News editors: Niklas Forsberg and Mikael Kahrle

First names to SAMA released
• We have the first six live names to the next Swedish Alternative Music Awards in Gothenburg (March 3): Second Decay, S.P.O.C.K, The April Tears, Sadovaja, Yvonne and Aaron Sutcliffe. Eight more artists will play. Eddie Bengtsson will host the event. The tickets are released on December 1. /Mikael Kahrle

Robbie Williams turned out to be Mesh fan
• Mesh report they discovered a new fan when they played in London earlier in the year.
- We came off stage to be told that a certain Robbie Williams was in the audience and that he'd bought a T-shirt and would like to meet us. "Oh, okay then", we said. And we did. He was clearly impressed as Rich said "Sorry, Robbie who?" and when we told him we were going straight home after the gig. We still haven't sussed this rock'n'roll stuff... /Mikael Kahrle

Moby " joins" U2 and releases another single

• When Moby met U2 during the MTV Awards in Stockholm the other day, U2 asked Moby to become the band's fifth member. Moby says he will play a children's flute...
He seams to be obsessed with singles, since he will deliver another one in mid-December - "Find My Baby".
The (now pretty old) five million-copy album "Play" (see review) is out in a limted edition box with a B-sides disc with eleven tracks since October 23. /Mikael Kahrle

Last breath for Smashing Pumpkins
• Now The Smashing Pumpkins make their last concerts, before they quit as planned. On the fan club site, gig tickets were for sale at the fantastic price of about $ 1000. Front man Billy Corgan says to the Chicago Tribune, that he is stressed by the fact that the band will be no longer.
- I haven't felt so insecure since I was seven, eight years old. I know we're doing the right thing, but I have no idea what it will mean, he says. /Mikael Kahrle

New Order album closer and tour in planning stage
• According to NME, New Order is finally about to enter the studio to record 17 songs. The most parts are of course meant for their seventh album, to be released early 2001. We should say delays are highly probable, but we have waited for seven years for a new album; perhaps a few months more isn't a problem here.
New Order is currently considering an extensive tour directly after the album release. /Mikael Kahrle

Diffuse And One plans
• The official And One web site used to just contain the info that a follow-up to the previous album "I.S.T." was on its way - and nothing more. Now, it's completely shut down. And they are supposed to be one of the leading bands in their genre. /Mikael Kahrle

London's classic Hard Club reopens

The original Hard Club: A peep show place in Paris. This is where the London club picked it's name.

• EBM/industrial Hard Club in London is about to re-open at a new location. Release has visited the legendary small Soho club many times in the past and met among others Martin Gore (and his big, black body guard) in the early nineties. He was just one of the many celebs that used to go to there. Hard Club was a huge inspiration source for our Gothenburg Electric Café.
It's a great club obviously, but their web site is actually terrible. /Mikael Kahrle

Former Release staff member awarded
• We end this edition with some bragging... Mattias Göransson was one of our key writers during the nineties, when Release was a printed Swedish magazine. A few weeks ago, he received a prestigious Swedish award called "Media Rookie of the Year", for his work with sports magazine Offside. He won it in competition with Fredrik Strage, another writer with a history in electronic and independent music and once a writer for synth zine New Life.
Throughout the recent years Mattias Göransson has published books, worked as journalist at magazines like DN and Expressen (Swedish newspapers) and been a musician in less successful EBM act Emetic. /Mikael Kahrle

Boy George writes new romantic musical
• Boy George is currently writing a new romantic musical. Rumours indicate that Marc Almond might be performing in it. /Mikael Kahrle

The Pet Shop Boys musical on its way

Photo by: Eric Watson

• Pet Shop Boys are also working on a musical. Their partner in this ambitious project is film director Jonathan Harvey ("Beautiful Thing"). /Mikael Kahrle

Short film with exclusive Smashing Pumpkins music
• Swedish video director Jonas Åkerlund has made a short film called "Try", parallel to the video clip for The Smashing Pumpkins new single. The film features exclusive music made by Pumpkins' Billy Corgan and is filmed in the Stockholm subway with Swedish actors. /Mikael Kahrle

Moulin Noir signed by A Different Drum
• Swedish dark electropop project Moulin Noir has been signed by American A Different Drum. The synthpop label with re-release the new album "Descending" and put together a compilation with remixes and old remastered material from as far back as the eighties. "Descending" was released in Sweden a while ago and has been well received so far.
Moulin Noir has recorded a video clip for the album song "Maria Calling", which will be released as a single, probably in February. The video is about to be completed and we should expect a burning director, crashed mirrors, a model who hurts her fists in a boxing club and huge smoke clouds... /Mikael Kahrle

Cassandra Complex starts and ends tour in Hamburg
• Cassandra Complex have made a successful comeback in Germany this year with the album "Wetware" (SPV). Now, the veterans go on tour there with a dozen dates. The tour starts - and ends - in Hamburg, December 7 and 18. /Jens Krause

New band born out of Misery Loves Co
• Swedish Misery Loves Co is no more, but now members from the band and another metal band, Entombed, have formed a new band. It is nameless as of now and is said to have a spontaneous punk attitude. About ten songs have been made so far and the band will of course try to get a record deal. /Mikael Kahrle

New album by Kent next year?
• Kent have loose plans to start recording a new album next spring. If this actually will be the case depends on how successful Kent will be outside Sweden. They are the leading alternative rock act in Sweden, but so far, they have been unable to reach the same heights in countries like UK and USA, although they have tried hard. Recently their latest album "Hagnesta Hill" was put out in Australia and Japan and the band is prepared to go there for promotion activities which might delay other projects. /Mikael Kahrle

Depeche Mode album in May and tour in July?

