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For the second round of the SYNTHICIDE split EP series, two projects merge together on a release that combine opposing perspectives on EBM music. Welcome Klack versus Inconscio Viola. Side A boasts three tracks from the United States duo, Klack. Known for their aggressive and gritty productions (with a release on Berlin’s Detriti Records), Matt Fanale and Eric Oehler offer up bombast basslines and danceable, new beat-tinged compositions. “New Buildings” sets the mood of the split EP with its pure EBM brilliance that retains an old school mentality set to a strict beat, while “Frequency,” with its growling vocals and percussive elements, demand attention: it’s music made for stomping. Finally, the first side closes out with “Bleach White Sky” that hones in on melancholy elements that contain sorrowful synths under bellowing vocals. Side B features the collaborative project of Italian producers Francesco Baudazzi of Violet Poison/Diana Berti (Veleno Viola) and Andrea Riberti of Unconscious (Detriti, X-IMG) under the moniker Inconscio Viola. “Rabbit on Tuesday” offers an off-kilter, tumbling bassline that is addictive in its unforgiving onslaught. It’s clear that the duo make a sensible pairing with their shared roots in vintage horror movies and nunsploitation film influences—this is especially emphasized with the final track, “The Exorcist III.” With ghostly samples and a slithering bassline, the track snakes between the recognizable aesthetics of both producers.
The term “industrial body funk” cannot be something used lightly—but the self-titled debut EP by Normal Bias is just that. As a collaboration by members of That Which Is Not Said (TWINS/DKA, 2MR) and Multiple Man (DKA, Fleisch), Matt Bias and Chris Normal create a humid, sleek atmosphere of dance music with a pop sensibility. As four tracks that spill over with seductive grooves, Matt’s silky vocals beckon as they slide over EBM-tinged basslines and 80s synth tones. Normal Bias begins and ends with seduction. “Another Realm” is both mysterious and alluring as it slithers through its funky pulse, while the album’s single, “Embody Control” is charged with a tension found in Matt’s Gahan-esque singing style. The song “Kingdom Come” feels like if A Split-Second turned pop, a lush industrial production that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Finally, “Stuck in the Past” closes the EP with Matt’s croon that envelops both hysteria and melancholy—fitting, it seems, for such a duo who have separately perfected the art of weirdo dance music. And now, as a team, the synergetic productions of Normal Bias provide a distinctive sound we’ve been waiting for all these years.
Un Hombre Solo’s new mini-LP, Desilusion Total, is a work about the resounding sorrow of everyday life. Literally translating to “total disappointment,” the album by the New York City-based artist Fernando Jz (by way of Juarez, Mexico), continues on in the project’s theme of “loneliness and dissociation from the world.” As a follow up to his 2021 tape release titled Rotundo Fracaso, the complexity of Desilusion Total sonically derives its brutality from classic EBM such as Leæther Strip’s 1992 Solitary Confinement LP and its fierce melodies from Alaska y Dinarma’s Deseo Carnal from 1984. “Based on self-experiences,” writes Un Hombre Solo, “the songs are lyrically written in an expressionist and not necessarily a linear way. Inspired by the work of many bands from the ‘80s Spanish Movida Madrileña—such as Alaska y Dinarama, Paralisís Permanente, and Decíma Victima (the project name comes from one of their albums)—they are presented by what appears to be two different characters, one representing the suffering and the other anger.” The duality of characters in the Un Hombre Solo project are found within the six tracks of the mini-LP—in between the tenacity of the beat and the sorrowful synths that seemingly wail in torment. Desilusion Total begins with the song “Aportando de Nada,” which feels like an Angelo Badalamenti nightmare set to a forceful tempo. It’s followed by the album’s first single, “Oscuro y Podrido,” which is “a song that talks about being trapped in your own void.” Un Hombre Solo’s urgency in his work (especially profound in “Estoy Cansado” and “Desilusion Total”) is cauterized by the melancholy enveloped throughout the LP. “Comportamiento de Ratas” and “La Hora” cling on to the possibility of escape from the futility of the world—sadness abounds, but hope for reprieve remains in their melodic gloom. |
