ALBUM REVIEW: Swans – The Beggar


 

According to the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Heraclitus, change is the only constant in life. Everything that comes into being is a product of conflicting opposites and that process of becoming never ends. We never stop becoming. We are never at rest. The music of Swans (and by extension that of songwriter/bandleader Michael Gira) is the embodiment of an ever-changing being, existing through the continual tension of opposing forces; never at rest.

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CLASSIC ALBUMS REVISITED: Depeche Mode – ‘Violator’ 30 Years Later


Just the other day, I used the Instagram filter “What Goth Band Are You?” and victoriously was labeled Depeche Mode. Though I strive to be dark, brooding, emotive, sexy, and mysterious, I feel it’s best left to the professionals to truly embody and exhibit such traits, and there is no finer example than electronic rock/synth-wave masters, Depeche Mode. Thirty years ago today (March 19, 1990), Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher, and Alan Wilder gifted the world their seventh studio album, Violator (Mute Records) and today, we look back in celebration and appreciation of a record that pushed boundaries, created timeless classics, and explored sex, desire, hedonism, and other ‘taboo’ topics (with a pinch of religion). Continue reading


Nodding God – Play Wooden Child


It’ s amazing how switching a couple of letters around can turn a toy into something huge and imposing. Then there’s the spaced-out Electronica with ancient Mesopotamian lyrics…it’ s something that could only be the work of Current 93 figurehead David Tibet and, sure enough, the master experimentalist is back with new outfit Nodding God, whose debut album Play Wooden Child (House of Mythology) is a blissfully madcap echo through the cosmos.Continue reading


Laibach Streaming Marcel Dettmann Remix Of “Eurovision”


Credit: Luka Kaše

Credit: Luka Kaše

Laibach is streaming Marcel Dettmann’s remix of Laibach’s “Eurovision,” off of their forthcoming SPECTRE DIGITAL DELUXE ALBUM, out on March 31, 2015 via Mute, here. The deluxe version of 2014’s Spectre will feature the original album plus bonus tracks and SPECTREMIX, an album of remixes (also available separately on the same date).

As well as Marcel Dettmann, SPECTREMIX will feature mixes from labelmates Diamond Version (aka Olaf Bender and Carsten Nicolai), Sandwell District’s Function, longtime collaborator iTurk, Slovenian electro-pop band Torul, Scottish DJ and producer Alex Smoke, German DJ, producer, mastering engineer and co-founder of the Common Sense People event series, Konstantin Sibold and Slovenian producer, DJ and musician Gramatik.

Included in the European tour dates is a performance at Munich’s Residenztheater on April 11th, part of their collaboration with the award winning Swiss director Milo Rau for his latest production, The Dark Ages. The Dark Ages is the second part of Rau’s Europa trilogy, focusing on the dark history of a Europe in the process of unifying. Actors from Bosnia, Germany, Russia and Serbia tell their stories of displacement and homelessness, of departure and arrival, of dedication and despair.

Watch the trailer for The Dark Ages featuring Laibach here.

laibach spectre

SPECTRE DIGITAL DELUXE TRACKLISTING
The Whistleblowers
No History
Eat Liver!
Americana
We Are Millions And Millions Are One
Eurovision
Walk With Me
Bossanova
Resistance Is Futile
Koran

BONUS TRACKS
The Parade
Love On The Beat
Just Say No!
See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
Love On The Beat – Live (Edit) – recorded at the Tate Modern

SPECTREMIX
Eurovision (Torul remix)
The Whistleblowers (Marcel Dettmann remix)
The Whistleblowers (Diamond Version remix)
Koran (Alex Smoke remix)
Eat Liver! (Gramatik remix)
Resistance Is Futile (Function remix)
Koran (iTurk remix)
We Are Millions and Millions Are One (Konstantin Sibold remix)
Eurovision (Marcel Dettmann remix)

European Dates
Mar 12: Mau Club – Rostock (DE)
Mar 13: Moriska Paviljongen – Malmö (SE)
Mar 14: Debaser Medis – Stockholm (SE)
Mar 16: Tavastia – Helsinki (FI)
Mar 17: Rockcafe – Talin (EE)
Mar 18: Klubi – Tampere (FI)
Mar 22: Beatpol – Dresden (DE)
Mar 24: Sono Centrum – Brno (CZ)
Mar 25: Fabryka – Krakow (PL)
Mar 26: Palladium – Warsaw (PL)
Mar 27: Astra / Out of Line Weekender – Berlin (DE)
Mar 28: Turbinenhalle / E-tropolis Festival – Oberhausen (DE)
Mar 29: Mezz – Breda (NL)
Mar 30: Concorde 2 – Brighton (UK)
Mar 31: Classic Grand – Glasgow (UK)
Apr 02: Electric Ballroom – London (UK)
Apr 03: Academy 2 – Manchester (UK)
Apr 04: Muziekgieterij – Maastricht (NL)
Apr 05: Divan Du Monde – Paris (FR)
Apr 08: Arena – Vienna (AT)
Apr 09: Barba Negra Music Club – Budapest (HU)
Apr 11: Residenztheater – Munich (DE) (part of The Dark Ages production)

North American Dates
May 11: Black Cat – Washington, DC
May 12: Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY
May 13: Theatre Of The Living Arts – Philadelphia PA
May 15: Colisee A – Victoriaville, QC (Canada)
May 16: Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON (Canada)
May 17: Rex Theatre – Pittsburgh, PA
May 19: Vogue Theatre – Indianapolis, IN
May 20: Abbey Pub – Chicago, IL
May 21: Slowdown – Omaha, NE
May 23: Gothic Theatre – Englewood, CO
May 26: El Corazon – Seattle, WA
May 27: Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC
May 28: Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR
May 30: The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
Jun 01: The Roxy Theatre – Los Angeles, CA

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