Born as a Pandaimonium sublabel dedicated to electro music Pandailectric in the last year grew really fast and in about a year they released about eight CDs. Minerve is one of their bands and it is formed by two members of Paradise Of Fear: Daniel Wollatz and Mathias Thurk. BREATHING AVENUE contains eleven tracks full of pathos and melody which mix gothic atmospheres with electronic sounds and synthpop structures. Daniel's deep voice and the melancholic melodies match in a good way the structure created by Mathias and tracks like "Antimatter", "Falling", "Afraid of myself", "Merge" and "High pitched emotions" shows really well the core of the project with their upbeat tempo and the catchty melodies. The album isn't all based on the same formula as along the forementioned tracks you can find also "Interlude" and "Epilog", where the band slow down the rhtyms just to experimentig a little more with sounds and melodies. A good one for modern electropop lovers.

Mana ERG's brand new "The Blind Watchmaker" (out June 15th, on a sub-division of one of France's best electronic music outlets) is the fifth release by Bruno De Angelis (after three tapes in the ninetees and the mini CD "Borderliners", 2002). Although the name is most definitely italian, I believe he lives in the UK, from where he has been producing music for this new release with illustrious guests and collaborators, including: Russian Electroshock records label-owner and electro-acoustic musician Artemiy Artemiev; German ex-Kluster pioneering ambient/techno artist Dieter Moebius; Musica Secreta and The Tallis Scholars renaissance music ensemble soprano singer Deborah Roberts; ex-Scorn & ex-Lull member and Metamorphic Journeyman magazine publisher Antony Burnham, a.k.a. Antonym; didgeridoo player and Oltre il Suono webzine creator Nihm; and Attrition's mastermind Martin Bowes, who mastered this record. So now that we know that there's definitely lots of brain behind all of this, let's deal with what really counts: the music of Mana ERG is hard to describe and hard to file; it covers many grounds and finds its strenght in rare qualities such as dynamism and eclecticism. "The Blind Watchmaker"'s multifaceted production extends from electronic to dark, in a journey that encompasses so many genres and influences that it's hard to even keep track of your own mood and state of mind as you are violently pulled through its smooth soundscapes. The overall sort of "noir" approach brings that nice ill and sinister halo to the table, and you'll definitely recognize influences of early NIN (in particular think of Reznor doing his nasty and dirty slow pieces with piano or guitar loops, much rather than him screaming away over walls of distortion) when the atmospheres get cloudy and slow or when Bruno's collaborators Joe Erber (piano/guitar) and Tiberio (guitar) add their touch to the ill-lighten suites. The addition of d'n'b breaks and other sophisticated rhythmical figures might remind you of Apell, some older Eno productions and definitely some late Clock DVA. Young Gods-type sonorities are ready to take off on the wings of buttered IDM loops that wouldn't look out of place in some Boards of Canada/Autechre or other Warp artist's album (probably thanks to the aid of DJ/producer Lee Stacey). Brusaschetto/Mudcake-like gentle noise-making gives the album that rough edge, and even though most corners are rounded off, you'll always feel the scratchy surface underneath the hovering layers of sounds. Of course Bowes' presence is not a coincidence, as Mana ERG definitely looks up to the sound of Attrition or of similar bands such as Die Form. Bastard, Legendary Pink Dots, Visions of Excess, Kapotte Muziek, Ivan Iusco/Nightmare Lodge are some of the other bands that populated my mind while going through these tracks... Utlimately the electronic texturing of the record really shows great attitude and consciousness and builds intense statements and ballsy presence on minimalist structures that convey great sense of musicianship. It's such a diverse recording you'll have to listen to it many many times to even get a grasp of its complexity, which is great considering how basic the instrumental approach is. I have been listening to this for a few days now and if I didn't have to move on to the next batch in the pile, I'd probably keep going to appreciate all of the shadows and shades of its wide palette and array of sonics. Great record.

Coming from Belgium The Dawn Visitors arrived with HYBRIDIZE to their fifth release. The four tracks of this MCD are incredibly convincing and listening to The Dawn Visitors is like having a link between the past (Roxane's voice sometimes remembered me Siouxsie Sioux) and the future (the band's music contains elements of '80s goth rock but being well integrated in nowadays electronic sound). "Don't say we don't mind", "Space Shift", "U-415" and "Be Perfect" (which is a sort of hit single for my tastes) are catchy without being too danceable or fashion. Even if they use electronic gear their music has nothing to do with modern electronic bands you can find into the alternative charts and this is a good thing because they aren't chained to a genre which could affect their creativity.

Newcomers of the German electro pop scene, Pandique are active since 2001 when they won a battle of the bands with their song "Light of justice" (third track of their debut album). WELTENKLANG is their first album which is ideally linked to bands like And One, Covenant, etc. Even if those are their references, Pandique developed a certain capacity into mixing different influences which go from distorted techno (like on "Corrosion" and on "Vom Leben") to synthpop (like on "Stummes wort") including also parts of ambient electronic (see the use of long synth pads on their songs). The songs have got always a certain danceable approach without being too commercial. Melodies and rhythm are the backbone of their music and WELTENKLANG is a good beginning.

I don't know if you'll agree with me but it isn't possible to find any weak point about this second Burch Renders & Reducers Mama release. Since the first listening I found their electronic compositions absolutely irresistible. Their light melodies mixed with the synthetic analog sounds create a sort of dark spatial lounge music which is free from the fashion aspect of that scene and this will make you appreciate so much their music. The CD gathers the music for the plays "Die Stelle im Park" and "Migranenstadl" by Tim Zulauf as well as new compositions for Brillowska's Show "Hotel Supernova" (guest appearance in "Bad Hotel", Gessneralle, Zurich). The Songs 'Bühnenarbeiter', 'Sneaker', 'Recycling', 'Autoerotik' and 'Heimatgold', (all taken from the Play "Migrantenstadl") are interpreted and sung by the actors / actresses themselves: Ingo Heise, Felix von Hugo, Agnes Lampkin and Wanda Vyslouzilova. The lyrics of these songs were written by Zulauf. If you are asking yourself how do they sound like: "Turbopolka" seems a soundtrack for neurotic video games, while "Living room", "Hold on", "Sneaker" and "Halo" deal with pop, lounge and electro ambient music in a way so delicate that they are perfect that way. The most particular tracks are "Sickerheit & Kontrolle" (almost an e.b.m. track), "Gruppengefuhl" (a martial experimental electronic track), "Amalgam" (a perfect soundtrack for a noir movies with its dark and melancholic melody). Record of the week!