Fletch (behind David Gahan here) speaks out.
Photo by: Peter Åstedt (Release)

• The new Depeche Mode album, yet untitled, is currently scheduled for a May release next year, according to Andy Fletcher in an interview on their official site. Fletch also said that the band has "pleasant" problems picking the first single off the album, as they have several choices.
He thinks of the new album as a bit similar to "Black Celebration" and "back to the old days".
- We've got 14 or 15 songs almost recorded. We should finish the album if not the end of the year, then by early or mid January, he said.
He also revealed some loose plans for the forthcoming tour.
- I think we'll start in either July or August of next year. There'll be a big European tour, a big American tour, and we're still discussing how we're going to go on from that. We're looking forward to touring next year. /Niklas Forsberg, Mikael Kahrle

The result from the German Alternative Music Awards

DAC award winners VNV Nation - standing.

• The first German Alternative Music Awards - GAMA - were held in Hamburg last weekend. Here are the winners:
Album: Einstürzende Neubauten "Silence Is Sexy"
Single: Placebo "Taste in Men"
Live show: In Extremo
German artist: Tanzwut
International artist: Moby
Newcomer: Zeromancer
Label: Motor
DJ event: Hörsturz - Grünspan, Hamburg
Honour award: Philip Boa
DAC award: VNV Nation "Standing"
VIVA Zwei video award: Farmer Boys "Here Comes the Pain". /Mikael Kahrle

Synthpop convention at Hollywood hotel
• Ever heard of a real synthpop convention? Now the American SynthCon is here. It's planned for Memorial Day weekend, May 25-27, 2001 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Expect 14 live performances from bands like Faith Assembly, Cosmicity, Kaj and Shades of Grey, discussions, DJ sets, merchandising, artist meetings and more. /Mikael Kahrle

New single with Children Within in January 2001?
• Swedish pop act Children Within plan to return with a new single in January 2001, followed by an album. Songs are being made as we speak. /Mikael Kahrle

De/Vision signs with Drakkar
• German pop band De/Vision is now part of BMG Germany as they've signed a deal with Drakkar. Their new material will probably be released on E-Wave, a Drakkar sublabel, where Evil's Toy released their new album "Silvertears" recently.
De/Vision is expected to go into the studio early next year with new material ready for release in the summer. Expect a sound between their two latest albums, "Monosex" and "Void". /Niklas Forsberg

Virtual X-Mas moved to Denmark
• The annual synth happening Virtual X-Mas will not be held in Sweden this year. The event has been moved to Denmark or the Ballroom in Copenhagen to be more exact. The performing artists are Welle Erdball (Germany), Hocico (Mexico) and Project X (Sweden). Noteworthy is that the Ballroom only can hold a total of 350 guests. Check the Energy Rekords site for further info. /Niklas Forsberg

March the new SAMA month
• Another big synth event, SAMA - Swedish Alternative Music Awards, has also been moved, though the location will still be Kåren in Gothenburg, Sweden. SAMA will be held one month earlier this year, at March 3, 2001. The band line-up is to be announced shortly. /Niklas Forsberg

Primal Scream plan new album

• It seems that Primal Scream will try and break their habit of taking three years to make an album. Despite all the touring that has followed the release of "Xtrmntr", the band already has three new songs ready for recording, and hope that they will have a new album out by the end of 2001. /Kristoffer Noheden

The Kent b-side collection just around the corner

• Kent will release their compilation of b-sides on November 29. Simply called "B-sidor 95-00", it holds a total of 25 tracks on two discs, of which two are brand new and a few others are new versions of old b-sides. The two new tracks are called "Chans" and "Spökstad", and the former will be released as a single one week before "B-sidor 95-00", on November 22. /Niklas Forsberg

Mogwai record new album in New York
• Melancholic Scots Mogwai are working on the follow up to last year's album, "Come on Die Young". They are currently recording in New York, once again with producer Dave Fridmann, and the album is scheduled for a release next spring, on their own Southpaw label. /Kristoffer Noheden

Ohgr album out this winter
• It seems that Ohgr, the duo consisting of Nivek Ogre and Mark Walk, will finally release their debut album early next year. It is still supposed to be entitled "Welt", and the preliminary release date is February 20. /Kristoffer Noheden

Haujobb looking for major label

• German electro duo Haujobb is looking to sign a record deal with a major record company. They just recently decided to leave Accession Records, the label Adrian Hates, sole memeber of goth-electro project Diary of Dreams, owns. Haujobb released two albums and one single on Accession. More news on their future label signing success, or rejection, as we get it. /Niklas Forsberg

New material by Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval side project
• Mazzy Star will release a new album next year, the first since 1996's "Among My Swan". Mazzy Star singer Hope Sandoval has also teamed up with ex-My Bloody Valentine member Colm O'Ciosoig for new project Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions. They will debut with the EP "At the Doorway Again" (Rough Trade) on November 20, to be followed by an album early 2001. /Kristoffer Noheden