There are a lot of things that make Industrial Music, Industrial Music. Intensity, absurd sounds, samples of movies everyone should stop sampling (I’m looking at you Full Metal Jacket). One of the others at the top of the list is authenticity. True industrial music is a gory high fidelity pulsing vein of truth that lays an artist bare spread eagle on a sun dial at high noon with a metal pole bursting through their chest for all to see. That is who Matt Fanale is. That is what this record is.
All songs by Caustic/Matt Fanale, except Thirsty Dog, lyrics by Nick Cave
No AI went into the making of this. Don’t be a hack.
Why do we love Madison Wisconsin Industropunk Caustic? The punk rock ethos? The intelligent political vinegar? Is it the fact that Matt loves bad ass beats as much as you do and dedicates his life and time to making sure your fuking bones quake when his bassline drops? Pick an answer. One truth remains, for 1.5 decades now Caustic has been giving you both barrels of fearless phosphorus dragon round industrial music and the Fiend dual albums leave it all on the floor.
Favorite tracks:
“I Love You Matt, but fuck off” – Pure Industrial bare boned self-flagellation. It’s mean, it’s fearless, it’s beats are thrashed within an inch of their life. I love the craft, I love the energy. This the sound a 16 year old me screamed at the moon for.
“Pushing Rope” Part of the amazing beauty of Caustic is to scream rusty nail anger while tearing yourself down a peg. It is real, it is relatable, it is staring at your own mortality how fuking dare you universe.
“I‘ll Throw A Mountain At You” – “When you’ve got nothing to lose I’ll throw a mountain at you” Unhinged aggression with glitchy beats relatable in the modern times. I love the classic growling cadence and exposed emotion.
Rather you are talking Caustic, DaddyBear, or Klack, Matt Fanale is a geyser of propelled emotion and boot stomping beats. There is a Part II of Feind out and I look forward to reviewing it too. Matt is one of the real ones, Caustic is a legend.
Everyone needs to get Klacked! I have been a big fan of the EDM super band team up from Madison WI “Introducing the 1984 Renault LeCar“. The band is comprised of Matt Fanale (Caustic/Daddybear) and Eric Oehler (Null Device). It always strikes me when I listen to Klack these are two long term friends having fun. You can hear it in the music. An effortless communication that makes every track feel like a dialog without singing to each other. The samples have a glorious tongue and cheek blend of listening to LA Style and beating Portal at 2am. Eric and Matt have such contrasting and distinct vocals that expand the dynamics of looping dance beats.
Klack has built our foundation on revering our influences and electronic past while moving the genre forward and beyond. Klack‘s mission is bringing the world together under the beat. Join us. Klack with us, as we are the keepers of the beat, and we are the ones that move you.
Favorite Tracks:
Beat Unity – Glorious glitchy bleep bloops with a gravelly chanting refrain. They are the keepers of the beat, the ones that move you. Taking a simple concept and executing it with no margin for error is a bold and beautiful thing. It makes me want to dance, dance all night long.
Dot Dot Dot – I had to call out this track because Eric has such an underrated voice which features heavily here. Brilliant Pete Burns Dead Or Alive vibes. Sassy and stinging intricate layers which return to a vocal hook.
Let’s Go To Berlin – To anyone who has gone to Berlin in their 40’s and thought “24 year old Ken would have thought this city was the coolest place in the world, but 44 year old Ken needs a nap. This song hits on every note of slamming beat, and self aware humor. I love when a book “A Confederacy of Dunces” for New Orleans as example, turns a city into one of the primary characters of the story. This track perfectly encapsulates the city of Berlin as an American middle-aged tourist. I was transported back in the best possible way. There is true power in a song that can take you somewhere without a passport.
Foto: Arne Müseler
Modern Production is another great example of two great artists paying homage to something they love and having fun. It’s so easy to get lost in a sound when you can hear the people playing it are just as big a fans as you are. When Matt and Eric put out this album, Matt put out an essay of some of the modern promotion techniques used to get folks attention. I ask Matt to include it in the review.
So let’s talk promoting a new album. It’s time to talk MODERN PROMOTION! It’s long, so apologies in advance. Hopefully it’s interesting.
We finished Modern Production in January. For a breakdown of our workload, Klack works like a restaurant– Eric is back of house in the kitchen, and I’m up front taking care of the guests. I come up with the song ideas and write the lyrics and find samples and Eric works on the music and production. We offer tweaks to each other’s side of things to tighten everything up, and ta-daah! BRILLIANCE!
And when it’s all finished I take over to promote it (with his input of course).
In the past we’ve always released albums as a surprise to ride the momentum and energy of the reaction. This time I wanted to be more “traditional” with the release, as we’d already built some steam when we released Beat Unity as a remix single (Eric did several remix styles) and “Body2Body2Body” with remixes from an amazing newer artist (Crystal Geometry) and legendary ones (Portion Control). I also handled an extended DJ remix I did that went to our DJ list.
So that’s where we’ll start…
Last year we compiled a list of all the DJs we knew who wanted to get our stuff early. We added people as we discovered them and now have a couple hundred on the list. I used a macro in Mailchimp to send them their own Bandcamp codes. Why that instead of links to a Google Drive or Dropbox? Because when they download the album in any format they want we start building the avatars on the album page. Optics is sometimes a small thing, but it’s a) Nice to see a bunch of people already checked out your album, and b) We can see how many codes were redeemed.
In this case about half of the codes sent out were redeemed. Some emails probably got caught in spam filters, and some people probably forgot. 50% was my goal anyway, as that’s higher than previous codes we’d sent out. Success.
Next I made a plan to contact any media sites friendly to me over the years to get the the album early. I wanted those sources to get as much advance notice as possible in case they were interested in interviews or writing about the album, as most are DIY and have a lag time. We got a few interviews out of it as well as some better-than-usual press coverage. After all, we wanted to get as much enthusiasm towards the album as possible, but in that challenge I also wanted to come up with ways the album could get attention and stand out promo-wise from the pack. Then it came to me: promo flyers.
I figured since online is a quagmire of algorithmic horsefuckery that PHYSICAL promotion may get noticed more. If nothing else it may have surprised a few folks seeing something other than social media promotion. I contacted a ton of pals who are DJs in the U.S. and Canada who had semi-regular nights and asked if I could send them some. Almost all of them said yes. I got the info for flyers to Eric (including the “LONG LIVE THE NEW BEAT” catchphrasey-thing I came up with) and he designed them. We also included QR codes to our Bandcamp and Linktree for ease of access. Prices for high quality flyers are pretty damn reasonable these days and the turnaround was incredibly fast.
While doing the flyers I worked separately on getting a lyric video for Weight of the World together so we could get another track out, and we thought Weight had the most appeal to it. Always put your best foot forward.
In terms of online stuff I tried to build up our Instagram and Tiktok presences, just to have more avenues to find potential fans (especially younger ones). Our numbers didn’t go up by thousands, but after liking a bunch of newer artists in a similar vein to us we got some more traction there.
We kept dropping little nuggets of content we thought would get people excited, like the aforementioned lyric video and that we were doing vinyl as well. Basically I wanted to roll the content out intermittently, but always wanted it to be something a chunk of people would be into. The more cool information the better.
