News editors: Mikael Kahrle & Johan Carlsson

Portion Control to record again
• Portion Control reports that they are working on new "harder rhythmic" material. The south London electronic trio has been around since the early 1980's but their last CD was from 1994: "The Man Who Did Backward Somersaults." The new composed recordings are to be released in 2003. Bands that were influenced by the earlier Portion Control sounds include Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly. For more info on their legacy check this web site. /Alex Veronac (tip from Marcus Carlsson)

Ladytron conquers the world

• We are used to synth bands usually having a really hard time getting into the spotlight. Many are those who try to sound more mainstream or trendy to reach fame. Some even sound more anonymous mainstream than the mainstream itself. UK's Ladytron do the exact opposite. And succeed in a way most electropop bands can only dream of.
On December 2, they deliver their second album "'Light & Magic" (in the UK), recorded in Los Angeles. The hit single "Seventeen" is out now. /Mikael Kahrle

Four live albums from Coil in the new year
• Coil will issue four live albums in January 2003. A special edition of 123 copies (of which 111 are available for public purchase) will contain all four live albums as well as a bonus disc of additional live work. /Peter Marks

Andrew Eldritch - the action doll

• It's time to introduce The Sisters of Mercy frontman Andrew Eldritch - the action doll. Designer Kirsty Tallon describes: "Based on Andrew Eldritch as he appeared in the 'Wake' video, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, 1985. Andrew is wearing a snakeskin print shirt, Victorian frock coat in black crushed velvet, black Stetson-style hat, black jeans (including underpants) and pointy boots. All accessories are removable except the sunglasses and cigarette". Almost like in reality.
There was also a picture of the Andrew Eldritch and Wayne Hussey dolls together side by side. But somehow that image got destroyed on the server. /Mikael Kahrle

The Bad Seeds unleash "Nocturama"
• The twelfth album from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is entitled "Nocturama" and will be out on February 3 via Mute Records.
Ten tracks comprise the new album and were recorded in 2002 at SingSing Studios in Melbourne, Australia and then mixed at Olympic Studios in London, England. Nick Launay has produced this release and is best known for his production work for PIL, Talking Heads and Gang of Four. He first worked with Nick Cave and Mick Harvey back in 1981 as producer for The Birthday Party's single "Release The Bats".
A single for the song "Bring It on" will be released on February 17. No tour plans exist for this release as it is slated to be the first of three new Bad Seed albums to be released concurrently each year. /Peter Marks

The Sisters of Mercy to tour Germany in 2003
• This coming spring will see Andrew Eldritch and co on a short tour of Germany, April 1 through 15. Cities confirmed so far: Frankfurt, Leipzig, Zwickau, Berlin, Furth, Stuttgart, Munich and Düsseldorf. Further touring plans are currently being arranged by the band. Glorious days are ahead, or in the words of Eldritch: "Fill up the van with smoke and mirrors". /Peter Marks

S.P.O.C.K: please respond

• Haven't heard from S.P.O.C.K for a while? That's because they're on a break. This is often healthy for a band like S.P.O.C.K, which risk losing more fans if they push to hard. But now, we hear a new album is slowly being created.
- We have five demo versions of new songs. Our next album will not see the light of day until next autumn, at the earliest, frontman Alexander Hofman says.
He has no current plans for any big changes regarding sound, record company or something else.
This year, he has played more gigs (five) with computer synthpop project Mr Data than with S.P.O.C.K, which is kind of strange. S.P.O.C.K was previously one of the most booked synth acts around. And Mr Data is Hofman's small solo project where he's just having a good time on stage. Before 2002, he didn't touch Mr Data for eight years.
Mr Data was born when S.P.O.C.K wasn't allowed to play at a Christmas party in Malmö. S.P.O.C.K had played the year before, so Hofman simply invented a new project. What a man can do to be on stage.
Just five songs have previously been made and two of these have become S.P.O.C.K songs. Now, Hofman has added a sixth piece to his little repertoire. Mr Data has never been released but an EP might show up in the future, even if there are no definite plans. In the meantime, he continues to show up on stage at parties from time to time and believe that is enough.
A one man band with six songs, no record release and just five concerts in nine years. Sometimes it's nice for celebrities to keep it small and down to earth. /Mikael Kahrle

