A new beginning...

The Terrible Music Blog has stopped... but I continue on Revolutions per day... a more personal blog with day to day insights in Enfant Terrible related stuff and some write up's on music matters in a broader sense... go here for Revolutions per day...

out next: Solitude FX abum and third Gooiland Elektro compilation

Expected at the end of August are two new releases... one is a full length album by Solitude FX and the other the third Gooiland Elektro compilation... for both releases we worked with Dutch visual artists for the record sleeves...

Back in 2007 we released a 10" mini LP with Solitude FX under the alias of Solitairen Effekten... this time we present under the original name ten rather melancholy tracks... but it is not only sadness and solitude these songs have to offer...

A full track preview can be heard here...

And here you can see how upcoming Dutch visual artist and musician Hans de Wolf was working on the photography of his hand carved wooden figures we used for the sleeve... and how the end result is...

The third Gooiland Elektro compilation is entitled "Freikörperkultur"... it is a celebration of the body on every level... when it comes to the music the range of sounds is from hi-nrg influenced synth-pop to new school cold wave and from harsh body beats to trance indulging spacious elektro... the featured artists are Tobias Bernstrup, Sololust, Zarkoff & Popsimonova, Lesbian Mouseclicks, Tannhäuser Gate, Popsimonova, Le Moine and Brusque Twins.

A full track preview (the Tannhäuser Gate track) can be heard here...

Famous Dutch visual artist Hester Scheurwater let us use photos from her portfolio... her work has been present at various museums and art galleries but for the first time it is used for a record sleeve... See here one of the three photos we used for the record...

Both records can be pre-ordered from the Enfant Terrible webshop...

event (in Berlin) + companion release: Post-everything

Together with my friends at xXx-Berlin I am currently preparing an event in two parts: A Gathering Of Post-everything. As a companion to the event I will release a tape compilation entitled 'Post-everything'. It will be a limited edition of 100 copies of which most will be given away to the visitors of the afternoon session at the Loft/xXx. A few copies will be for sale later on.

On the compilation are featured all performers of the afternoon session: Former Descent vs Sololust, Europ Europ, FOQL, Neugeborene Nachtmusik and Good Cop/Naughty Cop.

Here is a full track preview of the FOQL track...

And you can find the full tracklisting with short previews for all tracks here...

As said the event will be in two parts:

In the afternoon: Radio Resistencia @ the Loft in collaboration with Sentience & xXx-Berlin. Program: Former Descent vs Sololust, Europ Europ, FOQL, Neugeborene Nachtmusik, Good Cop / Naughty Cop and dj M.
Where: the Loft (xXx-Berlin), Skalitzerstrasse 33-3 OG, (Courtyard > Eingang B > 3rd floor), Berlin
When: 14.00 - 19.00 hour
How: 7 euro

At night: Disko Resistencia @ Mindpirates. Program: dj M., dj Alacidus, dj Philipp Strobel and dj Down The Rabbit Hole.
Where: Mindpirates Vereinsheim, Schlesische Strasse 38, Haus F (3rd Hinterhof), Berlin
When: starts at 22.00 hour
How: 6 euro

Interview in Obskure Mag: 10 years of Enfant Terrible

Recently Obskure Mag from France published an interview with me on ten years of Enfant Terrible in their excellent paper magazine. The interview was done by Max Lachaud (thanks again Max!) Now they published the complete interview online in French... so below you can find it in English. See here for the French version / Obskure Mag online...

- What was your music background before the creation of Enfant Terrible?

From a very young age I listened to a lot of music but in the years before I started my label I was involved in writing about music for a lot for various web based and paper magazines. Next to that I was dj’ing and organizing parties and some live shows. These activities made me realize there was a lot of music out there which I liked and was not being released. So I decided to create a platform to release music I liked and thought some more people should hear. In the end it was and still is a way to get the music released I want to listen to myself… and I am very happy other people are also enjoying these releases…

- Why did you choose this French expression as a name?

