Stefan Certic is a Serbian multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer and producer. His latest single “Human” featuring Steve Sims is a brooding and atmospheric bit of 80s-inspired synth pop featuring glistening synths melodies paired with shimmering strummed guitar, deep bass lines and sparse yet propulsive beats. While nodding at OMD and Eurythmics, “Human” is a remarkably cinematic track with melancholy and reflective lyrics discussing the human condition in a deeply lived-in fashion.
Category: dark wave
New Audio: VERTÈBRE Shares Goth-like “T’as Du Voulour La Mort”
Ron Kring is a Rennes, France-based singer/songwriter and creative mastermind behind the emerging French electro rock/cold wave recording project VERTÈBRE. With collaborator and producer Zach Spectre, King released VERTÈBRE’s 2020 self-titled, full-length debut, which she quickly followed up with standalone single “Hungry” and a remix of “Last trip, baby.”
During pandemic-enforced lockdown, Kring experimented with video directing and editing and released a handful of music videos on YouTube. By 2021, the Rennes-based singer/songwriter had began writing what would be her sophomore album. She enlisted She-Wolf‘s Marie-Claude Martine to mix the album and her friend, Ivan Muńoz, an acclaimed Chilean electronic music artist and DJ best known as Vigilante to master the album. Much like her previously released material, the writing process begins with synth sounds that presses particular emotional buttons. She then goes on to build the framework of a song to release the energy within. Then she adds guitar and bass when the song calls for it. “VERTÈBRE is more in the cold wave/post punk genre. Some tracks are rather danceable and can sound electro pop rock. Others would be more dark wave. In any case, I think that a good dose of unease and anger remains present even when the song tries to defend itself against it. I like that the songs are never completely happy or completely sad. It must be said that in life nothing is ever gained but… that all is not lost either,” Ron Kring says.
The sophomore album’s first three singles “Basic instincts,” “I Can’t You Can,” and “Maniac Mansion” were released through the digital stream platforms and feature homemade accompanying videos.
At the end of last year, Kring decided to continue VERTÈBRE without Zach Spectre. She recruits bassist Julien Marien, and along with a guitarist, they’re currently working on their live show. But in the meantime, the sophomore album’s fourth and latest single “T’as dû couloir la mort,” is a goth-like take on post punk built around tweeter and woofer rattling 808s that would make Rick Rubin proud, glistening synth oscillations, Kring’s forceful delivery paired with arena rock level bombast. The end result is a song that sonically seems to mesh Depeche Mode and Ministry.
New Video: Golem Dance Cult Shares an Anthemic Ripper
Split between France and England, the emerging, self-described “industrial heavy rock dance” duo Golem Dance Cult features longtime friends and experienced musicians: producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Charles Why, who has played in Lotsa Noise, Nexus and L-Dopa and vocalist Laur, who has played in Sparkling Bombs, Kevin K Band, Vague Scare and Other-ed. In many ways, Golem Dance Cult can trace its origins back to when its members were teenagers, playing in their first band together, a band in which Laur played drums.
During most of the band’s short run together, the duo have written and worked on material remotely, as a result of the distance between the pair and because of pandemic-related restrictions. But their work is structured around a couple of simple, agreed-upon parameters:
- They had to work spontaneously, with each member following their instincts.
- Mistakes should be expanded upon.
What the duo eventually settled on was a rock-inspired approach with electronic production but without the formal structure — or strictures — of either genre.
Back in 2021, the duo released their debut EP Grotesque Radio, which featured the Bauhaus-like “Nosferatu Waltz,” a goth/horror track with a playful nod to Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. The duo start off the year with “Dalek Rhetoric,” a song which derives its title from the Dalek in Dr. Who. As the band explains: “Dalek are extraterrestrial killing machines with a binary thinking pattern: you are either a Dalek or they were will destroy you. This seems fitting with the mentality of the world we live in.”
Centered around buzzing power chords, thunderous drumming, rousingly anthemic hooks and arena rock bombast, “Dalek Rhetoric” manages to bring White Zombie and others to mind — with a nasty, gritty edge.
