Kraftwerk are awe-inspiringly amazing live. Supreme concentration delivering electronic dance music with unnerving precision. Synthesizers, computers, and electronics all more animated than the performers. The spectacle is unforgettable and at the center of the spectacle is the melodic, mantra-like, techno pop of the music of Kraftwerk.

Live, both old and new songs are oddly prescient. Technology and fortitude revitalize classic and illuminte newer material. That live experience is what is represented by Kraftwerk's two CD set "Minimum - Maximum". A perfect souvenir for anyone who saw Kraftwerk in 2004 or 2005.
Listening to "Minimum - Maximum", one begins to feel that Kraftwerk have improved upon their timeless classics. The new cryptic computer voice intro about Sellafield on "Radioactivity" reinforces the fatalistic theme of the dangers of technology without humanity. Or the almost violent feel of the begining of "Metal On Metal". Beats that move the song from industrial foreshadowing to modern techno body music.
Strong power beats jettison "Numbers" and "Pocket Calculator". "Numbers" gets one of the most dramatic overhauls of any song on "Minimum - Maximum". Here the "Numbers" displays the musicians it's influenced in citations, the list including: DAF, Yello, Front 242, Meat Beat Manifesto and Haujobb to name a few.
The technological tinkering and tweaking that allow the old melodies to enter a 21st Century music scene without sounding like a different song.
Some songs were tweaked less but the melodies remained timeless and carry nicely with only minimal revisionism. It's surprising how familiar and timely "The Model", "Autobahn", "Neon Lights" and "Trance Europe Express" sound.
The Classics are not the only songs to thrive in the live setting. The six songs from 2003's "Tour De France" all sound fantastic on "Minimum - Maximum".
Both "Vitamin" and "Elektro Kardiogramm" play like singles live. They have a sense of familiarity that suggest classic Kraftwerk songwriting. "Vitamin" with it's minimalist chorus belongs to the tradition of "Pocket Calculator" and "The Robots".
While "Elektro Kardiogramm" with it's use of breathing for rhythm creates a new space between the transportation anthems "Autobahn" and "Trans Europe Express" and techno body music thumpers like "Metal On Metal" and "Dentaku".
"Minimum - Maximum" sole new song is "Planet Of Visions". A song whose origins lie on the "Expo 2000" EP. This is a techno track aimed at the DJ's inspired by Kraftwerk and pays homage to both Detroit and Germany. It is a Kraftwerk track of the 21st Century. The new track is worthy and able to fit in among the retooled classics of "Minimum - Maximum".
Wether you are a completist Kraftwerk fan or a curious electronica or electro fan looking for a Kraftwerk primer, this record is perfect. An essential live compilation that spans three decades of music.
This is the perfect audio souvenir from the Kraftwerk Tour, let's hope the previously mentioned DVD will be released too.

Tracklist CD1
The Man - Machine
Planet Of Visions
Tour De France Etape 1
Chrono
Tour De France Etape 2
Vitamin
Tour De France
Autobahn
The Model
Neon Lights



Tracklist CD2
Radioactivity
Trans Europe Express
Metal On Metal
Numbers
Computer World
Home Computer
Pocket Calculator
Dentaku
The Robots
Elektro Kardiogramm
Aero Dynamik
Music Non Stop

Using the originals as skeletal outlines, "Vertical Mixes" simplifies and distilles 2003's "Vertical Theory". Creating textural atmospheric reductionist revisions or streamlined club mixes of the originals, "Vertical Mixes" is a brave remix album that captures and ensnares you.

