quête:al read

Heiko Voss has earned near mythical status as a torchbearer for the emotional, deeply felt and quietly radical style of electronic music. The blissed-out radiance of his Kompakt Pop single, “I Think About You” remains one of the label catalog highlights and a stellar run of collaborative singles as Schaeben & Voss; others might know him for his stewardship of the excellent, much-underrated Firm imprint. But with his new album, 3:30 Minutes To Live, released by Michael Mayer’s label Imara, Voss returns after a long silence with a beautiful collection of songs that hymn heartbreak with a lusciously melodic touch.

There is something definitive and newly confident in 3:30 Minutes To Live that has it feeling like a real statement of intent if compared to his earlier releases. “Although it’s not, 3:30 Minutes To Live feels like my debut album,” Voss reflects. “All releases before were more song sketches or electronic dance tracks.” Bunkering down in Teary Eyes Studio, Voss worked up somewhere between thirty and forty sketches of songs, which he whittled down to the twelve collected here, all of them situated in a unique space, but very much in accord with Voss’s defining aesthetic, which he describes as “indie pop music with a lot of guitar, electronic elements and a great love for melancholic ‘80s synth-lines.”

Voss is sensitive to both variety and consistency – 3:30 Minutes To Live sits together as an assured, vibrant collection of pop songs, but it’s marked by all kinds of surprising incident, like the guitar solo that erupts out of “This Is My Life”, or the acoustic guitar-led melancholy of the closing “This Summer”. It’s all borne of the alchemy of the studio process and the intimate romance of music-making. “If you constantly feel a little bit like you’re in love while writing and producing your music – simply because of the sound of the synth flowing warmly and gently through the room, or because the sequence of notes awakens something in you, or even a randomly arising groove in the loop of a guitar lick makes you shout, ‘Ha!!’ – then it usually becomes a beautiful song,” Voss nods. “Those moments make me happy.”

There’s also a delicious tension between the push of the music, its melodic lushness and gliding, ballerina-like movement, and the darker currents that pull through Voss’s lyrics, inspired by a “short, dramatic and toxic love affair.” This may read like familiar terrain for a pop album, but the way Voss weaves language through both the extra-linguistic joys of music and the inarticulate speech of the heart somehow allows for direct communication that is simultaneously plain-spoken and deeply profound. “Say It” is a simple, devastatingly effective plaint of alienation; “She Wasn’t Lonely” a simple portrait of everyday living set to chiming, clacking guitars, the music in the bridge taking astral flight as the titular character ‘lets herself go.’

A smart and sharp collection of songs that captures you with its gorgeous melodicism just as it blindsides you with its aching heart, 3:30 Minutes To Live is Heiko Voss at his most assured and open-hearted best.

Heiko Voss hat sich als Fackelträger einer emotionalen, von ganzem Herzen kommenden und nicht auf den ersten Blick radikalen Spielart von elektronischer Musik einen nahezu mythischen Status erarbeitet. Das schiere Glück, welches seine Kompakt Pop-Single "I Think About You" aus dem Jahr 2003 immer noch ausstrahlt, macht sie nach wie vor zu einem der Highlights des Label-Katalogs, wo sie neben einer ganzen Reihe hervorragender Singles als Schaeben & Voss steht; andere kennen Heiko vielleicht durch das tolle und vielfach unterschätzte Label Firm, für das er zusammen mit Thomas Schaeben verantwortlich war. Mit seinem neuen Album “3:30 Minutes To Live”, das am 4. März 2022 auf Michael Mayers Label Imara erscheint, kehrt Voss nun nach einer langen Pause mit einer wunderschönen Sammlung von Songs zurück, die den Herzschmerz – getragen auf den Schwingen unwiderstehlicher Melodien – ausgiebig besingen.

“3:30 Minutes To Live” kommt mit einer gehörigen Portion Überzeugung und Selbstbewusstsein daher, was im Vergleich zu seinen früheren Veröffentlichungen wie ein bewusstes Statement wirkt. "Obwohl es das nicht ist, fühlt sich ‘3:30 Minutes To Live’ wie mein Debütalbum an", meint Voss. "Alle meine vorherigen Veröffentlichungen waren eher Song-Skizzen oder elektronische Dance-Tracks."

