Combichrist – We Love You (2014)

Combichrist - We Love You (2014)

Combichrist - We Love You (2014) While the post-dubstep mainstream EDM scene is populated exclusively by plastic dolls, posers and annoyingly boring “copies of imitations”, it’s quite refreshing to listen to something powerful, modern, but still attached to the classic values and to the classic sense of the values such as “We Love You”, the 7th and probably the deadliest album by Andy LaPlegua, the one man army and the master mind behind the Combichrist machinery. Although the Ministry parallels are still there, Combichrist it’s definitively one of the best and most intense EDM bands from the scene and their Aggrotech aggression it’s always meaningful and genuine each time.
Without reinventing the EDM, without doing anything revolutionary, they managed to sound fresh and refreshing, modern without becoming predictable and boring as most of the other bands and artists from the EDM scene are sounding. There is life and music after drops and wobbling s*its after all! Read more Combichrist – We Love You (2014)

Random Being – World Without Memory (2014)

Random Being World Without Memory 2014

Random Being World Without Memory 2014 In a world of predictability, of products and fakes, art became a sub-product and a merchandise. It’s more important to lock-up on a large target and sell your stuff, then do something special. Tits are more important then talent and well, ass-kissing it’s more productive then any original idea. I only and always can quote Jello Biafra and his bitter-prophetic “Chickenshit Conformist” (“Ideas don’t matter it’s who you know. If the music’s gotten boring it’s because of the people who want everyone to sound the same…)
Pop music – a term that originally derives from an abbreviation of “popular” – it’s a generic genre which originated in its modern form in the 1950s, deriving from rock and roll. Rock and roll lost its sense, meaning and consistence, became a cliche while popularity last less then 15 minutes and with proper media support anybody can be a star nowadays where few people are still playing rock and roll (generically speaking) because they feel the need to play, very few people are doing music for the love of music or because they feel the need to express themselves, to communicate, to have fun doing it or – eventually -to find another path, to reveal a previously unexplored universe.
Random Being it’s an on-line creative collective and their collaboration bring to the surface a magical-mystery world of sounds and emotions, grooves and emulations. Self label it “avant-pop”, their universe it’s a melting pot of different genres and flavors, it’s a place of psychedelia, space and progressive rock, fever-burned rhythmics, contorted samplers and sound manipulations, jazz grooves and tango fueled passions. It might be post-pop as well – while post became the new (fashionable) porn. Think of David Bowie, P.I.L., Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd jamming in the same room. Read more Random Being – World Without Memory (2014)

Laibach – Spectre (2014)

Laibach – Spectre (2014)

Laibach – Spectre (2014) There are very few artists (bands) who still manage to surprise me these days. The 2006’s “Volk” was a peerless release, it’s quite impossible to overtake that album and Laibach definitively had a hard time to figure out what they should do next. True, meanwhile they released in 2008 “Laibachkunstderfuge” – a concept album, the laibachian interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “The Art of Fugue” (Lai-Bach-Kunst-Der-Fuge) – and in 2012 the original soundtrack for the movie “Iron Sky”. Also they released a mind blowing live album “Monumental Retro-Avant-Garde – Live at London Tate Modern 14 April 2012” and a consistent retrospective entitled “An Introduction To… Laibach”. While “Laibachkunstderfuge” was a quite exclusivist, unfriendly album in the manner of the early Laibach albums (Nova Akropola, Opus Dei, Macbeth, etc) the “Iron Sky” soundtrack consist of 40 tracks and 80 minutes of music.
Now, listening “Spectre” I’m both excited and pleased, Laibach is the same creative, groundbreaking art collective and they prove once again that there is music outside the mainstream and the “box”. Read more Laibach – Spectre (2014)

Make a killer track on Audiotool and win the chance to play at Moogfest!

MoogFest

MoogFest Audiotool teamed up with Moogfest to find the best producer on Audiotool.
To enter simply make a track on Audiotool and submit it to the Moogfest contest via the track page. Can create an account, can sing up here.
I admit, I stumble into Audiotool a while ago, singed up and had several attempts to write songs, but never managed to finish up any of them and considered Audiotool a pleasant way to waste some time making some sweet noise while you’re at the office or something and out of reach of your usual audio weaponry. So, making a killer track on Audiotool it’s not actually the simplest thing to do, but not impossible. Got more then 30 days to experiment anyway!
The user judged to have the best track will win a trip to Asheville, NC (North Carolina, USA) and get to play a set at Moogfest along with some of the biggest names in electronic music, including Kraftwerk, Laurie Anderson, Giorgio Moroder, Flying Lotus, M.I.A. Other Nighttime Performers Include, RJD2, Soul Clap, Daedalus, Dan Deacon, Gas Lamp Killer, Green Velvet, Sasha, Art Department, Read more Make a killer track on Audiotool and win the chance to play at Moogfest!

