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The 31st of October was a rather busy time for releases that I’m working my way through. In that vein, the Boston based label, Info Sec Records has put together a compilation of electronic artists called Music For Hacking.

INFO SEC RECORDS

The Neon Droid brings a “Cloud Of Ashes“, sailing across the net, floating in the electronic world, while “terminus” from Rap2h has its video games inspired tones.

There is the cool beats and ambience of Inter Gritty’s “The Chase” or you can go full cyber angst with Psi Drive with the tracks, “Master’s Revenge” and “Hail Overlords“…. plus there is the synthwave crossed with crunchiness of “REJUVENATE” by TWINKLE MARIA きらきら マリア.

Not all is instrumental, with Neon Tuesday covering “Rhythm Of The Night” which is a bit more calm that the original and later also providing another cover in the form of the Amiga game theme from “Lotus III” which is full on cheesy and amazing. ThyHarvest has this wonderful techno sound, with synths trickling down, making you think of the Matrix code in “Net Terminal“.

M73 is surfing the “Interlinked” data, like a stream of conciousness, with dark synth intent and, oh my, _NetNomad with “Build“, makes me think of the old games like Prince Of Persia, with its whimsical chip tune style.

This is another project where a label is showcasing independent musicians to help raise their profiles but also garner more interest in the electronic scene. There is an inclusiveness in this compilation with synthwave along side darkwave, chip tune, ambient and even industrial, all sharing a deep passion for experimental electronica. So plug in and become one with the interface with some Music For Hacking.

Music for Hacking | Info Sec Recs (bandcamp.com)

https://neondroid.bandcamp.com/

https://rap2h.bandcamp.com/

https://intergritty.bandcamp.com/

https://psidrive.bandcamp.com/

https://twinklemariamusic.bandcamp.com/track/it-s-out-of-this-flaesh-world

https://touzimsky.bandcamp.com/album/rhythm-of-the-night

https://thyharvesting.bandcamp.com/

https://m73dk.bandcamp.com/

https://netnomad.bandcamp.com/

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Halloween brought us the spooky release of the latest Simon Carter & Fabsi EP, Witch But Not Famous. With two new tracks, nine remixes and three guest mixers in the ghoulish countenance of Studio-X, C-Lekktor, Teknovore and Ruinizer, what is there not to love?!

“Omens” is just a smooth techno/ electronic filled track with Fabsi’s vocals meandering through the mix, predicting your doom. There are three remixes of this track but we will turn our attention to the Studio-X mix. You can picture the light show on the dance floor for this reimagining and Studio-X almost literally wind this up to maximum effect, before dropping the explosive techno.

The next new track is “Witch Hit” like an out of control steam train on its way to wild woods where you just know some crazy shit is going to happen. Again there are three remixes and we take the guest artist’s version, C-Lekktor doing the honours. They have taken the wonderful Fabsi’s cackle and used it to perfection in this heavier industrial customisation.

Next we have the track “We Are The Witches“, that was previously released on, The Bitches Potion. So we look to the last two remixes of the three by Teknovore and Ruinizer. Teknovore just has this beautiful symmetry between mesmerising soundscape and glorious danceability. He has stripped back the track and injected a magical night ride. Love the hint of something exotic within while launching into a rhythm infused piece of joy by Ruinizer.

Fabsi brings the Witch vibes with her vocals and lyrics while Carter pulls it all together with his enormous talent for amazing techno industrial music. With that talent also comes some wonderful friendships, and these musicians definitely help showcase that artistry as well as their own. More fun than a naked night dance in the moonlight because we are Witch But Not Famous.

https://simon-carter.bandcamp.com/album/witch-but-not-famous

https://www.facebook.com/FabsiMoon

https://www.facebook.com/HumansCantReboot

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Beware, there is something in the air, in the night breeze. The Contagion Collective are a group of dark alternative musicians and producers, from around Australia, under this banner for the purpose of supporting each other and the scene. Their first compilation came out on the 22nd of October, titled Outbreak Vol. 1, which indicates that there is a lot more to come. This has all been facilitated by Brisbane label Viral Records but all proceeds will go back to the Contagion Collection, for they are legion.

