With Cold Cause, we welcome a Franco-German duo releasing their debut album on the renowned Manic Depression Records.

The album presents nine tracks that immediately reveal influences from bands such as Lebanon Hanover. What unfolds is a minimalist Electro-Wave sound in which icy synthesizers and guitar lines merge into a dark and atmospheric landscape, all driven by compelling, danceable rhythms. The female vocals, delivered in both German and French, possess a cold, detached quality that perfectly suits this style of music while remaining utterly captivating. Several tracks stand out through their strong dancefloor appeal, adding an extra layer of energy and intensity to the album. The combination of haunting melodies, restrained arrangements, and infectious rhythms creates a sound that feels both familiar and refreshing.

This is a highly successful debut from a band that already has the potential to secure a prominent place within the genre. (Rating:8).

Listen to “Dead Diamond Machine”:

https://coldcause.bandcamp.com/track/dead-diamond-machine

There has already been considerable buzz surrounding the Norwegian artist Tazer, who, after a string of remarkable singles, is now unleashing the debut album, “Taze Is The Rule”.

From the very first seconds, the album grabs you by the throat, firing relentless dark Electro sequences and pounding beats straight at the listener. Occasional guitar riffs are thrown into the mix as if even more power were needed. Industrial, Techno, and EBM collide in a fierce hybrid sound that bursts from the speakers at maximum intensity. Add possessed, aggressive vocal lines to the equation, and you begin to understand what Tazer is all about. There is not a single moment of respite across the album. Track after track hits with unrelenting force, as if a sonic atomic war has been declared and there is no escape from the fallout. Tazer sounds hard, aggressive, and uncompromising, yet at the same time feels like an absolute revelation—a project brimming with immense potential. One thing is certain: this is only the beginning, and you will undoubtedly be hearing much more from Tazer in the future.

You can either seek shelter in a nuclear bunker or simply surrender to the project’s brutal yet irresistibly infectious assault. “Taze Is The Rule” leaves little room for anything in between. (Rating:9).

Listen to “Taze Is The Rule”:

https://hellektrokution.bandcamp.com/track/taze-is-the-rule

With the German band Days Of Sorrow, we dive back into the magic of the 1980s. Days Of Sorrow was already active during that decade before disappearing a few years later. Yet some bands never truly vanish; they continue to linger in the collective memory of the fans, waiting for the right moment to come back to life. Apparently, the musical spark had never completely faded within the band itself either, because now they are back. Founded in Germany in 1981 by William Lennox and André Schreiber, Days Of Sorrow gained recognition through their melancholic, synth-driven songs, immortalized on releases such as “Remembering The Days” (1984) and “Wild World” (1986).

More than three decades later, Days Of Sorrow returned with renewed energy and a clear artistic vision. Since their reunion in 2018, Days Of Sorrow has proven to be far more than a nostalgic revival. With the album “Soulmate Sister”, the EP “No Fear”, and numerous live performances, the group has steadily built a compelling second chapter in its career. This year, that chapter was further strengthened with the release of “Raptures” available via Mots Music.

“Raptures” is a brilliant opus in which Synth-Pop, enriched with subtle EBM elements, unfolds across ten outstanding tracks. Personally, I consider it one of the finest releases I have heard in recent years within the broad spectrum of Electro-Pop. I had the pleasure of speaking with William Lennox about Days Of Sorrow’s past, present, and the creative journey that led to this remarkable new album. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Days Of Sorrow interview

Q: The origins of Days Of Sorrow date back to the very beginning of the 1980s, but the project came to an abrupt halt nearly 40 years ago, only to be revived a few years ago. How do you look back on the young musicians you were back then and on what you achieved at the time? And how did the reset or restart with the current lineup come about?

William: Back then we were hungry for the music we loved and given the opportunities with affordable synths and drum machines we enjoyed experimenting all aspects. The result was a reflection of our state of mind, feeling and the environment we lived in, with Dortmund being a very industrial area back then. We didn´t particular look on any achievement rather than the excitement and new experiences of getting the chance to produce music, making a record and playing live.

After all this time Andrè (bass and keys) and myself met again. Talking about music and the time in the 80´s, we soon found out that we were still in love with this kind of music and atmosphere it represents. But we didn´t just wanted to replicate this but take it further, meaning writing new songs, making new records. We took Frank (keys) on board, an old friend and producer from that time and recorded “Soulmate Sister”.

Unfortunately, André had to quit out for personal reasons and we then asked Kati and Jojo to join us with their talent, resulting in the EP “No Fear” and the album “Raptures”.

Q: I can hardly imagine that Days Of Sorrow completely stopped making music for almost 40 years. What happened in the meantime, and how did you experience the evolution of Electronic music, both in terms of production and the way people listen to it? To what extent has all of this influenced your current collaboration and composition process?

William: Well, I didn´t leave the music business. After Days Of Sorrow I played in several bands and genres living in London and then partnering a music production company in Berlin. Sure, counting back from those days Electronic music has been taking over the dance floors more and more and its variety of styles and combinations has become countless. From my point of view it has become a lot easier to produce today then it has been in the 80´s.

No more studio bookings, just a DAW should do the trick today, still it´s a good thing to still know the tricks from the old days. In terms of live shows I think it has become very minimal, not musically but band wise. You see a lot of artists as a two piece on stage which is a lot easier for travel and production costs… just ask the promoters. As we still mainly perform as a four piece it has become harder to plan dates and tours.

Coming back to the composition process, yes there is a different approach. There is no longer a process of hooking up with ideas in a rehearsal room, we do songwriting in our own little studio and take it from there. The one thing that hasn´t changed is that we mainly use the equipment and sounds we used in the 80´s.

Q: Since the Days Of Sorrow rebirth, “Raptures” is already your second album. How do you look back on the previous album, “Soulmate Sister”, and the transition or evolution toward “Raptures”? What were the main ideas, inspirations, or triggers that ultimately brought “Raptures” to life?

William: “Soulmate Sister” was a good starting point for us to get going again and see what we could do as a three piece. From then on it was ideas coming from all angles getting them into our music. “Raptures” is a continuation of this whole process. It´s still the same mindset as in the early days but with a perspective of a different age, obviously both with ours and the ever-evolving world.

Q: “Raptures” remains an album with strong 1980s connotations. Was this a conscious artistic choice, or is that 80s DNA simply part of who you are? And, more importantly, what kind of Days Of Sorrow album did you ultimately want to create?

William: It is absolutely both, its ‘Who We Are’! We wanted to strike a balance between simplicity and modern production without sounding too overwhelming. Keeping in mind that we still use the sounds of the old equipment it was the natural way to go.

Q: I actually haven’t found much detailed information about “Raptures”. Is this Days Of Sorrow album especially personal or intimate, or is there a deeper layer hidden within the lyrics and the title itself? Also, how did the relationship between music and lyrics develop? Did the music inspire the lyrics, or did the lyrics shape the music?

William: “Raptures” is our feeling of excitement, an explosion of emotions when it comes to the music. The songs express somewhat the emotions and views on ourselves and the worldly environment, state of times, just like in the 80´s. Only this time in a more mature way including the experience of all these years, you can´t deny that you have aged. We have changed, so has the world, but our overall perspective is more or less the same.

In production and writing I like to play with rhythms, sounds and melodies. Most of the times a lyric and theme idea then comes along with it. 

Q: What were the key phases in the creation of this new Days Of Sorrow album, and what were the biggest challenges or obstacles you had to overcome along the way? And how did you work together as a band to bring everything to fruition?

William: As a matter of fact, it’s a very simple process. Two things though are very essential, time and state of mind. If you can bring those together then you are on your way to get creative and the basics laid down. In these times we are happy that I have a small studio to work in.

Distance is not that big of a problem, as for instance I can send the basics over to each and everyone for input. In the end we just have to fit the ideas together. I also like to be in a studio with all of the band, but that is not really an option, logistics, expenses for studio time, etc. are not something that goes well with an underground band.

Q: In the meantime, Days Of Sorrow has also returned to performing live. How have those experiences been so far, and how do you approach translating the studio production and atmosphere of the songs to the stage?

William: I´m sure that everyone loves playing live… and, so do we. We´ve been doing this for four years now since our revival and its absolutely great. Making new and meeting old friends while playing your heart out, yes that´s a big, big reason for making music after all. It’s natural that on a recording part of the energy remains in the can, live is where you can release and perform of what the song and your personality is all about, and again this is really ‘Who we Are’, the first single of the album “Raptures”!

William Bleak releases the debut album “Neon Goth” in June 2026 through Breathing Records, the label’s first full-length from the Berlin-based solo project. The record mixes industrial, EBM and gothic and is out now on streaming platforms and Bandcamp. William Bleak “Neon Goth” follows the singles “Ghost Waltz” and “Black and Blue,” and the latter closes the album.

“Neon Goth” began as a planned compilation of William Bleak’s 2024 singles before it became a standalone album. Bleak said the project changed after the death of a friend: “the death of a friend inspired me to create a complete piece of work – something uniquely personal.” He names Nine Inch Nails, Killing Joke and 2000s industrial metal among the album’s influences.

About Breathing Records

Breathing Records is an independent label based in San Diego, founded in 2025 and focused on industrial and dark electronic music. The label launched in late 2025 with the compilation “Inhale Vol. I” and also works with Matte Blvck and Unter Strøm.

About William Bleak

William Bleak is the solo project of a Berlin-based multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter. He began recording under the William Bleak name in 2016, after the end of his earlier band I Am the SVN. His early releases were rooted in surf-influenced garage rock, before the debut album “Songs of Death” moved the project toward a darker sound. After relocating to Berlin, he recorded the second album “Viva Lost Love” with a trio line-up.

Bleak’s musical background combines classical music, post-punk and hardcore. His mother was an opera singer, while his father introduced him to post-punk and hardcore. He started playing guitar at age 12 after several years of piano lessons, and began producing electronic music at 15. He later DJed at different venues and parties. He plays guitar, bass, synthesizer and drums, and produces and mixes his own material.

Before and alongside William Bleak, he released music under several names, including Saint Ark, Dear Envy, Weekend Dad, I am the svn and STereochan. His influences include the Japanese Visual Kei scene, with bands such as D’espairsRay, Dir en grey and MUCC, as well as experimental electronic acts including Crystal Castles, Death Grips and HEALTH. He also cites rock bands such as Death from Above 1979, The Garden and Type O Negative.

His connection to gothic music dates back to childhood exposure to Killing Joke, The Cure and Siouxsie. At the same time, he has criticised parts of the gothic scene, including what he has described as “Schlager with eyeliner” when referring to certain German gothic acts. He has also questioned how gatekeepers decide what is and is not considered “goth”.

In 2023, following line-up changes, Bleak rebuilt the project around a drum machine and a more electronic, aggressive sound. This phase included the singles “Crows and Ravens”, “Blood Red”, “Beat and Bleed”, “Delirium” and “Never Feel“. His lyrics draw on his frustrations with modern society, mental illness, including depression and ADHD, and a turbulent personal life.

As a live act, William Bleak has shared stages with She Past Away, Clan of Xymox and Traitrs. He has also supported Ductape and Rosegarden Funeral Party, and appeared at Infest Festival in Manchester and NCN Festival in Germany. In January 2026, he signed to Breathing Records. The William Bleak project released “Neon Goth” as its debut album for the label in June 2026.

VORN release their debut album “Beyond the Sentinel” in June 2026 through Scanner, the Dark Dimensions label group, on CD and across digital and streaming platforms. This is the futurepop project of Michael Roeder, the vocalist of A Spell Inside and the former wave act Behind the Scenes, together with the Finnish poet Nicko Smith. The album follows the singles “Under the Gothic Moon” and “Faithless.”

“Beyond the Sentinel” collects ten original tracks alongside additional remixes, for a total of fourteen songs. The album brings futurepop built on electronic beats, synth lines and cinematic arrangements.

The full tracklist is:

1. The Grey
2. Under the Gothic Moon (Album Version)
3. Prophecy
4. Against the Wind
5. Gegen alle Zeiten
6. A New Dawn
7. Charon
8. Ghost of Time
9. Static
10. Faithless
11. Faithless (Extended Club Mix)
12. Faithless (Speechless Mix)
13. Under the Gothic Moon
14. Guardian Angel

The first single, “Under the Gothic Moon,” was released on 6 March 2026 through Scanner and was issued with an official video.

The follow-up single “Faithless” also appeared with a video ahead of the album.

About VORN

VORN is the futurepop project of Michael Roeder, the vocalist and main writer of the German act A Spell Inside and of the earlier wave project Behind the Scenes. Roeder formed VORN with Nicko Smith, a poet from Finland. A Spell Inside has recorded for Scanner across its catalogue and returned in 2025 with the album A Spell Inside “Last”, six years after its previous record; Roeder also discussed the band’s independent approach in a Click Interview with A Spell Inside.

VORN introduced the project with the single “Under the Gothic Moon” on 6 March 2026, followed by “Faithless.” With “Beyond the Sentinel,” released in June 2026 through Scanner, VORN issue their first full-length album.

Belgian ritual industrial act This Morn’ Omina have joined the Dark Dimensions Label Group. The announcement arrives as the project prepares to mark its 30th anniversary in 2026.

To celebrate the occasion, ProNoize / Dark Dimensions will release “Vestiges – 30 Years Of Ritual Sound (1996-2026)”, a compilation collecting known, rare and previously unreleased tracks from the project’s long-running catalogue. The album will be issued as a limited edition digipak CD on 26 June 2026.

About This Morn’ Omina

Formed in 1996, This Morn’ Omina have built one of the more distinctive bodies of work in ritual industrial music. The project’s sound has often moved through ceremonial percussion, hypnotic repetition, martial pressure, EBM structures, Middle Eastern tonal references and darker electronic frameworks. Rather than treating rhythm as a simple club mechanism, This Morn’ Omina use it as a form of invocation, with tracks often built around trance, pressure and transformation.

Across releases such as “7 Years Of Famine”, “Le Serpent Blanc – Le Serpent Rouge” and “Les Passages Jumeaux”, the Belgian act developed a language that sits between industrial aggression and ritual intensity. The early club impact of “One-Eyed Man” helped bring the project to wider attention, but This Morn’ Omina’s identity has always reached beyond dancefloor functionality. Its work is tied to cycles, symbolic systems and a larger sense of sonic continuity.

“Vestiges” is therefore positioned as more than a standard anniversary collection. The title points to traces, remains and surviving marks, which suits a project whose music has repeatedly dealt with memory, transformation and the body as a site of ritual force. The compilation revisits three decades of activity while also underlining the project’s ongoing presence within the current industrial landscape.

The new signing also places This Morn’ Omina within the Dark Dimensions Label Group, whose network includes ProNoize and a wider catalogue of industrial, dark electronic and gothic releases. For a project with such a strong ritual industrial identity, the move connects past work with a new label structure as the 30-year anniversary approaches.

CUT.RATE.BOX’s G. Wygonik on the redux editions, broken formats, bad futures and the strange discipline of leaving certain scars visible.

After “Maps Of Stone”, CUT.RATE.BOX could have closed the archive and moved on. Instead, G. Wygonik returned to four decisive releases, “Blueiceblack”, “New Religion”, “Dataseed” and “Xenophobe”, treating them less like relics than like unstable rooms that still contain heat, bad wiring and unfinished arguments.

The redux editions revisit a compact but unusually charged period in the project’s history: New Orleans, home recording, guitars used as atmosphere rather than decoration, the first shock of wider recognition, early anxieties around digital life, and the emotional aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The result is not a nostalgic cleanup. It is a controlled act of restoration, carried out by someone who knows that old limitations can hold truth, that technical repair can easily become falsification, and that some mistakes still explain the person who made them.

Wygonik speaks here with rare precision about technology, design, religion, sci-fi pessimism, lost software, overlong intros, listener responsibility and the confidence that can return when older songs prove stronger than memory allowed. The sharpest line arrives during the discussion of “Dataseed”: “I just got lucky and picked the horrible version of the future to write about.” It is funny, bleak and uncomfortably accurate, which makes it very CUT.RATE.BOX.

CUT.RATE.BOX Interview

Karo: After the CUT.RATE.BOX collection “Maps Of Stone”, these redux editions feel like a different kind of return. The compilation showed a map, while these releases seem to reopen particular rooms inside that map. What changes when you stop presenting history as a route and start entering specific periods again in detail?

G.: Keeping with the map metaphor, you could look at each of these releases individually as “points of interest” – places where there are interesting things to explore, to discover, and to understand before moving on to the next place. When you visit a new location for the first time, there’s often a sense of wanting to see all the things listed in your guidebook. When revisiting that location – especially many years later – you remember you’ve done all the tourist stuff and you start to look in the back alleys, down the paths you ignored years earlier.

So I think it will be interesting for people to re-listen to these albums, to have a sense of “I remember that place”, but to also hear new things they missed so long ago. Each of the albums in the redux series happened within a very short period of cut.rate.box’s history, but not only were they some of the most impactful for the band, but also expressed a wildly diverse range of topics and emotions; from bitterness of living in unjust environments to excitement of new computer-enhanced ways of living to the potential horrors of those new technologies to the sadness and loneliness of losing everything.

Karo: Revisiting older work is never neutral. You bring your current ears, current technology and current self into contact with these CUT.RATE.BOX recordings made by someone younger, probably less equipped, but also closer to the original emotional fire. What did your present self recognise in those earlier versions of you, and what did it misunderstand at first?

G.: Most of these albums were released at a major technological shift in the music industry where recording, mixing, and mastering were all able to be done at home on one computer by one person. Up to that point, it was assumed you’d book studio time, hire a producer, and so on. Being technologists, we embraced that new DIY ability, and our youthful naivete allowed us to just try things.

There were definitely good and bad things in that process that I recognized. One of the things that stood out was how we were able to deal with the technological constraints of our cheap computer and still put out albums that were sonically rich and able to express a range of emotions. At the same time, there was the apparent overblown sense of “this song needs an epic 3-minute intro” entitlement that seemed right at the time but in hindsight is total cringe, and something that a real producer would have said “no” to.

Karo: There is a strange moral question in restoration: how much should one repair before the repair becomes a lie? With these CUT.RATE.BOX redux editions, how did you decide which flaws were technical problems and which flaws were part of the emotional truth?

