Keeping up to date with Soil Records is proving to be quite complicated, their catalogue grows vertiginously with several monthly releases, always combining cassette and vinyl formats. To this frenetic activity, we have to add the suggestive that it is to check the great cast of artists that appear on the label, with many known names and others that are not so well known and that we are grateful to know.

Having just completed three years of this project, we can count 48 albums released on tape and 13 on vinyl. This thirteenth is an EP signed by the Argentinian producer Distant, who after his contribution to the second volume of the series of various artists Tears For Fears, returns to Soil with an album in which 4 different authors adapt their criteria to the same track.

The original Carmesí Diabla track will be released shortly on cassette and on this release it is reinterpreted with 4 very different outcomes. The first is a version by Thomas van Linge, known artistically as Randstad and for being the boss of BAKK and Rubber. The remix is sweeping and energetic, with a consistent punch, an arpeggiated bass line that fits perfectly with the strength of the track and several other resources such as acid lines and a voice that emerges from the guts. The second cut on side A is by German Marc Trauner, a legend of European electronic music, known for his countless aliases such as the mythical Mescalinum United project, although this time he works as The Mover. His version is conceived in a different universe than Randstad's, here it doesn't flow in a bellicose environment, but rather coexists in a docile and elegant context, with an electro-oriented direction.

The B-side opens with a version of another legend of the European industrial scene. In this case it's the Italian Max Durante, who, with his reliable techno-industrial, develops a remix in which the crushing kick is the centre of attention. Melania's reinterpretation closes the EP with a fierce and relentless twist, with an ostentatious punch although, unlike the previous track, it adopts an atmospheric character with several chordal incursions that do not alter its tonal quality.

Release date: July 2nd, 2021.

Premiere: Distant - Carmesí Diabla (Randstad Remix) [Soil Records]

Miseria Records is a new record project conceived and directed by Mexican producer Carlos GrabStein. This label has been created in the image and likeness of its head, with sonic ideals oriented towards the whole aura surrounding industrial and all the musical diversity that has emerged for decades with this scene, obscure electronic music focused on sounds and styles ranging from Synth Punk, Minimal Synth to EBM, Industrial and New Beat.  

Within days of each other, Miseria has released his first two albums and has made it clear that the project has the support of great producers. Bodywork Selections Vol.1 and Upperwave Selections Vol.1 are two albums that show the numerous possibilities that styles such as EBM, industrial or minimal synth among others can adopt, as each author imposes his own criteria, based on his taste and musical culture, and above all, on his modus operandi and creativity to express it.

Miseria Records is a label with Mexican roots but currently based in the German capital, which defines itself as a series of compilations curated by Berlin-based Carlos GrabStein aka 89s†. This time premiering two tracks by The Spanish producer SOJ with his track "Ritmos Mutantes" and  by the Colombian Arab producer Human 80 with "Bewegungsmaschinen".

Bodywork Selections Vol. 1 Tracklist:
1 The Marquis - Doom Fucker I
2 Bad Faith Actor - Necropolis
3 Disco Drama - Dead Berlin
4 Chris Shape - Dislike
5 Magnum Opus -  Corrupt Empire
6 Dmentia Coil - Insideout
7 Soj - Ritmos Mutantes
8 Astronomer33 - Transhumanism
9  MVQX ft Negative Datura - Ghost
10 89s† & Petra Flurr - Miseria
11 CTPAX - Swamp Lord

Upperwave Selections Vol. 1 [Miseria] Tracklist :
01. Secret Mutilator - This Time It's War
02. Filmmaker - Eastern Corps
03. Oberst Panizza - The Fly
04. Human 80 - Bewegungsmaschinen
05. Fairy Pussy - Dogma
06. Soft-Riot - Windows To The Wild
07. QEK Junior - Wer hat den ganzen Lack gesoffen
08. Zona Utopica Garantita - Blitzkrieg
09. Aurat - ¿Can You Hear Me
10. Transhuman Rebirth - Nocturnal Emissions

Release date: December 17th, 2021.

Miseria - Upperwave Selections Vol. 1

Premiere: Human 80 - Bewegungsmaschinen [Miseria]

Soil Records is currently working with three series of releases from various artists, and all of them occupy an important space in the label's catalogue because each has its own remit and its own format. Valley of Tears is a powerful series, with big names and created to be released on vinyl and as an EP. The other two series are different from this one because they are intended to be released mostly on cassette. One of these two commemorates the label's anniversaries and is released as an album and only on cassette, and the third is surely the most coveted and elaborate release of this Spanish label, a feat that is not only limited to its musical part, as it has an extensive repertoire and a cast of very interesting artists, but also takes great care of the details in each edition. 

We are talking about the fourth volume of Tears For Fears, the oldest compilation of Soil Records, since it is the second release published by this label. However, if we compare that first edition with the fourth one, what we see is the ambition and the great work of the label's head and the enormous evolution of this recording project. The album brings together 40 tracks by a great cast of artists, some of them are such respectable names as the duo formed by the Frenchman Michel Amato (The Hacker) and Alessandro Adriani, owner of Mannequin Records, another interesting duo formed by SOJ and Years of Denial, the Israeli project TV.Out, or other great authors such as Autumns, Adam Winchester, Sumerian Fleet and many more really interesting artists and projects, which provide a great richness in terms of musical variety and quality.

Soil Records takes more and more care of the details in their special releases, and this is a great occasion to present an album with an exclusive format, since after almost 4 years this saga comes to an end with this fourth edition. Tears For Fears Vol.4 is released in a box with 4 cassettes, a booklet and merchandising.

Release date: December 25th, 2021.