In regards to the vinyl, we considered waiting on producing it until after the release was out so we could gauge interest, but ended up just going for it as we’re very confident in the material and Synthicide was crazysexycool and said we could release the three tracks from our split cassette on the album. More value = PROFIT$$$!!!
I sent Weight of the World in to Spotify’s editors for consideration, as well as discovered how to send it to Bandcamp’s editors. I didn’t hear back from either, but it was good to practice and for Bandcamp I now know it’s an option.
The other big thing we pushed was pre-saves on Spotify. I even ran an ad on Facebook for a week to see if that would inspire more. We didn’t get a zillion– maybe 40– but I wanted to spike our numbers on streaming services as hard as possible. We prefer people get the album on Bandcamp (ideally spending a few bucks), but still to stream the crap out of it otherwise.
The flyers came in and I packaged them all up about a week before April. We also sent Klack the Planet stickers with them so people could put them on their laptops or cats or something.
We had previously gotten in touch with Post-Punk Magazine, who had done a great story on the Body2Body2Body video, and were able to push the album and Weight of the World there. We were able to time the story to get out the week of release, and ultimately released the album the Thursday evening before Bandcamp Friday to capitalize on the relative lack of email notifications going out then, as opposed to the onslaught the next day. We also let people know when the limited metallic silver edition and “regular” editions were going on sale the next day.
When it comes to Bandcamp Fridays I hyperfixate on the numbers like a freak. When things slow down after the initial push (especially for the vinyl) I hit Facebook groups with info on the album, as well as Instagram. I don’t want to overdo it with posts to Bandcamp followers, but another reminder email later in the day always gives us another spike in sales/downloads. The same with another post on my wall here. There are so many places to post it’s good to space them out. I also do a big “thank you” post on our Klack page and on Bandcamp because we are INCREDIBLY thankful, but it also serves as another reminder to get those last people in there to push our numbers up a bit more.
Yes, it’s a lot of work. Yes, it can be tiring. Yes, it’s worth it if you’ve built a foundation and make it fun for everyone (especially yourself).
So how did we do, and were the monetary investments worth it?
In short, pretty damn great. We didn’t get thousands of downloads, but we did get our biggest sales day to date. A lot of that was for the vinyl, but either that or shirts helped our previous largest sales days. We had a ton of people grabbing the album for free, which is to be expected. About 1/2 of the people paid for it (minus the DJ codes that were already claimed), and a decent percentage of those people paid more than we would have expected.
We’ve always gone the pay-what-you-want route with Klack. When we say “Klack is for everyone”, we kinda mean it. We just want our music in people’s ears. Most everything we do is in-house (literally) so our overhead is minimal minus promotions. Plus we believe in our klackprodukt and people pay what they can, often generously. We hope they stream it on their platform of choice, too. Then we make money on both ends.
We had some solid improvements on Spotify. For the first time ever we have a song doing better than the Hatari remix that was put out a few years ago. Our followers and plays are also up significantly and the album looks to have been already saved by twice as many people as our last release.
Modern Production also topped a bunch of the charts on Bandcamp (where we’ve now got dozens of new follows to promote to) and was the lead mention on pages like Synthpop Fanatic and some other sites, which had never happened to us before. That’s a big win to me. Lots of firsts.
The biggest relief was that the vinyl sold very well. At this point we have about 25 copies of the ltd edition left and most of the regular edition. That’s what we wanted, however. We’ve made enough back to pay for the entire run plus most of our promotion and still have a lot to sell at shows and online. That’s a great feeling.
Some other small perks popped up. One fan hooked us up with a German store to help with some European distro, and we were directed to another potential place to work with. It’s not a zillion copies, but this allows us to get our albums into the European market more and ideally if they sell we can build our relationships further for the next release. We’re also hopefully taking the DAC by storm again. We don’t expect Modern Production to top the charts like DEKLACKED did for like 5 of the 6 weeks, but we hope it will do well again.
I still have some things to do, like get the album up on Soundcloud and keep a FB ad going for a bit if it looks like it’s getting some attention. We did a great “unofficial release” show in Milwaukee to celebrate our new effort, which went really well. We can only also hope all the reviews are as amazing as Kollektiva’s, which just came out.
I think overall I did a pretty damn good job promoting the album given our limited budget and me not doing something of this size in years, let alone having it be organized. The response to the album has been amazing so far, so now we just need to keep maintaining that momentum. We’ve had several hundred downloads so far and sales keep coming, so fingers crossed Modern Production stays in people’s minds for a while. We’ll be doing our best to keep it there.
We’re almost three weeks out from the release of Klack’s Modern Production and things are slowing down a bit. The big push is over, but now we’re relying on word of mouth and a lot of “fingers crossed” things to happen, like positive reviews (heck, just REVIEWS) and play from DJs that might turn someone new on to the new release. Yesterday was the first day we had no downloads for the album on Bandcamp, but that’s the longest we’ve got to the best of my recollection before it happened. Our Spotify numbers have dipped some but I’m using a boosted post on here and all the other Meta bullshit to try and boost those numbers a little bit more. Regardless, things are still moving positively. I could blame Taylor Swift’s new album, but she didn’t top EBM in Bandcamp so I don’t see her as a threat.
Whenever I see a new review (and fortunately they’ve all been really positive) I make sure to thank the reviewer and post it on the Klack page. The big thing that happened this week was we debuted at number one on the German Alternative Charts. The DAC is a DJ poll of a few hundred DJs, most of which are European. We’ve fortunately always done well there, but this was a real confidence boost when you normally see significantly bigger names debuting that high (Cassandra Complex, who we bumped to second, for instance). It doesn’t mean that it will translate to more sales, but the optics on it are great and it’s nice being recognized by a lot of people we don’t know for our hard work.
I’m holding back at posting on Bandcamp to not lose anyone. We continue to have a nice uptick of followers and I don’t want to jeopardize that. I’ll post when the vinyl is in, most likely. That should stoke the embers enough to move some more sales and not annoy anyone too badly.
I need to step up my Tiktok stuff, as I haven’t said much there recently. Instagram is chugging along, and Threads is whatever. It all helps incrementally and is easy to post on (and free), so I’ll keep hitting it. I’ll also hit the Facebook groups when more reviews come in so I can toss some more quotes in for the album. The key is to have SOMETHING to talk about that’s worth hearing. It doesn’t need to be earth shattering, but something to keep people interested and motivated in some small way to keep paying attention.
By the way THANK YOU AGAIN to everyone who generously helped us push the downloads over another mountain top. We hit a pretty big number for us, and Modern Production is already the 11th most downloaded Klack release in LESS THAN THREE WEEKS. We aren’t doing Boy Harsher numbers but we’re staying in the game, and continuing to push the release weeks after it’s out is imperative to keeping ears on it and making sure it’s not forgotten in the next wave of releases.
tl;dr- We’re in maintenance mode, just hoping the word keeps creeping out, that new people give the album a listen, and that everyone else who already likes us keeps downloading the album. It’s not as much about the money (much as we can use it), it’s about building and strengthening the foundation for longevity.
