If you haven’t checked out our interview with Andi Harriman on the podcast last week, we would encourage you to do so. Andi is a friend of the site and an excellent writer and producer in her own rite, and chatting with her really did put us in mind of the many connections we’ve made through I Die: You Die with other like-minded DJs, promoters, bloggers and artists over the years. The reward for doing this site has been making those connections, and connections with readers and listeners, which is as good a time as any to say that if you want to reach out via comments on this site, or via our various social media please do so! Notes of interest, points of clarification/correction, disagreement, all our welcome as long as you’re cool and not a jerk. We’d love to hear from you.
Ganser
S Product, “Bell Tolls”
Los Angeles’ S Product come out swinging with their debut mini-album Suicide Beat. Mixing up eldest school EBM with some synthpunk and touches of synthpop, they do a good job of invoking the big names – DAF, Ebb, Suicide – without being slavishly devoted to copying them. It’s also just the right side of raw from a production standpoint, with enough grit to sell the tougher side of their sound. Check out “Bell Tolls” for a decent taster.
Executioner’s Mask, “No Funeral”
Tip of the hat to Brant Showers for pointing us to the debut from goth-punk act Executioner’s Mask. Tunes like this are decidedly death-driven, as if the title wasn’t enough of a clue, but even Szyslak-esque depression can’t hide the hooks and weight on display here. We’re getting an interesting bouquet that’s part Swans, part Suspiria, and even a little hint of the late, great Turn Pale.
Crystal Geometry, “Exode”
Just when we were losing interest in techno-EBM Crystal Geometry released Senestre and pulled us right back in with a mix of rhythmic noise, modular sound design and body music bass. Now just over half a year later producer Maxime Fabre is back with new EP The Axis Of The Skies, that works the same toolset with some interesting new angles. We’re especially feeling the sampled choir sounds on absolute banger “Exode”, introducing a kind of 80s post-industrial angle to the track.
Ganser, “Emergency Equipment & Exits”
The decidedly “difficult” post-punk of Ganser feels very apt amidst the ongoing nightmare. The band’s always had a restless tension to their sound and their lyrics, and why the hell should new LP Just Look At That Sky change that now? That said, this track’s swing betwixt frantic worry and daydream reverie taps into the ambiguity of the present zeitgeist, which is reflected in this decidedly Ballard-like video. Additionally, check out their recent lockdown check-in interview with Talking To Ghosts, and singer/bassist Alicia Gaines’ excellent piece on touring while black.
Jean-Marc Lederman Experience, “Letter From Claus Larsen”
Weatherman, Fad Gadgeteer, and Ghost or Writer Jean-Marc Lederman has been releasing a string of ambitious, high-concept solo records over the past few years, showcasing his talents for electronic composition well beyond the harsher sounds for which most readers of this site might know him. His latest such project finds him tapping a wide range of associates (Mari Kattman, Elena Alice Fossi, Rodney Orpheus) and asking them to dictate the titular Letters To Gods (And Fallen Angels). The wistful reflections of Uncle Claus match up perfectly with Lederman’s minimal but incredibly liberating and joyous synthpop trills.
Paladin, “Phantom (Body Mix)”
We’re unabashed fans of Chris Gilbert (aka Mild Peril, aka Molasar, aka Paladin, aka Body Party); few producers have captured the magic of classic synth, space disco, kosmische, and body music with quite as much charm. New odds n’ sods collection The Rash Boon has some demos and variations on previously released tracks, but we were especially taken by “Phantom” which per Gilbert started as a Body Party demo before finding its place between the various projects’ sounds. If you ever needed an entry point to this producer’s terrific and every expanding discography, this is it.
