tycho Brahe have re-cut a new version that was released in May this year.
KEN EVANS & GEORGINA EMERY TYCHO BRAHE
You could always hear the New Order and Human League influence in the music. There are the bright synth lines, the danceable rhythm and the catchy hook chorus that will get stuck in your head. For me it doesn’t sound very much different, except maybe cleaner sound wise and maybe that’s the point. It was pretty good to start off with and instantly drew in the gothic crowd.
Yes this is highly nostalgic for me. It was a time when we were younger and life revolved around going to the next nightclub, the next gig and who was dating who. In saying that, it was always a stand out song that got people dancing with its strong synth pop and electronic roots.
Ken had gone on to work with his idol, PeterHook of New Order fame but it’s nice to see Tycho Brahe keeping the flame burning. You can check them out on Bandcamp and the single is for free download. I have never forgotten and I still have the original demo tape they gave me.
Ever since the Shiv-r first album, Hold My Hand, came out on Infacted Records/Metropolis in 2010, they have gone from strength to greater heights. Members, Pete Crane and Ben Bulig are Australian lads who have taken their sound to the rest of the world, playing some of the biggest EBM festivals. They have lived abroad but now call Sydney home once more. In that time Pete started up the music label, Blind MiceProductions and through this label, have self released their fifth album, Kill God Ascend.
PETE CRANE OF SHIV-R
From the first chords of the title track, “Kill GodAscend“, you know Shiv-r is taking no prisoners. It races over you like a wave, to then retreat and hit you again with karmatic insight. You cannot attain enlightenment until you no longer hold onto anything and kill the god like ego.
“Borne From Hate” is a banger of a track that powers away and makes you wish you were on a dance floor at the time. Beautifully harsh and electronically cold which suits the title completely.
With an infectious chorus, “Spark” is a jewel of industrial pop. All it takes is that spark to ignite a revolution. It rolls along at a danceable beat and surely is going to be a single at some point.
There is the slow burn of “Promises Of Armageddon“, which won’t disappoint with its ideology that nothing will kill you faster than boredom.
“Blue Turns To Black” feels thoughtful and peppered in yearning. The vocals low and hushed with the near reverent music, an ode to the fact that we can eventually find the light in even the darkest situations.
Emotions are simmering and the tension high in “Empire“. Don’t ask me to fight your meaningless endeavours rings so true of these times. This is one of two numbers on the album written solely by Crane, the other being “Borne From Hate“. It’s a cracking number as well, with harsh vocals and sparkling synths.
Yet another stonkling brilliant tune is “Stone AndSkin“. This is possibly the Bulig/Crane version of a love song wrapped in a dance rhythm. Holy crap, the chorus with that fabulous synth line, combined with Crane’s softened timbre, just makes this fly.
2020 for all intents and purposes, was really a stressful year, dealing with a pandemic, race riots and far right leaning governments around the globe. This is reflected in “World EndsTonight” with its course, crunchy textures and bleak, confronting lyrics.
Doom, doom, doom, in the “Valley Of Death“. It is like moving through sludge, slow and trudging until the chorus which lifts up its broken wings to escape the mire.
BLIND MICE PRODUCTIONS
“Turpentine” is the last track, about the lies and things we accept in relationships in order to stay together. Crane voices his melancholic misgivings and the music Interlude is almost like impromptu jazz.
So much exploration going on in this album. Life, death, morals and spirituality. A blurring of good versus evil…. the beautiful imagery of angels and demons being one in the same, a reflection of humans. If you are looking for a EBM dance album, this isn’t it. Yes, there are great danceable tracks, and there are slower numbers, but all are thought provoking and will touch your soul. The production is flawless and a reflection of the music created by Shiv-r. Crane and Bulig are glorious, blackened angels and Kill God Ascend their opus.
So do you enjoy pop influenced industrial music? Once slightly maligned by industrial purists, this hard edged and yet very melodic form has become a genuinely enjoyable style. Eric K is Unitcode:Machine from Dallas and he has been around since 2004 with several albums under his belt. There is a new album in the works, but for now you can enjoy the newly released single, “Fight“.
Yeah this is a song going to war. The start is militant in its tone and leads into the lyrics of someone pushed to their very limits, with no other option than to battle for the right to live. Such a catchy chorus and danceable beat.
ERIC K – UNITCODE:MACHINE
In some ways this reminds me of VNV Nation with their more gutsy, emotion filled numbers, if Ronan Harris was to be a bit more industrial. Yes it’s going to be thought provoking but damn, you will want to have a bit of a dance at the same time with “Fight” from Unitcode:Machine.
June the fourth was the release date for the single, “Ten Points On The Damage Meter“. How To Loot Brazil are the German band behind the single, with Maik Timmermann at the helm since 2006, who proclaim to be a fusion of riot grrrl, pop/punk, under pinned by electronics.
