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Nuovo album poer gli italiani Style Syndrome, attivi fin dagli anni 80

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WseQFH6OZZQ

www.goodfellas.it/index.php/portfolio-articoli/style-sindr...

HOS 476LP
PRICE: $18.00
CAT #: HOS 476LP
FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC
ALBERICH/LUSSURIA Borgia LP
Following on from that hugely sought-after Green Graves issue by Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement (2016), Hospital Productions re-examine a longstanding tradition of industrial ambient music on this exceptional collaboration between two of the label's most consistently innovative, highly absorbing producers. Originally released in a private press run of handmade tapes in 2016, the collaboration was made in person with both Alberich and Lussuria making use of digital synths in homage to that distinctly European scene of the mid '90s that combined hardcore industrial textures with ambient pulses. It's a sound you'll be familiar with if you've immersed yourself in the most unnervingly quiet sections of the last few Prurient albums, building a kind of futuristic soundscape situated somewhere between David Lynch, Kevin Drumm, and a more dystopian variant of Brad Fiedel's distinctive soundtrack to The Terminator (1984). Alberich's instinct for harsh propulsive rhythms is tempered here by Lussuria's weird topography, the digital rendering adding a kind of artificial foundation quite removed from the throbbing earthiness you'd find on a hardware session. Instead, the more linear trajectory of so many dark ambient excursions is replaced with a constantly shifting landscape, veering from an oddly displaced vocal narrative into pounded, crumbling rhythms at some points, while those sinking sub bass sands keep things resolutely atmospheric for the duration. There are no concessions to that blackened aesthetic here, if you were into Green Graves or want to immerse yourself in one of the most brutally atmospheric albums you'll hear this year, check this out. Edition of 500.

SR 430LP
PRICE: $15.50
CAT #: SR 430LP
FILE UNDER: ROCK
BABILS Ji Ameeto LP
Babils are an atypical Brussels underground band, mixing rock, new wave, psych, kraut, experimental, and repetitive music. Ji Ameeto is the fourth album from Babils. From the duet formed in the late '90s by Gabriel Séverin and Michel Duyck, opening out over the years, the five current members of Babils meet monthly at the Central Laboratory to improvise freely, without any restraint. All the sessions are recorded and archived. The very first album by Babils, The Joint Between, made of a selection of improvised and reworked tracks titled, came out in 2007 on the label Stilll and was received positively by underground newspapers and many American college radios. This CD was nominated for the Qwartz, awarded by Radio France. In 2009, Stephan Barbery saw his friends on stage at Ancienne Belgique. Expressing his enthusiasm, he was invited to join the crew. The band, then made of six members, released two CDs: QTAB in 2011 and WAH! in 2013. Unfortunately, they will never play six on stage. Michel Duyck, after suffering, passed away on November 8, 2014. Ji Ameeto is the first album of Babils without Michel. Personnel: Gabriel Séverin, aka Rob(u)Rang (Jardin D'usure, Moonsanto, Silk Saw, Tremolo Dual, etc.) - many things + mix and production; Etienne Vernaeve (Isolation Ward, Tongue) - drums; Patrick Bellefroid - bass; Lukas Vangheluwe - trumpet; Stephan Barbery (Thrills, Digital Dance, Ink., Instead Of, Snowy Red, Inside Landscapes) - guitar.

www.subrosa.net/en/catalogue/soundworks/babils-ji-ame...

ARTEFACT “Votive Offering” LP on ADAGIO 830......................LP 12.00
Post-Punk with a dark gothic touch from Cardiff/Wales. Not only
because of their female singer, there’s a resemblance to SIOUXSIE
AND THE BANSHEES, but soundwise also reminiscent of bands like the
SOUND, BAUHAUS, COMSAT ANGELS or more recently the EDITORS...
10 songs on vinyl, with download-code included.
adagio830-records.bandcamp.com/album/votive-offering

PIERRE & BASTIEN “Musique Grecque” LP on SDZ RECORDS/France......LP 16.00
New third full album by this band from Paris/France. Fans of
FRUSTRATION take note, here’s another French Post-Punk hit!
Despite the confusing name, it’s not a duo, but a threepiece band
(and none of the is called Pierre or Bastien...) with 9 songs of
minimalist dark Garage-Punk with nearly industrial rhythms. Their
sound is a derivative of influenes from WIPERS and WIRE, as much
as from French bands like METAL URBAIN or DOGS.
pierreetbastien.bandcamp.com/album/musique-grecque-lp