Of course it is French expression but we used to use it too in Holland… but it has become a bit out of fashion. If refers of course to Cocteau and it refers a lot to me… I know I can be difficult… but always with a reason… I like to do things my way when it comes to my label and in the past ten years this has caused several discussions with several people… but I have strict ideas about how things should be done and as it is my private time and private money I invest (I have a normal day job next to my label) I can define the rules and make it happen the way I want when it comes to my label… so for some people I am an Enfant Terrible…

- What were your intentions at the beginning of the label?

In the end I am music lover and a record collector… I create records I want to have and like to play at home… I do this with musicians I like and think some more people should know about… it is as simple as that.

When it comes to production, promotion and distribution I follow a strict independent line as I believe in the small, the local, outsider stuff and so on… and I am only interested in getting music to the right people… people with the same loves and passions… I am not at all interested in reaching many people for the sake of reaching many people… but if artists I work with should be heard by more people then they should follow that path as well… and I will not stand in their way and will help if it fits my ideas of growth…

- At the beginning you did quite a few reissues of works by cult Dutch label Trumpett Records with bands such as Ende Shneaflet, The Actor or Doxa Sinistra, was it important to show the heritage and influence of the works of such artists?

I think it is always important to show the tradition you work in and show respect to your roots… so it was logical to release some Dutch (and Belgian) musicians I appreciate a lot and showed the way for musicians who came after them.

Trumpett as a label was not an example for my label as such but the music they released and the independent attitude is totally in line with what I do… or when it comes to the music at least for some parts.

- What is your point of view on all those reissues of bands from the eighties and labels specialized in it, because in some ways you contributed to this resurgence of sounds from the eighties?

Yes, I also think I contributed to this… there were labels before me of course who released 80’s proto-elektro, avant-garde electronic pop and so on… like Kernkrach, Was Soll Das Schallplatten and Genetic for example…

Some years ago I wrote an article on what should be called recycle culture in which I stated that I think we have reached a point where quality seems no longer to be important. Anything from the 80’s is re-released now… even stuff that for a good reason never before got released… as lots of these bands and music had no artistic or cultural relevance back then… and still not…

But well… many people seem to like these records anyway as they sell very well… but I decided to not play this game and instead focus on contemporary music and also for an important part on contemporary Dutch musicians… as I think music from today is more relevant and deserves more attention and support as some obscure and forgotten tape from 30 years ago with a kind of music I have heard many times before and then done in a better way…

This said I do not think all 80’s re-releases are to be ignored… from time to time some true gem is still being discovered or a really nice and hard to find record is put to vinyl again… in these cases I will buy these records and in some cases also support and sell it in my webshop.

- Can you tell me more about all the sublabels linked to Enfant Terrible and the upcoming Vrystaete?

There are only three sublabels which saw the light through the years until now… Hex Grammofoonplaten is a label which came to life as I wanted to do a compilation which put the energy from the Hex parties we did in Amsterdam from 2004 to 2008 to vinyl… to get the party spirit into people’s homes.

These parties will always stay with me… I believe we were the first to have a true high quality new wave / post punk night with a dancenight with songs from the past and always the newest releases and contemporary live acts on stage. These nights built a name for themselves and even people from Belgium, Germany and France came to visit us.

We stayed away from the clichés and went for a broad spectrum of sounds… from punk to industial to minimal and from neo-folk to Neue Deutsche Welle and deathrock…

I did not release a lot on this sublabel but who knows what is to come? I have some ideas for records in this series…

In 2012 I started with Gooiland Elektro… a label focused on dancemusic like elektro and techno… but of course music rooted in the traditions I already worked in… so stuff like EBM, new beat and some flirts with italo disco… Last year I released twelve 12”s which were received very well… more will come this year but a bit less as last year I think…

This as I will also focus a bit on the new Vrystaete label… which will present music more or less related to folklore, psychedelic and lo-fi sounds… and people will be able to hear again my new wave roots… but it will also be different… first up are an album by Niedowierzanie who released already two great albums with the German Treue Um Treue label. This new album is an amazing piece of folklore music mixed with contemporary electronic music elements.

Also coming this spring is the second album by Dutch duo Kaval… they produce some really good ambient music which has a link in mood and sound with the stuff from Hero Wouters from the 80’s which I released years ago.

