News editors: Niklas Forsberg & Mikael Kahrle

Mobile Homes instruments stolen
• Yesterday, we told you about the new Mobile Homes single and album. Now, we hear that all of Mobile Homes valuable instruments and equipment were stolen during the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. This means that they cancel their planned gigs ahead, but it doesn't affect their future record releases. /Mikael Kahrle

Mobile Homes feel - and sound nostalgic

• We have received the new single "Nostalgia" from Mobile Homes and can say that they have more or less returned to their old, electronic sound, similar to Depeche Mode that is. This, their first release on SubSpace Communications, includes two versions of the title track and the song "No Matter What". The single is recorded in the legendary Swedish Polar studio (where among others ABBA have made music history). Mobile Homes have produced themselves this time. As reported earlier, "Nostalgia" will not be be out until February 5, followed by the album with the cocky title "The World Will Listen" on March 5. /Mikael Kahrle

Covenant live releases out now
• Some details regarding the Covenant live album and limited edition box "Synergy" have changed since our last News entry. They were released this Monday, slightly delayed. The video tape included in the box contains eight live songs and an intro, all mixed with some other footage. The CD includes 14 tracks and a screen saver. Both the video and CD is recorded in Germany.
The box also comes with a song book with all of Covenant's lyrics. And we mean all. The lyrics for "We Break Down" reads "We break down", period. It makes "Pain Amplifier" look like a complete story: "He's the one. He has come. He will fight. He's gonna reign."
We are preparing a review as we speak. /Mikael Kahrle

A Different Drum more active than ever
• American synthpop label A Different Drum keeps releasing records in a steady stream. Some of the new releases include Cosmicity's "Resynthesized", which is a double album containing mostly remixes and unreleased stuff and the "Too Good for Radio" compilation, with tracks from bands hailing from ADD.
The new year also brings many new A Different Drum releases, with Echo Image's debut "Compuphonic", a new B!Machine album and Kaj's firstborn "In Your Mind" only being some of them. /Niklas Forsberg

Diskodiktator produced by Rational Youth front man?

Photo by: Lisa
Diskodiktator.

• Johan Billing, former S.P.O.C.K member, and his project Diskodiktator have decided to record some songs for possible release in case of any label interest. An interesting note about this project is that Rational Youth singer Tracy Howe has offered to produce the new songs with the band. /Niklas Forsberg

Clips wanted for synthpop video compilation
• Ninthwave Records are looking for contributions to their upcoming synthpop video compilation. Professional or not, anyone is encouraged to participate in this project. The formats NTSC and Mini Digital Video are preferred, but other possibilities are investigated. If you're interested, go to the label site and take it from there. /Niklas Forsberg

Project Pitchfork on stage after new album

• German electro stars Project Pitchfork will be back in March with their new album "Daimonium" (EastWest). About the same time, they will kick off their new Germany tour together with Zeromancer. Here is the plan: March 17 Hamburg, 18 Cologne, 20 Münich, 22 Chemnitz, 23 Magdeburg, 24 Berlin, 25 Leipzig, 26 Würzburg, 28 Giessen, 29 Hannover, 30 Gotha, 31 Dresden, April 1 Rostock. /Jens Krause

Massive Attack member publishes $600 coffee table book
• Massive Attack are working on their next album. Meanwhile member Robert del Naja will publish a coffee table book in a limited edition of 150 copies. Perhaps no more than 150 people will pay the price - $600? The book is made for charity, however, and the funds will please the Red Cross. The book shows del Naja pictures and paintings. /Mikael Kahrle

Maxi and tour with Goethes Erben

• We have just learned, from Goethes Erben's Oswald Henke, that there will be a new maxi with this German darkwave band in March. At their web site, samples of all four maxi tracks can be found. Goethes Erben will start to tour with a new live concept this spring. Named "Nichts bleibt wie es war", the band will perform a varied music theatre piece, which will later be released on CD. Although the live ensemble is seven-headed, the music will have a clear electronic touch. Here are the tour details: April 12 Rostock, 13 Bremen, 14 Herford, 15 Bochum, 16 city tba in Belgium, 18 Vienna (Austria), 19 Münich, 20 Cottbus, 21 Chemnitz, 22 Berlin. /Jens Krause

