Review: Techno troubadour Yan Cook has a fine discography on some of the most respected labels out there. Now he heads to Ukraine's Cooked, a young but perfectly formed imprint, and kicks off his EP with 'Blades,' which is all melon twisted synths and driving techno kicks. 'Whistleblower' then slips into a deeply atmospheric groove with gurgling bass and watery effects and 'Grom' is all about the swing in the drums. Gritty textures and insistent claps add to the thrill of it all and 'Skyhigh' is a more frosty dub techno cut that leaves out breathless.
Review: Unusual Systems returns with their seventh release, a 12" single with sides shared between pushers Corp and Cavalry Stone. Traversing the wastes of bolshy Italo and new beat, and lending both an apocalyptic flair, opener 'The End Of The Days' seems to sonically describe as much through its use of massive gate-snares, janky ascendant riffs and trancelike string-n-stab breakdowns. The Bside is brought up rawly and raggedly by Spanish duo Cavalry Stone, who match the A's eerie melodic aura with a similarly strange lo-fi electro cut, sounding originally bound for cassette.
Review: After a fairly overwhelming 2013 of archival releases that was topped off with that excellent Patrick Cowley compilation, Dark Entries seemingly are maintaining that momentum this year with a clutch of new projects. The first is this reissue of the classic Signals From Pier Thirteen EP by Crash Course In Science, which is a name that should be instantly recognisable to fans of minimal wave thanks to "Flying Turns". The track featured on the Minimal Wave Tapes Vol. 1 compilation curated by Peanut Butter Wolf and Veronica Vasicka and has been reworked by Jamal Moss, J Rocc and Ricky Villalobos in recent years. "Flying Turns" of course features on this EP, and this Dark Entries issue is the first time Signals From Pier Thirteen has been reissued on vinyl since the early '80s and is a must for anyone who likes crude electronics and synthesised beats.
Review: The Opal label continues to establish itself in the electro realm with a second searing new release. This one comes from Cruz and is a full throttle outing that opens with 'Marine's Odissey', a journeying cut with searching synths and coruscated low ends. 'Tecnologica' has an even more rugged mix of raw drums and kicks and bumping basslines that never allow you to settle. There is increased turbulence on 'Los Misterios' with its zippy low ends and squelchy bass all firing every synapse in your brain then 'Los Finales Annunciados' shuts down with knick-snapping snares and alien sounds bringing the whole thing to life.
Review: Natural Sciences are always adept at platforming distinctive artists, but this is an impressive reach even by their standards. Candido hails from the Krishna-core punk scene of Buenos Aires, and his sound takes elements from early industrial and acid house to create a darkly powerful club record. Freestyle stabs, thumping Rompler bass and edgy sampling place this right in the jakbeat vibe you'd expect a DJ like Traxx to play, and it's a whole heap of boxy, bashy fun. Just listen to 'Body Board Memories', a slamming workout with gated reverb on the snares which is thick enough to eat.
Review: Candido aka. Luis Schiebeler lays down eight darkwave / Italo numbers for Spain's Oraculo Records as part of their extended EPs series - Megabreakz. The seventh addition to the sonic saga is a hearty, circuit-bent dancefloor haunter, marking the 'inaugural chapter of a two-part epic' by Candido, which promises a journey spanning everything from EBM to new beat to rave breaks. Wherever you place 'Mechanical Dances Part 1' on this vast stylistic continuum, the fact remains that Candido's approach to the post-industrial dance form is as psyche-imprinting as it is floor-denting, often nodding to the profound (sometimes dissociative) experiences common to frequenting such a scene. Peppered throughout - if you know where to find them - are repetitive lyrical mantras, alluding to everything from OOB experiences to controversial French psychoanalysts.
Review: This enigmatic recording, ahead of its time upon release, features Caroline K's pioneering approach to analog synth music and sample experimentation. Tracks like 'The Happening World' demonstrate her focus on dark ambient and drone music, while 'Animal Lattice' offers a haunting juxtaposition of high and low notes, reminiscent of early Dead Can Dance. 'Between The Spaces' explores a range of atmospheres, from new age to dungeon synth, with ethereal undertones. Caroline K's use of background noises and found sounds adds depth and texture to compositions like 'Leaving,' leaving a lasting impression on listeners. Now Wait For Last Year remains a lasting legacy to Caroline K's innovative spirit and her enduring influence on ambient, dark ambient, and electronic music. This brilliant trip into experimental ambience will impress everyone from soundtrack lovers to those who are into darker electronics.