More is coming later this year… for example psychedelic minimal music and melancholy folktronics…

- What are some of the records you have been very proud of releasing? Your personal favorites and highlights of the label?

This is a hard question as I like and love all the records I put out… for different reasons… and I appreciate all the collaborations a lot… but well… from the old days my favorites are the Doxa Sinistra album, the Hero Wouters album and the Kaa Antilope album. When it comes to contemporary music I am really happy with the Europ Europ Mellowharsher EP… this truly came out perfect… it is the music and it is the packaging and how this works together… but also the Distel album and the Kim Ki O album I play a lot here… and I love and will always love Sololust… his music is special to me and he is too as a person…

Possibly the biggest highlight for me personal is however the Exploitation 2LP soundtrack… so much time and work went into this and I see this as a great achievement how the 90 minutes of music flow… I am still proud how I created this narrative on vinyl…

- In the same way, what are your Top 5 favorite records of all time?

Sorry… but this is a question which is impossible to answer I think… as there is so much good music out there… and I listen to all… from 60’s folk and psychedelic music to techno to noise to modern classical stuff… and so on… When it comes to pop music I have two favorite albums which are the first albums by The Velvet Underground and The Jesus And Mary Chain…

- You have also discovered bands who have become well-known right now such as Agent Side Grinder or lately Distel received some very enthusiastic reviews and reception. How did you discover their music?

I am always listening to music, reading about music, searching for music… but in these cases… Agent Side Grinder… I booked Saralunden at the Hex party and the label owner told me he just started a new band… he sent me a cd-r with demos… real demo takes from 9 minutes or so… based on these I invited the band for my Hex night as well… after the concert I asked them to release a 7” with me and so we started to work together for some time…

Distel was a live member of another band I knew from the Dutch scene and I do not remember well if I wrote him or he wrote me… but before we got in contact I had heard like about two songs on internet and I heard the talent of the musician in these tracks... he sent me a cd with two almost finished tracks and some other tracks in pre-versions and we took it from there… also first a 7” which sold very slowly to be honest…

- Why this choice to focus on dance stuff for Gooiland Elektro?

Enfant Terrible evolved more and more in some more experimental way with stuff like La Mort De L’Hippocampe, Europ Europ and Distel for example and I missed the energy of music you can dance to like dark elektro as Kommando 6 and Invasion Planete had released before… this together with me love for the energy and mood of EBM, new beat and early techno stuff was the perfect start for something new and which was still a logical next chapter for Enfant Terrible as a label… and I just have a lot of fun with this label and am really happy it is received so well…

- What are the main difficulties for an independent label today?

Not sure…it depends on your strategy and what you consider independent… my notion of this is much stricter I guess as of some other people and labels… but making good quality records is expensive… especially in small editions… and then selling music which is not hip and trendy is hard… I am never making easy records I think… never releasing what is hot at that time… this as I do not care for that… I put out what I like and I aim at surprising people… and serving new sounds to people who follow my label… and doing something different as other labels… so it is harder to sell the records then when you release more typical minimal synth or electro stuff… also I like to work mostly with new and unknown artists and show the world these new sounds… this is also always harder as selling established artists…

- You have made very few CDs, always focusing on vinyles and cassettes. Is it because of a personal attachment to these formats?

Yes, for sure. I am a record collector and buy very few cd’s. Also in my house you will not see the cd’s… they are put out of sight… but the vinyls you will see… I like to play records… the ritual… the feeling… it is a real product which stays with you and as a label you can make much nicer out of it as with a cd…

Cassettes are a different thing… I love cassettes they are small and you can do great things with the packaging… like adding things to it or wrap it in something and so on…

Basically I release vinyls. I did one cd which I maybe should have done as vinyl and I released one cd-r as a gift at a party for the visitors. Tapes are for special (art) projects or when the type of music fits better on this format… which is of course a personal vision…

There is by the way a change I will re-release the Distel album on cd as I think more people should hear this amazing album… but this will be done then in a co-production with another label… and it will be a product on its own… most likely different from the vinyl release in some ways… I expect to know more on this soon…

- Can you tell us more about the events that you organize apart from your label activity (exhibitions, concerts, etc.)?

