The bulgarian band Voyvoda will release their second album “Iztok” on February 7th as a download, the vinyl issue will follow on 20th of April, 2012. Offered will be experimental sounds somewhere between post punk, cold wave and balkan komita folk.

As on the forerunner “The Confederacy” and the couple of EP’s, the journey goes deep into the history of the balkans, back to devotional rebels and their commanders (called Voyvodas). During the trip you’re able to hear stories about devotion, respect, honor, love’s strength, fratricide, sorrow, betrayal, hope and despair, coated into a structure of lyrics reminding of a weird combination between Nick Cave, Johnny Cash and Hristo Silyanov.

Voyvoda’s sound is a combination of post punk, minimal and cold wave of the 80s, stirring balkan folklore and majestic eastern-orthodox chants. “Iztok” will be available from February 7th 2012 on at afmusic and in all well-known download stores in high quality. Furthermore the band offers a “name your price”-download on bandcamp, while the first 30 persons, that pay 1 Euro or more will get a free promo CD of the album.

On Jamendo, Dogmazic and some more download platforms the album will be available as a free download.

Tracklisting:

1. Iztok 02:40
2. The Man in the White Coat 02:14
3. Boylover James 05:12
4. D.A.S.F. 02:19
5. Mr. Mrak 03:29
6. Stefan the Vlach’s Son 04:51
7. Staroverets 02:28
8. Doubts 03:43
9. No Passports 03:44
10. 6000000words 06:02

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The promising Swedish gothrocker MONUMENT release their debut EP “Teeth & Tails”, which offers traditional gothic rock at its best. Female vocals, dominant guitars, coated into the dark atmosphere of an early 80s gothrock release makes today’s goth rocker’s heart beat faster.

The vision of Monument took form in the summer of 2009, initially being a mere modest experimental recording endeavor by Henrik and Linda (the songwriters of the band), whose mutual interests in the rather odd spectrum of music brought them together. Teeth & Tails was recorded during the most dark, rainy and foggy west coast autumn/winter days. The drum machine on the Ep was utilized in order to obtain a 1980′s static mood to it, whereas the fx pedals on the trumpet set the tone. Yet, the concept soon got backed up by a full live band with Jonny on drums, Fischhaber on bass and Tim on trumpet, along Henrik on guitar and Linda on vocals, and gigs were played in the Gothenburg area.

Now the swedish gothrocker MONUMENT release their debut EP “Teeth & Tails” on afmusic to spread their unique dark and impressing tunes around the world. The EP will be available as a download from February 3rd on in every well-known download store and from March 2nd on as a 10″ vinyl release in the stores and via Bandcamp.

Tracklisting:
A1 – Jennifer (3:42)
A2 – Drenched in Blood (4:29)
B1 – Teeth & Tails (4:28)

www.myspace.com/monumentgbg

After the success of her “Dreamville” EP (ZF Records), the exceptional solo artist Drunken C, aka Cecile Raynaud, releases her second EP called “Whisper” on Zorch Factory Records in cooperation with afmusic. Oneself gets offered, next to the experimental and melodic post punk in the best Drunken C-style, a cover of My Bloody Valentine’s “Only Shallow” which was restaged together with Stolearm in an impressive way.

The EP is available now on Zorch Factory Records and on all well-known download stores.

Links: Drunken C | Zorch Factory Records

Different influences and moods converge in Winter Severity Index, in which cold and melancholic atmospheres meet a nervous tribal rhythm section. From December 9th on, the self-titled debut EP will be available as a CD as well as a download on afmusic and all well-known stores.

Winter Severity Index is an Italian New Wave band from Rome, formed by four young women who have already had experiences as musicians of the city scene. Simona collaborated with many Roman artists and worked as composer for theatre, Diana Salzo played in other Indie and Post-Rock groups; Elyria was the drummer of Rock and Punk sets; Mushy worked and performed as solo artist in experimental projects.

They joined in 2008 on the basis of their friendship and common interest for Eighties New Wave and Post-Punk music, working at first on some basic compositions by Simona Ferrucci, and then creating new ones together. After a short break, due to personal issues of the members, Winter Severity Index continued playing together in the Winter 2009, defining their common intention of creating a peculiar sound landscape, which totally reflects their personality and their specific taste in music.

Different influences and moods converge in the project, in which cold and melancholic atmospheres meet a nervous tribal rhythm section. On July 2010 the band published the first EP “Winter Severity Index”, wich has already collected a very positive feedback all over Europe. During 2011 the band had live gigs in Italy and abroad and took part to the Grave Fest in Lisbon, sharing the stage with important names of the European New Wave and Gothic scene. At the moment Winter Severity Index are working on new material for the publication of a full length album.

