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...

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...

review: 7 inch releases update

The last few months quite some nice 7 inches were released in the minimal electronics and synth wave styles. For example Kernkrach hit back with an truly great new release by Bloodygrave & Die Lust. This duo released their 7 inch with four tracks in what you could call that typical Kernkrach style: lo-fi minimal electronics with a crazy and playful NDW twist. The music is poppy only because the tracks are catchy. As when it comes to the music itself it is quite noisy stuff and thus probably only for lovers of this style. If this was done in the 1980's on cassette it would have fitted the WSDP catalogue as well. Excellent packaging also... as most of the time with Kernkach releases.

Somewhat in the same style comes a new collaboration between Matthias Schuster (Im Namen Des Volkes, Bal Paré) and Malte Steiner (Konform, Notstandskomitee). Under the alias Akustikkoppler they recently releases a four track EP 7 inch on the always nice NLW label. If you know the work of the musicians the result will not come as a surprise: a mix of the structured elektro from Steiner mixed with the more new wave inspired moods of Schuster. But... it blends perfectly and the four tracks are careful shapes minimal elektro hits. From the melancholy 'Fernmündlich" to the rather noisy and dark "Kabelsalat" it all works for me. Excellent!!

Much more synth pop and new wave inspired when it comes to sounds and structures is the debut by Cosmic Hula Radiators. Released on the new F.K.K.-Musik label comes this two track 7 inch limited to only 150 copies. The A-Side ('Planquadrat') is an uptempo track and will work for sure on the selected dancefloors around the world. It is a very well done German sung synth pop track with a lovely analogue sound. So catchy and poppy but not slick! The B-Side ('Katapultstart') is less suitable for the dancefloor I guess and a bit more classic elektro pop with the vocoder vocals and more pounding beats and pulsating bass line. Curious what else will be released by this label and if Hula Cosmic Radiators can keep up this level of quality with their next release.

From the lovely EE Tapes label from Belgium comes a nice 7 inch compilation with music from the Insane Music label from the 1980's. Yes... another Insane Music compilation... apparently there is still lots of music in the archives as this 7 inch is smashing! Pseudo Code deliver a track in their freaky post-punk style. And there is Human Dance with the great dancefloor track 'Hex!'. A funny and melancholy instrumental synth pop tune. Bene Gesserit is present with two tracks and M.A.L. and Subject both contributed one track. Well in the end all of this is Alain Neffe with help from some people here and there. Alain also compiled this EP himself, so it is the master himself at work here. One of the better re-issue's lately...

Back to the present day and to the master of 8 bit minimal music: Neurobit. I am bit cheating here as this record is an 8 inch not a 7 inch... well it is still a small gem... This is the second 8 inch released by the musician himself on the Vatican Analog label he is involved in. This one is more melodic and tranquil as the first one. In a way this 8 inch is like a perfect dessert after you have consumed the Neurobit 7 inch released on Enfant Terrible as main dish. Playful sounds and trippy pulses take you away into another world... a soft and nice and friendly place... excellent and psychedelic in the same way as the music by Terry Riley.

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