In the past I organized more regular nights like the Hex parties… but I got fed up with this… to me it became more of the same every night and I wanted to create more freedom for a different kind of events. So I experimented with different nights at different locations… most of them being one time concepts… it varied from live performances at openings of exhibitions to a night at a theatre with the program following that of a theatre night out to a concert at the kitchen of avant-garde fashion store XXX of my friends in Berlin…

So since 2008 I organize about two nights each year… often one of them in co-productions with another organizer or organization… sometimes in Holland and sometimes somewhere else… For 2014 I am currently planning an Enfant Terrible / Gooiland Elektro night in Holland in April and a performance night at XXX in Berlin in June… and possibly later on a Vrystaete event… but the ideas for this need to take shape first…

- How do you feel like for this 10th anniversary, and how do you intend to celebrate it?

I like to put some attention to it as I am proud of doing this for 10 years in the way I have done it… 10 years of true independence and 10 years of cultural activism… as I like to see it… so there is the “I Am Enfant Terrible” compilation which I put together for this occasion… but things need to move on… so I focus on the future for the rest… with new events… a new label (Vrystaete) and always other new ideas and plans which I will try to realize… and with now a tradition of my own (as 10 years might be called a tradition on its own in my opinion) and a focus on the future I try to live the now… celebrate what has been realized but try to catch the energy of the moment and simply have fun producing nice records and enjoying good music and working with nice people… just as it started…

Saturday 5th of April: Enfant Terrible / Gooiland Elektro night at Worm, Rotterdam

label news: Vrystaete

A new label is born: Vrystaete. This new label from the house of Enfant Terrible will focus on psychedelic, folklore and lo-fi related sounds.

The first two releases are being mastered for vinyl pressing at this very moment. Next to that the artwork is also in process... Each release will have special packaging with handmade / crafted art pieces.

First up is the Kaval album with light psychedelic music with touches of dark jazz and shoegaze music. The artwork will be a three color handprinted silk screen print. See here for an impression:

The second release in preparation is the an album by French musician Niedowierzanie. His music is a mix of electronics and French and mediterranean folklore... For this release we are preparing a print from a handmade lino cut. See here are a test print:

Both releases are expected around the end of April... more information and sounds will be online soon at the Vrystaete webhome here...

out soon: I Am Enfant Terrible compilation and Europ Europ album

In 2004 Enfant Terrible released its first vinyl record… in 2014 I celebrate 10 years of activity… first up will be a compilation album filled with the sounds I love…next to that there is a full length album by my favorite Norwegian band Europ Europ …

The compilation ”I Am Enfant Terrible” is all about the sound and moods of the label… from indie pop to new wave to minimal synth and from noise to elektro and IDM and ambient... from poppy to experimental to dance music... featuring artists like Solitude FX, Kord, Sololust, Kim Ki O, Neugeborene Nachtmusik, Former Descent and more…

Listen to a full track preview here... And… more previews are here...

Europ Europ hits back with a full length album… this new full length album by Europ Europ might be called subtle noise... the band serves you lo-fi industrial soundscapes presented as songs... sometimes haunting and disturbing but the next minute soothing and hypnotic...

Listen to a full track preview here... And… more previews are here...

Both records can be (pre)ordered here...

out soon: Club Funny Horse compilation and Saralunden 12" EP

Coming early December are the last releases of the year on Gooiland Elektro… Saralunden and the Club Funny Horse compilation…

Club Funny Horse is the second Gooiland Elektro compilation... the focus is on dark techno / darkrave… featuring Drvg Cvltvre, Ekman, Cute Heels and Marburg… for fans of old school EBM, early techno and new beat...

Here you can listen to the track by Cute Heels from the compilation:

And here here is the Drvg Cvltvre track:

Some other sounds are coming from Saralunden... she proves to be a dismal disco star... stripped down, slow and moody and dirty disco with references to italo and new wave…

Here you can listen to a full track from the record:

And here is another track from the EP:

Infos and sound previews of all records are on the Gooiland Elektro website...