Tracklisting:

1. The Wiser
2. Severity
3. While we’re living
4. Blind Me
5. Bonus: Motionless

Links: Facebook | MySpace | YouTube

The two Musicians Olivier Tiriboulet (Bass, Vocals, Synths) and Delphine Bayard (Drums) met in june 2010 for the first time, in september they already started recording their first tracks. It didn’t take long until the band IGNITION880 left their mark, because in january 2011 they already had their first live performance.

Their energy and conviction as much as their music is already established. Their life is rock, sometimes in moonlight, sometimes in a kind of apocalyptic trance… It vibrates, to get the last one to dance.

Due to the small budget, the duo recorded their songs in their own living room in a live-session, which was pressed on cd to sell it on their concerts. The debut EP offers a varied sound pattern consisting of electro-rock, mixed with driving drums and experimental samples, garnished with a pinch of robotics.

From the 27th of September 2011 on the EP will be available as a free download under a Creative Commons license via afmusic.

Tracklisting:

1. Cooling
2. RadioActivity
3. Stars
4. GreenPark
5. Flat
6. Particules

www.myspace.com/ignition880

Seduced by each other’s feelings, references and way of walking through the musical underground, Madame B and Manu/Zorch decided to unite their forces to release this multi-colored mid-length record, driving the listener from raw garage punk to experimental sounds.

Freedom has been the motto for this creation full of spontaneity. The duo also invited Joy Disaster’s Nicolas Rohr to ignite some of their songs with his powerful guitar.

The recently on Zorch Factory Records released and selftitled album will be published as a free download on 18th of March 2011 on afmusic, including the Black Flag- and Joy Division-cover versions.

Tracklisting:

1. From Sender To Receiver
2. Gimme Gimme Gimme (Black Flag Cover)
3. Freedom Calling
4. What Is Wrong With You
5. Journey In The Water
6. The Raven
7. Ice Age (Joy Division Cover)

www.zorchfactoryrecords.com

VERLUSTPRINZIP is much more than just music…it’s a construction of sound, expressions and art in the form of pictures and projections, which impresses with a very specific and distinct sound, that cannot be pigeonholed. Challenging lyrics meet subtle sounds and terrific basslines that are piled up high with vast effects.

VERLUSTPRINZIP takes you on a sound journey.

The very beginning happened in a living-room in Leipzig as Andrés one-man project. After endless hours in which ideas and song-structures were created, again and again tweaking the songs, he finalised a decision: kindred spirits wanted to contribute to the completion. With Jens, bassist of a band named DER ZERFALL from Berlin, an analog instrument improved the sound of VERLUSTPRINZIP. As a result of the idea of not creating just a pure instrumental project, Timo, a charismatic lyricist, was won over and became enthusiastic about the music. First recordings were very promising, and together the band got to the heart of conceptions.

The first album, named “Lyrische Konstruktionen” (“lyrical constructions”), is a mixture of lyric, electronical music and experimental sounds. It will be released on November, 12th 2010 as a free download under Creative Commons License. Moreover a CDR version of a limited edition, that comes in a box with some digital imagine work – pictures, taken and edited by the singer – is available on the Bandcamp-website.

Tracklisting:

1. Der Weg 04:00
2. Chemischer Rausch 04:45
3. Erinnerung 03:13
4. Der Hauch auf weißem Papier 03:06
5. Im Moment des Glücks 03:11
6. Du und Ich 03:08
7. Aufschrei der Götter 04:44
8. Du und Ich (Rmx by Cabo de Gata) 04:02
9. Der Weg (Ambient Rmx) 05:20
10. Erinnerung (Meditativ) 03:11

www.myspace.com/verlustprinzip

“The Teeth of Tomorrow” 5 song EP marks The Silence Industry’s 5th official release. Layers of cold guitars and driving bass riffs dominate the band’s sound in these songs of alienation and industrial decay.

The Silence Industry was formed in early 2007. It consists primarily of Graham J., along with others who wish to collaborate with him on music at a given time. Right now, those collaborators consist of Laura (some guitar), Hyuma (some bass), and Josh (some noise and synths).

It is not their intention to necessarily play any particular genre of music, but at the same time they are not scared of showing influences to some extent either, which range from post-punk, to prog rock, to experimental and noise music, as well as simple pop music. It is their intention to play music for the pure sake of own self expression and self actualization, not for some naive dream of becoming “rock stars” or anything of the sort.