Premiere: Leroy se Meurt - Angles Morts [Soil Records]

There are an infinite number of reasons why an artist may be influenced to create his or her work, but no cause is better justified than that of life itself and the beauty of everything that surrounds us. Nature as a creative concept can have different interpretations, however, the alliance between Reka and /Beyond/ has built a sound framework based on the beauty that nature offers, a beauty that can show infinite aspects depending on its evolution and condition, and which is in danger due to the mismanagement of this planet by the human race.

Astalar joins the countless demands to try to reverse the current situation of the planet, however, to this attempt to make the population aware of the catastrophe that is looming, we must add the artistic objective, which is to show a new symbiosis between these two producers.

The album opens with We Owe You All, a cut that exemplifies the transcendence of the habitat, of nature, for the development of our life and that of any organisation. Musically, both artists choose to use a strong background, with a powerful punch, to which they add a harmonic conjugation that manifests grandeur and Reka's imposing voice that reiterates the slogan dedicated to mother earth.  

Cynara, the second cut on side A, alludes to a species of thorny plants that inhabit the Mediterranean. This track begins with a dense atmosphere to which a firm rhythmic pattern is added later, and an arpeggio that conditions the musicality of the piece. 

Side B opens with Mil Espinas (A Thousand Thorns), a cut that stages the tiny distance that exists in nature between beauty and cruelty, between calm and anxiety. The gentle drones that enter from the beginning and Reka's hypnotic vocals lull the listener into a serenity that is soon altered by the intrusion of rhythmic structure and a solid bass line. 

Acid Dusk illustrates the various outcomes that can appear in everyday moments. This cut closes the EP mixing influences from various musical genres and in which both artists transform what at first seems to be a placid scenario, like the powerful pad that opens the track, into different sonic outcomes with the addition of a couple of acid lines and a forceful syncopated rhythm.

Release: March 22th, 2022.

Premiere: Reka & /Beyond/ - Acid Dusk [Urban Legend Records]

We expand the information about the fifth anniversary of Soil Records by dedicating a new post to the quintuple album released by the Valencian label to commemorate its five years of history. As we already mentioned, this album is divided into five CDs of ten tracks, so in the second post we analyse and get to know the content of the second CD.

With a more electronic and more powerful sound, this second CD is a compilation that moves away from the more post-punk aspects of the first CD. Zaatar opens with Disappearance Attempts, a slow, acid and forceful EBM in which we can appreciate influences from the dark sound and also from the artist's Arabic roots, as the melodic conjugation is based on the harmonic minor scale. Local Suicide is the duo formed by Max Brudi and Dina Pascal, a couple that has evolved in recent years towards a darker style, although Athanasia is not an excessively dark track, but rather an absolutely synthetic sonic development. Soil Records presents Anne Artikel, a Colombian artist also known as Magdalena, who exhibits with 000004 an abstract musical form with an irregular rhythmic structure, a dominant bass line and a broken voice. Attack, the cut by Israeli producer E-Bony, draws on post-punk influences and adapts them to a contemporary, electronic sound environment. Variety is the predominant tone of this release, and Sex Kino, a duo formed by James Brook and Josefine Larsson, offers a rather curious sound mix as Shake It reminds us of 90s Eurodance, among other musical genres.

Paradox Obscur, the artistic couple formed by Toxic Razor and Kriistal Ann, contribute to this album with Sin Barreras, arpeggiated techno in which Kriistal adds a reflective message with her voice. Landed Image is a completely unknown project, the style he employs with Two Sides of Everything is a hodgepodge of industrial textures, electric guitar and sinister vocals, taken to the limit of saturation. Catalan artist and resident of Barcelona's Moog, Ruben Seoane, participates in this album with the forceful and intense techno of Hoags Object. The Spanish duo NX1, founded at the beginning of the last decade by Samot and Joan Sureda, adds solidity and power with SL1, a track that faithfully shows the industrial style of the project. Dark Vektor, a producer who also hails from Catalonia, closes this second CD with El puto Menja Olles, electronic post-punk with a penetrating voice and a message in Catalan that is quite original and direct.

Release date: July 4th, 2023.

5 Years Soil Records

Premiere: NX1 - SL1 [Soil Records]

In this post we tackle the third CD of the album that commemorates the fifth anniversary of the Valencian label Soil Records, a release that, as we have explained in the two previous posts, is published in a 5-CD box set, which includes 50 tracks from 50 different musical projects, and which is also oriented towards various musical styles.

The track that opens this third cd immediately introduces us to a tenuous and sombre atmosphere, but with a persuasive and captivating power that catches any soul, the Argentine Damian Shilman, known artistically as Skelesys, exhibits with Porcelain his enormous talent for walking between rock band music and electronic music. In the second cut we come across an unknown, Diaco D'enfer is the new project of someone who for the moment pretends to work from anonymity, although Ean Isoun Edo, which is the track with which he participates in this release, already shows baggage and a sound reminiscent of lo-fi post-punk. We know the Canadian duo AN_NA among other things for their contribution to the Montreal Dances Across Borders label, although this duo has been active for a few years now, nevertheless, we find with Better Run a style that identifies them quite well, in which the weight of the electronic lines has much more weight than the punk influence. Velvet Claw is another new project whose origin we don't know, we must emphasize that in this album there are several projects that debut and according to the label's head some of them are formed by renowned artists, so Velvet Claw may be something special, given that It Kills Me sounds very talented and like a compact gothic rock band. Gorbachev Eugene is another artist with a short run, his contribution with Cambia enriches the diversity of the album with acid techno with a lot of groove.

