Tag: Eric Oehler

January Sounds and Shadows Darkscene Singles Chart

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A new year has started and we are already flooded with amazing releases. Tons of legendary bands are coming out for one final farewell tour or album. Here at S & S we like to focus on the new and fresh. The hot singles of the darkscene not showing up in more reputable charts. All of these singles were voted on by our group of Artists/Djs/Promotors/Reviewers/Superfans. If you have a single releasing in February go to the Sounds and Shadows Facebook group and submit 🙂

  1. Beborn Beton – Dancer In The Dark – (Germany)
  2. Astari Nite – Bowie In Daydreams – (Miami Florida)
  3. Vazum – Night Shade – (Detroit Michigan)
  4. Scary Black – Everything Rots (Louisville KY)
  5. Iamnoone – King Of Pain (Italy)
  6. En Esch – ET NOS UNUM SUMUS – (Berlin Germany)
  7. Klack – New Buildings – (Madison Wisconsin)
  8. Cerulean Veins – Love Won’t Save Us Now (San Diego, California)
  9. Leaether Strip – Last Station – (Vegger, Denmark)
  10. Dissonance – I Don’t Like Who You Are – (Dallas, Texas)
  1. Beborn Beton – Dancer In The Dark – A new year, a new #1 finish for the German darksynth destroyers. This single will crawl into your ears and live there for a week. Pure crooning spun sugar by Stefan Netschio this album really can’t arrive soon enough but the release date is March 17, 2023.

Dancer In The Dark | Beborn Beton (bandcamp.com)

2) Astari Nite – Bowie In Daydreams – What a beautiful tribute to the thin white Duke. It’s sassy, it’s fantastical, and Mychael really captured the Star Man attitude. I feel like I just took a swing around the sun.

Bowie In Daydreams | Astari Nite (bandcamp.com)

3) VAZUM – Night Shade – Detroit Cold Fi duo with this new unseely court fairy driving banger with a nice lyrical shade thrown. They always bring something creative and against the grain of the scene status quo. Loving how vocal forward the harmony is on the chorus.

Night Shade | VAZUM (bandcamp.com)

4) SCARY BLACK – Everything Rots – Every time I hear something new from Albie, I get genuinely mad he isn’t apart of every discussion of the biggest names of modern darkscene. This single is TERRIFYING. The emotional projectile vomit of dark viscus sound is staggering. The first time I played it my hands were shaking. If you love goth music, please go listen to one of the best artists of the last 10 years making it.

Everything Rots | SCARY BLACK (bandcamp.com)

5) iamnoone – kind of pain – Before I even get to this single by the Italian Cold Transmission Music duo, I have to address this amazing cover art. Something about the texture of it just haunts me. The new single and video is a lovely bouncing shadow disco with a bit of Peter Hook Revenge energy and teardrop synth chimes ala The Cure. Grab a cup of tea, this song, and raindrops streaking down the window.

kind of pain | iamnoone (bandcamp.com)

6) EN ESCH – ET NOS UNUM SUMUS – This track is a little outside what I think of as darkscene singles, but it is such an interesting concept by the industrial legend I am ecstatic it was chosen. To really appreciate you have to read the liner notes. An immersive thought piece with brilliant high hats.

It’s based on a very special and unique concept and sound installation I created for the Berlin government, “Kulturprojekte Berlin”.  A stand alone musical piece that is something completely original and inspired – every known national anthem playing together at the same moment. 206 national anthems playing at the same time!

The Untied Nations has 193 member states and I also added the anthems of observers and known non-members.

The German Esch lyrics in the beginning and at the end are taken from the poem “An die Freude” (Ode to Joy) written by German poet and playwright Friedrich Schiller in 1785.

The other lyrics written by me are translated into Japanese and spoken by Keiko Yoshida, translated into Polish and spoken by “fdisk@interia” an internet friend of mine I that I have been unable to contact (please contact me, I want to credit you correctly) and the English part is performed by Sylvia J. Carrasquillo.

