Posts Tagged ‘independent music’

For some reason, we have always thought that reviewing a personal album, like this one, would never do it justice. We overcame these hesitations, and this had everything to do with the album’s particular atmosphere created by the music.

Nick Carlisle coverWe have been trying to think of another album we have come across that had so much light amidst so much darkness…nothing comes to mind and, with every new listening session, we are getting more and more reassured about this. But let’s take things from the beginning.

Bloody Saturnalia‘ comes after the release of a haunting soundtrack to celebrate 100 years from the release of the movie ‘Hӓxan’. It is an album inspired by and dedicated to Nick Carlisle’s father, who sadly passed away on New Year’s Eve 2023. The title of this album and the subjects of its lyrics also relate to the book ‘Defying Hitler: A Memoir by Sebastian Haffner’ whose theme, the rise of Nazism in Germany, is a timely one as we see the rise of populism around the world today. Kenneth Clarke’s documentary series ‘Civilisation’ also fed into the themes of various songs on this album (e.g. ‘Another Level Down‘, ‘Life in A Major Key, ‘Bloody Saturnalia‘).

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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.

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Logo interviewThe dark alternative music scene has had a myriad of new bands emerge during the last decade but very few have stuck around. Even fewer have consistently released interesting and genre-bending music. Bestial Mouths started in 2009 and hit our radar a few years later after the release of ‘Hissing Veil’. 14 years later, they are one of the most visually and sonically interesting bands to follow, not only because they defy any categorisation but because the quality of their releases is quite remarkable every single time.

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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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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 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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Monthly playlist-Favourite albums February 2023

Posted: 27th March 2023 by blaue-rosen in Music News,press releases
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logo playlistFebruary was definitely a better month in some ways, and its music releases are testament to the different energy that it brought about. We listened to 58 independent and underground albums, EPs and singles and we created the soundtrack of the month that took us on an electro/industrial, punk, darkwave, synthwave, post-punk trip which had neoclassical and black metal moments of brilliance as well.

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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.

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Monthly playlist-Favourite albums November 2022

Posted: 15th December 2022 by blaue-rosen in Music News,press releases
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Blauerosen_Jointweird logoThis 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.

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