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 🙂
Beborn Beton – Dancer In The Dark – (Germany)
Astari Nite – Bowie In Daydreams – (Miami Florida)
Vazum – Night Shade – (Detroit Michigan)
Scary Black – Everything Rots (Louisville KY)
Iamnoone – King Of Pain (Italy)
En Esch – ET NOS UNUM SUMUS – (Berlin Germany)
Klack – New Buildings – (Madison Wisconsin)
Cerulean Veins – Love Won’t Save Us Now (San Diego, California)
Leaether Strip – Last Station – (Vegger, Denmark)
Dissonance – I Don’t Like Who You Are – (Dallas, Texas)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
The year is drawing to a close. I’ll start working on the year end wrap ups from another stellar year in Darkscene music. Including a compilation of the Sounds and Shadows Darkscene Singles Chart. First, I want to do one last standard review of what I have been listening to lately. Every time I think I have emersed myself in this scene so deeply I cannot be surprised anymore, I find something that blows my mind once again. Something that says the world and art that goes with it are always going someplace bigger and bolder. No matter how much you open yourself, there is always something new to learn. Happy Holidays my friends.
Midwest Gothic – Awesome new compilation I came across of darkscene bands, some I knew, some I found from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky to cast a spotlight on the amazing things happening in my area. I always love a good regional compilation and this one is stacked with talent. It features a wide breath of the modern darkscene as well. Josh Kreuzman is the mastermind behind this offering, and I look forward to their future releases.
ANGEL-MAKER – Chris Nelson Freeze Etch – Adam Duckworth BlaK SundaY – Juan Blak, Jennifer Maupin, Jacob Cagen, Ron Anderson, Eric Brown Pillar – Jermaine Artis Juan Blak – Juan Blak Sad and Pretentious – Joseph Mayfield Hypnagogia – Elijah Durnell Square Hollow – Mark Mehlbauer Soma and Seraphim – Preston Krafft, Mako Chernobyl Twice Dark – Josh Kreuzman Broken Nails – Kim Bell 9th Circle Symphony – Jason Bambery, Dru Cadaver, Kurt Fester, Maria Cadaver, Chris Grady
Blak Sunday – The always napalm shadow punk energy of Juan Black. Old school chaos explosion always on the attack with relentless midwest blue color aggression.
HYPNAGOGIA – Tantalizing ritual gothic chant with a spider shuffle tempo and summoner circle cadence. A wonderful new discovery I will be watching for.
Broken Nails – The darting tempo cold wave with robust soulful vocals from Kim Bell. One of those tracks that energizes a dance floor while filling your head with reflection.
Plague Garden – Blue Captain – 10,000 leagues beneath the sea in this pressure pulse old school gothic submarine. The guitars are a darting school of silver movement on the edge of your vision. This project is a Denver CO collaboration of Fernando Altonaga and Angelo Atencio of eHpH. I love the atmospheric reckless darkness and Sisters Of Mercy “First Last and Always” hopeless thrum of the ever-sinking vessel.
Favorite Track: Tonight – A bit of an outlier on the album but the dynamic shifts really encapsulated the treacherous sea. The pulsing bassline full of danger and movement. The hunting teeth of the palm mute guitar. The haunting croon of the vocals. Something about this track put everything together in perfect balance.
Null Device – The Emerald Age – Wisconsin based dark synth band with a new driving political statement full of spiraling hooks and razor edge tapestry. The perfect mix of this album is so economical it makes the motion and pace feel like a UFO that darts and accelerates in a way modern technology has not produced. The vocal duties bouncing between Eric and Jill feels like a conversation of perfect syncopation. This album came out in Nov 2022 and every time I hear it holds a familiarity and nostalgia that defies logic.
Favorite Tracks:
For You – This was a darkscene singles chart winner. A boot stomp tempo club banger with Jill belting with Irish funeral dirge sorrowful beauty against sparkling explosion synth lines. A captivating modern classic.
Misspent Youth – A haunting piano ballad with Eric’s clean and emotive voice ringing with captivating expression. Each note on the piano streams forth like ripples in a still underground pool.
Eric Oehler – Vocals, Synths, Violin, Guitars Jill Sheridan – Vocals, Lyrics, Synths Eric Goedken – Lyrics, Additional Production Kendra Kreutz – Cello
G.W. Childs IV – Tarrant County – Lately I have known an obsession, that is yee haw goth. G.W. Childs is legit cowboy who fell in love with Yaz “Upstairs At Eric’s” and created a synthesis of southern family devotion and scorching disco inferno. I love old school country western. Hank Sr. Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline had a blue collar emotional delivery which would one day become punk rock. Legendary producer John Fryer (NIN, Depeche Mode, Love & Rockets, This Mortal Coil) reached out and encouraged his friend to lean into his country roots and make this EP of classics with a glossy hyper color synth wave sizzle. I’ve always felt the key to a good cover is when an artist excites a new generation that never heard the original song, but leads them back to it after. This is what the soulful delivery of every track on Tarrant County accomplishes. Watch out for an upcoming interview I did with G.W.
G.W. Childs IV (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2, Star Wars: Battlefront) • Legendary producer John Fryer (NIN, Depeche Mode, Love & Rockets, This Mortal Coil) • Famed game composer Peter McConnell (Psychonauts 2, Sly Cooper, Monkey Island) • Matt Carter (Guitar) • Ed Love (Drums)
Crune – Necromantik – Recently I covered the Skull Festival in Detroit. I saw a lot of amazing bands. One really struck me. When you see something special for a reason you can’t put a finger on, you know. When the sassy yee haw goth playing a theremin telling stinging tales about severed heads on the bedpost took the stage, I knew I was seeing something special. I made it my mission to make sure the world was aware of the glory of Crune. I remember standing in front of the stage behind the members of Adult who I could see were also struck and feeling that theatrical chest wrenching darkness the first time I heard Danny Blu. This is the beginning of a talented young artist on a rocket ship destiny you won’t want to be the last to know about.
Favorite Track: May Your Wounds Turn Gold – Slithering sensual napalm of exposed truth spewed forth with careless expression. When I saw this song played live, I dropped my jaw. It is raw poetic cabaret unleashed behind an electronic construction of syncopated dynamics. This is the future.
The Joy Thieves – 6 To 3 – Chicago super band led by Dan Milligan have a timely new release while the rights of women to control medical decisions about their own bodies is called into question. Joy Thieves will be donating 100% of the money raised from the sale of the ‘6 To 3’ EP, and its accompanying line of exclusive t-shirts and hoodies to the National Network of Abortion Funds. We are always quick to point out when someone falls short, so I was happy to give credit when artists stand on the right side of history. I love The Joy Thieves iconic blend of hard rock and industrial mayhem. Blending voices and furious flame wall liquid guitar. In addition to the 2 tracks is an industrial high court of scene mainstays not in The Joy Thieves offering remixeslike Jim Marcus (GoFight), Walter Flakus (Stabbing Westward), Steven Archer (Stoneburner), Gaby Gustavson (Eva X). A fiery anthem to capture the tension and anger of these dark times.