G.: That’s a fascinating question, especially in the world of technology we currently live in, where everything we do is mediated by algorithms. I mean, every photo we take on our phones is just digital information “repaired” through filters and algorithms in an attempt to give us the best representation of what’s been captured through a tiny lens – but those algorithms are based on what someone else thinks is the best representation of reality.

Yet we don’t consider digital photos to be lies because there’s just enough of some version of reality that we can say “I was there, I took that picture, it must be the truth.” In these releases I made one editorial edit where I wasn’t happy with the words I chose at the time, which in today’s world of limited critical thought would be misinterpreted. The other changes were shortening a few intros that were just way too long. lol.

Finally I omitted a few tracks that we weren’t happy with at the time, for various reasons, or where they didn’t really express who cut.rate.box was and is; I considered some of them more remixes of someone else’s songs that made it onto our albums.

Karo: “Blueiceblack” seems to stand at a threshold: a new city, a new collaborator, a rough home studio process, and a sound that carries both machinery and atmosphere. Do you hear that record now as an arrival, a rupture, or a period of learning how to breathe in unfamiliar surroundings?

G.: I think “blueiceblack” is perhaps my favorite of the redux releases. It was much more raw, much more experimental, and more sparse but also more orchestrated than the others. I think this initial time of learning to work together allowed us a freedom to try things without hard curation; we weren’t familiar enough with each other to criticize or say “no”. Clint may have felt cut.rate.box was my thing and didn’t want to step on my toes, and I didn’t want to seem like the perfectionist control-freak I am and just wanted him to do whatever he felt was right. We made some really interesting tracks there.

Karo: The guitar work in CUT.RATE.BOX never feels like a decorative “rock” layer placed on top of electronics. It seems to create weather, distance and friction inside the tracks. Did the presence of guitar change the way you thought about space in your music?

G.: I started my music career as a guitarist in a punk band, so guitars have always played a role in my musical thinking, even if that doesn’t manifest directly in the music. But I’ve always been inspired by guitarists that use the guitar to create atmosphere – Robin Guthrie, Daniel Ash circa Tones on Tail, Robert Fripp…

They showed that you can create musical textures that are difficult to create any other way and that can lend themselves to filling space in interesting ways. Clint having a history in goth bands was also part of our chemistry I think – we had similar frames of reference for how guitars fit with electronics, that they weren’t just the chugga-chugga-chugga barre-chord rhythmic device they’re often used as.

Karo: “New Religion” reached the CUT.RATE.BOX listeners in a more visible way and moved the project into a broader circuit of radio, labels and live attention. Did that outside recognition change the way you understood CUT.RATE.BOX, or did it make you more protective of the private reasons behind the songs?

G.: Heh – “New Religion” was like a hunter chasing his prey across time and space and finally catching it and not knowing what to do with it. Coming out of high school, the only thing that seemed interesting to me was making music, and the end goal of making music at that time (years before self-publishing on streaming services was the norm) was to get a record contract. “New Religion” got me that record contract and got me the exposure that I had been trying to achieve for years, because I thought that was just what a musician was supposed to do.

And while I had been studying the business-side of things and knew what to expect, I hadn’t even considered the psychological and philosophical sides. Receiving mail from all over the world with people letting us know how the music helped them through a tough time, or how it just made them happy, or having questions about the meaning of my lyrics was eye opening; I felt both a connection with them, but also a responsibility to do right by them. So it was validating and encouraging, but also a new weight that I had never considered.

Karo: The word “religion” in your work often feels less like belief and more like structure: systems of obedience, desire, guilt, authority and repetition. When you look back at that era now, were you writing against faith itself, or against the institutions and rituals that teach people how to surrender themselves?

G.: I grew up going to a Catholic school and early on only thought of “religion” as the faith behind the rituals, but grew to understand it was more about power and control than a real sense of doing good. At that same time, Sunday mornings weren’t just about going to church – that was also the day we went to McDonalds for a fancy breakfast, the day that we watched the football game on TV, the day that we used the good dishes at dinner. There were a lot of other rituals in our lives, different forms of religion. And still are.

So I did sing a lot about my disillusionment with the church – how the capacity for doing good was overshadowed by their embracing the very things they preached against – but also that “religion” was/is whatever we want to make it on any given day. At the time of writing “New Religion”, the religion de jour was the nascent internet and rapid advancement in technology in the home. In today’s world, our religions change daily. Today it’s AI – some believe it’s god, some believe it’s the devil – tomorrow will be a new one.

Karo: “Dataseed” now feels unsettling because digital life has stopped being something we enter and has become something we live inside. When you returned to that CUT.RATE.BOX material, did the album still feel political to you, or had it become more psychological?

G.: “Dataseed” was a pessimistic view of what could happen if we didn’t guard against the misuse and over-use of technology. So yes, seeing many of those dystopian possibilities become part of everyday life is troubling. But not unexpected. Throughout my life I’ve seen how the potential for doing good becomes corrupted and turned into something terrible. My most recent employment “in the belly of the beast” was no different, and if anything listening to “Dataseed” again was more of a “yup – told you so” moment.

I do think there’s still a sense of the political to it, in that we can look at it as “if this was a warning and we ignored it, what else are we ignoring about what’s coming and what can we do about it?” Not that I see myself as some sort of future-predicting oracle. lol.

Karo: A lot of early electronic music imagined technology as future, threat or escape. Today technology is habit, dependency, infrastructure and self-image. Does that make the old anxieties behind “Dataseed” feel sharper, or almost too normal to be dramatic anymore?

G.: I think electronic music is often associated with science fiction – the sounds, the themes, and even the lyrics. “Dataseed” is definitely in the sci-fi genre, but like most sci-fi it’s grounded in the present reality. I like to pay attention to what’s going on around me, and try to think through where things could end up. Nothing I wrote in “Dataseed” was made up, it was just observations presented from a particular viewpoint. And because I’m so connected to technology, these observations tend to be in that vein. But things didn’t have to turn out the way I wrote them, I just got lucky and picked the horrible version of the future to write about.

Karo: “Xenophobe” carries a different kind of history because it is tied to displacement and survival after Hurricane Katrina. When you worked on those recordings again, did the music behave like memory, evidence, or something closer to a place you can never fully return to?

G.: I lived with the tracks on “Xenophobe” for almost a whole decade before releasing them in any form, so digging back into them was like visiting old familiar friends. I’ve had enough time to come to grips with what happened with Katrina, and understand how that has shaped my life, so I was able to listen to these tracks without getting too caught up in their emotional weight. I really was able to focus on trying to make them sound better than the first time around, when they were just whatever was laying around on my hard drive sent to release.

Karo: The instrumental pieces connected with that period seem to remove the usual authority of the voice. Without lyrics, there is no explanation, no argument, no direct confession. Did that make them more abstract for you, or more honest?

G.: They are definitely more honest in the sense that the music has to be reckoned with on its own, for what it is: it’s monotonous, brooding, plodding, depressing, and repetitive. But they’re also still experimental, exploratory, and at times inventive – typical cut.rate.box. They are probably harder to connect to without lyrics, but that itself is part of the disconnect and displacement I felt at the time.

I really enjoy the sound design in those tracks because they were some of the most expressive, utilizing instruments – digital and acoustic – that helped evoke the feelings I was having; the sad wailing of a mournful Chinese erhu, or the clicking of old telephone systems dialing a number that could never connect, to the jazz drums reminiscent of the bars throughout New Orleans.

Karo: The bonus tracks, alternate versions and live intro pieces show paths that were not fully taken. Do you think of them as extra material, or as a kind of parallel history where the songs briefly reveal what else they might have become?

G.: I wanted to include these tracks – especially the demos of tracks with different lyrics – because they demonstrate that making any sort of art that is from your heart isn’t perfect from the beginning, and it doesn’t need to be. The process can be messy, discordant, and frustrating.

Where you start isn’t necessarily where you end up, and that is okay; you need to be true to yourself and make the edits and changes you feel are right, no matter how difficult – even to the point of not releasing it. Other tracks, like the live intros, are to better paint a picture of who and what cut.rate.box is and was at that moment in time – if you had been to a live show with one of the intros, it would have set a mood, given you a sign that this wasn’t just going to be what you heard on CD, that there was something deeper to the show.

Karo: You rebuilt the visual identity of the releases as well, which matters because old music rarely returns alone. It comes back with new images, new framing and new context. As a designer, were you trying to protect the original atmosphere, or give the listener permission to hear the material differently?

G.: With the original physical media releases, the packaging played a bigger role and afforded me space to include lyrics – which are important to me – and images and credits…all the old-school liner-note things that were part and parcel of albums at the time. With digital distribution, and breaking albums into individual tracks, some of the cohesion, intricacies, and content of the packaging is removed. But I’m a fan of clean and ordered design with a sense of whimsy (e.g.: Dieter Rams, Philippe Starck).

The design language for these releases makes them feel all the same, part of a singular despite being very different on their own. Each of them had the branding and titles removed from the original artwork, and placed in a somewhat stark (no pun intended), ordered layout. In some ways, a meta-statement about the blandness of digital media. The whimsy comes in via the strip of color to the left side of each release, which is a reference to CD jewel case tray inserts. Also, the cover images are placed a bit off-center which really messes with digital devices that try to place the album artwork in arbitrarily-shaped UI.

Karo: Modern restoration tools can bring old recordings closer to what you once imagined, but they can also smooth away the evidence of limitation, urgency and accident. How did you keep the technology in the role of a witness rather than letting it become an editor of history?

G.: Despite being originally created and recorded digitally, none of the files I had were usable in modern tools; they all were from long-dead software applications in long-dead formats. So “restoration” was the right term here – it was all about restoring and not recreating. Other than the shortening of intros I mentioned earlier, the work was really just trying to make them sound as good as I could, being consistent across releases.

Some of the tracks were victims of the loudness wars of the early 2000s, where everything was squashed to have no dynamic range and to be as loud as possible, so there really wasn’t much room to work other than taming some of the low-end. I think “blueiceblack” was the hardest, and worked on the most, not just because of the original poor recording, but me really wanting those tracks to sound as good as I think they could be.

Karo: These redux editions arrive while CUT.RATE.BOX is active again, so they do not feel like a museum project. Has revisiting these records changed what you want from new CUT.RATE.BOX music? Did the past reopen a method, a wound, a confidence, or a problem you still want to solve?

G.: I recently performed for the first time in 20-some years, and in order to do those shows I did actually have to recreate all of the older tracks I wanted to play – basically any track from the redux editions needed to be rebuilt from scratch. In putting those together I was astounded by how dense and rich the old material was in really interesting, unique parts – some of which I have no idea how we created to begin with.

For the shows, however, I stripped everything back to the more minimal punk aesthetic of “Luxury Anxiety”, only keeping a few of the more defining sounds or riffs of the older tracks, and found that the songs still stood on their own; the core material was really solid, and fans still got excited when they heard them start. It’s great to have the material out there again, sounding as good as it can today, but I’m not nostalgic in the sense of wanting to relive my “glory days” or to try to be someone I once was.

Revisiting them has given me the confidence to keep making and releasing music that I want to make and release, and I’m thrilled that people still want to go on that musical journey with me.

Some projects measure their longevity in years but not Klangstabil. They measure theirs in questions. How does a sound come into being? What does it do once it exists? What can it carry? For more than three decades, Maurizio Blanco and Boris May have built one of the most distinctive bodies of work in European electronic music around exactly those questions, and on 11 July 2026, they bring the answers, provisional as ever, to Markthalle Hamburg.

Klangstabil started in 1994, when Maurizio was already deep inside the electronic underground and Boris was only beginning to find his way into it. What they shared was sharper than a sound: a way of approaching sound itself. Music, for them, wasn’t something to make and release. It was something to understand from the inside out – from the moment of its formation, before it became anything as fixed as a song.

That early period was pure research, recorded without any intention of going public. The work only began circulating after live shows and the encouragement of people around them made release feel necessary. The first vinyl arrived in 1995. More than a dozen records have followed, on vinyl, CD, and in every digital format that has come and gone in the meantime.

The arc since then has been one of patient evolution rather than reinvention. The early Kraftwerk DNA is still audible if you listen for it, but the project has moved through experimental sound collage, abstract electronics, and eventually into the deeply emotional electropop that defines their more recent work, songs that carry weight without theatre, melody without compromise. Their motto sits at the heart of it: one step back, two steps forward. It’s a working method as much as a slogan, and it’s why Klangstabil records don’t sound like anyone else’s.

In 1998, the duo founded their own label, MHz Records – a platform for their own work and for artists across a wider spectrum than most electronic labels would touch, from delicate electronics to grindcore. Top-10 placements in international alternative charts, tours through Europe, Russia, Canada, and the US, and a loyal global audience have followed, but none of it has changed the project’s central instinct: keep asking what sound can do next.

The Hamburg show is a chance to see all of that compressed into a live room – the research, the patience, the melodic warmth, and the quiet refusal to stand still that has kept Klangstabil relevant for over thirty years.

Klangstabil live in Hamburg – Practical details

📍 Markthalle Hamburg · Klosterwall 11, 20095 Hamburg
🗓 11 July 2026
🚪 Doors 20:00 · Show 21:00
🎟 Digital & physical tickets

Giuseppe Verticchio already has a rich discography to his name, and earlier this year he added another remarkable work to it. The album consists of 14 tracks, all of which—except for the closing piece—previously appeared on various compilations released between 2017 and 2025. It has been described as perhaps his darkest work to date: a tunnel with no light at the end, reflecting the vision of a world that grows more decadent with each passing day.

The selection of tracks is undeniably dark, but not exclusively so. A considerable degree of diversity can be found throughout the album, which is hardly surprising given that the material spans several years of creative output. Nimh moves effortlessly between pure Ambient, dark Ballad-like compositions, Cinematic soundscapes, and Experimental passages. The opening track even features harsh vocals. Giuseppe Verticchio remains closely connected to his guitar, coaxing from it sounds of pure melancholy while also creating dreamy atmospheres that perfectly complement the album’s Cinematic character. At the same time, a variety of noises, textures, and subtle sonic manipulations enrich the background. The final track, a previously unreleased composition, fits seamlessly within the album’s dimension.

One moment, Nimh makes us drift weightlessly; the next, it leaves us unsettled and trembling. Giuseppe Verticchio is clearly far from finished and continues to surprise and captivate listeners with his unique musical vision and immersive sonic experiences. (Rating:7½).

Listen to “Succumbing To The New Conquistadores”:

https://nimh-music.bandcamp.com/track/succumbing-to-the-new-conquistadores

Belgian EBM act Front 242 have released “Black Out” via Alfa Matrix. The live album was recorded at AB Brussels (Ancienne Belgique) in January 2025 and documents the band’s farewell run, with more than 40 performances across six months in Europe and the US.

For “Black Out,” Patrick Codenys, Jean-Luc De Meyer, and Richard23 are joined on stage by Tim Kroker, while David Baboulis of Soldout handled the studio mixing and production.

Across Bandcamp and the Alfa Matrix store, “Black Out” is available as a digital edition, a 23-track 2CD digipak, a crystal clear 2LP. The 2CD adds three exclusive tracks: “MasterHit,” “Soul Manager,” and “No Shuffle.”

The release came also out as a totally sold out limited clear purple 2LP fanpack, a totally sold out Core Selected Pack, and a totally sold out Total Access Pack. The limited purple-vinyl fanpack includes a tote bag, armband, 20x30cm art print, two glass coasters, and the label compilations “Sounds From The Matrix 026 & 027,” this edition was limited to 1,000 copies worldwide and sold out in just a few days. The Core Selected Pack combines the 2CD, the purple-vinyl fanpack, and the 2CD tribute “Recovery 2 For You,” while the Total Access Pack adds the crystal clear 2LP to that bundle.

A new fan pack for “Black Out” was made available as well. This updated ‘Essential Pack‘ includes the crystal clear double vinyl along with a selection of additional items and is still available.

• Black Out (incl. 3 bonus tracks) 2CD
• Black Out (incl. 3 bonus tracks) download
• Black Out (Core Selected Pack) SOLD OUT
• Black Out (Total Access Pack) SOLD OUT
• Black Out 2LP (limited fanpack edition clear purple vinyl) SOLD OUT
• Black Out 2LP (crystal clear vinyl)
• Black Out (Essential Pack)
  

Note that the special packs also include the new “Recovery 2 For You (Tribute to Front 242)” 2CD.

About Front 242

Front 242 started in Aarschot, Belgium in 1981. Daniel Bressanutti and Dirk Bergen launched the project first. Patrick Codenys and Jean-Luc De Meyer joined in time for “Geography” in 1982, and Richard Jonckheere, better known as Richard 23, followed in 1983.

The band’s first single was “Body to Body” in 1981. By 1984 Front 242 had signed to Wax Trax! in Chicago, and “Take One” became their first U.S. release. “No Comment” followed in 1984, “Official Version” in 1987 and “Front by Front” in 1988.

Front 242 continued with “Tyranny >For You<” in 1991, then “06:21:03:11 Up Evil” and “05:22:09:12 Off” in 1993. A hiatus followed, before the four core members reunited in 1997 with Tim Kroker on drums for the live setup. “Pulse” arrived in 2003.

Alfa Matrix, which had in the meantime release the band’s side-projects then started to release anniversary editions and vinyl reissues.

The band’s live career ended with the “Black Out” farewell run with the gig on January 25, 2025 at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels being the band’s final show.

Idoru and Back From The Wave have released “Love Is Not Enough“, a debut collaboration issued on Iptamenos Discos, the Berlin-based label run by Local Suicide. The EBM and electroclash track came out on June 10, 2026 as a digital single. It pairs the Miami-based dark electronic artist Idoru with the French producer Back From The Wave.

“Love Is Not Enough” began as a cross-continental exchange of ideas between the two artists and grew into a club track built on a raw EBM drive, a distorted electroclash bassline and Idoru’s vocals. The lyrics deal with the aftermath of a relationship built on illusion.

The single is available to stream and download.

Iptamenos Discos, founded by the Berlin duo Local Suicide, has previously released music from Kalipo, Dina Summer, Skelesys and Curses.