Im Teary Eyes Studio arbeitete Voss zwischen dreißig und vierzig Songskizzen aus, die er auf die zwölf hier versammelten Songs reduzierte, die alle ihren eigenen Raum einnehmen, dabei aber sehr gut mit Voss' übergeordneter Ästhetik harmonieren, die er als "Indie-Pop-Musik mit viel Gitarre, elektronischen Elementen und einer großen Liebe für melancholische 80er-Jahre-Synthies" beschreibt.

Voss ist sowohl für Abwechslung als auch für Konsistenz empfänglich - “3:30 Minutes To Live“ ist eine selbstsichere, lebendige Sammlung von Popsongs, die aber auch von allerlei Überraschungen geprägt ist, wie dem Gitarrensolo, das aus “This Is My Life” herausbricht, oder die von einer Akustikgitarre getragene Melancholie des abschließenden “This Summer”.

Das alles ist entstanden aus der besonderen Alchemie des Studioprozesses und der intimen Romantik des Musikmachens. "Wenn du beim Schreiben und Produzieren deiner Musik ständig das Gefühl hast, ein bisschen verliebt zu sein – einfach weil der Klang des Synthesizers warm und sanft durch den Raum fließt, oder weil die Notenfolge etwas in dir weckt, oder sogar ein zufällig auftauchender Groove im Loop eines Gitarren-Licks dich ein 'Ha!' ausrufen lässt – dann wird daraus meist ein schöner Song", nickt Voss. "Diese Momente machen mich glücklich."

Es entsteht eine besondere Spannung zwischen dem positiven Elan der Musik, ihrer melodischen Verschwendungssucht, den gleitenden, Ballerina-artigen Bewegungen und den dunkleren Strömungen, die durch Voss' Texte ziehen, die von einer "kurzen, dramatischen und giftigen Liebesaffäre" inspiriert sind. Das mag sich wie ein vertrautes Terrain für ein Pop-Album anhören, aber die Art und Weise, wie Voss die Sprache sowohl durch die nonverbalen Elemente der Musik als auch durch den nicht artikulierten Ausdruck des Herzens verwebt, ermöglicht eine Art direkte Kommunikation, die gleichzeitig ausgesprochen klar und trotzdem tiefgründig ist. “Say It" ist eine erschütternd einprägsame Anklage von Entfremdung; "She Wasn't Lonely" ist ein einfaches Porträt des alltäglichen Lebens, untermalt von klappernden Gitarren, in dem die Musik einen astralen Flug unternimmt, während die Titelfigur sich "gehen lässt".

“3:30 Minutes To Live“ ist eine kluge und scharfsinnige Sammlung von Songs, die den Zuhörenden mit ihren wunderschönen Melodien fesseln, aber auch mit einer Menge schmerzenden Gefühlen konfrontiert. Ein Album, auf dem Heiko Voss ganz bei sich ist und Euch dabei mehr als nur sein Herz öffnet.