RANK/XEROX “M.Y.T.H.” 4Song-EP on ADAGIO 830................12”+MP3 12.00
Almost 6 years after their debut-album, here’s now 4 more songs
by this band from San Francisco. Claustrophobic Post-Punk with a
heavy dose experimental Synth-Pop added to their sound, being in
the tradition of bands like NERVOUS GENDER.
rankxerox.bandcamp.com/

UKRYTE ZALETY SYSTEMU s/t LP on ANTENA KRZYKU.................LP+CD 15.00
Repress on red 180g-vinyl with CD-version included. First LP by
band from Wroclaw/Poland. Post-Punk with a touch of Cold Wave in
their style, sharp sounds and rhythmic structures. Influenced by
WIRE and GANG OF FOUR.
uzs-ukrytezaletysystemu.bandcamp.com/releases

CANDELILLA “Camping” on TROCADERO/ZICKZACK....................LP+CD 19.00
New full album by this all female band from Munich, vinyl with
CD-version included! Angular and atonal Post-Punk with references
to bands like X-MAL DEUTSCHLAND and MALARIA.
candelilla.bandcamp.com/

DYSCONTROL “Living Without” LP on P.TRASH RECORDS................LP 12.50
First album (12 songs) by threepiece band from Halifax/Canada.
A Post-Punk amalgamation of WIPERS and MISSION OF BURMA influences,
mixed with the style of UK bands like CRISIS, and sometimes their
sound even reminds of the early MINUTEMEN.
dyscontrol.bandcamp.com/


MEAT WAVE “The Incessant” LP on BIG SCARY MONSTERS (UK)..........LP 21.50
New third full album by this band from Chicago, 12 songs recorded
with Steve Albini. With a slightly darker edge in their sound,
but still like a combination of HOT SNAKES/DRIVE LIKE JEHU-like
Post-Punk mixed with Garage-Rock and hymnic pop-sensibilities.
LP in gatefold-cover with download-code included!
meatwavechicago.bandcamp.com/album/the-incessant


NOSEHOLES 3Song-EP on IN A CAR/CHU CHU RECORDS...................7” 5.00
Debut-EP by this band from Hamburg (feat. ex-das eNDe, a.o.), and
it’s No Wave Fake-Funk Post-Punk! Non-pretentious and regardless
of any rules and regulations. Minimalistic and free, and in this
sense it reminds of the same approach that once bands like the
CONTORTIONS, RAINCOATS or BUSH TETRAS had... Not exactly similar,
but in the same vein. And it’s alright if you like saxaphones.
noseholes.bandcamp.com/releases

PRETTY HURTS s/t LP on ROCKSTAR RECORDS..........................LP 11.50
First full album (13 songs) by this Berlin-based band. Fast-paced,
noisy rocking Post-Punk. A bit more on the melodic side than on
their previous releases. prettyhurts.bandcamp.com/

PRIESTS “Nothing Feels Natural” LP on SISTER POLYGON RECORDS.....LP 18.00
Finally in stock here as well, the first full album by Washington
DC’s most interesting new band. 10 new songs, and their most
diverse offering, drawing influences from Pop, R&B, and No Wave
into their urgent Post-Punk sound. Lyric-sheet and download-code
included. priests.bandcamp.com/