Since 1996's "The Remix Wars", Haujobb has established a reputation as the remixers to seek out if you are a thoughtful artist wanting to expand your sound.
The inventive, genre-defying, provacative, melancholic and sometimes willfully difficult "Vertical Theory" had Haujobb incorporating their experience as remixers into their sound and song structure. Consequently the less complex and layered "Vertical Mixes" plays like the originals to "Vertical Theory's" remixes.
The first five tracks on "Vertical Mixes" are Haujobb without outside collaborators. Three remixes and two new originals that play like an album side (if you don't know ask your parents). Varying beats and samples but maintaining an overiding mood and atmosphere. The dub-like atmosphere gives the songs an illusion of being stark, when in actuality sounds and layers ebb and flow.
"Mind Crush" is the perfect example of this style. Cowbells, cymbal crashes, deep house beats and spoken monotone vocals all take turns intertwining with the atmospheric wash of synths. Overlapping and fading out, the song changes genres twice so subtly as to be imperceptible.
And that is the template for the the first five tracks on "Vertical Mixes".
Whether it's the 80's video game samples in the new track "Perpetual Motion" or the sonar blips in "Metric" (remix), everything is in service to the haunted shape-shifting atmosphere that is the unifying element of Haujobb's music without collaborators.
Things change with track six as collaborators are allowed to experiment with the Haujobb sound present on "Vertical Mixes". Both "S_ adow" and "Renegades of Noize" each get two remixes on the latter 2/3 of the disc. "Renegades of Noize" gets two great club overhauls. Haujobb vs. This Morn Omina's "We are the Renegades of Noize" is a power body techno version and the Asche remix is a dirty crunchy noise remix that wouldn't sound out of place on an Ant-Zen compilation.
"S_adow" is given a techno thumper beat that fades out into "S_adow" beautiful piano line in Shok's Scrambled Egg mix, while the Backlash remix looks back to earlier technology to deliver a retro-future sound. All suitable for the dancefloor while showing the versatility of the source material.
The other remixes on "Vertical Mixes" separate the elements of the Haujobb sound and isolat ethem in their own remix. Seabound deliver an uncharacteristically sparse and lo-tech remix of "Platform" that suggests the electronica/IDM scene before the imploded in the late nineties. Glis take "Slide" and deliver it up as if it was a dark electro track missing from the "Endzeit Bunker" compilation.
"The Noise Institute" (1994 mix by Iscoloscope) stays true to it's title. Delivering a big techno sound with house flourishes, taking us back to the simpler, less crowded dance scene of 1994.
"Metric (hecq reemiqs)" is the remix most complimentary to the first five tracks on "Vertical Mixes". An echoing drum beat with an ambient sound that is less haunting and suggests an Enoesque Haujobb. A brillant remix that is an essential listen and an obvious highlight.
As diverse as "Vertical Mixes" is, it is remarkably cohesive.
The divirgent sounds suggested by each song are all parts of the overall Haujobb sound of "Vertical Theory". The adventurous spirit and eclectic delivery lives up to Haujobb's description for "Vertical Theory". "A little dance, a little, EBM, a little industrial, a little ambient, and a little dance but with that Haujobb 'feel'".
Exactly.


Tracklist
Mind Crush
Renegades Of Noize (remix)
Perpetual Motion
Metric (remix)
Platform (remix)
haujobb vs. this morn omina/ we are the renegades of noize
Slide (Glis mix)
Platform (Seabound remix)
Metric (Hecq reemiqs)
Renegades Of Noize (Asche remix)
S_adow (Backlash remix)
S_adow (Shok's Scrambled Egg mix)
The Noise Institute (1994 mix by Iscoloscope)

The long awaited Double DVD collection : "The Greater Wrong Of The Right Live" from legendary Industrial pioneers Skinny Puppy will see the light of day on 12th September 2005. Spread across 2 indispensable discs TGWOTRL includes the COMPLETE Live show ( including encores ) recorded at the Montreal and / or Toronto shows last Autumn and comes presented in stunning 5.1 digital clarity or stereo definition. Disc 2 of the set includes Live archival footage from Skinny Puppy's earlier tours with Bonus material from "Too Dark Park" and "Last Rights" alongside two never seen before documentaries : "Eurotrauma : Skinny Puppy Live in Europe 1988" documenting this European tour and shot by the band, plus "Information Warfare" - perhaps the result of the politically themed document Ogre theorized about in recent interviews..." The Greater Wrong Of The Right Live" comes complete with stunning cover art and inside cover photography from Steven Gilmore, Fredox and Austin Young respectively with final sound mix by Ken "Hiwatt" Marshal. "The Greater Wrong Of The Right Live" presents an unmissable package from one of the true icons of the electronic / industrial underground.

