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News
editors: Mikael
Kahrle & Johan
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Arvika Festival starts today, Depeche Mode tomorrow July 2, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Today, this year's Arvika Festival in Sweden opens its gates, with today's headliner Nine Inch Nails on stage tonight. Tomorrow, Arvika's dream headliner Depeche Mode plays. - They were good in Copenhagen on Tuesday, but not spectacular, Release Fredrik "Schlatta" Svensson says. He has caught Depeche Mode 17 times and says that gig was in the top 7. Depeche Mode will be allowed to play for about two hours in Arvika, unusually long for a festival band. The will meet fans three hours before the show and leave for the airport in their private yet directly after the show. On Monday, Arvika's marketing manager Emma Finnkvist announced that the festival had beaten its old ticket sale record last weekend. - And this year the festival area is bigger and we have more campings areas, she says. The festival is not sold-out but can swallow 25 000 people. Röyksopp with Robyn, DAF, Welle:Erdball, Mind.in.a.box, Elegant Machinery, Korn, Aesthetic Perfection, De/Vision, Diary of Dreams, Fever Ray, Little Boots and The Mobile Homes are some of the artists playing this year. Johan Carlsson and Fredrik "Schlatta" Svensson will compile a Release report afterwards. Heart surgery awaits Psyche's Darrin Huss June 24, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
We are sad to hear that Darrin Huss from legendary Canadian/German dark electronic pop act Psyche will undergo open heart surgery in late August, after being diagnosed with a 5,2 cm aneurysm. - Theoretically I could wait until next year for an operation, but I am already in the risk group, and of course don't really want to wait until the thing gets any bigger, he says in Side-Line. Portion Control release collection this week June 23, 2009 | By: Tobias Eliasson (Gothenburg, Sweden)
“Crop” is a compilation of the material the band released themselves since the comeback in 2004. As a bonus we also get an EP with new and reworked tracks. This extremely productive duo is working on new material in the form of the full-length "Witness". "Release Magazine Remix EP" with Emmon June 18, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
A "Release Magazine Remix EP" based upon our remix competition with the Emmon song "Lips on Fire" will be made available on Spotify later this summer. The EP will contain 27 of the remixers - those who wanted to join this project and sent in files in time. The 12" with the winning Parralox remix on it will be released in late August and the same goes for the Russian edition of the album "Closet Wanderings", including the Parralox and Kvantisera remixes. Read our winner interview with Australian synthpop band Parralox here. Apparat + Modeselektor = Moderat June 17, 2009 | By: Tobias Eliasson (Gothenburg, Sweden)
The two German electro acts Apparat and Modeselektor joined forces back in 2002 and formed Moderat. An EP was released but then they disappeared, until now that is. Their self titled album is out now on BPitch Control and its available both on CD, vinyl and a CD + DVD package with visuals from Pfadfinderei. Also the single “Rusty Nails”, including a remix from Booka Shade, recently saw the light of day. Paper Gods sign with Fossil Dungeon June 15, 2009 | By: Peter Marks (Portland, Oregon USA)
John Fair from Tempe, Arizona, formerly of Lycia has just signed his solo neo-classical project Paper Gods to the Fossil Dungeon label. "Woolgathering", a new EP is currently available from the label's website to purchase digitally and delivers more of the orchestral bombast this outfit are known for. Paper Gods have previously self-released an EP and also an album entitled "Red Blossom Eyesore" between the years 2007-2008. Fair also was a member of the band Dust, which comprised himself and Lycia's founder Mike van Portfleet. Additionally, we are informed that another one time member of Lycia, David Galas, has recently completed his new full length album "The Happiest Days of My Life" which will see release hopefully later this summer on the Vendelus label. You can check out a clip he has made for the lead single "Last Days of the War" right here. A Different Drum owner releases sci-fi novel June 15, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Todd Durrant, who runs Utah synthpop label A Different Drum, is apparently also a science fiction writer; his "Trigger" novel is out now. Bal Paré return with new material June 12, 2009 | By: Tobias Eliasson (Gothenburg, Sweden) After restarting the band Bal Paré as a solo project back in 2007, Matthias Schuster can now present the first work from this new version of the classic new wave project. The title is “Sommerwind” and the format is a 10” record with six tracks. If you order directly from Matthias (through MySpace for instance) you also get a limited CD-R with 17 unreleased tracks. And if this wasn’t enough the label Minimal Wave recently released a 7” EP with four unreleased song from 1981-1984. A new album is also in the works. Dave Gahan back on stage in good shape June 9, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) Depeche Mode restarted their "Tour of the Universe" successfully yesterday in Leipzig and Dave Gahan appeared to be in good shape. French EBM debut with Cobalt 60 mastermind June 9, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
