As folks may know by now, this past week we unveiled the Telekompilation release, chock-full of original tracks by members of our Telekon Slack community. The response has been incredible thus far, with far more people downloading the release than we’d ever expected. Thanks to everyone who’s taken the time to check it out, and we hope it directs you to some cool new acts you hadn’t heard before. Speaking of which, let’s get you hooked up with this week’s Tracks!
Boy Harsher: gardening at night.
Boy Harsher, “Face the Fire”
Following up on their astonishing 2017 Country Girl EP, Boy Harsher are poised for something big with the impending release of their sophomore LP Careful due in February of 2019. First single “Face the Fire” is exactly what we’ve come to expect from the duo: soulful, compulsively danceable synth music that straddles too many genres to name, and is unmistakably them. This record can’t get here fast enough.
Kælan Mikla, “Nornalagið”
We’re still a few days away from the hotly anticipated third LP from Iceland’s premiere post-punk seance clique, Kælan Mikla, and to tide us over we have this second preview. “Nornalagið” brings some classic goth and darkwave feels forward, adding some hooky but atmospheric depth to what’s looking like a much more polished release than the hex-heavy excoriations of their earlier, more violent work. 2018’s winding down, but we think Nótt eftir nótt might have what it takes to be ranked among the year’s best records.
Sigsaly, “Your Enemy”
The news of Koban going on hiatus so that its members could focus on their EBM workouts with Sigsaly may have irked some of the folks who’ve been enjoying the moody sounds Brittany and Sam have been plying in the former project for the past few years. But we’re guessing very few of those people live in Vancouver, as those of us here have been able to witness what a driving and cathartic live act Sigsaly’s become, and we’ve also been privy to the excellent material they’ve been stockpiling. With a full-length follow-up to last year’s debut EP just dropping a couple of days ago, everyone else has a chance to catch up. Stay tuned for a full review of Entity…
Zanias, “Exuvia (Candela Rising)”
It’s been a couple of years since Alison Lewis’ debut EP as Zanias (ably assisted by Alex from FORCES) emerged, and we’ve been eagerly awaiting the follow-up from the ex-Linea Aspera and Keluar member since. The news of the project’s first LP Into The All is welcome, and it feels like the feeling is pretty common amongst those who are familiar with her work, as the sentiment that accompanied various shares of “Exuvia (Candela Rising)” on social media was resoundingly positive. Like the material on To the Core the single is atmospheric, infectious and immersive, replete with the promise of strange and wonderful things to come.
Leæther Strip + Autoclav1.1, “I’m Just a Man Not a Disease”
The soft and moody spin on IDM and technoid Tony Young’s brought to bear for years through his Autoclav1.1 project isn’t a style we’d normally think of in connection with Uncle Claus, but after a moment’s thought it begins to make sense – Young’s ear for plaintive melodies jibes nicely with Larsen’s affinity for synthpop, and we’re interested to hear how an EP of collaborative work between the two will pan out. As always, Claus is forthright lyrically here, and attends to his concerns about homophobia on a global level.
Agent Side Grinder, “I’m an Agent”
There’s pretty much zero chance that we wouldn’t enjoy an Agent Side Grinder cover of a Gary Numan song, but believe us, this is quite good. From the forthcoming We Are Electric compilation from Wave Tension Records (which also features Ash Code, SUIR and others), AGS covers “I An Agent”, a nice and not overdone classic Numan cut, which they faithfully recreate with a bit of modern sheen. We’re still trying to get a bead on the new incarnation of Agent Side Grinder, but little tidbits like this act as useful clues.