I am not going to breakdown the whole release because there are thirteen tracks but also I want people to get curious and have a listen as they won’t be disappointed. From New South Wales musicians, Cheap Coffins, with his glorious metal infused industrial track, “Liminal Self” and ALUCVRD’s “Nail Fetish Hate God” with those drum and bass drops.

Queensland is well represented with dark rock juggernauts Killtoys with “Come Alive“, the amazing electronics in “Black Summer” by HOSTILE ARCHITECT and eat the sensual “Brain Candy” on offer by Jerm. Other artists include Dirt Factory, Disfigured Mistress, Isserley, NyteShayde, Shadowbox, The Grey, Vargil and ZCLUSTER. This lot pack a punch and like assorted chocolates, not all will suit your taste but some will become firm favourites.

You might notice that you can’t buy individual tracks on Bandcamp and there is a good reason for this. First off, if you really like a song, then you have the chance to go to the band’s Bandcamp page and purchase it directly, perhaps even checking out more of their stuff. Secondly, the compilation doesn’t cost that much and you are getting a big slice of music to sit down with, possibly finding new favourite acts to follow. That’s called winning.

This is something close to my heart and kudos to Viral Records having put a lot of effort into the compilation. Australia literally has a plethora of talented darkwave and industrial musicians but often they go unrecognised both overseas and even in their own country.

We are putting you on high alert, raising awareness, raising the stakes. Catch the infection and give it to your mates. The is the Contagion Collective and this is only the beginning.

https://contagioncollective.bandcamp.com/album/outbreak-vol-1

https://www.facebook.com/contagioncollective

https://contagioncollective.au/

https://www.facebook.com/viralrecordsau

https://viralrecords.com.au/

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When i was younger, Ministry and Rammstein were considered industrial metal. Meet Dunwich Dreams of Albuquerque, who dropped the single “Rise Of The Seventh Sun” on October the 21st.

The beginning seems pleasant enough with synths playing until the drums come in and it all changes. The vocals roar and bellow at that unnaturally low tone that constitutes death or black metal, though you can still understand the lyrics.

“Rise Of The Seventh Sun” is heavy, visceral and like a punch to the guts. It bangs along, savage and cryptic. I have the disclaimer of not being a metal expert but have the feeling there are others out there that will love this heavier style of industrial metal from Dunwich Dreams.

Home

https://dunwichdreams.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/dunwichdreams

https://www.instagram.com/dunwich_dreams/

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When it became October the 15th, Orrphoiz dropped his debut album, Kill The Gods. German based, Orrphoiz, is a mixture of dark synthwave and EBM with a much harsher edge.

It’s an angry and emotional album, raging against the injustice of the world we live in and the systems we live under. – Orrphoiz

When they tell me they have an album and it turns out to have a lot of extra stuff on it….this is Kill The Gods, chock full of original tracks, some featuring guest artists and guest remixes, with a rich variety of styles. There are eleven original tracks, with feature artist, grabyourface, plus a further six remixes, done by ES23, SynthAttack, STAHLSCHLAG, Miss Suicide, BolPaVoX and RNZR.

Let us kick off with “Impostor” with a message of doom and Orrphoiz’s rate of verbalization really impresses me, like a machine going off and without missing a beat. Vocally, “The Lost Ones“, is creepy, dissolving into far more soulful tone. All the while, the synths hypnotise your senses. “Electric Crash” might be the song to sum up the album with its pumping beats and circular rhythms, about being under the influence of electronic music, unable to get enough. The intricate and sparkling instrumental track, “Gathering The Tribe“, wends it’s way like an Arabian tale. The grabyourface collab, “Eat The Rich” makes you wonder how one can say so much without seemingly taking a breath. There is a venom within the overwhelming sound and the vocals. The dance grooves let fly in “Kill The Gods“, pounding, pounding, pounding to remind you that those smiling plastic faces, want to lull you into a false sense of security.

