News editors: Mikael Kahrle & Johan Carlsson

Erasure’s "Nightbird" comes in October


Photo by: Jason Evans

• British synthpop legends Erasure have now finished their new album entitled “Nightbird”, to be released in October. Tom Elmhirst – mixer of Kylie Minogue and Goldfrapp – has mixed the album, which is supposed to sound like classic Erasure. A single called “Breathe” also slips out in October, so it looks like it will be a busy month for Andy and Vince. /Johan Carlsson

Ronan and Joakim starts side project Hz
• Ronan Harris from VNV Nation and Joakim Montelius from Covenant have joined forces and created Hz, a duo formed with the purpose to reinterpret classical pieces with modern technology. A first live show took place at the 2004 Bach Festival in Leipzig on May 21, but it didn’t go well. After many technical problems with their equipment they decided to go off stage. Of course, the project is still intact, and an album is in the works. We’ll keep you posted. /Johan Carlsson

Quest for Fame – results


Red Cell, winners of Quest for Fame 2004

• The Swedish electronic music competition Quest for Fame where the lucky winner gets a contract with record label Memento Materia is now over. Red Cell took pole position, and is a four-piece band from Gävle and Sandviken in Sweden, playing heavy electronic music with guitars. Other bands competing in the finals were Radical Tea Party, Presence of Mind and Northern Electric. /Johan Carlsson

The Residents sign to Mute
• Cryptic sonic surrealists The Residents have signed to EMI label Mute Records. Little information is available on this new alliance, but according to a post at www.residents.com, the deal will be for the distribution of some older titles as well as upcoming albums. /Kristoffer Noheden

12" mania with Boytronic

Photo by: Joachim Ljunggren

• Boytronic will release a new double album featuring the extended versions of all their classic eighties singles. As many of these releases are long out of print, this will surely please a lot of fans. A couple of brand new tracks will also be included as well as new takes on old classics like "Luna Square" and "Red Chips". The release date is set to June 21 on the band's own minor label Major Records. /Niklas Forsberg

Covenant wants to do the definite EBM album
• I met Covenant in their studio in Helsingborg, Sweden to see how their new album is coming along. They've only recorded one song so far but are hoping to be able to release the new album before the end of the year. The song "The Island" from last years electriXmas festival CD will be reworked and appear on their next album. Covenant promises a new sound with more attitude and fewer soft songs.
- I would like to do the definitive EBM album, it's about bloody time, says keyboardist Joakim Montelius.
Well-renowned producer Jacob Hellner, who worked with Covenant on their last album "Northern Light", is currently working with Rammstein in France.
- We'd love to work with Jacob on our new album, says keyboardist Clas Nachmanson, however they are uncertain whether they can afford Jacob for more than a couple of songs.
Covenant also promises a refreshed homepage, due to be launched this summer. /Josefina Jansson

Maximized activity for minimalist Tilliander
• Swedish star minimalist and constant Grammy runner-up Andreas Tilliander has abducted another record label. Pluxemburg, hosting Swedish analogue kindergarten Pluxus as well as German Jeans Team, can now be added to Tilliander’s growing list of labels, ranging from Mitek to Mille Plateaux and showing no signs of stopping. Watch out, Merzbow!
The album on Pluxemburg, described by the label as “electronic dance music with occasional listener friendly pop tendencies” is due out this autumn. Meanwhile, the music of Tilliander can be enjoyed on a recently released album by the glitch super group Minimalistic Sweden, made up of Tilliander and two other artists on the Mitek roster. The title “Standard Klickmusik” should be rather self-explanatory. /Mattias Huss

Double single attack from the Suicide Commando

• Suicide Commando’s new single “Cause of Death: Suicide” is released this week, just prior to his WGT gig. The single comes in a regular and special edition with lots of remixes by Feindflug, Converter, Hocico, Wumpscut and Assemblage 23 amongst others. /Johan Carlsson

Industrial drum'n'bass from Needle Sharing
• If you like industrial drum’n’bass, you should check out Needle Sharing. Their new album “Switching to Channel Inferno” was released on May 24 via Hands. /Johan Carlsson