Both records can be pre-ordered now... and the first 100 copies of Club Funny Horse come with a numbered postcard... see here for pre-ordering...

Hans de Wolf: new video work

Do you remember the beautiful tape object and online exhibition by Hans de Wolf we recently realized? It consists of a cassette with his music on it and it comes with a drawing on birch bark... and online there is the short animation film and photos of more of his drawings. You can still see it here...

Some tapes are still left for sale at the ET webshop...

In the meantime Hans has made a new video work... very dreamy stuff... pleasantly naive and soothing like a morning sun...

how are you from Hans de Wolf on Vimeo.

RPM with Darkwood, Mirt and Profligate

Here is a new update on some of the records I have been playing a lot lately... and in my opinion are amongst the most interesting of the last few months...

The new Darkwood was released this summer but it is just perfect for autumn... as all of his music... 'Schicksalsfahrt' is all you might expect from Darkwood... maybe nothing suprising in sound, mood and production but it is just an amazing new collection of high quality songs. Neofolk as a genre might be dead but as long as a few people keep coming up with stuff as good as this I it will never fade away totally... or maybe even just forget the genre name... I play this stuff in between Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake... it is as good as that but just coming from a different era and world...

The Italian label Backwards has delivered an album which is one of the must haves for this 2013... it is by Mirt and it seems to be the eight record already by this Polish band... so I can imagine I missed out on some amazing music already... the sound is beautiful and soothing soft touching electronic stuff. Perfect for dreaming away on... minimalistic but only to serve the purpose of creating tender soundscapes... truly a highlight of this year!

Profligate is building quite a name for himself... and it started with his debut album from 2012... much more as his newer stuff the album is rooted in kraut / kosmische scene music... the techno aspect is there but less obvious... just as the noise background of the musician... all is quite spacey and psychedelic with dance music touches popping in and out and dream sequences having an equal part in the game... Get this one now and start following this great project with a truly new sound when it comes to dance music... soon two new 12"s will be ready... one on my Gooiland Elektro label and one one the USA based DKA Records label...

Friday 25 October: Soirée Enfant Terrible with live Distel, Europ Europ and Neurobit

Friday 25 October 2013 there is the next Enfant Terrible label night .This time at the new location at the heart of the Gooiland: Sociëteit 12tot24. Live performances by Europ Europ, Neurobit and Distel.

Europ Europ – noise / experimental from Norway

Neurobit Dutch master of 8 bit Music.

Distel post industrial and post electro sounds from Holland.

Dj’s M. en Alacidus.

This night is a collaboration with Stichting Magdalena.

All starts at 20:30 / Membership: 5 euro / Location: Sociëteit 12tot24 / Stationsplein 12, 1211 EX, Hilversum / Hilversum Centraal Station, busstation, next to Starbucks, 4th floor (old tax agency office)

More information here...

review: Cannibal Movie - Mondo Music

It is funny... often I look for the right words to describe music... so other people can make up their mind of how a certain record sounds... sometimes it is easy... sometimes not... sometimes it helps to describe scenes like in films or books to make clear the mood and all...

On the other hand I am always looking and experimenting with what music fits best while reading certain books and stories... just to create that extra layer of experience... if possible to go furthur... to lift that moment to another level...

So here this record arrives from Cannibal Movie on Yerevan Tapes (but it is a vinyl album)... a side label of Avant! Records from Italy. Cannibal Movie is an Italian duo who play ritual music with just drums and organ... I believe with and old Italian organ... the result is a bit like Silver Apples but sounding more occult... more tribal... more magical... you see... I try to find the right words...

But... H.P. Lovecraft described this music already back in 1925 in 'The Horror At Red Hook'... and the record is the perfect soundtrack while reading this story... and to get an idea... below are two excerpts of the story to get an idea of the music... and below that is an excerpt of the B side of the album... this is my summer gift to you... enjoy the trip!

"...These creatures attended a tumbledown stone church, used Wednesdays as a dance-hall, which reared its Gothic buttresses near the vilest part of the waterfront. It was nominally Catholic; but priests throughout Brooklyn denied the place all standing and authenticity, and policemen agreed with them when they listened to the noises it emitted at night. Malone used to fancy he heard terrible cracked bass notes from a hidden organ far underground when the church stood empty and unlighted, whilst all observers dreaded the shrieking and drumming which accompanied the visible services. ..."