Garbage has 16 new songs in rough mixes
• Garbage is working on their third album, scheduled for a 2001 release. So far, they have made 16 songs in rough mixes and are very pleased with both the result and the recording process. /Mikael Kahrle

The SubSpace Encounter for the third time

• One-night festival The SubSpace Encounter will take place once again on February 3 of next year. Performing acts are Marlow, The Mobile Homes, S.P.O.C.K (pic) and Project Grudge with DJ Micael Sandén providing the intermission music. The venue is Mejeriet in Lund, Sweden. Something for those who miss the old Virtual X-Mas? This annual festival used to be held in Mejeriet in December, but is this year it's moved to a smaller Venue in Copenhagen, as reported earler. Only a few tickets remain there. /Niklas Forsberg, Mikael Kahrle

Front Line Assembly back at it
• Electro giants Front Line Assembly are reported to be working on new material again. No official release date as of yet, but the new album should be out in mid-2001 on Metropolis. /Niklas Forsberg

Wumpscut in the studio
• Also on Metropolis, one-man project Wumpscut is working on his upcoming disc with the working title "Wreath of Barbs". A limited box set of this album will also be released. When is still to be decided. /Niklas Forsberg

Pimok, Psyche-Klirrfaktor side project



• The new Psyche keyboardist Remi Szyszka has teamed up with Klirrfaktor (pic) member Mike Hauptmann to create a new band called Pimok. The music of Pimok spans from electronic death metal to "robo pop" and the project is invented to "get rich quickly." We'll just have to see about that.
Psyche plays live with Sparks in Germany this weekend. /Niklas Forsberg

Dark Side Cowboys single, album and member changes
• Nangijala Records reports that Dark Side Cowboys have just left the studio and in the near future, we can expect a new single called "New Religion", a taste from the forthcoming album "Believe". The single features two versions of the title track and two exclusive songs. A previous member has returned and a present one has left the band. The new sound is said to be more electronic and polished. Dark Side Cowboys will most likely play at a Nangijala Records festival next year. Definite plans for this event are yet to be made. /Mikael Kahrle

Rammstein's "Mutter" to be released in April
• At last, Rammstein have completed their follow-up to "Sehnsucht". The new album "Mutter" is scheduled for April and the first musical samples show they continue on their current successful path. In connection to the release, they plan a vast tour through Europe and USA. /Jens Krause

Dkay.com: new album and possible tour with Gary Numan

• Dkay.com front man Jürgen Engler (to the right) showed up in a TV interview recently and admitted that Dkay.com unfortunately disappeared in the summer vacuum (the debut album was released last summer). Now, they will release their next album in mid-season, already in April 2001. They promise a huge musical thunderstorm on stage with the forthcoming tour together with Gary Numan. /Mikael Kahrle

Mute Germany launched with huge "Stumm Nacht" party

Stumm Nacht group picture with Nick Cave, Barry Adamson and other Mute people.

• On November 24, Mute Records' brand new German office was celebrated with a party at Berliner Volksbühne. On three floors 480 guests and 1 300 people in the audience, partied and watched several exclusive live shows with Barry Adamson, Goldfrapp, Appliance, Add N to (X), Echoboy and others. A Laibach film premiered. Mute boss Daniel Miller was DJ. Celebrities like Blixa Bargeld and Nick Cave attended. The party went on until six in the morning.
Mute has opened a new site for Germany as well (with more pictures from the party). /Jens Krause, Mikael Kahrle

Rewire - new industrial band from Los Angeles
• "Eclectric" is a new demo with Rewire from Valencia/Los Angeles. They offer traditional American industrial with heavy beats and twisted vocals. One of the members, Dan Levey, is a TV and trailer composer specialised in hard music. Rewire can be found at www.mp3.com/rewire /Mikael Kahrle

