The work of electronic musician Carolyn Fok spans over four decades and has ranged from aggressive industrial to more ambient soundscapes. It’s always had an experimental edge, with meticulous and highly creative sound design. Thanks to a pair of new large-scale collections, Fok’s music is now more readily available.
Secret Affair was firmly part of the British mod revival of the late 70s, and like the scene itself, did not make it far into the 80s. The group initially disbanded in 1982, but founding members Ian Page and David Cairns are keeping the music alive with an upcoming 40th Anniversary tour.
Electronic/Rock band ARMY OF THE UNIVERSE, who we profiled in 2014, is celebrating 10 years as a band with a remake of their song “Resin” (originally included on their 2011 “Lovedead” EP.) The group was founded in Italy in 2008 by Electronic Dance producer Tebla and singer Lord K, with guitarist Dave Tavecchia joining in 2010. Their music brings together analog synth sounds, heavy guitars and relentless dance beats.
Deadbots are a Dublin-based electronic band comprised of couple Paul Kelly and Nina Knezevic (originally from Vancouver). As huge fans of analog synthesizers and other vintage gear, Deadbots have an extremely varied sound that brings together such influences as house, techno, disco, and video games. On November 5, 2018, they will release their debut album, “Love Unlimited” exclusively through their website.
With influences ranging from 80s era Prince to dreampop, NYC-based duo Nightcaller embraces the music they like without tying themselves down to a particular genre. Their recently released album “Halcyon Daze” is atmospheric and catchy at once, with creative production and sound design making it impossible to pigeonhole.
The intensity and freshness of The Church’s 2017 album ‘Man Woman Life Death Infinity’ proved that the Australian band is in no way stuck in the past. But they have also been happy to celebrate their musical history, with such projects as their current US tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of their breakout album “Starfish.”
Heaven 17 frontman Glenn Gregory and classically trained multi-instrumentalist Berenice Scott have worked together on many projects, but Afterhere is the duo’s first original pop music creation. The music is sophisticated, slightly dark pop, with Scott handling the majority of the vocals. They recently released “Addict,” their debut album as Afterhere.
Experimental musician and dancer Raquel Bell has been involved with many projects over the years, such as Normal Love, Mesiko and The Dialtones. But the recently released “Swandala” marks her debut as a solo artist. Having relocated from New York City to Austin, Texas, Bell found the additional space and time benefited her creative process.
When Avant-guitarist Robert Poss set out to make a new solo album, he initially envisioned it as a rock record in the vein of his former group Band Of Susans. But the resulting ‘Frozen Flowers Curse The Day’ ended up being a much more diverse collection of music. There are ambient tracks, experimental compositions and also vocal-driven rocks songs. Poss explains how the album came together and discusses his creative process.
When Norway’s Mortiis initially put out ‘Perfectly Defect,’ he was ‘super pissed off with previous negative experiences in the record industry’ and decided to give the album away to fans during his 2010 tour. Long unavailable, the album now has a proper release on Mortiis’ own Omnipresence Records. Mortiis has revisited another of his past works, actively touring with a live reinterpretation of his classic 1994 album “Ånden Som Gjorde Opprør.”