Mercurial London artist Nilüfer Yanya announces her hugely anticipated second
album, ‘PAINLESS’, for release via ATO Records.
 ‘PAINLESS’ is the follow-up to Nilüfer Yanya’s renowned 2019 debut album, ‘Miss
Universe’, which fully established her as a singular artist and a distinctive voice that
simply has to be heard.
 The critically acclaimed ‘Miss Universe’ - a widescreen concept record that took a
tongue in cheek swipe at the most self-involved corners of the health and wellness
industry - was followed last year by the three song EP ‘Feeling Lucky?’, which further
explored Yanya’s fascination with ‘90s alt-rock melodies and drew on themes of
resentment, her fear of flying, and the concept of luck. Pitchfork summed up ‘Feeling
Lucky?’ and her now peerless songwriting aptitude best: “Nilüfer Yanya’s melodies
have a pull so strong they almost necessitate their own law of physics.”
 Yanya also re-released her early EPs on vinyl for the first time this year, on the
record ‘Inside Out’. The release is a fundraiser for Artists in Transit, a collaborative
not for profit group she founded with her sister Molly that delivers art workshops to
displaced people and communities in times of hardship.
 As the daughter of two visual artists (her Irish-Barbadian mother is a textile designer
and her Turkish-born father’s work is exhibited at the British Museum), creativity was
always destined for Nilüfer Yanya’s future. Now she enters the next stage of her
creative journey - Yanya is running head first into the depths of emotional
vulnerability on her sophomore record, ‘PAINLESS’. The album was recorded
between a basement studio in Stoke Newington and Riverfish Music in Penzance
with ‘Miss Universe’ collaborator and producer Wilma Archer, DEEK Recordings
founder Bullion, Big Thief producer Andrew Sarlo and musician Jazzi Bobbi.
 Where ‘Miss Universe’ stretched musical boundaries to include a litany of styles from
smooth jazz melodies to radio ready pop, ‘PAINLESS’ takes a more direct sonic
approach. By narrowing down her previously broad palette to a handful of robust
ideas that revolve around melancholy harmonies and looped industrial beats to mimic
the insular focus of the lyrics, Yanya has smoothed out the idiosyncrasies of previous
releases without losing what is essential to her.
 ‘PAINLESS’ is a record that forces the listener to sit with the discomfort that
accompanies so many of life’s biggest challenges whether it be relationship
breakdowns, coping with loneliness, or the search for our inner self. “It's a record
about emotion,” Yanya explains. “I think it's more open about that in a way that ‘Miss
Universe’ wasn't because there's so many cloaks and sleeves with the concept I built
around it.” Summing up the ethos of the new album, she adds, “I’m not as scared to
admit my feelings.”
 Should stock of ATO0594BI1 sell out, a different standard vinyl format will be made
available (ATO0594LP).
 “A distinctive new voice in indie rock, a deeply expressive singer and sharply
inventive guitarist” - Uncut
 “On a musical and human level, then, the world needs more people like Nilüfer
Yanya” - MOJO
 “A true original” - The Guardian

Kris Barras Band return armed with towering anthems on the heaviest
album to date; 'Death Valley Paradise', available on CD, transparent red
vinyl and digitally
Produced by Dan Weller (Enter Shikari, Bury Tomorrow, SiKth) and recorded at
VADA Studios in Alcester, they return heavier, darker, more introspective but
enormous at the same time. Barras decided to remove all shackles and began
collaborating with songwriters, such as the heavyweights; Jonny Andrews (Three
Days Grace, Fozzy), Bob Marlette (Alice Cooper, Airbourne, Rob Zombie), Blair
Daly (Halestorm, Black Stone Cherry) and Zac Maloy (Shinedown, Tyler Bryant).
Death Valley Paradise started life as a song before it was dissected and spread
across the album. Death Valley is a place of extremes, where living things are
said to not be able to survive.
For 18 months the world stood still and the realisation set in that there was no
control of ourselves anymore. For the ex-MMA/cage fighter, there was only one
way out, to re-focus, and started with no preconceived plan for the album.
But now, Death Valley Paradise is ready to be unleashed upon the masses, who
are yearning to rock out, fist pumping in the air.

Our Lowriders album is an amalgam of the two “This Is Lowrider Soul” CDs. We have chosen 14 tracks that represent the sounds loved by Los Angelenos, often of Mexican descent, that emanate from their fabulously designed motors while cruising Whittier Boulevard in East LA or, say, Van Nuys Boulevard in the northwest of the city.

The classic Los Angeles vocal group the Superbs are featured here on their glorious ‘It Hurts So Much’, but it is mainly the records discovered by sweet soul collectors that dominate. The Carnival label has a great reputation on this scene; Lee Williams & the Cymbals’ ‘Please Say It Isn’t So’ and ‘Follow Your Heart’ by the Manhattans are a pair of killer ballads perfect in tempo and harmony for the cruisers. Other East Coast offerings include the Persians’ captivating ‘Here It Comes’ and two gems which were only on master tape prior to their Kent releases – Melvin Hicks & The Versatiles’ ‘I’m Just Passing Time’ and the similarly unknown outfit the Exceptions, with the wailing ‘So Much In Love’.