Minuit Machine – 24 – This release combining the amazing talents of Hélène de Thoury and Amandine Stioui is staggering for its quality as well as tragic because it might be the last pairing the two. Helene has suffered some health issues which have caused her to step back from the project for the time being. This EP is nothing short of breathtaking in it’s seamless pulsing sophistication. Every track harnesses an effortless magnetic vouge you can’t help but want to be close to. Amandine’s vocal’s ring through the air with every phrase like a struck chime. A haunting electronic overture that paints a perfect moment while promising what could have been.
Favorite Track:So Hard – Sledgehammer drum beats, lightning bug transitions, and a club build that set the stage for a gorgeous golden melody. Tendrils of glitter smoke catching beams of light. This song can hold my heart forever.
Spike Hellis – Spike Hellis – After seeing them at the Skull Festival in Detroit this year, I haven’t been able to put this away. LA based electronic flamethrowers who answered the question if Alec Empire hadn’t pulled a 180 and became a cryptobro what would a cleaner crisper refinement of the magma fury become? Hearing Spike Hellis really helps me understand what is meant by “Electronic Body Music”. It is felt in the tissue as much as heard in the ears. The range of feeling on this chaotic labyrinth darts through every hidden crack of the human experience. It really must be heard live to fully comprehend, but having a map of the recorded experience can go a long way towards grasping the subtilty of what is happening. I really need to line up an interview with this band in 2023.
COLD TRANSMISSION MUSIC – ZEITGEIST+ – There is no secret about my feelings on Suzy and Andy Herrman of Cold Transmission Music. They run a family style label that highlights the best in European Cold and Dark wave. As well as searching the world for underappreciated talent to shine a beam of their amazing energy on. This is the 15th of these compilations they have released to bring both their own signings as well artists they love. In the end CT are fans of great music first and then a great label. This compilation truly has the soul of those old Cleopatra compilations that want to tell the world about the best new music hidden under the crust. I need to do a review of this compilation on it’s own but wanted to at least shout it out in 2022.
Favorite Track (So Far) – S Y Z Y G Y X – Maniac – Luna has done an exclusive single for this comp and it is fairy light magic in a frozen palace of winter. The percussion of vibrating copper timpani sounds rippling the water from bleeps and bloops. Vocals equal measure smooth and smoke filling the room with vapor. This is a true talent that needs to be lifted up to a brighter light.
Compiled by Andreas Herrmann Additional Mastering by Pete Burns at THE SHELTER Illustrations by Jared K. Nickerson (Jthree Concepts) Artwork by Yvonne Kiel (www.onlyvonne.de)
Klack – Believe – I am always down to Klack. I will Klack in the morning, Klack late at night, I will Klack everytime because it always feels right. This cover is a perfect blend of two great artists Eric and Matt who loved the same song in different ways. They meet in the middle and the homage is perfect. Ok not quite perfect. They could have sung “Do you Bill Leeb in life after love. Maybe Cher would have missed the reference. I wouldn’t have. This choir hits like a glorious angel smashing into a gold brick wall.
Aurelio Voltaire – The Black Labyrinth ~ A Requiem for the Goblin King – Has it really been 13 studio albums for Aurelio Voltaire? This review is special to me. As someone who writes “Goth music with a heavy dose of humor” it is hard not to give credit to the OG that inspired me all those years ago. Here he taps into his own inspiration from an artist and film that burned a codpiece shaped scar into every 90’s goths soul. It appears we also share a passion for collecting every talented guest star he could cram into this shadow glass menagerie. Let’s have a look at this list.
15 members of David Bowie’s band spanning nearly every era of the Starman’s career from the pianist on 1972’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars to the saxophone player on Black Star, Bowie’s last album. The Black Labyrinth was co-produced by Mark Plati who produced the 1997 Bowie album, Earthling as well as the post humus release, Toy.
Other guest musicians included members of My Chemical Romance, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Vision Video, The Cog is Dead, Frenchy and the Punk, violinist extraordinaire Mia Asano, Ally the Piper, D and D songstress Ginny D and an international cadre of musicians making up the orchestra and choir.
The 20 song release is clean like twilight in a fantasy world briming with the mystery of a firefly forest and the pageantry of a catholic funeral. Voltaire’s iconic is the ringleader that ties together the spectacle. If you don’t know Voltaire, you have missed one of the most gloriously self aware experiences in the dark scene. If you do you are in for a 20 track journey with one of the great bards of our time. Let goth music be fun. Let it be the giant melting black candle musical theater it was always meant to be. I both teared up and laughed out loud listening to it. You need this album.
There has always been an unspoken aspect of creating great music and finding a way to promote it to people. They are two completely different skill sets required to be successful often taken for granted. Just like playing guitar, singing, ect, connecting and promoting music is a skill. It can be learned. It also comes much easier for some people than others. In 2021, in a social media, boutique record label, streaming-platform world, this is more relevant than ever. I see my social media feed everyday full of people saying, “Why do I not get noticed?”. I am not a public relations expert. My band, Amaranth, is not a household name. I have been able to take my music review page Sounds and Shadows from nothing, to a webcasting Facebook group with global viewership in three years, which has drastically effected the bands popularity and impact. So I would like to share some of the things I think could help you and your project. In addition to me, Sounds and Shadows has put me in contact with some of the most successful bands in the dark-scene. True innovators who each have done something original to get noticed in the modern era. Some have graciously offered to share some of the secrets that helped them garner attention and propel them on the international stage. My hope is this article helps lift all ships and propels the scene I love to it’s greatest heights.
You have to make something great in this day and age to stand out
There is so much amazing music being made. As a reviewer it truly feels like a tidal wave of astonishing stuff all the time. The fact that everyone has access to decent recording equipment in their home at a price below $100 an hour means the doors are open to creative expression in a way they have never been. It also means you can get out there before you find yourself, or hone your craft to what you are capable of. Having something that truly stands out is REALLY hard. The good news is information on how to get to that level is readily available. Every sound is there for you to practice with and create the exact vision in your mind. There is even a niche to find in the world for the cutting edge you are imagining. You do need to have a realistic goal of what you want to achieve and how much you are willing to compromise to reach that size audience. If you want to do this as a lifestyle, be prepared to work really hard at it.
2. True fans, the ones you need, first need to believe in a concept, not just a song
If there was ever a time when writing a good song and being a great musician was enough, it isn’t now. The truth is people have never cared about the glorious hot licks you can play. They want to be associated with an idea, an image you portray on stage. It was true for the Beatles, The Stones, Bowie, and Joy Division. It is just as true today. I’m not saying you need to be pretty, aloof, or anything else. You need to know who you are, do an intense projection of that, and be willing to share it. What’s more, the days of the asshole, I’m above you Rockstar are done. There are too many talented people making music. Requiring you not to be an a hole is not a big ask. Appreciate your supporters, be something worth believing in, make your music and lyrics something real. if you don’t want to put in the effort, you likely won’t generate excitement.
3. You need to act like you don’t need this shit, then you get the shit for free
if you are doing this for fame, you are in the wrong game. Every time I see a post that says, “why is no one paying attention to me,” you are really saying everyone pay attention to the fact that what I am doing isn’t catching on. Instead you need to focus attention on why people should. We all experience moments of doubt. If you make that your focus, it looks thirsty. Instead ask yourself: Am I reaching out to the right people? Am I sharing myself in the right way? Is this ready to blow people away?