Kraftwerk to Arvika

• The Arvika Festival just gave us their latest booking: Kraftwerk. This is a dream come true for the organisers, who also have been more than pleased with another 2004 headliner, Skinny Puppy. Furthermore, Auf der Maur, Alice in Videoland and the new Eddie Bengtsson project This Fish Needs a Bike will join the line-up in July. Karl Bartos, who usually plays a number of Kraftwerk pieces live, has cancelled his Arvika show.
According to a recent interview with Ralf Hütter in Italian newspaper La Stampa (quoted by kraftwerk.technopop.com.br), the remastered Kraftwerk album re-issues are scheduled for September. “Autobahn”, “Radioactivity”, “Trans Europe Express”, “The Man Machine”, “Computer World”, “Electric Café”, “The Mix” and “Tour de France Soundtracks” will be available, both as separate items and in a box. They will be released on both vinyl and CD, and later on, also as Super Audio CD.
No unreleased material will see the light of day, but some known bonus tracks will be included. One interesting detail is that “Electric Café” will be named with its original title “Techno Pop”, and feature artwork from the original project as well. The three first Kraftwerk records “Kraftwerk”, “Kraftwerk 2” and “Ralf & Florian” will also be re-issued later (for the first time on CD). In further news, a live DVD from the tour of 2004 is in production, and will be out next year, if the information we have is correct. /Mikael Kahrle, Johan Carlsson

The family gathers in one week

Not your average festival. The medieval village at WGT anno 2003. 20 000 people gathered last year.
Photo by: Mikael "Mike" Larsson

• Next Friday, the 13th Wave Gotik Treffen kicks off. Four from Release, me included, plan to go to this, one of the biggest annual festivals for our music and culture.
WGT certainly has a different approach. First of all the fest is spread out all over Leipzig.
- The crypt of the people's battle monument, the "Schauspielhaus" (cities theatre), the Moritzbastei - these are locations you'll never find at a normal pop festival in the open countryside, Peter Matzke from WGT tells Release
Furthermore, the fest is not just about the usual "gigs & beers" routine. WGT also has a cultural focus, so to speak.
155 artists (!) are confirmed so far, among them Karl Bartos, Camouflage, Coil, Covenant, De/Vision, Fixmer/McCarthy, Funker Vogt, Insekt, In Slaughter Natives, In Strict Confidence, The Klinik, Lacuna Coil, Melotron, My Dying Bride, Sex Gang Children and Suicide Commando. There are 16 stages all in all.
- Our philosophy: No headliners, no chart breakers - just the really interesting acts from the second and third line, Matzke says. Band reunions. You meet old friends on stage. It is more focused on the (kind of) "inner circle". We do not want to cause any attention from the mainstream and "part time gothics" - we see the Treffen as a family gathering.
Finally, we ask Peter Matzke for his version of what happened during the catastrophic WGT in 2000.
- The old organisation went bankrupt during the ninth Treffen in 2000. It was chaotic, because most parts of the staff (security and so forth) left during the Treffen. None of the organisers took off, and there was no money to save. They simply went broke. It is a risky biz and they did a lot of mistakes. We changed the team - and the philosophy. /Mikael Kahrle

Skinny Puppy plan more dates

Portion Control will open for Puppy in London. They sent us some fresh pics, and this is one of them.

• Skinny Puppy is currently rehearsing while their upcoming world tour is being planned. Confirmed beside Cevin Key and Nivek Ogre onstage are Justin Bennett (drummer) and William Morrison (guitar/bass of Ohgr/69) as live touring members.
Confirmed opener for the London date is Portion Control with Legendary Pink Dots looking like their support for Amsterdam. Those worried about the lack of additional European dates this July will be happy to know there are plans underway for more penetration this fall. Skinny Puppy are hitting "anchor dates" on the first leg of the tour, then a short break and after that their first ever Japanese and Australian dates in September. Europe follows with Canada and more USA coverage in late October. People have no reason to sit back and wait for the Doomsday live DVD, but can take part in person.
The new album "The Greater Wrong of the Right" is already topping DAC. It is released on Monday and in June, a double vinyl limited edition will also be released. The album is described by Ogre:
- There is enough happening now [in the world], that [the title] could be seen as anti-right. It’s not about being anti-right, as much as it is a commentary on the system itself. "The Right" in this case, are people who are in control, who think they are correct, that have an agenda and are moving history forward, based on something that, at its core, is very wrong. It isn’t a political thing - it’s life. /Alex Veronac

