Hot new video release from Portland’s electronic dance rage band Slighter. This song has such a creeping sludgy sex appeal. Colin Cameron has a filthy vocal delivery which stalks you like a hunter beyond your vision. I love the contrast of the glitchy sound and booming bass with those whispered promise melodies. The video is an amazing ghost in the machine view. Innocence is dangerous, inside of us”. I love the hard build in this short banger. A hungry snarling club growl for your next playlist
Ever since I heard the dark classic “These Remains” by the Thrill Kill Kult, I have been hooked on that sinister sound. It’s not quite dance music, but it’s not “not” dance music is it? It always made me feel like I was a character in a movie that snuck their way into the VIP room at the club only to find they stumbled into some modern pagan ritual, ala the masked ball from Eyes Wide Shut, but with the classical music soundtrack replaced by something akin to Skinny Puppy fronted by Chelsea Wolfe.
Take a ride with me and let’s listen to some of the artists that I think are exploring some of these same sonic pathways today…
Cult of Alia – The Only Angel – This new track from Cult of Alia, the side project of David Wright from Creux Lies, gives me the feeling of a being in a 80’s vampire flick where the blood junkie in question stalks his prey from across the crowded dance floor. They lock eyes and the hunt begins. Great synth sounds and the pulsing beat gets your butt moving… Definitely looking forward to more from this project!
Bara Hari – Weapon– Samantha Franco hits us with Weapon! Inspired by her experiences with the exploitative men in the music industry, she delivers an all too important (and honestly all too familiar) reminder that we need to get our shit straight and be fucking decent human beings to each other. But let’s be clear… This track is a serious jam. I love the video concept and I can totally see her kicking ass like the Bride in Kill Bill.
Owl Theory – Heaven in Reverse – This E.P. of dark, seductive, electronic pop came about from Jarod Gibson of Odonis Odonis doing a gothic / darkwave take on Harry Styles song ‘WOMAN‘. That track anchors a collection of dark pop that flows from the ambient soundtrack stylings of the title track, to the trip hop vibes of the track “Spin”. I love this record… once I start playing it I get lost in the sound and before i know it, it’s over and I gotta spin it again!
SØLVE – SVNT LACRIMÆ RERVM – Atmospheric synths paired with punishing industrial beats. This dark and powerful track is steeped in cinematic ritualism… Every time I listen to this song, it lingers in the corners of my mind and teases me with its aftershocks, making me want more.
Sidewalks & Skeletons – ETERNAL REST – This track, featuring frequent collaborator Cash for Gold, throws shades of Crystal Castles for me, but they pair it up with some thick urban beats and blazes a dark path of its own. I love how they can take an airy synth typically found in traditional dance music and make it heavy enough to smother you.
That old familiar feeling, sitting late at night on Stella number 6. A quiet falls over my house. Other than my earbuds blasting the latest in wonderful new dark music which I will now share with you. Our new Sounds and Shadows Facebook group has exposed me to several new bands and DJs so I will dig into that now. May the muses strike you and help you find something inspiring on this list like I did.
The Gothsicles – Animal Songs – Anyone who reads this page knows I am a goth who does not take himself to seriously. I think goth music should be stretched to the utmost limit of the definition. So when I hear a band that takes that way further than I could even imagine, believe me I am all in. When I first heard bands like Violent Femms in my youth it was extremely inspiring. I have a voice that does not fit the music I play. Brian Graupner has achieved the same concept and turned it to eleven. The music is Star Destroyer laser beams of energy burning through the universe with reckless abandon. His singing is an infectious wail spewing forth educational and spicy cadence you can taste burning down your throat. This album takes on a really interesting concept. All of the songs are about animals, written from that perspective. It also has some great guest vocals including MC Lars and FIRES doing a rap. This record isn’t a lot of ups and downs musically. Just keeps blasting you like a fire hose. I think it is a true testament to what Graupner accomplished by having the lyrics and clever delivery be the dynamics that hold your attention.
Rock the Quokka – This track has the same bouncing intensity but with a funky bounding adorable energy. The lyrics are brilliant and transport you into the tall grass and brilliant sun.
Naked Mole Rat – I want to hear Aedra (FIRES) on everything. Here she is dropping amazing bars and her sharp edge sultry voice is an amazing addition. It blends well with Brian screaming Pink and Furtive. All these songs really do make you feel and empathize with these animals. It’s a memorizing effect.