4. If you want others to be invested in you, be invested in them.
I can say definitively that doing a music review page/Webcast/Facebook group has made our band Amaranth 10 times bigger than we have a right to be. Lifting up others in the scene, commenting and sharing DJs/reviewers/bands forms a connection. People know you and when you lift others up it makes a statement about you. If you really believe in the music you are making, invest in yourself by reaching out to bands who have more time in and are more successful than you. Get a remix done; sometimes that costs money. Contribute to a compilation. Share and review other bands. Go into Dj shows (join the Twitch chat, say hello). This gets you involved with the people who drive the scene. When you have something come out, they know your name. Reach out to Djs/review pages personally. Don’t send a form letter to 300 people. Get to know the show/page. Reach out to ones that fit your sound. Send them a personal message that shows you follow and know them. Tell them you have a Bandcamp code for them because you know they have great taste and would like this. Same with bands. Take a moment to tell someone they matter to you. You would be surprised how much it matters. They may do a solid for you some day.
5) Tell a story, don’t just beanother link spam.
Social media is part of the job now. There are a lot of platforms and ways to do it. Ignoring it is not an option in 2021. Investing some money in advertising something important like a video/album/single/tour is a solid idea. The most bang for your buck is a well thought out google add with the right tags and marketing. Not everyone has cash for that, it’s not the only way. It does help though. Facebook groups/Reddit/Twitter are another way to beat the algorithm and get reach. Again it is about genuine connection. There is no shortcut. You need to be involved in groups. Not just show up only to post links to your band. Also when you post, give people something to engage with. Tell the story of why this song matters, ask a question to engage with, spill a little poetry that gets people excited. No one wants to feel like a faceless number. If your post feels like that, you don’t have anyone’s attention.
Tag people, tell a story, give people a taste that makes them want to have the whole meal
6. Be a subject matter expert
I don’t remember who said the quote to me, “If you want to be a great writer, read great writers”. It is the truest thing in the world. The same is true of music. If you want to make the best music possible, listen to who is doing it well. I don’t just mean the classics (Although that never hurts). I mean who is leading the charge today. Even when you don’t know you are learning, you are learning. Watch Interviews, hear what successful artists have to say, try new techniques, if you don’t know them, watch a youtube video. This goes for production, playing and instrument, or doing promotion. We have a wealth of information like never before. Drink it in.
7. Run up and say hello.
GO TO SHOWS! (Or Livestreams in a pandemic). If you want to be seen, you have to go see. Say hello to touring bands, Local Djs, be useful to them. Tell them why you enjoyed the show, get some merch. Then, tell them what you do and are about. Word gets around, bands talk. If you establish yourself as someone invested in growing the scene, who knows, you may just find yourself getting some opening slots for touring bands. You still need to be the one to bring it and turn heads once you get the slot. Being known as a positive energy person in a local scene goes a long way. Join Facebook groups like Sounds and Shadows, just don’t be the one to treat people like you just stopped by to promote and leave. Be involved. Get the lay of the land and comment on other peoples posts. Start a list of DJs and review pages. Bandcamp allows you to print a spreadsheet of codes. Sending a personal message with a code to these influencers is worth their weight in gold. Again the key is having a personal message, not a form letter spammed to hundreds of Djs.
8) Be nice, throw the doors open and let people connect.
This takes effort. It takes spoons. Sharing a part of yourself. Leaving a Bday message. Saying hello when you see someone on your feed is high or low. Basically make sure people know they mean something to you. If you treat them like consumers, then expect them to share, comment, give a shit about your band. You may find yourself in a lonely place. The same goes for shows (does everyone remember those). Both your own, and other peoples. A moment of your time and energy can increase exponentially when you let someone know you appreciate their support.
These are all tips I genuinely believe in. Who the fuk am I though? 🙂 So I have reached out to some artists who have all done something unique and special in the modern era and ask about how they stood out using techniques available to you now. Listen and learn, these are all people who managed to turn heads by doing something creative.
Jason Corbett – Actors – Vancouver based post punk stars have sold a lot of albums and toured extensively. Rising to the top and redefining the genre. The are also Canadian and REALLY friendly. Forming a connection with fans around the world.
Ken: You have toured extensively around the world, forged connections which led to fans and opportunities. How has this been effective for you, and what have you done to make each show so memorable for fans?
Jason:We played over 150 shows in support of our debut album. It was exciting and exhausting. We made sure to make each show count and never lost sight of why we were out on the road. When the chemistry is right you run with it. We wouldn’t dream of someone spending their time and money to come see us and us not giving our all.
Ken: Your Facebook fan group The Academy has really become a beacon for what fan interaction can be. Like the recent memes on the album cover. How have you built a fan experience here and on other social media that makes a lasting impression globally?
Jason: Wherever we toured fans would comment to us that we were friendly and outgoing. I realized that we didn’t have to conform to any preconceived notion of what it meant to be a band. We could just be ourselves. The bonds with fans just started to happen naturally and that carried through to our online presence as well. Of course Kym Pop who started The Academy on Facebook does an amazing job of keeping the conversation happening. I’ve been a musician for a long time. I’m genuinely grateful for all the support we’ve had and I don’t take it for granted.
Ken: What do you hold as the greatest factors in you making the transition from Vancouver to global recognition?
Fans who listen to music like ACTORS are typically close knit and supportive. Our self-released singles slowly garnered enough attention online that Artoffact Records approached us with a record deal. That record deal brought us to the attention of wider audiences and we continue to grow month after month. I believe there’s an honesty in our music. People connect to artists that are coming from their truth.
Isaac Howlett – Empathy Test – British based electronic songsmiths who have shot to amazing heights in the past 5 years through amazing songs, extensive touring, and a non stop effort to DIY determination and fan connection.
Ken: What are some of the DIY techniques you used to gain momentum when starting out?
Isaac: Okay, well, when Empathy Test began, we were complete unknowns in the music world. We needed to build an audience fast, to get noticed. The main tools at our disposal were SoundCloud, Facebook and Twitter. Obviously, the best platforms for an artist to use to promote themselves change regularly, and the rules that govern how you use those platforms, the algorithms etc. change even more regularly, so it’s all about keeping ahead of the curve. Back into 2014, I came up with a system that really worked. It involved a lot of leg work, but I’ll tell you one thing for sure, if you want success there are no shortcuts. Perseverance and hard graft are always at the heart of most people’s success. So…step one, assuming you’ve got a quality, radio playable or streaming product, otherwise known as music. That’s the real step one. And press shots. And a good bio. Then you need to ascertain your target audience. The easiest way to do this is to basically think, what other similar acts to us are there whose fans we can most easily steal? I chose Chvrches because they were doing well at the time, using 80s synth sounds, and making intelligent pop with emotional depth. So, I downloaded a free app which allowed me to easily follow hundreds of fans in a matter of hours. I plugged in Chvrches’ Twitter handle, up popped their followers and – tap, tap, tap. Follow, follow, follow. Then, I used a feature that allowed you to send an automated message to anyone who followed back. Something cheesy like, hey do you like synthpop? Check out our tunes on SoundCloud [link] and follow us on Facebook [link]. After that, it was just a numbers game. Out of every 100 accounts I followed, 20 would follow back and maybe 10 would follow the links, and 1 or 2 actually engage with you. Anyone who didn’t follow back, after a week you’d unfollow them and follow 100 more people. Of course, you’d get a few angry people along the way, but I just had to ignore the rage and keep going. At the same time, I began targeting small labels and blogs. I kid you not, within a month we had interest from a small independent label in NYC. A month later, we’d recorded a second EP and signed a deal with that label to release it. In terms of the promo technique, Twitter soon put a stop to that kind of thing and we rounded off at over 10,000 followers before I then unfollowed thousands of them to see how many would stay. It dropped to around 8,000 before it began rising organically again. But obviously now, Twitter is old news and you want to be looking at Instagram and Ticktock to pull similar kind of stunts in different and new ways. But the key is identifying your audience and taking the product to them, and social media is the best tool to do that yourself, for free.
