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

review: Accident Du Travail

Here is another record from the crazy and adventurous punk scene around Metz in France. But... this is not a punk music record as you might expect. This one is different... really.

Accident Du Travail are a duo consisting of a Julie Normal who also plays with Crash Normal and Cradle Of Smurf... both interesting bands to check out if you are not familiar with them... and Olivier 2mo from Chevue... This last band played at the Hex night and also contributed to the Hex compilation LP I put out on Enfant Terrible.

Here they come up with some great organ /electronic music. This 12 inch EP is a true trip. If you like 'A Rainbow In Curved Air' by Terry Riley this one is for you. One specific track is echoing that piece.

At some other moments the music can be reminiscent of the Kosmische Scene with music referring to Klaus Schulze and the likes.

Really a suprising record to come from musicians from this punk scene but all the more interesting and making me even more curious what will pop up next...

I have some of these records in my webshop...

review: Warpaint - Exquisite Corpse

A few weeks ago I came across the video for the track Stars by Warpaint. Instantly I was captured by this amazing song. Its dreamy sequences and melancholy mood really touched me in a way like not many songs are capable of.

After a few seconds of searching the internet I came to know about a self released 5 track EP on cd and a very recently 6 track 12 inch vinyl EP. Which I ordered straight away.

This vinyl is playing almost non stop here now. These 6 tracks are making up a record which will be high on my year list of favorite records, even surpassing some of the releases I released myself this year.

What makes Warpaint so good is that they have references popping in and out but still they have their own style and sound. The songs are very strong and have surprising hooks, original structures, excellent song writing and beautiful melodies.

Think about Cranes that stripped away all gothic clichés and adding some psychedelic 60's pop to the mix of new wave melancholy, shoegazer energy and heavenly voices beauty.

I am tripping away here with this, and on this record. Songs like the truely mind blowing Elephants and the Cure echoing Krimson are more then you could ask for when it comes to quality indie pop.

This 12 inch vinyl is released in US based Manimal Vinyl label but I just read the band signed to Rough Trade very recently. So maybe there will be an re-issue or a full album coming up... I don't know...

review: Death Sentence: Panda! / The Dreams split

Some of the best post-punk music is coming from France these days. They are not bound by fake genre definitions. By defying all genre and style characteristics they go back to the roots of post-punk. In the early days post-punk was a free style type of music with a wide range of sounds from guitar based to electronic textures and any combination of those two spiced with any other sound the artists liked.

The Dreams made an impression on me when they performed at Hex in Amsterdam. Recently I released a split 7 inch of them with Scorpion Violente (from the same scene again). In October they played at the Enfant Terrible night and it was a great performance of raw ecstatic post-punk music.

They gave me this split 10 inch that night which I did not have yet. It featured many songs I already knew and I was (and still am) very happy with it. The opening is great with a sort of intro and a first real track in a sort of Throbbing Gristle way... if you like "20 Jazz Funk Greats" you will love this for sure.

After that there are two more songs in the more exotic way the band is known for. But again in a way this has references to TG... I always thought 'What A Day' has this tribal feeling... well The Dreams too... maybe more reggae as tribal but the same sort of mood is fused with raw music from electronic origin and primitive guitar abuse.

So, I played this side of the 10 inch on and on... and forgot to check the A Side... What a shame! The A Side if by USA based band Death Sentence: Panda! The opening caught my attention straight away... weird toy instrument sounds mixed with a destroyed beat echoing some hip hop infuences. The tracks explodes into chaotic strange post-punk somewhat like Les Georges Leningrad... ending in a drone / ambient sequence... wow! Yes, one long track but impressive as could be.

What is there left to say except you should get a copy of this as fast as possible... it will sell out fast for sure (if it did not already) just like the split 7 inch I did release...

Cold Cave versus Agent Side Grinder

As a big fan of Cold Cave I was surprised and pleased to see what webzine It’s A Trap had to say after hearing the promo versions of the new Agent Side Grinder albums. The official Cold Cave debut was sold out very fast but a re-issue is planned for next month. I was happy to find a still sealed copy. Also check out the ‘Cremations’ compilation cd. Anyway, here is what It’s A Trap wrote:

“To borrow the lexicon of the financial pages: I am downgrading Cold Cave to a Sell while upgrading my rating on Agent Side Grinder to Strong Buy. I believe that Cold Cave's market has reached saturation and become overvalued while Agent Side Grinder has nowhere to go but up, especially considering the upcoming Q4 release of both "Irish recording tape" and "The transatlantic tape project" (via Enfant Terrible, vinyl-only). The former is of primarily interest to me, as it shows tremendous growth over last year's self-titled release and I must also commend them for the recruitment Alexander Blomqvist (on live bass) as he appears to have brought many new strengths with him to the executive team. The fine qualities that first caught my attention when I rated them a Buy (ie, the driving, dirty industrial beats) are still very much in place, only now far more refined and developed. I expect 2010 to be a very good year for Agent Side Grinder and don't expect them to face much serious competition for market share.”

