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Danish fest headlined by Almond and FLA Sep 2, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
The Danish city Århus hosts the Recession Festival again on October 8-9. The program 2010 includes Marc Almond, Front Line Assembly, Portion Control, Rummelsnuff featuring Claus Larsen, Necro Facility, Kite, Andreas Tilliander and Familjen. More acts will be announced shortly. Martin Gore helps both Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder Aug 31, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) A couple of days ago Vince Clarke twittered "collaborating with Martin (Gore) (from Basildon)" on a track called "Zaat". Clarke has been working intensely on the new Erasure album for some time and apparently Clarke and Gore, who are both living in USA (Maine and California respectively) have decided to work together professionally for the first time since Clarke left Depeche Mode. And there's not one but two news stories which send shivers down all Depeche Mode fans. - Gore will be appearing to DJ at an aftershow DM/Recoil party. Martin has graciously agreed to appear just for this event to spin a collection of his favourite tracks, Alan Wilder writes regarding his Recoil stop in Santa Ana, California, on October 24.
Busy label Wonderland signs Söderut Aug 27, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Independent pop label Wonderland Records has just signed pop quartet Söderut (means southwards). They will release their first single "Dansande homofober" (dancing homophobes) soon and the debut album is in the making. Fresh signings I'm a Lion, Monostrip and Alice in Videoland also have new albums coming and Emmon, Universal Poplab, Arvid and Swedish for Beginners are writing new songs as we speak. Front 242 move concert from unique venue Aug 25, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
After the Loveparade disaster where 21 people were killed, authorities in many countires have been re-inspecting concert venue security. During one of these check-ups in Switzerland, the authorities found a lot of issues with the venue Bergwerk (in an old mine). The Front 242 concert on September 4 will be moved from Bergwerk to Zürich (venue tba). ElektroStat line-up complete Aug 24, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) The Norwegian two-day festival ElektroStat in Oslo at Månfisken on October 1-2 has completed the program with Clan of Xymox, Cryo, Chrysalide, Morlocks, Echo Image, Electro Spectre and YLHSCD. Mesh and Zensor are two of the previously announced acts. New DAF single in one week Aug 23, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
On September 1, a new DAF single called "Du bist DAF" will see light of day. It's not a full-blown release; it will only be available in a limited edition from the mailorder store Damned Clothing and at live shows. Stand by for a Release Spotlight. Singer commited suicide after festival concert Aug 21, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) Charles Haddon, vocalist in electronic pop band Ou Est le Swimming Pool from London, commited suicide after performing at the Belgian festival Pukkelpop on Friday. Haddon, 22, leapt from a telecommunications mast behind the stage. Exclusive, free Peter Gabriel cover by Fever Ray Aug 20, 2010 | By: Mike Whyte (London, UK)
I know... the saliva has started going in your mouth already, but I have literally just found out that Fever Ray, ahead of their return to British shores on September 6, have released an exclusive cover version of Peter Gabriel's "Mercy Street" - only available via the NME website. It will have a commercial release later in the year (on Rabid Records). The download is available for 24 hours only, and will go offline at 4pm today. I've got mine - have you got yours? Greg Fitzpatrick back in Adolphson & Falk Aug 19, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) Tomas Adolphson and Anders Falk have reunited with machine wizard Greg Fitzpatrick on the new Adolphson & Falk single "Gjord för mig", which is mailed out to radio stations this week. Dagge Lundquist and LG Nilsson are also back in the studio. On "101010" (release date October 10, 2010) Adolphson & Falk collect all their 80:s synthpop recordings in a luxury 4CD box. Expect 20 bonus tracks, an 80-page colour book and remastered albums. Bodyfest headlined by Front 242 Aug 18, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Bodyfest (Stockholm, October 9) has hired Front 242 as headliner and the program is now complete. Previously booked acts include Pouppée Fabrikk, Tyske Ludder, Autodafeh and Spark. On September 11, you can run Bodyruset, a 2,42 km running contest in Stockholm organised by the people behind Bodyfest and the club Bodytåget. Busy days for OMD Aug 16, 2010 | | Updated: Aug 18, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