Ken: How has touring helped you gain connection and loyal fans?
Issac: Touring was really the next step. I quickly realized that no one was just going to pop up and book us a tour without management and a label (I learnt a lot from the label but after six months we reached an agreement to leave and take our music and rights with us). So I came to one of the most important realizations of my music career so far. If you build it, they will come. Essentially, if you sit on your arse and wait for people to turn up and do shit for you, it’s never going to happen. Do it yourself. Because as soon as people see you working your ass off and having any kind of success, they want a piece of it. The trick is then to only work with the ones you trust. So I booked a few local gigs of our own, met a like-minded band making similar music and we booked and crowd funded our own co-headline national tour. We didn’t even use promoters, we hired the venues ourselves. It doesn’t matter that we only just broke even and barely anyone showed up, because we were making a statement and learning the ropes of touring. And lo and behold, the next year, we were on a European tour with Mesh and Aesthetic Perfection courtesy of our new booking agent, Jan Winterfeld of Pluswelt Promotions in Germany. And on day two, Daniel from Aesthetic Perfection offered to bring us to America. We made a batch of 100 CDs originally, just copied ones with a design printed and a card sleeve. We sold them and reinvested the money into buying more. For the first four years, we took no money from the band, we just reinvested everything while working day jobs. Then we branched out into t-shirts and eventually 7″ vinyl. We performed with older, more established bands, anyone that would have us basically, and then stole the hearts of their fans, and sold them our CDs. Every night, as soon as we’d broken down our kit, we’d be at the merch table meeting fans and signing whatever they wanted signing. For as long as we were wanted. We owe so much to Mesh, DE/VISION, Covenant, VNV Nation and many more amazing bands. But it was our polished music, professional and hardworking attitude that meant suddenly everyone wanted us as a support. We started having to turn down support tours after a while, to focus on doing our own.
Ken: What have you done to stay true to the art in your heart while branching into a wider spectrum as an artist?
Issac: I think as a DIY musician you have to wear many hats, and feel comfortable wearing them. The toughest part is remembering to keep putting as much time and effort into the music, because it’s easy to forget about it while you are busy selling it, and yourself. One thing that works for us is just separating the art and the business. I have to write songs because I want and need to write them, not because I need another product to sell. If I try and write an “Empathy Test” song, and it doesn’t work. Adam, the invisible producer member of the band, takes no part in the business or performance side of Empathy Test at all. That allows him to think outside of what will sell, what the fans want, or are expecting or asking for, what other bands in the scene are doing, and always deliver a sound which is a surprise and a challenge to our listeners. Also, by having one person writing the songs on an acoustic guitar (me) in any style they want, then a second person (Adam) translating that into a completely different style with different instruments, usually initially both in isolation, you’re always going to keep things different and fresh. When I heard Adam’s demo of our new track, Moths (release TBC), I was blown away. It was so completely unexpected, while simultaneously so exactly what we should do next. I felt exactly how I’ve felt with pretty much everything we’ve done to date. Bringing in fresh influences, for example, Oliver Marson on keyboards, also helps keep things fresh.
Steven Archer – Ego Likeness/Stoneburner – Steven has been a true DIY master creating some of the most progressive industrial sounds propelling the genre into a new era. He has incorporated a stunning visual and stage element to remain on the cutting edge of the modern scene. In addition he is an artist through social media that actively engages and shares his process with videos and discussions how he creates both sound and image. A true master of pulling back the curtain and letting the fans inside.
Ken: How has the use of a multimedia experience been effective in creating an artistic experience fans are drawn to ?
Steven: I don’t know. I do believe that the more realized any given piece of art is, the more the audience will get out of it. And because of my fine arts back ground nothing I do is one dimensional. Songs have imagery that goes with them, paintings tell stories which influence the music etc. It’s very rare that I create any piece of work that is a stand alone thing. My goal whenever time permits is to get over realize an artistic vision as fully as possible and make all of those components available to the audience in hope that they get as much out of it as I do.
Ken: Your live show is a massive and memorable production even in a smaller venue, how do you achieve this effect without a $50,000 stage show ? Why does that matter?
Steven: Thanks! The key is spending my entire life poor, and deciding that was not going to stop me. Which ultimately means that I have to put the time in and do all of the work on my own. I am my infrastructure. Fortunately we live in the future so it’s totally feasible to have your own projection equipment, or run your entire sound setup from an iPad on stage, do your own editing, make your own stage clothes etc. It just takes time and the will to do it. I don’t write anything close to pop music. Not even within our tiny genre. Most of what I do isn’t made to dance to. None of my bands have ever been HUGE. But we write songs that matter to the people they make sense to. And they matter to us. So, even though both bands are in great labels, there is a very limited reach as far as promotion goes. Getting the word out, building an audience, it’s all on our shoulders. And if I’m going to go out on stage. I’m going to use as many tricks as I can think of to keep the audience engaged. To tell a story, to make it an experience. Someday, what I would really like to do is surround the audience with projections. Put them in the show to a degree. As to how I do it inexpensively? Lots of planning and research. Lots of problem solving and visualizing around corners. Whatever goes on stage has to fit in our minivan along with the gear, personal shit, merch and people. So that’s one hard limit. The other is that it needs to be able to be set up and torn down quickly by one or two people. To that end I spend a ton of time figuring out how to wire things up so they are easy to connect and disconnect quickly.
Ken: You give an interactive fan experience with your social media, sharing technique, videos, equipment, how does letting your fans behind the curtain add to connection with your art?
Steven: Historically many bands have been able to keep that wall up between their fans and themselves. We can’t afford to that. We do a ton of different thing from music to art and writing. And down here on this level with independent publishers and record labels, you have to be able to sell your product. You have to be able to make people excited about what you do. And the best way to do that is to show your own excitement. We figured out real early on that our product isn’t X band or book or whatever, it’s us. Steven and Donna. The idea being that if you come across us as musicians than that will hopefully lead you to the art or writing or whatever. So there’s that aspect of it. Also, D and I are both natural teachers. We love what we do and love talking to other people about it. I’ve taught art privately for 30 years, so it’s only natural that would become part of our social media presence. And the longer we were on social media the more we saw that there was a need for an ongoing dialog about mental illnesses, so over the years we’ve spent a decent amount of time talking to our fans about that as well. The nice thing about it for me, is that I am not a social animal, so talking to people online when I’m in that sort of place is great. Because it’s just accepted that people pop on and off when they are available. So it doesn’t interfere with the rest of my work. It’s also a great way to make sales directly to your audience. And post pictures of your weird ass cat.