And One headline new Swedish festival
• One day event electriXmas in Lund, Sweden on December 21 has announced their first live acts: And One, Tyskarna från Lund and Colony 5. /Mikael Kahrle

Second Deine Lakaien single from "White Lies"

• German darkwave band Deine Lakaien follow up their 2001 album "White Lies" with a second German tour. The tour is innovatively named "White Lies 2nd tour" and is taking place now in the second half of November. Ernst Horn and Alexander Veljanov will be playing for the first time in Greece on December 22. Deine Lakaien are headlining the Elfentanz festival at the Rodon Club in Athens. This performance will be an acoustic one.
Polish band God's Bow will accompany Deine Lakaien as support act for this tour. God's Bow are also planning a tour of North America during spring next year but so far no dates or venues have been announced.
A new Deine Lakaien single for the song "Where You Are" is out now and comes as a two CD release. Disc one contains remixes of the A-side as well as an alternate version of "Prayer". Disc two contains two new songs as well as other versions of album tracks. /Peter Marks, Peter Takizawa, Johan Carlsson

Vince Clarke directs Andy Bell as homicidal transvestite
• Erasure’s cover version of the Peter Gabriel classic “Solsbury Hill” is going to be released on January 6, as we have reported earlier. Now we have some more information about the release, and it turns out that it will be available in two different CD versions, as well as a DVD single. The DVD features a short film directed by Vince Clarke and starring Andy Bell as a homicidal transvestite. The two CD issues hold mixes of the title track and new original Erasure tracks. Apparently, the single will be available for “one week only”, whatever that means. You can catch a short snippet of “Solsbury Hill” at www.erasureinfo.com, but only if you can abide RealPlayer. /Johan Carlsson

More on the December 2 FSOL EP


Gaz from Future Sound of London.

• According to the Galaxial Pharmaceutical, the new EP with Future Sound of London is an eight track disc. It's got several new songs on it, as well as a remix of the title track “The Mello Hippo Disco Show”. The release date has been pushed back to December 2.
In related news, the UK music magazine Future Music features a remix competition for the track "Elysian Feels" from "The Isness". /Johan Carlsson

Compilation with Douglas McCarthy and Male or Female
• The innovative dance label Atomic Records in UK has released a label compilation with the name "Magnox". The line-up includes Front 242 side project Male or Female, Thomas P Heckmann, Black Lung (Snog side project) and KLOQ. The KLOQ track "What We Are" has Nitzer Ebb man Douglas McCarthy on vocals. /Jens Krause

Many electro acts on the roads
• Pluswelt Promotion informs us about several hot tours ahead. First we take a look at a couple of small German tours.
Five concerts in December await In Strict Confidence. Mesh and The Galan Pix go for six dates. Apoptygma Berzerk will skip their Christmas preparations and play four German dates just before Christmas.
Icon of Coil and Assemblage 23 plan a huge European tour in January and February through Italy, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, UK, Spain, Greece and Switzerland. It's a rare sight indeed with electro bands playing so many countries including both Scandinavia and Southern Europe on the same tour.
Finally, De/Vision will embark on a dozen gig tour of Germany in April. /Mikael Kahrle

And One + Melotron = Christmas party

And One on stage.
Photo by: Jens Krause (Release)

• And One have confirmed that they will play as special guests at the Melotron Christmas concert in Neubrandenburg on December 26. The band will perform with their new line-up and play some material from the forthcoming And One album "Agressor". /Jens Krause

Conjure One release in Europe via EMI
• EMI/Capitol will release Rhys Fulber's Conjure One album in Europe on February 2. /Mikael Kahrle

The Anthropological Dichotomy of Suicide Commando
• A “best of” double CD entitled "Anthology" is scheduled for release in the coming weeks on Dependent of Germany. This newest work by Suicide Commando contains one disc spanning his ten-plus year career with highlights from previous albums. Of particular interest, however, is the second disc that will be entirely comprised of rare and unreleased Suicide Commando tracks which should prove particularly necessary for the fans. /Peter Marks

A chat with German EBM stars Funker Vogt

Becoming softer over time?

