Well,
gothfans know who they are, but for those who are new in the scene, we gladly introduce you some bands that soon will play on Belgian soil.
Let's kick off with The Cruxshadows.
They play the 21st of July at The Steeple along with Belgian pride Diskonnekted.
New release from Laibach: 'An Introduction To… Laibach / Reproduction Prohibited'
AN INTRODUCTION TO… LAIBACH - REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED - OUT 3 SEPTEMBER 2012
Laibach, the famous Slovenian band, will release "An Introduction To… Laibach / Reproduction Prohibited" on 3 September 2012. The album release follows their recent "Iron Sky" original soundtrack release, the Monumental Retro-Avant-Garde show at the Tate Modern and concides with a series of European dates (details below).
Opening with their interpretation of Mute’s first release, The Normal’s Warm Leatherette (here translated as "Warme Lederhaut"), which Laibach premiered the track at the "Short Circuit presents Mute festival", Roundhouse in May 2011), the tracklisting demonstrates Laibach’s unique take on the cover version.
From the sublime, Laibach’s interpretation on The Beatles "Across The Universe" would melt even the toughest of hearts, to their bombastic cover of Europe’s "Final Countdown", this is a window into Laibach’s own view of pop music, and to the humour that permeates their work.
"Reproduction Prohibited" features two tracks from "Volk" (2006), Laibach’s album of reinterpretations of national anthems which uncovers the violence and the pop intrinsic in the national anthem, surely the ultimate pop song. Here, "Germania" reinterprets "Das Lied der Deutschen", originally written in 1797 and used after World War I as the national anthem of the German Empire at the time of the Weimar Republic, while "Anglia" uses John Bull’s "God Save The Queen" as its inspiration.
"Mama Leone", perhaps not familiar to many in its original version, sold over 20 million copies when it itself was covered by Bino in the late 70s. "B Maschina", written and performed by popular Slovenian rock group Siddharta, who asked Laibach to remix or remake their song, was originally released on 2003’s WAT. An additionally remixed version is also featured in the soundtrack to IRON SKY (directed by Timo Vuorensola), a dark science fiction comedy about Nazis invading earth in 2018, after escaping to the Dark Side of the Moon in 1945. Watch the trailer here.
Pop references itself when Laibach take on Juno Reactor’s "God Is God", which was itself influenced by Laibach’s cover of Austrian group Opus’ "Live Is Life", included here in English ‘symphonic’ version (titled "Opus Dei"), and in German version, translated as "Leben Heisst Leben". Laibach’s version of "God is God" was also released before Juno Reactor’s released their own, so many people still believe that Laibach’s version is the original one and Juno’s version a cover.
Elsewhere on the album, Laibach tackle The Beatles and Queen. Taken from Laibach’s album "Let It Be", "Across The Universe" and "Get Back" both feature, and Queen’s hit song "One Vision" is here translated into a German "Geburt Einer Nation" ("The Birth of the Nation"). The choice of a language, title as well as the genre of interpretation here all reveal themselves as powerful instruments!
"Bruderschaft", written by Laibach is included here as adouble twist cover. Laibach were invited to cover a Kraftwerk song for a compilation. But instead doing a straight Kraftwerk cover, the band decided to rearrange Laibach’s own - original - song from 83’, known as "Brat Moj" ("Brother of Mine") in German, with the carefully reconstructed Kraftwerkian sounds.
“The cover version can be seen as a cynical populist tactic by artists lacking in originality, a gesture of contempt or as a respectful example of good taste and seriousness. Laibach's open rejection of originality makes the first view irrelevant and the new originals are too ambivalent to be either entirely contemptuous or totally respectful. A Laibachised song is sometimes more kitsch, sometimes more serious and sometimes more emotional than the “old original” it is based on. Laibachisation re- and de-animates a song, reviving it for long enough to dispatch it again.” – Alexei Monroe, author of Interrogation Machine: Laibach and NSK, from the Reproduction Prohibited sleevenotes
The CD cover art of the "An Introduction To…Laibach", titled "REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED" was painted by member(s) of the group in 1981 as the interpretation of the famous Rene Magritte’s work, ‘Not to be Reproduced’, from 1937.
The mirror, a fragile and sometimes distorted reflection of reality, was of great interest to Magritte, as it is to Laibach. When viewing one of his images, or when listening to Laibach’s covers, there is a sense that a content, placed within a frame/the context, might, by a twist of perception, be seen as a reflection in the mirror, a perception that suddenly turns the space of the picture/song inside-out.
By quoting and interpreting this significant work by Magritte, Laibach offer a clear tool, if not a perfect key, how to solve the riddle of understanding their method, their philosophy and their humour in cover versions, as we hear them on this album.
REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED TRACKLISTING
WARME LEDERHAUT – cover of The Normal’s Warm Leatherette
BALLAD OF A THIN MAN – cover of Bob Dylan
GERMANIA – Version of German national anthem, from the album Volk
ANGLIA – Version of British national anthem, from the album Volk
MAMA LEONE – originally recorded by schlager legend Drafi Deutscher, made famous by Bino
B MASHINA – remixed version featured on Iron Sky OST, written by Tomi Meglic (Siddharta)
BRUDERSCHAFT – Laibach composition, from Trans Slovenia Express Vol. 2
GOD IS GOD – by Juno Reactor, originally inspired by Life Is Life, from Jesus Christ Superstars
FINAL COUNTDOWN – classic Laibach cover, originally recorded by Europe
ALLE GEGEN ALLE – originally recorded by labelmates DAF
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE – originally recorded by The Beatles
GET BACK – originally recorded by The Beatles
LEBEN HEISST LEBEN – cover of Opus’ Live Is Life, from Opus Dei
GEBURT EINER NATION – cover of Queen’s One Vision, from Opus Dei 1987
OPUS DEI – cover of Opus’ Live is Life
With a tracklisting chosen by Laibach, "Reproduction Prohibited" is the newest in the "An Introduction To…" series. Neither a “best of” nor a “greatest hits”, "An Introduction To…" is series of compilations giving a revealing introduction to the world of Mute. The artwork is by Laibach Kunst, with sleevenotes by Alexei Monroe.
“Laibach at their best blur art and confrontation” – Guardian live review
EUROPEAN TOUR DATES
08.09 - Slovakia, Bratislava, Majestic Music Club
09.09 - Austria, Vienna, Arena
10.09 - Germany, Munich, Backstage
11.09 - Germany, Frankfurt, Batschkapp
14.09 - Sweden, Stockholm, Nalen
15.09 - Denmark, Copenhagen, National Gallery
16.09 - Netherlands, Tilburg, Incubate
17.09 - Belgium, Oudenaarde, Qubus
18.09 - Germany, Bochum , Matrix
19.09 - Germany, Berlin, Berghain
20.09 - Poland, Wroclaw, Eter
21.09 - Germany, Leipzig, Schauspielhaus
18.10 - Austria, Graz, Helmust List Halle
Hugh Cornwell, the original guitarist, singer, and main songwriter of the British punk rock band The Stranglers, has unveiled the artwork and track listing for his forthcoming studio album "TOTEM AND TABOO", which is to be released in the UK on 10th September through Cadiz Music. Recorded at Electrical Audio Studios, Chicago, the new album was engineered and mixed by Steve Albini (Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Pixies).
“This was the last song I wrote for the album,” says Cornwell about the title track Totem And Taboo. “It’s become one of my favourites. A hint of Rebel Rebel with some Marc Bolan glam thrown in. I’ve always liked songs with marching 4’s on the snare, and that’s what it is supposed to be, a rallying call for like-minded souls.”
Track Listing:
1. Totem And Taboo
2. The Face
3. I Want One Of Those
4. Stuck In Daily Mail Land
5. Bad Vibrations
6. God Is Woman
7. Love Me Slender
8. Gods, Guns And Gays
9. A Street Names Carroll
10. In The Dead of The Night
A nationwide October UK tour will see Cornwell perform the Totem And Taboo album in its entirety, followed by The Stranglers’ seminal 1977 album No More Heroes performed in its entirety. Book Online: www.thegigcartel.com. VIP packages: www.hughcornwell.com.
After four years of techno EPs for Delsin and Ann Aimee, Niels Luinenburg aka Delta Funktionen has finished his debut full length, Traces, due for release on 09 July 2012.
Though still very much couched in techno, the album sees Dutchman Delta – who recently mixed it up for Ann Aimee on their Inertia compilation – explore plenty of new sonic territory, as he often does in his long ranging DJ sets. It's adventurous, basically, and is an album that doesn't loose itself in intricate sound design, but instead pairs a raw, machine made aesthetic with plenty of real human soul and palpable earthly emotion.
Says the man himself… "Traces is about my long time research into electronic music. It covers tracks that make reference to my favourite subgenres within electronic music: techno, house, electro and (Italo)-disco. There was no specific idea behind it because the album contains tracks made over a long time. Some are 3 years old, others were made this year, but in the end I think it sounds like a coherent piece of work."
It certainly does that, but so too does the album cover lots of ground, with not all of it completely focussed on the dancefloor. Made using a mixture of drum machines, FM and digital synthesizers, various bits of hardware and digital FX units, the whole thing was sequenced in Ableton with plenty of sample use to finish it off.
From the atmospheric openings of blissful electro joint "Frozen Land" through the sultry and searching acid of "Enter" and on to more forceful cuts like "Redemption", this is an album for listening to as much as it is for dancing. Mood driven landscapes like "Onkalo" prove that, but you'll have to check it out for yourself to get a real appreciation of the story Delta Funktionen is telling.
Tracklist
1. Frozen Land
2. Enter
3. Utopia
4. Redemption
5. Target
6. And If You Know
7. Challenger
8. Onkalo
9. On A Distant Journey
It is with great sadness that we announce the terrible news:
The DNA Café in Brussels is closing down tonight.
It originally opened in 1983, and has spent the past 29 years as the cornerstone of the Brussels alternative music scene.
New management Tbo and Julie took over some 2 years ago, and had done a sterling job in increasing the appeal of the place by putting more gigs on and broadening the appeal of the DNA.
It has associations with Metal, Punk, EBM and Indie bands far and wide (including unique murals by Jean-Luc De Meyer's brother).
We don't know the full story, as they have been discrete about it, but it would seem that this is another case of a landmark Brussels music café being harrassed out of existence (after the Dada).
RIP, and love to Julie and Tbo.
