Music media often focus on the legends, icons and pioneers that we love to celebrate and pay tribute to from a very young age, when we pin their posters on the wall in our childhood rooms. In Release, we also focus on the musical heroes working in the background, producing, programming or even singing on the icons’ albums. Now it’s time for another of those hard working heroes, who has a resume that few studio musicians can dream of. After working with Depeche Mode, Moby, A-ha and The Kills, just to mention a few, Kurt Uenala finally took the step and released his debut album under the moniker Null + Void.
Release sat down with Uenala and HFN Music’s Philipp Brüning a few hours before the show at the Reeperbahn Festival and discussed how it is to take the role of the frontman, collaborative work and (not) letting go in the creative process. We also shot some exclusive pictures. [more...]
Fourteen years after their debut EP and three albums later, making them household names and ushered a generation of indie kids onto the dancefloor, Digitalism still continues to produce a never-ending stream of electronic club hits. The last three years have even seen a much more focused work ethos by taking control of their career and starting their own label, Magnetism.
Release sat down with Jens “Jence” Moelle and Ismail “Isi” Tüfekci in their studio, squeezed into an old World War II bunker in Hamburg to discuss the ever-changing music industry, their signature sound and walking down the road to creative freedom by starting their own label.
The sheer number of acts arising on the German goth rock scene is almost unrivaled and the scene is fraught with competition between a never-ending stream of new bands entering the scene. To stand out is quite a challenge. One of these bands that recently have started to catch some attention in Germany is far from being a newcomer and have been on the scene in different constellations since 2006, and they also have a special connection to Finland.
Release Magazine sat down with singer Florian and drummer Yannick of Florian Grey at the Finnish church café in Hamburg and had a chat about their latest album “Ritus”, the German goth rock scene and why Finland is such a great country. [more...]
Two releases into their career, Stockholm’s post-punk and darkwave outfit A Projection have provided listeners with a widely-varying palette from which to draw. After being signed by Hamburg based Tapete Records even before there was a full band setup, A Projection have seen a massive increase in popularity and already played the major festivals on the scene.
We caught up with the band in Cologne, to discuss how they have evolved since their debut album, the difference between synth and post-punk and what they have in store for their increasing pool of fans in the future. [more...]
1981 was a remarkable synthpop year with releases like Depeche Mode’s ”Speak and Spell”, Soft Cell’s “Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret” and The Human League’s “Dare”. And then we have Midge Ure’s Ultravox, with the classic single ”Vienna” (taken from the 1980 album with the same name) and the album ”Rage in Eden”.
Release’s Fredrik ”Schlatta” Wik focused on the Ultravox album ”Brilliant” and its tour in his 2012 Midge Ure interview. Now, Midge sat down with Release again, at the Amphi Festival in Cologne, for an interesting chat about his overall career and how working as a musician, songwriter and singer has changed since the 80:s.
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Only a year and a half year after their critically acclaimed album “Nyctophilian”, Stcokholm post-punk/goth rock four-piece Then Comes Silence released their fourth album “Blood”. It came out in October 2017 on Nuclear Blast, thus they changed label from Gotland based Novoton. Extending the “Blood” tour into 2018, Then Comes Silence returned to Hamburg supporting ChameleonsVox (formerly The Chameleons). Release met up the band members just after their arrival at the venue to have a chat about the return of the post-punk/goth scene and why it’s easier to play in Germany than on home turf in Sweden. [more...]
Ex-Sneaker Pimps singer Chris Corner’s alter-ego IAMX is back with his dark electronic fusion of music genres. After releasing his eighth album “Alive in a New Light”, Chris is hopeful after some dark years and his personal battle against clinical depression and chronic insomnia. Release met up with the brainchild of IAMX before his show in Hamburg and had a chat about being difficult to work with, a brighter future and having ”a Skinny Puppy”, Cevin Key, to look after his puppy while being on tour. [more...]
The last ten years have seen a revival and revitalization of the postpunk scene with loads of new acts raised on Joy Division and Talking Heads. A whole new generation of bands have entered the scene, bands that together have produced countless great albums released in the 21st century. One of the latest additions that have caused something of a stir on the scene is Vancouver four-piece Actors, representing a modern take on the genre by mixing together bits and pieces of classical chorus pedal basslines, darkwave and heavy synthlines. Artoffact (Legend, Psyche, FLA) delivered their debut album “It Will Come to You” in March this year and Actors are heading for Terminus, Infest, Coldwaves and other synth and darkwave festivals. [more...]
The stream of darkwave, gothic, synthpop and futurepop bands from Germany seems endless. And they all struggle to stand out in the crowd. Alphamay was one of those bands, but they grab more and more time in the spotlight. They’ve already been awarded twice for best electropop act and best gothic/new wave act at Deutscher Rock & Pop Preise in 2017, play live as often as they can and have just released the new mini album “The Mellow Collie”.
Release had a chat with “Cris” Frickenschmidt whom together with singer Henning Hammoor constitute the core of the Ernst Horn inspired Osnabrück band. A band that was born after a car crash. [more...]
Qntal, pioneers of mixing medieval folk music with impressive electronics, released their eighth album “VIII: Nachtblume” in the beginning of March 2018. We realised we have only interviewed (related band) Deine Lakaien, but never Qntal. So our Hamburg-based writer Jimi Nilsson had a chat with a cheerful Michael Popp, founder of Qntal, an interview entailing the band’s connection to poetry and historical artifacts, and Popp’s passion for new instruments. He reveals that Qntal was born prior to Deine Lakaien, talks about being like a brother to Ernst Horn and the darkwave scene. [more...]