About Idoru and Back From The Wave

Idoru is a Detroit-born, Miami-based artist who works in dark electronic music, mixing minimal techno, industrial, electro and Italo. She is a founder of the Manta Recordings label and releases through her own Bandcamp page. Earlier releases include the singles “Take My Hand”, which carried a Damon Jee remix, and “Like A Machine”. In 2025 she joined the German darkwave act SIIE on the single “Violent”, which featured remixes from Panther Modern and Skelesys. “Love Is Not Enough” is her first collaboration with Back From The Wave.

Back From The Wave is the project of the French producer Fred, who blends electro, techno, Italo and EBM. He began releasing electronic music in the early 2000s on the French labels Goodlife and Scandium, and his later work has appeared on labels including Ritmo Fatale, Space Factory and Bordello A Parigi. The 2025 release “Escape From The Void” came out through Factor City. With “Love Is Not Enough”, Back From The Wave makes his debut on Iptamenos Discos alongside Idoru.

execunit‘s “Humanicide” is the new two-track single from the Swedish electronic project that blends industrial synthpop with krautrock-inspired electronics. The single is out now through Town And Towers Records and is available across streaming services.

The project is the work of Andreas Rimheden, who writes, performs and produces the music without the use of AI. The project takes its cues from the robotic music of Kraftwerk, the soundtrack work of John Carpenter, and early industrial and German krautrock, aiming for a sound built around electronics and rusted metal.

The single is available to stream and download across major platforms.

“Humanicide” follows execunit’s debut single “Rust”, which Side-Line covered in Execunit returns with ‘Rust’ single in March 2024, also released through Town And Towers Records. The project’s debut album “Prophecy” is on streaming services, and Town And Towers Records opens CD pre-orders for the new album on 8 July 2026.

About execunit

execunit is a Swedish electronic act based in Malmö and is the project of Andreas Rimheden, who also records as Eternity Range and was a member of the 1990s Swedish dark electronic group Morticians. Rimheden initialized execunit in 2022 to realize a long-held idea: a project that sounds as if it were made by machines, for machines, with a machine-like priest or prophet as its only voice.

The project signed to the Danish label Town And Towers Records and issued its first single, “Rust”, on 15 March 2024. Its lead vocals are mechanical and artificial, narrating a coming singularity in which machines become sentient and turn against their creators. The two-track single “Humanicide” continues that narrative and marks execunit’s move toward a darker, more club-focused sound ahead of the CD edition of the debut album “Prophecy”.

Glass Eden, the Hannover darkwave project of Sarah Egger, released the debut album “Born From A Wish” on June 17, 2026. Egger wrote, recorded, and produced the eight-track record at home, and issued it digitally through the project’s Bandcamp page.

It is the first release under the Glass Eden name, which Egger started in 2025 after years in other bands. She built the songs alone, around analog synthesizers and English-language lyrics. The solo method became the point of the record as much as its method. Egger says this: “To create a musical universe totally on my own felt empowering and like therapy during a year that was emotional and challenging.”

The arrangements rest on three synthesizers: a Korg Polysix, a Behringer Pro-800, and a Yamaha DX7. Across its eight tracks, the album moves between minimal synth, coldwave, and dreampop, using drum-machine rhythms and English-language vocals.

“Born From A Wish” runs eight tracks: “No Place”, “Between The Lines”, “Sleepless”, “No Time”, “This Night”, “Therapy”, “Leave This Place”, and “Not free”. Australian producer and mastering engineer Morgan Wright mixed and mastered the album. Daniel Egger plays guitar on “This Night”, and Nicolas Marquardt contributes the modular-synth sample on “Between The Lines”.

A video accompanies “Leave This Place”. The album is available digitally; listeners can order “Born From A Wish” on Bandcamp, and the record also streams on Spotify.

About Glass Eden

Sarah Egger is a musician based in Hannover, Germany. Her route to Glass Eden ran through two earlier projects. In 2012 she founded the synthpop duo The Colder Sea with Daniel Egger, releasing music through the French label Synth Religion. She later worked on the project COLD CALL. with Nicolas Marquardt and Daniel Egger, which moved her writing toward coldwave and darkwave.

Egger started Glass Eden in 2025 and produced on her own for the first time. The result, “Born From A Wish”, arrived on June 17, 2026 as the project’s debut album, self-produced at home and mixed and mastered by Morgan Wright. It is Glass Eden’s first record and Egger’s first as a solo producer.

Damage, the synth-punk band formed in Orlando, Florida and now based in Brooklyn, New York, have released the “How To Talk To Humans” remix EP, a digital set that reworks the title track and adds two new originals. The remix EP follows the “How To Talk To Humans” EP that the band issued on May 15, 2026 through their own Space Fish Records, in a run that covered 12″ vinyl, CD and streaming.

Two new Damage originals include “Carriage Horses”, a harder track, and “How To Talk To Humans” which gives the EP its title. Around them sit a series of remixes built from source tracks produced by Joe Livingston and the band.

The remixers are New York’s Richie Dio, Providence’s Knowlton Walsh, Tommy “MOT” Barger, who contributes a “Dance Don’t Dance” remix, and Livingston himself. Damage says that the EP is a step outside its usual hardcore mode. The band add that the EP is “a unique experiment in the history of Damage, bringing together a series of remixes based on source tracks produced by Joe Livingston and the band.”

The remix EP is available to stream and download through the band’s Bandcamp page. The “How To Talk To Humans” EP is available on 12″ vinyl and CD from Space Fish Records, alongside streaming. The band has also shared an official video for the title track, “How To Talk To Humans“.

About Damage

Damage formed in Orlando, Florida in the early 1980s. The group began as Brain Damage and shortened the name for an early gig. From the start the band built its sound on live drums and analog synthesizers, with no guitars, an approach shared with bands like The Screamers, Suicide and Units. Mike Brown led the project on vocals and synthesizer, playing a Moog Liberation keytar that he has kept on stage across the band’s run.

Early releases included the 1984 “Polar Bears” 7″ EP and the 1986 “Synthology” album. The band founded Space Fish Records and ran the Club Space Fish venue in Orlando, which closed after a GG Allin performance on November 18, 1991. Through the 1980s and early 1990s Damage shared stages with Adolescents, Dead Kennedys, Adrenaline O.D., Battalion of Saints, SNFU, Fugazi, The Flaming Lips and Alien Sex Fiend.

After a hiatus of roughly 35 years, Damage returned to recording and performing in 2024 and released “Modern World”, their fourth studio album, on Space Fish Records in 2025. The current lineup pairs founding member Mike Brown (vocals, synthesizer) with Joe Livingston (drums) and Joshua Clark (synthesizer, backing vocals).

The “How To Talk To Humans” remix EP is out as download, vinyl and CD.

Kill Instinct will release “Control (Apoptygma Berzerk Remix)” on July 3, 2026 through their own label, Freak Power. The track is a rework by Stephan Groth (Apoptygma Berzerk) of “Control”, a song from the Toronto electro-industrial duo’s second album. Kill Instinct consists of Phil Gonzo and Lea Ashley.

“Control” is one of the tracks from Kill Instinct’s album that the duo introduced earlier in 2026 as “Kill Two: Behavioral Sink”. In a statement, the band described the Apoptygma Berzerk collaboration like this: “We always knew Stephan would bring something special to ‘Control,’ but the final result is truly mind-blowing. He has a way of honoring the roots of the original track while completely reinventing the sound in a way that feels entirely fresh.”

Kill Instinct release their music through Freak Power, the label they run themselves. The duo’s catalogue is available through their Bandcamp.

Below is the original version of the track.

About Kill Instinct

Kill Instinct is a Toronto electro-industrial duo of Phil Gonzo and Lea Ashley, bringing a mix of industrial, EBM and darkwave. The project’s debut full-length, the eight-track digital album “Kill.One”, was released on February 27, 2025, with a tracklist that included “Funerals”, “Parasocial”, “Grip (Tighter)”, “BIG”, “King of Kings”, “Lovers”, “False Deities” and “Paradise”.

A run of remixes and standalone tracks followed, among them “Parasocial (Svjet Zéro Remix)” in May 2025, “Paradise (Vakhtang Remix)” in July 2025, “BIG (Jalex Remix)” and “Funeral Stripper” in October 2025, and “Funeral Stripper (Night Version)” in January 2026. Outside the project, Phil Gonzo has contributed remix work for Matte Blvck.

In April 2026 the duo began the rollout for their second LP, Kill Two: Behavioral Sink, a 12-track album that draws on John B. Calhoun’s “behavioral sink” concept and the “Universe 25” experiments, led by the single “Ignore the Static”. “Control (Apoptygma Berzerk Remix)” follows ahead of the full album release.

“Wasteland” is the debut album by the French duo Buzzkill. The album is available in various formats through Manic Depression Records, as well as on cassette via Ganache Records.

The first five tracks are an absolute delight for the ears. Buzzkill’s sound is best described as Cold-Wave infused with Electro, driven by deep, resonant bass lines and rhythms that surge forward like a relentless train. The production is dark and, in many ways, pleasingly raw. The electronic elements possess an irresistible charm and occasionally evoke memories of the brilliance of Kas Product. The female vocals sound wonderfully deep and cavernous. Even when the lyrics are not entirely intelligible, the French-language delivery adds an ethereal quality to the music although you’ll also notice tracks sung in English. The presence of a real bass guitar gives the songs additional depth and weight, making the overall atmosphere even darker and more captivating.

Unfortunately, the album consists of only seven tracks, and the final two songs feel somewhat less inspired than what precedes them. However, everything that comes before is simply phenomenal. With “Wasteland”, Buzzkill delivers a sensational debut album that will be very difficult for lovers of Cold-Wave music to resist. (Rating:8½).

Listen to “There Must Be A Place”:

https://buzzkill-buzzkill.bandcamp.com/track/there-must-be-a-place

With Kyivite, we welcome a Ukrainian project that seeks to preserve an important cultural heritage while transforming it into a unique artistic interpretation.

The tracks are based on traditional Ukrainian Folk songs, reimagined as a minimalist and Experimental listening experience. Throughout the album, which carries a subtle Ambient undertone, snippets of a female radio voice regularly emerge, which says more about the album title. The overall sound is restrained and atmospheric, enriched by various effects and field recordings. At times, hints of Middle Eastern influences can be discerned, adding an extra layer of mystery.

Subdued and occasionally sacred in tone, yet also authentic and enigmatic, “Broadcast” proves to be a fascinating and rewarding discovery. (Rating:7).

Listen to “Ballad Of A Soldier”:

https://staalplaatlabel.bandcamp.com/track/ballad-of-a-soldier

“State Of Calamity” is a collaboration between the projects Rogue Unit and Darkvolt. It becomes somewhat schizophrenic when you consider that both projects are powered by one and the same person, namely Frederik Strobbe. This album contains 5 tracks plus 5 remixes, which I will discuss in more detail later.

The tracks are a perfect fusion of various influences such as EBM, Industrial, and brutal Techno. The whole thing sounds extremely dark, supported by icy tones and driven by intense rhythms topped off with rough vocals. Some repetitive sequences create a transcendental feeling. On another track, the work sounds quite Dive-esque due to the heavy Industrial rhythm. These are, in any case, 5 hard, but also good tracks.

As for the remixes, Frederik Strobbe spared no effort. I always find it original when an artist has all the tracks—in this case, 5—remixed by other artists, resulting in a sort of parallel tracklist. But then, above all, there is the choice of artists for the job. In this case, Orphx, Statiqbloom, Blac Kolor, Rhys Fulber, and CJ Bolland. I had to read it twice to believe it! And yes, those guys have each delivered fantastic work, with a preference for Statiqbloom and Blac Kolor as far as I’m concerned, but each has added a personal touch to every original track.

Rogue Unit vs. Darkvolt has created a great piece of work here, along with impressive remixes. As far as I’m concerned, it is an absolute bullseye and certainly an album that will appeal to Industrial fans with a broad taste. (Rating:8).

Listen to “Retribution”:

https://dresscodeblack.bandcamp.com/track/retribution-2

Mystic Echo is a Belgian project that was previously unknown to me, founded by Ignace De Lamper. Two earlier singles can be found online, but they both date back to 2021. This debut album features eight tracks, including what can be considered an intro and an outro.

The influences of multi-instrumentalist Ignace De Lamper are diverse, yet they can primarily be traced back to the magical music of the 1980s, particularly New-Wave and Dark-Wave. The guitar creates a dark and immersive atmosphere, while the synths add an ethereal quality, making the songs more melodic and melancholic. At times, the music evokes an imaginary fusion of early Simple Minds and The Mission. The album contains several strong tracks, but “Silent Nothingness” rises well above the rest. The song stands out thanks to the uplifting guitar work, which perfectly complements the excellent vocal performance.

Mystic Echo is a beautiful and promising discovery that certainly deserves to be followed closely in the future. (Rating:8).

Listen to “Silent Nothingsness”:

https://mystic-echo.bandcamp.com/track/silent-nothingness

Electronic duo Oui Plastique have released the single “Linger” on Friday, June 12, 2026 via the Danish label Town & Towers Records. It is the second single from the project’s upcoming second album “Forever Will Be Over Before You Know It”, due later in 2026. Oui Plastique consists of Martin Nyrup (Denmark), also one half of dark wave act Perpacity, and James Thomas (UK).

“Linger” follows “Revival”, the first single from the album, which was released on April 10, 2026.

About Oui Plastique

Oui Plastique grew out of a 2017 collaboration between Martin Nyrup, one half of the Danish-British dark wave duo Perpacity, and James Thomas of the band DVL, who together recorded the album “Convergence” that year. The Oui Plastique name followed, and in 2018 the pair recorded a three-track covers EP for the UnMute project, a tribute to Mute Records, released on Bandcamp as “UM EP 04” on February 1, 2019.

The duo’s debut album “Fraternity of Strangers” was released on February 25, 2022 through ScentAir Records, as a limited CD and digital release containing eleven tracks. A remastered edition of “Convergence” followed in June 2022. In August 2025, the UnMute covers were remastered and reissued on all major platforms as the EP UnMute via Town & Towers Records, featuring the Martin Gore-associated tracks “Compulsion”, “The Bottom Line” and “It Doesn’t Matter Two”. Nyrup’s other project Perpacity most recently released the Danish-language single Lille Flamme in May 2025.

With “Revival” in April and “Linger” now out on June 12, Oui Plastique continue the run-up to “Forever Will Be Over Before You Know It”, their first full-length since their 2022 debut.

Slovak dark electro act KIFOTH have released “Artificial Territory” through the Bratislava-based label Aliens Production. The KIFOTH “Artificial Territory” release is out on CD and digital as of June 11, 2026, and follows the band’s previous album “Lost Territory” from November 2025.

The album contains 10 tracks built around five compositions presented in different mixes: “Killing Is a Routine”, “Cowardice”, “Medical Care”, “Words to Fear” and “Crucified Thief”.

The full tracklist is:

1. Killing Is a Routine (Lost Hope)
2. Cowardice (Aggregate Mix)
3. Medical Care (Serotonin Mix)
4. Words to Fear (Cortana)
5. Cowardice (Dark Factory)
6. Crucified Thief (Dub)
7. Medical Care (Tehran)
8. Cowardice (Melinda)
9. Killing Is a Routine (Bitchy Mix)
10. Medical Care (Radio Frequency Edit)

The KIFOTH studio lineup consisted of Key Head, Mir Colon and Blažena. The album was mastered by Anatoly “Tokee” Grinberg, with design by Housecore. “Artificial Territory” is available via the label’s Bandcamp page and the Aliens Production shop, and a trailer for the album is on YouTube.

About KIFOTH

KIFOTH, also written K.I.F.O.T.H. (short for “Kneel In Front Of The Executioner”), is a dark electro project from Slovakia whose origins go back to the mid-1990s; the project made its first live appearance in March 1995. The debut CD “Spectaclebreakers” was released in 1999 on the Slovak label FRONT CD Records, the same year the band first toured Europe. The releases that follow include “Fundamentum Divisionis”, “Acerbity Torrent” and “Violence Corporation”, built around core members Key Head and Mir Colon.

In 2017 Side-Line spoke with the band in a ‘Click Interview’ with KIFOTH. about its working methods and worldview. In November 2025 the band released the album “Lost Territory” on Aliens Production, which the label presented as the band’s first release on a home label. With “Artificial Territory”, out June 11, 2026, the duo extends that collaboration with a set of new mixes and material.

In The Nursery have repressed “Psalter Lane 25.06.81,” the recording of their first live performance, in a numbered run of 100 copies to mark the 45th anniversary of that debut. The CD is open for pre-order on Bandcamp now and orders ship on June 25, 2026, exactly 45 years after the show.

The release documents In The Nursery’s debut gig on June 25, 1981 at Psalter Lane Art College in Sheffield, captured on cassette by the live sound engineer and handed to the band. The recording first appeared on CD in 2021. The new edition reissues that material with packaging tied to the original event.

‘Psalter Lane 25.06.81’: three numbered editions

In The Nursery have split the run of 100 into three versions, each individually numbered and hand-stamped, with the CD mounted on a cork stud onto 450gsm embossed card. Copies 1 to 17 include an original full-colour A4 screen print made by Klive Humberstone in 1982/83, signed and numbered. Copies 18 to 84 add a screen-printed postcard with rubber-stamp detail. Copies 85 to 100 are CD only. Every copy includes a double-sided insert reproducing the original concert poster and set list with historical notes, housed in an embossed glassine bag.

The disc collects the set from that night: “Aubade,” “Patter,” “Stone Souls,” “Mystery,” “Despotism,” “Youth Movement,” and “Extempore.”

About In The Nursery

In The Nursery is a Sheffield group formed in 1981 by twin brothers Klive and Nigel Humberstone, initially with guitarist Anthony Bennett, who appeared at the 1981 Psalter Lane debut and left the band in 1985. Their early work joined industrialised martial rhythms with classical and film-soundtrack writing. The band released the six-track “When Cherished Dreams Come True” and the “Witness (To a Scream)” single in 1983, followed by the “Temper” EP on Sweatbox in 1985 and the album “Twins.”

Over later decades the duo built a long catalogue and moved into composing for film and television, including new scores for silent cinema. Side-Line has tracked that work through releases such as the instrumental version of “1961”, the “score for Basil Copper’s ‘The Fall of the House of Usher'”, and the recently opened archive for “Soundtrack to an Imaginary Film (demos 1987-88)”. The “Psalter Lane 25.06.81” repress returns to the point where that catalogue began.

