Loud Cities Magazine _Issue 3_03_2021

ISSUE #3 

MAR 2021 

REVIEWS - INTERVIEWS - FLASHBACK - PLAYLISTS - GUESTS & OTHER 

This is the Bridge 

Elektrospank 

Holygram 

Mechanimal 

Schonwald 

3+Dead 

VVolves 

The Underground Youth 

... plus many more 

RAW - ELEGANT - ALTERNATIVE - MUSIC

Every Thursday 

Loud Cities Radio Show 

www.mercury-radio.net 

TUNE IN 22:00-00:00 GR TIME/21:00-23:00 CET/12noon PST/3pm EST

Loud Cities Magazine / #3 MAR 2021 3 

EDITORIAL 

From the LCM Crew: 

These are weird times. The Covid pandemic is trying hard to shut 

the world down with the usual help from the nations’ admins. 

The usual suspects continue with their lives in another alternative 

strange situation, the people in Arts are struggling to survive yet 

the Covid attack still fails to poison any bit of the core of their 

vision. In our field, in the dark alternative music front, the record 

releases are coming wave after wave every month, every day. It 

is like our loving dark ambassadors will find the strength to carry 

on with their art and yet we LCM mostly admire the young who 

won’t step back from releasing their debut stuff. 

Our clubs and our hangout places are in danger, and when the 

battle comes down, we must help them to avoid extinction. 

Online live streams are OK, but this cannot be the future of our 

cult. The first day/ night when we can go out to our places we’ll 

will be there to spend money for them, and we don’t care if we’ll 

be on the street outside our dens with only beers. These are all 

our friends, our good people that we are all cult. 

Remember, if it is difficult for them now, imagine then the hell 

they’ll face when their events won’t sell out. Where were you 

when they’ll need you the most? Don’t let this situation tire you 

so that you won’t leave your houses anymore. We at LCM are 

dying for the day when we’ll dance and sweat again at the front 

of a nice live gig, not to mention what our fantasies are for the 

coming hours after that expected live show; one world, one lively 

tribe with suns in our eyes and ears wide open for the DJ set 

which will be…literally the best ever run for everybody in the 

house. 

Keep-Things-Alive 

https://soundcloud.com/mike-dimitriou 

https://www.mixcloud.com/mike-dimitriou

Cont 

6 MECHANIMAL 

10 

18 

22 

THE UNDERGROUND 

YOUTH 

THIS IS THE 

BRIDGE 

NEW ZERO 

GOD 

26 PLAYLIST 

ECHOES OF THE CITY 

30 HOLYGRAM 

38 LISA GERRARD & JULES MAXWELL 

48 Tom Waits -

ents 

SCHONWALD 

A CLOUD OF RAVENS 

FEU FOLLET 

VVOLVES 

PARAGON CAUSE 

3+DEAD 

ELEKTROSPANK 

8 

12 

21 

24 

29 

36 

40 

Jim jarmusch

6 Loud Cities Magazine / #3 MAR 2021 

REVIEW Mike D. 

The Explicit Melancholy of 

MECHANIMAL 

in the New LP 

“Thorivos“ (Noise) 

Today we premiere the new fifth album 

“Θορυβος” (Thorivos - NOISE) by the 

Athens based ongoing experimental 

music project of Mechanimal, via Inner 

Ear Records. MCHNML is the brainchild 

of electronic producer and newindustrialist 

Giannis Papaioannou 

(ION), who with an impressive move 

sent the whole project to some 

unimaginably high standards of the 

urban culture. Following last year’s 

electro-industrial storms of “Crux” 

LP, where he manipulated Freddy 

Faulkenberry’s vocals as a storm 

unleashed, this year he found the best 

narrator in the face of another iconic 

figure of the Athenian underground, 

Thekla Tselepi at the front. 

Renowned radio producer, an artist, 

and an activist, she gave her 

volcanic cold blow on the 

words she had in her hands; 

the words that are written by 

MCHNML member Angelica 

Vrettou (creator of their 

album covers and curator 

of the videos of their live 

performances) in the Greek 

language and fortunately for 

everyone all translated into 

English. You see, the ink that 

Angelica put on the paper 

is urban bloody poetry in all 

its sparkling glory; explicit, 

rude, nasty, annoying, true, 

feminine, sour-sweet, she 

became something like an 

analyst of the global psyche... 

“Like a whore’s hole-ridden 

dress/ Floating on the dull


waters of the shipyard.” What is 

more menacing, the cold post-punk 

of ION with his machines, Angelica 

behind the poetry, or Thekla pushing 

these words to the microphone? 

Watch 

“I Look at the Shadows of the Walls” 

There is melancholy all over the album 

and in all its aspects. Music, Words, 

Voice, Production, all gather up to form 

the new chapter of MCHNML’s script 

which appears to be more subversive 

and fearless than ever. You will hear 

all the shades of old-school stuff, new 

wave music, post-punk to the bone, 

darkwave, and dark electro minimalism 

to tangle like snakes around the dirty 

words of the new manifesto. Spoken 

word by the singer to make it all more 

conceivable and striking for the hearts 

of the “innocent” sheep of the societies. 

Art can be brutally galore in the hands 

of ingenious artists who sing the dirty 

deeds and some ugly truth, try track no. 

5 “Madness”. Art can be deadly ironic 

and offensive at the root of the human 

entity, art can be explicit toward the 

norms, and very-very toxic, try track 

no. 6 “How Marvellous You Are When 

You Dance”. Art can be a nihilist, art 

can be anarchy, art can be minimal, 

sharp, and clear, go to track no.3 “Go 

Ahead!”. Go to the venomous opener 

of the album, “Red The Poetry Flows”, 

and hear if you see anything yours in 

there shamelessly and guiltily. Anyway, 

shuffle the list well and let it reveal 

to you the whole sonic spectrum of 

MCHNML Photo by G. Domenikos 

MCHNML. “Θορυβος” (Thorivos - 

NOISE) LP is all the glorious things we 

found before in their albums, with a 

few new flashes yet being their most 

precise and targeted release until now. 

Their new album is not a new collection 

of songs, their new album is a complete 

A-Z work which was achieved by a 

unique collective hand that speaks of 

this wonderful deconstructed world of 

humans. 

Keep up with 

MECHANIMAL 

www.whitelight-whiteheat.com

8 

Loud Cities Magazine / #3 MAR 2021 

REVIEW 

Mike D. 

SCHONWALD 

“Abstraction” LP, 

one darkwave opus at large! 

Italian dark-weavers Schonwald published their brand new opus “Abstraction” LP 

earlier on February 16, 2021, with 10 songs to die for. Here, Alessandra Gismondi 

and Luca Bandini wrote, recorded, mixed, and mastered some pretty edgy and 

astonishing new chapters for their journey through the dark of our times; 

“A voyage through introspection of the 21st century’s utopian hopes” as they 

mention in their Bandcamp page. 

The fourth album which follows the 

critically acclaimed “Night Idyll” LP (2017) 

sounds as I wanted it to be, one triumph 

for the darkwave by a band that evolved 

nicely and so much in this gap with the 

only ‘threat’ being the 2-track “Tempest/ 

Neptune” release also in February 2021, 

and with none of the two included in the 

new album. 

All things we adore in our music are 

in this epic new record. All things we 

adore Schonwald are here at the front. 

The “Abstraction” LP is huge, I mean 

really huge darkwave music for the ages.


It is a collection of literally 10 maxi 

singles at large with some of the most 

imposing and striking new anthems 

inside. The first one to appear was 

“Fall Apart” with an official video 

last November, and even though is 

indeed a glorious track, it is just a 

step down to this wonderful abyss. 

estimated the value and the dangers of 

the trip this far and had to see clearly 

what a glorious album is this. Let the 

“Abstraction” new album charm you 

with its entire creation, the record is a 

whole new darkwave ‘gallery’ with 10 

fascinating exhibits! 

The duo weaves their net with the 

most delicate and the strongest thread. 

