News editors: Mikael Kahrle & Johan Carlsson

DAF cancellation and "Der Sheriff" single
• DAF was supposed to play an exclusive showcase concert, for mostly music business people, one month prior to the album release, on January 30 in Cologne. We now hear it is cancelled.
The first single from the new album is "Der Sheriff (Anti-Amerikanisches Lied)" (Superstar/Universal). It features four songs, among them the extra song "Sex" and a VNV Nation remix. The new sound is similar to that of the old DAF and the duo has used analogue equipment. /Jens Krause

Covenant and VNV Nation top the German Alternative Charts 2002


Applause. It's the single of the year.

• Last year saw many bands struggling to get to the top of the DAC (Deutsche Alternative Charts). If you are looking at the list of the best performing singles of the whole year 2002, it’s noticeable that Covenant holds two out of three top spots. “Call the Ships to Port” is number one, while “Bullet” lands on the third place, with The Prodigy’s “Baby’s Got a Temper” in between. Interestingly, these three beat, for instance, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Oasis.
Regarding albums, VNV Nation’s “Futureperfect” is on top of the year list. It’s followed by The Mission’s “Aura” and Covenant’s “Northern Light”. Other notables are Assemblage 23’s “Defiance” on spot five, and Mesh’s collection of B-sides and rare tracks “Fragmente 2” at seven. It is actually placed higher than their latest album “Who Watches over Me?” (ten). /Johan Carlsson

New Klinik album and collaboration coming soon
• A new album by Klinik will be out later this year and Klinik leader Marc Verhaeghen will also release a full-length split album with Vidna Obmana. A label for this collaborative effort has not yet been named but one would think the new Klinik album will be released by the band's current label Hands Productions. Obmana is well-known in the ambient world and first worked with Verhaeghen back in 1991 on X-10's debut album "Semblence". /Peter Marks

New Pigface studio CD



• Industrial conglomerative Pigface has completed their fifth studio CD. Drummer and ring leader Martin Atkins is releasing "Easy Listening... for Difficult Fuckheads" on his own Chicago based Underground Inc. label on January 28.
The 13 tracks include many members of the touring band from their "Preaching to the Perverted Tour" 2001. Additional vocals come from Groovie Mann (My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult), Fallon Bowman (Kittie), Lacey (Nocturne) and Chris Connelly . Rahul Sharma of Funkadesi laid down some sitar and fans were invited to leave F-words recorded on Atkins' office telephone answering machine to be used for the CD as well (!).
Earlier Release coverage of Pigface here. /Alex Veronac

WTII Records alive and well in 2003
• Chicago based synth label WTII Records has sent us a corrective note to previous rumoured information in other parts of the web.
"It has come to our attention that an erroneous report has surfaced stating that WTII Records, LLC has “bit the dust” and that the label is in financial turmoil and has decided to close its doors. For the record, we would like to let you know that these reports are deceptive rumours at best and the claimant’s validity and factual evidence supporting our closing can be described as highly suspect. It shames us to think that a onetime respectable source would compromise its own integrity and choose to adopt the same fictitious practices found at most tabloids."
WTII represents acts Beborn Beton, Melotron, h_m_b, In Strict Confidence and others. /Alex Veronac

Legendary Dorian Grey club re-opens in Berlin
• For over 20 years, the legendary dance and techno club Dorian Grey opened its doors at the international airport in Frankfurt/Main. Various Release crew members visited the huge Techno Club (located in Dorian Grey) many times throughout the years as it was one of the best clubs in the world for our music. In December 2000, the club was closed.
Now, we "sound of Frankfurt" will be heard in Berlin, as Dorian Grey re-opens in the capital. Is a decade of musical competition between Frankfurt and Berlin over..? /Jens Krause

Melotron: two becomes one



• The third single release from the "Weltfrieden" album by Melotron is "Folge mir ins Licht", as reported earlier. The single was intended as a double disc affair, but this plan is now cancelled. "Folge mir ins Licht" is scheduled for January 27. On this one-disc single there are six songs, two of which are exclusive. /Jens Krause

Virgin drops Oomph!
• Virgin Schallplatten in Germany has dropped the crossover act Oomph!. Obviously, the band is in search of a new deal. /Jens Krause

Funker Vogt featuring Joke Jay

Camouflage skirt? Why not.

• Funker Vogt are expected to deliver their new single “Red Queen” today, on January 13. Joke Jay (former And One member) is featured on the title song; a hard track in the Funker Vogt tradition.
The German EBM band embarks on a big European tour in March and will visit cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Hamburg, Berlin, Münich and Leipzig. /Jens Krause

Speed Tribe on TV
• The audio-video collaboration called Speed Tribe (featuring Front 242 members) has been shown a US based racing network. Industrial fans tuned in Speed Channel as they premiered the film on January 11. It will repeat again over the course of the month. Europeans with C-band satellite dishes might be able catch the signal. The 30 minute TV spot is in stereo without full Dolby 5.1 channel surround sound. /Alex Veronac

First German electronic and darkwave show on a commercial TV channel
• Alternative music magazine Sonic Seducer has recently started the first electronic/darkwave/EBM show on German TV in cooperation with the commercial TV channel Onyx Television. The show is called "Schattenreich" and is aired on Sundays from 18.00-19.00, featuring the stars of the scene with interviews, concerts, festivals, stories and interviews. About time, we say. /Jens Krause

The unstoppable "Music Machine"

