WL//WH Weekly Post-Punk // Darkwave // Dark Synth Tips

Weekly Post-Punk // Darkwave // Dark Synth Tips – JUNE 2024 – #25-24

The Art of Menoevil

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

  • Saint-Petersburg-based minimalistic post-punk band LIVINROOM “Excess” off “Their Guilt” maxi single

New solid maxi-single from the minimal guitar-driven Russian Post-punk power trio, pulls a decadent, shadowy and romantic spleen a la Joy Division/Interpol winding through the tense and pain-filled “Their Guilt” and the visceral introspection about truth and reality of “Excess”, on glistening strings of bleeding guitar agony through the tense and meandering bass lines whilst deeply tormented vocals long for things money can’t buy.

  • Houston, TX coldwave /obscure electronics /darkwave act Danza Muerta – “Monsters” single

Another slab of sinister obscure electronics from Houston‘s Darkwavers about ‘monsters’ skips through skittering beats and chugging low ends, topped by dramatic glowing synths to surround stern and ominous baritones, at times beastly growls, with a restless and eerie mindset of shadowy reflections.

  • Athens, Greece-based EBM /darkwave /retro-futuristic electro music artist and founder of Dystatik label, Dry_feel “Synthesized (Ft. Fluora)” from “Your Body Kills The Rhythm” EP 12″ [Oráculo Records]

Third album, 6 tracks once were an EP on my end, nevertheless also in 12″ format from fine vinyl purveyor Oraculo Recs., split in two different but harmonizing facets, which represent the evolution over the years of the Athenian producer between the latest leanings towards Darkwave and Minimal Synth, the first part, more dancefloor-ready with EBM propulsion drive, the latter, where “Vampire Disko” certainly stands out. Another novelty, and pick of the crop, is the sinuously enveloping slice of modern-day Darkwave dystopia, with the first vocal feature that unfolds between crunchy, tense and beating drum programs, hypnotic rumbling bass oscillations and shivering melancholic synths expanding over aloof yet delusionally emotional vocals fantasizing about love.