ET NOS UNUM SUMUS | EN ESCH (bandcamp.com)

7) Klack / Inconscio Viola Split EP – New Buildings – So in spite of being one of my favorite team ups in EDM music Matt and Eric, this one flew a little under my radar. It was a spit EP on New York label SYNTHICIDE with Inconscio Viola. First thing I notice, it has MORE cowbell, I have immediately bought in. Trademark razor samples and Matt’s cascading growl. Stomp your boots and join the Klack. What if we made the whole track the breakdown?

Klack – New Buildings | SYNTHICIDE (bandcamp.com)

8) Cerulean Veins – Love Won’t Save Us Now – Now I must admit I was not familiar with the San Diego band but they are definitely here now. Lovely pounding late Mission style goth rock with a great ringing anthem chorus. Crisp charging builds mastered to perfection by the always on point Pete Burns.

Love Won’t Save Us Now | Cerulean Veins

9) Leaether Strip – Last Station – With absolutely no surprise for anyone, Claus Larsen releases this shimmering crystalline EDM modern classic as a tribute to Kurt. Poetry, pain, love, I may have misted up a bit.

Last Station | Leaether Strip (bandcamp.com)

10) Dissonance – I Don’t Like Who You Are – Cat is a singular vocal talent that draws in top collaborators like moths to the flame. On this particular track it is Jon Van Herrman and Rath Campbell. I love this new broken glass edge to Cat’s captivating vocals. It distracts you with shine, right before the knife slides between your ribs.

I Don’t Like Who You Are | Dissonance (bandcamp.com)

Artists Not Named Kate Bush You Should Still Be Talking About

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It has been a moment since I had a chance to sit down and talk about exciting new music that has come out recently. Bands are starting to go back on the road and that means new releases. Instead of doing a Bandcamp Friday this month instead Bandcamp is donating a portion of proceeds to NAACP for Juneteenth. They continue to be the best way to buy music while supporting artists and important causes. We also had our May Darkscene Singles Chart which is on the webpage as well as new podcast interviews. So check those out to support us, like and subscribe.

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundsAndShadows

silver walks – various positions – I met Daniel McCullough near a dumpster behind Cold Waves in 2019 and heard “Lantern” in 2020. Immediately I knew this album was going to be something special. Dan is one of the most underrated song writers in modern electronica. The people in the know, they understand this. I hope this album is what makes that clear to the scene at large. I think one of the first points to strike me, all but one song are over 5 minutes. In a world of short singles, Various Positions is stretching your dance floor endurance. While making EVERY song a banger. Infectious dance beats that ebb and flow in texture, with razor blade twists. You can really hear the patient precision that went into each song’s construction. There is a thematic post apocalypse spiritual journey that makes me close my eyes and get lost in the story, while stomping in time to infectious hooks. This whole album rides a highspeed tightrope between progressive and ear candy.

▶︎ various positions | silver walks (bandcamp.com)

This album also has a spicy list of A + contributors to bring Dan’s vision to light. Stella Soleil , Coral Scere, Tim Heireth,  Marc Heal,  James Francis, Eva X, and many more mixed lovingly by living legend  John Fryer. Part of the testament to this albums power are the names that agreed to be a part of it. Album art & layout // Joshua Mccallister
silver walks logo by Jim Marcus. Eric Oehler wizard shimmers the mastering. Photo of Dan // Kirsten Miccoli I just saw Dan thanked me in the liner notes, so now I am crying.

Assemblage 23 Remix

Favorite Tracks: This is truly difficult. There is not a throw away track on this album. A wise woman once wrote “The first cut is the deepest” So I will choose where it began for me.

Lantern – This track just hits different. I story woven of a time lost in a desert place of which taps into a fury against injustice. The music here is captivating and lives in my head. This song slaps on the level of Gary Numan doing My Name Is Ruin.

Overall: This is a record I will be visiting all year long until December when it comes time discuss albums of the year.

