Norwegian electronic rock artist Mortiis will release “Ghosts of Europa” on 26 June 2026 via Prophecy Productions, distributed by SPKR. The album features eight tracks, an extensive guest lineup, all mixed by Sean Beavan. A video for the title track is available now. Side-Line first reported the release in March 2026, but we can now give you the full tracklist, complete production credits, all lineup details, all formats and confirmed Australian tour dates.

Mortiis – ‘Ghosts of Europa’ tracklist, origins and line-up

The album runs eight tracks:

1. “Ghosts of Europa”
2. “Return to the Old Fields”
3. “The Faith That Fades Away”
4. “Violent Silence”
5. “Transcending Morpheus”
6. “Tundra, Heart of Hell”
7. “Tribes of Dystopia”
8. “Farewell Romero”

The material was recorded, re-recorded, and reworked across what Mortiis describes as “a thousand sessions during years of misery, poverty, and disdain” between 2020 and 2026 at various locations in Fredrikstad, Norway. Early vocal recording was handled by co-producer Stephan Groth at Pitch Black Drive, Fredrikstad.

Sean Beavan mixed the album at The Grey Room in Crestline, California. Beavan’s prior credits include Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, System of a Down, Guns N’Roses, and Slayer. Mastering was completed by Jules Seifert at Epic Audio Media, London.

“Ghosts of Europa” developed in part from a planned collaboration between Mortiis and Stephan Groth of Apoptygma Berzerk, based on a shared interest in German electronic music and in particular Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. When that collaboration ended, Mortiis continued work independently. Traces of the original direction remain in the album’s Berlin-school references. Thorsten Quaeschning of Tangerine Dream contributes additional synths and sequencers on track 1.

Håvard “Mortiis” Ellefsen performs vocals, keyboards, vocoder, bass guitar, and programming throughout the album.

Here’s the list of guest contributions on this album:

• Benedicte Computorgirl (Computorgirl) – vocals on track 4
• Christopher Amott (Arch Enemy et al.) – guitar solo on track 7
• Christopher Rakkestad (Elvarhøi, Bolverk) – vocals on tracks 1–6
• Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh, Brian Jonestown Massacre et al.) – fuzz and noise guitars, additional FX on tracks 3 and 4
• Iliana Basileios Tsakiraki (Enemy of Reality, Septicflesh et al.) – vocals on tracks 1, 2, and 5
• Laurie Ann Haus (Blizzard Games) – vocals on tracks 1, 2, 5, and 7
• Matthew Setzer (Skinny Puppy, London After Midnight) – throat singing on track 7
• Michal Kielbasa (Black Magic Rites et al.) – tubular bell and vibraphone on track 2; tubular bell on track 6; tabla loops, additional synths and FX on track 7
• Sarah Jezebel Deva (The Kovenant, Cradle of Filth et al.) – vocals on tracks 1–3, 5, and 6
• Thomas Bolverk (Ragnarok, Bolverk) – distortion, clean, and sampled guitars on track 6
• Thorsten Quaeschning (Tangerine Dream) – additional synths and sequencers on track 1
• Vegard Blomberg (Mock) – e-bow and guitars on track 2; additional Copicat, Space Echo, fuzz and e-bow guitars on track 4; fuzz guitars on track 6; fuzz and ambient guitars and guitars on track 8
• Erling Blomberg – additional guitars on track 8

Mortiis – ‘Ghosts of Europa’ available formats

“Ghosts of Europa” is available across no less then twelve confirmed editions spanning two box sets, three standard vinyl variants, three exclusive artist vinyl variants, a Cult of the Black Wizards edition, a retailer exclusive, a digipak CD, an artbook CD, and a standalone cassette.

Box sets

The Sand-Filled Ultra Deluxe Box Set (50 copies) includes a handmade sand-filled vinyl LP, a bonus LP, the 2CD artbook, a cassette, four art prints, and a poster. The standard Deluxe Box Set (450 copies) replaces the sand-filled vinyl with a metallic purple galaxy LP and otherwise contains the same items.

CD and cassette

The artbook edition is a hardcover book containing the album on CD plus an additional bonus-tracks CD. The digipak CD is the standard physical CD edition. A standalone cassette is also available.

Vinyl

Three standard gatefold LP variants are available, each with a lyric book: Classic Black, Clear Crystal, and Clear Smoke.

Exclusive artist editions

The Europe Artist Edition “Into The Deep” variant (250 copies) is exclusive to the Mortiis Europe webstore. The USA Artist Edition “New Twilight” variant (250 copies) is exclusive to the Mortiis US webstore. The Cult of the Black Wizards “Black Night” variant (150 copies) is available only to Bandcamp Cult of the Black Wizards members. The Iridescent Blue gatefold LP (250 copies) is a Wolf Mountain Productions exclusive, available at wolfmountainproductions.com.

Orders for most editions are open through the Mortiis webstore and the SPKR store.

Mortiis Southern Ritual Australian tour 2026

Mortiis will play four Australian dates in November 2026 as part of the Southern Ritual Australian Tour:

• 19 November 2026 – Sydney (AU), Factory Floor
• 20 November 2026 – Brisbane (AU), Crowbar
• 21 November 2026 – Melbourne (AU), Croxton
• 22 November 2026 – Adelaide (AU), Ed Castle

About Mortiis

Mortiis is the musical project of Håvard Ellefsen, based in Fredrikstad, Norway. Ellefsen joined Emperor as bass player in 1991 during the black metal band’s formation and departed in late 1992, contributing to early demos and the 1993 Emperor mini-LP before pursuing a solo direction.

He launched Mortiis as a solo project in 1993. Between 1993 and 1999, the project’s first era – known as Era I – produced six full-length albums composed entirely on synthesizers: “Født til å Herske” (1993), “Ånden som Gjorde Opprør” (1994), “Keiser Av En Dimensjon Ukjent” (1995), “Blood and Thunder” (1995), “Crypt of the Wizard” (1996), and “The Stargate” (1999). These releases are cited as a foundational influence on the dungeon synth genre. Not that long agao – time flies nevertheless – we covered the vinyl reissues of “Ånden som Gjorde Opprør” and “Keiser Av En Dimensjon Ukjent”.

In 2001, “The Smell of Rain” marked a shift toward dark wave and electropop, a phase identified as Era II. Era III began with “The Grudge” (2004), moving further into industrial rock. Further albums followed: “Some Kind of Heroin” (2007) and the independently released “Perfectly Defect” (2010). “The Great Deceiver” was released in 2016, followed by “The Unraveling Mind” in 2017 and “Spirit of Rebellion” in 2020 – a re-interpretation of the 1994 album “Ånden som Gjorde Opprør”. A reworked version of “Født til å Herske” was issued in 2023.

Throughout most of his career, Ellefsen has performed with a mask and facial prosthetic that has evolved in appearance across different eras. The stage persona was set aside for a period during live performances associated with what Mortiis has called Era 0.

“Ghosts of Europa”, recorded between 2020 and 2026, is Mortiis’ first album on Prophecy Productions.

Gothenburg-based project ou ou have released their debut EP “lake” on Xenophone International. The three-track digital release features vocals by Tilde Mossberg, compositions and lyrics by Anna Öberg, and production by Charles Storm.

The three tracks are: “Silence by the Lake” (4:25), “This River” (4:08), and “Into the Lake” (4:18). Musically the EP offers a mix of analog synthesizers, flute, piano, choir arrangements, and drums together in what Xenophone International describes as “somewhere on the borderland of alternative pop.”

“lake” is available on ou ou’s Bandcamp and on YouTube. The EP is also on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon Music, Tidal, Pandora, and additional platforms via this official smart link.

A full-length album from ou ou is scheduled for release in autumn 2026.

About ou ou

ou ou is a Gothenburg-based project formed in 2026. “lake” is their debut release, issued through Xenophone International on May 15, 2026. The project is built around Anna Öberg as composer and lyricist, Tilde Mossberg on vocals, Linnéa Mossberg as lyricist, and Charles Storm as producer.

Anna Öberg is a Gothenburg-based synth artist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. She plays flutes, guitar, piano, synthesizers, and electronics, and has released several solo albums on Xenophone International. Her third solo album, “Varelser inuti”, appeared on the label in November 2020. The single “Mitt sista hopp” followed in April 2023, and her most recent solo album, “SIN”, was also released via Xenophone International. Side-Line has previously covered her work through a 2024 interview and the videos for “Handen eller hjärtat” and “Ich Bin”. Öberg leads the live band Härsk, in which Linnéa Mossberg plays drums.

Tilde Mossberg is a Swedish singer and artist whose work offers a mix of modern pop and electronic music. Linnéa Mossberg is a lyricist and drummer; in addition to her contributions to ou ou, she performs in Anna Öberg’s live band Härsk. Charles Storm from his side has produced Anna Öberg’s solo releases on Xenophone International for several years .

Xenophone International is a Gothenburg-based label operated by Karl Gasleben, known from Twice a Man and for founding the label in the late 1970s. The label has released music by Twice a Man, Lars Falk, Gasleben & Electric friends, Anna Öberg, and The Ändå, among others. “lake” is the label’s first release under the ou ou name. An album is expected later in 2026.

The Belgian–American electronic dance act Lords of Acid has released “Dream Boy,” the second single of 2026, on 15 May 2026 via Metropolis Records. The track is available digitally on streaming platforms and Bandcamp. It features vocalist Carla Harvey, who joined the group in early 2025 and has since been named the band’s ‘reigning Acid Queen’.

The band describes the song as “a dark trip through the streets of Necropolis, where addiction feels like salvation and nightmares wear a beautiful disguise.” Lords of Acid add: “‘Dream Boy’ isn’t about judging addiction. It’s about understanding the pain, loneliness and emptiness that drive people toward it in the first place. We wanted the verses to feel raw and claustrophobic, almost like a panic attack, while the reggae-inspired chorus drifts like a hallucination you never want to wake up from. The line ‘Dream boy, keep on floating in the sun’ sounds warm and beautiful at first, until you realise it’s about somebody slowly disappearing in plain sight. It is one of the darkest songs we have ever written, but underneath the shadows there’s still a message of human connection, desire and the search for a real high that doesn’t destroy you.”

An ironic side-note: The cover art of the single features a man with a classic 1980s mullet: short and full on top, with much longer hair flowing down the back and sides. The front is styled with volume and a soft brushed-up shape, while the back is wavy to curly and shoulder-length. Fashion-wise, it fits a retro glam-rock / new-wave office rebel look: neat enough in front to pair with glasses, shirt, tie, and blazer, but wild at the back for a more eccentric, rock-inspired edge

“Dream Boy” follows Lords of Acid and Princess Superstar’s “Karaoke Superstar”, released in April 2026 on Metropolis Records. That track was a collaboration with US vocalist and DJ Princess Superstar and presented the group in a rather theatrical mode drawing on Japanese game show aesthetics, underground fetish culture, and pop satire.

Both “Dream Boy” and “Karaoke Superstar” are confirmed to appear on the band’s seventh studio album, first announced in February 2026 as “Acid Reign” however that will NOT be the title so we learned. The record is set for release in late 2026 on Metropolis Records and will feature additional guest vocalists alongside Harvey.

Carla Harvey was announced as the new Lords of Acid vocalist on 6 January 2025. Harvey is a US singer previously known as co-lead vocalist of the metal band Butcher Babies. She joined Lords of Acid in early 2025 and fronted the group’s 2025 “Praise The Lords” tour.

Lords of Acid are currently midway through their “Cheeky Freaky Tour” of the United States, which runs until the end of May 2026.

About Lords of Acid

Lords of Acid formed in Antwerp, Belgium in 1988. The founding lineup comprised Maurice Engelen (known as Praga Khan) on keyboards and programming, Nikkie Van Lierop (Jade 4U) on vocals and keyboards, and Olivier Adams on percussion and keyboards. The project debuted with the New Beat single “I Sit On Acid” in 1988 and built an early following in the European club scene before expanding to North America.

Their debut album, “Lust,” appeared in 1991 on Antler-Subway and introduced the group’s blend of techno, acid house, and industrial music with provocative lyrics addressing sexuality, drug use, and hedonism. The record produced club hits and even had chart visibility in the United States.

“Voodoo-U” followed in 1994, shifting the sound toward a heavier industrial direction while retaining the group’s lyrical identity. “Our Little Secret” appeared in 1997 and included one of their most recognised tracks, “Pussy.” The fourth album, “Farstucker,” released in 2000, incorporated more live instrumentation and marked the group’s fuller transition toward industrial rock. A greatest hits compilation, “Greatest T*ts,” appeared in 2003.

After a prolonged hiatus, “Deep Chills” was released on 10 April 2012. DJ Méa (Mea Fisher) handled lead vocals on that record. In 2017, the group reissued “Lust,” “Voodoo-U”, “Our Little Secret,” and “Farstucker” through Metropolis Records as Special Remastered Band Editions on CD and double vinyl.

The sixth album, “Pretty in Kink”, was released on 18 May 2018 via Metropolis Records, following a successful Kickstarter campaign. Marieke Bresseleers provided lead vocals on that release. A best-of compilation, “Smoking Hot”, was issued in May 2016. A further compilation, “Beyond Booze,” appeared in May 2022.

The group announced an extensive touring run under the banner Make Acid Great Again in 2024, advertised as the final tour featuring Praga Khan. Carla Harvey joined as the new lead vocalist in January 2025, and the group launched the 2025 “Praise The Lords” tour in support of that announcement. “Dream Boy” is the second single from the forthcoming yet untitled seventh album.

German indie/alternative project Melanculia release “post mortem” on 15 May 2026 via noot moon records. The 14-track album is the first Melanculia full-length since “Seventh Circle” in 2018 and was written, performed, produced, mixed and mastered by Nino Sable in Essen, Germany. The album will be out as a CD and digital release, with a limited 6-panel digipak edition of 200 copies.

The album follows the video-single “Sunboat Ascension”, of hich you can see the video below.

Nino Sable comments: “post mortem is resurrection music. Minimal arrangements channel emotional intensity through stark beauty – 130 bpm acoustic riffs meet spectral organs, building toward choruses that feel like sunboats rising through red skies. The industrial Ruhr area echoes in every chord: heavy skies, rusted steel, fleeting light.”

“post mortem” is available for ordering on Bandcamp as a digital album and as a limited 6-panel digipak CD.

About Melanculia

Melanculia is Nino Sable’s solo project from Germany’s Ruhr area. Sable started his first solo project in 1999.

The first Melanculia release was “The Dazed Prophet”, released in October 2010. It continued with “Paths” in May 2013, “Lost Sounds” in July 2018, “Seventh Circle” in December 2018 and “post mortem” in May 2026.

Nino Sable is also known as the vocalist and lyricist of Aeon Sable. Aeon Sable were formed in Essen in 2010 by Din-Tah Aeon and Nino Sable. While Din-Tah Aeon handles guitars, programming and production, Nino Sable takes care of vocals, lyrics, production, songwriting, graphics and media design. So far they released “Per Aspera Ad Astra” in 2010, “Saturn Return” in 2012, “Aequinoctium” in 2013, “Visionaers” in 2014, “Hypaerion” in 2016, “Aether” in 2018, “Aenthology” in 2020 and “Aenigma” in 2023.

We previously covered the Spleen+/Alfa Matrix 7CD post-punk boxset “Resurgence“, which includes Aeon Sable’s “From Witchcraft To Deviltry” on CD 1.

Montreal post-punk, shoegaze and darkwave band The City Gates has just released “Chimera” via Icy Cold Records and Velouria Recordz. The 8-track album is available on vinyl, CD and digital formats.

“Chimera” was produced and mixed by The City Gates at Velouria Studios in Montreal. Francesco Giuliano mastered the album at Innerwood Music Mansion in Succivo, Italy.

The band says this about the recording sessions: “Working in our own studio gave us the space to shape the sound at our own pace, letting each track’s atmosphere unfold as we recorded, mixed, and produced everything ourselves.”

The album is available via Bandcamp including a white 12-inch vinyl edition with insert and a 3-panel digipak CD edition with lyrics.

The official video for “Capitol Hill” is available below.

The City Gates Great Devourer tour dates

To support “Chimera”, The City Gates tour Europe from May 29 through June 6 under the name The Great Devourer Tour. The confirmed dates are:

• May 29 — Berlin, DE — Wild at Heart (+ Cataphiles)
• May 30 — Holzminden, DE — Horstberg 76 (+ Golden Apes)
• June 2 — Paris, FR — QG103
• June 3 — Gent, BE — The Crossover (+ Fragment)
• June 4 — Rotterdam, NL — Soundville (+ Death by Audio)
• June 5 — Wuppertal, DE — Loch (+ Us & I)
• June 6 — Modave, BE — Deux-Ours

About The City Gates

The City Gates are a Montréal band mixing post-punk, shoegaze, darkwave and coldwave in their work. The line-up consists of Maxime ‘Max’ Wingender on vocals and guitar, François ‘Frank’ Marsan on guitars, keys and vocals, Jean-Sébastien ‘John’ Tremblay on bass and vocals, and Justin Morneau on drums.

They formed in 2013 when they released the album “Collapse”. It was followed by “Checkpoint Charlie” on October 14, 2017 after which the band moved further toward shoegaze on the 2018 album “Forever Orbiter” released through Northern Light Records.

The band then joined Icy Cold Records and Velouria Recordz for “Age of Resilience”, released on June 9, 2021. Note that Marsan and Wingender also run Velouria Recordz and are involved with the Montréal Velouria Festival.

A few more singles followed – including “Lapidation” in 2024, “La douleur (des mortels)” in 2025 and “Capitol Hill” in 2026 – and now there is “Chimera”. Note that the new album does not include “Lapidation” or “La douleur (des mortels)”.

Berlin dark pop, EBM and dark electro project White Noise TV has released the digital single “Gathering Allies” today, May 15, 2026. The self-produced release runs at a fierceful 181 BPM. The “Gathering Allies” single follows “Transistor” and continues the project’s focus on social division and collective response.

Oliver Staats says this about the new single: “”Gathering Allies” is the moment where observation turns into stance and individual voices become something shared.”

The single has five tracks.

A video with a CRT terminal aesthetic is out as well.

About White Noise TV

White Noise TV is a Berlin-based dark pop project founded by Oliver Staats and Lars Goehring. Staats had been involved in the dark electro scene since the late 1990s, while Goehring had been making electronic music already. The two met through a construction and housing project in 2013 and decided to start making music together after attending Electro Rebel Party at Berlin’s Nuke Club at the end of 2018.

The project released the self-titled debut album “White Noise TV” on March 30, 2020. It was followed with “Every Day Lost” on January 10, 2022. That album was recorded by Oliver Staats, Bernd Abromeit and Lars Goehring, with Bernd Abromeit of Tonschleifer handling mixing and mastering.

The band also appeared on the NoCut Depeche Mode tribute “Music for Constructions”, where the project contributed “World in My Eyes”.

The band continued by releasing “New Dawn” on June 13, 2024. Mixed and engineered by Bernd Abromeit, it was mastered by Brigadier Wolff of Patenbrigade: Wolff. The project then released “Fear Can’t Kill All Future Dreams” on February 7, 2025 and “Transistor” on December 5, 2025. “Transistor” includes remixes by AD:keY, Silicon Avatar, Octobirth, Missing in Stars and Ignazious K.

White Noise TV is now continued as a solo project for Oliver Staats.

The German electronic duo Heldautomat – Christian Purwien and Thomas Kowa – have released their debut single “Am ersten Tag.” Built on analogue synthesizers, piano, and minimalist drum machines, the track is the first release under the Heldautomat name.

The band describe the single as a deliberate departure from streaming-format expectations. “It is not designed for playlists, algorithms, or instant gratification — and that is exactly the point,” they say. Heldautomat describe their position as one that places atmosphere and emotional depth over accessibility.

The title translates as “On the first day,” though the song, as the band explain it, is not about beginnings. “The song dismantles the familiar idea that everything once felt big, meaningful, and full of possibility — and sets it against a sobering present,” they comment. “You move in circles and end up exactly where you started. Only without the illusions.”

The official music video can be viewed below.

About Heldautomat

Heldautomat is a German electronic project formed by Christian Purwien and Thomas Kowa(lzik). The duo work with analogue synthesizers, piano, and drum machines, with Purwien providing vocals and lyrics, and Kowa handling production and synthesis.

Christian Purwien is the vocalist and lyricist of darkwave/electronic act Second Decay, which he co-founded with Andreas Michael Sippel in 1987. Christian Purwien began his recording history as co-founder and vocalist of Second Decay, initially named Blue Velvet, in 1987.

The group worked exclusively with analogue synthesizers and released the tape “Monochromes” in 1988 and the 12-inch “Killing Desire” in 1989, followed by the CD “La Décadence Électronique” in 1992, the maxi-CD “Hinter Glas” in 1993, and the album “Taste” in 1994. The second studio album “The Hunt,” originally released in 1996, was reissued by Emmobiz Records on November 22, 2025 as a green double LP with five bonus tracks. A second vinyl edition of “Taste” is scheduled for release on June 1, 2026 via Emmo.Biz Records as a double LP with previously unreleased material.

Thomas Kowa(lzik) is a music producer, synthesizer specialist, and thriller author. His Erik Lindberg crime series is available as audiobook releases. Kowa has previously worked with No Comment and Nine Seconds.

Purwien and Kowa first began working together as Purwien & Kowa and have released five albums under that name, including “Zwei,” “Drei” (issued in 2018 as three EPs – “Drei 80s,” “Drei Disko,” and “Drei Vegas” – on Zwei Records), and “Vier” (2020). The 2021 release “5=2+3+4×12″” compiled extended versions of tracks from those three albums alongside a new version of the Second Decay track “I Hate Berlin.” In February 2026, Purwien / Kowa performed at the 18th Elektrisch Festival in Zwickau on the dedicated synthpop night, with a set comprising 70% Second Decay material.

Heldautomat is described by the duo as “stripped down, more uncompromising, and emotionally darker” than their previous collaborative work.

Alongside their music output, Purwien and Kowa co-host Disko 80, a German-language podcast documenting 1980s electronic and pop music. Heldautomat marks a new recording direction for the duo and the debut single “Am ersten Tag” is their first release under this name.

“Sylfaera The Fair” can certainly be considered a new milestone in the long history of the Italian group Ataraxia. This is the band’s thirtieth album and the conclusion of a trilogy preceded by “Pomegranate” (2022) and “Centaurea” (2024).

Masterfully guided by the heavenly and unique voice of Francesca Nicoli, alongside her long-time collaborators Vittorio Vandelli and Giovanni Pagliari, the group has also invited several guest musicians for this ten-track work. “Sylfaera The Fair” unfolds like an invitation—the siren call of an imaginary, dark mermaid guiding us through bygone and never-existing lands. Musically, Ataraxia remains faithful to a singular fusion of genres, the secret of which only they seem to possess. Their sound can be situated somewhere between Neo-Folk, Ethereal, Neo-Classical, and Medieval music, while also carrying a distinctly Cinematic quality. The strength of the ensemble lies in its rich tapestry of acoustic instruments, seamlessly interwoven with electronic arrangements and electric guitar. At times, the result is epic; at others, it is refined down to the smallest detail. Francesca Nicoli ultimately provides the magical finishing touch with her unmistakable vocal timbre.

