live les nuits botanique 17/05

Luis Vasquez never intended for The Soft Moon to reach the public’s ears; for him, music has always been about self­-actualization rather than self-aggrandizement. Nevertheless, the bleak, hushed sounds he created years ago in his small Oakland apartment bubbled to the surface and 2010 saw his debut LP, The Soft Moon, released on Captured Tracks rise to critical acclaim. Pitchfork’s 8.1 review stated that Vasquez made “oblivion seems like an enticing prospect” and, indeed, listeners were immediately drawn into his murky musical wasteland, swathed in the moody atmospheres of jagged dark wave and wayfaring post­punk. For them, and for Vasquez, there was no turning back. The Total Decay EP and Zeros emerged soon after, and now Vasquez returns with The Soft Moon’s most introspective and focused album to date: Deeper.

Following live line­-up changes and a lull in the The Soft Moon’s constant touring schedule, the year 2013 found Luis Vasquez lost in the void. Though he fatalistically stated that 2012’s Zeros would be the last album where he was the sole songwriter, Vasquez realized that The Soft Moon has always been one man’s vision. Over time, it’s been the one place where Vasquez can express himself, totally and singularly, on his own terms.

Thus, in July of 2013, Vasquez decamped from Oakland, CA to Venice, Italy, unsure of where The Soft Moon would land. While Zeros was written and recorded between long days on the road, Deeper was begat from an almost primal urge to recoil from the world and experience total solitude. During the writing process, Vasquez pushed himself to discover the reality and nightmare of living with yourself, in entirely foreign surroundings with nothing and no one to fall back on. Stepping back and letting inspiration fall where it may, Vasquez only had one goal in mind for his third album: to pen his most emotional record yet. Between frequent visits to Berlin, Vasquez retreated to Venice’s Hate Studios, located in the mountains near electronic guru and spiritual anchor Giorgio Moroder’s hometown.

At Hate, he worked for almost a year with producer Maurizio Baggio to piece together Deeper, only completing the album in August 2014. While maintaining the stark sonic formula so indicative of The Soft Moon’s music — that bass that reeks of chorus, those unrelenting, mechanized beats, that wailing synthesizer and those eerily, angular guitar lines that worm into your ears and never leave — Baggio also worked to refine the album’s gothic palette, leaving Vasquez to concentrate more intensely on songwriting and singing than ever before:

“I’ve never worked so closely with someone before. Working with Maurizio felt right and I completely opened up to him during the entire process. I finally felt the urge to express myself more verbally with this record and I was able to focus more on songwriting rather than just experimenting with soundscapes.”

The voice of The Soft Moon has never been more clear and honest than it is on this record. With eerie, immersive tracks like the dogged “Far” and slow, beautifully melancholic “Wasting” (the first track written for Deeper), the album is a penetrating portrait of Vasquez as he wrestles thoughts of suicide, vulnerability and what it means to heal. By facing the most hopeless parts of himself without illusion and putting his past demons to bed, the creation of Deeper was an intense personal exploration of existence for Vasquez — old wounds were forcibly opened, deep anger and paranoia were manipulated into song — and he did not emerge unchanged. Deeper may have delivered Vasquez back to the waking world, but it willingly drags us further into The Soft Moon’s dark, euphonic universe once more.

In cinemas 22 July

The Barden Bellas are back in Pitch Perfect 2, the follow-up to the original smash hit. The comedy will be helmed by Elizabeth Banks, co-star and producer of Pitch Perfect, and produced by Paul Brooks, Max Handelman and Banks. Writer Kay Cannon returns to the team to pen the next chapter.

After having been active with various side-projects for some time, the German master of uncompromising dark elektro Pedro Engel is back with a new digital EP "Zigeunerjunge" serving us the perfect appetizer for the band's forthcoming 5th studio album "Pest"… Aggressive, powerful and dirty,

ACYLUM knows no limits in its artistic approach and dares to write about touchy socio-political topics in Europe and mixing them with provocative German vocal samples. This new club hit will once again make alarm sirens resound across the globe: ACYLUM is definitely back in town! Their new sonic virus will spread fast and without limits especially when augmented by the astounding remixed versions by AMDUSCIA, COLD THERAPY or yet BENJAMIN'S PLAGUE! The EP also reveals the slower and more melancholic work of ACYLUM with the bewitching and dense atmospheres of "Follow Me" and an interesting reinterpretation of "My Knife" by INAKI KREATOR.

After the release of the first-class debut album "Shine & Burn", AVARICE IN AUDIO are back with their second and final single for this album, taking one of the most aggressive tracks and packaging it together with some of the finest talent there is. "The Cassandra Complex" has been described by critics as a favourite for its intense synthesised melodies, the rapid fire delivery of the lyrics, the cold, surgical production and the vocal disparity between AIA's two lead vocalists, with Jade described as an angel, with Gerry's voice in contrast as a devil.

This EP comes loaded with remixes from old friends and new from the band, including long time friends at RUINIZER and DEFEAT, new partners from Alfa Matrix's very own roster with XMH, and a stunning rework of their first single by cyberpunk provocateurs and frequent collaborator of Gerry, PSYKKLE. And finally augmented with an instrumental track from the older days... With "The Cassandra Complex" evoking similarities to artists like GRENDEL, FREAKANGEL, THE AZOIC and L'AME IMMORTELLE, AVARICE IN AUDIO are primed for this single to show off what they can really do with their own hands, and in the hands of others.

Alfa Matrix fans and followers all know very well our favourite Estonian artist Dmitry Darling, the frontman of FREAKANGEL fame... Well, our talented bad boy is also the mastermind behind the band SUICIDAL ROMANCE, a project that he started back in 2006 with female vocalist Viktoria Seimar. They managed to establish themselves within the alternative darkwave / electro scene through numerous live performances across Europe and by releasing three albums (“Love Beyond Reach”, “Shattered Heart Reflections” and “Memories Behind Closed Curtains”) and also several EPs (“A Kiss To Resist”, “Whisper Goodbye” and “Burning Love / Remember Me”) on various labels in Russia, Germany and the USA. 

While D. Darling is currently preparing the much anticipated return of SUICIDAL ROMANCE in studio, as well as putting the finishing touches on a few more surprise releases through Alfa Matrix, we could not resist sharing with you as perfect appetizer for all that will soon follow, some 15 selected moments from their rich and diverse repertoire and plunge you once again into SUICIDAL ROMANCE's unique dreamy atmospheres and upbeat darker moments... what could be considered a "best-of" collection aptly titles "Rêves & Souvenirs" on which angel and devil marry their vocal talents for a unique blend of catchy melodic tunes and noir elektro synth arrangements with an edge. 

You will also enjoy the classic BLUTENGEL remix of "Not Alone", the stunning guest vocals of Felix Marc (DIORAMA, FROZEN PLASMA) on the catchy "Ecstatic", the exclusive bonus remix of "Touch" by ES23 as well as a cover version of "Remember Me" by the band EMPHASIS with fully rerecorded male vocals by D. Darling for the occasion of this unreleased version... 

All songs featured on "Rêves & Souvenirs" were initially mixed by Jan L. from NOISUF-X / X-FUSION or by Vasi Vallis (FROZEN PLASMA, REAPER, etc.) and were now remastered by Pavel Korotajev at Stone Oil Studio, while the design was inked by Tomoki Haysaka of Sheerheart in Japan. 

Strongly recommended to fans of bands in the likes of BLUTENGEL, DIORAMA, FROZEN PLASMA, CHANDEEN, L'AME IMMORTELLE, IN STRICT CONFIDENCE, TECHNOIR, etc.