Initial Light was presented a couple of months ago with a release on the Spanish label Oráculo Records, this time they return to another Spanish label with Carry Away, a track giving continuity to the electronic sound shown on their first album. Iron Count joins the list of anonymous artists and bands we've never heard of before and who, by the looks of it, debut as a musical project on this album with Healing Wounds, abrasive EBM updated to this era. Israel Padilla is known for his great work with Banshees Records, the producer from Toledo exhibits a forceful sonic identity in his work that he shows in the same way with Zona Exterior. Refresh The System is also a project that we have been aware of for a few months now, MadMade, a cut he contributes to this album, is an irrefutable proof that power can be reinforced with a good harmonic conjugation. The last track on the CD is by Cyrk, a duo formed by Pascal Hetzel and Sammy Goossens, in which they present with Interpolation a style that defines them perfectly, and which is based on industrialised electro.

Release date: July 4th, 2023.

Premiere: Initial Light - Carry Away [Soil Records]

The covid pandemic had a great impact on humanity, on the way we relate to each other and on many other sociological aspects that conditioned our daily lives for a time. It also limited the economic stability of artists, programmers and club owners, however, and in reference to the artists who were unable to work in front of their audiences, some were able to delve into other artistic subjects derived entirely from creation. Rhys Fulber took advantage of this period of reflection to integrate himself into a different creative medium, influenced especially by the effect of human beings on nature. Brutal Nature was born as a consequence of the confinement, released in November 2021, and among its qualities we must highlight the introspective character of the Canadian producer, as he manages to adapt his hard and forceful style within a sensitive harmonic atmosphere.

Brutal Nature continues two years later with six versions by different authors. Brutal Nature Redux features the participation of artists and projects from the contemporary electronic music scene such as Years of Denial, Sarin, Evitceles, Qual and Vanity Productions, and another legend of the Canadian industrial scene, Orphx.

Years of Denial’s take on “Rogue Minority” injects some emotion and humanity into the stark and aggressive original while preserving the driving bass riff and lifting it into the sound of a futuristic tribal gathering. Berlin’s Sarin is up next, leaning into the future EBM style he also shares with Fulber but amping up the intensity and apocalyptic dance floor elements of Central State Institute. Night Render is given a darker and more sinister sheen by up-and-coming Bulgarian producer, Evitceles. The nature elements of the original are replaced by a cinematic dystopia, akin to salvaging lost technology in a ruined city. 

Orphx add their rhythmic sophistication to “Stare at the Sun, tripping and refining the original down to its base elements while tuning Sara Taylor’s (Youth Code) screams across what appears to be several channels of short wave radio. Qual’s radical re-interpretation of “Pyrrhic Act” brings elements of Fulber’s past history in EBM right to the fore, creating a groove that’s both retro and very modern, slowing it down so the tension hangs heavier in the air. Lastly but certainly not least, Vanity Productions highlights the “nature” of “Fragility”, accentuating it with delicate clouds hanging in an air of contemplation; darkness and light coexisting in thick emotional textures.

Release date: July 14, 2023.

Premiere: Rhys Fulber - Rogue Minority (Years of Denial Remix) [FR Recordings]

Soil Records is releasing their album tomorrow to commemorate its fifth anniversary. As we wrap up our analysis of this release, let's review the 10 tracks that comprise the latest CD. Right from the start, we have emphasized that the greatest strength of this work is its stylistic diversity. It brings together various styles and interpretations, encompassing what we can consider post-punk or any musical genre derived from this movement.

The CD kicks off with "#546," a piece by Takahiro Mukai, a Japanese artist known for releasing nearly 50 albums since 2014. For this release on the Valencian label, Mukai contributes a track that blends influences from sci-fi techno, industrial, and experimental genres. "Collar de Perro Viejo" marks the debut of Alextanko, a new project with a distinct personal style. In this track of abstract composition, Alextanko presents an ordered chaos where each element freely circulates following specific guidelines.

"The House of Mirrors" is a collaboration between Last Chance and Henry Grey, two projects whose origins remain unknown. Together, they showcase their inclination towards organic darkwave. Information about SZYL is also scarce, as Ian Broch, the head of Soil Records, informed us that many of these debut projects involve renowned figures who have chosen to remain anonymous for the time being. SZYL's "Sex Girl" leans towards simple yet effective electro, featuring a rhythmic structure, a relatively straightforward bassline, and a seductive vocal performance embodying the essence of the track's title. Yansyet and Namesis, who released a track on Valley Of Tears 4 last year, make a return on Soil Records with "Better." In this track, the two Russian projects skillfully blend the energy and rawness of EBM with reimagined electronic textures.
T.D.D, another artist about whom we lack information, adds to this album with "Acid Ocarina," a track characterized by a distinctive sound structure and a techno-oriented style. It features an arpeggiated bassline and various sharp textures, possibly reminiscent of the sound of an acid ocarina. The melody continuously emerges and integrates with the rhythm. "Paranoid Visions" by Delectro, a Colombian artist, delivers techno with a higher level of forcefulness compared to the previous tracks. It showcases a strident line that intensifies its energy.

Undisclosed 1122, a fairly recent project from Colombia, joins this album with "Trouble Mind." This track is dominated by powerful synth lines and demonstrates excellent post-production work. German artist Dillon Steele, artistically known as The Marquis is Dead, contributes "Jealous Freak," which combines the rawness of metal, industrial, and electronic genres. Jk Flesh concludes this album, consisting of 50 tracks by different artists, with "Enduring Endurance." It presents degraded techno, devoid of harmonics and pushed to the limits of saturation.

Release date: July 4th, 2023.

Jk Flesh - Enduring Endurance [Soil Records]

The Catalan duo SMFORMA, which includes Mario F. and Jogile D., is a project that, although it has been active for about 4 years, always appears on stage sporadically and usually together with other artists, as to date they have only released a single EP. However, their presence and notoriety is increasing, and this is possibly due to two factors: the first is their powerful live performance, since in their shows they demonstrate, in addition to a great solidity on stage, their enormous aptitude to adapt to different sound fields. The second factor, and no less important, is that their few productions have been released on major labels such as Oráculo Records, SOIL Records or Diffuse Reality.