Xiu Xiu – Angel Guts: Red Classroom (2014)

Xiu Xiu – Angel Guts Red Classroom (2014)

Xiu Xiu – Angel Guts Red Classroom (2014) “Angel Guts: Red Classroom” is the ninth studio album by Xiu Xiu, it’s scheduled for release on February 4, 2014, only two month away from the Nina Simone tribute album and entitled simply “Nina”. I still try to figure out if I like or I don’t like the music of singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart. There is a strong, charming, 70’s and 80’s rooted David Bowie flavor which is awesome. On the other hand, sometimes the sonic trips are going over the edge of bizarre and I’m not sure I’m always capable to follow them anywhere unconditionally. But at least I’m honest to admit it. Then again, I hate the snobs who pretend they understand everything and praise anything which it’s “out of the box”, just because it’s… odd. I’m a weirdo, but I have the decency to admit my limitations! 😆
So, Xiu Xiu it’s a music of moods. If you play it in the right circumstances, have the proper state of mind, the appropriate mood, you’re on the same trip, you will enjoy it. But if you’re on a different track, their twisted off adventures might feel like torture. This time we were on the same frequency. I like that fever burned, warm and wicked analog sound. The instruments used to record the album were limited to analog drum machines, analog synthesizers, and a drum set. The result it’s pretty dark and dense. Turn off the light, turn up the volume! Read more Xiu Xiu – Angel Guts: Red Classroom (2014)

Skindred – Kill The Power (2014)

Skindred - Kill The Power (2014)

Skindred - Kill The Power (2014) Benji Webbe and his comando (Daniel Pugsley – bass; Mikey Demus – guitar, backing vocals; and Arya Goggin – drums) of reggae-metal from Welsh are back with their fifth studio album entitled “Kill the Power”. He stated about the titled and the upcoming album: “We are more than excited to unleash this Skindred bomb on the world! Kill The Power is for all them that are sick of being the underdog, and wanna step up and destroy all those who oppress and hold them down! Use this album as a backdrop to overcome and take your life back! We ain’t fighting the power no more – we are definitely killing it!!” And they delivered probably their best album so far.
Filled-up with powerful, nu-metal flavored riffs, dub aromas, wicked electronic layers, reggae rooted grooves and hardcore attitude, Skindred seems to be at the pick of their intensity and take no prisoners. This is a colorful, heavy, banging and surprising throughout album and probably live it will grind you into the ground for good. Read more Skindred – Kill The Power (2014)

Thot – Citizen Pain EP (2013)

Thot - Citizen Pain Ep

Thot - Citizen Pain Ep I can think of and go back to several different stories. First of all, reminds me of the story of Cain and Able, the two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain was the first human born and Abel was the first human to die while Cain committed the first murder by killing his brother. On the other hand, directed by Orson Welles release on 5 September 1941, “Citizen Kane” was a drama which explored the life and legacy of the publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, played by Welles. Nothing of this are directly related to the latest Thot EP, but then again, everything in this world is somehow related and inter-connected. “Citizen Pain” is in particularly nobody, but he’s everybody and anybody, one of us and each one of us. Even the pain became meaningless nowadays. Or we became insensitive to the suffering of the others… and get comfortable with our own misery. Read more Thot – Citizen Pain EP (2013)

c’t Magazine remix contest – Game Over by Achim Kück Trio feat. John Ruocco and Silvia Droste

Achim Kück Trio

Achim Kück Trio Time for a new challenge and a cool opportunity to twist off a jazz song into a dubstep monster or whatever else you can think of! Jazz pianist Achim Kück wrote the music of “Game Over” and recorded it with his trio, the sax-player John Ruocco and singer Silvia Droste. Achim Kück owns Dschäss Records, label which published and released their latest album entitled “Dark Clouds” in 2013.
Now c’t Magazine and Dschäss Records teamed up to bring you the opportunity to remix this dramatic jazz-song which is an outstanding basis for a groovy dance-track or an experimental collage. There is an example by Goat of Neptune who has made a demonstrative (example) dubstep version out of the original. But you will surely find Read more c’t Magazine remix contest – Game Over by Achim Kück Trio feat. John Ruocco and Silvia Droste

Cyberpunkers – Whatta Mask, EP (2013)

Cyberpunkers Whatta Mask EP Merging power-pop and indie disco, techno-trance and chillstep, dance and rock grooves with high energy beats, banging electronics and contorted layers of noise and wobbling basses, the Milan, Italy based project, Cyberpunkers are back with three, hot, dance floor busting tracks: “Whatta Mask”, “Mad Armada” and “Ogre´s Ballad”. We’ve got 15 minutes of extreme dance session and you will loose some weight or you will sweat and bleed to death!
Who said that the dancing days are over?
The “Cyberpunkers” project is the child, born in 2006, of the passion for Cyberpunk culture of two young Italian DJ’s. The format aims at giving a fresh start to this style. In a nutshell, a transposition of the Cyberpunk world in modern clubbing Through several performances at famous clubs, “Cyberpunkers” drew lots of interest and ended up being much taked about for both their original look, Read more Cyberpunkers – Whatta Mask, EP (2013)

Snog – Babes In Consumerland (2013)

Snog Babes In Consumerland 2013 After having Iggy ready to detonate himself with a dynamite-belt, now we’ve got a babe in the same pose and situation. It’s something really sick going on, or this is just another usual Monday morning?
Although “Babes in Consumerland” coming 21 years after their debut left-field dancefloor hit “Corporate Slave”, it was my first direct collision with Snog and I’m sold. The 10 tracks of “Babes in Consumerland” are a gloomy mixture of 80’s flavored electronics and beats, subversive pop hooks, post-industrial resonances with humor to keep us sane and contains acid criticism of our regression and comfortable consumerism. Great lyrics, simple, but very effective music and arrangements, a little bit of sex, a little bit of politics, perfect mixture and outcome.
The album have several key-tracks. My favorites are “The New Cocksucker Blues” (“Have you sucked some cock today?” respectively “I piss on you when you’re on fire”) which is a kinky reference to the music industry, but might be also related to The Rolling Stone’s 1970’s “Cocksucker Blues”, the last single The Stones had to produce for Decca Records which obviously the has been never released; “Everything Is Under Control” – which is a strong parody of pop music and culture and proves only that actually nothing is under control; “21st Century Lullaby” with a charming Pink Floyd versus David Bowie taste or the industrial fueled “The Corporate Homoerotic Cyclists”. Read more Snog – Babes In Consumerland (2013)