...

"... All at once, from an arcaded avenue leading endlessly away, there came the daemoniac rattle and wheeze of a blasphemous organ, choking and rumbling out the mockeries of hell in a cracked, sardonic bass. In an instant every moving entity was electrified; and forming at once into a ceremonial procession, the nightmare horde slithered away in quest of the sound—goat, satyr, and aegipan, incubus, succuba, and lemur, twisted toad and shapeless elemental, dog-faced howler and silent strutter in darkness—all led by the abominable naked phosphorescent thing that had squatted on the carved golden throne, and that now strode insolently bearing in its arms the glassy-eyed corpse of the corpulent old man. The strange dark men danced in the rear, and the whole column skipped and leaped with Dionysiac fury. ..."

out now: Tobias Bernstrup and Schwefelgelb 12"s on Gooiland Elektro

Out now are the new 12" EP's by Tobias Bernstrup and Schwefelgelb on Gooiland Elektro. For more information see the Gooiland Elektro website...

Here is the official video for the Tobias Bernstrup track "Destruction"... directed by Johan Wik...

video impression Enfant Terrible label night at Death#Disco - 22 June 2013, Berlin

Below is a video impression of the Enfant Terrible label night we did at Death#Disco in Berlin on 22 June 2013. The line-up was Neugeborene Nachtmusik, Distel and Sololust and after party with dj M. The Death#Disco resident dj's played tunes in between the live acts...

This video was shot and compiled by Bas Welling (a.k.a. Neurobit / Former Descent / Rioteer)...

Enfant Terrible night at Death#Disco Berlin 22 June 2013 from Enfant Terrible on Vimeo.

Enfant Terrible label night in Berlin / Sololust, Distel & Neugeborene Nachtmusik live at Death#Disco - Saturday 22 June 2013

full track previews: Tobias Bernstrup and Schwefelgelb

Expected at the end of June are two new 12"s on Gooiland Elektro... one by Tobias Bernstrup and one by Schwefelgelb. Below are full track previews... one track of each 12"...

See also the Gooiland Elektro site for more information and soundpreviews for all tracks...

RPM with Spettro Family, Umberto, Ceephax and Samantha Glass

Here is an update on some (new) records I have been spinning the most lately... I hear a lot of music but I have periods in which certain records keep returning on the turntable... for the last weeks I have been playing a lot the Spettro Family 10 inch released by T(r)eue um T(r)eue. It is simply excellent... ghost like soundscapes... ambient with sort of neo-classical elements to it... almost like a pop version of Ligeti at its best moments... it fills the space around you with the spirit of old Europa... this one is recommended to fans of Land... but also in a strange way to people who like Umberto...

The new Umberto album 'Confrontations' is cleaner in sound as before... maybe before it was music for B movies... especially horror and sci-fi films... now it has turned into nighttime music... thematic it is all sci-fi/alien/ufo stuff but take that away and what is left is an amazing piece of space italo disco... some (slow) beat orientated pieces and some more cosmic trippy stuff... all excellent in its moodiness but never depressive in anyway... you could imagine Buck Rogers and the women from 25th century Earth swinging all night on this... here is one track to get the night started...

Umberto - Night Fantasy from Not Not Fun on Vimeo.

Well if the morning is finally coming then we put on the 3 x 12 inch album 'Cro Magnox' by Ceephax... also known of course as Ceephax Acid Crew... I must admit I never bought a record of this musician before... I liked some stuff but was never fully convinced of a release... untill now... still there are some pieces on this album which are too disco for me... but overall this is a great album filled with electronic music... some pieces are superb dance tracks like for example "Camelot Science" while some others are perfect for chill outs in the morning sun after a night out out at a classic English rave party in the countryside...

And... then if the new day hits you and you do not want to wake up to reality as we know it in general... then there is the fantastic album by Samantha Glass... a soothing (day) trip to keep you warm and safe in this cold and nasty world... if you like Group Rhoda do not look furthur... Bronze is another name that springs to mind even though Samantha Glass is more tranquil in sound and performance... here is one piece to get you all comfy...