Paradise Lost joins Sisters of Mercy on German tour
• We have previously reported about The Sisters of Mercy's forthcoming gigs. Now, there are more details about the tour. They will play five dates in England, one in Belgium, Switzerland and Austria respectively. And six dates are scheduled for Germany together with Paradise Lost.
A quote from the official SOM site: "As you've noticed, the dates fall uncannily close to a major Sisters anniversary, an opportunity for the citizens of many grateful nations to give thanks by paying good money to climb drunkenly all over each other and shout their frenzied nonsense to the four winds while we make a loud noise." /Mikael Kahrle, Jens Krause

Darkwave act Ghosting reports back after five years of silence
• The German wave gothic veterans Ghosting will soon be back after five years of silence. Next spring, the new album "Shattenreich" will hopefully be released. /Jens Krause

NIN live releases, more touring and a new album
• Nine Inch Nails plan to release a live album, VHS and DVD during the first half 2001. 2001 will probably also mark the release of the long-awaited album from NIN side project Tapeworm. NIN is currently in the studio, working on different things, like preparing for more touring ahead. A new album is in the planning stage as well. However, in a recent chat, Trent Reznor expressed uncertainty about the future of NIN and that he considers working as a producer or with soundtracks after a possible NIN ending. This was a long-term reflection and has little to do with the present situation.
Trent has pointed out that his participation in chats takes place over the phone. Someone else chooses questions and reads them to Trent, who answers slowly while this person types down his words. Surprisingly low tech for a guy like Trent, one might say.
The remix album "Things Falling Apart" was released on November 21. Check out the official site for trailers and remixes. Universal has failed to send us our review copy so far together with Marilyn Manson, for some reason (they send us other releases). We hope to be able to give you reviews shortly, of course. /Mikael Kahrle

Dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood to release solo album
• Immensely influential producer Adrian Sherwood will release his first solo album next year.
Some background: Sherwood has been one of the most influential producers of the last two decades, running the On-U Sound label and pioneering the Jamaican born dub technique long before it became fashionable. He has worked with everyone from reggae artists Lee Perry and Prince Far-I to Skinny Puppy and Nine Inch Nails, as well as producing the dub companion "Echo Dek", to Primal Scream's album "Vanishing Point". /Kristoffer Noheden

The Sick City - new web site and record label

• The brainchild of Bryan Black (Haloblack, H3llb3nt, to the left) and Raymond Watts (Pig, to the right), The Sick City is a new platform for these artist's various projects. It has started out as a web site, but is meant to evolve into a record label and web store in the end.
- We wanted an umbrella for all the stuff that's going on, Bryan Black says when we meet up in London's Soho.
The site already has quite a few exclusive MP3:s for free download.
- Raymond has tonnes of music that no one's ever heard. He's not really interested in selling it, but rather just wants to give it away.
But although fond of the format, Black doesn't see The Sick City turning into a pure MP3 label.
- I still like the idea of CD:s, he states. MP3 doesn't sound as good, and I think there's something nice about having a CD. I like artwork, liner notes - the whole thing. But I appreciate that MP3 lets you get past record labels and distribution channels.
Tired of the music business, Bryan Black stopped making music for a while in 1997, and it wasn't until he learnt how to do things on the Internet that he got excited about making music again.
The first Sick City release will be a new H3llb3nt album, due out in February in collaboration with Invisible Records. The album is conceived by Black and features contributions from Jared Louche of Chemlab, 16 Volt, Raymond Watts and Anna Wildsmith, a k a Sow.
Following this, a second edition of the latest Pig album, "Genuine American Monster", Watts' twisted cover project Pig Orchestra, and a new Sow album, are all expected to be released during the spring. /Kristoffer Noheden

Violent Gandhi comeback close at hand
• Some of our more dedicated readers might remember the Swedish synthpop band Violent Gandhi. They received a ten for a demo in an old printed Release issue, they played at Release club Electric Café, we had them as support act to one of our concerts and they were included on our compilation "Sounds from the Electric Café". But at the time when they got the attention of record companies they had more or less seized to exist. They sold some equipment to Covenant and for many years, we haven't heard a tone.
Now, they are reborn as Violent G and are writing new material as we speak. They have published some very old classic songs at http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/178/violent_g.html /Mikael Kahrle