News

Celebration concert for Trevor Horn

Sleeve for Buggles "Video Killed the Radio Star". Trevor to the left.

• Legendary British producer Trevor Horn has worked with bands such as Pet Shop Boys, Simple Minds, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Tatu amongst many others. His 25 years in the industry now gets recognition at a celebration concert at Wembley Arena on November 11.
ABC, Pet Shop Boys, Art of Noise, Belle & Sebastian, Buggles, Propaganda, Seal, Lisa Stansfield and Yes are all performing at the event, with more names to come. Buggles is Trevor Horn's own band, and are most of all remembered for their huge hit "Video Killed the Radio Star". This will be their first ever live performance.
Profits go to The Prince’s Trust. /Johan Carlsson

Icon of Coil side project release follow-up
• “Sex, Drogen und Industrial” is the title of Combichrist’s new album. Combichrist is the solo project of Icon of Coil member Andy LaPlegua and focuses on a harder sound. Out on October 18 - Out of Line. /Johan Carlsson

• Time has come for a new conceptual album from German darkwave band Diary of Dreams. It’s called “Nigredo” and while it is hard to grasp what the concept is through the press release, it is nevertheless out on October 25 on Accession. The album will also be available in a strictly limited box-set with a special edition CD, a digibook and a poster. /Johan Carlsson

More work from Myer's Architect coming soon
• "Noise is out of Stock" (Hymen) is the forthcoming 12" from Daniel Myer's Architect project. No release date has yet been given. /Peter Marks

Fixmer/McCarthy's short stay in USA, tour of Europe
• Since the "Destroy/Freefall" single was released late last year, electro, psytrance and industrial crowds have enjoyed dancing to the news sounds of Douglas McCarthy and Terence Fixmer. Having played club and festival dates in Europe, just a soupcon of dates has been allotted for the American fans so far. They play New York City (October 28 and 29), Austin (October 30) and Los Angeles (on November 1). They then jet off to Europe to play Paris on November 3 and continue their longest tour stint to date ending on November 14 in Hannover. This includes a stop at Stockholm's Tinitus Festival on November 6. F/M management assures us they will return to play further stateside gigs "early next year." /Alex Veronac

Lights of Euphoria back on the dance floor
• A new EP titled “One Nation” from the German EBM act Lights of Euphoria hits the streets today (September 27). It’s a six-track affair with mixes by the likes of Suicide Commando, Syrian and Massiv in Mensch. /Johan Carlsson

• Talk has swirling over the web since a posting from lisagerrard.com hit. Lisa Gerrard, one half of Dead Can Dance seems to be in preparation with Brendan Perry and others to tour in 2005. Their last tour plans in 1999 were cancelled. Completion of their last collaborative album seems apparent as well. An excerpt here:
"The lineup of musicians is absolutely phenomenal, actually it is better then that, this will without doubt be the Dead Can Dance concert to see and hear, it is hard to contain my excitement and anticipation, but sometime in 2005 and no locations set yet. This beats Lisa playing the theremin, which was planned for the last unfinished DCD album & tour. This will be a once in a lifetime occasion, no matter when or where I be there 110%, suggest you do the same and don't tell me I did not warn you."
Those hungry for Dead Can Dance content have had to purchase the 2003 releases "Wake" (best of) or "Toward the Within" DVD. You can view a video sample here. /Alex Veronac

Bodies without Organs without album

Photo by: Calle Stoltz

• Swedish synthpop newcomers Bodies without Organs (with Alexander Bard and Marina Schiptjenko) released their brand new single "Conquering America" yesterday. Seven versions of the song is included, with retro synthpop versions as well as a trance reworking by fellow Swede Richi M. The original track is an upbeat mainstream pop song with strong melody hooks and a sharp vocal performance by Martin Rolinski. We will have to wait for an album, though, as the record company wants to wait until January of 2005 due to synchronization with an international release, primarily in the Eastern European countries. /Niklas Forsberg

More Aphex than you can handle!
• Believed to be as a present in recognition of the founder of Rephlex Records soon becoming a father, it can be revealed that Aphex Twin will be releasing an onslaught of new material over the coming months. These new EP:s of previously unheard Aphex material will be available soon – and it looks like there could be an amazing twelve EP:s to collect! Believed to be released at the rate of one a month for twelve months – you can imagine this a whole load of Richard D. James on its way! These releases are to be collected together in a handsome folder, with the Aphex logo on the front, and the inscription "Analord", with the first of the collection, a two track twelve inch, to be released between November and December. /Mike Whyte (who just moved from London to Japan)

The roads await Melody Club
• Tonight, Swedish retro pop band Melody Club kicks off their 28 (!) date Scandianvian tour in Malmö in the South. Melody Club's second album "Face the Music" was released on August 25. /Mikael Kahrle

