Icy Cold Records: Walk Onto Sun – Self-titled
Walk Onto Sun is the solo vessel of Los Angeles, CA musician Ben Engebretson. The project began in 2016 with In the Inside EP, a recording of songs that webzine I Die: You Die described as, “fractured minimal wave, bleary post-punk, with a restless and claustrophobic mood.” After some local live performances, Ben continued to evolve and experiment with Grow Static, released on cassette by Minnesota experimental label Phage Tapes. Not tightly fitting into any one genre, these songs showcased a diverse palette of surrealistic compositions with political themes of alienation, degradation of facts, and the demise of the middle class. CVLT Nation described the EP as, “one of the most exciting darkwave/industrial releases this year,” and, “a fantastic EP highly recommended for anyone into darkwave, industrial, trip-hop, or even ambient/experimental noise.”
In 2019, Walk Onto Sun’s first LP, released on French label Icy Cold Records in cooperation with Manic Depression Records (Digital, CD), and Phage Tapes (cassette), comes in full post-punk force with a dark dream like washing over the pulsing percussion. These hypnotic sounds find inspiration from older acts like Suicide and Public Image Ltd, and newer acts like The Soft Moon and Liars. Lyrical themes include a fluctuation between despair and hope living in current day America, navigating alienation, and taking on the autocratic tendencies of lies and disinformation. This LP features two brilliantly crafted atmospheric and EBM remixes of ‘Medicate’ by Spheric. Now a duo live, look out for live performances in the coming year and into 2020.