Chicago has always been a breeding ground for black harmony groups. The Esquires saw much success at Bunky; ‘No Doubt About It’ was their equally great first release at Wand. Little Ben & The Cheers hailed from the same city; their ‘I’m Not Ready To Settle Down’ fetches big bucks due to Lowrider demand, as does ‘What Am I Gonna Do’ by the mysterious Houston Outlaws – their origins are uncertain, but must be Midwestern. The Vanguards hailed from Indianapolis and deservedly charted with ‘Somebody Please’, licensed to LA’s Whiz label. All of their seven singles on Lamp are also fine, harmonic soul tracks. The Lovers were a Bay Area group who recorded in Los Angeles with the maestro Arthur Wright; their ‘Someone’ was tipped for the charts when licensed to Philips, but flopped, leaving it ripe for revival by the soul connoisseurs. Like the Lovers, the reputation of Reuben Bell’s ‘It’s Not That Easy’ has grown over the decades and a record once considered common can now fetch hundreds of dollars – class will out.

Vienna 2009; Whizz Vienna, an Austrian musician is nominated for the Amadeus Austrian Music Award in the category 'Album of the year'. Why and how that happened, he is still not sure of to this day. By now, the album in question 'Versager ohne Zukunft', which is produced in collaboration with Kamp, has turned into a classic.

Even though he has released several projects since then, such as the renowned 'Wiener Staub' Beat-LP, it has become quiet around the producer. His studio existence and his musical creation more or less turned into dust.

Darmstadt 2020; during a thorough tidying up of old hard drives a folder labeled 'Whizz Vienna Beatz' experiences a musical renaissance. The dopeness of the material is undeniable to this day and that kind of freshness cannot be just left in the digital wasteland ready to rot.

The search for the missing Whizz Vienna was more challenging than expected due to the fact that he enjoyed his own presence to be buried in the underground. In the end, the hidden asset has been unvcovered, plans have been cultivated and now after a two year waiting time the final product is ready to be launched.

13 long-lost instrumentals, Kamp and Prinz Pi spitting on 2 of them, cuts by DJ Vektor, 1 love for Eva.

New limited pressing on 180g Electric Blue Vinyl. L.A. Witch’s self-titled debut album unfurled like hazy memories of late-night revelries in the city center creeping back in on a hungover Sunday morning. Guitarist/vocalist Sade Sanchez purred and crooned over jangling guitar chords, painting pictures of urban exploits, old American haunts, and private escapades with a master’s austerity. Bassist Irita Pai and drummer Ellie English polished the patina of the band’s vintage sound, adding a full-bodied thump and intoxicating swing to the album’s dusty ballads, ominous invitations, and sultry rock songs. The album had an air of effortlessness like these songs were written into the fabric of the Western landscape by some past generation and conjured into our modern world by three powerful conduits. The band readily admits that L.A. Witch was a casual affair and that the songs came together over the course of several years. That natural flow hit a snag when the band’s popularity grew and they began touring regularly, so a new strategy became necessary for their sophomore album, the swaggering and beguiling Play With Fire

CRIMEAPPLE readies another classic by way of his newest album, ’Sancocho,’ with advance single “Throw the Rice” dropping on 11/5. With go-to producer Buck Dudley back in the chair for this track, CRIMEAPPLE invites RLX and Primo Profit to share the mic atop the dark, trippy production and dirty, slamming drums. Upcoming album includes production from Ignorancia Sophisticada, Michaelangelo, Zoomo, Good Food, Brown13, Teyo, and Futurewaves.

Hot on the heels of his doom-electro release on CYBERDOME, Italian producer D3070 readies his Lobster Theremin debut with five lairy cuts of end-of-the-world techno and electro.

‘Orbital’ is a simple, no frills track; uncompromising in-your-face energy meets melting acidic basslines on a 4x4 rhythm, before the noise breaks on ‘Space Invader’ and a mutated electro-step emerges out from a dark alleyway covered in slime.

Dubstep/footwork blends increase the velocity on ‘You Got Me’; new territory for the emerging producer and one that we can’t wait to see him explore more - before we come crashing back into the horror with a cut of downright frightening sound design on ‘Darkness’, it’s dusty lo-fi rhythm marching on fourth and into the fiery gates.

