From an attic overlooking Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol, Dora Lachaise creates dark and otherworldly music.
After her Danny Elfman-esque debut single Bone Collector, which was picked up by BBC Bristol and Amazing Radio USA, Lachaise dives into electronica for her second single ‘I Confess’. A guitar-based songwriter who has also fronted gothic metal bands in a past life, her recent tracks have shifted towards soundtrack ambiances and electronic avant-pop. “I’m drawn to strong melodies and interesting chords, more than to any particular genre,” she says. “I want to make things that sound different.”
The visual arts are an important inspiration. She picked her pseudonym to honour Dora Maar, a French surrealist photographer. “For a long time, she was remembered as one of Picasso’s muses,” Dora says. “But she was so much more than that – her photography was experimental and conceptual. There’s mystery; it makes you think. That’s what I’m aiming for in my music as well.”
Dora produces her music herself. “I’ve been diving into production possibilities over the past year. I love trying out instruments and effects; having control over the final sound and atmosphere of a track.”
BEHIND THE TRACK
“My productions had always been based around acoustic guitars and pianos, but electronic artists like Sevdaliza and FKA twigs lured me into a different, more experimental sonic world.” Dora says. The resulting track contrasts gritty, industrial percussion with sparkling, multi-faceted vocals. Inspired by a medieval statue of Mary Magdalene, ‘I Confess’ has launched Dora into the semi-finals of the Dutch national ‘Art Rocks’ competition. “Mary Magdalene’s story was used to pressure girls and women into behaving in a certain way;” she explains. “I wanted to lend my voice to Mary to defend herself, because even today, womxn are judged by outdated ideas.”
‘I Confess’ is written and produced by Dora Lachaise. Instruments: vocals, keyboards, electronic percussion, acoustic guitar.
Swallowed is composed by artist and vocalist Synne Sanden and film composer Øyvind Blikstad.
The EP is a collaborative effort of five songs primarily written together and produced by Øyvind Blikstad. “Skeleton”, written by Synne and remixed by Øyvind Blikstad, was the spark that ignited this fire. Once they discovered how well they worked together, they knew they had to create more. The end result is striking, cinematic sounds with lyrics that touch you at your deepest core. For this piece Øyvind Blikstad has mixed powerful arrangements for orchestra with dark sound elements and self-built instruments which intertwine with the expressive vocals. This united soundscape dives down deep and grows from the tender and sore to the explosive, strong and magnificent.
At it’s core, the EP is about a destructive relationship. It’s about being broken down by another and the recovery of wounds after leaving the destruction behind. It creates a sense of vulnerability, anger and strength and is an emotional experience which makes you hold your breath in anticipation from start to finish.
Synne Sanden – A Short Bio
Synne Sanden is a Norwegian, experimental and expressive popartist who writes about shameful subjects. The Norwegian Gaffa writes ”She has succeeded in finding her own voice and her own expression, musically as well as lyrically”
She is inspired by Björk, Radiohead, Portishead and different songtraditions, but most of all by her own emotional world. She is explorative and uncompromising in her songwriting, way of singing, production and her visual world. She is as explosive as she is sore, as playful as she is dark, and as rough as she is sensitive. She expresses a large scale of emotions through her songs and voice and she gives it all everytime she enters the stage.
Her fourth album IMITATION, released late 2019, is about wanting to be someone else and is a personal description of self-loathing, inferiority, envy and the wish for growth. The album is produced by Thomas Dybdahl, Bugge Wesseltoft, Lars Fremmerlid and herself. On the album and live she is letting out her own rich inner life through fascinating songs as dangerous and thrilling as fireworks, and she decides the rules.
Greek quartet NEW ZERO GOD released the album CIRCUS OF TORTURED MELODIES in 2019 but as they never made a video for it, now came the time to drop one for the track WHAT’CHA GONNA DO?.
CIRCUS OF TORTURED MELODIES is the fourth full length studio album released by Greek post punk quartet NEW ZERO GOD.
With ANDI SEX GANG (of legendary SEX GANG CHILDREN) to welcome us to the CIRCUS OF TORTURED MELODIES, the tour begins in the 13th Tent of the Circus. Each one of these tents hides a different story which, most of the time, opens the way to the next one. Other times, however, it is completely independent.
