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...

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...

The rise of the Neo-Romantics featuring AGE and Tobias Bernstrup

Maybe as no other era before our time asks for a new Neo-Romantic movement. It is evident the old ways of thinking with a focus on the rational and the paradigm of endless growth are not tenable...

In the 60's the Neo-Romantic movement was most visible in the psychedelic and folk music subcultures... and the 80's of course this was new wave at large with even a new wave substyle called The New Romantics. In both era's it was about dreams of the past...

Today... as it goes... all is retro... but at least some people are taking elements from the past to built new foundations to create something new. In music today most is still just retro minded... but some artists have this glow of something partly new around them...

This year AGE released one tape and two 10 inches filled with European folk music elements which are blended in a superb way with electronics... of course this is not new... think Garmarna, Sorten Muld and many other who have done this before... BUT... AGE prepare this mixture of the old and the contemporary in a sort of alchemistic way to serve you a ritual trip... it is sweet, lovely, deeply touching... simply amazing and some of the best music released in 2012...

Here is one piece from the second 10 inch released on Zusammen Records...

Another artist that fits the label "Neo-Romantic" is Tobias Bernstrup... he released a new album this year... which is his third... and best to date... with each album you hear the growth... the music gets better and better and more and more the sound is becoming something new and truly original and totally just Tobias Bernstrup...

Tobias Bersntrup takes elements from italo disco, synth pop and elektro and molds this into a style of his own... and with great success... and the themes he addresses are neo romantic for sure... it is about the decay of this world and about the decadent way we are living... and in doing this is about dreams about a new tomorrow, about a new world, new humans... a new age...

And so is AGE... they are all about dreams about a new tomorrow... about a different world... the true Neo-Romantics of our time are not just retro minded but dreams about the future instead of the past...

Here is a track by Tobias Bernstrup from his last album which says it all... we have no time to die...

And here is a teaser for the upcoming new 12 inch EP by Tobias Bernstrup on Gooiland Elektro... coming spring 2013... Happy Yule!

review: Terminal Twilight - Black And Blue / The Fire Of Love

A few weeks ago on one of my night strolls on the internet for new music I came across Terminal Twilight. Immediately I fell in love with their dark disco music. I am not a big fan of (neo) italo music but when it is done just the right way what a nice touch of new wave, synth pop and/or elektro pop I can be seduced. Like for example Sally Shapiro and Tobias Bernstrup before triggered me into this style of music.

Terminal Twilight is like an italo disco version of a David Lynch soundtrack. A bit like Chromatics at times but possibly just that little bit darker. Or like Cosmetics but richer in sound.

Anyway, I wrote the label that released both their first 12" EP and 7" this year, Infite Soundtracks. Straight away I ordered all the last remaining copies of the debut 12" EP and some copies of the recent released 7". They have just arrived here in time for the last day of this year... and I must say Terminal Twilight is for me the best new band out there for 2010.

The "Black And Blue" 12" EP is simply excellent. The title track is a massive dance track for ill lit dancefloors early in the morning. If David Lynch would pick out an (neo) italo disco tune for a scene this would be just the right one. "The Sea" comes in two very different versions. One is very tranquil and gloomy while the other is another perfect dancefloor tune. Slow but perfect... as it should be! Closing track "The Lovers" is a moody piece that would work als the last dance song of the night... A perfect ending for a perfect debut EP!

The second release by Terminal Twilight is a 7" with on the A-side "The Fire Of Love". This is a cover version of the rockabilly song by Jody Reynolds. The original version was used in "Fire Walk With Me"... well it says a lot already that the band picked this track to do a version of. Their interpretation of the song is done very well, resulting in a moody and slow elektro ballad / chanson.

On the B-side is "Air", which was released before on a cassette compilation. It is a spine-chilling track and I think one of the best tracks among all these tracks. Done in sort of duet way this gloomy and spacey slow synth song is there to trigger your senses and keep you coming back for more...

With Terminal Twilight as one of the highlights of 2010 and the best new band of the year for me I am happy to enter the night and drive into the future...

You can get copies of these records at the Enfant Terrible webshop here...

Hear "The Sea" here...

See and hear "The Fire Of Love" here...

Hear "Air" here...

Tobias Bernstrup - 1984 EP expected around Christmas

Tobias Bernstrup – 1984 EP on Enfant Terrible

Around Christmas there will be first appearance of Swedish visual and performance artist Tobias Bernstrup on Enfant Terrible. His visual work is present at exhibitions world wide. Next to that he is a gifted musician. He is able to create extremely catchy elektro / synth pop tunes while never crossing the line of delivering overproduced tracks. The sound of his tracks is like a hybrid of the arty side of Klaus Nomi with the pop side of Pet Shop Boys.

This 4 track EP is built around the theme (and title track) ‘1984’. But this theme is extended and made up to date. Despite the rather serious theme of the record this EP features simply excellent decadent music for the dancefloor. It combines elements of classic elektro, synth pop and italo disco.

See here for soundclips...

Release date: December 2009
Cat. nr: ET002
Format: 12” EP
File under: elektro / synth pop / italo disco