Forty years is an absurd lifespan for a project that has never been built for comfort. Suicide Commando began in the Belgian underground of the 1980s, shaped by closed factories, unemployment, Cold War tension, terror and the hard electronic language of bands such as Klinik, Front 242 and The Neon Judgement. In 2026, Johan Van Roy is not polishing that history into a safe anniversary narrative. With “Collective Suicide Vol. 1+2”, he opens the archive, lets the early rough recordings stand next to reworked material and new tracks, and treats four decades of darkness as something still active rather than neatly resolved.

The new retrospective looks back without turning Suicide Commando into a museum piece. It includes demo material, rare versions, reworked classics and the new track “Control & Consent”, while the anniversary concerts, including the WGT 2026 show at Agra Halle and the announced Oberhausen date, place that history back where it has always had its most violent physical charge: in front of an audience.

In this interview for Side-Line Magazine, Johan Van Roy talks about anger, darkness, old tapes, physical formats, AI, injury, the voice as weapon, copycats, WGT, the thin line between good and evil, and the one thing that has remained unchanged since the beginning: passion.

Suicide Commando interview

Karo: Forty years is a strange number for a project built on anger, darkness, speed and confrontation. Many artists soften with time, while Suicide Commando still seems to carry a very hard emotional charge. When you look at the project from 1986 to 2026, do you feel you have changed the sound, or has the world changed enough to make the same darkness sound different?

Johan: I grew up in the eighties with lots of factories closing down, lots of unemployment, but also the rise of terror organisations, even in Belgium, the cold war tensions … so it was a really dark period in history which you also could hear in the music of that decade with bands like Klinik, Front 242, The Neon Judgement … all coming from Belgium.
It definitely also had a big impact on me as a person and on my music.
I guess you’ll never hear happy pop tunes coming from my hand. It’s still the same darkness just wrapped in a different packaging, but the core remains the same, pitch black !

Karo: “Collective Suicide Vol. 1+2” documents a huge part of your history, from early demo material to rare versions, reworked classics and the new track “Control & Consent”. How did it feel to open the archive again after the 30th anniversary collection? Was it more like revisiting old evidence, cleaning old wounds, or finally accepting the full weight of what you have created?

Johan: Opening the gates of my musical hell made me realise how much my sound changed throughout the years. The atmosphere remained the same, but musically my sound did change a lot.

Ofcourse I see my own creations differently, not like a normal listener at home. You also have to see them in their own time period. It’s obvious that a song like “suicide” from 1987 sounds poorly recorded and outdated, but nonetheless I think it was essential to put some of these early recordings on “collective suicide” as well. And even though it sounds poorly recorded it still has a lot of value for myself and I’m still proud of it today.

Karo: A retrospective can easily become a monument, but “Collective Suicide Vol. 2” does not feel frozen because it includes new and reworked material. Why was it important for you to place “Control & Consent” inside an anniversary release, instead of keeping the collection purely historical?

Johan: For me it was essential to have material on both compilations covering the complete 40 years, so it had to include also some new material, even though “control & consent” goes back to my earlier works from the nineties, it also has this old school F242 vibe from the early days.

Karo: Suicide Commando has always dealt with violence, death, control, religion, obsession and human cruelty, yet the songs became club anthems for many people. After four decades, how do you understand that contradiction between brutal subject matter and collective dancefloor release?

Johan: I always liked to walk the line between good and evil, and sometimes it’s a very thin line.

I think we all have a negative side, we all have a yin and a yang … while most people would prefer to write about the birds and the bees, I was always more fascinated by the dark side of life.

Karo: Some of the reworked tracks, like “Come Down With Me”, “Jesus Freak” and “Death Lies Waiting”, return through your current production perspective. When you rebuild an older song now, what are you listening for? The weakness of the original, the energy that survived, or the person you were when you first made it?

Johan: Feel free to call it a professional quirk, but usually I only listen to my own songs searching for things that could be done differently or better, so reworking my old songs usually means trying to get an even better version or result.
But I always try to keep the original vibe of a song alive and intact.

Karo: The WGT 2026 anniversary show at Agra Halle was a symbolic moment, because Leipzig has always carried a special emotional weight for the dark scene. How did that concert feel from your side? Did it feel like a celebration, a confrontation with your own history, or simply another Suicide Commando show that had to hit with full force?

Johan: It certainly felt as a celebration, thinking back at it it still gives me goosebumps. Seeing the Agra Halle completely packed for our show (I was told maximum capacity of the Agra Halle is 10000 people), chanting along to the songs, seeing all those hands in the air … it simply was incredible and unforgettable.

WGT always had a special meaning for us. I think we meanwhile played there about 12 times, including the year the festival (almost) went bankrupt and we decided to play in total chaos.

Karo: After WGT, one more German anniversary show was announced for Oberhausen rather than turning the 40th anniversary into a large nostalgia tour. Was that selectiveness important to you? Do you prefer these anniversary shows to remain rare, almost ritual events, instead of becoming a routine celebration?

Johan: We’ll do a couple more anniversary shows, but mainly abroad (like the Netherlands, Spain …) but I explicitly wanted to keep these 40 years of Suicide Commando shows rare and special. So the one in Oberhausen will be the last special anniversary show, the other planned shows will be different.

Karo: Suicide Commando started with self released tapes in a very different underground, before streaming, social media, instant visibility and permanent digital noise. What do you miss from that earlier scene, and what do you definitely not want to romanticise about it?

Johan: What I certainly miss from those early times is the creativity you had to have to make music. Nowadays it became way too easy to make music, get yourself a decent pc and some software and next week you can have your first songs ready, and with the rise of AI it even became worse. So I certainly lack the innovation you had to have back in the old days, you had to be way more creative to make music, instruments costed a fortune and were extremely limited in their possibilities, so you basically were obliged to be innovative and creative. The music was definitely more experimental in those days.

What I don’t want to romanticise about it ? Well, buying a sampler that costed a fortune and just be able to sample 3 seconds of sound … 🙂

Karo: You had a serious knee injury and surgery years ago, and there was even a moment when pain forced you to stop a show. Yet Suicide Commando live performances still demand physical intensity, control and aggression. Has your relationship with your body on stage changed with age, injury and experience?

Johan: Of course I feel that age takes its toll, I’m not 25 anymore … and sure my live shows demanded concessions from my health, the knee injury and surgery was probably the biggest one, but I also remember ending up in hospital with bruised ribs during a tour which made it almost impossible to breath, or with a bruised foot or leg as I always prone to doing stupid things on stage …

But nonetheless it was all worth the sacrifices.

Karo: Your voice has always been one of the most recognisable weapons in Suicide Commando: harsh, venomous, direct, almost disciplinary. After forty years, do you still experience the voice as a weapon, or has it become something more complex, maybe a mask, a confession, or a survival mechanism?

Johan: To be honest, I never really saw myself as a “real” singer. I know my limitations as a singer, so I had to find ways to turn this disadvantage into an advantage and make it a weapon, with using an old pitch shifter (many people still think I’m using distortion or whatever) it perfectly worked out for me and my sound.

Karo: The new anniversary box set also treats Suicide Commando as a visual and physical archive, with vinyl, CD, photo book and certificate. In a digital era, why does the object still matter? Is it mainly for collectors, or does physical format preserve a kind of seriousness that streaming cannot carry?

Johan: I still think it’s important to myself to be able to hold something physically in your hands, and whether that is a tape, a vinyl or a CD doesn’t really matter, they all have/had their own flair. For me it’s not only about the music, also the package, the artwork, the lyrics … are part of the whole.

Karo: Many younger dark electro and aggrotech acts grew up with Suicide Commando as part of their musical DNA. Do you hear your influence in the current scene with pride, discomfort, distance, or surprise? Are there moments when you feel the genre has understood your legacy, and moments when it has misunderstood it?

Johan: I’ve always been proud of the legacy that Suicide Commando left behind. It started to get a bit annoying when this style became immensely popular after the success of the “mindstrip” and “axis of evil” albums in the early 2000’s. All of a sudden you got a lot of copycats and in a way Suicide Commando got the blame. But trends come and go, so I’m happy things calmed down again. Nothing against copycats, but I still prefer bands with an own identity, doing the thing they like, not because it is popular at that time or not.

Karo: Looking back across four decades, which part of Suicide Commando has remained most stubbornly unchanged: the anger, the discipline, the fascination with death, the need for control, or the refusal to become safe?

Johan: For sure the passion ! Music is my passion, music is my therapy, always been, always will!

Karo: If “Collective Suicide Vol. 1+2” gives listeners a near complete map of where Suicide Commando has been, what should remain unmapped? What part of the project still has to stay dangerous, private or unresolved for you to continue?

Johan: I’m in a luxury position where I can do whatever I want with Suicide Commando. My label gives me total freedom in what I do, so I’m a happy (old) man !

The passion will never die, so I simply can’t imagine a life without doing (my) music.

There is an official Berlin release event for Front 242’s new live album “Black Out“. The event takes place on Friday, June 26, 2026, at Urban Spree, Revaler Str. 99, 10245 Berlin. The German EBM act AD:keY will perform live during the event.

The event is presented under the Machineries Of Joy banner. Doors are listed for 22:00, with entry priced at €12 (tickets available here).

It will be the AD:keY’s first Berlin concert in nine years.

About AD:keY

AD:keY is a German EBM duo from Berlin, built around Andrea Nowotny and René Nowotny. The project was formed in 2007 after René Nowotny’s earlier project Rector Scanner, with Andrea joining him as the second core member. René was also active as keyboard player with Armageddon Dildos.

The duo first released the self-produced EP “Shout!” in 2008, followed by the debut album “Thema Nummer Eins” on Electric Tremor Dessau the same year. The album introduced the band’s male/female vocal format and German-language old-school EBM approach.

The project continued with “That’s It!” in 2010, “Astrogator” in 2012 and “Anthropozän” in 2015. In 2017 the duo signed to Alfa Matrix and released the download EP “Shameless”, followed by the fifth album “Reanimator”.

In 2018 Alfa Matrix reissued the AD:keY back catalogue digitally alongside the Rector Scanner catalogue. The same year, the duo released “10th Anniversary”, a 16-track collection of reworked material and new tracks. The later catalogue includes “Resonanz” in 2020 and “0609” in 2024, the band’s seventh album.

About Front 242 – ‘Blackout’

“Black Out” is Front 242’s final live album. Alfa Matrix releases it on June 19, 2026. The album was recorded at AB Brussels in January 2025 and documents the band’s farewell tour, which covered more than 40 performances across Europe and the United States.

For “Black Out,” Patrick Codenys, Jean-Luc De Meyer and Richard 23 are joined on stage by Tim Kroker on drums. David Baboulis of Soldout handled the studio mixing and production.

The release is available as a digital edition, 2CD digipak and vinyl editions. The 2CD version includes three exclusive bonus tracks: “MasterHit”, “Soul Manager” and “No Shuffle”. The album also includes official versions of more recent live tracks such as “Generator”, “Fix It” and “Hide & Seek”.

The German project Apoptose began experimenting with music in the 1990s and released its debut album in 2000. Several more albums followed, most of them released through Tesco Organisation. This latest work is also the project’s first release in seven years and appeared sometime last year. The album draws inspiration from shadow, silence, and solitude, creating a space where sound becomes landscape and silence itself seems to speak.

These themes are subtly translated across nine tracks that occupy a space between Dark-Ambient and Cinematic music. Numerous bird sounds—possibly field recordings—play an important role, naturally creating a distinctive atmosphere. At times the mood is serene, yet it can also become somewhat ominous, particularly when the calls of crows emerge from the soundscape. There is much more to discover, however, including intriguing dark and repetitive sequences, evocative string passages, and delicate piano arrangements. Together, these elements create a vivid sense of loneliness while simultaneously conveying a profound feeling of calm.

This is a rewarding listen from an artist who, in some respects, distances himself from many of the conventions typically associated with Dark-Ambient and Cinematic productions. (Rating:7).

Listen to “Sieben Felsen”:

https://apoptose-official.bandcamp.com/track/sieben-felsen

As a music critic, you naturally come across new bands from time to time that you immediately feel have more potential. I experienced that feeling quite quickly when I discovered the album “Porcelaine” by the French duo Foule. Zoé Boutin (vocals and lyrics) and Olly (guitar and machinery) founded their musical alter ego Foule in 2023 and subsequently started releasing singles. These singles have now been compiled into the self-released “Porcelaine”. In my opinion, it is a brilliant album that could be placed somewhere in the Post-Punk and Dark-Wave categories, yet it immediately sounds different from the average production out there. That touch of originality and the clear openness to other influences inspire the duo’s compositions. Besides the somewhat atypical, original music, there is also the poetic approach to the lyrics, which are sung in a distinctive way. Additionally, the artwork contributes to the album’s unique identity. Foule is a duo with its own DNA, and “Porcelaine” in particular is a beautiful piece that should serve as the foundation for an even better follow-up. I am certainly curious to see where this group will end up, but I believe in a successful career. To introduce Foule, here is this interview with Zoé. (Picture credits by Céline Wilczek –  Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Foule interview 

Q: Can we start with a brief introduction of Foule? Who are you, where do you come from, and what is your musical background? Were there any previous projects or experiences that eventually led to the creation of Foule?

Zoé: Foule consists of two passionate musicians from Toulouse (France). We met through an ad while we were both looking for a new project. The artistic chemistry was there from our very first studio sessions. And Foule, this beautiful creature that nobody expected, was born.

Olly had several musical projects as a guitarist and bassist, mainly in Electronic music, Rock, Industrial-Metal and Trip-Hop. I also had other musical projects before, mostly within more conventional Rock genres, but I always stayed in a vocal comfort zone and never truly found my place.

When I met Olly, I immediately felt free to explore the edges of my voice: soaring highs, androgynous low tones, whispers and screams, but also deeper emotions and a more authentic poetic expression in French; and above all, an absolute form of art — musical, theatrical, plastic and poetic.

Q: You describe your music as ‘Dark Trap / Industrial Witch House’. Could you elaborate a bit more on what that means to you? And, by the way, what are Foule’s main musical roots and influences?

Zoé: It’s difficult to define our style because we never really tried to fit into one particular genre. On the contrary, we’ve always experimented with the edges and intersections of different musical worlds. But we can say that our music is built on tensions: electronic and organic, dark but playful, delicate yet violent, raw yet poetic.

Heavy, electric, hypnotic instrumentals pulse beneath the surface, trap rhythms collide with saturated, abrasive guitars and obsessive loops. Above them moves a melancholic voice, sometimes childlike and mischievous, sometimes floating and ethereal, sometimes wounded, and aching.

Our main influences include: The Prodigy, Crystal Castles, Zheani, t.A.T.u., Mylène Farmer, Die Antwoord, IC3Peak, Nine Inch Nails, Wargasm, Rammstein, Ho99o9.

Q: I asked the previous question because I didn’t immediately recognize the typical Dark-Wave or Post-Punk clichés in your approach to “Porcelaine.” Instead, I had the impression that Foule deliberately tries to distance itself from those clichés, not only musically but also through the lyrics and artwork. Am I understanding this correctly? What exactly is your artistic vision behind this approach? Could you elaborate on that?

Zoé: I don’t know if we consciously tried to distance ourselves from clichés, but we never really tried to fit into them either. We simply made an album that reflects who we are, drawing from whatever felt meaningful and necessary to us.

Looking back, we could say that the dark atmosphere translates isolation and introspection; trap rhythms bring a sassy, cold and addictive pulse; Industrial-Metal represents violence — the moment when porcelain breaks.

The lyrics are very personal. At first, they were a form of catharsis, a way to release all the raw emotions that needed to come out. The themes are autobiographical, but the writing is also shaped by my personality: both playful and serious, mixing Pop and intellectual references, with a lot of hidden meanings and layers.

The artwork is very personal as well. I drew an image of a house inspired by the cupboard-house we use on stage. It represents childhood playfulness, but also a house that becomes too small: Alice growing beyond it, a snake shedding its skin.

“Porcelaine” is both a throwback to the raw emotions of the inner child and a way of outgrowing them. It’s a process of fracture and healing.

Q: Over the past few years, you released several singles that eventually found their place on the debut album “Porcelaine.” Did you already know from the beginning that these songs would become part of a full album, or did that idea gradually develop over time? And while we are on the subject, could you tell us a bit more about the concept and vision behind “Porcelaine” and the songs gathered on it?

Zoé: At first, there was a period of experimentation and hesitation, but we quickly found our own universe: melancholy, childhood references, porcelain dolls, games and tales, madness, and extreme emotions. We let these inspirations guide us freely, and the process became incredibly fertile. Over the course of two years, we wrote a large number of songs.

At some point, it became obvious that they needed to be brought together into a single album, united by a central theme: human fragility — like porcelain dolls or paper houses, beautiful and vulnerable at the same time.

The stories told throughout the album are deeply autobiographical: childhood traumas, grief, jealousy, anger. Gradually, the narrative opens up and becomes more universal — exploring human vulnerability, inner demons, but also the strength and resilience that can emerge from them.

As the album took shape, we also defined its boundaries more clearly. At some point, the music grew darker and more minimalistic, while the writing became less vulnerable and more resilient. That’s when we decided to draw the line.

The track order is chronological. The first songs deal with inherited pain — the wounds we receive from our families, sometimes even from generations we don’t fully know — and the way we hide that pain and anger.

As the album unfolds, the narrator grows and confronts other forms of friction with the outside world: relationships, tension, and identity. The lyrics of “Vers l’Enfer” draw from Baudelaire’s “Au Lecteur,” which exposes the vices and flaws of human nature.

By the time we reach “Le Déserteur,” the final track, we arrive at a passage into adulthood — an acceptance, a release, and a fragile but real sense of hope.

The whole project is infused with literary and cultural references — both high and Pop culture — everything has its place.

Our vision is close to a Baudelairean figure of the poet who finds beauty in decay and pain, and transforms it into something almost alchemical. Rather than trying to repair what is broken, the album embraces fracture. Like the Japanese art of Kintsugi, it seals cracks with gold, turning damage into something luminous.

Q: How do you work together as a duo? What were the most important stages and defining moments during the writing and production process of your songs? And is there a particular message, emotion, or intention behind the music you create?