These are songs about our unfulfilled dreams, the emotional insecurities of modern man, political developments, the manipulation of the family environment, role models of our society, over-consumption, the compromises that we make, and the destruction of our planet.
In a nutshell, CIRCUS OF TORTURED MELODIES presents the complexity of modern life by tracing the sources of modern neurosis.
The 2-part album is inspired by modern day struggles and each song focuses on negative human trait but sends the message that in any situation there is always hope. .
Singer/songwriter MIKE POUGOUNAS started as the front man of the Greek band THE FLOWERS OF ROMANCE, from 1981 to 1998.
From 1999 to 2005 he was the leader of the band NEXUS and the owner of indie record label CYBERDELIA RECORDS from 2000 to 2005.
In 2006 he formed NEW ZERO GOD along with former bandmates from FLOWERS OF ROMANCE, and NEXUS.
To the list of the band names SISTERS OF MERCY, THE MISSION and NEW MODEL ARMY that POUGOUNAS supported with his previous bands, now CHRISTIAN DEATH, THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS and ANDI SEX GANG were added.
“New Zero God’s biography reads like the name-droppers guide to goth.” Terrorizer Magazine – UK
The first NEW ZERO GOD album titled FUN IS A FOUR LETTER WORD came out in 2010 and a year later, the track KISS THE WITCH taken from the album reached the top 10 of the British magazine TERRORIZER for two months, becoming a classic.
By December 2011, NEW ZERO GOD released the digital single SECOND CHANCE in collaboration with international musicians, under the moniker NEW ZERO GOD & FRIENDS, donating all proceeds of the song to a Massachusetts based organization called HAWC (Healing Abuse, Working for Change).
The single spent all January and half of February 2012 at first place on CD Baby.
On the 4th of July 2012, the British indie label SECRET SIN RECORDS released on CD NEW ZERO GOD’s mini album CLUB BIZARRE and on September 28.
On the dawn of the new year, SECRET SIN RECORDS released in the UK, the NEW ZERO GOD album MMXIII and on March 25 NEW ZERO GOD released digitally the single THE NIGHT CALLS YOUR NAME donating again all proceeds of the song, this time to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation (S.O.P.H.I.E.).
The 7” single DESTINATION UNKNOWN/FOREVER TODAY came out in December 2013 through SURGUT RESORT RECORDS and by February 2014 the Greek edition of MMXIII came out.
On June 8 the five track mini album ZONA PERICOLOSA recorded live in Italy, became available on Bandcamp for free download.
On the 15th of March 2016 NEW ZERO GOD would release the album SHORT TALES & TALL SHADOWS both on CD and on vinyl format (with some differences on the track list).
A 7” split single with Scottish band SAVAGE CUT was released in October, in Scotland and was available at the gigs of both bands.
The newest NEW ZERO GOD album CIRCUS OF TORTURED MELODIEScame out in February 2019 with surprise appearances such as ANDI’s from SEX GANG CHILDREN and MICHAEL CLAYTON from DARK HORIZON.
The band went on the road till March 2020 when all scheduled gigs were postponed due to COVID19.
NEW ZERO GOD LINE-UP & DISCOGRAPHY
• Mike Pougounas – Vocals, keyboards
• Babis Efthimiou – Drums, programming
• Akis Nikolaides – Guitars
• John Psimopoulos – Drums
• Μichalis Semertzoglou – Bass
• Studio albums:
o Fun is a Four Letter Word (Greece 2010)
o Club Bizarre (UK 2012)
o MMXIII (UK 2013 – Greece 2014)
o Short Tales & Tall Shadows (LP, CD, Greece 2016)
o Circus of Tortured Melodies (LP, Digital Greece 2019)
• Singles:
o Second Chance (digital, 2011)
o The Night Calls Your Name (digital, 2013)
o Destination Unknown (Digital 2013)
o Destination Unknown (Limited Collector’s 7” Vinyl Edition 2013)
o Redemption (Limited 7” split vinyl single with Savage Cut 2016)
o Under the Influence of Captain Pan Ikatac (MC Custom Made Music USA 2018)
Brazilian prog rockers PENTRAL present debut Tim Palmer-mixed single ‘Silent Trees’
Brazilian progressive rock / metal trio Pentral have announced they will be releasing their debut single ‘Silent Trees’. This is the first taste of the band’s debut album ‘What Lies Ahead of Us’, which will be released in May 2021. Suitably named, this lead single is accompanied by a wonderful video filmed in the wilds of their native Amazon forest.