The accompanying video features footage of the band performing the song in desolate and forgotten places paired with edited footage of the Dalek in Doctor Who, reels of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which the band has dubbed another Dalek-like move, and edited footage from Phantom from Space, Plan 9 From Outer Space. Max Schreck’s Nosferatu and Bela Lugosi’s Dracula also make return cameos — because, of course.
Golem Death Cult’s sophomore album Legend of the Bleeding Heart is slated for release this year.
New Audio: Stockholm’s Me & Melancholy Shares a Brooding Banger
Peter Ehrling is a Stockholm-based electronic music producer, musician and creative mastermind behind the solo electro pop recording project Me & Melancholy. Inspired by Depeche Mode, New Order, Camouflage, and Swedish synth acts like The Mobile Homes and Elegant Machinery, Me & Melancholy focuses on melancholy synth pop that blends retro and contemporary sounds to create a nostalgically upbeat yet introspective vibe.
Since starting the project last year, Ehrling has been rather prolific: he has released three singles, an EP and his full-length debut, You and me, Melancholy.
“I let you down (Dark Version)” is a brooding bit of goth-meets-industrial synth pop centered around tweeter and woofer rattling thump, glistening synths and guitar paired with Ehrling’s plaintive delivery and enormous hooks. Sonically, the song brings Violator-era Depeche Mode while rooted in self-flagellation, disgust, despair and heartache.
Ehrling explains that “I let you down (Dark Version)” is a complete and thorough remake of the the original, which appears on You and me, Melancholy.
New Video: Distance H Teams Up with Saigon Blue Rain’s Ophelia on Brooding “Bitch 16”
Distance H is a post-punk/darkwave/coldwave recording project of French producer ManuH. The project sees ManuH collaborating with an eclectic array of female vocalists, who contribute melodies and lyrics.
Released earlier this year, the brooding and cinematic “Bitch 16.” sees ManuH collaborating with Saigon Blue Rain‘s Ophelia on a Cocteau Twins-meets-Sixousie and the Banshees-like song rooted in eerie atmospherics and razor sharp hooks.
Directed and edited by Anaïs Novembre, the accompanying video for “Bitch 16” is split between gorgeous and broodingly lit footage of the collaborators in studio, and Saigon Blue Rains Opehila dancing in a creepy, goth-like forest.
Nice, France-based duo Divine Decadence — Sabrina and Tatiana — can trace their origins back to 2020: With the duo being confined to the home studio as a result of COVID-19 quarantines and restrictions, it allowed them the opportunity to write and then refine songs, while gradually developing a sound that’s informed by film soundtracks and darkwave.
The duo’s self-titled, five song, debut EP was released earlier this year. The EP’s first single “Purple Dress” is a cinematic bit of post-punk/darkwave centered around moody atmospherics, Sabrina and Tatiana’s eerie harmonies, and swirling guitar textures that become stormier as the song progresses to its explosive coda. “Purple Dress” manages to bring both Cocteau Twins and Kælan Mikla, complete with a palpable, creeping dread.
New Audio: ZADAR Teams up with Isa Niels on Shimmering and Brooding “Halos On The Moon”
Antonio G is a Philadelphia-based songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and creative mastermind behind the goth/darkwave outfit ZADAR. He’s currently working on the project’s first album — and is searching for like-minded musicians to join him in playing the material live.
ZADAR’s latest single “Halos On The Moon” sees the Philadelphia-based Antonio G collaborating with Isa Nielsen, a singer/songwriter and guitarist, who has opened for Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello and John 5, who has played with Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie — and is the newest member of Mötley Crùe. Nielsen has also played on MTV Specials, MTV’s VMB Awards. Built around shimmering guitars, a relentless motorik-like groove, Neilsen’s plaintive vocals and enormous hooks, “Halos On The Moon” may recall The Sisters of Mercy and Cocteau Twins, while being rooted in swooning Romanticism.
“‘Halos’ is a song about regret and loss. It’s a song about somehow coming to terms with your failure and past mistakes and still moving on with your life,” Antonio G explains.
New Video: Psykasya Shares Woozy and Darkly Seductive “Fleetingly”
25 year-old, French singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adriane is the creative mastermind behind the emerging dark wave recording project Psykasya. Adriane can trace much of the origins of her career to getting vocal and Celtic harp lessons at a very young age. But after discovering MAO last year, the French singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was inspired to write her own material.
