Dead Voices On Air, “dadu: tutu:”

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Dead Voices On Air
dadu: tutu:
self-released

From Download to Beehatch, from Gnome to Jamiel, Mark Spybey has never been gunshy when it comes to collaboration, within or beyond the Dead Voices On Air name under which the English experimentalist has been using for more than three decades to explore ambience, pure noise, or fractured approaches to dance, techno, and industrial. Now, coming off the heels of a groove-driven collaboration with undisputed legend Graham Lewis, Spybey returns with a second release done in concert with Martin Harvey and Stephen Weatherall operating under the mysterious moniker DADU (a collective? an obscure acronym? an incantation?), with Gary Widdowfield added to the fold for dadu: tutu:. A sprawling, chaotic affair stretching out more than two hours, it ushers a revelry of psych, krautrock, and garage rock into Spybey’s already big tent.

A piece like “Infenesation” gets the remit of the album across as well as anything else; a fuzzing yet oddly slinky interplay of squalling guitar and nodding bass flares up only to be drawn down into the murky undertow of shimmering synth ambience, and even further into abyssal feedback after resurfacing midway through. It’s a striking amount of movement and mood to be cycled through in less than four minutes, but that sort of structural experimental is part and parcel of dadu: tutu:‘s ethos (I’m not nearly enough of a Can aficionado to be able to pinpoint specific allusions, but they seem to hover about as muses throughout); some pieces are quick, slapdash riffs seemingly recorded off the cuff, others are glacially shifting tone poems of noise and feedback. Sure, both of those modes can be found in the earliest of DVOA work, the extra colour and texture added through the rock instrumentation places that freeform chaos in a new light.

Lo-fi and noisy yet structurally traditional covers of “Jeepster” and “Low Rider” (yes, that “Low Rider”) act as even more puzzling ingredients in the stone soup of the record, though the transposition of “Glassblower”, that immortal industrial club classic from another era of Spybey’s work, over to the rough and tumble rock that guides so much of dadu: tutu: makes for especially fascinating listening. Speaking of Download flashbacks, the daydreaming stream of consciousness which frames “Towards You In Your Silence Glide” as it shifts from pure ambience to space truckin’ grooves feels like an inversion of The Eyes Of Stanley Pain‘s “Suni C”, in which a clear-skied vision of utopia emerges out of a panicked and glitchy opening.

In contrast to the elegiac and crepuscular mood which has guided the last decade-plus of DVOA works, there’s an unmistakable sense of play and experimentation purely for fun and their own sake on dadu: tutu:. That isn’t to say there aren’t poignant and affecting moments – the Neu!-like interplay between choral pads and plaintive guitar on “Die Waschmaschine” has an emotional hook which belies its title’s wink at the thudding industrial percussion beneath it all. There’s also a reprise of “We Shall Overcome”, which recently appeared on :jamiel:spybey: but which cuts even deeper a year on given, well, everything. That those moments can find company with 70s AM Gold covers and the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink chaos is all part of the riddle and charm of Spybey’s approach to Dead Voices On Air, the door to which is still inviting and open after all these years.

Buy it.

dadu: tutu: by Dead Voices On Air

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Majestoluxe, “Wretched Conditions”

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Majestoluxe
Wretched Conditions
Icons Creating Evil Art

Conny Fornbäck has often used industrial-pop to describe his work as Majestoluxe, a tag that suggests something a lot less abrasive and nasty than his work tends to be. Indeed, new album Wretched Conditions is a mixture of gritty analogue synthwork, growled vocals and tightly wound sequences that have little in common with crossover sounds of any kind. However you’d care to define it, Majestoluxe’s creepy and idiosyncratic music has plenty of personality, albeit in the way where most listeners will need some time to acclimatize to the project’s lo-fi sound design and simmering intensity. 

Per Fornbäck, the record is divided into halves, with the a-side presenting his more accessible style, and the b-side digging into noisier and more textural material. That distinction might not be obvious even on multiple listens; tracks like opener “Money Mules” have more than enough fuzz and menace to unnerve, and don’t seem especially different from late LP cuts like “30 Wild Horses” which evoke the Klinik’s woozy, seasick momentum. Even if you can’t necessarily put your finger on the intended division between each portion of the record, there’s still plenty to dig into; songs like “Assertive Indifference” or “Mass Distraction” make a meal of fuzzy basslines and clanging percussion, tossing in the occasional changeup in groove to keep you from getting too comfortable. Alternately, Fornbäck often leans in on his sneering vocal delivery to add a layer of caustic cynicism to the proceedings, so even the minimal squelchy tumble of “Well Well Well” or the elevator-music-from-hell minimalism of “Sex and Surgery” have a certain misanthropic charm.