EBM bands from France are rare indeed, but maybe you have heard of Dominique Lallement's projects Kriegbereit and Cobalt 60. Cobalt 60 featured Front 242's Jean Luc DeMeyer on vocals, released several records and appeared in the games "Command and Conquer: Red Alert" and "Wing Commander: Prophecy". On Friday, Lallement and his long-time friend Fred Sebastien delivers "Distort Neural Unit" under the name K-bereit. Members from Autodafeh, SA42, Punish Yourself and Dolls of Pain guest on this debut album, released via Sigsaly Transmission. Apoptygma Berzerk to Columbia Records June 8, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) After Apoptygma Berzerk's label Gun in Germany closed down on February 13, the Norwegians have been signed to Columbia Records, also within the German Sony BMG sphere. Him, SITD, Within Temptation, L'ame Immortelle and Paradise Lost are other artists that's been on Gun in the past. Apoptygma Berzerk have a new single and festivals gigs in the pipeline. SPV declared itself insolvent June 6, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
German indie giant SPV Schallplatten Produktion und Vertrieb GmbH declared itself insolvent on May 25. SPV founded in 1984 are mostly known to Release readers through the sub label Synthetic Symphony and its scene leaders like Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, Covenant, Camouflage, Funker Vogt, Dance or Die and Welle:Erdball. Phil Oakey lends a hand June 4, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
The Human League's Phil Oakey does guest vocals in the song "Symmetry" on Little Boots' mainstream synthpop album "Hands", to be released on June 10. "Hands" reminds us of Sophie Ellis Bextor and is a mix of old synthpop like the mentioned The Human League and modern commercial sounds. Earlier this year, Oakey helped the Pet Shop Boys in "This Used to Be the Future" - possibly the best new Pet Shop Boys track (and it's not even on "Yes", but on the bonus CD...). The Human League recently played Australia with their "Dare" show. 31 Rammstein concerts booked so far June 3, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
So far, Rammstein have booked 31 concerts for their new tour which will start in Portugal on November 8 and take them through Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, The Czech Republic, France, Poland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxemburg and of course Germany. Swedish darkwave band emerges June 2, 2009 | By: Tobias Eliasson (Gothenburg, Sweden)
We don’t have many darkwave/electro-acts in Sweden, but now we got Waves under Water from Stockholm. They released a demo during 2008 and now they prepare their first album, “Serpents and the Tree” that will be released in August. As more and more bands do they have started their own label to keep full control of the process. Depeche Mode plan to restart tour in one week June 1, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
The Depeche Mode camp has finally released some information on Dave Gahan's condition. A low-grade malignant tumour in Gahan's bladder has been successfully removed and he has been ordered to rest for a few days. After a long row of cancelled gigs, the "Tour of the Universe" will be restarted in Leipzig on June 8. Changes have been made to the tour schedule (see the official site for details). "Dave Gahan sincerely thanks his fans for their support, understanding and patience. Depeche Mode deeply regret any problems or inconveniences the cancellations and postponements may have caused." After Tribantura comes Shift May 27, 2009 | By: Tobias Eliasson (Gothenburg, Sweden)
The German label Infacted Recordings recently released “Lack of Sense” from Tribantura and now more forgotten music will see the day of light again. This time the band is called Shift and the album is called “Electrofixx”. Tracks from the self released 12” “Bugs” and the MCD “Electrofixx” released through classic label Zoth Ommog will be included. This EBM record will hit the stores on June 26. Lost tracks from Secret Service May 27, 2009 | By: Tobias Eliasson (Gothenburg, Sweden)