Sonically, her work is informed by several different styles and genres — but she cites Aurora, aleah, Myléne Farmer, and Fishbach as major influences. Centered around a dark, mysterious atmosphere, the young and emerging French artist’s work thematically focuses on the night, witches, death and the like.
The French singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s latest single, the retro-futuristic “Fleetingly” is a brooding and darkly seductive track centered around skittering beats and woozy atmospheric synths paired with Adriane’s sultry delivery. The end result is a song that seamlessly meshes elements of trip hop, dark wave and goth.
Fittingly shot at night and in a cinematic black and white and through VHS tape, the accompanying video follows a walk through a suburban office park, to the city and a night out at local pub for pints and then to a crowded, sweaty club and a house party.
Live Footage: Atlanta’s CDSM Performs “666” at Yellow Studio
Atlanta-based collective Celebrity Death Slot Machine (CDSM) — Ben Presley, Tyler Jundt and John Restivo, Jr. along with live accompaniment from Jack Blauvelt, Drew Kirby and Vinny Restivo — features current and former members of local acts like Material Girls, Neighbor Lady, Mothers, and Rose Hotel.
CDSM is a decided sonic departure from its members previous and current projects: The Atlanta-based collective’s sound blends elements of dark wave, psych rock and post punk in an edgy, genre-bending fashion. The act’s debut EP Hell Stairs was released late last week through Mothland and EXAG Records.
Hell Stairs which features the LCD Soundsystem from hell meets No Wave-like “GFH” finds the members of CDSM crafting material that’s simultaneously glamorous and bleak, swanky and derelict, uplifting and crushing. The EP’s latest single “666” is a dance punk song that’s one-part dark wave, one-part no wave featuring relentlessly tight four-on-the-floor, buzzing synth arpeggios and swirling sax lines paired with crooner-esque laments fittingly delivered with a Vincent Price-like campiness while detailing evil, murderous deeds over the course of a bloody, moonlit night.
Sure there’s murder and mayhem but that doesn’t mean you can’t dance the night away. Just make sure you don’t slip on the blood, eh?
The accompanying video features the band playing at the soon-to-be opened Yellow Studios.
New Audio: Italy’s IC2 Shares an Icy Yet Dance Floor Friendly Single
IC2 is the darkwave/post-punk solo recording project of Ivan Coppola, mysterious Villa Latina, Italy-based producer, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Late last year, I wrote about the brooding yet dance floor friendly “Falling Down,” a track that sonically brought post-punk heavyweights like Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure and Joy Division — as well as contemporaries like ACTORS, Bootblacks and others to mind.
The Italian singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer will be releasing the Bad Moon Light EP this year. The EP’s latest single, title track “Bad Moon Light” continues a run of dance floor friendly yet icy post punk centered around reverb-drenched and guitars, atmospheric synths, thumping beats, the Italian artist’s detached vocals placed within a hook-driven song structure. Interestingly, “Bad Moon Light” manages to bring Garlands era Cocteau Twins to mind, revealing an artist gently expanding upon his sound.
New Video: Canadian/American Duo Ritual Wave Share Sultry “My Sin”
This week is an extraordinarily busy week as I’ve been covering this year’s New Colossus Festival. So I haven’t been posting with the same regularity as I’d normally would. But I’m seeing live music and doing that valuable in-person networking one has to do to get by. And I’m having a ton of fun doing so. But as always, let’s get to the business at hand . . .
Ritual Wave is an emerging post-punk/dark wave duo featuring Toronto-based Judy Karacs and San Diego-based John Goodman. The Canadian/American duo bonded over a mutual love and appreciation for similar styles of music, which led to their collaboration together. Although they’ve been working on material since 2018, the duo’s work sonically sees them combining elements of old school post-punk with melodic dark wave undertones.
“My Sin” their second official single together as Ritual Wave features Karacs’ sultry cooing over glistening and icy synth arpeggios, a propulsive, angular bass line and subtle industrial clang and clatter. Sonically, “My Sin” — to my ears at least — recalls Cocteau Twins, Depeche Mode and the like, but fueled by a desperate, obsessive desire.