Stag Beatle Professional Wrestling – Here the idea of making the beetles do another thing close to my heart, pro wrestling just slayed me. The music has wonderful 90s electronica industrial beats. Just pure fun right up your gullet.
This record just captured me entirely. If you buy one thing this band camp Friday my recommendation is it is this. It inspires me to make goth music even more fun. Obviously the world is ready.
The Hanging Freud –Nowhere – Delicious Glasgow slow droning darkwave. Lots of swirl and down tempo with singer Paula Borges giving rich melting chocolate to pour slowly on that buzzing synth. Definitely hearing big audio heaven sound stretching. Sometimes in a mix you can feel one aspect or another too far away. Here everything feels underwater in equal measure and it gives the music a surreal quality. The tension is great and gives this feeling of being on a submarine sinking closer to the crush point. Watching out the small glass circles and seeing the world grow darker.
Favorite Track: Power over you – Definitely the sharp point of that sinking feeling. A stalking Bioshock copper glow sound. This isn’t a song you are hearing, it is a record playing from the spirit world creeping through the veil into your human ears.
Blind Colour – Ink Project – Rhythm Spirit – Ok this is a little outside my usual wheelhouse. This is slow sexy textural electronic beats. Renunciant of triphop like Portishead. It’s hard to box it in just one place though because the songs cover such varied group and have a real visceral imagery. This is an album to close your eyes to, lay back, and picture yourself floating. I found a calm meditation washing over me as each track flowed like liquid into the next. The craft and patience of these songs are fully on display. This whole project streams like a movie where your imagination are the pictures.
Blink Feat: Yazmyn Hendrix – Slow grinding space flight. Quasars and stars pass you by. Hendrix voice has a southern soul and smooths the staccato beats of the music with a dreamlike flow.
Slow Suicide Feat: Fifi Rong – A stronger and funkier gravitational pull. Fifi has a whispered spoken word style with a little Suzanne Vega flow. Gently dipping her hand in a calm pool to create expanding ripples. Then she reaches up with a beautiful chorus melody. “I’m a mess, I confess” the balanced rhymes never let your head leave this perfectly constructed vision.
Ashbury Heights – Wild Eyes – Now I understand I am a little late to the game on Ashbury Heights, I can tell you I have rectified that mistake now. Just magnificent construction and expansive rising dance club banger energy. Madil Hardis has a sunrise voice that sets light upon the shadows. Anders Hagstrom has a perfect piercing counterpart. I played this single 4 times and just couldn’t stop shaking and swaying. The lyrics were relatable and left you deep in the pop hooks. Precision layering of the vocal harmonies with modern crystal clean movement. I need to listen to A LOT more Ashbury Heights.
Long After Midnight – Painkiller – Close to home is Grand Rapid Michigan’s Long after Midnight. Really liking how much rock is mixed into this Industrial Rock. The mastering was done by Jules Seifert so everything is smooth as an Aston Martin’s fender. Ross Martin’s vocals are crisp and powerful to cut through the progressive hard edge of the music. Mike Nolan is juggling a lot of moving parts here to give the music a sense of complexity and movement. Really exciting taste of more great things to come. I need to play with these cats once shows start again.
Heavy Water Factory – it’s not what you think – Let’s keep things in the Michigan. Jesse James McClear has been a pioneer of the Detroit Industrial/Techno scene for a few decades now. This new EP highlights what he does best. The hard stomping echo of Detroit Industrial with the tight corners and revving engine of electronic dance. This EP is all instrumental but speaks volumes with the razor changes and subtitle details. It’s an endless motion and sinisterly honed vision. The bleep bloop bop is not glitchy or crushing. Instead it endeavors for something sleek and calculated. This is night time driving soundtrack through a collapsing city. Could I have appreciated some vocals? Sure. However not having them didn’t stop me from plunging in and riding this wave of emotion.
Glass Apple Bonzai – The Blush – For my final review lets pick a great story from a wonderful human. Daniel Belasco had two friends effected by the winter storms in Texas and released this smoking hot synth danger to help them. This track has their beautiful signature layered new wave spun candy. The vocals are vaulting hurdle after hurdle and popping effortlessly between ranges. Spinning in a spiral of technicolor bright energy. The B side track Fire in the Sky is a deep crooning highway driver. I love this come hither version of Daniels voice. The chorus is a gorgeous open hook of cool mint candy cane. Feel good about snagging great music and helping folk in need.
