Working on ID:UD has, as we’ve regularly mentioned of late, been a pleasant means of preserving some form of normalcy for the two of us these days. But we’re also trying, as much as possible, to acknowledge the strangeness and adapt. Folks may have noticed our discussion of live streams on the podcast, something that’s likely to continue alongside discussion of what sorts of experiments in that new field folks are trying on. It was with that in mind that we sought out last week’s discussion with Panther Modern dealing with augmented reality performance. We’ve also been tapping trusted outside voices to bring in research and perspectives unavailable to us, like the deep delve Andi Harriman took into the history of new beat for us last week. We’re hoping moves like this will acknowledge and try to work with the situation while still preserving the spirit of I Die: You Die.
Portion Control: Still angry.
Portion Control, “Head Buried”
UK electro-punk/EBM legends Portion Control are celebrating their fortieth anniversary this year, and have a PWYW release in the wings to mark the release. In case you weren’t keeping up to date with how Dean Piavanni and John Whybrew spent their third decade of activity, new title track “Head Buried” is a fantastic primer that’ll get you up to speed. If this blast of bile and spleen is any indication, Head Buiried should carry on the undiluted strength the band showcased on Violently Alive and Pure Form.
Robert Görl & DAF, “Ich Denk An Dich”
Speaking of EBM legends, it looks as though Robert Görl has been dealing with the passing of Gabi Delgado, the other half of DAF, by excavating the band’s archives. Görl’s indicated that he and Delgado were working both on new tracks and unearthing some never-completed tracks from the band’s early 80s breakout days. The first result of this project puts a bit of a different light on the Alles Ist Gut/Gold Und Liebe days, with a stuttering and modulating beat trading space with a very hushed and introspective vocal from Gabi. It looks as though Görl is working towards a full length release, and you can be assured that there’ll be discussion of that here.
She Past Away, “Durdu Dünya (Boy Harsher Remix)”
A few weeks ago we wrote about the absolutely killer line-up for She Past Away’s upcoming remix LP X, due May 22nd. Naturally we’re gonna pay attention whenever Boy Harsher remixes a band, but the broader line-up of the album suggests a lot of the past and present of Our Thing, and the relevance of its well-known and more niche acts. It’s appropriate, seeing as She Past Away are without a doubt one of the most successful acts to emerge in recent years, with an appeal that extends to scene folks, casual post-punk and synth fans and hardcore gothic types alike.
Kindest Cuts, “All You Need is Money (feat. New Haunts)”
Are you as excited as we are about their being new Kindest Cuts material to listen to? It’s been about four years since the Canadian synthpop and darkwave project’s last release Factotum hit Bandcamp and full seven years since the self-titled release that first caught our ear hit the internet. Now residing in Montreal, single All You Need is Money is apparently the first release from Patrick Short’s new label Dioptra record. As for the song itself, it’s a timely (and danceable) treatise on greed and power that certainly resonated with us. Glad to have this act back.
Horror Vacui, “Consolation Prize”
Amidst all of the recent chaos, the release of Italian deathrock act Horror Vacui’s fourth LP somehow slipped past us. We’re picking up on a bit of March Violets on this one, but also some pointers towards a more melodic peace-punk style. Regardless, this definitely has that swing and anthemic drive that drew us to the band a decade back
SARIN, “Repression (Privacy Remix)”
Okay so obviously we’re gonna check out anything new from SARIN; Canadian ex-pat Emad Dabiri currently residing in Berlin and producing some of the best techno-body music going has been a regular in our posts since we first heard his stuff. That aside, we’re especially feeling this version of his track “Repression” courtesy of Privacy. A couple of weeks ago we were listening to that dope remix of Statiqbloom’s “Silver Face” by Star Eyes and thinking how good it would be to have more breakdancing electro style industrial mixes. Low and behold, our wish is granted. Can this be a thing in 2020 please?