Zoé: Our creative process is first instinctive and intuitive, and then becomes conceptual and structured. Everything starts with Olly’s demos and compositions, whether they emerge from a texture, a riff, a mood, rhythmic foundations, samples or noise. His approach to Electronic composition combines DJ-inspired techniques — similar to The Prodigy’s production methods — with more traditional songwriting based on bass or guitar riffs.

The guitar often provides the emotional or Cinematic foundation, while synthesizers and rhythmic samples shape the atmosphere and sonic landscape. The vocals then either extend that atmosphere or deliberately contradict it, creating something more dynamic and ambiguous.

Sometimes I prepare vocal ideas or fragments of lyrics to match the instrumental. Other times, we improvise entirely in the studio. In those moments, Olly takes on the role of producer, guiding me through melodies and vocal techniques.

We build an initial demo, and I then rewrite the lyrics and melodies to fit the rhythm and flow before recording the final version.

We genuinely operate as two distinct sensibilities searching for a shared language. Some songs come together very quickly, almost instinctively, while others require extensive rewriting and experimentation before reaching their final form.

The most important moments are when we allow ourselves to question everything, dismantling ideas to reach something more honest and radical.

A decisive moment in our creative journey was realizing that we didn’t simply want to blend genres; we wanted to create a coherent emotional identity connecting melancholy, emotion, and the hypnotic qualities of our music. From that point on, production became just as important as composition. Textures, silences, distortion, and contrasts became integral parts of the narrative itself.

Behind our music is often a desire to express inner states that are difficult to articulate in any other way: isolation, transformation, restrained anger, obsession, but also a certain beauty within chaos. We are not necessarily trying to deliver a direct message; instead, we aim to create an emotional space where listeners can project something personal.

Q: In the meantime, you have already released a brand-new song and single called “Dynamite.” Could you tell us a bit more about this track? Is it perhaps already pointing towards the direction of a future album? And finally, what does the future hold for Foule in terms of live performances, video clips, and possibly working with a label, or do you prefer to continue as a fully D.I.Y. band?

Zoé: “Dynamite” is a playful and rebellious anthem, an invitation to shatter the pain and suffering described in “Porcelaine”. It doesn’t necessarily belong to the next album — it feels more like a transition moment. Foule is in a state of mutation, and “Dynamite” marks the explosion that allows this transformation.

The horizon of the second album is already taking shape. We have a large number of new compositions and demos in progress, and we are already performing some of them live. However, we are still working on the unity and identity of this second chapter.

We already sense an evolution towards something more minimalist and trap-oriented, less vulnerable and theatrical, with more reflective writing. The child is growing into a more mature narrating voice. The porcelain doll is becoming human.

Last year, we won a one-year support program with a Toulouse-based label through a competition. They co-finance certain projects while giving us a lot of creative freedom, so we have managed to keep our DIY identity intact. In the future, we would like to work with a more ambitious and international label in order to expand and grow further.

We are currently preparing a tour to promote “Porcelaine”, as well as a new music video for one of the album’s tracks.

DeVision Redux‘s Steffen Keth and Daniel Myer on “Echoes We Keep”, the Redux sound and why old songs sometimes need a different room

DeVision Redux starts with a simple idea, then immediately complicates it: familiar De/Vision songs, rebuilt with a more modern electronic body, carried by a singer whose voice already belongs to the material, and shaped by Daniel Myer, an artist who has rarely treated electronic music as a comfort zone. That combination could have produced a neat update of catalogue favourites. Instead, “Echoes We Keep” feels like a test of how much memory a song can hold before it needs another form.

The project also has a practical side, which Steffen Keth addresses directly. De/Vision Redux gives him more flexibility, a second live format and a way to play more often, while the original De/Vision remains active in a more limited capacity. Around that pragmatic decision, however, another question appears: what happens when songs that already belong to many listeners are placed under new pressure?

In this interview, Steffen Keth and Daniel Myer discuss the beginning of De/Vision Redux, the choice of “Synchronize” as the first recorded step, the title “Echoes We Keep”, the role of Daniel’s production, the live energy of the project, audience reactions and the balance between respect and risk.

DeVision Redux interview

Karo: DeVision Redux is described as a new format of De/Vision, not as the end of the original band. That distinction matters, but it also raises a deeper question: what did you need this second space for? Was there something in the De/Vision catalogue that could no longer be fully expressed through the familiar band format?

Steffen: I’d had the idea for a while. I just felt that I wanted to present various De/Vision songs with a more modern sound. I’d quit my job in the summer of 2024 and met Daniel at a party in Hamburg. He thought the idea was exciting, and in October we agreed to work together. This has allowed me to build up a second source of income alongside De/Vision, so I’m much more flexible and can simply play a lot more gigs. Thomas isn’t as flexible anymore because of his job, so with DE/VISION we’re focusing on just a few gigs a year.

Karo: Before “Echoes We Keep” became an album, De/Vision Redux already existed as a live idea. When did you realise that this was not only a different way of performing old songs, but a project with its own artistic logic?

Steffen: At first, we just had the idea of establishing DeVision Redux as a live act. After the first few shows, there was a desire to release something, so we expanded on the original concept. Now the aim is to establish and develop the Redux sound.

Daniel: If I may add something, to me its also a refreshing style in this scene, a lot of new music is getting released and it repeats the same formula, why not add something new, that listeners and dj´s can explore.

Karo: “Synchronize” was the first recorded step into this new chapter. It is interesting that you did not begin with one of the most obvious early classics, but with a later song. Why was “Synchronize” the right door into Redux?

Steffen: ‘Synchronize’ blends the old and slightly newer De/Vision sound very well, and as we wanted to release our first track quickly, we chose this particular song. It was already at a very advanced stage of production, and the positive feedback from live performances also played a part in our decision.

Karo: The title “Echoes We Keep” suggests memory, but not nostalgia in a passive or sentimental sense. An echo is never identical to the original sound; it is changed by the room that carries it. What did you want to preserve from these songs, and what did you feel ready to let go?

Daniel: I can answer that, I guess, because I also suggested the title. I felt it was necessary to bridge the old with the new, and sometimes an echo is just doing that, that’s at least how I use it sometimes, when I make music. My main idea was, to treat the material, the songs, as the classic songs they are. I was/am a fan of the classic songs, so I tried to keep the structures, the depth and emotions of the songs. I think, I only went a couple of times a little „too“ far and changed the feel a little bit, but in general my attempt was only, to give the old a new polish.

Karo: Daniel is not simply a producer brought in to modernise the sound. He has his own very strong language: physical, precise, detailed, sometimes severe, but also emotional in a different way. What did Daniel understand about De/Vision that made you trust him with material carrying so much history?

Steffen: I’ve known Daniel for quite some time; even though we’ve hardly been in touch, I’ve kept an eye on his work. I simply like the variety of his output; I like the fact that he doesn’t just focus on one thing. He loves music, and that’s important to me. Broadening horizons, not standing still, but always being on the lookout for new influences. That’s the approach I’d been looking for.

Daniel: Plus we crossed paths a few times before, I did a few remixes in the 90ies, we toured together and Steffen was even singing on one of our Haujobb Songs (Violator)

Karo: De/Vision songs have lived with you for decades, but they also live inside the audience, often connected to very personal memories. When you sing these Redux versions now, do you feel closer to your own past, or strangely freer from it?

Steffen: Personally, I don’t associate the REDUX versions with the past. They’re meant to work in the present, and that works brilliantly for me. Of course, everyone associates something different with De/Vision, and we’ve also made sure that the basic essence of the songs isn’t lost. For me, however, DeVision Redux represents a slightly more modern sound, which is also intended to convey that feeling.

Karo: The REDUX versions are more electronic, more direct, more club oriented and often more reduced. Reduction can be merciless, because it removes places where emotion can hide. Did this new sound make your voice and the lyrics feel more exposed than before?

Steffen: There’s a different energy on stage, and as a singer, I naturally try to convey that. The fans’ reaction shows me that I’m on the right track.

Daniel: My idea was also, to give the voice more space, not for every songs, but sometimes, he needs to breathe and shine, so for some tracks I tried to give that space and momentum….

Karo: Some songs survive transformation easily, while others resist it. How did you decide which De/Vision tracks were strong enough for this treatment? Were there any songs that surprised you because they suddenly opened up in the Redux format?

Steffen: Daniel and I made the selection together. We wanted to create around 20 songs as REDUX versions. Daniel was solely responsible for the production. And yes, there were a few tracks that really blew me away. ‘Strange Affection’, “Addict”, ‘Deliver Me’ and a few more. There were also tracks we struggled with at first. Sometimes it just takes a while to find the right approach.

Daniel: Exactly, for some songs the new treatment felt foreign, alienated, even though I tried my best to keep the original feeling and I think, that was the mistake there. Sometimes a little too much respect to the original material is not good;)

Karo: De/Vision have always balanced melancholy and movement, romanticism and clarity, emotional directness and electronic control. Did working on “Echoes We Keep” make you recognise certain patterns in your songwriting that have remained constant across the years?

Daniel: Steffen didn´t answer this, so I am not sure, if I am here to fill in, but for me it felt like, that Steffen has no patterns, as you can see in his other new project Bittersweet Dance Club. He is somehow true to himself, writing pop music, but always exploring new ground, I like that about him.

Karo: The stage seems essential to this project. Devision Redux is not just a studio reinterpretation, but also a live experience with a different physical pressure. What changes in the room when these songs are performed in this leaner, more electronic form?

Steffen: As I mentioned earlier, the atmosphere on stage is changing, and the audience seems to be acting a bit more freely too. I sense more movement in the room, a certain relaxed, laid-back vibe. And the most important thing about the whole thing is that everyone should enjoy themselves and spread a bit of joy.

Daniel: And joyful it is. Sometimes it is even a little standup comedy on stage. We have so many stories to share between Steffen and me, and the audience, of course. We both have a history of more than 35 years on stage and we see familiar faces in front of us, but we also try to keep it entertaining and fun. I improvise a lot in between the more or less structured set and sometimes happy accidents happen. But I also love all my music and I feel a lot the emotions in the songs and when I have the monitors on stage extra loud I really dive into the music and let myself go and vibe with it;)

Karo: The audience comes to these songs with recognition, memory and expectation, but Redux also asks them to accept disruption. What has surprised you most in the reaction so far? Do people respond more to what they remember, to what has changed, or to the tension between both?

Steffen: We were quite surprised that most of the fans who came to our shows reacted very positively. Of course, there are also fans who don’t like the new format, but we’re also hoping to attract new listeners with it. There were, and still are, many listeners who thought De/Vision no longer existed. After all, it’s been eight years since the last regular De/Vision album. But what we found funniest was the comment that some people thought we were a De/Vision cover band. The most important thing for us is that we must feel good about it, that the tracks must feel right.

Karo: Reopening one’s own history can easily become nostalgic, decorative or too respectful. DeVision Redux avoids that by sounding very present, sometimes almost uncompromising. When you look at this project now, does it feel like a way of preserving De/Vision’s past, or more like a way of protecting its future?

Steffen: I think that DeVision Redux speaks more to the present and the future. Of course, it’s not meant to deny the past, and there are certainly plenty of old elements in the tracks, but REDUX signals a sense of renewal rather than nostalgia. I’ve also noticed, however, that there are listeners who only became aware of De/Vision through DeVision Redux. After almost 40 years, there are still surprises to be had.

Daniel: Amen;)

The Italian band Diskonnekt has been active for several years and is releasing their second album this year. It is admittedly a short album, as there are only 7 tracks to discover.

If you are not yet familiar with this band and you love Dark-Electro and Aggrotech, then this band is the right choice for you. As I said, there are only 7 tracks, but they will quickly shake the ground—and especially dance floors. I think Diskonnekt can be placed somewhere between Hocico and Suicide Commando. It is pure musical aggression that sounds as if it is directly connected to hell. Hard and merciless beats and sequences are unleashed upon you, while solid leads make the whole thing sound even more infectious. The vocal production also sounds harsh, just as if a possessed person is singing. However, Diskonnekt’s strength also lies in the fact that the songs are well-finished, resulting in a mature production.

Not a single track here is worth discarding; instead, you will discover a succession of incredibly strong songs. Diskonnekt is a name to remember. (Rating:9).

Listen to “Alieno”:

Portion Control “Hit The Pulse to Purge” is a 4xCD box set scheduled for release on August 14, 2026 through Artoffact Records, with digital and limited LP editions. Titled “1983-86 – Hit The Pulse to Purge…”, it is the first archival box set in a series drawn from the British group’s back catalogue.

The collection covers the 1983 mini-LP “Hit The Pulse”, the albums “..Step Forward” (1984) and “Psycho Bod Saves The World” (1986), the 12-inch singles “The Great Divide”, “Go-Talk” and “Raise The Pulse”, and the “Purge” EP (1986). It adds B-sides, compilation tracks, rarities, remixes, demos and two concert recordings from 1984 and 1985.

77 tracks in total were remastered by Paul Lavigne at Kontrast Mastering, of which 16 are previously unreleased and a further 12 appear on CD and digitally for the first time. The 4xCD set is packaged in a five-panel ecopak with a 24-page booklet of archive photos and a new design by Stefan Alt of ant-zen. A limited red vinyl LP collecting ten tracks will also be issued.

The first preview from the set is a rebuild of “Refugee”, a track from the 1984 album “..Step Forward”, reworked by Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly.

Portion Control signed to Artoffact Records in late 2025. Side-Line reported the signing when the band joined Artoffact and released “SEED EP3.1”. The label is reissuing the group’s back catalogue as a series of box sets, of which “1983-86 – Hit The Pulse to Purge…” is the first.

About Portion Control

Portion Control formed in South London in 1979, with a line-up of Dean Piavani, Ian Sharp and John Whybrew. After early cassette releases, the group issued its first vinyl album, “I Staggered Mentally”, in 1982. Their use of sequenced synthesisers, samplers and strident vocals placed them among the early electro-industrial acts, and they have been cited as an influence on Nitzer Ebb, Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, Nine Inch Nails and Orbital. The group toured with Depeche Mode in 1984.

After disbanding in the late 1980s, Portion Control reconvened in the mid-2000s and resumed releasing, with records including “Wellcome” (2004), “Filthy White Guy” (2006) and “Pure Form” (2012), followed by the “SEED” EPs issued between 2020 and 2025. Side-Line has covered the band over this period, including its reissue of the “Dissolve” material in 2022 and a 2020 interview. The “1983-86 – Hit The Pulse to Purge…” box set opens Artoffact’s reissue programme for the group.

The BlazerJacket single “Myelin Void (Rebuilt)” is a reworked release from the Ukrainian cyberpunk and industrial project, presenting two new versions of the track “Myelin Void” injected with rock and metal influences. The release is available to stream right now.

“Myelin Void” was originally an electronic track inspired by a severe multiple sclerosis relapse experienced by the project’s founder Denis Cherryman. The title refers to the myelin sheath, the protective layer around nerve fibres that multiple sclerosis damages. The original translated that experience into sound through static textures, fading momentum, and fractured rhythms, while the rebuilt versions retain the original concept while pushing it into heavier territory with guitars, distortion, and greater physical impact.

Alongside the rework, BlazerJacket has issued the official video for “Myelin Void” as well.

About BlazerJacket

BlazerJacket is a project created in Ukraine by Denis Cherryman, also of Dirty Bird 13 and The Cherry Men, together with Hybri.Mod. The project is influenced by cyberpunk, retrowave, sci-fi and the cult action films of the 1980s and 1990s. BlazerJacket debuted with the EP “The First” in 2020 and followed it with a run of singles before issuing the EPs “The Second” and “Terrorstate” in 2023.

Side-Line has covered the project’s EP “The Second” in 2023 and the single “Overcharged” in 2025. The project says that the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 shaped its sound. “Myelin Void (Rebuilt)” reworks one of the project’s most personal tracks into its heavier register.

British band Aiming released a four-track EP last year on Blackjack Illuminist Records and returns this year with a new release featuring another four tracks.

Aiming continues to draw on a range of influences, blending Shoegaze with touches of Dream-Pop. More than ever, the fuzzy guitar work creates a distinctive atmosphere that permeates all the songs. At times, especially when paired with the female vocals, it evokes a sense of melancholy.

Overall, the music remains subdued and dreamy, and Aiming delivers four enjoyable tracks, with the opening song standing out as the clear highlight. (Rating:7½).

Listen to “Our Voices At The Bottom Of The Ocean”:

https://blackjackilluministrecords.bandcamp.com/track/our-voices-at-the-bottom-of-the-ocean

Lords of Acid newest single”El Mundo Está Loco” is out today, June 12, 2026 through Metropolis Records. The single features the New York City duo Tony & The Kiki and is the third Lords of Acid single of 2026. It is available to stream and through the band’s Bandcamp page. The title translates as “the world is crazy”.

The track combines electronic beats and Latin-inspired hooks with a vocal exchange between Lords of Acid and Tony & The Kiki. Metropolis Records describes “El Mundo Está Loco” as “a dance floor anthem for a world that seems to be getting crazier by the day”.

Tony & The Kiki are a New York glam-rock duo formed in 2021 by vocalist Anthony Alfaro and keyboardist Rodney Bush. The pair appeared as one of the guest acts on the recently completed “Cheeky Freaky Tour” of the United States with Lords of Acid. “El Mundo Está Loco” is a digital single; no physical format has been announced.

“El Mundo Está Loco” follows the 2026 singles “Karaoke Superstar” and “Dream Boy”. Side-Line already covered “Karaoke Superstar”, a collaboration with vocalist and DJ Princess Superstar. “Dream Boy” features Carla Harvey, the group’s current vocalist. All three songs are set to appear on a seventh Lords of Acid studio album due in late 2026, first reported by Side-Line alongside the band’s “Cheeky Freaky” US tour. The label states the album will feature further guest vocalists alongside Harvey.

About Lords of Acid

Lords of Acid formed in Antwerp, Belgium in 1988 around producer Praga Khan (Maurice Engelen). The group combined techno, acid house, New Beat and industrial elements with lyrics centred on sexuality, drug culture and hedonism. They debuted with the single “I Sit On Acid”, and their first album “Lust” followed in 1991. Subsequent releases placed the group on the Billboard dance and alternative charts, and the band has maintained a long-running international touring schedule.

