News editors: Mikael Kahrle & Johan Carlsson

M'era Luna program complete

Eternal Afflict - EBM/darkwave veterans at M'era Luna.

• Germany's M'era Luna festival has set its program for this year's event on August 7-8. Among the late bookings we find Fixmer/McCarthy, Umbra et Imago, Fair Sex and The Eternal Afflict.
Here are the majority of the previously hired entertainers: Blutengel, Covenant, Decoded Feedback, De/Vision, Dulce Liquido, Faith & the Muse, Funker Vogt, Gothminister, Icon of Coil, In Extremo, Lacrimosa, L'ame Immortelle, The Mission UK, Pink Turns Blue, Rotersand, Suicide Commando, Oomph!, Therion, Tristania, Welle Erdball, Within Temptation and Wolfsheim. M'era Luna and a growing list of other European summer festivals can be found at On Stage. /Mikael Kahrle

KMFDM attak Europe
• KMFDM were set to tour Europe in 2002, but cancelled. If things work out this time around, the industrial rock pioneers are however set to embark on a European tour this summer instead. The tour ranges from July 1 to 16, and so far shows are confirmed for Russia, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium, with two more dates to be announced. Digital Hardcore band Panic DHH will support KMFDM on the UK and German dates, according to the label’s web site. /Kristoffer Noheden

"Love" from Foetus in 2005
• A new Foetus album was previously scheduled for release later this year. It has now been announced that the album is to be titled “Love”, but will not be released until February 2005 - on Birdman, home to among others Boredoms and The Warlocks, and yet another new label for Foetus.
For all us who can’t get enough Foetus on our breaths, the good news is that the album will be preceded by an EP this October. The EP will feature two new tracks as well as remixes of album tracks by Jay Wasco and End.
In other news, Jim Thirlwell, the Foetus himself, is also busy scoring a new cartoon series, The Venture Brothers, which will premiere on the Cartoon Network later this year. /Kristoffer Noheden

Scotch reborn in eighties club

• The eighties disease (or bless, if you will) has come to a point when charming old Italian synthpop disco duo Scotch can look forward to a new life. On September 10, they will appear on stage at the new eighties club Heaven at Trädgår'n in Gothenburg. Heaven is a sister club to Romo Night, and is open the second Friday each month (starting today). In one week, Heaven, Romo Night and third Trädgår'n club Electric Ballroom will share the night under the flag Alternative Summer.
In Sweden's capital, Club 80's announced today that they will host 80's Deluxe nights with synthpop and electro at Öst100 every Thursday in July and August. /Mikael Kahrle

Pain man nominated for Hultsfred award
• Metal producer and main man in industrial project Pain, Peter Tägtgren, is nominated for an award that will be presented at the Hultsfred Festival. P3 and Hultsfred organisers Rockparty stand behind the award and the price money (10 000 SEK, about 915 Euro). /Mikael Kahrle

The Orb is rolling again
• The doctor is in the house again. After a five-year break, due to problems with a record company, The Orb now releases the second album in two years, "Bicycles & Tricycles".
– It is twelve years since I released my first record, and in Chinese philosophy that’s important – a cycle. On top of that, we recorded the first album on many different locations too and had a new collaborator on each track. Here, it’s almost the same, although Thomas Feldmann participates on five tracks, I think. So, it’s almost the same, although different – a way to end a cycle, Alex Paterson tells Release Magazine.
"Bicycles & Tricycles" (see review to be published shortly) was released in Europe on May 3, but the release in the US is scheduled for August 3. The album features collaborators as Thomas Fehlmann, Simon Phillips, John Roome and Jimmy Cauty and The Corpral and Soom-T. /Kalle Malmstedt

FSOL project and Keane to Arvika
• The Arvika Festival adds the two British bands Future Sound of London present AMORPHOUS ANDROGYNOUS (a version of FSOL) and Keane (see review to be published shortly) to their extensive artist list. /Mikael Kahrle

Swedish electropop trio burglarized

• Swedish electropop trio and Statemachine spin-off Lowe's office was burglarized this Monday. Equipment and documents were stolen, including some pre-productions for the debut album and remixes. Completed album work was backuped though.
- Apart from the time and love we've put into our music, we especially miss our beloved synthesizer, Teisco SX-400! It's the only one we know of in Sweden, Leo Josefsson says.
Lowe has just signed a three album publishing deal with Misty Music and license deals for Germany, BeNeLux and Japan are being negotiated as we speak. /Mikael Kahrle