It’s true, I will click on every link of Sophie…every single time 🙂
Karl “Zoog” Learmont – Angelspit – LA Electronic Industrial Punk star has really been a touring star with an ability to really connect with fans. He does a weekly Twitch stream/group where he discusses recording and music techniques with other musicians. Instead of hoarding his knowledge, he truly lives the punk rock socialist ideas of lifting up everyone around.
Ken: 1) You have really used your community through remixes, artist workshops, and community hype to grow your name. What is the importance of this? How did you make these connections work to lift all ships?
Zoog:
I’m blessed to be in a position where I can build a community to teach and encourage each other. I’m fortunate enough to have a degree in music, so I can freely share knowledge with people who are not in a position to study music….but I am always the one learning from the workshops (!!).This is not a marketing device – it’s a way for me to give back and make an investment into the future of our community. I’m hoping these workshops will lift the bands involved. The ultimate aim is to help them produce and release a track, get it to their audience and get their video onto
Ken: You have a genuine connection with your fans, how has social media allowed you to let fans behind the curtain and be a part of your art?
Zoog:
Many fans have become friends. I have produced some of their releases. Sunday’s Art Of Rock has become a group of friends. They encourage me and keep me going. I talk to many online, and have spent many hours meeting and drinking with them at clubs and gigs. We are all in this wonderful tribe and we are all equal. People get to see the songs-in-progress via Angelspit’s Patreon, plus the free Art Of Rock meet-ups.
Ken: You create music that has a true punk rock ethos of political intensity in a time when the world seems more divided than ever. How do you use this genuine perspective to motivate fans and expand your ideas?
Karl: It’s hard…partly because I’m a bastard. I won’t tolerate anti-LGBQT, sexist, racist, radical-right-religious views….fuck those guys. Within our bubble there are many things that could divide. Some of these are important, some are trivial. It’s important to listen to others and grow. You’re only right half the time – but you never know which half that is. Lyrics are a great way to truly shoot your mouth off. I quote a lot of people I respect, and some I don’t. I’m currently getting a lot of feedback about the album – some ideas are agreed, some are not. I listen with an open mind some ideas I adopt, some I respect, some I reject. I encourage people to put their thoughts into lyrics, music, poetry, art – make something beautiful with your passion. The world needs to hear your thoughts. Someone, somewhere is going through the same thing you are – your art might be the things that makes them feel like they are not alone. ROCK!
Matt Fanale – Caustic / Klack / Daddybear –
Ken: The merch you make is very distinctive and creates a buzz around all the music you release, what connection does this make to your music and how do you make it relevant ?
Matt: I keep a really simple aesthetic with most all of my merch to keep it recognizable. I used KMFDM as a model for utilitarian branding. I wanted people identify a Caustic shirt within seconds in a club or at a show. It’s served me well. I got booked for a festival a long time back because the booker saw my shirts all over the fest the year before. I also try and give my merch the personality of my music. Caustic started out as this snotty, punky powernoise project. I tried to be funny as a way to both entertain and distract people from the quality of the music (not kidding:)). I’ll say what other people won’t say sometimes, which is never meant in a mean way, but the STOP SAMPLING FULL METAL JACKET shirts got me on everyone’s maps. The SURE, LIKE NINE INCH NAILS shirts were a big hit, too. I just know that if I’m having fun my audience will, too. With all that said, sometimes I think I’ll be remembered more for the shirts than the music, but I guess anything works.
Ken: You have a close connection to your fanbase, offer multiple projects and twitch streams to interact with fans, how do you use this to create a buzz around your songs?
Matt: I mean when it all comes down to it it’s connecting with people on a simple level. I don’t do everything for “Branding” (trademarkcopyright), but it’s pretty great just knowing you have something in common with other people, and it’s even cooler if it’s because of something creative you’re doing. The Twitch streams started with the pandemic as a means to get out of my head for a few hours, but I’ve really enjoyed diving into genres I didn’t ever DJ in the clubs, like my old school hip hop night. I think all the nights just give people an excuse to hang out online, chat, and enjoy the music. A lot of (significantly more successful) Twitch DJs talk a bunch more than I do on their streams, but I’m literally just using Twitch as an excuse to chill with folks and practice the craft. The pandemic sucked, but I’m a better DJ than I’ve ever been, and I’ve been doing this 20 plus years.
Ken: You have been very successful on the festival scene, what helped lead you to this success and how does it help your music gain recognition?
Matt: Before I did music I did improv comedy for a decade. When I get on stage I’m there to entertain, and festivals are perfect for Caustic as you get a certain subset of people that are ideally fans and know what I do, and then plenty of people who have no idea about me or maybe don’t care. Something I think I do that a lot of other artists don’t is really trying to make Caustic sets memorable in that setting. There could be a few dozen other bands on the bill, and I’m rarely the headliner, so from day one at the first festivals I performed I made sure people wouldn’t forget it. Sometimes that would be me reading real life stories of people dealing with psychotic exes during a song to having people smuggle ugly underwear into the show and getting pelted with a hundred pairs during a track. I also like bringing people on stage as guest stars. At Mechanismus in Seattle a few years ago Dan from Continues/Babyland joined me to sing my cover of Babyland’s Worst Case Scenario, which I think was the first time he performed it since they broke up (I played that show with them, too). That meant the world to me, as did later on in the set when we did a Stromkern track with Ned on vocals. In terms of the sets themselves I plan them for maximum impact. I try to build the energy as high as possible so when we leave the stage I want the next band to be nervous to go up. Whether this happens or not I have no idea, but my job is to entertain the hell out of everyone and afterwards have people hear about it and wish they were there. That’s the only way to do it in my mind.
Dusty Gannon – Vision Video –
Ken: You more than anyone have been so effective connecting with fans on tik tok with the Goth Dad character to shine a light on Vision Video. How did you make this transition and what has it done for your band?
Dusty: The character of Goth dad is ultimately a composite of my goofy personality and my penchant for poking fun at the sometimes ridiculous level of seriousness that’s espoused within the goth subculture. I never expected it to blow up in the way that it did, but I now understand why people enjoy and find value in that character so much. While it does bring attention to Vision Video as a band, it has taken on a life of its own in a different way. Occasionally I will draw attention from that character to the fact that I’m in a band, but it’s a lot of work and you can’t constantly badger people about listening to your music because it becomes patronizing. TikTok like any other social media platform is a tool that can be used effectively to tell your story and to get the word out about your art. At the end of the day, I think that’s the most important aspect of social media, is connection and commiseration through your story and what makes the core of your art meaningful and worth recognition.
Ken: You are so effective at combining your aesthetic and personality with the music you make. How important is this in the modern era and what tips would you give to bands trying to find their look?