‘Artemis’ provides room to breathe as we awaken from our nightmare, getting our head above water before floating towards a kaleidoscope of tangled emotion.

At the start of 2021 I realized I hadn't paid much attention to my own productions lately, rather spending time doing remixes
or mixdowns for others or like many others, worrying over what the future will bring.

I started going through tracks and ideas I had started on but not completed and now as another annus horribilis nears the end
I have 2 albums ready for release, entitled "8" and "9".

Although I promised myself to never say it I personally think they're my best work so far and I hope someone else will get the
feeling of "a light at the end of the tunnel" when listening to these tracks just like I feel when listening back to them.

There are contributions from the very capable hands of Bugge Wesseltoft("8") and John Carroll Kirby(on both "8" and "9"), besides that it's just me.
Prins Thomas December 2021

From Richmond, Virginia arrives Tempter, a soundtrack for end times hurtling along to the speed of global rage and impending doom. Merging the very best parts of crossover metal and hardcore from the 80s Japan, Sweden and UK, Tempter bring a new voice to a legendary sound. It comes perhaps as no surprise then that the group comprises of veterans of the hardcore scene from bands such as Candy, Division of Mind, Nosebleed, Ekulu and more. Instant bulldozers Sacricide and Pestilence, with their punchy riffs and wild solos bookend the S/T EP, whilst Uniformed Madness and Night Terror run along with at times almost apocalyptic walls of acidic noise. The production provides a dense atmospheric swamp of rage, mixed by Fucked Up’s Jonah Falco, providing a fitting soundtrack for Valentina Lopez’s huge vocal that sounds like 1000s of witches chanting. La Lluvia, with its use of samples and layers of synths, dances around spoken word sections that read out a poem of the same name by Roberto Bolaño, one of Chile’s greatest literary writers. Bolaño’s work fits perfectly with a biting satirical punk mood that Lopez exudes with every breath. He often questioned the privilege of making art whilst the junta would torture people in basements. Hardcore, punk and metal often likes to think of itself as a political act more than music, whether in its DIY ethic or protest lyrics. However, perhaps we find it too easy to fall into its angry embrace and eat each other alive whilst the world outside continues to fall. This music makes hell on earth that little bit more bearable, however ultimately Bolaño, and Lopez, call on counterculture music to have meaning and political action.

Dashboard Confessional's ninth studio album, All The Truth That I Can
Tell, is both a remarkable renewal and fortunate step forward for the
band's songwriter, front man, and founder, Chris Carrabba
All The Truth That I Can Tell stands among Carrabba's finest – a strikingly potent
musical look at himself through a rediscovered keyhole, both an achievement of
vision and a vital burst of artistic clarity; less like reading someone's diary and
more like reading their eyes.

Dashboard Confessional's ninth studio album, All The Truth That I Can
Tell, is both a remarkable renewal and fortunate step forward for the
band's songwriter, front man, and founder, Chris Carrabba
All The Truth That I Can Tell stands among Carrabba's finest – a strikingly potent
musical look at himself through a rediscovered keyhole, both an achievement of
vision and a vital burst of artistic clarity; less like reading someone's diary and
more like reading their eyes.

Dashboard Confessional's ninth studio album, All The Truth That I Can
Tell, is both a remarkable renewal and fortunate step forward for the
band's songwriter, front man, and founder, Chris Carrabba
All The Truth That I Can Tell stands among Carrabba's finest – a strikingly potent musical look at himself through a rediscovered keyhole, both an achievement of vision and a vital burst of artistic clarity; less like reading someone's diary and more like reading their eyes.