Notably, there are plenty of collaborations in the mix, with some notably interesting wrinkles as the net result. Electro and body music maven Emmon lends her talents to the gradual ramp of “Blood on the Ceiling”, sounding confident and collected on vocals even as eruptions of metallic percussion and synth filters modulate around her, a contrast to the gusto with which original à;GRUMH… vocalist J△3 sEUQCAJ spits and screams his way through the squeaks and squelches of “Humanity is Vile”. Perhaps the record’s most unsettling moment comes on the team-up with drone and ambient artist LIVMØDR, “Scylla & Charybdis”; the atonal song sounding alternately like it’s being played at the wrong speed, is melting, or both.

Wretched Conditions doesn’t shy away from being unpleasant in both form and content, and there’s a very genuine appeal to it; in an age of shiny artificial perfectionism and rote replication of whatever is popular in any given artistic field, the honesty it takes to be genuinely mean and ugly is paradoxically refreshing. That it manages to find a variety of ways to present pessimism and stinging rancor without ever becoming cartoonish or repetitive in the effort is impressive; Majestoluxe hones rancor to a sharpened point and isn’t afraid to stick you, or anyone else with it.

Buy it.

Wretched Conditions by Majestoluxe

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Tracks: February 24th, 2025

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The Senior Staff had a fun time not only DJing out at our long-standing gig as part of the Restricted Entertainment crew out here in Vancouver, but playing both the electronic and the goth-ish rooms at said party. We’ve waxed philosophical a lot over the years about the ins and outs of what city and what size of scene you cut your teeth DJing in, but a city like Vancouver where people are going to want to listen to heavy industrial beats as well as get lost in some swirly darkwave (or stomp and swoon as we like to call it) keeps you on your toes in terms of format and vibes, and we’d like to imagine we’re more well-rounded DJs for it. Let’s see what sort of range emerges on this week’s crop of tracks…

NNHMN

NNHMN

Sextile, “Freak Eyes”
Dude, Sextile have had a real renaissance since reuniting a few years back. Maybe it’s the work that Melissa Scaduto and Brady Keehn did while not working together as S. Product and Panther Modern, or maybe it’s just one of those weird moments when the sound of a band coalesces into it’s final form after a lengthy period of time, but the band’s profile has notably been on the rise for a few years now. Weirdly, that doesn’t seem to be a function of hitting on some magical musical formula, as the duo remain pretty genre-fluid, mixing in electro, industrial, rave, body music and more with a casual ease that impresses even as it moves bodies at clubs and in crowds at their wild-ass shows. New one “Freak Eyes” from yes, please (due May 2) is one such example, you’d hard a hard time pinning it down, but can’t deny it goes hard from the first beat drop.
yes, please. by Sextile

Vacíos Cuerpos, “Entre Sombras”
We were first drawn to Vacíos Cuerpos by the one-man Mexican act’s ability to conjure and maintain classic misty and evocative darkwave atmospheres while ratcheting up the speed and bounce of his compositions to a level simply not heard in contemporary gloomy fare. That’s a rare quality he continues to cash in on with this latest single, which packs a host of drama and movement into a short timeframe and never lets the dancefloor pulse dip for even a second. Deceptively well-arranged stuff here.
Entre Sombras by Vacíos Cuerpos

Minuit Machine, “Party People”
There’s been an undeniable change in the sound of French darkwave project Minuit Machine over the last couple of years; even before the retirement of founding member Hélène de Thoury due to Covid-related illness, the band had been exploring a harder, more techno-influenced sound, with recent singles for the upcoming Queendom – the first LP for Amandine Stioui as a solo act – following in suit. That said, the latest taster “Party People” is something of a throwback to the darkwave of records like Violent Rains, combining clubbable programming with Stioui’s intensely charistmatic vocal delivery and a plaintive melody that hits just so. Definitely a record we’re hotly anticipating the release of in a few weeks.
QUEENDOM by Minuit Machine

Adam Rå, “Cold Steel”
Polish producer Adam Radziszewski has roots in industrial club work going back more than a decade through projects like Orbicide and Uncarnate. The arrival of his solo work as Adam Rå on X-IMG might prompt listeners to approach this first tune from the Poisoned Chalice EP from a dark techno perspective, but pay attention to both the gallop of this number and the flurry of sampling its delivered within and the seasoned club-goer will be flashing back to millennial industrial clubs, with a heavy amount of dark electro atmospherics. Should appeal to fans of vintage Project Pitchfork or Kant Kino.
The Poisoned Chalice by Adam Rå

