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Press
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Lexicon Magazine Review
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For
those who doesn't have a copy of DBP's Halo Compilation yet and for
those of you that don't know anything about it well, HaLO is a 13-track
assortment with new music from different electro, Industrial &
synthpop acts, all of whom live within 20 miles or so of Madison. If
you're not from Madison, Wisconsin, or you simply haven't taken
advantage of the fact that this kind of talent regularly appears there
this is your chance to appreciate it in one convenient package.You will
find here well knows acts like Stromkern (WTII), Oneiroid Psychosis (COP
Int) and Null Device (Nilaihah), rising new stars Echo Virus,
Stochastic Theory and other lesser known upstars but all contributed
totally cool tracks, making this compilation a 100% worth buying. The
compilation is named after a local underground music night held every
Tuesday at The Inferno (www.clubinferno.com) in Madtown, and the title
reflects its content: The very best that Madison's Electronic scene has
to offer. DJ Matt Fanale aka DJ Eurotic, the man behind Dead Beat
Productions and the one to compile this collection of electronic new
artists, contributes himself music to this compilation. The disc's first
half is very synthpop. The second half is darker, featuring more upper
tempo industrial oriented sounds and grooves. 12 of the 13 tracks here
have never before released. Alex Matheu of Negative Format was in charge
of mastering.
Inversión en Divisas - Especialistas Forex. . Who ordered the essay? I found College essay help and student essay. |
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Gothic Beauty spring '04 issue
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5 out of 5 stars:
Dead Beat Productions sent us the above compilation representing tracks
from their entire catalog and, boy, is it one impressive listen! The
opener, Stochastic Theory's "Shared Lies" sound like something straight
out of the days of Cause & Effect and Seven Red Seven. This is electronic
music as it is meant to be. It is bright, flowing, synthetic, and
bursting with energy. Oneiroid Psychosis, previously featured in Gothic
Beauty, make a brilliant appearance with "First the Head, Then The Body".
Brian Schuh's "The One Who Dismissed Me Again" stood out as my favorite.
Brilliant artwork and extensive liner notes on the artists rounds out a
truly impressive collection. As the liner notes themselves say: "This
compilation wants to kick your ass. It deserves to kick your ass. Your
ass, in fact, demands it." So what are you waiting for?
-Poseidon
(DBP
note: I find it funny that we got a higher rating than Suicide
Commando, Melotron and The Cruxshadows. Not that is actually IS better
than them, it's just funny, is all. Oh, and this is DPB/Sonic
Mainline's first release. We have no "catalog" just yet, but are
working on it.) auto insurance quote in michigan |
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www.gothling.com
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4.5 out of 5 stars
This
is, quite simply, not your father's compilation. Really. This is a fine
first-time offering from Dead Beat Productions, a Madison, Wisconsin
-based music promoter. The compilation is even named after a local
underground music night held every Tuesday at The Inferno
(www.clubinferno.com) in good old Madtown, and the title reflects its
content: Thevery best that Madison's Electronic scene has to offer. The
Electronic scene in Madison, WI is small but getting bigger all the
time, and its incestuous in a way, as evidenced by the crossover of
musicians from one group to another. Even DJ Matt Fanale (aka Eurotic),
the hard-working man behind Dead Beat Productions, contributes music to
this compilation.
This compilation puts it's best synth forward
from the beginning. It starts with Stochastic Theory's 'Shared Lies', an
angsty bit of synthpop from this up-and-coming band. Dj Desmodus (Chuck
Spencer) works out some of his residual relationship-angst through
music, with excellent results and lyrics like 'I wish I could say I saw
you; I wish that we could share that lie; Since I never really knew you,
I can't even say goodbye.' It's a track every bit as danceable as his
nearly club-classic 'What You Weren't' that appeared on the Septic III
compilation this past year. The second track is a delightful electro
offering from Ensku, a side-project of the better-known Null Device.
Although Ensku usually produces more flowing housey pieces, this song
'All is Fair' is a wonderful synth track with luscious echoing vocals by
Jill Goedken. The beats come a little harder than a lot of synthpop,
and that's fine by me.
Brian Schuh's music is usually compared to
the likes of Erasure and Pet Shop Boys, with plenty of oontz. Very
smooth synthwork here, in 'The One Who Dismissed Me Again'. If you like
getting your disco on, this is the track for you. M00ntz! Is this
compilation's super-group, consisting of members of Null Device,
Stochastic Theory, and Caustic. 'I Don't Want Her (And Neither Do You)'
reminisces about their collective worst dating experiences in an amusing
way, with beat-busting electro background. You may recognize the
vocalists. Echo Virus, an offshoot of Stromkern, provides a most welcome
surprise on this album. I was familiar with some of Echo Virus'
previous remix work but not originals. 'Stranded (8 hours)' proves that
Echo Virus can stand on its own two feet.
