2 Years have passed since the release of the eponymous debut LP Angels Die Hard. A period that has been all but quiet and restful for Thomas, Rob and Alex.

Rob has been travelling barefoot with nothing more than his sling bag to draw rivers and soccer stadiums all over the world and had some time to record an album full of steel drumming along with a group of singing Myanmar army officers.

Thomas and Alex started a flute/marimba duo-project and did a short Asian tour as a support act for some a-list artists (like Enya), but they got fired after 2 gigs.

Thomas then picked up his old profession as a tree inspector (mostly bamboo) and spent a month meditating in a small cave near Kyoto, eating nothing but honey, brought in by the bees that also lived there.

Alex moved to Thailand to produce 3 female friendly police action movies. There was no dialogue in the movies. The movies were simply called (in order of release): A, D & H. The movies went straight to DVD.

Early 2015 the band wanted to record music to express their feelings of happiness and love for each other. They came together to record their new album with the aid of Elko Blijweert and Jan Stoop. Alain Rylant helped them out with some percussion and also did a lecture about knives.

Resulting in 7 songs, brought together on a vinyl only release. The name of the album: 'Mood Ring'.

'Mood Ring' will be released on May 20th through via Heaven Hotel and distributed by Sonic Rendez-Vous (Benelux). In UK the album will be released on July 1st via Jezus Factory and distributed by Shellshock.

ANGELS DIE HARD will present their new album 'MOOD RING' 22nd of MAY @ BOOT TENACE (Lobroekdok) in ANTWERP at 8.00 PM. Other live dates to be announced soon!

The new single from the Leeds 5-piece shows the band’s unique electronic sound developing yet further. Vessels deliver their most forceful track yet in the explosive electronic steamroller ‘Are You Trending?’, set for release via Different Recordings, the electronic imprint of [PIAS].

Following on from the No1 Hype Machine single ‘4AM', this new offering acts as a bridge between ‘Dilate’ and their next full length which is currently in the works and penciled in for an early 2017 release.

The band recently released a deluxe edition of their 2015 album ‘Dilate’ (8/10 Mojo, DIY, TLoBF), a record which proved to be a tipping point in the band’s trajectory from their post-rock beginnings to heavyweight contenders in the electronic scene.

Vessels recently supported Battles at their Brixton show and this summer will feature Glastonbury, Green Man and Melt! with more dates to be announced soon.

Multi-instrumentalist Graeme Jefferies is the given name of the fabled underground counterculture icon hailing from New Zealand, and his mainstay project, The Cakekitchen, has its roots firmly grounded in the pages of 1980’s New Zealand garage storybook which featured countless innovative artists, all of which huddled under the umbrella of labels such as Flying Nun Records, Propeller, and Pagan Records. After performing in the revered gothic punk act, Nocturnal Projections, and after the collapse of his previous Flying Nun group, This Kind of Punishment, The Cakekitchen emerged as an amalgamation of gloomy and introspective post-punk and indie, with a stronger focus on structured studio songwriting and thoughtful compositional approach - producing some of the most expressive and unique music to come out of New Zealand during the early 90’s. Now Dais Records is set to re-release two iconic albums by the band.

TIME FLOWING BACKWARDS:

Originally released in 1991 on Homestead Records, Time Flowing Backwards, the debut album by New Zealand art rock outfit The Cakekitchen, coupling the entire self-titled EP material released by Flying Nun Records in 1989 along with 6 new songs recorded for the album. Mastered at Abbey Road by Steve Rooke (who would later remaster The Beatles catalog), this debut full length would go on to solidify and promote the growing underground New Zealand rock scene and spawn a generation of devoted followers of Jefferies’ exceedingly graceful, atmospheric, and poetic songs, led by Jefferies’ unmistakable commanding baritone voice.

A diverse and inspiring album, Time Flowing Backwards has been out of print and difficult to obtain since its original vinyl pressing in 1991. Dais Records is proud to reissue on vinyl in limited edition “Time Flowing Backwords” along with the The CakeKitchen’s sophomore LP (released the same year) “World of Sand”, in remastered editions of 500 copies making these albums available once again to old fans while introducing these classics to new listeners.

WORLD OF SAND:

Originally released in 1991 on Homestead Records, “World of Sand” is the second full length album by The Cakekitchen, highlighting the first live line-up of the band featuring the drumming of Robert Key (Expendables / Lanky), and Rachael King (3Ds) on bass. This formation existed for roughly two and a half years and these compositions were considered by many to be the height of the groups’ creative potential, with musical comparisons to the early material by This Kind of Punishment…pounding piano, maddening viola, numerous tape splices and oddball musical passages – along with several pieces recorded at home on a four track, lending a lo-fi, dark, and intimate feel to the album. Led by Jeffereies’ distinct baritone voice, the album is layered, complex, and darkly beautiful.

Long sought after by collectors and fans alike, World of Sand has been out of print and difficult to obtain since its original pressing in 1991. Dais Records is honored to reissue on vinyl in limited edition “World of Sand”along with the The Cakekitchen’s first LP (released the same year) “Time Flowing Backwards”, in remastered editions of 500 copies making these albums available once again to old fans while introducing these classics to new listeners.

Recently, it has been curiously quiet in the camp of MESH, but Mark Hockings and Rich Silverthorn have worked hard on their new album, the first single and an accompanying video. The track "Kill Your Darlings" comes out on July 8 on CD and limited vinyl. As a first impression of this great song, which the band will also perform at Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig, Germany.

Due to these scheduled releases, Dependent Records decided to push back the release of MESH’s classical live album recorded at the Gewandhaus Leipzig until winter, but be sure that the band won’t miss a beat up till then.

Swedish electro veteran Peter Elm (Restricted Area) has only just released his debut single “Edge” under the ELM flag, and Alfa Matrix is already releasing the ELM debut album “Hardline” which was skilfully mastered by Pontus Stålberg (Spetsnaz).

If you listen to the tracks, you can clearly hear this is a true old school EBM release paying respect to EBM masters like Nitzer Ebb, DAF, Front 242 etc. but recorded with current technology.

Says Alfa Matrix: "When Peter sent us a few tracks, we were blown away by the power plus the refreshing approach they showed. Old school EBM never has sounded so old and new at the same time. He literally got signed within an hour after we all had listened to the demo tracks... and that was late at night! With ELM we all realised that this electro genre is far from dead but also that Scandinavia is where the newer sounds keep on coming from."

The album holds 13 tracks with lyrics in English, German and French. Also included are guest vocals (rather kinky female vocals) by French artist Ys Atlov, on several tracks including on “Pervert”.

The album comes out as a normal CD edition plus as a limited deluxe carton 2CD box edition with a bonus disc featuring 4 exclusive bonus tracks, 5 alternative remixes signed by ELM himself, plus 2 remixes by compatriots Pouppée Fabrikk and Spetsnaz. A download version is available on Bandcamp, iTunes and all other digital portals plus all streaming services.