review: Just Another Winter / Hadewych / post-black metal

Since some time there has been a new interest in the black metal genre. Maybe this has to do with the genre being commercialized by some bands, or maybe by Varg (from the legendary band Burzum for the uninformed) getting out of jail last year.
Also last year the documentary film on this genre 'Until the Light Takes Us' was shown in film theatres and at film festival. Untill now there has been no news on a dvd release but this will be done most likely. This film is a sign and also probably a stimulus for the genre.

Anyway in the meantime there has also erupted a sort of new genre which takes style elements from black metal but shapes this into different sounds like drones, dark ambient and dark experimental music. None of these are new styles on their own. But when coming from a black metal background you might aspect it becomes very dark and depressive stuff with an aggressive twist from time to time. Also the themes used in the music refer to typical black metal topics like myths, nature and the heroic past.

Hadewych (also active as Distel on Enfant Terrible) from Holland has produced an excellent debut album filled with dark and moody sounds and songs. The album is a strange mix of some post-industrial sounds, some neo-folk elements and yes some black metal textures. It is not only the dark mood but also the heavy guitar riffs for example that are taken from the black metal genre. What makes this record so good is that it is not one single genre which is popping up in all pieces. Elements and sounds from various styles are used throughout the album. But, they are used subtle so you never get the feeling Hadewych is copying some specific style or band. The sound that results from this is quite unique and original.

The band has started to work on the second album already. Also they have being doing the release and the distribution for their debut all by themselves. This fits in perfect with the DIY spirit if the real black metal scene.

In the meantime German independent label Treue um Treue / Reue um Reue has started a new sublabel for sounds coming from the black metal genre. This label is called Just Another Winter and claims to release depressive ambient-post-black-metal. Funny detail is that TuT/RuR already released on the main label the very nice debut LP by Ad Absurdum. This act plays chiptunes in a black metal way... so Burzum on C64! Check this out for sure if you are into some adventurous style cross-overs.

Anyway, Just Another Winter has started its activities with three releases in a short period of time. First they released the last record by (dark) ambient project His Divine Grace. This one is a split release with the new alias/direction of His Divine Grace under the name of De Grace. Indeed De Grace borrows some elements of black metal. Mostly this is heard in the electric guitar used to create bleak soundscapes. Even though I liked some of the His Divine Grace releases a lot I think in this new appearance the music is even better. The guitar works really well and takes you by the hand throughout the music.

From the same musician comes also the project Notre Dessein. This project is much more in the black metal tradition, except that it has no drums in it. For the rest it is great lo-fi black metal/dark ambient stuff. In a way maybe something Burzum could have made in jail, as it sounds like it is done with lack of equipment. But this is what is also the charm of this record.

At the same time the double LP by Proces Veneficus was released. After five years and many releases on cd(-r)'s this is the first vinyl release by the project. The record comes in a deluxe gatefold sleeve on two pieces of blood red vinyl. Although the music is dark it is not very aggressive or raw like some black metal. It is much more ambient orientated and some sort of moody chamber music. Very nice is that there is also an traditional tune on the record which is credited as discovered through Espers. Maybe not all Espers fans will like this but some will (like myself).

Just Another Winter made a nice start and I am curious to see what else will be released by them. Why not Hadewych as I think in this "field" its for sure one of the most interesting and promising acts I know.

See here for Hadewych...
See here for Just Another Winter...

review: Five O'Clock Traffic - Aside From Dreams And Hallucinations

People who check my webshop stock from time to time will know I am big fan of the Börft label from Sweden. Since quite some time I sell about every release they put out next to some classic records they put out in the past. This Swedish cult label deserves more recognition I think... They started to spread music in the industrial/experimental pop styles in 1987. This is at the same time as fellow Swedish label Cold Meat Industry started their work. In the beginning they even shared some sounds and bands like Enema Syringe.
While Cold Meat Industry moved more and more into what you could call gothic territory Börft staid more true to their experimental and weird side.
Lately Börft suprised me with the great Kord 7 inch (see elsewhere on this blog) and the more then excellent return of noise cult act Enema Syringe on LP. Most recently the label came up with the new album by Five O' Clock Traffic. A Swedish elektro project by a member of industrial cult act Goz Mongo Alliance.
As Five O' Clock Traffic he already released two albums. One a rather dancefloor orientated elektro pop piece and the other more weird and experimental. The good thing about this new album is that it has elements of both these previous releases. Most of the tracks are perfect elektro pop for the dancefloor with a nice playful touch. In between you get served a few more weird and noisy pieces. This works wonderful for the dynamics throughout the record.
It has been a long time since I enjoyed elektro pop so much. Probably not since It & My Computer... too bad they stopped producing their fine tunes.
The albums comes in a nice three panel sleeve and is limited to 300 numbered copies. Simply a must have for any elektro pop fan. You can get a copy in the Enfant Terrible webshop here... I also have some of the Enema Syringe LP's... of course!

