Tag: industrial electronica

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Tobacco Returns with Another Abrasive Yet Anthemic Bit of Electro Pop with Surreal Visuals

Sweatbox Dynasty, the long-awaited follow-up to Ultima II Massage was released earlier this year and you may remember that I wrote about Sweatbox Dynasty’s first two singles “Gods In Heat,” and “Human Om” and while furthering his burgeoning reputation for scuzzy and abrasive electronic music; however, just underneath the murky surface of both singles, there’s a breezy and dreamy melodicism that adds a strange sense of calm, as well as a darkly mischievous sense of humor. And the album’s third and latest single “Dimensional Hum” continues on a similar vein as the album’s preceding singles as a gorgeously, twinkling synth melody floats over layers of buzzing and grinding synths while vocals fed through vocoders and distortion slash and burn through some of the muck and grime.

Adding to the grimy, almost low-budget feel of the song, the recently released music video follows an escaped prisoner as he skareboards to freedom with a cheap, Halloween-themed wig as a disguise.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Dark Post-Apocalyptic, Industrial Sounds and Visuals of Toronto’s Odonis Odonis

“Needs,” the latest single off Post Plague has the trio pairing layers of undulating synths, howled and shouted vocals, industrial clang and clatter, rapid fire, staccato drum programming, chopped up vocal samples, a rousing, anthemic hook and a propulsive, hypnotic groove in a tense, anxious song that sonically channels early Nine Inch Nails, Ministry and others — but with a contemporary and stark sense of unease, uncertainty and the realization that we’re on the precipice of our own mutually assured self-destruction.

Directed by Scott Cudmore, the recently released video for “Needs” is the first episode of a series of short films, based around the material of Post Plague that blends virtual reality with traditional video to tell a larger, fictional story. And in the case of “Needs,” the video begins with a person transferring their existence into a barely functional AI robot — and are quickly pulled into a post-apocalyptic future that somewhat resembles our own present. As Cudmore explains in press notes, the video is about “Old, entitled, white men and the system of oppression and exploitation that they’ve created to serve their…well…needs, which are usually money and power. I’m looking at this through the lens of science fiction, but I wanted to depict that power structure breaking down finally. Breaking down internally. There’s no linear narrative and you are free to think of that aspect in any way, but each image is a depiction of this breakdown as well as of repression, exploitation and desperation.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Creepily Uneasy Visuals for Tobacco’s “Human Om”

Sweatbox Dynasty, the long-awaited follow-up to Ultima II Massage is slated for release this summer, and as you may remember I wrote about “Gods In Heat,” the first single off the album. I think that single will further cement his burgeoning reputation for crafting scuzzy, abrasive and anthemic electronic music as he pairs layers of abrasive industrial clang and clatter, skittering drum programming, surface-level analog tape hiss and sizzle, a chanted mantra and an infectious hook; but with a subtle dreamy element that nods towards psych rock. The album’s second and latest single “Human Om” pairs layers of buzzing, whirring synths, industrial clang and clatter, mathematically precise handclap-led drum programming and mantra-like lyrics fed through vocoder. Interestingly, the song displays a dreamy and breezy melodicism just underneath the murky surface and as a result it gives the song a darkly mischievous feel; but while radiating a strange sense of calm.

Directed by the artist himself, the recently released music video employs the use of distorted rubber masks of celebrities, politicians and other characters nodding over the song’s distorted beats and superimposed over a variety of scenes and scenarios — and it gives the video a nightmarish, surreal logic while it lulls the viewer into an uneasy hypnotic state.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Tense and Frenetic Visuals for Crystal Castles’ Concrete

“Concrete,” the latest single off the forthcoming album manages to be tense and propulsive as Kath’s production, which consists of layers of undulating synth stabs, propulsive drum beats, malevolent atmospherics and industrial clang and clatter are paired with Frances’ heavily distorted vocals. And while bleak and murky, the song manages to be dance floor friendly — thanks to an anthemic hook.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Jean Deaux is a Chicago, IL-based electronic music artist, whose sound draws from house, R&B and hip-hop. Her latest single “Father Time” is the first single released off Downtown Records‘ newest imprint Downtown Singles Club, a carefully curated selection of singles that are sent directly to subscribers via email, and the single pairs skittering drum programming, gently undulating synths, tweeter and woofer rocking beats and industrial clang and clatter  with Deaux’s sultry vocals and swaggering rhyming before ending with some soulful yet shimmering synths. The song and its production defy easy categorization — it clearly possesses elements of R&B, house, hip-hop, neo-soul, industrial house and industrial techno but it’s a slickly produced, trippy and sonically experimental work that manages to be approachable and dance-floor ready. And it does so while possesses a deeply existential bent, with its narrator exploring her complex and ambivalent relationship with time.

You can catch the up-and-coming electro pop artist when Deaux and friends play Elvis’ Guesthouse on March 26.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Originally known as a member of Baltimore, MD-based act Lake Trout, Andy Shankman is a grizzled music industry vet, whose solo recording project Jumpcuts began after an intense flurry of songwriting that had Shankman along with co-arranger Gideon Briedegam initially composing material on guitar and then slowly transposed to synthesizer — and then recorded and produced by Rob Girardi, best known for his work with Beach House and Celebration’s David Bergander at Lord Baltimore Studios. And the result was Shankman’s debut effort, Electrickery, an effort that was praised for its meshing electronic production with live instrumentation including guitars, synths and classically trained-based string arrangements, which generally pushes his material towards synth rock with a pop-leaning sensibility.