This new work offers a powerful and artistic finale to a trilogy that deserves to be discovered and embraced in its entirety. (Rating:8).

Watch the clip “Sylfaera”:

Prague alternative/synth-pop act Lakeside X release their new single “Absinthe Dream” on 15 May 2026. “Absinthe Dream” follows “Factory Flowers”, released in March 2026. It’s the second of three confirmed singles leading to the band’s first vinyl EP, “Fractured”, due in June 2026. The third single, “Nightrider”, was filmed in Los Angeles and is scheduled for release alongside “Fractured”. The EP also includes remixes of “Factory Flowers”, among them a drum and bass rework by the project Ripple, and a B-side titled “Radio Free Berlin” in a Moderate Mix.

“Absinthe Dream” is produced by Daniel Myer, mixed by Jimmy Monell (Emmon), and mastered by Moimir Papalescu. A music video accompanies the release, directed by Daniel Dvorský and shot on the outskirts of Vancouver, BC. Dvorský, also directed the band’s earlier single “Fire In The Sky”.

The single draws on the cultural history of absinthe as a symbol of illusion and intoxication and maps it onto contemporary social media. Where “Factory Flowers” addressed technological alienation through an industrial-edged sound, “Absinthe Dream” approaches related territory through a slower, more atmospheric arrangement.

Vocalist and songwriter Janne Marvannen explains: “We are all dreaming the absinthe dream now. The screen glows green and blue and we drink deep from it — likes, filters, curated smiles, perfect lives. It is our wormwood. The poets of the Belle Époque drank to escape the hypocrisy of their world. We scroll to escape ours. But we have traded their vivid, terrifying honesty for a comfortable, luminous lie. This song is about that lie. It is a lullaby, yes — but the kind you sing to someone who is sleepwalking towards the edge.”

Dvorský, also directed the band’s earlier single “Fire In The Sky”. The “Absinthe Dream” video was shot in Vancouver, BC.

The “Absinthe Dream” single tracklist:

1. Absinthe Dream
2. Radio Free Berlin
3. Factory Flowers (Pump Mix)

Lakeside X ‘Fractured’ vinyl EP – Out June 2026

Besides “Absinthe Dream”, “Fractured”, and the third single, “Nightrider”, the “Fractured” EP also includes remixes of “Factory Flowers”, among them a drum and bass rework by the project Ripple, and a B-side titled “Radio Free Berlin” in a Moderate Mix.

“Fractured” EP tracklist:

• A1. Nightrider
• A2. Absinthe Dream
• A3. Factory Flowers (Pump Mix)
• B1. Factory Flowers
• B2. Factory Flowers (Ripple Remix)
• B3. Radio Free Berlin (Moderate Mix)

Physical copies of “Fractured” will be available for the first time at the band’s headline show at Cargo Gallery, Prague, on 12 June 2026. The vinyl edition is strictly limited.

New Lakeside X album – Out autumn 2026

Work on Lakeside X’s next full-length studio album is underway, with a release planned for autumn 2026. The band are again collaborating with Daniel Myer (Haujobb, Architect, DSTR, Covenant), who produced their 2022 album “Love Disappears”.

Joining the production for the first time is Christian Eigner, musician, producer, and longtime drummer with Depeche Mode. Lakeside X opened for Depeche Mode in Prague on 30 July 2023 before an audience of more than 40,000, as previously reported by Side-Line.

Lakeside X at Cargo Gallery, Prague (12 June 2026) + Prague’s Planetum in December 2026

Lakeside X will headline Cargo Gallery in Prague on 12 June 2026. The show is their sole performance before autumn and will mark the live debut of new material, including songs from the forthcoming studio album. Physical copies of the “Fractured” vinyl EP will be available exclusively at this show. Tickets are on sale now.

Keyboardist Robert Broj says: “This show is important to us. It is where everything comes together for the first time — the new songs, the new sound, the vinyl in people’s hands. We have been building towards this and we want the audience to show where we’ve come so far. If you want to understand where Lakeside X is heading, June 12 is your answer.”

Later this year, Lakeside X will equally perform at Prague’s Planetum in December 2026. The venue houses a 22-metre (approx. 72-foot) hemispherical LED dome screen – the largest and highest-resolution of its kind in the world, deploying advanced LED rather than traditional projection technology for a fully immersive 8K visual environment. The show will take place in front of a strictly limited audience. Tickets for this event will be announced shortly.

About Lakeside X

Lakeside X are an alternative electronic act from Prague, Czech Republic. The project began in the 1990s under the name Dark Ages, with Janne Marvannen (vocals, songwriting), Robert Broj (keyboards), Jiří Fencl/Max Avalange (keyboards), and Lukáš Březina (guitar). Their first concert under the transitional name Lakeside Church took place at the Depeche Mode ‘Bong’ fanclub convention in 1997, mixing original material with Depeche Mode covers. Early demos were recorded at Prague studios including Buton, Cobra, and Vintage.

After a pause, Marvannen, Broj, and Fencl regrouped in 2004. That year they recorded a cover of “Higher Love” for the Czech Depeche Mode tribute compilation “Some Great Celebration”. X Production issued the debut album “Sunrise” in December 2004, combining original tracks with remixes. In 2005, drummer Igor Dvorský and guitarist Vít Hájek (Vito Hayek) joined as full members. The band changed its name to Lakeside X, partly to remove religious associations from the Lakeside Church name. The second album, “Exit:NowHere”, followed on X Production in 2007, with a darker, guitar-led sound. The third album, “City Of Red Lights”, arrived on X Production in 2010, recorded in 2009, and shifted further toward synthesizer-based writing. Around this time the band performed at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, supported IAMX in Brno, and supported Covenant in Prague. In 2011, Twilight Records in Argentina reissued “Sunrise” under the Lakeside X name.

In 2012 the band self-released the “Wonder” EP (six tracks), followed by reissues of “City Of Red Lights” and “Exit:NowHere” through Germany’s Black Rain label. A Camouflage support slot in Prague in 2013 was among the band’s last shows for several years. The band went quiet after 2014.

“Fire In The Sky”, released in December 2021 and covered by Side-Line, was their first new material after roughly eleven years. It was produced by Daniel Myer, with whom the band had announced their collaboration in May 2021. The album “Love Disappears” followed on Musicraft in 2022, preceded by the singles “Rising” (February 2022), “Lifeline” (June 2022), and “Time Has Come” (October 2022). “Fascination”, released in 2023, was named the number one track of 2023 on Czech Radio 1’s yearly chart. Guitarist Jakub Zachoval joined the band during the “Fascination” recording period.

On 30 July 2023, Depeche Mode selected Lakeside X as support for their Prague show, with an audience of more than 40,000. In 2025, the band completed an extensive European tour alongside Empathy Test, De/Vision, DeVision Redux, and Christian Eigner, including appearances at Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig and EastSide in Halle.

In March 2026, the band released “Factory Flowers” – the first new single in three years and the opening preview of their forthcoming studio album, produced by Daniel Myer and mastered by Moimir Papalescu. “Absinthe Dream” follows on 15 May 2026.

Current lineup: Janne Marvannen (vocals/songwriter), Robert Broj (keyboards), Igor Dvorský (drums), Jakub Zachoval (guitar).

Unter Strøm, the new electronic duo led by Alex Gonzales of Matte Blvck and John Kunkel of The New Division and John Grand, have released their single “Orynth” today May 15, 2026 via Breathing Records. It’s actually their second release after the 2025 single “Breathing”. The project brings a mix of techno, melodic house and industrial electronic music. Breathing Records is an independent label focused on avant-garde, underground, industrial and dark electronic music.

Unter Strøm was formed between Los Angeles and San Diego after Gonzales and Kunkel had worked together in bands and studiowork.

“Orynth” began with Gonzales sketching the track’s opening movements. Kunkel then expanded the piece with time-stretched atmospheres and melodic layers. The single was mixed by Aaron Short, whose credits include The Naked and Famous, So Below and Madison Beer. Aaron Short is also listed in The Naked and Famous’ history as a former member and producer on several releases.

About Unter Strøm

Unter Strøm is an electronic duo formed by Alex Gonzales and John Kunkel. Gonzales is known for Matte Blvck, the San Diego-based darkwave and industrial trio with Bidi Cobra and Daniel Corrales.

Matte Blvck’s catalogue includes “Vows”, “Pupula Duplex”, “Proxy”, “Midnight & Angel” and “I’m Waving, Not Drowning Remixes”.

John Kunkel is the Los Angeles-based electronic musician behind The New Division.Kunkel is also part of the Los Angeles-based Trade Secrets line-up.

In 2025 the band debuted with the 2-track single “Breathing”.

Unter Strøm now brings Gonzales and Kunkel together under a new name, with “Orynth” serving as the project’s newest release.

First time at Out Of Line Weekender, and already one clear impression: this festival fits Berlin perfectly. Across three days at Astra Kulturhaus from 7 to 9 May 2026, it brought together dark electronics, synth-pop, EBM, post-punk, and industrial in a way that felt curated rather than crowded, with a warm, responsive audience, excellent organization, and lights that often shaped the mood as strongly as the music did.

Out Of Line Weekender 2026

Berlin, first impressions, and a night that knew how to build its own voltage

Thursday review: ghostbells, Twin Noir, Priest, Miguel Angeles, Dina Summer, Sierra Veins
Friday review: genCAB, Vanguard, Reaper, Rummelsnuff, CHROM, De/Vision Redux, Aesthetic Perfection
Saturday review: Promenade Cinema, Mildreda, Dawn of Ashes, House of Harm, Massive Ego, Ashbury Heights, KITE

This was my first time at Out Of Line Weekender, and I could not have imagined a more convincing beginning. Some festivals feel portable, as though they could be lifted out of one city and dropped into another without losing much of themselves. This one felt inseparable from Berlin. Its breadth of temperament, its tolerance for contradiction, its appetite for elegance and abrasion existing in the same room, all of that seemed to belong to the city’s own nervous system. Berlin’s openness is never simply about inclusiveness in the abstract; it is also about permission, about allowing different shades of darkness, glamour, theatricality, queer energy, industrial severity, and electronic seduction to coexist without requiring them to explain themselves. Out Of Line Weekender understood that instinctively.

The audience understood it too, and for a first timer that may have been the biggest surprise of all. They were warm, responsive, generous to every act on the bill, and alert in a way that changed the entire room. Nobody behaved as though the evening would only “properly” begin with the bigger names. People listened from the start. They moved. They reacted visibly to details, to textures, to small shifts in mood. That kind of audience is a gift to any festival, and on Thursday it gave the night both its pulse and its dignity. The organization helped enormously as well. Astra is a strong venue to begin with, but the whole setup felt properly cared for: smooth entry, enough space to breathe, excellent visibility, a human atmosphere around the merch and meeting areas, and lighting that did far more than illuminate bodies onstage. It sculpted each set differently, sometimes sharpening the aggression, sometimes bathing the room in melancholy, sometimes turning the stage into a place of near cinematic tension.

Out Of Line Weekender 2026 Thursday review: ghostbells, Twin Noir, Priest, Miguel Angeles, Dina Summer, Sierra Veins

ghostbells opened the evening with far more force than many headliners manage an hour later. The duo has built its identity around the collision of new wave shadow and EBM drive, yet live the balance tipped decisively toward impact: forceful, catchy, immediate, and physically persuasive. Bathed in red light, with a vocalist whose presence felt both beautiful and dynamic, the set came through with a confidence that instantly animated the room. What worked so well was the refusal of passivity. This was not melancholia presented as mood alone, but melancholy sharpened into movement, into pressure, into rhythm that knew exactly how to grip a festival crowd from the first minutes. As an opener, ghostbells did something invaluable: they set a high voltage without exhausting it. 

Twin Noir, the Berlin duo founded in 2021 and built around Cody Barcelona and Ian Volt, brought a different type of intelligence into the room. Their own shorthand, “2 Punks and a Tape Machine,” sounds playful, but there is something much sharper at work in the live setting: a stripped post-punk and wave attack shaped by wiry discipline, darkly danceable electronics, and a certain urban wit. What I liked most was their control. The set felt lean without feeling thin, raw without becoming careless. There was real style in the way they handled repetition and structure, and their German lyrics gave the performance a tautness that suited the night perfectly. Berlin post-punk can sometimes mistake pose for intensity; Twin Noir never did. They were focused, smart, and fully convincing.

Then came Priest, and for me this was one of the emotional anchors of the evening, because they have long been one of my favorite projects. What I had hoped for, they delivered. The characteristic studded masks were there, of course, giving the set that immediately recognizable Priest iconography, but what matters with them has never been image alone. The performance carried exceptional energy, channeled through a visual and sonic precision that never flattened into sterility. Priest have that rare ability to appear sleek, controlled, and emotionally charged at once. The lighting suited them magnificently, slicing the stage into clean futuristic planes, while the audience gave back exactly the kind of focused enthusiasm their set deserved. Watching them here, masked and immaculate, felt deeply satisfying. They did not simply play well. They changed the room’s chemistry. 

Miguel Angeles then detonated whatever composure remained. His work already sits at the crossroads of rap, punk, and electronics, but live that hybrid became an act of outright aggression. He was jumping, spitting energy into the room, driving the set forward with pounding rhythm and a repeated insistence on force, on impact, on refusing restraint. With his jewellery flashed under the lights and a whole visual language that felt like it had arrived from a completely different world, he became the evening’s great rupture, a total shift in texture, temperament, and social temperature. That was exactly why the set worked. It did not simply diversify the bill. It shocked it into a wider range. The audience did not recoil. They leaned in. That made the entire performance feel even more dangerous and alive

And then Dina Summer, one of my absolute favorites, arrived to pull the emotional threads together. The Berlin trio of Dina P., Local Suicide, and Kalipo have developed a sound that threads dark disco, cold wave nostalgia, and club instinct into something that feels both elegant and emotionally bruised, but what makes them truly special live is Dina herself. She commands the stage in an elegant way, yes, but never a passive or distant one. There is something slightly cheeky, slightly sharp in her presence, a poised confidence that gives the performance its own particular tension. Their set was beautiful, deeply emotional, and full of that suspended feeling only certain bands can create, as though the room were dancing and remembering at the same time. I have always found something unusually affecting in Dina Summer’s atmosphere, and Thursday confirmed that instinct again. Their music does not plead for emotion. It draws it out with style, restraint, and absolute confidence.

The closing word belonged to Sierra Veins, and there was something wonderfully appropriate in ending the evening with an artist whose universe seems built from pressure, drama, and release. Her dark electronic language draws from synthwave, EBM, and darkwave, and live all of that crystallized into a set of overwhelming authority. She felt like the queen of sonic mayhem, yes, but with command rather than chaos at the center of it. Her delivery was exceptional, fierce, total, and utterly inhabited. There are performers who stand inside a show and performers who seem to generate the weather around them. Sierra belongs to the latter category. By the time she finished, the audience was fully hers.

What made Thursday so memorable was not simply the strength of the bill, though the curation was excellent, but the way every element met the others at exactly the right angle. The crowd was generous. The lights were stunning. The room never sagged. The transitions felt intelligent. And because it was my first encounter with the festival, everything arrived with the additional force of discovery. By the end of day one, Out Of Line Weekender had already made its case with remarkable clarity: this is a festival that understands pacing, respects its audience, and knows how to let very different artists occupy the same world without diluting any of them.

Out Of Line Weekender 2026 Friday: genCAB, Vanguard, Reaper, Rummelsnuff, CHROM, De/Vision Redux, Aesthetic Perfection

Berlin turned the voltage up

If the first day of Out Of Line Weekender introduced the festival’s emotional intelligence, the second one arrived like a clenched fist. Friday was the night of force: strong electronics, aggressive performance, sonic violence, bodies moving almost instinctively to impact, distortion, rhythm, and release. Yet what made it memorable was not brutality alone, but the way that aggression kept colliding with melody, memory, melancholy, and a very Berlin kind of openness. In a city that has always understood friction better than smoothness, this program made perfect sense. It was hard, theatrical, excessive, intimate, and strangely communal at the same time. The audience met it beautifully. They were fully in it from early on, responsive in the right places, emotionally available when the music opened, and eager to surrender when the stage demanded it.

Visually, Friday may have been the strongest day of the three. The lights were stunning throughout, not merely dramatic, but genuinely interpretive. They sharpened silhouettes, carved out tension, and gave the heavier sets a kind of cinematic pressure. Nothing felt generic. Each act seemed to inherit a different visual climate, and that made the whole evening feel less like a sequence of concerts than like a carefully designed descent.

genCAB opened the night with what felt like a controlled flood blast, a set that managed to be terrifying, emotional, and strangely beautiful all at once. The project, led by David Dutton, has long worked in that dense zone where dark electro, post-industrial textures, and more recent traces of shoegaze and post-hardcore can coexist without cancelling one another out. Live, that amalgam becomes even more intense. What hit me first was the pressure of the sound, then the emotional undertow beneath it. This was not cold programming for its own sake. There was something deeply human in the force of it, something haunted and bruised, which made the aggression feel earned rather than cosmetic. As an opener, it was devastatingly effective.

Vanguard continued the assault from a different angle. Founded in 2008 by Jonas Olofsson and Patrik Hansson, the Swedish duo has spent years refining a sound that moves between synth-pop clarity and harder electronic propulsion. On Friday, that Swedish attack conquered Berlin with ease. Their set was energetic, sharply delivered, and sustained by a very tangible rapport with the audience. You could feel the room trusting them quickly. What I admired most was the balance: they never lost melodic shape, even when the performance leaned heavily into physical momentum. It was one of those shows that reminds you how much power there still is in structure, in choruses, in electronics that know how to move a crowd without flattening themselves into pure function.

Then came Reaper, and with Reaper the evening fully embraced its harsher instincts. The project’s fusion of techno, aggrotech, and dark electro hit exactly as it should live: aggressive, danceable, catchy, and completely uninterested in restraint. Vasi Vallis has always understood that club violence works best when it knows how to seduce before it attacks, and that was palpable here. The performance carried all the bite one could want, but the hooks were just as important as the impact. The crowd responded accordingly, not with polite appreciation but with immediate bodily recognition. This was one of the points in the evening where the floor seemed to stop thinking and simply obey.

Rummelsnuff then arrived as the great glorious shock to the system, both visually and sonically. Roger Baptist, alias Rummelsnuff, is a songwriter, entertainer, and weightlifter whose music travels under names like Männermusik, Sporthymnen, shanties, and workers’ songs, which already tells you this is no ordinary festival booking. In the middle of such a relentlessly electronic bill, he functioned as a rupture and a provocation, but also as a reminder that darkness in music need not always wear the same uniform. His outlook alone reconfigured the room. Then the songs did the rest. There was humour, theatrical absurdity, brute physicality, and a very specific Eastern German charisma that cannot really be replicated or translated. Some people in the audience looked delighted, some stunned, many both at once. Exactly as it should be.

CHROM brought the evening back into melodic electro with absolute confidence. Founded in 2007 by Christian Marquis and Thomas Winters, the project has long stood for a synthesis of synth-pop, EBM, and club electro built on strong bass weight and memorable hooks, and Friday proved how durable that formula remains when handled by people who know exactly what they are doing. Their set was dynamic, tight, and deeply catchy, the kind of performance that lets melody hit with full force without sacrificing pressure. By that point in the evening, the audience was already fully primed, and CHROM used that energy wisely, not overplaying, not forcing, simply delivering songs with enough momentum and enough emotional clarity to make the room move as one organism.

Then came one of the night’s most affecting moments: De/Vision Redux. As a format built around Steffen Keth and Daniel Myer, reimagining DE/VISION material in a more modern and more electronic shape, it could easily have felt like a technical exercise in revision. On stage, it felt like the opposite. It felt lived. What made the set so moving was not merely the songs themselves, but the way Steffen carried them. His voice has always possessed that unmistakable emotional current, and his performance style, direct, inward, and deeply affecting without turning theatrical for the sake of it, made the whole room follow him almost instinctively. Daniel Myer gave the material a different pulse, a sharper electronic body, but never at the expense of its melancholy core. Many people around me were visibly moved, and understandably so. This is what dark electronic music can do at its best: it can hold sadness, nostalgia, memory, and emotional complexity inside a fully electronic blast without diminishing any of them. For a while, the room seemed suspended between dancefloor instinct and private recollection.

And then, to finish, Aesthetic Perfection hit the stage with the kind of charisma that turns a closing set into an event. Daniel Graves’ long-running industrial pop force has spent more than two decades redefining dark electro by blending industrial, pop, goth, and everything between, and Friday’s special oldschool electro framing gave that history extra bite. Graves was, quite simply, on fire: aggressive, magnetic, razor sharp, and entirely in command of the room. He has that rare talent for making intensity feel both precise and unhinged, as though the performance could fly apart at any second while somehow remaining perfectly steered. The audience gave him everything back. It was loud, ecstatic, and deserved. By the end, Friday had completed its arc from opening terror to full scale catharsis.

What I loved most about this second day was the way it proved that aggression alone is never enough. Friday worked because each artist brought a different temperature to the same broad field of force: genCAB with emotional sonic terror, Vanguard with Scandinavian precision and crowd connection, Reaper with punishing dancefloor instinct, Rummelsnuff with glorious disorientation, CHROM with melodic propulsion, De/Vision Redux with aching beauty, and Aesthetic Perfection with pure charismatic demolition. The audience understood all of it. Berlin held all of it. And the festival, once again, knew exactly how to let those extremes coexist without ever letting the evening lose its shape.

Out Of Line Weekender 2026 Saturday: Promenade Cinema, Mildreda, Dawn of Ashes, House of Harm, Massive Ego, Ashbury Heights, KITE

The closing day, where intensity widened into feeling

Saturday, the grand finale of Out Of Line Weekender, offered the most beautiful emotional palette of the entire festival. After Thursday’s sense of discovery and Friday’s full scale electronic assault, the final day opened the field wider. There was still force, still impact, still the physical thrill that this festival understands so well, but the dominant impression was different. Saturday moved through longing, fragility, theatrical power, darkness, tenderness, glamour, rupture, and finally catharsis. It felt like a day built not around one mood, but around emotional range itself.

It began with Promenade Cinema, and from the first moments it was obvious that the room was in the hands of something special. The duo from Manchester has always known how to marry electronics with drama, but live the effect is stronger, because the voice at the centre of the songs does not simply lead the music; it fills the entire room with presence. The minimal elegance of the stage image only sharpened that effect. There was nothing excessive in the visual presentation, and that restraint made the performance even more powerful. What stayed with me was the sheer force of the vocal range, the way beauty and command could coexist without one softening the other. It was a stunning way to open the day, poised and emotionally immediate at once.