In the early 80:s, the electronic pop band Secret Service became the biggest music export from Sweden since ABBA. With hits like “Oh Susie” and “Flash in the Night” they managed to sell five million records before the split in 1986. Now, a new digital single called “Different” is released. The song was recorded in 1996 and was found when song writer and producer Tim Norell moved from his house and went through his possessions. The members are now working on a new album based upon the found recordings. Johan Kinde returns to the music May 27, 2009 | By: Tobias Eliasson (Gothenburg, Sweden) His first book came out last year, but now Swedish romantic pop veteran Johan Kinde returns to the music. He has decided to publish his new material under his own name again, for the first time since 1991. The first single “Jag hade slutat drömma om att känna så här” is out now, but only as a digital download. Fans of Lustans Lakejer won’t be disappointed; the sound is definitely in the same style. Once again he’s working with producer Jan Lundkvist - and Peder Livijn from System will assist. The album is expected this fall on both CD and a limited edition vinyl. To warm up he will play at Electric Garden in Stockholm on May 28; Kamera and Le Mans will be supporting acts. On a related note Kinde also performed with, among others, Alexander Hofman (S.P.O.C.K) and Paris at the “Some Great Reward 25th anniversary party” in Stockholm (Kinde performed “Blasphemous Rumours”). Backlash plan EP quadrilogy May 27, 2009 | By: Tobias Eliasson (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Swedish electropop band Backlash plan no less than four different digital EP:s during 2009. No details have been revealed about the following three, but the first one is out now and called “Quiet Men EP”. As the title hints, it’s a salute to Ultravox with covers on both “Quiet Men” and “Slow Motion” from the 1978 album “Systems of Romance”. Together with a remix and a new song from Backlash this EP is a nice injection of quality electronic pop. Cult new wave profile Snowy Red dies May 26, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) and Martin Olsson (Gothenburg)
Snowy Red's Micky Mike (aka Marcel Thiel) has died at the age of 52. Snowy Red was an early act on the Belgian new wave and new beat scene. "Euroshima (Wardance)" and "Breakdown" are two of his more well-known songs. Dismantled: US tour and reissue May 24, 2009 | By: Peter Marks (Portland, Oregon USA)
EBM band Dismantled will embark on an American tour, which will commence May 27 in Hollywood, California, and conclude July 9 in Phoenix, Arizona. Most of the dates are part of a tour package with scene darlings Combichrist as well as Aesthetic Perfection and Julian K. Dismantled have reissued their third album "Standard Issue" via the Metropolis and Dependent labels. Additional tracks and new artwork are included in this latest "V2" package. Amphi Festival program complete May 22, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Mono Inc completes the impressive program for this year's Orkus Open Air Amphi Festival in Cologne on July 18-19. Some highlights: Absolute Body Control, Agonoize, Covenant, Feindflug, Fields of the Nephilim, Laibach, Leæther Strip, Marsheaux, The Birthday Massacre, Camouflage, Front 242, Hocico, KMFDM, Qntal and The Gathering. Pack your bags people. Three more Depeche Mode concerts cancelled May 20, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) Depeche Mode fans worldwide are really worried and rumours are flying around as Depeche Mode cancels three more shows on their current tour, due to Dave Gahan's health condition. The newly dropped cities are Warsaw, Riga and Vilnius. London on May 30 is next. The Sturm Café is closed May 20, 2009 | By: Fredrik "Schlatta" Svensson (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Where is my vocalist? Pop band Kite performed without their singer. Last Saturday record label Progress Productions celebrated its fifth anniversary at Musikens Hus in Gothenburg, Sweden, with eight Progress acts on stage. The last gig of the evening was with EBM duo Sturm Café and it was also the last gig for the band as they decided to call it quits not long ago. In one of the last songs of the gig, more or less the entire Progress crew – label and artists - were on stage. The same thing happened during the Necro Facility gig as well. The surprise act, and newest addition to the Progress roster, was experienced EBM duo Dupont from Stockholm. They gave it all on stage and will release their new, already completed, album “Entering the Ice Age” on August 19. Synthpop trio Mr Jones Machine gave a special "acoustic" set with no pre-programmed stuff. Other bands performing live were Mommy Hurt My Head, System, Kopfer Kat. The strangest gig was Kite's. Their singer Niclas Stenemo (on tour with Melody Club) was not present in person, instead he was featured in the back projections and thus no singing was done live. As a special bonus all guests got a unique 14 track CD with unreleased material from all the Progress artists, now available in digital stores. Suicide Commando to Out of Line May 20, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Out of Line, home of Combichrist, Hocico and many similar hard bands, seems like an obvious choice for Suicide Commando in Europe. Johan van Roy is currently recording a new single and album and Out of Line will also present a new line of Suicide Commando merchandising. In the US and rest of the world, Suicide Commando is signed to Metropolis. Dependent restarts label and signs Mesh May 18, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