The current line-up includes vocalist Carla Harvey, formerly of Butcher Babies, whom is the band’s new singer since January 2025. “El Mundo Está Loco” continues the run of 2026 singles leading toward the group’s seventh studio album.

Stolen, the post-punk/electronic band from Chengdu, China, play two London shows at The George Tavern on July 12 and 13, 2026. The concerts are the final stop of the band’s current tour.

The two July dates follow the band’s previous London appearance at Scala on October 6, 2024, which was part of their “I Generated” UK and European tour. You can order your tickets right here.

“Cacophonic Symphony” is the band’s latest studio album. The nine-track record, which includes the songs “Electric Baby”, “Bouquet”, “Polythene Town” and “Dress Code”, appeared in April 2026 as a self-released album.

About Stolen

Stolen formed in Chengdu, in China’s Sichuan province; and more precisely at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in 2009. The line-up consists of Liang Yi (vocals), FangDe (guitar), JunYang (bass), YuFeng (drums) and Duan Xuan (keyboards), joined since 2012 by French visual artist Formol, who handles the band’s live visuals.

After the EP “Strange Old-fashioned Entertainment” (2013) and the album “Loop” (2015, D Force Records), the band began working with Berlin-based producer Mark Reeder, who produced their 2017 self-titled EP. Reeder, together with Micha Adam, also produced the album “Fragment”, released on October 26, 2018 through Reeder’s reactivated MFS label. The Reeder connection led to the band opening for New Order on a run of European dates in October 2019, including shows in Berlin and Paris.

The album “Eroded Creation” followed on December 19, 2022, and the EP “I Generated” in September 2024, supported by a UK and European tour that year. “Cacophonic Symphony”, released in April 2026, is the band’s most recent album, and the July dates at The George Tavern are the band’s first announced London shows since its release.

Below is the love release “Dance Tunnel 26′ Long Mix (live)” on which the band deconstructed and rearranged several of the band’s classic works, adapting them to their current sound. Tracks included are “Electric Baby”, “Space Intruders”, “Pay”, “AI Arena”, “Copy Shop”, “Why We Choose To Die In Berlin” and “Overfeed”. The whole comes as a 26+ minute long track.

AD Ozium, the Washington, D.C. project led by Jeremy Moore, released the album “In the Style of Dead Sparrows” offering a mix of drone, noise and dark ambient. The release is available through the project’s Bandcamp page.

On this new release Moore weaves folk, jazz and no wave into a continuous, structure-less form. The album is available via the project’s Bandcamp page.

The album follows “If Membership Is Slumber”, a two-track release that pairs the vocal piece “Terrorgramophone” with the instrumental “Lifespring”.

About AD Ozium

AD Ozium is a Washington, D.C.-based project by Jeremy Moore. The project combines folk, jazz, no wave, dark ambient and noise rock elements with abrasive textures, fractured rhythms, drones, loops and unstable guitar passages. Moore handles guitars, synthesis, drones, loops and noise, with vocals also credited on the earlier release “If Membership Is Slumber”.

The project appeared publicly in 2026 through Saccharine Underground, the Washington, D.C. musical collective, artist network and non-profit label connected to Moore’s wider body of work. At Side-Line we previously covered Moore’s related projects in Zabus release second album in three months: “The Future of Death” – Out now and Bell Barrow drops debut LP “CoreCore Pulp” – Out now.

The first AD Ozium release, “If Membership Is Slumber”, was issued on May 19, 2026. The two-track release contains “Terrorgramophone” and “Lifespring”. The material was recorded between January and March 2026 at The Prisoner’s Cinema in Washington, D.C., engineered by Andy Baldwin at Metropolis Studios in April 2026 and produced by Moore.

The project’s next release, “In the Style of Dead Sparrows”, followed on June 9, 2026. The 10-track digital album includes “Lifespring”, “Tender Loving Seed”, “Whore of Sound”, “Music From The Opfer’s Box”, “Faith Is A Hole”, “Portents of The Terminal Mind”, “The Nazarene Distortion”, “Death Valley Superbloom”, “Throne Verse” and “A Practical Act of Prowess”. This album was recorded between January and February 2026 at The Prisoner’s Cinema in Washington, D.C. as well, and was engineered by Andy Baldwin at Metropolis Studios in May 2026 and produced by Moore. Moore also created the cover concept and design.

AD Ozium sits close to his more textural and unstable work. Zabus used progressive post-punk, proto-goth and electronic percussion structures, while his other project Bell Barrow moved into instrumental noise, power electronics, free jazz psychedelia and avant-garde black metal.

“In the Style of Dead Sparrows” is available as a digital album through AD Ozium’s Bandcamp page.

London dark electronic duo Palindrones have released a new single, “The Blood Moon“, it’s available now on Bandcamp. The track arrives with an accompanying music video.

Palindrones described “The Blood Moon” as “a dark, hypnotic journey through the tides, storms, sin and submission,” adding that the single is “a tale of the cycles of destruction, renewal and the ancient currents that flow beneath human experience.” The band furthermore says that “like the celestial body that gives the song its name, it pulls listeners into a world where scars become constellations, rivers run red, and every ending delivers the seed of creation.”

Here is the music video for “The Blood Moon”.

About Palindrones

Palindrones is a dark electronic duo from South London, who describe their sound as “dreamy Industrial Synthpop” with “pounding rhythms, haunting, evocative vocals and esoteric ambiance.” The project consists of Karen and Jamie.

Side-Line first covered the duo in April 2023, when it premiered the ‘Samadhi’ single and video from its then-upcoming second album, “Chapter One: With Fearful Velocity.” In March 2025, the duo returned with the ‘Animus’ single and video. The act has also worked with the goth band Hurtsfall, which issued a Palindrones remix of its track “Adore Me” as a World Goth Day free download. “The Blood Moon,” released on June 12, 2026, is the duo’s latest single.

(Photo via GRIT PHOTOZINE) Boy Harsher, the American darkwave duo, have announced “The Heartbreak Tour”, a North American run that opens on June 26, 2026 in San Francisco and resumes for a main leg from September 25 to November 5, 2026 across the United States and Canada. Tickets go on sale on June 12, 2026 at 10 a.m. local time.

The Heartbreak Tour is the duo’s first extensive North American headlining run since the 2022 touring for their short film and soundtrack “The Runner”. Jae Matthews and Augustus Muller open on June 26 at 1015 Folsom in San Francisco, then begin the main leg on September 25 at Basilica Hudson in Hudson, New York. The routing moves through Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Oakland, Los Angeles, Del Mar, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Fort Worth, New Orleans, Atlanta, Asheville, Washington, Philadelphia and Queens, where it closes on November 5 at Knockdown Center. The schedule includes two-night stands at Chicago’s Metro, Portland’s Revolution Hall and Seattle’s The Showbox.

Boy Harsher tour dates 2026

Support on select dates comes from Choir Boy, Evanora Unlimited, True Blue and Kassie Krut. The October 24 date in Fort Worth is part of Sick New World – DFW.

• June 26 – San Francisco, CA – 1015 Folsom
• September 25 – Hudson, NY – Basilica Hudson
• September 27 – Boston, MA – Royale
• September 29 – Montreal, QC – MTELUS
• September 30 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
• October 1 – Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre
• October 2 – Chicago, IL – Metro
• October 3 – Chicago, IL – Metro
• October 4 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
• October 6 – Denver, CO – Summit
• October 9 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
• October 10 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
• October 11 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
• October 12 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
• October 13 – Vancouver, BC – The Pearl
• October 15 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
• October 16 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
• October 17 – Del Mar, CA – The Sound
• October 20 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
• October 21 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
• October 24 – Fort Worth, TX – Sick New World – DFW
• October 26 – New Orleans, LA – Republic NOLA
• October 27 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
• October 28 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
• October 30 – Washington, DC – The Howard Theatre
• October 31 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall (Making Time Pure Halloween)
• November 5 – Queens, NY – Knockdown Center

Tickets go on sale on June 12, 2026 at 10 a.m. local time. Boy Harsher have not announced European dates as part of this run.

About Boy Harsher

Boy Harsher formed in 2014 in Savannah, Georgia, where vocalist Jae Matthews and producer Augustus Muller met in film school. The pair first worked together as Teen Dreamz in 2013, mixing Matthews’s spoken word with Muller’s electronics, before renaming the project Boy Harsher and releasing the home-recorded EP “Lesser Man” the same year. They later relocated to Northampton, Massachusetts.

The duo released their debut album “Yr Body Is Nothing” in 2016 through DKA Records, followed by the “Country Girl” EP in 2017. In 2018 they set up their own label, Nude Club, and reissued earlier material. Their second studio album, Boy Harsher – Careful (CD Album – Nude Club Records), arrived on February 1, 2019, with the remix set “Careful Remixes, etc.” issued the same year.

In January 2022 Matthews and Muller released their directorial debut, the short film “The Runner”, with an accompanying soundtrack, followed with festival appearances including Primavera Sound, Roadburn and Coachella. In November 2024 the duo featured on Pet Shop Boys’ double A-side single “New London Boy / All The Young Dudes”, while Muller continued his Safe Mind project with Cooper B. Handy.

The Heartbreak Tour is the duo’s first extended North American headlining run since the 2022 cycle around “The Runner”, returning Boy Harsher to the stage with shows from June through November 2026.

The Spanish group Culture Kultür has been active since the early ’90s and experienced its heyday during the Future-Pop craze. “Atomic” is their first brand-new studio album since “Humanity” in 2019. Last year, however, they released a sort of retrospective record with “Time”.

“Atomic” quickly makes it clear that Future-Pop still has a future — or rather, that there are still artists exploring the genre further and achieving high-quality results. The album builds upon the solid foundations these Spaniards laid years ago. The music is highly danceable and features strong choruses that elevate the songs to another level. Elements of Dance, Trance, and dark Electro-Pop occasionally surface, blending seamlessly with the Future-Pop style. While the record does not necessarily sound groundbreaking, Culture Kultür delivers a very polished and refined production. Add to that the excellent vocal production, and you get an album filled with potential hits, some of which were already clearly foreshadowed by the previously released singles.

“Atomic” is an album that will get people dancing and put a smile on their faces. As far as I’m concerned, it comes highly recommended for fans of the genre. (Rating:8½).

Watch the clip “Atomic Radio”:

Today the German EBM and electro duo Digital Factor have officially released their new album “0.8” through the Belgian label Alfa Matrix. The twelve-track record arrives on CD (available via Alfa Matrix), and in digital formats. It follows the band’s 2021 album “A Chemical Process” and the 2023 charity album “G.B.A. – General Behavior Abrogate“.

The band now is a duo with Mike Langer and permanent new member Gwendolyn Gaffa who already contributed on the EP “They Will Forget You (When You Die)” and on the 2023 charity single “I Am What I Am“, released as a free download.

We published a full interview with Digital factor two days ago.

‘0.8’ tracklist, guests and 1980s concept

The album contains twelve tracks and two guest features. Franziska Haucke appears on “Never”, and Marie-Luis Kiessling features on “We Are Blind”.

The record is a return to the band’s formative era, diving deep into the musical and cultural DNA of the 1980s. The first single “They Will Forget You (When You Die)” for instance already carries a nod to Depeche Mode’s “People Are People”, while the album track “Time” is presented as a homage to Kraftwerk.

Langer also used a special production method for “0.8”. He deliberately stepped away from modern production perfection, using stripped-down setups and monophonic synths to recreate the raw textures and subtle imperfections of early electronic music.

Good to know, “Feel To Little” uses speech fragments from Charlie Chaplin films, while “Never” is set to a James Bond-style atmosphere.

About Digital Factor

The band formed in 1993 in Altenburg, Germany. The founding lineup consisted of Torsten Heise, Mike Langer and Tino Schmidt. The project first brought a mix of EBM and electro, later adding techno, synth-pop and crossover elements,. They played early live support for acts such as Placebo Effect and X Marks the Pedwalk.

The band’s first release was the 1994 EP “F.A.L.L.I.N.G.- Down” on Hard Records. A move to Hyperium and Hypnobeat followed, bringing the debut album “Relationchips” in 1995 and the conceptual second album “On Demand” in 1996.

Further releases included “De Facto” and “Countercheck” in 1997 and “Over One Million Times” in 1999, then “One More Piece” in 2006, “Look Back To Go Forward” in 2009 and “Trialog” in 2011. Tino Schmidt left the band in its earlier years, and in 2010 Torsten Heise left and was replaced by Leo von Leibnitz.

The band joined Alfa Matrix in 2020 and released the single and video ‘Come With Me’ in October of the same year.

The album “A Chemical Process” arrived in 2021, alongside remastered reissues of the back catalogue. The EP “What?” followed in 2022, and 2023 brought the charity single “I Am What I Am“, the “Ouvre” EP and the charity album “G.B.A. – General Behavior Abrogate“.

In April 2026, the EP “They Will Forget You (When You Die)” previewed the new album “0.8”, out now on Alfa Matrix.

Today Kant Kino releases the new album “Echoes of The End” via Alfa Matrix. The Oslo duo’s new record is available as the digital “Echoes of The End (Deluxe Edition)” on Bandcamp and as a physical 2CD from the Alfa Matrix store. The double albums features no less then 24 tracks, with four advance cuts that were released earlier: “Rodney”, “Defeat”, “The End”, and “Lie”.

The new album comes 9 years after the band’s previous full album, “Kopfkino“, which was released in 2017.

The album follows the February 2026 comeback EP “Rodney: End-State Variations“, which introduced the track “Rodney” in an EP edit alongside six remixes. When that EP appeared, the band described the song as dealing with “personal relationships and social structures” that drift toward “emotional and structural end-states.”

You can check the 7-track EP out below on Bandcamp and all other download and streaming platforms.

About Kant Kino

Kant Kino is a Norwegian electronic duo from Oslo, namely Lars Henrik Madsen and Kenneth Fredstie. The project formed after they wrote a tribute track for the ElektroStat festival, after which a Bunkertracks compilation appearance led to their Alfa Matrix signing.

The duo’s debut album, “We Are Kant Kino – You Are Not”, appeared in 2010. It was followed by the “LRSBSS EP” on April 15, 2012, then the second full-length “Father Worked In Industry” on February 22, 2013. “Father Worked In Industry” was mixed and mastered by Claus Larsen of Leaether Strip. That release also produced the download singles “Just For The Comfort Of Sleep EP” on March 26, 2013 and “Ich Liebe Katarina Witt EP” on November 22, 2013.

While working toward the third album, the band previewed new material with the teaser “Life” in February 2016. While working on a new album, they self-released the Motörhead/Kraftwerk hybrid “We Are The Roadcrew (Robots)” on December 16, 2016, ahead of “Kopfkino”, which was released on Alfa Matrix on January 13, 2017.

In May 2017, Alfa Matrix built the first “Matrix:Reb00ted” volume around Kant Kino remixes. The duo later appeared on the Coldkill vs Kant Kino EP “Silent Morning” in 2018, released the Depeche Mode cover single “Pimpf and Touch Faith” in September 2019, and self-released “Enough! (Demo)” on June 30, 2022.

Kenneth Fredstie in the meantime mastered “Face The Beat: Session 3” and Kant Kino contributed “Ich Liebe Katarina Witt (Video Edit)” and “Life (No Fucking Guitars Edit)” to the Face The Beat series. They also contributed a remix for Modulo One’s “No Way to Win”, and remixed the Side-Line charity single “Ukraina” in December 2022. In February 2026, Kant Kino returned with “Rodney: End-State Variations”. And now there is the brand new full-length “Echoes of The End”.

PIG, the industrial project of English musician Raymond Watts, has announced the PIG “Hurt People Tour”, a North American run of 44 shows in fall 2026 in support of the album “Hurt People Hurt“, released May 22, 2026 via Metropolis Records. The tour starts on August 27 in Lawrence, Kansas and ends on October 18 in Detroit, Michigan.

The 44 shows include the band’s previously announced appearances at the Cold Waves XIV festival events in Los Angeles (September 11), Austin (September 18) and Chicago (September 25). An initial 40-date itinerary has been published, with further shows to be added. The August 28 date in Denver is billed with Nitzer Ebb. Ticket links are collected on the band’s official website.

Before the North American run, PIG play two previously announced sold-out shows in Tokyo on June 25 and 26, with UK dates to follow in December.

PIG ‘Hurt People Tour’ dates: North America fall 2026

• Thu, Aug 27 – Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck
• Fri, Aug 28 – Denver, CO – Summit (with Nitzer Ebb)
• Sat, Aug 29 – Salt Lake City, UT – Quarters DLC
• Mon, Aug 31 – Garden City, ID – Visual Arts Collective
• Wed, Sept 2 – Spokane, WA – Big Dipper
• Thu, Sept 3 – Bellingham, WA – The Shakedown
• Fri, Sept 4 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon
• Sat, Sept 5 – Portland, OR – Star Theater
• Mon, Sept 7 – Eugene, OR – John Henry’s
• Tue, Sept 8 – Eureka, CA – Savage Henry
• Wed, Sept 9 – Sacramento, CA – Cafe Colonial
• Thu, Sept 10 – San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge
• Fri, Sept 11 – Los Angeles, CA – Cold Waves – Pacific Electric
• Sat, Sept 12 – Santa Ana, CA – La Santa
• Sun, Sept 13 – Phoenix, AZ – Last Exit Live
• Mon, Sept 14 – El Paso, TX – Bye Bye Dear
• Wed, Sept 16 – Dallas, TX – AM FM
• Thu, Sept 17 – San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger
• Fri, Sept 18 – Austin, TX – Cold Waves – The Mohawk
• Sat, Sept 19 – Little Rock, AR – Birdie’s
• Sun, Sept 20 – St. Louis, MO – Red Flag
• Wed, Sept 23 – Davenport, IA – Raccoon Motel
• Fri, Sept 25 – Chicago, IL – Cold Waves – The Metro
• Sat, Sept 26 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern
• Sun, Sept 27 – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery
• Tue, Sept 29 – Syracuse, NY – The Song and Dance
• Thu, Oct 1 – Philadelphia, PA – Nikki Lopez
• Fri, Oct 2 – Brooklyn, NY – Saint Vitus
• Sat, Oct 3 – Millersville, PA – Phantom Power
• Sun, Oct 4 – Richmond, VA – Fallout
• Mon, Oct 5 – Greenville, SC – Radio Room
• Wed, Oct 7 – Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn
• Thu, Oct 8 – Orlando, FL – Conduit
• Fri, Oct 9 – Tampa, FL – Orpheum
• Tue, Oct 13 – Columbus, OH – Rumba
• Wed, Oct 14 – Pittsburgh, PA – Sidequest
• Thu, Oct 15 – Hamilton, ON – Mill’s Hardware
• Fri, Oct 16 – Montreal, QC – Toscadura
• Sat, Oct 17 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
• Sun, Oct 18 – Detroit, MI – Smalls

‘Hurt People Hurt’: the album behind the tour

“Hurt People Hurt” was released on May 22, 2026 via Metropolis Records on CD, limited edition LP and digital. The 10-track album was largely co-written by Watts with guitarist Jim Davies, known for his work with The Prodigy and Pitchshifter. Two singles preceded it: the first single “Tosca’s Kiss” on March 6, 2026, with a video directed by E Gabriel Edvy.