Review: London Techno Collective's Steve Loss aka Catharsis returns to Berlin's Zhark Recordings for his third release and first long-player. Terrifying Shadows features eight tracks of 'hydraulic techno func (sic) .. and roaring drill mechanisms' that altogether make for some seriously difficult listening. Such disturbing titles as 'Into The warm Embrace Of Deviancy', 'It's So Easy To Corrupt A Soul', as well as 'The Tao Of The Scarred' or by far our favourite 'Tasting Hate From The Cup Of Gods' give you a fair warning of what to expect on this eight track opus: brutalist experimental techno delivered in uncompromising style. Not for the faint of heart!
Review: Swedish EBM icon Celldod returns to Electronic Emergencies with a new album pressed on striking transparent magenta vinyl. Pa Liv Och Dod is a superbly emotionally charged release that channels the raw energy of D.A.F. and Front 242 while blending dark electronic beats with intense lyrical themes. It has collaborations with Leroy Se Meurt and Michael Zodorozny, plus Anders Karlsson's haunting Swedish vocals exploring death and life's meaning also appear across tunes that are both urgent and dance floor directed. Pa Liv Och Dod will force you to confront fear and chaos head-on while offering a soundtrack that offers some catharsis from it all.
Review: CHBB was a project by Beate Bartel and Chris Haas that developed from a collaboration first embarked upon in 1981, while working on the self-titled album Liaisons Dangereuses. After initially releasing their music only on four limited cassettes, this compilation from Soulsheriff flaunts their complete works, including all recordings from the original tapes paired with several new and original tracks by each artist. One can hardly tell the difference between original and new here; from the surreally throat-sung contraltos of 'NBKE' to the jankily strange doubletimes of 'Bali', from the the warbly hypnotisms of 'Shapeshifter' to the womping-kicks-over-German-language-incantations of 'Ima Iki-Mashoo', there's an industrial, experimental treat here for everyone.
Review: Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti are busy reissuing remastered versions of their most classic albums. Pagan Tango originally came in 1991 and was described at the time by Melody Maker as "perfection." This is the first time the album has been available on vinyl since it was originally put out and it comes on limited red vinyl with a printed inner sleeve of archival photos making it a real collector's special. Tracks like 'Ecstasy' reference the trendy drug of the day, there is taut EBM on 'Take Control' and more sultry tunes on 'Face to Face'.
Review: Electronic pioneers and former Throbbing Gristle alumni Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti are held in high regard amongst those who know, and their records have always been in high demand. Right now they are being reissued in remastered form with a printed inner sleeve of archival photos and nice coloured vinyl. Techno Primitiv came came first back in 1985 on Rough Trade during the iconic duo's icy synth and minimal period. This one is the latest in the reissue series which started back in March with Elemental 7, Muzik Fantastique! and Feral Vapours Of The Silver Ether.
Review: This version of Chris & Cosey's Musik Fantastique! is a reissue of their original 1992 album, which features a mix of new wave, post-punk, and electronic influences to produce a slick slew of dreamy melody and threnody. Chris & Cosey's sharp, often confrontational lyrics explore themes of love, politics, and society, on what is otherwise a more centre-field and dreamy album in the pair's overall brutal discography; it's a cherished part of their synthpop / dream pop era from the early 90s.
Review: Imagine a world where the pioneers of hip-hop and electro reign supreme, their sounds echoing through the neon-lit streets of a futuristic metropolis. This is the world that Clipping creates, their music a heady blend of gritty beats, razor-sharp rhymes and dystopian soundscapes. 'Dominator' and 'Change the Channel' set the tone with their raw energy and infectious hooks, while 'Run It' and 'Go' showcase the group's lyrical dexterity and knack for crafting intricate rhymes that weave tales of technology, alienation and social unrest. Collaborations with Aesop Rock, Nels Cline and Cartel Madras add further depth and dimension to the album's sonic tapestry, each artist bringing their unique flavour to the mix. Tracks like 'Simple Degradation' and 'Mood Organ' delve into the darker corners of this dystopian world, exploring the anxieties and uncertainties of a future dominated by technology. It's not for the faint of heart, but it is a thrilling ride through a world of futuristic sounds and thought-provoking lyrics.