Source: It's A Trap

Check out Cold Cave
Check out Agent Side Grinder

reviews: Krysmopompas, Adolf Filter, Peter Quistgard

Here are three nice small records I have been listening to the last few months...

Krysmopompas already pleasantly surprised me with their 2LP on S-S Records from the USA. This German based band plays excellent Neo Deutsche Welle music. You get on this 7 inch (released on the Italian Avant! Records label) two playful tunes (called 'Gesa' and 'Volker') in the best Neue Deutsche Welle tradition. While the tracks on the 2LP were more guitar dominated these two tracks are less typical rock influenced. Still the guitar is there but it is used in a different way (less rock) and more electronic elements pop up. The sound is now quite close to that of Punk Soul Loving Bill. And while this band has ceased to exist it is nice to have Krysmopompas around to fill the gap.
500 were pressed and they come in a sleeve with a very nice cover design. Still a few copies available at the Enfant Terrible webshop.

Adolf Filter released this two track 7 inch (entitled 'Storing Signals In Analog Form') on the small Tissel & Tassel label that also already released the excellent Close Diode 7" compilation (also featuring Adolf Filter and a great track by Swedish Twize My Size). These two melodic down/mid tempo pieces are simple great dark synth pop tunes. Funny thing is I got the tracks to listen to for releasing on Enfant Terrible and I was not sure about them back then. So the band released it this way in a small edition of only 100 copies. What a great idea this was and how fitting! And now... I hear the genius of it... I had some at the Enfant Terrible webshop but they are gone but I believe the band has a few left...

For those present at the Enfant Terrible night at STRP Festival 2009 or have seen the announcements for this night Peter Quistgard should be a name to know. This guy from Holland likes to take musical toys apart, short circuit them and then use them as instruments for this music. What you get is a mixed up sound of break beats, gabber house and weird playful elektro. The structure of his tracks might be hard to follow for the unfamiliar but if you listen to the tracks more often you will sort it out for sure. It is crazy and original and fantastic electronic noise! References are hard to give... expect maybe that Peter Quistgard sounds like a messed up and dirty and more trashy Kania Tieffer... well in that case you simply have to love this!
The 7 inches are released on a small Dutch label called Toztizok in which the musician is himself also involved. The sleeves are handmade and equally excellent as is the music. Only 300 copies where pressed and I have some at the Enfant Terrible webshop. And... if you get a chance to see Peter Quistgard live make sure to be there in the front row to see him play around with his partly destroyed toys...

The Enfant Terrible webshop is here...

two new Agent Side Grinder albums OUT NOW

Two new Agent Side Grinder albums on Enfant Terrible

After the highly acclaimed debut album by Swedish electronic outfit Agent Side Grinder Dutch record label Enfant Terrible is presenting not one but two new albums by this band.

The band is now a five piece outfit (they started with three musicians). With this new line up they worked on a new album. This record is ‘Irish Recording Tape’. On this record the band has been perfecting their sound and song writing skills. Maybe the songs have been become more accessible in a way but they still show the typical style of Agent Side Grinder: drilling industrial sounds which may remind sometimes of Swans, hypnotic synth sequences that refer to krautrock and psychedelic music and post-punk influenced bass lines which will give you flashbacks to Joy Division.

Information and soundclips for Irish Recording Tape are here:
http://www.enfant-terrible.nl/enfant15.html

The true experimental side of Agent Side Grinder is shown in ‘The Transatlantic Tape Project’. This started as a way to keep working together while one of the members was in the USA. Sounds and music where put to tape and send over the Atlantic Ocean and re-worked their and sent back again to Sweden.

In the end this resolved into an unique album with amazing music. ‘The Transatlantic Tape Project’ is a blending of 60’s psychedelic music and 80’s experimental industrial muzak which is molded into original contemporary ambient music. Maybe it is better to call this electronic Chamber Music as it is much richer in texture then ambient music. Think about a soundtrack for a David Lynch film, think early Cabaret Voltaire and think elements of Velvet Underground and you can maybe get an idea of the actual sound of this record.

Information and soundclips for The Transatlantic Tape Project are here:
http://www.enfant-terrible.nl/enfant16.html

--> The photo shows a self built instrument used on the recordings and the new band line up.