German EBM label Dependent stopped releasing new material in late 2007, but has now decided to reopen this summer or autumn with new signings. - I was particularly shocked to discover some absolutely amazing new recordings and newcomer bands being unable to find label support and getting lost in the vast pool of mediocre bands on the internet, label boss Stefan Herwig says. Dependent will launch a strategic partnership with US label Metropolis, which means that Metropolis bands like Front Line Assembly will be handled by Dependent in Europe. Both labels will also sign bands together and first out is Mesh. Impressive collection from Norway May 18, 2009 | By: Tobias Eliasson (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Apart from A-ha most of the music in Norway during the 80:s was rock in various shapes, the electronic scene was much more alive in Sweden. And sure, we a lot of postpunk here but we also get amazing tracks from bands like Det Gylne Triangel and Boxbury Beat. This is highly recommended for those of you who want to experience something new (but old). Thanks to Øystein Moe and his Hommage Records for making this possible, I hope we get to see many future releases from him. Six Depeche Mode shows cancelled May 15, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) Due to Dave Gahan's condition, Depeche Mode have announced that four more shows will be cancelled, adding up to a total of six: Athens, Istanbul, Bucharest, Sofia, Belgrade and Zagreb. The Warsaw gig on May 23 is next and still on. "Depeche Mode apologizes to all their fans for this inconvenience", according to the official statement. Gahan undergoes further tests. - We have talked to the band's agent and all indicates the tour will be running again shortly, Hanna Olsson says. She is head of the Arvika Festival, where Depeche Mode are scheduled to play in July. Progress Productions celebrates with festival May 15, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
The Swedish electronic music label Progress Productions was started by Torny Gottberg back in 2004 after he left Energy Rekords and is now one of the most interesting labels from Sweden. To celebrate the first five years they will put together a festival on Saturday, May 16, in Gothenburg at Musikens Hus. In total eight bands will perform, including a new signing that will be revealed, this will be band number 14 for the label. Also as we have reported before this will be the final show for Sturm Café. Other bands performing are Kite, Necro Facility, Mr Jones Machine, Mommy Hurt My Head, System and Kopfer Kat. There will also be an exclusive compilation that only will be available for visitors to the festival. New Tyske Ludder at WGT May 14, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
June 5 marks the release of the new album "Anonymous" from German old school EBM veterans Tyske Ludder. The first edition comes as a numbered digibox including special packaging, poster booklet, signed autograph card and a metal pin. The band will offer the new album at Wave Gotik Treffen, where they also will perform live. Summer Darkness in The Netherlands and M'era Luna in Germany are two other stops ahead. EBM in Swedish from Spark May 14, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
A new album will be released on May 18 and the title is “Ett lejon i dig” (a lion inside you). The band has had offers from various labels but finally choose to handle the release and distribution themselves; with help from friends. You can buy the album from their web page (www.sparkmusik.se), from May 18 and onwards that is. Updated: Dave Gahan treated in New York May 14, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden) Developing story, edited after publishing: Dave Gahan was rushed to the hospital after suddenly feeling ill with a severe bout of gastroenteritis while preparing for Tuesday's Depeche Mode concert near Athens. The audience was told the concert was cancelled from the stage (YouTube clip of the announcement). Thursday's Istanbul show is also cancelled. Turk news agency Anatolia says Dave Gahan will go to the United States for treatment and that concerts in Bucharest and Sofia (Saturday and Monday) might also be canceled. Interlace's "Nemesis" arrives today May 12, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Today harsh and atmospheric EBM project Interlace returns after a long hiatus with the single "Nemesis". The complex track debuted live at