A few years back I had this dream: I was walking through vast grasslands
towards a solitary hill
On top of the hill was a movie house. On the marquee: History of Jazz.I kept
thinking about it. What was in the movie house? What happened before? What
followed? Why was I going there? Why "History of Jazz"? To reach some kind of
insight, I began a film script, extending the dream tenfold. The script morphed
into a novella-sized book, a series of songs, and finally, a "mind-movie" podcast,
forming this labyrinthine, multi- medium story – equal parts dream, film and
waking life. Figuring out how to transcend the traditional parameters of the album
to create a more panoramic story- vision is something I've been unconsciously
trying to do for some time. I've been pushing against the edges – toying with
narrative, characters and visuals with Easterween and Niagara, a weird children's
book Daydreams for Night – but the scope of life behind Rialto felt too
irrepressible and expansive to be boxed in an album. The book and podcast have
kicked open the doors – allowing the album to lead or serve where it should.In
Rialto's extended narrative, Klaus (loner, insomniac) is working a stint as a driver
for a small town writer's festival. Following a series of unsettling paranormal
events, he finds himself agreeing to a strange request - to deliver a film reel in
time for its premiere at a secluded movie house - the Rialto. The journey leads
him through a circuit of strangely located, oracular movie houses, screening a mix
of dreams, fantasies, memories and prophecies - numinous films of personal
revelation. Inhabiting the movie houses are underworld characters and spirits
with ambiguous motivations, some helping and some hindering Klaus's quest. It's
a Dantesque, deep cleanse pilgrimage to untangle bitterness and trauma,
rediscover a lost clairvoyance, ancestry, and ultimately, the medicinal source of
eternal youth. A metaphysical noir. A hyperstition.Rialto's album stars seven
singer-artists playing characters alongside mine: Tamara Lindeman (The Weather
Station), Daniel Knox, Thom Gill (Owen Pallet, Beverly Glenn- Copeland), Ryan
Driver (Jennifer Castle), Felicity Williams (Bahamas), Robin Dann (Bernice) and
Martin Tielli (Rheostatics). All Toronto- based like me except Daniel (Chicago).
Performed by the Venuti String Quartet with arrangements by Andrew Downing.
Produced by Jean Martin (Tanya Tagaq). It's my 13th album and fourth on Tin
Angel - previous releases on Tin Angel: Miracle In The Night (2019), Small Town
Water Tower (2016), and Niagara (2014). Each of Rialto's eight podcast episodes
features a chapter from the book performed by a cast of twenty five - made up
almost entirely of musicians – including the speaking voices of the
aforementioned singers, as well as Meg Remy (U.S. Girls), Claudia Dey, Veda Hille,
Devon Sproule, Luka Kuplowsky and others. Rialto is available as a 101-page eBook (illustrations by David Ouimet) on Sud de Valeur Press. Premiere
performances begin fourth quarter 2021. Happy Rialto listening, reading,
watching, dreaming...

Colin Blunstone and Sundazed Music celebrate the 50th anniversary of
Colin's post Oracle opus One Year with an expanded edition! The half,
itself titled, That Same Year, gives you a deeper introspective look into
that time in his life
The album largely features Colin singing accompanied solely by his acoustic
guitar.That Same Year includes beautifully sparse demo versions of three songs
from One Year including 'Caroline Goodbye' and 'Let Me Come Closer To You'
where Colin is joined by fellow Zombie Rod Agent on piano. Three songs have
Colin joined by Zombie bassist Chris White on classical guitar. Beyond the three
familiar songs you will find Colin's familiar voice and wit come through on eleven
completely unheard compositions all penned for the One Year album; including
'Sing Your Own Song' where sings of reading about his own death in Rolling
Stone.One Year is an album that somehow manages to be both lush and sparse
at the same time and always deeply intimate. That Same Year finds a way to
bring your listening experience to a deeper level of intimacy.In addition to penning
most of the album, Colin also penned the liner notes that fill the gatefold jacket
along with unseen photos from that year. The notes go track by track through One
Year along with some background on That Same Year.

CRIMEAPPLE readies another classic by way of his newest album, ’Sancocho,’ with advance single “Throw the Rice” dropping on 11/5. With go-to producer Buck Dudley back in the chair for this track, CRIMEAPPLE invites RLX and Primo Profit to share the mic atop the dark, trippy production and dirty, slamming drums. Upcoming album includes production from Ignorancia Sophisticada, Michaelangelo, Zoomo, Good Food, Brown13, Teyo, and Futurewaves.

Die internationale Power-Metal-Formation kehren zurück mit ihrem kraftvollsten und ideenreichsten Werk ihrer bisherigen Karriere, mit massenhaft tollen Gitarrenriffs, groovenden Rhythmen und hymnischen Melodien.