SMFORMA is back again, but this time with the release of Judam Giliau, a self-published digital track that perfectly sums up the style of this musical project. SMFORMA employs the use of mangled metal percussions and harsh, saturated noise and sounds, however atypical to their contemporaries, the focus is placed on blending unusual and lush electronic music textures. With the music and composition predominately relying on improvising, Mario and Jogile seamlessly melds together the dualities and schisms of these opposing sonic worlds into compositions that are truly singular which are intended to target the listener's wounds of trauma and sear them closed by offering a unique world of escapism.

Release date: August 23th, 2023.

Premiere: SMFORMA - Judam Giliau

NODE is a platform that started in 2017 as a cycle of musical proposals in Barcelona, with events oriented towards the city's club scene and a sound expressly aimed at techno.  Among the objectives that were set from the beginning, it is worth highlighting the good atmosphere and the synchrony between the dancefloor and the stage, and always maintaining the habit of having national and international artists such as Anthony Linell, Shifted, Psyk, Svreca, ORBE, Architectural or Luigi Tozzi among many others in the booth.

This philosophy of always having different artists of great level for each event, is also transferred to their recording activity, as there is no release that is composed by a single author, each artist participates with a single track. 

Dario Duegra, who is at the helm of this project, founded NODE Recordings in 2020 as a fraction of the platform, maintaining and transmitting the identity of the musical concept. This September, coinciding with its third anniversary, the label launches Neural Haze, the first reference of this label released on vinyl format.
 
The Italian CONCEPTUAL opens with Selva Oscura, a cut that mixes intensity with the hypnotism caused by the continuous succession of patterns that modulate gradually. And this description can be perfectly applicable to the remaining 5 tracks, as Noir, by Dario Duegra, Dex31, a cut by the Argentinian Farceb, Thorax, by the Spanish producer ORBE, and No Fear, a track by the also Italian Sciahri, follow a similar pattern to the first cut, with linear techno and a lot of pressure. On the other hand, Out of Time, which is the closing track of the album and is signed by the Detroit artist Uun, is a much more mental and less solid techno, however, the psychological factor is basically created with a very detailed and elaborate combination of percussive elements, especially in terms of panning. 

Release date: September 20th, 2023.

Uun - Out of Time [NODE Recordings]

The confinement due to covid reduced the ability of many artists to be able to continue their activity on stage, however, many other projects emerged as a consequence of this situation, due to the imperative creative desire of many artists, to somehow make this strange circumstance more bearable and also to take advantage of the excess of time of inactivity.

Francesco Tabanelli, known artistically as Tabache, and Alex Ingram, met in secret during the confinement to give shape to Lingua Nera. The work they developed is the result of live sessions and improvisations built throughout 2020 and 2021 composed mainly with some synthesizers, a drum machine, lots of guitar fxs and distortions. The tracks are very diverse but with a common thread that connects them, from weird bluesy chanting (“I don’t want a new guitar”) to psychedelic experimental noisy synths (Parasite). Lyrics from "Poison" and "Warm Up" are written by William Blake.

Lingua Nera's eponymous EP is the band's debut. To date, they have only participated in one compilation with various artists. It is worth noting that the release will be published by the Italian label Timeless Records, founded in 2018 by Alberto Randi, Giovanni Ricchi and Francesco Tabanelli himself. 

Release date: February 5th, 2024.

Premiere: Lingua Nera - Warmup [Timeless Records]

Industrial Complexx 004

Jezgro arrives at the end of 2023 with a new reference very much in line with the philosophy of this recording project, as Darko Kolar's intention when he founded this label in the middle of the last decade was always to make noise an essential element. After seven years of activity, and a not very extensive number of releases, only 9, Jezgro continues to vindicate noise as a form of sonic expression.  


The British project Submechanical returns four years later to Jezgro with Abrasion, a title that clearly defines the erosive style of the album. Comparing their previous work on this label to their current release, we observe that there is a greater propensity for rhythmic noise, as the author, besides giving most of the protagonism to the degraded textures, also provides dynamism from diverse rhythmic structures fully integrated in the sound environment.


Abrasion is a ten-track track very well taken to the extreme, each cut radiates and intoxicates the mind gratefully due to the dense atmosphere and the sense of devastation it generates. It should be added that there are eight original tracks and the last two tracks are two remixes by Shelley Parker and 3.14.

Release date: December 18th, 2023.

Premiere: Submechanical - Recoil [Jezgro]

Loose Lips was born in 2015 as a multidisciplinary proposal focused on various musical activities: from record management to the planning of events and club sessions, radio-shows or the publication of a series of weekly mixes. 

As a record label, Loose Lips opted mainly in its early stages for the release of albums compiling tracks by a wide range of artists and projects, so to commemorate its ninth year in business, the British label is once again launching an album that brings together 18 tracks by different authors, many of them artists familiar with this project and located in Europe, America and Asia.

The release’s alchemy of tracks showcases Loose Lips’ continued commitment to surfing between rave, DIY and hip hop culture. Look forward to a challenging, outlandish and heartfelt range of ambience, hip hop, industrialisms, techno, braindance, breaks and electro - twisted and squeezed for full effect.

Release date: January 26th, 2024.

Premiere: Roberta Von & Internal Object - Covered in Thorns [Loose Lips]

yibai must have clenched his teeth around a hundred thousand times in his sleepwhile making these tracks between March 2022 and November 2023. His rawest and darkest works yet, they represent taking it one day at a time – seven different coping mechanisms with only a vague idea of what they are truly coping with.