Artist: AMBARCHI, OREN
Title: Hubris
Format: LP
Label: Mego
Country: Austria
Price: $22.00
"Hubris continues the exploration of relentless, driving rhythms heard on Oren Ambarchis Sagittarian Domain (EMEGO 144CD/LP, 2012) and Quixotism (EMEGO 202CD/LP, 2014). Where those records looked to krautrock and techno for their starting points, the side-long opening track on Hubris begins from the perhaps unlikely inspirations of disco and new wave, drawing particularly from Ambarchis love of Wang Chungs soundtrack to William Friedkins To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). Leaving behind the song-forms of these reference points, Ambarchi weaves a sustained and pulsating web of layered palm-muted guitars from which individual voices rise up and recede, eventually setting the stage for some lush guitar synth from Jim ORourke. Arnold Dreyblatt collaborator Konrad Sprenger contributes overtone-rich motorized guitar, pushing the piece into a satisfying intersection of shimmering minimalism and rhythmic drive that smoothly builds up until the entrance of Mark Fells electronic percussion in its final section. After a short second part, in which Ambarchi, ORourke and Crys Cole pay tribute to the skewed harmonic sense of Albert Marcoeur with a track built from layered bass guitar figures and abstracted speech, the long final piece pushes the concept of the first side into darker and denser areas. Joined by electronic rhythms from Ricardo Villalobos and the twin drums of Joe Talia and Will Guthrie, the layered guitars of the first piece are transformed into a raw and tumbling fusion-funk groove that calls to mind early Weather Report or even the first Golden Palominos LP (1983). As this stellar rhythm section rides a single repeated chord change into oblivion, a series of spectacular events emerge in the foreground: first, aleatoric synthesizer burbles from Keith Fullerton Whitman, then slashing skronk guitar from Arto Lindsay, until finally Ambarchis own fuzzed-out guitar harmonics take center stage as the piece builds to an ecstatic frenzy. Few artists could hope to include such an incredible variety of collaborators on one record and still hope for it to have a unique identity, but Ambarchi manages to do just that, crafting three pieces that emerge directly out of his previous work while also pushing ahead into new dimensions." - Francis Plagne. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin, April 2016. Photography by Estelle Hanania. Sculptures by Daniel Druet. Design by Stephen OMalley.

HOS 436EP
PRICE: $14.50
CAT #: HOS 436EP
FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC
VILAINS BONSHOMMES Eternite Retrouvee 12"
The obscure, transfixing poetry and exquisite gothic pall of Vilains Bonshommes; a Rimbaud-inspired duo including members of Canada's Contrepoison and Norwegian BM group, Mare. Éternité Retrouvée (2011) was first released as a cassette on Norway's Fossbrenna Creations. Stripped to the bare essentials of drum machine, analog synth, and vocals rendered in acres of sepulchral space, the three-track EP draws listeners into a flawlessly realized sphere of dark influence where minimalist, desiccated harmonies and bony rhythms are embedded against unfathomably bombed out, maximalist backdrops - what most would define as unmistakably gothic.

youtu.be/6emfBsa-wSM

ESPLENDOR GEOMETRICO Fluida Mekaniko CD
Esplendor Geometrico, the cult band based in Madrid and Rome, influential industrial pioneers of pulsating, hypnotic and tribal rhythms since 1980, present their new album: Fluida Mekaniko. Since their previous album Ultraphoon (GR 2130 CD/LP, 2013), Esplendor Geométrico have performed more frequently than ever and in different countries and festivals (2016 marked their first time in the US and Russia). Meanwhile, a documentary feature film about the group launched in Madrid, Geometría del Esplendor, directed by a renowned Spanish director within the avant-garde cinema, José Ramón da Cruz. The film has just been premiered at the prestigious In-Edit festival in Barcelona, receiving an honorary award. Fluida Mekaniko was recorded during 2016 and contains 12 new tracks that, although they continue the line developed since Pulsión (2009), reference their most harsh and noisy sound of the '90s. Industrial neo-tribalism, where mechanical rhythms hypnotize, like mantras, inducing a trance - it highlights, already a distinctive feature of Esplendor Geometrico, the inclusion of voices and sonorities of African, Arab, and Asian music. CD version comes in a digipak.

Mueran Humanos - Miseress
Recorded at Burguess' and Nochteff's home in Berlin, and mixed in Einsturzende Neubauten's studio andereBaustelle by engineer Boris Wilsdorf, ‘Miseress' bounds between the foreboding and the abstract to more frenetic sounding pop to harsh, obsessive marches.