The connection through the songs is 

like an ongoing unbreakable textile of 

the highest quality. In a sense, it may 

sound like a concept album, and really 

maybe “Abstraction LP is inspired by 

esoteric hymns, aesthetic mantras, 

echoes of savage human nature. A 

voyage through introspection of the 

21st century’s utopian hopes”, and 

maybe that’s why they blended it all 

with post-punk de luxe sounding, with 

shoegaze wings not as a trick but as 

a natural necessity in the design, the 

deathrock rambling at the top of the 

waves (occasionally), and of course all 

the darkwave chanting like ‘explaining’ 

the words to the microphone. 

The very scenic and theatrical new 

album by Schonwald as if they 

painted that poor humanity we are in 

and it is their very best ever work so 

far. The thematic album, with brilliant 

inspiration, I am almost speechless 

with it, I am so amazed by this work! 

I got lost with devotion to the killer 

triplet in the row at the middle of the 

album “Echo’s Dream”, “Passion Of 

Lover”, “Reflex”, as if I hadn’t properly 

Keep up with 

SCHONWALD 


10 



THE UNDERGROUND YOUTH’s 

most Sincere and 

Introspective album 

Manchester-born, Berlin-based The 

Undeground Youth led by Craig Dyer 

released their new, most sincere and 

introspective tenth album “The Falling” 

via Fuzz Club Records on March 12. 

The new album is a shadowy folknoir 

masterpiece with 8 songs where 

Dyer wrote ‘stories’ for ‘retrieval’ and 

‘regain’. He handled the vocals, guitars, 

piano, harmonica, accordion, and 

percussion, while with him are Leonard 

Kaage (guitars, slide guitar, drums, 

string arrangements, piano, organ, 

synth, typewriter, percussion), Olya 

Dyer (drums, gÃ¼iro), Max James 

(bass), Astrid Porzig (violin), Magnus 

Westergaard (additional vocals and 

guitar). The whole sounding in “The 

“The Falling” 

Falling” is at times majestic but mainly 

romantic and introverted, but also quite 

social and ambitious. The band plays 

with huge skills the pretty finite and 

globally adored music style of indiefolk, 

and with a bent to jeopardy I’d add; 

on the nicely hidden rails of post-punk 

when tried by a mostly acoustic team, 

and it is all a glory. 

“Lyrically this album finds me at my 

most honest and autobiographical. I still 

shroud the reality of what I have written 

within something of a fictional setting, 

but the honesty and the romance that 

shines throughout the record is more 

sincere than it has been in my previous 

work. The idea was to strip back the 

band to allow for lyrical breathing space” 

says Dyer. 

Do not expect to hear any old-school 

post-punk in there but the same 

‘dangers’ that are in your most iconic 

and monumental post-punk albums for 

life. There is a sweet bitterness all over 

in the album, there is veiled hope and 

something stranger than that; I felt this 

is the music score of an ongoing dream 

may be or of a reverie. I felt things in 

here are so vaguely clear.


Dyer said, “I think there is always a fear 

as an artist that the work you produce 

will go unappreciated and forgotten, 

just as you long to be remembered 

by lovers and acquaintances, it’s this 

feeling, bordering on narcissism, that I 

wanted to write about.” 

The Underground Youth wear their 

influences on their sleeve, steeped in 

the musical storytelling of Leonard 

Cohen, Bob Dylan, and Nick Cave. Off 

the back of their last album, “Montage 

Images of Lust & Fear”, The band set off 

on a 50+ date European tour, their first 

run of shows around Asia, and were also 

in the middle of their first USA/Canada 

tour when Covid-19 hit, sadly cutting it 

short. With the original plans of heading 

into the studio upon their return from 

their US tour grinding to a halt - the tour 

cancelled midway through and followed 

by months of isolation in their Berlin 

apartments. The album is very much a 

product of the distressing and unfamiliar 

world we now find ourselves in. 

As you understand by now we have a 

very imposing album with too many 

explanations running in from every side 

of life. Thoughts, plans, hopes, curses, 

and the will to narrate it all through 

the frontman’s current melancholynot 

sadness. Put in one amazing 

orchestration and there you have the 

masterpiece I was telling you before. I 

don’t know if they’ll repeat “The Falling” 

in the future but this record is going to 

stay in high rank in their fans’ appraisal, 

and if you are not familiar with their 

works, this one is probably the best 

gateway to The Underground Youth. 

Keep up with 

The Underground 

Youth 



INTERVIEW Mike D. 

“It’s hard not to attribute 

the spectre of death given the 

dire climate of 2020” 

An Interview with A 

CLOUD OF RAVENS


“Another Kind Of Midnight” is the title 

of the new album by Brooklyn-based 

dark duo A Cloud Of Ravens and it 

releases on March 16 via Cleopatra 

Records. It is the band’s sophomore 

long-play and it hides inside an 

amazing collection of brand new 

spells in the likes of modern gothic 

rock music. The duo consists of Beth 

and Matthew with so many boons in 

their quiver; they play cold wave, they 

play post-punk, they are Gothics, and 

they set to music some of the most 

striking lyrics you can find out there. 

For all these reasons and a few more 

too I asked them for an interview that 

they kindly accepted and it turned out 

to a very interesting and nice chat. We 

warmly welcome ACoR in the terrain 

of WL//WH. 

Hello Ravens, welcome to WL//WH. 

Let’s go straight to the news; “Another 

Kind Of Midnightâ” LP releases on 

March 16 via Cleopatra Records and 

I’d like to ask how long did it take you 

to create it and who are you calling 

around with this superb album? 

Matthew: Thank you! We are big fans 

and regular visitors of WL//WH. Your 

constant flow of content is always 

impressive and we regularly find cool 

new bands there. The album took 

about six months to record. We ended 

up with 15 songs and decided on our 

favorite 10 for the album. Versions of 

the remaining 5 may end up on a future 

release. We hope that devotees of the 

classics, like us, will appreciate what 

we’re doing, as well as newer fans. We 

make it a point to honor the formative 

sounds and aesthetics of the genre(s) 

without being redundant. Hopefully, 

that comes across. 

Compared to your previous records 

in 2019 and 2020 I feel that the new 

album is more mature in all aspects and 

especially in its artistic roots, I sense 

that it is quite an ambitious album. 

What is “Another Kind Of Midnight” to 

you? 

Matthew: We appreciate that. We 

started recording the album just before 

the pandemic began, and the bulk of 

it was obviously completed during it. 

Also, the civil/political unrest in the 

states, and certainly worldwide, has

14 


been at a level we’ve not seen in our 

lifetime. 2020 has presented palpable 

darkness on so many fronts. Between 

the scourge of racism and lifestyle 

intolerance, the bleak reality of the 

pandemic, political tribalism, and the 

deterioration of the environment, this 

is like a new dark age. “Another Kind of 

Midnight” seemed an appropriate title. 

That said, we are optimistic for a better 

future, worldwide. 

As it relates to our past releases, “In 

the Wicked Hours” had more of a tribal 

and orchestral element, and we used 

a lot more synth sequencing. This 

album is a bit more stripped down, and 

guitar-based. While doing demos I was 

concerned that it was too disparate from 

previous releases. Beth encouraged 

me to go with whatever was naturally 

coming to me, and not worry about 

expanding on the sound, or alienating 

our audience. If there’s a maturity in the 

album, it’s to Beth’s credit. Her role in the 

process is invaluable. We both share a 

similar sensibility in balancing the tone 

of the classics we grew up on with 

a contemporary one, but ultimately 

I trust her ear more than my own. 

Can you give us the sonic atlas of the 

10 “chapters” of the album? 