AD

Einstürzende Neubauten cleans the closets

Photo by: Karin Martinsson (Release)

• June 7 saw the release of "Kalte Sterne - Early Recordings", containing the remastered pre-"Kollaps" era singles of Einstürzende Neubauten. For songs made in 1980-1982, this is pretty wild stuff. The "Tabula Rasa" album from 1993 was also re-released as a double album including all the single tracks from "Malediction" and "Interim".
While these releases are both on Mute Records, Einstürzende Neubauten are already working on the second phase of their web based supporter financing project, the first of which was the production of the supporter version of "Perpetuum Mobile". Paying supporters get to take part in a project called "Grundstueck" which, according to Blixa Bargeld, will culminate in a supporters-only ritual/festival/recording session in the autumn of 2004. One can only hope that this one fares better than the Re-TG event. /Mattias Huss

New Bad Seeds album in September
• Nick Cave is in the studio with his Bad Seeds working on his thirteenth studio album for a fall release. "Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus" is a double album due out in September and the group's first album made in the absence of Blixa Bargeld, who left the band last year. Replacing him as official member is James Johnston of Gallon Drunk, who is no stranger to the band having worked with them on stage as well as in the studio before.
Additionally, an album of B-sides and rarities is planned for release on February 7, 2005. The song "People Ain't No Good" from the 1997 Bad Seeds album "The Boatman's Call" is included on the soundtrack to "Shrek 2". Cave has also found the time to co-write three tracks with Marianne Faithfull for her upcoming album "The Mystery of Love".
The band will be touring the UK in November. /Mattias Huss

New single from Rammstein this month

• Seemingly out of the blue, we learn that Rammstein has a new single out on June 28. It’s called “Mein Teil” and is pulled from their as yet untitled upcoming album (September 20). Jacob Hellner has produced once again. The new sound is harder than before but still highlightened by keyboards and beautiful musical and vocal passages. The Sounds' "Living in America" has been covered or at least used in some way on one of the album tracks, their Swedish label says.
In further news, the band has been searching hard for an exact double for member Richard Kruspe and has just found one. Perhaps this is for the "Mein Teil" video, currently in production? /Johan Carlsson, Mikael Kahrle

Confirmed details on the Kraftwerk re-releases

The box. Notice the new covers on some albums.

• We contacted EMI in order to sort our what is true and what is not about the re-issues of eight Kraftwerk albums and the plans for a 2005 live-DVD.
- I talked to Ralf Hütter about the live-DVD and it will probably be released next year, hopefully on EMI, label representative Sven-Åke Peterson says.
He tells us the album re-issues will have no bonus tracks, as previously reported. Not that Kraftwerk has that many to chose from.
- The albums are remastered and the booklets are reworked and extended. And yes, "Electric Café" is now named "Techno Pop". As usual Kraftwerk is slow and we don't have any release dates yet.
There's already a few copies of a promo box out though.
- Originally the releases were scheduled for the tour earlier this year. I guess some boxes were sent to monthly magazines before the release date was moved, Peterson thinks.
Boxes have been seen on Ebay, but were removed before the time was up. /Mikael Kahrle

Alfa-Matrix anniversary brings unreleased Front 242 track
• In August this year, Belgian electronic label Alfa-Matrix celebrate their third anniversary. To commemorate this occasion, a special deluxe double CD will be released. It includes lots of unreleased material from the label's line-up, like Front 242, Sonar, Insekt, Epsilon Minus, Collide and more. It does not arrive until August 23. /Johan Carlsson

AD

First Tinitus wave
• This year's Tinitus Festival in Stockholm will be held at Münchenbryggeriet on November 6 and so far, five of eight bands - Fixmer/McCarthy, VNV Nation, Alphaville, Nebelwärfer and Legowelt - are signed up. /Mikael Kahrle

Fixmer/McCarthy album in September

From left to right, Fixmer and McCarthy (Sweden/Norway exclusive picture for Release).
Photo by: Polly Tootal

• The debut album from Fixmer/McCarthy "Between the Devil..." was scheduled for June - until today that is, since SPV just announced a new release date - September 13. More time is needed to prepare the release. We received a promo copy of the minimalistic EBM/electronica album in May and will put our review on hold until August.
The hot duo just did a successful gig at Wave Gotik Treffen which included Nitzer Ebb classics like "Join in the Chant". /Mikael Kahrle