And the second single “Sex & Suicide” on April 10, 2026, with a lyric video directed by Grete Stitch Laus. The album is available via pigindustries.bandcamp.com.

About PIG

PIG is the long-running industrial rock project of English musician Raymond Watts, which he formed in 1988 after earlier work in London, Hamburg, and West Berlin. Before launching the project, Watts had already worked on early KMFDM material with En Esch and Sascha Konietzko, and had also been active as a live and studio sound engineer for Einstürzende Neubauten and Psychic TV. He later toured with Foetus on keyboards and guitar.

The first release was “A Poke in the Eye… with a Sharp Stick”, followed by “Praise the Lard” (1991), “A Stroll in the Pork” (1992), “The Swining” (1993), “Sinsation” (1995), “Wrecked” (1996), “Genuine American Monster” (1999), and “Pigmartyr” (2004), later reissued as “Pigmata”. Small detail, several 1990s releases first appeared in Japan, including “The Swining” and “Wrecked”.

Watts is also a founding member and recurring collaborator of KMFDM. He rejoined that orbit in 1994 for the PIG vs KMFDM release “Sin Sex & Salvation”, later worked with the Japanese projects Schaft and Schwein, and also wrote music and sound design for fashion and exhibition work, including Alexander McQueen’s “Plato’s Atlantis” and the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition “Punk: Chaos to Couture”.

After the Watts release “Pigmartyr”, the project resumed under the PIG name with “The Gospel” on September 9, 2016, followed by “Risen” on June 8, 2018 and the covers album “Candy” on June 21, 2019. The project then returned with “Pain Is God” on November 20, 2020, followed by “The Merciless Light” on September 23, 2022. That run continued with “Red Room” on May 17, 2024, the “Feast of Agony” EP on September 27, 2024, the remastered “Wrecked” on March 7, 2025, and the remix album “The Merciful Night” on November 14, 2025.

Jim Davies was a recurring collaborator the past few years. And now there is the brand new album “Hurt People Hurt”.

Warsaw-based industrial pop project Miss Configure has released the single “Token Weighting”. The track is the fourth release in “The Ten Configurations”, the project’s ongoing concept series, and turns its attention to AI companionship. The single is a one-track digital release with a running time of 3:23, available on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and other streaming platforms.

An official visualizer for the track is available as well.

Miss Configure’s ‘Token Weighting’ in ‘The Ten Configurations’ series

With this single ythe series’ narrative shifts “from algorithmic evaluation to synthetic intimacy”, exploring “how loneliness becomes indexable data and affection turns into a subscription model”, with the track taking what the band calls “a deceptively soft and inviting approach” to the illusion of a “perfect digital companion”.

“Token Weighting” follows the singles “Spoiler Alert” (January 9, 2026), “Human_Resources” (February 13, 2026) and “Confidence Score” (May 1, 2026). Earlier singles in the series appeared via None Other Records.

About Miss Configure

Miss Configure is an audio-visual project built around a digital persona described as an “AI Diva” and “Digital Aristocrat”, created and directed by Warsaw-based producer Jacek Fiszer, who is credited as the project’s “architect”. The project uses generative AI as what it calls a “synthetic co-creator” and applies pop song structures to commentary on automation, digital optimisation and human-AI relations.

The project debuted with the single “Spoiler Alert” on January 9, 2026, the first entry in “The Ten Configurations” series. It was followed on February 13, 2026 by “Human_Resources”, which addressed the hidden human labor behind AI systems and content moderation, and on May 1, 2026 by “Confidence Score”, which dealt with algorithmic evaluation. “Token Weighting”, released June 5, 2026, continues the series as its fourth chapter, with a fifth release announced for July 2026.

Berlin-based dark electro and darkwave duo NNHMN have released the single “Touch Me”. The track previews the eight-track EP “Opera of Lust & the Art of Sorrow II”, due July 15, 2026 on K-Dreams Records on vinyl and as a digital release. The EP can be pre-ordered on Bandcamp, and a video for the track is online as well.

‘Touch Me’ previews ‘Opera of Lust & the Art of Sorrow II’

The duo of Lee and Michal Laudarg presents the single as a warmer counterpoint to the EP’s melancholic side. The other tracks on the EP include “Say my name”, “Touch me”, “Cold like Steel”, “Strange Love”, “Gangster”, “Feelings”, “Mannequin”, and “Golden Crime”. Earlier singles “Say My Name”, “Cold Like Steel”, and “Strange Love” preceded “Touch Me” in the run-up to the release.

The EP follows “Opera of Lust & the Art of Sorrow I”, the first chapter in the series. In the May 2026 Side-Line feature NNHMN interview: “We are evolutionists”, Michal Laudarg confirmed the project was already looking past the second part: “Now we are in the world of ‘Opera of Lust and The Art of Sorrow Part Two,’ but the material for the new album already exists.”

About NNHMN

NNHMN is a Berlin-based dark electronic duo formed by Lee and Michal Laudarg. The project name is read as “non-human”. The pair worked together in earlier projects under different names before starting NNHMN.

The album “Church Of No Religion” appeared on the Polish label Zoharum, followed in 2019 by the EP “Shadow In The Dark”, first issued as a limited cassette. In February 2020 the duo launched “Shadow in the Dark” on vinyl through the Spanish label Oraculo Records. The same year brought the “Deception Island” material, including the 12-inch EP “Deception Island Part 1” on Oraculo Records, and a first Side-Line Click Interview with NNHMN.

In May 2022 the duo returned with the 4-track EP “For The Comfort Of Your Exstacy” and a video, released via Young and Cold Records and K-Dreams Records. In April 2023 NNHMN re-released previous EPs on one album as “Deception Island 2“, with an extra track. A few singles were released as well: “Your Body”, “Tomorrow’s Heroine”, and “Bring It On”.

The “Opera of Lust & the Art of Sorrow” series opened with part one, supported by singles including “Bring It On” and “The Secret”. With “Touch Me”, NNHMN deliver the latest preview of “Opera of Lust & the Art of Sorrow II” before its July 15, 2026 release on K-Dreams Records.

Two long-deleted studio albums by the German electronic act Rotersand are back in circulation. The Rotersand “Capitalism TM” album from 2016 and “How Do You Feel Today” from 2020 are available again on CD in their Metropolis Records US editions, the distributor Audioglobe announced. The original Trisol editions of both records had been sold out and deleted for years.

Rotersand ‘Capitalism TM’ and ‘How Do You Feel Today’: release history

“Capitalism TM”, Rotersand’s fifth studio album, was originally released on November 4, 2016 via Trisol and was the band’s first album since “Random Is Resistance” (2009). The 10-track record includes the single “Hey You”, which later lent its title to a full-length remix album. Side-Line covered the original release in 2016 (Rotersand finally hits back with new work: ‘Capitalism TM’) and reviewed it (Rotersand – Capitalism TM (CD Album – Trisol)).

“How Do You Feel Today”, the band’s sixth studio album, followed on March 13, 2020 via Trisol, issued both as a vinyl-plus-CD edition and as a regular CD; both editions sold out. The 11-track album contains “Hot Ashes”, “Whatever”, “Silence” and “Elements”, and was reviewed by Side-Line (Rotersand – How Do You Feel Today? (Album – Trisol / Metropolis Records)). The returning US edition is a digipak CD.

About Rotersand

Rotersand is a German electronic project formed in 2002 by singer Rascal Hüppe and musician/producer Gun, with producer and DJ Krischan J.-E. Wesenberg joining shortly after. The band’s sound is generally described as futurepop, while the members themselves refer to it as “industrial pop”. The debut album “Truth Is Fanatic” appeared in 2003, followed by “Welcome to Goodbye” (2005), “1023” (2007) and “Random Is Resistance” (2009); the first two were reissued in 2021.

After “Capitalism TM” (2016) and “How Do You Feel Today” (2020), the latter also reworked as the remix album “Reloaded (Reworks of How Do You Feel Today)” in August 2020, the band released its most recent studio album “Don’t Become The Thing You Hated” in 2025 via Metropolis and Trisol. Side-Line spoke with the band in a 2026 interview. The renewed availability of “Capitalism TM” and “How Do You Feel Today” closes a gap in the band’s catalogue that had persisted since the Trisol pressings sold out.

Mike Langer on “0.8”, the 1980s and why Digital Factor still refuses completion

Digital Factor’s eighth album, “0.8”, out this Friday 12 July on Alfa Matrix on CD and as download, treats the 1980s as a working method rather than a nostalgic costume. For Mike Langer, the decade becomes a way to think about machines, melody, discipline and risk. The result is a record shaped by research, studio obsession and the strange pleasure of understanding the past more clearly after years of distance.

The title began as a reference to the 80s, yet it also opens a much wider idea: Digital Factor as a project still moving toward something without wanting to arrive too neatly. In Mike’s words, reaching “1.0” would almost be a shame, because completion can also mean the end of curiosity. In this interview, he speaks about old synthesizers, unconscious influences, Gwendolyn Gaffa’s role in the current line-up, the therapeutic function of machines, video mapping, repetition, female guest vocalists, acoustic drums, social responsibility and the next step beyond familiar patterns.

Digital Factor Interview

Karo: An eighth album is a strange point in an artist’s life. It is far enough from the beginning to carry history, but still close enough to the future to demand risk. When you started working on “0.8”, did you feel more pressure from your own past, or from the question of what Digital Factor can still become?

Mike: To be honest, I don’t dwell on that too much. During the preparation and production of an album, I am usually deeply absorbed in the technical and conceptual possibilities.

For 0.8, the studio equipment itself was actually a primary focus beforehand. I wanted every track to capture a distinct 1980s vibe, and the synthesizers and drum machines had to authentically reflect that. Ultimately, working on a new record is always a step into the future. The past only really plays a role for me in ensuring that I don’t simply copy the established Digital Factor style onto a new album.

Karo: The title “0.8” immediately suggests something that is measurable, coded, almost clinical, yet incomplete. It feels like a number that refuses to become one. Does that reflect how you currently see Digital Factor: as something precise, electronic and structured, but still unfinished in a very human way?

Mike: Oh, that’s a fascinating interpretation—one I actually hadn’t considered. Originally, the title “0.8” was simply a nod to the 1980s and the massive influence that decade had on this record. After all, it’s the first Digital Factor album that is a concept album purely in a musical sense, rather than a lyrical one.

But your reading of it isn’t so far off. In a way, you are always chasing a specific sound, getting just a little bit closer to it with every release. Reaching ‘1.0,’ however, would almost be a shame, because it would imply that the project is complete and finalized. Right now, I feel highly motivated to keep making music well beyond version 1.0. There is certainly no shortage of ideas.

Karo: Many artists speak about influence as if it were a list of names. I am more interested in influence as a wound, a memory, or a technical instinct that enters your hands before you even notice it. What part of your musical past still controls you when you work, and what part have you finally learned to control?

Mike: That is a really great question. I have been making electronic music for over 30 years now, and I still learn something new with every single production. However, my approach to synthesizers, harmonies, and melodies is much more deliberate today. I usually have a clear idea in my head before I even start executing it. In the past, these elements emerged much more organically through musical experimentation and the general flow of the production process.

Yet, despite this intentional approach, unconscious influences are always at work. For example, whenever I play a new track for my wife, she often points out that it unmistakably ‘sounds like me,’ even if it completely deviates stylistically from my previous songs. So, inevitably, my subconscious always finds its way into the music.

Karo: Digital Factor have existed long enough to experience several versions of electronic music culture: physical releases, underground networks, club circulation, digital platforms, nostalgia waves and algorithmic attention. Which of these changes has affected you most as an artist, not commercially, but emotionally?

Mike: I believe my career choices—and the creative freedom they provide—remain my greatest influence to this day. I work both visually and musically for film, television, and theater. This grants me significantly more financial security than I would likely have if I pursued Digital Factor purely as a full-time professional musician.

Consequently, I am able to realize Digital Factor as a concept completely detached from any commercial pressure. It also gives me the financial liberty to design and equip my studio exactly the way I envision it. Ultimately, this fundamental freedom is what shapes my work with DF the most.

Furthermore, the artistic network I collaborate with has a profound impact on me. Interestingly, very few of these creatives come from the specific music scene in which Digital Factor operates. This outside perspective sparks new ideas that we then bring to life together. For instance, with the live project “Digital Factor Spheres,” I seamlessly merge my video art with my music. Similarly, performing as a musician for an annual live radio play challenges me in completely different and refreshing ways.

Karo: This album seems to come from a tension between discipline and vulnerability. The structures are electronic and controlled, yet many titles suggest blindness, memory, forgetting, time, darkness and fragile states of mind. Do you see machines as a way to hide emotion, or as a way to make emotion more exact?

Mike: I consider myself a fairly positive person; I usually prefer to tune out the ever-present darkness in life. Yet, my lyrics deliberately explore the dystopian facets of human nature. Because of this contrast, Digital Factor is very therapeutic for me, providing a vital equilibrium. The machines serve as the medium—they are the carriers that channel and transport these heavier emotions.

Karo: With Gwendolyn Gaffa now officially part of the band, Digital Factor is no longer only a project built around your own inner architecture. What did her presence disturb in a productive way? Did she change the sound, the atmosphere, or the way you hear yourself inside the project?

Mike: While I truly enjoyed having complete artistic control over the last few albums, Digital Factor originally started as a three-piece band, and that dynamic was always a crucial element of our live performances. Up until G.B.A., I was fully convinced that the project would never return to the stage. However, working with Gwendolyn made me realize that bringing even improvised musical elements into a live setting is entirely possible. Beyond that, her voice is truly exceptional.

So, while I retained the overall creative direction, I was more than happy to frequently hand the vocal duties over to Gwen. When I wrote the tracks she sings on, I already had her voice in my head—in that sense, she was a profound inspiration for the album. On top of that, she is a brilliant guitarist who can translate my ideas instantly.

Funnily enough, when it comes to playing live, Gwendolyn is actually the one who holds the musical authority. I am often too lazy to count bars, so she is the perfect person to give me my cues.

Karo: There is a difference between looking back and being haunted. “0.8” seems interested in the past, but it does not sound comfortable. When you return to earlier electronic textures, do they feel like home, or do they remind you how much has been lost, simplified or misunderstood since then?

Mike: In fact, it wasn’t until I started working on 0.8 that I truly began to understand many songs from the 80s. As part of my research for the album, I watched countless documentaries about the musicians and bands of that era. My conclusion is that musicologists are absolutely right: it is the most formative decade for rock and pop.

Unfortunately, much of the incredible diversity and virtuosity of that musical period has since been lost. You can see this contrast clearly today. On one hand, musicians from that era are experiencing massive renewed success; on the other hand, you constantly hear poorly executed 80s samples and musical quotes in contemporary dance and hip-hop tracks. It makes you realize that the music of the 80s isn’t just being misunderstood right now—it is being exploited, largely to cover up a lack of original ideas.

Karo: Electronic music often speaks through repetition, and repetition can mean many things: pleasure, obsession, memory, trauma, hypnosis, discipline. On this album, what role does repetition play for you? Is it a musical tool, or a way of thinking?

Mike: Fundamentally, I work a lot within classic song structures. While certain motifs naturally repeat, my goal is always to break them apart and evolve them through new melodic lines or sound design. Because of this, the first verse rarely sounds exactly like the second. I view repetition primarily as a tool to establish a song’s central leitmotif and make it tangible for the listener.

However, 0.8 also features tracks that we designed for our live project, Spheres, which incorporates complex video mapping. In that specific context, musical repetition takes on an entirely different function: it steps back to direct the audience’s focus toward the visual installation.

Karo: After so many years, how do you protect yourself from becoming too fluent in your own language? When you know your tools, your moods and your instincts very well, where do you search for friction?

Mike: Above all, working with other vocalists is a particular challenge that I really embrace—on 0.8, these guest singers happen to be exclusively women. I essentially tailor each song specifically to the intended singer. I am also constantly experimenting. For instance, 0.8 marks the first time I have incorporated a custom-built modular system. Similarly, for the track ‘They Will Forget You,’ I recorded an acoustic drum kit for a Digital Factor song for the very first time. The drummer, Kalle Vogel, has since even joined us on stage for one of our live shows. Ultimately, I am always searching for new creative possibilities.

Karo: “They Will Forget You” is a brutal sentence because it removes almost every illusion an artist might have about legacy. Do you make music against forgetting, despite forgetting, or because forgetting makes the act of creation more urgent?

Mike: “They Will Forget You (When You Die)” is intended to be both a harsh reflection of reality and a wake-up call. The truth is that many people will leave no mark after they pass. Leaving mindless hate comments on social media, going on an annual cruise, or rotting away in front of the television simply doesn’t create any lasting value.

I sit on the board of a socio-cultural center in my hometown, and every day I witness people who genuinely want to make a difference, driven entirely by selflessness. Every single one of them would leave a profound void if they were gone. At the same time, through their dedication to the building owned by our association, they have already built something that will outlast them. This song is ultimately directed at the others—the ones who simply can’t be bothered to get off their asses and contribute.

Karo: The current electronic scene often celebrates vintage sound, but sometimes the surface of the past becomes more important than its danger. What do you think younger artists understand well about early electronic music, and what do they perhaps miss?