LOL

well from the musical impression they are all
clinically dead forever, not just for two minutes ... ~*~

The hottest summer release is finally imminent ! The sound of world demoralization comes presented in a stylish digipak with 12 pages booklet; as Italy's most enigmatic band, Spiritual Front, join forces with Swedish leg-fetishists, Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio. The idea of this collaboration was born in 2003 and now ( after considerable anticipation ) this most incredible release is finally here to seduce and deprave a whole world with promises of salvation through nihilism and sexual depravity : all accompanied by some of the most wonderful tunes of apocalyptic-neo-suicidal-pop-folk. Truly Indispensible !

I got it!! My Chandler Travis "Monkeys of Nothings" came today! There's this really great song on there called "It's A Buttercup World". Hilarious stuff!

Essential re-release of the latest Arcana album - with the original Limited version ( on the Erebus Odora label ) now being deleted. The 6th album from Arcana, "Le Serpent Rouge" presents Arcana as they have never been heard before ! Marking a departure for Arcana, this new release ( in collaboration with visual artists Agnieszka Szuba ) is both darker and more instrumental, blending Arcana's trademark ghostly ambience with melodies from the orient, atmospheres of the hot Arabic landscape and the beautiful sounds of hammered dulcimer...

Attending a Juno Reactor show isn't like going to a 'concert', it's experiencing a whole new concept in performances with a sublime mixture of music, lighting, and live action. Those that let the opportunity to catch Juno Reactor live during the "Shango" tour now have a chance to see what they missed out on. The "Live in Tokyo" DVD features selections from "Shango", alongside classic Juno Reactor tracks, such as ''Conga Fury'' and "Pistolero" and "God Is God." The DVD precisely captures the intensity of Juno Reactor's live performances : from the mind-expanding music, to the acrobatics of Amampondo and the hypnotic lighting effects. An experience, a journey, a revelation, a discovery....

Andre Faria: Enjoy! I'll be whistling in the dark, whistling in the dark :D

Gonna download. TMBG were great in the 80's. Then I lost the track of them... I remember a gtreat song. Ana NG...

Andre Faria: Yurrrr welcome! They remind me of TMBG, only more ummm down home 'nitty gritty'. Their album "Let's Have A Pancake!" is excellent and quite obscure! I'm gonna get "Monkeys of Nothings" next, I can't wait!!

LuckyCat9: Cool!!!! Thanks

Beep beep

Andre Faria: http://www.sonictrout.com/bands/chandler/

eheh, we have here some good philharmonic bands. The police philharmonic band is really great. With all the sirens...

Andre Faria: Ever heard of the Chandler Travis Philharmonic? They're really wild!

LuckyCat9: LOL

We are going to start a new band...

Andre Faria: Can I play too? Boing! boing@ boing! BOOM! toot toot! :P

Bebs:
Boing
Boom
Tschak

Assemblage 23's Tom Shear has begun work on new material for a possible full-length Nerve Filter release...

For the uninitiated, Nerve Filter is an Assemblage 23 side project that explores more experimental styles drawing on the influences of bands such as LFO, Bola, Boards Of Canada, Lassigue Bendthaus, Beefcake and others. About five pieces are currently being worked on with the hope that by year's end there will be enough material for a full release. Plans right now are to release the album on Tom's own 23db label. No release date has been set.

Rammstein have already begun working on a musical successor...

From the production period of the last album several songs did not find a place on "Reise, Reise" due to dramaturgical reasons but are now planned to be brought to light. During Rammstein's visit at a Berlin studio more songs were recorded. Today the mixing session of the new album starts which is supposed to be released in September. A title has not been affirmed yet, we will keep you posted!

like the start of "Radioactivity"... :)

beep beep. You can make a whole music of that...

meep

The award for 'best album cover of the year' goes to Project Pitchfork's "Kaskade", there is no doubt about that. The tenth album of this unique monument is blessed with beautiful artwork, which we are used to from the band, and that creates high expectations for the music. And there is nothing wrong with the music either! "Kaskade" is a strong symbiosis of typical Project Pitchfork elements and the necessary progression, which makes the album recognizable, yet never old-fashioned. Remarkable is the bigger role for the guitars this time, but this doesn't go at the cost of the subtle nuances the band is known for. Once again the cryptic lyrics are great as well, so we can speak of one of the better Project Pitchfork releases; at least the previous album "Inferno" is totally overshadowed.

