Monthly playlist-Favourite albums October 2023

Posted: 20th November 2023 by blaue-rosen in Music News,press releases
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logo playlistWe listened to 70 independent/underground releases during October 2023, and we were stunned by the debut singles/EP/albums during this month. 26 of these 70 releases form this monthly playlist and let us admit that there have been a few disappointing releases that did not make it despite our biased convictions that they would.

There are some big highlights here and I am not just referring to the customary October release by Nox Arcana who once again gave us a haunting gothic sonata to get us through Spooktober! Oliver Marson, whose intriguing stage presence we enjoyed recently at the 100 Club, released a very memorable, new wave, synthwave album entitled ‘Why Did I Choose This?‘. The overall sound of this album brings to mind equally the Psychedelic Furs and Japan and the melodies are addictive beyond belief. The lyrics also share some Bukowski qualities and are quite poetic and pop at the same time.

In the psych rock part of the playlist, the new album ‘Hive‘ by Teeth of The Sea, takes inspiration from Frank Herbert’s 1973 novel ‘Hellstrom’s Hive’ where a hybrid human-insect coexistence is being attempted, and offers a set of 8 songs which give sonic glimpses of life on this imaginary planet. With cinematic synthwave lines and buzzying sonic snippets produced by trumpet samples, being interrupted by techno psychedelic short trances, this is an otherworldly release that will not keep you looking to skip any of the tracks.

We were properly impressed by the debut releases of this month. SOFT VEIN‘s album ‘PRESSED IN GLASS‘ is a great post-punk album with motivating synth melodies and beats, while False Fed‘s ‘Let Them Eat Fake‘ is a true sonic bomb, combining politically powerful lyrics, heavy guitar riffs and feisty post-punk rhythms with angry vocals that also have a metal rock side and the combination of energies channelled through Discharge, Ministry and Nausea! Equally powerful was the debut EP by YOBS, ‘Fortune Teller‘. The noisy distorted guitar wall and the unapologetic in-your-face vocals do not leave any room for stillness during the two songs that form this EP.

Finally, almost every time BLACK TO COMM is  featured in a playlist, experimental music genre as a whole gets a nudge. ‘At Zeeneth Parallel Heavens‘ combines, ambient meanderings, with ethereal vocals, cinematic spoken word and even ritualistic sonic heaviness! If you dare, listen to this album together with the ‘Hive’ by Teeth of The Sea and see what happens.

We hope you enjoy this playlist as much as we did while preparing it!

 

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Monthly playlist-Favourite Albums September 2023

Posted: 17th October 2023 by blaue-rosen in Music News,press releases
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logo playlistIt must have been something crooked that shall remain unnamed that brought back David Eugene Edwards, Hexvessel and Chelsea Wolfe in the same month, or maybe it was the Harvest Moon! The music that we enjoyed in September had more prominent rock elements than anything else but at the same time, the releases of last month moved away from rock rhythms by slowing them down, and infusing them with heaviness, distortion, ceremonial rhythms and some IDM elements too.

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Monthly playlist-Favourite albums August 2023

Posted: 4th October 2023 by blaue-rosen in Music News,press releases
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logo playlistAugust is traditionally a calmer month when it comes to music releases but this one had some significant highlights which are hard to bypass. The return of PiL 8 years after the release of their previous studio album ‘What The World Needs Now’ with a punk gem that brings in some subtle Belgian coldwave elements too. ‘End Of World‘ is the bone-cracking title of the band’s latest offering ahead of the celebration of their 45th anniversary with a gig at O2 Forum Kentish Town.


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How do you all feel out there by the choices we have this autumn when it comes to live gigs ? I can confess that us here feel quite optimistic about the future of live music in London. Things might not be quite right yet but, hopefully they will soon be.


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logo gigsDear darklings,

2023 might have been a disappointing year so far when it came to the live dark alternative scene but the weeks ahead look a bit more optimistic. We will not go into the details of why promoters have been reluctant to organise gigs and why big venues remained shut throughout this year, as everyone can probably make correct assumptions about the reasons behind this situation.

We are ecstatic that the next two months look great with some all-time favourite musicians resuming their tour schedules that include a stop in London and that most ticket costs are being kept at reasonable levels.


