We’re closing in on the long-awaited return of our beloved Terminus Festival in a couple of weeks, and couldn’t be more psyched. Not just because of the stellar lineup (though between site faces like Kite and Seeming and being able to catch the likes of Plack Blague and Randolph & Mortimer for the first time, there’s plenty of excitement there), but because of the chance it offers to reconnect with all of the friends we’ve made through the (normally) annual gathering of likeminded folks to Industrial Summer Camp. We’ve lost track of how many friendships began with a beer raised or set enjoyed at Dickens, and can’t wait to be able to see those faces old and new again.
Tasime da Hidonash
Kapitalet, “En gång (Xenturion Prime Remix)”
Kapitalet is the synthpop project of Martin Sköld from the tremendously popular Swedish rock act Kent. Back in March they released the really pleasantly catchy “En gång”, which has one of those instantly hummable choruses that are so common from Swedish bands – we swear there must be something in the water there. Xenturion Prime just came through with a big spacey futurepop remix of the song that takes it in a slick, upbeat club direction and damn if it doesn’t translate perfectly to that milieu.
Razorback Hollow, “The Third Kind”
Daniel Belasco of Glass Apple Bonzai has been putting out some classic mid-eighties styled industrial under the Razorback Hollow moniker for a while now, slowly expanding the scope of the project from that basis. What you’ll find on the new EP The Third Kind are some wild brappy improvisations, a full-on drone track, some cinematic ambience and the excellent title track which grafts Belasco’s synthpop hooks to the post-industrial template, with Twitch era Ministry like results. Definitely a nice place to come on board if you haven’t had the pleasure yet.
Social Union, “Choke”
Coming to us from Vlimmer’s Backjack Illuminist Records is a debut EP out of New Zealand. Social Union have a swarming, druggy, lo-fi spin on darkwave that manages to be both driving and dreamy on this particular track, with maybe a little hint of hyperpop mashed in for good measure. A nice bit of angst which casts clear eyes backwards and forwards in history.
Tasime da Hidonash, “Daskhiveba”
We know absolutely nothing about German/Georgian duo Tasime da Hidonash, except that they have a forthcoming LP on SOIL, and the preview track is great. Hard hitting industrial electronics, cagey vocals and thick arrangement are the hallmarks of the track, delivering an experience that feels as mysterious as it is appealing. An instant buy on pre-order, look for a write-up when the whole record is released on the 29th.
Agent Megasodom, “Skylines Of Ambiance”
Do you have a yen for the very particular moment some twenty-odd years back when dark electro was taking explicit cues from trance and goa? So does the incredibly monikered Agent Megasodom. The project’s new LP on Underground Industrial Records is an odd hodge-podge of throwback crossovers from across the clubdustrial spectrum, and while they don’t all hit, as pure, formalist genre exercise they bring into sharp relief specific moments from dancefloors past.
Sally Dige, “You”
May’s release of “I Will Be The Sun For You” saw Vancouver expat Sally Dige taking an abrupt turn from her background in synthpop and darkwave towards a much more folk-oriented direction. If, like us, you were wondering if that track was a one-off, new single “You” certainly puts the lie to that, with its combination of 90s alt, folk, and country motifs. Does this track (and possibly Dige’s foreseeable career from this point onward) have much of anything to do with the sounds we cover here? Not as such, but we’re happy to grandfather it in.