"Kaskade" opens surprisingly with the lovely, subtle "Instead of an Angle", whereafter the band increases power with the second song "The Future Is Now". This rhythmic song is perfectly fit for the dancefloor, just like the upbeat German song "Fleischverstärker". Other remarkable songs are the driven "Echoes" with powerful guitars, the beautiful "Dance in the Air", which contains a wonderful chorus and the nicely built-up final song "It's Spring". But the true highlights are the rhythmic and pushing "The Touch" and "Schall und Rauch", a subtle hymn, which combines depth with a very catchy chorus. So "Kaskade" is a must-have for Project Pitchfork fans and is worth a try for everyone who likes gothic, electro or industrial music.

After their latest successful album, "Prescription:Medicide", the Dutch electro heads Grendel enter the scene with a new EP.

Based on socio-political, critical lyrics, Grendel are offering us new songs, two remixes plus a new version of their hit "Zombienation".
The door opens and "Soilbleed (v.3)" welcomes us, a highly pulsating track with remarkable samples that sounds like if Leather Strip, Funker Vogt and Hocico swang and shared a cooking spoon.
In combination with VLRK'S distorted power vocs and the easy-to-follow chorus this is surely a candidate for long nights on the dark dancefloors. Sure, it's not really something highly original, but it's a well written and put into practice piece of work.
A very similar fragrance is spread by the next track, "Interrogation Leash" whilst the new version of "Zombienation" showcases an interaction between some minimalistic, nearly Kraftwerk-like beats plus a spooky voice and the trademarks mentioned in the first two tracks. In addition, it has kinda repetitive, infectious synth spot line.
"Aspiration Feed" is going hand in hand with the first two rockets. A good song itself, but it could differ a bit more with regard to the previous ones.
Germany's Agonoize and France's Obszön Geschöpf bring in their Suicide Commando influenced industrial flavor and add some nice crashing edges into it. Specially Obszön Geschöpf managed to give "Soilbleed" another face.
"Dream II", featuring Ordo Roasarius Equilibrio, is a calm, acoustic piece that you wouldn't expect on a Grendel record. A surprising end of an appetizing EP.

Tracklist
Soilbleed(v.3)
Interrogation Leash
Zombienation(v.2k5)
Aspiration Feed
Soilbleed (Agonoize remix)
Soilbleed (Obszön Geschöpf remix)
Dream II (feat. Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio)

Darkwave's rising stars The Cruxshadows have toured all over the world, playing shows in more than 25 countries to crowds of up to 25000 people. With "Shadowbox" the band finally fulfills the greatest wish of their ever-growing fanbase by releasing a DVD that helps to capture the magic of a Cruxshadows live show. The DVD is over 2 hours in length and features tour impressions, festival snapshots, backstage footage, interviews, 4 music videos, slide shows, easter eggs, live performances and much more ! With the exception of one music video, this is all completely new footage that has never appeared before on any Cruxshadow release. The centrepiece of "Shadowbox" is a complete concert performance in front of over 12000 rabid fans in Leipzig, Germany. In addition to the phenomenal "Shadowbox" DVD, this package also contains an audio CD with an EXCLUSIVE Cruxshadows single that is not available anywhere else. This brand new single contains two versions of "Forever-Last", the only new Cruxshadows song to be released this year, as well as a Remix by MESH. The single also includes two brand new remixes : "Edge Of The World" ( SKINNY PUPPY Remix ) and " Dragonfly" ( CONJURE ONE Remix ).

