What do you get when you combine electro, dramatic pop, sailor imagery and a handsome, distantly androgyne frontman with a fascinating voice and spice the whole thing up with Joachim Witt’s artistic guidance? The correct answer is Leichtmatrose, who are all about “melodramatic sailorpop” as they themselves call it. In the end, Leichtmatrose actually sounds a whole lot like a poppier, softer Wolfsheim, down to the Heppner-esque vocal work of the singer. Luckily, they still don’t sound like is a cheap ripoff of Wolfsheim, but indeed have a very distinctive, own sound. You can sample just that on Leichtmatrose’s MySpace where they have six lengthy clips, showcasing the band’s range quite well. You can also check out the brand-new video for Herztransplantation, or the earlier Sexi ist tot.

Leichtmatrose’s debut album Gestrandet will be out on April 22nd and doesn’t really seem to be available yet anywhere, but in the meantime you might want to support the band by getting their already available digital singles Sexi ist tot (which actually managed to reach #7 in the Deutsch Alternative Charts at the time of its release!) and Leichtmatrosen haben’s schwer / Herztransplantation. They’re both available at various digital stores, like Musicload.de and iTunes.

Leichtmatrose - Gestrandet
1. Herztransplantation
2. In Wahrheit gelogen
3. Gestrandet
4. Sexi ist tot
5. Der einsame Astronaut
6. Der Mond trägt ein trauriges Gesicht
7. Studentenfutter
8. Junge von nebenan
9. Nom Esel im Hallopp verloren
10. Himmelfahrt
11. Leichtmatrosen haben’s schwer
12. Der letzte Zug

Joachim Witt’s acclaimed Werkreihe Bayreuth phase of musical career and set of albums didn’t, in fact, come to a close with the 2007 best-of Auf Ewig. Instead, there was room for one final Bayreuth-release: Dorian Hunter Theme, the main theme for the successful German horror audio drama Dorian Hunter, which is based on the Dämonenkiller series of books by Ernst Vlcek. Currently five parts of Dorian Hunter have been released, with another five coming and the series ending sometime in 2010. Witt not only composed the main theme song, but he’s also responsible for all of the soundscapes present in the play. The theme song is pretty awesome - a haunting, dark and very electronic song that has more in common with Bayreuth I and Eisenherz than Witt’s latest works.

The Dorian Hunter Theme was released last month as a digital download and also as a CD single, and it contains the original version of the track, three remixes and as a bonus five short clips from the radio play. You can listen to samples and buy the single on at least Amazon.de, where you can also order the Dorian Hunter audio play CDs themselves. Alternatively, you can order everything from the publisher Zaubermond instead.

According to Witt himself, Dorian Hunter now finally wraps up the Bayreuth-era and next productions are looming in the horizon. I personally can’t wait to see what he has in store for the future. In the next few days we’ll at least be talking about Leichtmatrose, a new band Witt was recently completely enthralled by and which he gave a big hand by mentoring and providing artistic guidance, so look forward to seeing a post about that project soon!

Joachim Witt - Dorian Hunter Theme
1. Dorian Hunter Theme (Single version)
2. Dorian Hunter Theme (Moorland remix)
3. Dorian Hunter Theme (Forma tadre remix by Moorland Music)
4. Dorian Hunter Theme (Orchestral remix by Moorland Music)
5. “Mein lieber … Rest!” (snippet from part 1)
6. “Lilians Irrsinn” (snippet from part 1)
7. “Finde Dorian” (snippet from part 1)
8. “Sagen Sie mir die Wahrheit!” (snippet from the epilogue of part 2)
9. “Jeff Parker sagt Tschüss” (snippet from part 5)

I’m terribly sorry for the lack of updates recently! For me there’s been so much to do lately, and I presume it’s the same deal with Greg as well. But on to business! Again!

The ex-KMFDM, currently of Slick Idiot crazy bastard En Esch recently teamed up with Mona Mur, a respected and long-time sound engineer and vocalist. Both musicians are well-respected figures in the industrial scene but still of very different styles, so it’s interesting to see these artists perform together. Last month they finally released the fruits of their collaboration, a full-length album titled 120 Tage - The Fine Art of Beauty and Violence. The record contains eleven tracks of which seven are remade versions of Mona Mur’s 80s and 90s hits, and four are completely new songs (tracks 1, 4, 5 and 11). The project was extremely positively received by the press, and it indeed is a mystifying, oftentimes just plain weird but still extremely captivating meld of industrial elements, orchestral strings, gothic vocals and dark electro. Really a unique, extremely dynamic duo of artists. In any case, it’s damned difficult to describe but a lot more fun to listen to, so the best would be if you checked it out yourself by visiting Mona Mur & En Esch’s MySpace, where they have two full songs and two short clips.

You can find the album for sale on at least Amazon.de and Pale Music.

Thanks to teekey for the info on the all-new songs!