• Melody Club have now conquered the Swedish no 1 album charts spot with their new wave pop debut "Music Machine". At the same time, we hear another huge Sweden tour is on its way. After the tour, they plan to have some time off and then it's time for the summer festivals. Foreign territories will have to wait until the autumn, when "Music Machine" will be launched in several other countries. But the album can of course be ordered on line and via import.
Virgin has just announced that the third single from the album will be picked by voting where anyone can participate.
Stand by for a review and a Competition with lots of Melody Club stuff to win. /Mikael Kahrle

Dependent signs deal with Memento Materia
• After a long time of discussions, Germany's Mindbase and their sub label Dependent (VNV Nation, Suicide Commando, previously also Covenant), has signed a deal with Sweden's Memento Materia, who will tale care of the Scandinavian market. Memento Materia also say they are prepared to work with other labels: with marketing, distribution (via Border) promotion and DJ service. /Mikael Kahrle

Mesh prepares for important single release
• Successful British electropop band Mesh has announced that the upcoming single “Friends Like These” will no longer be a two disc release. Due to changes to the rules governing lengths of singles, they can now squeeze in all the music on one disc - a single single... A new track called “From This Height” is included, as well as a whole bunch of remixes by the likes of Schiller, Icon of Coil, Decoder and Substance, Tom Wax and Binary Girl. In addition, the videos for “Leave You Nothing” and “Friends Like These” are on there. It hits the streets on January 27, and Mesh consider this their most crucial single release ever. They urge the fans not to make illegal copies of it, but they also say they decided not to include copy protection on the disc, for concern of inconvenience for the listener. They also encourage their German fans to buy the single during the first week of release, as this almost certainly will generate chart success. /Johan Carlsson

VNV Nation status report


Photo by: Dirk Eusterbrook

• Just like Mesh, VNV Nation have indeed had a very successful year 2002. It saw them releasing their album “Futureperfect”, and that album now tops the German Alternative Chart (DAC) “Top Albums of 2002” list. The single “Beloved” also had good chart success. Now, VNV Nation are busy with remix and DJ jobs. A remix for the new DAF single “Der Sheriff” has recently been completed, and so has remixes for Lights of Euphoria and Revolution by Night. /Johan Carlsson

Electro stars in charity project
• Bruderschaft is the name of a charity project started by New York DJ Rexx Arkana. The single “Fever” is made to raise money for cancer treatment. The single is a collaboration between Ronan of VNV Nation (vocals), Sebastian from Icon of Coil (music), Stephan from Apoptygma Berzerk (backing vocals), Joakim from Covenant (electronic loops) and DJ Rexx Arkana himself. Arkana wrote the lyrics after the death of his father through cancer. The single should be out now in both Europe and USA, and it is non profit. /Johan Carlsson

Energy for two new EBM bands

Greek industrial act Iambia is happy (?) to sign a Swedish record deal.

• Energy Rekords from Ikea's tiny hometown Älmhult in Sweden was one of the most important labels for synthpop, EBM and similar styles in Europe in the nineties. During he last few years, there has been, hmm..., less energy from Energy.
But know they announce two new signings: EBM/electro act 8kHz Mono from Sweden and EBM/power electro act Iambia from Greece. Iambia was formed in Thessaloniki 2000 and consists of Dimitris D and Elsa P. The fourth edition in Energy's "Virtual Energy" compilation series is on its way and the two newcomers are of course to be included. /Mikael Kahrle

Virgin Radio lists British top artists
• Virgin Radio listeners and web site visitors have casted some logical and some strange votes for the best British artists of all times. We note David Bowie (place 4), New Order (11), Radiohead (17), The Smiths (22), The Cure (23) and Depeche Mode as far down as 26. Even lower than that we find Joy Division (33), Gary Numan (41), Duran Duran (46), The Human League (50), OMD (64), Soft Cell (82), Siouxsie and the Banshees (87) and Spandau Ballet (88). We didn't expect, say, Oil in the Eye to show up, but when in particular Pet Shop Boys but also The Sisters of Mercy, Erasure, Nitzer Ebb, Massive Attack, The Prodigy, Portishead and many more are missing among the 100 artists, one starts to wonder. And what about Queen at the number one slot and Oasis as the third best British band of all times? Beatles did not win, they are number two, by the way. /Mikael Kahrle

Radiohead try to stay out of trouble this time
• Radiohead have finished recording their new, sixth album, scheduled for a June release. After a Christmas break, the work will continue. Final mixing will be completed this spring. The initial work on the album songs started in April 2002. According to NME, the recording process limited to eight weeks in Los Angeles and Oxford, to avoid problems. /Mikael Kahrle

Black Lung tours North America

Black Lung live in Toronto 2002.
Photo by Alex Veronac (Release)

• David Thrussell has been involved in many projects and releases mostly under the name Snog. Thrussell was touring the US and Canada solo earlier in December as side project Black Lung. We caught his knob twiddling noise with dark coagulated beats live. He says that in 2003 there will be a DVD compendium of about 14 of his back catalogue videos released. The experimental electro musician got his due last year as one of his videos won as best alternative video in Australia.
Catch earlier Black Lung news below by Peter Marks. /Alex Veronac

Strange "Deep Cuts" from The Knife
• The new album "Deep Cuts" from Sweden's The Knife offers twisted and weird electropop, as expected. They claim to have listened to Kate Bush, Queen, Aphex Twin, Miss Kittin and Le Tigre. Vocalist Karin Dreijer sings "sometimes as a woman, sometimes as a man" (quote from press release). The album will be delivered by the band's own label Rabid via Border in Sweden on January 17, with a price lower than normal. "Deep Cuts" includes the singles "Got 2 Let U" and "Hearbeats". A video for the latest single "Heartbeats" was released one week ago. The Knife are currently working on a soundtrack for the movie "Hannah med H", to be released this autumn. /Mikael Kahrle