Echostream are a NJ-based kick ass electro-industrial band with three Japanese members (two of which female) and a line up comprised of two drummers (electric and acoustic), a keyboard player who loves to break Oxygen 8s on stage, a Japanese guitar player and a Japanese female lead singer with a beautiful ethereal voice. Their second full length CD "The Duality of Courage" just came out recently and features ten tracks of intense well-produced electronica that goes from being grand and majestic ("Static") to minimalistic and myserious ("Hole"; parts of "You Know"), with all the stages in between. It is obvious from the distant and reverberated piano parts that NIN is a great influence here, but Echostream's sound is more complex and a lot less raw, especially when compared to the last few of Reznor's records. What also sets them apart is the fact that instead of screaming into a mic and processing the outcome, Echostream went the opposite route: there's airy soft female vocal melodies by Ryoko that sit on top of a sophisticated bed of beats and layers synth sounds by Tony Grund. That is not to say that Echostream is a stranger to the unleashing of violent guitar-driven sonic attacks. Tomo certainly does have that up his sleeve ("Rip You Down"; "Contagious") but he also contributes to the darker ambiance of the mellower tunes with gently processed sounds and riffs in the background.
Released at the same time of the full length album, the single "Dragon" features (besides the title-track, obviously) two different versions of "Static" and a version of "Jane" which is not present on the album.
I've been wanting to see them live for a while and you should keep an eye out as well. Check out their online stores too, where you can get competitively priced CDs and merchandise.

Since their come back, Portion Control have been active on a regular basis releasing one new release a year. After last year's CD "Onion Jack IV", this year we have SLUG, a massive album containing 17 new tracks. What has changed from the latest releases? Well, since the first three tracks we can notice a varied palette of atmospheres which span from the early classic P.C. electronics with the characteristic Piavani vocals, to their latest thick pc based sound processing passing also through dub intuitions (do you remember early Marc Stewart & The Maffia?) and ambient industrial atmospheres. The two Portion Control members did a sum of all their experiences to create an album that will please many fans of the genre. Rhythm is again a key element of their music and "Heavyweight" is a new manifesto with its treated vocals and punching tempo. Their electronic experimentation with atmospheres is still present thanks to short tracks like "T4" and also melody surfaces on tracks like "Depth charge" enriching and refining the wall of sound erected. The album is available from the band directly and also the five CDs archive set is available again.

Xcollective is a very hip group of talented musicians who merge chilled electronica with world music influences and urban attitude. With six members from different parts of the world and so many backgrounds converging into one, this album pretty much had to come out of NY or London and to be honest when I read it was the latter it all seemed to make perfect sense (especially because of the heavy Indian contributions). This is the perfect soundtrack to the pulse of the city of London, borrowing and remashing (Ableton and Pro Tools) breaks, tablas performances, hypnotic loops, dubby bass lines and delays and both male and female spoken word and sung vocals, ranging in style from the drum'n'bass-type MCing and urban cityscape hip hop to soulful black singing. This is a great example of global downtempo music with organic sounds over a bed of relaxing programmed music: positive-thinking, happy, relaxing and at times funky!
If I had to pick this apart I'd say that it sounds like this squad is still searching for the ultimate balance of elements and that "Electric Flowers" lacks a little bit of congruency, but whether this is a debut or not (I don't know), it's already a pretty mature record and I am sure the next one will be even more on point.

Australian duo Angelspit are very talented and committed: how else would you call a band that relocates to Berlin for one year just so they can make sure they play every possible venue and festival of what once used to be EBM's epicenter (and obviously still has a big electronic scene)? Before that they had already toured the US with Cruxshadows as well as opened in Australia and New Zeland for some of the greatest electro-industrial bands on earth (KMFDM, Frontline Assembly, Front 242 etc).
It seems natural that given these kind of efforts going into the live side of things, you can expect kick ass recordings from their time in the studio. Heavy and pounding beats, mighty supporting bass lines, scorching saw-tooth waveforms, brutal zaps, chemically infectious vocals (treated but not just distorted the old way). These sonic industrial cyberpunk attacks remind me Skinny Puppy's latest record and come with the amazing frantic chopped up production that you can find on breakcore/IDM records that Hive records would put out or on great records like Moldover's full length debut.
This is electro-industrial music at its best: this is probably what the new EBM is or should be now.

Toronto-based Johnny Hollow is a very unique and interesting band for you to check out. I recall the name from years ago as one of those bands who left a good impression but from whom I haven't heard anything in a while. They are very hard to describe because they are a mixture of dark, electronica and orchestral arrangements, beautifully performed on piano and cello by the two main musical members (there is a third member who does all the graphics and video work live). This is not one of those average sounding goth mock-ups around, instead Johnny Hollow are a very original blend of what it would sound like if Dead Can Dance, Tool, Faith and the Muse, Depoche Mode, Portishead and Conjure One were to merge into one entity. Of course this is in no way a definitive nor accurate way to describe them, there's a lot more to it and there are many other influences one could mention. The fact is Johnny Hollow is so many things but not just one thing in particular: some call that originality! "Dirty Hands" is a very mature and great sounding record, thanks to Grammy winning mixer David Bottrill and Skinny Puppy member and producer Dave "Rave" Ogilvie.
So go ahead and do your research and your illegal downloading and once you figured out that this band is really cool and worth supporting, make an effort and buy their CD, you will enjoy a beautifully packaged digipack with gorgeous Tim Burton-esque art work and a folded poster and lyrics inside.