Florida’s AntiMozdeBeast is a one-person avant-garde / noise / industrial / metal project. Gabriel Palacio, the man behind the AntiMozdeBeast, “uses a language in his poetry that is not very commonly found in electronic music”, according to the press release. The idea seems to be to find a balance between electronic dance music, noise music and extreme metal.

AntiMozdeBeast’s latest offering is an EP entitled The Ritual. It has a running time of just under 30 minutes, and consists of five tracks which run seamlessly from one to the next to make up a singular uninterrupted listening experience. The music is harsh, disorientating and unsettling. It is not easy to listen to, and I have no doubt that that is entirely intentional. Demonic and distorted lo-fi screams are a key feature. They are genuinely frightening. The music that pulsates underneath owes a lot to early 90s rave music. There are trance-inspired rhythmic synth patterns and drum ’n’ bass influenced beats. Often the harmonies are unusual and (intentionally, I presume) confusing, but there are also sections where classic psychedelic minor chord synth pads dominate. Sometimes the electronic percussion patterns and samples shift away from skittering dance into industrial territory, with clanging metallic stomping rhythms rising to the fore. There are strange samples including parts that sound like they were from real instruments such as flamenco guitars. Sometimes we hear what sound like weirdly contorted and out-of-key orchestral strings that add more weirdness to the chaotic lunacy. In spite of the swirling madness generated by this noisy mix of disparate styles, the music somehow holds together, albeit precariously. The songs still have a sense of structure and dynamics as opposed to being completely confused. The breaks and dynamic drops that occur periodically are key to preventing The Ritual from becoming too relentless or monotonous. In fact, the music is structured so that each time the screams and harshness return they seem to come back with a renewed intensity and ferocity.

The Ritual will be confusing and difficult for a lot of people to listen to, even if they have some experience with industrial music or similar styles. The experience could be compared to sitting in on some kind of actual bizarre ritual, replete with unfamiliar practices and menacing atmospheres. If the intention is for the music to feel oppressive and constrictive then The Ritual undoubtedly succeeds. Listeners who are able to stomach the dizzying frenzy of the music’s unforgiving exterior will find much to appreciate here.

The Ritual will be released on 23rd April 2021 as a digital download.

Flamongo is the brainchild of Austria’s Alexander Trinkl, who is also a respected and prolific visual artist and graphic designer. Sun Dreams is the third full length Flamongo album release in two years. The music falls into the category of lo-fi ambience / noise, and Trinkl composed, performed, produced and mixed the record himself.

The album begins with "Braunungsstreifen" (“tan lines”), which features an evocative synth wash slowly unfolding over the top of a field recording of what sounds like a dismal rainy day. Slightly unnerving yet also strangely relaxing and calming, the music creates a picture of an idyllic dream set against the reality of everyday drudgery. Towards the end, the music becomes more and more unsettling and discordant, until loud otherworldly crashes replace the calm ambience. “Schilling wird angenommen” (which I think means “coin is accepted”) starts with a continuation of the rain sound, with distant cars now audible as well. Strange glitchy rhythms begin to come to the fore alongside mournful and lugubrious synth textures. The track exudes a strange kind of sadness as it gradually becomes more intense, with sounds of doors opening and closing juxtaposed against sci-fi synthesizers. “Absprung Tunnelwurm” (jump tunnel worm) follows, and again the rain sample continues. A lush pulsating pad texture enters, along with a an unsettling feedback-like whistle sound. Twisted snippets of piano and synth melodies peak out of the wash as more harsh ambient sounds (that sound like speeding trains) muscle their way in. “Satan & des Messers Zweck” (“Satan & the knife’s purpose”) is based around what sounds like a heavily distorted sludge metal guitar sound. Strange synthesizers also begin to writhe around and collide. Samples of what could be a train station announcement, and of church bells and choirs, eventually start to take over. It is eerie and affecting. As this track ends and “Unter der Brucke” (“under the bridge”) begins, the rain sounds carry on, and then a forlorn and nostalgic accordion wades to centre-stage. As the accordion moans through its sorrowful passages, the sound becomes gradually more twisted and distorted as though shifting into a weird nightmare. The rain still pours as album closer “Endzeit Ketzergasse” (“endtimes heretic alley”) begins. Ghostly discordant wailing synth textures swirl around. Listening to this feels like being stuck on a very strange broken down ghost train. Gradually, romantic piano chords begin to emerge from the ethereal textures. The sound has been run through delirious effects so that this sounds like a distorted and queasy reality. As air-raid sirens and disturbing bass synths gradually come through, the feeling becomes gradually more and more intense and menacing. As it all slowly fades out we are left, yet again, with the relentless precipitation, along with a distant sounds of a passing train and far-away thunderclaps.