The first album after the OMD reunion, "The History of Modern", is scheduled for a September 20 release on 100% Records. – The title felt appropriate, Andy McCluskey tells Fredrik "Schlatta" Svensson from Release. When we started we were very conscious of trying to be modern in the future. But that was over thirty years ago. You were trying to do something that was modern and then the world changes and what you did use to do somehow has become historical. Its seems to be a metaphor for the band, Andy thinks. – Also, currently electronic music is very much in fashion. But again, a huge percentage of it to me is really a pastiche of something from thirty years ago. They are not really doing anything new. They’ve just bought a lot of old records and copied them. So it is just this idea of perception of what is modern and what the future is. The first single and video pick will be "If You Want It" (September 6), released in a limited edition yellow 7" vinyl with the B-side "Idea 1" and as digital download with another B-side, "Alone". There will be an album listening and launch party at Club 24 in London on the day of the single release (September 6), featuring a 30 minute performance by Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey. London is where Paul lives with his partner Claudia Brücken (ex-Propaganda). Andy has remained in Merseyside near Liverpool. The new tour starts in Liverpool on October 2 where OMD will perform with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. UK, Germany, BeNeLux and France are the countries in question for the tour so far. Mirrors is the support act. Read our interview with OMD here. Listen to the new song "New Babies: New Toys" here and watch the video for the single "If You Want It" here. Album imminent from Bargeld and Noto Aug 14, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) | Thanks to: Kristoffer Noheden
The fruitful collaboration between Alva Noto and Blixa Bargeld (ANBB) resulted in the five track EP "Ret Marut Handshake" (Raster-Noton, June 21). The union between Blixa's voice and cold electronics is impressive. The debut album will be released soon and live dates are being prepared. The EP is available here and on Spotify. Summer Darkness this weekend Aug 12, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Summer Darkness in Utrecht, The Netherlands, kicks off tomorrow and it's one of this summer's main festivals for our music on the European continent. The headliners on this three-day event are: And One, DAF, Leæther Strip, Project Pitchfork, Clan of Xymox, Amduscia, Dive, Grendel, In Strict Confidence and Diorama. Summer Darkness stands out by booking a number of artists from the ethereal and atmospheric industrial genres, for instance Brendan Perry, Sophia, Peter Bjärgö, Faith & the Muse and In Slaughter Natives. Unique product from JG Thirlwell Aug 11, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) | Thanks to: Kristoffer Noheden
There's a new Foetus album on its way (the latest we heard was "August", but you never know). In the meantime, take a look at Hydroze Plus, a collaboration between JG Thirlwell and Fred Bigot. They have released a clear ten inch vinyl EP on French label Optical Sound. It's a limited edition with packaging design by Thirlwell which is made "to resemble an anatomical text book with transparent layers". A digital release will follow. Catching up with Psyche Aug 9, 2010 | By: Alex Veronac (Geneva, Switzerland)
Psyche live at Zürich, March 2010 and the CD cover of "Remembering Dwayne". Release met with Psyche leader Darrin Huss while performing in Zürich on their "Until the Shadows" tour. Huss was able to speak about his recent recovery from a proactive surgery. - I was on a forced vacation; you think you're making music forever and something like this comes along... Huss was on stage back in November and able to continue light touring whilst continuing work on a twelth album. Joking, he says an apt title would be "Open Heart Surgery": - There's thirteen songs written already. It's been five years since our last record. I recently released a cover of Joy Division's "Disorder" on seven inch vinyl. Discussing the long band history and many keyboarders, Huss mentioned that he was approached on releasing some of the band's earliest recordings with Dwayne Goettel (Skinny Puppy, Download). These recordings go back to late 1982 when Goettel had a short appearance in the Huss brothers project The Pinstripe Club. Artoffact Records in Canada is to release "Remembering Dwayne" by Psyche in September. Psyche's only audio release of a Goettel song so far was "Torture (Demo)" on the "Misguided Angels" compilation from 2000. First 10 bands to the new Stockholm SGA festival Aug 4, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
In June, we broke the news about Stockholm Goes Alternative, an outdoor festival for EBM, industrial, goth and synthpop in Vallentuna close to Stockholm on June 17-18, 2011. Now, the SGA organizers tell us the first 10 (out of 27) live acts are: Assemblage 23, Funker Vogt, Solitary Experiments, Elegant Machinery, Autodafeh, C-lekktor, Lost Area, Cephalgy, XP8 and Marlow. At this early stage we have not received confirmation from the artists or their agents. SGA says tickets will be on sale for the reduced price SEK 575 plus administrive fees on September 3 (regular price 775). A Different Drum considers subscription program Aug 2, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) US synthpop label A Different Drum is considering a subscription program to keep the new music flowing in physical format. If they feel that there is enough