The last few years have seen the arrival of bands such as Actors, Then Comes Silence, The Foreign Resort and The KVB, contributing to a vibrant and exciting new wave of post-punk and coldwave. One of these electrifying new bands that struck a special chord with us is Toronto two-piece TRAITRS, formed in 2015. Sean-Patrick Nolan and Shawn Tucker joined forces with producer Josh Korody and together they created the signature sound of TRAITRS.

In 2016 “Rites and Ritual” was released, 2017 saw the arrival of EP:s “Speak in Tongue” and “Heretic”. And in May 2018 they had a breakthrough on the scene with “Butcher’s Coin”, a record filled with a lot of emotions and, above all, it was an album showcasing great song-writing skills.

In February and March, they will tour the Nordic countries. Release sat down with Sean and Shawn when they visited Hamburg to chat about writing “Butcher’s Coin”, their interest in horror and occult aesthetics, the difference between Toronto and Europe and being overwhelmed by the reception of the European audience. After a horrifying coffee incident and much fascination about how much coffee an ordinary mop can hold, we started off the interview and photo session. [more...]

Ronan Harris is on the crest of the electronic music wave with his tenth VNV Nation studio album “Noire”, released in October last year on his own label. The combination of danceable beats, synthpop, EBM and atmospheric pieces of classical music telling stories of grandeur have contributed to the legendary status VNV Nation righteously can claim after staying at the top of the electronic scene for more than twenty years.

Much has changed since former album “Transnational”; Mark Jackson left in 2017 and at present VNV Nation is touring the world as a four-piece. In between the first and second leg of this world tour, we sat down with Ronan Harris in his hometown Hamburg to have an interesting chat about “Noire”, the surreal video experience in Tokyo and creative control. We learned that he has made six albums outside VNV Nation, that he hates the word futurepop and a lot more. We also took some photos, at the interview and at the concert.

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Check out our Spotify playlist “Releasemagazine.net | New Music”. New tracks will be added at least on a weekly basis. [more...]

What makes a show something you remember for years? Does loud noise cause severe hearing loss? Are you one of those thinking that The Jesus and Mary Chain landmark “Psychocandy” is the epitome of dirty, gritty and loud music? It’s obvious that you haven’t listened even to A Place to Bury Strangers. If you expect to get home from a standard gig experience with a typical decibel level just under 100dB you apparently haven’t been to a show by these noise heroes - there will be broken gear and walls of sound louder than anything you’ve ever heard.

Being hailed as the loudest band in New York with their feedback-drenched, experimental noise rock and shoegaze sound and the aggressive high energy live shows, A Place to Bury Strangers found their way to Hamburg and LOGO to do another “Pinned” tour show. Dion, Oliver and new drummer Lia met up with Release in Hamburg, taking the interview out in the shadow on the street for a chat about about their passion for the DIY approach, endless repairs of gear and their recipe for bold intensity and aggressive aesthetic. Don’t miss our interview and live pictures. [more...]

Over the last decade they’ve produced eleven solid albums plus several remix albums veering from stereoscopic EBM to spiky aggrotech. In September 2018 Funker Vogt released their latest album ”Wastelands”, marking over two decades of their existence whilst cementing their new, and at the same time old, home at RepoRecords.

“Wastelands” sees the German trio scaling new creative heights with re-energised confidence and with a creative productivity never seen in the band’s history before. When new singer Chris L. (Agonoize), Gerrit Thomas and René Dornbusch came to Hamburg with the Hybridize Festival tour we sat down for a chat about Funker Vogt 2.0, the new band setup in general and the impact of Chris’ being the new vocalist in particular, and the politics of an apolitical band. [more...]

The Hybridize Festival embarked on its tour across Germany at the end of February 2019. Four dates of harsh electronic music with hard electronic bands as Funker Vogt and Agonoize, and Swedish synthpop act Vanguard used as live bait to haul in people to the festival.

Patrik Hansson and Jonas Olofsson formed Vanguard already in 2008. Four years later, they released their debut album “Sanctuary”, a futurepop infused synthpop adventure that brought them onto the scene in Sweden but more importantly in Germany.

Four albums later we sat down with Patrik and Jonas ahead of their first Hybridize gig to talk about their latest, slightly rougher, album “Manifest”, reaching out to new fans in Germany and an aging scene that are having difficulties catching young people’s attention. The article includes exclusive live and interview pictures. [more...]

At the end of the eighties, darkwave in Germany crystallized into the Neue Deutsche Todeskunst, where music influenced by goth rock and neo-classical pieces were combined with German-spoken lyrics paying homage to philosophers as Goethe and Nietzsche.

One of the pioneering bands released the classic NDT album, also their debut album, “Das Sterben ist ästhetisch bunt” in 1992 and celebrates 30 years on the scene. After a thirteen-year long hiatus, Gothes Erben returned with the album “Am Abgrund” and have embarked on a very expensive theatrical tour, continuing in 2019 in chamber concert halls across Germany making their 30th year something to remember.

When the “Am Abgrund Tour” came to Markthalle and Hamburg, Release managed to catch a few minutes with founding member Oswald Henke and new band member Tobias Schäfer. We talked about Goethes Erben evolution within the darkwave and goth genres, their new, more electronic sound and their way too expensive performances. [more...]

Read our review of Combichrist’s new album “One Fire”. Other new reviews include The Chemical Brothers, Holly Herndon and Agent Side Grinder.

On April 26th, 2019, the new trio rendition of Agent Side Grinder released “A/X”; an album with several sonic differences compared to earlier work; without losing their special blend of dark, cold and catchy. This album is also the maiden voyage for their new singer, Emanuel Åström. Peter Marchione caught up with Peter Fristedt and Johan Lange at the release show at Debaser Strand in Stockholm.

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The 2-day outdoor festival Subkult in Trollhättan, 75 km from Gothenburg has managed to stay alive against all odds. This weekend (June 14-15), it’s time for the fourth edition with EBM, goth, synthpop, darkwave, punk and metal acts like Rotersand, Rein, Dive, Evergrey, Solar Fake, Wulfband, Sturm Café and Alvar. But it’s not mainly about booking the biggest headliners – it’s more about the friendly festival experience. We talked to the organizers about how it is to run a festival for the “black” sub cultures in a country where everyone speaks about “the festival death”. [more...]