Dusty: I think the goth scene for me has always been a confluence of music and fashion. I grew up as a teenager finding my truest self in that scene and was able to express myself as thoroughly with music as I could with fashion and makeup. That being said, I draw a lot of influence from a variety of places that are near and dear to me: much of my aesthetic is rooted in my experience in the military, where I like to use things like ammunition, casings and torn, rough, nearly post-apocalyptic clothing. I also take a lot of influence from the legendary performers of the past like Lux Interior or Johnny Slut. An insane amount of trashy B movie and horror film influence goes into my aesthetic (A goth who loves horror, geez no one has heard of that before ) In the makeup realm, I grew up wanting to be a special effects makeup artist for movies, but ended up joining the army instead. And that’s why I’m able to do what I do: I’m completely self-taught, and to be quite honest if I’m capable of teaching myself all of the stuff I do with makeup, quite literally anyone can do it because I feel like a complete moron most days. As far as finding your style or aesthetic, my only real recommendation is spending a lot of time finding the clothing and makeup or accessories that truly speak to who you are. It’s very easy to defer to fast fashion, especially in the goth world, but I think there is a lot more value and DIY and creating your own accessories and apparel.
Ken: Your sound has a distinctive retro nostalgia vibe with a modern flare. How do you cross over what you grew up loving with what you want to present to younger fans?
Dusty: Our music is a really accurate representation of the varied tastes of the members of our band. Everyone brings a different piece that is not always necessarily under the purview of Goth or postpunk. One thing that I think is really important for musicians in general, but particular to a those playing within a specific genre, is to try to push the envelope, take risks, and do things that aren’t just a replication of the past. We get a lot of comparisons to bands like The Cure or the Chameleons, and I absolutely adore both of those bands. While I think we pay a lot of homage to them, I’m not trying to make a direct facsimile version of them because it’s already been done and it wouldn’t be in our own tone of voice to speak the message of our music. We certainly never set out to try to make music that’s more accessible to a younger audience, but I think that has occurred to a degree because we’re making music that WE enjoy and not trying to sound like anything in particular. I like accessible music that has darker and rougher edges. I think one thing that has lent well to our sound is that it’s not something that has to grow on you, it’s something that you can jump right into. Accessibility or “poppiness” can be construed as a bad thing by some (especially in the aforementioned oh so serious goth and postpunk world), But it doesn’t take away from the meaningfulness of what we are singing about. Our songs are often about my experiences in war or seeing people die horrifically as a paramedic or firefighter. I think that juxtaposition only amplifies the value of our music. In my opinion, the most important aspect of creating art through the vehicle of music is authentically speaking from the heart in order to connect with people.
Daniel Graves – Aesthetic Perfection –
Ken: How have you been successful in the world stage using the one single a month technique? How has spotify lead to your success? How does the work you put in to making sure your music is top tier and interesting to both niche industrial fans and wider audiences?
Daniel: I’m a big advocate of reading the room. That is, understanding the zeitgeist, from both a cultural and technological point of view. Once you understand that, you can figure out where your voice fits into all of that. For the 12 in 12 project, it seemed like a very natural solution to the problem of the pandemic. How can I keep people interested and engaged in a world where touring is no longer possible? How long does it take for the timeline to refresh and for audiences to crave something new? The answer to that is 3-4 weeks. It seemed quite obvious that I should be putting out new material every month in order to keep my audience, and the algorithm happy.
Ken: How has spotify lead to your success?
Daniel: A lot of people misinterpret my pro-streaming stance as a pro-Spotify stance. The truth is, I’m pro-zeitgeist. I’musing the current moment to maximize my reach and amplify my voice. As soon as streaming stops being a part of that, I will happily pivot.
Ken: How does the work you put in to making sure your music is top tier and interesting to both niche industrial fans and wider audiences?
Daniel: Again… just read the room. What is popular? What do you like about what’s popular? More importantly, what do you dislike about it? How can you use that to your benefit? How can that hurt you? How far do you push the world in the direction you want to go? How do you yield to it? A lot of people tend to read this approach as selling out, when the reality is that you’re just learning how to say what you want to say in the language that the world currently speaks. Doesn’t matter if you have the most interesting or profound idea mankind has ever seen, if you’re speaking Spanish and the audience speaks Mandarin, your words will be meaningless. The job of the artist is to bridge this gap
Collin Cameron- Slighter – LA electronic abstract texture artist who has broken through using empathy based emotional noise to get into the film/tv scene. This is one of the most difficult and effective ways to do financially effective promotion in the modern age. Combining media and music is the modern expectation to form a lasting connection in music.
Ken: You have been able to transition into TV/film soundtracks. How did you get involved and how has that brought a wider audience to your music?
Colin: My involvement started in LA, I don’t think it would have happened to me if I wasn’t there. And with luck you have to make your own. During the 2010s when I was there working with bands and making tunes I made connections with music supervisors and learned about music publishing and how to do it myself. And at the time it was a great way for indie artists to get on TV soundtracks if you took control of your music in that capacity. Exposure on national television is great, but people still have to go and find you after watching! So there’s no guarantee of built in fans from it. But always nice to have someone come around and say “I loved that song from FOX’s Bones!” and the paychecks that brings to allow me to make more weird music.
Ken: You have been able to generate interest while playing in some fringe genres. What are you doing to connect with fans while staying true to your vision?
Colin: I’m a perpetual outsider really, and growing up moving around small towns I pretty much just kept to myself. I wasn’t exposed to many scenes and genres locally as I did self discovering electronic music, industrial music, IDM, etc. via the those first chat rooms and message boards in the early days of the internet. Without the sort of ‘peer pressure’ of local scenes and whatnot, my taste just became very eclectic. My vision has always been to make music that subverts standard genre, and the struggle with the world today of ‘branding’ and neat and tidy boxes to fit music in does make it a challenge. I think having a ‘signature approach’ to writing music makes my stuff sound like Slighter, but I’m sure I’ve alienated a few with the journey I’m on! I think if you’re making art for self expression, that it will resonate with certain people over time. Just make eclectic your brand!
Ken: How do you connect with new fans on social media?
Colin: Word of mouth really, my background coupled with doing a bunch of high profile remixes helps to give me clout. I like everyone struggle with social media reach and I’m not very fond of the idea of being perpetually engaged with social media as it’s not mentally healthy for creative work. I schedule time to make the social media rounds and keep up with my newsletter and Bandcamp followers directly. Definitely think it’s important for artists to understand how detrimental social media is to authentic creativity, too much of it and you’re pulling punches in your work to appease what Twitter will say about it. So I think it’s important to take that into consideration while trying to grow your social media presence, don’t let it in to your studio/creative space!
My genuine hope is that people are able to use these tips and advice from successful artists to project new art to the next level. This is a skill you can learn and improve from. Give any tips you have in the comments below. Share this wide and far, it is good advice for everyone.
) In the makeup realm, I grew up wanting to be a special effects makeup artist for movies, but ended up joining the army instead. And that’s why I’m able to do what I do: I’m completely self-taught, and to be quite honest if I’m capable of teaching myself all of the stuff I do with makeup, quite literally anyone can do it because I feel like a complete moron most days. As far as finding your style or aesthetic, my only real recommendation is spending a lot of time finding the clothing and makeup or accessories that truly speak to who you are. It’s very easy to defer to fast fashion, especially in the goth world, but I think there is a lot more value and DIY and creating your own accessories and apparel.