  • Dutch dark ambient /cinematic /ritual /psych /noir experimental duo of Derk Reneman (aka Roberto Auser) and Ian Martin, Kaval “Second Coming” from the third cassette album “Solastasis” [Nuova Materia]
  • French dark ambient /cinematic /dark jazz noir project of Pierre Laplace, Beyond the Ghost “Neon Dawn” from album “Neon Twilight” via Cryo Chamber
  • Swedish ethereal /post-punk /darkwave /synth duo from Sundsvall, RED MECCA “Den blomstertid nu kommer” single
  • Icelandic minimal wave solo project aska “lófar” off the V/A “Kosmoloko 3” CD/LP compilation on Galakthorrö
  • Montreal, Quebec based coldwave /minimal synth musician Ethan Harman aka Alan Harman – “Friendly Fire” from “Friendly Fire” ltd. single 7″ [Unrealistic Expectations]
  • Berlin-based NDW /minimal synth act Brigade Rosse – “Alles Auf Koma” from V/A “Stanze Fredde Vol. 1” ltd. CD compilation via Stanze Fredde Records
  • German techno /coldwave /dark wave /synth-pop solo project based in Leipzig, нат.аша “simulation dystopia” off the upcoming album “666evil ” via UNTERSCHALL
  • Amsterdam-based minimal synth /synth-punk one-man band de Kraters “Barbie Barbarella” single
  • Frankfurt, Germany ndw /neue neue deutsche welle /wave /synthpunk quartet Das Huhn “Melatonin” from “Demo” EP
  • Oregon-based industrial /minimal synth /post-punk solo project (aka D Haddon), High Marks “Nerves in Stereo” from “Humane Apparatus” EP
  • Hamburg-based ndw /nndw /synthwave /minimal synth musician part of Ölband Kassetten Team, Frieder Schutzmann “Schnotten” from “Hügiene (Die persönliche EP)”
  • Portuguese new wave /post-punk /goth quartet Der Stil – “Flores Do Vício” (1986) from V/A “Rock Rendez Vous: Música Moderna Portuguesa 1985-1986″ LP 12” via Dark Entries Records
  • French bedroom new wave /synth-pop three-piece band from Lyon, eat-girls “3 Omens” single on Bureau B
  • Los Angeles-based darkwave /post-punk /coldwave solo project of Fearing guitarist Brian Vega, Lovers Guilt – “Haziness” from the second cassette EP “Enveloped In Smoke” EP
  • Berlin-based, Belgrade-bred coldwave /noir synth-pop duo Lidija Andonov and Laslo antal, SIXTH JUNE “Dream Again” from the upcoming 8th album “Stay!” CD/Vinyl 12” via Young and Cold Records
  • Vancouver, Canadian dark wave /post-punk quartet ACTORS “Dead Inside” single via Artoffact
  • Hamburg, Germany minimal wave /synthpop artist (aka Acid Ernst), Konstantin Unwohl “Ich hass es, wenn man Spaß hat” from the upcoming album “Neuer Wall” via Tapete Records
  • Hamburg ndw /nndw /minimal /cold wave /synthwave solo project part of Ölband Kassetten Team, Rolf Pop “Blitz Mich” single via Ölband Kassetten
  • Slovenia/Croatia EBM /techno /dark wave /dark electro duo Christian Kroupa & Le Chocolat Noir, aka Black Dot “Losing Game” from “Love At Glance” EP 12″ [Italo Moderni]
  • French EBM /techno /coldwave /synth-punk /darkwave duo POTOCHKINE “Endorphines” single
  • EBM /Indie Dance /Dark Disco /Darkwave collaboration between LA-based producer Idoru and Hamburg‘s duo Siie, IDORU & SIIE “Violent (Skelesys Remix)” from “Violent” EP [Manta Recordings]
  • UK darkwave /synthpop musical group formed in 1996 led by co-founder and singer Marc Massive, Massive Ego “In Your Own Darkness” single
  • Vienna, Austria-based Cold Wave /Dark Wave project by Mikhail Shlepin, aka Скубут “Pogranichnyi (pakuty Remix)” from the remix album “Pogranichnyi (Remixes)”
  • Berlin-based noise pop /indie rock /synth-pop /new wave duo Thomas Schernikau (Forced to Mode, Forced Movement) and Alexander Leonard Donat (Vlimmer, Fir Cone Children, ASSASSUN), WHOLE “Beast” from the second album “HYDRA” via Blackjack Illuminist Records
  • Central Europe-based industrialized synthpop solo act Ratkeller “What It Is” single
  • Spanish dark wave /post-punk /synthpop trio Sex Code “Spirit Box” single
  • Vancouver-based electro-pop project of Canadian musician and visual artist, Shannon Hemmett (keyboardist of post-punk band Actors), Leathers “Mary” single from upcoming LP “Ultraviolet” via Artoffact Records
  • Turin, Italy Italo /sci-fi synthpop solo project Radioklub “1984 (Don’t let me down)” single
  • London-based dream pop /synthpop solo project of Marianthi (one half of Greek duo Marsheaux), MeLLLo “At LaST” single
  • UK retrowave /synthwave duo W O L F C L U B – “Hurricane” 2nd single from next year’s LP via NewRetroWave
  • Brazilian goth /synth wave /darkwave one man project by Wilame AC (Electro Bromance), DISCOTRONIKE “Andarilhos” single