The album cover (also by Trinkl) is an excellent piece of graphic design, featuring an overcast sky and a rain-soaked street with a rather dilapidated and boarded up old unit adorned with the sign “Sun Dreams” and the “Flamongo” logo. Perhaps this building used to be a sun-tanning salon. Either way, the effect is powerful, and the image perfectly compliments the music.

Sun Dreams is the most accomplished, evocative and cohesive album Flamongo has so far put out. It takes the listener on a journey and it manipulates the emotions in subtle but very effective ways as the sounds and atmospheres unfold to create a dreamlike and at times somewhat dystopian sound world. Each track has its own identity, but the whole work is held together by the use of recurring themes and sounds including the ever-present rain which serves as an anchor to reality even when the nightmare of the music itself is steering wildly out of control. Excellent stuff!

Sun Dreams is released on 1st May 2021 via HauRuck on vinyl and as a digital download.

Marva Von Theo is a collaboration between two musicians with classical and jazz backgrounds, singer Marva Voulgari and composer Theo Foinidis. When Voulgari relocated from Vienna to Athens (where Foinidis was based) their creative efforts intensified and they released their debut album, Dream Within a Dream, in 2018. Eschewing any obvious reference to their classical and jazz roots, the pair create dark electronic pop music. Their second album, Afterglow, will be released in February 2021 and “Ruins” is the third single to be released in advance of the full-length record.

According to Voulgari, “Ruins” is about the idea that “however far one may try to run, he will always have to face the same old mistakes, the same ‘ruins’.” The mood of the piece is fittingly melancholic and introspective for the theme, replete with an ominous synth bass groove and brooding pads and washes. The song is very strong and the catchy chorus with its harmony backing vocals recalls classic 80s dark pop such as The Eurhythmics and Kate Bush. Voulgari’s voice is gracefully delicate as it soars effortlessly across the contours of the track. The arrangement and production (handled by Foinidis) are exemplary. Each subtle synth part is timed perfectly to interweave with and build upon the previous parts so that each section rises and falls just as it needs to in order to support the song’s progression. The mix is absolutely pristine, with everything afforded the space and clarity it needs. Of particular note is the synth drum beat which, in spite of using a driving four-to-the-floor rhythm complete with 80s-style synth handclaps, still manages to convey a subdued restraint befitting the seriousness of the song. Although there is nothing obviously classical about this arrangement, the attention to detail and expert use of harmony and texture undoubtedly stem from the band members’ training and musical mastery.

“Ruins” is accompanied by a music video directed by John Karabelas and featuring the band and four dancers in a dark, minimalistic and claustrophobic setting. Blue-grey tones are punctured occasionally by flashing strobes as the dancers move in dynamic but sombre formations. Voulgari is the focus of most of the shots, moving sensually in various extravagant costumes as she sings directly to the camera. It’s a captivating piece that fittingly complements the song.

With “Ruins” Marva Von Theo show us a peak behind the door into the world of what Afterglow will offer. Those who enjoy serious, moody, danceable, dark pop music will greatly appreciate this single and, no doubt, the album to follow next year.

“Ruins” is available now via Shades of Sound / Wave Records and can be streamed or downloaded from most major platforms.

Siegmar Fricke is a long-standing contributor to the experimental electronic / dance music world. The German producer (who also works as a visual artist) began releasing music in the mid 80s and has produced many albums across a variety of styles including industrial, techno and ambient.

Funkwellen (translated as “radio waves”) is described in the press release as “melodic based sequencer driven work with…futurist appeal”. The album itself has quite a history. Originally recorded in 1994 at Fricke’s Pharmakustik Studio, the work was not released until 2008 when it surfaced as a free download in a different form with a slightly different tracklist. It has now been reassembled and remastered by Fricke, and this “definitive edition” is available as a 24 bit high quality download.

