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News editors: Mikael Kahrle & Johan Carlsson |
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Leæther Strip EP followed by album in January November 15 2005 | By: Peter Marks (Portland, Oregon, USA)
The numerous formats for this release include the standard double disc version, a limited run three disc version (the third disc being cleverly entitled "Æftershock") and according to the label a "mega-limited Leæther Strip bag which features the triple disc version of the album, postcards, a T-shirt, a poster and a promo CD entitled 'Matrix-X-Trax (Volume 1)'". The comeback EP "Suicide Bombers" is out any day now (shortly delayed). New PWEI product on line November 15 2005 | By: Alex Veronac (Toronto, Canada) A ten song, ten minute medley of newly recorded Pop Will Eat Itself material has become available for fans of the recently reunited UK quartet. The "Garage and Attic" sessions with some reused older pre-breakup tracks can be found here. Poppies singer Clint Mansell has been busy in the American film industry, working on soundtrack composing, with the latest being that of motion picture "Doom". The soundtrack disc features "You Know What You Are? (Clint Mansell Remix)" performed by Nine Inch Nails. Mansell was previously signed as a solo artist on Trent Reznor's Nothing Records. Strategic partnership from Dependent and Suicide Commando November 15 2005 | By: Peter Marks (Portland, Oregon, USA)
As we have previously reported, Suicide Commando have renewed their contract to record for the Dependent label and have now announced a new sub-label called Noise Terror Productions. Suicide Commando's Johan van Roy will be in charge of this creation which promises to "concentrate on hard electro and EBM". In a rather surprising development, a new album from Belgian legends Insekt will be released in spring of 2006 via this new label. All planned future releases from Suicide Commando will be released on NTP as well. - NTP will, sort of, be Dependent's evil twin brother, with a harder and more EBM-centric roster, states Dependent label head Stefan Herwig. The Dutch Clan return in January November 15 2005 | By: Peter Marks (Portland, Oregon, USA) "Weak in My Knees" (Pandaimonium), the new EP from Amsterdam's Clan of Xymox, will be out on January 13 of next year. Yet another classic song by the band, "Michelle" will feature in a re-recorded version and a remixed version alongside re-works from Grendel and The Azoic. A non-album track called "Calling You Out" and the video for "Weak in My Knees" are also included. Clan of Xymox are due to release their new, as yet untitled album, in February or March of 2006. Pakistan Earthquake relief concert in Vancouver November 12 2005 | By: Johan Carlsson (Stockholm, Sweden) Strangely, the aftermath of this catastrophe has passed relatively unnoticed media wise, but here comes a relief concert in Vancouver to help out. Bands from that area such as Winston, Astoria, Caustic Pleasures and DJ Pyxis will play at the Anza Club on November 22, and all money goes directly to the Pakistan Earthquake Relief fund. The event is arranged by LoudChris from the bands Dismantled and Stiff Valentine, and he also plays with Caustic Pleasures. They also need help and volunteers, so send them a mail on loudchris@gmail.com if you’re interested. Front 242 singer on new Front Line Assembly track November 11 2005 | By: Johan Carlsson (Stockholm, Sweden) Just in: Jean-Luc de Meyer has joined forces with Bill Leeb’s Front Line Assembly to sing on one of the new tracks being worked on for the new FLA album. Unfortunately, we don't know more at this point. The band is also trying to work out gigs in Europe for the spring. No details about that either, except that Russia and Germany are being mentioned. Catching up with Depeche Mode again November 10 2005 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
We get two CD, one DVD, two 12" and one 7". The vinyl editions will be released a little later, on December 19. The remixers this time around are Goldfrapp, Telex, Kettel, Jaques Lu Cont and Bitstream. Snippets can be heard in the DM Receiver software. Two radio single editions hold one radio version each. Now when the album "Playing the Angel" has been out for some time, it's obvious that it is has really put Depeche Mode back on track. It's embraced by most fans and media, resulting in chart success with the no 1 chart position in at least 17 countries and, for instance, platinum sales in Germany. Spoiler alert. Depeche Mode have "Toured the Angel" in five North American cities so far (plus warm-up gig) and many ask about which old songs are being played live. They appear to have played the following pre-"Violator" songs: "Just Can't Get Enough", "A Question of Time", "Never Let Me Down Again", "Everything Counts", "Behind the Wheel" and "Somebody". Only one song each has been played from the latest two albums: "Home" from "Ultra" and "Goodnight Lovers" from "Exciter". Electraglide soon to hit Japan November 10 2005 | By: Mike Whyte (Tokyo, Japan) As annual events go, Electraglide must be ranked right up near the summit of must-do's for people in Japan. Held in two separate cities in Japan, and catering to the electronic and dance communities of each, it is building on an already strong reputation - Kraftwerk, Orbital and The Prodigy, among many other luminaries, have played past events here. This year's line-up looks fine with Underworld, Autechre, Coldcut, Chris Cunningham, Adrian Sherwood and Japan's own Towa Tei as the cream of an altogether satisfying line up. “Electraglide” is to be held over the weekend of November 25-26 in Tokyo and Osaka respectively. Radiohead back in the studio November 8 2005 | By: Johan Carlsson (Stockholm, Sweden) The members of British band Radiohead are back in the studio again, working on a follow-up to 2003's “Hail to the Thief”. According to NME, the band is once again shaking things up, and they are changing the way they work together. However, things are looking good, says singer Thom Yorke. The album comes out sometime next year. De/Vision: It begins with "The End" November 8 2005 | By: Johan Carlsson (Stockholm, Sweden) “Subkutan” is out on January 27, 2006, with the promotional single “The End” out in December, although that track probably won't see a regular single release. Bauhaus to Release: new album after the tour November 7 2005 | By: Alex Veronac (Toronto, Canada)
There have been some Bauhaus future plan announcements in the past, but none so relevant as now. For many, this archetype UK gothic band died July 5, 1983 after their set at Hammersmith Palais, London. The current rise of Bauhaus started with a performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Indio, California, in April this year. This also brought on a warm-up gig in a nearby club. – The Coachella experience was nerve wrecking, but we got it together after the first few numbers, drummer Kevin Haskins tells me over the phone from Los Angeles. I talked to him before the new "Near the Atmosphere" tour start in Vancouver a while ago. The Coachella audience was the largest the quartet ever played in front of. – I feel more at home in smaller club venues, Haskins confesses. He is "very excited" to be with the band again, on tour as a unit. In a May 2002 interview with Release, Bauhaus singer Peter Murphy remarked not to be too surprised if Bauhaus returned again after the 1998 "Resurrection" tour. He confirmed their musical relationship: – They're my brothers, those guys. I love'em. The only new-era Bauhaus song released so far is "The Dog's a Vapour", made specifically for the "Heavy Metal 2000" film soundtrack. Once the current "Near the Atmosphere" tour, which seems to continue through next year with a return to Europe in January, is complete, the intention is to record new material. On the new recordings, Haskins says he'll go with "a more organic" traditional drum sound than turning to electronics. He's been experimenting lately with a Synare percussion synth device. Finally, something about Haskins work outside Bauhaus. Together with musical production partner Doug DeAngelis (Love and Rockets, Nine Inch Nails, Pet Shop Boys), he has been scoring motion picture and TV music in the Los Angeles area under the label Messy Music. He mentions film "Employee of the Month" (2004) as one of their better works to catch, though the pair also worked on goth franchise "The Crow III". Messy Music has created recorded music under their own name including tracks with special guests like Flea from The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Fans can order official Bauhaus live recordings through the Instant Live service here; this the first since 1999's Gotham NYC live package. New Covenant song in next-gen Xbox360 game November 7 2005 | By: Johan Carlsson (Stockholm, Sweden) Since the game is released on the Xbox360 launch day (November 22 in USA , December 2 in Europe) this is the first taste of the new Covenant (except for web site loops). I was already looking forward to this game, since I really enjoyed the last version. Now my anticipation went up another notch. Alice in Videoland ready for the second phase November 4 2005 | By: Johan Carlsson (Stockholm, Sweden)