Mike: That brings us right back to the 1980s. Electronic music, in particular, experienced its most significant evolution during that era. Unfortunately, I feel that this creative momentum really tapered off by the late 90s. Because of that, with 0.8, I felt it was important to look back and attempt to translate that classic sound into my own contemporary understanding. Ultimately, of course, the hope is that this process has given rise to something entirely distinct—and perhaps even something new.

Karo: If “0.8” is a chapter about memory, incompleteness and transformation, what would you still like Digital Factor to risk next? Not in terms of style, but in terms of honesty.

Mike: Digital Factor has always been a very honest project. We have always created the music we genuinely enjoy making – a principle I still stand by today, even if it hasn’t always pleased every single fan.

These days, we play an annual charity concert where there is hardly anyone from the typical electronic scene in the audience. Yet, the show is always a massive success because of our unique approach to performing electronic music live. Even veteran rock musicians have told us that it completely defied their expectations of the genre. I actually view this as a bit of a personal mission; I’ll sometimes even take a moment during a show to explain how a synthesizer actually works to the audience.

Right now, an exciting, major new project is taking shape. Unfortunately, I can’t reveal too much about it just yet, but I can promise this: Digital Factor will once again be breaking out of familiar patterns and stepping far off the beaten path.

German electronic project Neuroticfish has released “Skin26” via Non Ordinary Records. The four-track single revisits “Skin”, the first official Neuroticfish release from 1998, and offers a new 2026 version next to the original recording and two further versions. The download is available on Bandcamp, and a CD single is also sold through the Neuwerk Music shop.

‘tSkin26’ returns to a 1997 living-room recording

Sascha Mario Klein recorded “Skin” in 1997 in his living room with an eight-track recorder, three synthesizers, one sampler, and an SM-58 microphone. The track first appeared in 1998 on the Maschinenwelt compilation “A Reflexion Of Synthpop Vol. 1” and was the project’s first official release.

The single traces the journey of the song over nearly 30 years, including its 2002 evolution as “Skin Binary”, and its new incarnations as “Skin26” and “Skin (Deep)”.

About Neuroticfish

Neuroticfish is the electronic music project of Sascha Mario Klein from Germany. The project was founded in the early 1990s as Klein’s alter ego, bringing a mix of synth-pop, trance, industrial, and EBM under the concept “Music for a Paranormal Life”. Also part of the initial line-up was Henning Verlage (keyboards and production).

The project’s first official release was “Skin” on the 1998 compilation “A Reflexion Of Synthpop Vol. 1”. The debut album “No Instruments” followed on September 27, 1999, with “Les Chansons Neurotiques” released on July 2, 2002 and “Gelb” on February 15, 2005. The best-of compilation “A Greater Good (History 1998-2008)” appeared in 2008, after which the project went dormant. In a 2015 Side-Line item, Klein said about that period: “I felt exhausted and had the impression that I lost control about my artistic process“.

Neuroticfish returned with “A Sign Of Life” on March 27, 2015, followed by “Antidoron” in 2018, both on Non Ordinary Records. Klein discussed the project’s direction in a 2019 Click Interview with Neuroticfish on Side-Line. The album “The Demystification Of The Human Heart” followed in December 2023 on Non Ordinary Records. In 2024 the project contributed a remix to Solitary Experiments’ single “Träumen“.

With “Skin26”, released on June 2, 2026, the project returns to its earliest recording 28 years after “Skin” first appeared.

The German dark wave and synthpop act Silke Bischoff announce “Tears – A Collection of Silke Bischoff Songs”, out on September 4, 2026 via Dependent Records. The 14-track compilation gathers remastered catalogue tracks plus the previously unreleased title song “Tears”, and is announced alongside the first single “Northern Lights”, out digitally on June 10, 2026 on Bandcamp and Spotify. The announcement follows the band’s catalogue deal reported in May, when Silke Bischoff signed with Dependent Records for catalogue reissues.

“Northern Lights” was originally released in 1996 on I.N.R.I. Records.

The compilation is the first step in making their oeuvre available to the public again, after the band’s recordings spent years out of circulation. Internal friction, legal issues, and most of all the tragic passing of one of its founding members, Felix Flaucher, in the night of August 22-23, 2017, at the age of 59 after a long illness, has left their works in a limbo for many years.

Silke Bischoff ‘Tears’: tracklist and artbook edition

The tracks on the compilation were restored and newly mastered by Olaf Wollschläger at Cottonbeat Studio in Burscheid, Germany. Wollschläger has previously worked with Mesh, Yello, Melotron, and Beborn Beton. The opening track “Tears” is a previously unreleased archive recording featuring the vocals of the late Felix Flaucher. The whole was recorded and mixed by Axel Kretschmann at Kinderzimmer Studio in Berlin. The artwork is by the late Felix Flaucher.

The full tracklist: “Tears”, “I Don’t Love You Anymore”, “Under Your Skin”, “No Paradise”, “Northern Lights”, “The Union”, “The Man on the Wooden Cross”, “The Letter”, “On the Other Side”, “Ajna”, “Benetton Girl”, “Waste of Time”, “Sometimes”, and “To Protect and to Serve”.

The physical edition is a numbered, limited hardcover 48-page CD artbook with lyrics, photography by Felix Flaucher, and liner notes by the German author Mark Urban.

Silke Bischoff live dates in September 2026

Three German concerts follow the release:

• September 25, 2026 – Bochum (DE), Matrix
• September 26, 2026 – Leipzig (DE), Täubchenthal
• September 27, 2026 – Berlin (DE), Columbia Theater

The current line-up consists of Axel Kretschmann (vocals, keyboards, guitar), joined live by Markus Köster (drums) and Andy Simanowitz (piano, keyboards, background vocals).

About Silke Bischoff

Silke Bischoff was founded in 1990 by Axel Kretschmann and Felix Flaucher as a gothic and dark wave project. The band name refers to the 18-year-old hostage who was killed during the 1988 Gladbeck hostage crisis in Germany; the founders described the choice as an artistic memorial to the victim. After three two-track demo tapes and the underground club track “I Don’t Love You Anymore”, the self-titled debut album appeared in 1991.

Guitarist Frank Schwer joined as a full member on the second album “The Man on the Wooden Cross” (1993). “To Protect and to Serve” followed in 1995, with “Under Your Skin” becoming a club hit beyond the dark scene. The album “Northern Lights” appeared in 1996. Kretschmann left the band in 2002 due to internal differences, and after a legal dispute over the name, Flaucher and Schwer continued as 18 Summers.

In 2017, the reconciled members played a private performance among close friends shortly before Felix Flaucher died after a long illness.

At the 2025 edition of the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig, Axel Kretschmann revived Silke Bischoff on stage with guest appearances by Deine Lakaien frontman Alexander Veljanov and Sven Friedrich (Dreadful Shadows, Zeraphine, Solar Fake).

With “Tears – A Collection of Silke Bischoff Songs”, the revived project delivers the first new Silke Bischoff release since the catalogue went out of circulation, with further restored reissues announced to follow in digital and physical form.

Diesel Christ was a German synthpop project built around songwriter and vocalist Tom Berger and a shifting circle of contributors including Klaus Gratzel, Thomas Harder, Chris Karagianidis, Chris Block, and executive producer Alex Sacher. The project released three main records: the Depeche Mode tribute album “Diesel Mode (A Tribute To The Masses)” – and the 4-track single “Walking In My Shoes (I Feel Different)” – in 1993 on Pop Factory!, the original-material CD EP “Gas Food Lodging” in November 1993 on SPV Records, and a second Depeche Mode tribute, “Diesel Mode 97”, in 1997 on Fun Factory!. Half of the project’s original recordings were ironically enough produced by John Fryer, the engineer who had worked on Depeche Mode’s first two albums at Blackwing Studios.

The tribute album appeared only two or three weeks after the original Depeche Mode release. “Songs Of Faith And Devotion” was released on March 22, 1993, while “Diesel Mode” was already in shops around early-to-mid April 1993. The chronology of the covered songs is telling. Of the five Depeche Mode tracks, only “I Feel You” had been publicly available before the album, released as a single in February 1993. “Walking In My Shoes“, “Rush”, “In Your Room”, and “Higher Love” were album tracks that had not yet been released.

Since recording at Principal Studios, mixing, glass mastering at DADC Austria, pressing, and distribution cannot be compressed into the two-to-three-week window , the Diesel Christ recordings were made quite before the original Depeche Mode album reached shops. How the project obtained the material ahead of release is not known, but it is believed they did obtain an early copy of the album ahead of the official release, either via the local Mute office or via befriended press people. Funny enough, Depeche Mode released “Walking In My Shoes” as the album’s second single on April 26, 1993. By that date, the Diesel Christ cover of the song was already recorded and pressed.

How the Diesel Christ synthpop project started

Diesel Christ grew out of Diesel, a German duo consisting of Klaus Gratzel and Thomas Berger. Diesel released one maxi-single, “Nowhereland”, in 1990 on Fun Factory! Records (FUNFAC M-3928), issued on 12″ vinyl and CD in several mixes. The song “Nowhereland” later reappeared on the 1993 Diesel Christ album “Gas Food Lodging”. To make it even more complicated, the project also recorded under the abbreviation D.C.

Diesel Christ would have seven members across the project’s lifespan: Tom Berger, Klaus Gratzel, Thomas Harder, Chris Karagianidis, Chris Block, Alex Sacher, and Robert Enforsen. The 1993 recordings featured Berger (vocals, guitar, main songwriter), Harder (bass, keyboards), and Karagianidis (drums), with Block on guitar and Gratzel contributing as co-writer. Sacher served as executive producer in 1993 and moved into the producer role for the 1997 album with Robert Enforsen on vocals.

‘Diesel Mode (A Tribute To The Masses)’: covering Depeche Mode in real time

“Diesel Mode (A Tribute To The Masses)” was issued in 1993 as a six-track CD album on Pop Factory!, distributed by SPV. The tracklist was as follows:

1. “Walking In My Shoes” (4:22)
2. “Rush” (2:23)
3. “In Your Room” (4:47)
4. “I Feel You” (4:05)
5. “Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?” (3:20)
6. “Higher Love” (4:26)

Five tracks are Martin L. Gore compositions from Depeche Mode’s 1993 album “Songs Of Faith And Devotion”. The sixth, “Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?”, is a Diesel Christ original written by Tom Berger, produced by John Fryer and remixed by Len Davies. The Depeche Mode covers were produced and mixed by Diesel Christ and Len Davies at Principal Studios.

A 12″ white label EP version appeared on Pop Factory! in Germany, and a Spanish 12″ edition was issued by BOL Records the same year.

The 4-track single “Walking In My Shoes (I Feel Different)” held 4 tracks:

1. Walking In My Shoes (Sex Mix) (5:02)
2. Walking In My Shoes (Andy F. Mix) (5:34)
3. Blue Rain (2:37)
4. Walking In My Shoes (7″ Version) (3:19)

‘Gas Food Lodging’: the original Diesel Christ material

“Gas Food Lodging” followed later that year, in November 1993 as an eight-track CD on SPV Records, licensed from Fun Factory!. The tracklist was this one:

1. “America” (3:06)
2. “Dinosaur” (3:38)
3. “Gimme Your Gasoline” (3:32)
4. “Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?” (3:19)
5. “Nirvana” (3:16)
6. “Nowhereland” (4:02)
7. “Dust” (4:08)
8. “Dangerous” (4:36)

Tom Berger was the songwriter and vocalist across the album, with Klaus Gratzel holding co-writing credits on “Nirvana” and “Nowhereland”, and Chris Block on “Gimme Your Gasoline”. John Fryer produced four tracks on this album: “America”, “Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?”, “Dust”, and “Dangerous”. The remaining tracks were produced by Diesel Christ themselves with Len Davies. The EP was again recorded and mixed at Principal Studios in Ottmarsbocholt, Germany, and its front cover used James Rosenquist’s 1961 painting “I Love You With My Ford”, licensed from Moderna Museet in Stockholm.

The EP tied the project’s threads together. “Nowhereland” carried the 1990 Diesel single into the Diesel Christ catalogue, and “Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?” repeated the original track first placed on the tribute album.

In 1995, Diesel Christ also contributed a cover of the Simple Minds track “20th Century Promised Land” to “To Cut A Long Story Short (A Tribute To The Pioneers Of Electronic Pop)”, a compilation on the Swedish label Energy Rekords. And that apparently laid the foundation of the 1997 Swedisch turn of the project.

‘Diesel Mode 97’: new lineup, new Depeche Mode album

Diesel Christ returned with yet another tribute in 1997 with “Diesel Mode 97”, a nine-track CD album on Fun Factory!, with this time a Swedish edition on Energy Rekords. The tracklist:

1. “Sister Of Night” (4:37)
2. “Freestate” (4:42)
3. “Hallelujah” (3:01)
4. “Useless” (4:33)
5. “Useless Link” (2:33)
6. “It’s No Good” (9:21)
7. “Barrel Of A Gun” (4:29)
8. “The Love Thieves” (2:00)
9. “Home” (4:31)

The personnel for this new Diesel Christ album had in the meantime changed almost entirely. Alex Sacher stayed on board and produced the album, Andreas Küchenmeister handled programming, and Robert Enforsen, vocalist of the Swedish synthpop band Elegant Machinery, sang lead. MCP mixed the album, Chazz Harper mastered it at Battery Studios in New York, and Swen Roters painted the cover. Note that an unofficial Russian cassette edition titled “Diesel Mode ’98” appeared on Always Records in 1998.

From Diesel Christ to Rotoskop

Klaus Gratzel, co-founder of Diesel and co-writer on two “Gas Food Lodging” tracks, then started Rotoskop.

Gratzel sent tracks to other artists, who added their voices and helped complete the songs. This process resulted in the 2003 album “Revolution: Lost”. The following years were marked by setbacks, doubts and poor decisions, but Rotoskop still delivered remixes for Apoptygma Berzerk, Sono, De/Vision, Torul and Sea of Sin, among others. In 2021 Rotoskop returned as a recording artist, releasing three EPs with six songs each. The newer material focused on the artist’s own music, voice and personal approach.

Rotoskop debuted on Infacted Recordings with the album “Undo/Redo” on March 8, 2024, followed by “Passive/Aggressive“, also on Infacted.

With “Dyer Expedition OST”, Tibor Knopf presents a Soundtrack created for the video game of the same name, itself inspired by H. P. Lovecraft.

Ten tracks have been assembled and meticulously crafted using an impressive arsenal of sounds, effects, and field recordings. Intense low-frequency tones permeate the entire work, creating a dense and extremely dark atmosphere. A powerful sense of imagery quickly emerges, which, in my opinion, remains the ultimate criterion when listening to Dark-Ambient and related Cinematic music. Overwhelming sonic eruptions genuinely blow you out of your seat and drag you into an endless black abyss. This production is filled with subtle auditory details, making headphones almost essential for a second listen in order to experience its full impact.

Sjellos has delivered a particularly polished production that I can only highly recommend. (Rating:8).

Listen to “Offshore Traversal”:

https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/track/offshore-traversal

Since releasing his first album in 2010, Iranian artist Mehdi Saleh has built an impressive discography. Along the way, he has released numerous albums, including several collaborations with other renowned projects within the genre.

“Subsynthetic Pulseforms” features ten new compositions that take the listener on a fresh journey through sci-fi-inspired and cosmic soundscapes. The universe of Alphaxone remains firmly rooted in dark, drifting waves of sound that perfectly embody the Cinematic genre. Over the years, Mehdi Saleh has continually refined his craft, enriching his music with meticulously crafted details, subtle textures, and carefully placed effects. Field recordings further complete the sonic canvas, creating the impression of an approaching apocalypse—or perhaps a world already living in its aftermath. The artist invites the listener to surrender to their imagination, guiding them through a subtle yet immersive sound world where ominous signals, mysterious noises, and haunting atmospheres evoke a profound sense of wonder and unease. Alphaxone remains an artist with a strong visual appeal whose creativity consistently translates into quality.

“Subsynthetic Pulseforms” stands as another powerful and captivating opus from one of the genre’s most talented artists. (Rating:8½).

Listen to “Hypostasis”:

https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/track/hypostasis-2

Chicago-based dark synth and industrial project TATV GRAL has released “Treachery,” a self-released single produced by William Faith at 13 Studio Chicago. The track comes with an official video you can see below. A four-track remix EP follows in July 2026.

The “Treachery” EP includes the original version and three remixes. DSTR is Daniel Myer of Haujobb, Tweaker is Chris Vrenna of Nine Inch Nails, and [melter] is part of the Chicago underground scene.

The original track is available now, with the complete EP scheduled for 6 July 2026.

Hellenistic astrology, archetypes and queer visual language

“Treachery” draws on Hellenistic astrology, archetypal psychology and queer leather imagery. TATV GRAL’s Allen Addington connects the track to Saturn and Mars, two planets associated in the source material with betrayal.

“It was a discovery in the ancient texts that unlocked the whole song – both Saturn and Mars independently carry the signification of ‘Treachery’, translated directly from the Ancient Greek. Two malefic forces, each already marked by betrayal, meeting in the same charged space.

And he adds: “Following Richard Tarnas and James Hillman, I wanted to explore that archetypal collision phenomenologically – the Old Man and the Young Man, bondage and erotic force – seen through a gay male gaze and the cinematic shadow world of William Friedkin’s Cruising.”

Musically, “Treachery” has a mix of industrial, EBM and dark electronics.

About TATV GRAL

TATV GRAL is the Chicago, Illinois solo project of multimedia artist Allen Addington. TATV GRAL has been active since the mid-nineties offering a mix of dark synth and industrial, thematically inspired by archetypal psychology, the gay male gaze and ritual containment.

The project debuted in May 2019 with “The Chase”. TATV GRAL then released “Ouroboros (demo)” and “Chiron” in June 2019, followed by “Stay” and “EGO disease” in July 2019. “Soul Divine” followed in March 2020, and “Noncommittal Grey” appeared in March 2023.

Three years later we see the “Treachery EP”, listed for July 2026.

Note that we previously mentioned TATV GRAL in an article about the final EP “It All Falls Apart” by The Funeral March and Joe Whiteaker (R.I.P.). That March 2025 EP has TATV GRAL among the acts appearing at the Rockford release event for The Funeral March and Joe Whiteaker’s final EP “It All Falls Apart.”