The music itself is quite brilliant. The whole record has been approached with a rare attention to detail and subtlety. Its melodies, grooves and robotic loops owe much to house and techno, but it also contains an underlying and ever-present arty weirdness. This is not “hard” dance music, but it marches forward with enough intent and drive for it not to sit comfortably in the “ambient” category. The beats often seem to be right on the edge of climax, but instead they gracefully hold back. This has the effect of holding the listener on the edge of their seat, energised and alert. The synth sounds are expertly jigsawed together. Angular and disorientating sequenced arpeggios mesh with warm atmospheric pads. Repeated samples of single words or short disembodied phrases in German or English come in and out over the top. By its nature this music is repetitive, but Funkwellen artfully pulls off the trick of creating subtle and sometimes barely-perceptible variation bar-by-bar. New synth parts and samples rise up and fall away whilst filters, reverbs, delays and panning are constantly being controlled to generate dynamic motion.

Funkwellen is evocative. It paints an ever-shifting mood journey. There is hopeful excitement and there is cold bleakness. Sometimes these feelings coexist. The palette of sounds is familiar, but its application is idiosyncratic. It will energise you, it will stimulate deep thought, it will make you feel something, and it will hold your attention.

If you like to think as well as to dance, and if you enjoy having your expectations subverted, then Funkwellen by Siegmar Fricke is album you should hear.

Funkwellen is available now via Bandcamp.

Mystery surrounds the artist known as Chiang Valley Liberators, whose new album - And Then Everything Changed - is an experimental electronic affair encompassing the influences of noise, ambient, drone, and industrial music. There is little information about the person or people behind the project, the intentions of the work, or even about which part of the world it originates from. I listened with an open mind, not knowing what to expect and piecing together my impressions of this album.

The first track - “Lightning Stations” - runs at over 10 minutes and is centred around a compellingly dark drone. As mysterious as the origins of the project itself, this piece seems to immediately drop us on some unknown and bleak planet, or a desolate dystopian future. The tone and intensity of the deep and otherworldly soundscape subtly varies, and samples of various recognisable sounds gradually emerge in a series which includes old-fashioned army fanfares and talking dolls. It is captivating, evocative and filmic.

“Addiction”, the second track, again features a droning backdrop, but we are now in post-industrial territory and there is heavy dub influence in the electronic drums and effects. The leaden, grinding, and purposeful beat is augmented by samples of shouting men. The use of the stereo field is impressive, with futuristic beams of glassy synth noise and dub reverbs bouncing all over the place but never distracting from the drive of the sinister underlying beat. Again, the single-note drone is the only harmonic or melodic feature here, but the texture, dynamics and rhythmic emphasis are constantly moving so as to hold our attention.

“SAND 7” has a more delicate, somewhat ethereal, touch and sounds like a tropical rainstorm on another planet heard from the shelter of a strange cave. The manipulation of noise and samples to create atmosphere is very impressive and highly effective.

“Summer in the Dark” features a steady four-to-the-floor kick drum beat but, again, everything is infused with an alien quality. Aggressive stamping sounds processed with a queasy reverb contrast with delicate ambient synth melodies. Yet again, a deep, enchanting and unrelenting drone flows underneath the whole affair. The calm and tranquil sounds are mixed and processed to feel close, while the tense and abrasive ones sound further away - a technique which makes this piece feel like a safe haven amidst chaos and destruction.

The album closes with “Devoted To You”. At nearly 15 minutes, this piece completes the construction of an album which opens and closes with its two epic-length pieces. As with the first track, percussion and strong rhythm is largely eschewed in favour of a soundscape approach. Again there are some samples of speech (I could make out “they gave me an electric shock and it destroyed my memory” amongst the largely unintelligible words). However, this track avoids the bleakness and tension of previous ones. It features a repeated rising two-chord synth pad pattern which seems to be designed to relax and soothe like a lulling dream. Although this pattern continues for the full duration, the piece maintains interest due to subtle and clever variations. This soft and comforting piece is a somewhat unexpected but very welcome way to close the record.

On a cerebral level, I suspect that some political or historical themes or at least cultural allusions of this album might have passed me by. Nevertheless, the emotional experience is highly engaging and the technical construction is expertly executed. If you enjoy dark and rich synth textures and if you like albums which take your mind somewhere else and need to be appreciated as a whole then you may well greatly appreciate And Then Everything Changed by Chiang Valley Liberators.

And Then Everything Changed is available now for download and streaming and will be released on vinyl on 27th August 2020 on Corrosive Growth Industries.