Good whatever time of day it is that you’re reading this! Ken said I could interview anybody in the whole wide inner circle of industrial music so I thought long and hard and chose homeboy Bill Weedmark. If you’re on facebook at all you’ve definitely seen him at the forefront of many of the scene pages. I took a deep dive skinny dipping session with our lovable friend here and asked him the hard pressing questions that’s on everyone’s minds.
EL: You seem to have your finger on the pulse of the scene, you mod several band groups (OMF for 3teeth, Dreadfully Possessed for GosT, Nuclear Family for Nuclear*Sun and others, and the Anti-Hearts for Night Club). How THE FUCK have you made these connections and how do you have the mental strength to handle all of these groups?
BW: Kind of random chance really, but it all ties back to 3teeth and OMF. I got to know those guys online a little bit after they opened for Tool…I loved their stuff, got hooked, and created a subreddit for them. That ended up leading to modding OMF when it got big enough to need a cat herder, which is where I got to know some of the other artists from chatting with them in there. Then I met up with some of them on tour and became friends and it just kind of happened organically after that.
It’s surprisingly not as much work as you’d think. There are so many cool, progressive, amazing people in this music scene, so for the most part these groups are awesome communities that lift each other up and share art and support each other. I don’t have the patience for the bickering and drama in groups so I don’t get involved with groups that have a lot of that.
Probably Bill Weedmark
EL: What do you look for in a group that you’re hearing and interacting with for the first time? How should aspiring bands interact with their fans to ensure they hang onto them for life?
BW: Passion is key. I don’t personally care if an artist has the best production values or the biggest budget, I just want to hear in their work that it matters to them. That’s kind of intangible and subjective, but it’s a gut feeling of “Oh yeah, they love doing this.” That will show through in everything they do. I’m also much more likely to check an artist out based on good word of mouth from other people in music groups, too.
As far as fan interaction, I think authenticity is the most important thing. All of the newer artists which have become big favorites of mine are themselves online. They’re somewhat active in groups or on their own pages, they answer questions, stay moderately accessible. It’s a tough balance I think and it takes time, and not everyone has the free time for it and not everyone wants to be open or accessible. But just engaging like a human being rather than spamming links to your stuff once a day at noon and never TALKING to people will always get me to pay attention, and it seems to build a more genuine connection with the fans. It doesn’t have to be a daily thing, but just popping around and being a person and even chatting about a movie or something is more engaging than people realize.
EL: Now with the industrial scene (and any scene for that matter) aesthetic seems to play a big role in terms of fitting in. Whether it be robot beep boop looks or just a heavy goth appearance. Are there any tropes and clichés in this scene that makes you role your eyes? And do you think looks are just as important as the product being released by a band?
BW:I’m very much over the edgy “let’s be offensive for attention” trend that seemed to be big in the 90s/00s, like adopting pseudo-fascist clothes and logos, but thankfully that’s dying off. But as long as it’s not an offensive appearance, I don’t think looks alone are hugely important. It’s cool to have a unique look but I’d rather have a unique sound or voice to listen to. Tristan Shone of Author & Punisher is usually just wearing jeans and a t-shirt on stage but no one would deny that he’s got a unique aesthetic and sound. I think the logos, art, and iconography around an artist are more important than an on-stage aesthetic, especially right now with touring being dead and global audiences…people will find an artist online way before they’ll find them at a show. But you can’t go wrong with black and leather and rivets, can you?
EL: What got you into industrial music?
BW: The Mortal Kombat soundtrack! I grew up in the sticks and didn’t even know what industrial music was back in 1995 but that soundtrack set the stage for my musical taste. Gravity Kills, KMFDM, Fear Factory…that soundtrack is still awesome. Then a few years later The Fragile came out and I fell down a huge rabbit hole of everything NIN, everyone who ever worked with or toured with NIN, Trent’s infuences, and that was that. Led me to Ministry and Skinny Puppy and PIG and on and on.
EL: Do you have any experience playing an instrument? If so, how many sublime songs can you play?