Review: Fresh from releasing a swathe of conceptual full-lengths, Los Angeles threesome Clipping have returned to their hip-hop roots via a mixtape style album reflective of their hip-hop roots. Of course, this is not hip-hop in the classical sense. According to the accompany sleeve notes, Dead Channel Sky is a collection of cuts focused on the present, dually inspired by the histories of cyberpunk and hip-hop. In practice, that means fast-flowing and lyrically dextrous rhymes, of course, but also beats that variously sample, chop up or reference everything from 90s rave classics, the rock-rave big beat antics of the Prodigy and Nine Inch Nails stail industrial grit, to TB-303-laden acid house, the dark and doomy trip-hop of Mezzanine-era Massive Attack, drum and bass and experimental electronica.
Review: For its 30th release, Persephonic Sirens has this arresting new album from Codex Empire across four sides of vinyl. It explores a brave new techno world where dystopian nightmares collide with club-ready grooves and textural synth work defines each track. 'With Fire I Carve' is a blistering sound with nervy, edgy synth tension, 'Alsatia The Lower' is a hard techno monster with screwy synths and flat-footed drums and 'Transient Phantom' is a tunnelling sound with stark sound designs and an atmosphere that is pregnant with darkness and unease.
Review: First released 22 years ago at the turn of the millennium, Constant Shallowness Leads To Evil has been described as one of Coil's most "mind-altering creations"; given the fiercely experimental and often otherworldly nature of their catalogue, that's some going. The album, which has now been fully remastered, was one of the first things Coil recorded following their relocation to Weston-super-Mare, and sonically it's as bleak, windswept, and barren as the town itself seems out of season. It's full of droning tones, modular blips, metallic melodies, slowly shifting ambient textures and musical motifs that lap in and out like waves. Furthermore, the album's standout moment, the near 14-minute 'I Am The Green Child', is like some mutant, experimental sea shanty crossed with a hypnotic ambient-industrial raga.
Red Birds Will Fly Out Of The East & Destroy Paris In A Night (2:00)
Red Queen (10:43)
Broccoli (9:16)
Strange Birds (7:40)
The Dreamer Is Still Asleep (9:41)
Review: Coil arguably were in their best form as the new millennium dawned as well as being already deep into their career. Musick To Play In The Dark not only lived up to its name, it marked a transition both sonically and astrologically for the band as they declared a new era as a lunar rather than solar group. Mixing gently melodious ambient motifs and immersive aural textures with more experimental sounds, spoken and sung vocals and a variety of unobtrusive rhythms, the album remains one of the most vivid and enjoyable outings in their vast, action-packed catalogue. Whether it's spooky distorted sounds on 'Strange Birds', 'Red Queen''s strange droning late-night piano soul, or the yearning ambient pop on 'The Dreamer Is Still Asleep', this is a subtly bold record packed with exceptional ideas.
Moon's Milk Or Under An Unquiet Skull (part 1) (8:07)
Moon's Milk Or Under An Unquiet Skull (part 2) (7:56)
Bee Stings (4:51)
Glowworms/Waveforms (5:42)
Summer Substructures (5:04)
A Warning From The Sun (For Fritz) (8:02)
Regel (1:15)
Rosa Decidua (4:53)
Switches (4:43)
The Auto-Asphyxiating Hierophant (5:57)
Amethyst Deceivers (6:17)
A White Rainbow (8:51)
North (3:48)
Magnetic North (7:23)
Christmas Is Now Drawing Near (4:57)
Copal (16:45)
Bankside (6:48)
The Coppice Meat (10:48)
U Pel (Incense Offering) (12:33)
Review: First compiled as a double CD in 2002, Moon's Milk (In Four Phases) is a suite of four EPs that Coil released seasonally via their in-house Eskaton imprint across 1998. The line-up for these sessions were John Balance, Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, Drew McDowall and William Breeze. Recorded primarily at their home studio in Chiswick, London on the eve of a permanent relocation to the small seaside town of Weston-Super- Mare, the collection has long loomed as a pivotal and pinnacle work in the group's discography, but has never been officially reissued, or re-pressed on vinyl. Time has only ripened its tapestry of regal strangeness. Arranged sequentially in tribute to the equinoxes and solstices, Moon's Milk captures Coil at a revelatory crossroads, leaning deeper into improvisation, spontaneity and sound design. 'Moon's Milk or Under an Unquiet Skull' initiates the proceedings on 'Spring Equinox', a two-part netherworld organ seance woven from vocal drones, cathedral keys, seasick strings, and opiated undertow. From there, 'Summer Solstice' skews lighter but no less incantational, with Balance embracing his voice- as-instrument across lucid dream torch songs ('Bee Stings'), purgatorial spoken word ('Glowworms/Waveforms'), sultry chamber pieces ('Summer Substructures'), and falsetto ravings ('A Warning From The Sun (For Fritz)'.
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