Matthew: I will try to hit the touchstones 

that I think are relevant to the album as 

a whole. Again, sonically, the guitar is 

decidedly a focus here. We chose “When 

it Comes” as the single, and it happens 

to be one of the more aggressive tracks 

on the album. “World on Fire” is similar 

and again speaks to the axis of conflict 

between the environment and political 

polarity. “A New Atonement” really 

references some of our heroes like The 

Danse Society and Samhain. Lyrically it 

deals with a human view of sin and our 

ideas of retribution, and if it can really 

exist in a karmic universe. We used 

piano on “Sacrosanct”, “Embraced” and 

“Ban-Druidh [The White Witch]”, which 

we always love to implement where we 

can. All three (I’ll include “The Earthen 

Call” here too) speak in different ways 

about finding that path and person in 

the world that helps you make sense of 

your place in it. “If I am the Wrath” is a 

bit of a barn-burner; very guitar-heavy. 

I think it’s really about traversing a year 

like we’ve had and trying to come out 

sane, whole and possibly stronger on 

the other end of it, but again, it’s open 

to interpretation. “The Northern Cross” 

is another favorite of mine. Sonically it’s 

pretty immersive. I think it’s ultimately 

about remaining attached to the things 

that matter in life, like your relationships, 

expression, and what you create, rather 

than impermanent physical things. 

Probably my personal favorite is “Tithes 

& Offerings”. It’s very minimal, and 

likely best voices the intent and theme 

beneath the entire album, which we 

will leave to the listener’s discretion. 

The lyrics of the leading single “When 

It Comes” troubled me as if I had the 

scythe over my head. I somehow felt 

that these lyrics were inspired by books 

and libraries with thrills, on the other 

hand, the cold vanity of death came 

also across my mind. What troubles


the poet’s mind? 

Matthew: “When it Comes” is largely 

subject to perspective, and I like yours. 

It’s hard not to attribute the spectre of 

death given the dire climate of 2020, 

but I think it also presents a choice. 

We’re all on this trip together, and we 

A Cloud Of Ravens is a pictorial yet 

look at it through our own personal 

lenses. I feel It’s up to us as individuals 

to decide what the “it” is in “When it 

Comes”, within the larger frame of our 

place in the world and our reactions to 

it, as energetic beings with a human 

conscience. To me, it’s about prevailing. 

very poetic name and I am wondering 

what are you in it, are you the cloud or 

the ravens, are you of the same tribe as 

Mr Poe? 

Matthew: We’re definitely fans of Poe. 

I can try to sound poetic about our 

name, but honestly, I just thought it 

was a resonant visual. It’s something 

that came to me when I was recording

16 


the first demos. It fit the mood, and I 

tend to look at those synchronicities 

as providence. Also, speaking of 

synchronicities, Beth’s nickname when 

she was a teenager was “Raven”, which 

I didn’t know when I named the band. 

I also tend to have a less positive 

worldview than Beth, so maybe I’m the 

cloud and she’s the raven? 

Beth: I was called Raven when I was 

in the goth scene in New Orleans and 

then the industrial scene in Chicago. 

At the time, I was a waitress at Hard 

Rock Cafe (s) and I’m pretty sure there’s 

some embarrassing photographic 

evidence of me in my uniform with 

“Raven” embroidered on it. 

What inspires your music and lyrics? 

Matthew: I think we draw from life, from 

experiences, art, relationships of all 

manner. Love, loss, faith, failures, nature, 

spirituality, and how we, as spiritual 

beings, respond to the environment of 

this world, however beautiful or caustic 

we find it. ‘Spirituality’ has become this 

disposable buzzword these days. I don’t 

mean it in a yoga-mat, life-coach and 

lattes kind of way. I mean it as a way 

of being in touch with the energies 

around us that we can’t necessarily see 

with our eyes. 

Who do you consider to be your 

biggest influences as musicians but 

also as lyricists/poets, and why, please? 

Beth: I saw so many bands as a 

teenager. Clan of Xymox, The Cure, 

Gene Loves Jezebel, Ministry, Front 242, 

Meat Beat Manifesto, Depeche Mode, 

The The, PiL, The Cult, it’s a long list. I 

was very into anything Wax Trax!, The 

Smiths, Tones on Tail, Cabaret Voltaire, 

Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy... being a part 

of this project really brings it full circle 

for me. 

Matthew: When Beth and I met, we 

bonded over a shared love of ELO, 

something we’ve both taken a lot of heat 

for. Haha. Jeff Lynne is a sonic genius. 

Lyrically, Nick Cave’s work has had a big 

impact on me. He’s got a poetic bent 

to his words that can make even the 

ugliest subject matter seem beautiful. 

Not unlike Anais Nin. Musically it’s a 

wide spectrum. The primitive angst of 

early ‘80s hardcore, the bare emotion 

of ‘60s soul, the grandness of ‘70s arena 

rock, the charming innocence of ‘50s


R&B. Anything made with honesty 

and passion, I can find inspiration in. 

Film has also been a huge influence. 

Coppola, Kubrick, Curtiz, Fincher, 

Scorsese, Ridley Scott. They’re some 

of my favorites. Any medium of 

expression that can immerse you in a 

mood, be it literature, art, film or music, 

I’m a sucker for. 

Can you give us your current top-5 

records you listen to at home? 

Beth: These are my timeless go-to’s 

(in no particular order) The Jesus 

and Mary Chain- Psychocandy, My 

Bloody Valentine- Loveless, The Cure- 

Standing On The Beach, Morrissey- 

Viva Hate, Depeche Mode- Violator. 

Matthew: The MP3 era has somewhat 

spoiled my listening of full LPs, but 

these are go-to’s for me Laughing 

Hyenas - Life of Crime, Nick Cave and 

the Bad Seeds - Let Love In, Samhain 

â€“ November Coming Fire, ELO - The 

Very Best of, The Jesus and Mary Chain 

- Darklands 

Keep up with 

A Cloud of Ravens 

If you were any Minister of Culture 

what would you do to support artists 

and art workers in the pandemic? 

Matthew: There should undoubtedly 

be a government coalition to support 

artists in the face of times like these. I 

know that the arts are considered more 

of a relevant cultural commodity in 

European countries, but here in the U.S., 

there is no such acknowledgement. 

Artists are seen more as malingerers 

or transients, and not really as an 

enhancement to society as a whole, 

which is sad. 

I’m not talking about now, but when 

all this calms down enough will you go 

up on stage? 

We can’t wait!!! 

ACoR, thank you for your time, last 

words on you! 

Thank you for your time and effort. We 

made an exhaustive ‘thank you’ list for 

our album, which includes WL//WH, 

as well as the bands, DJs, ‘zines and 

blogs who’ve been supportive of us, 

and really of all bands trying to make 

a mark in this scene. Without that help 

this album may not exist, so we are 

truly grateful for that. 


18 



THIS IS THE BRIDGE’s 

Significant New LP “World Without End” 

via TONN Recordings 

On February 19, Belfast-based Tonn 

Recordings released the striking new 

album “World Without End” by the 

London-based act This Is the Bridge. 

This record includes 11 ‘memorial 

anthems’ on the modern dying world 

or 11 narrations about the world’s 

Tenebrae. It is like dancing ecstatically 

on such music cynically describing the 

situation in this unfortunate world of 

mankind. 

“World Without End” LP is a beautifully 

ironic album and it is created and 

designed by one of the UK’s most 

prolific and important presences in 

British synth today. That synth kind 

which origins from the early dawn of 

Dystopia and all the way through the 

‘fret and worried’ soul of its composer, 

the infinitely talented This Is The 

Bridge. This one is not any computer 

puzzle music but a rather cinematic 

Eraserhead-meets-Pi(π) artifact by all 

means. Proto/Primitive, Minimal synthpunk 

together with all the waves from 

Albion’s coldwave horizon and with a 

good and strong dose from the inner 

denouncements of the Darkwave and 

the nice wicked dances of post-punk; 

this is a totally imposing album. 

Listen to ‘Disintegrate” 

I was looking to find something that 

would push me deeper into TITB‘s 

psyche and I found it on the official 

Tonn Recordings website, in the field 

with interviews I read (and copy here): 

Mary McIntyre (TONN): “What have 

been the greatest influences in the 

development of This Is The Bridge’s 

sound?” 