If you hear a
Stromkern-like twist on the vocal lines, its hardly surprising. This
song is so good that I can hardly describe it.
The Signal 12
song 'Anesthetized' is the only track on here that has previously
appeared on another release, the COP International release 'Aphonia'.
The Hansen brothers, Lars and Leif, also of Oneiroid Psychosis, spin a
dark beat- electronic web with Signal 12. 'Anesthetized' has very gloomy
and raw vocals above a downtempo electronic atmosphere. It's a nice
sorbet amongst the lighter fare on this compilation.
No Madison
electro compilation would be complete without an offering from the
patron saint of the Madison electronic scene, Null Device. 'Electrified'
follows in the 'Footsteps' of the Sublimation album, but adds a bit
more urgency than previously. The fast drum loops and precise synth and
bass make this song extremely danceable, and like all Null Device tracks
it flows so seamlessly from beginning to end, that you'll be surprised
when it has come to an end. Eric's vocals are mellifluous and strong.
At
this point the compilation takes a darker turn into heavier industrial
soundscapes. It turns with a laugh, though, with the Gothsicles'
'English License (The How-Did-We-Get-On-This-Comp? Mix)'. Musically it's
a really tight EBM/industrial song that gets the body moving, and in my
opinion their best song yet that doesn't deal with videogames or
Transformers. The dissonant shouted vocals by DarkNES may be hard to
understand in places, but what we have is an indictment of various
foreign industrial bands who sing in English with dubious grammar.
'Project Pitchfork, E-Craft, and Funker Vogt, your English License has
been revoked!'
Ctrlshft is one of those bands that is hardly
known, but should be. Like Echo Virus, its one of my surprise gems on
this compilation. 'Half-Life' is an excellent grinding industrial track,
reminiscent of the dark atmospheres of Skinny Puppy, yet not slavishly
so. Fans of industrial music, by all means go to the man's mp3.com site
and see what else he has to offer - I doubt you'll be disappointed. This
track is a fantastic synthesis of old and new styles.
Oneiroid
Psychosis offers up another delightfully gruesome instrumental
soundscape with 'First the Head, then the Body'. The song starts with
samples of a woman, obviously upset, shouting an argument over
bass-heavy breaks. I don't know how they do it, managing to evoke such
dread, fear, and sublimation all at once. 'Incendiary' by Caustic (aka
the man in the corner behind the compilation) is a nice tasty powernoise
track, with all the nice heavy elements one comes to associate with
powernoise. Only, it has vocals too, in a gruff industrial style.
'Ruin',
the first track in two years by Stromkern, is the long-lost stepchild
of the 'Armageddon' album - related, but not by blood. I like this
un-filled sparseness that appears in this song. Stromkern is as
passionate as ever. The Dark Clan (a rearrangement of 'Dan Clark',
Rattbelly guitarist and live Null Device guitarist) provides 'LeStat in
Cuba', a quirky bossa nova gothic romp. Sound like an odd juxtaposition?
You have to hear it. This is a marvelous song. It reminds me of the
Romanian folky goth band Arc Gotic, only with more rhythm and electronic
lines. It's hard to make a song about vampires not sound silly, but the
Dark Clan accomplishes this and much more.
You should buy this
CD 'cause its good, it's cheap, it's independent and local, and it
represents a lot of hard work on the part of plain old folks who love
electronic music and strive to put some new electronic music into the
world.
Recommended if you like: damn good electro and synth music, duh!
-bloodlossgirl |
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www.corrode.org
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2003-07-29
Okay, let the dick-sucking commence.
I
figured I'd get this out of the way. There's no way to review a
compilation of the best electro/synth bands Madison has to offer without
sounding like a sycophantic jackass. But let's face it, you can't swing
a dead cat in this town without clocking at least 3 synthpop musicians
across the forehead. If I say it's good, you'll just say, "Bah, he's
only saying that to suck up to the musicians." Well, let me set the
record straight by saying up front that I absolutely loathe all these
artists with a hatred so cold it burns. So when I say something is worth
a listen, you know I'm being sincere. In fact, I'll share something
embarrassing about each group, just to separate my review of the music
from my relationship with/flattery of the artist.
The Halo
Compilation, for those of you that don't know, is a 13-track assortment
with new music from different electro & synthpop acts, all of whom
live within 20 miles or so of our own beloved Madison. If you're not
from Madison, or you simply haven't taken advantage of the fact that
this kind of talent regularly appears in your own backyard, this is your
chance to appreciate it in one convenient package.