After three years of existance, Alice in Videoland are ready to take their mix of electro, EBM, punk and pop outside their home country Sweden. The new album "Outrageous" (review) is out since early October, also in USA and Canada via the label Storming the Base, and they recently played in Russia. Front girl Toril Lindqvist jokes and says their plans are to take over the world. – It went great in Russia! There was a lot of action over there. Unfortunately we don't know how they had discovered us. There are some loose plans to tour in USA as well, but they are going to wait and see how the album is doing before any decisions are made. Alice in Videoland have toured their home country extensively and their live shows are respected for their energy. Co-founder, writer and keyboard player Calle Lundgren who was an important member on the debut album "Maiden Voyage" (review) left the band prior to the new one; he's still a little involved though. – Calle wanted to concentrate on his work, so he's not with us on the gigs. However, he's still helping out with the new album, and has worked on a couple of songs, Toril explains. – Niklas was brought in instead, and he's one of my oldest friends. He fits in perfectly, and it feels completely right to have him in the band. So far, "Bad Boy" and "Cut the Crap" are single picks from "Outrageous" and the next single will be “Radiosong”, which to me is the most direct hit on "Outrageous". Toril seems happy to hear that, and tells me that they're making a video for the track as well, but at the time of the interview no director was chosen. Check out On Stage for new Alice in Videoland live dates. Shadowfest cancelled; 51 instead of 400 tickets sold November 4 2005 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) | Tip by: Sussi Pettersson
The organisers behind Stockholm's Shadowfest (a four band concert night on November 17) have decided to cancel the event. They had set a deadline (October 31) when they needed 400 tickets sold, but sales reached as little as 51, despite "heavy national promotion". "The majority of the Stockholm scene who refused to buy tickets have decided they did not want to support this event", the disappointed organisers write in this straight-forward letter. Furthermore, they claim to have spent thousands of dollars on "flights, booking fees and promotion". Initially Shadowfest was supposed to be a two-day festival during two Thursdays (!) in a row, where also Qntal and other acts were supposed to play. Fields of the Nephilim release slightly delayed November 3 2005 | Peter Marks (Portland, Oregon, USA) As we have previously reported, Fields of the Nephilim's "Mourning Sun" (Oblivion) was scheduled for November 18, but the release date has been changed to November 25. The US release is set for January 6. The album consists of eight new works from Carl McCoy, reviewed here. There will be a limited version of "Mourning Sun" which will come in a black jewel box slip-case with an exclusive bonus track "In the Year 2525" and some additional video archived also. Live dates are still being booked with a "series of key-note, and rather prestigious, concerts across the globe". The additional members of this incarnation of the Nephilim are being kept under lock and key by McCoy. We are currently completing our Spotlight (we interviewed McCoy a few weeks ago). Looped beats from Mr Love November 2 2005 | By: Alex Veronac (Toronto, Canada)
The second solo project release from Canadian Glenn Love was released in October by Sonic-X Records (Germany). The "Belle Epoque" CD continues his predominantly instrumental work with looped beats. Sound bytes can be found here. Love is presenting his ambient-electro tracks to his hometown fans on November 18 at Neutral Lounge, Toronto. He is then scheduled to be in Germany through December promoting the new material with a special guest appearance on stage at the Dark-Dance Treffen December 17 in Lahr. Speaking with Love recently, he said he is very interested in playing for audiences at festival gigs in Scandinavia and further throughout Europe. |
"After the Devastation" (Alfa-Matrix)
will be out in January of 2006
and is a new double album from
Denmark's returning Leæther
Strip. 
Regardless
of what's previously
been said on the web, Depeche
Mode's next single "A
Pain That I'm Used to"
will be out on December
12 and the B-side is called
"Newborn".
The popular German synthpop
band De/Vision is finished
with their new album “Subkutan”.
Described as a step forward,
but still with the electronic
De/Vision sound, I guess
the album should appeal
to long-time fans. The twelve
track album also features the
band's first track in German for
ten years. 
Sweden's
prime act when it comes
to electronic music – Covenant – is
featured in the upcoming
Xbox360 game “Project Gotham
Racing 3” . The track in
question is “20 Hz” from
their upcoming album “Skyshaper” (to
be released early next
year, probably in the spring). 