They are often interrupted meditations on finding the peace to meditate and serve as stations of trying to hit ‘Force Quit’ on old patterns while gradually entering breath focus territory. This seven-track showcases yibai's background in creating a heterogeneous sound environment, but based mainly on the extreme dynamics of its rhythms.

This is the first full-length album by Budapest-based sound artist yibai, who is joining temporary nites following his 2023 debut EP ‘Rianás’ on EXILES. Track 7 “Abrupt Clenching Tightness” previously appeared on the EXILES VA “Healer”. The project also serves as the first physical release for both the artist and the label.

Release date: Coming soon.

Premiere: yibai - Worn Down Enamel [temporary nites]

Group remains firm with its particular work philosophy, as since its beginnings it has followed a fairly strict line in terms of the clandestinity of the project and also in terms of its way of understanding music. His musical proposal is located first and foremost in very defined sound parameters, although his style expands depending on each release. Another element that must be added to their good working practice is the strong link that has always existed with Faith Disciplines, given that the label embodies all the values that define Group.

Group is a project with its own sound and a gradually expanding style, and Seedman perfectly reflects these attributes. With 160925_1145, the first cut on side A, the ritualism he has previously exhibited on other albums such as Esoteric Free Afrika, or more recently with Broken Faces, is somewhat apparent, due to the slow cadence, steady rhythm and tribal arguments. 160205_1066 is created from another perspective, however, it is not what it seems because from the first bars there is a syncopated and constant rhythmic pattern that places you in an industrial scenario, and gradually a simple two-tone melody appears that completely changes its initial musical context. 170218_1475 moves between an industrial and dark ambient concept, as it mixes gloomy atmospheres with deep breaks.

The sonic properties of 160131_0683, the cut that opens the B-side, connect with an unexplored environment, with a new, recently discovered and inhospitable scenario, since among other things we can appreciate sounds of machines, radio signals, filtered and choppy voices, combined with disturbing acoustic phenomena. 170213_1455 is a track that describes quite concisely the creative sense of Group, and for this we must take into account that it could be catalogued as a techno production, with groove and aimed at the dancefloor, however, he manages to minimise all these factors by giving it a volatile and atmospheric aspect. 170105_1398 closes the B-side of the vinyl, returning once again to the tribalism and ritualism that characterises many of Group's productions, given that on this occasion his rhythm is not diluted, it has much more presence and manages to generate a hypnotic state.   

In addition to these six tracks that make up the entire vinyl tracklist, Seedman also presents a couple of bonus tracks in digital format. And the first of them, The beast11, already arouses curiosity because its title is not due to a sequence of numbers, as is usual in this project. Musically, it once again shows Group's ability to adapt any environment to a sonic degradation very much in keeping with his style. 150407_0166, the last track on the album, is an ode to chaos, a hodgepodge of frequencies devoid of rhythm that appropriately serves as an outro. 

Release date: March 1st, 2024.

Premiere: Group - 160131_0683 [Faith Disciplines]

Three months after Candid Shots, Candid Shots Rappel concludes Nice Guise’s first release featuring a collection of their ongoing activities. They pile studio sessions extracts, concert recordings and sonic residues into a chaotic mass without any hierarchy, akin to an aggregate in the orbit of the post-punk movement and remnants of the Dada avant-garde.

Rappel, the second part of Nice Guise Candid Shots compilation, guides us back into the white corridors of offices. The title “Rappel” which means ‘‘reminder’’ in French, refers to two distinct ideas: rappel as a corporate or administrative warning (overdue), and rappel as the audience calling the performers back at the end of their show (encore). These combination of meanings lie at the core of this project.

In ‘‘Bonus track’’, for instance, the commercial bonus formula is diverted to become the purpose of the track itself. In a meaningless hymn of anger, the words ‘‘bonus track’’ are shouted over an hardcore kick.

Closing the album, ‘‘Outstanding’’, leads us through a pessimistic and ironic punk aftermath, reminiscent of Beyoncé’s Great Resignation anthem ‘‘Break My Soul’’: Release your anger / Release your mind / Release your job / Release your stress. However, unlike Beyoncé’s motivational house hymn, this song narrates the less glamorous reality of the fired intern —an anti-hero who is never left with renewed hope and ambition, but only more frustration and rage by the prospect of having to work to survive.

‘‘Outstanding’’ is an alternative version of the opening track from the first Nice Guise’s compilation released on ESITU Records in October 2023, creating a loop of alienation from which the short text on the drilled artwork invites us to break free: There are 108 possible days / The inability of living them all overwhelms the individuals / The three attached photos attests to a single day at the office / We invite you to release the excess.

Release date: February 23rd, 2024.

Premiere: Nice Guise - Rocaille [ESITU Records]

Italian label ALLEY VERSION continues its 'Tracks From The Alley' series of releases with a fourth instalment in which it continues to explore the oblique edges of the jackin zone, dragging recognisable primitive elements of dance music through the narcotic madness; a possible soundtrack for sleepless nights at the skate park. 

In this new volume, the Japanese producer Takeshi Kouzuki, who besides having participated in the previous instalments, has been, together with FLML, the most collaborative artist in this project, is missing. We should bear in mind that the first volume of 'Tracks From The Alley' was a split album between both projects. On the other hand, this new 4-track mini-compilation features the Greek DJ/producer DimDj, the Italian producer based in Berlin and part of Sons Of Traders, TANS, the Brazilian based in Portugal and owner of the Unrealistic Expectations label Nothing Was There, and the FLML brothers, owners of ALLEY VERSION.

Nothing Was There is Edvan Marques Ferreira, aka MVQX. The project was born to be the output of all his live-cassette recordings and that's the case of the track 'The Owl (House Slaughter)', a raw combo of jackin beats and industrial music, recorded with two machines and a delay pedal directly into a cassette tape.