AXGGAA – Lust & Pain
There’s a nice balance of EBM fundamentals and general “wave” atmospherics and melodies on this cut from Argentinian producer AXGGAA, perhaps recalling the spirit if not the literal execution of early Kas Product – nicely jumpy and kicky without forsaking harmonies and hooks. While you’re at it skim through the rest of the cuts on Bloody Electronics’ latest Blood Selections comp; those releases are always a great way of keeping up with what’s happening in South America.
[BE003] Blood Selections Chapter 3 by Bloody Electronics

NNHMN, “The Secret”
Is electro-darkwave still a dominant club sound in your town or region? Nothing has necessarily taken off as a replacement for the ubiquitous genre that sprang to life in the wake of Boy Harsher’s success, and there’s no question that plenty of quality tunes are still coming out that fall squarely into that hazy, beat-driven rubric, such as the latest from the dependable NNHMN. “The Secret” is a down the pipe club number, featuring some straight-ahead drum and bass programming and a minimal melody, allowing vocals and general atmosphere to carry the song, which moves at a nice clip and will easily slide into DJ setlists.
The Secret by NNHMN

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DJ Surreal – February 23, 2025

Descent Sundays -

MSI – Shut Me Up
And One – Military Fashion Show
Assemblage 23 – Disappoint
Covenant – We Stand Alone
VNV Nation – Retaliate
Suicide Commando – God is in the Rain
Helium Vola – Omnis Mundi Creatura
Wumpscut – Christfuck
Brvmes – Haute
Repo! The Genetic Opera – Zydrate Anatomy
Puscifer – Undertaker
In This Moment – Roots
A Perfect Circle – Counting Bodies Like Sheep

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We Have A Commentary: “The Gothic Sounds of Nightbreed”

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The Gothic Sounds Of Nightbreed

We’re breaking from the usual LP format of our commentary episodes to bring you a discussion of a label compilation, specifically the first volume of Nightbreed’s infamous “Gothic Sounds” samplers. We’re using tunes from the likes of Suspiria, Nekromantik, and Faithful Dawn as an opportunity to discuss the ins and outs of mid 90s UK goth, and specifically the tantalizing electrogoth sound which has always been closely tied to Nightbreed. As always, you can rate and subscribe on iTunes, download directly, or listen through the widget down below.

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Observer: Jimmy Svensson & Fro

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Jimmy Svensson
Dangerous Liaisons
self-released
Swedish artist Jimmy Svensson has done a lot of different things musically over the years, from industrial drones as Yabibo Hazurfa, to the hardest minimal EBM in his Nuclear Sludge guise, to several recent ambient releases under his own name. Liaisons Dangereuses is a short EP of music Svensson originally composed for use in a documentary, and reveals yet another aspect of his muse; namely that of composer, albeit staying with the electronic toolset that has defined his catalogue thus far. As you might expect there’s plenty of the alternately frosty and slowly burning textures that his dark ambient excursions have relied on at play on some tracks, although they’re arranged around evolving sequences and evocative pads, as on “Cold Eyes”, a pure delivery of the EP’s Scandinavian Noir remit. There’s also some Vangelis-esque brassy leads in the mix, a sound that he carefully applies to keep from digging into synthwave territory; on the title song it evokes mystery thanks to the cloudy drones it darts between. In a particularly evocative moment “Sinister Revelation” indistinct bassy washes and hypnotic bells keep the listener’s focus while metallic percussion slowly groes in intensity, eventually resolving in a loud clang that you only see coming in the song’s final moments. It’s a brief but lovely collection of short pieces from an artist who impresses us regardless of what sounds he’s currently engaging with.
Dangerous Liaisons by Jimmy Svensson

Fro - A Theme In Grain
Fro
A Theme In Grain
Tripalium Corp
We tend to turn to Belgium’s Tripalium Corp looking for modern, techno-driven reconsiderations of the links between acid and EBM, but the French label has all manner of other tricks up its sleeve. The latest EP from Greek producer Fro, draws upon an often woozy and off-kilter set of sounds associated both with the electronic underground and previous moments of mainstream crossover. The opening title track of A Theme In Grain draws a line between classic French electro sequencing and the rolling clatter we’ve come to associate with the always nebulous machine rock tag, but tied together in a tidy club package. That same unnerving mix of bass programming and squelching programming is brought to a simmering peak with highlight “We Will Meet Again”, where deep space weirdness phases in and out of sync with solid EBM fundamentals and a hooky shuffle beat. Your level of interest in the record might have an upper limit depending on your interest in funky house; both “Call Me Back Again” and “Contact” have a fair bit of the rubbery, pinging bass that was inescapable in the 90s, with the latter’s Kraftwerkian (or perhaps Daft Punkian) robo-vocals prompting some serious flashbacks.
TMF!16 – Fro – A Theme in Grain by Fro

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We Have A Technical 546: Caesar Ford vs. Andy Baron

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Qual

Qual throwing the Evil Eye in Mexico. Photo by @emiliano.patlan.