Sony BMG Masterworks/Columbia Records is proud to announce the release of "Ça Ira," Roger Waters long-awaited "operatic history of the French Revolution," on Tuesday, September 27.

The lavish first edition of "Ça Ira," an opera in three acts for full orchestra, soloists and choirs, will include a double SACD DigiPack and a deluxe 60 page four-color booklet including Roger Waters' lyrics based on Etienne Roda-Gil's original French libretto, the original illustrations created by Nadine Roda-Gil, biographies of Waters and the opera's cast, background and production notes on the opera.

As a bonus for Roger Waters fans, "Ça Ira" includes a special DVD documentary chronicling the "making of" the opera. The "Ça Ira" DVD traces the history of the project, from conception to completion, and includes revelatory interviews with Waters and the musicians and cast of "Ça Ira" as well as exclusive in-the-studio footage of the recording of the opera.
"Ça Ira" is being released in the hybrid SACD (Super Audio CD) format in Dolby Digital 5.1 SurroundSound. The hybrid SACD disks are compatible with standard CD players.

Waters, who co-founded the groundbreaking rock group Pink Floyd in 1966, began to bridge the worlds of rock and classical music in such pioneering major works as "The Dark Side Of The Moon" (1973) and "The Wall" (1979) in which he incorporated elements of operatic form--theatricality, coherent narrative, dramatic arcs, thematic music and song cycles--in a pop context.

Waters' work on "Ça Ira," his first opera for full orchestra and voice, began in 1989, during the Bicentennial of the French Revolution. The well-respected and successful songwriter Etienne Roda-Gil and his wife, Nadine, had created an original libretto for an opera, written in French, as part of the Bicentennial. Entitled "Ça Ira," after a revolutionary song of the period, the Roda-Gil's original manuscript, copiously and beautifully illustrated by Nadine, portrayed the events and the spirit of the French Revolution through a multitude of perspectives--ranging from Marie Antoinette to the eyes and ears of the period's revolutionaries and common people--using a circus as a central theatrical framing device and metaphor.

Introduced to Etienne Roda-Gil by a mutual friend, Waters was immediately and deeply impressed by the passion and the power of Etienne's manuscript and began work on creating a full orchestral score for "Ça Ira." Work on the project was suspended when Nadine died tragically of leukemia. Several years passed before Roger and Etienne returned to "Ça Ira."

In 1997, Roger began writing an English version of the text. "It's not just a translation," he says. "I've stuck very much to the spirit of Etienne's original, adding to it somewhat. Although it's rooted in the history of the revolution, its philosophical slant is, I suppose, contemporary as well. It's more than just a history of the French Revolution, it's a piece about the human potential for change."

Before the rise and fall of the guillotine, before the terror took hold, the People of France fought for a better world based on the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity rather than one ruled by a callous and outmoded nobility. It is this story of hope and promise that inspired "Ça Ira." Set during the optimistic early days of the French Revolution, "Ça Ira is a work of stunning power and beauty, invoking the passion, madness, and triumph of faith in a time that forever changed the nature of the world.

http://www.ca-ira.com

Live At The Dome" is a brand new live CD+DVD set by The Human League out on Snapper records by June 27th. Being one of the biggest bands of the 80's, The Human League had a string of smash hits on both sides of the Atlantic. This CD and DVD package contains all of these hits, performed at the climax of their triumphant 2003 comeback tour. Phil Oakey, Susanne Sulley and Joanne Catherall are reunited and bring fans classic synth-pop tracks including "Don't You Want Me Baby", "Love Action" and "Human". The CD comes with a special bonus DVD featuring a selection of tracks from the gig.

From the barren outback of Western Australia ( Perth ), new electro act Temple Of Tears deliver their debut 5 track single "Ardor", a surefire dancefloor hit, instantly infectious, melodic and uplifting in equal measure. Presented here in 5 distinct incarnations ( including a remix from Assemblage 23, plus the heavenly, widescreen melodies of the Arcane Mix ) it delivers an anthemic sequencer led slice of club electro firmly in the vein of A23 etc but set appart by male / female vocals. A great debut from down under and definately a name to watch !