HOW TO LOOT BRAZIL
I agree the beat has a D.A.F. quality to it and the female vocals are kind of cute but this really works for song. It’s short and punchy, meant to get you bouncing and bopping along. There are guitar riffs and rhyming gimme gimme gimmie with ten points on the damage meter.
It’s a tight number that packs a lot into under three minutes and is about the horror movie genre which is deftly referred to in the music video. “Ten Points On The Damage Meter” is in essence a fun song and it gets more ear worm like with every play. How To Loot Brazil will get you moving and they can be found on most music platforms, including Spotify.
IDM or intelligent dance music can sometimes be a confusing title for some. It often isn’t really danceable but rather electronic music that experiments with electronic rhythm by creating all the noise within the structure called music. For more than decade, Tapage from Hilversum in the Netherlands, has been creating electronic ambient music and May saw the release of his new album Recover, out on the label, PointSource Electronic Arts.
The first piece is “Test“, a low tonal number that tentatively reaches out towards you before the clicks begin. Like a radio, with someone flicking through without any discernible channels, just spurts of static that chirp away. “114120A11” even though electronic, makes me think of a dark, tranquil forest in prehistoric times, where insects talk to each other and large bird like creatures call out in the canopy, filled with the beat of life.
A darker turn with “Begin“, deep and ringing with those clicks and snaps that Tapage has in spades. Next could be mistaken as a performance piece on harp, that has gone horribly wrong, warped chimes flood your senses. “We Will Become” has an apocalyptic, horror ambience….. possibly otherworldly.
Almost like stars blinking in and out in the night sky comes “Prolog“. It does give the impression aliens are trying to control us and then transmission just stops. “Peepsqueek” is a multitude of squeaks that culminate in a rhythm vortex, perhaps inferring to drum and bass.
A dreamscape of space. Not so much out of space but the general term when it comes to “Able To NSet“. There are the clicks and whirs but also a lightness and expanse. The eighth track is “Ancient Tiger Proton” and it features Access To Arasaka, who fit in perfectly, also known for dark experimental ambient, that compliments Tapage’s. This feels epic and austere in a way, like you are walking the halls of the gods.
The last three tracks are remixes. Experimental artist, Klunks, re-imagines “We All Became“, that burbles along like a cosmic stream. “Able ToNSet” is broken down by The Fellow Passenger, to a wandering, ethereal quality. The last remix is by Tapage, of the track “Test“, which has developed wings it seems, elevated from the drone, though that aspect it still present.
I’m never going to say I’m an expert at electronic music but in essence it’s the visceral reaction that counts. This is technically good but it’s also touching you at another level, with how it makes you feel without words to paint a picture and that’s always very special. Recover isn’t going to be for everyone but I’m also very sure Tapage know this as well and sometimes it is worth going out of your comfort zone to experience something that will take you unexpected places.
Kieren Hills aka DorfpunkTapes, is somewhat of an Australian renaissance man. His love of underground fare means he performs in more than his fair share of bands, from crust punk to goth, though his punk attitude shines through all. One of his incarnations is his one man, industrial punk act called SchkeuditzerKreuz. In September of 2020, the EP Give Me Nothing was released.
KIEREN HILLS – SCHKEUDITZER KREUZ
This is your “Warning” that starts with a nationalistic anthem of a non existent, fascist state. It smacks of Laibach as it launches, hammering into your skull, the staccato beat with wailing siren. The warning is about a population devoid of control, will find others to exert power over to prove they exist.
Metallic industrial rhythm heralds in “Amerika:, a song written in the time of the Trump presidency and on a personal computer that had no working ‘C’. The angst of watching the erosion of rights, injustice and wholesale lies are ground out by Hills.
Consumerism drives economies, drives environmental destruction, plunges many into poverty and leaves many always wanting what they do not need. Greed is the theme behind, “But What If“. Screeching electronics, contorted in the fervour before the final meltdown.
“Traitor” is a slower track in some ways with an electronic sludginess like sonic glue, however surprisingly does speed up with a near psychedelic overdrive.
Final track, “Give Me Nothing” is the equivalent of Edvard Münch’sThe Scream, a cry to escape the tragedy of life. Not necessarily escaping through death but no longer plugged into the machine that pounds away with fuzzy fury.
It’s a little gem of an EP and gets better every play. It is punchy and doesn’t pull any punches about the state of society in general but then it just wouldn’t be punk if it didn’t have something to say. Should you ever get the chance to see SchkeuditzerKreuz live, take it. The experience will blow your mind but in the meantime indulge in Give Me Nothing on Bandcamp for nameyourprice.
Onyx Music Reviews 