Cyborg Amok – Cyborg Amok – Self titled release from the New Jersey Father/Son duo which came to my attention courtesy of Michael Nagy. I recently got to interview the band for the Sounds and Shadows podcast. A heavy hitting dystopian future progressive gothic style. I immediately was put in mind of Palais Ideal by the complexity and science fiction concepts. Greg Bullock has a dream whisper voice and a bardic soul. I feel in love with the purity of a father and son bridging generations to find a place of compromise between their influence. Taking that space epic Rush 70’s feel and blending a modern darkscene compression.

▶︎ Cyborg Amok | Cyborg Amok (bandcamp.com)

Favorite Track: Choice Not Taken – This one was just so powerful once I learned the story behind it. The connection between men discussing their trials with candor out front of a powerful spine of percussion.

jluc Courchet aka SPIRYT – BLOOD TWINS – Featuring the phenomenal vocals of Kimberly from Bow Ever Down French electronic shadow Cabaret led by Jluc Ciurchet is weaving soul and atmospheric beauty in the smooth seductive style of 90’s trip hop. Unlike the smooth smokey flow of Portishead, the duo ruffles the waves of dark water with unsettling tension that never allows your heart to rest. I love the scope of instrumentation full of color and percussion. Kimberly has a voice that is remarkable for both it’s quality and the honesty of her delivery. Truly spellbinding she needs to be in the discussion of the top women in the scene.

Favorite Track: Breathing In Breathing Out – Again, this whole album is staggering and an inspired blend of two talents in Jluc and Kimberly. This song just hit with a weight of sorrow and depth I found myself staggered by. This is a song of finding steady ground. To look a trauma and terror in the eye. An inspirational energy to face down the darkness that surrounds.

▶︎ BLOOD TWINS | jluc Courchet aka SPIRYT | jluc courchet (bandcamp.com)

Stoneburner / Chant – Stoneburner​/​Chant King of wolves tour freebie – Speaking of epic and exciting tours which are springing up. Two of the most exciting things happening in industrial music, Steven Archer‘s (Stoneburner) and Bradley Bills (Chant) touring together and unleashing percussion artillery meant to challenge your conceptions and shake your bones. This pre tour pay what you want digital release is the perfect introduction for anyone seeking the exciting new direction that Industrial music has evolved to. It is fierce, vibrant, and epic in scope. Highlighting the talent and different tone of both artists. This is a can’t miss live performance people will speak of in awe years from now

Stoneburner (bandcamp.com)

The Waning Moon – The Waning Moon – Wonderous new collaboration project from Zac Campbell (The Kentucky Vampires) , and Ariel Maniki (The Black Halos). Two powerhouse talents of the modern traditional goth scene forging an alloy of blackened metal which echos with loss and remorse. Unlike their more organic percussion based projects TWM features aa blistering tempo freight train which unshackles Campbell to terrorize the fretboard and Ariel to use a haunting cadence full of ice cold foundation and strength. Only 4 tracks on this EP, but each sets the tone for a future force that fills a need in fans who hunger for traditional goth.

Favorite Track: Talisman – I didn’t go for a deep cut here. This single that accompanies the really sums up the best of what these artists do. An arterial spray of viscera and poetic sorrow which work in harmony, to tell a story of anguish.

The Waning Moon | The Waning Moon (bandcamp.com)

The Amaranth – Gothtimist – As always it feels weird to review yourself. So I won’t. This track off our upcoming album is special to me. It is the ideals of Sounds and Shadows put into sonic form. That the world is cruel, and promises get broken. Yet we can reach out to our friends in the darkest moments and find hope. This song features an amazing array of guest contributors which blows my mind every time I ready it.

Jason Corbett (Actors) , Jean-Marc Lederman (The The; Gene Loves Jezebel; Fad Gadget; The Weathermen; Rohn-Lederman), Dan Milligan (The Joy Thieves; The Burying Kind), Kimberly Kornmeier (Bow Ever Down), Katy May (Katy Needs A Life), Saphira Vee, Brian Graupner (gothsicles; Gasoline Invertebrate) , Ryan Flint (WitchHands), Matt McIntosh (A Cloud of Ravens). As well as cover art by Albie Mason (Scary Black) and mastering by Pete Burns (Kill Shelter)

Gothtimist | The Amaranth (bandcamp.com)

I Just Need A Tiny Moment, For Me and For This Music.