  • French Coldwave /Post-punk 3-piece band SINTHOME “Lumière Noire” from the upcoming album “L’Ombre des Croix”
  • UK Dark Wave /Post-Punk experimental transatlantic collaboration Lunar Paths “Lifesong” single
  • Peruvian darkwave band formed in 1989, EVITERNA “Melancholy” from the forthcoming CD album “Love Is Dead” via InClub Records
  • Barcelona post-punk /darkwave solo project Darkways “Inexistence” from the album “Resonance”
  • Berlin-based Goth /Synthpop /Darkwave Buenos Aires-born solo project Deus Ex Lumina “As Above So Below” single via Cold Transmission Music
  • San José, Costa Rica goth /darkwave /post-punk band MOLT “Rosa oscura” from “Estados Latentes” mini-album
  • Peruvian Goth /Minimal Dark /Cold Wave “one-man-band” from Lima, SCHMERZ “My Dear Celine” from “Ghost tapes (Lost Demos)” EP
  • Italian darkwave project of multi-instrumentalist musician and DJ Alessandro Ridolfo (former member of I.R.L. (In Rotten Land) and Silent Drama), aka Echoes In Mind “A story not told” first single
  • Mexico city-based Darkwave /Post Punk duo Nómadas “El Tiempo de la Noche” from the EP “Danzantes Fugaces” via No Me Escucho Records
  • Washington D.C./New York post-punk /synth-pop collaboration, Hex Formes & Postlooperish “Pulse” single
  • Rome, Italy-based Post-punk /New Wave /Darkwave solo project UmbraMatte “Long Term Delicti” single
  • New York-based goth /new wave /post-punk /synth-wave act, Ren Flowers “Help” single
  • Hungary darkwave /post-punk band kékmandarin “Essen!” single
  • Yekaterinburg-based emo /shoegaze /indie rock /post-punk trio мойра [Moira] — “чёрная стужа” single
  • Californian darkwave /new wave /post-punk solo project, LovelyEddie “Satisfy” from the demo album “красавица (sessions)”
  • Dortmund, Germany wave /post-punk band Kurschatten “Nachruf” off the upcoming EP “Tropische Jahre” via Bat-Cave Productions, Jean-Claude Madame, Bakraufarfita Records
  • Russian goth /coldwave /post-punk band from Smolensk, горемыка [goremyka] “Упырь” single
  • Asheville, NC death /gothic rock /post-punk band Coffin Moth “FEAR OF LOVING FEAR” (Single).
  • Asheville, NC electronic /coldwave /darkwave /gothic rock artist ANDERS MANGA “Leave My Grave Open” first single from the upcoming LP
  • Seattle, WA goth /post-punk /deathrock band Eve’s Black Heart “Passion of Lovers” (Bauhaus cover, 1981)
  • Taiwan based darkwave /gothic rock band HEMUS “Empire” from “The Sovereignty of Sadness” EP
  • Austin, TX wave /post-punk solo project (formerly Mean Gene & Thee Green Beans), DIE TRAURIGEN “Jennifer” (Faust cover) from “DEMOS & UNRELEASED” collection LP
  • Spanish dark wave /post-punk band from Malaga, Planta Décima “La Calle del Cielo”
  • Vietnam-based coldwave /darkwave duo Slower Avenue “A Gentle Touch” from “Live at Riot” EP
  • Athens/Paris wave /post-punk /synth-punk music duo of Manos Tzavolakis and Alexandre Moreau, aka Sensitive Content “Sidera kai Schinia” from the debut EP “Ténèbres Insondables” via Just Gazing Records
  • Leipzig, Germany lo-fi punk /post-punk DIY outfit Knickers “BORED IN THE SUPERMARKETPER” from the cassette “Collection” complete discography via XTRO
  • Brooklyn, NY guitar driven post-punk quartet Clone “Dazzler” from the debut LP “CL.1”
  • San Antonio, TX synth-punk /post-punk act MOCK-UP “Factory Preset” from the debut mini-album “Starved Plate” EP
  • Istanbul, Turkey garage /egg punk /synth-punk outfit Goblin Daycare “Plot to Rob Yuppies” from the second album “AGITPROP HOTLINE!!!” co-released via Painters Tapes, Dedstrange, Idiotape Records, Iron Crotch, Mevzu Records, and UGL Media
  • Oakland, CA art-punk band Street Eaters “Expensive Dog” (Total Control cover, 2014)
  • Hobart, Australia 3-piece Psych /Post-punk band Teens “I’m An Art Prize” from the upcoming debut S/T album
  • German dark ambient /synthwave /fantasy /dungeon synth duo Gilgareth “Klinge des Schicksals” from the cassette album “Schatten über dem Nordland”
  • London, UK dark ambient /chiptune /fantasy /dungeon synth artist Ber Bein “Past Life V: The Human Sacrifice” from the cassette album “Dreaming Bone” via WereGnome Records
  • Argentina Dark Ambient /Fantasy /Dungeon Synth project Deionarra “Egiveus, the Soldier” from the album “Egiveus, the Tree” via Rusty Pilgrim
  • Old School Dungeon Synth from the Montana Rocky Mountains, Lycan Castle “Wooded Mountains of Majesty” live private recordings (tape)

photo by Emilie Möri