Morning, gang! We had some fun chatting with bands about the wacky world of DIY merchandising back at Terminus, and some of their notions, both hypothetical and realized, were pretty great. Despite our weakness for buying merch, we ain’t exactly the best at cranking it out. That said, the relatively well-received Death To False EBM design is once again up for grabs in remixed form, as the remaining collaborative crewnecks with Das Bunker from last year’s DB20 fest are finally available for sale (just in time for fall). Cop one if you’re looking to stay warm in the months ahead and want to leave no uncertainty as to your views on wack af electronic body music. On to this week’s Tracks!
Vomito Negro always lookin' the part.
Vomito Negro, “Unleash The Demons”
We’ve been waiting on Black Plague, the forthcoming LP from the legendary Vomito Negro, for over a year at this point. There still doesn’t look to be a firm release date, but we’ve at least got some album art and, far more importantly, another tune from the dark EBM masters’ impending release. There’s some vintage house swing in this cut which is a bit of a different look, but the minimal and mean construction, plus the oppressively gritty pads give it more than enough classic Vomito Negro meanness.
Sigsaly, “Push”
Fresh new darkwave courtesy of the freshly minted Sigsaly, a side-project of Vancouver stalwarts Koban. The project finds the duo putting aside their electric bass and guitars and focusing entirely on electronics, at least in their debut track “Push”, where the propulsive bassline and tomb-reverb on the vox are paired with jittery synths in a way that creates tension and a creeping menace. No word on whether any more material is forthcoming, but we’re always excited for new Van City darkness in any form.
Whiteqube, “The Return”
You guys remember Whiteqube? The LA based electronic act who really made an impact on us out a few years back with their wild videos and unique sense of humour? Well they’re back, and appropriately have a video that gives us the same feelings, as filtered through synthwave VHS aesthetics. Also Airwolf, the crime-solving helicopter. And hey, the song is a lot of fun too, with nicely rounded EBM touches in the rhythm section. Strong stuff to accompany the recently released The Return which we’ll be writing up at some point in the near future.
Konkurs, “Descender”
Despite both being busy with their various solo efforts, Joey Blush (Blush Response) and Emad Dabiri (SARIN, Human Performance Lab) have reunited to put together a new EP for the prolific aufnahme + wiedegarbe. Like their previous release Object of Subversion has finds two guys conversant in that techno industrial crossover sound combining their strengths to make music that reflects their individuals aesthetics. First track “Descender” is a straight grinder, and a reminder that for all the producers hopping on this particular bandwagon, there are a few standing head and shoulders above the fray.
raison d’être & Troum, “Eigi Einhamr”
Not sure how it passed us by the first time, but a collaboration between dark ambient master Peter Andersson and (not so dark) ambient experimentalists Troum is putting out a second LP in the coming weeks. It sounds as though core sounds recorded by Andersson as raison d’être haven been processed and rearranged by the German duo over the past few years. The shimmering, almost DVOA-style echo coming off this lead track sounds very Troum, though the slowly descending, mournful tone is vintage Andersson.
Statiqbloom, “Survival”
Author and pal of the site Andi Harriman’s put together a digital/12″ comp in honour of the Synthicide parties she throws each month in Brooklyn. ID:UD faves like SΛRIN and Cute Heels make appearances, as does Brooklyn’s own Statiqbloom with this grinding endurance test. Andi’s got one foot in the roots of goth and another in the present of dark synth, so you know she’ll have curated some solid stuff. By the by, be sure to catch Statiqbloom on the east coast in the next couple weeks, or on the west coast in October.