Read More
Pre-Order on 12" Vinyl or CD

Release Formats

ATPRLP59: 12" Vinyl
ATPRCD59: CD
ATPRDD59: Digital Download

Listen
Tracks
1. Miseress 3:29
2. Un Lugar Ideal 4:01
3. Mi Auto 4:46
4. El Círculo 8:12
5. Espejo en la Nada 5:54
6. El Vino de las Orgías 6:41
7. Guerrero de la Gloria Negativa 4:43
8. La Torre de la Hora 7:18
9. Epilog 1:02


www.atpfestival.com/recordings/release/atpr59

CITI022 Borusiade / The Sixteen Steps - Promises & infatuation EP

Cititrax is thrilled to present a split EP by two massive talents, Borusiade and The Sixteen Steps. Borusiade, originally from Bucharest, Romania began as a DJ in the early 2000s and then started producing music in 2005. With a classical background, she combined her love of raw electronics, obscure themes and melodic lines to create her own signature sound. She has released on the Cómeme label as well as Corresepondent. Infatuation and Confutation are dark, moody and intense tracks that catch you upon first listen. The flip side of the Promises and Infatuation EP features The Sixteen Steps, the brainchild of George Lanham who cut his musical teeth DJing and running events in the south of England. We have been listening to many of his tracks endlessly for a while now. They've also been a highlight of Veronica Vasicka's DJ sets as of late. Signals From The South and Promises On The Run are both immaculately produced, hypnotic, dance floor killers. They are sparse ebm meets smoky warehouse techno, and offer a wonderful contrast to Borusiade's layered emotive tracks that reminisce of an East Village club in the 1980s. Themes of infatuation, appearances, and anonymity appear throughout this EP from the music itself right through to the cover art. Limited edition vinyl pressing of 999 copies, first 500 copies are pressed on black inside milky clear vinyl (each record is one of a kind), housed in a matte printed sleeve. Vinyl pressing and digital release date: June 15, 2017

****

MW064 Das Ding - Kindheistmuster / Raid 7"

Minimal Wave is excited to present a 7” single of two early demos, Kindheitsmuster and Raid, by Dutch electronic music pioneer Das Ding. The final versions of these tracks were released on H.S.T.A. and the Missing Tapes, respectively. The versions here are the most raw and electric recordings we have heard by Das Ding yet. Danny Bosten formed Das Ding as a solo project in the early 1980s and released his music and friends’ music via his own cassette label called Tear Apart Tapes. At the time, he was studying graphic design at art school, and in turn he ended up designing the artwork, cassette-sleeves and illustrations for the label himself. Meanwhile, he recorded his own music as Das Ding. Powerful dark electro, he made several addictive and danceable tracks which later become Minimal Wave hits. Danny made all his music in his bedroom which essentially turned into a small recording studio. He went on to release many of his own tapes and also played some live gigs. Old tapes were uncovered around 2010, and Minimal Wave released a remastered version of H.S.T.A. and select other tracks. A wave of renewed interest followed the record’s release and soon people were in touch to propose live shows. Twenty years later, and after some deliberation, Das Ding was reincarnated under its old moniker but now with a revised line-up and a working set-up that reflected inevitable technological change. The Kindheitsmuster / Raid 7” is pressed on black vinyl, featuring a photograph that Danny Bosten took during his art school days, and the inspiration for the cover drawing of the H.S.T.A. cassette release from 1982. The 7” is limited to 500 numbered copies. Out now. Digital release to follow.

DIVE: UNDERNEATH - NEW ALBUM - OUT NOW

Belgian electronic pioneer Dirk Ivens unleashes the eagerly awaited new album of his cult project DIVE. “Underneath” is another masterpiece of dark minimalist Electro-art.

After a hiatus of more than a decade, Dirk Ivens' project DIVE finally returns with a new sign of life. For the new album “Underneath”, he has again teamed up with Ivan Iusco (who he worked with on “Concrete Jungle”) and Rafael M. Espinosa (his collaborator on “Behind The Sun”.) The result is a maelstrom of minimalist Electronica that ranges from fascinating to unsettling and that no other act can quite accomplish in the same way: Stripped-bare rhythms, dark, machine-like sequencers, psychotic synth-sounds that are expertly intertwined with cleverly placed noise-attacks and the distinctive, feverishly manic and ghostly raw voice of Dirk Ivens towering above it all. Some tracks, like the groovy “Far Away” or the hammering “Something” have turned out surprisingly catchy, but as a whole “Underneath” is a menacing behemoth that relentlessly pulls the listener into its dark machine world. The album feels like a David-Lynchian fever dream, oscillating wildly between cutting Industrial-loops, dark Minimal-art and groovy Electronic-Body-beats that converge into a physical tour de force. In their effectively relentless reduction of their sound to the bare necessities, DIVE yet again manage to create a one-of-a-kind experience. “Underneath” is released on CD and as a limited LP edition in classy dark green vinyl, containing the CD in a slip case as bonus.