Richard (TITB): “Creatively speaking…. 

my love of music. Recalling the very 

real fear of nuclear war. Childhood. 

Memories. The 1970s. A teacher 

playing the class Mendelssohn’s 

Fingal’s Cave when I was eight. 

Hearing OMD’s ‘Messages’ on the local 

radio in Liverpool the same year (and 

being transfixed). Quatermass. A love 

of abstraction. The 1980s. The impact


of Thatcherism on the UK and on my 

family. Hearing the opening moments 

of ‘Exercise One’ when I bought Joy 

Division’s ‘Still’ compilation LP and first 

put it on the turntable (that bassline!)… 

Post-Punk. The Rite of Spring. Science 

Fiction. Oxygene. British Television. 

Disco. The experience of art school. 

Mars – The Bringer of War. Gary Numan. 

Michael Nyman. History. Feelings of 

inferiority. Electro House. Killing Joke. 

Andrei Tarkovsky. Iain M Banks. Xmal 

Deutschland. A nation living in the 

past. The 1990s. Asimov. Atheism. The 

Fall. Clockwork Orange. Depression. 

Sinfonia Antarctica. Blackadder. The 

Young Ones.” 

Listen to ‘Strange Shores” 

With a lot of things clear now in his 

music (and a handful more to inevitably 

come) This Is The Bridge nails you 

with the apparent simplicity of his 

music and amazes you with the whole 

complexity of his orchestrations. I don’t 

know if he is having the time of his life 

while and when creating a new album 

but it all sounds as clear as it can be; 

creation is vital to him, no music/no 

air! Only that now the air he breathes 

made him design his most intense 

work so far. We need such records. We 

can dance to the artificial morbidity 

of our times, we need to laugh at it as 

we won’t die with this paradox world. 

So, do we need balance and disorder? 

None, or both? 

Listen to ‘Balance and Disorder” 

From 2016 onwards, This Is The 

Bridge has released 8 long plays (!!!), 

most of them via TONN, and it seems 

that his music is his own dialect to 

communicate with the world. He is not 

any new trendy destructive or a lustful 

punkster, he is not any other ‘prophet’ 

too. He seems to me like describing his 

thoughts with music, and damn, these 

thoughts are the same as the whole 

world’s but he at least looks at the 

mirror too. What else can I say about 

this record? What else can I write to 

make you feel how significant is it? 

Don’t you get it? This is not only the 

new music by TITB, this is also Your 

music and Mine! 

Keep up with 

This is The Bridge 



PRESS RELEASE 

The amazing audio-visual experience 

“Beneath the Earth” 

by Feu Follet 

On Feu Follet’s 3rd album Alban Blaising 

does something new with the known 

ingredients of the band from Nancy, 

France. After two essentially instrumental 

albums the sole member of the coldwave/ 

synthwave project decided to take the 

reviewers and bloggers’ advice to heart, to 

include vocals and lyrics which were written 

and recorded by the respective artists. 

Everything is based on the accompanied 

comic book that works as a prequel to “La 

forêt oubliée”, the second album which was 

also released as audio/visual experience in 

2020: Following a fox, a boy discovers a 

strange stele deep in the woods, which sets 

supernatural things in motion. In the end 

he is possessed by the stele and the ghost 

of a prehistoric shaman appears. Now, 

in “Beneath the Earth” Blaising focusses 

on the fox which goes through a number 

of classical adventures involving all the 

creatures you can find on the cover art: 

giant snakes, mermaids, the grim reaper, evil 

fish, skeletons... Albain drew his influences 

from “The Neverending Story”, “Labyrinth”, 

Jules Verne, Marie Severin, tales, legends 

– he is invested in nature and animal 

photography with foxes being one of his 

favourite subjects. Music-wise, Feu Follet 

sticks to the cinematographic side of the 

predecessor album with the guest vocals 

giving it a more pop/rock approach. Blaising 

names the “Top Gun” and “Blade Runner” 

OSTs and concept albums like “Misplaced 

Childhood” by Marillion while, on the other 

hand, involving shoegaze arpeggios and a 

dream pop atmosphere which is supported 

by the female vocals of Isabell.B Baumann 

and Natacha Lubin. In addition, guest vocals 

by labelmates Vlimmer and XTR HUMAN 

sprinkle some post-punk vibes on brilliant 

layers of modular synthesizers which 

easily keep the album coherent giving it a 

persisting haunting nature. 

Keep up with 

FEU FOLLET 

Loud Cities Magazine


PRESS RELEASE 

Post-Punk Quartet 

New Zero God 

Unveils Amazing New Video 

The newest NEW ZERO GOD video was 

made during the lockdown. The band 

used only a mobile phone. Greek postpunk 

quartet NEW ZERO GOD released 

the album CIRCUS OF TORTURED 

MELODIES in 2019 but as they never 

made a video for it, now came the time 

to drop one for the track WHAT’ CHA 

GONNA DO? 

With ANDI SEX GANG (of legendary SEX 

GANG CHILDREN) to welcome us to 

the CIRCUS OF TORTURED MELODIES, 

the tour begins in the 13th Tent of the 

Circus. Each one of these tents hides 

a different story which, most of the 

time, opens the way to the next one. 

Other times, however, it is completely 

independent. These are songs about 

our unfulfilled dreams, the emotional 

insecurities of modern man, political 

developments, the manipulation of 

the family environment, role models 

of our society, over-consumption, the 

compromises that we make, and the 

destruction of our planet. 

In a nutshell, CIRCUS OF TORTURED 

MELODIES presents the complexity of 

modern life by tracing the sources of 

modern neurosis. The 2-part album is 

inspired by modern-day struggles and 

each song focuses on negative human 

traits but sends the message that in 

any situation there is always hope. 

Singer/songwriter MIKE POUGOUNAS 

started as the frontman of the Greek 

band THE FLOWERS OF ROMANCE, 

from 1981 to 1998. From 1999 to 2005 

he was the leader of the band NEXUS 

and the owner of indie record label 

CYBERDELIA RECORDS from 2000 to 

2005. In 2006 he formed NEW ZERO 

GOD along with former bandmates 

from FLOWERS OF ROMANCE, and 

NEXUS. 

To the list of the band names SISTERS 

OF MERCY, THE MISSION, and NEW 

MODEL ARMY that POUGOUNAS 

supported with his previous bands, now 

CHRISTIAN DEATH, THE LEGENDARY 

PINK DOTS, and ANDI SEX GANG were 

added.


The newest NEW ZERO GOD album 

“CIRCUS OF TORTURED MELODIES” 

came out in February 2019 with surprise 

appearances such as ANDI’s from 

SEX GANG CHILDREN and MICHAEL 

CLAYTON from DARK HORIZON. 

The band went on the road till March 

2020 when all scheduled gigs were 

postponed due to COVID-19. 

Keep up with 

New Zero God 

www.noisejournal.com 

Photo by: TakiS MAD RAY

24 



VVOLVES’ 

Superb New Single 

“WELL-LOVED TALES” 

On February 28, British dream pop/ 

shoegaze collective VVOLVES released 

the superb brand new single “Well- 

Loved Tales” that came with an official 

video too. Following last year’s thrilling 

introduction to their sonic being with 

debut single “Momentum”, they once 

again surprised me with new music that 

came as a pretty new piece from their 

puzzle. I don”t know how will the whole 

picture look and sound but I am intrigued 

and looking forward to a bigger picture. 

Both singles have revealed a band 

that creates the utterly original and so 

precise shoegaze music with the needed 

dream-pop blows (or vice versa if you 

prefer), leading to beauty. VVOLVES own 

the grace of drinking directly from the 

shoegaze fountain; they are British, and 

without saying that all UK shoegazers are 

good, here we have one Albion act that 

sounds as they have totally absorbed all 

the vital and precious things of shoegaze 

music that really comes naturally and 

easy from them. 