Mildreda’s concert was, for me, one of the most deeply felt moments of the whole festival. The Belgian dark electro project led by Jan Dewulf has always carried real affective and psychological weight, and once again they proved why. Their emotional depth and powerful performances have inspired me for a long time. There is something in what they do that goes beyond performance in the usual sense. Their work keeps circling states of mind, pain, collapse, longing, inner violence, and spiritual conflict, including a difficult, often charged engagement with religion, and yet nothing about it feels theoretical or imposed. On stage, all of it becomes lived language. There are moments when I watch them and feel as if a bruised soul itself had stepped into light and sound. Their emotions are so vivid and palpable that disbelief becomes impossible; I believe them, and in that moment I often recognise the same emotional weather within myself. The translation is that complete. Every time I see them, I am struck again by how fully they deliver, how naturally they turn inner fracture into music without reducing it or sentimentalizing it. They remain one of the most persuasive examples of how dark electronic music can speak a genuinely human language.

Then came Dawn of Ashes, and suddenly the stage belonged to a much harsher, darker theatre. Founded in Los Angeles by Kristof Bathory and shaped across more than two decades of movement between aggrotech, industrial, and blackened extremity, the project carries that long evolution very visibly into the live setting. What hit me first was how much was going on visually: horrorish makeup, theatrical gestures, a stage presence that felt almost ritualistic, and a total commitment to atmosphere. But none of it felt decorative. The music was aggressive in a fully embodied way, and the visual dimension sharpened that aggression rather than softening it into spectacle. There was something savage and almost ceremonial in the whole set, as if violence, dread, and performance had been welded into one language for half an hour. On a closing day built around emotional range, Dawn of Ashes brought in a necessary note of the grotesque and the feral, and they did it with real force.

House of Harm turned out to be one of my personal revelations of the festival. The Boston act moves in that rich zone where post-punk tension, darkwave atmosphere, and synth driven melancholy reinforce one another rather than competing for space, and live that balance became deeply compelling. There was a beautiful severity to the set, enough emotional weight to keep it from feeling stylish for style’s sake, and enough composure to let the songs breathe. What I admired most was how naturally they held mood and force together. The performance felt inspiring in the truest way, not because it tried to announce itself as important, but because the songs carried shape, urgency, and atmosphere in equal measure. It was one of those sets that quietly rearranges your expectations while it is happening.

Massive Ego then brought in a completely different kind of voltage and handled it brilliantly. Formed in 1996 around Marc Massive and emerging from the Romo scene before moving decisively into darker electronic and darkwave territory, the project carries a long history of reinvention, and that history could be felt on stage. Marc remains an exceptionally charismatic centre of gravity, someone who understands performance as both communication and image without ever losing the emotional core of the songs. The rapport with the audience was immediate and strong, and the whole set worked musically and visually at once. The dramatic makeup, the thorn shaped Mickey Mouse crown, and the lighting gave the performance a distinctly theatrical charge, though never in a simplistic gothic sense; the whole thing carried the wit of pastiche, the intelligence of exaggeration, and that sharp Massive Ego instinct for turning camp, pain, glamour, and commentary into one coherent language. What made it land so well was that the spectacle never floated free of the music. It remained anchored in rhythm, songwriting, and that unmistakable sense of a frontperson who knows exactly how to hold a room.Then came two of my absolute highlights.

Ashbury Heights have been important to me for years, ever since I first saw them at Wave Gotik Treffen 2004, and my love for them has never faded. Saturday only deepened it. Their lyrics have always mattered enormously to me, because they approach difficult emotional terrain with grace, elegance, and astonishing verbal precision. They write about fractures, masks, mental states, and those private inner disasters people carry beneath a functioning exterior, yet they do so with wit, beauty, and a kind of hard won lucidity that never slides into cheap darkness. Live, that writing meets a performance language of unusual intelligence. Anders and Yasmine Uhlin feel like two sides of the same coin. He carries the emotional weight in a way that feels almost wrenching, as though each song were drawing something raw and unresolved out into the open. She moves through the set like a spiritualized actress in a beautifully unhinged register, coming as close to the audience as possible, locking eyes with people, inhabiting the stage as though it belongs to her and she has no intention of giving it back. At certain moments, their energies merge into one rich artistic outflow, like two different materials suddenly coalescing, and the effect is stunning. That is what makes Ashbury Heights so special to me. There is real intelligence in how they perform and in what they choose to perform about. The songs hit hard, the stage presence is sharp and emotionally exact, and difficult feelings enter the room in a form that is thrilling rather than crushing. They make pain articulate, stylish, and vividly alive.

And then came KITE.

Whenever I try to write about KITE, I feel language thinning under my hands. There are bands one can describe, and then there are bands that exceed description because what they do on stage is too close to emotional transfiguration. I can never approach a KITE performance from a safe critical distance. I simply stand there and absorb. Their songs enter with extraordinary force because the music and the lyrics strike from two different directions at once, each one devastating on its own, each one magnified by the other. They write about the human soul in states of transition, exposure, loss, revelation, ascent, collapse, and return. They write about transformations and reversals, about the parts of a person that are hardest to face and hardest to name. And then they give those things voice so precisely that you can feel your own hidden inner life being called out into the open. That is what makes certain KITE songs so overwhelming. A track like ‘Glassy Eyes’ does not simply move the listener; it seems to prise something open. Others carry the same effect, that sense of being cracked wide while fully conscious, of having emotions you thought you had sealed away suddenly drawn outward through music. It is cathartic in the deepest sense, and always personal. Visually, the show was spectacular. There were new decorative elements, the lighting was stunning, the stage image felt heightened and fully shaped, and the whole performance had that rare quality of total commitment. The duo do not merely “play” the songs. They inhabit them with a degree of intensity that makes the whole thing feel closer to experience than concert. Especially the physicality from the stage, the sense of total emotional expenditure, gave the set its force. This is why I always struggle to write a detached review of KITE. What they do is too alive, too exposing, too close to the nerves.

And after that, after such a finale, the afterparty felt less like an appendix than a necessary continuation. The energy stayed high, the room stayed alive, and the DJ carried the crowd forward in exactly the right spirit, not as a mechanical epilogue, but as one last shared act of release.

Out Of Line Weekender 2026 final thoughts: audience, organization, lights, and why the festival worked

So the festival ended in the best possible way: with force, beauty, openness, and that rare feeling of having been inside something genuinely meaningful. Out Of Line Weekender 2026 was a fantastic event, beautifully organized, warm in spirit, impressive in sound and light, and full of artists who understood how to meet an audience without ever flattening themselves for ease. For a first encounter, it could hardly have been better. It was wonderful, it was moving, and it left behind the most important thing a festival can leave behind: the desire to return.

The next edition of Out Of Line Weekender will take place on 6, 7, and 8 May 2027, with the first confirmed acts including Hocico, Suicide Commando, Ist Ist, Erdling, Swarm, Ductape, Male Tears, Zanias, Signal Aout 42, Hinefort, and Kllsignl. More at https://www.outofline.de/

Berlin-based dark disco, EBM and electro trio Dina Summer have released the digital single “Voodoo” via Iptamenos Discos. The “Voodoo” single follows “On The Road feat. Joshua Murphy”, released on March 25, 2026, and “Fuel”, released on April 15, 2026. An extended version will follow on May 20.

Dina Summer is the collaborative project of Dina P. and Brax Moody of Local Suicide with Kalipo.

The band is also featured with “Who Am I (Club Version)” on CD 6 of “Resurgence”, a massive 7CD post-punk boxset.

About Dina Summer

Dina Summer is a Berlin-based electronic trio formed around Local Suicide’s Dina aka Vamparela and Munich-born Max Brudi aka Brax Moody with Kalipo. Behind Kalipo we find Jakob Häglsperger, a German producer, keyboardist, bassist and songwriter, which you might know from his work with Frittenbude.

The trio first met at Rock am Ring in 2013 and began working on music together in 2019. The project combines late 1990s electro, 1980s disco and new wave.

Dina Summer’s first release was the EP “Who Am I”, issued on December 17, 2021 via Iptamenos Discos in 12-inch and digital formats. The release included remixes by Black Light Smoke, Wiener Planquadrat and Time To Sleep. A reissue followed in 2022.

The debut album “Rimini” followed in 2022. “Hide & Seek” followed as a limited numbered 12-inch release in Germany on February 23, 2024.

The trio then released the second album “Girls Gang” on January 24, 2025 via Iptamenos Discos. The album was followed by “Girls Gang Remixes” in March 2025 and a deluxe version in October 2025. In 2026, the trio issued “On The Road feat. Joshua Murphy”, “Fuel” and now “Voodoo”.

With the second single from his upcoming EP ‘Gothstar’, Ray Noir drops “Black” today May 14th – a high camp rave-metal track leaning fully into queer excess, with some chaotic visuals to match the song.

“It’s very much pushing the world and music I’ve been building recently”, Ray says, “it is pure, unfiltered excess.”

Labeling the track as a sleazy, high-camp collision of rave and metalcore, “Black” is indeed built for the dancefloor.

The music video turns things up further and offers a glossy, chaotic fantasy of power, fetish and performance, where Ray plays ringmaster to a cast of devoted, unhinged admirers. “It’s hypersexual, theatrical and deliberately over the top, less shock value, more weaponised camp.”

“I wanted to become a caricature of everything people project onto me and then make it worse,” Ray says. Drawing from fashion, nightlife and queer club culture, “Black” wants to blur satire and self-mythology. “It’s indulgent, confrontational and doesn’t care if you’re in on the joke or not.”

About Ray Noir

Ray Noir is a London-based alt-goth and electro-metal artist originally from Oslo, Norway. His music is influenced by Norwegian black-metal with industrial rock, goth, electronic club music and alt-metal. His first solo single, “Double Trouble,” was released in 2014, followed by early collaborations including QBoy’s 2015 single “DragOn,” featuring Ray Noir and Frankco.

We first covered Ray Noir in 2023 with “Pity Party,” a track from the “Scorpio” mixtape produced and mixed by KANGA, with songwriting by Ray Noir and Madeleine Wood, keyboards by Bjørn Heden of Combichrist, guitar by Christer Krogh and mastering by Joe Farr. The follow-up single “Latency” was also produced and mixed by KANGA, written by Ray Noir and Madeleine Wood, and mastered by Joe Farr.

“Scorpio” received a deluxe edition in July 2024 after passing 100,000 streams, adding “All Alone” with Mariann Rosa of Surferosa, a “Double Trouble” remix by TOVA, and remixes by Gothminister, Corlyx, Tension Control and others.

In 2025, we got the singles “Razorblade Romance” with Steve Stevens, known for his work with Billy Idol and “Top Gun Anthem.” The same year, “Shout,” was released, a reinterpretation of the 1985 Tears for Fears single, featuring guitars by Arno Von Detritus and backing vocals from Ben Christo of The Sisters of Mercy.

The EP “Against The Machine” followed on September 18, 2025. The EP was produced by Jon Cass and includes “Razorblade Romance” with Steve Stevens, “Dead Valentine,” “Mad World” and “YMATD (Alternative Version).” A deluxe edition followed in December 2025 with remixes by Tension Control, Verona On Venus, Junkie Kut and Ays Kura, plus vinyl and CD editions.

In 2026, Ray Noir launched “Temptation,” “Breathe,” “Label Whxre” and “Black”, ahead of the “Gothstar” EP which is scheduled for release on September 17, 2026.

Swedish machine-pop project Maschine Brennt (Joacim Thenander) has released “Music for Machines” as a limited CD edition of 250 hand-numbered copies in a standard jewel case with an 8-page booklet. The 14-track CD album spans 12 main tracks and two bonus tracks and was already released digitally by Razgrom Music on February 27, 2026. It marks the project’s first full-length release since “Grief” in 2022.

The two bonus tracks on the CD version are “Electric Music” in a 1st demo version and “DCY” in a previously unreleased club mix.

The album concept, as reflected in its title and artwork, centres on the idea of music created by machines for machines – a theme Thenander has explored since the project’s founding.

Two official videos accompany the release. The album teaser for “Music for Machines” and an official video clip for the track “Maschine”.

About Maschine Brennt

Maschine Brennt is a solo electronic music project by Joacim Thenander, based in Sweden. The project name is taken from a B-side of a Falco single. Thenander established the project around 1991–1992 as a side outlet alongside Cultivated Bimbo, the Uppsala-based EBM and experimental electronics duo for which he served as the primary creative force.

Before Cultivated Bimbo, Thenander was a member of the industrial synth band Systema The Affliction. During the 1990s he also produced house, techno, and drum’n’bass material under separate aliases, including Joey Lucas and Killa Dawgs.

The Maschine Brennt concept shows a machine-first approach: whole-tone scales, hard-quantized rhythms, and robotic vocal processing were used to minimize the human element in the music. As Thenander says in a 2018 Side-Line interview, “The main reason was to present music as if the machines had made it.”

After performing a small number of live shows between 1992 and 1994, Maschine Brennt went dormant. Thenander revived the project in 2014 after joining the Swedish collective label Plonk, whose focus on Düsseldorf-influenced computer music aligned with the project’s original direction.

The debut full-length, “The Hearing Aid”, was released in 2017 digitally through Plonk and on CD through Razgrom Music, the latter edition containing four additional unreleased tracks. A second album, “Puls”, followed in 2021 on both Plonk and Razgrom Music. In October 2021, the two-track “Loop Remix” EP appeared on Plonk, featuring a Syntronik rework and a 2020 Carebots Mix of the “Puls” track “Loop”. Syntronik is a further alias Thenander uses for old-school electro material.

In March 2022, Maschine Brennt released “Grief”, a conceptual ambient-instrumental album drawing on Berlin School electronics and experimental electronic music. The digital edition appeared March 31, 2022; a limited CD edition of 150 hand-numbered copies with two bonus tracks, “Ice” and “Last”, followed in July 2022 through Razgrom Music. Between “Grief” and the current release, Thenander issued a number of digital singles without a full-length follow-up.

“Music for Machines” is Maschine Brennt’s fourth studio album and the project’s return to machine-pop after the ambient detour of “Grief”. The limited CD edition of 250 hand-numbered copies is available now, including 2 bonus tracks.

Mephisto Odyssey founder Mikael Johnston has released a 2026 remaster of his “Crucified Dub” version of Static-X‘s “Push It,” timed to mark the track’s RIAA Gold certification on April 21, 2026. The Crucified Dub originally appeared on the official “Push It” maxi-single in 1999 and was the first creative collaboration between Johnston and the late Static-X frontman Wayne Static. The remaster was handled by Johnston at Pop Twist Studios and is accompanied by a new video with visuals by Matt Zane.

The original Crucified Dub was created in 1999 for the “Push It” maxi-single, which was drawn from Static-X’s debut album “Wisconsin Death Trip.” Wayne Static was directly involved during the production of the mix. “This was the first thing Wayne Static and I ever collaborated on,” Johnston says. “He actually gave input on this version as it was being created and he loved it! Which makes this release especially important because it sparked our future collaborations including CRASH, my remix of Cold among many others.”

“Wisconsin Death Trip” was certified platinum by the RIAA. The “Push It” single received its RIAA Gold certification on April 21, 2026, more than two decades after its original release.

About Mephisto Odyssey and Static-X

Mephisto Odyssey is a West Coast industrial and electronic music project founded by Mikael Johnston in 1993 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Johnston operates as producer and audio engineer under the project name and is also part of the duo Dresden And Johnston.

The project became active in the mid-1990s and built a catalog of official remixes for acts including Static-X and Jane’s Addiction. Mephisto Odyssey’s first collaboration with Wayne Static, the “Crucified Dub” version of Static-X’s “Push It,” appeared on the official “Push It” maxi-single in 1999. The working relationship with Static continued with the co-written track “CRASH,” placed on the “Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker” soundtrack and accompanied by a Len Wiseman-directed video featuring both Wayne Static and Johnston. A Mephisto Odyssey remix of Static-X’s “Cold” was also produced during this period.

The project secured a major-label release through Warner Bros. and contributed music to the “Hostel” film soundtrack. Johnston has continued to operate Pop Twist Studios as his production and engineering base.

Wayne Static died on November 1, 2014. Static-X reformed in 2018 with original members Tony Campos, Koichi Fukuda, and Ken Jay, and has continued releasing material since, including “All These Years” and the “Project Regeneration Volume 1” single “Dead Souls,” both featuring archival Wayne Static vocals.

In 2026, Mephisto Odyssey launched a catalog revival campaign. The 2026 remaster of the “Push It” Crucified Dub is the first confirmed release of that campaign, issued to coincide with the RIAA Gold certification of Static-X’s “Push It” single on April 21, 2026. Additional Mephisto Odyssey vault material and new recordings are scheduled for release throughout 2026.

E.R.M.T. is a Greek project that has already released several singles, with this EP and a full-length album scheduled for this year.

This EP features four tracks primarily defined by a fusion of dark, hard Techno on the one hand, and Ritualistic, Ethereal chant-like elements on the other. The combination may seem surprising—if anything can still surprise these days—but it is executed exceptionally well. The result goes far beyond standard Dark-Techno, incorporating striking and at times almost ecstatic sound manipulations. In particular, the fragmented passages with tearing electronic textures stand out, occasionally enhanced by sampled guitar elements. The overall sound is raw, brutal, and highly effective.

On one of the tracks, E.R.M.T. pushes things further by incorporating touches of Psy-Trance. The first three tracks, in particular, left a strong impression on me and would fit perfectly within an Industrial club setting.

All in all, this EP comes as a welcome surprise. Anyone with an affinity for dark, underground Techno should definitely give “Abyssal Rites” a listen. (Rating:7).

Listen to an extract of “Vox Abyssi”:

https://amazon.de/music/player/tracks/B0GQD2VV3X?marketplaceId=A1PA6795UKMFR9&musicTerritory=DE&ref=dm_sh_XuHS24Jwxf1km1GpU7nMgziSb

The German gothic dark wave act Silke Bischoff has signed with the German label Dependent Records. The deal covers catalogue reissues, but the label has not yet announced release dates, formats, catalogue numbers or store links.

In a comment Axel Kretschmann says: “After our material has been withheld from the public for so long, I feel it is my duty to give back to the fans what rightfully belongs to them, because they are the heartbeat of this band – we love you!”, adding: “I am convinced that Dependent is the best partner for our project. The label represents numerous well-known bands from our genre and has earned an excellent reputation – particularly in the underground scene. In my opinion, they do a very good job and offer exactly the expertise and support that we need. At the present, I do not see any other partner that could be a better fit for us.”

Dependent founder Stefan Herwig from his side says: “When Silke Bischoff emerged in the 1990s, they were more than just a fixture on all dark music dance floors”, adding: “They defined a way of life that eluded bourgeois appropriation. Many of their tracks became anthems that have stood the test of time and continue to resonate until today. We are delighted to make these cult milestones finally accessible again. Silke Bischoff created an aesthetic counter-universe that defined what the music of the ‘black scene’ actually meant in the 1990s. Their artwork was not a mere accessory, but a manifesto – a visual expression of an anti-mainstream attitude toward life that shaped the gothic scene like almost nothing else. Melancholy, death, sexually charged imagery, and provocation defined the coordinates of an existence beyond bourgeois norms. We are thrilled to welcome Silke Bischoff to our roster!”

Dependent Records was founded by Stefan Herwig in Gelsenkirchen, Germany in 1998 and became part of the SPKR media group in 2018. The label’s catalogue includes releases by VNV Nation, Covenant, Mesh, Velvet Acid Christ and Suicide Commando.

Where to see Silke Bischoff live in 2026

Silke Bischoff has three German concerts scheduled for September 2026. The live line-up consists of Axel Kretschmann on vocals, keyboards and guitar, Markus Köster on drums, and Andy Simanowitz on piano, keyboards and background vocals.

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

About Silke Bischoff

Silke Bischoff were founded in Germany in spring 1990 by Felix Flaucher and Axel Kretschmann. The project released three two-track demo tapes in 1990: “I Don’t Love You Anymore / Small and Tired”, “Why Me? / Follow Me Into the Night”, and “666 Hellbound / Hold Me”. The band name referred to Silke Bischoff, the 18-year-old victim killed during the 1988 Gladbeck hostage crisis.

The debut album “Silke Bischoff” followed as an LP in 1991, with a CD edition in 1992. “On the Other Side (I’ll See You Again)” appeared on the debut album and became a known club track in the German darkwave scene. Frank Schwer later joined, and “The Man on the Wooden Cross” followed in 1993. “To Protect and to Serve” (including the massive club hit “Under your skin“) was released in 1995, followed by “Northern Lights” and “Waste of Time” in 1996.

After internal disputes, Kretschmann left the project. In 2002, Flaucher and Schwer continued under the name 18 Summers and released “Girl of 18 Summers” and “Virgin Mary” in 2002, a re-release of “Phoenix from the Flames” in 2003, and “The Magic Circus” in 2012. Flaucher died in August 2017 after a long illness.

In 2025, Axel Kretschmann revived the Silke Bischoff name for a Wave-Gotik-Treffen performance in Leipzig. Alexander Veljanov of Deine Lakaien and Sven Friedrich of Dreadful Shadows, Zeraphine and Solar Fake appeared as guest vocalists.

Makes My Blood Dance, the New York-based electro-goth, pop-metal and electronic dance music act, will release its debut album “Z3r0 2 LGHT $p33d!” on 5 June 2026 via Metropolis Records. The album is available as a digital pre-order and CD, with the digital edition set for release on 5 June. A vinyl edition is scheduled for August.

The album contains 10 tracks and follows a series of Metropolis Records singles. Makes My Blood Dance signed to the label in late 2025 and released “Your Little Hand In Mine” as their label debut, followed by “Black Summer” and “Lately (feat. Macy Gray)“.

The album was produced by Bret “Epic” Mazur and Mikal Blue; and engineering by Alex Lebowitz and Dalton Cyr.

Makes My Blood Dance tour dates with Powerman 5000 and 12 Stones

Makes My Blood Dance are touring the US with Powerman 5000 and 12 Stones from late April through May.

• May 13 – Machine Shop – Flint, MI
• May 16 – Apollo Theater – Belvidere, IL
• May 17 – Blue Note – Harrison, OH
• May 20 – Venue Event Center – Cadillac, MI
• May 21 – The Forge – Joliet, IL
• May 22 – Catfish Bend Casino – Burlington, IA
• May 23 – Q Casino – Dubuque, IA
• May 25 – Black Sheep – Colorado Springs, CO
• May 26 – Federal Theatre – Denver, CO
• May 28 – The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA *
• May 30 – Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA *

(*) Select dates with Adema.

About Makes My Blood Dance

Makes My Blood Dance is a Brooklyn, New York-based project that merges disco-inflected electronics, metal guitars, and dark pop songwriting. The band began taking shape in late 2017, when vocalist EV0 and guitarist/programmer Jon Kristian started writing together after earlier work in Fixer, ERS, and Proxima Control. They were soon joined by bassist Alex “Mother Russia” Nikitin and drummer Carlos “CK1” Gordillo.

