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The X-IMG “SELF-AWARE” compilation series is returning for a 4th installment. This iteration is done in collaboration with Berlin based fashion label Richard Soderberg who has designed and crafted 50 limited edition laser engraved USB keys for this special release. The aim of the “SELF-AWARE” series is to bring together an eclectic array of underground artists across several countries, cultures & genres unified by a shared vision and appreciation of the darker sonic arts. Artists from: Lithuania, Georgia, Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Germany, America, Italy & France are represented here.
In celebration of Bold Monday’s 10th anniversary we invited two of our favourite artists, Le Cliché (Gerard Ryan residing in Barcelona) and Colophon (3) (Bas van Vuurde hailing from Haarlem) to compose six exclusive tracks. We are releasing those tracks as a special limited edition EP on vinyl. Design of the outer and inner sleeve is by London based MuirMcNeil. We are longtime admirers of their work and were thrilled when Paul and Hamish agreed to design the artwork for this project. Final mastering was handled by Marco Spaventi in Amsterdam. The resulting digital audio files have been pressed on 140gr vinyl by Record Industry in Haarlem. The tracks on this EP can be categorised as contemporary electronic music with a clear nod to its roots, while both artists opted for a different emphasis as well. Le Cliché composed the tracks Francophilia, Ergophobia and Chorophilia inspired by experimental postpunk and early synth pop. Colophon on the other side created Monospace and Methods of Synchronism referencing the more dance-oriented styles from 1980’s New York and Detroit, with the track 574 Mondays serving as an ambient interlude.
The electronic pioneer and founding father of synthpop, Gary Numan, celebrates his 40th anniversary as recording artist. During these 40 years, Numan’s impact made itself felt; his dark, paranoid vision, theatrically icy alien persona, and clinical, robotic sound were echoed strongly in the work of many goth rock, wave and industrial artists. Twenty-one years after the “Random” tribute album on Beggar’s Banquet, Wave Tension Records releases a Gary Numan tribute album by contemporary dark wave, gothic and dream pop artists. The release will be a limited edition of 250 copies on black vinyl. The album opens with Agent Side Grinder’s nostalgic analogue rendition of ‘I’m An Agent’, followed by Ash Code’s fresh sounding fast paced post-punk/dark wave version of ‘Down In The Park’. Shad Shadows turn ‘Metal’ into a heated witchy darkwave track. On the last track of Side A, Box & The Twins create dreamy soundscapes in their version of ‘complex’. SUIR opens Side B with a hypnotic psychedelic slowed down art-punk version of ‘Cars’. Synths Versus Me turns Numan’s monster hit ‘Are Friends Electric?’ into a fresh synthpop & EBM take with Art of Noise-esque vocals. The album’s closing track is a gothic rock rendition of ‘My Name Is Ruin’ by Swedish rockers Then Comes Silence which encourages you to sing along.
Alex Dorn aka Credit 00 takes a sidestep from his Uncanny Valley/Rat Life camp to showcase his rumbling, industrial machine funk and bad-ass attitude on Pinkman. Vision gets blurry and panic sets in as the A-Side track “Exctasy Overdose” blasts with vibrating basslines and shrieking sirens. On the flip we have the stripped slowbeat electro cut “Data Control”, showing a huge middle finger to online mass surveillance. The EP ends with the weirdo jam “Weg von diesem Ort” in which Alex samples synth and covers vocals of an obscure, industrial cassette tape from the early 80s. |