Shoegaze vitality is not only how hard 

you fight with your pedals at your feet 

but what you create out of it, as I also 

believe that the shoegaze preciousness 

is not only how impressive is the wall 

of sound that you make, but a rather 

impressive “storytelling” and “vastlynarrative” 

idea you are on when you 

create it all. VVOLVES are so imaginative 

crafters as they know well the secret (for 

us) paths of that creation, or to them, 

there are no secrets at all; everything 

is shining clear, and they don’t seek to 

impress; they are naturally impressive 

creators. 

Keep up with 

VVOLVES 



Blue Painting (Blaues Bild ) 

by Vasily Kandinsky 

“Blue Painting” by Vasily Kandinsky was produced during his Bauhaus period, in 

Germany. 

In this painting and many of Kandinsky’s works, the identification of the forms and 

masses presented on the canvas is the superficial view. 

The inner reality of the work requires profound observation of the relationship of 

all the elements and their harmony. 

Source: www. joyofmuseums.com

26 


ECHOES OF THE CITY PLAYLIST by Mar Gee 

Flyying Colours 

Dyatlov 

Night Beats 

Boarding Pass 

1 

Barren Lands 

2 

Ticket 

3 

Go 

Lamborghini 

Go 

Repetition Of High 4 

The Flood 

Sea Yarns 

5 

Folly Group 

Fool Wheel Drive 

6 

CUIR 

Tommy Rocker 

Maniac 

7 

Hybrid Animal 

8 

Rise 

9 

Nag 

Sara Mathius 

New Science Six 1 

Hey, You! 

0 1 

12 

1 Beiwärts Hypnotic Floor 

Altar Of Eden 

Poison Ruin 

Golfball Jr. 

Sacriledge 

13 

Morning Star 

14 

I Tried 

15


Cassious Klein 

Qgeko 

Collate 

Alerta Cayetana 

No Bliss Medicine 

16 

17 

18 

Warm Exit 

Crocodile In 

My Brain 

TOADS 

19 

20 

Bredouille1 

Bad Cop Reaper 2 

Natural Ways 

Lorem ipsum 

Imposition Man 

22 

World's A 

Chore 

Germ House 

Death By 

Delirium 

23 

Nemesis 24 

The Phone 

M.A.Z.E. 

25 

Death's Hall 

Body 

Maintenance 

2 

De 

6 

27 

Facto 

Highschool 

Portabella 

Bibione 

Sick Set 

Angelic Super 

Slide 

28 

Summer Hit 

29 

Video Queen 

30 

Keep up with 

Echoes of the City


PRESS RELEASE 

Making Up For Lost Time 

by Paragon Cause 

“Making Up For Lost Time” is a 

wonderful song about time by Paragon 

Cause. Although written prior to 

Covid, we feel as though it has taken 

on a new meaning. The last few years 

have been a whirlwind. After spending 

a decade not pursuing our dreams and 

passions, we felt that we had lost them. 

Luckily, someone else saw them in us 

and coaxed them out. Little by little 

we gained speed until we were racing 

along. If you spend your life playing 

it safe and not taking chances are you 

going to regret it? 

We had an idea for a song while 

working with producer Sune Rose 

Wagner (The Raveonettes). Jay had 

an idea to combine the feeling of a 

Jesus and Mary Chain song with some 

song structure used by The Everly 

Brothers. We spent the night listening 

to Bananarama to really try to get the 

idea for a chorus in our mind and get 

into a unique mindset. Jay wrote the 

guitar parts and Sune programmed 

the drums. At that point, we knew we 

had a beautiful song. The incredible 

words and vocals by Michelle took it to 

another level. 

The song features a sustained guitar 

reminiscent of The Jesus and Mary 

Chain with a chord structure based 

on 50s pop rock. The song builds in 

intensity as we start to make up for lost 

time. 

Keep up with 

Paragon Cause 


30 


FLASHBACK Mike D. Nov. 28, 2018 

HOLYGRAM speaks about 

Modern Cults LP, first Coast to 

Coast Tour! 

It is one of those indelible cases of admiration and love and 

one of the most important interviews I have ever done, 

regarding the timing that happened and the value of the name. 

A year later they disbanded forever ... very sad for us all since 

Holygram were at peak level or at their dominance threshold. 

It was November 28, 2018, when I published this interview with 

Holygram bassist Bennet Reinmann in Denver based Noise 

Journal and on December 4 that year they were playing at The 

Oriental Theater, Denver. Worldwide post-punk establishment, 

on their way to stardom with “Modern Cults” LP, first coast to 

coast tour, and suddenly handbrake and goodbye. They will be 

mentioned forever as ‘golden’ and ‘a big question mark’. This is 

not a memorial but the unreality of the amazing Holygram.


HOLYGRAM may hail from Cologne, 

Germany, but they have just released 

their outstanding debut Modern Cults 

LP on November 9 through Cleopatra 

Records in North America and SPV/ 

Oblivion in Europe. We were so thrilled 

to premiere that album for you here in 

the Noise Journal and we honestly 

cannot stop listening to this, not unlike 

thousands of other people elsewhere 

on the planet. HOLYGRAM have just 

wrapped up an extensive tour with VNV 

Nation through Europe and now they 

are touring the USA and Canada (their 

North American Tour also includes 

The Rain Within). On December 4, 

they will be playing Denver’s Oriental 

Theater! This is not a show you can 

miss out on, especially because this 

involves a legendary band (VNV 

Nation), a band with offered one of 

the records of the year (HOLYGRAM), 

and Charlottesville’s very promising 

synthwave duo The Rain Within. Here 

at the Noise Journal headquarters, 

we knew we should get in touch with 

the band, so ...Here we present you a 

candid interview with HOLYGRAM 

bassist Bennett Reimann! 

Hello Bennet, welcome to The Noise 

Journal! Let’s go straight to the hot 

news, you are on a massive tour in 

North America with VNV Nation and 

The Rain Within. I’d like to ask how it 

is going so far? How are the audiences 

reacting, and how long is HOLYGRAM 

performance on each of these nights? 

So far the tour is going great. It’s our 

first time in North America and also 

the first time in front of its audience. 

It’s just great to get to know the cities 

and people here and with VNV Nation 

and The Rain Within we get along 

great. We always play about 35 minutes 

before VNV Nation starts and people 

always welcome us with open arms 

and hearts. 

On December 4 you are playing 

Denver’s Oriental Theater. What can 

we expect from HOLYGRAM that night? 

You recently published your debut LP 

and we can’t wait to see you perform 

it live but we trust you will be giving us 

some thrills from the first EP too? 

We always see our performances as 

an extension of our recordings. We 

are curious what you will think of it. 

And yes, we will definitely play songs 

from the EP but what exactly remains 

a secret.

32 


The Modern Cults LP is simply an 

outstanding record and we were 

excited to host the North American 

premiere in The Noise Journal. An 

album of 10 glorious post-punk bullets 

with 3 from the previous release. Why 

did you choose these specific songs? 

Because we thought that they represent 

us very well and especially at our live 

gigs these songs are a lot of fun to play. 

At the same time, the lyrics of these 

songs represent the whole theme of 

the album. 

From “Daria” and “Acceleration” to “A 

Faction” and “Signals”, you sound like 

an unlimited brainwave team. What 

musical routes did you go through 

between the first self-titled EP and the 

Modern Cults LP? 

After the release of our EP, we didn’t 

expect to get so much positive feedback 

and were totally surprised. All of a 

sudden there were a lot of live concerts, 

for example, the tour with OMD and that 

we wanted to make an album. So after 

all the concerts we locked ourselves 

in our studio and rehearsal room and 

tried out new ideas and sounds. It was 

hard at times because on one side there 

was the expectation and on the other 

side, there was the deadline. But in the 

end, everything went well and we are 

happy and proud that we made it. 

Related to the previous question, I am 

enraptured by your comfort in creating 

some pretty striking riffs, which you’ve 

transformed into very accessible songs. 

My first encounter with HOLYGRAM 

was with “Daria”, a post-punk splendor 

in all, while the last song of Modern 

Cults LP is “Distant Light”, where you 

show your shoegaze roots too. In 

between these two songs and all in 

HOLYGRAM’s music, we clearly hear a 

band who is not tied solely to the strict 

lines of post-punk but likes to put in 

some shoegaze elements occasionally, 

as well as darkwave, new wave, etc. 