The more sinister alter ego of Magnus Sundstrom ( The Protagonist ) with his side project Des Esseintes hell bent on destructive behaviour that represents a shift to a primal dark side of the human psyche. New masterwork "Les Diaboliques" is an existentialist inferno of various musical trash and harsh rhythms, with clanging, mechanized percussion barely cushioned by a menacing ambience of cinematically styled electronics igniting the background. These are dark regions explored on the six tracks here, populated by stomping behemoths that threaten to crush with every step, and shards of visceral, dynamic textures that slice across the proverbial sonic landscape. While Sundstrom's work has certainly garnered recognition, "Les Diaboliques" may just solidify him in the lexicon of the industrial public, or take him to a whole new level. Greatly appealing to not only fans of old school greats such as SPK and Test Department, but to those fans of Cold Meat Industry and even some Hands label material

????

The Brand new album from German Darkwave masters Project Pitchfork, "Kaskade" offers 15 individual songs offering a more organic electro sound than its conceptual predecessor "Inferno", but still full of contrasts where each of the 15 tracks is its own entity. "Kaskade" delivers simply mindblowing electronic alternative music of highest quality and sees Project Pitchfork fresher and more inspired than ever before !

FAQ have changed their style to a more pop orientated sound and with "Is Pornography Art?" they deliver an album with songs, that sound much more rounded, more danceable and catchier than ever before. Musically speaking they fall somewhere between the early days of Underworld and Pacebo, with this new album featuring vocals and a remix by Stephan Groth ( APOPTYGMA BERZERK ) plus an 'incredible' contribution from US Porn- Queen Jenna Jameson - providing 'vocals' and appearing pictorially on the album sleeve and throughout the accompanying ( glossy ) conceptual booklet.

FAQ have recorded ( with producer Daverio / Kartagon ) an album that includes a number of highly infectious potential hit-songs. Not only on the duet with Stephan Groth ( "We Come In Pieces" ) and the track featuring Jenna Jameson ( "Heartbreaker" - included also in a 'Electroclash' mix by FAIRLIGHT CHILDREN ), but especially the opening track "The World Is Cold Enough" or on songs such as "Minor" or "How To Make Love Like" which are perfectly balanced tracks between fresh electronica and 21st century electro-pop - a mix of fat beats, bombastic grooves and rhythms and catchy melody lines.

Bombay1 feature Dusseldorf collaborators Kurt Dahlke ( a founding member of D.A.F.one of the original electro-punk bands who laid a blueprint later followed by everyone from Skinny Puppy to Nine Inch Nails ) who left after one album and formed alternative German electropop act Der Plan ( a mixture of Residents-style surrealism and Visage-esque electro-pop ) Dahlke is the man who manipulates the machines in Bombay1 alongside wordsmith Stoya on an album that sounds variously like Syd Barrett, Bright Eyes, Nick Drake, Love & Rockets, Snow Patrol, Julian Cope, Leonard Cohen and even the Pet Shop Boys...Alternative, edgey listening - fragile, contemplative and above all original.

The masters of German ElectroPop are back ! "Cliche" is the title of the brand new fifth regular studio album from Melotron. Continuing their very own and individual musical path they deliver once more what their fans expect : A simply perfect album of presise melodies and polished electro sounds ! As uncompromised as never before "Cliche" sees the German trio composing songs of instant hit potential alongside tracks that expand and evolve their sound, taking in symphonic classical and techno dance influences. Again produced by Olaf Wollschläger, "Cliche" offers parallels in sound-solutions to established electro-heroes such as Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode or Chemical Brothers with their combination of cool electronics and heart-felt German lyrics.

On July 25th, 2005, Funker Vogt will release their new MCD, "Fallen Hero"...

The single is planned to be followed by the band's next full-lenght album, "Navigator", on September 4th, 2005.

"Fallen Hero" track listing
1. Fallen Hero
2. Fallen Hero (The Birthday Massacre remix)
3. Pain
4. Fallen Hero (vereinigt)
5. Fallen Hero (Underwater Pilots remix)
6. Our Battlefield

A relaunch of the band's web site is announced to take place around the album's release date.

cEvin Key gives us an update on Skinny Puppy's current and upcoming activities...