Release date: March 20th, 2024.

Premiere: Nothing Was There - The Owl (House Slaughter) [ALLEY VERSION]

Philippe Gerber has been behind various musical projects for more than two decades, from bands like Heat From A DeadStar to different collaborations with various renowned artists, however, it is worth mentioning Gerber's work under his alias JOHN 3:16, although we should also include his contributions as Dj Phys, a nickname under which he has released some releases over the past decade.

JOHN 3:16 is since 2008 his most prolific project and with which we remember the great album released in 2022 with Be The Hammer on Industrial Complexx. Philippe Gerber has once again signed a great album on the independent label Alrealon Musique under this alias.

The Pact brings together a total of 9 tracks in which the American producer shows an enormous aptitude for combining different sound concepts such as industrial, post-metal or darkwave. The result is a conceptual work, with an epic and heartbreaking story, in which gloomy, disturbing and disconcerting landscapes emerge. An album that is undoubtedly ideal to understand the musical legacy of JOHN 3:16.

Release date: April 4th, 2024.

The Pact (Alrealon Musique)

Premiere: JOHN 3:16 - Prince of Lies / King of the Night [Alrealon Musique]

George Kanis, artistically known as ivris, debuts on the Parisian label Neurom with AMENDMENTS! a four-tracker in which the author displays his potential to create raw and extravagant landscapes, with an extreme development, in which he combines musical concepts such as psychore, experimental or noise.

In the crucible of Amendments, where echoes dance,
Harvest Memory, a symphony of chance.
Gone are the shadows of the old embrace,
In the evolution of justice, a new space.

Within the canvas, whispers of freedom bloom,
A painting of progress, amidst the gloom.
From the depths of silence, resilience blooms,
In the chambers of transformation, hope looms.

In the heart of Amendments, dreams take flight,
A constellation of ideals, burning bright.
Amidst the cosmic dance, clarity appears,
In the Amendments, a cosmos clears.

For in the essence of change, stars align,
In the Amendments, where dreams entwine.
Through time's ethereal weave, our destiny unfolds,
In the Amendments, where tales untold.

PAG Music - Movement is reflecting no shame, it's purpose is to reflect the matter of what's matter and replace language. The false communication must ends! Reborn in your reality! 

Release date: March 25th, 2024.

Premiere: ivris - Harvest Memory [Neurom]

Industrial Complexx presents a new set in a series of guest artist mixes. This time by James Demon, an artist who has dedicated his life to music and to the creation of soulful and ethereal sounds. He learned to sing and play the cello at a very young age, which solidified his musical curiosity. James was born with a gift for melody that has followed him throughout his life.

Growing up in the 90s rave scene, he was swept up in the sounds of Techno and Happy Hardcore and started collecting vinyls to experiment with on his first pair of turntables. He began exploring genres from electro to minimal, electroclash to EBM, but eventually found his true love in the dark and experimental soundscapes of Techno. He started DJing in the early 2000s at different clubs and shows across the United States. Playing mesmerizing, pulse-pounding beats that would later come to define his sound. 

In 2013, James moved to Berlin to deepen his passion for electronic music. He started throwing parties and DJing regularly at clubs like Wilde Renate, Griessmuehle, and Kit Kat Club.  James sound is often enigmatic and boundary-pushing. His aim is to connect his audience to the sacred through his music. James sessions are a ritual that transcends language and cultural barriers. 

In 2016, with an unwavering commitment to the underground scene, James decided to merge his passion for the mystical and Techno by launching a record label called Occultists. The label aims to showcase emerging artists who create a unique blend of electronic music, Post-Punk, and Dark Wave. The essence of this project was to create a label that was a doorway for the arcane and the mystical into the Techno scene.

With a vision to craft a sonic landscape tailored for witches and esoteric forces. Occultists was created to bring etheral music to the ravers and make them dance in a transcendental realm. Occultists' roster (Lucia Luna, Mystic Future, Dugong, Skin and many more..) is a blend of genre-defying artists. Its essence is a wide range of musical styles that are characterized as dark and ethereal, with sounds that evoques melancholy and beauty created through icy synthesizers, harmonic riffs and fast tempos.

In 2022, he released “Dark Sacrament” an EP on Coincidence Recordings after that in 2023, he released a new EP called “Night Child”. His style of music often features spellbinding basslines and atmospheric synths, which creates a vibe that gets you fully immersed in the sound.  Through his journey as an artist James was very inspired by horror movies in his music production. It evokes in him ways to push boundaries and connect with the unknown.

Today James is known for his captivating performances that blur the lines between music, art, and ritual. His art is a contrast of elements such as light and darkness, feminine and masculine, soft and hard. This interplay of opposites creates a perfect harmony in his creative expression. His music combines haunting melodies, pulsating beats, and obsessive snare drums. His dark and hypnotic soundscapes have solidified his reputation as a master of the Unconventional Avant-garde Electronic genre.

James Demon 003

Ryuji Takeuchi's career goes back 20 years, with his first releases defining his style as a techno-oriented producer. However, his subsequent artistic development has evolved into a more raw, industrial-influenced sound, and today, we see his artistic persona as closely linked to this sub-genre that combines elements of both musical genres.

Ryuji Takeuchi joins the Blame Rec catalogue alongside other big names we associate directly with the label, such as Katran and Violet Poison. The Japanese artist is an ideal candidate to join the ranks of this Italian label, as both projects have many points in common, especially a musical perspective based on the solidity and oversaturated energy of techno-industrial.

Either/Neither is an EP with two original tracks and three covers. Either is extremely aggressive, fast and with a clear tendency towards distorted textures. Neither is also generated in a hostile environment, although somewhat slower, and with a syncopated rhythmic opening bars that vary sharply to the binary. Hypnoskull creates a version of Either, and Cervello Elettronico and Tomohiko Sagae remix Neither.