Please tell us about the way you create 

music. Does a riff point in the right 

direction for you or do you use it as a 

springboard to somewhere else? 

It always depends on the song. But in 

most cases, we take an idea, a riff or a 

sound and try to find out where it takes 

us. That means that we can’t know 

if it will be a post-punk, new wave 

or shoegaze song. As an example, I 

can mention the birth of the song 

“Signals”. I was in the rehearsal room 

experimenting with sounds (what you 

hear at the beginning of the song) 

and recorded the bass-riff and a drum 

computer. Then I showed it to the 

others and everyone wrote something

about it. Vocals, guitars, synths, drums, 

etc. But it always depends on the song... 

What are the musings that inspire you 

as a band? I am also asking about the 

streams that HOLYGRAM feel they 

belong to. Are there any limitations in 

your art? 

I don’t think you can find us in carnival 

costumes in the old town of Cologne 

so there are limits. But fun aside, we 

feel just as much at home in garage 

music as in new wave, techno, and 

punk music. So our focus is not only 

on post-punk, new wave and krautrock 

of the seventies and eighties but also 

on new releases of music we like. 

We’d like to know about your lyrics 

too. What do you generally sing about? 

What drives you to write lyrics like i.e 

“Hideaway”, “A Faction”, “Signals” or 

“Odd Neighbourhood”? 

So that’s a question for Patrick, but I’m 

trying to answer it as well as I can. The 

lyrics are mostly about alienation and 

the fear of being swallowed by a big 

city. Communication problems with 

the partner or good friends that seem 

unsolvable in certain situations. But it 

is also about the beauty of anonymity 

in the city to be able to get lost in it 

can be both a curse and a blessing. We 

like to live in Cologne and Patrick tries 

to capture life here in his lyrics. There 

are enough bands singing about the 

desert, but I don’t see any here. 

The last show of the North American 

tour is in Las Vegas on December 15. 

What are you planning next? Any more 

live gigs on the calendar in Europe? 

Will you be playing any festivals there 

in 2019? 

After the US tour, we will do a tour 

through Germany and present our 

album there live. And we will be at the 

Amphi-Festival in Germany and W-Fest 

in Belgium. 

Last, I’d like to ask you about some of 

your fave records in 2018. Can you tell 

us which albums you’ve been enjoying 

the most in your free time? 

One of the best albums of the year 

for me was Die besten Jahre of 

International Music. It’s funny, serious 

and colorful. 

Thank you very much for your time, 

we’ll see you at The Oriental Theater 

on December 4! Is there anything else 

you’d like to tell our readers? 

Have fun with all kinds of music and 

let’s celebrate modern cults together!

34 

Loud Cities Magazine / #3 MAR 2021


A Farewell 

This is their last post on FB 

(Jan 18, 2020) 

Some of you may have already heard the 

rumors. 

Sometimes you have to make decisions 

that affect people whether you like it 

or not. But since these decisions are 

meaningful and might in their humble 

way have an impact in this world it 

takes time to wrap your head around 

it before you want to put it out there 

for the vultures to do their nasty 

thing. We are sad about the way some 

people treated this sensible information 

and we want to apologize for how the 

news eventually found their way to you 

through an insensitive announcement by 

a third party. This is not the way we 

wanted it to be handled but it proves 

that things can get out of your control. 

Sometimes people care and sometimes 

they do not. And sometimes knowing 

people is knowing nothing. We live in a 

world that is moving faster and faster 

and there is no time to stop and rest. 

To take a breath is to fail. But since 

the word is out there now, let’s make 

it official… 

We want to thank everyone who made 

the last 5 years the most remarkable 

time in our musical careers. From the 

very start we were overwhelmed by all 

the love we received from you in such 

a short period of time. Being able to 

create something that touches people 

all around the globe means a lot to us. 

There were times when it was too much 

to grasp. Our music has been our own 

way of getting along in this collapsing 

world. It felt good to not be alone on 

this adventure. This makes it hard for us 

to say goodbye. We always cared about 

you and still do. This band would have 

not been possible without great people. 

We do not feel like this was the best 

way to end this journey, but it has to 

be the way now. 

See you on the dance floor, in the fog 

HOLYGRAM 

www.noisejournal.com



3+Dead 

with one fearless 

S/T Debut LP 

Introducing another brilliant new entry 

in the post-punk registers of Roma, Italia, 

3+Dead with their debut S/T LP! 

Emerging from one of the world’s most 

acclaimed schools in the wider postpunk 

idiom, (the Italian school of postpunks) 

now giving another glorious 

specimen on how this music can become 

a bit more ‘artistic sonic darkness’ in the 

hands of that ‘tribe’ from a nation that 

utterly swims in art. The debut LP of our 

guests is a glory, as they reveal serious 

musical background and sounding so 

mature and precise in their intentions 

like a band with a long history behind... 

Swiss Dark Nights label in coillaboration 

with Icy Cold records published the 

band’s debut album in November 

2019. 3+Dead plays post-punk music 

blended with shoegaze chocks, 

constantly and discreetly caressing the 

darkwave veil. The band comprises 

of Giuseppe Marino on bass, Roberto 

Ruggeri on guitar and synths, and the Ace 

on the microphone, Elisa Pambianchi. 

The team sounds spacious with fantastic 

riffs, and melodies, and harmonies all 

over completely ‘enchanted’ with the 

singer’s style and gifted voice. 

It is as if 3+Dead cannot possible hide 

their talent. All 9 songs from the album 

can absolutely work as individual maxi 

singles, and if you ask me what are 

my faves I’d put it like this; I am more 

stuck with the opener “Snake Of June”


because it is stormy groovy and I still 

love the first impression on the first 

sound, and “Rabbit Hole” which is the 

closing track of the album and it works 

as the ‘conclusion darkwave’ song with 

a simply magical vocal line. Between 

these two songs I found another 

seven adventurous and beautiful dark 

‘chapters’ that explore and reveal the 

team’s deep worries both lyrically and in 

their musical approach, the Italian dark 

alternative of the ages! Also, mention 

one amazing cover on DAF’s classic 

“Kebabtraume”. 

With no official video yet and due 

to Covid which donated a macabre 

number to Italy during the first wave 

last year, 3+Dead stayed at home and 

prepared a remarkable for its quality 

21-minute video where they perform 

live their music art. “We have decided 

to record a live version of some tracks 

from our debut s/t album during these 

days of quarantine as our way to stay 

connected with each other and with 

you all.” 

Keep up with 

3+Dead 

Loud Cities Magazine 

Photo by Alessandro Schiariti


PRESS RELEASE 

LISA GERRARD & JULES 

MAXWELL present first single 

“Noyalain (Burn)” from 

upcoming studio album “Burn” 

Lisa Gerrard and Jules Maxwell, best 

known for their work as part of the 

legendary band Dead Can Dance, 

present “Noyalain (Burn)”, the first 

single from their forthcoming studio 

album “Burn”. Produced by James 

Chapman (MAPS), the long-play will 

be released on May 7 via Atlantic 

Curve, a London-based label that is 

part of the Schubert Music Europe. 

“Noyalain” is a song of welcome. An 

invitation to walk in peace, unlock the 

passive passion within, engage in the 

diversity of life and celebrate,” says 

Lisa Gerrard. 

“It is with great pleasure that I share this 

collaboration with Jules Maxwell. Jules 

and I began our creative journey with 

Dead Can Dance. We realized that we 

could connect through improvisation 

and that musical exploration continues 

to evolve with this present work.” 

Under this new guise, Gerrard and 

Maxwell have created an album that 

presents a wonderfully diverse mix 

of electronica, alternative, cinematic 

soundscape and world music with 

hints of early Vangelis. 