It’s a two albums formatted podcast this week folks, and one of a decidedly industrial cast. Up first, we’re talking about X-Marks The Pedwalk side-project PAX’s second LP, the hi-def and ambient/techno inflected High Speed Digital Spirit Processing. Next, it’s the acidic, 90s throwback dark electro of Qual’s Cyber Care EP. As always, you can rate and subscribe on iTunes, download directly, or listen through the widget down below.

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Encephalon, “Automaton All Along”

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Encephalon
Automaton All Along
Artoffact Records

Encephalon was one of the first bands we latched onto after launching I Die: You Die, because they seemed like the best of all worlds to us; the Ottawa act has managed to find a balance between classic post-industrial, club-friendly dancefloor appeal, and heady science fiction concepts. While all those things have remained true in the intervening 14 years, we could never have guessed how far they would take the project, to the point that their last LP Echoes was a meta-narrative about the band’s own catalogue both musically and thematically, touching on each of the album-based narratives they’ve put together over the years. It wasn’t a grand finale so much as it was a Möbius loop, turning the band’s work inside out and returning to the beginning even as it sped onward into an uncertain future.

That’s a tough thing to follow-up creatively, but thankfully Automaton All Along is the kind of record we’ve come to expect from Matt Gifford and Alis Alias, an exploration of both the familiar and unfamiliar and with a brand new conceptual framework to examine. Loosely it’s a story about the evolution of an artificial intelligence from awakening through to self-actualization, the existential struggle of determinism versus free will and ultimately what the things we make say about us as makers. Those are some big science fiction ideas, but as they always have Encephalon find approachable ways to address them; the speedy, high-def cyber-body music of “Like the Real Thing” uses Alias’ always-striking deep voice as a contrast to Gifford’s processed vocals to illustrate an important transitional point in the record’s metaphysical musings; sure, you can dig as deep as you want into the eschatology of our robots outliving us, but you can dance to it too!

With that in mind, there’s a genuine sadness and deep relatability in the way Automaton All Along looks at its disembodied protagonist’s struggle, from its first footsteps on opener on “Last Day at the Institute” to the fatalistic surrender of “Survivors Bias”, bookends that refer to one another; the “Life finds a way to fuck you” refrain of the former realized on the latter’s admission that outlasting your progenitors doesn’t insulate you from becoming indistinguishable from them.

The different analogies and allegories the record’s theme points to (Frankenstein’s creature wrestling with its lack of defined purpose? Humanity’s horror at the freedom a flawed demiurge creator abandoned it to?) are perhaps reflected in the more subdued and understated moves and structures it makes musically. For every big banger like “Like The Real Thing” we’ve come to anticipate from Encephalon, there’s something like the surprisingly dreamy half-time of “The Machines”, or the glitchy technoid of “Guardian”, in which chopped and squashed breaks make for a striking contrast with Gifford’s stalwart croon. Similarly, the laid back semi-prog rock of single “Illusions” keeps the focus on the emotion of the lyric, and makes a nice contrast with the digital ghostliness that haunts the more straightforward club industrial programming of “Synthskin6d”. Automaton All Along isn’t the full court press of excess and drama of previous Encephalon records, but every one of its quieter moments feels just as considered, if not as ornate.

Heidegger coined the term Geworfenheit to describe how our consciousness emerges in media res, midway through the arc of flight through which we are unknowingly flung into the world. Our temporality, context, and purpose or purposelessness predate our very selves, and it’s this mix of chaos and predetermination we must navigate. It’s heavy stuff that very much matches up with the predicament Encephalon’s automata find themselves in, but, as with every time Gifford and Alias make a journey out into the conceptual, it prompts us to think about our own origins, nature, and choices. Adding some lower key moments and subtler nuance to their palette broadens the emotional and intellectual territory Encephalon cover, and adds to their case for being the most important electro-industrial act of their generation. Recommended.