“My Sin” as the Canadian/American duo explain uses religious themes as a metaphor to express the psychological torment and destruction of a person willing to sacrifice everything in order to be loved. And as a result, the song explores the darkest sides of obsession, control and desire as is relates to romantic affairs.
“This track was really a labour of love for us. We actually wrote ‘My Sin’ very quickly, in 2018, but ended up re-working, re-recording and re-editing it ’till we finally decided it was ready,” Ritual Wave’s Judy Karacs explains in press notes. “With the lyrics and melody I really wanted to explore the subject of obsession and how that impacts the human psyche. I likened these feelings to a strong religious devotional experience. It was the idea of having such a profound faith in someone that you were willing to sacrifice everything just to hold onto what they made you believe was love. Obviously, this belief was based more on unhealthy fixation and desire instead of genuine love.”
Edited by Ritual Wave’s Judy Karacs, the accompanying visual is shot in a gorgeous and sultry black and white, and evokes the song’s central themes: lust and obsession through religious metaphors.
New Video: Atlanta’s CDSM Shares Menacing and Feverish “GFH”
Atlanta-based collective Celebrity Death Slot Machine (CDSM) — Ben Presley, Tyler Jundt and John Restivo, Jr. along with live accompaniment from Jack Blauvelt, Drew Kirby and Vinny Restivo — features current and former members of local acts like Material Girls, Neighbor Lady, Mothers, and Rose Hotel.
CDSM is a decided sonic departure from its members previous and current projects: The Atlanta-based collective’s sound blends elements of dark wave, psych rock and post punk in an edgy, genre-bending fashion.
Their latest single, the LCD Soundsystem from hell meets No Wave-like “GFH” is centered around swirling synths, wobbling disco-like bass lines, driving four-on-the-floor, copious cowbell, swirling synths and saxophone skronk paired with irony drenched baritone vocals. Underneath the dance floor rocking thump is a menace and paranoia-fueled fever dream of a tale that follows a troubled young man, who gets busted by the cops and makes a deal to reduce his sentence. The troubled young man agrees to become an undercover agent and wear a wire. During an operation, his cover is busted and he’s brutally killed. But through a weird bit of fate, he’s fittingly reincarnated as a rat.
The accompanying animated video by Anna Firth is fittingly a hallucinogenic and uneasy fever dream that follows the song’s story in an immersive fashion.
New Audio: Houston’s Victorian Death Photos Release a Brooding Single and Visual
Victorian Death Photos is a Houston-based post-punk/darkwave act that’s shrouded in a cloak of mystery: The Houston-based act features two anonymous artists, a man and a woman, who publicly go by He and She. The duo’s latest project can trace its origins back to a series of multimedia collaborations between the pair. Interestingly enough, the duo initially intended for Victorian Death Photos to be a metal album — but the best laid plans of mice and men, as they say.
Once they started working on original material together, they wound up zeroing in on a “haunted synthy post-punk electronic sound,” which wound up comprising their Victorian Death Photos debut, The Basement Tapes EP released earlier this year. “We went with it,” She says in press notes.
Back in July, I wrote about “Radium Girls,” a song, as the duo explained was based on a true story: In the early 1920s, female workers in watch factories, painted watch dials with radium paint. The women were repeatedly told that the paint was harmless. But after being around and ingesting massive amounts of radium, the female factory workers wound up contracting severe radiation poisoning: the factory workers wound up with their teeth falling out, and bone deterioration in the jaw — to the point of having bones removed.
Ultimately, the track with revealed the duo’s ability to craft a rousingly anthemic hook within a song that bearded a resemblance to Garbage‘s self-titled debut and Version 2.0.
The Houston-based act ends 2021 with “Home.” Centered around glistening synth arpeggios, skittering, tweeter and woofer rocking beats and She’s yearning vocals, “Home” is simultaneously a brooding and icy bit of post-punk/darkwave seemingly inspired by early Depeche Mode and an earnest ballad expressing profound heartbreak and longing over a relationship and lover, who was confusing and dysfunctional.
Shot in a gorgeous and cinematic black and white, the recently released video for “Home” begins by following a young boy, who dreams of being an astronaut and of space exploration. In one of his dreams, he lands on an Earth-like planet, where he sees a woman digging in the sand. We see the boy as he explores a forest. The video ends with the boy being flung out into space.