Enfant Terrible news: 3 new releases

Bran –Fuscum Subnigrum 7” EP (petit enfant 005)
distel – distel 7” EP (petit enfant 006)
Various – Gifgrond (ET003)

Out soon on Enfant Terrible will be two new records: one a true collector piece by French minimal synth act Bran and the other the debut by upcoming Dutch angstpop act distel. Also there is a special free release as give away for the next live event on Saturday 27 February in Holland.

Bran released two very limited artifacts on cd and in this tradition we now present the vinyl debut of this act. When it comes to the music Bran serves the fans of minimal synth for sure but don’t be surprised to come across some uncommon style elements too. This 7 inch is more of an artifact as a record as it comes with a booklet with drawings by the musician and hand printed covers with two different designs (also by the musician himself). Next to that the labels are hand stamped with self designed stamps. As this record is ultra limited to only two times 75 copies (75 copies of each cover design) it is bound to become a real collector piece very soon.

For the sounds of Bran go here...

Dutch angstpop (dark and slow synth pop) act distel (also active as drone/experimental act Hadewych) was already present on the compilation Radio Resistencia. This is the real debut release. Moody and gloomy soundscapes and whispered vocals (sometimes in Dutch) draw you into the world of distel. The music is poetic, sophisticated and above all a very intense listening experience.

For the sounds of distel go here...

For the second event co-production of Enfant Terrible and Gifgrond there will be a free compilation cassette at the door for the visitors of the event. This limited edition free cassette release features previously unreleased tracks by all three live acts of the night: Adolf Filter, Kord and Monster Apparat. The event takes place on Saturday 27 Febraury 2010 at the Gifgrond location: Gasthuisring 19G, Tilburg, Holland (5 minutes by foot from Tilburg Central Railway Station). We start at 21.00 hour and the entrance fee is 7 euros. See also on the Gifgrond website: www.gifgrond.nl

For the cassette go here....

Enfant Terrible night with live Adolf Filter, Kord, Monster Apparat

For the second time Enfant Terrible and Gifgrond team up for a great night out. This time there will be three elektro live acts from Sweden on stage. Kord will open the night with his spacey and laidback elektro pop. Adolf Filter is going into a bit darker direction. Also the beat are louder. Early Front 242 is a reference they cannot escape.

Monster Apparat is a rather new project that started as a collaboration of Kord and Adolf Filter. The catchy elektro and robot pop will call to mind The Rorschach Garden from time to time even though Monster Apparat is much more dancefloor friendly.

Before, in between and after the live acts Dj M. will be spinning some obscure pop hits, weird 80’s elektro and distorted beats.

Kord on the web...
Adolf Filter on the web...
Monster Apparat on the web...
Enfant Terrible on the web...

For all information see also the Gifgrond website...

Damage: 7 euro (incl. cassette with 6 previously unreleased tracks by the 3 live acts - as long as they are available)
Starts: 21.00 uur
Ends: 03:00 uur
Location: Gasthuisring 19G, Tilburg, Holland (5 minutes from Tilburg Central Railway Station, route on Gifgrond website)

review: Chrome Dome - Negative Vibes

I was a bit blown away by this debut 7 inch of the Australian synth punk band Chrome Dome. It is not that I have never heard these kind of sounds or songs before. But what makes this band different is the energy and power that is so evident in the music. Next to that it has this rawness that is missing in most of the so called minimal synth bands today. Raw power with a touch of wierdness always triggers me and Chrome Dome hits these points very well.
This debut comes on tape and as a 7 inch with a cd with an extra track. These three tracks are enough to show the potential and the sound of the band. Think about the perfect mix of The Normal and Sixteens and then still with a harsher sound. Also it has the same energy as Crash Course In Science but the music is much more lo-fi in every sense of the word.
The A side of the 7 inch ('Negative Vibes') is a great pumping electronic punk piece with the nice touch of a tambourine in it. Both the B side ('Waste Of Time And Space') and the extra track ('Battered And Bruised') have an industrial touch due to some added machine noises.
Well... to sum it up... this is messy and noisy stuff and I love it. I am keeping an eye out for the next dose of moody electronic pulses from this band for sure.
Ah... the tape is sold out already and I have the last few copies of the 7 inch plus cd in my webshop...