“Electric Shadows” is the latest single off Shankman’s forthcoming sophomore effort Fiber Optic Bondage, slated for a March 25, 2016 release and the single has Shankman pairing propulsive tribal-like drumming with layers of churning synths, abrasive, industrial clang and clatter and Shankman’s plaintive crooning to craft a dark and uneasy song that sounds indebted to Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Blanck Mass an others — complete with a claustrophobic sense of introspection that feels as though the listeners were diving into the deeply fractured psyche of the song’s narrator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Dark, Fight Club-Inspired Video for Boys Noize’s “Overthrow”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few years, you’d be familiar with JOVM mainstay, the Berlin, Germany-based producer, electronic music artist, DJ and Boys Noize Records label head Alex Ridha, best known in […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Polish-born electro pop artist Patti Yang splits her time between London and California and with the release of “Invisible Tears,” the first single off her forthcoming debut album, Yang and her backing band quickly received attention for a sound that draws from industrial electronica, electronic music and punk rock. The album’s latest single “Black Box” draws from the same influences, Yang and her backing band pair tense, undulating synth stabs with propulsive, industrial clang and clatter with Yang’s sultry and seductive cooing seemingly writhing through and the mix.

While the song may be remarkably contemporary but it also manages to sound as though it could have easily been released in 1983; in fact, the song reminds me a little bit of Banarama‘s “Cruel Summer” — but a little chillier. Thematically and lyrically the song focus on a narrator, who’s constantly seeking and striving for the peak moment in every single aspect of her life. And although the song reportedly adapts the idea of traveling through a black hole as a metaphor, it also uses “black box turning to gold” as a naughty double entendre for sensual pleasure, which may make this particular single the sexiest, most dance floor ready single the act has released to date.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past 14 months or so, you may have come across a post or two on Luis Vasquez’s solo electronic music recording project, The Soft Moon. After the release of Zeroes, Vasquez’s sophomore Soft Moon album, Vasquez announced that it would be the last solo Soft Moon album. However, after relocating to Venice, Vasquez changed his mind. Living in almost complete solitude, as a strange in a foreign land, Vasquez retreated into his thoughts and his work. And the result was what was arguably the most visceral and emotional material Vasquez has ever written, his third full-length album, Deeper. 

Album single “Feel” consists of layers of staccato synths, wobbling low end, ominously swirling electronics, followed by buzzing synths and subtly industrial clang and clatter  paired with Vasquez’s aching vocals. Although the song possesses the sort of sound that could rock a huge club, it’s intimate as it delves into the psyche of a self-eviserating  narrator, who describes how empty, meaningless and superficial they feel. Recently a number of electronic artists have remixed Vasquez’s Deeper; in fact, Captured Tracks released Deeper Remixed Vol. 1 last year, and February will mark the release of Deeper Remixed Vol. 2. Ninos du Brasil remixed “Feel” and while their remix retains the some of the original percussion and synths as well as Vasquez’s vocals, their remix is a little bit warmer as squiggly guitars, and more propulsive percussion is added; in some way, it pushes the song gently towards the direction of scuzzy, industrial house.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Murky and Shadowy Sounds and Visuals for Essie pas’ “Le port du masque est de rigueur”

Essaie pas is a Montreal-based electronic duo comprised of Marie Davidson, best known as a solo artist, who has released two highly acclaimed solo albums, and Pierre Guerineau, best known for his production work on […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Gorgeous and Haunting Visuals for We Are Temporary’s “You Can Now Let Go”

Mark Roberts, the creative mastermind behind the critically acclaimed, Brooklyn-based indie electro pop project, We Are Temporary has developed a reputation for crafting music that draws from a wide range of influences within contemporary electronic […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Imre Kiss is a Slovakian-born, Hungarian-based producer, electronic music artist and designer, who first emerged onto the European electronic music scene with the release of his acclaimed Raw Energy, which was released by London-based label Lobster Theremin Records. (I have to admit that’s a pretty catchy name for a label.)

As the story goes, Kiss’ full-length debut, Midnight Wave, which was released just the other day is essentially a reissue, as the album was initially released as a limited edition cassette tape through Hungarian label Farbwechsel. The cassette was essentially a commercial failure as it was quietly released to little fanfare, but interestingly enough, Lobster Theremin’s label head Jimmy Asquith has a developed a reputation for discovering and signing obscure artists from Bandcamp tapes. Asquith had discovered Imre Kiss’ Midnight Wave sometime after the artist had returned to his hometown just outside of Bratislava, and was impressed by the ambient and atmospheric material, which was heavily influenced by British industrial electronica, Kraftwerk and Chris Carter’s The Spaces Between; in fact, Asquith had made it a personal mission to release the works of an unknown artist, who he felt deserved further attention.

“Gray’s Legend,” the first single off Midnight Wave consists of layers of undulating and cascading synths, skittering percussion, swirling and ambient electronics floating off into the ether, subtle industrial clang and clatter in the distance to create a sound that manages to simultaneously cinematic and intimate while evoking a sense of desperate isolation and loneliness.

New Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Science and the Beat’s Seductive “Mean Streak”

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past month or so, you might remember hearing about Science and the Beat, the goth music duo, comprised of multi-instrumentalists Tasha Katrine and Rob Zilla. Katrine and Zilla have had […]