last year's electriXmas festival in Interlace's home town Malmö, Sweden. Interlace put much effort in their theatrical performances and have previously also played in South Asia and Germany. Now, they are heading for Canada's Kinetik Festival this week where the "Nemesis" CDM will be a bonus to a festival compilation CD. The CDM and digital single presents four versions of the title track and precedes the third album (details tba). The debut "Innuendo" came out in 2002, followed by "Imago" two years later. Parralox winner of the Emmon remix competition May 11, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Our Emmon "Lips on Fire" remix competition is over. The winner is Australian synthpop band Parralox. They will get their remix on a 12", iTunes, Spotify and Klicktrack. - A worthy winner and they have delivered a classic remix I really like, Emma Nylén (Emmon) says. Parralox formed in Melbourne last year but musical mastermind John van Ahlen has been writing and producing music for record releases and TV for over 15 years. Parralox have two female vocalist's, English born Amii who is currently living in Australia, and Roxy. Their modern synthpop debut "Electricity" was released in September last year and the follow-up is scheduled for September this year. We received 45 remix contributions from all over the world, including Colombia. The final top five ranking is: 1. Parralox, 2. Kvantisera, 3. Pretorium, 4. Atari Cowboy, 5. Perkelen. Unsigned: German-Swedish collaboration in Menschdefekt May 11, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
If you're into aggressive electronics à la Hocico, you might enjoy Menschdefekt. This newcomer is not original in any sense whatsoever, but they know what they're doing and they have a solid, catchy foundation to build on in the future. They won the Aesthetic Perfection remix contest in March. Their best known song is "Stalingrad", a collaboration with Stahlnebel and Black Selket which has shown up on two compilations and dancefloors here and there. Menschdefekt is Dominik (music, started the project in 2004) from Germany and Fredrik from Sweden (vocals and lyrics, joined 2009). Hocico frontman returns with Rabia Sorda May 8, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Hocico frontman Erk Aicrag returns with his solo project Rabia Sorda on May 29. The EP "Radio Paranoia" is an unusually catchy and eighties-influenced piece and the release comes with a B-side and remixes. An album is in the works. Mini live report: Leæther Strip returned to Gothenburg May 6, 2009 | By: Johan Carlsson (Gothenburg, Sweden)
For the first time since 1992, Claus Larsen - aka Leæther Strip - played in Sweden last Saturday. The last gig 17 years ago was arranged by no other than Release heads Mikael and Lotta Kahrle, at a bigger venue just down the road from this one in Gothenburg. Claus lives in Northern Denmark, not that far from Gothenburg. - It feels like five years ago, he told us and went on to say he was glad his back was better so that he could move around on stage. Club Target organised this night which which 200 tickets were sold-out in advance. Mikael, Tobias, Sussi and me from Release was present. Leæther Strip played his classic EBM hits for a wildly enthusiastic crowd. Claus seemed to be very happy to be back and the reception he got from the audience kept him playing for over two hours. He even tried shutting down his computer to get off the stage, but the cheers made him come back to perform another song for us. "Strap Me Down" generated such a sing-a-long that he couldn't hear himself on stage, and it was the evening's highlight for me since I think that the album "Solitary Confinement" is one of the finest EBM records in history. And actually, a sound board recording of that particular song is now available on his MySpace, recorded at the gig. Let's hope that it doesn't take another 17 years for him to get back to Sweden. Unsigned: Twilight tunes from Italy's Kernel Drop May 5, 2009 | By: Peter Marks (Portland, Oregon USA) "The Dreambox" from Italy's Kernal Drop is currently out. An album of very unusual compositions this work is the first from Kernal Drop (that we're aware of, that is) and is an enchanting cross-pollination of electro, ambient, idm and even some slightly world influences. This album currently has no label although we suspect it won't be long until Kernal Drop are signed and release further work. Unsigned: Old-school EBM from Organic Music May 5, 2009 | By: Mikael Kahrle (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Organic Music is a Swedish EBM duo who likes their EBM primitive and raw, like in the early days of the genre. Member Klas has played in Harmful if Swallowed in the past. Their new demo "Organic Circuits" is out now. |
In February classic industrial act Portion Control signed with American label Sigsaly Transmissions and now the first result is released this Friday (June 26). 