The premise that all human bleed the same and have all the same fears and needs, so why do we feel the right to wage war and take another’s life is “Industrial Hate Machine“. It is abrasive and feels like splinters of metal under your skin. “Synth City” is yet another instrumental tracks with a beautiful array of whirling electronic synthwave, pulsating and seductively warm. The synthesized Hatsune Miku features on “Plastic Popstar“….wow, so smooth and the vocals are to die for. How do you express the perfection of a track? We are somewhat back to harsher vocals, intermingled with the smooth in “Femboy Incubus“, and I have to say I have flashbacks to early Eisbrecher. Last of the original tracks is “Dancefloor Annihilator” and a instrumental to finish off with. Musical sirens and techno inspired beats consume you.

The RZNR mix of “Kill The Gods“, throbs with demonic intent, while the keyboard work on “Electric Crack“, has SynthAttack’s fingerprints all over it. ES23 also gives us another version of “Electric Crack”, heavier and dirtier, then we get the crunchy beats of STAHLSCHLAG, as the light and darkness of “The Lost Ones“, are given an epic soundscape platform. MissSuicide imbues “Femboy Incubus“, with a glittering synth dance makeover and “The Impostor” mix by BolPaVoX, has a rather enticing rhythmic noise attitude.

First of all. I was not expecting that voice. When Orrphoiz drops the growling and sings, that voice is as smooth as silk and as deep as a placid, dark lake. Utterly stunning. The album itself is a tapestry of styles, carefully woven together and it works. The feature artists and mixers have really gone to town with the tracks allotted to them and it is a treat to get to hear their work and interpretations. Well worth the money as you get a lot and there is so much to explore in Kill The Gods by Orrphoiz.

Kill the Gods | Orrphoiz (bandcamp.com)

Orrphoiz | Facebook

https://push.fm/fl/qctamjws

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It seems the guys from Biomechanimal have slapped us with the single, “From The Mouths Of Beasts“, the latest unnatural, animalistic track from the London based band.

The sound from the outset is huge. There is their signature hardstyle mixed with industrial but also there is the introduction of something akin to symphonic metal, swirling in morass, while the vocals snarl and growl, for there is no taking back that which comes from the mouths of beasts.

I don’t think it’s my imagination, when I say, Biomechanimal are getting heavier. Sure there are the bass drops that you expect but a bigger, more epic metal aspect has been creeping in. How much heavier can they go? Watch this space.

From The Mouths Of Beasts | Biomechanimal (bandcamp.com)

Biomechanimal | Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/biomechanimal/

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French duo, The Shadow’s Gone Out, are sounding the Final Alarm, an EP released on the 23rd of September. From Tours, Nourtier Julien (drum, samples) and Enault Anthony (bass, samples) are bringing the instrumental industrial to you.

Sped up ragtime frivolity, followed by industrial tribal rhythms introduce you to the single ”Pills“. It is angry and voluminous, see-sawing with bridled near contempt. Welcome to the crazed circus of “Sous La Pluie” which means in the rain, as it climbs from peak to peak, gathering strength with the military cuts pervading the rising pressure. “Final Alarm” is the last track, full of foreboding and the promise of annihilation, klaxons calling out and military chatter join the ferocious drumming and underlying bass.

Always nice to hear a real drummer in the industrial scene, as it adds a richer tone to the music, especially when joined with heavy bass. There is a strong military feel induced by the samples as The Shadow’s Gone Out seems to be issuing an ominous warning. So beware the Final Alarm.

Final Alarm | The Shadow’s Gone Out (bandcamp.com)

The Shadow’s Gone Out | Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/tsgo_officiel/

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Riveting Music are a US label, whom have decided to make a stand and with the help of a whole bunch of artists, created a compilation of twenty-one cover songs, all previously recorded by powerhouse women of pop/rock. The recording of this compilation is in reaction to the overturning of the historic Wade Vs Roe and the degradation of a woman’s rights to have autonomy over her own body.

There are three singles off the album consisting of The Joy Thieves robust kick arse version of Pat Benatar’s “Love Is A Battlefield“, Laurie Anderson’s “The Day The Devil” by The Blue Hour, which I think is much better than the original, and File Transfer Protocol with their rather stunning recreation of Eurythmics’, “Here Comes The Rain Again“. Of course there are plenty more musicians and their cover versions to encounter here and most of the song’s originate in the 80s, going into the 90s, so there is a chance to find music you do or don’t know, as well as checking out current electronic/industrial musicians.