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Monthly playlist-Favourite albums June 2023

Posted: 17th July 2023 by blaue-rosen in Music News,press releases
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logo playlistHeavy guitars, grinding synths, industrial textures, and captivating post-apopalyptic folk were the order of this month. Our favourite albums and music releases seemed to respond to some sort of ominous call. Maybe it’s Johny Brown ‘s poetic farewell to an imaginary Babylon or even the title of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s self-released album, but in any case we feel that there is something sinister in the air, something close to what this band describes through heavy psych rock music as a petrodragonic apocalypse.


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Monthly playlist-Favourite albums May 2023

Posted: 6th June 2023 by blaue-rosen in Music News,press releases
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Monthly playlist-Favourite albums April 2023

Posted: 15th May 2023 by blaue-rosen in Music News,press releases
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logo playlistApril was the month with the biggest number of releases so far in 2023. The 66 releases we listened to during this month covered everything from dream pop to existential symphonic metal, and for that reason it represents almost all the moods that we went through the last month. Our favourite albums of the month reflect this incredible mix of music that talented people created for us from around the world.


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Monthly playlist- Favourite albums March 2023

Posted: 27th April 2023 by blaue-rosen in Music News,press releases
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logo playlistThere was a palpable darkness all around us in March, which somehow, all our favourite releases of the month, have managed to channel through their sound.

The soundtrack of this month, will take you on a dark experimental journey, pass you through industrial sonic spaces with incredible texture, electronic and synth brilliance and land you on ethereal otherworldly worlds. The trip promises to be poetic, ritualistic and reflective with a few moments of uneasiness.

There were many highlights during this month, and the first one was the return of Depeche Mode with their darkest, most solemn and more gothic album to date. Having teased us with a great video accompanying their best song of the album ‘Ghosts Again‘, Depeche Mode unleashed a darkness that seemed to have been nicely disguised up to now. The band’s life much like everyone else’s has been affected by everything that the world has gone through in the last few years but also by the unexpected loss of Andy Fletcher, the co-founder and keyboardist of Depeche Mode. Their last album ‘Memento Mori’ does not hold the melancholy back, it doesn’t prettify any verse and it is not here to make us feel happy. All this is evident from the slower, darker rhythms and the sadness in the lyrics that traverse this whole album. There is bitterness, there is sadness about the loss of their bandmate, and there is still some jauntiness here and there. Similarly strong, was the new album by Fever Ray ‘Radical Romantics’. Six years after their latest studio album ‘Plunge’, the band’s new album is more haunting than ever. Like Depeche Mode, Fever Ray have embraced the darkest corners of the human mind as far as their lyrics are concerned but have also added tribal, minimal and dance elements in their rhythms, making this album much more interesting this time.

As far as the post-punk part of this monthly soundtrack is concerned, De Ambassade‘s sophomore album was a true revelation. Blending the boundaries between poetry and early industrial music, ‘The Fool’ is a cinematic album that made us wonder where is the movie and/or book that it accompanies? Using Flemish, German and English in their lyrics, mixing vocals and other samples in attractive ways, De Ambassade have been inspired by John Cage but also from new wave and horror folk cinema I dare to assume, judging from the overall atmosphere of this album. One has to admire the air of mystery that this album creates and envelops us with.

Finally, the new offerings by Fatima Al Qadiri and Alan Currall also need some special mention. The former, is an EP that blends eastern music rhythms and vocals with some deeply ceremonial and dark music. The vocals are layered and texturised throughout and their repetitive nature increases the reflective element of the sound before the notes add an air of disquiet in the atmosphere. We don’t often see such level of experimentation with eastern music and for that reason we felt this EP deserved a good place in our soundtrack. ‘Buried Structures’ the latest album by Alan Currall is the only release that got us on our feet and allowed us to breathe without worrying too much. Moments of electro/synth brilliance take inspiration from the house and techno scenes and create the only album that we can dance to!

You can browse the rest of our playlist in order to find out, self-released singles and EPs by new and well-established bands.

We won’t tire you more but we do hope that if you like any of these releases as much as we did, you will not think twice about supporting the bands!

 

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