"We just wrapped up production on the new DVD for SPV called 'The Greater Wrong Of The Right LIVE', directed by Bill Morrison. It is a collaboration between XYZ films in Canada and SPV Germany. Two discs include the complete live show with encores in 5.1 or Stereo. Extras include live footage from 'Too Dark Park', 'Last Rights' and two documentaries. One documenting the 1988 European tour shot by the band. Sleeve design by Steven Gilmore and Fodor. The show was mixed by Ken Hiwatt Marshall who will also join the band live mixing the European dates of the 2005 'Greater right of the wrong Euro tour' starting in August. Dates will soon be announced for this, but we can announce the confirmation of M'era Luna festival in Germany. The new Skinny Puppy team has also started production of a new LP for SPV."

Nirvana: Now signed to the German Dependent label, electro trio Rotersand follow their stunning debut album ( "Truth Is Fanatic" ) with eagerly awaited sophomore release "Welcome To Goodbye". For fans of sublime, melodic dance-floor edged electro it delivers the goods - from the churning, vocoder bombast of stomping hit single "Exterminate, Annihilate, Destroy" to slower symphonic synth ballads such as the title track and album closer "Angels Falling" that bookend the album. Between these two tracks lie 11 songs of pummeling club-electro ferocity with tracks such as "Dare To Live", "Last Ship" ( Clubbed Version ), "Storm" and "Undone" delivering hook-laden, driving and trance tinged anthems for the dancefloor, alongside slower more experimental workouts such as "Almost Wasted" and "Would You Buy This ?". Awash with swathes of melodic sequencing, powerful rhythms and euphoric synthpop overtones "Welcome To Goodbye" sees Rotersand rising to meet the challenge of established scene acts such as Covenant, Assemblage 23 and Apoptygma Berzerk.

Andre Faria: Rotersand

Bringing together some of the most creative talent from two disparate scenes - This is TBM : Techno... Body... Music ! Andy LaPlegua of Combichrists blasts at his sweating and happily exhausted audience, which thankfully succumbs to his rhythmic attacks. TBM ? Based on the roots of legendary acts such as Kraftwerk, DAF and the 80's electronic New Wave movement in general, "Techno Body Music" builds itself upon the solid framework of minimal, rhythm-based electronic sound structures directly aimed at getting the body in motion. Fittingly this musical style was soon christened "Electronic Body Music" or EBM in short. Later, at the end of decade of its birth the EBM sound was simplified, its basic structure reduced to four-to-the-floor-beats generated by electronic sound devices, this style was simply called Techno. With no strict borders DJ's would cater to fans of both genres due to fact that the basic goal of both ravers and EBM aficionados was the same : to dance to electronic music ! In the Nineties, the two scenes started to alienate themselves from each other ( although the musical roots and goals still basically remained the same ) though artists involved with either scene still continued to actively exchange styles and ideas, albeit passively. With acts such as Combichrist, VNV Nation ( who both present EXCLUSIVE tracks here ) and Fixmer / McCarthy to one side on and DJ Hell, Sven Väth, T.Raumschmiere or Chris Liebing ( who regularly heads his set list with Nitzer Ebb's "Murderous" ) to the other, this creative sequence appears to have travelled full circle with TBM - "Techno Body Music" being its logical consequence. "Techno Body Music" innovates, breaking down barriers and walls - putting together ONE essential collection of two scenes across two essential discs. A new trend in electronic music ? Techno Body Music could well be it....

Continuing the phenomenal rise of electro superstars Rotersand ( now signed to the German Dependent label ) brand new single "Exterminate Annihilate Destroy" continues the band's exploration of sophisticated lyrical themes and intelligent electro arrangements. Rotersand illustrate that music and current events can coincide without the results being too coarse or heavy-handed. With new single "Exterminate Annihilate Destroy" they provide an intriguing preview of new album "Welcome To Goodbye", due for release in June 2005.