Samantha Glass - Return To The Sky Pt. 3 from Not Not Fun on Vimeo.

The Samantha Glass and Umberto are available at the Enfant Terrible webshop here... You can still get the Spettro Family from the label (act fast, only 200 copies in total!) and the Ceephax from places like Clone and Juno...

Old waves and new ways featuring Passion Play, White Hex, Collateral, Violence, Eyedress & Skint Eastwood and Mater Suspiria Vision

I am no big fan of bands and projects who are just a copy cat of a certain music tradition... instead I prefer bands who know the heritage and play around with it or aim for excellence in performing specific style elements... let's take Passion Play... an UK gothrock band from the late 1990's... I played their 2001 album 'Dreaming Spikes' a lot... even though their sound was rather typical gothrock there was also always a indie side to it... with a hint to Placebo maybe... well after this album nothing was heard from Passion Play untill recently the Berlin based label Aufnahme + Wiedergabe released an cd filled with some old songs and new songs which were never recorded and released before... but as the title of the cd, 'The Final Act', suggests... this is the true end of the band. This cd is a companion to 'Dreaming Spikes' filled with nice melancholy gothic rock with that typical indie touch... but it could also serve as a great introduction to Passion Play for those who missed out on it before...

A bit more arty but still gothrock too is White Hex... there 'Heat' mini LP serves guitar based songs with a raw sound... gothrock influenced by stuff like Velvet Underground and Nick Cave... so the real deal and no fake poser kind of stuff... the tunes sound deep and authentic... and sweaty... excellent stuff which could reach much more people as only the new wave and goth fans...

Same goes for Collateral... a new wave based project which fuses new wave and indie pop guitar stuff with some synth and italo touches... the result is a fresh sounds with a melancholy mood but never really dark... even though the 12" entitled 'Dark EP' could suggest something else... for me this works as a soundtrack for spring... and it goes very well with the 12" by Violence released recently on our beloved Visage Musique label... Violence delivers new wave inspired synth pop with a neo-romantic touch and italo disco elements... and maybe not all songs are equally strong but when at their best Violence shows they are a band with lots of potential for the future... as shows "Dernier Cri"...

More harder to define is the album 'Hearing Colors' by Eyesdress and Skint Eastwood... on the other hand the title says it all... this album serves you a wide spectrum of sounds and influences of various styles... still the album is a excellent cohorent piece. Released on Phantasma Disques it has little to do with witch house... a style the label is best known for... 'Hearing Colors' sounds very indie... the sound is mellow and soothing most of the time... dreamy stuff with warm female vocals... but occasionally the sound gets a little colder... and some moments it is like listening to a relaxed version of Crystal Castles... including clear rhythms and some 8 bit noises and sounds... here is one of the highlights of the album... and one of the most moody pieces 'Triduum'...

Skint Eastwood - Triduum (Three Days Of Darkness) from EYEDRESS on Vimeo.

From the same label comes the new Mater Suspiria Vision album... I liked some of the older stuff but not all as it had the tendency to be very minimal... like repetitive in a not good way... so to speak... BUT 'Serenity' is a very solid album with good songs and a nice flow througout the record... some rhythmic pieces and some more droney noise pieces which pull you inside... or down under to be precise... this one is for the fans of the darker side of synth music... this is stuff for black magic rites and other occult gatherings... here is one piece of the record...

MATER SUSPIRIA VISION - SERENITY [Official Video - Directed by Cosmotropia de Xam, 2013] from Mater Suspiria Vision on Vimeo.

All of the records above are for sale in the Enfant Terrible webshop here...

Distel - hxxx (official video)

Here is the official video for the track "hxxx"by Distel... taken from the upcoming album "puur"... expected in April...

Exploitation: official trailer

Below is the trailer for Exploitation the latest film by Edwin Brienen. It will be screened in Berlin on the 21st February.

The soundtrack is available from specialized (web)shops worldwide and the Enfant Terrible webshop here...