Their official debut single, “Beaming Right Up”, arrived in 2019, followed later that year by “Sick As Our Secrets”, with both tracks supported by videos and early US club touring. Early physical distribution included limited USB dog tags containing songs, lyrics, and artwork. In December 2020, the band released the six-track “Disco Metal” EP via Alpha Centauri Records, consolidating material from the early singles alongside additional tracks. In 2021, they followed with the live EP “LIVE at Smash Sound Stage (New York City)”, then issued further standalone singles including “Power Of The Lightside” and “Communion (Radio Edit)”.

From 2022 onward, Makes My Blood Dance expanded their touring radius and video output with the single “Together Apart” (2022), and the singles “Heaven Collides” and “Knowin’ It Without Knowin’ Why” (2023), each released with an official video. By 2024, the lineup had evolved around core songwriters EV0 and Jon Kristian, with “I Love” Lucy on bass and G Rex on drums.

In late 2025, Makes My Blood Dance signed to Metropolis Records and released “Your Little Hand In Mine”, “Heavy Metal Armour”, and “Time And A Place” as their first wave of label singles, produced by Bret “Epic” Mazur and Mikal Blue. As of March 2026, “Heavy Metal Armour” has passed 680,000 Spotify streams, while “Time and a Place” has earned 642,000+ organic YouTube views and “Your Little Hand In Mine” has crossed 348,000 YouTube views. Touring remains central to the project, with the band averaging 70+ shows annually and listing 78 tour dates confirmed for 2026.

“Lately (feat. Macy Gray)” now leads into the June 2026 debut album “Z3r0 2 LGHT $p33d!”.

San Francisco dark alternative/post-punk band Octavian Winters have just released “By the Stars” via Stratis Capta Records. The digital single was produced by William Faith and arrives ahead of the band’s appearance at Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig, Germany.

“By the Stars” follows the March 2026 single “Elements of Air”. This new track moves more toward the band’s dream pop and ethereal darkwave side, with slower percussion, call-and-response vocals and melodic keyboard layers.

Lyricist and frontwoman Ria Aursjoen says: “The song has the feel of a sea voyage. The images for me were always ones of the vastness of the sky and the sea, and the feeling of the magnificent beauty of the world. The call and answer vocals are like two people calling back and forth across a valley. It’s meant to encompass that feeling of transcendence when you take a meta view of life and of the natural world, and just fall into the beautiful patterns of it all.”

Drummer Randy Gzebb adds: “I remember playing an all-ages show in Northern California, looked up mid-song and saw these two young goth girls at the front of the stage with tears streaming down their faces. That moment told me everything I needed to know about ‘By the Stars’. You know a song matters when it reaches people like that.”

“By the Stars” is available via Bandcamp, Spotify and most major digital music stores.

Octavian Winters perform at Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig on Friday, May 22, 2026. The band also just completed an April 2026 U.S. West Coast tour with Pink Turns Blue.

About Octavian Winters

Octavian Winters formed in San Francisco in 2022. The lineup consists of Ria Aursjoen on vocals and keyboards, Stephan Bryan Salit on guitar, Randy Gzebb on drums and Jay Denton on bass. In late 2021, Gzebb and Salit began writing after discussing a publishing deal for their earlier project Thrill of The Pull. Aursjoen joined the sessions in early 2022, and Denton completed the lineup soon after.

The band first worked as a recording project because live venues were still limited at the time. William Faith, known for Faith and the Muse, The Bellwether Syndicate, Christian Death and The March Violets, became the producer for the early material. Their first single “Ondine” appeared in March 2023, followed by “Undertow” in August 2023 and “Surreal” in September 2023.

Octavian Winters released the five-track EP “The Line or Curve” on October 13, 2023 via Stratis Capta Records. The EP includes “Ondine”, “Undertow”, “Surreal”, “Velveteen” and “Nebula”.

In 2024, Octavian Winters released “Nebula / Velveteen (Mark Pistel Remix)”. That same year, Ria Aursjoen also launched her solo project Aursjoen with “Nytår” and the William Faith-produced EP “Strand”, which included guitar contributions from Stephan Bryan Salit.

In 2025, Aursjoen recorded guest vocal work on The Funeral March material, contributing additional vocals to “It All Falls Apart”. She also appeared in the video for “Stars at Night”. Octavian Winters then released “Hermine” on August 12, 2025 and “Saints of Absolution” on October 1, 2025 via Stratis Capta Records.

“Elements of Air” followed on March 25, 2026. Like the recent singles, it lists William Faith for production, recording, mixing and mastering at 13 Studio in Chicago. “By the Stars” is the next step towards the band’s next EP, planned for summer 2026.

Conflux is a new solo project that has found a home on Cryo Chamber. The debut album features nine tracks in which the artist evokes imagery of forgotten books lying open beneath a thick layer of dust in a Victorian attic, drawing on themes of witches, bloodlines, and the occult.

I was somewhat surprised to see this release appear on Cryo Chamber, though I find that refreshing. Conflux incorporates the Cinematic elements characteristic of the label to a certain extent, while also venturing into distinctly Tribal and Ritual territories. A variety of sounds are employed, many resembling acoustic instruments: the flute takes on a prominent role, and I also detected what sounds like a cello. In the background, echoing vocals frequently emerge, further reinforcing the Ritualistic atmosphere. The Tribal rhythms add an exhilarating energy, while at times the mood is carried by colder, more austere soundscapes.

Overall, this is a fairly diverse work that certainly charmed me as a debut opus. It also stands as an intriguing addition to the Cryo Chamber roster, which can only benefit from such variation. (Rating:7).

Listen to “Fundamental Rites”:

https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/track/fundamental-rites

Palermo-based 8bit darkwave duo Bunnyblack have released “Eat Me“, a digital single and video. The track is the first single from the duo’s first album, scheduled for September 11, 2026.

“Eat Me” combines Nintendo Game Boy electronics with guitars, bass, synths and vocals. Francesco Less handles vocals, bass and synth. Maiqqu plays Nintendo Game Boy and guitars.

The official video for “Eat Me” was conceived and edited by Maiqqu. The video uses theatrical symbolic figures, dream imagery, close-up performance footage and fluorescent lighting.

About Bunnyblack

Bunnyblack are a Sicilian duo based in Palermo, Italy. The project consists of Maiqqu, an electronic musician and guitarist, and Francesco Less, a multi-instrumentalist also known from Velaut and Inside the Hole. Musically the duo mixes electrogaze, darkwave and post-punk based on Nintendo Game Boy electronics and electric instruments.

Maiqqu and Francesco Less met through a music contest. Their first release was “May the 18th Be With You”, an A/B-side with Audioslave and Joy Division covers performed with Nintendo Game Boy and vocals. The release appeared on Spettro Rec..

On October 26, 2019, Marlene Kuntz projected two of their videos during a concert at Demodé in Bari after selecting them through a contest. On November 22, 2019, the duo released the four-track EP “Bunnyblack“, distributed by Nufaco.

In 2020, the project placed third in the national “Cover Me” contest dedicated to Bruce Springsteen with a version of “Dancing in the Dark”. The duo later reached the regional finals of ArezzoWave 2020 and the national finals of Rock Targato Italia 2021. In March 2021, they appeared on the collaborative album by 1,21 GGWTTS with “Once upon a time on Earth”.

On December 8, 2022, Bunnyblack released “Bunnyland“.

“BUNNYWAVE” followed on May 17, 2024, a four-track digital album with a numbered limited CD edition of 50 copies.

And now there is “Eat Me”, the first single from the duo’s upcoming debut album, scheduled for September 11, 2026.

Pigface, the Chicago industrial rock supergroup founded by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin, will release “The Howler: An English Breakfast” on LP via Overdrive/Invisible Records on May 29, 2026. The album features Genesis P-Orridge on vocals, Mick Harris on bass source material, and Martin Atkins on drums, loops and tape delays.

The recording dates from 1996/97 and was made at Atkins’ Mattress Factory / Invisible Records studio at 2024 S. Wabash Ave. in Chicago.

The session was connected to the period around Pigface’s 1997 album “A New High in Low”. Genesis P-Orridge was brought to the studio to read a spoken-word text over dub-based material built with Bodog on sitar, Dave Wright of Not Breathing, loops from Mick Harris, and engineering by Adam Yoffe. Tom Whittaker remastered the release.

Small detail, Atkins recovered the text pages used during the session “years later, when my drum tech Jim fished those discarded pages out of the trash and gifted them back to me.”

“The Howler: An English Breakfast” contains four tracks:

The release comes as a digital download and as a black vinyl, a deluxe vinyl and bundle options. A separate signed and numbered blue vinyl edition is available via Martin Atkins’ BigCartel store. That edition is limited to 330 copies and includes a download of a different 43-minute mix, 3D glasses, and an 8-page booklet reproduction of the original fax.

About Pigface

Pigface are an American industrial rock supergroup from Chicago, Illinois. The project was formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin after Ministry’s “The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste” tour. That tour included musicians such as Nivek Ogre, Chris Connelly, Atkins and Rieflin, and led Atkins and Rieflin to continue the idea as a revolving collaboration.

Pigface released “Gub” in 1991, followed by “Fook” in 1992, “Notes From Thee Underground” in 1994, “A New High in Low” in 1997, “Easy Listening…” in 2003, and “6” in 2009. The project has worked with a large rotating network of industrial, post-punk, noise and experimental musicians rather than a fixed lineup. Early collaborators included Trent Reznor, Chris Connelly, Nivek Ogre, En Esch, Paul Barker and Genesis P-Orridge.

Genesis P-Orridge, born Neil Andrew Megson in Manchester in 1950, co-founded Throbbing Gristle and later formed Psychic TV.

Mick Harris is an English musician from Birmingham, known for Napalm Death, Scorn, Lull and Painkiller. We previously covered his dark ambient project Lull and the “Moments” album.

Industrial solo artist Staytus, the project of Sam Grundemann, has signed with the US label Cleopatra Records and will release the digital single and video “S + M” on May 29, 2026. The single is the first announced collaboration between Grundemann and Cleopatra Records.

Musically “S + M” mixes industrial, electronic and nu-metal elements. Thematically the track deals with separation, unresolved emotional connection and the idea of reunion within a “twin flame” relationship.

“This song lives in that space between losing someone and never fully letting them go,” Grundemann adds. “It’s about the kind of connection that doesn’t just end—it lingers, evolves and keeps calling you back. Signing with Cleopatra Records felt natural because they’ve always embraced music that carries that kind of emotional weight.”

“S + M” will be accompanied by a video was directed by Vicente Cordero of Industrialism Films known for his work for acts including Skold and Stabbing Westward.

About Staytus

Staytus is the solo project of Sam Grundemann, an Arizona-born musician, producer, songwriter and audio engineer now working from the Los Angeles area. Staytus began as “a personal project” and musically blends industrial, electronic and nu-metal elements.

We first covered the project in March 2022 when the project released three tracks from the debut album “Disease Of The Mind”. The debut album “Disease Of The Mind” was released digitally on September 9, 2022 and contains 13 tracks. Staytus followed it with “Wasteland Of Broken Hearts”, released on October 27, 2023 as an 11-track digital album.

In 2025, Staytus released several standalone singles and film-linked tracks. We covered “How To Be A Serial Killer“, the closing track in the “Twisted Frames” series, followed by “Headache“, “Heart Attack“, “Kiss N Tell” and “The God, The Artist, & The Creator“. Those releases involved collaborators including Matt McJunkins, Sean Beavan, Mikal Blue, Jeff Friedl, Anthony Laurie and Patrick “Embryo” Tapu.

Her Own World have reached that delicate moment when a band stops being discussed as a promising exception and starts being watched as a serious force. The momentum is visible: a major support run with Project Pitchfork, a steadily widening audience, a live concept that feels fully inhabited rather than merely styled, and songs that move with unusual confidence between dark electronics, gothic atmosphere, and emotional precision. What makes Her Own World compelling, though, is not growth alone. It is the sense of inner coherence. Their world does not feel assembled for effect. It feels lived in. In this interview, Yu and ad-x from Her Own World speak about pressure, discipline, performance, feminine power, darkTunes, the balance between image and songwriting, and the quiet patience required to build something durable without surrendering it to trends, algorithms, or speed.

Her Own World interview

Karo: In a relatively short time, Her Own World seems to have moved from being a striking underground promise to a band that is visibly operating on a bigger scale. When a project grows this fast like Her Own World, what changes first behind the scenes: the artistic ambition, the discipline, the self-expectation, or the pressure?

Yu: I think the last two change the most, meaning our expectations of ourselves and the internal pressure we feel. That pressure keeps growing, but above all, we put it on ourselves. We want to become more and more professional and show that both onstage and off it. We feel ready for large scale, professional productions, which is why we keep raising the bar for ourselves. The artistic ambition has always been there, and I think it always will be. From the very beginning, we wanted to create ambitious work, both musically and visually. As the band grows, those ambitions naturally grow with it. Our appetite for development keeps increasing, and we definitely want to keep moving further in that direction. We believed in Her Own World from the start. At the same time, we never made promises to ourselves or assumed everything would happen quickly. We simply kept doing the work. We worked hard, developed step by step, and focused on refining what we had to offer. We never tried to take shortcuts or force our way into radio, television, or festival organizers’ inboxes. We just kept showing our work and building a community around the band through concerts and social media. In hindsight, our path may seem fast, but to us it still feels like the beginning. Her Own World has existed for seven years already, and throughout that entire time we built, step by step, the place we stand in today.I would not even say that we experience pressure in a negative way. It is more a form of inner discipline born from passion and from enormous faith in this project. Each of us is constantly developing, musically, vocally, on stage, even choreographically. We simply love what we do very much, and that is why we give it everything we have.

ad-x: For me, the first change is the pressure on the sound. When you play for 50 or 100 people, you can experiment without fear. When the scale grows and you start playing bigger venues, every production decision carries more weight, and paradoxically that pushes you toward greater boldness, not less. I wanted the live session to be set up in a way where I could just walk in, plug in, and the local sound engineer would simply adjust a well prepared session to the room. It worked out perfectly at soundcheck. We played through three songs and still had free time before the show. ☺

Karo: Supporting Project Pitchfork places you in dialogue with one of the defining names of the dark scene. Did that tour feel mainly like exposure, or did it also function as a kind of mirror, showing you more clearly what Her Own World already is, and what it still wants to become?

Yu: I think that tour was above all an enormous opportunity to reach new listeners, especially within the German dark alternative and gothic scene. We are very grateful for that, because it was our first truly serious tour, and the chance to support an absolutely legendary band like Project Pitchfork was a huge honor. Naturally, the tour allowed us to present ourselves to a new audience, and importantly, to the very audience we care deeply about. The German gothic scene is incredibly strong and has a huge, very conscious community around it, so the possibility of playing for people like that was truly meaningful to us. We also felt that we entered the tour well prepared. The material we were presenting was already very polished, so we were able to show Her Own World in the best possible form. Of course we are still developing, and we are still refining everything. With every concert we become more efficient, more experienced, and more professional. But that tour gave us the feeling that we are ready for the next step. The offer itself was a huge surprise. At first, it was honestly difficult to believe it was really happening, because for a long time we had dreamed of touring Germany alongside a major band and reaching that audience. When that opportunity suddenly appeared, it felt a little like one of our biggest musical dreams coming true, and it was a very important moment in our professional path.So no, it did not act as a mirror in the sense of showing us exactly who we already are. It worked more as a huge source of motivation and a confirmation that the direction we chose for Her Own World really makes sense. Looking at Project Pitchfork, we perhaps saw ourselves in a few years, or maybe in ten.

ad-x: Definitely a mirror. You stand backstage and watch a band with more than thirty years of legacy, and either you get scared or you begin to understand what you want to be in a few years. For us, the second option came naturally. There was stress during the first two shows, but once we settled into the rhythm of weekend touring, it all started to feel very natural.

Karo: The visual language of Her Own World is unusually strong, not decorative, but structural. Fire, LED elements, styling, movement, atmosphere: all of this feels woven into the identity of Her Own World rather than added afterward. At what point does a Her Own World song tell you what it should look like, and have there been moments when the visual idea changed the music itself?

Yu: When it comes to whether visual ideas influence the music itself, not really, because with us the music and lyrics always come first. We first build the whole story and the emotions inside a song, and only afterwards do we begin to think about what kind of visual setting can best express the atmosphere of that story and intensify what is already happening in the music and lyrics. That is why all the visual elements, fire, LEDs, styling, movement, performance, are never something added at the end purely for effect. They grow directly out of the emotion and character of a particular song. In a sense, each song tells us what visual world can accompany it. At the same time, we try to approach live performance very consciously. Not every song requires an elaborate stage setting, and we also do not want the visuals to overshadow the music itself. There are technical and physical realities as well. Our performer would not be able to dance through an entire concert at full intensity with fire, LEDs, and complex choreography. It is an enormous physical effort, so those moments usually appear every second or third song. We try to choose precisely the moments where performance can truly add something to the story the song is telling and make the audience feel the emotion inside the music even more strongly. And I actually think that is a very healthy approach. Some bands eventually discover they have so many LED screens and so much smoke that they could just as well put a playlist on a USB stick and go for coffee. With Her Own World, the visuals still serve the music, not the other way around.

Karo: A lot of bands talk about “creating a world,” but in the case of Her Own World the name almost feels like a working method. As the band grows, how do you protect that inner world from becoming diluted by external expectations, algorithms, scene trends, and the very practical demands of visibility?

Yu: That is a very good question, because the name Her Own World was always something more than just a band name. “Her Own World” obviously means exactly that, but for us it is more of a kind of shorthand. It is a world into which we invite the listener and the viewer. We want people to enter our reality, our emotions, and our aesthetics. From the very beginning, we have tried to do everything our own way, and I think that is exactly what distinguishes us the most. We never tried to adjust ourselves to trends, algorithms, or temporary fashions within the scene. We simply create things that genuinely resonate with us. Of course we curate all of it very consciously, because we want to preserve the coherence of our world and the direction we have chosen as a band. It is not about changing style every few months just because something happens to be fashionable. Everything we do has to fit our identity and arise naturally from who we are. The most important thing for us is that nothing in this world is artificial or calculated. This vision was not invented at a marketing table under the headline “let’s create an aesthetic.” It develops organically alongside us, because we have been creating together in the same lineup for years, continuously building something as a group. We are not trying to pretend or to present ourselves as something we are not. Everything comes from emotion, from sensitivity, and from the things we genuinely feel. I think that is also why Her Own World has such a coherent character. Every new thing we create grows out of something that came before. This world keeps evolving, but in a very consistent way. We also do not obsess over audience expectations, but what is beautiful is that people resonate very strongly with what we do. Their expectations are not that we change ourselves or adapt to trends. They simply want more of what we already are. That is why we want to keep developing Her Own World along exactly the path we chose from the beginning. Algorithms change their mood every three days, trends have a shorter shelf life than yogurt in the fridge, and bands that blindly chase them often do not even know who they are after a year. Consistency still wins. Just more slowly. And people are dramatically impatient with the word “slower.” We are patient (smiles)

ad-x: Artistic decisions stay within Her Own World as a band. Yu and I are responsible for the musical direction. We listen to feedback, but we do not write music for algorithms or to meet someone else’s expectations. We do what we like and what we believe in. If something starts to sound too safe, that is a warning sign for us. We are Her Own World, we have our vision, and we follow it.

Karo: darkTunes has clearly been an important platform in Her Own World’s trajectory, from earlier releases to the newer chapter. What has that collaboration actually changed for you in concrete terms: reach, confidence, artistic pace, access to the right audience, or perhaps even the way you think about yourselves professionally?

Yu: This question almost contains its own answer, because everything you listed has genuinely influenced our development in a major way. Working with darkTunes Music Group has changed a great deal for us, both in terms of reach and confidence, and also in the way we think about the band on a more professional level. First of all, the label truly believed in us. Rafael Beck gave us room to grow and supported us strongly from the beginning, but at the same time, nobody ever tried to limit our vision or impose a direction on us. We have a great deal of artistic freedom, and that is incredibly important to us, because it means we can develop Her Own World exactly the way we imagined it ourselves. It is also very valuable that the label genuinely understands and supports the direction we have chosen. darkTunes is also a very modern and professionally run label. We feel that we landed in a place that truly understands what artist development looks like today and how to build a band within the contemporary alternative scene. Of course, greater reach and the ability to reach the right audience are hugely important, but equally important is the positive feedback and the real support we receive. That builds confidence enormously. And once you start believing more strongly in what you do, you naturally walk your own path more boldly. Everything becomes even more exciting and motivating. We as Her Own World feel a little as if this collaboration gave us an extra pair of wings and confirmed for us that people genuinely want to hear what we create. The atmosphere within the label itself is also very special. There is no room for toxicity or unhealthy competition there. On the contrary, bands support one another, friendships emerge, artistic collaborations happen. That creates a very creative environment, and it has an incredible effect on both the pace of work and the motivation of all the artists involved. We are all developing together and trying to create the best possible conditions for greater professionalism. Today, many alternative bands begin with small steps, but all of us dream of reaching the moment when we can fully live from music and treat it as a real profession. We definitely want to get there too.

Karo: “The Queen” carries the language of rebirth, self-possession, and returning stronger after pain. Was that song a continuation of themes you had already been exploring, or did it mark a deeper shift in how you wanted Her Own World to speak, especially in terms of feminine power and authorship?

Yu: The lyrics to “The Queen” really did come out of a need to process certain very difficult emotions and experiences. As you noticed in the question, the song carries motifs of rebirth, agency, and returning stronger after pain. It is a story about the idea that even the hardest experiences can ultimately strengthen us, teach us something, and leave us stronger and more self-aware. This song speaks about the moment when someone goes through something very painful, but over time regains their strength and rebuilds themselves. There is also a kind of symbolic blooming in it, in spite of everything that previously tried to break us. Hope is very important there as well, the conviction that pain does not last forever, and that after the hardest moments you can stand on your feet again. Of course, I sing that story from a woman’s perspective, so the motif of feminine strength and agency appears naturally. But in truth, I would like the song to resonate much more broadly than that. It is not only a song about femininity. It is a song for everyone who has gone through something difficult and has had to find themselves again. I always dedicate this song to people who have survived something and still keep moving through life with their heads held high. For me, “The Queen” is about that moment when, after everything, you straighten your crown and keep going, stronger, more aware, and no longer so easy to break. The song also has a very personal dimension, because I co-wrote the lyrics with a friend who at that time was herself going through a very difficult period. Writing it was emotionally important for both of us, and in a way it helped her regain her strength. That is why I deeply hope that “The Queen” can give other people a similar feeling of hope, strength, and support.

Karo: Her Own World is often described as a fusion of industrial rock, gothic metal, and electro, but what feels interesting now is not the list of influences, but the balance of forces inside the music. When you write today, what tells you that a song is truly yours, not just stylistically effective, but unmistakably Her Own World?