Since the early 80's, FRONT 242's ever-growing fanbase has always proven to be the 5th member of the band. A unique communion between fan and artist that has grown and matured over the course of more than two decades. An interactive relationship that has displayed its intensity during every 'tour de force' live performance where the energy of the audience seamlessly unites with the energy of the band, together creating an incredible experience, an experience witnessed by thousands around the globe. Before the release of their next album, and after the astounding success of the re-release of their debut album "Geography" as a Limited Edition, and to thank the FRONT 242 community for 25 years of staunch support through their quite unusual path, Patrick Codenys, Daniel B., Jean-Luc De Meyer and Richard Jonkheere now deliver to their steadfast fans a true and rich treasure, the first official FRONT 242 live DVD showing the band at its best during the impressive August 2004 performance in Lokeren ( Belgium ) in front of more than 17,000 people. This is a unique opportunity for the fans of electronic music to forever own a true piece of music history on DVD, immortalizing the legend and genius of Front 242.

While Anton Corbijn is still preparing work for the upcoming Ian Curtis biopic, Deborah Curtis, the widow of Joy Division's Ian Curtis, has started a series of interviews. A recent interview with The Guardian is talking about the relationship the couple had: "During my marriage I completely allienated from my friends and family." The couple married in 1975, when Deborah was 18 and Ian 19. Four year later a baby girl Natalie was born, just when Joy Division broke through. The succes was welcome since the couple had money troubles. However, the combination of the life of a pop artist, Ian's epilepsy, his temper and depressions didn't exactly easen a stable marriage. The same year when his daughter was born Ian started an affair with Annik Honoré, a Belgian Embassy worker often described as 'the Belgian version of Siouxsie Sioux'. In the interview Deborah seems to insinuate that it was the affair with Honoré that made Ian commit suicide on May 18th 1980 since "he could probably not decide what to do". The affair ill be touched in the upcoming Ian Curtis biopic by Anton Corbijn for which Deborah and Natalie Curtis together with Annik Honoré provided input. Honoré has never stepped in the spotlights and still finds the whole Ian Curtis thing "very painful".

Next weekend, May 21-22, Warsaw (Poland) will host the Dark east Music Meeting at the club Centralny Dom Qultury. During the fest you will be able to see some very unique concerts of some of Eastern Europe most reknown acts. The stars of the festival will be Slovenia's Silence who returned recently with the album "Vain – A Tribute To A Ghost" and Believe, a new project supported by such famous polish musicians as Mirek Gil, Tomek Rozycki, Przemek Zawadzki i Wlodek Tafel (Collage, Mr.Gil). The festival line-up is as follows on Saturday May 21st: D'Archangel (Poland), Terra Cadaveris (Belarus), Dust Heaven (Ukraine), Common Dream (Poland), Mano Juodoji Sesuo (Lithuania) and Silence (Slovenia) who bring a special acoustic concert. Sunday May 22nd will have No Signal Detected (Poland), God’s Own Medicine (Poland), Grayscale (Ukraine), Forgotten Sunrise (Estonia), Daimonion (Poland) and Believe (Poland). Both nights are followed by a DJ afterparty featuring DJ H_12 (Poland), DJ 4-GOT-10 (Estonia), DJ Werewolf (Ukraine) and Sinusoida Squad (Poland). The fest has also issued a promo cd for the event. For more info on this fest, check www.demm.org .

Get excited! After the incredible success of Interlace's "Imago", the group will release a new single this year for one of their most powerful and enigmatic songs, "Crystalline Hush"...

They are currently in the studio working on the tracklist and a possible live video bonus to accompany the single tracks.

Out on Dark Wings on May 9th is the newest rendition from the Belgian wave act The Breath Of Life, "Everlasting Souls". It's the first new material from the band since they left Hall of Sermon. This 7th album also marks the 2Oth Anniversary of the Belgian wave band. After five years of touring in Europe and studio work, the four Belgians, bring out an album on which they take some distance from the trendy influences in the scene. The album offers 12 new songs, with as bonus tracks, 3 ‘classic’ live songs recorded in Prague in 2002.