For the ten tracks comprising this album, the trio worked with legendary producerTim Palmer (David Bowie’s Tin Machine, The Mission, HIM, U2, Robert Plant, Tears For Fears, Ozzy Osbourne, Goo Goo Dolls, Pearl Jam).
Hailing from Belem in the north of Brazil, Pentral is made up of Victor Lima (vocals, guitars, songwriter, lyrics), Vagner Lima (drummer) and Joe Ferri (bass guitar). Their unique take on alternative rock can be described as progressive, heavy, groovy and melodic, while the band also deliver a strong political message about what is going on in Brazil and all over the world.
Victor Lima lends some insight into this music: “This is a story about a man and a woman, who live in the woods. The forest is invaded… The only way I believe things can be solved is through the power of love. The album is like a journey of three characters (a woman, a man and their child) passing through the many issues addressed in the lyrics on this album”.
Pentral stands for ‘spirit’ in Latin, indicating the premise of the message this band is trying to inspire via their sound – the need to transcend this material world through the power of music, without losing connection with reality and human frailties.
Being from the Amazon forest, this heavy power trio deeply is influenced by their roots, their music strongly attached to many global influences while trying to honor Brazil’s groove and unique harmonies, progressive rock, metal music, atmosphere and melody.
This debut album sums up years of experimentation among such parallel universes and the search for human awareness of the environment, peace and equality. While known in their native Brazil, mostly through touring efforts, Pentral is ready for their music to transcend borders.
“This album is like a “declaration”, conceived well before COVID-19 emerged. But it kind of fits the current reality we´re experiencing. This pandemic is the outcome of the unfriendly way we’ve been treating our environment and ourselves as well, and it served to expose our insensitivity, our lack of empathy. We are hopeful that this music reaches the ears and minds of folks all over the world, inspiring them to listen, think and act,” says Victor Lima.
As of March 5, ‘Silent Trees’ will be available across online music stores and streaming platforms, including Apple Music. This single can already be pre-saved on Spotify.
CREDITS All songs written by Victor Lima Produced by Pentral and Tim Palmer Co-produced and engineered by Sergio Fouad and Cesar Botinha Justin Shturtz – mastering Tim Palmer – mixing, additional guitars, percussion and keyboards Victor Lima – vocals and guitars Vagner Lima – drums Joe Ferri – bass guitar Cover artwork by Heidi Teillefer
Gypsy Pistoleros have released a brand new single and anthem for the underdog ‘Lost in a Town called Nowhere!’, the first track taken from upcoming new album, ‘The Mescalito Vampires’to be released via Golden Robot/RIOT Records in June.
Described as the album they always promised to make, this release sees Gypsy Pistoleros fully embracing their fiery flamenco/rumba passion crossover punk Rock n Roll leanings! The Latin Rock equivalent of Appetite for Destruction, ‘The Mescalito Vampires’ is here!
Gypsy Pistoleros are best described as being the ideal house band for the fictitious Titty Twister bar of Rodriguez’s From Dusk till Dawn. Between the nods to Morricone’s tense, tumbleweed atmospheres and the Gypsy Kings’ manic Mediterranean energy, a New York Dolls raw glam spark and a surplus of prime G ’n’ R attitude, the Pistoleros‘ sonic style is captured to the full with the release of an album they have always threatened! Gypsy Pistoleros remain something truly unique and interesting in today’s predictable musical landscape. Combining their truly unique mix of flamenco rumba which gleefully collides with old school punk rock ‘n’ roll riffs in a head on collision. In the best rock ‘n’ roll tradition, with big hooks, attitude, and sleaze. Yet those flamenco breaks got into your head and refuse to leave – this hybrid rocks.
