We left Poeme Electronique two years ago with the release of a renewed version of The Echoes Fade 7" and we already knew that something else was going to be released but I wasn't thinking it would be this huge! THE ECHOES FADE double vinyl album contains sixteen songs recorded during the 1981/1982 period of which fourteen are never been released before! Basically this is an extended version of the first Poeme Electronique unreleased album. The first record begins with the original 7" versions of "The echoes fade" plus "Voice" and follows with "Rendezvous" and "She's an image" the first tracks of the unreleased lot. Since the first melodies I hear echoes of Gary Numan and Toyah/Nina Hagen for the vocal parts and this is so true on "Theories" thanks to the rich female vocals and the synth lines. With "Inside his Head" the atmosphere gets darker and robotic late 70s synth lines (it recalls me of "Oxygene") are the perfect background to a theatrical vocal performance. A perfect atmosphere for a song that talks about someone in coma (the refrain says: "Oh God don't let him stay this way, hear my prayer and what I say, release him from the cage he's in, bring him out of this tormenting"). Also "Fragile" offers interesting atmospheres coupled with upbeat rhythms, a catchy refrain and tons of synth leads and bleeps. The second vinyl opens with a slow epic/atmospheric tune titled "It's in the atmosphere", it introduce you to a sort of horror poem where the refrain says: "It's in the atmosphere, on the wings of the breeze, the force of almighty, in the tombs of the beasts". Also "This night" is quite atmospheric while the following "My complicated personality" mix upbeat tempos, pop sensibility and a certain dark feeling. Poeme Electronique used electronic equipment but weren't minimal at all (all their songs have many synth sounds and rich arrangements) and unfortunately they had to wait for thirty years to get the exposure they deserve! If you are a vinyl addict don't miss this luxurious gate-fold edition with glossy inner sleeves with lyrics of all the songs, as well as individual mini 7” sleeves for each of them. Next to follow Anna Logue will issue also the CD but I don't know if it will include all the tracks.

Born from a collaboration of ex Camerata Mediolanense and Pavor Nocturnus members, Ignis Vrbis Mithrae (it should mean "Fire in the city of Mithra") release on Wolf Age Records their first album SACRAE ROMANAE ORIGINES ("Holy Roman Origins"). Sung in Latin language the ten tracks of the album will make you revive the atmospheres of ancient Rome with melodies and sounds that actually seem inspired from ancient music. Brasses, percussions, strings and chants will enchant you with songs born from the pride of being part of the Roman Empire. The first track "Vbi bene ibi patria" is the only one that contains lyrics in Italian language and it sounds like the band's manifesto. It says: "We fight for the truth of the ancient traditions guarded in everyone's blood, so that the quality of men and their work will be over everything else. We cannot make otherwise on this path and on our living". Energetic, melodic and sometimes seducing (check the melodies of "Mores maiorvm") SACRAE ROMANAE ORIGINES is a convincing album that will give a new meaning to neoclassic martial music.

Simon Kölle is debuting as a film composer and he just continues to impress me and I have begun to look forward to his music alot.
From the eerily mysterious albums of Musterion and Abnocto to the often rousing ethnical and fantasy inspired sounds of Za Frûmi.
Simon have shown us that he can do action-adventure before but with the soundtrack to Res dej inte! [Stay Down] he delivers a work that immediately signifies itself as being for a dark drama. Not that it should be a surprise to anyone seeing as how well he manage all genres he work with.

Like the Thin Red Line and even Schindler's List this score is rather quiet but in a good way. Already from the overture you get the idea of a dark film.

If you are a fan of dark ambient or a soundtrack fan just looking for something different, you might want to give this one a spin.
Simon Kölle keep on showing us that he knows his stuff and that he can score for whatever situation is needed, and with over and hour of beautifully dark music, what more could you ask for?

The music grows darker as it progresses, though it doesn’t turn too depressing. It is rather more sentimentally saddened at times and also break out hard with a couple of more fast paced tracks. "The Strangulation of Arash" is one of my favourits in its simplicity. It is also a track used in the great trailer (see it on youtube).

The title track is based on guitar, pump organ and some violin and it is beautiful. The use of the pump organ is great and "Erik's World" is really a minimalistic masterpiece. "For the Rest of my life" is a cue filled with emotions and I can only imagine what is happening in the film when that song is heard.

The film is part of an important swedish project which works with street violence. The film has been shown on film festivals and will also
be seen on swedish national TV and in schools! It was written by Sebastian Ylvenius, Erik Bolin and the director Richard Jarnhed.

In the press material I read things about the film which makes me want to see it:

"A dark, realistic story, the film follows three youth gangs and their time spent on the streets and their lives. Over a relatively short span the characters deal with paranoia, pain, violence and more. This film is powerful and grim. The last scenes are totally unforgettable. The plot comes to a sudden end and there are no truths about what really happened. More than a film, Res dej inte! is a comment about the ongoing violence in society."

All what the characters deal with are heard in the music and it embrace a frightening aspect, as if sharing the increasingly terrifying dangers of the youth's portrayed in the film.
is a quite superb score in every respect, and can easily be counted amongst the best efforts in the genre. Despite the relative obscurity of the composer to the public (even though we know him), and the art-house sensibilities of the film, the score stands up with the best Hollywood has offered the last month's and I sincerely hope Kölle follows the trail blazed by director Richard Jarnhed and they embark on a road to the mainstream.

Overall, this is an excellent score and if you've loved the music to films like Alien and The Omen you will definitely love this one as well. But you also here hints of the music of John Carpenter and Michael Suby.

It's a terrific score that fans of the genre for sure should waste no time in obtaining.

Active since 1995 as a live performer and producer of experimental electronic dance music, Bjørn Svin has released several albums and 12"s as well as music for films and theatre. In the late nineties he became a "techno pop-star" with the hit “Mer Strøm 2” and reached cult-status in most of Scandinavia. His new album BROWEN will be released on March by Danish Rump Recordings and it shows a different side of Bjørn as composer. The twelve tracks of the album take inspiration from the rhythmic richness of techno/i.d.m. music but add to the mix an experimental attitude. If tracks like "ROwmOR" or "mPmWree" show still traces of techno structures, others like the opening "Browen" or the following "bowbroW" are more experimental oriented thanks to an evolving flow of metallic sounds that form little melodic/rhythmic loops. Minimal tiny melodies change their sound from dissonant to melodic and clashes with other hundreds forming a constant flow of sound. Techno, dub (check the opening part of "mOmWree"), i.d.m., experimental influences blend very well giving to the listener an interesting and wide sound spectrum to explore.

With one track on the Enfant Terrible compilation "Radio resistencia" at their active, Distel are now releasing, always for the same label, the debut limited to 300 copies 7". Already active as drone/experimental act Hadewych, the guy behind Distel bring on the turntable two great tracks of slow anxious electronic. Whispered vocals and hypnotic loops are the main elements of "Mrk" and "Regn" which, in balance from cold wave and electro industrial, are able to give to minimal pop a new meaning by adding tension and mystery. Great release!