Track Listing CD:
1. Underneath
2. Far Away
3. Sacred Skin
4. Let Me In
5. From Behind
6. Something
7. Howling Ground
8. A Man Came
9. Melt
10. I Want You

PHILIPPE LAURENT Phoenix 12"
Format: 12" White Vinyl
Edition: 300
Cat. No.: PM15

Peripheral Minimal is proud to present the upcoming 12" by Philippe Laurent, entitled, 'Phoenix'. This will be Philippe's second release on Peripheral Minimal after the infectious synthetic classic 12", 'Mithra'. Phoenix will be a three track E.P. featuring two brand new tracks on the A-Side, 'Phoenix', and, 'Agapao'. Over on the B-Side, we have the 13-minute electronic opus of, 'Exposition 4', a never before released track from Philippe's archive, and recorded in 1982.

The E.P. will be presented on white vinyl and limited to 300 copies. Mastering by Martin Bowes @ The Cage. Pre-orders will be available imminently!

BLACK EGG Melencolia CD
Label: Aufnahme + Wiedergade

"Norma Loy‘s UsherSan, who occasionally released music under different monikers, left important traces in my music collection. Of course, because you really must be completely devoid of a heart not to love Norma Loy and the brilliant DZ Lectric and Anthon Shield album Lickin’, just to name two, not to mention Die Puppe. With Black Egg, he formed his darkest project so far, collaborating with various other musicians such as Corina Nenuphar of Ghost Actor or Adan and Ilse‘s Peter Render, in 2013 and released an album which turned out to be one of my favorite albums of that year. Since the release of Legacy of a Cold World, some pieces were released that left me baffled, most notably I am speaking of the Ancient Methods reworks of Ohne Hände, one of the debut’s highlights, key staples of my and many other DJ sets, and the Brotherhood EP.

From their very beginnings on, Black Egg always transported a feeling that is somewhat close to November Növelet, Haus Arafna’s “pop project”, transcending the borders between Cold Wave, Minimal Wave and Power Electronics, and I do like to think that November Növelet are, still, the best comparison I can make to describe the sound of Black Egg. So you likely do know what to expect – minimalistic drum beats, coming from retro drum machines, analogue synthesizers, distorted and processed voices and noises, somewhat experimental loops… And well, the (excellent!) mastering of Galaktorrhö’s Friedemann Kootz, who laid his hands on various artists of the notorious noise aficionados’ label, doesn’t really help distinguishing Black Egg’s sounds from those Galaktorrhö releases occasionally. Yet, it sounds excellent – Examples, you say? “Tease me”, you say?

Well then – Neon Men and Leaving are excellent Cold Wave tracks, bleak up-tempo tracks masterfully displaying the band’s extra class in synthesizer music production, the latter displaying musical traces of early Front 242. The beats sound extremely cold and synthetic due to the use of ancient drum machines (that DR-55 rimshot… Ahhh, pure satisfaction) while being extremely effective, creating a cold atmosphere by monotony. King and Naked Angel are two songs prominently sung by Corina, haunting and seductive, evoking visions of extreme bleakness driven forward by synthetic, cold melodies and a use of synth pads which, once again, brings contemporary noise artists to your mind (and yes, I am speaking of NN). Krieg, my personal highlight so far (admittedly that differs every time I listen to the album), shows a rather aggressive side of Black Egg, which hasn’t been as present in their music so far – Tribalistic drums and processed noise, german shouting close to the vocal style of Gabi Delgado-Lopez conquered a fellow German’s heart in a blitzkrieg.