„Diesmal haben wir wirklich an jeder Stellschraube gedreht, um das bestmögliche Resultat zu bekommen. Und ich denke, der große Aufwand hat sich nachweislich gelohnt!“ so fasst Bassist und Gründer Mario Lochert das die Arbeit des Kommenden Serious Black Albums „Vengeance Is Mine“ zusammen.

Einer der neuen Songs der kommenden Serious Black-Studioscheibe ‚Vengeance Is Mine‘ nennt sich ‚Album Of Our Life‘ und trifft damit wohl den Nagel auf den Kopf, zum einen ist der internationalen Power-Metal-Formation um Bassist und Gründer Mario Lochert das wohl kraftvollste und ideenreichste Werk ihrer bisherigen Karriere gelungen, andererseits geht es textlich in für die Band bislang unerforschte Tiefen. Lochert: „Wie nie zuvor habe ich diesmal Einblicke in mein Innen- und Privatleben zugelassen, also: wie ich denke, wie ich fühle, wie ich bin, und wie schwierig es sein kann, eine Band am Laufen zu halten, wenn es einem selbst nicht gutgeht. Die Texte auf ‚Vengeance Is Mine‘ spiegeln die zurückliegenden vier, fünf Jahre wider. Dies wiederum hatte natürlich Auswirkungen aufs Songwriting, das noch intensiver und emotionaler geworden ist.“ Mit dem ausdrucksstarken Timbre von Sänger Nikola Mijic, den rasanten Riffs und Hooks ihres Gitarristen Dominik Sebastian, vielen treibenden Grooves von Schlagzeuger Ramy Ali und dem abwechslungsreichen Songwriting von Bassist und Bandleader Mario Lochert avanciert ‚Vengeance Is Mine‘ zum Paradebeispiel eines tiefmelodischen und zugleich kraftstrotzend-dynamischen Power-Metal-Albums.

Die internationale Power-Metal-Formation kehren zurück mit ihrem kraftvollsten und ideenreichsten Werk ihrer bisherigen Karriere, mit massenhaft tollen Gitarrenriffs, groovenden Rhythmen und hymnischen Melodien.

„Diesmal haben wir wirklich an jeder Stellschraube gedreht, um das bestmögliche Resultat zu bekommen. Und ich denke, der große Aufwand hat sich nachweislich gelohnt!“ so fasst Bassist und Gründer Mario Lochert das die Arbeit des Kommenden Serious Black Albums „Vengeance Is Mine“ zusammen.

Einer der neuen Songs der kommenden Serious Black-Studioscheibe ‚Vengeance Is Mine‘ nennt sich ‚Album Of Our Life‘ und trifft damit wohl den Nagel auf den Kopf, zum einen ist der internationalen Power-Metal-Formation um Bassist und Gründer Mario Lochert das wohl kraftvollste und ideenreichste Werk ihrer bisherigen Karriere gelungen, andererseits geht es textlich in für die Band bislang unerforschte Tiefen. Lochert: „Wie nie zuvor habe ich diesmal Einblicke in mein Innen- und Privatleben zugelassen, also: wie ich denke, wie ich fühle, wie ich bin, und wie schwierig es sein kann, eine Band am Laufen zu halten, wenn es einem selbst nicht gutgeht. Die Texte auf ‚Vengeance Is Mine‘ spiegeln die zurückliegenden vier, fünf Jahre wider. Dies wiederum hatte natürlich Auswirkungen aufs Songwriting, das noch intensiver und emotionaler geworden ist.“ Mit dem ausdrucksstarken Timbre von Sänger Nikola Mijic, den rasanten Riffs und Hooks ihres Gitarristen Dominik Sebastian, vielen treibenden Grooves von Schlagzeuger Ramy Ali und dem abwechslungsreichen Songwriting von Bassist und Bandleader Mario Lochert avanciert ‚Vengeance Is Mine‘ zum Paradebeispiel eines tiefmelodischen und zugleich kraftstrotzend-dynamischen Power-Metal-Albums.