Mona Mur & En Esch - 120 Tage - The Fine Art of Beauty and Violence
1. Candy Cane
2. Die Ballade vom ertrunkenen Mädchen
3. 120 Tage
4. The Thin Red Line
5. Visions & Lies
6. Eintagsfliegen
7. Snake
8. Mon Amour
9. Surabaya Johnny
10. Der Song von Mandelay
11. The Wound

Gerrit Thomas and the rest of Funker Vogt will be coming to the United States in April for their Warzone Tour. The 13 scheduled dates will take the electro-industrial act to every corner of the country, but there’s a lot of space in between the cities so you may still have to travel a few hours to get to see them depending on where you live. If you pay attention to this style of music, you know it will be worth it, though.

Funker Vogt has been around for nearly 15 years and has produced many great albums, gaining them quite a following around the world, even to the point where their CDs have been sold in some mall chain stores like FYE and Hot Topic. If they have somehow managed to slip under your radar, you should really give them a listen. Here’s one of their more popular songs, “Gunman”:

You can also listen to more Funker Vogt on their Myspace page, and find their albums (including their forthcoming, first ever 2-disc live album Warzone K17) for sale in the Metropolis Mailorder site at very good prices.

Funker Vogt’s Warzone Tour Dates
(dates updated again, as of Feb 27)

April 2 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
April 3 - Los Angeles, CA - Das Bunker
April 8 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
April 9 - Salt Lake City, UT - Club Vegas
April 10 - Denver, CO - Tracks
April 11 - Scottsdale, AZ - Zombie Ball @ The Venue
April 12 - Detroit, MI - TBA
April 13 - Pittsburgh, PA - Pegasus
April 14 - Northampton, MA - The Haven
April 15 - Richmond, VA - Fallout
April 16 - Allentown, PA - The Sterling Hotel
April 17 - New York, NY - Stimulate (event name, venue TBA)
April 18 - West Palm, FL - Respectable Street
April 20 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
April 23 - Austin, TX - Elysium
April 24 - Dallas, TX - The Lizard Lounge

Many people consider Klaus Schulze to be one of the greatest musicians alive, having continually produced groundbreaking electronic and atmospheric music for an astonishing 40 years. From his earliest days as a member of famous krautrock and electronic bands like Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel to his solo work releasing dozens of albums that push the boundaries of sound, he is certainly worthy of being called a legend.

Now, this status has officially been preserved by the publishing of a new book about him called Klaus Schulze: Electronic Music Legend. Written by Greg Allen, this 300+ page book documents everything you could possibly want to know about Klaus Schulze, from his own personal history to what instruments he has used. The bulk of the book is made up of an in-depth, album-by-album journey through the Klaus Schulze discography with lots of discussion, both factual and opinionated. There are also several interviews with Schulze and many of the other musicians that have worked with him over the years, photos, and a number of other extras.

You can read reviews of the book, the table of contents and an excerpt, and other information relating to Klaus Schulze: Electronic Music Legend at the book’s website KlausSchulzeBook.com. You can buy the book online at many locations including Amazon.com in the USA, Trafford.com in Canada, SphericMusic.de in Germany, and Foyles.co.uk in the UK.

Polarkreis 18 was one of the first bands ever covered on Germaniac.com, and Greg was seriously impressed with their debut self-titled album that came out in early 2007. The young band didn’t waste any time, and released a second full-length, The Colour of Snow, last October. It was preceded by the single Allein allein which turned out to be a suprise hit - serves the band right, as Allein allein is a really good song. It’s beautiful and adequately chilly, and has a great, catchy singalong chorus to boot. The album itself is also one of my personal favourites from last year. Polarkreis 18 has been rightfully compared to Sigur Rós from Iceland, but on The Colour of Snow the band moves beyond being just a German version of that band to actually being even better, especially when compared to Sigur Rós’s lackluster latest offering, also released last year. Polarkreis are also coming out with another single cut, the title song from the current album, soon on 13th February, but details of the release are scarce at the moment. It will at least be their entry for the Bundesvision Song Contest 2009 which will be held mid-February.

If you’re up for some fantastic, chillingly beautiful electronic indie rock soundscapes and/or are seeking for more of something like Sigur Rós, you’d do well to get to know Polarkreis 18. Their MySpace has four lengthy samples from The Colour of Snow and also two older ones, they’re a good way to get you started. There’s also a brand new video for the upcoming single track, viewable here. The album is pretty widely available, for example both Amazon.de and Amazon.com have it.

Polarkreis 18 - The Colour of Snow tracklist
1. Tourist
2. Allein Allein
3. Prisoner
4. Untitled Picture
5. The Colour Of Snow
6. 130/70
7. Rainhouse
8. River Loves The Ocean
9. Name On My ID
10. Happy Go Lucky

De/Vision and Seabound are currently touring North America together. So far, the tour has been a real success, with everyone who has been to one of the concerts so far saying how much they enjoyed it. There are only a few dates left, so don’t miss your chance to see these two great synthpop bands performing live.

If you didn’t get the opportunity to go to one of their recent concerts, don’t worry. You can still watch one live right from your computer. Tonight’s dual-headliner concert at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco, California, will be streamed live on the venue’s website. Be sure to check it out at DNALounge.com/webcast.