I'll start
with the obvious. Stage veterans Stromkern appear with a new track,
Ruin, that carries nicely forward with their momentum from their last
album, Armageddon. Ruin is an excellently blended mix of staccato
grooves and crunchy bass of their later work, combined seamlessly with
angrily soaring, melancholic, Dammerung Im Traum-era vocals. In their
spare time, Stromkern's Ned and Kelly put on stewardess outfits and rape
lawn gnomes.
Next we have
long-time-producer-but-only-recent-performer, Null Device. These guys
have been putting out some of the finest synthpop this side of Iceland
since before I came to this town, and their contribution, Electrified,
is no exception. The ethereal and moving vocals deliver beautiful,
well-written lyrics on top of layers upon layers of bouncy, rich synth.
We're talking synth for days, here people. Null Device's Eric Oehler
runs a white slavery ring out of the basement of his west-side Madison
home.
Then we have Leif and Lars Hansen, the veteran swoonygoth
keyboard-monkeys behind Oneiroid Psychosis. Their brand of creepy
ambient electronic music has set them apart, not just in this area but
all over the country. You can listen to this comp, hear the music that
sounds like a cross between the Quake soundtrack, the Twilight Zone and
something from a Victorian waltz, and you say to yourself, "Hey! It's
Oneiroid Psychosis! They rock." They appear on this comp with two
tracks: First the Head, Then the Body is an otherworldy instrumental
that continues their proud tradition of the creepily hypnotic. As Signal
12, the Oneiroid side project, they come at us with the funkier but
equally fit-for-a-horror-movie-soundtrack Anesthetized. Lars & Leif
love the Highlander movies, and have a life-size cardboard cutout of
Christopher Lambert in their home, which they speak to regularly.
Then
we got the new guys. Stochastic Theory, a relatively recent act out of
Madison, delivers a track called Shared Lies that, like most of their
work, is a solidly danceable, bitterly nostalgic, truly emotive work of
synthpoppy goodness. It flows perfectly from beginning to end, skirting
the boundary between bouncy and angsty with depth and style. Never
before have I wanted to bounce around the dance floor and egg my
ex-girlfriend's car at the same time. Front man Chuck Spencer once tried
to get me into a game of strip Magic: the Gathering.
Brian
Schuh's The One Who Dismissed Me Again was the sleeper track of the
comp, in my opinion. I turn to get a drink or something, and then
suddenly WHACK, there's that fucking dead cat again. Equally fit for the
dancefloor or the breakup mix CD, this addition contains one of the
only uses of a vocoder that actually comes across with class and
subtlety. I don't have a lot of dirt on Mr. Schuh, but I can make shit
up. Um... one time he... uh... I think he kissed a guy. Yeah, that
works.
Ensku, a collaboration between Null Device's Eric Oehler
and Jill Goedken, promises to be one of the best tag-teams since the
Masked Crippler joined forces with El Jugador Maldito. Miss Goedken's
voice on All is Fair is, to put it mildly, transcendent, and the 00ntzy
melody perfectly compliments the delicacy of her singing. I'm pretty
sure Jill Goedken is an ex-Fly Girl.
Speaking of collaborations,
the trio that makes up m00ntz! gives us the funniest and most well-done
rant I've ever had the pleasure of being set to music, I Don't Want Her
(And Neither Do You). The otherwise melancholy Eric Oehler and Chuck
Spencer team up with our own Matt Fanale to tell us all what we all knew
already: girls are crazy, and boys are stupid.
Stromkern side
project Echo Virus slows it down with Stranded, a sorrowful blend of
subtle percussion and harmonizing choruses. Ned and Kelly like to dress
up in... oh wait, I already said that one.
On the harder side we
have ctrlshift's Halflife, a dark and stompy piece of electro-clash that
ranks up there as one of my personal favorites. Disorted vocals,
dissonant synth chords, and some nice hard bass that stays crunchy in
milk make this one stand out among its less angry co-Madisonians.
Definitely worth a listen. Oh, and Josev kicks puppies.
The
crack-addled Gothsicles track, English License, has turned out to be one
of my guilty pleasures on this comp, for three reasons: 1) They have
music from a Nintendo game, 2) Mr. DarkNES raps at 200 bpm and still
sounds good, and 3) they successfully rhymed something with the words,
"Funker Vogt". You will find yourself skipping back to this one. It's
way too hard to embarass someone who wears a Nintendo PowerGlove on
stage, so I'm not even gonna try.