As the tides change and the majesty of the moon once more begins to illuminate our forgotten domain, the hotly-tipped Incus has made the jump to hyperspace and determined that now is the time to unleash his neoteric creation into the macrocosm of music. At the behest of the sonic social masters, "INC.AUDIO" will be deemed a passion project, but in reality it will rip the very fabric of what it means to have a personal creative outlet, curtailing boundaries and expectations alike. Based on the creed of freedom of experimentation, the label will allow Incus and close friends within the industry to share their creative expressions within a familial and contemporary framework free from third-party limitation.

For now we start at the first chapter of the INC.AUDIO narrative, and the inaugural release which comes from the architect himself. His first solo EP contains 4 tracks conceived at home during lockdown, combining new sound design techniques developed through the mediums of trusty Korg Hardware and Ableton live. The end product is a consummate representation of the benefits of free time, reckless abandon and zero red tape.

Kicking off with "Design Your Mind", Incus draws on his longstanding influences collected via years of crate-digging and supporting underground idols in the UK and Ibiza. Shuffling percussion, jittering stabs and percolatin' chords wax and wane, submitting us to the will of its deep, minimal groove with a sultry sensibility. Next is "New Dog Old Tricks", the one with "that" bassline. No holding back from the get-go, the punching percussion is waylaid sporadically by erratic tones and steadied by placid, ambient chords. The charming breakdowns are peculiarized by a haunting saxophone sample, firmly establishing the clear-cut level of advancement and attention to detail achieved by the creator.

"Calm in the Chaos" steps back from straight-up grooving, inviting an equatorial temperature to come and play. Tantalising acid-inclined bass notes perforate the horizon, aiding the insistent percussion and creating a sunny, party-ready disposition infectious as they come. Feel like you're on a beach or in a rainforest? Snap. After the party we finish in the "Morning Haze". Alien-like frequencies and UFO bleepology steer the good ship Incus on this extra-terrestrial journey through the tech-house heavens to its final resting point. The seductive vocal cut adds a beautiful edge to the track, creating a minimal yet also expansive soundscape perfect for disembarkment. So, now you see what INC.AUDIO is all about, why wouldn't you stick around? Fight the bureaucracy and become who you need to be today, not tomorrow.

"The Beast Within" is the new album by Brazilian artist, Diego Garcia; exploring gender identities within contemporary electronic music. The artist uses two of their distinguished artistic identities: The Princess of Death, her feminine identity - where there is an exploration of a more introspective and corrosive textures commonly associated with patriarchal values; and Projekt Gestalten, his masculine identity - where melodic and hypnotic sounds, often associated with matriarchy, are emphasized.

In this project, Diego's aim is to dichotomize their gender identities inspired by a point-and-click adventure game from the 90's called "Gabriel Knight 2 - The Beast Within". The story was written by American game designer, Jane Jensen with original music composed by her husband, Robert Holmes. The protagonist is on the trail of a strange wolf, murderer of a little girl. Gabriel was asked to take care of this evil and suspects that this case is paranormal in nature. Together with his assistant, Grace Nakimura, he discovers the dark truth behind the history of Bavaria. The gameplay alternates between Gabriel and Grace and its storyline is only explored indirectly by Diego - as it is deeply connected with their childhood and formative years and still remains as one of their all-time favorite games.

Just like in the gameplay, Diego alternates between both of their feminine and masculine identities in order to create original pieces of music. As Projekt Gestalten, an array of dance tracks are functionally presented; ranging from melodic and trippy to club-ready driving techno; dissecting a more rational aspect of the game's storyline. In contrast, The Princess of Death goes into an ambient and experimental approach; exploring liturgical themes that includes a dark and dystopian cover of the traditional gospel song "When The Saints Go Marching In", a song that is featured throughout the whole franchise of the game in many different versions. In the end, the gender polarizing concept is extrapolated and both aliases are finally merged into one another; leading to the Gestalt principle, alluded to in Diego's main alias, being fully applied as a whole.

The project's ultimate goal is to challenge preconceived notions of how a specific gender should sound/behave and to explore light/dark, sacred/secular, good/evil, male/female using, as the blueprint, a gender-neutral game where the player is forced to assume a feminine and a masculine role in order to navigate through the story. All of these ideas are perfectly aligned with Diego's own trajectory as an artist and their distinct artistic identities featuring distorted gender values - which comes full circle in this project.