Besides the new EP we will re-release the back catalogue by the Canadian Goth Rock band. We start with the great album “The Edge of Illusion” which is now also available at iTunes and many other download stores.

http://www.myspace.com/thesilenceindustry

Tracklist:

1. The Teeth of Tomorrow (06:52)
2. Together (Perfect Isolation) (06:01)
3. Ruins of the City (05:08)
4. Kissing Clouds (07:17)
5. The Colour of Heaven (All My Love) (09:07)

Defekt 86 play a cheeky mixture of Darkwave and Post-Punk. Their music varies from heavy guitars up to rather experimental synthetic sounds; the tempi are versatile designed as well, and also the vocals, which oscillates between melancholy and aggression.

Reminiscences of more “conventional” bands are unfailable to hear. Thus one feels reminded of Joy Division or Sisters of Mercy with the dark Opener “Idols for the weak” without fail, latter also crosses mind in “A hundred times”, caused particularly by the singer. Against that all “Die Helden meiner Zeit” sounds rather like an early Cure number, while the last piece “Nur ein Schritt” with its Industrial noise allows to think remotely of Einstürzende Neubauten.

Nevertheless, the sound of Defekt 86 on no account seems antiquated, but innovatively and modern formed what happens by the combination of electronic bass sequences and bad-ass guitars, or by joining two apparently opposite song parts, as for example with the endless “Silence”, where a melodic, quiet, virtually spherical guitar-piece alternates with its quicker, distorted antagonist.

Defekt 86 are switching the languages on “Ultramarin” from English to German to and fro. Concerning the contents they turn on religious subjects, seduction, power, fear and pain, but also, just like resulted from nightmares, very personal, resignation and the knowledge of the misunderstood being and loneliness which permit nearly one expressionistic, virtually surreal perception on the world, like with the Minimal number “Meine Haut”, or such as in Mantra-style an always recurring hymn of the longing for death in “Sterne”. The only song that appears unusual, though it is melancholic as well, is “Baikonur” as the only love song, which comes different and more slowly.

All together “Ultramarin” is an album that comes along in a very interesting and diverse way, generating a lot of atmosphere, containing few good dance numbers and all above it allows to hope for more Defekt 86.

The album will be released on the 28h of September as a worldwide Net-Release on afmusic.

April showers bring May flowers…

5/11/2009: LIGHT IN YOUR LIFE – Smile that smile/Geldof [CDM/single]

Already one year ago LIGHT IN YOUR LIFE pricked up the ears, at that time still under the name SLEAZY ROMANCE. In their native country the band then already was clebrated by insiders as Sweden’s answer to INTERPOL: Post punk meets post rock on the zenith of the tension curve between Shoegaze and Show – psychedelic pop pearls in the sphere of influence of EDITORS, ELEPHANT and ESKOBAR.

The self-titled debut album will be released on CD at Danse Macabre and digital at afmusic.

Infos and downloads: http://www.af-music.de/en/releases/afm051-light-in-your-life-st/

5/11/2009: THE FORCED OSCILLATIONS – Les monuments de tristesse [CD / EP]

Like JOY DIVISION briefly before the zenith, like THE CURE on “Seventeen seconds” and atmospherically like the late work of ISIS – with “Les monuments de tristesse” the Russians THE FORCED OSCILATIONS created their masterpiece: Atmospheric and experimental Post-Punk with big recognition value. This EP will make hosts of hearts miss a beat.

Infos and downloads: http://www.af-music.de/en/releases/afm049-the-forced-oscillations-les-monuments-de-tristesse/

5/18/2009: NOCTIFLORA – The magic drone [CD / EP]

A pleasantly warm Wave whirlpool pulls clean guitars and SIMON GALLUP-memorial-basslines down in dreadful nice depths. NOCTIFLORA’s instrumental Bleek Wave evokes THE CURE, CHAMELEONS and SAD LOVERS AND GIANTS and it’s the ultimative soundtrack for the night.

Infos and Downloads: http://www.af-music.de/en/releases/afm045-noctiflora-the-magic-drone/

5/25/2009: ALL:MY:FAULTS – on.seventh.change.of.comprehension [CDM/single]

Heavy Metal + NintendoCore: Crossover = Industrial Metal! This you’ll get only by ALL:MY:FAULTS! The inhabitants of Darmstadt also cement with the second single in 2009 their exceptional position as the most innovative and most independent German underground band. “Error abyss and the pretty accomplice” is experimental 8-bit Metal with suitable tempo changes and “Es wird ein Regen kommen” bridges between WELLE:ERDBALL and SUCH A SURGE – with song and text in RIO REISER- quality.

Infos and Downloads: http://www.af-music.de/en/releases/afm053-allmyfaults-onseventhchangeofcomprehension/