I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing the work of Berlin-based composer Rettward von Doernberg in the past, and it seems he’s still producing impressive beats where one can hear trip-hop and EBM influences. Mellow, lush, and a rather relaxing and enjoyable listen.
Neither Merzbow nor Meat Beat Manifesto will need no introduction to connoisseurs of either Industrial music or the sound that made Wax Trax! Records famous. I never, in my wildest dreams, thought that these two would join forces for an album, and, miracle of miracles, their styles actually work well together.
Pyroclastic is the brainchild of former member of the Los Angeles Das Bunker Collective Ryant Takai, who was one of the few musicians promoting genres like Industrial Dance, Electronic Body Music and Power Noise. From main member Ryant Takai’s Bandcamp site: “The second coming album focuses on the continuing of Power Noise/Rhythmic Noise roots, pays tribute to Indigenous tribal rhythms of North America, and blends in a hybrid of Dark Techno vibes. Ryant Takai is well versed in percussion and experiments in a diverse array of Bass kicks without sticking to any particular 909, 808, or any other typical digital…
Out of sheer good luck, I came across a Chinese artist recently called tamiX. She has a large body of work, not only with music but in multimedia, and now, print. She has a Patreon site, so if this work suits you, consider supporting her work. From her bio on the release’s Bandcamp site: “tamiX, a professional artist of improvisational electronic live music and visual arts, refusing to perform with computer programs or software, specializes in unprepared visual creativity, and music performance with standalone gear to demonstrate physically natural effects as atmosphere changes likewise. As Buchla endorsed artist, with Buchla…
Uchylak are a Polish group who have a rather retro sound, combining dark electro, techno, and even Electronic Body Music or hard beat into a very punchy, well-produced album.
I grew up with Electronic Body Music during my high-school years when my little brother and I would go clubbing in Hollywood, and the music has stuck with me for well over three decades. Spain’s Spammerheads have made a sound that would compliment early Front Line Assembly, the harsher vocal aspects of Front 242, and a recording technique that was compressed just enough to make me feel like I was dancing around in my old iron “Mad Max” boots over at Club F**k! back in the day. Well done!
Our friend JOHN 3:16 (a quote I subscribe to as well as a band whose work is consistently brilliant) has paired with the Belgian project Be The Hammer and the pairing have produced an album that, while fresh and brutally punchy technologically, also has a flair for reminding the listener of everything from Skinny Puppy to Front 242, and perhaps a bit of Central/Eastern European post-punk. This album is going to get a lot of attention, surely.
Buh Records out of Peru has released a compilation which serves as a snapshot of Lima’s grimy techno scene. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “The title of this compilation is inspired by the name of a concert held in Lima in 1991, considered to be the first techno concert to have taken place in Peru. Even though not all intervening groups were doing techno at that time, they did share the fact that they all used keyboards. Four of them, however (Cuerpos del Deseo, Ensamble, Círculo Interior and Reacción), were in fact affiliated to an electronic sound (techno-pop, EBM). The…
2021 was a very solid year for electro-industrial record label Artoffact Records out of Canada. Some of the more incredible cuts from this compilation come from The Hafler Trio & Reptilicus, Cevin Key (from Skinny Puppy), Kælan Mikla with Alcest and of course, Canada’s own Front Line Assembly-related project, Noise Unit. A really good introduction to a pivotal record company.
Hungarian band CMC have been recording albums since 1989, and, had they received their fair due during the heydey of post-Industrial Electronic Body Music (EBM), they would have been recognized as competitors of such luminaries as Front Line Assembly and Front 242, but with a darker groove. The band’s main actors, composer Vince Kósa and György Szász, have reactivated the band. The grooves are still as powerful as they were nearly 30 years ago, and it feels like they never went away. Three tracks are available to check out, and each will remind you of the days where EBM dance…