Informatik are David Din of Din_Fiv and Tyler Newman, the driving force behind Battery Cage plus Matthew Crofoot. This release sees Tyler joining the project while Matthew is on hiatus. This is some strong EBM with a highly sexually charged theme, thus the title is not a misnomer or just something they thought would sound cool - it really does relate to the song content.
The first track is an invitation to play and includes lines like "Three is really company" which makes thier concept very clear. You will also note some very strong female moaning samples. Sorta reminds me of TKK in that aspect alone.
The song "Hopeless" is a song about all love ending in misery and is very Synthpop oriented with dark vocals. "Perfect Stranger" is about promiscuity and going home with someone you've just met and the dangers that lie in that and takes the pace musically more into the EBM field - as if it wasn't already there. "Phycical Education" is about the elements of an almost simulated ritual of sensuality and this track has some heavy Front Line Assembly sounds to it. "Over" is a song about longing after loss and begins almost ballad-like but quickly builds into more danceable rhythms.
One of my favorite tracks has got to be "Built For Pleasure" which is about a pleasure droid named Synthia - sort of a Cherry 2000. One part flesh and one part technology. This is just sheer fun and a very upbeat dance track too and includes some vocoded vocals in the chorus.
"A Matter of Time" begins with a drum beat that reminds me much of Martin Atkins when he plays a slow groove but is very heavy on the synth. Another dark EBM track - another song about longing after loss but this is more on the terms of waiting eternally for someone who leaves you feeling like an empty shell when they've gone. It is about want more than anything.
"Ovlivion v2" is about being 'blown away' by someone - or rather by exploring the boundaries of consciousness through sexual exploration. It nearly makes sex sound religious or at least focuses on the ecstasy of passion.
You'll also find a Negative Format mix of "Perfect Stranger" which moves the track into more af the Trance region and a Stromkern mix of "Physical Education" which takes it into a heavier, darker and more industial arena.
Where is the "Built For Pleasure" or "Flesh Menagerie" mixes? These two tracks would have been more likely candidates and maybe that is why they were not chosen. Maybe there will be CD singles later.
© Copyright 6/2002 TG Mondalf. All Rights Reserved

Harsh dark German symphonic industrial in the vein of Neubauten, Laibach, Wumpscut, Hocico and The Young Gods. Das Ich follow a precarious balance between Industrial and Gothic as well as harmony and chaos. Pounding beats and classical strings meld in rhythm with Stefan Ackerman's gritty vocals. There is much here that would appeal the the Naubauten fan or any fan of German industrial as most of the lyrics are in German and the vocals are of a similar style to Blixa Bargeld on early Einstuerzende pieces. However, the music is much more modern and a bit less experimental as the compositions remind me much of Laibach. It smoothly combines hard industrial rhythms and percussion with classical strings and orchestral styled pieces as well as some heavy Gothic choir and ethereal overtones while utilizing bits of modern EBM to bring it all to the modern ear.

This release by the independent Sector19 features industrial musicians from the US, UK, Italy, Germany, Belgium and France. It opens with a track from the French group Jailbird which sounds amazingly like The Young Gods. The second track is by the industrial rap group SMP which have gained quite a bit of notoriety on the Net of late and have had music featured in various public spots as well. Projeria is more of a hard driving beat heavy industrial pounding with a bit of Noise influence. Aiboforcen has been featured on many indie comps lately and it's easy to see why. They combine elements of Industrial, Synthpop and EBM into a sort of futuristic pop sound. Six Past Seven combines some heavy Noise influences with Industrial throb and repition. Mouth of Indifference combines Industrial with a sort of trip-hop and ambient feel. Chaos Engine, a mainstay of Wasp Factory Recordings, is an Industrial rock group which sometimes reminds me of Sex Gang Children with their dark and nearly punk elements. System 81 creates a sort of cyber-noise ambient texture. Arkam Asylum, also on Wasp Factory, is also industrial rock but having more of a sound that reflects what might happen if you combined Alien Sex Fiend with Marilyn Manson. Mneumonic takes into a more Front Line Assembly like territory with "Human Fragments" which combines elements of the cyber sound with drum-n-bass and other elements known to the FLA sound like the dark whispery vocals. Tin.RP is ambient Noise. Mind Flux is metal industrial with grovelly vocals and caustic overtones. St. John's Eve is also a Noise track with lots of distorted vocals and an overall mellow and very dark tone. Monoid is the side project of Martin Steinebach also known for his industrial ritual project Conscientia Peccati. However, Monoid deals more with the hard beat and distortion aspects of Industrial music but also contains some tonal and atmospheric elements. The song by AutoCad is very digitalia and Kraftwerkian in it's overall structure. Reminds me somewhat of Trans Europe Express for some reason. Silencer is anything but, it is Noise - loud and chaotic. This second track by Jailbird is very different from the first and is more Gothic in general overtone.

From the start it is easy to see why Icon of Coil is becoming more well known in the EBM scene. Their music combines elements of earlier versions of the genre like the heavy Technophile F242 sound of "Thrill Capsule" to the more VNV-like "In Absence" or the very Synthpop "Access and Amplify" or "Other Half of Me" which are restructured from the typical synthpop sound into a very IOC brand.

Strangely enough you'll even find some more urban influence on "Everything Is Real" which utilizes a heavy hip-hop beat distorted and industrialized and also incorporates piano into the mix.

If I had to pick any favorites for this album though it would have to be the last two tracks. "Disconnect" could readily be an anthem for anyone living in our modern high stress society while "Simulated" sounds like something that should be in The Matrix II. With lyrics like the following I really hope this one does NOT get missed!

We're alive and we're among you. We breed and we conceive you. You live because we allow you to live and you breath because we allow you to breath. You're incapable to think or breath for yourself. We pull the strings, cut of the wings. We're in charge of all the peace and of all the noise. You think there is a God, you are only toys.

Overall this album contains track after track of heavy EBM club beats. Excellent!

Dark, Ambient electronic mood music. This first release by Anderson instantly takes the listener on a journey into a realm of the dark unknown. Combining elements of Ambient, Industrial and various eclectic and experimental self contrived electronic audio structures and even utilizes some tribal elements.

If you like music like Patrick O'hearn's album Indigo then you will love Robert Anderson's work as this is the closest comparison I could possibly make to this album.

You will find some New Age elements prevalent on some pieces while others are more tribal or industrial sounding. This is definitely great mood music for whatever purpose; meditating, message, trance, sexual intercourse, etc. The sounds are so originally constructed that they create a virtual landscape for the mind to contemplate, dark though it may be. The themes may even instill fear in some more timid listeners but will sound ethereally beautiful for those who enjoy a darker shade of life.

These compositions are originally composed and intended it seems for BDSM and other similar adult play.