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Tomorrow April Bandcamp Day embraces us. I returned from a desperately needed weekend getaway to see Actors at Smalls. Out at a bar, seeing one of my favorite bands playing live. With my friends around me, dancing, smiling, drinking. Ok the drinking got to be a bit over the top and I got sloppy gushing to Jason after the show. I think you take my point, it felt like fun was in the world again. Feeling locked away for so long. Work, isolation, trying to finish an album, seeing so much music come sailing over my head at the speed of light. Wanting to share but not finding the spoons to write reviews. Kicking the can down the road until tomorrow. Seeing that show though, it reminded me why I started. This new album was a progressive step forward for Actors, the excitement of a new member, music into energy, into joy, into energy returned. I came home reminded I needed to stop. Stop pushing myself to write because I had so many bands to share, so many friends to send my love to, and just stop. Stop and listen to music. Write about it after. It would be done when it was done. I might not finish for Bandcamp Day. When I do finish, I will tell you about the songs I stopped to listen to, alone in the silence.

Gasoline Invertebrate – Cracked Wax Battery – Brian Gaupner (The Gothscicles, Space Couch, TigerSquak Records) holds a special place in my heart. I feel a bit of twin spirit in how he approaches music. That feeling that music is an experience better shared. The visual of a Cracked Wax Battery is such a striking image. That bleeding yellow goop pouring out of an old battery carcass. Bringing in great artistic names that are also friends of a mutual vision like: Gopal Metro , Ed Cripps, Zoog Von Rock, and MORIS BLAK. A plasma whip of electronic dance beats cracking the air with aerobic intensity. Brian takes some of the jovial madness of Gothscicles off his voice and replaces it with hissing menace. The NES throwback energy of these synth lines are a nerdcore street cred of belonging. Gasoline Invertebrate always makes you feel inside the curtain.

Fav Track: Please Rate Your Pain – This song is everything the album is striving for, distilled down into a concentrated idea. The samples which raise a gallows humor poke at society. The rippling checkered cloth of constant motion. Brian’s continuous chant against the monetized concept of pain Olympics in modern society.

https://gasolineinvertebrate.bandcamp.com/album/cracked-wax-battery

silver walks – tear me down – Dan McCullough the recent New York resident has continued to blow me away with every thread he slowly unravels for this album. This latest single out 4/8/22 is a super band level support cast to bring the shimmering sand swept race through grains of time to life. Coral Scere delivers a breathy elegant leaping vocal performance. In fact this single features an all star cast.

music written and arranged by Daniel Mccullough
vocals and lyrics by Coral Scere
backing vocals by Tim Heireth
additional noise loops – Steven Archer

all tracks mastered by Eric Oehler at submersible studios, Wisconsin
artwork by Steven Archer
silver walks logo by Jim Marcus

I really feel this in my bones. Dan has been taking his time to hone each song to perfection. The attention to detail and craft show. This is special.

https://silverwalk.bandcamp.com/album/tear-me-down

Panic Priest – Second Seduction – So this is a 2020 release from Chicago synth crooner Jack Armondo, one of the best baritone voices in the modern darkscene with an amazing ear for melody and construction. This album released on Negative Gain was a forceful step forward for the artist. It has a cavernous echo of isolation which was so relatable and present for many in 2020. The guitar work was an ever twisting glass staircase of builds and contact. Adam Black of Midnight Mannequin Records took on the mission of bringing this powerful album into vinyl format with this re release. The expansive warmth really deserves this hand held delivery. Looks like I need to buy this record again.

https://midnightmannequin.bandcamp.com/album/second-seduction

Black Angel – The Black Rose – Dark rock deity Matt Vowles has released another new album, honestly I don’t know where he finds the depths and time to keep churning out this much material at a high level. Where 2021 Prince of Darkness had a very LA hard rock 90s flavor, The Black Rose goes back even further with a modern gothic slant on early devil rock like Black Sabbath. It creeps in like a dream with slow stinging drums, deep lacerating guitar riffs, and a staggering vocal melody somewhere between Ozzy and Lane Staley. Someday soon a wise label is going to snatch up Black Angel and push them to the moon.