New work from Black Lung
• "The Grand Chessboard" (Ant-Zen) is the latest work from David Thrussell's (Snog, Soma) Black Lung project. This new release is strictly instrumental with 501 copies of the album coming with a bonus CD-EP version of Black Lung's last output "The Sound of Meat".
Black Lung were originally formed in 1993 as an outlet for Thrussell's more unusual soundscapes and has run the gamut from hard techno to sample-based noise work. /Peter Marks

• The second Client album “City” is unveiled in one week, on September 27, on Andy Fletcher’s Toast Hawaii label via Mute and EMI. The electropop album is produced by Joe Wilson of Sneaker Pimps and features, among others, Martin L Gore. Review in progress.
The first "City" single “In It for the Money” (released on July 13) was the label’s first chart entry, stopping at 51 in the UK charts, and entering top 40 in the midweeks. We’ll see if their next single, the more laidback “Radio”, can do the same or better after it’s released today.
Client is currently touring the UK, Austria, Spain and Italy. Tracks from Client's debut album have been heard in "C.S.I. Miami" and "Nip/tuck". /Johan Carlsson, Mikael Kahrle

• The Mexican EBM bandits in Hocico will return with “Wrack and Ruin” on October 10. It will be available as a limited double CD edition including the bonus CD "Maldiciones para un mundo en decadencia", a limited fan edition with a double vinyl picture disc, including the CD edition plus two bonus tracks, and finally as… regular CD. /Johan Carlsson

Final track list for "Enjoy the Silence 04"
• After changing the track list for the upcoming Depeche Mode re-release “Enjoy the Silence 04” once already, thus enraging the fans by not including almost any of the announced remixes, the people at Mute have once again changed their mind and will now include almost all the new remixes in some way or another. For example, an extra limited single will be out five weeks after the original editions, with more mixes. For the entire track list, go to the official microsite. /Johan Carlsson

• A new electronic music label was born earlier this year: Progress Productions in Gothenburg, Sweden. So far, two bands have been signed: Hype (with Robert Enforsen from Elegant Machinery) and 8kHz Mono. The label web site offers a free downloadable single with one song each from the two bands.
8kHz Mono is first in line on October 20 with their melodic EBM album "Monochromator". A release party will be held at Gothenburg club Plasticity on October 8. The album is delivered in two editions, a standard and a 2CD limited edition of 200 copies.
Progress use the slogan "progress though commitment" and their aim is to work close to their bands - they should feel the label's support at all times and agree on everything Progress do.
Torny Gottberg (Project-X, ex-Energy Rekords, ex-Sauna Magazine) is one of the men behind the label. He has left his old position at Energy and is now hired by Border Distribution. /Mikael Kahrle

...and Assemblage 23 member starts new US label
• 23db is the name of the new (silent music?) label which has been created by Tom Shear aka Assemblage 23. This label's first release will be the Seattle-based band Backandtotheleft debut album "Obsolete". There are no planned additional signings to the label at this time. Assemblage 23's new album "Storm" (Metropolis) is due in the coming weeks and will coincide with a US tour. /Peter Marks

• Memento Materia's "Electropop Heroes Vol 2" will see the light of day shortly. The compilation will feature Sophie Rimheden/Håkan Lidbo, Univaque, Hype, Stisch feat. Magnus Carlson, Daybehavior, Fairlight Children and others. /Mikael Kahrle

Remix album from In Strict Confidence
• In Strict Confidence's latest album "Holy" has been completely re-worked and is now available in a limited run (1111 copies) entitled "Holy (The Hecq Destruction)". All eleven tracks have been remixed by Benny Boysen, the man responsible for some of the most extreme mixes on the recent "Babylon" single from the band. /Peter Marks

New single due from P J Harvey
• The third single to be released from P J Harvey's "Uh Huh Her" album will be for the track "Shame". The release date has been mentioned as being at the end of September. "...I find that I actually like the calmer, more intense tunes – at least on "Uh Huh Her" – a lot better. Just listen to "Shame" and try not to get shivers down your spine.", Kalle Malmstedt wrote in his album review.
Harvey and her band are currently touring for the the new album. /Peter Marks

• No NHL this season. Instead North Americans are entertainted by veteran German-American industrial-act KMFDM who will celebrate their 20th anniversary with a North American tour that will start in Canada on October 6 and enter the USA on October 26. As many as 17 gigs will be played in Canada. The anniversary tour will be supported by DJ?Acucrack. No dates outside America have been announced as of now.
Part-time KMFDM member Raymond Watts will not participate in the tour. /Peter Takizawa

Daybehavior in Xbox game
• Swedish electropop duo Daybehavior has two tracks from their latest album "Have You Ever Touched a Dream?" in the Xbox game "Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2". The first version of the game sold over six million copies worldwide. /Mikael Kahrle