Buy it.

Automaton All Along by Encephalon

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Tracks: February 18th, 2025

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Friends, it’s been a fucked up years thus far, both for those of us not in the US watching an our of control clown car catch fire and endanger everyone else on the road, and those unwillingly trapped in it. There’s nothing we can say here that will alleviate the dread and fear that folks are feeling at the moment, or any amount of sympathy that will be a salve on the gaping wounds that we’ve all sustained psychically, emotionally and socially. We’re as lost and horrified as you are, and don’t have any answers. We’re here and will stay doing what we do, and we hope that it can at least be a distraction from the daily horror-show, and maybe help your week start off a tiny bit better, or at least with some fresh new music you might not have heard otherwise.

Camlann

Camlann

V▲LH▲LL, “Calling For Storms”
It’s been nearly four years since we’ve had a new record from everyone’s favourite Swedish Mystery Vikings, but we’re now just a month and a half out from the release of Skymningsdjur, the fourth V▲LH▲LL LP. Preceding teaser tracks have ranged from heavily cinematic atmospheres to some suprisingly poppy beats, but on this new cut they’re connecting their roots in witch house with some classically charnal and chilling but still beat-focused dark electro.
Skymningsdjur by V▲LH▲LL

Xenturion Prime, “Leviathan Alpha”
Few bands in the synthpop end of the general European electro world could be said to be as maximalist as Xenturion Prime. Hell, even the name of the lead single from their forthcoming fifth LP, “Leviathan Alpha” is over the top, and the loping grandeur and vast vistas the track itself conjures delivers on the band’s high-gloss, high-drama ethos. Come for the grandiose, Tron-esque pads blended into some classic Swedish pop harmonies, stay for the Kansas cover on the B-side.
Leviathan Alpha by Xenturion Prime

Camlann, “Jungle Terror”
Our favourite Indonesian darkwave act Camlann has been on an absolute tear with their singles of late, venting serious spleen at industry creeps on “Ronny (Burn in Hell)” and working their best electropop instincts on “Numb and Hollow”. Their new one “Jungle Terror” is simultaneously one of their best pop-rock styled compositions and one of their most politically strident (and given their serious Marxist leanings that’s truly saying something); “Jungle Warfare” is a directly addressed to imperialist nations that have conducted wars in Southeast Asia, delivered with a kind of rare righteousness that is almost incongruous with how catchy it is. Camlann remain one of the most interesting acts we track simply by following their muse musically and speaking their minds plainly.
Jungle Terror by Camlann

Nghtly, “Timeshifted”
The Flowtape label’s still quite wet behind the ears, but they’ve assembled a solid roster of modern EBM talent for their second compilation, reaching from Bangkok to Glasgow and featuring names like Anti Yo and Filmmaker which should be very familiar to regular Tracks readers. We’re especially digging this new cut from Italy’s Nghtly, fresh off an appearance on an equally infectious Kindcrime tape. There’s a nice mix of chewy basslines, throwback rave colour, and plenty of lo-fi grit.
Survivors vol.2 by FLOWTAPE

Agony & the Middle Class, “Pig Cheese”
Agony & the Middle Class is the international industrial team-up of Dana Mukanova of Null Split, and Antoine Kerbérénès of Chrome Corps and Dague de Marbre. It’s got exactly the energy you might expect considering the folks involved, which is to say that it’s a combination of fast-moving chaotic EBM and some very classic eighties post-industrial weirdness. Just the name of the EP Pig Cheese summons some pretty odd images to mind, a fine match for the title track’s FM bass bounce and swooping detuned synths and samples, bringing the works of Cyborgs on Crack to mind. We’re always up for this sort of off-kilter strangeness in our industrial, it’s a vibe we don’t get nearly enough of in this day and age.
Pig Cheese by Agony & the Middle Class

Hugo Dirac, “Vein (Alen Skanner remix)”
We joked a little while ago that Mortal Kombat was a music genre unto itself, and that the number one artist currently producing it is Alen Skanner, but don’t take that as either a dismissal of the producer. Fact is that between a host of amazing originals and some choice remixes, Skanner has become one of our go-tos for music that perfectly lands between 90s techno/nrg and EBM, real Cyberpunk 2020 TTRPG shit in the best way. If you need an intro you can go to this recent remix for Hugo Dirac, taking the speedy hard-hitting original and taming it and punctuating it with just the right amount of sampled hits. Music to enter ABACABB on the title screen if we’ve ever heard it.
Hugo Dirac – Veil by Hugo Dirac

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