I could easily waste some time introducing all of the tracks bit by bit to you but that is an effort that is fairly pointless as I celebrate each of these pieces. From the excellent In The Black Sun, which has been premiered on post-punk.com exclusively, to Leaving, with the archaic EBM feeling I mentioned, Naked Angel or King, which is closest to a pop song one can get on this album to the very excellent Krieg and the haunting closing song Petit Chevalier – a haunting Nico cover sung by Ushersan’s daughter… I could drop some words about extremely good tracks such as Sterilize as well, but to cut it short, I can gladly introduce you to an all killer no filler-album. If you’d put a gun to my head and forced me to tell me which song to check out to get a good picture of the whole album, I’d ask you kindly to pull the trigger. Highly recommended, high quality album, raising your attention from the first to the last second."

- Post Punk dot com

Limited edition of 500 handnumbered copies, 2015 the CD version includes 6 addional bonus tracks. Mastered by Friedemann Kootz (Galakthorrö, Haus Arafna, November Növelet).

BRUTA NON CALCULANT Instinct CD
Label: Dark Vinyl

"It can be both a blessing and a curse to have no deep familiarity with a particular genre of music. On one hand you are free to listen and observe without the burden of prior knowledge, free of the desire to compare to other acts. On the other hand, you lack the same experience to adequately describe the music. This is the context in which I listened to Bruta Non Calculant’s latest offering, Instinct—a truly mesmerizing and challenging album that often left me at a loss for how to go about critiquing it.

The brainchild of one Alaxis Andreas G. (Le Syndicat Electronique), Bruta Non Calculant was formed alongside Victor-Yann (De Frontanel) in 2006 with one other full-length, World in a Tear, released since its inception. Given their low output over the past decade and little information online, there was not much to rely on in pinning down Bruta Non Calculant’s overall sound, complex and strange as it is.

nstinct is altogether one strange beast, covering multiple styles and genres throughout its playtime, often from song to song. This made it exceptionally difficult to extrapolate any one theme, if there is one to be found. From the chiming lullaby of “Phoenix Burn” to the rhythmic dance beat of the instrumental “In this Land” or the industrial-tinged menace of “King of Street” and “The True Disciple,” Bruta Non Calculant jumps from genre to genre frequently but not always seamlessly. It certainly demonstrates Andreas G. and Victor-Yann’s versatility but left the album feeling unfocused. Typically, that would have been a negative observation, but in this case, it motivated me to continue exploring the album through multiple listens, and a trademark sound and identity did begin to emerge across each track.

It was during these early listens that I was reminded of two wildly different films: the nihilist art-house piece Irreversible, and the noir science-fiction film Dark City. It was not the specific brutalities that Irreversible is known for that came to mind, but rather the film’s depiction of Paris: the walls of the city’s metro hidden beneath a layer of torn flyers and shoddy graffiti; the clutter and dirt of the city’s streets and peoples’ homes; the detritus of urban life and the desperation of its people amidst the city’s own sense of moral decay. Nor was it the science fiction of aliens and telekinetic powers in Dark City, but the claustrophobia and grime of a city perpetually drenched in darkness.

Instinct seemed to follow these similar themes with a lens focused on the ugliness of a modern, industrialized life. The tracks ”Through the Dark Valley and “Act Bravely” best demonstrated this cynicism. The former echoed a chant of the song’s title as if that dark valley were the urban landscape itself. The latter’s pounding drum loops and driving synths, more at home in the dark of a crowded nightclub, actually felt more like a satirical rejection of that life—the indulgences and apathy of modern man. Underneath all of this, there still remained the longing and romanticism associated with traditional neofolk—a sense of nostalgic noir captured in Dark City’s more character-driven moments. Whether any of what I gained from repeated listens were actually true to Andreas G. and Victor-Yann’s intent would be impossible to tell. I gained no insights from lyrics or liner notes—a testament to where the music itself managed to take me.

Frankly, I was not at all initially impressed with the album due to what I perceived as a lack of focus and odd production quality. It does lack some polish with many sounds, especially the vocals, coming across as muted or warbled, and many of the melodies and song structures are comprised of simple loops and layers. While the minimal instrumentation is used to great effect, if you are looking for more of a challenging listen, it will not be found here. These are minor gripes, however. The further I went, the more I found the songs slowly seeping into the membrane of my subconscious. That would be a complicated way of simply saying the album grew on me, but that would not do the process itself justice. Instinct did not just grow on me, it took up residence and is likely not to go any time soon. In short, Instinct is an engrossing blend of electronic and folk sensibilities with a surprising depth hidden beneath a deceptive simplicity.