Yu: It really is no longer about listing genres or influences. It is more about the way all these elements begin to create their own identity. We sometimes call this mix “nugoth,” a kind of modern take on gothic. When we create music, we think about it a little like building something from specific ingredients. In Her Own World songs, there is almost always an electronic layer inspired by dark electro and dark electronic music. That is one of the foundations of our sound. Another very important layer is live instrumentation, especially guitar and live drums, which add energy and a more organic character. The bass often functions on two levels at once as well, electronic and live simultaneously. Then there is the vocal layer, where emotionality, delicacy, and a certain ethereal quality in the female voice are very important to us. We do not try to overload songs with too many elements or add things simply because they are flashy. We focus instead on combining those ingredients consciously, in different proportions, so we can create new melodies, new emotions, and new spaces while still preserving a shared stylistic core. I also think it matters enormously that each of us brings a slightly different musical sensitivity and a different approach to creating. Out of that mixture of energies, something emerges that ultimately sounds like Her Own World. It is not something you can mathematically design. It is more the natural result of who we are, both as people and as a band. I hope that is why our songs contain something recognizable, and that when someone hears even a fragment of a new track, they can think, “That sounds like Her Own World.” Although, honestly, it would probably be fairest to ask the listeners, because artists are usually buried so deeply inside their own material that after a week of mixing hi-hats, they no longer know what reality is.

ad-x: If I feel that something is primarily us, I say, “Okay, let’s release it.” Though let’s be honest, these days comparisons are unavoidable. If there is a clear element of “us” in it and it works, we release it. Creating something one hundred percent original and comparable to no one is pretty much a utopia today.

Karo: Because your shows are so visually memorable, there is probably a risk that some people first notice the spectacle and only later discover the songwriting. Do you ever think about that tension, and is part of your artistic challenge to make sure the image opens the door, but the song is what stays in the bloodstream?

Yu: Her Own World is first and foremost a musical project, and that always remains the most important thing for us. Many people listen to our music every day without the concert performance attached to it, so the songs themselves have to stand on their own emotionally and musically beyond the stage as well. The visual setting, the performance, the choreography, and the concert atmosphere are there to strengthen the emotions already present in the music and to emphasize even more strongly the stories we are telling through the songs. Her Own World has never treated visuals as something separate from the music or as something created only for effect. Everything is deeply interconnected and arises from the same aesthetics and the same emotional core. That is why we do not feel that image covers the songwriting. It works in symbiosis with it and together forms a fuller experience. For us, a concert is something more than simply playing the songs live. I think the show matters enormously, because people come to a concert for emotion and experience. We want to give the audience something more than the musical layer they can later hear in headphones. Performance, lights, stage movement, and choreography are there to make the reception of the music even more intense and engaging. Our relationship with the audience is also extremely important to us. We try to keep eye contact with people, to build atmosphere, and to be genuinely present with them in that moment. If a song is more emotional or more serious, we try to reflect that on stage as well. If the energy of a song is more dynamic, we want to draw the audience into experiencing it together with us. Everything comes from the emotion of the particular song. And honestly, the best confirmation that we are keeping the right balance lies in people’s reactions after concerts. Very often, we hear that the audience experiences all of it as one coherent whole. People do not separate the music from the performance. They simply talk about the concert experience. For us, that is a huge compliment, because it means all those elements are truly working together rather than competing for attention. I even have the feeling that if one of those elements were missing, a Her Own World concert would feel incomplete for some people. That is exactly why we treat music, visuals, and performance as one shared organism. And honestly? Audiences can tell very well when “show” is merely a cover for average music. People may enjoy fire, LEDs, and dramatic poses, but if there are no emotions and no good songs underneath, the whole spell breaks by the third chorus. If people remember both after the concert, then the balance is clearly working.

ad-x: I do not see it as a problem. I see it as a deal. The visual side grabs attention, and we usually have three minutes or more to prove that Her Own World also has something to say musically. It is a fair transaction, and the two worlds complement each other perfectly.

Karo: If this current phase of Her Own World, the tour momentum, the stronger visual identity, the newer singles, the widening collaborations, is not the destination but a threshold, then what do you feel Her Own World is moving toward now: a sharper sound, a darker one, a more emotional one, or something that would surprise even the people who think they already understand Her Own World?

Yu: I do not feel that we are moving in one single concrete direction out of the ones you mentioned. Our sound is simply what it is, and we want to preserve that. Our music is not one-dimensional. Sometimes it is dark, sometimes lighter, sometimes more emotional and direct, sometimes more reflective. As for people “understanding” us, I do not think that is something we can fully control, and we do not really try to. We are not trying to be a riddle or to manufacture ambiguity. We are simply ourselves, we show emotions, and we invite people into a shared experience of the music. How someone receives and interprets that is already a very individual matter. Our main principle is to do what we feel. We do not want to pretend or to chase any particular trend or direction. If we feel the need to create something darker, we do it. If something moves us emotionally, we translate it into music and lyrics. And if something provokes resistance in us, we are capable of showing more teeth. That is why our work will never be uniform. Different themes and emotions naturally shape what we create, both musically and lyrically.

ad-x: Her Own World is moving toward a sound that is slightly heavier than the debut and more emotional, and I do not think that is a paradox. We are working on material that contains more contrast within itself, more room for tension. Each track is its own story. One carries weight and emotion, another is a straight up banger in a pop structure so people can have fun and go wild. I think that is exactly what will surprise the people who think they already understand us. 

Karo: Last one. Her Own World has already built a very distinct identity, musically, visually, and emotionally, but every strong artistic world also reaches a point where it has to either deepen or transform itself. When you look ahead now, what feels like the next true step for Her Own World: a new sonic direction, a more ambitious live concept, broader international presence, or perhaps something entirely unexpected?

Yu: Her Own World still has many challenges ahead, and I think the fact that we played a tour with Project Pitchfork, a legend of the gothic scene, is not the end of our road at all. In a way, it feels more like the beginning. I do not think we need to transform ourselves in the sense of changing direction. It is more about continuing to develop in the direction we have already chosen and consistently raising the level of professionalism so that we can become more visible, more accessible, and reach an ever wider audience. As for the live concept, of course it matters and it can keep developing, but a lot depends on the possibilities we will actually have. At the moment, almost everything we do is still largely our own investment and grows out of the real conditions in which we function. That is why we do not want to plan things beyond our means. We simply want to do the best we possibly can here and now. Our main goal is for music to become our full time work and main source of income. That would allow us to operate on a larger scale, in an even more professional way, and to devote ourselves fully to what we do. Music is not only a passion for us. It is also something we would truly like to live from. So the musical direction remains coherent, and the live concept does as well, although of course both can continue to develop and expand along with our growth and possibilities. It is also very important to us to continue strengthening our presence in Poland and internationally, including in Germany, where we have already taken a very important first step and where we would love to continue growing and performing.

ad-x: I think the real next step for Her Own World is deepening, but the kind of deepening that looks like transformation from the outside. We want to take people further into this world, not build a new one, and to do that, we need to reach beyond Poland. The dark independent scene in Western Europe is much bigger, and we feel there is an audience for us there. We just need to reach them. ☺

Yu: Finally, we would really like to thank you for this interview and for the opportunity to talk about our world. As the founders of Her Own World, it means a lot to us that we can share this story and this energy with more people who listen to us and support us.

Her Own World will perform at Castle Party 2026 in Bolków on July 18, 2026. Around the turn of June and July, their new single “Like a Moth” will also see the light of day.

Milan-based shoegaze, wave and post-punk band In Her Eye have released “Something Wrong“. The digital single is the first track from the band’s fourth studio album, “Death in a Morning Show”, scheduled for release in June 2026.

The current In Her Eye line-up is Aldo Bernuzzi on drums, Giuseppe Galotti on vocals and bass, and Stefano Schiavella on guitars.

We previously covered the band in 2018 when the Italian shoegazers act announced its new album “Change”.

About In Her Eye

In Her Eye formed in Milan, Italy, in winter 2007. The original members were Aldo Bernuzzi, Giuseppe Galotti and Stefano Schiavella. The band’s early musical direction combined 1980s new wave with indie, noise and shoegaze influences from the 1990s.

Four years later the band released its debut album, “Anywhere Out Of The World”. The 12-track album was recorded and mixed by Carlo Meroni and In Her Eye at A.D.S.R.

“Borderline” followed on October 22, 2014. The seven-track release included “Matchbox”, “Situation”, “Chameleon”, “Another Psychic Thrill”, “She Made Her Decision”, “Bottle Room” and “Push Me Down”. From 2015 onward, the band also appeared on tribute releases for Ride, The Cure and Wire.

Raffaele Bocchetti, formerly of Stella Diana, later joined the band and contributed to the material that became “Change”. “Change” was released on June 1, 2018. The album includes eight tracks: “Closer To Me”, “Bianca”, “Elephant”, “Change”, “Neon Lights”, “Demons”, “As in a Dream” and “Life”. It was recorded and mixed by Lorenz and In Her Eye at Il Guscio Recording Studio, with mastering by Lorenz and In Her Eye. Antonia Chiara Ciancaglini of The Mystic Morning contributed backing vocals on “Change” and “Bianca”.

The band returned to the original three-member formation in 2022 after a period of adjustment and later completed sessions for a fourth album planned for the first half of 2026. The new single “Something Wrong” now introduces the all new album “Death in a Morning Show”.

Dark Minimal Project, the Lille-based electro darkwave project, has released the digital EP “And Sometimes”, an independent five-track release which features dBoy (aka Daniel Armand) from the Paris cold-wave trio Je T’aime.

Four of the five tracks include dBoy. The closing track, “So Far Away II (Gabriel’s Tears Version),” revisits “So Far Away” from Dark Minimal Project’s 2025 album “Pleasure Is A Sin.”

The EP has Guillaume VDR on vocals, guitars, bass and programming; Ange Vesper on vocals, synths and drumpad; and dBoy on vocals. The release was produced by Peter Rainman and Guillaume VDR, and recorded at The Bunker Studio in France. The material was mixed and mastered by Peter Rainman.

Below is the official video for “And Sometimes (feat. dBoy JE T’AIME)”.

About Dark Minimal Project

Dark Minimal Project began in Lille, France, in 2021, when Guillaume Vanderosieren offered his first demos to Ange Vesper. Musically the band offers a mix of electro, darkwave, coldwave, synthpop and synthwave.

The project released “Cold Black Room” in January 2022, followed by “In Your Eyes”.In March 2023, the band released “Black Light”, produced by Peter Rainman at The Bunker Studio, ahead of the second album “Ghost Of Modern Times”.

In 2024, Dark Minimal Project released “Remixes”, based on material from “Ghost Of Modern Times”. Released via Infacted Recordings it holds remixes by People Theatre, Krieg-B, Patrick Codenys of Front 242, Ruined Conflict, Dominatrix, X Mouth Syndrome, Fatherless Child, Dark State, Ethan Wood, Résilience and Waiting For Words. VUZ later on released a deluxe edition of “Cold Black Room”.

Infacted Recordings released “Pleasure Is A Sin” in 2025.

“And Sometimes” followed in 2026 as an independent collaboration with dBoy of Je T’aime. Je T’aime is a Paris cold-wave trio formed in 2018 with dBoy, Tall Bastard and Crazy Z.

Der Bürokrat is an Italian-French collaboration between Ben (Hammershøi) and Jules (Zug), with the duo crafting a total of twelve tracks.

The project’s influences are firmly rooted in the magic of the 1980s, at times evoking a sense of nostalgia for the earliest Synth-Wave experiments. Certain moments embrace a minimalist approach, bringing to mind acts like Absolute Body Control, while elsewhere the sound shifts toward a more Pop-oriented direction, reminiscent of Welle:Erdball. Despite these clear references, the album maintains its own identity and, above all, a notable sense of versatility. Some tracks even take on a heavier edge toward the end, drawing inspiration from EBM.

All in all, this is an unpretentious and successful debut that, in my view, certainly deserves a follow-up. (Rating:7½).

Listen to “Excésse = Accept”:

https://stanzefredderecords.bandcamp.com/track/exc-sse-accept

Paeplo, the Greek-language synthpunk/darkwave project of Manos S. from Crete, has released its debut album “Φαντάσματα στη Χάνδακος” (“Ghosts on Chandakos Street”). The album is available digitally as a self-release through Bandcamp, with a cassette edition handled through Decayed Knighthood.

The 10-track album combines Greek lyrics with synthpunk, darkwave, cold wave, EBM and industrial.

Thematically the material moves through themes of urban decay, doomed relationships and late-night walks with no exit. Small detail, the title track refers to Chandakos Street, while the lyrics also mention locations such as Liontaria, Daidalou and Karavola.

About Paeplo

Paeplo was founded in 2025 in Crete as the personal project of Manos S. Manos S. has a background in classical music as a cellist. For this project, he moved toward a more direct electronic format built around Greek lyrics, synthpunk, cold wave, distorted synths and programmed rhythms.

Jim the Blaster, known from PreEmptive Strike 0.1, is also involved in Paeplo. PreEmptive Strike 0.1 was founded on Crete in 2002 offers a mix of EBM and dark electro.

“Φαντάσματα στη Χάνδακος” is the duo’s first release. The album appeared digitally through the band’s own Bandcamp page. The cassette edition is released via Decayed Knighthood, a Greece-based Bandcamp label releasings ambient, synth punk and dungeon noise.

Audioglobe informs us that Berlin-based New York musician and DJ Luca Venezia, recording as Curses, will release the new wave, electro, techno and EBM compilation “Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS” via Eskimo Recordings on June 5 2026. Note that this is a curated compilation, not a new Curses studio album.

“Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS” closes the compilation series Curses started in 2021. Spread across three 2LP chapters and 3CDs, it holds 46 hard-to-find, new and exclusive tracks. Musically you can expect industrial electronics, EBM, new beat, techno, trance and early rave tracks that were popular in clubs and warehouses in New York, London, Frankfurt, Valencia and other cities in the mid-1980s.

Curses explains: “I wanted to take things full circle, return to my roots, and celebrate what first got me into electronic music.” The compilation includes archival names such as Model 500, Nitzer Ebb, Die Krupps and Age Of Love, alongside newer and exclusive tracks from artists including Zaatar, Italo Deviance, Leona Jacewska, Kendal & Andi, Mala Ika & Tutto Vetro, and Curses himself.

‘Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS’ formats and release details

The release comes as a digi3CD, an three limited 2LP editions (Chapter 1, 2 and 3) Each vinyl chapter includes the tracks from one CD chapter and an insert with liner notes.

The four-track “Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS – DJ Sampler” appeared before the full compilation. It includes “Crown Of Ruin” by Curses, “E-ternal” by Mala Ika & Tutto Vetro, “Time Of War” by Metropolis, and “No Control” by Interactive.

Below is the tracklist for the compilation. As explained above, each vinyl chapter includes the tracks from one CD chapter.

CD1

1. Cybex Factor – “No Rock”
2. Space Trax – “Atomic Playboy (Beyond His Mind Mix)”
3. Metropolis – “Time Of War (A.C. Mix)”
4. Megabeat – “Jet Harris Tecno Dub (¿Sabe Ya Quien Mato A Laura Palmer?)”
5. Robotiko Rejekto – “Injection (Robotiko Part 2)”
6. P II Syndicate – “Diesmal Bist Du Ganz Allein”
7. Model 500 – “Testing 1-2”
8. New Scene – “Out Of Control (The Belgium Mix)”
9. Age Of Love – “The Age Of Love (New Age Mix)”
10. Interactive – “No Control (Radio Version)”
11. Die Krupps & Nitzer Ebb – “The Machineries Of Joy (True Work Mix)”
12. Konzept – “Human Transmission (Cybotron Mix 2)”
13. Skila – “Hypno Art (The Power Mix)”

CD2

1. Perdí La Luz – “Megadance”
2. ROTCIV – “The Sign”
3. C.ru.z – “No Hay Comunicación”
4. Facets feat. Kasbaraine – “Cold Blooded”
5. Josh Ludlow – “Hammer Town”
6. Leona Jacewska – “I Need Another Excuse”
7. Church of Ajijik – “Eppenepp”
8. Digitalism – “Into The Club”
9. Phunkadelica & Dina Summer – “Stars Align”
10. Acid Washed & Ubu Noir – “Brutal #1”
11. Orion Agassi – “Pacifier Away (Calm Mix)”
12. Brixx & Stockholm Syndrome AU – “T.S.C. Systems”
13. A.M.Q.N. – “Futuro Soldado”
14. Gunce Aci feat. Avni Ertepe – “Timeless”
15. In Trance 95 – “Last One to Die”
16. Italo Deviance – “Point Breeze”
17. GOTT – “Mirage”

CD3

1. ESTADO DE BIENESTAR & Dark Vektor – “(.)”
2. Curses – “Crown Of Ruin”
3. Iggor Cavalera & P.I.M. – “Wrong III”
4. Innershades – “Neon Dreams”
5. Kendal & Andi – “Still Human”
6. Sesto Senso – “Danza Macabra”
7. Tronik Youth – “Hellfire”
8. VELVET VELOUR – “Night Bird”
9. Radondo & Neu-Romancer – “Moving On”
10. Zaatar & Mike Sacchetti – “Distant Memories”
11. RAKANS – “Mon Amour”
12. Younger Than Me feat. Lourene – “I Can’t Relax”
13. Javi Redondo – “HALT [Process]”
14. Primal Baby – “Hurricane”
15. Mala Ika & Tutto Vetro – “E-ternal”
16. Harlem Electronics – “Au Chateau”

About Curses

Curses is the recording and DJ project of Luca Venezia, a New York-born electronic producer and DJ based in Berlin. Before Curses, Venezia recorded as Drop the Lime and founded the dance label Trouble & Bass. The Drop the Lime project was active from 2004 to 2015, after which Venezia moved into other projects.

Curses began in 2007 with the “Hungry For Love” EP on Institubes. Venezia’s 2015 move to Berlin allowed him to focus more directly on the Curses sound, after earlier work in breakcore, bass music and electro-rock. That sound was heavily influenced by new wave and post-punk with vocals, guitars, 1980s EBM and new beat.

Curses released the debut album “Romantic Fiction” through Dischi Autunno on October 26, 2018. The 2019 mini-album “Carcassonne” followed through Höga Nord Rekords on August 30, 2019. “Incarnadine” was released on March 11, 2022 through Dischi Autunno. For this release Luca Venezia worked with Dame Bonnet on bass, Jennifer Touch and Terr on vocals, and Sasse for mixing and engineering at Blackhead Studios in Berlin.

“Another Heaven” followed on October 25, 2024 through Italians Do It Better. This time Luca Venezia again worked with Dame Bonnet on bass. Note that Curses’ live setup consists of Venezia on guitar and vocals and Dame Bonnet on bass and electronic drums.

The “Next Wave Acid Punx” series began on Eskimo Recordings in 2021 as a 38-track compilation curated by Curses. “Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX” followed in 2023, and Eskimo later listed “Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX – Secret Cuts” in 2024 and “Next Wave Acid Punx Revamps” in 2025. “Next Wave Acid Punx TROIS” now closes that compilation series in 2026.

“I’m not interested in perfection; I want to show the cracks that let the soul out.” – Anton Corbijn

I was in Berlin for Out Of Line Weekender, but there are obligations that have nothing to do with schedules and everything to do with devotion. Fotografiska’s new Anton Corbijn exhibition was one of them. For me, as a portrait and concert photographer, someone who also photographs musicians and keeps returning to faces as if they might finally confess something essential, Anton Corbijn belongs to that tiny order of artists who stand above influence. Alongside Helmut Newton, Henri Cartier Bresson, and Peter Lindbergh, he occupies the place reserved for gods and impossible standards, the figures one follows knowing perfectly well they cannot be caught.

That is why walking into Corbijn, Anton at Fotografiska Berlin felt less like a casual museum stop and more like entering a sanctuary built for people who understand that music history has a face, and that in many cases Corbijn gave it one.

The exhibition opened on Friday with a party, and that choice made perfect sense. Anton Corbijn has spent more than four decades shaping the visual identity of modern music through photography, videos, and film, so to celebrate him with silence alone would have felt strangely insufficient. Fotografiska turned the museum into a living nocturnal structure, with an artist talk by Anton Corbijn himself, then performances by Sally Dige, Pol, Isolation Berlin, Drangsal, and Anika, while Daisy Weweh and DJ Hell took over Bar Veronika and the Café Bar moved through its own sequence of DJs and live setsIt was not so much a vernissage as a carefully tuned occupation of the building, the kind of opening that understands that Corbijn’s work has always lived somewhere between contemplation and afterhours voltage.

The retrospective itself traces his photographic journey from the nineteen seventies to the present, and what becomes immediately clear is that Anton Corbijn never photographed fame as fame. He photographed aura, fragility, distance, inner weather. His pictures do not flatter celebrity. They interrogate it, strip it, sometimes wound it a little, then offer it back to us with more truth than glamour could ever survive.

There is something almost unbelievable about the accumulation of presences in these rooms. It feels like entering a party where the entire subconscious of the nineteen eighties and nineties has gathered under one roof. Nick Cave is there. Blixa Bargeld is there. Siouxsie Sioux, David Bowie, Joy Division, Björk, Annie Lennox, Martin Gore, Courtney Love, Slash. The effect is almost surreal. Slash can sit next to Cave and somehow the conversation still makes visual sense. Corbijn’s eye gives the room an unusual coherence. Across decades, genres, and personas, these figures seem to belong to the same emotional climate. 

Anton Corbijn expo – Photo review by Karo Kratochwil

And that eye remains devastating.

The black and white work is especially overwhelming. Anton Corbijn understands monochrome the way certain writers understand silence. In his hands, black and white begins as an aesthetic choice and ends as a moral one. It removes decorative noise. It forces structure, mood, doubt, bone. Faces emerge from shadow with that strange mix of vulnerability and self possession that the best portraits carry. The grain matters. The blur matters. The lack of polish matters. In room after room, one sees what Corbijn meant by those cracks that let the soul out. The line immediately brought Leonard Cohen to my mind: “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” Corbijn’s portraits seem to trust the same principle. Perfection closes a surface. Fracture lets a person appear. An Anton Corbijn portrait is not about smoothness or glamour; it rather wants tension, atmosphere, the unstable edge where a person stops performing and starts appearing.

That blurred line is one of the great subjects of the exhibition. Between public figure and private self: between star and somebody, costume and exposure. One of the wall texts includes Corbijn’s remark that he never wanted to be a photographer of the stars, he wanted to show what was behind that. It is one of those statements that sounds simple until one stands in front of the photographs and realizes how rare that ambition actually is. Plenty of photographers have documented famous people. Very few have been able to make fame feel secondary.

What gives the Berlin show its particular richness is the way Corbijn transforms a room full of cultural icons into something far more intimate and unsettling: a study in emotional weather, written across faces. Again and again, one encounters the same quality in those hypnotic eyes that seem to look through the lens rather than into it, whether they belong to Bowie, Björk, Annie Lennox, or Siouxsie. Decades shift, styling changes, California light replaces a harsher European grain, yet Corbijn keeps locating that inward pull, that faintly haunted concentration which makes each portrait feel less like an image than an encounter.