All money raised will go to the Global Fund for Women but not only that, it is about raising the profile of this subject and saying that this new trend against the rights of women is not okay, because if this is happening in a first world country such as North America, then how long before other countries decide to go down the same path? My body, my life. So fucking Regulate This!

Regulate This! | Riveting Music (bandcamp.com)

Riveting Music | Facebook

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Melbourne’s Snog, with David Thrussell firmly at the helm, stole a place in our industrial hearts, from the first time we heard “Corporate Slave” back in the early 90s. Now in 2022, a new EP, Jaded has been released on the Australian label, Lightarmour Editions, in both digital and limited coloured vinyl. The track “Jaded“, was previously released on the album Eight Offerings For The Undead, but now you get to hear it remixed, with others, rounding the EP to six tracks.

“Jaded” is a bit like rant poetry but with an electronic twist. Thrussell airs his grievances about a world that had left him more than a little dusty. Hushed tones creepily balance over the music. Brisbane based, Nam Shub Of Enki remixes “Jaded“, with his style described as grimecore, though I like to think mad man let loose and having a damn good time. Nam Shub lays it down with his signature tones and enthusiastic rhythms. One last remix by Sir Real, of “Jaded“, gives us an almost darkwave feel with those synths mixed with a modern tribal beat, lulling you into a trance.

Oh my, it’s the “Spaetzle Machine” the DiscoMachine RMX!. As expected, one machine mixing another is going to result in a robotic love fest. The Morpho RMX of “The Sweet, Sweet Treacle (Of Surrender)” trickles through your senses, the electronics burying into your brain. Last track has a near magical aspect to it. The Theme to “The Great Reset” has never been released. Brooding and languid, it runs at its own pace, which highlight the brighter synths that meander. It reminds me very much of work the late Vangellis.

I might be a bit biased as Snog gave the Australian electronic and industrial scene a good kick, back in the 90s, showing that world leading quality music was not something just from Europe and the USA. Thrussell has been at the forefront of some pretty kick arse albums since then and this special edition EP proves he’s still forging ahead with some powerful allies.

Jaded E.P. | Snog | Lightarmour Editions (bandcamp.com)

Snog | Facebook

Lightarmour Editions | Facebook

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The label Machina ad Noctem, is back with another compilation, inspired by author Philip K. Dick, called PDK II. As like the first compilation, this is a group of musicians whom have pursued their love of the science fiction, written by Dick, though the music they compose.

The beginning of “VALIS” by Edge Of Decipher, starts off hesitantly but soon grows in sweeping assurance, waking out of dream perhaps, into another plain of reality. Cumsleg Borenail gives us “Man Has Not Eaten God, God Has Eaten Man” is as quirky as the name suggests, synths like synapses sparking in a metaverse, unable to be contained by man or God.

A train has set the rhythm in “Second Variety” by Non Union, on a journey to who knows where, but it seems otherworldly and ominous, before we are met again by Edge Of Decipher. The track, “The Future We Create“, inspired by Ubik, speaks of stars, moons and whirling galaxies beyond ours. The experimental HyMettus Woods, bleeps, fades in and out of static in “A Scanner Darkly“, trying to find the rapidly fluctuating channel but constantly on the knife’s edge until the fuzz clears momentarily, rapidly gaining veracity.

The only track with vocals is Priestessdeath and their “Like Tears In The Rains V” with smoldering female singing that meanders like rivulets of water down a pane of glass, inspired by the Orient. A change of pace for Edge Of Decipher as the music becomes urgent and the synths are trying to catch your attention for “The Agentic State“. There is a movie like quality to this track which leads onto the final number, “Eye In The Sky” by Non Union, as the electronics reach out in waves, invading all spaces and detecting all.

The music is eclectic, electronic and often experimental just as science fiction is. The tracks are like points of light in a sea of literature and dark electronic music, bidding you to further sink into the worlds of Philip K. Dick with them. So I bid you adieu on your journey as you experience this new adventure with PKD II.

PKD II: Philip K. Dick | Machina ad Noctem | machina ad noctem (bandcamp.com)