interest, the idea is to mail out one limited edition CD each month for a fee. Only 300 copies will be manufactured of each release (200 for the subscribers, 100 for the artist). This service will not affect the mailorder and A Different Drum would still release some products outside the subscription program. Kite (still) refuses to release albums Jul 30, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Swedish pop duo Kite stick to their decision to focus on EP:s rather than albums and of course, the classic five track EP is a good pop format. In mid-September their third EP "III" will see the light of day, as usual on both CD and vinyl. The tracks are "Jonny Boy", "If There's an If in Us", "A Little More Time", "Hexx" and "Castle of Sand". Wayne Hussey tours Scandinavia with Swedish author Jul 29, 2010 | By: Tobias Eliasson (Gothenburg, Sweden) The Mission might be dead, but Wayne Hussey is still busy. This fall he's planning a Scandinavian tour together with Swedish author Marcus Birro and musician Mats Lerneby. Birro has written new texts that he will read, backed by music from Hussey, who also will perform some of his own songs. We will publish the dates at On Stage when they get official. "Supermagic" single from Parralox in one month Jul 28, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Australia's productive synthpop duo Parralox will release the new eight track single "Supermagic" in one month as a teaser from the new album "Metropolis" (November). Front 242: new live dates, no album (as usual) Jul 28, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) Front 242 continue touring after the summer. In September they play Belgium and Switzerland, in October France, in November Spain, Belgium again and Slovakia - and in December Italy. The live product "Moments in Budapest" was released a few months ago, but: a new album, please. Gary Numan, Recoil and Architect triple bill Jul 24, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) and Johan Carlsson (London, UK)
Let's take a look at some tours that will cross paths in the fall. Recoil and Architect will join Gary Numan for one special show at the Metro in Chicago on October 26. There are currently 15 dates set for Gary Numan's "The Pleasure Principle North American Tour 2010" in October and November. Numan will play the classic album in full. Recoil are returning to North America in October for "Strange Hours" in USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Equador. Architect and Rhys Fulber's Conjure One will join some dates. It also seems like more Conjure One solo dates are coming up. The new single "I Dream in Colour" is out now. Here you can watch Gary Numan in a Die Hard battery ad. All is set for the new Code 64 album Jul 20, 2010 | By: Johan Carlsson (London, UK) Swedish/Norwegian electropop band Code 64 is on the move again, after the excellent single "Stasis". A full length album called "Trialogue" is out on September 8 in Scandinavia, and on September 10 in the rest of the world. It's on Progress Productions, and as usual when they are involved the first 200 copies will be a special edition, featuring remixes from amongst others Mind.in.a.box. You can listen to two of the songs on the Progress web site. New single and album from Combichrist in August Jul 17, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
The new album from Combichrist is called "Making Monsters" and scheduled for August 27. First, we'll get a taste in the form of single "Never Surrender" on August 6. This club product features the album version and remixes by IAMX, Melt and Terrence Fixmer. New Goldfrapp single features Vince Clarke remix Jul 15, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Vince Clarke, Subway, Joris Voorn and Davide Rossi are the remixers on Goldfrapp's new single "Believer", the third from their latest album "Head First". The last single "Alive" did not even make the top 100 in the UK, but it was not released physically. Goldfrapp have also announced a UK tour in November. Booking argument over IAMX, Arvika Festival Jul 9, 2010 | By: Johan Carlsson (London, UK)
Well, the word "cancel" is up for debate, as IAMX claims they never confirmed the concert, while the Arvika Festival claims that they have a signed contract and payment is delivered. Anyway, they're not going to play Arvika unfortunately. Instead, Swedish EBM master Cryo takes the stage, in support of his new album "Hidden Aggression". New Ohgr download single is out now Jul 9, 2010 | By: Johan Carlsson (London, UK)
Nivek Ogre brings us new Ohgr material in the form of "Tragek", a new single that's just been released for download. ElektroStat 2010 in October Jul 7, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