For those of us who photograph musicians, the lesson is brutal and beautiful at once. Anton Corbijn never seemed interested in access for its own sake – he was famously uncompromising, guided less by commercial calculation than by instinct, taste, and conviction. The very idea that he could initially turn away from photographing massively successful acts feels entirely plausible here, because the exhibition makes clear that market value was never the real currency of Anton Corbijn’s work; what mattered was presence, mystery, and the human face under pressure.

That also explains why the exhibition never feels embalmed in nostalgia. There is far too much movement inside it for that. One section follows Anton Corbijn’s deeply personal series a. somebody, where he steps into the skins of his musical heroes in self portraits made in his hometown of Strijen. Another shows Famous, the early black and white portraits that already contain the raw directness of his mature vision. Elsewhere, MOØDe explores fashion as a psychological instrument rather than surface. The clothes in these photographs are not decoration. They are mood, armor, confession.

Then there is the room devoted to the moving image, and it is impossible to overstate how important that room is. Corbijn photographed modern music, then went on to shape the way it moved. Seeing the videos and film material gathered there, one is reminded how much of the MTV era and after it still bears his grammar. Depeche Mode, U2, Nirvana, Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Joy Division by way of Control – the list alone is enough to make you stop. More importantly, the room reveals continuity rather than career hopping. That same visual intelligence runs through the still photographs, the videos, and the films, along with the patience with darkness, the suspicion of perfection, and the rare ability to let stillness accumulate dramatic force without any hint of coercion. Perhaps that is what moved me most deeply, the way Anton Corbijn’s work remains vibrantly alive even when the subject barely appears to move, as though everything were held in a state of concentrated tension. It places its trust in the viewer and asks for real attention, which in an age devoted to speed, polish, and instant legibility begins to feel almost radical. I went in knowing I admired him. I left with something closer to gratitude.

For me, this exhibition was deeply personal, because it gave precise form to something I had sensed for years without ever quite naming: the strongest portrait photography does not take possession of a face, but waits until that face begins, almost against its will, to disclose itself. Anton Corbijn has spent a lifetime working from exactly that conviction, and it explains why his photographs still seem to breathe, still carry risk, still hold something that refuses to flatten into mere cultural memory. At Fotografiska, that quality runs through the entire exhibition, giving it the presence of something living rather than the composure of a museum exercise.And yes, it truly felt like visiting a temple.

The kind of temple where the saints wear black, the lighting is severe, the music never really stops, and you realise, after far too long standing in front of one wall, that you have no desire to leave.

“Corbijn, Anton” is on view at Fotografiska Berlin from 9 May through 20 September 2026

Mika Goedrijk is an eclectic Belgian artist who founded his main project, This Morn’ Omina, exactly 30 years ago. I have followed This Morn’ Omina almost from the beginning, though it took several years before a breakthrough led to a successful career. His strength lies in a distinctive blend of Tribal, Ritual, Industrial, Trance, and Electro, combined with a powerful live presence that sets him apart within the scene. Above all, he is a meticulous and passionate producer with a keen ear for detail.

Beyond This Morn’ Omina, he has been involved in several other projects, including Sygo Cries, Nebula-H, Pow[D]Er Pussy, Les Nuits Blanches, Project Arctic, Andraculoid, and more recently, Plan C. This year marks the return of This Morn’ Omina with its first album in five years. What once seemed like an ending has become a rebirth, as Goedrijk resumed the project with new musicians and a new label, Cyclic Law, releasing the album “Insha”.

More subdued yet perhaps more profound, it is his twelfth studio album and the reason for this interview. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

This Morn’ Omina interview

Q: This Morn’ Omina is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year, and admittedly, a lot has happened during this long journey. How do you remember the beginnings of This Morn’ Omina, especially the concept behind it back then, and what remains of that today?

Mika: The original energy, focus has never left. It is in the name itself, ‘this morning of omens/portents’. Every day this happens. A renewed sense of being connected to the universe and channeling the stories.

Q: With This Morn’ Omina, you have undoubtedly established one of the few projects with a very distinctive sound and style. Where did you draw your inspiration from back then and where do you find it today?

Mika: Any sound, rhythm that invokes saccadic movement was what propelled TMO to create its own moment. Perpetuating that feeling. The ‘sources’ in and of itself are not important to that effect. Whatever makes you move physically or spiritually.

Q: I get the impression that the past few years have also been the most difficult period for This Morn’ Omina. What exactly happened, and to what extent did this influence your decision to stop and then start again?

Mika: You are the company you keep, as the proverb says. That company did not have the best intentions. Self-serving people, contributing nothing. This Morn’ Omina went through a needed tabula rasa. And hence This Morn’ Omina can exist again of fertile ground.

Q: Your new album “Insha” deals with creation so to what extent can it also be seen as a form of rebirth after everything that happened—perhaps even as a response to it?

Mika:After the tabula rasa, there was only one thing left to do: create. Going back to the roots. Just create with the basic tenets in mind and as a driving force.

Q: You worked with ‘Konchong-Gyaltsen’ from Nam-Khar. How did this collaboration come about, and what was his contribution to “Insha”?

Mika: Without direct knowledge we were fans of each other. Our early releases are in our respective CD libraries. At Oberhausen, Deluidspreker Festival 2024 we connected through our mutual live performances and it went on from there. Kindred spirits coming together.

Q: “Insha” sounds somewhat more subdued and restrained than what we are used to from This Morn’ Omina. Is this a natural evolution, or did the theme and concept shape this more subtle approach? What were the main musical pillars used to build the album?

Mika: After all the turmoil, this release needed to be grounded in truth and beauty. You call it restrained. We call it reflective. Provide a basis of stability from which we can jump again. The pillars are those who were there from the beginning. The track “7sekhem” is a good representation of that.

Q: In recent years, you have also been surrounded by a brand-new live band. Could you tell us more about these musicians and your connection with Olivier Moulin, with whom you also collaborate on side projects such as Plan C and Sygo Cries?

Mika: It was a breath of fresh air to work with real musicians again, not some wannabees. People who love to create music and overcome any hurdles that may exist along the road.

Olivier plays keys in multiple bands, Pierre is renowned DJ in France, Sam is half of DeadAstro Pilots, Maël has his own projects and releases 3 albums a year. All of them live and breathe music in their own way but find a similar path within TMO.

Plan C is Olivier’s baby. And it is a lot of fun to be in that atmosphere. Sygo Cries is centered around Syd Phoenix, an up and coming vocalist, singer, song-writer.

Q: Live, This Morn’ Omina has always been quite an experience—almost an antithesis to many Industrial acts where performers simply stand behind a laptop. How do you view the live experience, and how important is it to the artistic expression of This Morn’ Omina?

Mika: The energy within TMO cannot be expressed through a single person on stage. Multiple people have to channel that. Connecting with people does not work by hiding behind any kind of gear. These ‘Industrial’ bands might reflect on the matter if they are a DJ or just another fake. SPK, Clock DVA,…they were/are bands. TMO was and is always a band. Not an Industrial ‘push play and act like a monkey project’.

Q: You’ve mentioned your involvement in various side projects, and there have been quite a few over the years. Honestly, few musicians seem as eclectic as you. Where does this eclecticism come from, and do you set any boundaries when it comes to genres, particularly in terms of mixing and production?

Mika: Some frequencies touch me to the core, others do not. It is not related to any genre. Same for visual impressions. I tend not to search for an explanation of what you call ‘eclecticism’. I listen to the world and the universe, but I answer only when shaking to the core. Those are my decisions and boundaries.

Q: Concepts have always played a crucial role in your work, perhaps even shaping the music itself. Is that a fair statement? And to what extent do these concepts reveal something about the person behind the artist?

Mika: That is a fair statement. Within TMO, stories are told. Stories that matter in the past, present and future. Stories that come from a multitude of sources with a universal arc which ties it all the together. Many rivers flow to that sea. It might not make sense in physics, but it does on a spiritual level.

Q: Over the years, you have made numerous changes and additions to your studio. What does your setup look like today, and what advice would you give to young musicians who are just starting out?

Mika: We all suffer from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) whether we admit it or not. But at the base, TMO equipment is based around the same principles… create and record. How exactly, does not matter. On “Insha”, “Heralds” was recorded on a 30 year old 4-track Tascam Portastudio. Just because that was the sound this opening track needed.

To create that statement for the album. Advice? For me it is very simple, have an idea/ a story you feel passionate about. Get the gear that you think will facilitate it and not give you sleepless nights or broken bank accounts. Create your idea. Connect with people through your music, only the music. Be true and honest to yourself and others.

Q: You mentioned that there is still a lot to come for This Morn’ Omina. Can you already reveal anything about what lies ahead in the coming months or year?

Mika: TMO is on-going. At moment, a compilation is ready for release on Dark Dimenions’s sublabel ProNoize. Two new albums are in the making, and should be ready end of this year. One called “Triptych” with Oksana Krasanova as visual artist, and one called “Rivers Of The Sea” continuing with Konchong-Gyaltsen wrapping up the ‘kundalini’ trilogy.

And a side-project MZN (Meandering Zombie Noise) will be released in december on LBRF. Releases on Electric Eden, continue as well.

Following last year’s album “Pleasure Is A Sin”, the French Dark Minimal Project returns with dBoy, best known as the singer of the French dark wave band Je T’Aime. This EP features two original tracks, each accompanied by a remix, and concludes with a fifth and final piece.

The fusion of Dark Minimal Project’s Electro-Pop sound and dBoy’s passionate vocals works remarkably well. The music leans toward an Electro-Wave style, driven by danceable beats. dBoy proves himself a talented vocalist, taking on a prominent and well-deserved role throughout. While both original tracks are solid, I find myself drawn more to the remixes—particularly the one by Peter Rainman’s People Theatre, who is also involved in the project as a producer. The closing track, however, feels somewhat underwhelming.

Overall, this collaboration between two stylistic approaches results in an engaging and largely successful release. (Rating:7½).

Listen to “And Sometimes feat. dBoy Je T’Aime – People Theatre Remix”:

https://darkminimalproject.bandcamp.com/track/and-sometimes-feat-dboy-je-taime-people-theatre-remix

Japanese actor and stunt performer Kenji Ōba, born Kenji Takahashi, died on May 6, 2026, after a period of illness, Japan Action Enterprise announced on May 7. He was 71 years old.

Kenji Ōba became internationally known through Toei’s 1982 tokusatsu series “Space Sheriff Gavan”, in which he played Retsu Ichijouji/Gavan. The series aired in Japan from March 5, 1982, to February 25, 1983, across 44 episodes, and is listed by the Broadcast Program Center of Japan as the first entry in both the “Space Sheriff” and “Metal Hero” lines.

In France and other French-speaking markets however, “Space Sheriff Gavan” became known as “X-Or, le shérif de l’espace” which debuted on the French TV channel Antenne 2 on October 26, 1983. The French version kept the space-sheriff concept but localized several names, with Retsu Ichijouji/Gavan becoming Gordan/X-Or.

The character’s transformation sequence became one of the most recognizable elements of the series. In the Japanese version, Gavan used the command “Jōchaku”; in the French version, the call became “Transmutation”. The character was a half-Bird Planet, half-Earth hero sent by the Galactic Union Police to defend Earth from the space-crime organization Makuu.

“X-Or” helped introduce a generation of French viewers to live-action Japanese tokusatsu outside the better-known anime exports of the period. The series also later circulated through other French-language channels, including TMC, AB1, Mangas and Ciné FX.

Later returns as Gavan

Kenji Ōba returned to Retsu Ichijouji/Gavan several times after the original television run. “Space Sheriff Gavan” returned in January 2012 through “Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie”, followed in October 2012 by the standalone “Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie”.

The 2012 crossover “Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie” marked the 30th anniversary of “Gavan” and the Metal Hero Series. The film teamed Gavan with the “Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger” cast. In “Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie”, released in Japan on October 20, 2012, Kenji Ōba reprised his original role while Yuma Ishigaki played Geki Jumonji, the new Gavan Type-G. The film was made for the 30th anniversary of the first Metal Hero entry and also brought back Toshiaki Nishizawa and Shōzō Iizuka from the original series.

“Space Squad: Gavan vs. Dekaranger” continued the post-2012 Gavan line in 2017. Coincidentally there is a new Gavan broadcast as Toei launched “Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity” on February 15, 2026, as the first entry in its “Project R.E.D.” tokusatsu brand, with a weekly Sunday 09:30 broadcast on TV Asahi’s 24-station network.

About Kenji Ōba

Kenji Ōba was born Kenji Takahashi on February 5, 1955, in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. He entered action work through the Japan Action Club, founded by Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba, and began working in tokusatsu through stunt assignments before moving into regular on-screen roles. He first worked under his birth name and later adopted the stage name Kenji Ōba.

His early screen work included stunt duties on “Android Kikaider” in 1972–1973. His first major regular tokusatsu role came in “Battle Fever J” in 1979–1980, where he played Shiro Akebono/Battle Kenya. Kenji Ōba then played Daigoro Oume/DenziBlue in “Denshi Sentai Denziman” in 1980–1981. In both series, Kenji Ōba also performed stunt work.

In 1982, Ōba took the lead role in “Space Sheriff Gavan”. The series placed him at the start of Toei’s Metal Hero line, a strand of tokusatsu separate from Super Sentai but connected through Toei’s action-production system, creators and later crossover films. The original “Gavan” cast listed by Toei Video includes Ōba, Wakiko Kano, Toshiaki Nishizawa, Kyoko Nashiro and Masayuki Suzuki.

Outside “Gavan”, Ōba continued film and television work through the 1980s. His credits include “Kotaro Makaritoru!” and the period-action series “Kage no Gundan IV” and “Kage no Gundan Bakumatsu Hen”. In 2003, he appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” as Shiro, assistant to Sonny Chiba’s Hattori Hanzo, which introduced him to many viewers outside the tokusatsu audience.

Ōba later ran the action and event company Luck JET. He returned to Japan Action Enterprise through a business tie-up in 2007, after earlier leaving Tokyo to return to Matsuyama while caring for his mother.

His later career repeatedly returned to his three best-known hero roles. In 2011, he played Daigoro Oume again in “Gokaiger Goseiger Super Sentai 199 Hero Great Battle” and later returned as Shiro Akebono in episode 44 of “Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger”. In 2012, “Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie” brought his past roles together: Retsu Ichijouji, Daigoro Oume and Shiro Akebono all appeared in the same film.

His final major credited tokusatsu return before his death was “Space Squad: Gavan vs. Dekaranger” in 2017, where he appeared as the original Retsu Ichijouji alongside the second-generation Gavan. The film also included live-action combat scenes by Ōba himself.

With Canal Froid, we welcome a French band that has been active since 2024 and released its debut the following year. “Things Are Different Today” feels more like an EP or mini-album, featuring six tracks.

The opening song is performed in French, while the remaining tracks are sung in English, delivered with a noticeable French accent. The vocal style often leans more toward a half-spoken, half-sung approach rather than traditional singing. Musically, the band leaves little room for doubt: this is a Dark Wave-oriented production in which atmosphere—and especially melody—is largely driven by the guitar, despite the presence of electronic arrangements. The guitar effectively dictates the mood, resulting in a collection of generally strong and engaging songs, although one track introduces a slightly more pompous element.

That said, certain aspects of the production could still benefit from refinement. Even so, Canal Froid clearly shows promising potential. (Rating:6½).

Listen to “No Sense”:

https://canalfroid.bandcamp.com/track/no-sense

(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange / Size Records press release) Swedish electronic artist Karin Park shares her new EP ‘EVO’, set for release on May 8 via Size Records. The project marks the first instalment in a trilogy of interconnected releases titled ‘EVO-LUT-ION-(EN)’. Alongside the announcement, Park also unveils the video for ‘Explodera’.

Following the singles ‘Sing Your Sorrow’ and ‘Shadow’,  Park now reveals the full four-track EP. Inspired by the work of Hilma af Klint, ‘EVO’ signals a new creative chapter exploring transformation, freedom and artistic growth.

Written and recorded with French producer Anthony Belguise, the EP emerged through a fluid and deeply collaborative process. “It was like a love story,” Park says. “Sometimes a song would change almost completely from one day to the next. We had a flow through the whole process that I have never experienced before.”

Across its four tracks, ‘EVO’ moves between vulnerability and release. Opening track ‘Try’ captures the tension between self-destruction and devotion, centred around the idea of being a “good fuckup” while still trying to hold things together for love. ‘Shadow’, co-written with Joe Goddard, strips things back into a more intimate space, exploring loneliness in a way that feels quiet yet deeply present. Closing track ‘Sing Your Sorrow’, written for Park’s daughter, forms the emotional core of the EP and reflects a desire to carry someone else’s pain in order to ease their suffering.

Meanwhile, ‘Explodera’ arrives with an official video directed by Pål Laukli. Laukli says: “Bringing super heavyweight boxer Brage Lange and Karin Park together in Slakteriet Studio was a lot of fun. We didn’t plan much beyond feeding off the energy in the room, and I really like the outcome.”

The track channels frustration and the feeling of being held back by the very things you care about, while pushing toward escape and freedom. Park adds: “I didn’t fully understand what ‘Explodera’ was about until I rewatched Raging Bull. The anger and frustration in the song suddenly felt very clear, and I saw myself in the main character. I thought I was writing a love song, but my real feelings came through. That’s why the video needed to feel brutal and masculine. Pål brought me to a boxing gym in Oslo where we met Brage Lange, and that experience shaped the whole video. We later shot everything in Pål’s studio, improvising freely thanks to our long creative relationship.”

Karin Park interview

We also had a quick round of questions for Karin by mail this week.

Side-Line: Tell us about the new EP, the first in a trilogy?! 

Karin Park: The first EP EVO is the first in a trilogy called EVO-LUT-ION-(EN). It was inspired by a painting by Hilma Af Klint. 

I wanted to find a frame around the project so that I could be free in my creations but not lost. It was one of her paintings in the EVOLUTIONEN series that kicked the whole thing off and it even looks like a record. I can really relate to her personality too. She was an occultist in a Christian environment like me. Stubborn and obsessed with working on her mission but also fragile and doubtful. Full of questions. Always. The lyrics on the EP is all personal, about the struggle and frustration of being both a mother and an artist and trying to be a safe spot for someone else when you are really a bit all over the place yourself. But also the deep love I feel for my family. 

I made this in collaboration with Anthony Belguise who shares the love for analogue synths and beats with me. It was the best experience I’ve ever had in a studio. And we both share the attention to detail, so we really went deep with this one. We’ve used Moog, Prophet, modular synths, Lyra 8, Korg MS 20 but also pump organ and a lot of vocal samples from me and my children.  

S-L: You’re just back from LA – more songs were made there? 

KP: I made some new songs there, yes. They are all in bits and pieces, but it’s starting to crystalize. I will flesh them out in my studio this summer. 

I know a lot of people in L.A. who has also worked in my studio in Djura. So, it was about time to head over. Also, one of my best friends and long time collaborator on photography Thomas Knights lives there, so it was nice to catch up and get a bit of spring. I even went surfing one day. Not very goth. But mostly I worked in the studio. 

S-L: What’s ahead?

KP: I’m doing a show in Stockholm tomorrow, and I’ll be going to Great Escape in the UK to play next week. Then Falun and Berlin. There will be a bit of travelling going forward. I’ll also do a show in Oslo in August.

Playing live is really my favourite thing to do so I can’t wait! We are also finishing a new Årabrot album which sounds pretty cool now, so lots of things to look forward to. 

Also available on lot’s of other streaming services!

About Karin Park

Karin Maria Erika Park was born in Djura, Sweden, and began her recording career in Bergen, Norway. She debuted with “Superworldunknown” in 2003, followed by “Change Your Mind” in 2006 and “Ashes To Gold” in 2009. Her career then continued with “Highwire Poetry” in 2012 and “Apocalypse Pop” in 2015, marking the shift into the synth-driven and darker electronic work.

Later releases included the “Blue Roses” EP in 2018, “Church Of Imagination” in 2020, the collaborative album “Alter” with Lustmord in 2021, and “Private Collection” in 2022.

Outside her solo material, she co-wrote Margaret Berger’s Eurovision entry “I Feed You My Love” and has also been active with Årabrot, which she fronts alongside her husband.

Originally emerging as a guitar-led singer-songwriter, and as one half of the noise rock duo Årabrot, Park has evolved her sound into a rich blend of analogue textures and electronic influences spanning house, techno, synthwave and UK garage. While her production has expanded, her voice remains central to her identity.

Netherworld, the ambient project of Rome-based composer Alessandro Tedeschi, will release “The Hermit” on June 29, 2026 via the Italian label Glacial Movements. The album marks the 20th anniversary of the ambient and electronic music label Tedeschi founded in Rome in 2006.

“The Hermit” collects seven archival recordings from the early 2000s. The source material was recovered from deteriorated CD-Rs and Minidiscs, recorded before Glacial Movements was founded. The album will be released digitally and as a 6-panel digipack CD, limited to 200 copies, with a 20-page booklet and matte-laminated finish.

Tedeschi says that the recordings came from material marked “2002” and “Netherworld.” He describes them as “my first experiments, unreleased, never published and never heard by anyone.” The sounds include processed voices, gongs, metal surfaces, broken toys and a Novation A-Station rack synthesizer.

The seven-track album was recorded, mixed and composed by Tedeschi in 2004. Matteo Spinazzè mastered the restored material at Jung Studio in 2026. Note that the artwork uses archival images from the Mitchell Library, the State Library of New South Wales, Tekniska museet and the National Library of Australia.

We previously covered several Netherworld releases, including Himuro (CD Album – Glacial Movements), Algida Bellezza (CD Album – Glacial Movements), Vanishing Lands (Album – Glacial Movements) and Equilibrium (Album – Glacial Movements Records). We also published an interview’ with Tedeschi.

About Netherworld

Netherworld is the moniker of Alessandro Tedeschi, an Italian ambient and dark ambient composer from Rome. The project is released via Tedeschi’s own label Glacial Movements. Musically he uses manipulated fragments of classical music and field recordings, including ice masses, aurora-related sound material and Arctic wind recordings.

Before focusing on Glacial Movements, Netherworld released music through labels including Fario, Angle Rec, Umbra and Taalem. “Eternal Frost” was written, mixed and composed in 2004 and originally issued by Umbra in a hand-numbered edition of 99 copies. The album later appeared on Bandcamp on February 10, 2022.

The project’s Glacial Movements catalogue includes “Morketid” in 2007, “Over the Summit” in 2011 and “Alchemy of Ice” in 2013. “Alchemy Of Ice” was Tedeschi’s tenth full-length release and his third for Glacial Movements after “Mørketid” and “Over The Summit”.

In 2017, Netherworld collaborated with Eraldo Bernocchi on “Himuro” for Glacial Movements’ Iceberg Series. In 2019, Tedeschi returned with “Algida Bellezza”, a five-track album dedicated to his daughter and built around Arctic animal titles. Our interview with Netherworld: ‘Silence Is Essential’ was built around that release.

