It's not only the first compilation release for Rexx Arkana's newly established label Haus Arkana, it's also kind of a heart-melting project which at least has some historically meaningful content to offer. There's a sentimental storyboard behind this 4CD-set. Let's turn back an imaginary wheel of time into the years 1994 -1996. The Milwaukee-based radio-DJ and writer for the legendary Industrial Nation-magazine, Ric Laciak, has founded his own label RAS DVA out of the Leaether Strip US-fan base GAWMUS. First releases have been such notable outputs of Benestrophe (a Mentallo & The Fixer-side project), “Sensory Deprivation”, or the well recognized Kevorkian Death Cycle debut “Collection For Injection”.

Since I was personally involved as being a writer for the German glossy print-magazine Vertigo to that time, I still remember our days of pride, to have had contact with this fine, eloquent person and the inspiring conversations with him just from the beginning and for the most time without e-mail – fax messages or written letters did the job. It resulted in a license deal of a Kevorkian Death Cycle-track to be switched on one of our Vertigo-compilations accompanying the print-magazine (“Faithless (Club Edit)” - Vertigo Compilation 03/1996). However, the biggest impact this small label has left for the posterity was without doubt the legendary 4-CD / quadruple compilation “There Is No Time” with its innovative cardboard slipcase packaging. This opulent compilation still stands for being one of the few groundbreaking, must-have-items in anyone's collection. It has presented the state-of-art of underground Industrial music and included dozens of music projects licensed from various labels world-wide.

Again, and just check out the terrific track list via Discogs with well-known artists side by side with promising newcomer acts, this hallmark of a compilation can't be missed at all. The activities around the label RAS DVA then ended in 1998, shortly after the release of Jihad's “A Prayer In The Night” debut album. In 2006 the label made some online activities with future music plans but finally it hasn't worked out. Founder Ric Laciak unfortunately passed away in November 2014 from complications with cancer.

To conclude this and the tragic loss of Ric, here finally comes a fact I had to learn out of this history. It was Rexx Arkana being pretty much involved, doing promotion works for RAS DVA and collaborated with Ric in those days. It was all about to share their love and dedication for Industrial and, unfortunately but necessary, a history of cancer. Both have seemingly had their ideas for a second edition of the “quadruple monster” before Ric passed away. So this is all about it, “Passing Strangers” is the quadruple release, that kind of dedication to RAS DVA and to Ric Laciak – maybe that imaginary second edition already considered. Actually I feel myself pretty much thrown into a similar feeling of curiosity to listen CD after CD and to discover the pearls which also “Passing Strangers” has to offer. Just check the track list below and with respect to the meaning behind this compilation, it is almost impossible to give out a track-by-track review. I rather like to pick out a few of the most valuable contributions.

Disc One impresses with the highest amount of popular global-players compared to the all other discs on this quadruple set and with Orange Sector, Kevorkian Death Cycle, Lights Of Euphoria or Leaether Strip (here available as guest vocalist for Blind Vision), there are a few participants which have been already guests on “There Is No Time”, 27 years before. On the other hand, since there are so many familiar names on Disc One here, the amount of exclusive tracks only available on “Passing Strangers” here is reduced to zero. Nevertheless I like the float on it thanks to cleverly chosen apposition, this whole CD1 impresses on almost all tracks. Worth to point out are a few of the lesser discovered projects so far. Texas-based Curse Mackey, founding member of Evil Mothers and collaborator for My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, offers us with “Lacerations” a solid, stomping Industrial-tune with subtle, accompanying guitar riffs. The icy, deep and dense synth-layer- programmings of Daniel Myer (haujobb.), here active under his pseudonym DSTR, are definitely ear-catching resulting into another fine tune. “Man Made” by Kevorkian Death Cycle can be found originally on their 1996-debut “Collection For Injection”, but lately the band around Roger Jarvis and Ryan Gribbin made a few re-recordings from a few tracks out of this phase and this is one of them.

Disc Two kicks off with a stomping Suicide Commando-track (also a contributor to “There Is No Time”) and presents with Point5 a new project by Ole Anders Olsen (alias Andy LaPlegua –> Combichrist, Icon Of Coil, Scandy, Panzer AG, and, and, and...) until Rexx Arkana himself participates under his famous FGFC820 with a new, unreleased remix of “Crush”, a track originally taken from their album “Homeland Insecurity” (2012). After some closer to guitar-driven Industrial sounds by UK's Inertia or Stoneburner, the tone of this disc changes more and more into TBM / EDM styles (Stoppenberg, ESA, Cenotype). Pretty Retro-EBM-like bass lines and a straight drum pattern programming – so sounds the contribution of the UK-based talent Discipline & Control, while the dramatic, out-of-range-like vocal performance is somewhat of getting used to it. Venal Flesh and their unreleased track “Calcination” could be a well-working addition in the row of some Dark Electro-projects with a modern twist in vain of VAC for example, while the rhythmic Powernoise-specialist Endif unites with Retcon to present us an unreleased re-recording of the Endif-track “Ashes”, originally released on the debut “Meta” (2006 – Crunch Pod).