The record began its journey more 

than seven years ago when Lisa met 

Irish theatre composer Jules Maxwell 

before working together for the first 

time. Things really took root when 

Gerrard and Maxwell began writing 

songs for their earlier collaboration 

“The Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices 

(Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares)”. They 

were later introduced to Chapman 

and asked him to produce this album,


which represents a stunning departure 

for all three of them. 

“Noyalain” is the first song we created 

which began to play images in my 

mind’s eye. Widescreen images of far 

horizons and great landscapes. Of the 

living world at its most devastatingly 

beautiful” , says Jules Maxwell. 

With Lisa remaining in Australia, Jules 

adding his keys and percussion from 

France, and James bringing new light 

to the sound from England, the three 

were literally worlds apart, but those 

worlds fused in this music. 

7 specially commissioned films have 

been completed to coincide with the 

release of the album. Polish director 

Jacob Chelkowski’s video, which 

accompanies this title track “Noyalain 

(Burn)” proves more than a little 

provocative in these days of Covid, as 

it portrays the simple, traumatic act of 

touching. 

As of March 12, “Noyalain” is available 

digitally across online platforms and 

can be ordered at 

https://orcd.co/noyalain. 

The full “Burn” album, set for release 

on May 7, can be pre-ordered on vinyl, 

CD and digitally at 

https://orcd.co/lisajulesburn. 

Photo courtesy of Atlantic Curve 

Keep up with 

Lisa Gerrard 

Keep up with 

Jules Maxwell 

www.whitelight-whiteheat.com 

www.noisejournal.com

40 


GUESTS Elektrospank fma 

This month’s guest is ElektroSpank/FMA Online Music Magazine and PR, MGMT 

services. I am so glad to host the team ElektroSpank in LCM as their hard work 

to communicate dark alternative things has already won the game for years now. 

I am one of their readers, I am fan of their work, I listen to ElektroSpank radio 

program on Darkwave radio net, I have discovered gems in there everywhere but 

most of all and as a music journalist myself, I admire their passionate writing with 

the always undisputed tranquil views. I asked them for a number of releases they 

look up to with an added comment by each one in the team. I wrote this prologue 

with a sense of great responsibility towards Anneta G. and unlimited admiration 

for the work of cpt. Akill and his team, and these were the last words by me in this 

present article. Ladies, Gents, here is ElektroSpank, fully armed!!! 

Anneta G. (Ann) R.I.P. 

Anneta G. is the founder of the ElektroSpank 

magazine. She has given the name to this 

project from the very first steps. She was the 

eyes, the voice and the face of the magazine. 

The eyes, because she was the main 

photographer, the voice, because she used to 

fascinate the listeners of the radio show and 

the face, since she was conducting the most of 

the interviews with the bands and artists. She 

had been an original dark soul and a woman 

that anyone would love at first sight. A woman 

with great music taste and unmistakable music 

instinct. Anneta was also a member of Psycho 

Sektor DJ team formed in mid 00’s, playing industrial and gothic hits in several clubs in 

Greece. Anneta is the main and a great inspiration for this new version of ElektroSpank 

and the whole project is dedicated to her. Anneta passed away in December 2017, age 38. 

If you asked her, the most precious album in her collection, she would instantly say 

“Absolutely The Cure Pornography”


Akill: ElektroSpank | FMA online music magazine is a little spot on the web where 

I started writing about the music I love. The history of ElektroSpank goes back to 

2009 where it was born as a webzine, along with its printed version inside the Freeze 

Magazine. From the very beginning the feedback was amazing and ElektroSpank 

worked together with many bands, labels, events and festivals around the world. 

After a long break, ElektroSpank returned in December 2018, quite different but 

with the same passion for music. In this relaunch there was even greater feedback 

and support from many fans, followers and readers, while we started working 

with an enormous number of dark alternative bands, artists, agencies and labels. 

ElektroSpank now, it is not an one man project, since I am really lucky and glad to 

have in the team some great people, editors and friends who I consider as family, like 

Cleopatra Kaido, and Geisterwelt Team, Thomas Karigas and Marlen Moisidou. 

ElektroSpank | FMA is always trying to be accurate and objective along with all the 

support that can give to the music, the bands, the artists and anyone relating to 

the music. We, highly, appreciate all the hard work and effort that everyone, who is 

involved, gives to this incredible scene. 

Furthermore, we are now expanding our services, and, some days ago, we started 

our specialized PR services. We intend to work hard in order to support and help 

every artist to reach the core of the scene, the fans. 

A huge thank you to all of the people who have made ElektroSpank what it is today. 

And of course, thank you Mike D. and Loud Cities Magazine for the invitation! 

Keep up with 

Elektrospank FMA 

Keep up with 

Elektrospank PR 


42 


Achilleas C. (Akill) 

Achilleas C. has been fascinated with the darkest side of music since early 

90’s. Achilleas C. is the co-founder of ElektroSpank | FMA - Online Music 

Magazine and all activities behind ElektroSpank’s brand. While been a pure 

fan, follower and gothic, dark, industrial music lover he started sharing 

his passion through several DJ sets in early 00’s. Along with Anneta G. 

they formed the Psycho Sektor DJ team, tuning industrial, gothic music at 

several clubs in Greece, while they were also invited to join the DJ’s team 

of Amphi Festival in 2010. In 2009 they founded ElektroSpank webzine as 

the editors in the printed version inside Freeze magazine and they hosted 

the ElektroSpank Radio Show in RadioOn web radio. In December 2018 he 

decides to relaunch the web edition of the magazine to express again the 

passion for music, and to share all this love for the new wave of darkness 

and to mark the birth of a beautiful, lost dream, in an incredibly difficult 

moment of time.


Tomb Of Love - 

Nekropolis 

Tomb Of Love 

released their second 

EP “Nekropolis”, two 

years after their debut 

EP. The Brazilian goth 

rockers return with 

another beautiful 

5-track EP, moving 

This Morn Omina 

- The Roots of 

Saraswati 

Belgian 

indusrtial 

tribal 

pioneers 

Grey Galows - 

Garden of Lies 

Third album for the 

Greek dark wave,Grey 

Gallows. Definitely, 

a must-listen, 10 

track diamond. From 

80’s cold, dark wave 

to today’s haunted 

Mechanimal - 

Thorivos 

In “Thorivos” 

everything flows 

so smoothly that 

the result is an 

alloy of urban 

mechanic sounds, 

blended with synths, 

guitars turning into 

Ductape - Labirent 

Post-punk dived into 

cold, dark wave with 

anger in the female 

vocals and lyrics that 

shout out all the fears 

and contradictions, 

their sound even 

further, including 

more synth elements 

and widening their 

guitar riffs. Beautiful 

concept, lyrics and 

themes once again. 

Gothic rock going 

from old school 

sounds to death rock 

riffs and post-punk 

bass lines. 

return with another 

masterpiece. 

Mystic, hypnotic, 

ambient blended 

into darkness with 

the band remaining 

focused to their 

spiritual Indian and 

Hinduistic influences. 

Tribal industrial 

and hypnotic, 

psychedelic beats. 

Listen in high 

volume! 

sounds and back 

to roots of gothic 

rock and dark wave. 

Special guest in one 

of the best songs 

of “Garden of Lies”, 

“Dissociation” is 

Cleopatra Kaido of 

Meat Injection. 

emotional, and 

industrial outcome. 

“Thorivos” is an 

album that tells true 

stories of the sick 

reality that destroys 

dreams, fantasies and 

innocence. Written 

in a dark poetic 

form and words by 

Angelika Vretou and 

interpreted by Thekla 

Tselepi, with the dark 

whispers of a woman 

that’s been deep 

into those words 

balancing in between 

a girl’s innocence and 

an adult woman’s 

coldness. 

inner chaos and 

anger faced when 

confronting oneself. 

Ductape are a postpunk 

duo from 

Istanbul, Turkey!

44 


Cleopatra K. 