Release date: April 12th, 2024.

Premiere: Ryuji Takeuchi - Neither (Cervello Elettronico remix) [Blame Rec]

HIV+ is the alter ego of Pedro Peñas, a multifaceted artist who has been working since the mid-80s as a DJ, musician, singer, writer and visual artist. He is also the owner of Unknown Pleasures Records and a loyal collaborator on some of Industrial Complexx's projects.

The fourth chapter in the series of guest mixes is by this artist. The set he has prepared for Industrial Complexx shows HIV's style and evolution. Here is his selection:
ALAN VEGA - Station Station (intro)
BARKOSINA - Inside You
IMMINENT - Necunoscut
PROPHAN - We Will Drag You Down
SNOWBEASTS & SOLYPSIS - Topaz
THOROFON - Repulsion
HERZ JUHNING - Pain Sets In
MASKA GENETIK - Ernste Stunde
MATRIARCHY ROOTS - We Are Not The Same
DISSEMBLANCE - Mercure
ALONE IN THE HOLLOW GARDEN & NAM-KHAR - Sumerian Sands
Ex_TENSION - Interdimensional (remix)
ARABIAN VIOLENCE- Violence Is My Mother
DELERIUM - Colony
ARDITI - Emblem Of Victory

HIV+ 004

Julio Tornero started with electronic music in 2012, between projects like Polígono Hindú Astral, Tornische or Zotal or his own aka, Tornero, Dark Tibet, or Madrelarva, he has accumulated references in labels from all over the globe, veering from the icy ambient to the electronic more focused on the dancefloor, passing through kraut and the most cosmic sounds close to electro.

Femur, CitiTrax, Detriti, Clandestine Records, Intellictronic Bubble or Black Artifact, to name a few, have been the launching labels for his material. On this occasion, and as his second reference on Fill-lex, after 6 years since his first Lp cassette on the label, he brings us a machine-like album of rough techno, rhythmic noise and corrosive sonorities, thus updating his sound palette and mutating into something different from his previous releases. An energetic and forceful album but at the same time risky, as it incorporates harsh elements to the classic acid bases of his live sets.

Release date: April 25th, 2024.

Premiere: Julio Tornero - Spellbound [Fill-Lex Records]

Still Distant Records is an industrial label that is based between Glasgow and Copenhagen. It has entered its fourth year with owners Paulitical and New Town Ground. The sound is somewhere between post punk, EBM, and techno. It has released 2 Various Artist compilations and 15 EPs where we have a special vinyl release from Ethan Fawkes with three remixes, one from Adriano Canzian, Delectro and label owner Paulitical who has released three Eps and a few singles on the label.

Ethan Fawkes brings us Still Distant Records 15th EP. Dancefloor EBM is an EBM hit that gives us an energetic dance floor sensation. This is a special vinyl release from Ethan Fawkes who produces the original track. The EP comes with three remixes, one from Italian legend Adriano Canzian who has been producing since 2003, he gives us his rusty baseline on a journey of 7 mins on top of the original. Second side of the goes a bit harder, Colombian industrial EBM producer Delectro is third on the vinyl gives us a driving force through his version of the track. Last track comes from label owner, Paulitical who has released three Eps and a few singles on the label. He gives us a driving 135 bpm version of the track bringing in a few different synths of his own. 

Release date: April 26th, 2024.

Premiere: Ethan Fawkes - Dancefloor EBM [Still Distant Records]

Lars Huismann is the last link of the biological transfer that emerged in the preliminary steps of Metaphor Records, and the first commitment of the record company to inaugurate the division dedicated to vinyl format. The German producer is perfectly integrated into the DNA of the label with an industrial reference that emphasizes the great control of this artist to create an infinity of harmonic lines, and above all, exuberant percussions.
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Release date: March, 2019
Distribution: Envelope Structure

Premiere: Lars Huismann - Icarus [Metaphor Records]

Premiere:
Shxcxchcxsh – bmbmbmbm [Subsist Records]

Although we are already accustomed to the rhythm of publications of the Valencian label and its musical line, we still retain in our memories tiny memories of those first deliveries that so much impacted the most nonconformist techno consumers. Subsist was born in 2009 with a clear commitment to abstract, eclectic and minimalist techno.

The Valencian label needed first and foremost convincing artists to embody its sound design. Ritzi Lee was the first artist to confirm their collaboration, then did the Californian Fanon Flowers and the rest of producers who collaborated in the first release of Subsist. The last artist to confirm collaboration was Stanislav Tolkachev, the artist who had amazed so much with his first works in Funque Droppings.

Important names saw in Subsist a refuge to launch their first jobs, an opportunity to make the leap to the music industry. One of them, and one of the greatest discoveries of this label, was the Swedish duo Shxcxchcxsh. This unnameable couple became known precisely with their first work, with Rrrrgrrrr, EP that they signed in 2012 and that preceded later releases with platforms as illustrious as Avian or Semantica.

Other great talents that gave us to know the catalogue of Subsist Records were Datura Dilema, Voidloss, 6SISS, Group, and a very curious one was Simulacra, enigmatic project that signed in 2014 Qualia, album that Dave Clarke himself catalogued among the best electro albums of 2014.

10 years have already passed since that first incursion of Subsist Records in the music scene, and on the occasion of it celebrates its 10 years in active with its great bet for this 2019. Decade is undoubtedly the biggest challenge for Subsist Records this year. To the long list of names that appear in the catalogue of the Valencian label must now be added that of Oscar Mulero, who heads this EP with 'Returning Wheel', first cut of A-side in which the Madrid-born musician exhibits a mental techno very much in keeping with his usual style. bmbmbmbm' is the track that completes the A side, this second track is in charge of Shxcxchcxsh, syncopated techno of alterable metric with the peculiar signature of this duo of Scandinavian producers.