Netherworld followed with “Vanishing Lands” in 2022 and the Bvdub collaboration “Equilibrium” in 2023. Later label releases and collaborations including “Drømme I Langsomt Stof”, “Disappearing”, “Polar Code”, “Niptaktuk”, “Himuro”, “Algida Bellezza”, “Vanishing Lands” and “Equilibrium”. “The Hermit” now returns to recordings made before the label existed.

The Mexican electro-industrial duo Hocico has released the new 15-track album “Unseen Horror Scenes” via Out Of Line. Physical editions include a black/white splatter 2LP and a 2CD digipak with an extra bonus disc.

The label says the record “dissect[s] the digital age’s paranoia, addiction, betrayal and spiritual decay.” The album includes the previously shared track “Fallen Paradise”, and “Hey Tú!” which features Rafael Reyes of Prayers.

The 2CD edition adds the bonus disc “Hidden Horror Scenes” with 6 tracks, of which 3 are exclusive to this CD and 3 are remixes of album tracks: “Lines of Death,” “Midnight Hunter,” “La Tumba Sin Nombre,” “Fallen Paradise (Funker Vogt Remix),” “10 Seconds Left (Trycerapt Remix),” and “Fallen Paradise (Dominator Remix).”

About Hocico

Hocico is a Mexican electro-industrial duo from Mexico City formed in 1993 by cousins Erik García, known as Erk Aicrag, and Óscar Mayorga, known as Racso Agroyam. Aicrag handles lyrics and vocals, while Agroyam is responsible for programming and electronics. Before settling on the Hocico name, the pair worked under the names Niñera Degenerada and Hocico de Perro. Between 1993 and 1996 they released the demo cassettes “Misuse, Abuse And Accident,” “Autoagresión Persistente,” and “Triste Desprecio,” before releasing the full lengths “Odio Bajo El Alma” in 1997 and “Sangre Hirviente” in 1999.

“Signos De Aberracion” followed in 2002, and “Wrack And Ruin” arrived in October 2004. After a 4-year silence the band resumed with “Memorias Atrás” in February 2008 and “Tiempos De Furia” in October 2010. Later full-lengths included “Ofensor” in 2015, “The Spell Of The Spider” in 2017, “Artificial Extinction” in 2019 and “HyperViolent” in 2022. Out Of Line also released the members’ parallel projects, with Erk Aicrag active in Rabia Sorda and Racso Agroyam in Dulce Liquido.

And now there’s the new album “Unseen Horror Scenes,”out on May 8, 2026.

D*Time, the ambient and Berlin School electronic project of Dutch musician Mark Scheper, has released “Nightwoven” via Cyclical Dreams. The 9-track album is available as a digital release through Bandcamp, with a CD edition released via Kunaki.

For this album Scheper used a large collection of synthesizers including ASM Hydrasynth, Behringer D, Behringer Kobol, Behringer Model 15, Behringer Pro-1, Behringer Pro-800, Dreadbox Hades, Sequential Pro 3, Sequential Take 5, Novation Peak, Novation Minifreak, Sonicware LIVEN Ambient Ø, Vermona Mono Lancet, Vermona Perfourmer and Waldorf Blofeld. The credits also list effects units by Walrus, Strymon, Joyo, Keeley, TC Electronic, Zoom and Behringer, with sequencing handled through a Novation 49SL mk3.

Cyclic Dreams is a label based in Buenos Aires, Argentina and focuses on Berlin School, ambient, soundscape, space music, drone, and electronic music.

About D*Time

D*Time is the ambient electronic solo project of Mark Scheper and was founded in Groningen (The Netherlands) in 1997. Scheper had already worked under the Dreamtime name before Neon Records showed interest in his music for a dance compilation. The project name was shortened to D*Time.

“Circles Of Mania” appeared in 1998 through Neon Records, a vinyl compilation with Solar Project, Celtic, D*Time and O-Cyanic. It included two D*Time tracks: “Cremation Of The Planets” and “Elephants Grave Dance”.

Later releases include “Wings” in 1998, “Image” in 1999, “Ghost” in 2000, “Organic Link Material” in 2001, “Insekt” in 2002, “Down and Out” in 2003, “Stinken und Starben” in 2005, “Spider” in 2006, “Centerpoint” in 2007 and “In The End There Is No CTRL-Z” in 2008.

After 2008, Scheper moved further toward direct online distribution while Synth Music Direct issued a CD selection of later material as “Dream Walker” in 2021. Cyclical Dreams later released “Shadows of Time” in 2025 and now “Nightwoven” in 2026.

To find the first work by the German duo Troum, one has to go back nearly 30 years. Since then, they have built an impressive discography, collaborating with a wide range of labels. With this new album, they open the doors of Cyclic Law and return with a remarkable opus.

“EmphasYs” was several years in the making, largely due to the conceptual approach centered on the use of instruments. Each track highlights a specific instrument—electric guitar, cello, accordion, didgeridoo, acoustic guitar, zither, and saxophone—while the sounds are further processed and manipulated. The result is a dark yet predominantly serene sonic experience, situated somewhere between Troum’s signature Drone-Ambient style and a more Cinematic and Experimental approach. At times, the listener is drawn into an abyssal soundscape, only to be carried into icy textures supported by deep, resonant tones that evoke a nightmarish atmosphere. A wide range of tonalities and effects comes into play, underlining the duo’s craftsmanship and attention to detail.

The concept may sound challenging, but the outcome fully lives up to the expectations one might have of Troum. (Rating:8).

Listen to “Oxblood Red”:

https://cycliclaw.bandcamp.com/track/oxblood-red

Hysteria, the Seattle-rooted gothic avant-garde art-metal duo of Olga Nuit and Laura Gonzalez, independently has released its self-titled debut EP “Hysteria” . The EP is available as a seven-track digital release on Bandcamp and Spotify. The main track, “Metamorphosis,” is accompanied by an official lyric video which you can veiw below.

The EP includes “Presage”, “Tormentous”, “Mocking”, “Metamorphosis”, “Agitation”, “Hysteria” and “Pump”.

The duo describe the release as an exploration of despair, grief and rupture. “We examined themes of despair and devastation through a kaleidoscope of lenses and let the music unfurl, drawing on deep emotional reservoirs and allowing ourselves to run wild with our vast creative inspiration,” Laura Gonzalez says. “We’re sharing it so others may discover ways to process their grief and find hope too.” She adds, “remember that healing can still come in times of darkness and uncertainty.”

The project was originally planned as a one-night performance with video projections featuring dark actress Sony Voodoo. It was presented at Central Saloon in Seattle before the duo expanded it into a recorded project. “I playfully challenged them: ‘You want some more?’” Olga Nuit says. “There was this exhilarating standstill; the crowd refused to leave, demanding an encore even though we had nothing left to play. At that moment we decided to let Hysteria grow further.”

Olga Nuit and Laura Gonzalez produced the EP and wrote the songs and lyrics. Additional arrangements were done by Andrew Hall, Jules Calella, John Delicato, Devon Berliner, Sam Haglund, Misha Standjofski-Figols and Preeti Mohan. The EP was mixed by Misha Standjofski-Figols at Studio MAJ and John Delicato at Cathartic Studios, and mastered by Standjofski-Figols at Studio MAJ in Montréal. Note that Ksenia Dolgorukova plays cello on “Hysteria”.

The “Metamorphosis” lyric video was produced by Kuria Jorissen of Call of the Mountains Art, Olga Nuit and Laura Gonzalez.

About Hysteria

Hysteria is a collaborative project by Olga Nuit and Laura Gonzalez. The project is based primarily in Seattle and brings a mix of avant-garde gothic/doom metal.

Nuit and Gonzalez first collaborated musically in 2018, when Gonzalez joined Nuit’s symphonic heavy metal project Kerr Ring. Both had previously worked as software engineers before shifting their focus to music. Both are pianists, vocalists and composers, with work centered on layered synths, orchestral arrangements and extreme-metal vocal techniques.

Before this project, Olga Nuit contributed to Apologue, Ara’kus, Spøkelser and Kerr Ring. Laura Gonzalez before played with Vesuvian and Kerr Ring.

“Hysteria” is the project’s debut EP.

The Mechanical Sheep have released “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn“, their fourth single via Maschinen Klang Label. The Bonn-based EBM, industrial and dark electro project is led by Mathew Bonehead, also known as songwriter and co-founder of CIRES with Eric Schmaler.

The title refers to the chant used in H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu”. In the story, the phrase is translated as “In his house at R’lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.” Lovecraft wrote the story in 1926; it was first published in “Weird Tales” in February 1928.

The single follows three 2026 releases on Maschinen Klang: “2+2=5”, “Das Lindenblatt”, and “Das Bildnis” featuring Decence. These three singles are already available on Bandcamp.

The accompanying video for “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh!” is available below.

About The Mechanical Sheep

The Mechanical Sheep is an electronic music project from Bonn, Germany. Mathew Bonehead founded the project in 2024. He is also the songwriter and co-founder of CIRES, alongside Eric Schmaler. The project brings a mix of EBM, industrial, and dark electro.

Lyrically the band bases its work on novels, poems, legends, and fairy tales, with references including George Orwell, Edgar Allan Poe, and Goethe.

The Mechanical Sheep release its first material in 2026 via Maschinen Klang with the debut single “2+2=5” on January 15, 2026. “Das Lindenblatt” followed on February 20, 2026, and “Das Bildnis” featuring Decence followed on April 7, 2026. “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn” is the fourth single.

Last year, Steven Archer returned with his Stoneburner project and the rather surprising album “Post.Industrial.Occult”, in which he traded his Tribal influences for heavier, Industrial-driven guitars.

The title track, “Invasive Species”, is taken from that album and opens this release with a bang. Guitar and electronic elements are perfectly balanced, driven by harsh vocals and complemented by female chants. An Out Out remix of the track follows, after which we are treated to four additional new songs. On these tracks, Stoneburner explores a different direction, leaning into a more Cinematic approach—except for the final piece, which returns to a more forceful Industrial sound. At times, these Cinematic compositions also venture into Experimental territory, with Archer crafting what feels like sonic collages that occasionally descend into controlled chaos.

In conclusion, this release offers a strong and well-chosen title track, complemented by a handful of songs in which Stoneburner allows himself the freedom to experiment and explore new creative paths which aren’t my favorites. (Rating:6½).

Listen to “Invasive Species”:

https://stoneburnerofficial.bandcamp.com/track/invasive-species-2

Chicago darkwave, electro and dark techno project Sleep Of Mirrors will release its debut album “Crown” on May 8, 2026 via Negative Gain Productions. The ten-track album is available today as an exclusive Side-Line album premiere ahead of the official release. “Crown” is released in CD and digital formats.

The band says this about the material: “The only rule is that the music feels real.” The album material mixes darkwave, electro, dark techno and industrial elements. Negative Gain itself describes the record as a ten-track release about “power, devotion, and transformation” drawing on occult symbolism, and religious imagery.

The album can be pre-ordered on Bandcamp.

A video for “Gemini” is available below.

About Sleep Of Mirrors

Sleep Of Mirrors is a Chicago-based dark electronic project mixing darkwave, electro and dark techno.

The band consists of Jay Ramirez (vocals, synthesizers and assistant production), Santo Gato and Danny Lucero (synthesizers, programming, assistant production, guitars and bass guitars), Christopher Lee (vocals, synthesizers, programming, mixing, production, guitars, bass guitars), and finally Ronnie Canizaro (vocals, assistant production and synthesizers).

Negative Gain Productions signed Sleep Of Mirrors for the project’s first album. “Crown”, out on May 8, 2026. The record was preceded by the “Gemini” video and track, next to “Sacrament” and “Not My Skin”.

Norwegian darkwave/cyberpunk duo Rule of Two will release “Afterlife” on May 7, 2026 via Madrid-based Polypiel Records. The single is the project’s fourth release of 2026 and its first collaboration with the label. Earlier this year they had released “Call For Aid” on January 23, “All Time Low” on February 27 and “New Noise” on March 27.

“Afterlife” continues the duo’s darker industrial direction. Lyrically, it reflects on change, looking back from the afterlife, revising a dead past and welcoming life after.

Below is the video for “Afterlife“.

About Rule of Two

Rule Of Two is a Norwegian darkwave-infused electronic indie project formed in 2023 in Oslo, Norway, by musicians Ronny Flissundet and Kristian Liljan. Both come from the Oslo metal and alternative rock underground and have prior history in bands such as Damokles, Dunderbeist and Kite. Rule Of Two was formed as an electronic side-project focused on more melodic, synth-based material, blending darkwave, synth-pop, dream-pop, trip-hop and ambient.

In this project Flissundet handles lyrics, vocals, guitars and synths, while Liljan is responsible for beats, loops, bass, synths, videos and production.

The band introduced itself in January 2024 with the digital single “Bygones,” which later appeared on their debut “Drowning EP.” Recorded between October 2023 and January 2024 in Oslo, Nesodden and Firenze, the “Drowning EP” was released on June 14, 2024.

The “Echoes” EP, released in January 2025, compiled several of the tracks recorded between 2024-2025 together with new material. The production and mixing was led by Liljan at studios in Oslo and Nesodden.

During 2025 Rule Of Two expanded their catalogue with the “Dancing Drone” EP and singles including “Forever Minus One,” “Cloud Nine” and “Dolores.” Their 10-track debut album “Aiming For the Sun” appeared on November 13, 2025 as a self-released title, mixed and mastered at Crystal Island Studios in Nesodden. The album combines original material with a cover of “Climbing Up the Walls” by Radiohead.

In 2026, the duo moved into a darker industrial/cyberpunk direction with “Call For Aid”, “All Time Low” and the Refused cover “New Noise”. “Afterlife” now marks their first Polypiel Records collaboration.

Pussy Riot and FEMEN staged a joint protest at the Russian Pavilion during the Venice Biennale preview on May 6, 2026, in Venice, Italy. The action, titled “Storm of Venice,” took place during the preview days of the 61st International Art Exhibition, “In Minor Keys,” which runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026.

More than 50 Pussy Riot members entered the pavilion area wearing pink ski masks and carrying pink smoke. The group chanted “Russia’s art is blood” and “Disobey” during the protest. FEMEN activists then joined the action with blue and yellow smoke, Ukrainian flags, and chants.

Italian police blocked access to the pavilion, and the protest interrupted access for about 30 minutes.

‘Every Russian artwork shown this year stands on an invisible pedestal: Ukrainian blood’

In a reaction Pussy Riot creator Nadya Tolokonnikova says: “Russia’s best citizens are either imprisoned for anti-regime and pro-Ukraine actions or killed in jail, while Europe opens its doors to Putin’s officials and propagandists.”

She adds: “If art is meant to represent a country at the Venice Biennale – something like the Olympics of the art world – then artists imprisoned for their anti-war, pro-Ukraine stance are the real face of modern Russia.”

Tolokonnikova also said they want imprisoned and formerly imprisoned Russian artists to represent Russia at the Venice Biennale in 2028. She called on Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, Veneto president Luca Zaia, and Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro to meet with the group.

FEMEN’s Inna Shevchenko commented: “We say it clearly: RUSSIA KILLS — BIENNALE EXHIBITS. BLOOD IS RUSSIA’S ART. Every Russian artwork shown this year stands on an invisible pedestal: Ukrainian blood. You won’t find it in the catalogue. But it is the only material that truly holds this pavilion together.”

Below are pictures from the protest (Photos courtesy Pussy Riot / Nikita Teryoshin).

Background to Russia’s return at the Venice Biennale

The protest took place during renewed controversy over Russia’s return to the Biennale. Russia’s Pavilion reopened for the first time since the country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. A Biennale representative said Russia had not been invited, but had the right to participate because it owns the pavilion.

The 61st International Art Exhibition is titled “In Minor Keys” and was developed from the curatorial concept of Koyo Kouoh. The official Biennale programme lists the preview days as May 6, 7, and 8, with the public opening on May 9.

The European Commission has already threatened to withdraw €2 million in funding over Russia’s participation, while the Italian government sent inspectors to Venice. The Russian Pavilion was expected to remain open only during the preview week before the public opening.

Pussy Riot and FEMEN add that Russia’s participation violates European sanctions.

About Pussy Riot

Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest art collective formed in Moscow in 2011. The group was founded by Nadya Tolokonnikova and developed from earlier links to the Russian street-art group Voina. Its early actions used punk, performance, video, and public intervention to criticise Vladimir Putin, state power, and the Russian Orthodox Church.

The collective became internationally known in 2012 after a performance inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were later convicted in Russia. In December 2025 a Moscow court declared the art collective an “extremist organization,” effectively banning its activity in Russia and exposing associates to possible criminal charges.

About FEMEN

FEMEN is an international feminist activist group founded in Ukraine in 2008. The group became known for topless protest actions against sex tourism, religious institutions, sexism, homophobia, authoritarianism, and other political issues. Well known members include Anna Hutsol, Oksana Shachko, Alexandra Shevchenko, Inna Shevchenko, and Yana Zhdanova.

Inna Shevchenko joined the organisation in 2009 and later became one of its main public figures. She was granted asylum in France in 2013 and continued her activity from Paris. FEMEN’s recent actions have also focused on Russia’s war against Ukraine, including a December 2024 protest at the “Broken Chair” monument outside the United Nations in Geneva.

New Jersey instrumental shoegaze and post-punk band Deardarkhead have released “Letting Go”, the first single (and video) from their new, 2nd, album “The Pendulum Swings“. The track is available now on Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp, with the album announced for July 10 on CD, digital and 180-gram vinyl via the band’s own Fertile Crescent Records.

“Letting Go” is an instrumental track built around guitar leads, bass lines and keyboard layers. Joe McGinty plays keyboards on the song. McGinty is known for his work with The Psychedelic Furs and has also performed or recorded with Deborah Harry, Nada Surf and Ryan Adams.

Kevin Harrington says: “This first single ‘Letting Go’ is a song about growth. It’s a song about change. Letting go of old ways. It’s about taking a new direction and knowing that it’s going to be right.”

Robert Weiss adds: “This started out as a piano piece by guitarist Kevin Harrington and quickly grew into a full blown anthem with soaring guitar leads and melodic bass hooks. In demand keyboardist Joe McGinty and fellow South New Jerseyan provided backing keyboard tracks for the song.”

“The Pendulum Swings” contains ten tracks: “Flamethrower”, “Coming Undone”, “Tomorrowland”, “Tears”, “Sad Songs (and Better Days)”, “Letting Go”, “A Thanksgiving”, “Black Pearls”, “In Another Life” and “The Pendulum Swings”. The album has Kevin Harrington on guitars, bass VI, ebow and bass on track 10; Robert Weiss on drums and percussion; Brandon Howard on bass for tracks 1-9; and Joe McGinty on keyboards for track 6.

The album was recorded at Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia. Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey produced, engineered and mixed the record. Joe Lambert mastered it.

About Deardarkhead

Deardarkhead formed in 1988 in the Atlantic City, New Jersey area. The name Deardarkhead comes from “Cean Dubh Dilis”, an 1867 poem by Irish poet Sir Samuel Ferguson.

The current lineup consists of Kevin Harrington on guitar, Robert Weiss on drums and James Malizia on bass. Malizia joined in August 2024. The band has worked as an instrumental unit since vocalist and bassist Michael Amper left in 2009.

The band’s early lineup included Blakely Parent, Kurt Douglass, Josh Minor and Robert Weiss. Deardarkhead released “Greetings from the Infernal Village” as a tape-only release on Fertile Crescent Records in 1988. “Spiral down and Vibrate” followed in 1991 as a cassette-only release. “Melt Away Too Soon” was released on CD in 1992, followed by “Ultraviolet” in 1993 and “Unlock the Valves of Feeling” in 1998.

Captured Tracks released “Oceanside: 1991-1993” in 2011 as part of its “Shoegaze Archives” series. The release collected early Deardarkhead material and appeared on CD, LP and limited cassette. The band joined Saint Marie Records in 2015 which released the “Strange Weather” EP on March 25, 2016 on CD, LP and digital formats.

Deardarkhead’s music has aalso ppeared on US and Japanese independent compilations, including “Static Waves 4”, “Popular World”, “Dream POP” and “Splashed With Many A Speck”.

And now there is “The Pendulum Swings”, the band’s sixth recording and second full-length album, preceded by “Letting Go”.

Chris Corner of IAMX on UNMASK, IAMIXED, imperfection, and learning how to frame the future

When Chris Corner speaks, the old binary oppositions that still shape too much music journalism, authenticity versus performance, intimacy versus theatre, vulnerability versus control, begin to look embarrassingly simplistic. Across IAMX, he has spent years proving that a mask can reveal as much as it conceals, that dressing up can be a form of truth, and that unfinishedness is not necessarily failure, but a deeply human condition. That tension felt especially palpable at the Leipzig date of The Artificial Innocence Tour, the opening night of a new chapter and the first live appearance with Gözde in the line up. From the audience, the show felt raw and exacting at once, instinctive but tightly held together, as if volatility itself had been rehearsed into form. Corner, as it turned out, experienced it rather differently: less as a triumphant unveiling than as a highly charged exercise in concentration, adjustment, and trust.

That divergence says a great deal about IAMX. What often reaches the audience as intensity, elegance, and emotional coherence is, on the inside, bound up with doubt, pressure, revision, and a refusal to accept the idea of the fixed work. With UNMASK and IAMIXED, Corner returns to the world orbiting Fault Lines, not to close it down neatly, but to test what survives when songs are reopened, displaced, and handed to other instincts. Our conversation moved from the discomfort of festivals to the cultural fragmentation artists now face, from perfectionism and neurodiversity to the peculiar freedom of theatrical self construction, from remixing as creative release to the question of how an artist survives, aesthetically and materially, in an age of acceleration, categorisation, and artificial intelligence. What emerged was not a promotional conversation around two releases, but something more revealing: a portrait of an artist who is still suspicious of completion, still wary of his own past, and still trying, in his own words, to learn “how to frame the future.”

IAMX interview

Karo: Hi Chris, thank you for taking the time. I saw you at the Leipzig show at E Only Festival, the opening of The Artificial Innocence Tour, and it felt like a very particular moment. There was something raw, but also very controlled about it, and seeing you perform with Gözde for the first time added a different kind of tension and elegance. Before we go deeper into discussing your new work, how did that night feel from your side, as the starting point of this chapter?

Chris: It was interesting because I’m known for hating festivals. It’s always very uncomfortable for me in that situation. I was very preoccupied with making it work. It was the first time I performed with Gözde too, so I think my mind wasn’t really with the audience, which is rare, because I’m usually very connected. I was very much concerned that everything was working. Mentally, I was kind of somewhere else, which is rare because I’m usually quite present. Saying that, I was very relieved and happy to have her integrated in such a cool way, because it was a super cool thing, and I love the space. The sound was great. It was a little stressful setting up and things like that, but what a way to introduce her. Overall, I’d say it was a very special moment, as you’ve said. I’ll probably look back at that at some point and enjoy it more, but at that point I was kind of stressed, to tell you the truth.

Karo: These two releases, UNMASK and IAMIXED, both seem to resist the idea that a body of work ever really ends. One gathers material still emotionally adjacent to Fault Lines, while the other allows that same world to be reinterpreted, even dismantled. Do you experience this moment as a form of closure, or as proof that your work continues to evolve beyond your control?