• German EBM heads Funker Vogt released their new album "Survivor" in three different editions a few weeks ago. Gerrit Thomas, mastermind and composer of the band, thinks the new album is something of a concept album.
- All the other Funker Vogt albums seems to be "best of''s" or single compilations, because nearly every song was made for the clubs. That's why we tried to use new elements now, like guitars on two songs or a piano ballad. Just to show, what else we are able to do and to give the album a complete sound characteristic, he tells me.
However, the current sound with more focus on songs than attitude, is not intentional.
- I think this is the sound we actually are fond of. Nobody knows what we are going to do on the next releases. There is no real intention to sound softer. We just set the priorities on the melodies and not on the harsh vocals, he comments.
Moreover, the next single off "Survivor" will be an emotional slow piece.
- The next release will be a single containing new versions of "Red Queen". We present the voice of Joke Jay, formerly the second vocalist and drummer of And One. There will be a remix of another band and three new versions by myself. We chose that song, because we want to dedicate and present this MCD to our wives and girlfriends who all love this song the most, Gerrit says.
Funker Vogt will begin touring in Spain in December. Next year, it's time for Germany followed by Italy, Mexico, Canada, the UK and Scandinavia.
When the Funker Vogt tour is over, Gerrit will continue work on all his side projects, namely Ravenous, Fictional and Fusspils 11. Furthermore, a Funker Vogt box set including a remix CD is loosely planned for May of 2003. /Niklas Forsberg

Haujobb demo snippets online, and Architect album demo
• The new untitled sophomore effort by Daniel Myer's Architect project was made available to Planet Myer e-list members a while back. No label has yet been named to release this album. A release date is also similarly elusive.
The tracks themselves fit somewhere in between recent Haujobb tracks crossed with elements of Hexer and the more extreme moments on some of Myer's solo 12" releases. They are extremely dark high tech rhythmic musical excursions, to say the least. Could this be the Aktivist album in disguise?
Additionally, tracks by Haujobb from their forthcoming album are accessible at the Planet Myer site. Haujobb's new album will be released in March of 2003 on Metropolis Records. /Peter Marks

Wayne Hussey tribute?

• As promised, here is our next doll creation by Kirsty Tallon: "Wayne Hussey - the Toilet Roll Guard". More to come. /Mikael Kahrle

Page 12 dead and buried
• It has now been confirmed that the old electro act Page 12 is no more. Member Axel has left the band and joined a re-formed CyberAxis as a keyboardist. Second member Patrick's plans are not known at this time.
Axel's side project Mindware is currently on a tour of Germany. His main project Cycloon is about to record three new songs for a future release. /Peter Marks

Uwe Kanka reactivates Armageddon Dildos
• The mastermind and singer of Armageddon Dildos, Uwe Kanka has reactivated his old EBM band, but so far without his old partner Dirk Krause (also known from Dkay.com). Uwe Kanka is working in his studio in Düsseldorf right now, and is in discussion with a new label for the new material. /Jens Krause

New album by All About Eve on November 26



• Some of England's finest, All About Eve are set to release their first new work in ten years. The title of this new LP is "Iceland" and is described by vocalist Julianne Regan as:
- A winter album, it's too icy to be anything else.
"Iceland" contains two brand new songs entitled "Melting" and "Cold". Also enclosed is a radical re-work of "December" (from 1989's "Scarlet and Other Stories" album), a Queen cover entitled "A Winter's Tale" plus three other tracks as well, to slake one's thirst. An entirely new album of original compositions is planned for release in 2003 to coincide with their April tour of the UK. /Peter Marks

The legendary Wire is back
• Another British veteran band, Mute avant gardists Wire are on tour in Germany at the moment, together with the band Appliance. Soon the new six track EP “Read and Burn” will be out through the UK label PinkFlag Records and Cargo Records in Germany. /Jens Krause

Still no action from Statemachine
• Although there were concrete plans for a new Statemachine single release about now, we know hear it will not be released until next year, in connection to the next album. Not even their new label SSC can speed up their work, it seems. /Mikael Kahrle

Prager Handgriff celebrates tenth anniversary
• The two members of the German hardcore-EBM band Prager Handgriff, celebrates ten years in the music business with the new release "1000 Feuer" via Electric Blue/Ausfahrt MV. The sound is very hard, both music- and lyricwise. /Jens Krause