This year's ElektroStat fest in Oslo will take place at Månfisken on October 1-2. One headliner has been announced so far: Mesh (pic). The rest of the line-up: Essence of Mind, In Vein, OVRPWR, Solar Temple, Trakktor and Zensor. More live acts will be announced. New Project Pitchfork album in two weeks Jul 6, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) In February 2009 Project Pitchfork came back with the album "Dream Tiresias!". Now, they have already completed another album. "Continuum Ride" will be out on Trisol on July 23. The album will be released in a standard CD edition and a numbered limited edition which comes with a double CD and DVD in book format, a book in hardcover paperback and a 40 page extra booklet. Watch the video for the song "Beholder" above. New nine track Rotersand EP Jul 5, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Germany's Rotersand announces a new nine track EP which will clock in at nearly one hour. The title track "Waiting to Be Born" is taken from the album "Randon Is Resistance" and appears in a reworked and a full version alongside remixes and exclusive tracks, among them a cover of Peter Murphy's "A Strange Kind of Love". The release date is September 28. Finally success for Front Line Assembly Jul 2, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
- We are really happy about the buzz and all the good feedback. This is the first time in many years that we have a release on the Billboard charts. The situation reminds me just a little of the time when "Provision" and "Mental Distortion" made the "Single of the Week" in Melody Maker, Bill Leeb says. Hultsfred gives up after 24 years Jun 29, 2010 | Additions made: Jul 2, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) The legendary Swedish festival Hultsfred, founded in 1986, will file bankruptcy due to low tickets sales. The decision was taken just one week before this year's festival. The organizers cannot say what will happen to the many thousand ticket buyers, many of them young with strained economies. For Release readers this year's line-up was extremely poor and most interesting names perform elsewhere as well. In On Stage we have only found a few names to list, among them Annie, Bad Lieutenant, bob hund, Familjen and Kent. Some of the names that have performed previous years: Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Rammstein, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, Laibach, Ministry, Nitzer Ebb, Die Krupps and Massive Attack. We remember Massive Attack playing for hours just outside our PR tent in the 90:s. Release visited Hultsfred many times in the 90:s when the line-ups were strong and few alternatives existed. We have many good memories from this great festival. We had close relationship with the old organizer team. We had a Release tent in the middle of the festival area for a couple of years, published reports, conducted interviews, was given tickets for thousands of dollars for contests and so forth. The Arvika festival offers a huge discount for Hultsfred ticket owners. New Birthday Massacre album in September Jun 28, 2010 | Additions made: Jul 2, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Canada's The Birthday Massacre are one of the busiest live acts in the scene but now they have found the time to record a new album. Eleven new songs will be released on September 14, on the Dependent sub label Cellar Door. They have once again been working with Dave "Rave" Ogilvie (Skinny Puppy) who is listed as co-mixer and mix engineer. We have listened to the first track "In the Dark" and can say The Birthday Massacre stay true to their sound and identity. Legendary new wave Stranded label reborn Jun 23, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) Legendary Swedish new wave label Stranded has been reborn on Universal. Klas Lunding and Ismael Samie are in charge and they have previously managed the EMI Dolores label. Stranded released artists like Lustans Lakejer, Reeperbahn, Ratata and Indochine - and many smaller acts - during the late 70:s and early 80:s. Malta musical will be based on Depeche Mode Jun 22, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
- It is a story of two boys growing up, coming of age and discovering love. They are abused, used, taken advantage of... It's their sad way of discovering life, writer Adrian Buckle (pic) says. Open auditions for the main roles start in five days and the musical will run at the MITP theatre in Valetta early next year. Unifaun also hopes to bring it to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Plans for huge open air synth festival in Stockholm Jun 16, 2010 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) An outdoor festival for EBM, industrial, goth and synthpop with a capacity for up to 20 000 visitors near Stockholm? Sounds like a dream, doesn't it? The organizers obviously have a long way to go and are currently searching for more partners and supporters, but they have just revealed the first details to us. They say the festival will be called S.G.A. (Stockholm Goes Alternative) and the dates are June 17-18, 2011. The camping area will open on June 16. They have found a suitable location in Vallentuna outside Stockholm. 24 live acts will perform on a big stage called Laboratory and a small one called Factory during the two days. S.G.A. has glanced at the successful Sweden Rock festival and taken into account that the Arvika festival has said "thank you and good bye" to this music. The first part of the line-up (approx. eight bands) will be revealed on September 3, if everything goes according to plan. |
Malta theatre company Unifaun is putting together a musical called "Playing the Angel", with music from Depeche Mode and a story that "must match the band's catalogue".