Stanislav Tolkachev opens B-side with 'Autopoiesis', a psychotic techno with dissonant harmonies. It is followed by 180905_2377, a Group track with a dark background, with distant elements and inverted voices that give it mysticism. The Italian Beat Movement close this B-side with 'Behind The Wall', a dense techno full of brilliant motifs. Decade concludes with a second version of 'Returning Wheel' as a bonus track.

Next you can listen bmbmbmbm by Shxcxchcxsh, track that we published in scoop from Industrial Complexx. You can buy a copy from the bandcamp.
https://subsist.bandcamp.com/album/decade-sub-07


Release date: October 23th, 2019.

Premiere: Shxcxchcxsh - Bmbmbmbm [Subsist Records]

Premiere:
SOJ - Body Shaper Remixes [Soil Records]

With Body Shaper, SOJ subtly showed us the degree of diversity that can reach an album with a specific genre and the evolution, both personal and general, that can manifest an artist or a style. Technology advances, and therefore, music must also advance with expressly methodical sound treatments for each work, just as it allows the incorporation of other elements that until now had been absent. But this release in particular, what corroborates is the progress and the large number of expressions that can have the same author respecting their artistic margins.

Body Shaper is divided into 11 cuts and four of them are reborn with different reinterpretations by four heavyweights from the European industrial scene, such as Samuel Kerridge, Years of Denial, Crystal Geometry and Orphan Swords.

Golden Seals opens the A-side of the album with a version by Samuel Kerridge in which it emerges from the underworld and the depth in which the original track immerses you, giving more intensity to an anarchic rhythmic part and attenuating the feeling of anxiety caused by the low frequencies of the original cut.

Years of Denial close the A-side with a Bobtail remix that marks the style of this couple formed by Jerome Tcherneyan and Barkosina Hanusova. The disturbing harmonic motifs and the syncopated metric change to a more favourable terrain for this duo dominated by the power and energy of its imposing bass lines.
The B-side opens with a more forceful version of Kull, Feck, Due. In this occasion, Crystal Geometry transfers all the concentrated force in the lower part of the tonal field at a strong rhythm that imposes its kick with the marked bass, with a more noticeable presence of the vowels and also, with the increase in speed over the original SOJ track.

The album closes with a second cut on the B side remixed by Orphan Swords. Im Not You changes the original pumping groove for a more direct and psychotic version in which the movement is intensified with an exaggerated, but very successful sidechain that agitates the whole tangle of textures. 

Release date: December 18th, 2019.

Premiere: SOJ - Kull, Feck, Due (Crystal Geometry Remix)[Soil Records]

Soil Records is celebrating its second anniversary with many acts truncated due to the health crisis but, the label was built a few years ago with a beta phase that perfectly details the foundation of the project and the readjustment of SOJ. We can understand that it is currently Soil Records exploring the steps of SOJ, the alma mater of this platform, conceived at first to house only its music.

For four years the label operated as a testing ground, as a double embryonic process that transformed both its tenant and its environment. The development was equitable, SOJ’s first releases clearly showed that at first the artist’s intention was to work with techno, but soon he began to move to a more industrial context and the label’s response had to be proportionate with his new line, which is none other than to adapt exclusively to the musical tastes of his manager. Soil Records is precisely that, a symptom of the artistic concerns of its owner, of his sound favouritism and of his evolution, either as a producer or as a mere listener and fan.

Soil Records as such was established in May 2018 with the publication of Oublie. This Group’s album was the first release by an artist or project outside the platform and was also the first reference published on physical support, this time on cassette, in the label’s most standardized format, which it combines in a more punctual way with vinyl. Nevertheless, there are already seven deliveries published in plastic format, but magnetic tape remains its great bet with nearly 30 editions.

The first steps as an officially established label detail many qualities of this label such as having a good eye for new blood. Group was the one that inaugurated the series of cassettes, a project that at that time did not have the credibility and the name that they have today, later on it was other artists that took their place in the label and of which we knew little. This aptitude is only due to SOJ’s confidence in his own musical criteria.

We have witnessed the life cycle of Soil Records and perhaps we have become accustomed to not observing its evolution more closely. Now, it is the most normal thing in the world for us to see his catalogue increasing every week and to see big names appearing in his references, but behind all this there is a hard and very well structured work. Without any doubt Soil Records is currently one of the best examples to understand the current industrial scene.


To celebrate these two official years of activity, Soil publishes a special edition with a personalized box in which we can find merchandising from the label and an album of various artists in cassette format with tracks from Aditya Permana, Arabian Panther, Ed Dix, Midnight Passage, Rambal Cochet, Rise Black, Sigmoid, Vltra Delta Drive and WLDV.

Release date: June 10th, 2020.

Premiere: Arabian Panther - Sword Of The Unrestricted [Soil Records]

Land Of Lovers and Hammers is a release that shows the limitless possibilities that an album by an artist with a precise and sufficiently defined musical concept can accommodate.

SOJ always works within an industrial sound context, but his works can be based only on small details that finally lead us back to this countercultural environment, elements of this genre, which later feed on other external nuances.

Infidel Bodies is the record label that publishes this new reference from the head of Soil Records. Its 10 original tracks combine different rhythmic structures with harmonic textures, each of them has a different charisma than the rest, with influences from styles such as dark ambient, techno or experimental electronics, and with quite different composition patterns. To the 10 original tracks must be added 4 versions of WLDV, Unconscious, IV Horsemen and Filmmaker.

Release date: September, 2020.

Land of Lovers and Hammers

Premiere: SOJ - PW2 (IV Horsemen remix) [Infidel Bodies]

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