All tracks written, recorded and produced by Matt Vowles on behalf of Solid Recordings Publishing 2022
Vocals by Corey Landis and Maneesha Jones
Album cover by Eshmoon DM

https://blackangelmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-black-rose

Vaselyne – Here To Begin – New 2 track EP out from Amsterdam based new members of the COP International family Yvette Winkler and Frank Weyzig (ex Clan of Xymox). I love the forceful proclamation of a title “Here To Begin”. All sales from this EP will be donated to support The Ukrainian People in their struggle for freedom. I’m always an enormous fan of bands that step up for their beliefs. The music has a travelers sung story around a crackling fire feel. Faces wreathed in shadows with distant pounding toms and blended finger pick acoustic and slushy growling wolf guitars. It builds like a spell into a gorgeous blown glass solo. I love the warmth and organic construction. This begins an intriguing new sound for the diverse COP roster.

https://vaselyne.bandcamp.com/

Latenite Automatic – Statues – So I am standing near the merch booth at the Actors show in Detroit, and Jason introduces me to this handsome young rake and says “Ken, this is Scott, you need to check out his band”. Well I am always going to take that recommendation. Thus I was led to Canada based Latenite Automatic. I was struck first by the dangerous blend of club beats and rock and roll attitude. The vocals are a dark growling vibration sitting under the surface of the mix. Breaking the water in parts to create tension and intensity. The solo of this track sets the fretboard on fire. You have my attention gentlemen, time to dig through the back catalog.

https://lateniteautomatic.bandcamp.com/

Stoneburner – Contracting Iris – I know, Ken, you are always talking about Stoneburner. Well, have you heard Stoneburner? There is a reason. A new 2 track EP based on the science fiction story by  Peter Watts. I love the ambitious artistry of this concept, where music is inspired by the written word, they find each other and build a stronger broader idea. The story now has an audiobook version with Steven’s score and Donna reading. I hope Steven has pioneered another idea that catches on in the scene. The music conjures images of Lynch “Dune” with it’s post apocalyptical chaos and danger, set against a background of high leather fashion. I kept picturing Sting doing a knife dance in a pit of unworthy opponents.

https://stoneburnerofficial.bandcamp.com/?fbclid=IwAR0ca30k7SPvPjRMeLXKsFNjuuvSCQai8vFqjhMF4dr0TMuiPmpquGtzT-s

Sever The Servants – Nowhere – Second single from the powerhouse team up of Hide Tepes and Mike Nolen. A mechanized iron lung terror track. A shambling chant of desperation and quest for meaning. I love hearing two artist I am a fan of individually finding ways to smooth each others edges and improve the effect of both. Now on Produkt 42 a new label getting big steam in the scene.

https://severtheservants.bandcamp.com/album/nowhere

PSY’AVIAH – Bittersweet – Massive new 42 track release from Yves Schelpe led project Psy’Aviah. This is bursting with guest talent like Claus Larssen (Leætherstrip), Mari Kattman (Helix) , Cat Hall (Dissonance), Kimberly (Bow Down Ever) and so many more. I don’t have time on bandcamp day to give the true deep dive of justice this release deserves. It is glorious higher thinking trip hop electronica with a poets soul. A robust and soulful stew of Portishead, Suzanne Vega, with modern spice and production. I’m honestly floored by the world building ground covered in this single release. It feels like 3 albums of contrasting and quality material. We should all pick this up and explore it deeper together.

https://alfamatrix.bandcamp.com/album/bittersweet-bonus-version?fbclid=IwAR3scZq_alMH4iax-nYcBANuus6LZVhgUj4Jihcj96v-Ds-cHPI47w5jObw

As always if you have something awesome to add, please share a comment below. I always want to hear about new music.