BW:I do! I play bass, and I think I’m actually pretty good at it. My problem is I can’t WRITE music for shit, but I can learn new songs fast. I’d probably be a good session bassist because I’m good at picking things up and playing them right but suck at being creative and have no ego. I was also a pretty bad-ass trombone player back in the day and rocked a trombone solo in a polka song in high school band. I think that was my musical peak. And I currently know zero Sublime songs but I’m pretty sure I still remember the Meow Mix theme, does that count? ‘Cuz it’s what I got.
EL: Fuck Combos
BW:Combo brand stuffed-pretzels by the Mars Corporation are a tasty snack, available in multiple flavor varieties. Pepperoni Pizza is my personal favorite but there’s a wide selection to choose from, and I hear that guy from Decent News LOVES them.
Literal Shit
EL: Alright, desert island scenario. So you’re stranded on a desert island, you have 3 albums, 2 movies, 1 complete TV series on DVD and an unlimited supply of 1 breakfast cereal. What do you pick?
BW:Three albums…definitely The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails. Then I guess Shutdown.exe by 3teeth and Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live by Pink Floyd. Cheat a bit and take two double albums. Movie picks would be The Terminator and Heat, I’m a sucker for great shoot-out scenes. TV series, maybe recency-bias but I’m going with The Expanse. And Honey Comb. Honey Comb is delicious, and their mascot is a cracked-out ball of fur that somehow made it past the concept stage, which is incredible.
EL: Let’s say you have Charles Barkley money and you’re putting together a festival. Pick 3 headliners and 7 supporting acts. Also what energy drink is sponsoring this event?
BW:Headliners are Nine Inch Nails, Rammstein, and Duran Duran. Support is Gary Numan, 3teeth, PIG, Stabbing Westward, Curse Mackey, HEALTH and GosT. Sponsored by Powerthirst, they have GRATUITOUS AMOUNTS OF ENERGY. Just like this festival.
In 2019 I took a life changing trip to Berlin where I learned a lot about myself, another culture, and music. I also started a love affair with one of the most underrated post punk bands in the modern scene Golden Apes. Peer Lebrecht has one of those few in a generation distinctive voices with an amazing ability to convey emotion and paint pictures in a listeners imagination. We can all look forward to future Golden Apes releases, in the meantime Peer has ventured into other soundscapes with the solo project Voyna. This album is a departure from GA more synthy darkwave sounds and bring a spotlight to Peer’s voice with an expansive alternative rock backing. Always one for metaphor in his poetry “The Cinvat Bridge” or bridge of judgement was a mythological passage which separated the land of the living from the dead. The album releases 3/21/21 but I was lucky enough to get an early glimpse. You can pre order in the link below.
Provenance – Opening with a walking bass in tiny footfalls. Two winding reverbed guitar lines building into a synth line of pure light. The the drums sizzle to the forefront. Masterful craftsmanship to create the tension and set the perfect opening for that dark chocolate and black coffee voice. As Voyna sets the scene of this desolate house everything comes to a crescendo just before it is stripped away to that simple intro bassline. Already I am plunging into these icy waters headfirst.
Refraction – A brighter striking tone to get the energy pumping. Peer goes into a a higher sharp edged register. I love the way we are already showing the range in styles that seem to be going so many places, none of them Golden Apes. The breakdown here is a spiral that just stops time and stretches that lovely hook chorus into infinity. Then the time cuts and a rush of energy sends you galloping into the close.
The Sky And A Grain– Wow this is a gorgeous new wave vibe with tones of Flock of Seagulls , Echo and the Bunnymen, OMD. Basically this is the prom song of a John Hughes movie that was never actually made. Just a rushing wind racing hook. I love the distortion effect on the chorus vocals. This is a total banger.
Fractal King – Another huge sound shift. This is a smoky lounge at 2am. Walking bass and tremolo Twin Peaks vibes. Filthy intentions and slow sultry danger. “I’m bleeding from the heart, from all the pain in me, I’m sinking like a stone for all the pain in you”. The ending of this song is gut wrenching and visceral.
Golden Apes unforgettable album KASBEK from 2019
Overall as much as I am impressed by all the things The Cinvat Bridge is, I am equally moved by how much it strays from Golden Apes. It spans a journey of eternity walking down this bridge and touches on so many aspects of the human experience. Peers voice is the unmistakable star of the show, but these songs are so lovingly crafted and brimming over with emotion and higher artistic concept. A surprise early contender for album of the year and it doesn’t even release until March 21st. You need this in your collection.