This mongrel offspring of fiery flamenco/rumba passion and gritty gutter glam, was born roamin’ somewhere between Barcelona and Worcester. Standing alone in musical ancestry and sum sound, they are one of those most rare acts who can honestly claim the tag ‘unique’
Friday 26th Feb – First Single ‘Lost in a Town called Nowhere’ (B side – Soho Daze, just another Friday Night) Pre- sale Friday 12th Feb
Lost in a Town called Nowhere Viva la Revolution, Viva Zapata Mescalito Vampires (Welcome to the Hotel de la Muerta) Soho Daze, just another Friday Night Roses, Gallows and the Wild Preachers Daughter The Forsaken The name’s Django Cisco Kid Gonna die with a Gun in my Hand Alone again or
The new Gypsy Pistoleros line up is – Gypsy Lee Pistolero – Vox, bad rumba guitar Mark Westwood (Shadowland, Clive Nolan, GLP) – Great Guitars Gaz Le Bass – Double Bass (The Delray Rockets) Jan Vincent Vellazco (Pendragon, Ghost, PIG) – Drums Lynn ( Dexy D’Angelo) Thomas – (Dexys, King, The Specials) – Trumpet
‘The Mescalito Vampires’ was recorded in Black Tree Recording Studios, Tardebigge, Worcestershire with guitarist Mark Westwood engineering & producing (The Beat, Dogs D’Amour, Chumbawamba, Arena, Hazel O’Connor, Dreadzone, etc) Live Tour & Festival dates will be announced next year!
The first and last time I witnessed Embryo performing live was at An Club, Athens on April 24, 2000, when the played with Into The Abyss. We were recording “Adrenochrome,” the live album of Into the Abyss that night, that came out via my record label, Cyberdelia Records.
Today I was talking to a friend about the Embryo LP “Live Behind the Green Door” the first LP released after the passing of the founder and source of the band, Christian Buchard.
The trio that recorded live the album on May 15 2020, was consisted by Buchard’s daughter, the multi-instrumentalist Marja Burchard (trombone, vibraphone, keys, santur) Maasl Maier (electric bass, synthesizer, saxophone) that plays with the instrumental psychedelic band Karaba since 2014 (they released last year their second album “Pheremon Crumble Wax”) and the drummer Sebastian Wolfgruber of the trio Fazer Drums (they also released an LP last year, entitled “Sound Measures / Zenker Brothers Rework”) .
This is a new chapter on the history of this Krautrock band that was founded in 1969.
The trio was gather at the psychedelic shelter Behind the Green Door, to do an exclusive livestream-session during the lockdown as the COVID-19 Pandemic hit Germany (YouTube: Embryo – Green Door Session). The outcome is the very essence of improvisation, which shows the sheer creativity and joy of live music. A musical experience, that brought hope throughout the bleak outlook of that time.
This record is 100% eco-friendly, carbon neutral and vegan.
A musical experience, that brought hope throughout the bleak outlook of that time.
Produced by Veit Oberrauch (Permakultur Schallplatten) Recorded by Fabian Schüssel Cover by Leonard Will & Lucien Lietz (Kreuzer Lichtmaschine) Recorded live in the year 2020 during the lockdown at Import Export, Munich.
Lately I started lately combining the radio show and the e-zine so you can read now on Tribe4mian about most of the artists that I spin on The Blackout Radio Show with Mike Pougounas.
Ted Phelps joined me last week for a little chat regarding the new Imperative Reaction album “Mirror”.
Click HERE to listen to the whole show and follow the links to read more about each artist on the playlist:
‘He Knows’ is the debut single from Kilkenny based singer and multi-instrumentalist Ali Comerford.
Having toured the world performing viola in classical ensembles for 14 years, Ali moved back to Kilkenny in 2020 and has recorded her debut album of original folk based but classical influenced songs.
The first release is the song ‘He Knows’ and is a swaying acoustic folk lament that also showcases Comerford’s proficiency of playing stringed instruments with a chorus filled with meandering, luscious strings that weave a beautiful melodic tapestry against her dulcet guitar.
About the song Ali says “He knows’ is a lilting song about leaving an unfulfilling relationship, the ups and downs of seeking support elsewhere and the resignation that the truth will always come out.”