Cleopatra Kaido was born and raised at the center of Athens and was 

influenced by the alternative dark wave scene from a very young age. This 

led her to join Drama Queen band, an outfit with post punk/goth rock 

soundings where she completed (as lead singer) her first album ‘’Artifical 

Galaxy’’ via Swiss Dark Nights label. Some disagreements with Drama 

Queen forced her to leave the group while she continued to look for the 

next one while experimenting with different styles in dark wave scene. She 

is now the frontwoman of Meat Injection where she managed to change 

the line up with lyrical and vocal ideas along with the talented quitarist 

Dimitris Katsikadis and prepare their first album ‘’System Anomaly’’. Her love 

for music doesn’t stop here as she wants to take a closer look at various 

bands and write a few words about them..Somewhere there another 

journey begun!


Fix8-Sed8 - The 

Inevitable Relapses 

Old school, 

psychedelic dark 

electro project 

from Wiesbaden 

FunkerVogt - 

Element 115 

FunkerVogt has 

released the “Element 

115” in January 29 

Kirlian Camera - 

The 8th President 

Kirlian Camera 

leads us to the 

dark electronic 

paths of their 

long career. They 

prepare to release 

their forthcoming 

ULTRA SUNN - 

Night Is Mine 

ULTRA SUNN is a 

Cold electro EBM 

duo from Brussels. 

The “Night is Mine” 

EP released on 5 

March, 2021. 

Kill Shelter - A 

Haunted Place 

PKill Shelter and 

Antipole released 

two great songs 

from their upcoming 

album “A Haunted 

Germany, released 

their album “The 

Inevitable Relapse” 

in 22 January 2021 

from Dependent. 

Including 10 songs 

full of dark,deep 

and strong electro 

melodies just for your 

ears. With eMKe from 

Black Nail Cabaret to 

takes us off with the 

song tREMORs. 

2021 by RepoRecords. 

This is an amazing 

album with haunted 

tribal,industrial 

electronic element’s 

that blow your mind. 

Definitely this album 

is for those who 

dance as they stay 

inside! 

album “Cold Pills” 

on May 14th 2021 

(Scarlet Gate Of 

Toxic Daybreak) 

with a sneak peek 

of the lead single 

“The 8th President” 

a three tracks single 

with experimental 

tones, lyrics full 

of mysticism and 

majestic vocals! 

Sharp synthesizers 

and loud rhythms 

that exudes a dark 

and at the same time 

bright atmosphere. 

place” and surprised 

us once again with 

the strong emotions 

they leave behind!

46 


Thomas Karigas & Marlen Moisidou (Geisterwelt team) 

Thomas Karigas and Marlen Moisidou formed the Geisterwelt team some 

years ago. Geisterwelt is a DJ team from Thessaloniki / Greece ( currently 

based in Nuremberg / Germany ) that organizes music events, with a past 

record from 1998 in the dark scene and with many Dj sets in Goth Festivals 

all across Europe. The two members of Geisterwelt team are also known 

as: Dj SilentOrder (x-Nefelovamon, Thomas Karigkas - since 1998) and 

Madaley Selket ( Marlen Moysidou - member since 2006 ). Among their 

djiing activities the duo has released the “ GEISTERWELT CD COMPILATION 

1 / 2 / 3 “. An effort with no economic profit to promote the music they 

support and to promote other older and upcoming bands too. Musings 

like Gothic Rock / Dark -Cold Wave / Postpunk /Obscure Synths / and New 

wave. Additionally, since 2011, Thomas Karigas and Marlen Moisidou, have 

been covering major gothic/dark/industrial festivals and events around 

Europe, in several Greek magazines. Thomas and Marlen have been behind 

decks in great festivals like WGT, Castle Party and in a number of venues in 

Germany and Greece (Dark Flower, KON71, Club Cult, 8Ball, X-Club, X-Cell, 

Dark Sun, and many more)

Return of the gothic rock band with their new album but 

this time with some light electronic touches 

The dark experimental band releases their new digital 

single with two great tracks 

Dark apocalyptic atmosphere that awakens the deepest 

nightmares. 

A combination of Synths and Old School EBM sounds 

which creates a new dark disco feeling 

A PostPunk / ColdWave compilation from Manic 

Depression records of 2020 releases 

The dark / coldwave band offers some of their best songs 

to a remix compilation of various artists 

Dark ethereal electronic combined with female vocals 

which creates a magic atmosphere 

Gothic Rock, PostPunk compilation of various artists from 

Cleopatra Records 

Limited edition (available on CD, digital form or colored 

vinyl compilation) of rare singles, demos and live 

performances 

Old good Goth Rock. Re-released of the album in a 

beautiful purple vinyl

48 


MOVIES & BANDS by kat z 

Tom Waits and 

Jim Jarmusch’s 

Creative Friendship 

James Robert Jarmusch (born 

January 22, 1953) is an American film 

director, screenwriter, actor, producer, 

editor, and composer.[2] He has been 

a major proponent of independent 

cinema since the 1980s, directing films 

such as Down by Law (1986), Mystery 

Train (1989), Night on Earth (1990), 

Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), Broken 

Flowers (2005), Only Lovers Left Alive 

(2013), The Dead Don’t Die (2019) and 

many more. As a musician, Jarmusch 

has composed music for his films and 

released two albums with Jozef van 

Wissem. 

Thomas Alan Waits (born December 

7, 1949) is an American singer, 

songwriter, musician, composer, 

and actor. His lyrics often focus on 

the underbelly of society and are 

delivered in his trademark deep, 

gravelly voice. He worked primarily 

in jazz during the 1970s, but his 

music since the 1980s has reflected 

greater influence from blues, rock, 

vaudeville, and experimental genres.


Waits and Jarmusch have had a strong 

creative relationship for many years. Over 

three decades, Tom Waits was casted in 

various Jim Jarmusch films. Their latest 

collaboration was in 2019 where Jarmusch 

casts Waits in his zombie movie The Dead 

Don’t Die. Waits also acted in Jarmusch films 

such as Down By Law, Mystery Train and 

Coffee & Cigarettes. Also, Waits provided 

the soundtrack for Jarmusch’s Night On 

Earth which is a 1991 art comedy-drama 

film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. 

It is a collection of five vignettes, taking 

place during the same night, concerning 

the temporary bond formed between 

taxi driver and passenger in five cities: 

Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rome, and 

Helsinki. The action in the vignettes takes 

place at the same time. Moving from Los 

Angeles in the United States to Helsinki, 

Finland. The scene in each city appears 

to occur later and later in the night due to 

the changing time zones. Jarmusch wrote 

the screenplay in about eight days, and the 

choice of certain cities was largely based 

on the actors with whom he wanted to 

work. 

On the other hand, Jarmusch has directed 

Waits videoclip for the song “It’s allright 

with me” that was included in Red Hot 

+ Blue compilation. This song was first 

written by Cole Porter, for his 1953 musical 

Can-Can. 

Red Hot + Blue is the first compilation album 

from the Red Hot Organization in the Red 

Hot Benefit Series. It features contemporary 

pop performers reinterpreting several songs 

of Cole Porter, and the title of the album 

originates from Cole Porter’s musical Red, 

Hot and Blue. 

Released in 1990, it sold over a million 

copies worldwide and was heralded as one 

of the first major AIDS benefits in the music 

business. The clips portrayed the societal 

effects of AIDS. 

In Pitchfork, Zach Schonfeld writes: 

“As Barney Hoskyns writes in his Waits 

biography Lowside of the Road, Jarmusch 

and the musician met in the early 1980s 

at a party hosted by Jean-Michel Basquiat. 

Both men felt awkward and shy among 

glamorous art people, so they ditched the 

party and went on a bar crawl instead. 

They became fast friends, sharing a similar 

bent sensibility. “Tom and I have a kindred 

aesthetic,” Jarmusch told Hoskyns. “An 

interest in unambitious people, marginal 

people.” Plus, they both looked astoundingly 

fly in a decade in which most famous men 

looked like unwashed poodles. Just look 

at this vintage shot of the pair sitting on a 

park bench in 1985.”

Loud Cities Magazine _Issue 3_03_2021

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