The third disc pushes further the already discovered hard-edged TBM / EDM sound with Soman or the second appearance of ESA, while mastermind Jamie Blacker this times joins the ranks of Mika Groedrijk's rhythmic Powernoise-project This Morn' Omina. Although signed to the German ProNoize label, Neuroklast is a newcomer to me, founded by the both German producers Kay SchÄfer (ex-Chainreactor) and Markus Horschig (former ReAdjust). A bit more compositorial creativity can be discovered by the UK-based musician and DJ, Matt Hart, who isn't afraid to reanimate some classic Coldwave-like guitar-driven structures on his exclusive remix of “To The Core”. Civil War on the other hand would musically fit well to the row of prominent old-school EBM veterans like Orange Sector or Pouppée Fabrikk – but they are a promising newcomer out of Argentina. Back to Europe to Manchester, UK, with another newcomer, Red-Meat providing us “angry queer body music and sex positive energy”. Also worth a mention and relatively comparable to the both predecessors is the Denver-based electronic musician Fernando Altonaga and his EBM-outfit eHpH. More and more the music turns into Dark Synthpop with classic New Wave-undertones with the contributions of Coldkill (a mutual project by Rexx Arkana with Eric Eldredge of the NYC-based Futurepop-project Interface) with their interpretation of Minitry's “We Believe”, and Dead Lights.

Disc Four starts with the Munich-based Rue Oberkampf and their 80s-inspired minimal Synthpop outfit, while the Italian-based Unconscious aka Andrea Riberti impresses with a hammering, classic EBM-inspired tune entitled “You Belong To Me Now (Re-Edit)” - another one of the previously unreleased tracks. Florida's Aeon Rings, recording for Negative Gain Productions, offer a quite different sounding tune turning towards into Synth- / Electropop-regions with natural sounding male vocals. A pretty much Dive-/The Klinik-inspired tune with its typically distorted rhythm- and percussion work can be discovered by E.L.I., a project by Mike Smith, who is a modular producer and DJ from Scotland.

To conclude this review it should be mentioned, that Rexx Arkana did an amazing job to collect as much as possible diversity in Electronic music styles for this quadruple release. Additionally I tend to say that the times, evolution and development of this music has continued into stylistically wider and more complex forms and in uncountable variations, than it has been during the days when”There Is No Time” came out.

Finally – maybe the most important reason to purchase this fine compiled quadruple set - $5 from the direct sale of each CD compilation will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, https://www.stjude.org/

Also: no download available – you have to purchase the physical product.

Track list:

CD 1:
1. A Split – Second – Rigor Mortis 2.Covenant – Judge Of My Domain 3.Absolute Body Control – So Obvious (Live At E-Only Festival) 4.Curse Mackey – Lacerations 5.DSTR – Disappear (1st Draft) 6.Blind Vision ft. Leaether Strip – DDF 2 (Album Version) 7.Lights Of Euphoria –Access Denied 8.Armageddon Dildos – Colder 9.Orange Sector – Blood Brothers 10.Pouppée Fabrikk – Burn Forever 11.Noisuf-X – Finish Him! 12.Fusspils 11 – Fleischfresser (PS Edit) 13.Kevorkian Death Cycle – Man Made 14.Fektion Fekler – Let's Jump (Yes You Will Mix) 15.Rohn - Lederman ft. Jean-Luc De Meyer – Where The Wild Roses Grow

CD 2:
1. Suicide Commando –Kill All Humanity (Short & Painless) 2. Point5 – The Kid Is A G 3.FGFC820 – Crush (Letting Go - Mix) 4.Inertia ft. Steve White (KMFDM) – Scowl 5.Stoneburner –Excrementorium 6.Stoppenberg –Soldat 7.Electronic Substance Abuse – BBWO (Expel Mix 2022) 8.Cenotype – Hour 10 (Live Action) 9.Discipline & Control – Burning Up 10.Reichsfeind – Wish There Was A Drug (Exclusive Mix) 11.Marred – The Fragrance Of Blood 12.The Gothsicles – INFL8-R (Resurexxion Mix) 13.Venal Flesh – Calcination 14.Endif Vs. Retcon – Ashes 15.Kounter Mezhure – Golden God

CD 3:
1. Soman – Divine (2022 Short Remix) 2.Moris Blak – Umbra 3.ESA vs. This Morn' Omina –Consumption (Compounded) 4.Neuroklast – Scavengers 5.Her Noise Is Violence – Djinn (Original Mix) 6.Matt Hart – To The Core (Further Down Mix) 7.Civil Hate – Honor & Dignidad 8.Red-Meat – Vore (Gordon Young Mix) 9.eHpH – Rust 10.INVA//ID – The Sinner 11.Spankthenun – Crushing Blow (Mirland Remix) 12.Coldkill – We Believe 13.Dead Lights –Ice Queen (Club Mix) 14.Lola Kumtus – Wasted Years 15.Hem Netjer – Connect

CD 4:
1.Rue Oberkampf – Never Stop To Dance 2.Unconscious – You Belong To Me Now (Re-edit) 3.Visitor – What World Is This 4.Hammershøi – Hélas (Remix By Coldkill) 5.One Flesh.Infektion.–Martial Doom 6.XTR Human–City Hai 7.Aeon Rings –Lover 8.Dry_feel – Repellent Machine 9.Soj – Pensamientos Impuros 10.Black Light Odyssey – Under Your Spell (Hexmaschine Vs. Blo Edit) 11.Sanderson & Esterhaus – Composition 080621 12.E.L.I. – The Antagonist 13.Crying Skies – Around The Walls Of Horror 14.Sigsaly – L'avenir 15.L – Discipline