Born and raised in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, Ali started playing and studying classical music at the age of 4. After obtaining a Masters of Violin Performance from London’s Royal College of Music, she relocated to New York, completing a Masters of Music in Viola Performance at the Manhattan School of Music on scholarship. Ali’s journey in music has seen her grace the likes of New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Royal Albert Hall and Dublin’s National Concert Hall. She has toured the world with Lincoln Center Stage, playing sold out shows around Australia, New Zealand and the United States. After years as a freelance musician for various string ensembles and chamber orchestras in New York, January 2020 saw Ali come home to her native Jenkinstown in Co. Kilkenny. Faced with her biggest stretch of free time in 14 years, Ali used her artistry to process and bring closure to the various ups and downs of life she experienced during her time traveling the world with her craft. Ali has spent the last decade of her life playing other peoples music and the time has come to share some of her own. “He Knows” is the first single from her debut Album which will be released this Summer. She wrote, sang, played and produced every note on the album, finally exploring the full scope of her musicality. The single was recorded at Crossroads studio Kilkenny with recording and mixing engineer Shane Tobler.
“Perpetual Sequence” is the ninth full-length album by Croc Shop, featuring long time members Mick Hale and vMarkus.
The duo takes a decidedly Post-Electro, Pop and Synth-Rock approach on these 11 captivating tracks with occasional nods to their goth-rock and electro-industrial origins.
Croc Shop was originally conceived in a flat above a record shop in Berlin Germany, the band released their debut album in 1988 produced by Dave Fielding of the Chameleons UK.
“Perpetual Sequence” will be released by Metropolis Records on March 5th, 2021 through all digital and streaming formats.
With ‘My Shits’, the band announces the first extract of its first eponymous album which will be released on April 30th, 2021. The quartet from Rouen is pre-selected for Les Inouïs du Printemps de Bourges.
“When MTV came along, preparing the music for the 21st century, it also came with its share of wacky shows. Numerous organizations of parents and sociologists have rebelled against programs like Jackass or Dirty Sanchez which always lifted the limits of political correctness further, thus creating the fear that children would become goofs. You know what? They were right.
Proud of their 90’s roots and a nascent internet, the 3 boys of the band have known each other since elementary school (true). After spending their teenage years making avatars of themselves in the South Park way and grinding every mode in Tony Hawk pro Skater 2, they realized that the game’s soundtrack had branded them.
It was now their turn to take the instruments. First under the name of The Baked Beans, in 2020 they will become Dye Crap, being joined by a certain Serj for the occasion, the latter insisting on his anonymity, and only making music to feed his family (less true).
Dye Crap tickles the nostalgia of a solar punk and garage sound, and damn it feels good. I know it’s a biography but at the time of writing this we are in a global pandemic, the greenhouse effect is tightening, Putin is still president, so I’m not hiding from you that listening to Dye Crap makes me feel like an incredible cure. The guitar choruses make you want to do an express “Into the wild“, the heady pop melodies are grafted with moments that one could qualify in unsupported language, heavy. It’s nuts, the punk garage from both Australia and California met in rainy Normandy.” – Sam Lécasse
Archive are a musical group based in London, England, whose music spans electronic, trip hop, avant-garde, post-rock and progressive rock. Over their twenty-five-year history, the band has released twelve studio albums and enjoyed established success throughout Europe. […]
''Το Afterglow περιγράφει τις πιο μελαγχολικές αποχρώσεις της ζωής, εκείνα τα γλυκόπικρα συναισθήματα όταν κάτι πραγματικά όμορφο τελειώνει, τον απόηχο μιας αγαπημένης φωνής, τα απομεινάρια του φωτός μετά την δύση του ήλιου. Η αγάπη και η απώλειά της, η θλίψη, η ελπίδα, η ονειροπόληση και η απόφαση για ζωή λαμπυρίζουν στους ποιητικούς στίχους των M […]
Να και ένα συγκρότημα από την πόλη Tours της Γαλλίας, το οποίο δεν έχουμε δει να έχει ανέβει σε μπλόγκ. Ονομάζονται Les Enfants Terribles και έχουν βγάλει μόνο ένα επτάϊντσο single και ένα άλμπουμ. Αρχικά το όνομα τους ήταν Acid Brains, όμως αφού υπέγραψαν με την θρυλική Βρετανική δισκογραφική Midnight Music, το άλλαξαν σε Les Enfants Terribles, πιθανόν ως φ […]