The more time I spent with Instinct, the more I felt that it had an implacable vibrancy and life to it that celebrates the modern world as much as rejecting it; a grime-noir soundscape for the hero wading through the mire. A celebration of modern time, both detested and loved, and yet a rejection of the grime and grind of it all the same. A longing for the simplicity of the past, and an acknowledgement that we cannot go back. This is all we have; the undeniable struggle of the spiritual man caught amidst the grey landscapes of the present."

- Chris Viator / Heathen Harvest

ECHO WEST Pagan City Ghosts CD
Label: Dark Vinyl

"Pagan City Ghosts" is the 7th album by Echo West. Furthermore it's the second part of the "Pagan City" trilogy and will bring well known Angst Pop tunes and EBM rhythms in the old style of The Klinik to the listeners again. The CD contains 9 unreleased and brand new tracks that have been created between 2011 and 2014 plus a re-mix of the track "Are We City Humans" that appeared on the "Pagan City Gods" CD in 2013. The soundscapes reach from minimal electronic arrangements via negative pop to hard rhythmic madness.

Tracklist:

1. Emergencies
2. False Illusions
3. Hospital of Ghosts
4. Say No
5. Heartbeat of Life
6. Are We City Humans (Re-Mix)
7. In Hell
8. Sangreal
9. Hate & Tears
10. Light & Darkness

FEATURES X-Features LP
Label: Catalina Tapes

The Features, perhaps more than anybody, were the band that provided the stylistic delineation between punk and post-punk in the Auckland, New Zealand scene.

The band formed in late 1979, led by Jed Town (guitar) and James Pinker (drums). Both were members of The Superettes with Paul Kean (later The Bats), and when Kean left to join Toy Love they pulled in Karel Van Bergen (vocals, ex-Primmers), and Chris Orange (bass, ex-Terrorways) to complete the line-up.

Drawing from the likes of Public Image Ltd, Wire, the emerging New York no-wave movement and Town's passion for late period Beatles, the Features offered a far more experimental and jagged sound than most of their peers and were instantly popular, drawing strong crowds at the assorted hall gigs that were increasingly regular weekend events in the city.

Their first release was the single 'City Scenes' on the new Propeller label, which reached number No.32 in the New Zealand charts in June 1980. The label was created by Simon Grigg especially for the band, who then entered Harlequin Studios, where they recorded eight tracks for a proposed album.

Despite their brief lifespan and handful of releases, Features are repeatedly named as a primary influence by many acts that followed them, breaking down, as they did, the barriers that had been constructed by the first and second waves of New Zealand punk.

- Audioculture

“The Features changed everything for me…..I found myself obsessed with this four piece, a band who, at the tail end of the increasingly conservative Auckland punk scene, were perhaps the only one that offered up a viable musical path beyond the deadend that punk had become so quickly.”

– Simon Grigg

LE SYNDICAT SYNTHETIQUE <1996-2016> CD
Label: Dark Vinyl

To celebrate 20 years of Le Syndicat Electronique, Alaxis Andreas G ( the master himself ), has selected, remastered and arranged 20 tracks covering the Le Syndicat Electronique period 1996-2016 since the birth of the project. 10 tracks were still unreleased and 10 tracks are from rare & deleted releases. TRACKLISTING: Frequency 01 (unreleased - 1996) Der Komponist (2002) A Weight of Despair (unreleased - 1999) At The End (unreleased - 1999) Never Again (2005) Murder City (unreleased - 2000) Since (2002) I Like You, You Love Me (unreleased - 2001) The Canal (unreleased - 1997) La Mort D'Une Mere (2004) Echelle (2002) Derriere Le Masque (2003) Tous Programmes (unreleased - 2003) L'Amur D'Un Traitre (2002) Anonymity (2002) The Hunt (unreleased - 1997) Signals (unreleased - 1996) Losing Our Control (unreleased - 1998) Everytime (2002) Herr Geldmann (2001) DARK VINYL DV68