Next in the selection is
Caustic with Incendiary, a piece that pretty much defines the phrase
"Grrr spit industrial" with gravelly vocals and percussion that's like
rubbing sandpaper on the genitals of someone you really dislike, plus
the sandpaper is on fire and you're drunk and you're inside an abandoned
rivet factory. And mad props for using the phrase "flame on" in there.
Lastly
we have the Dark Clan, from former Rattbelly singer/guitarist, current
Null Device singer/guitarist, Dan Clark, with Lestat in Cuba.
Soooooooooooooooo goth........ I mean.... Damn. This track is blacker
than the inside of a black, black bird that was covered in pitch and
locked in a safe at the earth's core. Goth enough to make Peter Murphy
look like Homer Simpson by comparison. And he uses the word
"diaphenously"!! You can't go wrong!! Also Dan goes to convenience
stores just to pee in the travel coffee mugs.
Okay... (wipes
chin)... This went on too long, so lemme end this by saying we in
Madison are lucky to have this kind of talent and drive so omnipresent
in our community. We're goddamn spoiled, is what we are, and I feel
sorry for anyone that doesn't take advantage of the art coming out of
every orifice of this city. So pick up Halo and enjoy.
Reviewed by Seth Riley, aka Office Ninja |
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Isthmus Review
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The
advent of cheap digital recording technology and even cheaper
distribution over the internet has compacted the music world in ways
that just weren't anticipated in the 1980s. The high synth-pop era
influences much of the music on Halo, a compilation of various
electronically oriented Madison acts who've clustered around the Inferno
nightclub. Today, any of these artists could be played around the world
with the click of a mouse, and many deserve to be.
The disc's
first half owes a lot to one key '80s hitmaker, Depeche Mode, which made
an enormous impression on U.S. audiences, especially on the West Coast.
Of this work, Echo Virus' "Stranded" is the most individualistic, with
wispy, melancholic synths and a more deliberate rhythm track
communicating the near-paralytic sense of anomie that infuses much
industrial music. Halo's second half pays larger rewards, with Signal 12
burrowing deep into the darkness on their arid "Anesthetized," Null
Device upping the tempo and the funk beneath the moderne love thang
"Electrified," and both Ctrlshft and industrial-goth greats Stromkern
referencing old-school heroes like Cabaret Voltaire and Ministry on
particularly prime cuts.
Anne Rice fans also won't want to miss
the Dark Clan's drama-soaked electro-rhumba "Lestat in Cuba." It's a
toothsome bit of goth camp.
Reviewed by Tom Laskin |
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www.clubhaven.net
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From the depths of Madison, WI comes the comp you must own.
Full of talent and 90% of this CD are unreleased tracks to boot. Many
of the tracks on this CD can easily fill dance-floors in almost any scene.
A
delectable buffet of Industrial/Synth-Pop and Electro and even a dash
of Goth. Standout tracks on this CD include…Stochastic Theory, Brian
Schuh, -
Echo Virus, Signal 12, CtrlShft and Stromkern. All these
track offer up a very healthy does of dance-floor Tunes. But two other
tracks tend to also
satisfy my need for Goth and Punk. The Gothsicles humorous-punk protest
to “mainstream” Electro/Industrial is reminiscing of See Colin Slash and
The Dark Clan’s “LeStat in Cuba” is very brave and creative in its mixture
of true Goth with a Cuban flare and is extremely danceable.
If you have a need for a slight change in the normal status-quo then pick
this one up on-line. Money Order or Paypal accepted. [Mystchief]
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HaLO Review - Todd Durrant - A Different Drum
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Various
Artists "Halo - The Best of Madtown Electro and Synth" $10 -- Every
once in a while, I'm surprised by a compilation that shows off some new
talent that I hadn't heard of before. This CD kicks off with some really
good lesser-known synthpop stuff from bands like Stochastic Theory,
Ensku, Brian Schuh, Moontz!, Echo Virus, and Signal 12. There's a great
song by Null Device (one of my personal favorite new-comer bands). Then
the compilation changes pace a bit to the harder edge with a band called
The Gothsicles that just made me fall over laughing. The song is called
"English License (The How-Did-We-Get-On-This-Comp? Mix)" and it boldly
makes fun of some of the popular European industrial bands who have
somewhat quirky English language lyrics. The way this song is
obnoxiously yelled, it's hard to understand it's own lyrics, but the
chorus ends with stuff like, "Project Pitchfork, E-Craft, and Funker
Vogt, your English license has been revoked!" In fact, here is a link to
the hilarious lyrics: http://www.uwm.edu/~graupner/lyrics.html The rest
of the tracks on the compilation then turn more industrial, but it's
worth it for the first half. |
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