If January made you want to smash things and, more importantly, if you’ve NEVER had this urge before, then our favourite releases of the month will be the perfect soundtrack for you.
Not only did we have the first solo album by Singapore Sling’s vocalist Henrik Björnsson called The Cult Of One, setting the mood up but we also had an abysmally dark black metal release to go with it by a side project of Gnaw Their Tongues, called Den Edele Dood.
1.CRISTAL /2. ACCORDS PERDUS /3. SIRENE AUTOMATIQUE /4. EN ESPAGNE /5. JE SUIS VENU TE DIRE /6. J’ABANDONNE /7. JE NE RESPIRE PLUS /8. CE QUE CA FAIT /9. L’ECLAT DU CREPUSCULE /10. TOUS LES CHEMINS
Release date: December 2, 2022
“Nous avons venu vous dire que votre album est superbe!“
Sometimes, when a loved band comes back after some time, it can feel like a tap on the back or a playful wink. ‘Cristal’ feels like the latter. Released at the end of 2022, three years after Frontière and three years on from the beginning of the Covid lockdowns, it is an album that we can’t get enough of.
“ I would rather be a witch“- Nick Carlisle
We were delighted to carry out an interview with the talented Nick Carlisle two years after our previous interview with Katy and Nick. This time, Nick is talking about his new score to celebrate the centenary of the unique movie Haxan. The film, originally created in 1922, tries to make sense of witch trials and witchcraft in general. A second version of it, with different music and with voice over from William Burroughs, was produced in 1968. In 2022, the film was presented live at Queen’s Film Theatre in Belfast as part of the BFI’s ‘In Dreams Are Monsters’ season of horror films, with new score composed by Nick Carlisle.
Naturally we wanted to know all about the process of composing music for this hybrid genre of movie but there was also talk about ghosts and monsters. You can watch the interview below and you can buy the album here.
Blaue Rosen 
2022 was not an easy year, in fact, it was in a sense, more difficult than the pandemic years because we all started coming to terms with the psychological aftermath of Covid 19. Musicians seemed to be at the forefront of an invisible and unofficial attempt to reinvigorate our passion for art and our sanity. They managed to do both – or so it seems from the steady increase of people in live gigs. During 2022, we welcomed the return of Tears for Fears, Soft Cell, PLACEBO, The Cult, Qntal, Pecadores, Dernière Volonté and Rammstein.
This is the playlist that prepares for the end of the year — the soundtrack of a journey through an abandoned fairground where everything is left in a state of limbo. Our favourite albums of this month include the dynamic return of Pecadores, a cult band from Brazil, 11 years after the release of their previous album. This time they have been haunted again and have come back with their incredible mix of industrial rhythms that sometimes nod to Wumpscut and tribal percussion that bring the mind to tribal ceremonies. A special mention in due to the fantastic releases of ant-zen by vromb, thorofon and 2kilos&more who created an addictive IDM/noise/industrial symphony that kept us on edge for most of the month! TEATRE‘s album ‘Metropolis’ added to the captivating sonic mix with notes of downtempo and dark techno.
“Misfortunes can act as driving forces to pursue something better or to drag you down with them. I like that contradiction.”
It is quite hard to describe the feeling of coming across a band that reminds you of the qualities you value so much in music and which are somehow, lately, been set a little bit aside but most bands. This was the feeling since we came across the latest release by Misfortunes entitled ‘Brilliant Endings‘. This is a band that shines bright in the gloomy synthwave sonic universe. In fact, we were so touched by the melancholic melodies and the poetic lyrics that it became imperative that we talked with the musician behind this brilliant project, Ioakim Vasiliadis.We talked about the band’s beginning, the songs, the collaborators and the future.
We had a great time at this mystifying gig where Dead Space Chamber Music navigated us towards imaginary dark forests just before hackedepicciotto took us around the world through experimental, meditational, noisy and ethereal soundscapes. Read more about it here.
Blaue Rosen
Dead Space Chamber Music — A sonic trip through dark forests and ancient castles
We have started going back to gigs – yes, with other people around us – no longer restricted to an experience on a screen. As a new situation seems to be developing in which many bands do not include London in the tour schedule, we are delighted to turn up in person to those who do to demonstrate our gratitude to bands whose creative work deserves more than a device.
It is always the melancholic, the eerie and the mysterious elements in music that tell the most interesting stories. We embrace Autumn and the coming Winter with a soundtrack for a dance bizarre of ghosts – real or imaginary – and creatures of the night. This month, our favourite independent music releases covered the punk, IDM, ethereal, neoclassical, downtempo and rock dimensions of the sonic spectrum. We particularly salute the beautiful come back of The Cult with a release of their new album entitled ‘Under The Midnight Sun’ as well as the new offering by Nox Arcana – ‘Darkfall’, like clockwork in time for the celebration of Samhain.
If a path cannot be fathomed nor designed, then sound shall carve one out of nothingness. We might not ‘curse’ anyone this time, but our favourite songs celebrate both the realms of death and those of a pastoral nature with equal passion.