Synth show on Swedish radio
• Swedish national public service radio (the P3 channel) is finally, after all these years, launching a one hour show for synth music. This happens tomorrow, Saturday, 9 pm, and the name is Sizer. In the premier program: Covenant in the studio, the state of the genre in Sweden, the Quest for Fame talent hunt, an eighties flashback and of course lots of good music. If you want the show to stay, mail P3 Frispel at the P3 web site. /Mikael Kahrle

Gore sings for Client and prepares Depeche Mode album?
• According to EW3/www.depeche-mode.com (this is not confirmed by other sources), Depeche Mode have prepared six new demos and Martin L Gore sings on a new Client album track.
The new, second Client album will offer twelve tracks, and possibly a musical interlude as well. On the Client web site we also read "There is only one more track left to mix - "Overdrive" - and Client are waiting for a very special vocalist for that one!". The new album is produced by Joe Wilson of Sneaker Pimps fame and mixed by Paul Tipler from 140 dB. /Mikael Kahrle

Brett and Bernard back together
• The former Suede bandmates Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler have recorded 15 new songs together. Brett claims that the new material is up there with the best they have ever done. An album should be on its way in a not too distant future. /Johan Carlsson

Prodigy finally back this year?


After years of delays, Liam Howlett is finally thinking about a proper release date.

• According to an interview with Liam Howlett of Prodigy on the fan site Nekozine, the new album “Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned” will finally be out this year. It has been seven years since their last full length. Liam says the new sound is more electronic, and it sounds very different to the single “Baby’s Got a Temper” that was supposed to showcase the new album when it was released in 2002. He goes on to say that the material recorded back then has all been scrapped, but some sounds have made it to the new version. The British music mag NME has heard a couple of songs and can confirm that they actually exist. They even say the album sounds a bit industrial.
In additional news, actress Juliette Lewis will appear on one of the songs. Maybe some new material will emerge in the beginning of the summer. /Johan Carlsson

In Strict Confidence to Arvika

In Strict Confidence hard at work writing songs.

• The Swedish Arvika Festival (July) has added Echo & the Bunnymen, Male or Female, In Strict Confidence to their line-up. By the way, ISC was deleted from Wave Gotik Treffen's program the other day, but are now reinstated. /Mikael Kahrle

"Viewers" ready for launch
• Swedes Z Prochek are ready to finally release their follow up to the debut "Intravenous". "Viewers" sounds slightly more accessible and direct than its predecessor. It offers a wide range of electro, from pop via futurepop to hard EBM. May 24 is the day to mark down for the fans.
In other Memento Materia news, both Michigan and Interlace will release new singles in June (the new Interlace album "Imago" has been delayed). /Niklas Forsberg, Mikael Kahrle

De/Vision goes underground
• German synthpoppers De/Vision has returned to their electronic style once again with their new album “6 Feet Underground”. The twelve track album will see daylight on June 28 via Drakkar. It can be sampled at the band's web page. /Johan Carlsson, Niklas Forsberg

Al Jourgensen called Release today...

No drugs. No sun glasses.
Photo by: Paul Elledge

• Al Jourgensen is back – with a vengeance. Not only is Ministry about to release their hardest album in years on June 22 – "Houses of the Molé" (we have a promo copy). They are also planning to overthrow the government.
- We are doing shows in the US all the way up to the election where we’re gonna try to register as many young voters as possible. Bush must be kicked out of office! says Al Jourgensen to Release.
- We’re not The Dixie Chicks who say we hate Bush and then apologise. We’re the Dixie Dudes, man, and we say "Hate Bush! Hate Bush! Hate Bush! Register! Vote!".
In an upcoming Spotlight (our fourth Ministry article), Al Jourgensen tells us all about working without Paul Barker, being clean from drugs, upcoming releases with Lard and Revolting Cocks and the end of Ministry. And his future career as a history professor. /Kalle Malmstedt

The future of Hanin Elias
• Former Atari Teenage Riot screamer Hanin Elias has a new album on its way. Entitled "Future Noir" it's due to be released May 24 (Fatal), and has been produced by electronic artist TweakerRay. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth fame guests on one track. Album track "Burn" can be downloaded from the Fatal Recordings web site, and has a catchy but noisy lo-fi techno punk sound. /Kristoffer Noheden

New single from Hocico with Apop remix
• “Born to be (Hated)” is a first taste of Hocico’s new full-length album. The single is out on June 1 and features hard texmex EBM in the vein of their previous singles. In addition we get a new extra track and remixes of the title track, as well as an Apoptygma Berzerk remix of the older song “Ruptura”. /Johan Carlsson