The well-respected veteran industrial electro and darkwave outfit Project Pitchfork fronted by the ever-prolific Peter Spilles has finally come out with their new album: Dream, Tiresias!. It will be available February 27th, and it’ll be preceded by the single Feel!, which will be out in just over a week on the 23rd. Dream, Tiresias! is Project Pitchfork’s first full album since Kaskade which was released already four years ago in 2005, although they do have put out an odd single and EP here and there. The new album appears to be a concept album of sorts, with each track having a second title like “First dream”, “Second dream” and so on, and the piece of news on the official site tells us that Dream, Tiresias! will show the true essence of Project Pitchfork. I’m always up for a good concept album, and also unleashing a band’s true nature certainly doesn’t make matters worse very often, so sounds good to me.

Dream, Tiresias! will be available in three different set-ups: the Europe-only basic and limited special editions, and also a limited US edition with three bonus tracks picked from the Feel! single which won’t be released outside Europe. The European special set will feature a second disc alongside the album itself, an MCD with three additional tracks. Two are new, and one is a remix of the song One Million Faces which was released in 2007. And oh yeah, the single Feel! will be EP-length and boast a total of nine tracks, eight of which are remixes by various big names like [:SITD:] and Die Krupps - you can see them all after the break in the tracklist.

For a taster of Dream, Tiresias! you should head to Pitchfork’s MySpace, there’s one full track and four snippets from the upcoming album for you to listen. Both the single and the basic version of the album are preorderable at Amazon.de (single, album) and Infrarot.de (single, album), and Isotank has the US version. Metropolis will presumably distribute the album and sell it at some point as well, seeing as they’re Pitchfork’s label of choice on the other side of the Atlantic. The special edition with the additional CD I wasn’t able to find anywhere, but maybe it’ll emerge at one point or the other.

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Eisbrecher’s latest album Sünde, which has already been out in Europe for several months now, was not released in North America like their previous 2 albums were. That’s because Dancing Ferret, the label that previously distributed them across the continent, shut down late last year and left them without representation overseas. Fortunately, Eisbrecher has now been picked up by Metropolis Records, which is arguably the biggest electro and industrial label on this side of the Atlantic, and is a favorite for bringing great European bands to the States.

The North American version of Sünde will be released on March 10th. The tracklisting will remain the same as the (limited edition of the) European version, but the album will have completely new artwork as seen in the image above. You can already pre-order the album on the Metropolis mailorder site for just $12.98.

Maybe Eisbrecher has a better chance of touring North America now that they are being distributed and promoted here again, and by a much more prominent label. Let’s hope so!

Eisbrecher - Sünde (North American version)
01. Kann Denn Liebe Sünde Sein?
02. Alkohol
03. Komm Süsser Tod
04. Heilig
05. Verdammt Sind
06. Die Durch Die Hölle Gehen
07. Herzdieb
08. 1000 Flammen
09. This Is Deutsch
10. Zu Sterben
11. Mehr Licht
12. Kuss
13. This Is Deutsch (SITD-Remix)
14. Blut Und Tränen
15. Alkohol (Rotersand-Remix)
16. Kann Denn Liebe Sünde Sein? (SITD-Remix)

Blutengel’s new album Schwarzes Eis

Chris Pohl’s main project Blutengel has announced that a new album titled Schwarzes Eis will be released on Friday the 13th in February. The album, which was preceded by the single Dancing in the Light in November will be a grand package indeed, as even the normal version will have another CD along with the main album. The second disc is called Behind the Mirror and it’ll boast eight completely new instrumental tracks. The limited edition of the album, however, is where the real action is. Schwarzes Eis? Check. Behind the Mirror? Check. Fancy box? Check. Grandiose 40-page booklet? Check. A third CD with not just bonus tracks but an actual, second new album? Che… Wait, what? Yeah, the third disc is a whole album of its own, Redemption, and it’ll have 10 tracks that didn’t fit on Schwarzes Eis. One of the songs is a new version of Winter of my Life which was released earlier this year as a download and very limited 7 inch vinyl. So all in all, you’ll be getting a total of three discs full of brand-new Blutengel goodness. What’s not to like?

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find the album anywhere for preorders, but in the meantime you can listen to a part of the song Dreh dich nicht um on Blutengel’s MySpace (which has actually been updated).

L’Âme Immortelle’s live DVD+CD emerges from the shadows

The Austrian L’Âme Immortelle’s new live DVD and CD package Jenseits der Schatten was released December 15th. The DVD side has the whole concert filmed during the band’s Namenlos tour, and it contains 21 songs from all around the band’s production, whereas the CD has 16 tracks picked from the set (you can see the track list for both after the break). Interestingly, the concert was filmed completely in black and white, making for a rather unique look. The DVD also contains some extras, for example more live material filmed in Vienna and behind the scenes goofiness.

The DVD+CD was initially only released as a limited edition six-panel digipack, and it’s available at most of your usual stores: Amazon.de for 21,95 €, Infrarot.de for 18,99 €, EMP.de for 21,99 € or for you in the US, Isotank for $24.99. Please note that the CD or DVD aren’t available separately! Just though I’d need to clear that up, since my original post was a bit ambiguous on the matter.

You can watch the trailer for the DVD here, or listen to two songs from the CD on L’Âme Immortelle’s MySpace.

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