review: O.R.D.U.C - 107

O.R.D.U.C. (short for One-O-Seventh Royal Dutch Underground Company) from The Netherlands became almost world famous in the worldwide cassette culture of the early 1980's. Their song "Crazy Computer" was released on a Plurex compilation back then. Later the song appeared on the self released album 'Pink & Purple' from 1981. After some cassette releases there was some silence.
In 2007 O.R.D.U.C. and their own record company Motok came back to life after a sort of hibernation. Since then the left overs of the original LP are sold mostly through my webshop. Also a release with some old material is being planned for some time now on Enfant Terrible.
Next to that there has been a lot of activity lately around Motok both for O.R.D.U.C. as other related projects as NoNotes and E.M.M. This summer a very nice and ultra limited 7 inch appeared by O.R.D.U.C. with one reworked song from 1980 and a new track. Now there is this full lenght album with different versions of these 7 inch tracks and some more reworks of old 1980's songs and some new material.
A nice thing is that the new songs do not sound out of place at all and the best thing is that I do not feel that the music is outdated. For me this means that the music of O.R.D.U.C. is quite timeless... it has passed the test of time and is as nice to listen to right now as it was 25 years ago.
The reason for this is that this music is beyond genre or style definitions. It is crazy and weird and uncommon in every sense. And just this makes it strong and enjoyable.
What you hear are minimalistic and at times simple song structures done with lo-fi and cheap electronics and production methods. Fans of obscure 1980's cassette releases will know what I am talking about... for others... well think something in between minimal synth pieces sounding a bit poppy but too strange for dancefloors and at the same time experimental but not harsh and loud enough for going into the industrial side of things.
This LP '107' is in a way quite close to 'Pink & Purple'. The mix of tracks is great with poppy songs and stranger pieces and even a Kosmische Scene influenced track. The musician calls this "minimal wave" but this is so much beyond that. Also I think this style defintion was not really used 25 years ago... so why use it now for music by one of the original musicians?! O.R.D.U.C. is so much above that.
The record comes in an edition of 250 copies and will be available soon from my webshop.

review: Poeme Electronique - The Echoes Fade

German label Anna Logue is mostly a re-issue label focussing on synthesizer music from the 1980's and mostly releasing synth pop and electro pop music from that era. Their catalogue features releases by Camera Obscura, Sudeten Creche, Design and Monuments to name a few.
Some the releases I liked best so far are the Carmody and Monuments cd's with some great synth pop music. A little but off center maybe for the label were the releases by The Hands Of Cain (batcave music) and Stranger Station (synth music but less pop).
Next to these 1980's releases with some obscure material the label also released a few contemporary bands like Sleep Museum (also known as After The Snow on my label), Sonnenbrandt (Neue Deutsche Welle / electro pop) and The Silicon Scientist (solo project of Sonnenbrandt member).
Also Anna Logue has released a few records by 1980's bands with remixes and new versions of old songs. In that way a 7 inch has appeared by UK based Poeme Electronique on which the band presented a new version of their classic cult single 'The Echoes Fade'/'Voice'.
Now there is this massive 2LP with no less then 16 tracks by Poeme Electronique. All original tracks so no remix/remaster/re-do whatever. The real thing. It is funny that this band never reached more people back then. The original 7 inch from 1982 was quite good and many of the songs on this 2LP are simply great.
Here is a band with real musical skills and singing talent. You cannot say that of many of the 1980's bands that are currently being re-issued. On this record Anna Logue shows us a band with all onboard to have made it. Strange they never became bigger...
Just listen to tracks like 'Rendezvous', 'Fragile' and 'Dilemma'. These would have been great A sides for singles and great tracks for some extended 12 inch versions. What you hear is a new wave synthesizer band that sounds in a way like a more poppy version of Kirlian Camera. Never as gothic, never as Italo disco but equally good and with a similar moody sound.
At times the tempo goes a bit more down and you get served some excellent dreamy pop tunes like on 'A Mourner's Lament' for example.
This 2LP is a fantastic document with all these tracks collected, the deluxe packaging and in this hand numbered limited edition of 500 copies. Still this could have been a simply fantasic LP by leaving some tracks away. Now it is more of a document then a real album. Besided this no complains here!
You can get this 2LP and some of the other Anna Logue releases at my webshop here... look under the 80's section...