Chris: That’s a brilliant question. It’s an interesting moment. Privately, culturally, there’s so much going on for artists, and I digest that stuff. It can be quite confusing sometimes. As an artist, you’re constantly not just questioning your own work, but your place in the world. Culture is so fragmented and wild. It’s like a Wild West out there. What do you do? Do you make an album? Do you release a song? Do you release a video? Do you not do a video? Do you do an Instagram post? What do you do? What’s going to help you survive? A lot of the time we’re preoccupied with that more and more these days, as opposed to just having a lot of focus on creation. And in a way, it’s interesting because you take something like IAMIXED and UNMASK, and they are musical orphans. They don’t really exist as part of a bigger piece. I kind of like that, because it reflects what’s happening culturally anyway, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to try something like that that doesn’t necessarily have to be part of an album. To me, it feels okay. It’s like the starting point: do I lean into that? Do I do little fragments of art now? Is that how the world is? Or do I always fall back into this larger piece, the album, the traditional? Is that old fashioned? I don’t know. Or is that just a format that describes a certain time in your life perfectly? Does it have to be like that? Is that just a proven thing? So I guess I’m just trying things out, and IAMX has always been quite a multidimensional project anyway. I’ve never felt that my art is ever complete. I’m always interested in revisiting and trying to improve, and it’s never really done. I’m never fully happy. I know how to complete, and I know how to accept the defeat of that kind of completion and just go with it. This is what I can do at this time. I know there’s something in me that tells me this could be much better, but I cannot achieve that right now. That’s not who I am, or maybe I’ll never be that person. But I can accept it for its flaws and its beauty at the same time. So it’s quite nice for me to come back to things and correct what I felt was missing, or add what I felt was missing. I grew up in the culture of remixing and sampling and all of those things, and it’s just part of the way that I do things. I like to throw things around.

Karo: You’ve often pushed back against the idea of a final version. Listening to these releases, it feels less like a production choice and more like a philosophical stance. Do you resist completion because identity itself remains unstable, or because the finished work risks fixing something that is still in motion?

Chris: Fascinating. There are so many layers there. There’s this idea of perfection in creating something that I’d like to say was a philosophical choice, because that would make me sound like it was intentional. But I don’t think it is. If I’m truly honest, I feel like there are certain things I just can’t achieve, and it’ll never be good enough. That’s just my place in the world. I hear things that I don’t particularly like, but I’m impressed that people can make it so complete. I think it’s just a reflection of my nature. It’s not an intentional philosophy. I think I’m going to be less harsh on myself maybe. I’m aware that that’s okay. And then I’m a bit of both. I do lean in and say, in this world of perfection, and now artificial intelligence and all of these things, where human incompleteness is going to be an attractive thing, maybe that is now what makes it interesting, as opposed to trying to achieve something that is beyond you. I think I’m just starting to accept that there are certain things I’ll never be able to do, and that’s just my place. And that’s okay.

Karo: You mentioned perfectionism, and almost instantly this quotation from your lyrics came to mind: “and I was carrying the weight of the universe, the typical brittle perfectionist.” I think you are kind of accepting that now.

Chris: Yeah, I do. I think I used to place myself in that. What’s ironic about perfectionism is you can’t achieve it. You may perceive yourself to be a perfectionist, but it’s nonsense. You can never perfect anything. But you do hold on to this idea that you can be better, and it’s self flagellation. It’s very much a self destructive attitude. I used to hold on to that a lot. There’s a certain drive, or a certain engine, in that that does keep you going, but with a bit of distance now, and seeing how burnt out that would make me, often I see how, if I look at my body of work and the things that I’ve done, it didn’t help. It didn’t change that much. It was an inner feeling that now that I have much less of, it doesn’t really change my work. It just changed the stress feeling.

Karo: The word UNMASK feels especially loaded in the context of IAMX because your work has never treated masks as simple concealment. They’ve been tools for transformation, survival, seduction. When you use that word now, does it feel like exposure, or more like a shift in how consciously you construct what is seen?

Chris: The unmasking thing is loaded. It’s full of levels. You’ve got the theatrical performance level, the inner authentic, the yearning for authenticity level, and they all play off each other. The odd thing about IAMX, or me, I guess, but let’s say IAMX because I’m a little bit more than IAMX, is that it likes to play with that stuff. Depending on its mood, it can flip between playful theatrical stage performance and very serious mental health issues. What’s so interesting to me is how fluid that is. I feel very comfortable going between those two worlds. If you look at what could appear to be a very false, constructed thing like a stage performance, I don’t see it like that at all. I see it almost like a tribal moment. There’s something very liberating and beautiful about dressing up and escaping the self. I always yearned for that. It confused me why people would think putting on makeup and dressing up is not authentic. You have to be very serious, you have to wear a T shirt, these cultural things that are impressed upon us. I always felt this drive to fight against that and to dress up and to say, I don’t give a fuck, I’m going to look like a girl, I’m going to do these things. I’m not sure why, but I know I’m fighting against something that culturally says that I’m not an authentic artist. So it’s definitely been a battle, but it always felt right, and it always felt like there is nothing saying to me why these things can’t coexist and be completely meaningful at the same time. So the idea of unmasking, it’s not that it feels like ripping the mask off and saying, that was wrong and now this is right. It’s not that at all. It’s a symbolic reference to the idea of just being an authentic thing, whatever. That freedom of expression, of thought, whatever that is, however you want to express yourself, is what’s important, and pressure will come and go and say this is right and that’s wrong. But if the inner feeling is always there, and if the inner feeling is unmasked, I feel like the outer can be anything. It can be dressed up, whatever.

Karo: IAMIXED also suggests a kind of surrender of authorship, not polite remixing, but real reinterpretation. When you hear your songs filtered through somebody else’s instincts, do you recognise yourself in them, or do they reveal something you didn’t know was already there?

Chris: I don’t know. Because I’m a producer too, I kind of start as a producer. I recognise decision making in them. There are things that I hear and I think, oh yeah, I get that, I see why they’ve done that. So it’s not like I’m coming from an unknowing, raw point of view. I’m aware. But it’s still a nice moment. I wouldn’t say I’m massively surprised by things, but I still love it. If somebody does some kind of nasty, weird, distorted techno version of an IAMX song, I love that. I like anything that’s good.

IAMX’s genre bending has always been like that. I don’t really care where it fits. If it fits there today, great. If it’s there tomorrow. That’s gotten me into trouble because people like to label things. The world likes to put things in boxes. It makes things easier for people. It probably would have had a lot more commercial success had I done certain things, but it’s not interesting to me. It’s not a choice anyway. It’s just what I am. So this idea that all of those things can coexist, again, a little bit like the theatrical and the serious, different kinds of genres, different musical interpretations, are very natural to me. So I do like it. It’s the kind of thing I would do myself. I wouldn’t do exactly what they do because that’s them and I want them. But it is really nice. I’ve always liked it. I do like to hear myself mixed up, mashed up. And I do like it when I can hand things to somebody else because it can be quite isolating and exhausting, constantly doing you again and again in one room by yourself. So it is nice to hand it away.

Karo: Were you searching for artists who would understand the songs, or rather disturb them in an interesting way, challenge you in a way?

Chris: I prefer that. I prefer when it’s very, very different to what I would do. I do like that. That’s often what I’ve chosen if I’ve done collaborations or things in the past. I’ve had managers who say, well, you’ve got to do this with this artist and you’ve got to go on support with that artist because we can get their crowd. Every time somebody tells me that, it just makes me want to do the opposite. Maybe that hasn’t helped, but it’s definitely interesting when unexpected things happen. It brings me joy, I guess, when it’s outside of what I would do myself.

Karo: Your work often moves through intense psychological states like compulsion, shame, fragmentation, at least this is how I understand it, but it rarely feels like raw confession just for confession’s sake. It feels processed and shaped. How do you recognise the moment when personal experience becomes something that you can communicate rather than simply expose? For me, you have always been a translator of emotions into words. States like these are very difficult to communicate, and you have always done that perfectly. How do you do that?

Chris: Thank you. That’s very kind. It’s an interesting thing because there is this feeling where it’s almost like trying to tame this wildness, this overwhelm. I think a lot of it comes down to trying to understand myself. I’m pretty neurodiverse. I’m pretty on the spectrum of autism. I deal with a lot of overwhelming emotions, with lots of ups and downs in terms of my reaction to the external world and people. I’m constantly trying to figure out what’s right and wrong, how do I need to edit myself to make things right, or why did that happen. Trying to form a theory of mind of others is often like a life goal, and through the work I feel like I’ve been able to process certain things and to understand people, or at least to describe them fully to myself. It becomes a real challenge because it takes a lot of time, the lyrical content takes time to process, to be able to start with something, to understand what it is I want to be talking about, then to understand how to correctly talk about it without sounding too intellectual. It’s an interesting form, a song, particularly for me, because I do feel like I want to go very deep, but I also need to keep it at a certain level that’s understandable for people to consume as a song. So there is a certain framework in songwriting that is quite nice for me, because I need to simplify it to a certain degree, but also have a little bit of depth. So it’s a challenge. Emotions are so much a part of our daily lives, and we have so much reactivity to things, that when I nail something with a few words, it elevates me, and I think it allows me to understand the world. It brings me peace, I guess, and to be able to offer that doorway into something to others feels like it gives me purpose too. That’s the meaning of my life, in a way, to give people access and understanding through my words, through my music. It’s not always necessarily about the words too, and trying to put that into music is a challenge. But I think you’re right. There’s something about the lyrical side of things that I often forget that I’m doing. I don’t think about it until I’m in it, and then I realise how much work it is. Because I can’t just do that “hey baby” thing. It’s not an option for me unless that’s relevant to a certain emotion in the track.

Karo: For me, this music helps to understand human behavior, but you also give it a language. I think it’s both. And I think one reason your music stays with people is because it avoids the simple narrative. Desire, cruelty, tenderness, self destruction, they coexist without resolution. When you write now, are you still trying to understand those contradictions, or have you accepted them as something that can’t be resolved?

Chris: I think if I get to that level of acceptance, I don’t know if I’ll feel like writing so much. That’s a bit of a cynical view of myself. I’m being hard on myself there, which is a natural place for me to go. But I feel like the overwhelming feeling of depth comes to me often just in daily life. It’s not when I’m writing necessarily. It can be amplified when I’m writing and it can be resolved. This emotion can be resolved when I’m doing something and I don’t need to intellectualise it. It just comes out and permeates my being, and then it feels like it’s resolved a little bit, like sex with stress or something. Without words it can be resolved. There’s a lot of that going on. But when I’m out in the world doing life, there’s a lot of things that, if I’m not careful, I can often just be overwhelmed by the depth of things, or the seeming depth of things. That could be anything. I can be caught by a cactus or a little animal or something. It can drag me in very quickly if I’m not careful. So I don’t think I’ll have a problem with material. I think that feeling isn’t going to go away. It changes. I think it transforms. Maybe what I direct it on might be different. I don’t know if it’ll always be directed at other people, but I think that’s the duty of an artist, to access that depth in whatever it is. I feel like it’s everywhere. I don’t feel like it’s just in other humans. It’s a special kind of depth in humans, but I think it’s everywhere.

It would be interesting to see where you can take it. Are we all just so preoccupied with relationships and emotional interaction that anything else might not be that interesting in pop music? I probably will always settle on the idea of interpersonal relationships. It’s such a concern for the human condition that I don’t think that will ever go away. But I do feel a little bit, I’m coming out of quite a turbulent private time in terms of relationships. I’m going through a divorce, all these kinds of things. I feel like an era is coming where my focus is going to be a bit different. I can’t fully promise that, but I’m interested to know because I’m not fully in control of myself. I’ll be interested to know where I’m going with all this on the next round.

Karo: Looking back at earlier phases, like The Unified Field or Metanoia, identity always felt fluid, unstable, but urgent. Does that fluidity feel different to you now? More grounded, or more deliberate?

Chris: No. It doesn’t. I’d like to say that there’s a certain sort of wisdom that’s come with getting older, and I think it just changes. There are certain things that get in the way more. Priorities change a little bit. Life stuff happens, and you get a bit distracted by that. But I think the essence is the same, definitely. You mentioned the word urgency. Fluidity and urgency. Urgency has been a thing from as long as I can remember, and that need to express how short life is to the world, and how we need to grasp the beauty of things all the time, and not necessarily try and hold on to things, but at least recognise those things, and even recognise the impermanence of things. Even if you have access to that way of thinking, which I do constantly, I don’t think that’s going to change. I still feel as urgent about life as ever, maybe more. With age, you start to understand you’re getting on the other side, so maybe the priorities might change a little bit. Do I want to keep doing this thing specifically, or would I like to tweak it? For years I’ve been interested in mental health gatherings and expanding IAMX into different ways of doing things, possibly because there’s lots of different layers to IAMX, and maybe going into installation art. I would like to experiment a bit more with the format. But time, it’s all about time. Where is the time gonna come from?

Karo: Last question. We’ll be wrapping up, although I would probably like to keep you a bit longer. But we’ve got a scheduled time, so my last question will be kind of rounding up. If UNMASK and IAMIXED both deal, in a way, with reframing of material, of authorship, of perspective, what are you currently reframing within yourself? Not what you are releasing, but how you think, create, how you relate to your own work.

Chris: I’ve always had a slightly schizophrenic relationship to my work. I’m scared of it in a way. I don’t listen to old stuff very often unless I have to focus on it, like live music or remix or rework or whatever. I’m a bit scared of the past. I don’t like nostalgia. I don’t really focus on it because I feel like I’m going to criticise myself. It’s my go to feeling, and I don’t like that, so I do avoid my work. But then again, sometimes, as I said, it’s a bit of a schizophrenic feeling, because sometimes I’ll hear something accidentally and I’ll be really pleasantly surprised that I was able to do that thing. And it’s like, oh my God, that’s me. That thing’s actually quite good. How did I do that? It’s an odd feeling. So it’s a bit of an engine. This engine is to correct, to be better, to think I can do this better, and I don’t want to hear that shit because if I hear it, I’ll just be like, oh fuck, I fucked that up. But I’m okay with it. I don’t feel like I’m suffering necessarily from that. I just have to be careful how I filter my world and how I view myself. I’m always more preoccupied with doing something new because I think there’s a comfort in that, there’s a joy in that, there’s a sort of safety in being able to put something in the world as opposed to analyse what’s already there. So it’s not a healthy relationship that I have with my work. I’d like it to be healthier, but we’d like all sorts of things, right? We just have to make peace with a certain way of being. And that’s just how I am.

I do think a lot about how to go forward. I’ve always been like that. What is my place? How do I survive as an independent artist? It’s not easy necessarily, trying to find income and ways to survive and balance life with work. There’s a lot of that going on. There’s a lot of thinking about the future of what format music is going to be. Artificial intelligence, what do we do with that? Can it help? Is it going to take things away? There’s a lot of turbulence going on. It’s not much different. But I think if you bring something like that culturally into the mix, where it’s actually quite a big, obviously toxic subject for many people, for me it’s more like, what does that really mean to me? Is it something I want to get involved in or have to get involved in? Am I going to be forced into this, to use this? Or do I fight against it? Do I make the human frailty attractive? Do I lean into that? Or do I say, well, everybody else is making their lives easier, why do I have to suffer and watch all these people do this thing and nobody cares anyway? What do people care about? How do I fit in that?

A lot of the time I’m thinking about those things because I want to be efficient, I want to be effective, I still want to get to people and I want to produce things that people can connect with and all of those things. So I guess I’m working on how to frame the future right now.

Italian neoclassical darkwave and dark folk band Ataraxia release “Alabaster” on 6 May 2026. The “Alabaster” single and video precede the band’s 30th studio album, “Sylfaera the Fair”, out 21 May 2026 via The Circle Music in Digi CD, marbled transparent turquoise and black LP, and deluxe black box formats. The deluxe black box is limited to 100 copies.

“Alabaster” follows the earlier “Sylfaera” and “Llawarra” singles from the same album. “Sylfaera the Fair” closes the trilogy that began with “Pomegranate (The Chant of the Elementals)” in 2022 and continued with “Centaurea” in 2024.

“Alabaster” is a warrior-shaman linked to wolves and the snow-covered mountains of the North. The band explains: “Alabaster acts as a bridge between the physical and the spiritual. On the night in Loona, he longs to reunite with his group soul, moving not as an individual, but as a single spiritual entity guided by powerful instinct. He knows the shadows, the tracks, and the smells of the wild. He represents that primal, intuitive force that exists within the sacred masculine.”

The track features Francesca Nicoli on vocals, Vittorio Vandelli on bouzouki, electric guitar, and programming, and Giovanni Pagliari on keyboards. Guest musician Gregorio Bellodi adds uilleann pipes.

The official video for “Alabaster”, directed by Wampyrion, is available below; on YouTube. The single smartlink currently opens pre-save and pre-add options for Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Deezer, and Tidal.

About Ataraxia

Ataraxia are an Italian neoclassical darkwave and dark folk ensemble from Modena in Emilia-Romagna. The band was formed in November 1985 by vocalist Francesca Nicoli and bassist Michele Urbano. Guitarist Vittorio Vandelli joined in December 1986 and keyboardist Giovanni Pagliari in January 1990; from the early 1990s onward, Nicoli, Vandelli, and Pagliari became the group’s enduring creative core.

Ataraxia is more a multidisciplinary project working across music, poetry, and visual art. In their work they merge acoustic and contemporary instrumentation and uses texts in both ancient and modern languages, with recurring references to Mediterranean and Celtic cultures, mythology, ritual, and nature.

Ataraxia first built an underground following through self-produced cassette releases: “Prophetia” in 1990, “Nosce te Ipsum” in 1991, and “Arazzi” plus “Sub ignissima luna” in 1993. Their first full release followed in 1994 with “Simphonia sine Nomine” on Energeia/Apollyon and “Ad perpetuam rei memoriam” on Apollyon. Those release were followed by “La Malédiction d’Ondine” and “The Moon Sang on the April Chair” in 1995, the split 10-inch “In Amoris Mortisque” with Engelsstaub, then “Il fantasma dell’Opera” and “Concerto N. 6” in 1996.

In 1998 Ataraxia released “Historiae” through Cold Meat Industry, “Orlando” through Prikosnovénie, and the live album “Os cavaleiros do templo – Live in Portugal” through Symbiose. These were followed by “Lost Atlantis” in 1999, “Sueños” and the retrospective “A Calliope” in 2001, “Mon Seul Désir” in 2002, “Des Paroles Blanches” in 2003, “Saphir” in 2004, the acoustic double set “Odos eis Ouranon” and the book-plus-CD project “Arcana Eco” in 2005, then “Paris Spleen” in 2006 and “Kremasta Nera” in 2007. In 2004 Vittorio Vandelli released the solo album “A Day of Warm Rain in Heaven” with Nicoli participating on vocals. Francesca Nicoli from here side did guest work on Monumentum’s “In Absentia Christi” back in 1995. “Llyr” was released in 2010 and was the launch for several more albums: “Spasms” in 2013, “Wind at Mount Elo” in 2014, “Ena” in 2015, “Deep Blue Firmament” in 2016, “Synchronicity Embraced” in 2018, and “Quasar” in 2020.

Ataraxia is now signed to The Circle Music, which has handled the recent releases beginning with the 2021 vinyl reissue of “Sueños” and the studio trilogy “Pomegranate (The Chant of the Elementals)” in 2022, “Centaurea” in 2024, and “Sylfaera the Fair” in 2026. Between those albums, the band issued a sequence of singles and videos including “Hlara Aralh,” “Aura Magi,” “The Source,” “Galen,” “Viriditas,” “Coelestis,” and “Sylfaera,” while 2025 also brought the standalone track “Breath of Soundrops” for “The Five Senses” compilation.

And now there is “Sylfaera the Fair,” Ataraxia’s 30th studio album.

“Past Perfect” and “Euphoria” can hardly be considered new work, but rather somewhat forgotten and lesser-known—unless to the fans—tracks by Solitary Experiments. Both EPs were originally released as bonus tracks on the limited albums “Future Tense” (2018) and “Phenomena” (2013).

Solitary Experiments ventures into covering fairly well-known songs by even more well-known bands such as Tears For Fears, Yazoo, Propaganda, Heaven 17, Wolfsheim, and others. In my opinion, they do this in a quite convincing way by retaining the recognizability of the original songs while simultaneously transforming them into a more Electro/Future-Pop approach. Not always obvious when you look at the choice of songs, but overall this is certainly a successful operation with, in my opinion, very successful interpretations of Yazoo’s “Nobody’s Diary” and Doro Pesch’s “Für Immer”.

As far as I am concerned, this kind of work is intended first and foremost for the group’s die-hard fans, but it still allows us to admire the group’s talent in the role of a cover band. (Rating:7½).

Listen to “Nobody’s Diary”:

Italian dark-goth / new wave band Newdress have released the single “Shelter (The Night For Us)” via the Vrec Music Label. The track is the third advance single from the upcoming album “ADE (A Dance Eternal),” scheduled for autumn 2026.

The official video was directed by Riccardo Scalvenzi / Manifesto Collective.”Shelter (The Night For Us)” follows “Here We Are,” released on June 7, 2024, and “The Voices (Can Kill Me),” released on September 16, 2024.

The band describes “Shelter (The Night For Us)” as a track about nightclubs as spaces of refuge. Newdress explains: “There are places where you feel you find your true essence.” The lyrics combine Italian-language verses with the English refrain.

The line-up for the recording consists of Stefano Marzoli on vocals and synthesizers, Jordan Vianello on drums, and Andrea Zagna on bass and electric guitar. Mixing was handled by Max Lotti, with mastering by Giovanni “Meniak” Nebbia at Ithil World Studio.

About Newdress

Newdress are a Brescia, Italy-based dark-goth, new wave, electronic band. The band debuted in 2008 with the self-produced “Alibi”, followed by “MODErne Tessiture Sonore” on Kandinsky Records in 2010. The band then released “Legàmi Di Luce” featuring Lele Battista and Andy Fluon in 2012, followed by “Sister Europe” and “Vernale” with Kovre in 2013.

In 2015, Newdress released the EP “Novanta” through Vrec. The EP included four covers and one original track, with collaborations involving Omar Pedrini of Timoria, Garbo, Lele Battista of LaSintesi and Luca Urbani of Soerba.

The band continued with “Silent Age” for “The Sound Italian Tribute” in 2016, then released “Falso Negativo” through Vrec in 2017 including tracks such as “Daylight,” “Hedone” and “Attico Narcotico.”

Newdress later released “Behind The Wheel” through Vrec in 2018, followed by “Pallida,” “Il Rumore Di Te,” “Joyce” and “LEIcontroLEI” in 2019 and 2020. In 2024 they launched the singles “Here We Are” and “The Voices (Can Kill Me)”, and now, 2 years later, “Shelter (The Night For Us).”

The full album “ADE (A Dance Eternal)” is scheduled for Autumn 2026.